Safe Epilogue

[sharni4eva]

update soon love this story so far..

erine

[summer_bay_rules]

Can't wait for an update!

[Jess]

I loved Maddie's advice...and I hope Belle and Luc sort things out...I can't imagine her as a mother, though. Hmmm...I guess we'll see! Update soon!

[Ali_]

Hey sorry guys it's not an update! My computer is playing up and it wont let me access microsoft programs where my story is saved so it's going into the shop (its been having problems lately) so the story will be delayed for a few days more sorry.

[sharni4eva]

please update soon

[Ali_]

It's been aaages since I've been on a computer because due to certain circumstances I'm living with my gran who needs looking after and doesnt have a computer! I've been writing the latest chapter on paper and will have to update at internet cafes every so often (writing is a great escape) so I'll update next time I'm back here at the cafe but right now I have too many emails to write sorry! Next chapter will be along start of next week

[Skykat]

Hi Ali

In line with the new rules for fanfictions I have made some changes to the first post in your story, see here. I'd appreciate it if you'd take five minutes to make the necessary changes and PM me with any problems/difficulties/questions or post them in this thread.

Thanks.

[Ali_]

Update at last!

Didn't have much time to proof read properly but it should be fine.

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

Belle was sweaty and tired after another half an hour of work so she decided to shower and change before the reporter came, when she did she was exactly what Belle had pictured and not in a good way.

She was a complete stereotype. She came to a disaster zone in expensive high heels and a tailored suit, she was tip toeing over the dirt and her hair and make up were immaculate. She was a perky blonde with big breasts that Belle assumed to be fake and was annoyingly chipper for someone amidst destruction and devastation.

“Hi there I’m such a fan.”

She shook Belle’s hand.

“A fan of what?”

“Of what you did.”

Belle laughed.

“I didn’t know I had a fan base, maybe I should start a blog.”

“Oh totally you’ll be famous after this, you may even get a call from the prime minister for your brave efforts.”

“You write for the Yabbie creek rag not for the New York times.”

She seemed to ignore this and grinned.

“I’m Becky Marsden by the way.”

“Great, shall we get this over with?”

“Sure thing.”

When Belle turned around to sit down Becky’s smile faltered and a bitter look crossed her face momentarily before the fake smile was back.

“So to flesh out Belle Taylor the woman tell me about your love life.”

“Well that’s none of your business I thought you wanted to know about the tsunami.”

Becky sighed.

“Look, people like human interest pieces and to get that you have to know a bit about their personal history. I already know about the tragedy with your mum, your turbulent childhood and that you were recently in the USA but otherwise you’ll have to fill me in.”

“I didn’t say you could use that!”

“Well it was research so it’s my choice on the matter, so is there a boyfriend in tow?”

“You know what this conversation is over, I think you should leave.”

“Aren’t we the moody one?”

“Well you would be too if you had been in a coma and are now -”

Belle paused.

“Never mind.”

She suddenly felt herself needing to vomit, it wasn’t even morning but she had heard morning sickness sometimes struck in the day.

Belle ran to the toilet and threw up, feeling crappier than ever.

“Can you leave now?”

“But we haven’t finished.”

“Yes we have, you can write your own story that you’ve obviously drawn up in your head already anyway but if you write something damaging or false I will sue you for all your Gucci suits are worth understand?”

Becky looked confused before glaring.

“So be it, I was trying to be nice but now I have to pull out the big guns.”

“Oh yeah uh huh okay you do that, now run along back to the office.”

She held her head high and glared before turning around and leaving. The phone rang again and Belle had had enough.

“What? If you are another reporter wanting dirt on me than I can tell you a really uncomfortable place you can shove that biro okay?”

“Uh it’s Luke, I was just checking up on you, definitely no biro.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, you okay?”

“I guess.”

“You alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s Bailey?”

“He’s at his new girlfriends place helping her mum re-hinge a door, he’s scoring brownie points, the boy knows how to work it I gotta say.”

“See even in the most horrible times something good can happen.”

“Please, Bailey’s girlfriend is a bimbo who he’ll dump when he gets bored of her inane chatter or perhaps worse will pull a conceive and leave and get the poor girl pregnant!”

“Woah give Bailey some credit, I mean you know him better than me I was hoping you’d have a little more faith.”

Belle sighed, she did have faith, she had faith in Bailey and in a bigger thing in the universe playing with them all like puppets which wasn’t necessarily a good thing but she was grateful enough for not being dead.

“You’re right, I’m just in a bad mood.”

There was a hesitant pause at the end of the line.

“I’m only going to ask you this once and I’ll believe you whatever you say but do you have feelings for Bailey?”

It was one of the scariest questions of Lucas’ life but he had to know, he knew it was ridiculous but he didn’t want to be in a relationship where he had a niggling doubt, after all those two did have a lot in common.

Belle was silent for a moment.

“If you have to ask that than we are in serious trouble.”

“It’s not like I think you do!”

“Then why ask?!”

“I just wanted to be sure.”

“No you don’t trust me, you think I’m some clingy skank that likes any guy who pays me a bit of attention! You talk about giving Bailey more credit well what about your girlfriend?”

“I’m sorry it was stupid and I don’t think that at all!”

“No it was eye opening, I think we need a break.”

“No we don’t need that, we’ve had a month break where I didn’t know if you’d live or die I don’t want to be away from you after that.”

“Well then you should treat me with a bit more respect, I know you love me but it seems to have fried your brain a bit, you’ve become so different and in great ways but then we have these moments where I wonder who I turned you into.”

Lucas laughed bitterly.

“Okay for a start I’m not perfect and secondly you didn’t make me, I’m not some pet project you had, I changed partly because of you but that was my choice and I’m still me. Sometimes I think all this fame has gone to your head.”

“Well then we both have a problem, that’s why we need to spend some time apart.”

“I don’t see how it solves anything but whatever, this isn’t over we are going to fix this because I still love you even if you are a jerk right now and I’m not going to be the spineless idiot I was or run away as usual, this means too much.”

Belle smiled slightly at his determination but still thoroughly unconvinced.

“Just give it a week and we’ll talk okay?”

Belle felt bad for taking her frustration out on Lucas but he had asked her an irritating question which was like flashing red to a bull at the moment.

Lucas put down the phone and sighed, they both really needed a holiday because the past month had been stressful and downright creepy with Belle’s prediction of disaster then amazing survival and miraculous recovery. He wanted to take her somewhere where they could sip cocktails and their only worry be what restaurant to eat in each night. However this was real life and even a dreamer like Lucas couldn’t take solace in that anymore.

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

The next day Belle was pretty miserable, she was pregnant and on the rocks with her boyfriend and she hated seeing Irene so obviously upset about the destruction of her home and town that she loved so much. Things were repairing and getting back to normal quickly but the scars of that fateful day and the havoc it reaped couldn’t be tidied up or cleaned away.

In fact Bailey was the only one without a sullen look on his face.

“Is anyone going to church today?”

Belle groaned.

“I never thought I’d hear that coming out of your mouth, what is your bimbo girlfriend going and you want to grope her in the pews?”

“That’s harsh, just because you can’t handle a stable relationship doesn’t mean you should criticize others and considering you aren’t exactly the poster child of purity I wouldn’t be so judgemental of others.”

“Wow you actually have turned from a decently funny and cool badass to the son your parents always wanted in just a month, we really worked our magic on you.”

“This is not about anyone but me, how you of all people can’t believe in a higher power I don’t know.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t believe in one I’m just saying you can’t have a relationship with something that isn’t there and why would I want to when it’s destroyed half this town?”

“I’m not trying to sound preachy but without suffering you never learn who you really are and what you are capable of. If life was easy what would be the point? Without struggle there can’t be meaning.”

“Whatever.”

“What’s happened to you? You were nicer and more of an adult before the disaster and now you are just being a petulant child.”

“This coming from a 17 year old who counts a stable relationship as shacking up with someone for a week?”

Bailey looked hurt.

“Yeah well at least I care about something, you act like you’re the only one with a ****ty deal, get over yourself already everyone is in hell it’s what we make of it that defines us and at the moment compared to everyone else you look like a sulking idiot.”

He shook his head in a disapproving manner that wounded Belle more than she would have liked it to.

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

“We should probably be doing something.”

Ric kissed Maddy’s bare shoulder.

“Is that subtle suggestion that we should do it again? Because I’m totally okay with that.”

Maddy laughed.

“No I mean helping the town, just because we’ve done our house doesn’t mean we should just stop.”

“These are the only few hours in the day we are alone and I think people would understand.”

They laid on their mattress that was their bed until the new frame arrived and snuggled together under the covers.

Willow was at Beth’s for another hour and although Maddy wanted to make the most of it she felt guilty just lazing about with her husband while others slaved away in the sun helping others.

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

“Willow I’d like you to meet Matthew.”

Willow tried to flutter her eyelashes like she had seen princesses do in the movies but both Matthew and her grandma looked at her oddly like she was about to have a seizure.

“Are you okay hun?”

Willow nodded trying not to go red.

“Hello Matthew.”

Matthew smiled shyly.

“Hi, my mummy says your mummy is nice.”

“My mummy is nice and you are nice too.”

Beth smiled.

“Willow, Matthew is quite the artist aren’t you?”

Matthew grinned geekily but said nothing. Willow thought he was the handsomest boy she had ever seen, he might even be the most beautiful person on the planet as far as she was concerned. He had shaggy blonde hair that stuck out at all angles and striking blue eyes and his lopsided smile made Willow feel happy. He had just joined playschool with her grandma but he didn’t go to her normal one, at least not yet. All the girls liked Matt because he was charming, well as charming as someone his age could be anyway and he drew unicorns for people he liked.

Willow got a picture of a unicorn jumping a rainbow from him at the end of the afternoon and it may as well have been made of gold the way she looked at it and acted afterwards. She had found the prince of her dreams.

When she told Beth that she laughed knowingly but tried to encourage her even though she knew attractions like that at her age lasted all of five minutes. She knew not to tell Ric or he’d freak out unnecessarily.

“Hey gorgeous!”

Willow bounded towards her father who was there to pick her up. Ric smiled at Beth.

“Did she behave herself?”

“She was an angel as always.”

“Great, well thanks again.”

“Oh no problem I enjoy it.”

Ric held Willow's hand as they walked home.

“So did you learn anything today?”

“I learnt how to draw flowers.”

“That sounds cool, so it was a good day?”

“It was stupendous! I met a boy called Matthew and he drew me pictures.”

“That was nice of him.”

“Yeah and we kissed in the garden when nana was making coffee.”

“You what?”

Ric found his hand tighten around his daughter’s little one involuntarily.

“Ouch!”

“Sorry. I thought boys had cooties though? How about you don’t age daddy ten years and stick with being disgusted with the opposite sex.”

“But he drew me a unicorn and said I was pretty.”

“Well I can’t argue with him there I just want you to be careful and not be so impulsive with everything.”

“Okay, I wont kiss him again though, once you kiss then you hold hands all the time like husbands and wives do.”

“But -”

He swallowed any further comments as he decided trying to debate something so illogical with his young daughter was time-wasting and that Maddy would deal with it later.

“So what do you feel like for dinner?”

“Ice cream.”

Ric smiled.

“Me too, now we just have to convince mummy.”

Willow grinned smugly.

“Don’t worry dad, I’ll give her the unicorn drawing.”

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

It had been two weeks, two ****ing weeks and hadn’t heard or seen his ‘girlfriend’ which meant she was avoiding and ignoring him in a town this small.

Lucas had kept himself busy finishing off helping the town and he had asked about Belle’s wellbeing when he happened to see Irene or Bailey, but nothing more.

“Just go and see her.”

Lucas was helping Jack and Martha box up their belongings, they had purchased a larger house right by the sea which they needed with the extra family member well on the way and luckily the price had been affordable with the property market in the area plummeting after the disaster.

“No Jack, she’s the one that wanted time not me so she can just come to me when she grows up and realises she needs me as much as I need her but I don’t need her so much I can't live my life. In fact tomorrow night me and Henry are hitting Yabbie Creek to celebrate him going to Europe which should be soon now he's satisfied his family are okay.”

“If you say so but I know you Luke, you’ll be miserable and end up missing her more, just swallow your pride and salvage your relationship.”

“I would usually but the way she talked to me, I can’t be the only one to fight for our relationship all the time, she has to make the effort this time.”

Martha smiled.

“You two are like chalk and cheese most of the time but you are both really stubborn.”

Jack rubbed Martha’s belly affectionately and bend down to talk to his baby in a silly voice.

“Don’t you think your uncle Luke is being an idiot? Yeah me too.”

Lucas rolled his eyes and carried a box out to their car.

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

Lucas didn’t realise however though that Belle was called back to America to sort through the last of her mother’s belongings and settle up her last affairs and didn’t have the time or energy to let him know, she thought she’d be back in a few days anyway but nothing to do with american lawyers was ever that simple and it was over a fortnight later before she was finally on a plane home.

“The movies on this plane suck mum!”

Belle was sitting next to a young boy and his mother.

“Darling there’s nothing I can do about that, do you want to play with me?”

The little boy gave his mum an incredulous look.

“No way, I’m not that desperate.”

His mother rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book while the boy sulked.

“Whats your name?”

The little boy looked up at Belle.

“Ian.”

“I’m Belle.”

The boy nodded but said nothing more.

“Do you like comics?”

“Yeah but I’ve read all the ones I’ve brought and I don’t see dad until we get to Australia and he’s got all my other ones.”

“Have you got this one?”

She pulled out a limited addition X men comic book from her bag and Ian’s eyes lit up in wonder.

“No way! That’s too expensive for me I was saving to get it when I turn ten.”

“Well how about you have it to read for the next few hours and I’ll get it back when we leave.”

“Really? Thanks!”

His mother smiled gratefully at Belle who went back to watching a cheesy in-flight movie with satisfaction. She had brought the comic book for Bailey who she knew still loved comics and the guy at the store assured her any collector would kill their own grandmother for the one she had purchased for him as a peace offering.

Half an hour later Ian had finished the comic and was practically breathless he was so excited.

“That was the best one ever! My friends are going to be so jealous!”

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Do you like comics too?”

“Sort of. So do you live in Australia?”

“No we live in San Diego but dad has been working in Brisbane so we are going to see Australia then go be with him.”

“Ah okay sounds fun, dreamworld is a must for a thrill seeker like yourself.”

“Yeah you bet! I can’t wait.”

The conversation lasted until the captain announced they were descending with which the boy went white with fear. His mum stroked his hair.

“You’re going to be fine, taking off is the hard part landing is a piece of cake.”

The boy tried to smile but Belle could see he was terrified.

“Is this your first flight?”

“Yeah and my friend Logan said that planes crash on the way down all the time.”

As if on cue the plane dropped slightly and there was slight turbelance from the wind.

“Your friend is wrong.”

Ian didn’t look convinced and she could see tears forming.

“Well just pretend there are mutants on the plane, I doubt someone like Jean Grey or Proffessor X would let anything happen to us would they?”

“No.”

“There you go then.”

“You really think there are such things as mutants?”

Belle smiled and answered sincerely.

“I definitely believe that anything is possible.”

The boy smiled and Belle reached out and held his sweaty hand tightly.

“So tell me about all the other X men comics okay?”

“Okay!”

While Ian was distracted with his enthuasism for comics the plane landed safely and they all smoothly disembarked.

“Thank you for occupying my son.”

“No problem.”

“You’ll make a good mum someday.”

Belle beamed.

“You think?”

“Call it mothers intuition.”

Ian gave Belle a hug goodbye as he left, as the boy became smaller and smaller so to did Belle’s doubts about her pregnancy, it wouldn’t be easy but Bailey’s comments about satisfaction through tough times resounded in her head just at the right moment.

Belle called Lucas on her cell phone ready to tell the truth, however Lucas was at that time reading about it for himself in the local paper.

To be continued..

[tasha7905]

Great update. I wonder how Lucas is going to react. I cant seem him being to happy especially not if he has to find out from the paper, I really hope they sort it out they belong together. I love the scene between Willow and Ric he is such a protective daddy its really sweet. I hope you get a chance to post again soon.

[amz89]

Hey I love this what's happened to it??