Chapter Five

"Do you ever go home these days, boss?" Angelo asked, when he was packing his things up to go home, passing her open office on the way out.

She looked up at him. He instantly regretted making the comment. She had shot up the ranks at work and he had never made it past Constable, no matter how hard he had tried. He felt like a minion and she knew he resented the power dynamic between them.

"Tell me exactly what there is for me to go home for?" she asked. "My partner left me, in case you didn't know."

"Yeah, I uh… I heard," he said awkward.

He didn't dare suggest that she might be at home to look after her daughter. But then, every time he felt frustrated in his career, he reminded himself that he was happy at home. He had a wife that loved him and two beautiful children. He loved being a cop but he loved his family more.

"Yeah, I thought it might have got round by now," she replied coldly.

He hovered awkwardly in the doorway.

"Anything else?" she snapped.

"No, boss," he said, quickly heading out and wishing he hadn't opened his big mouth.

Charlie watched him go, pushing her keyboard away and sinking back into her chair. She closed her eyes on the tears brimming. She knew she should go home to Ruby. She knew she was letting her down every second she stayed needlessly at work. She knew that's why Joey left her in the first place. And she knew that hiding out at work was going no way to winning her back. She had always been someone who could problem solve but she was at a complete loss as to what to do for the best.

"Little bit harsh, don't you think?"

Her eyes snapped open, the tears fell down her cheek without warning or permission.

"Go away," she said.

Georgie Watson, her Senior Sergeant and one of her best friends, shrugged and pulled up the chair opposite, sitting down.

"I said, go away," Charlie warned her.

"I only obey official orders," Watson replied with a cheerful smile.

"Okay, officially go away," Charlie said tightly.

"Officially, no," Watson told her.

She leant forward and rested her forearms on the desk.

"You were really mean to Angelo," she said bluntly. "I mean, the guy's a bit of a drip but he's pretty harmless."

Charlie promised to apologise in the morning. They both knew she wouldn't.

"Good," Watson said. "As for now, you're coming for a drink."

"I have too much work to do," Charlie protested. "And I have to go home to Ruby."

Watson shook her head, standing up, insisting that she had no choice.

"We're going for one drink and then you're going home to your kid and spend the evening with her," Watson said. "It's non-negotiable."

Charlie sighed, aware that she didn't have a choice. She shut down her computer and grabbed her jacket, following Watson out of the station.


Joey had allowed Alex and Willow to drag her out for dinner at Salt. They were worried about her 'festering' away, alone in her new apartment. She had insisted that she was fine but they had remained sceptical so she had reluctantly agreed to dinner.

"So, how's work?" Joey asked.

"It's going pretty well," Willow said enthusiastically. "I mean, who knew that I would ever be Gym Manager material?"

"Well, I did, obviously," Alex beamed at her.

Joey smiled. She loved the way they encouraged and supported each other all the time. Theirs was a new love and something very special. She just hoped it would last. She had always believed that she and Charlie could survive anything. The disintegration of their relationship had come as such a shock.

"I haven't seen you there for a while, actually, Joey," Willow pointed out.

"Oh, I've just been busy," Joey lied. "But I'll be back."

"You'd better be," Willow warned.

"How come you let her off?" Alex protested. "You drag me in there at least twice a week!"

"I'm not dating her," Willow reminded her.

"I don't even like exercise," Alex said grumpily. "I like the couch. I only signed up to the damn gym so that I could talk to you…"

"And now you get me and a healthy lifestyle!" Willow told her. "It's a win-win."

"That's your perspective," Alex replied.

Joey chuckled to herself but she missed Charlie terribly. She used to love their double dates with these two – the only other gay couple in Summer Bay. They had been so excited when Alex, an out lesbian, had arrived. They'd made a beeline for her immediately. And when she and Willow had got together, not without some nudging from them, once they'd spotted the obvious connection between the pair, it had been so nice to have another gay couple to spend time with. Until Charlie stopped making time for any of them, including Joey.

"Charlie…"

The name was out of her mouth before she could stop it. She stared ahead as she saw her estranged partner walk into the restaurant with Watson, Charlie's colleague and friend. Willow and Alex also watched. As if feeling their eyes on her, Charlie turned to look back at them, catching Joey's gaze and keeping it for several moments. Watson caught on and offered an awkward wave before leading Charlie over to a table.

"Jo, you okay?" Willow asked.

Joey looked at her watch. It was six thirty.

"Why isn't she at home with Ruby?" she wanted to know. "Does me leaving mean she's suddenly socialising now when she couldn't possibly do that before? And she still can't spend time with our child?"

She could feel the anger burning inside her. Alex put a gentle hand on her arm.

"Maybe she's just hurting and Watson decided to try and cheer her up," she suggested. "It really could be that simple. That's what's happened here."

She gestured to their own table with a wave of her hand.

"We know you feel like crap and we love you; we wanted to make you happy."

"Which has worked exceptionally well!" Willow said with an awkward grin, making Joey laugh.

"It has," Joey assured her. "I'm sorry. I just…"

"You wanted her to do better," Willow said. "You wanted her to step up and she hasn't."

Joey nodded.

"Joey?"

She spun round at the sound of Charlie's voice. Anxiety gripped her throat. She felt like she was being strangled.

"I just wanted to say that I'm only here for one drink and then I'm going home to Ruby," she said. "I didn't want to come but Watson insisted."

"Great," Joey said. "Maybe Ruby will see you before 10pm."

Alex kicked her gently under the table. Joey didn't flinch. Charlie sighed and clenched her teeth.

"I am trying my best," she said.

"Ruby says she hardly sees you," Joey told her.

"Ruby doesn't want to be around me," Charlie replied.

"Maybe that's what you need to work on."

Charlie turned back to sit at her table with Watson, wondering why she had bothered.

"Well, that went smoothly," Willow remarked.


Charlie swallowed.

"I told you I shouldn't have come out tonight," she said.

"Hey!" Watson protested. "You have every right to be here."

"Everything I do, I let her down," Charlie replied bitterly.

"Sounds like you want her back…"

Charlie's eyes narrowed. For a brief moment, Watson worried that she had pushed too far.

"Of course I want her back!" she snapped.

"Well, I mean… Okay, I don't mean to be rude but what exactly are you doing about it?" Watson asked. "It just looks like you've let her go…"

She could see her friend fighting tears. It made her uneasy. She had known Charlie for such a long time and she had never been an emotional person. She had always been so in control. It felt so strange to see her falling apart in front of her eyes.

"What am I supposed to do?" Charlie asked.

The question was not rhetorical.

"Prove how much you love her," Watson said. "Come on, you guys have been together since you were what, six?"

"Not quite that young," Charlie half laughed.

"Your parents took her on as their own, she adopted your little girl," Watson continued. "You've been a family unit forever. You can get through one fight."

Charlie sighed heavily, closing her eyes and thinking back over her life with Joey. It was true. They had been together for a very long time. They had only been together, apart from one, teenage relationship she'd had in high school that had not been sexual. They only knew each other. Perhaps it was time to live their lives outside each other? Tears crept from her eyes. She shook her head. No. She couldn't bear it. Joey was her one and only.

"Okay," she said decisively. "I will. I'll fix this."


Across the room, Joey was also thinking about her broken relationship. Willow and Alex were doing their best to work out whether to distract her or console her.

"I only came tonight because I decided you were right," Joey said. "I needed to get out of the apartment, see people, spend time in company and forget about Charlie. And the first time I do it – there she is. Sitting two tables away. It's not fair."

Willow reached out and squeezed her hand.

"Can I just say one thing?" Alex ventured.

Both Willow and Joey looked at her.

"She doesn't look good, Jo," Alex said. "She looks tired and drained…"

"Too many late nights working, as usual," Joey remarked. "And according to Ruby, coming home and drinking."

Alex shook her head in disagreement.

"It's clearly about you," Alex insisted. "She misses you. It's so obvious."

Willow nodded her agreement, squeezing Joey's hand and letting it go. She sipped her wine. Joey looked between them.

"Well, why won't she tell me that then?" she asked.


Charlie parted ways with Watson. She had considered saying goodbye to Joey but it had felt inappropriate. And it broke her heart to leave a room and not say goodbye to the love of her life. But perhaps it was her punishment for all the times she had left and arrived and not bothered with her. Letting herself into the house, which seemed so empty without Joey, who had always made it feel like home, she called out to Ruby. The teenager appeared at the top of her stairs.

"Working late again?" she asked, coming down into the lounge.

"No, I uh… I stopped for a drink with Watson," Charlie said.

"Oh, so you have time for her," Ruby sneered.

"It wasn't voluntary," her mother replied.

Ruby brushed past her and into the kitchen, asking if she had eaten.

"No," Charlie said, following her.

She hadn't eaten a full meal since Joey had left. Ruby slung a plate of something into the microwave.

"I cooked enough for two," she said without any warmth.

Charlie thanked her, asking how her day was.

"Fine," Ruby said. "School. Nothing especially interesting. What about you? Catch any bad guys?"

"Mostly paperwork," Charlie replied.

She wondered when things had become so awkward between them.

"Have you seen Mum-J?" Ruby wanted to know. "Have you made any progress in bringing her home?"

"I saw her at Salt," Charlie said.

She was heartbroken at the way her daughter's eyes lit up in hope.

"She was having dinner with Alex and Willow," Charlie explained. "But it's going to take a lot to bring her home."

Ruby's eyes narrowed, studying her.

"And are you actually going to do anything to try?" she asked.

The microwave pinged. Charlie took the hot food out and grabbed a fork, thanking her for dinner.

"I am," she said. "I just don't really know where to start."

"Well, you need to start figuring it out, Mum. She needs to come home. You need to start proving yourself."

Ruby walked back upstairs. Charlie grabbed a beer from the fridge, slumping onto the couch in front of the TV.


Joey returned to her apartment, which didn't seem like it could ever feel like home. Home wasn't a place. It wasn't possessions. Home was being with the people you loved. Home was her daughter. Home was the woman she had loved since she was just a teenager. When she was a teenager, she hadn't known what home felt like until she'd met Charlie. Her own family had never made her feel loved and safe. But Charlie and her parents had taken her in and loved her as their own. Even now that she and Charlie were broken up, her parents were in constant contact and had made it clear that they would always be there for Joey, no matter what. That's what home was. Her home were the people she had pledged to love and spend the rest of her life with.

Every day, she wondered if she had made a mistake. Every day, it felt like her heart was completely broken. She didn't think it could ever be repaired. She missed Charlie with every breath. But something had to change if she were to ever go home. She couldn't just return and slip back into a life of neglect and being taken for granted. So instead, she was facing a life alone.


Next time… Joey is asked out on a date…