Second chapter of the night then...

Chapter Fifty One.

Lauren sat at the table outside the café on the beach front… it was like sitting outside the café in Walford… apart from the sea and the sunshine… scratch that, this was nothing like being back at home at all. She smiled, closing her eyes and letting the sun warm her through.

"You okay, darling?" her mum asked her softly.

"Yeah… It's so lovely here…" Lauren murmured.

"It is… I fell in love with the place as soon as I saw it… then when I researched and found out the school was good and I could set up a salon down here, I knew it was the right place to come to."

"It's much nicer than where you were before." Lauren said.

Tanya laughed, "That didn't take much though really, did it?" she said. "You should've seen your dad's face when he came down here to see Oscar and he saw it… He gave me some money so I could afford the house… and he signed the paperwork for the salon as guarantor for me too…"

"I still can't believe you've got divorced…" Lauren said quietly.

Tanya stared at her daughter, stunned by what she'd just said, "You didn't think we would get back together, did you?" she asked.

"No…" Lauren breathed but Tanya could see the lie on her face.

"You did, didn't you?" Tanya said. She moved from her seat, sliding onto the one beside her eldest daughter and putting an arm around her shoulders. "Oh, sweetheart… I thought you were the one who would be pleased about this…?" she said. "You know that things between me and your dad were never going to work…?"

"But he loves you…" Lauren whispered, "And you love him… I know you do…"

"I do… and there's a part of me that always will… He gave me you, Abs and Oscar and I will always love him for that… but your dad and I… we just don't work… not in a way that doesn't end up hurting everyone…" she said. She wiped some tears away from Lauren's cheeks.

"I guess… I just thought after everything that happened… it would bring you closer together again… that you'd get back together… and we'd be a family again." Lauren whispered sadly.

"We'll always be family, Lauren… just because we're not all in Walford anymore, doesn't make us any less of a family…"

"I just want everything to go back to how it was before…" Lauren said, more tears falling from her eyes. "Before…" she couldn't seem to say anymore but Tanya knew what she was trying to say.

"Before the fire?" she asked softly. Lauren nodded, more tears breaking free. "Oh sweetheart, we'd already split up before then, hadn't we, eh? Even if the fire hadn't happened, we would still be apart…"

"It's my fault…" Lauren said, "It was me that tore you apart… it was always me…" she admitted. "I did the DVD that Christmas… I forced dad to go to Manchester and not come back… and then my drinking… I made you split up…"

"It wasn't you, Lauren… if anything, it was me and your dad that made you drink in the first place… Your dad and I just don't work… we could… and do… love each other more than we could ever love any other person… but we can't be together… It's not fair on you kids… or us… We hurt each other too much… as much as we love each other, we're good at hurting each other too…" Tanya stared at her daughter, seeing the sad realisation that her parent's marriage was truly over wash over her face, "What happened to you… in the fire… that actually helped us, sweetheart," Tanya told her softly.

"It did?" Lauren breathed.

Tanya nodded, "Yes…" she confirmed. "It made us talk to each other… we're getting on better now than we were after I first left the square… I think we'll remain friends which I didn't think would ever be the case when it first happened…"

"And you got divorced…"

"Yes, we did… but it was all very friendly… there wasn't any arguments… no wrangling for money… no arguing over Oscar… it was nice… Which given our past is a good thing, right?"

"I guess…"

"Now wipe your eyes, Joey and Oscar are coming back and we don't want them to worry about you, do we?" Tanya said. Lauren did as her mum said, pulling a tissue from her bag and blowing her nose as well. Tanya moved back to her original seat, picking up her handbag and taking out her purse. "How about we have some scones and clotted cream… we are in Devon, after all…"

"Sure." Lauren said.

"Do you want to come in with me, Oscar?" Tanya asked, "Maybe we can get you some ice cream instead?"

"YAY… Yes please, mummy…" Oscar said, taking her hand and trying to drag her towards the shop.

"We'll be back in a minute…" Tanya said.

Joey sat down, not falling for his aunt's diversionary tactic at all, "You okay, babe?" he asked her, his arm wrapping around her body and pulling her against him. Lauren nodded, her head resting on his shoulder. "You want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Later." Lauren whispered.

"Okay, babe." He said, kissing her forehead.

"Did you have fun with Ozzie?"

"Yeah… He's a good kid…"

"He is," She agreed, "Which is surprising… Despite everything."

"Everyone has some shit in their childhood, babe… you, me, Abi and Oscar… Whitney, Lucy and Peter… I'm sure if you asked Tam and Nancy they'd say the same thing…" he said. "But I bet every one of them would say that there was a lot of good stuff too…"

"Even you?" she whispered.

"Even me… My childhood was good… once Derek was gone…"

"Do you ever wish he wasn't your dad?" she asked.

"I used to when I was younger… but no, not anymore…"

"You don't?" Lauren said, lifting her head and looking at his face.

"If he wasn't my dad, I wouldn't have met you, would I?"

"No…"

"Then I'm very glad he was my dad… because I don't ever want to live a life when you aren't in it…" he told her.

"There you go with that charm again…" she whispered. "And yes, that's why I love you…"

"One of many reasons, I'm told…" he said, smiling slightly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good… I told you earlier, coming down here was just what I needed…"

"Good… I was thinking, maybe tomorrow the two of us could take Oscar out for the day? Give your mum some time on her own and we get to spend some special time with Ozzie…"

"I think he'd like that…" Lauren said.

"Let's wait and see how you feel in the morning… Just in case you're having a bad day…"

"I'll be fine…" Lauren reassured him.

"We don't want to raise his hopes just to have to dash them again, do we?" he said softly.

"Okay."

The sound of running feet interrupted them from saying anything else, "Look, Lolly!" he said, stumbling slightly over his own feet. He came to an abrupt standstill, looking at the floor in dismay. He looked up at his sister, tears in his eyes. "I dropped it…" he whispered.

"Come here, Ozzie…" Lauren said. He stepped over his dropped ice cream and walked to her side as she pulled away from Joey. Lauren hugged her brother, "What flavour ice cream was it?" Lauren whispered to him.

"Mint Choc Chip… and Strawberry… one scoop of each…" he said.

Lauren restrained herself from screwing her face up at the odd combination of flavours that her brother had chosen. "How about I give Joey some money and he goes and gets you another ice cream… and ask someone for something so we can clear up the mess you've made, eh?"

"Mummy's going to be cross with me…" he whispered. "She told me not to run…"

"It's fine, Ozzie… it was an accident… and we're going to fix it… Now, would you like Joey to get you some more ice cream?" she asked again.

"Please Lolly…" he said.

She opened her bag and pulled some money out of her purse and passed it to Joey. "I'll just be a couple of minutes," he said, getting up. He passed Tanya as she was coming out of the café, a tray in her hands.

"Don't tell me you've eaten that ice cream already, Oscar…" Tanya said as she sat at the table.

"We had a little accident," Lauren explained. Tanya looked around and saw the rapidly melting ice cream and cone lying on the floor.

"I'm sorry, mummy…" Oscar whispered.

Tanya looked at his face and seeing the tears in his eyes. "It's okay, sweetheart…" she said.

"Joey's just gone to get another ice cream for him…" Lauren said.

"Aren't you a lucky boy, Oscar?" Tanya said and Oscar nodded.

Joey came out of the café, holding another ice cream. Lauren tempered her reaction when she saw he was talking to a young blonde girl who was walking over to the table with him. "Here you go, Ozzie…" Joey said, sitting back at the table and passing the ice cream cone over to his younger cousin. "Rachel here is going to clear up the mess…" he said, grinning at the blonde again. Lauren stiffened slightly, refusing to look at Joey or the blonde. Instead she focused her attention on Oscar, making sure he was holding the ice cream more securely this time.

The table fell silent and Tanya went about pouring the tea she'd got into three mugs. She put the plate of scones and bowls of jam and clotted cream in the centre of the table. "Eat up, everyone…" she said, sensing the tension around the table, emanating mainly from her daughter.

The blonde girl stood up, "All sorted…" she said, "Enjoy the rest of your day…" she said, staring at Joey intently. "Maybe we'll see you again before you go home…" she said hopefully.

Lauren reached past Joey and took a scone from the plate, putting it on her plate and picking up her knife. She accidentally let her knife clatter onto her plate before reaching across again and picking up the bowl of clotted cream.

"Thanks Rachel," Tanya said, smiling politely at the blonde girl. Rachel left them alone and the family continued to eat their food, the tension between the young couple still climbing.

"Mummy, can I go and ride my bike?" Oscar said, ignorant of the tense atmosphere and having finished his ice cream.

"Maybe Lauren can wipe your face first… but then yes, you can… just don't ride away too far…" Tanya said.

"Okay mummy…" Oscar said. He slid off the chair and stood still while Lauren grabbed a serviette and wiped his face, removing all evidence of the ice cream he'd clearly enjoyed. He ran to where he had left his bike, climbing onto the saddle and starting to pedal along the beachfront.

Lauren watched him for a couple of minutes as she continued to eat her scone. She glanced up, frowning when she saw the blonde girl looking through the window of the shop, staring at Joey. "Is she asking for it or what?" she muttered, more to herself than her mum or Joey.

"What was that, darling?"

"Her… she keeps staring…" Lauren said, turning her attention back to her food.

"Who?" Tanya asked.

"The blonde…"

"I'm sure she can't see your scars, babe…" Joey said.

"She's not staring at me… she's staring at you…" Lauren said pointedly.

"Why?" He asked, confusion on his face which went some way to make her feel better.

"Clearly she likes you…" Lauren muttered. "She's all Joey-eyed…"

"I'm going to go and see what Oscar is up to…" Tanya said, quickly leaving the table and heading towards where Oscar was riding his bike.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Joey asked, referring to Lauren's previous comment.

"You know…" she said.

"Well, clearly I don't… or I wouldn't be asking you, would I?" Joey said.

"She hasn't stopped staring at you since you were flirting with her when you came out of the café…" Lauren hissed at him.

"I wasn't flirting, I was just being nice…" Joey said.

"You were flirting… it looked like flirting to me… and it sure as hell looked like flirting to her… And she was flirting right on back…" Lauren picked up her cup of tea, taking a sip from it. "She was lapping every single second of it up…"

"I'm not doing this…" Joey said, pushing his plate away from him.

"Doing what?" Lauren asked.

"Arguing with you about something so ridiculous… something that is all in your head…" Joey said.

"It's not in my head, Joe… she's staring at you right now…" Lauren said.

"Well, I'll go and tell her to stop… will that make you happier?" he asked, putting his hands on the arms of the chair and starting to stand up.

"Don't be stupid…" Lauren hissed.

"I mean it, babe… If it will make up feel better, I'll go and tell her that there is never any chance of anything happening between me and her… that for me she doesn't even exist… If that's what you want me to do, then I will…"

"Why?" she whispered.

"Why would I do it?" he asked, frowning because he couldn't understand why she didn't know the answer to that question.

"No… well, yes… but what I meant was why you said she doesn't even exist…?" she asked him softly.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Joey asked her gently, "I thought you understood now… that you knew how I felt…" Lauren stared at him, "She doesn't exist to me… because the only person I see… the only person I'm even interested in seeing… is you… You're it, babe… You make me smile every time I look at you… you make every day we're together a bit brighter… It's because of you I want to get up every morning… you make my heart race… you're the woman I love… that I will always love…" He said. He lifted his hand, pushing some hair back from her face and tucking it behind her ear. "I don't want to be with any other woman… just you… It's always been you…" he breathed. He leaned forward and kissed her softly, deepening it naturally without thinking about it. He pulled his mouth from hers, hearing her shortness of breath as he did so.

"Well, I think that told her…" Lauren murmured, glancing once more at the café, a satisfied look on her face.

Joey pulled away from her, feeling a little disgusted at what had just happened, "Now I feel used." He murmured, staring out across the beach, ignoring his girlfriend.

"What?" Lauren said in confusion.

"That made me feel cheap…"

"I didn't mean it that way, Joe." Lauren told him.

"Yeah, well it had the same effect…" he muttered.

An awkward silence fell between the two of them for a few moments until Lauren sighted. "Why don't we go and catch up with mum and Oscar?" Lauren asked.

"Sure…" Joey agreed, starting to put the plates and cups on the tray that Tanya had brought the food out on, tidying it up. He was tempted to carry it into the café but chose not to. For the sake of the current peace between him and Lauren, he decided it wasn't a good idea. He stood, Lauren standing up at the same time and he held his hand out towards her, slightly relieved when she took it.

A/N: Oh dear… First Joey mucked up and then Lauren did. Can they ever work things out? Send me a review and let me know what you think. Back tomorrow…