It had been just over a few days since Kyle and Brax had made up and there was something about the family that was stronger than before. Ricky helped Brax work through things and he'd even gone to speak to the River Boys about why they treated him differently since having a kid. They all noticed a huge difference since then, even seeing a lot more of the old Brax back, a side they hadn't seen for a very long time.
Braxton House
"Have you missed us?" Heath grins as he walks through the door, sensing the huge change in atmosphere. "Right, what have I missed?"
"Rocco would be a good answer but I'm guessing you're not meaning that?" Lucas grins, handing his nephew over to Bianca, who was eager to see her son.
"Nah I meant all this. The family was in a crisis when we left, now those two are sitting next to each other." Heath says, pointing to Brax and Kyle at the table before pointing at Emily, who was sitting on the couch cuddling Henry. "And she's here holding Henry."
"She?" Emily raises an eyebrow. "I guess I've still got a few people to win over." She lightly jokes.
"Everything's fine here, don't panic." Brax says. "Although we're glad we can rely on you when this family is at breaking point, you really did great bringing us back together."
"Alright smart arse." Heath glares. "I wasn't missing my mini honeymoon with my new wife just to sort your problems out."
"It wasn't even a honeymoon, you're just calling it that and I didn't need my problems sorting out. It's just nice to see these boys will have a big brother around that will be there for them if I wasn't here anymore." Brax says. "Tyler's really done great these past couple days making sure his little brothers were okay."
"I told you we shouldn't have gone." Bianca scowls at her husband.
"Don't worry Bianca, no hard feelings cause I know you wouldn't have been able to change his mind. Plus you married him so that means you can put up with him now." Brax says, his brothers laughing at Heath's face.
"We've been back barely five minutes and I already hate this new attitude of yours." Heath glares. "It's like when you were a kid and didn't care about anyone but yourself."
"If that's true then how come I brought you two idiots up when no one else could be bothered?" Brax asks.
"I like it, it's quite funny." Bianca smiles, feeling like they were back when she just started dating Heath, apart from there was less tension between the eldest brothers.
"Get used to it bro, things are different around here now." Casey says to Heath.
"Yeah, thanks for telling the River Boys that you were their new leader, but to not tell me, I really appreciate it." Brax glares.
"I never said it like that, I just meant you'd want to spend more time with Ricky and your kid." Heath says.
"That's not what they said, but don't worry, I've corrected them and you're no longer someone they'll go to when they need something, I will be." Brax says. "And as for Emily being here, she's moved into Kyle's room with him. If you don't like it, deal with it yourself."
"Seriously, have I done something to annoy you?" Heath moans.
"You didn't stick around for a couple hours longer so we could sort this as a family. You didn't have any flights to catch, or even a deadline for getting your cabin, so there was nothing stopping you. And the boys told us Bianca didn't have much choice in the matter, so this is between just you and me." Brax says.
"Well I bet they didn't tell you that I was on your side over the matter!" Heath glares as he folds his arms. "I don't see what difference it would have made if I was there or not. You two are the ones that nearly ruined my wedding day with your stupid arguments, so don't even dare put this on me!"
"How about we all agree to stop talking about it and move on?" Ricky suggests, not wanting there to be more fights.
"Sure, I can agree with that." Bianca nods. "We had a perfect wedding and nothing would have ruined it. It wouldn't have even been a Braxton wedding without a little drama, would it?" She smiles.
"Exactly, your drama was Brax and Kyle getting into a fight, and our drama was the venue cancelling days before the wedding." Ricky smiles.
"We've all agreed to that already, it's just Heath that seems to be the next one that wants to pick a fight." Casey says, grinning at Heath.
"Fine, I'll agree to it but I want to be filled in on everything I've missed." Heath huffs.
"Well how about us girls go in the flat for a catch up?" Ricky suggests, them all nodding before making their way into the flat.
Braxton House
"So you basically got straight back together with Emily, and have been hiding it with us for a whole year?" Heath frowns, having thought it was only a few weeks.
"Yes, and I don't need you having a go either. We're all past it, and Emily has proven more than anything that she loves me and we're not breaking up just because no one else likes us together." Kyle says.
"So where's she working?" Heath asks.
"She's a fully qualified victim support officer." Kyle smiles. "She hadn't quit the course and completed it all with great marks. She's based between the police station and the hospital depending on where she's needed."
"When did that happen then?"
"Uh, she qualified about two months ago, a lot sooner than anyone was expecting. But she's great at her job and has already got an attacker put in prison after helping the victim."
"Well what about you two? You were fighting the last time I saw you both near each other." Heath says to Brax and Kyle.
"We were locked in the flat and forced to talk to each other. We spoke about a lot and we've agreed to keep it between us." Brax says as Kyle didn't want to be embarrassed in front of the others, and he was happy keeping it between them. "We're fine now and we realise that we were probably being stupid about some of the things we were fighting about."
"But things were tense when the River Boys were brought up." Kyle says, staring at Heath.
"For the last time, I had good intentions. It's been sorted now so what's the problem?" Heath groans.
"You think you can undermine me when you were in the same position." Brax says. "How are we any different? We're both married and both have a son but apparently that makes me incapable of being part of the River Boys anymore. You might have had good intentions, but you should have spoken to me about it instead of going behind my back and telling them to lie to me as well."
"Yes, I know! It won't happen again." Heath mutters. "I don't know why I've got to believe that there's not going to be any arguments in this family again, our family ain't like that."
"Well we can hope can't we?" Kyle asks. "We're all adults now so can't we just stop arguing over stupid stuff?"
"Yeah, alright. Anyway, how about we have a family barbie tonight?" Heath suggests.
"Now that is something I will fully agree on." Tyler says, smirking at his brother's faces. "It's been a while since we had a proper family barbie."
"Yes, let's do it." Lucas grins. "I think it will be a really special one now we're all back together and doing great in life now. And it will be the first one with Henry." He says, glancing at Brax who smiles.
"It's not going to be the last one for a while either. We should get back into having them more often." Heath says.
"We will. It seems to be the only time we all get as a family." Lucas says.
"Yeah, we're all busy with work or other things that get in the way of having one. It would be nice having them again, especially now we're all in great places in life." Kyle says, feeling like their lives were finally settling down and they could focus on family for once rather than anything else.
"Right, well I'll go and tell the girls the plan as I'm guessing we're going to need supplies?" Heath says, them all nodding before he walks to the flat.
"We'll get the beers." Tyler says, glancing at his triplets.
"Why do I have to go on the booze run when I'm not allowed to drink?" Kyle moans.
"Fine, then me and Lucas will go." Tyler says as they both stand up to walk out.
"They said we've got to get everything so they can have girls time." Heath huffs as he walks back in.
"Alright, you two with me." Brax says, looking at Kyle and Blake.
"What about us?" Casey asks.
"You can clean the barbie and get the garden ready." Brax smirks before leaving with Kyle and Blake.