I'll Always Be Here

[Danni02]

Thank you Cally, Jess, mellbell86, Sarah, charlie29, Charis and Laura158. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you like this next one.

Chapter 42

Angelo stood in the now uncomfortably silent room, staring back at Shelly. He couldn’t believe what she’d just told him. He looked round to Charlie who was sitting on the chair holding her head in her hands. He couldn’t tell for sure, but he was pretty certain that tears would be rolling down her cheeks. “How could you be so stupid” Charlie spat as she looked up at Angelo. “How could you be so irresponsible? Didn’t either of you think to…”

“Aww c’mon Charlie” Shelly interrupted “Haven’t you ever been so caught up in the moment of it all that you’ve…”

“Are you sure its mine?” Angelo spoke over Shelly.

“Of course it’s yours. I’m not some kind of slut that goes around sleeping with guys and not knowing who the father could be”

“No, you just sleep with married men” Charlie spat as she stood up from where she was sitting and walked closer to Shelly “You knew he was married and you still made a pass for him”

“Hey, he’s the married man that went looking elsewhere. He obviously wasn’t happy with what he was getting at home” Shelly laughed. Charlie took another step forward and brought her hand back, as if she was going to slap Shelly.

“Charlie don’t” Angelo shouted as he ran forward and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back, just in time to stop her from hitting Shelly. “Don’t stoop to her level, that’s just what she wants. Don’t give her the satisfaction”

“Get off me” Charlie yelled as she struggled in Angelo’s arms. He let her go and she walked away from him and across the other side of the room.

“Now now Sergeant you don’t want to be facing an assault charge do you?” Shelly laughed smugly as Charlie muttered something under her breath “So Angelo, how do you feel? You’re going to be a daddy again. Just like you wanted but she wouldn’t give you that” Shelly said as she shot a look at Charlie. She walked across the room and over to Angelo and gently rubbed his arm. “Are you pleased you are getting that baby you desperately wanted?”

“Yeah. I’m over the moon” Angelo smiled and Shelly felt a smile forming on her face. She looked up at Charlie who looked surprised by Angelo’s comment. “I’m over the moon that my wife is having my baby” Angelo said as he walked away from Shelly and couldn’t help feel a little pleased when the smug smile fell from her face. Angelo took Charlie’s hand in his and looked lovingly into her eyes and smiled at her. Charlie however did not return the smile. She shook her head as she pulled her hand free from Angelo’s grasp. “Charlie?” Angelo questioned

“I can’t Angelo. I can’t do this anymore” Charlie spoke as if she was on the verge of tears.

“Do Charlie, what do you mean?” Angelo asked confused and a little scared about what Charlie was about to say.

“This, us” Charlie said as she pointed to herself before pointing at Angelo. As Shelly heard what Charlie was saying a smiled appeared across her face. “I want her to leave. Angelo, tell her to leave”

“You heard her. Get out” Angelo said as he looked up at Shelly.

“Don’t you think it’s important that we talk? I’m carrying your child” Shelly said

“Right now what’s important is that I talk to my wife who is also carrying my child” Angelo said

“What?” Shelly questioned “You said she didn’t want that”

“She changed her mind” Angelo spat “She kept our baby and we are going to be a family. So get out” Angelo shouted as he opened the front door and pushed Shelly out.

“Okay, well call me” Shelly laughed before she walked away and out of sight. Ava then ran down the stairs and over to Charlie.

“Mum” Ava said “I have my pyjama’s on can I get supper now?” Ava asked as she looked up at her mother.

“No, you need to go back up the stairs” Charlie said as she looked down at her daughter.

“But mum, why?” Ava asked

“Just do as your told” Charlie yelled and Ava jumped back at the tone Charlie had used with her. She pulled a face as a tear started to roll down her cheek. “Aww sweetie I’m sorry for shouting at you” Charlie said as she attempted to pull her daughter into a hug. Ava pulled away and ran up the stairs in tears and slammed the bedroom door shut. Charlie looked up at Angelo before she walked back across to the chair and took a seat and held her head in her hands as she cried.

“Charlie” Angelo said as he walked across and put his hand on her shoulder. “Everything is going to be….”

“No, don’t touch me” Charlie yelled as she shrugged Angelo off her “I can’t do it, Angelo. I can’t” Charlie said as she looked up at him.

“Do what Charlie? This doesn’t change anything between us” Angelo said

“It changes everything Angelo” Charlie shouted “I’m never going to be able to move on now. You got her pregnant Angelo, she is always going to be in our lives now, and the child is a constant reminder of what you did and I can’t be part of that child’s life, you cant ask me to be a step-mum to your love child” Charlie yelled.

“So what are you saying Charlie? That this weekend, all this progress that we’ve made, it was all for nothing? Charlie you and this baby here are what matters to me” Angelo said as he placed his hand on Charlie’s stomach. “I don’t need to be a part of this baby’s life. We can move away and start a fresh as a family”

“No we will not” Charlie spat “We will not move our kids out of their school and away from their home and their friends because of your stupid mistake. We move away and she wins Angelo”

“Right” Angelo nodded “Charlie please don’t do this. Don’t give up on us because of Shelly’s baby, please Charlie” Angelo cried

“I just….I think you should leave” Charlie said and Angelo shook his head as a tear rolled down his face.

“Please Charlie don’t do this. This weekend was great; we were so happy and worked so much out. We both want to be together, please Charlie don’t this because of the baby, I don’t need to be in its life”

“Yeah, you say that now but after it’s born and you see it around town you won’t can stay away, and I can’t ask you to do that. I’m sorry Angelo. Can you just leave, please” Charlie said as she looked down to the floor and away from Angelo. Angelo reluctantly stood up and walked out of the house and made his way into the Surf Club and straight up to Noah’s bar and ordered himself a beer. He sighed heavily as he saw her walking towards him.

“Leave me alone” Angelo said

“C’mon Angelo, I’m carrying your baby you can’t stay away from me forever” Shelly said

“Yes, I can” Angelo said as he picked up his beer and walked away from the bar and to a table. “Because I don’t care about you and I don’t care about that baby. All I care about is my wife and making things work with her and believe me, I am going to. I don’t care about you. I just used you. I needed comfort and you were there and willing to give me it. I don’t care if I never see you again” Angelo said before he stood up and walked out of the bar.

***

“Mummy” Ben shouted as he knocked on the door. “Open the door”

“I’ll get it Ben” Ava said as she gently pushed her little brother out of the way and pushed the door open. The kids ran into the bedroom and found Charlie sitting at the edge of the bed with tears rolling down her face.

“Don’t cry mummy” Ben said as he sat down beside her and put his hand on her knee. Charlie sat in silence as she looked straight in front of her. “Ava mummy’s not talking” Ben said as he looked up at her.

“I know what to do” Ava said as she ran out of the room and down the stairs and Ben followed her intriguingly.

“What” Ben shouted as he jumped down the last few stairs and found Ava standing in front of the shelving unit looking up at Charlie’s mobile which she had placed there earlier. “What you doing?”

“Trying to reach mum’s phone to get Ruby. She will know what to do” Ava said

“Oh yeah” Ben said in agreement.

“I can’t reach it” Ava moaned as she tried to jump up and grab the phone. “Let me lift you” Ava said as she looked down at her little bother.

“But you have a brokey arm cast” Ben said

“But it’s a newer and littler one and I get it off next week. It doesn’t hurt now and I can move it lots more” Ava said

“Okay” Ben nodded as he ran in front of Ava. She lifted her little brother up as high as she could manage. “Got it” Ben cheered as Ava put him back down and he passed the phone to his sister. “Do you know hows it works?” Ben asked and Ava nodded.

“Mum said she was number one on speed dial” Ava answered. “So I press one then the green button” Ava said and Ben nodded as he watched his sister. “Its ringing” Ava smiled and she held the phone to her ear.

“Hello” Ruby answered

“Hello, Ruby. It’s me, mum is sad and wont talk” Ava said “And she’s been crying. I heard her shout with dad and another lady”

“Right. I’ll come right round okay” Ruby said “You and Ben play safely okay”

“Yeah, we are okay” Ava said “Bye Ruby” Ava hung up the phone and ran back up the stairs with Ben following her. They ran into the bedroom and started to pull out some toys from the toy box. A few minutes later and Ruby arrived back in the house. She walked into the bedroom and placed Callum down in the cot. “Ruby we didn’t get supper yet” Ben said as he ran up to her.

“Right. I’ll go speak to mummy then we can go down and get some supper okay” Ruby said and Ben nodded

“Yeah” Ben said excitedly “Can I have some weetabix with hot milk” Ben asked

“Sure you can” Ruby smiled

“Yey, Ava I’m getting weetabix for supper” Ben cheered as he ran around the room. Ruby laughed lightly before she walked out of the bedroom and across the hall and knocked on the door before walking into Charlie’s room.

“Hey, mum what’s wrong?” Ruby asked and she sat down next to her and wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

“Nothing” Charlie answered “It’s nothing” Charlie said as she wiped away a lone tear and made to stand up. “I need to go make the kids their supper”

“Mum, sit” Ruby said and Charlie looked down at her daughter before doing as she was told. “What’s happened? Ava said you, dad and another lady were shouting?”

Charlie bit her lip as she looked at Ruby and slowly nodded her head. “Shelly” Charlie said “She’s…..she eh…..she pregnant”

“Oh mum” Ruby said “I’m sorry”

“I don’t know what to do. It’s going to be so hard to be able to accept this child as a part of his life but it’ll be even harder if I don’t have him in my life at all. What am I supposed to do, Rubes?” Charlie asked

“I don’t know” Ruby said as she shook her head. “But what I do know is that no matter what you decide, I will be here to support you and help you get through it. I'll always be here to help you mum” Ruby said

“Oh Ruby, what did I do to deserve a daughter like you?” Charlie said and Ruby smiled before embracing in a hug with her mother.

[Danni02]

Thank you Sam, Cally, Sarah, Charis and Barbara for the lovely comments. I love to read them. They make me smile. Its nice to read what everyone liked about the chapter. Hope you like this next one.

Chapter 43

The kids were playing in the living room after their supper, Ruby was making up a bottle for Callum, and Charlie had finally been able to eat some dinner. She sighed lightly as she picked up the plate and walked across the kitchen and placed it into the dishwasher. “So this is what it’s going to be like from now on then” Charlie said as she learned herself against the worktop and looked down at her daughter.

“What what’s going to be like?” Ruby asked as he screwed the lid on the bottle and gave it a little shake.

“My life. Single mum to 3…..4 kids” Charlie said as she placed her hand over her stomach.

“I’m hardly a kid” Ruby said and Charlie exhaled lightly “Mum are you really going to drop all the progress you made with Angelo, just like that?”

“I don’t know Rubes” Charlie said “I don’t want to but how am I supposed to.....he’s having a child with someone else. That child is going to part of this family and I just can’t....I just...I don’t know if I am strong enough to deal with that”

“You were strong enough to keep me. Maybe you didn’t raise me from the day I was born but you kept me in your life and you were so close to me. You fought so hard for me to stay in your life when I found out the truth and if you’re strong enough to do that when I’m a product of rape then I’m sure you will be strong enough to deal with this, with Angelo’s child” Ruby looked up at her mother as she bit her lip “You love Angelo right?” Ruby asked

“Yeah, so much” Charlie answered

“So maybe you will be able to grow to love this child because he is a part of Angelo” Ruby said “Angelo loves me like I’m his own. He stood by and supported you after he found out the truth. I bet I was a reminder to him about what happened to you but he was still able to see past that and love me for who I am. I know that when you look at his child, it will be a reminder of what Angelo’s done, but, over time you will grow to love that child, because he is a part of Angelo and you love him”

“That’s a bit different Ruby. You were my child before we met and...”

“Well actually, I was your sister when you met Angelo”

“Rubes” Charlie said and Ruby exhaled lightly. “You were in my life before I met Angelo, not some child that was conceived after we were married. I think it’ll be harder for me to accept this child as it was for Angelo to accept you as my daughter because you were already in my life when I got together with Angelo, but this child, well, it’s happened well into a marriage, he cheated on me Rubes”

“I know. But I can see how much you love him and want to be with him. Don’t throw away what you really want. You’ll work through this, you will find a way to make it work for all of you” Ruby said “I know you will because you are strong enough to get past this and you want to be with him. I can see it.”

“You know me too well Rubes” Charlie said as a tear rolled down her cheek. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not”

“Trust me, it’s a good thing” Ruby smiled as she wiped the tear from Charlie’s face. Charlie wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her in a tight embrace.

“Oh Ruby, I don’t know what I’d do without you” Charlie said

“You’d survive….just” Ruby laughed before hearing the cries of her son through the baby monitor. “Well better go feed this one” Ruby said as she pulled back from the hug and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Charlie exhaled lightly before walking into the living room and up to her daughter.

“Hey, Ava” Charlie said as sat down next to her daughter and ran her hand through her hair. “I’m really sorry for shouting at you before. I didn’t mean too” Ava looked up at her mother with a sad expression on her face before standing up and running across the room and sitting down, looking away from Charlie. Charlie sighed heavily before looking down at her watch. It was Ben’s bedtime. She would put him to bed and then try to talk to her daughter again. “Right Ben, bedtime” Charlie said as she stood up from the couch and walked over to her son, who was happily playing with this train set.

“No mummy. 5 more minutes” Ben argued

“No Ben” Charlie said “Bed time now”

Ben sulked as he jumped up from where he was playing and ran across the room to Ava. He gave her a kiss and said goodnight to her before running over and taking Charlie’s hand. Charlie led her son up the stairs and helped him to clean his teeth before he jumped up into bed. “Mummy, can Ruby read me my story tonight?” Ben asked as he looked up at Charlie.

“Sure I can Ben” Ruby smiled as she took the now empty bottle from her son’s mouth. She lay Callum down in his cot and walked over to the shelf with the kids’ books on it. “What story do you want?” Ruby asked and Ben scratched the side of his head as he thought. “Thomas the tank one. When they get stuck in the snow” Ben said excitedly and Ruby nodded as she picked up the book and walked over to the bed. “Mummy you can go now” Ben said as he looked up at Charlie.

“Oh okay” Charlie laughed “Night baby” Charlie placed a kiss on her son’s forehead before she left the room. She walked back into the living room and Ava looked up at her quickly before looking away again in a sulk. “Ava” Charlie said “Come and talk to me”

Ava shook her head as she folded her arms. “You shouldn’t shout. You always tell me not to shout”

“Ava, I’m sorry. I was angry and I didn’t mean to shout at you”

“But you did. So I’m not talking to you” Ava said angrily as she ran across the room and sat down at the bottom of the stairs. Charlie looked round at her daughter and sighed lightly before she stood up and walked over to the DVD cabinet. She picked out a DVD and put it in the player before taking a seat back on the couch.

“If only I had a daughter who loved this to watch it with me” Charlie said and Ava looked round in the direction of the TV, intrigued at what Charlie had put on. She smiled as she heard the start of the movie, she would recognise that anywhere. It was High School Musical. Her favourite. Charlie slyly looked round at her daughter and could see she was interested in what was on the TV.

“I love it” Ava said as she ran across the room and jumped up on couch next to Charlie. “I could watch it with you”

“But you’re not talking to me” Charlie said

“Well you said sorry and you didn’t mean to shout so it’s okay” Ava said and Charlie smiled as she wrapped her arm around her daughter and Ava snuggled into Charlie. “Why were you shouting again? Is something wrong?” Ava asked as she looked up at Charlie.

“It’s nothing, sweetie. Everything is going to be okay” Charlie said and Ava pulled a face.

“You promise?” Ava asked and Charlie bit her lip as she nodded “And you are still going to live with daddy?

“Yeah” Charlie smiled “I’m still going to live with daddy”

“Good” Ava smiled “Now can you rewind it because I missed it with all you’re talking” Charlie laughed lightly as she reached for the remote. She hit the rewind button and smiled down at her daughter. Ava snuggled herself back into Charlie and the pair sat there watching the DVD in silence. As she watched the DVD her thoughts turned to Angelo and their situation. She thought about what Ruby had said to her and she knew that Ruby was right. She loved him so much and wanted more than anything to get their old life back and work things out. She knew they would find a way through this next problem. As she listened to the movie and the song the teens were singing, one line stuck out in her mind. ‘We’re all in this together’. Charlie smiled lightly at herself. She and Angelo were in this together and she knew they would find a way to get through this. She was sure of it.

****

Charlie had just poured herself a glass of orange juice when Morag returned to the house. “Morag” Charlie said “Where have you been?”

“I was in the city visiting an old friend” Morag answered as she took a glass from the cupboard and poured herself a drink. “Where is everyone?” Morag asked

“Kids are in bed and Ruby went round to see Nicole” Charlie answered as she took a seat at the kitchen table and Morag sat down next to her.

“Right, so how did this weekend away go then?” Morag asked. She was less than enthusiastic about the weekend away and believed that Angelo shouldn’t be forgiven or given another chance after what he did to her.

“You really want to know?” Charlie asked “You told me not to even go away with him”

“Yes well you did go so I may as well know it went” Morag replied.

“It went really well” Charlie smiled “He was sweet, and lovely and everything felt right. It was almost like before, when things were great with us”

“That’s just what he wants Charlie. It’s just an act to soften you up. Get you back in his good books and for him to be let off for what he did” Morag said

“He’s not being let off” Charlie spat “This hasn’t exactly been an easy time for him either. Between work and setting up his new house, he’s hardly seen his kids, I refused to talk to him for weeks, and even though I told him I could forgive him and want work this out, he knows it’s going to be so hard for him to regain my trust”

“Oh Charlie, you’re not taking him back are you?” Morag asked “You’re just setting yourself up for more heartache. He’s done it once and gotten away with it, he’ll probably go do it again now he knows he can do what he wants and still have you”

“He won’t do it again. He wouldn’t risk losing us” Charlie said almost on the verge of tears at Morag’s reaction.

“Charlie he’s done it once. He can do it again. And you just said you can’t trust him now, doesn’t that show you have doubts about that?” Morag said.

“He won’t do that again. Risk all this happening again. Getting her pregnant will probably make him even less likely to risk that again” Charlie said

“He got her pregnant?” Morag said in shock. “He got someone else pregnant and you are still taking him back? Oh Charlie how can you be so stupid” Morag spat

“Thanks for your concern Morag, your support means the world to me” Charlie snapped before standing up and storming out of the room.

[Danni02]

Thank you so much, Sabrina, Cally, Sarah, Barbara, Laura 158, charlie29 and Charis for you comments. I hope you like this next one. And I did the surfing bit ok.....wasnt sure how to write that at all!

Chapter 44

“Ruby” Ava shouted as she ran up to her sister and waved an envelope in front of her face. “Look what I got at school today. It’s an invitation for a party” Ava said excitedly.

“Aww jealous” Ruby said as looked down at the invitation Ava had shoved in her hand. “Ooh its Andrew’s birthday party. Is Andrew your boyfriend?” Ruby teased

“No” Ava gasped “Andrew is just my friend”

“It’s okay, you can tell me. I know he is your boyfriend” Ruby said as she lightly poked Ava’s side.

“No he’s not” Ava shouted “Tell her mum” Ava said as she looked up at Charlie.

“Yeah Ruby, Andrew is just her friend. It’s Sean who’s her boyfriend” Charlie teased.

“No mum” Ava shouted in frustration “He‘s not. We are just friends. I don’t have a boyfriend” Ava shouted as the doorbell rang. Ava ran to the door and smiled as she found Angelo standing at the other side. “Dad, tell them” Ava said as she pulled him into the house.

“Tell them what, sweetie” Angelo said as he looked down at his daughter.

“Andrew and Sean are just my friends. I don’t have a boyfriend” Ava said

“Oh, I thought you said Luke was your boyfriend?” Angelo said and Ava jumped on the spot in frustration.

“No dad” Ava raised her voice in annoyance “You said I had to wait till I am 21, remember?”

“Oh yes, so I did” Angelo said as he looked up at Charlie and Ruby who were both biting their lip to stop themselves laughing.

“21 hey, good luck with that” Ruby said as she looked at Angelo before looking down at her watch. “Well I have to go meet Jay, bye” Ruby said before she picked up her bag and walked out of the house.

“Right Ava, go and get changed out your uniform” Charlie said. Ava sighed before disappearing up the stairs. Charlie glanced briefly at Angelo before looking away as she folded her arms.

“You pair teasing her again” Angelo laughed

“Yeah, I guess we were” Charlie answered quickly not making eye contact with Angelo. It had been 3 days since Shelly came round to the house and except for arranging this meeting with the kids, Charlie hadn’t spoken to Angelo since.

“So, what’s on for the rest of the afternoon for you?” Angelo asked “If you wanted maybe the four of us could do something together. It would be nice” Angelo said

“I’ve got Callum to watch so I can’t” Charlie answered.

“Bring him along” Angelo smiled

“No. I’m just going to stay here. It’s your time with the kids” Charlie said

“Charlie please talk to me about this. We were all set to move on, to move past all this, please don’t change your mind now”

“It’s not that I’ve changed my mind. It’s just…”

“Daddy” Ben shouted as he ran down the stairs, cutting Charlie off. He ran into Angelo’s arms and Angelo lifted him up.

“Hey mate” Angelo smiled

“Can we go fishing?” Ben asked

“Not today mate. Maybe at the weekend” Angelo answered and Ben nodded sadly.

“Okay” Ben said.

“I’m ready” Ava shouted as she ran down the stairs and up to Angelo.

“That was quick” Charlie said

“Yeah. It was” Ava smiled “Are you coming out with us mum?”

“No, I’m going to stay here” Charlie answered as she walked across the room and to the door as Angelo and the kids walked out. “You guys have fun with dad, okay” Charlie smiled.

“Yeah we will” Ben answered “Bye mummy”

“Bye” Charlie smiled at her son

“I’ll bring them home just after dinner time” Angelo said and Charlie nodded lightly.

“Yeah that’s fine. And eh, tonight…..we’ll talk tonight” Charlie said and Angelo smiled as he lightly nodded his head.

“Okay. See you later then” Angelo said before he walked away with the kids.

****

“Okay, I’ll go over it one more time” Jay said before he lay on the surf board and did a swimming action with his hands. “So, like this” Jay said “Then when the wave starts to form you jump up like this” Jay said he pushed himself up on the board and stood with his knees slightly bent and holding his arms out for balance. “Then keep your balance as you ride the wave. Easy” Jay smiled as he jumped off the board and watched Ruby copying what he had done. “Great” Jay smiled. “Now you want to give it a try in the water?” Jay asked as he pointed out to the ocean.

Ruby exhaled lightly as she slowly nodded her head. “Yeah, okay, lets give it a go” Ruby said before she picked up her board and the pair walked out towards the ocean. They walked in up to about knee level and Jay stopped and looked round at Ruby.

“I’ll watch from here. Go on” He smiled at her as he watch Ruby go further out into the ocean. She pushed herself up onto the board and took a deep breath as she watched for a wave to come. She started to glide herself along the water before she placed her hands on the board and pushed herself up. Placing one foot firmly on the board and then her other, she smiled at herself as she moved her arms out to keep her balance, surprised that she was able to get herself standing and staying on the board. “That’s it. Go on, keep going” Jay shouted encouragingly as he watched Ruby gliding along the wave. Ruby’s smile grew larger as she realised she was doing it, she was surfing. Just then Ruby lost her balance and fell into the water, the waves and the board crashing around her. She placed her feet on the bottom of the ocean and pushed herself back up to the surface to find Jay right in front of her holding onto her board. “That was great” Jay smiled.

“I did it” Ruby smiled “Well sort of”

“Yeah, you were great for a first attempt” Jay smiled “I must just be a better teacher than Xav…” Jay stopped mid sentence as he saw the smile on Ruby’s face drop. “Ruby, I’m sorry, I didn’t...”

“No, its fine” Ruby said “He was a lousy teacher. Pretty lousy surfer as well come to think of it” Ruby laughed and Jay let out a small laugh with her.

“Well do you want to give it another shot?” Jay asked

“No, I think I’ll quit while I’m ahead today” Ruby said and Jay nodded before they walked out of the ocean and back to where their stuff was.

“I’m sorry again for cancelling this morning” Jay said as he picked up his towel and dried his body off. “I got called into the shop because of……well something that probably won’t interest you. Never mind”

“It’s fine. I mean, we still got to meet. Just a little later than planned” Ruby said as wrapped the towel around herself before sitting down in the sand.

“Yeah” Jay smiled “So how’s Ava and Ben? And little Callum?” Jay asked

“Callum’s great. Ben threw a strop this morning about going to nursery” Ruby laughed. “I shouldn’t laugh really but it was pretty funny. He wouldn’t get dressed so was running around the house in the nude, then when mum finally got him dressed and down for his breakfast, he threw it all over the floor”

“Did he get put on the naughty step?” Jay joked

“He did” Ruby laughed “Then just as they were leaving the house Ava said she needed these photos for some project thing she was doing at school and mum had no idea where they were. And I’m pretty sure I heard a pretty heated discussion with mum and Morag this morning as well. It’s just not fair. She has enough going on right now. She really didn’t need a morning like that to add to her stress”

“Oh right” Jay said “If you wanted to talk about anything, you know you could talk to me”

Ruby smiled as she lightly nodded her head. “Mum and Angelo are kinda separated at the moment so things aren’t that easy for anyone right now. The kids hate it, you know not having dad around as much and it cant be easy for them not knowing where they are going, what’s going on, and well mum’s just, well she’s hurt and angry…..she wants to take him back. I know she does but things are just, well it’s complicated. And now it seems Ben is going to be playing up a lot more and it won’t help that Morag is being unsupportive with mum’s decisions”

“They’ve separated?” Jay questioned “Didn’t you say they were away for the weekend when we met on Saturday?”

“Yeah they were. They were talking about things, you know, trying to work it out” Ruby answered

Oh, so it didn’t go well then?” Jay asked

“It did” Ruby answered “But then…..well something else has happened” Ruby said

“Right, yeah” Jay nodded “Well when my parents went through a split, I started to do that. You know, not do as I was told, get into trouble in school, throw tantrums, that kinda thing. My brother reverted back to wetting the bed”

“Ben does that too” Ruby said “So you think all this is just because of what’s going on at home?”

“Well yeah” Jay said “I mean his family have broken up, the dynamics have changed, his parents are arguing, he can probably pick up on that tension between them. He’ll probably feel insecure right now”

“Yeah, I guess” Ruby said “How did you and your brother stop doing that. Like what did your parents or people do to help?”

“My parents got back together and everything stopped” Jay said “Well Sam’s bedwetting anyways. I was occasionally still a little rebel at school” Jay laughed before his mobile beeped indicating he had a message. He picked up his phone and looked down at the screen and felt a little uneasy as he recognised the number. He hit the button to display the message. It read ‘I’m still waiting’. He sighed lightly before hitting the delete button and looking back up at Ruby.

“Is everything alright?” Ruby asked as she noticed the look on his face.

“Yeah” Jay answered quickly. “That was someone who works in the shop. I need to go in again. Some problem with a customer” Jay said as he stood to his feet. “Sorry”

“It’s fine” Ruby smiled as Jay took her hands into his and pulled her to her feet.

“I had fun today” Jay smiled “Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

“Yeah sure” Ruby smiled.

“Okay, well I will call you” Jay said before he flung his bag over his shoulder and picked up his board.

“Yeah sure” Ruby smiled “As she picked up her board and went to hand it back to Jay.

“Oh that’s for you” Jay said “You can keep practising”

Ruby looked up at Jay with a shocked expression on her face. “Oh no Jay, you don’t need to give me a board” Ruby said.

“Ruby, it’s no bother. I have a shop full of them. I’m sure I wont miss one” Jay laughed.

“Right well thanks” Ruby said as she looked deep into Jay’s eyes and felt a smile forming on her face. Jay smiled as he moved closer to Ruby and wrapped an arm around her waist. They stared at each other for a moment before Jay leaned in and they kissed. They smiled at each other as they pulled away and stood in silence for a moment.

“Sorry, I really have to go now” Jay said before he picked up his surf board. Ruby watched as he ran off along the beach and no matter how much she tried she just couldn’t remove the smile from her face.

[Danni02]

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments. I really didnt like that one, so I am pleased you guys seemed too.

Laura158 - Yes, it was mentioned on Ruby and Jay's first date that he owned a surf shop.

I hope you all like this next one, again, I'm not so sure about it.

Chapter 45

Charlie walked down the stairs and exhaled lightly as she looked at Angelo who was sitting on the couch waiting for her to return. “Stories all read then?” Angelo grinned as he looked up at Charlie as she made her way across the living room and took a seat next to Angelo on the couch.

“Yeah” Charlie answered as she made eye contact with Angelo.

“Ava told me about Ben’s little tantrums this morning” Angelo said before laughing lightly.

“It wasn’t funny” Charlie said “His behaviour is getting worse ever since we….” Charlie trailed off as Morag walked into the house.

“What is he doing here?” Morag asked as she looked down at Angelo unimpressed to find him sitting in her house.

“He’s here to talk” Charlie answered

“Oh well I suggest you talk another time, elsewhere, because he is not welcome in my house” Morag said as she looked down at Angelo and looked disgusted at him. “Go on, get out”

“Morag” Charlie shouted in surprise.

“I’m sorry Charlie but I’m not having him in my house” Morag said

“Right fine, c’mon we will go and talk somewhere else” Charlie said as she started to walk towards the door.

“Eh Charlie” Morag said and Charlie stopped walking and turned around to face her. “I hope Ruby is home otherwise who is going to look after your children while you are out with him?” Morag said as she gave Angelo a disapproving look.

“Are you being serious?” Charlie asked

“Absolutely” Morag answered

Charlie exhaled lightly as she bit her lip. “I can’t believe that Morag. They’re in bed; it’s not as if they are going to do anything to annoy you”

“Oh, I don’t mind watching the kids for you Charlie. I’d just rather not if it means you are going to spend time with him” Morag said

Charlie shook her head as she looked round at Angelo, who had so far remained quiet. “It’s alright Charlie, I’ll go. We can arrange to talk another time” Angelo said.

“No, Angelo. We will not let her dictate when we can and cannot talk” Charlie shouted “Why are you being like this Morag?” Charlie asked as she looked back round at her. Morag exhaled lightly as she shook her head.

“Fine go. Who am I to stop you if you want to set yourself up for more heartache, but don’t expect any sympathy for me when that happens, and believe me Charlie, it will happen” Morag said. Charlie shook her head before walking out of the house, followed sheepishly by Angelo. They walked down the driveway and away from the house.

“How could she be so.....”

“Charlie” Angelo cut her off “She cares about you. She’s only looking out for you”

“I guess” Charlie sighed “But a little support would be nice. She’s already given me 2 lectures this week about how I shouldn’t trust a word you say or take you back. And what she said, it made sense Angelo, and she has made me think twice about what I should do”

“Charlie, what do you want to do? Getting advice from Ruby, Morag, and your friends, it’s great, it’s a help, but at the end of the day, it’s your decision. You are the one who knows what you want to do” Angelo said as they stopped walking and turned to face each other. Angelo put his hands on Charlie’s arms and rubbed them gently. “What do you want?” Charlie bit her lip as she took a deep breath.

“You. I want to be with you. I want us to be a family again. Me, you, Ruby, Ava, Ben, Callum and this baby” Charlie said as she placed a hand on her stomach. “That’s what I want Angelo” Charlie said as she felt a tear roll down her cheek.

“I want that too” Angelo smiled as he leaned forward and went to hug Charlie but she stepped back and she lightly shook her head.

“But” Charlie said

“No, Charlie, please don’t say but, no buts” Angelo said as he took her hands into his. “We can work this out; we can get back to what we had”

Charlie pursed her lips together to stop herself from crying “You’re having a baby with someone else and that’s going to be really hard to deal with”

“Charlie, you can...”

“No, please, just let me finish” Charlie said “It’s not going to be easy, but, we will work something out because I want this so much. I am going to try because I want our family back together”

“I do too” Angelo said as a huge smiled swept across his face. He tightened his grip on Charlie’s hands and the pair stared at each other in silence for a few minutes before Angelo broke the gaze. “Charlie, I don’t want to lie to you, I want to be honest with you and I feel I need to tell you this” Angelo paused as he saw a worried look forming on Charlie’s face.

“Angelo, what is it?” Charlie questioned

Angelo took a deep breath before he spoke. “I ran into Shelly the other night and....”

“Oh God, nothing happened did it?” Charlie asked as she broke her hands free from Angelo’s grasp.

“No of course not. At least nothing like that” Angelo said “I ran into her in the Surf Club and I told her I didn’t care if I ever saw her again and then left. I just.....I wanted you to know in case you heard it from someone else we were together, or Shelly told you some rubbish or something” Angelo said.

“Well thank you for telling me” Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad he was being honest with her.

“I just want to be honest Charlie; I want to show you that you can trust me”

“Well you’ve earned my trust once, I’m sure you can do it again”

“Charlie, I will, I swear I will never ever do anything to hurt you again” Angelo said as he placed his hand on Charlie’s shoulder. They smiled lovingly at each other and stared deep into each other’s eyes. His smile grew larger before he leaned in to kiss her but Charlie quickly pulled back and put her hand onto her stomach as she let out a little gasp. “Charlie, what is it? Are you okay?” Angelo asked sounding concerned.

“Yeah, I felt the baby move” Charlie smiled

“What? You can feel Peanut move already?” Angelo asked.

“Yeah, well it was more like a little flutter” Charlie answered “I guess I’m just more aware of it because of the amount of times you’ve knocked me up” Charlie laughed.

“Oh so it’s my fault is it?” Angelo joked

“Yeah it is” Charlie said and Angelo laughed lightly.

“So, when is your next scan?” Angelo asked

“Not for another 5 weeks” Charlie said

“And that’s your twenty week one?” Angelo asked and Charlie nodded. “So we can find we find out what Peanut is?” Angelo asked

“Eh, yeah we can” Charlie smiled

“Great” Angelo grinned “So, we okay then? We staying....we’re working....” Angelo paused

“We’re okay” Charlie smiled “We keep things how we first planned. We keep working on things and one day, me and the kids, we will move into your house” Angelo smiled as he listened to what Charlie was saying. “So I eh, I better get back to the house and probably brace myself for a Morag lecture” Charlie said as she raised her eyebrows.

“She loves you Charlie, she just doesn’t want to see you getting hurt”

“Yeah well you better prove her wrong” Charlie said

“I will” Angelo smiled “Now how about we go to the Surf Club or the Diner for a while? You can avoid that lecture for a little longer” Angelo laughed lightly and he looked down at Charlie.

“Yeah, we can go to the Diner. You can buy me some cake. I’m craving something sweet” Charlie said

“Oh I can, can I?” Angelo asked

“Yeah, you can” Charlie said and Angelo smiled before they made their way down the road and into the Diner.

“Hi Colleen, can we have one ginger tea, one coffee and one big slice of that cake please” Charlie said as she pointed to the big chocolate cake that was sitting on the counter”

“Oh what’s this then” Colleen asked as she looked up at Charlie and Angelo “Are we getting back together? There’s nothing more that I like to see than two people who love each other and are meant to be together working things out. But I must say Sergeant Risotto I think it’s very good of you to give this one another chance. You need to be on your best behaviour from now on young man” Colleen said as she glared at Angelo.

“We’ll just go get a table” Angelo said before he and Charlie walked away and sat down. After a few minutes Colleen came rushing over with their order.

“Oh I don’t know what I am going to do. I’m rushed off my feet out here and Irene is busy in the kitchen and Leah has gone home sick” Colleen said as she placed the tea and coffee down on the table. Charlie and Angelo glanced briefly at each other before Colleen continued. “All the deliveries are still sitting out back and need to be brought through to the kitchen and store room. If only there was a kind, strong, helpful man in here that could help us poor women out” Colleen glanced down at Angelo as she spoke.

“Would you like me to help you Colleen?” Angelo asked

“Why, do you know someone who fits the description?” Charlie said and Angelo pulled a face at her.

“Oh that’s ever so kind of you to offer Senior Constable Risotto. That would be of great help to myself and Irene”

“It’s no problem Colleen” Angelo said as he stood up from the table. “Do you mind if I go?” Angelo said as he looked down at Charlie.

“No it’s fine” Charlie answered “In fact I’ll come help too”

“Oh no you won’t Sergeant Risotto. You shouldn’t be doing any heavy lifting in your pregnant state, you sit down and take it easy” Colleen said. Charlie sighed lightly as she looked up at Angelo.

“Hey, I agree with her” Angelo said as he pointed to Colleen. “I won’t be long” Angelo said before he walked away.

“So you didn’t answer my first question yet about you and the Senior Constable” Colleen said as she looked down at Charlie.

“Can I eh, get my cake please Colleen?” Charlie said and Colleen sighed lightly before she rushed off to get Charlie her cake. Charlie looked up to find Shelly had just walked into the Diner.

“Mind if I join you?” Shelly said as she walked up to the table and sat down next to Charlie. She picked up Angelo’s coffee and took a drink of it as Charlie stared blankly at her.

“I really do” Charlie said as she picked up her tea and made to stand up.

“Oh c’mon now Charlie. We should get to know each other. I mean our children will be growing up together, they could be best friends. Well they will be half siblings but no reason why they can’t be friends too” Shelly said

“They’ll have as little to do with each other as possible” Charlie spat

“You can’t stop my child seeing its siblings” Shelly said “Or its father. Angelo is going to be very much a part of this baby’s life” Shelly smirked “And you know what the best part is? You can’t do anything to stop him from seeing this baby”

“Your right. I can’t” Charlie said “But Angelo can. He’s so thrilled about this baby that he suggested we move away from here to get away from you”

“Oh so you don’t want me to tell you what he said when we met the other night” Shelly said as a smug grin appeared on her face.

“What, that he told you he didn’t care if he ever saw you again?” Charlie answered “Yeah he told me about that” Charlie couldn’t help but feel a little pleased when the smug smile fell from Shelly’s face. “You’re pregnant with his child and he still doesn’t care about you. Just give it up, Shelly” Charlie and Shelly then turned their heads as they heard a plate crashing to the floor and Colleen standing there with her mouth open in shock.

“Oh Irene, Irene, have you heard” Colleen shouted as she turned round and started to scurry off in the direction of the kitchen.

“No, Colleen” Charlie shouted as she chased after her. She caught her just as she was about to enter the kitchen. “Colleen, please don’t tell anyone this. Please keep this one quiet”

“Oh well you know me Sergeant Risotto. If anyone wants secrets kept, I’m the one they come too” Colleen said and Charlie nodded lightly as she bit her lip.

“What’s this about secrets?” Angelo asked as he walked up to Charlie and Colleen.

“Eh Shelly is here and Colleen heard her news” Charlie answered

“But don’t worry, your secret is safe with me” Colleen smiled before walking off to get the brush and dustpan to pick up the plate she had smashed all over the floor. Charlie and Angelo walked through the Diner and Shelly walked up to them with a smug grin plastered across her face.

“I’ll be seeing you again” Shelly smirked before she turned and walked away.

[Danni02]

Thank you so much, Cally, mellbell86, Laura158, charlie29 and Barbara for your lovely comments. Here is another one. I hope its okay. Not much goes on but just needed a little something before the next one! So, yeah....hope you like this.

Chapter 46

“What are you doing mummy?” Ben asked he ran up to Charlie and watched as she put another spoonful peanut butter in her mouth.

“I’m making Ava’s sandwiches for her lunch” Charlie said as she picked up the knife and put it into the jar before she spread it over the bread.

“You were eating it” Ben said “Can I have some?” Ben asked and Charlie nodded lightly as she put the spoon back into the jar before she handed it to her son. He ran away happily with the spoon and sat down on the couch as he licked the peanut butter from it. Charlie finished making up Ava’s packed lunch when Ava came skipping into the kitchen and cheerily smiled at Charlie.

“Someone is in a good mood today” Charlie said as she watched her daughter skipping round the room in circles.

“Yes, I’m getting this silly cast off” Ava smiled. “I’m getting sick of it. I can’t itch my arm and I’ve missed swimming club for ages and Emily said that they’ve been learning tumble turns” Ava mood quickly changed into a sulk.

“Aww, well you can go back to swimming soon and you’ll get to learn everything you missed” Charlie said as she gently ran her hand through Ava’s long dark hair.

“Yeah but I won’t can do the tumble turns right and the other kids with laugh at me” Ava said as she pulled a sad face and looked down at the floor.

“Hey baby, they won’t laugh at you” Charlie said as she bend down to her daughter’s level and placed her hand on her chin and gently pushed her head up so she was looking at her. “You haven’t been there for a long time so they will know you still have to learn the new stuff they’ve learnt”

“But then I will have to go away with the teacher myself and I don’t like that. I want to be with my friends and learn with them” Ava sulked

“It won’t be for long sweetheart, you’ll have caught up with your friends in no time. You’re the best swimmer in the class” Charlie said as she lightly hit Ava’s nose with her index finger.

“I do have the most medals” Ava smiled

“Yeah” Charlie grinned

“Mummy, do you think the baby will like to swim too?” Ava asked as she ran her finger in a circular motion around Charlie’s stomach.

“I don’t know Ava, maybe it will” Charlie answered

“Because when it’s a little older and I will be older maybe I could learn it to swim” Ava smiled

“Yeah that would be good” Charlie smiled at her young daughter before Ben came running back into the kitchen.

“Mummy can I get some more?” Ben asked as he shoved the spoon in front of Charlie’s face.

“No, you don’t need any more” Charlie said as she took the spoon from her son and stood up. She threw it into the sink before she handed Ava her lunch box. “Right, are we all ready?” Charlie asked and Ava and Ben both nodded before they ran towards the door.

“I’m sitting in the front” Ava shouted as she ran past Ben.

“No no’s I am” Ben moaned. Charlie smiled lightly as she grabbed her car keys from the hanger in the kitchen and followed her children out of house. She found them at the front of the car pushing each other.

“You’ll both sit in the back” Charlie said and both kids sulked as Charlie opened the back door of the car and gestured for them to get in.

“Mum, is dad coming to see me get my cast off?” Ava asked as Charlie pulled out of the drive way and started to drive along the road.

“No dad is working so he can’t make it” Charlie said and Ava pulled a sad face. “Do I get to miss some school?”

“No, we should be able to get there on time” Charlie answered “If you’re taken on time” She muttered

“I wanted too. I have maths first today. I hate maths” Ava sighed

“I can do it” Ben shouted “1...2...3...4...6...7...8...9...10...11...12...” Ben sang loudly as he kicked his legs up and down.

“That’s good Ben, but stop shouting” Charlie said

“No, no he missed out 5 mum” Ava laughed “It’s 1...2...3...4...5...6...” Ava said

“Oh, I forgots” Ben laughed as Charlie pulled the car into the car park. She got out of the car got Ben out and dropped him off at his nursery before making the rest of the journey to the hospital. Ava jumped out of the car and skipped excitedly into the hospital and ran up to the reception area.

“Hello, I’m Ava Sofia Rosetta and I’m here to get my cast off” Ava said as she smiled up at the woman behind the desk. Charlie caught up with Ava and ran her hand through her hair. The receptionist smiled up at Charlie before looking back down at Ava.

“Okay, Ava, if you want to go sit in the waiting room there and the nurse will come and call you when she is ready for you” the lady said and Ava nodded before she skipped happily down the hall and took a seat on one of the chairs. Charlie followed and sat down next her.

“Mum, when can I get the Troy doll so I can play with the Troy and Gabriella ones together” Ava asked as she looked down at the Gabriella doll that was in her hand.

“Eh, I don’t know, maybe for your birthday” Charlie answered

“But mum that’s ages and ages away” Ava moaned

“Well maybe for your Christmas then” Charlie said

“But that’s months away too” Ava sulked. Charlie was about to talk again when she heard the nurse speak.

“Ava Rosetta” The nurse said and Charlie instantly recognised the voice. Her head shot up and she saw Shelly standing before her. “Charlie” Shelly smirked “How are we today?”

Charlie sighed lightly as she stood up with her daughter. Couldn’t she get a break from this woman? “C’mon Ava, let’s get this cast off” Charlie said as she looked down at her daughter. She was trying to stay calm in front of her young daughter so she didn’t pick up on anything between the two women.

“Okay Ava, if you want to sit down here” Shelly smiled down at her as Ava jumped up on the seat and rested her arm against the table. “Oh that’s a cool Barbie” Shelly smiled as she pointed to Ava’s Gabriella doll.

“It’s not a Barbie stupid” Ava said as she pulled a face at Shelly. Charlie bit her lip as she tried not to show her amusement at Ava calling Shelly stupid “It’s a High School Musical doll” Ava said

“Oh right yeah so it is” Shelly said “She called Gracie right?”

Ava raised her eyebrows as she shook her head “No it’s Gabriella”

“Oh so it is” Shelly said. “So I hear you mum is having another baby” Shelly said and Ava nodded.

“Yeah it’ll be really good when the baby is born and I will help lots” Ava smiled

“Wouldn’t it be good if you had 2 little brothers or sisters?” Shelly said before she gave Charlie a smug grin.

“Well I’ve already got a little brother” Ava answered

“But I mean two babies at the same time” Shelly said

“Oh no” Ava answered “I like babies but two would just be to noisy and anyways there will be two because Callum is still a baby”

“Oh right” Shelly said before looking up at Charlie and noticing a grin on her face after Ava’s response. “Who’s Callum?” Shelly asked

“He’s my nephew. Ruby’s baby” Ava smiled

“Oh right. Well Ava you know, I’m having a baby with you’re....”

“Hey, can we just get this cast off. She needs to get to school” Charlie interrupted

“Sure” Shelly said before she finished taking her cast off.

“Yey” Ava cheered as her arm was eventually free from the cast before proceeding to giving it a good itch.

“Right Ava, can you go wait in the hall, I need to speak to the nurse” Charlie said and Ava nodded before she ran out of the room.

“Cute kid you have there” Shelly smirked “My baby will be lucky to have a big sister like that”

Charlie shook her head “How dare you go to tell my child that” Charlie spat

“Well she needs to find out at one point” Shelly smirked “and are you really going to let her get away with calling me stupid? That’s not very nice now it is?”

“Hey, what can I say she is a good judge of character” Charlie said before she walked out of the room and down the corridor with Ava. They were making their way down the corridor when Charlie heard another voice she recognised. She looked up to find Morag making her way out into the hall with Rachel closely behind her.

“Morag?” Charlie said “what are you doing here?”

[Danni02]

Once again, thank you, Cally, Charis, Sabrina, charlie29 and Barbara for the comments. I hope you like this next one.

Chapter 47

Morag looked round at Rachel before she looked back at Charlie and Ava. “Why are you in the hospital granny?” Ava asked

“Eh, I came to see my lovely granddaughter getting her cast off but I was too late so I spoke with Rachel instead” Morag said and Ava pulled an unsure face as she looked up at Morag.

“Is that the truth?” Ava asked

“Would I lie to you darling?” Morag said as she looked down at Ava

“No, I don’t think so” Ava answered

“Well, it’s the truth then” Morag smiled

“Hmm” Ava said “Hey Rachel do you like my doll?” Ava said as she held out the Gabriella doll in front of her.

“Yeah, she’s pretty” Rachel said “Is she one of those High School Musical ones? Rachel asked as she looked up at Charlie.

“Yeah” Charlie answered “Everything is High School Musical at the minute” Charlie raised her eyebrows as she spoke.

“I know” Rachel agreed “Emily’s the same. In fact she has one of those dolls too, but she’s got blonde hair, whoever that is” Rachel said

“Oh that one is Sharpay” Ava said “I don’t like her. Or Olivia or Sophie either. We all like Gabriella bestest. Emily’s the odd one out” Ava giggled.

“Aww poor Emily” Charlie said

“No its not” Ava said “Because when we play it Olivia, Sophie and me fight over who gets to be Gabriella but Emily always gets who she wants cos no one else likes her” Ava said. Rachel, Charlie and Morag let out a small laugh before Morag spoke.

“Well Ava, how about I take you to the canteen for some ice-cream” Morag suggested

“Well I have to go to school” Ava sulked before she looked up at Charlie. “But can I mum, please?”

“No sweetie, you need to go to school now” Charlie said

“Please mummy, I’ll be quick” Ava looked up at Charlie and pulled a sad face. Charlie looked down into her daughter’s sparking blue eyes and sighed lightly.

“Oh go on then. Very quickly” Charlie said and Ava cheered before she skipped off down the hall and Morag quickly followed. Charlie looked up and Rachel and before she even opened her mouth to speak Rachel spoke over her.

“You know I can’t tell you so don’t even ask” Rachel said

“Rachel if she is sick then shouldn't we have the right to know?” Charlie said

“That really would be Morag’s call to make, and as a doctor I can’t give out any information on a patient against their will” Rachel answered

“What about as my friend?” Charlie tried

“Charlie” Rachel sighed

“Can’t you give me a subtle clue or something” Charlie said

“Charlie” Rachel spoke more sternly this time. “I can understand you are concerned for Morag, but you won’t get any information for me. I’m sorry”

Charlie exhaled heavily. “Right, well I better go. Bye” Charlie said before she walked off down the corridor in the direction of the canteen.

****

Charlie walked into the station after dropping Ava off at school. She knocked softy on the office door before proceeding to walk in. Angelo looked up and looked rather surprised to find Charlie in the room.

“Charlie hey, what you doing here?” Angelo asked as he put his pen down and stopped working on the paperwork that was sitting on his desk.

“I was bored so thought I would come say hey” Charlie answered as she handed a coffee to Angelo and leaned herself against the desk.

“Thanks” Angelo smiled as he accepted the coffee from his wife. “So how did Ava do at hospital this morning?”

“Yeah fine. She got the cast off and it’s all healed nicely” Charlie smiled slightly before the smile fell from her face.

“What’s wrong?” Angelo asked

“You’ll never guess who her nurse was” Charlie said

“Who?” Angelo questioned

“Shelly” Charlie said and Angelo eyes widened. “She was actually going to tell Ava that you were having a baby with her”

“What” Angelo shouted in surprise as his eyes widened even more. “Are you serious? That little…” Angelo trailed off as he looked away from Charlie. “Did you stop her?”

“Of course I did” Charlie replied “It was horrible. She was sitting there being all nice to Ava and giving me these smug looks in-between. God, I wanted to slap her Angelo. It was like she was trying to get Ava on side. I can’t stand being around her Angelo. Every time I see her it just makes me so…..I just, I go right back to how I felt when I found out what happened between you two and now she’s having your baby, I’m never going to get away from that”

Angelo exhaled lightly as he put his hand on top of Charlie’s. “Charlie, I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I don’t think we can just take Shelly’s word for it that that baby is mine” Angelo said

“So what are you saying?” Charlie asked as she screwed her face up.

“I’m going to ask for a paternity test” Angelo said “We can’t just take her word for it Charlie”

“That has crossed my mind. But if I get my hopes up that this baby might not be yours, just to get the results back saying it is, I couldn’t handle that Angelo. You know, getting my hopes up just for them to come crashing down again”

“What so you think I should just take her word for it and accept this baby is mine?” Angelo questioned. Charlie sat in silence for a minute as she bit her lip.

“No, I agree that you need to get a test. It’s just the outcome I am not looking forward too, but hopefully it comes back that you’re not the father and we can be rid of her for life. It might help us to move past this easier too” Charlie said

“I would do anything for that to happen Charlie. I screwed up so much I hate what I did to you and I deserved everything that you did. I would do anything to improve things quicker with us. I miss living with you so much and I hate being alone in that house, it just feels so empty” Angelo looked down as his eyes reddened and he looked like he was about to shed at tear.

“Hey” Charlie said as she reached out and took hold of his hand. “Angelo it’s only been 6 weeks. I think we’ve made a lot of progress since then and we will continue too. I really want to be with you again but I don’t want to rush back into this. We need to take this slowly, it’s for the best. For us and for the kids. It won’t be fair on them to move us in to your place for them to be stuck in the middle of tension and arguing and unresolved issues, will it?”

“No, I guess not” Angelo said “But being away from them so much and away from you, it’s hard Charlie. I know it’s like some kind of karma for what I did but it’s so hard”

“Look why don’t you come round after your shift. You can take Ava out for the night. Take her swimming or something, she’s missed that having her cast on and it’s something she really enjoys. And it can be a nice bonding session for you, considering you think you need to bond more with her” Charlie said and a light smiled appeared on Angelo face. “And it’ll make Ava happy, she was disappointed you weren’t going to be at the hospital with her this morning” Charlie said

“I’d love that” Angelo smiled “Thanks, but eh, can we meet somewhere else?” Angelo asked shyly.

“What? Why? Charlie asked, slightly puzzled.

“I want to respect Morag’s wishes and not be in her house” Angelo said “I don’t want to do anything else to anger her even further”

“Oh, well Morag is going round to Jack and Martha’s this afternoon then she’s babysitting for them tonight, so she won’t be home” Charlie said

Angelo exhaled lightly “Right well I finished at 5, so maybe I could take her swimming then we could get some dinner?” Angelo questioned

“Yeah, do anything you want with her. Just make sure she is home in time for bedtime” Charlie said

“Yeah of course” Angelo smiled as Charlie looked down at her watch.

“Right, well I have to go get Ben from nursery, so I’ll see you later on tonight” Charlie said

“Yeah, bye” Angelo smiled as he watched Charlie leaving the station. Angelo’s smile grew larger as he looked at the picture of himself, Charlie, Ruby, Ava and Ben that was sitting on his desk. His family. The family he was slowly winning back.

****

Ruby pushed the buggy into the shop and walked up to the counter. “Rubes” Jay smiled as he walked round and pulled her into a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“Callum and I were in town doing some shopping and we thought we would come and say hello”

“Well hey” Jay smiled before bending down and pulling a funny face at Callum which resulted in little babbles from him. “How are you little man” Jay cooed as he lightly ticked Callum’s underarms and smiled up at Ruby and he listened to Callum’s little laugh. He looked down at his watch as his eyes widened as he noticed the time.

“Something wrong?” Ruby asked

“Eh, I’m just expecting someone” Jay said

“Oh right, who?” Ruby asked

“Me” the voice said and Ruby turned around to find a man standing before her.

“Ruby this is.... Mr Davis. He’s... a supplier I use for the shop” Jay said as he looked up at the man and gave him a pleading look.

“Yes, that’s right” the man said “I supply...” He paused as he quickly looked around the shop. “Wetsuits...yes, I supply wetsuits. I just wanted you to know you are late with your payment, again” the man said as he looked up at Jay.

“Yes, sorry I know. I’ll get it to you soon. By the end of the week” Jay said before looking down at Ruby. “Sorry Rubes, now isn’t the best time. I can meet you later on in the week” Jay suggested.

“Eh yea sure” Ruby smiled “Bye then”

“Yeah bye” Jay said quickly as he ushered Ruby out of the shop.

“So I am a supplier am I?” the man asked “Look, stop with your stupid games and give me my money or times up on this little deal” the man spoke with a threatening tone.

“Look I’m sorry, I can’t this week. Just give me a little more time” Jay pleaded

“One more week” the man said before he walked round and opened the till and emptied it contents.

“What you doing, I need that for the shop” Jay shouted. The man looked up at Jay and laughed smugly as he shook his head.

“One week” The man said before he left the shop, taking the contents of the till with him. Jay sat down on the seat behind the counter and put his head in his hands as he sighed. This was getting harder by the day.

[Danni02]

Thank you so much Sam, Sabrina, Sarah and Cally for your comments! I hope you like this next one...

Chapter 48

Charlie opened the door and smiled as she saw Angelo standing at the other side. “Hey, come in” Charlie said as she gestured for Angelo to come into the house. Angelo hesitated for a moment before he stepped into the house. He looked around the room before his head shot up in the direction of the stairs. “It’s alright, like I said earlier she isn’t in”

“I feel like a kid about to be told off for doing something I shouldn’t” Angelo said and Charlie laughed

“Are you really that scared of Morag?” Charlie asked

“She can be pretty scary” Angelo said “I just don’t want you getting anymore grief from her either”

“She’s out, so just relax” Charlie said and Angelo exhaled lightly as he started to look more comfortable being in the house. “Ava, your dad’s here” Charlie shouted as she looked up in the direction of the stairs. Just seconds later and the house was filled with the sound of Ava thumping down the stairs.

“Dad, look at my arm” Ava shouted as she held it out in front of her “The stupid cast is gone”

“Aww yeah, that’s great Ava” Angelo said as he gently placed his hand on top of Ava’s head.

“Yeah, so where are you taking me dad cos mum won’t tell me” Ava asked

“Well I thought I could take you swimming and then -”

“Swimming” Ava shrieked “I’ll go get my stuff” Ava shouted before she ran off up the stairs.

“Someone likes that idea” Angelo grinned as he looked back up at Charlie.

“Yeah, I told you she would” Charlie said

“Oh sorry we can’t all be so smart like you” Angelo joked as he stepped closer to Charlie. Charlie laughed lightly before looking up at Angelo and smiling. She moved closer to him and their hands brushed lightly against each others. Angelo smiled down at Charlie as he placed his hand on her cheek.

“I’ve got my stuff ready” Ben shouted excitedly as he ran down the stairs causing Angelo and Charlie to break from their position and look down at their son who was clutching his swimming trunks in his hand.

“Aww Ben, you’re not going” Charlie said as she bent down to her son’s level and put her hands on his arms. “This is just daddy and Ava’s day”

“But why” Ben sulked “Have I been naughty. Is that why I can’t go? Ben asked sadly

“No, you’ve not been naughty mate” Angelo said as he too bent down to Ben’s level.

“So why can’t I go? Don’t you want me too daddy?” Ben said on the verge of tears.

“I’d love you to mate, but we really need someone here looking after mummy don’t you think?” Angelo said as he turned to face Charlie and gave her a cheeky grin.

“Okay, I’ll look after mummy. But can we do something fun?” Ben asked as he looked up at Charlie.

“Yeah, of course we can. Anything you want” Charlie answered and Ben smiled as Ava came running down the stairs.

“I’m ready” Let’s go dad” Ava smiled as she took Angelo’s hand and dragged him out of the house.

“Bye. I’ll see you later” Angelo smiled as he looked up at Charlie.

“Yeah, see you later” Charlie smiled before she watched Ava and Angelo get into Angelo’s car and drive off in the direction of the swimming pool.

****

Colleen scurried into the Surf Club and up to the bar. “So sorry I’m late, Alf” Colleen said “Madge Wilkins phoned me and.....”

“I don’t care what flamin’ Madge Wilkins had to say. I was expecting you an hour ago” Alf bellowed. Alf had been left on his own at the Bar with Martha being out for a meal with Jack, Marilyn had called in sick and Will – the other worker – was away on holiday, so he had to resort to getting help from Colleen.

“Oh I am ever so sorry” Colleen said

“Here” Alf said as he shoved some cleaning products in Colleen’s hands. “Go wipe the table down” Colleen gently nodded her head before she ran off down the room and made a start to cleaning the tables. Her head shot up as she heard the group of women sitting in the corner laughing loudly before Rachel walked away from the group and made her way to the bar.

“Hello Colleen. How are you doing?” Rachel asked as she smiled down at her.

“I’m very well thank you Dr Armstrong. Just helping out my dear brother in his hour of need” Colleen said “And what are we doing this evening?” Colleen asked as she looked over to the group of women Rachel had just walked away from.

“We are on a hen night” Rachel said

“Oh I see and who’s getting married?” Colleen asked

“Caroline Smith” Rachel said “One of the nurse from the hospital”

“Oh” Colleen said “And who’s the groom?”

“C’mon Rachel. Get the next round in and stop talking to that old hag” Shelly shouted as she walked over to Rachel. Colleen’s eyes widened as she saw a slightly tipsy Shelly standing before her.

“Do you think you are in any state to be drinking” Colleen asked as she looking disapprovingly at Shelly.

“Me?” Shelly said as she pointed to herself “Why shouldn’t I? I’m young and having fun”

“But you in the family way” Colleen whispered

“Me? No I’m not” Shelly laughed

“Yes. I heard it with my own ears” Colleen said

“Oh” Shelly said as she suddenly recognised Colleen from the Diner. Before she had the chance to say anything else Colleen had dropped the cleaning products to the floor and scurried out of the Surf Club.

“Where the flamin’ hell is she going” Alf said as he watched her run out.

“Oh I don’t know what she is talking about” Shelly said as she noticed Rachel’s quizzical look. “Let’s get some more drinks in” Shelly said before they walked up to the bar.

*****

Ava burst through the door and ran up to Charlie who was in the kitchen pouring herself a glass of orange juice. “Mum I had so much fun tonight” Ava said as she wrapped her arms around Charlie and gave her a big hug.

“What’s this for?” Charlie asked as she ran her hands through her daughter’s hair.

“For letting me go out with daddy tonight” Ava smiled as she looked up at Charlie.

“Oh that’s okay. I’m glad you had a good time” Charlie said before she looked up towards the door to find Angelo standing there. “Morag still isn’t home” Charlie said and Angelo laughed lightly before stepping into the house.

“Daddy” Ben shouted as he jumped down from the chair in the kitchen and ran over him. Angelo lifted him up into his arms and gave him a hug.

“Hey, mate. Did you have fun with mummy tonight?” Angelo asked

“Yeah” Ben nodded “Can you read me my story daddy?” Ben yawned. Angelo looked up at Charlie who nodded her head lightly.

“Sure mate, say night to mummy then” Angelo said as he put Ben down and Ben ran across the room and jumped up in Charlie’s arms.

“Night night mummy” Ben said as he wrapped his arms around her neck and gave her a kiss.

“Night baby” Charlie said as she returned the hug before she kissed Ben’s cheek. She put him down and he ran off up the stairs with Angelo following behind him. “So what did you all do with dad?” Charlie asked as she looked down at Ava who has claimed the glass of orange juice Charlie had left on the kitchen worktop.

“Well” Ava said as she put the now half empty glass down. “Dad taught me how to do tumble turns so I will know what to do now when I go back to swimming club” Ava said excitedly. “Then we went on the flumes and he came down with me, much more times than you would, then we played with a ball for a little bit and then we got out” Ava said

“Sounds like a lot of fun” Charlie smiled

“Oh it was. He said he would start taking me more often, can he mum, please” Ava said

“Yeah if you want to do that” Charlie said

“Yeah I really do” Ava nodded “Then after swimming we went to this nice place for dinner. I got a pizza then some strawberry ice-cream it was really yummy” Ava smiled “I had the bestest night” Ava said before she gave Charlie another hug and Angelo walked back into the kitchen.

“What did you do to him? I didn’t read two pages and he was asleep” Angelo said

“We played with his train set, and we played some soccer, and we made some pancakes. He ran around the house screaming for at least 20 minutes before I could get him in the bath. That’s probably tired him out” Charlie laughed

“Yeah” Angelo agreed before there was a knock at the door and Colleen came running into the house.

“Aunty Colleen what are you doing here?” Ava asked

“Oh Sergeant Risotto I came here as soon I heard” Colleen said

“Risotto? Aunty Colleen, it’s Rosetta” Ava giggled

“Right Ava, go get ready for bed” Charlie said and Ava sighed lightly before she ran out of the room.

“Colleen, what’s wrong?” Charlie asked

“It’s that’s Shelly. She’s not in the family way with the Senior Constable. I heard her say so myself. She’s in the Surf Club right now getting blind drunk” Charlie and Angelo glanced up at each other before looking back down at Colleen.

“Colleen can you stay here and watch the kids?” Angelo said

“Oh well I could come back down to the club with you, you know after all I did tell you she was lying I would like too...”

“Colleen” Charlie spoke loudly over her. “Just watch the kids” Charlie shouted before she and Angelo disappeared out of the house.

[Danni02]

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments. I'm really not sure about the way the whole Shelly stuff went, but oh well, yer here it is anyways. So I hope it is okay.

Chapter 49

Ruby walked into the house to find Ava sitting on her own watching the TV. “Hey, missy isn’t it your bedtime?” Ruby asked as she leaned over the back of the couch and looked down at her sister.

“No. Not yet” Ava said “I get longer up now”

“Hmm….are you sure about that?” Ruby asked and Ava nodded

“Yes Ruby. Now Shhh, I’m watching Hannah Montana” Ava said as she put her index finger over Ruby’s lips. Ruby exhaled lightly before she joined her little sister on the couch. “Where is mum?” Ruby asked

“She ran out the house with dad after Aunty Colleen came in and told them something” Ava said as she kept her gaze firmly on the TV.

“Do you know what Colleen told them?” Ruby questioned

“No. Mum made me go get ready for bed so I couldn’t hear them” Ava said

“Right and where is Colleen now?” Ruby asked

“She went back to her house” Ava said, once again keeping her gaze on the TV.

“She left you on your own?” Ruby asked, alarmed.

“No, Ben is here too” Ava said as she turned to face Ruby. “And Granny is in the kitchen”

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Morag was in the house and Colleen hadn’t left the kids alone. “Right, I’m going to go speak to Morag” Ruby said before she stood up from the couch and left the living room and walked into the kitchen.

“Ah Ruby” Morag said as she turned from the worktop and looked down at her. “I thought I heard you come in. I’ve just put the kettle on, would you like a cuppa?”

“Yeah, please” Ruby smiled and Morag turned back around and took another cup from the cupboard. “So do you know where mum went?”

“No” Morag sighed “Colleen wouldn’t tell me. Said she promised Charlie and Angelo that she would keep this a secret”

“Makes a change, Colleen keeping something too herself” Ruby laughed

“Yes, it does” Morag said before the sounds of Callum’s cries could be heard. Ruby sighed lightly as she walked back through to the living room to find a now awake and crying Callum in the arms of Ava instead of a sleeping Callum in his buggy, like she had left him.

“Ava” Ruby raised her voice as she took her son into her arms.

“He wanted to say hello to his Aunty Ava” Ava said

“Ava how many times do I have to tell you? Stop picking him up when he is sleeping” Ruby said sternly as she looked down at her little sister.

“But you and mummy do it” Ava argued

“Me and mum don’t wake him up” Ruby said

“Well sorry Ruby” Ava sulked before she ran off up the stairs. Ruby gently rubbed Callum’s back and it wasn’t long before he had fallen back asleep in his mother’s arms. She walked up the stairs and placed him gently down in his cot before going back into the kitchen to talk to Morag.

“Sorry about that” Ruby said as she picked up her coffee from the worktop and joined Morag at the table.

“It’s alright” Morag said as she looked up from reading the paper.

“So what were we talking about? Ruby asked

“Where Charlie and Angelo went” Morag said “But what I want to know is what he was doing in my house in the first place. I told him he wasn’t welcome in here”

“He was probably here to see his wife and kids” Ruby said sharply.

“Well then they could have went out to his house, I told Charlie he was not welcome here after what he did” Morag said

“Can’t you show her a little support?” Ruby snarled “Have you even said one supportive thing to her since finding out what Angelo did? No, all you have done is bad mouth him and tell her not to forgive him and that he is just going to hurt her again”

“Because he has already hurt her too many times Ruby” Morag retorted

“What do you mean? When else has he hurt her before?” Ruby asked

“Well let’s see, when he at first refused to let her visit him when he was in prison, when Ava got kidnapped, because no matter what Charlie says, when it comes down to it, that was his fault and that led her to lose the baby, when he made that stupid deal with James and got himself shot, need I carry on?” Morag spoke sharply.

“That was all ages ago” Ruby argued

“It still happened Ruby. My point is he has hurt her too many times already and now with cheating on her and being stupid enough to get that woman pregnant it’s the final straw for me. He has had too many chances Ruby” Morag spoke loudly “I love Charlie like a daughter and the last thing I want is for her to take him back only to be hurt again”

“If you really loved her then you would show her some support and be there for her. Support her decision and be there, if, and that’s a big if, he was to hurt her again. You’re just adding to her stress by being like this and making things harder for her and she doesn’t need that, especially because she is pregnant” Ruby retorted

“I can’t support her decision Ruby” Morag said as she shook her head “I hate seeing her when she’s hurting, and I don’t know how much more she can take. There’s only so many times she can put herself back together before it all becomes too much. I’m just worried that she is going to take him back only to be put through more hurt”

“He won’t hurt her again; you can see how much he regrets what he did. He won’t want to go through all that again” Ruby said

“I wish I could believe that Ruby. For Charlie’s sake I wish what you said was enough to make me change my mind about him, but right now, I can’t” Morag said and Ruby sighed lightly as she shook her head. “He is going to have to prove to me he won’t do it again”

“Yeah, well you need to be prepared to give him the chance to” Ruby retorted before she walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

****

“Charlie.....Charlie.....Charlie” Angelo yelled as he grabbed onto her arm, and stopped her from marching into the Surf Club “Don’t just go storming in and cause a big scene”

“What? Why not? She’s caused us so much unnecessary trouble, why should we go in all calm and friendly?”

“Because you getting stressed out is the last thing we need”

“Yeah well, it’s not as if I haven’t had a lot of that lately, what’s a little more going hurt” Charlie retorted.

“Exactly” Angelo said “You have had enough stress lately Charlie; it can’t be good for Peanut to get yourself so stressed” Angelo said as gently ran his hand over her little bump.

“Well it’s not as if I’ve asked for it. It’s been your fault” Charlie said as she pushed his hand away.

Angelo sighed lightly as he looked up at Charlie. “I know and I can’t be more sorry for that. But going in there and getting all worked up and causing a scene, it’s just what she wants, so don’t rise to that, Charlie, let’s just go in and talk to her. We don’t even know if it’s the truth yet, I mean it did come from Colleen” Angelo said

“Okay, fine. Let’s go talk to her” Charlie said before she pulled the door open and walked into Surf Club. As they walked into Noah’s bar they found Shelly and Rachel up at the bar getting the drinks in. “Hey, we need to talk” Charlie said as she put her hand on Shelly’s arm and pulled her around.

“Charlie, Angelo, what a pleasant surprise” Shelly smirked as she looked up at them. “What can I do for you?”

“We want to talk to you about the baby” Angelo said

“Sure” Shelly smiled as she went to sit down at a table. Charlie and Angelo followed and Rachel was left standing at the bar completely confused at what was going on. “So what would you like to know?” Shelly asked “About scans and stuff? I’m sure you would like to come”

“Ehm I would like a paternity test, actually” Angelo said

“What why?” Shelly asked looking alarmed “It’s your baby Angelo. You’re the only person I’ve slept with in.....well it had been a while” Shelly laughed

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem doing the test then, should you?” Angelo asked “If you are so sure it’s my baby”

“But I am telling you it’s yours, it will be a waste of money” Shelly said

“I don’t care, I will pay it” Angelo said “I want proof other than your word”

“Angelo, I’m telling you....”

“Oh for goodness sake this is stupid Angelo” Charlie spat as she looked around at him. “Why did you do it, why pretend you were pregnant?” Charlie asked angrily as she looked back around at Shelly.

“Did I?” Shelly laughed “Hey, it was fun while it lasted. The look on your face when I told you I was pregnant, it was priceless. Seeing you struggling with the fact I was always going to be in your life, it was worth it” Shelly smirked as she smiled smugly at Charlie.

“Why?” Charlie asked “Why would you do that?”

“C’mon Charlie, don’t you remember me?” Shelly asked “We go way back” Charlie looked up at Shelly and studied her face, trying to remember where she would know her from.

“I don’t know you” Charlie said

“What about if I said Michelle Reid. Does that name ring a bell to you?” Shelly said and Charlie’s eyes widened as she remembered her. “Oh so you remember me now?” Shelly said as she saw the look on Charlie’s face.

“Charlie?” Angelo questioned “You know her?”

“Ehm, yea” Charlie answered “She was in my year at school”

“And are you going to leave out the reason behind all this? The bit why all this happened?” Shelly asked

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Charlie said, still having no clue what Shelly was referring to.

“Grant Bledcoe” Shelly said and Charlie grimaced upon hearing his name, even after all these years. “You stole him from me. He was my boyfriend”

“Believe me you do not know how lucky you are that that happened” Charlie said as she looked down towards the floor.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Shelly asked

“Nothing” Charlie said as she looked back up at Shelly “But, seriously? After all this time, after well over 20 years, you still hold a grudge?” Charlie questioned

“Well you stole him from me. So I thought I should get to pay you back, that’s only fair right?” Shelly asked

“Are you actually being serious? All this because of something that happened when we were teenagers?” Charlie asked and Shelly nodded as she let out a little laugh. “How did you even know he was my husband?” Charlie asked

“I saw you together at the hospital when your kid was getting her cast on” Shelly answered “Then when I saw him out the next week looking miserable; I thought I’d give it a go. When he told me how unhappy he was in his marriage, I thought it was going to be all the more easier to get him, and it was. He hardly put up a fight” Shelly laughed “I thought by telling him I was pregnant, I could steal him from you, get you back and take your man”

“What?” Angelo said “You thought I would choose you over Charlie? And what would have happened when no baby arrived? What were you going to do? Pretend you lost it? Because that is just really sick” Angelo spat. Charlie let out a small laugh as she shook her head. “Charlie, what’s funny about that?”

“It’s not that” Charlie said “She made up she was pregnant thinking you would choose her. She knew the only way that she would stand a chance in getting you would be to pretend she was pregnant but even then you didn’t care” Charlie said “You offered him more and you still didn’t get anything, he doesn’t care about you Shelly and he never will”

“We’ll see about that. He’s strayed once, he can do it again” Shelly smirked

“No, I won’t. I may have went there once but trust me, I will never go there again” Angelo spat

“We’ll see” Shelly smirked before she looked up to find that the hen party was moving on. “Well I best go, bye guys” Shelly said before she followed her friends out. Charlie and Angelo sat in silence for a moment before Charlie looked up at him as she bit her lip.

“Did you really tell her you were unhappy?” Charlie asked and Angelo exhaled lightly as he nodded.

“Yeah” Angelo answered as he bowed his head down. “Charlie, I’m sorry, I just....I was drunk and I was rambling, I was...”

“Its fine” Charlie sighed lightly as she looked down at the floor.

“What?” Angelo questioned, sounding surprised “I thought you would be mad at me for that?”

“Well yeah” Charlie said “You went and told a stranger that you were unhappy in your marriage instead of staying at home and talking to me about. And look what mess it caused, look at all we have been through. But I’m through the arguing and not talking to you. I don’t want to deal with anymore of that right now. I just want to put all that behind us and move on and be happy together again. I don’t want anymore arguing”

“I know, neither do I. We are going to get there. Get back to what we had” Angelo smiled as he gently rubbed Charlie’s arm.

“I know” Charlie smiled as she looked into Angelo’s eyes and they were both silent for a moment. “Well, I should probably get home” Charlie said and Angelo nodded lightly before they stood up from the table and left the club. They walked up the road and back to Morag’s house before they stopped outside.

“Right well, I’ll see you tomorrow” Angelo said

“Tomorrow?” Charlie questioned

“Yeah” Angelo said “Remember the kids are coming to stay at mines tomorrow” Angelo said

“Oh, yeah” Charlie said as she rubbed her forehead. “So they are. So, see you tomorrow then” Charlie smiled before she went to open the front door. She stopped and turned around and watched as Angelo walked back to his car. The smiled on her face grew larger before she walked into the house.

[Danni02]

Thank you so much Cally, Barbara, Sabrina, Sarah, charlie29 and Charis for the comments. I really appreciate them and they always make me smile. So here is next the one, I hope you like it!

Chapter 50

Angelo lifted the case into the van and turned to face Charlie. “Someone looks happy” Angelo said as he saw a smiling Charlie standing beside him.

“Well it’s been 2 weeks and I’ve not seen that stupid woman again” Charlie said “And I have been spending a lot of time with this guy, he’s pretty nice. In fact I’ve just agreed to move in with him”

“Lucky guy” Angelo grinned before he shut the doors of the van.

“Definitely” Charlie said before she felt a small hand pulling on hers. She turned around to find Ben standing behind her.

“Mummy I can’t find teddy” Ben said sadly

“Maybe we packed it away” Charlie said as she looked down at her son.

“No” Ben shook his head “Cos I had him just before”

“Well I don’t know where you’ve put him sweetie” Charlie said and Ben pulled a face like he was about to go into a full blown tantrum.

“Hey Ben, this yours?” Ruby asked she walked out of the house with a little brown teddy in her hand.

“Yeah its teddy” Ben jumped up and down in excitement as he took it from his sister before he ran off back into the house.

“Thanks, you just saved us from one of his tantrums. Where did you find it?” Angelo said and Ruby laughed lightly.

“It was sitting in the hall” Ruby said

“He mustn’t have looked far then” Angelo muttered

“Guess not” Ruby said “Listen, I just wanted to ask, are you sure it’s okay for me to move to this house?” Ruby asked as she tried to balance a wriggling Callum in her arms.

“Yeah of course it is” Charlie said

“Are you sure? I don’t want to get in the way of you two sorting this out, if you want more space I can just stay here and....”

“Rubes” Angelo said as he placed his hand on her shoulder “You are our daughter, you won’t get in the way of anything, it’s our family home so you should be living there too” Callum let out a little squeal as Angelo was talking. “Yeah and you to mate” Angelo smiled as he took Callum into his arms. Callum waved his arms around in excitement as Angelo held him.

Ruby smiled as she listened to Angelo. “If you’re really sure then”

“Rubes” Angelo said “We’re sure; besides, I’ve already put all your stuff in the van so I’m not taking it out now” Ruby laughed lightly as Ava and Ben came running out of the house again.

“Right you guys ready to go to the house?” Charlie said as she looked down at her kids.

“Yeah” Ava and Ben shouted in excitement. They looked up to the door to find Morag standing there and shouted goodbye before running into the car. Charlie walked up to Morag who was leaning against the door frame with her arms folded.

“Bet you’ll be glad to get your house back to yourself” Charlie said as she stopped in front of Morag.

“To be honest I’ve enjoyed the company” Morag said

“Even when Ben is throwing a tantrum before bath time?” Charlie asked

“Well I could have done without a few of those, but yes, Charlie, I will miss it” Morag said before she exhaled lightly.

“Look, I know you’re not happy with me taking Angelo back but he is my husband and I love him so much and I know he won’t hurt me like that again” Charlie said

“Charlie, answer me this question” Morag said “Do you trust him again yet?” Charlie looked around at Angelo and watched him as he put Callum into the car seat, before he folded up his buggy and put it into the boot of the car.

“I’m getting there” Charlie said hesitantly as she looked back up at Morag.

“Well until then you can’t be sure he won’t do this again, can you?” Morag spoke sharply and was met with no reply. “My point exactly, Charlie” Morag said “It’s not that I’m not happy about this Charlie, because Angelo makes you happy, I can see that, but I’ve also witnessed you being hurt by him and I do not want to go through that again. So please just, just be careful here Charlie”

“I will” Charlie said “But I do trust him enough to believe he won’t do this again”

“Okay. Well I hope for your sake that your right” Morag said before she glanced up at Angelo who was now standing waiting at the front of the car for Charlie. “Angelo” Morag shouted and Angelo quickly walked up to the house and stood next to Charlie.

“Yeah?” Angelo asked

“Can you prove me wrong?” Morag asked and Angelo looked confusedly at Charlie before looking back round at Morag.

“I can. I will” Angelo said and Morag nodded lightly.

“Right well, I will let you go” Morag said. She leaned forward and took Charlie by slight surprise when she gave her a hug. “See you later” Morag smiled as she pulled back.

“Yeah” Charlie smiled before she watched Morag walk back into her house. Angelo walked into the rental van, and Charlie got into the car and they drove off to the new house.

****

After a long day of unpacking and putting everything away, they had finally moved everything into the house. Ruby had gone into town to meet Jay, leaving Charlie and Angelo to put Callum to bed, along with their two. Angelo walked back down the stairs after reading Ben his bedtime story to find Charlie in the kitchen dipping some fruit into the chocolate spread. “Gone off the peanut butter then?” Angelo laughed as he took a piece of the apple from her bowl and dipped it into the chocolate.

“No, I couldn’t find any, which is strange considering I remember putting some away this morning” Charlie said she looked up at Angelo.

“Are you suggesting I’ve hidden it?” Angelo asked, before grinning lightly.

“Well I didn’t think that, I just thought I had baby brain and couldn’t remember where I put it. But now you’ve said it, where did you hide it about?” Charlie said as she looked up at Angelo.

I’ve not touched it. Maybe the kids ate it” Angelo suggested.

“No Angelo, the kids didn’t eat it” Charlie said “Angelo where did you put it?”

“I haven’t touch it” Angelo laughed and Charlie looked down as she put her head in her hands and sounded as if she was crying. “Okay, its here” Angelo said as he retrieved it from its hiding place. “Don’t go crying on me” Angelo said as he put his hand on Charlie’s back. Charlie looked up at Angelo with her bone dry face and laughed lightly as she took the peanut butter from him.

“Thanks” Charlie grinned as she unscrewed the lid.

“You tease” Angelo said as he lightly hit Charlie across the arm. “You know you have to stop eating that stuff or Peanut will come out all fat and podgy” Angelo laughed

“Hey, it’s Peanut who wants it” Charlie said before her eyes widened and she placed her hand over her stomach. “Whoa that was a proper kick” Charlie smiled as she looked up at Angelo who smiled as he placed one hand onto Charlie’s shoulder and hovered the other over her stomach.

“Can I?” Angelo asked and Charlie nodded as she pushed Angelo’s hand down onto her stomach.

“Wow that’s amazing” Angelo said as he felt the baby kick.

“Isn’t it” Charlie smiled before she looked up and caught Angelo gaze. They stared at each other for a moment before Angelo leaned in closer, before stopping as they heard Callum’s cries through the baby monitor.

“Guess we better get used to that happening again” Angelo mumbled as Charlie was walking out of the room to check on Callum. He sighed lightly as he put the lids back onto the peanut butter and the chocolate spread and put them away in the cupboard. He put the empty bowl into the dishwasher before he took a beer out of the fridge and sat down at the table to wait on Charlie’s return. A few minutes later and Charlie returned and took a seat next to Angelo. She looked at him and knew he had something he wanted to ask her.

“What is it?” Charlie asked

“What’s what?” Angelo asked

“What you are thinking” Charlie said

“Eh....I was just wondering about the…..” Angelo paused as he lightly rubbed his forehead “Well the sleeping situation”

Charlie raised her eyebrows as she looked up at Angelo. “And eh, what about this sleeping situation?”

“Well it’s just there are no bedrooms left” Angelo said “With the kids having one each, then Ruby & Callum being in one, then the one for the baby”

“But your room has a double bed in it right?” Charlie said and Angelo nodded “So what’s the problem then?”

“Well, I just....I wasn’t sure if you were there yet” Angelo said “You know, that you were comfortable sharing a bed with me again”

“Angelo” Charlie said as she leaned forward and took his hand into hers. “When I said I wanted to move in here, I meant as your wife, not as a lodger” Charlie said and Angelo nodded as a smile appeared on his face. “I mean we managed to share a bed on our weekend away, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, as long as I stayed on my side” Angelo laughed

“Well just stick to that rule just now and we will be fine” Charlie said and Angelo nodded lightly before he took a swig of his beer. Charlie stood up from the seat as she let out a yawn. “Well I’m going to go to bed now. I’m so tired” Charlie said. Angelo nodded as he stood up from the table.

“I will go see if there is anything interesting on the TV” Angelo said and Charlie looked up at him and smiled before she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. “Hey, what’s this for?” Angelo asked as he looked down at Charlie.

“It just seems like a while since we’ve done this” Charlie said and Angelo smiled before he wrapped his arms around her and held her in the embrace.

[Danni02]

Thank you all so much for the comments. I'm not so sure about the second part of this one, so please let me know what you think!

This also skips forward another 2 weeks.

Chapter 51

Charlie and Angelo walked down the corridor and into the room. Charlie lay down on the bed and pulled her top up. Angelo took a seat next to her placed his hand on top of hers. The doctor squeezed some gel onto Charlie’s stomach before she began the scan. “So do we want to find out what we are having today?” She asked as she smiled up at Angelo and Charlie.

“Yeah” Angelo answered loudly and excitedly before looking down at Charlie. “You still want to know right?” Charlie looked up at Angelo and could see the excitement in his eyes at finding out what the baby was going to be.

“Sure” Charlie smiled “We can find out” The doctor smiled before she proceeded with the scan. After doing all the necessary checks she looked up at Charlie and smiled.

“So, everything looks fine” the doctor smiled “Now to see what you are having” She said as she looked back at the screen. “Congratulations, it’s a little girl” A smile appeared on Charlie’s face as she learned she was going to have another daughter.

“Angelo, did you hear that. We are going to have another little girl” Charlie looked up at Angelo as the smile on her face grew larger but as she saw the blank expression Angelo had, the smile quickly fell from her face. “Angelo?” Charlie said

“Excuse me” Angelo said as he stood up from the chair and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Charlie looked back up at the doctor as she sighed lightly.

“I’m sorry for that” Charlie said as she suddenly felt a rush of embarrassment hit her.

“Hey, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for” the doctor said as she handed Charlie a piece of the paper towel and she gently wiped the excess gel from her stomach before she pulled her top down and sat up and swung her legs round so they were hanging off the edge on the bed.

“Really?” Charlie said “Then how come I feel….” Charlie trailed off as she looked down at the floor.

“Mrs Rosetta…”

“Charlie. Call me Charlie” Charlie said as she looked back up at the doctor.

“Charlie, your husband isn’t the first person I have seen get like that when they find out the gender of their baby. That said, he was the first one to storm out of the room, but, it’s just the initial disappointment of not getting what he wanted. I gather he wanted a boy?” The doctor said and Charlie nodded lightly. “Once he gets over that he will realise how great it is that he is going to have a little girl and you know, when she is born, and he is holding her and she grabs onto his finger with her tiny little hand and he feels that instant rush of love for her, he’ll forget all about ever wishing she was a boy”

Charlie smiled as she listened to what the doctor was saying. “It’s not as if we don’t have a boy. I could understand his disappointment more if we didn’t have a son, but we do”

“You just need to go and talk to your husband” the doctor said and Charlie nodded as she got down from the bed. She thanked the doctor before she left the hospital and walked into the car park to find Angelo leaning himself against the car bonnet, staring straight out in front of him. She leaned herself against the bonnet next to him and stayed silent for a moment before looking up at him.

“Do you have any idea how embarrassed that made me feel” Charlie said angrily.

“What have you go to feel embarrassed about?” Angelo asked

“How about you storming off in the huff like one of the kids because things didn’t go the way you wanted it too” Charlie spat and Angelo sat in silence not making eye contact with Charlie, but instead keeping his gaze firmly out in front of him.

“I excused myself” Angelo said

“Oh, so that makes it all alright then does it” Charlie spat “Angelo, what the hell…..why are you so upset about this?”

“I’m not upset Charlie”

“Yes you are. I saw the look on your face; I can still see it now. What’s wrong Angelo?” Charlie asked

“I just wanted a son” Angelo said “But you looked happy so I guess things went the way you wanted them too”

“Angelo, if things went the way I wanted them to I would never have gotten pregnant in the first place” Charlie seethed as she banged her hand off the car bonnet.

“What, so you still don’t this baby?” Angelo spat as he looked down at Charlie.

“Of course I do, now, but you know how I felt about having more after Ben and then what I was like when I got pregnant. And yeah, if I am being honest another boy would have nice, but it’s a girl and I’m happy with that too”

“Of course you will be” Angelo said sharply “Look at the bonds you have with your daughters, you will -”

“Is that what this is about?” Charlie interrupted “You think because it’s a girl you won’t have as close a bond with it? Because you have some weird thing going on right now where you don’t think you and Ava have a great bond? You think you won’t be as close with this girl too?”

“I just wanted another son Charlie, okay, that’s all there is too it. I wanted another son and I built up this idea in my head that it was a boy and that me, Ben and him would go out to the footie, and go on fishing trips and camping trips and you know just father son bonding stuff like that. Like me dad and Paulo did when we were younger. I’ve just always wanted that”

“You can still have that with Ben” Charlie said

“I know, but, I just, I pictured it with 3 of us. Me and my two sons” Angelo said before bowing his head down.

“Right, well I’m sorry I didn’t give you that” Charlie snapped before standing up and walking to the front door of the car. She opened the car door and sat down before slamming the door shut. Angelo sighed before he too got into the car and he drove them home in silence.

*****

“Oh my God, he is doing it” Ruby squealed in excitement as she watched Callum crawling across the floor. “Good boy” Ruby beamed as she picked her son up and gave him a hug. Callum squealed in excitement at the big hug his mother was giving him. Jay looked at Ruby and smiled as he watched her placing her son back on the floor and trying to get him to do it again. Callum on the other hand seemed to be happy sitting on the spot he was placed and playing with his blocks. “Aww, go on crawl again for mummy” Ruby said as she tried to encourage him to crawl. Callum looked up at her and let out a little squeal before throwing the block down.

“Guess he doesn’t want to” Jay laughed as Ruby joined him on the couch.

“Nope” Ruby said as she turned to face Jay before they were both silence for a minute. “So eh, thanks again for cooking lunch for me, it was really nice” Ruby said

“Oh no problem. I’m glad you liked it. But if you want me to cook again you will get the same thing as it’s all I can cook” Jay said before they both laughed lightly. Ruby looked up at Jay and smiled as he moved her hair behind her ear. He leaned in and kissed her softy at first before it become more passionate. They broke apart at the sound of the front door slamming shut.

“Hey how did the scan go?” Ruby asked as she saw Angelo walk through the room. She was met with no reply and instead Angelo walked straight through the room up the stairs. Charlie walked into the room and jumped slightly at the sound of a door slamming shut. “What’s happened? Oh God, there’s nothing wrong with the baby is there?”

“No the baby is fine” Charlie said

“Oh, you didn’t run into Shelly at the hospital did you?” Ruby asked

“No” Charlie spoke lightly as she shook her head

“Then what’s wrong, you’ve not had an argument have you?” Ruby asked as she stood up from the couch and walked over to Charlie.

“Nothing’s wrong Rubes, everything is fine” Charlie smiled lightly as she walked into the kitchen and Ruby followed as she shook her head.

“I don’t believe you” Ruby said as she leaned herself against the worktop and watched as Charlie took a bottle of water from the fridge. “Something’s happened”

“We found out it was a girl and Angelo took a strop” Charlie said as she banged the fridge door shut.

“Aww” Ruby smiled “That’s great. Why is he so mad about that then?”

“I don’t know, some stupid dream he had or something” Charlie said as she screwed her face up. “Why can’t he just be happy we are having another baby” Charlie asked as she leaned herself against the worktop next to Ruby.

“He’ll come round” Ruby said “Give him a few hours and he will be throwing all these girls names at you” Ruby said and Charlie smiled lightly before looking up to find Jay walking into the kitchen with a screaming Callum in his arms.

“Guess he didn’t appreciate being left with me” Jay said as Ruby took her son into her arms, and almost immediately the crying stopped.

“Hey, you must be Jay” Charlie said

“Eh, yeah that’s me” Jay smiled as he looked at Charlie.

“Nice to me you” Charlie smiled

“Likewise” Jay said “I hope Ruby’s been saying all good about me” Jay smirked

“She’s not actually spoken about you that much” Charlie said as she looked down at her daughter. “So maybe you could fill me in”

“Sure” Jay laughed “Well my name is Jay, well Jason, but everybody calls me Jay. I’m 23 and I own a surf shop in Yabbie Creek” Jay said “You’re not going to ask me what my intentions are with her, are you?” Jay asked

“No she is not” Ruby said as she placed her hand onto Charlie’s arm. “Are you?” Ruby said as she looked up at Charlie.

Charlie opened her mouth slightly before shaking her head. “No, but it’s normally the dad that asks that kind of question” Charlie said

“Yeah well he is away in a strop so...”

“Ruby” Charlie gave her daughter a disapproving look.

“Well you said it first” Ruby argued and Charlie shook her head before Callum let out a little babble and threw his arms out for Charlie to take him. Charlie took Callum from Ruby and he settled happily in her arms.

“And how’s Callum been today?” Charlie cooed as she looked at her grandson.

“Great” Ruby answered “He crawled today” Ruby said

“Aww who’s a clever boy” Charlie said as she gently tickled Callums neck, resulting in him letting out a small laugh.

“C’mon Cal, let’s show Charlie what you can do” Ruby said as she took her son back into her arms and placed him down on the kitchen floor.

“Isn’t she Granny?” Jay asked and Ruby quickly looked up at him shook her head.

“Don’t get her started” Ruby said and Jay looked up at Charlie before laughing lightly. The room was then filled with the sounds of a mobile ringing and Jay reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out. Looking down at the screen Charlie noticed his facial expression changing and Jay becoming very uncomfortable looking.

“Eh. I need to go Rubes” Jay said as he cancelled the call and put the phone back into his pocket. Charlie gave him a quizzical look before she looked down at Ruby who was too focused on getting Callum to crawl again that she missed Jay talking to her.

“Ruby” Charlie said and Ruby looked up from the floor at them.

“Yeah?” Ruby asked

“I have to go” Jay said again

“Oh right, okay” Ruby said sounding rather disappointed. “Well see you later then” Ruby said as she stood up and walked closer to Jay.

“Eh yeah” Jay said before he leaned forward as if to kiss Ruby, but then looked back up at Charlie.

“It’s okay, I won’t look” Charlie said as she bent down and picked up Callum before she walked out of the room. Jay smiled before he gave Ruby a quick kiss before he left the house.