‘I’ve gotta take a chordy motor down to Norfolk, Frankie. You’ll be OK. You ain’t due for another couple of weeks.’

‘Please, Jed. I keep getting these funny twinges and I’m scared. Can’t you deliver the car another day?’ she’d pleaded.

Jed hugged her. ‘I can’t, babe. It’s gotta be done tonight. Mum and Dad are only next door and I’ll have me phone with me. Now we’ve got a chavvie on the way, we need the money, don’t we?’

As another contraction ripped through her, Frankie screamed in pain. If only her mum were still alive, she would have known exactly what to do. Absolutely terrified, Frankie rang Jed’s mobile. It was switched off.

Holding her swollen stomach, she staggered towards his parents’ place and banged on their door. ‘Alice, open up, I think the baby’s coming,’ she sobbed.

Alice took one look at her and told Jimmy to go and find his keys. ‘We’ll go in the Land Cruiser, not that poxy truck,’ she ordered.

Alice sat in the back with Frankie and did her best to comfort her. ‘There’s no need to be frit to death, everything will be fine,’ she said soothingly.

Still clutching her mobile phone, Frankie handed it to Alice. ‘Ring Jed again for me. I couldn’t get through when I tried,’ she said tearfully.

Alice was annoyed as she tried her son’s number. How could Jed have his phone switched off when he knew his girlfriend could go into labour any minute? ‘Typical bloody man,’ she mumbled as she handed the phone back to Frankie.

Jimmy, who had barely said a word so far on the journey, immediately stuck up for his son. ‘Give the boy a break, Alice. He’s out grafting to support his family. Them phone batteries don’t last long, you know.’

Missing her own family more than ever, Frankie scrolled down the names and rang Joey. As luck would have it, he answered immediately.

‘Oh, Joey, thank God you answered. I think the baby’s coming. I’m on the way to Oldchurch Hospital with Jed’s parents.’

Joey gasped and whispered the words ‘Frankie’ and ‘baby’ to Dominic. ‘We’ll get a taxi,’ Dominic said, nudging him.

‘Frankie, hold tight. Me and Dom are in a bar up in Liverpool Street. We’re leaving right now and it should only take us half-hour or so to get to the hospital.’

Frankie ended the call and screamed as another contraction ripped through her.

Alice sat in silence as they continued the journey. She was fuming that Frankie had invited that brother of hers. In her eyes all homosexuals were disgusting creatures, and Alice was thankful that they didn’t exist in the travelling community. She glared at Frankie.

‘He ain’t bringing that boyfriend of his with him, is he?’ she asked nastily.

‘Yes, he is, actually. Dominic’s a lovely bloke,’ Frankie said, silently cursing Jed. Alice had only found out about Joey’s sexuality a few weeks ago, when her drunken boyfriend had made a joke of it after dinner one evening.

As Jimmy drove at speed through a large puddle and splashed some people at a bus stop, he smiled to himself. When he’d heard that Eddie Mitchell’s son batted the other way, he’d felt like throwing a party. Even though Frankie was now part of his own family, Jimmy still despised her father and every kick in the teeth that Mitchell received made Jimmy that little bit happier. Eddie killing his old woman by accident with a machine gun had been the funniest story Jimmy had ever heard.

As the ecstasy tablet he’d just taken began to take effect, Jed smiled as he nudged Sammy and pointed out the two little birds that were giggling and staring their way.

‘I love this tune and them birds are well fit,’ Sammy said as the DJ put on Richie Rich’s ‘Salsa House’.

About to bowl over to where they were dancing, Sammy grabbed Jed’s arm. ‘’Ere, cacker, Sally and Julie have just walked in. Dordie, they’re heading this way.’

Jed took a deep breath. He knew he was probably about to receive a barrage of abuse and he really couldn’t give a fuck.

He and Sammy had stopped seeing Sally and Julie a good few months ago. Both girls had got too serious, so the lads had shagged them one last time just before Christmas, then ignored their numerous phone calls.

Sammy had recently moved his girlfriend, Kerry, into his trailer so, for obvious reasons, both Jed and Sammy had recently changed their mobile numbers.

Having now come up properly on his E, Jed was in the mood for taking the piss. ‘All right, Sally? You’ve put on a bit of weight, ain’t ya, girl?’ he said laughing.

Sammy nodded politely at Julie. He wasn’t quite as brazen as his cousin. ‘How you doing?’ he asked her awkwardly.

Julie ignored Sammy and nudged her best friend. ‘Tell him then, Sal.’

Sally was physically shaking as she turned back towards Jed. ‘I’m pregnant,’ she said bluntly.

‘Congratulations! I ain’t been near them old shitty drawers of yours for months, so what’s that got to do with me?’ Jed asked cockily.

Sally looked him in the eye. Jed was so good looking that he turned her to jelly. ‘It’s definitely yours,’ she told him bluntly.

Being pilled up and being told that you were about to become a father by a bird you had no interest in wasn’t the best mixture in the world. Grabbing Sally’s arm, Jed marched her outside. The music in the club was blaring and he needed to get this sorted.

Once out in the cold, crisp air, Jed quickly came to his senses. He dug deep into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a large wad of money. ‘You told me you were on the pill,’ he said angrily, as he handed her five fifty-pound notes.

‘I was on the pill, but something obviously went wrong. Why are you giving me money?’ Sally asked, bemused.

‘To get rid of it, you dinlo. You’re lucky I’m giving you anything. I don’t even know if the chavvie’s mine,’ Jed said sarcastically.

Sally threw the money back at him. ‘I don’t want your money, Jed. I’m keeping this baby whether you like it or not.’

Getting angrier by the second, Jed grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her around the side of the building. He pushed her up against the wall and squeezed her face between his thumb and fingers.

‘You do as I say and get rid of it. If you don’t, I’m telling you, I’ll get rid of it for ya.’

‘What’s going on? Are you OK?’ Julie screamed, as she ran over to her friend.

As Jed let go of her face, Sally slid down the wall, sobbing.

‘Get away from her, you bastard,’ Julie screamed.

Realising that Jed was probably only seconds away from clumping Sally, Sammy waded in and dragged him away. ‘Come on, let’s get back inside,’ Sammy said.

Unable to resist a parting shot, Jed turned around, slung the fifty-pound notes on the ground, then pointed his finger at Sally. ‘I meant what I said, you silly fucking slag,’ he screamed.

As Jed and Sammy disappeared out of sight, Sally and Julie clung to one another. Both girls had thought they had hit the jackpot when they’d met Jed and Sammy but, as they watched the fifty-pound notes blow off in the wind, they realised that they didn’t really know the boys at all.

‘You’re doing fine. The baby’s not quite ready yet,’ the midwife said kindly.

‘I want my brother. Get Joey for me,’ Frankie shouted. She had never felt pain like this in her life and, with only Alice by her side, she was incredibly frightened.

‘You can’t have a mush in ’ere, especially one like your bleedin’ brother,’ Alice said spitefully.

‘Please get my brother. I think he’s outside,’ Frankie pleaded with one of the nurses.

The blonde-haired nurse felt extremely sorry for Frankie. She was only young and the rough older lady with her wasn’t exactly sensitive.

Joey had tears in his eyes as he entered the room. He walked around the other side of the bed, opposite where Alice was standing, and grasped his sister’s hand. ‘How you doing?’ he asked awkwardly. He could sense Alice glaring at him.

‘It don’t half hurt, Joey,’ Frankie sobbed.

‘Where’s Jed?’ Joey asked. He’d been fully expecting to see him.

‘He’s out earning money,’ Alice said coldly.

Joey smiled. ‘I’m Joey, Frankie’s brother. It’s nice to meet you.’

Alice ignored him and stood up. ‘I’m popping out to see my Jimmy for a bit. We need to get in touch with family, let ’em know the chavvie’s on its way.’

As Alice left the room, both Frankie and Joey were relieved.

‘She’s been driving me mad,’ Frankie said quietly.

‘Sod your luck having her as a mother-in-law,’ Joey replied jokingly.

The midwife winked at Joey. ‘My sentiments exactly,’ she said.

‘We fit then?’ Jed asked, as Dawn, the one he was sweet on, finished the last of her drink. The other girl was called Lisa, and Jed and Sammy had already discussed who was having who.

Dawn and Lisa giggled as they followed the lads out of the club. Both girls had only got into the rave scene recently and the tablets Jed and Sammy had given them had kind of knocked them for six.

Outside the club, Jed grabbed Dawn and pushed her against the wall. He kissed her passionately, shoved his hand up her miniskirt and teased her by putting his hand inside her knickers. ‘You want me, don’t ya?’ he asked, unaware that he had three very interested spectators.

When Jed grabbed Dawn’s hand and nigh on dragged her across the car park, Stacey, Paige and Demi stayed hidden behind the wall.

‘Are you sure it was Jed? It is dark out here,’ Demi asked, puzzled.

Seeing Jed clamber into his pick-up truck, Stacey nodded. ‘That’s his motor. I’ve seen Frankie in it with him.’

Paige agreed. ‘That’s definitely him. I’d recognise his swagger anywhere.’

Paige, Demi and Stacey had all been friends with Frankie for years. They’d even been with her on the night she’d first met Jed in the Berwick Manor.

‘What we gonna do? She’s due to have his baby soon,’ Stacey asked the other two.

Paige shrugged. None of them had seen much of Frankie since she’d moved in with Jed. ‘I don’t think we should get involved. My dad used to work with gypsies and he reckons they shouldn’t be crossed,’ Demi said.

‘Sod that – I don’t wanna get involved, then,’ Paige agreed.

Stacey was still in shock as she followed the other two girls into the club. She had known Frankie a lot longer than the others – since infants’ school. They had always been very close until recently and Stacey knew, as a good friend, it should be her duty to tell Frankie.

As she paid her entrance fee, Stacey shivered. She didn’t like the look of that Jed, there was something about him that gave her the creeps.

‘Push, just fucking push,’ Alice yelled.

Insisting that Alice move out of her way, the midwife spoke gently to Frankie. ‘I can see the baby’s head. We need you to push again, Frankie. Take deep breaths, my love.’

Frankie was petrified. Joey had passed out ten minutes ago and had to be carried out of the room. ‘I can’t push any more,’ she screamed tearfully.

‘Yes, you can. Come on, you can do it,’ the midwife urged her kindly.

‘For fuck’s sake, Frankie, push,’ Alice shouted.

The midwife turned to Alice. ‘You are not helping me or Frankie by shouting and swearing. One more word and I shall have to ask you to leave the room.’

Wishing more than anything in the world that her own mum or Jed was by her side, Frankie shut her eyes and pushed as hard as she could.

‘That’s it, Frankie, you’re doing great. Now take a deep breath and see if you can push one more time.’

Frankie screamed blue murder as she strained and pushed with all her might.

As the midwife grabbed the baby and tapped it on the back, it immediately let out its first cry.

‘What sex is it?’ Alice asked, trying to get a closer look at the child.

The midwife ignored Alice and smiled at Frankie. ‘You have a beautiful little girl, Frankie,’ she said.

Unable to control her emotions, Alice leaped up and down with excitement. ‘Thank you, God. Thank you so much.’ Finally, after years of want and heartbreak, Alice had got her baby girl.

‘Did ya shag yours? That Dawn’s a right little goer,’ he whispered in his cousin’s ear.

Sammy nodded and laughed. ‘Where’s ya phone, Jed? My battery’s dead and I’d better phone home, make some excuse.’

Dawn and Lisa were both inside the dirty toilet, probably swapping stories.

Seeing them reappear, Sammy went outside to call his bird. ‘Sorry I never rang you earlier, Kerry. Me and Jed only fucking broke down in that motor. We didn’t want the gavvers on our tail, so we did a runner from it and we’ve just found a B&B back in Norfolk,’ he lied.

‘As long as you’re OK, that’s all that matters. I’m cooking us a nice piece of roast beef for when you get home,’ Kerry replied.

Sammy smiled as he ended the phone call. He’d moved in a gorjer girl, just like Jed had. Travelling girls were too much grief, but choose a gorjer girl and you can get away with murder. Jed and he always stuck to the same stories, so unless they were caught red-handed, there was little chance of either of them getting rumbled.

When the phone started to ring, Sammy automatically answered it, thinking it was Kerry again. ‘What’s up?’ he asked, as he recognised Jimmy O’Hara’s voice.

As Jimmy waffled on, Sammy ran into the trailer and urged his cousin to come outside.

‘What?’ Jed shouted, as Sammy handed him the phone.

‘Jed, I dunno where you are, but you’d better get your arse up Oldchurch. Frankie’s had the chavvie. Your mother’s over the moon, son, you’ve got a baby girl.’