Authors Note: Hey guys, Thanks so much for reviewing. I really appreciate it. I know my first chapter didn't really go anywhere but I have an awesome twist for this chapter. Hopefully it will keep you interested. ^-^ Please review if you liked it, and even if you didn't I'm always open to suggestions.

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Her body was free as she ran quickly, her breathing steady drawing in long breaths. Joey could hear Charlie behind her as she ran into the house, noticing Leah and VJ to be out. She reached the living room quickly, letting out an exasperated laugh as Charlie staggered in. Both women staring at each other for a minute, although to Joey it seemed like a life time. She got lost easily in Charlie's eyes, her whole body felt a surge of warmth and love as the older girl smiled tentatively walking over to stand in front of Joey. The close proximity made Joey's head spin; she lightly grabbed Charlie's hand to keep from losing her balance. Smiling widely when she felt Charlie grip her securely.

'You let me win didn't you?'

Joey breathed heavily, noticing the smirk form on Charlie's lips.

'Please, you one that fair and square…Trust me.'

Joey smiled as Charlie replied. Her heart skipping numerous beats as she looked into her eyes, wanting nothing more than to kiss her. To feel every part of Charlie, to explore every bit of her. Although she held back, not wanting to move to fast. Or give Charlie any reason to have second doubts; she needed to take this relationship steady. She couldn't lose Charlie. Not again. And not after everything she had went through to get her. Charlie was so brave, so strong in the face of danger. Joey only wished she could have been, that she could put up a wall and hide behind it until she felt safe again. Unfortunately she took things at face value. Hiding as best she could, yet frequently she would find herself breaking down. Whether it be internally. A quiet battle that she shared with no one. Or externally where if she was upset, everyone would know about it. Joey was snapped from her thoughts as Charlie released her hand a smile still present on her face.

'What?'

Joey asked lightly, enjoying the cheeky gaze Charlie was sending her way. Charlie didn't reply instead she grabbed Joey around the waist. Pulling her closer. Joey's head suddenly became dizzy, although it was a good feeling. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, Joey taking in every surreal moment, every piece of this. Her eyes danced from Charlie's eyes to her mouth, trying her best to take things slow. She was a little unready when Charlie suddenly kissed her, although as she realized what was happening she soon found her legs. Moving herself slightly backwards as to compensate for part of Charlie's weight. Charlie's kisses were soft, steady in their movements. Joey moved her hands around to Charlie's back her fingers eagerly searching for skin. She didn't want to go too fast she knew Charlie was only new to this, but, right now in this moment Charlie was all she could concentrate on, it was all that filled her mind. Honestly Charlie drove her crazy, to the point where she didn't want to take things slowly.

She felt Charlie's hands gently run through her hair, her mind becoming clouded. She broke the kisses quickly as she stared into Charlie's eyes, seeing both love and an insatiable intensity. Charlie blushed lightly pulling back only a fraction, her cheeks a crimson red. Joey smiled kindly she loved everything about Charlie, and knew if it wasn't for a loud bang of the door and Ruby's voice saying a cheerful hello she would have defiantly taking things to the bed room. Charlie immediately pulled away looking flustered and a little frazzled, her hands rising to smooth down her hair and then quickly fix her ruffled clothes. Joey was amused by her actions and offered a reassuring smile, wanting Charlie to feel comfortable.

'Oh, hey Charlie.'

Ruby said quickly as she entered the living room Joey noticed Charlie give an inward smile, not really complying to the girls' question as she nodded uneasy. Was Charlie really that scared of what other people would think of her? Joey walked over and stood about half a meter behind the older women, preparing to answer for her. Although she was left standing with her mouth gaping as Charlie bet her to it.

'Hey, um…what happened to school?'

She asked, her voice beholding a joking but also mothering tone. Joey was seriously thinking about stepping in, I mean could Charlie be any more obvious? She was hoping Charlie would pull it together, because even this hurt her watching.

'Lunch break,'

Stated Ruby, Joey could see suspicion rising in the younger girls' eyes and glanced momentarily at Charlie, who seemed to be nodding in reply to Ruby's answer. It didn't help matters that Charlie looked like a deer caught in headlights. But as uncomfortable as the moment was for Joey, she couldn't help sympathize for Charlie. Wanting nothing more than to take her hand in her own.

'Okay, so I'm just gunna go…Xavier is waiting for me.'

Ruby said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

'Alright,'

Replied Charlie, again she nods to compensate her lack thereof words. Ruby gives both Joey and Charlie a puzzled look before leaving the house, Charlie sighing loudly once she had.

'That was awkward,'

Smiles Joey, trying to lighten the mood. Charlie gives her a soft look before taking a seat, Joey can't help but notice the slight worry etched on her face and quickly moves to kneel in front of her. Placing her hands gently upon Charlie's leg as she stares intently at her face. The older woman doesn't look instead she keeps her eyes firmly fixed upon the carpet, her brow furrowing in thought. Joey reaches to hold her hand entwining their fingers together, yet Charlie still persists on looking at the floor.

'Are you going to tell her?'

Joey says her words getting a reaction as Charlie looks into her eyes, almost as though she's asking silently if that would be a good idea. Joey looks down at their hands allowing time for the answer. She knows how hard it was to tell her brother, even more so when he couldn't accept who she was. Maybe Charlie is worried it will be the same way with Ruby? Surely it wouldn't be, because although she may need some time to process everything Joey knew without a doubt Ruby would support her sister. She wished that Brett was like that sometimes; she can understand parts of his anger towards her though…she did after all hide who she really was from him for years, in some aspects she and Charlie were the same both to scared to tell their family, afraid of what they might think. Joey understood Charlie's hesitant, for she herself had it once.

'I'll have to tell her someday right?'

Charlie's voice was barely a whisper, her words coming out chastened. Joey stood slowly pulling Charlie up with her so they were standing close together. Their hands still firmly holding each other.

'If you want I can come with you?'

She said keeping her voice soft, Charlie seemed to think hard about this. Her mind ticking over in trained thought. Probably running through every possible scenario that could happen when she told Ruby. Joey knew it was a big thing for Charlie, she and her sister were really close. The last thing she would want to do is come between them. Charlie looked over where Ruby had stood not five minutes before, her eyes returning to look at Joey as she spoke.

'I think it would be best if I did this alone.'

Joey nodded knowingly, pulling Charlie into a tight hug to say she was okay with her decision. She ran her hands down Charlie's back lovingly before pulling back and giving a sweet smile.

'Okay, then.'

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Charlie was nervous, so nervous she had thought about bailing and leaving the Diner before Ruby got a chance to get there. But she knew if she did that she would just be prolonging the inedible. Her hands held tightly to her cup of coffee the soothing warmth that radiated from the sides gave her a small amount of comfort. The hot steam she could feel drifting slowly into the coldish air gave her something else to focus on as did the familiar aroma. All round it was her coffee that was keeping her sane, and seated at the small table waiting Ruby's presents. She had been contemplating how she would tell her sister about her and Joey for over ten minutes now, each way seemed to end badly or come out fast and confusing. So she tried her best to focus on something else, that ended up being Colleen her voice pierced through the Diner easily and even when she was in the kitchen Charlie could still hear most of what she was saying. Apparently she was fusing over a rude customer; things became jumbled when she mixed daily gossip and past tense together in one sentence so Charlie wasn't completely sure.

'Hey Charlie, what's up?'

Ruby said, this basically catapulted Charlie from her musings her mind slamming to a halt as she saw her little sister sitting quickly into a seat opposite her. Damn! She wished she had recited what she was going to say to her instead of getting side tracked and listening to Colleen. Ruby seemed a little distracted so Charlie was happy she didn't notice her confused thinking, and open mouth. Wishing desperately for words to magically appear. At this moment she wished Joey had been with her, why'd she have to push her away?

'Ruby I need to talk to you.'

Okay, as good a start as any. Charlie looked down at her coffee briefly the dark liquid swirling as she blew on it gently. Not planning to take a sip she looked back at her sister, her gesture being that only of stalling.

'Is everything ok Charlie?'

Ruby's voice was serious, worried. This caused Charlie to reach for her hand holding it firmly, Ruby wasn't dumb and eventually she would figure out what was going on with her and Joey. Charlie would prefer she heard it from her and not some random person on the streets. So taking a deep breath she looked into Ruby's eyes, here goes nothing…

'Look, Ruby. This is hard for me to say, and um all I ask is of you to listen.'

Charlie's voice came out unusually high; she saw Ruby's face change from confused to placid. Telling Charlie it was okay for her to continue.

'I didn't plan this; in fact I would never have thought that this would even happen…'

'That what would happen?'

Ruby cut in and Charlie noticed how different her sister looked. How worried. She admitted silently that it probably wasn't such a good idea to have said everything in such a serious matter, this wasn't a bad thing but she was certainly making it sound that way. She gave her sister a warm smile trying to ease her worry.

'Joey and I have gotten close, and I feel strongly for her.'

Charlie avoid Ruby's question wanting to explain more of her feelings for Joey, then just jumping in the deep end without a floatation device. 'Cause no matter how good of a swimmer she may be drowning was always just around the corner. And she didn't want to get caught in a rip, she was already too far out as it was.

'What I'm trying to say is that, I really like Joey.'

'So do I, it's been good having her around…and VJ seems to have taking a shine to her.'

Ruby didn't seem to understand just what she was trying to say, so Charlie decided to ditch her theory about jumping in the deep end without a safety device…she was basically diving head first.

'Ruby, I like Joey as more than a friend…'

Charlie paused as Ruby thought for a moment, her heart beating fast and she briefly had the feeling it might jump from her chest.

'What are you saying Charlie?'

Ruby's voice was steady, and Charlie could tell she was trying her best to keep calm.

'I like Joey a lot.'

The words came out quickly and Charlie was surprised at how easy it was. They flowed across her tongue and into the air as though she had always said them. As though they were spoken on a daily basis. Her mind quickly snapped to when she felt Ruby pull her hands from her grasp, shaking her head lightly.

'So you're saying, you are gay?'

Charlie wasn't sure how to answer that, was she gay? I mean she liked Joey heaps, and always felt so different and alive when in her company. But for so long she had dated guys and although she never felt as alive around them she did feel a spark with a few guys. Could it be that she always had been gay? It wasn't really that far of a stretch, and she really enjoyed kissing Joey…

'Ruby, please it's just-'

'Just what Charlie? You are not gay! You date guys.'

Ruby's voice got increasingly louder and Charlie hoped that she didn't draw attention to herself. The last thing she needed was Colleen getting a whim of this; the news would spread like wild fire then.

'Ruby…'

She basically pleaded, her hand reaching to grab her sisters' as Ruby stood up only to have her pull away. Charlie knew this would come as a shock to Ruby, she also knew that she had never really coped with change all that well. And Charlie being gay was kinda a big change. She stood quickly trying to get Ruby to listen placing her hand on her shoulder, straight away Ruby shrugged it off turning to leave.

'Ruby wait, please.'

Charlie begged, wanting desperately for her younger sister to understand.

'No, Charlie! You are not gay.'

Ruby's words hit her like acid, Charlie stepped back slightly watching as her sister left the Diner quickly. Tears brimmed in her eyes, making them look bright. The small droplets sliding slowly down her cheek, leaving her face flushed. Reverting back Charlie sat down running her fingers through her hair as she took a shaky breath in, her other hand grasping her now only just warm coffee hoping for that sense of warmth and comfort. It was defiantly a huge mistake to jump into the deep end without a safety device…for she had just well and truly drowned.

----

'She completely freaked, I mean I barely even had a chance to explain things properly.'

Joey listened carefully as Charlie explained what happened with Ruby, her feet lightly kicking the soft sand they walked on. She could tell Charlie was hurting something that made her heart break. To be honest she hadn't expected Ruby's actions to be as harsh and defensive as they had been, and wished she had been there to help Charlie out. Maybe if Ruby saw how much she cared for her sister she might have been more willing to accept it. But atlas she wasn't and thinking of 'what if's' wasn't helping much. Right now she needed to comfort Charlie.

'Give her some time; I'm sure she will come around soon.'

Joey gave Charlie a small smile, stopping as she sat softly on the sand her eyes watching the waves. Charlie joined her letting out a long sigh, both of them sitting in comfortable silence for a few seconds. Joey looking over at Charlie who seemed lost in thought, a silent tear falling down her cheek.

'I hope she comes around soon,'

Charlie said finally turning to face Joey; she smiled a little as her hand found Joey's. Seeking comfort from the younger girl. Joey turns her body to face Charlie looking kindly into her eyes; she wants to make Charlie feel better. Although her words seem to be stuck in her mouth, so with one fluent move she gives Charlie a soft kiss. Her hand cupping her face as she pushes her body forward. Felling a surge of warmth as Charlie did the same; Joey could easily get use to this. They parted slowly both girls smiling widely, each just enjoying the moment. None of them noticing a figure watching them intently, they also didn't see his crooked smile as he disappeared behind some trees.

----

The sun was low in the sky covered by a few clouds, its deep orange light stretching far, shining and dancing through the dark leaves of trees and glistening off the calm water. Its position created long shadows across the ground; they were a grey colour not quite black. The wind was cool as it whipped past Joey's face her hair blowing gently as did her clothes. She held Charlie's hand lightly as the two of them made their way home, each in their own finding something mesmerizing to look upon. For Joey this was Charlie, she looked stunning under the suns calm glow. Her eyes transfixed on where she was walking as her long hair curled and whipped in the light sea breeze. Joey couldn't help but stare feeling lucky that Charlie had indeed chosen to be with her, if it wasn't for the occasional passerby and odds that she could be heard easily, Joey would have screamed at the top of her lungs how happy she was…Of course due to people being around she advised herself to keep quiet. Instead she was quite content to just stare.

Joey was first to step into the house noticing it to be empty, she gather Leah was working and VJ was at a mate's house. Ruby well, she was more than likely spending some time on her own. With a quick movement Joey walked over to the sink, grabbing a clean glass from the side of her. She could hear Charlie behind her go into the living room. Her hand reaching to turn on the tap as clean water spurted quickly from it, splashing against the sides and bottom of the glass. Filling it up only half way. She took a large sip welcoming the cool, refreshing liquid. She was just about to ask Charlie if she wanted a drink when a muffled voice and loud crash was heard, turning around quickly she saw Robbo. His arm wrapped tightly around Charlie's neck as she fought against him, his other arm was near her stomach Joey noticing one of Leah's cooking knives held firmly in his hand.

Her body became numb, as a wave of fear plagued her every muscle. The glass of water slipping from her hand, landing with a loud smash upon the floor…particles of glass both tiny and large scattering as far as a meter away as the liquid pooled around Joey's shoes. He had Charlie, he had control of Charlie…what was she going to do? More to the point what the hell was he going to do? She breathed heavily as air became hard to find, his eyes not leaving hers as he smiled daringly.

'You do exactly as I say and no one will get hurt.'

His voice is dry, and it makes Joey shiver. She can't look away from Charlie, can't not see the knife that is so close to her. Can't ignore Robbo's slight chuckle nor the rasp in his tone. She wants to do something; Charlie looks scared, angry, but still scared. Joey can't move as fear surges around her body, it's paralyzing, nauseating. Her figure one of fright, as she just stands there. Praying that someone would help them, anyone.