A/N: Firstly, Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you're all having a good day. While the family are all dozing and letting dinner go down, I thought I'd update the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 17.

Lauren made her way quietly down the stairs. It had been hours since her and Joey had gone up to their room but she was unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes all she could see in her head was an image of a four year old Joey being hit by his dad. It was an impossible task trying to sleep with that going round her head. She'd somehow managed to get out of Joey's grasp without waking him so now she was making her way into the lounge so she wouldn't disturb him from his currently peaceful sleep. She grabbed a bottle of vodka off the sideboard along with a glass and sat at the dining room table. Without thinking about it she opened the bottle and poured herself a generous amount of the clear liquid. For some reason though she couldn't seem to pick up the glass and drink it. She stared at the glass and bottle, knowing this was the direction she usually turned in times of crisis. And this would definitely class as a crisis. So why couldn't she do that this time? All she wanted to do was forget about what he'd told her, why wouldn't her head let her take that one small step to oblivion? It would only take one sip and then the glass would be empty before she even realised it. But she couldn't.

A tear rolled down her face and she rested her head on her hand as she slumped on the table. Many more followed and she was soon sobbing uncontrollably, finding one way of releasing the devastation she was feeling.

"Lauren?" Max said as he pushed opened the door. Even in the dark he could see her sitting with the glass of vodka in front of her and sighed. "Drinking in the middle of the night? That's a new low, even for you." He said, his words sharper than his tone. His disappointment even stronger. He'd thought they were past this.

"I haven't drunk any of it..." she whispered and it was only then Max realised she was crying.

He walked over to the table, picking up the bottle and glass and putting them on the sideboard, out of his daughter's reach. "You want to talk about it?" he asked her gently as he sat down beside her.

"I can't stop thinking about what he told us, dad." She sobbed. "It's all I see every time I close my eyes."

"It's the same for me, Lauren." He told her gently. He reached for her and pulled her towards him and she went easily to him. Her crying increased in intensity once she was safe in her father's arms and Max wasn't ashamed to admit there were tears in his eyes as well as he also struggled with what they'd been told. He ran his hand through Lauren's hair, like he'd done when she was little. Back in a time before he made all the mistakes that messed up her life. "I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to hurt you, Lauren." He whispered to her, needing to get some absolution for what he'd done to his children; none more so than his eldest, who'd had to deal with a lot in her life.

She laughed bitterly, "In the scheme of things, what you did was tame in comparison."

Somehow he couldn't take her words as any form of comfort. "Still, I'm sorry." He said. "You should try to sleep." He told her gently. "You're exhausted and Joey will need you tomorrow."

"I wish I could."

"We'll just stay here then." He told her gently. He pushed her upright and got to his feet, leaning forward and lifting her in his arms. He walked them over to the couch and sat down on it, placing her on his lap. They both sat in the dark for a long time. Lauren would still cry intermittently and Max tried to offer her some comfort. Just as dawn was breaking, Lauren drifted off to sleep and Max was pleased she was finally at peace. He didn't want to let go of her still so they stayed where they were and he watched over her. Sometime later he heard soft footsteps on the stairs.

"Max?"

It was Tanya, "In here," he said quietly, so he didn't wake Lauren.

Tanya came into the room, pausing when she saw the two of them. "Everything okay?" she whispered.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep. Lauren was down here for the same reason."

Tanya sat down, looking closer at her eldest daughter. "Has she been crying?"

"Most of the night..." he said, his hand brushing through her hair again as he kissed his daughter tenderly on the forehead.

"Can I get you anything?" She asked.

"A coffee would be great."

Tanya stood and moved towards the kitchen, "I see some things don't change..." she said bitterly when she saw the vodka on the side.

"She didn't drink any, Tan. She may have poured herself a glass of it but she didn't drink it. I think we can call that an achievement."

*JL*JL*

Lauren woke and she could still feel her dad's arms around her. She felt so safe and then she realised how the situation had been so different for the man she loved. She stiffened as the memory of Joey's life ran through her thoughts.

"Lauren?" Max asked, concerned when he felt her tense in his arms. She dissolved into tears again, an instant replay of the previous night. "It's going to be okay, honey. This will get easier."

She hiccupped as this crying jag ended, "Why am I being so pathetic about this?" She frowned, "This isn't even about me, it's about Joey."

"That's why it's affecting you like this, babe. You love him and that's why you're in so much pain." Her dad tried to explain, pausing briefly before talking again, "This is how me and your mum felt when we would see you getting drunk all the time. It would hurt us the same as this feels for you because we love you and we don't like seeing you suffer."

"I'm sorry I put you through that." She whispered, laying her head on his chest, "I can't promise I won't fall back on my bad habits once in a while but I'm going to try and cut back on the drinking, dad."

"I'm glad to hear that. We'll be here for you if you need any help."

"I'll probably take you up on that."

"Help with what?" It was Joey, he stood in the doorway.

"Joe..." Lauren said softly. She clambered from her dad's lap and launched herself at her cousin.

"Sweetheart," he breathed as she clung to him.

"How do you feel this morning? Did you sleep well?" She asked him gently once she'd loosened her grip on him.

"Better than you by the looks of it." He whispered, his thumb brushing across the apple of her cheek. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Actually I'd really just like to sleep." She told him.

"Let's go then." He turned towards the hallway and they were soon moving up to Oscar's room.

Suddenly Lauren pulled away from him, "Hang on a minute." She said, dashing back downstairs. She found her dad still on the couch. She pressed a quick kiss to his mouth, "thanks, dad." She said, smiling at him with such a look of love it took his breath away. It had been a very long time since Max had seen that from his eldest daughter, not without justified cause admittedly but still. Lauren ran back out to Joey and grabbed his hand tightly. Joey dragged her upstairs and into their room.

He stood her in the middle of the room and slowly stripped her clothes from her body. She tried to stop him when she was in her underwear but he brushed her hands away and continued on his mission. "So beautiful..." he breathed against the shoulder.

"Joey..."

His hands traced over her skin, barely touching her but almost burning her at the same time. "We'll go to bed in a minute." He promised her.

"To sleep, Joey. Not have sex."

"Who said anything about sex?" he breathed in her ear, a shiver running down her back. "I just want to hold you in my arms, feel you against me." He kissed her neck, "I want to be able to help you like you've helped me over the last few days."

"And you need to do that with me naked?" she asked with a small smile.

"Not just you, silly." He chuckled. He turned them both around and then pulled them both so they were lying in the bed. He threw the duvet over them both and wrapped his arm around her waist. Joey kissed her shoulder tenderly and she allowed herself to relax. He smiled against her skin, "Come here..." he whispered, pulling her back against his now naked body. "So what is it you want help with?"

"My drinking... or rather stopping it," she whispered.

"You know I'll help you with that too, right?"

"Thanks."

"Where did you go last night?"

"I couldn't sleep so I went downstairs. I didn't want to disturb you."

"And you didn't come back upstairs..."

"No. Dad came down."

"Is there something you're not telling me?" She doesn't answer him and that's confirmation for him. "Talk to me babe."

"I don't want you to feel bad..." she whispered.

"I'm already thinking the worst because you aren't talking to me." He took a deep breath, "Yesterday you said that it might be better if you told someone. You were right babe, it did feel better so you should take your own advice."

"I was thinking about what you said yesterday. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Every time I closed my eyes, I would see it, over and over again."

"I'm sorry..." he whispered.

"It's not your fault. I'm glad you told me. I wanted to know."

"So you went downstairs last night?"

"Yeah. I had a bit of a meltdown when dad came down."

"I wish you'd woke me up. I want to be there for you as much as you've been there for me."

"Don't take this the wrong way but I think I needed my dad. And in a way he needed me too."

He could understand that. Joey had noticed how the relationship between Lauren and her father had improved in recent days. It was something he was glad of, knowing how difficult life could be if you didn't get on with your father. "Did you get any sleep?"

"I managed to drift off a few hours ago."

"You should get some more then." He told her.

"I'm not sure I can." She admitted.

"Will it help if I held you in my arms?"

"I think I'd like that..."

"Good." He told her. His hand climbed her higher, brushing over the contours of her body until he reached her face. He turned it so he could kiss her on the lips, a kiss that built in passion. Lauren moaned softly as she got swept away with the intensity. She turned so she was facing him and he pulled her closer to him. "I love you, Lauren Branning." He said, his forehead pressed against hers.

Lauren's eyes were beginning to droop but now she wanted to stay awake, she liked this; liked being here with Joey like this. She loved the way it felt to be held in his arms, liking the closeness to him and the way she could feel his body reacting to hers. As hard as she tried to fight it, the sensation of his hand running up and down her back gently soothed her and helped her finally get some sleep.

*JL*JL*

"Where's Lauren gone?" Tanya asked Max as she brought him in a cup of coffee.

"She went back to bed, with Joey." Tanya looked at him and Max yawned. "They're fine. Let them be."

"Okay."

Another yawn overtook Max. He sat in the seat he'd vacated not that many hours ago. "She's promised to try and kick the drinking..." he said, seeing the shock on his wife's face as he said it.

"What brought that on?"

"We talked." He didn't want to go into any more detail than that. He felt protective of the bond he'd seemingly re-established with his eldest daughter. For so many years there had been a wedge between them and he was reluctant to let anyone else taint it, even slightly.

"Well, seeing as how she's gone back to bed, why don't you go as well? You've been down here most of the night and I'm sure you didn't get any sleep."

"I think I will." He said, taking his drink upstairs with him and going to get some sleep.

*JL*JL*

Later that evening Joey and Lauren were curled up on the couch, watching a movie with Oscar. Joey kept kissing Lauren's neck, also making her laugh when he'd try and slip his hand beneath her sweater. Each time she swatted it away and told him off but it never stopped him from trying again a few minutes later. It had been a relaxing day – after a not so refreshing night. For the first time in several days there was no stress for either of them to deal with. They'd spent the day together, wrapped up in each other, affirming their feelings for each other with small touches and kisses, glad to not have to hide their relationship from others anymore. Earlier Lauren's parents had gone to see Jack and Abi was spending time with Alice so it was just the three of them in the house.

Oscar stood up and came to stand in front of them both once the movie was finished. "Joey..."

"Yes, Oscar?"

"What happened to your face?" he asked him softly.

"A bad man hit me and hurt me." Joey explained in the best way you could to a small boy. He was wary to telling Oscar too much, knowing from personal experience he was too young to be exposed to this. He deserved to be sheltered from it as long as possible.

"Why would he do that?" He said, frowning at his cousin and sister.

"Because he was a bad man."

"I don't like him. He shouldn't have hurt you." Oscar said, his frown deepening and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'll tell you a secret, Oscar. I don't like him either." Joey said, a small smile on his face.

Oscar smiled at him and climbed onto the couch, hugging him tightly. "Can I ask you another question, Joey?"

"Of course you can."

He looked at first Joey and then his eldest sister, "When can I have my room back?" He asked them seriously. Both Lauren and Joey laughed at his question and he started laughing with them.

"I think you need to speak to mum and dad about that, Oscar," Lauren told him gently.

"Okay." He said.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed now..." Lauren said gently.

"Can't I stay up? I promise I won't tell mum."

"No, Oscar. You've got school tomorrow." Lauren got up and picked up her brother. "Let's go, Oscar." Lauren returned just ten minutes later to her boyfriend. "Thanks for that, Joe."

"What for?"

"Speaking to him about it without going into details."

"He deserves to have some of his childhood protected from that kind of thing but at the same time I didn't want to lie to him." He told her as he held her in his arms. "It didn't take long to put him to bed. Was he okay?" Joey said.

"Yeah. He was tired though."

"Did your dad tell you that they're going to start sorting out the loft conversion in the next day or two?" Joey said, kissing her temple.

"No." Lauren smiled at Joey.

"I still can't believe they're going to allow us to be together like that."

"Well they've let us be together for the last two nights. Why would you think they'd change their minds now?"

"I guess I'm just not used to people being like that with me; trusting me."

"Get used to it, babe. You're part of my family now."

TBC

A/N2: So there you go. Another nice interaction between Max and Lauren. Next chapters start getting serious again... More tomorrow, I hope. Let me know what you think... send a review. I'll reply the reviews I've received for the last chapter tomorrow too. I'm being beckoned back downstairs. :-)