I'm not sure about this chapter... it flows with the story but I'm not 100% happy with it.

Chapter 17.

Joey led Lauren straight to their room as soon as they'd walked through the door after leaving the pub. It was still early but he could see she was exhausted. She followed him and stood in the middle of the room, staring at his face. Joey kissed her softly first. It was something he'd wanted to do ever since they'd left the safety of his flat. His hands pushed the coat she was wearing off her shoulders and it fell to the floor. He slowly removed the rest of her clothes until she stood in her underwear. He went to his cupboard and pulled one of his T-shirts from the drawer. She shook her head at him and he frowned. He returned to stand in front of her and she started to pull his clothes from his body. She pulled off the T-shirt he was wearing and before she did anything else, she pulled it over her head.

She saw him staring at her and she smirked at him, "It smells of you." She breathed against his chest as she stepped into his arms. They stood wrapped around each other in the middle of the room for several minutes. "I'm sorry they treated you that way," she whispered against his skin.

"I'm sorry everyone found out the way they did." He replied, "I thought we'd be able to sit down and have a sensible conversation, not a screaming match in the middle of the pub."

"Joey, we're Branning's, we don't do sensible conversations. I know that. You've not been round us as long, so I can understand why you wouldn't realise." She pulled away from him and stared up at his face, "It was always going to be a screaming match but I love you for thinking it wouldn't be." She rose on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips, "I'm proud of you, babe. You didn't lose it in there."

"Lauren... I almost hit your dad. Both your parents made me so angry at the way they'd treated you. It's been brewing ever since that night and today it just boiled over."

"I know... but it's okay." She reassured him.

"It's really not, babe." He said.

"Let's go to bed, Joe." She took his hand in hers and pulled him further into the room. He stood there as he watched her remove the rest of his clothing. They both ended up wearing just their underwear and Lauren still wore Joey's T-shirt. She pushed him backwards so he was sitting on the edge of the bed then she stepped forward. Her hand's cupped his face and she kissed his tenderly. "You're my hero, Joe. I couldn't have got through the last two weeks if it hadn't been for you."

"All I did was look after you, like anyone who cared for you would."

She looked at him and she could see he really believed what he was saying, "It was more than that to me, Joe." She said, stepping forward and climbing onto his lap, her legs straddling his. In the last week Lauren had been trying to take baby steps forward in her relationship with Joey. This was the first time she'd moved to sit with him this way and she could see from his face that he was stunned.

"You don't have to do this..." he whispered to her, not for the first time tonight, "I'm not expecting anything from you, Lauren."

"I want this, Joey. I want to do this." She kissed his cheek tenderly. "I love you Joey Branning. I think the first time I realised it was when I opened my eyes and saw you in the hospital. I could see how much you cared for me in your eyes. You didn't judge me for what had happened to me."

"I never would..."

"Some people will."

"Then they're people you don't need around you."

"I know." She smiled at him, "There's only one person I need around me and that's you, Joe. Anyone else isn't necessary."

"You're the only person I need too, baby." He whispered to her.

Lauren kissed him on the mouth, her tongue brushing his lower lip, begging for entrance. It was a request Joey granted and he swept his hands into her hair as they both deepened the kiss. Lauren moaned and shifted on his lap, bringing her body into close proximity with an interested part of Joey's anatomy. Lauren froze and Joey released his hold on her instantly. This wasn't the first time they'd gone too quickly for her to cope with. "Sorry," she whispered as she closed her eyes.

"Hey, you have nothing to apologise for. It's me that's sorry."

"You can't help the way your body reacts..." she told him. She leant her head on his shoulder, feeling his hands brush comfortingly up and down her back. "I wish I could make myself forget." She whispered.

"It's not going to happen overnight, baby."

"But I want it to." She lifted her head and stared at his face, "I want to be closer with you, Joey. I want to be able to show you how much I love you." She whispered.

Joey's heart broke as he saw the sadness on her face, "Lauren, I already know how much you love me. Sex isn't going to make it any more real." He rested his forehead against hers.

"I'm scared I'm never going to be able to get past this. What if they've broken me forever?"

"You're not broken, Lauren." He said, trying to reassure her.

"But I'm not me..."

"Yes! Yes, you are. You're still the girl I fell in love with." He kissed her passionately, knowing it probably wasn't what she needed but needing her to start believing what he was saying to her. "I want to do this with you as much as you do but I know we need to wait until you're ready. It would be wrong for us to rush this." He pulled her in his arms against him and he knew that she would still be able to feel how his arousal hadn't completely disappeared. He lifted her in his arms and got up from the bed, her legs wrapped around his waist as her arms wound around his neck. Moving them around to the side of the bed he moved so they were both sitting down, her grip on him loosening. "Lie down, baby." He told her gently. They both lay down and Joey kissed her softly. "I know you don't like talking about it and I understand that but I need to ask you a couple of things about that night. Is that okay?" Her eyes widened but she nodded at him. "You told the police what they did to you, right?"

"You were there, Joe." She whispered.

"Everything they did to you was in anger and was meant to cause you pain, yes?" She nodded. "I think we're going about this wrong," he said, staring into her eyes deeply.

"I don't understand." She breathed.

"You've been trying to move our relationship forward, right?" Another nod from Lauren. "I think you're skipping a few stages." She frowned at his words, "Lauren, this isn't just about sex, at least I hope not. This is about us showing each other how much we love each other. That doesn't just have to be about sex, Lauren. There's a whole bunch of things we can do before we get that far." She looked at him blankly, "You don't know what I'm talking about do you?"

"Does that make me stupid?" she whispered.

"No but I'm surprised..." he said, "Has it always just been about sex with anyone previously?"

"That I can remember, yes." She said, blushing slightly at the admission, she could barely remember a lot of them.

"Then I feel it's my duty as your boyfriend to teach you all about the art of foreplay, baby." He whispered to her, breathing his words into her ear. Lauren's breath faltered at his words and she glanced at his face. "Is that okay with you?"

She nodded, "Where do we start?"

"Let's start small." He told her gently. His hand traced down her cheek, one finger then tracing the curve of her jaw. He moved his mouth to the other side of her face and kissed her in front of her ear. "It's all about being sensual and increasing the intimacy between us." His mouth peppered kisses down the side of her jaw before settling on her lips. She moaned as his tongue brushed against hers. "Is this okay?"

"Mmm..." she moaned.

His mouth left hers again, moving slowly down her neck, sucking on her skin and occasionally letting his teeth graze it. His hand brushed down her arm and he took her hand in his, "Are you okay with trying something else?" he whispered. She nodded as she stared into his eyes. "If you want me to stop, just let me know."

"I will."

"Okay." He stared into her eyes as his hand moved beneath the T-shirt she was wearing. She tensed slightly but soon relaxed after a couple of seconds, "It's alright, baby." He breathed against her neck. "Just relax, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." He kissed her neck again, "This is all about making you feel good, baby." His hand brushed across the skin of her side, making her giggle softly. He pulled away from her slightly so he could see her face as his fingers brushed over her breast. She bit her lip, looking at him nervously and he paused. He lifted an eyebrow in silent question and she smiled at him. "Would it be okay to take your bra off?" he asked her softly.

Again Lauren froze at his words and he allowed her some time relax, "I think I'm okay with that Joe."

"We don't have to do it, if you're not ready."

"No, I want to do this." She reassured him. She pulled herself upright and undid her bra, pulling it off her body skilfully, without removing the T-shirt. She smirked at him when she saw the disappointment on his face then threw the bra at him playfully.

It was nice to see her so relaxed Joey decided. "You're so beautiful," he whispered to her and he smiled when he saw her face redden. She lay back down beside him again and watched as he tossed her bra across the other side of the room. "Now where was I?" he said with a smirk. His hand ran down her body, brushing over the top of his T-shirt and he felt her body arch up against his hand as he did so. His hand slipped under her top again and he watched her face as it slowly climbed higher. Lauren's eyes shut as his hand stopped before reaching her breast. His hand cupped her peak and his thumb brushed over her nipple.

"Joey..." she whispered. He repeated the action and she moaned softly, squirming slightly on the bed.

"Relax baby, let yourself feel it," he breathed. He continued to caress her breast, feeling the tension increase in her body as she got more and more aroused. Joey kissed her softly, Lauren's arm winding tightly around her neck. "Let me try one more thing..." he whispered to her and she nodded her head, trusting him entirely. He kissed her deeply, gently pulling the T-shirt up her body. Again she froze in his arms and Joey looked at her, a little concerned he'd pushed her too far.

"I don't know if I can do this..." she whispered to him, her hand reaching for his and stopping him from moving any further. "I'm sorry." She sobbed.

"Baby, it's fine. It's me that's sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you into this."

"You didn't, Joey. This is what couple's do. You're just in a relationship with a dud."

"Hey... don't say that about yourself, babe. I love you and I said earlier we were going to take this slow and I meant it." He pulled his hands from her and took her in his arms.

"I'm sorry I'm so pathetic." She whispered.

"You're no such thing." He breathed into her hair. He couldn't believe that she now seemed to think even less of herself than she had before this all started. "I love you Lauren Branning and nothing that happens is ever going to convince me otherwise."

"You soppy freak." She smiled at him.

"Takes one to know one..." he told her. He kissed her gently, holding her in his arms for the rest of the evening and throughout the night.

TBC

A/N: There you go. Let me know what you think. Hopefully it's not as bad as I think it is... Next chapter soon.