25th April 2013. Time for other matters to be dealt with. Hope you like it.

Chapter 18.

Joey and Lauren were in Joey's... sorry, their room later that evening, unpacking Lauren's things. "I never realised I had so much stuff." Lauren said. There seemed a never-ending mountain of clutter for them to unpack.

"It won't take that long to sort, baby girl." He stopped what he was doing briefly to look at her, "How are you feeling? It's been a draining day for you." He asked her gently.

Lauren swallowed the lump in her throat as she thought back to the three goodbyes she'd gone through today. All of them had been really difficult, much harder than she would've expected. "It's been an emotional few days but today has been hard. I know they're not that far away and it's not like I'm never going to see them again but it was difficult to say goodbye to them all."

"I thought you were going to change your mind..." he admitted.

She looked up at him in shock but his back was to her, "Joe... I love my parents and Oscar more than pretty much everything in the world. Everything that is apart from you. Yes, I needed to get away from home because of what's going on... but never think I'm not here because I want to be. I want our relationship to grow and we need to be together for that to happen. After everything we've been through I know this is the next step for us." He'd turned to face her as she spoke and she moved closer to him and kissed him softly. They turned back to Lauren's things and worked in silence for a little while. "Is Alice back yet?" Lauren asked as she finished unpacking another case. She sat on the bed and stared at Joey as he finished unpacking his box.

"She should be back in a few minutes."

"Are you and your mum going to speak to her about Derek?"

"Yeah." Joey said, although Lauren could see he wasn't looking forward to it. He looked at her, "Would it be okay if we tell her what happened last night?" Lauren looked down self-consciously. "I know you're probably reluctant to do so but I think it's the only way she'll believe what mum and I tell her." He looked down, "There's some things I need to tell her too; things I've never spoken about before."

Lauren was in front of him after a couple of seconds, "What's wrong...?" she asked.

"I... I can't say it twice, baby." He whispered.

"Let's go downstairs and we'll wait for Alice." She glanced around the room, "We can finish this in the morning." She took his hand in hers and literally pulled him down the stairs to the lounge. They sat on the couch and the longer they waited the tenser Joey became. Lesley had joined them after a while and she kept glancing at the time. Eventually she called Alice's friend to find out where she was. By the end of the call Lauren could tell something was very wrong.

"She didn't meet her friends." Lesley sighed as she put down her phone.

"What?" Joey snapped. Lauren brushed her hand on his arm, squeezing the hand she was holding gently. "Oh, god... you know where she's gone, don't you?" he muttered.

"Walford..." Lesley said softly.

"Let me call dad?" Lauren said. Max answered his mobile on the first ring.

"Don't tell me you want to come home already?" He teased her.

"No, dad. Don't be silly," She giggled, "Um, do you know if Derek has been around the square today?"

"Why are you asking, Lauren? Has he done something again?"

"We're not sure but we think Alice may have been to see him today. She wasn't meeting her friends like Lesley thought she was."

"Let me get your mum to call Jack or Sharon to see if they've seen him. I thought he was still at the police station to be honest." There's a brief pause but then he returns. "Neither of them has seen him so Jack's calling a friend of his at the station to see if he's been let out. Shall I call you back in a few minutes?"

"That'd be great. Thank dad." Lauren shut her mobile and leant against Joey. "Uncle Jack's calling a mate at the police station to see if he's been released. No one has seen him today and dad had assumed he was still at the station. Dad's going to call me back in a few minutes."

"Thanks baby girl." Joey whispered, kissing her forehead.

They sit in a tense silence, waiting for Lauren's mobile to ring and for Alice to arrive home. It's her mobile that is first to greet them and Lauren answers it quickly. "Hi dad." Joey and Lesley watch her as she listens to her father. "Okay, well thanks for checking. Yeah, I'll text you when she arrives home. Speak soon. Love you too." She puts her phone in her pocket and looks at Joey and Lesley. "He's still at the station so she can't have seen him today. No one's seen her at the square but that doesn't mean she didn't go there. They're going to keep an eye open for her in case she shows up and I just need to let dad know when she gets home."

"At least she hasn't seen him before we've had a chance to speak to her about it all." Lesley said.

"I just hope that what we tell her will help her come to the right decision." Joey said darkly, "He hasn't changed at all, mum."

"Max and Tanya called me this morning and told me what he did..." She said softly, seeing Lauren flinch slightly at her words. "I would've thought he'd have learnt by now but Joey's right, it seems he hasn't."

"Where do you think she is then?" Lauren asked quietly.

"I don't know, babe." Joey said. He sounded worried and Lauren couldn't say she blamed him.

The front door opened and everyone in the lounge froze. Alice walked into the room and a silence hung in the air. "Hi guys..." she said brightly.

Lauren clutched Joey's hand, knowing he wanted to say something and that if he did, it would just start a row. She pulled out her mobile and sent a quick text to her dad so he knew Alice was home.

"Where have you been Alice?" Lesley asked.

"I told you where I was going..."

"I spoke to Emma and she told me you hadn't arranged to go out with her... so I know that was a lie." Lesley said, staring at her daughter. Alice had the decency to look somewhat guilty. "So where were you?"

"I went to Walford to see dad..." she said quietly.

Joey groaned and Lauren brushed his face with her hand, hoping to calm him down. This was something Lesley needed to deal with. Joey could say his piece once she'd started the conversation.

"I take it you didn't see him?" Lesley asked.

"No. He wasn't there. I'm going to go and see him again though and you can't stop me." Alice said defiantly.

"Do..." Joey started.

"Joe... no," Lauren interrupted him softly, "Let your mum handle this..." Joey looked at his girlfriend and closed his mouth, frowning at his sister.

"Sit down, Alice." Lesley said firmly. Alice rolled her eyes, an apparent Branning trait, and sat in an armchair. "There are things Joey and I have never told you about your father... and now is the time for us to tell you. We never told you because he was out of our lives then and I didn't think it would ever become an issue but now that he's reappeared it's time you know the truth." Alice folded her arms and slumped back in the chair. "And you can drop that attitude now, missy." Lesley snapped and it definitely caught her daughter's attention. "You were only one when your father and I got divorced. Joey was a little older, in fact he was seven. The day we separated was his seventh birthday." Lesley glanced at her son and she could see he'd shut himself off from her as they spoke about this painful subject. Lauren was talking to him softly, trying to help him through this. "Your father was a violent man, Alice. He liked to get his own way and when he didn't, he'd use his fists to make sure he did."

"He might have changed..." Alice said.

"He hasn't, Alice but we'll get to that later." Lesley sighed. "There were numerous times throughout Joey's childhood where I ended up in hospital as a result of what Derek did to me. He broke my collar bone. He broke my wrist and one time he even broke some ribs and one of them punctured my lung." Lauren winced at her words and she felt Joey flinch as she reeled off the injuries she'd incurred at his father's hands. "I never said anything because I was scared that if I stopped him from hitting me, he'd turn to you and your brother instead. It actually lessened in frequency when you were born. He seemed to love you a great deal but after a few months he reverted to type and it was back to how it had been before you were born."

"So why did you split up?" Alice asked, her voice slightly hesitant.

"He hit Joey..." Lesley whispered. "So hard it threw him across the room. He had to be taken to hospital. Your dad and I discussed everything then and he realised he shouldn't be around you both and we agreed to get a divorce and that he wouldn't see you."

"But he might not be the same as he was then now..." she said in hope.

Lesley glanced at Lauren. "He is, Alice." Lauren whispered. She sat up and slowly took off the large jumper she was wearing. She'd chosen it because it hid all of the dark bruises she now had but beneath it she wore a little vest top and the bruises were clearly visible.

"Derek did that to Lauren last night," Joey said softly, his hand brushing the small of Lauren's back as she sat self-consciously beside him. "We'd come home from the seaside. We'd taken Lauren's brother out for the day and Oscar and I were both asleep in the car. Derek dragged Lauren out of the front seat and pinned her against the side of the car. He was threatening her and his arm was across her throat so she was struggling to breathe."

"Why would he do that?" Alice whispered.

"Because Joey and I are seeing each other and he says it's wrong. My sister has been telling him all about it... she's as opposed to us being together as he is. She's the reason he was there at my college. My dad had tried to get him out of the way so he wouldn't be there... but Abi contacted him and suggested he turn up." Lauren told her gently. "He also arranged for Joey to be beaten up the night before. Three guys jumped on him and told him he should stop seeing me as he was bringing shame on the family name. They told him Derek had said Joey didn't deserve to be called a Branning."

"He said what!?" Lesley spluttered.

"How did you get away from him if he had you pinned against the car?" Alice asked softly, her eyes fixed on the bruises on Lauren's throat which were now a lovely shade of dark purple.

"Uncle Jack." Lauren whispered. "He saw what Derek was doing and got him away from me. I don't really know what happened after that... just what Uncle Jack and everyone told me afterwards."

"Why not?"

"I guess I was in shock over what had happened." Lauren looked down at her lap, "It was like I was really far away from where I was sitting and I couldn't get back. I couldn't do anything. I felt frozen to the spot. It was only when Joey spoke to me and then put his arm around me that I started to come back to. At first I was afraid to open my eyes, I thought I was dreaming it. I thought it was Joey that had pulled him away and I was scared to look in case your dad was hurting him and I was just imagining him being with me." She glanced up at Lesley and sees the sympathy on her face, "I was pretty much unresponsive for a few hours after it happened. Once I realised Joey was okay and he was there and looking after me the only thing I was concerned about was Oscar. I didn't want him to be scared by it. I was worried about what he'd seen. I mean, I was petrified by it so I could imagine how a six-year old would be. I actually wet myself your dad scared me so much. I really thought he was going to hurt me, I knew what he'd done to Joey and I thought he was going to do the same or worse to me." She was crying by this stage and Joey hugged her, pulling her against his chest. He stared at his sister intently as he comforted his girlfriend.

"What?" Alice said.

"He did hurt me when I was young..." Joey admitted quietly once Lauren stopped crying. "I've never told anyone this before." He added. Lauren was sitting frozen on his lap and she lifted her head and stared at his face. "It only happened when mum was in hospital," he told them, his head lowered and his hand was playing with Lauren's as they rested on her thigh. "He made me swear not to tell anyone or he'd hurt mum again and she'd end up back in hospital which then meant he'd hurt me again."

"What did he do, baby?" Lauren asked him softly.

"The first time he just shouted at me. He'd been drinking for hours and he lost his temper and screamed at me. I think that was before Alice was born. The next time he shoved me out of his way and I fell down the stairs. I started to cry and he told me to stop snivelling... that I should be a man. I'd landed really awkwardly and it hurt to breathe but I kept quiet about it and no one ever found out." Lauren brushed away the lone tear that fell from his eye and he glanced at her face. "The last time it happened when mum was in hospital, it was after Alice was born because she was crying. I went to try and get her to shush... Derek was drunk downstairs and I didn't want him to start on her. So I stood in her room, trying to calm her down but she just got louder. He came into the room and he was shouting, which made Alice even worse but I stood in his way so he couldn't get to her, not without going through me." He glanced at his sister for a mere second before continuing, "You must've picked up on the tension in the room because you went quiet and I glanced behind me to make sure you were okay. He took advantage of that and grabbed me, lifting me off the floor by my neck and throwing me away from your cot. I caught my head on the dresser and I guess I blacked out. I woke up in my bed and it was dark outside. My head really hurt and when I got up the next morning there was blood on my pillow."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Lesley asked him softly.

"I told you why... and after he left there didn't seem to be any point." Joey admitted.

"I knew something happened when I wasn't there but I thought you'd tell me and there was a part of me that didn't want to ask." Lesley said sadly, "I'm so sorry, Joey. I should've pushed you to tell me."

Joey shrugged, "It's okay, mum." He reassured her.

"The reason your dad wasn't there today was because he's still being held by the police." Lauren told Alice. "For what he did yesterday. I don't know if they're going to press charges... and I guess I'm going to have to speak to them at some stage." Lauren glanced at Lesley and Joey, "Your mum and brother know how much you want to see Derek... and I can understand that need to know your dad. I'm a daddy's girl and I can't imagine what it would've been like to grow up without him being around. I know it hurt for the few months my dad wasn't there when mum and dad split up. They're not telling you this so you think badly of your dad... what you think is down to you but they want you to be informed of what he's really like. There's not really anything they can do to stop you from seeing him but they want you to make the choice with all the information." Lauren paused and looked at her younger cousin, "I've not known your dad very long... not really. It's only been two and half years since he came to Walford but I can tell you he's not a very nice man. I mean generally, not just because of what he did yesterday. He's a bully. He has very little respect for women. My mum hates him. My dad and Uncle Jack don't like him... and my dad was the closest to him when they were children." Lauren could see Alice didn't know what to believe anymore. "Look Alice, if you do decide to see your dad and something happens... I really hope it doesn't but if you find yourself in a situation where you need someone to help you and you don't want to speak to my parents or Uncle Jack and you don't want to call us," she pulled her mobile from her pocket and scrolled through the contacts list, "Here's the number for my friend Whitney," she held her phone out towards Alice. "She's been through some bad things in her past and she'll be there for you if you need anyone. She'll understand anything you tell her and she'd never judge you, I promise. I've told her you might be around the square and to look out for you, so she won't be surprised if you call her. She was at my art show so you'll probably recognise her."

"Thanks Lauren." Alice whispered, putting Whitney's number into her mobile. She smiled at her brother's girlfriend, thinking how nice it was to have a girl around the house who was a similar age to her.

*JL*JL*

Not long after their conversation with Alice ended Lauren and Joey called it a night. When they got up to their room they unpacked a bit more of her stuff and decided they'd finish the rest of it in the morning.

They both got into bed, glad their long day was finally over. "Thanks for what you said to Alice, baby girl." Joey whispered to her. "I know some of that was difficult for you to talk about."

"It was difficult for you as well, baby." She said. "I can't believe you've never told anyone what he did."

He's silent for several seconds and Lauren began to worry about him, "I was ashamed. He made me feel like a small boy..."

"You were a small boy, Joe." She whispered. "You tried to protect your baby sister from him when you were how old?"

"I guess I was about six."

"Exactly Joe. You were only a baby yourself. The same age as Oscar is now." She shivered in his arms as she said that.

"What's wrong?"

"I was just imagining Oscar in that situation..." she whispered. "To know Derek actually hurt you at the same age..." she tightened her arm around his waist and turned her head to kiss his chest. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that." She told him gently.

"I did tell someone..." he finally whispered. "Not everything... no details but I showed someone the bruises he gave me that last time. They were around my neck and he'd grabbed my arms too."

"Who did you tell?" Lauren whispered.

"Maggie..." he told her.

"I hadn't realised you'd known her that long. Why didn't she tell anyone... like your mum?"

"Derek was friends with her husband. Sometimes mum would leave me with him and he'd take me over to her house so he could get drunk with her husband. Mum didn't know her then."

"Did her husband hit her too?"

"No... but he wasn't a good man either. He got into trouble all the time. He went to prison before Derek left... it must've been just after Alice was born because he was in prison when Maggie saw the bruises. She knew there was something going on but she never asked me about it. I think she was scared of what I'd tell her and she was scared of my dad. I started spending more time with her though and then when Derek left, Alice and I were at her house a lot. She'd look after us when mum was at work. I introduced mum to her... she was like an auntied to me and Alice. I've always been close to her." He's quiet for a few minutes before speaking again. "She got the cafe when her husband died in prison a couple of months after Derek left us. He had some savings and she was compensated because he died as a result of some issue at the prison. I don't know what it was. She had to take a loan out to get the full lease. Three years ago she was struggling and things were beginning to pick up at the club so I brought the cafe for her, paid off the loan and became a silent partner in the business."

"She's never mentioned it..."

"We don't talk about it... but she always has a table available for me when I go in there. She mainly runs the place on her own. I just help with the accounts and I helped her with some advertising just before I met you. She knows to ask if she needs any help with anything. I used to work there when I was still at school, after school and at the weekends."

"I wish I'd known all this, Joe. I wish I'd been able to help you through this."

"It's fine, baby girl. It's in the past now." He told her and she knew that was the conversation over with. She knew he didn't want to talk about it. He was uncomfortable discussing this sort of stuff. They lay in silence for several minutes. "Do you want to talk about the chat with our parents?" Joey asked softly.

"It went better than I thought it would. I thought mum and dad were going to kick off at one stage."

"In a way I think it helped that your dad knew about the pregnancy scare... he'd already discussed it with both of us so he was pretty much already on our side." Joey whispered. "I can't lie and say it didn't upset me when you were talking about the worst case scenario though." He added gently.

"I know it did but I think we need to be prepared for the worst. I know I do. I need to know you'd be okay if I'm not here. I couldn't do this otherwise." She whispered.

"So we're going to do this then?" he asked, rolling them so he was looking down at her beautiful face.

She nodded, her eyes shining up at him. "I guess we are."

"I've got a physio appointment in the morning. Why don't we see if we can get five minutes with your consultant and speak to him about this? See if there's anything we need to do once you come off the medication to keep you well."

"Okay."

"I love you baby girl." Joey whispered.

"I love you too, Joe."

TBC

A/N: So Alice knows everything now... What do you think she'll do now? Didn't Lauren sound grown up when she was talking to Alice? Maggie's back story was a bit of a late addition but I kind of like it. Anyway back tomorrow... with two chapters (because the next one is a tough one and with the show tomorrow as well... I can't end the day like that. Too much misery.)