46

When Claire woke up the next morning Alex was still sound asleep. The baby had kicked her hard and she felt more and more uncomfortable being pregnant. Quietly she got up and took the wrapped present from her bag and went to the kitchen. She wanted to surprise Alex with a breakfast in bed like he had done the other day. Claire closed the bedroom door so he wouldn't wake up from the smell. If nothing could get Alex Ryan awake she was sure the smell of food could.

20 minutes later she had placed everything including her present on a tray and went back to the bedroom. Now Claire really regretted closing the door because there was no way she could open it now with the tray in hands and the baby bump in the way. "I can't wait till this baby is finally out!" she muttered as she put the tray away and opened the door. Luckily Alex was still asleep. So Claire placed the tray beside the bed and got down to kiss Alex awake. It took a while and several kisses till he finally started to move and opened one of his eyes. Claire smiled "Morning Ryan! Happy 30th birthday! How does it feel to be an oldie?" She gave him another kiss then reached down to get the tray.

"I've made you breakfast and nothing's burnt!" she said quite proud of herself.

"Morning Claire!" Alex sat up in bed and stretched. "This is a nice way of getting woken up. Not like the bloody alarm clock…What's this?" He asked and picked up Claire's present.

"It's my birthday present for you. It's not much but I hope you like it…"

"Aww Claire, you didn't have to get me something…"

"Will ya just open it Ryan?"

So Alex tore the wrapping paper off and then looked at the back of a picture frame. When he turned it around he didn't realize at first what he saw there.

"What's that?"

"Turn it around" Claire said "You got it upside down…"

He did and suddenly it dawned on him.

"Is that…our baby?" he looked at Claire and she smiled.

"Yes it is Alex…"

"Claire, it's beautiful…" he touched the picture and felt tears watering up in his eyes. That was his baby. His son. Or daughter.

"I have a video at home but when I left I thought I'd only be gone a day so I didn't bring it. But we can watch it once we're home. Then you can actually see her…"

"Or HIM!" Alex added and Claire laughed. "Thank you Claire, this is an amazing present. I'll take it to work with me today so I can show my son around…"

"Jeez Alex, I told you it'll be a girl…" Alex shut her up by placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Thanks Claire, I feel like the luckiest man on earth…"

A few hours Claire picked Alex up in his office for lunch break. A nice young woman showed her the way to Alex's desk because he was still on the phone and not able to leave yet. He smiled when he saw Claire and pointed to a chair. On his desk Claire noticed the framed ultrasound picture she had given him that morning. Her heart warmed at the sight, he would be a great dad, already proud of his child.

When Alex finally finished the phone call he got up and kissed Claire hello. "I'm sorry, some of the customers are not happy I'm leaving. They keep calling…"

"It's ok Alex. It's actually amazing to see you like that. You act so differently here…"

"Is that good or bad?"

"Good…"

"Come on Claire, I want you to meet somebody…" He grabbed Claire's hand and pulled her up from the chair.

"We'll be late for the lunch with Bryce…"

"Won't be long" Alex said and took Claire to Karen's office and knocked.

"Karen, you got a minute? I want you to meet somebody…"

"Sure Alex, come in…"

"Karen, this is Claire…and our baby…Claire, this is my boss and friend Karen Cummings!"

Karen got up and offered Claire a hand "Nice to meet you Claire, I've heard quite a lot about you already!"

"I hope only nice things…"

"Of course. It's really nice to meet the person who's taking one of my best workers away from me…not to say a good friend as well."

"I'm really sorry…" Claire felt guilty. She liked Karen, she seemed like a nice person and Claire was glad Alex had found some friends here.

"It's ok, I can understand it…and I wish you all the best. Look…umm…I should get back to work now, I'll see you tonight Claire!"

After Claire and Alex had left Karen's office they went back to Alex's desk and picked up his things. Claire smiled as he also picked up the ultrasound picture.

Alex shrugged his shoulders "I gotta show it to Bryce, it's his grandchild after all…" he said and placed the picture in Claire's bag.

Then they left to meet up with Alex's father.

47

When Claire and Alex entered the restaurant Bryce was already waiting for them. They saw him waving and made their way to the table where he was seated.

"Come here Alex" Bryce said "Happy Birthday, son!" and he pulled Alex in for a hug. It was a little strange for Claire to see Alex together with Bryce and knowing this was his father. They seemed quite close. Claire had thought she knew everything about Alex since they had been best mates nearly all their life. But now she had to admit to herself that there was a whole new side of Alex she knew nothing about. He had built up a new life without her in those 9 months since he left.

Then Bryce let go of Alex and turned to Claire. "Ms McLeod! So good to see you again!" He shook Claire's hand and looked really pleased to see her again.

"Nice to see you again, too. And it's Claire Mr Redstaff…"

"Only if you call me Bryce! Shall we have a seat and order?"

So Alex helped Claire to sit down and they all took their menus to order. After having done that Bryce asked Claire "I hear you're taking my son back out into the country on Saturday?"

Claire wasn't sure what Alex had told Bryce about the pregnancy and going back home so she was cautious about her words.

"Yes, he agreed to come home with me for now…"

"I hope you plan on staying for longer Alex. You've got to take care of Claire and your baby!"

Claire was relieved. So Alex had told Bryce about the baby.

"I hope so too Bryce but we need to sort some things out first…" Alex replied with a side look on Claire always trying to get little hints that he could be sure she'd accept his proposal tonight.

They went on to talk about Bryce's family and Claire was once again surprised that Alex had other siblings than Nick. Even though none his sister's knew that they had a brother. They also talked about Claire's family and about Drovers run and Bryce was impressed by the fact that there were only women working on the farm.

Just before their meals were about to be served Claire excused herself to the bathroom and Bryce had some alone time with his son.

"She's a really nice woman Alex. Congrats…"
"I know Bryce. No need to tell me." Alex had a huge smile on his face as he watched Claire disappear into the ladies room.

"What are your plans towards her? I can't imagine you don't have any…"
"Ah, you know me too well…"

"Alex, you talked about that woman constantly in the last months and now she's here and pregnant with your baby…"

Alex laughed "Yeah, I guess that makes it pretty obvious. But you are right, I plan to propose to her at my birthday party tonight…"
"That's wonderful news Alex! Congratulations!"

"She's still got to say yes though…" Alex looked a little unsure again.

"Oh I'm sure she will. They way she looks at you…"
"You think? Oh Bryce, I forgot…I brought something for you I think you might want to see…" Alex reached for Claire's bag that was still resting on her chair and took the ultrasound picture out. "Claire gave it to me this morning…" he added as he handed Bryce the frame. You could hear the pride in his voice.

Bryce knew exactly what he was looking at, not only through his own children but also the 3 grandchildren he already had through Alex's sisters, all of them being boys.

"That's lovely Alex! Thank you for showing me. Is it a boy or a girl?"

That was the way Claire found them, leaning over the ultrasound picture discussing the advantages of having a boy or a girl. She smiled and said "There's nothing to discuss, it'll be a girl anyway…"

When they had finished their lunch it was time for Alex and Bryce to get back to work and for Claire to head back to Alex's apartment to meet with her sister and his brother do they could get ready for the big party. So they all said their goodbyes and they promised to stay in touch and would let Bryce know as soon as the baby was born.

Before they left Bryce pulled Alex in for another hug and gave him a slap on the shoulder "Good luck son…" he said "I expect to hear from you soon…" Then he went on and hugged Claire as well and whispered into her ear "Take good care of him…" Claire was moved. Bryce did really care about Alex. "I promise…" she said and then they all went their separate ways.

48

It was Thursday evening now and Tess, Nick and Claire had just arrived at the office building where Alex worked. The birthday/farewell party was set to start at 7 and Alex had had so much to do on his last day that he didn't have time to come home before that. Now that his brother and the McLeod sisters arrived he was just putting the last of his personal belongings in a box.

"Busy?" Claire asked as they approached him.

"Ah, you're here! No, just finished packing up."

"Hey Al…Happy Birthday!" Nick went over to Alex and hugged him. "You're an oldie now!"

"Oh shut up…" Alex punched him friendly and smiled. Then he took a look around the room and sighed "I think I'm gonna miss this place. It was nice working here. Come on, everybody's waiting in the conference room. I wonder what Karen did with it! I wasn't allowed to go near it the whole afternoon!"

"Hey, can I give a hug too first?" Tess put her hands on her hips and looked at Alex.

"Ah…sure Tess! Come here…" So she pulled him in for a hug and said "Happy Birthday Alex! I'm really glad to have you back in our lives…" She whispered the last comment into his ears as it was only meant for him.

"Ok everybody, are we ready to party?" Alex asked and put one of his arms around Claire while he was still holding Tess in the other.

When they entered the conference room it was like hell broke loose. Everybody in there was shouting Happy Birthday Alex just not exactly at the same time. Karen had been sneaking around the corner and had warned them when she saw Alex coming with his friends.

"Aw, thanks guys!" Alex said and looked around the room. It was decorated with balloons and streamers and the lights had been covered with colourful papers. On one end of the room he saw a huge sign that read 'Happy 30th Birthday and don't you dare forget us!' Alex was really moved by all of this, he had found some great friends here that was for sure.

While Karen introduced Claire, Tess and Nick to everybody Alex headed over to the table that held all of his presents by his colleagues. He looked like a little child as he saw how many things there were…

"Can I start unpacking?" He asked Karen who was finished with her introduction round.

"Go ahead Alex…" Karen said and she smiled because she knew what most packages were holding.

As Alex unwrapped the first package he held a set of baby bottles in his hands and looked very surprised. The more presents he opened the more baby things appeared. Karen laughed and said "We thought we'd prepare you for your new job. But we also have a present here that's just for you…Steve?"

Steve got up and held a rather big, rectangular package in his hands. "To make sure you don't forget us too easily we got you this…" he said and handed Alex the present. Alex ripped the paper apart and saw a framed picture of all of his colleagues and a huge card sticking to the frame. So he put the picture on a nearby table and opened the card. It was a farewell card that was signed by everybody.

"Thanks guys, this is great! I have no clue where I'll put it up but I'll think of something. I won't forget you, I promise!"

Then it was time for everybody to sit down and eat so they could finally start with the fun part of the evening…the party games!

Claire, Tess and Nick had all stood a little aside the whole time and had observed the whole scene exchanging looks from time to time. This was really a totally different Alex from the one they knew.

After dinner and the party games had come to an end the tables were quickly moved to the side to build a huge dance floor in the middle. Karen dimmed the lights and put some music on and everybody started to dance.

"Wanna have a go?" Nick asked Tess and after she had nodded pulled her up and took her to the dance floor.

Claire wasn't in the mood for dancing with her huge belly so she just stayed where she was watching her sister and Nick laugh and dance.

"They're a cute couple, aren't they?" Alex said as he came up and got down next to her.

Claire smiled "Yes, they are, I only hope they would realize they belong together. They've been playing around for way too long…"

"Hey, just think about how long it took us to get together!"

"Jeez Ryan, I really hope it doesn't take them that long…"

"I know, just think of all the time we've wasted…" He leaned over and kissed her softly. "Claire, I don't really know if this is the right time or place but I just have to ask you this…" Alex pulled out the velvet box he had gotten back from Karen a few minutes ago and opened it. HeThen he got down on one knee in front of her and since the CD had just ended the whole room went silent by the sight.

"Claire, you are the one person that has always been there for me no matter what. And now you're carrying our child. I never thought I could feel as happy as this. I love you more than my life. There's only one thing that could make this feeling even more perfect…Claire McLeod, will you marry me?"

From the time Alex had gotten down on one knee Claire had known she was in deep trouble. When she now heard him as he asked her to marry her she started crying. Here he was with the most perfect ring she had ever seen and she was speechless.

"Claire?" Alex voice finally came through to her and she knew she had to say something.

"Alex…I…I can't…" She saw his face drop. Shit, that wasn't supposed to sound like that. Then she saw Alex's face turn to anger.

"Well, thank you making a complete fool of myself here…" Alex got up and turned around to walk away.

Claire got up. "Alex wait, let me explain…"

He stopped and turned around. "What is left to explain? I asked you to marry me and you said no…in front of everybody!"

"Alex, please, let's go somewhere where we can talk alone…"
"No Claire, you turned me down in front of all my friends, my brother and your sister. Now you might as well tell all of them why…"

"Alex…"

"No Claire, if you want to explain, do it here!"

"All right Alex, you wanted it like that…" Claire was now as mad as he was. It was his own fault! "I can't marry you because…because we are still married!"

49

Alex turned around "Like that's an excuse for…" then Claire's words finally sunk in. "We are WHAT?"

"Alex please, can we go somewhere else?" Claire pleaded. She could feel everybody's eyes staring at her and Alex. Especially the sets of eyes of a certain brother and sister. "Alex?" Claire took his hand because Alex seemed to be in a whole different universe. "Come on, let's go somewhere else and talk about it…alone!" she said and practically pulled him out of the conference room leaving some very confused people behind.

"What was that?" Tess asked Nick after her sister had dragged Alex away.

"I don't know…my brother asked your sister to marry him and then Claire said something about still being married…that is if I really heard correctly!"

"Ok, then we both heard the same thing…do you know anything about that? I mean, when the hell did they get married?"

"I don't know Tess, I really don't know…"

"This is getting weirder and weirder…first she runs off to Melbourne without thinking, then suddenly Alex is the father of her baby and now they're married…I feel like I don't know my own sister!"

Outside the conference room Claire was looking for some place where she could talk to Alex in private without anybody interrupting them. He still hadn't said a single word nor did he really react to what she was saying.

"Alex, come on mate! Help me here. Is there anywhere we can go and talk properly?" Finally Alex woke up out of his daze. "We could probably use Karen's office" he said but Claire could tell he still wasn't fully with her.

"And where is that? Come on Alex…" So he took the lead and showed Claire the way to the office. When they had reached it they sat down on the sofa in there, Alex on one end, Claire on the other.

Silence filled the room because none of them knew where to start. It was Claire who finally spoke up "I'm sorry Alex…I…I should have told you earlier…"

He looked up "Since when do you know?" There was still no sign of emotion in his face. Claire's heart sank. What if she had lost him again?

"Only for about 10 days. I found out the day before I left to look for you…"

"So that was the real reason you went to find me? Because you wanted to end our marriage?"

"Alex, you're jumping to conclusions again, I never said anything about ending it, did I? I wanted to find you to tell you about it and about the baby and we decide together what to do…"

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier? You could have told me so many times!" Alex got up and started pacing around the office.

"The time was never right…first you had to digest the fact that I'm pregnant and then Nick and Tess showed up. Then we had that thing with Liz and today is your birthday. There was never time enough to tell you…"

"How did you find out? I mean, I signed the annulment papers ten years ago? What happened to them?" Alex was still restless walking through the office. When he had reached one end he would turn around and start walking again.

"Alex, can you please sit down somewhere? You're making me dizzy spinning around like that!" Alex gave her a strange look but sat down in Karen's chair behind the desk. "How Claire? Why are we still married?" he asked again.

"I don't know how it happened really…but I found the annulment papers at the bottom of a box that had been in the attic. I can't remember how they got in there but it looks like I never sent them off…I'm sorry. I never meant to tell you like this…not in front of all these people…"

Silence filled the room again and it was almost too much for Claire. She really didn't know what else she could say or do. It was up to him now.

Alex got up again without a word and went over to one of the large windows and took a look outside over the city night. He couldn't believe what Claire had just told him. It was like her words still hadn't fully reached him. He had heard them but they hadn't made it to his brain yet. He was married to Claire McLeod. Married! They had been married ever since that day 10 years ago. The day before the accident where Claire had lost their baby. And now she was pregnant again. And they were married. Married! His thoughts went in circles but he always came back to the same point. Claire was his wife. When he finally realized the full meaning of that the tears started to fall and with a sob he bent his knees because they wouldn't carry him anymore…

When Claire saw Alex sitting down on the floor and crying she got worried. This was not like Alex at all. She could count the times she had seen him cry on one hand. One of them being the day she lost their baby. So she crossed the room and got down on the floor next to him taking him in her arms.

"Alex, I'm so sorry…I never meant to hurt you…" His sobbing got louder but then Claire could feel it turn into a laughter more and more. "Alex, are you all right?" she asked him not knowing what was going on.

"Oh Claire…" he finally said "Those are not tears of sorrow. Those are tears of joy…" he was now laughing hard.

"And what's so funny about that?" Claire was confused.

"Do you have ANY idea how many times I've wished in the past 10 years that you would say that to me? That I would wake up next to you and the whole accident and annulment had only been a bad dream?"

Claire looked at him surprised. "But you had a new girlfriend every week…"

"That was never anything serious. I only had them because I couldn't have you…my heart broke into pieces when you hooked up with the knob…but who was I to judge when I had all those women…"

"Alex…I don't know what to say now…where do we go from here? I mean, where does that take us…SHIT, I don't know what to say…" Now Claire's mind was going in circles. Alex had caught her off guard with his confession.

"Claire, I still mean what I said when I proposed to you earlier…I love you more than my life and I want you to be my wife. And the fact that we are indeed already married is just the icing on the cake…I feel like the luckiest man on earth!" He leaned towards her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips "If you want me back as your husband I would love to be just that. Claire McLeod's husband and the father of her unborn child…"

"Oh Alex, of course I want you back! These last days I spent with you…I think I fell in love with you all over again…"

Then they kissed again, this time more passionate. When they finally ended the kiss Alex realized he still had the little box with the engagement ring in his pocket.

"Claire, I know I'm 10 years late but…this ring…I bought it for you and I would love it if you decided to wear it. I mean…we are married but you never got a proper ring back then so…"

"The ring is wonderful Alex and I'd love to wear it…" So Alex took the ring out of the box and slipped it on Claire's left hand. It fit perfectly. They kissed again.

After a while Alex said "I think we should get up and face the world outside Claire. We left them with a few questions I would guess…" he got up and looked down on Claire.
"Probably…umm…Alex, I think you'll have to help me up, there's no way I can get on my feet alone…"

So Alex helped Claire back up and they left Karen's office with their arms wrapped around each other.