Lucy watched Joey drive away and then went into the house. Lauren was on the sofa with her mother.

'Joey brought you these' she said 'Looks like he's been waiting out there for a while judging by the look of the flowers' and she looked at Lauren 'I'll put them in water' she said, she pulled off the envelope and she held it out to Lauren, she was just staring straight ahead of her, Tanya took it and she put it on the sofa next to her.

'Thanks Lucy'

'I'll make some coffee too' she told Tanya

Tanya nodded and Lucy went into the kitchen.

Tanya looked at her daughter 'Talk to me Lauren?' she said softly 'What are you thinking?'

'There's just so much going on in my head right now' Lauren said to her 'I can't pin any down to dwell on it long enough to actually say anything'

'Max is on his way over' she told her softly 'and you father and I will stay here for a couple of days and help out with the kids'

'The kids! What am I going tell the kids?' she asked her 'I thought I was going through the menopause and now I have to tell them that I have a brain tumour'

'A benign brain tumour' Tanya reminded her 'which is good news'

'It's still a brain tumour mum, in my head' she said and she looked at her 'I really want Joey' she told her

'Then call him darling'

'No I want him to be here because he wants to be not because he feels that he has to be' Lauren said to him

'You really need to tell him Lauren, he deserves to know; he has a right to know'

'He lost all rights when he started seeing bitch face' Lauren said as Lucy came back with the coffee

'Also known as Hannah' Lucy said and she put a coffee in Lauren's hand and handed one to Tanya and she sat next to Lauren. 'Whatever you need to me to do Lauren I'll do it, I am here for you; you know that right?' she asked her and Lauren looked at her and she smiled weakly and nodded

'Can you have the brain tumour for me?' she said half seriously

If I could I would' Lucy nodded and Lauren reached out and she squeezed her hand

Lauren nodded and she looked down at the coffee 'So what do I tell the kids' she asked her mother

'I don't think we tell them anything until we've figured out what we're going to do' she said to her 'You heard the treatment options, you've got them written down, when the kids have gone to bed we will go through the options' she told Lauren

'And what about the baby?' Lauren asked her 'Do I tell them that I'm pregnant and I didn't even know? That's going to go down well with Sophie'

'Sophie?'

'I found a pregnancy test in her room when I was emptying the bins. Joey had a talk to her and it turn out she thought she was pregnant but she wasn't, She only had sex once because Hope told her it was amazing and told her that she should try it' Lauren frowned 'You know she told Sophie that she has sex all the time, I made Joey lecture Sophie on safe sex and now I'm the one pregnant and five months at that' she frowned and she leant forward and she put her cup on the coffee table. 'Turns out that Joey and I were the ones being irresponsible' Lauren frowned.

'Accidents happen honey' Tanya said 'You and Oscar are proof of that', both Lauren and Lucy gave her a "what did you just say look" and Tanya frowned 'Very happy and welcome mistakes and that sounded so much better in my head' she said 'I'm sorry darling you know what I mean' she said 'Your father and I love you very much you know that'

Lauren sighed and nodded 'I know' she said and she licked her lips

'I think you need to call Joey' Lucy said to her 'I talked to him little outside, he told me that he told Hannah ….' Lauren glared at her 'Sorry, bitchface, that he didn't want to see her anymore, I was there at the cocktail bar when he called her, I overheard her say Joey's name and after the call she didn't look happy. Joey told me that she just turned up at his office at lunch time and he told her to go, that he wanted to be with you' Lucy said to her 'You need to tell Joey that you are pregnant, this is his baby too' she told her

'Lucy's right Lauren' Tanya said to her 'Why don't you read what he has to say in his letter and then give him a call hey?' she said as the doorbell rang 'That'll be Max, I'll let him in and tell him what's going on, Lucy why don't you see about sorting something out for dinner?'

'Okay'

'The steaks….' Lauren said softly 'Sophie got steaks out'

'I'll deal with it Lauren, don't worry' Lucy said and she got up with her coffee and she walked into the kitchen.

Lauren sat back on the sofa and she looked at the envelope, the way her name was scrawled across the front in Joey's familiar hand writing. She turned it over and then ripped it open.

"Babe

I'm sorry for everything. I made yet another terrible stupid mistake and I hurt you again. All I ever seem to do is to hurt you. I hate that I do that. I hate even more that my stupid behaviour means that we are apart.

I would move heaven and earth for you, you know that. At least I hope you do because I haven't really shown that to you lately.

I was thinking, if you wanted to have another baby, maybe we could look into adopting? I got some information off the internet and I think that it's something we could do that we should consider, I know that it wouldn't be a baby that we made together but I know that we love him or her as if it were our own.

I miss you, I miss the kids, I miss you more.

Please call me baby, I want to come home to you, I want to be with you, forever.

You are my everything and I know that I risked that and I know that you may not want to forgive me but I am begging you, please, please forgive me.

I swear on my life that nothing happened with me and Hannah. I regret even considering that I wanted it to.

You are the only girl for me.

I love you heart body and soul.

Call me please.

Joey xxxxxx"

Lauren wiped the tears away from her face and she picked up her mobile and she dialled his number. He answered before the first ring had finished

'Lauren?'

'Hi' she said quietly, he knew that she was crying

'I love you' Joey told her softly

'I love you too Joey' she replied through her tears 'I need you to come over' she told him 'I have some things that I need to tell you' she said and she looked at the clock 'Before the kids get home from school'

She heard him snatch some keys off of metallic and the front door slam, followed by the car door, 'I'm on my way' he said softly 'Is everything okay?' he asked her

'No' she said softly 'It's not'

'I'll be there soon darling' he told her

'Drive carefully Joey please?'

'I promise' he said and he hung up.

Fifteen minutes later she heard the doorbell ring.

'I'll get it' Max said, Lauren heard him open the door and she heard Joey come in.

'Where is she?'

'She's in the lounge'

'What are you here?' he looked at Tanya and Max and saw that they had been crying too. He glanced at Lucy in the kitchen who was busy preparing dinner and then he walked into the lounge. Lauren looked up at him and he dropped to his knees in front of her and she moved into his arms.

'Darling what is it, you're scaring me' his voice was muffled by her hair. Lauren couldn't talk, all she could was cry.

'Max why don't we go meet the kids at school, take them for a soda or something, give Lauren and Joey some time alone?'

'No you can't leave me, you promised that you'd help figure out what to do' Lauren pulled away from Joey

'And we will darling' Tanya said 'but you need to tell Joey and school is over in half an hour 'We're just going to buy you some more time. Lucy can call us when you're ready for us to being the kids home' she told her

'Not Hope' Lauren said to her

'Lauren'

'I don't want her in the house' Lauren told her firmly

'We'll take them out for pizza' Max said 'Lucy's going to have trouble to get 4 steaks stretch to 8' he told her

'Okay' Lauren nodded.

Tanya and Max left and Lucy licked her lips 'I'm just going to pop to the shops, get a few more things' she told Lauren, 'There's fresh coffee in the pot Joey' she told him

Joey looked up at her and nodded and then looked at Lauren, he waited until the front door closed again and he looked at Lauren.

'What do you need to tell me?' he asked her

She took a deep breath 'I'm not going through the menopause'

'You went the doctors?'

She nodded 'Sophie brought it up when Lucy was here this morning, I told Lucy that I didn't need to go and then when I threw up she made an appointment'

'What did he say?' he asked her anxiously

'He sent me to the hospital for tests and the consultants told me told me that I had a brain tumour, a benign pituitary brain tumour' she told him

'Oh no Lauren!' he said as the tears started to fall down his cheeks 'SO what happens now? They can treat it right?' he asked her

'Normally yes they can. With surgery and radiotherapy, or some drugs that shrink it'

'Why do I sense a but here'

'Things are complicated' she told him softly 'I can't have surgery or radiotherapy and I can't take the drugs that shrink it' she told him 'Not yet anyway, in four months time I can'

'Why four months?' he asked her 'Why wait that long?

'Because that's when the baby is going to be born' she told him. Joey blinked at her stunned into silence. 'Joey say something?' she asked him as more tears rolled down her cheeks

'You're pregnant?' he asked her, she nodded her head

'Yes' she said softly 'Five months' she told him 'It was a bit of a shock for me too' she told him 'I've not had any symptoms, because the pituitary gland increases hormones..so they're all off kilter…I'm still having light periods….' She trailed off and she looked at hi

'You're pregnant' he said again and Lauren nodded again

'And because I'm pregnant I can't have any treatment. I mean I could but we'd risk the baby' she told him and she cried harder. 'I don't know what to do Joey, tell me what to do'

Joey wrapped her in his arms and he picked her up and he sat down on the sofa and he settled her on his lap.

'Ssh, it's okay, we'll figure it out' he whispered into her hair, his tears wetting the strands.

They cried together for the decisions that they had to make.

AN: So Lauren is pregnant too! What happens now? Can she be treated?

And she called Joey and he is there with her.

What do you think that they are going to decide to do?

And Lauren still doesn't want Hope there –who can blame her really?

Thanks for your reviews

R&R as always

Back tomorrow.