Thanks guys for your reviews and thoughts on the newest possible pairing :P
JSCO81 - You act like that's such a surprise! Tease is my middle name lol!
Shyrie, Kirsty & KimmyLove - Haha I love that you guys are lovin' the Gabby/Becca storyline - maybe even a bit more than CJ! But there's a tiny wait 'til I get back to their storyline. I'll be focusing on the Charlie/Ruby relationship in the next two chapters and trying to fix things between them and then we've got CJ's date before I'll be getting back onto your new favourite pairing!
CJ4eva - Yes there's a CJ date coming up soon - hope it's worth the wait!
AuthorW - Yeah it's funny that they'll all end up being friends lol!
Bethers85 - I could've been hinting something during that bar scene...to see a few reactions so we'll see...
DNW - You love your guesses don't you? Keep 'em coming!
Lil20 - Oh yes that would be far too easy! You know me well. And yes I hate to break it to you but this fic has probably only got another half dozen chapters left in it but I hope you enjoy them!
As I said above this chapter and the next one focuses a lil on the Charlie/Ruby relationship.
Enough though it probably won't be a high point of the fic it was one of the reasons why Charlie first tried to reach out to Joey so I want to wrap it up before I delve into the other relationships so I hope you don't mind.
This is the part of the story that I got majorly stuck on - I blame H&A and their lack of inspiration!
But after a fantastic idea from Movie249 I got a little inspiration!
Oh and the song was also a auggestion from Movie249 - thanks buddy! You're the best!
.com/watch?v=4e95RD9Bz-w
"She Has No Time"
"You think your days are uneventful
And no one ever thinks about you
She goes her own way
She goes her own way
You think your days are ordinary
And no one ever thinks about you
But we're all the same
And she can hardly breathe without you
She says she has no time for you now
She says she has no time
Well think about the lonely people
And think about the day she found you
Or lie to yourself
And see it all dissolve around you
She says She has no time for you now
She says she has no time for you now
She says she has no time
She says she has no time
Lonely people tumble downwards
And my heart opens up to you
When she says she has no time for you now
She says she has no time for you now
She says she has no time."
The next day Joey found herself at Charlie's place after she had stopped by the Bait Shop to talk to Alf about her part-time job she'd be doing for him there. She was in a particularly good mood as the work she would be getting down at the Bait Shop, as well as some possible shifts at Noah's Bar when it was busy, was just enough to keep her afloat. She could manage to stay around the Bay if Aden didn't insist on charging her too much rent.
Aden had informed her that Nicole barely charged him anything so she wasn't too worried about getting by if she was living there. Joey knew without question that it was far too early to contemplate moving back in with Charlie and she vowed that she wouldn't push things too fast with her this time. She hoped that this time things would work out for the pair of them.
When she arrived at Charlie's place, she knocked gently on the back door before walking into the living room. It felt strange that after all this time, and the fact that she'd lived there for a few weeks, Leah's house still felt like home to her. As she stepped into the living room, Joey spotted Charlie sitting on the couch with some music playing softly in the background.
"Hey you," Joey greeted as she walked into Charlie's view. Charlie glanced up at her, her expression was distant but then she smiled brightly, "Hey, wasn't sure if I'd get to see you today." Joey noticed that Charlie was holding something as she slipped it next to her leg beside the side of the couch. Joey didn't say anything, not wanting to push Charlie if she wasn't hiding anything serious as she knew Charlie would tell her in her own time.
Joey grinned as she sat down on Charlie's lap and wrapped her arms around Charlie's neck. Charlie pulled her into a hug, then brushed her lips against Joey's forehead, "I missed you after last night. So how did things go last night with Gabby?" Joey squeezed Charlie's neck, "Things with Gabby went…reasonably well."
Charlie pursed her lips, "So does this mean you broke up with her?" Joey nodded, "Yeah I broke things off with her. It wasn't easy as she's been so good to me but I had to do it…for us." Charlie broke into a smile, "So does this mean…you're my girlfriend now?" "No," Joey answered without hesitation. Charlie frowned confused.
Joey then grinned shyly, "But I'm hoping after tonight we can make things official between us." Charlie breathed a sigh of relief, "After tonight huh?" Joey nodded, "Kinda brings me to why I came over to see you. I was thinking if you were free tonight…maybe we could go out together."
Charlie licked her lips boldly, "You mean like a date?" "Like our first ever official date…yeah that's what I was thinking," Joey agreed. Charlie rubbed her fingers against Joey's waist, "I think that sounds absolutely perfect. I know last night was kinda…a date but it was never official. And if we're going to give our relationship the chance it deserves…then I can't wait to start it with a date with you."
"I was hoping you'd be receptive to my suggestion," Joey chuckled. Charlie bought her hand up and stroked Joey's face, "So what do you think we should do tonight? Stay in or go out?" "I kinda already have an idea in mind," Joey admitted. Charlie raised her eyebrows, "Oh really? Well this sounds like you've got everything planned for our date. So what will we be doing tonight?" Joey leant closer to Charlie, and whispered in her ear, "Can it be a secret?"
Charlie blushed at having Joey so close to her, knowing that it took a lot of will power not to lean over and kiss Joey, but wanted to wait until things were official between them before she claimed the woman she loved, "You know I hate secrets. Can't I even get a hint?" Joey shook her head playfully, "Wear something pretty. That's the only hint you'll get. I'll pick you up at seven if that's okay?" "Oh if you insist on making me wait until then, then I suppose it will have to do," Charlie grinned.
Joey bought her hand up and entangled it with Charlie's, "So…I wasn't gonna say anything…but is everything okay? You looked a little distant and quiet when I came in here." Charlie snuggled closer into Joey's embrace, "Yeah I was just sitting here thinking…" "About…?" Joey pressured as softly as possible.
Charlie took a deep breath and pulled a piece of paper out from underneath her leg, which she'd placed there when Joey had sat down on her lap. As Charlie flipped it over and handed it to Joey, Joey was surprised to instead find that she was holding a photograph rather than just a piece of paper.
Charlie looked up at Joey sadly, "I guess with things starting to work out for us…I was just trying to pinpoint where a lot of things began to go wrong for me…this is the first thing that came to mind." Joey stared down at the photo, "In any other circumstance I'd tell you that you were an adorable teenager and I can see how you grew up so beautiful…but I guess that really wasn't the point of showing me this was it?"
Charlie shook her head, glad that Joey was being understanding, as she once again glanced down at the photo, "It was taken the day after Ruby was born. It's about the only time I remember actually holding her when she was a baby. I ran away from home a week or so later to stay with my Aunt. I wasn't able to find any way to connect with Ruby and…then my Dad got these photos printed. Most of them were just of Ruby or my parents holding her…but when I saw this one…I just felt like a complete failure to her as I knew I couldn't care for her like I tried to when the photo was taken. So I took this photo with me and ran."
Joey kissed Charlie's forehead gently, "I'm sorry you had to go through all that. Just looking at the pair of you here…you look so young. I mean obviously…you were and that was part of the problem. God I can't even imagine how you survived that. I'm so glad you did. I'm probably not even saying the right things to you am I? I'm trying to be comforting but…you held onto this photo of the pair of you this long?"
Charlie closed her eyes for a moment, "Yeah…I've always kept it stashed in my purse. Surprised Ruby's never come across it but I guess she only worries about taking money out of my purse rather than flicking through all the other cards and things I have in it. I always wished I could have the courage to place this photo in the front of my wallet with my other photo of my family. I never wanted to hide it…I just didn't want Ruby to question…why I was sitting in a hospital bed when I was holding her."
"The photo means a lot to you huh?" Joey whispered. Charlie looked up into Joey's eyes, "Yeah it does. It's pretty much the only photo I have of Ruby as a baby. I kinda…well when I went to my Aunt's to stay…I found a bunch of photo albums of myself as a young girl…I tore them up and destroyed them. My Mum sent us photos of Ruby as she was growing up over the year that I wasn't at home…I couldn't even look at them. The first photos I received, I gave them back to the post man, return to sender. Didn't stop my mother from trying to send more as the year went on. And every single package got sent back to them unopened. Heartless of me huh?"
Joey pulled Charlie into a hug, "Its not heartless…you didn't want to see what you were missing out on because the guilt would've hurt you more…and then you may never have regained the strength to move back home and be apart of Ruby's life. That would've been worse."
Charlie nodded uncertainly, "Well when Ruby found out I'm her mother she took off to my Aunt's as well and found the photos of myself that I destroyed. She knows that I don't have any photos from either of our childhoods and knows that my Dad kept them instead when my Mum passed away. Now she knows why I didn't want to take them and let my Dad claim them."
"Does Ruby know you still have this photo of her?" Joey asked. Charlie frowned, "I doubt it. She would've questioned it if she had found it. Sounds weird me just sitting here staring at it but I've spent most of the morning doing just that. I'm finally happy and secure with you…but things with Ruby aren't like that right now. I've been staring at this photo all morning trying to decide where things went so wrong for us…was it when I ran away and effectively gave her up to my parents? Or was it when I came home and allowed them to continue being her parents…thus lying to her for her whole life about who I am?"
Joey stroked Charlie's hair gently, "That doesn't matter anymore. What matters is what you do now that'll count. You want her to move back home don't you?" "She doesn't want to come back home. I miss her so much and want to be there for her. I feel so lost without her. It's been so hard the last few months surviving here alone but I can't seem to find a way to get her to trust me and believe that I never wanted to hurt her like I have," Charlie sobbed.
Joey held Charlie tighter, "You know what I think? I think she does want to come back home. She's just too scared to make that move without knowing that it's what you want. I think you need to show her this photo and show her that you want to start being the person that you should've been here. Then maybe she'll see that you really do love her and she'll come back home."
Charlie buried her head against Joey's shoulder, "I love your optimism Jo…but what if it doesn't work? What if she looks at this photo and only sees the mistakes I made when I abandoned her? What if she doesn't come home?"