Taking what is mine chapter 3
Sally woke up with a jolt. Her breathing was rapid and she was sweating. She couldn't remember what she was dreaming about but it had scared the crap out of her and she had a feeling that something wasn't right. She slowly reached over to the bedside table and seen the time was 1:15pm. Knowing that she wouldn't sleep again, she turned the alarm off on her phone and quietly got out of bed. Luckily Frank and her had untangled themselves while they were sleeping so that she didn't wake him up when she got out of bed.
She put her dressing gown on and went into the kitchen, closing the bedroom door behind her. She fancied a cup of tea but she was still sweating slightly from her dream and was to hot for tea. As Sally made her way into the kitchen to get some cold juice, she really wanted a cigarette as well to calm down but she couldn't go outside in what she was wearing and she wouldn't smoke in the house for the sake for her children.
As she poured water into a glass, Sally smiled at the thought of her kids and how much they had changed her. If someone had told her years ago that she wouldn't smoke in her home for the sake of her kids, she would have sent the person to the Looney bin.
When Sally was a little girl, she had never played with dolls or played tea parties unlike her big sister who spent hours playing with dolls. She preferred to run around outside and play different sports in all weathers. As her 20's approached, many of Sally's friends were having babies, including her big sister who had her nephew Stephen. She was happy to be the cool auntie and hold the babies but as she held them in her arms, she felt no urge to have one herself. Sally was a spontaneous person and she loved that her life was so adventurous and carefree. Bringing a child into that lifestyle wouldn't be good for either Sally or a baby. Even when she was with Joe, children never crossed her mind but then again she and Joe didn't exactly have time to think about it. One minute they were friends, the next minute they were dating and then soon after they had broken up again. Just as quick as they were over, they were back together again and then Joe had proposed. Sally was shell shocked as marriage had never crossed her mind either and Joe was her longest relationship at that point. After some consideration she had accepted after realising she was just to scared to take a chance but once again fate was destined to keep them apart. Joe had died in an explosion from the Chinese warehouse factory leaving her devastated. Just as she was getting over his death, Sally had decided to take a chance on red watch commander, Shaun Bateman. She thought it was going well between them but it was the worst decision of her life and he had raped her. Going through the trial and admitting what he had done to her was the hardest thing she had ever done but she had come out stronger and made a promise to herself that she wouldn't get involved with anyone for a while and be free again.
Then came along Frank Mooney. He was different from all the other members of the Fire brigade that she had worked with. He kept to himself and only joined in with the watch if he felt like he had to or if the situation required him to. The one person he seemed to talk to the most was her and at times seemed to follow her around the station. Sally had to admit that he was a good-looking bloke but there was something dark and mysterious about him that put her off him. At one of her lowest times since Shaun Bateman, they had slept together on the station rooftop. It wasn't her proudest moment but it was what she needed at the time. While all of this was happening, she was having feelings for her station officer Mick Callaghan. At the time she thought it was love but looking back it was a schoolgirl crush. Mick was a good man but he wasn't the right man for her and he was already married. When Sally and her nephew Stephen had spent the night at Franks flat, he had opened up to her and she saw that he was a good man but misjudged by everyone. That night their relationship had turned casual and they had begun spending more time together. After a few weeks, Frank had wanted more out of their relationship but Sally was hesitant, remembering the promise that she had made to herself but then the biggest shock of her life came.
She was pregnant with Frank's baby. When she first found out that she was pregnant it wasn't exactly the happiest moment of her life. Just when she had decided to give Frank a chance, he told her that he had a darker past than she could ever have imagined and had even killed someone. How could she have been so stupid to get involved with anyone again after all she had been through and the promise she had made to herself? She had tried to talk to him but he kept pushing her away after he told her his past but had finally talked to her once he knew she was pregnant. He wanted her to have the baby but Sally didn't. When she first found out she was pregnant, it did scare her that she would be responsible someone else as well as herself but what scared her the most was Frank Mooney being the father. How could she bring a baby into the world knowing what Frank was capable of and knowing what he done in the past? Without thinking she planned to terminate the baby even with Frank's protests but the day before she was due to go through with it, Frank won her over by singing Eternal Flame to her and professing his love to her. Sally realised he deserved a break and they went to his flat where he told her more about his past and Sally realised once again she misjudged him. They talked for most of the night and the following morning about what to do and Sally changed her mind – for a short time. Elaine had arrived in the morning to ask Frank for help to get Adam outta trouble with Jimmy Watts – trouble Frank had gotten him into. Once again she had let herself down and decided to go to the doctors to terminate.
As Sally sat in the doctor's office waiting for the pill, her doctor had to check that there was a heartbeat first. Sally lay on the bed and watching as the doctor used a funny looking machine on her stomach to hear a heartbeat. When the sound of a very fast heartbeat filled the room, Sally knew she couldn't go through with it. There was a baby growing inside of her. Her baby. After all the men that let her down, the baby would grow up loving her and would be someone to rely on in her life. She could do this on her own without a man. Her doctor gave her the pill but Sally had asked to take it at home so she was more comfortable, which her doctor agreed but she knew Sally had changed her mind as well. Now she had to tell Frank that she was still pregnant but she didn't know if she wanted him. When he left the flat in the morning, he told her to stay there but when he got back and she wasn't there, he would know that she went to the doctors to terminate. When they first seen each other at work, the look on his face confirmed that he knew she had gone to the doctor. Eventually he had gone to the roof for a smoke and she followed him up to talk to him. She got as far as telling him that the doctor gave her a pill but he didn't let her finish and walked off. The pain was written all over his face and Sally felt like crap. That moment proved she had done the right thing and she would tell him the truth in the morning when he was more likely to listen to her but yet again another course of action was destined to happen.
In the morning, Blue watch were called to a shout where an illegal rave had taken place but the partygoers had been locked inside and the place was filled with gas. Other stations arrived and they made quick work of getting everyone out but a light unit had come loose and if it fell any further, it would ignite the whole place. When it almost fell only Mick and Frank were left inside and Frank had stayed to hold it while Mick escaped however he couldn't hold it for long and it caused a spark, igniting the gas and causing an explosion. As the rest of the watch raced down to find him, Sally tried to get him to respond but he didn't. History was repeating itself all over again and it was too much for Sally. She did love him but was scared that everything was going to fast and now she had lost him. She knew the reason he stayed down there was because he felt like he had nothing to live for anymore and was happy to die. She had kept trying the radio and eventually Frank had responded and she was over the moon. They brought Frank back up from the warehouse, cleaned up and headed back home. When they got back to the station, they made it just in time to watch the satellite but Sally only had eyes for Frank and she knew what she had to do. She had to tell him she was still pregnant and wanted to be him. After the last pieces had fallen, they checked the pumps and headed to the showers clean up. Sally had cleaned up and was sitting in her locker room thinking of how to tell Frank her news but she didn't have time to think as he came to see if she was ok. She told him that she was still pregnant and that she loved him. He was happier than Sally had expected he would be and they were officially in a relationship. She moved into his place that day and had laid everything on the table. She knew that he did sleep with Shauna but it didn't mean anything. Sally was mad to start with but she soon realised she had done the same thing by sleeping with him to get Mick's attention but her plan hadn't worked. Frank had told her more about his past and she had made him promise that he wouldn't beat anyone up for money again. If he went out anywhere without Sally, she always sneakily checked his knuckles for bruises when he came back to check if he had kept his promise. So far he had. They both felt so much better knowing everything was out in the open and were looking forward to the future. That was over a year ago and they had never looked back.
When they went for the 12-week scan, the doctor told them it was twins and Sally panicked. She had planned for one baby and knew she could do it but two babies! Double the work and two people dependent on her. Just as he promised he would, Frank was there to calm her down and she got excited about two babies. In her career as a fire fighter, Sally had to carry some heavy equipment and had heavy items fallen on her but giving birth was the hardest thing she had ever had to do but it was worth it. Sarah and James were beautiful and worth all the pain and all her worry had washed away when she looked at them. Frank couldn't take his eyes off them and had remained as trusty worthy and supportive, just as he promised. They were born six months ago and their little family was as strong as ever.
Sally knew that she needed to go and awake Frank up or he'd be awake all night, so she went back to their bedroom to wake him up. As she made her way back to the bedroom, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something didn't feel quite right. She put it down to the fact she hadn't seen her babies in almost 24 hours and was missing them. She tried to shake the feeling off, knowing she'd seen them in a couple of hours but right now it was time to enjoy alone time with Frank.
Sally slipped back into their bed under the covers and rubbed Frank's arm. He didn't even flinched when she did this.
"Frank you gotta get up." She said softly as she gently shook his arm and kissed his cheek.
"Uh Sal." Frank moaned in his sleep as he swatted her arm away and turned away from her. "Can't you get them this time?"
Sally couldn't help but laugh. Frank was in such a deep sleep that he thought it was still the morning and it was his turn to get up to see to the twins.
"Frank remember that they're not here." Sally said as she gently shook his arm again.
"Oh yeah, they're not here." Frank replied sleepily.
Sally couldn't help but laugh harder. She had never seen him in such a deep sleep before but she had no idea how to wake him up now. Luckily she didn't have time think. Without warning, Frank bolted up into a sitting position and turned round to face her. He had a scared look on his face.
"Sal, the kids aren't here. Where are they?" He asked her panicking.
"They're with Elaine. Remember she took them this morning with Ajay." Sally said as held him to stop him jumping out of bed.
Frank thought for a second before realisation dawned on him. "Oh yeah, that's right." Frank replied as he yawned and stretched his arms above his head, showing off his muscles. "I must have been more tired than I thought. What time is it?" He relaxed more and lay back down in bed.
"It's 1:30." Sally said as she lay back down as well and turned into Frank's arms.
"What was your mum wanting?" Frank asked as he held her in his arms.
"How did you know it was her?" Sally asked looking up to his face.
"We've only had three other message this week. All from her. It's not hard to work out Sal." He replied with a smirk on his face.
She had to admit he was smarter than he looked. "She was just moaning about not seeing the kids enough. I want her to see them as much as she and dad can but there's only so much of my mum I can take before we start arguing." Sally replied.
"I know its hard for you but just remember how happy the kids are when their with your folks. Remember it's their only grandparents as well." Frank said to her with a slightly pained look on his face.
Frank sometimes wondered what it would have been like if his mum hadn't gotten ill and died so early. She had never forgiven Frank for the fire that killed his younger brother and dad, even though he didn't start the fire. They had a strained relationship until his mum took ill and he looked after her. Neither was thrilled with the situation but as her son he felt obligated to look after her while she was dying but he didn't feel any emotion when she passed away. If she had lived, once she had grandchildren would she have finally forgiven him for something that wasn't his fault and be a loving Grandmother or would she shun his kids like she had done to him.
Sally seen the look on his face and knew he was right. The same thoughts about his mum sometimes crossed her mind as well to what could have been. "Yeah I know but there is always another option instead of them visiting us." Sally said.
"What's that?" He asked.
"We leave Sarah and James with them for a couple of weeks or until my sisters baby is born. That way when we get them back, mum and dad won't need to visit for a while." She replied with an excited look on her face.
"Sal that won't work. You would have to physically pry the kids from your mums arms to get them back and you couldn't last a couple of weeks without them." Frank said to her, knowing he was right.
"Yeah I know. It was just a nice idea." Sally laughed back at him knowing that she wouldn't ever send her babies away to her parents at such a young age for so long.
Frank laughed as well before letting out a huge yawn and stretching his arms above his head again.
"I hope your not to tired. Wasn't there something about Mummy and Daddy time?" Sal asked him.
That seemed to wake Frank up as he turned to face Sally with a twinkle in his eyes. "Oh yeah. I think Daddy has earned some alone time with Mummy."
Sally giggled as Frank pulled her closer to him. "Oh yes he has."
Their lips met and they kissed each other.
It was just after 3:30pm as Sally was getting dressed. The past few hours may have been shorter than they liked however it was still good. They had enjoyed their alone time together, made some plans for the next few days and talked about possibly going away just the two of them soon for a few days without the kids. They would need to ask Andie or Sally said she would consider asking her folks to watch the twins. They got out of bed and had something to eat then Sally went for a shower and Frank went in after her. Once he was done, they were going to Elaine's to get Sarah and James.
Just as Sally put her top on, the house phone rang and she sighed knowing there was a 99% chance it would be her mother again. As she walked into the living room to get the phone, she mentally tried to prepare herself for the conversation she would need to have with her mum.
"Hello." She said politely into the phone as she picked it up.
"Alright Sal. Sleep well?" The caller answered.
"Yeah like a log. You?" Replied Sally.
"Yeah was knackered." Adam replied back to her. "I was wondering if you could do me a favour?"
"Yeah sure. What you after?" She asked.
"Going to get Ajay from mum soon but she's making dinner tonight at hers for me and Kate. There's no point me going to get Ajay and then go back later for dinner. Any chance of a lift over to mums and I'll stay until Kate comes over from work?" Replied Adam.
"Yeah that's fine. We were just heading to get our two once Frank's out the shower. Get you in like 15 - 20 minutes." Sally said.
"Thought you'd be in with him." Adam replied back.
"Mind your own business. See you soon." Sally snapped back at him, trying to stop the smile on her face appearing.
"Bye." Adam said back as he laughed down the phone before hanging up.
Sally put the phone back on its charger and then went back to the bedroom to see if Frank was nearly ready. As she walked back in, Frank was out the shower and was finishing getting changed.
"That your mum again?" He asked her sensing she had come back into the room.
"Surprisingly no." Sally said as she walked over to the little dressing table and mirror and started brushing her hair. "It was Adam asking for a lift to his mums. Said we'd pick him up in 20 minutes."
Frank slipped on his leather jacket and walked over to the table to comb his hair as well. Just before he picked up the comb, Sally put down her hairbrush and was about to walk away but Frank placed his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.
"You know 20 minutes, is a long time. Enough time for some more mummy and daddy time." He said with another twinkle in his eye as he leaned in for another kiss.
Sally caught the look in his eye and placed a finger on his lips to stop him. "Tell you what. I bet you that you can't get both kids fed, bathed and bedded by 7:30 tonight on your own. If you can then you've got a deal." She replied to him before she pecked a kiss on his cheek and slipped out of his grasp. "Now hurry up, will you? I wanna see our babies."
"Yes boss." Frank said to her as she walked back into the living room. As he grabbed his comb, he had to admit that he missed the kids as well. He loved his time when it was just him and Sally but the twins could put the biggest smile on his face and wash away any negative emotion he had. Sally and the kids had truly brought daylight back into his life.
He finished combing his hair and put the comb back on the table. After giving himself a final check, he left the bedroom and went to meet Sally in the little entrance room at the front door. As he walked in she was putting her shoes on to go out the door.
"Do we need the car seats?" Frank asked as he walked to the shoe rack to put his shoes on as well.
"No. Andie left them with Elaine as well." Sally replied as she put her jumper on and grabbed her bag.
"Right." Frank said as he finished putting on his last shoe. "Let's go." He said as he stood up and opened the front door and let Sally lead the way out.
Sally walked out the door and headed to the stairs to wait for Frank to lock up the flat. He soon appeared around the corner from their flat door to the stairs and they headed down to the car. Frank still had the keys in his jacket pocket from driving home this morning, so he automatically jumped into the drivers seat while Sally jumped into the passenger side. If she had wanted to drive he would have let her.
"Feels weird doesn't it." Sally said to him as she put her seatbelt on.
"What does?" He asked her as he started the car and drove towards Adams flat.
"Leaving the flat so quickly and easily. Not having to carry the kids, the pram, car seats, baby-bags or work bags." Sally replied to him.
"Yeah I know. Feels like we've forgotten something." He said.
"You won't be saying that tomorrow when we have all those things to carry down the stairs again. Be hoping we've forgotten something." She replied as she adjusted the heating in the car.
"Its good to get a break now and again though. Slow down a bit." Frank said as they stopped a traffic light.
"Yeah." Sally paused as she thought about what she was going to say. "I'll phone mum tonight and see if she can look after the kids for a day or two. We do need more time for just you and me. It can't be about the kids or work all the time and as you said it gives the kids more time with my folks. As they grow up it might not be as easy to go visiting them" She said as she gave his hand an affectionate squeeze.
"I'm up for that." He said as he squeezed her hand back, happy that she had listened to him earlier. "Although just make sure your done with your mum by 7:30. I got a bet I'm gonna win and want to cash in tonight" He smirked at her as he drove away again as the light turned green.
"Oh we'll see about that." Sally said to him. Frank could feed, bath and put their kids to bed no problem but the hard part would be doing it all on his own. When they weren't on night shift they did the nightly routine with kids together but Sally had done it more on her own with both kids while she was on maternity leave and Frank was working. He had never had to do to the nightly routine by himself with both kids. She knew he could do it but there was no way it would be done by 7:30. She was winning this one and it would be fun to watch.
Frank caught the devious look in her eyes and knew she was up to something but decided to leave it. He would find out soon what she was up to.
Just as they were 5 minutes away from Adam's flat, Sally text him to say where they were and to meet them outside the flat entrance door. Just as Frank pulled into the car park for the block of flats, Adam came out the entrance door and jumped into the back of the car.
"Alright." Adam asked as he closed the door and put his seatbelt on.
"Yeah mate. You?" Frank asked as drove back onto the street and towards Elaine's flat.
"Yeah good. Nice to get a few hours extra kip without a baby needing attention." Adam replied.
"Yeah we know that feeling." Sally said to him.
As she glanced at Adam in the back, she seen the grin on his face and knew he was about to wind Frank up. She just hoped she was wrong.
"It was good for Ajay to. He got to spend some more time with his best mate and his future bride." Adam said smirking as he patted Frank lightly on the back.
Sally wasn't wrong. He had said it.
Once the three kids had started to spend more time together, people had joked that Ajay would be James's best mate and Sarah was his future bride. Everyone found the running joke cute except for Frank. Since the moment she was born, Sarah was the apple of his eye and had him around her little finger, even at 6 months old. Sally knew he would be a protective dad when it came to her dating but if this was what he was like when she was baby it would get worse when she got older. A man would have to have high standards to impress Frank and be good enough for Sarah.
As Sally looked at Frank, she could tell he was gripping the gear stick harder at Adam's words and patting his back. She put her hand on top of his to try and relax his hand, which he did and let go of the stick.
"Remember Adam. Just because he's your son doesn't mean I'll let him marry my little girl." Frank replied to Adam.
"Yeah I know mate." Adam said knowing Frank didn't appreciate the joke. "The three of them might hate each other when they get older. They're stuck with each other just now."
"Time will tell." Sally said as they continued to Elaine's.
She still couldn't shake the feeling that something didn't feel right. She didn't know what it was but hopefully once she seen Sarah and James she would feel better.
They soon arrived on Elaine's street and found a parking spot a few doors away from Elaine's flat. Elaine's flat had been converted from an old Victorian house into 2 flats which each had their own entrance and locking system. Elaine lived on the bottom flat and the top flat had been vacant for a few months after her neighbour had moved out.
Frank parked the car and all three got out and walked up to the house. They walked up the path in the garden and around the side of the house to where the ground flat entrance was. As they reached the door, all three heard a baby crying.
"That sounds like James." Sally sighed as she recognised the sobbing of her son. She wanted her babies back but it was never good to get them while they were crying and upset. To be greeted by a smiling baby was much better.
Frank listened carefully for a second to the crying noises. "Can't be Sal. Whenever one twin cries, the other one does as well. There's only one baby crying." He replied to her.
"No that's definitely James." She replied knowing her sons cries.
"Let's find out who's drawing the short straw." Adam said as he pushed the doorbell so Elaine knew they were there and could unlock the door to let them in.
They waited a few moments but Elaine didn't come to answer the door.
"Mum. We're here." Adam said as he pushed the bell again and knocked on the door and shouted to get her attention.
Sally was slightly worried. Only one out of her two babies was crying and Elaine's didn't answer the door. She always answered her door quickly even if she had one of the crying babies on her hip and she wouldn't have left the flat without the kids. To knock on the door twice with no answer was concerning.
After few more minutes, there was still no answer.
"Mum?" Adam shouted to her and banged on the door so hard it might have come of its hinges.
As they waited one final time, Sally knew that something wasn't right and needed to know what it was soon.
"Adam isn't there a spare key?" Sally asked trying to stop her voice from shaking.
"Not on me but I think there's a spare one….here." Adam said as he looked under a few loose rocks by the side of the wall. Under one of the rocks was a key.
Adam picked it up and walked back to the door, placing the key in the lock. After a few fumbles and turns, the door was unlocked and Adam pushed the door open gently and all three were shocked at what they seen.
"MUM!" Adam shouted.
Inside Elaine's front door was a small entrance room with a show rack, washing machine and coat rack. In the middle of the small room, Elaine lay unconscious with an open gash on her head and blood dripping from it.
Adam rushed to her side and knelt down beside her. "Mum can you hear me?" He asked her as he tried to see if there was anymore bleeding.
Frank had come over to the other side of Elaine. "She's breathing." He said as he placed two fingers on her neck and felt a pulse.
Sally was about to go over to Elaine as well but as she was about to kneel down, the crying baby cried louder. She carefully walked around the two men and Elaine to go towards the crying noises. After opening the door at the end of the entrance room, She entered the main hallway and headed for the living room. As Sally entered the living room, she went straight over to the large baby playpen that they had bought for Elaine when she started looking all three babies. It allowed her to keep all three kids in one place if she had to do something in another room. As she got to the playpen, the first baby she seen was James and it was him that was crying his little heart out.
"Hey sweetie. Where's my chunky monkey?" She said as she leaned into the playpen and picked James up.
"It's ok. Mummy's here." She cooed to him as she hugged him to her chest, bouncing him slightly to soothe him.
After a minute, James stopped crying but was still sobbing. Normally doing this was enough to calm him but today he wouldn't stop sobbing. Sally moved him to her hip and checked his temperature and his nappy but he didn't need changed and he didn't feel warm.
"You feeling ok?" She asked him as she kept bouncing him on her hip to soothe him but it wasn't working. This wasn't like him but who knew how long Elaine had been knocked out for. Maybe the noise that knocked Elaine out and being left alone for some time scared him. Once they got the kids home and spent time with them, she knew he would calm down.
Sally knew no more hip bouncing would soothe James and would have to let him self soothe. At least he was sobbing now and not crying.
"Where's your sister?" Sally asked him but it seemed to make James sob more.
"Where's my other baby." Sally said out loud as she peered into the baby playpen.
As she looked back down into the playpen, it was Ajay that she seen first. He was looking at her with a gummy smile as if to say "Thank you for shutting him up. That crying was doing my head in." She smiled back at him but her eyes kept looking around for Sarah but she wasn't in the playpen.
"Is your sister sleeping? Lets go see." Sally asked James as her concern was growing. If Sarah was sleeping then James should be to.
She turn around and made her way out of the living room to the spare room where the cribs were for the babies. As she was walked to the spare room, she was worried as the whole situation wasn't right since they walked in the door and it didn't feel like the bad situation was going to end.
Sally walked into the spare room with James still sobbing on her hip. She peered into the two cribs that were in the room but they were both empty, as was the single bed in the room. Her heart was racing now. Surely this couldn't be true. She then went into Elaine's room but again there was no Sarah in Elaine's room. Sally's heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to pop out of her chest. She checked every room in the house, along with Ajay's pram and the twin's car seats in the hallway but there was no sign of Sarah and one of the car seats was missing. She was to scared to admit it but she had to now. Baby Sarah was not in the flat and was missing. Sally's sense that something was wrong was right. Her baby girl was gone.
Sally stood froze in the hallway trying to process what was happening but she was so shocked she couldn't think. Luckily Adam's voice pulled her back to reality.
"I'll call an ambulance." Adam said from the entrance room.
Sally ran back to the door that opened to the entrance room, where Adam and Frank we're still stood over Elaine.
"Call the police too." Sally almost shouted at Adam.
"Sarah's not here. She's gone!" Sally said.
Both Frank and Adam looked up at her with disbelieving looks.
TO BE CONTINUED
