Chapter Five

A/N: Thanks to coolasbeanz433 and BehindTheMask4310968 for reviewing.

Julia's mouth remained open in shock. After all this time, after all she had dreamed, her own little daughter was standing in front of her, as if she had merely gone to stay at a friend's house for the night.

"Oh my God." breathed Julia, a slight smile replacing her open mouthed shock. The little girl turned uncertainly to Kathy and beckoned her hand towards her aunt. The woman knelt down beside her and the young girl lifted both hands to shield her mouth, whispering a few words into her aunt's ear. When she had finished, Kathy nodded, a smile creeping up onto her face at the child's anxious question.

"Yes, Madeleine. It's Mommy."

With that, the tiny redhead began to walk towards Julia, her uncertainty matched by her curiosity. Sensing her inability to make the decision, Julia knelt down on the floor and spread her arms wide. A smile spread across both of their faces as Madeleine ran towards her, falling into her embrace and wrapping her arms around her back.

"Oh, Maddy!" cried Julia, tears wetting her eyelashes, causing the girl to cling to her tighter. However, a sudden noise from behind Julia caused the two to break apart abruptly.

"Julia, what is going on here?" asked Elizabeth, her voice both curious and demanding. Julia visibly took a deep breath before sharing a glance with David, who nodded at her, smiling encouragingly.

"Liz, this is Madeleine. My daughter." The explanation clearly shocked Elizabeth, as she gasped loudly, her eyes drifting from her employee to the six-year-old girl by her side.

"Whoa! Loony Julie's got a kid!" came a cackle from up the stairs, causing the matriarch to lift her head upwards and yell at the source of the voice.

"Carolyn, get back to your room! You are grounded!" the woman yelled, her face flushing slightly at the insensitive comment her teenage daughter had made. She then returned her gaze to Julia.

"Julia, would you care to explain to me what on earth is going on?" Elizabeth asked, her voice reaching a crescendo as the sentence went on.

"Liz, I... the thing is... actually, it's kind of hard to explain." Julia sighed, sitting gently on the stone floor and pulling the young girl into her lap. David, however, jumped immediately to the woman's defence.

"It's simple, Aunty Liz. Julia had a baby, but then the baby disappeared. Now, she's back. Maddy's the baby. It's not Julia's fault, she just had a bad experience. We can't blame her for that, can we?"

Elizabeth's gaze redirected itself to the floor, where it remained for the next few moments. Julia's gaze was also directed at quite the same spot, her arms not leaving her daughter's shoulders, while Kathy and Rennie shifted slightly in the background.

"Hey, um, Kathy? Why don't you go back home with Rennie and Maddy, then we can talk tomorrow, alright?" Julia asked quietly, standing slowly and reluctantly directing her daughter back towards her cousin and auntie.

"Alright. Julie, we live at 36 Angel Drive. Come down whenever and we can have a chat." Kathy informed her sister-in-law, reaching out her hand for Maddy's.

"But I don't want to leave Mommy." Maddy complained, acquiescing nonetheless. The statement broke Julia's heart, as it did to watch her daughter turn her back and leave her alone again.

"Julia. My office, please. Now." The psychiatrist had been expected the statement and turned immediately, following the blonde to the room she had specified, where the door was shut behind her and she was left to face Elizabeth alone, sitting almost vulnerably in the chair beside the desk.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" the woman exclaimed, whipping round to face her friend.

"You never asked." Julia replied, with a hint of a laugh that disappeared in an instant.

"This is serious, Julia! A child of yours just turning up on our doorstep is a dismissible offence." Julia raised her gaze from her lap, her eyes flaring with anger and fear.

"Liz, I have been here for six months now. I have worked with David every day, and with Carolyn a little bit as well. I have been nothing but loyal to this family. You can't sack me after all that just because I have a daughter I never thought I would see again. Please." Julia was begging now, but she couldn't see any alternative in the situation.

"Julia, I really don't know."

"Please, Liz. If someone judged you because Carolyn had turned up at your workplace, you wouldn't think it was fair if I just sacked you, would you?"

"No, I suppose not." Elizabeth conceded, nodding her head slightly in agreement.

"Well, then. If you wouldn't want someone to judge you on Carolyn, why are you judging me on Maddy?" Julia asked, deciding that if she was going to make a point, she might as well hit close to home with her friend. Her tactics were successful, as Elizabeth sighed in defeat.

"Alright, you win." the matriarch submitted, causing a beaming smile to spread across Julia's face.

"But I wouldn't be a responsible employer if I didn't make you go and sort this mess out."

"Do you mean-?" Julia asked, her tone unmistakably hopeful.

"Go and see her, Julia. You've got the rest of the day off, just go and see Maddy. She deserves a day after four years."

"Oh, Liz, thank you!" Julia exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down with excitement as she bolted from the room, grabbed her coat and set off out of the door.

Unbeknownst to her, in an upstairs window, someone was watching her, a single tear staining the glass of the window as he watched his friend walk away from him. He had wanted her to see her daughter of course, she deserved that much, but he had never considered that she would choose Maddy over him. Well, now she had done.

Wiping the single tear away, David walked away from the window.

A/N: Happy and sad in one chapter, eh? Please review, good review, bad review, any review, just please review!