26th April 2013. Despite feeling a little despondent at the moment... but here's the next chapter. Time to find out what's wrong with Joey... Can they fix it? Don't put your tissues away yet guys, you may need them...

Chapter 20.

Lesley knocked on the door, having learnt when he was several years younger to never just walk into his room – for either of their sanities. After a couple of seconds Joey called out 'come in.' She pushed open the door and stood in the doorway. Her son was sitting on the edge of the bed but she could tell he was hiding something. "What's going on, Joey?" she asked him softly.

"I don't know if I can do it, mum..." he whispered.

Lesley's heart fell and she walked into the room and shut the door behind her. She went and sat beside him on the bed. "Talk to me." She said.

He pulled his legs up onto the bed, crossing them in front of him, then reached under his pillow and pulled out a pile of papers. "I've been reading these."

"What are they?"

"The doctor gave them to us. They say what Lauren could be facing if her condition gets worse." He said, clutching them in his fist. "Lauren's kept saying that we needed to be prepared for the worst to happen. I wanted to try and pretend it wouldn't happen but in my head I knew she was right. So I've been reading about it in these." He waves the leaflets in his hand, "Today was the first time I saw her have the tests but it was only a few of them. I've been to her appointments with her but today I guess it just hit home a bit more. I don't know if I can watch her go through this. What if the worst happens, mum? What the hell will I do? I can't raise a child on my own. I don't want to raise a child on my own. I want to do this with Lauren. If she's not here with me, I don't want to do it... so maybe we shouldn't do this. Maybe this isn't what we should be doing."

"You need to discuss this with Lauren, Joey. Not shut her out."

"I..."

"Don't deny it, Joey. It was clear at tea that you were pulling away from her, from all of us." Lesley paused, "Joey, she was helping me in the kitchen and she was crying because she thinks you've changed your mind..."

"She knows I'm having second thoughts?"

"Not about the baby, Joey. She thinks you're having second thoughts about her..." He actually gasped when she finished speaking and he got to his feet. "Joey, wait..." Lesley said to her son, grabbing his hand before he left the room. "Before you go down there, you need to think about what you're going to say to her." He sat back down. "If you tell her what you've just said to me, you will break her heart. Having this baby is really important to her and you'd discussed this. You said so yourself yesterday. You'd both agreed this was what you wanted... you telling her now you've changed your mind, well it might make her wonder if the two of you being together is the right move too." He flinched at her words. "What made you change your mind?"

"I read these. It tells you every little thing that could possibly go wrong." He looked up at her and there were tears in his eyes, "I thought the worst that could happen was her condition could worsen... these say she could die. She could die, mum and then I'm all alone. Or... raising a child on my own. These make it seem more real."

"Firstly you wouldn't be on your own. I would never allow that to happen and nor would your sister or Lauren's parents. Secondly, Lauren's doctor hasn't indicated there is anything you should be concerned about with Lauren's heart, has he?" Joey shook his head. "Then I think you're overreacting about this. Yes, it's something you need to be aware of but don't panic about something that hasn't happened yet and may never happen."

"I guess..."

"You need to talk to her and reassure her, Joey. Tell her about your concerns and I think she'll surprise you. She's stronger than you think she is, Joey. She got through those couple of days when you were really sick. She refused to believe you wouldn't be okay. She was there for you when you first woke up and she never lost hope that you would get better during all that time, even when you were pushing her away and being so cruel to her." She pulled her son into her arms and hugged him tightly, brushing her hands through his hair. "I'm going to go downstairs and tell her to come up here and the two of you are going to talk. About everything. Don't let this fear consume you, Joe. She will need your strength to have this baby. I have no doubt that you can do this. I think you'll be an amazing father. And the two of you are going to be happy for many long years." Lesley pulled away from him slightly and kissed his forehead, "I'm very proud of you, Joey. I like the man you've grown up to become and being a father will only make you grow more. Don't run from this."

"What if I can't do it? What if I can't be a good parent?"

"Do you think you're the only person who's ever felt this way? All parents, especially first time ones, feel like this, Joey. I'm sure Lauren is just as worried about this as you are." She got to her feet and looked down at her son and saw he was thinking through everything she'd just said to him. It was the best she could hope for. She left the room and walked back down to the lounge. "You should go upstairs, Lauren." She said to her softly.

"Is he okay?" she whispered.

"He's ready to talk now." Lauren looks at her face, staring straight into her eyes, "Just give him a chance to tell you everything, okay?" Lesley says softly. Lauren nodded and got to her feet. Lesley squeezed her hand as she walked past.

"What's going on, mum?" Alice asked when it was just the two of them in the room.

Lesley sat next to her daughter, "Things are going to be changing around here, Alice."

"They already have, mum. Lauren's here now."

"It's likely they might be changing again."

"How?"

"It won't be happening for a while, don't worry about it, okay."

"Why am I always the last to know, mum?"

"Joey will tell you when he's ready for you to know, okay? It's nothing bad, I promise."

"I'll believe you."

*JL*JL*

"Hey baby..." Lauren whispered, standing in the same place his mum has occupied earlier. He looked up at her and she couldn't miss the tears on his face. "Joe?" she said. Her insecurities from earlier returned in a flash. "Are you finishing with me?"

He was standing in front of her before she could even finish her question, his lips pressed against hers in a passionate kiss and he pressed her body against the doorframe. "Never think that..." he breathed against her lips, "We're going to be together until the day I die..."

"The day you die?" she whispered, frowning at him.

He pulled away from her, his face hardening slightly. "I don't like to think about..."

"About me dying?" she asked him softly. He'd turned his face away from her but she reached for him and turned it back towards her, brushing his cheek with her thumb. She could see on his face that what she'd said was what had been bothering him. "Tell me what you're thinking?"

"I'm scared I'm going to lose you..." he whispered. "I don't want to. I need you in my life... too much. I didn't cope without you the last time and I can't go back to being the person I was before I knew you."

She took his hand in hers and pulled him over to the bed, pushing him to sit and climbing on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close to him. "You're not going to lose me, baby." She whispered to him.

"You can't promise me that... you don't know what's going to happen."

"I can promise you I will do everything I can to stay with you. I don't want to lose you either. The thought of going through the whole pregnancy and not being there to raise our child with you... it makes me sad whenever I think about it. I hate thinking about it but I have to because I know there is a tiny chance it could happen... and I'd be silly to ignore that, Joe. I need to know that everyone will be there for you if the really unlikely event was to happen because I need to know that you'll be okay. You and our child."

"I'll never be okay with that, Lauren. Not if you aren't here." He whispered to her.

"Then the two of us need to work together to make sure I get through this." She told him gently. She stared at him but he said nothing. "What are you thinking?"

He looks deeply into her eyes, "I'm thinking maybe we shouldn't take the risk..." he murmured, not looking away from her face.

"You were okay with this when we spoke the other day."

"I hadn't read those leaflets then." Joey said.

"Show me them..." she asked him softly. He reached further back on the bed and then passed her the small pile. He sat silently as she read each of them in turn. "You do know these are worst case scenarios..." she said gently.

"Doesn't mean they won't happen. I'm sure the people in these leaflets all thought the ones they read were worst case scenarios too."

"Okay..." she whispered. "So you really don't want to do this?" she asked.

"I don't know, baby girl. I'm so confused... All I know for certain is I don't want to lose you and I'm not sure I can watch you die."

"Baby, you do know that I'm not going to get better from this, right?" He nodded. "If we're going to be together forever, then one day you might have to watch me get sicker and sicker and maybe even die."

"But doing this is an extra risk we don't have to take... We can work to try and ensure that never happens."

"One day, I'm going to die, Joey. Even if my heart condition never gets worse. No one lives forever, baby."

"And the day you do... will be the same day I go." He whispered.

She jumped off his lap and stared down at him, "Joseph Branning... if you ever say anything like that again, you won't have to put what you said into action because I'll kill you myself."

"Joey..." he whispered.

"No! Your last statement warrants a Joseph Branning and if I knew your middle name, I'd be using that too." She put her hands on her hips and frowned when she saw the look on his face, "Now, I'm going to go and walk to the shop down the road and get some chocolate... because, despite the health kick I've been on, I'm craving it and have been for days. When I get back, we're going to continue this chat and the first thing you're going to say to me is that what you just said was the emotions talking and you would never ever do that. We are not Romeo and Juliet, baby. We're not star crossed lovers. We're very much in love with each other and we've been thinking about taking the next step and having a family. Just like any other couple who are in a serious committed relationship like we are. Try thinking about that too, rather than focusing on what hasn't happened yet." She grabbed her leather jacket from the top of one of the boxes and jogged down the stairs and out of the front door.

*JL*JL*

"Daddy..." she whispered into her phone.

"Lauren... it's late, is everything okay?"

"I just needed a chat."

Max glanced at his sleeping wife and climbed out of the bed, making his way out of their room and slipping down the stairs. "What's wrong, babe?" He heard her begin to cry and his heart broke. It took him back to a time just over six months ago, the sound of her sobs echoing through the speaker. "Lauren, talk to me. Don't do this to me, again... please, babe."

"I haven't been drinking, daddy. Joey and I had a disagreement and I'm too angry to go back there. I needed to clear my head. I needed to talk it through with someone; with you." She said softly.

"Where are you?"

"Outside their house."

"Your house." He reminded her.

"I'm not sure it's going to be my house, dad."

"I don't know what your argument was about and you don't have to tell me, Lauren. You're an adult now and you need to fight your own battles. I know I can't be there for you all the time. However, you are talking to the expert on how to screw up a relationship... so I'm going to ask you a few questions. Do you love him?"

"More than I thought it was possible to..." she whispered.

"Then you need to work out whatever the problem was because it sounds to me like you'll never be happy if you aren't with Joey."

"Dad..." Lauren paused, "He told me that when I die, he's going to go the same day. I can't live with that on my conscience." She was silent for a few seconds, "If Lesley and Alice knew what he was thinking, they would be devastated."

"Why were you talking about you dying, Lauren?" Max asked in alarm.

"He's panicking about me getting sick if I come off the medication and is reconsidering the whole baby thing... all he can focus on is how he can't watch me die. I was just trying to point out to him that I'm going to die one day, even if I didn't have the illnesses I have. Then he said that and I got really angry and left the house to get some chocolate, I'm too angry to go back in there and face him."

"You can't sit outside the house all night, Lauren. That's not healthy either."

She sighed. "I know."

"Look, go inside and sort things out with him. Let him speak first, babe. I'm sure he'll take the first step. I'll come over in the morning and have a chat with him."

"What about?"

"What it's like watching the woman you love more than pretty much anything in your life battle an illness that could kill them." Max said softly.

Lauren swallowed the lump in her throat, "Thanks dad," she whispered. "I'll see you tomorrow."

*JL*JL*

Joey was sitting in the lounge when she walked back into the house. Lesley and Alice must've already gone to bed. "Come here," he said softly. Despite her reluctance to do so, Lauren took her dad's words to heart and did as Joey asked. He pulled her onto his lap and she rested her head on his shoulder. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the bar of chocolate she'd brought earlier. She opened the wrapper and broke off a chunk and held it out to him. He leant forward and pulled it into his mouth, his lips brushing across her finger. "I'm sorry for what I said."

"Please tell me you'd never do that, baby. Your mum and sister would be devastated."

"Like I'll be devastated if you die." He whispered. "When you die..." he added in a murmur.

"I spoke to my dad..." Lauren said. "He's coming to speak to you tomorrow. He knows some of what you're going through." She watched his face, seeing it absorb what she'd just said.

"I thought about everything you said." He said softly.

"And...?"

"You're right. I was forgetting about all of the good things and just focusing on the negative."

"What good things?"

"That the baby would be a combination of the two of us. I have this image of a little boy in my head that I can't shake. He's got your eyes and your smile." Lauren smiled at him. Joey kissed her softly. "There's a large part of me that wants to see our child growing in here..." he whispers, his hand slipping beneath her top and resting on her skinny stomach.

"Me too..." she admitted. "Does that mean...?"

"I'm not sure. I'd like to speak to your dad tomorrow first before I make any firm decisions." He glanced at her, "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is." She kissed him gently. "I'm glad it's not a no now... I know it's not a yes either but I can live with a maybe for a day or so."

"Do you want to go upstairs?" he asked her softly. "I owe you a reward, if I remember rightly." She nodded her head and Joey rose to his feet, Lauren in his arms. He walked up the stairs and into their room. He lowered her onto the bed and slowly and lovingly removed her clothes. She watched him and her arousal climbed as he brushed his hands and lips over her body. "I'm sorry for earlier..." he whispered against her stomach.

"I forgive you." She said as her hands brushed through his hair. "Don't ever say that again though, Joe."

"Okay." His fingers played with the sides of her knickers and then he was pushing them over her hips and down her legs. He kissed her stomach again and slowly descended lower. He kissed her clit and Lauren moaned softly. He looked up at her and he could see the desire on her face as she looked at him through hooded eyes.

Lauren smiled down at him and he winked at her as he moved his mouth lower and kissed her opening. She moaned again and widened her legs, giving him the access to her easier. The last time he'd done this her sister had interrupted them and while there was no danger of that tonight, it didn't mean the threat wasn't still present. This would be the first time they'd done anything in this house with his mother and sister also there and Lauren was preoccupied by this. That was until Joey moved both her legs so they rested on his shoulders. His mouth was back on her, his tongue brushing at her opening over and over again. He pushed his tongue into her body and another moan slipped from her lips. He continued his actions on her and Lauren could feel her peak tantalisingly close. "Joe... Joe... Joe..." she murmured, her hips shifting slightly on the bed as he worked her fervently. Just as she thought she was going to reach her goal, he pulled away from her slightly, his mouth kissing the insides of her thighs as he allowed her to calm down. She tried to press his mouth back on her with her legs but he wouldn't let her. "Joey, please..." she whimpered.

"Patience, baby girl." He chuckled. He moved back to her and firstly sucked on her clit, then circled it repeatedly with his tongue. Lauren's hands clutched at his head, trying to press him further against her but he wouldn't let her win. He thrust two fingers inside her, stroking across her inner wall tenderly as his mouth clamped on her clit again. Another finger slipped inside and Lauren moaned as all three brushed over that amazing spot. She closed her eyes and that was the moment Joey stunned her completely. He pulled away from her and her eyes shot open, frowning as she looked at him. "Relax, babe." He whispered.

"Difficult..." she muttered, trying to rub her thighs together.

He laughed softly and gripped an ankle in each of his hands, moving her feet up to her bum and pushing them further apart. "Close your eyes, baby girl. Let yourself feel everything I'm about to do to you." She did as he said and he saw her bite her lip when his tongue moved backwards and forwards over her clit. Because of how he was holding her legs, she had very little movement now but that didn't stop her from trying. He pulled his mouth away again and heard her sigh. He blew a gentle cool breath over the nub and heard her gasp this time. Her thighs began to quiver as he inhaled and repeated his last action. He knew he wouldn't be able to make this last much longer; she was far too close now. His mouth slipped lower and he licked the length of her opening, tasting the wetness she was already producing. His tongue slipped inside and he brushed the tip over the sensitive wall and he heard cry out his name. Louder than she no doubt intended to be but probably not loud enough to wake his family. He could feel her body pulsing around his tongue and he lapped up her juices, pleased he'd been able to give her this after the last few hours of pain he'd caused. He crawled up her body and she stared up at him, a shocked expression on her face. "Did you like that baby?" he asked her.

"You know I did." She whispered. "Aren't you wearing too many clothes? In fact, why are you wearing any clothes when I'm lying here naked?"

"This was about you... not me." He told her, kissing her neck.

"Without you, there is no me, Joe. You complete me in a way that no one else could." She whispered.

He lifted his head and stared at her, "Stop..." he said softly. She bit her lip, frowning at him. "Stop taking them..." he said, clarifying what he meant.

"Really?" she whispered.

"Really," he told her, kissing her lips. "I want to..." he murmured against her mouth.

"I love you, Joey."

"I love you too, baby girl."

"So are you going to ravage me now?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Only about twenty three hours of the day..."

"Only twenty three?"

"Well, a girl needs her beauty sleep..."

"Some girl's maybe... some, like you, it comes more naturally to."

"Charmer..." She smiled at him, her face growing pink at his compliment.

"Only person I'm interested in charming is you, baby girl." He whispered. He reached blindly for his bedside table and soon produced a foil square which he held out towards her. "Wanna help?" he asked softly. She took it from him with a smile and he pushed himself up from the bed, quickly removing his clothes before returning to her side. She eased the condom onto his length, gripping him in her small hand.

Lauren moved, pushing him slightly so he was lying on his back and then she was straddling his thighs. She brushed her hand on his length, "So ready to please me..." she whispered, watching her hand as she stroked him. "You've been waiting for this for a while now, haven't you?" she asked, glancing up at his face. He nodded, loving seeing the light-hearted side of his girlfriend. "Should I make you wait for it even longer?" she asked, her hand stilling on him.

"Babe..." he moaned and he saw the corners of her mouth quirk slightly.

She winked at him, then pushed herself up and slowly sank onto his length. Both of them groaned softly at the feeling of them joining again. Lauren set an easy pace, neither rushing nor stalling the moment for either of them. Joey's hands slid up her thighs and settled on her hips, his fingers pressing into her flesh as he changed the pace of her movements, speeding them slightly. Lauren's head fell back when she leant back slightly changing the angle he brushed within her. "Joey..." she whimpered, her eyes meeting his in a heated stare.

Joey pulled her body towards his and kissed her deeply, rolling them so he was now on top. He pulled almost all of the way out of her, their eyes locked on each other as he held his place. She moaned and tried to push herself back onto him but he was too strong and she couldn't do it. He sank back into her in one smooth thrust and she gasped at the sensations that brought on. He leant down and kissed her deeply as he continued to make love to her. They soon both cried out the other's name and Joey collapsed onto Lauren, both trying to catch their breath as the pleasure faded.

TBC

A/N: So all fixed... kind of. Back tomorrow with a Max/Joey chapter... should be interesting.

Pretty fed up with the show tonight. IF SOMEONE DOESN'T SLAP LUCY, I'M GOING TO GO AND DO IT! Poor Lauren... This has better just be a temporary blip... I feel a one-shot brewing...