We've Got Tonight, Sir.

The next in the independent Chances Are saga. No reproduction before obtaining my express permission. Dedicated to Robert, the one who I'm not strong enough to let give up on.

Johanna's eyes widened, she had been caught out at her own game. She felt the warmth of a schoolgirlish blush darken her cheeks when her eyes met with those of Mr Darcy. She tore her gaze away from him and again faced her friends, this time with her heart thudding loudly in her chest.

"Johanna!"

Johanna looked around swiftly.

"What?" She faced Vanity innocently. "What did I do?"

"You have to give up on him, Johanna. He doesn't love you."

Johanna sighed.

"You had to say that, didn't you?"

"I don't like to see you throwing you life away for him to come to you, Johanna. It will never happen."

"Don't say that! Do you think that I don't know that he may never love me? Do you think that I'm stupid?"

Vanity threw back her head and laughed.

"Johanna, you're anything but stupid I'm just saying that you need to be.realistic."

Johanna turned around, unable to resist such a perfect temptation, and saw that Mr Darcy's eyes were still fastened upon her.

"Realistic? Of course."She shrugged

"You sound as if you're not telling me something, Johanna."

"Perhaps." She stodd up and picked up her shoulder bag. "Perhaps."

Johanna busied herself copying down the notes off the blackboard. What use in future years was knowing how to long divide polynomials? Plenty, if you are in love with a maths teacher as much as she was!

For she knew the key to Mr Darcy's heart had to be through mathematics. Perhaps if she worked hard and studied well, she would earn his...respect. It may not be precisely what she desired from him, but it was certainly better than nothing. A kindly word from Mr Darcy could send Johanna spiralling into a web of happiness, able to find joy in everything around her. He meant the world to her, and at times, he was her world. She knew that it wasn't done, a sixteen year old school just didn't fall in love with her fifty one year old teacher..but just because society doesn't accept it, that didn't make Johanna's love any less real. Johanna knew that he was married, she knew that she was younger than all of his children..even the fact that he had young grandchildren could not deter her.

"Johanna?"

At the sound of that heavensent voice she looked up and blushed again when she realised that he was standing over her.

"Yes, sir?"

"Have you completed the homework for me to mark?"

She pulled out a heavily indented page from her spiral notebook.

"I hope you don't mind, but I did all the questions on the sheet, not just the twenty that you set."

"But Johanna, that was a final exam paper! There are about eighty questions on that sheet!"

"I didn't notice." She fibed. At least she had earned his attention.

"Oh, Johanna." He pulled out the empty chair next to her and sat down, causing Johanna to nearly faint with joy. "Are you sure that you're not working yourself too hard? From what I hear from you other teachers, you apply yourself totally to all of your subjects, doing extra work, helping out with lessons, that sort of thing. I really don't know how you manage to carry four units of English, four units of Maths, five units of History and two units of art when you know that you're only required to carry ten units for the H.S.C."

"But.." Johanna paused, it did seem like a lot of untis and extension subjects now Mr Darcy had said it. "I can't help it- I couldn't drop English, it's my best subject..and you're my favourite..." Johanna's face flushed when she realised her mistake. "I mean Maths is my favourite subject and Art is the only easy subject I take."

Mr Dacry paused, this wasn't going the way that he intended it to at all.

"Johanna, what do you do when you get home from school?"

Johann's heart leapt, he was finally asking her out!

"Um, nothing really. I'm always free after school."

"But surely you must do some study with all those units?

Johanna gaped at him, she had completely misinterpreted the question. How could she possibly cover up her mistake without drawing further attention to herself?

Fortuantly for Johanna, the bell rang, saving her from her struggle to form a logical response.

"Oh. Class, please do exercise 10:12, questions three through twelve for homework. I'll see you tomorrow."

He turned back to face Johanna and felt his heart melt. Despite the fact that he knew that a young woman like her could never be interested in an ageing teacher like himself, he found himself hopelessly attracted to her. She was beautiful, and he found his change in feelings towards her slightly disturbing. He had been her mathematics teacher since she was in year seven, and had watched her grow from a shy, cautious, scared girl into a mature, wonderfully intelligent and seductive young woman. When he first began to think of Johanna as a woman and not just as a student, he had struggled with himself to destroy his feelings of love and affection, which still intermingled with his almost fatherly role. He had given up fighting himself about a year ago, however, and submitted himself totally to her many charms. Surely he couldn't try to tempt her into a relationship and not just because he was married- it would affect her H.S.C and therefore, her whole future. He just wasn't selfish enough to put his desires before her own safety. At least, that was what he liked to believe.

"Do you mind staying back so we can talk, Johanna?" He feared that his voice might reveal his amorous intentions.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind that at all."

Evelyn raised her eyebrows as she squinted at the small page covered with neat, printed handwriting.

Johanna's handwriting.

"Mr Darcy and I are so in love. I can't tell anyone about it, but he's been telling me wonderful, wonderful things. He'll leave his wife for me as soon as I finish school this year. I can hardly believe that after all my years spent waiting for him to come for me, he actually did. He said that he wanted us to be together. Six months of silence is worth a mere second of his love, already he's given me enough happineness to las until the end of my life."

Evelyn snapped Johanna's diary shut with a resounding thud.

"So that's what this daughter of mine has been up to." Painstakingly, she replaced the diary from the draw it had come from.

"Well, we'll soon see about this."

Tears streamed down Johanna's face as she pleaded with her mother with every fibre of her being.

"Mother, please." Her eyes were grave as she faced the mother she knew had never loved her, sheer desperation causing her to abandon her dignity.

"How dare you embarrass me like this? You'll pay for this, Johanna, and he'll pay for this is double."

"Mother, my personal life has nothing to do with you. If you tell the school, he'll lose his job, please, I beg of you, don't tell the school."

Any woman with a heart less cold than Evelyn's would have been unable to resist the sincerity of Johanna's pleading face. But to Evelyn, Johanna had always been a constant reminder of her own mistakes and shortcomings. How could she possible feel sympathy for the daughter that she wished she'd never had? And worse, deeper than this, was the fact that someone loved her daughter, despite all her attempts to break Johanna and destroy her spirit. Noone was meant to love Johanna, punishment for the fact that Evelyn herself had never been loved because of her own mean spirit.

"I'm doing this for your own good, Johanna." She smiled as deeply only as her teeth. "Someday you'll thank me for this."

"If you do this to this lovely man I will never forgive you" Johanna hissed through clenched teeth. "And I will never speak to you again for as long as I live. That's a promise."

Johanna breathlessly dialed the number and waited. She had immediately run down to the payphone on the corner, Mr Darcy simply had to be told before he heard it second hand from either her mother or the school.

"Hello?"

"Mr Darcy!" Johanna was relieved that it was him who picked up and not his wife.

"Johanna? Johanna, what's wrong?"

"It's terrible! My mother read my diary and found out about us! What shall we do, she'll tell the school!"

Robert kept his voice calm and patient for Johanna's sake.

"When did she find out?"

"Just a few minutes ago. Oh sir, I can't go back there! What shall I do?"

Robert breathed in. What he said next would mean the end of his career as a teacher.

"Wait where you are. I'll come and pick you up, you can come back here."

"What shall I bring? I daren't pack!"

"Never mind. Johanna, I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Camilla, I have to tell you something."

"Robert, what's wrong? You sound so serious." She laughed and put down the casserole she had just taken out of the oven.

"I don't know how to tell you this-I know that it will hurt you, no matter what I say..it's about one of my students."

"Oh no, Robert. Not again. Tell me that you haven't done it again."

Shamefaced, Robert turned away from his wife.

"It's nothing like the other time. Nothing has happened between Johanna and I whatsoever. But I must bring her here, for her own safety. I'm sorry, Camilia, I love her."

"Fine." Camilla's voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

"I'm going to pick her up now."

"I'll be gone by the time you return."

"It's probably for the best. You'll be at you sister, I presume?"

She nodded curtly.

"It was good while it lasted, Robert."

Robert spent his last night of certain employment with Johanna buried in his arms, abandoning all his fears and inhabitions. He would worry about their future later, when the dawn came. Tonight, Johanna was all that mattered in the world.

"I feel so safe in your arms".

Robert smiled.

"Johanna, I'll sacrifce everything I can for you. But promise me that you'll never leave me."

"I won't. I love you so much. But in the morning, what will happen then, at school?"

"We'll worry about what lies ahead of us when we need to. At least we've got tonight."

Johanna smiled and snuggled more deeply into his arms.

"We've got tonight, Sir."