Driftwood

[Ludub]

43 minutes ago, KittCatt said:

So Roo is pregnant! That must've been a shock, thinking you're experiencing menopause then actually finding out you're having another baby  And Matt must be quite shocked too..As well as Alf, Maddy and everyone else when they tell them! 

Roo's hallucinations in the dream/flashback was really interesting. Not quite sure how a cat could've gotten there, and an alien invasion?! Roo certainly went through a lot! Hallucinating, bleeding and trying to look after a newborn, all by herself with no help.

18 minutes ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

The opening flashback was interesting and really captured what Roo went through back then.Was the cat real or not?We can probably rule out the aliens.And a real shocker that she's pregnant again! Definitely fertile and they aren't even stranded without contraception this time...I can see Alf being really pleased.

Thanks guys!  Really glad you enjoyed this chapter. I was a little worried that it might be a bit too graphic. She went through an awful lot with the birth, and she was very lucky to survive, so I think it's fairly understandable that she's so traumatized. The hallucinations would have been scary too. Finding out that she's pregnant would be such a shock for everyone so we'll see how everyone reacts...

22 minutes ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

I think your use of the cancer cluster is broad strokes consistent with what we saw on screen, the ending just kind of fizzled out anyway.I was wondering about Oliver being on the list and dismissed it as "your story" so nice to get a bit more information.(Not sure Kane and Kirsty would get back together, it seemed she grew into a very different person to the one that married him, but again, "your story", and we've all got couples we'd like to think were back together.)

Yeah, I'm not sure that Kane and Kirsty would really get back together because as you say they did become quite different in later years. I'm kind of choosing to ignore the later years storyline though in putting them back together. Again, a bit of creative license... haha  Maybe Ollie being sick would have drawn them back together? I dunno, grasping at straws, lol!  (I also really don't know why I liked Kane as much as I did. It was probably one of the most ridiculous pieces of writing in the show's history - 'Girl falls for sister's rapist' - I mean, really?! The show then spends the next few years shamelessly trying to redeem him by any means necessary, including an extremely manipulative cancer storyline, until we arrive at the point where even his victim forgives him and starts to view him as someone she can turn to for help. So stupid, it was actually entertaining! I told you I'm a sucker for a good sob story though! lol! ) 

31 minutes ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

(He's even given her Nicole's old nickname!)

Yeah, I know. Maybe she reminds him of her? The attitude in this case would be reminiscent of Nicole, so it kinda makes sense. 

Thanks guys! 

 

17 minutes ago, pembie said:

Quite gross but I was thinking Roo was going to eat that white cat when she first found it because she was on the hunt for something to eat. Seaweed quite nice from the chinese takeaway I'm not so sure how it would taste if you had some straight  from the sea Anyway that white cat is quite creepy...Oh yes before I forget please write a scene for  Roo's experenice of  the alien invasion

The blind restaurant yes I would go and try that out...I would do anything for a night out though lol So do you fancy going to the one in London with me?

Really liking Aden's VS the cancer cluster story too this. Its really cool

I'm not sure eating a dead cat (when you don't know what it died from) would be a very good idea!  Otherwise, it probably would have been a more attractive prospect than the seaweed she was going to go get. And yeah, I think crispy seaweed from the Chinese might be a bit more appealing too! (I'll see what I can do about the alien invasion, lol! )

I'm not sure I'd like a blind restaurant that much, but sure why not?!  I can't promise I won't have a panic attack though and have to be escorted outside!

[Inactive User]

Great chapter

Whoa that Roo is pregnant again 

Liked the part when Aden is seeing Belle's ghost all the time

Update soon please xx

 

[hward]

I wouldn't like to be in Matt's shoes when Alf finds out that Roo is pregnant again!  I totally loved the flashback scene, poor Roo, it was like something out of a horror story.

I'm wondering if Aden is getting a bit out of touch with reality with his seeing "Belle" and talking to her?

[Ludub]

Thanks again to everyone for the very kind comments and encouragement! Really hope you like this one!  (Thanks for the inspiration on this one Pembie! )

 

WARNING: ADULT THEMES!

 

Chapter 18

 

 

“Yeah, okay” said Matt, sounding less than enthusiastic. He gently touched the scratches on his face with his fingertips and wondered what Brody would think when he saw them, “I’ll be there.” he sighed, thinking that he had more things to be worried about than Brody’s crazy scheme for a blind restaurant. His face still looked quite a mess too! He’d tried to warn Brody about it, but for some reason, he didn’t seem to think it was going to be an issue. It was a private dining event tomorrow night just for friends, and they’d all be wearing blindfolds, so they wouldn’t be able to see him anyway. Matt worried that Brody might think differently though when he actually saw him. It really wasn’t a good look for a high-end restaurant, that was for sure! He put the phone down on the table and picked up his coffee cup. He couldn’t face eating breakfast this morning. He stared down at the scrambled eggs and toast that were congealing on his plate and pushed them away.

He was still reeling from this morning’s revelations! Roo was pregnant! How on earth could she be pregnant?! Well, obviously, he knew how! But it just seemed to have caught them by surprise. Nate thought that she was about four months pregnant. They couldn’t be sure until she came in for a proper scan though, so he’d made them an appointment for the end of the week. They’d do all the measurements then and check that everything was normal. He just couldn’t get his head around it at all. Neither of them really understood what had happened. She’d done a pregnancy test when they’d first got home and it had definitely been negative. She’d been using birth control ever since, so Roo being this far gone was certainly a shock. Nothing had pointed to her being pregnant either, other than the slight tummy that she’d developed, and maybe a bit more moodiness. She hadn’t even had the morning sickness that she’d had with Alfie. If she was four months gone then she must have been pregnant before they’d even left the island. Maybe a week or only a few days, but perhaps not long enough to show up in a pregnancy test?  That seemed the only reasonable explanation but they’d find out at the scan, he supposed…

He heard little feet scurrying down the stairs, and Roo shouting Alfie’s name as she followed behind him. A moment later, a naked Alfie wearing only his frog-themed hooded towel like a cape came running across the living-room floor towards him. “Hey, come here little man!” laughed Matt, holding out his arms to him as he ran towards him giggling his head off. He’d just had his bath and Roo had been trying to get him dressed but he’d run away from her and made it all the way to the living-room before she’d caught up with him.

“Dada!” he shouted, holding up his arms so that he could lift him up onto his knee, “Up! Up!”

“Okay, come on!” he chuckled, glancing over at a red faced and exasperated looking Roo. “He got away from you, huh?!” he teased, bouncing Alfie on his knee and wrapping his towel around him. He looked over and gave Roo a little smile.

“Yeah, he can go pretty fast when he wants to.” she complained, drying her hands on her dress and rolling her eyes at Matt, “You can give him his bath next time”. She walked over to the coffee pot that was sitting on the kitchen counter and poured herself out a cup. She leaned her back against the kitchen counter giving an exhausted sigh and held her cup in both hands to breathe in the scent.

“Uh… do you think you should be having that?” asked Matt, eyeing the cup of coffee with concern.

“Right” she said, with a little flash of anger. She stared down at the cup of coffee in her hand before setting it back down on the counter with a sigh of frustration. “I guess I’ll have to get used to everyone telling me what’s best for me… won’t I?

“Fine, Roo… have the coffee then” sighed Matt, frowning across at her. He could see where this was heading and he knew that nothing that he said was going to diffuse the situation. When Roo wanted a fight, she’d pick on every little thing he said. “I’m just trying to get my head around this too, y’know?!” he said, giving her a pleading sort of head tilt.

“Yeah, I know” snapped Roo, “…but I’m the one who’s gonna have to do this all over again, Matt! I’m the one who has to give birth!”

“I know” he sighed, “I do know that, Roo”.

She gave a snort of derision and went to the fridge to get the orange juice out. She hated that men always seemed to think that it was such a simple thing. As though it was no big deal forcing another human being out of your body. She’d nearly died the last time, for Christ’s sake! “I guess I’ll just have some orange juice…” she said, pouring out a glass and glaring at him across the room, “If that’s okay with you?!”

“Have the coffee if you really want it, Roo” said Matt, handing Alfie his little toy car and setting him back down onto the floor to play. “I’m sure it won’t do any real harm.”

“Oh, yeah!” she said, glaring at him as she slammed the fridge shut, “Then I can feel guilty about it all day!”

“Okay… I don’t know what you want me to say” said Matt, getting up and coming over to the breakfast counter, “Do you want me to give you some space? I can go for a walk or something?”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea!” replied Roo, narrowing her eyes at him in anger, “Just walk away and leave me here… Nothing changes there then!” She slammed the glass down on the counter and stomped angrily towards the door to the hallway. “Why stick around, Matt?! Huh?!” she yelled at him from the doorway, “Why not just leave now while you still have the chance?! …I mean, you’re young! You have a chance to find someone else! You don’t have to stay with me just because of the baby!”

“You know that’s not what I meant!” he groaned, wondering why she always had to do this. “I love you, Roo! You have no idea how much! …I want to be there for you… and for the baby… You know that! I’m gonna be here for you every step of the way!”

She gave a snort and began to laugh in a forced sort of way. “You?! There with me every step of the way?!” She narrowed her eyes at him in that cruel way that she always did when she was angry, “You did a great job of that the last time, Matt! …Round of applause for Matt Page! Expectant father of the year!”

“That isn’t fair, Roo” he said, looking noticeably wounded as his eyes filled up with tears, “You know that wasn’t my choice… I didn’t want…”

“I don’t care what you wanted!” she roared at him, “Maybe it’s not what you wanted… It doesn’t matter what you wanted! Or what I wanted… All that matters is what happened… What happened is that you left me on my own… You left me! You left me to do it all by myself!”

“Don’t you think I know that, Roo?!” he asked, shaking a little as he cried. “I think about it every day! If I could change it, I would!”

“Yeah… well that makes two of us!” she shouted, but her voice broke on the last couple of words and she began to cry too. “Maybe you’ll find some way to not be there this time too!” she cried.

“I’ll be there” he said, stepping towards her but she took a step back and held her hand up to tell him to stay away.

“Maybe you should go for that walk, Matt” she said, hugging her arms around her chest, “Maybe you should just go and not come back!” With that, she turned and ran up the stairs.

“Roo!” he shouted, as she ran away from him. He turned and looked at little Alfie who was sitting looking startled on the floor. He gave a sigh and hoisted him off the floor and onto his hip. “I’m not going anywhere” he called after Roo, looking up at the open bedroom door, “I’ll be here with Alfie… Come talk to me when you’ve calmed down.” He gave a sigh when he heard the door slam and the audible sound of her sobbing.

He walked over to the couch and sat down with Alfie in his arms. “I’m sorry, Mate!” he said, kissing Alfie on the top of his head as he cuddled in beside him, “Mummy and daddy are okay… It’s all okay.” He picked up the remote control and pressed play on Alfie’s favourite DVD. The music started and Alfie lay in beside him a little closer and stuck his thumb in his mouth.

He glanced down at his son as he nestled in his arms and gave a little sigh. Alfie meant the world to him and he couldn’t imagine his life without him at all. The idea of having another little baby to love was exciting and terrifying at the same time. He’d wanted Alfie to have a sibling, but with Roo’s advanced age, he hadn’t dared to hope. The problem was, he really didn’t know if they were ready for this. Things were tough for them right now and they still hadn’t quite figured out how to make a life for themselves here. Maybe they weren’t ready? But when was any parent ever ready?! He stared at the screen as Sebastian began to sing ‘Under The Sea’ to Ariel, and he laughed a little when he remembered singing that to Alfie on the island. His mind began to drift…

 

Matt stood waist deep in the water, with his spear held poised and his arm taut, waiting and ready. He was concentrating hard on the silver coloured fish that were swimming in the waters around his legs. He’d forced them to swim in this direction, barricading them off, just like he’d seen on that TV show one time. He was going to get at least one of them today if it killed him, maybe more! Roo was eating for two now so he needed to catch as many as he could. He didn’t want to strike too soon though. He didn’t want to scare them away. He needed to wait for exactly the right moment and then launch the spear with precision and accuracy. They weren’t going to get away this time. There would be fish for dinner tonight! He’d been getting better at this day by day, and he knew it.

As he stood there in the water now, waiting for his moment to strike, he gradually became aware of the long lingering gaze of the woman seated not too far away from him on the beach. He didn’t know how, but his whole body was telling him that he was being watched. Not just watched, but admired. He smiled to himself. It was as though he could feel her eyes on him, as they lazily drifted over the muscles on his shoulders, and rested momentarily on his chest. She might as well have been running her fingertips lightly over his body in the most seductive of ways. He could almost feel it, and a little shiver of excitement passed through his loins at the thought of returning her affection. Running his hands over her body in exactly the same way. Kissing her, holding her, having her. How could she still turn him on so much after all this time? Even in her current condition?

He turned to look at her and saw her smile. He thought that she looked stunningly beautiful today as she sat there in the sunshine like that. Her long graceful limbs, so tanned and shapely, and her blue eyes, shining in the sunlight, now even more striking for her darkened skin. She had a glow about her. They always said that about pregnant women, but in her case, it was true. Even her baby bump was beautiful. So smooth and round and tanned. She certainly didn’t look her 46 years, he thought. The dress that she’d been wearing that night hadn’t fared too well in the months that had followed the shipwreck, so she wasn’t wearing much more than a bikini at this stage. They’d needed the material for bandages, so she’d torn it up piece by piece, and managed to fashion herself a sort of halter-neck bikini top and what would probably be described as a loin cloth. It wasn’t exactly high fashion, but when he looked at her now, with the red of the chiffon against her glowing skin, he couldn’t help thinking that she was beautiful. He wanted to go over there right now and take her in his arms. He felt lucky… In some ways, he felt like the luckiest man on the planet. He had a beautiful woman and a baby on the way…

But that frightened him too. What if something went wrong?! There would be no-one to help them. No hospital, no doctors, no nurses, no pain relief, no caesarean sections, no blood transfusions… Nothing! If something went wrong, then they were on their own. He knew nothing about delivering a baby! He’d never even seen it on TV. He wanted this little baby more than anything in the world but he was growing more and more anxious about it with each passing day. He knew how frightened Roo was too. He could see it in her eyes every time they talked about the baby. She was terrified, and he understood that completely, but it was his job to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be alright. He tried to tell her that it was a natural thing. The most natural thing in the world! Women had been doing it like this for millions of years… It would all be okay! He tried to tell himself the same thing but his stomach was tied in knots with the worry of it all. Sometimes he felt sick to his stomach. Sometimes he’d lie awake at night silently panicking about it. What if It wasn’t okay?! What if they lost the baby! What if he lost them both?! He couldn’t tell her how much it scared him though. What good would that do?! How would that help her?!

He gave a little sigh and turned his attention back to the fish. For now, all he could do was wait, and hope, and take care of them both as best he could. ‘Fish for dinner’ he told himself, ‘That’s the best you can do for now.’

 

He rubbed his face in his hands and smiled down at little Alfie. They’d made it through every hardship that that island had thrown at them, and all three of them had survived against the odds, so surely they could get through this too? It wouldn’t be like that this time. They’d have all the help that they needed this time. They’d have the best of medical care, the support of their family and friends, and they would never have to worry about something as basic as food and shelter. He was going to be there this time! He wasn’t going to miss a moment. He looked at the ceiling and listened for the sounds of Roo moving about up there. He could hear her still slamming wardrobe doors and stomping her feet on the floorboards. She’d calm down soon, he hoped. She always did eventually. Then maybe they could talk properly? There was still a lot to talk about!

 

*****

 

Maddy sat on her beachtowel, cross-legged with her sunglasses on, and pretended to be reading her book. In truth, she had no idea what the book was about, because all her attempts to read it had resulted in her being four or five pages in, with no clue about what she’d just read. She just couldn’t concentrate. Her head was like a whirlwind today. Dave and Carly were featuring prominently in her thoughts. Image after image of the two of them together flashed through her mind. The smug grin on that little witch’s face just made her want to scream. How could people congratulate the two of them like that?! Mutual friends who she’d thought actually cared about her?! How had they not seen Carly for the nasty little ‘boyfriend stealer’ that she obviously was?! She’d taken her man from her in such an underhanded way and hadn’t even had the guts to come clean about it before she’d left for home. To do it a few weeks later when she was safely on the other side of the world had been the ultimate act of cowardice! She just wanted to scream! She wanted to hit something! Just then, she caught sight of something else that she wanted to hit. Down in the water now was that brown-haired big mouth from the caravan park. She narrowed her eyes at him as he paddled about on his rented surfboard. She hated these city types who came here for a few days and acted like they owned the joint. So arrogant, so full of themselves! She wanted to go down there right now and wipe that stupid grin right off his face!

“Hey!” said Jett, kneeling down beside her with a big smile, “What’s that you’re reading?” He hoped that he was coming across as cool and casual, and not like some sort of weirdo stalker that likes to perv on bikini-wearing girls on the beach.

“Oh, hey!” smiled Maddy, shielding her eyes from the sun as she turned to look at him. She glanced at the book in her hand and gave a little shrug. “It’s some trashy thing I picked up at the airport on the way home… but I just can’t get into it.”

“Yeah…” he said, feeling a little awkward as he hunkered down beside her, “Sometimes you just end up re-reading the same page over and over”. She smiled at him but he didn’t know what else to say. He hadn’t really thought this through. Talking to Maddy when he’d had a few drinks was one thing but approaching her like this when he was stone cold sober was quite another. He had no idea what to say to her! He gave a nervous little cough and looked around the beach.

“Do you want to join me?” asked Maddy, eyeing his rolled-up towel under his arm. He was wearing board-shorts and a t-shirt after all, so he was obviously planning to spend some time on the beach. She thought she wouldn’t mind a chat with her new mate. Maybe he was just the thing to take her mind off selfish men who just wanted to use her and throw her away.

“Uh… yeah” said Jett, looking pleasantly surprised, “That’d be great!” He unrolled his towel, taking his bottle of sunscreen out of the middle, and laid it down beside hers.  He gave her a little smile and then sat down on the towel and pulled his t-shirt off. “So…” he said, feeling his stomach doing somersaults, “you just chilling?” As soon as he said it, he felt himself cringe. ‘Chilling?!’ he said to himself in a mocking tone, ‘Chilling?! Seriously?! Who even says that?! She is going to think you are such a loser!’

“Yeah…” she sighed, staring off into the distance, “That’s exactly what I’m doing… I just want to turn off for a while… and not have to look at stupid Facebook, or stupid Instagram… or see my stupid so-called friends congratulating themselves on being horrible people!” She frowned as she caught sight of ‘him’ again, down in the water, talking to a couple of blonde haired girls. “I just want to forget that I ever even lived in London!”

“Not having a good day then?” asked Jett, giving her a concerned look, “You want to talk about it?”

“Not really” said Maddy, passing her hand under her sunglasses to wipe away her tears, “I just wish that men weren’t such bastards!”

“Thanks” he said, smirking a little, “Tell me how you really feel!”

“No!” she laughed, patting him on the knee and flashing him a little smile, “I didn’t mean you… obviously!” She raised an eyebrow at him and said, “I mean… you must know what I mean?”

“Uh… I guess so” said Jett, thinking it sad that a woman as beautiful as Maddy felt so terribly mistreated. Who were these idiots anyway?! How had they not seen the treasure that they held in their hands?! How on earth had they let her get away?!

She narrowed her eyes as she spotted that guy again splashing about with those same blonde girls. Why was he everywhere she looked?! “That guy for example” she said, pointing at him in the distance, “I mean… I met him earlier…” She glanced at Jett and shook her head in an angry and exasperated way. “He was so rude!” she said, “He bashed right into me and he didn’t even say sorry! He just asked me to give him a smile!” She ran her fingers through her hair and gazed back down at him. “He just expected me to swoon at his feet… What? Because he’s good looking?! Because he has pretty blue eyes?!”

Jett looked down the beach towards the young man that she was talking about and felt his heart sink. So, this was the guy that Maddy had her eye on then? He could read between the lines as well as the next person.

“I mean” she asked, turning to look at him with her eyebrows raised, “He’s not that good looking! Is he?!” She nodded with her head for him to look. “What do you think? Do you think he’s good looking?”

“Uhhh” stammered Jett, thinking that this was a little strange and cruel on Maddy’s part. Surely she knew how much he liked her?! Pointing out to him how good looking some other guy was seemed a little unnecessary. If she wasn’t interested, then she only had to say so.  “Yeah… I guess he’s pretty good looking” he answered, sounding a little flat.

“Not as much as he seems to think he is!” she exclaimed, shaking her head at Jett. “I think you’re a lot better looking than he is! …By a mile!” She lay down on her front, and rested her head on her arms, turning to look at him again with a lazy little smile. “You have the most beautiful eyes, you know?! With such long eyelashes! And such a pretty mouth too…”

“Thanks” he said, smiling down at her with newfound hope. Maybe he wasn’t out of the running entirely then?! Better looking than that city slicker down there on the beach?! He’d take that!

She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of sunscreen.  “Would you mind?” she asked, handing it to him and closing her eyes, “It’s so nice to have someone to go to the beach with.”

‘Oh my God!’ he squealed to himself inside, ‘Maddy Osbourne wants me to put sunscreen on her back! Maddy Osbourne wants me to touch her naked flesh! Okay, Jett! Get it together! You’re not a pervert! Just be a gentleman…” He squeezed out some of her sunscreen and started to gently rub some of it onto the skin on her back.

“Oh wait!” said Maddy, undoing the laces at the back of her bikini so he wouldn’t get sunscreen on it, “That’s better!”

Jett went back to applying the sunscreen for her and wondered whether to ask her out on a proper date tonight. She certainly seemed to feel comfortable around him even if the same couldn’t be said for him with her. He was a bit of a jibbering wreck when it came to Maddy. He’d never been like this with any other girl! “Uh…” he began, feeling his hands shaking a little as he continued to rub cream on her back, “I was wondering… if maybe you wanted to come for dinner with me tonight?”

“Oh… yeah” she said, sounding a little sleepy, “That sounds nice… Do you want to bring Kevin so I can meet him?”

Jett looked down at her with great confusion. Just who was she interested in?! One minute it was him, the next it was some lawyer from the city, and now it was his partner?! He couldn’t begin to figure her out. “You want to meet him?” he asked, sounding a bit surprised.

“Don’t you want me to?” she asked, looking up at him and giving a little shrug, “I mean… He’s an important part of your life, isn’t he? …It seems a bit weird not to meet him.”

“Yeah… well… I guess when you put it like that” he said, sounding a little disappointed. It wasn’t exactly the candlelight dinner that he’d been hoping for, but at least she was taking an interest in what he did for a living. Maybe she was just the type of girl that liked to take things very slowly… “I’ll text him and see if he’s able to come” he said, taking out his phone.

‘This is nice’ thought Maddy, ‘Only back in the Bay a short while and I’ve already made a couple of new friends. How much fun will it be to go clubbing with a couple of gay guys, just like back in London?!’ She watched him type out the message on his phone and gave a little sigh. He was such a nice guy and he was so very good looking! He was everything that she was looking for in a man and more! Just such a pity that he wasn’t straight!

 

*****

 

Roo sat down on the side of her bed and put her head in her hands. ‘Why am I always so mean to Matt?’ she asked herself, wiping at the tears that were streaming down her face, ‘Why do I always have to say those things?! What is wrong with me?!’ She knew that Matt hadn’t wanted to abandon her. She knew that he beat himself up about it all the time. Her pointing it out to him like this every time they fought really wasn’t fair. She wasn’t the only one that had nearly died back then! He’d done everything he could to get back to her. She was just so angry about it still, and no matter how much she tried to let it go, she just couldn’t. There was always an anger bubbling up inside her chest and it didn’t take much to make her snap. It was always poor Matt that took the flak though. She just couldn’t help it.

She pulled up her dress to look at her tummy and ran her hand over the little bump. She wasn’t really showing all that much yet although now that she knew she was pregnant it was hard to ignore. “Pregnant again?” she said, shaking her head at herself and laughing incredulously through her tears “This is so crazy!” She rested her hand on her tummy, and sat very still, trying to see if she could feel any movement. She didn’t think that she’d ever felt the baby kicking, but maybe she just hadn’t noticed because she hadn’t known that she was pregnant. She sat for a few minutes, waiting and hoping, but nothing happened. Maybe it was still too early? She rolled over onto her side on the bed and hugged her arms around her tummy. “How am I going to do this again?!” she asked herself, sobbing quietly as she remembered all those hours of pain and struggle, “How can I do this again at my age?! How am I going to do this?!” She pulled her knees up to her chest, and hugged her arms around her tummy, lying on her side on the bed. Slowly she began to drift off to sleep…

 

Bright lights! Bright lights filling the sky, flashing, blinding… rolling across the sky with deafening noise. The noise hurt her ears and the light hurt her eyes. She stared out through the gaps in the roof of her little hut and her heart hammered in her chest. They were coming! She knew that they were coming to get her but there wasn’t anywhere else for her to go!

She’d been down in the water when it had happened. Down in the warm salt water trying to soothe her aches and pains, and wash away the blood that was caked and crusted all over her. Salt water was supposed to help with healing, she knew that. She was just hoping that it might help to stop the bleeding, because although it had slowed, it still hadn’t stopped.

Suddenly the sky had darkened, blacker than it had ever been on the island. Even on the days when there was no moon, it had never been this dark. There was no light at all anymore! No light at all! It was frightening! She’d stood for a moment, chest deep in the water, and trembled in the eerie silence. She’d left Alfie in the hut because she was still too weak to carry him. Her heart gave a terrible thump as she wondered how to find her way back in the darkness. Would she get back to him at all?! What was happening?! How could it suddenly become night in the blink of an eye?! Hadn’t it been morning only a few minutes ago?!

Then, out of nowhere came a loud thundering noise, like something large and mechanical, with huge rumbling engines. After what seemed like an eternity, the lights began to switch on. One by one, circles of blue light appeared above her, projecting shafts of strange blue light over the ocean and the beach. She’d stood staring up at this strange arrival, quaking with fear, as she wondered what it was. She could see that the sky was filled as far as the horizon. It was filled with a dark grey metallic surface like nothing she’d ever seen before. The thing above was too large to be able to fully grasp its size or shape, and its surface seemed entirely unfamiliar in its construction. It didn’t look like any kind of structure a human would build. It was big and grey, and textured like tree bark, or like something organic and breathing. It was almost like a network of veins, irregular and branched, and gnarled in places. ‘A spaceship’ she said to herself under her breath, almost laughing to herself when she thought how ridiculous that was, ‘It’s a spacecraft… They’re aliens!’ She rubbed at her eyes, and shook her head, thinking that she must be imagining things.

Suddenly a wind began to pick up and the water began to roll in towards the beach in bigger and bigger waves. She was overwhelmed with a wave that just crashed out of nowhere over the top of her head. She emerged, coughing and spluttering, and desperately tried to find her feet again. ‘The beach’ she coughed to herself, wading as fast as she could and jumping with each crashing wave so as not to get knocked over again, ‘I need to get to the beach… I need to get back to my baby!’

With the wind came rain. She was being lashed in the face with stinging burning rain. It irritated her eyes and stung her skin. She fought her way through the waves and clambered onto the beach feeling her legs weak and heavy. She was badly out of breath and couldn’t help staggering as she tried to walk against the wind. It seemed to be blowing from all directions now like a whirlwind. It was hard to keep her feet. Sand kept picking up and blowing in her face. She staggered and slid a little before falling on her stomach. The wind whirled and howled around her, and she blinked to try to see through the lashing rain. Her stomach gave a terrible lurch as she saw pieces of their hut being blown away. What if Alfie was hurt?! What if he got blown away too?! She began to crawl towards the hut but she stopped when she heard ‘that’ noise. It was something like a crash of electricity… a zinging noise that rang out through the heavens. She looked over her shoulder, back towards the spacecraft, and that’s when she saw ‘them’… They were coming for her!

She’d barely made it back to the hut because she was so weak. A lot of the roofing material had been ripped off by the high winds and she could see the water pouring in from above. The whole hut flashed with blue light again, for all of a split second. as a beam from the ship passed over her, but it was long enough for her to see everything in fine detail. There were ‘creatures’ climbing all over the outside of the spacecraft emerging from the vein-like structures as though they’d been slit open. They were scuttling about like insects, pale and grey, and sort of spider-like. There was something fleshy about them too though, and she could see even from this distance that they were bigger than her! They were making their way up the beach! She was huddled with Alfie in her arms, simply cowering in fear, and wondering what they would do. Would they hurt her and Alfie?! As though in answer to her fears, little Alfie was screaming loudly on her chest, wailing in that desperate sort of way that set her teeth on edge, and she wished that he would be quiet. But how do you ask a newborn to be quiet?! There would be no hiding with him in her arms! They’d know exactly where she was! She’d just have to wait and hope that they didn’t hurt her. She pulled her legs up to her chest, leaning her back against the wall of the hut, and rocking Alfie back and forth to try to calm him. She was shivering badly now too, partly from the cold, and partly from the fear. Suddenly she saw something moving outside the hut. A flash of something grey! “Oh God! Oh God!” she whispered to little Alfie, cuddling him even closer to her and bracing herself for whatever came through that door “I love you baby, I love you!”

Suddenly a grey figure appeared inside the hut. It had strange tentacle type limbs that undulated when it moved. The flesh was pearlescent in a way, like a silver grey squid-like texture with visible purple veins, and it had large black shining eyes like every movie about aliens she’d even seen. It started to make a high pitched screeching noise and moved towards her.

“Nooooo!” she screamed, shielding herself with her hand and bending her whole body over Alfie to try to protect him., “Please, noooo!”

The creature took hold of her shoulder and gave her a violent shake. “Roo!” it shouted at her, “Roo! It’s me! Are you okay?! What’s wrong?!”

She looked up. Suddenly it was dark again and she could only just make out the outline of the figure in front of her. The rain was still lashing her in the face through the sizable gaps in the roof so it was very hard to see.

“Roo?!” it cried, in a raw and broken voice, “Is that our baby?! Oh, my God!” It fell to its knees and gave a pained cry as it hit the ground. “I’m so sorry” it sobbed, in a hoarse sounding voice, as though it might choke on its tears, “I’m sorry… I tried…”

She blinked to try to bring her eyes into focus. The figure in front of her was unmistakably human now… not a tentacle in sight! “Matt?!” she exclaimed, widening her eyes in shock, “Matt?! Is that you?!”

He shuddered in response and hung his head as he sobbed in front of her. “I’m so sorry!” he repeated, “I’m so sorry!”

Suddenly she launched herself towards him and started to cry. “Matt! Oh, my God, Matt!” she sobbed, kneeling in front of him and pressing frantic little kisses to his lips. He flinched a little in pain but she couldn’t see what was wrong. “We have to go!” she said, pulling at his arm, “They’re coming! They’re coming to get us now!”

“Who?!” he asked, sounding a little startled and wondering if they’d been found, “Who’s coming?!”

“The aliens” she answered, sounding noticeably impatient.

He stared at her dumbly for a moment, unsure if he’d heard her correctly over the howling wind. Surely she hadn’t said aliens?!

“I couldn’t do it on my own…” she shouted, trying to make herself heard over the gale force winds, “…but now you’re here! Maybe we can get away before they come for us!”

“What?!” he exclaimed, catching her wrist in his hand and then gently stroking her face. “Roo? … There… There are no aliens…” he assured her.

“Yes, there are, Matt!” she insisted, with a huff of frustration as she freed her wrist from his hand, “I saw them, Matt! They’re here! They’re coming!” She stared fearfully out through one of the larger gaps in the hut’s wall but with the heavy rain it was hard to see anything outside now.

“Roo… Listen to me!” he shouted, grabbing her wrist again and pulling her down to his level, “Listen to what I’m saying… There are no aliens!” He looked up at her with worried eyes, “Roo, seriously… what’s going on?”

“Didn’t you see them?!” she asked, starting to sound a little unsure of herself, “They’re out there, above the beach… There’s a spaceship and everything!”

He shook his head at her a little sadly and tilted his head at her in a pitying sort of way. She looked crazy eyed and sweaty. “Baby… I think you’re sick” said Matt, putting his hand on her forehead. His eyes widened a little as he realised how hot she was. “You’re burning up!” he said, “I think you’re imagining things…”

She shook her head, convinced that he had to be wrong. It had all seemed so real! She looked out through one of the gaps in the roof again and saw that the beach was clear. The grey spider creatures were gone. The rain and wind were still beating down, and the waves were still crashing onto the beach with great force, but there was no ship overhead. There were no blue lights. She turned to look at Matt with a look of great confusion. “Where… where has it gone?” she asked, collapsing all of a sudden, like a sack of potatoes. Her legs had simply gone out from under her.

“Roo, sweetie…” he said, looking with concern at the tiny baby still cradled in her arms, “I don’t think you’re very well”  He moved over to sit beside her, dragging himself with some difficulty, and wincing with the pain of his swollen leg. He leaned his back against the wall of the hut and let her lean her head on his shoulder. “There never was a spaceship…” he said, turning towards her and tucking her hair gently behind her ear, “I think we both know that you’re hallucinating”

“Maybe” she said, giving him a weak little smile and slumping as she leaned heavily against him.

He looked down at the tiny little bundle in her arms, wrapped in tattered red chiffon, and wiped at the tears that were rolling down his own cheeks. “Can I hold it?” he whispered to her.

She nodded and handed Alfie across to him as gently as possible. "Him" she said, slurring her words a little, "Alfie". He took him in his arms with a sad little sigh. “I’m so sorry, Roo!” he sobbed, looking down at his tiny little baby and leaning down to kiss him softly on the top of his head, “I would have given anything to be here”.

She glanced down at the bloodied swollen mess that his leg had become.  She could see that it was in a terrible state, and his face was very badly swollen too. She was too tired to talk to him tonight though. He was here now, and that was all that really mattered. Maybe she could rest now? …Her whole body felt like it was weighed down with lead. She was cold and she was wet, but Matt was alive, and he was home! Maybe the aliens weren’t coming. Maybe Matt was right… Even if he wasn’t, she didn’t have enough energy to run from them tonight… If they came, they came! She needed to close her eyes right now. She couldn’t fight it anymore… She needed to sleep…

 

Roo woke with a start and glanced at Alfie’s empty cot. She was huddled in a corner of the room and had dragged all the bedsheets off the bed. They were tangled all around her. “Sleepwalking again” she sighed, feeling a little disappointed in herself, “This is getting ridiculous!” She climbed to her feet a little shakily, still reeling a little from the trauma of her flashback, and made her way downstairs. “Matt?” she called out as she walked into the living-room, “Matt?! Are you here?”

“Mmm?” groaned Matt, putting his arms above his head to stretch before turning to look at her with big worried eyes, “You okay?”

“I’m sorry” she said, tilting her head a little apologetically at him as she looked down at her little family. Alfie was fast asleep in Matt’s arms and the DVD had long since finished. The screen was blue now. The light that it was casting over them was reminiscent of her hallucination so she reached for the remote control and turned it off.  She squeezed onto the sofa and pulled his arm around her shoulder. “I’m gonna try to be a bit nicer to you” she said to Matt, softly stroking Alfie’s little head of curly hair, “I’m horrible sometimes.”

“Yes, you are…” said Matt, giving a sad little laugh and planting a kiss on the top of her head, “But I love you anyway.”

“That’s just as well” she said, taking his hand and resting it on her tummy, “Because I’m having your baby…”

“You’re what?!” exclaimed Alf, standing at the end of the couch with a shocked look on his face, “Someone tell me I didn’t flamin’ hear that right?!”

[KittCatt]

Great chapter!

First of all, Maddy and Jett make me laugh  I have a feeling Jett's 'partner' might be a bit confused when he's invited to a meal with a women he doesn't know and Jett. 

Loved the flashback of Roo and those pesky aliens  That flashback was really interesting, with Roo hallucinating so vividly and Matt returning to her, seemingly just in time.. And now Alf knows she's pregnant again! And i liked Matt's flashback too, and Roo eventually apologizing. I understand her being like that though, after all, she was left alone to give birth and would never want that to happen again..

Looking forward to more!  

[Inactive User]

Great chapter, Ludub

I cracked up at the part about Maddy and Jett.

And I liked the flashback about Roo and the pesky aliens 

And uh oh at the ending...not expecting Alf to find out that way. I can sense him reacting badly to these news

Looking forwards to the next chapter xx

[Guest]

Great chapter

Loved Maddy and Jett.

Oh dear at the ending.

Update again soon

[Red Ranger 1]

Maddy and Jett really is a comedy of errors, looks like he's definitely in with a chance if she works out he's not gay.Roo was hard on Matt, glad she apologised.Loved the flashback and now Alf's found out in a fairly awkward way...

[Ludub]

15 hours ago, KittCatt said:

First of all, Maddy and Jett make me laugh  I have a feeling Jett's 'partner' might be a bit confused when he's invited to a meal with a women he doesn't know and Jett. 

 

14 hours ago, ~JarlieFanEver~ said:

I cracked up at the part about Maddy and Jett.

 

10 hours ago, Kristen said:

Loved Maddy and Jett.

 

10 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

Maddy and Jett really is a comedy of errors, looks like he's definitely in with a chance if she works out he's not gay.

Thanks everybody for the kind words  Glad you all liked Maddy and Jett. I thought this chapter was all getting a little heavy and we needed some light relief. Jett really has ended up in the 'friend zone' here. He just doesn't know why! Lol! As KittCatt said, Kevin might be a bit surprised to find himself out on a 3-way date with his partner and some girl he doesn't know! 

15 hours ago, KittCatt said:

 Loved the flashback of Roo and those pesky aliens  That flashback was really interesting, with Roo hallucinating so vividly and Matt returning to her, seemingly just in time..

This was a bit different alright! It's surprisingly difficult to write an alien invasion! Not sure I'll be taking up sci-fi writing anytime soon  Roo certainly went through a lot in Matt's absence! No wonder she's so angry with him! Haha 

14 hours ago, ~JarlieFanEver~ said:

And uh oh at the ending...not expecting Alf to find out that way. I can sense him reacting badly to these news

Yeah, I don't think Alf is going to be all that pleased about this! You'll just have to wait and see what he flamin' does about it though! 

Again, thanks a million for taking the time to read and comment! 

[Suzza101]

Great chapter I would love Maddy and Jett to get together. 

Oh no at the end 

please update soon