Thanks so much for all of the reviews guys. They really help with this fic :)

Chapter 15

"It's been four days..." Watson began hesitantly, intensely aware that an incensed Charlie was standing right in front of her.

"I don't care" the girl in question growled clutching tightly to Joey's hand "Ruby is not dead. I'm not going to believe that"

"Your sisters blood was found at the crime scene" Watson reminded her calmly.

Joey glanced at Charlie and seeing she was unable to respond, replied to the comment herself "But there was only a little bit of blood, right? I mean if he knocked her unconscious that could very we be from the hit she took or the actual fall, couldn't it?"

Watson narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at Joey "It's a possibility but if this is the same guy who attacked Charlie it doesn't make sense. Why would he leave Charlie and take Ruby? Unless he went too far and..."

"Stop it" Charlie interrupted quietly "Just STOP IT!" she turned her tearful gaze to Watson "This is my sister we're talking about Watson! She's not just...a job!"

"I know...I'm sorry Charlie. I'm just trying to stay as professional as possible"

"She's not dead" Charlie repeated softly.

"It's a possibility..."

"IT'S NOT!" Charlie yelled angrily. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before returning her gaze to Watson and speaking in a calmer voice "Ruby isn't dead. I have to have faith in that if nothing else, okay?!" Watson nodded slowly and Charlie continued haltingly "I need you to check up on anybody who could have a grudge against either me or Joey"

"But..."

"FOR GOD SAKE WATSON JUST DO IT!" Charlie exclaimed loudly.

"Okay" Watson said softly "Charlie..."

"Tell me when you find something okay?" Charlie turned her gaze to the ground as tears formed once again in her eyes "Anything at all..." she promptly pulled her hand from Joey's and rushed from the room.

"Damn it..." Joey muttered as she watched her girlfriend go.

"I'm sorry about that" Watson sighed heavily and slumped down in her chair. Joey stayed silent and regarded the police officer in front of her.

"Joey..." Watson spoke hesitantly as she looked up at Joey "There is a high possibility that Ruby is..."

"Stop it!" Joey growled angrily "I don't want to hear this anymore than Charlie does. I love Ruby like she's my own sister. I do not want to hear that you think she's dead, got it?"

"You both have to be prepared for the worst in a case like this" Watson sighed sadly "Charlie should know that but she's ignoring her own judgement"

"Of course she is!" Joey exclaimed "Ruby is her sister!"

"I know that Joey" Watson muttered "We're doing all we can to find her...We're not giving up on her but like I said you both have to be prepared"

"I have to go" Joey stated before she turned and walked out of the station. She glanced around and almost immediately spotted Charlie sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall. She moved quickly over to the other girl and dropped to her knees in front of her "Charlie?"

"Joey" Charlie responded softly before she moved forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her girlfriend.

"Are you okay?" Joey murmured as she ran a soothing hand over the older girl's hair.

"No" Charlie pulled back slightly to look at Joey through teary eyes "Can we just go home Jo? I can't do this here..."

Joey frowned in confusion at Charlie's wording but stood up and offered her hand for Charlie to take anyway.

"Thanks" Charlie whispered when Joey helped her to her feet.

"Anytime" Joey whispered as she wrapped an arm around Charlie's waist. They began to walk home slowly.

---

"Charlie?" Joey called out quietly as she glanced around the living room. They had gotten back a while ago but Charlie had requested some time alone. Joey had been hesitant to agree but respected Charlie's need for space. She walked quietly into the kitchen and her eyes fell upon Charlie who was sitting at the table, gazing forlornly at a picture in her hands.

Joey cleared her throat gently causing Charlie to look up at her "Hey"

"Hey" Charlie smiled weakly as she returned her gaze to the picture.

"Do you want some time alone or...?"

"No" Charlie shook her head adamantly "I just...I need you..." she looked up at Joey and patted the chair next to her "Please?"

"Of course" Joey nodded and dropped into the chair next to Charlie taking her free hand.

"I miss her..." the older girl whispered, almost inaudibly "I miss her so much..."

"I know" Joey shifted closer to Charlie and wrapped an arm tentatively around her shoulders. She was hugely relieved when Charlie immediately leaned into her "Me too"

"Do you think that she's dead?" Charlie questioned quietly as she wiped self consciously at her eyes "Like Watson said?"

"No" Joey shook her head surely "I don't think she's dead...I know we'll find her"

"I failed her..." Charlie whispered sadly.

"What?!" Joey exclaimed in surprise "What do you mean, you 'failed her?"

"I'm supposed to protect her" Charlie whispered as tears fell from her eyes "I'm supposed to be able to protect her no matter what. But I just let that bastard take her away from me!"

"There was nothing you could have done Charlie"

"Hence I've failed her...I should have been able to do something. I knew that somebody had been following her so why didn't I hang onto her as tightly as possible?!"

"This is not your fault!" Joey spoke firmly "You know that! And you and I both know that if Ruby was here right now she would be kicking your ass for even thinking it!"

"What if she isn't anywhere?" Charlie said softly as she lowered her gaze to the ground to hide her tears "What if I've lost her?"

"You can't think like that" Joey argued her own eyes glimmering with unshed tears "She'll be fine. She has to be!"

"I don't know what to do Jo" Charlie whimpered softly "I just don't know what to do!"

"I know" Joey tilted Charlie's head to meet her eyes by placing two fingers under her chin "But right now you don't have to know what to do. Right now...you can't think straight and I get that. So I'll do it for you. Just...let me be strong for you Charlie"

Charlie nodded and smiled tearfully at Joey "Can't think straight? Pun intended?"

Joey released a soft giggle and pulled Charlie closer to her, pressing a sot kiss to the top of her head "That's my Charlie"

"What would I do without you?" Charlie wondered out loud as she looked up at Joey "I'd be a total mess without you with me Jo"

Joey smiled warmly at her and shrugged "Well than it's a good job I'm not going anywhere" she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Charlie's lips "Ever"

---

"Bored, bored, bored" Ruby chanted softly as she glanced idly around the room. She glanced up hopefully as the door opened but her expression dropped when Colin walked through the door.

"It doesn't seem like you're happy to see me" he grinned at her.

Ruby remained silent and turned her gaze from his.

"So you're not talking to me now?" he grinned as he locked the door and sat down on the floor next to it "that's fine...I'll just talk at you"

"Great" she muttered under her breath.

"Sooo..." the man drawled.

"When are you going to let me out of here?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not planning on it" Colin shrugged "But if it's any consolation you'll be seeing Joey very soon"

"What do you mean?" Ruby questioned, fear clear in her eyes. As much as she wanted to see Charlie and Joey she didn't want them to be in any danger.

"Just what I said. Joey will be here soon and then..." he smiled sadistically "She can begin to pay for what she did to us"

"Us?" Ruby repeated.

"Huh?" the man appeared confused for a moment before realising his slip "Oh nothing...I'm not stupid enough to tell you everything Ruby"

"You said that Joey would be here soon..." Ruby said trying to buy as much time as possible "What about Charlie?"

"Your sisters time will come soon enough" Colin smirked smugly as he stood up "I have this all figured out...Which reminds me, I have to go and pay Joey a visit"

"NO!" Ruby too staggered to her feet "Leave her alone"

"No" Colin shook his head "I can't..." he began to walk away before Ruby stopped him.

"Wait!"

"What?" he rolled his eyes as he spun around to face her.

"I need to uh...Go to the bathroom" Ruby lied.

"I don't trust you" he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously "Any funny stuff and you'll be sorry okay?"

The young girl nodded and attempted to look sincere "Okay"

Colin turned and unlocked the door "Come on" he led her to the bathroom and gestured for her to go in. Ruby entered the room and locked the door behind her. She closed her eyes and stood there for a couple of minutes, listening out for Colin. When she heard nothing she moved over to the door and opened it silently. She almost yelled in happiness when she noticed that he had left her alone. She opened the door wider and took a deep breath before running down the corridor towards the front door as quickly as she could.

"HEY!" Ruby heard Colin running behind her but ignored him. She reached the door and struggled to unlock it. Just as she was pulling it open however she felt a sharp pain in her temple and her world turned black.

"I told you, you would be sorry" Colin stated from where he stood above her Gun in hand with the butt pointing out. He tucked it back into his belt before he leaned down and picked Ruby up carefully. He walked back to the room and lay her on the floor careful not to cause any more damage. He shook his head when he noticed Ruby's head was bleeding profusely "Stupid Teenagers" he turned and walked out of the room locking the door behind him.

---

"Joey?" Charlie questioned quietly as she slipped behind Joey and wrapped her arms around her waist "I'm going to head down to the station okay? Are you alright here?"

"I'm fine" Joey turned around in Charlie's embrace "Just be careful okay?"

"Okay" Charlie nodded. She flashed Joey a warm smile "I'll miss you"

"You'll only be gone for about an hour" Joey smiled softly as she pulled Charlie closer to her. Charlie pouted at her "But I'll miss you too"

"Better" Charlie said quietly. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against Joey's in a soft loving caress "I love you"

"I love you too" Joey smiled "Now go"

"I'm going" Charlie said before she turned around and walked out of the room "See you later Jo!"

"Yeah" Joey said softly as she heard the door slam shut "See you later" she turned around and leaned against the counter in front of her "God I miss Ruby" she closed her eyes and lost herself in her thoughts.

She smiled as she heard a soft rustling behind her a couple of minutes later "Miss me already?"

"I did miss you" Joey spun around quickly at the sound of a male voice and gaped at the unwelcome sight which met her eyes "But not for the same reason as your girlfriend"

"Colin..."

"Glad to see you remember me" the man smirked. He moved forward and grabbed her when she started to make a move towards the door "I wouldn't do that if I was you Joey...Unless you want me to kill Ruby..."

Joey stopped struggling against him almost immediately causing him to grin smugly "Good...I'm glad we're clear on that"

----

Colin pushed Joey roughly through the door causing her to stumble slightly. This was immediately forgotten by Joey as she spotted Ruby pale and bleeding on the ground. She rushed over to the teenager and dropped to her knees next to her.

"Ruby?" Joey placed a hand on Ruby's cheek and felt that it was clammy. She looked up at Colin and narrowed her eyes at him angrily "What the fuck did you do to her?!"

Colin shrugged "She was trying to escape..." he moved out of the room but returned moments later with a first aid box and a bowl of water which he placed next to Joey "Here. That's all I have" with that he moved quickly out of the room, locking the door behind him.

Joey turned her attention back to Ruby and moved a strand of hair from her sweaty forehead "Rubz? Please wake up...Ruby?" no answer was forthcoming and Joey pushed back tears as she reached for a cloth. She dampened it slightly before raising it to the rather deep looking cut on Ruby's forehead.

"I'm sorry if I'm hurting you" she said softly as she gently wiped at the cut "But this really does have to be done..." she released a soft sob and lowered the cloth slowly "I'm so sorry Ruby...This is all my fault..." she took the teens hand in both of hers and squeezed it tightly. She looked up as she felt a soft squeeze to her hand "Rubz?"

Sure enough Ruby was blinking up at her fuzzily "Ugh...Joey?" she raised a hand to her forehead "Ow...I'm obviously hallucinating"

"You're not" Joey said softly shaking her head "I'm really here"

Ruby sat up quickly and flung herself into Joey's arms "Joey...I was so scared"

"It's okay" Joey soothed quietly though she felt tears burning her eyes "It's okay Ruby, I'm here now"

Ruby pulled back slightly to look at her "What about Charlie, Is she okay?!"

"Charlie's...Physically fine"

"Does that mean she's not mentally? Emotionally?" Ruby pressed.

"She's really worried about you" Joey said quietly "she's been an emotional wreck since you went missing...We were really scared..." she pulled Ruby back into a tight Embrace "God, I'm so glad you're okay...It's really good to see you"

"I wish I could say the same" Ruby smiled softly as Joey pulled away slightly "Not that it's not great to see you...Because I've missed you and Charlie like crazy in this place but...Seeing you means that you're stuck here as well, right?"

"Right" Joey sighed. She raised a hand to Ruby's forehead and touché the cut gently with her fingertips "That looks like it hurts" As if on cue Ruby flinched from her touch causing Joey to pull her hand back quickly "Sorry"

"It's fine" Ruby winced "It just...really does hurt. A lot. I was trying to run...To get to you and Charlie..."

"I know" Joey said softly as she reached for the first aid box "Let me take care of that for you okay?"

"Okay" Ruby smiled softly "Hey, Joey?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm kind of glad you're here...It's getting really boring"

Joey laughed out loud despite herself "Only you could complain of boredom at a time like this Rubz..."

---

"Watson!" Charlie said as she entered the station "Has there been any news about Ruby? Or anything at all?"

"I che..." Watson was interrupted by the phone on her desk ringing "Sorry Charlie, I have to take this" Charlie waved a hand and Watson answered the phone.

"Constable Watson Speaking" she said professionally. She turned silent and frowned in concern after a moment "Really?" she nodded pensively to herself "That's not good..." Charlie stepped slightly closer to the desk and gazed at Watson in worry "Uh-huh...Are you sure...Okay. Thank you" she hung up and stood up gazing at Charlie in trepidation "Charlie? Where is Joey, Right now?"

"She's at home" Charlie answered slowly, dread beginning to seep in "Why?"

"I checked up on Robbo..." Watson said quickly "He's still in prison but he's talking about getting revenge...something about somebody getting revenge for him...on Joey..."

"Joey..." Charlie whispered "Oh My God..." she turned and ran from the station as quickly as she could, ignoring Watson yelling at her. She rushed to her car and drove home as quickly as possible. She jumped out of the vehicle and rushed into the house not even bothering to turn the engine off or close the door.

"JO?!" she yelled, glancing around quickly. She paled as she noticed what seemed to be like the aftermath of a struggle "No...JOEY?!" she rushed through the house and into their bedroom "JOEY?!" she felt tears course down her cheeks and finding her legs unable to support her dropped to her knees.

"JOEY?!!" she screamed loudly. She leaned forward and began to sob quietly into her hand "Jo..."

---

Joey had just finished applying a bandage to the wound on Ruby's temple when the door was flung open and Colin casually walked into the room. Both girls stood up quickly and he grinned smugly at the control he had over them.

"I see you're awake" he nodded carelessly at Ruby "Maybe that will teach you not to try to escape"

"Why are you doing this?" Joey asked quietly as she reached for Ruby's hand and clutched it tightly.

"Why am I doing this?" Colin laughed bitterly "I'm doing this because of you Joey. Because Of what you did to us!"

"Who is us?" Joey questioned in confusion "And what are you talking about? I didn't do anything to you!"

"YOU DID!" the man yelled angrily "You're just too blind to see it!" he pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at Ruby "I'm going to make you pay Joey...By hurting the people you love. Just like you did to me!"

Joey stepped in front of Ruby without hesitating "Point that thing away from her"

The man smirked but still looked puzzled as he lowered the gun "You're willing to die for her?" he shook his head in amusement "Oh this is going to be fun...Especially when your girlfriend get's here"

"Leave her the hell alone" Joey growled angrily.

Colin shook his head at them "I'll be back" he walked out of the door and locked it securely behind him.

Joey released a sigh of relief and turned to Ruby who was gazing at her in shock "What?"

"You just stepped in front of a gun for me" Ruby said slowly.

"And?" Joey shrugged.

"You hate guns and...He could have shot you!" The younger girl exclaimed.

"At least he wouldn't have shot you" Joey said softly "Are you okay by the way?"

"I think so" Ruby nodded as she lowered herself back to the ground and leaned against the wall "Just dizzy...And cold..."

Joey sat down next to her and placed a hand on her forehead, careful to avoid her injury "Jesus Ruby, you're boiling up!"

"I'm freezing" Ruby argued.

Joey pulled Ruby gently into her arms "You're shivering..."

"Cold" Ruby reminded her. She tightened her hold on Joey slightly "I have been here for a few days and in case you haven't already noticed it's freezing and there's no heating"

"I think you have a fever" Joey muttered quietly.

"Uh-huh"

"Is this helping?" Joey asked referring to her embrace "Or am I just invading your personal space for nothing?"

"It's warmer" Ruby said softly as she shifted slightly closer to the other girl.

"I'm so sorry about this Rubz" Joey murmured quietly "This is all my fault..."

"It's not" Ruby responded instantly "It's his fault...He's crazy"

They fell into silence for a moment before Ruby spoke up again.

"Ch...Charlie's going to be worried" she stuttered through the cold.

"I know" Joey sighed as she turned her gaze to Ruby in worry "I hope she's okay"

"I'm kinda scared..." Ruby said tearfully "I've been trying not to show it...to him but I'm really scared Jo"

"I know" the older girl gently moved a strand of hair which was stuck to the teen's clammy cheek "But I'm going to do everything in my power to protect you, okay Rubz?"

"Okay" Ruby sniffled tightening her hold on Joey.

Joey closed her eyes to stop her tears as she held onto the shaking teen.

---

Charlie sobbed quietly to herself as she curled up on Ruby's bed clutching tightly to the picture of her, Joey and Ruby "How am I going to do this alone?"

TBC