Nick's insistance and Tess's pleas fell upon deaf ears but the sound of his daughter crying caused Alex to stop in his tracks, let Peter go, and turned to where Tess was holding Charlotte. "C'mere, BOM," he whispered, holding her close. "It'll be okay...Mum will be home soon." He took her back to the porch and Tess followed. "Has she been crying long?"
"Yeah. For days. She's teething; her fever's almost gone." She never thought that she would be able to take care of her niece as upset as they both were for as long as she had.
"Has she had breakfast?"
Tess shook her head. "She just woke up. I'll go get the cereal." She went inside, bringing out the bowl, and Alex fed Charlotte the cool mushy cereal. "Claire wasn't sleeping very well. She went to bed a few hours after I did." Alex nodded, listening. "When I woke up, Charlotte was crying. I went up to see if Claire was there...she wasn't. The corral was open; I thought she was just being stubborn again, went riding, you know how she's been wanting to ride." Alex nodded again. "I waited two hours; when she wasn't back, I called Frank and got some of the men from Kilarney to look for her until he arrived."
"Are they still looking?"
Tess nodded. "They've been out all night. They found the horse this morning...no saddle."
Nick joined them as Peter rode away. "Peter left his wife again. She was helping him pack, trying to talk him into staying. She must have found one of Claire's letters after Charlotte was born, telling him about the baby."
"She thought Peter was leaving her for Claire again. Why wouldn't she take Charlotte too?" Tess asked.
"I don't know. Peter didn't know she was pregnant though."
"If she thinks Peter's leaving her for Claire and she sees that Claire's pregnant..." Tess thought aloud.
Nick nodded. "Yeah. Do you need someone to stay with you and Charlotte?" Tess shook her head and Nick went in to get the supplies they would need to search.
Alex had been quiet since Nick had joined them. He hugged his daughter, kissing her hair. "Be good for Auntie Tess. I'll bring your mum home soon." He carefully, reluctantly, put her back in Tess's arms. "She likes that stuffed horse we bought in the city...and a cool bottle of water."
Tess nodded. "I'll make sure she gets them." He kissed Charlotte's forehead and went out to the ute.
Nick came out, carrying a box of a blanket, water, and three sandwiches in case they found Claire. He leaned down and kissed Tess's hair. "Don't worry. She's fine."
"Yeah." She reached up to hold his hand for a few seconds before letting him join Alex.
"You took my husband...you destroyed my family..." Mary's voice was low, but her meaning still came across.
"I didn't know Peter was married," Claire said, truthfully. She hadn't known Peter was married when they were involved, but she had when she'd gone to his hotel room that night.
"You knew my name."
"Peter told me when he signed the birth certificate. It was over then; it'd been over for a long time." Peter wanted to get rid of her sister, her friends; he'd hurt Alex.
"You're carrying his child! He's leaving me and my children for you and yours!"
"I don't know why he's leaving you. I haven't seen him since my daughter's naming ceremony. This child is my boyfriend's." She was too busy trying to save her life, the life of her baby, to see the irony; the child that had been Peter's had been called Alex's, the child that was Alex's had been called Peter's.
"Yeah, Peter Johnson."
"No. Alex Ryan...he's the only man I've loved in years." It was true. Even when she'd gotten pregnant with Charlotte, she hadn't been in love with Peter. She wasn't sure she ever had been. "He's the father of this baby and the only father Charlotte's ever known. I love him and I love my kids; I've almost left them too many times before." Claire McLeod rarely pleaded, but she was now. She knew Mary wasn't sane at the moment and feared for her safety.
"Charlotte?" Mary stopped pacing and looked at her.
Claire nodded. "My little girl. She's nine months old; I named her after my mum and my sister."
Mary's mind flashed on images of her own girls at nine months, how much they'd needed her, and, as much as she loved Peter, as angry as she was at Claire, she knew she couldn't take the little girl's mother away from her. "Stay away from my husband."
"I plan to." Claire sensed the mood in the room had changed and went out the door before Mary changed her mind.
Alex got more sullen and impatient as the hours passed on, frustrated, terrified for his girlfriend. "Maybe we should have used the chopper."
"We'll find her, Alex," Nick tried to reassure his brother, although he was worried too. Claire was like a sister, a mate...she couldn't have lived through one of the things she'd been through, much less both. What were the odds of them being lucky a third time?
They were silent on the way back home until Alex spotted Claire. "Nick." He didn't wait for his brother to stop; as soon as he slowed, he ran to his girlfriend.
"You're home." She hadn't ate, drank, or slept in a day; her voice was weak and, as she spoke, she passed out into Alex's arms.
"Hold on tight, Claire. I'm here and we'll get back home, I promise." He sat in the back, holding her, whispering to her.
Tess ran out as Nick came speeding up the drive. "Claire?"
"She fainted," Nick said as Alex carried her up to their room. "She's okay. I'm going to go for the doctor."
She nodded. "Nick?" He turned to her. "She's okay?"
He nodded, kissing her cheek. "She's okay."
She held him. "Be careful." He nodded and she went inside to try to call the search off.
Alex lay beside Claire, holding her, until Nick got there with the doctor. Claire was awake but groggy when the doctor was examining her and the baby, but fell asleep soon after the examination. Tess sat with her for two hours while Alex tended to Charlotte.
Alex held his daughter on his lap, stroking her hair back. Meg had left some tiny strips of shredded chicken and some vegetables steamed until they were soft. He fed her, gave her a bath, and sat in the rocking chair with her, giving her the bottle. He whispered to her, read her favorite story, sang their song, and tucked her in, as he had every night that Claire was in the hospital, most of the nights since he'd been with Claire. He bent down to kiss her forehead. "Night, baby." He quietly left, turning out the light.
Tess looked up as he came in to the bedroom, but didn't say anything until she was to the door. "Nick and I'll be downstairs."
He nodded. "Thanks, Tess...for everything." He knew firsthand that it wasn't easy to take care of a crying child, especially when worried.
"They're my sister, my niece." She hugged him. Even though they'd dated at one time, that had quickly passed and he felt more like the big brother she'd never had. She left the room, checking on Charlotte, then going downstairs.
"Alex..." Claire whispered, waking up again.
"Hey." He stroked her hair. "Welcome back."
"Charlotte."
"She's okay. Sleeping."
"The baby?"
"The baby's perfect, Claire. He's just fine. Everyone's more worried about his mum right now, actually." She nodded. "Are you hungry? Want something to drink?"
Nick and Tess were talking on the porch when Peter arrived. Tess didn't even know she'd gotten out of the chair until she heard the crack of her hand hitting his cheek. "Tess," Nick said quietly, holding her.
"I deserved that," Peter admitted.
"At least you finallyadmit what a bastard you've been."
"I didn't know Mary would take Claire. I knew she would never hurt her."
"She kidnapped my sister! What if Claire had been hurt? What if she'd never come home? What would you have done, take Charlotte away? You've been a bastard from day one and I'm thankful that Claire sees that and I'm thankful that Charlotte will never have to."
"I want to talk to Claire."
"No."
"Tess, I want to talk to Claire!" He shouted so loud that he woke up Charlotte and Nick stepped protectively in front of his girlfriend. "I'm sorry. I just...it's my fault, what happened. I don't love Mary, but the girls need her...like Charlotte needs Claire, like you needed your mum, Tess. Please."
Nick sighed, looking at Tess, who nodded, still angry. "I'll give her the choice. If she says no, you've got five minutes to get off this property and never come back," Tess said, going inside.
Alex had gone to take care of Charlotte when Tess got to her sister. "Claire...Peter wants to talk to you."
"I heard." She paused. "Send him up."
"You don't have to do this."
Claire nodded. "Yeah, I do. There's something I want." Tess went downstairs, coming back up with Peter. Alex noticed and he and Nick listened.
"Claire, I'm so sorry," Peter began.
"Yeah, you'd want to be." She looked at the bruise on Peter's cheek. "I know Mary's not crazy...women do stupid things because they think they love you."
"You were happy, Claire."
"For five minutes. But that's not what I wanted to say. I'm not about to take Mary away from her girls, just like she wouldn't take me from Charlotte. The real problem is you. I don't care what you do...as far as I'm concerned, a piece of paper's the only real connection between us anymore."
"What are you saying?"
"I want you to give up your rights to Charlotte." She picked up a piece of paper. "Right now, in writing, I want you to give her up. Unlike you, I'll make sure it gets to the right people."
"And what would you do then? Tell her that he's her father?"
"He is. You're just the guy that got me pregnant. Sorta like AI, don't you think?"
He gave her a look and she gave him one back. He signed the papers. "Here."
"I've wanted to tell you this for a long time. Get the hell off my property." He went downstairs and Tess looked at her. "Alex hit him?"
Tess shook her head. "He wanted to kill him, but Charlotte started crying. I hit him."
Claire grinned. "You're learning."
Tess smiled. "Hungry?"
"Starving."
"I'll bring you and Alex some food up."
"Thanks, Tess." She nodded, going downstairs, Nick following, Alex coming into the room.
"You're not going to press charges?"
Claire shook her head. "I got what I wanted." She looked at him. "What would you think about making it legal?"
"That's what I was going to ask you."
"You heard."
"Of course I'll adopt Charlotte. That was never a question, if Peter ever gave up his rights. That's not what I was talking about though." He went to his drawer and pulled out the small box.
"Alex?"
"I came prepared for you to say yes this time." She smiled. "I've been trying to ask you this since you came home from the hospital a year and a half ago. I love you, Claire. I always have. It's just...it's been hard for me to say."
"You were serious then, a year and a half ago?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I just...I didn't figure you felt the same way. I didn't want to lose you either."
"I thought you were asking because of your parents and the business...I never thought..." She remembered the panicked feeling when he'd crashed, the first time it really ever sank in how much she loved him. "You meant it."
He nodded. "I mean it now too...and I'll mean it however many times I have to ask. I love you. You're the only woman in the world for me...you always will be. I love the way you smile, the twinkle in your eyes when you're happy, and I want to keep both there as much as I can..."
"Alex, can I get a word in edgewise?"
He grinned, remembering her asking him that in the city when he'd finally gotten the nerve up to admit how much he loved her. "Yeah. Make it quick."
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes."
"Yes!" They laughed and he kissed her. "And yes, we'll live at Drover's."
"Of course." She grinned. "Where would we sleep?"
"Sleep? What's that?" He asked with his mischevious grin, a hand on her stomach. She laughed, kissing him again.
Tess came up with the meals. "What's all this?"
Alex smiled and Claire's eyes twinkled. "You're getting a brother-in-law."
"I've already got a brother-in-law." She teased, grinning. "Congratulations, Claire." The girls hugged and then Tess hugged Alex. "Congratulations and good luck."
"I know, I know, I'll need it." He teased Claire.