"Are you sure about going public?" Nick said to Robertson. "Outing Watson I can understand, especially as it should make it harder for her to move freely about, but flashing Charlie and Joey Collins' faces all over the media could backfire," he stated. "It could send them deeper underground, or worse, have word of sightings get back to the wrong people before we have a chance to get to them. We're still unsure how many people Braxton has on the inside and if he still has someone in a position of power here that we're yet to identify, then they could stand between Charlie and us."

"Then what do you suggest?" replied Robertson.

"We make public statements in regards to Watson and Angelo, full disclosure on what we know of their activities to date, their corruption, the whole juicy details, including their potential link to the Braxtons," he said. "But we keep our missing women out of it, at least for now."

"You believe the publicity could force them to go deeper into hiding and you could be right, but it could also have the opposite affect and force them to come in, because the extra eyes out there may make it harder for them to hide," Robertson argued.

"Yeah, it could," Nick conceded. "But I just don't think that your suggestion is the best way to get Charlie to trust us again," he said. "Right now, Charlie thinks I want her dead because I sent Angelo to her, so I need to convince her that I had no idea about him and one way to do that, is to put the spotlight onto police corruption while leaving her out of it. She knows I could easily use the media to paint Angelo as the victim here and her as the bad guy, so I'm hoping that a public statement against Angelo, my own brother-in-law, will go some way to convincing Charlie that Angelo acted without my authority." Nick shrugged helplessly. "Just give me a couple more days to try to reach out to Charlie, that's all I'm asking for."

"I intend to make a media statement within the hour," Robertson said. "Then another in two days," he added. "You have your two days, make the most of it."

Charlie splashed some water on her face. Thankfully, the cabin had an indoor toilet and basin, giving her the perfect excuse to get away from Joey for a moment. Her thoughts were still occupied by that kiss. It had come out of nowhere. At least she hadn't flinched, so maybe she was getting used to playing the part of a loving girlfriend. Was it really just her playing a part that had had her melting into the kiss or the fact that she had liked it, because she had liked it. More water splashed on her face as she tried to wash that thought away. The last thing she wanted or needed, was to enjoy kissing Joey. More water was needed.

After a thorough wash, Charlie stared into the mirror. "Get a grip, Charlie," she murmured to her reflection. "You have a performance to put on tonight." Straightening herself, she took a deep breath. She could do this.

Graves concentrated on finishing her food, rather than on her dinner companion. It was almost becoming unbearable. She was the bright, up-and-comer, the future of the police force, yet she was being reduced to this distracted mess. What the hell was it about this guy that had her behaving like a love sick teenager?

"Aww, you make such a cute couple," the waitress said as she handed Dex the bill. Graves nearly bit her tongue in her attempt to avoid comment, because she knew if she said anything, it wouldn't have been a polite response.

"Have you been together long?" the woman asked.

"We've been partners for just over three days now," Dex replied. He missed the icy daggers Graves sent his way.

"Oh wow, I would have expected it to be longer than that," the waitress said. "I wish you all the best," she said as she moved onto the next table.

"What the hell was that?" Graves demanded to know with a furious whisper.

"What?" Dex said innocently.

"That whole partners thing."

"We are partners and we have been for just over three days," he said.

Graves frowned. Had he really not picked up on what the waitress had said about them being a couple. She honestly couldn't tell when he had this permanent earnest expression on his face. God, is that how most people saw her?

"Casey can't come," Ruby unhappily informed Pippa. "Alf asked him to do some extra work and Casey couldn't say no."

"I know you're disappointed Casey can't join us for tea, but you know how important work is to him," Pippa told her.

"Yeah, I know, I was just hoping we could spend some time together."

"There's always tomorrow," she said.

"If I'm not slaving to the bone cleaning up after everyone else's mess," Ruby muttered as she stomped from the room.

"Sorry about my daughter, she's met a boy that she likes," Pippa explained to her houseguests.

"I know all about that," Charlie said in understanding.

"You know all about boys, do you?" Joey said with a teasing grin.

"I meant about being that age and meeting someone you really liked," replied Charlie. "In my case, it was girls."

"Either or for me at that stage," said Joey. "I was still trying to figure it out, so it was a bit of an experimental time for me."

"Did you always know you were gay, Charlie?" Irene, Pippa's wife, asked her.

"Pretty much," she said. "What about you two," asked Charlie. "How long have you been together?"

"What is it, twenty five years now?" said Irene.

"25 and counting," said Pippa. "We were both late bloomers though," she said. "We'd both been married to men and had families, but it never felt right until we met each other. Then everything clicked."

"Were you still married at the time," Joey asked with curiosity. "Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything."

"It's ok," said Pippa. "I was a widow at the time and while I had been happy with Tom, it felt more like a marriage of respect between two friends, than a deep love," she explained. "I did miss him once he was gone and I wasn't really looking for love when Irene's path crossed with mine."

"Unlike Pippa, I was still married at the time," Irene said. "It wasn't a happy marriage by any stretch and if not for Pippa's help, I may very well have lost everything, including my kids," she told them. "Pippa helped me to get out of that abusive relationship and back onto my feet, and somewhere along the way, our friendship developed into something stronger."

"It surprised both us," said Pippa. "It was so unexpected."

"And not just for us," added Irene. "Our families were shocked and it took some time for our kids to come around to the idea of their mothers being in a lesbian relationship."

"But they did eventually and we haven't looked back since," Pippa said.

"I was looking at the photos on the mantelpiece before," said Joey. "Are they all your kids?"

"All eleven of them."

"Eleven, bloody hell!" Charlie blurted out. "Oops, sorry, that was a little ruder than I intended," she sheepishly said.

"It's ok, we're used to that reaction whenever people see our brood," said Pippa with a warm smile. "Irene had three with her husband, Nathan, Finn and Damien and there was my Christopher," she explained. "Tom and I had also adopted Sally and Miles as young children before his death, so we already had six between us when Irene and I met."

"Then as they grew older, we decided we still had plenty of love to go around, so we became foster parents," Irene added.

"As a same-sex couple, it wasn't easy to convince the relevant authorities back then, but we had the backing of some very influential members of the community who spoke up for us," Pippa explained to them. "And after they made us jump through a few hoops and passed all their inspections, we became registered foster parents. Steven and Carly were our first, they were teenagers at the time, same with Jack and Sophie," she said. "Ruby, she was just a baby when we took her in."

"We would have adopted her on the spot if we'd been able to, but we first had to wait for the laws to change," said Irene. "The moment it did, we adopted her."

"Do all your kids still live in town?" Charlie asked.

"Sally and Miles have stayed and they have their own places now," Pippa replied. "And Ruby of course, but the others have their own families and work and other opportunities have taken them elsewhere."

"They all come back for Christmas and birthdays," Irene said with fond affection.

"I can see why you need the big house," said Joey. "Just to fit them all in."

"Yeah, but now it's a little lonely without all of them here," said Irene. "We're actually thinking of taking in some more foster kids."

"I wish I'd have been with a family like yours," Joey said to them. "I was a foster kid, but I only ever had one family where I felt like I belonged and I wasn't there for as long as I'd have liked, before I got moved onto the next lot."

"We try to do our best for the kids who come through our door, but it can be a different experience for everyone and it doesn't always work out," Pippa said knowingly.

"What's the name of that guy again?" Hayley asked her lover.

"Aden, Aden Jeffries," Tegan replied.

"You reckon he knows where to find her?"

"We can ask him when we pay him a visit."

Hayley shivered in anticipation. She'd never had as much fun as she was having on this trip.

"How did you come to choose Summer Bay as your holiday destination?" Irene asked as the evening turned to dessert. A yummy triple decker cake that had Joey salivating.

"Joey's actually been here before," Charlie said. It was one of the few things she did know about this woman.

"A long time ago and it was only a brief stay," Joey told them. "But I remember really loving it and it's always stuck in my mind, so when we were deciding where to go, it popped into my head again."

"We didn't meet that time, did we?" Pippa said. "You seem familiar."

"I'm not sure," she replied honestly. She took a huge mouthful of cake and her eyes rolled back in bliss. "Oh man, I could eat this all day."

"It really is delicious," agreed Charlie.

"I'll be sure to pass on your compliments to the chef when I see him tomorrow," Irene said with a chuckle as Joey all but devoured her piece in record time.

"Fuck, fuck," Watson muttered, slapping her hand onto the steering wheel as she switched the news off. She'd always known it was only a matter of time before her cover was publically blown apart, she'd just been hoping for a bit more time before it happened, and now that it was all out, her task had become even harder.

Her phone blared to life. She didn't need to look at the caller id to see it would be from Heath. Or worse, from Brax. No doubt, they'll be furious with having their name linked again so publically to police corruption, but there was nothing she could really say to them, so she ignored it. Hopefully they'd calm down by tomorrow, though she doubted it.

Interestingly, there had been no mention of her prey during Robertson's presser. Why not flush those silly bitches out the same way they were trying to flush her out? It made her curious and she wondered what Nick was up to.

"Fuck," Watson grumbled as her stomach reminded her yet again that it was empty. Unfortunately, the next town was still some time away, if her map was anything to go by. This chase really was becoming less enticing as the kilometres went by.

And more wearing.

And more lonely.

"I'm a cop," Charlie said in response to Irene's latest question. Since they hadn't the time or resources to come up with an elaborate backstory or new identification, they'd decided to keep things as close to the truth as possible, since being a relatively new couple would only explain away some mistakes they made. So the plan was to keep it simple and whenever possible, avoid using surnames. Joey had paid cash for the cabin and they'd signed in simply as Joey and Charlie. Pippa hadn't queried it and Charlie suspected she'd had plenty of people coming through who had wanted to maintain some privacy, for whatever reason.

"And I'm a criminal," Joey said, causing Charlie to choke on her drink. "She caught me in the act and it was love at first sight as she arrested me." Everyone else laughed, naturally assuming that Joey was only joking. "Actually, I work on fishing boats."

"Well you picked a great town if you're interested in doing some fishing while you're here," Irene told her. "Alf Stewart charters his boat out at a reasonable rate."

"Mate's rates," Pippa said. "We can put in a good word for you."

"I just might do that," said Joey. "What about it baby?" she said, her hand rubbing playfully along Charlie's back. "How about we charter a boat and spend a day out on the water."

"Sounds great," Charlie said, trying to ignore the heat from Joey's hand, while Joey chuckled at her less than enthusiastic response to her suggestion.

"I think I might need to convince her a bit more," Joey said.

"You're not a fan of boats, Charlie?" asked Pippa.

"Not really," Charlie admitted honestly. "An unfortunate experience as a kid," she told them. "I do love to swim however, so I'm looking forward to heading to the beach first thing tomorrow."

"Do you surf?" Irene queried.

"Tried and failed," replied Charlie. "Enough times that I decided to preserve my dignity by accepting defeat."

"I surf," said Joey.

"Really," said Charlie. "I can't imagine you on a surfboard at all."

"There's a lot you still don't know about me, baby," Joey said.

"I know, but I'm going to enjoy finding out," Charlie said, playing along, yet not quite willing to go in for a kiss to seal it.

Irene and Pippa were smiling at them.

"I know you've only been together a few weeks, but I reckon you two will go the distance," Pippa said. "I have a sixth sense about these things and you two are lifers together."

Charlie wasn't sure what was worse. Being forced to pose as Joey's girlfriend or being so convincing at it, that Pippa thought they really had a future together. She knew she was being ridiculous, since being convincing was the whole point of their act, but she didn't want to be that convincing.

"I hope so," Joey was saying and Charlie tried to tune back into the conversation. "When I first met Charlie, I thought, my god, she's beautiful and as I got to know her more, I realised she was just as beautiful on the inside as well, and I wanted to be around her every second of the day."

"We've certainly managed that on our road trip," murmured Charlie. She felt like Joey was going too hard on the sell, but a glance at their two hosts, said they were lapping it up. "It's been a long drive since Joey insisted on going half way around the State just to get here."

"I liked the scenery," Joey said. "And any excuse to spend more time with my dreamboat," she said. "I'd even handcuff her to me if I could," she sweetly added. Charlie kicked her under the table at the less than subtle reminder of their early days, when handcuffs had been Joey's preferred jewellery for her.

"Honestly, I love Irene to death, but I couldn't think of anything worse than being stuck in a car with her for hours on end."

"I feel exactly the same way," said Irene.

"Well, we're here now, so we can spend all the time we want together without feeling suffocated by the confines of that car," said Joey. "And I just can't wait to see my gorgeous girl in her new swimsuit."

"Let me guess, a bikini," said Pippa.

"Unfortunately not," Joey bemoaned exaggeratedly, much to the amusement of the two older women. "I had the perfect one picked out for her as well, but she went for a boring and safe one piece."

"Because the only eyes I want ogling me are Joey's," Charlie said, wishing for the exact opposite.

"Oh I'll definitely be ogling you tonight," Joey said with a suggestive wiggle of her brows that caused Charlie to flush red with heat. This night was becoming worse by the hour, despite the lovely company of their hosts.

"Perhaps we should call it a night and allow you two ladies to be alone," Irene said with a smirk.

"What do you say baby?" said Joey. "An early night?" her voice suggesting a long, lustful evening ahead of them.

"Sounds wonderful," Charlie managed to get out, while picturing strangling Joey for her blatant teasing.

"Thank you so much for the meal," Joey said. "It was so nice of you to invite us."

"It was a pleasure," said Pippa. "And if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you both," said Charlie.

"Come on baby, time to get to bed for some shut eye," Joey said, her hand on Charlie's butt to guide her from the house.

"Ok, enough with the games," muttered Charlie, slapping Joey's hand away the moment they were alone.

"I was just trying to be convincing."

"You've succeeded, but there's no need to keep up the pretence now we're alone."

"Fine," Joey said, pinching Charlie's arse and then making a run for it, Charlie hot on her heels.

"You'll pay for that," Charlie called out.

Joey had just made it into their cabin when Charlie tackled her from behind. They crashed forward onto the bed, laughing and tickling, completely lost in the moment as their lips locked and hands began working at clothing. It was only when her naked breasts pressed against Joey's, did Charlie's senses come back to her. She flew back as if burnt and stared down at the other woman in shock.