"I love you," Charlie repeats. She'd never said those words to another woman and meant it as much as she did now.
"Mmmm," Joey groans.
"Joey! Are you ok?"
Opening her eyes slowly, Joey stares into blue eyes filled with concern and love. "Hey."
"Hey yourself," Charlie says with a huge sigh of relief. "God, you scared me Joey."
"Aww fuck," she winces when she sits up straighter. "Charlie, what happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell me." She gently cups Joey's chin, holding her head still while she studies the mark on her jaw. "It looks like you were punched by someone."
"Bloody feels like more than a punch," complains Joey as she rubs the back of her head, feeling a bump there. She pulls her hand away, grimacing when she sees blood on her fingers. "Definitely more than a punch."
"You probably hit your head on the coffee table or something on the way down." She hugs her closer and kisses her temple.
"Charlie."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. Joey, do you have any idea who did this?"
"No." She looks at Charlie. "The last thing that I can remember clearly is you walking into the club with Shandi."
Charlie curses silently, finding it typical that was the one thing she had to remember clearly. "Shandi is just a friend who needed a place to crash and some clean clothes."
"She's not just a friend, she's your ex."
"Nothing happened. She wanted it to, but I stopped her."
"You did?"
"I did. Joey, you are the only woman I want to be with." Not caring if it was the wrong time or if she was pushing things, Charlie presses her lips to hers. Feeling no resistance, she deepens the kiss.
"Only you could turn dropping a pay cheque off into a make out session with a married woman," Georgie says dryly as she strides into the house. "We're supposed to be heading back to the station."
"That's going to have to wait, I need to get Joey to the hospital."
"Why, what happened?"
"I think she was attacked."
"Are you ok Joey?"
"I think so."
"We still need to get you checked out, you were unconscious when I found you."
"Joey wasn't the only one attacked," remarks Georgie, walking over to examine a hole in the wall. "Looks like someone punched a hole in the wall and they were nice enough to leave some blood behind."
"Georgie, call this in, then I want you to check with the neighbours, ask them if they saw anyone hanging around."
"Will do." She helps Charlie get Joey to her feet.
"I'm sorry Georgie, I know you were due to go off duty," Charlie says.
"It's fine and it's more important to find out what happened here," she says, though she suspected once she got to sleep, it would be for a full week.
They'd driven to the hospital in silence, their minds on what had happened earlier and now that they were sitting in an exam room waiting for the doctor, Charlie finally speaks up. "I shouldn't have kissed you," she says. "And I don't want you to think I'm pressuring you in anyway, it's just," her voice trails off.
"It's ok Charlie and that kiss had me feeling a lot of things, but pressure wasn't one of them. There are some big decisions I need to make and I had thought I'd reached one this morning."
"Please don't let that misunderstanding with Shandi influence you," Charlie appeals to her. "I promise you, nothing is going on with Shandi."
"I believe you Charlie and I'm not sure what's going to happen next, but I do know that my…"
"Oh god Joey," Angelo barges in. "I came as soon as I heard."
Charlie groans in frustration at the interruption.
"What the hell happened?" he asks.
"I don't remember."
"But you're ok?"
"We're just waiting for the doctor to examine her," Charlie says.
"Thank you for looking after her Charlie, but I'm here now," he says, clearly dismissing her.
"I need to take her statement." Not that it couldn't wait, she thought, she just didn't want to leave just yet.
"I can do that."
"You're her husband, you can't have anything to do with this investigation."
"She doesn't remember anything."
"I still need to take her statement."
"Angelo, I want Charlie to stay," Joey says.
"Fine, now where's the damn doctor!"
"Right here," Rachel says with a smile.
"Well it's about time," Angelo snaps.
"Sorry I kept you waiting Joey, but I've been in with a difficult pregnancy and we're a doctor down."
"It's ok Rachel," Joey says with a glare at her husband for his rudeness.
She walks over to Joey. "Now, what do we have here?"
"I found her lying unconscious on the floor, there's a bruise to her jaw as if she was punched and she hit the back of her head on something, probably the edge of the coffee table," Charlie informs her.
"That does fit with this bump on the back here. Sorry," she says when Joey winces. "So Joey, were you going for matching bumps with Charlie?" Rachel asks with a look at Charlie that said 'why aren't you at home resting instead of standing there in uniform'.
"I felt better, so I went to work," Charlie says under Rachel's uncompromising gaze.
"Oh and your word about your health just inspires me with such confidence."
"I still have a bit of a headache," she finally admits.
"I suppose I'll be wasting my time telling you to rest again, won't I."
"I promise to take it easy."
"Just look after yourself better Charlie." She turns her attention back to Joey. "How are you feeling and please don't take your example from our stoic friend over there with your answer."
Joey smiles a little at that. "I have a splitting headache and some things are kind of hazy at the moment, though they are becoming clearer, just not what happened to me, with that, I can't remember a thing."
"Memory loss isn't unusual for head trauma." She gently works Joey's jaw. "Doesn't seem to be any serious damage but that bruise is going to get worse. It definitely looks like a fist caused this."
"Everything is ok though, right doctor?" Angelo asks.
"You might need a stitch or two for this head wound," she addresses Joey and not Angelo. "And I'd like to run some scans to rule out any fractures to your skull and jaw, but other than having a headache and rather nasty bruise and bump, I think you're going to be ok. Why don't you make yourself comfortable while I go and organise those scans."
"Thanks Rachel."
"Yes, thank you doctor," Angelo murmurs, his attention solely on his wife.
Charlie glances down at her feet to avoid looking at Angelo giving Joey a kiss.
"Hey, Charlie," Georgie signals her from the doorway, "Can I speak to you?"
Standing just outside the room where she could keep an eye on Joey, she asks her cousin what she'd found out.
"Most of the neighbours weren't home but I found one who had something of interest to say."
Angelo tries to eavesdrop, but they were speaking too low. He didn't like the way they kept glancing into the room as they spoke though. "If this is about my wife, I want to know," he demands, his anger growing as they ignore him.
Charlie sighs once Georgie had finished her account of what the neighbour had told her; it wasn't what either of them had expected or wanted to hear. "What about the blood from the wall?"
"A sample was taken, we just need a reference to compare it to."
"We might have cause for a warrant to get that reference sample."
Georgie follows Charlie's line of sight. "Shit," she mutters. Things really weren't looking good for him, which meant things could be about to get awkward for them.
"I didn't see his hand before, but that looks like the sort of injury you could get from putting your fist through a wall."
"I'd have to agree."
"This could get messy, especially if we're wrong," Charlie says. "You sure you don't want to go home? You are supposed to be off duty by now."
"I'll see it through. Charlie, all we are doing here is following a legitimate line of enquiry."
"He might not see it that way."
"That's his problem. He's the husband, most times that's enough to make him a suspect, add in that he left the station in a hurry over an hour before we found Joey, also the neighbour's statement and Angelo's hand and we'd be negligent in our duties to not follow it up."
Charlie's lips twitch. "You're dying to say that to him if he makes a complaint, aren't you?"
"Oh yeah and even if it turns out we are wrong, we're only doing what we'd do in any other investigation, regardless of who is involved. If he causes trouble, we're covered."
"Let's get this over with then."
They walk back into the room, Charlie taking the lead. "Angelo, we need you to come down to the station."
"Why?" he demands.
"We need you to answer some questions."
"I don't see what questions you need to ask me and I'm not leaving my wife, so why don't you go and do your job elsewhere."
"Angelo, you need to come with us."
"Do I have to order you out of here Snr Constable?"
"I don't want to have to do this, but if you won't come willingly, then I will arrest you."
"Arrest me!" he says incredulously. "What the fuck for?"
"On suspicion of assaulting your wife," Charlie replies in an even voice.