Thank you so much for all of your reviews!

Glad you all love this story just as much as I am writing it!

I decided to be nice and finish up this chapter for you this week x

Chapter 7- This feels right.

"Yeah," She said softly, he had only just said her name and she'd already felt hot tears trickle down her cheeks from her eyes. It was a longing that burned in them both, just to hear each other's names spill from their lips.

"Brax." Charlie said croakily, watching him, a part of her became scared, what if he was angry with her-furious she had been able to find the strength to stay away. "Please say something." Charlie whispered a few minutes later when he still stood rooted to the spot. She felt her heart clench as he pinched the bridge of his nose and a lone tear tumble down his cheek. Her body ached to run up to him, but she knew Brax, she knew he needed to make the first move.

"I'm too scared to touch you. I'll take one more step and you'll be gone." He said in a mere whisper, his eyes dancing back up to meet hers, she nodded and swallowed the lump that failed to subside in her throat.

"You don't need to be," she whispered, her heart breaking as he leant both arms on the kitchen counter and hunched back, his head tilted down.

"I found you on the floor dead Charlie. Dead! You were dead!" She could see from where he was standing the harsh tears settling on the granite worktop, creating ripples on the surface as they landed. "Why didn't you come back?" he asked, looking at her for some desperate answer.

"You know me, if I could've I would of." Charlie said, her voice soft, almost inaudible to him. She took a step towards him, only for him to take one step back, keeping the distance between them.

"After this I'm not sure if I know you at all." Brax said suddenly, his hands clasped tightly behind his head, Charlie jumped at the tone of his harsh voice. He desperately found his heart longing to go to her but he'd built up a wall the instant she'd walked into that room. The sight of her was enough to take his breath away but it also brought his pain tumbling to the surface, seeping through gaps and willing to get out.

"You don't mean that." Charlie choked up as he stared at her, a blank expression on his face, almost as though he didn't recognize her. She looked at him with pleading eyes as she spoke, him still being unmoved from the spot "I tried Brax, I tried." She pleaded, taking another step towards him, yet like it was a reflex he stepped back, keeping a set distance between them, creating a line that couldn't be crossed.

"Well you should've tried harder!" Brax yelled, a lone tear streaming down his cheeks, they were both at this point oblivious to a wary Heath in the corner of the room. "I begged them to keep on your life support, I fought for us!"

"Yeah, you fought so hard that you got another girlfriend!" Charlie replied with a spitting fire that Brax hadn't seen from anyone in a long time. No one could speak to Brax like that and still have a hold over him like Charlie did. There was no one he loved enough to let them do that.

"Morag." Brax breathed out in realisation of how she knew. Morag had visited Ruby a few weeks ago, that's how she knew. "That's not fair Charlie." Brax said as an eerie silence filled the room.

"No your right its not. Life's not fair." She spat sadly

"I loved you..." he said, leaving out the fact that he still did.

"Yeah does she know that?" Charlie asked,

"Yeah she does." Brax said adamantly, "We're not together anymore." He said, his voice softening as he met her pearl blue eyes, "Look Charlie, I needed someone to stop me thinking about you. I needed any comfort I could get and she was there."

"And you took it." Charlie said, her voice wasn't bitter, it wasn't angry. She understood him. There were people out there who when they suffer loss neglect any comfort they can get, and there are those who take it all because it's a need, it's the only source of familiarity. She understood his pain, the risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief. But the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared to the pain of never risking love, and she knew two things about Brax, he couldn't bare being alone, no matter how much he tried to deny that, and he needed someone more than he could care to admit.

"You think I was happy without you?" Brax asked, this time, he took a step towards her rather than away, "You know what I don't need to explain myself to you, YOU were the one that left me on my own." He spoke as though the realisation had just hit him like a tonne of bricks. He wanted to let her closer to him, he wanted wear his heart on his sleeve again, but the enormity of what had happened hurt him, of all people, she'd hurt him the most.

"Brax just please let me explain-"

"Explain what?" He yelled, turning to face her square on. "How much you loved me? How sorry you are? Well tell me Charlie why the hell are you not at home with me? With Ruby?" Charlie felt the little air she had left escape her lungs in a hurry as her tears fell swiftly down her cheeks like a fast flowing river. The look on his face was one she'd dreaded receiving, the same look that she feared would arise and the same look that made the fear of fleeing witness protection reside within her, and there it was draining the colour from her cheeks, sucking the blood from her veins.

"I had no choice!" She yelled in reply, her pain matching his.

"Everybody has a choice! You have a choice Charlie!"

"Can you just let me explain!" She pleaded with him, sighing as he again took one step back when she made a move forward

"I don't care what you have to say to me Charlie."

"I do. I still care Brax." Charlie begged hoping he would let her tell him she still loved him, she still loved what they had.

"Well as lovely as that is Charlie how you felt and what you wanted stopped being a burden on my shoulders 10 minutes ago." He said angrily, his eyes burning onto hers. He watched as she stood in silence, her body taking its time to respond to the magnitude of his words. His heart was begging him to take it back, yet his mind was begging for him to watch her response.

"No it didn't." Charlie said back suddenly, her confident response taking him aback slightly.

"Really and how are you so sure about that?" he asked, it was only then as his eyes glanced past hers and settled on her phone vibrating on the kitchen side, the background picture of her and Brax, Charlie watched as his face changed slightly and he inhaled sharply to stop the tears falling that made the rims of his eyes red raw

"Because if you didn't care you wouldn't be crying."

"No Charlie I'm crying because I can't believe that you of all people could make me feel so much pain." He said, finally letting his tears spill from his eyes. It took all his energy to turn his back to her as he again increased the space between them. He winced and closed his eyes briefly as he heard her try to silence a cry, but he refused his hearts longing to turn back. He held his hand on the door handle, Walking away from her took more strength than he ever thought he had, it took more strength than the past 6 months had needed, simply because he was still hers and she was still his. Being apart didn't suit them.

Slamming her door behind him, he stormed out of the tiny apartment block, darting across the road towards the water, opposite her apartment, so he was still close to her but far away enough to be content, towards the water where he felt at home, it was the only place that felt like home to Brax than being close to her. He immediately froze as he allowed the events of what had occurred to replay over and over again in the forefront of his mind. He could still hear her cries echoing through the path of his mind each time he replayed walking away from her. He thought back to her willing him to let her explain but he couldn't help but stop her each time in frightening fear of what she could say, in fear of her telling him she left because it was easy to fall out of love with him, that it was easier for her to ignore the love they had rather than follow through with it and see where it could get them. He felt his body shake in anger and distress, his bones aching for some sort of relief for the long term pain, hitting a tree seemed to be the logical thing to do, and that he did, repetitively, ignoring the stares from people and ignoring the blood falling from his knuckles, nothing seemed to hurt as much as she did. Brax regained his composure as he slumped down against the oak tree burying his head in his hands before sweeping the imaginary dirt off of his jeans. He had left her apartment to find some sort of clarity and calm but instead he sat at the stump of a flourishing oak more confused than ever. She left him yes, but his words had hurt her, she left him but yet she kept a photo near her just to feel a mere smidge of the comfort he'd once brought her. Brax found no sense in the events that had occurred since he had laid eyes On Charlie the day he found her on the floor bleeding, bleeding out the love they had. He couldn't decipher whether her tears were simply because of the guilt she felt for leaving him, or whether they were tears of leaving everyone else; he couldn't decide if they were because being away from him had brought her has much pain as he felt.

He stopped his thought process as a comforting hand rested on his shoulder, looking up he saw Heath of all people, and his younger brother, who at the best of times, only managed to get him more riled up when he was trying to be comforting, was the thing that brought Brax the calm he was looking for, the familiarity his mind was aching for, because right now, Heath was the only person he could truly recognize completely.

"Is she ok?" Asked Brax, he may have been angry with Charlie but it didn't mean he liked the thought of her on her own in her apartment, crying.

"I don't know mate, honestly it was pointless trying to admit to her you didn't mean any of those things you said back there." Heath said, beginning to pick at the grass that lay at the foot of the tree. "Of all things you could say-"

"I didn't exactly expect that little surprise when I came to find you did I?" Brax asked, glaring at Heath briefly before leaning his head back against the tree and sighing heavily.

"I know that- I just thought you would've been a bit happier." Heath said, chuckling slightly as he thought of his brothers' own stupidity. He'd finally got his woman back and now he'd screwed it up.

"YOU'RE KIDDING ME RIGHT? You think I had a whole plan in my head for how to react if this ever happened." Brax said, trying but failing to keep his anger in check as he found himself consumed with a mixture of emotions.

"No but I thought you of all people would think before you speak." Heath said, still keeping his eye on the entrance to Charlie's apartment block, making sure Danny didn't happen to pass by.

"Shit!" Brax said suddenly, burying his head in his hands "She's alive and I just stood and said that!" he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and cringing at his own actions.

"Look, I know even though you never want to admit it, her 'death' has torn you apart…And that's cool you know I don't think you're any less of a man for it." Heath said, trying to lighten the situation for a brief moment "But it hurt everyone Brax, heck even I was gutted when she passed. But you didn't even let her try to explain?" He asked, continuing as Brax looked up blankly to the apartment window. "After everything you guys have been through don't you think she deserves the chance?" Heath continued,

"If you keep pushing her away she won't fight no more either." He finished,

"And don't do anything stupid." He added last. He let Brax talk to him for a further ten minutes, and explaining things to Brax that he didn't know before, such as the danger Charlie was still in (But leaving out that Danny was the hitman) As he left he slapped Brax on the back gently and quickly retreated back to the apartment block

Charlie felt herself sink further into the couch, her legs curling underneath her and her arms closing around the closest thing to comfort near her. A pillow.

She sat staring at the water on the horizon, the calmness of the ocean as it spread out over miles, just rippling across the surface. She relished the sun hitting her face as it set over the water, the light almost being a safe haven, yet tonight it acted as torture, as though the light shined on all the things going wrong in her life. Like it highlighted all her imperfections. After sitting for a few minutes she let out an angry sob that shook through her body. She had a hole in her heart the shape of Brax and she was willing to cram anything into it that would bring her comfort. She longed for the ocean to bring her peace, to let her eyes get lost in the dancing tiny ripples of its surface for even just a minute, instead she found herself being met by the absence of calmness, the absence of relief, the absence of comfort.

Wiping at her tears Charlie sighed as she picked the faux fur off of the white cushion in her hands. She felt stupid and naïve for thinking seeing him again would be roses and smiles all round for everyone. She stopped and whipped her head round at the door closing softly with a click. Brax found his body stilled again as he saw a lone tear make a track down her cheek. It sent him into a state of paralysis. She wiped it away quickly with the back of her hand, hoping he hadn't noticed at all.

Too late.

Brax found himself contrasting the stark difference between her cracked composure now and her old self, the happy Charlie he saw at Angelo's singles night. The Charlie he used to know seemed to have disappeared underneath a seemingly strong surface. He couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with guilt at the thought of doing that to her. He'd talked with Heath for nearly half an hour, neither of the two really saying anything. Heath had left Brax alone for a while, yet despite a walk usually being a way to calm himself down, Brax found himself still consumed by an emotion that overwhelmed him. It was just like she used to, she would constantly worm her way into his heart and often it felt as though he was drowning in the love that overcame him, in the love that still existed, even if so far in today, it had been in its brutal bare manor. She'd shown him what it could be like to be in love with a family. She'd given him happiness, it was hard in his eyes to have her give him the most important thing, yet have the audacity to take it away from him. That didn't stop him being overwhelmed with sadness at the sight of her slightly damp cheeks, her eyes that glistened in the light, not with happiness, but with sadness, not with hope, but with fear. Fear of what his return would bring.

"I'm sorry." Brax said softly, twisting the ring around on his finger, he watched as Charlie's eyes settled on his hand where the ring was, her lips curling into a small smile.

"You don't need to be sorry." Charlie whispered back, sighing shakily and still fiddling with the cushion in her hands. She refused to look up as Brax's footsteps neared the couch and he edged nearer to her.

"Is it true?" he asked as he sat down.

"Is what true?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Jake has a hit out on you?" he asked, he immediately nodded his head at her silence it spoke volumes to him. "Charlie-You could have stayed. I-we could have gotten through this." He said softly, edging closer to her in his seat.

"You just don't get it do you?" she whispered as she tilted her head up towards him. "Brax I woke up and you were gone-you and Rubes were gone."

"This is all my fault." Brax said finally, after a moment of silence.

"Brax no it isn't-"

"Nah, nup it is! It is! Because if I'd just left you alone none of this would have happened." He said angrily, through clenched jaws,

"Brax listen to me." He could hear Charlie talking to him but his emotions were on overdrive and his head didn't want to listen. "None of this is your fault." She said firmly, her eyes looking at him softly,

"Somehow I don't agree there…because there's a little girl in summer bay who has no mum, because of me, and I can't think of anyone else I've found dead on the floor except for you." He said, his words stinging her slightly.

"You couldn't have known this would happen." Charlie said, defending his own words against himself.

"No but I could've stopped it, I could have stayed away from you!"

"I wouldn't have wanted you to!" Charlie said back, watching as Brax looked at her confused, "Because if you had I never would've fallen in love." She said shakily, tears tumbling down her just dry cheeks; they only worsened as she felt Brax's arms around her tightly, his arms wrapping over her shoulders, she felt his grip tighten as her arms gripped onto his back firmly, her head nuzzled into the crook of his neck and her bump pressed between them. She took the time to take in the way he smelt, the lingering scent of sea salt mixed with cologne on his neck, the way he felt, the way being in his arms made her feel, no one had ever made her feel so safe. He felt his emotions overpower him, just at the way her body pressed against his, their little bump pressed against his body, she could've been just gone for a day out rather than 6 months with the familiarity her body brought to him. The pain of losing her rose in his chest mixed with the joy he allowed himself to feel at having her back and combined with the guilt of letting her go in the first place, of not knowing she was out there. There was one thought Brax was sure of though, he'd never been able to get her out of his heart since the day he met her, so maybe, just maybe, she belonged there.

Charlie sighed as she pulled out the spare duvet from the cupboard. Usually she'd have Morag or someone to help her do it. She lifted her head up as Heath appeared in the doorway, with one eyebrow cocked up and looking at her questionably.

"What's up Buckton?" Heath asked, leaning against the doorframe and watching her as she sunk into the bed. The spare duvet, blankets and pillows all in a heap at the foot of the door.

"I'm fine." Charlie said harshly, before bending back down and trying to gather up the mess on the floor. Heath sucked in a breath as she stopped for a moment and took a deep breath almost as if she were counting to ten to prepare herself to start again.

"Here, let me take it-" Heath said, instantly stopping as she shot him a look that told him otherwise.

"Heath I'm fine!" Charlie snapped, her voice tired rather than angered by his gesture. She ran her hand through her hair and looked at him as he held his hands up in surrender, "I'm sorry I just-"

"It's ok." Heath intervened, walking up to her and rubbing the tops of her arms gently. "You know Buckton, I can lift those for you." His mouth toyed into a light-hearted smirk as she rolled her eyes and hit his chest jokingly before her smile faded again and the bare glimpse of the old cheeky Charlie disappeared.

"I used to be able to do everything!" She sighed, dropping her head. A few loose curls hung down over her face as she spoke in frustration. Things would have been easier for her had she not had simple problems to deal with as well. Its one thing having your family taken away from you but it's another having your everyday life constantly disrupted as well. Heath didn't say anything, he just nodded, just to let her know he understood, and despite her previous protests he began to pick up the sheets off of the floor, only to notice a confused Brax in the doorway, having come out of the bathroom and overheard them.

"Am I missing something here or?" Brax trailed off, his eyebrows knitted closely together in confusion

"No, nup it's nothing." Charlie shrugged, muttering under her breath as Heath cleared his throat.

"Charlie." He said, nodding between them, and looking at her knowingly, his way of telling her to tell Brax the truth.

"Charlie?" Brax asked as she stayed silent, Heath nodded and left them inside her room, closing the door behind him as he went. Brax watched nervously as she walked to the other side, keeping her distance between them, as if their closeness scared her senseless. She wanted to take advantage of the situation then and jump him, but walking to the other side of the room put a barrier between them.

"After I…died-" She started shakily, watching as Brax's jaw clenched as she used that word. She nodded anxiously at him as he raised his head back up and smiled weakly, letting her know she could go on.

"There were complications Brax." She started, watching as his head snapped up at her in fear of what she would tell him. He listened as she told him about the seizures, her weaknesses, her lack of coordination, although he cheekily added that there was no change in that area. He felt his heart drop slightly to his stomach as she told him about her restricted memory, how she couldn't remember each day they spent together, the key events were blurred. "Brax? She asked as she finished, watching him with worry. He'd kept his head in his hands the whole time as she spoke, his foot restlessly tapping on the floor as he sat uneasily on the edge of the bed.

"I'm alright, aye? I'm fine." Brax said wearily, finally glancing his eyes up to hers. "And our kid got through all that?" Brax chuckled, his eyes finally settling on her bump. He'd noticed, Charlie knew he had the moment he'd seen her, but he'd refused to pay attention and speak about their baby, she knew not to push him either, that he'd bring it up in his own time. "Little champ aye? We've got a tough one on our hands." Brax chuckled, his smile widened as Charlie grinned, her smile reaching her eyes for the first time in a long time.

"Just like his daddy." She added, smiling once more at him,

"So you do remember me?" Brax asked, suddenly, his tone almost worried.

"Yes. I remember you." Charlie chuckled, shaking her head lightly as he blew out a sigh of relief.

"I must be pretty unforgettable then aye?" he added cheekily, grinning as she blushed. "You used to do that a lot." He chuckled, pointing at her rosy cheeks, for a moment they stood consumed by each other, until Charlie broke their contact at the reminder in her head that he'd been with someone else. Almost as though he recognised her train of thought he spoke up, "I didn't forget about you either-"

"You two nearly done?" Heath interrupted, holding his hands up apologetically at his brothers' stare burning on him. "Sorry to break up the party but I was hoping for some food and a kip its half ten."

Brax found himself getting more and more nervous that evening as he tried to sleep. It was the first time he'd been near her in 6 months and here he was on her sofa and she was a mere room away in her bed.

Despite her protests, he'd refused to take her bed and her the couch. He'd seriously wondered if he was doing the right thing by staying the night, but being close to her seemed better than not having her at all. He found himself tossing and turning on the sofa, he wasn't uncomfortable his mind was just restless. It didn't help matters by the fact that Heath was snoring his little butt off on the other sofa.

He sighed, after what seemed like hours but in reality had been 35 minutes and 26 seconds, he climbed off of the couch slowly and quietly made his way into the kitchen, dimly lit by the various technological symbols glowing on the fridge, he opened it and grinned as he did so, the fridge was sparse, but the remainders consisted of pizza's and ready made Lasagne, she still couldn't cook. Pouring himself a glass of water he tilted his head slightly as he recognised her presence in the room.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Charlie asked, patting her hands against her thighs as Brax shook his head. She walked towards the kitchen, standing on the opposite side of the units to Brax. He tried not to bite his lip as he took her in, apart from her bump, you wouldn't have been able to say she'd gotten any bigger in pregnancy, she was still the same lean, slim Charlie.

He went to turn around but stopped as he noticed the sleep attire she was in. He noticed the tantalizing checked shirt she was wearing. He had wondered where it'd gone, but realized to himself that it must have been with the remainder of Charlie's belongings that Ruby had; and now he had his answer. The same shirt she used to wear after their secret rendezvous was comfortably draped over her comfortably, but it bore a painful reminder of their past and glared at him in the face. Although the anger he suddenly felt polled above all his other emotions, he felt a feeling of relief wash over him. She hadn't forgotten what he was, or what they once were; if she had she wouldn't have kept the shirt.

"I recognize that." Brax chuckled looking at her in that tantalizing checked shirt she was wearing. A smile bore on his face as she blushed slightly before wrapping her arms around it; part of her worried he would want it back.

"It's comfy- the only thing that fits me anymore." She replied, her hand stroking lightly over her little bump and smiling.

"It always looked better on you anyway." Brax commented, smirking cheekily as Charlie blushed slightly at his comment.

An awkward silence followed as their eyes danced over one and others.

"You want a Coffee?" Charlie said suddenly a few seconds later

"Yeah sure," Brax replied, sucking in a breath as she walked around the kitchen, the shirt all of a sudden getting tauntingly short. He watched and frowned as she stopped suddenly once the kettle finished boiling.

"Except I um...I can't lift the kettle…" She said quietly, as though she were ashamed of herself and who she was. Brax moved closer to her as her eyes washed over with tears and her breath shook slightly before she composed herself again.

"I don't want you lifting it again anyway, you're supposed to rest for the baby," he said smartly, his body, sideways on to hers. He resisted the urge to wipe away her tears as he poured the hot water into the two cups. A tea for her, and a coffee for him.

"That's stereotypical," she sniffed, smiling lightly at him,

"It hasn't been proven wrong though has it?" he teased back nudging her slightly, grinning when she rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Trying to lift the kettle gives me some feeling of achievement…I'm not completely stupid." She said, feeling the need to suddenly explain herself to him. Her eyes glanced downwards again as she spoke.

"You're not stupid at all Charlie." Brax said quickly.

"You're the guest and I can't even offer you a drink." She replied in a downcast voice, shaking her head to herself.

"Who say's I'm leaving at any point?" Brax asked, raising his eyebrows as she looked at him confused. "You said I was a guest." He explained.

Charlie smiled and nodded, biting her lip briefly to restrict the rose blush on her cheeks.

She watched as he made her cup of tea. He pressed the tea back 3 times, added a sugar and a half and 2 seconds worth of milk.

"You remember?" she said slowly, referring to how he made her tea, glancing up at him briefly

"Of course I do."

"I'm so sorry Brax., this must be so hard for you."

"The past 6 months have been harder." He said honestly, silently cursing to himself as her eyes overcame with guilt and sadness. "Plus I'd rather stay here than in a hotel down the road. I reckon I'd be at the door every 5 minutes checking that you're still here." He smiled lightly,

"None of this feels right." She said softly as Brax passed her the cup of tea. He knew she was referring to their situation, the fact they were centimetres away yet poles apart, and that they were lovers but acted like strangers at the same time.

The space between them seemed unnatural. They both noticed it, like an elephant in the room.

Charlie tried to restrict the tears that suddenly wanted to free fall at his admission. She desperately wanted to ask him to stay with her in her room but restrained herself,

"I'll see you in the morning yeah?" She said suddenly, Brax looked at her, stunned by her sudden change. It was only as she walked away with her tea in one hand he noticed her other hand wiping under her eyes and realised she was crying.

He winced as he heard a muffled sob from her room trying to be silenced.

Screw this!

He silently walked quickly over to her doorway, opening it slightly before slipping in and closing it softly. He stood for a mere second, his heart breaking as she faced away on the bed, her face half buried in the pillow. He walked over to her before lifting the covers and slipping in behind her and pressing his body up against hers. She flinched slightly as she felt someone's presence behind her, relaxing instantly as she realised who it was.

"Just me." Brax whispered in her ear, he reached one hand under her pillow and his right weaved round her waist and rested on her warm bump softly his thumb softly caressing her skin in circular motion.

"This feels right." Brax whispered, gently kissing her shoulder blade softly. "If you want me to move just say." He said, waiting for some sort of verbal reply. Instead he found himself smiling as Charlie brought her hand down over his on her bump, squeezing his softly and wriggled back into him more, her breathing relaxing more in his arms.

They both managed to quickly fall asleep.

Aww, I had to end on a happy Chax note…but not everything will be lovey dovey… little teaser for you there ;)

I do really want to convey the confusion and mixture of emotions though and make it as realistic as possible so I hope that comes across well :)

The next update will be in a week and a half along with lost then found which I have just updated too :D

Please Review your thoughts! x