As Long As I Have You

[Danni02]

Great update. I hate Sally (and Paul kinda) so much. Grrr her. I do understand why she is being the way she is but still......I guess because I think Ruby belongs with Charlie, I'm just finding it hard (weird) to read her being adopted out and not with Charlie. Anyhoo, I'm glad Charlie and the baby are okay. For a moment there I got all excited about the baby dates being wrong, but turns out they weren't. Love how much Brax cares about the baby already though.

Update soon

[RoRo90]

Been trying my best not to dislike Sally but its official I do... I cant believe the extent she is going to just for her own gain, she needs to think about everyone else feelings in this, it's clear that Charlie isn't trying to take Ruby away from her she just wants to be a part of her life... I hope sally changes her mind

Totally love how protective Brax was in this chapter and how much he loves the baby already

love the friendship between Bianca and Charlie and so glad Bianca said what she said to Liam... I think every word of it was true

update soon

[JoJo1602]

Sally needs to be more open minded its not about just her anymore

Loved all the chax stuff as always!!

Please update soon, this is one of my favourites!!!!!!!!!!!

[callyha]

Thank you so much for the comments and the continual reading. I really appriciate it! Sorry for the month delay, but I've just moved into a new place and things have been uber crazy! I hope this is okay for you, and I hope I can update sooner for you! I hate making you wait! Thanks again

Chapter 49

Cheryl closed the door of her car and watched as her younger son heading for the door at the bottom of the path. A smile appeared on her face as the door opened and Brax welcomed his younger brother into the house. Cheryl quickened her pace as she heard Casey call out Charlie's name; it had seemed like months had gone by since she last saw Charlie, and she was worried about missing so much.

"Mum" Brax smiled as Cheryl latched onto Brax, inhaling his scent as he wrapped his arms around her and burried his head in her shoulder; something he had needed to do since Charlie left the hospital "how are you?"

"Enough about me" Cheryl replied, hitting Brax gently on the arm as she made to sit on the couch "how is Charlie doing? and my grand-bump?"

"They're both good" Brax smiled, unsure to tell Cheryl about the hospital drama "baby is a good size, developing normally and has everything it needs to" Brax's smile couldn't get any wider

"Do you know what it is?" Cheryl asked

"A baby" Brax smirked

"Darryl" Cheryl tilted her head and looked to Brax "you know what I mean"

"I know, I know. But no, we don't know" Brax shook his head "Charlie wants to wait until the baby is born"

"Good girl" Cherly smiled as Charlie walked into the front room, her hair a mess from sleeping and carrying a cup of tea in with her "I never found out with Darryl or Heath, I did with Casey though, I hoped he was a girl"

"Yea thanks mum" Casey said as he looked to Cheryl

"I only meant that after two boys, in a family where boys dominated, I thought third time would be a girl" Cheryl held her hands up "besides, I'm glad I got my three boys" Cheryl looked to Brax and Casey simutaneously "could you imagine me with a girl?"

"Anyway" Brax cleared his throat "how is Heath? last I saw of him he was still trying to make a few bucks with the metal he got"

"He's gone to Adelaide for a while with some of his mates, one of them got a job offer with the chance of others joining him. Heath went to try his luck" Cheryl replied, not taking her eyes of Charlie, who sat with her cup resting on her perfectly formed bump "may I?" Cheryl shyly asked as she pointed to Charlie's stomach and held her hand out

"Yes" Charlie smiled, placing the cup onto the coffee table and shifting her position on the couch

"Have you had much movement?" Cheryl asked as she kept her hand on Charlie's stomach, hoping to feel movement from her unborn grand-child

"Bub kicked the other night, it was amazing mum" Brax smiled "just like a flutter of something going on in there"

"Look at you, you gone soft" Casey teased "never thought I'd see the day"

"Shh, leave your brother alone" Cheryl turned her head slightly to glare at Casey before returning her gaze to Charlie's bump "this is your niece or nephew in here, you'd better be nice"

"Hey, I am nice" Casey mocked a cocky smile "I'll be cool Uncle Casey who'll buy him all the latest games and show him how to cheat. Or I'll buy her loads of horses, little girls like horses don't they?"

"Dunno" Brax shrugged his shoulders "maybe she'll be fairy liking sort of girl, or maybe a tomboy"

"Don't confuse things" Casey repiled, shaking his head

"So, have you thought of any names?" Cheryl asked

Charlie looked to Brax and shook her head, looking back to Cheryl "not yet" Charlie replied

"Nah, neither did I" Cheryl shook her head "Darryl was nameless for weeks before I thought of one, his dad wasn't much help; kept saying 'call him Sean after me'. I loved the name but I would call my son that, not whilst he was still kicking around"

"I think that's nice" Charlie smiled "honouring someone who's not here by naming a grand-child after them"

"Well, there is your name then" Cheryl smiled, chuffed with knowing what her grandchild was to be called if it were a boy

"Hang on a minute mum" Brax held his hand up "Charlie's mum and dad are dead too, what about honouring them? and what if Charlie and I wanted a different name for the kid? nothing is to say we have to name the baby after my dad or Charlie's mum or dad"

"I'm not telling you that you have to call the baby Sean Braxton if its a boy" Cheryl shook her head "call him Archie Maximus, call him Peter Micheal. I don't care what he's called; he's my grandson, and I can't wait to meet him" Cheryl looked to Charlie and smiled

"Okay, this is too female for me" Casey rose to his feet and headed for the stairs "What needs doing up here?" Brax smiled and walked toward Casey, leaving Charlie and Cheryl to talk some more

~*~

"I take it this you not talking to me is going to continue for a while" Sally asked as she perched on the end of Ruby's bed and watched her silently pack a bag "I know at the moment you can't understand why we're moving, but once we get over there-"

"I understand fine why you want to drag me away from here, and it has nothing to do with the best thing for this family" Ruby snapped "do you honestly think Issy is okay with having her family tag along with her when she is trying to get on with her own life? Dan may want to go to Uni in New Zealand, but I don't. I like it here, I have friends and I'm happy. Dad is too, its just you thinking that taking me away from here is going to make our relationship go back to what it was" Ruby glared at Sally for a moment before angrily throwing more clothes into her bag

"Can't you see this from my view?" Sally asked "Charlie gave you away, she handed you to your dad and I when you were just three months. She asked for a closed adoption, and she never told us that 'Charlie' was the name she went by"

"I can see it from your view, but the problem is, you can't see it from mine" Ruby shook her head "and Charlie didn't just hand me over like you say; she was told to hand me over, she wanted to kep me, that detail you so easily forget" Ruby wiped her face "I know you and dad are my parents, nothing will ever, ever change that. You raised me, clothed me, loved me, took care of me when I was poorly; I know you're my mum, and I know he" Ruby pointed to the picture of her dad she had "is my dad. But Charlie is my family too. And so is the baby. You can't take me away from them now that I know them" Ruby looked to Sally, hoping her last attempt at stay in Australia had worked

"I'm sorry Ruby" Sally shook her head "tickets are already booked and we have a house lined up over there" Sally rose to her feet "we leave in one week"

~*~

Bianca glanced at her watch as she looked to Liam "That has to be the longest shower on record for you" Bianca looked back to the laptop "what were you doing in there?"

"Thinking" Liam replied "I don't know what to say to Charlie" Liam sat opposite Bianca

"Congratulations might be a good start" Bianca laughed

"Is it though?" Liam asked

"Don't start this again Liam" Bianca shook her head

"I'm not, all I'm saying is, what if me saying congratulations to her for been pregnant makes her realise more that the baby is Angelo's? I mean, every time she sees me, she sees Angelo"

"Not she doesn't, don't be stupid" Bianca shook her head "man up, brush your hair, and go over there, and spend some time with Charlie. She's needs friends around her at the moment" Bianca hit Liam on the sides of his arms as he sighed, looking behind him for a hair brush

"This isn't going to go well" Liam shook his head as he ran the brush through his hair

"Would you stop being a baby? You have always been able to talk to Charlie; remember when a few customers thought you and her were a couple?"

"Yea" Liam nodded "but thats only because I had my hand up her dress"

"I know. And you never have to mention that again" Bianca said sternly, even after nearly six years, the image of Liam with his hand up Charlie's dress was still present in her mind "all I meant was you used to get along really, really well"

"Six years ago we were 21. We had nothing to worry about and you and me weren't even together" Liam pointed out "why are you still sore over that?"

"I'm not sore" Bianca argued

"Yes, you are" Liam smiled "and this is exactly the same for me. Every time I see Charlie I see Angelo and what she did"

"Okay two things; firstly, don't ever compare you and Charlie with Angelo and Charlie" Bianca pointed "and secondly, you're not getting out of this" Bianca walked through the kitchen and opened the door "go"

~*~

"And I thought the crib could go here" Brax pointed to the center of the room "what do you think"

"Its a baby room, not much to think of" Casey replied

"To you maybe not" Brax walked to where the crib was going to go "but to me and Charlie there is. Charlie gets to be the mother she is; the baby stays with her. and me? I'm getting two good things in my life, I'm getting the life I wanted"

"And you're wanting to have this room done as a suprise for Charlie?" Casey asked

"Yea" Brax nodded

"Okay. We're in the last week of October, Halloween is on Friday, we're on Saturday so we have four months to get the room ready"

"Yes" Brax smiled

"So why are you rushing to get the room sorted? I mean, four months is a long time" Casey replied as he opened the door to one of the cupboards

"I know, but with Charlie been in hospital yesterday it made me realise anything can happen, and if the baby comes early, at least it will have a room" Brax replied, walking closer to where Casey was stood

"It really scared you, didn't it?" Casey looked at his older brother, who nodded and looked close to tears

"And I feel helpless" Brax wiped his mouth "I just want things to be ok, but I can't know if it is going to be" Brax looked to Casey "so the room gets done"

"Sure" Casey nodded, knowing Brax was using decorating the baby's room as a distraction from not been able to help as much as he wanted to.

~*~

Issy opened the door to the coffee shop and held the door open for Sally, who walked straight up to the counter and ordered their usual mocha half cream, half milk and a frothy hot chocolate. Issy took a seat at an empty table and waited for Sally to walk over with the two cups. She glanced around at the coffee shop, knowing this would be the last she sat in the shop, waiting for a drink.

"Here you are" Sally smiled as she placed Issy's mocha on the table in front of her "and I got you a chocolate brownie to go with it"

"Thanks" Issy replied as she took the brownie from Sally "Mum" Issy asked after a moment or two's silence

"Yea?" Sally mumbled

"Do you really think you coming to New Zealand with me is a good idea?" Issy asked, cupping her hands around her drink

"Why do you ask?" Sally asked, placing her cup on the table

"Well, you and dad always said you would let me, Dan and Ruby branch out where ever we wanted to go, no holding back" Issy quoted her mother from three years back "and now suddenly you want to come and live in New Zealand" Issy shook her head "don't get me wrong, I'm not going to say that you can't come, but-"

"If you are going to tell me the same as your father and sister you can save it" Sally held her hand up infront of Issy "I've had this from them"

"Well then don't you think you should listen?" Issy asked "Dan wants to come to New Zealand- thats something he has always said, I just found that the only university that does my course is in New Zealand. There is nothing for you or dad in New Zealand; dad can't open his own place there, not when he has three places here which are doing well. And Ruby?"

"Don't even go there with Ruby"

"Why not?" Issy asked "Mum, if you take Ruby away from Charlie, she'll-

"Never forgive me. I know" Sally bowed her head "but we leave in a few days and I have everything arranged"

"So" Issy placed her hand on top of Sally's "unarrage it" Sally slowly looked from her hands to her daughters eye line. She knew she would be seen as the bad guy if the move to New Zealand went along, but she knew it was too late to change anything.

[Inactive User]

Great chapter Hope Sally listens to Issy and changes her mind.

More soon please xx

[soph1303]

Great update,

Glad various members of sallys family have tries talking her round, hopefully shell do as issy suggests and unarrange it!!!

Omg I actual love Cheryl in this fic, she's so nice !!!

Chax are just too cute as always !!

More soon please

[RoRo90]

So happy when I saw you had updated

Really hope Sally listens to Issy.. if she makes Ruby leave I will be beyond pissed

Love how much Brax already loves this baby and like that Cheryl is so nice in this fic

please update soon

[Spotd1]

Thank you so much for updating! Another great chapter..I hope Sally listens to Issy and cancels their trip or at least lets Ruby stay! Please update soon! Xx

[beebee]

Really not liking Sally in this fic ... i get that she is scared but she just seems to be going about everything the wrong way!!

Still got all my fingers and toes crossed that the baby is Brax's .... stranger things have happened LOL

Looking forward to more xx

[Danni02]

Can't believe I didn't notice this chapter before now! Silly me.

Anyways, fab update Cally. It's strange reading Cheryl being so nice. Liked the bit with Charlie, Brax and Cheryl though, they are all getting excited for the baby. How cute. I hate Sally! Grr her. She should let Issy go to New Zealand herself. Argh I hate her. Did I mention I hate Sally, because I do!