20th May 2013. So it's time for another Walford Christmas. Can we have another drama free Christmas, I wonder...? I think that might be asking too much seeing as how last Christmas was such a sweet one but I could be wrong... you never know. :-) Oh, and how will Joey and Lauren mark their first anniversary? Read more to find out...

Chapter 58.

It was Christmas Day and the four Brannings were driving over to Walford, much as they'd done the year before. This year though it was a full Branning affair, the whole family congregating at number 5 and as was usually the case on these days Lauren wasn't exactly sure if she was looking forward to it or not. Past experience told her something was bound to go wrong.

Lauren was also really tired. Bump had been pretty active for the past couple of days and nights and she'd got little sleep as a result. Today would be the first time she'd seen a lot of her family for a while now and she was a bit self conscious of the size of bump. She thought she was massive and looked positively ugly. Joey's opinion was pretty much the reverse and though he tried to convince at every opportunity, she found it difficult to believe him. She'd got to the point where she wouldn't even look in a mirror anymore and she knew that any comment today, well-meaning or otherwise, was likely to bring on a huge bout of tears. Officially, according to her doctor, bump had had a growth spurt over the last two weeks although Lauren was still slightly small for 31 weeks pregnant. Lesley and Alice knew this was a no-go subject as far as Lauren was concerned and so neither of them mentioned it... ever.

Joey helped Lauren from the car after they arrived and Lesley helped her to the front door so Joey could get the presents out of the boot. Max and Tanya were waiting for her in the hallway and hugged her tightly. Max helped her into the lounge and onto the couch. They'd managed to get there before the rest of the family so Lauren had a few minutes peace before everyone descended on them.

Joey and Alice walked into the room and Alice started putting the presents they'd brought over under the tree. Joey sat beside his wife and hugged her against him. He could see she was really tired and he knew that was partly down to bump and partly because of her heart condition, which had taken another slight dip in the last week. She was now finding it difficult to breathe (due to the position of bump) and as a result if she tried to do too much, too quickly she would start to feel faint and her heart would start to race. He was a little concerned by this turn of events, especially as the next few weeks could possibly become more difficult for her. As a result he'd been working from home much more often because Lauren (and her Branning stubbornness) had a propensity to try and do things on her own, even if she knew she couldn't and shouldn't. His hand brushed lazily through her hair and sure enough she was soon dozing against his chest.

People began to arrive at this time but Lauren slept right through all of their arrivals. Joey was more than aware that their parents were watching her in concern, knowing that she was now beginning to struggle with the late stages of her pregnancy. He also didn't miss Uncle Jack's look of concern when he saw her sleeping against him on the couch. He obviously had been told by either Max or Tanya about the problems Lauren was experiencing.

Lauren stirred against his shoulder and he kissed her forehead, "Wakey, wakey, baby girl. Everyone's here." He told her softly.

"You should've woke me up." She told him once she was awake, her eyes still shut and her head still on his chest.

"I figured you needed to rest and you haven't missed anything." He said. His hand was running through her hair again and she sighed softly. Everyone started to sit at the dinner table in the next couple of minutes and Joey helped Lauren to her feet and led her to the table as well. They sat side by side at the table. The meal began and, as was usually the way when the whole family was there, it was a raucous affair with everyone talking at once. Tanya and Lesley were both sitting near Joey and Lauren and all three were watching Lauren as she nibbled at her food. She gave up after about fifteen minutes and pushed her plate away. Joey shifted his chair closer to hers and pulled her against his body, letting her rest against him as he continued to eat. "You okay, baby?" he asked her gently.

"Yeah. Just not very hungry. Bump's kicking my ribs and pressing on my stomach."

"Maybe your mum can save you something for you to eat later..." he whispered to her, kissing her temple.

"Maybe..." She yawned again and closed her eyes.

"Rest baby." He told her softly. The mums both looked at him but he smiled at them to reassure them. "She's okay... bump's kicking a lot..." he mouthed to them both and that seemed to settle them.

Lauren moved suddenly and he looked at her. "Gonna be sick." She said, covering her mouth. He pulled her to her feet, holding her tightly as she paled and gripped his shirt. As fast as was possible, for Lauren at least, they moved to the kitchen and she threw up the little she'd eaten into the sink.

Joey brushed her back and held back her hair. He felt her body begin to shake and he knew she was crying. He pulled her into his arms, using a tissue to wipe her mouth and then sat on one of the kitchen chairs and pulled her onto his lap. "It's okay, baby girl..." he told her softly.

"I hate this, Joe..." she whispered. "I thought this was supposed to be the best part of the pregnancy. I seem to be throwing up now when I didn't at the beginning. And I feel rubbish all the time..."

"It's just because of where bump is situated, baby." He said. Her crying strengthened and he held her tightly in his arms, the guilt at the decision they'd made to do this hit him hard when he saw Lauren struggling like this.

The kitchen door opened and Tanya was in the doorway. "You okay, sweetheart?" she asked softly, already knowing the answer from looking at Lauren.

"Bump's just making its presence known." Joey said. Tanya walked in and cleaned up the mess Lauren had made in the sink.

The doorbell rang and Tanya left the room again to go and answer it. Joey vaguely heard a commotion coming from the hallway but his focus was on his wife. The kitchen door opened again and he glanced up and saw Tanya. One look at her face was enough to tell him something was wrong. "Abi's back." She whispered, watching Lauren carefully. Lauren froze in his arms but didn't have any reaction other than that.

"What's happened?" Joey asked.

"Jay brought her over. She arrived on his doorstep about an hour ago." Tanya told him softly, tears falling down her face.

"And...?"

"She's been beaten..." She whispered.

Lauren lifted her head and looked at her mum. "Where is she?"

"Your dad and Jay have taken her upstairs to clean her up."

"It was Derek, wasn't it?" Joey asked.

Tanya nodded, "She hasn't said but I think so, yes. Jack's calling the police now."

Lauren was clutching Joey's hand in hers and he saw there were silent tears falling down her face. He knew that despite everything that had happened between the two sisters, this would've been the last thing she would want to have happened. "Can I take Lauren up to your room, mum?" he asked gently. "I think she needs to get some more rest."

"Of course, Joey. I'll save some food for Lauren as well. She can eat it when she comes back down later." Joey lifted Lauren in his arms, knowing she had very little energy left to use. Tanya smiled at him and kissed Lauren's forehead gently. "Will you come back down or stay up there with her?" she asked her son.

"I'll stay with her." Joey said, unable to bring himself to leave his wife for more than a few minutes. Tanya nodded and she held the kitchen door open for them as he carried Lauren through it. As they reached the top of the stairs the bathroom door opened and Abi walked out of the room, closely followed by Jay and Max. Abi paused briefly and stared at Joey and Lauren before silently moving into her former room. Joey let her past him, surprised by the lack of reaction from the young girl. Max looked at Joey in concern. "She needs some rest, dad. She's barely slept in the last two days." He said and saw the relief on the elder man's face. Joey glanced at the bedroom closest to them, "How's Abs?" he asked.

"She'll be okay. She's tired, hungry and a bit bruised but she'll be fine."

"Mum said we could use your room..." Joey said.

"I'll open the door for you," Max said, walking in front of him and holding the door open. He watched as Joey laid Lauren on the bed.

"I'm going to stay up here with her... make sure she's okay." Joey said softly.

"No funny business, son." Max said with a smile before turning and leaving them alone.

Joey removed some of Lauren's clothes so she didn't overheat and lay her beneath the covers. He lay on top of the covers and pulled her against his body. Her body began to shake against his. "What's wrong, baby girl?"

"I'm so tired, Joe." she whispered.

"I know, baby... Try and get some rest. You'll feel better once you do."

"Bump's moving still." He could hear the misery in her voice. Bump was moving a lot of the time now and it meant a lot of pain for his wife.

Joey sat up and pulled down the covers. He eased her up so she was leaning back against the pillows. He lifted the top she was wearing to reveal bump. He could see slight movements beneath the surface that always fascinated him. He saw Lauren wince as a foot pressed against her skin, pushing it outward briefly so he could see the foot. He brushed his fingers against it then lowered his mouth to her belly, "Hey bump... its daddy here. I need to ask you a big favour. All your shifting around is causing mummy a lot of pain. She needs her rest and she isn't able to get any because you keep moving or kicking her. So can you be a good little bump and stop for a little while? Just a few hours so mummy can get some sleep." He kissed her stomach in several places then pulled away and pulled her top back down. He looked up at her and saw tears falling from her eyes. "Hey, that wasn't supposed to make you cry..." he told her softly.

"You can be a soppy git at times, Joe," she murmured.

"Did it work though?" he asked.

She paused and looked at her bump in wonder, "Yes it did." She said and Joey looked at her with pride.

"And I doubted my fathering skills..." he joked.

Lauren shifted back down on the bed and turned into Joey's arms, "I never doubted you for a second, baby." She whispered as she shut her eyes and relaxed against him.

Joey pressed his lips against her hair and did his usual trick of brushing his hand up and down her back, knowing it would usually lull her to sleep. "Happy Anniversay, baby girl," he breathed into her hair.

*JL*JL*

Joey was pleased that Lauren actually managed to get two hours of sleep before she started to wake. "That was so nice..." she whispered into his shirt.

"Feeling better?" he asked her softly.

"Feeling hungry." She told him.

"Well then, let's go and see what your mum's kept back for you."

"What time is it?" she asked as he helped her out of bed.

"Nearly four." He replied.

"Have we missed presents?"

"No idea... but there are some down there for us so we can open them now if we have." He helped her back into the clothes he'd taken off her earlier. "Do you need the loo before we go back downstairs?"

"Probably a good idea." She said. She stood on tiptoes and got as close to him as she could... which wasn't easy with bump in the way. "Thank you for looking after me and for staying with me." She said as she kissed him lightly. "Oh and happy anniversary, Joe."

"Happy anniversary to you too, baby girl. You know there's nowhere else I'd want to be," He said, cupping her face and deepening the kiss she'd given him, "Come on, lets go downstairs." He led her first to the bathroom, following her in and assisting her when she needed him to before helping her down the stairs.

"Hey babe..." Max said as they walked in the room, "Feeling better?"

"Much. Bump has stopped giving my insides a hard time finally. Daddy had a word with it." She said with a smile as her hand settled on bump.

"Have a seat you two," Jack said as he and Sharon stood up and gave them their seats on the couch.

"Thanks," Joey said as he helped Lauren sit down.

"Laur, look what mummy and daddy got me?" Oscar said, waving a new computer game in the air.

"Wow... Isn't that the one you asked for?" she said. He nodded in reply.

Auntie Carol brought them both in a drink and passed them to them, "How many more weeks left, Lauren?" she asked.

"Nine." Lauren said, "Seems like there's much more than that though." She added. "This seems never ending."

"It'll fly by, baby girl." Joey told her softly.

"We've got your presents for you," Tanya said as she sat on the arm of the chair Max was sitting on. She stood up and went to the table, picking up a pile of presents and carrying them over to them. "And would you like something to eat now, darling?"

"I'd love something... but nothing massive, mum. Bump's still pressing against my stomach a little."

"What about you, Joey? You didn't eat all your dinner either."

"I'll have whatever Lauren's having, if that's okay." Joey leant forward and picked up a small pile of presents. He put them all on Lauren's lap. "You start, baby." He picked one from the pile and gave her that one as her first one.

She tore off the paper and opened the box inside. It was a Pandora bracelet, with a couple of clips already on it. "Thanks baby." She said to Joey, kissing him softly. The next few gifts were also from Joey and were all charms for her bracelet. Most of them were baby related but there was also a silver heart and one had her initial on it. "You open one now, baby, while I put these on the bracelet," she told him.

He pulled a gift from the floor and saw it was from Lauren. He tore off the wrapping paper and found a picture frame. Inside was a charcoal picture of one of the scan pictures that had been taken a few weeks ago. It had been a 4D scan they'd had done and Joey had really been caught by the images on the screen. Under the drawing was some writing. It said 'Bump loves Daddy. xxx'. "Babe..." Joey said, turning to his wife and kissing her deeply.

"Do you like it?" she whispered, slightly anxious that he wouldn't.

"I love it." He reassured her.

"What's it a picture of?" Jack asked. Joey spun it round in his hands and showed it to the family. "Lauren, that's amazing." Jack said.

"Can I see?" Max asked as he walked into the room and Joey passed it to him. "Lauren, it's beautiful."

Joey and Lauren continued to open their presents. They found a lot of the family had brought them things for the baby; some being clothes and some being more practical items like a bedding set for the crib Joey and Lauren had brought. Her mum has also given Lauren a book that detailed the first twelve months of a baby's life which Lauren knew she would be relying on heavily.

Midway through the presents Tanya had brought in a plate of food for Joey and Lauren to share and Joey let Lauren eat what she wanted before he started. Once she was done he ate what she'd left. There was just one present left now as Lauren had been opening them while he was eating. She put it on his lap and he saw it was for him; another present from Lauren. "Baby girl, you didn't have to. You're already giving me more than I could ever want." He said to her softly, his fingers grazing over bump tenderly. Her face flushed prettily and she glanced at Lesley. It wasn't missed by Joey but he opened the top of the box. He frowned when he saw what was inside. "Baby?" he looked at her.

"I want to renew our vows..." she whispered. "Today..." He said nothing, staring into her eyes. She became self-conscious, "It's a silly idea..." she whispered, shifting on the couch so she could stand.

"Baby, it's not a silly idea..." he said, grabbing her hand. "You surprised me, is all." He leant forward and kissed her, "Yes, I'll marry you again, baby girl." She smiled against his mouth, "I'd do it every day for the rest of our lives, you know that." He pulled away from her and turned back to the box, "I guess I should give you these then?" he said, reaching inside and pulling out the bouquet of flowers that was identical to the one she'd had the year before. Also in the box was a buttonhole for him. "So when does this happen?"

"In about an hour." She said, smiling when she saw his slightly stunned expression. "So I'd better go and get ready..." she told him. She kissed him gently before letting her mum and Lesley help her to her feet. "Dad's got everything you need at Uncle Jack's." She said with a giggle as they left the room.

"Come on, son." Max said, "We've got a schedule to keep."

They left the house and walked the short distance to Jack's house. In his house were three suits hanging up, Joey recognised the suit he wore last year. "So she's been planning this for a while then?" he said.

"Since one time she came over and spent the day with us. She was at the salon with her mum and she was inspired. Blame the hormones, son." Max told him. "Go change... you don't want to keep your bride waiting."

*JL*JL*

Joey stood in the same place he stood the year before, waiting for the love of his life to appear.

"Joey, will you be doing this every Christmas?" Oscar asked as he stood next to the groom.

"I don't know, little man. If your Laur wants to, we could be. You'll always be my best man, right?"

"Well you did say I was the best little man for the job." Oscar said, smiling at his cousin cheekily. Joey laughed. He glanced at his watch... Lauren was late. "She'll be here, Joe. It just takes her longer these days." Joey looked at Oscar, noting again how much he had grown up in the last few months. There were times when he was the same irrepressible boy he'd met eighteen months before and then there were times, like now, when he showed the new found maturity of his current eight-year old self.

The music changed to the song they'd danced to for their first dance, one year ago today and Joey held his breath. After a brief pause he turned his head and his vision blurred as he saw Lauren. In the few seconds he'd seen her she looked amazing. She looked so beautiful as Max walked her towards him. And, just so you know, the only reason his vision blurred – was because the sight of his beautiful wife brought tears to his eyes.

She was at his side and her hand slipped in his, squeezing it gently. "The same dress, Lauren?" he whispered.

"Your mum managed to get it taken out slightly so it still fitted."

"And you thought you were huge..." he said, looking at her and winking. "You look just as beautiful as you did this time last year, baby girl."

*JL*JL*

"So I take it you liked your wife's present, son?" Lesley said as she danced with Joey a couple of hours later.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me..." Joey said softly.

Lesley smirked at him, "A bit like you didn't last year, you mean?" she said pointedly, softening her words with a loving smile at him.

"Okay, you got me there." He was quiet for a few minutes, "She looks stunning, mum. Even more beautiful than she did when I married her last year and I didn't think that would be possible."

"You should make sure you tell her that, Joe. Your wife has major issues with how she looks. She thinks she's ugly, son." Joey's eyes are fixed on his bride and Lesley knows he doesn't agree with Lauren's opinion in the slightest. Lesley reached up and turned Joey's face so he's looking at her, needing him to hear what she was about to say, "She had a huge meltdown when we were sorting out the dress, Joe." She tells him softly. "Now, it might have been the hormones and one hell of a mood swing but you need to convince her. It worries me that she's got so little confidence in herself."

"Don't you think I've tried, mum? She's too stubborn to listen. I tell her all the time how beautiful she is but I can see she doesn't believe me. How do I convince someone that she's beautiful if she doesn't see herself that way?" His eyes drift to Lauren again, "The pregnancy's just made it worse. I thought we'd got past it. I thought I'd managed to convince her but then... well then we started trying for the baby and now I don't even know where to start."

"How did you get past it?"

Joey looked at his mum, his face reddening as he lowered his eyes from her scrutiny. "You sure you want to know?" he asked her softly.

"Tell me... I might be able to help, Joe."

"In Italy. It happened in Italy." He admitted. Lesley stared at him, waiting for him to reveal more. "She was amazing that weekend, mum. For the first time since I've known her she was really confident, so sexy. Did she ever tell you she learnt Italian so she could speak it that weekend? She asked me to marry her in Italian. She spent the whole weekend seducing me, mum. She had never been so confident with me before. It's the only time I remember her being that way."

"So do something to remind her of that weekend..." Lesley suggested.

"How am I supposed to do that? I can't exactly whisk her off to Venice, can I? She's seven and a half months pregnant. Air travel is out."

"It doesn't have to be Italy." Lesley said. "You don't even have to take her away. Show her your romantic side, Joe. I know you have one... you showed that a year ago."

Joey looked at his mum. "You're right. Can you help?"

"That's what mum's do." She said. "Now go and dance with your bride and we'll talk again tomorrow."

TBC

A/N: I love Lesley... she's so worried about Lauren and Joey. So back tomorrow... how will Joey convince Lauren, I wonder? Will he ever be able to?