58

When they finally arrived at Drovers Run it was already dark and the house was lit up like a tree on Christmas. Claire had asked Alex to stop the car at the hill right above the homestead. With BOM in her arms she looked down on the house and smiled. It was good to be home, she hadn't been away from here for that long in long, long time. Not since she had left boarding school. And now she was coming back home after 2 long weeks with a husband and a new baby. Life was good…

When Nick and Tess drove up behind them and flashed the lights Alex drove on again. He could see on Claire's face how happy she was to be home and he couldn't deny that he felt the same. He couldn't wait to get up on a horse and ride over the hills of this wonderful land that he had missed so much. He knew now he would have never been happy in the city though he didn't regret that he went. He had found a new kind of self-esteem he had never known before…Alex Ryan was worth something without the social background or the money and name of his famous family. He was worth something for just being himself…and now a husband and father. He still couldn't believe everything that had happened to him in the past few days. Claire was his wife and they now had a beautiful little daughter. He looked over at them for a brief second and smiled. Life was good…

As soon as they pulled up in front of the house Claire and Alex could already see the rest of the Drovers girls running up to the car. They knew they were late due to the birth and hadn't really thought about calling so it was clear they had all been worried.

"Here comes the lot…Can you walk or do you want me to carry you upstairs?" Alex said with a concerned look on Claire and the baby.

"I'll be fine I think…maybe you could take the baby though…just to be safe." So Alex got out of the car and around to open Claire's door and take the baby from her.

"Thank God you're safe!" he heard Meg's voice behind him "We were expecting you a few hours ago!"

"Sorry Meg" he replied "We were a little busy in the meantime…"

"What you mean a little busy? I hope you didn't…" then Meg was speechless because Alex had turned around from the car with his daughter in his arms.

"Oh my God…" Jodi and Becky had walked up behind Meg and were now also looking at the little bundle still wrapped in Alex's shirt.

"May I introduce you to our little daughter BOM…she doesn't have a real name yet because her Mum doesn't like any of my suggestions but I'm sure she'll give in soon…"

"Alex! I won't name my daughter anything like Alexandra or Alexia…" Claire had slowly gotten out of the car and Nick and Tess had also left their car to join the group.

"Sorry for being late guys…Claire just couldn't wait to have the baby till she's home…" Tess now said and Claire shot her one of her famous looks.

"Come on, we should go inside…it's getting a little cold for our little one here!" Meg then said and put an arm around Claire "Are you all right?"

"I think so, yeah. Isn't she beautiful?"

"She is Claire, you did a good job. We'll call Bella in the morning so she can check you out, all right?"

Claire nodded and then they all walked into the house.

Once inside Jodi jumped right on Claire to tell her everything about what had happened while she was in the city. But Meg told her "Jodi let her breathe for a second, she just got back…they need to take care of the baby now and I'm sure Claire wants a nap then." Claire nodded "Thanks Meg…"

They took the baby up to the nursery and while Meg went down to get some water to clean mother and child properly Alex and Nick went back outside to look for the baby clothes Claire had bought in Melbourne. Tess stayed with her sister.

"Good thing we had the nursery done before you left, eh?" she said and hugged Claire.

"Thank you Tess…for everything!" Claire was close to tears again "You were always there for me and helped me through all this and I don't think I've really thanked you for it…"

"Ah, that's ok, that's what sisters are there for, right? You would have done the same had it been me, I'm sure!"

Meg came back with the water and the 3 of them gave BOM her first bath…which the little girl didn't really appreciate.

Alex and Nick had finally found the baby clothes and could already hear the baby crying when they walked in the front door.

"That girl takes after you Al…loud from the second she's born…" Nick smirked.

"Get away…you think?"

Nick laughed "Yeah. Let's hope she doesn't get your looks!"

"What's wrong with my looks?" Alex followed his brother upstairs to the nursery where Claire had just wrapped BOM in a towel. The little girl was still crying her lungs out.

"Well, you sure didn't like the bath…guess you're not taking after your aunty Tess then…"

59

When BOM was dressed and Claire had breast-fed her she was put to bed in the McLeod family crib with her parents and aunt watching her proudly. Everybody else had left when Claire had announced she was trying to breast-feed her baby now and only Tess and Alex had stayed to help Claire. Alex had felt a little weird at first but Tess had reminded him that this was just a natural thing to do and he should get over it.

Now BOM was sound asleep and happy so Alex said "Don't you want to take a nap Claire…she'll be back up in no time and I don't think she'd be happy if I tried to feed her!"

Claire smiled "No, I don't think she would…not the right equipment there…" she said and patted Alex's chest. "Will you come with me?"

"I would love to Claire but I guess I should get my things from the cars first. Don't want them to be outside all night…" he really didn't want to leave her.

"Nick, the girls and I can do that!" Tess jumped in "You stay here with Claire! We'll put everything downstairs and you can start unpacking tomorrow…"

"Thanks Tess!" Claire said and pressed Tess's hand.

"Any time sis! Any time…" Tess turned around and left the young parents with their daughter.

Downstairs she found Nick, Meg, Becky and Jodi in the kitchen having a cuppa.

"Claire will take a nap and Alex will stay with her." She announced "Is there one for me somewhere, too?"

Nick handed her a mug and Meg said "I guess he's staying the night then…"

Neither Claire and Alex nor Nick and Tess had told anybody about the marriage and Tess thought it really wasn't her thing to tell so she just said "Yup, he might stay quite often in the future…Umm, I've promised Alex we'd get his stuff our of the cars and in the house so we better get moving. It's late already and we'll all have an early start tomorrow…"

With the four of them helping it didn't take long to put all of the boxes and bags into the living room so Alex could go through them the next day. Then everybody headed to their separate homes and rooms. Before Nick drove off Tess thanked him again for his help with everything and they said goodbye with a long hug and a gentle kiss.

Up in the master bedroom Claire had changed into comfortable pj's for the night while Alex had once again stripped down to his boxers. They got under the sheets and Claire curled up in Alex's arms. She was exhausted but wanted to tell him something.

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"I know now what I want to name our daughter…"

"Really? Anything with Alex in it?" he said with a wink.

Claire laughed "You'll never give up, will you? No, what do you think of Charlotte?"

"Nice name…any special meaning to it?"

"It's Tess's middle name…"

"Oh, ok…" and before Alex could say anything else Claire went on "You know, I don't think I'd be here with you now if it wasn't for Tess…she's been there for me every step along the way, never asking any questions, always supporting me. I know this name probably means nothing to you but…"

"Oh Claire, can I have a word for a minute? You're worse than Tess!"

"I'm not!"

"Anyway…I really like the name and I know how much it would mean to you…and to Tess. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when you were pregnant and I'm glad you had Tess. So, what about a middle name?"

"Prudence, after my Mum…"

"That's that then…our baby girl has a name…Charlotte Prudence Ryan!"

"Charlotte Prudence McLeod-Ryan!"

"You'll never give up, will you?" Alex smiled

"Never!" Claire smiled back and kissed Alex. She knew she'd win in the end…

60

The next morning meant settling back to normal for everybody but Claire and Alex. They still had to cope with being new parents and Alex being back again. Since both of them had spent a rather sleepless night with a newborn crying constantly the others had decided to let them sleep in. So when Alex woke up to the sound of his daughter's voice once more it was already past 9. Claire was still asleep so Alex quickly went to pick up Charlotte from her crib. They had moved it to Claire's bedroom during the night after getting up for the fifth time. This way they could pick her up without walking all the way to the nursery.

"Hello my little girl…are you awake again? Yes? Well, lets see what we can do for you…" Alex went to the nursery to change the baby's nappy but he wasn't really sure if he could manage alone. Claire had always helped him so far. "Let's see if we can get you cleaned up…" But when she wouldn't stop crying even after he had managed to change what needed changing he knew he had to wake Claire. Their daughter was hungry and he couldn't do anything about it.

Back in the bedroom Claire was already awake looking for her daughter. Since neither Alex nor the baby were there she figured that they were together somewhere. So she got up and went over to the nursery only to find Alex struggling with changing the nappy. She smiled but decided to leave them alone for the moment. Alex would have to do it on his own at one point. When he was finished and Charlotte still wouldn't stop crying she heard him say "Well, I think we're gonna have to wake your mummy, don't we?" He tickled the baby's body and picked her up. "Ssh, you'll get something to eat soon…I promise…Claire!" He had turned around and had almost run into her.

"Morning Alex…morning sunshine…" she first kissed the baby then Alex "She sounds a little cranky this morning…"

"She's hungry I would guess…" Alex handed Claire the baby and she sat down in the rocking chair to feed her.

Alex looked at the scene and was amazed once more at the sight of his wife and daughter.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked her.

"Sore!" Claire said and then smiled "Sore but happy…"

"Umm Claire...now that you're both awake we probably should call Bella to get you two checked out…she was 2 weeks early after all."

Claire nodded "Yeah, you can do that while you get me something to eat…Charlotte's not the only one starving!"

So Alex went to the study to call Bella who was surprised to hear from him and even more surprised when she heard that Claire's baby had found its way to the world already. She promised to come as soon as she could.

Then Alex went to the kitchen to get something to eat for him and Claire. He wasn't surprised that nobody was there, they were all out doing the work that needed to be done. On the kitchen table he saw a note Meg had left telling him that there was some breakfast left in the oven. He smiled and took it out but then thought 'How is that gonna be enough for both of us?'

He took what he had up to Claire's room and they had breakfast in bed together with Charlotte thankfully sleeping again.

"Alex?" Claire then asked.

"Yeah?"

"We still have to tell Meg and the girls about our marriage…"
"I know…when do you think it would be best?"

"How about tonight…big party, we tell them the name and everything else they don't know…"

"They do know I'm the father, right?"

Claire laughed "Yes they do, I told Meg on the phone while I was in Melbourne. She wasn't surprised though so I guess they all figured that one out when I left to find you…"

Bella came just shortly before everybody else would come back in for lunch. So when they all appeared one by one they found Alex sitting on the veranda alone.

"Where's Claire?" Meg asked looking around.

"Bella's here checking on her and the baby…"

"Still no name for her?" Tess wanted to know and Alex smiled.

"We do have a name but we're not telling until tonight…"

"You really like to tease us, don't you?" Tess replied.

"I'm gonna go and get lunch ready…Becky, Jodi, would you give me a hand?"

"Listen Meg…Claire and I wanna have a little party tonight…a BBQ or something…do we have everything for that or do I need to get into town…"

Meg assured him they had everything they needed for a proper party and left to prepare lunch with the girls following her.

"When will you tell them you're married" Tess asked after everybody had left. "They've asked me all morning what's gonna happen with you two and if your boxes in the living room mean you're staying here…I hate not being able to tell them but it's really not my thing to do…"

"I know Tess, I'm sorry…we'll tell tonight…that's why we're having the party!"

Just then Claire and Bella walked out on the veranda, Bella carrying the baby. "Mother and child are healthy!" she announced and put BOM in the crib that was standing on the veranda.

"Was there any doubt about that?" Claire smiled and sat down in the chair next to the crib looking down at her child.

"Nah," Alex said. "With you and me as her parents it was clear she'd be perfect…"

"With me yeah but you?" Claire couldn't help it, she just loved teasing Alex.

"Ok, you two…I'll be back next week to see how you're doing Claire, all right?" Bella said and added "Congratulations!"

61

Later that day it was finally time for the party. The meat was already on the grill and Meg had outdone herself with making all kinds of salads. She hadn't wanted Claire to help who still looked exhausted but had gotten Alex to help her decorate the veranda a little. Now they were all waiting for the big announcement that Claire and Alex had promised.

"Come on Claire…don't you wanna tell us what you named your daughter? We've been guessing all day long…" Jodi begged. She hated it not to know what was going on.

"Patience Jodi, patience…"Alex said "Nick's not here yet so we'll wait…" Thankfully it didn't take long then Nick's ute rolled up to the house. As soon as he got out of the car Jodi shouted "Hurry up Nick! We're all waiting for you…"

As Nick walked closer he apologized "Sorry, Dad kept me busy on Killarney…"

"Sit down Nick, you want a beer?" Claire asked and when Nick nodded Alex reached down to the cooler and handed him one.

"Well," he then said "now that everybody's here…Claire and I have an announcement to make. As Claire told me you all know that I'm the father of Claire's baby…"

"Oh hurry up Alex and skip the parts we know…I wanna know the name!" Jodi's comment got a huge laugh from the whole group.

"Well, if you don't wanna hear the announcement we'll skip that and get right to the name part…" Claire said winking at Alex. BOM was resting in her arms and Alex had his arm wrapped around the two of them.

"Yes that's what we…hold on…what other announcement?" Jodi was curious now, just as well as Meg, Becky and Terry.

"Ah, so you do wanna wait till we tell you everything our way…" Alex smirked and Jodi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, go on…"

"Ok, where was I…ah right…I'm BOM's dad…well, and you probably all know that Claire left Drovers to find me two weeks ago…but the baby was not the main reason for that…"

"It wasn't?" Jodi was really confused now.

"Jodi will you just shut up and let Alex say what he wants to say?" Meg told her daughter.

"Thanks Meg! No Jodi, the main reason why Claire left so suddenly was that she found some documents that shouldn't still have been in her possession."

"Now you got me curious Alex…what documents?" Meg asked and got a punishing look from Jodi.

"Remember those boxes I found in the attic Meg?" Claire jumped in.

"Yeah, they kept you busy for a couple days till you were gone…"

"I found an envelope in there that I had meant to send off ten years ago but forgot somehow…"

"And what was IN the stupid envelope? Jeez, there's got to be a way to tell this faster…"

"JODI!" the whole group shouted and Claire and Alex laughed. Jodi deserved a little teasing for always being so nosy.

"Well…I found some annulment papers in there…"

"Annul…you were married?" Jodi couldn't believe it.

"Well, she actually still is since the papers were never sent off…"

"But to who? I mean…you didn't date anybody back then, did you?"

Claire laughed. This was so Jodi. First being nosy and then not getting a thing. But she could see it working in Meg's mind. Meg had been the one who had taken care of her 10 years ago after her rodeo accident and she was probably the only one that could still remember who had constantly called back then.

"It's Alex Jodi…" Meg then said looking at Claire for confirmation who nodded.

"WHAT? WHEN? HOW? Nobody ever tells me anything here…" Jodi felt slightly insulted.

"It happened 10 years ago Jodi and you were just a little girl then…" Claire said to calm the young woman down. "I don't think you would have been interested back then let alone would have understood what had happened. Alex and I didn't even know we were still married, how should we have told you or anybody else. I still can't remember why I never sent the papers off…"
"Jack's first heart attack…that happened at that time." Meg helped her out.

"Right!" Claire remembered now "I put the envelope in the box because you came running in and told me that Dad had had a heart attack. And then I just forgot about them…thanks Meg!"

She slipped out of Alex's arms to hug the woman that had always been like a mother to her "I'm sorry I never told you…I just couldn't…it was too painful" she whispered in Meg's ear.

"There's more to that story, right?" Meg asked and Claire nodded. "You wanna tell?"

"Not now…"

"Well…I guess I should say congratulations then. Let's give a toast…" Meg raised her glass "To Claire and Alex!"

"Claire and Alex!" everybody joined in and went on with giving the two their best wishes.

Then Jodi suddenly remembered something "Hey, what about the name then?"

Claire laughed "You would never forget that Jodi, would you? Ok here it goes…"she looked down at the little girl in her arms and softly said "Her name is Charlotte…" and then kissed the baby.

"Why Charlotte?" Jodi wanted to know and Tess said "It's my middle name…" She had tears in her eyes and walked over to her sister to give her a huge hug.

"Ah, that's nice!" Meg said "And what's hers?"

"Prudence, after Mum…"

"Charlotte Prudence Ryan" Alex proudly said.

"McLeod-Ryan" Claire added and everybody laughed. They all knew Claire would never give up the name McLeod.

Meg once again raised her glass and said "To Charlotte Prudence McLeod-Ryan!" and everybody joined in…