Disclaimer: Don't own them, never will. If I did the storylines would be SOOOO much different.
A/N: Please remember that in my universe, Ben is dating Suzie, and Evan is still single, and unattached... oh, and the bomb didn't happen, so Jo's still alive and PJ's heart is still intact... Grace didn't die, Tom isn't in danger of dying, there aren't all these new, weird characters who I can't quite make work (probably because I've had to stop watching religiously for three reasons- I hate the fact that the writers broke PJs heart all over again, I've had too much school work, and I don't like the whole Jonesy/Susie thing. . . wonder why that is. . . )
softballover: I GOT MORE, just for you. . .
Tammy: Actually, I can just leave it like that. . .It's good that you love it, but atleast this is going quicker than MBOC
Em: You have the same name as me.
"Jones, I believe you remember you're old superior?" Evan continued to stare at Tess, dumbfounded. Tom got up out of his chair once more, surprising even himself when he left the room.
"Tess?"
"Evan."
"Are you real? Am I dreaming?" Evan knew why she was here. That had been the reason behind the mysterious phone call, but he wasn't sure that he expected her to turn up.
"No, I'm real. Pinch me if you need to, but not too hard." She knew that they had to address the issue of her daughter at some stage, so now was as good as any. "I've been bruising easily since Kelly was born."
"Why didn't you call to tell me, tell us?" Jonesy didn't even try to keep his voice down. He may have made the first step, but that didn't mean that he wasn't annoyed at her. "God Tess, it's been how long since she was born? Six months?" He didn't really understand why, but he was yelling. "Not even a card to tell us. . . I thought we were supposed to be your friends."
Tess was worried. She'd never seen Evan this annoyed before. Or maybe she had, it just hadn't been aimed at her so she wasn't disturbed at the time. She knew why she hadn't contacted them, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to tell him all of the reasons. She wasn't sure that she herself wanted to know them.
"It was hard Evan. Too hard to admit that maybe I had made a wrong choice." She paused and wiped at the tears that were making their way slowly down her cheeks. "Too hard to admit that perhaps you were right, and that perhaps I should have stayed and had mum live with me here in Mt Thomas." She took a deep breath, not quite sure how he'd handle what she had to say next. "It was too hard to admit that the day I left, even though I took the most important thing in my life with me, I left behind the next most."
Evan was a bit puzzled by this. "Your job?"
Tess almost hit him over the head for his stupidity. "No, idiot, although if you keep being a slow on the uptake, it might be come so." She paused, hoping that he got her drift. "I left behind you."
It was more than Evan had hoped for. He had gotten the idea when he rang that she had feelings for him, but he didn't know that they existed before she left Mount Thomas.
He was saved from further embarrassment by a knock on the door. It opened to reveal Susie looking a bit harassed.
"Chris is on the phone."
Tess' eyes opened in horror. She picked up the telephone on Tom's desk, and spoke quietly for a few moments:
"Chris, what's wrong?...... Have you tried...... Ok, I'll be there in five. See you soon." She hung up the phone, and picked up her jacket from on Tom's desk. "I've got to go Evan. Something's wrong with Kelly." Evan's look mirrored her own. He stopped her until she continued. "She won't stop crying. Hopefully its just that she woke up and is in a strange place and can't find her mum."
Chris was going out of her mind. It had been a long time since she had last babysat someone so young. She regretted that she had to ring Tess, but the small amount of staff that she did still have were getting a bit annoyed at the screaming child. If Kelly had stayed quiet a bit longer, all would have been peachy.
She was alerted to Tess' arrival by the sound of the door slamming, followed by hurried footsteps.
"Shh, baby girl. Mummy's here." The younger woman cooed to her daughter. "What's wrong hey? Did you miss me?" Tess knew that she wouldn't get an answer from her daughter but she always talked to the small child that way. "What happened?"
Chris tore her eyes away from the crying child to talk to her mother. "We were talking..." at Tess' amused look she changed her story. "Ok, so I talked, she looked on in wonder." She let out a small laugh. "And then I gave her a bottle, and she seemed happy." She smiled sadly. "And then Ben came in, and I was talking to him, and she started crying."
Tess' maternal instincts took over. However, for once she was able to control them with her brain. She knew Chris. Chris wouldn't have done anything to hurt her daughter; she had seen that it was love at first sight just by looking at the expression on the older woman's face when they had arrived. "Does she have a temperature? Or been throwing up?"
"Well, she regurgitated a bit after she finished her bottle, but they all seem to do that when they feed." Kelly's cries had turned more into sobs, but there were still tears running down her peachy cheeks. "Maybe you should take her up to see Dr Mel." (A/N: Is Mel in BH or is she in some other show I watch?)
Tess considered what Chris had said. It could all be nothing, but she didn't want to take any chances. Although Josh hadn't shown any inclination to want partial custody of their daughter, and although she knew that no court would grant him custody of Kelly at such a young age, the irrational, non-cop part of her thought that it was still a possibility that he might do so at some stage in the future.
"I think I will, just to be sure." Tess took her small daughter across to her capsule, careful of her head. She was headed out of the door when Chris noticed something she hadn't earlier.
'Oh my God.' She thought to herself before trying to catch Tess' attention. "Umm Tess. . ." She called, waiting until the ex-cop had turned to face her before continuing. "How old is Kelly?"
"About 27 weeks." Tess was mystified. "Why?"
Chris moved towards Tess. "See the way she's sticking her fist in her mouth?" Seeing Tess nod, she continued. "I think she's started teething."
A/N: Ok, so Tess was a bit dumb in the end, but I was originally going to have something wrong with Kelly, just I couldn't make it work.
A/N 2: Well, for those of you who were looking for some interaction between Evan and Tess, you're going to have to wait a bit longer. However, I can assure you that when it does happen (and it should be soon) the fluff will be good!