𝐈 𝐁𝐄𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐎𝐆𝐒

𝐬𝐢𝐱.

|| July 2012

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

Gabby was back in Walford, she knew she had to be back in Walford - it was time to go home. She hated being in Croydon, she felt so out of place and she just wanted to go home. Fatboy was sitting on his settee when he heard a knock at the door, he got up and went to answer it, half expecting it to be Gabby coming back with Connie . When he opened the door, he saw Gabby standing there, looking just as beautiful as she did when she left Walford, now carrying their almost 4 year old daughter in her arms.

"Hey stranger" she smiled, holding Connie  in her arms. "How's things?" she questioned, noticing that he was now residing in number 23 with the Moon brothers.

"Well, you know...can't complain." Fatboy responded casually, pretending like her sudden return didn't come as a surprise. "Things are alright, living my best life over here" he continued, his tone casual and easy going - definitely not the response that Gabby was expecting.

"Uh, can I come in?" Gabby asks, placing Connie  down on the ground. "Please?" she pleaded, her expression softening.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Fatboy responded, stepping aside to let her inside. He wasn't expecting this at all, he figured that Gabby had decided to cut ties with him and take Connie  back to Croydon with her. He didn't think she would come back to him this suddenly after months of no contact.

Connie  runs inside of the house, giggling. Gabby sighs as she walks into the living room, noticing how messy it was. "God, do yous ever clean?" Gabby asks as she places Connie  down on a clean part of the sofa, not wanting to ruin her clothes.

"I clean a bit." Fatboy retorted as he took a moment to admire his daughter, trying to act like everything was normal and fine. "I try my best..." he continued, his tone being far more lighthearted compared to the way they last spoke, he didn't want to argue with her like last time and he knew that he couldn't take it out on his one-year-old daughter either.

"Seems like it" she scoffs before changing the subject. "I need help, Fats" Gabby blurts out, placing a hand on her hip. "Like, I really need help." Gabby sits down on the sofa, moving Connie  onto her lap. "You don't understand how bad it is, my dad...his drug abuse has gotten worse, and I can't have Connie  exposed to that"

What she said surprised him, this was something he wasn't expecting her to bring up at all. He figured that the only reason she came back to Walford was so she could give him an ultimatum, but now from the sound if it she needed his help for different reasons. "Your...dad? You mean, Norman?" he asked in a concerned tone, raising his eyebrow as he spoke.

Gabby nods slowly, fixing Connie 's hair as she attempts to stop herself from crying. "It's so fucking terrible, ever since Kim left...he's just been doing lines ever since..."

"Oh...right...it's that bad, huh," he responded, his voice soft and caring, he felt a wave of sympathy for her over her father's situation. He had never really found the guy to be exactly pleasant before, but now he could hardly imagine what it would be like if his own father went down that path, he could barely even imagine that. "So...what do you want me to do about it?" he asked softly.

"I need you to look after Connie , just while I get my dad into rehab..." Gabby says, giving him a soft expression. "I know it's a big ask, but you're my last hope...I don't wanna ask my mum cos she'll just have a go at my dad.."

"Yeah...sure." He replied, not even hesitating on her request. He might not have wanted to become a father all those years ago, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't accept it and deal with it the best he could. He wasn't gonna let such an innocent child suffer. "Just...how long will you be gone?" he asked, unsure of how long it would take for her to convince her father to go into rehab.