Thanks to x snow-pony x and Justice237 for reviewing.

There are two one-shots in the same universe as this story. And Tracy appears in them. One of them is my "Don't dream it's over" and the other one is written by x snow-pony x and is called "Through The Gate Down Memory Lane" And they're both great and beautiful, if I can say it myself. So if you want to- then go and check them out.

Mike POV

For the weekend and another two days after Chloe had fallen down the stairs on Thursday I didn't want to leave her alone while the others were asleep. It didn't feel right with only May- Li back either… She was definitely starting to wear out because of the little child growing inside of her and it seemed she felt worse than what she let me or any of the other know.

But- as for good news. Once it had been decided what we were going to do for raising money and getting Chloe a new wheelchair. All of the children had suddenly started working for it together- Chloe being one of the dumping ground's most liked people.

Finn was baking and Charlie cooking- trying to figure ways to sell what they were making. Floss was making bracelets out of loom bands and colorful cards, Bird was even trying to set up some small booklets for children that had diabetes and Taz and Sasha drew pictures in them.

And I… well I couldn't help to feel proud of all of them.

It happened I sent money and a list along with Charlie and Alex and sent them to do the grocery shopping during the while I didn't want to be gone… Oh boy. I really needed to get myself another care worker.

But where was I supposed to find one?

Well, there was the social services but I had a feeling I had the answer somewhere else, maybe right under my nose. And maybe to give another a chance of seeing the… well, most of time wonderful but stressful life of a care worker. And when was I supposed to find the time? And who was it supposed to be?

And once again- when was I supposed to find the time. I barely left the house of Ashdene Ridge between the Friday the day after Chloe fell and the Wednesday the week after.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Chloe had seemed her regular self, except for a few, slight headaches and her whole leg in a cast ever since she fell. I was relieved, of course. Having feared seizure or broken bones both here and there like I had a feeling there would be when I was called up to come to the hospital to meet Chloe and Ryan.

Chloe herself hadn't moved much from one place the last few days- the temporary wheelchair from the hospital was big and clumsy and it was hard to get around with on a daily basis. So she sat on her bed, listening to audio books on tapes or CD's, and going through boxes for stuff to save, sell, throw or give away that we others got for her.

"Yes Mike." I had grabbed a jacket and my car keys and my phone. "And I know you'll only be off for a couple of hours. If there is something I Want I can get into that stupid wheelchair and move. I've got my phone, I've got something to eat and drink near enough for me to reach from here." She gestured to a couple of sandwiches, a chocolate bar and a soda that stood on her bedside table. "And if I need them I have some painkillers and your phone number. Go, I'll be fine. Or do you want to go later today? When all of the others are here- including Floss and Taz and all the other troublemakers and there are fight and there are…"

"I'll go. I'll go." I interrupted. "But promise you'll call if you need anything." Chloe just glared back at me. "I know… you'll be fine."

There weren't many kids I'd had through the years I would leave alone at the dump with worrying as little as I did when I passed the hallway, got into my car and once again checked the address Cam Lawson had sent me almost a year ago for me to send Tracy that old key ring. And I hoped that Tracy would still live there…

It was almost an hour drive to Justice Lane number 38. Then when I got out of my car, knocked on the door and couldn't help the feeling that welled up inside of me that I was at the wrong address. Or Tracy had moved since last year, why wouldn't she?

"COMING." I heard a man's voice inside. Then fingering with the lock on the door and somebody opened. "Yes?"

At first it took me a second or two to recognize and place the person standing in the door in front of me.

"Seth? Oh. Hello. I was just wondering…"

"If Tracy's here? Yeah…" Seth stepped away from the door. "She's in the lounge with our Bella. It's quite the small place so…" Seth gestured at me to follow him, walk through the small hallway into a small kitchen, and through the small kitchen into a small living room where Tracy sat asleep, slumped in an arm chair with little Bella in her arms.

Or little Bella? If I had counted right Bella must have just turned one, and it was six months since I heard anything from Tracy at last with some pictures. And a month or two before Bella was born I had last met them.

And when I had met them before then…

I would just feel way ten times older than I actually was if I tried to figure…

"Tracy… Tracy…" Seth shook Tracy's shoulder and she moaned and without looking up turned her head. "Tracy? Look who's here."

"Mhm." Tracy moaned but didn't wake. "Mhm." I showed Seth to step away and I walked over to her myself. "What?"

"Tracy?" I shook her shoulder myself- she might recognize my voice. "Can you wake up?"

"Mike?" Before she'd looked up she did recognize my voice as I'd thought. "Is that you?" Tiredly, her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at me and a smile grew on my lips. "How nice to see you again. I'm sorry…" Bella started moaning and stretching in her mother's arms. "She has stomachaches all night. So we don't sleep much. Just let me wake up for a second."

I nodded, remembered what a project it was to wake her up fifteen or so years ago. And sat down at the edge of the sofa near the chair Tracy sat in, still with little Bella in her arms.

"Should I take her for a bit?" I asked and held out my hands. "So you can wake up properly for a minute without dropping her?"

"No. It's fine." Tracy changed her position into a more comfortable one. "Oh hey girl." She looked down on Bella while she woke up too. "At least I don't have to worry about letting you see me like this. You've already seen me at my worst anyway."

"What? Your worst?" I smirked to let her know I was joking. "What are you talking about? The dark circles under your eyes, your pyjamas stained with tooth paste and baby's vomit or your hair being a total mess because… it used to be a whole lot worse of a total mess if I remember it right. And don't worry about it. I think you look as great as ever."

"Aw, thank you Mike." Without dropping her daughter Tracy finally managed to get in a better and more comfortable position and a better grip of her daughter that she held so she stood on her mother's leg and looked towards me. "Look Bella…" Tracy pointed at me while looking towards her child. "It's Mi…" She suddenly stopped in the middle of my name, looked back towards me and seemed to be wondering about something. A small smile formed on her lips and just as I was about to ask her why she continued.

"It's grandpa."

"Oh Tracy…"

For a moment I didn't know if there was anything that I could change. But with speaking her name, laying my hand over my heart and small smile I guess my gratefulness would have to be without any words.

"Well… you are the closest thing at least. We've got Cam but every little kid needs a grandpa. Oh yeah, oh yes. It's grandpa." I couldn't help but smile when Tracy bounced Bella up and down on her legs. "But I don't think the reason you came here today was to see me and Bella. If so I think you would have come to visit sooner. But never mind, was there something you wanted or were you just passing by?"

"Actually there was something I wanted." I had been stunned after Tracy called me grandfather but I soon found my voice again to answer her. "I was searching through the attic the other day and you know what I found?" Tracy tiredly shook her head. "A carton full of books. Guess what books?" Tracy just smiled- she knew. "And they've been there for some time now. Anyway, we have got a kid- teenager living at Ashdene Ridge- Chloe. She's in a wheelchair and she had an accident last week which smashed the wheelchair she had into pieces. And right now she borrows one from the hospital. She broke her leg so she needs it to keep her leg up too. But she's going to need her own too. And somebody, I think Chloe's best friend came up with the idea of a fundraiser. So the children, and I and May- Li of course are coming together to raise some money. Because those wheelchairs are quite expensive. And there's cooking and baking and jumble sales and God knows everything. So I was looking through the attic and find that carton. And I was thinking you might need then back. Because there's really no point with leaving them there- no one's touched them for years and of course we want someone to read them. And either we sell them for you. Or I bring them all here and you can decide what to do with them."

"I don't think I quite have the time to do anything with them if you would bring them here." Tracy answered thoughtfully. "I'm just trying to spend as much time with Bella as I can after… Well, after what my mum did to me I just… I just want to spend every minute of every day with Bella and show her that I love her more than anything else. But if you want to then feel free to try and sell those books and I won't be there getting in your business… Since it's been so long since it was published I guess it wouldn't be worth more than five, six quid. But if you sell them then you feel free to take all of the money. I got a bit of the money from that store who bought and sold most of the books and what happens to the rest and I think you need the money more than I do…"

I looked around the room, I had gotten so much with me that I knew this house had one floor, one little hallway, one little kitchen, a bit of a big lounge and perhaps two bedrooms. It wasn't anything big and with Seth and Tracy's jobs and a little child.

"I wouldn't know about that… By the way." I couldn't help but to give a short laugh. "Do you remember those six quid Gina paid you and then she found out you had used Cam's credit card?" Tracy shook her head at her past self. "We're happy you did though. You're one of the best care workers I have ever had. Oh… About now… May- Li's pregnant and I need another care worker so badly."

It might have seemed like I did before, but not until then it had even crossed my mind that I might be able to find a new care worked right in front of me.

"Tracy…" I started carefully while Tracy lifted Bella onto the floor with some toys so Tracy could turn to me… well, almost with all of her concentration. "If you want to…" After all the time and what we had been through together I felt I needed to choose my words now. "…Maybe… You could come back to me as a care worker…"

Tracy's eyes first widened and for a moment I imagined her hugging me tight with only one answer- yes. Then she gave a small sigh, and I had a feeling that if this had been the Tracy I had known once upon a time. She would have started yelling at me for asking when I must have known what the answer would be.

"I don't know Mike…" Tracy seemed to be thinking so hard I could almost hear it. "I've been off for a year with Bella and… I'm just, only next week I go back to work- you know with that Jeremiah that you met in the park and… contracts and…"

"Tracy…" I interrupted. "…You don't have to explain. It's a no. I'll talk to the social services and find someone. And I'm sure I'll find the best one ever. Well not as good as you…"

"But…"

"But no matter how irresistible I am. You need to break away and continue your own life… Which might involve that after we met I actually looked up Jeremiah Nichols and what people's saying about him. And he seems alright- just someone everyone would like to have for a boss. So stay there. Anyway, if you lived here and worked at Ashdene Ridge… well, that would be almost two hours driving each day. Two more hours away from Bella..."

"I just can't do that."

I showed Tracy to stand up, then did myself and embraced her without another word to go with that. For the first time I met her, nine years old and longing for her mum, to the broken teen that kept on being sent back when she thought she'd find her home. To the one finally having found her forever home, to the adult Tracy that had messed up so badly, and then flash forward to this today.

"I know you can't. I leaned back at last still with my hands on her shoulder. "And I wouldn't make you for anything in the world. Listen, I have to go back to the dumping ground now. I don't want to leave Chloe alone for longer than I have to… And also… About the books. In memory of…" I gave a short laugh thinking about again. "Six quid, and I'll count the ones we sell and three quid for you. And three for us. How does that sound?"

Tracy nodded, and I could almost see all of those memories flashing in her eyes as I could see them myself on the insides of my eyelids.

"Would you ever have dared to leave me alone like that?"

"You? At Chloe's age? And find the house in ruins when we got back? Never…" I gave another short laugh. "But keep in touch. I'm a grandpa here. And I'd really like to see my grandchild grow up…" I patted her shoulder "As well as my daughter if she wants to be."

"Can you just stand there for a second? Here Bella. You're going to grandpa for a moment." Tracy leaned down and picked up Bella and placed her in my arms. Can I just shoot a photo of you two like that?" I smiled and gave a small nod, then smiled towards Bella who smiled brightly towards her mother when she held up her phone and shot a photo."

"Hold on a minute…" I was about to leave when Seth came into the room. "Tracy you come here. And Seth, can you shoot another photo. I don't have any children of my own but I think this is still going to work as one of those three generations photos."

Tracy walked up and I finally took my eyes off Bella, put one arm around Tracy and looked up towards the Camera.

It was true as I told Seth. I never had any children on my own. But in the moment for that three- generations- photo. I knew stronger than ever that for nothing in the world did that mean I wasn't a dad.

Because I was.

I was thinking in this, Bella looks like Dani- Harmer's (Tracy's) daughter Avarie- Belle (Dani puts pictures on her twitter and Instagram, so scroll a bit and you should find a picture from when she was a year old like she is here) (She's two now, and it's very easy for me to remember her birthday as we've got the same- June the 28th) She's adorable. Maybe Bella should be a tiny, itsy bit darker in her skin (As I think Seth's mixed) but then we'd just have to imagine that.

Jeremiah, Tracy's boss who is briefly mentioned is portrayed by Gary Oldman.

Name for the street (and so many other names, even though none other in this story) comes from fantasynamegenerators. Com

Random fact

Writing the last chapter before this, when Mike first found those books and mentioned he needed a care worker, I actually hadn't thought that Tracy might return like that. But I had already planned who's going to be the new care worker. Even though it was quite hard to write. I know Tracy would like to go back and work with Mike, but I needed it to be… what it's going to be. So it's not going to be Tracy, like x snow- pony x wanted and thought it would be. But… who will it be? I guess you'll have to stay with the story and keep on reading when the chapters come up.