CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

TWO WEEKS LATER

The next two weeks flew by quite quickly; with Martha and Jack spending as much time together as possible. They wanted to make up for the time that they'd had apart. Things were finally back on track, and Martha couldn't have been happier.

"Hey grandad," Martha smiled as she sat down opposite Alf at the diner.

"Hey love. How are you feeling?" Alf asked.

"Pretty good actually," Martha nodded.

"Has Jack gone to work?" Alf then asked.

"Yeah, he dropped me off here on his way in," Martha answered.

"Hey," Leah called as she walked over to them. "Can I get you two anything?" she asked.

"I'll just have a black coffee thanks," Alf answered.

"Can I just get a vanilla milkshake please," Martha gave Leah her order.

"Okay, won't be too long," Leah smiled as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Oh, before I forget; your mother called earlier this morning," Alf told Martha.

"Roo," Martha smiled.

"Yeah," Alf said.

"How is she?" Martha asked.

"She's good," Alf exclaimed. "She just called to see how you were going. Actually all she seemed to talk about was you and the baby," he laughed.

"At least I know my mother is happy about me having a baby," Martha said.

"Of course she is happy. It's her first grandchild," Alf chuckled. "She really misses you, and she's hoping that she can come and visit soon. I think she's going to wait until the baby is born though," he explained.

"That's great. It will be good to see her," Martha told her.

"Yes, it will be," Alf agreed. "Oh, and Morag called, she'll be arriving sometime this afternoon," he told Martha.

"Well, I haven't gotten anything planned today, so I'll wait upstairs for her," Martha offered.

"Thanks love," Alf nodded. "She's looking forward to seeing you too".

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Martha was sitting on the couch reading through a baby name book when Morag arrived. She hadn't seen Morag in nearly two months; as she had been in Queensland working on an important case.

"Hey Auntie Morag," Martha smiled as she pushed herself up off the couch.

"Hello sweetheart. How are you?" Morag asked as she moved across the room towards Martha.

"I'm great," Martha replied.

"Oh my goodness, look at you," Morag smiled. "It's like it just popped up from no where," she laughed as she placed a hand on Martha's stomach.

"I knew that you'd get a surprise when you seen me. I only had a little bump the last time I seen you," Martha said.

"I know, it's been too long. But I'm going to be here for a while now," Morag told Martha. "I've picked up a few clients here in Summer Bay, so I'll be hanging around for a while," she explained.

"That's good," Martha smiled at her.

The happy look on Morag's face soon turned serious. "Listen, I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you when you lost your father. It must have been very hard for you," she said softly.

"It was hard; it still is. But I'm getting through it," Martha smiled lightly.

"Well, I'm here for you now; whenever you need me," Morag assured her.

"Thanks," Martha gave her a hug.

"So, what are you up to?" Morag then asked.

"Oh, I was just going through the baby name book," Martha perked back up.

"Have you chosen a name yet?" Morag asked.

Martha shook her head. "Not yet. Jack and I have come up with a few ideas, but we're going to keep them to ourselves, so that it's a surprise to everyone else," she explained.

"Yes, I heard that you and Jack had gotten back together. I'm glad everything is finally working out," Morag told her.

"Me too," Martha agreed.

"So, have you had lunch yet?" Morag asked.

"Nope. Do you want to go down to the diner?" Martha suggested.

"Sure, let's go," Morag led the way to the door.

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Martha and Jack were sitting on the couch; curled up together. The baby had been kicking like crazy for the past thirty minutes, and so they were just sitting there enjoying the moment.

"Three more months and we're going to have a baby," Martha said in a singsong voice.

"I know. I can't wait," Jack smiled.

"Oh, so you're really looking forward to a crying baby who won't let you have any sleep whatsoever. A baby who you will be up with all night," Martha teased.

"Me?" Jack exclaimed. "Who said anything about me being up with it all night? You're the mother; that's your job," he laughed.

"Excuse me. I have to give birth to this thing. I've done enough already; it's your turn," Martha said.

Jack just laughed. "Let's just worry about that when the time comes," he started. "But since we're kinda on the subject of sleeping arrangements, there's something I want to talk to you about," he continued.

"What is it?" Martha asked.

"I want you to move in," Jack stated simply.

Martha's lips formed an o. "What? Now?" she was getting a little flustered.

"Not right this instance," Jack laughed. "But soon, like maybe over the next week or two," he said.

"We've only been back together for like two weeks," Martha said.

"Yeah, so what, we're going to have to move in together eventually; for the baby. So why not just do it now," Jack began. "And you're here all the time anyway. So why can't you just move all of your stuff over," he ranted.

Martha wasn't sure. She knew that they would have to eventually live together, but the baby wasn't due for another three months, so she didn't see the need to hurry.

"I don't know," Martha said reluctantly.

"Come on, it will be great. We can get our room set up ready for when the baby comes," Jack was trying to persuade her. "And we can even turn the spare room into a nursery. You can do it up however you like," he continued.

"But what about grandad? He likes having me around," Martha tried to find an excuse. It's not that she didn't want to move in; she just thought that maybe they should wait a bit longer.

"I don't know if I can just leave him. Grandad loves cooking for me and the baby; he likes to take care of us," Martha exclaimed.

Jack sighed. "But I want to take care of you," he told Martha. "Let me take care of you," he insisted.

Martha scratched her head. She was so confused. She didn't know what to do.

"Can I at least think about it?" she asked Jack.

He smiled. "Of course you can. You can even talk about it with Alf if it makes you feel better," Jack told her.

"I'll think about it then. But don't push me," Martha warned.

"I won't," Jack promised.

Martha smiled and leant back against Jack's chest. She wanted to do what was best for the baby, but she also wanted to do what was best for her.

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NEXT CHAPTER: Will Martha make a decision? What will it be? And why is Martha upset?

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