Thanks to IJKS and XTR75 for reviewing.
That afternoon…
Charlie woke up; her body was in pain, every movement of her body brought with it excruciating agony. She couldn't move her arm. Her hand was stuck… fearing Brax had cuffed it she tried to yank it out. Joey yelled out in pain as her head hit the metal railing of the bed "OW!"
Rubbing her head Joey squinted her eyes several times, "Charlie!" she finally exclaimed.
Charlie couldn't talk; lifting her finger to her lips she touched in and winced in pain. Joey immediately reached for her hand once more. "Charlie, don't talk ok, just let your body rest ok"
Charlie nodded in acknowledgement, her head was pounding with pain and she struggled to breathe in heavily.
"Brax…." She whispered… "He'll come back"…. She struggled once more…
Joey hushed Charlie in her attempt to speak. "It's ok, Watsons on it, just relax and let your body recover". She told Charlie to go to sleep as she kissed her gently on the forehead, the only part of her body without a bruise.
Once Charlie had gone back to sleep, Joey collapsed back in her chair. Everything was ruined; once again they were starting over.
Sighing in exasperation, she opened her eyes when she heard footsteps…
"Joey, we need to talk"
….
Rising from her chair, Joey planted the gentlest of kisses on Charlie's lips, whispering a gentle goodbye and reassurance of return; she followed Sid Walker out the door. She feared for Charlie's prognosis and that there was something more serious underlying Sid's diagnosis.
Breathing in a deep breath and exhaling once more, she mustered up the courage to ask how Charlie was. Sid was at a dilemma point, what he was about to say could destroy Joey and her future with Charlie. Motioning for Joey to sit down, he began to explain…
"Charlie was badly injured by Brax, the extent of her injuries are quite severe. We can look after her here for now but in the longer term she's going to need round the clock care until she's up and about again. Joey… she may not be able to work as a police officer again." Joey was shocked, not fully understanding the ramifications of the injuries she asked how bad they really were.
"Joey, Charlie's been bashed and bruised all over. Brax showed her no mercy; every rib has been cracked or badly injured. She has a broken leg; her arms have been severely locked in place by something that resembles handcuffs so the bruising and pain will need some time to heal. Her face well… it's fair to say it's just punches and slaps but even so the injuries are still quite horrific. Time will heal all the bruises, but I'm more concerned with the damage we can see. We'll need to do some more tests, x-rays and there's something more you should know…."
Pausing for a moment, he looked into Joey's eyes, they were full of tears being held back only by the strength of not wanting to appear and weak before the doctor. He reached for her hand, breathing in before continuing "We don't know for sure yet, but due to the severity of Charlie's injuries there is a chance that she may not be able to have any more children, I need to talk to Charlie and get some tests done to be accurate but the serious nature of the abdomen injuries, well… we'll have to see".
Tears flowing down her face, Joey brushed them aside and steely asked "Was she raped?"
Sid could do nothing more than nod his head and acknowledge the one fear Joey had most of all. "That's another reason I'm concerned about her ability to have kids, Brax has destroyed her but Joey, I need you to be positive for Charlie's sake even more so for Ruby's. As much as I could have told her all this, I think she has had enough on her plate to deal with for now. Until we're sure exactly what we're dealing with I'd rather she just focused on spending time with Charlie for now. What do you think?"
Joey nodded her head… "I'll tell her what we know for sure, everything else can wait until you have the test results".
….
Joey took a few moments outside Charlie's room to ponder what to do next. Realising for now Charlie just needed her by her side she went back into her room, gazing at her sleeping beauty. It was going to be a long night ahead. Charlie had woken up several times and returned to sleep, on each occasion she had screamed at the hands of a nightmare, "Brax No!" Joey had settled her down each time, but her anger towards Brax was increasing like a volcano about to explode.
As she was about to head to sleep, Watson knocked at the door "Joey, are you awake?"
Joey blinked her eyes "No, sleepy but still awake, what's up?
Watson pointed to the corridor, not wishing to wake up Charlie. Both women walked outside, "We caught him Jo. Brax was arrested earlier this evening. The guys going down for this. He'll front court in the morning, he wants to apply for bail but I'm throwing the book at him. Every one of us at the station wants his backside in the cell."
Joey smiled for the first time, she was happy Brax had been caught; finally Charlie could rest without Brax stepping foot inside the hospital again.
"Thanks Watson, have you told Ruby?"
"Yeah, rang her up, I was hoping she'd be here with you"
"No, I told her to go home and rest up. I'm not leaving Charlie's side but Ruby's not taking all of this well at all. Her plans were destroyed to move to the city were destroyed by my arrival and everything's gone downhill since I have come back. The least I can do is stay with Charlie now."
Giving Joey a much needed hug, Watson replied "I'm sure neither of them blame you for any of this. Ruby's had a lot on her plate before you arrived. Her mother's relationship with Brax was one which a lot of people disagreed with including her. I suppose that's why she's not here; she probably wishes she could have stopped it."
"That's the sad part Watson, none of us could predict it happening. None of us are to blame other than Brax. There was no way to stop him" Joey replied bitterly, the scorn in her voice evident.
Watson couldn't reply. Joey was right; the caught the scumbag and now all Watson wanted was to see Darryl Braxton behind bars. Escorting Joey back to Charlie's room she promised to keep her up to date with any developments and headed back to work.
Joey settled in for the night. She relaxed just a little bit at the knowledge Brax had been caught but as she closed her eyes the main thoughts were focused on Charlie, her long road to recovery and being beside her every step of the way.
Please read and review. All comments appreciated