The long road home

Part 1

Joey stood out on deck as she watched the horizon for the first speck of approaching land, she couldn't believe that after less than a month she was headed back to shore.

Sighing she looked to the side to see the beginning of sunrise, a new day, and with it more problems. It was bad enough that Henry, the other deck hand had fallen over some rigging and seemed to have broken his arm, causing the trawler to turn around before it's nets had ever been dropped. But even though they weren't pulling into harbour in Summer Bay, it was close enough that all she could think about was Charlie.

And Charlie was the reason she was out here in the first place.

"Hey, Joey. You're up early."

Joey turned and grinned at the guy coming down from the wheelhouse. "Hey, Cody, yeah," She replied looking back out over the water as he moved to stand next to her. "Not really the view I want." She told him indicating the growing speck in front of them.

"Don't I know it!" Cody replied with disgust and a shake of his head. "Not sure where the Skip found him but I'll be glad to see the back of him."

Joey tried to hide her grin at that, she'd felt the same way after a few hours on the boat. The guy had done nothing but boast about all the other trawlers he'd worked on and how much money he'd made. But she'd had to show him some pretty basic stuff just to get him pulling his weight with the work.

Honestly they were all glad he was getting off the boat before they'd gotten any further south where in bad sea your life was sometimes in the hands of the other crew members.

Of course, that didn't mean the replacement would know any more than Henry had, it was going to be hard to find someone quick but Skip had mentioned there'd be someone ready to go once they docked.

Hopefully that would be true and they'd be able to get back out to sea relatively quickly.

"Come on," Cody said, giving Joey a gentle shove. "Let's go down and get some tea going, Skip has the job of getting us to dock."

Joey nodded and followed behind as they made their way below deck.

She liked Cody, he was in his early thirties but he loved fishing and after she'd proved she knew what she was doing, which always seemed to be the case on a new boat, they'd gotten along really well. It was a nice change after Robbo to have guys not making you feel like crap the whole time you worked with them.

"Looks like Henry's still sleeping." Cody mentioned as he put the kettle on. The galley was empty so that only left the bunks as the other logical place for the guy to be.

Joey took two mugs down from their hooks and got the rest of the stuff out to make a couple of sandwiches. "Yeah, but shouldn't you be headed there too?" She asked knowing he'd spent the last twelve hours piloting the ship.

Cody groaned and jerked his hid to the left and then to the right, making Joey wince at the popping noise the bones made.

He laughed at her expression before answering her, "Trust me, I'm headed there next, but I wanted us to catch up." He said moving the two mugs of tea over to the small table they used for meals and general socialising as this was the area of the boat the crew spent most of their time if they weren't sleeping or working.

Joey soon joined him with the food which they quickly got stuck into.

"So... what do you think of another newbie on the boat? Ready to show someone else all the ropes again, since you seemed to enjoy telling Henry what to do!" He asked her with a laugh. His main job was to pilot the boat when the Skipper was sleeping, they switched days and nights over the course of the haul but generally the Skip had nights when they were further out at sea because that's when experience counted most.

Joey rolled her eyes but smiled back at him as she reached for her mug to wash down the mouthful she'd just eaten. "Not bothered, he'll get it or he won't, either way if he tries to leave everything to me he might just 'accidentally' find himself overboard one night." She told him with a grin.

He grinned back at her before getting serious. "If he gives you any trouble let me know and I'll have a word, okay?"

She was touched by his concern, no one had really looked out for her much until Aden and then Charlie, but the less she thought about her the better. "Thanks." She replied, "But here's hoping he'll know what he's doing."

He nodded, and then stood, grabbing the last of his food from his plate. "Come wake me in a few hours."

"Sure."

Joey watched the taller man make his way to his bunk for some sleep. Space was at a premium on a boat, more so, on a fishing trawler where most of the space was taken up by the equipment necessary for catching and storing fish. Just beyond the sleeping bay that housed six bunks, though only three were in use as Skip had his own berth at the front of the vessel, was the fish hold. That was where Joey would spend her time after a big catch, it was the job of the deck hands to sort, size and gut the fish before freezing them so they could last the rest of the journey before being sold back at the harbour.

After eating Joey quickly cleaned up and made her way back up onto deck and then up the ladders onto the bridge where Skip was looking busy whistling.

"Hey there Joey." The older man greeted her with a smile. He was in his late forties and had worked this trawler with his own father before skippering it himself when his father retired. But as he didn't have a son of his own he'd taken Cody on as first mate when he'd started seriously dating his eldest daughter.

"Morning Skip." She said as she stood just to the side of him. "So, when are you going to give in and let me take over?" She asked with a cheeky grin.

"Not today." He told her with a laugh. More than once he'd seen her up here behind the wheel while Cody watched on, that was fair enough while they were in the middle of nothing but water, not when he was headed back to land.

"You do know I already have my license right?" She inquired, not for the first time.

"So you say young lady, but while this is my boat, it's my rules." He told her.

Joey nodded, "Fair enough, but just keep it in mind when we get closer and you realise your eyesight has started going, I'll remind you of those rules as you sandbank us!" She replied, not put off at all. He'd let her pilot eventually, she just wanted to have a good feel for the boat while they were still in calmer waters. If it had been Cody that had been injured out at sea, Skip wouldn't have had much choice than to let her help.

She just wanted to prove herself capable before she was needed, and an extra pair of hands were never unwelcome when they could help save the lives of the crew.

"Duly noted, now young lady make yourself useful and get this old man some more coffee, would you?" He asked her with a smirk of his own.

Shaking her head Joey turned and started back for the galley, but as she noticed the more defined land outline they were headed towards she suddenly lost her smile.

She may have run away from Charlie by taking this job, but really all she was doing was getting back to where she belonged. The sea was one of the few places where she could be herself, where she was happy.

She didn't think she'd find that feeling anywhere else now, Charlie had ruined that the moment she'd slept with Hugo.

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Joey helped Cody drop the buffers over the side of the boat as they slowly pulled up alongside the harbour.

"You going to get the stores Jo?" He asked once they'd finished.

Joey walked towards Cody as they started back down to help Henry up to the deck. "Yeah, I've got the list, hopefully whoever's joining us can help me out."

Cody grinned as Henry gingerly stood up with this bags at his feet. "What makes you think it's a bloke Joey, little sexist of you don't you think?" He asked her as she grabbed two bags.

"It's a bloke Cody." She told him as she followed behind Henry back up the steps. "I already asked Skip."

"Fair enough." Cody conceded.

They got topside just as Skip manoeuvred the vessel into dock. Two dock hands were already there waiting to lend a hand and provide transport to get Henry to a hospital.

Joey was in two minds as she watched them take his bags and lead him to a waiting car further up the harbour, she was glad that he was off the boat as he'd been mostly useless, but not only did he leave with a broken arm but he hadn't earned any money either.

The crew of a fishing trawler only made money once the boat had made money and because they hadn't made a catch yet, there was no money to pay for the little work he had done since they'd left Summer Bay.

In fact, the ship was out money because now the Skipper had to pay to re-stock their supplies and replace the fuel they'd already used up.

Joey shook her head and went to grab the money from Skip who was making his way down from the wheelhouse now that the ship had docked.

"Here you go, don't buy anything not on the list." He told her handing over a money purse.

She nodded, stuffing it into her pocket.

"Huh," He grunted, looking over her shoulder. "New guy looks the part at least." He commented before walking over to Cody to give him his orders on what he wanted done.

Joey turned around and was shocked at the person standing just beside the boat.

"Aden?" She whispered.

Aden grinned at her and stretched his arms out to the side. "What? No hug?"

Joey quickly got herself over the side of ship and was quickly enveloped in his arms as he spun her around laughing.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with a small shove as he let her back onto her feet.

Aden sniffed. "Anyone would think you didn't want me here."

Joey still couldn't get her head around it. Aden is the new crew member? No way!

"Oi, you two!" Skip shouted over getting Aden and Joey's attention. "Time's money, get going we don't have all day." He told them before going back to his conversation with Cody.

Joey ignored Aden's questioning look and grabbed for the bags on the deck and tossed them over onto the ship.

"Come on." She told him before walking up the gangway.

Aden was just a little confused but quickly jogged to catch up to her. "Where are we going?" he asked as they came level.

Joey pointed in the direction of one of the side buildings in the harbour. "We need to re-stock what we've used." She explained.

He nodded then after a moment lifted his arm to let it rest over Joey's shoulders. "It's damn good to see you, Jo." He told her, pulling her closer.

Joey smiled, she was amazed to see him here, but he also brought memories of Charlie with him and it was those memories that kept her quiet as they entered the mostly empty store.

"Okay, what are we after?" He asked, ready and willing to help.

Joey pulled out the list, there was about twenty items on it. Carefully she ripped it down the middle and handed over one half to Aden, "You get this lot and I'll get the rest."

"Sure."

And with that they went their spate ways trying to find everything that they needed. It wasn't like a regular store in the Bay, more like a cash and carry, all the stock came in packs, you couldn't just walk in and buy a can of soft drink, you'd have to buy a case of twenty four. The up side was that buying in bulk this way worked out cheaper than buying at a normal shop.

It had taken nearly a quarter of a hour for Joey to finish her part of the list and go to the checkout, where she found Aden already waiting on her, his item having already gone through. Luckily they seemed to be the only ones in the store right now, so it didn't take long before they'd loaded their things onto a rolling trolley the store provided to get the items to a boat.

"So, what are you doing here, Aden?" Joey asked, wondering why he'd suddenly shown up.

"Really feeling the love Jo." He said trying to laugh it off but she just waited patiently for him to answer, so he tried. "I don't know, things got pretty messed up with me," He started to explain. "I don't know if you knew but I broke up with Belle, and... and then Roman kicked me out so I didn't really have anywhere to stay." He shrugged not really wanting to get into everything right now.

Joey had remembered something about Belle going into rehab, but the details were sketchy, she'd had more than enough to deal with on her own. She was saddened by the fact that it made her aware of how much she had drifted away from Aden. He'd done so much for her, even before he'd really gotten to know her. She was sorry she hadn't been there for him the way he had been for her after Robbo had raped her.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She offered as they worked their way down the dock.

He shrugged. "Anyway, I kept an ear out for your trawler, when I heard you were headed back because one of the crew needed replacing I was worried it was you that was hurt. But when I found out it wasn't I asked to take the guys place if they didn't already have someone, and here I am."

Joey was still a little hesitant on the idea of Aden being on the ship, he'd never done long haul before, or night fishing, she wasn't sure he knew what he was letting himself in for.

"Three months is a long time Aden, are you ready for this because if you aren't then you don't have to do this, I mean I love that you're here but-"

"Joey," He cut in. "I know what I'm doing, trust me, this is the right thing for me." He told her as he picked up the first box to lift over the side onto the ship.

"Okay, well can't say I'm not happy you're here then!" She told him as they started working together and soon they had the trolley empty and all the new supplies were sitting on deck waiting to be taken down below and stored away.

She grabbed hold of the trolley and gave Aden a smirk, leaving him with the harder job.

He watched Joey start up the gangway again to return it back to the store. "Besides," He shouted to her. "Someone has to keep you out of trouble!"

Joey turned her back to him and kept walking but not before gesturing back at him with her middle finger.

She heard him laugh.

Why couldn't Charlie have thought like that, if Aden could find out where and when her trawler had been planning to dock, why couldn't she? She was a cop after all, hell, it should have been easier for her.

Three months is forever!

Did that mean Charlie wouldn't be waiting for her when she got back? It had sounded like it at the time, and at the time Joey hadn't been sure she would have cared, Charlie had cheated on her not the other way around.

Could Joey just forgive and forget?

She hadn't thought so, like she'd told Charlie before she left, saying she could get over it was just words, it didn't mean she could get over what Charlie had done.

But now?

Joey remembered everything Charlie had done for her, as a cop, as a friend, and as a lover. Was she willing to give it all up over a drunken night with a guy as cheap as Hugo? She knew his type, there was no way he hadn't taken advantage of the situation, sure, Charlie wasn't completely innocent but any decent guy would have taken her home, or at least looked after her, not taken it as an opportunity for sex.

Joey sighed as she headed back to the boat.

Yes, she admitted to herself, she still wanted Charlie.

But it would be another three months before she found out if Charlie still wanted her.

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AN/

Okay, well that was part one, and I'll hold my hand up right now and say that I haven't seen much of the show since Joey left. So while I've caught up a little on youtube I'll probably try not to focus on the shows storylines too much if I don't have to.

And yes, this is a Charlie and Joey fic, but as you might have already guessed it will be a few chapters before they are both in the same place at the same time.

Next chapter we'll see what Charlie is up to.