Charlie had been lucky not to pick up a speeding ticket as she had rushed to the hospital after Aden's call. Now, she hovered outside the room Joey was sitting in, just taking a moment to watch her girlfriend. She seemed so distraught and it had Charlie fearing the worst. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the room.
"Charlie, you came."
"Of course I came." Charlie rushes over to her side and pulls her into her arms. "Are you ok?"
"I've had some tests and I'm just waiting for the results." She holds tightly to Charlie. "Rachel thinks I might be pregnant
Charlie tries not to react to the emotions suddenly rushing over her, fear Joey would leave her and go back to make a family with her husband, fear of, well, just fear of the unknown.
"I don't want to be pregnant, Charlie."
There was something in her voice that worried Charlie and she put her own fears aside. She stepped back so she could gaze at Joey's face. "What is it Joey?"
Joey looks down at her feet as the words start tumbling from her mouth. "I love you Charlie and even if I'm pregnant, I'm not going back to Angelo but I don't expect you to stick by me."
"Joey, I'm not going anywhere," she assures her. "Granted, I've never really given much thought to kids, but I love you Joey and if you are pregnant, then that baby is a part of you and I'm not going to walk away, not now that I finally have you in my life."
"It's a big responsibility."
"I came back to the Bay to look after my little sister, I didn't have to as I could have taken her back to the city or shirked my responsibilities completely and let Georgie or Irene take her in, but she was my sister and my responsibility and I've never regretted it or resented her in anyway."
Joey finally raises her head. "I'm scared Charlie, if I'm pregnant, then that ties me to Angelo forever."
Not a pleasant proposition, Charlie thought to herself. "And I'll be there by your side forever but there's more to this, isn't there?"
Joey walks a few steps away from her. "I've been pregnant before and I didn't cope at all."
"You've been pregnant to Angelo before?" Charlie says softly, despite her shock at this revelation.
"No. It was when I was 16 and it was some kid from school. It was only the once but as they say, it only takes one time." Joey pauses. "I was so scared and it was a difficult pregnancy, I had really bad morning sickness, I really didn't cope well at all, but over time, things got a little easier and I grew to love the idea of being a mum." Charlie stayed silent, letting Joey go at her own pace. "Then I went into labour, it was long and it wasn't easy." She closes her eyes. "And then he was there, my beautiful little boy."
Charlie's heart breaks at the pain in Joey's voice, dreading what she was going to say next. "He was so tiny and he was so quiet." She couldn't stop the tears as they came. "I knew something was wrong, but the nurse told me to relax but it was too late, my little boy never stood a chance."
"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Charlie gathers her in her arms again.
"They said it was just an unforseen complication and the chances of it happening again are so small, but it's always there in the back of my mind and I'm terrified of going through another difficult pregnancy only to lose my baby again."
"I can't begin to know how you feel Joey, I can only tell you that I am here for you and I'll be there with you every step of the way."
"You might change your mind if I'm puking all the time," Joey says, trying to lighten her own mood.
"I'm a cop, believe me, I've seen plenty of puke in my line of work, so I think I can handle it."
"Pregnancy made me an absolute cow at times."
"Again, my line of work, I can handle it and have you not met my cousin?"
"Georgie's not a cow."
"No, but she can be extremely difficult at times."
"What if this time, I have a healthy baby, that will make you a step-mum, are you really ready for that?"
"Keep thinking positively Joey and you will have a healthy baby." Joey smiles in gratitude at her words. "As for being ready to be a step-mum, I," she shrugs.
"It's ok Charlie. I can hardly expect you to be ready for this when I'm not. Besides, this worry might all be for nothing, I don't even know if I am pregnant."
"Whatever happens from today, we'll deal with it together." She gently caresses Joey's cheek. "You won't be alone Joey, I promise you that." For Joey's sake, Charlie hoped she could honour her word and stick by her through this but everything was happening so fast and the sudden possibility of a baby on the scene scared her more than she wanted to admit.
Joey smiles wryly at the mix of emotions flickering over her girlfriend's face. "Things are going a bit fast, aren't they, I mean, we've only just gotten together and kids should be the furtherest thing from our minds."
"Everything is certainly happening fast lately," Charlie muses. "Joey, if you're pregnant, we'll deal with it and as for the future, well, we still have a lot to talk about and not just about kids."
"I know we have a lot to talk about, I just don't want you to feel pressured into supporting me if you're not ready for this."
"I don't feel pressured into supporting you. Joey, I love you and I want to be with you and while I may not be ready to be a step-mum and I'm a little scared at the pace things are happening, I do like kids, I've even babysat for Jay at times and thoroughly enjoyed it."
"He's a cute kid."
"That he is and you were a natural with him." She suddenly recalls that night in Jay's room. "You were remembering your own baby that night." Joey nods. "Joey, can I ask, is it just being pregnant that you fear or do you not want kids at all?"
"I like the idea of a family, it's just the whole pregnancy bit needed to achieve that family I don't like."
"In case you haven't noticed, you're not the only one in this relationship capable of being pregnant." Charlie frowns after she says that, surprised by her own words when only moments earlier, the idea of a baby scared her.
"How about we just deal with my possible pregnancy first before we start planning yours," Joey says lightly.
Chuckling, Charlie brushes her lips over Joey's. "I am kind of confused right now, but I want to be there for you Joey, through the ups and downs, through the laughter and sadness." She cups Joey's face in her hands. "That's what being together means and I want to be with you forever."
Joey felt her girlfriend's love, strength and warmth rush over her. "I am so happy you are in my life."
"I feel the same." She presses her lips gently to Joey's. "I love you so much Joey."
"I love you too." Joey steps back and takes both of Charlie's hands. "I heard about your promotion, so congrats."
"It's only temporary for the moment."
"You'll get it because it should have been yours to begin with."
"If I hadn't been overlooked the first time, then you wouldn't have come back into my life."
"Finding you again is definitely a silver lining to the mess I got myself into. I should have had the guts to follow my heart back then with you and never gone through with this marriage, especially now with what's happened." She sighs heavily. "No doubt dad and Angelo will be overjoyed if I am pregnant. How could dad do this to me Charlie, he knew how hard it was for me to watch my mother fade away." She shakes her head. "Marrying Angelo was my choice in the end, but I'll never forgive my father for this lie or for making me worry so much about leaving him. And how the hell did he expect to get away with this? I think I would have noticed that he hadn't died like he was supposed to."
"Maybe after a certain time and he thought there was no chance you'd leave Angelo, he'd have a miraculous recovery."
"And I'd be so overjoyed he was better that I probably wouldn't even question it. Actually, I probably shouldn't be all that surprised by his actions. He is ruthless in business and his family is a part of that business, so why would lying to and manipulating his daughter be any different for him."
When Aden had told her what had happened, the only reason Charlie hadn't gone straight to this Mr Collins and confronted him over what he'd done to his daughter, was because she'd been in such a hurry to be by Joey's side at the hospital. She just couldn't understand how a person could do that to someone they love.
"I don't know if Angelo knew the whole truth and played me like my father did, I'm not sure if that even really matters now that we're over," Joey says. "I'm just so angry that I let myself get into this mess and now I could be stuck married to a guy for a year."
"A year?"
Joey found the mix of confusion and horror on Charlie's face rather adorable. "I've moved out and started proceedings, so I am legally separated from my husband, but I can only get a divorce after I've lived apart from Angelo for at least a year. Morag is trying to work around it, by arguing that it was an arranged marriage but it might not work and so I'll still be married to Angelo until I can finally get a divorce in a year."
"It doesn't matter, as long as we're together and Angelo knows it's over with him."
"It's just that the divorce papers would help to convince Angelo and my father that it's over and there's no going back."
"I think we're proof enough that your marriage is over and if they still need a hint, I'll kiss you in front of the entire town so there will be nowhere they can go where they won't get the hint."
"It would have to be a hell of a kiss," Joey says with a smirk.
"Oh, I think I can manage that."
"You really are amazing Charlie."
Charlie blushes at the compliment. "When are your test results due back?" she changes the subject.
"In a couple of hours."
"How about I go get us some food, then we can wait together."
"That sounds good."
Three hours later, Rachel pauses just outside the room. She never thought she'd see the day that Charlie Buckton would be taken off the market but going by the way she was lying on the bed, holding Joey, she felt it safe to say that Charlie's heart had been well and truly stolen by the woman in her arms.
Charlie and Joey both jump off the bed when Rachel steps into the room. "Joey, your test results are back."
"Rachel, am I pregnant?"