As Rose was getting ready for the scan, James waited as patiently as he could. Even though the baby couldn't possibly be his, he felt like it could have been, if Rose hadn't wasted her time trying to keep Alec around. She had made a mistake and he thought she already knew that so he wasn't going to go on about it to her. What was the point?
He could only keep reminding her that he was the one who was now there for her and while he couldn't expect her to completely forget Alec, that she'd put Alec to the back of her mind and just think of him now and then. He thought he could accept that.
"Right Rose, let's have a look then?" Rose was being told as cold gel was being put on her tummy, Rose wincing. "Yeah, everyone does that," the nurse smiled at her. "We're ready," the nurse called over to the operator, Rose not sure what their names were, since she'd never been here before.
"Is this your first?" Rose was asked as the nurse tried to put her at ease.
Rose thought how old did she look? There again, teenage pregnancies on the estate were common and usually the girls who were pregnant had broken up with the fathers. She didn't expect they got many teenagers at a clinic in Chiswick though.
"Can my partner come in?" Rose asked as she wasn't allowed to look at the screen.
"All in good time, Rose," she was told as she felt the equipment moving on her. "I just have to check first, we don't want either of you being disappointed if you're not actually pregnant, do we?"
Rose supposed the other woman did have a point. Well with anyone else but what about her and James? James seemed just as keen as if he really was responsible but he wasn't, he couldn't possibly be because she knew exactly when it had happened, well within a few days during Alec's last visit and she and James hadn't got together until a couple of weeks ago. Then she had been a little reluctant to start a sexual relationship with him, she'd only ever been with Alec beforehand.
"Well everything looks okay Rose, there's not much to see at this early stage," Rose was being told. "You can see if you want and your partner can come in, if he's not squeamish?"
"Yeah, he said he wanted to," Rose admitted as the monitor was moved and the sound turned up.
The nurse who had been holding Rose's hand let go and went off to find James, whom Rose half expected had disappeared, quit his job at the store and gone off on his travels again. The nurse had a vague idea what James looked like and found him trying to show interest in what was being shown on the information channel of a TV screen on the wall.
"Are you with Rose Tyler?" she asked, making him jump even though he'd been waiting as patiently as he could.
"Yes! Absolutely!" he exclaimed and jumped up, almost taking the chair with him, which made the nurse smile.
"This way then, you can come in for a few minutes," she told him as he followed her. "Here he is," the nurse then told Rose as James went to her.
"Hey," James was still excited at the prospect and found himself staring at the monitor. "Wow!"
"Yeah, wow," Rose agreed as she'd already seen, though not as excitedly as James.
"It's so tiny," James studied the screen as he reached for his glasses and wished he'd put his contact lenses in.
He'd been meaning to get the new type that could be left in for longer and now he wished he had. He only really needed them for driving and reading but found it easier when he did wear them. He'd never really been teased for having to wear glasses though, getting away without them by sitting at the front of the class in school but his aunt had always taken him for regular eye tests when he had gone to live with them.
"So, you're about as far on as you thought Rose," she was being told as her notes were being studied. "We need to get you booked into the hospital but you can come here for your check-ups, if you prefer?"
"Yeah, that would be easier?" Rose wondered, seeing James nod in agreement.
"You might as well," James was telling her as the monitor still showed a picture even though Rose was being cleaned up.
"We'll have a better picture next time," she was promised. "We'll see you in six weeks then?"
"Yeah, fine," Rose had to agree, thinking it was rather a long time but if that was how they did things?
"They'll arrange things at reception for you, we'll send your next appointment in the post," she was then told.
James helped her off the examination table and then out into the reception area, clutching a yellow form in his hand, having been told to hand it in. The receptionist took it when she looked up from what she was doing.
"Yes, we'll send an appointment out," she was telling James as he waited.
"Right, yes," he replied nervously. "Let's go home then?" he turned to Rose.
Once in the car, Rose stopped him from starting the engine.
"I put your address," she reminded him.
"Yes Rose, I noticed," he agreed, putting his glasses back on. "You are going to spend most of your time there, aren't you?" he wanted to make sure she wasn't having second thoughts.
"Well yeah, that's what we agreed? Mum didn't seem so keen though?"
"Yes, so she made it known," James agreed. "Won't she get used to the idea, once she sees you are serious?"
"I expect so? I mean at one time I was supposed to go live in Scotland but that never happened," Rose admitted.
"You still never told me why," James reminded her as he started the car, in case the time limit was up and he didn't fancy getting a parking ticket just because he wanted to know why Rose had never gone to live with Alec, or the other way round.
Why hadn't Alec ever come down here to live and work? He couldn't figure that out for the life of him. Why had they remained apart all that time, since they was sixteen, so he'd found out. That was around nine years Alec had been going to visit her and going back again. He knew it couldn't have been easy by his own experience, which he'd found out the hard way and wanted to forget anyway. Did Rose ever want to forget though.
"Rose, I understand if you want to contact Alec," he suddenly told her on the way back. "Otherwise, we should go to my aunt's tonight and see if we can pass hers and Donna's test? I mean they'll have plenty of questions, trust me," he tried to joke.
"Geez James, how are we gonna do that?" Rose wanted to know. "Donna will never go for it, we'll have to tell her, she'll get it out of one of us eventually. She won't just accept it."
"She will, if we tell her it was the night I went to check up on you," James told her.
"Are you crazy? She won't believe that, she knew I was waiting for Alec to arrive, all that day," Rose reminded him.
"Yes and if I say you were upset and I offered to comfort you? We can say it just happened?" he wondered.
"Will she fall for that?" Rose also wondered. "James, I don't think she will, she knows how shy you were around me," she reminded him.
"I can say I was putting it on?" James suggested. "Do you need to call at the shops for anything?"
"Oh, yeah, I'd better?" Rose wanted to change the subject.
James waited in the shopping precinct car park while Rose went in a few shops, thinking how they were going to fool Donna into believing the baby was his. They would have to be pretty quick to get past his cousin, let alone his aunt. He knew his uncle and granddad would just go along with the two women for the sake of keeping the peace.
They got back to what was about to become Rose's new home and sat debating what they were going to do.
"Well, Donna's just gonna have to accept I was cheating on Alec then?" Rose suddenly announced when they'd run out of ideas.
"Be serious Rose, that's the least excuse she'd believe," James doubted.
"No James, it's the only one she's likely to believe," Rose insisted. "Think about it? How can we keep up the pretence of how far on I am, for one?"
"Ah, good point?" James scratched his head trying to think of something better that he hadn't already tried to suggest and Rose turning it down. "I really give up Rose, we have to accept this isn't going to work."
"No James, I don't believe that. The only real alternative is we forget it and I bring the baby up on my own and accept Alec gave up on me and went with Tess."
"Rose, you can't be sure he actually has," James tried to convince her. "You have no actual proof."
"Haven't I?" Rose disagreed. "I think him not turning up that Saturday is all the proof I need? It had to be her stopping him for coming down but why? She knew he was coming down to try to persuade me to go back with him or at least follow him in a week or two."
"That's just it Rose, why wouldn't you go back with him?" James wanted to know. "Why won't you tell me?"
"It's personal James and my mum's involved. I'd have to get her to agree," Rose insisted.
"What has your mother got to do with it? I thought she was never against your relationship with Alec? I mean from what you said in the past?" James asked her.
"She's not. Alec's not the reason why I would never go to live up there, when mum brought us back," she admitted. "Can we get back to what we're gonna tell Donna? I think I admit I cheated on Alec and pray she doesn't ever meet him."
"When exactly?" James had to resolve to the fact she was going to stick with this excuse and there would be no changing her mind.
"Just as Alec left, I suppose?" Rose had to accept that was the only way. "Just don't tell my mother and hope Donna doesn't either."
"They don't see much of each other," James reminded her.
"Yeah, there is that? I'll just have to tell mum that Donna heard me wrong and hope she accepts it? Either that or I'll tell mum we didn't want Donna to know it's not yours?"
"Rose, why can't we just admit it to Donna and try to fool my aunt?" James then suggested.
"What do ya think Donna would say though?" Rose wondered.
"That I'm an idiot, I suppose?" James grinned at the thought. "There's no real solution Rose."
"I know, except we forget about it and I have the baby on my own," Rose reminded him.
"Rose, that is out of the question," James objected. "I am not going to let you do this alone, so forget it. Why don't we work out the dates when you'll really be due and the dates when you'd be due if we'd got together the day Alec never turned up?"
"Trust you to think of that," Rose laughed as she buried her head in his shoulder. "What time is your aunt expecting us?"
James had called his aunt Sylvia when they'd got home.
"Why are you and Rose wanting to come round mid-week?" James had been asked.
"We wanted to tell you all something," was all he was admitting. "Will granddad be there?"
"It must be serious if you want all of us here?" he was asked. "Yes, I'll make sure he's here but don't expect anything fancy at tea-time."
James could never work out why she thought any mealtime should be fancy. His aunt had always acted a bit more upper-class than need be, even when he'd been younger but he'd soon seen the other side when he'd had to go live with them. He'd also learned quickly how sneaky Donna could be as well, being a few years older than her, he always somehow got the blame for everything.
Donna had apologised though when they'd grown up and he'd gone to live on his own. He'd invited her to stay with him but she had told him it would never work, they were too different in their ways. Then, he'd gone off to study and she'd gone to business school and ended up at the store and she'd introduced him to Rose. That had been it and all those years of waiting had paid off.
Up in Paisley, it was Alec's day off and somehow, Tess had persuaded her friend in the personnel department to swap her day off but Alec hadn't been happy about it.
"I have things to do Tess," he was trying to tell her as they got up and he didn't fancy having her tag along.
"Why Alec? Don't want me to know about them?" Tess was taunting him.
He was thinking maybe if he said yes, she would get the hint and leave? Even if she did, he'd be on his own because he couldn't go crawling back to Rose now, could he? He'd done the unforgivable and been with Tess, properly from what she'd hinted and he just prayed she'd been taking the pill she said she was on.
He didn't know what he'd do if she'd lied to him over it but he had seen a packet appear in his bathroom cabinet before she'd moved in properly so he hoped they were it. What would he do though if Rose ever turned up unannounced now? That was if Rose would ever forgive him for leaving her waiting for him the other week? Rose would know for certain Tess was with him, not that he thought she didn't already and Tess had been the cause of him not going to see her.
He'd known Rose would have been heart-broken but he'd also began to suspect she might seek comfort in this James she always talked about. He'd seen the other man when he'd last been collecting Rose from work but not properly. He just hoped Rose hadn't gone to Donna's cousin out of desperation and that the man didn't really look like him.
"Well?" Tess was waiting for him when he came out of the bathroom, Alec being tempted to see if Tess was actually taking the pill.
"Well what?" he asked innocently, having decided not to shave again.
"I thought you'd have shaved while you were in there?" Tess huffed.
"Why? It's my day off Tess. If you need a ride somewhere, just say and I will drop you off later. I have to go somewhere."
"Well be secretive Alec, I can be as well," Tess reminded him. "I'm going to call my friend and meet her for lunch then, since you'll be out."
Was Tess just saying that, he wondered as she went in the bathroom, hopefully not forgetting to take her morning pill. If she tried that trick on him, he could say she deceived him and tell her to leave, he'd be well justified in doing so. The only downside was she'd tell everyone at work and he'd be the bad guy. No, Tess Henchard certainly had him well and truly where she wanted him and he'd walked right into her trap.
While she was in the bathroom, he called his aunt.
"Of course you can come over," his aunt Mary told him. "You're not bringing that woman with you though, are you?"
"No, Tess is already going somewhere. I just wanted to see if you were okay," Alec replied. "You must miss John being there?"
"Aye, we do," his aunt had to admit. "Your uncle's about to retire, we're going to look for a smaller place, since your dad has already done so."
"Well don't move too far away from each other," Alec tried to cheer her up.
He had some room to talk, living at the other side of the town to where he'd grown up. Those few years he had lived close to Rose sprang to mind and the times they'd spent at his house and his aunt's.
"Have you heard from Rose?" his aunt suddenly asked hopefully.
"No, nothing and I don't deserve to either. I have no right expecting her to contact me now, after I let her down," he admitted.
"Well, there's still hope, if you get rid of Tess," his aunt reminded him. "Come over for lunch then, I'll welcome the company. I'll make that home-made soup you and Rose used to like then, shall I?"
He knew until the day she died, she'd never forgive him for letting Rose get away. He agreed a time, thinking he could drop Tess off then go over for twelve thirty and wondered if his dad would be in. His dad had gone to work part-time and he'd never got the times. He tried his dad's phone number but got no reply, then Tess came out into the living room, a towel wrapped around her head.
"Trying to call Rose?" she taunted him.
"Stop it Tess. No I was arranging a time to call and see my aunt, I've not seen her for a while," he replied, wondering why he put up with Tess constantly reminding him she wasn't a patch on Rose.
"That's hardly an excuse for not spending time together Alec. Maybe from next week we could use the time to go out together? We could do a weekly shop to save going every other day?" she suggested.
He wasn't keen since when they called on the way home normally, it was less time at home with her. Why didn't he just tell her a few weeks ago that she couldn't move in with him? He should have avoided her tempting him that night and driven off to London and not come back except to collect the rest of his things but he'd not, he'd let Tess finally get her own way that there was no backing out.
He could have lived with not telling Rose Tess had almost got him but not now he'd gone all the way with Tess. Maybe Rose had already known she'd lost him and gone to Donna's cousin? He couldn't shake the feeling that something had been off with Rose when he'd last seen her but he'd put it down to the fact that neither of them had known at the time what was going to happen when he went back.
Rose was clever though, far clever than anyone had given her credit for and she had maybe known he was going back to Tess? He dropped Tess in the town centre and drove out to his aunt's, who welcomed him.
"It's good to see you Alec," his aunt told him.
"I tried calling my dad but he must be working," Alec admitted.
"I think he just fills in for people nowadays," she told him as she warmed the soup up.
When he and Rose used to go for lunch during the school holidays, Rose had loved the way his aunt made soup.
"This brings back the memories," Alec had to smile as his aunt told him to sit when he went for the bread basket.
"Aye, it does that, Rose was always keen to help, even though she used to do everything at home," his aunt recalled.
"What did I do? Why did I let her go?" Alec asked, his aunt noticing he was tearful for a moment, then he tried to cover it.
"I keep asking myself that," his aunt sympathised. "Have you tried to contact her since you last saw her? I know John said you'd called him about it. Why did you and John never share a flat, instead of you giving in and letting Tess move in? What were you thinking Alec?"
"I don't know, Auntie Mary," he replied, covering his face to wipe the tears in his eyes, then remembering to go wash his hands.
"You have to stand up to her and tell her you made a big mistake, if you ask me," his aunt smiled and took the bread to the table.
"I can't," Alec admitted as he dried his hands. "We're too involved now and most of the station know about us."
"Well, seems to me only you can do something about it, such as tell everyone Tess made it all up and make her look foolish," his aunt suggested.
Then Alec wondered what was stopping him from doing so?
"If I did that, I'd have to leave, then what?" he asked as she put a big bowl of hot soup in front of him and a smaller one for herself.
Why was everyone always insisting he fattened himself up, he often asked himself.
"You need someone to tell you that?" his aunt asked him. "Just do it Alec, put in for another transfer, down to London."
"Tess would find out and make me out as the bad guy for leaving her," he reminded his aunt.
"You'd be away from her Alec, never mind what she does about it," his aunt replied, seeing Alec still liked breaking the bread rolls she'd baked over his dish, which used to make Rose laugh.
Alec noticed and remembered how Rose used to tease him about it when they first got to know each other.
"See, how can you have forgotten how things were with Rose?" she wanted to know.
"I haven't, what makes everyone think I have?" Alec replied, trying to blow on the hot soup.
"I remember when you first started bringing her around here Alec. We all welcomed her. Then you wonder why we all refuse to accept Tess in the same way," she told him bluntly.
Alec went quiet, knowing she was right. The family would never accept Tess the way they all accepted Rose. His aunt had even been willing to let Rose stay there when her mother was taking her back to London,
"Do something about it, before it's too late Alec," his aunt broke the silence when they'd finished eating. "Talk to John about it?"
"He's tired of telling what an idiot I am," Alec admitted, getting up to clear the dishes.
"He's disappointed, as we all are Alec," she told him. "We all expected her to come back and you'd get married. You only just managed to ask her."
"I was nervous," he tried to tell her. "I did not know how she would take it."
"You'd known her, all that time Alec. Did you really think she would have said no?" his aunt wanted to know.
He had known deep down that Rose had wanted to get married as much as he had but maybe they'd been too young back then?
"It was too soon, we only just got away with being engaged," he reminded his aunt as he ran some hot water into the sink.
"Rose may not have thought so," his aunt disagreed. "So, are you staying with Tess, seeing you won't go begging Rose to forgive you for not turning up when you said you would?"
"Rose won't take me back now, Aunt Mary. Besides, she may have someone else, if she has given up waiting for me," he had to admit.
"What makes you think that?" his aunt wondered, not knowing what Alec had said to John about Donna's cousin.
"Rose had a friend, Donna, who had a cousin. Rose used to say he looked a little like me but she'd never said anything to him. Anyway, he worked at the store with them and was always following them around," he explained.
"I see then? You think he's tried to take your place, I mean if he reminds her of you?" his aunt asked, trying to keep up. "Then why are you here and not trying to stop that?"
"It's not that easy," Alec replied, going back to sit down instead of keeping turning around to answer her.
"You've never even tried from what John says. You don't talk to him, like you used to and you never come around here on Sundays," she reminded him.
"Then Tess would expect to come as well and she won't be as welcome as Rose was," he admitted. "It's best I stay away. I'm surprised she never asked to come with me today but she had already said she was meeting a friend."
"A male friend, hopefully," his aunt smiled, trying to get him to admit how wrong he was getting involved with Tess.
"Is it because she's English and reminds you of Rose?" his aunt continued. "Why is she even up here?"
"She took advantage of a training course, other than that, she never said. There were a lot of things I never knew about Rose," he reminded himself.
"She would have told you, surely?" his aunt asked. "I can't tell you what to do Alec, it's up to you. Just think what your mother would have said? She would have loved Rose as much as we still do but I'm not sure she would approve of Tess, from the time we saw her."
Alec now regretted the Sunday Tess had persuaded him to let her meet his family. He thought you could have cut the air with a knife the times everyone had been silent while eating. It was normally the time everyone used to catch up or after Rose had left, the time they all asked him how she was and when he was going to see her again.
What could he do about it now though?
