Behind Closed Doors

[Lilone]

OMFG

*faints and hits the floor hard*

I swear, I can't believe you did that to me!!!! me of all people!!!! I can understand if you did it to chrissie or Shan but keeping the update a secret from LIL.... me!! *shock*

OMFG Lucy....... I really hope Pete is the one holding her hand when she wakes up not Julie.....

OMG What about Dan, Please write more scenes with them to then Haa actually did lol

I'm so glad Drew has his dad back though

*Sits in shock*

OMG update soon!!!

[allibaz91]

Lmao!!

That just made my night - cheers, Lil

Well, nobody guessed it

But I shall think of some prizes for people who were closest - anyone who got 2 out of the 3 and has any ideas, PM me

[Mrs Bishop]

Thanks Ali for great update never suspected it to be Lucy he third person

[Jess]

:o It's back; yay! I never in a million years expected it to be Lucy, either!

[swfc]

Talk about shock horror. I swear, never in my life thought the thrid person would be Lucy at all.

It was brilliant, Alli. You did a great job with this fic. Now, hurry up and get back from Majorca and give us an update.

[allibaz91]

Cheers Jess, Janice and Chrissie

No, not home and updating, just lurking on here and mildly tipsy lmao!!

Thought I´d come and THANK everyone lol!!

Back on Friday, update sometime in the weeks following lol!!

[allibaz91]

*cough* Lil bullied me into this *cough*

Chapter 37

“I still can’t believe this,” Leah said about fifteen minutes later. Her voice was hollow.

“I know it’s a lot to take in – and believe me, I’m sorry,” Peter told her and Dan. He hadn’t said a word since laying eyes on his older brother. Peter assumed it was just shock, but he couldn’t be sure if Dan wouldn’t let him in. Clare, Drew and the others were all waiting outside, thankfully – seeing her had seemed to make Dan go even crazier.

“So, what, this Gillan guy – he was doing all this to Drew just to lure you out of hiding?” Leah’s voice sounded hoarse. “That sounds ridiculous! As if it’s Drew’s fault! I mean, not that it’s yours either, I just – I’m sorry, it’s a little hard to get my head around this.”

“Yeah, I know,” Peter admitted. “I was furious at first; I flew completely off the handle at my boss – I really don’t think there’s a ‘right way’ to cope with it.”

“No, but anything’s better than your reaction,” came Clare’s voice. Peter, Dan and Leah all turned, and she smiled nervously from the doorway. Peter sighed heavily.

“Any more news?” he asked, knowing fine well there wouldn’t be. She shook her head.

“No, but I think Julie’s going to burst a blood vessel soon,” she replied sarcastically. “Stupid cow keeps complaining about wanting to go home – apparently she and Aaron have a date tonight, or something. I swear, I will slap her again, and I’ll enjoy it.”

“Yeah, and I’ll let you,” Peter muttered. “Let her go, then! As if Lucy even needs her.”

“Yeah, and remember her reaction last time we suggested that?” Clare said. “I’m going for a coffee – I came to see if you wanted one too.”

“Uh, yeah, that’d be great – thank you,” he said gratefully. She smiled wanly.

“Dan, Leah?” she offered. Dan’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing with anger.

“You’ve got some nerve showing your face back in the Bay,” he snarled. “You think you can show up, offer a cup of coffee here – maybe a muffin there – and it’ll make everything all right again?! You’ve done more than enough damage in this family, Clare!”

“You have no idea what happened between us, Dan,” Peter said fairly.

“Well then let’s discuss it! Seeing as nobody ever bothered giving me the details!”

“My niece is lying in there fighting for her life, and you want to argue semantics?” Clare’s voice was harsh, and full of bitterness. “Nobody asked you to stick your oar in, Dan! At least at the end of the day, you have your brother back from the dead! I might have lost Lucy for good, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand and listen to this from you!”

She slammed the door behind her, and Peter whirled on his brother angrily.

“Nice and tactful, as ever!” he snapped. “Hasn’t she been through enough today?!”

“Excuse me if I’m having a little trouble understanding this, Pete!” Dan shouted. “My brother, who I thought I’d lost, has come back from the dead! My nephew almost got killed; your ex-girlfriend has suddenly reappeared; her niece got shot; you were almost shot too; some mafia leader is dead; and I’m still not clear why you were in hiding to begin with! Clare’s emotions are hardly the biggest thing on my mind right now!”

“It’d be nice to know that among all that, you at least registered some kind of happiness that I wasn’t dead after all, Dan,” Peter said coolly. Dan froze in his tracks. Clearly, he had no response for that one. Peter scoffed and looked at the floor.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Drew was panting heavily.

“Dad!” he said. “I didn’t know where you’d all gone! Lucy’s waking up!” Peter shot his brother a look before following Drew out of the empty room and round the corner to Lucy’s room. Clare had clearly never made it as far as the coffee machine, as she fell into his arms in the corridor. Natalie, Sam and Harper had tactfully drifted away to give the family – or whatever they were, Peter thought – some privacy. Julie looked at her watch.

“Oh, I’m sorry, is Lucy almost dying getting in the way of your busy social life?!”

The words were out of Peter’s mouth before he even realised. Clare looked up at him, stunned, and Julie’s face hardened and turned deep scarlet. She stepped towards him.

“Whose fault is it she’s even in there?” she hissed angrily. “Who is it she dragged me over to your place to see, about two seconds after you left? Who is it she was so determined to see, she stole my car and Clare’s gun, and followed you, to make sure you were okay? Who is it that drove her to the lengths that she thought she had to commit a murder to make herself noticed?! You’re the reason she’s in here, Peter, nobody else!”

Clare glanced at him again, seeming sure he was going to freak out. And part of him really, really wanted to – to scream, shout and defend himself. Instead, he kept his voice low and even as he leaned in even closer towards Julie to speak in her ear.

“Who was she so desperate to get away from?” he replied coldly. Her eyes widened.

“How dare you?” she demanded, but Clare stepped between them swiftly.

“You know what, none of it matters!” she snapped. “Lucy is alive, Julie! And we care more about that than you seem to! You make me sick – I’m ashamed to call you my sister.”

“Well the feeling’s mutual, if you go throwing in your lot with him!” Julie spat. Nobody paid any attention to Dan and Leah appearing around the corner and listening. “Lucy is still my daughter, Clare, and you two seem to have overlooked that minor detail!”

“Some mother you are,” Clare replied. “She deserves better than this! She deserves to be loved; to be protected! You wouldn’t know the first thing about parenting, because you don’t even see her for the wonderful, amazing girl she is! Any mother would be lucky to have a daughter like her! And you don’t even give a damn. That’s why you shouldn’t be allowed to be her mother – that’s why I intend to file a custody suit against you the second Lucy is well enough to testify that she doesn’t want to live with you any more.”

“You wouldn’t.” Julie sounded stung, but to Peter’s surprise, Clare laughed brazenly.

“Just watch me,” she snapped. “If it weren’t for you, she would never be lying there – blame us all you want, but the fact is you drove her away. You made her feel so unloved in her own home that she had to come to us. She needed a father figure – when you wouldn’t even offer her ghosts, she turned to Pete. And she followed him, because she loves him, Julie. He’s the only father she’s ever known! And she told him she wanted us to act as her parents, because even though we might not have the experience you do, we love her a damn sight more than you. And that qualifies us to do a good job.”

“She’s my daughter! You would seriously take her away from me like that?!”

“In a heartbeat.”

“And she’ll have my support all the way, too,” Peter added, slipping his arm around Clare’s waist. “Julie, it’s nothing personal, or anything, but you’re just not a fit parent.”

“And that’s not personal?” she laughed derisively. “You know what – this is so beyond not being worth the hassle. If you two are so damn desperate to take care of my daughter, how about getting over it, and having some kids of your own?!”

“We already are!” Clare snapped back. The second she’d said it, everyone within earshot fell silent. Dan, Leah, Drew, Sam and Harper all looked completely knocked for six. Natalie squeezed her eyes shut, looking uncomfortable. Peter raised a hand to his head, and Clare clapped a hand over her mouth. Peter saw her cheeks going as red as he felt.

“You’re pregnant?” Everyone turned in unison to face Lucy’s room, where Rachel was standing by the bed, looking embarrassed. Lucy, however, was only interested in Peter and Clare. She forced herself up into a sitting position, and they exchanged looks.

“Clare, are you really pregnant?” she repeated. Clare went over and sat beside her.

“Yeah,” she said finally. “I am. We were going to tell you, Luce, but …”

“How long have you known?” interrupted the teenager, grinning. “This is mega!”

“Uh, not long,” Peter said, sitting down beside Clare. He turned round again at the sound of footsteps, and saw Julie disappearing from view. Dan’s face was like thunder, and Leah still seemed to be in shock. But it was Drew he was interested in.

His son looked up at him, and his face was carefully blank. He then walked agonisingly slowly across the threshold of Lucy’s door, ‘til he was just next to Peter and Clare. Lucy glanced up at him seeming slightly bemused. He held out a slightly shaking hand.

“Congratulations, Dad,” he said, his face splitting into a wide grin. Everyone seemed to let out their breath at the same time, as Peter stood up and embraced Drew, laughing.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be a big brother!” Drew said, grinning, and Peter felt happier than he had in a long time. All he’d ever wanted was for his son to want to get to know him – to be interested in having a relationship. Everything felt perfect.

“I feel strange …” And then everything came crashing down again, as an alarm started going off, and Rachel ushered everyone out of Lucy’s room in a panic. Drew looked around him uncertainly, and Peter held Clare close to him as the tears fell down her cheeks.

“Peter … I can’t lose Lucy,” she whispered. “Not after all this – I can’t go through that.”

“You won’t,” he promised, although he had no way of knowing. “She’ll be okay.”

“There’s something else,” Clare told him. He looked down into her shining eyes, trying to block out the raised voices of the nurses coming from behind Lucy’s closed door. She shot a frightened look in that direction, then looked back up at him, her face set.

“I want to keep the baby, Peter.”

[Lilone]

Awwwwwww Lucy is so cute..... Ali she's gotta live

Loved everyones reactions to Clare saying she was pregnant and I'm so glad Clare's keeping the baby!

Glad Peter and Drew are ok.

Dan needs to..... well grow up LOL

Hope that is the last we see of Julie!

And Nice to see Ali, you told them I bully you

Update soon, Loved it

[swfc]

One of the reasons why I love Lil is because when she bullies people, I benefit as well.

That was awesome. Loved the reactions to Clare being pregnant. It was perfect.

Dan needs to take a chill pill. And, Lucy better make it else you won't be hearing the end of it, Alli.

Julie is a crap mother and Pete/Clare make better parents than her.

I absolutely adore the Pete/Drew scenes... It made me go awwww....

Really great, Alli. Update soon, please.

[Jess]

Awww, she's keeping the baby! And I'd hope she would be - after announcing it to the world and his wife!

I love the Pete/Drew scenes! Like swfc said, they make me go 'awwww!', too!

Daniel Baker needs to grow a spine and get over himself; this situation isn't a perfect one for any of them.

Julie... grrr!

Update soon-ish, honey.