I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Five Hundred and Thirty Four
Sid had hardly slept. All he could think about was the idea that Marilyn and Nicole had been making plans for their future, for his future – without him. It felt like a betrayal. Having a child was a decision he and Marilyn should be making together, not something she should go off and decide on her own. Where was this supposed to leave them? What was he supposed to do with all of this?
Well, right now, he was up and dressed and about to knock on Nicole's door. He hadn't really got anywhere with Marilyn last night. He hadn't really known what to say and she had seemed so fragile when she had been talking about the baby and about Nicole. So he thought it was time to talk to the other person involved in this whole confusing situation.
"Sid!" Alf said gruffly. "I was half expecting you to be police."
"No, just a plain old Doctor," Sid said. "Is Nicole here?"
"Asleep, I'd assume," he said, allowing him inside. "It's pretty early for a teenager."
"Yeah, sorry," Sid said. "I was up and about so I just thought I'd knock on the off chance."
"I'll pop up and call her," Alf offered, heading towards the stairs. "Feel free to grab a coffee. I've just made some."
Sid thanked him and headed into the kitchen, hoping that Nicole would surface. He really needed to speak to her.
Charlie and Joey were also up early. Deciding the clear the cobwebs from the party the night before, they decided to charge down to the beach for a run. Challenging each other was one of their favourite past times.
"Haha! Winner!" Charlie claimed, throwing herself down on the sand.
"Barely!" Joey insisted, landing beside her.
"And yet… still the winner!" Charlie said proudly.
Joey leaned over her, resting her hand on her tummy.
"Smug is not an attractive feature, you know," she said.
"Good job I have so many other attractive features," Charlie grinned.
"Well, I can't argue with that, I suppose," Joey said softly, kissing her.
Charlie reached up and ran her hands through Joey's hair, pulling her closer. Joey kissed her harder, pressing their bodies closer together. It would be very easy to get carried away.
Nicole looked decidedly sleepy when she eventually arrived downstairs.
"Sorry," Sid apologised. "I didn't mean to wake you."
Nicole hesitated and considered lying to be polite. But then thought about the state she probably looked and changed her mind.
"It's fine," she said. "I wasn't sleeping terribly well anyway. It was probably good for me to drag myself out of bed."
Alf bustled out of the house, telling them he was going fishing. They said their goodbyes and Nicole came to sit with Sid at the table. She suspected she knew what this conversation was about.
"I spoke to Marilyn last night," Sid said, getting straight to the point.
"Okay…"
"She told me," he said. "About your plans. For the baby."
"And… what… what do you think?" Nicole asked.
She was desperate for him to be on board. She was desperate for her child to go to a good, loving family and she couldn't think of better parents than Marilyn and Sid. She had done a lot of soul searching over the last few months and she had reached the conclusion that she couldn't be a mother so young and she couldn't be a mother to Penn Graham's son or daughter. But she couldn't end her pregnancy either. It wasn't something she could bring herself to do, no matter who the father was. And Marilyn had suffered such a great loss, years ago, when her son, Byron had died so young. She deserved to have another chance at being a mother. Nicole felt privileged to give her that opportunity.
"I think it's a huge decision for her to make without so much as consulting me," Sid said.
Nicole's heart sank. He was clearly pissed off.
"Well, that's a conversation you need to have with Marilyn, not me," Nicole replied. "But my stance is that if you and Marilyn want to be parents to this baby, it's yours. I think you would be amazing parents and that's all I want for my child. I'm not in a position to be what this baby needs but you and Marilyn are. I haven't made this decision lightly, Sid and I know Marilyn hasn't either. I know it's been a shock but if you can just think about it and if you can talk to Marilyn…"
Sid sighed heavily.
"Okay," he said finally, standing up. "Okay."
He left.
Joey jolted away from Charlie, blushing red as someone cleared their throat above them. Charlie bust out laughing when she realised that it was Watson stood over them, trying not to smirk at them.
"You know that I could book you for such a PDA," the police officer grinned.
"Homophobe," Charlie smirked back.
Watson laughed and sat down beside them.
"Honestly, you two," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Do you ever leave each other alone?"
"Well, you've got to keep the love alive!" Joey grinned.
Leah grumbled to herself as she had to move VJ's laptop off the kitchen table so that she could clean it after breakfast. She seemed to always be clearing up after him at the moment – dishes, clothes, electronics. She paused when she noticed the webpage that was open. Knowing she really ought not to be nosing through his things, she sat down on the chair.
Hoping he would be occupied upstairs for a bit longer, she rummaged through the Facebook page he had been looking at. It was a Christian site. Well, there were certainly worse things he could be looking at. However, there was a feeling of worry in the pit of her stomach.
Ever since her relationship with Elijah, VJ had become very interested in faith and religion. She had supported it. She had encouraged it. It was something he had found a lot of comfort in. But now he was about to start high school and Leah was worried that her little boy wasn't going to fit in. She was scared that he was going to be the odd one out and an easy target for bullies. There would be no opportunity to make a first impression and she didn't want him to go through years of hell. She was worried for him. She just wanted his life to go smoothly. She wanted things to be easy.
Charlie had gone off to work, prepared to be teased by Watson for most of the day while Joey was getting ready for her shift at the restaurant. Almost as soon as she opened, Nicole arrived and she didn't look very happy.
"Hey," Joey greeted. "Are you okay? Nothing's wrong with the baby?"
She felt immediately concerned. She also felt guilty. What with everything that had been going on with losing Ross, she hadn't been a supportive enough friend to Nicole. She hadn't even known she was pregnant until recently. Nicole had obviously not felt able to turn to her when she needed her. She had kept her secret to herself until Marilyn had taken her away after Christmas.
"No, no, the baby is fine," Nicole assured her. "It's just…"
Joey guided her to a table, leaving the others to set up for the day.
"While we were away, Marilyn and I came up with a plan for her and Sid to adopt the baby," Nicole explained.
"Right…"
Joey tried not to show her surprise.
"But now I don't think Sid is on board," Nicole explained. "So now I'm scared that I'm back to square one. I don't know what to do."
Joey reached out and held Nicole's hand.
"Right now, there's nothing you can do," she said gently. "Marilyn and Sid have to sort things out between them. You just need to wait for them to reach their conclusions. And in the meantime, you need to keep yourself and that baby healthy. Because that's what all this is about, isn't it? You just want to do your best for him or her."
Nicole nodded, relieved that Joey wasn't judging her in any way.
"It is," she said. "I can't keep the baby, Joey. I just can't. Not after everything. But I do want it to be happy and healthy and have a good life. And I know it can have that with Marilyn and Sid. They'll be amazing parents. Especially Marilyn."
Joey nodded, squeezing Nicole's hand.
"Well, you just need to hold onto that, okay? And remember that they love you," she said. "They'll always do right by you and the baby."
Nicole reached out and hugged her, bursting into tears of relief.
Sid returned home to find Marilyn washing the dishes. He could immediately tell how anxious she was; probably as anxious as he was feeling.
"Where have you been?" she asked quietly.
"I went to see Nicole," he admitted.
She stopped and turned around, soap suds dripping onto the floor.
"Sid, why? She's not supposed to be under any stress at the moment."
"I wasn't unkind," he promised. "I just needed answers."
"Then why not talk to me?" Marilyn asked.
"I tried," he said. "I wasn't getting anywhere."
Marilyn sighed heavily and dried her hands on a tea towel.
"What do you want to know?" she asked.
"I want to know how you could make such a big decision without me," he said.
"Because you weren't there and it was the right thing to do," she replied. "Nicole needs someone to be a mother and a father to her baby. She needs someone to step up and love her baby as their own. And I… I need a baby to love. I need this, Sid."
He knew she had lost a child years ago. He knew cancer had plagued her life and taken so much from her. He knew a day didn't go by when she didn't miss her son desperately. And although she loved Indi and Dex, they were almost fully grown and it wasn't the same. This was a chance to start again and love a child from the start. This was a chance to have a baby that could be truly hers. He knew all of this, although she passionately explained it to him anyway.
"But what if it doesn't work out?" he asked when she was finished, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Why wouldn't it?" she asked, her voice sounding young and hollow.
"Nicole could change her mind," Sid pointed out.
"She won't," Marilyn said. "She wouldn't. She doesn't want Penn's baby."
"She's only partway into the pregnancy, Marilyn," Sid said. "Anything could happen. The birth could change everything. She could change her mind when she meets the baby. She could change her mind tomorrow. You could get your heart set on this baby boy or girl and then Nicole could snatch them away."
Marilyn shook her head, trying to escape the thought.
"We could have a baby of our own?" Sid suggested.
Marilyn stared at him.
"What?"
"We could have a baby of our own," he repeated.
"No," she said.
He was surprised.
"Why not?"
"Don't you think if I could have my own children, I would have had them already?" she snapped.
Sid swallowed and apologised.
"So, what are we going to do?" Marilyn asked coldly.
"I don't know…" Sid said. "I just think adopting this child is a huge decision to make…"
"And I think it's the right one," Marilyn told him stubbornly.
"And your response just tells me that all you care about is this baby and that I and my children aren't going to fit into any of your plans anymore," Sid replied.
Leah walked into the restaurant at the same time as Charlie and Watson, on their break from work. Joey greeted them happily. Leaving Angelo and Romeo serving, she joined her partner and friends at a table. It had been a slow day so far.
"What brings you here?" she asked Leah.
She was usually slaving away at the Diner.
"A rare ray off," Leah said. "I've just packed VJ off to spend the day with Dex."
"Dex?" Charlie asked, puzzled.
"I just… I'm worried about VJ not fitting in at school."
"So you chose Dex to help him?" Joey asked. "I mean, I'm not being rude but he's not exactly…"
She glanced back at the bar.
"Well, he's not Romeo Smith," she finished.
"Exactly," Leah said. "I thought Dex might guide him over what not to do. Is that awful?"
"No," Watson said. "I think that's pretty smart, actually."
The others agreed.
"Are you really worried?" Charlie asked.
"A little," Leah admitted. "I just want him to have a good school experience. I want him to have fun and to learn and have friends. I want him to enjoy school. I don't want him to be the odd ball. I don't want him to be bullied."
"All you can do is support him, Leah," Joey said. "And there's no real reason he would be bullied, is there? He already has one friend in Lily. And don't forget that Ruby will be there to look out for him."
"And Dex and Romeo," Charlie added. "Try not to panic."
"Can I ask, did you have a tough time at school?" Watson asked. "Is that why you're worried?"
"No, I actually had an okay time at school," Leah said. "I mean…"
"You were one of the popular girls, weren't you?" Joey grinned.
Leah blushed.
"I just… he's started visiting these Christian websites and quoting the Bible and stuff," she explained. "Which is fine. It's great. I absolutely support it. But can you imagine how kids at school will respond to it?"
The others nodded. They understood what she meant.
"What about you guys? What was school like for you?"
"I just kept myself to myself really," Watson said. "I had my group of friends. I did a lot of sport. I didn't hassle anyone and nobody hassled me."
"I coped," Charlie said. "I started out having a good time. I was popular. But then… well, you guys know what happened. That changed things for me a lot. I kept up the pretence. But I felt like I was dying inside."
"What about you, Jo?" Leah asked. "I bet you were popular!"
Charlie cringed inside. This wasn't something her girlfriend liked to talk about.
"Hardly!" Joey said dismissively. "I had a horrible time at school. But I survived. So if VJ struggles a bit, which I don't think he will, he'll come through the other side."
She stood up, explaining quickly that she needed to get back to work but that she would come back. She kissed Charlie goodbye.
"Did I say something wrong?" Leah asked worriedly.
"It's just a sensitive subject," Charlie told her.
Dex felt very important, having been tasked with giving VJ 'Summer Bay High 101'. He had told the younger lad all about starting high school from the perspective of someone who didn't quite fit in and it was nice to have a captive audience.
"Oi!"
He turned and cringed.
"These are what we would refer to as bullies," he explained to VJ. "Thankfully they don't attend our school."
"What are you, some kind of narrator?" the leader of the group, taller and older than the others asked.
He and the others were all tattooed. Dex recognised them from around the Bay, usually surfing and hanging around the beach, although usually not very often. They usually preferred Mangrove River.
"I'm teaching my friend how to survive high school," Dex explained. "So if you'd just let us pass."
VJ remained quiet. Suddenly high school didn't seem so exciting.
"Nah, I don't think we will," the older guy said, looking around at his friends, who nodded their agreement.
"Well, we're passing," Dex said decisively, pulling VJ with him as he attempted to walk away.
He didn't have time to duck as he got punched in the face.
"It didn't even occur to me that Joey would have had a hard time at school," Leah said.
She felt really guilty and apologetic for bringing the subject up.
"Remember the timid person she was when we first met her?" Charlie said.
Leah thought back and nodded, settling back into her chair.
"She won't even really talk to me about it but I gather there were a few people at school who made her life pretty tough," Charlie said. "And from what I can work out, Will Smith may have been one of them."
"No way," Leah gasped.
"I don't know for sure but they did go to school together," Charlie said. "And they did argue recently about their past. I just haven't been able to get anything out of her about it."
Leah sighed. She felt really bad about stirring up old memories.
"Shall I apologise to her?" she worried.
"Don't worry about it," Charlie said. "I'll talk to her. Please, don't fret. It's okay. How could you have known?"
They looked up, startled at the sight of Dex with a black eye and split lip leading a pale and shaken VJ into the restaurant. Leah jumped to her feet, gathering VJ to her.
"What the hell happened?"
Charlie and Watson stood up too, instantly in cop mode.
"We got jumped by some thugs," Dex said.
Joey hurried over, worried about the boys.
"What thugs?" Charlie asked.
"Some tattooed guys," Dex said. "You know the ones. They keep hanging round the beach."
"River Boys," Charlie and Watson said in unison.
Dex shrugged.
"What happened?" Charlie asked.
"We were just talking and they approached us," VJ said, still hugging his Mum. "Dex tried to walk away and the taller guy just punched him. For no reason or anything. It was horrible."
Leah hugged him tighter.
"We'll see if we can find them," Charlie decided.
Watson followed her out.
"Dex, come into the back with me and I'll see if I can patch you up a bit," Joey offered.
He thanked her. Leah felt even more guilty for getting him injured while he was helping her with her son. She sat down with VJ, making sure he was okay. Mostly he just looked jealous that Dex was getting Joey's attention and not him.
That night, Sid and Marilyn were hardly speaking. He had broached the idea of the baby with Indi and Dex and neither of them had objected. However, he had failed to mention that the baby was Nicole's. And he had made it clear to Marilyn that he was still not on board. Their relationship felt very fragile right now.
Leah couldn't sleep. She was worried about VJ and how he would settle into school. She felt guilty for bringing up old memories for Joey and she felt terrible that Dex had got injured. She had bought him lunch and apologised to both him and Sid. Nobody had been off with her in any way but she still felt bad about it all.
Charlie and Joey curled up in bed together. The River Boys had been found and cautioned but Charlie and Watson hadn't been able to do much more than that without proof that they had attacked Dex. Charlie had also tried to talk to Joey about the conversation they had had with Leah. Joey had assured her that she was fine but she still hadn't wanted to open up. The two of them had asked Ruby to look out for VJ at school.
"I didn't tell you," Joey said sleepily.
"What?" Charlie asked curiously.
"Marilyn and Sid might be adopting Nicole's baby."
"Seriously?" Charlie said, surprised.
"Yeah," Joey said, snuggling into her. "I think it's a secret right now. And I don't think Sid is on board yet. But that's what Nicole and Marilyn want."
Charlie kissed Joey's forehead.
"Maybe one day we could have a baby," Joey said, drifting off to sleep.
Charlie closed her eyes. She thought about her father's ring in her drawer. She was just waiting for the right time.
Next time… Ruby surprises Charlie and Joey, Indi and Nicole check out their prospective University and Xavier gets distracted from missing April…
