This chapter just has to be dedicated to tclick. Your review of the last chapter made me laugh out loud! It was awesome! Thank you. And thank you to everyone else who reads and reviews this and my other stories. You all rock. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Charlie and Joey were sound asleep when Charlie's mobile rang again. Blinking her bleary eyes, Charlie moaned and rolled over, fumbling for her phone. She heard Joey squeak and try to wake up beside her.

"Hello?" Charlie managed, her voice thick with sleep.

"Charlie, it's Rachel," came the reply.

Charlie sat up, suddenly alert.

"What's wrong? Is Ruby okay?" she asked immediately.

"Ruby's fine as far as I know," Rachel replied calmly. "But Angelo's been brought in. He's in a pretty bad way. Now, I know you're not together anymore or anything like that but he named you as his next of kin so I was obliged to call you. Sorry."

Charlie sighed heavily and closed her eyes. Joey sat up next to her, putting her arm around her narrow waist and resting her chin on her shoulder, wondering what was wrong.

"What happened?" Charlie finally asked.

"He was driving. Drunk. The police were chasing him down and he crashed into a tree."

"Okay," Charlie sighed. "What do I have to do? I mean, is it life threatening or...?"

"He's banged up pretty bad but he's not dying," Rachel said. "It's totally up to you what you want to do, whether you want to come down or not."

Charlie glanced at Joey, remembering what she had said when they'd been woken up the first time. She had no idea what the right thing to do was.

"I'll um... I'll decide and let you know," she said before hanging up.

She turned back to Joey, looking unhappy.

"What's Angelo done now?" Joey asked.

Angelo lay in his hospital bed, unhappy to be sobering up. Every part of his body hurt and Rachel had told him that he had a broken leg and fractured shoulder. He'd had to have several stitches in his forehead and been taken for a brain scan to check there was no further damage. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he lay in silence, staring up at the ceiling. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths and winced, figuring he must have bruised some ribs or something. The door opened. Rachel and Watson both entered.

"Is she coming?" he asked hopefully. "Is Charlie on her way?"

The only thing that could make him feel better right now was her. If she saw how desperate he was, what a mess he had become, she might take pity on him and take him back. Sympathy wasn't necessarilyy the best way to start a relationship but at least if it started, he might be able to convince her to fall in love with him again. He was sure that if she just gave him a chance, he could make her forget all about this Joey girl. For one, he didn't believe that Charlie was gay or bisexual. They'd been far too good together for anything like that. This was just a phase. It was nothing more.

"Well?" he asked, clinging to hope.

"I called her," Rachel said. "But I don't know if she's coming or not."

His heart sank.

"Did you tell her, though?" he asked. "She must be coming if you told her I was injured. She must be. She loves me."

Rachel and Watson exchanged glances. Angelo barely registered them as he sank back against the pillows.

Joey held Charlie's hands and told her she should go to the hospital.

"But..." Charlie protested. "I said before that he's my past and you're my future. I meant that."

Lifting Charlie's hand to her lips, Joey kissed it and then reached out to stroke her hair.

"And that'll still be the same regardless," she said. "But you're not likely to get any sleep tonight while you're worrying about him, are you?"

Charlie shook her head but felt stupid.

"I don't even know why I am worried about him," she said. "It's his own fault. And after all the stuff that's happened..."

Joey smiled.

"You're worried because you're a good person with a big heart," she said. "And I can safely say that that is one of the many, many things I love about you."

Charlie gazed at her. She leant in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"This isn't such a good end to our date, is it?"

"Well, it's the first of many dates so I'm not too fussed," Joey grinned.

Charlie kissed her again and swung her legs over the side of the bed in order to start getting dressed. Joey watched her for a few moments.

"I could always come with you if you wanted me to," she offered.

Charlie paused with her bra in her hand. She stared at Joey, thinking that she was the most incredible person in the world.

"Would you?" she asked. "Really?"

"Of course," Joey replied. "I mean, it probably won't help for me to into his room and offer grapes and flowers but I can wait in the corridor. Support you."

They smiled at each other.

"Would you mind?"

"I'd do anything for you," Joey said earnestly, climbing out of bed herself and beginning to get dressed.

"Thanks for staying with me, Georgie," Angelo said, still looking up at the ceiling.

Watson shifted and swallowed, feeling awkward. She didn't like the guy and she'd been pleased when she found out earlier that day that he'd been kicked out of the police force. But she couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for him now. He looked so pathetic.

"Angelo, I'm sorry but I'm here to arrest you," she said.

The ex-cop looked up sharply and more tears began to fall.

"Can you ask the nurse to give me an overdose of drugs, please?" he asked weakly.

Sitting in the back of the taxi, Charlie and Joey held hands. Charlie couldn't even begin to describe how grateful she was for the support of her girlfriend. And she couldn't explain how she felt about Angelo now. She felt sorry for him. But she felt angry with him. What did he think he was playing at? How had he ever thought drinking and driving would be a good idea? He could have killed someone. He could have killed himself. More than anything, Charlie was grateful to have been able to get out when she did. She dreaded to think of the kind of hell she might be living in now if she and Angelo had stayed together, if she'd agreed to move in with him when he'd asked the second time. Now, she couldn't imagine the life they might have had. Leaning into Joey, she kissed her, knowing that being in her arms was the safest and most wonderful place in the world.