Chapter 51: Chapter 51

"What are you doing here?" I ask in disbelief, pulling back with a look of surprise on my face. Jake reaches up, his thumb running along my jaw. I lean my cheek into his palm, making up for lost time.

"Are you not happy to see me?" Jake smiles, his voice soft. I mirror his smile, looking up at him from under my lashes.

"Of course I'm happy to see you but the recording of Jane admitting to everything is still on here." I explain, holding the phone up.

Jake's eyebrows shoot up in surprise and plucks the phone from my grasp. He takes a step back and passes it through his hands, blowing out a deep breath.

"You recorded her? That's amazing Emily, I couldn't be more proud." Jake says. I feel my heart glow with pride at his words.

"How did they release you from prison if we still have the recording?" Trish asks from behind me. I'd completely forgotten that Ben and Trish are in the room with us.

"She admitted to it," Jake responds, running a hand through the strands of his dark hair. He lets out a sigh, his eyes never leaving mine. I can see the exhaustion settled deep into his face —

"Jane admitted to everything," he mutters under his breath, shaking his head. For several moments, Jake appears to be in his own world. When he finally glances upwards, his eyes land on Trish and he blinks in surprise. No doubt from the new look she's rocking.

"Woah Trish, what happened to peroxide Barbie?" He jokes, holding out his arms towards her. She laughs at him before walking over and embracing him briefly. Next to Jake's broad frame, Trish looks tiny.

"I decided to put Barbie back on the shelf for good." Trish responds, taking a step back. She looks over at me and smiles softly, her eyes twinkling —

"I'm happy you've got him back."

"I couldn't have done it without you or Ben." I smile thankfully at both of them. Ben nods silently, remaining quiet. He looks haunted and withdrawn, no doubt from finding Ivory in a drugged up state.

Jake clears his throat and walks towards Ben. Once he approaches him, he holds out his hand for Ben to shake. I watch as Ben warily glances at Jake's outstretched hand, fear subtly flashing through his eyes.

"Thanks man, I appreciate it," Jake says firmly. Ben's eyes flash in surprise and he nods slowly, taking hold of his hand.

"You're welcome. It's good to see you out." Ben murmurs in response. Jake pulls him towards his right shoulder and slaps him on the back.

It warms my heart seeing the faint smile flicker on Ben's face from finally getting a nod of approval from Jake. The two of them have never seen eye to eye and Ben spends most of his time walking on eggshells whenever Jake is around him.

"Am I ruining a moment because I can come back later?"

My head snaps to the door and my lips tug upwards into a wide smile. Tobias is grinning at all of us, his hands stuffed inside his jacket pockets casually. He's wearing an entire black outfit from head to toe, sporting the same dark stubble as Jake. He turns to look at me, his dark eyes full with life —

"Missed me?" He questions, letting out a small laugh. He walks into the room and I stand up, gesturing for him to come closer. His arm drapes around my shoulders and he embraces me, squeezing softly.

"Just a little," I respond, reaching up to ruffle his dark hair. He swats my hand away playfully before hugging me again, his scent ravelling around me.

"Thanks for getting me out of jail Wentworth," he murmurs quietly, his warm breath hitting my cheeks.

"You owe me big time," I smile, pulling back to look at him. There's a glimmer of sadness in his eyes but he looks better, he looks healthy.

"You're right about that." Tobias chuckles, taking a small step back. My eyes flicker over to Jake and he smiles softly at me, walking back over. He takes a seat on the bed and gently guides me down with him, his arm sliding across my waist.

"I never want to let you go ever again." Jake whispers down my ear, his hands firmly settled on my body. I bite down on my lower lip, so grateful to hear his voice and feel his presence again. I rest my head on his shoulder, breathing in his warm scent.

From the corner of my eye, I notice Trish fiddling with her hands, a nervous smile on her lips. Tobias turns towards her, whistling quietly as his eyes drink in her new appearance.

"Tobias, that's my best friend. Not a piece of meat." I scold him playfully. A blush immediately creeps up onto Trish's cheeks and she lets out a nervous giggle, locking eyes with Tobias.

"But I'd eat you up any day." Tobias winks at her flirtatiously, reaching forward to grab hold of her arm. He pulls her towards him before wrapping his arm around her shoulders lightly.

"Oh, please. You couldn't handle me and you know it." Trish laughs confidently despite the blush staining her cheeks.

"We'll see. Thanks for getting me out of jail Sugar," Tobias smirks, looking down at her with a sparkle in his dark eyes. He turns his attention to Ben, the smile on his face faltering slightly —

"Alright Ben?" Tobias asks, giving him a small smile. Ben nods briefly, his shoulders visibly relaxing at being acknowledged by him.

"Thank you for your help, it means a lot." Tobias tells him, sounding truthful and genuine. Ben nods further, clearing his throat.

"You're welcome. Should we go and see Ivory?" Ben asks, eyes flickering over each one of us. At the mention of her, our smiles slowly fade. Ivory has a long road to recovery ahead of her but with all of our love and support, we know she's going to make it.

Jake is the first to speak, breaking the silence in the room. — "I think that's a really good idea."

*****

"Tell me all about it," Jake says, leaning further back against the couch. He throws a pillow behind his head and pulls me towards him, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. The fire in the room flickers away, causing a warm glow to fill the atmosphere.

Everyone is nestled on the couch, pizza boxes perched next to them. Ben is on one end of the couch, typing busily on his phone. In the past half hour, he's looked up once.

Ivory is currently in hospital, being looked after by a team of doctors and nurses. Michelle and Myra are keeping her company whilst Ben comes back to rest and gather her things.

Beside him, Trish is nibbling on a pizza slice however I don't miss her wandering eyes. She subtly glances at Tobias from the corner of her eye who's lying sideways on an armchair, his legs resting over the side of it.

He's balancing a pizza box on his lap skilfully whilst shovelling food into his mouth, barely taking a chance to breathe.

"Tobias, the pizza won't run away from you. Slow down," I laugh at him. He grins back at me, shaking his head in protest —

"You don't understand how much I hate prison food. Just let me have this one, okay?"

Trish and I laugh at him, nodding our heads. He definitely looks like he's missed food from the outside world.

I turn to look at Jake, unable to believe he's really here. We're lying by the fireplace, drowning in blankets. Jake's hands roam my body underneath them continuously. I swat them away several times before giving up. Jake smirks at me in triumph before his hands eventually rest on my stomach, his large hand cradling my baby bump.

"How are my two girls doing?" He whispers, nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck. I'm unable to stop the smile from spreading on my face.

"We're doing so much better now that you're back," I whisper in response, placing a soft kiss on the side of his head. He's freshly showered and shaved, relaxing in his white shirt and grey jogging bottoms.

"We don't know if it's a girl though." I remind him. I don't want him to be disappointed in case the baby isn't. Jake shakes his head immediately, his damp hair falling over into his eyes.

"She's definitely a girl," he murmurs, stroking my stomach underneath the blankets. I let out a deep sigh and relax further into him, grateful to finally have his warmth around me.

"So tell me all about it. I want to know how you three pulled off the best plan I've ever heard." Jake says, his words aimed at Trish, Ben and I. I let out a small laugh, feeling exhausted from the day. Jake's presence doesn't help with my tiredness, the man is like my human comforter.

Like a teddy bear to a child. However, my teddy bear is 6ft tall and sculpted like a Greek God.

"Where do you want us to start?" I respond lightly, knowing it'll take a while to fill him in on all of the details. He turns to smile at me, repeating my words from the library weeks ago —

"Start from the beginning."