Three Months Sober

A Jarlie short story

Synopsis… This story takes place outside of Summer Bay in "the city". When we first meet Charlie and Joey, Charlie is a cop (seriously, would we really want her any other way?!) and is working undercover, investigating a series of brutal attacks on women in the area. The investigation brings her to "Fuel", a gay club in the city - and to Joey Collins. It transpires that most of the women who have been attacked were regulars at the club, which prompts Charlie and her colleagues to stake it out. Joey works at Fuel and that's how they meet. Eventually, as part of the investigation, Charlie goes undercover and gets a job at the club…

Main characters: Charlie and Joey.

Notable secondary characters: Watson, Angelo (yes, but don't worry, he definitely won't be romantically involved with our Charlie!), Ruby (because we can't have Charlie without Ruby!), Aden, Kristen (Charlie's ex who keeps hassling her to get back together:), and Becca (Joey's co-worker and close friend).

Author's note: from time to time, I might give an insight into Charlie and Joey's thoughts and feelings. If so, to distinguish their thoughts from the action that's taking place, I'll write these bits in italics. Hopefully it won't be too confusing!

Although I like to consider myself "a writer", this is actually my first ever attempt at a piece of fanfiction. I've been a regular reader of the awesome CJ fanfics on this board for quite a while and I've been blown away by the talent (seriously, you guys rock!) on display, that I felt inspired to take my love (Ok obsession!) for CJ one step further and write a story of my own. I'm in awe of the stories on here and whilst I don't know whether my tale will be any good (in fact, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to light a candle to most of the stuff that's on here) I'd still like to share my Jarlie fic with you guys. It goes without saying that I will most definitely appreciate all your comments, reviews, feedback, etc. Oh, and by the way, in this story, there's no Robbo; Charlie and Ruby are definitely just sisters; and Charlie's sexuality isn't under any doubt what so ever, either. Incidentally, the title is inspired by a Kelly Clarkson song 

Well here goes nothing; I hope you all enjoy my little story…

Chapter One

Flashback… four months ago.

It was a stupid argument. In fact, as stupid arguments go, this was by far the worst we'd ever had. I couldn't remember a time where I had felt quite so alienated. So alone. So lost. And yet here we were in bed, but neither sleeping nor talking or making out. Just silence. Horrible. Painful. Silence. We had our backs to each other with an invisible line drawn down the middle of the bed. A bed that felt so tiny and yet at the same time so big. I knew, like me, she wouldn't be able to sleep. She was probably just pretending to sleep, in much the same way I was. But every now and again, she would move. Sometimes slightly. Sometimes fitfully. But mostly I could just hear the rise and fall of her breathing. It would break the intense silence and hearing her drawing breath was a much welcome relief. Time and time again I felt like reaching out to her. Either with words or with the touch of a hand. But something would always stop me. We'd been in bed for almost two whole hours and we hadn't communicated once. How pathetic were we? Trouble was, we were both as stubborn as it each. That didn't help. It was usually left to me to make the first move. To break the silence and apologise. But this time, there would be no white flag. Not from me. This time I wasn't prepared to say sorry. I can't even remember what had instigated this particular argument. But one thing I did know for sure, this time, it wasn't my fault. And as desperate as I was to turn over, to put my arms around her and make everything better, I simply couldn't find it within myself to be the one to make that first move. And because of my stubbornness – our stubbornness – it really did seem as though this was the beginning of the end of our relationship. Of course, at the time, neither of us actually realised that this particular stupid argument would actually be the one that would ultimately destroy our tempestuous relationship.

Present day…

It was nearing 11pm on a stiflingly hot Saturday evening. Even though it was the middle of summer, the past few days had been unusually hot and the nights particularly clammy. It was no wonder Senior Constable Charlie Buckton felt less than enthusiastic about the job in hand. Already tired from pulling an eighteen-hour shift, the prospect of finding herself fighting for air in a jam packed noisy nightclub wasn't exactly Charlie's idea of fun. She was exhausted and desperately in need of her big comfy bed and a good night's sleep. But she knew for the next few hours at least, sleep and comfort would continue to elude her.

Sitting in her car, Charlie pulled down the car's sun visor and rechecked her makeup in the tiny mirror for what seemed like the umpteenth time. She pulled out a lipstick from her clutch purse and reapplied some gloss to her lips. Suddenly the passenger side door was being jerked open, immediately jolting Charlie away from her thoughts. Constable Georgie Watson - who was holding on to two steaming cups of coffee for dear life – gently eased herself down in the passenger seat, a goofy grin plastered across her face.

"Here you go Charlie, this should hopefully keep you going - for the next couple of hours at least," Watson said smiling as she handed over the steaming beverage. She knew Charlie was a caffeine freak and although drinking a lot of the stuff wasn't exactly healthy, it was pretty much a prerequisite of the job, particularly on night shifts like the one in hand.

"Thanks Georgie, you're a life saver!" Charlie smiled over at her gratefully, before taking a tentative sip from the steaming cup. It was a Starbucks latte with a double espresso shot, which just so happened to be one of her favourites. Charlie and Georgie had been working together for almost a year now and it hadn't taken Georgie long to catch on that Charlie was something of a coffee fiend.

"So what's the plan then? Do we pretend like we're a couple of do the flying solo thing?" Georgie inquired before taking a sip of her café mocha. "I mean, it would be hard, but I think my reputation could just about withstand having to make out like we're an item. After all, it's not like you're totally unattractive or anything and what with it being in the line of duty and all that."

Charlie laughed. She was accustomed to her colleague's cheeky banter. In fact, she always enjoyed partnering Georgie on a shout. Her colleague was like a breath of fresh air, and had the capacity to ensure even the most boring of jobs were anything but. Charlie ran a hand through her long brown hair as she pondered the question for a few moments. They were sitting across the street from one of the city's most popular gay clubs. They were there purely to conduct a simple and straightforward recon, which basically entailed checking out the establishment and monitor proceedings. It was still relatively early on a Saturday night and they knew Fuel was guaranteed to be packed to the rafters. They could already hear the intoxicating sounds of music being pumped out from the building, mixed with conversation and laughter as patrons entered and exited the trendy hot spot.

As usual, Charlie decided to play along for a bit. "Well as much as I love you dearly Georgie, I'm pretty sure Alex would have a few things to say about that. In fact, she'd probably end up kicking my arse. Whilst I know I have a tendency to rub people up the wrong way sometimes, I have no desire what so ever to get on the wrong side of your girlfriend, thank you very much!"

Now it was Georgie's turn to laugh, as a mental image of her partner and Charlie facing off flashed into her mind. "Oh, Alex is a pussy cat. But I'd pay good money to see you two going for it," she sniggered. "And I know a few other people who would too! Particularly if mud just so happened to be involved!"

Charlie rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief at her smirking colleague. She was used to Georgie's harmless flirtations; it was part of what made her so likeable and endearing. "Georgie you are incorrigible. In fact, I think you're becoming worse than Angelo and that's saying something."

"Ok check, so no funny business then. Just two good friends out for a night on the town. Although don't mind me if you want to find yourself some hot tot…"

"Do not finish that sentence if you want to live," Charlie interrupted her. "I told you, I'm off relationships at the moment and besides, we are here to work, nothing more, nothing less."

"Spoil sport. And anyway, who said anything about a relationship," Georgie said with a devilish wink.

"I swear if I didn't know better I'd think you and Angelo were separated at birth!"

"Why thank you kindly, I taught him everything he knows. Come on then, let's get this show on the road. I'm dying for a beer… a non alcoholic one, obviously!' Georgie added, reaching for her jacket, which was lying across the back seat.

Charlie grabbed her purse and the two women exited the car and made their way over to the club.