Hi, so here is the next chapter and I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and stay tuned for the next one. Again nothing is really too episode sporadic so please keep that in mind though technically we are at Season 3 now.

Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine.

Please Read and Review.

And again I don't write accents but please keep in mind that this is set in Liverpool so that accent is the main one.

And Enjoy.

Chapter 4-Apron Strings

Isla wants girl time and Martina is roped into the conversation making Joey realise that his daughter and the DHSS Lady are…friends of some sort creating shockwaves within the family. Joey gives his parents a good talking to over their screaming matches, Mongy loses his balls and Julie leaves Billy.

The sad reality was that it had started out as a rather good day. School was finished early for the Easter holidays, Grandma had made runny eggs with the good white bread for toasting and Uncle Billy had only had one breakdown this morning. Julie who seemed to like Isla ('Tolerate Billy, I tolerate little Isla because she's not as tiring as the rest of you') had taken to not stopping her from popping in to see Francesca at all hours and seemed to even like the idea of Isla watching the baby though she simply refused to pay.

So all in all it was shaping up to be a good day.

And then as Uncle Jack was often prone to saying, "It all went to shit in a shit basket"

(Insert Nan's sign of the cross and Dad's "Jack, Isla" comment)

Isla was not sure exactly what that meant but she knew that it wasn't anything good.

Mongy was ill. Actually Mongy was a lot more than ill. Mongy had to be cast…cast…well something that made every man in the family pull a face. Isla had no idea what it meant only that it had to involve something to do with puppies and that her hopes for one from Mongy were not very high after this afternoon.

And then it got steadily worse.

Because the rows started up again.

It wasn't that she hadn't sat through them before because she knew she had. She had been a three year old when Grandad Freddie had left and she remembered arguments that seemed to shake the whole house and sent her scurrying to her Dad's bed for safety in the middle of the night.

She remembered it.

She just hated it.

It was something that Uncle Adrian said this time. She was unsure what but it seemed to follow the train of thought that it was not the nicest thing to do to disappear out of your families life with a tart and then come back three years later and ruin the normality that they had managed to achieve in your absence.

Although Isla was unsure if her grandfather understood that.

She was on Grandma's side in this.

Whatever this was.

But then the screaming started. She was used to it from her Nan but when he started shouting his eyes wide and his face roving like some mad man she felt honestly scared.

And she really was not in the mood right now.

"Can I go?" she asked her Dad into the silence. He jumped a little looking at her and nodded.

She ran to get her bag and her pocket change and thought about it as her Nan started again.

She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down.

Gone to the DHSS.

Isla.

Well she said snapping back the cap on the felt pen as someone (Uncle Billy no doubt) dared to mention Lilo-Lil, at least nobody could blame her for not letting them know where she was going.

Martina was having a good day. She had seen through six attempts at scamming the system, had doused one with such a legal hosepipe he had glared unable to speak at her for ten minutes and had decided to treat herself to a bar of chocolate which she was now currently enjoying on her break. More importantly today was one of those happy days when she had two hours to closing time (early finish for Easter) and there was not a Boswell in sight.

That changed rather rapidly though.

She should have known.

Fortunately it was Isla. Martina couldn't even call her the baby one anymore because anyone who had seen the Boswell trio (that was Billy, Adrian and Jack) couldn't call this girl a baby. Instead Isla clutching two paper cups with her black purse slung over her shoulder promptly sat down as if it was the easiest thing in the world and then passed her one. Martina took it and sniffed. Even though it smelt like hot chocolate with the Boswell's and especially one with a twinkle in the eye such as Joey Boswell, it was always best to make sure.

"What happened now?" she asked taking the cup and pretending that she wasn't touched. Honestly this child was very strange.

And considering her father that was saying something.

"Nothing…well…me Nan and me Grandad are screaming at each other so I left. Aveline's ran away, Julie's left our Billy despite the fact that I was a really good babysitter and I left Dad a note to tell him I was coming here which is helpful because he was coming here anyway"

Martina took a second to pick apart that long winded sentence.

"I see…why is His Majesty visiting me?"

Isla's face creased into a frown for a second and then she got the joke.

"Oh…Mongy's got to loose his balls"

It was only the fact that she had worked in this office for eight years and had handlings with the Boswell's for nearly six of them that kept Martina from spitting out her hot chocolate. Because of all the things she would expect Joey Boswell to come claiming for, a dickless dog was not one of them.

Oddly enough it made her laugh.

"So the guard dog's not got balls anymore?"

"No" Isla said pouting. "And I wanted a puppy to boot. Dad says we don't need one, we have Uncle Billy after all and as Uncle Jack says it took long enough to get him to understand that you don't pee on the carpet but I was looking forwards to wearing them down." She sighed sounding so utterly woebegone that you'd have thought the end times were coming.

"He has a point" Martina said though agreeing about Billy. "So that's what's bothering you then? A lack of baby fido?"

Isla twirled her fingers around and then shrugged.

"I don't like it when they scream at each other" she said finally. "But they can't help themselves. He just keeps coming and going and expects Nan to put up with it and she doesn't want him at all and yet everyone else does"

"Do you?"

"Not really. Life was easier before I was woken up every morning by Nellie and Freddie Part Two—that's what Uncle Adrian calls it anyhow—"

"Isla"

Oh goodie. Joey Boswell had arrived.

Clearly he had read his daughter's note as it was crushed up in his hand but his eyes were flying between Isla and Martina and he was breathing heavily as if he'd ran all the way up the stairs. Considering the stairs outside of the DHSS were not for the fainthearted Martina could sympathises somewhat. Also she had to stop and take in the moment—Joey Boswell anything less than oozing cool was quite possible rather…well…heartbreaking. It was like seeing vulnerability under the cockiness and despite all that he said about family Martina was willing to bet that to keep his little girl safe he would throw them all into the Mersey River.

"Hey Dad"

Joey Boswell mouthed the words his eyes meeting Martina's who rolled her own.

"Oh sit down Mr Boswell you look like your going to collapse"

Joey Boswell did so grabbing a just vacated chair and shooting the next person in the que such a look that they sat back down and didn't complain something that happened so rarely that Martina could count the events on one hand.

"I left you a note. And I said I was going out."

"Not to the DHSS" Joey Boswell said his leather rustling indignantly.

Isla opened her mouth probably to comment that it was not the first time when Martina cut in front of her.

"Isla tells me the dog's got to be castrated. Come here for a claim for a private kennel have you?"

Joey Boswell blinked and Martina enjoyed the delicious sight of Joey Boswell caught on the raw when suddenly the worried look of a father left him and he ruined the moment by becoming once again the same irritating, good looking, arrogant mess he had always been.

"Yes, a guard dog is a necessary attachment in this post-austerity cutting world where all the run down burglars—"

"Oh spare me the song Mr Boswell" Martina said. She was too amused to respond to it and dare she say it to human today. There was something about the way he was still shooting looks at his daughter that made her appreciate that it was still a scary world out there to have a child.

Not that she would know.

She slapped the white piece of paper down in front of him and launched herself straight into song number two before her judgement got the better of her.

"Fill that in"

"So err…how do you two know each other?" he asked shooting them both rather nervous looks. Martina couldn't blame him, the amount he and his family conned out of this place was legendary and she bet if she pressed the daughter who too had inherited the loose gob that all the Boswell's seemed to have would sing like a songbird in a coal mine.

"Martina's my friend Dad" Isla said simply as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

For a moment the two adults were silent.

"Ah" was all Joey Boswell said. It looked like he too did not know how to respond.

"Well" he said finally. "We should be going."

Isla hopped down from the chair but Martina cut across.

"Mr Boswell?"

"Sweetheart?"

Oh good they were back to the annoying nicknames. Glad to see he was back to normal.

She jerked her head and he took Isla's seat. Isla was some distance away but Martina was sure she couldn't overhear.

"She's better than most of you lot put together. Bring her next time. Her sarcasm might put me in a good mood. And she is…for one of your lot a really sweet kid. You did well"

For a moment Joey Boswell looked so stunned she wanted to laugh.

"Thanks" he said sincerely. "She is too. When she's not giving me heart attacks. I've gone to the DHSS Dad. Really!"

"Also…you might want to have a word with your Mam and Dad"

He looked at her suspiciously. She couldn't blame him really. His daughter could have said Well…anything…

"Why?"

"Because she's six Mr Boswell not sixteen. And the shouting's getting to her"

Joey Boswell's expression became quite menacing.

"She said that?"

"She says lots of things. I don't repeat them to anyone but you. But you never know who might. She's scared of them sometimes though you and I know she'd rather die than admit it"

The menacing expression fell of the face and Martina found that she was looking at Joey Boswell the father again who she liked far better than Joey Boswell the eternal irritant.

He reached out and caught her hand and she raised an eyebrow. To his credit he didn't drop it.

"Thanks" he said softly and then he was gone taking his daughter with him and Martina allowed herself two minutes extra of her break to go and get herself another cup of Earl Grey and to compare in silence the reality of knowing you shouldn't be with a man and the dream where you wished that you could.

"Friends with the DHSS Lady!"

"Jack you've been saying that for half an hour doesn't make it any less true"

"But Joey—the woman's a dragon, a vampire! A soulless monster that feeds of the downtrodden"

"Her name is Martina and she's my friend" Isla said simply spearing another sausage on a fork.

Mongy was in for his operation. The pork had been put back in the fridge and the sausage was being used instead. Neither Jack nor Billy had commented on the fact that sausage was pig and Joey wasn't going to either. Right now all of his family (minus his Dad and his sister who were missing) were obsessed with this latest piece of gossip.

"Martina!"

"Jack"

Christ his brother could get shrill when he wanted to.

Isla chewed her sausage with all the peace in the world.

"I have to admit she's a bit…scary" that was Adrian. "But It's nice your making friends I suppose"

Everyone looked at him but Isla.

"Well it is, besides at least we know who this one is. It's not some boy who likes to shove bricks through windows or sell cocain...I mean 'Bad Stuff' on street corners"

"I actually know people at school who do that" Isla said nodding and Joey shelved that conversation for another day.

"Doesn't anyone care about my problem!"

Billy again.

"No Billy."

"How did you even get their?" Adrian asked. "You didn't hitchhike did you? Because I saw a report on missing children and the numbers are staggering. Society is hanging by a thread! Hanging by a thread!"

"No I just took the bus"

The exploding row was enough for Isla to drop her sausage that she was gnawing as if she was Mongy's female reincarnation onto her plate.

"The Bus!" he said feeling the cold dread that came when you realised that anything, anything could have happened.

God this must be his punishment for being a terrible teenager.

And he had actually been one of the better ones.

"The bus?" Jack said looking down at his niece. "Aren't they dirty?"

"Dirty?" Adrian chimed in. "They make the puddles look clean. Everyone knows that. And they don't bother to check if someone's passed out on them"

"Yes they do" Isla said.

"I don't like the idea of you on the bus, Isla" his Mam said gripping her tea. "Get a taxi like the rest of us. Much cleaner. Otherwise you'll get lice"

Isla opened her mouth caught his expression and then shut it again.

"Sorry Dad"

"Yeah well, ask next time you want to go and see someone" he said trying to remember how his heart worked again. "And don't leave notes. Nearly gave us a heart attack"

Actually he was still not sure he was over that little escapade. God help him when she was a teenager.

"You're going to encourage this?" Jack asked just as Billy started with "I HAVE A BABY TO THINK ABOUT DON'T YOU KNOW!"

Isla speared her sausage again and ate with gusto.

Joey despaired he really did.

Later that night once he was sure his daughter was in bed (and if he checked the window twice then she was asleep wasn't she?) he made his way downstairs. Money had to be earned and he did his best when he was working the nights. His Mam was already there in her dressing gown with a very tired and battered Mongy with his head in her lap playing no doubt to his audience.

The dog was smarter than the rest of them put together. He knew when he had a soft touch within his grasp and his Mam was the softest of them all.

Except when it came to his Dad.

"Well that was an eventful day wasn't it?" his Mam said running her hand through the dog's fur. "She's going to be trouble when she get's older Joey mark my words."

He sat down.

"Mam"

"Yes love?"

"You need to stop the rowing with Dad. I don't mean become best friends again but you need to stop it in front of Isla. She's scared of it. This morning when he was off on one with our Adrian…it's why she ran off. This time she left a note but the next time…I can't have it for her."

It didn't bare even thinking about. It made his stomach churn just thinking about it. That girl was the best, the best thing he had ever done and the most precious thing in his life and the thought of her in trouble…

"I know love" his Mam said quietly. "She doesn't deserve to see it but…but he gets to me sometimes. But your right. She's a baby still though she pretends she's not. When he next shows himself I'll have a word. We can book in our screaming matches when she's in school"

She laughed a bit at the joke and he said his goodbyes running into Julie looking tired and sheepish in the hallway. She was back for Billy. She was always back for Billy in the same way he recognised now that Roxy would not be back for him and he patted her on the arm as he passed.

It wasn't until he was in the JAG that he realised that his Mam's smile had not met her eyes, that she was looking older and more tired than he had realised and he felt a great wave of remorse for the sadness and inconvenience that she had been going through the second he had opened the door and told his Dad he could come in for his tea.

And there you go, I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter and therefore I hope you enjoy reading it.

Next Chapter-Aveline is mugged, there is a Proddy Christening, Joey sees Edgar and has some sharp words for his Dad.