It was late, everybody apart from Gordon in bed. Jill had woken up to find the other side of the bed still empty and cold, the covers untouched. Looking at her clock she was in two minds; did she go and see where her husband was or just pretend she hadn't noticed. Their relationship was strained but she still chose the former thought. She quietly climbed out of bed and headed down the stairs, hoping the fourth creaky step wouldn't give her presence away. As she reached the living room door it was half ajar, and Gordon sat in his old arm chair; the back towards the door. From where she was stood it was clear he had a glass half full with whisky, his reliance on alcohol ever increasing.

'G-Gordon...' Muttered Jill; leaning a hand on the door frame. 'Are you coming to bed? It's gone twelve...' Gordon sat staring at the wall, gulping down his alcoholic beverage.

'I'll, I'll be up in a bit.' He replied, barely taking notice of his wife

'We can't go on like this you know. The children are starting to notice Gordon.'

'Noticing what?'

'I can't do this now. Just come to bed!'

'You can't do what?! Because I can't do it either! It hurts Jill, everything hurts but most of all, my heart hurts. Do you know how many nights I spent sitting here dreaming of our unborn child, the things I'd teach them; counting down the days till we got to meet him. All of it torn apart in an instance!' Tears started rolling down his face as his voice became thick with emotion.

'And I feel the same, you know I do, but Tom and Katie still need us! If I didn't have to I wouldn't bother carrying on but we can't give up. I loved him Gordon, I'll always love him but he's gone and no matter what we say, he's not coming back.' She walked over to his side, kneeling besides his chair and holding onto the arm.

'It was different with Caroline. I didn't love her, I hadn't loved her for a long time but this was our son. I loved him from the moment you told me you were pregnant.' He sobbed, unable to hold it in any longer. Jill reached up and wrapped an arm around his neck, holding his head close to hers and kissing her cheek. She too cried, complete heartbreak at her husband's confession. It seemed clear there was no way out. They were on two completely different wavelengths and no amount of words was going to change that. Her strong husband crumbling under the strain of life.