Chapter 31

Tony and Lucas sat at the breakfast table the next morning, both chomping through their cereal.

"Where's Jack? I haven't even seen him yet!" Lucas said. Tony sighed as he put down the newspaper.

"I guess he'll have gone for a morning run or something, to clear his head. You know what he's like." Tony replied, looking back to his paper.

"Why would he need to clear his head?" Lucas asked. Tony lowered his paper, again.

"I don't know. Something's up with him, but I'll find out." Tony said, resuming with reading the article. Lucas shrugged as he eat his last spoon-full of corn flakes, and took his bowl to the sink, where he started to wash the few pots that were already sat there. Someone knocked at the door. Tony folded his paper and threw it on the table next to his bowl, giving a sigh of frustration as he was once more interrupted from reading the article that he'd been attempting to finish all morning.

"Beth." He smiled.

"Hi Tony." She smiled back.

"Come in." He said. She walked in a few paces and turned around to face Tony again.

"How's Jack? I was in Noah's last night and overheard the argument with Martha. Well, it would be hard not to hear the shouting." She laughed. Tony and Lucas both looked puzzled.

"He was shouting?" Lucas said, surprised. "At Martha?"

"I knew there was something wrong with him! Do you know what it was about?" Tony asked.

"Well, I'd noticed that him and Martha weren't really getting along that well. They often made little digs at one another, not pleasant comments." Beth thought back to last night. "Martha had obviously said something bad to Jack, because he shouted out something about seeing her kissing someone else at the hospital. He ended up practically saying he didn't care about her anymore, and didn't want to be around her." Beth said. Tony and Lucas looked at one another, this wasn't the Jack they knew. "Should I have said this?" Beth asked, worried that she'd gone and got Jack in trouble.

"Yes, you should. Thanks Beth." Tony smiled, resting his hand on her shoulder. Jack then burst in, his bright and bubbly smile soon drifted away as he adapted to the mood of the room. He quickly realised what had happened when he saw Beth. She was working last night at the bar, she'd seen his argument with Martha, and she'd now told Tony and Lucas.

"Well, I'll leave you boys to it then." Beth said, Tony kissed her on the cheek goodbye, and turned around to Jack.

"Come on. Talk." He said, pointing to the sofa. Jack reluctantly sat onto the designated seat, and began to tell his dad everything that had happened. Everything from his first undercover mission, to the night before at Noah's. He'd never got chance to talk to his dad much about what happened in Sydney the first time, he was too busy grieving for Martha for the few weeks that he was in the bay, so this time he could really explain, and Tony would get the whole picture. Lucas had invited himself in the conversation, and sat next to Jack on the sofa, listening to his story.

Martha decided to eat her breakfast in the diner with her granddad the next morning. It wasn't because she longed for the wonderful English breakfast that was cooked so well by Leah, it was because she knew the diner would be busy, and she hoped this would keep Jack off her mind. Everything was going well until her granddad brought up Jack's name.

"You and young Jack had an argument last night, didn't you?" Alf asked. Martha carried on eating, she hoped that he'd get the hint, but of course he didn't. "Last night I went over to Tony's, to talk about the football team, and Jack came storming in, he was in a state Martha. He denied it having anything to do with you, but according to some of the customers at Noah's, you two had a bit of an argument last night." Alf said.

"And?" Martha said, tearing her toast up and dipping it into her egg. "Your point?" Alf sighed.

"I know how stubborn you are, how tough you try to look. But I also know how delicate you are, and how much you like Jack." Martha looked up at her granddad, listening to his wise words. "If you like him, tell him, make sure you get him back." Alf advised. Martha put her hand to her forehead.

"But I can't, I've really messed it up granddad, he won't forgive me." Martha said, her voice started to waver as her eyes began to fill with tears. She looked away, trying to swallow her sadness. Alf chuckled.

"I'm sure you can find a way." He smiled. "Go on." He insisted. Martha smiled as she wiped away the tear that had escaped.

"Thanks granddad." She said, standing up and practically running out of the diner.