CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"This is insane," Belle shrieked as she threw her hands up in the air in disbelief. "Who, who would want to hurt Irene," she stuttered as a tear rolled down her face.

"We don't know," McGrath took a step away from Belle. "But we are looking into it. We're in the process of taking fingerprints, so hopefully we can pick something up from there," he explained.

"Hopefully? Hopefully?" Belle spat out. "No, not hopefully. You bloody well better find something. You're a cop; it's your job," she shouted.

"Come on sweet; calm down," Beth placed a comforting hand on Belle shoulder. "Let's go back into Irene's room and sit with her for a while. She could wake up soon and I'm sure she'd love to see you there when she first wakes up," she then suggested.

Belle gave a small nod. "Okay," she sniffed and then turned around and followed Beth down the hall.

Martha couldn't stand seeing her friend this way. It was heartbreaking. Martha let out a loud sigh and sat down on a chair next to Tony. She looked up and her eyes met with Jack's. They held each others gaze for a few moments before Jack turned away and walked out of the foyer with McGrath.

"He misses you," Tony's voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Sorry?" Martha was confused.

"Jack. He misses you," Tony said again.

Martha looked away from him and closed her eyes. "Things are complicated," she sighed. "Very complicated," she added.

"They don't have to be," Tony exclaimed.

Martha gave Tony a smile. "Jack's lucky to have a father who cares so much. If only mine was as supportive as you. I got the rough end of the stick. I got Brett Macklin," she looked down at her hands.

Tony reached over and took one of Martha's. "Hey, I'm not just Jack's dad," he started. "I'm yours too," he told Martha.

"Thank you," Martha squeezed his hand tight. She felt her eyes tear up a bit. Jack and Lucas were so lucky to have him.

Martha and Tony sat in silence for a few more minutes before Jack returned. "Are you ready to go?" Jack asked her.

"Yeah," Martha nodded as she stood up. She turned back towards Tony and reached her arms out to take Alex.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Jack stopped her. "Dad and Beth are taking Joey tonight," he said.

"Oh, okay," Martha was a little surprised. "But I'd still prefer if she came home with us now. I'd like to give her a bath and pack some stuff for her before she goes away for the night. Is that okay?" she said to Tony.

"Of course love," Tony nodded. "Beth and I will be sticking around here for a while, so we will stop in and pick her up on our way home. How bout that?" he suggested.

"Sounds great," Martha smiled as she took Alex into her arms. "When Belle comes out; can you tell her to call me if she needs anything?" she then asked

"I will," Tony answered.

"Thanks," Martha nodded in appreciation.

Martha and Jack said their goodbyes and then walked down the hall towards the exit. Just as Martha was about to walk outside, she spotted the woman from earlier. She paused on the spot and looked over at her. Martha cleared her mind and thought hard; trying to figure out how she knew that woman. But nothing popped up. But still, Martha felt as thought she had met her before. The feeling was quite strange.

"Who are you staring at?" Jack shook her arm; trying to gain her attention

Martha snapped her gaze up to Jack's face. She ignored his question and asked her own. "Have you ever seen that woman before," she asked.

Jack looked in the direction that Martha was looking. He noticed a woman sitting in the waiting room; reading a magazine. "Nope," he shook his head. "Never seen her before," he added.

"I think I know her," Martha exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Jack was slightly confused.

"I don't know," Martha sighed in frustration. "Something in my head is telling me that I know her; or have at least seen her before. It's really bugging me," she told Jack.

"Why don't you just go and asked her," Jack suggested.

Martha looked at Jack as though he had two heads. "No I will not. She'll probably think I'm nuts or something. Lets just forget about it and go home," she gave the woman one last glance before walking outside with Alex in her arms; Jack close behind her.

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She glanced up and smiled to herself as she watched Jack and Martha Holden leaving the hospital. She knew that they had been watching her. She could tell that Martha was confused.

She wondered how long it would be until Martha remembered who she was. It was only a matter of time before Martha remembered that they had met before. It was only a matter of time before the wall started to break away; the wall that was blocking her memories. No doubt her mind would soon be free.

But of course, if she had her way, Martha would never remember. If she had her way, Martha Holden would be dead before she even had the chance to remember a thing.

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"I think I'll go and have a bath," Martha told Jack later that evening after Tony had dropped in and picked up Alex for the night.

"Alright, but don't be too long," Jack said as he put some dirty dishes in the dishwasher. "You and I need to finish our conversation from earlier," he pointed out,

"What if I don't want to finish that conversation," Martha rolled her eyes. She really wasn't in the mood to hear anything he had to say.

"Too bad; you don't have a choice," Jack exclaimed. "I asked dad to take Alex for the night, just so we could talk without any interruptions," he told her.

"You palmed her off to your dad, so she wouldn't interrupt?" Martha glared at him. "I should get in the car right now, and go and pick her up," she scoffed. She really couldn't believe his nerve.

Jack groaned. "Martha, this is serious. We can't just push this to the side anymore," he started. "This isn't just some stupid teen romance we're talking about; this is our marriage. Its real life," he finished.

Martha looked away from his tense glare. She knew he was right. "Fine," she huffed. "Give me half an hour to shower and get changed; then we can talk," she sighed before walking away to the bathroom.

She really was not looking forward to this conversation.

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NEXT CHAPTER: Martha and Jack talk. Will Martha admit her feelings? Or will she keep pushing Jack away?