I hope you enjoy reading cute Ruby in this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing her! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. Eight chapters to go! Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Twenty Six

One Year Later...

Charlie forced her eyes open and attempted to will herself out of bed. She'd been told the night before that she had made Sergeant and was on the fast track to promotion after promotion. With her friends and colleagues so proud of her, they'd dragged her off for a drink. Joey had joined them and then they'd collected Ruby, who was supposedly doing her homework at home, and taken her and Xavier out to dinner to celebrate. Their little girl was thirteen years old now and growing up too fast. She was a happy, eloquent, beautiful young woman and neither Joey nor Charlie could feel prouder. And Charlie had very reluctantly stopped panicking about Xavier taking advantage of her daughter. He was a nice boy, far nice than either of the boys had attempted to ruin both hers and Joey's lives. And Ruby had assured them on countless occasions that she had no intention of doing anything more than kiss Xavier for a very, very, very long time. She'd pointed out that it was illegal until she was sixteen and that there was no way she felt ready. And besides, she'd added, she wasn't going to do it until she'd thought about it long and hard and run it by both her parents. That had been a relief and Charlie had just about managed to relax her rules about having Xavier round. After dinner, they had dropped Xavier home. Ruby had scampered up to bed and Charlie and Joey had finished the evening with a glass of wine each and a rather exhausting night of passion. Now, with the alarm continuing to beep at her at five minute intervals, Charlie was desperate to stay in bed and forget about the world. Unfortunately, she had a job to do and a quest to prove that the promotion she'd been given was justified. Plus, Ruby would be awake and expecting breakfast any minute now. Teenager or not, Charlie took pride in preparing breakfast for her daughter every morning. With their busy lives, sometimes it was too easy to lose track of each other. Breakfast meant family time and it was something Charlie refused to let go. She felt soft lips press themselves against her cheek. Smiling, she opened her eyes again and gazed lovingly at Joey.

"Time to get up, sleepy head," Joey said.

Charlie yawned, rolled over and pulled Joey into an embrace.

"You wore me out last night," she grinned.

Joey laughed and kissed her.

"Are you complaining?" she asked.

"Definitely not complaining!" Charlie assured her. "I just wish we could stay here like this instead of having to face the day."

Joey rested her body atop Charlie's, stroking some hair out of her face.

"Well, how about we go face the day, do the grown up thing with jobs and people and everything and then..."

"Then?" Charlie asked eagerly.

"Then we have an early night and I can wear you out over and over and over again."

Charlie kissed her, hugging her close.

"That sounds like the perfect plan," she said.

As Xavier and Ruby walked to school together that morning, Ruby was worried. Her boyfriend just didn't seem himself. She held his hand.

"What's up, Xave?" she asked worriedly.

He sighed and shrugged but Ruby was persistent. Whenever she was upset, it always helped to talk about it, especially with her parents and she wanted to offer the same listening ear to the boy she was falling in love with.

"It's just my Mum," he said. "I'm worried about her."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I found a letter," he explained. "You know, from my Dad?"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ruby asked.

She knew that her boyfriend struggled without his Dad around. His older brother, Hugo, provided very little stability for the family and his father had walked out on them years ago.

"It could be," he admitted. "But I can't help thinking that he's just going to hurt us all again. I mean, I barely remember him but what I'm far too aware of is the pain he caused."

Ruby nodded sympathetically.

"I don't want him coming back into our lives and messing Mum around again."

"Have you told your Mum that you found the letter?" Ruby asked.

Xavier shook his head.

"Maybe you should," she suggested. "I always feel better when I talk things through with Mum and My Joey."

Xavier smiled.

"Your relationship with them is different to mine with Mum's," he said. "I can't talk to her the same way you talk to them."

Ruby nodded and squeezed his hand, still thinking it might help.

"I guess you'd never have to worry about something like this," he said.

"I guess," Ruby said, not entirely sure she understood what he meant.

He smiled at the way she didn't question him.

"You've got a solid parental unit," he said. "You don't need to stress about your folks breaking up or anything."

Ruby smiled but tried not to gloat.

"I am pretty lucky," she said.

"Do you...?" he began.

She frowned when he trailed off.

"Do I...?" she coaxed.

"Do you ever miss your Dad?"

Ruby shook her head.

"You can't miss what you've never had," she said. "I don't need a Dad. I've got Mum and My Joey and that's more than enough for me."

Xavier smiled, finding her ever more endearing.

"But do you... do you ever wonder who he is or...?"

"Nope," Ruby said honestly. "Mum said once that he was a boy at school but... I figure if he was worth hearing about, she would have mentioned him already. But she doesn't talk about him so I haven't asked."

"And you don't care that he's not around?" Xavier asked. "You're not interested where you came from?"

"I came from Mum," Ruby said. "And My Joey's been in my life so long that I think I come from her too!"

She laughed a little self-consciously.

"This is going to sound really dumb but... sometimes... sometimes I wish My Joey was my Dad. Well, not my dad because, well, you know, she's a girl but... like my other biological parent somehow."

Xavier squeezed her hand gently.

"That doesn't sound dumb," he said. "It sounds nice."

Suddenly she grinned. She had an idea.

After dinner, Ruby scurried off to her room. Charlie and Joey exchanged puzzled glances. Ruby thundered back down the stairs and dumped a stack of paper in front of Joey.

"What's this?" Joey asked curiously.

"It's a step by step guide to the process of adoption," Ruby announced.

Joey looked a little unsure. Charlie grinned, liking where her daughter was going with this.

"I want you to adopt me," Ruby said, suddenly feeling a little shy.

"You want me to...?"

"If you want to," Ruby added. "And so long as Mum doesn't mind."

The teenager plonked herself into a chair and gazed expectantly at Joey.

"I was talking to Xavier today, you know... about parents and stuff. And... okay, it sounded dumb then and it sounds dumb now but I'm going to say it anyway. You're My Joey and I love you. And when I was a little kid, I used to wish that you were my Dad. Like... that you and Mum had made me together. And I know it's stupid and impossible but... you're My Joey and I love you. I said that already but... but... well, I looked it all up on the internet today and the social services page said that the partner of a mother or father could apply to adopt. And then... then you'd be my legal parent and not just my emotional one. And you'd have the same rights as Mum. And you deserve the same rights at Mum. Because you're My Joey and I... I love you."

Joey was speechless. She just stared between Ruby and Charlie.

"Would you... would you mind?" Joey asked her partner.

"Of course I wouldn't mind," Charlie said. "I think it's a lovely idea. And I just wish we'd have thought of it sooner."

Ruby beamed at both of them.

"So..." she said. "Will you adopt me, My Joey?"

"I would love to adopt you, Ruby," Joey said certainly. "I can't even describe how happy you've just made me."