I've just written the last chapter of this story, chapter twenty nine but I have a potential new idea for another one. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Nineteen

Willow and Alex lay entwined with each other in Willow's bed, their clothes strewn across the floor. Willow lay on her back. Alex lay beside her, one leg draped across her, body pressed against her, fingertips tracing her body. They kissed tenderly, both lost in the afterglow of what they had just shared.

"That was amazing," Willow whispered.

She giggled self-consciously.

"I don't know why I'm whispering!"

Alex laughed and kissed her, fingertips still circling Willow's body, making her skin tingle.

"It was amazing," she agreed.

"Was it?" Willow checked. "I mean, I'm new to this and…"

Alex kissed her.

"It was amazing," she confirmed.

They kissed again. Willow rolled over, tipping Alex onto her back. She straddled her and kissed her, eager to continue their evening together. This was turning out to be the best night of her life. She had worried about not knowing how to be intimate with a woman, especially someone experienced like Alex who had only been with women and had been in a ten year relationship. But as it turned out, it had felt like the most natural thing in the world to be with her, not to mention the most amazing. Alex had touched her in ways she had never experienced before. She had had no idea that sex could be this good! She just hoped that all her feelings wouldn't come out in some kind of emotional, embarrassing way.

Alex reached out and stroked Willow's face, gazing lovingly at her. She could hardly believe that she had struck so lucky. How on earth had it come to be that someone like Willow Harris had ever looked her way? She still couldn't quite believe it. Willow leant down and kissed her.

It was late when Joey finally forced herself to get up and go home. It just felt so nice to be content and happy with Charlie at last, to sit beside her bed, hold her hand, kiss her and know that they were together.

"I'd better let you get some rest," she said.

"Please don't," Charlie begged.

Joey smiled sadly. She really didn't want to go.

"I'll come back tomorrow," she promised. "Hey, perhaps we could go for another trip out?"

"I'd love that," Charlie said happily. "And I think I'd be confident enough to do it just the two of us this time. I was nervous today in case something went wrong but it went so well. Maybe we could… go on a sort of date or something?"

She blushed.

"Is that really dumb?"

Joey took her hand and kissed it.

"I would love to go on a date with you," she said. "Leave it with me, okay?"

She kissed her goodbye, insisted that she got some sleep and headed home, her head full of the joy of Charlie.

"Will you stay the night?" Willow asked shyly.

She lay, wrapped up in Alex's arms. She played with her fingers and rested her head on her chest. Alex smiled happily.

"Will Irene mind?"

"No," Willow said. "She absolutely won't mind."

"Have you… told her anything?" Alex asked a little nervously.

Willow nodded and then asked if that was okay.

"Of course it's okay," Alex assured her. "She's… happy?"

"Completely," Willow said. "She just wants me… you… us… to be happy."

Alex kissed Willow's forehead. Then she asked her if she was happy.

"I'm happier than I've ever been in my life," Willow replied.

Alex suddenly realised that she was too.

Alex was nervous about exiting Willow's room the next morning but Willow remained confident that there would be no problem.

"But… Willow, you know your housemates are going to have questions…"

Willow sat on the edge of the bed beside Alex, almost finished dressing.

"I've told Dean and I've told Irene and both of them are supportive," she said. "Charlie knows too and she practically pushed us together and I can't even tell you how much her opinion means to me after everything she's done for me since I arrived in the Bay."

She smiled earnestly at Alex.

"If we're going to do this, I want to do it properly," she said. "No hiding. No pretending. I'm lucky enough to have met you. I don't want to pretend that I haven't. If… if that's what you want."

Alex leant over and kissed her.

"I want," she said.

Willow brushed a stray strand of hair out of Alex's face.

"But if I panic, you'll look after me, right?" she joked nervously.

"I'll always look after you," Alex promised.

They kissed, checked themselves in the mirror and prepared to brave the world.

"Why don't you just go and visit her, love?" Irene said.

She was sat at the breakfast table with Bianca and Jasmine. For days now, Bianca had been beside herself, worried about Charlie and eaten up with guilt that the pair of them had been arguing on the day she had been shot. But still she had done nothing about it.

"I just don't think she'll want to see me," Bianca said. "I said some awful things to her last time I saw her."

"Bianca, I think she'll want to see you," Jasmine said gently. "Charlie never wanted to fall out with you in the first place. You know that. She kept trying to make up…"

She regretted her words instantly when it looked like Bianca was going to cry.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just meant that Charlie loves you and she wants to be your friend. She doesn't care about anything you said or did."

Bianca nodded, wiping her eyes.

"I know," she said. "I just… I feel so guilty."

"Well, maybe if you go and see her…" Irene suggested.

They were interrupted by Willow exiting her room, looking cheerful but trying to look nonchalant. She was followed rather meekly by Doctor Alex Neilson. Irene smiled quietly to herself. Bianca and Jasmine both looked confused.

"Morning!" Willow said a little too exuberantly.

"Morning," Irene said.

She peered behind her.

"Morning, Alex," she said with a small grin.

"Morning," Alex said.

"Coffee?"

They both accepted and sat down at the table. Jasmine and Bianca continued to look at them both.

"So… are you going to explain or…?" Bianca asked.

"Well, um… Alex and I are in a relationship," Willow said.

She cursed herself for stuttering at the beginning. She had practised it in her head several times.

"Oh," Jasmine said.

She grinned.

"That's cool," she said. "Welcome to our crazy, little family, Alex."

"Welcome," Bianca reiterated. "We squabble a bit but we're friendly."

Alex breathed a sigh of relief and thanked them. Willow was grateful, although she knew when Alex was gone, her housemates would have a lot of personal questions.

Charlie had had a busy morning. Her new CBT counsellor had come to see her first thing, which she hadn't been expecting but actually, things had gone well. The therapist, Sarah had been impressed with how well she was coping and pleased with the level of support she had. They had agreed to see each other twice a week for the time she was in hospital in order to keep monitoring her mood and process everything she had been through.

Now, Ruby had come to see her, with her usual coffee and she was thrilled that Charlie and Joey were making a go of things.

"I am so happy that you're happy," Ruby said, beaming at her.

"And what about you, Ruby?" Charlie said.

Ruby froze.

"What about me?" she asked awkwardly.

"Everything has been about me lately," Charlie said.

"Well, you did get shot, Mum," her daughter pointed out.

"I am aware," Charlie said. "But I would like to know more about how you are, Ruby."

"I'm fine," Ruby said. "I just want to look after you."

Charlie took her hand.

"How are things with Casey?" she asked. "I haven't seen him."

Ruby sighed and shifted awkwardly in her seat. She didn't know what to say.

"Ruby…?"

"They're not great," she admitted.

"What happened?"

You got shot, Ruby thought to herself.

"I just… every time I look at him, I see…"

"Me on the floor?" Charlie asked.

Ruby nodded, tears escaping her. She broke contact with Charlie to hurriedly brush them away. In all her visits – and there had been many – they had never directly addressed what had happened. Charlie reached for her daughter's hand again.

"It wasn't Casey's fault," she said softly.

"Not directly," Ruby said tearfully. "But it was his gang's rival."

"His brother's gang," Charlie corrected.

"He got himself involved, remember?" Ruby said bitterly. "He was just out of young offenders for arson. Don't tell me that at some point he wouldn't have become a fully-fledged River Boy, just like Brax, just like Heath, just like all the rest of them."

Charlie sighed.

"Maybe," she agreed. "But he hasn't yet. And the arson attack… that was misguided. You know that."

"I do but… I just can't disconnect him from what happened to you. And then the way Brax behaved after you got…"

Tears came in waves. She couldn't say the words. Charlie reached out to hold her.

"I have nightmares every night," Ruby admitted. "Seeing you lying there like that. I thought I was going to lose you forever."

Charlie held her closer. She wished she could take her pain away. All she could do was whisper that she was sorry.

Joey was up and out early, taking Jasper for a walk and enjoying the morning air. Today was going to be a good day, she could absolutely feel it. She threw a ball for Jasper as far as she could; he bounded off to chase it, kicking up sand as he went. She spotted Brax coming out of the sea, surfboard in hand but had no option but to keep going or it would look obvious that she was trying to avoid him.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied.

"I hope you're happy."

He slammed his board hard into the ground.

"I'm okay, thanks," she replied, trying not to be confrontational.

"Well, she's already told me that she's going to be wheelchair bound and sexless so I guess you're not going to be happy for long," he sneered. "You'll play the perfect girlfriend for a bit and then you'll get bored and move on."

"Okay," she said, walking past.

"You can tell her I got laid last night!" he called.

"I don't think she cares!" she called back, catching up with Jasper.

Brax sighed heavily. He just wanted things to go back to the way they were.

"It's not your fault, Mum," Ruby said.

Charlie placed her hand on her daughter's cheek.

"It is though," she said. "I do have to take responsibility for my own actions too. I made some really bad choices and they took me down a dark path. They took me here."

Ruby nodded. She did understand.

"But please, Ruby," Charlie continued. "If you still love Casey and I think that you do, then you need to get over this and you need to work through things with him. He's a nice boy and he adores you. You make such a good team."

"I can't, Mum," Ruby said. "I'm sorry. I just can't. I can't have anything to do with that family. I am so happy, Joey aside, that you and Brax are over. I just don't want anything more to happen to you or me or us. I just want us to be together and safe and happy."

"Okay," Charlie said softly. "Okay."

She held her tight.

"Ruby, about these nightmares…"

Ruby tried not to cry again.

"I had my first CBT session this morning," Charlie ventured.

"No, Mum…"

"Please?" Charlie requested. "Alex arranged it for me. I'm sure she'd help you too."

"I'm okay," Ruby protested.

"I just don't think you are," Charlie said. "And I don't want what happened to me to be the reason that you suffer and struggle. Please? You're already holding yourself back with school and well, life in general. Don't let your mental health suffer as well. Please?"

Ruby sighed heavily.

"Fine," she said. "I'll talk to Alex but only because you can pretty much make me do anything right now. Anyway, can we talk about something nicer please?"

Charlie smiled, immediately thinking about Joey.

"Well, I think I'm supposed to be going on a date today…"

"Thanks for the lift," Alex said to Jasmine.

"Well, we were going the same way," Jasmine said.

She had stopped off at her colleague's house so she could quickly get changed, having not actually planned to stay the night somewhere else and then driven them both to work.

"So… you and Willow?" the nurse ventured.

Alex blushed. It had been a long time since she'd had this sort of conversation with anyone.

"Yeah…" she said.

"I won't lie and say I saw it coming but… yeah," Jasmine said. "You look good together."

"Thanks!" Alex chuckled. "I think!"

"I definitely think you'll be good for her," Jasmine continued. "She needs someone like you."

"What makes you say that?" Alex wondered.

"Willow's always been a bit… I don't know… I think you'll compliment her well," Jasmine said. "See, she comes across like she has all this confidence but deep down, she doesn't."

"Yeah, I see that," Alex said thoughtfully.

"She hasn't always had that stability," Jasmine said. "I think you could give her the stability she's always wanted."

"As long as you're not saying I'm boring!" Alex worried.

Jasmine laughed.

"Oh, you're definitely not boring! I got the shock of my life when I saw you creeping out her bedroom this morning!"

This time it was Alex who laughed. Jasmine grinned.

"I'm happy for you both," she said.

"You look so pretty," Ruby grinned.

She had been and come back to the hospital, bringing back with her a one of Charlie's favourite going out tops and loose fitting trousers that Jasmine said she would help her put on, agreeing that she might feel better if she was dressed. Ruby had done her makeup and her hair, ready for her date with Joey.

"I've never been on a date without a bra before!" Charlie laughed.

"I bet you have!" Ruby smirked.

"Ruby!" Charlie scolded, making her daughter laugh.

"You do look really pretty," she said. "Not that Joey wouldn't love you anyway. But I bet she'll faint when she sees you!"

"Knock, knock!"

Jasmine entered the room.

"Oh! Look at you!" the pretty, blonde nurse remarked. "You know, it seems like love is in the air all over the place today."

"Oh really?" Charlie asked, hoping it might mean what she hoped it did.

"Well, we might have had an extra guest at breakfast this morning…"

"Willow and Alex?" Charlie asked.

Jasmine grinned.

"Willow and Alex?" Ruby said, shocked. "Since when?"

"I don't know," Jasmine said. "A few days ago, I guess. But yeah, they seem pretty happy."

Ruby smiled.

"That's nice," she said.
She sighed thoughtfully. She really needed to speak to Casey. Shutting him out wasn't fair. Perhaps when Charlie and Joey were together for the afternoon, she would take some time out to sort out her own love life.

"I'm really happy for them," Charlie said.

"Me too," Jasmine agreed. "Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen Willow look so happy in all the time I've known her. So, shall we get you dressed for your date?"

Alex couldn't take the smile off her face when she saw Willow approaching her at the nurse's station. They said hello to each other a little shyly. All Alex wanted to do was kiss her. But she was at work and things were also still so new between them. They were still working out what felt normal.

"I know you're really busy today so I was worried you might not get time for a proper break," Willow explained. "So I brought you some lunch."

She held up a small brown bag and a coffee. Alex felt her heart leap a little at just how sweet she was.

"You have a sandwich, a piece of fruit and then a little treat," Willow said.

"You're the sweetest person I've ever met," Alex told her sincerely.

She wanted to kiss her more than ever. She glanced at her watch.

"I could probably spare fifteen minutes if you want to eat with me?" she offered.

"I don't need asking twice!" Willow grinned, following her girlfriend to office she was becoming rather familiar with.

"So, how's Charlie?" she asked.

"She's doing pretty well," Alex confirmed.

All thoughts of friends and food were forgotten as the new couple fell into each other's arms, kissing passionately. Alex leant against the desk, wrapping her arms around Willow.

"Thank you for bringing my lunch to me," she said when they eventually parted. "Nobody's ever done that for me before."

Willow looked puzzled.

"You were in a relationship for ten years and nobody ever brought you lunch?"

Alex shrugged.

"She was pretty busy all the time," she said. "I guess we both were."

"What did she do?"

"She ran a café."

Willow laughed and then apologised.

"Just the irony of not bringing you any food!"

Alex laughed too.

"I guess I never saw it like that before," she said. "Well, she couldn't really leave it."

"What happened to her café when you split up? You said she wanted to go travelling?"

Willow hoped she wasn't being too nosy.

"She sold it," Alex said. "Well, we sold it. I put half the money into the business to help her set it up."

"You believed in her dream," Willow said thoughtfully.

She reached out and stroked Alex's face. Then she kissed her.

"I love that about you," she said.

Alex blushed a little shyly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You're always reaching out to people, giving everything you have to them," Willow said.

"That's what they deserve," Alex replied.

"Well, I hope you know you deserve the same."

They kissed.

Ruby had already left when Joey arrived at the hospital, wearing black jeans and a white shirt in an attempt to look smart but not too smart. Her hair was loose and she'd even delved into some mascara and lipstick, feeling a little nervous as she offered out a bunch of flowers to Charlie who was sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for her. The two women beamed at each other. Joey stepped further into the room, closing the gap between them and kissing her.

"You look beautiful," she said.

"It was too uncomfortable to wear a bra," Charlie announced.

She wondered if her injury had caused her to blurt out the first thing that entered her head. Joey grinned at her, making her laugh.

"You look beautiful," Joey reaffirmed.

"Thank you," Charlie said. "And thank you for the flowers."

"I even brought a vase," Joey said, rummaging around in her backpack.

She produced a vase and then poured some water from the jug on Charlie's table. Charlie sat back and watched her date fuss with the flowers for a moment. She smiled to herself, still feeling nervous but enjoying admiring Joey's figure with her back turned.

Joey turned around with a smile. Charlie blushed guiltily.

"What?" Joey asked.

"I was just admiring how nice you looked," Charlie said.

"I wasn't even facing you!"

The statement hung in the air for a moment.

"Oh!" Joey realised.

Now it was her turn to blush. She stepped closer and kissed her.

"Thank you for the compliment," she said. "Are you ready for our date?"

"Where are we going?"

"Just into the gardens," Joey said. "I didn't want to do anything too tiring. I know you had your CBT session this morning."

Charlie nodded, silently noting how thoughtful she was.

"We can talk about it if you like?"

"Not really date chat," Charlie pointed out.

"Like we do anything in the traditional way," Joey reminded her.

Charlie smiled and held onto her hands. She admitted that she would like to talk things through with her. She wanted to always be open with her about everything she was going through. And she wanted Joey to always be honest with her too.

"So…? Shall we?"

Charlie nodded eagerly.

Next time… Charlie and Joey go on their date, Willow and Alex enjoy a second date and Ruby faces up to Casey…