Thanks to Maleeha x, breather89, lettuce leaf, Amelia and Sophie Emelia Fr for reviewing

I have written two one-shots in the Tracy Beaker fandom. Maybe some of you would like to check them out? The first one is called 'don't dream it's over' and the second 'this I promise you'. They're both very daddy-daughter between Tracy and Mike. I hope some of you will read and like them, and maybe even leave a tiny little review?

This chapter is like all the chapters of this story written in third person POV. It's just that I usually otherwise write in first person. So during some parts of this chapter I accidentally switched and didn't notice. So if something seems weird it's because of that. And when it's first person it is Mo's granddad's point of view.

Lettuce leaf: I always try and make the back story make sense with the characters and what we know about them. It makes me happy when someone seem to think I do it right. Kitty's chapter was a hard one to write. I'm so happy you liked it, thank you for reading and reviewing.

Amelia: I'm sorry about the mistakes. I know very well it's spelled 'head' and 'lady' so they are probably only there because I was writing fast and not paying attention. I think you'll notice if you have read the rest of the story that the writing, as well as spelling and grammar gets better throughout the story. After all, it has been five years since I started the story. I'm glad you liked it anyway. Thank you for reading and reviewing and pointing out the mistakes. I hope you'll like the rest if you do keep on reading.

Sophie Emelie Fr: Thank you for that answer. I don't know what happened to any of the dogs. I just write what I think happened that made them go into care and we do know since before that Jody did eat dog food so she obviously did have dogs. I guess the dogs were put in a shelter or something, or they went back to Denise, Kingsley and Luke when they 'disappeared' in Jody's first episode. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Anthony "Mo" Michaels

David Michaels always looked at his son Mo with pride.

Except Mo wasn't David's son.

And his name wasn't Mo.

Mo's name was in fact Anthony

And David was in fact Anthony's granddad.

Except Mo- as everybody called Anthony ever. As he even believed was his actual name, didn't know anything of the story about that David was his granddad. Or that he had been abandoned by his parents…

Although maybe not abandoned exactly.

David was still filled with anger when he thought about how his son, and Mo's dad, Peter. Along with his wife Caroline had looked David himself in the eyes and promised, PROMISED for all that they were worth they would never leave him alone again.

…"It was only for a couple of hour's dad. I and Caro just wanted some time of our own. But we do get now we can't leave Anthony on his own. I'm sorry. I promise we'll never do that again."…

Promise it was… Well three days (!) later David had been walking up to the stairs to his son and his family's flat at the sound of Anthony's crying. If it hadn't been anything David didn't know what he had done. But it had been something, and Anthony had been sitting on the kitchen floor with his whole palm full of burn blisters.

And the memory picture of seeing little Toddler Anthony like that, left all alone in a flat where a stove was accidentally left on was enough for the anger to boil in David's veins. It had then too. And maybe those blisters and the letter David had left for Peter and Caroline that day, turned them to see the fact they maybe weren't fit to care for a small child.

Peter
Taken Anthony to the hospital. We'll talk later. I think A will be better off with me. And whether you say otherwise or not I will bring in the social services.
-Dad

And no, Peter and Caroline had not liked the idea of bringing in the social services. If it had been as simple as it could have been made. Anthony would simply just have moved in with his granddad, still had contact with his parents, and had a quite normal childhood like any other little boy.

Instead…

Well, the social services had been brought into it. It had been taken into court with Peter and Caroline on one side wanting to keep their child stating they could take good care of him, loved him to bits and would always put Anthony- nicknamed Mo by Peter, in the first part. And David knew very well the first two were correct in every way. It was just that the third one that was too important to ignore.

And there had been David and his wife on the other side. David stating everything from his point of view, that Peter and Caroline did their best with parenting but maybe weren't fit to care for a child full-time on their own. And then Mo's grandmother in the middle of it all wanting the best for both her son and her grandson. It was just that those two were different ways.

When at last it was made up Gwendolyn and David would be Mo's full-time-guardians they did think that Mo would still know his parents. But obviously Peter couldn't stand the thought of that. So one night he had obviously talked to Caroline- and off they were for God knows where.

I can't stand losing him dad. Please change his name, to Mo or whatever.
Goodbye
Peter.

And still, what made David the angriest wasn't that he or his wife had had a disabled child, or that they hadn't done their best for Peter because they had. What made him the angriest was that one thing, one somewhat simple thing that could be changed so it would be good for all parts. And Peter couldn't take it.

That told David more than anything that Peter and Caroline weren't fit to raise a child on their own. He and his wife had changed Anthony's name legally, but God knows why Peter wanted that. And not for Mo to know he had been abandoned like that. They had raised him as if he was their very own son and little boy. With a tiny little help from the social services that came for regular checkups every other year or so.

Then something changed…

Gwendolyn, David's wife, Peter's mum and Mo's grandma… or mum like Mo believed she was… had gotten ill. Breast cancer… But people survived cancer all the time right? Breast cancer was better than liver or lung or brain….?

Except. Gwendolyn didn't survive. And David had been left alone to care for Mo.

"Remember what I told you Mo?" David asked his grandson (or son if you'd have asked Mo himself) "That since we have been in contact with the social services a bit before when we've had some trouble about where to stay and stuff. They have kept an eye on you, and on me and on mum. And when mum got ill and di… Well… Now they want to check it again to make sure I don't treat you badly now when I'm alone."

"But you're not alone dad." Mo said with a smile of the kind that only he could make. "You've got me and… I like hugging you. Mo pulled his arms as tightly as he could, not quite being able to reach all the way around. "And you always smell so nicely." Mo breathed in feeling his grandfather's usual smell of after shave and tobacco. "And you're so much taller than me so your hugs makes me feel all safe. Like you can protect me from anything bad and dangerous in the whole wide world. You've got me, and I've got you. And then none of us will be alone."

David swallowed trying to fight the fear that was roaring up inside of him. How could he have looked into those sweet chocolate brown eyes and told his little boy that he couldn't protect him. That there might not even be a way for him to be able to be there to protect him anymore. David couldn't, but Mo stepped away and gave his old man a bright smile.

"I'm afraid I haven't always been able to give you the nicest thing. Right now we have to live…" The both male's looked around in their small, wooden… more kind of box than house. "And we haven't got a toilet or running water or stuff like other people have. But I love you. And I want you to always remember that, okay?"

"Living in a shed doesn't really matter…" Mo looked around. "… Neither does it that we have to go the toilet in the bushes. None of that matters. Not as long as I have you and you have me." Mo's eyes stopped at a framed photo on a shelf. "Although I wish mum was still here. I miss her and I miss her pancakes and the smell of perfume and…" David couldn't listen to it anymore.

"Mo…" He cleared his throat so his grandson wouldn't hear his voice breaking. "Why don't you… go into the bushes and you know… do your business." Mo bobbed his head up and down and while he left the house… the shed, David took a few steps closer and lifted the framed photo of his gone wife.

"God Gwennie." David almost whispered to the photo so Mo wouldn't be able to hear it. "I wish you were here. You always knew the right thing to do."

For a moment David lightly grabbed the pearls that he always had lying by the framed photo of his wife. The pearls that had used to belong to his own mum and that she had given to Gwendolyn when she and David married. Holding it between his fingers like this would sometimes kind of make him feel as if he was closer to her…

But not right now.

"Dad?" Mo came running back into the shed. "Are you coming? Where are we going by the way?"

"Sometimes…" David did his best to find the right words and explain this all to Mo. "Sometimes when great, big changes happen. Like your mum not being here anymore and us living in a shed…"

"I already told you that doesn't matter. Not as long as I'm with you."

"I know Mo, I know." David was fighting hard to keep his voice steady. "But some things have gone wrong and some friends of mine noticed. Now they think that maybe you should go somewhere else to live. And I'll get the chance to get back on my feet, get a proper house and fix with your mum's things so they're not all around anymore… find ways to live… And sometimes that does take some time of your own. Now here we are." David swore under his breath for the social services only being two streets away from the shed they lived. "Hello… David…" Three social workers stood in a hallway right inside the door. The two men presented themselves as Kenneth and Paul, and the woman, a bit younger than the two others as Gracie. As David followed the two men into a room with a desk and God knows how much paper work. Gracie stayed in the hallway to keep Mo company.

Stepping into a room where there sat two social workers, ready to take Mo away from him if so was needed made David want to throw up. But somehow he remained calm, looked back to see Mo was alright with a book and a few toys and then closed the door after him.

"Good afternoon Mr. Michaels…" One of the social workers stated and the other one wrote something in his notebook. "My name is Kenneth Miller, and this is Paul Margaret. I suppose you know why we have asked you to come here today?"

"Yes, yes of course." David nodded and felt his heart starting to beat wildly. "Yeah… I.. Yes, yes of course."

"You may sit down."

"Thank you."

With shaky legs David took a few steps around it and then sat down in the chair on the other side of a desk from the two social workers who were saying something to one another that David couldn't hear.

"We do know that six and a half years ago you ended up adopting your grandson- Anthony Michaels from his parents…" David nodded to what Mr. Kenneth Miller said and didn't dare opening his mouth. "…That you've had contact with the social services during the next few years. That you and your wife seemed to take well care of the boy and the social services found nothing of worry. But as of now, some things have changed." David nodded again.

"True."

"What changed?" David closed his eyes for a split second, choosing the right words for this was never easy. Not even with people you didn't know. "Mr. Michaels… what changed?"

"I… My wife, Anthony- Mo- Anthony…." David looked confused to the two men that seemed just as confused. "Anthony's" He decided at last. "…grandmother- Gwendolyn passed away a few weeks ago. From cancer." David thought about the move and wondered if he should say anything about moving. "She was ill about nine months before she died and… and…"

"We're very sorry for your loss. Are there any other current changes we should take into consideration?"

"Yes… yes. Gwenni..." The fact only that David had to tell them about all changes didn't make it any easier. "Gwendolyn her… there were hospital bills. She worked at a school with cooking but of course… she had to quit… I worked as a bus driver but… I had to care for her and… We were never rich but… Money was really tight and we couldn't keep the house we lived in."

"Where do you live now?"

"A friend of mine had a small… small house in his garden. And… we have electricity and all of that…" The thought crossed David's mind he should tell these men everything- including about the plumbing. "…But it's got heat and all of that. And we have food and everything enough to make a living. And we've got each other, that's what's most important and I always make sure Anthony knows that."

Kenneth nodded and Paul kept on noting things in his notebook in a way that made David feel more and more nervous.

If he said something wrong and Mo would be taken away from him…

…No, that was something too hard to even think about.

"Can you tell us a bit more about how you ended up adopting your grandson from your son and his wife?" It seemed that the guy named Kenneth was going to do most of the talking and questioning here. Paul had barely looked up from the notebook he was taking his notes in. "Was that the best for all parts? What did your son and his wife say about it? And what does Anthony think about growing up with you rather than his actual parents."

"Oh ehm…" David put his hands together and laid them on the table in front of him. "Mo… I mean Anthony. He thinks that I am his dad, and that Gwendolyn… my wife is his mum. As you know my son and his wife were unable to care for him when he was a toddler. Anthony doesn't know that I'm his grandfather as a matter of fact, we were going to wait until he's old enough to understand why he was taken away from his parents."

"And why was he taken away?"

"I… My son and his wife are both disabled. Physically disabled and…"

"Would that in any way mean that they were unable to care for a small child? Only for the sake of their disabilities?"

"No… Not in any way." David was becoming more and more nervous. In fear that if he said or did anything wrong Mo would be taken away from him. "But they… they weren't… they made some mistakes and their… I guess their minds… weren't developed, aren't developed so to the point they could care for a small child… So they had some problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"They would leave Mo- I mean Anthony home alone so they could go out on their own when he was a baby. They forgot to feed him, forgot to change his diaper and things like that. And they didn't always know best of how to be careful and what was right in the presence of a baby… or a toddler as M… Anthony was when I found him in their apartment alone. They had gone for a weekend and left food and everything, claiming they'd only be gone that Saturday and until Sunday afternoon but that… that was enough."

Kenneth nodded slightly and Paul noted something more. They said some things to each other that were too much mumbling for David to hear before they both looked towards me and sat up straight.

"I think we've got what we need. Is there something else we need to know before we make our decision?"

"Yes." David said before he had the time to hesitate. "I… We… Both I, my wife, my son and his wife and Mo… Anthony have had some rough times in life. And we have hit something hard now, especially these last few months. Right now I can't give… Mo what he needs. But I do my best to be able to put food on the table and all of that. And what's most important is that I love my son… my grandson very much. And I will do everything to keep him safe."

"Is that all?" Kenneth asked after a few seconds of silence. "Well then. We should have considered everything you've said in half an hour or so. You can take Anthony with you outside if you want and Gracie will come in here… GRACIE."

"Hey Mo." David stood up and forced himself to smile. "What do you say? We take a walk yeah?"

"Good idea dad." David smiled when Mo put his hands behind his back and walked before David out the door, through the hallway and out from the social services' David only followed. And didn't have to force himself to smile when he like so many times before noticed how much older and more mature Mo seemed sometimes. "Can we get an ice cream dad?"

Well… He was still a kid after all!

"I'm sorry Mo." David counted the little cash I had in his wallet. "Not today."

"That's okay dad." Mo put his little hand into his actual granddad's bigger. Like he probably have should stopped doing at his age- but I didn't mind. David just squeezed his hand and walked down the road. "I have you and that's what's most important."

"And that's what's most important."

And that's what's most important.

David would have liked for that moment to last forever. For that half hour to never end. With just himself and his son all alone in the whole wide world in our own universe. But of course, like always when you want time to stand still. It went by fast, then an hour did, then an hour and a half and Paul came into the hallway to get David self and Mo.

"Sorry we're a bit late. You can come in now. Gracie will stay with Mo once again. Hey Mo." Paul waved to my son as did David on his way into the room that made his heart beat so hard it could just as well have come right up his throat. "And… I will let Kenneth do the talking."

"Yes." Kenneth's voice sounded weirdly strongly and demanding. "After taking everything you have said into consideration, and also what Anthony have said to our Gracie outside we have come to a decision on what will be the best for both yourself and Anthony." Kenneth riffled a bit in the papers in front of him and David had to fight not to throw up. "And we think it's for the best if Anthony go into care- immediately."

Right there and then David's whole world fell apart around him.

"Bu-but wh-wh-what?"

"We think it's for the best if he goes into care during a short while. Until you come back onto your feet and do have a proper place to live. We have talked all together and on the phone to a head care worker on one care home not too far away from here. His name is Michael Milligan and I'm sure both you and… Mo will feel like it's for the best."

"And… when?"

"Gracie will take Mo with her now and take him to visit this home- Elm tree house. And we think it would be for the best if he moves there right away, today. If you want to tell him yourself we could take him right in here and you will tell him and then you leave the both of you, first going home and then take Mo to Elm Tree House. If you want us to tell him then you can go home in the meantime and gather his things while we- Gracie take Mo to Elm Tree house and show him where he's going to live and explain to him why. How would you like to have it done?"

And then, just like that my whole world fell apart around me.

"I… I can't… You… I'll go home and get his things."

"That's how we usually do it. Off you go." Paul went to open the door and Gracie and Mo came in. As in a fog David stepped away, then hurried out the door, another door and towards his so called home.

Could it really be David's home anymore? Without Mo? Without anything of his?

In a pure anger rage as soon as he was alone inside the door David started hitting all around him. He didn't have many belongings after selling everything he could for Gwendolyn's hospital bill. But what he had flew back and forth over the shed's floor while David's swearing mixed with sobs and tears streaming down his cheeks.

The sobs wouldn't stop wrenching his old, quite large form. And shaking all over David picked up the framed photo of his wife. It laid with the glass down, so while he picked it up he prayed to God the frame was still whole.

It wasn't.

David sobbed worse than ever when he realized he had broken both the frame and Gwendolyn's necklace. But there wasn't a question in his mind what he should do with it now. The photo could be fixed up, but he knew Gwendolyn had been wanting to give the pearls to Mo so he could give it to some particular girl. And with that thought and Gwendolyn's words in his head he stood up and started picking up the pearls from the floor, carefully taking them each up into his hand and crying worse than ever.

I want it to go through the generations.

At last David was left panting crouched on the floor before he realized how much of a mess he had made. And without giving himself the chance to hesitate more he forced himself to get up and start picking up things. Mo's things went in one black bag, two different bags actually. Clothes and things in one- pieces of things (or 'treasure' like Mo called it) in another. And putting things of his own where they were supposed to be.

"Dad." Just as David had picked up the very last of the books that he had thrown across the room Mo came running inside. "Gracie took me to see where I'll be living now. I asked if you could come with me but they told me you can't. But it's really nice. I'll be sharing my room with a kid named Tyler and he's really nice. And there's two people who works there- Mike and Gina and Gina's hugs are almost as good and warm as yours are and… It's really nice. So you don't have to worry for me at all because I'm going to have a great time. Just like I would have had with you."

"That's great." David forced a smile, even though he was breaking he knew he had to act strong for Mo. And that was made easier by the great, big smile on his grandson's face. Although only a tiny little bit. "And I've collected all of your stuff in black bags." He gestured to the two black bags he had standing in front of him and the roll of more bags. "You do have a lot of treasure. But… I had a bit of an accident here earlier." David held up his hand holding onto all of the pearls and then poured it down into the big, black bag. "I know this may not make sense right now. But that necklace broke and the pearls fell apart. Now you and I are falling apart too. But we still belong together. So some time, when you feel lost. I want you to go through this bag until you've found all the pearls and put them together. And you know my mum gave this to your mum. So some day when you find some girl… " David tied a knot in the upper, empty part of the black bag and handed it to Mo. "…When you find some girl you really like…. Give it to her." Mo nodded with a great, big smile on his lips. David didn't really feel like smiling right now and couldn't bear much else than a half-hearted grimace. "… And…" David looked up when Gracie Cullen came back into the house and nodded slightly. "I guess… I guess it's time to go…"

For the first time since all of this had started Mo's smile faded as he looked back on Gracie, up at David. And then stepped over and hugged his granddad… his real dad a hug as hard as he possibly could.

"You'll come and visit though…" It hurt David more than anything hearing the broken tone in Mo's voice. "…Soon? Often?" David looked hopelessly over Mo's head and to Gracie who shrugged just as hopelessly. David could never lie, so instead he slightly bent down to be able to look Mo in the eyes and forced a smile.

"As soon as I can."

The smile that returned on Mo's lips and reached his eyes hurt David more than anything. And no more words were said, or even needed when Mo let go of his grandpa and took one of the black bags while Gracie took the other one. And in the door he turned around and waved.

"Goodbye dad."

David was breaking and he couldn't find his voice to speak back, so he just raised his hands in a wave while Mo turned again and Gracie smiled back at David before she finally closed the door behind them.

"Goodbye son."

Somewhere deep inside David knew the social services were doing the right thing with taking Mo away from him.

Somewhere deep inside David knew that this wasn't goodbye.

Somewhere deep inside David knew that he wasn't more alone now than he had been this morning.

But how was David supposed to see and know that without his beloved Mo right there by his side?

And as the door closed behind Mo, and David heard Gracie's car start and take Mo what felt like a million miles away. David fell to his knees in the middle of the… of the shed he was now all alone in.

But there were no more tears to cry.

Random fact

The hardest part of this chapter was actually what would have been more likely- if they used Anthony, or Mo. And at last I decided on Anthony on the meeting since it was his name from the start. But I hope it doesn't confuse anyone and that it makes sense.