The Journey: Chapter Two SONG LYRIC CREDITS: It Must Have Been Love (Roxette), Love Walks In (Van Halen)

Chapter Two

Jack Christey strode into the offices of the New South Wales Water Police, with an unshakeable smile on his face. Twenty minutes later, it was gone. He wondered if Rachel had that effect on every man she met. Oh, she acted friendly enough, but her coldness wasn't exactly subtle.

Perhaps he should have taken the hint when she sent all his letters back, but he knew Rachel--avoidance was her favourite game. He'd hoped that confronting her would end it, but it hadn't.

He figured he'd give her some time to get used to the idea of working with him again, so he went to their office to settle in.

The desk was still full of Frank's things--a tie, a belt, sunglasses, some photos. Jack glanced at them half interested. She was in a lot of them. Others were of both of them. There was even one of her and her son.

He threw the photos down in disgust, and made a little pile of all Frank's things. He couldn't possibly have left in such a hurry that he couldn't have cleaned out his desk first, Jack thought rudely.

He was pinning one of *his* pictures on the wall when she walked in. He looked up, expecting her to comment, but she ignored him.

"Listen," he told her. "I found this shit, it's Frank's, it was in the bottom drawer--"

"I'll take it, I'll take it," she interrupted, taking the pile from his desk and transferring it to hers. She then went back to ignoring him.

"So, is that it? Is that all you're gonna say?" he challenged.

She looked at him blankly. "Well, what do you want me to say?"

"I dunno. I mean, anything's better than being ignored, I guess."

"Well, we can talk about the sergeant's job then, since we both applied for it. Why did you apply?" she asked.

"Well, I have worked here before, if you remember, you know; and it's a good section, good people..."

She nodded sedately. Jack was starting to envision a nightmarish future of her resenting him for forcing his way back into her life.

"You know, I'm not sorry I got this job," he told her defensively, "But I am sorry I got it over you."

"I don't care!" she protested.

Yeah, right, Jack thought. Just at that moment, Helen appeared in the doorway, telling them to go to the hospital to interview a witness.

"You all right?" she asked Rachel, as she was leaving.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Rachel told her softly. Helen looked from one to the other of them and then left. Rachel glanced at him briefly before looking back at her desk.

It must have been love but it's over now,
It was all that I wanted, now I'm living without.
It must have been love but it's over now,
It's where the water flows, it's where the wind blows.

Jack narrowed his eyes, wondering what message he was missing here. Well, she wasn't likely to tell him in a hurry. "It's not gonna be a problem, me working here, is it?" he asked.

"Not if you don't make it a problem," she told him.

"I don't think it's a problem."

"No problem," she shrugged.

Just dandy.
~~ * ~~

Rachel sat at her desk, idly wrapping Frank's tie around her hands. He'd only been gone a week, but she felt his absence even more now Jack had taken his place.

Truth be told, she could have cleaned out his desk for him, but somewhere deep down she wanted to convince herself he was just on a short holiday. That he was coming back soon.

Jack's arrival had shattered the illusion, and she hated him for that. She knew she'd been horrible to him all day, but she couldn't help herself--he reminded her too much of what she had lost, or rather, what she had thrown away.

She loved him. She realised that; now it was too late to do anything about it.

She felt her eyes sting with tears, and she wiped them away. No use feeling sorry for myself now, she thought.

Rachel dropped the tie guiltily when Jack walked into the office. Tucking the photographs into her jacket, she threw the tie and belt into the bin, and headed for the door.

"Hey Rach," Jack began, before she made her escape. He'd intended to ask her down to the pub for a drink, but when she looked at him, he saw her eyes were red and blotchy. "Never mind," he told her.

She nodded thankfully and left.

He thought she'd gone home, but when he returned to their office after getting himself a cup of coffee, he happened to glance at Rachel's bin.

The tie and the belt were gone.
~~ * ~~

SIX WEEKS LATER

"I'm what?" Rachel asked, staring at the doctor in shock.

"You're pregnant," she repeated patiently.

Rachel took a deep breath, trying to assimilate the information. This was big.

"I take it this wasn't planned?" the doctor inquired carefully.

She shook her head. "Not exactly," Rachel told her.

She nodded, sympathetically. Rachel wanted to slap her.

She drove home in a daze. When she pulled into her driveway, she checked her mail before going inside. There was a postcard from Frank.

How ironic, she thought dryly.

She flopped down on the couch to read it--avoiding her more immediate problem for the moment.

Dear Rachel,
I'm not much of a writer, but I promised you a postcard, so here it is. What to say? Well, the sky is blue, and I'm out on the open sea. Not much else to tell you really. How are you? Well, you can't answer me, but I hope you're ok. I miss you heaps. I'll send this off next time I go near a post office.
Love Frank

She couldn't help but smile. Frank, the master of understatement. She dropped the postcard on the coffee table, and put her hand on her still-flat stomach, considering the implications of the diagnosis.

She couldn't contact Frank; there was no return address on the postcard. And what would she tell him anyway? She wasn't sure exactly what she was going to do, but she knew she couldn't get rid of it. That pretty much left only one option.

It would mean huge changes to her life, obviously. She was looking at least six months maternity leave, and finding some good day-care after that.

It had been so long since she had been a full time mother, and even then she hadn't been single. It was going to be hard, she thought, but it would be worth it.

And then you sense a change
Nothing feels the same
All your dreams are strange
Love comes walking in
Some kind of alien
Waits for the opening
Then simply pulls a string
Love comes walking in

She would be fine, and Frank... well. She'd have to cross that bridge when she got to it.

She fell asleep that night with a smile on her face.
~~ * ~~

Take me to Chapter Three

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