"What's going on here? Wall to wall grouch Robinson women?" Paul said as he entered number 22, briefcase in hand, hearing the unmistakable cry of his young daughter.
"Careful Robbo. You'll be wearing this shortly" Gail said, gesturing at him with a bottle in her hand.
Paul gave his wife a cheeky smile and moved to where she sat on the sofa, holding their daughter, looking down at the baby and seeing her face pink with crying he said 'Lucinda Anne, what is going on? Six months old today as well....hardly something to cry about"
At the sound of his voice, the crying ceased as the baby looked up at him, Gail rolled her eyes and handed her to him saying "She's tired ....these teeth are getting to her"
"Poor thing...she's usually so good" he said as he looked down adoringly at his daughter.
Gail laughed "She is, but the boys have been angels compared to her today"
"So how was work today?" Gail enquired. Rosemary had left for America 2 weeks ago, and the Robinson Corporation was again having to manage its own workload. The employment of a couple of new key staff had helped to ease the burden somewhat.
Well, Janette is working out quite well.
"Is she the marketing graduate?"
"Yes." Paul gazed down at his daughter, who finally settled in his arms and was contentedly sucking her thumb. "She is a great help. Nice kid"
"Pretty too, Paul. Helen commented she might hold a bit of a torch for you."
"Gail, honestly. She is hardly my type" he smirked at her. Showing her those dimples she saw in her sons more every day that passed.
"Oh really...and just what is Paul Robinson's type?" Gail said curtly busying herself in the kitchen preparing dinner.
Paul laughed as he placed Lucinda on the sofa, "Well if you don't know that by now...I'm not telling you!" he replied, walking over towards her.
Glancing behind him to check Lucinda was safe on the sofa, Gail continued with dinner. Paul watched her, sensing the change in moods, he walked up behind her, placing his arms around her waist, gently kissing her neck.
"Hey come on....the only woman I have eyes for is you...you know that" he said softly
Gail turned in his arms but kept her distance "But does she know that?" she said
Paul looked at her, slightly confused, Gail shook her head "Oh come on Paul...a pretty girl...keen to make an impression both personally and professionally...late nights at the office...one thing leads to another" she said "We hardly have any time for each other as it is, you're at the office and when you're home the babies are usually demanding attention. I guess no one could blame you if a pretty girl gives you the attention you're lacking"
Paul shook his head "I don't believe you just said that" he said rolling his eyes "I've never really thought of it that way but perhaps I should have. I've never had to before because it's been you, me and Jane, who was more like a younger sister in the office so the issue has never come up before"
Gail looked at him with a knowing frown "What about Susan Cole or Crystal for that matter?" she said, sarcastically
Paul frowned, quietly but firmly he replied "You know that wasn't the same with Susan, I've told you everything that happened and why with her. As for Crystal I can't really say I had a relationship with her"
"You spent quite a bit of time with her, if I recall rightly" Gail said
"No Gail...that's where you're wrong...it was one night out, after the fuss with Lucy when she saw us together I never went out with her again" Paul said "I'm slightly confused here Gail, are you accusing me of something?"
"Why have you done something?" she replied without thinking, slightly wishing she could take the words back. From the living room they heard the sound of Elle starting to become unsettled, Gail sighed and went over to her, giving her a teething ring and calming her down before going back to Paul in the kitchen.
Paul looked at her in disbelief, slightly angry and slightly hurt that she could even think to make an accusation like she had just done "I don't believe it...you don't trust me" he said angrily "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not Jeremy"
Gail looked at him "I know how these things start...gentle flirtation in the office and suddenly you're not coming home at night or you're working late" she said with tears stinging her eyes.
"Where is all this coming from? Has someone said something?" Paul asked
"Madge just mentioned how well you two were getting on the other day when she went into the office, very cosy from what I gather" Gail replied
"What did Madge say?" Paul asked "I can't even remember her coming in?" His frustration and tiredness beginning to show in his voice.
"She said you were deep in conversation" Gail said
"Gail...she's my employee I have to work closely with her" Paul said angrily "But that is all"
"Fine" Gail said shaking her head in frustration
"Fine" Paul said angrily, looking towards the living room he calmed slightly at the sight of his daughter "I'm going to get Elle ready for bed before I say something I might regret"
Gail watched him walk over and pick Elle up; suddenly she felt a sense of emptiness as she watched him carry the baby upstairs. Sighing she decided they both needed some space and set about making dinner. Paul walked into the nursery, setting Elle down in her cot while he prepared her bath, checking on the two boys, Robert was asleep but Cameron lay awake in the cot.
After an hour, Gail couldn't take the silence anymore and walked upstairs; looking into the nursery she saw Robert and Elle peaceful in their cots, gently stroking her daughter's face she thought how Paul always seemed to be able to calm her down. Walking into their bedroom she saw Paul lying on the bed talking to Cameron.
"I see you got Elle asleep finally" Gail remarked
Paul looked at her "Yeah...I think she's worn herself out today, just trying to get this little one to sleep now" he replied, turning away from her and going back to the baby.
"I just thought I'd tell you that dinner's ready" Gail said quietly.
"I'll be down in a minute" he said not looking at her.
Gail sighed and walked downstairs, she sensed there was a wall between her and Paul and she knew it was her fault; she was still unsure what brought about her outburst. She knew that Paul wasn't Jeremy but it still didn't alter the fact that she hated the thought of him working closely with another woman. Ten minutes later Paul walked downstairs and sat down; they ate their dinner in an uncomfortable silence. She watched him play with his food, sighing she got up from the table, his voice made her turn around.
"I hate it when you won't talk to me Gail" he said
"I don't want to fight with you...but I also know what can happen...sometimes you have no control over situations" she said sitting back down.
Paul took her hand "Well if I can help it nothing will happen" he said
"I want to believe you...but I keep remembering Jeremy and all his promises" Gail replied
"How many times Gail...I'm not Jeremy" he said gently stroking her face "I love you too much to hurt you like that and besides do you really think I would do anything to risk losing this family?"
"No" Gail replied quietly, the tears gently spilling down her cheeks.
Paul stood up and crouched beside her chair, wrapping his arms around her he kissed her cheek "Then what are we arguing about" he said
"I don't know...I guess I just got jealous of another woman spending time with you" she said
"But she's isn't spending time with me...we're working that's all" Paul said "Hey come on why don't you go and sit down and I'll wash up then you can tell me about your day"
The following morning Paul woke up early, looking across at Gail he noticed she was still asleep, the babies' had only got them up once in the night, it seemed they were sleeping longer during the night which was a relief to both he and Gail. Deciding he no longer wanted to stay in bed he got up, putting on his dressing gown and wandered into the nursery. Checking on Robert and Elle he saw they were both asleep then he went to Cameron's cot, where he was awake and started to fuss when he saw Paul. Paul picked him up and smiled
"Sssshhhh" He whispered "Let's take you downstairs before you wake your brother and sister" kissing the baby's head. Once downstairs Paul placed Cameron in the downstairs basinet and went and prepared a bottle, putting the coffee machine on as he did so. Ten minutes later he settled stretching out on the sofa with his feet up as he fed Cameron with his coffee. A little while later, Gail walked downstairs.
"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked sleepily
"You looked so peaceful I didn't want to disturb you" Paul replied giving her a kiss as she sat on the arm of the sofa behind him.
Looking at the baby she smiled "What is he doing up, the other two are fast asleep" Gail said
Paul looked at the baby "Oh he was awake when I walked into the nursery, so I thought I'd bring him down here and spend some quality time with him." Paul said "Sometimes I think this one gets forgotten, I mean Elle makes her presence known and Lucy spoils Robert"
"You once said that you thought this one and Elle would gang up on Robert" she said
Paul glanced at the baby before turning to her "The boys are similar, Cameron's calmed down so much these last couple of months that sometimes he seems the quieter of the two." He said "I just want these three to know they're all special and that they're loved"
Gail smiled "I think these three will grow up knowing that their dad loves them" she said
Paul sighed "What about their mum?" he said
Gail looked at him
"Well does she realise how much I love her and only her" he said
Gail smiled and kissed him "Yes...I'm sorry about last night...guess Elle just wore me down" she said "Here why don't you let me take him while you get ready for work"
Paul shook his head "No...I'm not going to work today?" he said
Gail raised her eyebrows "Why?"
"Um, because you are. You always said you could do my job as well as your own." Paul replied
"Are you serious?" Gail asked
"Never more so." Paul laughed
"You want me to leave you here, with our children, all day?" Gail said curiously
That's right Darling...after all they are our children" Paul said "Why don't you think I can cope?"
Gail smiled "It's not that.."
"What then?" Paul said
Gail rolled her eyes and laughed "Nothing "she said "I guess I better make breakfast and then get ready for work"
The day past slowly for Gail, part of her was happy to be working again but there was something missing, the new office staff were friendly enough although Janette left shortly before lunch, complaining of having a migraine, she missed the old days when it was just her, Paul and Jane in the office. Her day had been busy, there were a few major conventions coming up, she sighed when she thought how the next few weeks would be busy for Paul which probably meant she would see very little of him. Smiling she wondered how Paul was doing looking after the babies, wondering whether he had managed to persuade Helen to spend the day there. Six O'clock came and she decided it was time to go home, she missed her family and there wasn't much else that needed to be done that couldn't wait until Monday.
As she parked the car in the drive she was surprised that there wasn't any sound of crying coming from inside the house, quietly she opened the door and stepped inside, she heard Paul's voice coming from the kitchen so she walked towards him. She stopped in the alcove and inwardly laughed at the sight before her; the triplets were sat in their highchairs around the table, while Paul had the newspaper spread out on the table and seemed to be explaining stocks and shares to them, when to sell and when not to.
"So this is your idea of a bedtime story is it? Gail said, walking up to Paul smiling and placing her hand on his shoulder
Paul turned and stood up "Well they're never too young to learn" he said kissing her on the cheek "How was your day?"
"Fine" Gail said "Your workload is going to increase though, I checked your diary for the next month and you have three major conventions coming up"
Paul groaned "I know and I'm not looking forward to them to be honest... the days I lived for work are long gone" he said glancing at the children.
"By the way your assistant left early claiming she had a migraine" Gail said "Think she was missing you"
Paul rolled his eyes "Don't start" he said "Come on let's get these three to bed, dinner will be in an hour"
After putting the children to bed, Gail went into the laundry room to sort out some washing while Paul finished preparing dinner, she frowned at the mess before her, there were dirty clothes and nappies all over the floor. Sighing she set about clearing up, Paul smiled when she walked back in to the kitchen, seeing her look slightly unhappy he stopped what he was doing.
"What's wrong?" he asked
"Nothing" she said "How was your day?"
"Fine" Paul said "Those three are so easy to deal with"
"So what exactly is that mess in the laundry room I've just sorted?" Gail asked
"Oh" remembering Paul looked at the ground wishing it would swallow him up
Gail laughed "Okay what happened?"
"Three demanding babies" Paul said exasperated "You get one settled then the other one starts, and don't get me started on your daughter"
"My daughter? why what did she do and the last time I checked she was our daughter?" Gail said laughing out loud no longer able to hold back her tone of teasing.
"Oh I was feeding her some pureed vegetables and I had the dish on the table and wasn't really watching her, when the sneaky little madam reached out and pulled the dish over, I had pureed vegetable all over my pants"
"Oh darling I forgot to mention about that" Gail said "She has a habit of grabbing for things"
"Yep well I found that out didn't I" Paul said
"I know, I kind of guessed that when I found your trousers in the laundry room, along with the dirty nappies and empty jars of baby food" Gail said
Paul laughed "Yeah I realised that you would be coming home and I didn't want you to know how hopeless I am at looking after our children so I just put everything in there!" he said
"Darling you're not hopeless..it is difficult dealing with the three of them" Gail said "My day wasn't that great either to be honest, I missed you and the way things used to be in the office, I had to stop myself from phoning you four times today"
Paul smiled "So much for job swap" he said
"I don't know about that" Gail said "I could still go into work once a week and you could stay home, that's if you could put up with another day alone with our daughter"
Paul laughed "You know she reminds me of you" He said "I was so annoyed at having her food all over me but then she started smiling and I couldn't remain angry with her"
"Well us girls have to keep you on your toes" Gail replied
A few weeks later Paul was sat in his office after not having a good morning. For the past week he had been plagued with indigestion, he put it down to stress due to his increased workload, he looked at his watch, it was nearly lunchtime and he knew Gail would be joining him for lunch soon.
Janette sashayed into the office, holding two mugs of coffee. For the first time and as a result of Gail's comment, Paul noticed indifferently that she was a good looking woman, somewhat girlish despite being at least thirty, or so he guessed. Walking over to his side of the desk she perched on the edge of it while handing him the coffee.
"Thanks" he said briefly looking up at her. "But you didn't need to bring me a coffee it's nearly lunchtime"
"Oh, do I need an excuse to appreciate my boss? " Janette replied
That was just the sort of thing his wife would have said. He missed having Gail in the office, working with her, being able to share the whole day with her, he missed the children, just at the moment ten hours was too long to spend in the office.
"No, I guess not" he said, with a tired smile. God, he felt unwell. It wasn't just tiredness, his stomach was really sore. Neither he or Janette were aware of the outer office door opening as Gail walked in, hearing the sound of voices she moved closer to the inner office door quietly listening to the conversation.
"I was thinking maybe we could go out for a drink when we've finished here?" Janette said, placing her hand on Paul's arm tenderly.
Paul jumped at the touch and looked down at her hand, it wasn't what he expected from a colleague and felt uncomfortable, as he took Janette's wrist and removed her hand from his arm he said "ah, I don't think so" Paul said "I've got other things to do"
"But there's no harm in having a little fun, I'm sure you don't get much fun at home with three young children to look after" Janette said, moving slightly closer to him whilst perched on the desk. Paul was suddenly aware of Janette's dress attire and realised what Gail had previously said could in fact be true.
As the situation in the office continued Gail moved to the open door slowly, Janette had her back to the door so wasn't aware of her and Paul was looking at paperwork whilst talking to her.
"That's where you're wrong, I happen to enjoy being with my family, they mean everything to me and I'm not about to do anything to jeopardise that" Paul said as he got up and past Janette to put a file away.
"As far as I see it, who needs to know?" Janette said looking questioningly at Paul's shocked face.
Collecting more papers on his desk in a flurry due to his rising anger Paul adamantly stated "For once and for all Janette I am happily married with a family and that is not going to change. I will be completing your Probation Appraisal this afternoon. I will meet with you at 4pm to advise you accordingly" he said looking up and seeing Gail standing in the doorway.
Paul was at first startled by Gail's presence. Her face was a mixture of 'I told you so' and relief. Paul walked over to her, planting a kiss on her cheek before turning to Janette and telling her to that he was going to lunch.
As they sat down in the hotel restaurant where it was quieter than the Coffee Shop Gail looked at him, a bit concerned at how pale and tired he looked.
"Hey are you okay?" she said, placing her hand over his.
Paul squeezed her hand "Yes I'm fine, just really tired" he said "How much did you hear in the office"
Gail smiled reassuringly "Most of it" she said
Paul looked at her "You were right" He said "I can't believe that I didn't read the signals"
"Don't worry about it" Gail said "
"So how do we deal with this?" Paul asked "I'm not sure what to say to her in the Appraisal meeting"
"What do you want to do?" Gail asked
Paul sighed "If I let her go she could take me to an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal, stating that I made a pass at her, but I don't want to work in an environment where I have to watch everything I do or say in case it is taken the wrong way" he said
"Look we have to look at the pros and cons, examine whether her work is satisfactory or not" Gail said
"You're right" Paul replied "Maybe I should have done that when we brought the business"
"Darling, we did the right thing then and we'll do the right thing now" Gail smiled "The most important thing is we're a team and we can sort this out together, so tell me honestly what is her work like"
Paul stared down, Gail could sense that he was nervous by the way he played with the menu, looking up at her he spoke "Well put it this way she's not Jane, even with the amount of experience she says she has, there have been a number of mistakes in the Home James accounts in the last few weeks as well as double bookings, which doesn't endear us to clients. Her filing is behind, in fact she reminds me of Melanie, in that I can't figure her filing system out, she's not made herself popular with the staff either, she thinks she's on a superior level because she's working in the office"
Gail looked at him curiously "Hang on, you previously said that everything was fine, that she was doing great" she said
Paul smiled "I lied, I didn't want to worry you, and you've got enough to cope with looking after the children without worrying about me and the business" he said
Gail rolled her eyes "We're still business partners" she said "I can increase my hours if you need more help; the children don't seem to mind the crèche too much"
Paul shook his head "No..it's okay I'll get onto the agency and start recruiting again" he replied
Gail looked at him and saw by the look on his face that he was in pain "Paul what's wrong...you don't look too good" she said
Paul faked a smile "I'm fine...just a touch of indigestion, that's all" he said
"Look why don't you leave the appraisals for tomorrow, go home I can look after things here" Gail said concerned and not quite believing that Paul was suffering from indigestion.
Paul smiled "No I want to get this over and done with" he said
Later that afternoon, Gail worked in the reception area while Paul did the appraisal. During the afternoon she had noticed how pale Paul was looking but decided not to push the issue, knowing he was already feeling stressed. She checked her watch and realised it was nearly half five, Paul had just shown Janette out but wasn't giving anything away about the appraisal, but gone directly back into the office. Standing up, she decided to follow him inside.
"How did it go?" she asked sitting in the chair opposite Paul
Paul propped his head on his hands on the desk and looked at her "Think she realised she embarrassed herself today, she told me she had given it some thought over the lunch hour and felt that this was not the right job for her, she's resigned" he said
"Oh darling you look tired, why don't you call it a night" Gail said "And you need to see the doctor, you haven't been sleeping well and it's not the children as they've more or less been sleeping through the night"
Paul sighed in frustration "Gail, I haven't got time for a doctor's appointment, now with Janette gone my workload has doubled" he said
"Okay" Gail said sensing the angry tone in Paul's voice, knowing that he was stressed "But please come home now"
Paul softened his tone, seeing the concerned look on Gail's face "No, darling I still have some things I need to finish tonight"
"I'm going to pick up the children now, please don't stay here for too long" she said, walking round to his side of the desk she kissed him.
"I won't" he said "I'll be in by 8 o'clock at the latest"
"I'll put dinner on for then" Gail smiled, as she started to walk towards the door
"Hey" Paul called causing her to turn around. "Love you"
Gail smiled "Love you too, now hurry up and come home" she said chastising him playfully
"Yes mam" Paul replied chuckling
Gail busied herself with getting the children ready for bed, Lucy popped in and offered to help and Gail felt slightly relieved to have some company as she was sure something was wrong with Paul yet she couldn't put her finger on it. After Lucy went home she started preparing dinner.
Sitting at his desk Paul suddenly felt the pain in his stomach get worse, getting up he went to pour himself another mug of coffee hoping that would ease some of the tension he felt. As he sat back down he grimaced, he felt sick but needed to continue for a while longer, there was so much he needed to get done but he also wanted to get home. Looking at his watch he saw that he still had an hour before Gail would have dinner ready and reluctantly he focused his mind on his work trying to put aside the pain that was increasing inside him.
Eight O'clock came and Paul had still not returned home, the sound of silence in the house unsettled her, Paul usually kept his promise and she felt something was wrong so she tried to keep busy with the laundry and tidying up. The ring of the phone startled her and convinced it would be Paul ringing to say he was just leaving she rushed to pick it up.
"Gail..."
She heard Paul's voice sounding weak over the phone line
"Darling..what's wrong?" she said concerned
"I'm not feeling too good, do you think you can you come and collect me, I don't want to drive" Paul said
She sensed the pain in his voice and immediately felt fear rise in her own but tried to disguise it. She knew Paul wouldn't admit to being unwell unless it was serious and she needed to get there urgently "Okay" she said "Give me five minutes to get a babysitter and I'll be there"
"Thanks" Paul said weakly trying to keep his voice level so not to alarm her unduly
After saying goodbye Gail made a phone call to Helen. She didn't want to alarm Helen so explained that Paul thought he was coming down with something so wanted a lift home. After making sure Helen was okay with the children Gail made her way to Lassiters as fast as she could, leaving her car at reception she rushed across past the Waterhole to the office where she could see the inner office light still on. As she reached the inner office she saw Paul slumped over his desk with his head leaning on his arm and thinking he was asleep she walked over to him to wake him gently she placed her hand on his back. His breathing seemed shallow and he didn't respond to her, suddenly Gail could feel her pulse race and panic rise from out of nowhere in her own body; she realised he was unconscious.