The heat hit Charlie as soon as she left the airport. She couldn't quite believe what she was doing. That she'd actually taken the long service leave her colleagues had been encouraging her to take ever since she'd been cleared, and not only that, she had then travelled half way around the world, all because of some cryptic message on a postcard. It was ridiculous, it was reckless, yet here she was, in a foreign country, desperately hoping that she hadn't made a huge mistake, that in her desperation and loneliness, she hadn't completely misread the situation. Even now, she wasn't entirely sure, because her mind was still in constant state of flux, and had been from the moment the meaning of that postcard had hit her. She'd go between reanalysing every minute of that night on the bridge, to new theories about that mystery phone call, to how Joey may have faked her death, and then she'd swing back to how utterly sad and desperate she was, because Joey was dead and she was now just looking for an excuse to ignore that reality.

Yet here she was. Charlie looked around at her surroundings. Even from here, she could see the beach. It looked lovely. Everything looked lovely, but that doubt persisted.

"Oh god, what the hell am I doing here?"

"Looking for me, I hope."

Charlie stilled momentarily at the voice, then she swung around. Not even stopping to wonder how Joey knew to be waiting for her since she'd told no one where she was going, Charlie rushed into her arms, their lips meeting in a long, passionate kiss. Everything after that kiss was a blur to both women, but somehow, they must have driven to Joey's place, undressed and reacquainted themselves with each other, because Charlie was now lying naked in Joey's bed, their skin glistening in the aftermath of some very intensive lovemaking.

"So, do you really have a new one piece?" Charlie asked as she leisurely ran her hand along Joey's skin.

"What do you reckon?"

"That you actually have the skimpiest bikini possible," said Charlie.

"I'll wear it for you later," she promised.

"I still can't believe I hopped onto a plane and flew half way around the world, just because of a mention of a one piece swimsuit on a postcard."

"Well, I had to find something that would resonate with you, yet wouldn't raise the wrong kind of suspicions with others, and teasing you about your one piece and using that homophobe's name seemed a starting point."

"And if I hadn't have gotten the reference?"

"I may have had to resort to less subtle tactics," Joey said. "I was terrified though, that even if you figured it out, you wouldn't come looking for me, not after everything I put you through."

"I didn't even hesitate," Charlie admitted. "Even though part of me kept thinking that this could all be nothing but a wild goose chase, I couldn't stay away."

"I'm glad you came."

"I'm glad I did as well," said Charlie. "I've missed you so much."

"And I've missed you."

"Yet you let me believe you were dead," Charlie said.

"I am so sorry for that."

"I've spent the whole plane ride thinking it over, wondering how you did it. It was you who had used Tegan's phone to make that call we couldn't trace," Charlie said matter-of-factly, and Joey nodded in reply. "You called that friend again, the one that brought that bag to you." Again Joey nodded. "And he helped you fake your death." Another nod from Joey. "But why?" she said. "You were already leaving, why go to that extreme and have everyone, including me, believing that you were dead?"

"Daryl Braxton holds a grudge like no other, and I betrayed him, big time," replied Joey. "And that last day in Summer Bay, I came to realise, that no matter where I ran to, I'd always be looking over my shoulder, just waiting for someone to kill me, and so I felt my only option was to have everyone believe I was dead, and therefore no longer a threat," she explained. "Dying was the only way I could truly be free, and as much as I hated to leave in that way, I felt it was best for the both of us."

"Best for the both of us?" Charlie said with some real heat in her voice. "Best for you perhaps, but Joey, I was devastated, and I had no one I could talk to about how lost I was."

"And I'm so sorry I put you through that, but at the time, it felt like the right decision," she told her. "I was trying to protect you as well, because if I just ran away, then there was nothing to stop others from turning up on your doorstep, asking questions that come with a lot of pain."

"Right now, Daryl Braxton has a lot more pressing issues on his mind, than getting revenge on you," Charlie told her. "Not to mention, he's lost his powerbase since Heath and others have turned on him."

"On the outside, but how long before his growing influence on the inside, spreads yet again to the outside," said Joey. "Not everyone in that jail will be in there forever, and if history tells us anything, it's that Daryl Braxton knows how to manipulate and use others to his own advantage," she told her. "And he has plenty of time to cultivate them inside, then send them out to do his bidding when they're released. I'm telling you Charlie, Brax isn't done just yet."

"Look, you obviously know him better than I do, but I honestly believe he's been seriously wounded by the defection of his brother, and he's not going to find the same kind of traction with people he once did," Charlie said. "He's also under constant surveillance inside, Joey, and all those prisoners he interacts with will be watched whenever they're released."

Joey sighed. "Maybe things will be different now that people see that loyalty isn't all it's cracked up to be," Joey murmured. "But at the time, I genuinely thought that faking my death was the only way to go," she said. "I mean, Brax had always found a way to avoid getting his comeuppance, and I didn't think this would be any different," she explained. "I just never foresaw his brother betraying him like that."

"I can understand why you did it, but it hurt so much Joey, to believe that you were dead," she said. "I stood on that bridge for hours, trying to hold onto hope that you'd somehow be found alive."

"I wish I could go back and do things differently, but if we've both learnt anything over this journey, it's that what's done is done, there's no changing that." Joey reached out and gently stroked Charlie's cheek. "I never wanted to hurt you, but I seem to have this knack for doing just that."

Charlie took Joey's hand in hers, and kissed the palm. She still held some resentment and anger for what Joey had put her through, but the overriding emotions she'd felt since she'd heard Joey's voice, had been relief, joy and contentment. Those three were the emotions she wanted to hold onto.

"It's not all your fault," said Charlie. "We both found ourselves in this impossible situation, and whether you ended up in jail, ran away or ended up dead for real, we'd both still have ended up suffering in some way."

"It doesn't make me feel any less guilty."

"Well, I know how you can make me feel better," Charlie said with a smirk.

"I thought I already did that."

"Come now Joey, you have a lot to make up for, and you've barely even started."

Joey was grinning from ear-to-ear as Charlie said that.

"Just one thing though," said Charlie. "Should I be worried that you fake it?" she joked.

"I can promise you that everything I feel for you is 100% real," Joey assured her with a smile. "Why don't you feel for yourself?"

"Now that is an invitation I can't resist," Charlie said, her hands and mouth feeling every inch of Joey.

The curtains were open. The woman's hands gripped the binoculars tighter in fury as she watched that bitch being taken like a dog in heat by her slut. She watched every second, waiting for her moment.

Once more lying in sated bliss, Charlie lay cuddled up to Joey.

"Joey, can you tell me one other thing?"

"Sure."

"I know now you had help, but how did Hayley fit into it exactly? I mean, Hayley denied killing you, which I can now personally attest to as being true," she said with a wry grin. "So does that mean the rest of her story is also true, because it had seemed so fantastical at the time," Charlie said. "That someone came up behind her, knocked her out and that person then shot you, and staged the car accident and set her up as the patsy."

"That's pretty much what happened," said Joey.

"The one who grabbed her, was the friend you called," she murmured.

"After our meeting, he'd decided to hang around just outside of town, just in case I needed him again."

"Which you did."

"Yeah, anyway, he headed straight back into town when the first lot of shooting was reported on the radio," she explained. "He caught sight of Tegan and Hayley in their car and followed them."

"He was there, at the vet's place?"

Joey nodded. "He was about to intervene when he saw Pee Wee, Tegan and Hayley all split up."

"So that's when he got to Hayley."

"He grabbed her just as she got to her car," she said.

"I'm guessing you also knew exactly where we were going in the bush, didn't you, because you'd called him after you'd taken care of Tegan, and he told you where to go."

Yet again, Joey nodded. "He'd been studying all the maps of the area, so he'd know the best way out if things went bad."

"A habit you also have," Charlie murmured quietly. "So, you knew where to go, and that's why you stopped on the bridge, because you were waiting for a signal," said Charlie. "The text message."

"Yeah," Joey said.

"I can see where this is going now," Charlie murmured. "Your friend must have fired wide, but you grabbed at your shoulder as if you'd been hit, and the blood I saw seeping between your fingers, was because you made your earlier wound bleed more," she said. "That also accounts for the spent shell from Tegan's rifle being found where the shooter had been standing. With the gun found on her, along with the text message your friend had sent from her phone, it all pointed to Hayley's guilt."

"Yeah."

"And the scent the dogs picked up, that had been your friend's. They followed him back to the car, he drove off far enough they'd lose his scent, then he staged the car accident."

"Yep, that's pretty much it."

"So Hayley really is innocent?"

"That's not a word I'd ever use to describe that woman."

"But Joey, she's in jail for a crime she didn't commit."

"Are you going to inform the authorities of that?"

Charlie genuinely couldn't answer that. Once, in the past, it would have been a quick, yes, do the right thing, but so much had changed over the duration of this saga, including how she viewed things. Besides, how could she explain it? My dead lover told me? There was no evidence to support it, other than the word of a dead woman. Maybe she'd make an anonymous call, and let others figure it out, or maybe she'd just let sleeping dogs lie, at least while she was here with Joey. Deal with it later. Same with what happened to Joey after she went over the bridge, into the water. Later, because right now, she just wanted to enjoy Joey, over and over again.

They were at it again. Fucking like they didn't have a care in the world. That would soon change.

An hour later, Charlie and Joey were sitting around the table, reenergising themselves with a well-earned meal.

"Just so you know, you're not officially dead just yet," Charlie told her. "At least not until after the coronial inquest makes its finding."

"I know."

"You know a lot for someone who's been on the other side of the world," said Charlie.

Joey just smiled at her.

"What about Aden Jeffries, he is more than just a friend, isn't he?"

"My foster brother."

"And I'm guessing you know that he's doing much better now, even though his memory hasn't come back."

"Let's just say that Aden has a guardian angel watching over him."

"The same guardian angel who bought you that bag, who faked your death," Charlie said. "The one who taught you to shoot," she said. "He's the foster father who made you feel included, and wanted."

"I can't betray his trust Charlie, not even for you," she said, unsurprised by how much Charlie had managed to piece together. "He's risked so much for us, and that's all I will ever say on him."

"Ok, tell me this though," Charlie said. "Is he also watching over me, and that's how you knew which Station I had transferred to in order to send the postcard, and how you knew I was on that plane and when to be waiting for me."

"Not him exactly, but someone he knows and trusts."

"Did you ask him to do that?"

"Yeah, I wanted to make sure you were safe, but also to know how you were doing." Joey reached over and took Charlie's hand. "I just wish I had contacted you sooner, so you wouldn't have had to stress so much," she said. "It was just too risky while you were still being questioned, so I waited."

"I get it Joey, I really do," she said. "So how about we set that all aside for now, and just enjoy our time together."

Charlie had no idea what the future would hold for her. Would she return home to where she had no family, only friends, and a career she still loved, even though her enthusiasm had dulled for it somewhat. Or did she leave that all behind and stay in the arms of the woman she loved? She honestly had no idea, but she intended to enjoy these next few weeks before she made any decision.

Her hands gripped the binoculars even more tightly at the moment of that bitch's climax.

"Watson."

The name was bitter on her tongue as she saw the woman rock back and forth in pleasure as her slut continued to fuck her toward another climax. That woman was happy with her slutty waitress. She had no right to be, not after what she'd done. Zoe had always known the police had had little interest in finding her brother's killer. They'd written him off as a rapist and so had put little effort into the investigation, so she'd been forced to do their work for them. She'd found out the waitress had been the last person in the Diner the night her brother was murdered. There had been something off with the woman, a feeling that she was hiding a secret or something, so Zoe had watched her, at the diner, and at her house, day after day. Then she had arrived. That disguise had fooled Zoe at first, but then it had clicked. It was the crooked cop from the news, and she was kissing that woman. Then it had all made sense. They'd murdered her brother to cover up their affair, and they were now planning on running off together. So she'd followed them. She had no idea who that broad with the big tits had been that they'd met up with, or what she'd handed to them, not until she'd followed them to the airport, and realised it must have been fake passports and identities.

After seeing what their destination had been, she'd set about arranging things. It had taken time, and a lot of money to find them again once she got here, but she had. Rose and Elly had found a safe, new life together overseas. Or so they thought. Soon, she'd have justice for her brother.

THE END

Thanks for reading everybody. Taking a break from writing for a few weeks. Will be back with a new story soon.