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Chapter 10
Rowan opened her eyes and started. Had she heard a noise? She looked at the clock and rubbed sleep from her eyes before quickly canceling the alarm. It was time to get up anyway. She carefully slipped from the bed and pulled her dressing gown on over her pajamas and quietly left the room to go and make some coffee.
Alyssa looked up as Rowan came out of her bedroom. She sighed, she had been hoping to sneak off without waking her, she knew Rowan was a light sleeper in the mornings and she had tried to be quiet. She shouldered her bag and edged backwards, there was no way she could open the front door without Rowan hearing her.
She reached the light switch and turned it on.
Rowan jumped and whirled around, the scream dying to a squeak from her throat.
"Lyss, what is going on?" she whispered and noticed the bag. "Are you leaving? Not for good I hope," she said worriedly and walked over to Alyssa and put a hand on her arm.
Alyssa nodded, then shook her head in answer to Rowan's questions. "I'm just going up to the Cottage for a few days, I need to get away from Walford for a while," she explained softly. "I was going to catch the early train, I didn't want to wake you," she told her.
"I'll be okay Ro, I'll come back in a week or so," she said. "I just need to sort myself out," she added as she took Rowan's hand. "I need to go or I'll miss my train," she said softly as she gave Rowan a quick hug.
Rowan nodded. So the same had happened to Alyssa, but she didn't seem to be bothered why. She wondered what would happen after everyone heard Gene on the news tonight, saying they didn't intend to press the matter with Alyssa since she had acted in defense etc… She finished eating and began to clear the table.
"Okay, well I don't blame you with everything that's happened. Rowan hugged Alyssa quickly and watched her go. Rowan was glad that at least she knew where Alyssa was going, if she was needed. She locked the flat door and went into the kitchen to start the coffee brewing. She jumped up and sat on the counter next to the coffee maker to wait for it to brew, tapping her mug idly with her fingers.
Despite everything, she found herself wondering if Jack was okay.
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Jack reached over and picked up the pack of cigarettes to fish out another and found it empty. He scrubbed at his face and finally swung himself up to sit on the edge of the bed. He reached into the bedside table and pulled out another pack and lit up. He looked at the overflowing ashtray for a few minutes before picking it up and dumping it in the waste can near the dresser.
He was going to have to deep clean this room if Alyssa ever came back...unless she didn't. In which case, he would have to deep clean it in preparation to sell the house. But for now...he shrugged and took a long drag. He'd left the window cracked so at least the room wasn't in a haze. He glanced at it...sun wasn't even up yet. At least it was summer. He could lie here staring at the ceiling all day, just as he had done all night, no one would mind. Only Alyssa might care, if she ever came back...unless she didn't.
He realized he was in dire need of a shower, but who would care? He hadn't eaten either. He picked up the half-full bottle of scotch and took a long pull off of it and settled himself back on the bed. He put the ashtray on his chest and focused his gaze on the ceiling once again.
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Peter hauled himself off the bed with a groan. His head was pounding! He padded from the bedroom and looked around at the bodies of his friends littering the furniture and floor. He had expected just a few quiet drinks when he'd suggested they come to his and Molly's for a drink or two…not an all night, drink-till-you-pass-out party. He quickly and quietly fixed himself and Molly cups of tea and went back into the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him.
"Here, love," he said softly as he put her mug down on the bedside table. He leaned back on his pillow and sipped at the hot liquid. He reached into the drawer and quickly fished out the bottle of paracetamol and swallowed two of them. He left the bottle out in case Molly would want some.
He closed his eyes and wondered why Mr. Rimmer hadn't been at the party. He was always there to supervise. Mrs. Rimmer hadn't been there either, no surprise there, though, if she'd thought Mr. Rimmer would be there. He glanced at Molly's back and wondered if they shouldn't have Mr. Hunt go and see Mr. Rimmer. The two men were mates after all, and Mr. Hunt was with the police, if Mr. Rimmer was in some sort of trouble, that might help. He took another sip of his tea. He would ask Molly what she thought when she woke up.
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Lauren's eyes cracked open and she gave a small smile as she noticed she was in Charlie's bed with his arms around her. Granted, they'd only passed out together, nothing else, but she considered this to be a big step up. She sighed and cuddled up closer to him and closed her eyes again.
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Molly shifted in her sleep and groaned as she opened her eyes. She rolled onto her back and accidentally bumped into Peter. She muttered an apology and struggled to sit up, her hand clasped to her head. She spotted the paracetamol and dry swallowed two pills before spotting her mug. She grabbed it and took a large gulp, wincing as she burnt her tongue.
"Never let me drink like that again," she muttered to Peter as she sank back down into the pillows.
"Yeah, or me," Peter muttered. "Everyone is still passed out in the front room," he told her. "Looks like a bomb went off."
He took a sip of tea and looked at her. "So, why do you think Mr. Rimmer wasn't at the party? Do you think he's okay? I'm wondering if we shouldn't have your stepfather go talk to him, I mean, they are mates right?"
Molly sighed and shrugged. "I dunno," she said. "He's always at them, maybe he's ill or something?" she suggested. "Gene and Mum have been worried a lot about Sam recently, I don't think he's been going out much, I'll ask him and see," she promised him.
"Alyssa wasn't there either," she commented with a sigh. "She's always at them since she and Mr. Rimmer got together."
Peter nodded. "Well, it's just…you know there was all that trouble with Mr. and Mrs. Rimmer," he ventured and then shrugged.
Molly nodded slowly. "Everything that came out in the pub," she said softly. "You think they still haven't sorted that yet?" she wondered sadly.
"I'm thinking not," Peter hazarded. "Unless they made up and that's why neither of them were there. But Charlie says Alyssa is still staying over with Rowan and Ray."
Molly sighed. "Surely if they'd made up then they would have both be there," she reasoned.
"There is that," Peter shrugged and sighed. "It's just not like him."
Molly nodded in agreement silently and went to take another, more cautious gulp of tea. Her tongue hurt from the burn earlier.
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Whitney slipped from Bolton's arms and pushed herself to her feet to stagger to the bathroom. She quickly washed her face with cold water and rummaged through the medicine cabinet until she found some pain killers for her head. She frowned at herself in the mirror before padding into the kitchen to make herself some tea. That had been some party; she had to admit to herself. She looked at everyone passed out in various places in the front room and sighed. It had been fun at any rate. She noted she couldn't see Lauren and somewhere dimly remembered she and Charlie had gone into his room. Way to go, Lauren, she smiled to herself and went over to wake Bolton.
She herself needed to get home and sort a few more things before the new people started on Monday.
Bolton grumbled and rolled onto his front and rested his head on the floor.
"Mmm, not gettin up," he muttered as he groped around for something soft to rest his head on.
Whitney slapped Bolton 's hand before it strayed to uncomfortable territory. " Bolton , stop, there's people here," she hissed in his ear. "Let's go do the walk of shame down to the café, I want a lot of strong tea and I bet you'll be wanting a fry up in a minute."
She took another sip from the mug and put it on the coffee table with two pain killers. "Take those," she told him.
Bolton grudgingly rolled back onto his front and dry swallowed the painkillers. He heaved a sigh and sat up before planting his hands firmly on the floor and rising to his feet. He looked at her as he managed to stand.
"You said something about a fry up?" he asked her as he looked around at the unconscious people around them.
Whitney rolled her eyes. Trust mentions of food to get him going. She grabbed his shoulders and turned him towards the door.
"Let's go."
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Alyssa walked to the train station from Rowan's, enjoying the silence of the early morning. Needless to say she was glad she had brought her cardigan, it was chilly this early as the sun wasn't properly out yet. She smiled ruefully as she neared the train station and got herself a ticket before sitting down on her platform, her bag on her lap, watching the sky. She'd been thinking about going up north for a while, she had a set of keys to the cottage and Ffion would be there anyway.
Her gaze drifted as a train thundered through the station without stopping and her hair was blown back from her face. She sighed and looked back at the sky. She had left the gift from Jack in her room, she was curious what was in it but refused to open it. She didn't want to accept any gifts but seeing as he was giving her no choice but to keep it she had resolved not to open. Another train made its way through the station at a slower pace and stopped at her platform. She rose and went to get on it. A few short hours and she would be in Emmerdale Village.
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Rowan picked up her cell phone and toyed with it for a few minutes before calling and leaving Rodney a message on his business phone to pick Alyssa up at the train station in town. She was glad she and Ray had been to visit many times over the past couple years, at least she knew who to contact to help Alyssa out. She looked at the time and decided not to call Ffion, it was too early yet.
She put her phone down and quickly filled her mug with coffee and doctored it up the way she liked it before taking a sip. Now that Alyssa was gone, she really ought to go and see about beating some sense into Jack's head. She thinned her lips as she nodded to herself.
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Rodney yawned and stretched as he pulled out his business mobile and checked his messages. His jaw dropped when he heard the one from Rowan. He looked at his watch and quickly jumped in the car. If he hurried he should just make it in time. He really should start setting his alarm to wake himself up earlier, he told himself as he sped away from the village. He pulled up at the train station and quickly got out and half ran to see if Alyssa was there yet.
He finally spotted her and waved with relief.
"Hello, your Rowan called to ask me to pick you up," he told her.
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Alyssa looked at Rodney in surprise, but smiled regardless. She'd been waiting for a taxi to show up for a while, she wasn't about to turn one away.
"Thanks," she smiled and made a mental note to thank Rowan later. She walked with him to the car and got inside.
Rodney smiled and opened the door for her and drove her back to the village. He pulled up in front of the cottage and quickly got out to open the door for her. He'd been tempted to ask her where Jack was, but had changed his mind. Something must be wrong there for her to have been so withdrawn the whole drive.
"Let me know if you need anything," he said with a smile and got back in the car with a quick wave.
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Ffion burst into giggles as he wrestled with her in the tub. She straddled him and leaned against his chest as she pressed her lips to his.
"Now, behave," she purred and kissed him again.
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Alyssa nodded at Rodney and waved at him as he left. She turned and looked at the cottage, memories of her past visits here crossing her mind before she pushed them away. She didn't want her mind clouded by stuff like that while she was trying to sort herself out. She dug in her pocket for the keys and pushed them into the keyhole with a sigh. She pushed open the door and looked around.
"Ffion?" she called out as she shut the door and started to make her way upstairs to put her stuff in the bedroom.
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Rowan quickly finished her coffee and climbed into the shower to get ready for work. She yawned as she walked into the bedroom and quietly opened the wardrobe to decide what to wear that day.
Ray groggily opened his eyes and looked up as he heard quiet footsteps. He smiled at the sight of Rowan and leant up on his elbows as he looked her over.
"Come back to bed," he said softly.
Rowan turned and looked at him. She pointed at the towel on her head and then the one she had wrapped around herself. "As you can see, I've just had a shower, Ray," she chided him and turned back around to look at her clothes.
"I can see that," he said approvingly as he looked her over with a grin. "It's half the reason I think you should get back in bed."
"Alyssa's left. She's gone to the cottage for awhile, clear her head," she told Ray as she gazed blankly at her clothes. She knew she just needed jeans and a t-shirt, but for some reason she just couldn't get it to click in her head. "Someone should probably look in on Jack. If I know him, he'll be wallowing in excessive self-pity and not taking care of himself at all," she muttered.
Ray scrambled out of bed and went to stand behind Rowan. He peered over her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her back against him. One hand came up and traced the top of the towel over her breasts and moved his gaze to the wardrobe.
"What are you looking for?" he asked her softly as he stared at her clothes with her.
Rowan sighed and leaned back against him. "I don't know," she admitted. "I just…Alyssa's gone and Jack looked like hell when he stopped in yesterday morning and there's all this to-do still about what happened last week. I'm so tired of feeling like I'm in a fishbowl, people coming to stare at me. You know it's going to be worse today probably, after that announcement Gene made last night. I guess I'm wondering if I should just not open today," she said, her voice slightly ragged and weary.
"Or open and just don't work. Stay here all day, my day off," he told her softly. "We can just stay in here with the twins and have a family day, or go out early before the Restaurant opens and have a day out" he suggested to her.
"I can't open and then not work. I don't have enough people to cover what it might be like today," she told him.
"Then stay in the kitchen or just don't open," he suggested.
She was becoming very aware of the feel of Ray against her back. She had avoided any intimacy with Ray all week, but it hit her that she'd been through worse. It was Ray and he would never hurt her. She reached up and pulled the towel from her head and then put her hand over Ray's and used it to push the towel from her body as she turned and pressed her now-bare flesh against him. She wound her arms up around his neck.
"I guess I'd rather do something else," she said and pulled him down for a kiss.
Ray kicked the towels out of the way and held her tightly as he kissed her, running his hands slowly over her body. He gently lifted her into his arms and moved to lay her on the bed. He turned around and looked at the door; he crossed the room and locked it shut before turning to look at her on the bed. He shed his boxers and moved over to her. He crawled over her and pressed his lips to hers.
"Door locked, no interruptions," he murmured against her lips as his hands ran down her sides.
"Very good," Rowan mumbled as her arms went around his neck and she kissed him back hungrily. She definitely needed this.
Ray broke the kiss and looked down at the woman he was going to marry with a smile, he shifted her legs apart with his knees and kissed his way down the front of her body. He grinned as he kissed her hip then moved his lips between her legs, his hands stroking up and down her legs gently.
"Oh, Ray," Rowan gasped. She closed her eyes and let what he was doing wash over her. She quickly shoved the corner of her pillow into her mouth as she felt herself come and the shriek welled up in her throat. It wouldn't do to scare the twins; even if the door was locked they hardly needed their mother screaming the house down.
She raised herself up on her elbows and looked down at him. She shifted her legs and sat up all the way and took his face in her hands.
"Your turn now," she said, her tone nearly a threat as she giggled wickedly and rolled him onto his back. She trailed her fingers down his chest, raking her nails gently through his chest hair, following her hands with her lips. She settled her hands on his hips and slowly took him into her mouth.
Ray groaned and his hands fisted in the blankets. Slow, she was going slow, why did she have to go slow? He clenched his teeth together in a resolve to be as quiet as possible: the longer the twins stayed asleep the longer they could do this.
"God Rowan," he said as quietly as he could. He fought desperately to control himself but his eyes shut.
Deciding he'd had enough he pushed her off him and rolled on top of her and kissed her as he pushed her legs apart and thrust into her, moaning into her mouth. This never got old. He raised his head and looked down at her, his hand coming to bury itself in her hair and his other arm wrapping around her waist to hold her close to him as he moved inside her. He put his lips to her neck and kissed his way back up to her lips, keeping his movements deliberately slow.
Rowan smiled, knowing that he was losing control. She loved him being at her mercy, she knew he did too, a bit.
She moaned into the kiss as she felt him thrust into her and she hissed out a yes. The slowness was agonizing, but so wonderful at the same time. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and moaned his name. She could feel herself getting closer and closer.
"Now, Ray, now," she heard herself whispering over and over again and pressed her lips against his, hard, before tipping her head back and clenching her teeth against a scream as she went over the edge. She slid her arms tighter around him, holding herself close to him to try and stop shaking as she buried her face in his neck and panted for air.
Ray found himself struggling to maintain his slow pace. He tightened his grip in her hair as he sped up and watched her beneath him. He smirked softly, she was so beautiful. Ray's head dropped as he pressed his lips to hers again and another moan left him as his hips moved against hers relentlessly.
Ray sagged above her and rested his forehead on her shoulder as he gasped for air. After a moment he dropped and rolled onto his side, dragging her with him and reached for the duvet to cover them both. He looked at her face and smiled as he brushed her hair behind her ears and gave her another kiss.
"So," he said softly as he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close to him. "What's going to happen with the Restaurant today?" he wanted to know.
Rowan sighed and leaned her head against his chest.
"I think it will be closed today. I'm not in the mood to be a freak show today. I'm in the mood to stay in bed late with this amazing man I know," she told him and tilted her head to kiss his chin. "Besides, it's been awhile since we've all had a proper day together."
She leaned back slightly and looked at him. "Maybe we should take a page from Alyssa's book and go somewhere, but just for the day," she suggested.
Ray stroked her arm lazily and nodded.
"Yeah. My days off tend to clash with your busy days in the Restaurant," he commented dryly, a frown on his face. "We really need to try to plan those better," he sighed and looked down at her; he smoothed his face into a smile and gave her a gentle squeeze.
"How about unlocking the door so when our two little monsters wake up they can suggest ideas for a day out?" he suggested with a smiled at her and then frowned again. "Have to put pyjamas back on first though" he added as he looked down at the floor and grabbed his boxers back and slipped them back on. He looked at the still open wardrobe door and then back at Rowan curiously.
"Why were you muttering about Jack earlier?" he asked her. "I wasn't really listening," he admitted with a bashful grin.
"I don't really plan the busy days," she told him, "they just sort of happen."
Rowan sighed, she wasn't done cuddling yet. She admired him as she watched him put his boxers back on and finally rolled and sat up on the edge of the bed. She walked over to the dresser and pulled some underclothes on. She grabbed out a long t-shirt and then unlocked the bedroom door before climbing back into bed and curling up next to Ray.
"I was just thinking that Jack should be checked on. You know what he's like. I don't hold with what he did, but he seemed in bad shape when he dropped that box off for Lyss yesterday. I'm just worried."
She rested her head on his shoulder and looked at him. "Mostly because Lyss is unlikely to do anything stupid," she added, leaving the fact that Jack possibly would do something stupid unspoken.
"Yeah, they happen on my days off," he grumbled. "Maybe I'll just keep my days off a secret and then the Restaurant won't know and won't conspire against us and it will be empty," he muttered quietly.
Ray welcomed her back into his arms and tucked her against him comfortably, moving the pillows around behind him until he was comfortable. He brushed a kiss across her forehead and tightened his arms around her as he rested his head against hers.
"Well, I don't mind popping round there to check on him while you get the twins ready, once they're awake anyway," he offered. "Unless you want to do it?"
"I'm thinking we could just stop by there before we go wherever it is we decide to go," she told Ray. "Now, I think since they aren't awake yet, we should practice for the wedding," she told him and slid a hand behind his head and kissed him, long and slow. She smiled as she broke off the kiss.
"Too much?" she wondered and then sighed and lifted her eyes to the ceiling as she heard the thud of two pairs of small feet hitting the floor. She let out a small laugh as she looked back at Ray.
"Whoever said 'pitter patter of little feet' clearly never had children," she observed as she heard the steps made a low thunder above their heads.
Ray raised his eyes up to the ceiling too and smiled softly. "Seems we're going to get the two of them joining us very soon," he sighed and looked back at her.
"Now, we were discussing the wedding..." he said as he cupped her cheek. Ray pressed his lips to hers and kissed her tenderly.
"How about that?" he asked her as he let her face go and settled back down. He smirked broadly at her. "When do we move on to practising for the wedding night?" he wondered, half listening to the sounds of the twins moving around.
"That's probably more acceptable in front of people," Rowan conceded. She snorted a laugh at his question. "I thought we just finished doing that!"
She brushed her lips against his and sat up. "One of us should deal with them," she said pointing at the ceiling, "and one of us should get breakfast started because I'm starving," she told him and looked at him over her shoulder, her lips quirked in a half-smile.
"Shotgun not cooking!" he said and leapt from the bed with a grin. He winked at her and headed out of the bedroom.
"Right," he announced as he came into the hall. "I heard footsteps," he said as he looked around. "Where are you two hiding?"
Rowan shook her head and pulled on a pair of pajama pants before heading into the kitchen. She swatted Ray's behind as she walked past him. "Don't you think you should put some more clothes on?" she whispered at him and chuckled.
Ray looked at her and frowned "Why? They know I sleep like this!" he said back before retreating back to the bedroom and grabbing a dressing gown.
Rowan sighed and shook her head. She paused before heading into the kitchen. "What about Southend?" she suggested and continued on into the kitchen to rummage in the fridge for breakfast fixings.
Ray looked over his shoulder at her and nodded once before heading upstairs.
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Ffion giggled loudly again and grabbed at Cain's hands as moved and pinned her underneath him with a loud splash.
"You're making a mess," she scolded and his lips on her silenced her further complaints.
"I'll help you clean it up…maybe," he murmured and kissed her again.
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Alyssa sighed as she heard giggling and voices coming from the bathroom. She shook her head, Ffion never changed. She was just glad that the door was shut. She supposed she should let her know that she was here, that way she didn't get a nasty surprise when Ffion and her 'friend' found out she was here.
Alyssa knocked loudly on the bathroom door. "Fee," she said.
Ffion gasped at the knock on the door.
"Oh shit," she said very softly. "Be out in a minute," she replied loudly and frowned and shook her head as Cain lowered his head to kiss her again.
"We have to get out now," she told him and managed to slip out from under him and get out of the tub. She grabbed her towel and held out one to Cain. She quickly wrapped it around herself and opened the bathroom door and squeezed out of the bathroom door.
"Hey, I had no idea you were going to be here this weekend," Ffion said, her tone contrite and apologetic. "We'd have gone to his otherwise."
Alyssa shook her head. "It was unplanned," she told Ffion. "I just wanted to let you know I was here, don't let me disturb you," she said tonelessly. "I'm going to go for a walk over the fields anyway," she added with a shrug and turned to go into her bedroom to get changed.
She changed into her jeans and a shirt and grabbed her wellies. She came out of her room, pocketing her house keys.
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Cain quickly pulled his clothes on and opened the door to the bathroom.
"See you later, then," he said to Ffion and gave her a quick kiss. "Come round mine later, if you want."
He grinned at her and tipped a wink at Alyssa before heading downstairs.
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Gennie noticed Alyssa going into the cottage and her eyebrows went up in surprise. She didn't know they were here this weekend. She smiled and wondered if Rowan had come, too. The girls were going to have to have a proper night out. She hurried to the café to get a coffee and then she could call Katie and Leyla and let them know.
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Gennie smiled at her mother and bid her a quick goodbye as she headed out of the café. She glanced over at the cottage and then at the shop. She'd go see Leyla first. She ran over as quickly as she could without spilling her coffee.
"Hiya," she said and waved her hand. Leyla looked up and gave Gennie a quick wave back before settling her hand back on her belly.
"Alight, Gennie?" she said and looked at Gennie's coffee acquisitively. "I miss coffee sooo much," she groaned enviously. "David's not here, give us a little sip, just a little one?" she pleaded and Gennie shook her head.
"You wouldn't like it anyway," Gennie told her and Leyla sighed.
"That's so not fair," she complained and kicked the wall. Gennie snorted a laugh and took another sip of her coffee.
"Alyssa's here, I just saw Rodney dropping her off."
"Really? Wait? Rodney dropping her off? She and Jack always drive together," Leyla said in confusion.
"I know, but maybe he could stuck working or something," Gennie suggested and Leyla shook her head.
"He'd be out of school now, he wouldn't have nowt to do," Leyla disagreed. Gennie shrugged.
"Well, I don't know then," she said and took another sip of her coffee. Leyla walked over to the entrance of the shop and leaned against the doorway.
"Well, hopefully she'll come by and say hi," Leyla said as her hand strayed to her swollen belly again.
"I was going to call Katie," Gennie said.
"Oh, yeah, you should," Leyla agreed and went to get her chair to sit in.
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Alyssa scowled after Cain and flinched as he winked at her. Him! She turned to face Ffion accusingly. She was sleeping with that man! Alyssa shuddered slightly but didn't comment. Whenever she came up here she avoided the Garage and Cain no matter what. Now he was in her cottage, she couldn't bear the idea. Her arms clutched around her middle as she gave Ffion a reproachful look, she would have to ask which rooms he had been in and clean them all until she was satisfied that there was no trace of him left anywhere.
"I'm going for that walk," she said. "I can't stop you from sleeping with...him," she said. "But please don't do it here, I don't want him in this Cottage. Ever," she told Ffion firmly and shuddered again.
Ffion's eyes widened and she backed up a step. She'd never seen Alyssa so angry. She knew Alyssa wasn't crazy about Cain, he could get on some people's nerves, but since Ryan had left and Carl and Chas had got back together, she'd been at a bit of a loose end. Cain had seemed interested so she'd gone with it. This was only the second time they'd been together, but what a night it had been!
"Okay, sorry, Lyss," Ffion said softly and wrapped her arms around herself. She watched Alyssa go and shook her head before going back into the bathroom to clean it. She really couldn't figure out Alyssa's reaction. There was clearly something going on. She wondered if she should call Jack, he was oddly absent and that was strange. She bit her lip and went to throw on shorts and a top before she attacked the disaster that was the bathroom.
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Gennie saw Alyssa emerge from the cottage and handed her empty coffee cup to Leyla before running over.
"Hey, Alyssa, I thought that was you. We didn't expect to see you this early," she said in a rushed tone. "Is it just you?"
Alyssa looked up at Gennie and nodded. She'd hoped it was early enough not to run into anyone, apparently not. She forced a smile.
"Yeah, just me," she answered and looked past Gennie towards Leyla, keeping the smile resolutely on her face. "How's things?" she asked after a moment.
"Um, good," Gennie replied uncertainly. She could see Alyssa didn't seem herself and it made her uncomfortable. She didn't really know what to do. She glanced back at Leyla.
"Well, you seem busy, so I'll let you get on with it. Will you maybe join me and Leyla and Katie for lunch? We called her when we realized you were here," Gennie burbled in a rush again. She was babbling now, great.
"So, Woolpack at around noon if you fancy it," Gennie told her and patted Alyssa's arm. She gazed at Alyssa in concern, but simply said: "see you there, I hope," softly and walking back over to Leyla.
Alyssa nodded, keeping her smile in place but said nothing. She watched Gennie go back to Leyla and waved back before turning and heading towards the fields.
"Something's very wrong," Gennie said to Leyla softly and turned to wave at Alyssa.
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Alyssa loved the girls but had wanted to avoid them, at least for a while whilst she was here. She headed resolutely for the fields the other side of where Declan and Katie lived, she didn't want to run into them: Declan reminded her too much of Jack.
A sigh left her as she made it to the footpath and she simply stood and looked at the vast expanse of green in front of her. She inhaled once before starting off down the narrow track.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Chris slipped out of bed carefully so as not to wake Shaz and went into the front room. He opened his cell phone and sent off a text to Lucy.
"Working tday-you?"
Lucy heard her phone beep and sat up from tying her shoes and read the text.
"Work with Blake tday," she sent back.
"Cmin early," Chris suggested.
"K," Lucy replied and put her phone away so she could go on her morning jog.
Chris went into the kitchen and double checked the calendar that Shaz had the day off. With any luck, he could get some time with Lucy. He wouldn't be able to "work late" tonight. He was pretty sure they were supposed to be going somewhere, but couldn't remember where. He flipped on the kettle and set about making himself a cup of tea.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Sammy tumbled out of bed and looked around his room. It was still dark and the house was quiet. He grabbed up his sleepy blanket that Molly had bought him when he was littler and dragged it with him to Alex and Gene's room. He pushed the door open cautiously and a smile spread over his face at the sound of his Dad's snores. He went around to the foot of the bed and then climbed onto the bottom of their bed. He looked at his parents, fast asleep and left his blanket on the floor as he crawled up the bed and settled himself in the gap between them. He felt a little squashed, but also warm, and safe. He was always happy when he was with his Dad and his Mum.
Gene grunted and cracked open his eyes.
"I see there's an intruder here," Gene teased as he caught sight of Sammy.
Alex opened her eyes briefly and smiled as she saw Sammy. She shuffled backwards a bit and shifted so that he could get comfortable in the bed with them before shutting her eyes again. She groaned when her mobile started to ring. She reached behind her blindly and grabbed her phone, pressing it to her ear.
"What?" she demanded, her tone radiating irritation.
Molly couldn't help but chuckle. "Morning, mother."
"Molls? What is it?" Alex growled out, ignoring how Sammy's head turned to her curiously at the mention of Molly's name.
"Well, Peter and I were wondering whether Mr. Rimmer was okay," she asked.
Alex frowned, rolling onto her back and shutting her eyes. "How the hell would I know?" she growled out.
Molly snorted. "Not you! Gene."
"Well why didn't you call him then!" Alex snapped back. She just wanted to curl back up and go back to sleep, not participate in some random conversation with Molly.
"Because he doesn't have a phone and both of you are too lazy to get out of bed to get the landline. You keep your mobile by your bed. So I rang you."
Alex groaned in response and thrust the phone at Gene. "For you," she mumbled as she rolled back onto her side and felt Sammy curl up against her. She moved her arms around him and kissed the top of his head as she closed her eyes again and listened to Gene on the phone to Molly.
Gene frowned at the phone, but took it.
"What?" he barked into it, the impact lessened by the fact that he wasn't fully awake yet, so he sounded merely petulant.
Molly smirked at Gene's tone.
"Morning," she sang down the phone to him, her tone turned serious. "Have you seen Mr. Rimmer lately?" she asked him curiously.
"No, I haven't. I have been very busy, lot going on," he told her. "Why? What's he done?"
"Well, I don't know whether you know about all the commotion that went on the other week in the pub, but Mr. Rimmer slept with someone else and we think Mrs. Rimmer may have left him. He wasn't at the End of Year Party last night and he's always there," she explained.
"Yes, I know about all that," Gene told her. Jack had been doing a lot of crying into various alcoholic beverages all week. His brow furrowed as Molly finished. "Not at the party, hmmm," he murmured. That was unusual. He hadn't seen Jack since….Thursday? "Right, I'll stop in and check on him. Is that all that you have to call this early in the morning for?" he grouched and snapped the phone shut and handed it back to Alex before flopping back on his pillow.
"Go make us some tea, woman," he growled at Alex and looked at Sammy. "What are you going to do today while I'm at work?" he asked him.
Alex scowled at him but pulled herself from the bed and glared at him as he went out of the bedroom.
Sammy looked up at his Dad as he pulled his Mum's half of the duvet closer around him.
"Molly got me a book. It's called Horrid Henry. Mum said she would read that with me," he told Gene.
"You're not horrid enough you need a book to tell you?" Gene teased him.
"Look what I got us," he told Sammy and reached into the bedside drawer. "City versus United, next weekend," he said and grinned. "You and I, Sammy, make a weekend of it. We might let your Mum come along, if she's good."
Sammy's eyes lit up and he launched himself at his father, hugging him tightly.
"Yes!" he laughed as he looked at the tickets happily. "Does that mean we're goin to Manchester?" he asked curiously.
"Of course it means we're going to Manchester. And we'll go overnight and stay in a hotel and eat what we want without your Mum looking at us and making that face when she disapproves," Gene told him and tried to imitate Alex's expression.
Sammy bit his lip as he looked at Gene then started laughing, attempting to pull his Mum's disapproving face himself.
"When?" he asked excitedly.
"Next weekend," said Gene. "We'll leave Friday night and stay over and then the match is on Saturday."
He looked around Sammy at the doorway. "That tea is taking a long time."
Sammy looked over his shoulder and went silent to listen for his mother. He shrugged and tumbled off the bed. He looked over at Gene as he made his way towards the door and almost walked into Alex as she came back holding two mugs. She looked down at him, amusement plastered over her face and she passed him to hand Gene his mug. Sammy made his way back over to his parents and clambered back up onto the bed as Alex settled herself and sipped at her coffee.
"Mummy!" Sammy exclaimed as he settled himself in the middle of them again. "Daddy has tickets!" he told her excitedly.
Alex looked at Gene. "Tickets?" she asked him, eyebrows raised.
"City and United match next Saturday," Gene told her. "Just us boys. We're going to stay over in Manchester Friday night and then go to the match on Saturday."
He grinned at Alex and picked up his tea.
Alex looked from Gene's grinning expression to Sammy's excited little face and nodded.
"Good, gives me a couple of days to do as I please," she smiled at them and ruffled Sammy's hair as she took a sip of her coffee.
Gene's eyebrows flew up. He was sure she would complain and want to go along with them. He gave a half-shrug and picked up his tea.
"Suppose I should get ready to go to the station," he said and drained half his tea.
Alex nodded at him.
"Suppose you should, yeah," she commented as she sat comfortably. Sammy looked at Alex hopefully.
"Can I watch TV?" he asked her and she nodded. A smile formed on her lips as he scrambled off the bed again and dashed out of the room.
Gene frowned and climbed out of bed. Why was Alex being all...agreeable? He snorted and headed for the bathroom to get ready.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Chris went into the bathroom with his tea and took a quick shower. He crept around as quietly as he could and got dressed and slipped out of the flat. He grinned. He hadn't thought he would manage it. He set off towards the station at a brisk walk. He pulled his phone out and sent off a text to Lucy and smiled at the response. He looked around quickly to make sure no one was around and then hurried to the interview room Lucy had said she was in. He slipped inside and carefully locked the door behind him. He remembered too well what had happened to Ray and Rowan.
Lucy stood up and walked over to him. She still thought they shouldn't do this, but she was beyond doing what her brain was telling her. She wound an arm around his neck and plastered her lips to his.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Ffion finished cleaning up the bathroom and then went and tidied up her bedroom before checking over the tidiness of the rest of the cottage. She pretty much kept to her room so she wouldn't have to do a lot of cleaning and there was plenty of food in the fridge, so Alyssa should have no complaints.
She quickly pulled on some decent jeans and a top and headed for the café. She still flirted with Bob outrageously, but he remained steadfastly resistant to her. She sometimes wondered if she was falling for him, but having never fallen for anyone, she couldn't be certain. She did know the time she'd spent here she'd actually been involved with very few men. There had been Carl until he'd gone back to Chastity and she'd been with Rodney a few more times and she'd had a couple of forgettable one-night stands in town and she'd recently taken up with Cain. For Ffion, that was practically celibate.
She shoved her hands in her pockets and smiled cheerfully as she entered the café. She pulled on her apron and wondered idly what Alyssa was doing here, and without Jack.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Chris rested his forehead against Lucy's as they sagged against the wall.
"I need to meet up with Blake, better tidy myself up first," she told him. She brushed her lips against his. "I'll see you when I see you," she said as he stepped back.
"Maybe we can work something out tomorrow. Shaz works but it's my day off, you could come round mine," he suggested.
"But won't you have your daughter?"
"She takes a nap in the afternoon," he replied.
"I'll see," she said noncommittally and straightened her clothes before quickly leaving the interview room and heading for the loos to make sure she wasn't too disheveled.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Whitney sighed as she leaned back in her chair.
"So, we've had a fry up, what now?" she asked him. "I've got three hours before I have to open the shop. Are you working today?"
Bolton nodded; his mood was improved after eating and his hangover steadily fading. All in all he felt good.
"Yeah, I'm in all afternoon," he told her as he sat back and stretched.
"Want to come spend the day around mine, instead? I could use a guy's opinion on some ideas I have," she said. "I've bought you breakfast," she added and smiled widely at him.
Bolton heaved a heavy sigh and nodded. "Fine," he told her in a tone of resignation, then grinned at her and took her hand. "Come on," he said.
Whitney tightened her hand in his and gave Jane a quick wave as she and Bolton left the café and headed for the shop.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Lauren rolled over and sat up and grabbed her head. She needed to find something for this pain! She stood up and fidgeted with her clothes before creeping out of Charlie's bedroom and heading for the kitchen. She was relieved to see a bottle of painkillers someone had left out on the counter. She looked at the unconscious bodies on the floor and noted that Whitney and Bolton were gone. She yawned hugely and filled the kettle and switched it on. She could hear voices from Molly and Peter's room, clearly they were awake. She went around the room and began waking everyone up. It was getting towards the time Molly and Peter surely wouldn't want a lot of passed out people all over their flat. At least by this time, Jane would be at the café and wouldn't notice all the hungover people leaving.
She went back into the kitchen and fixed herself a cup of tea and watched her friends come to life. She couldn't help but chuckle, watching them move and groan, it was like a zombie movie come to life in the front room.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Claire and Denis froze in their room and looked at each other.
"Daddy's up," Claire whispered and Denis nodded.
"Hide?" Denis suggested and Claire quickly crept across the room and wedged herself into the corner behind the dresser. Denis frowned and then walked as quietly as he could and ducked behind the toy box.
Ray climbed the steps to the twins' room and peered inside. He smirked to himself as he pulled himself up properly and looked around. Problem with little kids was there were too many places they could squeeze into to hide.
"Hmmmm..." he said "Where've you got to you pair of troublemakers?" he wondered aloud as he looked around. He walked over to their beds and pulled the covers off dramatically.
"HA!" he announced then made an overly loud confused noise when he saw that the twins were not in their beds.
"Hmmmmm."
Claire put her hand over her mouth to stop herself giggling. She put her head on the floor and peered under the dresser to watch her father's feet as he walked around. Denis huddled behind the toy box. He knew Claire could see a bit of what was going on, but he couldn't. He bit his lip and watched for his father's shadow to fall over him.
Ray suddenly leant down and picked Denis up off the floor and tossed him onto the bed. He grinned down at his son and tickled him.
"Gotcha," he said and leaned close.
"Now, tell me where your sister is or I'll tickle you some more," he threatened lightly.
Denis shrieked as his father caught him and squirmed to get away, his giggles from being tickled making it difficult.
He looked at Ray and shook his head. "I'll never tell," Denis vowed and clapped his hands over his mouth and looked at his father stubbornly and shook his head. Claire smirked. Denis would never tell where she was. She peered under the dresser again and saw her father's feet still by Denis' bed. She carefully and quietly squeezed out from behind the dresser and crept across the floor and up behind her father.
"BOO!" she yelled as loud as she could and smacked his leg with her hands.
Ray let go of Denis for a moment as he whipped around and grabbed Claire up from the floor and threw her down onto the bed next to her brother. He placed a hand on each of their stomachs to stop them from escaping and let out a bark of laughter
"Now I have both of you in my clutches!" he exclaimed with a grin
"Who gets tickled first..." he wondered as he smiled fondly down at his kids.
The twins gazed at their father a moment and then both screamed and began to try and get away.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Rowan listened to the shrieks and giggles drifting into the kitchen from upstairs as she cooked breakfast. She looked at the clock and quickly went to get her cell phone. She texted Syed, Charlie, and Mercy that she wasn't going to open the restaurant and then went back to her cooking. At least they wouldn't show up and wonder what was going on and it was early enough they had time to make other plans.
Rowan plated up the food and put it on the table. She walked to the foot of the stairs and couldn't help but smile at the laughter.
"Breakfast is ready. Any chance you could stop torturing the children so they can eat?" she called up and turned and went back into the kitchen.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Katie finished mucking out the horses and washed her hands after putting away the wheelbarrow and the spade. She wandered back into the house and smiled briefly at Declan as she wandered upstairs to go and get changed. Declan and herself had got together officially shortly after Ella had left, and had got married soon afterward; Katie had kept her job, not that she needed to work as the amount of money that Declan made was more than enough for both of them to live comfortably. But she loved her job and liked the feeling of being at least a little independent.
Katie came back downstairs and went to the kitchen and made herself a mug of coffee. Getting up at 5am to sort the horses out meant skipping breakfast until she was done. So, coffee and toast. She spread a layer of butter on the toast then ate it as she made a mug of tea for Declan. The sight of her phone caught her eye and she picked it up from where she had left it on the counter before she'd gone outside. A smile lit her face, she grabbed Declan's mug and went through the house.
"Gennie says that Alyssa's here," she announced as she came into the office and set his mug on the coaster on his desk.
Declan looked up.
"What, by herself?" he asked her. "That's a bit odd," he said and picked up his tea and took a sip. He reached over and took her hand. "I suppose we should go into town later, or are just you girls getting together?" he wanted to know.
Katie looked back at the text. "Apparently, Gennie's said nothing about Jack," she told him with a small shrug.
She smiled. "I don't know, but you'll be going to the pub anyway," she told him. "No doubt we'll be in there if we decide to have a girly get-together."
"And what makes you think I'll be going to the pub anyway?" he asked her and jerked on her hand to pull her to him. He sat her on his lap. "If there's girly stuff going on I don't think I want to be there," he added.
"You always finish the day with a trip to the pub," she pointed out to him as she settled herself comfortably on his lap.
"Suppose I should call Jack and see what's going on," he said with a sigh and took another drink of his tea. He sniffed. "I assume you're not going to go smelling of horse," he remarked.
Katie pulled a face at him. "You're lucky I got changed!" she told him. "I could be wearing my jodhpurs and at the moment they are in dire need of a wash," she explained with raised eyebrows.
Declan squeezed her and then grinned as he tugged the end of her ponytail.
"That's not all in dire need of a wash. Hope you shower before you go to town," he joked and ducked to keep her from hitting him.
Katie glared at him.
"You're lucky I didn't come in here straight from the stables, your lap would have horse crap on it," she informed him, her eyebrows raised.
Katie smiled sweetly at him before hopping off his lap and pulling a face over her shoulder as she retreated back upstairs.
Declan chuckled as he watched Katie leave. He'd gotten over Alyssa a long time ago; in fact, she'd been a bridesmaid at Katie's wedding, since he would have no one but Jack as his best man. He'd glad they'd become friends. He wondered if he shouldn't try again to talk them into moving here permanently. He was trying his best to look after Ella's salon in town. She hadn't got much custom in the village so Bob had expanded the café when she'd moved to a premises in town. He was sure Jack could find work at a nearby school. He picked up the phone and tried to call Jack. He frowned as the phone rang out and tried again. Still no answer. That was strange. Alyssa here alone and Jack not answering his phone. Declan shook his head. Jack could easily be in the shower or unable to hear his phone ringing. Best not make too much out of it. He'd try again in a bit, when he finished these bookings.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Lauren nodded to herself and went back into Charlie's room with a mug of tea for him.
"Thanks," he said to her.
"How's your head?"
"Fine, actually, I didn't drink all that much last night," he told her. "Sounds like a lot of unhappy people out there."
Lauren nodded and sat down.
She took a sip of her tea and looked at him over the rim of her mug.
"You know we're going to have to get married now," she said blandly and he looked at her in shock.
"Yeah, we spent last night together; my dad is going to expect you to marry me now."
Charlie's mouth worked, but no sound came out. Lauren waited a moment and then finally burst into laughter.
"Only joking," she said and Charlie sagged with relief.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Molly put her phone back on the table and snuggled back down next to Peter.
"My parents are grumpy in the morning," she yawned.
"Aren't we all?" Peter remarked. "Speaking of grumpy, I think people are waking up out there. S'pose I should see about putting together something to eat, if anybody's eating," he said with a sigh and slid from the bed. He pulled on jeans and a t-shirt and stumped from the bedroom and looked at everyone stumbling around the front room.
"Morning," he greeted blandly and went into the kitchen to inventory what he had to cook.
Lauren came out of the bedroom, Charlie on her heels and walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, Pete," she said. "You making breakfast? I'd be fine with just some toast."
"Yeah, me as well," Charlie added and pulled the bread out and begin to shove slices into the toaster.
"Go ahead, I'll cook for anyone who can eat, though," Peter offered and looked over at the others still staggering around in the front room.
"Anybody eating?" he called over and couldn't stop the smirk at the expressions of dismay his yell had caused.
"I'll make some more tea," Charlie offered and refilled the kettle.
"What a guy," Lauren said and Charlie smiled at her. "You really are terrible," he said and chuckled.
Lauren hopped up on the counter and grinned. "Yeah, I know, my friends all say so. Hasn't changed anything, though."
Charlie heard his phone beep and fished it out of his pocket.
"Huh, Rowan's not opening up today," he read out and looked at Lauren. "A Saturday off."
"Nice one," she said. "Why don't you take me to the pictures then."
"Suppose I could do that," he agreed. "What do you want to see?"
Lauren shrugged. "No idea, I'll have to see what's playing."
"Maybe Molly and I could go along?" Peter put in. "I could drive us."
"I don't mind," Charlie agreed.
"Sure," Lauren nodded.
Peter moved the pan from the heat and walked to the bedroom. "Fancy going to the pictures with Lauren and Charlie?"
Molly rolled over to look at him and nodded.
"When are they planning on going and what are we seeing?" she asked him as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. She glanced at the time and managed to get herself out of bed. She smiled at Peter.
"No idea, they're only just now discussing it," he told her. "But it seems Rowan's not opening today, so Charlie's got the day off and Lauren said they should go out."
He shrugged.
"If we're going out then I'm gonna get a shower," she told him as she grabbed her dressing gown and headed past him out of the bedroom. She eyed the clump of people rousing themselves and smiled at Lauren and Charlie.
"Morning," she called to them as she headed to the bathroom.
"I'm cooking breakfast, do you want anything?" he asked her as he followed her out of the bedroom.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Charlie buttered the toast while Lauren looked up showtimes on her phone.
"We could see 'Captain America' this afternoon," she suggested. Charlie raised his eyebrows at her.
"I like comics, got a problem with that?" she asked him and he shook his head.
"No, just didn't expect it," he grinned and handed her some toast. She turned to Peter as he came back into the kitchen.
"We're going to 'Captain America'," she told him and took a bite of the toast.
Molly looked back over her shoulder at Peter and gave him a hopeful look.
"Egg Fried Toast?" she asked him.
Peter nodded and began to cook some breakfast for Molly.
He looked at Lauren. "Not sure if I want to see that," he told her. "But I'll see if Molls want to go."
Lauren nodded and looked at Charlie.
"What time does it start?"
"Ummm, 1 o'clock," she told him.
"I can pay for a cab if they don't go," he told her.
"I should probably go home and get a shower," she said and finished off her toast. She jumped down off the counter and put her mug in the sink.
"See you later," she told him. "Bye, Pete," she said with a wave.
"Bye," Peter said.
Lauren pounded on the bathroom door. "Bye, Molls," she called through the door and giggled as she left.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Jack heard the landline downstairs start ringing again and ignored it. He counted the rings before they stopped as he stared at the ceiling and lit another cigarette.
/\\\/\/\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\/\\/\/\\/\\
Ray looked down at the hatch as he heard Rowan's voice and sighed. He turned back to the twins and grudgingly let them go.
"Saved by your Mam," he muttered as he watched them scramble away and hurry down the stairs. He chuckled to himself as he followed after them.
Rowan watched the twins come barrelling into the kitchen and climb into their seats. She sat down and smiled at Ray as he sat down across from her.
"So," she began as she picked up her fork. "Your father and I were thinking we could all go to Southend for the day."
"Really?"
"Yes, really," Rowan said and smiled.
"Can we build sand castle?"
Ray grinned at the twins as he sat down and grabbed his plate towards him and tucked in.
"I'll find the buckets and spades, we'll take a rug, maybe a picnic," he suggested to them. "And we can go in the sea too if you'd like?" he told them.
"I think they can help you find things. I can easily make up a picnic," Rowan said.
"Yay!" the twins chorused and clapped.
"I guess the plan is approved of," Rowan remarked and began to eat.
Ray grinned at them and polished off his breakfast hungrily. He grabbed up his empty plate and dumped it in the sink.
"Right, I'm going to go and get ready, then dig out the beach stuff," he told the three of them before turning to go and get a shower.
/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\\/\\/\
Katie sat crossed legged on the bed and grabbed up her phone. She typed out a text to Gennie.
"Are we doing something tonight then? Coz Lyss is here?" she sent then climbed off the bed. She looked at herself briefly in the mirror and tied her now washed hair back up into a pony tail. She smiled slightly then headed back downstairs.
"Hope so. She seems upset tho," Gennie sent back.
"So, what's going on with Alyssa?" Gennie asked Ffion, who shrugged.
"I don't know. I know she's here without Jack. Not sure what happened. She took a chunk out of me though."
"We were hoping to get together with her."
Ffion shrugged again and Gennie frowned.
/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\\/\\/\
Alyssa found herself sitting underneath a tree in the middle of one of the fields that she had wondered into. She knew the seat of her jeans would be covered in mud and her back would probably have green stains from the moss off the tree where she was leaning but she was beyond caring about that. She just wanted the peace and quiet and serenity that surrounded her. She tilted her head back and looked through the canopy above her, catching small glimpses of the sky.
/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\\/\\/\
Molly yelled out a response to Lauren.
She climbed out of the shower, toweled herself dry then grabbed smaller towel and wrapped it around her head as she pulled her dressing gown back on and left the bathroom. She smiled briefly at Peter and Charlie, glad to see that everyone else had left, then made her way to her bedroom. She changed, but kept the smaller towel firmly placed on her head as she went back out.
"So, what film have you chosen?" she asked Charlie as she made herself another cup of tea and sat down.
Charlie looked up from picking cushions off the floor of the front room. "Well, Lauren said she wants to see Captain America."
"I wasn't sure if you wanted to see that," Peter put in and placed Molly's breakfast in front of her. "But Lauren says it starts at 1 if you do want to go."
Molly shrugged. "I've got nothing else to do with my day, sure, I'll go and see it," she smiled.
"Okay, then, I'll drive," Peter said.
"I better go get ready," said Charlie and he got up and went to his bedroom to get some clean clothes before going to take a shower.
"Guess you better text Lauren that I'm driving," Peter told Molly and picked up the empty dishes and began to wash up.
Molly nodded and picked up her phone. She fired off a text to Lauren.
"We're coming too. P is driving :) x"
Lauren pulled her wet mass of hair back and picked up her phone. She read Molly's text and smiled.
"See you in a bit then," she sent back and went to get dressed. At least Whitney and Bolton were downstairs in the shop.
/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\\/\\/\
Katie frowned at the text back from Gennie and made her way back downstairs. She smiled at Nicola and said a brief good morning to her as she went and sat on the corner of Declan's desk. She put her phone down and looked at him
"Gennie thinks Alyssa is upset," she informed him and sighed "anything from Jack?" she asked him.
Declan put the phone down and looked up at Katie. He shook his head.
"I've tried his landline and his mobile, nothing," Declan told her. "I hate to say it, but that's not like him. No matter how busy he was, if he knew I was trying to get hold of him, he would call me or text me back."
Nicola tilted her head as she listened to Declan and Katie.
"Um, you know you could try someone else," she suggested.
Declan furrowed his brow and looked over at her. Nicola rolled her eyes.
"Well, obviously call someone that might know what's going on, like Rowan," she said, her tone slightly aggrieved. Declan looked up at Katie.
"Why don't you do that?" he said to Katie. "I don't have her number, though," he said.
"I do," Nicola offered, "you know…if you should need it."
Katie smiled at Nicola and nodded. "Great idea," she agreed and scrolled through her phone. She frowned slightly and looked back at Nicola.
"Can I borrow your phone for a sec to get Rowan's number?" she pleaded.
Katie smiled at Nicola as she copied Rowan's number into her phone and sent off a text
"What's going on with Alyssa and Jack? Katie."
/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\\/\\/\\\\/\/\\/\\/\
Rowan finished her breakfast and sipped at her coffee as she watched the twins finish theirs.
"So what do you think we should take on this picnic?" she asked them.
"Butties!" Claire supplied.
"Crisps and cake," Denis added.
"I don't have any cake, but we've got some brownies."
Denis grinned and nodded.
Claire screwed her face up in thought and then finally looked at Rowan.
"Is there that stuff you make...you know...wid potatoes and other stuff?"
"You mean potato salad?" she asked and Claire nodded. "Yes, I think so."
"That too."
"Okay, I guess we have our menu for today. Let's get breakfast cleaned up and get started packing okay?"
The twins quickly climbed down and carried their plates to the sink and handed them to their mother.
"Thank you," she said and frowned when she heard her phone beep.
She picked it up and read the text. Of course, it would be Katie.
"Big fight. Long story. Lyss left to clear her head. Not sure about Jack," she sent back and sighed.
Ray quickly got himself ready. Rowan could sort out the picnic while he found the buckets and spades. He was sure that they were in the cupboard somewhere. He went down the hall and knelt down in front of the cupboard door; he pulled it open and began to dig. He emerged triumphantly with a bucket and spade in each hand and a picnic blanket under his arm. He put everything he was holding down on the sofa then went to tidy the cupboard up again. He looked around him then moved over to Rowan.
"What's in the picnic?" he asked her.
"Well, they want sandwiches and crisps and potato salad and brownies," Rowan listed off. "We should probably pick up some cold soda, too," she added.
"I've got everything ready, if you could just put it in the basket, I'll go get the twins cleaned up."
She reached down and grabbed a twin under each arm and took them into the bathroom.
Ray nodded agreeably and began carefully picking up all of the food that she had prepared and piling it into the basket. He folded up the picnic blanket and put that in there too. He picked up the basket and went downstairs to put it in the boot of the car with the buckets and spades. He grinned to himself then made his way back upstairs to wait for the twins to be ready to go.
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Katie looked down at the reply text from Rowan and her face fell. She looked up at Declan.
"Jack and Alyssa have had a row. That's why she's here without him. Rowan says she's clearing her head," she explained to him with a sigh as she sat back down on the corner of his desk and forwarded Rowan's text to Gennie.
Gennie read the text and sighed. "Looks like Jack and Alyssa had a big fight," Gennie told Ffion.
"That's a shame," Ffion said. "I did wonder."
She glanced over at Bob and then back down at the counter she was wiping. Gennie smirked. She had known for a while that Ffion clearly had a thing for Bob. Bob was either unaware or trying his best not to notice.
She opened her phone again.
"Then we definitely need to go see her. She shouldn't be alone," Gennie sent back. She finished her cake and stood up. She gave Ffion and Bob a quick wave and headed out of the cafe, wondering once again if she should tell Bob.
Katie nodded at the text.
"I'll meet you in the café," she sent back then hopped off Declan's desk and gave him a kiss.
"I'll see you later," she told him as she grabbed her coat from the hook and left.
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Alyssa pulled herself up from the ground and wandered idly back through the fields in the direction of the Village. She'd see what was in the house by way of food, then sit down with a tub of ice cream and a bottle of wine and put a movie on. She half-smiled at the thought and picked her way along the footpath until she could see the shapes of the cottages in the Village in front of her. She climbed over a style and landed on the road.
Alyssa made her way back through the village, barely looking around her as she went, her mind was firmly fixed on her plan for the afternoon.
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Leyla saw Alyssa going back to the cottage.
"David, watch the shop, I've got to go see Lyss," she said and waddled across to the cottage as quickly as she could.
"Alright, Lyss," she called out.
Alyssa turned as she heard Leyla's voice. She waited patiently for her friend to catch up, swallowing the lump in her throat at the sight of Leyla's stomach. Her own pregnancy had been what had started this whole mess. She forced a smile onto her face.
"How are you?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm all right, big as a house," Leyla replied.
"So, do you feel up to getting together this after?" Leyla asked. "Maybe talk about whatever's wrong?"
Alyssa's eyebrows went up.
"I was going to have a quiet night in," she told Leyla as she glanced at the Cottage. She fought to keep her smile on her face. "What makes you think there's something wrong?" she asked.
"Oh, come off it. You never come here alone, and you never have a quiet night in when you get here. We know there's summat wrong," Leyla pressed and folded her arms. She nodded in the direction of the café, she could see Gennie and Katie standing near it and talking.
"Let us be here for you, it's what mates are for."
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Rowan put the twins' swimsuits on under their clothes and made sure they each had a towel. Then, she went and changed out of her jeans and put on a summer dress and sandals before going out into the front room.
"I think we're all ready," she announced and grabbed up her handbag.
"Got everything?" she asked Ray.
Ray looked down at himself, he'd put his swimming trunks on underneath his trousers in case the twins wanted him to come into the water with them. He was ready.
"Let's go," he smiled and held open the door for his family to go through. He locked it behind them and followed the three of them down to the car. He looked at Rowan and held up the keys.
"You driving? Or me?" he asked her as he watched the twins climb into the back of the car.
"You can drive," she said. "I'm not in the mood."
She got the twins secured in their seats and climbed in.
"Don't forget we need to stop by Jack and Alyssa's before we go. You can drop me off and take them to the Minute Mart to get some drinks for the picnic."
Ray nodded in at her and climbed into the front of the car behind the wheel. He turned around to look at the twins as Rowan climbed in next to him and made sure they were both strapped in safely.
"Right, here we go," he announced as he started the car and drove to Albert Square. Ray pulled up next to the kerb a little way away from Jack's house and looked at Rowan once before turning to the twins.
"We need to get some drinks, come on." he told them as he pocketed the car keys and waited for them to get out of the car. He locked it once Rowan was out and gave her one more glance before taking the twins' hands and walking them over to the shop.
"You can choose what you want," he told them as they went.
Gennie caught sight of Leyla and realized she was heading towards Alyssa, who had returned. Gennie quickly sat down at an outside table. She wouldn't go barging in just yet and she needed to wait for Katie.
Katie had decided to walk to the Village rather than taking one of the cars. It didn't take too long for her to reach the Cafe, she spotted Gennie outside and half ran over.
"Hey," she said. "You get my text?" she asked.
Gennie stood up and nodded. "Yeah, I talked to Ffion and she didn't know anything about it."
She gestured at Leyla talking to Alyssa. "I made sure Leyla knew, too."
Katie nodded as she took a seat at Gennie's table. She glanced over at Leyla and Alyssa and sighed.
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Gene left the flat and headed for the station. He'd get things sorted at work and then look into what might be wrong with Jack.
Chris saw Gene come in and followed him to his office.
"What do you want, Skelton?"
"I just wanted to say I'm willing to take a few of those night shifts if Hale actually leaves," he replied.
Gene nodded. "I'll remember that."
"Thanks, Guv," Chris said and went back to his desk and pointedly ignored Ginger.
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Lauren bounded downstairs and waved cheerfully at Whitney and Bolton .
"I'm going out with Molly, Peter and Charlie," she announced.
"Oh really?" Whitney asked.
"Yeah," Lauren replied happily.
"Good luck," Whitney said and grinned. Lauren winked and lifted her hand in a quick wave at Bolton before nearly bouncing out the door. Whitney looked at Bolton and giggled before smoothing her face.
"I just hope he's not messing her about."
Bolton watched Lauren go
"Well the guy lives with Molly and Peter, if he does anything to hurt Lauren then he's in for a rough time," he shrugged.
"Yeah, but he might not do it intentionally. He did move here with his girlfriend. They might be split up now, but there's always the chance they'll get back together. I don't think he's told Lauren he fancies her or anything, which is good."
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Alyssa glanced over there, too, and nodded, her smile falling.
"You better tell them to come in then," she said to Leyla as she pulled her keys from her pocket and opened the cottage. She looked at Gennie and Katie and jerked her head towards her front door.
Katie nodded and looked at Gennie. "Come on," she said as she stood up and headed over.
Leyla nodded and stepped into the cottage when she saw Gennie and Katie making their way over.
"I knew Leyla could do it," Gennie said and grinned at Katie as they walked.
Katie nodded with a small smile at Gennie as she reached the cottage and follow the three girls inside. She shut the door firmly behind her.
Alyssa moved straight for the kitchen. "Do you want a drink or anything? I don't know what we've got in..." she began as she started searching the cupboards. Katie shook her head and went over to Alyssa. She tugged on her arm then steered her back to the front room and pushed her to sit on the sofa.
"We want you to tell us what's got you so upset, and why you're up here on your own," she said and Alyssa sighed and looked at the three of them before pulling one of the cushions towards her and hugging it.
"The short story," Alyssa said as her chin resisted on the cushion. "I had an ectopic pregnancy, and Jack slept with someone else," she told them. "That's the really short version," she added glumly.
Gennie gaped and Leyla nearly stumbled as she was sitting down.
"You WHAT?" Leyla yelped.
"He never!" Gennie gasped.
Alyssa just looked up at them and nodded once in confirmation. Katie stroked Alyssa's arm and gave her a hug.
"You know what?" she asked as she pulled away. "What we need is a soppy film and a bottle of wine, and a tonne of chocolate," she said and Alyssa nodded quietly.
Katie looked at Leyla and smirked. "You'll have to stick with the soft drinks, Leyla," she said apologetically.
"Fine, as long as I can eat chocolate I'm happy," Leyla said.
"I still can't believe Jack slept with someone else," Gennie remarked as she went into the kitchen and emerged with a bottle of wine and three glasses.
Katie watched Gennie stand up and go into the kitchen. She looked at Alyssa.
"You pick a film and I'll go and get some chocolate," she smiled and Alyssa nodded then picked herself off the sofa and went over to the DVD rack. Katie grabbed up her purse and left the cottage. She ran quickly to the shop and picked out a couple of different chocolates and paid for them. She smiled and said a quick thank you to David before hurrying back to the cottage and put the chocolates on the coffee table.
"Right," she said as she looked around and saw Alyssa setting up the DVD and Leyla still in the kitchen. She smiled and pulled the wrapping off one of the boxes of chocolate and opened the box as Alyssa came back and joined her on the sofa.
Leyla struggled out of the chair after Gennie came back with wine for the other girls and went into the kitchen to get herself a drink while Katie left to get chocolate. She lumbered back into the front room as Katie sat down and leaned over to grab some chocolate.
"Are you okay healthwise, though?" Leyla asked Alyssa as she sat back down. "Cause they have to operate on you don't they?"
Alyssa nodded. "Yeah, they did," she said. "I'm fine, it's just reduced my chances of getting pregnant again," she sighed and grabbed a chocolate from the box and nibbled on it for a moment before shoving it into her mouth. She closed her eyes and chewed it for a moment before opening her eyes and grabbing up the remote and turning on the TV. She set up the DVD and pressed play then grabbed her wine glass and took a large sip.
Leyla gave Gennie an awkward look, who passed it on to Katie. She wondered if this would do any good. Maybe they should be talking about Alyssa's problems; David was very into talking things out.
She sipped her orange juice and stayed silent, not really paying attention to the film.
Katie sighed and shrugged. This was how Alyssa wanted to spend her evening. She sipped her wine quietly.
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Rowan gave Ray a nod and a smile before turning to walk slowly towards the door. She narrowed her eyes a moment and the reached up and pounded on the door. She would knock first before using her key.
Jack blew out a plume of smoke and listened to the pounding on the door. Whoever it was would surely go away when he didn't answer. He took another drag off the cigarette.
Rowan sighed. Clearly Jack wasn't going to answer and she didn't want to waste any more time. She fished out the keys and quickly unlocked the door and went inside. The kitchen was a mess. She checked the refrigerator – empty. She shook her head and headed upstairs. She could faintly smell smoke and was surprised Jack would be smoking in the house. Jack and Alyssa's bedroom door was open and the room was empty, as was one of the spare rooms. She went to the room with the door shut and shoved it open, causing Jack to sit bolt upright, dumping the ashtray all over himself.
"What the bloody hell…" he yelped and then saw it was Rowan, and her expression did not look happy.
"What are you doing to yourself, Jack?" she asked him. "How exactly do you think this is going to solve yours and Alyssa's problem? This place is frankly revolting and the state of you…I can smell you from here!"
"Alyssa's gone; I can do as I please."
"So, you don't care that she's gone then?"
"Of course I bloody care, but she's the one that left. I can only say I'm sorry so many times! She refuses to see my side of anything at all."
"You slept with someone else."
"I was drunk and I thought she'd left me. I hardly planned it and I certainly don't intend it to happen again, but she…." he trailed off and huffed out a breath. "Never mind. It doesn't matter clearly. She's gone and nothing I ever do will bring her back. I might as well start getting ready to sign divorce papers."
"Jack," Rowan said, gentling her tone. "I don't think it's gone quite that far. At any rate, she's just trying to clear her head."
"So am I, so I'll thank you to leave me to it," he snapped.
"I don't think it's your head that needs clearing," she told him and wrinkled her nose. He frowned. "I don't have anyone to impress now, so why bother?
"Get up and get this place cleaned up, now. Or do I need to get Ray in here to make you do it? He's taken the twins to get drinks, we're going to Southend today for a picnic, but I'll text him right now and you will do it one way or another," she threatened.
Jack knocked the ashtray aside and climbed off the bed.
"Just get out and leave me alone," he growled and pushed her out the door of the bedroom, slammed it and locked it. Rowan let out a grunt as she hit the wall and frowned as the door slammed. She frowned at the door, but stalked downstairs. More force was needed than Rowan could bring to bear. Gene was Jack's best mate, he could sort this out. She locked the front door behind her and began to walk towards the Minute Mart, dialing the number to the station as she walked.