TWENTY-EIGHT

While the disc jockey tried to defuse the situation by cracking a couple of jokes about women with PMT and singing the classic 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life', Billie calmly got down from the stage and walked towards the table where she'd been sitting. Before she could reach her destination, her arm was grabbed violently and she was dragged out of the hall by her hair.

'Let me go, Danny, you bastard. The baby's at the table on his own, let me go.'

Danny was foaming at the mouth. The mixture of drink and drugs he'd consumed had done nothing to lighten his mood. 'You fucking slag. How dare you make me look a cunt? I'm gonna kill you for this, you fucking bitch.'

Billie was suddenly frightened. She'd expected someone to come out of the hall and intervene. Everybody had seen her being dragged out, but as usual in situations like these, they had obviously chosen to turn a blind eye instead.

Trying to pacify him, Billie spoke calmly. 'Let me go, Danny. I'm going home now, please let go of me, DJ's inside and he needs me. You stay here and enjoy yourself and we'll talk about things tomorrow.'

'Enjoy myself. After what you've just fucking done. Are you being funny, you cunt?' Losing the plot, Danny laid into her, punching and kicking her as hard as he could.

Jimmy the Fish had been keeping a watchful eye on the situation and as soon as he saw Danny kicking seven colours of shit out of Billie, he ran outside to restrain him. 'Now come on, son, leave it now or you'll end up getting arrested.' Grabbing him from behind with both arms clenched on to his chest, he managed to drag Danny away from a hysterical Billie Jo.

Pulling up in a cab, Jamie spotted the back end of the commotion. 'Wait here, mate,' he said to the driver as he leapt out of the car. Noticing Billie Jo lying battered and bruised on the floor, Jamie went apeshit. 'You no-good bastard,' he said, lunging at Danny.

A couple of Jimmy's henchmen had now emerged from the hall to help with the situation and quickly dragged the two apart.

'Take him inside,' Jimmy said, nodding at Danny, who for once did as he was told. 'And you, boy,' Jimmy said as he turned to face Jamie, 'you don't know the half of what's gone on, you weren't even fucking here. A proper cunt she made him look. Any marital grievances should be sorted out in the privacy of your own home. Women are a fucking nuisance, they need to learn how to behave. They should be seen and not heard.'

Billie was hysterical. 'Jamie, the baby's inside and so is my handbag.' She didn't really want Jamie getting involved, but she could hardly go back inside herself.

Jamie helped Billie gingerly rise to her feet, then pushed past Jimmy the Fish and strode into the hall. Luckily, Danny Junior was still sound asleep. Danny Senior was up at the bar, giving it large about how he'd just given his bird a dig. He didn't feel like bigging it up, he felt a complete prick, but had no choice than to put on a front.

Holding DJ with his left arm and Billie's bag with his right, Jamie stormed out of the hall. Ignoring the glares from the plastic gangsters, he put his arm around Billie and led her towards the cab.

'Gidea Park, mate, sorry about that. I'll pay your waiting time. What happened, babe?'

Billie relayed the whole story as the cab headed off.

'I wish I'd seen his face when you mugged him off on the stage.'

Billie gave a half-smile. Her face was hurting, her ribs were sore and her right eye felt tender. Jamie put a comforting arm around her shoulder. 'Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital to be checked over?'

'No, honestly, I'm fine, just tired. You don't think he'll come back home later and start again, do you, Jamie?'

'I don't know, Bill,' Jamie replied honestly. 'He's so unpredictable. Do you know what I think you should do?'

'What?'

'Come with me. I'll take you home, pick up whatever stuff you need for you and the baby and then come and stay at mine. My mum's away, Lucy's not staying now, so we'll have the house to ourselves and in the morning we'll get in touch with a locksmith. At least if you change the locks the no-good bastard can't get back in.'

'That's no good,' Billie said dejectedly, the enormity of the situation only just hitting her. 'The house belongs to Jimmy the Fish and he's bound to side with Danny. I can't stay there, I'll have to move out.'

'Look, don't worry about anything tonight. Things will be clearer in the morning and I promise you, Bill, I won't let anything bad happen to you. I'm your mate and I'll look after you. Grab all you can from indoors and we'll drive to mine.'

'Thanks,' Billie said, gratefully.

Billie was woken up the following morning by the sound of Danny Junior screaming. She immediately picked him up, and held him close. Smoothing down his spiky hair she tried to calm him down. 'Ssh, come on now, what's the matter?'

'Where are we, Mummy? Can we go home now? I want to play with my toys.'

Billie wiped away his tears with the cuff of her pyjamas. 'We're at Jamie's. Mummy's got a few things to sort out and then we'll go home. Is that OK?'

DJ nodded, his bottom lip quivering.

Hearing Billie up and about, Jamie slung on a pair of jeans and opened the bedroom door. He'd slept in his mum's bed and let Billie and the child sleep in his. 'Do you want any breakfast, Bill?'

'Jamie,' DJ screamed, excitedly.

'Hello, tiger,' Jamie said, ruffling his hair.

Billie couldn't face eating. She felt sick with dread at the thought of what was going to happen when she saw Danny. 'No, I'm not hungry, just a coffee will be fine. You go downstairs, Jamie, and I'll get me and the baby washed and dressed.'

'So what are you gonna do then, Bill?' Jamie looked at her quizzically as he sat opposite her. She looked pasty and ill and he was worried about her.

'I'm gonna have to go back to the house. I've nowhere else to go at this present moment and he can't sling me out because of the baby.'

Jamie gave a worried sigh. 'Do you think it's wise, going back there?'

Billie forced a half-smile. 'I've no choice, Jamie. I'm going to tell Danny that it's over between us, ask him to move out and just see what happens. He can hardly chuck us out on the streets, can he? His plastic gangster cronies won't think much of him if he makes his own son homeless.'

Jamie stood up and picked up his car keys. 'I wouldn't put anything past him, Bill. I'll drive you home, come in with you and make sure you're OK. If you have any grief, ring me and I'll come straight back and get you.'

Nodding, Billie picked up the sports bag that she'd hurriedly packed the night before and stood up. 'Thanks, Jamie, for everything, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to come in with me. It's my problem and if Danny's indoors, you coming in may set him off again. If I need you, I'll ring you, all right?'

Billie sat in silence on the journey home. Pulling up on the corner, out of the way of prying eyes, Jamie handed Billie her bag out of the boot and hugged her tightly. 'You know where I am if you need me, eh?'

Billie felt comforted by the feel of his strong arms. 'I'll call you later, Jamie, and let you know what happened. And don't worry, I'll be fine.'

Billie's heart was in her mouth as she unlocked her front door. She found the silence that awaited her eerie. Was he lying in wait for her? After having a good look round, Billie was relieved to find no signs of the bastard. The suit that he'd worn was nowhere to be seen and the bed showed no sign of having been slept in.

In nearby Dagenham, Danny woke up with a jolt as he felt the soft moist lips moving up and down his cock. 'Oh, that's good, babe,' he moaned ecstatically. This was what you called an early morning call and it certainly beat waking up at home with frigid Lil, who rarely wanted him anywhere near her.

Hearing him groan with pleasure, Debbie swallowed his sperm and then casually asked him what he wanted for breakfast.

'A bit of egg and bacon wouldn't go amiss, girl.' Hugging her tightly, Danny felt at ease. He'd had a good seeing to and it was lovely to be around someone that actually wanted him. Indoors there was no intimacy and he knew when Billie had sex with him, it was out of a feeling of duty rather than want. Well, after her making a mug out of him last night, he wasn't putting up with it no more. Billie could go and fuck herself. 'Is it all right if I stay here for a bit with you, Debs?'

Debbie was delighted. This was better than her wildest dreams. She didn't want to seem too keen so she decided to play hard to get. 'It depends, Danny. Are you leaving Billie for good or just temporarily? Only I'm not gonna be used again, you know.'

'I'm leaving her for good, it's over. No one cunts me off like that and gets away with it. No one.'

Debbie tried to sound casual. 'Well, in that case you can stay here. What about your son?'

Danny ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. 'I'll see him whenever I want. He's my boy and no one or nothing will stop me seeing him. Now do us a favour, stop asking questions and go and cook us some breakfast.'

Wiping the last of the sauce off the plate with the stale tasting bread, Danny got out of bed and got dressed. 'Right, I'm gonna have to go home, get some clothes and stuff, pick me motor up and I'll be back later, probably tonight. Do us a favour, Debs, get me a key cut, if you ain't got a spare.'

Danny took his mobile out of his pocket and rang for a cab. The firm he used knew him well and promised him one in five minutes. Giving Debbie his new mobile number, he chucked five twenty-pound notes on the little bedside cabinet. 'There's oner there, go and get a bit of shopping in and get us some lagers, preferably Stella.' Hearing the toot of a car, Danny swiftly kissed Debbie on the cheek and sauntered out of the room.

Debbie sat on the bed, feeling like a dog with two tails. She'd finally got her man and was overjoyed. Now all she had to do was hatch a plan to keep him. Heading off to the bathroom, she ran the water till it was cold and filled up a glass. Thirstily, she drank some, picked up her birth control pills and took the one marked Sunday out of the packet. She put the pill on her tongue, and was just about to take a sip of water, when a wonderful thought came to her. Spitting it out, she smiled as the pill went down the plughole.

A baby, that was the way to keep him. That was the answer. He'd soon forget about his old family if he had a new one to concentrate on. Getting showered and dressed, Debbie left the flat and headed round the corner to her mum's house. Already a mother of two, Debbie Jones had it easy. Her mother was only five minutes away, loved having her kids and was an ideal unpaid babysitter.

'Mum, I need you to have the kids for me for a couple of weeks. Remember Danny who I really liked? Well, we're back together. He's left his bird and he's moving in today.' Debbie handed her mum a bag of kiddies' clothes.

Sharon Jones had no life of her own and lived her life through her daughter. At twenty-four stone, Sharon was no beauty and life consisted of her beautiful daughter, her two grandchildren, EastEnders, Coronation Street and a once-a-week outing to the local Mecca bingo hall. 'Of course I'll have the kids for you,' Sharon beamed ecstatically.

Kissing Britney and Jordan goodbye, Debbie set off to the local supermarket with Danny's hundred quid. They had some nice clothes in Asda and she could now afford to treat herself. Standing outside, laden with carrier bags, she lit up a fag and for once felt elated with her life. Normally she couldn't afford the luxury of a taxi and had to bastard well walk. Well, not any more. She'd found a good 'un now, a rich one, and she was going to do everything in her power to keep him. Smiling like a cat that had just drunk a dish of the finest cream, Debbie ordered the driver to stick the bags in the boot while she stood there like lady muck watching him. This is the life for me, she thought. Without a fucking doubt, this is the life for me.