Ohhhh." Jess jumped out of bed and ran for the toilet for the third time that morning. She reached it just in time to throw up the remaining contents of her stomach. Jess knew that no one enjoyed throwing up...but she hated it. In that way she was the same as Karen, they both disliked anything being beyond there control, and being sick, or ill in general was one of those things. Jess gently lifted her head. There were tears streaming down her face as she tried to stop the revulsions in her stomach. She heard the door open behind her and Karen walked into the room. She sat on the floor and pulled Jess gently back against her so her body was resting against hers. She stroked Jess' hair back from her face and gently kissed it.
"You worry too much my darling girl." Karen knew that the morning sickness was recurring because Jess was worrying about the mocks starting that morning.
Jess shook her head. "I don't worry enough..." Her tears started again and she quickly lent away from her mum as her stomach gagged again as she thought once more about the exams.
Karen rubbed her back and comforted her until once again the sickness had subsided. "You don't have to do them Jess...if they're causing you this much distress than they're not worth it. You could wait until babies been born and do them along side the resits." Pulling Jess back against her she held her close. Karen hated seeing Jess in this much of a state and not being able to do anything about it.
Jess shook her head. "I need to do this Mum...otherwise they were all right...I will be a screw up." She still had her head rested against her Mum's chest, she wasn't in a hurry to move as she felt comfortable being close to her. She made her feel safe when she was around.
"Jess...I thought we had talked this through. The only person putting pressure on yourself is you. I'm so proud of you." Karen moved her hand round and rested it on Jess' growing bump. She gently rubbed in a circular motion in a way she had found comforting when she had been pregnant.
"I don't want to let you down." Jess put her hand on top of her Mum's. She still found it amazing that her being pregnant had bought them so much closer together. Of course they had become closer over everything with Maria and Charlie, but the real thing they were sharing was the baby. Karen was keeping her promise to be there every step of the way, and Jess wouldn't change it for the world.
"That my girl is quite simply not possible." Karen kissed her forehead again before getting up from the floor and helping Jess up. She helped her clean herself up before giving her another hug. "You go and get yourself ready and we'll see how it goes." Karen smiled at her, she knew that Jess wanted to do the exams and she wasn't going to go against that without a good reason, but she also wanted to make sure that Jess knew she had other options.
...
Karen sat in her office twisting a pen between her fingers. She hadn't been able to think of anything apart from Jess sitting in the exam room. The stress was visible to see from the pile of broken biros that already sat in the bin. There was a crack as another one gave way under Karen's fingers. She sighed and tossed it into the bin. Before she could pick up another there was a knock at her office door. "Come in." She smiled as she looked at the clock and realised that there was only another ten minutes left of the exam. However the smile faded as Charlie barged his way into the office with Rob closely behind him. Charlie walked into the office and slammed the door behind him before Rob could follow him in. Karen took a deep breath. "Charlie what is it?"
He crashed a fist down on the table making her jump. "I have had a phone call from the solicitor informing me that you refuse to drop any of the criminal charges against Maria...not only that, Bex and Harry only want to see me for one afternoon a fortnight." The fist crashed down onto her desk again. "I WILL NOT HAVE THAT MAN FEEDING MY CHILDREN CRAP KAREN. I WONT HAVE IT." As he shouted his face became redder.
Karen breathed deeply, she knew that Rob was about to burst through the door and she was right. She wasn't surprised. He wouldn't have been able to listen to Charlie shouting at her without wanting to protect her. "Charlie...none of this is anything to do with Rob."
Charlie spat the words out. "Rubbish. This has everything to do with the man you're screwing."
Karen saw Rob tense up where he stood. She could see the muscles in his arm flex as he restrained himself from punching Charlie where he stood. "Rob is my partner Charlie, like Maria is yours. Any decisions made by our children have been made by them. You can ask the solicitor about it, they were all done separately without us being present." She pushed forward a card from her wallet with the number for her solicitor. "And as for Maria. Yes we are pressing all of the formal charges. I'm protecting my daughter." She leaned back in her chair and looked at him. She knew that he was finding the whole situation difficult, and she felt slightly sorry for him. However he had chosen Maria, his decision was made and he needed to accept that there were consequences.
Charlie snatched the card. "This isn't finished Karen." He turned and barged past Rob before storming from the office and again slamming the door which rattled in its hinges.
Rob didn't open the door again instead he walked around Karen's desk and stood her up before kissing her. "I love you so much." He kissed her again before leaning against the desk and pulling her close.
Karen let him lead her. "Rob...am I doing the right thing? Should I make them see him more? Should we drop the charges?" Karen knew that it was unlike her to doubt decisions she had made, but these were so important that she needed to make sure that she wasn't just being bloody minded.
Rob shook his head. "Are you honestly asking me that Karen?" He stroked the side of her face. "You've talked to all of the kids so many times about what they want...you know that these are the right decisions." He lent forward and rested the tip of his nose against hers. "Follow your own advice Karen...have faith in yourself." This time it was Karen that initiated the kiss.
"I've spent so long listening to Charlie questioning my decisions and making me doubt myself. I guess it's becoming habit." She rested her head against his shoulder.
"I know, but not anymore hey." He rubbed her shoulders. He looked towards the clock. "The exams finished." He looked down at Karen. "She'll be alright you know. Jess is a tough cookie like her Mum." He kissed her again before stepping away.
Karen smiled at him. "How is it that you make me feel so..."
"Normal? Sexy? Beautiful? Smart?" Rob reeled off the words.
She put her hands on her hips and pouted at him. "I was going to say safe Mr Scotcher...how is it that you make me feel so safe?"
"Because I love you Karen...it's simply because I love you."
