As Long As I Have You

[Samantha28]

Phew!! Glad it's who Angelo who died, not Brax. I can't wait for Charlie to speak with Brax!! Looking forward to more!!

[soph1303]

OMG awesome update,

Oh my god I freaked out for a minute at the start because I didn't realise that they were all thinking about what it would be like if Brax had died, I just thought that he was actually dead !! I was just about to go sharpen my pitchfork when I read further and realised Angelo was dead!! Needless to say I went back to the start and read it again, and it made so much more sense lol !!

I can totally understand why Charlie is so conflicted about how she feels about Angelo dying.

Yay !! So glad Brax is awake and hopefully he and Charlie can be happy together soon!! I hope the baby is Brax's!!

Update soon

[Charlie&Brax_lover]

Great update!

So glad Angelo died and not Brax

Hoping to see more ruby and Charlie as well

[Chax47]

Just started reading this and I'm hooked!

You had me panicked for a second with the whole flatlining issue, but I'm glad Brax is ok! Just hope he's the father!!!

Update soon please.

Lianne

[totally]

I must have missed the part where it said they imagines their life without Brax. I was completely freaking out! But then I read on and it became clear to me. Thank you so much for this chapter! I loved it. I can't wait until Charlie gets a chance to talk to Brax... to tell him about their baby. I so hope it is Brax' baby! Thanks a lot for this update and I can't wait to read more!

[HighwayUnicorn]

Deleted.

[Sazzle]

Great update...proper heart pulpitations for a moment when I thought Brax had died but its all good

Hoping that Brax isn't going to get in any trouble over the death as stems from the fight...that would be rubbish...

Really looking forward to your next update and Charlie being able to talk with Brax

Thanks!

[callyha]

Danni, Sarah, cb2180, Samantha28, soph1303, Charlie&Brax_lover, Chax47, totally, Carina and Sazzle. THANK YOU so much for the lovely comment! I'm hoping the pitchforks are put fully away now! lol. I am sorry for the long delay, I've been soooo busy with work and getting ready for Parents Evening. I hope this is okay, and this is the last chapter with the hospital in (well, for a few months at least lol)

Chapter 33

Heath and Casey returned home as Casey had school the following day. Heath cracked open a beer and handed one to Casey, celebrating the fact that their older brother was alive and was out -so far- of the danger zone. Casey smiled as he took a couple of swigs of the beer before pouring some lemonade in; he remebered Brax would always tell him to diloute it, and Heath was now finally okay with that happeneing; the vision Heath had had, had changed his ways of thinking about everything. He realised that he had been extremely luck to not have the responsibility of having to take care of his family, and so he had decided to help Brax as much as he could; he didn't want to rely too much on Brax.

"You alright mate?" Heath asked as Casey sat beside him "You ain't said a word since we left the hospital"

"I was just thinking" Casey replied "When we were in the room waiting, I saw what Brax's death would have done to us" Casey looked to Heath "sounds stupid, but, I hated it"

"Yea, I had a thinking like that" Heath agreed "We don't have to worry about that mate. Brax is fine"

"I know, but-" Casey paused, shaking his head as his imagory of what life would be like was still in his head "It seemed to real. And, I want things to change. I don't want mum to keep herself hidden in her room; dad died ages ago and she has us three to help her"

"Hey, all of us will be fine" Heath placed his hand on Casey's shoulder "don't worry about it"

"Maybe if mum came with us to the hospital tomorrow, she'd realise-" Heath shook his head, causing Casey to stop talking

"Mum doesn't go anywhere near that hospital 'kay? dad died in one and mum was with him. If she goes there to see Brax, she'll be worse than she is already" Heath said

"and besides, you have school tomorrow" Heath added

"Yea, but-" Casey began

"We ain't going after school either" Heath put his foot down. Doctors had pulled him aside on the discreet, telling him that, although Brax was awake, talking and very responsive, anything could happen to him within the first 24 hours after waking. Angelo had died from an Epidural Hematoma, something which wasn't detected as he had woken and was doing really well "We'll go later in the week" Heath told the disapointed teen

"Fine" Casey said with an attitude "I'll go for a shower and turn in" Casey slammed his bottle on the table and brushed past Heath, who wiped his mouth, thinking that he should tell Casey the real reason he was keeping Casey away from the hospital

~*~

Bianca had returned home and was having a meal with Liam, but her mind was elsewhere; she thought about Charlie and how she was going to cope with everything in the next few days. Her daughter had tracked her down, her unappricative boyfriend had just died, she was pregnant and had no idea who the father was. Pushing the food around the plate with her fork, Bianca rested her head on her left hand and sighed as the chicken pushed the mashed potato to the sides of the plate.

"What's wrong babe?" Liam asked as he brought a forkful of food to his mouth

"I'm just thinking" Bianca replied,

"About...?" Liam asked with a mouthful of food

Bianca looked to Liam and realised that he had no idea Angelo was dead. His best friend of over ten years was now on a slab in the morgue of the hospital "Erm" Bianca placed her fork on the plate "Angelo died" BIanca jumped with fright as Liam's fork landed on his plate with a rattle, his mouth dropped open as he looked to his fiance

"What?" Liam asked "When?"

"A few hours ago" Bianca replied "I would have called you, but you were sorting the club out with the police and I was with Charlie; she needed me" Bianca defended herself "He'd just spoken to Charlie and then, all of a sudden he flatlined" Bianca recalled what Charlie had told her "It happen so fast and, calling you slipped my mind. Charlie was a mess, she needed someone there"

Liam's eyes glazed with tears, but they never fell "What killed him?" Liam asked

"I think they called it a Epidural Hematoma" Bianca was unsure if she had the cause of death right, she doubted herself

"What about Brax?" Liam asked

"He's awake" Bianca replied, unsure whether or not to smile "Are you okay?" Bianca asked

"Why do you ask that?" Liam asked as he went back to eat his food

"Well, you and Angelo were mates" Bianca replied "And he's just died"

"I may have been his mate but that doesn't mean I liked the bloke" Liam responded with an angry tone, Bianca knew he was conflicted, just like Charlie was.

~*~

Charlie sat on the bench outside of the hospital, holding Angelo's ring in her hand. She found herself remembering the day she baught him the ring; it was three months after they had first got together and things were great between them. They spoke everyday and life was good. she couldn't understand why it all went wrong; why Angelo turned into a monster. Her life went from a dream to a nightmare. Taking one last look at the ring, Charlie sighed before she clasped the ring in both hands goodbye she whispered before she threw the ring into the bin beside her.

She sat for a moment or two, not looking at anything in particular, and trying not to think about anything. Sighing softly, Charlie rose to her feet and stood infront of the hospital, wondering if she should go and see Brax now he was awake. But she had no idea what to say to him, she had no idea how she felt. Angelo was dead, but she was still saddened by this, and the last time Charlie spoke to Brax, she told him how much she wanted him to be out of her life.

Her mind was made up for her when she saw a couple walk out of the hospital, cradling and cooing over their new-born baby daughter. Charlie smiled softly and placed her hand on her stomach, not knowing if she was about to go and speak to the father of her baby.

~

Charlie knocked softly on the door of the room she had stared at so many times before. Her heart beating faster as she went to open the door, anticipating what would greet her on the other side. The machine that had been monitoring Brax whilst he was in a coma was still in the room, but Brax wasn't hooked up to it. Instead, the only thing going into him was the drip of morphine keeping the pain from his ribs to a minimum. His bruises were still prevelent, but had faded enough to avoid any questions been asked as to how he had got them. He sat up in the bed as he saw the beauty walk closer to him; his bare chest covered in scratches and bruises from the fight never went unnoticed by Charlie, who simply wiped the tear from her face as she stood beside Brax.

Brax turned his head to look at Charlie properly; he hadn't seen her face since the night of the fight, over a week ago. Smiling widely at her, he offered her hand to her, which she looked at and then smiled before placing hers in his. A tear rolled down Charlie's face as she brushed her thumb softly over Brax's hand

"What's that for?" Brax asked as he used his free hand to wipe the tear away

Charlie closed her eyes and embraced Brax's touch on her face; she'd craved it for so long and now she had it, she didn't want it to go "I've just" Charlie reopened her eyes and looked to Brax "I've just missed this" Charlie looked to their intertwined hands "I thought you were dead" Charlie held back more tears "I heard the machine go, and I just, I just wanted to know if you were alright" Charlie wiped the lone tear that escaped her eye "I thought about what my life would be like if you weren't in it" Charlie shook her head "I just wanted you, I couldn't focus on anything, I just wanted you back in my life"

Brax sat forward and pulled Charlie closer to him, she sat herself in the space Brax had made "I'm not going anywhere Charlie. Angelo never deserved you and, as horrible as it is to say, I'm glad Angelo is dead. You and me, we couldn't have been together if we stayed in the bay with Angelo near by" Brax took both of Charlie's hands in his

"I can't leave the bay Brax" Charlie shook her head. Brax had missed out on a lot whilst he was in his coma, and Charlie didn't know if she would have the emotional strength to explain everything to him; she hoped he understood

"Is this because of your daughter?" Brax asked a wide-eyed Charlie

"How did-" Charlie began

"Before the crowd fight broke out, I saw you and a young girl just stare at each other. she had big eyes, like you said your baby had, and she just looked like you" Brax replied "Then things went bad" Brax said with a slight laugh

"How can you laugh about it?" Charlie asked, as she still felt uneasy about it all

"There isn't much else I can do about it is there? Casey, Ruby, Frankie and a few others were slightly injured, and then you get really hurt" Brax rubbed his head "I have to laugh, otherwise I got back to thinking I'm the worst big brother in the world"

"You're not the worst" Charlie placed her hand on Brax's hand "You're amazing, and I'm so glad you're alive" Charlie smiled "and I wasn't hurt that badly" Charlie added, trying to make Brax feel better

"Heath told me" Brax replied "You don't have to protect me Charlie, I'm big enough to take care of myself" Charlie raised an eyebrow "Okay, occasionally I need you to help"

"Just occasionally?" Charlie smiled

"Yea" Brax replied "When I get out of here Charlie, I want us to live together" Brax looked to Charlie, who's mouth dropped open "I have a little place of my own where I go to if things at home get too much. Heath and Casey have no idea about it, but I want you to move there with me" Brax smiled "What d'ya say?"

Charlie's only visible reaction to Brax's proposition was to smile. In reality, she would love to move in with him, have a family with him and everything she never had with Angelo. But the baby inside of her made her question whether or not she should move in with him: if the baby was Angelo's, would Brax still feel the same way? and would he be able to raise the child as his own?

"Charlie?" Brax asked, he could see she was thinking about something "you gonna leave me hanging?"

"Brax, I-you don't know how much I want to live with you, to share so many things with you, but-"

"Charlie, there's nothing to say 'but' for. I love you, you love me, it makes total sense" Brax saw things one way

"I know, but" Charlie rubbed her forehead "there's one thing that can spoil all that"

"What one thing?" Brax asked, looking to Charlie who was becoming more and more nervous when she looked to Brax

"I-" Charlie began....

[Samantha28]

Beautiful Chapter!! I hope Brax is supportive. Looking forward to more!!

[cb2180]

Great chapter again, hope Brax wants the baby even if it's Angelo's.