Broken Pieces

[Sabrina]

I've just read the first three chapters and this is a brilliant fic Pamy . I'm really enjoying reading it .

I love the fact that JM are in it .

I liked how you wrote Ric and Matilda's first meeting and how Ric got lost .

Looking forward to the next chapter.

I hope your exams went well .

[pamy]

Seriously there's somethign wrong with the weather here, you should have tried walking trough it Barbara, it was alost impossible. I got my grades back by the way, I passed four of my five courses, which is really good. There's just one that I swear I'll never pass, I've been trying to for the past two years. It's infuriating.

At first this chapter was goign to be a bit longer, adding the conversation with Roy at the end, but I decided to post this now. Since i'm not entirely sure how to wirte the conversation. And I almsot have to go to class. i hope you enjoy.

Chapter 4

Martha felt peacefull.

It was strange. And she couldn’t really explain it. But she felt at home. Like she had been waiting all this time to return. To come back home. Home where she belonged. Martha wondered if Ric felt anything like this, or if it was just her. Maybe it had nothing to do with the fact that this was her mom’s home town, and everything with the fact that she had once lived here.

This was her home after all.

Somehow. It still felt like it. She could remember a lot about the town. Even if she had only been six years old when she left it behind. She wonders if any of her old friends still live here. Mary and Robbie. Maybe she’ll find them. Maybe they don’t even live here anymore. She wonders – just for a second – if the old house is still there. Her old house. The one where her mother died. There where she last saw her father. She shakes her head. She won’t think of that. Not right now.

Her eyes wonder over to the beach.

It hits her suddenly. Unexpectedly. For a second she swears she sees them there. Her mother and her baby brother. And herself building a sand castle. And her father helping her. She closes her eyes. She has not thought of this happy little family moments in years. Not since she last saw her father. Not since the whole world went to hell. Not since it all ended. She hasn’t thought of her father – at least not like this – in fifteen years.

Summer Bay will give her the answers she needs. But it might bring back things she has forgotten.

Things she prefers never to remember.

****

He was babysitting the phones that never rang. Again.

It was on days like this he wondered why on earth he had not listened to his father, and followed him into the family company. It was on days like this he forgot he even had a dream. Here he was. Constable Jack Holden. A cop in the small town of Summer Bay. Waiting for a damn phone to ring. And not one rings. Nothing ever happens in Summer Bay after all. For a second he wonders what he is supposed to do if the phone rings. He can’t actually leave, he’s all alone here. He supposes he has to call one of the other constables to go. The ones that are not on babysitting duty.

The phone doesn’t ring. But the door does open.

His eyes meet hers, and it’s almost like the world stands still. For a second. Of course he knows that’s impossible, but still that’s what it felt like. He’s sure he’s never seen the girl before, she’s not from Summer Bay. He’s sure of it. Theirs is no way he could forget a girl like that. She has the most beautiful eyes ever and for a second – the second where it feels like the world stops turning – he doesn’t move. But then he remembers. He’s a cop – one that’s babysitting phones but still – and this is a police station. And she might actually need help.

‘Can I help you?’

‘Yeah. I’m looking for Roy? I called yesterday, and he said he’d be here right now.’

Jack recognizes her voice. She called yesterday, asking for Roy. He remembers talking about her, and wondering later who she was. He had thought she was perhaps a girlfriend, but she is far too young for that. She’s more his age. Then he had thought she was perhaps his daughter, that seems more likely now. Still when he had asked the others, they had told him Roy didn’t have children. So perhaps just a family friend then.

‘Detective Hanson is not in right now. But he should be back any minute, would you like to wait for him?’ She smiles at him. And he’s sure there is not a girl with a prettier smile out there. She’s definitely not from Summer Bay. He would have noticed her. But there was something familiar about her. Like he had seen her somewhere, somehow, but he’s not sure where. ‘yeah. He won’t be long right?’ ‘No, no. he should be in any minute. Take a seat over here. Would you like a soda or something?’ ‘Yeah. Thanks.’He goes and gets her a soda. And he leaves the damn phones unattended.

It’s not like anybody calls anyway.

****

The town had changed.

Then again fifteen years had passed, so perhaps this was not so strange. It had however not taken her that long to find the police station. She had of course asked after wandering around for ten minutes. She hopes Ric had already found his way to the caravan park, she hopes he’s alright. She resists the urge to go find him. He’s sixteen. He’s not a child anymore. And this is Summer Bay. It’s not like he can get truly lost. Right?

The police station had not changed.

Not since the last time she had been here. She was six, and terrified. The nice man that had taken her out of her house had put her in his car. He had even let her hold her little brother, which her parents had never let her do before. He had let her play with the siren. He had brought her to this place and left her here. Promised he would be right back. But she was alone and she was scared. She began to cry. She didn’t know where her daddy or her mommy were. She didn’t know what was going on. But she wanted to know. Roy came to sit next to her and gave her a soda. ‘Where’s my mommy? I want my mommy!’ Roy looks at her with sad eyes. Almost as if he was hoping to not have to answer that question. She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to remember, but she would have to. If she really wanted to know.

The people inside of it however, were very different.

There was only one person inside. He was young. About her age. Brown hair. And the most beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen. She swore her heart stopped beating for a second. She wonders if he could feel it to. It only last for a second, but it’s long enough for her. Just long enough. He begins to talk and she recognizes his voice instantly. She talked to him yesterday. Constable Holden. Maybe coming to Summer Bay will have other advantages as well.

Maybe it doesn’t all have to be heartache. After all not all stories end like her mother’s.

At least she hopes not.

****

He had brought her a soda and they talked.

About little things. She asked for his name. he asked her where she was from. He was right, she wasn’t from Summer Bay. He would have noticed her before if she was. He would have. He really would have. Still they keep talking. And he still feels like there is something familiar about her. He asks for her name. ‘Martha….Mackenzie.’ She hesitates for a second before saying her last name, almost as if she’s not sure what to answer. The phone rings. He damns it to hell.

When there’s nobody here, when he’s bored out of his mind, the phones never ring. But when there is someone there to talk to him. Someone he wants to know, the damn phones rings.

Sometimes he hates his job.

***

He asks for her name. And she hesitates.

It has never really been easy to answer those questions. Should she answer with her father’s name? Was she still a part of him? She didn’t want to be. But it still wasn’t easy. She doesn’t know when she began doing it consciously, but at some point she began to answer with her mother’s maiden name. She had erased every aspect of her father from her life. And now she was going to let it all in again. The phone rang. Jack sighed and picked up.

Roy arrived at that moment. He smiled at her and kissed her on her cheek. She smiles at Jack before she walks into Roy’s office. He smiles back.

She hopes it won’t be the last time she sees it.

[Red Ranger 1]

Another really interesting update.Good to see Jack and Martha's reactions to each other.Looking forward to more.

[Barbara]

Sunday night was pretty bad as well. There was no salt on secundary roads and we could feel the car slip a little when we had to brake. I'm sick of this weather. We've had enough snow.

Congratulations on passing your exams! I'm sure you'll pass the other one even if it is infuriating.

-----

I love how you described Martha and Jack's meeting. They are already attrcted to each other.

I'm looking forward to Martha and Roy's talk.

More please.

[Sabrina]

Jack and Martha like each other - yay

Looking forward to the next chapter

[pamy]

Alright I seem to have something with long chapters. The weather has finally cleared up.

Chapter 5

There were some cases that haunted him. There were not many of them admittedly. This was after all Summer Bay. There were not many crimes worth remembering. But of all the cases Roy had worked on over the years, there was only one he could never shake off. Some people say it’s because it was his first homicide. Others have no explanation at all. Roy however thinks it has something to do with the sad look in the six year olds eyes.

He had been like Jack back then. The new guy. Left to do the jobs nobody else wanted to do. That day had been the first time his boss had let him go to a crime scene. A murder in Summer Bay. It did not happen often. But that day it did. Roy never saw the body. He never even went on the actual crime scene. When he entered his attention was drawn to the first room. The half open door, and the sound of crying. There he found the children. The little girl was attempting to calm down her brother. He never thought about his next actions, he simply walked over picked up the baby and tried to calm them both down. When the father entered the room – seconds after he did – he had not known what the man had done. He had not attempted to separate him from his children. He had simply deemed removing the children from the crime scene – before the little girl saw her mom’s body – was the best course of action. He had not known then that he stood in front of a murderer.

He remembers her. He remembers bringing them to the police station. Giving them something to eat. Memories that have blurred together. There is one scene however that stands out. A moment in time he has tried to forget for years, but he cannot. The moment where Martha sad beside him looked him in the eye and asked ‘where’s my mommy?’ In that moment he had frozen. He had not know what to tell her, he had not known how to tell her. But he was the only one there, and he was the new guy anyway – always given the job no one else wanted – and he did not want her to find out some other way. So he was left with telling a seven year old girl her mommy was never coming to get her. That her mommy was gone forever. She had screamed, she had not believed him. She had cried.

He had thought that was the worst moment of his career.

He had been wrong.

***

He finds her sitting in the precinct – ironically in the same chair she sat when he told her about her mother – talking with Jack. As he walked trough the door the phones rang, and he watched bemused as Jack picked it up, frustrated. Martha smiled at him – he could not get over how much she had grown. In his mind she always stayed the same, always a seven year old girl, in a house where a tragedy had just taken place – and followed him into his office. She had always trusted him. Even as a child. She had instinctively trusted him.

He’s never understood why.

‘How have you been Martha?’ He always asks that question when he talks to her. In the beginning – when she was much, much younger – he always felt instantly guilty. Because how would she feel? Even now – after so many years – he still feels that guilt. He still thinks he shouldn’t ask that. He already knows how she feels, partly at least. She however never hesitates in answering. ‘I’m alright. Everything is alright.’ She looks him strait in the eyes when she says this.

They both know it’s a lie.

Not a complete lie of course. But a lie nevertheless. She’ll never be completely alright. Her mother is dead. Her father is a murderer. He knows she’s not alright. She knows she is not. She lies nevertheless. It’s a way of protecting them both from the pain and the guilt. ‘ So did you come alone? Or is your brother here somewhere?’ ‘Oh, Ric came with me. He went looking for the caravan park to rent a caravan. I hope he didn’t get lost.’ ‘This is just Summer Bay. It’s not like he would wonder around forever.’ She smiles at him.

He knows why she’s here. He’s been expecting her.

****

It was raining.

Roy thought about that as he stood in front of the window. It had not rained in weeks. But now it had started to rain. It had been two days since that awful night. The night in which a mother of two had been murdered. By none other than her husband. Roy had not been on the crime scene. He actually had been no part of the investigation. He was to young. He hadn’t been working for that long. Instead he was protecting the two small children. But now they needed no more protecting. Now the man was behind bars.

Now he was left with only one job.

And he detested every part of it. He had been the one to tell the little girl that her mother was dead. He had been the one to try and calm her down. He had been the one who sat beside her on her mother’s funeral. He could have left this part of the job to someone else. Nobody would have blamed him. Still Roy felt he had to do it. He felt like he owned her that. He didn’t want someone else to have to tell her this. He wanted to be the one. He knew that there was a possibility that she would end up hating him. And it’s not like he could really blame her.

He had sat down on the floor beside her.

She had not looked at him at first. Almost like she was afraid to. He told her they had found her and her brother a good home. With a loving family. In another town, far away. That everything was going to be okay. He knew that was a lie the moment he said it. She looked up at a certain point and asked ‘What about my dad?’ He had looked at her, really looked at her, and he had seen a look in her eyes no child should ever have. He had seen pain. He had seen age beyond her years. He had wanted to run at that moment, run away, not have to tell her this. But he had to tell her, he had to be the strong one. He looked her in the eye and saw the tears already shining in them.

It’s as if she knew, was almost expecting it, that he was about to shatter all her dreams.

This was definitely the worst moment of his career. Of his life.

****

‘Martha, I don’t know if this is such a good idea. I mean, why bring it all up. He’s in jail, and he’s not getting out. Maybe you should let it rest.’ She knows he doesn’t say it to be mean. Nor to force her to do something. He is worried about her. She knows that. But she needs answers. She needs them. ‘Roy. I know you are trying to protect me. And I know that you are worried. But I am not a child anymore. I am not that scared little girl that followed you out of that house. I’m all grown up.’ Tears well up in her eyes. But she refuses to let them fall. ‘I’ve been carrying these questions around for years. And I need answers. I need to know, I need to understand.’

Their eyes meet. And in that moment they both know she is right.

‘Martha. You realize, you may never understand. There may be no answers, no reasoning to why he did this. You know that right?’ ‘Yeah. But I think I need to look for them nevertheless, because if I don’t, I will be asking myself these questions for the rest of my life. I will never be able to find peace. I’ll never be able to let it go. Not completely.’ He nods. ‘Alright. Just give a moment to look for the file alright. Do you want something else to drink?’ ‘Yeah. Another soda.’ She stopped fighting the tears somewhere in the conversation. She’s not even sure where.

He doesn’t say a word about them.

****

It doesn’t take him long to find the file.

It’s a closed file after all. Archived. He makes a copy of it and leaves the original file back where he found it. He takes out the photos of her mom and places them in a different envelope. There is no reason why she should see those. He finds her trying not to cry. Trying to be strong. He’s still not entirely sure this will do her any good. He doesn’t know if she should really be looking for these answers. Trying to find the truth. But he knows she is also right. She is not a child anymore.

He can’t protect her forever.

He hands over the file without a word. She puts it in her bag without speaking. There are so many things he would like to be able to say. But none leave his lips. None are spoken out loud. Eventually she gets ready to leave. When she looks up again the tears are gone. She smiles. ‘Hey Roy, can I ask you a question?’ ‘Sure.’ ‘The guy outside, jack, has he been working here long?’ ‘Holden?’ His eyes wonder to the door, What exactly had they talked about before he arrived? ‘Not that long no, why?’ ‘Just wondering.’ She looks like she wants to ask something else but she eventually decides not to.

He follows her outside. Her eyes meets Jack’s. Now he understands.

****

Jack had liked many girls over the years.

He hadn’t dated many. Only one that really truly mattered. And that had ended badly. Very badly. It had cost him more than anybody was worth. Since then he had tried not to get attached. But there had never been a girl like Martha. Never a girl that fascinated him from the moment he met her. Actually if he is honest he had stared to think about her from the moment he heard her voice the other day. He wonders who she is. He wants to know things about her.

But he’s to afraid to get hurt again. To afraid to lose.

For all he knows she already has something. For all he knows she is Roy’s daughter. And dating your bosses daughter would only end badly. She walks out of the office and the first thing he notices is that she has been crying. And he wants to comfort her. He has to remind himself he doesn’t know him, and she would probably be scared. Instead he smiles at her. She smiles back. ‘Good afternoon, Constable Holden.’ ‘Good afternoon Miss Mackenzie’. She hesitates a second before answering ‘Martha.’ ‘Jack.’ She smiles. ‘See you later Roy. Thanks for the euhm…’ ‘Don’t mention.’ She smiles at him again – there is not a prettier smile out there, he simply knows it – and then she walks out.

He watches her as she leaves.

‘Holden.’ He looks at his boss. God please let her not be his daughter. I’d like to do something else than watch the phones, please God. ‘Yes sir?’ Roy hesitates. As if he really wants to say something, but does not know how. He shakes his head softly and says ‘Nothing. Go back to work Holden.’ ‘Yes sir.’ ‘And stop calling me sir.’

***

Admittedly this was not what he expected.

He had watched their exchange silently. Afterwards he had wanted to say something to Jack – advice? A warning? He’s not sure what – but he had decided not to in the end. She was right, she was not a child anymore. And Jack was a good man. He was not the kind to hurt people. If he would fall in love with her, he would really love her, take care of her and never let anything happen to her. He was a good man. Which was a surprise considering the family he came from.

Roy Knew that his father was not a good man. Never had been, probably never would be. He was not a murderer, so he supposes in that way Martha’s father wins. But he had never truly loved his son. He’s never understood why. Jack is a good man. He had been cautious about Jack in the beginning, but it had not taken him long to realize he was not like his father. Nor his brother. The younger Holden was definitely following in his father’s footsteps, instead of his brothers.

But Jack was a good man. He had been burned by love. They both had been. They had both had hard lives. Different kind of hard, but still. They had both been burned, differently, but they had been. They would be good for each other. He might give them a push in the right direction, if he thought they might need it. But for now he would let them find it out on their own. Jack would never hurt her, and if for some reason he did, Roy would make him pay. There were worse jobs then babysitting the phones.

They would be good for each other. They both deserved some happiness in their lives.

Maybe they’d find it together.

[Sabrina]

There's nothing wrong with long chapters - feel free to keep them coming Pamy

That was another great chapter.

I liked how you wrote most of it from Roy's perspective.

I totally agree that Jack and Martha would be good for each other

Update soon please

[Barbara]

There's nothing wrong with long chapters - feel free to keep them coming Pamy

I second that!

Roy also noticed the attraction between Martha and Jack. If they get together, Jack'd better not hurt Martha because Roy will make him pay (maybe he can clean the toilets or something lol). I guess Roy's a bit like a father to Martha. He wants to protect her and has wanted to do so ever since the day he found her.

More please.

[pamy]

Chapter 6

Sometimes people ask him what happened.

People who don’t know him. People who never noticed. Sometimes they ask what could have happened to make two such great friends become like this. He never answers. He’s not sure of how to answer. People always wonder what they did wrong. But Robbie knows – he knows even if he doesn’t really want to admit it, not even to himself – that they did nothing wrong. It was all him. It had been him who had destroyed them. Him who had betrayed Jack.

He’s never blamed Jack for hating him.

Never. Though he’s not entirely sure if Jack in fact hates him. He knows that when it all went down – almost four years ago, when they were seventeen, in their last year of high school – Jack hated him. He hated him with a passion. But now he’s not so sure. He’s not even sure if Jack hated him for a long time. He likes to think he didn’t. That when the anger began to fade away, so did the hate. That when Jack looks at him he doesn’t hate him. He wants to believe that. He really does. He’s almost convinced of it. Jack doesn’t hate him. He simply doesn’t trust him anymore.

It’s not like he can really blame him.

Sometimes he thinks he knows what his biggest mistake was. It was not what he did as much as how he did it. Sometimes he wants to believe that if he hadn’t lied to Jack – when he had looked him in the eye and he had asked – things would have turned out differently. That if he had apologized – really apologized – jack might still be his friend. But he hadn’t apologized. He hadn’t because he hadn’t believe he should. He hadn’t really believed he had done something wrong. He was young. He had truly believed in that moment that he had been right. That Jack was overreacting. Now of course he knows better. He knows he should have apologized, right there and then. But he hadn’t and now of course it was to late. Much to late.

So he lies to himself. Tells himself it’s not his fault. Not really.

It’s the only way he can go on.

****

Sometimes he wishes he could forget.

Forget he had ever had a best friend. Forget Robbie Hunter had ever been a part of his life. Jack wishes he could do that. But he can’t. He has been trying for years and he knows, simply knows, he’ll never actually succeed. The truth is – no matter how hard it is to actually admit it – that he doesn’t want to forget Robbie. He doesn’t want to forget the best friend he’d spend hours with. The friend he trusted above all others His brother. That’s probably why it hurt so much. Why it made him so angry. And why he can’t let it go. He simply can’t.

He doesn’t hate him.

Thinking back on everything that happened he knows he never really did. Hate him that is. He was angry – he doesn’t deny that. And nobody that knows what happened will deny him the right to be angry – but he didn’t hate him. Couldn’t hate him. It just hurt so much. He doesn’t hate him. Just doesn’t trust him. Probably never will again. Sometimes he thinks that he should have forgiven him back then. After a while. But Robbie had never actually apologize – somewhere he knows that it is not all Robbie’s fault. Somewhere done the road he must have done something wrong as well – and now Jack feels it is to late. Sometimes memories of Robbie, Katie and what happened flash trough his mind without warning. Other times there are triggers.

Like the two teenagers sitting in front of him.

They hadn’t really done something exceptionally wrong. Just teenage mischief. He remembers a time he and Robbie did stuff like that. It seems like a lifetime ago. Like another person had lived that life, done those things. Shared that friendship. It all seems so far away now. As he watches the two boys he hopes that they will remain friends for a long time. That no betrayal will destroy that easy friendship they have now. That they will be able to hold onto it forever. Jack is not sure of many things about friendship nor love. But he is sure about this that true friends, real friends, can hurt you more, stab you deeper, than any enemy will ever be able to.

And that it is easier to forgive your enemies, than it is to forgive your friends. He’s not even sure where he heard that sentence. He shakes himself as he wishes the thoughts the go away. To think of something else. The image of a gorgeous girl, with brown hair and that beautiful smile comes to mind.

Yeah. Thinking about Martha is much better than thinking about that friendship.

There’s nothing he can do about that anymore anyway.

****

Luke came an hour after the flowers.

The flowers along with the card which read ‘I’m sorry’ were lying on the table in front of her. Matilda wasn’t sure what to think anymore. She closes her eyes. Trying to forget what she felt – the fear, the anger the pain – when Luke grabbed her arm that way. As if to make her do what he wanted. She wishes Henry would just come home already. She doesn’t want to call Cassie. Partly because she’s not entirely sure if she is actually angry at Luke. Partly because somehow – unintentionally – the fight had been about her. At least on the surface.

Henry is her twin brother. She can tell him everything.

He will understand. He will help her understand. Help her understand what she’s feeling, what actually happened. Help her decide what to do next. She also can’t help but think of the cute boy in the caravan park. Ric. She’s not sure about that either. She just wants Henry to get home already so she can talk to him. Henry doesn’t arrive. Instead she opens the door and finds Luke there. And she’s not sure of what to do now. All she really can do at that particular moment she is staring at the boy she knows she loves but is not entirely sure of anymore. Because she doesn’t understand what happened.

‘Hey Mattie. Can I come in?’ He looks at her hesitantly. Searching her eyes for the answer. She steps aside and lets him in.

It’s not like she can let him stand outside.

****

There were things in Summer Bay she recognized instantly.

Others took her a while to recognize. She remembered the beach – thought admittedly all beaches must look the same – and the diner and even some of the houses. She doesn’t really recognize the faces. Not all of them anyway. She has no trouble recognizing some of the faces of the older generation. The ones who were already here – and old, at least for her – when she still lived here. Before the world had gone to hell. Others she didn’t recognize. Those were most likely the children. The ones who had changed so much over the years that they became unrecognizable.

Still there was something about the boy.

It wasn’t that she recognized him. Not at all. But there was something about him. Something that just screamed of familiarity. She knew him – or at least had one day known him – and she thinks he may just be the child of one of her parents friends. And she’s not entirely sure of how to get to the caravan park, and it just seems like the right excuse to ask him. So she does.

‘Excuse me. I’m euhm..Looking for the caravan park.’ He smiles. It’s not like the way Jack smiled. But it’s nice nevertheless. It makes her think that he is probably a great friend to the people that let him. ‘You visiting for the first time?’ ‘No. I used to live here when I was a child. But I haven’t visited since I was seven.’ ‘Really? I thought I recognized you from somewhere. I mean not really recognized more like I somehow knew you.’ ‘You to? Weird right? I’m Martha.’ ‘Martha? Really? The Macklin girl?’ ‘Mackenzie.’ ‘Right.’ Robbie almost hit himself. Of course she would have changed her last name. Not to be connected to that man. The man who had murdered her mother. ‘I’m Robbie. Don’t know if you actually remember me.’ ‘Of course. Robbie Hunter. You threw a live fish at me once.’ ‘Oh god. I can’t believe you actually remember that.’ They walked down the beach remembering stuff they did when the were children. They had been friends once, years ago.

Jack Holden had just finished his shift. He kept thinking about the girl Martha. Hoping to somehow run into him her again. And then he saw her. With Robbie. And he was immediately taken back to what had happened years ago. He watched as the two talked and joked like they had known each other their entire lives. Jack shook his head and walked away from them. He could not do this again.

He did not want to see anymore.

*****

‘Look. I don’t really know what to say.’

Luke looks at her as he speaks. And all Mattie can think is well if you didn’t know what to say, why come at all. Why not wait until you figured it out. Why not give me time to figure it out. ‘what are you doing here then.’ He winced. Not as much at her words, but at her tone. She was angry – she had not actually truly acknowledged this until he stood in front of her – and it was clear she just wanted him to go. But he was not about to give up so easily. He loved her. She was his. And sure he had overreacted; should never have grabbed her that way. But he had planned a date and she hadn’t even considered he might have plans for them. Cassie had been more important.

He knows he was right, even if he should have handled it better.

‘I’m sorry. I really am, I didn’t meant to…’ ‘What. Hurt me? Control me? What do you want Luke.’ ‘I’m sorry. Look, I shouldn’t have done that. I overreacted. I am sorry. I love you.’ he keeps on talking to her. Keeps on apologizing. And with each time he apologizes Mattie feels her heart melt. Maybe she’s just overreacting. Maybe it was nothing. He would never actually hurt her. It was nothing. He smiled as he pulled her closer to him and Mattie leaned her head against his chest. She always felt safe in his arms. Yet right there at that moment, she felt slightly uneasy. As the memory of him grabbing her arm tightly was still so fresh. And of course there was the boy in the van.

She still doesn’t know what to do. She hopes Henry gets home soon.

****

The file lies between them.

It’s just a file. A bunch of papers and pictures. And yet to them it’s so much more. It’s the explanation. The memory. The reason why they are here. The reason for their pain. They came here to find out. And now they can’t move. Don’t know what to do. Don’t know how to move forward. How to go on. The file lies there. And all they can do is look at it. They can’t bring themselves to open it. Martha thinks that perhaps she should have listened to Roy. Maybe some things were better left in the past.

But she needed to know. She needed to know.

Ric is the first to speak. ‘Maybe we should just open it. You know. Fast. Like ripping of a bandage. Fast.’ ‘Yeah.’ Still neither of them moves. Martha eventually picks up the file and opens it. She does it because there is not way she will let her brother do it. Her little brother. Inside she finds an envelope. And she knows instinctively that those are the pictures. That Roy had wanted to protect her from that. She smiles softly at the first page. It’s a summary of the case with two pictures attached.

One is just of her mother. The other is of the four of them.

She lies down the pictures in front of Ric and he just stares at them. She begins to read the page. At first she reads silently. Just for herself. Eventually - after a couple of minutes - ric asks her to read out loud. She does. While she reads memories of that night and what came after begin to reappear.

The ring burns a hole in her pocket. And she knows it’s important.

She just can’t explain why.

[Barbara]

I wonder what Robbie did to hurt Jack and ruin their friendship. It must have been something really bad.

I'm glad Martha found an old friend in the Bay. I'm not sure Jack likes that and it might make things even more complicated between him and Robbie.

Poor Matilda! She really doesn't know what to do. Hopefully, Henry'll come home soon and help her out. I'm still not used to Lucas being able to hurt Mattie. He's still the nice guy from the show in my mind.

More please.