Shadow of the Day

[JosieTash]

Three FAB updates !!!!! LOOOOOOVED it, especially …..

 ‘Maybe they don’t like me,’ Bianca whined and stirred with the umbrella on her non-alcoholic drink. ‘They don’t like me and they found some nice couple living in a nice big house with a white picket fence and a lawn and a friendly dog that never barks in the middle of the night to wake all the neighbours and doesn’t have any emotional baggage.’

 Rachel took another sip from her glass. ‘Putting that aside, Brax has been acting a little strange lately. It’s like he’s done a complete emotional makeover. The depression seems to have almost disappeared after the body was found. He’s gone from depressed to temperamental. One minute he’s happy and the next he’s snapping at everything.’

‘Well, I thought we weren’t going to think about what we can’t control tonight,’ Bianca changed the subject. ‘I’m going to go get another round of drinks.’

 Leah nodded just as Bianca came back with three glasses. Rachel was right, it was time to let go. Problem was, Leah didn’t know how. VJ was more than ready but Leah didn’t know if she was. Or rather, if she ever would be,

 Charlie touched his hand. ‘Going on a date with your dead girlfriend to a dingy looking pub in the middle of nowhere on a Friday night? It wouldn’t exactly turn your liver into mush.’

 ‘Hello Darryl, how are you?’ Valerie thought it was a little odd Brax was talking to himself but dismissed it. Some people had a habit of doing that, after all.

‘I’m alright,’ Brax glanced at her uncomfortably and took a swig from his bottle. He placed the bottle back on the table.

‘How’s…’ Valerie realised she didn’t remember her own granddaughter’s name. It was understandable of course, given she’d never met the little girl.

 ‘‘Little early, don’t you think?’ Brax eyed the bottle in her hand as he sorted the change.

‘Never too early,’ Ruby looked uncomfortable. This was the first time they’d been alone without Jade for since the near drowning incident. ‘Anyway, I’m going to need it later to unwind after my productive day making Summer Bay a cleaner place.’

‘What’re you talking about?’ Brax was out of the loop; it wasn’t like Ruby divulged information about her life to him. And it wasn’t like he made an effort to gossip with Colleen on a regular basis either; in fact, he hadn’t been to the diner in a while.

‘Oh, I got community service, didn’t you hear? I thought I’d see what it’s like down on your level for a little while,’ ruby joked but immediately took it back. After everything they’d been through, the same retorts just didn’t feel right on her tongue. ‘Sorry, that was harsh,’

 Ruby wiped the sweat on her forehead with her forearm for what seemed like the hundredth time. It was quite cloudy for a summer day, it was humid but only slightly, certainly not enough to provoke such a reaction from her body. Still, Ruby felt sweaty and worn out, more so than usual. All the walking wasn’t helping.

 ‘Ruby?’ Elle gasped. The supervisor didn’t get to finish his scolding. If he did, Ruby wouldn’t have heard it. Ruby’s garbage bag lay discarded on the dirt, its contents spilling out of it. Her body lay unconscious by the mess.

The supervisor rushed over to the collapsed Ruby. He moved a distressed Elle to the side and nudged his charge. ‘Ruby, can you hear me? Ruby…Ruby…’

 ‘At least, I got out of clean up duty. I can’t do that with a broken ankle.’ Ruby joked weakly. She felt a little better than before but still a little weak.

‘This is serious Rubes. Did you skip breakfast?’ Leah was concerned when Ruby nodded. She held onto the girl’s hand and squeezed. ‘Ruby, you know how important it is for you to eat regularly, especially if you were planning on drinking so much, which is bad enough for you alone by the way without the added risk with your diabetes.’

‘You’re not my mother Leah,’ Ruby turned her head away. ‘I don’t need a lecture.’

‘Charlie would say the same if she were here. Ruby, talk to me, I know something’s wrong, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.’

Ruby shed a tear. She thought back to her earlier conversation with Brax at the restaurant and shook her head. No one could ever know. She cleared the emotion off her face. ‘Leah, I’m fine. eally, I am. You don’t have to worry.’

‘Why didn’t you tell the supervisor you weren’t feeling well earlier?’

‘I didn’t realise. I haven’t had an attack in years; I didn’t think it would be my diabetes.’ Ruby closed her eyes against the pain from her head.

‘Diabetes isn’t just onetime thing rubes.’ Leah whispered caringly and rubbed Ruby’s back gently as if she were a child.

A small part of Ruby wanted to shun away from the motherly familiarity of Leah’s touch but the bigger part of her that missed Charlie craved it. Needing to feel loved for a little while, Ruby let Leah rub her back until the pain slightly subsided.

 Bianca had never gotten her money back. And now, because she’d abandoned Charlie yet again for her father’s meaningless words, Bianca wouldn’t get Charlie back either. If she’d made a different decision all those years ago, she might never have lost both.

‘Bianca, babe, what’re you so lost in thought about?’ Bianca snapped out of it and saw that Liam was lying next to her gazing at her from the other side of the bed. Liam smiled. ‘They’re going to call; we just need to have faith,’

Bianca looked at the alarm clock; it was only a little past six. She had a while to go before the staff meeting. Liam was reassuring her about the adoption but Bianca still had her mind on her previous thoughts. Adrian Salvatore had embezzled money from his own daughter among hundreds of others. Even after three years, the thought of it still hurt. The fact that she’d spent the precious moments of Charlie’s life being conned by her father hurt even more.

 ‘I need something professional but I look like a little girl playing dress up. Where’s that red dress you always used to wear to work? That would be perfect.’

‘April, you’re going to be fine. Just dress comfortably, especially the shoes. You’ll be walking around.’ Bianca reassured her. ‘And Dex is a nurse. He’ll be there.’

April turned to look at the bed where Bianca and Liam were. ‘I need to make a good first impression. You know how important those are.’

‘I think you made a good impression during work experience last year and your job interview. You got the job so I think it’s safe to say they like you.’

April sighed. They didn’t understand. This was the first time she’d ever be working as a real doctor at a real hospital. As excited as she was at the prospect, she couldn’t screw it up.

 ‘Dad says you got attack by happy glassy Mia.’ Jade was sitting on the chair on her knees and leaning her elbows against the bed. ‘I hope she don’t get me,’

‘I keep telling her hypoglycaemia’s an illness but…’ For the first time Brax spoke up.

‘Kids,’ Ruby finished for him. She turned back to Jade

 ‘Okay,’ Brax accepted it for now. ‘I think we just need to forget about anything that may or may not have happened with you and move on,’

‘You’re the one, who keeps bringing it up,’ Ruby pointed out weakly. She was very uncomfortable with the conversation. After yet another long pause, she added. ‘This doesn’t make us friends or anything. I still don’t like you. I just needed to talk to someone and you were there after the whole Grant thing.’

They spent the next couple minutes in an awkward silence while they waited for Jade to return. Brax walked over to the window and watched the vehicles in the hospital car park go in and out. ‘I keep seeing Charlie sometimes,’

Ruby barely heard it, Brax’ voice had barely been a whisper. It took a moment for her to figure it out and she nodded sympathetically. ‘Yeah, I know what you mean,

‘No, Ruby, I see her, she’s so real,’ Brax turned around. He glanced at Ruby desperately, begging her to understand his dilemma.

Ruby smiled softly and nodded again. ‘Sometimes, I feel like every tall brunette walking down the street is mum. Then I go up to them and it’s a stranger and they look at me like I’m crazy,’

Brax looked at his feet with his hands in his pockets and shook her head. Ruby didn’t understand. So he gave up.

 When he went inside and proceeded to tuck in Jade in her bed, Brax was a mixture of relieved and disappointed in finding the house a little too empty. For the time being, Charlie wasn’t there.

 ‘Little Ellie all knocked up? What a surprise,’ Jake provided his sarcastic opinion to no one in particular as he plucked a weed from the grass.

His mind couldn’t help but turn to the existence of his own child. Jake knew he’d never have a relationship with the Buckton baby, he didn’t even know her name; only that it was a girl. It was a daughter. Children were never in the plan for Jake so the lack of interaction meant little but his mind wandered towards the topic every now and then briefly.

What annoyed him more than anything was that a Pirovic was being raised as a Braxton. It wasn’t right. Still, there was nothing Jake could do about it.

Jake himself, could feel the thud thud thud of his own heart beating a little erratically. The vase had thudded onto the sink from the distraction of the crunching pain in his chest. Jake winced and could barely stay upright. Eventually, he had to give in and leaned his back against the cupboards, one hand protectively over his heart.

[pembie]

That was brilliant so much going on.Brax trying to tell Ruby that he sees Charlie, Is Jade alright or is she getting ill? Sounds like someone is hitting Elle wonder what is going on there and how it fits in with the rest of the story.Things don't look good for Jake.

Brilliant. chapter

[mizziette]

THIRTY ONE

Darcy never heard a thing. As young girls did, she got distracted by the waves and went surfing. April, sitting on the beach, was immersed in her paediatric textbook, studying for her first year exams. Irene was captivated in her music and Bianca was impatiently arguing with her father on the phone.

Brax busied himself waiting for his fiancé while their daughter fine-tuned her shaky walking skills across the restaurant floor. Everyone was so immersed in their own world that the loss of a friend, a lover, a mother, went unnoticed. That was the way of the world. 1.8 people die each second in the world, 108 each minute, 6480 each hour, so much pain in the world yet it all goes unnoticed; until it’s too late.

Georgina Watson was absorbed in her own self when it happened, as many others were. Work didn’t stop for engagement parties. Georgie would not be attending. She sat at her desk daydreaming; that guy that went surfing every day conveniently during Georgie’s lunch break; was he single? She hoped he was. This was what she was doing when she got the call; swooning over a guy.

Georgie had never dreamed she would have to do it. Walking up to the beach had felt surreal. Almost like an out of body experience, like she was looking down on her body making the movements, like it wasn’t her.

‘She has some swelling on her abdomen; it looks like she’s been hit there with something. No other visible marks yet, a little redness on her right wrist, possibly from being grabbed’ the coroner relayed the information to Sergeant Watson. But Georgie could only stare. Charlie’s peaceful body beside her feet, inside the unzipped body bag; her face looked so serene. ‘Sarge, I was…’

‘Yeah, I’m listening,’ Georgie had to snap back into cop mode. She had a job to do. She had done her job when it had been Jack in that bag and she would do the same now. Like Jack, Charlie deserved Georgie’s best. And her best Charlie would get.

‘Any witnesses so far?’ Sergeant Watson asked after taking a huge breath and willing herself not to break. She could crawl into her bed and cry later. For now, she had to feign professionalism.

‘Eleven year old girl, Darcy Callaghan,’ It was Constable Avery who spoke. ‘She mentioned she saw Charlie shouting at a man half an hour ago. Curly hair, roughly 5 foot 9 and average build.’

‘She didn’t tell anyone earlier?’ Georgie asked, desperately trying to keep her eyes off her friend.

‘Her words were misinterpreted.’ Avery answered. He too, was trying not to look at his former boss out of respect. This was going to be one of their harder cases.

After talking to Ruby and Brax who both informed her of Grant’s return, it hadn’t been hard to guess who the mysterious man was. There were no marks on her body apart from the bruised abdomen. And that would only have hurt the unborn child in Charlie’s womb. That hit Georgie even harder; that two lives had been lost instead of one. And Grant would pay for the death of the child. Charlie had been happy about her new pregnancy; but happiness was always short-lived.

The second Georgie got home that night; she went straight to the bathroom and threw up. Wiping her mouth, Georgie undressed and stepped into the shower, letting the cool water crash onto her body, hoping, praying that the stench of death would wash away from her. And with her hair still wet, as vowed, Georgie climbed under her sheets and finally, after keeping collected for so long at work, let one lone tear slip from her eye and dampen the pillow.

Being summer, the beach was fairly busy. With people rushing in and out of the water, walking up and down the beach, VJ sat watching all this commotion on the farther edge of the sand dunes.

‘Hey mate, shouldn’t you be out there?’ Xavier walked up behind him with his surfboard and gestured out to the waves.

VJ shook his head. ‘Not in the mood,’

And Xavier would’ve just moved on to the ocean if it hadn’t been for the melancholic look on VJ’s face. He sighed. ‘What’s with you?’

‘Nothing, just mum being mum,’ VJ sighed. He squinted up at Xavier, avoiding the glare of the sun high in the clear sky.

Xavier knelt down. ‘Overprotective mums just so happen to be my area of expertise. You know how long it took for my mum to stop calling to check on me at work? It took a while let me tell you,’

‘Well, where I’m going, there’s no phone reception.’

‘Yeah, you’re going on that expedition thing, aren’t you?’ Xavier grinned. ‘It sounds pretty cool. You’re pretty lucky, not many eighteen year olds get to do that stuff straight out of school.’

‘Not so lucky for mum,’

‘Just stand your ground. She’ll give you her blessing once she realises how important it is to you.’ Xavier patted his back and picked up his board before running into the water and paddling out to the waves.

‘Hey,’ Casey, sitting on his board in the ocean nodded his head as Xavier went swimming up to him. Xavier sat up on the board and watched the breaks.

‘You know Mr Braxton; it’s really not a great look if the teacher’s cutting class to go surfing.’ Xavier observed.

Casey smirked. ‘I got a free period.’

‘Your first week as a teacher, how’s it feel?’ Xavier asked.

‘Not a nerve-racking as I thought. At least I didn’t throw up in front of my class.’ Casey laughed. ‘Nah, the kids aren’t so bad. They’re being nice to me so far.’

‘Don’t expect it to last.’ Xavier moved his fingers slowly in the water. After a pause, he looked at Casey; needing to bring it up, ‘Hey, you know Rubes,’

‘She lives with us so yeah; I think I might’ve seen her around.’ Casey smirked and then smiled gently in understanding. ‘It’s cool Xav, I know,’

‘You know.’ Xavier repeated slowly and cautiously.

‘Well yeah,’ Casey pointed out. ‘Like I said, we all live together. And it’s not like you’re doing a great job of hiding it. Ruby had to move on some time. It’s cool that’s it you,’

‘Are you sure? If you weren’t cool with it…I know you two had a big thing,’ Xavier wanted to make sure. Casey was his friend and he had helped to nurse his broken heart for months after Ruby broke up with him.

‘What Ruby and I had was great but I don’t think we’d ever get back there.’ Casey admitted sadly but Xavier didn’t notice the tone. ‘Not after everything. Do you like her?’

Xavier nodded. ‘Yeah, I really do.’

‘Then go for it.’ Casey gave his blessing. He pointed up ahead of them at a wave. ‘And go for that one, its closer to you,’

Xavier looked at the huge wave a little to his right. Before paddling out, he turned to Casey. ‘Thanks,’

Casey nodded. As he sat on his board in the ocean and watched Xavier paddle out towards the wave, Casey felt his heart drop just a little. He’d known it would happen but he hadn’t expected it. Ruby was finally moving on; and with his best friend. At least she was happy; that was all that mattered.

Brax watched Jade from her bedroom doorway. She sat on the floor playing with her dolls; one in each hand. She was playing wedding day and Tinkerbell and Ken were set to be married. Mr Bear was the best man and her stuffed whale Esther was the maid of honour. It was an intimate affair.

Jade’s illness after her play date the other day had been mostly remedied by an afternoon nap and a big juicy steak for dinner. Still, Brax couldn’t help keeping an extra close eye on her to make sure she really was alright. She still looked quite pale.

‘Tinkerbell needs Daddy to give her away,’ Jade looked at Brax expectantly. Brax tried his best to stifle a groan. As much as he loved his daughter, there were only so many tea parties and weddings he could attend.

Still, Brax didn’t let on his lack of enthusiasm. He strolled up to Jade and leaned against the side of the bed, tucking Jade under his arm. ‘Doesn’t Tinkerbell have her own daddy? Maybe Sponge Bob,’

‘No, all the mummy and daddy fairies got died because Captain Hook says the thing no one says.’

‘Oh, you mean “Voldemort”?’ Brax crinkled his forehead.

‘No, the other one, that in Harry Potter; that a mean mean man,’ Jade rolled her eyes as she smoothed down Tinkerbell’s green dress. ‘I tell you later okay. If I tell you now, Tink will get died.’

‘Okay, fair enough.’ Brax sighed. ‘What are my duties as father of the bride?’

‘You hold Tink like this,’ Jade put the doll in Brax’ hand and guided the hand down the aisle. ‘And she walk like this when the music play.’

Just when Brax was about to ask what music, Jade took a toy xylophone from under the bed. The girl ran a very efficient wedding business. Because of her music lessons, Jade knew how to play the bridal song almost to the note. On cue, Brax led the doll down the aisle.

They repeated the ceremony three times, with different bride and grooms each time. Jade was having the best time but Brax couldn’t help noticing that her forehead was a little hot and she kept yawning a lot. Jade gleamed at Brax once Mr Bear and Esther kissed. ‘Again,’

‘How about we go to get some lunch now? I think it’s time for the reception,’ Brax suggested, not particularly looking forward to another wedding. Anyway, it was one in the afternoon.

‘Do you think they’ll be happy ever after?’ Jade bit her lip dreamily, not quite paying attention to him. She leaned into Brax’ chest tiredly, hugging Esther the whale to her chest. She was a romantic.

‘You know what, I think they just might,’ Brax hugged Jade back. At least until the next time they get married, Brax thought. Knowing Jade, Tinkerbell would be remarrying before sundown.

‘When I grow up, I have princess dress and my wedding in Hawaii with Esther, the real one.’ Jade dreamed. ‘And I have the chocolatiest chocolate cake ever. You can have some. So can Ruby. Daddy, will she marry Xav?’

Brax raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t even known Ruby was seeing Xavier. ‘I don’t know.’

‘I hope so, then I can be flower girl and wear pretty dress and throw flowers,’ Jade closed her eyes against his chest and squeezed Esther the toy tightly. She opened her eyes when her wrist started hurting. ‘I got an ouchie,’

‘That’s not good. How’d that happen?’ Brax took Jade’s hand. There was a little bruise on her palm. Jade shrugged. ‘Well, if you come and eat something, I’ll kiss it better,’

Jade sighed. She was too tired to get up and her head was starting to hurt. ‘Okie dokie,’

They both stood up and Brax walked in front to the kitchen. At the tug behind him, Brax turned around. ‘Yeah,’

‘Daddy, you blurry,’ Jade whispered. Brax caught his daughter just in time as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she lost consciousness.

[Inactive User]

Great chapter

Whoa at the ending! Hope Jade is okay.

More soon please xx

[soph1303]

Great update,

Nice to see a normal side of Watson at the start, not in cop mode !! Felt heaps sorry for her and all the officers !!

Glad that Casey has given ruby and xave his blessing !!

Hope jades ok !!!

More soon please

[pembie]

Poor Jade I wonder what's wrong with her.

I felt sorry for Watson too. that must of been hard for her.

Casey is a teacher? that's a new one,Wasn't expecting him to have gone down this career path.

Look forward to more.

[mizziette]

THIRTY TWO

‘There was a considerable lack of iron in Jade’s system. That’s why she’s been fatigued and dizzy. Her immune system is very weak right now which is why she’s got a slight fever but with a little tweak in the diet and some extra care, she’ll be able to control it relatively well.’ April stood in her white coat and stethoscope speaking to Brax.

‘So she’s anaemic?’ Brax asked, looking at the sleeping girl drowning in the large hospital gown.

April nodded, fitting in well into the paediatrician role. ‘It looks that way, and like I said, if managed, the symptoms should settle down a little. I’d like to do a few more tests as well. Her fever’s quite high so she’ll need to stay here for a couple of days.’

‘Right,’ Brax turned to look at Jade as April left. Slowly she opened her wide green eyes and was startled to find herself in the hospital. ‘Hey, I’m here. You gave me a scare, you know that.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Jade whispered. She felt a little better but she couldn’t decide whether she was having hot sweats or cold chills. It was a mixture of both. Here head hurt as well.

‘Hey you, I heard you’ve been getting all dizzy. Nothing a good meal can’t fix,’ Dex was removing an IV bag on Jade’s other side. He smiled sweetly at her and Jade couldn’t help but smile back, despite her state. ‘Lucky for you, I was just about to get you a nice casserole for dinner,’

‘Yummy,’ Jade giggled, completely enamoured by Dex. His charisma, his captivating voice; Dex had that effect on children.

‘Good, but for now though, anymore iron in that little body and you’ll turn into iron man,’ Dex joked as his fingers hovered over the tube in Jade’s vein pumping nutrients into her system. ‘I’m going to need you to turn to your daddy and make the funniest face you can for him.’

Jade gazed at him and bit her lip shyly. Dex shrugged. ‘What can I say, doctor’s orders. If you can make him laugh, I’ll throw in a cup of jelly for dessert…’

Jade pondered a little longer and nodded with a shy smile. Dex counted. ‘Three, two one,’

Jade turned to Brax and scrunched up her face as funnily as it would go. At the same time, Dex quickly and carefully took the needle out of Jade’s vein and bandaged it up; she barely noticed a thing. As if on cue, Brax laughed. ‘That was a pretty funny face,’

Jade turned back to Dex proudly, for the first time noticing that her hand hurt a little less. It had all but taken less than five seconds. Dex whistled in applause at her performance. ‘I think that deserves some jelly and strawberry milk.’

Jade, who loved strawberry milk, gleamed. Brax watched Dex clean up the medical waste. ‘You’re pretty good at this, eh.’

‘I do what I can.’ Dex shrugged. He gently poked Jade and made a face. ‘I’ll see you in just a sec.’

‘Bye-bye, see you,’ Jade waved shyly and closed her eyes again, still slightly fatigued.

‘Thank god she’s alright. I thought something bad had happened.’ Charlie sat on Jade’s bed and stroked her daughter’s hair.

‘Something bad did happen,’ Brax whispered.

---

Ruby was very restless as she wheeled her wheelchair towards the direction of Jade’s hospital room. On the way, she passed April sitting at her desk and took it upon herself to express her annoyance. ‘Give me a crutch or a walking cane and I’ll be fine, you know. I don’t need this old thing.’

April looked up from her work and smiled briefly. ‘It’s hospital policy. You’re stuck with the wheelchair as long as you’re in this building.’

‘Well, as much as I love you, I can’t wait to get out of here,’ Ruby wheeled on to her sister. As she got closer to the room, she heard voices; or more specifically, a single voice. Ruby hovered outside the door.

‘How am I supposed to do this, Charlie? I can’t even look after your daughter.’ What Ruby heard was Brax’ pleading voice whispering in his cracked voice. ‘I’m trying, I promise I am.’

There was a long pause. For the first time in a while, Ruby felt a shed of sympathy towards him. It was only minor but it had snuck up on her. Brax was talking to Charlie; Ruby had to admit she did that herself sometimes. Hers of course, didn’t involve hallucinations, only the hope that someone up there was watching over her. It was almost a prayer, really, so Ruby didn’t know the extent of Brax’ condition.

‘I’m trying,’ Brax whispered again and Ruby quietly opened the door fully and wheeled her chair in. Brax was leaning against the window sill, staring out at the car park below them.

‘I know you are,’ the comforting words did not belong to Charlie’s soulful voice but her elder daughter’s more pitiful one. When Brax turned to Ruby startled, he realised that Charlie was gone, leaving an empty chair in her wake.

‘You startled me,’ Brax admitted. He wondered what Ruby was doing there for a second until it clicked; she was visiting Jade.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to.’ Ruby looked at Jade, dozing peacefully on the bed. ‘How is she?’

‘Weak, April said she might be weak for a few weeks yet. Her collapsing into my arms like that, it was scary,’

‘I can imagine.’ There was yet another long pause of awkward silence and they sat like that for a while; Brax on the window sill and Ruby in her much-despised wheelchair. Staring at her fiddling fingers in her lap, she whispered, ‘I feel so guilty.’

Brax looked down at her fiercely. ‘You have nothing to feel guilty about. Rubes, look at me, nothing,’

‘You don’t know that,’ Ruby desperately glanced into Brax’ eyes, ‘you can’t know that for sure. What if I-‘

‘Ruby, you here,’ Jade gleamed as she opened her eyes. Ruby put a smile on her face just as Dex walked into the room cheerfully.

‘Alright, looks like I’ve got a special delivery. Raise your hand if there’s a Miss Buckton in the room!’ Dex pretended to look at the chart her carried in one hand while carrying the tray with jelly in the other. Jade and Ruby dutifully raised their hands. Ruby giggled cheekily.

Dex finally looked up from the chart. ‘I meant the Miss Buckton on tucked away in bed like a good patient instead of wheeling herself around like an impatient patient.’

Jade gleamed bright as a star at the compliment. Ruby frowned. ‘Don’t I get roommate benefits?’

‘Not unless your name’s Jade Buckton.’ Dex held up two different coloured cups of jelly to show Jade. ‘Raspberry red or lime green?’

Jake lay in hospital awed by how lucky he’d been. He’d managed to call for help in time and they’d traced the emergency call. And even better, the heart transplant he so desperately needed might be happening sooner. The worse his condition became, the more he moved up the donor list. But still, Jake Pirovic was just about sick of it all.

The door opened slightly ajar and a curious face peered into Jake’s room. Jade had gotten bored in her room and snuck past Dex’ watchful eye to explore and now she couldn’t find her way back to her room before she got in trouble. The man she watched seemed lost in thought as he stared up at the ceiling.

Jade’s footstep alerted Jake’s attention to the door. He turned his head to his right and looked at what he thought was just another nosy little toddler. Little did he know they shared the same DNA, ‘What do you want?’

‘I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.’ Jade admitted but she seemed drawn to the man, like she knew him. Her curiosity won over the prospect of stranger danger.

For the first time, Jake looked at her properly and frowned. Why did she look so familiar? He brushed the thought from his mind. ‘Who ever told you that is pretty smart, eh.’

‘Yeah, daddy’s real smart,’ Jade smiled. She still wore the child sized hospital gown swamping her tiny frame. ‘Ruby too, she the best,’

And then it hit him; daddy. Father, daughter; no wonder she looked so familiar. Jake was staring into the childhood face of Charlie Buckton. At least that was what he imagined Charlie might’ve looked like. It all became quite clear, the tiny little bite of the lip with every smile, Valerie did that. When Jake opened his mouth, he found he was a little tongue tied. His throat was dry. ‘Jake,'

‘Huh?’ Jade tilted her head to the side curiously with the question. Jake wondered in awe how he had created something so innocent and pure. The girl couldn’t possibly belong to him. Jake realised almost as he thought it that she didn’t, in fact, belong to him. She never had.

Jake found his voice again. ‘I’m Jake.’

‘Oh,’ Jade gleamed sweetly and held out her hand. ‘Nice to meet you, I’m Jade,’

‘Jade,’ Jake repeated. He cautiously shook Jade’s hand and noticed something else. A little mole on her right wrist shaped like a moon; Jake looked at his right wrist as he held her hand; yes, he had the same.

‘Yeah, do you like whales?’ Jade seemed relieved to make a friend. She was so bored being in hospital and it didn’t help that Ruby was asleep and Brax was at work. ‘I have a whale. Her name Esther and she live in Hawaii.’

‘Yeah, no way you’re mine,’ Jake raised his eyebrows. Jake was not a river boy. Jake did not do the whole ocean thing. In fact, him and his former gang were very much land people. He wondered what else Brax used to brainwash his daughter-because it was his daughter, his blood that flowed through her veins- with and wondered why he was thinking like that. Jake hated children; why should this one be any different.

‘Do you like Sponge Bob? I love him so much.’ Another water creature; Jade continued to ramble on. ‘I love music too, more than Sponge Bob, but not more than whales; whales trump all,’

Jake shrugged with a smirk. At least they had something in common. He was into music too. ‘You’re a pretty sweet kid, kid.’

‘Thanks, I get that a lot,’ Jade smiled innocently. ‘Everyone say it but I no-no why,’

‘Maybe it’s because you keep saying stuff like that,’ Jake willed himself to hate this Buckton girl with his guts; it was what he was meant to do after all. His heart wasn’t supposed to warming towards the enemy. For the first time since Jade’s entrance, he considered taking advantage of the situation. He forced himself to think like the scorned man he was; think of Jade as the Braxton kid instead of the Pirovic one. It was easier said than done. He looked back into the eyes of Brax’ daughter Jade, and not his own flesh and blood,

Before his brain could respond to this new vengeful revelation, Dex opened the door and frowned protectively. ‘Jade, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Come on, leave the man alone. Let’s go back to your room.’

Dex almost dragged Jade out of there in his hurry but still had time to cast Jake a disapproving look. Brax, they both knew, would do much more than glance reproachfully if he found out.

[Inactive User]

Great chapter

Whoa at the ending-Jade and Jake bumping into one each other! Wonder how Brax and Ruby will react if they knew in case Dexter tells them

More soon please xx

[soph1303]

Oh that update was so awesome, and on my birthday too - I feel so privelaged !!

Glad that jade has a managable condition!!

Hehe I was quite amused at April and dex in their nursing roles !!

Glad that ruby and Brax seem to have been brought closer by this at least !!

Omg at the Jake/jade part !!!

More soon please

[pembie]

Oh so Jade is anaemic that sucks, at least that is all it is. Wasn't expecting her to bump into Jake. That was really good.I liked Dex in this chapter too.

Look Forward to more.