"Are you ready?" the prison guard asked Tasha as they both stood at the door of the visitor's room staring at the heavy metal blocking their view. Tasha glanced nervously at the guard, hoping he would offer some reassurance, but he just looked emotionlessly at her, waiting for an answer to his question. "Yep," she nodded and didn't say anything else, not sure she had the voice to.

The guard opened the door and let Tasha in. For a few seconds she didn't see him, just rows of tables and people in green prison uniforms chatting to strangers. And then she spotted him out of the corner of her eye. She gasped audibly, seeing him after all this time was shocking. He looked different; his hair had been cut short, and looked greasy and unkempt. He had lost weight, she could tell even from her position on the other side of the room. And clad in his green prison garb, without the farm clothes he seemed more vulnerable, less powerful somehow. He hadn't seen her as he was staring at his hands, but as she was led over to him he looked up and their eyes met. She felt her breath catch in the back of her throat and wondered if it was too late to turn around and run.

"Twenty minutes," the guard said and left them to it. She sat down.

Which one was going to speak first? Jonah finally broke the silence.

"Tasha, thankyou for coming, it's so good to see you. How are you?" How was she? She couldn't' believe he was asking that, as though what he did hadn't happened. How did he think she was? She stared at him for a long time, not quite sure how to approach this. What did she want from him? An explanation? An apology? She realised she had to confront him directly, it was the only way.

"Do you know what you did to me Jonah?" Jonah glanced down at his hands; he was visibly uncomfortable, unable to look at her. "Do you? I want to know why – how – you could do that. I thought you cared for me? Look at me Jonah, don't be such a coward." Tasha didn't realise she had this much strength, it felt good.

Jonah raised his eyes to Tasha. "Tasha, I am so sorry, but I never wanted it to come down to that. But Mumma Rose was pressuring me, she told me if I couldn't get you to…" he paused before recounting the inevitable, "sleep with me, she'd have to take other measures. So she drugged you." He paused and Tasha felt her blood boil.

"So this is all her fault, you're not responsible for this?"

"No Tash, that's not what I meant, I truly love you, and I live in hell every day thinking of what I did to you, but I didn't know what was right and wrong back then, Mumma had me under her spell."

Tasha shook her head. "Do you know, you're really pathetic. If you loved me you would never have done anything like that, no matter what Mumma Rose said. Do you know what you've put Robbie and me through? All the hurt, pain, doubts. I've had an abortion thanks to you, panic attacks thanks to you, a near ruined wedding thanks to you…" Jonah interrupted Tasha sharply.

"Wait, you became pregnant?"

Tasha realised she had let quite a lot of personal details slip in her emotional state.

"Well that was your sick plan wasn't it?" she stared at Jonah accusingly.

"But Tash, you terminated it?" Jonah looked extremely worried at this statement. Tasha felt increasingly uncomfortable under his piercing gaze and couldn't help but turn away.

"Tash, Tash, that was a mistake."

Tash couldn't believe she was hearing that, and her anger soared again.

"Excuse me, who are you to tell me…" Once again Jonah cut her off.

"Tash, you don't understand. If Mumma Rose finds that out – that you were pregnant and you got rid of it – she'll be angry, more than angry, she'll be livid. She'll want revenge Tash, I mean it."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying your life's in danger Tash, you have to get to Mumma Rose before she gets to you."

Martha's shift had finally finished and she reached under the counter to grab her bag. In front of her Jack was still sitting on the bar stool finishing off his eighth soda water. She didn't want to speak to him; she wished he had left. As she turned to go Jack hopped off his stool and followed her out. Once they were outside Jack nervously tried again. "So could I speak to you now Martha?" Martha kept on walking along the foreshore, the sound of the waves crashing on the sand. It was a windy day and her hair was blowing all over her face as she walked into the gusts. She impatiently swept strands out of her eyes and kept on walking. "I'm going home, you can talk and walk, or not. Your choice." Jack realised he didn't really have a choice. "Ok, I can talk and walk," he said, raising his voice to be heard again the whipping noises of the wind disturbing the Norfolk Palms.

"Martha, I never slept with Kate. She stayed over because she locked her keys in her car, and couldn't get into her house. She was going to stay at the Sands but I offered the couch at our place. That's all."

Martha kept walking but turned her head and glared at Jack.

"And you expect me to believe that?"

Jack was so surprised he stopped walking. He had half been expecting an apology. Martha was set to continue on her way but Jack angrily grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.

"Why wouldn't you Martha?" He looked at her and shook his head. "I don't understand this," he said in frustration. "Why are you so certain I cheated on you? I mean have I ever given you any reason to think I would be unfaithful? Why don't you trust me? Why don't you believe what I say? Or Kate come to that. She tried to explain and you blew her off. Is this jealousy or something because I told you…"

"Wait on, Kate tried to explain? That's what she told you was it? Hardly surprising," and Martha let out a bitter laugh.

"What are you talking about? Kate said she tried to explain the situation to you…"

"Oh wake up Jack! Kate didn't 'try' and explain anything to me. She looked me straight in the eye and told me how sorry she was and she didn't want me to find out this way. She tried to make me believe you had slept together, and it worked."

Jack looked at Martha confused. "Are you sure, because she told me…"

"Of course I'm sure! So you don't believe me is that what you're saying?"

"No. It's just I know you were kind of jealous…"

"I was not jealous, I just didn't trust her, and it turns out with good reason. I cannot believe you are trying to defend her."

"I'm not, I'm just trying to make sense of the situation."

"The situation's simple Jack. Kate's a lying bitch, and you can't see it."

"Martha. I'm just saying maybe you jumped to conclusions and misinterpreted what Kate was trying to tell you."

Martha looked at Jack and couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, but slowly it dawned on her, and she realised they had a big problem.

"Jack, I know you didn't sleep with Kate. I realise that now. But Kate wanted me to believe that you did, and the fact that you think pure jealousy is my reason for bad-mouthing her, frankly staggers me. Is that the sort of person you think I am?"

"No Martha, but I know Kate and she's a good person, just like I know you and know you would never say anything bad about a person deliberately. That's why I think maybe this is just a case of wires crossed on all sides."

Martha stared at Jack and sadly shook her head. It had started to rain and what was previously light mist had become a heavy spray – pelting down on their heads with a westerly wind lashing their bodies. Martha involuntarily shivered, both from the cold and what she knew she had to say and do next.

"What's going on here Jack is a trust issue. I didn't trust you when I jumped to my conclusions and you don't trust me enough now to believe me when I say this was not a mix up. You know what they say Jack, without trust there's nothing."

"Martha…" Jack looked earnestly at Martha, his dark eyes pleading with her not to say it.

But she did; she felt she had to.

"I'm sorry Jack. I do love you, but it's just become too hard, it's not going to work. We're over." With that she kept on walking, leaving her relationship behind and possibly a tiny bit of her heart too. Raindrops dripped off her nose and mingled with the salty tears that were beginning to bathe her frozen cheeks.

END OF PART 1

Complications is now taking a break and Part 2 won't be up for a while. Hope you enjoyed it, thanks to those who reviewed.

Next time in Complications Part 2: As Jack, Martha, Tasha and Robbie move on with their lives, will they do so separately or alone? What event will shatter the bay and tear a couple apart? Who bonds over a lonely heart and who will finally get their way?