Thankyou so much for reviewing! I hope this story is heading the direction you all want! I can't promise it will be without a few bumps but enjoy the happy Joey and Charlie of this chapter! Thanks.

CHAPTER 13 PERFECT

The cruise had proved a success as Joey spent the rest of the day bubbly and extremely happy. Charlie hadn't felt this good about giving something in a long time. She'd only ever been the receiver. She'd always been the spoilt one. It was always the guy that would give, who would do something romantic. Charlie didn't realise how much she missed giving and how much she missed making someone happy. It was a good feeling and the way she saw Joey react was encouraging, like she'd done something right. Like this entire situation was right.

That night they decided to have a quiet one. Joey wanted to return the favour but needed to get Charlie out of the room to do so.

"Hey…" Joey made her way over to where Charlie was digging through her bag. "What are you looking for?"

Charlie sighed. "You'll laugh."

"No I won't. I promise."

"Brandy." Charlie rubbed her neck. "It's… a teddy bear. A present from Dad. She sits by my bed every night."

Joey grinned but tried to conceal it. "I see."

Charlie reluctantly smiled. "Yeah, shutup. She's in the car. I might just–"

Charlie turned to see Joey let out a little laugh. "I'm sorry." Joey turned her laugh into a smile. "It's nice… to see your sensitive side."

Charlie rolled her eyes but slightly smiled. "Yeah, okay. I thought I'd find out from reception breakfast times too. Wanna come?"

Joey shook her head. "Oh, nah that's cool. I'll stay."

When Charlie was gone, Joey smiled in commendation at Charlie's self-disappearing act. This would give Joey a few minutes to get the place ready.

Charlie swiped her card at the door when she arrived back. She opened it and stopped in the doorway when she saw the room dimly lit with candles. Joey was perched on the bed waiting.

"Oh my God…" Charlie's voice was a whisper. Her hand automatically moved to her mouth where she stood in shock.

Joey got up and made her way over. "This is my way of repaying you."

"Joey, you didn't…" Charlie couldn't manage anything more than a whisper. Her eyes scanned the room, taking in the beauty of the light flickering from the candles. The curtains were drawn. There was a single candle in the middle of the table with two glasses on either side. It was perfect. No one had ever done anything like this for Charlie before. It was so simple yet so beautiful. So her.

"I just wanted to thankyou for today. For the cruise and the walk through the city. For bringing me here. For finally letting me into your life…" Joey took Charlie's hand.

Charlie almost lost her breath for a second. She would never forget the way Joey made her feel. Her heart began to pound against her chest, threatening to break through at any moment.

"I… don't know what to say." Charlie squeezed Joey's hand, looking into her eyes. She was so attractive with the candlelight flickering behind her. With her dark hair cascading down her shoulders. Those cute dimples in her cheeks when she smiled. The energy that projected from her body.

"You don't have to say anything." Joey led her over to the table and they sat down.

Charlie, still realising she was holding Brandy, flushed a shade of red and set her down on the ground.

"Brandy, huh?" Joey grinned, toying with her knife and fork.

Charlie looked down and smiled. "Yeah."

"You know, you act like such a tough cop all the time but I don't think you are at all. I think you're a softie underneath all that uniform."

Charlie looked up, sensing a slight tease in that sentence. "Is that so?"

"Yep. I also think you hide that because you're afraid of letting other people in."

Charlie raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly that. I get it. You've been hurt in the past and you don't want that again…"

Charlie looked away, knowing every word was true. Roman… Hugo. She let go of her heart a few times and she ended up with it bruised or broken. It was too hard to recover and she didn't want that again. She didn't need it from other people.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Charlie." Joey slid her hand across the table and took Charlie's hand loosely in hers, stroking her fingers and putting emphasis on the fact that her feelings were real. That she wasn't prepared to let anything get in the way of their relationship.

Charlie swallowed hard. She looked down at their joined hands and then back into the eyes of someone she knew wouldn't hurt her. Joey would be the last person.

"I know." Charlie smiled.

After a knock on the door and their dinner was delivered, the two ate over lighthearted conversation. Nothing too deep or emotional that could potentially ruin their night. Charlie told stories of her early childhood and the life she used to have. One that was carefree and easy. Joey kept quiet about her early life. She spoke about her dreams and what she wanted the future to hold. She didn't want to bring up her childhood. Not now.

"What a day!" After they'd finished off their food and wine, Charlie collapsed on her bed. She smiled thinking of the cruise and how happy she'd been just spending time with Joey. "If everyday is like today then I think we have a pretty good holiday ahead of us."

Joey lay down beside her with enough distance to indicate she was considerate of Charlie's wishes. "Agreed. Today was really great. Thankyou again."

Charlie rolled over, resting her head on her pillow. "It was a lot of fun."

Joey reached out her arm and pressed play on the CD player after a moment of silence. She turned back to Charlie, staring into her eyes as the song played.

"I love these guys…" Charlie whispered. Secondhand Serenade. Fall For You.

Joey smiled and thought of how lucky she was. How did she end up with someone so perfect? How could it be that she was lying only inches away from the most amazing person in the world? Their eye contact remained locked. Neither of them looking away. Neither of them wanting to look away. Joey lifted her hand and stroked Charlie's face. She longed to kiss her. She wanted so bad to feel the softness of her lips and taste her once again. She didn't forget how it felt. It was the perfect moment. As much as she wanted to hold Charlie and feel her close, to kiss her and feel her breath on her face, she held back. She respected her decision to take things slow and she wasn't going to ruin this chance. If she had to wait, she would.