Strength

[Cat123]

I just wrote this after watching the episodes with the car crash. I hope it doesn't drag out too much and I hope it does justice to the story and the characters. Let me know what you think, good or bad!! I hope you like it.

Please reveiw!! It only takes a second and I'd really appreciate it

Jesse hadn?t felt this bad for a very long time. It had taken all his courage to ask Chloe out on a date, he was never very good at handling rejection. He was confused, he knew how he felt and he thought she felt the same way. He knew she felt the same, they had grown closer and closer since she?d got back to the bay. Something else was in the way. Troy.

Jesses had run from the party soon after he laid his heart on the line, he didn?t want to stick around and cause Chloe any more distress. He saw the shocked look on her face when he asked her; he didn?t want to see it again. Neither did he was to prolong the agony he felt himself.

He stared out at the ocean, and filtered the sort dry sand through his fingers. He put his hand back down on the ground and felt the cool glass of the whisky bottle he?d taken from Alf?s party. He picked it up and turned it over in his hands. He?d not touched it, the brown liquid was still up to the neck of the bottle and the gold seal was still in place.

?I don?t think you want to do that.?

Jesse stopped and turned around. Chloe was standing a few feet behind him with her head to one side, regarding him.

Jesse put the bottle down on the ground and turned back to the water. ?I haven?t, I couldn?t bring myself to.?

Chloe appeared beside him and crouched down. ?I didn?t mean to hurt you Jesse.?

Jesse became agitated. ?I?m sorry, I was insensitive, you?ve been going through a lot, I had no right to add to them.?

She placed a hand on his shoulder and he immediately calmed. ?Don?t be.?

Jesse turned to look at her face. ?It?s gone 2 in the morning, the party must have been over hours ago.?

?It was. There was a slight? Accident.?

It was only then Jesse noticed the sling on her arm. In the dim light, he hadn?t noticed until now. The word ?accident? tied his stomach in knots and he felt sick. Worry grew on his face. He managed to stammer out, ?Is everyone ok??

?Martha?s ill. But alive. Everyone else is doing ok, they?re just a little shaken.?

Jesse breathed a sigh of relief. He was so happy to hear her words that he barely noticed the hint of sadness in her voice. ?I?m sorry I left the party so quickly, I?ve never been very good at handling stuff. There were no problems were there??

Chloe looked at the ground. ?Troy turned up.?

?What?? Jesse jumped, anger building inside him.

Chloe?s hand moved up to his face and she held his cheek. ?It?s ok, Will and Flynn saw him off.?

?I should have been there.?

?Jesse, don?t worry. You?ve been great, you?ve looked after me.? She smiled and turned his head to look into his eyes. ?No one?s cared this much for me before, not since Lochie.?

Jesse smiled. ?I?ll always look after you.?

?I didn?t mean to make you run, Jesse. I was shocked, that?s all. I?ve always seen you as a friend. A best friend.?

Jesse nodded. ?Got you.?

?But I do like you? Chloe interrupted, ?I really like you. I just wasn?t ready to be with anyone again. But I hope you know I have feelings for you.? She grinned. ?Olivia really likes you. Whatever happens with us, I want you to be part of her life, she?s never really had a father??

Jesse nodded, an image of Rachel momentarily flashing through his mind. A comfortable silence settled over them, and after a moment, Chloe stood up. Jesse followed and embraced her in a hug. ?I?m glad you?re ok? he said.

?You too.? She nodded towards the liquor bottle that was lying on the ground. ?I hope you?re gonna return that to Sally and Flynn.?

Jesse laughed. ?Yeah.?

?I?ll see you later Jesse. I?ve got to go and see Olivia.?

?Can I walk you??

?No, it?s fine? Chloe smiled, ?I just wanted? Wanted to let you know how I felt.?

* * *

?Livvy.? The little girl stirred from her sleep as a warm hand touched her shoulder and shook her gently. ?Livvy, wake up.?

Olivia blinked. ?What time is it??

?Early. 3 o clock.?

Olivia buried her face in her pillow and tried to snuggle back down under the quilt. ?I?m sleepy mum, what?s up??

Chloe sat down on the edge of her bed and brushed her messy hair out of a her daughter?s face. ?Nothing?s up, I just wanted to see you.?

Olivia wiped the sleep from her bright, innocent eyes and her hazy vision came into focus. ?You?re bleeding.? She sat up and reached for the cut on her mother?s shoulder. ?What happened??

Chloe shook her head and pulled her jacket over her shoulder. ?There was a crash, that?s all.?

Olivia noticed the worried look in her mum?s face, despite Chloe?s efforts to hide it. ?What??

?I?m ok sweetie.? Chloe patted the mattress next to where she was sitting and Olivia crawled out from under the covers and sat down next to her. ?I broke my arm, that?s all.?

?But??

?It?s ok.? Chloe kissed her head and put her arm around her. ?Everything will be ok.? She took a deep breath and forced a smile. ?Did you have fun tonight with the babysitter??

?Yeah.? Olivia sounded as enthusiastic as a seven year old could at 3 in the morning. ?We watched TV, and did some painting? Was the party good??

?Yeah, there were loads of people there.?

?Jesse??

Chloe looked at the floor, then smiled. ?Yeah. And Sophie. You remember Tamara don?t you??

Olivia nodded. ?You should go to bed, you look tired.?

?I will soon, I just wanted to? To see you.?

Olivia grinned. ?I?m here!? She stretched her arms out and wrapped them around her mum?s neck. Chloe grimaced and Olivia pulled away. ?Oops, sorry.?

?No problem. Chloe picked a white floppy rabbit off the floor. ?What did bouncy ever do to you??

Olivia shrugged. ?Nothing. He bounced out of bed.?

Chloe shook her head. ?Really?? She waved the toy in Livvy?s face, tickling her cheek with the whickers. ?I think we should all get some sleep.?

As if on cue, Olivia yawned. She said something, but it wasn?t clear. Chloe smiled. She disappeared under the covers again, with only her head visible, and began to drift off to sleep.

?I?ll see you soon, Sally and Irene will look after you.?

Olivia?s brow furrowed. ?But they?re not even home yet. Colleen?s downstairs.?

Chloe looked away for a moment, her voice quietening. ?Yeah, she?ll help.?

?You?re confusing me mum.?

Chloe leant over and soothingly stroked her little girl?s silky brown hair. ?Sorry.?

?Maybe you?re just a bit confused? Olivia concluded, struggling to keep her eyes open.

?Here, take this.? Chloe took off the ring from her left hand and placed it on the table beside the bed.

?Me? Didn?t Daddy give you that??

Chloe nodded. ?Yep. I don?t need it any more though, I?m going to see him soon.?

Olivia was drifting further into a deep sleep, her mother?s words had become muffled and she couldn?t hear clearly what she was saying. Chloe?s gentle touch was calming and her breathing became slower and more relaxed. She didn?t hear what she thought she did, did she? Her dad was dead. But she didn?t have the energy to ask what her mum meant.

When Olivia was asleep, when her chest was gently rising and falling at a steady rhythm, Chloe sat back and looked at her. She looked so peaceful, she knew it wouldn?t last. ?I love you? she whispered, and left the room.

* * *

?Nooooooooooooooo!? Irene?s piercing scream echoed down the corridor. Her legs buckled under her and she collapsed into Flynn?s arms.

Alf stopped. He walked with an urgency towards the sounds of the beeping monitors and Irene?s sobs. He didn?t want to expect the worst but it was impossible to think any different.

?I?m sorry, there?s nothing we can do. Mr. Stewart, it was an embolism??

The nurse continued speaking but her words grew to become nothing more than a continuous drown to match the never ending beep of the machines. He stared down at Chloe?s lifeless body with shock and disbelief. How? She was fine, she was walking? He looked around and the sympathetic faces that he?d never seen before as they stood around the room, helpless.

He was vaguely aware that the nurse was explaining what went wrong, but he couldn?t focus on her words. He gulped down the lump in his throat.

?? I?m very sorry.?

He slowly turned around. Irene was crouched in the floor, Flynn bending over her. He caught the doctor?s eye. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. It was as if his voice had been knocked out of him with the shock. Instead he just gave a slight nod and walked blankly down the hallway.

* * *

?Hey Irene.? Olivia sat at the kitchen table and smiled at the woman when she walked through the back door, the bright sunshine following her in. ?Where have you been?? She noticed Barry and Colleen walk in behind her. ?Hi, is Mum with you??

The stopped behind the counter, all three of them rooted to the spot. Olivia gave them a confused look. Irene took a step forward. ?Love, I need to talk to you??

Jesse stretched, breathing in the fresh morning air. He had hoped a brisk walk would wake him up but it wasn?t working so far. He stopped at the bottom of the path leading up to Irene?s house. He wanted to see Chloe. He didn?t know why, but a strong urge to touch her over came him as he woke up on the beach. He closed his eyes, building up the courage to walk in.

?Jesse!? A distraught Olivia ran straight into him and flung her arms around his waist. She sobbed into his shirt, her tears soaking through. He bent down to the little girl?s level and her arms were now around his neck, her tears now falling on his shoulder.

He tried to pull away gently to look at her face but she clung on tight. ?What?s wrong sweetheart?? She tried to answer, but her sobs mad her body shake and she had a hard time catching her breath. One thing Jesse could determine from her distraught crying was that whatever it was, it wasn?t good.

Irene appeared at the top of the porch steps, mascara had dried in lines running down her face. She walked up to them. ?Jesse??

?What?s happened.?

?Mum? Olivia squeaked. ?She?s, she?s??

Irene blinked back tears. She answered, she couldn?t bear to see the little girl say it out loud. ?She?s dead Jesse.?

* * *

?I?ll look after her Irene? Jesse had assured her when he left the house with Olivia a few hours later. She had hardly said a word after Irene told them the news. To be truthful, Jesse didn?t feel like talking either. But somebody needed him. He was now sitting on the beach with the girl, near the same spot he woke up in this morning.

?Are you sure you don?t want to stay at home??

Livvy shook her head.

?How about we go and see Sally.?

?No. I want to see Mum.?

Jesse sucked in a deep breath. ?You can?t Olivia?? He rubbed her shoulder, trying to bring her some comfort.

?I did see her. She came into my room? her voice was quiet. ?She had a broken arm, that?s all. Irene said she never left the hospital after the crash, but I saw her.? She turned to look into Jesse?s kind eyes and saw that tears were forming there too. ?I did.?

Broken arm? She never left? Images, words and feelings were swarming through Jesse?s mind like angry wasps. He looked past Chloe?s daughter up the beach, not focusing on anything, just wanting to find clarity in what he remembered and what Olivia was saying.

?Jesse.? He snapped out of it. ?I saw her. No one believes me. I heard Flynn talking about me, he said it was just grief, that kids sometimes imagine things.? From not uttering a sound, words and emotions were spilling out of her in torrents. ?But I?m not a little kid! I know what I saw.? Her voice raised slightly in frustration, then returned to a whisper. ?I saw mum??

Fresh tears fell from her blood shot eyes as Jesse realised exactly what had happened. It wasn?t real. She had never come to find him on the beach. But it felt so real, she had come to say goodbye, to stop him drinking himself into unconsciousness. She had.

?Olivia? he said, trying his best to smile. ?I believe you. I saw her too.?

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