How You Remind Me

It was a month or so later, and Kat had returned to work a few shifts downstairs in the bar. They had a baby monitor on top of the bar so they could hear if Sam wanted anything, but Kat was still constantly going upstairs to check on him, and cuddle him.

The noise of Sam crying drifted out through the baby monitor. Kat went to go upstairs, but Alfie got there first. "I'll go," he said. "He'll just want changing, probably."

"Ooh, I wish Billy was like that," Little Mo said, who was nearby. "He won't go within five feet of Freddie when he needs changing."

"Well, I'm lucky to have him," Kat said. Little Mo wasn't sure whether that comment was a swipe at her or not, so she ignored it.

The two of them talked for a bit. The relationship between the two sisters had kind of settled down again now - they weren't at each other's throats all the time - but there was still a certain amount of tension in the air.

Eventually Kat glanced at the ceiling. "He's been up there ages..." She frowned. "I'd better go and check they're alright."

Little Mo sighed. "They'll be fine." Kat went upstairs anyway.

Fab,more asap :D

awwww! hope they're both alright

Kat went into Sam's little room to find Alfie still trying to change his nappy. "How long's it take for you to change one nappy?" Kat asked, sighing.

Alfie looked at her. "Well, I took the dirty one off and I'd just got him all cleaned up but then he peed and it went everywhere so I had to clean him up again, and then guess what!" He was practically bouncing up and down.

"What?" Kat asked, mystified as to how changing a nappy could make him so happy.

"He smiled! I was annoyed 'cause he'd got pee everywhere and I was frowning but he just gave me this huge smile! His first ever smile!" Alfie fastened the clean nappy in place and looked fondly at his son. "He smiled at me!"

"Hasn't he smiled before?"

"No, that was just wind..."

Kat laughed and looked at Sam. He was watching his daddy and kicking his legs about on the changing mat.

"Awww...." Alfie started dressing Sam again, looking at him proudly. "I can't believe he actually smiled at me..."

"You were annoyed because he made a mess so he started grinning his head off? The cheeky beggar," Kat said, smiling.

Alfie finished dressing Sam and picked him up gently. "Yes, you are, aren't you? You cheeky little monkey."

"So I missed his first smile," Kat said, feeling a bit left out.

"Ah, I'm sure he'll do it again," Alfie said. "Come on, Sam, a smile for Mummy, eh?"

Sam gazed at his daddy angelically, but didn't smile.

"Please?" Alfie asked. Sam yawned.

Kat looked disappointed. "Well, maybe he only likes you."

"Don't be silly," Alfie said. "I'm sure he'll do it another time..."

"Yeah..." Kat said. "I'm off back downstairs, then. They'll be busy."

She left the room. Alfie looked at Sam and sighed. "Come on, Sam... Sammy? Eh? Won't you give Mummy a nice big cheeky grin?"

Alfie demonstrated with a smile at Sam. Sam gazed at him for a few moments, and then attempted to copy him. The corners of the baby's mouth twitched upwards in a sweet smile.

"That's it," Alfie said happily. "Just, next time, make sure you do it to Mummy, yeah?" His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Because then if Mummy's happy, then she might make Daddy happy too, if you know what I mean?"

Sam yawned again, and stretched his little arms out. Alfie sighed and put the baby back in his cot. He watched him for a while as Sam's eyelids slid closed slowly. He couldn't help feeling proud of the fact that he had smiled at him, Alfie, first. He felt special. It was nice.

Awww. More asap please:D.

Alfie went back downstairs to work in the bar. Kat was being a bit off with him. He supposed she was upset about the first smile thing. Well, it wasn't his fault. He wandered around behind the bar, humming happily to himself.

"Kat," he said, suddenly having an idea, "Can I take Sam out to the park later? We could feed the ducks..."

Kat glanced at him. "Didn't we take him there two weeks ago?"

"Ah, he'll have forgotten, though."

"Isn't he asleep?" Kat reached up to get a glass from the top shelf above the bar, but couldn't quite reach. Alfie got it for her, and she frowned at it.

"He'll wake up later..." Alfie followed Kat as she walked over to another part of the bar to take an order. "Please? It's getting to winter now, soon the ducks'll be gone..."

"Fine," Kat said shortly. "Take him if you want."

"Yay," Alfie said happily. He didn't really notice Kat's bad mood. He was too excited about taking his son out. The smile Sam had given him had brightened his day up no end, and he felt like the father-son bond thing had strengthened. That was probably ridiculous, of course. Sam had just felt like smiling, so he had. But still, Alfie felt special.

When Sam woke up a while later, Alfie wrapped him up warm and took him down the stairs to put in his pram. Kat was just getting a bag of crisps from under the stairs and she saw them. "You're off out now?"

"Yeah," Alfie said. "I think he'll be warm enough, he's -"

"And what were you planning on feeding him?" Kat said. She sounded irritated. "He'll be hungry in - oh, in about ten minutes."

"Well, you could... you know... express some..." He trailed off, uncertain of her mood. "... in a bottle?"

Kat's frown went even deeper. "So, I'll just take some time off work to express milk for my son so you can take him off to the park without me, is that what you wanted?"

"Um-"

Alfie paused too long and Kat got angry. "Or would you prefer to just take my chest and you can be on your way?"

"What is wrong with you?" Alfie exclaimed. "Is this just because of that smile thing?"

Kat frowned furiously, ignoring him.

"It is, isn't it? God, Kat! You can't seriously be getting so worked up over a little thing like that."

"A little thing-!" Kat glared at him. "It's not fair," she said stubbornly.

"What, that I happened to be the one who saw his first smile? Grow up, Kat."

Kat's angry face dissolved and she looked upset suddenly. Her lip trembled. "I don't care about that, not really... I just..."

"What?" Alfie asked.

Kat sighed. "When Zoe was a baby, I kept trying to get her to smile at me, but she wouldn't... only at Mum and Dad. It made me so upset..."

Alfie's face fell. "Oh... I didn't know."

"And they kept telling me it didn't matter, but it did..." Kat looked at her son, who was lying in his pram. "They kept excluding me from everything..."

Alfie held his arms out for her, and she accepted the hug. "It's alright," he reassured her. "I'm not trying to take him off you... I just want to spend time with him."

"I know." Kat looked up at him, sniffling. Then she smiled. "God, look at me, eh? Over-reacting or what!"

Alfie brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. "It's alright," he said. "Do you want to come to the park with us?"

"Nah, I'd better get back to work," Kat replied. She wiped tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry about this... it's just the hormones, they're all over the place."

Alfie smiled. "I know."

Kat pulled out of the hug and leaned over Sam's pram. "Bye bye, darling," she said softly. "You be good for Daddy, yeah?"

To her amazement, the baby's mouth suddenly opened in a wide, toothless smile. She gasped, emotion filling her. She knew what Alfie felt like now.

"Aww, you're gorgeous," Kat said to Sam. "I love you."

Alfie smiled behind her, thinking 'yes!' She turned to him. "I'll see you later then."

"Umm... I thought he needed feeding..."

Kat smiled. "Oh, yeah. Hang on, I've got a bottle in the fridge."

Alfie's mouth fell open. Kat went to get the bottle and came back downstairs, handing it to him. "What?" she asked.

"You - you - oh, never mind." Alfie started to push the pram out of the door, but Kat stopped him.

"Wait. You forgot something." She reached up and kissed him. They kissed for a minute slowly. Unknown to them, as they had their eyes closed, in the pram Sam lifted up his arms to them, feeling left out by their cuddling. Eventually they stopped and Alfie left, Kat waving goodbye after him.

"See you tonight..." she called after him, a mischevious gleam in her eye.

Alfie looked at Sam. "Kid, you are amazing, you know that?"

Awww. More asap please:D.

Alfie got to the park with Sam and sat down on a bench near the pond. He rocked Sam's pram backwards and forwards with his foot, looking out at the pond. The ducks were nowhere to be seen. He sighed, disappointed.

In the pram, Sam stirred and made a noise. Alfie picked him up and held him carefully. "I suppose you want feeding, don't you?"

He got the bottle of milk out of the bag and tried to sort out how to hold them both. "This is a lot easier for your mum, you know?" He finally got the bottle angled right and Sam accepted it and started sucking contentedly.

Alfie frowned at the bottle, its content quickly disappearing. "You know, I can't believe that came out of your mum. She never used to be able to do that." He grinned to himself.

A group of young girls wandered past on the path. They looked at the baby as they passed, saying "awww" and "isn't that cute?"

Alfie smiled. "He isn't so cute when you've got to change nappies every few hours."

"Aww, I want one," one of the girls said, gazing at Sam. Alfie was quite disturbed by this - she could only have been twelve or thirteen. The girls passed out of view and Sam finished the bottle.

"I suppose you'll want burping now," Alfie said. "I'll just have to get baby sick all over my shoulder then, won't I?"

Sam looked innocently up at him. Alfie sighed and held the baby to his shoulder, patting him on the back a bit, praying he wouldn't throw up too much.

Alfie was distracted by a woman sitting down next to him. "You don't mind, do you?" she asked. "There's no empty seats anywhere."

"No, it's fine," Alfie said.

The woman looked at Alfie strangely. "Um, would you like a tissue? I'm afraid he's just been sick on you..."

Alfie groaned. "He always does that with bottles. I think it's because he gets more air swallowed."

He accepted a tissue off the woman and wiped the stuff off him. "I wish he wouldn't do that in public."

"Are you a single parent?" the woman asked with interest.

"What? Um... no, I'm married," Alfie answered.

"Oh," the woman said. "Umm, what's his name?"

"Sam," Alfie replied. "Sam Moon."

The woman frowned slightly. "Moon? I.. I'm sure I know that name from somewhere..."

"Not from Alfie Moon, is it?" Alfie asked, feeling a little strange.

"Yes!" the woman said. "That's it - I knew I'd heard it - are you him?"

"Yeah," Alfie replied. "That's me."

"You own the Queen Vic?"

Alfie laughed. "Own it? I wish. No, I manage it. Me and my wife."

"Oh," she said. "I've been in there a few times. Never noticed you, though."

"Hmm," Alfie said. He was now feeling slightly uncomfortable. He wondered if she was flirting with him. Or was he imagining it?

"I'm Jude," the woman said. "Judith Notman." She went to shake his hand, but his arms were full with Sam, so she dropped her outstretched hand awkwardly. "Did you come to the park to admire the view, or..?"

"No," Alfie said. "We came to feed the ducks. But I think we picked the wrong day."

Jude smiled. "I used to come here and feed the ducks with my dad." She looked out on the water wistfully. "But only until I was nine."

"Why, what happened?" Alfie asked. Despite himself, he was interested.

"He died," Jude said. "Car crash."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Alfie said. He meant it, too. For obvious reasons.

She looked at him, surprised. "You really are, and all... With most people, they just say they're sorry but they're not really..."

Alfie smiled awkwardly. "I suppose it's a gift."

Sam started wriggling about in his arms, bored. Alfie glanced down at him. "I think he wants to go home..."

"To his mum," Jude said.

"Yeah." Alfie put Sam back in his pram and stood up. "Well, it's been nice meeting you..."

"You too," Jude said, smiling. "See you around."

"Bye," Alfie said. He wandered off down the path, pushing the pram. Jude gazed after him, watching his shape get smaller and smaller until he disappeared.

Fab. More soon please:p

more tomorrow after school (about 4'o'clock time) :)

can't wait.

Alfie went back to the Vic and played with Sam in the living room for a while. Well, he couldn't exactly play games with him, but he had found that Sam was very good at copying things - if Alfie stuck his tongue out, Sam would do the same. He played peekaboo for a bit with him; Sam watched his daddy appear and disappear, as he thought, with wide eyes, not quite understanding where he had gone, but liking the game all the same.

Kat came upstairs a while later and, seeing what they were doing, came up behind Alfie and put her hands over his eyes. "Guess who," she said. Her breath was warm in his ear.

"Oh, I wonder who that could be," Alfie said jokily. Kat took her hands away from his eyes and he turned round to look at her, smiling. Kat leaned against him, sighing, and cuddled up to him. This surprised Alfie slightly but he didn't say anything. Apart from that kiss earlier, they hadn't really been very close romantically since a few months before Sam was born.

"Did you have fun?" Kat asked, leaning her head on his chest.

"Yeah... well, there weren't any ducks... and he threw up on me..."

Kat smiled. "I wondered what that smell was."

"And my hands are freezing," Alfie said. "I should really get some gloves. I mean, even Sam's got some baby mittens."

"Aww," Kat said sympathetically. "Do you want me to warm them up for you?" She took his hands gently and rubbed them with her own, and gradually some warmth returned to them. He stared at her.

"Kat?" Alfie asked.

Kat nodded towards Sam. "He's asleep."

"Oh... must have tired him out..."

"What I meant was... he won't wake up for a few hours..." Kat looked at Alfie meaningfully.

Alfie swallowed. "Umm..."

"What? Don't you fancy me anymore?" Kat looked hurt.

"Course I do..." It was true too. He could feel the warmth of her body as she cuddled up to him, and he liked it.

"Well, why the long pause?"

"Uh... well, you've only just had a baby..."

Kat looked confused. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I don't want to... hurt you," Alfie finished lamely.

Kat sighed. "You won't. Don't be stupid."

"I mean..." In truth he didn't know what he meant. He had seen that agony she had been in while in labour, and he was loath to put her through that sort of pain ever again. That was silly, of course.

"So you don't want to?" Kat asked, looking at him. "Because there's something poking me in the thigh that's kind of telling me otherwise."

Alfie turned pink. "Sorry."

"Oh, shut up," Kat said, with amusement. "You obviously do fancy me, then..."

"Yes, but-"

Kat didn't let him finish; she reached up and kissed him. After a moment he kissed her back and she put her hand on the back of his head. His black hair felt rough and springy under her fingers. But suddenly, a thin crying broke through their moment and they broke apart. Kat jumped up to look after Sam. Alfie sighed.

Great. More soon please.

The next day, Alfie was doing his shift in the pub when he heard a voice say "Hello". He knew the voice from somewhere - he glanced up and recognised that woman he had met in the park the other day.

"Um... hi," Alfie said uncertainly.

"We met yesterday," she said. "In the park."

"Yeah," Alfie answered. He glanced up to the other end of the bar. Kat was chatting to a customer.

"I was in the area, so I thought I'd drop by..." the woman smiled at him.

Alfie was feeling vaguely unsettled. Again, he wasn't sure if she was flirting with him or not. He felt strangely as if he was doing something wrong by talking to her.

"So, do you live in the Square?" the woman asked.

"No, we've got a flat upstairs." Alfie remembered that her name was Jude. Why was she asking him all these questions?

"Oh, that must make it easier to - yeah." Jude smiled. "I'm sorry, I'm a bit ditzy today."

"That's okay," Alfie said automatically, and then wondered why he had said it. She was drawing him into the conversation, wasn't she? He felt a sudden urge to point out Kat to her, so he did. "That's my wife..."

"Oh," Jude said. She clearly wasn't interested in Kat. In fact, she was looking at her with disdain. "She's very - er, pretty."

"Yes, she is," Alfie said firmly, with a burst of sudden irritation towards this woman. Despite himself, he found her quite attractive, and the lack of intimacy with Kat over the last few months didn't help. He tried not to look at Jude for too long. She was wearing a rather revealing top, and he couldn't help thinking that hers wouldn't have a baby attached to them most of the time. He shook himself mentally. He was angry with himself for thinking anything about this woman. He shouldn't be. He shouldn't be disloyal to Kat, not even in his head.

"Could I have a orange juice then please?" Jude asked. Alfie gave a small smile and got her the drink. She paid for it and he was careful to hold his hand out for the money to be tipped into it, rather than having to touch her hand. He moved away suddenly, disgusted at himself, and went over to Kat.

"How are you?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her middle from behind.

"Don't, Alfie. I'm really busy. And my chest is killing me."

"Oh," Alfie said. "What do you want me to do? I'll-"

"Nothing," Kat said irritably. "You know how cows are always mooing like mad when they haven't been milked for ages? Well, now I know how they feel."

"Cheers for that," Alfie mumbled, moving away from her. "Lovely thought, that was, Kat."

Jude was still sitting at the bar. She smiled at Alfie and sipped some orange juice. Alfie went over to talk to her....

Fab. More soon please:D.

Alfie dont you even think about it!
more soon please!

Great,more asap :D

A few days later, and there had been no more attempts at intimacy between Alfie and Kat. Kat went straight to sleep at night. Alfie wasn't complaining; he knew she had been doing a lot and it was hard work looking after a baby. He had suggested that she take time of work, but she had declined. She said that he needed some help behind the bar.

"But there's plenty of spare bar staff..." Alfie said.

Kat ignored him. He got the feeling she knew very well there were enough barmaids, but one of them was Little Mo and she was still uncomfortable about the idea of leaving him alone with her sister. He couldn't blame her, really.

As a treat (a rubbish one at that, Alfie thought glumly) he had taken her out to a restaurant outside of Walford which overlooked a - well, the ad for the restaurant had said it was in a 'scenic area' but there wasn't much you could call 'scenic' about a couple of trees and a little weed-filled pond. They had got a seat next to the window. Sam was in his pram next to the table.

"Well, this is, um, nice..." Kat said, unconvincingly.

Alfie threw the greasy menu down on the table. "It isn't. I'm sorry I brought you here, it's rubbish..."

"It's not that bad," Kat said. Unfortunately, she chose that moment to glance at the cutlery in her place setting, and saw that the knife was coated in a smear of something she'd rather not think about. She grimaced.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Alfie said, standing up.

"No, it's alright. Sit down," Kat said to Alfie. She didn't want to cause a scene; the chef looked rather intimidating.

"Come on," Alfie repeated stubbornly. Kat sighed and stood up. He had been in a weird mood lately, like he was upset with himself or something. She couldn't work him out. Maybe it was because she wasn't sleeping with him. She frowned. Well, it wasn't that she didn't want to, she was just so tired lately. Maybe she would give him a treat tonight. She smiled slightly, pleased. That would cheer him up.

They got out of the restaurant and were halfway down the path when Sam started crying. Kat leant over his pram. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Sam cried louder, waving his arms about. Kat picked him up, trying to comfort him, but he wouldn't stop crying. "What's up, baby?" she asked, bouncing around a bit soothingly to try and calm him down. Suddenly she remembered. "His teddy!"

They had left Sam's soft cuddly toy in the restaurant. Kat put Sam back in the pram and started pushing it back up the path. "I'll be back in a minute..."

Alfie found a nearby bench and sat down on it. He looked at the wet gravel path and sighed, feeling downcast for no reason he could name.

"Hey!" a voice said. Alfie knew who it was before he even saw her.

Jude please GO AWAY!!!!!

Great:). More soom please:). What is it with that woman?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hayley

Jude please GO AWAY!!!!!

---

We'll have to start an anti Jude gang at this rate.

:D When I typed "weed-filled pond" earlier, I missed the 'd' out first :lol: I only just noticed it in time and all, you would have wondered if I was feeling alright...
-----------

Jude sat down next to him on the bench and smiled. "We should really stop meeting like this," she said, a funny little gleam in her eye.

"Are you stalking me or something?!" Alfie exclaimed. He felt a surge of anger towards her, because she had made him think things he shouldn't. He loved Kat. No way was he going to jeopardise their love for some random woman who fancied him.

She pretended to be hurt. "Now, now, Alfie. You shouldn't insinuate things like that."

"Just - go away! Please!" Alfie said. He didn't know how to deal with this.

Jude cocked her head to one side and gazed at him. Her eyes were black and bright, beady like a sparrow's. "You do know you're only uncomfortable about seeing me because you fancy me?"

Alfie's mouth fell open. "No - that's ridiculous!"

"I took a Psychology class in college," Jude said.

"Well, whoopie-doo! Please will you just leave me alone? I don't fancy you! To tell the truth I - I don't even like you!"

Jude's face kept the same expression, but it seemed to set on her face, like concrete. "You're not telling yourself the truth, Alfie," she said stubbornly.

"I am-" Alfie went to stand up, to get away from this madwoman, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. He was so surprised by this that he sat back down on the bench with a bump.

Jude suddenly pressed her lips against his. Alfie jerked backwards as though he had been burnt and leapt upwards off the bench. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he shouted.

"Wait-" Jude said, but Alfie turned to go, stunned by what had just happened.

He stopped with a jolt when he saw Kat standing in front of him on the path. She had been watching them.

Fab, More asap. Someone please kill Jude.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kim131

We'll have to start an anti Jude gang at this rate.

---

To go with the anti-rice pudding gang :p

Kat grabbed the handle of Sam's pram and started pushing it off down the path, almost violently. She wouldn't look at Alfie.

"Kat!" Alfie said brokenly. He knew what was going to happen next, all right. She wouldn't forgive him this time. Not after Little Mo. She would leave him and take Sam away and he would never get to see his son again. And it wasn't even his fault this time.

He started to panic and ran after Kat. "No - you've got the wrong end of the stick - Kat, please-"

Kat ignored him and pushed the pram angrily onwards. He grabbed the handle, trying to stop her leaving, and it jolted to a stop.

"Listen!" he said urgently. "I don't know what - you don't understand, I don't even know this woman, she just fancies me or something, I don't know..."

"She seemed to know you pretty well when she said your name." Kat stopped in the middle of the path, glaring furiously at her husband.

"We met in the park, she started talking to me and -"

"Oh, story of a lifetime!" Kat said, with a bitter laugh. "You take your son out for a walk and you just can't come back home again without chatting up a bird!"

"No!" Alfie exclaimed. "I don't know how she did it, she just managed to get me chatting and then she found out my name-" he stopped. "She was bluffing! She just said that stuff about having heard the Moon name before so I'd tell her my first name!"

Kat rolled her eyes. "Oh, brilliant, Alfie. You gonna be Sherlock Holmes, or Watson?"

"I'm telling you the truth!" Alfie's voice rose in a panic. "She's stalking me or something! I swear! And she's got this sick idea that I fancy her-"

"I wonder where from," Kat said dangerously.

"No! I never led her on or anything! And she tracked me down to here and then she just -" he paused, looking revolted, "She kissed me."

He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth angrily, as if trying to get rid of the memory.

"Well, that was convenient," Kat said bitterly.

Alfie didn't know what to do. He looked back up the path. Jude was still sitting on the bench, looking at them. She was out of earshot, however.

"I swear on my life I am telling you the truth," Alfie said levelly.

Kat sniffed angrily and looked away. Alfie tried to move towards her, but she wouldn't let him touch her. His face fell. "Kat..."

"Shut up," Kat said, still staring out into the horizon. She had a strange look on her face. Alfie began to feel a cold sense of dread.

please let them stay together!

Brill. Please do more asap:D.

i hate the Jude woman! Kat and Alfie have to stay together!!

"Please... please talk to me," Alfie begged, his voice wavering.

Kat looked at him, her eyes strangely opaque. "You just don't get it, do you?"

Alfie took a step forward. "Please don't leave, I'm terrified of losing you and Sam.. I love you..."

Kat sniffed. "I know."

"You - what?" Alfie stopped.

"I saw everything, Alfie." Kat looked into his eyes. "I heard you telling her to get lost and - and - I saw her kiss you... But I saw you pull away."

Alfie stared at her, confused. "But - so... you know I didn't want to - I didn't lead her on or anything...."

"I know you didn't," Kat said. She looked back up the path at the woman sitting on the bench, and her eyes narrowed. "But I got so angry...."

"Why - why did you say all that then?" Alfie exclaimed. "I thought you were gonna leave me!"

Kat shook her head fervently. "I got really angry..." she repeated.

"At her?" Alfie asked softly.

"Yes," Kat said. She breathed out. "I had to get out of there before I smacked that mad b*tch..."

Alfie tried to smile. His lips were trembling with the shock of a disaster narrowly averted. "I don't know where she got the idea from that I liked her, we only met in the park... I didn't want to talk but it seemed rude to ignore her - and then the next day she tracked me down to the Vic - and now this..." He looked miserably at Kat.

"It's - it's alright," Kat said numbly.

'It isn't. I thought I'd lost you." He hesitated. "Hang on, if you knew the truth, why did you go off on one at me?"

Kat looked away. "I was angry. And frightened. Scared, more than angry... I was scared I'd lose you... like I did before."

"Me too!" Alfie said anxiously. "Oh, Kat, I was terrified you'd leave me and I'd never see Sam again..."

"Don't be stupid," Kat said. She managed a small smile. She moved towards him, as though to hug him, but paused. "Hang on. There's something I want to do first."

"What?" Alfie asked. Kat started moving back up the path, and he groaned. "No, Kat, don't - she's weird-"

Kat ignored him. She was on a mission.

yay they didnt split up!
wonder what kat's up to??

Yay! :D Goodbye Jude, more soon please :D

Go Kat! This is great, more asap please:D.

Kat marched up the path to where Jude was sitting. The woman had been slouching on the bench, her brown hair falling in waves over her face. She looked up when she heard Kat approach. Her eyes looked distant.

"You," Kat said, just managing to keep her voice under control, "Keep your dirty hands off my husband."

Jude smiled angelically at her and said nothing.

Kat was filled with a sudden anger. "Did you hear me! You can keep away from him, because he's mine!"

Alfie blinked.

"You own him, do you?" Jude asked, her voice low and insinuating.

Kat narrowed her eyes. "More than you ever will, you psycho."

"What did you just call me?" Jude rose up off the bench. Kat made a sudden movement forward, as if to attack her. Alfie jumped forward to restrain her.

Kat shook Alfie off and took another step forward towards Jude. "I called you a psycho. You've been doing nothing but stalking my husband and you've got this sick idea that he fancies you too. You're obviously unbalanced or something-"

Jude didn't move but her hands were curling into fists at her sides and she was trembling with rage. "An idea? He does fancy me, he-"

Kat whirled round to Alfie. "Do you?" she demanded.

"No!" Alfie said quickly.

"See!" Kat glared at Jude. "You're wrong."

"Well, who could blame him if he did fancy me?" Jude said suddenly. "I mean, look what he's got to put up with."

"What exactly do you mean?" Kat asked dangerously. She took a step closer. "Come on. I'd really like to know."

Jude stared obstinately into Kat's eyes. "Oh, I don't mean anything at all, darling."

Alfie could sense the tension in the air, and wanted to get Kat and Sam out of there. But he knew Kat wouldn't leave until she'd made her point.

"...Except that when I first saw you, I thought you were still pregnant." Jude said clearly.

Kat hit her - or at least, her hand flew upwards in a curve towards Jude's face. But Alfie leapt forward and grabbed her. He pulled her back a bit. "Don't," he hissed in her ear.

"Let go," Kat said, her face a mask of fury towards Jude.

"See? He's defending me," Jude said with deluded pleasure.

Kat attempted to rush forward, but Alfie stopped her. "Kat, it won't help - she's unbalanced, just leave it, okay?"

Kat stared menacingly at Jude for a few moments, ignoring Alfie, but then she relented. "You'd better be glad he's here," she said. "Otherwise you'd be laughing on the other side of your face, you little w**re-"

"Kat, come on,' Alfie said. "Let's go home, yeah?"

Jude smirked at them both, but then Alfie turned to her. "I don't know where you got your ideas from," he said slowly. "But they're completely wrong, okay? I love my wife."

"Yeah," Kat added pointedly.

"Still don't believe you," Jude said, but she seemed uncertain.

Alfie sighed. "Well, it's true. I'd never be interested in you, not in a million years. And I think you should get some help. No offence."

Jude's face fell suddenly into a deep frown. "P**s off." she said sulkily.

"Fine," Alfie said. He and Kat turned to go. Kat put her hand on Alfie's backside, meaning for Jude to see as they walked off. Alfie had left Sam's pram a few feet away and they pushed it down the path and back to the bus stop, when they went home. It was over.

Great:D. Please do more asap:)

That was great do more soon

When Kat and Alfie got home later, they went straight upstairs into the living room. Kat sat down and sighed, relieved, but Alfie still looked uncomfortable.

"What's up?" Kat asked eventually.

Alfie looked at her seriously. "Are we okay? Honestly?"

Kat smiled, bemused. "Course we are. Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well..."

"Some crazy woman made a move on you, you told her where to shove it. She's gone - if she comes near us again I'll call the police. Simple." Kat smiled. "Well, simple when compared to some of the stuff we've had to deal with before."

"Yeah," Alfie said, relieved. He sat down on the sofa next to her and kissed her on the cheek, anxious to make up for earlier. Soon they were snogging and cuddling up again on the sofa.

Kat broke away from the kiss and smiled. "See? You don't want anyone else, do you?" She posed the question playfully, but Alfie recognised the real question behind it.

"Course not," Alfie said. He kissed the end of her nose, making her giggle. "Why would I?"

"You might," Kat said, between kisses.

"I never have, and I never will."

"Mmmm," Kat said, smiling. "That's what I like to hear-"

Just then Sam started crying. Kat stopped and glanced at him.

"You look after him," Alfie said. He had just remembered something. "Stay here..."

"Alright..." Kat said, amused. "Why, what are you going to do?"

Alfie tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially. "You'll see in a bit, won't you?" He left the room.

Kat rolled her eyes, smiling, and picked up Sam. His crying died down when she cuddled him and she fed him and changed his nappy. He liked kicking his legs about while she changed him, but unfortunately he also seemed to like peeing when he didn't have a nappy on. It made him smile that big sunny, innocent smile of his, even when she was annoyed with him. But she could never stay annoyed with him for long.

She wondered what Alfie was up to. Maybe he was planning something. A surprise? Hmm.

What's he planning? Please do more asap:)

ooh whats he up to ?

Sam's eyes were drifting closed. Kat kissed his forehead and took him into his little room, where she put him to sleep in his cot. He yawned a tiny baby yawn, and Kat smiled fondly at him. She watched him for a minute while he drifted off to sleep. Then she heard a noise from her and Alfie's bedroom.

"What are you up to, then?" she asked, entering their bedroom.

Alfie turned around, looking guilty. "Well, I was trying to make it look nice..." He was holding a length of fairy lights in his hand and apparently trying to pin them up on the wall above the headboard of their bed.

Kat laughed, bemused. "But... why?"

"I just thought it needed redecorating, that's all," Alfie said, embarrassed.

"Don't lie, you're trying to make it all romantic, aren't you?" Kat grinned. "You soppy old thing."

"Maybe," Alfie said mysteriously.

"What's this?" Kat picked up a music tape from the bedside table.

"It's a, um, tape of all our songs," Alfie mumbled.

Kat's smile spread further over her face. "Oh, really? What's brought all this on? You've got candles too, I see..."

"I thought we could... spend some time together?" Alfie said in a small voice.

"Hmm, spending time together..." Kat grinned mischeviously. "Is that with or without clothes?"

Alfie turned pink. "Whichever you like."

"I like you," Kat declared, moving closer to him. "In fact, I love you, you plonker."

"Is... er, is Sam asleep?"

"Sleeping like a -" Kat smiled- "-like a baby."

"Alright then," Alfie said. They snogged for a while slowly.

"Hang on, you haven't turned your fairy lights on," Kat said.

Alfie sighed and flicked the switch - the lights came on. They glowed in a mellow kind of way.

"Mmm, they're pretty," Kat said. Alfie tried to kiss her again. "Wait - candles and all."

"Do we have to?" Alfie asked.

"Yes," Kat said sweetly.

Alfie lit the candles, turned the room lights off and turned back to Kat, but she still wasn't satisfied. "Nope - need the music too."

Alfie pushed the tape into the stereo and pressed play urgently. "Right?"

One of their songs - a slow, love one - started playing softly. Kat smiled. "Right. This is nice." They kissed again, and then Kat broke away again.

"What now?!" Afie asked.

Kat looked serious suddenly, her eyes wide like a little girl's. "You won't hurt me, will you?"

It was then that Alfie remembered it had been just about a month since she had had the baby, and since she had been in that agonising pain. He couldn't blame her for being a bit wary of men. He stroked her flame-red hair gently. "I'll never hurt you."

Kat said something, but it was too quiet for him to hear. It might have been "good". She smiled, and he saw the real Kat, the gentle, insecure one, who depended on him and needed love. Not the brassy, confident one. That one was just a mask. They started snogging again.

Outside, high up in the sky, it was full moon. The silvery white orb hung in the grey sky of just after dusk. The moon's glow fell on a building in a suburban area, inside which slept a tiny baby who carried the name of Moon and had its whole future ahead. Good things, bad things. Everything that would come to pass. The light from the moon also slanted into a window, where two more carriers of that name were locked together in harmony. The moon watched this impassively. It was infinity; the number 8 rocked over onto its side. These people would fade to dust eventually, but the moonlight would never fade...

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I don't know why I added that weird ending. I'm going to skip ahead a few months next time :)

that was lovely and the end bit wasnt wierd it was nice do more asap