Hi everyone. I hope you all had a lovely Easter. Enjoy the chapter. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Five Hundred and Sixty Seven

"Charlie?"

Joey hovered in the doorway, watching her girlfriend as she sat on the edge of their bed, taking off her heavy boots. She kicked them away and began unbuttoning her uniform shirt. For the first time in their whole relationship, Joey didn't watch her with lust. She was too upset.

"Charlie?" she repeated.

Charlie eventually looked at her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "What I said was stupid. I'm sorry."

Charlie stood up in her work trousers, her shirt open, a sad, tired expression on her face.

"Then why did you say it?" she asked.

"Because I'm insecure," Joey said. "Because I still don't know what the hell you're doing with me."

Charlie sighed and shook her head. She took her trousers off. Even in the circumstances, Joey couldn't help checking her out in her underwear as she bent over, reaching under her pillow to find her pyjamas. She shrugged her shirt off and put her pyjamas on too quickly. Joey remained in the doorway.

"Charlie, please forgive me," she tried. "Please can we just forget about it?"

"No," Charlie said. "You really hurt me, Joey."

"I'm sorry!" Joey said desperately, bursting into tears.

Charlie felt desperately sorry for her. She gestured for her to come and sit beside her. Joey obeyed. Charlie put her arm around her.

"Joey… I don't get it," she said.

"I just… I panicked."

"Why?" Charlie said. "When have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?"

"You haven't," Joey said. "I just…"

"You felt insecure," Charlie said. "You said."

They both sighed.

"Look, I'd understand if we'd only just got together but Joey, we have a business together, we have a mortgage, you're a parent to my child," Charlie said. "Haven't I told you enough that I love you? Haven't I shown you? We've been together for two years nearly. And I've been committed to you that whole time. I know you've never caught me looking at another girl or a guy because I haven't looked at anyone Because I've never been interested in anyone."

She took Joey's hand.

"You're all I've ever wanted, Joey," she told her. "These insecurities are hurtful. They say you don't trust me. They say you don't believe in our relationship."

"I'm sorry," Joey said. "That's not what I meant."

"But it's what you said," Charlie told her.

"I just… sometimes I still feel like that girl from two years ago that you took pity on," Joey explained. "You were this amazing, strong woman with an incredible career and I was just nobody. You stooped so low to date me. I knew it. You knew it. Everyone knew it. And yes, mostly, I do feel equal now but we didn't start out that way."

"I disagree," Charlie said.

Joey looked confused.

"We were always equal," Charlie told her. "You might have been in a bad place when we got together but I was never better than you."

"Come on, Charlie," Joey said. "You were cop. I was a deckhand at best and unemployed at worst."

"What's wrong with being a deckhand?" Charlie challenged. "You loved your job. You were good at your job. We live by the sea, for goodness' sake!"

Joey sighed and looked down. Charlie tilted her chin back up with her index finger.

"We were always equal," she said. "I never saw you as anything less. You have always been amazing to me. Sure, I've watched you grow in confidence. You become more beautiful to me every single day. I fall more deeply in love with you every single day. Sometimes I think my heart is actually going to burst because I love you so much."

Joey felt shy. She felt overwhelmed.

"I love you so much, Charlie," Joey said. "You're the most amazing, beautiful, wonderful person I've ever met. I'm sorry for what I said. I just got scared. It was stupid. I just panicked that I was going to lose you. My whole world would end if I lost you."

"Why on earth would you lose me?" Charlie asked.

She stroked Joey's face gently, resting her palm on her cheek. Joey smiled sadly.

"I guess the idea of some hot guy coming to steal you away is literally my worst nightmare," she admitted.

"Nobody could ever steal me away from you," Charlie promised. "It's you and me, Jo. For the rest of our lives."

"Till death us do part!" Joey grinned.

Charlie smiled back. She thought about the ring in her drawer and cursed the River Boys who had wrecked her proposal attempt the other day. She considered just taking the ring out and proposing now but she stopped herself. She didn't want their special moment to be marred by an argument. And she had planned on doing the deed in a few weeks on their anniversary. She just had to hold out a little while longer.

"I love you, Joey," she said, pulling her into a hug. "Please never stop believing that."

"I won't," Joey replied. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

They kissed tenderly. Charlie guided Joey back onto the bed and straddled her. She kissed the tear tracks on Joey's face, helping them to dry. She kissed her lips, running her hands down the length of her body until she reached the bottom of her t-shirt. Grinning, she made short work of it. She kissed her tummy and chest, unhooking her bra.

Joey lay back, closing her eyes, enjoying being with Charlie. She ran her hands through Charlie hair, letting it out of its ponytail and letting it fall free. She pulled her closer and kissed her mouth. She pulled Charlie's pyjama top off, pressing their bodies close together, their hearts beating as one.

"You are my whole world," Joey whispered.

"And you're mine," Charlie replied.

Charlie and Joey woke up in each other's arms the next morning. Neither of them wanted to face the day ahead but both of them had work to do. Joey extracted herself from Charlie and headed into the kitchen. She soon came back with coffee and toast.

"Ooh!" Charlie said. "Breakfast in bed!"

Joey grinned, slipping back in beside her.

"I still have a lot of making up to do," she said.

"Um… after last night?" Charlie said. "I think you did plenty!"

Joey blushed. Charlie grinned, enjoying making her squirm.

"I mean… that was… wow," Charlie continued. "I think that's probably the best sex we've ever had. And we have had some good sex."

She leant over and kissed her.

"We have, haven't we?" Joey grinned, returning her kiss.

Romeo still wasn't himself. He felt bad about Ruby being in hospital and was sure that he was at least partially responsible for her not keeping in top of her diabetes. He had felt extremely awkward when Indi had dragged him to the hospital and had been sure that Ruby would tell her the truth about their night together. Thankfully, she had kept quiet but he still wasn't sure for how long.

"Right, you're going to be put into teams of four," Gina told the class.

He sat up a little straighter, having not even been listening to the assignment. He watched April slump into a group of tittering girls. He felt sorry for her. She had been having a tough time since the incident with the chemicals and she didn't even have Xavier anymore since she had dumped him. But he had his own problems. He couldn't be there for anyone else right now.

"And Dex, Romeo, Casey and Xavier," Gina said.

Romeo was relieved to be with his friends. He was also relieved to be with Dex for a Science experiment. It was a sure fire way to do well. He was not thrilled to be with Casey though. He was sure that Casey knew about him and Ruby. He did like him but their friendship was prone to flipping over into aggression. It was tentative to say the least.

Charlie pulled Watson into her office as soon as she arrived at work.

"What's going on?" Watson asked worriedly. "Are you okay? I was worried about you yesterday. After Brax… I didn't mention in my report that you nearly decked him."

"Thanks," Charlie said gratefully. "And thanks for stopping me."

Watson nodded and sank down in the opposite chair and crossed her legs in front of her.

"So, what's going on?" she asked.

"I need to investigate Brax," Charlie said. "I am convinced that the businesses or whatever he has going on are illegal. The money he makes, this alcohol he offered us, the money he's investing in this pizza restaurant. John thought he was dealing last night. Why? We have to find something on him. We have to get him and his thug mates the fuck out of Summer Bay."

Watson leant forward.

"Okay, I agree with you in principal," she said. "He's probably as dirty as they come. But we can't be seen to victimise him, Charlie. We can't create evidence."

"I'm not saying we create it," Charlie assured her. "We just need to find it. It must be there. Watson, I have to get him out of here."

"He really stressed you out last night, huh?"

"Not me. Joey," Charlie sighed.

"Joey?" Watson asked. "Hey, she knows what happened, right?"

"She questioned whether I liked him, Watson," Charlie admitted.

Watson was the only person in the world that she would ever confide in like this. She knew that confidentiality existed always between them.

"What? Why?"

"It was just for a second," Charlie said, leaning back in her chair. "And it was more about her own lack of confidence, I think, than actually thinking I'd go off with anyone, let alone someone like Brax. But it still really hurt.

"I can imagine," Watson empathised.

"But if he and his stupid brother and their bastard friends are stressing her out that much, they have to go," Charlie decided. "I can't have Joey so upset so much of the time. I want her to be happy."

Watson nodded and stood up, clapping her hands once, decisively.

"Let's get cracking, shall we?"

Angelo was feeling really positive. The new restaurant, The Pizza Oven would be opening in just a few days. He had tried to suggest a more Italian name. He had tried to suggest calling it Angelo's. Brax had laughed in his face and shrugged it off, suggesting that if he could put the capital in then he could have an input on the name.

He, Brax, Heath and several of the River Boys had been working hard on decking the place out, although some people had been working harder than others. The place was looking really good and Angelo couldn't wait to get started.

He missed working at Bucktons'. He missed his friendship with Charlie and Joey. They still meant so much to him and they had so much history, some of it bad, a lot of it complicated but so much of it good. Charlie had forgiven him for so much. Joey had given him a chance when nobody else would. He worried that he had acted too impulsively. He worried that he had sided with the devil. Nobody in the Bay liked Brax. Nobody trusted him. Everybody loved Joey. He ignored the nagging voice in the back of his mind that told him he had made a massive mistake.

Joey went to the hospital to visit Ruby before she started her shift at the restaurant.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm okay," Ruby said. "I'm bored. I want to go home."

"Well, Sid said you should be discharged today so fingers crossed," Joey said.

"Fingers crossed," Ruby said. "How are you?"

Joey sat down beside her.

"I'm okay," she said.

She still felt a little distracted and guilty over the previous night. She and Charlie had definitely made up. But she still felt bad for doubting her.

"Was Charlie okay last night?" Ruby asked. "She was really quiet after she came back from her call out."

"Oh, she had a bit of an incident with Darryl Braxton," Joey said dismissively. "But it's all sorted now."

"What happened?" Ruby asked.

"He kissed her," Joey explained.

"What?" Ruby shrieked.

"He kissed her," Joey said. "She nearly punched him."

"I'm not surprised!" Ruby exclaimed. "How dare he do that? Doesn't he know she's with you?"

"I don't think he cares," Joey said. "In fact, I think he just sees it as an exciting challenge."

Ruby took her step-mother's hand.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Joey said. "A little insecure maybe but I'm fine. Charlie has made it abundantly clear that I have nothing to worry about. But I mean, good looking, muscle-bound surfer tries to swoop in and take my girlfriend? It's not the best."

"Hey, I've been around for most of Charlie's dating life," Ruby said, "and I can assure you that I've never seen her happier than when she's with you. And I've never seen her look at anyone the way she looks at you. And I mean the way she looks at you with love and also with lust. You're the person who makes her feel safe but she's also hot for you. Like in a really annoying, gross way if you're their teenage daughter living in the same house! So I don't think any guy or any girl could ever swoop in and take her away from you. With you in her life, I don't think she'd ever even notice anyone else."

Joey squeezed her hand and thanked her.

It had been a long, boring, desk bound day and it had not been particularly fruitful. Without a legitimate reason to investigate him other than suspecting that the alcohol Brax had offered them was dodgy, it was very difficult to look too deeply into his life.

"I should have just arrested him for assault last night," she said, frustrated.

Watson snorted.

"It would have been legitimate," Charlie said. "Technically."

"Technically," Watson said. "But do you really want to be that person?"

"I want to have a reason to investigate him," Charlie said. "All we've got here is that he owns a furniture business, which could so easily be a cover for all kinds of crap."

Watson nodded.
"I mean, who has the money upfront like that to just open a restaurant?" Charlie asked. "Especially when they spend all day surfing?"

"I guess he has a finger in lots of pies," Watson says. "I've found him in this furniture business. His name comes up as a partner in a couple of other businesses here and there. He seems to take over places that other people have started… look."

She showed her the screen she was looking at.

"And now the original owners aren't even part of the business anymore…" Charlie noted. "So, what? He zones in on vulnerable people, helps them out and then kicks them out?"

"Maybe," Watson said.

"I wonder if he intended to do that with us," Charlie said. "Start of supplying us with alcohol, muscle his way in. But I guess he didn't bank on us not wanting anything to do with him. Maybe that's why he's maintained this weird interest in me. If he thinks he can get in with me then a) he's got someone in law enforcement on his side and b) he's got a business ready for the taking."

"Or maybe he just thinks you're hot!" Watson grinned, making Charlie laugh.

"Seriously though," Charlie said. "It's a good plan. It'd never work but it's a good plan. I'm the perfect target for him."

"Although if he ever managed to steal you away, he'd get the restaurant out of Joey's cold, dead hands!" Watson remarked.

"True!" Charlie laughed. "And as if I'd ever treat her that way. Brax aside, if Joey and I did ever split up…"

She shuddered at the thought.

"The restaurant would be completely hers," she said. "I could never take it from her. It's mine too, of course it is. I help out and it means a lot to me. But it's her place. It's her life. It's what she was born to do. It's what she was always meant to do. She and I are always going to be together but if the unthinkable ever happened, the restaurant would be hers. Of course it would."

Watson smiled.

"You're too cute, you know that?" she remarked.

Charlie gave her a playful shove.

"But anyway, we've got more of an idea about Brax and how he operates," Watson said. "It'd be better if we could delve a little more into his accounts and things but we have a clearer idea and that's important."

"We're no closer to getting rid of him though," Charlie said unhappily.

"We are," Watson said.

"How?"

"The more information we have, the better equipped we are," Watson told her. "He's going to slip up sometime. And when he does, that's our chance."

Charlie nodded. Watson typed his name into Google. A couple of articles appeared. Charlie peered at one in particular.

"Who's that with him?" she wondered, peering at the image. "I recognise him."

"Yeah, I recognise him," Watson agreed.

They both clicked at the same time. It was David Smith, a hot shot city lawyer who was known to be absolutely ruthless. He was infamous for keeping well known criminals away from jail.

"Why the hell would Brax associate with this guy?" Charlie wondered.

"Do you think that's his lawyer?" Watson asked.

"Maybe," Charlie said. "And if it is, it only says one thing to me."

"Me too," Watson agreed.

It was after school and Xavier, Romeo, Dex and Casey were all on the beach, attempting to come up with an idea for their Science project but so far, no inspiration had come. Mostly, Xavier was lamenting over losing April and interrogating Dex as to why the pair of them were spending so much time together at the moment. Romeo silently wondered if Xavier was so dense and self-absorbed that he really couldn't see how much turmoil April was in and that Dex was clearly helping her through it.

He also felt distinctly uncomfortable with the way that Casey was glaring at him. They hadn't really spoken since Casey had called him out on the way he had treated Ruby. He hadn't explicitly mentioned them having sex so he wasn't exactly sure what Casey knew but he definitely knew something was going on.

And to top it off, he had a shift at Bucktons' later. He was dreading facing Joey. He had passed her briefly in the corridor at the hospital and the look she'd given him had turned him to stone. They had once upon a time been so close. He hated the thought of losing her.

Charlie stopped by the restaurant before she went to the hospital to collect Ruby and bring her home. She waved at Claire who was waiting tables and headed into the kitchen where Joey was busy cooking.

"Hey," Joey greeted.

"Hey," Charlie said. "I won't keep you. You look busy."

Joey stopped and kissed her quickly.

"I just wanted to say hello before I went to pick Ruby up."

"That's sweet of you," Joey said. "I won't be far behind you. I've got Romeo and Scott working tonight and Claire's in charge of the shift."

"Do you want me to come and pick you up?" Charlie offered.

"Stay with Ruby," Joey said. "I'll bring you guys some dinner home."

Charlie kissed her again.

"Hey, um… Watson and I looked a little more into Brax today," she ventured.

Joey paused, feeling awkward.

"We're looking into his businesses and things, you know as far as we're allowed to," Charlie said. "If I can find a way to move him on and away from us, Joey… I will."

"I appreciate it, Charlie," she said. "But honestly, only do that if you think he's a criminal who needs dealing with. Don't do it for me. I had a moment last night but I don't feel threatened by him. I know that it's me and you forever and nobody is ever going to ruin that for us. Nobody is ever going to take you away from me."

They kissed again. Charlie rested her forehead against Joey's for a moment.

"I love you," she said.

Then she headed off to collect Ruby and bring her home.

Romeo was nervous when he walked into the restaurant. The first person he made eye contact with was Claire. She offered him a small smile, letting him know that everything was fine. He relaxed a little. He should have known that Claire was not someone who would give anyone a hard time, no matter what they had done. Not even if they had hurt her best friend.

He took a deep breath and approached Joey who had just brought a couple of mains to a table. She stopped and looked at him.

"Look, I don't want to fall out with you," she said.

"I don't want to fall out with you either, Jo," he said. "You mean the world to me."

"I don't condone what you did," she said. "I can't even begin to tell you how much you've hurt my daughter. She's absolutely broken. And that doesn't even take into account what will happen if and when Indi finds out what happened."

He swallowed anxiously.

"But we have to work together," Joey said. "And you and I have a separate friendship. So let's just get along, okay?"

He nodded. He just wanted to get along.

Ruby had already gone to bed by the time Joey got home. She put her portion of food in the fridge for the next day and served up hers and Charlie's dinner instead, beginning to eat on the sofa in front of the TV.

"Listen…" she ventured. "I just wanted to apologise to you again."

"Joey, you really don't have to," Charlie assured her.

"But I want to," Joey said. "I've been feeling so guilty all day. I truly didn't mean to hurt you."

Charlie lifted Joey's hand and kissed it.

"I understand, Jo," she said. "Please, let's just move on, stronger and together."

Joey nodded.

"That's all I want," she said. "Me and you. Forever."

They kissed with more passion than they expected. Abandoning their plates, they wrapped their arms around each other. Joey closed her eyes as she felt Charlie's soft but urgent lips against hers, her tongue exploring. Soon, she was on her back, Charlie topless and straddling her. She moaned as Charlie kissed her neck, her hands running all over her body.

Neither of them noticed Ruby emerge from her bedroom, needing a glass of water. She caught sight of the pair of them on the sofa, half naked and in the throes of passion. Deciding she was no longer thirsty, she returned to her room and vowed to stay there for the rest of the night.

Next time… Claire has a confession, April is overwhelmed and Angelo has an attitude problem…