AN: I'm so evil. I'm sorry...that was mean xD Here lies the answers you seek

Myriad of Emotions

No one said a word.

The tv was on again. Thorpe wasn't sure when it had gone on. But it was on. It had been an hour since the blast and the news was showing the street and everybody on it. Firefighters, police, paramedics... Thorpe found himself hoping to see Stephen, Callum and Freddie among the police, offering their help. But he didn't. Jazza and Jerome helped where they could. Jerome had noticed the smashed mug which had been dropped by Rory when she saw the news. He found a shovel and dustpan and cleared it away. Jazza had gone over to the shop for Rory because she had wanted strawberry water, her craving as of late.

Rory had wandered the office. Then she had left it and gone upstairs. Then she had come back down. It was aimless wandering, her mind trying to give her something to do other than sit and think about what had happened. But she sat again and thought. She was restless though. Not restless in the fidgety sense but she would keep moving now and again. She sat for a while with her hands on her lap. Then she raised one to the heart pendant around her neck. Then it went back to her lap. Occasionally, one would rest on her bump. Then go back to her lap. Now she had been still for quarter of an hour.

Thorpe, like Boo, had tried calling each of them several times but to no avail. He was sick of hearing the automated message on the other end of the phone. If he heard it once more, he may well scream. He continued to sit on the armchair and watched as Jazza and Jerome comforted Rory on the couch. Countless mugs littered the table with half drunk, cold tea. "I've made so much tea, we're out of teabags," Boo said from the corner. Her voice was soft, almost as if she was on automatic.

"There's more in our kitchen," Rory said, but it was monotone, and she was not really with them.

Boo nodded and plucked out her phone. Thorpe looked over to her. "I'll try again up there," she said to him quietly. He nodded and watched as she skirted around the couch and out of the office. Her footsteps disappeared upstairs and then it was just him, Rory, Jerome, Jazza and the tv. Rory was calm now, but distant, and he knew she had shut herself off in a desperate bid not to feel the situation at hand. It may well have been that she just couldn't cope with the possibility of losing Stephen again. It may have been that she stopped feeling so that she could protect her baby from stress. It was likely both. Whenever she did speak, it was robotic and sounded like she was thinking out loud rather than actually talking to anyone. "This baby may be the last thing I have of him," she'd said a few minutes before. And that had hit Thorpe hard.

It was clear that Rory thought that Stephen might be gone. And she was heavily pregnant with the child he may never meet. It was clear that she thought it possible that the baby she carried was the last thing of Stephen Dene in her life. What if Stephen was gone? What if she had a son? What if that son looked like Stephen? Would it hurt her if her child was a reflection of the husband she had lost? Or would it be a relief? He felt the pain for her. He'd stood without a word, rubbed her shoulder, walked into the kitchen and let out the tears he'd been holding back. Then he went back to his armchair, sniffing and red eyed, but no one had said anything about it. He found himself wondering what would happen next if the worst had occurred and they'd just lost three of the squad. He again found himself wondering what would happen to Rory. He made a promise to himself, there and then, that he'd look after her and the baby no matter how much time, effort or money their care took. But he was unsure if she would actually be able to cope. Perhaps he could set up a separate bank account for her and the baby. He could pay a weekly sum into it to make sure she could live comfortably while she juggled her grief and her newborn. Those two words should never be used together. But he'd used them. He begged that his plans would not be necessary, that Stephen, Callum and Freddie would come home, but he liked to have backup plans.

His mind drifted in this direction for some time, away from the situation and onto whatever the hell the future held until a large pounding outside of the office caught the attention of them all. They all heard Boo's footsteps descend the stairs again but this time she was running. She burst into the office, phone glued to her ear. They all looked at her, surprised by her sudden entrance.

"I've got Stephen on the phone!"

Everyone immediately became alert, no one more so than Rory. She spoke quickly, so quick that neither her breath nor her voice could keep up with her. "What? Where is he? Is he ok? Is he there?" She was on her feet and approaching Boo.

"H-hang on Stephen. I'm gonna put you on speaker." Boo was laughing and crying at the same time. "Ok, go ahead."

"We're fine," his voice came through the phone. It was tinny and a little muffled, but it was his and everyone in the room had never been so grateful to hear it. Thorpe had to steady Rory because she had nearly fallen from relief. "We're all fine. We're weren't near the explosion."

Rory sobbed. "Stephen?"

"I'm here darling. I'm ok. We all are."

"Why haven't you come home?"

"We're trying to sweetheart. But the traffic coming in and out of Hammersmith is crazy. The emergency services are trying to get in while civilians are trying to get out. It's Bedlam. We've been stuck for an hour. We've tried to phone you all several times but the phone lines are jammed. The emergency frequencies have been set up. It's been blocking the calls."

Boo looked to Rory and she looked back. So that was why they couldn't get through. Thorpe sighed with relief. Thank god. He smiled as Rory continued, relief evident in her voice.

"We've been trying to call you all as well. I thought...I thought..." She sobbed again.

His voice was sad. "I know darling. But I'm ok. I promise. I'll be home to you as soon as possible."

"Stephen?" Boo asked. "Are Callum and Freddie there?"

"Yes," he replied. "Hold on...ok, you're on speaker."

"Callum?" She asked through the phone.

"I'm here Boo. I'm ok."

"Oh thank god. Freddie?"

Freddie's voice came through then. "I'm good."

"Thank god someone managed to get through," Callum said. "We've been panicking about Rory for an hour."

"Panicking? About me?" She replied, trying to steady her voice.

"Yes," Stephen said quietly, "about you. We figured that you, that all of you, would panic and I didn't want you to be afraid and hurt yourself or the baby."

"Well then," she said, "you have Thorpe to thank for that. He's the one that calmed me down."

Thorpe looked over to her and she smiled at him gratefully.

"Thank you Thorpe," Stephen said, and Thorpe could hear the gratitude in his voice.

Thorpe wiped away a few tears of his own, running his hands through his hair and nodding gratefully. "You're welcome. Listen," he said to the people in the car, "just get yourselves home. It's doesn't matter how long it takes. We know you're ok now and we'll be waiting for you."

"Understood," Stephen said. "Rory?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you. I really love you. I know you probably thought you'd never hear me say that again. But I'm here, I'm safe, I'm on my way back to you and I love you."

She sobbed happily again. "I love you too."

"Boo?" Callum called down the phone.

"Yeah?"

"I know it seems like I'm copying but I love you too."

She and Rory laughed and they were both sure they heard Stephen laugh too.

"I love you too."

"And Freddie?" Rory said.

"Yeah?"

"We all love you too."

Freddie laughed. "Love you guys."

"Ok," Stephen said. "It looks like the traffics starting to move. I have to hang up. I don't know if you'll be able to get through to me again but if you don't, we'll hopefully see you soon."

"Just as long as we do see you," Boo said, "it doesn't matter how long it takes."

With a few final goodbyes, the call was ended.

Rory collapsed onto the couch, sobbing thankfully. "They're ok," she whispered through her tears. "They're ok, thank god, they're ok." Jerome put his arms around her and whispered. "See? I told you, love." She laughed and sobbed and coughed at once and let herself cuddle up to him. Jazza hugged Boo while Thorpe switched the tv off once more. Then he collapsed into his armchair and laughed in relief.

Rory sat on the bottom of the stairs watching the door. It had been half an hour since they had phoned and she prayed that they would all be home soon. It was a relief knowing that they were ok but she really wanted to see them. Just see them back here, safe and unharmed. The office door was open and she spoke through to the people in there. Jerome, Jazza or Boo often came to lean on the doorframe so that they were closer to her. She could see Thorpe still in his armchair. It looked like he'd fallen asleep. Shock, it does that. He could relax now that he knew they were safe. But she wanted to see them. She heard footsteps coming down the cobble path outside and muffled voices. She sat up more alert. That voice sounded like Callum. Then she heard Freddie laugh. "They're back!" She called into the office. Thorpe roused himself and stood while the others came to the office door. Rory stood up and stayed on the bottom step.

The door opened and Freddie came in first. She smiled at them all. "Hey guys." She walked towards the office, passing the stairs as she did so. Rory took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze on the way past. It was accompanied by a warm smile. Callum came through the door next, smiled to Rory, spied Boo and ran over to her. "Boo!"

"Callum..." She said it almost as if she couldn't believe it. He was safe.

Callum scooped Boo into a hug that seemed endless, countless whispers of "I love you" and "thank god you're home" filling the office doorway. Rory turned her attention back to the front door.

And there he was. He had never looked so beautiful.

Stephen came in last and he had barely shut the door before Rory flung her arms around him and sobbed against his shoulder, holding him as tightly as she possibly could. Before he could react, she had pulled back and pressed her lips onto his. The others be damned, she thought. She needed to kiss him more than she needed to breathe. She needed to feel his lips on hers, his soft, warm lips full of life. His initial shock wore off instantly and his mouth moved against hers gently. Despite it going no deeper than their lips locking together, it was one of the most passionate kisses they had ever shared. It didn't look like that to the outside world. To the others, it was a simple soft kiss, gentle and slow. But to Stephen and Rory, it was relief, love and gratitude overflowing into physical action. It was everything Rory thought she would never do again, it was every feeling of love she had for him, it was every ounce of relief her body could hold, it was every single moment in which she would be grateful that he was alive. It was every reassurance Stephen couldn't give because of the jammed phone lines, it was every moment of panic knowing that she would be terrified for him, it was every single way he could think of to tell her that he was fine, that everything was ok. And it all happened in that one soft kiss.

Stephen broke it gently before giving her a quicker kiss. And then it became a string of kisses before they finally stopped. She wrapped her arms around his middle and he held her as close as possible. Neither one of them said a word. There were no words needed. They heard the others talking in the office but right now, all she needed was him. "I thought I'd lost you," she whispered and she felt his arms tighten around her.

"No," he whispered back, "you could never truly lose me."

She sniffed as she held him close, turning her body sideways so that she could get closer still, her head resting against his chest. She listened to the steady beating of his heart as his hand ran through her hair and he placed small kisses on her head.

Thorpe came to the doorway of the office and watched them. He didn't say a word, didn't interrupt. He just watched them holding onto each other for dear life before smiling gently and walking back into the office.