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The Life We Were Given

Lucii

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Lucii

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Story Title: The life we were given
Type of story: Med/Long fic
Main Characters: Brax, Ricky, Charlie

Other Characters: Heath, Bianca Ruby, Kyle, Phoebe, Sophie

BTTB rating: T/A
Genre: Drama/Romance
Does story include spoilers: No
Any Warnings: SC
Summary: Charlie has been on the run from Jake Pirovic for the last 4 years. When she finally gets the phone call to return to summer bay, she is surprised to realise just how much has changed

Chapter One

She had received the phone call that changed the life she had just adjusted to just two days ago. Glancing round the room, otherwise empty apart from one last box, she let out a sigh. Charlie Buckton had just gotten used to this life. And now once again she had to leave.

“Mammy mammy” three year old Sophie came bursting into the room, giving a toothy grin, her curls running wild around her face just like they did with her sister. “I want to go”

Out of the pair, Sophie was the only one who was excited for what was ahead. But she was only three, and she didn’t know why they were going back.

“Okay baby let’s get going” Charlie rubbed her daughters hair and picked up the box. She let out a final sigh as she locked the house that had been her home since that fateful day. That fateful day, that up until now, that people thought she was dead.

--

Brax exhaled as he reached his little brothers grave. A year had passed and he still couldn’t accept that he was gone.

“Alright Case” Brax placed the flowers down by his grave. “If you were here you’d probably be calling me a bit of a girl for these flowers but eh they’re from Ricky. She’s due the baby pretty soon, I wish you could have met him I really do Case, I know he would have loved his big uncle” he smiled. “We’ve all been working on getting the nursery ready, well probably Ricky, Phoebe and Bianca mostly, they just need us men for the DIY. We all really miss you Case, see you soon”

--

“How long until you’re due again?” Bianca asked as she rearranged the teddies in the nursery again.

“Er two weeks to go” Ricky smiled as she cradled her bump. “I wish he’d come now though, I want to hold an actual baby rather than a hugely expanded stomach” she laughed.

“Me and Heath are trying” Bianca bit her lip. She had reason to be nervous after losing her first son. In fact she didn’t even think she could face trying again, but after seeing how excited Ricky and Brax were, her and Heath decided to give it a go.

“Bianca that’s great news” Ricky smiled. “Think of all the playdates we could have”

“I never thought this would happen again” Bianca sighed. “What if it goes wrong?”

“Bianca it’s not uncommon for you to feel that way but you and Heath deserve that chance to build a family of your own” Ricky replied. “I know you have Darce and that you will always have Rocco but surely a baby is a good thing for you guys”

“It is, although Christ knows how Darcy will handle a baby sibling”

“I’m sure she will be great, she’s already excited for this little one to come” Ricky smiled. “Darcy loves you like a mum, she would want you to have a baby”

“Yeah I suppose she would” Bianca smiled.

--

“Mammy are we almost there” Sophie demanded, hot and tired from the long journey. Charlie’s heart flipped as her old work place came into view. When Watson made the call, it was agreed that Charlie would pop in first. Even Watson didn’t know about Sophie, with contact being limited between the force and Charlie, the only phone call she got was to notify her of Pirovic’s death.

“Nearly, we’re going to stop here for a minute. Mummy has to go see some old friends” Charlie replied stopping the car and going to get Sophie out. Her legs became slightly unstable as she walked closer to the police station. She was surprised to see how much it had changed in the four years she was gone, never remembering it changing whilst she actually worked there. The person on the desk was new, and Charlie found that she was quite relieved to see this. Christ if she was scared enough now, what would she be like by the time she was reunited with Ruby, with Brax, with everyone who mourned her at her fake funeral.

“Hi I’m looking for Georgina Watson” Charlie exhaled. The young boy at the desk shouted into the back and almost immediately Watson came through.

“I never thought I’d be seeing you again” She grinned before her eyes darted to Sophie. “Hello” she smiled warmly, looking back to Charlie for an explanation.

“My daughter Sophie, I found out I was pregnant immediately after leaving” Charlie smiled squeezing her daughter. “Sophie say hello”

“Hi who are you” Sophie replied. Charlie scolded her daughter for being impolite but Watson laughed it off.

“I’m a friend of your mummy, she used to work here” She smiled.

“We’re going to the beach to life forever aren’t we mummy” Sophie smiled as she rested her head on Charlie’s shoulder.

“Well we’re going to live in a house, but it is very close to the beach” Charlie smiled.

“I’m not going to deny this Charlie, but going back will be a huge impact on everyone. You’re going to have to explain yourself and expect some anger”

“Yeah I know” Charlie bit her lip. “I don’t know how Ruby or Brax will take it”

“They will probably need some time to adjust, get their head around things, but once they do, they will love having you back I promise” Watson smiled. “Here are the keys to your new house, we picked them up this morning. Good luck Charlie. I hope soon enough you’ll be back here with us”

“Hopefully I will be, if I’m not forced out of here” Charlie exhaled. “See you soon”

--

Ruby emerged from the water, having just been surfing. Beside her Romeo followed as the pair placed their surfboards on the sand.

“You were looking good out there” Romeo winked.

“Please stop hitting on me I’m soon to be a married woman” Ruby joked.

“He must be some guy if he managed to get you” he grinned.

“Eh he’s alright at times, I just felt sorry for him though” Ruby laughed, blowing a kiss in Romeo’s direction as they sat down on the sand. Romeo grasped his chest in mock horror.

“You’ve hurt me” he laughed, squeezing Ruby’s hand.

“I can’t wait, four more weeks until I become your wife, everything is literally so perfect” she smiled.

“I can’t wait either Rubes, for once in our lives everything is actually going okay for us”

“Yup and nothing could ruin that for me” Ruby grinned, leaning in to passionately kiss the man she was soon to marry.

--

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Chapter Two

Charlie had finally unpacked the last of the boxes as she and Sophie settled into their new home. They’d already been there an entire day, yet Charlie was still hesitant to go out, to confront the people she had lied to for so long. Sophie, not understanding her mother’s fears, had done nothing to pester Charlie about going to the beach.

"Mummy PLEASE can we go to the beach" Sophie whined picking up her Elsa dolly. "Elsa wants to see the beach" she pouted.

"Elsa is an ice queen" Charlie laughed. "She wants to see the snow"

"She told me mummy" Sophie protested. "She wants to see the beach"

"I promise I will take you to the beach soon Soph, but mummy needs a few days to relax-" Charlie was interrupted by a knock at the door. Panicking a little, she hoped it wasn’t any residents coming to greet their new neighbours. Luckily Charlie had miraculously managed to avoid that, as surprising as it was.

"Hey Charlie, hey Sophie" Watson greeted them both as she came into the living room. "Seems like you’re all settled in" she smiled. "Been outside yet?"

Charlie shot her old colleague a look. Watson nodded.

"I thought that might have been the case" she smiled taking a seat. "I’ve been thinking maybe it would help if I spoke to them first you know, to explain the situation"

"I think that’s probably a good idea" Charlie smiled. "I’m so scared of how everyone is going to react, especially Rubes, she had no family and then to find out I was alive the whole time-"

"I’m sure she will understand why once the situation is explained. "Shall we go, get it over with"

"Yeah can’t hide any longer" Charlie mumbled, her stomach beginning to lurch at the prospect.

--

"Hey guys you met the new resident of summer bay yet?" Phoebe walked up to Ricky and Bianca. Both shook their heads.

"Not heard a peep" they both shrugged.

"Well whoever it is, already has the cops on their case" Phoebe laughed. "Seen a cop car out front as I came here"

"How could you have the cops on your back after one day?" Bianca asked.

"I don’t think even Brax had the cops on his back after one day" Ricky laughed.

"Actually he did, we were on a singles night when the riverboys came in and wrecked Angelo’s" Bianca laughed.

"Well maybe Brax has a rival" Ricky laughed.

"Well whoever it is, I hope they come out of hiding soon" Bianca smiled. "I’m surprised Colleen and Marilyn haven’t been over armed with casseroles"

"I’m sure the mystery person will be revealed soon. Can’t hide forever in summer bay" Phoebe laughed, Ricky and Bianca joining in. "Let’s go to the diner I am starving"

"Yeah same, I’m eating enough for ten never mind just for one" Ricky laughed, as the three of them headed towards the diner, their suspicions surrounding their new neighbour fading.

--

Brax let out a sigh as he sat doing all the accounts for the restaurant. Always a dull task compared to the liveliness of working in the restaurant. He was interrupted by a tall brunette woman carrying a small child. Brax furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"You look familiar" he asked. "Although for the life of me I can’t remember why"

"I’m looking for Heath Braxton?" The girl shrugged. "Does he work here?"

"He is but er what’s your business?" Brax asked.

"I think that’s something that we need to discuss privately"

"Well I’m his brother, and I think I have a pretty good idea of why you’re here" Brax sighed as his eyes fell on the child no more than six months old. "The baby – you think it is Heath’s and you’re here for money right?"

"I’m not interested in any money, I’ve done just fine raising the baby on my own" she shrugged. "He just has right to know he’s a

father"

"He’s married. I’m sure you’re a lovely girl but he loves his wife and while it was a stupid thing for him to do, do you really want to wreck a marriage?"

"Look I’m dying, I have no other relatives. My son will go into the foster system if I hadn’t tracked Heath and believe me I had no intention of doing. I knew he was getting married and that’s probably why you remember me as this happened on his Buck’s night. I don’t want his money or to wreck his marriage, I just want to ensure that my son has a life with his biological parent after I’m gone"

Brax sighed as he pulled out his mobile.

"I’ll call him and you can talk here, and decide what to do from there" he began dialling Heath’s number. "I’m sorry about your diagnosis…" he trailed off unable to remember the girls name

"Jess" she gave Brax a small smile. "And eh it’s life, I’m just trying to focus on helping Harley have the best life even if I’m not around"

"Look I can’t argue with that Jess, just don’t expect this to go plain sailing, he still cheated and there will be repercussions"

"I know" Jess mumbled biting her lip, I just have to do this before it’s too late"

Brax nodded as Heath picked up the phone.

"Heath it’s me, I need you here at Angelo’s it’s pretty urgent" Brax spoke. "Just get here as fast as you can" he put the phone down.

"He’s on his way"

--

Ruby was curled up on the couch watching re-runs of old TV shows while eating a bowl of pasta. She had the day off, the first off in a while and even though Romeo was at work, she still loved the peace and relaxation of having the house to herself. She was interrupted by a knock at the door, surprised to see it was Watson.

"Hey" Ruby greeted her rather confused. "Is anything wrong?" she hadn’t seen much of Watson personally since her mum’s funeral, and given that her and Romeo weren’t the type of people to commit crimes, they hadn’t had much one on one contact with the police.

"Can I come in?" Watson replied. Ruby led her through to the living room and the pair took a seat.

"What can I do for you?"

"Ruby there’s something I need to tell you" Watson took a deep breath. "It’s about your mum"

"I already know Jake Pirovic is dead if that’s what you came to tell me. Took my ex-boyfriend with him" Ruby sighed.

"It’s not that" Watson bowed her head. "We lied to you Ruby"

"Lied to me about what?" Ruby furrowed her eyebrows even more. Watson hesitated, finding this task a lot more personal than what she expected. "What did you lie about?"

"Your mum, eh Ruby I really underestimated how hard this is to tell you" Watson sighed, her nerves increasing. "Your mum isn’t dead, she’s been in witness protection for the last three years, Ruby your mum is alive"

Ruby gasped as the bowl of pasta fell to the floor. She shook her head "She can’t, she’s not" she shook her head angrily. "How could you tell me such lies?" she seethed, her tears beginning to fall.

"Rubes she’s not lying" Charlie spoke in a small voice as Ruby whimpered turning to face the woman who’s voice she thought she would never hear again.

　

　

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Great chapter

Glad you added Jess and Harley into this story,

Surprised at Ruby's reaction to Charlie being alive.

I look forward to more.

Update again soon :)

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Lucii

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Thanks for the comments!
Chapter Three
Ruby stood directly opposite Charlie for the past five minutes, letting out the occasional gasp. Watson had gone to the car, leaving the pair to talk and also to look after Sophie, with both women decided that Ruby needed just one bombshell at a time.
"How, how can you be here? I mean I watched you die" Ruby sobbed. "I grieved for you when really you've been living the life of luxury"
"It's not been like that at all" Charlie was shocked. "Ruby I missed you so much it hurt every single day. You think I didn't want to come back?"
"Why now? if witness protection was the reason for you staying away?" Ruby asked. "Jake Pirovic's been dead a year"
"There was all the legal stuff Georgie said" Charlie bit her lip. "Then apparently they misplaced my witness protection number" she sighed. "Ruby please forgive me"
"It's just so weird, I've grieved for you, put flowers on your grave and now you're here alive" Ruby dried her eyes.
"I want to make up for the time I lost with you, and for what the last couple of years has been like for you, Ruby as soon as I received that phonecall I came back...we have a house in the bay thanks to the police"
"So you're the mysterious resident" Ruby replied. "It's almost funny and what do you mean by we?"
Charlie hesistated. Ruby rolled her eyes.
"A boyfriend?" Ruby began. "A girlfriend?" she asked further.
"Nothing like that, Ruby when I left for witness protection I found something out"
"Found out what exactly?" Ruby asked.
"I found out I was pregnant with Brax's baby. That's what I meant by we. Her name is Sophie and she's three years old. Your little sister Ruby"
--
Meanwhile Heath made it over to the bar as quick as he'd ever made it to any of his shifts. Brax rolled his eyes upon seeing his brother and made himself scarce. Jess stood up to greet Heath, who when he seen Jess looked like he was going to pass out.
"You're the girl from the bucks night aren't you" Heath asked as Jess nodded, confirming his worst fears. Heath regretted it from the minute it was over, but he thought it was done, no need to tell Bianca and now here she was in his workplace in his small town where everyone knew each others business.
"Heath we need to talk" she beckoned him to sit down before Harley let out a cry. At once Heath's eyes darted towards the baby.
"Tell me it isn't" he put his head in his hands, knowing the answer before Jess even gave it to him.
"I'm sorry Heath I wish I didn't have to do this. When I found out, I knew you were married, my plan wasn't to involve you at all"
"So why turn up now then? Is it money cause I can get you the money"
"It's not that. I'm sick, I'm really sick, I have about three months left to live and after that Harley is going to be placed in the system. I have no family surviving and my only hope is you"
"Where are you going with this?" Heath asked.
"After I die I want you to look after Harley" she replied. Heath put his head back in frustration. How could he have been so stupid. And how was Bianca going to take this news?
---
"So not only do I have a mum who's back from the dead, I also have a sister?" Ruby asked. Despite being extremely confused and shocked at first, she seemed to have taken the news better than Charlie expected.
"Her name is Sophie Eleanor Buckton" Charlie smiled. "She looks so much like you Ruby"
"And she's Brax's kid?" Ruby asked. Charlie nodded. "Woah" she added.
"I didn't know by the way" Charlie added. "Before I was shot, I didn't know I was pregnant"
"I'm surprised she survived with a bullet in the belly so early on" Ruby admitted.
"A few pregnancy complications but she's a happy healthy three year old. Loves all things disney princesses" she laughed.
"Bet she loves frozen" Ruby added, attempting to break the ice.
"Not even met her yet and you already know her so well" Charlie laughed. Although there was an atmosphere in the room, Charlie could tell that Ruby was taking the news well. Ruby couldn't believe the turn of events. She was obviously happy to have Charlie back, but she knew that it would take time for both of them to return to normal. Ruby couldn't help the smile creep on to her face. She suddenly reached in to Charlie and gave her a hug.
"Just making sure I'm not crazy and seeing spirits" she smiled. Charlie accepted the hug of her eldest daughter, finally relieved at achieving what she had longed for for almost four years. "So when can I meet my little sister?"
"Now if you want. She's in the car. Obviously no one knows I'm still alive so the only person who's minding her is Georgie"
"You haven't seen Brax?"
"I love him Ruby but seeing you was always going to be my number one priority" Charlie smiled.
"Charlie there's something you should know eh before you do see him"
"What is it?"
"He's engaged to a girl called Ricky, they're expecting a baby very soon"
"Oh" Charlie's heart dropped a little at hearing the news. "I'm glad he moved on but really Rubes I came back for you, sure Brax deserves to get to know Soph, but I don't deserve getting to miss any more of my eldest daughter's life"
"This is so surreal" Ruby laughed. "My mum alive and well" she added. "Does Sophie know she has a family here?"
"Well she's not asked any questions about daddies yet, but I have told her about you. Although the main reason she was excited to come was for the beach" she laughed.
"Let's go meet her then" Ruby smiled taking Charlie's hand in her's and squeezing them. Although still in shock, Ruby had to admit that her life had definitely improved for the better today.

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