Smithy sat in Alexs' living room watching the TV; or rather attempting to watch the TV. He looked at his watch again for the fifth time in ten minutes. Where is she? He thought. He was worried about Alex. When she had walked into the house earlier, she had looked very white and something was clearly upsetting her. The only problem was that Smithy didn't have a clue what.

Finally at quarter to nine Smithy heard the front door slam shut. Alex walked into the hall and stood outside the living room door. She looked a lot happier and not as pale, although she looked very tired.

"Alex are you alright?" Smithy asked as he jumped up from where he was sat.

Alex smiled weakly and nodded her head. "Yeah Smithy, I'm fine. Honestly, you don't have to look at me like that." Alex tried to reassure him.

"What was all that about?" He asked as he guided Alex into one of the leather seats.

"It's kind of a long story. Although I want you to be the first to know." She started to explain.

"Be the first to know what?" Smithy asked, he couldn't help reveal the worry in his voice.

"Not many people know this but… I found out a while ago that I'm actually adopted. I've known for ages who my birth mother is but I've never done anything about it. That was until this evening. You see, Gina is my Mum, only she didn't know that until a couple of hours ago. I didn't mean for her to find out the way she did."

"How did she find out?"

"I went to see Adam to make him see sense about leaving permanently. Our discussion became more heated and in anger I let it slip about Gina. Unfortunately she had let herself into his house with her key and was standing in the hall when I said it. She was so angry when she left his. That's why I was so upset when you saw me earlier. I was terrified that she wouldn't want to speak to me again. Stupid I know, but I saw how betrayed she felt." Alex explained.

"So what have you decided to do?"

"We want to give our relationship as mother and daughter a shot. She has always been very mothering to me anyway so I don't think there'll be much difference." Alex said with a tired laugh.

"Wow, I can't believe you're Ginas' daughter. I found out a couple of months ago that she had given a baby away for adoption, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that to be you."

Alex yawned and curled up in the seat where she was sat. Smithy saw this and moved to sit next to her.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he bent down to kiss her.

"Why do you have to go?" She complained.

"Because you look absolutely shattered and I'm already late for work." He replied as he put on his jacket.

"Oh yeah sorry Smithy, I totally forgot you were on shift tonight. Can't you pull a sickie?" She asked as she wrapped her arms round his waist and looked up at him longingly.

"Well as good as that sounds, I don't think it's a very good idea. If Gina found out then she would kill me. I'll see you tomorrow though, ok?" He replied and kissed her forehead.

"I suppose so." She said. He then kissed her passionately. "You'd better go; otherwise I'm not going to want to let you go." Alex said as she pulled away.

"I'll see you later." Smithy turned and headed down her front steps to where his car was parked. He drove in the direction of the station and after Alex watched him leave, she slowly closed the door.

She headed up to her bedroom and changed into her pajamas. She then eased her legs into the bed and felt the fresh, coolness of the quilt cover rest on her legs. She fell quickly in to a deep, peaceful sleep.

Gina sat in her kitchen with a box sat on the table in front of her. The box contained pictures and mementos that she had of Alex before she had given her away for adoption. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear someone knocking at her front door.

Who the hell could that be at this time of night? She thought tiredly to herself.

When she opened the door, she saw Adam standing on her front step.

"Adam, what are you doing hear?" She asked.

"I came to see how you were, and to see if I could get some sort of explanation." He said.

Gina stepped aside and let him past. She took him into the kitchen and sat him down at the table.

"So it's true then, Alex is your daughter." Adam said. Gina didn't say anything. She just looked at him and nodded her head.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me Gina? We were together for five years, lived together for three of those and we have now known each other for nearly twenty years. When during that time were you going to inform me of your indiscretion?" Adam said. He clearly felt angry and betrayed at not being told.

"I couldn't Adam. It's not that I didn't want to or don't trust you; it's just really hard for me to talk about. You have to understand how I have felt all these years. Every time I thought about her I lost another part of me, so you can imagine how I felt talking about her." Gina said. She was feeling drained both physically and emotionally.

"So where have you decided to go from here?" Adam asked.

"She has agreed to give me a second chance. We both want to have a life together as mother and daughter. I know it will probably take a while for us to get there but I'm sure we'll find away." She explained.

"So, does this mean you won't be considering coming away with me then?" Adam asked with genuine regret. He knew that she wouldn't want to come away with him after this revelation.

"I'm sorry Adam. I've waited for years…32 to be exact, for this chance. I never thought I would get my daughter back. I need to be here, I need to be with her and I need to make me and her work." Gina also looked genuinely regretful. She loved Adam but she also loved Alex, and for once she was going to make a decision for herself.

"I couldn't have expected you to go all that way with me really. Alex was right about that. It was unfair to ask that of you. Your life is here. I'll stay until New Year and then I'll head out. I'm sorry that it couldn't have worked out better between us Gina."

"Yeah, me too Adam. Even though you're leaving though, it doesn't stop us from having a good time together, does it?" Gina replied with a smirk.

Adam smiled back and rolled his eyes at her. They both made their way tiredly upstairs and climbed into bed.

Gina laid there and thought about Alex; happy thoughts about the night she was born. For once these thoughts didn't upset her; instead they made her feel proud of the wonderful young woman that her baby girl grew up into. She rolled onto her side, closed her eyes and went to sleep, looking forward to the time that she had ahead of her with her daughter.