Thank you to funkyshaz who picked up on the anomaly regarding how long Charlie and Joey have been together. I completely forgot about the whole five month recovery period for Charlie's injuries. Changed now! IJKS xxx

Chapter Fifty-Five

Charlie reluctantly crawled out of bed, wishing she had been able to wangle another day off work instead of having to hit the ground running the very next day after she and Joey returned. Having showered, dressed, skipped breakfast and drunk a strong coffee, she crept back into the bedroom and crouched by the side of the bed. She tenderly stroked Joey's face, whispered goodbye and kissed her forehead. Without waking her, she slipped out of the room, ready to face the day.

***

Arriving at work cheerfully, she was greeted by Angelo who wanted to know in graphic detail how her holiday with Joey had been. She winked and smiled and said it was fine, thank you very much before heading towards her office. She bumped right into Davina on her way.

"Hey, Charlie," the other woman said, smiling at her.

"Hi," Charlie said tightly.

"Did you have a good trip? We missed you."

"It's was great. Excuse me," Charlie said, moving past her.

"Hey, Charlie!" Watson said cheerfully.

"Hi, Watson!" Charlie replied, suddenly coming to life again.

"We missed you!"

"Missed you too!"

"Liar! I bet you've forgotten who we are," Watson laughed.

Once Charlie was in her office, Watson glanced at Davina. They had hardly seen each other all week and she was painfully aware of the time that Davina was spending with Angelo now. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. She hoped that Charlie would be free for lunch. She could do with someone to talk to. Nothing felt clear with Davina. Sometimes she wanted her around and sometimes she didn't and like a lapdog, Watson obeyed the ever changing rules. She was starting not to like herself very much. And she was starting not to like Davina and Angelo very much either. Davina smiled. Watson's heart melted. She smiled back, silently scolded herself and then hurried away.

***

Ruby sat at school fretting over her dinner with Xavier, Hugo, Charlie and Joey. She glanced at her boyfriend who was oblivious to her turmoil. She'd felt relaxed about it until last night when she'd discovered that Hugo had hit on Joey. If she knew her sister even half as well as she thought she did, she knew she'd be feeling possessive right about now, especially after the Davina debacle had nearly torn them apart. She was glad that they'd had a good time away together, as much as she had missed them and as much as she could really have done with having them around. Her Dad and Morag lived nearby but as much as she loved her father, he had never been the engaged parental figure that her mother and then Charlie had been. He wasn't the one that she turned to for the kind of advice she needed now that she was a teenager, especially now that she was in love. These days, advice and care was firmly in Charlie's and now Joey's domain. She sighed. She really wanted tonight to go well.

***

At lunch, Joey and Charlie instantly picked up on Watson's sadness and they were certain they knew who was behind it.

"What's up?" Joey asked, getting straight to the point.

"Nothing," Watson lied.

Joey just raised her eyebrows.

"Davina."

"How did I guess?" Joey asked, pulling a face.

Watson eyed her curiously, wondering what her friend had against her… other friend? Her girlfriend? Her sex buddy? Her fling? She had no idea what Davina was supposed to mean to her.

"It's not working out," Watson said.

"You need to stop seeing her," Joey said, emotion very obviously present in her voice.

Watson and Charlie both looked startled.

"You know she's sleeping with Angelo, don't you?" Watson concluded.

"And the rest," Joey muttered.

Charlie looked hurt. Joey sighed and apologised, holding her hand across the table.

"What have I missed?" Watson said, utterly confused.

"Davina came on to me. And yes, we know about Angelo," Charlie explained. "I'm so sorry, Watson. We should have said something."

Joey cleared her throat.

"I should have said something," Charlie corrected herself. "Me, not Joey. Joey's innocent. I'm the one completely at fault."

"She didn't tell me about Davina either," Joey explained.

"And we just had a lovely holiday to make up for it," Charlie reminded her.

Joey smiled and leant against Charlie.

"Sorry. I just really don't like that woman."

She looked at Watson's sad face.

"Sorry," she said to her.

"It's okay. I'm starting to not like her either."

"Well, at least we're all in agreement," Charlie said, trying to sound positive.

***

Back at home, Charlie felt tense as she and Joey got ready for Ruby's dinner at the Diner. She felt a little hurt that Joey had gone on about Davina and she worried that she didn't forgive her for lying about it. Gazing at her girlfriend who was merrily throwing shirts out of the wardrobe, she thought about how much she loved her and hoped that they would bounce back from what happened. She'd believed all week that it was forgotten about. It was a shock to hear Joey speaking about it today. As if hearing her thinking, Joey turned and smiled at Charlie.

"I'm sorry," Joey said. "I make off hand comments when I'm grumpy and I shouldn't have. It's not about you."
Charlie tried to smile.

"Are you sure? It felt like it was about me."

"It's not," Joey said, making her way over to her girlfriend. "I'm just a little paranoid that she's going to make another play for you and it's bugging me."

"Well, whether she does or she doesn't, you have nothing to worry about. You know that, right?"

"I know," Joey said confidently. "And you'll tell me if she does?"

"Charlie Buckton does not make the same mistake twice!"

Joey smiled and wrapped her arms around her. They kissed.

"I really didn't mean to hurt you with what I said today," Joey said.

"It's fine," Charlie assured her.

***

Ruby banged impatiently on the door.

"Guys, we're running late!" she bellowed.

"Sorry!" she heard her sister squeak.

"We'll be out in a minute!" Joey added.

***

Inside the room, Joey readjusted her bra and Charlie buttoned her shirt back up. They honestly had no idea how the time had got away from them. One minute they had been making up and the next they had been making out. Now it was half an hour later, their lips were swollen and they were risking incurring Ruby's wrath. Finally ready, they emerged from the room. Ruby looked cranky but beautiful all dressed up.

"At last!" she complained.

They apologised again.

"Oh and guys, by the way, the pole set up in your room? Scarred me for life!"

***

Hugo and Xavier stood up to greet Ruby, Charlie and Joey when they arrived at the Diner.

"Wow!" Hugo exclaimed, looking Charlie up and down.

Charlie and Joey exchanged glances.

"And I think we've already established that I think you're stunning," he added to Joey.

Neither girl knew whether to be flattered of infuriated.

"This is a meet the family thing, Hugo," Xavier said through clenched teeth. "Don't hit on them!"
"Sorry!" Hugo apologised, holding his hands up defensively.

"It's fine," Charlie said uncertainly.

She didn't think she'd ever met someone so hideously inappropriate before.

"So, you two..." Hugo said, gesturing to Charlie and Joey. "How does that work?"

"Hugo!" Xavier snapped.

Ruby looked horrified. Charlie and Joey just looked confused.

"It works perfectly, thank you very much," Joey finally said.

Ruby grinned and continued eating.

"Have you been together long?" Hugo persisted.

"Seven months this time around," Joey said. "But technically we got together three years ago."

"I have to say I'm surprised," Hugo continued.

Charlie sighed. She didn't want to have this conversation.

"I mean, you're both so good looking. I wouldn't have thought you'd have trouble getting men."

"We don't," Charlie said quickly. "But we don't want men. We want each other."

"Have you ever tried guys?" Hugo asked. "I mean, maybe you just don't know what you're missing."

Joey wanted to either hit him or walk out. She looked at Ruby who was obviously hating the conversation and resisted making it worse.

"I've dated guys," Charlie told him. "They just don't measure up."

Joey knew what Hugo was going to say before he said it.

"Maybe you just haven't met the right one."

So predicable, she thought to herself. She waited for Charlie to respond, say something about meeting the right woman. She didn't. She just focussed on her food.

"What about you then, Joey?" Hugo asked.

Ruby threw an apologetic look at second sister. She hadn't expected the meal to turn out this way. Charlie and Joey hadn't had a chance to get to know Xavier at all. That had been the point. She hoped they didn't judge him based on his brother.

"What about me?" Joey asked.

"Ever had a man?"

"I'm quite happy with women, thank you."

"But how do you know?"

"Have you ever had a man, Hugo?" she asked.

Hugo looked horrified. Xavier giggled and choked on his food.

"Then how do you know women are all there is?"

"Well... I just know."

"Point proved. Can we talk about something else now?"

"Yes!" Ruby said desperately.

"Do you guys identify as gay or what then?" Hugo asked, obviously not prepared to let the subject drop.

"Why is that so important?" Joey asked.

She gripped her fork, thinking about several places that she'd like to stab Hugo right about now.

"I'm just being friendly. You know, interested in my potential future family."

Xavier began to choke again and Ruby made a strange squeaking noise that didn't sound human. Charlie suppressed a smile. It was the most entertaining part of the evening so far.

"So?" Hugo asked.

"Fine, yes!" Joey snapped.

She really wanted to go home. This guy made her skin crawl.

"And you?"

Charlie blanched. This question was harder than figuring out where the apostrophe went. She hated it. Why did people have to ask it so much? Why did people have to make it their business to demand of her whether she liked men, women or both? She didn't even know. She looked at Hugo. She wasn't attracted to him. She thought about Roman. She had been attracted to him. She thought about Watson. No interest there. She gazed at Joey. She'd never been so crazy about and physically attracted to another person in all her life. But what did that all mean? And why was it even important? Why was there such a need to box people in, categorise and label them, restrict them from being one thing or the other? She continued to looked at Joey who was gazing right back at her, obviously waiting for an answer.

"I don't know what I am," Charlie said.

It sounded weak. It wasn't what she meant.

"I don't think it matters, does it? I don't feel the need to label people," she added.

Joey looked about to settle for that answer until Hugo spoke up.

"Bit of a free spirit, are we?" he said with a suggestive grin.

Charlie looked confused. Joey watched the interaction intently.

"Well, you know, people say that because they like to flit from one thing to anther, from one person to another? Is that how you guys work? You do your thing and then Charlie goes and has a guy when she feels like it?"

"No!" the girls said in unison.

Joey fought with images in her head. She looked at Charlie, suddenly suspicious, no matter how she tried to talk herself out of it. Was that why Charlie would never commit to an answer? Was it a sign that she didn't want to commit to her?

"You can be in a monogamous relationship without shouting about whether your gay or bi or whatever," Charlie snapped. "I don't want to get the word 'lesbian' tattooed to my forehead. That doesn't mean that I want to go fuck a bunch of guys on the side."

She coloured when she heard Ruby squeak again. She had almost forgotten that she was there. Charlie did a lot of things in front of her sister but this kind of thing wasn't one of them. Xavier looked amused. Charlie couldn't read Joey's expression.

"I don't," Charlie said to her more quietly.

"I know," Joey said, her voice quivering slightly.

"I really think we should talk about something else," Ruby said. "Because this has lasted for the starter and the main course and I'm itching for dessert."

Hugo nodded, pleased with the friction he had caused. When he'd first met Joey, he'd immediately wanted to sleep with her but she was very obviously off limits and perhaps a greater challenge than even he could manage. Charlie on the other hand, could be swayed, he was sure of it and he had already managed to divide the couple a little. He could tell that much.

"Yeah, I think we should. Ruby, what did we miss while we were away?" Joey asked, her voice returning to normal.

Ruby glanced at Xavier and then back at Joey.

"Not much," she said vaguely. "I went to school, did my homework the minute I got home, ate no junk food at all…"

Charlie and Joey both giggled.

"My sister the saint," Charlie said proudly.

***

That night, Joey lay in Charlie's arms as usual but everything felt different. Her heart was heavy and her mind was far too alert to even contemplate sleep. She stared into the dark, listening to Charlie's breathing and feeling the up and down motion of her chest. It felt so strange to be so in tune with someone and yet to be so completely unable to empathise with her situation. She tried to think far back to when she was younger, grappling with her sexuality and trying to figure out who she was. But the process had started when she was eleven years old. She was twenty five now and it felt like a different life. And the difference was that she had known from the start that she was gay. It had been hard for her to say the words out loud but she had accepted it and understood it very quickly. She didn't think that's how it was for Charlie, who genuinely didn't believe that she was gay. And that was the problem. Joey had never cared before but Hugo had sprinkled seeds of doubt in her mind. While she didn't think Charlie would be unfaithful to her and that she was too beautiful a spirit to do that, what if, at some point, she decided that she needed a man? What if Joey wasn't fulfilling her? She had assumed all this time that she was. Their sex life was amazing and their ability to communicate blew her away. As far as Joey was concerned, everything was perfect. But Charlie hadn't rushed to defend them tonight. She hadn't stood up for them. Her reasoning for not identifying as gay had sounded like an excuse, which only helped the seeds of doubt become shoots. Joey closed her eyes, willing sleep to wash over her. She didn't want to think about this anymore. She wished they'd never come home. Everything had been perfect on the farm. They had lived in bliss for a week and now it felt like they had come crashing down to earth. Lifting her head, she looked at Charlie, deep in sleep and oblivious to Joey's midnight musings. She really was the most beautiful person that she had ever had the honour of laying eyes on. That she was allowed to share her life with her, be near her, hold her, kiss her and make love to her, was an honour. Joey snuggled back down. In her slumber, Charlie lifted an arm to hold Joey closer. Despite her fears and doubts, Joey felt comforted. She smiled and finally let sleep claim her, hoping to forget everything by the time she woke in the morning.