Hi, so here is another chapter and I hope you all enjoy. As always I hope to keep posting the next chapter sooner than later.

As seen in this chapter for some I have a rather dim view of the character that is Freddie Boswell...he is played magnificently by Ronald Forfar who plays him with an incredible skill but this is really how I saw Joey dealing with him so...

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine but the character of Isla.

Please Read and Review.

And as always-these characters are speaking in Liverpool accents even if they are not written as such.

Glory Days

Chapter 5-Look Up Child

Aveline is mugged, there is a Proddie Christening, Joey sees Edgar again and then has some sharp words for his Dad.

Francesca was getting christened.

Something which was very simple turned out to be another row in the Boswell house when it turned out that Julie who was a protestant wanted her daughter to be a protestant and Billy (who could barely tie his own shoelaces) didn't seem to care all too much. Oh he had the sense to hide it away until he had to tell his Mam, Joey had to give him that much, but when he did the row was enough to send his Mam scrubbing the saucepan again with enough elbow grease to develop a serious injury.

"I don't get the point of it" Isla said as she examined the Christening Cup. "I mean. It's not like she's going to do anything with it? And why would you want a glass cabinet anyway? Round here that's the one place that people will go to when you get robbed"

"Aye very true" Jack said nodding sagely. "Besides it's not like you need a bloke for a baby nowadays so it's not like you need marriage"

Oh Jesus that had not been the smartest thing to say as his Mam swelled like a bullfrog.

"What I mean—" Jack said seeing the impending hurricane and doing his best to throw her off the scent.

"Is that there is a new wave of modern woman coming. Career women. Soon the human race will have to die out"

"That's stupid" Isla said shooting him a look. "Woman can have and do anything, it's only boys who screw it all up"

"Extra slab of chocolate cake for you later Isla" his Mam said smirking. Isla smirked back and Joey was left to concede that woman were very, very strange creatures sometimes and that strangeness started when they were just innocent looking little girls with all the sharpness and sarcasm that came with grown up broadcasters taking on a morally corrupt member of cabinet.

Things were put on hold somewhat by the arrival of Aveline who came in dressed in a mismatch of green and pink to announce to the stunned Boswell' s that she'd been mugged.

That had been a resounding moment of panic for them all even though she assured them that she was alright just out of contour colour compacts (whatever the hell that was) and that she was glad to be back home.

"You see this" his brother (Adrian) said pointing rather dramatically at Aveline in a moment of pure panic, Aveline sniffed (not due to the shock of what had happened but more about the fact that her make-up had been stolen) it brought on no doubt by the fact that everyone in this family tended to panic especially when it was about the woman.

"You see what happens when you out around here at night by yourself. Not even the streets are safe. And you Isla" he said as if he was out of place and should be on the stage performing to hundreds and thousands of adoring fans. "You be made aware of this. You want to go to the DHSS!"

"Yeah not Mars. And what are you pointing at?"

His daughter's brutal put downs rather cut through Adrian's dreams of being on the stage. Nothing ruined dreams rather than the quick sarcasm of a child.

And Isla he suspected was about ninety percent sarcasm.

Which he should do something about.

But he didn't.

Ah well.

Of course the fact that it was a 'Proddie' ceremony (as his Mam put it complete with an eyeroll and a sign of the cross) did nothing to detract the fact that if the Boswell's were going out they were going out in style.

"If you mean a dress it aint happening" Isla said firmly. "I will go in my jeans and boots"

"Talk to her Joey"

"Dress Isla"

"Jeans, Joey"

"Hey cheeky" he said pointing his knife (liberally dotted with butter and jam) though sometimes she was such a chip of the old block (to a point where even he could admit it) that it was hard not to smile at her. And he knew it really didn't help that his Grandad was encouraging her which he was sure the man was. Not that Isla needed any help cheek was just something that came naturally to a Boswell.

"It means a lot to your Nan that you wear a dress. Now go and put on that nice one that you got for Christmas"

Isla caught his tone and then scowled. "The cream one?"

"Yes" Joey said mentally wincing. The cream dress came with a gold cardigan and was Isla's preferred choice if she had to wear a dress. Of course compromise with his daughter meant soft button brown cowgirl boots that Jack had gotten her once and sunglasses that Billy had given her that made her look like a gangster's wife. Also he supposed he'd have better look touching Martina's hair than trying to tame hers.

He thought about it spooning sugar into his tea absent minded for a change.

Martina's hair.

Somehow she'd become Martina in his head and now he was thinking that her hair must be exceptionally soft. That there had to be a reason why it gleamed that way and it couldn't just be to the florescent lighting that made up the DHSS.

No.

There had to be a reason.

Decent shampoo and conditioner perhaps? He always used premium brands though as far as Isla was concerned as long as she had the mango one for kids with the smiley face on she was fine. Billy used the same, Aveline used something that smelt toxic and Adrian something for neatness. Jack he was sure didn't bother and just hoped the water did the job for him.

But thinking of water led him to think of the shower and that was a whole other problem and his Mam's kitchen table was really, really not the time for it.

"Dad…are you having a stroke or something?"

Leave it to his daughter to bring him down to earth in a bump.

"Go and get dressed" he said stabbing a piece of tomato with his fork and looking utterly annoyed Isla did so.

"We need to put on a show Joey" his Mam hissed. "You don't know what those places are like. No style. Honestly I never had this problem with Isla's christening. That was done in style"

Joey carefully didn't comment. It was true that Isla had, had the catholic christening that his Mam had been so desperate for but it had not been without trial. Roxy refused point blank to have anything to do with religion for a long time and Joey supposed that once she had left it had been easy to forget about it. He'd had a newborn that had been screaming down the house at two, four and five-fifteen and a broken heart to deal with in the meantime. It was not until his Mam started asking not only with every meal but everytime he got some sleep that he finally agreed.

Isla had for once behaved while this was going on but she had fought like hell with her legs when he had to get her into the Christening dress and had only been calm when Billy had shown up with a stuffed mouse which he had dangled over her by the tail.

It had been one of those strange moments where Billy, who had been just a kid himself then had done the right thing. It appears that girly things were not going to be the thing his girl wanted (Thank God—he loved his sister he really did but another Aveline was enough to make his stomach turn) and that was just fine with him.

"Makes Christmas easier" Jack had said.

They went the Boswell's in a combination of taxi and JAG. Isla wearing her boots looked mutinous.

"How long do I have to wear this for Dad?"

"Until we christen Francesca, once we come home you can take it off and put your jeans on again. But take it off nicely Isla. That dress has got to get a couple more occasions out of it first"

"Like what? Nobody else is having babies and nobody else is getting married"

"One day someone will"

Isla said nothing and then….

"Like you?"

Where had that come from? Turning a corner he stopped the car.

The taxi carrying his Mam and Aveline didn't appreciate that but Joey didn't care that much.

Or at all.

"Where's that come from?"

She shrugged.

"It's just…well…I suppose your not terribly ugly"

Joey blinked.

"Thanks Isla"

"Your welcome Dad. But what I mean is that…well…your going to go out on dates and stuff like Uncle Billy aren't you?"

The truth was he already did. There was something to be said for the late nights where he came home with money in his pocket. More than once he had been offered money for more than just what he did now. It had been nice in a way. Hell it still was in a way. Roxy had savaged his heart, his confidence and his interest in anything other than his family, his daughter and his dog.

"Does that bother you?"

"No. Not if it's the right person"

"And how do you know whose the right person?"

Isla's smile was just a tad too smug and Joey felt a swoop of something in his stomach. He was not entirely sure that he was going to enjoy the answer that she would provide but he was damn well going to get one out of her when a blur of something appeared on the corner.

The phone rang then and he ignored it.

He knew who it was.

Edgar.

The dog had ran away right after Roxy had done and if that wasn't the very definition of ironic then he didn't know what was. It had been the ideal picture perfect life in some way, Roxy, Isla and the dog and the house the DHSS were going to pay for and Joey had naively thought that was the end of it. That, that would be the perfect life. Then Roxy had gone, then Edgar had gone, and then his Mam had flipped out at the thought of living without him and then his Dad had gone and that had left just Isla and to keep them all together after that he was sure his mother would have chucked their grandad out on the streets.

But there was Edgar.

Again.

He wanted to get out of the car and chase it but as soon as he opened the door it was pushed back in and he saw his Mam her pink hat low on her head with an expression of fury that he was really not in the mood for when he was confronted with the dog that had once represented so much.

"Joey" she hissed. "You are holding up a traffic que"

He nodded starting the car and he looked though he knew he shouldn't.

Edgar was gone.

Perhaps that was a sign and all.

To say his Dad was not happy at not being invited to the Christening was an understatement. He had slammed around in that little tin pot cart of his muttering down the street like a madman. He had come into dinner and faced with their Mam's face had gone on a rant (not a full blown one but a decent one with lots of one sided shouting) and then had stormed off and Joey just knew that that was the last they were going to see of him for a month.

To be honest he didn't even care. His Dad popped in and out of their lives with so much infrequency that it was hard to be bothered with it. He and to some extent Jack had never had the illusions that the other three had, had about their parents. They had married out of passion and that passion had changed to hatred as the years went on, and even now Joey was willing to bet that there was no way they could differentiated between the two.

Even Isla—who the rest of the family would walk on nails for—seemed to hold no interest to him other than something he could wax poetic about when the mood took him. Joey wasn't sure that his Dad even knew when Isla's birthday was and he half expected the man to turn around one day and ask where Roxy was.

The rows had not stopped though he knew his Mam was actively trying to stop shouting instead sitting their in silence that he knew was shredding her nerves to pieces. She did this whenever it was around the table in private she screamed herself horse and he knew it time to find his Dad and put his foot down when Isla after one row when they had thought she was asleep had crawled into his bed burrowed down next to him and clamped both hands over her ears.

"S'alright baby" he said sleepily tugging her close and knowing that this had to stop. "S'alright neither one of them are going to scare you ever again"

Jack snorted into pillow.

He found his Dad sat at the local caf chatting up the waitress and tunnelling his way through a massive breakfast. They chatted inconsequentially about things including Edgar but then his Dad (who on his rare moments actually could see that something was bothering his children) asked—

"What's wrong? I know it's the dog but It's just not son is it?"

"No it's not. It's Isla"

"Oh she's not sick is she? Granted she looked as pale as the mist coming in over the waves—"

"No she's not sick" he said sharply. Of all the things he was not in the mood for his Dad's talking colour chart was one of them.

"But I need you to do something for me, and for her. Now Mam's trying but your making it a hundred times worse—"

"Oh I'm making it a hundred times worse!"

"Dad. Look I get that you and Mam have your issues and that's fine but you can't have screaming matches in front of Isla. She's six and she's scared of you shouting all the time. She's already ran away from home once and the only saving grace of that fiasco was she left me a note. The next time she does it she might not. So I need you to keep your temper at the house or don't bother coming round anymore"

"Oh Aye, that's it is it? I break the rules and I'm out. What about your Mam?"

"Mam's not the one screaming at the top of her lungs most days."

"Huh. That bloody woman. You'd have thought…well…if you have such a problem with it then why did you let me come back in hey?"

Joey sighed and then decided to be honest.

"I don't know" he said finally. "And if I am being honest with you when my six year old climbs into my bed at night shaking with fright because she sees you screaming at her then I really wish I'd have told you to fuck off"

His Dad rais

ed one eyebrow and his eyes widened but Joey really didn't care. His loyalty went to Isla, then to his brothers and sisters, then to his Mam and Grandad and a little part of it went to someone else that he was not going to think about here. His Dad got some but he was way down the list. Joey had been a young father himself when his Dad had walked out and a part of him had never forgiven him for it. It had been Roxy all over again only this time his Dad knew what he was doing and had done so with the intention of coming back over and over again because he knew that he could get through the door if one of his children answered it.

"Oh yeah, and so what do your brothers and sisters make of it then?"

Joey laughed once without humour.

"Jack's with me, Adrian at a push is with me and Billy's got his own daughter now so I'm guessing he's with me, plus he's a Mummy's boy through and through. You've got Aveline if you want her because she's a Daddy's girl but don't kid yourself. Half of us would tell you to fuck off back to Lil-Lo Lil if you upset Isla. She's family"

"And I'm not."

"You're a different kind" he said savagely. "And your at that table because people I care about want you there but I swear to God, Dad push it with my kid once more and your back where you've always wanted to be. Free. But this time the meals and the washer and the free money in the pot is gone. And the locks will be damn well chained for good. Because I'm the man of this house and I have been since I was thirteen."

And with that he stood up and walked away feeling savagely pleased that he had managed to say all that he had needed and wanted to say and more pleased than anything that his Dad had looked utterly stunned while he had said it.

So yeah, I had a lot of fun writing this one and I hope you enjoyed it as well. Again nothing against the actors in Bread who were and are incredible.

Next Chapter-Isla and an old school girl enemy (whose father is a frenemy of Joey's) come onto the scene and Isla meets someone who is familiar but not. Also Joey tries (with various success) to take Martina on a date.