9th May 2013. TISSUE WARNING... you may want to have some handy...

Chapter 43.

Lauren was still in bed the next morning and she only woke briefly when Joey kissed her forehead as he was leaving for work. He had a meeting with the accountant at the club this morning so despite the fact he'd much rather stay at home with Lauren he had to go into the office. Lauren herself was exhausted and she planned on having a nice relaxing day.

She got up mid morning and walked downstairs, going into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. She checked her mobile and found a text message from Joey.

Morning baby girl. Hope you're feeling good this morning. I should be home around lunch time and then I'm going to look after you... both of you. J x

She smiled as she read his message and put her mobile in her dressing gown pocket. He was such a doofus at times but it made her love him more, knowing how much he cared for her.

*JL*JL*

Joey was in the meeting with the accountant when his mobile rang. He reluctantly pressed the ignore button, feeling guilty for it but their discussion was reaching a critical point. For the first time since the club had opened Joey and his friends were thinking about opening a second venue. This meeting was to see if that decision was financially viable.

His mobile rang again and when Joey saw it was her again, his gut twisted. She knew he was having a meeting this morning. "Sorry guys, I need to take this." He said, picking up his phone and accepting the call, "Baby girl..."

"It hurts, Joe..." she sobbed down the phone and for Joey the world stopped turning, time standing still.

"Talk to me, babe..." he whispered, his focus on the love of his life as she cried down the phone.

"I'm cramping... I think I need to go to the doctor and I think I need to go now..."

Joey looked at his friends and they were watching him, seeing the worry on his face and were equally concerned. They both knew and loved Lauren... They could clearly see their best friend loved her deeply and they cared about them both, having known Joey since they were in the same class at the start of secondary school. Joey had told them an abridged version of what had happened the previous day. "I'll be there as quick as I can... Should you call an ambulance?" he asked her gently.

"I don't want to go to the hospital. I want to see my doctor. I trust her and I know she'll look after us." Lauren sobbed.

"Okay, baby girl... I'm leaving the office now. I'll be ten minutes. Do you want to stay on the phone till I get there?"

"No... you focus on driving home safely..." she whispered. "I love you, Joe."

"I love you too, babe." He ended the call and turned to his friends. "I've got to go home... Lauren's sick and needs to go to the doctors."

"Mr. Branning... we really need to have this conversation today before you make any decisions."

"Look, whatever John and Steve decide is fine with me, okay. I trust them to make the right choice. My priority is my wife. She always has and she always will come first." He was out of the door before anyone could say anything else and his car screeched out of the car park and headed back towards the house and Lauren. He actually got there two minutes earlier than he'd told her and he dashed through the front door and found Lauren sitting at the bottom of the stairs. "Lauren..." he said softly and she looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "Come on, sweetheart." He said quietly, picking her up in his arms and carrying her out to the car. "Do you have the phone number for the doctor?" he asked her. She passed him her mobile and he quickly dialled the number. "Hello, my name is Joey Branning, the doctor is looking after my wife. Um, I'm bringing her in to see her because she's experiencing cramps. She's just about eleven weeks pregnant." He paused and Lauren looked at his face, seeing the emotions on his face and feeling guilty for being the cause of them. "No, she doesn't want to go to the hospital... she wants to see her doctor." He paused again. "We'll be there in about fifteen, twenty minutes." He ended the call and started the car. The journey was quiet, both of them were tense. Neither of them even wanted to contemplate the possibility that they might be losing the baby they'd longed for for so long.

Joey pulled up in front of the clinic and they saw her waiting for them. They could see the concern on her face. She opened Lauren's door before Joey could get out of the car and helped her into a wheelchair. "Park the car, Joey. My assistant will show you through to my office when you come in." She said calmly before pushing Lauren into the building.

Joey was following behind them after a couple of minutes and a young girl showed him through to the doctor's office. Lauren was lying on the bed. She looked in his direction as he walked in the door and he moved to her side immediately, kissing her tenderly on the mouth. "What does the doctor say?" he asked softly.

"She's gone to get the ultrasound machine..." she said in a whisper. She looked up at him, "I'm scared, Joe."

"Me too, babe." He admitted. "Everything will..."

She put her hand over his mouth, "Don't say it, Joe. Don't tell me everything will be fine because you don't know that."

He closed his eyes and resignation washed over his face. He kissed her fingertips and she slowly dropped her hand. "I know. I wish I did." He told her.

The office door opened and they both looked at the doctor as she walked into the room. She pushed the ultrasound in with her. She was standing next to Joey and she looked at Lauren in concern, seeing her young patient was clearly in pain. "You really should've gone to the hospital, Lauren."

"I didn't want someone I didn't know to tell me... that I was losing our baby..." she whispered.

"Let's not jump to any conclusions just yet..." She began to prod Lauren's stomach gently. "When did the cramping start?"

"This morning, when I was walking back from the shops." She winced as the doctor pressed slightly harder. "Ow..."

"She had a scare yesterday..." Joey said. "My dad..." Words failed him as his mouth ran dry... He felt sick as the reality of the situation sunk in.

"Go on..." The doctor said to encourage him, looking at Joey and seeing the guilt on his face.

"We don't have a good relationship with him. He pushed her around yesterday..." Joey lowered his head, his hands clutching the edge of the bed. "He shoved her across the room and she landed on the couch hard. I was going to call you this afternoon to book an appointment with you to check her over." Lauren brushed her hand down his arm, trying to comfort him which managed to make him feel ever guiltier.

"Did you have any pain last night, Lauren?"

She shook her head, "No. Joey looked after me and I just slept for most of the evening and night. I would've gone to the hospital if I'd thought anything was wrong last night."

"Okay... well you've definitely got some abdominal pain. Do you know if you're bleeding at all?"

Lauren shook her head, "I've been too scared to look..." she whispered.

"Right, well I'm afraid we need to know, Lauren. I think Joey should help you to the toilets and you should check." Lauren started to cry. "I know this is difficult and something you don't want to face but we need to know. If the worst is happening and you are losing this baby, we need to make sure it happens properly or you will get really sick, very very quickly." She eased Lauren to a sitting position, placing her hand on her shoulder, "I know this is the last thing you want, Lauren. I understand that, I really do but you need to do this." She looked at Joey and nodded. He lifted her in his arms and carried her from the office to the nearby toilets. They returned a few minutes later.

"There wasn't any blood..." Lauren whispered, partially relieved but still concerned something was wrong.

"That's a good sign, Lauren. Okay, I'd like to do an ultrasound on you now and see if anything looks wrong."

"Could there still be a problem?" Joey asked softly.

"Let me have a look first," she said.

"Please don't hide it from us..." Lauren whispered.

"I don't think there is anything to worry about but I'd like to check on the scan first. At this stage, I don't want to worry you unnecessarily, more than you already are, okay?" Lauren lifted her shirt up and the doctor squirted some gel onto her stomach. The doctor put the probe over her stomach and studied the screen closely as she pressed down on Lauren's belly. "Well, everything looks okay, Lauren." She finally said. She turned the screen back towards them both, "See, this here is your baby. It's quite a bit more developed since the last time we looked." Lauren and Joey stared at the screen, Joey gripping Lauren's hand tightly. "See this is the head and the torso." She moved the probe slightly, "There are the arms and the legs." She said as they appeared and disappeared on the screen. "You're still progressing well, Lauren." She said with a smile.

"And the cramping?"

"It could just be your body expanding for your growing uterus. I'd like you to rest over the next few days and I'll see you at our appointment next week and we'll do another scan then."

"Thank you," Lauren whispered as the doctor wiped away the gel.

"It's what I'm here for, Lauren." Lauren pushed her top back down and Joey helped her sit up. "If the pain gets any worse, you should go straight to the hospital. If there is any bleeding, the same applies." They both nodded.

*JL*JL*

Joey led Lauren slowly back out to the car, both were relieved but at the same time the worry wasn't completely gone. They arrived home and Lauren went directly up to their room. She climbed wearily into the bed and shut her eyes, trying to forget what had just happened. She felt the bed shift behind her and felt Joey's arms wrap around her waist. His touch brought on the tears and she began to sob in his arms, "I was so scared..." she gasped.

"Me too, baby." He told her softly.

Lauren rolled over to face him and rested her head on his chest. "I feel like I was wasting their time. Maybe I panicked a little."

Joey lifted her chin and looked at her face, "You're allowed to panic, baby girl. After what happened yesterday it was worth us getting it checked out. I should've taken you to the hospital yesterday."

"You were just doing what I asked you to do, Joe." Lauren said, "Can you just hold me in your arms?" she asked him, "I want to feel protected and safe."

"Of course I can. And you always will be safe and protected when I'm around, baby girl." He kissed the top of her head, brushing his fingers through her hair. "Do you think we should tell our parents now?"

Lauren shook her head, "No... now more than ever I want to wait until we've had the scan next week." Tears flooded her eyes. "I want to make sure we don't tell them too soon." She started to cry much harder again and Joey pulled her closer to him.

"Shh, baby... it's going to be okay." He brushed his hand up and down her back, his fingers running through her hair. He eventually heard her sobs fade and a few minutes later she was asleep against him. Once he knew she was asleep it was the first time he allowed himself to react to what had happened. He quickly wiped the tears from his face, breathing deeply to try and tamp down his spiralling emotions he was feeling. She shifted slightly in his arms and Joey kissed her forehead. Not for the first time in his life he hated his father, although admittedly it was now more intense than it had ever been and he knew that if they lost this baby he would do everything in his power to make sure Derek Branning paid for it.

TBC

A/N: So another emotionally wrought chapter... Sorry. Anyway, back tomorrow...

I meant to post this before the episode tonight... but I guess, you're probably feeling as sad as I am about it all so I don't suppose this would make you feel much worse... Sorry if it has. WHY CAN'T ANY OF HER FRIENDS SEE HOW UNHAPPY SHE IS? AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!