Title: Lies My Parents Told Me
Author: xperimental
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Do I look like a crack monkey? No? Well, I obviously don't own them then.
Spoilers: Um, YES! Seeing as the fic is all about that major spoiler that came out about a week ago. If you don't know what I'm talking about then just hit the back button right now, trust me you don't want to know.
Summary: When Charlie reveals her relationship with Joey to her father, it's not the only one of her secrets that comes out.
Lies My Parents Told Me
Act I
"I want to tell my father about us." When Charlie says it, it comes as a shock to the both of them.
She'd been in the middle of pouring herself a cup of coffee as she prepared to go to work, while Joey sat at the kitchen table reading a magazine, trying to distract herself so that she wouldn't try and jump Charlie then and there.
Joey had only been back in town for two weeks and it was already like she had never left. Charlie had been waiting on the dock as her boat pulled in, despite the fact that it was well after three in the morning. They'd talked and agreed to take things slowly. An hour later they were in bed together. Another hour after that, Joey had officially moved into Leah's house for the fourth time. Apparently, slow was not a speed that either woman was accustomed to.
"Are you sure?"
Charlie nodded as her girlfriend stood and took her by the hands. "Yeah. Dad's not going to get any better, his memory is getting worse every day. I'm afraid that if we wait…I want him to know about us, about you." She ducked her head shyly. "And how happy you make me, before it's too late."
"Okay. So when are we going to do it?"
"I have this weekend off, I was thinking that we could do it then, if that's okay."
"It's more than okay," Joey said, happy to agree to whatever Charlie wanted. It seemed like this was the final major hurdle in their relationship, once they told Ross then it was clear sailing.
What was supposed to be a quick thank you kiss, quickly turned into something more, and before either of them knew it Charlie was sitting on the kitchen table with Joey in between her legs and her tongue down her throat. So, of course, the youngest Buckton would choose that moment to walk in on them.
"Oh, okay, now I'm scarred for life!" Ruby dramatically announced her presence.
"Sorry," Joey apologized, drawing back and letting Charlie, who was blushing furiously, slip down off the table.
Charlie cleared her throat, trying to regain some of her lost composure. "Rubes, we're going to visit Dad this weekend, do you want to come?"
"We as in the both of you?" Ruby asked. "You're going to tell him?"
Charlie nodded.
"Oh, I wouldn't miss that for the world. I'm so in."
"Okay, good." She breathed a sigh of relief and shouldered her backpack. "Right, well I am running late for work-"
"Hmm, wonder why?" Ruby remarked cheekily.
Charlie glared pointedly at her before kissing both girls on the cheek. "Don't forget to do your homework!" she ordered Ruby as she rushed out the door.
"Yes, mother," Ruby drawled sarcastically once Charlie was out of earshot. She sighed and dumped her massive schoolbag by the door. "So." She dropped into the chair opposite Joey. "Are you nervous about meeting Dad?"
"A little," Joey admitted. She knew how much Charlie admired her father, she didn't want to think about what would happen if Ross took the news badly.
"Don't be. I've never seen my big sister this happy and if Dad and Morag can't accept that, then it's their loss." It was true, around Joey it was like Charlie became a totally different person and having experienced both Charlies, Ruby could say that she definitely preferred the with Joey version. "Besides even if Dad has a problem with it, it's not like he's going to remember it." Ruby slapped a hand across her mouth as she realized what she'd just said. "Oh my god. Um, can we pretend that I didn't just say that?"
"Sure," Joey agreed, smirking just enough to cause her dimples to show. She really appreciated how supportive of her and Charlie's relationship Ruby had become after her initial freak out. It felt good to have her as their number one cheerleader.
"Okay, cool. So I'm going to go and get out of this stupid uniform," said Ruby, glaring down at the tartan sack that Summer Bay High cruelly forced her to wear. "Do you want to watch the next episode of Skins when I'm done?" Since Ruby illegally downloaded the show, they could only watch it when Charlie was out of the house, to avoid a conflict of interest. Not that Charlie personally cared, it was just that if she caught them, then as a police officer, she was obligated to report it.
"Yeah. Hey, I'm doing dinner tonight, how does lasagne sound?"
"Meat, cheese, pasta. There is no bad there," Ruby sighed contentedly at the thought.
"You sound just like your sister."
-
"Ruby, come on!" Charlie yelled impatiently out the car window, she was anxious to get moving. They were already running late thanks to Ruby being unable to locate her hairbrush that morning and now the teenager was taking forever to say goodbye to her boyfriend. "We're only going away for the weekend and she's acting like she's never going to see him again," she grumbled.
"You do the same thing when I go out on overnighters," Joey pointed out, totally amused.
"I do not!" Charlie indignantly protested. "Do I?"
Joey smirked at her. "Actually, sometimes you're worse." She cupped Charlie's suddenly red cheek. "Don't be embarrassed, I like it."
Charlie grinned but before they could do anything more, the back door of the car opened, signalling Ruby's presence. "Are we going or what?"
-
"Come on, Charlie, step on it," Ruby urged as they drove along the highway. "I swear, you drive like a little old lady."
"I'm going the limit, Rubes. I'm a cop, how good do you think it'd look if I got pulled over for speeding?"
Ruby huffed and slumped back in her seat. "I can't wait until I get my license. I'll be able to drive wherever I want."
"Oh yeah? In whose car?"
"Yours?"
"That's so not going to be happening," Charlie said with a smirk. If she had anything to do with it, Ruby wouldn't be getting her driver's licence until she was thirty. At the very least.
Ruby rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the other occupant of the car. "You're quiet," she observed, tapping Joey lightly on the arm.
It drew Joey's attention away from the passing scenery and back to the inside of the car. "Yeah, sorry, I guess I'm just a little distracted." She'd never done the whole meet the parents thing before but she suspected that it was even more difficult when your girlfriend's father couldn't remember his own name half the time.
"Jo, I told you, they're going to love you," Charlie reassured her. It worried her sometimes, how low Joey's self-confidence seemed to be.
"Seriously, you're like the nicest person ever," Ruby added. "It's pretty much impossible not to."
Seeing her girlfriend's adorably bashful expression, Charlie couldn't help removing one hand from the steering wheel and reaching across to take Joey's. When Joey grinned back at her she couldn't help thinking about how lucky she was that this girl loved her. She loves her, she's loyal to her and she cares about her. After years of coming second best in so many people's lives, it was enough to almost make Charlie cry.
"Uh, as disgustingly cute as you guys are, I'd prefer not to die in a fiery car crash. Eyes on the road, Charlie," Ruby interrupted the moment.
"Sorry," Charlie chuckled sheepishly and returned eyes to the road stretching out before them but keeping her fingers curled around Joey's hand. Even with Ruby's warning ringing in her ears, Charlie couldn't help stealing glances at her beautiful girlfriend out of the corner of her eye. She honestly didn't know why Joey had given her a second chance but she was bound and determined that she wasn't going to screw it up this time.
-
Everly Garden's was a surprisingly nice place, if you didn't know that it was an assisted living community you'd think it was just one of those upscale gated communities.
They parked in the driveway and were about to start unloading the bags from the boot of the car when Morag came out to greet them.
"Charlie," she greeted her eldest stepdaughter with a terse hug.
"Hi, how's Dad?"
"He's having a good day," Morag was pleased to report then she noticed the extra guest. "Ah, Ruby, you didn't tell me that you were bringing a friend from school."
"Oh! No, she didn't," Charlie blurted out awkwardly while Ruby practically pissed herself laughing. Even Joey was quietly chuckling to herself. "That's Joey. She's, um…Well, she's actually what I came to talk to you and Dad about and I think that we should probably get that over with right away."
Morag eyed Charlie dubiously, wondering what it could possibly be about this girl that Charlie had to announce. She just hoped that Charlie hadn't begun to follow in the footsteps of Irene, who collected stray children like they were Pokemon, and decided to adopt some teenage tearaway.
"Right, I'll just go and wake Ross up from his nap then, shall I?"
"Thanks," Charlie whispered as Morag disappeared back inside the house, then she turned to Ruby who was still laughing. "You know, it's really not that funny."
"No, no, you're right. It's not funny," Ruby said, struggling to compose herself. "Not funny at all."
"You know, we don't have to say anything if you don't want to," Joey offered kindly, seeing how much Charlie's already fragile confidence had been shaken.
Although the offer was tempting to the more cowardly side of her, Charlie stood strong in her decision. "No." She shook her head and took Joey's hands in her own. "I want to do this," she said and was rewarded with a brilliant smile.
"Okay."
Ruby looked up from unloading their luggage to see that her sister and Joey were caught up in another one of their epic staring matches. She knew for a fact that they could do this for hours, she'd timed them. "Hey, are you guys going to stand around staring at each other all day or are you going to help me with these bags?"
-
Choosing to dump their bags in the hall, mostly to avoid awkward questions about why Joey would be sleeping in Charlie's room, the girls joined Ross and Morag sitting out in the sunshine on the patio. It was such a nice day to potentially be disowned.
With Joey on one side and Ruby on the other, Charlie was ready to face the scariest thing that she'd ever have to do.
"This is Joey. She's my girlfriend," she said bluntly. Of course, it would figure that the first time that she'd actually get to use her 'coming out' speech, she'd forget the whole thing and have to revert back to her old bull in a china shop way of getting things done. "We're together. I don't know if this means that I'm gay or whatever, I just know that I love her and she loves me. And…yeah, that's about it," she finished, swallowing hard as she nervously awaited her father's reaction.
"You're happy?" Ross enquired after a long silence, his face and voice giving nothing away.
"Yes." Charlie squeezed Joey's hand tightly. "Very."
"And Ruby, you're okay with it?"
"Yeah," Ruby said enthusiastically. "Joey's awesome."
Ross finally smiled. "Then I am okay with it too."
"Really?" Charlie squeaked in surprise. She hadn't been expecting it to be this easy.
"Sweetheart, all I want is to see my two girls happy and healthy before I'm too far gone. If Joey is who truly makes you happy then you have my absolute blessing."
-
Looking through the widow from the kitchen, Charlie watched the three most important people in her life talk animatedly about fishing, of all things.
She'd come in to get herself a drink but had spent the last five minutes just watching them interact and smiling to herself. When she heard Morag clearing her throat behind her, Charlie's back stiffened defensively. The older woman had been conspicuously quiet since the announcement and now it appeared that she had something to say.
"Let me guess, you don't approve?" Charlie said, her jaw clenched tightly. She had a grudging respect for Morag, she'd even come to like her a little, but she sure as hell didn't need her approval. "I thought that as a judge, you of all people would be a little more open minded about this."
"Oh please, Charlie, give me a little credit," Morag hit back. "Believe it or not, my problem does not stem from the fact that you are both women."
"So what is your problem?"
"Well, Joey is awfully young-"
"She's twenty." Or she would be in November. "She is one of the most mature and level headed people that I have ever met. Do I have to remind you that there's an even bigger age gap between you and Dad? Maybe you should think about that before getting on your moral high horse. At least she's not already married."
And with that parting shot, Charlie grabbed her drink and returned to join the others on the patio, leaving a shocked former judge in her wake. She knew that she'd have to apologize later but for now it felt pretty good that she had actually defended her relationship with Joey instead of backing down like she would've in the past.
The second Charlie retook her seat, Joey's attention was focused on her. "Are you okay?" she asked, instantly sensing the tension pouring off her lover's body.
Looking into those big, concerned golden brown eyes, Charlie had to smile. "I am now," she sighed, leaning her head into the crook of Joey's neck. When she was with Joey, everything was okay.
-
After a pleasant enough lunch, Charlie was content to sit back and relax against Joey, while Ruby and her father chatted about how the younger girl was doing at school.
"So how's that boyfriend of yours treating you?" Ross inquired, eager to hear any new information about his daughter's lives while he was still lucid enough.
"He had to go visit his mum earlier in the week because she's been having some trouble with Brendan, but other than that Xavier's been amazing."
"I'm glad to hear that. You deserve the best. You've grown up to be such a pretty girl, I'm so glad you got your mother's eyes."
Joey didn't quite know what to make of it when she felt Charlie suddenly stiffen up beside her.
"Dad, Mum had brown eyes, remember?" Ruby said gently, thinking her father's memory was starting to become muddled once more.
"No, no. It was your grandmother that had brown eyes. You think I don't know what colour my own wife's eyes were?" Ross frowned, growing frustrated.
"Dad," Charlie's voice was low and there was a clear warning in the tone.
However, Ross was unperturbed. If Ruby was determined to play dumb then he'd just have to spell it out for her. "I wasn't talking about Elsie, I was talking about Charlie. She's your mother, you silly girl."
End Act I