When I first came up with this idea, it was on the assumption that the show was over and the characters were ours to do what we like with. Then Fremantle decided they wanted them back and a lot of this will shortly be contradicted. But until then...

CHAPTER ONE

Three Months Ago

Hendrix had brought the camera and Zara had made sure that they had the house to themselves. In the end, it had all been very simple. Zara let Hendrix through to the sun room and hovered in the doorway as he set it up on the table. "Is there anything I can do?"

Hendrix gave a rueful smile. "Well, some privacy would be nice."

The answer felt like a kick in the gut but Zara understood. She couldn't expect anything from him. "Right, yeah, sorry. I'll leave you to it."

"No, wait." Hendrix's face was apologetic when Zara turned back. "Thank you for helping with this."

"Well, I couldn't not, really,"Zara pointed out. "Thank you for asking me." She had to ask the question. "Why did you ask me?"

"Because…because I still think you're a good person, I guess. And because I think I can rely on you. And, I guess, because anyone else would be too close." He took her hand for a moment, then released it. "So… thanks."

Zara nodded, feeling a bit better than she had a moment ago. "I'll leave you to it."

That should have been it. She should have gone, should have retreated to a quiet corner maybe, or hung out in the front garden. Let him do his thing and waited for him to call her back. If she had, things would have turned out very different. But instead she hung back and listened. Hendrix probably wasn't even aware that she was there, hovering by the kitchen window, as he started the recording and began. "Um…hi. At the risk of sounding like Jason Bourne, if you're watching this… Wow, way to bring the mood down, huh? I imagine it's already pretty low if we're talking worst case scenario."

Zara couldn't listen to any more. She'd thought she could handle it but hearing him talking like that, hearing him talking about the fact that she could lose him, even in the small capacity she had him now, that somehow, in the near future, he might not exist anymore…she couldn't deal with it. Doing her best to make her sobs silent, she ran from the kitchen to her room.

Now

Mackenzie hadn't found it easy, the last three months. The life she thought she was going to have, the life she'd dreamed of, had been snatched away when Hendrix died. And then, of course, she'd had to find a new place to live, what with Chloe suddenly deciding to head off to her own happy ever after ending.

She'd occasionally thought of Pierce's offer to buy her and Hendrix a place, an offer that had stayed on the table even after "her and Hendrix" had become just…her. But she needed to be around people right now, and with Freya also needing somewhere to live, the two of them getting a flat together had seemed the best solution. It wasn't perfect but it was theirs, and it meant she had some company.

The knock at the door came as a surprise, the person standing there when she opened it even more so. After all, Zara Selwyn wasn't exactly a regular visitor of hers. There were times when she'd really had trouble tolerating the girl, but Hendrix had liked her, and Zara had been a good friend to him at times, especially at the end, and for that reason Mackenzie was trying to be more well-disposed towards her. "Zara! Come on in."

Zara shuffled into the flat. "Hey. Um, I…" She faltered. "I've got something I need to tell you, something I want you to hear from me. And I'm really sorry but you need to know." She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

It wasn't what Mackenzie had been expecting to hear at all, but the smile she gave came naturally. "Zara, that's great news! I mean, I guess it is? Great news?"

"Well, it wasn't expected, or planned, or anything, but, yeah, I'm kind of glad about it and Mum's been great but…"

"I didn't know you were seeing anyone?"

"I'm not,"Zara answered awkwardly.

There was an alarm bell ringing at the back of Mackenzie's mind but she didn't want to listen to it, didn't want to acknowledge the gnawing suspicious she was suddenly feeling. Instead, she tried to keep to her upbeat mood. "You didn't have to tell me specially."

"I kind of did,"Zara replied. "You see…"

Mackenzie knew then, knew what she was going to say, and knew beyond a doubt that it was something she didn't want to hear. "No, no, don't say it…"

But Zara had to say it. They both knew that.

"It's Hendrix's."