Web-chat

Prompted by 'Tori' and set around episode 7250, this one-shot gives some context to Chis and Lucy's appearance.

Lucy picked Anne up, "I still can't believe Amber went into labour in the middle of a fire!" she exclaimed

Chris nodded in agreement, "Yeah, she must have been so scared" he murmured as he set up the video-chat, "She's been through so much this year, but she's really brave"

"So I guess my waters breaking in 'Whole Foods' wasn't quite so spectacular compared to that, then?" she muttered

Chris chuckled, "Not quite, but it felt terrifying at the time"

Lucy grinned and sat down next to Chris on the couch, "When did we agree to chat with her?" she asked

Chris glanced at the time on the computer, "Any minute now" he replied slowly, "She mentioned something about going to The Waterhole, and the Wi-Fi there can be a bit dodgy sometimes so we might have to wait for a bit"

"Why's she going to The Waterhole when there's internet connection at number 32?" she questioned

Chris shrugged, "She didn't say, but I'm guessing that with everything going on with Brad, Lauren and Terese that she doesn't really want to be spending that much time at home right now"

Lucy pulled a face, "No, I guess if I was in her position I'd want to be as far away from all of that drama as possible"

Chris nodded, "Definitely" he agreed, then let out a breath, "Wow, who'd have thought Erinsborough would be more exciting and dramatic than New York?"

Lucy was taken aback, "Should I take that personally?" she joked

Chris shook his head, "No, New York is perfect for us" he assured her before sniggering, "Strange to think I originally planned to come here for a couple of weeks to clear my head, and nearly eight months later I'm still here and can't imagine being anywhere else"

Lucy smiled, "Well I for one am glad" she replied, "And so is Jem"

Chris grinned at the mention of his boyfriend's name, then kissed his daughter's head, "I hope the little one is glad too, because I can't imagine trying to commute from Australia to America every three months to be with her"

Lucy chuckled, "She'd better be" she replied, then thought to herself for a few moments, "Hang on, doesn't Nate work at The Waterhole now?" she questioned

Chris nodded, "Yeah, why?" he asked, still slightly bemused by the fact that his ex-army ex-boyfriend would be the trainee manager of the local pub

"If Amber's doing the chat there, Nate might be there too" Lucy pointed out

Chris shrugged, "Well if he is, then we can say 'hi'" he replied awkwardly, "I don't really know how much Nate knows about what's going on. I mean, I didn't tell him about me and Jem or Anne"

"Why not?" Lucy questioned in confusion

Chris narrowed his eyes at her, "Would you really be jumping at the chance to tell your ex that you've moved on? Or that the main reason for the break-up has just made its way into the world?"

"I guess not" Lucy sighed

Chris frowned in regret of what he had just said and stroked his daughter's cheek, "You're not the reason for Nate and I breaking up, sweetie. It was a long time coming" he assured her quietly before glancing at Lucy, "I didn't tell him because there's a thing called 'sensitivity', and I didn't want it to be weird. We agreed to be friends after I left, even though we weren't ever really friends before, but he's still my ex and there should be a set of rules about what you can and can't say to them"

Lucy sniggered at Chris' earnest ramblings, "Don't get all wound up about it" she murmured, "I agree with you but considering how close everyone is in Ramsay Street, he's probably going to find everything out sooner or later"

Chris grimaced, "I guess" he sighed before suddenly asking, "Do you think I could get away with asking Amber how Nate's doing without it sounding odd?"

"You could give it a go" Lucy responded, "Just be careful that he doesn't overhear you and think you're stalking him or something"

Chris chuckled uneasily. The last thing he wanted was to make anyone feel uncomfortable, least of all Nate. He was interrupted from his thoughts with the notification that Amber was trying to call them. Seeing her face on the screen still made Chris feel homesick, even though he would consider New York his home now. Especially seeing The Waterhole again brought back a whole load of memories including his goodbye party, which was originally supposed to be a 'farewell for now' party, but it didn't turn out like that. However, Chris swallowed his feelings to greet the young woman on the screen.

"Hey guys" Amber greeted weakly in response, "How are you?"

"Tired, but good" Lucy replied

"We're more interested in how you are though" Chris added, "After everything that's happened, we hope you're ok"

Amber nodded, "Thanks, and I'm better" she replied, "It's been tricky, but we're all getting there"

"That's good to hear" Lucy told her honestly

As their conversation continued, Chris became more and more anxious to ask about Nate and was slightly disappointed by Amber's offhanded response when he finally did. He wasn't sure how creepy he sounded by asking Amber to pass on a message to his ex, but everyone knew how important Nate was to him so showing him some regard was the decent thing to do.

Chris was disappointed to end the chat so abruptly, but when a new-born baby needs a feed, it becomes the priority and nothing else is as important until the job is done. He sighed as he closed the laptop and Lucy rushed off with Anne, then sat in silence for a few moments in an attempt to clear his head. Feeling his mobile vibrating in his pocket, Chris retrieved it and noticed a text from Jem, wondering if he was available to meet up. Smiling, Chris replied that he would pick him up in five minutes before pocketing his phone and wallet, and letting Lucy know that he was going out with Jem for a while. Lucy let him go happily, realising that he needed to get out of the house and see his boyfriend so that he could forget about his old life and enjoy his new one.

xxx

Chris was silent for a while until Jem spoke up, "Let me guess, you're homesick?"

"What makes you say that?" Chris asked distantly

"Because I asked you how the video chat went and all you did was shrug" he pointed out, "And now you're pushing me which I know is your way of avoiding having to talk"

Chris rolled his eyes and continued pushing Jem's wheelchair down the street, then Jem sighed, "Now you're rolling your eyes, aren't you?"

"No I'm not" Chris argued unconvincingly, annoyed that his boyfriend knew him so well that he didn't even have to look a him to know what he was doing.

Jem sniggered, "I know when you're lying, Teddy" he remarked

Chris almost froze. Although Jem sometimes called him 'Teddy' as a nickname, he was unnerved by him using it now considering that he had just been thinking about Nate, who also used to use that nickname.

Chris suddenly couldn't move, but soon realised that Jem had put the brakes on to prevent Chris from pushing him anymore and was tugging at one of his hands. Chris moved round so that Jem could see him and the other man gazed at him thoughtfully.

"What's going on?" he asked

Chris shook his head, "Nothing"

"I know it's not 'nothing'" Jem replied, "You can tell me, you know"

Chris nodded, "I know, but it's difficult to explain to someone who doesn't know what things were like in Erinsborough"

"I know enough" Jem retorted, "I know about the people you lived with in Ramsay Street and I know a lot about your parents. I know some of your friends and I know what you went through after that Josh guy punched you. And I also know about Aidan, Hudson and Nate, just like you know everything you know about me"

Chris smiled slightly, "After all that, how do you still put up with me?"

Jem grinned, "Well I've been told I have the patience of a saint" he joked, "But it's mainly because I love you and want to be with you regardless of your baggage, though I'm hardly one to talk about 'baggage'"

Chris sniggered, "You're not that bad"

"Thanks" Jem drawled dryly, "Anyway, back to you. What happened earlier to make you go all pensive?"

Chris sighed, "Lucy and I were talking to Amber online-"

"Hang on, Amber's the one who went into labour during the fire, and whose baby has CDH, right?" Jem clarified

Chris nodded, "Yeah, that's the one. Anyway, she was doing the video chat in the bar where Nate works and I may have stupidly brought him up in conversation"

"Why 'stupidly'?" Jem asked

"Because I shouldn't have" Chris pointed out, "We broke up ages ago and I've moved on, I didn't do it because of some unresolved feelings for him or anything" he groaned, "I don't know why I did it"

"Because you still care about him and want to know how he's doing?" Jem interjected

"Well I don't 'care about him' in a romantic way anymore" Chris muttered, "But yeah, I guess so"

"Chris, there's nothing wrong with that" Jem assured him, "Wanting to know how Nate's doing doesn't mean you're still hung up on him, it's actually better because it means that you're over him and can just talk about him casually now"

Chris considered this, "You always know the right thing to say"

Jem shrugged, "I do pride myself on that" he joked

Chris sniggered but shook his head, "Anyway, I'm guessing you didn't want to meet up just to ask me about the video chat"

Jem glanced away, "No, not really" he admitted, "I do have another motive"

"And what might that be?" Chris enquired

"I think I left some stuff behind last time I stayed at yours" he replied, "And I was hoping to get it back"

Chris gazed at him thoughtfully for a few moments and Jem was confused, "What's that look for?" he questioned, then looked panicked, "What have you done with my stuff, Chris?"

"Nothing" Chris chuckled, "I actually didn't realise you left anything behind, so it should still be there"

Jem nodded, "Good. In that case, do you mind if we go in and get it?"

Chris hesitated, "Why don't you just leave it?" he suggested

Jem was taken aback by Chris' reply, "Because one of the items I left there was my favourite pair of sneakers, so even though I can't walk I would still like them back"

Chris shook his head nervously, "No, I meant what if you moved all of your stuff in?"

Jem narrowed his eyes at him, "Are you suggesting that I move in with you?"

"No, I'm suggesting that you give me all of your clothes!" Chris responded sarcastically, "Yes, I want you to move in with me"

Jem glanced away silently and Chris' face fell, "Unless you don't want to, because that's ok-"

Jem shook his head, "No, I do" he assured him, "But have you forgotten that my brother lives with me? I can't just abandon him"

"Yeah, but you told me last week that he's been staying at your dad's more often, and since you spend so much time at mine, you've essentially got an empty house" Chris pointed out

Jem considered this, "I know but I'm just thinking about the practicalities" he replied, "The main problem is that my place is designed especially for my wheelchair and-"

"Yeah, but you've never had any trouble at mine and Lucy's place" Chris reminded him

"That's different" Jem replied, "I don't live there, and you'd have to make a lot of changes for it to be more suitable for a wheelchair user if I moved in. I'm just not sure it's worth the hassle"

Chris considered this and Jem continued, "Plus, if I sold my place and someone bought it, and then we broke up then I'd be stuck until I found another place that could be adapted to me"

Chris pulled a face, "Wow, way to have confidence in our relationship" he muttered sardonically

Jem sighed, "I'm not being pessimistic, I'm trying to be realistic; we need to think about every eventuality" he argued, "I'm happy with you and I want us to have a future together. In fact, I would have suggested that you move in with me, but you already live with your daughter so moving away from her would be a bit pointless"

Chris nodded slowly, "So, basically it's a 'no' to moving in, then?"

Jem smiled sadly, "It's an 'I'll think about it'" he replied

Chris was pleasantly surprised, "Really?" he questioned

Jem nodded, "As long as you give me my stuff back first" he replied

Chris laughed before kissing his boyfriend triumphantly and returning to pushing Jem in the direction of his home, hoping that one day it would become Jem's home too. Chris was prepared to do anything that needed to be done to make things easier for him for whenever he decided to move in with him. Moving in with someone was a big step, but as a couple they had already overcome several obstacles and had grown stronger together, so he was sure that this one wasn't going to break them either.

Thanks for reading, and thanks 'Guest' for the prompt: I wasn't sure what you were hoping for or exactly which way this was going to go, but because the web-chat was so short and raised a few questions, I wanted to fill in some gaps rather than to go in an entirely different direction. By the way, I've had the character of Jem in mind for a while and had built a bit of a back-story for him, so I was desperate to include him - though his being in a wheelchair wasn't inspired by Toadie or anything. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas for one-shots then just let me know and I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, remember that reviews are always welcome!