Behind Closed Doors

[swfc]

I swear, for a while there I was afraid that I would've missed heaps of chapters.... I finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief when it was just one chapter.

I need to agree with Lil. Once a Detective, always a Detective. At least he's way smarter in your fic than in the show

Natalie is weird... Stalking them.... She's nuts... I hope he finds out what's the deal with her and fast. Clete need their happy ending.

And, I must add, Pete afraid of heights cracked me up heaps.... I swear, this fic is making me see the gorgeous detective in a whole new light.

Loving the teaser, Ali..... Good luck for exams.

[allibaz91]

Thanks Chrissie! Glad you're still enjoying it!

I really need to stick to my chapter limits

I always tell myself it'll be a short one cause I should be studying, then it ends up like .... well, this one! Anyway enjoy, cause I don't know when the next update will be

Chapter 32

The next few days passed in a blur of activity, with everything merging into one massive memory of London for Peter. English accents; stalls selling giant hats with Union Jacks on them – one of which Clare proceeded to pay a fortune for, then plonk on his head and take photos; Big Ben; Tower Bridge; a rather romantic evening dinner boat trip up the Thames; Madame Tussaud’s for the day … Anything and everything the city had to offer, basically! And they spent most nights out for dinner; out for drinks; then back to the hotel room. It was complete bliss, as far as he was concerned.

And the icing on the cake was, no word from Natalie. Clare hadn’t mentioned her again, and that was fine with him. He still didn’t trust the woman as far as he could throw her, despite the fact that his lover was determined to see the best in everyone. But then again, if it weren’t for that quality of hers, he would’ve lost her for good, he thought.

Almost the whole week went by in total harmony, until the day before they were due to leave. Clare was acting really distant with him that morning, but he put it down to not wanting to go back to their Witness Protection house the next day. She was in the bathroom finishing her makeup, getting ready to go to lunch, when her cell phone rang. Peter didn’t even give it a second thought before answering for her.

“Hello?” he said, looking around for the room key as he heard Clare getting ready.

“Peter?”

He stopped where he was, stunned. He had almost managed to forget about her.

“Natalie,” he said, in a forced-pleasant tone. “What a nice surprise. How are you?”

“Good, thanks,” she said cheerily, and he wanted to hang up on her. She was just too sickly-sweet to be real. “How are you and Clare enjoying your trip?”

“Oh, we’ve had a great time,” he said. “Have you and the boys been having fun?”

“Yeah – they’ve been hyper all week, but I think they’ve enjoyed themselves. So, where’s your better half, then?”

“Charming,” he said sarcastically. “Hang on, I’ll get her for you.” He rapped sharply on the bathroom door, and Clare came out. He handed her the phone distastefully.

“Natalie,” he said shortly, making a face. She rolled her eyes and turned away.

“Hey there!” she said brightly, either ignoring or not seeing him pretending to barf; he wasn’t sure which. “What’s up? When? Oh, uh, I’m not really sure … in fact, yeah, that sounds good. Uh-huh, he’ll be fine. Yeah, I’m sure. See you then. Bye.”

And she hung up. She then just shot Peter a look and went back into the bathroom. She was definitely avoiding him for some reason. He went to stand in the doorway.

“What did Natalie want, then?” he asked casually. Clare looked at him briefly.

“Uh, she wanted to know if I wanted to get some lunch,” she admitted. He scoffed.

“Great,” he said sarcastically. “So you’re going, then?”

“Look, I just … I need to talk to Nat about a few things, okay? It’s not you.”

“Yeah, right, and you haven’t been acting weird around me all day either, right? I’m not blind, Clare! I don’t know what’s going on with you, but surely it’s something we ought to be dealing with together – not you and Natalie!”

“You have to trust that I would tell you if it was something big,” she pleaded. “Pete, this isn’t your issue, okay? It’s a girly thing that Nat just understands, that’s all.”

“Yeah, and this is her way of not getting between us, too, I suppose?” he snapped.

“Look, I’m sorry if you have a problem with her, really, I am,” Clare said, sounding genuinely upset. “But I like her, and I said I’d meet her. I have to honour that.”

“What about her kids?” Peter replied resignedly. “Who’s with them?”

“I actually don’t know,” she said, sounding surprised herself. “Maybe a sitter?”

“Call her back,” he sighed. “Tell her I’ll watch the boys for her.”

“Thank you,” Clare smiled at him gratefully, and he feigned a smile back. Yeah, he’d watch the boys, all right – and maybe find out a little something about mother dearest in the process, he thought.

*******************************

“They’ll be here in a few minutes,” Clare told him shortly, grabbing her bag. He leant heavily against the wall by the door. Deep down, he couldn’t believe she was blowing him off for lunch with Natalie, of all people. On their last day, too!

“Pete?” She glanced at him, and he saw the pain in her gaze. She must have seen the resentment in his own, because she sighed and took his hands in hers.

“Look, I love you, okay?” she said softly. “This is just … complicated.”

“Complicated?” he repeated. “And you can sort it with her, but not me?”

“We’ve been through this,” Clare pleaded with him. “I thought we were past it.”

“Maybe you are, but this is a lot harder on me than I think you realise.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” she promised. He looked into her eyes, then smiled.

“You know I can’t stay mad at you,” he said, rolling his eyes and laughing. She also gave a weak chuckle, and hugged him tight. He heard and felt her inhale his scent.

“Thanks for understanding,” she whispered, holding him close to her.

“I don’t understand, Clare,” he replied, wishing he did. “But I’m trying to.

“And that means everything,” she murmured into his chest. He sighed and held her close to him, wishing more than anything that she would tell him what he had done wrong. But, of course, the moment was spoiled.

“Clare? Peter! It’s us!”

“Natalie,” Peter muttered under his breath. Clare let out a rare giggle.

“You sounded pretty evil there, you know that?” she informed him, opening the door. “Hi!”

“Hey, guys! Boys, come in, but don’t touch anything,” Natalie told her children. They then proceeded to run around the room picking up anything they could lay their hands on.

“Boys will be boys,” Clare laughed. “Anyway, we’d better get going – I’ll call you a little later on and we can meet up, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Peter lied, wondering if telekinesis really could happen through sheer willpower. A moment later he decided it couldn’t, as no flying lamps had as yet managed to hit Natalie in the head. Pity, really.

Clare gave him a fleeting peck on the cheek and a grateful smile.

“You boys have fun – try not to break anything,” she taunted him. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks again, Peter,” Natalie said, smiling. That smile was so fake – in fact, those teeth might even have been fake, he thought to himself. Was anything about her real?

“You two go set the world to rights,” was all he said aloud. “We’ll be fine.”

“Bye!”

And the two women were gone, leaving him alone with three screaming children. Now this was far from the romantic holiday he had planned for, he thought resentfully. But he didn’t have much time to ponder, as he had to duck to avoid a flying pillow. Sure, that figured. NOW the boys began hurling things. Why couldn’t they have read his mind sooner!? But again, his thoughts were cut off, this time by a phone ringing. He managed to dodge the flying objects and make his way to the refuge of the bathroom before answering his cell.

“Hello?” he said, listening warily to the silence outside. Silence meant plotting. Plotting was bad. Bad was the kind of thing that happened when he was left in charge!

“Peter? It’s Sam,” came the crackling voice down the line. Peter stood up straighter.

“How did you go?” he asked quickly and seriously. “What did you find out?”

“Mate, when are you two coming back?” was the response. “It’s bad enough you take off out of the country without a word, but then you call me for a favour?”

“And I’m still waiting for an answer,” snapped Peter. “Now tell me what you found!”

“Nothing, Pete,” Sam said heavily. “Not even an unpaid parking ticket. Your girl’s clean.”

Peter swore aloud, then coughed to cover it up. The boys MIGHT not have heard him …

“Are you sure there’s nothing on her record?” he asked again. He had to be sure.

“She hasn’t even reported any crimes, never mind committed one! What’s your sudden interest in this Natalie Robinson, anyway?” asked his boss suspiciously.

“None of your damn business,” Peter informed him. “I have to go, Sam – the triplets are completely destroying the hotel room, and I’ll no doubt get the blame.”

“Triplets?!? Peter, what exactly is going –”

But Peter cut him off before he could ask his question – mainly because it was one he wasn’t entirely sure of the answer to himself. Not yet, anyway. But he would be.

“Okay, okay, time out!” he shouted, coming out of the bathroom into an ambush.

“Can we go get ice cream?” asked Paul quickly. Peter grinned. Kids were so easy.

“I think that sounds like a great idea,” he said. “Come on, coats and shoes, now.”

“When do you think we’ll get to see Mum again?” Nicholas said quietly.

“Oh, in a few hours, I expect,” Peter told him, watching them race to get ready.

“Not her,” Nicholas told him as he struggled with his shoelaces. “Our real mum.”

Peter stopped still, watching the boys. He knelt down in front of the shy little boy.

“Your real mum?” he repeated slowly. “What do you mean, Nicholas?”

“That woman – Natalie. She looks after us sometimes, when Mum isn’t there.”

“Where does your Mum go when she isn’t at home?”

“Jail,” Jason said bluntly, and Nicholas’ eyes welled up with tears. “She’s in jail.”

“Your mum’s in jail?!”

“We stay with lots of kids in an orphanage,” Jason informed him. Nicholas began to cry silently, and Paul just sat there seeming uncomfortable. “Natalie comes and sees us sometimes. They told us we’d to go on holiday with her. Mum’s not coming back.”

“She might!!” Nicholas shouted, upset. Peter hugged the boy comfortingly.

“All right, that’s enough,” he told Jason sternly. “No more talking about this, okay?”

“Okay,” muttered Jason grouchily. Nicholas looked tearfully up at Peter.

“Is Mum really never coming back?” he whispered miserably.

“Whatever happens to your mum, you’ll always be taken care of,” Peter promised him. “Now what do you want to do? Do you want to go see Natalie?

“Uh-huh,” he sniffled.

Peter ushered the triplets out of the door, keeping a close eye on Nicholas. He then pulled his cell phone from his pocket once more, although he knew this wouldn’t go over well.

“Clare?” he said into the phone. “Can you talk?”

“Sure, of course,” she said, sounding a bit happier than earlier. “What’s up?”

“Is Natalie there?” he asked her quietly, making sure the boys couldn’t hear him as they walked down the stairs and out through the hotel lobby.

“Yeah, why?”

“See how much you can find out about the boys,” he said seriously.

“Pete, what’s the matter?” she asked, lowering her voice. “Are the boys okay?”

“Yeah, they’re fine,” he assured her. “But I don’t know for how much longer.”

“How many times?” She sounded exasperated. “I trust Nat, okay? They’ll be fine!”

“Yeah, fine and dandy, except for the fact that she’s not their real mother!” he snapped, a lot more angrily than he’d meant to. He heard Clare gasp in shock, and a moment later, hurried footsteps, meaning she had left the table to talk in private.

“What are you talking about?” she asked anxiously. “How do you know?”

“Clare, just find out what you can, all right? These kids could be in danger.”

“Yeah, okay … what are you going to do now?” she questioned, her voice a little shaky.

“Find out what their mother’s name is and why they were taken from her, and exactly what their connection to Natalie Robinson is,” he replied. “Whatever this woman’s got to hide, those kids are the key. And it could be putting us in danger too, so take care.”

“You too,” she told him. “And, Pete?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m pregnant.”

*cough* What cliffy? *cough*

Enjoy!

[Lilone]

I knew, I knew, I knew, I knew IT

From when Clare was distant with Pete i knew that she was going to be pregnaunt

Baby Pete

I hope Pete finds out what Nat is up to

Update soon

[Mrs Bishop]

Good chapter Ali what a cliffy aw pete with the boys how sweet.

[allibaz91]

Thanks Lil and Janice

Lil, you shush You totally have to stop trying to guess this before you read it! You're ruining it for yourself

But then again, you won't see anything else coming, I hope

[swfc]

I knew it!!! It was sooooooooooooooo obvious! Nyahaha! Lil, you weren't the only who guessed it.

Why don't you people ever tell me when you've updated or when you put up teasers?

Apart from Clete having a baby, which makes me sooooo happy, that was awesome chapter.

Why wasn't I surprised that Nicholas would be the one to spill the beans to Peter? The name connection. Duh.

I cannot wait to read more. Lol, I can juust totally imagine Pete being shocked and probably fainting. Joking. He'll be so happy. It's going to be so awesome....

Update soon. Cannot wait for more.

[allibaz91]

^Dude, because I never see you online!!

And PMing you to tell you would be so shameless

Lol thanks, Chrissie *cough* rant *cough*

Clete baby - let's face it, we knew I would

But don't get too excited - good times are far in the future right now

[*~Abi~*]

a Clete baby aww what a cliffhanger i wonder what the truth is behing why Nat has the triplets, wicked as always

[allibaz91]

Thanks Abi

Update (I know, about time, but lemme alone, I have exams )

Chapter 33

Peter froze where he was as the phone line went dead. Had she just said what he thought she had just said? Could she really be pregnant? Having Clare back in his life and having a baby together seemed just too good to be true right now. But asking her would have to wait – he still had this Natalie issue to deal with. He shook himself and led the boys through the streets until they found an ice cream place. As the triplets settled down to their desserts, he sat opposite them in a daze. He couldn’t believe Clare might really be pregnant.

He thought back to the first time he’d met Drew; how his son had rejected him for not being around all those years. This was like a chance to remedy that; a second chance to prove he could be a father. And he knew Clare would be the most incredible mother, too. He’d much rather have her as mother of his children than Christy, who had made Drew so miserable all those years. At least Clare cared. Just looking at the way she was with Lucy proved that, at least in his eyes. They could do this. No, more than that – they could do this well. He knew they could.

“When are we going to see Natalie?” Nicholas interrupted his thoughts.

“Uh, soon,” Peter promised vaguely. He wanted to give Clare some time to get information before they showed up. Natalie could be a threat to these boys. But then reality hit him with a sickening jolt. If Natalie really was some nutter; if she really was a danger to the boys, then his girlfriend and his baby were in danger too!

“Come on,” he said, grabbing his jacket. “Eat on the way.”

****************************

“Clare, Natalie!” he called, making his way in between the many tables in the café to where his lover and her new ‘friend’ were sitting. Clare shot him a nervous glance, and Natalie looked between the pair of them, seeming confused.

“What are you doing here?” she asked uncertainly. “Is everything okay?”

“You didn’t ask her yet?” Peter threw at Clare, stunned. She looked away from him.

“Ask me what?” Natalie questioned him. “Peter, what seems to be the problem?”

“What are you doing here, Natalie?” he spat at her, unable to control his temper.

“What do you mean, what am I doing here?” she asked him, sounding nervous now.

“What do I mean? What I mean, is, I want to know what you’re doing with these kids who aren’t even yours! I want to know what exactly your interest in us is; why you followed us to the London Eye to spy on us and left the boys behind! I want the truth, and I’m not leaving until I get it, so you had better start talking, or I might get angry!”

Natalie looked around her shiftily. She then grabbed the three boys and tore out of the café in a mad rush. Clare jumped to her feet, seeming stunned, and Peter chased after them. But for some reason everyone in the café seemed to want to get in his way, as he found himself struggling to manoeuvre his way around tables, chairs and legs. By the time he got outside, he saw them pulling away in a taxi. He cursed loudly as he heard Clare come up behind him, slightly out of breath.

“She’s gone, isn’t she?” she asked him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder.

“Yeah, they’re all gone,” he confirmed, angry with himself. “I can’t believe this!”

“Pete, there was nothing you could do,” Clare insisted firmly. “I’m the one who should be feeling guilty, if anything! I should’ve listened to you when you told me not to trust her, but I just … I don’t know; I guess she really had me fooled. It must be pregnancy hormones or something throwing me off. I’m so sorry, Pete …”

Peter half-laughed at the casual way in which she had mentioned the pregnancy. As if it were some sort of everyday thing. He smiled and pulled her close to him.

“I still can’t believe you’re pregnant,” he said softly. “How long have you known?”

“I’ve suspected for a couple of days, but I only took the test when Natalie and I left the hotel,” she told him. “I didn’t want to tell you and get your hopes up, is all. You know, just in case. I mean, I know I should’ve told you earlier, and all, but I just … it didn’t feel right, if you get me. I wanted to be sure. I hope you understand.”

“I don’t need to understand,” he grinned. “All that matters is that you and the baby are all right. And even this Natalie thing can’t spoil that for us. We’re going to be parents.”

But all of a sudden, Clare pulled out of his arms, looking upset. He frowned concernedly, reaching for her hand. He couldn’t understand what he’d said or done this time.

“Clare, I don’t … I didn’t mean to upset you,” he told her. “What’s the matter?”

“I can’t have this conversation right now,” she said vaguely, looking away from him.

“Why not?” he demanded. She seemed genuinely distressed. “Clare, talk to me!”

“Pete, I don’t … I don’t know if I want to have this baby.”

**************************************

“Here are your boarding passes – have a safe flight home,” the attendant Debbie said, smiling broadly at Peter. He just half-smiled in response. He and Clare had barely said two words to one another since the day before, when she had told him she might not want to have their child. Neither of them was too keen to discuss it, either. He just couldn’t understand how she could even be thinking about having a termination. And he didn’t know what she was thinking. That was their whole problem.

They sat down beside each other, still in that awkward silence. If it had even been amicable silence, he could’ve coped with that, but it was one of those absolutely horrible silences, where nobody knew what to say or how to go about saying it. And this was the woman carrying his child? He felt like he barely even knew her any more.

“Pete, this is ridiculous,” Clare said quite suddenly. “We have to talk about this.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he replied. “You’re the one who wants to have an abortion. Surely that’s your issue to tell me about?”

“I never said I wanted an abortion,” she told him heatedly. “I said I wasn’t sure!”

“This is our baby, Clare! How can you not be sure? I thought we wanted the same thing.”

“Look, this is not about me not wanting a family, because I do, you know that.”

“And we’re not exactly twenty-two any more, are we? Surely this is the right time in both our lives for us to be doing this?” He still didn’t see what her problem was.

“Yeah, it might be, if things were different,” she responded quietly. Something in her tone of voice made him sit up and take notice.

“What do you mean, if things were different?” Peter asked carefully. Clare sighed.

“Look, I would love to have kids, you know I want that,” she said. “But … well, when we talked about having a family together, I didn’t exactly anticipate the circumstances we’re in now, being an issue. I don’t know if I want to bring a child up in this world of secrets, lies and hidden identities, Peter! I don’t know if I like the thought of raising our son or daughter in a place where nobody knows our real names – giving him or her somebody else’s surname; a whole false identity. I imagined our family … would be ours.”

“But, nine months down the line, we might not be in witness protection any more.”

“And what if we are?”

Peter sat back in his seat, a weight settling on his shoulders. He hadn’t thought of this.

“Look, I … I don’t know where we’ll be in nine months time, Clare,” he said honestly. “But I do know that no matter where we are, I’ll still love you. And surely a loving family is all any kid needs, really? Surely we can’t punish him or her for our situation?”

“It’s not a he or a she, Peter,” she said dully. “Not yet, anyway. And if we make the decision quickly enough, then, you know, the baby’s not even classed as a baby.”

“You could seriously live with yourself if you got rid of this child?” he asked her.

“Could you live with me?” she replied. He sighed heavily.

“I’m not going to stop loving you, whatever decision you take,” he said finally. She nodded, unsmiling, and leant back in her chair slowly.

“I just don’t know, Pete,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry, but I just don’t know.”

“I’m sorry too,” he said, taking her hand in his and kissing it softly. “I don’t want to fight over this. Whatever happens, we still have each other, yeah?”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” she told him, and managed a faint smile, before her eyes flickered shut and she fell asleep. But deep down, Peter knew he wouldn’t sleep this flight.

**************************************************

He flicked on the kitchen light and dumped their cases by the door, letting Clare into the house. Both of them were absolutely exhausted after the long flight, on top of everything else they had on their minds. Peter gave Clare’s shoulder a loving squeeze, and she smiled gratefully and lovingly at him. She leaned over to kiss him, but he was distracted by a sound in the living room. He pushed Clare gently behind him out of harm’s way.

“I heard something in there,” he whispered. She looked shocked, and looked through the doorway into the darkened room. Peter grabbed the first thing he could lay his hands on in the kitchen – a frying pan. That could do some damage.

‘Stay here,’ he mouthed to her, and crept towards the living room. The frying pan held aloft in one hand, he used his other to reach through the door and turn on the light. His arm fell limp, and the frying pan clattered to the floor: so great was his shock at what he saw before him in his living room. He leant against the wall for support.

“Oh my God …”

[Lilone]

*sulks*