CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
2 Weeks Later
"Martha, are you coming? The lasagna's ready," Charlie poked his head into Martha's office.
Martha looked up from her position and shook her head. "Not hungry," she told him.
Charlie rolled his eyes at her. Two fucking weeks, he thought. Two weeks had passed and she was still off in her own little world. "Okay, but just to let you know; you look like total shit," he smiled, knowing full well that that would get her attention.
"Thanks a lot you ass," Martha smirked at him as she pointed towards the direction of the door; her way of telling him to get lost.
"Gee, so sorry to have bothered you your royal highness," Charlie laughed as he walked from the room.
"Bite me," Martha yelled after him.
"Don't tempt me," Charlie called back. "Especially if it means getting your skinny ass to come to dinner," his voice started to fade as disappeared down the hall.
"Fine, I'll be there in a minute," Martha screeched out. At the sudden thought of eating, her stomach started to do flip flops again. She'd been feeling sick the last couple of days.
She'd been sitting in her office for most of the afternoon. She'd been looking through all the albums from when she was a kid; from when she and Jack had been kids. She'd been searching for that one particular photo. That photo that her mother had taunted her with so many times as a young girl.
Then Martha opened the last album, and one single photo slipped out from under the pages and fell to the ground. Reaching down, she picked it up. She smiled. There it was. Two brown headed children sitting in a bath tub full of bubbles; smiling at the camera. She traced her finger over Jack's face. He was such a cutie. He still was.
Martha missed him. She missed him so bad. She couldn't believe that two whole weeks had gone since the last time she had seen him. It pained her to think that even more weeks could slip by, and she still wouldn't see him.
She was in love with him. Like crazy and madly in love. That much she knew. And the longer they were apart; the stronger her feelings got. Martha had thought that the pain would fade after a few days; that she would forget about him just like all the other guys she had dated. But this time it was different. He was different. She was different.
Martha put the picture down as she started to reminisce about the night they had spent together. He was a pig and a total pervert. But the way he touched her and kissed her, the way their bodies moved against each other; it had been like magic. She didn't think anyone could ever make her feel like that again. Not like the way he could.
Finally, letting out a sigh, Martha stood up and left the room. She didn't want to keep the others waiting.
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"Hey mum," Jack said in a hushed tone as he knelt down in front of his mother's grave. "Sorry, I haven't been to visit in a while. As you probably seen, I was shot, so I wasn't really up for doing much," he placed a single red rose on the head stone.
"You know, you were right about her. Martha, I mean," Jack started. "You always said she was a special girl. And boy, were you right. Even though we were running for our lives, those few days that I spent with her; they were the best days of my life. She may have been a total princess, but she cared. She cared about me, and she cared about her family. She's one of the most genuine people I've ever met," he told his dead mother.
"You'll be happy to know that the war between all of our families is over. I really hope that everything can go back to the way things used to be. Dad told me that Alf and Martha are working on some kind of treaty which will help bring us all back together again," Jack continued. "If only it could have happened before you were taken away from us," he added.
Jack sat for a few minutes; taking in the silence. He loved moments like this. When there was nobody around and it was so quiet that all you could hear were the rustling of the trees.
He thought about Martha, and what she might be doing at that moment. He hoped that she happy, and moving on with her life. It was more than he could say for himself. He wasn't happy. He was miserable. Every minute he felt the urge to go and see her; just to hold her, or look into those eyes that held so much passion. But he always managed to push the urge away. It was hard, but he managed.
And now to make things easier, he was going to do the one thing that would help the both of them. He was going to leave. In two weeks time, he was going to leave Summer Bay. It was for the best; he knew that.
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2 Weeks Later
Martha grinned as she watched Tasha and Kim running towards their father. Today was the day that Barry had finally been released. Martha stood back with her grandfather and watched as the gates opened. Barry stepped out; a free man at last.
He threw his arms around his only children and held them tight. Martha had never seen something so beautiful. To watch a person being reunited with the ones they love was incredible. It made her heart ache for he own parents. But she held hope that she would one day be reunited with them.
Martha smiled as Barry rested his arms on the shoulders of his children and then made his way over towards her and Alf.
"Thank you," Barry held out his hand for Alf to shake. "Thank you for helping me get out of this place. You don't know how much it means to be back with my kids," he said to Alf.
Alf shook Barry's hand and smiled. "It was my pleasure. When Martha came to me asking for help, I didn't hesitate for a second. She explained to me that her father had made a promise to you before he died, and that she wanted to live up to the promise. So, I helped in whatever way I could," he explained.
"Well, I'm grateful for everything," Barry nodded before turning towards Martha. "Thank you Martha. Your father would have been proud of you," he pulled her in for a warm hug.
Martha laughed. "Well, like granddad just said; it was my pleasure," she hugged him back. "Now, why don't we get this show on the road; we need to celebrate," she exclaimed.
"Let's hit it," Kim led his father towards his car, with Tasha following close behind.
Martha and Alf tagged behind slowly. "Thanks for helping my granddad," Martha looked up and smiled at Alf.
"I'd do anything for you," Alf told her.
Martha let out a short before starting to walk again. "You know how we've been talking about ways to bring everyone back together again?" she then said to Alf.
"Yeah," Alf placed a hand on Martha's shoulder.
"Well, I have the very thing that will do just that. I have the one thing that will bring us all together; like one big happy family," Martha started to explain.
"What are you talking about?" Alf was confused.
"I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't been feeling well these last couple of weeks," Martha said.
"Yeah, I noticed. But what's this got to do with bringing us all together?" Alf looked at Martha curiously.
"A baby. I'm having a baby," Martha smiled up at her grandfather. "I'm pregnant granddad. And Jack's the father".
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FINAL CHAPTER: Will Martha get the chance to see Jack and tell him about the baby before he leaves? Or will she be too late?
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