Complications We Didn't See Coming

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Authors Note: I do NOT own Home and Away. All credit goes to the writers.

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Chapter Thirty Six: Family

"And this is your home little man. You'll live here with your mother, sisters and me" Brax told Mason as he carried the sleeping baby into the house.

Ruby giggled. "Dad, he's sleeping"

Brax looked down at his daughter, it could be seen in her expression that she thought he was being a little delusional. "I'm just telling him about our house"

"But he's sleeping" Ruby repeated.

Charlie bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing at her daughter's words. "Go put Mason down in his cot, Brax. Then we should eat lunch together before he wakes up for a feed"

"Oh" Ruby exclaimed looking at her mother. "Can I feed him?"

Charlie nodded her head. "Sure sweetie, I'll teach you when he wakes us" During the stay in hospital it became clear that she wasn't going to be able to breast feed like they had originally planned. Not only did Mason not want to latch on properly, she wasn't producing enough milk to give him a good solid feed, so they'd made the decision to formula feed instead which seemed to please Ruby and Brax as they would be able to help out.

Nicole walked into the house with a casserole dish. "Mum, Marilyn gave me this. She said she would come visit in a few days once things were settled" Nicole repeated the words she'd heard from Marilyn moments ago.

"We'll have this for lunch" Charlie took the dish from her daughter only to hear a cry come from Mason's nursery. "Will you put this in the fridge sweetie, I think your brother needs to be fed first" She gave the dish back to Nicole. "Ruby, why don't you tell your dad to bring Mason out here while I get the bottle ready then you can feed him"

"Okay mum!" Ruby took off down the hallway while her mother walked towards the kitchen.

Nicole stood by the front door, she looked down at the casserole dish and then at the places where her mother and Ruby had stood moments ago. "I'll heat lunch" Nicole murmured to herself as she went to put the dish in the microwave, knowing that was easier to operate then the oven.

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Ruby played with Mason's fingers with one hand, the other hand holding his bottle as he sucked greedily from it. "You're a little piggy, just like dad"

Brax snorted as he listened to what Ruby was telling Mason. "Says the biggest piggy of us all"

Ruby poked her tongue out at her dad. "I'm not a piggy, I just have a big appetite, Nana says so"

"Your Nana is just being polite" Brax smiled as he took the plate Nicole was handing to him. "Thank-you honey. Don't heat your mum any, she looks like she's out for the count" He gestured to Charlie who was fast asleep on the arm chair by Ruby. "She is exhausted"

"Mason is very hungry" Ruby observed as she watched him suck away, his eyes open one moment then closed the next. "He has really soft hands. Do you think my hands were this soft when I was a baby dad?"

Brax nodded as he swallowed his mouthful. "All baby's have soft skin Rubes. It's from being in the womb for so long"

"Do you think that he could hear our voices from in mum's tummy and he knows our voices now?"

Brax smiled. "I would like to think so"

Ruby looked down at the little baby. "He's finished dad"

"Alright, how about I burp him for you?"

Ruby nodded. "You can do that. But he needs a bum change. He's stinky" Ruby wiggled her nose.

Brax laughed at his daughter's expression. "Baby's do poop, Ruby"

"A lot" Ruby agreed. "Did you see how many he did yesterday in the hospital? It was crazy" Ruby shook her head.

"Want to help me change it?" Brax asked as he burped Mason.

Ruby shook head. "No thanks. I'm going outside to play basketball"

"Okay but don't leave the backyard" Brax warned his daughter as he looked at Nicole who was sitting at the kitchen table eating. "How about you kiddo, do you want to help me?"

Nicole looked away from her book. "No thanks" She turned back to her book, placing another fork full of food in her mouth.

Brax rolled his eyes and looked down at the drowsy baby his arms. "Looks like it's just us mate. The boys"

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"Alright mate. Let's see what we have here" Brax laid Mason down on the change table and quickly took off the little baby boys shorts. "Hopefully a nice easy one for daddy. Save all the nasty ones for mummy, huh, sounds like a deal"

Mason laid on the change table, his fist in his mouth and eyes closed. He looked so peaceful that Brax didn't want to disturb him but he knew he had to. His little boy certainly didn't want to sit around in poop all day.

Undoing the tabs of the nappy, Brax immediately gagged. "Oh my god!" Brax moaned as he pulled the nappy back to reveal what was one very disgusting surprise. "Geez mate, this is disgusting. You've only been drinking milk, how does that make something like this" He shook his head. "Toxic. Toxic" He gagged.

Charlie stood in the doorway watching silently as to not alert Brax of her presence, she couldn't help but bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at Brax as he reached for the wipes. She knew that was his first mistake as he didn't keep Mason covered which only made her body shake with laughter as the newborn started to pee.

"Ahhh! Mason, mate, what are you doing?" Brax hurried to try and cover his son up while trying to keep out of the way of the stream of pee.

Charlie couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Brax trying rather hard to change their son's nappy and not get peed on. "You alright there?" She asked.

Brax glanced over his shoulder. "A little help?!"

"Mummy to the rescue" Charlie shook her head and crossed the floor of the nursery, covering Mason back up before she reached for the wipes. "Always keep him covered, Brax"

Brax shook his head as he pulled his wet t-shirt over his head. "I didn't think he was going to do that"

"Always expect the unexpected"

Brax raised his eyebrow at her. "How are you not dying from the smell?"

Charlie laughed. "It's not that bad"

"Not that bad?" Brax's jaw dropped. "It's like a nuclear bomb went off in that nappy. It's an explosion" He turned back to face his son and fiancé once he was sure the nappy was placed in a plastic bag and away from his view. "Next time I attempt to tackle one of those I am going to need a gas mask and wet suit"

Charlie laughed. "You're being ridiculous"

"I am not"

Charlie placed Mason down in his cot, pulling a light blanket over him. "Sleep tight little man" She grabbed the bag with the dirty nappy in it and waved it in Brax's direction which only caused him to flee the room at top speed. "Oh your father amuses me" Charlie giggled as she closed the nursery door behind her.

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"I'm a little worried about her Brax; she hasn't held Mason all day. She's barely talked. I thought thing seemed alright in the hospital, maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me" Charlie spoke as she cuddled further into Brax. "What are we going to do?"

Brax rubbed Charlie's arm. "I'm sure she'll come round Charlie, we only brought him home today it might take some time for her to adjust"

Charlie sighed. "I thought we would have had the papers from Roman by now. I thought we would have started the adoption process. Even though we love her as much as Ruby and Mason, I thought that if we had at least started the process that she would feel like her spot was secured in the family"

Brax was angry, he was angry at Roman for not keeping to his word. If he'd done as he promised then Nicole wouldn't have any reason to feel as though she wasn't as important to them. "You have to call him again"

"I've been calling him every day. He's not answering. He's ignoring me, I know he is but I don't know why"

"Maybe he's changed his mind" Brax whispered, he hoped it wasn't the case but it was the only reasonable explanation he could come up with.

Charlie exhaled. "I hope he hasn't" She moved her head from Brax's chest. "How are we going to get her to bond with Mason? He's her little brother"

"We just have to encourage her to spend time with him; they will form a bond just like Ruby and Mason are" Brax kissed Charlie's forehead. "We'll figure something out"

Charlie moved first when she heard the cry from over the baby monitor, she knew Mason couldn't want to be feed again, she had just put him down fifteen minutes ago after feeding and changing his nappy. "He probably just wants a cuddle"

"I'll go" Brax moved to get out of bed when he froze at the sound of the voice coming over the baby monitor, he immediately looked over at Charlie who had stopped moving at the sound as well.

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"Mason" Nicole whispered, placing her right hand on his belly rubbing in a circle motion as she used the other hand to place his dummy back into his hand. "You're okay. It's sleep time now" She smiled as he opened his eyes, blinking as he looked in her direction. "I got you something, I went shopping with dad a little while ago" She lifted the baby blue blanket from the rocking chair where she had placed it when she had entered the room.

Mason whined at the loss of contact of Nicole's hand on his stomach.

"Shh" Nicole whispered as she laid the blanket over his small belly before placing her hand back on him. "When I go visit my Grandma and Grandad next I am going to ask my Grandma to teach me how to stitch, she is always knitting and when I come home I will be able to put your name on the blanket" She told him while rubbing his belly, she could see his eyelids starting to droop. "You have the best mum and dad, Mason; they are going to take care of you. Ruby is going to be a really cool big sister. She's a little crazy though" Nicole giggled a little. "Lucky you can't tell her I said that"

Mason was almost asleep again, the soothing motions of Nicole's had rubbing his belly had calmed him down.

"I'm here too" Nicole whispered really quietly. "You're not my blood brother but I love you like that and I'll always be here for you" Nicole promised, she smiled when she saw him sleeping. "Good boy, sleep tight. I love you, Mase" She lifted her hand from his stomach and crept out of the room quietly.

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Charlie sat on the best, tears running down her cheeks as she stared at the baby monitor. She had been worried about Nicole not bonding with the baby but it all seemed ridiculous now. It was clear the blonde loved her new baby brother and was waiting for so time alone with him to tell him so.

"You've raised one amazing kid, babe" Brax kissed Charlie's head.

"She really is amazing" Charlie breathed. "She's ours. All three of them are ours"

Brax nodded. "They are. They are ours and they're amazing"

^..^

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