I'm not really happy with this chapter, but I'm annoyed at myself that I haven't updated for a week, so I wanted to put two chapters up today. Ah well *shrugs* hope you like anyway. Thank you so much to all the people who have reviewed! x

Chapter 12

"You took your bloody time," Jenny scoffed as Nick slid into the passenger seat with a deep sigh.

"Don't start," Nick snapped, taking her aback slightly.

"What's your problem?" she asked, perplexed at the sudden verbal aggression.

"Nothing," he stated in a cold tone as sank back into his seat. "I'm just not in the mood to be nagged. Where are we going first?"

Grumbling inwardly, but unable to summon the strength to argue further, she started the engine. "To pick up some of Ben's things first. And then to my mums," she answered, backing out of her car parking space.

"Great, as if I'm not in a bad enough mood as it is without having to deal with your mother again," he grumbled, pressing his fingers into his eyes.

Jenny ignored him, mainly because she didn't want to fight, but partly because he was right - she could do without having to speak to her mum as well. But Ben was there; they had dropped him off there earlier when they had headed for the ARC with a brief explanation about them being called into work urgently. And now Jenny needed to convince her mum to take Ben somewhere safe - somewhere far away from London.

"Maybe I could persuade her to get a flight over to Hong Kong with him . . ." she began thoughtfully, more to herself than to Nick.

"Why Hong Kong?"

"Because my farther's there on a business trip already," she replied. "And the further away they are from here, the better."

"True," Nick nodded, although he looked a little troubled by the idea. "But I don't think I want him flying anywhere to be honest."

"Why?"

"It's just that the anomalies are going to create a massive magnetic pull," he explained slowly. "And if it's strong enough, it might interfere with airplanes."

"Really?" Jenny gapped, looking round at him. "You think that's going to happen?"

"I didn't say it was going to happen, just that it's possible," he corrected her. "But do you really want to take that chance?"

"No," she conceded immediately. "So I'll just tell her to drive somewhere then?"

"It'd probably be safer," he replied, his gaze fixed out of the window. "Although how are you going to get her to agree to go without telling her why?"

"I'll think of something," Jenny answered, distracted as she made a sharp turn.

"I'm sure you will," Nick mumbled under his breath.

"Oh, will you stop with the catty comments please," Jenny snapped, losing her temper. "I haven't done anything wrong! You're just being pissy because this time, you don't get to play super-Cutter."

"Hmm, or maybe it's because you're behaving like the most selfish woman I've ever met," he bit back sarcastically.

That was it. Jenny jolted the wheel abruptly in one swift motion and turned the car into a deserted side road, slamming on the breaks so hard that Nick flew forward, banging his head on the dashboard.

"Christ!" he bellowed, straightening up and rubbing his forehead. "Are you trying to bloody kill me?"

"What do you mean I'm selfish?" she demanded, feeling herself grow hot with anger.

"I mean that you haven't even thought about what it would do to Ben if something happened to you when the anomalies open!" he shouted, his cheeks flushed red. "You haven't thought about what it would do to me! You just agreed to go out into combat without so much as an ounce of consideration for us!"

"I'm doing what I have to do!" she yelled back. "I'm following orders - "

"And when have you ever been bothered about following orders?"

"Since I've learned that in a matter of days, we're going to be bombarded with anomalies and all manners of creatures! And I'm scared!" she admitted. "Alright? I'm scared that we won't be able to contain them, and I'm scared that something will happen to someone I love. And if I can do anything to stop it, I will. That's why I'm following orders. You should try it sometime."

He growled in frustration and sat back, rubbing his hands over his tired-looking face. When he had composed himself, he let his hands fall to his lap and he fixed her with sad eyes. "If anything ever happened to you - "

"It won't," she interrupted in a much softer tone, reaching forward and without thinking clearly, taking his hand in hers. "I can take care of myself."

"I'm not saying you can't," he pressed, squeezing her hand slightly. "But all it takes is one wrong move out there Jenny - one mistake and it's over."

"Nick, you're acting like I've never been out in the field before," she pointed out in disbelief. "I've done it for four years - "

"I know, but this time is different."

"And anyway, why is it just me who you're worried about?" she asked, slightly put out by his insinuation. "Aren't you worried about Abby and Sarah, or do you think they're more capable than I am?"

"Of course I'm worried about them, but neither of them are my wife," he retorted. "If something happened to you, I'd never forgive myself. And what am I meant to tell Ben when he's older? That I let his mother walk into an ambush of creatures and didn't lift a finger to help?"

She pulled her hand out of his, feeling incredibly confused - trust Nick to play the mum card to make her feel guilty. "Listen," she said, speaking to her lap. "I appreciate were this is all coming from. I really do. But you're not going to talk me into deserting everyone. I'm good at my job, I'm good with a gun . . ." she looked up at him, hitching a fake smile on her face, "and I'm amazing at staying alive. It's going to be fine, okay?"

He sighed and nodded, a resigned look on his face as he everted his gaze to his hands. Unable to think of anything else to say, she started up the car again, hoping that driving would be enough to distract her from the unexpected pain of his words. Yes, she did feel selfish; she was willingly putting her life at risk, and if something did happen to her, it would be Ben that would feel the pain of it. It was all so frustrating. A well known phrase came to mind as they drove in silence -

'Damned if you do, and damned if you don't . . .'

As they drove in silence, she chanced a half glance around at him, noticing how his face was furrowed in worry. He always worried about her too much. She wasn't naive enough to let it flatter her though, as he was the type of bloke who worried himself silly about everyone. It was just in his nature. God, she remembered what it was like when she was pregnant; he would barely let her move at the beginning. Towards the end, however, she remembered with a repressed smile that she was so difficult that even he couldn't deal with her.

x x x

Jenny's due date passed her by, and there was still no sign of little no-name. At first, it didn't really bother her - surprisingly, she had enjoyed being pregnant, and as she was terrified of the bit to come, she could have happily have gone forever without going through the birth. However, as the days wore on, to her dismay she found her bump literally getting bigger by the day, as though the baby was taking some sort of growth supplement. She had never been more uncomfortable in her life, and that coupled with the fact that her hormones were everywhere made her very short tempered.

Eight days after the due date, Jenny found herself sitting on her couch, unable to move with the bloody wait of the thing. The next thing she knew, Nick was back from the ARC, but he had brought Abby and Connor home with him . . . apparently, they'd wanted to see how she was getting along. Great. Just what she needed right now - to have to play the hostess.

"Wow Jenny, you're enormous!" Connor stated happily as she struggled into an upright position, aware that she was being very rude staying slouched down when she had company.

"Excuse me?" she snapped at him - from the corner of her eye, she could see Nick making frantic gestures to get Connor to stop talking, but he didn't seem to take the hint.

"Yeah, you're like double the size since I last saw you!" he said excitedly, reaching forward and placing his hand on her bump - she heard Nick groan from beside her. "Are you sure you're not having twins?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" she fumed, batting his hand away. "And my belly's not public property you know. I mean, if I wasn't pregnant, you wouldn't just come up and put you hand on my stomach would you?"

"Um . . ." Connor stammered, looking ambushed. "No, I suppose not . . ."

"Jenny, why don't you sit back down?" Nick interjected, making apologetic eyes at Connor as he gently guided her back to the couch. "I'll get everyone a drink."

"Well, mines got to be water, because, oh yes, I'm pregnant!" she scowled, folding her arms over her bump. "God, I would kill for a cocktail right now!"

"Well you haven't got that long to go," Abby said sympathetically, sinking into the couch next to her. "It's got to be any day now, surely?"

"That's what I've been telling myself for the last two weeks," Jenny sighed, leaning her head back. "I just want to get it out!"

"Look on the bright side," Abby said, nudging her leg. "They say that late babies are more intelligent because their brain's had more time to develop."

Jenny snorted a laugh. "No way. An intelligent baby would know when it's time to come out, and this one hasn't got a clue," she said, gesturing down at the bump again.

Nick came back in with drinks for everyone, and sat down on the other side of Jenny.

"Are you alright?" he said to her, his voice full of concern as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

"No Nick, I'm not alright," she snapped through gritted teeth. "I weigh about as much as an elephant, I can barely move, and I haven't seen my feet in weeks. When this thing finally comes out, you're never coming near me again. This is all your fault."

"How is it all his fault?" Connor asked, looking perplexed.

Everyone shot him a disbelieving look, until he finally cottoned onto what she was talking about and blushed slightly, looking back down at the floor.

"Do you want us to go?" Abby asked Jenny sheepishly.

Immediately, Jenny's heart melted. "No, of course I don't," she sighed truthfully. "I'm sorry, I'm just so fed up."

"Hm, wait until you're up every three hours feeding the baby - I bet then you'll be wishing he or she would have stayed in there," Abby pointed out with a smirk.

"Are you trying to cheer me up?" Jenny asked sarcastically, although she smiled.

"Oh, you're nice to her?" Nick joked.

"She didn't impregnate me," Jenny pointed out, taking a sip of her water as Abby laughed loudly next to her.

"I don't think she could have done even if she'd wanted to," Connor chortled. "Unless I'm missing out on a major secret - "

He was cut off by Abby throwing a cushion at him that hit him square in the face.

Laughing, Jenny struggled to her feet - it was typical that as soon as she got comfortable, she needed the toilet.

"You okay?" Nick asked immediately, showing his usual concern every time she moved.

"Yes, it's just that the baby thinks of my bladder as a bloody punch bag," she sighed, trying to straighten out her painful back as she walked. "I'll be back in a . . ."

Then, out of nowhere, she found herself feeling incredibly spaced out. She staggered, her head feeling like it was floating away from her. Immediately, everyone was on their feet and arms were steadying her gently.

"Jenny?" Nick's concerned face was in front of her. "What is it? Is it the baby?"

"Something . . . something's wrong . . ." she managed to murmur before darkness enveloped her and she collapsed.

x x x

Jenny shuddered at the memory. Of course, she couldn't remember anything after that until she regained consciousness at the hospital, but from what she was told, Nick had caught her before she hit the floor and a shaking Connor had phoned an ambulance. Her blood pressure had crept too high apparently, because of the strain of the pregnancy, and she was induced not long afterwards to minimise the risk to both her and the baby. Nick was beside her every single second, looking panicked that she was in so much pain. Funny really, when Jenny thought about it. There he was tearing himself up over how much pain she was in, and little did he know that three years later, he'd be causing her more pain than she'd ever experience in her life. Emotionally, of course, not physically. Yet she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she'd rather go through another dozen labours than feel the hurt of finding out about Claudia again.

"You alright?" Nick's voice cut into her thoughts; he had obviously noticed the distant look in her eye.

"Yes," she replied automatically. "I was just . . . thinking . . ."

"About what?" he asked curiously.

"Just . . ." she began, wishing she hadn't started the conversation. "Just . . . about what would have happened if things had turned out differently."

"Like us you mean?" he probed, leaning forward a fraction as though he was deeply interested in what she had to say.

"Hmm," she replied, keeping her eyes on the road. "Like if I wouldn't have found that picture."

"I wonder than every night," he informed her.

"You do?" she looked round at him, surprised.

"Of course."

"Do you - do you think we'd still be happy?" she questioned, unsure as to why she was asking him; it's not like his answer would change anything.

"I have no doubt," he said with a sigh. "But I've thought about it a lot, and in a way, I'm glad you found out about Claudia."

"What?" she gasped in disbelief, thinking she was hearing wrong. "Why?"

"Because I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to prove to you how much you mean to me," he said quietly, his eyes staring ahead determinedly. "And that you'll be able to accept the fact that I love you for you, and not because of Claudia. And then we'd be able to move on with everything out in the open."

"And if I can't?"

"Even if I have to wait around until we're both old and grey for you realise it, I'm not going anywhere," he replied, glancing around at her. "You're the only woman for me."

"That exists at the moment," she retorted, probably more cruelly than was necessary. "Tell me though Nick, if by some miracle Claudia walked out of an anomaly in three days time, what would you do?"

His face fell into a look of shock at her words. "That's not possible," he stammered after a slight pause.

"Say if it was," she pushed, wanting to know the answer. "Say if she did come back. Would you get back together with her?"

He laughed in disbelief. "So you're suggesting that I'd leave my wife and son for a woman that I've never even dated?"

"Just answer the question Nick - "

"No, of course I wouldn't!" he exploded. "For the millionth time, I love you now!"

"Oh look, we're home," she said curtly as she pulled up outside her house gratefully. But as she undid her seatbelt, his hand grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving.

"Can we just finish the conversation - " he began.

"No," she answered immediately. "Lester only gave us an hour; we're going to be late as it is."

"We'll take as long as we take."

Jenny sighed and rubbed her hand on her temple, feeling the beginnings of a migraine. "Look," she said in a gentler voice than before. "Lets just get the next few days over with, okay? And then after that . . . we can talk and try and see if we can sort something out."

He reclined back in his seat and surveyed her for a moment through narrowed eyes. "Do you actually mean that, or are you just saying it so that I stop talking?"

In spite of herself, she smiled. "No, that's just an added benefit."

He chuckled slightly, before nodding, looking slightly cheered. "Okay."

I'm so in two minds about how I want to take this story now! I've got two plot lines floating around in the deepest recesses of my brain, but I can't for the life of me decide which one to go for. One of them's a bit happier and is what I was intending to write from the beginning, and the other is a storyline that has been niggling at me for a few days. It's much darker and more sinister, and usually I'd go for the darker one, but it means the introduction of a new character, which is always a risk in fandom.

Arg, I can't make up my mind!

If you can be any help with helping me decide, please let me know lol x