24th April 2013. Second chapter for the night. It's time to have a chat with the parents. How will they react to their plan?

Chapter 17.

The cars were fully loaded and they slowly pulled out of the square. Lauren didn't want to see anyone looking at her leaving so she hid her face in Joey's neck. She didn't want to see any judgemental looks. Her last memories of living in the square had already been tarnished in the last few hours as it was, she couldn't face anymore drama. She squeezed Joey's hand as the car moved away. She leant against her wonderful boyfriend; she needed his strength to do this.

By the time they reached Joey's house Lauren had relaxed slightly, although they were about to embark on what could be a very difficult conversation with their parents. Lauren and Joey got out of the car and Lesley was standing at the front door to greet them.

"Hi sweetheart," Lesley said to Lauren, hugging her gently. Lauren and Joey didn't realise but Max and Tanya had called her that morning and told her about the previous day's events so she knew what Lauren had been through. "Let's get you settled in, shall we, Lauren?" Lauren nodded and followed Lesley into the house.

The cars were unloaded and everything was placed in the boxes and cases in Joey's room. The pair would deal with them later. Once that was done Jack left them alone, receiving a hug from Lauren and a whispered thank you before he went. The remaining Branning's congregated in the lounge. They were all there apart from Alice - who'd gone out to spend the day with her friends. Lauren and Joey shared a glance and Joey hugged her a little tighter against his chest. Now was the time.

"We wanted to speak to you all about something. This is something Lauren and I have been thinking about for several months and we wanted to discuss it with you."

"What is it, Joe?" Lesley said, a look of concern on her face.

"We've been thinking about having a baby together." He told them all calmly.

There was a momentary silence. Then the questions began.

"Don't you think it's a bit early to be thinking about that, Lauren?" from Tanya.

"Are there any issues regarding your health, Lauren?" from Lesley.

"Aren't you rushing into this?" Another from Tanya.

"This is something we've been thinking about for a while. It's not something we're rushing into and we've talked about it with Lauren's consultant." Joey said.

"The truth of it is, mum, given my health issues, we don't have the luxury of waiting forever with this," Lauren said softly. "This is something I've thought about probably since this time last year. I knew Joey was the person for me and I found I'd start daydreaming about us in the future. At the start it was just the two of us but then that started changing and I'd see us with a baby... and that eventually changed again into a small child. This isn't something we're rushing into, mum. We've both thought about this for a long time, before we even spoke to each other about it but we know it's the right thing for us, for now. We've been through so much this year and it's just shown us we shouldn't waste time," She squeezed Joey's hand and took a deep breath, "What's really important to us though is that you're there for us through this. We want you to support this decision we've made because we can't and don't want to do this without your support."

Joey pulled her against his chest and kissed the top of her head. "You didn't answer my question..." Lesley said softly.

"It's not going to be easy but the consultant doesn't think it should be detrimental to Lauren's health."

"But there's a chance...?" Lesley asked.

"It would be classed as a high-risk pregnancy," Lauren said softly. She glanced at her father, "You've been quiet, dad. You haven't said anything."

He was sat looking at them both, "You know my thoughts on this subject. My primary concern is Lauren."

"What do you mean? Your thoughts?" Tanya asked, looking at her husband.

Max sighed, "When Lauren had her last tests the other week... there was a bit of situation."

"What sort of situation?" Tanya asked.

Max looked at Lauren, holding her eyes in a silent discussion. She nodded her head, "Lauren realised there was a chance she could've been pregnant so she ended up having to do a pregnancy test."

"Oh, Lauren... why is nothing simple, eh?" Tanya said and everyone could hear the disappointment in her voice.

"I'm sorry mum. It wasn't planned, obviously... I mean we knew the risks we were taking... we knew what we were doing and what the consequences might be." Lauren was becoming upset now, "We'd even discussed it... talking about what we'd do if I ended up pregnant. We know this is a big decision to make but it's really important to us both. We want this."

Tanya turned her attention to her husband again, "And what do you think about this?" she asked sharply. "Why didn't you tell me about this when it happened?"

"I didn't tell you because there was nothing to tell. The test was negative. Lauren was upset enough about it and I knew if I'd told you we'd have been having this discussion then and it wasn't what Lauren needed."

"Why were you upset?" Tanya asked Lauren.

"Because for a few seconds I thought it might be a possibility and I realised how much it was what I actually wanted. It had only been a thought beforehand... now it was something that could really be happening and I wanted it. I wanted it so badly. For nearly five minutes, in my head I was pregnant. Then the test was negative and it was like I'd lost it. Dad can tell you, I cried throughout the tests that morning. I was crying over something that had never even been... but it felt like I'd lost something. After I'd spoken to Joey, we knew we needed to speak to the consultant and find out if there was anything we should be aware of."

"You never said what you thought about this, Max?" Tanya said.

"I think they'd be really good parents. We all know they love each other and it's clear they're going to be together for the rest of their lives. I don't see it's a huge issue for them to have a child together. In that room, when the nurse had gone to get the test for her to take, we talked and yes, I was shocked. I didn't think the timing was right and I wasn't sure if they'd thought about it enough but I can see they have now. Lauren asked me what would happen if she was pregnant and I told her then what I'm going to tell her now. I said we'd be there for her and Joey and we'd support them with this. All I want is for Lauren to be happy and I think doing this will make her truly happy." Max looked at Lauren and Joey, "I need to know what the consultant said. We all do."

"There are risks involved," Lauren told him. "I'd have to come off the medication... for quite a long time."

"How long?" Lesley asked.

"At least six months before we started trying to get pregnant..." Joey said. "The medication has to be completely out of her system as it would affect the baby." He looked down briefly, "She'd be off it for the length of the pregnancy too and she wouldn't be able to go back onto it until she'd stopped breast feeding, if she chose to do that."

"Is it okay for Lauren to come off the medication for that long?" Tanya asked.

"Her doctor doesn't think it's too big an issue with her heart as it currently is. He would want to see her more frequently, to monitor her throughout the pregnancy and it would probably mean more appointments to ensure the baby is coping with it too. We know this is a big thing to do. We know this is a risk and if this wasn't something we really wanted, I'd never consider putting Lauren through this." Joey said quietly to their assembled parents.

Max moved from his seat and knelt in front of where Lauren sat, "Is this really what you want, Lauren? Are you sure you want to take this risk?" he asked her softly.

"It is, daddy. I want this so much... I wouldn't do this if it was just a passing fancy... but I can't do this without your support." She closed her eyes, tears rolling down her face, "My doctor said it's a very small risk but I know there is a chance things might not go the way we want them to. I know this might push my health too far and I'm going to fight really hard to try and beat this. I want to be around after the baby is born. I want to see it grow up... so I'm going to be the model patient, I will follow every instruction given to me to get me and the baby through it." She looks up at her dad, "It's something that Joey doesn't want to consider, I know it. I know he hates to even entertain the thought because it hurts too much to think about it but I have to think about it. I've thought about what might happen if I don't make it through the pregnancy and I need to know that you'll be there for him and the baby if the worst happens. I need you to be there for him if I'm not around because I know he won't be able to do it on his own... not straightaway."

Max pulled her into a hug and she sobbed against his shoulder. "It's okay, Lauren. It's okay." He whispered to her softly. He glanced at Joey and he could see how visibly upset he was too by what she'd just said. He could see how much he hated thinking about it and he could understand. He reached for his nephew and pulled him into the hug with Lauren, "We'll be there for you both, I promise." He told them gently. "I look forward to you both making me a grandfather but I hope I get to see my daughter being the wonderful mother I know she will be." He kissed Lauren on the forehead and then looked at her seriously, "But babe, you need to fight for this. You need to be strong and look after yourself."

"I'm going to daddy. I want this too much to not. I swear I'm going to get through this."

Max released his hold on them both and sat back on his heels, "So when does this start then?"

"Have you already stopped taking your medication?" Tanya asked softly.

"No... we wanted to talk to you before we did anything. It was important to us, to me, that we had your support." Lauren said.

"I'm with your dad on this, Lauren." Tanya said softly. "I look forward to holding our grandchild in my arms." She added with a smile.

"What about you, mum?" Joey asked. "You're the one who's going to be impacted by this more than Uncle Max and Auntie Tanya. We're living here now, so it will affect you more."

"Of course, I'm supporting you with this, Joey. I'm so proud of you for making this decision. I never thought you'd take this step." She smiled at her son and his girlfriend, "I don't think you're rushing into this, it sounds like you've both thought this through."

"Thanks mum..." Joey said.

TBC

A/N: Another emotional chapter... What did you think to their reactions? That's it for tonight. Back tomorrow...