Ruby winces when her mother slams the front door, a common occurrence the last two days.
"Mum, are you going to try to knock the door off its hinges every day?"
Charlie sits downs next to her, "Sorry, I've just been kind of distracted lately."
"Funny how your foul moods lately usually coincide with Joey's. Is there something I should know about?"
Charlie rubs her brow, "This is just something between Joey and I, nothing for you to worry about."
"You know, Joey said the same thing to me earlier when I saw her."
"You saw her?"
"I ran into her at lunchtime." Ruby takes a deep breath, "Mum, I know something is going on between you and Joey and I don't mean as just friends." Charlie stares at her daughter, sighing. "You and Joey are together, aren't you?"
"I don't know Ruby."
"But you want to be with her, right?" Ruby asks hopefully.
"Yes, I want to be with her," she finally admits to her daughter.
"So why aren't you?"
"Aside from the fact that neither of us are free at the moment, things just aren't that easy."
"Mum, do you love her?"
Charlie puts her arm around her daughter, "Would it bother you if I did?"
"I don't really care that you could be gay mum, I just want you to be happy and I really like Joey." Ruby pokes her mother in the side, "And you haven't answered my question."
"Yeah, I think I do."
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"I'm just giving her some space to sort out things."
"What if she decides to go back to her husband?"
Charlie feels a headache coming on with her daughter's endless questions, questions she'd been asking herself lately. "If she chooses that, then it's over."
"You'd just let her go?"
"She's married Ruby, it's not so easy for her to just walk away."
"What about you and Angelo, can you just walk away?"
Charlie chuckles at Ruby's hopeful look. "When Angelo comes home, I'm going to call off our engagement."
Charlie had barely gotten the words out when Ruby was flinging herself into her arms. "I'm so happy mum."
"You really didn't like him, did you?" Charlie asks as Ruby sits back against the couch again.
"I tried to like him mum, but I always felt like he never wanted me around."
"I take it you approve of Joey," she asks with amusement.
"Joey's great and apart from that time when you'd accused her, she's always made me feel welcome."
"I don't want you to get your hopes up Ruby."
"I'm just glad you realised that Angelo was all wrong for you," Ruby says, while secretly hoping that her mother and Joey did get together. "But don't give up on Joey mum, because I like how you've been standing up for yourself and putting yourself first since she's been here."
"You will always be the most important person in my life Ruby."
"I know you love me mum, but you've always put me and everyone else first, so I really don't have a problem with you starting to think about yourself more."
"I've never regretting putting you first."
"I'm not going to be living at home forever mum, so if Joey's who you want, then I say, go for it."
Charlie chuckles at her daughter's persistence, "I have no intention of giving up on Joey, but if she chooses to stay with her husband, then I have to respect her wishes."
"Then I just hope she feels the same for you as you do for her." Ruby hugs her again as Charlie hopes for the same thing, the thought of losing Joey something she really didn't want to deal with.
"We need to keep this quiet for the moment Ruby, the less people who know, the better."
"Does Leah know?" Ruby asks, wondering why her mother was blushing. Charlie nods her head, too embarrassed to say anything more. Suddenly suspicious, Ruby's eyes widen, "OMG, you had sex with Joey!"
"Ruby, could you please not shout and tell the whole neighbourhood."
"Sorry," Ruby shrugs, feeling a little stupid. "I saw you in bed together that time she stayed over, but you were in your sleepwear, I just had no idea you had taken it that far."
"You saw us?" Charlie asks, wondering if she and Joey ever had a chance to keep this quiet.
"I saw that your bed was empty, I thought you must have gone for your run, so I checked to make sure Joey was ok."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't want you to get scared." Ruby grins, "You two looked so cute all snuggled up like that, but I've actually been suspicious for a while that you may have been looking at Joey in a romantic way."
Charlie shakes her head, "I need to practice on my facial expressions I think."
"You deserve to be happy mum and I know you were with Angelo a lot longer than all the other guys combined but I never really thought he was the one to make you happy."
"There hasn't been that many Ruby."
"No, because most of the guys who asked you out didn't want a second date after they found out about me."
"Those guys weren't worth it." Charlie kisses her temple, "We're a package deal and I've never blamed you for any of my failed relationships Ruby."
"Do you think that deep down, they failed because you're gay?"
Charlie considers that for a moment, "No, I think I had just never found the right person and until Joey, I've never even looked at a woman in that way before."
"And Joey is that right person?"
"Ruby, what I feel for Joey is different to what I've felt in the past, but it's too early to say if she's the one or even where things will go between us."
"Well, I hope she is."
"So do I. Ruby, I don't want you bothering Joey about this or interrogating her."
"Ok, I won't say anything to her for the moment," Ruby assures her mother. "I just hope you sort everything out."
"One way or the other, we'll reach a decision, now let's talk about something else for a while."
Graves hesitates outside Joey's office door, not really looking forward to this, especially with the mood she had been in lately. Knocking, Graves rolls her eyes at Joey's bark. Taking a deep breath, Graves puts on a smile and walks in. "Hey Joey," ignoring her glare as she sits down.
"You wanted something?"
"Yeah, I want to solve these cases so I can get home in time for my first wedding anniversary in a few weeks, I want world peace and I want you to get off your arse and go and talk to Charlie."
"Stay out of it," she says angrily.
"Then snap out of it Joey, you've been an absolute cow lately, even more so than usual."
"Are you here to piss me off or do you actually have something relating to work."
Graves sighs in frustration. "I'm your friend Joey and I care about you, but you're making it very hard to be around you lately."
Joey bites back her caustic reply, knowing she was being unfair taking it out on Graves. "I'm sorry."
"Have you even talked to her at all since you had sex?"
"Who told you that?"
"Joey, despite your mood, you still have that, 'I've been laid' glow." Joey glares at her, before finally allowing herself to smile for the first time in days. "Usually having sex makes people happy, not grumpy."
"Yeah, but usually the roommate doesn't barge in and find you right in the middle of it."
"Oh shit, you got sprung?" Graves asks, unable to stop the laughter, despite Joey's frosty glare. "I'm sorry, it's not really funny," she says between laughter. Trying to be annoyed, Joey finds herself joining in, "Actually, I guess I can see the funny side, especially when I remember the look on Leah's face."
After a little more laughter, Graves gets serious. "What are you doing running away Joey?"
"It wasn't just Leah walking in on us, I just had this sudden overwhelming sense of guilt."
"It's been 14 months Joey, you have nothing to feel guilty about," Graves tells her, despite knowing that Joey would still feel guilty, no matter what she said.
"That's not the only reason Graves, I've been less than truthful since I got here."
"So you're a private person, it's not your fault that people have just jumped to conclusions, including Charlie."
"We both know there's more to it than that."
"Then talk to her Joey, you don't have to keep everything from her."
"But how can I tell her some of it and not the rest, that's still lying to her."
"What you'd still be keeping from her you're doing for very good reasons and don't forget that Georgie and I are in on this too. You're not alone in this Joey and I think that when Charlie eventually finds out the whole truth, after the initial shock, she'll understand why we kept her in the dark."
"Would you in the same position?"
Graves groans, wishing Joey hadn't asked her that. "Ok, so a lot of grovelling and begging for forgiveness may be involved, but if you want her half as much as I think you do, you need to start talking to her."
"It's not that easy for me." Graves sits back in shock, realising that her friend was actually scared. "I don't want to get hurt again," Joey admits in a soft voice.
"I understand Joey, but give yourself a chance and don't throw everything away because of your own insecurities."
Joey nods slowly. "So, I take it there was actually another reason you risked the wrath of the bitch by entering the pit of hell?"
Graves grimaces, "You heard that?"
Joey grins, "I hear everything Graves, I thought you would have realised that by now."
"Just so you know, I was just repeating what Georgie had said to me once."
"I'll be sure to say something to her about that," enjoying Graves sudden discomfort. "So?"
"So, the boss called while you were out."
"Not good, huh?"
"He's getting antsy about a result, especially as it's a cop's murder we're investigating and also a cop who is a suspect."
"We know that Moreland's murder and what happened on the Maru is all tied to the same people, but we need more time to prove it."
"We know that Joey, but we can't really explain how we know so much."
"Fuck," Joey says in annoyance at having their hands tied. "Until we identify all the cops that are on their payroll and not just the ones we already know about, we can't risk revealing our hand too soon."
"What we need is something on O'Malley to get him to talk, so we can break Rosetta's alibi."
Joey nods in agreement. "Even if we can't place Rosetta at the murder scene, the fact that he lied about his alibi should be enough to keep the suspicion on him and the boss off our backs."
"Exactly."
"Ok Graves, you obviously know something, so spill."
"Rumour has it, that O'Malley has been gambling big time and has a few money problems."
"Now that is interesting. How reliable is the source?"
"Very."
"Put a tap on his finances, hopefully the same friend who bailed him out last time will do so again."
"Will do." Graves heads to the door, "I meant what I said before Joey, talk to her."
"I will when I'm ready."
"Just tone down the grump then, Georgie and I still have to share the house with you."
"I'll think about it," Joey says, her lips twitching as Graves closes the door, before it opens again and Graves sticks her head in.
"I forgot to mention that Ruby called earlier too; seems she and Leah have decided to throw a girls night to cheer up Charlie and invited the three of us." Graves grins evilly at her, "I took the liberty of accepting on your and Georgie's behalf." Joey stares at her horrified. "And it would be rather rude to cancel at this late time, so you have about an hour to go home, shower and girly yourself up." Graves waves and shuts the door, leaving a shocked Joey wondering why Ruby had never said anything earlier when she spoke to her and wondering how the hell she was going to survive being around Charlie with her sister in the same room.
"Ah Leah, I'm not sure if it's a good idea to let my sister teach your son how to play cards."
"Why not?" Leah asks as she looks over at the table to where Joey and VJ were teamed against Ruby and Nicole with Graves dealing.
"Well, ah, how should I say this," Watson pauses, "She cheats."
"I do not."
"She also has bat like hearing."
"At least I don't have a big mouth prone to scurrilous accusations of an untruthful variety."
"What's that mean Joey?" VJ asks his new friend.
"It means VJ, that my sister is full of hot air and she lies," Joey informs him.
"Don't listen to her VJ, she lies," Watson defends herself.
Leah chuckles as her son tries to work out who to believe. A little unsure how tonight was going to turn out, she was pleased to see how quickly Joey had relaxed once the kids had gotten involved, though she was still concerned by the tension and the looks that passed between Joey and Charlie, not to mention the way Georgina was carefully watching them.
"She doesn't really cheat, does she?" Leah asks Watson.
"Actually, she does, right Charlie?"
Forced to drag her eyes from Joey, Charlie nods her head. Leah frowns, "Maybe I should stop them."
"I am shocked," Joey says with a wounded expression and her hand over her heart. "Shocked that you would even suggest that I would corrupt one so young."
Charlie and Leah try to keep a straight face at her obviously fake expression. "I have to agree with Joey," Graves pipes up. "She's more into corrupting me than kids."
"It's already too late for you Graves," Watson points out.
"Hey, I had nothing to do with corrupting Graves, she came like that."
"No, I'm pretty sure she started as an idealistic, young, obedient and open-minded young cop and not the devious, sarcastic, little trouble maker who is so much like you now, that it's scary."
Joey thinks that over for a moment, before looking at her sister. "Then clearly it's all your fault, because everyone says I take after you."
Everyone laughs at Watson's expression, "Shit," she mutters, "I walked right into that."
He curses as once again he couldn't catch her alone. Knowing he should move onto someone else, he can't, not now that the impulse to have her was so strong.
"Was this yours or Ruby's idea?" Joey asks Leah when she finds her alone in the kitchen a short time later.
"In a way, it was both our idea. Charlie's been miserable and I understand that you were scared and needed time to think about things, but it's been two days and it's not fair on Charlie."
Joey leans against the counter, her arms folded. "What is this, gang up on Joey day?" she asks in amusement.
Leah grins, "I kind of got the impression from the way Graves pushed you into accepting my invite for dinner the other night that she's supportive of this, that's why I had Ruby call her first, but it was Ruby's idea to suggest leaving it to the last minute before Graves told you."
Joey glares at her before chuckling, "It was nicely played Leah and I'm going to have to have a word with Ruby and my dearly departed friend, Graves."
"We just wanted to make sure that you wouldn't be able to refuse."
"I still could have."
"Yeah, but I was counting on the lure of Charlie to get you here."
"I want to do the right thing Leah, but it's complicated and having Georgie here, makes it even more so."
"Don't worry about her, I have hundreds of photos from my second honeymoon to bring out."
"Oh god, Georgie is so going to hate you for that."
"It's for a good cause."
"I know why Graves is interfering, but why are you?"
Leah takes a moment before she answers. "Charlie is my friend and I think you could be really good for her."
"This could still go nowhere," Joey points out.
"I realise that, but isn't it better to have at least tried than to just walk away because you think it's too hard?" Leah walks over to her, "She cares about you Joey and she really wants to be with you."
"Look Leah, I appreciate that you're trying to look out for Charlie, but there are things that you don't know about me."
"You really are a woman of mystery, aren't you?"
Joey smiles wryly at her, "Not deliberately or by choice."
"I have my suspicions about one of the things you're not telling her and I'm not going to say anything to Charlie for the moment, because I think it should come from you, but I'm guessing that there's more that you're not telling her." Leah puts her hand on her shoulder, "Talk to Charlie, whatever you're keeping from her, I'm sure she'll understand."
"I only wish it was that easy," Joey says, wondering how closely Leah and Graves had colluded today.
"You need to start being honest with her, because I don't want to see Charlie hurt."
"I really don't want that either. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"The other night you were talking about your second husband cheating on you."
"That's right, Dan cheated on me for months before he left me to go back to his ex-wife, who was one of my best friends at the time."
"Then why are you encouraging Charlie to cheat on her fiancé when it's obvious how much your husband's betrayal hurt you?"
Leah smiles when she realises that Joey had left off her own adultery, convincing Leah even more about her suspicions. "Maybe it's a little bit of spite towards Angelo, but if it means that Charlie is finally seeing that Angelo is wrong for her, then just this once, I'm willing to look the other way."
"How long have you been on the anti-Angelo bandwagon?"
Leah chuckles, "There's more of us out there than you think. Angelo has always come across as this easy-going, cheeky and charming guy and for years I believed that and even after he killed Jack, I was willing to forgive him, but after what he did to Belle and Aden, I started to see him differently. I wish I had said something to Charlie earlier, but we had already started to drift apart."
"It wouldn't have mattered, because Charlie wasn't ready to hear it at the time."
"Well maybe she is now," Leah says. "Charlie deserves to be happy and I think that she could be with you, that's really the main reason why I'm doing this."
"I'm surprised you are so open minded about this."
"Why, because you're two women who have the hots for each other?"
"I was always led to believe that small towns bred small and narrow minds."
"No doubt there will be plenty of those about but there are also plenty like me, who just love a good love story and just want their friends or family members to be happy."
Joey grins, "Gay uncle?"
"Brother. Chris and his partner have been together for 10 years now." Leah rests her hand on her shoulder again, "Speak to Charlie, I'm not saying you have to declare your undying love or reveal all your secrets tonight, but you need to tell Charlie something."
"I know."
Joey watches as Leah takes the snacks from the oven. "Leah, how long was it before you took off your wedding ring after Vinnie died?"
"Two years," she says as takes the snacks into the other room.
When Leah brings out her photos, Joey excuses herself to get some fresh air. A few minutes later, Charlie makes an excuse about making a phone call and joins Joey out on the patio. Charlie walks up behind her, "Joey, we need to talk."
"I know. Charlie," Joey starts to turn, her lips quickly occupied by Charlie's. A little hesitant at first, their kiss quickly grows more passionate. Ending their kiss with great reluctance, Charlie rests her forehead against Joey's as she links her arms around her, "I've missed you."
"I'm sorry I just left you like that."
"I understand that you're confused, I am to."
"You seem a lot more sure than I am."
"I'm not. These last couple of days have been hell without you and I've been worrying the whole time about what direction you will take." Charlie caresses her cheek, "I want to be with you Joey." Charlie waits nervously for Joey's response.
"Charlie, I think there are things that you need to know about me before we go any further." Joey sighs, stepping away from Charlie. Burying her hands in her pockets to keep them from taking Charlie into her arms, Joey looks Charlie in the eye. "I haven't been completely honest with you."
"What's going on here?" Watson asks as she walks toward them.
"Un-fucking believable," Charlie mutters at yet another interruption.
Watson glares between the both of them, making them feel like guilty schoolgirls caught pashing behind the shelter sheds before her gaze settles on Joey. "So nice to see that you took my advice, Joey," she says sarcastically. Joey drops her head, hating the disappointment in her sister's eyes.
"Georgina, this is between Joey and I."
"And Angelo, we can't forget him now, can we?"
"Georgina, you don't understand."
"Oh, I understand all right, you two have been sneaking around having this little affair, hoping that no one would notice." Watson looks at her sister again, "Joey, it's time we left." Charlie glances at Joey, sensing her indecision. "Now Joey," Watson orders in a voice that usually had Constables scrambling for cover.
"I'll get my things," Joey says softly.
"Joey, stay," Charlie pleads, upset that Joey was letting her sister order her around. "Joey, you can't just say you haven't been honest with me and then walk away."
"I'm sorry Charlie."
Charlie turns on her friend, "Why are you doing this Georgina?"
"I'm protecting my sister."
"I won't hurt her."
"You're already distracting her Charlie. She nearly died out there in the bush because she wasn't thinking clearly and that's becoming a more regular occurrence. When you're around Charlie, you become her focus and that could get her killed."
Charlie stares at her in disbelief. "You can't keep Joey from falling in love because you're worried she may become distracted."
"Charlie, Joey is trying to put Angelo in jail for murder and even if you don't believe he's ever done anything wrong, you must know how he will react if he ever found out about you and Joey. I don't want to see either of you hurt Charlie."
"It's too late for that."
Joey and Graves come out, Joey looking downcast as she avoids Charlie's eyes. "Joey, please stay, we need to talk," Charlie tries one last time.
"Joey, come on," Watson tugs on her sister's arm.
"Fuck off Georgie," Joey pushes past her, walking off alone into the night.
"Joey," Watson starts after her, but is stopped by Graves.
"Haven't you done enough damage?"
"Stay out of this Graves."
"No," her anger surprising Watson. Graves glances over her shoulder at Charlie and Leah. "I'm sorry about this."
"How could she just walk away again?" Charlie asks, heartbroken.
"Just don't give up Charlie," Graves says as she drags Watson away before she could do anymore harm.
"Charlie, I really believe that Joey wants to be with you," Leah assures her, "She's obviously very confused about things at the moment and I guess having everyone tell her what she should be doing can't be helping."
"What do you mean?"
Leah looks at her guiltily, "I kind of had a talk to her earlier and I'm pretty sure Graves had a talk with her and then having her sister react that way, I guess it's just making everything so much harder."
Charlie sighs as she sits down, "She said there were things that I needed to know before we went any further."
"That should tell you something Charlie, that she was willing to open up to you about things."
Charlie looks at her, tears in her eyes, "Except that she's been lying to me and maybe after she tells me, I won't want to be with her."
"Do you think she kept things from you to deliberately hurt you?" Thinking about how and why she kept Harley a secret, Charlie shakes her head. "Then wait until you talk to her Charlie."
"If I get a chance to talk to her."
"Joey wasn't happy with her sister and neither was Graves." Leah smiles reassuringly at her, "Once everyone's tempers have cooled down, I think Georgina will be very embarrassed about how she treated her sister and no doubt Joey's feeling embarrassed as well, so just give them time."
"How much time? I've already given Joey space, how long am I supposed to wait?" Charlie asks in frustration.
"That all depends on how much you want to be with Joey."
Charlie smiles wryly, "I'm not waiting forever though."
"I have a feeling you won't have to wait too long, not if Joey was willing to risk talking to you here tonight while her sister was nearby."
"I still can't believe that Georgina treated her sister like that or that Joey allowed herself to be treated like that."
"Georgina does have a forceful personality, but it did surprise me at how upset Joey got and it's really surprising how quickly they changed. It wasn't that long ago that they were joking with each other."
"Shit," Charlie realises that this wasn't the first time this had happened, thinking back to when she walked into the middle of a disagreement between the sisters the night Martha had made a pass at Joey.
"What is it?"
"I can't say Leah, only that knowing what I do about their childhood, I may need to make some allowances to the way they react to things." Leah nods in understanding. "If I didn't love her, I'd put this all into the too hard basket."
"Then you're not giving up?"
"She warned me that it wouldn't be easy and while it would be so much easier to just walk away, I don't think I can."
"Then don't."
"I just hope Joey can fight for this."
Next chapter: Will Joey be able to defy her sister?
And the rapist strikes much closer to home, leaving a loved one fighting for her life.
Any guesses as to what Leah's suspicions are?