"You can open your eyes now," Ruby joked as she pulled the car to the curb near one of the school gates.
Joey chuckled. The morning had started off wonderfully with Charlie in their bed, then over breakfast, Ruby had reminded her of her promise of a driving lesson today and her nice start to the day had suddenly taken on a downward slide into fear, which Charlie had gleefully teased her over, until Joey reminded her that she'd failed her own driving test and the way she'd done so. Turning the teasing back onto Charlie had taken her mind off her impending doom, err, she meant lesson, until it had come time to get into the passenger side of the car while Ruby hopped behind the wheel. That was twenty minutes ago.
"So, how did I do?" Ruby asked.
"Actually, not bad," Joey replied. "Not too bad at all, especially for your first lesson."
Ruby smiled proudly.
"Don't go getting too cocky though," Joey warned her. "Remember what happened to Charlie when she did that?"
"Good point." She grinned at Joey, "My sister really doesn't like being reminded of that."
"Of course not," Joey said, returning her grin. "It would be bad for her image of being the most capable cop in all the world if people found out how she failed a simple driving test."
"I think it hurt her pride even more when Georgie the Lead Foot passed her test first go."
"Is Georgie really that bad a driver?"
"She's a great driver," Ruby told her. "She just had this habit of viewing speed limits as a guide rather than an actual rule and so tended to ignore them, hence the name, Georgie the Lead Foot."
Joey chuckled again. The two cousins really were poles apart, especially in temperament, yet she couldn't help but see similarities between Charlie and Georgie as well; stubborn being one of them.
"It's different now though, now that she's a mother," Ruby explained. "If anything, when Jay is in the same car as her, she's more likely to go under the speed limit."
"You admire your cousin, don't you?" Joey asked gently.
Ruby nodded. "Her childhood was so different to ours and she had to come so far to get where she is now and so yeah, I admire her for that."
"She's certainly an interesting character."
"That she is," agreed Ruby. "I never really got that whole Buckton vs Watson family rivalry thing and as I was the baby of the family, I was kept out of the loop about a lot of it, so I don't know everything that went on back then, but Georgie has always treated me just fine. I guess that's probably because she never viewed me as a rival."
"Like she did with Charlie?"
"Maybe rival isn't the right word, but I used to feel that Georgie was competing with Charlie, before I realised it was more that she was competing with herself." Ruby shrugged, "She's a Watson and around here, that's like a chain around your neck."
"Except she's not a Watson," Joey pointed out. "She's a Palmer."
"Yeah, we all know that now, but she grew up a Watson and people can be slow to forget."
"Just because of what her last name is?"
"It's dumb, I know, but that's how it is. In comparison, being Bucktons has afforded Charlie and me certain privileges. If we fucked up, people would be quick to overlook it and see it as a brief aberration, while people just shrugged and shook their heads at Georgie whenever she got into trouble and called her a typical Watson, as if they never expected anything different from her."
"Actually, now that I think about it, it's not so dumb or that different from how I grew up," Joey said. "As much as I don't like it, when I was growing up, it was all about the family name and having money meant people treated you differently and let more things slide."
"Do you know that from personal experience?"
Joey smiled at the almost gleeful sparkle in Ruby's eyes at the thought of learning some juicy gossip about her. "I got into my share of teenage mischief, but I was talking more about others that I knew." She sighed and stared out the window as the memories came to her. "I had a brother." She said had, Ruby realised, which meant something must have happened to him and now she felt guilty for bringing it up. "His name was Brett and he was dad's Golden Boy and great hope to carry on the family name," Joey explained. "But all Brett wanted, was to be able to choose his own path and not the one dad set out for him. He started to rebel and the more trouble he got into, the more dad covered for him, which was the worst thing he could have done, because once Brett started to realise he could do anything and dad would still protect him, he became more reckless."
"You don't have to say anything more if it's too upsetting," Ruby said to her when Joey's voice caught.
"If we're going to be a family, then you and Charlie should know about my family, just as I'm learning about your family," Joey said. "Anyway, Brett's increased recklessness, included drugs and binge drinking and then one day, he was out partying with friends when he did too many drugs and too much alcohol and fell off the balcony from their ten storey apartment. He died on impact."
"I'm so sorry Joey," Ruby said.
"I hated him using and drinking, but in a way, I like to think he died doing what he wanted and that makes it a little easier."
Thinking of her brother just now, had her thinking of Angelo. Despite them being friends, she'd never really considered the similarities between them before, because until recently, she had always viewed Angelo as a good man. That's not to say her brother wasn't a good man, he was, he just couldn't handle the pressure placed upon him and so he self destructed, yet both were the eldest sons of wealthy families who pandered to them while expecting too much of them at times. And both used drugs, though she'd only just found out about Angelo's drug taking, but there were other similarities there, if only she'd bothered to look a little harder.
"Are you ok Joey?" Ruby asked in concern at her silence.
"I'm fine," Joey said. "There's just a few things that I've recently started to realise, that's all."
"Well, you have me and Charlie here for you, if you ever need to talk."
Joey smiled at her. "Thanks Ruby, Charlie is lucky to have you as a sister."
"That's not what she always says," Ruby said with a cheeky grin.
"That's because little sisters can sometimes be big pains in big sisters butts," replied Joey.
"Yep, that's about what she says and the same goes for big sisters being big pains in little sisters butts." Ruby looked thoughtfully at Joey. "You know, you've turned my sister into an absolute sap who can't even have brekkie without gazing adoringly over her coffee mug at you, but I wouldn't change anything. Charlie has sacrificed so much for me and it's time she started thinking more of herself, especially now that I'm old enough to take care of myself."
"She's always going to be your big sister and want to look out for you."
"Yeah I know, but she doesn't have to put her life on hold anymore to do it."
"I don't think Charlie ever saw it that way."
"I know she didn't, but sometimes, it's hard not to think of how different things could have been if mum and dad hadn't died and Charlie hadn't been forced to come home to take care of me."
"I've been doing a lot of 'what ifs' myself lately, but there are things that have happened that can't be changed, no matter how we may wish it and so we should just take the now."
"Now is pretty good," Ruby said.
"It's very good," agreed Joey.
"So I gathered from the sounds coming from your room this morning," smirked Ruby.
"If you're looking at me to blush and be embarrassed about you hearing us having sex, it ain't going to happen," Joey told her. "I love Charlie and I don't care if the whole world knows it."
"Pretty sure even the neighbours figured that out this morning."
Joey laughed. "Your sister does bring out the best in me, especially in the bedroom," Joey said suggestively and Ruby covered her ears.
"I don't want to know any details." She was starting to realise that Joey wasn't as easy a target as her sister was.
"You'd best be off to class now," Joey told her. "Or you'll be late."
Ruby grabbed her bag. "Thanks for the lesson Joey," she said hurriedly and was out the door to the sound of Joey's laughter.
"Oh yeah," Joey chuckled. "She's definitely a Buckton, all tease but prudish when it comes back at them."
"Thanks," Graves said, taking her coffee from Irene.
"Are you avoiding me?" a voice from behind startled her and Graves very nearly spilt her drink all over her top. Shannon chuckled. "Is wearing a drink going to be a common theme around me?" she teased.
"It might very well be," Graves replied with a smile. "And the answer to your first question, is no, I'm not avoiding you."
"It's just that I was hoping to hear from you and when I didn't, I thought that maybe you weren't really interested."
"It's only been a day."
"One day becomes another, then another and before you know it, life is passing you by and you've missed out on what may end up being your heart's desires," Shannon said in a solemn voice but Graves could see the playful tug at the corner of her lips.
"We haven't even gone on a first date and you're already talking heavy like this," Grave said, playing along. "I probably should run the other way."
"I'd probably run as well if someone had used that line on me," she replied with a rueful smile. "Come on though, I'm not going to be sticking around here forever, so take a chance while I'm still here," Shannon said. "And I promise, all I'm after is some fun and some pleasant company, nothing serious, if that's what you're worried about."
She hadn't been in a serious relationship for some time, but with her mind on the job more than off it at the moment, anything serious really didn't fit into her plans. Fun on the other hand, not only fitted in, but would be a welcome distraction. Graves reached a decision. "Unless something comes up in the mean time, then I'm free tonight."
"It's a date then." Shannon smiled suggestively at her, "I'm looking forward to learning a bit more about you, Doogie."
"Then the first thing you should know is that I absolutely hate that nickname."
"Since I haven't yet earned the right to even know your first name, what should I call you then?"
"Graves is fine."
"No offence, but that kind of sounds like something is dead and buried."
Graves grinned. "I know, but I'm definitely not dead."
Shannon eyed her up and down, an appreciative smile on her face. "Definitely not." She wrote on a bit of paper and handed it to Graves. "Call me with a time and place and I'll be there."
Graves took her number and left the diner with a spring in her step. Shannon was bringing out a different, more flirty and playful side to her and she really hoped she wasn't making a mistake with her.
Charlie was a little nervous about her cousin returning to work today after spending time off to be with Martha. Things had been better between them lately, but Martha's accident meant that they hadn't had a chance to deal with the fallout from their last misunderstanding at work, ok, to be fair, it was her plainly getting it wrong about her cousin and Brax. Her cousin had every right to have been upset at her for assuming she'd rushed off to warn Brax just before his arrest. It was people making assumptions like that, that had made it hard for Georgie to be accepted in both the Bay and the Force and for her own cousin to have leapt to the wrong conclusion without even having the decency to speak to her first, just added to it.
She'd spoken to Joey earlier about this and Joey seemed to think it wouldn't be a problem, that Georgie had most likely moved passed it or even forgotten about it in her worry for Martha. Charlie wasn't so sure, her cousin had a long memory after all, but she hoped that their time together throughout the ordeal with Martha had proven to Georgie that she did care and was supportive and if necessary, she'd grovel and beg forgiveness. Ok, maybe not the grovelling and begging part, but she'd certainly do what she could to assure Georgie how sorry she was for getting it wrong.
"With any luck, things will be ok though," Charlie told herself as she strode into the station.
"Charlie, Insp. Joyce is waiting for you in your office," Avery informed her the moment she was inside.
"Thanks Patrick." She frowned slightly as she made her way to her office. It was rare for Joyce to turn up without first calling ahead and she walked into her office with some trepidation.
The expression on his face when he turned to greet her did little to allay her concerns.
"You're not here to tell me that my promotion has all been a big mistake, have you?" she joked in an attempt at levity and though he did smile briefly, it was pretty obvious he was here on a serious matter.
"Sgt Buckton is here to stay," he assured her. "I even brought these for you."
He pushed a little box across her desk and Charlie opened it. "Sergeant's stripes," she murmured.
"It's a little late and without the pomp and ceremony, but you earned those Charlie."
"Thanks David and with everything going on, I'd rather forego the pomp and ceremony anyway," she told him. Charlie sat back in her chair and held his gaze. "But I'm sure you didn't come all this way just to hand me these."
"There is another matter I needed to speak to you personally about," he said and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, hating what he had to do. "Angelo Rosetta's suspension has been overturned and he will be returning to the Station for duty as of today."
Charlie just stared at him, at first uncertain she'd heard him right and then in shock when what he had said finally sunk in. She was completely staggered by this news and her mind was already going over the impact this was going to have on everyone here, especially for her and Georgie.
"How in the hell did this happen?" a shell shocked Charlie finally managed to ask.