15th May 2013. Wow, fifty chapters down already... and not finished yet. So here's the next chapter... and guess who's making a reappearance. I think it might be a certain little man. Enjoy!

Chapter 50.

Joey sat with Lauren in the lounge of number 5. Her head was resting against his chest and she was sleeping soundly. His second foot massage had worked a treat and she's dropped off within five minutes of him finishing. The front door opened and there was the sound of two pairs of footsteps.

"Hi Joey..." Oscar whispered as he stood next to the couch.

"Hi little man," he said softly.

"Is Laur okay?" he asked.

"She's just tired, little man. She's looking forward to seeing you. She's going to put you to bed tonight." Joey told him.

"Yay!" Oscar said excitedly.

"Ssh, Oscar," Max said, brushing his hand over his son's head. "Go and get changed out of your school uniform and then bring down something quiet you can play with down here."

"Okay, daddy." Oscar said, running out of the room and disappearing upstairs.

"How's our girl?" Max asked once he'd gone.

"Exhausted. Worried. Take your pick." Joey said, glancing up at his father-in-law.

"Did the doctor think there's anything to be worried about?"

"No. She just wants to check... Lauren's slightly higher risk for pre-eclampsia due to her heart condition but she doesn't think it's what this is, I don't think."

"Why don't you two stay here tonight?"

"Not sure Abi will help with Lauren's blood pressure." Joey said softly, looking down at his sleeping wife.

"She's not here."

"She's not?" Joey said.

"No." Max sat down. "She hasn't been here for a few weeks. We were going to tell you both but then you told us about the baby and we didn't want to worry Lauren."

"Where is she?" Joey asked. Max looked at the floor. "Where is she, Max?"

"We don't know." He finally said. "We think she left with Derek."

"What about Jay?"

"He doesn't know where she is either." Max admitted. "It's a mess, Joey."

"You need to tell Lauren."

"It will upset her too much," Max said.

"Lying to her will hurt her more..." Joey whispered.

Max knew he was right. "We'll tell her tonight, after Oscar has gone to bed."

*JL*JL*

Lauren sat next to Oscar as he lay in bed, "Laur... are you okay?"

"Why do you ask, little man?" she asked, frowning at him.

"Joey said you were tired earlier. Grownups don't normally sleep in the afternoon unless they're sick... like mummy was."

She hadn't realised how perceptive her brother was, "You're right grownups don't normally sleep in the afternoon but it's not because I'm sick, little man. I'm having a baby and that means I get tired easily and I need to rest more. That's all it was."

"So you're okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, little man." She told him, hoping she wasn't lying to him. "I'm just growing a baby inside of me and it takes a lot of work so I need a lot of rest."

"So am I going to be an uncle, like Uncle Jack and Uncle Derek?"

"Yes, you'll be an uncle, just like Uncle Jack... but I think you can be a bit better than Uncle Derek, eh?" She told him with a smile. "You're going to be the cool uncle because you're going to be only a few years older than this baby. He or she is going to look up to you and think you're the best uncle they could possibly have."

"Can I be an uncle now? I want to be it now..."

"You've got to wait a bit longer yet, little man. I'm still growing this little one," she said, putting her hand on her belly, "You remember how I said it takes a lot of work... it takes a lot of time too. So we have to wait a few more months yet."

"How many?"

"Not till after Christmas... it'll be February, very nearly March."

"That's a long time..." he whispered in disappointment.

She brushed her stomach as she looked at her brother. "It is... but the longer the baby's in here, the better it is for the baby."

Oscar yawned and rolled onto his side, "I guess I should go to sleep then... then it'll be one less sleep till I get to be an uncle."

Lauren giggled and stood up from the bed. She bent forward and kissed her brother on the forehead gently, "Night little man." She whispered, seeing his eyes already closed. She walked down the stairs and into the lounge. "I just told Oscar about the baby." She told them, "He's excited about being an uncle." She sat down, nestling up against Joey's side.

"We need to tell you something, babe." Max said.

"Is it something to do with the baby?" she said, sitting up and staring at Joey in horror. "What didn't you tell me?"

"It's nothing to do with the baby, Lauren. I told you everything the doctor told me, I promise." Joey said, kissing her forehead and pulling her back against him.

"Joey's right... it's not the baby, sweetheart." Tanya said. "It's Abi."

"What's she done now?"

"She's left." Max said, "We think she went away with Derek."

Joey watched her face as they broke the news to her. He saw her shut her eyes and her fingers tightened on his shirt briefly. The room was silent for several minutes. "Can we go to bed, Joe? I'm really tired..." she whispered.

"Are you sure?" He asked her softly.

"Yeah. I'm just going to go to the toilet. I'll see you upstairs, yeah?"

"Okay." He said, helping her to her feet. She walked from the room and Joey turned back to her parents.

"That didn't go quite as planned." Max said.

"I'll talk to her..." Joey said, standing and going to follow his wife. "We'll see you in the morning." He added.

*JL*JL*

He stood in the bedroom doorway, watching her slowly remove her clothes, "Don't you want to talk about it?" he asked her.

"Nothing to talk about..." she murmured. She looked around the room that used to be hers. It had changed since she'd left this house. There was now a double bed instead of the two single beds. Hopefully the sheets had been changed since Abi had left. Lauren shivered at the very thought of it.

Joey strode into the room and began to peel off his clothes. She was stood in the middle of the room, looking unsure of herself. Joey sat on the edge of the bed once he was in just his underwear. "Come here, baby girl." He whispered.

She walked over to him and let him pull her down onto the bed with him. He held her in his arms, her head resting above his heart. "It's been a long day." She whispered, turning her head and kissing his chest. "What time do we have to be at the clinic tomorrow?" she asked.

"Any time. We can go home first and change."

"Okay." She said softly. They were both quiet for some time. "Do you think she's with him?" she asked.

"It sounds like she is. She disappeared the same time he did..."

"Why haven't they spoken to the police about it?" she asked him.

"I don't know, Lauren but she's an adult."

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Lauren asked him softly.

"Well, they seem to agree about most things. I actually think they'll be okay together." Joey murmured to her. "Apart from her thoughts about us, you know she's not a stupid girl. If she finds herself in trouble she'll make sure she gets away from him."

"I hope she comes to her senses soon." Lauren whispered.

Joey didn't say anything else, feeling her body relax as she succumbed to sleep. Joey wished he could do the same but it was impossible. He was tense after seeing how Lauren had broken down today. He was aware her hormones were all over the place because of the pregnancy but she seemed even more emotional than he'd anticipated she would be. He was thinking about asking Tanya about it. She knew Lauren better than he did and she'd gone through her own pregnancies. She would know if he was worrying about nothing. The decision made he knew he wanted to speak to her about it now. He pulled away from Lauren slowly, making sure he didn't wake her up. He kissed her forehead softly and then quietly climbed out of bed. Throwing his clothes back on, he made his way down the stairs. He felt awkward once he was in the hallway and stood just outside the room. Max glanced up and noticed him there. "Everything okay?" he asked, seeing there was something on his mind.

"Do you have a few minutes?" Joey asked quietly.

"Sure, come in Joey. Is it just me or both of us?"

"Both of you, I guess... actually mainly Tanya." He said as he walked into the room and sat in the armchair. He stared at his aunt and uncle, not sure where to start.

"Is Lauren okay?" Tanya asked him gently.

Joey laughed, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about really... but in answer to your question, she's asleep. She's worried about Abi... we both are."

"Abi is more than able to look after herself and she knows where we are if she needs us... now do you want to tell us what's wrong?" Max said.

"I'm worried about Lauren..." he said, staring at the floor beneath his feet. "This is new to me and I don't know... she seems more emotional than I'd expected her to be. The way she broke down this afternoon, that's not her." He glanced up at Tanya, "Is this usual? Or am I making a mountain out of nothing. I just don't know if I should be concerned or not."

"This is normal, Joey. I mean, no two pregnancies are the same. Each time I was pregnant was vastly different from the other times but her hormones are completely out of whack at the moment. I spoke to her earlier and she's just as confused by it as you are. She knows she's not reacting the way she usually would but she can't help it. As for this afternoon, I'm not surprised with how she reacted... I'd said to her that she needed to speak to the doctor at her appointment next week when she had the first nosebleed today. The second one just scared her." Tanya smiled at him, "Joey, you're doing fine. She needs you to be there for her like you were this afternoon. I know her reaction would've been much worse if you hadn't been there. She relies on you to support her; just like you did this afternoon. You were great with her, Joey. Her friend's were pretty impressed too. Seeing this side of Lauren is new to them. She's changed a lot in the last couple of years, grown up so much and mostly that's down to you."

Joey blushed slightly at her compliment. "I'm just worried I'm going to fuck this up."

"Joey, everyone feels like that." Max told him, "I was petrified when my first wife was pregnant with Bradley and I did screw it up. I was just as worried when Tan was pregnant with Lauren."

"What if I'm as crap a father as Derek was with me?" he asked hesitantly.

"I seriously doubt you will be, Joey." Tanya said, "You're so good with Oscar and it'll be no different with your own child..."

"Tan's right. The fact you know how bad Derek was with you will help you be better. And if you're ever unsure, or need any advice, just ask." Max said, "I don't profess to be the best father in the world but I'd like to think I've not done too badly with my kids."

"Thanks, both of you."

"You're going with her to the clinic I take it?" Max asked.

"Yeah... she's petrified of needles and won't let her take the blood if I'm not there." Her parents both smiled as he said that.

"I remember she was the same when she had her jabs as a child."

"She kicks up a bit of a fuss when they take blood for her tests at the hospital. Not sure how they manage to convince her to do it when she goes on her own." Max added.

Joey yawned. "Thanks. I needed to talk to someone... it was all whirring round my head and driving me mental."

"We're here for you, Joey. If you ever need us." Tanya said.

"I'd better go back upstairs. I don't want Lauren to wonder where I am if she wakes up." He told them. "Thanks again. Night."

"Night Joey." They both replied.

Joey walked back up to his wife and stripped off his clothes. He climbed over Lauren and lay down beside her. He was feeling much calmer now. He stared at Lauren, seeing her still sleeping peacefully. She rolled over in her sleep and shifted towards him, curling her body around him. Joey saw a smile drift onto her face and he kissed her tenderly.

TBC

A/N: How sweet is Oscar? What did you think about the rest of the chapter? Back tomorrow... with another trip to the doctor. Is it anything serious?