Happy New Year, everyone! Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Five

Joey Collins woke up with a start. She had had the most awful nightmare about her ex-girlfriend, Charlie Buckton. It had been a long time since she had dreamt about her. They had parted ways nearly three years ago. A lot had happened since then. Charlie was part of her past, a past she had chosen to forget. Why on earth was she dreaming about her now?

She reached out for the glass of water by her bed and gulped it down, even though it had gone largely stale overnight. She swung her legs over the bed, the movement alerting her dog, a black Labrador called Jasper who came bounding towards her. She stroked his soft fur. He licked her hand eagerly. Yawning, she stretched, her t-shirt riding up ever so slightly and exposing her midriff, not that there was anyone there to see it. She had become single again two months ago, yet another relationship down the toilet. Now she was renting a two bedroom house with her best friend.

She headed downstairs with Jasper and prepared some breakfast for him and herself. Jasper gobbled his food down noisily while Joey threw herself onto the sofa in the lounge with a strong coffee and a slice of toast, unable to get the bad dream out of her head. She could see Charlie's face so clearly. She had been so beautiful but so broken. She had looked… dead.

It was Alex's day off but she couldn't help herself. She wanted to check on Charlie and ensure that she was doing alright. She was looking forward to her evening out with Jasmine and her friends and getting the opportunity to get to know people but she also knew she wouldn't enjoy it if she didn't know her central patient was alright.

Charlie was awake when she entered the room but she look weak and pale.

"Hi," Alex said.

"Doc… Neilson," Charlie remembered.

Alex smiled.

"That's right," Alex said, coming to stand beside her. "You can just call me Alex if you like. I think we're going to get to know each other pretty well."

"Alex," Charlie said with a smile.

"How are you feeling today?" the Doctor asked.

"Like I've been shot," Charlie replied. "Twice."

Alex smiled sadly.

"Worse… actually," Charlie admitted.

"How are your pain levels?" Alex asked. "Do they need adjusting?"

"They're okay," Charlie said.

She didn't want to mask any of her symptoms and she understood that Alex wouldn't really want to either. It wouldn't help in the long run.

"Okay, good," Alex said. "Just keep letting the staff know what you need."

"I will," Charlie promised. "I can't feel my legs still."

Alex moved to the end of the bed. She touched Charlie in several places on her feet and legs. Nothing.

"We'll keep checking and doing tests," she promised. "It may be temporary. But like we discussed yesterday…"

"I know," Charlie sighed.

She hadn't been able to stop thinking about her prognosis, all the eventualities Alex had gone through with her. As positive as the Doctor had tried to be, she had needed to be realistic as well.

"I'm a cop," Charlie said. "I was a cop. I need… my legs."

Alex approached her bedside and took her hand.

"It's only been a couple of days, Charlie," she said. "Please try not to worry."

Joey had let Jasper out into the garden for his morning constitutional, promising him a proper walk later. For now, she was scouring the Internet on her phone, trying to find out any information she could on Charlie. She knew it was silly and probably stalker-like but the dream she'd had was disturbing to say the least and she just needed to reassure herself that everything was okay. All these years, she had assured herself that Charlie was back in Summer Bay, keeping the streets safe, looking after Ruby and probably dating the most macho, masculine man she could find, proving to the world that there was no hint of bisexuality in her. The whole episode of her dating Joey would be long forgotten by now.

"What are you up to?" said a voice, making her jump. "Oh… you really are up to something naughty."

"I am not," Joey protested, locking her phone and putting it in her pocket.

Aden Jeffries, her best friend in the whole world came to sit beside her, looking curious and cheeky.

"Hey, if you're going to watch lesbian porn, either do it in your room or share," he cracked.

Joey blushed and protested again. He grinned. She punched him in the arm.

"So, what are you really doing?" Aden asked.

"Nothing," Joey said. "Just reading the news."

"Nah, I don't buy it," Aden said. "Come on. Spill."

"I just had the weirdest dream last night," Joey admitted.

"Oh, so we're back to the lesbian porn…" Aden teased.

"Would you be serious for a second?" Joey snapped.

He sat up straighter, realising that his friend was genuinely upset. Jasper trotted back in and came to sit on Joey's feet.

"What was your dream about?"

"Charlie."

She sighed heavily.

"Buckton?" Aden asked, surprised.

He hadn't thought about her in quite a long time. And he thought Joey had moved on a long while ago.

"Yes," Joey said. "I haven't even thought about her in years. Well, maybe the odd time but… the dream was so real. She was hurt. Dead, even. It was awful. I'm not one of these people that necessarily believes in that sort of thing but what if something's happened to her?"

"Well, what if it has?" Aden asked reasonably. "I mean, what would you do?"

Joey was a little taken aback. She hadn't really asked herself that question.

"I mean… I don't know."

"Well, would you rush back to the Bay to see her?" Aden pressed.

"I don't know, Aden!" Joey snapped. "I just know that that dream left me really shaken."

"Well, there's one way to find out," Aden said, pulling out his phone.

"I've already Googled," Joey said.

"I'm not Googling," Aden told her. "I'm calling Irene."

Irene was at home on a rare day off from the Diner and yet she was still in the kitchen, making lunch for her lodgers, Bianca Scott, Jasmine Delaney and Willow Harris. Jasmine had been working flat out at the hospital since the shooting, working overtime to tend to her friend and Willow and Bianca just happened to be at home and she couldn't leave them out. Plus, she was particularly worried about Bianca. She and Charlie had been best friends until a recent falling out. If Charlie died, she knew that Bianca would feel awful. She stopped in her tracks when her phone rang.

"Aden!" she greeted warmly.

It wasn't often he called her, although they had kept in touch since he departure from Summer Bay a couple of years ago. He had been married to one her other 'kids', Belle Taylor until she had died from cancer and he had therefore been another of one of the other children she had taken under her wing.

"Hi, Irene," he greeted. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good, I'm good," Irene said. "How are you?"

Bianca, Jasmine and Willow listened in nosily.

"Yeah, I'm good," Aden replied. "Listen, I have a random question for you. Is Charlie Buckton doing okay?"

Irene paused. Willow and Jasmine looked at her even more curiously. Bianca was tense. She hadn't stopped feeling tense since the shooting. Jasmine had encouraged her to come to the hospital. Irene had even offered to go with her but she felt too anxious to go. It didn't feel right. She had said the most awful things to Charlie the last few times they had seen each other. What right did she have to grieve for her now?

"Charlie?" Irene asked.

"Yeah…"

"Well, um… I have some bad news actually," Irene said. "I know you and Charlie were quite fond of each other."

On the other end of the line, Aden tried not to give anything away.

"She's in hospital, love," Irene explained. "She got shot a few days ago."

Aden couldn't hide his shock. Beside him, Joey was desperate to know what he was being told.

"Is she okay?" Aden asked worried.

"She's stable," Irene said. "But it's serious… Um… well, I could put you through to my lodger if you like? She works at the hospital and she's treating Charlie."

Jasmine stood up, happy to speak to Irene's friend if necessary.

"Uh… yeah, that would be great," Aden said.

He put his phone onto speakerphone.

"Charlie's been shot," he told Joey quickly.

Joey looked horrified.

"Hello?" said a younger sounding voice. "My name's Jasmine Delaney. I'm a nurse at Northern Districts Hospital. I'm treating your friend, Charlie."

"Hi," Aden said, introducing himself. "How's she doing?"

"Well, she's awake," Jasmine told them. "I think we may be looking at some paralysis. But it could have been a lot worse than that."

"How… how much worse?" Aden dared to ask.

"Well, to be honest, she's lucky to be alive," Jasmine admitted. "But we could have been looking at brain damage. We really didn't know what we were facing."

"So she's doing better than you expected?"

"She is," Jasmine said. "She's strong."

"What… what happened?" Aden asked, holding Joey's hand.

"She was shot by a gang member," Jasmine said. "I don't know the details but the police have him in custody."

"That's good at least," Aden sighed. "Poor Charlie."

"Yeah," Jasmine also sighed. "But she is doing well. We're doing everything to look after her. If you're a friend, I'm sure she'd love to see you. It always helps to have loved ones around when you're trapped in hospital, especially with something as serious and long term as this."

She looked directly at Bianca, wishing that her housemate would relent and visit. Bianca shook her head.

"Maybe," Aden said. "Thanks, Jasmine."

He hung up and turned to Joey.

"What do you want to do?"

That evening, Alex was nervous as she approached the restaurant and bar Jasmine had arranged to meet at, a pizza restaurant called Angelo's. She was relieved to see Jasmine was already seated in a booth with a blonde girl, a blonde guy and another dark haired girl, one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen in her life.

Jasmine waved her over and introduced her to her friends, Bianca Scott and her boyfriend, Liam Murphy, teachers at the local high school. Liam seemed oddly familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The beautiful dark haired woman, who she was pleased to find herself sat beside was called Willow Harris and she worked in the gym downstairs. Alex decided not to hold it against her. Sport was not Alex's strong point. She was more of a pizza on the sofa kind of girl.

"So, you're Charlie's Doctor?" Bianca asked a little nervously.

"Yes, that's right," Alex said.

"How is she doing?" the teacher asked. "Really?"

"She's doing pretty well, considering," Alex said. "It'll be a very long road to recovery but she's a strong person."

"And she has a very good Doctor," Jasmine put in.

Alex blushed.

"Well, let's get the good Doctor a drink," Willow said cheerfully. "What would you like?"

"Oh, um… just a beer would be good," Alex said. "Any. I'm easy."

Willow grinned and walked up to the bar, taking orders from her friends as she stood. As she left, more people arrived. Alex was introduced to another couple, Dean and Ziggy and she was relieved to find that Leah, who she had already met, had come to join them so at least she had a couple of friendly faces – plus Willow who she was very much enjoying talking to. And looking at.

"So, what do you like to do in your spare time?" Willow asked.

"Well, right now I don't have much!" Alex admitted. "But normally… I like photography. Going walking. I volunteer on a suicide prevention phone line once a month."

"Oh wow," Willow said. "You're an actual hero."

"No," Alex assured her. "I just like to give back where I can."

Willow looked more serious.

"It's genuinely a special thing, Alex," she said. "You already give up so much of your time and yet you still give up more for people who really need it."

Alex was touched. She thanked her.

"So, you like going walking? What about hitting the gym? I can offer you your first PT session for free!" Willow offered with a devilish grin.

"Um… not so much of a gym bunny," Alex admitted, sipping her drink.

"Oh, I don't believe that," Willow said. "Look at you. You've got an amazing figure."

"Well, it's definitely not toned!" Alex laughed.

"Well, it could be!" Willow persisted.

"You don't give up, do you?"

"Nope! I see what I want and I go after it!"

Alex blushed a little, glad that the room was dimly lit.

"So, when shall I book you in?" Willow asked.

"Okay, fine," Alex relented. "I will do one PT session."

"Yes!"

"One! And only because you promised it was free," Alex reminded her. "But I swear, I am really not a gym type person. You will hear nothing but complaints for an hour."

"Two," Willow corrected.

"Two?!" Alex protested in alarm.

"Don't worry," Willow reassured her. "I'll go easy on you."

"You're lying, aren't you?"

Willow merely smiled at her.

Aden and Joey were walking through the park with Jasper. Joey had spent the whole day debating what to do about Charlie.

"Look, I think it's obvious what you have to do," Aden said, throwing the ball again for the Labrador.

"Is it?" Joey asked.

"I think we need to go back to the Bay."

Joey stopped walking. Jasper barrelled into her. She picked up the ball but didn't throw it. The dog barked at her twice, impatiently.

"Come on, Jo," Aden said. "You left the Bay to get her out of your head and you absolutely did that. You've spent three happy years living your life exactly as you've wanted. But now, she's in your head again. If you're going to get closure, you've got to go back home."

Joey threw the ball and sighed heavily. She hated it when he was right.

"Having fun?" a voice demanded.

The noisy group looked up, including Alex. She had been busily chatting with Willow, Dean and Ziggy, learning that they were all relatively new in town themselves. Dean and Willow had known each other all their lives and she got the impression that Dean was a bit of a naughty boy turned good. He and Willow used to date, which quite likely told her that there was no way there was anything even a little bit gay about the woman she very much fancied. But now they were best friends, Willow was single and Dean was dating Ziggy.

"Yes, thanks," Dean said cautiously.

"Don't you think at least a couple of you should be somewhere else?" he said, looking directly at Jasmine and Alex, the latter of whom felt anxious.

"There is such a thing as time off, Brax," Willow said, defensive of her friends, established and new.

"Well, should they be spending that time getting trashed in a bar?" Brax demanded.

"We're hardly getting trashed," Jasmine snapped. "Alex is new in town and we thought it would be nice if we actually took some time to get to know her being that she's just saved one of our best friend's lives. Hey, maybe you could do the same seeing as you're here, not working but getting 'trashed' yourself. And also not at the hospital where you think Alex and I should be twenty four hours a day."

Brax just glared at her. Alex remained silent. She had plenty to say, like the fact that she went in for several hours that afternoon to see Charlie when she wasn't even on shift. But she knew it would come out as petty. And she was also a little bit scared of him. She imagined it had taken time and experience for these people to be able to stand up to him. She wondered what it was about him that Charlie had fallen in love with.

"Well, let's just hope no mistakes are made tomorrow when you drag yourselves into work," he eventually said, walking out.

"Sorry about him," Willow said. "His bark's worse than his bite."

"That's actually not true," Dean said. "His bite really hurts."

"Okay, his bite is worse than his bark," Willow agreed. "So like, don't let him bite you or anything."

Alex shuddered and laughed at the same time.

"But mostly, he's harmless. You probably won't believe it but he's actually a nice guy," Willow continued to explain. "His head it just wrecked right now. He and Charlie and Casey and Ruby were literally about to pack up and move away to the city together. They were about to leave everything behind them, all their complications and stuff and start a whole new life together. And then she got shot and… well, now everything's a mess."

"I get it," Alex said. "He must be heartbroken."

"He really is," Ziggy said sadly. "But it doesn't excuse him speaking to you like that."

"So we're sorry on his behalf," Dean added.

Alex was grateful.

"We all know what a great job you're doing," Leah added, joining the conversation.

"And we really are grateful," Bianca said quietly.

Liam squeezed her hand under the table. He knew what Charlie's shooting was doing to her. She had cried herself to sleep for the past few nights and it was breaking his heart. He just wished that he could persuade her to go to the hospital. However, she was stubborn. It was one of the things that he loved and hated about her.

"Jasmine is doing just as much as me," Alex said sincerely. "Nothing in any hospital would ever get done without the nursing staff."

"Well, that's very nice of you to say," Jasmine said, touch. "You can stay!"

Next time… Joey and Aden return to Summer Bay, a new police officer arrives and Ruby pledges her commitment to her mother…