A while later they lay in one of the booths, Brax had pulled his coat over them and lay with Charlie on his chest "I should get going soon," Charlie yawned and snuggled deeper into him.

Brax chuckled and looked down on her "yeah, looks like you really wanna go."

Charlie giggled and tilted her head "no, not really, but you have Alex to get back to and I need to sleep for a few days."

Brax lowered his head and kissed her softly, pulling back he looked down on her "why don't you come back with me and stay the night, that way you get sleep and you get to see Alex."

Charlie smiled at the thought of seeing Alex "I'd love to but it's a bit late to be waking her and trust me when I see her I'm gonna wanna squeeze her," she chuckled.

Brax chuckled and nudged her up "she'll be in my room," he said as he pulled clothes on "you'll get to see her first thing too."

Charlie chuckled again and stood up to fix her trousers "if I didn't know any better I'd think you're using my love for your daughter as an excuse to get me home."

Brax chuckled and walked to her "well it has kinda sucked without you around all the time," he said and slid his hands onto her hip "I'm not the only one missing you either….Heath misses your pancakes."

"Brax," she giggled and shoved him away from her.

"Alright alright," he said slipping his arms around her and pulling her back into him "I've missed you…come home with me?"

Charlie smiled and turned in his arms "how can I say no to that," she said standing up on her toes "and I've missed you too," she added before kissing him sweetly.

Brax smiled and pushed some hair out of her face "so we're gonna make a go of this?"

Charlie nodded "but no title and one step at a time…this shouldn't have happened so soon-but I'm so glad it did," she added quickly as his face fell.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting that at all," he said and stepped back "I thought we had some talking to do first-a lot of talking."

Charlie nodded and pulled on her shoes "we did-we do, you have a lot going on Brax with Ricky, I know she's Alex's mum and she's always gonna be hanging in the balance somewhere, but if this thing with is us is gonna go anywhere you need to be really sure," she said seriously.

"I am," he said taking a quick step to her.

"So what happened the other day with Ricky getting into your head and you pushing me away can't happen again," she replied.

Brax nodded and held out his hand "it wont," he said tugging her along "like I said, all these feelings are new to me and I got scared I dealt with them the only way I know how."

Charlie leaned into him as they walked towards the beach "one step at a time and I'm sure we'll do just fine."

….

Arriving at his house Charlie looked up at him "how come you didn't drive to work today?"

Brax looked at his car and shrugged "felt like walking today," he said and let go of her hand to open the door. Pushing it in he moved so she could go first "do you wanna watch a movie or go stra…." he trailed off and stopped walking at the sight that greeted him.

"Hey," Ricky said and slowly rose from the couch.

Brax ignored her and looked to a nervous Kyle standing by the kitchen "Where's Alex?" he asked angrily.

"Not here," he replied glancing at Ricky.

"You've trained your brothers well Brax," Ricky snapped "they wont even tell me where my daughter is, they refused to call you to let you know I was here."

Heath walked out of the kitchen and scoffed "yeah coz that's what this family needs, more drama," he said and walked towards his room.

Brax looked back at Ricky "what are you doing here?" he asked and took a step closer to her "I warned you already."

Ricky rolled her eyes "you cant just turn up out of the blue and warn me off seeing my own daughter Brax it doesn't work that way," she said and sat down "she can stay here but we're gonna arrange visitation rights."

Brax scoffed "like hell we will, you dumped her and took off you have no rights to her you don't give a damn about her!"

Ricky jumped up "there's not a court in the world that would keep a mother from her child!" she yelled.

Charlie had stood awkwardly by the door behind Brax, she'd wanted to jump in but this wasn't her fight. Looking at Brax she saw how angry he was getting, there'd be no talking or anything tonight, sighing she stepped back and opened the door "I'm gonna head home…call me tomorrow," she added and slipped out.

Brax looked at the door closing, glancing at Ricky he pulled it open and followed her "Charlie wait," he called and caught up with her "I'm sorry, I had no idea she was gonna be here."

Charlie smiled and kissed him on the cheek "don't be sorry, it's not your fault I just don't think I should be here for this…go on back in and sort it, I'll still be here tomorrow."

Brax pulled her to him and kissed her deeply "I'll call you when she's gone which trust me will be pretty soon," he chuckled and stepped back.

"Charlie can I stay at your place tonight?" Kyle asked as he quickly walked by them.

"Uh, sure," she frowned and watched him go.

Heath walked out and slapped Brax on the back "good luck mate," he said and looked at Charlie "I'm staying at yours," he said and walked to his truck "oh, Brax…that's where she is with Case and Rubes!" he called before climbing in.

Charlie chuckled and looked at Brax "guess I'm having a sleepover after all."

"Yeah," Brax chuckled and looked back at the house "I better go get rid of her."

Charlie nodded and walked to the truck " I'll be awake," she smiled and climbed in, her gut feeling was telling her this was a bad idea.

Brax walked back into the house after they'd gone "well you've scared them all away, mission accomplished, now get out."

Ricky rolled her eyes and stood up "I'm serious here Brax we need to talk about this."

"Talk?" he yelled "where were you weeks ago when you dumped her on me? Where were you when I called you like a million times?"

"I know you're angry and you have every right to be Brax but you have to understand I did the right thing!" she yelled.

"Yeah, the right thing for you!" he yelled back and stalked by her.

"I knew she'd be better off with you, I saw you with Rocco, I knew you'd make a great dad," Ricky said following him to the kitchen. "Look Brax," she said in a softer tone "I hadn't a maternal bone in my body, I had no clue what to do with a baby, I'm young I wanna go places do things."

Brax scoffed "and my plans were to get a baby dumped on me and run a restaurant, look after three brothers and have a new girlfriend."

"So she is your girlfriend," Ricky said and took a step closer to him "I thought I was the love of your life," she added.

Brax took a long gulp of his beer "yeah, well you went and screwed that up didn't you?" he asked and walked back to the living room. "Give it up Ricky you don't wanna see her, you're only here because she's something you can't have."

"You're still the love of my life," she said quietly and leaned against the door "I screwed up so bad Brax and I know that," she whimpered "but I would give anything-anything," she said and sat beside him "to take this all back, to tell you as soon as I found out, to have stuck around." sliding her hand onto his leg she moved closer to him "and most of all…I'd give anything to see us as a family, I love you Brax and that will never change, we can be happy again, all three of us."

"No we can't," he said and pulled away "too much has happened," he said and walked to the door "we can't be fixed," he added and nodded outside.

Ricky walked over "Brax please," she said and took both his hands "I know you still love me, we can be fixed…just give me one more chance….please?" she asked and moved into him "you know we're so good together, you'll never feel this way about another woman and I'll never feel the same way about another man," she said into his ear.

When he looked down on her she kissed him, he pulled back and stared at her, another few seconds passed in silence. Failing badly-very badly he pulled her to him and kissed her hard.

…..

Over at Charlie's they'd just cleaned up after watching a movie, Charlie was straightening up in the living room while Kyle and Heath washed the few cups and bowls they'd used. Finding a glass they'd missed Charlie walked towards the kitchen but stopped when she heard them talking.

"What?" Heath asked.

"I said, How do you think this looks for Charlie?" Kyle asked.

Heath frowned "what do you mean? Is Brax gonna go on another bender is that what you're asking?"

"No," Kyle sighed "I mean we all know how Ricky can get to Brax-how she can get in his head."

Charlie's stomach dropped, she'd never thought of that, blowing out a breath she walked into the kitchen "then that'll be Brax's choice then won't it?" she asked and dropped the glass into the sink "you missed one," she added as they gawped at her.

"Charlie I didn't mean t-" Kyle started.

Charlie held up her hand "it's fine Kyle, it's the truth, if Brax's wants to get back with Ricky then that's his choice and his business."

Heath and Kyle looked at one another "and that doesn't bother you?" Heath asked "you'd just step aside?"

"Of course it bothers me," she replied and leaned against the door "but she's Alex's mum and they have all this history. Who am I to stand in the way of a family being together? If that's what Brax wants then I'll respect that."

"So you wouldn't fight for him?" Kyle asked curiously.

Charlie chuckled "he's been with Ricky for years, he's with me a whole five minutes who do you think he's gonna choose?" she asked "you know what, this is stupid," she said and walked out to the living room. "Knowing Brax he probably didn't let her get two words out before he flung her out…night!" she called as she made her way up to her room.

"Night!" they both called back.

"Maybe leaving them at the house alone wasn't such a good idea," Kyle said "…will I head home?"

"No," Heath laughed "Brax is not stupid mate, he knows what he's doing, she'll be gone and never heard from again come morning, you'll see, don't even think about it," he said as he walked by him.

Kyle chewed on his lip and looked at his phone "…maybe I should call him," he said and picked up the phone.

"Kyle, go get some sleep and stop worrying about Brax, he's a grown idiot that can look after himself," Heath called.

Kyle sighed and walked up the stairs "I have a really bad feeling, something's happened."

"Stop being such a girl," Heath chuckled "I'm gonna crash on Charlie's floor, night mate," he said and closed the door.

Halfway through the night Brax jumped slightly as his phone beeped, reaching over to the table he picked up the phone and opened the message 'hope everything went okay, I'm here if you need me xx' sighing he threw down the phone. Looking down at Ricky he sighed again, sliding out from under her he threw the blanket over her grabbed his phone and walked to the kitchen. Grabbing a beer he walked outside and leaned on the rail, looking at the message again he thought for a moment before replying.

Charlie looked over at her phone as it lit up beside her, reading the message she glanced at Heath on the floor r u still awake? Climbing out of the bed she replied with a simple yes, grabbing a hoodie she made her way downstairs.

Just as she made tea her phone rang "hey," she yawned and walked to the table.

"Hey," he replied "did I wake you?"

"No, Alex just went down again, I hadn't heard from you so I said I'd text you," she replied.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

"She's fine, she was delighted to see me," she chuckled.

Brax chuckled too "told ya she missed ya."

"I missed her too…did everything go okay? Is she gone?" she asked hopeful.

Brax didn't miss it in her voice "uh, yeah," he lied and glanced at the door "but I don't think it's over yet."

Charlie bit on her lip that wasn't what she wanted to hear "did you even hear her out?"

"A little," he replied "she was trying to get me to give her another chance…she wants us to be a family."

Charlie closed her eyes tight, exactly what she thought was going to happen "and you?" she almost whispered "what do you want?"

Brax cursed himself he could hear the worry in her voice, looking in at Ricky he sighed "I don't know."

Charlie bit on her lip again "so there is a chance you could forgive her?"

Brax was silent for a minute and that silence was the answer Charlie needed "look Brax, if there is a chance you could be a family and be happy you should take it."

Brax cursed himself again "I don't know what I want Charlie but I do know I don't want to give up on us."

"And I don't want to stand in the way of Alex having the family she deserves," Charlie replied.

Brax was silent again "…can I come see you?" he finally asked.

"Now?" she asked.

"Yes now, I really need to see you," he said and grabbed his keys "I just wanna see you."

"Okay," she replied slowly "I'll be in the kitchen."

"I'm on my way, I'll see ya soon," he said and hung up.

Charlie put down her phone and sighed, earlier on he was sure Ricky didn't exist anymore and she was what he wanted and now he wasn't so sure. What had happened to make him so unsure?

…..

Arriving at Charlie's Brax turned off his car and sat looking at the house, did he tell her what happened with Ricky? Did he pretend it never happened and stick to the story that he'd kicked her out? Blowing out a deep breath he climbed out of the car and made his way round the back of the house. Seeing her sitting at the table staring into her cup he tapped on the window so he wouldn't startle her.

Charlie stood up and opened the door "hey," she said and shifted uncomfortably.

The second he saw her the guilt hit him like a ton of bricks, why was he so stupid? Why did he let Ricky into his head? Why was he so damn weak when it came to her? "hey," he finally replied and leaned against the door.

"You gonna come in?" Charlie asked and walked back to the table.

Brax walked inside and closed the door "so?" he asked and leaned against the counter.

"So?" she replied and looked over at him.

Brax chuckled lightly and looked at the floor "this is a bit awkward."

"Doesn't have to be," she replied and stood up "you have history with Ricky, you have a baby with her…you love her," she said "if you want her don't let me stand in the way."

Brax smiled and walked to her "you'd really step aside if I wanted to be with Ricky?"

Charlie nodded "if it makes you happy then yes."

Brax slid his hands around her waist "I want you," he said.

Charlie snapped her head up "me?" she asked surprised, she was sure he'd come to tell her it was Ricky he chose.

"Yes you," he chuckled and slid his hand onto her cheek "I want you Charlie, Ricky is the past what we had has run it's course," he said and kissed her slowly.

Charlie pulled back "you smell like her."

Brax hung his head and sighed heavily "she kissed me," he replied, he couldn't lie to her "and I kissed her back."

Charlie pulled away from him quickly and turned her back on him "did you sleep with her?" she asked as she folded a towel as much as she could.

Brax watched her for a moment, walking to her he placed his hand on hers to still her movements "no," he said honestly.

Charlie scoffed "I find that hard to believe Brax," she snapped and pulled away from him "I can smell her perfume on your skin…is that why you never called? You were too busy screwing her!?" she yelled.

Brax walked over to her "listen to me Charlie-no listen to me," he said and pinned her to the counter when she tried to move away "I didn't sleep with her okay."

"What happened then?" she asked.

"I kissed her back-but only for a second, I pushed her away she started crying, I didn't know what to do so I hugged her, we talked and I fell asleep on the sofa with her, that's all, I promise," he replied.

Charlie took it all in, he kissed her back, he pushed her away, he fell asleep on the sofa with her…she didn't buy it at all. Sighing heavily she slipped by him " I don't buy that at all Brax," she said and turned to face him "what really happened?"

Brax studied her for a moment, if he told her the truth it could end it before it had begun. "Alright," he sighed and took a step to her "I didn't just kiss her back."

Charlie nodded and sat down "so you did sleep with her?"

"No, no I didn't," he replied and quickly came to sit beside her.

Charlie rolled her eyes and looked over at him "do I look stupid to you?" she asked "I know what hold she has over you Brax," she added.

Brax sat back on the chair "I know and I did lose control for like a minute," he said and turned to face her "things were starting to heat up, I carried her to the sofa. As soon as she tried to pull my shirt over my head I pulled away and realised what I was doing…that's when she started the crying and all."

"What's to say you wont lose control again?" she asked.

"You," he replied and scooted closer to her "Charlie, you are all I want, I promise I will never hurt you, me and Ricky are done there's nothing left to say, we're done and that's it."

Charlie blew out a breath "where is she now?"

Brax chewed on his lip he'd already told her she'd gone "she's still at my place asleep on the sofa."

Charlie looked down at her hands and nodded, she already knew she was still there. Standing up she walked to the door "I need you to go an-"

"No," he said cutting her off and stood up "I'm not going anywhere until I know for sure you believe me when I say it's you I wanna be with."

Charlie let go of the door "and I can't do this with you until I know for sure it is me you want, look Brax," she said and walked to him "you and Ricky go way back, you have a child together, you have major history."

"And that is all over now," he replied seriously.

Charlie smiled sadly at him "answer me one question," she said and walked to him "if Ricky hadn't left would you still be with her?"

When Brax failed to reply she shrugged, walking to the door again she pulled it open "right now you don't know what you want Brax, go home and think about it."

Brax walked to the door he knew there was no point talking to her tonight, leaning in her kissed her sweetly "I'll be back for you," he said and kissed her on the forehead before walking off.

Charlie sighed heavily and shut the door "I hope so," she muttered and leaned against it, she was doing the right thing here. There was no rush, if he really wanted her he would be back for her.

….

A/N hi all so sorry for the major delay, I moved house so that took a while to settle in, then I was left waiting two months TWO MONTHS! For my new internet. This is only a small chapter to get me back into the swing of things, I've already started the next one so hopefully it will be ready to post in a few days, hope to see some reviews…cya soon, JJ J