Chapter Twenty-One

Aden blinked open his eyes in the early morning sunshine, confused for a moment as to where he was. His head was rested on something soft and warm. Sitting up he blushed, realising that he'd fallen asleep against Joey's cleavage on the deck of the trawler. She opened her eyes and smirked at him before stretching and yawning loudly.

"Count yourself special," she said. "You're the only boy I've ever spent the night with!"

He laughed. It had been a good night's sleep. He'd felt comforted and safe and, for the first time in a long time, he hadn't felt lonely. Suddenly having a completely platonic, lesbian best friend felt like the best thing in the world.

***

Angelo was nervous as he sat beside Charlie's bedside. She looked the same as she had the previous day, although her hair was losing its shine quickly. He wondered if he might get the chance to wash her hair this time around, although he didn't like the idea of copying perfect Joey's perfect idea.

"Hey, Charlie," he said.

His body was tense and his palms were sweating. He sat down.

"You'd think this would be easier because you're in a coma," he ventured. "But it's not."

He cleared his throat and then took a deep breath.

"Charlie, I love you so much. And I can't bear the thought of ever losing you. So... um... so when you wake up, I want to marry you," he told her. "I want us to be together for the rest of our lives and I want our lives to be long and happy."

He took the ring box out of his pocket and opened it up, showing the diamond jewellery inside to her as if she could see it. He picked up Charlie's hand and slipped the ring on her finger, hoping that when she woke up, she'd keep it there and agree to be his wife.

***

Geoff was late getting to work and then stunned when he found that the trawler wasn't there. He'd assumed that Aden would be angry with him, not that he would have gone out without him. They struggled to get the job done with two of them so one would be impossible. Sighing, he looked out at the horizon and was relieved when he spotted the trawler moving slowly towards him.

***

Ross and Morag arrived at the Intensive Care Unit to see Charlie for an hour before visiting hours closed. Every day felt harder. Every day, they wondered if it would be their last time. Whenever the phone rang, they panicked that it would be the hospital saying that Charlie was gone and they were fearful of the Doctor approaching them to ask them if they were prepared to switch the machines off. They made brief small talk with Angelo and then settled into their usual places. Morag immediately noticed the ring on Charlie's finger. She pointed it out to her husband and neither thought it appropriate.

"A woman is only supposed to wear the ring if she's accepted the engagement," Morag frowned. "And how's Joey going to feel?"

Ross sighed.

"I suppose he's just doing what he thinks is right but..."

Morag trailed off unhappily. Charlie's machines beeped on.

***

Joey arrived back at home. Aden had dropped her off on shore, squabbled with Geoff unnecessarily and then they'd started work. Letting herself in through the door, Joey made small talk with Leah, explaining that she'd slept on the boat. She moved towards the stairs to go up for a shower but paused near Charlie's closed door. She moved closer and turned the handle. Everything was tidy, just as she'd left it during that first week but she was hit with a wave of sadness. Closing the door behind her, Joey moved to lie on the bed. Resting on the pillow, she breathed in deeply. There was a faint smell of Charlie but she knew it was really the washing powder that felt familiar. Tears sprung from her eyes, surprising her.

"Oh, Charlie," she whispered. "Please, please don't die."

***

Ruby felt moderately cheerier and for that she felt guilty. She was happy because she and Geoff had finally decided to make a go of things but with Charlie on the brink of death, she was certain she shouldn't feel happy about anything. She'd shared her news with Annie and Nicole and both were glad that they'd finally taken the plunge. But they'd immediately picked up on her guilt and attempted to reassure her that it was acceptable to fall in love, even at a time like this. Taking a deep breath, she texted Geoff and asked him to come with her to the hospital to visit Charlie.

***

Joey woke from her nap when her mobile rang. She answered sleepily.

"Hi, Joey, it's Ross," said a male voice.

She sat bolt upright, immediately worried.

"Is Charlie okay?" she asked.

"Yes. Well, no... I mean, there's no change. I was... I was calling to invite you round to dinner this evening."

Joey was surprised but felt touched by the offer and immediately agreed.

"Great," Ross said. "Well, we'll see you at five thirty?"

"That sounds great," Joey said. "Would you like me to bring anything?"

"Just yourself," Ross told her.

***

Geoff picked up his message from Ruby as soon as he got back to land. He felt a mix of worry and happiness at being included in the most difficult part of her every day life. He knew that she had rejected Xavier's offer to visit Charlie with her when they were together so the invitation now was fairly telling. He wanted to go with her. He wanted to be supportive. Although it did suddenly mean that they were really in a serious relationship. He was glad but it was a surprise.

***

Joey sat and stared at Charlie's ringed hand for a long time. She had a fairly long visit today and while she would normally twitter on and on about random things, right now she couldn't stop thinking about the ring. It was quite obviously a sign of engagement and it sent her mind into a spin. Had Angelo asked and assumed the answer would be yes even though Charlie was in a coma? Or had he asked before Charlie had attempted suicide and decided to put the ring on during the coma? Had Charlie said yes? When she woke up, would she see the ring, fall in love with Angelo once and for all and say yes then? Would the ring eradicate the letter? Joey dug Charlie's goodbye note out of her back pocket. She sat back in her chair and began to read Charlie's words out loud back to her, suddenly feeling the need to remind the woman she loved of exactly what she'd chosen her last words as.

***

"You seem a bit happier today," Watson said.

Angelo nodded.

"Yeah, for some reason I'm feeling more positive," he told her. "I really feel like Charlie's going to defy the odds and wake up. I really feel like she and I have a future together. We're going to be okay, Watson. I know it."

***

Ross and Morag had gone shopping and were now busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen. The more Ross thought about it, the more he hoped the evening would go well. They were intent on asking her about her relationship with Charlie and letting her know that should Charlie wake up and want to be with her, they would be fully supportive of the relationship. It was testament to Joey's love for Charlie that she came running all that way and her commitment to visits and her care for Ruby was admirable. Both not so secretly hoped that Charlie would choose Joey if she were to come round. They were certain that she was much better for her than Angelo was.

***

"Okay, I'd better go, sweetheart," Joey said.

She'd cried again as she'd re-read the letter. It sounded different out loud somehow. Fortunately, she'd gathered herself together already and she was back in control.

"Your Dad and Morag have invited me round to dinner," she told her. "I hope I'm not in trouble or anything!"

She laughed softly and stood, moving, as ever, to kiss Charlie's forehead and say goodbye.

"I'll be back tomorrow," she promised. "And a load of other people will be coming to say hi too. You'll get to see Watson and Leah and Miles. They all ask about you every day."

She kissed Charlie one more time and then departed, smiling when she saw both Ruby and Geoff in the waiting room. Hugging Charlie's daughter and saying hello to Geoff, she couldn't help but voice her assumption that the pair had finally got together. Ruby blushed and said yes, clutching her new boyfriend's hand.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Joey said, waving goodbye to them and then to Rebecca as she left the hospital.

Ruby and Geoff headed on into the side room. Ruby kissed her mother's cheek and sat down. Geoff hovered behind her uncertainly. Ruby told him to pull up a chair. He moved awkwardly around the room and picked up the spare chair, positioning it next to his girlfriend.

"I've brought Geoff to see you," Ruby ventured, gazing at Charlie. "We're together now, like I told you I wanted to be. Cool, hey? I hope you get to hang out with us soon. I hope you'll see us as a couple, Charlie. I hope you'll be happy for us when you wake up."

***

"We were wondering," Ross ventured. "Were you and Charlie once an item?"

Joey's mouth hung open and she stuttered in surprise, unsure what the right answer ought to be.

"Well, um... I... we... uh..."

Ross and Morag both smiled.

"It's okay," Morag told her. "We'd be happy about it if you were."

"Well, uh..."

Joey settled on nodding.

"We split a few months ago."

"Why?" Morag asked.

Joey swallowed. She didn't want to say anything bad about Charlie.

"It just wasn't... we weren't... She wasn't ready to be with me," she said. "It was hard for her to deal with being attracted to a woman."

Ross nodded and admitted that the news had been a surprise.

"How did you find out?" Joey asked. "Have I been blindingly obvious? I didn't mean to. I just wanted to be there for her."

"Well, not exactly," Morag ventured. "I mean, your devotion to her has been pretty clear. To come all this way and everything as soon as you found out. But also, she mentioned you in her will and she spoke about you with a lot of emotion."

"And I seem to remember her coming to visit earlier in the year," Ross added. "She talked a lot about you then."

Joey allowed herself a small smile, wondering what had been said, during what she presumed was the visit she'd made when they'd kissed that first time.

"We didn't really notice anything at the time," Ross ventured. "But retrospectively, she was so happy and yet so lost whenever she was talking about you. It seemed like she loved you."

"I like to think she did."

"And now?"

Joey exhaled thoughtfully.

"Now... it would be a dream come true if she were to wake up and be with me again. I fell in love with her pretty much immediately. You see... we met because... well, she was helping me. I'd been attacked and she got me through it. Honestly, Mr Buckton, your daughter was an angel. She was so kind to me. She saved my life, literally and figuratively. You would have been so proud of her. It didn't work out but... she'll always be the best thing that ever happened to me."

Ross was transfixed, appreciating the fact that he was being let into a part of his child's life that he hadn't known about.

"And I realise the chances are that she'll come round and still not be ready, still want to be with Angelo but..."

Joey sighed.

"I'll accept it. All I want is for her to be happy and healthy. I just want the best for her. If it's me, I'll be overjoyed. If it's him, I'll support her. I'd pretty much give up anything in order to make her well again."