"Where are we going mum?" Nicole asked as she, Heather and Ben drove in the car.
"We're going to uncle Nick's house," Heather answered, they were going to talk to him about Summer's custody.
"Oh, uncle Nick and auntie Lucy's house...".
Ben sighed. "Auntie Lucy's no longer with us, remember?".
"Oh," Nicole said quietly, remembering that Lucy was dead.
They pulled up outside Nick's cliff top house and walked to the door. "This place brings back bad memories," Ben said with a frown, remembering the awful sight of Lucy falling off the balcony into the sea down below.
Nick answered the door holding Bryan in his arms. "Hi, come in,".
Heather, Ben and Nicole walked inside. "Hi Nick, how are you getting on?".
Nick sat down and sighed. "Well, it's not easy coping with two kids alone but... I'm getting used to it. I'm planning to go back home to Florida. Would either of you like a coffee?". They both did so he went into the kitchen and put the kettle on.
Summer wandered into the room and spotted Ben. "Uncle Ben!" she cried happily, rushing up to him. Ben smiled and pulled her onto his lap.
Nick returned with the coffee. He saw how close Summer and Ben were. "Summer, come to daddy," he said.
"Ben's her 'daddy', remember," Heather told Nick.
Nick shook his head and turned away. "I need to go down the supermarket for some shopping, can you two look after the kids for half an hour?".
"Of course," Ben told him.
Nick put Bryan in his cot for his nap then left. Nicole turned to Heather with a questioning look. "I don't understand why we're going to have Summer living with us?".
"Well," Heather started. "Remember I told you that your dad is Summer's real dad too?".
"How?" Nicole asked.
"Well, a long time ago when me and your dad we arguing, your dad went out and saw auntie Lucy...". She blushed with embarrassment. "...And that was how Summer was made,".
"Oh, right," Nicole said, not really understanding it.
Ben was still holding Summer in his arms. He smiled and stroked her glossy dark hair. "Do you think we should tell Summer she's coming to live with us?" he asked Heather.
Heather nodded. "Yes, she'll have to know sooner or later,". She got Summer's attention. "Summer, how would you feel about coming to live with auntie Heather and uncle Ben,".
Summer nodded. "Yay, yes,". She didn't really understand what was going on. "Where's daddy?".
"Summer, your 'daddy' isn't really your daddy," Ben tried to explain. "I'm your real daddy,".
Nicole was getting jealous. She stomped out of the room and into the garden.
Not long later, Nick returned from the shops. "How's she been?" he asked.
"Fine," Heather told him. "Listen Nick, there was a reason for this visit,".
"Oh?". Nick sat down in an armchair and looked back at Heather and Ben expectingly.
"It's about Summer," Ben said. "Since I'm her father, we want to have her custody,".
Nick shook his head. "No, she's staying with me and Bryan,".
"I've got my lawyer on this and we're fixing up a court hearing," Heather informed him.
"No," Nick said determinedly. "Summer's mine,".
Ben held Summer close to his chest. "She's my daughter...".
"So what, I was married to Lucy, she'd want me to have her!".
Heather stood up. "We'd better leave. Nick, you'll get a letter from my lawyer any day now, see you in court,".
Sam walked off the rugby pitch, holding hands with Johnny. He was doing some training and had asked Sam to join him.
"Bye lads," Johnny called out to his team mates as they all went into the changing rooms. Johnny remained out on the pitch with Sam. "I'm sorry if it's been boring," he said to her.
"No, it wasn't," Sam assured him. "So, what now?".
Johnny shrugged. "Whatever. Let's sit out here for a while, it's a nice sunny day,".
Sam sat down on the grass next to Johnny and they got chatting. Ten minutes later, Johnny stood up. "I'm just popping inside, I'll be back in a couple of minutes,".
Sam sat and waited, but five minutes later he still wasn't back. She decided to go into the changing rooms to see where he'd got to.
She opened the door to the changing rooms and looked around. It was empty. She walked though each room but nobody was around. "That's odd," she said to herself.
Sam came to a door that said 'shower room'. It was slightly open so she stepped inside.
Johnny was standing beside the large bath, smiling at her. "Come on in!" he invited.
"What's all this?" Sam asked, around the bath there were tropical plants and bowls of fruit. A little table was set up with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. She looked into the bath and saw it was full up and very bubbly. Candles were floating and Johnny was just lighting them.
"This is all for you," he grinned, taking her hand and kissing it. "Swing low, sweet chariot..." he sang sweetly.
Sam laughed. "Oh, this is so sweet of you!".
Johnny, who was wearing a dressing gown, raised his eyebrows in a sexy was. "Jump in!" he suggested, slipping off his dressing gown and stepping into the bath.
Sam didn't hesitate, and jumped right in. "Oooh, there's nothing like a nice hot bath after a hard training session," Johnny said, putting an arm around Sam. "Could you scrub my back for me?".
"Of course!" Sam said, reaching for a tube of shower gel.
"How about some music?" Johnny suggested, pointing to a CD player by the side of the bath.
"OK, I've got some CDs with me," Sam said, stepping out of the bath and going over to her bag. She pulled out 'The A List' and put it in. "Choose a track at random," she said to Johnny.
"Um... eleven," he answered.
Sam grinned, it was her fave, 'Celebrate Our Love'. She got back into the bath.
Johnny smiled. "This is a cool song,". He picked up a strawberry from the fruit bowl and put it in Sam's mouth.
Sam opened the champagne and poured some into their glasses. "Let's celebrate our love!".
Sam and Johnny weren't the only couple feeling romantic that day. Heather and Ben were sitting in the front room watching a romantic movie together.
Heather was laying stretched out on the sofa next to Ben. She moved her hand, not realising what she was touching. "Oooh, B is excited!" she giggled.
Ben smiled. "Yes, B is up!" he laughed, it was their inside joke.
Nicole walked in and looked at them. "What's B?" she asked.
Ben blushed red. "Oh, it's our little joke..." he trailed off. "Isn't it bed time?".
"It's only nine o clock!" Nicole protested. "I'm not tired!".
"Bed time, Nicole!" Heather told her. "Ben, take her up,".
"Ok then," Ben said, winking and giving Heather a kiss.
"Yuck!" Nicole said in disgust.
Ben led Nicole upstairs and waited while she got into her pyjamas. "I'm not tired!" she repeated.
"I'll sing you to sleep," Ben said with a smile. He stroked Nicole's hair softly and sang 'Like A Rose'.
It worked, and five minutes later she had drifted off.
Ben went back down to join Heather. "B's waiting for you," he said with a wink.
"Let's not make him wait any longer then," Heather grinned.
Helen sat in the staff meeting, feeling bored. She hated meetings, she didn't see the point in being there... well at least Stuart was there.
Stuart caught her eye and she smiled. Despite feeling guilty about cheating on Paul, Helen loved spending time with Stuart. She wondered if he wanted to see her after the meeting.
He did. As soon as it was over, he came over and led her into his office. "How's your day been?" he asked.
Helen shrugged. "OK, well you've just made it miles better,".
Stuart grinned, and replied by leaning over and giving her a big snog.
But they were interrupted by the phone ringing. "Damn thing," Stuart cursed. He got up and went to answer it. "Hello?".
There was a long paused, Helen could just about hear a female voice talking but couldn't make out what she was saying.
"OK, I'll come. See you soon,".
"What's up?" Helen asked curiously.
"Oh, some business has come up, I'm really sorry but I have to rush off,".
"Oh, OK," Helen said. "Who was that, one of your colleges?".
"Yeah," Stuart said vaguely, not looking at her.
Helen left the room with a strange feeling. She was sure something wasn't right...
.