This is an alternative to Stacey's return that I wrote when I saw the trailer.
"You're dragging up the past and into our house."
"She's my family."
"Tommy, Bert and Ernie are our family. What about them?"
"I won't let them get caught up in it." It seemed that Kat had resulted to her second best defence mechanism, something which she had perfected over the years; the art of denial. Mouthing off was the best, naturally.
"They already are. Kat, you're nearly three months pregnant."
"Nothing's going to happen to them."
"You don't know that. You were only changing a light bulb before and look what happened. You're talking about charging off half way round London!"
"We ended up with twice the number of babies as we were expecting. I don't think we're going to end up having quadruplets just because I go to visit Stacey and try to bring her back to the Square."
Sarcastic, deluded, impulsive; brilliant combination. He didn't like to think of Kat being subjected to emotional trauma that had its roots in her tragic past, especially when he was the cause of it, but at this juncture, he firmly believed that he had no viable alternative. "We almost lost our babies. Do you really want to go there again?" Alfie pressed his partner cruelly.
Kat's jaw immediately dropped in the midst of this uncaring comment, as she struggled to find her words. "How can you say that to me?! You know how guilty I felt about the whole thing!" she managed after a delay which easily exceeded half a minute in duration.
"Don't do this then!"
"I have to," protested Kat, without elaborating on the underlying reasoning.
At this, Alfie could be seen hanging his head as he struggled to appreciate the idea that Kat should have to do anything, never mind chasing a fleeing criminal around the capital. Admittedly he'd done just the same in that he'd done favours that he shouldn't for individuals that weren't even first degree relatives; Jake and Danny were prime examples, but he'd never have implicated himself with a wife and children at home. It was a fair point that he'd had the former; journeying into criminality had presented a convenient escape route for him, a reason to get divorced. He'd never loved her and having married her only to fit in amongst his thirty-something married friends, it had taken a good one. With the life he had now, he was even struggling to recall why it had been such a big deal for him to be the same as everyone else his age. He and Kat had never done things the normal way and he'd never been happier. "You don't have to do anything. You're supposed to be taking things easy."
"I owe her."
"Kat, you've been keeping her out of the nick for the last three years. She owes you," he argued. Unbeknown to him, he was fast approaching the point of no return on the road to uncovering the only secret that remained in between them.
"She's been my cousin all her life. It's not all about what's happened in the last three years," she hit back fiercely.
"I don't recall you having much to do with her while we were in America. Or Spain." Even Kat wouldn't be able to find a convincing excuse to account for that.
"I don't need this Alfie," Kat insisted, eyeing him heatedly.
"Exactly, you need to focus on Bert and Ernie."
"Stop grinning at me like that."
"What?"
"The I'm right face. Guess what, you're not," she spat, turning to the door.
"There's something you're not telling me, I know it. We're not going there again Kat, no more lies remember?" he prompted his wife, placing his palm on her shoulder, his voice firm. His grip could not be further from this, he could never be anything but gentle with her, like she was a precious doll.
Growing serious, Kat sighed in defeat. "It's not really my secret to tell."
"I'm not going to tell anyone, am I? I'm on your side, I have been since the first day we met," he reassured her, pulling her into his comforting arms and stroking the small of her back caringly.
"You told Ryan I knew where Stacey was before."
"Kat…" Alfie spoke in the tone he often utilised when he felt she needed to rein that temper in a notch. There was no malicious intent, no disapproval. He knew better than anyone who and what she was; he would never again make the mistake of coming across as being ashamed of her. The truth was that he couldn't be prouder of how she had come through everything; she needed someone to believe in her and he would be that person. With that confidence instilled within her, she wouldn't fail. "The bloke wanted to see his kid. I couldn't not tell him, I'd be beside myself if you ever took off with Tommy or these two," he told her softly, his hand darting to her slightly expanded stomach.
Alfie's words immediately justified his indiscretion; she'd done far, far worse. He was far too understanding and empathetic, but Kat couldn't have it all ways. Had he not been, she'd still be in the gutter.
"I've been right there with you keeping Stacey out of prison ever since, I wouldn't blab if her freedom depended on it, would I?"
"Ok," Kat relented, taking his hand in hers, as if it would somehow ensure that he'd be unperturbed by this latest revelation. She couldn't count the number of Slater family crises that he'd wound up in the middle of, always keeping the peace. "Just so you know, I could never take the kids from you. You're the best father any child could ever have," she suddenly reassured him.
"You're changing the subject, I know you."
"Zoe," she muttered, giving nothing away.
"What about her?"
Kat gulped, suddenly more afraid of his reaction than she had realised prior to this. Her daughter had been involved in a murder. Would he regret creating a family with her, wish that he'd gone for someone normal, calmer and otherwise unremarkable? Her daughter was an accessory and her cousin a murderess; could he believe it ran in the family? "She…she…" the expectant mother choked out, eyes suddenly averting to the floor.
"It's ok Kat, whatever it is, you can tell me," Alfie consoled her, nudging her chin upwards gently and forcing her to look him in the eye.
"She was there with Sam when Chrissie killed Den."
He didn't shout, he didn't back away from her in disgust, he didn't throw plates. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Alfie enquired calmly.
"I just didn't, we weren't together when I found out," shrugged Kat. She'd feared that her daughter would be heading for a prison term, it was hardly a great advert with which to claw your husband back. Alfie had taken on enough of her baggage the moment they'd got together.
"Why didn't you tell me afterwards? I thought we could tell each other everything?" It wasn't that he was disappointed in her, or felt let down by her; he simply wished he'd had the opportunity to be there for her. Alfie had seen first-hand the state she'd got herself into when Zoe had raised the leaving subject, it would have been bad enough for her without knowing that.
"Like you told me about Little Mo you mean?" Kat retorted, quickly checking her phone. With no confirmation on the address front, she would simply have to try her luck.
Alfie stretched his arms out ahead of him, as if calling a truce. "We both kept big secrets and we were wrong to. We've drawn a line under all the old stuff, we agreed."
Nodding, Kat parted her lips and allowed the remainder of the tale to flow. Better to get it over with, she convinced herself, like tearing off a plaster. "I didn't ask her to, I'm not proud of it; Stacey gave Zoe an alibi to keep her out of it."
It was becoming scarily regular; Alfie Moon being seemingly lost for words. He hadn't known what to say when she'd revealed to him that she was pregnant either. Somehow however, Kat couldn't imagine the eventual reception being quite so positive on this occasion, not positive at all in fact.
He finally acknowledged the new information, taking her hand in his and stroking it. Kat presumed from this that he wasn't going to run a mile, but what would he do instead? Lecture her on how she could ever have allowed a sixteen year old to put her head on the block; tell her she'd done her bit and to leave the rest to Max; announce that they were through unless she dropped this?
"Where's this flat then?"
"You mean it?" Kat sucked in a gulp of air, pleasantly surprised by this turn of events to the extent that she sounded not unlike a person who had just stubbed their toe, or one who had suddenly managed to recall the answer to the tiebreaker in a quiz.
"Jean wouldn't be too impressed with us if we just left her to it, would she?" Alfie grinned at her, loving being back in the company of his family, even if Kat did question everything.
"What changed your mind?"
"What you said just then, it made sense. It's not just you bending over backwards for everyone else like you usually do and never getting any thanks for it," Alfie revealed, bringing her into his arms once more. "You shouldn't have had to go to Max, it should have been me. I want it to be us against the world Kat," he added sadly, resting his chin on the top of her head as he brought them closer together.
"It wasn't all because I was scared that you'd be against it. Max had to get Jack's help to track her down."
"Kat, if we're doing this… there needs to be a limit. You're not going to run yourself ragged if the police get involved." By his own admission, Alfie had never excelled when it came to laying down the law before, especially to his wife, but he urged the powers that be to allow him to do so now, just this once.
"Hardly likely," she replied dismissively. "The only thing the law had on her was Janine's word. It's not like they can believe a word she says now is it?" she opined, sidestepping the details.
"Still, you promise?" Silence.
"Kat?" a persistent Alfie spoke up sharply. There was no way he would stand for the love of his life to embroil herself, and most definitely not while pregnant. Taken aback by his defiant tone, she made eye contact with him. "I'm only doing this to protect you and our babies; you know I've always thought a lot of your family."
"I promise," she uttered reluctantly. Fortunately, she'd become polished at putting on a front over the years and Kat could keep her hesitancy inconspicuous. Reassuring him further, Kat moved in for a kiss.
Their embrace was soon interrupted by a sudden knocking at the door. "I'll go," insisted Alfie, breaking away from her.
"Alfie," a gentle calling followed him as he moved a few steps closer to the door.
"Thank you, for everything," chimed Kat, once he had turned so that he was once again facing her. "I love you."
"I love you too," he instantly said in return. "You take the weight off your feet a minute, I'll get rid of them and we can go."
Opening the door, Alfie allowed the 'tough guy' reception to run through his head one final time. All recognition of his intended greeting vanished from his mind as he took in the identity of the person before him.
"Stacey," he finally acknowledged, relieving her from her nervous wait.
She eyed him curiously, speaking up as she attempted to lighten the mood. She'd had some disappointing welcomes in the past, but this was in a different league entirely. "That car of yours was a bit of an antique but a people carrier?" commented an amused Stacey.
"Kat's pregnant, we're expecting twins so if you've come here to cause trouble, keep her out of it," Alfie replied warningly. Countless neighbours over the years had informed him that trouble followed Kat around, but the way he saw it, Stacey was the Slater with trouble in her wake. Janine and Ryan, Archie; Alfie was confident there would be more, but he'd hardly got to know her.
Having been updated as to the events of the last three years by her mother now and again, Stacey could respect that he would have his reservations. With Kat's condition, he would do everything in his power to ensure that she had a straightforward pregnancy this time around; that was the kind of bloke he was, just like Bradley. "I'm not here to start anything; I was told that Kat was looking for me so I came by."
Nodding understandingly, Alfie backed away from the door. "You'd better come in then."
"I wouldn't worry about getting your coat on darlin'," announced Alfie as the pair drew closer to the kitchen door, behind which Kat would be waiting. "Look who's here," he teased as he then popped his head around the aforementioned door, before opening it fully and stepping sideways through the small gap in it.
"Stacey!" Kat squealed, the moment her eyes met with those of her estranged cousin.
"Kat," muttered Stacey, advancing toward her and pulling her in for a hug.
"How have you been? How long have you been back in London for? How's Lily?" the questions spilled from Kat's lips.
"Blimey Kat, I can only answer one question at a time you know," the youngest Slater protested with a giggle. "Why don't you see for yourself?" she offered cryptically.
As she searched the room for a clue as to her cousin's meaning, Kat was starting to resemble a person whom was waiting to cross the road; she looked from her left to the right, still none the wiser as to what her relative had been referring to. Looking to her husband for some input, her eyes finally fell upon a young girl at Alfie's side. "I can't believe how grown up she looks," she commented.
A short while later, Lily had been introduced to Tommy and the two were happily playing together in the lounge. Kat, Alfie and Stacey meanwhile were partaking in a coffee as they sat around the kitchen table getting reacquainted.
"What brought you back then?" Kat asked, taking a sip from her mug.
Stacey abruptly ceased tapping her fingers on the table at this, sighing in defeat. She ought to have known that it would only be a matter of time before her cousin extracted the truth. "People were starting to suspect something in Mexico."
"So you thought you'd revisit the scene of the crime. Clever," Kat opined in her usual sarcastic fashion.
"Give the girl a chance Kat," Alfie protested, making a grab for her hand. "She didn't plan to come back to Walford. The old bill are hardly likely to think that she's in London after all this time," he reasoned.
"And if they find out?" she argued, now turning on him, her eyes burning into his.
"Janine's a murderer; they can't seriously believe that Stacey stabbed her after that," Alfie spoke, his hatred for the woman in question simmering away inside of him as he did so.
"Only if she's found guilty," Kat reminded the two, determined not to lose touch with reality even if everyone else did.
Immediately turning away from her, Alfie got to his feet. "I don't believe you," he voiced disappointingly, retiring to the corner of the room in his strop, where he mulled over the events.
The sudden crossed words left Stacey at a loss for what had occurred in her absence. They'd disagreed before, usually resulting in Kat throwing a pouting face and him immediately making it up with her.
"I know she did it, you know she did it, but you know what the law are like," began Kat as she set about justifying her earlier words. It was fair to say that Michael had been the subject of more than one altercation between the pair, but not recently. "Alice pleaded guilty, it'll be less hassle to do her for it instead of Janine."
"Is someone going to fill me in on what's gone on here?" Stacey cut in before Alfie could respond.
"Janine stabbed Michael and made a cousin of Bradley's think she'd done it," summarised Kat, while silently pleading with her husband to re-join her at the table.
"That cow!"
Kat seemed to give up on playing the amicable wife at this point, turning her attention to Stacey completely. "Will you be sticking around then?" she asked hopefully.
"I don't know," managed Stacey, her eyes falling on her cup as she tried to dodge the awkwardness of the situation. Not looking her cousin in the eye and seemingly finding the pattern enthralling, she added, "I'd like to, I should have kept in touch more. I'd like to get to know Tommy and the twins."
In her surprise, Kat looked from Stacey to Alfie. It was the first time she'd paid him any attention since he'd seemed to give her the cold shoulder. Crawling back wasn't her style.
"He told me," confirmed Stacey.
Before Kat could decide upon her next move, Alfie was on his knees at her side, making his apologies. "Kat, I'm sorry. I was an oversensitive pillock. If anyone's taking things the wrong way here it ought to be you. Forgive me?" he pleaded.
"Sit down you," voiced Kat, gesturing to the now vacant chair at her side. She grabbed Alfie and pecked him on the lips as he drew close to her, signalling that she had let the whole thing slide. What had it been? An argument? Hardly; no crossed words had been exchanged. A disagreement? A childish strop? With the two set to become parents again in the near future, Kat could only be sure of one thing; it was history.
Stacey failed to hide her amusement at the scene, then making her view known. "You two can't last two minutes without bickering like ten year olds, can you?"
"It's being married to a big kid. Sometimes I have to play him at his own game," she winked.
"Where's my mum then?" Stacey suddenly questioned, changing the subject. Leaving them to their own devices, they'd be upstairs before you could say bedroom. The evidence of this was growing in Kat's stomach; the remarkably fast conception a testament of this fact.
The question was met with concerned glances on the part of both Kat and Alfie. Stacey had always been extremely protective of Jean, it was understandable. Having spied the looks that Kat and Alfie exchanged, she knew that something was going on. Perhaps not everyone would have sussed, but she was a Slater through and through.
"She's living in Brighton with her partner. She's fine, happy…" Kat revealed to her concerned cousin, only to feel the wrath of a woman scorned. There was no doubt about it, the experiences had changed her. She was tougher, more self-assured, resilient.
"She's what?!" Stacey was aghast. "You know what her record's like with blokes! I thought you two cared about her!" she raged.
"Stacey she's fine, Kat gave him the fourth degree first," chuckled Alfie. "He knows everything, he's not going to run out on her."
The youngest member of the family shot the couple a look as if to say that she wasn't entirely impressed by this. "A bloke that I've never met knows that I've killed someone; fantastic."
"Maybe we should kill two birds with one stone then girls," Alfie suggested, rescuing his wife from having to justify a relative stranger's knowledge of the subject.
Kat eyed Alfie suspiciously. "What are you up to now Mr Moon?"
"Nothing," he argued. "I just thought, Stacey can meet Ollie so as he isn't a stranger any longer and she can be reassured that he's a good guy."
"That's the best idea he's had all week," she informed Stacey playfully, pinching her husband's cheek gently.
"I ain't sure about this…."
"Nan! Get Tommy and Lily ready, we're all going out," Kat had yelled down the hallway before Stacey could lay her reservations out in their entirety.
No more than ten minutes later, a reluctant Stacey had been ushered out to Alfie's new people carrier, which he had purchased with some of the proceeds of his trip to Australia. It was new in a manner of speaking; it was a novel possession for him, but far from new where the age of the vehicle itself was concerned. It was twelve years old, but would suit their purpose, far better than the Capri would have done. People always insisted that everything happened for a reason, and for perhaps the first time, it dawned on Kat that they had been correct.
"I don't know why I couldn't just get the train you know, it's a bit cramped back here," grumbled Mo as Alfie pulled out of the Square.
"Do me a favour Nan, it's massive. It ain't like I'm taking me entire shoe collection with, is it?"
Glancing in the interior mirror, it came to Alfie's attention that his grandmother-in-law was more than a little uneasy. "I get it; she doesn't like it because he's a copper."
"He's a copper an' all?! This gets better," Stacey told the whole car, and probably the entire pavement also; in her nervous state, the returnee had left her window wide open.
"Retired," was Kat's single word response.
"I wouldn't sweat it Stace, your Mum's become quite the criminal in your absence."
For Stacey, this was becoming a day of surprise after surprise; maybe shock after shock was more appropriate. The saying had it that bad luck came in threes, but how many more bombshells could she subsequently expect?
"And we all know whose fault that was, don't we?" Kat enlightened her cousin, by way of addressing her grandmother warningly and glaring in her general direction.
"Anyone care to fill me in here?" asked Stacey, in amongst the riddles that her relatives had taken to speaking in.
Kat paused, before peering back into the row behind her. "Someone claimed unemployment benefits in your mum's name and had her take the rap for it," she clarified.
"And she burned down Ian Beale's restaurant," Alfie chipped in.
"Alfie!" scorned Kat.
Having heard the latest revelation, Stacey looked to Kat disapprovingly, as if asking how she could have allowed Jean to become embroiled in something like this. "She wasn't alone in it; charges were never pressed. Who knows who actually started it."
As it turned out, Stacey had little interest in who did what, preferring to trade accusations. "You lived with her, how could you not notice she was acting strangely? Surely you checked her pills?"
"We weren't together at the time, I wasn't living there," shrugged Kat. It was a fair comment that she and Jean had lost some of their closeness during that time.
Kat's statement appeared to serve as a dose of reality to Stacey. How could she hold them responsible for signs that had potentially been missed when she hadn't even kept her promise to stay in touch? At least they'd been there, she reasoned sadly. "So how long have you actually been back together?" questioned Stacey. She wasn't prepared to miss out on the gossip, she had her reputation as Walford's gossip queen to uphold.
"Two and a half months," stated Alfie.
"Aren't you over two months pregnant?" Stacey was curious, she'd got the impression that these were Alfie's biological children.
"Make up sex wasn't it, or have you never done that?" Kat narrowed her eyes at her cousin. She'd done a lot of things, surely she was familiar with the concept?
"I'd just be grateful for some of any variety!" announced Mo, causing the remainder of the car's inhabitants to gag.
It wasn't long before Stacey had recovered from the unpleasant thought. "I've missed you, Nan," she joked, rolling her eyes.
"I think I should just book these two into the nuthouse now you know, living in the same house as her," mused Kat.
As Alfie took on board the instruction given by the road sign that they were now passing, he saw his chance. "We could stop by on the way, I think we're going to have to go the town route you know," he offered.
Looking over at him, Kat was lost. This went far beyond the level of Alfie based stupidness that she'd learned to decipher over the years. "You what?" she frowned.
"Three and a half ton weight limit on this road, I'm not so sure we can come down here with Mo…"
For the first time that day, Kat laughed freely, as if she was not the slightest bit worried over anything else. It was something he longed to see. Stacey could also be seen smiling a genuine smile.
"Oi!" a voice whined; the identity of the person took little working out.
"So this Ollie, where did my mum meet him?" Stacey recommenced the interrogation of her relatives as the group arrived into Brighton.
"They were both keeping allotments."
"They met again at a speed dating event," Alfie added.
"Very quiet Nan," accused Stacey, as she turned to check on her daughter.
"Nan's worried it'll be awkward because she stole from his allotment," Kat informed Stacey.
"What did you go and do that for? It's not like you could make much out of it."
"I think this is the one," Alfie informed the remainder of the car, as he pulled into a parking space situated in front of a small bungalow. It was surrounded by flowers of various types. Jean had definitely been busy, if it was indeed their house that was.
Kat dove out of the vehicle as soon as it had been parked. "Good job, I'm busting!" she told the family crudely, dashing unsteadily for the door. "Stace, why don't you come and knock?"
Taking little additional encouragement, the young woman strolled up to the door, cuddling her daughter close to her. While Alfie retrieved Tommy from the back seat and locked the car, Stacey tapped on the door nervously. What would Jean think? Would she be angry that she hadn't contacted her sooner? Disappointed that she'd rolled up to disturb her new life? Would her only interest be Lily?
Stacey contemplated this further as she waited for the door to be answered. She was soon spared of the wondering as the door swung open and her mother appeared in the doorway. "Surprise!" Stacey beamed, as if hoping to inspire enthusiasm.
"Stace!" Jean gushed, leaping out onto the doorstep to embrace her daughter. Her appearance had barely changed in three years, easing the feeling that she had missed out. Unfortunately, the same was not true of her granddaughter. Jean's gesture had cleared the way for Kat, who rushed inside the property in search of the facilities. "Don't mind if I use your bathroom do you, Jean?" she called as she went.
"Yes! Of course! It's the one right at the back!" Jean squealed excitedly, although Kat having heard was unlikely, at the rate she'd taken off. "Hello Lily," she spoke to her granddaughter adoringly, leading Stacey to instinctively pass the little girl to her. "Alfie, Tommy, Mo," she acknowledged. "Come in, come in."
Carrying Lily with her as she disappeared back into the house, Jean gestured for her extended family to follow. "Ollie, guess who's here," she chanted happily down the hallway.
In the lounge, Jean and Stacey were seated on a couch angled diagonally to the television, with Lily in between them. Mo had taken a chair located in front of the window, while Alfie and Tommy were on a second sofa, adjacent to the door. Ollie soon made his entrance, and not liking to make any assumptions as to Alfie's relationship status, took the empty chair beside Mo. Whether he had come alone or with Roxy was anyone's guess. Preoccupied with her guests, Jean was far from the upfront person he had come to know. Normally she'd have let slip the latest gossip in five seconds flat.
"Ollie, this is my daughter Stacey and my granddaughter Lily," Jean eventually broke the silence, indicating the young woman and little girl at her side. As Ollie greeted the two warmly, Kat wandered into the room and took her seat by Alfie, who wasted no time in tucking his arm behind her.
It wasn't long before Jean showed just how she had acquired a reputation for noticing those things that others might not. "You're back together," she pointed out at first sight, not questioning the fact. There'd been the occasional display of closeness prior to her departure, but differentiating those times from this was the fact that he was not only viewing her with love, but like she was his whole world.
The couple exchanged glances as they contemplated the extent to which they would face an interrogation as to the nature of their reunion. Neither were exactly proud of it, and Alfie in particular was ashamed of how long it had taken him to come to his senses. Any normal person wouldn't have taken so long to face up to the past when it concerned the only person that they'd ever truly loved. They were probably safe from Ollie, but with Mo not having been around when it had all happened, would she take this opportunity to wheedle out the gossip?
"I'll make us some coffees," Ollie told the group. "Any sugars?"
"None for me, two for Alfie and a half for Stace," Kat reeled off her family's preferences. "Just get Nan the same as one of us, she'll have anything that someone else has!" Ollie smiled at the witty comment, turning away and taking his leave.
Mo sat with a resentful look covering her face, and Jean was confused. "You take three sugars Kat..."
Alfie and Kat traded knowing glances, while Jean for the first time started to fear that her opinions might be shrugged off. Surely they wouldn't have driven all the way to Brighton with such an objective, she considered, trying to think positively; a unique challenge for her.
"We've got a bit of a surprise," Kat revealed vaguely, clinging to Alfie's hand.
"It was that alright," he said.
Jean studied both for a few moments, but was unable to decipher their ambiguous hints. Undeterred, her eyes diverged to her daughter in the hope of a clue. Like her cousin, Stacey was giving nothing away. With no alternative, she impatiently waited; it was a first, Mo not spreading the gossip.
Climbing to her feet, Kat stood so that she directly faced Jean. She grasped one end of the belt on her coat, but before pulling it, glanced again to her husband, wanting and needing him to let her know that he was okay with this. Her pregnancy was public knowledge in Walford of course, but because of not-so-distant events, Kat needed his approval in everything that she did. She had no desire to do anything in a way he could consider to be too showy, dramatic or devious ever again. Finally, the mother-to-be gently tugged the end of the belt, allowing the coat to fall open, revealing her only slightly expanded yet indisputably pregnant stomach.
As the sight in front of her eyes sank in, Jean's palms immediately shot to her mouth, much as Alfie's had done when the news of the pregnancy had dawned upon him. One or two delighted tears escaped and she giggled happily. "Congratulations!" she told Kat and Alfie excitedly, moving in to embrace the two in turn.
Letting a happy family scene go by undisturbed and uninterrupted had never been Mo's forte, and she could be seen rolling her eyes at the picture ahead of her. "Never has been one to do things normally this one," she opined, indicating Kat with a nod of the head. "She wrapped the positive test up as a Christmas present and now she can't even tell you straight. I didn't realise the words 'I'm pregnant' were so difficult."
"It's sweet Mo," Jean declared, half way to the door. She ducked out into the hallway, heading animatedly in the direction of the kitchen.
The view was met with a disgruntled huff from the senior citizen among the group. Not having had a man in her life for some years now, the concept of romance had been somewhat lost in translation.
"Jean's just told me the good news. Congratulations," Ollie addressed Kat and Alfie as he approached them with their coffees. Jean meanwhile handed steaming mugs to Stacey and Mo in turn, "And what can I get for Little Miss Lily?" she questioned.
"Milkshake," the little girl grinned cheekily.
Tommy wriggled down off of his father's lap at this juncture, calling, "Chocolate," in an excited manner and stumbling to his godmother's side.
"Chocolate milkshake?" Jean repeated to the three-year-old, who smiled. "Do you want to come with me and see what we've got?"
Tommy nodded enthusiastically at this offer and toddled off to the kitchen with Jean. "Lily will be fine with any flavour Mum, just as long as it's milkshake powder," added Stacey, making her way out to help. "She'll end up looking like a milkshake that one."
Now sitting with her granddaughter on her lap, Jean had convinced her guests that the time was right for a 'little gossip.' Straight onto her favourite subject of Kat and Alfie's relationship; as far as Mo was concerned, she might as well have told them to line up for a grilling.
"So, how long have you two been back together?"
Exchanging looks with his wife, Alfie disclosed, "Since the end of November."
Jean seemed almost disappointed with this particular piece of information, eyeing the couple curiously. "Really? But you're showing?"
"That's the other part of the surprise. We're having twins Jean."
The room was silent for a moment as Jean took on board the latest news. "You look like a goldfish Mum!" Stacey quipped, rousing Jean from her trace like state.
"That's fantastic news! We've never had twins in the family before!" she stammered, clapping happily.
"It's bloody brilliant Jean. Only happened on Barbie Mitchell's wedding night," amended Mo gleefully.
Putting two and two together, Stacey launched into questioning Alfie. "You married Roxy?" The fact that Ronnie had kidnapped Tommy was about the only update she'd managed to get over the last three years.
"Stupidly, yes," he reluctantly admitted.
"I told them they'd never work out," Stacey heard from a proud-as-punch Jean. Her mother's boldness was a source of some amusement; saying something like that to Alfie was one thing, but Roxy entirely another. "How did that happen?" she pressed her cousin's; she assumed; partner.
Kat was quick to interrupt with as much of an answer to this as she was comfortable sharing in front of two three year olds and Ollie, who remained a relative stranger. "Don't ask," she insisted. "It's in the past, we're together and we're holding onto each other with both hands. We can't go splitting up again with three kids in tow."
"Couldn't have put it better myself darlin'," Alfie agreed.
Though they had always been closer to Lynne than Kat through Stacey's childhood, Jean knew it to be unwise in the extreme not to heed Kat's advice. She hadn't done much for her daughter in her life, but she was adamant that she would be there to protect her from herself. She had never been one to let a potentially juicy piece of gossip slip away. "What else is happening in Walford then?" she found herself quickly changing the subject.
As she began rattling off developments, Kat found herself surprised by how much had happened in just five short months, not even that. "We're back living at Number 23 with Nan; Phil kicked us out and sold the Vic for revenge when we got back together, Shirley's brother turned up with his family and bought the place; Ian's engaged to Denise, Phil's back with Sharon, Bianca's got a new bloke, Lister's no more; new market inspector and Michael was murdered…"
"By Janine," came Alfie's grumbled elaboration.
Circumstances disclosed, the list went on. "…Alice is banged up; Janine framed her; Max got back with Kirsty then chucked her out for good, Lauren had an affair with that bloke from her alcoholic counselling; Kim's gone a bit AWOL and Joey's left. I think that's about everything."
"I might be able to get another stall after all then," Stacey observed, with her mother still taking in the revelations.
"Sorry to hear about Michael, Alfie," Jean eventually managed.
"Thanks Jean."
Kat supportively squeezed Alfie's hand, taking the initiative to divert the subject to something less likely to dig up painful memories for him. "You'll actually have to pay the rent on time this time Stace, the guy's a stickler for it. Dropped myself right in it the first day he showed up; thought he was a trader didn't I, told him he could expect an easy ride."
"You daft cow," Stacey couldn't help but giggle at the latest. "What fun," she rolled her eyes. "Who's Kirsty?"
"Max's secret wife. He was about to commit bigamy by remarrying Tanya you know," Kat revealed, hoping that those relatives in the know weren't about to enlighten the oblivious few as to how she knew that, announcing her most embarrassing mistake of all in the process.
"Sounds like Max. Have his cake and eat it," reasoned Stacey.
"This Kirsty bird also fakes pregnancy tests with biros. Good job she's gone Kat, she'd probably start asking to borrow your scan picture," remarked a comedic Alfie.
"Ooh! A picture! Can we see?" Jean requested happily.
Finding the request reasonable, Kat dug into her handbag on a quest to locate her purse, in which she had stored a copy of the photo. "It isn't very clear mind, it was over a month ago now. The next scan's next week," she explained, carefully passing the image of their babies to Jean.
"You know what Kat's like Jean, impatient. So eager was she to see the baby as we thought then, she fell off a chair."
For the first time since their argument that morning, Kat shot a glare in the direction of her husband. "Don't," she warned. "It might be funny to you now but it was the worst feeling ever, thinking that I'd killed our baby."
Leaving the parents-to-be to overcome their minor difference of opinion, Jean passed the photo onto her daughter without speaking a word. Once the polaroid sized image had made it past Ollie and back to Kat, she then broke the silence. "So, Mo," she started, addressing her directly for the first time that day. "Looking forward to being a great grandmother again?"
Ever one for denial when it came to the subject of her age, the pensioner sharply protested, "I'm not a great-grandmother. I'm a grandmother and I'm great!"
In response to the unique claim, Alfie narrowed his eyes to Kat, implying that her mental age wasn't one of a grandmother, great or otherwise.
"Will you stay for tea?" offered Ollie, sensing how happy the reunion had made his partner. "It won't be anything special, but I'm sure I can rustle something up." Being a former police officer, he would be forever cautious when it came to the business of not exaggerating, or creating a false promise. He hadn't been the most encouraging of potential suitors when he'd learned of her condition, but what the previous months had taught him was that he could take care of Jean.
Their visitors seemed to silently confer on this point, before Kat told him, "We'd love to."
"Food is served," declared Ollie, interrupting the conversation as he carried the first of the plates into the room and set them down on the table.
"I'll give you a hand," Alfie announced, following the older man out to the kitchen, while the remainder of the family converged on the small table in the middle of the room.
"Sorry it's a bit cozy," Ollie told the sea of expectant faces as he and Alfie delivered the rest of the plates. "I'd have borrowed a table off the neighbours if I'd known you were coming."
"It doesn't matter, I've got my family all around me," Jean sighed contentedly. "What made you come all this way?" she asked, still taken aback by the day's events.
"Stacey turning up on our doorstep mainly. She wasn't so sure that you'd be alright what with your record with men so Alfie suggested she see for herself."
Turning his attention exclusively to Stacey, Ollie spoke up nervously. He knew that Stacey's approval would mean a lot to Jean. "I know you're protective of your mum, she's told me what you went through while you were growing up. I won't deny we had a rocky start but I'll always be here for her now; you, Lily and your brother too."
Alfie had to admire the bloke; Stacey was similar to his wife in many ways, one of those being that she was never backwards in coming forwards, especially if she felt that her family were under threat.
"I know," admitted Stacey. "I saw it the moment I walked in here. I can't remember ever seeing her so happy. But if you hurt her, you'll wish you'd never been born; me and her will see to that," she spoke warningly, signalling Kat.
"This is nice, better than Nan's," Kat announced as the table continued tucking into their helpings of Ollie's Shepherd's pie.
"That doesn't say much, that just means it's edible," joked Alfie.
"Oi!"
"I wouldn't worry about this lot, you'll get used to them," Stacey assured Ollie, still amused by the antics.
Alfie swallowed his mouthful, before engaging Jean in conversation. "So how's Brighton then Jean?"
"Lovely garden, better weather, Brighton's great. The only way it could be any better would be if you were all here." In a way, the continued absence of the family reminded her of losing Brian, in the sense that she was left with one person. It had been Stacey, now it was Ollie.
"Can I get anyone anything for desert, or a coffee perhaps?" Ollie offered, gathering up the empty plates.
"Just a glass of water if I can," requested Kat. "I'm trying to minimise my weight gain."
"You don't need to, you're gorgeous."
"Alfie I was as fat as a house by the time I was six months gone with Tommy, I dread to think what I'll look like come summer with these two."
"I'll love you whatever happens, you know that."
His words brought a smile to her face, but it wasn't in Kat's nature to back down and admit defeat. "Humour me."
"I'll have a coffee, we'd best make it a quick one though as we should be hitting the road. Tommy has nursery in the morning," Alfie told Ollie.
"I'm sure the kids can manage some ice cream," Jean eyed Kat and Stacey hopefully. It was hard to say that she was genuinely interested in giving Lily and Tommy a treat, when it was so obvious that she was holding on to every last second that she could possibly spend with them.
"I'll get it," decided Alfie, sensing that Jean needed a moment. "You can help," he told Mo sternly. Ollie would be of more comfort to Jean than she would.
"I am a pensioner you know!" she objected, as she was dragged, albeit not roughly; from the room by her grandson-in-law.
"Jean," Ollie took her hands in his as Alfie and Mo disappeared from view. "Do you want to move back to London? You don't have to worry, I'll move with you," he offered, concerned. It wasn't that he would do anything to avoid the effects of her bi-polar, but he was worried for her sake as to the effect that the separation could have. It couldn't be pleasant for her to subsequently realise just how unstable she had got. It had been one thing leaving Kat, Alfie and Mo, but it would be entirely another leaving her more immediate family, now that it seemed feasible for her to maintain contact with them.
For Jean, the decision was an easier one than Kat in particular would have imagined it to be. While her experiencing hostility from some of Walford's residents had been a rare occurrence, it didn't take away from the looks, the hushed conversations of which she had been a victim. Back in London, everyone seemed to know everything about everyone else; Brighton couldn't be more different, it was a welcome relief. "No, I like being normal. I would like to go for a visit occasionally though, stay over for a week or something. If that's ok?" Jean asked, growing nervous. It was still new for her, having someone who would go to any lengths to ensure her happiness, and like Kat, she had convinced herself that she wasn't worthy of it.
"Of course it's ok," Ollie confirmed at once. "You just tell me when and I'll drive you. I can stay with you if you want, or come back here and collect you later. It's not a problem."
"I'd like to go up to London for the birth," she revealed, looking from Ollie to Kat, as if asking permission. "I was in hospital when Tommy was born," she told her partner without giving any further details. Though the twins would fill a void in Kat's life, the void of never having raised a child from day one, the pain would never go away and needed no attention drawing to it.
"No one but Alfie is going within ten feet of that delivery room but we'd love you to be one of the first to meet them."
Alfie soon returned with their drinks, Mo having been more of a hindrance than a help.
"Cheers darlin'," Kat thanked Alfie as he handed her her water. "We were just saying that Jean could come down for the birth, meet the twins and that."
"It wouldn't be the same without her. She's our biggest fan isn't she."
While the group waited for Lily and Tommy to finish with their deserts, Jean set about saying her goodbyes. "Good to see you again Mo," she hugged the ageing criminal, starting with the least painful goodbye first.
When Mo reciprocated, Jean pulled away and knelt by Tommy's chair, who had just discarded his spoon. "Bye Tommy, you be a good boy for your Mummy and Daddy and take care of your little sisters won't you?" she hugged him gently.
"Bye," Tommy responded with a wave, oblivious to the fact that no one was actually leaving quite yet. Kat and Alfie meanwhile looked to each other confusedly, before facing Jean once again.
"We don't know whether they're boys or girls yet Jean," clarified Kat. Had she not been certain to the contrary, she would have asked if she was up to date with her medication.
"I know that Kat, ultrasounds haven't improved quite that much since the eighties," remarked Jean. "They're bound to be aren't they, with both Tommy and Freddie in the last ten years; the Slaters won't be seeing any more little boys for a long while. You're all girls in this family after all."
"We have a prediction," announced Alfie, amused by Jean's apparently psychic manner. She reminded him a lot of his Nana in that respect.
Kat picked Tommy up from his chair, prompting Ollie to fetch his coat and hand it to her. "Jean might be right you know," she then turned to her husband. "She said we'd get back together and we did."
"Nah, the Moons are all boys. Eddie's girl Francesca and Scarlett broke the trend, no more girls for years now."
"We don't mind what they are do we, just as long as they're healthy?"
"We don't mind at all," Alfie confirmed, ruffling Kat's hair and helping her to put on Tommy's coat.
Jean had now moved her attention to Alfie. "See you soon then," she said, slightly uncertainly.
"Of course you will, come here you," he told her, bringing her in for a hug. "Group hug," he suddenly decided, beckoning Kat to join. She giggled, placed Tommy on the floor for a moment and obliged.
"Bye Kat," Jean spoke weakly as Alfie pulled away, the tears beginning to come now, for both Jean and Kat. It was as if she were leaving town all over again.
Scooping her granddaughter up into her arms, Jean made for the door, where Alfie, Tommy, Ollie and Mo were already headed.
"We'll get Lily strapped in if you want, give you two a chance to say your goodbyes," offered Kat, referring of course to Jean and Stacey. Nodding, Jean said a final goodbye to the little girl and reluctantly handed her to Alfie, who proceeded to carry her to the car as Kat led Tommy in the same direction.
"Bye Mum," Stacey choked out as she embraced her mother. "Lily and I will come to stay, alright?" she tried to cheer her up, knowing that Jean would take the parting harder than she herself would.
"You do that, we've got a spare room," Jean added, as Stacey kissed her cheek and sloped off to the car, their hands still clinging to each others until finally, Stacey was too far away. "And Stacey," she called after her daughter. "Call us if you need anything; I wasn't much good as a mother when you were growing up but I can be now."
Stacey let out a sob at these words, nodding in agreement as she ducked her head down and disappeared into the car. She wanted to tell Jean that it wasn't true, but the sad fact was that both knew that wasn't the case. It had been necessary for Jean to sort herself out before she could attempt to sort out anyone else.
Ollie could do nothing but try his best to confront Jean as the pair watched the people carrier pull out, and then disappear from view, with no concrete idea as to when they would see them all again. That was the thing about surprises. Surprises were good, but they always seemed to produce the most awful state of limbo when they were over, before you were finally able adjust back to your own life. It was the curse of surprises, and after more than ten years, Kat and Alfie had broken that mould, with their little miracles and no bad stuff left lingering.