First Melissa and Joey fanfic so I hope you guys are kind to me. This will be a total of 6 chapters which I already have planned out. I post as I write but I do have a fair few other fics on the go so posts may be few and far between. No matter how long it takes, I WILL finish it and it will not be left completely neglected :)

The muscles in Joe's arms flexed dangerously as Mel told him about Zander breaking up with Lennox. An angry ball of fire burned throughout him as he contemplated the many different ways he could cause the almost legal adult the maximum amount of physical pain. How dare he hurt Lennox in that way. How dare he hurt Lennox at all. Mel was trying to talk him out of doing anything drastic, like beating Zander to a pulp, but she could tell she was failing. She found herself unable to speak further as she watched him grab his jacket and storm towards the door, but not before puffing out a last, lingering statement.

"No one hurts my girl."

She stayed stunned until the front floor slamming shut snapped her back to the sense of awareness. In spite of the situation, Mel found herself grinning from ear to ear at Joe's words. It wasn't the first time he'd claimed one of the kids to be 'his', but the pure act of protectiveness stirred something deep inside her. She was thankful of Joe for loving Lennox and Ryder as much as she did; it made the strain of parenting two teenagers much, much easier. She believed Joe wouldn't actually hurt Zander, just scare him in to never wanting to step foot out his house again. He would be home soon enough, and she needed to get ready for when he did.

Hearing him once again claim Lennox was his reinforced an idea she'd had a couple of weeks ago. The four of them had grown so close as a family unit that it didn't feel right to still call him the nanny. She wanted to make him, like her, the kids legal guardian, but had just been waiting for the right time to bring it up and ask him. She'd already consulted her attorney, who had gone ahead and drawn up the relative documents, and had a couple of lengthy phone calls with Meredith, who was completely onboard (despite the whole scandal situation). The final document had been sitting in her briefcase, ready and awaiting his signature for the past two weeks, she was just looking for the right time to bring it out.

Mel took her usual seat at the kitchen table, full glass of wine in front of her with the bottle lined up next to it. Tonight though, instead of a bowl of ice-cream, cookie dough or some other form of comfort food placed in front of her, she had a manila envelope containing the legal guardianship papers grasped firmly in her hands. Tonight was definitely the night to bring it up. She waited patiently, turning the envelope over in her hands, thinking about how she would mention it to Joe. Should she just blurt it out? Should she casually mention it to him? He'd been gone for just over an hour, he would be back soon, giving her very little time to continue preparing.

Just as Mel was pouring herself another glass of wine, Joe came through the door. He was carrying grocery bags, pulling the contents out as soon as the brown paper hit the counter. Mel noticed that he'd lost the anger he'd went out the door with, though his clothes seemed in the same perfect condition and, from what she could see, there were no marks on his hands. She eyed him closely from her seat, watching as his arms flexed beneath his jacket, causing heat to radiate up the back of her neck and flush her cheeks. Joe turned to face her, flashing her a beautiful smile and holding up a box of chocolates.

"Got these for Lennox. Where is she?"

"Ryder has taken her out for dinner and a movie to cheer her up."

"Wow. That's really nice of him to do that for his sister." He put the box in the fridge and raised his eyebrow to her. "How much you pay him?"

Mel rolled her eyes. "Nothing! He did it with his own free will."

Joe gave her a look that said 'yeah right'. "Burke?"

"Fine. I payed for the meal and movie, gave him fifty bucks and extended his curfew for a date next weekend."

"I expected no less." He delved back in one of the bags. "Hey, Burke, catch, I got these for you."

Mel barely caught the box he flung across the room to her. She turned it round and found that he'd bought her a box of the expensive chocolates she loves so much. It was a guilty pleasure that she bought herself every once in a while – a guilty pleasure she thought no one knew about. Joe always managed to surprise her with how much he actually knew about her, and how much he knew about the kids. Sure, it was his job to know a lot about Lennox and Ryder, but the amount he did was incredible. You'd think he'd been with them every single day of their lives, not just three years. He was only there to take care of the kids, but he took care of her to – and she loved that he did.

"Earth to Mel."

Mel snapped her head back up. Joe was standing in front of the fridge staring at her, a look of concern on his face. She'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't realised he was talking to her. He waved his hand up and down, trying to grab her full attention.

"You okay there, Burke? Kinda spaced out for a minute."

Mel took a hasty sip of wine and gave him a smile. "Yeah, sorry, daydreaming about going upstairs and enjoying these beauties in the comfort of my bathtub. What were you saying?"

"I was asking if you wanted something to eat but I can see you have plans." He smirked and set about making himself a sandwich. It was now or never. Mel took another sip of wine and cleared her throat.

"So, what happened?"

Joe stopped what he was doing and laughed lightly. "Nothing. We talked, that's all. Turns out he only broke up with Lennox because she posted about their night together on her blog; hurt the guys feelings. Zanders' one of the good ones. He's gonna call Lennox tonight, after he's done at the batting cage."

Mel sighed in relief, glad that he hadn't done it because he'd got what he wanted and that was it. "Good. She was really upset about it, hopefully they can work through this." Joe nodded in agreement and returned to making his sandwich. She watched him add filling after filling but couldn't hold back any longer. "Hey, Joe? Come and sit down, there's something I wanna talk to you about."

Joe eyed her sceptically, she almost never wanted to talk to him. "Sure." He abandoned his half made sandwich and joined her at the table. "What's up?"

"Well. Earlier, before you left, you called Lennox 'your girl'. Did you mean it?"

Joe widened his eyes slightly. He couldn't remember calling Lennox his. Had he? "Did I?"

"Yeah you did."

"Huh." He smiled. He considered them his family – his dysfunctional family, but still, they meant a lot to him. "They're good kids, Mel, and although I'm only the nanny, I love 'em like my own... or at the very least, like my niece and nephew."

Mel breathed another sigh of relief and they laughed together, she was definitely making the right decision. She ran her hand over the envelope then slid it across the table to him. He looked down and raised an eyebrow. "What's this? You don't want me to volunteer to be a chaperone do you? I cannot go through that again so soon."

She laughed. "No. But it is something I want you to look over and consider. We can talk about it in the morning, right now, I have a date with these bad boys." She held up the box of chocolates, blew a kiss to him and danced up the stairs with her wine glass. Just before she turned the corner, she looked back down at him. "Oh, and Joe? You're more than just the nanny."

Joe stared after her, perplexed by her behaviour; he couldn't remember her ever blowing him a kiss before, and what did she mean by he was more than just the nanny?. He pulled the manila towards him, dreading the contents but halfway through the first page he stopped and looked up.

"Is she serious?"

He rushed through reading the rest of the document, making sure he was clear on what it was asking of him. He was stunned. He couldn't believe Mel was asking him to be the kids guardian with her. Joe didn't want to wait for the morning to discuss it, he grabbed the document and sprinted up the stairs, skidding to a stop outside her room. He knocked, harder than he normally did, and waited for permission to enter – you did not let yourself in to Mel Burkes bedroom. Two minutes he waited, before Mel, dressed in nothing but her bathrobe, answered the door.

"Didn't think you'd be up this quick, Longo." She sounded a little disappointed, thinking that he was rejecting the idea.

"Is this for real? You're not kidding me?" He held up the papers in his hand, trying not to smile.

"It is. Meredith even agrees with it, and we both know how she feels about you. The only signature needed is yours, but it you don't want to, that's fine." She made to grab them, but Joe held them high over her head. "That's not fair! You can't use your height advantage!"

"Yes I can." He dangled the papers in the air until she kicked him in the shin. "Ow, Mel, what'cha do that for?"

She laughed at his hurt expression, feeling only slightly guilty. "You're acting like a child. Now, give me those." She pointed at the papers still clutched in his hand.

"No. Give me a pen."

"Why?"

Joe sighed and rolled his eyes. "I can't sign if I don't have a pen."

Mel's eyes widened. He was signing? She thought he'd come upstairs to tell her no! She pointed to the bedside cabinet. "Top draw." He rushed over, pulling a pen from the draw and sitting on the bed as he did so. Ten seconds later his name was signed at the bottom of all the relevant pages.

"There!"

"You're one hundred percent sure about this? There's no obligation to do it you know, the kids aren't even aware that I'm asking you." She tried to sound as if she didn't care either way.

"I don't think I've ever been more sure about anything, Mel. I love those kids, I'd do anything for them. I'm honoured that you've asked me." He got up and handed her back the now signed papers.

"I'll fax these to my attorney tonight. Well, Longo, congratulations on your promotion! You are no longer just their nanny, but their nanny slash legal guardian. You're officially my co-parent."

"You have no idea how happy you've just made me." Grinning from ear to ear, he stepped forward and kissed her full on the lips.

Mel didn't expect it, but at the same time she didn't stop him. He pushed her back until she landed on the bed, with him hovering above her. Years of want was poured in to the kiss which became deeper and they didn't stop until they were both gasping for air - their feelings for each other made perfectly clear.

"You're more than just the nanny." Mel whispered up at Joe, cupping his face and pulling him back down for another kiss.

"More than just the nanny..." He muttered back, unable to keep the grin from his face.

His hand slipped beneath the folds of her robe, pushing them apart to reveal her naked body underneath. He explored every inch of her skin while she made quick work of his jeans, moving them down off his legs with her foot. With both Lennox and Ryder out for the night, the two adults felt free to make as much noise as they wanted – and they did.

The next morning, Joe came bounding down the stairs, a new spring in his step. He made breakfast as usual, but went all out, making everyone favourtie. He and Mel had decided to tell the kids about him becoming their guardian that morning, and they, being unsure how they'd take it, were going to use the food as a deterrent. The two of them had spoken a great deal about the change of their professional relationship to a personal one, and decided that it was in everyone's best interests not to tell Lennox and Ryder.

First downstairs at the smell of breakfast was Ryder, soon followed by Lennox, with Mel turning up ten minutes after the three of them had already finished eating. Joe found it incredibly difficult to keep his hands off Mel, but knew he had to – and it didn't help that Mel was sending him seductive looks from over the top of her coffee mug. Neither of the teenagers seemed to notice, both now engrossed in their phones. Joe gave Mel a discreet nod and she set her mug down, clearing her throat.

"Hey, guys, could you put your phones down for a minute? There's something me and Joe would like to tell you."

"Oh my God, you're pregnant!" Lennox shouted out looking between the two.

"Excuse me, do I look pregnant? Don't answer that," Mel said while Joe snickered.

"Sorry," Lennox laughed, looking between the two. Ryder, they could tell, wasn't entirely listening, having loaded his plate with seconds. "But seriously, what do you guys wanna say?"

The two adults looked between each other and Joe once again gave her the go ahead. "Well... me and Joe were talking last night, while you two were out, about his role in the family and how much he actually does for you two, and it was decided that," she sighed with a smile. "Joe would become your joint legal guardian with me."

The silence at the table was deafening. The smile on both Mel and Joes faces slowly slipping as neither of the teenagers made comment on the news. They were worried, it wasn't like them to keep so quiet about something this important. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Lennox and Ryder looked between the two, then between themselves before breaking out in the biggest grins Mel had ever seen and started jumping up and down.

"Oh my God! Are you serious?" Ryder shouted as he ran round to Joe, pulling him up and engulfing him in a hug, Lennox doing the same to Mel.

"Yeah, dude, we're serious." Joe returned the hug, feeling overcome by emotion.

"This is brilliant." Lennox pushed Ryder out of the way so she could get to Joe. "We need to celebrate. I'm going to get dressed, you guys should do the same."

She turned on her heel and pelted up the stairs, Ryder following closely behind. Mel finished her coffee while Joe sat grinning with his elbows on the table. "You think they're okay with it?" he said as Mel laughed and nodded.

"I don't think I've seen Lennox this happy since I sneaked her out the house for her first date with a boy – and that was a very big deal."

Joe laughed and made to stand up to kiss her, only to throw himself back in his chair when the kids came bounding back down the stairs.

"Are you two not dressed yet?"