Thanks so much for all of the reviews guys. I really appreciate your comments. Sorry about the lateness by the way... wasn't letting me upload so I had to find a way around that.

Just a quick FYI...Colin is an original character. Completely made up. Belongs to me though I kind of wish that he didn't lol. Hope you enjoy this chapter and I'm sorry for the cliff-hanger at the end (As usual) :)

Chapter 17

Charlie leaned back in her chair and allowed her eyelids to slide shut in a futile attempt to sooth her aching eyes.

"Coffee..." she mumbled tiredly "I need more coffee" she opened her eyes and stood up before blearily stumbling out of her office.

"Charlie?" Watson frowned as she took in the sight of the other woman "You look like hell"

"Thanks" Charlie yawned as she grabbed Watson's freshly made coffee and sipped at it tentatively. She shrugged innocently at the glare she received "What?"

Watson sighed in frustration "Nothing...Have you found anything out yet?"

Charlie hesitated for a moment before answering "No...Not yet"

"Oh" Watson couldn't help the frown which settled across her features "So what are we going to do now?"

Charlie motioned subtly towards her office before she moved towards it. Though confused, Watson followed her a moment later, closing the door behind her.

"I need to burrow your gun" Charlie blurted out.

"My GUN?!"

"Your gun" Charlie nodded in confirmation as she sat on the edge of her desk.

"Why?" Watson questioned nervously "Are you planning on shooting somebody?"

"Not if I can help it...It depends on what I find when I get there"

"Get where?"

"To Joey and Ruby" Charlie answered shiftily "I don't know where that is right now but I'll find it"

"Don't you have your own gun?" Watson bit her lip nervously "Why do you need mine?"

"That's...complicated"

"Wait..." Watson frowned when something occurred to her "You're not planning on doing this alone, are you?"

"I have to" Charlie said firmly "If anybody else is involved Joey and my sister will only be in more danger"

"You sound like you know more about this Colin guy than you're telling me" Watson observed.

"I don't..."

"I don't think I believe you...and I can't let you do this on your own anyway"

"I have to do this alone!" Charlie stressed as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration "It's the only way to keep them safe"

"Why?" Watson demanded "How do you know that?"

"Because I do!" Charlie exclaimed "Now are you going to help me with this or not?!"

"Shit" Watson swore "I could get fired for this you know...If anybody else had asked me to risk my job I would have told them where to stick it..." she shook her head and pulled her gun out before holding it out to Charlie .

"Thank you" Charlie said sincerely as she took the gun and tucked it into her jeans under her jacket "This really means a lot to me..."

Watson shrugged "I still don't think you should be doing this alone..."

"I have..."

"...Especially considering the state you're in right now"

"Hey!" Charlie exclaimed in slight offence as she looked down at herself "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You didn't sleep last night did you?" Watson asked.

"No" Charlie shook her head "I was busy"

"You can't do anything while you're this tired" Watson spoke reasonably "You need sleep or you'll be virtually useless to Joey and Ruby"

"I'll be fine" Charlie stood up from the desk and walked towards the door "Thanks for this Watson"

"It's fine" Watson responded quietly "But Charlie?"

"Yeah?" Charlie looked over her shoulder at the other woman.

"Be careful"

"I'm always careful" Charlie offered a weak smile before she walked out of the door.

---

Joey blinked her eyes open tiredly and winced when she registered the pins and needles shooting through her right arm. She glanced at Ruby who was still sleeping soundly next to her "Rubz?" Ruby showed no sign of hearing her and Joey pulled away slightly, careful to keep the other girl upright.

"Ow" she groaned, rubbing at her sore arm when she was finally free. She looked closely at the teenager to see that her brow was soaked in sweat. She reached out tentatively and placed her hand on Ruby's forehead wincing when she felt the heat which radiated from her "Fuck..."

"What do I do?" Joey stood up and began pacing back and forth anxiously. She hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and moving over to the door. She knocked on it with her right hand though she instantly regretted it when her hand, injured from hitting the very same door last night protested painfully. She switched hands and resumed her knocking.

"HEY!" she yelled loudly. She stepped back from the door and it was pushed open a matter of seconds later.

"What?!" Colin asked irritably "What do you want?"

"Ruby's sick" Joey explained, trying to keep her anger in check "I need bottled water, preferably mineral, another first aid kit and some ice"

"What do you think this is, a goddamn Hotel?" he smirked. When Joey merely glared at him he rolled his eyes "Fine, I'll be right back" he turned on his heel and walked away, not bothering to close the door after him. Joey stepped out of the room slightly and immediately noticed the padlock that had been put on the front door "Crap..."

"Didn't think I would let you get away that easy did you?" Colin grinned as he reappeared with the requested items. He handed them to Joey when she backed up into the room "I'll be seeing you soon" with that said he closed the door.

Joey shook her head "Crazy" she moved over to Ruby and kneeled down in front of her depositing the items at her side.

"Rubz?" she questioned softly as she shook the teen's shoulder gently "Ruby?!" when no answer was forthcoming she swallowed fearfully "Ruby, Wake up!" she moved closer when the other girl still showed no response and felt tears form in her eyes "No...RUBY?!" she tapped her gently on her cheek.

"Go 'way Joey" Ruby mumbled sleepily, batting Joey's hand away.

"Thank God" Joey sighed in relief.

"What?" Ruby blinked up at her blearily "What's wrong?"

"I thought you were in a coma or something!"

"No" Ruby smiled "I'm fine" she sat up slightly and groaned in pain "Or not"

"Drink this" Joey said quietly, handing her a bottle of water "It should help"

"Help with what?" Ruby winced as she took the bottle "What's wrong with me?"

"I don't know" the older girl confessed quietly "It could be hypothermia or pneumonia or...I don't know Rubz"

"Its okay" Ruby closed her eyes momentarily before reopening them and offering Joey a brave smile "I'll be fine"

Joey gazed at her silently for a moment, feeling tears welling up in her eyes once again.

"Hey" Ruby said in alarm as Joey unwillingly released a quiet sob. She shifted forward slightly though it pained her to do so and placed her hand on Joey's arm "What's wrong?"

"This is all my fault" Joey said quietly "It's my fault that you're sick and that Charlie's in danger!"

"That's not true" Ruby stated firmly "None of this is your fault...it's HIS, okay?!"

"But..."

"No! I don't want to hear it Joey" the teenager took Joey's hand in her own causing the other girl to look up at her "You can't blame yourself for this...You didn't do anything!"

"He seems to think I did..." Joey sighed.

"I don't c..." Ruby was interrupted when the door was flung open and Colin walked in.

"Aaaw" he mocked "Aren't you two sweet?" he grinned cockily at them as he leaned against the door.

"Shut up" Joey said in as firm a voice as she could muster. She quickly wiped her tears away hoping he wouldn't notice and stood up to face him "What do you want?"

"I don't want anything" Colin scowled "It's too late for that..." his frown morphed back into a grin in a matter of seconds "but on the plus side...Charlie will be here soon"

"Leave her alone" Ruby said weakly from the ground. She pulled herself to her feet using the wall to help her.

"You don't look very well" Colin said in mock concern.

"I'm fine!" Ruby growled angrily "Though I'd be much better if I wasn't stuck in this hell hole!"

"Well" the man shrugged carelessly "You know whose fault that is"

"Yeah, yours!"

"No, not mine" Colin shook his head and motioned towards Joey "Hers...now if you excuse me I have to go and get prepared before I go to Charlie tonight"

"Stay away from her!" Joey demanded stepping slightly closer to him.

"Joey..." Ruby warned quietly from behind her.

"Or what?!" Colin stepped closer to her so they were mere inches from each other "I already told you Joey I'm going to have my revenge and there's nothing you can do or say which will stop me"

"Just because I rejected you on the boat?!" Joey asked incredulously "You're pathetic!"

Colin released a low growl and backhanded her hard. Joey's head swung to the right but she didn't back down.

"Joey!" Ruby exclaimed, moving toward her as quickly as she could. She finally reached her and attempted to pull her a safe distance from Colin.

"That isn't the only reason!" Colin growled "You'll see soon..." he walked out and slammed the door behind him causing Ruby to wince in pain.

"Are you okay?" the younger girl asked in concern as she examined Joey's split lip.

"I'm fine" Joey whispered quietly. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it before guiding Ruby gently back to her position, leaning against the wall "You probably shouldn't move too much Rubz" she grabbed the ice pack from the ground and pressed it against Ruby's forehead.

"Did I mention I was freezing?" Ruby shivered, pulling away slightly.

"A few times" Joey smiled weakly "But this is for your own good..."

"What's his problem anyway?"Ruby winced slightly.

"Sorry" Joey muttered as she pulled the blood stained bandage from Ruby's forehead "This looks sore. As for him, I have no idea what his problem is"

"Oh" Ruby said quietly as Joey pressed a new bandage to the cut on her head "Hey, Jo?"

"Yeah?" Joey leaned back against the wall next to Ruby.

"Did you ever think we'd get on this well?" Ruby smiled and closed her eyes.

"No" Joey laughed quietly "Absolutely not"

"Charlie would be ecstatic that we care about each other so much...She really wants us to get along..."

"Yeah" Joey nodded in agreement "She really would be..."

"I wonder if she's okay..." Ruby said quietly, concern colouring her tone.

"I hope so" Joey shifted slightly and wrapped an arm around the teen's shoulders "I really hope so"

---

"Okay" Charlie took a deep breath and nodded to herself "I'm ready..." she glanced around the dark beach and quickly rechecked to make sure she still had her guns.

"This could be a really bad idea..." she whispered to herself.

"Most likely" a male voice from behind her stated quietly causing her to pull out her gun and spin around pointing it directly at the person in front of her. She swallowed nervously when she noticed that he too held a gun loosely in his grip.

"You must be Charlie" he grinned at her "It's nice to meet you...sort of"

"Where are Joey and Ruby?!" Charlie demanded quietly, taking a step forward.

"Give me your gun and I'll take you to them" the man offered.

"Take me to them and I'll give you the gun" Charlie challenged.

Colin smirked at her "Fine" he turned and lead the way to his car. Charlie followed silently making sure to keep an eye on his movements. She hesitated for a moment before getting in. The drive was made in silence though Charlie was watching the man closely, trying to find any recognisable features. They finally came to a stop and he led her into an old worn down house.

"Gun" he stated quietly, holding his hand out. Charlie gave it to him without argument and he moved further into the house opening a door for her. She stepped inside and he closed it quickly behind her. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room but when they did she immediately spotted Joey and Ruby huddled together against the wall. She searched for a light quickly and flicked it on, surprised when it actually worked. Charlie quickly moved over to her girlfriend and sister and kneeled down in front of them.

"Joey? Ruby?" she whispered. They both jerked awake and Charlie felt tears burn in her eyes at what they must have been through in the past few days. They both stared at her silently for a moment before launching themselves into her arms.

"I missed you both so much" Charlie whispered tearfully. She pulled away after a moment and smiled reassuringly at them "I'm going to get us out of here, okay?"

"How?" Ruby questioned weakly "You're stuck in this room too..."

Charlie frowned at her sister's pallor "I have a plan..." she reached out and placed her hand on Ruby's forehead shocked at the clamminess and the heat radiating from it. She frowned as she noticed the bandage on her sister's forehead.

"What happened?" she asked in concern.

"Joey..." Ruby coughed slightly and tugged at Joey's sleeve indicating that she should tell Charlie her theory.

"I think she has hypothermia" Joey spoke up quietly "It's really freezing in here...Plus that bastard hit her on the head with his gun so that wouldn't have helped"

Charlie nodded and smiled weakly at Joey before turning her gaze to Ruby "Are you okay Rubz? Are you hurt anywhere else? I promise I'm going to get you out of here as soon as possible"

"I'm fine" Ruby said quietly. She motioned towards Joey "Joey was looking out for me"

Charlie turned towards Joey and smiled genuinely "Thanks Jo"

"No problem" Joey shrugged as she stood up.

Charlie stood up next to her and pulled her closer placing a soft kiss on her lips. She pulled back slightly when she tasted blood and ran a finger over Joey's bottom lip "What happened?"

"Colin punched me" Joey shrugged "It's not a big deal...Really"

"Hey" Ruby said from the ground "A little help over here?"

Joey and Charlie turned to her quickly and helped her to her feet.

"Thanks" The teenager winced as she leaned against the wall.

"Charlie?" Joey asked quietly "Do you know what this guy's problem is with me?"

"Yeah, Joey about that..."

The door slammed open causing them all to turn to it in alarm to see Colin standing there, gun in hand. Charlie instantly moved to stand protectively between him and Joey and Ruby.

"Well!" he exclaimed happily "Now that we're all here the real revenge can begin!" he motioned towards Charlie with his gun before pointing it at the wall opposite "You. Over there"

"No way..."

"Move it! Or my finger might accidently slip on this trigger"

Charlie glanced at Joey who nodded at her before reluctantly moving over to the wall.

"Now I suppose everybody wants to know why they're here" the man said quietly, shifting the gun casually from hand to hand "Am I right?"

"I don't" Charlie said from where she was standing "I already know"

Colin raised an eyebrow in interest "Well this makes it all the more interesting! Why don't you tell us all?"

Charlie sighed "You want revenge because you think that your brother is in jail for nothing."

"Brother?" Joey repeated hoarsely "Robbo?!"

"...And you've decided to pin the blame on Joey" Charlie continued "Which is why you got on that boat with her...So you could have your so called 'revenge' but it didn't work, did it?"

"No" Colin shook his head "But I'll have it now" he pointed his gun directly at Joey and Ruby but was distracted by Charlie's yell.

"Hold it!"

He glanced at her and smirked when he noticed that she held a gun in her hand "You tricked me..."

"So?" Charlie muttered, stepping slightly closer.

"Put the gun down" Colin said quietly "Or I'll shoot"

"Not if I shoot you first"

"But by that time one of them will already have been shot" the man muttered "Now put the gun down"

Charlie lowered her gun slightly "Put yours down"

"I've been waiting for my revenge for a long time" Colin drawled "I'm not going to let the opportunity pass me by now"

Charlie watched almost in slow motion as he pointed the gun at her sister and squeezed the trigger. She watched Joey push Ruby roughly out of the way causing them both to fall to the ground. She raised her own gun and fired a neutralising shot at the man in front of her causing him to drop to the ground.

"Joey!" She heard Ruby gasp. Charlie turned quickly from the man and rushed over to her sister and girlfriend.

"Oh my god!" she gasped noticing the blood pouring freely from Joey's side.

"Its okay" Joey muttered hoarsely "I think it's just a graze"

Charlie shook her head quietly and applied pressure to the wound "It's not" she glanced quickly at Ruby who stood gazing at them speechlessly "Rubz?" Ruby showed no sign of responding and Charlie raised her voice slightly "RUBY!"

"What?" Ruby finally moved over to them and dropped to her knees next to Joey "What should I do?!"

"Call an ambulance!" Charlie said quickly.

"But I don't know where we are!"

"Fuck...Uh I saw a sign outside. It said Melrose or something..."

Ruby nodded quickly and began dialling.

"Jo?" Charlie said quietly as she returned her gaze to her girlfriend "Joey, talk to me!"

Joey forced her eyes open to look at Charlie "Charlie..." she smiled weakly at her.

"What were you thinking, jumping in front of bullets?!" Charlie scolded gently as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Had to protect Ruby" Joey coughed slightly "I told you I would, didn't I?"

"No" Charlie shook her head "You didn't..." she gently moved a strand of dark hair from Joey's face "But you did it anyway"

"Charlie?" Joey mumbled hoarsely.

"What is it?" Charlie leaned down close to Joey.

"I'm kind of dizzy..."

Charlie felt fear shoot through her as Joey's eyes began to flutter shut "Joey! No Joey don't close your eyes...Stay with me Honey"

Joey opened her eyes and smiled weakly at Charlie "You called me Honey"

Charlie laughed tearfully "Yeah, I did" she pressed a soft kiss to Joey's cheek "You're going to be okay..."

"I don't think I am..." Joey muttered weakly "I love you Charlie"

"I love you too" Charlie responded tearfully "But you're going to be fine...I promise. Don't you dare say your goodbyes Jo!"

Joey shook her head faintly as her eyes fluttered shut.

"Jo?" Charlie questioned in panic "Joey, Wake up!" there was no response and she felt the grip on her hand loosen slightly "JOEY!"

"She's not breathing" Ruby said tearfully from where she sat holding Joey's hand.

Charlie leaned forward and sobbed freely "JOEY!"

Sirens could be heard faintly in the distance.

TBC