Chapter Forty-Six

The week had gone from bad to worse for Charlie. The only thing that comforted her was that for the first time, when she crawled into bed at the end of a long shift, she had someone who loved her, ready and waiting to welcome her into her arms. Of course she'd had boyfriends in the past that she'd dated during particularly turbulent times at work but it had never been like this before. She had certainly never lived with a partner before and at the end of a long shift like the ones she'd been having lately, it was rare for her to have done anything other than crawl into her own bed alone. Roman had often been too busy for her. They hadn't been comfortable enough with each other that when she was tired and aching from a long day, she could go and see him. With Angelo, they had sometimes fallen into bed together after working the same shift but again, that wasn't the same. And nobody she had ever dated before either of them had been the same as Joey either. Joey was warmth and comfort and love. She didn't care how late it was, she still wanted to be awake to greet her, kiss her, hold her, tell her she loved her and make sure she was okay. Joey was the woman who brought her lunches, dinners and coffees when she knew that Charlie was working late. She looked after her, made her feel special. She filled the void of sorrow and pain in Charlie's life that had existed since she was a teenager. She made Charlie want to open up and be close to her, let every truth pour out and roam free between them. It was strange to think that if she ever chose to tell Joey everything about herself, the chances were, Joey would love her anyway. While she wasn't quite prepared to open that wound yet, to take that risk, it was comforting to know that it was possible. Charlie felt guilty for being so wrapped up in her job. Everything had just been so full-on with work. The lab report had come back and stated that the hand VJ had found had definitely been bitten off by a shark. Then, later in the week, Hugo had been attacked by a shark during a night dive way out to sea. Charlie's bosses were considering sending a special team in. The local force alone was struggling under the pressure of the shark attacks, especially now that Roman and Leah had had a car accident whilst out on a date that had left Roman blind. Thoughts swirled in Charlie's unwilling mind as she began to come to on Monday morning. She kept her eyes tightly shut and stretched her arm out to hit the alarm as hard as she possibly could. Still, she refused to open her eyes. All she wanted to do was stay in bed with Joey. They hadn't even made love for almost a week. She missed her terribly. She grinned when she felt soft lips brushing hers in a good morning kiss. Keeping her eyes shut, Charlie reached her arm up and ran it through Joey's tangled tresses. Suddenly she felt a little better.

***

Joey finished work, tired from the day. She called Charlie as she walked down the wharf.

"Hey, sweetheart," her girlfriend greeted.

"Hey. How are you?" Joey asked.

"Rushed off my feet but I'm alright. How was work?"

"Easier than yours by the sound of it. Are you due a break any time soon?"

"I've been due a break all day. I haven't even been able to stop of lunch," Charlie admitted.

"Charlie..." Joey scolded.

She was beginning to get worried about how hard the police officer was working. She barely ate and crashed out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow but with late nights and early mornings, it meant that she never slept for long enough.

"I know, I know," Charlie said. "I'll grab something at some point."

"Are you at the station?"

"I'm heading back there now."

"I'll drop you some lunch round now. We won't have time between your shift and rehearsals."

Charlie went suspiciously quiet.

"You're not coming to rehearsals, are you?"

"I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Joey lied.

"Joey, I'll make it up to you. We can rehearse privately!" Charlie said, teasing in her tone.

"When?" Joey replied flatly.

"As soon as things ease off, I'll make it up to you, okay? I promise."

"I'll be over soon with some sandwiches and stuff," Joey told her.

Glumly, she hung up the phone.

***

Towards the end of the week, both Charlie and Joey were feeling the strain of Charlie's workload. Charlie had sat at her desk for an hour delegating and trying to cut down on what she had to do so that she could get home earlier and spend some much needed quality time with her girlfriend. She'd worked it that she could get home at ten at night instead of one in the morning and she hoped that this would be good enough. There seemed to be a crime wave going on at the moment and she was still attempting to make headway with the shark case and Roman's accident. She knew she could delegate Roman's accident but she didn't really want to, although she was taking more of a backseat on it now. That was one of her delegations. But the hand in the sand case was the biggest issue and that was certainly not something she could step away from. If she didn't make progress soon, they would send a special unit in. Her pride meant that she really wanted to avoid it. It felt like her superiors were telling her she and her team weren't good enough to handle something so special and she was sure they all were. On the other hand, if another team took over and she was only working alongside them then it would take the pressure off and she wouldn't have to see Joey's unhappy, disappointed face every time she couldn't spend time with her or had to cancel plans. As cute as she was when she tried to hide her grief, Charlie wished she wouldn't have to do it.

***

Joey was seated at the Surf Club with a glass of wine. Amber had called and asked her if she'd like to go for a drink and with Charlie at work, Aden attempting to make things up with Belle, Ruby and Nicole on double dates with Xavier and Trey and Leah away licking her wounds after her break-up with Roman, Joey had agreed quite willingly.

"You don't seem that happy, Joey," Amber observed.

"Huh? No, I'm fine. I just miss Charlie, that's all."

"She's still pretty busy, hey?"

"Yeah," Joey said sadly. "I feel like I never see her. But I guess that's the deal when you date a cop. She and her family struggled with her Dad back in the day because he was always so busy working and sometimes she has to do the same thing. She doesn't want to and she always apologises but I guess it's the way it has to be sometimes."

"I don't envy you," Amber admitted. "I mean, never seeing the person I loved would be a nightmare."

"She's committed to her job," Joey said simply, sipping her wine.

"Does it ever make you...?"

Amber stopped.

"Make me what?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Does it ever make you doubt her commitment to you?"

Joey looked confused.

"No, why would it?"

"No reason," Amber shrugged.

"Why?" Joey asked, her voice coming out a little more squeaky than she'd meant it to.

"Well, just that if she'll constantly choose work over you..."

"She has to right now."

"I don't know. Maybe I'm more paranoid than you but I'd worry that maybe she wasn't really working after all."

Joey's eyes widened in sheer panic.

"But that's just me and my imagination!" Amber said quickly. "I've lost many a girl to that kind of fretting. Don't go down that road."

Joey tried to settle but now the seed was planted, she couldn't help running through a whole list of reasons why Charlie might not want to be around her. Maybe it wasn't a work thing after all. Perhaps it wasn't that she wanted to be at work all the time; perhaps it was that she didn't want to be at home with Joey but she didn't know how to tell her.

***

Walking home with unwanted thoughts swirling in her head, Joey felt confused and lost. Preparing for a night by herself, waiting for Charlie to get in at some indecent hour, she decided to have a hot bath and perhaps tuck herself in with a book. She stopped in surprise at the entrance of the living room. It was adorned with candles and soft lamps and the furniture had all been pushed to one side. In the middle of the floor, Charlie was seated on a blanket and before her was a wonderful spread of food and a bottle of wine. Charlie looked up at her, smiling shyly before getting to her feet and approaching Joey. Reaching out to her, she held her hands. Still stunned, Joey let her, gazing into her face.

"I am so sorry I've been working so much," she said. "I know I've been neglecting you and I want to make it up to you starting tonight."

She leant closer. Joey met her halfway with a kiss. Charlie raised her hands to Joey face, letting her fingertips rest on her chin. Joey slipped her arms round Charlie's waist, holding tight, wanting to hold on forever. All her fears fell out of her mind. Pulling away, Charlie took hold of her hands again and led Joey to the blanket, explaining that she thought they could have a late picnic if Joey hadn't already eaten. She was aware that it was already nine thirty. Joey was suddenly grateful to have been too miserable to eat. Settling down opposite each other on the floor, Charlie poured the wine into glasses and they began to tuck into the spread.

"This is lovely," Joey enthused.

"It's courtesy of Colleen, I'm afraid," Charlie said apologetically. "I can't take any credit."

"You're so sweet for doing this, Charlie," Joey said between mouthfuls.

"I've been working some things out, Joey," Charlie ventured.

Joey's heart lurched, her fears coming back for a moment. Charlie didn't notice her change in expression and continued.

"And I know it's not much but it's all I can do for now. I can finish work at ten in the evening until this rush finishes instead of the time I have been now. And I can leave at the same time you do instead of so much earlier now, which means I'll be able to give you a lift in too. Does that sound okay? Does it sound better?"

Charlie's tone was hopeful and full of nerves. Joey was touched. She reached out to hold Charlie's hand.

"It sounds wonderful," she said.

Charlie broke out into a smile.

"And it's all only temporary until my shifts sort themselves out," she added. "Soon I'll work a normal amount and you and I can see each other as much as we used to. But for now, we can make every second count."

Joey nudged the plates in front of her out of the way and planted a kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

"Hey, come here," Charlie invited.

Joey came to sit against Charlie. They ate together as they embraced.