History Repeated Part 23: Space They Cannot Touch

The doctor had been and gone. Tess was resting in bed with Alex sitting by her side.

The baby was doing fine - its heartbeat was strong. But Tess had to take it easy. The days stress had gotten the better of her, and the fall had contributed to the distress that her and her unborn child had been in.

"I was really scared today, Alex," Tess looked across at him, emotion written all over her pale face.

"Me too," He admitted, opening up to his dear friend, "When I saw you on the floor like that... you scared the bajeeba's outa me, Tess."

Tess' hands were resting on her stomach. It had become a habit of late. It was as though she was trying to shield the baby from anymore harm.

"Alex," Tess took a deep breath, "Where do you see yourself in two years time?"

"Two years time? I reckon in two years I'll be an Uncle. The little bloke will be laughing his head off while I've got you over my shoulder, spinning you round and round and round, until you throw up all over the place!"

Tess laughed, "Can I take the option of throwing up now? Just the thought of spinning is making me feel sick. Come closer and I'll throw up on you, Alex"

Alex scrunched up his nose at the thought. He'd better answer the question properly before Tess made that threat a reality, "Alright... in two years time I reckon I might be ready to settle down. Why do you ask, anyway?"

Tess looked across at him, "Because I don't know any of that anymore Alex... my life is such a mess..."

Tess was lost in life now. This baby had changed everything for her. She felt as though she wasn't seeing her life's path as clearly as she once was able to. She didn't know which way she was going anymore.

Alex's arm wrapped around Tess, pulling her in closer towards him, "I know where you'll be."

"Where, Alex?" Tess was desperate for an answer. She needed some sort of hope for the future. Hope that she would finally get what she so desperately craved from life.

"You'll be so happy," He whispered, stroking her golden hair, "Happier than you'd ever thought you could be."

"Really?" Tess was so desperate to believe Alex. She couldn't see it from her position yet. She felt like she was in a never-ending tunnel of emotional pain.

"And you'll feel so loved and secure... you won't be scared anymore, Tess, and you'll have what you've always wanted," Alex told her softly.

"Are you sure that's what you see, Alex?"

"Look I'll give Moira a call in the morning if ya don't believe me," Alex laughed, "I'll get her to do a tarot reading for ya."

Tess giggled, pulling at one of his cheeks, "Of course I believe you."

A knock sounded through the room. Alex grinned, "Guess who?"

"Come in BOM," Tess called.

Charlotte entered the room and immediately launched into conversation, "No wonder I couldn't find you, Uncle Alex! What are you doing in here, anyway?"

Alex laughed at the young girl. Sometimes he thought that her whole world would fall apart without him in it. She loved him to bits, and he loved her just as much.

"I was keeping Tess company. She's not feeling the best, mate"

Charlotte climbed into bed next to Alex, which positioned him in between the two McLeod's, "Well I was lonely," she whined.

Both Alex and Tess' laughter echoed through the room. It wasn't often that Charlotte did the whining thing, but when she did, it always made them laugh.

Once the laughter had died down, Charlotte looked at her aunty. She could see the change in the woman - she was so very pale, "You look awful, Aunty Tess."

Tess sighed, "Yeah I feel pretty awful too, Charlotte."

"Is it because Sally pushed you down the stairs?" The young girl quizzed.

Tess sat up a little, shaking her head, "Darling, Sally didn't push me down the stairs, I fell."

"But you were arguing-"

"Yes... we were arguing, but she didn't push me, okay? I lost my footing, that's how I fell," Tess explained.

Charlotte crossed her arms, "She's still a cow," She announced, "She was being nasty to you all day. I don't even know why the Ryan's came! They just made the day miserable for everyone else! That hissy fit that Sally threw on the tennis court was just ridiculous!."

It amazed Tess how one moment Charlotte could mirror her, and how in an instant her personality could change to mirror Claire's.

"I think we all agree on that one, BOM," Alex laughed, patting the young girl on her leg, "Bah humbug!"

Charlotte yawned, and announced, "Well I'm off to bed. I'm so tired!"

She leaned over and gave Alex a kiss on the cheek, then Tess, "Night you guys."

"Night," They both replied as Charlotte exited the room, closing the door behind her.

Alex pulled Tess in for a hug,"I better make a move too"

Tess' hand came to Alex's, "Can you stay please, Alex? If you're here I won't worry so much."

Her eyes were pleading at him, so how could he say no. He knew exactly how vulnerable she was, and how scared she was for the baby. Tess still wasn't out of the woods, and he knew that if he did as she asked, she would recover faster and easier.

"I haven't had an invite to sleep in your bed for years Tess! How could I ever say no to that?"

"So is that a yes, then?" Tess asked.

Alex wrapped his other arm around Tess, pulling her down with him so that they were under the covers, "What do you reckon?"

Tess smiled and rested against his chest, knowing that she was one of the luckiest women in the world to have Alex by her side. She couldn't have asked for a better friend to help see her through all that she had been through.

"Thank you, Alex," She whispered, kissing him softly on the cheek.

Snuggling into his warm arms, Tess drifted off to sleep.

As Alex watched her sleep in his arms he knew that the one thing that Nick would never be able to destroy was the relationship between himself and Tess. And he was thankful that Tess would always have that. They shared a bond that no-one could break.

It was Alex and Tess against the world.