Being the caring wife she always strived to be, Pepa pulled a chair out for Silvia at the kitchen table. Silvia knew what Pepa was about to propose to the family. Despite how tired they were the night before, they had discussed their plans for their own family the night before and Pepa also discussed Joeys reaction and fears about having Charlie carry their child. Ultimately their main concern was Will and how he would react to all of this. Their final decision was one they both agreed on and hoped everyone else could be happy with it too.

As Silvia gestured to Will to sit down next to her, she gave Pepa's hand a gentle squeeze before letting it go completely. Pepa looked into her wifes eyes and saw the deepest pool of love and commitment. She smiled knowing for everything they had been through together until now, today would be the beginning of a new chapter of their life providing everyone agreed to their plans.

Joey sat down next to Will who instantly pulled his chair closer to her and enveloped her in a hug which she was happy to receive considering the night she had. She didn't want Will to take sides between her and Charlie but for a brief moment, she was content that the young boy had not kicked her out himself.

Charlie looked at her family opposite her, it was like they had teamed up with Joey on the other side of the table and nothing she said could make them change their mind. She was heartbroken once more as she saw Will hug Joey. She didn't want things to worsen with Joey, and she didn't want Joey to leave. Last night was proof enough of that. No sleep and bad thoughts had invaded her mind all night. Imagining a life without Joey in it, she just couldn't do it. For every ounce of energy left in her she would fight to make Joey understand and to overcome this turmoil that in the end was ultimately her fault for beginning in the first place.

Pepa looked around the table satisfied that everyone was settled in and so she began her proposal of changes to come...

"I wanted to start by saying I'm sorry to all of you. I'm sorry on behalf of myself and my beautiful wife for whom I would do anything to make her happy. I crossed the line though, when I said it was ok to think that Charlie could carry our child. The offer was made by Charlie before you joined our family Jo but it was wrong of me to think it was ok for Charlie to carry it. I upset my wife by even putting Charlie in that predicament in the first place. My greatest fear was to promise everything in the world to my wife and then not be able to give her the one thing we both want more than anything else in the world. that's why I wanted us all together today, I wanted you to understand my fear and how it affects you..."

Joey wanted to argue but couldn't find the words. She was happy that Pepa was owning up to the wrongs she had made but she was still puzzled as to what lay ahead.

Sitting down next to Charlie, Pepa reached out for her hand and continued "Charlie, more than anything else in this world Silvia and I want you to find happiness, not just for today and tomorrow but for the years to come. We both want you and Joey to grow old together and your offer to carry our child... its been a burden for you, and Silvia, even me from day 1 and now Joey and Will are also carrying that burden. I can't live with that. I can't sit here and watch you two be put through anguish just because of my own fears."

"Pepa, do not blame yourself seriously its not worth putting yourself through the wringer. The three of you made this decision before I moved in. Will is more affected than me. I am just caught in the crossfire of non communication of the facts that's all." Joey replied with a sigh.

Pepa shook her head, refusing to agree with Joey. "Lo siento Joey but this is all my fault. Despite how Silvia felt about it I pushed Charlie into a corner in which she made an offer which now I must renegotiate. You two mean the world to us and to see you break up over a promise which Silvia never agreed to in the first place. I wont let that happen and neither will Silvia."

Both Charlie and Joey looked to Silvia who agreed with her wife. Nodding her head she added "That's right Joey, nothing was ever agreed on. That night your brother kicked you out and you spent your first night here with Charlie... it was the night Pepa and I fought. Charlie had offered to carry a child for us in the event that Pepa was unable to but I could live with it. I couldn't agree to another woman carrying my child. Like you Jo, I wanted Pepa's child. I didn't want someone else carrying it for us. I just couldn't live with that. The thought of sharing Pepa with anyone else frightened me"

"yeah, you should have been there Jo, Silvia even said that she would let me go if it meant that I have a child and be able to raise a family" Pepa added quickly.

"I never agreed to letting you go. I told you my greatest fear was to have you leave me because of the one thing I could not give you" Silvia hissed.

"True, true" Pepa reinforced as she recalled her words...

Silvia closed her eyes, desperately trying to stop the tears. With every ounce of strength left in her she finally spoke "I can't do this… I can't make a family with her and you…. I see the way she looks at you… it's the same way I looked at you before we started going out. She's in love with you…." Silvia trailed off, she wanted to continue but her strength had ran out. To admit she could lose Pepa to someone else was more than she could handle right now. The threat of losing her wife made the harsh reality of the emptiness in her life more real.

Pepa was shocked, still holding onto her wife she dared to look to where Charlotte was. She hadn't moved, the expression of concern etched all over her face. "Silvia, por favor, te quiero. I love you; I have loved you since we were kids. Do you really think I would take another woman over you just to raise a family?"

"If she could give you what I can't, then yes I do" Silvia sobbed.

"Now here's what I want to do, its entirely up to you both where you go from here but for Will's sake I hope you make the right decision. Silvia and I have had an opportunity to work from home. We'll be communicating with the family overseas on a safe network. It will keep the dollars rolling in which means we can move out of here..."

Charlie was flabbergasted at all that Pepa had said but the last few words hit her like a tonne of bricks. "No, no Pepa. I don't want you to move out because of this... this is not how our life is to be..." she stammered. Pepa noticed Charlie trembling in fear and gave her a reassuring hug.

"Charlie, honey, we're not moving out because of the baby thing. We have an opportunity to move out and Silvia and I have been a burden on you long enough. We also want to start a family and that means one way or another there will be a baby within 12 to 18 months if luck goes our way. Now what I want you to do for me and Silvia is to let us take Will for the day and you two have a good chat. A heart to heart. Lay out everything, your hopes, your dreams, even your fears. When we get back I want you to tell Will what you have decided, let him have his say. Regardless of how he feels let him speak freely ok."

"What about you and Silvia?" Joey questioned.

"We want you two to work things out so you can be free again. This whole thing with Charlie carrying a child for us... lets just say it put pressure on your relationship which we never wanted to add to. We want you to be a family with Will, first and foremost. We don't want you to worry about us. Think about your own future, not ours, por favor." Pepa replied honestly.

Will had sat quietly listened to everyone speak. He was amazed at how much Pepa and Silvia cared about him and that they would continuously put his best interests before their own. Even Joey cared enough to let him speak freely but he wasn't happy. Change was coming one way or another and he wanted to make sure his Mum understood where he was coming from before she made any decisions without him. He was still angry at her but would happily forgive her if she made things right with Joey. "I'm not happy" came a stern reply, void of emotion. Four sets of eyes ganged up on him, everyone eager to understand why.

"I'm happy to go out with Pepa and Silvia but before I do I want to make sure you all know what I think..." Joey gave him a reassuring hug and smiled at him urging him to be honest. No one could blame him for that. "I'm not happy because ultimately you will all make decisions without me because you all think you know best. I don't want Pepa to move out with Silvia. I want them both here in my home, as part of my family. If they have a baby I want to be able to call it my little brother or sister. It doesn't matter if we're not related by blood. The fact is they're living in my house with my mum and me and her girlfriend. We are a family one way or another... and Joey, ..." he paused looking at his mum with eyes so cold, drilling into her "if Joey leaves because you can't work things out with her Mum, then I'll never forgive you. All this arguing you have had, its over a promise made ages ago and Silvia didn't agree to it which means that you don't have a promise to keep. Joey doesn't have to leave and you can all just move on knowing that Pepa will have a child with Silvia but you two have nothing to do with it. You can have your own baby if you want and i'll be proud to call myself the 'older brother'. I don't want things to change. I want you all to be happy but I'm selfish too because I don't want anyone to move out either."

The four women breathed in and breathed out, looking around at each other. Joey was the first one to speak up with a smile, Ok the man of the house has spoke. He wants nothing to change, so you three go out and have some fun and i'll stay here and interrogate Charlie as to where to go from here".

Charlie looked up at her girlfriend, the smile was still lit up on her face. "You want to interrogate me"

"Yep, and you should be scared!" Joey replied seriously.

Pepa noticed Joey was happier now, gone was the scowl and look of heartbreak. Whispering in Charlie's ear as she rose from the table "Look after this one Charlz, your son knows a good catch when he sees one, you wont regret it" and with a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder she was gone. Silvia's open arms awaiting her "Mi amor, you are such a romantic fool"

"and you love me for it don't you" was Pepa's cheeky reply as she kissed her wife passionately. Will gave Joey a hug as he left the table. Looking at his Mum he sadly acknowledged his feelings "Do the right thing Mum because if you don't it wont be just Joeys heart you'll be breaking". With that he was gone, pushing Pepa and Silvia through the door as he made his way to his room to grab his jacket.

Silence engulfed the kitchen once more as Charlie and Joey took each other in. "Looks like we're alone once more" Joey began.

Charlie nodded "at least this time we're in the same room though... care to come to bed... I don't think I could make it sitting here much longer".

"Sure" Joey replied as she took Charlie's hand in her own and led them to their bedroom. "Before you sleep though... a chat ok" she asked. Charlie could do nothing more than nod.