Sorry for the delay, but the site wouldn't let me add the chapter yesterday.
The answers to some of your questions are revealed.
"Good morning Penelope," Watson's cheerful greeting earning her a glare.
"Don't you bloody start," she warns, her voice not as husky as it was after her attack the previous night. "It's bad enough the doctor won't stop bloody calling me Penelope."
Watson chuckles, "It is your name Graves."
"I don't bloody care, he has no right to call me that," feeling stupid as soon as she said it. "I suppose it's all around town now," she moans.
"Probably. How's your head?"
"Still ringing but at least the doc doesn't think I'll scar." She rubs her forehead, "The stitches are annoying the hell out of me though."
Watson slaps her hand away, "Stop doing that."
"Between the stitches and the bandage catching on my hair, it's driving me nuts."
"Yeah, well, just stop it," Watson says, threatening to slap her hand away again.
Graves tucks her hands under the cover as she takes in her friend's tired and rumpled appearance. "Have you even left the hospital since this all happened?"
She shakes her head. "I couldn't leave while Joey was still in danger."
"The nurse told me that she was conscious now."
"Yeah, she woke up a little earlier and told me that I looked like shit, then went back to sleep." She smiles as she remembers the relief she felt when she had been woken by her hand being squeezed and she had seen her sister watching her. "The doctor's just examining her now, but she's doing much better. She's still weak, so it doesn't look like she'll be up to a lot of talking or much of anything for the next day or two."
"I'm just glad she's ok," Graves says, the relief in her voice obvious, before grinning, "And thank god she's going to be quiet for awhile too."
Watson laughs, finally starting to relax for the first time in a long time. "Too bad it'll only be for a day or two."
"She really is ok though, right?" she asks worriedly, "I mean, she's not going to have any permanent damage or anything like that?"
"She lost a lot of blood and she's going to be sore for some time, but the knife didn't hit anything major so she may not even be in hospital for very long."
"She saved me Georgie, if it wasn't for Joey coming home, that bastard would have raped me and then killed me," she shudders at the memories.
"Well he didn't, just remember that."
"I'm trying to but I can't help thinking what if."
"You don't have to worry now, he's dead."
"I know, everyone's been talking about it here." Graves sighs, still unsure whether she should feel safe or not. "Maybe when I hear all the evidence against him I'll be more willing to believe that it's all really over."
"I don't know all of the details yet, only that Charlie's confident that it's him and that the evidence will prove it."
"No one here seems to know who it was though?"
"I'm not sure if they've released his name yet, but it was Liam Murphy."
"Liam?" Graves looks thoughtful for a bit. "Oh, that guy who was singing at the nightclub?"
"Yeah."
"Wow, I never would have picked him, he seemed so nice," she says, "A little intense maybe, but he didn't strike me as the type of guy who would hurt a woman."
"I don't think anyone would ever have suspecting him."
"Much like Rosetta, I suppose."
"Yeah, monsters hiding behind a pretty face. I didn't know Liam that well, but I did know his wife." Watson looks a little sad all of a sudden. "Bianca died of breast cancer not long before you and Joey came here."
"Breast cancer?" her thoughts starting to wander.
"Yeah. Despite having a double mastectomy, she died."
Graves thinks about that for a moment, "Shit, I guess that kind of makes sense about him cutting off the breasts."
"The original rapes stopped not long after he and Bianca got engaged. Being with Bianca must have been enough to make him stop and I guess after losing her like that, he just snapped again. Only this time, he wanted to inflict even more pain and suffering on his victims, probably because of his own pain at losing Bianca or whatever sick impulse controlled him."
Graves shakes her head as she tries to imagine Liam attacking her. "Some of it is such a blur, but other parts are so vivid." Graves goes cold, knowing how close she came to experiencing that pain for herself. "I didn't hear him until it was too late," a slight quaver in her voice.
"He got in through my bedroom window." Watson looks at her guiltily. "I'm sorry Graves, that latch has been loose for ages and I kept meaning to get it fixed."
"Hey," she reaches out and grabs her hand. "It's not your fault, Georgie, he always found a way in, if not through that window, he still would have gotten in, so I don't want you to feel guilty."
"It's not just that." The relief she felt earlier disappears as her guilt gets the better of her. "While I was babysitting Hogan's wife, you and my sister were being attacked." She wipes the tears from her face angrily, "I've failed to protect her again."
"Don't you dare blame yourself Georgie," she says vehemently. "None of us expected him to go after me or for Joey to be there."
"I just keep imagining her in my arms, she was so still, there was so much blood and I couldn't do anything."
Graves holds out her arms and she falls into them, finally allowing herself to let go of the pain, guilt and anger she had felt. "She's going to be ok Georgie." She smiles, "She is a Watson after all."
After a short time, Watson sits up, her tears gone for the moment.
"Did you get any sleep at all Georgie?"
"A little, but those seats aren't the most comfortable to fall asleep on."
Graves looks at her, "Did something happen while you were with Joey last night?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I don't know, you just seem a little sad and I don't think it's because Joey was hurt."
Watson shrugs, "Last night was just a little lonely, that's all."
Knowing her friend wouldn't say any more, she lets it drop. "Georgie, it's been bugging me all night; why was Joey there, I thought she was visiting Harley?"
"She was, but Harley was invited to a sleep-over birthday party and really wanted to go so Joey came home early. Brett said something about her wanting to come home to talk to someone."
"Shit, Charlie, how has she been coping?"
"I haven't seen her since last night, but she was kind of weird. She seemed all calm even though I know it was eating her up inside."
"Sounds like she was trying to hold it together so she could cope and do her job."
"Yeah. She's so much stronger than I ever thought she was," she admits. "I don't know if I would have been able to hold it together, run the crime scene and then go after the rapist." She smiles wryly, "I was a mess, especially at first, so I know I wouldn't have been able to do much."
"Georgie, you're one of the strongest people I've ever met."
She shakes her head, "No I'm not."
"You are, Georgie. There's no shame in falling apart, especially when your little sister was fighting for her life."
"I was worried about you too, you know. Since you and Joey have been staying with me, I've gotten to know you a lot better Graves and I would have been annoyed if you had been killed."
"Annoyed," she says in amusement, "Just annoyed."
Watson grins wryly. "You know, outside of family, you're probably the best friend Joey's ever had and it'd be such an effort to break in a new friend for her."
Graves chuckles, "I feel the same way about her and speaking of staying with you, no offence Georgie, but I don't think I can go back into that place, at least not yet."
"I feel the same. You're stuck in here for at least another day, so I'm going to look around, see if I can find somewhere for us to stay."
"You're not staying there alone tonight, though are you?"
"Charlie invited me to her place, but I can't expect her to take us all in."
"I'm sure Joey wouldn't mind sleeping with Charlie," she says with a cheeky grin, "But there's no way in hell I'm sleeping with you."
Watson glares at her, "Why the hell not?"
"You snore."
"I...do...not...snore," she says slowly. "Besides, it doesn't matter, I should be able to find a place by the time Joey's out of hospital."
"You can't stand between them Georgie," thinking that was why she didn't want Joey staying with Charlie.
"I'm not, it's just that," Watson stops.
"What's up Georgie?" She asks, concerned by the worried look on her face.
"I guess I'm just surprised that Charlie hasn't been in to see Joey; she hasn't even called."
"She's probably busy following up on the investigation."
"I still would have thought she'd have been in to see Joey by now." Watson frowns, thinking that something was up. "Oh shit," she says, suddenly realising why Charlie hadn't been in to see them. "The nurse said that a cop dropped flowers off at the nurse's station about an hour ago."
"You think it was Charlie?"
She nods, "If she had gone to Joey's room, I can kind of guess why she left without saying anything." She winces at how Charlie must have felt when she saw the man she believed to be Joey's husband there. "Brett arrived during the night with Harley."
"Shit." Graves starts rubbing her forehead again, "Then it's only a matter of time before the truth comes out."
Watson groans in frustration at how things had turned out, "Joey is not up to dealing with this at the moment." She absently swats Graves hand away again. "And I hope he doesn't cause anymore of his shit."
"Get rid of him Georgie, before Charlie finds out the truth from anyone other than Joey."
"He's going to kick up a fuss."
"He doesn't need to be here; he could care less about Joey."
"I know that, but now that there's no point in trying to hide the fact that she has a daughter, I think Joey really needs Harley to stay at the moment."
"Just put your foot down Georgie and remind Brett of the realities of the situation."
"Is this the room of Penelope Graves-Walker?" A young man cheekily says as he pokes his head in.
"Dex you idiot, get the hell in here," Graves orders her husband, "And don't call me Penelope."
Dex grins at her, knowing how much she hated her name. "Yes dear. Georgie," he gives her a quick hug. "Is Joey ok?"
"She's much better. Actually, the doctor must be finished with her by now, so I'll go and see her and give you guys some privacy." Watson shakes her head as she realises she was talking to herself, Dex and Graves already getting reacquainted. "Enjoy it while you can kids," she murmurs as she closes the door behind her.
Dex finally allows his wife to breathe, kissing her one more time, as he settles on the bed next to her, "How's Georgie doing?"
"She was barely holding on last night, but now that Joey's doing better, I think she'll be fine."
"And you?" he asks as he caresses her face.
Graves snuggles against her husband, her tears coming again, "I was so scared he was going to rape me and kill me."
"It's ok baby," he rubs her back.
Her voice breaking with emotion, "I was so scared...he was so strong...I was all alone." She squeezes her eyes shut, "If Joey hadn't come home when she did...I'd be dead."
"Everything is going to be ok Penny."
"Don't call me that," she mumbles against his chest.
"I thought you didn't mind me calling you that?"
"Just not where others can hear." She raises her head to look at him, "It will give Joey and Georgie ideas. I've taken a lot of shit from them for being younger," she rests her head back on his chest, "Having them call me Penny would only add to that. Graves is a much more serious name."
He chuckles in amusement, "Just be glad Penny, that you're name is not Dexter."
"If my name was Dexter, I'd seriously be questioning my parents." She sighs in contentment as she closes her eyes, feeling safe and relaxed for the first time since her attack.
After leaving Dex and Graves to some privacy, Watson heads toward Joey's room.
"Aunty G."
"Hey sweetie," Watson squats down as the little girl runs out of the room into her arms. "Oh, I've missed you honey."
"You only saw me before."
"I know, but I still missed you."
"Mummy's still hurt," she says in a sad, little voice.
"I know she is, but," tapping her on the nose, "Having you here is going to make her feel so much better."
"Who are they?"
Watson looks over her shoulder, surprised to see Charlie, Ruby and Leah approaching them. Standing up, Watson turns to face the trio, "These are friends of mine and your mums. This is Charlie, Leah and Ruby." Watson takes a deep breath, "Guys, this is Harley, Joey's daughter."
Ruby's jaw drops in shock while Leah doesn't look all that surprised at the announcement. Noticing Watson's frown, Leah leans forward, "I kind of guessed."
"Right." Watson turns her attention to Charlie who was looking extremely uncomfortable.
Recovering from her shock, Ruby bends down and smiles at the girl, "Hello Harley."
Harley ducks behind her aunt's legs and peers around them, "Hello," she says shyly.
Charlie chuckles at the adorable little pout on her face.
"Harley, there's no need to be shy, these are friends," she assures her niece.
"Harley, would you like to come with me and Leah and get an ice-cream?" Ruby asks.
"Aunty G?" She looks at her aunt with big, hopeful eyes.
"Yes, Harley, you go with Leah and Ruby." Watson watches them walk away.
"Georgina, how is she?"
"I was just about to see her doctor, but she's conscious."
Charlie lets out a big sigh of relief. "I'm came by earlier, but."
"But we weren't alone," Watson finishes for her.
"No, you weren't."
"Georgina!" Watson curses at the sound of Brett's voice, noticing the sudden stillness that came over Charlie as she stares at the man rushing towards them. "Where's Harley?"
"Some friends have taken her to get some ice-cream."
"You had no right," he says, getting right in her face.
Staring him down, Watson waits until he steps back out of her personal space. "I had every right."
"You should have told me."
"You weren't here."
"Who's she?" he indicates rudely towards Charlie.
"Brett, this is Charlie, she's the one who got the guy."
"Well, sort of," Charlie feels uncomfortable shaking hands with Joey's husband.
"Charlie, could you give me a minute with Brett."
"Ah, I'll just go and check in on Joey."
"She's sleeping," Brett snaps at her.
"I won't wake her," Charlie says, getting away from him as quickly as she could.
"Rude much Brett?" Watson glares at him.
"I'm sick of this shit Georgina, I want you to talk Joey into quitting."
Watson stares at him in disbelief, "Why the fuck would I do that?"
Charlie places Joey's hand back down onto the bed when she hears the raised voices coming from outside. Kissing her on the lips, Charlie whispers her goodbyes to the still sleeping Joey before walking to the door of the room, her curiosity at what her friend and Joey's husband could be arguing about getting the better of her.
"Her job nearly got her killed."
"This had nothing to do with her job. Graves was attacked by a rapist targeting married women and luckily for Graves, Joey did come home when she did."
"Yeah, and the next time it could be her job. What the fuck am I supposed to tell Harley then; she's already lost Riley."
"I didn't like it when Joey became a cop, but she loves her job Brett, I could never ask her to quit and you have no right to either."
"You're wrong."
"Stop throwing your weight around Brett, you don't really care what happens to Joey and you have no say in how she lives her life; you're not her husband," Watson reminds him. Charlie reels back in shock at her words. "Get out of here Brett."
"Fine, I just thought that Harley would like to be with Joey, but I'll go and get her and take her home."
"You're not taking Harley with you Brett."
"Yes I am."
"No you're not, Harley belongs with her mother," she says angrily. "You have no legal right to her Brett." Charlie continues to listen, growing more confused by the minute.
"You fucking bitch," Brett spits out.
"Harley's staying with me and then I'm taking her to her grandmother's once Joey's better."
"She's not even her grandmother."
"She's Joey's foster mum and she loves Harley and Harley loves her."
"I'm not letting you take her."
"Get out of here Brett."
"You can't do this. I'm the one who's been looking after her, not Joey."
"The only reason she agreed to let Harley stay with you this time was because Harley wanted to spend some time with you and if it wasn't for Joey's promise to Riley, she'd probably tell you to go and fuck yourself."
Realising he was risking losing Harley, Brett takes a deep breath to calm himself down.
"You can't change her Brett and if you can't accept that, then things are just going to get worse, now go home Brett."
"I want to say goodbye to Harley."
"I'll say it for you, now get the fuck out of here before I lose my temper."
Brett glares at her with hatred. "This isn't the end of this Georgina," he threatens before walking away.
"Wanker," she mutters.
"Georgina." Watson jumps at the voice right behind her before grimacing when she realises that she'd forgotten Charlie was there. "If Brett's not her husband, then who is? This Riley guy?" Watson says nothing as she turns to face her. "If you don't tell me what the fuck is going on Georgina, then I'm going to go straight back into Joey's room, wake her up and ask her."
Knowing her sister wasn't strong enough to deal with this just yet, Watson sighs and nods. "Perhaps we can go somewhere a little less public though."
Sitting in her car, Watson waits for Charlie to finish texting Ruby. "I told Ruby to take Harley to Joey's room when they've finished with their ice-cream," she says as she puts her mobile away. "Now, what's going on?" Watson stares out the window. "Georgina, please tell me."
Watson finally faces her, "Charlie, Joey's never been married, at least not legally."
"I don't understand."
"Joey had a wife," her words drawing a gasp from Charlie. "Riley, she died 14 months ago."
Charlie continues to stare at her in shock, "But I...I ah...I thought." Charlie shakes her head, trying to make sense of it all.
"Charlie, my sister is gay, she has been since she was 13."
"She's gay," Charlie whispers. She wipes away the stray tear that was starting to fall. "You should have told me Georgina."
"It wasn't my place Charlie and you could have asked."
"Maybe I could have but you and Joey never gave any indication that I and everyone else were jumping to conclusions about her or her marriage."
Watson looks away guiltily. "It wasn't my place," she says again, "And Joey's a very private person, she just let's people think whatever they want to about her, whether they're right or wrong."
"I wasn't just anyone."
"You were, at least at first."
"She still wears the wedding ring," she mutters, "I really thought she was married."
"Charlie, she was devastated when Riley died and if it wasn't for Harley, I don't think she would have recovered from losing her and that's why she wears the ring, not because she was pretending to be married but because she hasn't been able to let go."
"Great, so I'm competing with a ghost."
"Charlie, you're making Joey realise that she has to move on."
"Really?" She looks at Watson through her tears.
"Riley was the first woman Joey ever truly loved and they share a daughter, so she will always be a part of Joey." Charlie nods in understanding, "But she's starting to feel again Charlie, she's starting to question and for Joey, that is a huge step, because even with the guidance of a loving foster family and being married, Joey still struggles to believe that she can love and be loved, especially when it comes to girlfriends."
"She told me that her relationships before her marriage were train wrecks."
Watson snorts, "That's putting it mildly. Charlie, Joey came here for work, not to find love."
"Love?"
"She's not ready to admit to it, because she's scared Charlie, but I know my sister and I know that you mean a lot to her."
"Joey's woken something in me Georgina, something I've never felt with Angelo or any other man. I don't know how it happened and I sure as hell didn't ask for it, but now I'm starting to wish this had never happened, because," Charlie gazes out the window, "Last night made me realise how much I love her, only now, I don't know if I can trust her."
"Please Charlie, don't make any decision until you've spoken to Joey."
Charlie nods slightly, as she suddenly remembers something Joey had said about her daughter. "You could say that," she says softly.
"Sorry?" Watson says in confusion.
"When Joey slipped up and mentioned her daughter, I made a comment about her being a teenage mum too, and Joey said, 'You could say that.' I thought it was a little weird but I dismissed it, but now that I've actually seen Harley up close, aside from them both having brown eyes, Harley looks nothing like Joey." Charlie looks Watson in the eye, "Joey's not Harley's mum, is she?"
"No, Riley was her birth mother. Joey was 18 when she met Riley and Harley was already two. They married three years later. It wasn't legal of course, but as far as they were concerned, it was and Joey even decided to change her name to Collins so that they'd all share the same name. But Joey is Harley's mum Charlie, because Riley never wanted Joey to lose Harley, so she had arranged in her will for Joey to adopt Harley if she should die."
"How did she die?"
Watson shakes her head. "You really need to talk to Joey about this." Seeing the doubt on Charlie's face, Watson tells her that Joey was planning to tell her on the night she had interrupted them.
"The things that I needed to know," she sighs. "So who's Brett then?"
"Riley's older brother and a huge pain in the arse."
"I noticed." They sit in silence for a few minutes. "I love her Georgina, but I don't know if I can forgive her."
"You need to understand Charlie, that Joey's not one to open up."
"Believe me, I know that, it's just...oh, I don't know."
"Just talk to her Charlie."
"I don't know if I want to talk to her."
"You need to."
"Yeah I know. So Graves' first name is Penelope," Charlie says, changing the subject for a moment.
"Yeah, she really hates it."
"It's not that bad."
"She hates it because she was named after her mother's childhood cat."
"The cat?" Charlie chuckles, trying to make the hurt go away. Charlie sighs wearily, "With the rapist out of the way, Leah's moving back home this afternoon, so the spare room is there if you still want it."
"Thanks Charlie, but I don't know it that's such a good idea now."
"Georgina, we're still friends and while I'm not sure where Joey and I are at the moment." Charlie shakes her head, "I can hardly turn you and the others away, especially if Harley's going to be staying here."
"You don't have that much room and I have no idea where Dex will be staying."
"Leah was going to leave the blow up bed and one of you can take the couch and I'm sure Ruby won't mind sharing with Harley; we'll work something out, ok."
"Thanks Charlie and it won't be for long, I'm going to start looking for a temporary place this afternoon and who knows, after a week, we may feel more comfortable about moving back to my place."
"Then stay the week Georgina."
"Angelo will be back soon."
"Angelo and I are over Georgina and he will be moving out."
"You may want that Charlie, he may have something else to say about it."
"It's my house," her vehemence surprising Watson.
"You really do love my sister, don't you?"
"Yeah I do. I've got to get to work." Charlie climbs out of the car and leans in through the window, "I really hope Joey and I can work through this Georgina, but it's not going to be easy and I can't talk to her, not today and maybe not tomorrow."
Watching Charlie walk away, Watson sighs, knowing Joey was going to be crushed if Charlie couldn't forgive her. Dreading the confrontation, Watson's gets out of the car and heads to her sister's room to give her the bad news that Charlie knew, at least some of the truth.