CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

ONE WEEK LATER

Jack was just about to lie down and have a sleep, when he heard a knock at the door. He'd been at work all night, so he was looking forward to having a sleep while his dad and Lucas were at school. At first he wasn't going to answer the door, but then he thought that he had better answer; just incase it was Martha.

He slowly walked to the door and was surprised when he found Ray standing there.

"Hi Jack," Ray said.

"Ray, come in," Jack invited him in. "So, what's up?" he asked once Ray was inside.

"Well, as you know, Macca and I are heading back to the farm tomorrow, and I still haven't really had a chance to have a proper chat with you," Ray began. "About Martha, that is," he stated.

Jack didn't know what to think. Was Ray about to get stuck into him?

Ray smiled lightly when he noticed the worried look on Jack's face. "Hey, don't worry. It's nothing bad," he laughed.

"In that case, sit down," Jack offered.

"Look, I'll make it quick, because I'm supposed to meeting Martha in half an hour," Ray started. "I just need to now that you're going to look after Martha," he said.

"Of course I will," Jack assured him.

"Do you love her?" Ray asked.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I do. More than life," he paused for a moment. "And Martha knows that. I tell her all the time," Jack told Ray.

"Good, because she loves you too. And I'd really hate for her to get hurt," Ray started again. "I just want Martha to be happy. She deserves to be happy. She's had a rough trot since my wife died, and she deserves something good for a change," he finished.

"You don't have to worry about Martha. I'll make sure she gets everything that she needs. And I will take care of her. And our baby," Jack promised.

Ray smiled. "You're a good kid Jack Holden," he exclaimed. "I'm glad that Martha has found someone who loves her back, and treats her well. And I'm glad that it's you. It makes me feel a lot better knowing that she has you to take care of her".

"Thank you," Jack smiled.

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Martha walked with her dad towards the car park, where Ray's rental car had been parked. The two week visit was unfortunately over, and Ray and Macca were now about to head off to the airport.

The two weeks with them around had been great, and Martha had had a lot of fun with them. She just wished that they could stay longer. She was going to miss them.

Once they reached the car, Martha turned towards her dad. "I'm going to miss you," she started to cry.

"I'll miss you too," Ray told her. "Now, I want you to take care of yourself, okay? Don't go getting yourself into trouble, and stop stressing about everything. Keep that baby safe," he smiled.

"I will, I promise," Martha told him as she gave him a tight hug.

"I love you," Ray said.

"Love you too," Martha sniffed.

Ray then moved away, and went to say goodbye to Alf, Ric, Jack and Tony. Ray and Macca had said goodbye to everybody else the night before; when they had farewell drinks at Noah's.

Martha then walked towards Macca. "Don't start crying on me," Macca joked as he pulled Martha into a hug. "I'm going to miss you bug. But I'm going to try and come back for another visit real soon, okay," he told her.

Martha smiled and nodded. "And take care of that kid," Macca laughed.

"I'll miss you," Martha said, and gave him another hug. He then opened the door and got into the car.

Ray gave Martha one more hug before he jumped into the driver's seat. He then turned the car on, and backed out of the parking lot. Martha and the others waved goodbye, and stood by the side of the road and watched as the car disappeared around the corner.

Martha sighed and turned around and started making her way back to the diner. Alf, Tony and Ric went in the other direction, towards Noah's.

"You okay?" Jack asked as he walked beside Martha.

Martha paused on the spot and tried to contain her tears. But she couldn't. "I'm going to miss them," she cried.

"Come here," Jack sighed, and pulled Martha into a warm embrace.

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Megan walked around the corner of the diner; with Grace hanging from her hip. She stopped walking when she noticed Jack and Martha hugging a bit further in front of her. They looked quite comfy with each other.

Megan felt a surge of anger run through her body. She needed to stop them. She couldn't stand seeing Jack touch her. An idea popped into her head; so she decided to use it.

"Jack," she called out, and rushed up to him quickly.

Jack slowly detangled himself from Martha and looked up. "What is it?" he asked when he saw Megan approaching.

"There's something wrong with Grace. I think she has a fever or something. I want you to come to the hospital with me," she put on an upset tone of voice.

"Alright," Jack sighed. He then looked at Martha. "Sorry," he apologized.

"It's okay. Just get Grace to the hospital and make sure that she's alright," Martha smiled. "I'll seeya round," she said.

That was easy, Megan smiled to herself.

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Martha walked into her room and sat down on her bed. She felt so lonely now that her dad and Macca had gone. They had only been gone for about half an hour, but she already missed them.

"As soon as your born baby, I'm taking you to the farm for a visit," Martha smiled as she rested her hand on her belly. Her stomach seemed to be getting bigger and bigger everyday. She was five months now; so that was halfway through already. It had gone so fast.

She stood up from the bed and walked over to the long mirror in the corner. She stood in front of it, and looked at herself. She smoothed her hand over her stomach and smiled. She was so happy about this baby now, and she couldn't wait until she met him or her.

She let out a small sigh and walked back over to her bed. She was about to sit down when her mobile phone started to ring. She reached into her bag and pulled it out.

"Hello," she answered the phone.

"Martha, it's Racheal," she heard on the other end of the line.

"Oh, hey Rach. What's up?" Martha asked.

She heard Racheal sigh. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but there's been an accident. It's your dad and brother. I think you should come down to the hospital," Racheal told her.

Martha went silent. She didn't know what to say. She was in shock.

"Martha, are you there?" she heard Racheal's frantic voice call out.

Martha snapped out of her thoughts. "Yep, I'll be there soon," she hung up the phone quickly.

She snatched up her car keys and ran from the room. So many thoughts were going through her mind. She wished that they weren't hurt. They had to be okay. She needed them to be okay.

"This can't be happening," she cried to herself.

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NEXT CHAPTER: Will Macca and Ray be okay?

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