Pregnant Proportions

[mizziette]

THIRTY ONE

Bianca sat on her bed nervously. The sun was barely above the horizon and she was still dressed in last night’s clothes. The proposal was completely out of the blue but the most shocking part of it was not the proposal itself but the reasoning behind it. Not caring that it was barely dawn, she hit the dial button and put the phone to her ear.

‘Hello?’ Brax answered Charlie’s phone mid yawn. He had probably been woken up by the ringing from the phone. ‘Who’s there?’

‘Bianca. I’m sorry it’s so early. It’s kind of an emergency.’

‘That’s fine. Hold on a sec.’ He took the phone away but she could still here his voice. ‘Charlie, wake up. Charlie? Bianca’s on the phone.’

There was a groan and a yawn and some ruffling of the sheets. ‘Bianca, you do know what time it is?’

‘I know. I’ve been waiting all night to talk to someone.’ Bianca took a deep breath. ‘Charlie, everything’s such a mess. He proposed last night and it was so romantic and... ‘

‘And what did you say?’ Charlie was definitely awake now.

‘I told him I needed some time to think about it. He wasn’t exactly thrilled. I couldn’t say yes could I? Not after all this Heath mess. Ugh. Why is my life such a mess?’

‘You’ll work it out. Listen I’m so sorry to bail on you but Aria just woke up and she’s wailing. I have to go.’

‘No I get it. It’s fine. You go.’

‘Do you want me to come over after? I’ll come equipped with triple chocolate ice cream.’

‘Sounds tempting but I’m just going to sit here and wait for Liam to get home. He walked out last night and hasn’t come back yet. I’m worried he might’ve gone to a bar or something.’

‘Well I love you. If you need anything, call me immediately okay? I don’t care if you call at two in the morning.’

‘Thanks Charlie. I love you too.’ Bianca hung up the phone and was met with silence and loneliness again. This was the first time she had ever been home alone in the beach house and the usually full house felt eerie. With only her own awful thoughts to keep her company, she had been so agitated that she couldn’t have slept if she wanted to. Lying on the bed, Bianca felt tears sting her eyes as she thought back to the events that transpired six hours ago.

‘I need to think about this.’ Her voice was barely a whisper. ‘Liam , I’m so sorry. I don’t know if I’m ready.’

‘What? I love you. What more do you need?’ Liam was perplexed but Bianca remained silent, unable to form words. ‘Bianca, answer me.’

‘It’s on fair on you if I say yes without knowing what I want.’

‘You know what you want. You want me.’ His voice was forceful.

‘Liam.’ She took his hand in hers but he pulled away and moved over to the table. ‘We just got back together three months ago. Why do we need to rush things?’

‘Is this about him? Are you saying no to me because you’re in love with him? I saw you dancing with him at the formal. You looked pretty cosy.’

‘I’m not saying no. Just not now. And what?’

Liam turned around to face her. ‘You don’t have to lie to me. I can take it. I was gone for a while. I broke your trust by getting high. I should’ve guessed you wouldn’t wait for me.’

‘Liam, why are you proposing to me if this is how you feel? What was this, some kind of test?’ Bianca’s voice was more sure of herself now. ‘I’ve told you so many times, Heath was a one night stand. Nothing’s happened since then. I love you.’

‘So you keep saying.’ Liam walked out of the house leaving the young woman to process her thoughts.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Liam, you’re back.’ Bianca wiped her tear stricken face and sat up on the bed in her rumpled cocktail dress. ‘I thought you might’ve…’

‘You thought I was drunk? Give me some credit Bianca.’ Liam pursed his lips. ‘I’m sober. I spent the night at my sponsor’s house.’

‘You can’t blame me for thinking it. You of all people know how easy it is to fall back.’

‘I’m just here to get my guitar. I’m giving holiday music lessons for some extra cash. It’ll come in handy when your baby comes.’

‘My baby? Not ours?’ Liam didn’t answer but only continued to pack up his guitar. ‘Liam, we need to talk about this. Please look at me.’

Reluctantly he did. ‘You’d made it pretty clear how you feel. What more is there to talk about?’

‘It’s pretty clear we have a lot of trust issues. You have to understand nothing has happened with me and Heath since this baby was conceived. Nothing ever will as long as I’m with you. I would never cheat on you.’ Bianca told him the truth.

‘That maybe true but it doesn’t stop you from wanting him. I saw how you two were looking at each other at the formal.’ Bianca remained silent. ‘And I know you don’t trust me when it comes to staying sober. I broke your trust there. You haven’t forgiven me have you? I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t want to lose you and….’

Liam couldn’t finish. Instead he took his guitar and walked out.

[mizziette]

THIRTY TWO

‘Having one of those days?’ Charlie saw Bianca sitting gloomily on the pier and sat next to her with Aria in her hand.

‘Having one those lives.’ Bianca pouted her lips. ‘What’s wrong with me? How do I single-handedly manage to ruin everything good in my life?’

‘Your life’s going to get back on track. You just need to talk and figure out what you want.’

‘But that’s the thing. I don’t know what I want. Everything I want does me no good. I want Vittorio, he cheats on me. I want Liam, he dumps me for drugs. I want Heath and that’s completely illogical because he’s a criminal, Charlie. A really hot, sexy, mind-blowingly charming criminal.’

‘I think I have one of those waiting for me at home.’

‘See it works out for you. You get the easy mature Braxton brother and the beautiful baby girl. I get stuck with a boyfriend on the couch and a river baby on the way. Not that I don’t love my river baby because I do but still. It’s supposed to be love, marriage, and baby; happy ever after. Is it so wrong to want the whole white picket fence deal?’

‘I thought you said that was a Scott baby not a river baby, whatever that is. And white picket fence really isn’t your style.’

Bianca wasn’t listening and more or less talking to herself. ‘We’re still under the same roof so it’s good he’s trying. It’s strained though. Ever since the proposal, every one’s been walking on egg shells. Liam’s upset, April’s angry because I upset Liam and Irene is trying to stay the hell out of it and failing miserably.’

‘Maybe you just need to get it all out in the open and talk about it.’ Aria squealed in Charlie’s arms and agreed with her mother’s conclusion but Bianca was lost in her own thoughts.

‘You know what, I’m so sick of all this baby drama. Liam won’t even come to the doctor’s appointment with me because Heath’s going to be there. That’s unbelievable, right? I think we just need to talk it out, get it all out in the open. That’s it. I’ll force him to sit and talk about this. After the appointment.’

‘That is such a great idea Bee.’ Charlie smiled sarcastically. ‘I wish I’d thought of it myself.’

‘Shoot, I’m late for that doctor’s appointment. I got to go Charlie. Thanks for the chat. Love you Aria.’ The young pregnant woman looked at her watch again and gasped. She tried to get up from the pier and found it gravely difficult given her swollen belly but she managed after the third try.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘How come Murphy didn’t come to this thing?’ Heath asked as they waited in the ultrasound room for the doctor to return while he stepped out for a minute. ‘I thought you two were tight.’

‘We are.’ Bianca exclaimed a little too defensively. ‘He was just busy that’s all.’

‘If that’s all.’

‘It is.’

‘Sorry about that. There was an emergency I had to take care off.’ The expecting parents shut up as Sid walked back in to the room. ‘Well, your ultrasound looks fine. The baby seems to be developing normally so that’s always a good sign. Bianca, you’re well into the third trimester now so it’s always a good idea to have weekly check-ups from here on out. Just to be sure everything’s running smoothly.’

‘Yeah, thanks Sid.’

‘I’ll leave you to get dressed again and you can make any appointments at the front desk.’ Sid stepped back outside giving them their privacy.

‘Do you mind?’ Bianca glared at Heath who was still there. ‘I need to change.’

‘Nothing I haven’t seen before.’ He grinned and headed towards the door. ‘Alright, I’ll just be outside.’

When Bianca stepped outside the room, Heath was nowhere to be seen. Looking along the length of the corridor, she finally spotted him talking to some blonde kid on a gurney. The poor boy couldn’t have been more than sixteen and had bruises the size of baseballs on his face. Heath noticed her gaze and smiled as he returned to her.

‘Friend of yours?’ She asked concernedly.

‘He’ll be right.’ Heath took her by the small of her back and guided her towards the elevator and as he pressed the elevator button, for the first time, she noticed the red grazes on his knuckles.

‘He doesn’t look like he’s alright. In fact, he looks pretty beaten.’

‘Well, welcome to my world.’

As they walked back to Heath’s car, Bianca couldn’t help but realise how little she actually knew about the father of her child. They were worlds apart and always would be and she knew she could never understand or condone the world he belonged to, the one where people had purple and blue faces and grazes on their knuckles. It was miles from her comfort zone and everything she believed in.

[mizziette]

THIRTY THREE

‘The guy you told me you saw beaten up at the hospital.’ Charlie helped her best friend talk through her concerns. ‘He’s one of Jake’s boys. He was found beat up on the side of the road a few days ago. Broken ribs, broken cheekbone, bruises everywhere. He’s lucky to be alive. You’re sure you saw grazes on Heath’s knuckles?’

‘Yes.’ Bianca sighed. ‘And they were talking rather heatedly at the hospital too. Heath couldn’t have done this right?’

‘I hate to tell you this but your new friend’s no saint. He’s capable of this and you know it.’

‘I know. I just thought he might’ve changed or something. He’s nice to me. So much for wishful thinking’

‘We had a little chat to him but it’s very hard to prove these things. And you never know, it might’ve been someone else.’

‘But you don’t think so?’ Charlie shook her head. ‘How is it possible to be attracted to a guy who can beat someone to a pulp and still make his doctor’s appointment on time like nothing ever happened? I’m crazy. He’s a thug at heart no matter how legit he’s gotten.’

‘Guys like Heath, their brains are in their fists.’

‘Or below the waist’ Bianca laughed. ‘That’s where my brain’s been lately. I guess it was just great to have that spark back. I haven’t had that with Liam in so long.’

‘Maybe it’s time you get that back.’

‘Maybe it is. Or maybe it’s too late. It hasn’t really been the same since he got back from rehab. Maybe I’m better off on my own.’

‘Is that really what you want?’

Bianca sighed. ‘No. But what if we can’t fix it? What then? And what if this attraction to Heath sticks around for a while? What if…’

‘What if everything works out? You can’t think in ifs Bianca. You’ll drive yourself crazy. Just take action, that’s the only way you can change things. Figure out what you want and don’t let anything get in your way.’

‘You’re right Dr Phil. I need to take my independence and take control over my life.’ Bianca nodded and crinkled her face as the baby pressed against her bladder uncomfortably. ‘Although I have to say, it’s too bad I can’t take control over my bladder as well. This is my third bathroom break this morning. I’ll be right back.’

As Bianca waddled off to the diner bathroom impatiently, Charlie couldn’t help but smile.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Liam, I need the bathroom!’ Bianca jumped from leg to leg impatiently as she stood outside the bathroom in her house later that day and cursed her boyfriend who was casually showering behind the locked door. Didn’t he know she needed to relieve herself?

Just as she was about to knock again, the door opened and Liam stepped out in a towel annoyed at the disturbance. All the frustration that had been boiling inside the woman was gone as she looked into his eyes. It was back to the awkward silences again. Bianca looked down and waddled past him. ‘Thanks.’

When she got out, Liam was already dressed and out. Sighing, she decided to go for a walk as well. After all, it was a sunny summery day. It wasn’t long after she got onto the beach that she spotted Liam sitting by himself on the sand. ‘Right, take action Bianca. Grab life by the horns.’ She whispered Charlie’s words of wisdom to herself before heading over to sit next to him.

‘Liam?’ The scruffy rock star looked up at her. ‘I’m sorry about before. You know at the bathroom. I didn’t mean to be so grumpy, it’s just the baby’s been acting out lately. He hates my bladder.’

‘Don’t worry about it.’ Liam patted the sand beside him and she sat down. The two estranged lovers sat in silence for nearly two minutes just enjoying the beautiful day.

‘Do you remember last summer?’ Bianca asked.

‘How could I forget? Three months of just you, me and the wilderness. It was a great summer.’

‘Apart from the mosquito bites and sunburns.’

‘Not to mention the mud in our tent every time it rained. And you were complaining all the time.’

‘I was never a camping kind of girl.’

‘Come on, you loved it. You complained but you loved it.’ They both laughed as they remembered and then looked hesitantly at each other; it was the first time they had laughed together in a while.

‘I just loved being with you.’ Bianca whispered and everything went awkward again as it went silent. ‘You’re right though. We had fun. I can’t remember the last time we had fun like that, with nothing to worry about.’

‘I don’t think we’ve really had fun since last summer. Since we moved out of the campground, it’s always been one thing after another keeping us on our toes. Maybe we should go back there.’ Liam smiled.

‘Not with this baby.’ Bianca joked and instantly cursed herself as the words slipped out of her mouth and Liam’s smile evaporated. Everything had been going so well before she had acknowledged the elephant in the room; the baby. More specifically, Heath’s baby. A constant reminder of her betrayal. And how they were so different from the couple who’d done nothing but make love in a tent for three months secluded from the world. Maybe they could be that couple again, but it would never be the exact same.

[mizziette]

THIRTY FOUR

Bianca sat on the couch with the thick information book resting on her belly, scrunching her face shockingly as she read the words on the pages. Her ever growing pregnancy had made her curious enough to head to the library and arm herself with pregnancy information, and scaring the living day lights out of her in the process.

‘Should I come back later?’ Charlie walked in cautiously through the kitchen and noticed the couch and coffee table overflowing with twenty large text books of every shape and size. ‘You look busy.’

‘No. Nope. I’m just preparing myself.’ Bianca shook her head vigorously as she sat concerned and frowning. She held up the book in her lap, ‘Pregnancy for Dummies.’ ‘Did you know about tearing? It’s really common. You know, it’s when you get rips and cuts down there during birth. My baby’s pretty big, what if he tears me up?’

Charlie sat next to her and took the book away, closing it before closing all the other books on the coffee table. ‘You’re going to drive yourself crazy reading all these things. They’re only designed to scare you silly.’

‘But I have a big baby. Look at this belly. It’s a big baby. It could rip me open. You know it takes weeks for the stitches to heal after that.’

‘No. We don’t think like that. I’m not standing for anything other than positive thinking.’

‘But what if it happens? I need to be prepared. And the dilating! I’m going to be as wide as a small grapefruit. Or what about the breeching? Oh god, what if he breeches? Charlie…’

‘Breathe. Just breathe. You’re going to get through this and you’re not going to worry about anything unless you need to. Stressing isn’t good for the baby.’

‘Tell that to my love life.’ Bianca groaned. ‘Apparently it hasn’t got the message.’

‘You and Liam or you and Heath?’

‘Liam! We’ve been talking more and more but it’s weird. He won’t acknowledge the baby elephant in the middle; we’ve been avoiding every subject that could lead to a fight.’

‘If he won’t acknowledge it, then you should. You need to be honest with each other, it won’t work otherwise. I learnt that the hard way with Brax.’

The mention of Charlie’s boyfriend triggered the memory of Heath and the beaten up man in the hospital on her last appointment. ‘Any leads on the assault case?’

‘No.’ Charlie sighed. ‘It’s looking like a cold case. We interviewed Heath but it got us nowhere. There’s not much else to do about it but hope for a miracle.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Bianca’s sympathy for her friend’s failed work was shadowed by a sly relief that Heath hadn’t been charged for the assault. It gave her the slightest hope that maybe, just maybe, he really had changed but deep down, she had her doubts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heath grinned to herself as he walked along the beach. He had never considered himself the type to settle down, but with the baby on the way, his opinion had changed. For the first time in his life, he was actually thinking about the future and as he walked up the pathway from his surf, the image of Bianca strolling along the beach with their unborn son pleased him.

Bianca on the other hand was trying her best to avoid the father of her child. She couldn’t bring herself to face him after her suspicions about his true nature. His thuggish ways were concerning and she wasn’t sure what to do. Seeing him walking towards her from the corner of her eye, she turned away and headed away from Heath hopping hadn’t noticed her.

‘Hey Bianca!’ Too late. There was no avoiding it now. As Heath ran to catch up to her, she hesitantly turned around.

‘Heath.’ Bianca’s voice was cool.

‘If I didn’t know any better I’d think you weren’t happy to see me.’ Heath joked but her cool expression didn’t feign. ‘What? Have I done something wrong?’

‘I don’t know. You tell me.’ She accused.

‘Whoa, someone forgot her happy pills this morning.’

‘Maybe you could score me some.’ Bianca’s unimpressed tone took the man by surprise. Things had been going so well the last couple of months. The look of hurt on his face was unmistakable and the pregnant woman immediately regretted the quip. ‘Sorry. That was uncalled for. I’ve just had a rough few days. I didn’t mean to use your past against you.’

‘You know that’s what it is right? The past. I’m legit; I’m not that person anymore. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to risk everything. I have too much to lose.’ Heath spoke sincerely and seriously as he glanced down at her belly at those final words. He pressed; concerned for the baby when she mentioned that she’d had a rough few days. ‘Are you okay? I’m here if you need to talk.’

Bianca just smiled. She couldn’t agree with him, knowing what she did about the assault and the grazes on his knuckles. It felt too real to be coincidence. Instead she tried to hint at the truth. ‘Thanks but I’ve got Charlie for that. She came over yesterday actually. It was good to catch up. She’s been pretty busy with Aria and work lately. Especially work.’

‘Those coppers work too much.’

‘I think people just break the law too much.’ Bianca hinted. ‘People like your friend in the hospital the other day, the one with the bruises, they deserve justice.’

‘There are better ways of getting justice without getting pigs involved. They just ruin everything.’ Heath’s contempt for law enforcement was obvious.

‘Ruin things how?’ He remained silent, almost as if he felt like he was about to be caught out so Bianca continued. ‘You’re probably going to have a “pig” for a sister-in-law so I’d learn to get over your disapproval of the law if i were you. As far as cops go, she’s pretty good.’

‘He’s not my mate.’ The subject changed abruptly with clenched teeth. ‘The guy I was chatting to in the hospital the other day. He never was and never will.’

‘Then what was he?’ Bianca pressed, her eyes daring him to be honest.

‘He’s nothing. Less than nothing.’ The expecting father sighed as he noticed the accusing eyes but knew the truth would only worry her. ‘Look, I’m late for my shift at Angelo’s. I’ll see you later. Be careful, okay?’

As he walked away, the young woman frowned. Be careful? Careful of what? He said it so nonchalantly, but she had the distinct feeling that it was more ominous than it seemed.

[mizziette]

THIRTY FIVE

‘Should I be worried?’ Bianca finished relaying her conversation with Heath to Charlie in the hopes of forming a conclusion. ‘What do I need to be careful about?’

‘From my experience, the Braxtons and danger usually go hand in hand but you don’t think you’re overreacting a little? Maybe it was just a harmless comment.

‘I am not overreacting. You weren’t there Charlie. Something’s rattled him.’

Charlie looked at her watch and stood up from the couch. ‘If you’re really that worried just call him and talk to the guy. Get some peace of mind. I should quickly go and feed Aria before my break’s over.’

‘Thanks for coming. Maybe I will talk to Heath. He’s coming over tomorrow afternoon so we can go for the check up together. With Liam, did I tell you? He wants to come too.’

‘I thought he couldn’t stand to be around Heath.’

Bianca rolled his eyes. ‘He can’t. But he loves this baby too even if he can’t stand his parents right now. No matter what happens between me and Liam, I’d feel terrible not having him in this baby’s life.’

‘Well, I hope you have fun playing Switzerland.’

‘Thanks, although I’m hoping the boys will behave themselves so I won’t have to mediate. You have fun at work.’

‘I doubt it.’ Charlie smiled until she tripped on a strappy sandal and fell backwards and jammed her back into the corner of the kitchen counter. ‘Oh, damn it.’

Bianca rushed to help her friend who was rubbing her back and clenching her toes. ‘Oh my god, are you okay?’

‘I’ll live.’ She winced in pain. ‘You might want to clean up a little though. And maybe baby proof the house. Those corners are sharp. I’ll see you later.’

‘Bye.’ When Charlie had left, the pregnant woman looked around her sty of a house. The angular wooden dinner set, the TV cords, the houseplants; they were all a potential hazard. Frowning, Bianca Scott determinedly vowed to create the safest environment possible for her unborn child.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Liam got home that night, he noticed that there was something different about the house. The entire place smelled a little like cleaning fluid but he didn’t pay much attention to it. His growling stomach commanded his attention more. Putting down his satchel, he moved to open the fridge.

It didn’t budge. Pulling it twice, three even four times made no difference. Sighing Liam went to the pantry and trying to pull that door open too but there was little luck there either. Checking all the other doors, he noticed they were all similarly jammed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bianca walk out of the hallway armed with cleaning products. A sponge in one hand and a bucket in the other, she squatted down- not an easy thing to do while incubating a five pound baby- and started scrubbing the floor.

‘Oh Liam, you’re back. Here, you can scrub the floors while I clear out the mess on the end table.’ She tried to stand up with difficulty and was pleased when Liam helped her up. Handing him the sponge, she scurried over to the end table and began placing everything on its top in a black garbage bag.

‘Bianca, what’re you doing? And why don’t the doors in the kitchen open?’

‘Oh, I baby proofed them.’ She kept working perilously. ‘I thought I should get the house ready for the baby.

‘That’s great and all but why are you using a sponge and bucket for the floors? You know you can just mop it.’

‘Oh, I already mopped it down twice but you never know what’s lurking down there. I wanted to be thorough. Did you know the floor has the most germs in a house? Even more than the toilet, which I should probably get back to; I haven't finished bleaching it.'

As Bianca tried to get past him into the bathroom, Liam stopped her. Instead, she just turned around and started cleaning around the couch. ‘Bianca, don’t you think you’re going a little overboard with the nesting? The baby’s not coming for two months an even then you’re not going to be putting him on the floor or even near the toilet. And I highly doubt a newborn baby needs to open the fridge.’

‘Liam, I can’t believe you’re saying this. We need to be prepared. So much could go wrong. This house is a hazard. Charlie hurt herself just this morning and she’s a grown woman. She’s a clumsy grown woman, sure, but that doesn’t matter. How do you think a baby’s going to handle it?’ Bianca picked up some boxers from the floor and held them up accusingly before throwing it at him. ‘And in the future I would appreciate it if you cleaned up after yourself. The last thing we need is a bacterium infested house and a sick baby just because you throw your underwear around.’

‘I think I’m going to use the bathroom.’ Liam was alarmed by Bianca’s over the top motherly instinct and rushed off before he got hauled into whatever impulse she had next. When he got there and locked himself in however, he sighed at the baby proof latch holding the toilet lid in place before going to work on it.

No sooner than Liam went inside, Heath entered through the back door to find the similar scene of Bianca’s frantic cleaning. When she saw him, she smiled. ‘Hey, are you here to help me? I’m getting the house ready for the baby.’

‘Yeah, I don’t think so. Anyway, it looks like you’ve got it under control.’ The smell of soap was overwhelming and the full garbage bags lined up near the door. The only thing remotely frazzled or dishevelled in the beach house was Bianca who had been working tirelessly all day. ‘I’m just here to see if we could take your car tomorrow to the appointment. Mine broke down this morning.’

‘You couldn’t have told me that over the phone?’ Bianca walked over to him and met him halfway.

‘Yeah, I could’ve. But then i wouldn't get to see you would I?'

‘ right.’ She suddenly remembered Charlie’s advice, not when she recommended baby proofing –that was already taken care of- but of talking to Heath about her insecurities. ‘Hey, is everything okay?’

‘Why wouldn’t they be?’

‘I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me. You seem tense lately.’

‘It’s all good. Although if you want to loosen me up; I won’t complain.’ Heath joked but stopped when Bianca looked at him unimpressed. ‘Anyway, what would I be keeping from you?’

‘You tell me.’ She dared.

‘There’s nothing to tell. I’ll see you tomorrow. Go easy on the cleaning eh.’ He turned to leave but was halted by her voice.

‘You’re not going to tell me to be careful this time?’ Turning back around, Heath knew he was backed into a corner. He opened his mouth to brush off the comment but Bianca stopped him. ‘Don’t play with me, Heath. I don’t appreciate it.’

The words were hard to get out. She wasn’t supposed to find out, it would only worry her. ‘Look, I took care of it alright. They won’t be bothering you anymore.’

‘Who won’t be bothering her?’ Liam’s voice emerged from behind them as he returned to the kitchen.

‘Jake’s boys were just trying to rile me up by threatening to get me where it hurts. You know, my kid.’ Heath eyed the baby. ‘But Bianca, you have nothing to worry about anymore. I set them straight.’

‘How? By beating them up?’ Bianca accused. ‘When are you going to realise that doesn’t solve anything? That boy in the hospital, you did that didn’t you? Heath, he was barely legal.’

Heath just shrugged and left. ‘I’ll see you.’

When he’d gone out the door, Bianca looked at Liam who just shrugged before heading upstairs. ‘Don’t look at me to hold your hand. This is what you get when you sleep with trouble. You did this to yourself.’

[mizziette]

THIRTY SIX

‘I decided to go to the check up with my mum instead. There’s only so much drama a girl can handle.’ Bianca stuffed her face with Irene’s delicious chocolate mousse. ‘Irene, you are a god send. This is delicious.’

‘Glad you love it Darl.’ Irene smiled at her roommate. She was so proud of her young friend who had matured so much in the last few months. ‘You might want to leave some for Charlie though.’

When Irene went back to the diner kitchen, Charlie looked at her amusedly. ‘She has a point.’

‘I’m eating for two.’ Bianca surmised and her friend rolled her eyes. That seemed to be her excuse for everything these days.

‘Why did you uninvite the boys from the appointment? I thought things were going well.’

Bianca thought it was better not to tell Charlie about what had happened. After all, she was a cop and Heath could get into a lot of trouble. Anyway, it wasn’t like she was in danger anymore. The father of her child had taken care of that, no matter how wrongfully. ‘All I need is one stress-free moment every once in a while. All this tension is not good for the baby. I’m supposed to be relaxing so that’s exactly what I’m going to do from now on.’

‘You definitely need the down time.’

‘For the next seven weeks I’m going to take a holiday from soap-opera-ville and live a drama-free existence in my peaceful pregnant oasis. No one is getting in the way of that, not Heath, not Liam and not my mother who I’ve hardly seen since she came down to visit last month.’

‘Bianca, peaceful and pregnant never goes in the same sentence, even without boyfriend/baby daddy drama. I mean especially in the last trimester. Has the back pain started yet?’

Bianca stretched her back and rubbed it lightly with her fingers. ‘Thanks for reminding me. You just ruined my oasis dreams. While we’re at it, my hips recently started to ache like hell too. Not to mention my ankles and chest.’

‘It comes with the territory. Just think it’ll be over in seven weeks and you’ll have a beautiful baby in your arms.’

‘I can’t wait til then. I keep imagining what he’ll look like. In my head he’s this cute little thing with beady blue eyes, straight hair like Heath only it’s honey blonde, darker than mine but lighter than Heath’s – you know, just in the middle - and his skin, I imagine it feeling like silk under my fingertips when I hold him, so small and beautiful he might break.’

‘And when he grows up, he ends up with the customary Braxton six-pack abs while he babbles away in Italian about surfing and music.’

‘Well, of course.’ Bianca laughed. ‘You can’t forget the six-pack. Although I think Heath might have an eight-pack. He’s pretty ripped. I wouldn’t want to wear a shirt either if I had abs like that.’

‘I think about Aria like that too. How she’ll look when she grows up. For some reason, all I can think of is Ruby when I look at her. She’s the spitting image of her sister. Ruby with my hair and Brax’ adorable smile, that’s how I see her.’

‘Here’s to our kids.’ Bianca held up her glass of juice to Charlie in a toast. ‘The most loved and cherished in our lives.’

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Liam got home that night to find Bianca skimming through her laptop. She looked up and smiled when he walked in. ‘Hey, I got into a sentimental mood after lunch with Charlie so I asked mum to dig up some old photos from when I was a kid. She’s got them on a portable hard disk for me. You want to see?’

Liam nodded and sat next to her. He knew very little about Bianca Scott’s life before Summer Bay and he was eager to find more. ‘Is that you as a baby? You used to be cute.’

‘You mean as opposed to now?’ Bianca flicked through the file.

‘Oh no, you’re still cute, just a more beautiful kind of cute. Hang on, who’s that man?’

‘That would be one of the very few times I ever saw my dad. I can probably count on my fingers and toes how many times I’ve seen him. And I was only 2 in that photo so I don’t even remember that.’

‘You look like him with the blonde hair, blue eyes and the height.’

‘Well, it’s the only thing I have to remind me what he looks like. I haven’t seen him since I was ten. He’d call every birthday but on my tenth he didn’t. I waited by the phone for months before I realised he wasn’t going to call anymore. He just stopped, he was gone. If I could give my baby one thing in this world I want it to be a family who loves him unconditionally.’

‘I’m sure you and Heath will more than efficiently give him that.’ The tone was sarcastic.

‘And you. At least I hope one day you can accept this.’ Bianca ignored Liam's snipe. It wasn't worth fighting anymore. ‘I don’t want this kid to be anything short of loved. He deserves the best; people who want him no matter who he wants to be in life, or who he wants to love or not love. He deserves to know where he comes from. I wish I’d known my roots growing up but it’s too late for me. Maybe he can have what I didn’t.’

‘This kid’s going to be loved no matter what Bianca. I have a feeling you’d make sure of that.’ Liam stroked her arm, it was the first real conversation they’d had all year. No shouting, no awkward silence, no tension; just honest words.

‘I guess that’s part of the reason why it’s so important to me that Heath’s involved. Even if he is a colossal mess, from now on he’s family, whether we like it or not. I know I said I didn’t care before whether he was around or not but I lied. The worst thing I can imagine is a father who abandons his child.’ Bianca saw that Liam was having a hard time hearing this. ‘I know the last thing you want to listen to is me talking about Heath but I want you to know how I feel.’

‘Yeah, I get it. At least I think I do. I want to. Bianca, you have no idea how hard it is for me to look at him and not get jealous. It’s supposed to be me experiencing this with you with our baby and I feel like I’ve been pushed out to watch from the sidelines.’

The front door opened and shut and the couple looked up to see Irene shaking the raindrops off her umbrella. ‘Goodness love, it’s raining cats and dogs out there. It’s hard to believe its summer. I wouldn’t recommend going out tonight. It’s one of those nights where you curl up on the couch with a warm cup of tea. You kids want a cuppa?’

‘No thanks Irene. I was just going to go grab a shower.’ Liam got up and headed to the hallway.

‘Alright then, don’t waste the hot water.’ Irene placed her handbag down and walked into the kitchen before calling out to Bianca. ‘How about you girly? Something to warm you up?'

‘Yeah, thanks Irene. That sounds good.’ As she spoke, Bianca got rid of her baby photos from her laptop screen and opened up an internet browser. All the talk that afternoon with Charlie had gotten her curious about her baby. She hit up Google and typed in her inquiry.

She waited for the online baby face generator to load and got the picture she had of Heath which she had taken the day they babysat Aria together. Uploading that and her own onto the website, she smiled at how accurate her imagination had been. The little boy on Bianca’s screen was everything she had ever imagined and more from the beady blue eyes to the cute little button nose and heart shaped chin. Her heart thudded with love.

Without realising what she was doing, Bianca found herself replacing Heath’s photo with one of Liam’s. As she hit the button, the result created an entirely different feeling. When she looked at the new baby face on her screen, this time a mix of Bianca and Liam, she saw what could’ve been and what she hoped could be someday. With Heath was the reality, but Liam held the dream and all the insecurities that came with it.

[mizziette]

THIRTY SEVEN

‘An entire night with Cheryl Braxton, doesn’t that sound like fun?’ Charlie complained to her best friend. As much as she loved Brax, his mother was a real piece of work and hated her son’s girlfriend with a passion but what could she do?

‘Aah.’ Bianca nodded her head, mocking fear. ‘The great Braxton family barbecue. I’m so glad you have to go too. If you weren’t I might’ve been forced to twiddle my thumbs the entire time.’

‘I didn’t know you were going.’

‘Heath invited me on behalf of Ma Braxton. Apparently she wants the family to get to know her grandson’s mother, whatever that means. At least I’ll have you and Liam to keep me sane.’ Bianca saw the surprised look on Charlie’s face. ‘Yes, Liam is attending the barbecue. It took hours of coaxing and begging and fighting but we managed to compromise. ’

‘That’s an improvement, I guess. He’s trying. You know, Brax told me the same thing when he told me we’d been invited. That Ma Braxton wanted to get to know me better. Maybe it’s just me, but that kind of sounded a little strange. I could never imagine that coming out of her mouth. The woman detests me.’

‘I thought the same thing when Heath told me. It almost sounded nice. I’ve only met Cheryl once and she made it pretty clear how she felt about me. But you know, maybe she’s just making an effort to be in her sons lives. I guess us women are part of the package now.’

‘I guess. So what’s new with you?’

Bianca smiled. ‘Oh you know, I’m just sitting around like Humpty Dumpty waiting until the baby breaks out. I’m so bored these days going to the bowls with Colleen and a bunch of old people sounds like a rave.’

‘Ouch. Don’t even think about it.’ Charlie gasped. ‘That’s bad. What are you doing with yourself all day?’

‘I don’t know. All this time to myself is a very new concept. The last school holidays I had Liam all to myself to keep me company and now I only have half of him and we can’t really do much anyway, given how exhausted I get these days.’

‘Well, maybe you need a hobby, something to keep you occupied. What do you like? What’re you good at?’ Charlie offered her assistance.

‘I am an excellent shopper.’

‘You can’t shop for the rest of your pregnancy. You’d go bankrupt, and you already have the nursery ready so no excuses.’

‘I know. I know.’ Bianca sighed. ‘Actually, now that I think about it, there’s not much I’m good at, nothing useful anyway. Shopping, eating, writing with my toes, wiggling my ears, burping the alphabet and ooh! I can quote every single episode of ‘Sex and the City’ word for word.’

Charlie looked impressed. ‘And I will always admire that about you. It takes a great woman to be that dedicated to New York’s finest and still have time for a life.’

‘And I shall always admire your honesty.’ Bianca beamed at the compliment. ‘Seriously though, I’ll think of something. Right now, I need to mentally prepare myself to meet the family.’

‘Here’s to meeting the family. May tonight be less terrifying than we anticipate it to be.’ The two great women toasted their coffee cups across the table.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bianca walked through the crowd with Liam on her arm to find that there wasn’t a single familiar face. The Braxton clan was bigger than she’d thought and it was bizarre to think that these strangers were her son’s family.

‘Bee, what’re we doing here?’ Liam chuckled. ‘Do you even know any of these people?’

At that moment Heath walked over to them with his mum. ‘Bianca, you made it. You remember my mum, right?’

‘How could we forget?’ Liam muttered as he recalled the disastrous dinner with the grandmothers-to-be.

‘It’s nice to see you again Cheryl.’ Bianca offered her hand but the older woman just stared at the hand like it was a foreign object. Awkwardly, the hand went back to her side unshaken. ‘You have a lovely house.’

Cheryl snorted. ‘You haven’t even been in my house.’

‘Well, the outside of it looks lovely. Right on the riverbank, you must love it.’

‘It’ll do. Help yourself to food if you’re hungry. You won’t get five star services or whatever it is you’re used to in my house. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go save my other grandchild before she loses her voice from all that wailing. Honestly, you’d think that copper’s never had a baby before the rate she’s going. Does no one swaddle a baby to sleep anymore?’

Cheryl had already started walking away halfway through her rant and still muttering to herself she reached Charlie and Aria in her pink wool bodysuit and picked the baby up from her mother’s arms as she tried to put the crying baby to sleep. Bianca gulped as she watched Ma Braxton start to swaddle Aria; there was no way she could be the kind of mother Cheryl expected.’

‘Don’t worry about her.’ She looked up to see Heath smile at her. ‘She’s scary but she’s harmless. Well, most of the time anyway.’

‘For someone who wants to get to know me, she’s doing a great job of avoiding me.’

‘You’re a little hard to avoid these days.’ Liam glanced at her large stomach jokingly and chuckled but stopped when Bianca glared at him, obviously not finding it funny. ‘No offence.’

Heath put his hand on the small of her back, making a show of it to Liam who glared back ‘Come on, my great-grandma wants to meet you. She’s ninety nine and holding out to meet her great-great-grandson before she croaks. Wouldn’t want to keep her waiting, she might be gone before we get there.'

‘My son has a great-great grandma living. Wow.’

‘I’m going to go find myself a drink.’ Liam walked away unimpressed and Bianca found herself being led away into the house before she knew what was happening.

‘I didn’t know you were bringing Murphy.’ Heath observed as they walked through the hall, his hand still unnecessarily on her back as he guided her.

‘He is technically still my boyfriend.’ Bianca said defensively.

‘Technically? Yeah, I suppose technically he is. That’s the thing about boyfriends. You never can be sure about them. They come and go.’ He smiled and put his hand on her belly showily. ‘Family on the other hand, family’s forever.’

Bianca’s felt giddy at the words and gulped as they reached a closed door, not altogether ready to meet Heath’s family, her son’s family, her family.’

An hour later, Liam found himself playing third wheel to Ruby and Casey. A metre away, Heath and Brax watched their women sit together chatting and laughing while they worked the grill.

‘Where’d mum disappear to?’ Heath asked. ‘I thought the whole point of this was so mum could hang out with the chicks and get to know them.’

Brax flipped the steaks, his eyes never leaving Charlie who looked beautiful as always. ‘You never hear of patience, mate?’

‘It’s been an hour. I think we’ve been patient enough. Is it so bad I want them to like each other. Everyone’s met Bianca and loves her. Even Uncle Harry likes her. Why can’t mum?’

‘Uncle Harry likes anyone in a skirt when he’s had that many beers in him. And anyway, mum’s going to come around. She grew to love Aria, why not her mother?’ Brax saw Ma Braxton come out of the house and walk to Charlie and Bianca with a perfectly sleeping baby girl. ‘See, what did I tell you?’

Heath glanced at the three women as he transferred the steaks on the grill to a plate. All him and his brother wanted was for their mother to get along with the women in their lives. It would make it a hell of a lot easier. The boys watched as Cheryl handed Aria to Charlie and the women made awkward small talk. ‘This is mum we’re talking about. Let’s not get our hopes up.’

A phone beeped. Heath looked at his phone and frowned as he opened the text. It was the third of the kind that night. Moving away from his brother, he looked over at Bianca once more, just to make sure she was still alright.

Bianca excused herself feeling a little tired. Glancing over at Liam, she felt a little guilty for barely seeing him but there were just too many people to meet. Everyone kept coming over and saying hello and tired of shaking so many hands, he headed to the deserted front yard for some air.

The air was uncharacteristically cool for a mid-summer night and Bianca huddled into her arms to gather warmth. Instantly, she found an arm wrapping her waist and looked back to find Liam embracing her. ‘Sorry I haven’t been around much tonight.’

‘You had people to meet. Rubes kept me company. Can we leave now? I’m kind of sick of this.’ Liam asked.

‘Yeah. Why don’t you bring the car around? I should go back and say good bye.’ When Liam had left, the air was still and quiet again. There was not a soul in sight, not a sign of existence apart from the faint chatter coming from inside. Bianca was a perfect target, standing all alone on that lawn with no one to run to her rescue.

[mizziette]

THIRTY EIGHT

‘Bianca?’ Her voice pleaded desperately. ‘Bianca please, we’re all so worried about you. Just give me a sign, anything, to tell me you’re okay. I know you probably won’t get this but it’s going to be okay. I’m going to find you, where ever you are. You’re going to be okay. I’m not giving up. I love you.’

Charlie knew it was a useless ploy as she put down her phone after her twentieth voicemail to Bianca. Where ever her best friend was, it was somewhere voice mail couldn’t reach and the realisation was devastating as the young cop shed a tear. One thing was for sure, these people were messing with the wrong girl. Whoever took Bianca Scott would pay for the deception immeasurably.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Liam pushed Heath against the wall angrily but the hot headed river boy did nothing to stop him; he was too worried about Bianca. ‘Beating me up won’t help.’

‘It’ll help me feel better.’ Liam growled.

‘Both of you, stop it.’ Brax intervened. ‘This isn’t helping us with Bianca. You need to work together.’

‘This is your fault.’ Liam let go and accused.

Heath hung his head. He knew all too well that this time it was well and truly his fault but right now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. More pressing issues consumed his attention. ‘We can’t just sit around waiting for the cops to handle it. They’re all useless. We got to do something.’

‘Well, if you were a psycho ex-con looking for revenge, where would you hide?’

‘The Pirovics have a storage unit down by the river.’ Heath offered. Jake had been sending him threatening text messages all throughout the barbecue and he regretted not keeping a closer eye on Bianca.

Brax shook his head rocking his daughter in his arms as the three men stood in Cheryl’s lounge room. ‘Too obvious. They’d know that’s the first place we’d look.’

‘How about the drop off point? Or Jake’s headquarters. Nah, cops would look there. The old warehouse at the national park?’ Heath paced the room full of concern; he could lose both Bianca and his unborn son. It was four in the morning. They had been awake all night; the guests had gone home hours ago, Cheryl had drunk herself out of stress and Charlie had left to help the station conduct their search.

‘They’d have to be at the warehouse. Drive around there.’ Brax nodded. ‘I can’t leave Aria by herself. You go.’

Liam stood up ready. ‘Maybe we should call the cops first.’

‘What’s with all you do-gooders and coppers?’ Heath squared off with Liam, clearly agitated. ‘What’s so great about them anyway? They don’t even do anything. In case you haven’t noticed this happened right under Buckton’s nose.’

‘Oi.’ Brax intervened, annoyed at the dig to his girlfriend. ‘Liam’s right. Two of you against probably the whole of Jake’s gang, they’re not great odds. You need the backup.’

‘Who says Murphy’s coming with me?’

‘I’m not sitting back while my pregnant girlfriend’s missing because your thug rivals want to get at you!’ Liam stood his ground. ‘I’m coming. You can’t stop me.’

In the end, their mutual affection for Bianca overpowered their dislike for each other and half an hour later, the two men pulled up to the large abandoned warehouse in the middle of the national park. Brax had already called Charlie to send backup to the site, it was only a matter of time before they arrived.

Getting out of the car, they sneaked up to the door and it creaked open. Heath took a gun out from the back of his pants and armed it.

‘What the hell are you doing with that?’ Liam yelled in a whisper so the rival gang didn’t hear. ‘Are you stupid?’

‘I’m not stupid enough to sneak into enemy territory unarmed.’ Heath gestured with his gun. ‘Now keep moving. And for god’s sake, be quiet.’

As they proceeded deeper into the darkness, a funny stench clogged up the air and mixed with smoke. Something was burning. Putting their hands on their mouths Heath and Liam moved on. If Bianca was in there, they weren’t going to leave her behind.

A flicker. The boys glanced at a bright orange light of fire that illuminated the top corner of the warehouse on the loft as they turned the corner. The light was accompanied by a woman’s screaming and sobbing.

‘Bianca!’ Heath ran up the stairs, his mind only on his son and his mother, ignoring the smoky fumes as he coughed. Liam followed Heath less than a quarter second later.

‘Heath? Help me!’ Bianca whispered as she cowered tied up by the window, trapped in a ring of fire ready to engulf her. All around her the loft was consumed by a raging fire which was growing even more out of control by the second. The other gang had probably run by now.

Bianca’s eyes were filled with desperation and fear as she gazed into Heath’s eyes pleadingly through the wall of flames but Heath was frozen in a different kind of fear. The look on her face broke his heart and he desperately wanted to help her but his feat remained planted to the floor as the fire enraged between them. At the most inopportune moment, he found that he couldn’t conjure up courage, and the river boy hesitated in a trance.

Heath watched as Bianca’s eyes went from fear to desperation to confusion to anger all in the matter of three seconds because exactly three seconds later, a figure flashed past Heath Braxton and fell onto the woman just as the flames reached her leg and began to burn her. As Liam covered his girlfriend with his own body, the sirens began moving closer. The cops had arrived.

The only thing on Liam’s mind was saving his girlfriend. The second he saw Bianca engulfed by the flames, he had run straight through the fire and body blocked the blaze from Bianca. He tried not to notice the pain as his back burned and couldn’t help but yell out. The flames seared into his skin like a brand. And then there was the cold splash of relief as water hit his back and dulled the flames. It seemed Liam’s entrance into the loft had triggered Heath to snap out of his trance and find a hose to shower the fire with.

One could only hope that a little water would be enough to get them through this terrible ordeal.

[mizziette]

THIRTY NINE

‘I know this is hard honey, but anything you can remember could help.’ Charlie stood by Bianca’s bedside at the hospital in her cop uniform, more relieved than anything that she was alright.

‘It’s all a little blurry.’ Bianca lay back and tried to ignore the searing pain coming from beneath the bandages on her calves and foot. ‘I turned around to go back to the party and Jake was behind me grinning. Before I could react, he grabbed me, turned me around and put something white on my mouth. And then everything went black for a while.’

‘Something white? Like a cloth maybe? It sounds like he used a chloroform rag.’ Charlie held her friend’s hand tightly for moral support.

‘Yeah, I guess it might’ve been a rag.’ Bianca sighed as the memories returned to her. She hated remembering these horrible things but if it would help the police catch them, she could do it. ‘When I woke up I was in the loft of that warehouse in binds. There were candle lanterns lit and Jake was there with some other guys.’

‘Can you remember how many? Did you recognise any of them?’

‘About two or three. Three, I think. There was that guy who always wears those childish hip hop hats and baggy clothes. They called him Hammer I think.’

‘Hammer Pirovic. He’s Jake’s younger brother.’ Charlie filled the blanks as she wrote on her notepad. ‘What about the third guy?’

‘I only heard a voice.’ Bianca felt a tear slide down her cheek. ‘Charlie, how could this have happened?’

The young officer sat on the edge of the bed. ‘This must be hard for you sweetie. Do you want me to come back later to finish the interview? You’ve been through a lot the last few hours.’

‘No. No. I’ll be fine. Let’s just get this over with.’ Bianca wiped her tears and continued, her voice grief-stricken. ‘They.. They wanted to hit Heath where it’d hurt. He told me that he’d lure Heath there in the morning and-‘

‘And?’

Bianca took a deep breath. ‘And kill him. But Jake wanted to call him before morning and they both got arguing and the candle dropped and… Charlie, they left me there. When the flames wouldn’t go out, they just left me still tied up. I thought I was going to die until Liam…’

The poor woman couldn’t finish the sentence and Charlie reached out and hugged her close. ‘It’s over now, Bee. You’re okay and the baby’s healthy; he’s okay too. I’m going to find Jake and his mates and fix this. I promise.’

‘Have you seen Liam?’ Bianca sat back. ‘The doctors won’t let me get out of bed. Is he going to be okay? He got burnt worse than me.’

‘I haven’t seen him but he’s going to be okay, the doctor told me Liam has deep second degree burns. Most of his back peeled right off. He’s in surgery now getting skin grafts. I’m sorry.’

‘Oh god.’ the pregnant woman looked down at her legs. Underneath the layers of bandages, they were only a little red and hadn’t been burnt too badly. Her legs probably wouldn’t scar but Liam, Liam would have a permanent reminder of for the rest of his life. ‘And Heath?’

‘He got carbon monoxide poisoning from the smoke but he’s already been treated and discharged an hour ago. Practically ran out of here.’

Bianca sighed, wondering why Heath had gone home without seeing her. Him not visiting hurt more than it ought; if he didn’t want to see if she was okay that was fine, but he could’ve at least checked on his son.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was two days later before Bianca was allowed out of her hospital room. For forty eight hours she twiddled her thumbs restlessly while her bandages were changed every four hours, and her baby monitored regularly. There was a chance the smoke affected the baby but for now, he was healthy as a horse.

The door to her room opened and closed numerously as people visited her. April, Irene, Charlie, Ruby, Leah, Gina, her mother and all her friends but Bianca noticed one face was missing. Heath Braxton. She’d been expecting him to return but the man had disappeared.

The nurse came and helped her out of bed. Her burnt legs still too painful to support her heavily pregnant body, so she had to use a wheelchair to go down the hallway to visit her boyfriend in the severe burns unit.

Entering the room, Bianca gasped in shock when she saw the state that Liam was in. Hooked up to an IV, the musician lay shirtless on his stomach with his back covered in burn dressings. It was a saddening sight.

Liam opened his eyes as he lay with his cheek rested on the pillow. ‘Bianca?’

‘I’m here.’ Bianca wheeled herself to his bedside and held his hand but he winced in pain so she let go. ‘Sorry. Oh, Liam, I’m so sorry.’

‘Hey, this isn’t your fault. Don’t cry.’ Liam tried to smile. ‘It’s just a little burn. I’m going to be fine. More importantly are you? Is the baby okay?’

‘The baby’s doing great. So am I. I’m getting discharged day after tomorrow.’

‘That’s great. I’m probably going to be stuck here on my stomach for a while. Probably won’t be able to wear shirts for a while either. Not that I’ll ever have anything worth showing off again. Think you could love a scarred man?’

Bianca sobbed silently and smiled. ‘I could never stop loving you Liam, even if I wanted to. I don’t care what you look like. I

love you.’

‘I love you too, babe.’ Liam whispered. ‘Listen, I’m sorry I’ve been acting like a jealous boyfriend lately.’

‘Hush.’ Bianca stroked his cheek. ‘You don’t have to say anything.’

‘The thing is Bianca, when I saw you in those flames none of it mattered. It doesn’t matter if you’re having Heath’s baby or if he’s in love with you or whatever as long as we love each other. None of it matters. All I could think about in that fire was that I’d lose you without you knowing how much I love you. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.’

‘You could never lose me Liam. And I know you love me, I do. We’re going to make this work. Life’s too short not to.’

‘Don’t we know it.’ Liam smiled as Bianca leaned in for a kiss.

[mizziette]

FORTY

‘Are you sure?’ Bianca triple checked. ‘Are you absolutely sure?’

‘Bianca, you have nothing to worry about anymore. We apprehended Jake and his accomplices this morning hiding in the national park. It’s all over. They won’t hurt anyone for a long time.’ Charlie smiled.

‘You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that.’

‘I am too. How are you settling now you’re back at home?’

‘It’s a nightmare trying to get around. Sid gave me a cane for the next few days until I’m fully recuperated but I feel like I’m ninety limping around holding that.’ Bianca leaned back into her couch at the beach house.

‘It won’t be for long though. You’ll be back on your feet in no time.’

‘I know it’s just frustrating. I guess I’m better off than Liam though. He’s been lying on his stomach 24/7 for over a week.’

Charlie took off her police issue black shoes and put her feet under her. ‘Everything’s better with you two then?’

‘Who would’ve thought it would take an almost near death experience to get us back on the right track again.’ Bianca chuckled. ‘For the first time in months, we’re talking again. I mean, really talking without fighting or anything.’

‘That’s great Bee. Now that your love life is back on track you can focus completely on your pregnancy.’

‘I’m looking forward to it.’ Bianca suddenly thought of something she’d been meaning to ask. ‘Charlie, you haven’t heard from Heath lately, have you?’

‘No. I’m not exactly Heath Braxton’s biggest fan.’ Charlie sighed. ‘Come to think of it, Brax hasn’t either. Why do you ask?’

‘I haven’t seen him since the fire and I can’t help but sense he’s avoiding me. I just wish I knew why.’ Bianca sounded worried. ‘It’s like he’s dropped off the face of the earth; I just need to know he’s okay.’

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bianca stood with her cane smiling politely as Colleen Smart gave her the third degree. In a small town like Summer Bay, news travelled fast and the old gossip felt obliged to give her two cents worth.

‘You know Miss Scott, I had a similar experience with death once.’ Colleen rambled. ‘God himself tried to strike me down with lightning last year so if you ever need some advice to deal with your fear …’

Bianca saw Heath walking towards the surf club door she was standing in front of. The minute they locked eyes, he sheepishly turned around and tried to walk away.

‘I’m sorry colleen. Could you excuse me for a moment?’ She turned to Colleen before walking towards the father of her child packing up his surfboard onto the car. ‘Heath!’

Bianca walked as fast as she could but that wasn’t much given her cane and her pregnancy. She frowned as he opened the driver’s door to get in. ‘Heath! Don’t make me run after you! That’s not so easy for me to do these days. Please.’

Heath clenched his fist against the door before nervously turning around abruptly just as the young blonde reached him. ‘Hey.’

‘Hey. I haven’t seen you in a while.’

‘Yeah, I’ve been busy.’ Heath muttered and wouldn’t look her in the eye.

‘Too busy to check up on a friend?’ Bianca’s voice was sweet and kind. ‘Is everything okay?’

‘Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?’ He turned his head to look at the ocean.

‘Because I’ve called you all week and you haven’t answered. Because you can’t look me in the eye. Have I done something, Heath?’

‘No, of course not.’ He sulked. ‘It’s not you.’

‘Okay.’ Bianca was confused.

Heath looked uncomfortable. ‘I’m surprised you’d want to talk to me.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I thought… after everything, you wouldn’t want to talk to me. You should hate me.’

‘Heath, why would I hate you? You’ve been nothing but caring these last few months.’

‘Obviously not enough.’ Heath muttered and ignored the question. There was a short silence before he continued. ‘Is everything okay with you and the baby? And your boyfriend, he seemed pretty busted up.’

‘We’re all fine. But you’d know that if you’d come to visit me.’ Bianca smiled sweetly, trying to reassure him.

‘You’re lucky to have him, Murphy, Liam.’ He looked uncomfortable as he corrected himself, using his first name for the first time. ‘He really loves you.’

Bianca was surprised at this new humbleness and sincerity. ‘I know. I really love him.’

‘Look, about what happened.’

‘Heath, let’s just forget about it and move on.’

‘No…’ Heath looked at his feet in shame with his hands in his jeans pockets. ‘The thing is, you were right.’

‘I was? About what?’

‘Well, everything, I guess.’

‘Everything?’ Bianca echoed, stunned by the honesty and sincerity. ‘Even about – you and me?’

‘Yeah, everything.’ He nodded and spoke slowly, as if he was trying to force the words out. ‘I guess I’ve known it all along. How you felt about him, I mean. God knows you’ve told me enough times. It’s just, it didn’t really hit me until… you know, the other night when…’

‘We don’t have to talk about this.’ Bianca sympathised, knowing how hard this was for him.

‘No, I really do. Bianca, you don’t understand. I’ve never… I’ve never felt like that about anyone. Not even you. Which I guess you probably noticed… you know. When I didn’t exactly come to your rescue. During the fire and all.’

Bianca felt like she had to stick up for him simply because someone needed to; he was doing such a great job of putting himself down. ‘Liam told me how great you were, finding me and all. And you were great afterward. You carried Liam out of that building, Heath. You are amazing.’

‘That was nothing.’ Heath shrugged, and rubbed his temple. ‘That was nothing. What Liam did, diving into those flames like that… he didn’t even think about it and I…’

‘It’s alright, Heath. It really is.’

‘Really?’ Heath looked into Bianca’s eyes for the first time, his eyes a mix of hope and indignity. ‘You forgive me?’

‘There’s nothing to forgive.’ Bianca smiled and wrapped her arm around his elbow. ‘Besides, if we weren’t okay, you wouldn’t be able to buy lunch for your gorgeous friend. Come on, I’m starving.’

Heath smiled and led the way.