Thanks so much for all of the reviews guys. They really do mean a lot. Thanks for the PM LivingTheDays. I'm really glad you like the fic! Oh and Thanks for the idea AuthorW (I'll keep that in mind). Hope you all enjoy the chapter even though it's quite angsty...Just remember...It WILL get better ;)
Chapter 37
Joey glanced over at Charlie for the millionth time and sighed softly to herself. She had been awake for hours just watching the older girl sleep peacefully with no idea of what was to come. Joey shifted onto her side and raised a hand to Charlie's cheek caressing it gently with her fingertips "This really is for the best..." Charlie stirred slightly and moved closer to Joey but otherwise showed no sign of waking. Joey pressed a soft kiss to her girlfriend's cheek before she got up and pulled her clothes on quickly. With on last glance at Charlie she left the room.
"Joey!"
Joey jumped slightly and turned around to face Ruby "Rubz...What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" Ruby frowned in confusion "I live here remember?"
"Of course I remember" Joey laughed nervously and moved her hand to the back of her neck "I just didn't expect you to be up so soon..."
"Right" Ruby nodded though she was still puzzled by Joey's behaviour "Well I have to go to school so I guess I'll...."
"NO!"
Ruby started slightly at Joey's sudden exclamation "What? What's wrong?!"
"Um...Nothing" Joey quietened down and looked sheepishly at Ruby "I just wanted to talk to you. I Mean I really need to talk to you"
"Sounds serious" Ruby glanced at the clock "I have quite a while before school starts so...Talk away I suppose"
"Right...That's good" Joey walked over to Ruby and took her hands. She guided her over to the couch and pushed her down onto it gently "I'll be back in a minute..."
"Okay..." Ruby watched as Joey left the room feeling concern begin to set in. A few minutes later Joey walked back into the room with a Cup of steaming liquid in her hand. She sat down on the couch and turned to Ruby.
"Is something wrong?" Ruby blurted out in pure concern "Is something wrong with you or Charlie? Is it the case?"
"Nothing's wrong" Joey set her coffee and looked up at Ruby "I just really needed to talk to you about something..."
"About what?" Ruby prompted nervously "C'mon on Joey you're kind of scaring me here..."
"Sorry" Joey sighed quietly "It's just...You know that I love Charlie, right? I would never let anything happen to her if I could stop it...Even if it meant hurting myself by doing it or even hurting her"
"I know that" Ruby nodded slowly "But what do you mean hurt her? I don't un..."
"And I love you too" Joey interrupted her "You're like my little sister. Protecting you and Charlie is my first priority"
"Yeah, I know" Ruby replied softly "I..."
"And it means a lot to me that you just accepted me into your family" Joey continued haltingly "You accepted me and my relationship with Charlie and treated me like...Well like family"
Ruby appeared at a loss for what to say "Well you are family"
"I'm sorry I've caused so much trouble for you and Charlie" Joey said pushing back tears in her eyes "I really didn't mean for any of that to happen. Colin, Robbo, Brett, The police..."
"Hey" Ruby slid closer to the older girl on the couch and grasped her hand comfortingly "None of that is your fault, okay? It's theirs. Not yours. You have absolutely nothing to apologise for Joey..."
"You know" Joey smiled at the teenager "You're a really good sister or daughter or...Whatever. Just...Make sure you look after Charlie okay? Because you have no idea how much she loves you Rubz. You're her pride and joy"
Ruby blushed and looked away bashfully "Yeah, well the feelings mutual" she frowned when she realised what Joey had said "But wait you're going to look after her too, right?"
"Right" Joey lied hesitantly "Of course"
"So I should be getting to school" Ruby said as she stood up "I'll see you later" when Joey merely gazed at her sadly Ruby continued "I will see you later, right? I mean you're not going out anywhere, are you?"
"Of course" Joey smiled weakly "I'll...see you later" she stood up and pulled Ruby towards her into a tight hug.
"Joey?" Ruby said after a moment "I can't breathe"
"Oh...Sorry" Joey reluctantly pulled away from the younger girl "I guess you should go to school or you'll be late"
"Yeah" as if sensing Joey's sadness Ruby hugged her quickly before pulling back "See you later Jo..."
"Bye Rubz" Joey watched as Ruby walked from the room. She listened for the sound of the door banging before she slumped back down on the couch, tears filling her eyes.
---
Charlie walked out of the bedroom and smiled to herself when she saw Joey sitting on the couch "Joey..."
Joey looked up at her and offered a small smile "Charlie"
Charlie sunk down on the couch and wrapped an arm around Joey's waist "You weren't there when I woke up..."
The words brought tears back to Joey's eyes and she pulled Charlie closer, feeling the need to have her as close as possible "Sorry Babe"
"I think you wore me out last night" Charlie yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"Here" Joey reached over Charlie and picked up the coffee which was cooling quickly "I think it's still warm..."
"Mmmn" Charlie hummed in satisfaction as she sipped at the warm coffee "Thanks Jo...Got a kiss to go with it by any chance?"
"Anything for you" Joey smiled before she pressed a soft kiss to Charlie's lips.
"Last night really was amazing" Charlie smiled contentedly into Joey's shoulder "What did I ever do to deserve you Jo?"
"Must be Karma or something" Joey said softly as she gazed sadly down at her girlfriend.
"I love you Joey" Charlie said looking up suddenly.
"I love you too" Joey smiled back at her "You have no idea how much..."
Charlie tilted her head slightly to the side and gazed at Joey closely "Have you been crying?" she reached out and traced the incredibly faint tear trails with her fingertips.
"Yeah" Joey turned her face slightly and kissed Charlie's palm "I was just thinking about this, the case, you..."
"Are you sure that's all it is?" Charlie asked in concern "You were crying last night too. And you wouldn't tell me what was wrong than either"
"I was just really happy to have you back" Joey forced herself to lie "It's nothing. Honestly Charlie"
"If anything's wrong you can tell me" Charlie said sincerely "You know I'll do anything for you..."
"I know" Joey smiled weakly "Thanks Charlie. But there's really nothing wrong." She quickly attempted to change the conversation "So what are you doing today?"
"Going to the station to talk to Watson about the case" Charlie answered. When she noticed Joey's expression drop she misinterpreted the reason and tightened her arms around Joey "It'll be fine Jo. We'll get through this. We have to"
"I know we will" Joey nodded slowly. She turned and kissed Charlie's head lightly.
"I have to go or Watson will kill me" Charlie said pulling herself reluctantly from Joey's embrace "Don't miss me too much...I probably won't be home until late"
"I definitely will" Joey stood up next to Charlie and pulled her close. She moved forward slightly and kissed the older girl slowly, giving all she had to that one kiss.
"Wow" Charlie panted breathlessly when they pulled away for air "I have to go before I decide not to..." she moved to pull away but found Joey wouldn't let her "Joey Honey you have to let go"
"I don't want to" Joey confessed softly still holding onto Charlie as tightly as possible.
"But you have to" Charlie pulled Joey into a comforting hug "Unless..." she pulled back and looked into Joey's brown eyes "There's something wrong. In which case I won't leave you"
"I'm fine" Joey said softly forcing herself to release her grip around Charlie's waist "Now go before you're late"
"Okay..." Charlie kissed her girlfriend quickly before pulling away and walking backwards toward the door "See you later"
"Bye" Joey replied softly "Oh and Charlie?"
"Yeah?" Charlie questioned as she stopped upon reaching the door.
"I love you" Joey said solemnly.
"I love you too" Charlie smiled before she blew Joey a kiss and walked out of the door.
Joey slumped back onto the couch and finally allowed tears to fall from her eyes.
---
Joey exhaled deeply and glanced around their bedroom one last time before she picked up her bags from the floor "I have to do this..." she moved into the living room and dropped her bag on the ground again. She pulled two letters from her back pocket and placed them onto the table, tears once again welling in her eyes.
"Charlie..." she whispered as she gently traced the older girls name with her fingertips.
"Joey, I'm ho..."
Joey looked up quickly and her eyes fell upon Charlie who had stopped in the doorway "Charlie! What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to be back until later..."
"Uh...The charges were dropped or something" Charlie answered her gaze still fixed on the bag on the ground "And somebody confessed to planting the drugs..." she raised her dread filled eyes to Joey's "What are the bags for?"
Joey looked guiltily down at the bags and then at the letters on the table. Charlie followed her gaze and her eyes widened in horror when she saw them.
"No..." she muttered quietly "Joey please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing..."
"I have to..." Joey said weakly "I have to do this to protect you and Ruby"
"Joey, you can't leave me!" Charlie exclaimed tears beginning to form in her blue eyes as she rushed over to Joey "I love you!"
"I love you too" Joey sniffled quietly "that's why I have to do this..."
"No you don't!" Charlie protested firmly "Everything's going to be fine now Jo. The charges have been dropped and...We can get on with our lives! You don't have to leave"
"I didn't want it to be like this" Joey said refusing to meet Charlie's equally tearful eyes "I wanted..."
"What?" Charlie sniffled "You wanted to leave us without even saying anything?!"
"I have to go" Joey repeated softly "I can't be with you anymore Charlie...I'm sorry. I have to protect you and Ruby first and foremost and...You're both a hell of a lot safer without me here"
"We don't need to be protected" Charlie said tearfully "What the hell gives you the right to say that we're better off without you? We need you here with us...I need you here!"
"I'm sorry" Joey swallowed heavily against the lump in her throat "I'm so sorry Charlie..."
"So what was last night?" Charlie asked on the verge of sobbing "Goodbye? Our 'Last Time'?!"
"Yes" Joey nodded honestly "It was our last time..."
"Please Jo..." Charlie grabbed Joey's hands in her own "You can't just leave me. You can't let what we have go after all we've been through...I know that still love me"
"Of course I still love you" Joey stated her eyes still trained on where Charlie grasped her hands tightly "But...the hardest part of loving someone is knowing when to let go and knowing when to say goodbye"
"Why won't you look at me?" Charlie whispered tearfully "Joey..."
"If I look at you..." Joey said in a hushed voice finally letting tears fall from her eyes "If I look into your eyes I won't be able to leave you. I'll want to stay with you and...I can't do that"
"Joey I need..."
"Shhh" Joey said softly "Don't say anything Charlie..." unable to withstand the temptation any longer she looked up at Charlie but refused to look directly into her teary blue eyes "This is something I have to do. I'm sorry..." she pulled one hand away from Charlie's and dug through her pocket searching for something.
"I need you!" Charlie repeated as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I know" Joey pulled her hand from her pocket having finally found what she was looking for and raised it to Charlie's cheek, wiping her tears away tenderly "You'll be okay..." she finally pulled her other hand from Charlie and opened the older girl's clenched fist gently.
"I can't do this without you" Charlie said softly "I love you Joey..."
"I love you too" Joey placed something in Charlie's hand and closed her fist around it "I'll never stop loving you Charlie. You have to believe that..."
Charlie released a soft sob when she felt Joey's ring in her hand "Stay with me..."
"I can't" Joey moved forward and kissed Charlie softly "I'm sorry Charlie. Tell Ruby I'm...Sorry" she picked up her bag and flung one over her shoulder.
Charlie could do nothing but watch "Joey..."
"I love you so much" Joey cast a sad look at Charlie before she moved away "Never forget that..." with that said she walked out of the room and out of the house.
"Joey..." Charlie whispered sniffing against her tears "JOEY?!" she collapsed to the ground as sobs shook her frame.
"JOEY?!" She yelled loudly.
---
Charlie sat silently on the ground apart from the occasional shuddering sob that escaped her as tears continued to flow down her cheeks.
"Joey..." she whispered quietly.
"Joey?" Aden called out cheerfully as he walked through the kitchen towards the living room "Charlie? Are you guys' home? The door was o..." he stopped short when his gaze fell on Charlie on the ground and he noticed the state she was in "CHARLIE!" he moved quickly over to her and dropped to his knees on the ground next to her "What happened? Is it Joey?"
"She left me Aden" Charlie lifted her heartbroken eyes to meet Aden's "She's left me..."
Aden pulled Charlie into his arms as she broke into quiet sobs. She buried her face in his chest as her tears flowed uncontrollably "She left me..."
The man merely held her tighter as he tried to overcome his own confusion. He started slightly as Charlie's sobs began to grow harder and she gripped his shirt so tightly in her hands that her knuckles turned white.
"Charlie you have to calm down or you're going to make yourself sick" Aden spoke gently as he pulled away by a fraction to look into the girl's pain filled eyes. He wiped away her tears gently with his thumbs and looked at her pleadingly "Charlie?"
"She's gone" Charlie said tearfully "I don't know what to do Aden..."
"its okay" Aden pulled Charlie back into his embrace and held her tightly to him "It's okay..." after a while he noticed Charlie's silent sobs slowing down and that she had relaxed against him "Charlie?" he looked down at her to see she was half asleep. He rearranged their position and stood up with Charlie in his arms. He walked slowly to Charlie and entered the bedroom he knew she shared with Joey.
"Okay..." he set her gently down on the bed and stepped back.
"Aden?" Charlie asked hoarsely "Do you think Joey will come back?"
"I don't know" Aden sat down on the edge of the bed and took Charlie's hand in both of his own "I don't know Charlie"
Charlie gazed up silently up at him as tears fell from her eyes.
"Can I get anything for you?" Aden asked softly "Is there anything you need?"
"Joey..."
"I'm sorry" The man muttered "I wish I could do something to help with her..."
"Ruby" Charlie said quietly "I need Ruby Aden..."
"I'll call her" Aden released Charlie's hand and stood up from the bed "It'll be okay" he leaned down and kissed her forehead before he walked out of the room.
"What is going on?" he sighed to himself as he slumped down on the couch and put his head into his hands. After a moment he noticed Charlie's cell phone on the couch and picked it up. He looked quickly through her phonebook and finally finding Ruby's number dialled it.
"Charlie?" Ruby questioned when she answered her phone "What's up?"
"It's Aden" Aden answered quietly "I..."
"Where's Charlie?!" Ruby questioned in worry "Is she Okay? Is she hurt? What about Joey? Has something happened to them?"
"Ruby..." Aden attempted to talk but found her couldn't get a word in edgeways as Ruby continued firing her worry fuelled questions at him. He finally whistled loudly down the phone.
"OW!" Ruby exclaimed "What was that for?!"
"You need to get home as soon as possible" Aden said "I'll tell you what's going on when you get here"
"Okay" By the sound of her voice Ruby was already sprinting towards the house "I'm close...I'll be there in two minutes"
Aden hung up the phone and dropped it at his side. Exactly one minute thirty seconds later Ruby burst through the door breathless and with a stitch in her side.
"What happened?" she asked breathlessly "Where are Charlie and Joey?" she stood up straight and gazed at him intently "Aden?!"
"Joey broke up with her" Aden answered softly "She's gone..."
Ruby's breath caught in her throat and her heart constricted painfully in her chest "Where is Charlie Aden?"
"She was a mess. I thought she was going to make herself sick so I put her to bed. She was asking for you...Said she needs you Ruby"
"I have to go to her" Ruby said quietly.
"You can stay in there with her" Aden offered thoughtfully "I'll stick around and wait for Leah to get home..."
"Okay" Ruby smiled weakly at him "Thanks Ade" she moved quickly to Charlie's room and opened the door slowly.
"Charlie?" she called softly when her eyes fell on her mother who was facing away from her.
Charlie turned over to face Ruby "Rubz..." she held out her arms for the younger girl. Ruby kicked off her shoes and climbed into the bed with the older girl. She found herself immediately wrapped in a tight embrace and returned it just as desperately.
"She left us" Charlie sobbed softly, her body too exhausted from crying for anything but tears and soft shudders.
"I know" Ruby whispered as tears built up in her own eyes.
"She forgot her I-pod again..." Charlie sniffled. For the first time since entering the room Ruby noticed that soft music was playing. She tightened her hold in response. After a while Charlie fell asleep in Ruby's arms because of her exhaustion.
Ruby looked down and noticed Charlie's fist was closed tightly around something. She gently opened it and tear began to fall when she noticed it was Joey's ring.
"Damn It Joey, what the hell are you doing?!" After a matter of minutes Ruby too fell asleep and Charlie's fist automatically closed protectively around the ring.
TBC