The interview with Brax had been short. He had sat there with his usual smug, confident smirk while he denied assaulting Harvey, denied any involvement in the arsons and denied any knowledge of CBJ Industries. He did however, confirm that he was talking to Georgie about his interest in acquiring Martha's club and apologised if Martha misunderstood his zeal as aggressive. His confirmation had just made her feel even worse about her mistrusting her cousin so badly and already feeling drained after their fall out, Charlie hadn't even gotten any pleasure out of telling Brax that they had a witness who had identified both he and Brodie as Harvey's assailants, and then told him that with search warrants in hand, detectives were going to be raiding his home and businesses, including his wife's diner. The smirk had well and truly disappeared from his features by the time he demanded a lawyer and he refused to say another word even as he was formally charged with assault and led to the cells.
After charging Brax, she had had no wish to be a part of the invasion of Leah's privacy at both her home and business and so she had stepped aside and left the investigation and execution of the search warrants in the capable hands of Aden, Robertson and Graves, which seemed to please Robertson, not that Charlie really cared. By the time her shift ended, they were no closer to connecting Brax to the arsons, but they were still searching his places and there were many files to sort through.
Pulling up in her driveway, Charlie sat in her car, staring at her house. Her sister was going to be furious with her for what happened with their cousin and Joey was supposed to be keeping away from stress, so dragging her into this mess was the last thing she wanted to do but unfortunately, there was no way she could keep Joey out of it. She sighed. Joey didn't just work for Martha, she was also friends with her so she hoped that they at least, found a way to keep their friendship.
"Come on Charlie, you can't sit out here forever," she muttered to herself.
Walking into her house, she found Joey standing there with kind eyes and open arms, which she rushed into. Engulfed in the loving arms of her girlfriend, all her pent up emotions of the day finally came out and she sobbed against her.
She was drained by the time Joey led her into the lounge room and onto the couch, where she curled up beside her with her head on her lap, Joey gently stroking her brow.
"How did you know?" Charlie mumbles, while wiping away her tears.
"I was at the club when Georgie turned up."
"Joey," Charlie starts to say, before Joey silenced her with a warm smile and fingertip to her lips.
"I was taking it easy, I promise." Charlie nods. "Anyway, Georgie arrived and it got positively frosty so I left, but not before I heard enough to know what had happened."
"Oh god." She felt fresh tears threatening to fall. "I fucked up so badly Joey and now she hates me and I don't blame her."
"I'm sure she doesn't hate you."
"You didn't see her Joey. I hurt her terribly and now I've lost my cousin, I've probably lost my friendship with Martha, Ruby isn't going to be impressed with me and then there's Leah. God Joey, I arrested her husband, what a fucking wonderful way to repay her for her help earlier."
"Thank you for those gifts, by the way."
"For what good it did. You're supposed to be keeping away from stress and I've dragged you into a long running feud that never looks likely to end." She shakes her head. "We're proof the Bucktons and Watsons aren't meant to get along."
"You're cousins Charlie."
Charlie shakes her head. "It doesn't seem to matter. There's always been this barrier between us and we've never been able to break it down completely."
"Martha has told me some of your past with Georgie, how when she moved back as a teen to the Bay, you were pretty much strangers."
Charlie nods. "Our fathers had done a good job of carrying on the bad blood between our families and it kept all of us at an arm's length for a long time."
"Why is there this animosity between the families?" Joey asks.
Charlie shrugs. "It was some slight years ago that's long since been forgotten but it hasn't helped that over the years, the Bucktons have been predominantly police officers while the Watsons have always skated close to or over the legal line. Aunt Michelle was rebellious as a teen and the more strict her parents were, the more she rebelled and considering the long standing animosity between the Bucktons and Watsons, going after one and marrying him was a good way to say 'up yours' to the folks and dad was far from impressed with his sister's choice in a husband. Georgie's father wasn't a nice person and things just seemed to get worse between the families, so when Georgie was about 5, her father packed up his family and moved them to Mangrove River."
"So you never saw much of Georgie then?"
"Only if we happened to be walking down the street at the same time, but we were always on opposite sides of the road. Over time, Georgie's parents did a pretty good job of turning her against the Bucktons and I picked up on dad's animosity toward my uncle, throw in the fact that we were virtual strangers, it really wasn't a great launching pad to becoming friends when Georgie finally moved back to the Bay, especially under the circumstances of her return." She looks up at Joey. "Her mother had just been murdered by her father and Georgie had seen it happen."
"Oh god," Joey says softly.
"If that wasn't bad enough, her father tried to shift the blame onto her, saying that she and her mother had been arguing earlier and when he came back after a trip down to the pub, he found his daughter standing there in the kitchen with a rolling pin covered in blood."
"Shit, he dropped his own daughter into it?"
"Yep."
"But Georgie was only what, 12, 13 at the time?"
"13."
"And they thought she bashed a woman to death, her own mother?" Joey says incredulously.
"Her mum was a small woman and Georgie was always getting into fights and coming out on top, even against larger boys and she was found with blood all over her."
Joey just shook her head, unable to believe anyone could think that of someone so young. "So what happened?"
"She refused to speak, in fact, she never said a word until the next day when Irene turned up at the station. Mum and dad had tried, but there was too much resentment and animosity toward us and Georgie really didn't know them while Irene had been a good friend of Aunt Michelle's and had lived next to them for a while in Mangrove River before she moved to the Bay, so she knew Georgie better than any of us and when she came back from visiting her kids in the city, Georgie finally spoke up about what really happened. She never really said though, what made him lose it so badly that day, only that after years of abusing his wife, he snapped and beat her to death with a rolling pin."
"And Georgie saw the whole thing."
"That's why she was covered in blood, because she was standing there while he did it."
"Jesus," Joey says softly. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like for a girl so young to witness such a thing, especially as it was her parents.
"Forensics backed up her version of things and when he was confronted with it, my uncle finally cracked and confessed and his bloodied clothes were found buried in the back garden."
"What a prick."
"Yeah he was, but we were the ones who let them down by not being there for them before it got this far. Dad always felt guilty for what happened between him and his sister and he offered to take Georgie in, but there was no way that was ever going to happen. There was just too much between them and Irene was the only one who Georgie seemed to trust, so she took her in and eventually became an official foster mother to her. She was always able to get through to Georgie in a way I've never been able to, I guess it helped that she gave Georgie the home life she'd been deprived of. Then Belle came along and they became as close as real sisters." She shrugs. "The people Georgie is closest too aren't her family by blood but they're more her family than I'll ever be. You know, I've always been a little jealous of Belle and their closeness and when Georgie was shot, there were times when I felt like an outsider because of the way Georgie turned to them for support."
"So why didn't you try harder to get through to her?"
"Because I'm a lousy cousin, I always have been. When she came back to the Bay after her mother's death, I was too wrapped up in my life to be there for her. Don't get me wrong, even though we really didn't know each other and I had other priorities, I did make attempts, but after a few 'leave me the fuck alones', I was only too happy to keep away." She sighs again. "The truth was, I just didn't know how to help her or talk to her; she was just so aggressive and resentful and I'm ashamed to admit it, she also scared me at times."
"I don't think you need to be ashamed to admit that. You two may have been family, but you didn't really know each other, nor did either of you know whether you could trust the other."
"I suppose so. At the time, all I really knew about her was what I'd heard from others and about all the trouble she used to get into and there were still rumours that her father only confessed to her mother's murder to protect her. I didn't really believe that rumour, largely because there is no way my uncle would ever make that sort of sacrifice for anyone, not even his daughter, but I guess along with her attitude toward me, all the rumours must have played on my mind because I kept my distance, then I went away to the Academy. When I came back, nothing had really changed. I had other responsibilities with Ruby and dealing with our parents death while Georgie had her own problems so we had very little to do with each other until a few years later when Georgie was transferred to the station. I can tell you, Georgie wanting to be a cop came as a surprise to everyone, especially after the way she was treated over her mother's death, yet she got into the Academy and then she surprised me again with her dedication to her work and abilities, even the reign she keeps on her temper, though it's always there and comes out every now and again."
"Have you ever told her you respect her abilities as a cop?"
"Probably not in those words and now she thinks I never respected her as a cop. When she was transferred here, I saw a change in her attitude, not just at work but in how she handled the rumours, until today when I saw just how hurt she has been by the mistrust and judgement of people like me. We'd been getting along better than we'd ever had and I was hopeful we'd finally started to move past things," she pauses and starts again. "I had thought I'd gotten past my old preconceptions of her, but clearly I haven't and I've fucked everything up by dragging the past she's fought so hard to leave behind her, into the present."
"From what I've seen, you two care about each other, so I really don't understand why you haven't been able to sit down and talk and get through that barrier you spoke of."
"Because we're both too stubborn for our own good. Georgie keeps things to herself but over the years, I've hardly made much of an effort to get her to open up. I've asked the odd question, got no reply or a not now and just left it at that and the longer it's gone on for, the harder it's become and now, I don't think we'll ever deal with it. She wants nothing to do with me."
"Charlie, if you really love her and want to be a part of her life, then this time, you can't take a backward step when she pushes you away."
"I don't know if I'm strong enough."
"I'll be there with you."
Charlie sits up and faces her. "I don't want you to get caught in the middle of this."
Joey gently caresses her cheek. "I'm with you Charlie and that means, I'm with you through everything, just like you've been there for me lately."
"It's all such a mess though, with Leah, Martha and especially with Georgie, do you really want to be mixed up in all of this?"
"I love you and I'm not going anywhere. You guys have all been friends for many years and I'm sure you will all find a way through this."
"Maybe Leah will eventually see I was only doing my job, but Martha will be caught in the middle if she tries to get too involved and I don't want that anymore than I want you in the middle and as for Georgie, I don't know if we can get past this. Georgie said she can't do it anymore because it's too damn tiring and she's right, it is too damn tiring."
"So you're just going to give up?"
"Yes, no," she sighs heavily. "I don't know. Work is going to be so difficult, not because I expect there to be trouble, but just the stress of this distance now between us will become so waring after awhile." She gazes into Joey's eyes. "Do you really think we can all get through this?"
"It won't be easy, but you all care for each other, especially you and Georgie. There may be this barrier between you two, but there is also a bond, you just need to find a way to get that bond to break down that barrier."
"I do want that," Charlie admits.
"Then no matter how many obstacles Georgie places in front of you, you need to plough through them and show her how much you really care for her and that you do trust her, because all you need to do Charlie, is just look at the woman she's become and see that she is a person you know you can trust."
"You're right. If she was just a work colleague and I'd never heard about her past, then based on the person I saw at work, I'd trust her, though I'd be a little wary of her temper, but she'd be a person I'd trust and most likely make friends with."
"Then push aside the old mistrust and just keep reminding yourself you can trust the woman she is now and let that trust and respect show through."
"God I love you and I am so glad you are here."
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be." She leans over, pressing her lips to Charlie's.
"Joey," Charlie murmurs against her lips when she feels Joey's fingers on the buttons of her uniform.
"Don't say I need to be taking it easy Charlie, I think I can handle a little bit of this," she kisses her again, leaving Charlie breathless. Getting to her feet, she holds her hand out for Charlie. Taking her hand, Charlie allows her to lead them to their room, where their lovemaking was slow and gentle.
"I'm just so tired Martha."
Martha had to strain to hear her. She had taken her girlfriend home as soon as her grandfather had rushed to the Club to relieve her and Georgie had all but collapsed onto their bed. She had climbed in behind her and just held her while she told her what had been said between her and Charlie.
"Charlie shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like she did, but I can sort of see how she got the wrong idea," Martha says. "Not that it excuses her," she adds hastily. "I'm just saying, in Charlie's mind, she saw you rushing out and meeting with a suspect."
"A suspect who was part of my past," mumbles Georgie. "If she trusted me, she never would have doubted me or would have at least given me a chance to explain."
Martha wasn't sure what to do or say. She was so furious with Charlie right now and her priority was her girlfriend and making sure she got through this without falling back into the old traps of self-doubt, but she also didn't want their estrangement to get worse which would just create an unworkable environment, not just at work, but for all those close to them. "Are you sure you really want to cut her out of your life?"
"I have enough people sitting in judgement of me, I don't need it from my own family. I just don't want to do it anymore, not when it just keeps coming back to the fact she doesn't trust or respect me. I've tried so hard to leave my past behind, but it never seems to be enough. What am I supposed to do, just keep banging my head against a wall?" She shook her head. "I'm wondering if it was worth coming back here."
"Are Jay and I not worth it?"
Georgie rolls over to face her. "Of course you are. You and our son are the main reason I stayed after I was shot but if not for you, I probably would have left after Jack died. I just can't keep going on like this Martha, with so many people not believing in me."
"Irene, Belle and Gina all believe in you, so does Ruby and you know how much I believe in you. I trust you with my most precious gift, our son and despite everything, I know that Charlie does believe in you, it's just that there are times when she's as trapped in the past as you are."
"Back then, I resented Charlie so much because she had everything I was deprived of and I was so angry at everyone and everything at the time and I guess that played a large part in me pushing her away. She was just a constant reminder of what I never had and how different our lives had been, even though we were family."
"Georgie, for your own sake, you need to find a way past this. Your early childhood was horrible, but you had a good family with Irene and Belle and you have a good family with me and Jay, so don't let your past intrude again. Find a way to work things out with Charlie, because she is family and really, she's not that different from you. Both stubborn, both affected by the past and the only way through this, is to finally break down this barrier that is holding you back."
"I'm not sure I can."
"Well, I certainly don't feel stressed," Joey says lightly as they lay entwined in each other's arms, basking in the afterglow of sex. "And I think we can add this little amendment to Rachel's orders."
For the first time in hours, the dark clouds over Charlie's head had lifted, even if only briefly. "I'm still going to make sure you're kept as stress free as possible and that this little amendment isn't going to become a blood pressure riser."
"I think if we put the hot and heavy stuff on the backburner we can get away with a bit more of this," Joey murmurs, pressing her lips firmly to Charlie's.
"Control may be an issue," Charlie murmurs back, wanting nothing more than to ravish her girlfriend.
Both women jump apart when the front door slams shut and Ruby's bellowing "CHARLIE!" felt like it was rattling the walls.
"Oh god, time to face the music," mutters Charlie.
