Here is the final chapter. Thanks to everyone for reading and for those who have reviewed. While this one comes to an end, there is still plenty to go with A New Beginning and I am working on a new CJ story which I will start posting soon.

One Year Later:

Shading her eyes against the sun, Charlie smiles as she watches Joey attack the waves in the semi-finals of the amateur surf carnival. "Look at her go Andy." She holds the little boy up so he too could watch her wife. "She's going to win." Her wife. Charlie never tired of calling Joey that. It was one year to the day that Joey had proposed to her and in three weeks, they'd be celebrating their first wedding anniversary. Charlie smiles as her mind drifts back to their wedding on the beach. As much as she had loved Joey in a dress at Georgie's wedding, since the night of the proposal, she had taken a definite liking to Joey in a tux and had insisted that she'd only marry her if she was in a tux. Joey had been only too happy to agree, but Penny, as she now liked to be called since the birth of her daughter, hadn't been so keen. She still got a chuckle at Penny in a tux as Joey's best man, baby bump and all. With Leah and Georgie also in the wedding party, they must have made quite a sight to the curious onlookers with three of the wedding party heavily pregnant. Despite Penny's grumblings, it had been a glorious day, the sun had shone brightly, all their family and friends were there, even the elusive Shandi had turned up. Joey's emotions had gotten the better of her and she had struggled to complete her vows while her wife had been a picture of serenity, though they'd both had tears in their eyes as they had exchanged rings. Joey had later blamed her for becoming a blubbering mess, saying it was her fault for looking too damn beautiful in her white, summer wedding gown. And even though it wasn't legal, from the moment they had taken their vows, Charlie felt married and took great pleasure in introducing Joey as her wife. She glances down at her finger, her matching wedding ring sparkling in the sunlight.

"Hey Charlie," Watson greets her as she sits down next to her, reaching over and tickling her son's belly as he played happily on Charlie's lap. "How's my little boy?"

"He's been watching his aunt surfing."

"At least he's not drooling like his Aunty Charlie," she teases.

"I'm not drooling." Watching Georgie with her son always reminds Charlie of how close they had come to losing both mum and baby when there had been complications during labour.

"Charlie, you only have to think about Joey and you drool."

"I do not," she says in an offended voice.

"You do get this dreamy look on your face though."

Smiling wryly, Charlie shrugs, unable to deny it.

"Why don't I take him off your hands," she reaches for her son.

"He's fine where he is."

Watson chuckles. "You can't keep him Charlie."

Charlie grins, tapping her nephew on the nose. "He's so cute though."

"You have your own on the way."

Charlie's hand goes to her belly, feeling the fluttering of movement there. Her decision to have another baby had been an easy one. The moment she had seen the look of wonder on Joey's face as she held her nephew for the first time and then she had held him herself, she had fallen instantly in love with the idea of having her own and much to Penny's amusement, while she had avoided twins, Charlie hadn't been so lucky, having just found out that she was having not one, but two babies. After so long not wanting another child, Charlie still wasn't sure who had been more shocked when the doctor told them they were expecting twins, her or Joey. Once the shock had worn off though, Charlie couldn't deny how excited she was at becoming a mother to two babies and she certainly didn't mind the extra attention Joey had been lavishing on her since they'd found out she was pregnant.

"You must be thinking of Joey again," Watson smirks.

"Her and our babies."

"It's an amazing gift you're giving my sister, Charlie."

"Joey never really said much, but I know how disappointed she was when she was told it was too risky for her to get pregnant and when we were talking to the IVF doctor, it just occurred to me." She still remembered Joey's reaction when she had asked the doctor about the possibility of her acting as a surrogate and carrying Joey's baby. And now that she was carrying a part of her wife inside her, she felt connected to Joey in a way she'd never felt connected to anyone before. Now, she was hoping that their babies would take after Joey more than the anonymous donor or at least have her gorgeous brown eyes.

"You realise that with your kids having Watson blood, you're going to have your hands full."

Charlie tickles Andy, making him giggle adorably. "This little guy is no trouble and he's a Watson."

"Oh, he's a perfect little angel for his aunts and other family, but he can be a right little monster when it's only his parents about."

Charlie raises him up, rubbing noses with him. "You don't play up for your mummy, do you?"

Watson rolls her eyes at her son's look of innocence. "He's too much like his Aunty Joey at times and Cousin Harley."

Thinking of her stepdaughter brought a smile to Charlie's face. Harley was a loving and carefree girl, but she was also her mother's daughter. Much to Joey's dismay, the eleven year old had embraced fashion and they were constantly butting heads about new clothes and what was appropriate for a girl of her age. "Harley certainly has a way about her and now she wants to paint her room lilac."

"She suddenly gone off pink, has she?"

"Yes and she's been at us for the past two days."

"I take it she tried you first," Watson says knowing Charlie still found it hard to say no to Harley when she turned those big browns eyes on her which was why Harley always tried her first.

"It is getting easier to say no but those eyes are a deadly weapon."

"And she knows how to use them." Watson watches her friend for a moment.

"What?"

She shakes her head, a smile on her face. "It's just you, married and pregnant and loving every second of it."

"It's your sister's fault."

"She does have a habit of turning people's worlds upside down, though usually it's in a bad way and they're crooks."

"This time she was the crook." Charlie rubs her belly affectionately. "She stole my heart and all of my doubts away and now I can't imagine my life any differently." Charlie tears her attention away from the little boy on her lap. "Has Hugo reached a decision yet?"

"He's not going back once his leave is over."

"You're ok with his decision?"

Watson nods. "He hasn't been happy with work for a long time. He hates the paper work and with the travel, he seems to be spending more and more time away from his family." She kisses her son's forehead. "And he really misses Andy. He could take another position, but it'd mean moving away from here and neither of us want that."

"Then he's going to buy into the family business?"

"Yeah. Hugo loves it out on the water and these past couple of weeks I've never seen him so relaxed and happy as when he's on one of the boats." She shrugs, "And I can't deny that I love having him home more."

"I've noticed," she smirks, making her friend blush.

"The charter business has really taken off and if Hugo buys in, John's hoping to expand even more."

Charlie thought her friend's words were somewhat of an understatement. Tourism had really picked up in the area and John had taken full advantage. The caravan park was regularly booked out, as was his chartering business. "Your mob will be taking over the entire town at this rate."

Watson grins. "It does seem a little like that, but at least we're bringing the locals in with us," she says, referring to John hiring locals to work for him on the boats and also going into business with Leah and Roman. Despite the troubles their kids had caused, when it came to business, John and Roman had set aside their differences. Despite the failure of the gourmet restaurant Martha and her cronies were using to launder money, Roman had seen the potential of such a restaurant in Summer Bay, if done right. When John had heard they were thinking of having gourmet meals on certain nights at the diner, he had offered them an alternative. He'd spotted the shell of a large boat and suggested that it could be refitted, a removable canopy and side panels with an adjustable height added for nights when the weather wasn't great and converted into a floating restaurant. Roman had loved the idea as it meant they could keep the diner running as usual and also have extra customers. John had brought the shell and done the refit, then rented it out to Roman at a reasonable rate; it was now moored permanently at the pier in front of the diner, meaning Roman could prepare the meals there and walk them down to the restaurant. The intimate setting and being on the water appealed to not just the tourists, but also the locals and the restaurant had had solid bookings for the past couple of months and for the next few. With the extra money coming in, Leah had been able to hire more staff for the diner, giving her more time to spend with her daughter, Maria.

"What's John planning next, a takeover of the council," jokes Charlie.

"If he had the time, he probably would but with Gina taking over as principal, his hands are a bit full at the moment with the extra work."

Thinking of Bartlett always makes Charlie shudder. It was bad enough when she'd found out Bartlett was a peeping tom, it was even worse when it was discovered he'd gotten a teenage girl pregnant. Penny's prediction had been spot on about Freya getting pregnant. Xavier had finished his apprenticeship in the shortest amount of time, and about a week after John had signed over shares of the business to him, Freya had revealed she was pregnant. Only instead of getting the marriage proposal she had been expecting, Xavier had dumped her, telling her he wouldn't marry her but would do right by the child, assuming he was the father. Freya's father had gone after him, leaving Xavier with two black eyes, a broken nose and a missing tooth but Xavier had the last laugh when DNA proved he wasn't the father. Seems he'd suspected that Freya had been cheating on him, only he had no idea it had been an old geezer, as he had put it. Freya had left town in shame when she was forced to reveal that she'd been sleeping with Bartlett in an effort to get him to overturn the expulsion because her parents had gotten sick of her bumming around and told her to get a job or go back to school. Gina had just finished her stint as a relief teacher but at the urging of her husband, she'd accepted the role of principal when it was offered.

Charlie glances over at Xavier who was joking around with Nicole and her boyfriend, Romeo. He had tried to get back with Nicole and she'd told him to get fucked but then they settled their differences and found a way to be friends when Nicole had started dating Romeo, who had already become a good friend of Xavier's.

"He got lucky, the silly little jerk," Watson says, echoing Charlie's thoughts.

"At least he's grown up a little."

"Yeah, until the next time he falls for the wrong girl."

"That's his problem."

"Yep, you're sounding more like one of us every day."

Charlie grins, "There are worse families to take after than you lot."

Watson looks out over the water. "Your father was a fool Charlie."

Charlie nods in agreement. Her father's sudden death last month of a heart attack had hit her harder than she'd expected. Joey had suggested that her grief was probably more to do with leaving things unfinished and she kind of agreed, which is why she went to his funeral, to say what she needed to say to his grave so she could really move on. "He must have been turning in his grave to have his pregnant gay daughter standing by his grave with her wife and illegitimate daughter."

Watson chuckles at the thought. "It made you feel better though, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did. That chapter of my life is finally over and now I have a wonderful future to look forward to."

"Hey mum," Ruby comes running up to her. She ruffles her cousin's hair as she kneels next to them, Andy giving her an adoring look. "Is it ok if April stays over tonight?"

"If it's alright with Irene," Charlie agrees, finding it a little easier to say yes to her daughter's request to have her girlfriend spend the night with her. The first time she'd refused outright, hating the idea that her now sixteen year old daughter was having sex but then she had remembered what Gina had said and had finally relented. Her daughter was going to be having sex whether she liked it or not and she'd rather she be safe under her roof than sneaking around.

"You're the best, mum." Ruby kisses her cheek before running back the way she'd come.

"Just think, in a few more years it will be Harley asking if her boyfriend can spend the night."

"Only if the boy has a death wish," jokes Charlie. "Ruby has a girlfriend so we don't have to worry about a pregnancy, but Harley likes the boys and neither Joey nor I really want to become young grandmothers."

Watson chuckles.

"Look Andy," Charlie says when she hears the announcement over the P.A. "You're Aunty Joey's just about to start her final."

"She'll win," Watson says confidently.

"I hope so."

"Looking forward to celebrating the win, are we?"

Charlie blushes, refusing to admit how much she enjoyed Joey's wins.

"Here she goes Andy."

She holds onto him as they watch Joey complete her ride and then wait for her opponent to surf. She bounces him up and down on her lap when her opponent falls off, giving the win to Joey.

"A big celebration tonight then," teases Watson.

Charlie glares at her. "Sometimes, I don't know who is worse, you or your sister."

"That would be my sister," Watson says, moments before a shadow blocks the sun from Charlie and she's showered in water. "Joey!" she complains as Joey shakes herself all over her.

"It's just water," she says with a big grin as she sits on her other side. "Aren't you going to congratulate me?"

Charlie leans over, their kiss long and slow.

"Get a room guys," Watson says with rolled eyes, teasing them yet again about how affectionate they were in public.

"Shut up sis," Joey murmurs between kisses. "I'm a married woman now, so this is allowed."

Charlie pulls back, "Hey, just because you married me and knocked me up doesn't mean you can always take liberties with me."

"That's not what you said last night."

Charlie blushes at the reminder. "Hush Joey, there's young ears about."

Joey takes her nephew's hand, his strong grip making her smile. Charlie watches on, still surprised at the progress Joey had made with her hand. While she had only gotten a fraction more movement back, with the aid of a specially fitted grip, she was now able to hold a pen and write; her writing wasn't very neat, but Gina had pointed out that Joey had always been a messy writer. Overall, her injury hadn't really affected her work and she'd even successfully been recertified for a firearm after learning to shoot left handed.

Joey leans in, blowing raspberries on her nephew's belly, making him squeal in delight. Charlie chuckles at his obvious joy. She gasps and blushes furiously when Joey then blows a raspberry on her belly, making her squeal, to her great embarrassment. "Joey! Stop it!"

Grinning cheekily, Joey reaches over, plucking her nephew from her lap. "You wouldn't hit a woman with a baby now, would you?" Joey lies down, letting Andy sit on her belly.

Finding Joey's behaviour with her nephew extremely endearing, Charlie lies next to her.

"Where are Leah and Penny?" Joey asks her.

"Maria decided that Leah's new top was the perfect place to bring up her last meal on."

"That sounds like our goddaughter," Joey says with a grin.

"Leah will be back as soon as she cleans up and Penny got a call and has gone to meet her folks at the diner."

"I still can't believe they waited until the day before their granddaughter was due to be born before extending the olive branch." Charlie raises her eyebrows at her wife's harsh tone. Joey smiles wryly, "She's like a little sister and I hate to see her hurt."

"I feel the same. I guess her parents finally realised that Penny was happy with her life and the decisions she'd made." In the six months since her daughter's birth, Penny still hadn't completely forgiven her parents, but she loved them and was willing to work through their problems, like she had with Indi. After a couple of meetings with Indi, Penny had realised that she had indeed changed and while she doubted they'd ever be great friends, they'd reached an understanding in their relationship, which had made Dex extremely happy. He loved having his sister spending time with them as a family and she was now a frequent visitor to the Bay. When Indi had turned up for the birth of her niece, even Charlie had been shocked at the change that had come over her; gone was the moody, foul-mouthed, sex-crazed woman she had first met, in her place was a rather shy and quietly spoken young woman who had been clean of both alcohol and drugs since her release from the hospital. To her surprise, Charlie actually found herself liking the young woman. "I just hope Penny and her folks can sort it all out."

"I'm sure they will, especially with Jade's help. She already has her dad wrapped around her little finger, so I'm sure she won't have too much trouble doing the same with her grandparents."

Charlie chuckles. Jade Walker-Graves had Dex completely enthralled the moment she was born and she had a way of making him know exactly what she wanted without words, and the doting dad was only too happy to comply. "I bet ours will have us wrapped around their little fingers," Charlie says, resting her hands on her belly.

"Have they been letting you enjoy the surfing?"

"I think they've tired themselves out with all that bouncing around they were doing earlier and are napping."

Joey's hand joins Charlie's on her belly, a smile of wonder on her face. "I still can't believe we're going to be mums."

"My expanding waistline is all the proof I need."

"Charlie, you're more gorgeous every day."

"Ok, that's it." Watson gets to her feet. "I'm going to rescue my son before he learns things he's far too young to learn."

"You want to stay with Aunty Joey, don't you?" Joey blows another raspberry on Andy's belly.

"As I said to Charlie, you're getting your own so you can't have mine." She bends down and plucks her son from Joey. For a moment it looked like he was going to protest, until he realised it was his mum who had snatched him up.

"You have nothing to fear Georgie, he's crazy about his mum," Joey teases her, her nephew gazing adoringly at his mother.

"I'm more worried about you corrupting the little guy."

"Oh please, he has Hugo for a father."

"Don't you listen to her about your father," she says gently to her son. "And when Aunty Joey faints during the birth of her kids, we can laugh along with daddy, can't we." She nods her head to encourage her son, who nods enthusiastically along.

"Hey, I'm not my brother," argues Joey. Hugo was the proud and doting dad who would never live down fainting in the delivery room. He continued to argue that it was out of worry for his wife and son when their lives had been in danger, but Joey had pointed out that he'd fainted well before there were any complications.

"We'll see who has the last laugh."

"Yeah well, I bet Hugo faints the next time too." They'd all been pleased to learn that the complications wouldn't prevent Georgie from having more children, though she and Hugo had put off extending their family for at least another year or two, much like Penny who'd threatened Dex with de-sexing after they'd had a pregnancy scare only a week ago. Penny was adamant that she wasn't having another baby until Jade was at least three years old but Joey and her sister had a bet to say she'd be pregnant well before then.

"I don't care if Hugo does faint." Watson kisses her son on the tip of his nose. "As long as he's in the room with me. Now, say goodbye to your aunties."

They wave goodbye, before Joey turns her attention back to her wife. "So, Mrs Buckton, we have some privacy at last," she says with a leer.

"Mrs Collins," her lips twitch at the name, both of them deciding to keep their names for convenience sake at work; having two Sgt Buckton-Collins would have been a little too confusing, though their kids, including Harley, would be Buckton-Collins. Ruby had decided against changing her name, worried her father might take offence if she had taken Joey's when she'd never had his. "We're on a public beach surrounded by half the town."

Joey grins, "Are we, because I can only see you."

Charlie leans over, capturing her lips. "I love how you make me feel."

"You're the love of my life Charlie, the mother of my children, the least I can do is make you feel like the most important person in the world."

"You do make me feel that...Oh!" Her eyes widen. "They're going again."

Joey places her hand on Charlie's belly. "Active little buggers."

"They take after you."

Joey grins, "Which one do you think is the ring leader, the boy or the girl?"

"Joey, it's too early to even know what sex they are, so we could be having two boys or two girls."

"It's a boy and a girl," she says confidently.

"You just want one of each."

"So do you."

"Ok, I do and I'd say it will be the one named after you that is the ringleader." Charlie had decided that whatever the sex, their firstborn would be named after Joey. Joey had argued against it, saying Charlie was already giving her so much but Charlie had been adamant and Joey had finally relented, secretly loving the idea of a baby named after her.

Grinning, Joey leans over, kissing Charlie's belly. "Joey, public beach," she reminds her.

"I can't help it, I just love you so much and you're just so damn hot pregnant."

Forgetting about everyone, Charlie drags Joey over her, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. When the wolf whistles finally get through, she lets her lips linger a moment longer, before ending the kiss. "You are such a bad influence on me," she murmurs affectionately.

"In a good way."

"In a very good way."

Joey settles by her side. "You think we should let Harley paint her room again?" Joey asks suddenly.

"We could use the excuse that the paint fumes would upset me and the babies."

"That would work and by the time the babies are born, she'll have gone off the idea."

Charlie snorts. "She might want to paint it black by then."

"If she wants to paint it black, she can buy the paint herself and do all the painting."

"Don't tell her that Joey, she'd go and do just that."

Joey chuckles, "Yeah, she would." Joey stands and holds her hands down to Charlie. "Why don't we go join the others?"

Taking Joey's hands, she lets her pull her to her feet. Leaning against Joey for a moment, she brushes her lips against hers. "I love you."

"I love you to." Their lips once again meeting before they go and join the others.

Some months later, Joseph David and Brenda Charlotte Buckton-Collins were welcomed into the world. Gina had been so touched when they'd named their daughter after the son she'd lost, that she had broken down in tears and for once, Joey was the one offering comfort to her. While Charlie and the twins had come through the delivery unscathed, the same couldn't be said for Joey, who had fainted the moment Joseph's head had appeared. She now had a scar above her eye where she'd hit the trolley on the way down and rather than be embarrassed, she proudly wore the t-shirt that Hugo had printed up for her that had an arrow pointing toward her eye with the saying "I got this having a baby," while Dex wore a t-shirt proudly proclaiming his fertility. To no one's surprise, Penny had discovered she was pregnant again just days after the birth of her godchildren. After ranting and raving and tossing the Pill and condoms away in disgust, she'd quickly gotten over it all and as expected, was happily awaiting the birth of her second child.

Charlie enters the nursery, smiling at Joey who was cradling their daughter lovingly. The twins had been home for two weeks now and even with their nights disrupted with crying babies, everyone in the house couldn't be happier. Harley and Ruby doted on their siblings and Joey could barely take her eyes off them and neither could Charlie, especially when she gazed upon those little faces that were so like Joey's. Picking up her son, she sits in the chair beside Joey, their lips meeting briefly as they rocked their children to sleep.

THE END