Dedicated to the Positively Hilarious and Nonsensical TelephoneQueen. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Thirty Five

"This is it," Charlie said, letting out an anxious breath.

"Yep," Joey agreed.

They looked around their new apartment. They'd spent two days moving their stuff across campus and making their new home as pretty as possible. Charlie was going to share her room with Ruby at one end of the small building and Joey was to have her own room on the other side. They had a small living room and kitchen all in one space and an even smaller bathroom. Charlie's parents were due to bring Ruby and her belongings down the following day.

"Excited?" Joey asked.

"Yes," Charlie admitted.

She sat down on their small sofa, exhausted from all the moving about.

"How about I cook us some dinner?" Joey suggested. "We worked right through lunch."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Charlie said. "You lugged as much stuff around as I did. You must be exhausted. Let's just get a takeaway."

Joey beamed at her.

"That sounds perfect," she said. "And I brought something to celebrate with."

Charlie eyed her curiously as Joey retrieved a bottle of cheap champagne from the fridge. She giggled as Joey popped the cork rather loudly and poured it into two glasses. Joey then she plonked herself next to her on the couch.

"Here's to a new beginning," she proposed.

"I'll drink to that," Charlie said, clinking their glasses together.

It was late before Charlie and Joey said goodnight and headed off to their separate bedrooms. They never quite seemed to run out of things to say or have any desire to part company. But things felt better and better as they were back in each other's lives.

In the bedroom she would soon be sharing with her daughter, Charlie got changed and flopped on top of her mattress. She wondered how things were going to turn out once she got Ruby back. She was really excited but she was nervous too. What if Ruby decided she didn't like living with her after all? What if she and Joey fell out again? Or worse, what if she fell back in love with her? Really, she knew that she had never fallen out of love in the first place. She had been terribly hurt and felt completely betrayed by her, but not loving her anymore hadn't been an option.

Joey stripped off and put on an oversized t-shirt as a form of pyjamas. She climbed into bed and remained sitting up, staring at her new surroundings. She wasn't entirely sure how all of this had happened. First, she and Charlie hadn't got on. Then they'd dated. Then they'd broken up. And now, still broken up, they were living together and awaiting the arrival of Charlie's daughter. None of it quite made sense and yet through it all, she had been happier than she had ever been in her life. She was painfully aware that Charlie would never take her back, although it didn't stop her from hoping. But if she could be part of Charlie's life, be her friend, a second parent to Ruby then she would consider her life a success.

Ruby had boundless energy from the moment she walked through the door to her new home. Charlie's parents had stayed for a short while and Joey had made everyone some lunch. Their budget wasn't huge and she and Charlie had agreed to live as a family that shared everything rather than housemates that lived separate lives. And so far, everything was going well.

"I'm so excited," Ruby declared.

Joey chuckled, watching the five year old literally bounce up and down in giddy joy.

"Really?" she teased. "We'd never guess!"

Ruby eyed her curiously, trying to figure out whether she was joking or not. Then, shrugging, she hopped up onto the couch and cuddled her Mum.

"This is going to be so much fun," she said. "Thank you."

Charlie put her arm around her daughter and kissed the top of her head.

"It is," she agreed, smiling. "I think this is the start of the best time of our lives."

Next time… the attraction between Charlie and Joey is still alive…