Is it possible to move on from love?

Sorry it has been so long since I posted the next chapter but I have been away.

Thanks for the great reviews please keep them coming along with any ideas you might have as it keeps me going when I think about what can happen next. I am so happy you are enjoying my ideas.

Previously.

Joey stays with Charlie through the nights, preventing her nightmares causing further trauma.

Finally the couple have a deep and meaningful conversation, and decide to give things another go.

Chapter 9.

As joey slowly woke she turned onto her back to look around at her surroundings, taking a few seconds to realise where she was. She then came face to face with her the love of her life, smiling nervously "Morning." She spoke before biting her lip, waiting to see how Charlie would react. "Morning Hun, did you sleep well?" Charlie asked giving Joey the most dazzling smile joey had seen in a long time. "Yes thanks; I'm guessing you did too, since you only had one nightmare. How long have you been awake?" She said feeling more relaxed. "Yes I did, it's amazing how much better I feel since you agreed to give me another chance to show you how I feel about you. I have been awake for about an hour." She replied happily. "What an hour? You should have woken me." Joey replied sitting up. "I didn't want to disturb you, besides you looked so beautiful sleeping." Charlie replied smiling bashfully.

They sat talking for a few more minutes before Charlie began to wring her hands together nervously. "ummm Jo, you haven't changed your mind about us starting again have you?" Joey looked at her noticing the way she had become distracted. "No I haven't, why? Have you? If you don't want to be in a relationship with me I would rather you told me now…" "I haven't, being with you is the only good thing to come out of my near death experience, joey I love you and will spend the rest of my life proving I am worthy of your trust and love." Joey let out a long relieved breath. "So we're good then?" Charlie smiled and gave her a nod. "I thought when you brought it up that you had decided you had changed your mind. So if we haven't changed our minds, why did you bring it up?" Again Charlie blushed whilst looking at her girlfriend before picking at an imaginary thread on her blanket. "I just thought as we are now a couple you could come over here and give me a good morning kiss."

The couple shared several kisses which were turning more passionate when there was a knock on the door, Sid entered and apologised for interrupting "Charlie I have all your results and I would like to discuss the results with you. Joey maybe you could give us a moment?" "Joey can stay, I want her to stay. Please Sid whatever you have to say you can say in front of my girlfriend." She rushed nervously grabbing hold of Joey's hand tightly.

"Ok, well firstly the gun shot to your chest punctured your lung and we repaired it as best we could, as you know but after running the tests and finding times when you struggle to breathe, I am afraid your lung capacity is not as good as it was, we had hoped you would have had more by now and I have to prepare you for the worst situation which is you may never get full functioning lungs. There are exercises you can do which may help improve this." He smiled at the two worried faces. "But if I get out of breath I won't be able to do my job, Sid please I will do anything you say but I have to get my lungs fully functioning again. Please." Joey quickly moved her hand to brush away the tears sliding down Charlie's cheeks, before comforting her in her arms. "Babe we will get through it, I promise things will be alright." Charlie looked at Joey "You heard what he said I may never get fully functioning lungs, if I get out of breath easily I can't chase cons. Being in the force is the only thing I ever wanted to do, what will I do now?" "Babe you don't have to think about that now, and Sid actually said there was a chance you may not get full function back, he also said there may be things you can do to improve it." She said comfortingly.

A couple of minutes later Charlie raised her head to look at Sid "What about my leg?" gripping Joeys hand even tighter "Well as you know the second bullet came to rest against your spine and we were worried it had damaged some of the nerves. You have noticed yourself a slight numbness to your right leg, the test results show you have indeed suffered some nerve damage. It does how ever appear slight, and we are hoping an operation may not be needed once you have physiotherapy, since there op is quite a big operation and it only has a 40% chance of actually working. We want to start physiotherapy as soon as possible so I am going to organise a referral if you agree." Charlie stared at Sid trying to take in everything she had been told. "So it is not just my lungs that could keep me out of my job?" "

What chance of an improvement to both injuries do you expect by having physiotherapy?" She asked drained of all emotion. "Charlie I have to prepare you for the worst and say it might not improve at all, but I am extremely hopeful that it will, you are fit and healthy and have no other medical problems and have come a long way since it happened, In all fairness the amount of blood you lost and the fact your brain was starved of oxygen, you have fought the odds, by rights you should have died or suffered some kind of brain damage. You have to stay strong and determined. Do you consent to the physiotherapy referral?" He asked smiling at his patient; he was very impressed with sergeant Buckton, she was very good and fair at her job and out of work she was a really nice person. "Babe you need to answer Sid." Joey said as she put her arm comfortingly around her shoulders. "Yes Sid, I want you to organise the treatment." She replied giving him a weak smile still struggling to take it all in.

With that Sid asked if they had any questions to which they both replied they had none so he said he would get straight on with it, "The sooner you start the treatment the better. Charlie please try not to worry, I had to give you the worst case scenario, I'm sure it won't be as bad as it seems." With that he smiled once more before leaving the room, thinking to himself how pleased he was Joey had come back into Charlie's life at the right time to support her.

"Right Joey we need to decide what we are going to tell people." She said looking her girlfriend in her eyes. "Well that's up to you babe, I suppose you are probably best telling Ruby and Leah since they live with you and will notice if you get out of breath or have a fall etc." Charlie gave a false laugh before interrupting Joey "Babe I was talking about us. What do you want to do about us? Do you want to start telling people we are back together, or would you prefer to keep it between ourselves for a while."

Joey looked at her girlfriend realising Charlie had put her diagnosis to one side and would not discuss it any further, she worried that if she ignored it she would make herself ill but was prepared to leave it for now. "Well I guess that depends how you feel, it's early days and I don't expect anything to happen to soon, I know how hard it was for you to come out last time and I guess if I had been more understanding instead of pushing you things may not have ended the way it did." She said nervously biting her lip.

"Joey babe, I know what I want; when I lost you I realised how important you were and are to me. Yes it was hard but I don't regret it, being with you was the best thing to happen to me, and I made myself a promise. If you ever forgave me enough to give me a second chance everything would be different, starting with being open and honest about how I feel and showing people how lucky I am to have you as my girlfriend at home or in public instead of stupidly being embarrassed. Joey you deserve to be treated like a princess and I promise you that's exactly what I plan to do. So as far as I'm concerned I want to shout it from the roof tops, I love you and I want to tell everyone." She replied scared in case she had said too much too soon.

Joey smiled before replying happily "well I guess that means we tell everyone as soon as we see them. I guess we should speak to Ruby and Leah first though." She said happily "Yes I want to tell them first but after that please feel free to tell anyone you like." She smiled and gave Joey a quick kiss. She suddenly pulled away "There is one condition though babe." She quickly spoke "Oh what condition is that?" She asked noting the cheeky grin appears on her girlfriends face. "That you save telling Colleen until I'm with you; I want to see the look on her face." She replied smiling making Joey laugh. "I love you Jo and I really do appreciate you giving me a second chance." "I love you too Hun, and I think we were both guilty of making mistakes last time so how about we agree to put the past firmly in the past and move on from it. We both need to discuss how we feel more and work on things together; otherwise I don't think it will work." With that they kissed passionately to seal the deal.

The couple were still locked in a passionate embrace and never heard the knock on the door, or even the door open. In fact it wasn't until they heard a loud gasp followed by "Oh my god, you guys this is brilliant. I'm so pleased you are back together." They jumped apart and glanced and a very excited Ruby followed by a much quieter Leah entered the room walking towards the couple.

"Well I guess that's one way to tell the two most important people." Joey replied winking at Charlie hoping with all her heart Charlie indeed meant what she had said earlier about wanting people to know they were together again. Charlie gave joey's hand a reassuring squeeze before turning to her daughter and friend. "Well that wasn't the way we wanted you to find out, but yes Rubes your right. Joey has made me the happiest woman in the world by agreeing to become my girlfriend again. And this time I will not be making the same mistakes. I love Joey and want everyone to know what she means to me. This time it's for keeps." She said grinning widely before kissing joey's lips tenderly.

They were congratulated by both Ruby and Leah who both said how pleased they were for the couple. "Joey does this mean you will be moving back in with us?" Ruby asked Charlie hadn't been the only one to miss her when she left, Ruby felt like she had lost a sister the day Joey sailed out of their lives and although she supported Charlie she also felt anger towards her that they had all lost a friend because of her, although she had never told Charlie how she felt not wanting her to become more upset and self loathing.

Joey almost choked on her coffee Leah had brought them. "Give us a chance Ruby; we have only just got back together. To be honest I don't think it would be a good idea for us to rush things by living together straight away again; we rushed into things instead of taking the time to get to know each other and enjoying spending time together. We both made mistakes last time which we will not be repeating." She replied looking at her girlfriend for confirmation.

Ruby pouted stating she wanted her to move in and do things with all of them like last time, causing everyone to laugh. "Ruby just because I won't be living there doesn't mean we can't hang out or do fun things, I will be around your place a lot hopefully and you would be welcome at my van anytime you want." She replied, slightly embarrassed.

The group talked for a while longer and Charlie told them she would be starting physiotherapy soon, although Joey noted she left out what her physical problems actually were, instead telling them things were going really well so she was hoping a few treatment sessions and she could be home. Joey made a mental note to talk to her girlfriend when they were alone next. Joey decided she would leave them too it and go back to the caravan for a nap and then a shower and change of clothes before having something to eat and spending some time on the beach.

She kissed Charlie who pouted when she said she had things to do and would see her later, before heading away from the hospital towards the caravan park. She had mixed emotions, everything was happening so fast, part of her was petrified Charlie would break her heart again but then the other part told her she had changed and she would not hurt her again as they both lost their soul mate.

Still confused she let herself into her van and got herself undressed ready to have a nap. Just as she settled down her phone rang, it was the Jeremy Kyle show's psychologist Graham arranging a time for them to meet up for her session, and she had completely forgotten but arranged to meet him that afternoon. He gave her the details of the place they were staying in Yabbi creak. Joey checked the time and decided she could still have a nap then go for something to eat as she planned, but relaxing on the beach would have to wait.

She entered the diner and couldn't help but over hear a young couple discussing surfing lessons and how hurt they were that Harvey ruined a good business opportunity he had with Alf. She knew it was wrong but decided to interrupt the couple anyway, she moved over to their table and coughed "Excuse me, I couldn't help but over hear you mentioned surfing lessons?" "Yes, I teach surfing, do you want lessons?" The young man replied. "Actually know I already surf, do you have many customers? Because I could help you teach them if you wanted? I was also thinking of buying a boat to teach people how to water ski etc. Would you be interested in going into business? I also couldn't help but hear you mentioned a business opportunity with Alf, could I ask what that was? Maybe we could introduce that into the business some how?" She said smiling at the young couple. "Oh sorry how rude of me." She said holding her hand out to them. "My name is Joey Collins, I used to live in the bay, I used to work for Alf in the surf club, but my passion is the sea. I have my boat licence, I can surf, water ski, and I also have knowledge of fishing around the area."

The young man was first to shake her hand "Hi Joey I'm Romeo and this is my wife Indi, it sounds like you have a lot of experience but I don't think my surf lessons are worth your time, they don't make much money, and it's hit and miss how many clients I actually have each day, not very professional. I'm just trying to make a living out of it but sadly I think I may have to give it up." He replied. "Hmm the thing is I know I don't really know you but I sense the love you have for being out on the ocean, if you don't mind me saying I don't think you could settle for a nine to five office type job. Look Romeo, I have money saved up to start my own business, I don't want to make things worse for you buy being in direct completion with you, but I also think if I manage to get it up and running I will need help to run it all, so how about it? Look I know it has come out of the blue so I will leave you to discuss it with your wife, I'm staying at the caravan park so let me know what you decide."

With that she said it was nice meeting them and got up to leave when Indi stopped her asking "Joey Collins, where have I heard that name before, wait are you the Joey Collins, as in Charlie Buckton's ex girlfriend?" She asked, Joey smiled before replying "That's me. I came back to visit Charlie in hospital and decided to move back to the bay." "Wow, I know Ruby said you were beautiful and friendly but she wasn't kidding, would you like to join us we are just about to order lunch?" She asked smiling at Joey. "That's a really kind offer but I don't want to disturb you any more than I have already." She replied. "It would be our pleasure if you joined us." Romeo replied.

They shared a lovely lunch while chatting about the bay and people they all knew. Once they had all finished Joey checked the time before saying "Well it has been lovely to meet you, thank you for the invitation to lunch. I would be honoured if you let me pay, since I kind of forced myself on you. Romeo think about my offer and let me know. Thanks again. Bye." With that she stood and walked towards the counter to pay, waving her hand as the couple protested about Joey buying lunch. Once they gave in they thanked her profusely and waved as she left the building.

Checking the time again she sighed heavily before walking towards the bus stop ready to head in to Yabbi Creak to her meeting with Graham. As she sat on the bus she wondered if she was doing the right thing by seeing Graham about her problems, after all she was back together with Charlie so should she bring up anything that could harm her relationship? Still unsure what to do she got off the bus and made her way to the office.

"Joey hello again, please come in. I'm so happy to see you how have you been?" Graham greeted her and showed her into the office and invited her to sit down. "Actually I was wondering whether I needed help after all. I mean the issues I had regarding Charlie my ex well they're not issues any more, you see I came back here because she was in a critical condition, she's a police officer and she was shot. Anyway I came to see her and we talked etc… anyway we are back together." Joey said nervously wringing her hands together. "Well I'm pleased for you obviously but you know we talked about more things than just Charlie, I thought we could talk about your family, up bringing etc., because most times the way we were brought up effects the way we relate to other people. What do you say? You're here now; it would be a shame not to use the time." He said sitting back in his chair resting a finger on his chin as he studied Joey.

An hour later and Joey felt drained; she had found herself opening up to Graham about her mum walking out when she was 6 years old, and how her life changed from then on, her dad used to drink a lot and then use her as a punch bag, how her brother Brett used to stick up for her until her Dad got in his head about beating women was the only way to teach them respect and keep them safe from outside harm, in which he also began beating her and ordering her to cook, clean and fetch for them. How her dads death when she was seventeen affected her. After that, the session was over and they agreed to meet in a couple of days for the next session, as Graham was busy with other people, before he had to go back to England with the rest of the show.

Joey checked the time and smiled, it was hospital visiting time and Ruby would be there with Charlie, maybe they could have dinner together after the visit. Then she could spend some time catching up with her own things before heading back to the hospital again.

As she knocked on the door and opened it she smiled as she heard mother and daughter laughing. "Hey Jo, I didn't know you were coming this afternoon." Charlie replied giving her a wide grin. "Neither did I, but I was in Yabbi Creek anyway so I thought why not spend some time with you before I finish my jobs and come back for the night." She smiled showing the little dimples Charlie loved so much. "But if you want me to go I can…." Charlie quickly interrupted her speech telling her to get over there.

They kissed before Joey sat down in the chair next to her bed and held her hand. "Actually Ruby I wondered if you fancied joining me for dinner after visiting time has finished." Joey asked smiling. "That would be great thanks Joey." She said smiling at her mum's girlfriend. Hey sat chatting and laughing with Charlie for a further forty minutes before getting told visiting time was over and they had to leave by one of the nurses. Joey stood back while Ruby hugged and kissed her mum carefully, she then leant over Charlie giving her a hug and kiss that began to turn passionate until Ruby interrupted them telling them she was still in the room. Laughing they said their goodbyes before Joey followed Ruby through the door.

"Joey is everything alright?" Ruby asked as she sat opposite her in the diner. "Sorry what did you say? Sorry Rubes I was miles away." Joey said giving her, her best smile, before picking up her fork and continuing eating her chips. "You look like you have a few things on your mind. Anything I can help you with?" Ruby asked worriedly "You're not regretting giving her another chance are you?" She asked. "What no of cause not, Ruby me and your mother talked everything through before agreeing to start over. This is what we both want. I just have a few things on my mind that's all." She smiled before saying "Now eat your dinner before it gets cold." They smiled and Ruby told her she was a good listener if Joey wanted to talk anytime. Once they had finished their burger and chips Joey asked Ruby if she wanted dessert. They settled for a milkshake each instead, before thanking Leah and heading out.

Ruby said she was meeting the others and would catch Joey later, thanked her again and walked of towards the surf club. Joey headed back to the caravan park to do some laundry and try and write a business plan, but as she sat down at the cramped table all she could think about was her brother, things could have been so different if he hadn't stuck his bloody homophobic nose into her business. I guess it's because I have been talking about him I suppose, she told herself. Shaking her head she tried to concentrate again on the sheets of paper in front of her.

At 7:45pm Joey knocked and entered Charlie's hospital room. Smiling as Charlie grinned "hey babe." "Hey, yourself." She said making her way over to share a kiss. "How's your day been?" She asked sitting on the chair holing Charlie's hand. "Oh you no the normal, out shopping, partying etc. in fact your lucky to catch me in." She said teasingly. Joey returned the smile. "So what have you been up to?" She asked.

"Well after I left here this morning I went home to have a nap, but I had a phone call from that television show psychologist. I had arranged to see him; you know… anyway so I then went to the diner and met a lovely couple who I made an offer to, fingers crossed he will agree, as he would be a great asset to have on board. Then I had my meeting and we talked about my shit upbringing by a mother who left me when I was six, then the beatings I suffered from my dad and brother because they loved me and wanted to care for me. Then I came here to visit a seriously hot dark haired, blue eyed woman." She said grinning then winking at Charlie. "Then I had dinner with the hot woman's daughter before catching up on my laundry, and trying to make a start on writing a business plan. nothing much at all really quite a lazy day." She said joining Charlie when she began to laugh.

They talked some more about who Joey had met in the diner and propositioned, although Joey refused to tell Charlie exactly what business she needed a plan for and why she needed Romeo's help, Charlie agreed Romeo was a nice young lad but explained what had happened between Indi, Romeo and Rubes. "Oh right I don't have to work with him if it will make things awkward." She said, the last thing she wanted was to upset Charlie or Ruby. "It's fine Babe, it was a long time ago, and indigo married him after all that, they are even friends with Ruby again although they're not as close as they used to be. Romeo's a good lad and a hard worker; he has had a few problems but he got through them. He deserves a break."

They talked a while longer before the nurse brought in Charlie's medication and told them it was time to rest, Joey and Charlie looked at each other before grinning, "well I guess I better get into my PJ's before we get grounded." This started them off laughing uncontrollably again. Joey moved into the bathroom to get changed. Once she returned to the room they shared a kiss before Joey climbed into the bed. "Goodnight girlfriend." Charlie said giggling at how good that sounded. Goodnight sweetheart, I love you." With that they both tried to get some sleep.

An hour later Joey was still awake thinking things through, talking about family made her think about Brett and she thought about contacting him. She was angry with him and hated the way he constantly tried to ruin her life, but maybe she did need answers, deciding to talk to Graham about it in her next meeting, she glanced over to where Charlie was sleeping, and she smiled then settled down and eventually got some sleep.

Next time.

Joey is surprised by the reaction from the bays residents.

Charlie begins physiotherapy.

Romeo talks to Joey about her proposition.