A/N: Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 8.

The three of them spent a few hours chatting quietly. Joey kept drifting in and out of sleep during that time. "I'm proud of you, Lauren." Max said during one of those times.

"It's not often I do something that makes you say that to me, is it?"

"No... but today, I can. It's obvious there is a connection between the two of you..."

"A connection?" she asked, scared he'd seen the depth of her feelings towards her cousin.

"I know I should feel differently about this; that I shouldn't be encouraging this but he seems to like you as much as you do him."

"I'm not sure how I feel, dad." She whispered.

"I know you don't and I don't think he does either."

"Would you be okay if something did happen in the future? I'm not saying it will. We hardly know each other but I want to know more about him." She stopped talking and took a few deep breaths. "I don't want to cause you any pain though, dad. I want to stop being the one who lets you down all the time."

Max rose from his seat and lifted the chair to move next to his eldest daughter. "You don't let me down, Lauren," he told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her into a hug. "I just want so much more for you than you seem to want. I want you to be happy and it's been such a long time since you've been even close to being that way." He kissed her softly on the top of her head, "If Joey is the person to give you that happiness, I can't stand in the way of that."

"Thanks dad."

There was a knock on the door and when they looked up they could see Alice peering through the window. "I'll go and let Alice know about her brother. Take a couple of minutes with Joey and let him know you're going. I'll bring you back first thing in the morning, I swear." They both stood and Max kissed her on the forehead, turning and patting Joey on the leg before leaving the room.

"Joe." Lauren said softly as she leaned over her cousin. His eyes flickered open and she smiled at him brightly. "Hi." She whispered to him. "Alice is outside with my dad so I'm going to have to leave now."

"I'll be okay."

"I know but I wish I could stay." A tear fell down her cheek as she closed her eyes.

"Lauren..." he whispered, reaching for her face and brushing away her tear. "It's just a few hours... We both need to sleep."

"Joe..." she paused and then reached for the oxygen mask that was still on his face. She removed and pushed it below his chin. Slowly she leant down and kissed him on the lips. It was as if time stood still the second their lips met. Joey responded to her, moaning slightly as he tried to move closer to her. Lauren pulled away from him, "I'll be back, Joe. I need to leave now but I just wanted you to know..."

"How I feel?"

"You do?" He nodded. "I do too."

"I'm glad about that."

"Let talk about this more tomorrow." She said, "My dad can't hold off Alice for much longer."

"I'm going to hold you to that." He said.

"Good." She kissed him again quickly before putting the oxygen mask back on his face.

*JL*JL*

"Is Joey okay?" Max asked his daughter as they drove back towards Albert Square.

"I think so." Lauren said as she looked out of the side window. She bit her lip as she remembered the kiss; it had been more than she could've hoped for. She couldn't believe that someone like him would be interested in her.

*JL*JL*

Max pulled the car to a stop and looked at his daughter. He wasn't surprised to find her asleep. He smiled at her tenderly. He hadn't lied to her earlier. He had seen a lot in his daughter that made him proud today. He moved from the car and was soon lifting Lauren from her seat and carrying her up the steps to the house. The door opened and Tanya stood there, "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she fell asleep on the way home and I didn't have the heart to wake her. I'll take her up to her room and will be down in a few minutes." He carried Lauren up to the room she shared with Abi and put her down on the bed. She barely stirred and he covered her with a duvet so she didn't get cold.

A minute later he was back down the stairs, "What's going on, Max?" Tanya asked. He sighed and wiped his hand down his face, trying to get rid of the strain from the day. Quickly he poured himself a drink of scotch. "There's something going on between Joey and Lauren isn't there?"

"Not yet." He replied before taking a large gulp of his drink.

"Not yet?"

"She cares about him, Tan. You saw her earlier today, she was devastated when she thought he could die."

"He's her cousin!"

"He makes her happy."

"He's her cousin... it's wrong."

"It's not. And, even if there was, we're not going to stop it."

"MAX!"

"Tan, for the first time today, Lauren behaved like an adult. She stayed with him and made sure he was okay. She didn't think about anyone else other than him. Do you remember the last time she was like that?"

"When she went with me for my first chemotherapy..." Tanya whispered.

"She didn't think about having a drink all day and I don't think she will while he's in the hospital."

"And what happens when he comes back here after he's released? You're telling me you're going to be happy with the two of them being together under our roof?"

"Better under our roof than not knowing where the hell she is..." he said softly. "Better than us losing her completely to drink. He's a good kid, Tanya. He'll look after her in a way she won't let us."

Tanya stared at him and recognised something in his eyes, "He's not Bradley." She said, her voice barely a murmur.

"I know that. You know I know that." Max moved away from the mother of his children and sank into the couch, resting his elbows on his and cradling his head in his hands. "When she came home this morning and I saw Joey, all beaten up, it did remind me of Bradley. I want to help him because he's had a pretty lousy life so far and no one deserves to be beaten up and treated like that." He takes another sip from his glass, "What keeps going through my head though is that could have so easily been Lauren and not Joey. I think of all the times she's not come home because she's passed out drunk somewhere. What about if one day that happens again and someone takes advantage of her or hurts her. I don't think I could stand to lose another child, Tan. I can't do it." His last sentence was a whisper.

"Max..." Tanya whispered to him. She walked to him and took his hand, dragging him to his feet and pulling him from the room and up the stairs.

TBC

A/N2: So that was quite a busy chapter. Lauren and Joey shared their first kiss (bless!) and there was plenty of interaction between Max and Lauren as well. Hope the scene at the end helped explained Max's reactions a little more. Let me know what you think.