A/N BOOOMMM!!!

Chapter Forty Five

Theo was barely able to keep control of his emotions. In the fifty minutes since he'd woken sprawled inelegantly across his bed in his shirt and boxer shorts, he'd had a blazing headache, and a constant sense of nausea. He has little recollection of coming home. He had no idea where his daughter was or who was looking after her. But as he turned on the shower he picked up an answer phone message from Nina saying that she was putting his daughter to bed.

When he glanced back in the room, he noticed that her small overnight bag was in the corner next to his dresser. She'd stayed. That made him happy.

Then he thought of what had sent him off in a frenzy the previous day, her disappearing with Gabriel. The bastard cousin who seemed happy to destroy what they'd painstakingly built up between them. He knew that his cousin was trying to stir things up, but they had seemed close. And Theo's innately poor confidence in other's had been battered further in his acrimonious divorce and all that had happened since.

He'd needed time, space, the house had suddenly become suffocating, so he'd run, uncaring. And ended up at his office sat at his desk, trying to take stock, once he'd driven away from the house his head was starting to clear. He'd reached for his phone, he needed to speak to Nina, hear her voice. She'd help him snap out of this, tell him he was being ridiculous in her usual acerbic way. But the phone kicked to answer phone.

Just as he slammed the phone of the desk, Tony had called him. His stomach had dropped at that, a weekend call from him was never a good thing. As soon as he started to explain how Sadie was starting to push for more visitation and more worryingly how he didn't really have concrete grounds for denying her. He'd hung up on his oldest friend in a cloud of expletives. When one problem was managed another seemed to raise its ugly head, and he was beyond dealing with anything else. He felt drained, emotionally exhausted and he had to get a grip of things. Was it just this morning that things seemed good? That he'd felt optimistic?

He had slumped forward resting his head on his desk when his phone had bleeped. Gabriel. Checking on the time he needed to collect their grandmother the following day. Then hinting at being with a beautiful lady.

"So I will collect Hélène at three in the afternoon."

Theo scowled at the handset for a long moment before replying.

"How did you get this number?"

He paced the room a dew times and then grimaced at the reply.

"From Nina of course. Is three o'clock suitable, only I am keeping a rather beautiful lady in limbo as I wait for your reply?"

"It's fine."

That was all he could say, because the hint was there, the beautiful lady reference wasn't an accident. He was pushing him, Theo knew that. He called Nina again, but the phone went straight to answer phone again, and it opened the door to the emotions he'd just fought to lock away.

The pounding in his head was now threatening to overwhelm him, so he abandoned his truck in his work space, and made for the closest bar. But beer really wasn't doing it, so after the second pint knocked back almost in one, he moved onto whisky. Doubles. And it got a little easier to forget, as he got more drunk.

After the umpteenth whisky he lost his anger along with his memory and a huge wad of cash, and as the hot shower jets needled his skin, forcing the fog of his hangover away, only snapshots of the previous night came flooding back. Telling his life story to a middle aged bar woman, feeling unwell in a taxi...then passing out face down on his bed.

It wasn't great. He wasn't proud of himself...in fact he hated himself. He'd been selfish, putting Melody at risk, and he'd been jealous...a rare and unexpected emotion for him, and he didn't like how it had made him feel.

He was sure there was nothing to Gabriel's claims; Nina liked him, but then why shouldn't she? He had to draw a line in the sand where his emotions and his ex wife were concerned. This was a new and fresh chapter. In fact, he had Sadie and her claims to deal with. He needed to wake and get with the programme.

Coffee, he almost groaned with pleasure as he poured himself a mug gratefully. There was a used mug plus his daughter's favourite bowl and cup in the sink. Melody had been fed but there was no sign of anyone at home. Slurping gratefully at his mug, he crossed to the lounge and that was when he spotted the note on the mantelpiece.

"Melody was bored so I've taken her to the park across the street; join us when you get up? Nina."

Searching for his shoes, he glanced through the window, his phone in his hand as he was about to call Tony back, apologise for his tirade, and not the last apology he'd be making that day, when he froze, there in the park was Melody, playing happily, and to her left was Nina...as predicted, but she was talking closely with the woman who made his blood freeze, Sadie. She'd found them, his home, their daughter...and Nina was talking intimately with her.

Suddenly that anger was back and he marched to the front door, he was about to run down the steps, when he heard his name being called out.

"Daddy!" And Melody was running towards him.

The look of guilt on Nina's face when she turned to look at him made ice run through his veins; she looked like s child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. And Sadie? She looked like the cat that had got the cream. She'd got what she wanted.

His knees were quaking, and that wasn't with his hangover. Turning back inside he searched for his shoes, he had to speak to Sadie, HAD to get her to back off. Then he'd speak with Nina.

As the two girls burst in through the door, Melody energetically, so happy to see him, a guilty looking Nina behind her, he only had time to ruffle his daughter's hair.

"Sorry sweetie, I have to run, I'll only be a few minutes. I'll be back for hugs then, ok?" He then met Nina's eyes and tried to read what he saw there, and hated what that was. Slamming the door behind him, he set off down the steps, then broke into a run as he rounded the park, his head pounding painfully with every step.

He spotted Sadie a few streets away, and it was easy to catch up with a woman tottering in stilettos.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Sadie stopped her shoulders lifting as he knew she took a deep breath, then she turned to him, "I am trying to see my daughter. You won't listen to me, won't discuss things, and you're lawyer buddy's the same. Who knew with a slight change of attitude to that..." she shook her head at a loss for words, "that...what is she a girlfriend? You are slumming it...anyway; being nice to her got me what I wanted. Just need to organise a few meetings..."

He reached for her arm, grabbing her far too tightly, "you keep away from Melody or I'll tell children's services what you are up to, and Nina won't let you near her."

"You sure about that?" He hated that purr, that cocky sound.

"You will not get near my daughter without a dozen official people watching you, so get that through your thick head!"

She was still smiling smugly, "and the bruises on my arm from where you 'assaulted' me..." she shrugged his hand free, "they'll help the courts see what a bullying bastard you've always been! Soon you'll be fighting me to see my daughter!"

Theo felt as though he'd been hit in the head with a sledgehammer, it had been another ploy, another attempt to discredit him. And he'd fallen for it hook, line and sinker! Tony had warned him to ignore her, avoid her, now he'd done the very worst thing he could. She'd played him and might just have won.

Shaking his head he stormed back across the square to the house, as he walked he was already calling Tony.

"She approached Melody!"

Theo threw the words down the phone before Tony even had chance to greet him, "shit." He loved that his friend was immediately with the game.

"Yup, she came to the park across the road, spoke to Nina...she was with Melody."

The injunction they'd brought out against her was to stop her trying to contact Melody outside of the contact centre.

"A breach of that is good for you..." Tony waited and hearing the hesitation from Theo, he asked, "what have you done?"

Theo had reached the bottom of the stairs and paused there, "I chased after her, told her to piss off..."

"Why am I waiting for the negative punch line?"

Groaning he closed his eyes for a moment, "I grabbed her, she pushed my buttons..."

"You hit her?"

"No!" He jumped in, "only grabbed her a bit too hard. Have I screwed up Tony? What do I do now? Shit!"

Tony sighed, "I don't need weekends to myself Peterson, don't worry. Let me get the breach in with the authorities first, hopefully any counter from her will look petty. I'll call you back."

With that the phone was dead, and he was left in the street looking at it and feeling sick.

Climbing the steps to the house, he pushed open the front door and was swamped by his daughter. Scooping her up into his arms, he buried his face into her hair and inhaled the sweet smell of the little girl, and for a moment he relaxed, there was no way he could lose her.

Then opening his eyes, he spotted Nina over Melody's shoulder, she looked angry, glaring at him, and he immediately felt compromised. He'd woken with a headache and this day was just getting worse.

Placing his daughter on the floor, he smiled at her, "will you go and check what Granddad Mansell is doing? We're having lunch soon before Hélène leaves."

When she nodded then rushed off, he turned to Nina, "you were talking to Sadie." And it made him feel sick, livid. Nothing was more important than here.

"She was asking to see Melody." Nina offered it so matter-of-fact, so blasé and it just inflamed him further.

His nostrils flared and he feared steam would burst out of them, "she is NOT seeing her, she is NOT. Do you hear me?"

Like a petulant child she rolled her eyes at him, "don't start speaking to me like that Theo, I'm not a child you can bully."

"I'm not bullying," he was struggling to not shout at her, the sense of foreboding was immense and he was having difficulty separating the traumas running concurrently through his life. "I'm just explaining where things stand Nina."

She stepped towards him, "with your ex? I am FULLY aware of that, I know what's happening, that you two are at war, I've heard your anguish, I haven't and wouldn't jeopardise that."

He studied her for a moment, "you feel sorry for her? You think I'm in the wrong here?"

The laugh she gave was very dry, "I only know what you tell me...she might have a different story..."

Before she could finish, he leaned forward and cut her off, "she's nasty, vindictive, and it seems you are the latest to be manipulated by her."

Nina stared at Theo, he was angry, more than that and he was being really unfair, stepping right up to him she glared at him, "I was about to say, if you'll let me finish, that despite only hearing your side of the story, she has done nothing to change my view of things. She's a bitch...I just feel sorry for Melody in all this..."

She watched him bristle at that almost veiled criticism, then she added, "and if we're in the habit of calling a spade a spade, then you need to look at your own actions. You disappeared yesterday, and abandoned your daughter exactly as she did."

"She was with family, it was hardly the same," he hissed. "I just needed a break."

She scoffed at that, "parents don't get to 'take breaks', it's not a job. Being a father is your life. ...You had no idea who was looking after her last night."

"Daniel had her! And don't doubt my ability to be a father!"

She shook her head, "it's not your ability that I'm questioning, but your behaviour. Daniel had an important meeting last night, and YOU weren't here to relieve him. You turn up inebriated...You can't take as much as an hour off! You are a father twenty four seven...YOU know that."

"And you don't?" His eyes flared as she hinted at his own absent father, she knew it was a low barb, but this wasn't her fight. He was picking one with her, when it was his ex that he was angry with.

"Touché! I've never hidden the fact that I had a shit relationship with my Dad, and YES, I did do wrong by him at the end...but that's different. You can't compare this. My father let me down repeatedly, it was no wonder I didn't want to be around him. He wasn't a father to me on any occasion...but I was always his daughter, hoping and praying that he wouldn't let me down."

He blushed red, but she wasn't sure if he was embarrassed or angry, "you're comparing me to THAT?"

She shrugged, "I have no idea what's happening here. I've helped you out I pushed Sadie away from your daughter, I have done the right thing Theo, so I really think you need to back off here. I think I should go."

"Are you running away from this?"

Shaking her head she moved towards the door, "there is nothing to run away from, except a pointless argument with a hung over man. You need to grow up Theo, a lot!"

As she reached for the door handle, he snapped, "I knew this would happen?"

That made her stop, and she turned back, "what would happen?"

He shrugged, "the minute I let someone in...start to trust you..."

Facing him once more, she glared at him, "trust? You do not know the meaning of the word. The first time that you NEEDED to trust me...and you accuse me of I don't know what with your wife. I thought I had trust issues." She gestured between them with her finger, "I was about to commit to this, I finally thought I saw a future with you, someone like me." She laughed ironically, "but I'd never be good enough, would I? I mean you and your screwed up mind. So Sadie turned you over, broke your heart...you need to get over it, get past her, or you'll blow every other relationship you have the way you've just blown this one? Over what? Jealousy or a hangover?"

"Nina!" Theo called to her as she opened the door, and she turned to look at him, but instead of understanding, apology...any positive emotion, he still looked angry, hard done by.

So with a shake of the head she walked out, knowing that she'd likely never see him again.