Once they were downstairs Paul made himself comfortable on the couch before Stephanie sat beside him immediately staring at him, she needed answers and she needed them quickly, "start talking."

Gulping he realised that she wasn't going to beat around the bush about this, she was going straight in and not taking any prisoners, "I've been so quiet because of something my parents said when we picked up the kids."

Nodding her head she reached across and took his hand in hers squeezing it gently to let him know that she was there for him, "I thought it may have been. What did they say that was so bad? Can they not watch the kids any longer?"

Shaking his head he sighed heavily wishing it was as simple as that, "I wish it was as easy as that. It turns out that Sarah turned up earlier today and told my Mom that I had told her that it was okay to go over during the week to spend some time with Lucy. Luckily my Mom saw right through her bullshit but I don't think she's going to give up and I am scared out of my mind."

Finally able to understand why he had been so quiet and funny she moved closer to him on the couch and cuddled into him, "I had a feeling she would be sticking around, I really didn't think she would just disappear again."

"What am I going to do Steph? I can't lose you and I can't lose Lucy."

Looking at him with a raised eyebrow she wondered where the anxiety was coming from, "for one you're not losing me, why would you think that you would? Secondly, you won't lose Lucy, no Judge in the land would give her custody."

Wearily rubbing his face he was still anxious, "why would you want to stick around with my crazy ex-girlfriend and the woman who gave birth to our daughter hanging around? As wonderful as that sounds that no Judge would give her custody the problem is that I don't have the money to hire an attorney to go to court to fight for me."

"Why would I want to run away? I'm not going to let some crazy woman drive me away from my soul mate, I'm in this for the long haul. You may not be able to afford an attorney but I can and before you say anything about it this wouldn't be for you necessarily, it would be for Lucy. I would not be able to sleep at night if I didn't do everything in my power to keep that little girl in your custody because Sarah has run away once leaving her alone so who is to say the next time things got hard she wouldn't do the same? Only this time if she did that with Lucy starting to get mobile and walk the outcome could be far worse."

Turning to face his girlfriend and seeing the sincerity in her eyes it made him feel a little better, "well I would hate to lose you so I'm glad you wouldn't let her get between us. I don't know what to do with Sarah though, I want to do the best thing for Lucy and I really don't think a court case is it."

Biting down on her lip nervously she had an idea but she wasn't sure if he would like it or not, "what do you ultimately want to happen with Sarah?"

"Well as much as I would like her out of my life forever she is Lucy's birth Mother so I can't really stop her from seeing Lucy if that is what she really wants but I would need it to be on my terms and supervised by me as I do not trust her."

Nodding her head in understanding she thought her idea was the best they were likely to come up with, "well if you want things on your terms then make it on your terms."

Looking at his girlfriend like she had lost her mind he shook his head, "are you crazy? How do you propose I do this?"

"Easy. Text Sarah and tell her to meet you somewhere at the weekend and you can talk with her face to face and rationally about what she actually wants and you can put in place a plan that you are happy with. You can specify the time, location and frequency of her visits and if she genuinely wants to be in Lucy's life then she will agree to your terms. If you hold all of the power you can control things and if it's not working or she doesn't turn up or whatever you can tell her no and she'll have to go through Court and you'll be able to tell them what you tried doing for her and how she failed to keep her end of the agreement."

Leaning forward he pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "I love you, you are amazing and a genius."

Chuckling softly she blushed, "I love you too."

"So where do you propose I meet Sarah?"

Shrugging her shoulders that wasn't up to her, "well that's up to you, pick somewhere you are comfortable with and if she doesn't like it she knows what she can do."

Paul didn't want to pick his parents and he didn't want to do it in public so that only left one option, "could I invite her here please? I don't want to get my parents involved if I can help it nor do I want to do this in public."

"Sure. I'll just take Alex out for the day and you can have the house to yourself."

Shaking his head he didn't want that either, "I'd prefer it if you were here with me but the kids weren't. I don't trust Sarah and I'd like a witness but I also don't want her to get near Lucy until I've established exactly what she wants."

She could understand where he was coming from and agreed with it but the one thing Stephanie wondered was who they got to look after the kids, her parents or his? Sighing softly she thought about it silently for a moment, "why don't you text both sets of Grandparents and see if either or both want to watch the kids for the day? I have no problem staying here with you and the kids not being here as I think that's a smart idea but I don't want to offer to one side and not the other."

Laughing softly he playfully rolled his eyes at her, "you don't want to pick favourite huh? That's fair enough I guess."

Grabbing his phone he sent a quick text to both his Mom and Linda before he opened a new text to send one to Sarah, "this is the right thing to do isn't it Steph?"

Shrugging her shoulders she wished she could answer that but nobody really knew what the right thing to do was, "I honestly can't say for certain but I do I think this is the best thing for you and for Lucy. It's the best thing in my opinion because you are in control and you don't have to worry about her turning up at your parents and lying to them again."

That was kind of what he needed to hear so he started to tap out a text:

Sarah it's Paul. If you are serious about Lucy then meet me at 11am on Saturday at 133 Ladbrokes Way.

Showing it to Stephanie he watched as she read it before she nodded her head, "that's good. You are putting the ball back in her court and it's up to her to decide if she really wants this or not."

Sighing he almost reluctantly pressed 'Send' before he placed his phone back on the coffee table, he just had to remember that he was doing this for Lucy and it would all be okay, "so am I out of the dog house now?"

Laughing softly she nodded her head, "yes you are, now you've told me what's going on you are most certainly out of the dog house. Shall we get some dinner now?"

"I guess, I mean I don't want you wasting away on me or anything."

Rolling her eyes she smacked his arm gently before she stood up and pulled on his hand, "come on or you'll be back in the dog house."

Standing up he removed his hand from hers and slipped both arms around here waist pulling her back against his chest, "I love you."

Burying his face in her neck he inhaled her scent before he kissed her neck softly, as much as she had reassured him about it all he was still afraid of losing her.

Leaning back against his chest she placed her hands over his and rested her head back on his shoulder, "I love you too. We'll be okay because we have each other and neither of us is leaving."

Surprised that she could read his mind he blushed a little but stayed exactly where he was with her in his arms, "not yet you're not anyway."

Turning her head to the side she moved her one hand to the side of his face, "not ever am I leaving. Let's go and get dinner though and then we'll have an early night and cuddle in bed."

Reluctantly he loosened his grip on her waist, "I can agree to that."

Smiling softly she took his hand in hers and led him to the kitchen.