Thankyou to everyone who reviewed. Thoughts on the 2nd chapter are appreciated. Let me know what you think.
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Joey blinked twice as Charlie's voice consumed her. Turning around slowly, she finally got to see those beautiful blue eyes that she had longed to see for so long.
'Charlie….'
'Jo?... this must be a dream….' Charlie muttered as she kept looking around the hospital unsure of her surroundings. Images flashing before her eyes- Joey and her broken soul leaving on the boat, Hugo, Angelo and finally Brax. All the images were swimming together; the final crushing image was Jake as he shot her twice in her own home. The world had gone black again….
Joey reached for the buzzer to alert Sid and the nurses. As she waited for them to come in she kept talking to Charlie attempting to pull her back out of unconsciousness, stroking her hand and reassuring her she wasn't going anywhere.
Ruby had finally come back to the hospital room, admitting defeat. Brax had left in true River Boy style. Surprisingly he admitted he had no wish to fight if Charlie was only going to give up anyway. Their whole relationship was a fight to be together. He couldn't do it anymore.
As Ruby looked to the commotion in the Charlie's room, she questioned what was going on. Her eyes almost popped out in amazement when told Charlie had woken up and acknowledged Joey's presence briefly.
Everyone but Joey was asked to leave when Sid realized there was no room to breathe. Leah, Alf, Marilyn, Xavier and Casey shuffled out of the room with Ruby and Morag. Everyone was excited by the turn of events but still concerned for Charlie and that she had not woken up for a longer period of time.
"Dr…." Joey asked.
"Sid, please Joey, there's no need to be so formal" Sid replied with a laugh.
"Sorry, Sid…." Joey stammered, "I don't understand, Charlie woke up, but nothing she said really made sense, I thought may she wasn't really conscious when she spoke?"
"Well Joey, you never know how a person will react to trauma. Until Charlie wakes up for a longer period of time, we will be unable to determine what damage has been done."
"What do you think we're really looking at? Please Sid, be honest. I came back to make peace at best but now with Charlie having woken up, if only for a short time I need to know. Can she come back to us without serious repercussions?"
"Well…. Joey…." Sid slowly contemplated his reply. "in these situations you never know, not for sure. I mean Charlie could wake up and have some type of memory loss or she could wake up and be fine in all aspects of her memory. Physically she should be ok as the surgery went well. There will be some rehab just to get her fitness levels back up as any extended period of time lying in a hospital bed can take its toll. I'm sorry Joey, until Charlie wakes up we just can't preanticipate what we're looking at."
Sid left the room, leaving Joey with her thoughts. Looking out the window she attempted to re-psyche herself for Charlie's sake. She could make out the beach in the distance, her memories taking her back to a happier time- shortly after she met Charlie and moved in with her they had gone running on the beach. There was so much chemistry and happiness caught up in the moment. Charlie had once told her that Ruby had caught onto Joey's feelings much earlier than Charlie could have. Denial on Charlie's part had led to one of many hurdles in their relationship. Sighing, she sat back down. Now was not the time to wallow in pity she thought to herself, shaking her head.
As she searched Charlie's body for any response to her presence or voice, she kept talking; the only time she stopped was when she remembered her iPod. Looking for speakers to hook it up to, she smiled when she realized ruby had bought everything in Charlie's bag. Oddly enough, the only thing missing was the iPod.
Scanning her music, Joey quickly found the song she wanted. Memories came gushing back of the time on the boat. She had taken Charlie out on the Blaxland; they shared many 1st occasions on the boat that afternoon in 2009. Their 1st dance, their first kiss and for Joey- the first denial from Charlie as she run away. 'Love Only Hurts' was their song, as far as Joey was concerned, this was when she realized she loved Charlie, on that sunny afternoon. Her love for Charlie had never faded; it just got crushed by the wrongs of life and unfortunate decisions and incidents that stood in its path. Now there was one last chance to fight for the love they once shared," if only Charlie would wake up and realize I'm for real" Joey thought out loud.
As if on cue, a voice cut through the room- "Well Babe, you finally came back to me!"
Joey laughed and replied "Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you Sergeant?"
"Sergeant?... oh no Jo, I'm not in the force… you know that, I gave it all up for you."
Puzzled Joey continued talking to Charlie, hoping Sid would come back. He signaled at the door to his headphones. He was listening to the conversation via the recording microphone that had been specially set up in case Charlie woke up and began talking with no one there.
"Charlie, I think you might have made a mistake there…." Joey stammered, unsure of what to say.
"No, I'm so sure…. We were moving to the city. You, me and Ruby. Ruby begins uni this year and I wanted to join you in just being an ordinary citizen. No law related work" Charlie explained.
Grabbing Charlie's hand, Joey stroked it and could only reply with the simplest thing she could think of, "I've missed you Charlie". A single tear made its way down her cheek.
Charlie was taken aback by Joey's breakdown. Her thoughts were travelling at 100 miles an hour. How could her being in hospital break Joey down? Reaching over, Charlie gently wiped away the tear that had quickly become a waterfall.
"Shh, Joey, come now, you know there's no need for the tears. As soon as Sid lets me out, you're taking me out on your boat and we're going to sail into the sunset. We'll live in the city and I'll help you set up you cruise business on the harbour. Ruby will come out with us on the boat and then Casey…. Well I dunno… he could work for you. He's a good kid you know?"
Joey was stunned. She couldn't find the words to reply. Instead between sobs, she stammered "Charlie…. I love you".
Unknown to the two girls, a third person had walked in to overhear Charlie's declaration of love that she sealed with a kiss "I love you too Jo. I have loved you since I met you three years ago. You are my soul mate and I will not let another day go by without you by my side."
Their kiss was interrupted by a voice that frightened Charlie to her core. "So Charlie, was our relationship built on a bunch of lies cos you didn't tell me this one" as he jerked his head towards Joey.
Charlie looked up recognizing her lover's angry eyes. Her only reply… "Brax"