Back at the hospital…
Finally everyone had arrived back in the waiting room and there were a lot of suspicious faces looking at their men who had just arrived. The BIA twins had yet to find their long lost loves but then to be honest they weren't missing much apart from the dramas being with a woman brought but they could see that the love shared between everyone in this waiting room was phenomenal. Hank was hugging Trudy and even brought Mouch in to the hug. Mouch chuckled and hugged Hank back. Jess and Maverick sat closely together, Jess being in her chair and getting bigger by the minute or so it seemed, hugging and whispering sweet nothings which revealed shy smiles from both. It was gratifying to see that they had renewed their love after all this time. It was coming up to their six year anniversary and Maverick had a huge surprise up his sleeve. The twins grinned when he looked in their direction and of course they would be right in the middle of it. Jess was due to be discharged the next day and Maverick had a surprise for Jess she would never forget.
Kelly sat with Stella in his lap holding Linea. Kelly wrapped his arms around his girls and Stella leaned to kiss him on his forehead. He looked up and said three little words and she fell in love with him all over again. Linea gurgling in Stella's arms looking up at her dad. She had the beautiful sapphire eyes of her dad and her Auntie Jess.
Matt sat hugging Sylvie who was sleeping peacefully on his shoulder. Matt looked around the room as if to check where everyone was and upon seeing everyone was present and safe finally shut his eyes.
By this point the twins had sat with Mallory in the corner discussing the afternoons events and wondering what on earth possessed the figure to do what they did. At least the victim deserved it this time. The twins and Mallory decided it was best to let sleeping dogs lie or so they thought.
The three figures entered and they were not expecting them to rear their heads here of all places. They were told to leave and not to return. They obviously hadn't heeded the warning.
Tom first out of his seat closely followed by Maverick and Kelly discarding the girls in to seats next to each other approached the trio.
"What the hell are you doing here? You were told to go to another hospital and never show your face around here again."
"Well I decided I needed some quality time with my children after missing out on so many years and as I entered Peter's building I found him with Elise bent over him tending to his injuries. She was in as much shock as Peter was when he came round to see me leaning over him. Med was the closest Emergency department. I didn't want to risk taking him somewhere else. Elise told me that by the time she had arrived that someone must have assaulted him as she was coming out of his apartment and found him discarded on the floor."
"You're not welcome here scumbags. LEAVE" Maverick told him.
"We all second that, none of us want you here. Leave you've caused enough trouble for this family" Tom echoed looking at Chris who nodded over his shoulder.
"Sorry but we can't. As soon as Peter is fit to leave we will. You have my word."
"STOP. Your word means nothing to us. You have destroyed this family by working with that bitch that thought it was nothing to steal my beautiful but critically ill baby from this hospital. Now get out of here before I finish the job that the attackers of your son couldn't manage" came a quiet but distinct voice being wheeled through the passage on a bed.
Everyone turned to where the voice came from knowing exactly who had spoken. Jay ran to his wife's side and Sylvie threw herself on to her twin thanking the gods that she had come round eventually. It felt like it had been days when in actual fact it had only been hours since she had sat next to her twins bedside giving her the blood she needed and helping the medical staff to keep her alive.
Jess seeing her sister lying on the bed looking so delicate rushed to get up and forgetting her predicament nearly fainted on the floor. Maverick caught her just as she was about to hit the floor.
"JESSICA WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?" came a bellowing voice from the corner.
The voice seeing his daughter trying to rush to her sister was infuriated and suddenly a vision passed through his head…
34 years previously
She was back again to the fertility clinic armed with a different identity to the one she had previously used just eighteen months before in order to avoid questions. She looked down at the identity and the fake passport Henry had managed to secure for her. Gracie Lou Freebush. Typical of Henry.
She was slightly hung over from the graduation ceremony the night before. She only had vague recollections of the night before but she thinks she remembers getting a bit up close and personal with Henry. She didn't mean to but she found solace in those warm muscular arms. He consoled her after the ginger muscular man had plagued her thoughts since her beautiful twin girls Naomi and Sylvie had been taken from her only eighteen months before. It was agreed by children's services that the girls would keep their first names but their surnames would be changed. It was a closed adoption with just one letter to be sent annually updating her about how the girls were. Although she fought for the twins to stay together it was out of her control and the court decided to split them in order to protect their identity and to prevent her from finding them.
The night before was the night of the graduation ceremony at the academy. Trudy wore a long flowing red floor length dress with a sweetheart neckline. She wore matching silver wedges and a silver flower headpiece accentuating the silver glitter woven in to the lace on the outside of the dress. The ceremony was due to start at 1930 hours sharp and the recruits who were graduating were told to be punctual. Hank having asked Trudy to the graduation and Trudy feeling lonely and isolated since the girls were taken forcibly had nowhere else to turn and said yes not knowing what was going to be held in store for her.
Hank had made sure that Trudy had an awesome night but little did they know that one of the other graduates had spiked the punch. They had been drinking it all evening and as the evening wore they started to feel rather tipsy. Hank led Trudy out on to the veranda which had been opened for the evening. As they stood in silence Hank became visibly nervous. Something which Trudy had never witnessed before in all the time that she had known him. Trudy turned to him with concern etched on her face as he stared at his feet.
"Trudy, you are one of my longest standing friends and I wouldn't consider myself to be a friend if I didn't tell you that through all the adversity you have faced you are amazing. Stunningly beautiful. You literally take my breath away and from the very second I laid eyes on you back in the academy after your sabbatical I knew I had fallen in love with you and I was fooling myself to think that it would ever go away when I have felt this since the day I met you."
Trudy not knowing what to say or where to look played with the trim on her dress and fidgeted shifting her weight between both her feet. She looked at the floor not wanting to look Hank in the eyes knowing that all that was there was love for her. Love she did not deserve. She felt conflicted. The muscular ginger haired man plagued her every waking moment and she felt that she was deluding herself if she thought he would be there tomorrow when she returned to the clinic. Hank had no idea that she had saved enough money to return and go through the process again. She stood in silence.
"Are you not going to say anything Trudy?"
"What would you like me to say Henry?"
"There's nothing I want you to say. I want you to tell me what is in your heart."
"Right now the only thing in my heart is stone and more stone."
"You can't honestly believe that."
"Since I lost my girls I have been unfeeling towards everyone and everything and I have not allowed myself to feel anything. Complete numbness."
"Trudy if that's what you want we can try again."
"What do you mean Henry? Why would I ever put myself through that again?"
"Because we could elope, get married and have our own children."
"You know that is never going to happen."
"Trudy, please, look at me. I love you. I want what you want. I need you right now."
"In what sense? Henry you are making no sense."
"Trudy look at me. All of me."
Seeing the undulating member in Henry's pants Trudy took a step closer closing the gap between them and looked up in to Hank's beautiful baby blue eyes.
Hank pulled her closer and kissed her with all his might.
For a moment, just a moment, Trudy believed things could be different and allowed the night to continue in private.
