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Jonny arrived home with Granddad George and Ava to find Mo, Sacha and Michael all working away in the kitchen.

'Where's Jac?' Jonny asked with a look of concern etched on his face.

'Relax Jonny, she's taking a nap' Mo smiled at him, handing him a cup of tea. 'You look like you could do with this'

'I think I could do with something a lot stronger to be honest' Jonny laughed shakily as he sat down at the dinning table. 'I spoke with Paula and she is all kinds of evil, no offence George' Jonny smiled apologetically at the old man.

'As much as it saddens me to say it, you'll only get my agreement on that score' George wearily took a seat next to Jonny.

'Well Jac has decided that the first official Naylor-Maconie Christmas continues regardless' Michael smiled at the two exhausted looking men as he place a cup of tea in front of George 'so do your British thing and keep calm and carry on after a good cuppa'.

'Well as Winston Churchill supposedly said, if you're going through hell keep going' George offered up to his American friend causing the group to laugh.

'Although after Christmas we need to get Jac to do something about those nightmares of hers' Sacha muttered in Jonny's ear 'How much sleep are the pair of you actually getting?'

'I've no idea although I'm fairly certain I get more than Jac, she doesn't always wake me' Jonny shrugged 'to be honest with you Sacha I'm picking my battles at the moment'

'Let us help' Sacha squeezed Jonny's shoulder 'Michael and I will try.'

'I thought you were planning to sleep through Christmas day Michael?' Jonny asked the American 'I thought that was why you opted for the Christmas Eve night shift?'

'Well yeah that was the plan, but a certain red head put a stop to that' Michael spoke as he pealed a carrot 'not that I'm saying I didn't deserve it' Michael shook his head at his own stupidity.

'Well less said about that the better' Jonny still hadn't quite forgiven team Naylor for their foolish planning 'however had your plan worked I would have been the first to thank you, that if of course if I'd been allowed to know'

'It's time to let it go Jonny' George spoke softly 'it's done and raking over it won't help Jac or Ava'

'Speaking of the wee miss, where has she got to?' Jonny asked suddenly aware Ava wasn't with them or in the lounge.

Ava walked quietly to Auntie Jac's and Uncle Jonny's bedroom door and reached up on tip toe to open it. Jac awoke from her light doze at the sound of the door opening and sat up sleepily as she saw from the soft glow of the bedside light her red haired niece stood the doorway.

'Are you ok Ava?' she asked groggily

The little girl nodded and then said 'I was missing you'

'You were?' Jac couldn't help but smile as Ava clambered up onto the bed and lay down next her. Jac lay her head back down on the pillow and reached over to smooth Ava's soft hair.

'Are you sad Auntie Jac?' the little girl asked

'A little bit' Jac answered her honestly

'Mummy said you might be feeling a bit sad so she said I had to give you this' Ava wrapped her arms around Jac's skinny torso 'and to tell you that she loves you and to say that you can defi-defi' Ava stumbled over a difficult word.

Jac tried hard to think what the word might have been 'definitely?' she offered the child.

Ava nodded before continuing with the rest of message 'go and see her tomorrow'.

'That's good' Jac smiled at the little girl 'then we'll both go and see Mummy tomorrow whilst Uncle Jonny is working'

'Did Mummy's hug make you feel better?' Ava asked.

'Much better' Jac kissed the top of Ava's head. 'I love you pumpkin' she whispered to the child.

'I love you too Auntie Jac' the little girl whispered back before giving her Auntie another hug. 'That hug was from me' she grinned at her auntie as she moved away.

'Sorry, did she wake you up?' Jonny smiled as he witnessed his two girls snuggled up on the bed together.

'It doesn't matter' Jac smiled 'I didn't realise you were home.'

'That's because you were snoring really loudly' Jonny joked as he sat next to Ava on the bed.

'I do not snore' Jac pretended to be offended

'Yes you do, doesn't Auntie Jac snore Ava?'

'No you do' Ava giggled.

'I do not!' Jonny protested.

'Yes you do' Ava continued to giggle 'really loud'

'Right that's it' Jonny laughed as he started to tickle Ava.

'Uncle Jonny stop!' Ava squealed with laughter causing Jac to laugh with her. After a few more squeals Jonny stopped. Ava sat up suddenly and wrapped her arms around Jonny 'I love you Uncle Jonny' she said for the first time. She let him go and clambered over him to hop down from the bed. 'I'm going to see Mo and Sacha' the little girl spoke happily as she skipped out of room.

'Wow' Jonny whispered, his voice sounding a little choked.

'Yep it's a pretty special moment alright' Jac smiled at him, watching as he wiped away a few tears with his hand. She threw the box tissues on her bedside cabinet at him jokingly muttering 'big baby' under her breath.

'That child certainly knows when to pick her moments' Jonny laughed as Jac wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest 'I needed that after today.'

'Did you…' Jac hesitated before she finished the question 'did you see her?'

'Yes' Jonny nodded his head slowly, his expression changing into a serious frown 'I don't think it would do you any good to have any contact with that woman. My god Jac, I'm so sorry'

'Why? Its not your fault I ended up with her as my mother' Jac curled herself up against Jonny trying to make herself as small as possible.

'Sorry, that was a stupid thing to say' Jonny held her as tight as he could knowing this was what she wanted when she was feeling afraid and unsure of herself. 'I just can't actually believe how vile she really is, the reality of her exceeds any description you ever gave me of her.'

'I told you she was a serial abandoner and effectively stole my kidney though didn't I?' Jac mumbled against his chest.

'Yeah, but even then I was expecting her to show a little bit of love or contrition. You're her child for god sakes'. Jonny rubbed her back wishing he take away every memory Jac ever had of Paula Burrows.

'What did she say to you?' Jac asked she moved away slightly and repositioned herself so she could look Jonny in the eye.

Jonny shook his head 'I'm not repeating the things she said about you, it was vile and I never want you to hear it. It's over now and she'll be gone out of your life for good this time.'

'I can assure you I've probably already heard her say all those things before. I bet I'm the top subject of the hospital Christmas gossip' she sighed.

'No, Jac I think everyone is on your side' he kissed her lightly.

'You didn't hear the juicy particulars that were broadcasted across Keller ward for all to hear'

'I know, Malick filled me in' Jonny ran his fingers through Jac's long hair wishing he could take away all the hurt she was feeling.

'He didn't tell Granddad did he?' Jac's voice sounded panicked

'No, calm down it was a private conversation' Jonny tightened the griped of his arm around her. 'It wouldn't change his opinion of you Jac, if he knew.' Jac shook her head so Jonny let it go.

'Was Jasmine ok?' she asked to change the subject.

'She's disappointed, hurt and angry because it didn't go as she'd planned. She was more worried about you though.'

'I'm fine' Jac automatically lied

'Jac, it's me you're talking to' Jonny sighed.

'Ok, I'm not fine but I can't voice what I'm feeling' Jac slid her hand down Jonny's arm until she found his fingers and entwined them with her own 'my head is a bit of a jumble. But I'm clear that we need to keep things happy and stable for Ava.'

Jonny squeezed her hand letting her know he understood. 'Do you think we could just stay like this for the rest of day?' he asked her closing his eyes.

'We could, but I don't think Mo would be too impressed' Jac smiled as Jonny opened his eyes.

'We so do not need militant organisational Mo to return' he joked as they sat up. He cupped the side of her face with his hand, resting it there for a moment. 'I love you Mrs Naylor-Maconie' he whispered with a smile forming on his lips.

'I love you too' she smiled at him 'I can't believe you married me.'

They grinned at each other like love sick teenagers until the moment was shattered by Mo calling loudly 'if you think you're getting out of doing any of the cooking Jonny Mac you've got another thing coming.'

'What about Jac?' Jonny yelled back.

'We've all got good intentions to live thank you' they heard Sacha shout in response.

Malick led Paula back out to Jasmine side room now the rest of her family had returned home. He closed the door to the side room behind him and stood in the corner of the room.

'I don't think it's essential for you to be here' Paula spoke coldly to him

'I think it is' Malick crossed his arms determinedly

'I want him here' Jasmine matched her mothers cool tone 'I don't feel like I can trust you.'

'This is ridiculous' Paula laughed incredulously 'you're my daughter.'

'Apparently that means very little to you' Jasmine stared her mother dead in the eye 'I called you here in an attempt to protect Jac from you. I can see now it was a futile effort and it has done more harm than good. I want you leave and I'm hoping you'll never return. I am hoping that you'll leave Jac and Granddad to live out their lives in peace now that they've managed put themselves back together after what you did to them. I have hope that if you ever loved me you'll do this one thing for me.'

'I still love you' Paula muttered.

'You have a strange way of showing it' Jasmine retorted angrily.

'What about Ava? She might need her grandmother' Paula already knew the answer.

'I don't think she needs a grandmother like you who'll play mind games and abandon her when you get bored. I lost count of the number of times you left me with virtual strangers when I was small. Didn't any thought of danger ever cross your mind when you did that?'

'And yet you'll happily leave Ava with Jac?' Paula retorted nastily.

'What on earth have you got against Jac?' Jasmine shook her head in disbelief 'she saved your life by endangering herself to give you one of her kidneys and yet you still treat her as though she were the enemy. The truth is Jac is good and kind and she loves Ava. Most importantly Ava loves her and I love her. I am proud of my big sister and she is the only one I'd trust to raise my child the way I would have done'.

'She is cold and bitter' Paula remarked

'No she is warm and loving, she just has to trust you first' Jasmine frowned at her mother 'all the walls Jac has built are there to protect herself as a result of your actions so don't you dare criticise her.'

'Well I can see you have firmly decided to pick sides' Paula spoke with emotion in her voice 'I'll do as you wish. There is more traveling to be done, places to see and people to meet.'

'I hope that brings you happiness' Jasmine spoke calmly.

'Yes, it always does' Paula gave a small sad smile as she spoke 'goodbye darling.' Without anything further to say she turned and left the room, Malick following close behind her to make sure she couldn't create any more havoc during her departure.

Jasmines phone beeped with the sound of an incoming text message. Picking up the phone she saw it was a message from Jac. 'Ava gave me your message. I love you too Jasmine Burrows. See you tomorrow.' She read the message three times before the words became blurred from the falling of the tears she'd held in since Paula Burrows indifferent return.