Chapter 69
"Charlie?" Joey questioned as she watched her wife staring vacantly into space, sitting at the kitchen table. When there was no response she waved her hand in front of Charlie's eyes "Chaaarlie?"
"Huh?" Charlie jumped slightly in surprise though she finally managed to focus on Joey "What?"
"Are you okay?" Joey asked in concern "You've been kind of spaced out all day"
"Sorry" Charlie sighed heavily in frustration and ran a hand through her dark hair "I'm just distracted...Over thinking probably"
"What are you thinking about?" Joey tentatively reached out and placed her hand atop Charlie's "Ruby?"
"I don't know...Kind of" Charlie shrugged bewildered at her own jumbled thoughts "I just can't stop thinking about him. About what he could be doing or what he could be planning" she gestured to the small note bearing Grant's handwriting which lay on the table in front of her "This doesn't make any sense. I can't figure out what he's going to do"
"Um..."
"I should have some idea about what his next move will be!" Charlie stated as she pulled away and grabbed the note, scrutinising it closely "But there's nothing to suggest what he's going to do next"
"Doesn't the note say something about Summer?" Joey asked carefully "So wouldn't it be reasonable to say that she's his focus for some reason?"
"It seems like it" Charlie answered, squinting closely at the note as if looking for something she had missed "But I don't know...I think he's trying to distract us from what he's really planning"
Joey nodded slowly "Bu we can't know that for sure so..."
"So we're absolutely lost" Charlie sighed, allowing the note to drop from her fingertips onto the table again. She stood up and glared darkly at it "I should have shot the bastard when I had the chance..."
Joey's eyes widened in shock at the uncharacteristic venom audible in Charlie's voice "Uh..."
"This would all be over!" Charlie insisted as she motioned around them "We wouldn't be practically living in knifes edge if I hadn't missed! I wouldn't be going over and over what he did in my head! I wouldn't be focusing on..."
"What he could have done?" Joey suggested gently as she stepped around the table and placed her hand comfortingly on Charlie's forearm "What Summer said he was thinking about doing?"
"I should be able to do something" Charlie murmured tightly as she lowered her rapidly filling eyes to the ground "I should be able to protect them!"
"Charlie..." Joey's voice came out as a sad whisper.
"I shouldn't have let him take them in the first place!" Charlie exclaimed self deprecation obvious in her voice as she pulled away from Joey's touch and began to pace "I shouldn't have let him touch Summer and I definitely shouldn't have let him escape knowing what he did to Ruby..."
"It's not your fault..." Joey attempted to reassure before being cut off.
"What kind of mother am I?!" Charlie exclaimed tearfully "I can't even protect my own daughter from him. Maybe Dad was right about me. Maybe I am useless at..."
"Hey!" Joey exclaimed firmly as she grabbed Charlie's arms to stop her pacing "Stop that. There was nothing you could do to stop what happened Charlie. There was nothing anybody could do. That doesn't make you a bad mother. Not at all"
"I could have stopped her fro..."
"No" Joey interrupted surely "You couldn't have. You couldn't have stopped her from going out that night because to her it was something she needed to do. You wouldn't have had a reason to stop her either because you couldn't have known that Grant was going to do something like this"
Charlie shrugged tearfully "But I should have"
"You couldn't" Joey disagreed gently "You're a mother not...Superwoman" she gently pulled a shaky Charlie to a chair and sat her down lightly "there's no way you could have known what was going to happen"
"You know...I kind of wish I hadn't asked Summer what happened now" Charlie sniffled quietly as she leaned her head on her hands "Ignorance is bliss and all that..."
"You're thinking about what happened?" Joey questioned quietly "At that house?"
"I can't stop" Charlie admitted softly "If Summer hadn't...I can't stop thinking about what could have happened Joey. Ruby...She could have been...and it would have been ten times worse because he's..." she took a deep breath to ease the rising sickness she felt but it did nothing to keep the tears at bay "I couldn't stand for anything like that to happen to her and the fact that he even suggested it..."
"Suggested it?" Joey frowned.
"Summer said he had threatened her...He said something like he doesn't think of Ruby as his biological daughter so it wouldn't matter to him if he..." Charlie trailed off and stood up quickly "I need a drink"
Joey watched intently as Charlie walked over to the fridge. She lowered her gaze to the ground and inhaled deeply, feeling sick herself at Grant's suggestion. When she looked up Charlie had returned to the seat next to her with a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hand.
"I need to do something" Charlie muttered as she precariously poured the wine into the two glasses before placing the bottle on the table "I need to feel like we're getting closer to finding him..." she grabbed her glass and drank half the wine in one mouthful.
"Charlie..." Joey subtly pushed her own glass of wine away and leaned forward slightly "Charlie, talk to me...What's really bothering you? Right now I mean?"
Charlie hesitated for a moment before she tearfully met Joey's dark eyes "After what Summer told me...I honestly feel like killing him Joey. The fact that he even suggested doing anything like what he did to me..."
"Don't focus on it" Joey said as she took Charlie's free hand in her own "Don't think about what could have happened Charlie. Just focus on the fact that Ruby and Summer are here, safe"
"For now" Charlie said pessimistically "But how long will it be until he decides to do something else?"
"We'll be ready" Joey reassured her gently "He won't get anywhere near them again because we won't let him"
Charlie nodded slowly her tears slowing down slightly "He's going to pay...When I find him. I swear to God I'm not going to let him get away lightly with this"
Joey nodded in agreement but something in Charlie's eyes scared her "Just...promise me you won't do anything stupid, okay Charlie?"
Charlie shrugged and glanced away "Okay"
Joey bit her lip not fully content with the half hearted answer.
---
"You have to tell her"
Summer sighed heavily "You've been saying that for days now"
"Well you should" Ruby defended calmly "She's your sister. Don't you think she deserves to know what happened?"
"Almost happened" Summer corrected "And I thought I already explained that to you. The whole it was my fault my sister was..."
"Don't even think about it" Ruby held up a hand to stop her friend's statement "That wasn't your fault. I already told you..."
"And I already told you that I don't want Cameron to feel guilty about something that didn't even happen" Summer responded.
"But it wasn't her fault" Ruby stated quietly "I mean...She wasn't even there so she shouldn't really feel guilty, right?"
"No" Summer shook her head and gazed at Ruby sceptically "That doesn't change anything. I mean look at Charlie..."
"What about Charlie?" Ruby frowned in concern "She's fine"
"She acts fine" Summer informed insightfully "That doesn't mean she actually is okay. It doesn't stop her from blaming herself for what could have happened to you"
"She blames herself?" Ruby questioned, her shock obvious "I...I can't believe I didn't notice"
"Don't feel too bad" Summer said comfortingly "I think she's been trying to hide it from you as much as possible"
"I should talk to her" Ruby mumbled quietly to herself "Maybe later..."
"Probably a good idea" Summer agreed "I know from experience that if nobody intercepts the guilt just kind of...Stays there. It doesn't go away; it's just a constant reminder of what you've done"
"Or haven't done" Ruby added.
"Yeah...Maybe" Summer nodded hesitantly and they fell into a comfortable silence.
"You should tell her" Ruby said again "Not just about what happened at the house but...all of it. What happened before as well...Why you feel guilty"
"I can't" Summer shook her head instantly "I can't tell her that...It's out of the question" she laughed humourlessly "Anyway she's never around long enough for me to actually talk to her anyway. She's too absorbed in her 'work'"
"You'll work it out" Ruby said softly as she grabbed Summer's hand in a gentle grip "You just have to start with honesty..."
Summer released a heavy sigh "I'll try...Happy now?"
"Ecstatic" Ruby smiled triumphantly.
---
"Hey" Ruby whispered as she stopped in front of the couch Charlie was lying on "Are you okay?"
"Rubz" Charlie sat up slightly to make room for her daughter and wiped the faint traces of tears away quickly "Yeah...I'm fine. Just, thinking, y'know?"
"Yeah" Ruby sat cross legged on the couch next to Charlie and wrapped an arm around her shoulders "Are you sure you're okay?"
Charlie shrugged "I couldn't sleep...What are you doing up, anyway?"
"I guess I couldn't sleep either" Ruby smiled softly "So...Where's Joey?"
"Asleep" Charlie answered sadly "I didn't want to bother her just because I'm..."
"What?" Ruby prompted gently "You're what Charlie?"
"Nothing" Charlie said quietly "It doesn't matter Rubz...Honestly"
"No...Tell me" Ruby demanded gently "I want to know Charlie"
"I can't stop thinking about him" Charlie shrugged lightly "About what happened...That's all"
"It wasn't your fault you know" Ruby said softly causing Charlie to stiffen slightly in surprise "Grant taking us...What happened at the house. It wasn't your fault"
"I should have protected you" Charlie disagreed softly, tears forming again in her eyes "I swore that I wouldn't let anything happen to you..."
"And you didn't" Ruby stated "You didn't let anything happen to me...You saved me"
"But it was too close!" Charlie exclaimed firmly "I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you Ruby..."
"You're not going to lose me" Ruby said quietly as she tightened her grip "You're kind of stuck with me for life"
"I'm such a mess" Charlie muttered as she wiped her tears away "I shouldn't be such a mess...I should be concentrating on finding Grant. On stopping him for real this time..." she moved to get up from the couch but found herself pulled back down.
"Can we just stay here for a while?" Ruby asked pleadingly "I mean can we just...Sit here?"
Charlie hesitated for a moment looking between her work and her daughter. Eventually however her decision was obvious.
"Of course" she sat back down on the couch and pulled Ruby close to her, wrapping her in a warm embrace "Of course we can"
---
Cameron looked hesitantly around as she exited the police station fumbling nervously with the car keys in her pocket. She swallowed heavily and checked again for any sign of Grant. It was 2:00 am so it was quite dark out making her even more nervous than before. She suddenly found herself craving Watson's presence but the other constable was out of the station. For the past few days Watson had been watching her like a hawk at Charlie's request although Cameron suspected she would have walked her to her car without having to be asked anyway. With a deep breath Cameron began the nerve wracking walk to her car. A soft shuffle from her right caused her to stop suddenly but realising she would be better off away from the open space she picked up her pace towards her vehicle. She reached it quickly and fumbled to get her key in the lock as solid footsteps sounded from behind her. Just as she was pulling the car door open a hand slammed it shoot. A hand grabbed her shoulder and turned her around slamming her against the side of the car and knocking the wind out of her.
"Cameron" Grant grinned "Nice to finally see you again"
"What do you want?" Cameron panted painfully as she grasped her side.
"Didn't you get my note?" Grant smirked at her "I want your sister...again"
"What?" Cameron frowned in confusion at his statement.
"Why are you here anyway?" Grant motioned to the building mere feet from them "I thought at a time like this you would be with Summer. She probably needs your support right now"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Cameron asked in frustration.
"Ohhh...She didn't tell you?" Grant winced in mock surprise.
"Tell me what?!" Cameron demanded.
"About what happened at the house" Grant stated with a shrug. He grinned callously and leaned even closer to her "You know...She's almost as good as you were"
Cameron froze instantly at his suggestion, dread filling her "W...What?"
"You heard me" Grant said in a low voice "I thought she would have told you by now..."
"You're lying" Cameron accused him quietly.
"No, I'm not" Grant chuckled darkly "Or do you want me to tell you in detail how she scr...Ooph! "he trailed off with a grunt of pain as Cameron lifted her knee suddenly and it collided painfully with his groin. She raised her fist and punched him hard across the face noticing that his guard was down. She reached for her gun as he went sprawling to the ground.
"Oh Shit..." Cameron muttered under her breath when she realised it had disappeared.
"Looking for this?" Grant smirked as he waved the gun by the trigger "My old skills do come in handy after all..." he pushed himself off the ground and dropped the gun "But I don't need that, do I?"
"You're a sick bastard" Cameron stated angrily "And if you touched my sister..."
"You'll what?" Grant asked as he stepped close to her "There's nothing you can do Cameron" he raised his fist and hit her hard sending her sprawling back against the car, where she hit her head painfully "That's for what you did before" he sent a kick to her ribs causing her to drop to the ground breathing heavily. Unfortunately for him she had landed right next to her gun.
"You're at a police station" Cameron said through her heavy breathing as she reached for her weapon "You're going to get caught..."
"Not likely" Grant smirked arrogantly "I'm..." his smirk faded as Cameron spun around and raised the gun at him "Fuck..." he dived quickly out of the way as the blonde squeezed the trigger. All that sounded however was a sharp click.
"You have got to be kidding me..." Cameron mumbled as she squeezed it again with the same result "Shit" she stood up shakily from the ground.
"You're lucky I'm not ready to kill you yet" Grant smirked at her from the left as he moved closer "I'll be going now...Tell Summer I said Hi" he grabbed her shoulder and shoved her hard against the car eliciting a yelp of pain "That's for trying to shoot me" with that said he turned and rushed away. Cameron tried to run after him but found that she couldn't because of her injuries. She quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialled Watson's number.
TBC
