Love, Life and Lies

[dolly-999]

Chapter number 31. Give me a belt!

Martha sat by herself on a couch in the Holden's lounge room, noises could be heard from the dinning room down the hall that she'd excused herself from only a few minutes ago. She could heard laughter and joking, all in fading voices that were overpowered by the constant ticking of the circular wall clock that had her full attention, it was six thirty, only and hour till Jack would be able to be picked up from the station. She didn't know what to think, she didn't have a clue whether all this was good or bad.

“Sean's still alive,” she whispered softly to herself, holding her stomach tight and rocking back and forth slightly as if it were cold. “He was dead,” She panicked, seeming scared. “He's been alive, but he was dead,” She added, shaking as she spoke to the empty room, sending her brain into a knot of confusing gibberish that had no end of explanation. She tried to think about the fact that Jack was coming home, it was good news, but now all she wished was that he'd finished Sean off properly. She knew it sounded horrible, but she couldn't help it.

“Hey I was wondering where you'd gotten to,” Rose said smiling as she walked through the door to the lounge room, holding a champaign glass in one hand. Then she saw the state Martha was in. “Martha what's wrong?” she asked, walking over to her and placing her glass down on the coffee table, sitting next to her.

“Everything,” She told her dully. “When Tony first said that Jack was coming home I couldn't be happier, but then he told me why and all I could think about is how horrible it is that Sean's not dead... I mean, what kind of person does that make me? I want him dead,” She sobbed.

“It makes you perfectly human Martha,” Rose told her, sympathizing with her. “Everyone's got people they don't like.”

“Yeah but they don't want them dead.”

“Sometimes yes. Look, it's only a bad thing if you actually plan on killing him yourself”.

“I guess so.” Martha agreed, trying to smile slightly.

“Now come on, cheer up, Sean's behind bars where he belongs and Jack's coming home, there's nothing bad about any of that. And desert's next, it's Beth's famous double chocolate mud cake,” Rose told her handing Martha a tissue out of the tissue box sitting on the coffee table.

“Well I couldn't miss getting a piece of that then could I?” Martha smiled again, happily this time, and gratefully took the tissue, wiping away her tears and getting up and looking at Rose who was still sitting down. “Come on, if we don't get there this century Lucas and Tony would of already scoffed our cake for us!” She exclaimed in a huff, she couldn't possibly miss out on some of Beth's cake.

“Yeah they probably would” she giggled. “One day they'll make themselves sick from eating so much”.

“No their Holden's,” Martha answered, before the two girls cracked up in laughter.

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“Is it all in place?” The unknown voice of a man asked, as the door of a dark pitch black cellar opened and let in rays of light at the top of the stairs and a woman stepped in.

“Just as planed, they fell for it better then we thought,” She told him smiling and evil smirk as she made her way down the concrete staircase and let the figure take her hand and guide her across the room.

“Good, good, you've done well, soon revenge will be ours”.

“Mmm,” She nodded, closing her eyes for a second. “And it sounds beautiful already,” She sighed.

“It certainly does” he agreed, “it certainly does”.

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Jack sat on the chair in his cell as he watched the bars that he'd been trapped by slowly open, it was like a dream, an unbelievable dream that he'd had many of the nights he'd been in here, except this time it was actually happening, he'd even pinched himself a few times to check. The sliding bars slowly came to a halt with one loud creek and a guard appeared holding out the cloths that Jack had worn when he arrived here a year and a half ago, finally he'd be able to wear something other than these horrible prison clothes.

“Thanks,” Jack smiled, greatfully taking his collared shirt and pants, putting them on quickly after the guard left.

“Hello, hello, haven't seen you in a long time,” Lara's voice grabbed his attention.

“Hey,” Jack exclaimed, spinning around towards her, not realizing that he'd lost weight since he got sent here. Gravity took action and his pants fell right off him, making Lara crack up in laughter and leaving Jack humiliated. “They fit fine last time I wore them,” Jack said, pulling his pants back up around his hips.

“Well they don't anymore” she giggled, “anyway come on we've got to get you back to the station”.

“Yeah I can't wait to get out of this place,” Jack told her, still red from embarrassment as he walked out into the corridor.

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“You called for me?” Peter asked as he came to the cell that Sean was in.

“I know who it was,” Sean shot out as soon as he looked up and saw Peter standing there.

“What?” Peter gasped.

“The familiar voice, I know who it was” he explained, leaning forward on his chair and talking a little softer, “Matt's wife”.

“Matt had a wife?” Peter asked in confusion.

“Yeah, her name's Jemma Grieve.”

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“Shouldn't he be back by now?” Martha winged to Tash who was sitting next to her, Tony had left to get Jack half an hour ago and he still wasn't back.

“Oh for the millionth time, he'll get here when he gets here!” Tash grumbled.

“Sorry I just want him back here,” Martha sighed.

“Yeah we all do.”

“Jack's here!” Lucas called out from down the hall.

Tash jumped to her feet and went to leave the room before turning back around to Martha, “well come on don't just sit there.”

“Ok I'm coming” she said also jumping up and making her way down the hallway to where Jack and Tony were already standing with the other's around him.

“Well I'll go get you a belt from upstairs,” Tony suggested.

“Yeah thanks.”

“Why? What's wrong with you pants?” Lucas asked.

“It's a long story,” Jack tried to save himself the embarrassment, before his dad got a word in.

“He lost to much weight and they fell down right in front of Lara” Tony told them, making everybody else laugh.

“Great I'm never going to live this one down am I?” Jack sighed.

“Nope, not while I'm around” Lucas grinned.

“Thanks” Jack said sarcastically.

“Well I'm sure you'll get back to eating normally soon.” Beth told him. “Which reminds me we've still got a big piece of chocolate cake left over from dinner.”

“Hey you told us there was none left,” Lucas exclaimed putting his hands on his hips.

“None that was going in your mouth,” Beth laughed.

“Aww poor baby,” Maddie tease him.

“So anyway we have to get going” Robbie announced. “Glad to have you back with us mate,” He said patting Jack on the back.

“Yeah we'll see you soon,” Tash added, going to give Jack a hug but stopping. “Actually I'll give you a hug when your not going to lose your pants.”

“Yeah thanks.”

“Bye.”

“Yeah see ya,” Jack said as Robbie and Tash left. When he turned back around Rose, Boyd, Maddie and Lucas were standing around chatting and Martha could be seen sitting down on a chair on the opposite side of the room, and without thinking he made his way over to her, still holding his pants up on one side.

“Hey,” he smiled.

“Hey you,” she smiled back at him. “So how does it feel to be free?”

“Actually it hasn't sunk in properly yet. It seems more like a dream really,” He told her.

“Well I'm glad your home.”

“Me too, no more being locked up, and I get my job back,” She said proudly.

“That's great,” She answered, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. She didn't know what things were going to be like between her and Jack, and now wasn't the time to bring it into the conversation.

“Here you go,” Tony interrupted handing Jack a belt.

“Thanks dad.”

Please tell me what you think.

[dolly-999]

Glad you like it guys, here's the next chapter.

Chapter number 32. Moving to quick.

“Broom, broom, broom” Dylan imitated a car as he pushed his toy car along a play mat road in the living room.

“Watch out Daddy's police car's catching up” Jack warned, pushing a toy police car as he laughed and played with his son just like he'd wanted to for so long.

“Uh oh”.

Martha watched from the other side of the room and smiled as she watched Jack and Dylan, she hadn't seen ether of them this happy in a while, and it was nice to watch. Jack made a great dad, even if he'd been away for a long time.

“So should I arrest him or let him go?” Jack asked Martha jokingly.

“Let him go” Martha chuckled, “you can't arrest him, the cars to small”.

“Good point, I'll just have to carry him to the police station myself” Jack said tickling Dylan and lifting him up in the air. Dylan just giggled, he was having so much fun.

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“Wait a minute” Lara started in shock of what Peter just told her, “Matt got married?”

“Yeah”.

“”Please don't tell me it's Jemma Grief” she begged, but the immediate look on Peters face answered it all, “oh my goodness that boy was dumber than I thought”.

“So you know Jemma then?”

“Yeah her and Matt were dating in high school, she didn't know I was his sister though, Matt always liked to tell people he was an only child, she was a nasty piece of work too” Lara explained.

“What kind of stuff did she do?”

“Well maybe I should just tell you what she didn't do, that girl used to be the cause of everything that went wrong around town and at school. She lit fires, got arrested for suspected murder, and she was one of the nastiest pieces of work in the local gang”.

“Really? Did she have any connections?” Peter asked in curiosity.

“Oh yeah, like half a million, the guy that committed the murder she was a suspect for knew her, not that the police could prove that she had anything to do with it, but we all knew the truth. Anyway what's Jemma got to do with any of these questions you keep asking me?”

“Well...” Peter started.

“Well what?”

“I when and saw Sean today and he said that she was one of the people holding him captive” Peter explained, “and by the sound of her I'm not surprised ether”.

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“Well we better get you home Dilly, big dog went to bed a very long time ago” Martha told Dylan who was sitting on the couch next to Jack with his feet dangling in the air.

“Oh but mum-” Dylan protested before letting out a loud yawn.

“Why don't you too just stay here tonight” Beth suggested, we've got spare rooms.

“You sure that's ok?”

“Of course, your family, your welcome here anytime sweet” Beth told her, “Now lets get you off to bed little man” Beth said to Dylan, picking him up and carrying him on her hip up the stairs.

“He's a great kid isn't he” Jack smiled.

“Yeah most of the time, he has his moments” Martha answered. Walking over to Jack and sitting down next to him.

“Well all kids do” Jack added, “but that's just life”.

“True. You know he takes after you in some ways” Martha commented.

“Really and how might that be?”

“Well he absolutely can't stand spiders, he hates putting things away and he loves his footy”.

“That's good to here, New South Wales supporter I hope”.

“No actually, he's a Queensland supporter, influenced by his Uncle Boyd”.

“Well that's something we'll have to work on then” Jack laughed.

“Hey what's wrong with Queensland?” Martha asked, pretending to be offended.

“Oh don't tell me you've been converted too?” Jack rolled his eyes.

“Maybe” she laughed.

“Well it should be easy to convince you if your not sure then”.

“Oh really and how do you plan on doing that then hey?”

“Well there's many ways, like this” Jack told her, placing his hands on her sides and tickling her.

Martha pushed herself back on the couch until she was lying down with Jack hovering over her, “don't” she giggled from his hands tickling her sides, “ok, ok” she said, putting her hands up ether side of her like she had been defeated.

“Ok what?” Jack asked, taking his hands away from her sides and placing them ether side of Martha to keep himself up.

“Ok I've been converted to the blues” she smiled at him innocently. Jack studied her, she looked so beautiful, her hair fell on the couch around her head so that it didn't cover up any of her flawless face, her eyes sparkled like stars, looking back at his. He lowered his face slowly until it was only centimeters away from hers. “Is this one of your conversion methods?” she whispered softly before his face moved closer and his lips captured hers.

At first the gesture was a shock to Martha, but almost imediently she responded as she felt Jack's lips moving against hers, she took in a deep breath of air through her nose and placed her hands on the sides of Jack, moving them quickly along his back until they'd crossed over. She could feel her heart pounding, racing at a million kilometers an hour, and gently she closed her eyes and let out a low moan.

Jack also closed his eyes, thinking about how lucky he felt, then all of a sudden he had a mental picture of Serena, making his soul feel guilty, and he pulled away quickly.

When Jack pulled away Martha's head kicked in and realized what was wrong, making her too feel guilty and uncomfortable, “I, um-” she muttered, sliding herself to one side of the couch as Jack lifted himself up orquadly and sat himself down properly on the other side.

“I should, um” Jack got his tongue court, “I should go to bed” he said getting up and walking away, he didn't know what was going on in his head.

Martha placed her elbow on her knee and hit her hand down hard into the palm of her hand, “why does it always have to go wrong?” she mumbled then got up, she needed some sleep herself.

[dolly-999]

Oh yeh and GO THE BLUES!! Jack has got a good taste in footy teams

He cetainly does, influenced by me of course .

Anyway here's the next chapter:

Chapter number 33. The point between romance and friendship

Peter sat in his office deep in thought, he had one elbow on his desk with his hand holding his face up and his other hand twiddled a pen between two of his fingers, baning the end up and down on the desk, “Still no luck?” Lara asked as she came in and saw her boyfriend in the state he was in.

“No” he huffed.

“Well I though this might help” she smiled at him, holding out a cup of coffee which he greatfully took.

“Thanks”.

“That's ok. So you still have no idea who the emails are from?”

“No, one of the computer guys is doing an IP address check for me, but I doubt that will get us anywhere, if this guy is as smart as we think he is he wouldn't be stupid enough to send it from his own computer”.

“Well there's still a chance” she encouraged him.

“yeah I guess so” he sighed.

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Martha woke up and looked at the alarm clock on the bed side table of the Holden's spare room that read 1:30 am. She rolled over to go back to sleep but was distracted by Jack sitting on the chair next to the bed. “Jack” Martha said, still half asleep, “it's one thirty, shouldn't you be in bed?” she grumbled, opening her eyes properly and studying him as he staired at her with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Couldn't sleep, new bed” he explained giving her a soft warm smile that made her smile back at him.

“I thought you'd be itching to get back in you own bed” she said, giving into his warm gaze.

“Yeah I was, but I forgot how much I'd gotten used to sleeping on a brick” Jack sighed, “and I had a few things on my mind”.

“Good things I hope”.

“Mostly” he said, looking down at his hands, “Look Martha about before-”.

“Jack, you don't need to explain”.

“Yeah I do, I still can't explain it properly to myself, I want to be with you Martha, I really do” Jack promised.

“Yeah I know that Jack, but it just needs time”.

“Yeah maybe” Jack nodded.

“What do you mean maybe?”

“It's just, everytime I close my eyes I see Serena and I just feel bad for loving you, I mean, she didn't even know about us, and now it's too late to say anything”.

“Actually she did know” Martha told him sitting up on the bed cross-legged..

“But how?” Jack asked, “you told her?”

“I'm sorry Jack it was just-”

“No, no, don't be sorry” he cut her off, “it's better that she knew, she didn't deserve to die without knowing the truth”.

“Yeah, that's probably why it slipped out the way it did, she was just talking about all these things she'd never admitted to before, even little things, and there I was hiding something bigger than all her confessions put together... I just, I couldn't hide it”.

“So that's how she knew” Jack sighed.

“What do you mean?”

“In the letter she wrote me... she said that she knew that I loved you” he started.

“And let me guess she said it was ok?”

“Yeah”.

“That's exactly what she said to me” Martha told him, “she was so calm about it too”.

“She just wanted us too be happy” Jack added.

“Yeah I know” Martha said, forcing a weak smile before looking down at her fingers that were twisted together nervously, “she was good like that wasn't she? She just wanted people to be happy. She was even happy the first time she found out about Dylan, there wasn't even a moment of shock, she just smiled and looked at the positive that she was a step mum for so long without knowing” she smiled contently at the memories, “I know I wouldn't of been like that”.

“Yeah me nether, but that was Serena” Jack spoke softly, almost with the slightest amount of sadness in his voice, “positive and accepting”.

Martha just nodded, looking up at him, he'd moved from the chair where he'd been before, and he now sat on the edge of the bed with his body turned towards where she sat.

“So what does this mean for us then?” he asked, realizing that they'd both been wanting to ask the same thing since earlier that evening.

“I really don't know, I mean were not just friends are we?”

“No were not” he admitted honestly.

“And were not quite up there in the romance department ether” she added, “so were kinda stuck in the middle I guess”.

“Is there a point between romance and friendship?”

“Well there can be now” she smiled, “so what do you say we call it then?”

“I don't know, how about confused?”

“Ok” Martha laughed.

“Well now that were officially confused, I should probably get back to bed and crash”.

“Yeah I should get some sleep too”.

“Good night” he whispered, leaning forward and pulling the covers over Martha as she lowered herself back into bed.

“Good night” she whispered back, closing her eyes as she felt Jack gently kiss her on the forehead before leaving and shutting the door quietly behind him.

Please tell me what you think.

[dolly-999]

Sorry I've been a bit slow updating guys, I've had a lot of school work to do. Anyway here's the next chapter.

Chapter number 34. Unexpected arrival

“Good morning” Jack greeted Martha happily as she made her way to the kitchen.

“Morning” she grumbled, sliding her feet along the ground, “someone's had a lot of coffee”.

“Yeah, I haven't had the stuff in ages, they don't serve it in jail” Jack told her, opening the lid of the coffee ready to make his third for the day so far, “you want one?”

“Yes please” she smiled sleepily as she slumped into on of the chairs at the table. “So did you end up getting any sleep?”

“Yeah I did surprisingly. What about you?”.

“Yeah after I got back to sleep”.

“Sorry if I woke you last night” Jack apologized.

“No you didn't, I hadn't been sleeping well at all before you came in. It was kinda a good thing you came in though”.

“Really and whys that?” Jack asked taking two coffee mugs in his hands and bringing them to the table, sitting down next to Martha.

“Just clearing things up helped a lot”.

“Yeah for me too, I feel a lot better knowing that Serena found out about what happened” Jack sighed, taking a sip of coffee, “and that things were still good between us after what happened before bed last night”.

“Yeah” Martha nodded with a small smile, “When you first came home I was a little edgy on how things were going to be” she admitted before giving him a cheeky grin.

“What's that look for?”

“Oh I was just wondering when I was going to see you in your sexy uniform again” she said playfully.

“I hope were talking about my police uniform”.

“Yeah, sorry but that green prisoners uniform didn't look to great on you” she laughed.

“No it didn't” he chuckled, “but Peter was saying that he'll have to sort a few things out before I go back just yet”.

“What kinda things does he need to sort out?” Martha asked curiously.

“Just things like newspaper articles and things like that to get the real story across town so we don't get another Harry incident”.

“Well I guess that makes sense then”.

“Good morning sleepy head” Beth interrupted as she came into the kitchen, “I though we were never going to get you out of bed”.

“Well I was thinking of staying there, but then I looked at the clock” Martha told her.

“So then what are you two up too today?”

“Not much” Martha sighed, “I'm baby sitting Izzy tonight, but that's it”.

“What about you Jack?” Beth asked.

“Well I should definitely get some pants that fit, I'm sick of belts already”.

“Yeah the belt's a great look with the PJ's” Martha nodded sarcastically.

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Rose lifted Izzy out of her play pen where she sat looking rather worn out, “How about we get you to bed girly” she said out loud, sitting Izzy on her hip and carrying her towards the stairs next to the front door, walking up to the second floor of the three story house. “Knock knock” the sound of someone knocking on the door could be heard. “I'll be there in a minute she called out, quickly putting Izzy in her cot and rushing back down the stairs to open the door. “hello can i help you?” she asked when she was confronted with a face she hadn't seen before. The girl at the door looked in her early teens, she seemed confused as she ran her fingers through her hair nervously and bit her bottom lip quickly before speaking.

“Um, I'm, um, I'm looking for my dad” the girl began.

“I'm sorry but I don't think anyone that lives here is your dad” Rose started, feeling a little uncomfortable, “I could always find out if he used to live here”.

“Yeah that would be good thanks”.

“What's his name?”

“Boyd” she told her, “Boyd Hoyland”.

Rose was in shock, she didn't know what to think, “Um maybe you should come in” she suggested opening the door further so that the girl could enter the house.

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“Good morning” Lara greeted Peter as he came through the door of the station.

“Hey” he said cheerfully.

“Well you sound like your in a better mood than yesterday” she smiled.

“Yeah some sleep did wonders for my brain” he told her.

“Detective?”a voice asked from behind.

“Yes?” Peter said turning around to see one of the computer guys.

“I've got the IP results” he started, “do you think we could have a word in private?”

“Yeah sure straight through here” Peter told him, opening the door of his office to let him in, giving Lara a quick smile before following him in and shutting the door.

“The results came up with something rather expected”.

“So do we know who sent it?” Peter asked.

“Yeah we do, that's the part that's unexpected, it's from one of the computer's here in the station” he explained.

“Your kidding me?”

“No, I wish I was believe me”.

“So who is it then?”

“Your new girlfriend” he explained.

“Lara?” Peter asked in shock, “but it can't be”.

[dolly-999]

Chapter number 35. Do you remember?...

“I swear to you Peter I had nothing to do with any of it” Lara promised in a panic. She'd come into Peter's office right after the computer guy had left, and now she wished she hadn't come in.

“Yeah and I believe you” Peter told her, looking her in the eye and, pulling her into him, holding her close to him, “You don't have to prove anything to me, I know you wouldn't do that” he said warmly.

“Thank you” she whispered softly.

“That's ok, I just wish I could get my hands on the mongrel that set you up like this” he told her, placing a kiss on the top of her head that was rested just below his left shoulder.

“Yeah me too”.

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“So he never knew you existed?” Rose asked the thirteen year old girl who'd introduced herself as Danielle.

“No” Danielle told her shaking her head, “by the time Mum found out she was pregnant with me he'd already taken off” she sighed looking up at Rose who was sitting next to her on the cream lounge in the middle of the large family room.

“What she didn't even try looking?” Rose said, so far she was having trouble buying this girls story, even though the times and places all seemed to make sense.

“Yeah of course she tried looking, but she had no idea where to find him, and by the time I came along she had her hands full” Danielle explained, seeming honest and genuine.

“Look Danielle, I'm sorry, but I'm having a really hard time trying to believe all this” Rose said honestly, taking in a deep breath.

“I know it's sudden, but I've lived with my mum my whole life, and I really just want to at least know my dad” she said desperately.

Rose just sighed and nodded, trying to put on a smile, “he should be home soon. Speaking of which, that's probably him now” she told her as a car could be heard out side.

“Honey I'm home” Boyd's voice called as he slammed the door behind him.

“Up here” Rose called back to him.

Boyd made his way up the stairs on the left side of the entry way of the house and when he reached the top he saw not only his wife, but a teenage girl who looked a lot like someone he once knew. “Who's this?” he asked, not meaning to sound rude.

Right at that moment Izzy cried out and Rose hopped up, I'll leave her to explain” she told him before going down the stairs that he's just come up and down the second stair case that was next to it, bypassing the entry way.

“Sorry if I sounded rude before” Boyd apologized.

“It's ok” she smiled, “So I guess your still wondering who I am?”

“Yeah”.

“My names Danielle” she began, but then a questioning look came upon her and she suddenly seemed more serious, “do you remember dating a girl named Janae Timmins?”

“Yeah” Boyd said slowly, some how he didn't like where this was heading, it was obvious that the girl was related to Janae, she looked so much like her, she had the same blond curly hair, the same smile, but... different eyes. “What's this got to do with who you are?” he asked curiously.

“Just after you left her” she started, “she found out that she was pregnant..... with me” she explained, looking for any reaction in his face, she was more scared than ever, normally she was confident and not worried about consequences of her actions, but this was something she'd been dreaming of for her whole life, she wanted to know her dad.

Boyd just looked in shock, that was his daughter... his, teenage daughter...

Sorry it's short, I've still had a lot of school work, I'll try my best to write more soon.

[dolly-999]

Hey guys here's the next chapter.

Chapter number 36. No one's fault

Rose sat on the rocking chair in Izzy's room, holding the little baby in her arms and rocking back and forth. She studied the small six month old baby, she was the perfect match of her and Boyd, their baby, and Rose had always thought that she's be the only mother of Boyd's children, well up until half an hour ago, now that dream had been shattered, torn away and burned.

A tear came to her eye, she had a pretty good idea of who Danielle's mother was; Janae Timmins, no DNA was needed to tell that, she looked so much like her. She still remembered Janae, back in high school they'd been enemies, both fighting over Boyd.

She could hear the door opening slowly and she looked around to see Boyd standing there, “Rose” he spoke softly, seeming lost.

“Yeah” Rose managed to get out through gentle sobs as Boyd approached her and sat in the chair beside her.

“I'm so sorry” he whispered, tears in his eyes, “I'm so sorry”.

“It's not your fault, it's not really anyone's fault, just a big mess that couldn't be resolved... I mean, you didn't know, and Janae didn't know where you were” she said, trying to make sense of the whole situation, “I can't believe I'm not blaming her, because when I first found out I so badly wanted to, but I couldn't”.

“Hey come here” Boyd said gently before Rose got up with Izzy and sat on his lap, “You know this isn't going to change the fact that I love you and always will don't you?” he told her reassuringly.

“Yeah I know” she nodded, finding it harder to control her crying.

Boyd pulled her in, holding her and Izzy close and kissing Rose on the top of the head, “It's going to be ok” he whispered, “we'll get through this”.

“I hope so” she said softly, “I really hope so”.

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Martha and Jack walked along the empty beach, the sun was only dim now and it wouldn't be long before it was dark. Jack held on to Martha's hand gently and looked over at the peaceful waves that rolled softly as they reached the shore line and spread out into a thin layer of water before rushing back out to sea. Then peacefully he took in a deep breath of the air, taking in the smell of the ocean, “I missed this place so much” he sighed.

“I beat you did” Martha smiled, “just being in the city for to long makes me miss it”.

“So is that the real reason why you spend most of your days here” Jack grinned.

“Partly, I guess it's also got something to do with getting away from all the ciaos of the city”.

“Well why don't you just move here then?”

Martha just looked at Jack blankly for a second, “I don't know”.

“Well you could always come and live with me, it'd save you a lot of fuel” Jack suggested.

Martha stopped in her tracks, let go of Jacks hand and tilted her head to one site, “I though we were taking things slowly”.

“We are” Jack simply replied, making Martha's face suddenly look more confused than there relationship was, “I mean we've taken things extremely slowly, just think when we first got together you were still eighteen, and now your twenty six”.

Martha chuckled slightly and smiled, taking Jacks hand again and taking a step forward, “well if you put it that way how could I say no” she beamed, “but I'm still staying in the spare room for now”.

“Ok, I guess that makes sense” Jack nodded, moving his hand from hers and placing his arm around her shoulders.

“So what do we tell the others then? I mean there going to start to wonder what's going on”.

“Well we just tell them part of the truth then” Jack suggested.

“What do you mean?”

“Well I want to be closer to Dylan, which is true”.

“Yeah” Martha smiled as they came to the end of the beach where the rocks started.

“You wanna go up there?” Jack asked innocently pointing up to the cliff top.

“Yeah sure” she answered before hearing her phone beeping from in her bag, “hang on one second” she told him removing her arm from around him to rummage through her bag to receive the text message. “Well looks like I won't be in a rush to get back home later then, Rose and Boyd had a change of plans” she said before putting her phone away and taking Jack's hand again.

“Well in that case why don't you stay for dinner and we can tell the others together hey?”

“Yeah sounds good” she answered, resting her head on his shoulder as he pulled her into him as they walked, “I'm sure Dylan will be happy too”.

“Yeah, I've got a lot of catching up to do with him”.

“Well your going to get that now”.

“Sure am” he answered happily, “it's going to be great” he whispered, kissing her lightly on the head.

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“So is that everything?” Lucas asked Maddie who was carrying her last bag to the car, they were finally going on there honeymoon.

“Yeap, I think so” Maddie told him dropping the bag in the boot and wrapping her arms around his neck just after he closed the boot.

“So Mrs Holden where do you want to go then?” he asked smiling happily at her, placing his hands on her sides.

“Anywhere, as long as it's just you and me” she smiled sweetly, looking adoringly into his eyes and giving him a kiss before he helped her into the passengers side of the car. He then walked over to the drivers side and hopped in, not taking his eyes off her once.

“Well then lets go”.

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“Here we are” Jack said as he got to the top of the cliff and turned around to help Martha up the last step.

“Wow, I forgot how beautiful it is up here” she smiled making her way closer to the edge.

“Yeah it's been a while since we were up here” he added, sitting down near the edge and guiding Martha's hand to help her sit down too.

Martha chuckled slightly and looked out to sea, “If I remember correctly the last time we were both here was when you tried to get me to jump”.

Jack nodded slightly, also looking out to the water, “I've been back since then though”.

“Really when?” she asked, looking back at him, admiring how peaceful he looked.

“After you ran away” Jack told her, “coming up here was my way of remembering how we used to be”.

Martha moved herself closer to him, leaning sideways slightly so that she could rest her head on his shoulder, “well I'm not going anywhere now”.

Jack looked over at her, admiring the beautiful girl in his arms that he'd just wrapped around her, “and that makes me the luckiest man in the world”.

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Lara sat in her office, tears were running down her face and she rocked herself back and forth on the chair, huddling her arms around her stomach like she was trying to hold herself together, someone was out to get her, they'd already framed her, who knows what they could do next.

She's already been through a list of people in her mind that could of done this to her, it couldn't be Matt, he was behind bars, and it couldn't be Sean for the same reason. Jemma didn't even know her so she'd already forgotten about that idea, and now she was left wondering again, wondering about who it was, wondering about where they were right now, wondering what there next move was now, and wondering if they'd do more to her.

She staired at the clock on the wall, it was seven thirty already and the sky was dark. She heard a bang which made her jump so high she was surprised she didn't hit the roof, her hands were now on the edge of the chair, holding on for dear life and her eyes looked around the room searching every inch of the room in fright.

Then she heard foot steps, loud haunting foot steps, they could be heard echoing, ringing and tapping along the wooden corridor floor, they got closer and closer, making more and more noise with each step... until they stopped and Lara could see a shadow through the small translucent window of the office door.

Then the handle moved, it's sliver dimensions turning ever so slowly, Lara's heart racing more with each inch it moved. The door opened slowly, letting out a haunting creeping sound as it moved and a face appeared, stepping inside and shutting the door quickly holding out a gun directed right a Lara who was sitting at her desk completely defenseless and weak.

“Oh my gosh it's you” she exclaimed in shock.

“Don't say a word” he warned, giving her a look that made her even more scared, “I suggest you cooperate, otherwise there might be trouble, we wouldn't want that now would we?” he continued, smiling to himself, Jemma had been right, this was all going to go as planed.

[dolly-999]

Chapter number 37. In her shoes

“You ready to do this?” Jack asked Martha the next morning as he walked into the lounge room and placed his hands on her shoulders from behind her as she sat on the couch.

“I think so” she sighed sadly, turning her head to look at him as he walked around to the front of the couch and sat down next to her with his arm over her shoulder. Last night they'd told the news to a very excited Tony and Beth, but some how the thought of going home and telling her family seemed to scare her, she didn't know what living here with Jack would bring, in someways she couldn't be more happy, but in other ways she was really going to miss her home.

“Your going to miss them aren't you?”

“Yeah, I know I can always visit them, I just-, it's not the same” she explained fiddling with her fingers and trying to hold back a tear, “gosh I haven't even told them yet and I'm crying” she tried to laugh at herself, letting Jack wipe it away with his thumb.

“It's going to be a big change for everyone” Jack comforted her, “so you want to do this or not?”

“Of course I want to” she smiled as Dylan came bounding down the stairs with his toy car.

“You ready to go buddy?” Jack asked excitedly.

“Yeap” Dylan sot out quickly in his excitement and raced to the door.

“Try not to trip over” Martha panicked.

“Stop stressing” Jack said soothingly, helping her up by her hand and placing a kiss on the top of her head, he loved how protective Martha was of Dylan, just like any mother would be like, he'd never really noticed how motherhood had changed Martha, but now that he was home and getting to know his family he couldn't imagine it any other way.

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Lara lifted her head off the cold hard concrete floor that she woke to find herself on, she could feel rope around her wrists holding her hands behind her back, tied so tightly that she couldn't feel her hands anymore.

She tried to move, to lift herself up, to get away from this mess, but she couldn't, any attempt resulted in her head banging back down on the hard floor and her groaning in pain, she tried to move her feet, but they too were tied together, she was getting frustrated, she was a cop, she should of been able to get herself out of this.

She wanted Peter, she wanted him to be there holding her and holding her hand, telling her that this was going to be ok, even if it wasn't, she just wanted to hear his voice, his warm voice that made her smile no matter how bad her day had been, she could listen to him for hours and never wish to be anywhere else, no matter where they were, she loved being with him.

But he wasn't there this time, he was always there, so much so that all her time without him was spent thinking about him, and now, scared and confused in the middle of nowhere, without Peter to hold her hand or come to her rescue, she began to lose hope, beginning to fear what the last days of her life might bring, and praying with all her heart that Peter could hear her last cries... hear her last words... three little words that would mean more now than ever; 'I love you'... and she could only imagine his response, a response that no words needed to say, the look was in his eyes everytime her eyes met his, 'I love you too' she could only imagine the sound of his voice, the gentle tone that made her fill with joy every time he spoke.

Tears came to her eyes when her heart sank and realized that if this was really the end, she'd never hear or see him again, never feel his warm arms around her, or how his soft lips moving against hers. He didn't even know where she was, how was there any hope?

Giving up in her struggle to be free, Lara sighed and began to look at the room around her, it was dark, two of the walls contained small grates like a prison letting in hardly any light, the other two walls contained shelves, and she found herself squinting her eyes to try and make out what was on them, it looked like photo frames, thousands and thousands of them, all lined up along the shelves that ran along the length of the large wall. As she moved her eyes from the shelves, to the blank wall next to it, to the stairs, she realized that there was something next to her, or should she say someone, they too were tied up.

She couldn't make out who they were, their back was turned towards her and they just lay there, motionless and weak, just like she felt.

She didn't know who they were, but she already felt sorry for them, and she started to wonder what kind of life this person lead, if it had anything to do with why they were here, or if they had a family, friends, husband or wife, kids... the list went on.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted though when the body rolled over and let out a sigh of frustration, “would that idiot hurry up already” she yelled, throwing her tied up hands in the air before they landed on her stomach together.

“Jemma?” Lara asked when sh saw the face of this girl.

Jemma looked sideways and studied Lara for a second, looking at her with a hint of wonder, “so how did you get yourself in this mess hey? You were always such a good girl at school”.

“I didn't get myself into any mess” Lara snapped at her, “that stupid idiot decided it would be a bit of fun to kidnap me. So what are you doing tied up then? Aren't you in on this?”

“I was in on it” Jemma explained, sighing and tossing her head back up to look at the roof, “but then he turned on me, said I'd done as much as he needed me for and tossed me in here”.

“Bummer” Lara puffed, trying to sound like she cared. “So I here you married my brother”.

“Yeah” she shot out, sounding regretful, “stupidest thing I ever did”.

“Well if you married him then you must of loved him right?”

“Yeah I did” Jemma said softly.

“Well what's stupid about that?”

“Nothing..... well everything actually” she explained, looking aimlessly into the darkness of the roof, “after high school, he seemed so perfect... he was perfect” she smiled slightly, “I still remember the wedding day, everything was so beautiful... and it was after the wedding too, he was still the sweet loving guy I married” she paused, letting out a quick breath, almost like she was letting out a laugh, but she wasn't laughing, she was crying, “then he met Sean”.

“So that's where it all started hey?”

“Yeah, it happened slowly” she started, “at first he was going out without me more, and at the time I didn't think much about it, then he started to seem more edgy about things... and, the next thing I knew I got introduced to Sean. At first I didn't link it to any of the other stuff that had been happening, but then eventually I started getting more and more suspicious about him” she sighed sitting up and trying to move her feet apart, but gave up quickly and lay back down before continuing. “Then one day when I got home from work a few hours early I found them plotting some invasions of...” she paused in thought for a moment “actually I can't even remember what, but suddenly things just changed, Matt... he was... different” she stopped, mouth wide open, as if to still be wondering about how things happened and why they went the way they did, “it was almost like his whole attitude was different towards me just because I knew... then he started getting violent, and trying to get me in on his plans to give me reasons not to leave, and every time I'd try and get away... he'd threaten me, and tell me about how life would be in prison as an accessory for a crime that he committed” she told Lara, tears running down her cheeks, for her it was like reliving the whole burden that was upon her, like all these events were playing over and over in her mind, haunting her, making her in pain, emotional pain... and the whole world seemed pointless.

“The police would have been on your side Jemma, he was abusing you!” Lara stressed to her, listening to her sister in laws story had made her look through different eyes, she saw Jemma's pain, her nightmare, how used and abused she'd been, all Lara could think about now is how much she;d taken her own life for granted, she was lucky, no matter how much things seemed to suck sometimes.

“I know, but... by the time I got my head into perspective, it was to late... I was in too deep, I couldn't leave him Lara, I couldn't, and when I did I was so scared about what could happen to me that I ran as far away as I could... and then...”.

“Then you met the idiot that put you here” Lara finished her off calmly yet supportingly.

“Yeah” was all she could say, right now she felt like an idiot, a fullish idiot, and it was all her fault, she'd made all the decisions that led here.

Author note: I'm going to be away from this Thursday the 5th of October until the 15th, so the next chapter won't be up till after then, but i promise that the next chapter will reveal a few major questions like who the guy is that was locking Sean up and kidnapped Lara, feel free to tell me who you think it is, there's been at least one clue in the last few chapters, but no one's guessed who yet.

[dolly-999]

Chapter number 38. All for her

Martha opened the front door of the Macklin's mansion where she lived in Sydney with her family, stepping inside she opened the door wider to let Jack and Dylan in too. “Rose” Martha called out, “Mum, Dad?” she continued when she got no answer, “Boyd?”

“They probably just went out” Jack suggested, making his way properly through the door, entering the tiled entry way, he looked around, at the opposite side of the room was two sets of stairs, the one on the left headed upstairs to the lounge room and the one on the right lead downstairs to where some of the bedrooms were.

“Yeah probably” Martha agreed, putting her bag on one of the hooks next to the door, “you want a drink?”

“Yes please” Jack answered, following Martha and Dylan up the left set of stairs, through the large carpeted lounge room and into the kitchen across the other side to the right.

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“So now that you've heard all about me, why don't you tell me about your life?” Jemma broke the silence in the basement, still looking into the darkness of the ceiling.

“What's there to tell? compared to your life mine seems pretty boring” Lara sighed.

“Well are you happy?”

“At this present second?”

“No, I mean, like... have you got a husband, kids, people who make you feel happy?” Jemma asked, she seemed more comfortable knowing that Lara hadn't judged her for being an idiot when she needed her brain most in her life, being looked down on it was one of the things she feared most about opening up.

“My husband died a long time ago...” she started, “but I got a boyfriend”.

“What's he like?” she said, sitting up, suddenly more interested.

“Amazing” Lara sighed, “I just wish he was here now, he'd hold my hand... tell me everything would be ok... he always knows how to make me smile”.

Jemma just smiled, at least one of them had a good place to return to when this ended... if it ever ended.

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Peter paced back and forth across the floor of his office, she was gone, and he didn't know where, she'd been at the station, but she never left, and she wasn't there... the same thing kept circling thought his mind, it was a never ending mind game, playing with him, haunting him, until he went crazy. He heard a knock at the door, and he turned to the sound of it opening and the face of one of the officers coming in.

“We went to arrest Lara-” he started.

“Oh for goodness sakes, when are you going to get it through your thick heads that it wasn't her!!!” Peter yelled with frustration, feeling the need to punch something.

“Look we don't want to believe it ether, she was a good friend to all of us” he defended himself.

“Well if she really was you friend then you'd take her word for it!” Peter snapped again.

“Boss, please just-”

“Don't boss me, your new boss will be here in a week or two, and as soon as he gets here he's going to tell you exactly the same thing, It wasn't her!”

Giving up the officer through his hands up in defeat and left, closing the door behind him, leaving Peter to cool down.

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“Hey” Martha greeted Rose as she made her way towards her and Jack on the balcony just outside the lounge room and kitchen of the second floor in the Macklin's mansion.

“Hey” she faked a smile, convincing enough for Martha not to ask. “So what's the celebration?” she asked, looking at the bottle of wine on the table.

“Well...” Martha started.

“Oh spit it out already” Rose shot out.

“Me and Dylan are moving in with Jack”.

“Wow” Rose exclaimed in shock, yet she felt happy for Martha, it must have been a big step for her and Jack. “That's great news” she told her, leaning down to give both Martha and Jack a hug.

“How do you think Mum and Dad are going to react?” Martha asked nervously.

“Well I'm sure they'll be happy for you” Rose answered, sitting down at one of the chairs around the outdoor table.

“So cough it up” Martha suddenly shot out, looking comfortingly at Rose.

“Wh- what?” Rose splatted, almost chocking on air.

“I know that cover up smile Rose, what's going on?”

“Well.....” she started.

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He stumbled, the bush around him seeming dull and smudgy, tears were filling his eyes, this was the time of the day were he allowed himself to mourn, the same daily routine he'd done for all the years since he was taken away from his home, all the people he loved, they all though he was coping, they thought he wanted to go, to pay the price for his mistake, but they were wrong, very wrong, really he wanted to stay, to be with them, to be with her... but he couldn't, he had to prove that he cared, that he'd do anything for her, and that ment getting revenge, making all the people who hurt her pay, one person at a time, even if it ment others suffered along the way, he'd get her back, he'd make her realize he loved her, everything about her even her annoying little habits, she was all he cared about.

When he left she thought that they were just friends, good friends, she'd even told him that the only way to show he was truly sorry for his actions, was to get on with his life, not stay behind bars, so he obeyed that, he was getting on with his life........ his life to get her back to him.

He finally came to the end of the path, the tears began to fade, and his surroundings began to become clear again. He came to a door of a concrete building, his concrete building, his castle, his sanctuary, or what ever he liked to call it, it was his trophy room, dark just as he liked it.

His hand reached out from the pocket of his black leather jacket, reaching to the door handle and turning it until his push began to open it.

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Lara and Jemma both looked up at the same second, there was a rusty squeal as the door opened slowly at the top of the stairs that went up about twenty meters before it met the door that almost reached the ceiling of the basement. Rays of light teared into the room, as a figure stepped into the room... it was him, the crazy man himself; Jessie McGregor...

Ok so there you have it, it was Jessie, please tell me what you think.

[dolly-999]

Hey guys, thanks for the reviews, this chapter's a bit longer than usual, I got a bit carried away, hope you like it.

Chapter number 39. The devil himself.

“Oh my gosh, so he's had a daughter for like... years and he never knew?” Martha exclaimed when Rose finished telling the previous days events.

“Yeah” Rose nodded, “I'm still trying to come to terms with it all, I mean I'm a step mum... and now I feel bad about not wanting it” Rose admitted, “don't get me wrong, I don't hate the idea ether, it's just...”

“Not what you thought you were marrying in to?” Martha finished her off.

“Exactly”.

“I'm so sorry Rose” Martha said sympathetically, not even wanting to try and understand what a mess things must be for her at the moment.

“It's not your fault... It's no ones fault really, just a big mess that no one could do anything about”.

“But what about Danielle's Mum? Surely she should of said something to Boyd” Jack suggested.

“She tried, but Boyd had already left when she found out, and she didn't have a clue where he went to, he just... tock off. Like I said before, it's no ones fault, I wish it was though... then I'd have someone to blame”.

Martha and Jack just nodded and gave her a knowing smile of hope, there was nothing more they could say.

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He was standing there, his feet directly in front of Lara's face that was level with the ground, she looked up, and he was looking down at her. Evilness was in his eyes, like fire burning through everything until it got to the target, what ever that was.

“What do you want from me?” Lara gasped, longing to get out, out from the night mare, away from the danger.

“Not much” Jesse snarled, “but you want something from me” he answered, carelessly sitting down in front of her, he didn't ask for a reply, nor did she give him one, so he continued on his happy ramble, “you want me to let you go” he spoke for her, “but your going to have to do something for me first” he explained, looking around to Jemma who had been completely silent, “you too babe”.

“Don't call me that!” Jemma snapped, “were not doing anything for you”.

“Well, well well, we do have an attitude now don't we” Jesse perked up, seeming amused by her anger, “now haw about you let the cop speak for herself, I'm sure she's a little more willing than you are” he added, looking around to Lara who just gave him a disgusted look.

“I'm not doing anything for you, your a sick creep”.

“Amen” Jemma exclaimed.

Jesse wasn't so cheerful anymore, his evilness turned from picking teasing fights to, anger, cold hard anger.

“So what are you going to do know?” Jemma sighed impatiently when she realized she was getting to him, “I'm starched, could you go get me a coke or something?” she asked cheekily.

Lara bit her lip to try and hide her smile and the laughter that was welling up inside her, she had to admit seeing the look on Jesse's face was pretty hilarious.

“Or maybe” Jemma continued, “maybe some coffee would be better, the caffeine might do me some good, these floors don't exactly give a lot of good rest if you know what I mean”.

By then both girls were laughing, Jesse just sat there, as stiff as a brick with evilness in his eyes, stone evilness, the laughter was echoing in his head, fading softer and softer, bringing his mind back to a time when he could laugh, when he had people to laugh with, those were the days ha longed to return to; the good days.

“Shut up” he finally spoke, moving only his lips before they returned to the same straight serious look they held before. He got up, stood tall and looked right down at the two women on the floor, “you two better watch yourselves” he warned, “cause what I say goes, and you'll be sorry if you don't do things my way”. He turned around towards the door and began to walk slowly yet confidently, he had to look like he was on control, he was in control, well in control of everything except his life, but he would be soon, things were going to get better, he just had to make things right first, make things right for her, then she'd see he was worth it.

“None of this is going to bring her back you know” Jemma called out, making him come to a stop in his tracks, but he didn't dare turn around, he knew what she ment, and she was wrong, it would bring her back, it would, he knew it would, he took another step forward and was on his path again to the door. Not giving up Jemma tried again, “None of this is going to bring Martha back”. He stopped, turned to face her, glaring at her, begging her to take it back, but she didn't, she just kept her serious face, looking directly at him with a knowing look, “I know you miss her, but Jesse this isn't the way, your only making things worse for yourself”.

“Yes it is” he shot out, by now he had lost it, his eyes were glassy, holding his emotions in like his father had always taught him too, “only wussy boys cry” he'd remembered hearing.

“Jesse” Lara spoke, making him turn from Jemma to look at her, “you need help”.

“Lara's right” Jemma agreed, “she's a cop, she can get you the help you need, then there won't be any need for all of this pointless revenge, it's not good for you”.

“Shut up” he shouted, trying to hold in a tear, but was too late, it was already rolling swiftly down his cheek, “you don't know... you don't know why I have to do this”.

“No we don't” Jemma started, seeming comforting in her voice, but it was all just to try and make him see sense, “and I don't think you really do ether, that's why you need help... professional help” she finished, studying Jesse's face with anticipation, trying to see any sign of making his head click back into place.

“You think I'm a loony don't you” he said dully, like he was drunk, drunk with emotions, that's when the anger came, he was already five meter's away, soon it became four... then three, “you think I'm a joke, that's why you were laughing wasn't it?” he continued, making it to two... then one.

“No Jesse we just want to help you” Lara jumped in.

“No you don't”, he sniffed, “you want to lock me up, you want to treat me the way I treated Loyd”.

“Jesse all this nonsense talk isn't helping” Jemma interrupted, her voice quivered slightly, she knew Jesse well, he was getting worked up, his anger was boiling, and she could already see his fist clenched.

“It's not nonsense and you know it!” he yelled, closing his fist tighter as he screamed. The room was suddenly silent as the echo from Jesse quickly faded, both girls were still, so still they didn't know whether there hearts were still beating, he was looking over them, and not at all like an angel from heaven would, it was like the devil, flames in his eyes, fuming with hate, “looks like you've finally found your place” she spoke normally again, letting his hands rest back in a normal calm position, then placed them behind his back and paced slowly back and forth in front of them, deciding what to do with them now. He couldn't make them do his work for him, they'd find some way to stuff it up, leaving them here would only mean having to find food for them... well if he wasn't too angry with them.

His thoughts were interrupted by Lara who had finally found the courage to speak, “please just tell us what you want to do with us”.

“Well I hadn't actually decided myself” he told her, walking to the back end of the room and dragging a bench stool along to sit up high in front of them, “I could always just kill you and send my calling card to that precious boyfriend of yours, now that would be a bit of entertainment” he sighed, running his thumb and index fingers up and down opposite sides of his chin in amusement.

“Your sick, you know that” Jemma said in disgust.

“Really? Never knew that” he said sarcastically, “I thought I might of got the hint the first time you said that while I've been in this room”.

“Well looks like your slow” she muttered under her breath when Jesse looked away.

“What was that?” Jesse asked, raising his voice slightly and looking directly at her waiting for her answer.

“Nothing”.

“Yeah sure”. He laughed, she was scared of him, she was below him, just the way he liked it. “You too chicken are you?” he teased.

Jemma didn't answer, she didn't even dare open her mouth this time, she just looked at him.

“Just tell us what you want and let us go” Lara butted in before Jesse could let out another of his remarks.

Jesse turned his attention to the direction of the floor where he heard Lara's voice come from, “You really think it's all that easy don't you princess... well welcome to the real world, you don't get what you want, just everything you don't want, my life's been that way for years, so get over it”.

“So that's the reason your doing all this is it?” Jemma asked, “you think that the real world is so cruel that you have to be cruel to get somewhere”.

“Yeah I do, got a problem with that?” Jesse answered defensively, getting up off the stool and took two steps towards Jemma.

Two minutes ago, Jemma would of just given him the answer he wanted to hear, but she was sick of this, she was sick of him, even if he killed her it would be better of living... with this. “Yeah I do actually” she said confidently, taking him by surprise.

“Don't you dare talk to me like that”.

“I'll talk to you however the heck I want too” she told him bluntly.

That was the last straw for Jesse, he'd had enough, so he grabbed her, tight around the throught and lifting her in the air.

“Let her go!” Lara screamed, “Let her go” she repeated, using all her strength th move her legs that were still tied together to kick him.

Jesse dropped Jemma to the floor, looked at her and crouched down, “let that be a warning” he whispered. And with that, he walked back up the stairs and closed the door behind him.

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“I should be out there looking for her” Peter yelled, banging his fist down hard on the desk.

“Were all doing the best we can Peter” Jackie reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Look I'm sorry” Peter apologized.

“It's ok” she answered, nodding with understanding, “your allowed to to be upset”.

“I just... I don't know what I'd do if-”.

“Peter” she stopped him, “you can't start talking like that”. She pulled up a chair and sat next to him, waiting a second while he took in another deep breath and buried his face in his hands for a second before looking back up. “You love her don't you” Jackie spoke.

“Yeah” he sighed, “more than anything”.

“Well get her back” she whispered, “well find a way” she added, giving him a pat on the back before walking back out to join the search.

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Martha walked down the stairs to the bottom floor of the house with Rose along side her. “Was it just me or was mum and dad not so happy about hearing that I'm moving out”.

“It wasn't just you, like mum was happy for you, but dad didn't take it that well”. And she was right, Brett hadn't been too happy about hearing that his daughter was moving to summer bay, he just stood there while Ruth held Martha in her arms and told her that she was now sentenced to visiting often as possible, not that Brett wasn't happy that his daughter was moving on with her life, he really was glad to see her smile, but the last few years had been kinda like getting to know his daughter, he hated himself for not taking on his roll as father when she was growing up, but now he was finding it hard to let go.

“I'm sure he'll come round, he was just in shock” Rose added, trying to make Martha smile, but it didn't work.

“Rose?” she asked.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think I'm doing the right thing?”

“Well of course I do, I'm going to miss you, but that doesn't mean it's not the right thing. Are you having second thoughts?”

“I don't know” Martha admitted honestly, “it's going to be different... but you know, I want Dylan to have the chance to know his dad” she said as the came into Martha's room and sat down on the end of the bed.

“But what about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, what's in it for you, and don't say nothing cause I saw the way you and Jack were looking at each other across the table earlier. What's going on Marth?”

“Well...” she started.

“Well what?” she encouraged her.

“Well were not exactly.. you know, in a romantic relationship”.

“Could of fouled me, and don't you try telling me that your just friends, cause I know thats rubbish”.

“Yeah it is rubbish cause were more than friends, were stuck in the middle somewhere”.

“Does Jack know this?” Rose asked raising an eye brow.

“Yeah he does, we talked about it, and we both agreed that it's too soon after Serena”.

“Oh yeah I almost forgot about her” Rose realized, “what, how long has it been now?”

“About a month and a half” Martha answered before the room when silent for about thirty seconds.

“How do you think she did it?” Rose sighed with he chin rested on her hand.

“Accepted a step son without even having a thought of shock”.

“Rose please don't start with the bad step mum thing again, because you reaction is perfectly normal, Serena only reacted differently because she was in a different situation”.

“No she wasn't” Rose shot out.

“Yeah she was, ok so yes you both had the same situation of realizing you married into more than you thought you did, but Jack and Serena hadn't even decided what they wanted for their future, you've already started having a family and planing stuff like that, they hadn't. And like you were saying to me and mum before, you don't know if this Janae girl is going to turn up wanting Boyd back, Serena already knew that me and Jack were history at the time”.

“I guess so” Rose nodded, putting on a slight smile.

“So no more talk about being a horrible step mum ok?”

“Ok” she agreed.

[dolly-999]

Chapter number 40. Still daddy's little girl

“Hey” Brett greeted Rose and Martha as he entered Martha's room to see them packing some of Martha's stuff, she was really leaving. “Lunch is ready”.

“Oh good I'm starving” Rose exclaimed, walking towards the door.

“Well how about you go on up there and leave me and Martha for a minute then?” Brett suggested.

“Alright” she agreed, exiting the room.

Martha folded up some clothes and placed them in her suit case before turning around to see Brett already sitting down on the edge of her bed, then stepping forward she sat down next to him.

“I'm so proud of you sweety” Brett started, “and I'm going to miss you”.

“I'm going to miss you too” Martha smiled.

“I still remember that day when we found you again, I still remember you standing at the door of my office. I'll never forget that day” he said honestly.

“Me nether, that was the day I found who my dad really was. But this doesn't mean I'm leaving you, by the sounds of mum's sentence it looks like I'll still be here a lot”.

Brett's eyes were watery and he felt like a lump was in his throught, “I just don't want to lose my little girl”.

“And your not going to” Martha told him, falling into her fathers arms for a hug, “I'll always be your little girl, I promise” she whispered.

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Peter sat alone in the bedroom of his apartment, he couldn't cry, he was beyond crying, she was gone, he just wished he knew where. He took in a deep breath and prepared for the worst, 'ok Peter, so she left you, get over yourself' his mind told him, 'ok so maybe that's a little hard', he had to convince himself that he was better off, she probably was where ever she'd gone too, 'ok so she sent the email, she set you up, she knew all along that Loyd was alive' he tried to convince himself, but he knew none of that was true. Aimlessly he fell backwards onto his bed, his heart was shattered, he loved her so much that it hurt.

His eyes drifted into the ceiling, looking far beyond it and imagined the sky outside. He could imagine himself flying into space, so far that he couldn't see earth anymore, he could see the stars around him, drifting behind him as he passed them, up ahead was another planet, another world to explore and forget about his problems on earth, not that that was easy, subconsciously Lara was in the back of his mind, it was a little pain reminding him of his heart break.

He moved his hands in front of him, moving them outwards then back in again like he was doing breath stroke through the black empty space, moving towards the planet, which looked like pictures of mars he'd seen, 'perfect' he thought, the planet of men, no women to break his heart and shatter it into a million pieces.

But the closer he got to to the surface, the more thoughts of the real world came back to him, like there was no escape, they ran around his brain, circling around like children, making him feel dizzy. He was falling, falling back the way he came, back to earth, back to reality. The stars were whooshing past him, like they were shooting, they sky slowly turned from black to blue, and he found himself lying on his bed once again, panting in a rage to try and catch his breath.

When he was breathing normally again, he sat up and got up to get a drink from the kitchen, this was a really weird day, nothing seemed right, which make him start to thing he had gone loony. He reached out his hand to open the cupboard and take a glass out, then it hit him, 'what if...' he thought, 'what if she didn't choose to leave?'

Realizing this Peter stopped what he was doing and grabbed his keys, he had to find her, he didn't know where he was going to look, but he'd just have to try.

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“Lara!” Jemma shot out after lying on the ground in silence for the last hour.

“What?” Lara asked, seeming shocked at noise finally being present in the room.

“It came undone” she exclaimed, lifting up her hands that were untied.

“Oh my gosh, undo me” she begged, sitting up and turning her back to her so she could untie the hands from behind her back.

“Ouch, he's done yours tight... hang on... got it” she spoke loosening the rope so Lara's wrists could be releaved.

“Thanks”.

“That's ok, now if only it was so easy to get these feet undone” she muttered, reaching down to try and unknot her feet, as Lara did the same. Before long they were free, leaving the building as carefully as possible, ready to face the bush, Lara just hoped Jemma knew what she was doing, cause she didn't have a clue where they were.

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Martha, Jack, Ruth, Brett and Rose all sat around the Macklin's dinning room, lunch was finished, finally, Ruth had cooked a lot, she wanted to make sure her daughter's last meal living under their roof was one to remember, and it was safe to say she wouldn't, they'd all been so full they swore they'd never eat another Italian meal or piece of chocolate cake again.

“So how does it feel to be free again?” Brett asked, trying to make conversation while the girls gossiped at the other end of the table about.... well Brett wasn't quite sure really, he always found it hard to understand the way they carried on.

“Well I'll never take home cooked food for granted that's for sure” Jack joked.

Brett chuckled slightly, “so I'm guessing it's as bad as hospital food there?”

“Worse” Jack answered imediently, “half the stuff there made me want to spew”.

“So how's everything else then, you must be happy to be back with your family again” Brett continued, he'd never really had time to get to know Jack, when ever he hadn't been in jail, he and Martha hadn't been in speaking terms, so the Holden's house had been a no go zone, but now it looked like he'd be spending a lot of time with him, not just because of Dylan, it was obvious that things were going well between his daughter and Jack.

“Yeah, it's been great, I just wish my brother would hurry up and get back from his honeymoon, he pretty much took off right after I got back. Seeing Dylan again has been great too”.

“Yeah his a good kid” Brett smiled.

“Yeah, I just wish I'd had more chance to get to know him in the past. You know, the more I see of him the more I realize how much he's like his mother” Jack commented, looking in the direction of Dylan sitting at the table a few seats down from him.

“True, he is a lot like her” Brett admitted, “but some how I don't think he got his half crocked smile from her, it's always amazed me how he does that, what's the secret?”.

Jack chuckled, “well that, is a secret not even all us crocked smiling Holden's know the answer too”.

Brett and Jack grew silent again and the sound of the girls up the other end of the table could be heard, Brett looked around and watched his daughter, she was so happy, which made him smile, he just wished she wasn't leaving.

Jack noticed this, seeing where Brett was looking, “your going to miss her aren't you?”

“Yeah I am” he admitted, “take care of her”.

“I will” Jack promised, “I promise I won't let anything happen to her”.

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Boyd sat out the front of one of the coffee shops in Sydney, across the round mettle table was his daughter. He lifted his mug up and took another sip if the warm coffee, he didn't really know what to say, he hardly knew her, so he thought of the first thing that came to mind, “so I forgot to ask how your mum was going, how is she?”

“She's ok I guess, I haven't actually spoken to her since I left”.

“Left as in moved out of home?” Boyd seemed shocked, he'd just presumed that Janae had come down with her and was staying with her.

“Well... yeah” Danielle managed to get out, she knew how bad it looked, like a complete rebel, not exactly the impression she had dreamed of giving her father when she finally met him, the truth was she'd already tried ever way to still stay with her mum and find her dad, but her mum wouldn't have a bar of it, she'd just say the same old line she always used, 'if he wasn't prepared to stick around then he's not worth looking for after all these years'.

“Why didn't you say so, we could of let you stay with us, we've got plenty of room” Boyd offered, luckily he hadn't given any impression of thinking of her differently, that would of left Danielle with a lot of explaining to do, and she didn't really want to bring up all her problems with her mum.

“I don't think that's really the best idea dad, I mean, Rose didn't seem to happy when I turned up” she said nervously.

“She was shocked, you have to realize it's a big thing for her too” Boyd told her.

“Yeah I know, which is why I don't think I should rush in”.

“fair enough, so where are you staying then?”

“Just down at one of the hotels around the corner”.

“Well, if your not going to move in then at least come and meet your little step sister”.

“I've got a step sister?” she smiled with excitement.

“Yeah only just, she's not that old yet”.

“Well I can't wait to meet her then”.

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“Where the hell are we Jem?” Lara asked, so far they'd been trudging through the bush for about an hour, and every tree seemed to look the same as the last.

“Not to far now” she told her, “don't worry we'll get there” she smiled looking around at Lara behind her. “So does any of this look familiar to you?” she asked when they came to a clearing and found the old shed that her and Peter had been led to in the first clue.

“Yeah it does” Lara smiled looking around the area, then she came cross something, it ... it was Peter's car. “Oh my gosh”.

“What?”

“Peter” Lara gasped, running over to the empty car and looking inside, he wasn't there, “where is he?”

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Jack walked into the spare room of the Holden's house, well it was Martha's room now. He placed her suit case down next to her bed and sat down next to her, “thanks” she smiled.

“For what?”

“For everything, I'm glad were doing this” she said lovingly.

“Good, cause so am I, I wouldn't want you to be anywhere else... unless of course you get lonely and decide to bunk in with me” he tease, wrapping on arm around her and kissed her om the cheek.

“What are you trying to say?” she flirted back, also wrapping an arm around him, “Are you saying this confused relationship is... well... flexible?”

“Maybe” he answered, raising his eyebrows quickly, “well just have to wait and see”.

“Are you trying to seduce me constable?” she asked, looking right into his eyes, she didn't know what had gotten into her, but Jack didn't seem to mind.

“And why do you ask that?” he asked cheekily, moving closer to her, he couldn't help himself and he found himself moving his hand to move a piece of stray hair behind her ear where it belonged.

There eyes locked and the harmless flirting stopped, Martha found herself pulling him in, her arms were around his neck, giving easy access for her hands to push the back of his head so he was closer.

Jack cupped her face, he needed her, he needed her now. His heart raced and he had an urge to pull her right into it, but he held onto the moment of there gaze fixed and there faces in such a close proximity that he could feel her warm breath on his face.

Martha captured Jacks lips with hers, kissing him tender and sweet. But this didn't stop her from pulling him in more and more, there body's getting firmer and firmer against each other. Her heart was jumping inside, last night she thought she couldn't be happier when Jack asked her to move in, but she was wrong; now she couldn't be happier.

Jack reacted to her kiss imediently, running his hands up and down her back, drawing her in. He could feel her lips moving under his and her hands running through his hair, this only proceeded to turn him on even more, and before he realized what he was doing, he was on top of her and he could feel her hands on his chest, beginning to undo the buttons on his shirt. He pulled away slowly, looking at her beautiful face that lay under him, her hair fell loosely around her face and he could see her eyes sparkling back at his. “I should probably let you unpack” he whispered. He wasn't rejecting her, his voice made sure of that, he wasn't unsure ether, but now probably wasn't the time, for all they knew Dylan could come racing in any minute.

“Yeah, you probably should” she agreed, still smiling uncontrollably as Jack sat up before he grabbed her hand to help her sit up too.

He held her in his arms for a second, lowering his mouth to her ear, “are you sure you don't want to stay in my room?” he whispered before lowering further to plant tiny kisses on her neck.

“No I'm not sure” she admitted, moving her neck away slightly, “but it's the way it's going to have to be for the moment”.

“Aww” Jack complained, putting on a pleading face.

“No” she giggled, rubbing her nose against his, “but I still love you”.

“Good, cause I still love you too” he smiled, “well I should leave you to it then”.

“Ok, see you later” she said before he left the room, still with his shirt half unbuttoned and his hair messed up.

Jack closed the door, turning to walk down the hall way to his room, down the end of the hallway at the top of the stairs was Tony, who took one look at Jack and was completely shocked, he just come out of Martha's room looking like that? “I should of guessed” he mumbled to himself, shaking his head to try to get rid of the thought before walking back down the stairs.

Ok, I hope all thoughts who were itching to see more J&M are happy now. Please review.

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