Disclaimer: I don't own any of the regular characters. I own Kelly and the storyline. Oh, and if someone could tell me where I can buy a Jonesy, I'd be eternally greatful. But until that happens, I don't own him either pout
A/N: There's a big A/N at the end, so I'll let you read that instead.
Brindabella: I'm hoping that this is enough mushy stuff for you, and that you dont need any more.
jelly-belly-babe: its good that the idiotic comment by Jonesy went down well, i was worried as to whether anyone else would find it funny.
Chris looked over towards the blonde woman sitting at the bar. She knew she should probably go and comfort her, but hoped that in time, someone closer to Tess' heart would save her from the girly talk that neither of them really wished to have because neither of them had ever really been into the girly talks.
Chris turned back to the customer she was serving. She hoped that Jonesy would be back soon, because she was feeling guilty, and she didn't like the feeling.
Evan walked into the pub, searching for something or, more likely, someone. His day had been a roller coaster. There was no other word for it. He'd woken up, after another nightmare that featured Tess, this time discovering her and her newborn in a bathtub, red with their mixed blood.
Chris had made him pancakes for breakfast as a surprise, so he didn't have to grab something boring on his way out. He had to leave them half eaten because he had taken too long chatting to her. Then he had got to the station, and discovered that he didn't have any paperwork left over.
Jo and he had been sent out on Patrol, which was uneventful, which left the two of them talking about recent cases and television shows that one had missed and the other watched. Then he and Jo spent ten minutes waiting for lunches that weren't actually there. The two of them had bitched about various people at the station before he discovered Tess in the Boss' office.
Now he was finally able to return and see the woman he loved. Tom had given up trying to get him to work - anything he gave Evan to do would sit discarded until he was reminded several times, and even then his heart wasn't in the job like it usually way. Tom saw that Evan was worried about Kelly. Hell, he was, and he wasn't the one in love with the woman. Tess had left in a hurry, sounding worried. Tom's position at the station restrained him from going himself.
He spotted Tess sitting at the bar, bent forward. As he got closer he saw that she had been crying. His heart skipped a beat, for the child he never knew. He then noticed the baby capsule that was sitting on the bar beside her, obscured somewhat by her body.
"Tess?" He inquired carefully, after coming up behind her and seating himself on the stool next to hers, and directly in front of the capsule. He peered in and his heart skipped a beat, for a different reason this time. There was a normal, breathing, living baby girl. She stirred in her sleep and he felt a tug at his heartstrings. "What was wrong?"
Tess looked at him, sadly. "You're going to think that I'm a idiot and a bad mother." The small amount of alcohol that she had consumed for the first time in over a year had gone to her head, making her less reserved than she would have been usually.
Evan moved to reassure her. "I will withhold my judgement until I have heard everything." He said, moving his arm to her back, comforting her.
"Chris realised. She's teething." She replied, burying her head in her hands.
Jonesy sighed with relief. "I was worried." Tess looked at him disbelievingly. "Don't look so surprised Tess. I've loved her since she was born, probably even before."
"Why? You only just met her."
"Why? Are you that blind?" Before Tess could answer, he continued. "Don't answer that!" He laughed softly at his own joke and then went on. "I love you. I love her because she's your daughter. And because she deserves to have as many people love her as she can."
Tess was still feeling stubborn. "But she's another man's child."
"Don't you get it? I LOVE you Teresa Gallagher. She's your daughter. That's more than all the reason I need."
Tess' head shot up when she realised that he was talking in the present tense. She had expected to have to fight him a little, but it was nice to have life easy for a change and, she reasoned to herself, she deserved to have something easy for a change.
Evan sat lost in his world for a while, wondering how she would react, knowing that when she did gain her senses, he'd know... either because she'd launch herself at him, being the emotional person she sometimes was, or because he'd have to duck the various objects that might come flying at his head.
He was surprised, understandably, when she sat there, and tears began to stream down her face once again. She caught the worried look on his face and smiled. "I can't blame it on the hormones anymore can I?" He laughed, remembering the days that she had screamed at them for blaming everything on ranging hormones, and the days he had found her crying for no apparent reason.
Kelly began to stir, probably from the change in levels of voices near her. Jonesy looked at her with an expression so full of love that Tess smiled down on her small daughter and removed her from the capsule. "Would you like to hold her?" She asked, not knowing that it was the phrase he wanted to hear most... actually, there was another phrase, but it would leave her lips one day, and he'd be ready to catch it when it did.
Jonesy felt rather than saw the small weight of a child being placed in his arms. He had been worried about what he should do, but somehow it felt right, cradling a baby in his arms. He adjusted his elbow so it rested directly under Kelly's head. He looked down at her, and she silently opened her clear, blue eyes and smiled at him.
As Tess looked at the man she loved holding her child, she finally realised why Mount Thomas felt. It wasn't the town, it wasn't the houses, and it wasn't the station. It was the fact that these were the people she loved. These were the people who loved her. This was the man who would make her happy every day for the rest of her life.
"I love you." She whispered in his ear, surprising him, and making him jump. That was the phrase he needed to hear.
He turned and, using the arm that wasn't holding Kelly, he grabbed onto her arm and pulled her towards him.
"The feeling's mutual." He replied. Neither they, nor the others who were in the room, would ever be able to swear that they were sure who kissed whom first. They kissed in the middle of the most public place in Mount Thomas, and a cry went up from those who used to work with them and from those who had been annoyed by their inability to get together. They pulled away from each other, and Tess cast a radiant smile over the room. This was where she belonged; it was good to be home.
A/N: So that's it folks. It's all over! I have FINALLY finished a fic! As always, your reviews are welcome and encouraged. Jessica and Edgar are feeling proud of themselves, and looking rather smug. I think I'll let them feel like that for a day or two and then try to get them to work on Letters again. It's an uphill battle.