CHAPTER FOUR

Martha looked at Megan, still in shock. She'd just been told that Jack had a daughter. She didn't know what to say; all she knew was that her stomach was churning and she felt sick.

"Jack has a daughter? With you?" Martha finally said.

Megan nodded. "Yes, her name is Grace. She's one and a half," she told Martha.

Martha stood up and walked into the kitchen. Megan got up and followed her. "I'm sorry. This has probably come as a huge shock to you," she apologised. "I shouldn't have even told you. I should have spoken to Jack first," Megan continued.

"So, Jack doesn't even know," Martha asked her.

"No, he doesn't. And I'm really nervous about telling him. I'm sure he'll be angry with me for keeping it from him," Megan replied.

"Why have you waited so long? How come you didn't tell him straight away?" Martha questioned.

Megan sighed. "The truth is; Jack and I were never really together. He was friends with my older brother and I'd always had a crush on him," Megan smiled. "There was a big party at our place one night. I was drunk, and Jack was drunk and I guessed it just kinda happened. Then a few days later the accident with the Chambers girl, the one that Jack shot, happened. Soon after that Jack and his family left town and I haven't seen him since. A few weeks later I found out I was pregnant. I knew Jack and his family were under a lot of stress and I didn't want to put another load on him. So I never bothered getting in contact with him. Until now that is," she finished.

Martha listened carefully to what Megan was saying; trying to take it all in. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Jack's car pull into the drive way.

"That's Jack," she said. They waited in silence until Jack reached the door.

"Honey, I'm home," he called, not noticing Megan at first. But when he saw her he stopped in his tracks.

"Megan," he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Megan rushed towards him. "Hi Jack," she smiled and threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Um, hey," he said, sounding confused. He didn't know whether he wanted to hug her or not.

Martha had to look away. She wanted to cry. She couldn't stand seeing Megan with her hands all over Jack; touching him. It was obvious to Martha that the girl still cared for Jack, and now to top it off; they had a child together.

Jack quickly pulled away from the hug when he noticed Martha turn away from them.

"Once again, what are you doing here?" he asked again.

It was at this point that Martha decided to leave. She had to get out of there before she broke down in front of them.

"I've already heard the story, so I'm going to leave and let you two talk," she told them.

"No," Jack shook his head. "You can stay. And besides we haven't eaten yet," he said to her, holding up the bag of Chinese food.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not really that hungry anymore. I'm sure Luc will eat my share when he gets home," Martha started, and moved towards the door. "You and Megan have some important stuff to talk about and I don't need to be here for that," she continued.

"I want you to stay," Jack said, taking her hand in his.

Martha gave his hand a squeeze and smiled up at him. "No, I have to go. But I'll see you tomorrow," she promised.

Jack sighed. "At least let me drive you home," he urged.

"I can walk, it's only five minutes," Martha told him.

"Fine. But I'll see you in the morning," Jack said, and gave her a soft, but comforting kiss on the lips.

"I love you," he whispered to her.

"Love you too," she smiled at him.

Martha looked towards Megan. "Bye," she waved to her.

"Seeya," Megan said a little too cheerfully.

Martha looked up at Jack again. "Bye," she said and walked out the door.

Jack turned around to look at Megan. "Why was Martha in such a rush to leave? What the hell is going on and why are you here?" he demanded.

Martha sat down on the couch in the apartment she shared with her grandad. He was closing Noah's tonight so he wasn't home yet. She was kind of glad he wasn't home; she wanted to be alone.

What the hell had just happened? One minute she was enjoying her day off with Jack, and the next she's walks out of his house leaving him alone with another woman. A woman who he once had a relationship with. A woman whom he now had a child with.

Martha lay her head down on a cushion and closed her eyes. She wanted to go to sleep and forget about what had just occurred.

Why did this have to happen? She and Jack were happy together. And now some girl had just come along and ruined everything. Martha wished that Megan would just go away and leave her and Jack alone.

Martha willed herself to stop thinking about Megan and what had just happened. Martha needed to think about herself. She had her own damn problems to worry about and now that Megan had turned up it made her problem turn from an okay problem to a bad problem. How on earth was she supposed to tell Jack now?