Sorry for the late update guys! I got sidetracked with school etc but I'm back now. Thanks again for all of your reviews. They're still really appreciated :)
lil20: You're definitely right about the pubs thing lol. As for Ruby and Summer...I don't know. I was kind of dropping subtle hints to see what people thought of it but apparently they were too subtle because only you and one other person picked up on it. I'll have to see where that goes I guess :D
Chapter 59
"I really don't want to do this" Ruby whispered as she glanced anxiously between Joey and Charlie and the social worker waiting rather impatiently in the next room.
"We know" Joey sighed as Charlie looked away "We don't like it either Rubz. But apparently this is just something you have to do"
Ruby nodded shortly still furious that the allegation had been made "I hate this. I hate HIM...I can't believe he would say that you're 'Abusing me'!"
"Yeah...You should probably go in there" Charlie said though she didn't meet Ruby's gaze, instead focusing her own guilt filled eyes on the ground "Or she'll probably think I'm threatening you into staying quiet or something"
"Oh" Ruby's expression dropped thinking that Charlie was angry with her "You...You're not going to come in with me?"
"We probably won't be allowed" Joey said as she shot Charlie a confused look "Or they'll think you're being intimidated...Sorry Rubz"
"Will you try?" Ruby pleaded desperately her nervousness obvious in her eyes "I don't want to go in there by myself"
"Okay" Joey nodded at the teenager and reached out to squeeze her hand lightly "We'll try...Right Charlie?"
"Right" Charlie agreed quickly having become increasingly concerned at the prospect of leaving her daughter alone. They glanced nervously at each other before they walked silently into the living room.
"Sorry about the wait" Charlie attempted to be polite despite her gnawing frustration at the situation, fully aware that it wasn't the social workers fault.
"That's fine" Terri smiled lightly at them before she focused on Ruby who was shuffling her feet nervously "Shall we get on with this than?" she glanced pointedly at Charlie and Joey who were still hovering at the teenagers side.
"Can they stay?" Ruby questioned beseechingly "I need them here"
"That's not really allowed" Terri said regretfully "It's against the rules"
"She's under age" Charlie pointed out "Doesn't that mean she needs to have someone with her?"
"Of course it does" Terri stated "But with all due respect Mrs Buckton...You're the person under investigation here. It would be against protocol to allow you to stay in the room since you could potentially intimidate her into answering falsely"
"I need them here" Ruby repeated slightly louder than before "You're not going to get any answers if they have to leave"
Terri sighed and looked between the small family thoughtfully "Fine...They can stay. But this is really against standard practice"
Ruby nodded as she sat down on the couch. After a moment Charlie sat next to her and Joey sat at the other side of Charlie.
"Ready?" Terri asked kindly, knowing the young girl would be nervous.
Ruby took a deep breath and glanced at Charlie pleadingly. As if reading her daughter's mind Charlie tentatively inched her hand forward.
"Ready" Ruby confirmed as she took Charlie's hand and squeezed it tightly before looking back at Terri who watched the exchange with a small smile.
"I have to warn you that the questions I'm going to ask will be tough" Terri explained, her gaze focused on the teenager "They may be hard to answer but I need you to answer honestly, Okay Ruby?"
"Okay" Ruby nodded seemingly more confident as she clung to Charlie's hand "I will"
"Good" Terri offered a small smile before she glanced at Charlie and Joey "I have to ask that you don't interrupt"
Joey and Charlie nodded grudgingly, clearly not happy with the situation.
Knowing there was no way to ease gently into her questioning Terri jumped right in at the deep end "Has your mother ever inflicted any kind of injury on you?"
"No" Ruby answered instantly "She hasn't...She wouldn't"
"According to my files..." Terri glanced briefly at the folder in her hands before looking back at Ruby "You went away a while ago and came back with significant injuries"
"I fell into a river" Ruby frowned "It was my own fault. Charlie had nothing to do with it...In fact she jumped in after me and she was hurt way more than I was"
Terri nodded slowly "And you were admitted to the hospital recently?"
"For diabetes!" Ruby exclaimed "I fainted"
"Yes" Terri said quietly "Suffering from hypoglycaemia otherwise known as low blood sugar? Because you weren't eating"
"That's my own fault" Ruby said as she realised what the social worker was implying "You can't honestly think that Charlie would want to hurt me!"
"I have to go off the evidence and your mother's track record" Terri explained regretfully.
"What track record?" Charlie asked fearfully.
Terri glanced at her to see she had paled dramatically "You assaulted Grant Bredcloe at the hospital, there was a case of assault filed against you by a Mr Brett Collins and there was a drug charge against you"
"The drugs charges were dropped!" Joey exclaimed as Charlie sat stunned "They were planted by somebody. Don't your files tell you that?"
"They do" Terri nodded "But all of these allegations of drug usage and assault build up to count against you I'm afraid"
"This is ridiculous!" Ruby stated in frustration "Charlie would never do anything to hurt me. It's Grant...its all Grant. He's the one who should be being questioned. Not Charlie!"
"The case will have to be followed up" Terri informed them professionally "But you'll hear back from me soon when I've reviewed the evidence and determined the best course of action"
Ruby felt a squeeze to her hand and glanced at Charlie who was visibly shaking with anger.
"This is stupid" Charlie stated furiously "The best course of action is to leave her here where she belongs. If we lose this...Are you seriously telling me you're going to grant custody of my daughter to a perverted rapist?!"
"That's not what I'm saying" Terri answered as she stood up "That's what I'm trying to stop happening but if the evidence forces me there's nothing I can do"
When Charlie said nothing Joey coughed awkwardly and stood up from the couch "I'll show you out" she walked out of the room with Terri in tow.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked Charlie who seemed to have somewhat of a death grip on her hand.
"No" Charlie shook her head sadly her gaze focused on her lap "this is all such a mess. As f it wasn't already bad enough that he's here reminding me about what happened that night and after, he's trying to do this..." she looked up and instantly felt guilty at Ruby's guilty disheartened expression "I'm sorry Ruby...I didn't mean..."
"It doesn't matter" Ruby shrugged though pain was obvious in her eyes "You have a right to be mad. If I was you I wouldn't want to be reminded of him or anything even remotely connected to him either"
"That's not what I meant!" Charlie exclaimed in shock "You know I didn't mean it like that Rubz..."
Ruby merely shrugged in response and pulled her hand from Charlie's grip "its fine"
"Hey!" Joey exclaimed in an attempted bright voice as she entered the living room with Cameron and Summer hot on her heels "Look who I found on the doorstep!" when she was greeted with only silence she frowned in confusion "Ooookay"
"We're going upstairs" Ruby announced as she walked over to Summer and pulled her urgently out of the room and towards the stairs.
"What was that about?" Cameron asked quizzically as she glanced between Charlie and the door "She seemed to be in one hell of a hurry"
"That was me messing things up again" Charlie sighed as Joey sat next to her and took her hand comfortingly "Ruby thinks I'm mad at her because she's connected to Grant"
"Oh" Cameron said as she sat down on the couch opposite them "That's not good"
"At least she has Summer" Joey pointed out gently "Even if she feels she can't talk to us about it at least she can talk about it with somebody"
Charlie nodded in agreement though she kept her worried gaze trained on the stairs.
---
"Whoa!" Summer gasped as Ruby yanked her into the bedroom and shut the door behind them "Careful Rubz...I might need my arm when you're done with it" her smile faded slightly as she watched Ruby fling herself onto the bed and bury her face in the pillow "Hey, what's wrong Rubz?" she sat down on the bed and placed a tentative hand on the younger girl's shaking back "Ruby?"
"She hates me!" Ruby exclaimed tearfully as she turned her head slightly and looked at Summer "It's like I'm a reminder of what happened to her...She practically admitted it!"
"I'm sorry to say Rubz" Summer said calmly "But you're an idiot if you think Charlie could ever dislike you never mind hate you!"
"But she said..."
"I'm sure she didn't mean it like that" Summer interrupted as she watched Ruby sit up slightly on the bed "There's a lot going on right now Rubz. She probably wasn't even thinking when she said whatever it is that she said"
"But it's true" Ruby pointed out quietly.
"No it's not!" Summer exclaimed firmly as she took Ruby's hand in her own "You're the only one of us who thinks less of you because of where you come from. Nobody else sees that. Especially not Charlie. She sees her daughter who she loves like crazy and would do absolutely anything to protect. What she doesn't see is him because you're nothing like him"
"But he's my father" Ruby argued tearfully "How can I not be like him? How can Charlie not be constantly reminded every times she looks at me?"
"You aren't" Summer sighed as she climbed fully onto the bed and pulled Ruby into her arms "And she doesn't see that. Just talk to her Rubz. Only she can tell you what you need to know"
"What if she gives me an answer I don't want?" Ruby sobbed quietly into her friend's shoulder "I don't want her to resent me for what happened"
"She won't" Summer promised quietly as she tightened her embrace.
---
"Charlie?" Joey whispered sleepily as she entered the kitchen to see Charlie sitting at the table writing "What are you doing?" she sat next to the older girl and noticed she was drawing up some kind of table.
"I'm comparing my convictions to Grant's" Charlie responded softly "To give me a rough idea of how this is going to play out...Y'know. Whether or not they'll try to take Ruby away from me"
"It's 3am" Joey stated quietly as she watched Charlie continue to write "You need to sleep Charlie"
"I can't" Charlie answered quietly "I have to do everything I can to make sure I keep her away from him"
"I know" Joey whispered as she wrapped an arm lightly around Charlie's shoulders. She breathed a sigh of relief when her wife finally stopped writing "But you need to get some sleep or you're going to wear yourself out and make yourself sick"
"I can't let him take her" Charlie spoke emotionally as she leaned back slightly into Joey's arms allowing her eyes to fall tiredly shut for a moment "There's no way of knowing what he'll do to her. I can't let anything happen to her" she visibly shuddered at the thought.
"She's not going anywhere" Joey soothed for the umpteenth time in the last couple of days "They can't let him take her because of his convictions...He's a known sexual predator. They couldn't possibly allow him to look after a teenager"
Charlie nodded slowly and glanced at the ceiling "She still hasn't talked to me yet"
"I know" Joey responded lightly "But to be fair Ruby and Summer haven't come out of that room since early tonight and it's now 3am so..."
"I guess you're right" Charlie smiled softly and glanced at Joey "You always make me feel better"
"It's my specialty" Joey whispered before Charlie kissed her lightly "You should talk to her you know"
"I know" Charlie nodded "And I will. I hate that she thinks I blame her in all of this because that couldn't be further from the truth..." Joey nodded and they fell into contemplative silence for a moment.
"Are you coming to bed now?" Joey yawned as she stood up and held out her hand "Because I don't know about you but I'm really tired"
"Yeah" Charlie smiled lightly as she took Joey's outstretched hand and allowed herself to be pulled from the room.
TBC
