Chapter 16: A Step Forward

The following morning Emma was finally allowed home, although the hospital staff wanted to keep Kane in for another day or so. She was glad to be home again, back in her own room with her family and her son and the two dogs around her. Allee came round at once to see her and the two of them had quite a long talk. Allee was very shocked, and not too happy, to hear that Emma was going to continue seeing Kane after everything that had happened, but she accepted that he made her friend happy and that Dani didn't have a problem with it any longer.

When Allee had left, Emma asked Jess to look after Jordan for an hour or so and made her way next door to the Caravan Park. She had had a long talk with her mum and Jess the previous night, when Benny had taken the dogs out, and now there were a few people she needed to see.

"Come in!" Shelley called as she knocked on the kitchen door. When Emma entered, she found Shelley cooking and Dani helping her.

"Hi Emma," Dani turned round and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Well enough." Emma replied, returning the smile. "Although it feels a bit strange being out of hospital at last."

"It's good to have you back among us," Shelley told her, as she finished draining the carrots. "And how is…" she hesitated briefly. "Kane?"

"He will be coming out tomorrow or the day after, although he has to take it easy for a few days," the young girl told them. "Actually, that is sort of why I came. I just wanted to thank Dani, for doing what she did. I know from my own experience that it must have taken a lot of courage to do that, to face my family and yours and to let Kane stay in the Bay after what he did to you. And…all I can say is thank you. If it hadn't been for you and Kirsty, Kane and I probably wouldn't have stood a chance of working things out."

"It was no problem," Dani shook her head. "It still affects me sometimes… remembering what he did to me, but seeing you two together helps quite a bit. As does being with Josh, I know that he'll look after me. Besides, anyone can see that you two love each other and so you should be together. What he did to me is all in the past and I do know that he is sorry for it and we all have to look to the future now. That is what I've realised, dwelling on the past does no one any good. I want to move on, and this gives me the chance."

"That is a very mature way to look at things, Dani," Shelley smiled at her oldest daughter. "Your father and I may have doubts about this, but it is ultimately your decision. Maybe Kane is sorry and maybe he has changed. I suppose we will never know unless we give him a chance. How do your family feel about it all, Emma?"

"My mum is a bit wary of him," Emma admitted. "And so is Jess, which I can't blame them for. They was just beginning to trust him, we all were, and it will be quite a while before either of them are able to trust him again. But they can see that I love him and they know that there is little they can say to make me change my mind, I am an adult and a mother myself after all. And of course they both trust my judgement. But Benny still isn't happy, says that he won't have Kane in the house. We've all agreed, Kane too, that it would be best if he doesn't come to the house for now. Hopefully Benny will come round in time."

"If you really are serious about each other," Dani pointed out. "Then he might not have much choice."

"That's true," Emma agreed. "But Kane is eager to avoid any unpleasantness. After all, Benny is my big brother and he has always been overprotective, especially since my father left. It's just the way he is and I can't blame him for not wanting me to get involved with Kane. We'll just take things slowly and see how our relationship develops."

"That is the best way," Shelley agreed. "After all, you have been through a lot recently. And it can't have been easy finding out about Kane."

"It wasn't," Emma shook her head and accepted the glass of juice that Dani handed to her. "It brought back a lot of issues about my own rape that I've never really dealt with. It's just that…I fell in love with Kane because he was nice and kind and gentle and he really got on well with Jordan and I trusted him, and then suddenly I discovered that he was no better than the monster who raped me. And I hated him for lying to me, hated myself for loving him when I could completely understand everything that Dani must have gone through, but I couldn't stop loving him. I still love him, even though my feelings have changed, even though he is a totally different person from the Kane I thought I knew. But I'm going to have counselling with Flynn, Kane is going to attend some sessions with me and I'm going to deal with what happened to me back then and we'll start over again."

"Well I don't know about the other people in the Bay," Dani said sincerely. "But I am glad that I could help and I honestly wish you the best of luck. Maybe…maybe you and Kane could come out with a group of us sometime. We could go to Yabbie Creek, see a movie, have a meal. We could ask Kirsty and Seb and Jade and Nick. Maybe Allee and Duncan will come too."

"I'd like that," Emma smiled. "Thank you Dani. And thank you, Shelley. I won't forget this."

*********

Although it was boring being in hospital, Kane was too relieved and happy to really be bothered. He had been so sure that he had lost Emma because of his foolish mistake and knowing that she still loved him and was willing to give him another chance, not to mention Dani and most of the Alexander and the Sutherland family. Despite loving her, Kane really hadn't wanted another situation like it had been with him and Kirsty. He had cared for the young girl, although his feelings for her hadn't been nearly as intense as his feelings for Emma now, but he had known all along that their relationship probably wouldn't have stood a chance of lasting in the long run.

"Hello Kane," Kirsty suddenly appeared in the doorway, a bag of grapes in her hand. "I was just passing and I thought I'd drop in, see how you were."

"It's good to see you." Kane wasn't lying, despite what had happened between them in the past, he still liked Kirsty and he was glad that they were still able to be friends. "I'm feeling much better, the doctors hope that I will be able to go home tomorrow. But it gets lonely at times."

"I'll keep you company," Kirsty offered. "I haven't got anything else to do."

"If you like," Kane shrugged and then smiled at her and patted the side of the bed. "Sit down. Emma will be here soon, but you can stick around until then if you like." The young girl nodded and sat down on the edge of his bed, handing him the grapes.

"Emma told me how you and Dani defended me to your parents and Benny," he said finally, after a moment or two of awkward silence. "Thank you, Kirsty. That was good of you."

"There wasn't much else I could do," Kirsty glanced down at the white bedcovers. "I know that you've changed, that you are sorry for…what you did to Dani. Of course I'm going to defend you, you're my friend."

"It is still good of you, after everything that happened between us," Kane told her. "To be honest, I thought that you would be happy to see me and Emma split up."

"No!" The young girl was shocked to hear that. "Kane, I'd be lying if I said that seeing you and Emma together doesn't upset me a little and I'd also be lying if I said that I didn't still have some feelings for you. But I can see that you love her and I just want you to be happy. And we can still be friends, can't we?"     

"Of course we can," Kane took her hand and gave it a friendly squeeze. "Kirst, what we had together was good and I will never forget that. And I'll always have some feelings for you, but our relationship would never have worked out in the end, it would have hurt all of your family and I didn't want that to happen. I love Emma now and I would never do anything to hurt her or her family, but you'll always be a good friend to me, no matter what happens. And I meant what I said earlier, I'll always be grateful to you and to Dani for standing up for me, for allowing Emma and I to have a second chance."

"She's a nice girl," Kirsty nodded thoughtfully. "And I know that the rest of my family like her as much as I do. This might sound like a funny thing to say, but don't hurt her, Kane."

"I'd never do anything to hurt her," he said at once, shaking his head. "Not again. I love her, Kirst; I really love her. And when I thought that I was going to lose her, I…"

"I know," she nodded. "I saw you sitting outside the hospital just before you collapsed, remember?" Kane thought about it for a second and then nodded too. "Kane," she continued after a moment. "While we are on the subject, I have just one question. And I want you to promise to give me an honest answer, because that's what friends do."

"Alright."

"You already said that you still had some feelings for me," Kirsty said quietly, not looking at him, "which is only natural, even though we know that we couldn't be together even if Emma wasn't in the picture. But my question is, do you love Emma more than you loved me?"

"I love Emma in a very different way," Kane said after a moment of silence. "With you it was the thrill of falling in love for the first time, in some ways the danger of knowing that your parents wouldn't approve and of course you are nice and funny to be with. But being with Emma and Jordan and her family makes me feel complete. I like having responsibilities, I want to be there to look after and protect them. She's mature and levelheaded and I love the way she is so strong, even after everything she has been through, and the way she is so devoted to Jordan. I did love you once, Kirst, but things have changed and Emma is the sort of woman that I can see myself spending the rest of my life with. I'm sorry if I…"

"No," Kirsty said quietly, finally looking at him and smiling sadly. "I knew what you would say, just like I know that it's over between us, but I guess I just needed to hear you say it. It's going to take time to get used to you being with someone else, but if I can't be with you myself…then Emma would definitely be my next choice for you. I'm just glad that you've been able to move on, that you've found someone you really want to be with."

"I have," Kane said firmly. "Thank you again, Kirst. Thank you for understanding and not being angry. And just remember that you will always be a special friend to me."

Suddenly the door opened and they both turned towards the doorway. Emma came in, with Jordan clinging to her shoulder.

"Hey Kirsty!" If she was surprised, she hid it well. "I wasn't interrupting anything was I?"

"No, not at all," Kane said at once. "I was just thanking Kirsty for doing what she did yesterday."

"Good," Emma smiled at the younger girl. "I went to see Dani and Shelley this morning and they seem hopeful that things will turn out for the best. Here, do you want to hold Jordan for a minute?"

"Well I had better be going," Kirsty smiled at them both and left, shutting the door gently behind her. As soon as she had left, Emma kissed Kane gently.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "Better, I hope."

"Not bad," Kane slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. He liked having Emma and Jordan with him, felt like the three of them were a proper family. "I'll be glad to get home though." He paused and kissed the top of her head. "So," he said finally. "Tell me what happened with the Sutherlands."

Next chapter: With Kane by her side, Emma begins her counselling. Unfortunately, there is more bad news for the already troubled teenager.