Hi everyone! With Third Time's a Charm coming to a close, I will now start posting this fourteen part story. It's set at the time of Aden and Belle's wedding. Charlie is dating Angelo and Joey now has a girlfriend – what will happen when the foursome all meet? The Charlie/Ruby story hasn't and won't happen and it'll take a few chapters for Charlie and Joey to see each other again but I hope it will be worth the wait. Lots of love to you all and here's hoping you enjoy it, IJKS xxx

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Chapter One

"Hello?"

Joey Collins felt nervous as she waited for the person on the other end of the line to speak. It had been an unknown number and while those weren't the type of calls she was generally in the habit of answering, knowing that the trial of Robert Cruze was coming up at some point in the future, Joey braced herself to answer a few just in case.

"Joey?" said a female voice.

Joey furrowed her brow, trying to place the voice that she vaguely recognised.

"Yes," she said. "Who is this?"

"It's Belle. Belle Taylor, Aden's girlfriend?"

It came out as more of a question than a statement, as if she didn't expect Joey to remember her. Of course she did. Belle and Aden had been so good to her after her ordeal with Robbo and had been the people who had essentially press ganged her into talking to the police about the attack in the first place or, namely, talking to one police officer in particular. Senior Constable Charlie Buckton had turned Joey's world upside down a multitude of times before finally breaking her heart into a million pieces. Charlie was the reason she was in this place, at this time. She had been the reason for most things in Joey's life for a while. But not anymore.

"Belle!" she said. "How are you?"

"I'm... I'm good," she said a little unconvincingly. "I'm ringing about Aden."

Joey was immediately alarmed.

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Belle said quickly. "It's just that we're getting married. Next week."

"Congratulations," Joey said automatically.

"And I know Aden would kill me if he knew I'd found your number to call but I also know how much he would love you to be there."

Joey swallowed. The thought of coming back to Summer Bay was abhorrent to her. She'd been due back a month ago and changed her mind, with some help. She always needed help. After a long time of grieving for her relationship with Charlie, the love of her life, Joey had been determined to move on and forget her. She had hoped that in three months, they'd be back on speaking terms but things hadn't quite turned out that way and now everything was over for good. Charlie had broken her heart one too many times and she was sure there was no way to work things out. She was sure she didn't want to, although in the privacy of her daydreams, she still missed her. It was strange how someone who had been so good for her could also be so terribly bad. And by the time her trawler was due back in, so many things had changed for Joey that returning was redundant. There was no need to see Charlie again. There was no need to go home. There was nothing to work out.

"Would you come?" Belle asked, after a prolonged silence. "I know things were pretty bad when you left but it really would mean the world to Aden if you were at the wedding."

On her end of the phone, Belle twisted her fingers in her lap, thinking much further ahead than her special day. Aden would love to see Joey there as he stood up in front of Summer Bay and said his vows but he would also need support at some point down the line when Belle was gone and he was alone. She didn't know when it would happen but she was aware that it would be soon. And while she knew that her family would gather around him and that Nicole would be by his side, Belle wanted her soul mate to have everything he needed. His friendship with Joey had been brief but intense and he still spoke of her often. She meant the world to him and she was someone he could really talk to. Belle knew that when the time came, he would need someone who could take care of him and she couldn't think of anyone better suited to the job than Joey Collins.

"Belle, I don't know if..." Joey started.

"Please!" Belle said a little too desperately. "He's devastated that Roman's not around and he doesn't really have any family of his own."

"Why won't Roman be there?"

"He's in jail."

"Jail?" Joey said, a little high pitched.

"It's a long story," Belle said. "The point is that aside from Nicole, you're pretty much the closest person to him. I know how much he wants you there. He just won't ask you because of everything with... well, you know."

Joey nodded even though Belle couldn't see her. She conjured up Aden's face so clearly, remembering how she had broken down and told him the truth about Robbo raping her. He'd sat on the wharf and held her while she sobbed. He'd supported her and been relentless in his love and friendship. She pictured him in his suit on the most special day of his life without any of his family there. While it had never occurred to her that she was of any particular importance to him really, she had never thought of herself as being of importance to anyone, but if Belle said Aden wanted her there then she could hardly decline.

"I'll be there," she said.

"Really? Oh, that's wonderful! Thank you, Joey. The wedding is next Friday."

"Count me in."

"That's such wonderful news! He's going to be thrilled!"

Belle considered telling Joey about Charlie dating Angelo. She felt that she ought to warn her. But knowing that, Joey might not come and as awful as it seemed in her head, she couldn't take the risk of Joey not being around for Aden when he needed her. She thanked Joey again and hung up.

"Where will you be?" Gray asked.

Joey hung up the phone and climbed back onto the bed where her girlfriend was stretched out lazily.

"I need to go back to Summer Bay," Joey said awkwardly.

Gray raised her eyebrows.

"Why exactly?"

"My friend..."

"Not Charlie?"

"No, not Charlie," Joey said quickly. "My friend Aden, he's getting married. That was his fiancée. She was ringing to beg me to come. He doesn't really have any family or guests that are just his own. Would you mind?"

Gray sighed. She fixed her eyes on her partner, definitely not relishing the idea of returning to a town where they would bump into the one woman who, if she played her cards right, could easily steal Joey away from her. But looking at the nervous hope on Joey's face she had no choice but to give in and she'd rather go there with Joey than let Joey go by herself.

"When do we leave?" she asked.