PART THREE

"Are you sure I should know about this?" Bree asked an hour later. She, Bart and Gabrielle were now alone in the tea room. Steve and Claire had finished up their coffee and returned to the floor.

"Yes," Bart sighed.

"Did they go out?... No, it's gotta be more than that... they had an affair?... Vincent is really Zach's father!..."

"No, no and definitely not," Gabrielle rolled her eyes.

"Now this is a first, Gabrielle Jaeger - not in uniform, in the tea room and sitting down - "

"I think it's perfectly normal for Bart to have an eye down microscopes and Bree as usual harping on about someone else's gossip."

"Hey!"

Gabrielle, Bree and Bart looked up. The two voices were all too familiar - Jack Quade and Cate McMasters.

"Oh my God! Hi!" both Bree and Gabrielle squealed. Bart grinned broadly.

Gabrielle and Jack hugged each other hard. It had been almost a year since they had seen each other and had kept in contact frequently. As Jack held Gabrielle, he felt her firm stomach. He looked down at her stomach and raised his eyebrows. Gabrielle shook her head, warningly. Cate bounced over while Jack, Bree and Bart caught up.

"Look at you," she squealed nodding toward the baby bump. Gabrielle shook her head pleadingly. Immediately, Cate understood.

"You've cut your hair, Cate! And haven't scrubbed up so badly yourself," Gabrielle commented.

Adam stuck his head in the door, "You guys better get upstairs. Frank's on everyone's warpath. He'll go ballistic if he finds you've turned up too. Besides he wants to have a quick meeting in the MRU headquarters about tonight."

"Who's already here?" Jack asked.

"Vincent," Bart said. "He's with Charlotte and Zach having coffee."

"Actually I could really do with a coffee," Jack said.

"Yeah, me too," Cate replied.

"Well can you send Charlotte upstairs too?" Adam asked. "Frank said he would only take five."

"Not a problem."

"Okay, let's have a little bit of shhh..." Charlotte said.

"Right, well I know I've already told everybody of the details, but just so it is patently clear about everything."

"Hey, check this out!" Adam said from the computer.

He put the projector on and flashed the video on the screen on the white board.

"This is some of the clips I found in Von's stash overnight."

"Oh my gosh, these are so old!" Charlotte said, looking through all the video and DVD's.

"And embarrassing," Bart referred to the screen where it was his first shift in the E.D.

He was wearing a white lab coat with his initials on the breast pocket and looking up at Frank tremulously.

"Is that your doc's coat?" Elliot asked laughing.

"Shut up, I reckon it looks sexy," Amy said smiling at Bart.

"Let's skip this bit... hey it's Dan and Ricki's wedding," he said grabbing the remote.

Everyone watched sadly. Such a beautiful wedding. Such a devastating tragedy.

It flicked onto the guard of honour as Dan and Ricki left the reception and then turned to the best man and maid of honour, Jack and Gabrielle.

"Who's the shaky camera man?" Jo asked.

"Homer, unsurprisingly," Frank said sarcastically.

Gabrielle had just entered through the MRU doors as the scene showed Jack and her kissing, and unfortunately, due to his lack of computer skills, it hadn't been cut.

Steve stared at the video awkwardly. Adam wolf-whistled. Charlotte, Mike and Bree cheered.

"About time we saw a little action from those two," Mike commented.

No-one had noticed her enter when Charlotte said, "You know, we all had a pact that Gabby and Jack would get together... and when they were living together... they seemed so perfect for each - ..."

"He's a good kisser, isn't he Charlotte?" Gabrielle walked in and grabbed the remote from the table before forwarding the DVD. She sat down before staring back at Charlotte who had turned slightly pink.

"Oooooh, the tension's rising..." Bree commentated.

Charlotte and Gabrielle stared at each other before they twitched a smile at each other.

"Bree, you don't want to start telling secrets do you?" Charlotte said slyly.

"What secrets have I ever told you?"

"Oh, I don't know, like... who the sexiest male doctor in the E.D is, perhaps," Gabrielle said.

Bree blushed red. "You would not!"

"Oh we so would... past," Charlotte said.

"And present," Gabrielle added.

"Put a sock in it you three," Frank said, flustered. "Right, moving on..."

"So what did happen between you and Jack that night?" Claire asked.

"That would be between Gabrielle and myself," Jack answered.

"Hey!" Jack entered the room with Cate, Vincent, Heath and Zoe tagging behind.

"What the hell are you all doing here?" Frank bellowed.

"Frank, and it's great to see you too," Cate reached up and kissed Frank on the cheek.

"I told you to meet everyone at the restaurant tonight! What if Von saw you all! Do you know the trouble I went to to organise this bloody party!"

"Pleasure doing business with you Frank," Heath said wistfully.

"Uncle Frank! Von's gone home," Amy butted in.

"Amy, I know that, otherwise Von would have joined us by now. Now that I have all of your attention -..."

"So do you guys know anybody else that's coming?" Bree butted.

"SHUT UP!" Mike shouted. Everyone finally shut up.

"Still have it in you, Mike," Cate said as she high-fived him.

"Now, as I was saying... what are you all going to do from now until 6.30?"

"Hey, maybe we could have Jo and Mike over for drinks before tonight," Claire whispered to Steve.

"Yeah, good idea. Mike do you want to drop by at Claire's place before tonight?" Steve asked.

"Thanks for the offer, but I might skip this one, need to help Frank with setting up," he replied.

"And since when have I ever needed help setting up from you, Vlasek?" Frank retorted.

"Have you seen your desk?"

"Jo?" Claire asked.

"Sorry guys, Frank asked me to help set up with Adam, Elliot and Amy," she replied apologetically.

Claire had started to get a little irritated. Nobody was willing to come over.

"Bree, you ready?" Claire asked, standing up with Steve and grabbing her bag. Usually Bree, Claire and Steve took it in turns driving to work, and today they had come in Claire's car.

"Errr... sorry Claire, I thought I might hang with these guys until tonight."

Claire was slightly taken aback. Usually Bree liked to hang out with her and chill with a couple of beers on a Friday night.

"Where will you be going then Bree?" Claire asked. "You couldn't be staying here for the whole time. Why doesn't everyone come over to our place?"

"I think we've already planned something."

Gabrielle's phone beeped. It was a text from her mate and gynacologist, Ryan Patton.

w h e n w u d u l i k e 2 h a v e y o u r 1 s t u l t r a s o u n d ?

"So where are you all going?" Frank asked.

Gabrielle replied back.

c o m i n g b a c k 2 f a r m i n 3 w k s . . . t h n x r y a n : )

It had suddenly gone unusually quiet. Gabrielle looked up from her phone to find mostly everyone staring at her.

"No way."

"Come on, Gabrielle, please," Zoe pleaded.

"I've just come back from the farm..."

"What haven't you cleaned up your pigsty?" Vincent asked sarcastically. "Gabrielle, your place is always so immaculate!"

"I just got back from the farm, I have no food or drinks!"

"Gabrielle, we always have the best time at your place," Bree added.

"Fine - I never have a choice do I. Bree, Bart, here -" she gave them fifty dollars. "Can you two pick up a couple of beers and something to eat? You lot, give me half an hour tops."

"What you need to tidy your already tidy house?" Jack asked, jokingly.

"Ha ha..."

"Now, that's settled. Jaeger, you're in charge. You are personally responsible for them. Make sure you are on time."

Gabrielle sighed, "Yep."

"So, Gabrielle?" Cate started.

She, Gabrielle, Jack, Zoe and Heath were seated in her lounge, with all four of them playing play station - something they had always done.

"What?"

Who's the luck guy?"

"What do you mean?" Gabrielle said blankly, trying to concentrate on the car she was controlling.

Jack paused the screen. "Come on, Gabrielle. It's pretty obvious. We are all trained as doctors or physicians here."

"Yeah, well no-one besides Frank knows."

"I'm surprised. Would've thought Bart or Charlotte to have worked it out," Heath said.

"Haven't been in all week... morning sickness and I had to help Ben with the farm."

"So who is he?" Zoe asked.

"It couldn't be Steve?" Cate said.

"Isn't he with that other nurse? They were holding hands," Heath said.

"Gabrielle?" Jack asked tentatively.

"Please, don't tell anyone, ok?"

"This story gets better and better!" Cate exclaimed.

"Oh my God, Gabby! Does Steve know?" Heath asked.

"I, er... told him I wanted a termination and I left for a week. When I came back yesterday, I found them together."

"Bloody hell. Gabby, did you think this through... you know having a baby and all is pretty serious stuff," Jack said.

"Like you would know," Zoe said.

"Hey, when Charlotte got pregnant, I was so tense... and the miscarriage was even more traumatising."

"You two had a baby?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah, by accident, obviously. But the only way me and Charlotte got through it was by sticking together. I mean, at first, we had our moments... we had both just been dumped and were extremely drunk. But we made it work for each other... we started to go to ultrasounds together and just got to know each other. We didn't neccessarily feel we had to be in a relationship... just be there for the baby and ourselves."

"Gabrielle?" Heath asked, reaching out and rubbing her shoulder, "You ok?"

"You know, I thought this was it for me and Steve... another chance..."

"What you need to do Gabrielle, is to talk to him. Don't leave it until it's too late," Zoe said.

They heard two cars pull up in the driveway.

"Finally," Cate said.

"About time, I'm starving!" Heath said, delving into Bree and Bart's shopping bags and pulling out packets of chips and cartons of beer.

"Wait, who's planning on driving?" Bree asked.

"I don't mind," Gabrielle said casually.

"Yeah, I've got an early start tomorrow," Zoe said. "St. Angela's Board meetings galore!"

"Okay, everyone - cheers!"

"To what?"

"To Von!"