Hi, so here is another chapter, please let me know what you think, we have only two more chapters left of this story so I hope that you enjoy all that is left.

Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine.

Please Read and Review.

And some Trigger Warning for language and, Roxy...

Glory Days

Chapter 15-A Delicate Touch

Joey, Martina and the rest of the family learn the truth. Yizzel, and Grandad spark a deal. Martina gets the shock of her life. Some chapter summary changes.

For a moment Jack Boswell was stunned. Martina next to him was looking utterly confused. Joey had gone so still it was hard to imagine that he would ever move again and Grandad was gripping his stick in a highly alarming way.

And that was before you counted on Adrian and his Mam watching from the doorway and Billy sticking his head out of the window on the top floor no doubt trying to do his best (in his own Billy like way) to relay the information to his Dad and Aveline.

But that it didn't stop the fact that the second this kid—Yizzel's kid had been stood there watching Joey with wide brown eyes and seriously was this a thing? Every kid knew that Roxy was back but them?

And Roxy.

Roxy.

Oh the very name sent Jack's blood pressure skyrocketing. Not content with trampling all over his brother's life once before the bitch had now done what? Kidnapped Isla? Manipulated her into thinking that she was going on holiday?

"Yeah kinda"

It took Jack a minute to realise he had said that last bit out loud and that the brown haired kid was looking at him as if she understood all that was going on and more. Jack thought that was stupid because unless you saw and felt and experienced the full force of Roxy then you couldn't get the damage that she could do.

And she was still doing it.

Jack was going to throw her into the river at this point.

"She said that she was going to take Isla on holiday?" Martina said her face frowning. Girl-Yizzel paused and then shrugged.

"Kind of…I mean…it's hard to get the whole story out of Isla on a good day but she told me that her Mum wanted to take her to America to reconnect and that you Mr Boswell would be joining them at the end of the week. That you were going to be a family and that it was all your family's fault why she left in the first place"

"SHE WHAT? EH JOEY TELL—"

"WILLIAM THOMAS! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU SHOUT IN THE STREET LIKE A COMMON HOODLUM"

Christ he'd forgotten what a pair of lungs his Mam had on her. Which was odd considering she used them about twice a day.

"So" Yizzel said once the shouting had stopped. "Then what?"

"Then she got in the car. That was yesterday. Roxy was waiting for her outside of school. It felt…strange. I dunno like…like something was off but it's Isla. She wanted to see if she could fix the problem"

"And why are you telling us this now?"

"Eh" Yizzel snapped at Adrian coming to his daughter's defence immediately.

"She's coming to you now isn't she?"

"How long" Joey said quietly. It shocked everyone into silence.

"How long has she been back"

"Dunno" Girl-Yizzel said finally. "I knew about this for about two weeks. I think Isla's know about it a bit longer. Not much longer though cause I was the first person she told"

"A month?"

"Could be"

"Makes sense" Joey muttered more to himself. He realised that everyone was looking at him or down at him in Billy's case and he shrugged.

"She started acting strange a month ago. I thought it was just…well…I just thought that it was normal kids stuff…and…and I let it go. She was fine after a while she just…"

"She asked me once at the DHSS about forgiveness"

That was Martina. For a moment they stared at her but for once her eyes were unfocused. She was thinking.

"About three weeks ago. I just…I thought she was having a fight with one of you and she was…I didn't get it. It was just a strange question. It wasn't like her and…shit…"

"Don't" Jack said because Joey was still staring at the pavement as if it held the answers to everyone.

"Don't. Seriously Martina you don't know this woman. You didn't see her in action she is good—Isla was just collateral damage it wouldn't have taken much to convince her she's a trusting kid we've all be saying it for years it's just…Jesus how did we never think she was a threat?"

"Because she was never there" Adrian said sagely. "You don't think of someone that's never been here as a threat"

And for once even for him that didn't sound to silly.

"America" Joey muttered with a laugh that was hollow and bitter and so unlike Joey, Jack felt like flinching. The blue eyes were almost dead and lifeless and Jack could understand why. He didn't need Joey to tell him what happened next.

"She's got a head start on me by about two days. And besides it's such a huge country…she could just fade away"

"She'd need a passport"

"Don't kid yourself Martina she's got one. If she's been planning this for as long as I think she has she's covered all her bases."

"Maybe not"

That was Isla's friend. She was staring down at the ground clearly thinking hard.

"Well…" she said when she saw everyone looking. "She is married. And she has another baby. Maybe they don't want Isla to cramp their style"

Jack could see it for what it was. A six year old trying to mitigate the damage and his hatred for Roxy swelled again. Joey, Isla, this little brown haired kid who had thought she was being a good friend and hadn't realised what was wrong—how many lives was Roxy going to ruin just because she never understood that sometimes in life you had compromise if you loved someone?

But then again he thought viciously. Had Roxy ever loved anyone?

Christ he felt sorry for the poor fucker she was shacked up with. And her baby. If either one of them made it to Christmas without being emotionally damaged for life then it would be a miracle.

"I'm sorry" Girl-Yizzel said her eyes filling with tears.

"Yeah" Joey said in that still dead haunting voice. "I am to kid."

And with that he hauled himself to his feet and went into the house.

"So what?" Adrian asked. "We give up?"

"No" Jack said. "We don't. If Roxy's smart then she's took Isla out of Liverpool. She's been on the news and in the newspaper and all sorts so Roxy's not going to take a flight with a lot of people on it"

"So that's either late at night or early morning. And it's America. Most of the flights will be out of either London or Manchester"

Christ he liked the DHSS Lady. She had a brain.

"So we flood Manc—"

"London"

That was baby girl Yizzel.

"Isla said something about going from London"

Christ Jack had never been so happy to have a plan in his life.

"I need to get Joey" he muttered.

He just didn't know if they would want to use Joey.

There was a tap at his shoulder. Yizzel turned to see Boswell's grandfather shooting him a look with a stick that Yizzel suspected he knew how to use despite his advancing age and use well.

"In" he said jerking his head towards the door.

"Beg pardon"

"Your kid needs a cup of tea and I need a word"

Amused more than curious (though he was in fact curious—very curious) he found that he was propelling his six year old into the house for a nice cup of tea while Grandad Boswell went and found his little metal tin and Yizzel found himself running a deal with a man who he was pretty sure if he wanted to could run the whole of the city and he was pretty sure at one point had.

She was aching.

She was aching, she was tired and she was sure that she was going to start crying.

She hadn't wanted to leave but the Boswell house was now alive with activity and if truth be told Martina could feel the control she had been clinging onto break and she did not want to start sobbing like a lunatic in front of the Boswells. When all of this was over she was sure that she would see them all en masse back at the DHSS and sobbing over a cup of tea did not do wonders for the reputation she had made for herself which was as a ruthless unfeeling bitch.

Mr Winston's words not hers.

The DHSS was closed when she got there and in truth she had not wanted to go there at all but she knew that if she staggered to her small flat in her small cold building she was going to either fall asleep or start sobbing in her bathtub and she did not want to do that. She would grab some files and keep herself occupied until morning and then she would go back to the Boswell house.

Mrs Boswell had understood she thought, she had known that Martina was coming back and she also knew Martina was sure, why she was coming back.

"Are you a catholic?" she had asked as Martina had clasped her coat.

"No" Martina had said deciding to be honest. "One hundred per cent the other side and I haven't been in years"

Mrs Boswell had rolled her eyes heavenwards.

"Suppose it would kill one of them to get with a nice Catholic wouldn't it?" she had said to the heavens with another eye roll and a sign of the cross as if to apologise for what was coming next—not that Martina knew. Not that she knew anything.

She had been clutching the cross around her neck and after a wan tired smile she went upstairs to pray in private. Or to be with her husband whichever one it was and Martina had not even had chance to explain to Joey that she was just going to change her clothes because Jack had dragged him upstairs and she had been unable to get near him.

Plus she had seen the body of a dead child today. She and Joey had both seen it. She had felt Joey's knees go when she had seen it was not Isla, when he had seen it was not Isla and she had gone down with him as he had finally cried. Even then she had not cried with him and now as she walked into the staff room at the DHSS where everyone kept a spare set of clothes (coffee, spit, vodka, puke, acid…anything and everything could be thrown at them on a day to day basis—though admittedly the last one had not been—though Martina would not put anything past Mr Winston given half the chance).

There were parents tonight getting the worse news possible, or perhaps they would never know and with that even though she had stripped down to her bra and a new skirt she felt her knees go and she sat on the chair shaking into her interlocked fingers.

Roxy.

How could a mother do that? How could she manipulate a child like Isla? How could anyone? Isla was the sweetest little girl out there, a combination of intense charm and an even more intense wit. Sarcasm and sweetness and blonde hair and she and the other girl had trusted instincts and it was…

She gritted her teeth and stood up.

She took her clean blouse and went to the ladies to splash water on her face and she took a moment in the mirror to look at herself. Christ she looked old.

She dressed methodically and went back outside to the main office.

It was only then that she realised that someone was there waiting in the darkness.

She whirled around flipping the light that was on her desk on as she did and blasting it in the direction of where someone was sitting.

"Ow! Don't do that Martina"

It was only years of honed practice that made sure that her legs didn't collapse with her.

She moved the light so that it was shining away and ran towards the main light flicking it on and coming back to the waiting room.

She'd been there.

She'd been there the entire time. She was dirty and shivering and she was absent her coat and her schoolbag and her fingernails were dirty and bloody as if she'd been digging them into her palms.

But she was here.

She was alive.

Isla.

"Isla" she said dimly.

"Do you know? About—"

"Yeah" she said even though she didn't elaborate.

"We know about Roxy your Dad—"

"Can I go home Martina?"

"Can you—"

And then she got it.

She understood it.

"Did Roxy tell you—"

Isla looked away her blue eyes filling with tears and Martina felt her hands shaking with anger. She was so furious she thought for a second she would have difficulty speaking but when she next spoke she was almost amused to realise that her voice was perfectly steady.

"Whatever she has told you sweetheart. IT IS A LIE"

She said the words carefully so there was no way Isla could misunderstand.

"I got it all wrong" Isla said quietly.

"I got it all wrong" she said again.

"I know"

"I…I just…I just…wanted"

"I know Isla"

"I got away"

"Yeah. And your father…he's been going mad looking for you. He loves you and he's mad at your mother…but he loves you, he loves you so much and he's terrified right now that your in trouble so please let me take you home"

Isla watched her and the blue eyes filled with tears.

"You promise?"

She sounded so woebegone that Martina felt tears come to her eyes. She had stopped herself short of reaching for her but now all she wanted to do was pull the girl into her arms and rock her back and forth.

"Sweetheart" she said quietly. "Have I ever lied to you?"

Shaking Isla shook her head and then she smiled though her eyes were overbright.

"Why do you think I came here first?"

And then Martina opened her arms and Isla ran into them.

She hit her at full force and she started crying and Martina was crying with her running her hand across the little girl's back, her side, her face trying to see if there were any injuries.

Mercifully there wasn't.

Thank God. Thank God. Thank God.

And to think she didn't even really believe.

It was a long time before either one of them managed to stop and then she pushed back a mass of matted dirty blonde hair.

"Come on sweetheart" she said softly. "Let's go and see Daddy"

And Isla, thankfully nodded.

And there you are, let me know what you think and I will bring you the next chapter sooner rather than later.

Next Chapter-There is a reunion and a talk between father and daughter. Roxy get's what is coming to her. Yizzel speaks to his daughter and Martina and Joey have a moment.