If No One Will Listen

[bradyell]

hmmmmmmm! i'd say girl - i think errrrrrrrm yeah i'll go with girl

[haaxhaa]

Fantastic!

[Deborah]

Nicole had a baby!!! And its Geoff's!!! Can't wait for his reaction.

Brilliantly written again, with just the right amount of humour

[MizzyBee123]

That was sooooo good and the comedy was genius i could just imagine their characters really saying it! i LOVE Nicole tooo! so this fic really shows her funny side Love it! update soon please=] im a massive geoff/nicole fan !

[tessalove]

this is great!! you write so well!!

i think the baby should be a girl!!! but its your choice!

update soon! xX

[Red Ranger 1]

Was not expecting that.She's been pregnant with Geoff's baby for nine months and hasn't noticed?That's gonna set the cat among the pigeons...The delivery scene was really funny.

You're talking to the guy who never decides the gender of children in his own fictions, I always decide it at random.But if you want, I can use the complicated method known as tossing a coin and it says...boy.

[KaiyaBlake]

It would be funny if it were a boy.

I'd love to see Nicole try to make him all fashionable

[HAA Girl 08]

Loving this fiction, Louise!

I'd say a girl... but then again Nic with a baby boy would be really funny!

Cannot wait for more.

[~Zoe~]

Loved that chapter Louise, this fiction is really good

The delivery scene at the hospital was very funny, could just imagine the characters saying that

Really well written, looking forward to reading more

[Louise_2983]

Chapter 3

“Hey! There you are, I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind about coming back” he joked jovially as she entered the house to find him limbering up in the lounge as he prepared to go for a run.

“Welcome home” he smiled sincerely.

“It’s good to have you back”

“Thanks” she sighed before continuing hesitantly, completely unable to predict how he would react to what she was about to tell him.

"Geoff, I need to talk to you about something"

“Is everything ok?” he questioned as the uncertainty clouding her features suddenly registered with him.

“I think you might need to sit down for this one” she ordered softly wondering silently how she had ended up being the one assigned to do Nicole’s dirty work for her.

“Is it Irene? Has she called? Has something happened?” he rapidly fired questions at her in a panic stricken mode as he blatantly ignored her instructions and remained standing.

“Something’s happened alright” she replied not able to prevent her lips from curving into a wry smile.

“But it’s not Irene, she’s fine as far as I know”

“Then what?”

“It’s Nicole”

“Look Belle!” he suddenly snapped, his face flushing crimson as a surge of anger flashed over his eyes for the briefest of moments.

“I’ve heard all about her and Aden and I don’t care alright?! WE broke up! I know you and Aden have still got all these unresolved issues going on and what you saw probably really hurt but I just don’t

want to know ok?”

“Protesting a little too much for someone who doesn’t care aren’t you?” she arched her eyebrows at him knowingly.

“I’m with Claudia now!” he told her adamantly, turning away from her as if to demonstrate his lack of interest as he resumed his stretches, his muscles flexed and taut.

“Yeah I heard all about your little rendezvous at the Caravan Park” she teased stomping around him so he had no choice but to look at her once more.

“How?! You were in rehab! For pity’s sake is there anyone in this entire town who doesn’t know?!” he cried in exasperation, sick of the supposedly witty comments people had been throwing his way all

week.

“Well if there is I’m sure Colleen will fill them in soon!” she chuckled before pressing her palms flat against his chest and pushing him down into the armchair behind him.

“Now sit down! This isn’t about Aden and Nicole!”

Just using their names together in a sentence, juxtaposed like they were some sort of entity sent a shudder through her healing body. She didn’t need any more reminders of the carnal behaviour she

had witnessed, it was already impossible to forget. The visuals were imprinted in her memory, haunting and teasing her constantly no matter how much she tried to push them away.

“Then what is it?” he questioned scanning her face for clues.

“Belle, are you ok?”

“That depends on your definition of ok” she laughed at his question.

Her counsellor may have been of the opinion that she was ready to go home, to face the world again but now as she did just that, already embroiled in another drama after a few mere hours, she wasn’t

so sure she agreed with him.

Her gaze wandered to the painkillers someone had haphazardly left lying on the kitchen counter, her fingers itching to reach out and grab them. Although she struggled to decipher whether she really

wanted them or if it was just a case of old habits die hard.

She couldn’t believe that they could be so careless. Hadn’t either of them stopped to think of the effect this might have on her? Didn’t they realise that she wasn’t just magically cured? But then, she

thought as realisation hit her like a bullet, why should they? It was her problem to overcome not theirs and temptation was going to get a hell of a lot worse than a packet of over the counter painkillers.

In fact it already had.

Russell had called her hours ago offering her a welcome home freebie.

Of course she had refused, cutting him off almost the second the words had rolled over his tongue. But she had received another 3 missed calls from him since then and she simultaneously loved and

hated in equal measure the fact that if it all got too much that lifeline still existed.

She could change her number or arrange for her phone company to block his calls but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not yet. And for that reason she wasn’t convinced that she should be at

home, as close to Russell’s temptation as Eve had been to the serpent and that red, juicy, inviting apple.

“Belle, what is it?” Geoff questioned again and instantly she tore her gaze away from the white, cylindrical container and looked back at him.

“Ok” she began softly, holding his gaze to try and convey that she was serious.

“This is going to come as a shock and you probably won’t believe me at first but it’s all true”

“What it is? Just tell me Belle!” he pushed as curiosity overcame him and he started to get annoyed that she hadn’t told him yet.

“Nicole had a baby today” she blurted out, finally delivering the news like she was ripping a plaster off his knee.

Sharp, painful and in one swift movement.

“Your baby”

“WHAT?!” he exclaimed, his big blue eyes bulging in shock.

“Don’t be ridiculous! That’s impossible! She’s not even pregnant! We’ve only ever been together once, back on the island!”

“And how long ago was the island Geoff?” she questioned gently, ignoring his panic filled tirade as she tried to gently prod him away from denial and towards acceptance.

She saw him pause, his eyes rolling towards the heavens as he did the maths in his head.

“About nine months ago?” he mumbled, fear and confusion pouring out of him as though they were perspiration.

“And Nicole had a pregnancy scare soon after that didn’t she?” she prodded again.

“But she took a test! It was negative! I was there! I saw it!” he panicked, jumping out of the chair and raking his fingertips through his mass of blonde curls as he struggled to comprehend what she was

saying to him.

“And I saw her give birth a few hours ago Geoff” Belle told him calmly, a stark contrast to his nervous pacing around the room as he mumbled incoherently to himself.

It reminded her of anxious fathers in old movies, pacing outside the delivery suite, waiting for their children to be born. She couldn’t help but smile at the fact that Geoff, ever the traditionalist, was

doing it after the birth of his baby.

“You were there?” he asked quietly, coming to an abrupt standstill and looking down at her expectantly.

“You saw?”

“Yes I did” she nodded with a genuine smile.

“She’s pretty adorable your daughter”

“Daughter?” he asked, considering the word as though English was a foreign language to him and he was only just learning the noun and its meaning.

“Daughter” she confirmed as he sank back into the chair with a dramatic sigh, his elbows on his knees, his head buried in his hands.

“But she wasn’t pregnant!” he groaned without looking at her.

“Or was she just hiding it from me? How could she do that?! All this time!”

“She didn’t know” Belle chuckled slightly, unable to help herself,

“She didn’t know?!” he muttered in disbelief.

“No” Belle confirmed reaching across to gently rub his arm.

“Apparently it's less uncommon that you'd think. And she’s not handling it too well. She won’t even look at the baby let alone hold her of try to feed her. I know this is a shock for you too Geoff but I think you might have to be the strong one here”

“I don’t know how to be a Dad” he mumbled, worry clear in his sad eyes as he lifted his head and rested his chin on his hands so he could look at her.

“I don’t think anyone does at first” she smiled softly her hand still pressed against the now tight and tension filled muscles in his upper arm.

“I want to see her” he announced suddenly mustering up an unfamiliar sense of confidence she had never seen in him before, knowing that he would never believe the truth in her words until he saw it

with his own eyes.

“The baby?” she asked, unable to stop a broad smile spreading across her pretty face.

He nodded slowly in confirmation.

“And Nicole”

“Oh trust me you don’t “ Belle threw her head back and giggled.

“She wants to hack off your favourite appendage right now!”

***

“She’s so small” he whispered as he peered down at the beautiful baby girl, mere hours old, swaddled in soft white blankets.

“So small and helpless, how am I ever going to be her Dad Belle?” he whispered, tentatively reaching out and allowing his fingertips to brush the soft wisps of downy blonde hair covering her head. As

he did so her eyes opened slowly and Nicole’s bright blue eyes stared back up at him intensely. Curious and beautiful.

“You already are her Dad” she whispered reassuringly.

“And you should give her a cuddle because the only one she’s had so far has been from Aden and no girl needs that”

“We all know you love him” Geoff laughed quietly making no move to hold his daughter, instead gripping the edge of the clear hospital crib as though his life depended on it.

“He broke up with me and slept with Nicole in the space of a week, I’d say I’m over the loser” she tried to shrug off his words but he could see the pain in her eyes, behind the mask she’d been wearing

constantly since she’d walked through the door of The Beach House earlier that day.

“Whatever you say” he shrugged with a knowing smile but said nothing more, not wanting to push her. She’d had a hard enough time as it was.

“There’s no need to be scared of her” Belle told him gently.

“She’s just a baby Geoff, she’s your baby and she needs you”

“And that scares me to death” he admitted with a sigh.

“I’m not ready for this, I don’t think I’m going to handle it very well at all”

“Don’t be silly, you’ll be great, you’ll learn” she tried to reassure him as the tiny baby girl stirred inside her cocoon of blankets, her little limbs flailing in the air as though she were reaching out for

someone to hold her.

“And you’re already doing better than Nicole, I haven’t heard you refer to her as “It” or “That thing” once since we got here” she laughed with a nudge.

“Trust me, I’m tempted” he dared to joke, letting his lips curve into a small smile before he was solemn once more and he let out a huge sigh of defeat.

“I just can’t do this” he announced with a last look down at his daughter as he offered her an apology.

“I’m sorry but I just can’t do this!”

“Geoff!” Belle called out in disbelief as he stormed through the door, slamming straight into an entering Aden and practically knocking him to the floor before he fled the hospital.

“Daddy didn’t take it too well either then?” Aden let out a small chuckle as he straightened himself out and marched straight over to the newborn baby girl, lifting her into his arms without hesitation.

Belle felt her heart jump into her throat as she watched him cradle the gorgeous baby in his strong arms, his broad chest only emphasising just how diminutive and dependent she really was. He tore his

eyes away from the baby for a tiny moment, just long enough to lock eyes with his former girlfriend and flash that wry, little smile that always made her melt.

“What do you say we make a break for it with her?” he joked, his piercing blue eyes cutting into her like a diamond on glass.

“Well I’m tempted by her” Belle nodded with a soft smile towards the adorable little girl before suddenly coming over all defensive. She didn’t know where her anger had been stored until that moment

but she felt it bubble inside her like it was burning inside a cauldron.

“But right now I couldn’t think of anyone I’d less like to play Mummies and Daddies with if I tried” she snapped before turning on her heels and following Geoff out of the door.

He sighed as he returned his gaze to the object of his enchantment and rocked her gently in his arms before murmuring softly to her.

“I guess I’ll just have to hold on to the fact that she said “right now” won’t I princess?”