Behind Closed Doors

[xXxAnGiExXx]

please please please update

love this fic

[Ailinpusa]

This is the most awsome story ever=) Are you going to write more:)?

I hope you do=)

[Jess]

Yay! I haven't had any Clete love for far too long, and THEY'RE BACK TOGETHER.

And Rachel is clearly made of awesome.

Update soon? *smiles sweetly*

[allibaz91]

Lol, thanks to everyone who reviewed!! I'm surprised people remembered this existed

I'm now officially FREE from exams and school, so I'll hopefully have plenty of time to write more, and I'm back into Clete love mode, so I'm going to update ASAP

[swfc]

I swear, I haven't read this fic in yonks and I vaguely remember what happened. Think I'll have to go back and re-read the whole thing again soon.

So, Chapter 40:

You captured Peter's feelings of loss really well. I really loved the whole conversation he had with Leah about putting what he wanted first. And it's true that he's put everyone's needs before his.

I didn't know who I wanted to shout at more- Pete or Clare. Both just equally stubborn. But, that's what I love most about Clete. They're just so like each other and so perfect.

And, Drew, managed to redeem himself, which I think is good. Stupid boy. Made Clete take a break from each other. I'm glad that he became the so called catalyst for them to get back together.

Eric is so random. Remind me to throw him off a cliff one day soon if anything happens to Clete or Baby Baker. [Have you found a name for Baby Baker yet? ]

I'm so glad that Lucy woke up! How awesome to have Pete holding her hand and she wakes up! My favourite part in this chapter:

There was no way he was disturbing her – the chances were, she hadn’t slept in the three days they’d been apart, and he knew she hadn’t slept properly for a couple of days before that either. Instead, he kissed her forehead lightly, and sat down on the edge of Lucy’s bed, watching over his two girls.

And Peter running at the hospital cracked me up big time!

Brilliant chapter indeed.

Chapter 41:

Arrrrgh!!! Alison! The Clete moments is just omg! I am totally at a loss for words. It was just so much squeeness in there!

he could see past the mask, and into the depths of her soul. All the hurt; the anguish; the vulnerability that he had long since forgotten in her, shone through. But mingled with her grief and inner turmoil was something that lit a fire inside him. It made him curse himself for being the reason it had disappeared to begin with, and in his head and heart, he swore on everything he held dear that he would never let it die again.

Now that was wow. Those words were deep but heck, it's just Clete.

A heck load of fluff but I am NOT complaining whatsoever. Clete =

Update soon!

[allibaz91]

Lol, thanks Chris!! Seeing as your review was so detailed, I'll reply in detail!

LMAO about Eric!! he is indeed random, but you know me - reason behind the madness .... usually! Then again it was so long ago I might have forgotten his purpose ...... nah, joking! And I'm glad you enjoyed the hospital scene!! As for Pete running, yeah, so random, but I couldn't resist ..... lol.

Feel free to shout at them both, btw!!

Aww, wow! I'm glad you liked that part! I tend to get a bit carried away sometimes, but yeah, Clete are fluffy in this fic, so ..... yeah!

And, since Jess & Chris are both bullies and I am a total DOORMAT! I have a new chapter for you

Chapter 42

“Thanks Nat. Yeah, I appreciate it. Okay, bye.” Peter hung up the phone feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He turned around to find Clare watching him anxiously, and he smiled to reassure her. “Nat’s going to file for the restraining order right away,” he told her, and she grinned broadly. “I would’ve done it myself, but seeing as how I’m still legally dead …”

“It might lead to some minor paperwork issues?” she suggested mildly, and he scoffed.

“Something like that,” he agreed. “As soon as she gets the necessary forms at her end she’ll bring them over here and sign Rach’s papers. She also says that you’d better not be stressing yourself out too much, and I agree. You need to slow down a bit. You’ve been trying to do far too much lately, and I know it wasn’t through choice, but things seem to be calming down a little. You ought to do the same.” Clare smiled a little and kissed him softly on the cheek.

“Tell me that after Lucy’s spoken to the police,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “I really don’t think we’re destined for a quiet life.”

“I’d tend to agree,” he said wryly. “But even so, you’ve got a baby to consider now too, and you need to take things a little easier than you have been, for both your sakes.”

“I’m pregnant, Pete, not dying,” she pointed out. “And only a few weeks along. I don’t think sitting by Lucy’s bedside is doing the baby, or me, any permanent damage, and I don’t intend to give up my life for the next nine months. I get that you’re concerned, but you’ll just have to get used to the fact that I’m going to be active throughout this pregnancy. I’d go mad otherwise.”

“I’m not saying give up your life, I’m just saying don’t overdo it.”

“The second I start to feel overworked, overtired, overstressed or over-anything-else, you’ll be the first to know about it, how’s that?”

“It’s better,” Peter conceded, unable to keep from smiling. She was so stubborn it drove him crazy at times, and yet he wouldn’t have her any other way. “And it’ll stick for the time being. So what do you say we go see Luce?”

“Good idea,” Clare agreed with a smile. She threaded her fingers through his, squeezing his hand lovingly, and they walked together back to Lucy’s hospital room. The nurse was just on her way out, and they waited patiently for her to leave before entering. Lucy smiled feebly as Peter stepped back to let Clare hug her niece for what had to be the millionth time since she had awoken, and then Lucy caught his eye.

“Wanna start a coma club?” she asked him, her voice slightly hoarse. He chuckled, relieved to see her feeling more like herself, and Clare also laughed a little, moving back to sit on the side of the bed. Peter took a seat alongside her and shook his head in mock despair.

“I really don’t know what we’re going to do with you,” was all he said in response, and she attempted a grin.

“Hopefully get a lawyer,” she commented. Peter felt Clare stiffen beside him and slid an arm around her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze, and glanced at Lucy. She was still making a half-hearted effort to smile, but he knew that she was scared. Not that he could blame her. He was scared for her, and he knew Clare was worse. And she was only a seventeen-year-old girl.

“The best in the business,” he promised quietly. Clare reached forward and took Lucy’s hand in her own.

“You know we’ll get you through this, Luce,” she said firmly. “You’re under eighteen, and your actions saved Pete’s life. Nobody can say that you’re a cruel person or that you would have done what you did if you had any other choice.”

“But I did choose,” Lucy whispered. “I chose to go after Peter and to spy on him. I chose to steal your gun. They’re going to say I planned to kill that man.”

“Luce, you had no way of knowing he was going to be there,” Peter rationalised, wishing there was something he could say or do to make her feel better, but Clare held up a hand to stop him. He leant forward to see her face and found that she was frowning slightly as she looked at Lucy.

“Why did you?” she asked a moment later, meeting her niece’s eyes. Peter looked at Lucy, and she seemed to have been expecting the question. He was glad she understood, at any rate, because he could make neither head nor tail of it. However, Clare cleared it up for him before he had to ask. “Why did you take the gun, Lucy?” He raised his eyebrows as realisation hit. Lucy had taken Clare’s gun, despite not knowing that she was going to find Gillan with Peter. She had supposedly set out to bring him home before he could get hurt, but if that was the case, then why the weapon? He glanced back at Lucy, finding himself as curious as Clare was to know her answer.

“I didn’t plan to,” she said softly, looking down at her clasped hands in her lap. “When Mum and I arrived at your place, you were going off your head at your boss. I dragged her over to apologise – I told her I’d leave and never see her again if she wouldn’t let you guys be a part of my life. She started shouting and you were all arguing with each other, and I gathered the gist of what had happened; that Pete had left. I was upset because I thought part of his reason for going was over Mum, and I wanted to bring him back. I didn’t think anyone would miss me in all the chaos. I went into the kitchen to grab Mum’s car keys that she left there, and there was a gun in a half-open drawer.”

“Mine,” Clare supplied quietly. “I tried to go after you as soon as Sam told me,” she explained, catching Peter’s eye. “I knew how dangerous Gillan was, and I wanted to make sure you were all right. Sam dragged me away, telling me it was no use. That’s why we were arguing when Julie and Lucy arrived.” He felt a stab of guilt that he had caused so many problems, but Lucy picked up her story from there, stopping him from dwelling on it too much.

“I could still hear you all arguing, and you were yelling about his life being on the line, and I knew I had to get out quickly, and I don’t know, I just grabbed it. I wasn’t thinking straight. I just wanted to put things right, and all I’ve done is make them a million times worse. I really am so sorry.”

“Stop apologising,” Clare said sternly. “You don’t have to, not to us. We know why you did it, and we would never judge you. If it weren’t for you Pete might be dead, and then were would we all be?!”

“Probably a damn sight better off,” Peter said wearily, and Clare turned towards him, looking stunned. Her expression then changed, and he half-laughed as he recognized her best warning look. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, looking him straight in the eye, looking somewhat less than amused.

“You even joke about that again, and I’ll be forced to hurt you,” she said briskly. “You really think Lucy would be better off with Aaron as a father figure? You think Drew would have handled finding out you were alive just to have you murdered again an hour later trying to protect him? You think this baby would be better to grow up with no father? You think I would have coped with losing you, again, after everything we’ve been through? I don’t know how you can possibly even entertain the idea that any of us would be better off without you in our lives, and frankly, I don’t care. You are wrong, plain and simple, and you’re just going to have to accept that.”

“And if she doesn’t hurt you enough, I will,” Lucy chimed in, her eyes dancing with their old sparkle just for a moment. “Let’s not forget, I AM a hardened criminal now.”

“Lucy!” Clare cried out, half-laughing but sounding despairing.

“What?!” the younger Brody shrugged. “I have to face the facts at some point, don’t I?”

“You are hopeless,” Clare informed her niece. “And I’m going to get a coffee. Do you need anything? Water, magazines …?”

“One of each would be good, actually, thanks.”

“All right.” Clare got to her feet and then turned to face Peter. “Coffee?”

“Yeah, actually, I could use one. Do you want me to go?”

“No, honestly, I think I need to stretch my legs a bit anyway,” she assured him, although he didn’t miss the slight wink she tipped him. “You stay here with Luce. I’ll be back in ten minutes or so anyway.” She leant over and kissed him briefly, and he couldn’t help smiling lovingly up at her. She bit her lip, half-grinning, and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

“So!” Peter turned around and found Lucy grinning at him triumphantly. He furrowed his brow.

“Yes?” he queried, and she smirked even broader.

“Yeah, right!” she scoffed. “As if you don’t know! I was right all along! Your little ‘there’s nothing going on’ routine never fooled me for one second, Baker. I mean, you are possibly the world’s worst actor, but even so, I reserve the right to gloat indefinitely. Starting right now. I’m also going to demand details, again, effective immediately. So tell me right now, when are you planning to pop the question?” Peter felt his jaw drop open, and her laugh confirmed that he did in fact now resemble a goldfish.

“I beg your pardon?” he croaked, finding it difficult to form words. He loved Clare more than life itself, and it was true that he had wondered more than once lately whether they shouldn’t just take the plunge and get re-engaged. After all, they had been down that road once before and it had been going well until Tracey came on the scene, so there didn’t seem to be much standing in their way. But somehow hearing the words from Lucy hit him hard – the realisation that others around them were expecting a proposal sometime soon was far from a pleasant one. Was that what Clare was expecting, too? Lucy rolled her eyes as though he were being incredibly trying.

“Come on, Pete,” she said, sounding bored. “You guys are like madly in love, right? And she’s having your baby, in case you’d forgotten. I just figured, you know, at some point down the line, you’d probably get married.”

“Yeah, I’d assume that’s probably the general direction things are headed,” he agreed, refusing to commit himself to anything. There was no way he trusted her not to go running to Clare with anything he told her, and that was one conversation he didn’t think they needed to have – again – right now, given everything else that was going on.

“Wow, you sound convinced,” Lucy deadpanned. He rolled his eyes heavenward.

“Don’t be a smart-ass,” he chastised her lightly. “I just don’t think it’s something I should be discussing with anyone before Clare, even you.”

“Whatever you say, Peter, I know you’re afraid,” she teased him, and he stopped still. It had only just hit him that she had stopped calling him ‘Dad.’ He looked her in the eyes, searching for some hint that she was upset with him, but found none.

“Luce, are we okay?” he questioned. He didn’t want to stress her by making her talk about something that might upset her, but he just wanted to know what had changed.

“Of course we are,” she half-laughed, appearing bemused. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

“You tell me,” he said, smiling curiously. “All of a sudden I’m ‘Peter’ to you? I’ve never been that. It was always ‘Uncle Pete’ at the very least. I just want to make sure I haven’t hurt you, Luce. I know you must be angry with me for leaving, and causing all these problems – I don’t blame you, really, I don’t, I mean God knows I’m angry with myself –”

“Pete!” He looked up, and she shook her head, still smiling, but it appeared more forced than was natural now. “I’m not angry with you. You left to protect your son. I admire you more than anything else. Really, I don’t blame you for any of this. I mean, if I’d used my head for five seconds I would’ve realised how stupid it was to chase after you like that, never mind how crazy it was to take the gun. It’s not your fault, and nobody else thinks it is either. Really.” Peter raised his eyebrows.

“So what’s changed, then?” he asked. Lucy looked down at her hands once more.

“I saw you with your son; with Drew,” she answered. “I guess I realised my place. I know you love me like a daughter, Pete, and I’ll always look up to you like a father figure. But you already have a son, and another kid on the way. They’ll always be your real kids, and I don’t feel right intruding on that.”

“Luce, you’re not intruding!” he insisted, but she fixed him with a silencing look to rival Clare’s, and he shut right up.

“I know,” she said, grinning at her own ability to quiet him. “I know, okay? I know you’re far too fair to make differences, and I love that about you, but I’M the one making the distinction. I don’t want to be some hanger-on, and I know you’d never think that, but I don’t want anyone else thinking it either. And I’m capable of treating you like a father without having to say it, and I do know that you wouldn’t shut me out because I’m not your own daughter. It’s just so much easier on everyone. Besides, Drew already has enough insecurities about your relationship with him without adding this to it.”

Peter opened his mouth to argue, and promptly closed it again. Everything she was saying was true. Drew certainly approved of his dad’s relationship with Clare now, and understood that Lucy was important to him too, but Peter wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t see the ‘Dad’ situation as a personal insult. He’d probably think Lucy was some sort of replacement or something, which was the farthest possible thing from the truth, but even so, it wasn’t worth another argument. Their relationship was already shaky at best. And he and Lucy both knew that the rapport between them wouldn’t change. He felt a surge of affection for her just then, and he half-smiled, looking at her.

“You really are just like Clare,” he said quietly.

“I’m hoping that’s a compliment,” she said teasingly, and he laughed.

“The very highest,” he assured her. “Now, I’d better head off, all right? I’ll see Clare on my way out, but I’ll see you again soon. I’m going to go talk to Drew, see what he thinks about coming to see you with me, if you don’t mind.”

“No, I’d love to meet him properly,” Lucy said, grinning. “I’ll see you later, then.”

“Definitely,” Peter promised. He kissed her affectionately on the forehead and stood up, smiling at her as he made his way towards the door.

“Hey, Pete?” He turned in the doorway to face her.

“Yeah?”

“Just so you know, Drew IS cute.”

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

And I apologise about the last part being so random! I thought it needed light relief and my friend (who is offline and reading this for the first time, very slowly, whenever she;s in my house!) was reading the chapter where Lucy's asking if Drew's cute, and I dunno, I'm nuts. So sue me already!

Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and I hope to post more soon

[swfc]

Excuse me? Me? A bully? Since when? I only asked politely

Aww, this chapter is just cute. I love the interaction between Pete & Luce. It works. At least she's more matured that Drew about it all. Hahaha! And Lucy and Clare being so alike is just brilliant! Poor Pete.... I can see it now

Lovely written chapter. It's really a nice change from all the angst that's been going on in the previous chapters. It's sort of a nice welcome relief in a way. Nicely written.

Can't wait to read more. Update soon.

[Mrs Bishop]

Well well nice to have you back ?

Cograts on a new chapter hope you up date soon get that out of the way>

Right this chapter great glad to see you havent lost any of your flair and its as good as ever.

Good interaction between Peter and Lucy hope she starts calling him Dad again soon.

nice to have somethingf to read at long last.

[xXxAnGiExXx]

Awesome!!!!!!

Pleeeeeeease update soon

[Jess]

I finaaaally read it - sorry about the delay!

Me, bully, neverrrr!!!

I love Lucy. The similarities between her and Clare are awesome, and her relationship with Peter is just adorable. I don't know, I think it works that she doesn't call him Dad. It's really nice and they have this kinda mutual respect thing goin' on.

Update soon? *angel face*

I'll try and be a quicker reviewer next time!