Chapter 4

"Oh my god" Ruby mumbled as she gazed at Charlie in shock "This is not good...this is so not good..." she glanced at Rachel who stood helplessly in the doorway then at Joey who was swaying slightly on the spot.

"Okay!" she exclaimed as she moved forward and grabbed both of Joey's arms to hold her steady "You need to sit..." she moved her backwards and pushed her gently onto the chair next to Charlie's hospital bed. Joey looked up at her blankly with tears in her eyes.

"How is this possible?" Ruby questioned as she turned around to face Rachel.

"I told you that there would be an effect on her brain" Rachel shrugged "There's always likely to be some form of Amnesia when a head injury is involved. She's actually quite lucky..."

Charlie tuned her sister and the doctor out as she turned to look closely at Joey.

"Am I supposed to know you?" she questioned.

"Yeah" Joey nodded attempting to push back her tears "You are"

"Oh" Charlie frowned in confusion "You're...Joey?"

Joey nodded "Yeah"

"Can you tell me what happened?" Charlie asked as she pushed herself further up in the bed, wincing as she did so "Nobody will tell me anything around here"

"You were attacked" The younger girl explained softly trying to block out the sound of Ruby and Rachel's conversation.

"Attacked?" Charlie repeated "By who?"

"We don't know yet" Joey said softly as she shuffled forward so she was closer to Charlie "The police haven't found anything"

"Huh" Charlie mumbled in consideration "I can't think of anyone who would want to attack me..."

"Maybe it was random?" Joey suggested unsurely.

"Maybe..." Charlie murmured thoughtfully as she gazed intently at Joey "I wish I could remember...This is all so confusing" she lifted a hand to her head and closed her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Joey asked softly clenching her hands into fists to stop herself reaching out to the other girl.

"Just a headache" Charlie shrugged "So what's wrong with me?"

"You were stabbed" Joey answered gesturing towards Charlie's stomach "You have bleeding on your brain so that's why your head hurts...I think. You also have a fractured wrist and a broken leg as well as quite a few cuts and bruises"

"Sounds like I had quite a beating" Charlie commented softly.

"I guess you did" Joey sighed softly "So...you don't remember me at all?"

Charlie shook her head "No...Sorry"

"Oh" Joey whispered as tears formed in her eyes.

"Hey" Charlie said in concern as she reached a hand out towards Joey "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" Joey lied as she took Charlie's offered hand.

Charlie nodded disbelievingly not really understanding why she cared so much about the younger girl.

"So will she get her memory back?!" They heard Ruby question loudly. They looked up to where Rachel and Ruby were still talking.

"I don't know. It's a possibility" Rachel answered "You need to calm down, Ruby"

"NO!" Ruby yelled.

"Ruby!" Both Joey and Charlie said in unison. Charlie glanced in surprise at Joey who kept her gaze on Ruby.

"Ruby just calm down" she said quietly "Rachel's doing all she can right now, okay?"

"Ugh!" Ruby exclaimed in annoyance as she sank down onto the chair on Charlie's other side. She took a deep breath before looking up at Rachel "I'm sorry...I'm just...Worried"

"It's okay" Rachel smiled reassuringly before she focused on Charlie "Now Charlie, I'm not saying that you won't get your memory back okay? Anything at all could trigger you and help you to remember"

"Right" Charlie nodded distractedly "So when can I go home?"

"Not yet" Rachel said firmly "I need to keep an eye on you to make sure you stay conscious and healthy"

"Okay" Charlie sighed in annoyance.

"You have a number of other injuries..."

"I know" Charlie interrupted.

"How do you know?" Rachel questioned in confusion "Are you in pain? I thought we had given you enough pain relief..."

"Joey told me" Charlie explained squeezing Joey's hand slightly.

"Okay" Rachel nodded "Anyway as I was saying you are going to be in pain for quite a while and the expected recovery time is 5 month which means...You need to take time off work"

"What?" Charlie practically whined "Why?!"

"To help your recovery" Rachel replied "You need to take it easy. Now if any of you need me just ask the nurse to give me a call"

All three of the girls nodded and Rachel left the room.

"So..." Ruby said into the silence "Now what do we do?"

The other two girls shrugged silently.

"You really can't remember anything?" Ruby asked quietly "Not even Joey?"

"No" Charlie answered as she glanced at Joey "How do I know you anyway?"

Joey appeared unable to answer.

"She was your gir..." Ruby began to say.

"Your friend" Joey interrupted quickly "I was your friend. We met when you helped me with my case"

"Joey?" Ruby questioned in a dangerously calm voice "Can I talk to you for a minute? Outside?"

Joey stood up and released Charlie's hand from her grip "Sure" with one last glance at Charlie she walked out of the door.

"Ruby..." Charlie began to speak.

"We'll be right back" Ruby smiled reassuringly before she followed Joey closing the door behind her.

Charlie frowned in confusion and slumped back against her pillow "What the hell is going on?"

--

"What the hell are you doing?" Ruby questioned loudly as she turned to Joey.

"Ruby keep it down" Joey warned.

"No" Ruby responded "I won't keep it down Joey! You said that you loved her!"

"I do!" Joey argued.

"Then why did you say you were just her friend?!" Ruby asked angrily "What? Is this an easy way out for you?!"

"Ruby shut up!" Joey exclaimed grabbing the teens arm and pulling her further away from the door "What did you think I should have said? 'Hey Charlie I know you think you're straight but you're actually not and guess what...I'm your GIRLFRIEND?'"

"You shouldn't have lied to her" Ruby stated adamantly.

"I HAD to lie!" Joey insisted "She freaked out about it before...And that was when she actually KNEW me...What would she be like now?"

"So you're just going to give up on her?" Ruby asked in disbelief "After all you two have been through?!"

"I'm not giving up" Joey said quietly "I didn't say that!"

"Than what are you going to do?!"

"I don't know" Joey sighed "But if I'm really meant to be with her...We'll find our way back to each other"

Ruby huffed in annoyance before she turned around and walked back into her sister's room. Joey shook her head and followed her.

"Are you two okay?" Charlie asked them in worry "Have you been arguing?"

"No" Joey smiled shaking her head as she sat down "We're fine"

"So I guess we're pretty close friends, right?" Charlie asked.

"What?" Joey gaped at her in shock.

"You know my sister" Charlie pointed out "And I obviously trust you with her"

"Oh...Yeah"

"She lives with us" Ruby announced.

Joey turned her shocked gaze towards Ruby who grinned triumphantly.

"You live with us?" Charlie questioned in confusion "At Leah's?"

"Uh..."

"Yes!" Ruby answered for Joey "She moved in with us a while ago because she had nowhere to stay"

"Okay" Charlie nodded "So...How long have I been out?"

"A week" Joey answered shooting a glare at Ruby.

"A WEEK?!" Charlie exclaimed in surprise "She hasn't gotten into any trouble, has she?"

"Hey!" Ruby exclaimed in offence "We've been here most of the time...And Joey's with me practically every minute of the day anyway"

"Thanks" Charlie smiled softly at Joey "For looking out for her..." Joey shrugged and Charlie turned her attention towards her sister "Sorry Rubz"

Ruby shrugged "It doesn't matter"

Charlie shifted slightly in an attempt to get more comfortable and felt pain shoot through her abdomen "OW!"

"What?!" Joey questioned anxiously as she stood up quickly "What ow? Where? What happened?!"

"I'm fine!" Charlie smiled "Maybe moving isn't such a good idea"

"Oh" Joey blushed profusely at her panic and sunk back into her seat. She glanced at Ruby to see she was smirking at her and narrowed her eyes at the teen.

"So you can't think of anybody who would want to do this?" she asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from her embarrassment.

"No" Charlie said quietly.

"Angry criminal?" Ruby suggested.

"I don't think so" Charlie muttered.

"Your brother?" Ruby asked Joey.

"Brett?" Joey said in surprise "No I don't think he would do anything like that..."

"Trey?"

"Locked up"

Charlie looked between them feeling slightly out of the loop "Who is Trey and why would your brother want to attack me?"

Joey sighed "Trey is the guy from my case you tried to convict and my brother uh...He was pissed at you when you invited me to move in..."

"Oh" Charlie frowned feeling a headache beginning.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked in worry.

Charlie shrugged "Overload of information"

"Oh" Ruby mumbled. She quickly changed the subject of conversation to something less strenuous for her sister's memory.

---

"Joey?" Ruby whispered a while later after Charlie had fallen asleep and darkness had descended on the room.

"Yeah?" Joey asked quietly.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know" Joey sighed "I mean...she doesn't remember me at all Ruby"

"Hey" Ruby bit her lip in concern when she heard the tears in Joey's voice "I'm sure it'll be fine...Rachel said that she might still get her memory back. We'll just have to help her remember..."

"Okay" Joey sniffled quietly.

The room fell into silence for a while until Joey spoke up again "Ruby?"

"Mmhm?" The teenager mumbled.

"I'm still going to kill you" Joey said jokingly.

"You love me really" Ruby grinned "I'm just being a helpful almost sister in law"

"Whatever" Joey groaned unable to stop the smile that tugged at her lips as Charlie tightened her grip on her hand.

TBC