CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

THE NEXT DAY

"I can not believe that we missed out on all the good stuff," Kim exclaimed.

Jack had just finished explaining to Kim and Kit, the events of the day before. They had been away camping and had only just got home, so they didn't have a clue about what had been going on.

"Good stuff," Jack laughed. "How is it good stuff?" he asked.

"Hello, we missed out on seeing Martha bitch slap that cow," Kit smiled. "I would have paid money to see that, and that's why it's good stuff," she added.

Jack just shook his head at them and laughed. "If you say so," he exclaimed.

"So, I bet you're glad that it's all over now. You and Martha can finally move on with your lives," Kim said.

Jack sighed. "Things are still a little frosty between me and Martha. Something tells me that life will not be going back to normal just yet. We still have a lot of stuff to work through," he explained.

"Now that Megan's gone, it might be a bit easier. You can't blame Martha for being skeptical about things, especially when she had a whack job in her ear making up lies every five minutes," Kit started. "Adding that to all the other bad stuff that's happened in Martha's life these last few weeks; it's gotta take it's toll on her. No one should expect her to just get over it and be fine. These things take time," she continued.

"Yeah I know," Jack exclaimed.

"Good. Just don't push her okay? Take it slow. She's in a delicate position, and she doesn't need somebody harassing her about being in a relationship. She'll come back to you when she's ready," Kit pointed out.

Jack just nodded. He knew Kit was right.

"Since when do you know everything about Martha?" Kim laughed. "You seem to know an awful lot".

"I take the time to listen to what she's actually saying. Everybody else just seems to pick at her and her faults," Kit began. "Whereas, I listen and don't judge her. Do you really think she wants to talk to someone who's going to judge her all the time? No, she doesn't," she finished.

"Well excuse the rest of us for speaking, Dr Phil," Kim exclaimed. "Not everyone can be as sensitive as you," he said.

"Sensitive? Never," Kit laughed. "Kimmy, you of all people should know that I am not a sensitive person".

"Oh, how could I forget? You dumped me for Paris, now I remember," Kim huffed.

"I'm gonna go for a surf. I'll seeya later," Jack laughed as he stood up and headed for the door. He wasn't particularly interested in watching those two flirt.

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"Have you spoken to Jack since yesterday?" Tasha asked. Martha had decided to meet up with Robbie and Tasha for lunch at the diner.

Martha sipped at her juice and shook her head. "Nope. I thought I should probably just give him some space. You know, so he can get his head around things," she answered.

"I think Jack will be fine," Robbie exclaimed. "I think it was pretty obvious from the start that Jack was having trouble accepting Grace. I don't think he would have had trouble letting her go," he added.

Martha shrugged. "I guess," she said.

"So, you slapped her huh?" Robbie grinned.

"Yeah, and it felt amazing," Martha stated. "Lucas was giving me thumbs up after I did it. But Jack; he actually snapped at me," she told them.

"Really? He actually stuck up for her?" Tasha was surprised.

"Yeah," Martha nodded. "I was quite surprised that he did. Of course at that point he still didn't know about Megan's lies. But I seriously didn't think he'd have a go at me. After everything she's done; she deserved it," she exclaimed.

"Well, you don't have to worry about her anymore, because she's gone. And you can finally move on," Robbie pointed out.

"I don't know about that," Martha muttered.

"Things are still a bit weird between you and Jack, hey?" Tasha guessed.

"I don't know what's going on anymore. Every time he's around me, I find myself getting angry at him. More than half of the time he hasn't even done anything wrong. I know I shouldn't have done it, but every time Megan pissed me off, I think I'd take it out on Jack instead," Martha explained.

"Megan's not here anymore, so I'm sure everything will be fine now," Tasha assured Martha.

"So how much longer are you actually going to make the poor bloke wait?" Robbie teased.

"Huh?" Martha looked at him.

"Jack? When are you going to get back together with him? It looks to me that you're the one who's halting the inevitable," Robbie said.

"I don't know Rob," Martha started to get frustrated. "I don't think I'm ready yet," she said softly.

Robbie and Tasha just looked at each other and shrugged. A few moments later Martha spotted Jack walking towards them.

"Hey," he smiled when he reached them. "Um, do you want to go for a walk?" he then asked Martha.

"Sure," Martha nodded.

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Martha and Jack walked in silence for a while; neither of them really knew what to say. Martha was the one who eventually broke the uncomfortable silence.

"So, how did it go after I left yesterday?" she asked.

"Bryan basically just told me the story right from the beginning. Megan cried a bit, and then I told her to leave," Jack answered.

"She's definitely gone then?" Martha wanted to know.

"Yep, thank god," Jack exclaimed.

'My words exactly," Martha muttered. "You know, when Leanne and Bryan told me everything, I was so shocked. It disgusted me. It really sucks; what she did," she said to Jack.

"Yeah, it does," Jack agreed.

"Listen, there is something else you should know," Martha then said.

Jack stopped and turned to face her. "What is it?" he asked.

"Remember the day we first broke up?" Martha sighed.

"How could I forget? It was a horrible day," Jack replied.

"Yeah, it was," Martha agreed with him. "Well earlier that day, while you were at your meeting, I saw Megan down at the beach. She told me that she wanted to be with you, and that she wanted you to be a family with her and Grace. And she said that she knew that it would never happen if I kept hanging around," Martha began.

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm not going to like this?" Jack asked.

"Because you probably won't," Martha exclaimed. "Anyway, she told me that if I didn't break up with you; she would make you choose between me and Grace," she told him.

"What?" Jack looked at her in disbelief. "And you did what she told you to do?"

Martha nodded. "I didn't want to. But I wasn't going to let her put you through something like that. I wasn't going to let her make you choose which one of us you loved more," she said.

"I would have picked you," Jack told her honestly.

"I know. And that's why I done what she told me to do. There was no way that I was going to let you pick me over your own daughter," Martha explained.

"God, she isn't even here anymore and she's still making me angry," Jack groaned.

"Yeah, well we don't have to worry about it anymore because she's gone and it's all over," Martha said.

"It doesn't change things between us though, does it? Jack started. "I know that we still have things to get through. I just hope that with Megan now gone, we can get through them quicker," he said.

"Me too," Martha nodded.

"I really want us to be back together by the time the baby comes," Jack said.

"So do I. But I just need some more time," Martha told him.

"I know. And I'm not going to push you," Jack assured her.

Martha smiled her thanks and then couldn't help but let out a yawn.

"It's the middle of the day, and you're tired?" Jack laughed.

Martha nodded. "I didn't get much sleep last night," she admitted. "But there's also the fact that I'm carrying another human being around inside me. I'd like to see you do it all day without getting tired," she huffed.

"Alright, alright," Jack smiled. "I'll walk you home and you can get some rest. I actually have to go to work soon anyway," he told Martha.

Martha smiled at him again, and then turned; leading the way back to the diner.

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