Alex wanted to tell the whole world that he was going to marry Claire. He couldn't though. He had to talk everything through with Claire and tell everyone together. They were to be man and wife after all. He went back to Killarney and avoided his family. He went straight to work. He couldn't hide the permanent grin on his face, so he would have to hide his face. He rode off in his Ute to do some work. He hadn't been there long when Nick drove up. "Dad said I'd find you here" "What do you want?" was Alex's reply. "What are you looking so happy about? Would have nothing to do with you being in town today?" Alex didn't say anything "Come on then, who is she?" Nick teased. Alex again said nothing "Fine if that's the way you're gonna be. Tess said she saw you at Drovers, but you didn't say hello, just stormed in the house and then left" "I had to pick up some papers. I was in a hurry" Alex blurted out. "The other reason I came to see you was I was wondering when you were going to see Claire. You've got to sort this thing out. I've got mum and dad on my back to start with." "I'm busy" "Alex you cant just ignore this. If not for you, for Claire and the baby" "I said I'm busy" Alex was starting to get annoyed now. "Alex I really think you should go and see her. Soon!" "I already have!" Nick was shocked. "When?" "Yesterday if you must know" "and.?" "And were going to sort it all out. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do." And with that Alex walked off. Nick went off to Drovers where Tess was on the phone to the hospital. They had called and Tess had gone pale. She put the phone down. "I need to get to the hospital." "What is it, what's wrong?" "Its Claire, she relapsed." "Ok, I'll take you" they both got in the car and got to the hospital. They waited for about an hour before a doctor said anything. "Your sister is still critical, but hopefully she'll be fine" Tess couldn't sit still. She felt sick just thinking about what might happen to Claire. Another hour passed and the nurse came and spoke to her and Nick. "Claire is going to be fine. She's no worse than what she was and she's stable now. I am afraid to say she did lose the baby. She doesn't know and I think it would be best coming from you. You can see her if you like, but she's not awake yet." "Thank you" Tess started to walk into the room, fighting back the tears, she held Nick's hand tightly as she took him into the room with her. Claire looked so peaceful. Tess was so grateful that her sister was going to be ok, just upset and anxious about what Claire would do when she found out she'd lost the baby. Tess and Nick sat down next to Claire's bed. Tess held her hand, when she realised that Claire was wearing an engagement ring. She was shocked and pointed it out to Nick who shrugged his shoulders. Tess had thought about Peter being back, but couldn't believe Claire would ever go back to him. They were being silent in the room as if someone was listening to them. All these thoughts about Claire, the baby, Peter and Claire's frame of mind were going through Tess' head when Claire started to come to. "Claire?" Tess whispered "Claire, it's me, Tess" "mmmm" "Claire its ok, you're going to be fine. I'm here don't worry" Claire slowly opened her eyes as she came to. She looked at Tess, and saw the sad look on her face "Tess? What's happened?" "Its ok Claire, you had a relapse, but you're going to be fine." Tess looked at Nick for a second and Claire knew something was wrong. "How you feeling Claire?" "Tess just tell me what's wrong." "Claire I'm so sorry," she looked away but she was still holding Claire's hand. "Claire, you lost the baby" Tess said quietly. Claire heard her though, and a tear fell from her eye, that she quickly wiped away. It was the only one she shed. All of these feelings came to Claire. Sadness, anger, confusion, pain and frustration. She didn't know what to do, so she just laid there in silence. Nick got up and walked out of the room. "Claire, are you ok?" "I'm fine; I think I'm going to get some sleep though, so if you don't mind..." "Sure Claire, I'll be close by if you need me. You know I'm here for you" Tess got up, gave Claire a squeeze of the hand and left the room. When she got out, she ran straight into Nick's arms and just started to cry. Claire laid in her bed feeling numb. All she wanted was Alex. She thought of nothing else, but of wanting Alex to grab her in his arms and make her feel safe. She laid there and cried. Deep down she was glad. She didn't want to have Alex raise someone else's baby, and as much as she would have loved it, she didn't want to have Peters baby, but Alex's instead. The tears she was crying were tears of grief though, and eventually she cried herself to sleep. Tess and Nick fell asleep outside and woke the next morning. Tess realised nobody knew where she was, or what had happened, so Nick phoned Drovers, while Tess went into see Claire. Claire was awake and had been sitting there thinking. "Hey, how you feeling?" Tess asked, worried about how Claire was. "I'm fine. Honestly" "Claire I'm your sister, you don't need to pretend to me" Tess gave her a look. "Tess, of course I'm upset, but I'm going to be fine. I have to look forward and get on with my life and I have to concentrate on getting better. I do have a farm to run you know" Claire gave her a look and Tess just smiled at her, still not convinced that Claire really was ok. She was so worried about her. "As long as you know I'm here to talk if you need me" Claire gave a thankful smile and was playing with her ring without Tess knowing. She would be ok. She was still grieving for her baby inside but she was trying to look forward to being with Alex. That was if he still wanted to be with her. She felt really tired, and Tess could tell from the look on her sister's face. "You need some sleep, I'll be outside if you need me" Tess left and spoke to the nurse. The nurse said that her recovery may now take longer, but that she would be back to normal eventually. She would need plenty of rest though, and only family could see her for a short amount of time. She had gone through a lot physically and emotionally, in a very short amount of time. Nick came back and he stood there holding Tess in his arms. She was so upset and had been through a lot herself. Nick looked worried and was concerned about Tess as well as Claire. That was how Alex found them as he walked along the corridor to see his fiancée. He felt immediate panic and started shouting "Claire, Claire?" "Alex what are you doing here?" Tess shouted "Where's Claire, what's happened, is she alright?" he was frantic. "Alex, it's ok; she's going to be fine" "what happened?" "She had a relapse and lost the baby" "can she still have kids?" "Yes but why do you want to know?" "I have to see her!" the nurses panicked when he had started to shout and so called security who wouldn't let him through. "Alex you cant see her, its only family" Tess exclaimed "I AM FAMILY!" he exclaimed "let go of me" the guards were holding him. Nick and Tess looked at each other confused. "Come on mate, she's fine, why do you need to see her so badly?" Nick asked. Tess told the guards it was ok, and so they let go of Alex who was angry and anxious to see Claire. "You can't go in there!" Tess said to him. "Yes I can" Tess grabbed his arm in a feeble attempt to stop him. He did stop through and turned to the worried Tess. She wanted to know why he was reacting the way he was. "You're not family! She shouted at him "why do you need to see her so bad?" "Because I love her and I'm going to marry her!" with that Alex stormed into the room, leaving Nick and Tess standing there, not quite sure whether to believe what Alex had just told them. Alex didn't care what they thought. He just wanted to be near Claire. She was asleep. He held her hand tight, kissed her on the head and stroked her hair while he sat there in relief that she was ok. Claire woke up, took one look at Alex and cried. He cuddled her and told her it was ok, and she was going to be fine. Tess wanted to go in and find out what was going on but Nick persuaded her not to. "If there is something going on between the two of them, then they need some time alone to sort it out" "but why didn't they tell us?" "I don't know, but we'll find out soon enough" Tess knew Nick was right. Claire had calmed down "must be all these drugs there filling me with" she tried to laugh "come on Claire, its me you're talking to" "Alex I'm so glad you're here, I love you so much." "I love you to Claire." Claire started to regain her composure and became the Claire we all know and love. She felt so much better and had got it out of her system. It wasn't to say that she still didn't hurt, but she could now move on and get over it. "What took you so long to get here Ryan?" she smiled. Alex felt a wave of relief go over him when she smiled. That was the smile that told him that Claire McLeod was back and everything was going to be great. Alex was his usual cocky self again. "Well how was I to know, you were going to go all weak on me? Anyway I needed time to think of some ground rules" "oh yeah, about those" "What?" Alex didn't know what to think. "Alex, you know I love you and I do want to marry you?" "Yeah" Alex was worried now "Do you think we can wait a while before we get married, even wait a couple of weeks before we tell anyone were together. I want you all to myself for a while. We haven't even slept together yet, contrary to what some people believe." Alex laughed. Claire blushed slightly. "What?" she asked. "I think it's a bit late" Alex exclaimed. "For what?" Alex scratched his head and pulled a 'do I really have to tell you' face. "Nick and Tess know!" "What! How? When? What did they say?" she couldn't believe it. She was surprised Tess hadn't said anything to her. Tess couldn't help but to interfere. And how could Alex go and tell them about there business! "I ah, they wouldn't let me see you and I lost my temper and shouted it out." He laughed. He was trying to make light of it, especially seeing Claire's annoyed face. "You should have seen their faces. I don't think they quite believed me." "Well where are they?" "I left them outside" "you what?" Claire couldn't quite believe him sometimes although she couldn't help but grin slightly. She would have loved to have seen their faces. "So what do we do now?" she asked. "Well I can tell them I was lying. I can say I'm looking after you as my business partner and best mate. We spend lots of time together and we tell them when we're ready" Alex pulled a cheeky grin, pleased with himself. "I don't think that would work somehow, although I like the idea of you and me spending lots of time together." She smiled at Alex whose face perked up after she had deflated it by disregarding his idea. "I think we need to talk to Nick and Tess" Alex kissed Claire and went to open the door, calling in the anxious Tess and a confused Nick. Tess ran over to Claire. She didn't know how she was feeling, if she really was marrying Alex, and how she was coping with the loss of her baby. "How are you feeling?" she asked, almost exploding with all of the questions she wanted to ask, but didn't dare to. "Better thanks" Claire said, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "So when's the big day then?" Nick asked. Alex and Claire looked at each other awkwardly. Alex was standing in the corner of the room while Nick and Tess were next to Claire's bed "Don't fob me off Claire. I've seen the ring and the look on Alex's face. Now why didn't you tell me?" Claire gave Alex a look for him to tell them. He came striding forward, stepping into the roll, taking charge and acting all macho. "Well." he started. "Me and Claire are getting married, but not yet. And we don't want anyone to know yet. And we also don't want anyone to know we're even seeing each other yet." "That will be hard seeing as the whole town thinks she's still having your baby!" Tess bluntly pointed out. She wished she hadn't said it, but it was something Claire had been thinking about though. "I ah" she began as Alex looked at her. He hadn't thought about that, and didn't know what to say. "I'm going to tell everyone the truth about the baby. Peter can't do anything and he probably won't come back again. He has nothing to come back for. Alex can stop being hassled and he can tell his parents the truth, he was just helping a friend in need." It made sense and everyone agreed with her decision. There was nothing they could have done even if they didn't agree. This was Claire McLeod after all. "So when did it happen between you two?" Tess was dying to know all of the details. "Yesterday" Alex said. They couldn't quite believe that within a day, their siblings had fallen in love and were getting married. "Tess you can't tell anyone" Claire warned her. "I need a drink" Alex said, knowing Claire and Tess needed some time to talk, so he and Nick went to the canteen. Alex couldn't get the grin off of his face. As he and Nick sat down Nick was curious about what had happened. "So?" "What?" "What's been going on with you and Claire?" "I finally came to see her, I realised I didn't want anyone else to have her except me. I said I'd agree to the baby being mine, and we'd move in together. Claire didn't want that, she loved me and I realised that I didn't want to pretend. She didn't make it easy, I can tell ya that." Nick laughed "so when did you propose? Was that why you were at Drovers?" "She nearly died ya know. I nearly lost her. I needed a ring size, and then I went to town, bought a ring, and asked her. She said yes, and I came home when you saw me" "so that's why you looked like the cat who got the cream? Or in this case, the Alex who got the Claire. About time is all I can say" Alex gives him a look of shock. Did everyone know he and Claire were meant to be together except him and Claire? If that was the case, then how come nothing had happened sooner? They started to walk back to Claire's room. "So what happens now?" Nick asked. "We pretend there's nothing going on, while I help Claire get better. I'm gonna tease her rotten" He smirked. He was going to look forward to this. As much as he loved her, he couldn't help but tease and try and get a rise out of Claire. "And what about the baby?" Nick asked. That's when Alex said "I'm glad in a way, but upset for her. I love her!"

Claire couldn't take the grin off of her face and Tess was bursting with questions. It was at that moment that Meg, Jodi and Becky arrived. They were desperate to find out that Claire was ok. Claire felt a little uncomfortable. She didn't want pity and she was trying to hide the ring on her finger. Within one minute everyone was in full flow of questions when Meg's motherly instincts kicked in and noticed Claire was uncomfortable, probably upset deep down and was extremely tired. She ordered everyone to leave and that included Tess. "Come on, you too Tess" "ah, no Meg, I think I'll stay" "No come on" "its ok, I'll just keep her company, that's what sisters are for" "out, now Tess" Meg pulled the face that said 'do as I say or else'. Tess was beat and walked out in a strop. Claire gave a sigh of relief. Then she laughed as she remembered the look on Tess' face. All she could think about was Alex as she looked at her ring. Her hand drifted to her stomach. She was sad but knew it had been for the best. She could still have children as well, and probably would, with the man she loved. She drifted off to sleep thinking about Alex. Tess popped home to get changed while the other three women stayed to make sure Claire was ok.

Alex and Nick came back from the canteen. "I love her!" Alex said rather loudly without knowing who else would hear him apart form Nick. Everyone turned around and stared at him "oh, hi" he said sheepishly. "Who?" said Jodi "Who what?" Alex said trying to play dumb. "Who do you love stupid?" "Alex in love eh?" Becky said teasingly. Alex looked to Nick for help "His helicopter! Alex, in love with a woman! You've got to be joking!" Everyone believed him, laughed and felt stupid for even thinking it was a woman. "What are you doing here?" Meg asked. Alex smiled. He could handle this question. "You expect me to pass up an opportunity like this?" he was looking at blank faces. "She can't go anywhere, and she can't hit me. A perfect opportunity to tease her to death" "all heart Alex" Becky said, not quite believing he could be so cruel and insensitive. Then she realised it was Alex, the man whose one true love was his chopper. "Do you know she lost the baby?" Meg added. Alex's face turned to concern. All the women knew he hadn't been the father and assumed he and Claire had sorted it all out from the way he had been talking. Alex was playing it dumb. "Why didn't you tell me?" Alex asked, turning to Nick "I, I thought you knew" "is she alright?" "She's going to be fine!" Meg answered. "I'm going to go and see her" Before anyone could stop him, he'd gone. Nick stopped anyone following. A grin formed on Alex's face. He loved all of this secrecy stuff. It gave him a thrill.

Claire had woken up as Alex had walked in. "You know, all you women don't have a very high opinion of me" "what makes you think that?" "They think the one true love of my life is my chopper!" "Isn't it?" what sounded like an innocent comment, was actually something Claire needed to be reassured about. He leant down and kissed her. Good answer she thought. "Alone at last" he said. "Now, about these ground rules" Claire said regaining her composure. "Uh oh, here we go" Claire gave him a look. "First of all, nobody can know about us. Two, you can't tell me what to do! Three" Alex cut her off and finished "you do as I say, at least until your better. Four we kiss a lot" he kisses her again. "Five, we have at least six kids and six, no more I'm- an-independent-woman crap." Claire was going to protest but he kissed her again and she laughed. "And seven, we're going to live at Drovers with these six kids of ours, and if they're anything like you, god help us" they both laughed and continued kissing.