Chapter Two

The caravan was deathly quiet. The children were now both finally in bed. KK was tucked in tightly on the top bunk with his photographs (taken with his own camera) lined up in special frames on the wall beside him. Lilly slept on the bunk below, her hair slightly tousled from the day's activities. At least her freshly washed face was clean for once. Lilly had a habit of getting dirty easily. Five minutes after a bath she would come running into the garden with soil on her face and in her hair. It was always a battle to get her clean.

Kane looked around thoughtfully from the sofa where he sat. He could put the TV on or maybe even the radio but he couldn't be bothered. The silence, however, was slowly getting to him. He remembered when he was a kid, if he had been locked out again, or was lying alone in bed, his body aching from the last beating, he would listen and in the distance he could hear the sea, slowly rocking back and forth like a gentle lullaby. He liked it, it made him feel less alone and would send him to sleep, dreaming of owning his own ship one day and travelling the whole world in it. He listened that night in the caravan and he could hear it very faintly but it didn't bring him any calm. Maybe only kids can find any safety in those sort of things.

He sighed, longing once again for home. Their home which they had worked hard to live in. All that time spent in dingy bedsits and apartments, watching cockroaches creep across the ceiling, all those days slaving at some dead-end job, one after another as they used to move around constantly, it was what they had dreamed of, what had kept them going, their very own home. Kirsty had always got a misty look in her eyes whenever they cuddled up close and planned it. And he had promised himself he would get it. No matter what it took he was going to get her that house. And he did.

It wasn't very big, certainly no mansion, but it was theirs.There were two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and dining room joined together and a tiny kitchen out back. The garden was just a few metres of lawn but it was big enough for the children to play in and that was all that mattered. They saved up for weeks to buy all the furniture they wanted which made it all the more satisfying when they got what they wanted. They decorated the walls with photographs and the children's drawings. It was as if the house was alive and everytime they left it, they left a little part of themselves there with it.

He loved the way he would come into work and find the house full of life, something was always going on, some argument or issue. Lilly would come running down the stairs waving some drawing or new possesion to show off to him. KK would be tugging on his leg, anxious to tell him some story from school. Kirsty would be in the living room, watching television or talking on the phone but she would always drop everything to come and give him a hug and a kiss, ask him how his day went and tell him about some cow who was winding her up, or who she had seen on the way home. In the evenings they would take the kids to the park, or stay in and watch the television. Night was the only time that things were quiet but it didn't matter because he would be holding Kirsty tightly, watching her fall asleep in his arms and listening to her breathing becoming softer. When you have spent your life trying to survive, when suddenly it all slots into place and becomes routine, you apreciate every moment. You would give everything to keep it that way. Kane had even gone to counselling, anger management, anything to get rid of the things that threatened his life with Kirsty and the kids.

He sighed again and looked down at his watch for the fourth time that evening. 8:30. Way too early to be hitting the sack but it had been a long day. Besides, there was no telling when Kirsty was going to return, she and Jade were meeting up after ten years, it could be late. He left the living room light on for her and went into the bedroom and began to get unchanged. When he took his top off, he caught sight of his back in the mirror. It was bad enough the scars that they had left on the inside, he also had these slash marks to remind him constantly. He could be who he wanted, the perfect father and husband, but no matter what it was always there to remind him, scratched on to his skin. There was no escaping where he came from, no escaping the past. He knew that, he only had to look into the mirror to see the Phillips in him. No amount of councelling could take it away. Returning to Summer Bay and battling to be accepted was going to be tough but it was nothing compared to the battle he had been fighting for years and finally won. The battle to accept himself.

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It hadn't been the teary, happy reunion both sisters had been expecting. Kirsty was shocked and angry as she walked away from her sister's home. Only four days ago the twins had spoken on the phone and Jade had been so excited about her coming. It had took a lot of persuasion to get her to that point. At first she had gone on about how she hadn't written the letter to force Kirsty into visiting and she should stay home with her husband and family. Then she had tried to get Kirsty to come alone and leave Kane behind. This had led to a huge argument, with Kirsty saying if she wasn't willing to welcome Kane then she wasn't willing to welcome Kirsty and maybe Jade hadn't moved on as much as she had first thought. Jade said this was not the case, she was just worried about Dani but of course Kane had a right to return to the bay, of course the children deserved to have grandparents and a loving family. She had promised to tell, or warn, the others about the 'Phillips arrival.

She couldn't the understand the way that Jade was acting. It wasn't like she didn't know they were coming. It wasn't like they had just took off and into the bay to wreck her life and wedding day. She folded her arms, holding on to her stomach tightly. Fear had nestled itself at the pit of it. If Jade had reacted with such shock and disgust, what were the others going to be like? This was going to be the biggest mistake of her life. Just when she and Kane had got through the councelling she was going to ruin it all. She had thought this was for the best, thought that it would be the final step but she had been wrong. So, so wrong.

"Wh...What are you doing here?" Jade had whispered sharply, panic evident in her widened blue eyes. "You're not supposed to be here yet!"

"We are only a day early, Jade. We thought we would set out today 'cos it's such a long way and we'd be travelling all day anyway."

"You can't be here!" Jade had said, close to tears. She had looked worriedly back into the dining room.

"Does it matter? It's only a day, for christ's sake!" She was getting annoyed now.

"Yes it does matter because I haven't....." Her voice trailed off, she saw the anger in her sister's eyes.

"You haven't what? Oh God, Jade. Please tell me you've told everyone."

Jade shook her head, biting down hard on her lip to hold back the tears. She had meant to tell them, she really had. It was just a question of finding the right moment. Finding the right moment to tell Dani that the man who had raped her was returning with her sister and their two children. Telling her father that his worst enemy, the person he was convinced was responsible for tearing his family apart was back in town. Telling her fiancee that his old flame was returning and was going to be at the wedding.

Voices floated in from the dining room and Seb called out, asking Jade who was at the door. "You have to go." She said to Kirsty desperately. "You have to go now."

"Why?"

"Because Dani and Scott are here. Please Kirsty just go!"

Jade breathed a sigh of releif and at the same time guilt filled her body. It gripped hold of her heart so strongly that she had to hold on to the kitchen table to steady herself. She hadn't planned it like this at all.

"Jade?" Seb was standing in the doorway, "Are you alright?" His eyes filled with concern.

"Yes." She quickly put on her smiley mask and let go of the table. "I'm fine."

"Who was that at the door?"

"Oh...It was.....It was just next door. They wanted to see if our television's working because they can't get any picture on theirs."

"Oh right." Said Seb, uninterested. "Come in here, Dani and Scott have got something to tell us."

She followed him back into the dining room, trying to look curious but secretly hoping that all this would be soon over and done with so she could figure out what to do. It was all such a mess and she knew it would have to be sorted out quickly before things got even worse. She would have to get the whole family together and break it to them. She could see all the rows breaking out in her head. If only she had time to tell them all individually like she had hoped but there was nothing to be done. That was the way it had to be.

"What is it then?" Seb asked, once Jade was sat down. "What's your big news?"

Scott put his arm around his wife's shoulder and looked down at her lovingly. Dani had grown more beautiful than she had been as a teenager. She was even more pretty when she was so happy. The happpiness made her glow. She pushed her red hair back behind her ears and grinned secretively at her sister and brother-in-law-to be. She looked up again at Scott, sharing their sweet secret again.

"You see....." She started, giggling, "The thing is......I'm pregnant!"

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Kirsty was getting madder and madder as she walked. Here they were, trying to stop all the secrets and they were lying and hiding again. She couldn't take it anymore. She had just as much right to be here as anyone else and she wasn't going to run back to the caravan and hide away. She spun around defiantly and marched back in the direction of where she had come, Jade's house.