"Nan what do you mean you don't know where Tommy is?!" Stacey yelled at Mo, as soon as she came down the stairs with and Mo explained everything.
"I just left him for one minute, went back in to get the keys just in case you forget 'em! And then I went out again and he just wasn't there!" Mo said, panicking.
"Right, stay here with the twins, I'll go out looking for him before Kat gets back," Stacey said as she took her coat off the stairs and put it on. But when she opened the door and stepped in the pavement, she realized she was too late. She saw Alfie parking the Capri outside the house.
"Oh no Kat's home…" Stacey uttered, with Mo standing behind her.
"Kat what are you doing back home so early? I thought you at least had another hour," Stacey said trying to force a smile.
"Yeah well, we took it easy after breakfast and everything, but there was no point in hanging around any longer… and besides I missed my boys, where are they?" Kat explained, before she pushed passed Stacey and walked inside, with Alfie following, carrying her bag.
Kat stopped to check on the twins in their buggy in the hallway, "there they are my gorgeous boys… where's Tommy?" Kat said with a smile.
"Kat, um…" Mo began.
"Nan, just tell her…" Stacey urged her to tell the truth.
"Tell me what?" Kat asked, with her smile fading.
"it was only for a minute, I swear I didn't leave him on his own for long," Mo tried to explain.
"What's going on?" Alfie tried to figure out.
"Tommy… he's gone missing… it was like 10 minutes ago, we were talking the kids to the park…" Stacey explained.
"What?!" Kat yelled as she widened her eyes, "you lost my son?!" Kat ran outside on the pavement, "Tommy!" she yelled, "I can't lose him again…" she muttered with her eyes swelling up with tears.
"Mo are you out of your flippin' mind?!" Alfie yelled at Mo.
"Alfie there's no point arguing… we just have to split up and look for him… gosh I've been back 5 minutes and already im surrounded with chaos… look, Stacey you check the playground, I'll check the Vic and bridge street, Alfie you go anywhere else and Nan you look after the twins… just don't lose them as well!" Kat yelled.
…
Kat ran straight to the Vic, as fast as she could in her knee-high black high-heeled boots.
She started looking around the tables at the Vic, hoping she sees Tommy, but to no avail.
"Kat what's wrong?" Mick Carter asked a worried Kat.
"I'm looking for Tommy, has he come in here?" Kat asked, almost crying.
"Well… no… um…" Mick didn't really know what to say.
"What do you mean you can't find Tommy? Where were you?" Linda asked, who overheard everything on the other side of the bar.
"Linda please, just give that gob of yours a rest, yeah?! I really don't wanna deal with you right now!" Kat yelled at Linda's face before she stormed out of the Vic.
…
"Did you find him?" Kat asked Stacey as she met her halfway in front of the Vic.
"No, not yet… I've checked the launderette and the Minute Mart…" Stacey explained.
"Kat!" Alfie called her from across the Square.
Kat ran up to Alfie hoping for some good news, and to her relief, there was Tommy, hand in hand with Alfie. She ran and knelt down and hugged Tommy so tight.
"Where was he?" she asked Alfie as she stood up again, noticing Bobby was also with Alfie, holding a football.
"He was with Bobby playing with the ball by the shed at the garden," Alfie explained, "but the main thing is he's safe now, ain't he? Come here buddy!" he smiled as he lifted Tommy up.
"What?! Bobby?! Are you insane or something? You could've hurt him!" Kat yelled at Bobby, "where's your dad, I'm gonna kill him!" she said as she turned round and rushed to Ian's house.
"Kat! Kat wait…" Alfie said as he walked after her.
"Ian!" Kat banged on Ian's door.
"What's all this shouting about? Kat?" Ian asked confused, as Bobby walked inside.
"Tell your devil child to leave my son alone!" Kat yelled on Ian's doorstep.
"Excuse me!" Ian said with a look on his face.
"I was only playing with my ball in the street and when Tommy saw it rolling, he went after it to catch it, then I offered if he wanted to come play with me, that's all," Bobby explained.
"He is four years old, do you think playing with a football on his own is a good thing? You stupid boy!" Kat was furious.
"Kat," Alfie touched Kat's shoulder.
"Sorry I will not have you talk to my son like that on my doorstep… especially after I've just lent you two hundred quid yesterday," Ian yelled.
Alfie was making signs to Ian behind Kat to keep his mouth shut but he was too late.
"What two hundred quid? Alfie?" Kat turned round to ask Alfie.
"yeah Kat um…" Alfie tried to explain.
"Ha… you're unbelievable! Just give me Tommy!" Kat yelled at him, as Alfie transferred Tommy to Kat, before she stormed off with him.
"Cheers Ian!" Alfie told him sarcastically.
"Kat!" Alfie called her as he ran home after her.
"I knew something wasn't right… borrowing money from Ian Beale?! Are you for real?" Kat said, as she stopped in the street to look at him, then kept walking.
"All I wanted was to give you a break, make you happy…" Alfie replied as they arrived on their doorstep.
"I didn't need some night away Alfie, sure I enjoyed myself, but I would've appreciated it if you told me the truth instead of getting into more trouble!" Kat yelled at him as she kept walking upstairs and straight into their bedroom and slammed the door in his face.
…
Later that evening, Alfie gave Kat a chance to calm down and then decided to walk in the bedroom. She locked herself in there all afternoon, and apparently Stacey took her dinner up there as well.
He walked in to see Tommy sleeping fast asleep beside her. Alfie walked in and lied on the bed, beside Kat from behind, hugging both her and Tommy.
Kat sensed him and woke up. "I'm sorry Kat…" Alfie whispered.
"You should've told me, you borrowed money from Ian… how are you going to pay him back?" Kat whispered.
"I'll figure something out, I promised him I'll give it to him by the end of the month… but I did it for you Kat, I wasn't going to tell you, I didn't want you to worry… with the twins and everything, I thought you needed this… we needed this…" Alfie whispered as he stroked her arm.
"I appreciate you, trying to look out for me and make me happy, but you can't lie to me and think that everything's gonna be alright, you can't keep doing this…" Kat added.
"I'm sorry…" Alfie told her as he kissed her forehead, "but come on, last night, was a blast ain't it?" he whispered in her ear.
Kat couldn't help but smile.
THE END
thanks for reading x