Hi all, so recently during lockdown I fell back in love with Bread and the character of Joey and the character of Martina (and they really should have gotten together in the end) and this little story is an ode to them.

The creation of Isla is all my own and this story bar a couple of chapters does not have any set series pattern (though it will probably end before the introduction of Shifty), the character of Roxy does make an appearance and if you are one of those people who like her then you may wish to avoid this story.

Also I am not the best at accents so they won't be written in this story. I think it's obvious where this story is set and the accent so it should just read as they say on the show.

Disclaimer-Nothing but the character of Isla is mine.

Please Read and Review.

Glory Days

Bread Fanfiction AU-In which Joey Boswell is fighting the good fight. He's taking on the DHSS (and falling in love with one woman there) is taking on his crazy family and their connections and is raising his daughter alone who seems to be getting too cheeky for her own good. Not really episode or dialogue specific. AU Joey/Martina

Chapter 1-The Glass Ceiling.

In which Freddie Boswell is coming back home, Joey Boswell is taking on the DHSS (and the world) and Isla Boswell is scheming for chocolate and felt pens.

It started as a normal day in Kelsall Street. Well as normal as it could get because most of the residents seemed to be having a bad day. Except of course for one of it's youngest residents who was fast asleep under the covers of her bed until there was (for the third time as her grandmother would say) another knock on the door.

"Isla" that was Isla Boswell's Dad, Joey and Isla who had been on the cusp of being awake and then falling back asleep again forced herself to sit up and stare at the door as it opened.

"Dad it's still dark out"

Joey Boswell smiled at his six year old daughter who was looking thoughally indignant. Considering how Isla looked like that every morning she had to get up to go to school it wasn't anything new and yet it still melted him inside a little when he looked at her. It was hard sometimes to think that she was six. Sometimes when he was waxing poetic (as Adrian would put it—or when he was thinking about stuff that was a long way off—as Jack would put it) he would find it hard to believe that the little blonde haired bundle that was put into his arms on a cold day in November would turn out to be six years old—and a hell of a lot more like him than he wanted to admit.

"And you have school missus. Come on down to breakfast. Your Grandma's got toast waiting."

Isla shot him a look that was far too pouty for a six year old but she seemed to grasp that pulling a fast sickie was not going to work. Joey should try and control his daughter's sneaky ways but as he told his Mam whenever Isla ran circles around him which she'd been doing since she was born and he spent half his life running circles around the DHSS then there was nothing really that he could do.

Isla came down to breakfast about fifteen minutes later despite only telling Joey it was five minutes. His daughter had a unique ability to stretch five minutes into fifteen and still look like she'd just rolled out of bed. Even in her school uniform—of which Joey had to get three more days out of mind you, with her hair brushed and loose down her back—she still looked like she had been dragged through a hedge backwards.

"I hate mornings" she said plonking herself down with added extra force at the table between him and Jack and grabbing a piece of toast. "Why can't school start at lunchtime?"

"So you can all go home at three?" Adrian asked looking down at his niece from over the tops of his newspaper. "What's the point of that? You'd never get to do you're A-Levels that way"

"And what's the point of them?" Jack said. "Isla doesn't need A-Levels. We've already got a boring swot in the family Adrian we don't need another one. She's got street smarts"

"That's true" Isla nodded chewing on the edge of her toast. "Aint that right gran?"

Joey took a mouthful of coffee and waited for his Mam to start the inevitable lecture. His mother loved her granddaughter but Isla was the exact opposite of Aveline and his mother had only had that to go on. Isla slouching at the table her fingers smeared in butter and her hair half in the tea was not something she usually allowed at her table.

"Yes love" his Mam not looking up from her letter. His daughter turned to him with a smile. Isla was so utterly like him even in her looks (blonde hair and blue eyes) that it was hard for Joey to see anyone else in her other than him. However that was not the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth…

That was another story entirely.

Joey had been with Roxy when she had told him she was pregnant and it wasn't like he hadn't offered to do the decent thing (or that he was thinking about doing it before he found out she was expecting his child) but Roxy had been adamant that that was no real start for a baby.

"Two parents that get married because they love each other Joey. Not because one of their Mam's is at the confessional every day praying away the sins of a bastard grandchild"

In hindsight that should have been his first warning sign.

Roxy had not warmed to pregnancy. Actually she had not warmed to motherhood in general. She seemed to have thought that a baby would mean Joey would move out and distance himself from his family and was both confused and angry when it didn't work. When Isla had been born, Roxy had taken one look at the baby and passed her to Joey who so completely enamoured with his baby girl had failed to notice the lawyer asking him to sign for full custody and Roxy slipping away until he'd read the letter that emphatically told him under no circumstances was he to try and find her.

Since then he had been the sole parent.

His Mam had thankfully kept shut on the subject though Billy liked to whip it out upon occasion whenever he was having problems with Julie or whenever he was bored or whenever he was…well…Billy really. However they were family and whatever they thought of him and Roxy, of his decision they had banded together like Boswell's do and nobody had been able to say anything to Isla about her mother that would upset her.

(Even the neighbours thought her walking out on her kid was tough—not to mention Isla had been such a happy charming baby—when she wanted to be—that she'd managed to charm most of them into thinking she might be the Boswell that did good)

"Prayers" his Mam said putting down the letter.

"But mam!" that was Billy. "We've already started eating"

His mother shot him a look that made his youngest brother immediately fall silent. She seemed slightly more tighter wound than usual and Joey was about to ask what was wrong when she started the prayer.

And that was how they found out their Dad was coming back.

Isla was mostly silent on the way to school. Joey had taken to driving her in the JAG but Isla had wanted to walk on her own and that usually involved him going with her because he was not allowing his six year old to walk the street of Liverpool alone and Isla for reasons completely unknown to him had an issue being dropped off at her local comprehensive primary school in a JAG.

"Dad" Isla said as they got to the gates. "Is it going to be like before?."

Isla had been almost three when her grandad had walked out with Lilo Lil and had never bothered coming back but Joey supposed that certain events had never been blocked from her mind. Certainly he could remember the screaming rows and Isla cowering under her covers as her grandparents shouted so much it felt like the whole house shook. He could remember pulling the terrified three year old out of her bed before she wet it (and sometimes when she didn't) out of the bed and wrapping her up in his so she could get some sleep.

"No" he said though that was not entirely true. "Not like before sweetheart. They've…evolved. He's just coming for a visit not to stay"

Isla chewed on her fingernail.

"Is that better or worse?"

Joey shrugged. He was not sure what to make of it to be honest. There was a very good chance his Dad was back for good and almost the same amount of good chance that he was going to hang around until something else distracted him. It was hard for him to tell at his age never mind what a six year old thought of the entire thing.

"Doesn't matter sweetheart. It doesn't change anything for us."

"Doesn't it?"

"No. He's family. For better of for worse and what do we do with family?"

"We love them and protect them and stand by them no matter what"

"Exactly."

Isla paused. They were now at the gates and clearly she was thinking hard.

"Do I have to call him Grandad? Cause I've got one of them and it's just confusing"

Joey had to work hard to hide his laugher.

"No sweetheart. You can call him what you want. Call him Freddie if you want. I'll make sure he won't mind"

Isla beamed at him and Joey thought stupidly that he would do anything and everything humanly possible for that smile. God help him when she became a teenager.

"Thanks Dad"

She hugged him then straight around the waist and then ran off before he could impress upon her the many dangers of the world including boys. He watched for a second as she ran to join her friends her blonde hair already coming out of the two plaits his mother had in vain tried to do (Isla never wanted Aveline touching her hair and though he loved his baby sister sometimes Joey though that was another sign she was smarter than the rest of them) and he wondered again how Roxy could just walk away from this little human who had wormed her way into him so acutely that even walking away from her at school seemed utterly impossible.

But there were things to do, things he had to do. After all…the DHSS was not going to pay out on it's own, especially the clerk on the end who was making Joey's long dead heart beat a little bit faster these days.

And if he checked as he got out the JAG that his hair was just perfect…well…nobody was around to tell on him.

Martina had been waiting for him with relish. It was not often she felt that way about Joey Boswell but upon occasion when she had something that would make the smug (and utterly charming as one of the junior girls said with a silly soppy kind of smile etched on her face) smile off his face she found she was waiting with an almost teenager like glee.

In the darkness of her dingy, cold and sparsely decorated flat she found that she could admit to herself that the near daily sparring matches were amusing and easily the best part of her day. Considering where she worked however that was not hard and that usually brought her down with a severe bump.

But today was a good day because as she waited for the usual rustle of leather and the clanging of gold and the obnoxious greetings that came with the man himself.

And then suddenly he dropped back into the chair in front of her complete with that smug smile.

"Greetings"

"Good Morning, Mr Boswell."

"Good Morning sweetheart, now can we please discuss my younger brother Billy—"

"One moment please Mr Boswell. Before we tune into 'Billy the Mini-Series' I wonder if you've had time to consider the other request?"

Joey Boswell to be fair did a good job of hiding his confusion but Martina had been trained in the ways of Boswell and she knew that the surprise would manage to morph into cockiness as soon as she let it go.

"Other request sweetheart?"

"The one that I found enclosed in my inbox next to the quite frankly ridiculous request for your granddad's incontinence. This letter—" she said cutting off Mr Boswell's look of pretend indignation. "Was very nicely written so I'll read it out for you shall I?"

Not waiting for a response she carried on unfolding the sheet of paper and reading the carefully traced words that were scrawled in semi neat handwriting on the piece of paper that had been clearly torn out of a school notebook.

'Dear DHSS Lady.

My name is Isla. Isla Boswell—" here Joey Boswell gave a start as if he was shocked and Martina might just believe him if she didn't take everything that came out of this man's gob with a shovel full of salt.

"And I wish to put in a claim for new felt pens. As a growing girl I am expected to bring along my school supplies and to take part in actives that better improve my mind and due to the cuts to education and the general shitty belief that girl's cannot run the world—"

Here Joey Boswell laughed out loud and Martina had to bit down hard on her lip to stop herself from showing so much as a hint of amusement.

"—My school will no longer provide for them. Please can you make sure that my claim is sorted. Can you also put in fifty pence more so I can get a gold and a silver glitter ones as I believe that they best show off my style. Also Dad didn't know I was asking and can you please tell him my spelling is as perfect as it can be.

Cheers.

Isla Boswell"

Martina put down the letter. "I can inform you Mr Boswell" she said with a poker face that would have made a professional weep. "That she did indeed spell everything perfectly"

Joey Boswell looked as if it was taking every inch of him to stay on the chair and not fall off laughing. Martina was proud of the fact that her face did not so much as face a flicker of amusement.

"Well" he said with that genuine grin that made the stone she had built around her heart since she was sixteen crack a little.

"Can my daughter have her gold and silver felt pens?"

Martina snapped the form at him. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of telling him.

"Fill that in Mr Boswell" she said without so much as a hint of amusement. "And have your daughter draw me a picture"

Joey winked at her. Martina hated herself.

Damn him.

Dinner had gone surprisingly well…considering.

His Mam had kept a hold on her temper to the best of her ability. Adrian and Aveline, Jack and Billy had been all…normal and though Jack had, had to move downwards one place things had been like they used to be. His Dad when he had clapped eyes on Isla had widened them almost comically.

"Whose this?"

"Isla, Dad" Joey had said cutting through the irritation. Of course with his Dad you could never really tell if he was being genuine or not.

"This is Isla, Dad. You remember, my daughter" he left the 'Your granddaughter' unsaid and his Dad blinked.

"But she was just a baby"

"Yeah well I grew up" Isla said meeting his stunned gaze head on. Jack snorted into his wine.

"Well I guess you did" his Dad muttered. Perhaps it was Isla aging from the three year old he used to carry on his hip to the six year old sitting at the table eating with a knife and fork (and Joey noticed that she was eating properly this time unlike usual when she used to just down whatever was in front of her).

"If you want to make up for the three birthday's you missed then I take payment in chocolate" Isla said spooning more gravy onto his plate. This time it was his Mam's turn to choke into her wine but knowing his Mam she was more amused than annoyed. For all her moans about a bastard grandchild his mother would walk over hot nails towards a Proddy priest converting Catholics if it meant keeping her granddaughter safe from harm.

"Well then I suppose I'll have to get you some then"

"White" Isla said taking a gulp of milk. "White, Granddad Freddie. I don't do cheap chocolate. I take it seriously"

His father looked slightly frightened. Joey bit his tongue so hard he thought he'd taste blood. His Mam was wearing that smug look on her face that meant that weather or not it came from his father his daughter would be getting her white chocolate. Indeed he'd have to stop his brothers from getting it from her. All of them, even Billy was a sucker for Isla when she turned those big blue eyes on them.

Later though it would all go tits up when his father robbed them. But his Mam perhaps knowing—perhaps even understanding the desire to keep Isla safe from the danger of the world and even worse—the danger that came with family didn't say anything and Joey got to spend the evening watching his daughter colour in her colouring book with her new felt pens that did include a gold and silver glitter pen.

"So" he said bending down to his daughter. "Do you want to explain how your handwritten note managed to make it to the DHSS's desk?"

Isla slowly stopped colouring in the picture of the dolphin that was decorating her colouring book and turned to him her eyes wide and blue and looking so much like him that Joey thought that he had never hated Roxy more for leaving this utterly precious child on her own.

And then Isla grinned.

"Natural Talent Dad. Natural Talent"

And Joey leaned back on the couch and utterly startling Jack and Adrian suddenly, without warning started to laugh.

And there you go, I hope you enjoyed this opening chapter. I tend to do a double update around the holidays so this will hopefully be followed by the second chapter.

Next Chapter-Martina meets Isla Boswell and learns a bit more about Joey Boswell's past in the process. Billy meanwhile has some news. Some events/episodes changed around.