"Charlie!"
Charlie had barely turned toward Joey's voice when her girlfriend was crushing her in a hug. "I heard on the news that a cop was hurt and someone was dead so I rushed to the hospital when I couldn't get a hold of you."
"I'm sorry, my mobile is back at the station, but I'm ok Joey, I didn't get so much as a scratch," Charlie assures her, holding her close. "Aden was hurt though." At Joey's gasp, she holds her a little tighter. "He's ok Joey but he did receive burns to his arms and hands when the arsonist set himself alight and Aden tried to put him out."
"Bloody typical," mutters Joey, thinking her friend's bravery sometimes came at the expense of his commonsense. It was just as well though, for his bravery was the reason she still had Charlie to hold on to after the last fire.
"Rachel said the burns weren't deep and would heal in time, probably without even scarring, so I don't want you stressing and neither does Aden, it's not good for your health."
"As soon as I see that Aden is fine with my own eyes, then I will stop stressing."
"Don't you believe me when I say he's fine?" She asks with a slightly amused tone.
"You're a cop Charlie, so is Aden and one thing I've learnt, is that your definitions of being fine tend to vary from mine and everyone else's." She sighs and steps back. "God, the two of you playing hero is going to have me pulling my hair out with worry one of these days."
"I can only promise you that I'll take every precaution to be careful, but in this job," Charlie shrugs.
"Yeah I know. I may not like you being in danger, but being a cop is who you are and it's something I'm going to have to deal with, because I'm never giving you up."
Charlie smiles. She hated to worry her girlfriend, but she loved it when Joey spoke about being committed to her.
"So, what exactly happened out there?" asks Joey.
"Well, Brax gave up the guy in exchange for having the murder charge downgraded to manslaughter, provided Brax's help led to the arsonist's capture and once the DPP approved the deal, we had Brax call the guy to arrange another arson and then we laid in wait for him to turn up. Unfortunately, our friendly little arsonist wasn't too keen on being arrested, so before we could stop him, he poured accelerant onto himself, set himself alight and killed himself."
"Shit," Joey shivered. The man may not have been a very nice person and a murderer who nearly killed her girlfriend, but still, burning yourself to death was a horrible and painful way to go. "Who was he?" she asks.
"As we had suspected, he wasn't a local and we found id in a car nearby that says his name was Jake Pirovic, but so far, that's proven to be yet another alias. We do have some officers out searching for the place where he was camping out while he was doing Brax's dirty work, but somehow, I don't think we'll find anything there that will be all that helpful in identifying him. Everything about him is fake, including the plates on the car and he's done a very good job at covering his tracks, so we may never find out his real name."
"At least the arsons will stop now, though it does seem a little unfair that Brax gets off so lightly when he was just as responsible as the arsonist for a man's death and nearly killing you."
"Oh, he won't be getting off lightly. Just because the charges were downgraded to manslaughter, he's still in a hell of a lot of trouble and from what we've heard, the tax office aren't willing to settle for anything less than the maximum jail time for tax fraud, so they're going in for the kill and they have a very strong case against him."
Joey chuckles. "Oh boy, you don't fuck with the tax office."
"Definitely not and I have a feeling that Brax will be facing more serious charges now that the Drug Squad has revealed that they've been keeping an eye on part of the company's shipping arrangements."
"Gee, don't you cops ever communicate with each other?"
"Even Robertson was pissed to find out we weren't the only ones looking into CBJ," Charlie said, recalling the rather colourful language coming from Robertson after he'd spoken to the officer in charge of that side of the investigation. "But now that Brax has been unmasked as one of the ones definitely involved, our resources and information can be pooled and with new charges pending, Brax will be facing a jail sentence that will be as lengthy as it would have been had he been convicted of murder."
It pleased Joey that he wouldn't be getting off so lightly with his crimes, but she felt sorry for her friend. "I know Leah has said that their marriage is over, but this still has to come as a bit of a shock to her."
Charlie nods. "We'll help her through it."
"Thank god Charlie," Ruby blurts out as she rushes toward them, with Martha and Jay following closely behind her.
Charlie hugs her sister. "I'm fine, so is Georgie," she tells Martha, who sighs in relief.
"Where is she?"
"She was having a word with Aden, last I saw her." She points toward the room at the end of the corridor before Martha could even ask. Martha hurried off in that direction.
"When Joey called to say a cop had been hurt, I thought the worst," Ruby tells her sister.
"I'm so sorry for worrying you like that Ruby, I think it was part of my own panic showing through," said Joey.
"I preferred to hear it from you than on the news."
"I would have preferred you both heard it from me," said Charlie. "I should have called to let you know I was safe or at least had another officer fill you in."
"You had other concerns Charlie," Joey tells her in understanding. "And you're fine and that's all that really matters."
"Martha, I know my limitations with my limp, so I wasn't even at the scene," Georgie said, having met up with Martha moments after stepping from Aden's room. "I just came here to check in on everyone."
"Including Charlie?"
Georgie shrugs without answering while holding her little boy close. "He looks about ready for bed."
"I was just about to put him down," admits Martha. She had no idea what Brax was trying to achieve, but one look at her girlfriend's tender expression while their son was gently nestled in her arms, his head on her shoulder as he started to nod off and she had no doubts at all about Georgie where Jay was concerned. There was a nagging feeling though, that had started to plague her since they had spoken earlier about Brax's intimations about her and while she had assured Georgie that she believed in her completely, Georgie had been furious at Brax and had insisted on telling her that Brax knew nothing that could hurt them. The conversation had left Martha with the feeling that Georgie was definitely hiding something big from her, nothing to do with whatever Brax was trying to imply, but something about her past that she had kept from everyone. She always knew there were things about her girlfriend she had yet to learn and it hadn't altered her belief in her in any way, but she did hope though, that Georgie would eventually open up about whatever it was, because she had a feeling it could affect their family in some way.
"I have to go to the station to make a statement about what happened at the scene and to tie up a few things, so do you want me to take you home on the way?" asks Charlie.
Joey shakes her head. "I want to see Aden first, so I'll take a taxi back."
"Well, I don't know how long I'll be, but I'll try and be home as quickly as I can. What about you Ruby?"
"I'll wait for Joey."
"Ok, then I'll see you guys later." She pauses in front of Joey and gently presses her lips to hers. "I love you."
"I love you too. I know you've probably been too busy to eat, so I'll have something waiting for you when you get back."
"Thank you. I'll try not to be too long." Kissing her again, Charlie heads off.
"Damn it Aden," Joey said the moment she walked into his room. "I'm going to get a Ouija board to annoy the hell out of you if you're ever inconsiderate enough to get yourself killed."
Despite the painkillers making him drowsy, he still managed a grin. "I always knew you cared."
"Of course I bloody well care, you're my best friend Aden but that doesn't mean I won't tear strips off you for putting your life in danger."
"I was just doing my job and when it happened, I just reacted."
Joey hugs him. "And that's why I love you, you're always thinking of others, but I'm still going to rip into you any time you risk your life. I don't want to lose you Aden."
"I ain't going anywhere."
"Not even now that the case is over?" Joey said with a tinge of sadness. "Your job here is finished, so won't you be heading back home to the city?"
Aden holds up his bandaged clad hands. "I'm going to be out of action for awhile, so I'm thinking of sticking around here."
"And your decision to stay has nothing to do with a certain, young journo?" Joey asks with a slight smirk.
He shrugs nonchalantly. Belle had been one of the first on the scene and she'd been royally pissed that he'd been hurt but then she had rushed away before she was scooped on her story. They'd never really spoken about their future and he had no idea where he stood with her but after the way she rushed off, he feared that her interest in him had been because she had needed to be close to the investigation and was using him as a way to do that. Staying probably wasn't a good idea, but he couldn't bring himself to leave just yet and besides, his best friend was still here, so that was one reason to stay.
"Earth to Aden," Joey prods him gently.
"Sorry, I think it's the painkillers," he lied.
"I should go, let you get some rest."
"Thanks Joey."
"If you need anything, just give me a call."
"I will."
Joey hugs him again. "I'm glad you're staying," she whispers, before leaving.
Next chapter, Joey helps Charlie to unwind after a very long day.