CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Jack walked into the diner; where he was meeting Tony and Lucas for lunch. He spotted them sitting at a booth and made his way over to them.

"Hey mate," Tony said. "How did it go at the hospital with Grace?" he asked.

Jack had taken Grace to the hospital that morning, and they had gotten a paternity test done.

"It was alright. I'll get the results back in about a week," Jack replied.

"You're doing the right thing," Tony started. "This should have been done when Megan first arrived with Grace," he said.

Jack sighed. "I guess. I know that Megan's been causing a lot of trouble around here, but I honestly don't think she would lie about Grace being mine," he began. "And if the test proves that she is mine, then I'm going to look like a complete idiot because I doubted it," he finished.

"And if she isn't yours, then we'll never have to put up with Megan's crap again," Lucas exclaimed.

"Lucas, stop it," Tony scolded.

"Why? I'm only saying the truth," Lucas protested. "With Megan gone; Jack will be free to be happy with Martha. Just the way it should be. So I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I want Grace to be Jack's kid; because I don't want her to be. And if you all started being honest with yourselves, then you'll admit that you feel the same," Lucas completed his rant.

"He's right. Deep down I'm wishing that she isn't mine," Jack said truthfully. "At least then I'd be able to focus all of my attention onto Martha and the baby. But with Megan and Grace around; Martha and I will never truly be happy. Martha's already dealing with some serious issues, and with Megan around; it'll probably make it worse," he explained.

"Especially when she has Megan in her ear spreading lies," Tony added.

"I still can't believe that Megan stooped so low yesterday. It made me so angry when I had found out what she had done. I'm still angry," Jack exclaimed.

"She's evil," Lucas pointed out.

Tony laughed. "Now, I don't know about the two of you, but I'm starving. Let's order," he suggested.

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Martha had just finished a shift at Noah's. It was only for a few hours; but even then she had to beg her grandad to let her do it. He didn't think she was ready to go back to work. He didn't want her over doing it. He thought that she should have been at home resting.

But Martha felt fine. She wasn't having any trouble with the baby anymore; so she was adamant that she was ready to go back. Besides, Macca was there a lot. He was even doing a few shifts at Noah's; so that he could pick up a bit of extra cash while he was in town.

Martha was thankful that he was still in the Bay. Even though she kept telling everyone she was fine, she still had moments where she would think about her dad and feel sad. And it was at those moments that she really needed Macca. So having him around was great. He was also really enjoying Summer Bay, so she didn't think that he was ready to go back to the farm anyway.

"Hey Martha," a voice interrupted her from her thoughts.

Martha stopped and turned to see who was calling out to her. She smiled when she noticed Sally approaching with Pippa on her hip.

"Hey Sal," she smiled. "Hey little Pip," she cooed at the little girl.

"How are you feeling?" Sally asked her.

"I'm okay. I feel really good actually. The baby isn't giving me any grief at the moment, so that's good," Martha replied.

"That's great. Mr. Stewart told me that you went back to work today," Sally said.

"Ah yeah. He would only let me work for a few hours though," Martha groaned.

"He's just looking out for you. He doesn't want you to over do it," Sally pointed out.

"Yeah, there's that. But there's also the fact that grandad is totally old fashioned, and he thinks that I should be at home being a good little pregnant girl," Martha laughed.

"That too," Sally laughed with her. "Listen, I was just heading to the diner for a drink. Do you want to come," she asked.

"Yeah, sure," Martha accepted.

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When Martha walked into the diner, she noticed that Jack was there with Tony and Lucas. She didn't know why, but she felt weird. After the breakdown that she'd had in front of Jack the day before; she felt like an idiot. Embarrassed even. She felt so vulnerable; and she hated it.

"Martha, are you okay?" Sally's voice brought her out from her thoughts.

She snapped her gaze onto Sally. "Huh. Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Martha assured her and then moved towards a table. She looked over towards the boys and gave them a small smile and a wave. They quickly returned the gesture, although Martha knew that Jack's gaze lingered on her a little longer. Martha snatched up the menu and skimmed over it; debating on what to have to eat.

"I don't mean to pry or anything, but I heard that Jack had decided to get a paternity test to make sure that Grace was his," Sally said in a quiet voice.

Martha nodded. "Yeah, he actually took her in this morning. The results probably won't be back for a week," she told Sally.

"I'm surprised that Jack didn't have it done sooner," Sally said.

"I guess he just took her word for it," Martha shrugged. "But he also seems to think that she wouldn't lie about something like that," she sighed.

"Well, you'll know the truth soon enough. For your sake, I hope things turn out the way you want," Sally smiled lightly.

"Me too," Martha sighed.

"Sorry about the wait girlies," Irene rushed up to them with her order pad. "What can I get ya's?" she asked them.

"I've already had lunch, so I'll just get a coffee. And Pippa will have an apple juice thanks," Sally told Irene.

"And what about you love?" Irene then asked Martha.

"Um, I'll have a chicken and salad sandwich, and a banana milkshake," Martha replied. "Actually, make that a thick shake with extra ice cream, please," she said.

"No worries, it shouldn't be long," Irene told them and started to walk off.

"Oh, can you add a raspberry muffin to that," Martha called out.

Irene and turned around and smiled. "It's good to see that you have a good appetite. That bub must be a hungry one," she laughed.

"It's a Holden, and Holden's love food," Tony called out.

"He's telling the truth," Martha laughed. "If you ever want to know what it looks like when a pig eats; just go to their place for dinner," she teased.

"Piggies," Pippa giggled as she pointed at them.

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