Thank so much for your reviews. I love to hear what you guys all think! Longest chapter so far! :D Hope you all enjoy... xoxo

Chapter 35

Brett walked slowly past the diner, a sly grin on his face. He spotted Charlie up ahead and his grin faded quickly into a dark scowl. He followed her slowly, gradually getting closer until he noticed that there was nobody around.

"HEY!" he yelled loudly.

Charlie stopped and turned around to face him. Her expression dropped when she noticed who it was and she began to continue walking.

Brett fumed silently and rushed up to her grabbing her arm tightly "I was TALKING to you!"

"What do you want?" Charlie pulled herself out of his rough hold "I don't have anything to say to you Brett"

"I want you to stay away from my sister!" the man growled "Whatever you're doing with her...It's SICK! It's not right!"

Charlie ground her teeth together in fury but managed to push it back "I'm not going to give into you Brett. Hitting you will only give you what you want and I'm not prepared to do it"

"Why can't you just leave Joey ALONE?!" Brett yelled "You don't love her Charlie. You're just using her and It's WRONG!"

"Okay" Charlie released a heavy sigh and began to speak slowly as if she was talking to a particularly petulant Child "I love Joey. She loves me. There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop us from being together. Nothing about what I have with your sister is wrong Brett. It's all right so just lea..." she was cut off by a furious growl from Brett as he shoved her hard. She stumbled backwards and felt the air rush from her lungs as her back collided with the wall. A split second later a hand grabbed at her throat, holding her in place.

"You're going to leave my sister alone!" Brett muttered darkly "Do you understand me?!"

Charlie struggled for breath as Brett pressed down on her windpipe but she refused to answer the question.

"This is your fault" Brett continued angrily "You made her this way" he tightened his grip on Charlie's throat slightly even as she gasped for air, tears forming in her terrified eyes "And I'm going to make you pay for what you've done...I swear it" he scowled wrathfully at her before he released her and stalked away. Charlie dropped to the ground and coughed as she attempted to get air back into her lungs. Her hand moved to her throat and she rubbed the sore area painfully.

"Ow..." she felt tears spring to her eyes as oxygen stung her throat but stubbornly pushed them back down. She looked up to see Brett disappearing from her site and mentally sighed in relief. She pushed herself shakily to her feet and began a slow walk back to where she was originally heading...Home.

She walked into the house numbly and approached the living room where she could hear the sound of the TV.

"Hey Charlz" Ruby greeted warmly without taking her eyes off the TV. When no response was offered she looked up in confusion and her eyes widened in panic when she noticed Charlie's untidy and bruised state.

"CHARLIE!" Ruby practically leaped off the chair in an effort to get the older girl. She reached her just as she stumbled forward. The younger girl caught her in a gentle grip "What happened to you?" when Charlie still showed no sign of answering Ruby led her over to the couch and sat her gently down.

"Shit..." Ruby cursed as she ran her fingers over the dark bruise already forming on Charlie's neck "Charlie?" she waved a hand in front of Charlie's face "Charlie please talk to me!" she bit her lip as tears of fright welled up in her eyes "I have to call Joey..."

"NO!" Charlie snapped out of her reverie and grabbed Ruby's hand pulling her back down on the couch "Don't..."

"Who did this Charlie?" Ruby reached out and grasped both of Charlie's hands in her own "Was it Brett?"

Charlie nodded slowly as tears filled her eyes "He told me that I have to leave Joey alone again...That what I have with her is wrong! How can it be wrong Rubz?"

Ruby swallowed hard against the lump in her throat and pulled Charlie into a tight embrace, the action meant to reassure herself that the older girl was okay as much as it was meant to comfort her "There's nothing at all wrong with your relationship with Joey...You guys love each other! There's nothing more pure and right than what you two have together!"

"He seems to think there is..." Charlie sighed as she reached up to brush tears from her cheeks "Why can't he just leave us alone Ruby?"

"What did he do?" Ruby's hand once again rose to brush lightly against the angry looking bruise on Charlie's neck "Did he hurt you anywhere else?"

Charlie sniffled and shrugged weakly "I think my back might be a bit bruised...He pushed me into a wall"

"And decided to choke you?!" Outrage registered on Ruby's face when she finally thought beyond Charlie's injuries to who caused them "I'm going to kill him..." she stood up only to find herself tugged back down quickly.

"No" Charlie coughed rubbing at her throat "He's too dangerous Rubz. Just leave him; I don't want you involved with all of this crap"

"You should go to a hospital" Ruby murmured in concern as she noticed that Charlie was shaking next to her "That looks really painful...and I think you might be in shock"

Charlie shook her head silently.

"Well at least let me phone Joey" Ruby offered softly "You seem like you need her right now and she'll know what to do anyway. She'll fix you up and..."

"NO!" Charlie stated loudly, the volume of her voice surprising Ruby "I'm not going to the hospital and nobody's going to phone Joey. She doesn't need to know about this!"

"What?!" Ruby gasped "Why? Joey has to know! Her brother attacked you for God sake. She would want to know. You can't keep this from her "

"She can't know" Charlie wrapped her arms tightly around herself trying to control the involuntary shaking of her body "It'll just give her an excuse to leave me...I'll be fine"

"And what about the next time this happens?!" Ruby stood up tears shining in her eyes "What if you're not so lucky next time Charlie?" the teenager shook her head in disbelief "I can't believe how selfish you're being! What...What would I do if anything happened to you?"

Charlie pulled her daughter back down onto the couch and into her arms, holding onto her tightly "I'm sorry..."

"You have no idea how much I need you!" Ruby whispered tearfully into Charlie's shoulder. She pulled back slightly after a moment "Charlie, please..."

"I can't tell her" Charlie said quietly "And you can't either Rubz." She stood up and leaned down to place a kiss on her daughters forehead "I'm sorry" she pulled back and wiped tears from her eyes "I have to go get changed. I can't have her seeing me like this" she moved towards her bedroom leaving Ruby on the couch.

---

Joey walked down the road, grinning ecstatically to herself. She pushed open the door and entered the house finding herself anxious to see her girlfriend.

"Charlie?" she called out quietly as she looked around the kitchen. She frowned to herself when there was no answer and moved slowly into the living room. She spotted Charlie sitting on the couch and beamed happily.

"Joey!" Charlie smiled as she help her arms open to the other girl "God, I'm glad to see you!"

Joey jumped onto the couch and fell into Charlie's offered embrace, placing a soft kiss on her lips. She was slightly surprised when Charlie deepened the short kiss but happily returned it none-the-less.

"Hey" she grinned when she pulled back "I take it you missed me?"

"More than I can say" Charlie answered sincerely.

"Are you okay?" Joey tilted her head to the side and gazed closely at Charlie who shifted nervously at the sudden examination.

"Yeah, Why?"

"Your voice sounds weird" Joey stated softly as her fingers gently traced Charlie's lips "Sounds huskier than usual"

"Maybe I'm really happy to see you" Charlie smiled charmingly at her.

"Nope...It's not that" Joey continued to stare closely at the older girl "Your voice doesn't sound like this even when you're really uh..." she blushed slightly and coughed "Yeah...Plus you're wearing a Hoodie! It's like 900c out!" indeed Charlie was wearing a dark hoodie, the collar pulled almost right up to her chin.

"I'm cold" Charlie protested weakly.

"You're not sick again, are you?" Joey raised a hand to Charlie's forehead but felt no temperature.

"I'm fine" Charlie coughed slightly and lifted a hand to her stinging throat "Just leave it Jo...Please!"

"What...Charlie" Joey frowned at the pleading note in Charlie's voice and the tears that had formed quickly in her eyes "What's wrong Baby? I'm sure it's not that bad. If you're sick..."

"I'm not sick!" Charlie sniffled quietly.

Joey gazed fearfully at her Lover "Charlie, Honey I have to take this off. I need to know what's wrong with you" she reached slowly for the zip of Charlie's hoodie.

"No..." Charlie protested weakly as she moved away from Joey "Please Jo don't..."

"I'm not going to hurt you" Joey placed a soft kiss on Charlie's cheek "I promise" she pulled the hoodie from Charlie as gently as possible ensuring that she kept her eyes locked with Charlie's "It's okay..." when the item of clothing was fully removed she looked down and her eyes widened in horror at the sight of the dark bruise marking Charlie's neck "Charlie..." her gaze rose to meet fear filled blue eyes "Who did this? Was it...Brett?"

Charlie nodded silently and gripped onto Joey's hands with a vice like grip "Please don't leave me Joey..."

"Hey" Joey pulled Charlie towards her "I'm not going to leave you Charlie...This isn't your fault"

"I thought that you would give into him and leave me" Charlie said tearfully as she lay her head on Joey's chest listening to the younger girl's steady heartbeat "I was so scared Jo..."

"I'm not leaving you" Joey kissed Charlie's head lightly "I promise...I'm going to kill him though"

"No" Charlie shook her head "He's not worth it Jo..."

"You don't deserve this" Joey mumbled as Charlie sat up slightly to look at her "This..." she reached out and traced the bruise on Charlie's neck with gentle fingertips "You don't deserve any of this crap from him"

"Jo?" Charlie wrapped an arm around Joey's waist and snuggled into her side.

"Yeah?" Joey breathed out, her gaze turning down to look at Charlie.

"Do you think that our relationship is wrong?" Charlie asked vulnerably "That it's everything Brett says?"

"NO!" Joey jerked backwards to look into Charlie's eyes "No Charlie...There's nothing wrong with what we have together. Brett's just being a prick!" she leaned forward and placed a passionate but incredibly tender kiss on Charlie's lips, threading her hands through silky hair as she did so. She eventually pulled away when air became an issue "Does it feel anything but right?"

"No" Charlie answered honestly "It feels right...Righter than anything I've ever felt before..."

"It is right" Joey pulled Charlie back towards her into a soft kiss and wrapped her arms tightly around her as if by doing that she could shield her from Brett's narrow minded bitterness.

---

"She's such a Charlie oh no..." Joey sang along to the lyrics from the music around her as she tapped her fingers rhythmically against the Chair "She's such a Charlie oh no...She's always looking at me...She's always looking at me... She's such a Charlie oh no"

Charlie giggled as she leaned further into Joey's embrace "I don't think those are the words Babe" she leaned her head against Joey's and placed a soft kiss on the hand entwined with her own.

"Well they should be!" Joey grinned charmingly "Because to me all songs are for you..." she winked flirtatiously.

"She's such a charmer oh no!" Charlie giggled using the correct lyrics this time. She leaned forward and kissed Joey gently "You're such a charmer Collins!"

"That's the way you love me" Joey smiled before she returned the soft kiss. A loud cough from above them caused them to pull apart. They looked up to see Brett looming over them and Charlie immediately cringed. Joey squeezed her hand protectively.

"What the hell do you want Brett?" She glared at him "I suggest you get out of here before I thump you for what you did to Charlie!"

"Yeah..." Brett tried his utmost to look apologetic "Look I'm sorry about that Charlie. I was way out of line this afternoon. I had no right to treat you like that"

"Uh..." Charlie gazed at him in pure shock "Right..."

"Let me buy you both a drink" Brett offered "Peace offering? Please?"

"Okay..." Charlie glanced unsurely at Joey.

"What are you drinking?" Brett smiled stiffly as he fingered a small packet in his pocket.

"Um...Vodka and Coke" Charlie answered quietly.

"Just a bottle of beer for me" Joey said watching her brother closely. He went up to get the drinks and returned a couple of minutes later.

"I am really sorry" he said to Charlie as he placed the drinks on the table and left without another word.

"That was...strange" Joey noted numbly "I wonder what's wrong with him..."

"I don't know" Charlie pulled Joey close and kissed her "But it's a good thing right?"

They both picked up their drinks and clinked them together.

"I think so..." Joey said unsurely.

----

"Charlie?" Joey frowned as she observed her girlfriend whose leg was bouncing up and down "Is something wrong? You seem really hyper and drunk but you've only had two drinks tonight!"

"I'm fine!" Charlie grinned as she jumped up pulling Joey with her "In fact I feel on top of the world! Let's dance" she pulled Joey in close to her.

"Whoa!" Joey caught her girlfriend as she stumbled slightly "I think you should sit down for a minute Honey..."

"I'm fine!" Charlie protested loudly, drawing the attention of some of the other customers.

"Charlie..." Joey frowned as she placed her hands on Charlie's cheeks and gazed closely into her eyes "Your eyes are all bloodshot. What's going on?"

"I'm...fine" Charlie slurred "Really Jo...I'm perfectly Fiiiiiine!" she attempted to pull the younger girl into a kiss but Joey pulled away.

"No you're not!" Joey argued in concern "I can tell that's there something wrong Charlie. Your eyes are bloodshot, your breathing is shallow, you're falling all over the place and you're not acting like you normally do!"

"Joey, I'm Fine" Charlie panted breathlessly. She pulled away and shook her head as the room seemed to spin around her "Whoa..." she held out an arm in attempt to regain her balance "Maybe I'm not..."

"CHARLIE!" Joey yelled as Charlie stumbled. She rushed forwards and caught her in her arms. She lowered her gently to the ground "Somebody call an ambulance!" she reached down and moved a strand of hair from Charlie's face "Charlie, Please wake up..."

---

"Joey?" Ruby asked softly as she turned her gaze to Joey in the seat next to them "Do you think Charlie will be okay?"

"I hope so" Joey released Ruby's hand and instead pulled the younger girl into her arms "I really hope so Rubz..."

"Joey!" Rachel exclaimed as she rushed towards them "Ruby!"

Both girls jumped up to stand in front of Rachel and spoke in unison "Is Charlie okay?!"

Rachel gazed at them sadly and swiped a hand across her eyes "Joey, I need to ask you something and you have to promise to answer me honestly okay?"

"Okay" Joey nodded sincerely "I promise"

"Has Charlie taken anything in the past few hours that you're aware of?" Rachel asked slowly "Cocaine, LSD, Ecstasy, GHB?"

"Drugs?!" Joey exclaimed in disbelief "No! Charlie would never do anything like that...She's a cop for God Sake Rachel. How can you even say that about her?!"

"A large amount of drugs were found in her bloodstream" Rachel informed them quietly "I think she's going to be okay but if she's doing this Joey...It's a real problem which has to be sorted out!"

"She isn't taking drugs!" Joey stated firmly "Charlie would never do anything like tha..." her jaw dropped slightly when something occurred to her "Brett..."

"Brett?" Ruby and Rachel echoed.

"He bought us a drink" Joey said tears welling in her eyes "He said it was a peace offering or something..."

"He could have spiked her drink..." Rachel nodded thoughtfully "Okay...I'll see what I can do. Joey?"

"What?" Joey asked.

"You two can go and see her" Rachel gestured behind her "She's awake but kind of groggy. I know what you're both like so I requested permission for the both of you to stay with her tonight. Room 205"

"Thank you so much Rachel" Joey hugged the doctor quickly before grabbing Ruby's hand and pulling her towards the room. They hesitated outside of it and glanced at each other unsurely.

"We should go in" Ruby whispered finally "She needs us..."

Joey nodded and pushed the door open.

"Hey" Charlie smiled weakly at them "Have you ever realised that we always end up in the same room?" her smile faded when both of the girl's continued to gaze at her tearfully "Come here" she held open her arms to them but frowned when they made no move.

"You don't seriously think I would take those drugs do you?" she asked in disbelief, hurt visible on her expression "I wouldn't do that..."

"No!" Ruby stated adamantly "We just...We..." she glanced at Joey for help.

"We don't want to hurt you" Joey said softly, her words holding a deeper meaning than either of the Buckton's were aware of.

"You won't" Charlie said quietly as tears began to slide from her own eyes "Come on...I could really use a hug right about now? Since when do you reject free hugs Rubz?"

"I'm not rejecting you" Ruby spoke as she carefully approached Charlie "I just don't want to cause you any pain"

"I'm okay" Charlie took her daughter's hand and pulled her into a tight hug. She tightened her embrace when she felt Ruby release a small sob against her "I'm not going anywhere Rubz..."

Ruby hung onto the older girl as tightly and for as long as she possibly could before she pulled away "I love you Charlie"

"I love you too" Charlie smiled tearfully as she reached up to wipe the teenagers tears away.

Ruby glanced from Charlie to Joey who was still standing next to the door and back again "I'm going to give you two a minute. Anyone want a coffee?"

"I'm not allowed to drink coffee" Charlie sighed sadly "Because of the drugs"

"Sorry...Three hot chocolates it is than" Ruby leaned down and kissed Charlie's head gently "And I'll make you some of mine when you get home"

"Thanks Rubz" Charlie whispered.

Ruby shrugged as she walked towards the door. She squeezed Joey's hand on the way past before she walked out pulling the door closed behind her.

"So...Do I get a hug?"Charlie smiled at her tearful girlfriend "Would it be too much to ask for a kiss too? Because I really need one right now..." Joey made no move and simply stared at her silently.

"Joey?" Charlie's voice cracked with emotion "Please come over here...I need you"

Joey seemed to snap out of her haze as her tears started coming thicker and faster and she rushed over to Charlie. She kissed her deeply and desperately "Charlie..." she sobbed between kisses "I love you so much..." she pulled Charlie gently closer by the back of her neck and allowed her kisses to slow down. After a moment she pulled away fully and dropped down on the seat behind her, sobbing.

"I'm so sorry Charlie" she sobbed.

"Joey come here" Charlie held out a hand to Joey and when the younger girl took it immediately she pulled her up onto the bed and into her arms "None of this is your fault. Absolutely none of it, okay?"

"I don't want to hurt you" Joey sobbed into Charlie's shoulder "But I AM hurting you Charlie!"

"You're not" Charlie soothed quietly as she smoothed a hand over Joey's dark hair "This is his fault...Not yours. HIS!"

"You almost died!" Joey pulled back to look into Charlie's eyes "Because of our love for each other...you almost died..."

"Not because of our love" Charlie smiled shaking her head "Because of his narrow minded hate!"

"I don't want you to hurt anymore" Joey whispered leaning her forehead against Charlie's.

"Its okay" Charlie leaned forward and kissed Joey tenderly allowing her lips to linger on the younger girls "He'll go to jail for this and...We'll be fine. I promise"

"I love you much Charlie..." Joey mumbled closing her eyes.

"I love you too" Charlie ducked her head and continued to lovingly kiss the younger girl.

---

"Micky?!" Brett yelled into his phone "The cops are after me! Do you remember what I said? When I'm not around you have to do me one small favour" he listened closely to the voice on the other end and sighed in relief "Yeah. That's it. Thanks Mate" he chucked his phone into a bush before stopping and holding his hands up in surrender to the advancing police.

TBC