A few days later, a slightly frustrated and extremely bored Joey makes her way to the station. Spying her, Graves rushes over to her. "Joey, if Georgie sees you here, she'll kill you."

"Why do you think I waited until she was gone."

"What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't handle another day at home."

"Let's go get a coffee."

"Seems a little different this time," Joey says after noticing the friendlier looks she was getting.

"I told you, after the attack, a few officers are willing to give us another go."

Joey curses when she sees Angelo sitting with some of his cronies when they enter the tearoom.

"Oh look, here comes the dyke and her little girlfriend," Angelo and his friends snigger. Joey ignores him as Graves makes their coffees. "Dykes are the weakest of all women," Angelo says loudly, wanting everyone to hear. "They have to fuck a woman because they know they wouldn't be able to handle a good fucking from a real man, not like a normal woman." Graves hands Joey her coffee before she's tempted to tip it over him. "So Graves, what's she like in the sack?"

Graves smiles at him, "She's absolutely amazing, she can go all night." Joey nearly chokes on her coffee. "And if my husband wasn't such a stud in bed, I'd seriously consider switching teams permanently."

Angelo sneers at her, "You're disgusting and your husband would be lucky to last two seconds."

"Please Constable, just because you're back to self-servicing now that you're single, don't put your own inadequacies on to my husband."

"You know," Joey joins in, "In my experience, guys who object to lesbians are like those who object to competing against women in sports."

"You're right Joey, they're probably scared that a woman could be better than them."

"Don't be ridiculous," Angelo scoffs, "There's no way a woman could satisfy another woman like I can."

"Oh, I don't know," Joey shares a conspiratorial smile with Graves, "I think I could satisfy a woman in ways you could only dream of."

"You're absolutely disgusting."

"And you're just jealous that I can go all night while you," she looks him over dismissively, "Have to wait to get it up again, that's if you can manage it a second time." Angelo fumes inwardly at the sniggering around the room, knowing it was now at his expense. "Face it Rosey, if a woman had a choice, don't you think she'd take passionate sex that can go on all night."

"Unless you have a young and virile man like I'm lucky to have," Graves says, feeling the need to defend her husband.

"Yes well, there are exceptions, but once they get over a certain age, say Rosey's age, things start to soften don't they."

"Lucky for me, Dex has a long way to go to get to that age."

Joey tilts her head in acknowledgement, "Anyway, as I was saying, a night of passionate sex in which there's no wait for a certain appendage to stand to attention or sex that lasts for 30 seconds." Joey looks at him again, "Or can you managed 35 seconds these days?" With everyone now laughing, Angelo glares around the room once, before storming out, furious with the bitch for turning things on him.

"Well, so much for not needling him too much," Joey mutters.

"Yeah, Georgie's not going to be too happy either."

Joey frowns, "Oh?"

Graves grins, "Guess who's stuck patrolling with him at the moment."

"Oh shit," Joey chuckles.

When the last of the officers file out behind Angelo, Graves leans forward, "So, do you think this date will go ahead tonight or fizzle out like the last two?"

"You could have woken me that first night."

"Georgie wouldn't let me and in all honesty Joey, you were out of it, I think it would have taken a very loud explosion to wake you."

"It was those damn pain pills and then last night Charlie got stuck at that accident scene."

"So third time lucky tonight?"

"God I hope so."

"Charlie, you have to change us," Watson demands as she strides into Charlie's office. "There is no way I can be in the same car with that man for one more minute."

"Oh and why is that?" Charlie asks, even though she knew the reason.

"Because he does nothing but talk about you, getting you back and bitching about my sister."

Charlie tosses her pen onto the desk, "Georgina, sorry, Georgie, I've told him it's over and threw him out of the house, what more can I do?"

"The problem is, he's Angelo, god's gift to women and he thinks you just got cold feet while he was away."

"Maybe I should tell him about Joey."

"Don't Charlie. You know how he feels about her and in her current state, Joey's really not up to dealing with him going off his block."

"I haven't heard from my father yet, so I'm assuming Angelo hasn't told him."

"That's because Angelo thinks it's only temporary."

"God, what am I going to do Georgie?"

"You've ended it with him Charlie, that's all you can do and as for Angelo, if he goes too far, at least you'll have grounds to have him transferred." Watson leans forward, grinning, "So, tonight's the night."

"Don't Georgie, you'll jinx it."

"I can assure you that Joey won't be asleep this time."

"But it's already gotten off to a bad start."

"What do you mean?"

"My reservation at the restaurant was cancelled."

"They left it a bit late, didn't they?"

"They weren't the ones who cancelled it."

"Oh, Angelo."

"Yes Angelo. Apparently my 'fiancé' called them and cancelled my reservation."

"Let me guess, it was too late to book again."

Charlie nods, "So my date with Joey will be at the diner."

"You could stay at home."

"Joey's going stir crazy being stuck at hospital and then at home."

"Don't I know it," Watson mutters under her breath.

"I want to get her out of the house."

"Charlie, I don't think Joey's too fussed where you take her, as long as she's with you."

Charlie smiles at her friend. "I'm glad you've accepted us Georgie."

"I've only ever wanted her to be happy Charlie and she is with you."

"It's strange, whenever I pictured myself happy, it was certainly never with a woman."

"You're not the only one Charlie. I thought you'd be Mrs Rosetta for sure." Charlie shudders at the thought. "I suppose I should be getting back out there," Watson says with very little enthusiasm."

Watson storms into the house after work, glaring at her sister who was looking at her with some amusement, "Could you please stop pissing Angelo off."

"I don't know what you mean."

"I know you were at the station today, I know that you and your little protégé there got into it with Angelo."

"I wouldn't say we got into it, Graves and I were merely pointing out a few misconceptions he had."

"Yeah well, thanks to you, I had to spend the afternoon listening to his views on lesbians, women and how much of a bitch my sister was."

"So, it was just a usual afternoon in Rosey's company."

Watson scowls at her, "It's alright for you Joey, you're not the one who has to suffer through sitting in a car with him."

"Get Charlie to switch."

"I can't. Head Office is trialling a new rotation system; every fortnight, you're paired with someone different. It's supposed to promote better working relationships between everyone."

"And the rotation means?"

"It means I'm still stuck with that shit."

"Sorry Georgie, he was just being such a prejudiced little prick."

Watson sighs as she sits next to her sister. "You look tired Joey."

"I don't know why, other than going to the station, I've done nothing all day."

"You were stabbed Joey and you lost a lot of blood, you're bound to feel tired." She nudges her, "Don't worry, I won't let you fall asleep this time."

"Oh shut up."

Chuckling, Watson stands up. "I'm going to have a shower and try to wash the stench of being stuck in a car with Angelo off me."

"Try the triple strength stuff, it may just get it off."

Drying her hair in her room, Watson jumps in fright when she turns and finds Joey standing right behind her.

"Jesus Joey."

"Sorry." Wandering over to the bed, she sits on the edge, "She's over an hour late Georgie."

"She'll be here Joey."

"So why hasn't she called?"

"I don't know but I do know that she wants to take you out."

Joey lies back on the bed, "God, I feel like I'm 15 again and getting stood up."

"Please don't say that Joey, you were a nightmare at 15."

Joey smirks, "You weren't much better."

"Have you tried calling her?"

She shakes her head, "I don't want to appear desperate."

Lying on the bed beside her, Watson points out that she already appeared desperate.

"Ok, so I'm desperate, I've been stuck in this dump for days."

"Hey, I let you stay in this dump rent free so only I get to call it a dump, now get out, I've got to get ready myself."

"Ooh, Georgie's got a big date."

"Oh fuck off Joey."

Joey chuckles, "Funny how you can tease me about my dates but when it comes..."

"Joey, don't even finish that sentence."

Joey stands and walks to the door, "Don't do anything I wouldn't...oww." Joey holds her head and glares at her sister.

"I hit you with a pillow you big wuss, now out of my room." Tossing the pillow back with interest, Joey escapes quickly when it explodes into a storm of feathers, all over her sister.

"Joey!"

"Sorry sis, someone's at the door."

Reaching the front door, Joey takes a deep breath before opening it.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Charlie says as she enters, "I got a call out and I didn't have my phone with me."

Joey reaches out and puts her hand on Charlie's arm to stop her pacing, "Charlie, calm down."

"I'm sorry Joey," she fumes, "Every time I turn around, he's there."

"What's he done now?"

"The reason I'm late is because Angelo thought it would be romantic to fake a call-out."

"You're kidding," Joey says, wondering how far Angelo was willing to go.

"No I'm not and I was not amused to find out that after he had called to cancel my reservation, he had arranged for the meals to be delivered to where he was waiting for me."

Joey frowns, "Dex and Graves went to that restaurant and they said that there was no takeaway service."

"Angelo must have pulled some strings. Anyway, I was so pissed off with him that I charged him with making a fake call."

"Really," Joey says in surprise.

"Nothing will probably come of it other than a fine, but it made me feel better."

Joey links her arms around Charlie's waist, "How about we make no more mention of him for the rest of the night."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," she says, pulling Joey into a hug. "Are you sure you're up to this though, it was only a couple of nights ago you pulled your stitches."

"It was only a couple of stitches and I've got to get out of here Charlie, see the real world again."

Charlie takes a step back, looking at Joey with amusement, "It's the diner Joey."

"It's the diner in the company of a beautiful woman. Charlie, are you worried about being seen with me tonight?"

"A little," she admits. "What if people take one look at us and realise we're on a date?"

"We don't have to go out Charlie, we could eat in."

Charlie takes a moment to consider, shaking her head, "No, I asked you out."

"Charlie, we both know that we can't keep this a secret forever."

"Yeah I know but I just want to enjoy being with you for the moment."

Joey leans in, stealing a quick kiss. "Now, are we going or not?"

"We're going." Taking Joey's hand, she leads her out of the house.

Charlie sits down at the table at the diner; the very crowded diner. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she says, suddenly convinced that everyone must believe they were on a date.

"Charlie, would you relax, no one's watching."

Looking around, she's surprised to see that's true. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Joey says, keeping her voice low. "This is our first time out as a couple, there's bound to be a few nerves."

Studying the woman opposite her, Charlie's envious of her confidence. "I bet you're not nervous."

"Are you kidding! I was worrying you weren't going to turn up." Joey catches her hand just before it reaches across to touch Charlie. "I'm going to have to watch that."

"So am I," Charlie agrees, struggling to keep herself from touching Joey in anyway.

"Oh shit," Joey mutters as Colleen heads their way.

"Can I take your order?" She asks Charlie, pointedly ignoring Joey.

"We're not quite ready yet Colleen."

Colleen huffs in impatience, tapping her pencil on the ordering pad. "How could you break that poor man's heart?" she says suddenly.

"Excuse me!"

"He's a lovely man who adores you."

"I really don't think it's any of your business Colleen."

"He's such a charming and handsome man, you need to snap him back up before someone else takes him."

"Why don't you date him if you think he's so wonderful?" Joey says, reminding Colleen that she was there.

"Back in my day," Colleen begins.

"That would be the 18th Century, right?" Joey's joke earning chuckles from those within earshot, including Charlie.

Ignoring the woman, Colleen continues. "Back in my day, once a woman promised to marry a man, she married him. She didn't break his poor heart. You're a single mother Sergeant, you should be married and give that girl of yours a proper family."

"You know Colleen, not every woman needs a man to survive, I mean, look at Joey."

Joey smiles and waves at her.

"That woman is a..."

"Colleen," Leah barks out before she can say anything offensive.

"Well anyway, I'm sure Sgt Buckton that you will see the error of your ways and take Const. Risotto back." She glares at Joey briefly, "And you really should be more mindful of who you choose to spend time with and expose Ruby to."

Joey leans toward her, "You know Colleen, you really should give it a go before you dish it." Joey wiggles her eyebrows at her, "Who knows, you may enjoy it." Gasping in outrage, Colleen rushes away from them.

Chuckling, Charlie shakes her head in amusement, "You are so bad Joey."

"Sorry, but we weren't going to mention him for the rest of the night."

"I know, but there is one thing I'd like to know." Charlie leans forward, "I heard about what happened at the station and um," Charlie blushes. "So um, can you um, go all night?"

Joey grins, finding Charlie's embarrassment adorable. "Maybe I'll show you later."

Charlie swallows hard, hoping no one sees how red she had gone.

Charlie wipes her eyes, not having laughed so hard in ages. She looks at the woman across from her, amazed that this delightfully charming and funny woman could be the same woman who had made her life hell not that long ago. "Oh god, I can't believe you had to arrest the guy when he was completely starkers."

"At least he was coated in honey so he didn't slide off the seat, but jesus, it was almost impossible to clean that car seat afterwards."

"What the hell was he doing coated in honey?"

Joey grins, "You really don't want to know."

Charlie looks around them, surprised to see that the diner was almost empty. Glancing at her watch, she's surprised to see that over two hours had passed since she and Joey had arrived at the diner. "Why don't we go back to my place for a nightcap?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

Joey sighs happily, feeling utterly relaxed in Charlie's arms on the couch.

"I'm sorry about Colleen and that it was only the diner."

"Charlie, I had a great time and Colleen just added a bit of entertainment to the evening."

"I don't think I'll ever forget the look on her face when you suggested she try it with a woman."

"I just love it when people do the fish impersonation."

Feeling herself blush as she remembers something else that night, Charlie takes a deep breath. "So um, you said something about maybe showing me later."

Grinning, Joey moves out of her arms and faces her. Charlie licks her lips at the way Joey was watching her. Straddling Charlie's legs, wincing a little, Joey pushes her against the back of the couch, her hands resting on the couch on either side of her. "You're wondering if I can go all night, huh?" Charlie can only nod as she feels the light touch of Joey's hand glide gently down her check, down her neck, the feather light touch making Charlie's heart race. Leaning in until their lips almost touch, Joey whispers all the things she would do to her in a night filled with passion as her hand continues to move down, gliding over her breast, lingering over the now painfully erect nipple through her top. That Joey could make her heart race with just the lightest of touches, a few words and her warm breath against her lips only makes Charlie want her more. Groaning with need when Joey pinches her nipple softly, Charlie closes her eyes when Joey moves closer and...frowning, Charlie opens her eyes when she feels the kiss on the tip of her nose and Joey moving off her lap, a cheeky grin on her face. Leaning with her head on the back of the couch, Charlie tries to regain her composure and stop her racing heart while Joey smirks at her. "You're going to be the death of me Joey," she finally manages to say as she glares at her. "That was cruel."

Joey shrugs good naturedly, "No, that was a promise of things to come." Joey moves closer again, "I'd like nothing better than to take you into your room and make love to you until the sun rises but in my current state, I'd be lucky to even make it out of my clothes."

Noticing how tired Joey appeared to be, Charlie quickly forgives her for the torture, at least silently. "A promise huh?"

"One I'm looking forward to keeping." Joey stands awkwardly, her wound still causing some discomfort at the simplest of movements. "I should be going."

"You could stay here," Charlie offers as she stands in front of her.

Joey smiles as she rests her hands on Charlie's hips. "If I stay, I wouldn't be able to help myself and I want our second time to be as memorable as the first." She frowns for a moment, "Without Leah of course and somehow the cries of ow, ow, that hurts is strangely not very arousing."

Loving this flirty and light-hearted Joey a little more with each passing minute, Charlie links her arms around her neck. "When do you think you'll be able to fulfil this promise?"

Joey makes a show of thinking about it. "Maybe a week or two."

Charlie sighs exaggeratedly, "That's like, forever."

"I'll make it up to you."

Charlie grins, "I'm really liking this promise a whole lot."

Chuckling, Joey moves in for a kiss, missing when Charlie turns her head at the last second and kissing her cheek. "I owed you that," Charlie says, before capturing Joey's lips with her own. Sighing with longing, Charlie pulls back slightly. "If you won't stay, would you at least let me take you home?"

"I can manage."

"Joey, it wouldn't feel right to let my tired and injured girlfriend," still savouring that word, "make it home alone. And in case you've forgotten, you don't have your car here."

"Oh right, you picked me up."

"You sure you won't stay, you can take the spare room if you're worried about not being able to control yourself?"

"God, it's so tempting and that's the problem. It would only be a door or two between us Charlie and doors open very easily."

"Home it is then."