Disclaimer: Well, I don't own Vegemite… bummer! Imagine the royalties…
A/N: So, the first two paragraphs took about a month… paragraph after took a week, the rest sort of just flowed… But in the wrong direction… ARGH!
genevra: Nice to know you have my attention spam... Which episode? Huh? Em is confused... Updated... just not soon... as usual...
Gypsy Nash: glad you like... i like reviews!
NZFan: And yet another for you... Yes, I thought that since Michelle had her cute part, BOM deserved one too.
The small family of three sat down for breakfast, having slept past the rest of the household, who seemed to have tactfully disappeared into the woodwork and left the mother and two daughters alone.
Claire watched her small daughters get to know each other. She watched as Michelle looked on in awe at what Charlotte knew about horses. Claire was somewhat surprised herself at her daughters knowledge. Although her head had spent years telling her heart that Charlotte was no longer a small child that needed her care and nourishment, her heart had never quite believed it.
A car pulled up outside as Claire was beginning to consider how to get maple syrup stains off of the wooden table without having to strip and re-stain the wood. The cheaper price of real maple syrup was one thing that she had loved about living in America. The readily available sap had become one of her favourite breakfast toppings. She fully intended to have some shipped over regularly, like she had had Tom do with the Vegemite.
A body walked through the door just as she was filling the sink to wash up. There was a clearing of a throat from the doorway, and she turned to find the one person who had known her whereabouts staring at her, trying to take in the change in appearance.
"Becky!" Came the excited cry from Charlotte.
As her big sister ran and hugged the blonde, Claire found Michelle tightly wrapped around her leg. Bending down to pick up her smaller daughter, Claire faced the girl who had known the entire story of Peter and been sworn to secrecy during their fleeting visit before Claire flew out of the country to begin her new life, with her new child.
Becky mirrored Claire's actions, picking up the child who was beginning to become too heavy for any of them to pick up.
"My God Natalie, she's gotten so big!"
Seeing the confused look on both her daughter's faces, Claire sighed. "It's okay Beck. They both know." She turned her attention to the child in her arms. "Michelle, sweetie, you know Lambie?" Once the overwhelmed child nodded, she continued. "She came from Mummy's old friend Becky here, when you were born."
"Becky?" A small voice piped up.
"Yes Charlotte?"
"Where's David?"
"He's here with me sweetheart." Came a new, male voice.
A panicky look crossed Claire's face as she recognised the voice. For a split second, she contemplated running and hiding, like she had when she was younger, but resisted the urge.
"I didn't realise you had company…" Harry began, before recognition swept over his face. As his face began to pale, Becky reached for the baby within his arm, and gently helped him into his seat.
"Michelle, would you and Charlotte like to come outside and hold David?" Becky asked, watching as Claire filled a glass with tank water.
The two girls nodded enthusiastically, and ran from the room, after an okay nod from their mother.
As Claire handed Jack the glass, he reached up and placed his hand on her arm. "What are you doing here Claire?"
'Okay, so maybe two people knew…'
"Who told you Harry?" Claire knew she shouldn't be mad, it was one less person she had to explain it to, but the fact he knew could have endangered her and Michelle while it was still possible for them to be endangered.
"No-one told me." He took his hand off of her arm, and gratefully took a swig of water. "I saw a chopper leave from the bottom paddock later that evening. The only conclusion I could reach was that for some reason, someone had been holed up down there, in the old hut. The only reason someone would take off without lights at that time of night would be for some emergency that no-one could know about. When I heard nothing about it from Drover's, I assumed that for some reason that we didn't know of, you were not dead and for some reason were making everyone think you were."
He looked at her face for the first time and saw the worry in her eyes. "Don't look at me like that Claire McLeod!" He took another drink from his glass before continuing. "I realised that since no-one knew and that since someone had gone to the trouble of replacing your body, that it must be something serious."
She'd known him for too long. "And you didn't tell anyone?"
"Come on Claire, give an old man some credit." She looked at him hard and he grinned sheepishly. "Had I heard anything to suggest that someone else may have known, I was willing to share. No-one did, so I've been waiting for you to return."
"You knew I'd be back?"
"You love Alex. You love Bom. You love this property." He sighed, sipping from his glass again. "You'd be back, even if I was wrong."
Claire noticed that there was no past tense. She almost angered at his calm and confident attitude.
"I know you as if you were my own daughter Claire." He said quietly, before continuing to himself- 'As I hope you one day will be.'
Unbeknown to him, she was thinking the same thing.
A/N: I think that's the only chap I've EVER done without breaks!