Quick Fanfiction Contest Archive

[kitkat1992]

Wow both were amazing

Entry 1 - I loved how there was the dream running through each section, it was very well written.

Entry 2 - It kept me hooked all the way through...it didn't even occur to me that it might just be a dream/nightmare!

However overall I vote for entry 1 because I loved the happy ending

[KirstyEkua]

Due to circumstances beyond my control i have decided to close this contest. Congratulations to bradyell who wrote the winning story. *claps* And thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read and review, the response was brilliant and i'm happy for that.

So bradyell over to you to host the next contest!

[Red Ranger 1]

Oh!Hope everything's all right with you there, Kirsty, and congratulations to bradyell.Well done to the other writer too, since I also enjoyed your fiction.

[bradyell]

Looks like it's just the one entry then, so no voting necassary! Thought people might like to read and comment though

What a Difference a Day Makes

“Aden?” Belle whispered softly in question as she attempted to awake her husband from the deep sleep he had succumbed to. She leant over his toned abdomen, his muscular chest rising and falling with every soft breath he took, noting the time on the digital clock that stood on the bedside table. “Aden” she tried again, only louder, loud enough to draw him from his sleep, fluttering open his eyelids.

“Wh- what?” he groaned groggily as he opened his eyes which continued to refuse to open properly, the light shining through the window too bright and causing him to squint uncomfortably.

Belle let out a slight giggle, before pressing a quick kiss to Aden’s lips, something that gradually intensified before she pulled away after Aden had gratefully returned the kiss. “You’ve got to get up and get ready for work baby” Belle told him as a matter of fact, pouting her lips at her own statement as she realised that she could have easily stayed in bed all day with her husband, snuggling up to him.

Aden groaned loudly, throwing his head back on the pillow, falling perfectly into place where the indent was from where he had slept all night. “I can’t be bothered” he muttered underneath his breath as he turned to face Belle, who was raised on one elbow as she lay there watching him. “But” he added, “someone’s got to bring home the pennies for my beautiful, gorgeous, amazing, perfect wife and our little bub” he smiled sweetly at her, stroking her cheek before resting his hand on the small bump that had developed on her stomach.

“Hmm” Belle spoke as she frowned. “I might just have to join you whilst you get ready after you described me like that” she giggled, referring to the list of adjectives he had used previously.

“Definitely” Aden smiled. “It’s not the getting ready that’s the problem babe. It’s leaving you on your own. I hate leaving you here whilst I go out to work.”

“I know you do babe” Belle murmured as she placed a hand on her husband’s chest, gently caressing his toned body with her fingers. She knew her husband too well and she knew how much he hated leaving her at home on her own, especially in her condition. “But, like you said, someone’s got to go out and get the money” she told him.

“Yeah, but it’s not like I’m on a fortune is it babe?” he asked her rhetorically, referring to the low wages that he earned monthly.

There was silence between the two of them for a moment, both of them lapsing into comfortable quietness before Belle spoke once again. “You know, I am only two months gone. I can still work ...” she attempted to finish her sentence without Aden interrupting but she failed to succeed in her task as he automatically shot up in the bed and turned to face her.

“No” he told her simply, shaking his head. “Our money troubles aren’t anything for you to worry about sweetheart. Like I said, let me concentrate on that and you concentrate on looking after yourself and our baby, okay?”

“But ...” Belle began to protest.

“No buts, babe. I mean it. I don’t want you out working and putting yourself under stress and pressure. I’m meant to be looking after you, okay?” he whispered softly, placing one hand on the back of her head as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Now, how about the whole showering together thing that you promised me anyway?”

*

“Aden, no! I mean it ... no, Aden, it’s too cold ... turn it up ... turn it back up right now!” Belle glared at her husband whilst showering with him as he turned the dial down, the water blasting out cold.

Aden held his hands up, laughing at his wife as she reached for the dial to turn it up. “Babe” he murmured as he wrapped his arms around her waist, Belle rinsing the soap off the upper half of her body. “Like I said, I need to watch our finances at the moment. I mean, hot water costs a lot!” he joked, before pressing a series of kisses to Belle’s neck.

“Well, tough, Mr Jefferies!” she scolded jokingly as she turned in her husband’s arms and placed her palms flat against Aden’s bare, wet chest Although we are technically saving water by showering together” she giggled.

“See, already your getting the hang of saving money” Aden smiled.

“Hmm” Belle murmured. “I’m sure there are lots of ways to start saving ... until baby Jefferies makes their surprise visit” she smiled. “Then for me, it’s no foundation, blusher and mascara. It’s nappies, baby lotion, cream ... we should start writing out the list now ... not to mention the pram, the cot, decorating the nursery ...” she trailed of as Aden interrupted her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

“We’ve got plenty of time for that sweetheart” Aden told her as she slowly nodded, wrapping her arms around her husband’s neck. “In the meantime, it’s cheap food and essentials, showering together and making love in the dark.”

After another ten minutes, Aden eventually reached for the button, turning off the shower. He pulled the towels down from the rack, wrapping one around his waist, exposing his chest once again, whilst placing the towel around Belle. Stepping out of the shower, the couple sat in front of the hot radiator, having the central heating swirling around their cosy apartment.

Aden placed an arm around Belle’s shoulder and pulled her into a hug, holding her securely in her arms as she shivered. “You feeling alright baby?” he asked softly.

Belle shrugged. “I think it’s just a bit of morning sickness, that’s all. Nothing to worry about” she confirmed. “You need to hurry up otherwise you’re going to be late” she told Aden gently, who nodded.

“That’s alright, I’ll tell Gibbsy the truth. I’ll tell him that my beautiful wife seduced me, nagging for me to shower with her because she just can’t resist my amazing body” he laughed as Belle sighed, shaking her head.

“You wish” she muttered with a smile as she stood up and headed into their bedroom to get changed.

*

“So yeah, our first scan is next month” Belle finished her sentence as she sat in the diner at a table with Nicole.

Both Belle and Nicole had been shopping in the Yabbie Creak for most of the morning, before they finally decided to head back to the Summer Bay diner for a coffee.

“What do you want, a boy or girl?” Nicole asked as she sat opposite her friend.

Belle shrugged. “I don’t really mind. I’ve always liked the idea of having a daughter, you know, but the idea of having a baby, Aden’s baby, it’s perfect. As long as he or she is healthy and happy, I don’t care” Belle told her.

“And Aden?”

Again, Belle shrugged. “We haven’t had that conversation yet.”

“Had what conversation love?” a chirpy voice spoke from behind Belle. She turned around to find Irene pulling out a chair beside her, sitting next to her and placing a hand on her lower back, a slight wince escaping from Belle’s body. “Love?” Irene asked worriedly.

Belle shook her head and offered a slight smile. “It’s nothing, I’ve just a bit of a back ache, that’s all.”

“If you’re sure” Irene spoke, raising her eyebrows at her foster daughter. “Anyway girlies, I’ve closed up now” Irene told them, Belle and Nicole having been so involved in their conversation that they had only just realised that they were the only two people, besides Irene, in the diner, “so we can have a nice little chat. What were you saying earlier ...” she trailed off as Belle filled her in on her previous conversation with Nicole. “Whether or not you have a girl or a boy, they will be the luckiest child in the world, sweetie” she told her foster daughter.

“They sure will be” Belle agreed. “You, for a Nan, Roman for a granddad and not forgetting Auntie Annie and Nicole and Uncle Geoff.” Belle paused for a moment before speaking again. “I think Aden would like to have a boy” she suddenly muttered.

“That doesn’t surprise me” Nicole told her with a smile. “I can see you having a son, Aden teaching him how to play footie and everything.”

“Well that’s exactly what I’m thinking. And if Aden’s anything to go by, my possible son could be amazing at footie and will just happen to be very good looking and handsome” she giggled.

“Yuck! Too much information Belle!” Nicole screwed up her nose at the thought of Belle talking about her brother like that.

“I don’t wanna know” Irene murmured. “How’s the new apartment anyway love?” she progressed the conversation further, referring to the apartment Belle and Aden had bought, after putting a deposit on it just before leaving for their honeymoon.

“Oh, Irene, it’s amazing!” Belle squealed. “Our bedroom has an en suite, the bathroom is to die for, the kitchen and lounge are perfect ... but there’s only one spare bedroom. If we want any more children after this one” Belle smiled as she gestured at her stomach, “then we’ll need to consider moving house.”

“Do you want more after this one?”

Belle nodded. “Yeah. Well, so far. I’ll give you a definite answer once I’ve come out of the delivery room in another 7 months” she giggled.

“There’s nothing to it darl” Irene smiled. “If it was that bad, people would stop after having one, but they don’t” she told them, as Belle nodded in agreement.

“Right” Belle placed her hands on the table, supporting herself as she stood up. “I’m just going to go to the bathroom and then are you ready to make a move?” Belle asked Nicole who nodded and gave a quick smile.

With that, Belle left Irene and Nicole sat at the table as she headed for the toilets in the diner. It took ten minutes before she came heading out of the door, her face paled and tears running down her cheeks, Nicole being the first to notice.

“Oh my God, Belle. What’s happened?” she asked gently as she headed over to her friend, closely followed by Irene, holding her arms out as Belle collapsed into them. “Belle? Come on, let’s get you sat down.” Nicole led Belle over to the table they were previously sitting at, both Nicole and Irene helping her to get comfortable before questioning her any further.

“Belle, love, what is it?” Irene asked softly.

Belle looked up at both Irene and Nicole, tears continuously trickling from her eyes and down her cheeks, not attempting to wipe them away.

“I’m bleeding.”

*

“Thanks, Aden. Great catch today mate” Gibbsy yelled from the other side of the fishing boat as Aden loaded the crates on top of each other.

“No worries” Aden replied casually. “I’ll see you on Monday, yeah?” Aden asked, having not been informed of a weekend catch.

“Yeah mate, Monday” Gibbsy confirmed, before Aden said a quick goodbye to him and left to arrive back home. As he began to walk off of the pier, the familiar ringtone began and he delved into his pocket to pull out his phone, surprised at the caller ID.

“Nic?” he answered.

“Aden, it’s Belle, you’ve got to come to the hospital” she cried.

Aden instantly fell speechless. All Nicole had to mention was Belle and hospital and he knew something was wrong. “Wh- what? Is ... is she okay? Wh-?” he muttered, unable to form a sentence.

“I ... Aden, just ... hurry ... please.”

The dial tone instantly played on the phone, signalling that Nicole had hung up. Racing towards his car in the car park, various scenarios ran through his mind, none of them positive. Forcing the key in the ignition, he started the engine, threw his phone on the passenger seat and began to drive in the direction of the hospital.

Without any hesitation, he soon arrived at the hospital, pulling up in the car park and running towards the entrance, not even bothering to lock the door as fear engulfed him.

Sprinting down the corridor, he suddenly spotted a head of blonde hair, distinctively Nicole. “Nic!” he shouted down the corridor, as she turned around, tears marking the cheeks.

“Aden” she whispered, choking out his name. Aden held out his arms as Nicole took hold of them and spoke the words he dreaded to hear. “She lost the baby” she whispered.

“No” he spoke firmly. What ... is she ... how ...” once again, Aden found it impossible to form speech and instead, looked in the direction of the room where Belle was situated after Nicole had nodded towards it.

Aden attentively and slowly headed towards the door, placing his hand on the handle once he approached toe door. He gradually opened it, pushing it open. As he stood in the door way, he looked at his wife’s dishevelled figure. Belle was staring the opposite direction of the door and had not acknowledged him, yet Aden was sure that she sensed his presence.

Tears had marked her cheeks, the tracks running down them, although no more tears were to be shed. The machines buzzed and whirred, needles inserted into her hands, an IV beside her and unknown substances pumping into her tiny frame.

Rachel stood on the opposite side of the room, gathering up the equipment that she had used and placing it on a trolley, before wheeling it outside. She gently patted Aden on his upper arm and offered him a supportive smile and a slight smile before exiting the room.

Aden gently sighed but remained in his standing position, watching carefully as Belle turned to face him, the sadness and hurt in her eyes literally killing him as he stood there.

“I’m so sorry” she choked out as more tears began to fall.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, do you hear me?” Aden told her firmly as he approached her, perching himself on the edge of the bed. He took her hands in one of his and placed one hand over her forehead, pushing back strands of hair in an attempt to soothe and calm her down.

“How can you say that, Aden? I lost our baby” she cried.

“Baby, it’s not your fault” Aden murmured. “These things happen.”

“These things happen?” she quoted, her voice raising slightly. “So what, they just happen do they? Our baby dies because things like this just happen!”

“Babe, you know that’s not what I meant” he soothed, calming her down once again. “But none of this is your fault, nobody could have done anything to stop this from happening.”

“I could have looked after our child, Aden. How difficult can that really be? I can’t even look after a baby inside me for nine months” she murmured, tears dripping from her eyes, Aden gently wiping them away. There was a comfortable silence between the two of them, Aden massaging Belle’s palms as she looked down, the tears eventually subsiding. “You know” she began again, “you hear stories like this all the time and I always wonder how these women don’t know that they’re miscarrying. Surely there must be signs. And there were.”

Aden frowned, confused. “What signs, sweetheart?”

Belle shrugged. “This morning, I had a stomach ache and this afternoon, I was in pain. I had a back ache” she stated simply.

Aden sighed. “Yeah, and they are all the common symptoms of pregnancy and morning sickness baby. You couldn’t have known this was going to happen and you couldn’t have stopped it either.”

“But ... I could have ...”

Aden held up his finger, pressing it against Belle’s lips before placing his hands against either side of her face and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “You couldn’t have done anything.” Leaning into him, Belle began to sob, Aden wrapping his arms tightly around his wife’s petite body. Her fresh, warm tears fell from her eyes and onto Aden’s shirt, soaking it and staining it with the salt.

“Shhh” he soothed in an attempt to calm her down and allow her to relax.

Half an hour passed and the tears finally subsided, Belle now propped up by the pillows in the bed and Aden sat perched on the bed, facing his wife. They had fallen in and out of silence, with various pieces of conversation, although it was mostly small talk, yet neither of them were uncomfortable in each other’s company.

“How was work?” Belle asked, hoping to distract herself.

Aden smiled slightly before speaking. “Do you really want to talk about catching fish?

Belle shrugged. “What am I meant to talk about?” she asked sarcastically. “The loss of our baby? The fact that our baby dying may be the best thing that could have happened because I clearly wouldn’t be able to look after them” she snapped.

“Belle” Aden spoke firmly. “You don’t mean that.”

More tears formed in her eyes. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t.” She shook her head. After another moment’s silence, she spoke again. “Tell me we can try for another one?” she whimpered.

Aden nodded. “Of course sweetheart. I want a baby with you, I want your baby and we will have a baby one day, our baby. But you need to mourn this baby first, before you think about having another one okay?” he suggested as Belle nodded.

“But we will try again ... one day?” she asked gently.

“One day” Aden spoke softly as he climbed into the bed next to his wife, pulling her into his arms, her breathing soft, resting her head on his chest and falling asleep, dreaming of the future child she and Aden would have and love.

[Red Ranger 1]

The story starts off with a nice sequence establishing Aden and Belle’s relationship, giving a real sense of them as a close couple while also bringing out the fun side of their relationship.The following Diner scene with Irene and Nicole helped bring Belle’s character into focus as well.Then came the twist as we discovered the baby was in trouble.It has to be said, this wasn’t the most unexpected twist given the title. But the scene that followed, with Aden and Belle supporting each other, was nicely played.

I have to admit, it did feel like the events weren’t cataclysmic enough.I expected something more devastating to happen than Aden and Belle losing the baby and then drying their eyes and saying they’ll have another one one day, maybe something happening to Aden as well.I think it was because the fiction was a bit unbalanced, with more time being given over to the happy times than the aftermath.

Having said that, the ending was nice, with them both finding the strength to move on.A very well-written story.

[bradyell]

Thanks for taking the time to review Red Ranger

The fic was written - brilliantly in my opinion - by Carina so i guess it's over to her for the next one

[HighwayUnicorn]

Thank you to those who entered this contest. Both entries are amazing & you both clearly tried extremely hard on them. Therefore, I wish you could both win but it's up to the Back to the Bay community to have the deciding vote. Good luck.

To those of you who read and vote, please give a valid answer as to why you have voted for one particular entry. Thank you.

Note: Voting closes 28th January

Entry #1

Nicole's POV

Friday night…Friday freaking night and look at me! I’m young, free and…yup, you guessed it…single. I should be in some hip club, dancing until my feet screamed for mercy. Or maybe….yeah, this is more like it…in some ridiculously cool and expensive bar sipping from a glass of stupidly overpriced champagne, paid for of course by the tall, dark, handsome stranger who I just happened to find myself sitting next to. Yeah that’d be the life. But life was just not that kind, well, not to me at least.

What was I doing with my Friday night? I was home with family of course. Except…well…when I say home it doesn’t really sound right. I mean I have a room and all my stuff’s there and I love the caravan park and the house it just…it just isn’t home somehow, something’s missing…I don’t know what but I hope one day I’ll find it. And family…yeah, doesn’t really sound right either. I shifted my gaze around the room. There was Miles, feet propped on the couch laughing, loudly, at some show on the TV. Mr Stewart, I love him, he’s like the grandfather I never had…well I had one I just don’t remember …Anyways, Mr Stewart, Alf, He’s doing what he always does on a Friday night, sorting through his box of fishing tackle in preparation for his big Saturday morning fish. Jeez, he has it worse than me, although….well I guess he’s really not the champagne sipping kind of guy. Finally my eyes landed back on the boy in front of me. Romeo. Honestly if he was a few years older…! I love him; he has been such a great friend over the last few weeks when I’ve needed a shoulder to cry on. I really should repay him somehow. I guess I could start by listening to him more. I mean he was talking to me. I heard him, something about his mom and her drinking and John palmer. I nodded and ummed and ahed in all the right places I just wasn’t really listening you know?

It’s not that I was being rude or that I didn’t want to listen I just don’t have enough room in my head for anyone else’s problems right now.

“So yeah…” Romeo seemed as if he was winding down so I made a big effort to tune him in. “…I think Liam is right and I need to make an effort to help mom so she’s coming over for dinner tomorrow.”

“Yeah? That’s great Romeo, really. I hope it all works out ok for you.”

“Thanks Nic.” He smiled that big old smile at me and I had a huge rush of the guilt’s about not listening to him properly, especially when he followed up with a pat on my shoulder and asking how I was.

“Me? I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine? Fine, fine, fine that’s me!”

Smooth Nic, way to convince him!

“You just seem a little quiet and…I dunno…distracted.”

Not just a pretty face that one.

“Quiet? Distracted? No! Really no. I’m just…tired. Yeah I’m really tired. I might…actually, yeah…I’m gonna head to bed…now ‘cause I’m just…tired.”

I watched as Romeo eyed me suspiciously.

Crazy much? I’ll be lucky if they don’t have me committed into some kind of institution or something!

“Bed? It’s not even eight thirty Nic!” Miles pointed out helpfully as he dragged his eyes away from his show to look at me, also suspiciously.

“Yeah I know I just…” I trailed off with a sigh as I realised that I wasn’t convincing anyone. “I just have a few things on my mind I guess and…”

“Anything you wanna talk about?” Miles asked as I knew he would.

Not wanting to get into anything right then I quickly decided to head him off with the old faithful.

“Just school and boys and the usual stuff.” I replied with as much nonchalance as I could muster.

“Boys? I thought you were over the Aden thing?” Romeo questioned.

Ah, so much for heading off, I really should have left that one alone.

“Yeah I er…I am I just…This guy asked me out the other day and I’m just trying to figure out if I’m ready and I know you probably have a bunch of questions but I just really need to work this one through on my own ok?”

So it wasn’t the whole truth but it was enough to throw them off the scent and it seemed to have worked as three heads nodded back at me. Mr Stewart had stopped what he was doing to listen in about the time I said the word boys.

“Well, you know where we are if you need us.” Miles settled on saying even though I could tell he was busting to say more. He was good like that Miles; he knew when we needed him to shut up.

“I do miles, thanks”

I forced a smile onto my face as I thanked him and then quickly excused myself and headed up to my room breathing a sigh of relief as I went. I’d dodged the bullet for another day. I mean, I know I couldn’t keep my secret a secret much longer but another day was good. It gave me breathing room, space to get my own head around it.

As soon as I had closed the door I crossed my room and pulled open the drawer of my nightstand and lifted out a folded sheet of paper. I unfolded it as I flopped down onto my bed. My eyes scanned over the words and unsurprisingly they hadn’t changed at all since I read them a few hours earlier, nor since this morning. In fact, they hadn’t changed at all any of the thirty two times I’d pulled that sheet out and read it over the last two days.

There were a bunch of other words on the page but only one stood out, the one I was hoping would change. It wasn’t in bold or italics or some fancy font but as far as I was concerned it might as well have been spelt out in flashing, neon, page high letters.

Eight letters that were going to change my life.

Pregnant.

Aden's POV

“Would you shut up!”

I banged my fist on the wall of my apartment as I shouted, my head following as the volume of the music playing from the place next door increased.

“Argh! For fu…” I trailed off as I realised I was talking to an empty room, that and the fact that banging my head against the wall was actually giving me a headache.

With a deep sigh I moved away from the wall and flopped down onto the couch.

How’d this happen? How did I get from living in a great house in a great town surrounded by friends to being stuck in this dive of an apartment in the middle of the city, alone?

Oh yeah, that’s right because I was too freaking gutless to fight for what I believed in. To say three words to the girl I…loved? Did I love Nic? That question had been rolling around in my head for weeks now and…and I was starting to think that maybe I did.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.

Those and a million other clichés were on a loop in my head and not even work – waiter/server at a local coffee shop - drowned them out. Heck, not even the desperately bad, ridiculously loud hip-hop tunes currently blasting through my wall drowned them out.

With another sigh I stood up and headed into the small kitchen area, giving the wall a thump as I passed just in case the knucklehead next door had grown a conscience in the last five minutes. Unlikely but always worth a shot.

Pulling open the fridge I stared into it’s depths for a full minute before realising that even the best chef’s in the world couldn’t whip something up with just Beer, cheese and milk.

With yet another sigh, jeez I really need to lighten up, I plucked a bottle of beer out and pulled the cap off as I slammed the door shut and grabbed a pizza takeout leaflet from the growing pile of junk mail on the counter.

I flipped open my phone to ring in my order and tried to ignore the fact that there were no new messages or missed calls. God, could I be anymore of a loser? Not even Justin had called today.

When we left the bay together he was really pleased with himself, like cat that got the cream pleased! He thought he’d convinced me, that I was gonna rush right into the first army recruitment office we saw.

Hell no!

Sure I needed to get away from the bay but there was no way I was gonna sign up to get shouted at by some dude cause I’d like, made my bed wrong, all because he had an extra stripe on his shoulder or something. Like I said, Hell no!

Justin was upset, obviously, and I hated doing that to him but I knew where he was and he knew where I was and we’d promised to keep in touch. The poor guy was actually getting it pretty tough from his CO for the whole AWOL thing so we hadn’t actually seen each other since the day I’d dropped him off at the base but we spoke or text every day…well except today by the looks of things.

Like I did every time I looked at my phone I opened my contact list and scrolled down to the N’s my finger hovering over the call button when Nicole was highlighted. And like every other time I bottled it and pressed the home key instead.

As soon as the screen changed to the wallpaper picture I had set I couldn’t help but smile. It was a picture of Belle on our wedding day.

It had taken months after she had died before I could look at that picture without feeling like my heart was being ripped out. To be able to appreciate how beautiful she looked rather than turn my head away and throw myself a pity party for one.

I guess Nicole had helped with that.

And what did I do to repay her? I left.

Jerk! Gutless, stupid Jerk!

I’d actually put a lot of thought into it since I left, I didn’t really have much else to do! So yeah, the whole reason I gave Nicole about not saying the “L” word was because the last person I’d said it to was Belle and I didn’t want to dishonour her memory but really, when I thought about it, what I did dishonoured her more.

She’d wanted me to move on, to find love again. She knew that I’d always have a part of her with me and Nicole understood that too so why? Why wouldn’t I, couldn’t I even, say it?

‘Cause you’re a jerk Aden remember. A gutless jerk!

Oh yeah, that!

Pulling myself together I lifted up the pizza leaflet and tried to decide what I wanted to eat.

I had dropped my phone onto the couch whilst I read over the menu so when it rang I actually jumped a little.

I was expecting it to be Justin; he was pretty much the only one who called me nowadays, so I was surprised when an unlisted number flashed on the display.

I contemplated leaving it to go to voicemail then the loser in me figured that even speaking to a wrong number or something would be better than nothing so I hit the accept call button and raised the phone to my ear.

“Hello”

“Aden?”

In a million years I never would have expected that voice to be the one I’d hear.

“Nic...?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” She whispered.

My head was spinning. I couldn’t believe that she was calling. I had been thinking about her and now here she was on the other end of the phone.

Pity I couldn’t string a couple of words together to form an actual sentence.

“I…you…I…”

Smooth Aden. I’m sure she called just to hear that kind of crap.

“Aden I…I’m pregnant.”

Nicole's POV

“…I’m pregnant”

“You’re…you’re what?”

Hmmm, maybe I should have buttered Miles up a bit rather than just dropping this on him over breakfast like I just had. I knew he was going to be a bit shocked and all but wow…he looked like I’d just admitted to being a vampire or something!

“Pregnant.” I repeated. “Look Miles, I know this is a shock and all but I…”

“Yeah…yeah it’s a shock. Aden I take it?”

I nodded to confirm that he was right.

“And does he know?”

I nodded again.

A week after I’d received the results I’d finally plucked up the courage to call Aden and it had actually gone way better than I’d anticipated.

I’d expected at the least the usual “is it mine?” question. Hoped for it even and then I would have had an excuse to get mad at him. But…he was great. Shocked obviously but really understanding and supportive. We talked for a little bit but agreed we needed to speak face to face.

This is why I had to tell Miles today. Aden had insisted on driving back down to the bay to see me and I didn’t want Miles to run into him and start asking questions.

“How’d he take it? Is he coming back?” Miles pulled me back to our conversation.

“Yeah, we’re gonna talk. Look Miles can we…I mean…I know you have questions and stuff you wanna say but can we just leave this? Just for now? I just…I think I need to talk to Aden first. I wanted to tell you because I’d hate for you to find out some other way and Aden’s coming here and you’ll see him and I wanted you to know why he’s back but would that be ok? Just for now?”

I watched as he processed what I’d just said then sighed with relief when he nodded.

“Just know that I’m here whenever you are ready.” He reached over the table and squeezed my hand and wouldn’t you know it…the damn hormones I’d read about chose that moment to surface and I had to bite on my lip and blink like a crazy person to keep from crying.

It was going to be a long nine months!

I pulled myself together and after convincing Miles to cover for me at school and with Romeo and Alf I headed upstairs to get ready for Aden’s visit.

The fact that I tried on at least five different outfits was an indicator to just how nervous I was.

Pathetic! It was Aden…only Aden… he’d seen me in…well, in nothing as it goes and he was never bothered about clothes and stuff and now….now this was going on….

I looked into the mirror as I pulled on a top to wear with my jeans. I held it above my stomach and turned sideways to see if I could notice any change. There was nothing there yet but as I rested my hand there and thought about the changes that were going to happen over the next few months I felt the panic begin to rise.

Don’t panic! Don’t panic! Don’t panic!

That had been my inner mantra for the last week or so but right then? Not helping at all!

I decided that I needed out of the house so I smoothed my top over my still flat stomach, grabbed my phone and headed out.

The house was quiet, Romeo and Miles already having left for school so I was able to slip out without any fuss.

The van park was pretty quiet but I still held my breath as I snuck past Colleen’s caravan. The last thing I needed right then was having to listen to her ramble on about whatever it was that was bugging her this week!

I had made it to the last row of caravans when a figure stepped out from behind one of them.

“Fancy seeing you here.” He grinned as he strode over to stand right in front of me.

“Penn, hi. Well I live here so…” I took a step away from him to try and widen the gap between us but he stepped forwards again.

This was so not what I needed right now.

“I’ve been looking for you Nicole. Have you been avoiding me?”

“I…no, not at all.” I lied. Badly!

“See I think you have been. Ever since I asked you out and you turned me down…”

Was he getting closer to me?

“I mean, I really think you should reconsider.”

He was definitely getting closer so I began to move away until I found myself backed against the caravan.

Smart move Nicole!

“I…there’s…now isn’t really…”

“Come on…” Penn followed my steps until he was standing so close to me that if I stepped forward a step I’d be touching him. “Loosen up a little!”

“I can’t…its complicated and…”

“Just one date.”

He was persistent, I’d give him that. Creepy as hell but persistent! Should I just agree to a date to get him to back off a bit?

I was contemplating saying yes when he stepped an inch closer.

Out of nowhere a stray thought entered my head and made the panic I was feeling just a small while before seem like nothing.

My baby. What if he hurts my baby?

Where had that come from? I wasn’t even sure up until that second how I felt about the baby but now? Now I knew I would do whatever it took to protect the life growing inside of me.

“Can…can you just give me a little space…please?” I whispered.

“Agree to a date with me and I will.” He grinned back.

Oh god! How was I going to get out of this?

“Please, just back off a minute!”

“Like I said, agr…”

“Oi! She said back off!”

I had never been so relieved to see him. All the nervous thoughts I’d had about this moment vanished as soon as Aden reached out his hand and took hold of mine.

“Come here.” He murmured as he pulled me away from Penn and straight into his embrace. “You alright?”

“Yeah.” I nodded as I turned around to face Penn.

I almost lost it right there and then when I felt Aden’s arm slide around me and his hand come to rest almost instinctively on my stomach.

Aden's POV

Driving back into the bay was a real strange moment for me.

I’d left the city early and stopped at the small cemetery on the edge of town. I stood next to the stone we had laid for Belle and poured my heart out. I told her all about me and Nic being together and how I left and the reasons why and then about the feelings I’d been having since I left. And then, finally, with a deep breath, I told her that Nicole was pregnant.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Was I stupid for worrying about telling somebody who wasn’t even here anymore?

Maybe so, but I was.

Now I had got it out in the open I felt better and knew I was ready to face Nicole and deal with this. To finally tell her what she deserved to hear.

Whether she still wanted to hear it or not was another matter and when I entered the van park and saw her chatting to a guy I’d never seen before I doubted it even more.

I contemplated walking away but when I looked at her one last time I saw something flash in her eyes that rooted me to the spot.

Fear.

All of the nerves I’d felt at seeing her vanished as I shouted at the guy and pulled her into my arms.

God, it just felt so…so right having her there.

Without even thinking about it I found my arm winding around her waist as she turned and my hand came to rest on her stomach.

My baby. My hand was resting over my baby.

I knew in that instant that I’d do whatever it took to make this ok. For all three of us.

Once that other dude had disappeared – luckily for him without the help of my foot – I took hold of Nicole’s hand and led her in silence towards the beach.

Say it, say it, say it.

Those two words were playing on repeat in my head.

As soon as we reached the sand I pulled on her hand to stop her.

Say it, say it, say it.

“Nic I…I have to say something…”

“We have a lot to talk about.” Nicole interrupted

Yeah, she wasn’t going to make this any easier. Not that I could blame her.

“I know we do.” I murmured. “But there’s something…something I need to tell you first. I….”

Man up Aden!

“I love you.”

There! I’d said it!

“What? Aden….Just because…You…”

“Look Nic, I know what you must be thinking but this isn’t…it’s not because of the baby. I mean…well that has kind of made me…I don’t know if…when…”

Jeez, this was hard.

“Ok, here’s the thing, as soon as I drove out of town I regretted it. I’ve spent weeks thinking over everything that happened and…I’m sorry Nic. I…”

“I pushed you away.” She whispered. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Oh god, was she crying?

“Princess...” The familiar nickname slipped out without me even thinking about it. “Please don’t cry. You had every right to dump me. I treated you so badly and I can’t even explain why because I have no idea myself. I felt it Nic. I loved you then and I love you now. I love you.”

“Aden…”

“I love you.” I repeated.

How many more times did I need to say it?

“I…” she took a deep breath then started again. “…trying to get over you has been the hardest thing and now…”

Trying…she said trying. I could work with trying; it meant that she hadn’t yet. Got over me.

“Now we are having a baby Nic. I don’t expect to just stroll back into town and for us to get back together and start playing happy families.”

“You don’t?”

Was that disappointment? God I hoped it was disappointment.

“Of course not.”

I was determined to take this easy, to do it right.

“What do you want?”

“I want you to be happy Nic, whatever it takes.”

“And if I asked you to leave?”

Trick question? I sure as hell hoped so!

“I…if you weren’t carrying my child and I thought it would make you happy then yeah, I’d leave. But you are and I can’t leave them Nic and I don’t think it would make you happy either.”

I watched as she shook her head and a small ray of hope ignited within me. Maybe this would work out.

“I wouldn’t be happy.” She murmured

The small ray of hope became a medium one.

“Nor would I. This isn’t going to be easy Nic, I know that but I do love you and I know…I know you love me too and with some changes I think we can make this work.”

She nodded her head and the medium ray of hope exploded as I leant forward and gently brushed my lips against hers.

“I love you.”

Wow, seems like now I’d said it once I couldn’t stop!

Once more for luck?

“I love you… both.”

Entry #2

It was the worst possible thing to happen. Charlie glanced at the small plastic stick lying on the table, amazed that something so small could cause so much damage. She glanced around the empty apartment, her eyes resting on the remains of last night’s dinner on the coffee table and the dirty dishes pilled in the sink. She felt sick. It had been just over a week since Angelo had walked out. It was the usual pathetic excuses. Apparently he wasn’t sure what he wanted, he didn’t feel ready to ‘settle down.’ He was sick of being second behind her job. Charlie didn’t know which one was worse. No matter how much she thought about it she couldn’t make sense of what had gone wrong. It didn’t seem possible to hate someone just as much as you loved them. Sighing, she scraped her hair into a ponytail and decided to attempt to tidy up. Charlie closed her eyes and stood still, waiting for the sudden nausea to pass. It had been exactly 10 days since she’d celebrated her promotion with a handful of colleagues and Angelo, with the obligatory vast quantities of alcohol that she had more than happily consumed. The next morning he’d walked out. It had been 4 days before she realised she couldn’t blame her sickness on a hangover. It was another 3 before she plucked up the courage to do the pregnancy test; only after realising she was over two weeks late. Her hands were barely in the warm soapy water when Leah’s voice filtered through the hallway. Cursing under her breath she plastered a smile on her face before whirling around to meet her friend.

‘Leah hey, what are you doing here so early? I didn’t even hear you come in,’ she shrugged apologetically as a quick glance at the clock showed it was only 7.30 am. A bit too early, she muttered under her breath before giving Leah what she hoped was her most welcoming smile.

‘I’m on an early shift.’ Leah smiled widely, ‘so thought I’d drop by on the way in to bring you some breakkie. There’s too much for the morning run.’ She placed a basket on the table that was covered with a blue checked cloth.

‘Right. So you didn’t come to check up on me?’ Charlie moved towards the table towards the basket, suddenly realising the evidence was right there for Leah to see. Panic flashed across her face as she noticed the white stick lying right next to the breakfast basket, directly in Leah's eye.

‘Well,’ Leah bit her lip guiltily. ‘Maybe but,’ she suddenly noticed Charlie lung across the table. ‘What are you doing?’ She asked, puzzled. ‘Charlie!’ She grabbed for the stick simultaneously, knocking it to the floor. Charlie winced as it landed, her face flushing red as she bent to pick it up.

‘Are you pregnant?’ Leah asked, unable to disguise the shock in her voice. She watched as Charlie placed the test face up on the counter.

‘Yes.’ There was no point in trying to disguise it as anything else. ‘I don’t think I’m going to keep it.’ Charlie was surprised she’d said it out loud. She gazed at the floor to avoid the look of disapproval on her friends face.

‘Charlie,’ Leah began. ‘I know you’re shocked but maybe you need to talk things over a bit – ‘

‘I’m not in shock,’ Charlie interrupted. ‘I’ve known for a few days, the test only confirmed what I already suspected. I know what I want and now is not the right time for a baby. I have no idea where Angelo is. My work is going great, I have this promotion. I can’t give it all up.’ She shrugged and looked up to the ceiling.

‘Charlie there’s never going to be a right time for a baby. Promise me you’ll think about it before you do anything rash okay? Please?’ Leah walked over and gently placed her hand on Charlie’s. ‘Dammit I have to go.’ Leah raised her hands in frustration. ‘Actually I’m going to call Irene and see if she can cover. You can’t be alone right now.’

‘No.’ Charlie replied quickly, her voice laced with anxiety. ‘Don’t stay here. Please. Go to work, I want to be alone right now. I’ll meet you and Rachel for lunch later.’ The very mention of Rachel’s name caused Charlie to shudder.

‘Maybe that’s not the best plan,’ Leah whispered.

‘She doesn’t need to know,’ Charlie pointed out. ‘Let’s just keep things normal.’

‘Okay,’ Leah looked at her uncertainly. ‘If that’s what you want.’

‘It is. Look i have a lot of stuff to do this morning so I’ll see you later, okay? She gazed pointedly towards the door as she began picking up dirty plates that were lying around the living room.

‘Sure.’ Leah looked over her shoulder as she walked out of the door, watching as Charlie carefully placed the test in the bin, her eyes lingering on it for a moment too long.

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

He’d thought about leaving her. Sometimes it seemed like the best thing to do. If you love someone you’re supposed to let them go, as the saying goes. But he couldn’t do it. It was impossible for him to imagine his life without her. Maybe there was such a thing as loving someone too much. Tony often thought he was selfish, keeping her with him without being able to give her a baby. At first they didn’t worry too much. But as the months turned into years and his wife’s hopefulness turned into bitterness and the sparkle left her eye’s he was overcome with an overbearing sense of guilt. He couldn’t remember the last time they’d made love purely for pleasure, and not for the sole purpose of making another human being. Three years of fertility treatment had left them pretty much penniless. IVF did more than break your spirit. Tony sighed as he glanced at the books. His pathetic attempt at going through the gym memberships had stalled after reaching the C’s. Everyone had been sympathetic of course. There’s always adoption, they’d utter good intentionally, as if it was the easiest thing to do in the world. They’d been rejected because of his age. That was the only reason, the social worker had said, a women who couldn’t have been a day over 25. Rachel had simply nodded, emotionless, and disappeared to the bedroom. She didn’t utter another word to him for over two days. He didn’t blame her. The hardest thing was not having a reason. Unexplained infertility, the doctors called it. In a way it made it worse. At least if they had a reason they’d have something to blame. But ultimately it killed him that he couldn’t give Rachel the one thing she wanted more than anything in the world. It was just so Goddam cruel. He couldn’t imagine anyone loving their wife as much as he loved Rachel, as irrational as he knew it was. Yet they all managed to have babies. He sighed heavily and held his head in his hands. They'd just found out their third IVF attempt had failed. He'd never forget the look on her face; a look of heartbreak that would haunt him forever. He didn't know what to do.

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

‘Sorry I’m late,’ Rachel flung herself into the seat at the diner, tossing her bag on the empty chair next to her. ‘It’s been hectic today.’ She briefly closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

‘Tough morning huh?’ Leah reached over and squeezed her hand sympathetically.

‘Like always,’ Rachel shrugged. ‘Anyways, how are things with you two?’ She gratefully accepted a cup of coffee and took a big gulp.

‘Fantastic,’ Charlie beamed. ‘Couldn’t be better.’ She knew she’d come on too strong. Rachel wasn’t stupid.

‘I so believe that,’ Rachel turned and stared at Charlie. ‘What’s going on?’ She looked at Leah, then back towards Charlie suspiciously.

‘Nothing.’ Leah answered quickly. ‘Just Angelo stuff, right?’ She caught Charlie’s eye and nodded towards her.

‘Yeah.’ Charlie smiled feebly. ‘I think it’s just hit me he’s left and he’s not coming back. And right now I should be celebrating. I mean I have this fantastic career and everything is going so well and right when I needed him the most he just ups and leaves.’ Charlie held back a sob. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered. ‘I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Please. I need to stop thinking of him for at least a couple of hours. How’s Tony?’

‘Fine.’ Rachel answered dismissively. ‘He wants us to go away this weekend, some beach resort a couple of hours away.’

‘Lucky you,’ Leah grinned at her friend. ‘You don’t seem too keen?’ Leah gazed at Rachel, a worried expression on her face.

‘You and Tony are okay right?’ Charlie asked lightly. ‘I mean you guys always seem so happy.’ She laughed lightly. ‘I used to wish Angelo was more like Tony.’

‘Things aren’t always what they seem.’ Rachel stared into her coffee. ‘Fertility treatment is hell. Sometimes I don’t recognise myself. I actually find myself wondering why he’s still with me.’ She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

‘Oh Rach,’ Leah was sympathetic. ‘Just remember how much he loves you. Things will work for you one day, I know they will. No one deserves it more.’ Leah winced slightly. She knew how empty her words were. They didn’t mean anything.

‘It’s been over two years Leah; we’re running out of options.’ Rachel’s voice was flat. ‘And you know what kills me? All these women, every day having babies and getting pregnant when they don’t even want to be! The other day I delivered a women’s sixth child. Last week I helped a sixteen year old deliver twins.’ Rachel laughed bitterly. ‘What have Tony and I done wrong?’ Rachel cursed under her breath. She hated being self-depreciating.

Charlie remained silent. There was nothing she could say to make it better. She stared at her hands before looking across the table at Leah, who shook her head quickly before turning away.

‘What?’ Rachel placed her cup down on the table with a clatter. She glanced between her two friends. ‘Why the funny looks? Sorry if I’ve been going on it’s just –‘

‘it’s okay Rachel.’ Charlie smiled reassuringly. ‘We understand. Right Leah?’ She stared at her.

‘Right,’ Leah echoed. ‘Of course.’

‘Okay what are you not telling me?’ Rachel demanded. ‘I know something is up. You can’t keep stuff from me, it’s not fair. Charlie.’ She inched closer.

‘Rach it’s nothing, honestly.’ Charlie shook her head. She closed her eyes in a desperate bid to stop the tears she could feel forming.

‘Okay you’re scaring me.’ Rachel looked at Leah in desperation. ‘What’s going on?’ Charlie held out her hand to shush Leah. ‘I’m one of those women,’ Charlie sobbed quietly. ‘I’m so sorry. It’s so messed up.’

‘You’re pregnant’ Rachel whispered in disbelief. She froze.

‘Yes. I only found out this morning.’ Charlie took a deep breath. ‘I didn’t want you to find out, you didn’t ever have too but –‘

‘What do you mean I didn’t have to find out?’ Rachel asked, her face burrowed in confusion. ‘Oh no,’ she whispered as it dawned on her. ‘You’re not keeping it?’ The colour drained from her face.

‘Rach I –‘ Charlie couldn’t finish. She looked at Leah in despair as Rachel jumped up, spilling warm coffee over the table.

‘I have to go,’ she muttered, grabbing her bag.

‘Rachel,’ Leah stood up and made a move towards her.

‘Don’t,’ she shook her head vehemently. She ran out of the diner, desperate not to let her best friends see her cry. Leah watched her go, torn between wanting to run after her but also wanting to respect her wishes. She knew how Rachel worked.

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

‘Rach,’ Tony looked up in surprise as she ran into the house and threw her work bag onto the sofa. She made her way to the kitchen and turned on the cold tap, grabbing a glass from the cabinet and slamming it nosily. ‘What’s the matter?’ He stood behind her nervously, almost afraid to touch her. She gulped the water quickly before crossing her arms over her chest.

‘Charlie’s pregnant.’ She didn’t look at her husband. ‘She’s having an abortion.’ Her voice was emotionless.

‘Oh sweetheart.’ Tony’s heart sank. He gently reached out and put his arms around her. ‘Come here.’ Despite her resistance he pulled her close, turning her around as she buried her head into his chest and started to cry. He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head, wishing he had the ability to make it better.

‘I didn’t handle it very well.’ Rachel mumbled into his chest. ‘It’s not like any of this is her fault.’ Rachel looked up at her husband through tear stained eyes. ‘I always knew this would happen sooner or later. Someone I’m close to getting pregnant,’ she explained. ‘She was too afraid to tell me,’ Rachel cried softly. ‘I just ran out and left.’ Rachel shook her head. ‘I don’t like it Tony,’ she hid her head in his chest again and chocked back sobs. He had been dreading this moment. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone close to them had a baby. But an abortion was the worst possible outcome. It made him so angry. Not at Charlie specifically, he knew she’d been in a mess since Angelo leaving – but the cruel irony of the whole situation. He tightened his grip on his wife as he held her, closing his eyes as a heavy silence fell between them. Eventually her sobs quietened and her grip on him loosened. ‘I should have talked to her,’ Rachel mumbled.

‘She’ll understand love,’ her reassured. ‘Don’t blame yourself.’ He pulled her face up towards him and gently wiped the tears away from her face. ‘Sweetheart I have an idea.’ He looked at her nervously. He took her by the hand and led her to the couch.

‘Tony?’ She sat down next to him, confusion written all over her face.

‘I’ve been looking at the book from the gym, and I think, well, I think maybe we should sell.’ He took her hand in his and smiled comfortingly. ‘Things are looking good right now and I reckon we could get a really good price.’

‘But why?’ She stared at him wordlessly. ‘You love that place. I thought you were happy there?’

‘I am,’ he paused slightly. ‘But it’s just a job at the end of the day Rach. And let’s face it right now we need the money. And it would mean we could try IVF again, maybe twice.’

Rachel was stunned. ‘But, Tony,’ she shook her head in bewilderment, struggling to comprehend what her husband had just told her. ‘What would you do?’ It wasn’t the most logical question to ask but at that moment she couldn’t bring herself to think of anything else.

‘I don’t know,’ he answered, slightly surprised and annoyed at her response. ‘Go back to teaching I guess. The high school is looking for a new physical education teacher, and having your sister as the Head Teacher should help,’ he half smiled. ‘But I’m not worried about that just now. Rachel, selling would mean more chances for us.’ He emphasised the last part, squeezing her hands.

‘I know,’ she sniffed and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. ‘I’m just a little overwhelmed that you’d do that. You love the gym.’

‘Not as much as I love you,’ he answered immediately. ‘I’m willing to do whatever it takes.’

‘Tony,’ Rachel reached forward and stroked his face. ‘You’re so incredible. But I don’t think I want to try IVF anymore,’ she whispered, surprised at herself for saying it out loud. ‘I just can’t go through all of that again. Look what it’s done, what it’s doing to us. I can’t stand it. I hate where we are right now. I’m scared Tony. I want a baby with you more than anything in this world but I don’t want to lose you in the process. We can look into adoption again, internationally and maybe surrogacy.’ She smiled weakly.

‘Rach. Are you sure?’ Tony pulled her close. He didn’t know what to say. Part of him was relieved – not that he’d ever tell her that –but he secretly dreaded the thought of more treatment. For him it was easy but it was hell for Rachel. Seeing her go through all that again was not something he relished.

‘Yes.’ She looked up and nodded firmly. ‘You know we have other options,’ her voice wavered slightly. ‘Maybe we should look into those for now.’ She cried quietly. ‘I don’t want to lose you,’ she whispered.

‘You won’t,’ he whispered. ‘Ever. We’ll get our baby Rach. I promise.’

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

‘You have to tell him.’ Leah was adamant. ‘He has to know Charlie.’ Leah walked across the kitchen and stood next to Charlie, her hand resting on her arm. It had been a few hours since Rachel had ran out on them during lunch, from which Charlie had subsequently followed suit. After managing to put in a couple of hours work and a visit to Rachel, she found herself in Charlie’s flat, hoping to help her come to some sort of peace.

‘He left me Leah,’ Charlie replied stiffly. ‘I don’t owe him anything. Anyways I already spoke to the hospital. I’m going in next week. Angelo doesn’t have to be involved in any way.’

‘You’re pregnant with his baby!’ Leah was exasperated. ‘I get that he hurt you and what he did was terrible but if you go ahead and do this without him knowing, well, that’s just unforgiveable.’ Charlie let out a small gasp. ‘I’m sorry,’ Leah wrapped her arms around her shoulders. ‘That was too harsh. Shh, come on it’s going to be okay. I’m here for you.’ Charlie was taking deep breaths, her body shaking slightly. Leah cursed inwardly, wishing she could take back what she’d just said. But she was terrified of the potential consequences of Charlie’s actions.

‘If I tell him he’ll just make me keep it, then I don’t know what I’ll do.’ She looked at Leah, her face full of panic. ‘And there’s my job. I’ve worked so hard for this, I can’t screw it all up now.’

‘Well maybe that’s a sign you need to think about things a little more,’ Leah suggested gently. ‘Having a baby is daunting and scary I know, but you’re never going to be alone in this, even if you don’t want Angelo involved, I’m here and Rach too. And you can’t get sacked for being pregnant,’ she added firmly. ‘You know that. You’ll be able to work something out, even if it means things taking a little longer than you expected.’

‘I know,’ Charlie nodded. ‘I know.’ Deep down though, she had no idea.

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

Epilogue

‘Oh Rach he’s gorgeous,’ Leah gushed. ‘Look at those beautiful eyes.’

‘I know isn’t he?’ Rachel beamed. ‘We just can’t wait to bring him home now. He’s our little miracle.’ She turned towards her husband as he kissed her softly.

‘Yup.’ Tony grinned. ‘We’ve had his room ready for months.’ He laughed happily. ‘Jack and Martha are coming to visit a couple of weeks after we have him home, and Lucas too. I can’t wait for them to meet their little brother.’

‘Seriously guys he’s incredible. I can’t wait to meet him.’ Leah passed the photos to Charlie.

‘He’s so adorable.’ Charlie smiled. ‘Look Imogen, it’s your future husband.’ She laughed as she waved a photo in front of her four month old daughter. ‘So you’re keeping him name?’

‘Yes.’ Rachel nodded. ‘Isaac Madiba Holden. I love it. It suits him and Isaac is not that unusual in Australia. And the Madiba is special because it’s a reminder of his background and where he comes from. We don’t want him to forget that part of him.’

‘Absolutely.’ Tony smiled towards Rachel. ‘We just feel really lucky.’ It had been just over five months since Tony and Rachel had been matched with a little boy in South Africa. He was now 10 months old, and although they’d spent a month in his home country after the initial match, the process of bringing him back to Australia was taking a lot longer than expected.

‘So you’re flying out next week right?’ Charlie shifted Imogen in her lap, smiling as her daughter gurgled.

‘Yes, and then we’ll spend a few weeks over there before bringing him home with us.’ Rachel could hardly contain her excitement.

‘Straight to meet his God mum,’ Leah grinned.

‘Of course.’ Rachel replied. ‘It just doesn’t seem real. Like I know it is, and I know it’s all official and everything but still. When we were with him in South Africa it just all felt so right, you know? Like he just seemed to accept us straight away.’ She chocked back a tear.

‘I know. I don’t think I’ll believe it until we get him on that plane,’ Tony squeezed Rachel’s knee under the table.

‘It’s wonderful guys,’ Charlie stood up, balancing her baby in her arms. ‘I’m so happy for you and sorry to leave like this but I really have to get this little one to her dad’s so I can get to work.’

‘Thanks for coming,’ Rachel stood up and kissed Imogen’s head. ‘So things are working out with Angelo?’

‘Yeah so far.’ Charlie smiled ruefully. ‘We’ll see how long it lasts. As long as we can stay civil to each other that’s the main thing. And he is an amazing dad’ Charlie carefully placed Imogen into her buggy. She’d made it as far as the hospital waiting room before deciding she couldn’t go through with the abortion. All she could think about was Rachel, and the look on her face when she’d told them the 3rd IVF attempt had failed. She’d felt so ashamed, even though she knew Rachel would have understood, eventually. Angelo had taken the news surprisingly well and had promptly returned to Summer Bay, full of remorse and promises that this time things would be different. But try as she might, she couldn’t forgive. Although willing to let him be a part of his child’s life, she didn’t want him back. She’d gone back to work after 8 weeks, leaving Imogen in Angelo’s care. He excelled at being a full time dad. Charlie needed her job, it was part of who she was. And Charlie knew she was a better mum because of it.

Get Voting!

[kitkat1992]

I really loved both of these stories, they were both well written and the characters were believable.

Entry #1 - I particularly liked the way that the points of view changed throughout this story. It provided extra insight into the characters reactions to the news of the pregnancy.

Entry #2 - I enjoyed the fact that characters such as Leah and Rachel were included in this. You could imagine Charlie responding in such a way to the pregnancy especially given how important her job is to her. I also liked the reaction of other characters to her news...ie the scene of Rachel and Tony together. The conclusion of the story with the time jump was also nice as it felt like it came to a complete end with all characters receiving a positive outcome.

Overall my vote goes to Entry #2 however it was a very hard decision given how much I enjoyed both stories.

[xknomex]

vote goes to Entry #1

was a tough decision but I really liked how they changed points of view throughout the story!

[Red Ranger 1]

Entry #1

I spent the first part of the story thinking Nicole came across as a bit too skittish compared to how she is on the show but it became more understandable once we learned she was pregnant.The switching between Aden and Nicole’s point of view was great and the story perfectly captured their relationship and also Nicole’s relationships with the rest of the caravan park residents, especially her chats with Miles and Romeo.I was surprised Penn appeared and wondered what role he would play in the story but he was a nice device to bring Aden and Nicole together.The ending was perfect.

Entry #2

The opening, with Charlie pregnant and not wanting to be, was well-written and captured her mood perfectly.I wondered at first why she was concerned about Rachel finding out until the revelation that Tony and Rachel were having trouble conceiving.The contrast between the situations worked well but I did occasionally think the plot was a bit too complicated, that there was too much information to take in in too short a time.I wondered how it was going to tie it all up but pleasingly the last scene accomplished it extremely well, managing to show us what happened to Tony and Rachel and to Charlie and even to Angelo and giving a nice feeling of completeness.

Both good entries but I’m casting my vote for Entry #1.