Not much to say with this one, other than... This chapter deals more with the emotions bottling up inside Stella. It's very Stella/Kerry orientated. The end is Stella/Leon, cause he gets forgotten about sometimes.

I hope you enjoy, please review and tell me what you think.

Also, I wrote a Rush oneshot, called 'Wounded Souls'. I'm not sure what it is exactly, it just came to me. So I'd love some feedback on that, to let me know what you guys thought :)

Thankyou all, for your ongoing support, and reviews. I love them all!

Stella sat in the locker room, alone. Silent tears made their way down her olive cheeks as another wave of intense grief washed over her. And confusion taunted her.

She didn't know whether she was ready for a child in her life. She thought of all the times she got shitfaced and snorted cocaine, especially with that bitch Cleo. And the whole time, she'd been pregnant. What if she fucked up the baby's chances before it was even born? Josh and Shannon had sat with her the previous night. She had sobbed in Josh's arms while he stroked her back and Shannon stroked her head. They had helped her, but neither had children, she knew they wouldn't tell her what she should do. That was her decision. She knew exactly who she could talk to.

She heard the familiar clacking of heels come down the hallway and enter the locker room. She was sitting on the floating bench facing away from the door, but she knew exactly who it was that was standing in the doorway looking at her small, broken figure. She put her head in her hands as Kerry walked around so she was facing Stella and knelt down next to her.

Sure, Kerry was the first to admit that Stella had pissed her off in the past, with her illegal street racing, and consistent partying and hangovers, but Stella was one of the best junior officers she had ever worked with, and she cared about her. That's why it pained her so much to see her like this, falling apart and trying to hide it by burying her red, tearstained face in her hands.

"Stella. Come down to my office for a sec, yeah?"

A strangled sob escaped the young senior constable's lips and she broke down again.

"Oh Stella"

Kerry began rubbing her back. She waited for the young woman before her to calm down a bit again, before she gently helped her to her office. She sat her in a chair and walked out to talk to Josh and Christian, who were waiting to go out in TR2 with her.

"Josh. Christian" she waggled her finger, motioning for them to come over to her, "Take TR2 out, Stella's going to stay here for a bit, pick her up on your lunch break, yeah?"

Josh nodded, "Christian, go start the car."

He tossed him the keys and walked into Kerry's office. Stella stood and buried her face in Josh's chest, he placed a strong, comforting hand behind her head, talking to her in hushed tones, trying to calm her down. She was so broken, he'd never seen her like this. She pulled away gently, "talk to Kerry, we'll pick you up at lunch."

He murmured and pulled her in for another brief hug, "You'll get through it, Stel. It gets easier."

She nodded again and sat down in the chair, waiting for Kerry, who was checking something with Leon while Josh comforted Stella.

Josh got into the passenger side of TR2, he noticed the wet patch on Josh's dark blue shirt, before he zipped his vest over the stain.

"Stella okay?" He asked, his voice filled with compassion.

Josh nodded, "she will be, needs time. Let's go." Christian looked solemn, and the pair silently drove out of the TR base.

Stella sat in Kerry's office, Kerry was at her desk, silently working, waiting for Stella to talk in her own time.

"Kerry, you were young when you had James right?"

Kerry nodded, "too young. I was younger than you are."

Stella looked at her, eyes full of confusion, "How young is too young?"

Kerry let out a small sigh and went to sit on the front edge of her desk, she looked into the frightened eyes of her officer, "that's for you to decide, Stella. You have to decide whether you're ready for the responsibility of a kid in your life, and whether you are prepared to stop a lot of what you do now to support a child."

Stella placed her head in her hands again before wiping her hands down her face, "I don't know if I'm ready. I always thought I'd be raising kids with someone, not without them. I don't know if I can do it."

Kerry stared into the scared eyes of the senior constable before her, "You are not alone, Stella. We are all going to be here for you and support you, no matter what the decision is that you come to."

Stella nodded and a silent tear made its way down her cheek. The pregnancy hormones were getting the better of her already. "What if I have wrecked everything?" her voice small, "all I did with Cleo is get shitfaced and snort Cocaine, and that really hasn't stopped completely."

Kerry sighed, "You can't change what's done. I think you should see a doctor and get some advice. That might help you make up your mind."

Stella nodded, she knew she'd have to go to the doctor sooner or later, she was just regretting it, until she made up her mind.

"You're going to have to let Charlie and Lawson know, Stella. Do you want me to tell them?"

Stella shook her head, "I'll do it, it would be better coming from me."

Kerry nodded, "Okay, if you need anything just ask, okay? We are all going to support you through this." Stella nodded and smiled, although the smile didn't reach her eyes, the sparkle was missing, and Kerry could tell she was filled with worry, guilt and grief.

Stella was going to be helping Leon until the boys picked her up at lunch, she walked over to his desk and started spinning on a swivel chair. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "You okay, Stel?"

She nodded, "yeah, fine. Just had to have a quick chat with Kerry about something."

Leon looked unsure, he knew something was up, yet he didn't push. He'd seen what Michael's death had done to her, despite her best efforts to keep it hidden from everyone except maybe Shannon and Josh. He showed her his latest project of get a picture of a show horse with a bright rug on and changing it to have Charlie's face.

Stella laughed. A happy, rare laugh these days. It was truly genuine. "He would killyou if he saw that Leon." She said still smiling, her expression turned cheeky before she added, "Although, he can be a bit of a show pony."

The pair laughed, "my thoughts exactly." Stella smiled, "he's not all bad though. He's a hard ass, but so is Lawson, and he is better than when he first came here, he doesn't display any of that macho bullshit anymore." Leon nodded, "true, although him and Lawson always seem to be having a dick measuring competition" he added with a chuckle. The pair laughed and joked until lunch came around and Stella had to put her uniform on. It felt really good to joke around with Leon, she felt as if a small weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It was a small step in her road to recovery.

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