A/N: I see I still haven't satisfied you lot yet, so here's my final chapter. Hope it works for you all; It's longer and mushier anyway. And now my story is complete! Hooray! Thanks for the reviews jakc, em and bella, they've been awesome! Without further ado though, here is chapter 8 (the big one – hehe):

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Jonesy arrived at the station the next day a bit earlier than usual, hoping to catch a moment alone with Tess. As he walked in though, he saw he was the first one in. By the time it was ten o'clock, everyone had arrived but her. Then Jo walked in.

"Jo? What are you doing here," he questioned, "you're not rostered on today!"

"Yeah, Tess rang me last night and we swapped shifts".

"Is she alright?"

Jo frowned and replied solemnly, "she's just feeling a bit crook at the moment"

--

The next hour dragged by as Jonesy worried himself senseless over Tess. What was wrong? Had she told Josh about the baby? Was she sick or just miserable? He wished he could skip work to go see her...

"Jonesy," called Jo suddenly, emerging from Tom's office, "there's been an assault, gotta go to the hospital".

It was really perfect timing, he thought dejectedly. If Josh had returned just the day before, chances were he was at the hospital now and they would bump into him. Right now, Josh wasn't the one he wanted to see.

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"Hey," said Jonesy sweetly, flashing his broad smile at the young lady behind the counter who flushed brightly in return, "we're here to ask Mr Lankin some questions regarding his injuries. Do you know where we might find him?"

"Just down the hall, room no. 7" said the lady, pointing him in the right direction. She was curling her hair seductively around her finger and batting her eyelids at him. Grinning, he exchanged a humorous glance with Jo, and they both headed down the corridor.

--

They spent less than ten minutes talking to Mr. Lankin, who was quite uncooperative, before emerging from the room. Unfortunately for Jonesy, he walked right into Josh.

"!#$, not you," swore Josh heatedly, obviously not in a very happy mood, "whatever you've got to say to me, forget it. I'm not changing my mind".

Obviously Josh was on something (or perhaps was just deranged) because Jonesy and Jo had no idea what he was talking about.

"What the hell are you on about," taunted Jonesy at Josh' retreating back, watching as he turned around and came back.

"You mean she didn't tell you?" asked Josh snidely, taking their blank faces for a no. "Right, well, obviously Tess has some dodgy birth control pills because she's bloody pregnant isn't she?"

Jonesy's short fuse began burning up, and he was getting near the point of exploding.

"Not my problem anymore now though, 'cause I've left her," continued Josh, stupidly unaware of how close Jonesy was to throttling his neck, "should've done that ages ago".

Before Josh had time to blink, Jonesy had him pressed hard against the wall and was coming in for the kill. Lucky for Josh, Jo had quick reflexes and intervened.

"Jonesy no," she yelled at him, forcing him to relinquish his grasp on Josh, "he's a pathetic piece of trash, don't give him the satisfaction he wants". Josh, looking quite shaken, faked a confident smile and trudged away from them.

--

Jonesy knew Jo was right; Josh wasn't worth the time of day. He couldn't help the murderous thoughts though that kept running through his mind as they made their way out of the hospital and away from him.

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As they arrived at the Imperial to collect the lunches, Jonesy was still fuming. He'd always known Josh was a bastard, but he never thought Josh would be so cold as to walk out on Tess when she was pregnant with his child! She must be in a real mess at the moment...

They approached the bar and caught the eye of Chris' new recruit, Mark. "Hey Mark," said Jo brightly, quite opposite to the way Jonesy was feeling, "Chris around?".

"Yeah, parlour," he said, motioning with his head in the direction of the shut doors.

Jonesy approached first and barged his way through the doors. As he entered he froze, seeing Chris had a visitor with her. Tess had seen him enter and was now attempting feebly to wipe away her tears.

He and Chris quickly exchanged glances and she stood up, just as Jo entered. "Tess?" said Jo questioningly, just as Chris determinedly interrupted, "Jo, come help me with the lunches please".

Jo looked to be confused, but gradually she got the hint and followed Chris from the room, leaving him and Tess alone.

He made his way forwards and sat down opposite her in the chair Chris had just vacated. She didn't look up, but continued to wipe her eyes with her sleeve. How he wished he could take her in his arms and stomp away all her pain.

"Tess?" he whispered softly, tilting her chin towards him. His heart gave a huge wrenching jolt as he saw past her eyes and recognised the shadows hidden deep beneath. She was hurting.

Tess, aware that he was trying to read her thoughts, suddenly turned her head away and closed her eyes. "Go away" she muttered hoarsely.

He couldn't just go away though. Maybe that was how Tess dealt with her issues, but not him. He had to tell her.

"Jo and I just bumped into Josh at the hospital," he said, watching her as her sulk became a frown, "he told us..."

"Right, so you thought now was the perfect chance to make a move on me then?" she interrupted accusingly, glaring at him.

He knew she would react like this, she always did. It was time to tread very carefully now…

"Do you really expect I'd do that to you when you're in so much pain?" he said whole heartedly, deciding to let his heart do the talking, "I mightn't of liked Josh, but I'm sorry he's done this to you".

Unexpectedly, she didn't yell at him again but looked emotionally overrun as her lip quivered and her eyes began to water again. "Why are you here Evan?" she muttered through her sobs.

He was taken aback. "Why? Tess, I love you, and I care for you," he replied devotedly, spilling his heart to her, "I've accepted the fact that we can't be anymore than just friends though, I have to deal with that". She avoided his glance, but he could tell from the way she was breathing heavily that she was taking in every word. "I'm here as a concerned friend... nothing else".

The words hurt him like all hell to say, but he was gradually realising that she would never be his and it was about time he accepted that fact. He would never stop loving her though...

"Oh Evan, why are you so good to me? After everything, all the awful things I've said and done to you, you're still as good to me as ever..."

"What are friends for?"

"You've been more than a friend to me..."

She didn't hate him. That in its self was comforting to his aching heart. Maybe there was still hope for him yet.

"I'll always be here for you Tess, and the baby. I'd love it as if it were my own," he said, speaking each word true.

"But the baby, it's Josh's..."

"Doesn't matter; blood's not everything. Anyway, he... or she, is half you. How could I not love it with all my heart?"

This didn't have quite the desired effect, as she suddenly broke down into soft sobs and tears once more.

"I've been such an idiot!" she murmured, her voice still raspy, "I've been lying to you Evan..."

His heart skipped a beat. Every nerve in his body was suddenly tingling; whether from fear or excitement he didn't know. What was she saying?

"I'm so sorry Evan," she cried between sobs, developing the courage to face him again, "I... I have... I had, a husband, so I thought it was the easiest way, and you've got so much ahead of you, I couldn't tie you down... it seemed the sensible thing to do at the time."

What was she saying? She was blurting everything out so fast that it was hard to understand her. "Wait, Tess, slow down... what are you trying to say..." he said hastily, worried now she mightn't continue.

She stared at him defiantly and answered, "I lied Evan. I was on the pill very strictly with Josh. We hadn't... slept together for awhile so I stopped using it... then you came into the picture. I also found the condom you used, right after you left the house; it had split. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but now..."

She watched him expectantly, waiting for some sort of reaction. He didn't know how to react. Was she actually saying the child was his, or was he just imagining it?

"It's mine?" he managed to whisper, hardly daring to believe it in case he was just getting his hopes up as he usually did.

"It is," she answered, "no lies".

It was his. His child. Tess, the woman he loved and adored, was pregnant with their child. They were going to be a family.

Evan broke out into a grin and literally jumped out of his chair. "Tess, that's fantastic!" he cried ecstatically, snatching her up in his arms and swinging her around. To his joy, she laughed along with him and when he placed her down, he saw she was smiling wide the first smile he had seen from her in a very long time. Not for the first time, he noticed how beautiful she was. She was his dream.

Tess brought her arms down from his neck and entwined her fingers with his own. She leant her head gently against his forehead and exhaled slowly. Her breath was like ecstasy and it caused his whole body to convulse against his control.

"I know it's taken me forever to say it..." she breathed, her whisper barely audible if it weren't for the fact she was leaning so close to him, "I love you; always have".

He'd waited a lifetime to hear her utter those words. He'd always know it, but to hear her say it was pure magic that lifted his soul to new elevated heights.

"Tess," he whispered back, caressing her cheek softly with his fingers, "you've no idea how much it means to me to hear that..."

Suddenly, she closed the gap between them. Almost timidly, she brought her lips to his and gave him the longest, sweetest kiss he'd ever imagined possible. Her lips were soft and luscious and everything he had ever remembered they were. Some form of electric energy jolted through him at her touch, igniting every sense in his body. Only she could do this to him.

Shyly, she pulled away though, gently biting her bottom lip and taking a sudden interest in the floor. He lifted her chin again and looked directly into those familiar crystal blue eyes he so often got lost in. There was just one thing left to do to complete his fairy tale ending...

"I love you so much," he breathed nervously, feeling slightly giddy, "I want to live the rest of my life with you by my side".

Her eyes widened as realisation started sinking in.

"I want us to raise our child together, and be a family" he paused, taking another large breath, "marry me".

His heart hung loosely on a thread, performing a balancing trick that would end the moment she answered. He would fall to pieces if she said 'no'.

She didn't answer, but wrapped her arms around his neck again, causing him to falter slightly. Her smile was so broad that he couldn't help but smile along with her. Her answer was conspicuously clear when she sealed their fate with a single kiss, perhaps even sweeter than the one they'd shared only a moment before.

'"Yes"

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I'm here for the hard times

The straight-to-your-heart times

Whenever it ain't easy

You can stand up against me

And maybe rely on me

And cry on me, yeah

From what I've seen

You're just one more hand me down

Cause no one's tried to give you what you need

So lay all your troubles down

I am with you now

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A/N: And done! Hope you all liked it! Hehe, you are all too smart… was hoping to trick you all into believing it was Josh's baby, but alas, you didn't fall for it.

If you guys liked this fic, please read my other one, 'Never Lose Faith'. It's a T/J and a PJo one, but I feel it's more a T/J 'cause I certainly put more effort into that relationship. Also, I'm planning on writing a T/J/S fic set in current BH times, where Tess returns to Mt Thomas. Mightn't write it for awhile though as I have my exams coming up soon… scary…

Anyway, for the last time now, please review!

Over and out