Past, Present and Future

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Story Title: Past, Present and Future.
Type of story: Short/Medium Fic .
Main Characters: Jack Holden, Martha Mackenzie and Alf Stewart
BTTB rating: T
Genre: Romance, Drama
Does story include spoilers: No
Any warnings: Sexual content, violence
Summary: After been in an abusive relationship for months and as she had regular contact with her Grandfather she decided it's time to start fresh away from her abusive partner so goes to live in Summer Bay. While she on the run from her boyfriend, she meets Local cop Jack Holden and even though they start a friendship she is keeping her past a secret from him. Will Martha boyfriend find her? Will Jack find out the truth? Will Jack and Martha find love?

 

Chapter 1

It was late at night and Martha had just coped yet another beating from her boyfriend Nathan and she knew that this beating was the worst yet and that she couldn't stay in that relationship any longer. Once she knew Nathan was asleep she had grabbed the bag she had packed earlier and walked outside to her car where she tossed her bag in before getting in herself into the car and she started driving. Even those it was late at  night, she knew exactly where she was going and that was to Summer Bay.

It was a few hours later and it was about Eleven thirty at night when Martha had arrived at the caravan park, carrying her bag. She knocked at the door and waited for an answer. Soon enough the door opened and Martha could see a man in his early thirties standing there "Can I help you?" Martha showed the man a smile "I'm looking for Alf Stewart." The man stood still "Right well I can't give you his address, I'm sorry." Martha just smiled and nodded when she heard a voice coming towards the door "Martha." Martha looked as she saw Sally walking towards her, she had met Sally a few times as she had been with her grandfather when Martha had visited. Once Sally was close enough Sally gave Martha a hug which she had happily returned "It's good to see you again Martha." Martha smiled at the woman "Yeah you too." Martha could see that the man was confused about who she was and was looking at Sally for answers "Oh sorry Flynn this is Martha, she is Alf's granddaughter and Martha this is my husband Flynn." The pair smiled at each other as Flynn moved allowing Martha into the house.

Sally and Martha were sitting on the couch while Flynn was calling Alf. Martha looked at Sally "Sorry for coming this late." Sally shook her head "There's no need for an apology besides I know your granddad will be glad to see you." Martha smiles "Yeah well I hope he won't mind me staying around for a while, if I'm honest I need a fresh start." Sally smiled happily at the girl "He won't at all. He will be just happy that your here." Sally paused she had known that Nathan had hurt Martha in the past "So Nathan he isn't around." Martha shook her head "He beat me up again tonight and it was the worst yet and that was when I decided to leave him." Sally could see Martha was nervous about it "Well you did the right thing and I'm sure he won't find you here." Martha crosses her fingers "I hope he doesn't." Martha gives Sally another smile as Flynn walks out "Alf's on his way." Martha looked up "Thank you for calling him." Flynn just nodded as he sat beside his wife.

It wasn't long before Alf walked into the house and Martha immediately stood up and ran into her grandfather arms and hugged him tightly which Alf returned "It's alright sweetheart. You're safe now." Martha was for the first time in a long time feeling safe in a place and she just hoped that wouldn't change. 

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Chapter 2

It was now the next morning and even though she had spent the night sleeping in a caravan it was one of the best sleeps she had. She rolled over and immediately switched her phone on which she straight away regretted after seeing twenty messages and about fifty missed calls from Nathan all of which she ignored and then she switched her phone completely off again.

After that Martha had quickly gotten changed before leaving the caravan to go for a walk and take a proper look around the seaside town of Summer Bay. When she spotted the beach path from the caravan park she immediately headed in that direction. Once she had gotten down there and looked around the beach, she knew her granddad was right about how beautiful this beach truly was.

She kept walking down the beach until she spotted her granddad who was fishing. Martha immediately walked beside him "Caught any?" Alf immediately turned around and picked up a bucket to show his granddaughter, the bucket of which had two fish in it "Well I'm impressed." Alf smiled at his granddaughter "And how are you this morning?" Martha knew Alf would ask that question after all he was probably worried "I'm ok. I'm gotten so many messages from Nathan but I'm just ignoring them." Alf nodded relieved "You're doing the right thing." Martha nodded "Yeah I know. I will leave you to your fishing." Martha walked up the beach after that.

Soon enough Martha had found herself at Noah's bar. She saw a gentleman at the counter "Hi." The man turned around "Hi. What would you like?" Martha briefly looked up at the menu "An Apple juice please." The man smiled "Of course and I don't mean to pry but I haven't seen you around before, are you new in town?" Martha nodded and smiled "Yeah I am. My Granddad Alf lives in and I'm moved here now too. I'm Martha Mackenzie." Martha put her hand out for the man to shake "Tony Holden." Martha smiled at Tony as she found change and handed it too him before he handed her the juice "Have a good day Martha." Martha smiled at the man "You too." Martha then walked out of the Surf Club drinking her juice, she knew she could get very used to living in Summer Bay.

It was later that day when Martha was declining a phone call from Nathan when she heard a voice "Hi Martha." Martha looked up and saw the man from earlier with a guy who looked like the younger version of him beside him "Hi Tony." Tony smiled at Martha "So how are liking the place?" Martha could see the younger guy was watching his father with confusion "Yeah it's great so far." Tony then looked at Jack "Oh Jack this is Martha. Martha this is my son Jack." Martha and Jack smiled at each other and shook hands before Martha said goodbye to the pair and walked away to find her grandfather.

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Chapter 3

It was later that night when Martha was sitting in the house with her granddad having dinner when her phone began ringing and as soon as she saw the number the fear she had came back, even those she knew she was safe, every time Nathan had tried to call her she felt scared. She quickly declined the call as she looked at her grandfather who knew exactly who the call was from "He won't find you here." Martha listened to him as he said that "I just really hope you're right." Martha suddenly didn't feel like eating and stood up "I just going for a walk. I will be back soon." Alf nodded knowing his granddaughter needed space after Nathan had tried to call her again.

Martha had walked down to the beach and immediately sat down on the sand and stared at the ocean. She didn't know but even those he grew up in the country, every time she had gone to the beach she was able to clear her head and she was hoping the same would happen tonight. As all she wanted to do was forget her abusive boyfriend and start fresh however Nathan was making that impossible for her with the memories that haunted Martha as well as all the texts and call he had made to her.

It wasn't long after that when Martha heard a voice "Would you like some company?" Martha recognized the voice and it belonged to Jack "Sure but only if you don't mind someone who isn't good company." Jack just smiled as he sat down beside Martha "I think I can cope." Jack didn't know why but when he had met Martha earlier that day, he had wanted the chance to get to know her and he knew now would be the opportunity to do that. Jack looked at Martha and could see something was on her mind "Are you ok?" Martha didn't know the guy so wasn't about to spill her secret to him "Not Really, I could use a distraction if I'm completely honest." This made Jack smile as he had the perfect idea "Come on." Martha looked at him "Where are we going?" Martha didn't know the guy well enough to know if she could trust him. Jack looked at Martha "Well when I need to clear my head, I go for a swim so let's do that. It will help." Martha knew a swim always helped "I would but I don't have any swimwear." Jack laughs "Neither do I. So we will both go in fully clothed." Martha manages to make a proper smile as she gets up and follows Jack into the water hoping that Jack was right and that it would help Martha get her mind of Nathan and everything else just for a little while at least.

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Chapter 4

Jack and Martha had just gotten out of the water and Martha knew that was what she had needed after all it had made her forget about Nathan was a little bit. She looked at Jack "I better go home and get changed. Thank you for a fun time. I will see you around." Martha gave Jack one last smile before walking away and Jack couldn't help that watch her leave. He didn't know why but after spending some time with Martha he had felt something, he hadn't felt before. He just hoped he will get to spend some more time with her.

Meanwhile Martha arrived back at Alf's after agreeing to stay with him. She was soaking wet and she knew my her grandfather face what she had been up too. She looked at her grandfather "I just went for a swim that all but now I really need to shower." With that Martha left her phone on the table and walked into the bathroom and took a really long shower.

Soon enough it was the next morning and Martha was walking along the beach when her phone rang. She made sure her location was off before answering it "Sophia what is it?" Martha was annoyed that her friend had called her and was worried that Nathan had something to do with this "Nathan have been calling me asking where you are." Martha knew that Nathan would call everyone she knew and that made her mad "What did you say?" Martha didn't tell anyone where she had gone and planned on keeping it that way so that Nathan wouldn't find her "Nothing it's not like I know where you are but Martha your safe right?" Martha could hear her friend concern "Yes I am. Bye Sophia." With that Martha hang up the phone before heading to find Alf.

Martha ran to the Surf Club and was relieved when she saw her grandfather there. Alf walked towards her the moment he saw her "What is it?" Martha takes a breath "Nathan been calling my friends, asking about me, he just doesn't get it." Alf could see her annoyance "Guys like that never get. Look all over your body at all the injuries he caused you and you will be reminded he will never understand." Martha knew Alf was right and if she honest because of Nathan she was ashamed of her own body.

After that Martha left the Surf Club totally in her own head when she heard a voice "Martha is everything ok?" Martha looked up to see Jack and most of he was in a policeman uniform, she didn't know why but she hadn't imagined him to be a cop "Yeah I'm fine but I do have to go sorry." With that Martha walked away as Jack stood there worried about her after all she was a completely different person last night then she was today.

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Chapter 5

Martha rushed off after seeing Jack she needed to get as far as away from the Surf Club as she could because even those Alf tried to tell her not to worry about Nathan finding her, she was worried particularly after getting the call from Sophia earlier. Martha knew if Nathan ever found her, she would get hurt even more then she had before, after all she did leave him and in his book, she knew that would be unacceptable.

As soon as Martha got back to Alf's place she immediately headed into the bathroom and when she got there, she slammed the door then locked it before taking her top off and looking at her bruises. She looked in the mirror and was ashamed after all her whole body was covered in bruises and this was something that she knew no one could ever see as she was ashamed but also scared about what would happen if someone saw them and then reported it, which was why if she ever wanted to look at her bruises, she knew to do it when people weren't around.

Meanwhile Jack was walking along the beach trying to figure Martha out, luckily for him he was on a break from work. If he's honest, even those he barely knew Martha he knew there was something she was hiding, he just didn't know what that was but he knew he had seen too different sides of Martha a relaxed side and then another side that side it was like she was scared of something or wasn't comfortable with something, Jack just couldn't figure out which one but he knew it was something and he just wished he knew what it was because maybe them he could help and not just because he was a cop but because he wanted to be friends with Martha and he always helped his friends, no matter what the situation was he helped them and he wanted to do that for Martha.

Jack then had made a decision and before he could stop himself he was walking into the diner and up the stairs to Alf's apartment. He just needed to see Martha and check if everything was ok between them and if she was ok.  Jack knocked on the door and stood there waiting for an answer.

As Martha was getting changed into a hoodie she heard a knock on the door and quickly put her hoodie on before unlocking the bathroom door and heading in the direction of the front door. Martha was nervous about answering it in case it was Nathan. So when she opened the door and saw Jack there a look of relief was shown on her face "Jack hi, Sorry about earlier, you caught me at a bad moment." Jack nodded but he knew that something else was going on for Martha he just had a feeling. He looked at her "It's fine. Can I come in?" Martha nodded immediately as she was  feeling guilty  about earlier "Sure come in." She immediately stepped back and allowed Jack to enter before shutting and locking the front door which Jack had noticed and as he knew no one in Summer Bay locked their doors, he was now even more worried that something was going on with Martha. He just hoped she would tell him.

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Chapter 6

After sitting on the couch Jack looked at Martha "Look I won't pry but are you alright? You looked worried earlier." Martha could see concern on his face " Yes I'm fine." Martha knew that was a massive lie but all she was hoped was that Jack will buy it and keep buying it every time he asked as every time she would say the same thing even if it wasn't true. Jack decided just to change the subject "What made you move to the bay?" Martha knew half of what she said would be a lie also but she didn't care "I wanted to be closer to my grandfather and he lived here so I moved." Jack showed a smile as Martha looked at him "What about you?" Jack knew the answer was an easy one "We all needed a fresh start and we ended up here and now I would change that for anything. This place is amazing." Martha nodded in agreement as her phone rang, she took one look at it and ended the call before focusing her attention back on Jack.

Jack could tell when Martha's phone rang but Martha wasn't happy with whoever called her and even those he was still on the clock Jack knew that she needed a distraction "Come on?" Martha looked at Jack confused "Where are we going?" Jack looked at Martha he could tell she was curious "It's a surprise but you will like it I promise." With that Jack held out his hand for her to grab which she did as she got up off the couch and the two headed out of the apartment. 

They soon arrived at a secluded part of the beach and now were both sitting on the sand "I come down here when I need some time to myself, barely no one knows about it." Martha was surprised at this bit of information "So why share it with me them?" Jack just looked into Martha's eyes "Because I trust you and I have a feeling you will like this place as much as I do." Martha nodded as she looked into Jack's eyes and he looked at her. Jack knew he was developing feelings for Martha and was hoping that maybe she would be for him.

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Chapter 7

It had been a hour since Martha and Jack had parted ways and she had just arrived back at the flat. She immediately went to the table to grab her phone to call Alf however instead she saw a bunch of texts from Nathan and the texts scared her, they said things like when I find you I will make things even worse for you or no one will love you like I do. It was enough for Martha to toss the phone across the room and sit on the floor and begin to break down, she just wouldn't stop crying.

Cassie and Ric meanwhile had decided to go and see Martha and when they arrived, they immediately sure her on the floor and was a mess. Both ran to one side of her "Martha what is it?" Only then was when Martha looked up and saw Ric and then saw Cassie. Martha knew the pair were worried and considering she didn't know them that well she didn't want them to think the worse of her. She looked at Ric "How much do you know about the reason I came here?" Ric had been filled in by Alf after Martha first arrived "Everything." That was when Ric clicked she was a mess because of this one guy. Ric immediately hugged his cousin as Cassie watched on. Ric knew he couldn't leave Martha right now not when she was a mess like this and not knowing what he did know.

Meanwhile Jack had finally arrived back at the station and saw Peter there so he immediately walked over to him "Do you have a minute?" Peter could tell Jack needed to talk to someone and nodded before leading Jack into his office. When they got there Peter shut the door before looking at Jack "What is it?" Jack took a breath "There a girl who recently moved here and I don't know why but I get the vibe that there something that she scared off, I don't know what but there something and I don't want to ask her about it." Peter knew what Jack wanted almost immediately "But you want me too." Jack nodded "I know I shouldn't ask but I'm worried that there something going on with her." Peter nodded and looked at Jack "What's her name?" Jack was grateful for Peter doing this "Martha Mackenzie, she Alf's granddaughter and I know something isn't right so please." Peter just nodded agreeing to do this and he then left the office to go and find Martha.

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Chapter 8

As requested Peter had arrived at Alf's place to see a girl that he guessed was Martha curled up to Ric on the floor. Peter walked in before looking at Ric "Can I?" Ric nodded he didn't know what Peter was doing here so he stood up "Is everything ok?" Peter looked at Ric and Cassie then Martha "It's Martha right." This made the young girl look up with fear in her eyes which Peter noticed. She immediately nodded as Peter sat on the couch "Look Martha tell me something is someone trying to find you?" Martha was shocked, how did this guy know this, who was he. Martha looked at Ric and Ric looked at her "Martha this is Peter. He's a friend of ours." Martha nodded and Ric knew Martha wouldn't tell him but he was starting to wonder whether he should "Do you have a minute?" Peter nodded as both him and Ric walked outside leaving Cassie to look after Martha.

When Peter and Ric got outside Ric looked at the cop "Everything I say will stay between us right?" Peter nods he knows Jack was the one who asked him to do this but he felt as those, this was way bigger then Jack could handle "Of course what is it?" Ric really hoped he was doing the right thing "A guy well her ex now although he haven't figured that out even after she left was abusing her, that why she came here." Peter knew this was big but was surprised it was that "What this guy name?" Ric could tell the cop had a plan "Nathan Philips." Peter nodded "I will see what I can find out about him and come back." Ric nodded perhaps if Peter could find something out even if it was where he was it could in someway help Martha.

When Peter got back to the station he saw Jack waiting for him "Before you ask I don't think there anything going on. I have to sort something out." Peter then left Jack alone wondering if Peter was lying to him. Peter meanwhile was in his office searching Nathan's name and waiting to see what he could find out on him.

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Chapter 9

When the named came up Peter couldn't believe it, he knew this guy from reports of abusive relationships in the past and also knew how they usually ended which wasn't exactly good for Martha and he knew both Martha and her whole family knew nothing which now meant Peter would have to tell then everything he knew about this guy and ensured that Martha wasn't alone and had someone with her at all times. It was the only way Peter knew how to keep her safe.

Meanwhile Ric had walked back in and Martha looked up "You told him didn't you?" Ric didn't say anything which gave Martha the answer "I told you to not...." Ric looked at his cousin "We can trust him." Martha shook her head and Ric was about to speak when Cassie jumped in "Ric's right. He saved Sally from a stalker and her life, he helped me when I first came here as well and he helped Ric." Martha looked at Ric "And he won't say a word to anyone, you can guarantee that." Ric nodded "Yes I can." Martha just nodded, she might not be happy about a cop knowing in fact she hated it but she also knew that she couldn't do a single thing to change it.

Elsewhere Alf had arrived at Sally and Flynn place and the three of them were now sitting down and drinking some beer "Martha will be fine Mr Stewart, after all she got us here and we are all going to keep her safe." Alf listened to Sally and even though he had reassured Martha the guy wouldn't find her, a small part of him was worried himself. Flynn looked at Alf "Look these things usually work themselves out in some weird way but Martha seems like a strong person and no matter how things work out, she will get through this." Alf nods as he takes a sip of beer and more then anything he hopes that what Flynn said is right.

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Chapter 10

It had now been one whole week and to Martha surprise she hadn't heard from Nathan all week. She hadn't done much that week other then hang out with her family well the people who had become that Alf, Sally, Flynn, Ric and Cassie and she had also hang out with Jack a few times as well and she knew that every time they had hang out they had gotten closer and that she was developing feeling for him however because of what had happened with Nathan, she wasn't risking getting into another relationship not now, maybe not ever after all Nathan could find her at any moment.

Martha was walking to the Surf Club and as she was she was shocked to see Nathan in the distance running towards her. She knew a week without hearing from him was too good to be true, so she quickly ran fast and inside before Nathan had the chance to get to her alone. She just hoped that someone she trusted was in the Surf Club and to her luck only ten seconds after walking inside, she spotted Jack and immediately headed in his direction and sat beside him, knowing she was safe from Nathan at least for now anyway.

Once she had sat down she looked at Jack "How your morning planning out?" Jack thought about it for a minute "Better for seeing you." Martha nodded in agreement even though she had seen her abusive ex and that made her scared, she was relieved that she had seen Jack and was in his company as she knew Nathan wouldn't do anything while anyone was around. 

It was a hour later when Jack and Martha had parted ways so they could get change before Jack would meet Martha at her place. Martha headed home and the moment she heard noise she texted Peter telling him that Nathan was there and to come fast before she walked inside prepared to face Nathan again after a week, she knew she was going to get a beating.

Martha walked inside and Nathan was smirking as he went and slammed and locked the door before grabbing her and tossing her across the room "That for leaving me. You seriously didn't think I wouldn't find you." Martha didn't say a word as Nathan grabbed her again and punched her "Pack your stuff." Martha was scared but did what Nathan had told her too after all she knew Peter would be coming so in the meantime she needed to do what she could to stay here so maybe then this could might be over. Martha was doing as Nathan told but did it slowly, she just hoped Peter would walk through the door because the moment he did this would all be over.