Hi! This is a Home and Away fanfiction. I have written a few before, but I think this is something different. I hope you will like it! You will soon find out who the main characters are. Here we go! Enjoy!
Brax and Charlie were laying in bed together. They had been dating for a couple of months now and felt like they were stronger than ever. A couple of weeks ago Brax took his chance and asked Charlie if she would move in with him. Charlie had her reservations at first, not because she didn't want to live with Brax, but because she was thinking about the practical side. Questions like 'where are we going to live?' and 'what about Ruby' ran through her mind. Thankfully Brax knew his girlfriend well enough to realize Charlie was going to come up with these things. So he proposed that both Charlie and Ruby could move into the house where he now was living with Heath. There were four rooms in the main house and one room in the outhouse. So there was plenty of room for all of them. Even though Charlie didn't say yes immediately, Brax didn't need to try hard to persuade her. Once they started talking about it and picturing their life together, Charlie was sold on the idea.
The first couple of days were awkward. Heath and Charlie aren't exactly best friends and both of them had to adjust to the idea of seeing each other every day. Heath was trying though, Charlie knew that, so she gave it her best shot as well to make it work. When Brax told Heath he wanted Charlie to move in Heath wasn't shocked. He knew his brother and the copper were getting serious. He gave up trying to break them up a long time ago. He didn't want to steal his brother's happiness away from him. And Charlie made Brax happy, so he tried to get along with her for Brax' sake. The fact that if he was going to give Charlie a horrible time, Brax was going to kick him out probably also had something to do with it.
The Braxton house became a pleasant, but crowded place. Casey had joined the army and was now on a mission to Somalia. When he was going to return the place would probably be even more hectic than it is now. Ruby started uni but still wanted to live at home. The last couple of years had been hard on Ruby. When she was younger, she had a real family, but lately it had only been her and Charlie. That was great, but Ruby wanted a family again and for the first time in years she felt like she belonged somewhere. Darcy stayed with Heath every other week. The little girl certainly found her spot into the household. When Darcy was there, she was the centre of the attention. Not only did she have her father wrapped around her finger in no time, every time she said 'auntie Charlie' Charlie's heart melted and the two girls bonded even more. Charlie has always been very protective over Ruby, even when they were still 'sisters'. But now Ruby is all grown up and she doesn't need Charlie's protection as much as she used to. So instead of looking out for Ruby, Charlie looked out for Darcy, who loved all the extra attention. Heath was happy with the extra help and Charlie felt useful again.
Charlie knew moving in with Brax was probably one of the best decisions she ever made. Even though Charlie learned his imperfections as well, her feelings for him had deepened the last couple weeks. When she was still with Angelo, she was so restraint to take things further. Now all she can think about is how good it feels to build a life together with the guy you love. She knows that he is the right man for her. She sees it in so many things. When she has the night shift, he always stays up until she is back. He cares for Ruby almost as much as she does. Ruby had a father, until he became her grandfather and ever since then Ruby has been a bit lost without a father figure. Brax is no father to Ruby, or at least he is saying he is not. Brax and Ruby had some sort of connection, you can't really put a nametag on it , but both are at ease with it.
Charlie was woken out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. Heath yelled he would open the door so the happy couple wouldn't have to get out of bed yet. 'Hi' Heath said when he opened it, shocked by who was at the door. 'What are you doing here?' he asked the unexpected visitor. 'I thought I would give the people a visit who are now living my old house' he answered. 'Oh okay, you have seen me, you can leave now' Heath told him. 'Are you living here by yourself Heath?' the man asked, ignoring Heath's comment about leaving. 'No, I am not, don't you know what already?' Heath asked annoyed. 'No, I have been a little out of touch lately with the people of Summer Bay and I guess now I am back I just want to catch up with everything that is going on, that is all Heath' the guy explained.
'Oh my god Angelo' Ruby managed when she came back with breakfast from the diner 'What are you doing here?'. 'That seems to be a popular question today' Angelo laughed 'I guess I am back and I wanted to see who lived here now'. 'Well, we do' Ruby said with a huge smile on her face 'Come in, please'. Heath let Ruby and Angelo in but not before he gave Angelo a stern look. 'I am not following here' Angelo said confused 'Who is living here?'. 'Me and Heath' Ruby started. 'And them' Ruby continued whilst pointing at Charlie and Brax who just came out of their bedroom. They both had the biggest smile on their faces, you could tell they were in some kind of honeymoon stage where everything was fun and great. When Heath made his remark last night about 'if you two are going to be any louder tonight, I will have to buy some earplugs', they didn't even try to hide their amusement. They felt comfortable in this relationship and they allowed everyone to see it. No more secrecy, no more hiding. Brax was fully dressed and Charlie had put on her blue bathrobe, he grabbed her by her waist when they entered the living room.
When he saw who was standing there, Brax let go of her waist. 'Angelo, what are you doing here?' Charlie asked clearly surprised to see him. Angelo couldn't believe his eyes, he remained silent for a while and then managed 'Just visiting, that is all'. Charlie nodded, every person in the room could sense the tension. Angelo hated Brax, he took his restaurant and now his house and his girlfriend… ex-girlfriend but Angelo didn't care about the difference. 'Okay, I would love to stay and chat' Heath said after a few seconds 'Trust me, I would, but I need to go, I have job interview'. 'Whish me luck and give Darcy a big kiss from me' he said when he walked through the door.
'What is with all the noise?' Darcy said when she walked out of her room whilst still rubbing her eyes out of fatigue. 'Hey gorgeous' Charlie said 'Did you sleep well?'. Darcy nodded and came to Charlie for a hug. 'Lets have breakfast' Ruby said, thinking someone had to take the initiative to make this situation a bit less awkward. They all took a seat at the table, Charlie invited Angelo to join them out of courtesy. The atmosphere hadn't changed during breakfast. Thank god for Darcy who didn't seem to notice how uncomfortable everyone else was. She went on and on about school, her friends and surfing. 'Hey sweetie, it is time to put your clothes on, you wouldn't want to be late for school' Charlie interrupted her. Luckily the almost nine-year-old was in a good mood, so she rushed to the bathroom. Whilst she was there, the grownups started talking. Angelo said that he and Nicole had broken up and that he was sorry he had been so out of touch lately.
'All done!' Darcy yelled whilst running out of the bathroom. 'Could you braid my hair?' Darcy asked Charlie. 'Sure sweetie, come here, sit on the couch' Charlie answered. 'You know grandma will come to pick you up after school yeah?' Charlie told her. Darcy nodded 'Who will pick me up from grandma's?'. 'Darcy sweetie' Brax said 'You know you will have to stay there next week, no?'. 'No, I want to stay here, please, I don't want to go to grandma, I like it here' Darcy said with tears dwelling up in her eyes. Brax and Charlie looked at each other. They hated to break Darcy's heart, but she had to go to Tegan's mum next week, Heath arranged it that way. 'Lets make a deal' Brax tried 'if you are a good girl at grandma's then me and your dad will take you surfing again next week'.
Angelo wasn't following anymore. 'Hang on a sec' did he say 'Who is her dad?'. 'Heath is' Brax said. 'Oh, I thought…' Angelo started 'Never mind'. 'Waw poor kid, Heath as a dad and the mother clearly isn't mother of the year as well' Angelo said, hoping he didn't say that out loud. Unfortunately, Darcy had heard every single word Angelo said. She ran off into her room when the tears started strolling down her little face. 'Darcy… Darcy!' Charlie yelled whilst she ran after her. Brax attempted to go after his niece as well, but Charlie assured him she would cheer Darcy up. Brax sighed, how could Angelo be so insensitive. Ruby clearly thought the same thing and told him 'Good one Angelo, Darcy's mother is dead'. With that, Ruby got up from her seat and ran out of the door. 'Sorry, I didn't know' Angelo tried to excuse himself to Brax. 'Yeah fine, you didn't know' Brax assured him 'I only hope this won't cause a setback, she has made so much progress in counseling recently, I wouldn't want that to go to waste'.
Thank you so much for reading. I would really appreciate it if you reviewed as well (if you can find some time of course). Because then I know what you think about it and whether or not I should continue it. If you have any ideas, just let me know! I have an idea for the next chapter, but all help is very welcome!
