Well, in case anyone's getting confuzzled about the time-lines of this story (I know I am!), this part takes place about seven months after the last one. This makes it July 2004 (woo-hoo, I'll have finished my GCSEs by then!), which means that Olivia (Diane's daughter) is about eight months old, Tom and Anita have been married for nearly eight months, Anita is about seven months pregnant, Chrissie is eight months pregnant (and Amanda is around thirteen months old), and Diane and Ric are about to get married. Oh yeah, and I realised last night (I couldn't sleep because of it, how sad is that?) that Diane was only pregnant for about seven months, and yet she was saying that she was past her due date. I can't do maths. That's my only excuse.
And, after seeing Tuesday's ep, I don't think Anita would act like this (we saw a lot of her, and she seems quite a strong person, and she isn't in this), but I'd written a lot of it before then, and I wasn't going to re-write it.
*~*~*
"You coming tonight?" Diane asked Jess and Lisa, as she leant against the desk in AAU.
"Is there going to be alcohol?" Lisa queried.
Diane laughed. "Of course." She smiled. "And there'll be a lot more than normal, 'cause Chrissie can't drink."
"Poor Chrissie!" Jess sympathised. "I'd hate to go out and not drink."
"It's not as bad as all that," Diane replied.
"So, where are we going?" Lisa asked, as Jess answered the ringing phone.
"Nowhere. I can't get anyone to look after Livie, and we obviously can't take her anywhere, so…" Diane shrugged.
Lisa smiled. "Some of the best parties I've been to have been at people's houses. Who's going?"
Diane ticked off the names on her fingers. "You, Jess, Chrissie, Kath, Sandy… oh, and Ric thought it would be 'nice' if I asked Anita, you know, Tom's wife?"
"Never seen her. Ah well, be good to meet her, I s'pose," Lisa commented.
Ric appeared and put his arms around Diane's waist. She spoke without turning around. "You probably shouldn't do that, you know. I'm getting married tomorrow, and I doubt that my husband would be very pleased."
Ric laughed. "I'm sure he wouldn't have any objections."
She turned around to face him. "Can you believe that it's tomorrow?" she asked.
"No. Not at all, in fact." He leaned in and kissed her, as Tom walked past.
"I realise that you're getting married tomorrow, but you're still at work now, so can you put her down, please, Ric, and get on with some work?" He was smiling, but Ric obeyed nevertheless.
"Like you and Anita keep your hands off each other at work," he joked. Diane, Lisa, and Jess exchanged vaguely repulsed looks.
Tom looked uncomfortable. "What Anita and I do is our business." Jess turned away to hide her giggles.
Ric decided to leave the question of Tom and Anita, and changed the subject. "Are you coming tonight, Tom?"
"Tonight…?" Tom looked confused.
"My last night of freedom," Ric explained.
"Ah. Well, I don't know if I can, with Anita…"
"We've claimed her!" Jess put in.
"Do you even know her?" Tom queried.
"Well, no, but still…"
"I invited her," Diane interrupted. "I've spoken to her a few times, it'll be good to get to know her. She seems nice."
"She's lovely. I don't know about coming though." Tom shook his head.
"I'll see you at seven," Ric interjected. "Alex Adams' place."
"Where's that?"
"Jess, draw him a map," Diane told her friend. Jess obligingly found a piece of paper and a pen, but Tom shook his head.
"I'll find it, thank you, Nurse Griffin."
"See you there, then." Ric put an arm around Diane as Tom walked off. "Well then, Miss Lloyd, I think we'd better go see to some patients."
*~*~*
"Ric? Ric?" Zubin raced up behind his friend. "There you are."
"Zubin, hi." Ric stopped walking and waited for Zubin to catch up with him. "What's up, man?"
"Urgent op tomorrow, two o'clock. Can't be rescheduled." Zubin glanced at Ric idly as he spoke.
"You're kidding me." Ric didn't sound too calm. "I'm getting married tomorrow, Zubin. Remember? Two o'clock. We invited you. You know, a registry office, Diane in a white dress, me in a suit…"
"That's not too good," Zubin commented.
"Can't someone else do it? Harris? Is he free?" Ric was panicking. "God, Diane is going to kill me if she even hears about this." He was starting to hyperventilate, and Zubin pushed him into a chair.
"Relax, Ric. I'm joking."
"That's not funny, Zube!" Ric protested.
"Trust me, from where I was standing, it was hilarious."
*~*~*
"Remind me again why I have to stay at Alex's?" Ric asked Diane, trying to put his suit in a bag without creasing it.
She took the suit off him, and began folding it neatly. "Maybe you should take an iron with you."
"No."
"Fine, fine, don't blame me if you look all creased on our wedding photos," Diane replied. "And the reason that you are going to Alex's is that it is much easier for you to go than it is for me to take Olivia somewhere." She held up his bag. "There you go. Why you make such a big deal out of things, I'll never know."
"And why you seem to find things like that so easy, I'll never know," Ric countered. "So, how much havoc are you and the girls going to wreak tonight?"
"We don't wreak havoc," Diane said, smiling. "We'll just get a bit drunk."
"Not too much," Ric warned. "I don't want to have you hung over on our wedding day."
"When have I ever been hung over?" Diane demanded. She thought for a second. "Okay, don't answer that."
Ric laughed. "I won't." He glanced over at the pile of objects he still had to pack. "My goodness… Diane, you certainly owe me one, you know that? Making me take half my possessions somewhere else, no mean feat."
She shrugged. "I owe you one, huh? Okay, how about I marry you tomorrow, then we're even?"
He smiled at her, and took her in his arms. "That works for me."
Diane glanced at the clock. "This time tomorrow, we'll be married."
Ric hugged her. "Nervous?"
"Excited. I can't wait." She kissed him. "I love you."
"Always good to know," he replied. She hit him lightly. "Fine, fine, I love you too."
"I should think so."
*~*~*
"I hear you're going to Diane Lloyd's tonight," Tom commented to Anita, entering her office.
Anita nodded. "Yeah. She asked, so I thought, y'know, why not? It's good to broaden horizons and all that." She began sorting through a pile of papers on her desk.
"Someone should tidy that," Tom told her.
"You volunteering?" She found the paper she was looking for, and pushed her chair away from the desk as she felt a familiar movement in her abdomen. "Ohh."
"Are you alright?" Tom was at her side in a moment, an arm around her.
"Yeah." Anita glanced down at her pregnant stomach, and looked away hurriedly.
Tom placed one hand on his wife's stomach, and Anita tried not to flinch. She knew it was silly, but she was jealous of Tom. He seemed to be so connected to this baby already. And she felt nothing. At first, she'd put it down to just being in shock – she'd never planned to get pregnant. But now, it was six months later, surely the shock should be over? There was something wrong with her, there must be. She felt evil, almost. She had found herself thinking that it would be so much easier if she weren't pregnant; she had almost hoped that she'd lose the baby. What kind of mother wants her baby to die? But every time she felt a kick, she was reminded of how awful she was. Every time she saw herself in a mirror, or if she glanced down and saw her stomach, she could see it. And Tom was no help – she couldn't talk to him about it; he was so excited, he couldn't wait for the baby to be born. He wanted to do everything, think about names and decorate the nursery and buy clothes, everything that Anita didn't want to do. This baby was going to change her life, and she didn't want it to.
*~*~*
"See you tomorrow, yeah?" Diane said, kissing Ric as he was leaving.
"No, I was planning on missing it," Ric joked. "Diane, why are you even asking me that? Of course you'll see me tomorrow, I'm going to marry you tomorrow."
"I wanted to be sure." She kissed him again. "Say bye to Uncle Ric, then, Livie." Olivia obediently waved.
"I'll see you tomorrow at two." Ric hugged her.
"I'll be the one in the white dress." They kissed again, and only stopped when a car drew up, and Jess stepped out.
"Put her down, Dad!"
"She started it," Ric replied. Nevertheless, he moved away. "I love you – I'll see you tomorrow."
"I love you too. Bye!" Diane hugged him quickly, mindful of Jess' watchful eye.
"In broad daylight," Jess tutted, as Ric drove off.
"Jess, you sound like my mother." Diane led her inside.
"Wrong way around, mummy dearest," Jess giggled.
"Oh God, and she's not even drunk yet." Diane groaned theatrically, flopping down on the sofa. "You're early, by the way."
Jess glanced at her watch. "It's six o'clock."
"I asked people to come at eight." Diane got up, placed Olivia in Jess' outstretched arms, and went to make a drink.
"Okay, so I'm a teensy bit early," Jess conceded, following her future stepmother. "But come on, what else were you gonna do? Sit around and mope that Dad isn't here?"
Diane shot her a teasing glare. "No. For your information, Olivia and I were going to go to the park."
"Olivia won't mind if her favourite sister comes with her," Jess said, assuredly. "Will you, Livie?" Olivia giggled and reached out to grab Jess' hair. Jess squawked in pain as Olivia tugged hard. Laughing, Diane retrieved her daughter.
"You get used to that after a while. Ric reckons it's a phase – apparently you used to be a holy terror for it."
Jess smiled. "I wish he wouldn't tell the baby stories to my friends. And how do you manage to keep your hair long with her around?"
"The wonder that is the hair bobble," Diane replied, mock-seriously. "And, as I said, you get used to her after a while."
"No doubt you do." Jess glanced enviously at Diane and Olivia, who were smiling and giggling at each other. "You are lucky, Diane."
Diane laughed a bit self-consciously. "I know." She looked around. "I really am."
*~*~*
"So, looking forward to spending the rest of your life with Diane?" Alex asked, the moment that Ric opened the door. Ric jumped violently; Alex had been hidden in the shadows, and Ric hadn't seen him.
"God, Alex, most people say hello!" Ric spluttered, trying to catch his breath.
"Yeah, but I'm not most people."
"You can say that again." Ric hauled his bag through the door. "Where can I put this?"
"You can put it wherever you want… You may put it down here or in the guest room." Alex laughed slightly, and opened the door to the guest room. "In here."
"Since when were you such a grammar enthusiast?" Ric queried.
"Since I'm not working and Jess thinks that it's funny to buy me 'useful' gifts." Alex rifled through a drawer and pulled out 'GCSE English Revision Guide'.
"I should have tried that when Diane was on maternity leave," Ric commented.
"There's always next time," Alex suggested, sitting on the bed.
Ric dropped the bag. "Do you know something that I don't?"
Alex glanced at him in confusion for a few seconds, and then laughed. "Oh, no, I wasn't… no, I'm not saying she's pregnant! I'm just saying, you know, it'll probably happen sometime in the future, right?"
Ric shrugged. "We haven't talked about it."
"Yeah, but you're going to have kids, right?"
"Why, do you fancy your chances at godfather?" Ric queried.
"No, but I think Diane wants more children – in the future, I mean." Alex led the way into the kitchen.
"Why do you think that?" Ric accepted the beer Alex held out.
"Well, from what she's said, and what Jess has said…" Alex stopped speaking for a moment as he swallowed some pills. "Yeah, I just think that she doesn't want Olivia to be an only child. You should really be talking to her about this, though, Ric."
Ric shook his head. "I'll speak to her. I mean, I'd like more too, I think, but…"
"Talk to Diane." Alex swallowed another pill, and gulped down a glass of water.
"I will do." Ric glanced at him. "How's the… well, how's it all going with you?"
Alex sighed. "I wish I could say it's going well. But… it's just one of those things, I have good days and bad days. Today's a good day. Tomorrow… who knows?"
*~*~*
Diane, Olivia on her hip, hurried to answer the door. Jess was in the kitchen, trying to decide if there was enough alcohol, or if she should go and buy some more. Kath, Sandy, Lisa, and Chrissie were standing at the door, the four of them all looking a bit giggly, and all wearing pink feather boas. Diane burst out laughing at the mere sight of them.
"Hi!" Lisa squealed, wrapping a feather boa around Diane's neck. Olivia looked started as the pink feathers drifted past her, and buried her head in Diane's shoulder for comfort.
"Ooh, people!" Jess screeched, rushing into the hallway. Sandy presented her with another feather boa.
"Did you bulk buy these?" Diane queried, removing hers, and holding it up for Olivia to see.
"Kath got them cheap," Sandy replied.
Chrissie shared a look with Diane. "We're not asking," she informed her. "We think it's safer that we don't know."
Olivia started getting restless, and began holding out her arms to Kath. Diane, laughing, handed her over. "I guess when there's a lot of people, Mummy isn't so interesting, huh?"
"She's up late," Chrissie commented.
Diane nodded. "I know, but I thought you lot would wake her up, and I knew you'd all want to see her." She glanced at the baby, now playing a clapping game with Kath and Sandy, and smiled. "She's going to bed in ten minutes though."
"She's so cute, Diane!" Lisa enthused.
Diane smiled. "She's gorgeous, isn't she?"
"And her mummy's so modest," Kath teased.
Chrissie shrugged. "I think it's more like stating a fact. Olivia is a very cute baby."
"But not as sweet as Amanda, huh?" Jess queried.
"Of course not. No one is." Chrissie smiled at the mere thought of her little girl. "And this one," she added, placing one hand on her bump, "is going to be just as sweet as his big sister."
"His?" Lisa repeated. "It's a boy, then?"
"Oh, didn't I mention it?" Chrissie asked, innocently.
The others were raising an outcry at Chrissie's mock-innocent expression when the doorbell rang again. Diane glanced around the group, and wondered who was missing. Through the glass of the door, she saw black hair… Oh, of course. Anita. She answered the door quickly, and smiled at Anita. "Nice to see you."
"You too," Anita replied. "Sorry I'm late, but Tom's directions… God, they're hard to follow!"
Diane laughed. "Well, if they're anything like the directions he gives in theatre, I can imagine," she joked. Anita laughed nervously, and Diane smiled. "Don't be so worried. We're not going to eat you, you know."
Anita smiled self-consciously. "Yeah. I know… I'm just not very good with meeting people, you know, in social situations. Stupid really, I'm a psychiatrist," she added, chuckling. She wriggled out of her coat. "Where shall I put this?"
Diane was staring in undisguised amazement at Anita's stomach. "You're pregnant?"
A shadow covered Anita's face. "Yeah." She didn't want to think about that for now. She crossed her arms in front of her stomach, trying to hide the presence of the bump.
"When are you due?" Diane queried. "Chrissie's going to be mad at you, you know – I think she enjoys the attention of being the only pregnant woman."
Anita shrugged. "She can have the attention." Diane glanced curiously at her, but said nothing.
A scream was heard from the living room, and Diane rushed to investigate, Anita following. Diane laughed as she saw Olivia clinging tightly to a strand of Kath's hair. She gently detached the baby, and spoke to her. "I think it's bedtime for you, missy."
Anita was feeling uncomfortable; people weren't staring at her, but they were looking, and she knew that they were looking at her stomach. Diane glanced at her, and noticed how she looked. "Oh, this is Anita Campbell-Gore… oh wait, are you still Anita Forbes?"
"Either works."
"Okay then. These are Kath, Chrissie, Lisa, Sandy, Jess – she's Ric's daughter… oh, and this is my little girl, Olivia." Olivia squealed when she heard her name. "And she's going to bed now," Diane added. "I'll be back in a moment – feel free to break open the alcohol!" As she left the room, she heard Chrissie's groan of dismay that she couldn't drink, and saw Jess waving a glass of wine teasingly in front of her. "They're insane, Livie," Diane told her daughter, smiling.
*~*~*
Alex and Owen were sitting on the sofa, enjoying watching Zubin and Ric, both slightly the worse for wear, sniping at Tom, who had the upper hand, as he wasn't drunk. Alex hadn't been drinking – he couldn't with the pills he was taking. Tom, obviously, didn't drink, and Owen had promised Chrissie that he wouldn't drink.
"If I remember correctly, her exact words were 'You got me in this condition, so you're not going out and getting drunk when I can't,'" he told Alex.
"She sounds a right picnic," Alex replied. "If I were you, I'd stay well clear when she goes into labour."
Ric shook his head. "Trust me, you don't want to do that," he said, slightly unsteadily. "Women like it if you're there and being supportive."
"And Ric knows what he's talking about," Zubin said. "He's done the baby thing… how many times now?"
"Ten if you count Olivia," Alex put in.
"And how many different mothers?" queried Tom.
"A few." Ric shrugged. "Diane's the one that matters, though."
Zubin glanced around the assembled group. "Hmm… am I the only one who isn't married or engaged here?"
Alex shook his head. "I'm not."
"Or in a serious relationship?" Zubin amended his question.
Owen nodded. "Yeah."
"Don't worry, Zube. We'll find someone for ya," Ric assured him.
*~*~*
When Diane arrived back in the living room, she found Anita giggling with the others. She smiled in relief, and allowed Jess to pull her to the sofa and wrap the discarded feather boa around her neck.
"Alcohol?" asked Lisa, offering a bottle of wine.
"We're playing truth or dare," Sandy announced.
Diane laughed. "How old are we?"
"Ah, it's not how old you are, it's how old you feel," Anita informed her.
"Is that some kind of psychiatrist talk?" Jess queried.
"No, common sense," Anita retorted.
"Huh? What's that?" Jess giggled.
"Ignore them, Diane," Kath told her. "Sit down… now, then, you're the important one here, you go first. Truth or dare?"
Diane settled down and took a sip of her drink before answering. "I have no secrets. Truth, please."
"Damn! We had a good dare prepared as well," Chrissie sighed. "Ah well." They conferred for a few moments, and eventually Chrissie spoke again. "Right. How many blokes from the hospital have you slept with, and who are they?"
Diane laughed. "I might have guessed. Okay." She thought for a moment. "Three. And I'm sure you can all guess who they are."
"Ric," Kath suggested. Diane nodded.
"Danny," Sandy put in.
"Steve," Chrissie finished.
"Maybe I should be worried that you got those right so quickly," Diane commented. "You know too much about my life." She glanced around the group. "Chrissie's turn."
"Thanks," Chrissie laughed. "I'm too lazy to do a dare, so truth, please."
"Out of all the blokes in Holby – not including Owen – who do you think is the nicest?" questioned Lisa.
"Nicest-looking, or nicest personality?" Chrissie asked, confused.
"Nicest looking, of course!" Lisa replied. "Go on… who?"
Chrissie considered. "Can I choose someone who's left?"
"Sure," Lisa agreed.
"Okay then. If I can't choose Owen, then Alex is quite cute." A chorus of voices agreed with her, and Jess smirked.
"He's mine, you know."
"Oh, don't worry, you're safe. I'm happy with Owen, I wouldn't do anything stupid… well, not again, anyway," she added, smiling slightly.
"What did she do before?" Anita whispered to Lisa.
"Slept with another man," Lisa whispered, "When she was engaged to Owen… there was a load of confusion about who Amanda – that's her daughter – who the father was, and Owen chucked her out. They got back together when Manda was born, though."
Anita hadn't realised that Chrissie had a baby already… she didn't look like a motherly person. Maybe motherhood didn't change people all that much. Perhaps… perhaps it wouldn't be that bad. She looked down at her stomach, wanting desperately to feel connected to the baby inside of her. But, as usual, she felt nothing. She felt the tears coming, and excused herself quickly.
*~*~*
"So, are you nervous?" Zubin asked Ric.
"About what?" Ric asked, breezily.
"Marrying Diane tomorrow," Owen reminded him.
Ric shrugged. "I'll probably be nervous nearer the time."
"He's had a lot of practice," Tom put in.
"Very true," Ric agreed. "And I've been wanting to marry her for about ten years."
"Ten years?" Owen repeated, confused. "She's only worked at Holby for two or three years, surely?"
"They go way back," Zubin informed Owen, who nodded.
"I was terrified before I married Chrissie," Owen commented. "I wasn't worried about the whole marriage, it was the wedding that worried me. I thought I'd trip or faint or something."
Ric laughed. "My first wedding, my nose started bleeding just as I was saying my vows." He took another sip of his beer. "Omen, I suppose."
"Really?" Alex queried. "How long ago was that?"
"Oh, about thirty years ago," Zubin said, airily. "I was the best man."
"So you got married for the first time before Diane was even born," Tom remarked.
"Age doesn't matter, Tom." Ric paused. "Of course, to those who are slightly more grey, it might make more of a difference."
Tom glared, but couldn't think of how to reply. Ric and Zubin high-fived.
*~*~*
"Anita?" Diane asked, softly, as she walked past the door to the bathroom, and saw Anita standing there, looking dismally out of the window.
"I'm fine," Anita said, automatically. She blinked away the tears that had clouded her vision, and smiled falsely.
"You're not, you've been crying." Diane passed some tissues over, and sat on the edge of the bath. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing." Anita blew her nose and made a move to leave, but Diane grabbed her arm.
"Are you sure? We haven't done anything to offend you, have we?" She sounded anxious, and Anita was quick to reassure her.
"No, it's not you, it's just… I'm a bit emotional lately, that's all."
Diane nodded. "Yeah, I was a wreck when I was pregnant too. Ric used to mention babies and watch me well up… mind you, he did something right, I'm marrying him," she joked.
Anita gave a weak chuckle, but sobered quickly. "Diane, when you were… pregnant… did you ever have any doubts?"
"I suppose so." Diane thought. "What do you mean? I used to worry about Ric not being Olivia's father."
Anita shook her head. "No, I mean about… about having the baby. Did you ever not want her?"
Realisation dawned on Diane's face. "Oh God, you don't want your baby?"
"I didn't say that." Anita looked away. Diane was a mother, she loved Olivia, and now she must surely think that Anita was a horrible person.
"Have you told Tom about this?" Diane asked, gently.
Anita glanced at Diane, and only saw sympathy in her eyes. "You don't seem too shocked, Diane."
Diane smiled. "It takes a lot to shock me. So, have you told Tom?"
"No." And then, much to Anita's amazement, she found herself telling Diane everything. Once she'd started talking, she couldn't stop, and soon Diane had heard how excited Tom was, how Anita wanted desperately to feel some connection to the baby, how she couldn't quite believe that it was real, how she knew her life was going to change, how she didn't want it to, how she hated seeing her stomach, how she didn't want to even think about the baby, and how she just knew that she would be a terrible mother, and it would be so much better if the baby wasn't born. All the worry of the past six months finally came to a head, and she was crying and laughing and talking at the same time.
Diane didn't try to interrupt her, or stop her in any way. She let her talk, and it was such a relief for Anita. And, eventually, when the stream of words had run down, Diane didn't say anything. She handed her some more tissues, and they sat in silence for a while. After a few moments, Diane spoke.
"It's not your fault, you know."
"But… I'm meant to love it, and I don't. Chrissie obviously loves her baby, you can see it, she's always touching her stomach, she's got this smile on her face, like she's got a secret or something."
Diane considered. "That's true. But Anita, when Chrissie was having Amanda, I don't think she felt like she does about this baby." Diane paused, thinking about how she was going to say the next bit. "How can you feel connected to something that you've not even met yet? It's different for Tom, he only has to think about the baby when he wants to, but you have it with you all day every day."
"But I don't want to. I don't think I can do this." Why didn't she want to? She wasn't sure. "I'm always in control, and I'm not now."
"But once the baby's born, then you'll get into a routine, and you can take control again." She looked at Anita. "It won't be the same as before. But it might even be better. You need to give the baby a chance. And you need to talk to Tom."
She left the room, leaving Anita to think.
*~*~*
Nearly ten minutes later, Anita reappeared downstairs. Diane had warned the others not to ask any questions, and Anita sank down into the sofa almost unnoticed. Jess smiled at her. "We're still playing truth or dare. Do you want to go next?"
Anita shrugged. "Yeah, why not?" She paused. She'd had enough of telling the truth for one night. "Dare."
"Finally!" Chrissie sighed. "No one's chosen dare yet." They discussed it for a few moments, and eventually Chrissie spoke again. "Prank-call Tom."
Anita laughed. "Is that it? Easy." She found her phone and dialled. After a few moments, she hung up and looked around ashamedly. "I forgot to with hold my number. He answered and said 'Hi Anita'."
Everyone laughed, and Anita found herself joining in. She let herself forget about her problems for a little while, and began to enjoy herself.
*~*~*
At Alex's, the chatter had started to run down, and Tom had fallen asleep. Ric, ignoring Owen and Alex's protests, picked up a marker pen and began drawing on his face. Soon, Tom was sporting a beard, glasses, and had the word "furby" written on his forehead.
"Furby?" Zubin repeated.
Ric nodded. "You know, one of those owlish toy things, they make noises and sing and stuff?"
Owen laughed suddenly. "Katie had one. I can see the resemblance, actually."
Alex stared at Tom, squinting slightly. "I suppose." He tilted his head sideways. "Yeah. Definitely."
Tom started to snore, and Owen laughed again. "Yep. Definitely a furby."
The sound of laughter woke Tom up. "What have I missed?" he mumbled, yawning.
"Oh, nothing," Ric relied, innocently.
Tom glanced at his watch. "It's very late. I should be getting back home." He stood up and stretched.
Owen looked at the clock and swore. "I said I'd pick Chrissie up at midnight."
"Cinderella, eh?" Zubin laughed.
"Chrissie gets cranky if she doesn't get her sleep… mind you, not that she needs any help with crankiness half the time," Owen added, smiling. They laughed, and dispersed into the silence of the night. Alex shut the door, and Ric flopped back onto the sofa.
"God, I need to sober up a bit," Ric mumbled. "Diane'll kill me if I've got a hangover tomorrow."
Alex laughed. "You do realise that Diane is probably drinking herself silly at this very moment?"
"Good point." Ric laughed, and poured himself another beer.
*~*~*
"'Night!" Diane called, as Lisa and Sandy stumbled into a taxi. Chrissie had been picked up ten minutes earlier, and Anita kept announcing that she really should leave, but hadn't moved from the sofa. Her eyes were closing, and Diane didn't think that it was too safe to let her drive. Not that Diane, Kath or Jess could have driven her – all were oh-so-slightly drunk.
Diane went back into the living room, careful not to disturb Anita, and began collecting the empty glasses and bottles. "How much did we drink?" she mumbled, as she carried the glassware through into the kitchen. Jess greeted her with a groan.
"What's the matter?" Diane queried.
"Dishwasher's full. Does that mean I have to wash up by hand?"
Diane laughed. "No, that means you have to wait until it's run through its cycle, and then you put the rest of the stuff in."
"Ah," Jess nodded. "Clever."
"Just don't tell your dad. He actually does wash up by hand when the thing's full."
"Well, he always was a bit of an idiot," Jess agreed.
"Who's an idiot?" Kath asked, wandering into the kitchen.
"Dad," giggled Jess.
Kath smiled. "That's certainly true. I'm sure no man in his right mind would marry Diane…"
"Oi!" Diane protested. "You're not very nice when you're drunk, you know that?"
Kath laughed. "And you're an angel, of course."
"Well, at least I don't insult my friends." Diane sat down on a chair and groaned. "Oh God, I'm gonna have such a hangover tomorrow."
"Never mind," Jess reassured her. "You had fun tonight, though, right?"
"Yeah," Diane agreed. "I think we all did… well, almost all of us," she added, glancing through the doorway at Anita.
Kath followed her glance. "What's the matter with her?"
Diane shook her head. "I can't tell you. I don't think she'd be too pleased."
Jess looked at her watch, and started towards Anita. "Should we wake her up?"
"What's the point?" Diane asked. "She can stay here."
"Do you realise how uncomfortable she'll be in the morning after sleeping on a sofa?" Jess asked. "I'll wake her."
Anita yawned and stirred. "No need… I'm awake." She struggled to get up. "I'll get going." She glanced around. "Everyone else gone?"
"Owen picked Chrissie up, and Lisa and Sandy just got a taxi," Kath explained.
"Okay." Anita yawned. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."
Diane followed her to the door. "Are you okay?"
Anita smiled. "Better after talking about it. Thanks, Diane. Have fun tomorrow."
"Oh, I will," laughed Diane. "I can't wait."
*~*~*
"Ric!" Alex called, shaking him. "Ric, wake up!"
Ric mumbled something and rolled over.
"Zubin, come and help me!" Alex said, panicked. "Ric, for God's sake, get up, you're gonna miss your wedding if you're not careful!"
Zubin wandered over lazily. "Relax, Alex. He'll be up."
"Zubin, it's eleven o'clock, he's getting married at two!" Alex shook Ric again. "Get up!"
Ric groaned. "My head…"
"I'll get you some aspirin if you'll get up!" Alex was feeling desperate. "Ric, if you're late, Diane will kill me. Actually kill me, okay? So please, just get up!"
Ric sat up slowly. "Would Diane really kill you, do you think?"
"You haven't heard her threats," Alex laughed. "Most of them involved scalpels."
"Ouch," Ric sympathised, as Zubin laughed. "Don't worry, I'll get up."
*~*~*
"My hair looks weird," Diane commented, glancing at herself critically in the mirror.
"It looks lovely," Jess reassured her. "You have great hair."
Diane thanked her, but nevertheless began brushing her hair again. Kath grabbed the brush from her hand. "Diane, if you brush your hair any more it'll fall out. It looks wonderful."
"Thanks." Diane looked down at herself. She had to admit that she did look quite nice. After many protests, Ric and Jess had finally convinced her to wear a white dress. Diane had spent a good amount of time telling them that she shouldn't, that she wasn't exactly innocent, Olivia was proof of that. In the end, she had given in just for some peace and quiet. Besides, if they thought it was okay, that was all that mattered.
"Doesn't Mummy look nice, Olivia?" Kath asked the baby, who lunged at Diane and reached for her hair.
"Oh no you don't!" Diane told her, clutching her hands. She caught sight of the clock. "Oh God, we've got to go."
"Nervous?" Jess queried.
Diane shivered slightly. "A bit." She stood up and looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, thinking. This was it. She was finally going to marry Ric. They would be together forever. Nothing could change that.
*~*~*
"She's here," Zubin hissed, racing up to Ric. He glanced around the assembled group – Chrissie, Owen, Tom, Anita, Ed, Tricia, Robbie, Mubbs, Sandy, Lisa…
"Wow, Diane's finally on time for something," Alex joked.
Ric took a deep breath as Diane walked in. She smiled shyly at him, and he knew that everyone staring at her was embarrassing her. He smiled back at her, and suddenly all her nerves fell away. What did she have to be nervous about?
He held out his hand, and she closed her fingers around it, feeling safe and secure. "You look amazing," Ric whispered.
"You look pretty good yourself," she replied softly.
The ceremony was a blur to Diane. She had imagined it so often that it seemed like a dream. It was only when she was repeating "'Til death us do part" that she realised it was actually happening. She was actually marrying Ric. She had to fight the urge to cry with pure happiness.
Ric saw the tears in her eyes, and squeezed her hand gently. He could feel tears in his own eyes, but refused to let them fall. She would never forgive him if he cried. He had wanted Diane to be his wife for so long. And now she was.
"I now pronounce you man and wife."
Their eyes met, and suddenly Diane felt a tear slipping down her cheek. But she was smiling so hard that her face felt as though it would break in two. "I love you," she whispered, as Ric leaned in to kiss her, and they both laughed slightly as their friends began cheering – well, as Chrissie started cheering, and everyone else joined in. They were clinging together, laughing and crying at the same time, and soon even the cheering was just a blur to them. There was no one else in the room. They were flying, far away from the world, among the stars.
*~*~*
Ric and Diane stood close together, not really dancing, but swaying in time to the music. It was nearing the end of the evening, and people were starting to disperse, but they wanted to stay there forever.
"Did you have fun last night?" Ric queried.
"I suppose… I don't like being apart from you, though," Diane replied, enjoying being so close to him.
He kissed her hair gently. "Neither do I. But I promise you, if you want, I'll stay with you forever from now on. I love you."
"I love you too," she whispered, tilting her head upwards and kissing him.
Kath and Zubin watched them. "They look happy," Kath commented.
"Yeah. I wonder if I'll ever have that," Zubin mused.
"Me too," Kath agreed. She glanced at Zubin, a new idea hitting her suddenly. He looked at her at the same moment. Both looked away shyly, but, when Diane glanced towards them a few moments later, they seemed to have overcome their shyness.
"Ric…" she nodded towards them.
He smiled. "Weddings bring out this sort of thing, don't they?"
She nestled a bit closer to him. "I'm glad for them. I think Kath's been very lonely recently."
"Zubin has too." Ric tightened his hold on Diane. "I'm so glad I've got you, you know. It can be pretty lonely, knowing that you're getting older and don't have anyone to be with."
"Well, you are getting on a bit…" Diane teased.
"Do you want to be added to my list of divorces?" he asked, jokingly.
She smiled at him. "No. Never. I love you – I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
"Nor do I," Ric replied seriously. "I love you too."
*~*~*
"That was fun," Anita commented, leaning back in her seat and yawning. They were driving home, it was a little past midnight, and she was exhausted.
"Yeah," Tom agreed, absently. It was one of those comments that you couldn't really answer.
"Suppose the next wedding now will be Josie's," Anita continued.
Tom turned to face her. "What? What's she said to you? Who's she seeing? She's not old enough to get married, for God's sake…"
Anita stopped him. "Tom, for Heaven's sake, I was just saying. Age-wise, I meant. I think Josie's single at the moment."
"Thank God." Tom breathed a sigh of relief and momentarily closed his eyes.
"Open your eyes, Tom, you're driving," Anita told him. "And since when did you become the over-protective father? Jo is a grown woman, she can do what she wants."
"She's my daughter."
"She's twenty-one, nearly twenty-two." Anita glanced in the rear-view mirror. "Does that car want to run us off the road?"
"I can handle it."
"I didn't say you couldn't." Nevertheless, Anita found herself clutching the door handle as the car began going faster. "Tom, you're going too fast."
"The car behind us…"
Tom's voice was drowned out by Anita's scream as there was a loud crash, and their car was thrown sideways. Everything blurred… one moment they were sitting in the car, driving along. The next, they were upside down, the right way up again, sideways, the wrong way… But then the car settled. For a moment, Anita thought it would be okay. She could see Tom, he was moving, she was awake, and everything was fine. But then she heard a sickening crunch – she wondered what it was. But she felt so tired… she couldn't think about that now. She just wanted to sleep… for a little bit… then she'd go and find help. But she could sleep for a while first.
And so she closed her eyes.
