"I wouldn't worry too much about it John," Irene said to him. "In her worry for Martha, she's not thinking clearly."
"It sounded like she meant something by it though," he said. He knew his daughter resented him because in her mind, he had abandoned her, but this was the first time she seemed to blame him for her mother's death.
"I don't know why she would say that about her mother," Irene said. "But then, Georgie's never spoken much of that day, other than what she told the investigators."
"Did she ever talk about me?"
"Not in a very flattering way and no, she never told me you were her father, but I suspected. One day, Michelle came home in a right state and after a few drinks, she told me about an encounter she had earlier in that day with some guy she'd once slept with. Now, she didn't mention any names and swore black and blue that her husband was Georgie's father and I had no reason to not believe her, but when I saw the way Georgie reacted toward you the first time, I put two and two together and realised Michelle had lied, not that Georgie ever confirmed anything to me about it." She sighed. "Georgie's silence is one trait I wish she hadn't picked up from her mother and she's never been one to open up or be pushed into something she's not ready for, so I just made sure I was there for her in any way I could be."
"I shouldn't have come here," John muttered. "All I ever do is upset her."
"Why don't you go home," Charlie suggested. "I'll keep you updated on everything."
He sighed, then nodded. "It would be best if I just stayed away," he murmured as he walked away with Gina trying to offer some comfort for him.
Shandi lingered a moment after her parents had left. "I really hope Martha is going to be ok."
"We all do," replied Charlie, who regarded Shandi with a curious expression. "It's a little weird to find out that I was sleeping with my cousin's sister."
"When you say it like that, it sounds kinda bad," joked Shandi. "I'm sorry I never said anything."
"My own cousin never bloody tells me anything, so I guess I can't really blame you when it was Georgie who wanted it kept secret." She glanced at the back of the departing John. "I was never really sure why she resented him so much, especially over such a long time, but I guess now I can sort of understand it."
"So do I, but the sad thing is, she resents my father for abandoning her, which he never did. He was made to believe he wasn't her father, otherwise he'd have made sure he was a part of her life."
"Georgie and I both know that we need to sit down and have a long talk one day and it sounds like she and your dad need to do the same."
"Yeah, good luck with making that happen." Shandi looked toward her nephew's room. "I probably should get out here as well as I tend to have the same effect on her as our father does. I'll see you guys later."
Charlie nodded to her, before walking over to where Joey and Ruby were sitting with Irene and Belle.
"As soon as there's news on Martha, I might take Ruby home," Joey told her.
Charlie looked at her sister who was trying very hard to keep her eyes open. "I'm sure it won't be much longer," she said. At least she hoped it wasn't. They all needed some assurance about their friend's condition. Noticing Roo leaving Jay's room, Charlie started to head in that direction. "I might go check in on Georgie."
Walking silently into the room, Charlie stood by her cousin's side and rested her hand on her shoulder.
"Jay looks so peaceful," she said after a few minutes of silence.
"I just hope I can give him some good news about his mum when he wakes." Georgie glanced up at her. "Or any news at all. Why is it taking so long?"
"I'm sure they're doing everything they can to help Martha and we'll know shortly."
"God I hope so."
"Georgie, what did you mean out there before?"
"I don't want him here Charlie, is that so hard to understand?"
"I'm talking about what you said to John about him being the reason your mother is dead."
"That's none of your business," she snapped, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry for biting your head off Charlie, but I just can't deal with that right now, because all I can think of is Martha."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up," Charlie said. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."
"I thought getting shot was hard, but this waiting for news is torture."
"Excuse me," Joey said from the doorway. "Rachel's heading this way."
Georgie jumped to her feet, then hesitated, her eyes darting from her son to the door and back again.
"I'll stay with him while you talk to Rachel, if that's what you're worried about," Joey offered.
"Thanks Joey, I just don't want him to be alone in case he wakes up."
"I won't leave his side until you're back," Joey assured her.
The first thing Charlie noticed when she left the room was her sister curled up asleep on the chair next to Irene and the next was a rather haggard looking Rachel.
"How is she?" Georgie asked in an urgent voice.
"She's critical but stable," answered Rachel.
Charlie squeezed her cousin's hand as they both listened intently.
"Martha lost a lot of blood, so it took some time to stabilise her."
"What about injuries, I mean, she was trapped by the legs," Georgie said.
"There was no break, but there was damage to her knee and numerous deep gashes, which was where the worst of her blood loss came from. There doesn't appear to be any nerve damage, so with a knee reconstruction and physio, Martha should have no lasting problems with her legs, other than the possibility of some scarring."
"Thank god, because I'm not sure I could have handled it if we both had matching limps."
Despite the seriousness of things, they all allowed themselves a little smile at that.
"Martha did manage to crack a couple of ribs though," Rachel continued on. "And she has extensive bruising to her chest and side."
"So she's going to be ok though, right?" asked Georgie.
"The blood loss is a concern because it put a lot of pressure on her heart, but with each passing hour, her prognosis improves."
"Is it possible to be relieved and still terrified?"
"Yes. Georgie, Martha isn't out of danger just yet, but her prognosis is a lot better now than it was when she was first brought in and I have confidence that it will continue to improve."
"Thank you Rachel, I know this couldn't have been easy for you either."
"It's never easy when I have to treat someone I'm close to. I should actually call Tony and give him an update. Even though Jack is gone, he still sees Martha like a daughter and he absolutely adores his grandson."
"When is he due back?"
"At the end of the month, though when I called him earlier to tell him about the accident, he wanted to jump on the first plane home, but he rarely gets to see his other kids since they moved overseas, so I told him to stay over there until I could let him know how Jay and Martha were doing. I really need to be getting back to Martha now."
"Thanks again Rachel."
"What are you going to do now?" Charlie asked her cousin.
"I'm spending the night in with Jay, so I'm going to try to get some sleep," she replied. "Thanks again for being here Charlie, I don't think I would have made it this far without you."
"I'll be there for you if you need me for anything and I can stay here tonight if you want me to."
"Thanks for the offer, but I think you should get your family home."
Charlie smiled when she heard her sister snoring softly. "Call me if you need anything."
"I will." Georgie stepped forward and hugged Charlie before hurrying away.
After Charlie had updated everyone to Martha's condition, she waited around a little longer, watching over her cousin, who had fallen asleep almost the moment she had lain down on the bed, her little boy now nestled peacefully in her arms. She wished she could ease the stressed look that was marring Georgie's face, even in sleep, but she had a feeling it would be with her until Martha was completely out of danger.
She sensed Joey behind her moments before her girlfriend's arms were wrapping around her waist.
"You ready to go home?" Joey murmured softly.
"Yeah, though you might need to carry me along with Ruby, because I'm about ready to drop."
"Maybe we could borrow a wheelchair to get the two of you to the car."
"Ah no, I think I'd prefer to leave under my own steam after all."
"Night," Ruby mumbled to the two women as she headed straight for her bed, her eyes barely open.
"Goodnight Ruby," Charlie called out.
"Do you want a nightcap?" asked Joey.
Charlie yawned before answering. "Only if we can have it in bed."
"It's been a long day, hasn't it?"
"And it started off so well."
"As soon as Martha is better, we can have a belated celebration of your promotion."
"I'd gladly give the promotion up if it meant I could change what happened today."
"I don't understand how anybody could leave behind someone who had been hurt like that," Joey said with a shake of her head. "Especially when there was also a little boy involved."
"Seeing people at their worst is an unfortunate part of my job," Charlie said. "And leaving someone behind to suffer is a person at their worst." She yawned again.
"Why don't you go and get ready for bed and I'll bring the drinks in."
"Thanks baby."
Joey smiled when she walked into their room a few minutes later; Charlie was sound asleep on top of the covers but at least she'd managed to get into her nightgown before she had bombed out. Grabbing a light blanket from the trunk at the foot of the bed, she placed it over her sleeping girlfriend and kissed her forehead, before quickly changing and climbing in behind her, spooning her. This wasn't quite how she imagined spending her first night after officially moving in, but at least they were together and she could snuggle with her girlfriend in their bed. Their bed in their room in their house. Joey smiled. It had a nice ring of togetherness to it, she thought as she moved closer against Charlie's back and closed her eyes.