54

"Mum, Bryce, come in…" Alex said while holding Claire's hand for support.

"Good to see you again Alex! Claire!" Liz said and first kissed Claire on the cheek then Alex. Bryce shook Alex's hand and kissed Claire's. "Thanks for the invitation! It was a surprise for sure…but a nice one." Alex closed the door while Claire led his parents in the living room where they had set up the table for all of them and Nick and Tess were already waiting.

After a warm welcome for Nick and a rather cool one for Tess Liz looked around. "This place looks so empty dear…"

"Well Mum, most of my things are already packed and loaded into the cars…we're leaving tomorrow morning."

"I know and I really hate to see you leave…"

"Mum, we've had that conversation…I need to go…"

"I know, but I still don't have to like it, do I? I just got you back…"

"Why don't we all sit down and Nick and Tess can tell us what they have cooked for us…" Claire interrupted Alex and his mother. She didn't want them fighting even before the news about their marriage were out. There would probably be enough fighting afterwards…

"Right" Alex replied and everybody sat down and Tess and Nick served the Tandori chicken they had made.

While eating the four younger people made sure the conversation stayed on easy topics…they had all decided that the big announcement was to be made after dinner.

Bryce knew that Alex had wanted to propose to Claire and the ring on Claire's finger showed that something in that direction had happened so he just smiled to himself. But Liz had no idea what was going on so she was really curious about when Claire and Alex would tell them about the ring…

When they were all finished eating she could barely hold herself back from asking. "That was lovely Tess, thank you very much…" she said with the sweetest voice. Even if she didn't like her she had to admit the girl could cook.

"Oh, thanks Liz…it's not all my merit though, Nick was a great help…" Tess smiled.

"Ah, good…so Alex…do I see a ring on Claire's finger there?" Liz couldn't stand the curiosity anymore, she just had to ask. "Does that mean you're getting married?" She saw Claire and Alex looking at each other. "What?"

"Mum…Bryce…the reason why we asked you to come here tonight is…well…we have to tell you something and we're not sure if…if you'll like it…"

"What is it Alex? You didn't say no to him Claire, did you?" Bryce was now a little concerned.

Claire shook her head. "Umm, no I didn't…well, I actually did but it's a little more complicated than that…why don't we all sit down on the couch…" and so they did. Bryce and Liz looked at Alex expecting him to explain what Claire had just said.

"Ok, where do I start…right…well, yesterday I asked Claire to marry me and like she just told you she said she couldn't marry me…"
"What? Claire…why?" Liz exclaimed but Bryce tried to calm her down. He saw in Alex's face that there was more to this story "Let your son finish Liz, I'm sure there's a reason Claire refused…right?"

"Indeed there is…and I promise I didn't know about it till yesterday either! Where was I…oh right…I asked Claire and she said no so when I asked her why she told us we were already married…"

This time Liz only gasped and her face dropped while Bryce looked confused and asked "How can you not know you're married?"

"It's a long story…" Alex looked at his mother and asked "Are you ok, Mum? Do you want something to drink?"

Liz, who still hadn't fully recovered from what she had heard just nodded and Claire got up to get her some water. Liz took a couple sips and then simply asked "When?" So Claire and Alex once more told the story about what had happened 10 years ago, this time leaving out the more juicy parts.

"10 years! How could you do that to us…10 years! I'm very disappointed…" After they were finished with the story Liz was obviously not pleased with what she had heard. Of course she had always wanted one of her sons to marry Claire McLeod but not like this!

"Mum, calm down! You can't change it now!" Alex was mad at his mother. He had guessed she wouldn't be happy about it but he had hoped she could at least accept it. But by the expression on her face that wasn't going to happen. Bryce hadn't said anything yet so Alex looked at him trying to read his face. "Bryce? What do you think about it?"

Bryce looked at Alex and smiled "Well, I had hoped to be invited to your wedding but…this is better I guess…I mean at least you tried to do the right thing. I guess you're happy about it?" He knew how much Alex had missed Claire.

"Yes I am…we both are…"

"How can you say that Bryce? He's been married and never told us…" Liz shouted. She was crying now. Bryce took her hand and said. "I know…but think about it, he was only trying to do the right thing…and besides, they thought they had annulled the marriage so they didn't know they were married…" Alex just watched his father deal with his mother. He was glad now that they had invited both this evening. Neither him nor Claire would have been able to deal with a furious Liz. It would have ended in a disaster.

"But…but…" Liz didn't really know what to say. Deep down in her heart she knew Bryce was right. Alex had done what his father hadn't…he had married the woman he got pregnant. Looking at it this way calmed her down. She wiped away the tears with the tissue Claire had just handed her and looked at her son's wife. "Well, I guess I have to live with it…after all it's the best for the baby, right?" She managed to form a little smile and Claire pressed her hands "Thanks Liz…" she said. "We never meant to hurt you…or anybody else…" Claire looked at Bryce and then searched for Nick and Tess who all nodded in agreement.

The evening ended shortly after that with promises once again to keep in touch and inform Alex's parents about anything that happened in the future…baby and everything else.

After Liz and Bryce had left you could practically hear tons of rocks falling off Alex's and Claire's chest. "That went better than I thought…" Alex said and kissed Claire. "We ready to go home tomorrow wifey?" he said with a smirk.

Claire first punched him for the wifey comment and then said "We are…" and kissed him back.

Nick and Tess watched the scene and were both relieved that Liz had taken everything so well. They went over to their still kissing siblings and Tess said loudly "We better go now Nick, it's getting way too hot in here…"

Claire and Alex parted and they arranged where to meet the next morning so they could drive back home together…

55

The next morning Claire and Alex once again made their way out to Edna's little house. They still had to give back the supply boxes they had gotten the Sunday before and Claire wanted to say goodbye to the old lady who had been so nice to her. Nick and Tess would meet them there after checking out of their hotel.

Edna answered the door after the third knock and was clearly happy to see the young couple again. "Claire, Alex! What a nice surprise! What brings you here again?" She hugged them both and let them inside.

"We still had to bring back your boxes and we wanted to say goodbye to you…we're going home today" Claire said while taking the seat that Edna had offered her.

"Oh, thank you. It's really sad you have to go back though, I enjoyed having you come to visit me…" Edna had sat down next to Claire and petted her arm.

"I know, and although I'm not very fond of the city in general I will miss you…you were so nice to me when I was in need…"
"You're welcome dear! It was a pleasure meeting you and that fiancé of yours according to the ring on your left hand…" She then turned around and looked at Alex who was standing behind Claire rubbing her shoulders "You're doing the right thing young man, I'm proud of you!"

Alex smiled "Actually I already did the right thing 10 years ago…" And after seeing the questioning look on Edna's face Claire added "We got married 10 years ago and never divorced…"

"Oh…that's great news! Why didn't you tell me the last time you were here? Congratulations!" Then Claire and Alex filled Edna in on the missing parts of their story and the old lady was really pleased with what she heard.

When they heard another knock on the door they knew Tess and Nick had arrived and it was time to get on the way home. Since it was already late morning they had decided to only drive halfway home and look for a place to spend the night then.

After a short introduction round they all said their goodbyes to Edna. When it was Claire's turn Edna whispered in her ear "Be careful Claire…the baby won't be long now…" Claire smiled and said "I still got two weeks to go and I've heard the first ones are never on time so…"

"Well, just promise me to be careful."

"I will…and thanks again for everything…we'll come back to visit you…with the baby"

"That would be lovely! Goodbye Claire, safe journey!"

Then the all got in the cars and drove off waving out the windows.

Later that day Claire was glad to finally lay down again. They had been driving for 8 hours and were now close to Adelaide. Although they had stopped every hour so Claire could go to the loo her back was aching terribly from sitting all day and her feet were swollen. She was thankful that they had found a nice little motel and she had a bed now to rest. Tomorrow would be another long day although they were closer to home now. She smiled at the thought of her beloved farm. The green hills, the smell of the old house, the animals…she hadn't been home for over 2 weeks now and couldn't wait to get back.

Alex entered the room with something to eat and drink for Claire. Nick, Tess and him had had dinner at the motel restaurant but Claire had just been too tired and too much in pain to sit down with them.

"Are you awake Claire?" Alex asked. "I've got something to eat for you here…"

"Thanks Alex…I'm not really hungry but leave it here…I might want to eat something later."

"Everything all right? You look tired…" He sat down on the bed behind Claire and started rubbing her back.

"Ah, that's good" Claire sighed "I'm ok I guess, just a little tired and my back is killing me…can you go a little deeper…aahh" Alex went on massaging Claire's lower back until he felt her muscles relax and heard Claire's steady, slow breathing. She had fallen asleep. So he covered Claire with a blanket and kissed her on the hair. "I love you…" he whispered and then went on to kiss her tummy. "You better hurry up there son, you're giving your mummy a bad back ache and I don't like her being in pain…" Alex smiled and sat down in the arm chair with the pregnancy book he had bought. He was almost through with it, the only chapter missing now was the one about the birth….

56

The next day Claire woke up with her back still being in pain. She hadn't had much sleep during the night because the baby had been so active and whenever she moved a little a sharp pain would go through her lower back. 'How am I gonna survive another day in the car…' she thought to herself while trying to get a more comfortable position in bed. She was glad they were only about 5 hours away from home but with her needing to use a bathroom every hour it would probably take them at least 6…

"Stop tossing and turning Claire…"Alex mumbled from the other side of the bed "I couldn't sleep all night because of that…"

"Well Ryan, you're not the only one. My back is still killing me and junior didn't wanna sleep tonight either…"

"I'm sorry Claire…is there anything I could do?" Alex turned to the side and got up on one elbow looking down on Claire.

"That massage you gave me last night was good…" Claire said and moved to the side so her back was facing Alex.

"Right…I guess I owe you one since I got you in that situation…" he said and kissed her shoulders while massaging her back again.

Later that day when they were just an hour away of Gungellan Nick heard the sound of a flattening tire.

"Tess…I think I have to pull over…one of the tires has gone flat…" he looked in the rear-view mirror and saw Alex driving close behind him. So he set the indicator and slowly pulled over to the side of the road. Alex did the same behind him.

Once they had stopped Alex jumped out of the car and asked "What's up Nick? We just had a stop for a loo break 20 minutes ago? Couldn't you go then?"

"Easy mate…we're having a flat and I need to change the tyre…which is stuck under all your stuff!"

"This is gonna take ages!" Alex was worried "I don't think Claire's very comfy in that car Nick. She has a horrible back ache since last night and it doesn't get any better by sitting the whole day. Would you mind if we just drove on and I leave you and Tess with the flat?"

"Nah, go ahead. I can manage. We'll catch up again…and if not it's not like I don't know the way…"

"Thanks Nick…I'll see ya later Tess!" Alex ran back to his car to fill Claire in on what had happened. They left Nick and Tess there and drove off waving at their siblings…

Nick and Tess unloaded Alex's boxes from the boot and were then finally able to get the spare tyre out. But after having a good look at it Nick sighed. "Tess, I'm not sure that spare tyre will get us all the way to Drovers! When did you last have a look at it?"
"I don't know, Claire usually does that but I guess she forgot…with being pregnant and all…"

"Well, we're gonna have to stop in Gungellan and get a new one or we'll never make it home!"

Tess was not happy at all to hear this. She had wanted to stay close to Claire just in case something happened and now they probably wouldn't be able to catch up at all. She took Nick's Sat-phone and tried Alex's mobile to tell her sister what was going on but as always out here Alex didn't have a reception and wasn't reachable.

"Damn! Nick…I can't reach Alex's mobile…we should hurry up…I have a bad feeling about them driving home alone…"

"I'm doing my very best here Tess…They'll be all right and home in no time, you'll see."

Nick changed the tyre and then they drove the rest of the way to Gungellan to get a new tyre for the Merc.

2 hours later, about half way between Gungellan and Drovers Alex heard a deep moan from the passenger seat. He looked over to Claire keeping on eye on the road trying to find out what was going on.

"Your back that bad?" he asked worriedly and petted Claire's leg. She was wearing a dress again today because she had found it was more comfortable while driving.

"I don't know if it's just the back Alex, everything hurts…"

"You want me to stop so you can stretch a little?"

"Yeah, might be a good idea…just for a few minutes…we're so close to home!"

Alex pulled over and Claire got out of the car and put her hands against the frame trying to loosen up her stiff muscles. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain go all through her stomach and she felt a warm fluid run down her legs.

She groaned again. "Oh no! Not now…aaaahhh!" the pain in her stomach got worse and she could feel it hitting her in huge painful waves.

"Claire! What's wrong?" Alex shouted from the other end of the car and came running to her.

"Alex…my water just broke…the baby's coming!"

"What? Now?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "No, tomorrow…yes, now!" The contraction was over and she got up again from leaning on the car. "Can you take me home Alex? I really, really don't wanna have the baby in the car…"

"You think we'll make it back to Drovers in time?"

"I don't know but…but I'd like to try at least…aaaaaaaahhhhh!" The next contraction hit her and she grabbed Alex's arm. "Jeez…this hurts…" she pressed through her teeth. When the contraction was over again she added "Ok, we won't make it back to Drovers I guess…"

57

Alex was nearly going crazy. He didn't really know what to do with Claire…of course he had read that book last night but now that the moment was here he couldn't remember a thing he had read…

"Alex…I don't want anybody to see me like that…can we go look for a place somewhere a little more privaaaaaaaaaahhhh…" The next contraction hit and Claire grabbed Alex's arm once again.

"Claire…" Alex couldn't hide the expression of pain on his face as Claire pressed her fingers in Alex's arm. Then the contraction was over again and Alex added "I'm gonna have to give you something else to hold on to next time…Look Claire, I think there's a little empty shed somewhere not far down the road…think we can make it there?"
"That sounds better than the side of the road…at least a little more private…"

So they got back in Alex's ute and drove about a kilometre down the road till they found the shed.

"You stay here Claire…I'll have a look inside if we can use it…" Alex said and jumped out of the car running quickly towards the run down shed. There was no real roof but it was fairly clean inside. A blanket would probably be good though…

"Claire? It'll be ok with a blanket I think…can you get out of the car again?"

"Just…wait…a…second…" Claire said with her fingers graved deep into the seat leaned forward a little. When the contraction was over she fell back into the seat and said "I want it out Alex…NOW!"

Alex felt for his wife, he knew he couldn't really help her but it hurt him to see her so much in pain.

"I know Claire…we'll get it out…together! But you'll have to help me, I don't really know what to do…"

They made their way to the shed where Claire leaned against a post while Alex spread out the blanket he had gotten from the car. Then Claire sat down with her back against the post and Alex said "I'll be right back Claire…I just have to get the book and some water, ok?"

"Ok, hurry up…"

Changing the flat tyre and getting a new one in Gungellan had taken Nick and Tess almost an hour. But now they were back on track speeding down the road to Drovers as fast as they could.

"Can't you go faster Nick? Something's wrong with Claire…I can feel it!" Tess had this anxious feeling but couldn't really tell why. She just had the feeling that it was because something with Claire wasn't right.

"Tess, if I go any faster I'll run off the road! I'm sure Claire's fine and her and Alex should almost be home by now. Why don't you call Drovers and see if they're there already?"

"Ok, where's your phone…got it!" So Tess called Drovers but nobody picked up. "Why does nobody wanna talk to me on the phone lately?" she complained which made Nick smile. "What's so funny Nick Ryan? I'm worried about my sister and you're laughing!"

"Sorry Tess…I really didn't want to…what's that?" Nick slowed down and then both him and Tess realized that that was Alex's ute parked on the side of the road.

"Nick! I knew it!"

"Tess, maybe she just needed to pee…"
"Nick!" Tess jumped out of the car even before Nick had completely stopped and ran towards Alex's car. But it was empty so she shouted for Nick "They're not here…where are they?"

"Tess, calm down…you're no help here! Look, there's a shed…why don't we go and look there…"

That's how they found Claire and Alex. Claire sat on a blanket leaned against a post and Alex was sitting in front of her with a book in one hand and a water bottle in the other.

"Claire!" Tess shouted out and hurried over to her sister.

"Oh Tess…I'm so glad to see you!" Claire replied weakly. She was sweaty and exhausted.

"Tess…the baby's coming…" Alex said with panic in his voice.

"She guessed that Ryan…" Claire snapped at Alex. Then the next contraction started and she shouted "aaaahhhh, you're…never…touching…me…again!"

Alex looked helpless now. "I'm sorry Claire…"

When the contraction was over Tess kneeled down in front of Claire and said "Let me see how far you are…"She cleaned her hands with the water and lifted Claire's dress. "Yep, that looks pretty far along…Claire, maybe you should get into a more comfortable position…this doesn't look like that at all…You remember that kneeling-leaning one?" Claire nodded "Sounds good…Tess?"

"Yeah?"
"I want it out…I just want it out…"

"I know Claire…won't be long now, I promise!"

After the next contraction Claire got to her knees with Tess's help and now leaned on Alex's shoulders, Tess behind her. Nick, who felt a little redundant suggested to call for help but Tess assured him that it was too late for that. "We'll have a baby any minute now…"

"Tess I need to push!"

"Then push..."

"Aaahhh….I can't do this!"

"Come on Claire…I know you can!" Alex brushed Claire's sweaty hair out of her face.

"Make…it…stop!" The contraction was over and Claire leaned against Alex.

"You can do it Claire…you're doing really well!" Tess said while rubbing Claire's back.

"There's another one coming…"

"Come on Claire…" Alex said.

"Push Claire, push!"

"Aaaahhhh, it's coming…I hate this…I hate you!" Claire looked at Alex "I hate this place…I hate everything!"

"It's ok, it's ok…" Alex looked at Tess for help but she just shook her head. Then the contraction was over and Claire once again fell against Alex.
"I don't really hate you…" she whispered and Alex answered "Yeah, I know…I love you!"

The next contraction started and Tess told Claire to push again.

"I aaaaammm" Claire pressed through her teeth.

"Push Claire…push…hold on…don't push!"

"DON'T?" Claire turned around a little and looked at Tess as if she was nuts.

"Remember, let the contraction do it…no don't push now…"
"But I want to!"

"Don't you dare push Claire McLeod!"

Now it was time for Alex to jump in for help. "Look at me Claire…come on…like this…" and he started to pant. With their eyes locked Claire panted with him. She could feel the baby slowly move out of her body and then finally heard a loud cry.

"It's a girl!" Tess said from the back. "It's a little girl…Alex, give me your shirt…" Since Alex had forgotten to get something from the car to wrap the baby in he now had to sacrifice his shirt.

Tess wrapped the baby in it and then sent Nick back to the car to get something to cut the umbilical cord. When they had done that she could finally hand the little girl over to her Mum. Claire was resting in Alex's arms now, both of them crying. "You're beautiful…" she told the baby and kissed her head. "Well done McLeod…"Alex said and kissed first Claire then the baby. "She's great…we did a good job there…"

"Welcome to the world little girl…" Nick said from where he was standing.

After the placenta was out too Tess tried her best to clean her and Claire and the baby up with the rest of the water. Then Alex carried mother and baby out to the car and carefully placed them inside and they all got on their way again, home to Drovers Run…