"I can't find it" Brax said slamming the draw shut.
"It has to be here somewhere, don't worry" Ricky said coming up behind him,
"anyway we've got to get out of here before Adam gets home, what about at your house?"
"Maybe" Brax replied
Just as Brax and Ricky were about to go outside Ricky remembered something.
"I'll be out in a sec, just got to get something"
Ricky went back to her old room. She opened the door. It had that old stale smell to it from being closed for the last 12 years. Maybe being shut for 12 years was a good thing because everything was in the same place, nothing had been moved. She went over to her bedside table and opened the bottom draw. She shifted a few things around and found an old book. She flicked through the pages quickly. From what she could see, everything was still there. She went back outside where Brax was sitting in the car. She got into the passenger's seat.
"I got it" She said
Brax didn't reply, he just sat there and looked at his phone. Ricky looked over to see what he was doing. He was looking at a photo of him and Mel taken before this whole saga of events happened.
"We'll get her back don't worry about that, no matter what it takes"
"What if Blake's past has stuffed all this up for us?"
"It wouldn't have" Ricky reassured him
"What if I didn't give her to them, what if we had kept her, then we wouldn't be here"
"We wouldn't be anywhere" Ricky said "If we had of kept her we wouldn't have been anywhere, there's no way an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old could raise a baby with a job and nowhere to live."
"She didn't turn out that bad"
"She turned out perfect, she's our daughter"
"What's in the book?" Brax asked
"It's an old diary, I thought there might be something in there about her birth certificate."
"Any luck?"
"I haven't checked yet"
"Oh well, I'm gonna check at mums"
"What if Cheryl's still there" Ricky asked
"Then we'll deal with that when we come to it"
When they got there Cheryl was there. Brax walked in and went straight to the spare room.
"And what do you think you're doing" She asked Brax as he walked in.
Brax ignored her and kept walking.
"Oi, Darryl!" She said waking into the spare room, "What are you doing?"
"Looking for a birth certificate"
"Who's?"
"My...Our daughters"
"Your what?!" Cheryl said confused
"Mel, your grand-daughter"
"When was this?"
"12-years-ago"
"That's when you ran away. Darryl if you had of told me I would have helped you"
"No mum you wouldn't have, you would have kicked us to the curb and never wanted to talk to us again." Brax snapped
Cheryl went quiet. "So why do you need her birth certificate, doesn't she believe you about it or something"
"No, Docs don't believe us, and they think we'd harm her"
"First Heath now you. What is this 'hate-on-the-Braxton's-year' or something?"
Brax looked at her "If Danny hadn't been such a dog to us we wouldn't be where we are now"
"So what's going on with all of this then?"
Brax ignored her and went back to looking for The next few e's birth certificate. Ricky looked at Cheryl and went into the kitchen where she followed her. Ricky sat down at the table and Cheryl sat opposite her.
"So what's her name?" Cheryl asked
"Melody, Annalise Braxton " Ricky replied
"Melody Braxton" She said to herself quietly "Who did you and Daryl give her to?"
"Blake and Susie Mathew, I didn't know who they were at the time though"
"You got to be kidding me that has to be one of the most stupid things Daryl has ever done"
"Why?"
"Anthony's old man used to be a crime partner with Danny and when they went to jail Anthony's brother headed up another gang and Drew ended up killing him."
"So it was Blake who killed him"
"Yeah who did you think it was?"
"Anthony said he saw Darryl do it"
"When was this?"
"A couple days ago"
"What happened a couple days ago?"
"Anthony kidnapped Mel and that's why Docs took her away, because they found out she was our daughter"
"Do you know where she is?"
"No"
Cheryl never got along with any of the girls her boys dated, but Ricky was different. Years ago they never got along. Cheryl knew Ricky was good for Brax but couldn't handle it, but one day Ricky stood her ground and showed her that she was here to stay. Ever since then she has never done or said anything bad to her again.
Brax walked out of the spare room and into the kitchen.
"You find anything?" Ricky asked
"No" Brax replied
"You thought of Births, Deaths and Marriages?"
"Yeah, but we were hoping to avoid that"
"You'll get her back, don't worry. They'll realize how much of a mistake they made."
"Whats in the diary?" Brax asked Ricky
"Just things about when I found out I was pregnant with Mel"
"Is the pregnancy test glued in there"
Ricky looked at him and smirked.
"I'm not that crazy" Ricky said turning the page.
She looked at the list of baby names she had written. One side was all girls and the other. There were two names highlighted 'Mel' and 'Lucas'
"Lucas and Mel" Ricky said to herself Can you imagine a 'Lucas Braxton'"
"I'm still trying to imagine a 'Mel Braxton'" Brax said
On the page opposite was the ultrasound photos. It was obvious what it was a big white blotch where the head was.
"How can it be so hard to find one piece of paper"
"Maybe if we stop looking we might find it" Brax said flicking through the pages
Brax got to the back of the book and some pages fell out. He bent down to pick it up and found a long thin piece of paper.
"What is it?" Ricky asked
"Looks like some news paper clippings" Brax replied
He handed some to Ricky "It's just old notices" She said
"You gotta be kidding me"
"What?"
"It's an extract"
"For what"
"It's Mel's Birth certificate extract"
"What?!" Ricky exclaimed grabbing the piece of paper from Brax's hands.
"You know what this means right?" He said "We can be a family"
"I need to tell you something " Bonnie said
"Like what"
"Do you want to talk in private"
"Here's fine for me" She replied
"Its about your parents, your real parents" She said "They stumbled across a birth certificate extract"
Mel stood there shocked, If it wasn't for Nic holding her hand she would have fallen to the ground. She felt her eyes begin to well up, she was speechless.
"So you can go back home once its finalized"
Ricky got of the phone with Bonnie, the social worker. She looked at Brax.
"What?" He said
"She's told Mel"
"What did she say"
"Not much apparently"
"That's a surprise" Brax said quietly
"She said Docs will come and see us in a couple days then if all goes well she can come back"
" 'If all goes well' Those words don't exist in this family"
"Well in this family it will" She said holding his hand
Brax smiled like a little kid "I have to tell Heath" He said going out the door
"Hey Heath!" He yelled running into the flat
"Shut up you muppet, I only just got Harley to sleep"
"We found Melody's birth certificate"
"What so she's coming home"
"Yeah hopefully"
"Mate, that's great" He said running up and hugging him
"What's going on?" Casey asked walking past with his school bag on his back
"Melody's coming home" Ricky said
"Cool" He said disinterested
"Oi Case?"
"What Brax" He said walking off to his room
"What's with him?" Heath asked
"I don't know"
There was a knock at the door. Ricky got up and answered it
"Is Casey home?" The officer asked
"Uhhh I'm not sure"
"I'll go check" Brax said
"What's this about anyway"
"There was an incident today and we were just wondering if Casey knew anything about it?"
"He's not there" Brax said coming back
"What incident?" Ricky asked
"Anthony Warner's place burned down earlier today and we were wondering if Casey knew anything about it"
"And why do you think Casey would have anything to do with it"
"Anthony warner is the guy who kidnapped your daughter and shot you right"
"Yeah"
"Maybe this is some revenge attack from Casey on your behalf"
"What you think Casey has done has nothing to do with us. We were here all day and the only time we saw him was when he came home after school"
"well if you see him call us"
"Will do" Ricky said closing the door
"I'm gonna kill him" Brax said to Ricky
"Brax what are you gonna do"
"I'm gonna go look for him"
"It's late, He'll probably be home soon anyway"
Late that night Brax stayed up and waited for Casey to get back. He heard the door open and turned around to look.
"Oi Casey, get back here"
"What do you want Brax"
"The cops came looking for you this afternoon"
Casey shrugged his shoulders
"And why do you think that was"
"I have no Idea"
"Don't play stupid, you burnt his place down didn't you"
Casey went quiet
"I don't know if you remember this but Heath has a new born and his daughter to worry about so he dosent need people wondering around here and Ricky and I are trying to get our daughter back so the last thing we need is the cops hanging around here" He said " Do you know how much you stuffed this up"
Casey tried to walk past brax to his room but he grabbed a hold of his shirt and pushed him against the wall
"How could you have done something so stupid" Brax yelled
"I was trying to help!"
"Burning down Anthony's place does not help!" He said pushing him into the wall
Brax stepped back away from him and looked at the fear on Casey's face. Ricky came out from the bedroom. She looked at Casey the at Brax as he walked out the door.
"Brax stop" She said chasing after him
"I can't do it" He said
"You can't do what"
"I can't be a dad. you heard me then, I almost bit Casey's head off"
"You were angry and you have every right to be. That won't ever happen again"
"How can you be sure"
"Because I know you and I know how much you've changed"
Mate, that's great" He said running up and hugging him
"What's going on?" Casey asked walking past with his school bag on his back
"Mel's coming home" Ricky said
"Cool" He said disinterested
"Oi Case?"
"What Brax" He said walking off to his room
"What's with him?" Heath asked
"I don't know"
There was a knock at the door. Ricky got up and answered it
"Is Casey home?" The officer asked
"Uhhh I'm not sure"
"I'll go check" Brax said
"What's this about anyway"
"There was an incident today and we were just wondering if Casey knew anything about it?"
"He's not there" Brax said coming back
"What incident?" Ricky asked
"Anthony Warner's place burned down earlier today and we were wondering if Casey knew anything about it"
"And why do you think Casey would have anything to do with it"
"Anthony warner is the guy who kidnapped your daughter and shot you right"
"Yeah"
"Maybe this is some revenge attack from Casey on your behalf"
"What you think Casey has done has nothing to do with us. We were here all day and the only time we saw him was when he came home after school"
well if you see him call u
"Will do" Ricky said closing the door
"I'm gonna kill him" Brax said to Ricky
"Brax what are you gonna do"
"I'm gonna go look for him"
"It's late, He'll probably be home soon anyway"
Late that night Brax stayed up and waited for Casey to get back. He heard the door open and turned around to look.
"Oi Casey, get back here"
"What do you want Brax"
"The cops came looking for you this afternoon"
Casey shrugged his shoulders
"And why do you think that was"
"I have no Idea"
"Don't play stupid, you burnt his place down didn't you"
Casey went quiet
"I don't know if you remember this but Heath has a new born and his daughter to worry about so he dosent need people wondering around here and Ricky and I are trying to get our daughter back so the last thing we need is the cops hanging around here" He said " Do you know how much you stuffed this up"
Casey tried to walk past brax to his room but he grabbed a hold of his shirt and pshed him against the wall
"How could you have done something so stupid" Brax yelled
"I was trying to help!"
"Burning down Anthony's place does not help!" He said pushing him into the wall
Brax stepped back away from him and looked at the fear on Casey's face. Ricky came out from the bedroom. She looked at Casey the at Brax as he walked out the door.
"Brax stop" She said chasing after him
"I can't do it" He said
"You can't do what"
"I can't be a dad. you heard me then, I almost bit Casey's head off"
"You were angry and you have every right to be. That won't ever happen again"
"How can you be sure"
"Because I know you and I know how much you've changed"
"What was your reasoning for giving Mel up?"
"We wouldn't have been able to afford it and we wanted her to have a good life" Brax said, a line he had rehearsed many times
"So why didn't you give her up for adoption?"
"We wanted to keep in contact with her" Brax answered
She could see Brax was getting frustrated
"These are just general questions I have to ask, don't worry" She said "Does anyone else who lives here"
"My younger brother Casey and my other brother Heath lives in the flat next door with his wife and two kids"
"Any of you have a criminal record?"
"Both my brothers do, yes. But not very recent"
"And what were they for"
"This isn't gonna affect anything is it?" Ricky asked
"It depends"
"Their just minor assault and little things nothing major like Steeling or manslaughter"
Brax and Ricky sat quietly and the Docs case worker finished writing on her note began to put her stuff back in her bag
"I'll be in touch tomorrow but so far it's looking good" She smiled
"So she can come home tomorrow?"
"Maybe, don't hold it against me though"
"We have to tell her" Brax said
"Why"
"She deserves to know"
Ricky sat there quietly
"What if she finds out about him before we tell her?"
"She wont"
"You don't know that"
Ricky took a deep breathe in "How do we tell her"
"Just come right out with it"
THE NEXT DAY
"You nervous?" Nic who was Mel's foster brother asked
"No, not at all" She said sarcastically
"It'll be alright"
She looked at his big brown eyes "Your amazing, you know that"
"I'm just me, your the amazing one"
"How, my life's just messed up"
"You lost your parents then you find out who your real parents are and then get taken away from them and I've never seen you cry your always smiling"
"Who says I don't cry"
"You know its not a sign of being weak, its because you've been strong for too long" he said putting his arm around her
"That's the crummiest quote I've ever heard!"
"Yeah I know" He laughed
"You ready Mel?" Jenny asked ( foster mum)
"Yeah"
"I love you too" She whispered back
She didn't want to let him go, now she knew how her mum and dad felt.
"You'll be fine. don't worry"
She smiled at him trying to hold back the tears.
"You ready?" Brax asked Ricky
"Will I ever be" She said following him out the door
Ricky shut the door behind her thinking that the next time she opened it everything could be completely different.
"What's going to happen?" Mel asked Bonnie
"Someone's going to asked you after questions and then a judge will decide"
"Like court"
"No. Nothing like that, don't worry"
"when you stayed with Darryl and Erica what was it like?" The Docs worker asked
"It was fine"
"What about when you were kidnapped how did that happen?"
"I thought my cousin was in trouble but it was just revenge against Dad"
"Why"
"one of his old mates did something"
"Like what"
"I don't know" Mel said trying not to give much away
She looked at Mel "You've got Erica's eyes you know that"
"Of course, she's my mum"
The case worker looked at Mel and smiled.
" I think were done here"
Mel sat in a room with bonnie.
"what now?"
"Now we wait" She replied
"I'm no good at that" She sighed
"I see nothing wrong with Melody living with Darryl and Erica" The case worker explained to the judge "There has been a little trouble with the law in the family but nothing to make me worry about her safety."
"OK then if you say so. I give them full custody of their daughter Mel "
The case worker smiled "Thank you" She said walking into another room where brax and Ricky were.
"What did she say?" Ricky asked standing up
"She's given you full custody"
Ricky looked at Brax and smiled
"Really" Brax asked
"Yes, really"
"When can we see her"
"Soon"
"Thank you so much" Ricky said
"That's alright"
Mel saw Brax and Ricky at the end of the hall way. She looked back at Bonnie. She nodded her head. Mel turned back around and Ran towards Brax and Ricky.
"Mum, Dad!" She said running up towards them and hugging them
"Oh Mel" Ricky said kneeling down hugging her
"I love you guys" She said
"We love you too" Brax replied hugging both Ricky and Mel
Brax stood up
"What is it dad?" Mel asked
"Mel there's something we need to tell you" brax said.
The drive was long and quiet. Mel sat in the back thinking what or who it could be. The car pulled up into the cemetery car park. Mel looked out the window at the rows of grave stones. She got out of the car and followed brax and Ricky. They were walking towards an area with lots of colorful pinwheels and tweets and flowers. Brax stopped and looked at a little plaque on the ground surrounded by flowers and a Teddy.
"this is what we wanted to show you Mel" he said to her, Mel walked up next to brax and held his hand as she looked at the plaque in the grass. At first in made no sense but then it clicked
"7th of september 2003 that's the same as me" she said whilst smiling
"that's cause he's your brother," Ricky said "your twin brother"
Mel looked at it again, as her smile dropped.
Lucas Braxton-sharpe
7/10/2003 ~ 10/10/2003
Beloved brother of Melody Braxtons
"you see this is why we had to give you up" brax said
"what happened to him?" Mel asked
"he had a heart condition and he was very sick when he was born and we couldn't afford to save him" Ricky said almost crying.
Mel went up and hugged her "it's ok mum".