18th May 2013. So it's time for a mother/daughter chat. It's not something I've really done before... so I hope you like it.

Chapter 54.

Tanya and Lauren walked into the house and into the kitchen. "Do you want a drink, Lauren?"

"A little... but I'm guessing that's not what you want me to say..." she replied with a smile.

"I didn't mean booze, Lauren, obviously."

"A hot chocolate would be great. Tea and coffee just stop me from sleeping and seem to give bump the jitters. I'm trying to avoid them for now."

Tanya made the drinks and then sat opposite her daughter. "Do you still think of drinking, Lauren?" she asked softly.

"Sometimes." Lauren shrugged. "It doesn't happen as often as it used to... and since we started trying for bump it's been even less frequent. Today was a difficult day..." she whispered her last admission.

"Why was today so difficult, sweetheart? What made today so much harder than any other?"

"Joey and I had a fight." She said. "How do you do it? How do you trust dad?"

"Don't you trust, Joey?"

"I do... I think I do. I know he won't cheat on me but I sometimes struggle to believe what he tells me."

"Like what?"

"When he tells me I'm beautiful... I don't know. I guess I doubt what he's saying. I want to believe him, really I do and sometimes I do but there's always this small nagging voice in my head, telling me something will happen to change it all." She looked down at her mug contemplatively, "I think I've been waiting for it ever since the day I met him." she admitted softly.

"Your dad and I have done this to you, haven't we?"

"I don't know, mum." She whispered.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." Tanya said, gently. "We really messed you up, didn't we? No wonder you find it hard to trust Joey. Most of your childhood revolved around lies." Tanya reached for Lauren's hand and squeezed it softly. "As for your earlier question about how I trust your dad, I'm not sure I know how to answer it for you." The room falls silent for a couple of minutes, "The first time your dad cheated on me... I didn't think I'd ever get over it. You and Abs were so young at the time. We wanted to protect you from it so our rows were behind closed doors. It was a brief affair and he came back to me. He told me it was a one-time thing and it wouldn't happen again." She's quiet for a few seconds, "I wanted to believe him so badly. I couldn't think about the possibility of him lying to me so I took him back and for a while it was good again. We were good and we were happy." Lauren squeezed her hand now as she heard the slight catch in her voice on the last word. "The second time it was more difficult to forgive him and I really struggled when he told me it wouldn't happen again. Eventually though I let him back for the sake of you and your sister. I knew what it was like to grow up without a father and I didn't want to do that to my kids."

"Did you ever regret it?" Lauren asked in a whisper. "Taking him back, I mean?"

"The only time I doubted my decisions was with Stacey. She was more serious than any of the others had been. I could see he really cared for her. He might have even loved her, I suppose. You were both older then and I could see how much our problems were affecting you but I also had Oscar to consider. When we got back together that time, it was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. The upshot of it was that I still love your father. I always have. I think I always will."

"Do you think he'll do it again?" she asked.

"This time I really don't. We've been through so much in the last few years and we're really happy. I guess that makes me sound naive, still believing him when he's lied to me so many times before but I can't help how I feel. And I guess he always comes back to me... whenever he's strayed, it's always me he comes back to. I know he loves me... I just have to make sure we work at it." She looked up at her eldest daughter, "That's what marriage is all about, darling. You have to work at it. You have to make sure you remind your husband why you got together in the first place. And he has to do the same for you. It's not always easy." She paused briefly. "Now why was today different?" she asked again.

"My consultant told me that my heart isn't working as well as it was. He's told us we can't have sex. I guess I'm scared that he'll go off me if I can't give him what he wants and needs. I worry that in a few weeks he won't want to sleep with me anyway... that I'll be so huge he'll see me for what I really am. He'll realise I'm not what he thinks I am." Tears were once more running down her face as she stared at her half-full mug.

"Lauren, you must realise the way Joey looks at you. It wouldn't surprise me if you are the only person he ever properly sees. He barely looks at any other women. He's been like that the whole time I've known him. The doctor who treated him when he had his stroke even commented on it. He said that Joey would look at you and that was it. He was completely unaware of anyone else in the room. Since you've become pregnant, Lauren... he's only got worse. His desire for you is written all over his face when he looks at you. You saw him in the Vic. Did that look like a man who thinks you're huge? He practically worships the ground you walk on, sweetheart."

"That might change..." she whispered.

"You really think so?" Tanya asked.

"But I can't sleep with him..." she said, her face flushing at that admission to her mother.

"When Joey was in hospital, you couldn't sleep with him, could you?" Lauren shook her head, "Did that make you go off him? Were you any less attracted to him?"

"I guess not..."

"Lauren, your husband loves you, more than anything else. I know that... everyone knows that. What I don't understand is why you don't realise it."

"I don't know, mum." She whispered. Tanya wasn't sure she truly believed her but let the matter rest. Lauren yawned several times.

"Why don't you go and lie down on the couch, darling? You look really tired."

"I am tired."

"I'll go back over the road and tell Joey where you are." Lauren slowly got to her feet, leaning slightly on the table as she did so. "You okay?"

"Just dizzy." She whispered.

Tanya stood and put her arms around her daughter's waist, carefully pulling her against her body and then slowly walking her into the lounge. She helped her sit down on the couch and then urged her to lie down. She pulled the throw down from the back of the couch and draped it over her. "You rest, sweetheart." She said softly as she brushed her fingers through Lauren's hair. She stayed with her for a while, knowing she was asleep within a couple of minutes. She leant forward and kissed her daughter's forehead softly before leaving the house and heading back to the Vic. As soon as she was in the pub she walked over to where Joey sat. She could see he was pre-occupied, barely paying attention to the conversation around him. He saw her approaching.

"How worried should I be?" he asked her softly.

"How about we have a little chat, Joey?" She said. He stood and followed her to a table in the corner.

"So... is she okay?"

"Her hormones are doing a real number on her, darling. Add in her natural insecurities and the mess her dad and I have made throughout her childhood and she's pretty confused about everything."

"How do I convince her?"

"You just need to keep showing her, Joey."

"You know I love her, right?"

"I know Joey. It's written all over your face. I have no doubts about how you feel about Lauren... and in her heart she doesn't either. Her hormones are ricocheting through her body. I can tell you of so many times when I was pregnant that the hormones really hit me. There were times when I would cry for hours on end for no apparent reason but it felt like the end of the world to me. It doesn't make sense, Joey. There's no rhyme or reason for it... it's just part of the pregnancy."

"Is it going to get worse?"

"Possibly. Pregnancy is a wonderful thing, darling, but it has its down sides. Lauren skipped the whole morning sickness part of it. It seems the hormones are making up for it."

"Is she back at the house?" he asked softly.

"Yeah. She was exhausted."

"Is it okay if I head back there?"

"Of course it is, Joey. I think she'd really like you to be there."

"Thanks... mum." He said softly. He leant forward and hugged her. "Can you let mum and Alice know where I am?"

"I will." She said, passing her keys to her son-in-law.

*JL*JL*

Joey walked into his in-laws house and hung his coat on a hook in the hallway. He walked softly into the lounge and found his wife lying on the couch. He sat in front of the couch, staring at her face. He brushed her hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. He saw a small smile tug at her mouth. He paused to see if she was awake but she continued to sleep. His fingers grazed her cheek and she whispered his name. He needed to tell her how he felt but he didn't want to wake her. He placed his head on the couch, next to Lauren's and then slipped his hand under the blanket that was covering her and settled it on bump. He felt at peace at last. He closed his eyes for just a second.

*JL*JL*

Lauren opened her eyes and saw Joey's face lying near hers. He didn't look very comfortable lying as he was. His hand was creating a warmth on bump that seemed to be spreading through her body. She shifted slightly, watching his face as his eyelids fluttered open. He said nothing, just stared at her in silence. "I'm sorry for the way I've been behaving, baby."

"I understand." He whispered to her, moving forward and kissing her tenderly.

"You look uncomfortable..." she told him softly.

"I've been better." He admitted.

"Come here..." she whispered and his mouth quirked slightly.

He pulled himself up from the floor, his hand moving from bump and making Lauren shiver at the loss of heat. "Where do you want me?" he asked.

She shifted back on the couch and patted it in front of her. "Right here."

"You sure?" he asks. She nodded. He shifted so he was lying beside her, pulling her close to him so she was leaning on his chest. "So I spoke to your doctor earlier..." he whispered.

"What did she say?"

"She spoke to your consultant to get an idea of the situation."

"And?"

"After talking to him they've agreed we can continue a sexual relationship." Lauren's face blushed. "We've just got to be careful and if you experience any heart palpitations, we're to stop immediately. If it doesn't calm down, we're to go to the hospital."

"So we can still..."

"We can, baby girl..." he told her softly.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered to him again.

"What for?"

"It must've been difficult to have that conversation."

"I just want you to be happy, baby girl." He said.

"I want you so badly..." she whispered, "I think my hormones are having another affect on me."

"Are they?"

She nodded again, "I'm really horny..." she whispered. Her hand brushed down his chest, settling on his groin. "Shall we?" she whispered.

"Do we have time?" he asked her.

"I think so."

"Do you want to do this then?" he breathed, staring into her eyes. It was an unnecessary question because he could see in the depth of her eyes how she felt. He leant forward and kissed her tenderly. His hand slipped under her T-shirt and settled on bump. Lauren moaned into his mouth as his hand brushed her skin softly. He continued his movement as he ravished her mouth and then there it was again.

"Ow."

"I will never grow tired of feeling that," he whispered, as his fingers brushed across where their child had kicked.

"Bloody hurts from where I'm sitting." She told him.

"Don't listen to mummy, bump. She loves you really... she's just a bit jealous because you're pulling me away from her a little." His hand is still place on Lauren's stomach but he's looking into her eyes as he spoke. "You know I love you, right?" he whispered.

"I do." She said softly. "Touch me, Joe." She added.

His hand slid down her belly, pushing beneath her maternity jeans and into her knickers. He caressed her gently and her breath caught. "Your face right now..." he whispered. "Seeing you like this before me and knowing it's me that makes you feel this way is what our relationship means to me, baby girl. I'll admit I've been with plenty of girls in my past... but none of them ever reacted the way you do when I touch you." He stroked her a little harder, seeing her bite her lip as her hips shifted slightly on the couch. "The way your body reacts to my touch, it just reminds me how we are made for each other. No one could ever make you feel the way I do... and it's the same in reverse. You make me feel like no one else ever has. I don't want to be with anyone else, baby girl because no one else completes me the way you do." A tear ran down her face and he kissed it away. He moved his hand lower and a finger slipped inside her. She moaned his name, her hand clutching at his arm.

"Joe..." she breathed. "I love you, baby. And I know you love me... I'm sorry I doubted you." She gasped when he brushed that special spot, "I don't know why I've been like this. My head is so messed up right now. I can't seem to keep anything straight."

"It's okay. Your mum told me what it was like when she was pregnant. She thinks your hormones are messed up again. It'll get better, I know it will." He pushed a second finger in her, his thumb pressing on her clit, rubbing backwards and forwards. "I can feel you're getting close, baby girl. Let me do this for you. Let me give you this."

"I want you..." she whispered.

"You've got me. You just might have to wait until we get home before that happens. I don't think we're going to be on our own for much longer. And much as I'd love to do that, here and now, I don't want to be disturbed partway through. I want to take my time with you tonight. I want to take care of my beautiful wife and show her how much I love and desire her. Can you wait a little longer for that, baby girl?" he breathed in her ear, hearing her breath shorten as her arousal climbed. A third finger was pushed into her and she gasped his name. "That's right, baby. Come for me... Let me give you this." Her back arched off the couch as her body tightened on his fingers. She came hard and fast and she turned her head and kissed him tenderly, her tongue brushing across his lips so she could sweep it into his mouth. He continued to stroke in and out of her, feeling her peak ebb away slowly.

TBC

A/N: So they've officially christened Max and Tanya's couch... as best they could in the time they had. Sorry, I couldn't resist. So problem solved, right? For a little while maybe... I'm sure something else will crop up. And wow... this story officially has more reviews than Haven... wasn't sure that was possible. You're the best! Back tomorrow...