Charlie's arm was getting a work out with the number of times she held it up to glance at her watch. Where the hell was Joey? The longer the other woman remained gone, the more she worried that something bad had happened to her and the more uneasy she felt with her decision. From the moment everything went pear shaped, this whole protection detail had become the most difficult of her life, but Charlie suspected the coming hours could prove just as hard, if not harder. And awkward.

She sighed. This was exactly why she should never have succumbed to her hormones and slept with Joey. If she'd held firm, she wouldn't have been facing this dilemma in the first place. Well, maybe she would have, but certainly not to the extant she was, all because she'd allowed herself to become physically and emotionally invested in Joey. Not in a romantic way, she hastily reminded herself, but emotionally, she had connected with Joey, largely because of their shared predicament. It wasn't something she was used to dealing with, at least not outside of her work colleagues. Now more than ever, Charlie really wished she'd kept her emotional distance, because as hard as she tried to not let it, it was affecting her judgement. That whole library 'will I or won't I' bs wouldn't have happened had she maintained her professional distance. There wouldn't have been any hesitation or internal discussion in the choice she'd made, she just would have made the decision without any fuss. Hell, even this discussion she was having with herself wouldn't have happened in the past.

Charlie glanced at her watch again. If she made it through this, she was determined to do things differently next time. No way was she going to let this shit happen again.

Joey trudged up the path toward the cabin. She found herself dragging her feet, as if delaying this would somehow help. She knew it wouldn't, that she was only delaying the inevitable, but her feet refused to go any quicker. Eventually Joey reached the cabin, where her hand hesitated over the door handle. Once inside, there was no going back, she told herself. She could just drop the bag on the step and run. In that moment, Joey very nearly did do just that, but the thought of abandoning Charlie without any explanation hurt too much and steeled her nerve. She had to do this, even though Charlie will hate her for it, she owed this to her, especially after everything she'd been put through because of her.

Taking a deep breath, Joey opened the door and walked straight into the hardest job she'd ever undertaken.

"Where have you been?" Charlie immediately asked, unable to keep the concern from her voice. Her tone hit Joey like a brick, first that she'd worried Charlie with her disappearing act, and secondly, with what she was about to do. Just get it over with, Joey told herself before her steely resolve dissolved and she piked out completely. "I was beginning to think that someone may have taken you or something."

"Sorry, I just had to pick up something," she replied, then without any preamble, she handed the bag over to Charlie. "I guess I lost track of time."

"An old gym bag?" said Charlie.

"More what's in it," Joey said.

"What?"

"Take a look."

"Where did this come from?" she asked without opening it.

"A friend."

Charlie glared at her, her own actions from earlier momentarily forgotten. "You contacted someone without talking it through with me first?" she demanded in outrage.

"Don't worry, he's someone who can be trusted," Joey assured her, as she stared at the bag that remained firmly closed in Charlie's hands. Just open the bloody thing and get this over with, she silently urged.

"If he's so trustworthy, why the hell haven't you contacted him before now?" Charlie stated. "We sure as hell could have used the help."

"He has a family and I didn't want to drag him into this mess, unless it was completely necessary," Joey replied. It was partly true, though the delay was more about waiting until everything was in place, which unfortunately, it wasn't quite there just yet. That bloody passport better be ready soon.

"And now it is necessary?" said Charlie. "What's changed?"

Everything. My feelings. I love you Charlie. I just can't stay with you any longer. None of these words made it out of her mouth though.

"We can't run forever, Charlie," Joey told her as a response instead.

Charlie felt a sliver of hope that by saying that, Joey wouldn't be too pissed at the decision Charlie had taken upon herself to make for the both of them.

"And what you have there, should help you to fight back," Joey said. "And to win."

Charlie looked at the bag that she'd forgotten was in her hands.

"You just need to find the right people to pass that on to."

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm never going to see you again?" Charlie said, hiding the pain that suddenly skewered her heart.

"I can't go back with you, Charlie," she said. "That was never going to be an option for me from the moment we left that motel room behind all those days ago."

"I know," Charlie murmured, struggling to hide her disappointment. Part of her had been hoping Joey would change her mind, yet in reality, she'd always known that was unlikely to occur. Joey had made it abundantly clear over and over again, that returning to police protection was never going to happen. Charlie sighed as she found herself in exactly the position she'd predicted she'd be in only hours earlier, only it was now Joey forcing this decision, not her. To let Joey go or be the cop she always had been and prevent Joey from leaving, because so much rested on her testimony against the Braxtons. After everything they'd endured, it just felt so wrong to stand in Joey's way, especially when her police colleagues had tried to kill them both, yet it also felt wrong to let Joey walk. Even after hours of going over this in her mind and driving herself slightly insane in the process, Charlie had yet to reach a decision, and time was now quickly running out on her. Oh god, what the hell was she going to do?

"But you can go back," Joey told her, drawing Charlie's attention back to her. "You can get your normal life back, and with what's in that bag, you can bring all the pricks down, maybe even get a commendation for it."

The bag, which once again had been forgotten in Charlie's hands.

"You just need to find the right cop to approach," Joey said. "That Robertson guy in charge of the taskforce seems on the up, and he's probably in the best position to make the most use of it."

Charlie had also concluded the same thing after her trip to the Library. Make use of what though? She still hadn't opened the bag, and with every word Joey spoke, she felt a greater reluctance to.

"I wish things could be different Charlie, but the realities of our situation will always trump wishful thinking," she said.

Charlie just nodded.

"I'm sorry Charlie," Joey said. "I really am."

"Sorry for what?"

"For putting you in this mess," she replied.

"It wasn't your fault you got caught in this, and became a witness," Charlie pointed out.

If only that were true, thought Joey.

"Look in the bag Charlie."

The bag. It suddenly felt so heavy in her hands as Charlie walked over to the table and sat it down on top. With a sense of dread that continued to grow as she reached for the zip and started to pull it, Charlie opened the bag. Inside, were files. Dozens of them. She pulled the first file out. It contained photos, dates, times, maps with crosses and names, the meaning of which failed to sink in at first. Then it did and Charlie struggled with the implications. She frantically checked the next file, then another, then another. There was no point checking them all. They were all the same. Details, so many details contained within. A myriad of thoughts were going through her mind, none of them good. The cops could only dream of gathering such information, of having such a source. They couldn't even get taps on the Braxton's phones or warrants to search their places, to even get close to this level of surveillance, so how could Joey? Why would Joey? Charlie knew the answer. It was obvious, she just wasn't ready to admit it yet.

"How," she began to say but the rest of the words stuck in her throat. Charlie cleared her throat and started again. "How in the hell did you get this?"

"I'd have thought that was obvious," Joey said, her voice barely audible to Charlie.

"Of course it's fucking obvious, but I want to hear you say it," Charlie snarled, her feelings getting the better of her. So many emotions were swirling through her, ranging from anger, to disappointment, to hurt, before settling on anger. Anger was good. Her rage would drive away any conflicts she'd previously been inflicted with where Joey was concerned. Hold onto it Charlie. Get through this, then do the right thing. "Well," she demanded. "Speak or have you suddenly forgotten how to?"

Joey took a step back. She'd expected this, had known the consequences, yet seeing it reflected on her lover's face was the worst kind of pain she'd ever experienced.

"What, no smart arsed reply?" sneered Charlie. She'd already known Joey was a criminal, what with her stealing, lock picking and skill with lying, and she'd even suspected Joey had had some link to the Braxtons before that fateful night, but this was beyond what she'd expected. It was much worse. Should she really be surprised though? The woman had been a consummate liar from day one, she'd played her and taken her for a fool. And she'd let her. In spite of all her own warnings to the contrary, she'd foolishly let Joey get to her. Worse, she'd slept with her. She felt betrayed, sullied, dirty. She felt sick. Then the rage kicked in again. Never again would she trust this bitch and never again would she feel guilty. In fact, she felt relieved she'd made the right decision earlier.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" Charlie said. "There is no way you could have gotten even half this stuff, unless you were on the inside. You're with them."

"I'm sorry Charlie."

"Stop saying that," she snapped. "I don't care about your apologies, I just want the fucking truth, if you're even capable of such a concept."

Joey was shrivelling up inside. She'd lost her forever, Charlie hated her, would never forgive her. Accepting that, Joey squared her shoulders.

"You're one of the Braxton's hired guns, aren't you?" Charlie demanded to know. "You make people disappear for them."