Hey all, welcome to a new story, I've had this one floating about for ages now, I think it's about time I posted it...enjoy, and let me know what you think :)

Charlie yawned as she walked up Heath's driveway, getting to the door she pushed it in and walked inside "knock knock!" she called.

Brax walked out from his room "he's in the shower," he said and continued on to the kitchen.

Charlie rolled her eyes typical Heath "does time keeping not mean anything to you lot?" she asked walking to the kitchen.

Brax took a sip of his coffee and turned to face her "just to Heath…what are you doing here so early anyway?"

"We're both off so were having a beach day," she replied.

Brax nodded and walked by her "have fun then," he said and walked into his room.

"Hurry him up will ya!" Charlie called after him.

Brax shook his head and rolled his eyes he still didn't understand how his brother became best mates with the cop that spent the last two years arresting him for anything she could find-nothing ever stuck though. "Heath!" he called "Charlie's here!" he said and closed his door.

Heath hurried out of the bathroom in a towel "five minutes then we can go Buckton!" he called as he ran to his room.

"You do know I have a first name right?" she chuckled.

"Yeah well Charlie is lame, I like Buckton better!" he called back.

"Just hurry up or you won't get fed!" she called and dropped onto the sofa.

A few minutes later Heath emerged fully dressed "come on then, waves are wasting," he chuckled.

Charlie threw down the magazine she was reading and stood up "our beach or Wilson's?" she asked.

"We have the day we can do both," Heath replied and turned around as Brax came out of his room "last chance to come with us," he said as he picked up his wallet and keys.

"I have a lot to do today," he replied.

"All above board I hope," Charlie smirked, she just love pissing him off.

"Alright, suit yourself," Heath said and opened the door.

Brax narrowed his eyes at Charlie "I've stuff to do at Angelo's, do you wanna come and sit on my lap so you can see what I'm doing on the computer?" he snapped.

Charlie smirked again "nah, I think you might enjoy that."

Brax chuckled and walked to her "you could dance around me naked and I wouldn't bat an eyelid."

"So you've thought about me naked?" she chuckled.

Heath chuckled and grabbed her arm "what have I told you about pissing him off first thing in the morning, it doesn't end well for any of us," he said as he led her outside.

Charlie giggled "please, he totally loves me!" she called loud enough for Brax to hear.

Inside Brax chuckled and picked up his keys, it got to him a little that he could never rattle her but it was fun pissing her off "phone," he said and walked to his room.

"Uh-oh," Heath said as a red jeep came towards the house "that's Ricky's we better get outta here," he said and climbed in.

Charlie looked at the car stop a bit away, last year Ricky had taken off without a word leaving Brax gutted "shouldn't we stick around?" she asked.

"No," Heath said pulling her into the car "I value my life-drive," he added.

….

Brax had located his phone and walked out of the house, locking the door behind him he walked down the drive to his car. Looking to see if Charlie's car had moved out of the way his breath hitched and he froze.

Staring at Ricky for a minute or so he finally walked over and stopped a bit away from her "what do you want?" he asked harshly.

Ricky sighed heavily and looked down at her keys "I left for a reason Brax," she said and looked over at him "you said you never wanted kids…I found out I was pregnant, I didn't see any other option but to leave."

Brax ran his hand through his hair "you were pregnant with my kid and you just took off?" he finally yelled.

"You said you never wanted any kids Brax what was I supposed to do?" she yelled back.

"Uh, tell me maybe!" he yelled "Jesus Ricky! I spent weeks looking for you!"

"I didn't come here to fight," Ricky sighed.

"Oh really?" he asked sarcastically "what did you come for then? Coffee? To see how we were? To collect your stuff?"

Ricky sighed again "I knew there'd be no talking to you," she said and walked to the backseat, leaning in she pulled back with a baby seat. Placing it on the ground she looked up at Brax "this is your daughter Alex, she's four months old."

Brax stared down at the tiny sleeping baby, she was his, he had made this, he could never deny her she looked so like him. Shaking himself from his thoughts he looked over at her "why come back with her now?" he asked angrily "why am I only meeting my daughter four months later?"

Ricky wiped her face and leaned into the car again, pulling back with three bags she placed them on the ground beside Alex "because I can't do it Brax," she whimpered "I thought I could be a mum but I can't," she said and walked to the driver seat. "I won't be back for her so it's up to you what you do with her…I'm sorry," she sniffed and climbed into her car.

Brax's eyes went wide "you're leaving her here!" he yelled "Ricky you can't do this," he said hurrying to the car "you can't leave her here, what the hell am I supposed to do with her…RICKY!" He yelled as she sped away.

"Ricky you can't leave her here!" he yelled running after the car "damn it!" he yelled when the car disappeared around the corner.

Casey and Kyle had been watching from the window "damn it Ricky," Casey sighed and walked out to get the baby.

Kyle just looked at Brax standing in the middle of the road sighing he followed Casey outside to help bring Alex's things inside...Brax needed time.

Later that evening Charlie pulled up outside Heath's house "be ready for eight," she said as he climbed out.

"Get your dancing shoes out Buckton, this is gonna be an all night party," he chuckled.

Charlie chuckled too "it's Wednesday night Heath, we're both in work at the crack of dawn. We'll be going to Angelo's having dinner and a few drinks, bed by eleven…be ready for eight, see ya!" she called as she pulled away.

Heath chuckled and walked up his drive letting himself in he stopped at the sight that greeted him. Kyle paced the living room with a screaming baby in his arms, Casey sat on the sofa watching him and Brax sat beside him looking like his life had come crashing down around him "what did I miss?" he asked.

Kyle looked over at him "Ricky was here."

"I know I saw her pull up this morning…who owns the kid?" he asked pointing to her.

Casey glanced at Brax before looking over at Heath "she kinda dumped a kid on him-his kid."

Heath's eyes went wide "it's Brax's kid?" he yelled.

"Yes it's my kid!" Brax yelled and jumped up "what the hell am I supposed to do with her! She won't stop crying! I'm gonna kill Ricky!" he growled and walked off pulling out his phone.

"Any idea's?" Kyle yelled over Alex's cries.

Heath though for a second "I have one, back in a sec," he said and slipped out the front door. Calling Charlie he waited for her to answer "hey," he drawled.

"Hey," she chuckled "miss me already and I'm not even home yet."

"No….I need a big big favour," he replied.

"Heath," she groaned "there's no way you could have been arrested already, I just left you five minutes ago."

"It's not that," he said quickly "remember Ricky pulled up when we were leaving?"

"Yeah…did Brax kill her?" she chuckled.

"No," he replied glancing at the door as her cries got louder "she did leave him with his kid though and took off."

"What!" Charlie shrieked "she just dumped a kid on him and took off?"

"Yeah," Heath sighed "he's a mess here Charlie we have no clue what to do with a baby…do you think you could come over and get her to stop crying?" he asked.

Charlie sighed heavily "alright, I'll be there in a minute…only because you called me Charlie," she said

"Thank you, you're a lifesaver," he said and hung up. Walking back in Casey and Kyle stared at him

"Well?" Kyle asked "what's your idea?" he asked bouncing Alex "I can't take much more of this Brax won't even hold her."

"Charlie's on her way," Heath said and sat beside Casey "she'll know what to do."

"Maybe you should go talk to Brax Heath," Casey said after a few minutes.

"Nah mate, leave him to clear his head," he replied.

…

A few minutes later Charlie let herself in just as Brax walked back into the living room "what's she doing here?" he snapped.

"I'm here to help but if you don't want that I can go," she shot back.

Brax looked over at a screaming Alex and sighed "go for it," he muttered and dropped into a chair.

"What's her name?" Charlie asked taking her from Kyle.

"Alex," Brax muttered.

Charlie nodded and brought her to her chest "now miss Alex," she said softly "what's all this racket about huh?" she asked rocking her gently.

"She's calming," Kyle whispered.

"When was she last fed or changed?" Charlie asked sitting beside Casey.

Everyone looked at Brax "I don't know!" he yelled and jumped up "Ricky just dumped her and took off!"

"Shut up!" Charlie snapped as Alex jumped in her arms "well did she leave anything for her?"

"Bags by the door," Kyle said and stood up "what am I looking for?"

"Bottles, formula, nappies, wipes, a vest and a sleep suit," Charlie replied.

Kyle pulled out a bottle and a tub of formula "uh Charlie…what's a sleep suit?" he asked.

"It's a one piece suit for her to sleep in, it should have buttons all the way down it," she replied.

Kyle nodded and pulled out everything, walking to Charlie he placed it all beside her "what now?" he asked.

Charlie looked down at the stuff "Heath, take a bottle and the formula, boil the kettle then fill it with four water then four food."

"Four?" Heath asked picking up the bottle "four what?" he asked.

Charlie sighed heavily they really had no clue "there's numbers on the bottle fill it to four with water, in the box there should be a small scoop, put four scoops of it in the water close the bottle and shake it."

"Right got it," Heath said and hurried to the kitchen.

"Anything we can do Charlie?" Casey asked.

"No, just move out of my way so I can lie her down to change her nappy and clothes," she replied.

Brax looked over and watched Charlie do all this like it was the easiest thing in the world, sighing he stood up "I'm going to try Ricky again," he said and walked off.

Kyle glanced at the door where he had just disappeared "what are the chances of her coming back for Alex?" he asked.

"Depends on what she said when she dropped her off," Charlie replied.

"She said she couldn't be a mum and she wouldn't be back for her so Brax could do what he wanted with her," Casey said quickly.

Charlie sighed again and looked down at Alex, how could anyone leave something so precious without a second thought? Just leave her with someone she'd never met before? "No guys, she won't be back for her-but don't worry it'll get easier and life will get back to normal."

"Yeah, that's if he even looks at her," Casey muttered and walked into the kitchen.

A while later Charlie came out of Brax's bedroom with a sleeping Alex "where's her cot?" she asked.

Casey and Kyle looked over at Brax who was in a world of his own "uh, all she left were the bags," Kyle said.

Charlie sighed "she'll need a cot…and about a million other things," she said walking to Alex's seat. Placing her in it she strapped her in and placed her on the coffee table "I have stuff at home, I'll bring her with me and see what I can route out."

When Brax didn't even answer her Heath sighed "Brax did you hear what Charlie said?" he asked "she's taking the baby to her house."

Brax looked up at him "what?" he asked.

"I'm taking Alex to my house to see what I can find for her," Charlie said.

Brax nodded and stood up "fine by me-in fact," he said walking to the door "why don't you just keep her," he said and walked outside.

"Brax!" Heath yelled after him.

"Leave him," Charlie said jumping in front of Heath "watch her a sec," she said and hurried after him.

"Brax!" she called running up behind him "Brax you gotta listen to me," she said when he ignored her. Brax!" she snapped and shoved him.

Brax snapped and grabbed her roughly, slamming her against his car his grip tightened on her "I don't want that kid here!" he yelled in her face "so either you take her or she goes to a home!"

Charlie tried not to winch at the pain looking down at his hands she looked up at him "you better get your hands off me!" she growled. "You are not pretending this baby is not here, I know it sucks and you're all screwed up but that is your daughter in there Brax, you can't just turn your back on her just like Ricky did!"

Brax sighed and pulled away from her "just take her Charlie I can't look after her," he said and went for his door.

"No," she said stepping in front of his door "I won't let you do this! she's an innocent baby Brax! she didn't ask for any of this! How do you think she'll feel in ten years time knowing both her mum and dad didn't want her?"

"I don't care!" he yelled and shoved her hard away from the car causing her to trip and land on the ground. Brax stood over her "I said I never wanted kids and that doesn't change because one was dumped on me!"

"You're such a horrible person!" Charlie hissed and pulled herself up "neglecting our own child as well as hurting me, what a great guy you turned out to be."

Brax chuckled "if you'd just minded your own business you wouldn't have got hurt," he said and climbed into his car.

"I was trying to help you out!" she yelled after the car "god knows why!" she yelled and walked back into the house.

…..

A while later Charlie walked into her own house with Heath, walking to the living room she turned on the light "just put her down by the sofa," she said rubbing her arm.

"Why do you keep rubbing your arm?" Heath asked as she placed Alex down.

"Ah Brax got a little rough when I tried to stop him leaving," she said and walked back to the kitchen.

Heath's eyes went wide "he hurt you?" he yelled.

Charlie stopped pulling things out of Alex's bags and turned to face him" it's alright it just stings…forget about it," she said and went back to the bags.

"No it's not alright, show me," he said walking to her.

"Heath I said it's okay…ow!" she yelled when he yanked her sleeve up.

"I'm gonna kill him," he said through gritted teeth as he examined the finger marks Brax had left on her "is the other arm the same?" he asked.

Charlie nodded and pulled her arm away "he's going through a lot now Heath just leave him to get his head around it."

Heath sighed and walked to the door "where's this stuff you need me to pull down?"

"In the attic," she said and followed him "how about I keep her here for a few days?" she asked as they walked up to the attic.

"What?" Heath asked "why would you do that?"

"Because she's a baby that needs constant care and you lot haven't a clue what you're doing and her daddy doesn't want to know her. I just think she'll be better off with me for a few days, that gives Brax a chance to cool off and figure out what he wants and Alex gets the care she needs."

"But what about work?" Heath asked "you're supposed to be in at six."

"I can work around it, I can bring her in do paperwork and get someone to cover the rest of my shift, I'm owed two weeks holidays Joyce said I could take anytime," she replied as she pulled boxes around.

"I can't ask you to do that Charlie, you have your own life and your own daughter to look after," Heath said.

"My daughter is sixteen she looks after herself, when I'm with the girls Hayls or Leah have their kids so she won't be a problem…there's Ruby's old cot," she said walking to it.

Half an hour later Heath had assembled the cot in Charlie's bedroom and they now stood looking down on a sleeping Alex "at least she has everything she needs for a while here, I'm so glad I kept Ruby's buggy," she chuckled.

Heath chuckled too "Brax will come round," he said a few minutes later "I think the thing that's killing him most is he never knew about her or was there when she was born."

Charlie nodded and yawned "hopefully he makes the right decision…you can head off now, I'm gonna go to bed."

"You sure you're okay with her? I feel kinda bad leaving you," he replied.

Charlie chuckled "yes Heath I'll be fine, she's better off here with me anyway."

Heath nodded and walked to the door "thanks Buckton, I owe you big time…I'll be back first thing," he said and went down the stairs.

Three days had now passed and no one had seen or heard from Brax, Casey Kyle and Heath had been to see Alex and even helped out for a few hours. Ruby was not impressed Charlie had taken her in but understood why she did, she was so mad about Brax but let it slide knowing her mother was worried about him too.

Yawning Ruby walked into the kitchen "morning mum," she said and walked to Alex "hey cutie," she said and picked her up "no school today Alex what shall we do?" she chuckled when Alex gurgled "beach is it do you wanna come with aunt Ruby?" she asked.

Charlie turned back and smiled Ruby had taken a shine to her "we could all go if you want," she suggested "I could ring Heath and the others to meet us."

Ruby nodded "yeah, sounds like fun…I better get dressed then," she said placing Alex back in her high chair "do you need a hand with anything before I do?"

"No, and I've just made you breakfast, sit," she ordered.

Ruby chuckled and sat beside Alex "any word on Brax?" she asked.

"No," Charlie sighed and sat beside her "Heath said his phone is off now and none of the boys from Mangrove river have seen him either."

"It's Brax, he'll turn up," Ruby said and dug into her breakfast.

Charlie walked to her phone as it beeped with a message "I don't believe this," she sighed.

"What's wrong mum?" Ruby asked.

"Kyle just text me, apparently Brax fell into the house wasted half an hour ago with some girl he picked up along the way."

"What are you gonna do now?" Ruby asked.

Charlie looked over at Alex "I know exactly what I'm going to do," she said and picked up the car seat. "I gave him time to get used to the idea and get his head around it not to drink all day and sleep with the nearest tarts," she said and put Alex in her seat.

"Mum you can't leave her there if he's wasted," Ruby said jumping up.

"I'm not leaving her there I'm just going to make him think I am…I'll call you in a bit we're still going to the beach!" she called on her way out.

Arriving at Brax's she bypassed Casey and Kyle and walked to his room pushing the door in a half naked woman jump up grabbing the sheets "don't mind me," she said placing Alex on there floor. "There's you daughter Brax, you look after her for a change," she said and walked out of the room again closing the door behind her.

….

A few minutes later Charlie sat up on the countertop drinking coffee, she chuckled as the woman hurried out the door pulling her clothes on. She chuckled again as she heard Alex cry and Brax curse, jumping down she walked closer to his room. When Alex continued to cry she sighed and pushed the door in, there she found Brax sitting on the side of his bed just looking down at her "she won't break if you pick her up."

Brax looked over at Charlie "take her outta here."

"No," Charlie replied and walked into the room "if you think you're gonna spend your time wasted and sleeping with girl after girl while I give up my life to look after you daughter you have another thing coming," she said walking closer to him.

Brax reached out for her and tugged her onto him, lying back he rolled her underneath him and pinned her down. "You gonna take it out on me again?" she asked as he glared down on her "go on then, I still have the marks from last time if you wanna add to them."

Brax moved his eyes to the marks her dress failed to cover, sighing he rolled off her and lay beside her "I don't know what to do with a baby, I don't know the first thing she needs."

"So you'll learn," Charlie said leaning up on her elbow "Brax when I first had Ruby I had no clue what I was doing, my mum and dad had to show me how to do everything."

Brax looked over at Alex "I can't even get her to stop crying," he muttered.

Charlie sat up "that's because you didn't try," she said and stood up "we're all going to the beach why don't you come with us?" she asked.

Brax sat up and watched her lift Alex out, turning to face her when she sat down he looked down on Alex "what if I can't do this?"

Charlie smiled and looked down at Alex "you can do this Brax, I'll be here to help you and so will everyone else…we're going soon if you're coming," she said and stood up.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked as she placed Alex back in her seat.

"Because as much as I hate you and would love to see you suffer she didn't do anything wrong," she replied. "I think you'll make a great dad, you just need to get your head around it and spend some time with her, I'll be in the kitchen," she said and walked out of the room.

"So?" Kyle asked as Charlie sat beside them.

"We're going the beach, we'll wait ten minutes to see if Brax is coming," she replied.

Twenty minutes later Kyle stood up "he's not coming," he said and walked out the door.

Casey stood up "you coming Charlie?" he asked.

Charlie looked towards Brax's bedroom and sighed "yeah, we're coming," she said and picked up Alex.

An hour later they were all on the beach having fun and splashing around in the water, Charlie sat on the sand with Alex propped up against her stomach, she looked up when Heath sat beside her "having fun?" she asked.

"Yeah…Brax's been watching us, he's finally coming over-act natural," he said and looked up when Brax stopped in front of them "alright bro," he said casually.

Brax looked down on Alex then to Ruby and the boys in the water "got room for one more?" he asked.

Charlie smiled and nodded "of course we do," she said and looked down on Alex "don't we Alex?"

Heath stood up as Brax sat down "I better get back out there and keep that lot under control," he said and ran off to the water.

"You not going in?" Brax asked a few minutes later.

"Nah, I'm happier on the sand," she chuckled "you can if you want to," she added.

Brax looked down on Alex and scooted closer "I'm good here," he said slipping his finger into her hand.

Charlie smiled as he chuckled when Alex brought his finger to her mouth "do you wanna hold her?" she asked.

Brax glanced at her then back to Alex "what if I drop her?"

"Brax, you won't drop her," she chuckled and got up on her knees "just hold her against you and watch her head," she said placing her in his arms.

Brax looked down on Alex as she moved about in his arms "this isn't so bad," he chuckled and looked over at Charlie.

Charlie smiled back at him and settled herself back beside him "like riding a bike," she said and looked out to the others on the water.

"Hey princess," Brax said wiggling his finger in her hand "I'm your daddy, I'm sorry I didn't look after you I jus…" he trailed off and sighed. Moving he placed her back in Charlie's arms "I'm sorry," he said and stood up "this is too hard, I can't do it, I'm sorry," he said and took off.

"Brax!" Charlie called after him "Brax come back!" she sighed and sat back down when he didn't even look back.

"What happened?" Heath asked hurrying to her.

"I don't know," she muttered "he was holding her, he started talking to her then he just said he couldn't do it and just took off."

Heath looked after Brax and sat beside her "at least it's a step closer," he said and took Alex from her. "Give him a few more days, I'll make sure he stays away from the grog…I'm taking her out to the water," he said and stood up with Alex "you go get a coffee or something," he added and walked off.

Charlie sighed heavily, she really thought once he held her he'd see things in a new light. Standing up she grabbed her bag and started to walk up the beach, "one step at a time," she sighed to herself.

A/N hope you all enjoyed the first installment, drop a review if you have time :)