Chapter Sixty-Four

Angelo stared over his desk at Charlie. She was as beautiful as ever, studying some notes and wearing her uniform with her usual style. He could hardly believe what she had been through and he was desperate to comfort her. But last time he'd tried to offer her friendship, she'd turned him down rather harshly. When he'd agreed to come back to Summer Bay, Charlie Buckton had been the one person that he had been looking forward to seeing. It had taken a while for her to be civil to him, to accept that he was back, but he had always held out hope that she would let him back into her life. And she had. She'd protected him, stood up for him, and saved him from himself and Tony at the edge of that cliff. She'd seen him professionally and socially and it meant a lot to him although he knew he would always want more from her. She was the single most beautiful woman he had ever known, inside and out. And now that she was obviously stressed out and struggling, he desperately longed to be the one that Charlie turned to. He hated that Joey was in her life, that she was taking his place. He was sure that it should be him in Charlie's arms and in her bed. If Joey wasn't around then he was sure that he and Charlie would get back together. He wondered if it would ever turn out that way.

***

Morag was collecting a take away lunch for herself and Ross from the Diner. Her husband was having a bad day and needed some looking after.

"Oh, hi, Charlie," she said, turning to leave and coming face to face with her daughter in law.

"Hi," Charlie said tightly.

Morag sighed. Charlie clearly hadn't forgiven her for bringing the baby issue up even though Morag had been as supportive as possible ever since, especially since she'd discovered the whole truth. Charlie chewed her lip and asked Morag to sit down with her for a moment. Finding their way to a table Morag studied the police officer's face, wondering what was on her mind.

"Morag, you know, don't you?"

"Your Dad let it slip during one of his less aware moments," Morag confirmed.

Charlie nodded.

"Please don't tell anyone," she pleaded, hoping that she could trust her.

"I'm not planning to. But don't you think you should?"

"I've told Joey. And that's it. Ruby doesn't need to know. It'll only hurt her."

"You're denying her the chance to know who she is and where she comes from," Morag pointed out.

"I'm not. Ruby knows who she is. Who parented her doesn't change who she is now," Charlie argued. "Bringing up the past will do nobody any good. Please trust me."

Morag offered up her hands in defeat.

"You're secret is safe with me," she said, getting to her feet.

***

It had been a long week what with Belle's funeral and the stress in their lives. Joey had devoted a lot of her time to Aden, which wasn't easy considering he didn't want to talk to anyone about his feelings. Still, her attention was relentless. There was no way she was going to let her friend close up and push other people away. Morag had been particularly caring towards him as well and Nicole had at least started off supportive. Now, it appeared that she was losing herself in her own grief and sadness. Charlie had reported a drunken incident that Watson had had to sort out, ending with Nicole being sick on her shoes. And she'd been seen with Liam, Belle's junkie ex-boyfriend. Ruby and Joey were particularly worried about her but like Aden, Nicole was difficult to reach. Between caring for their friends, trying not to fret about Charlie's secret and practising for their performance; both Charlie and Joey were exhausted. One thing that Charlie was enjoying however, was their closeness. She'd been through enough ordeals in her life that she'd essentially had to cope with by herself. She hadn't been in relationships long enough to have that kind of support, comfort and love. Opening up to people had never been a possibility until she met Joey. Now, when they curled up in bed together each night, they told each other all about their day and anything that was bothering them. Another thing that Charlie was in a little turmoil over was the way Angelo was looking at her these days. He seemed to always have his eyes on her, searching her and trying to convince her to open up to him. But she didn't want to. She only wanted to open up to Joey. Falling into bed after a night's rehearsal, Charlie kissed Joey tenderly. Smiling, Joey kissed her back and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her in close. Charlie's hands worked their way underneath Joey's t-shirt. Joey giggled and relished Charlie's exploration. Charlie buried her face in Joey's neck, kissing her and gently nipping her flesh while her hands developed a life of their own. Joey slipped her own hand between Charlie's legs, stroking her over her shorts. Charlie kissed her harder and tugged her t-shirt off so that she could pay more attention to her breasts. Joey happily complied and allowed Charlie to remove her bra too. Moving to straddle her, Charlie looked into Joey's eyes.

"I officially couldn't live without you," she declared.

Joey blushed and beamed at her.

"And I couldn't live without you," she confirmed.

"And I couldn't live without these," Charlie grinned before her mouth descended on Joey's left breast, her hand continuing to play with her right one.

***

The following evening, with Charlie working late, Joey and Ruby decided to have dinner together.

"Joey?"

Joey eyed her curiously. She had learnt that tone of voice as well as Charlie had.

"Did you know about the baby? You know, before Morag announced it."

A knot quickly formed in Joey's stomach. This was not something she wanted or should talk about, especially not with Ruby.

"Did you?" Ruby urged.

"Yes, I did," Joey said. "Charlie told me after the car accident."

"Weren't you shocked?"

"Well, of course I was but I'm not going to judge her for it," Joey said.

"I'm trying not to," Ruby said. "It's just hard. I don't understand why she doesn't want to know him."

"Ruby, she's been through a lot. Having to give your kid away when you're pretty much a kid yourself is a big deal," Joey said. "It's perfectly normal that Charlie just wants to forget all about it. It hurts her to think about it."

Ruby frowned.

"Have I been putting too much pressure on her?" she asked.

"Well, it'd be better if you stopped asking," Joey reasoned. "She's not finding the questions easy."

Ruby nodded and sighed.

"I just hate thinking I've got a little nephew out there that I'll never know," she said.

"I know. But this is about how Charlie feels, not the rest of us."

"I feel bad for him too," Ruby added. "I mean, not knowing your family, who your Mum is. It must be really hard for him. If it was me, I'd want to know. I'd want to find out where I came from."

***

That night, as Charlie and Joey finally attempted to settle down to sleep, Joey broke the comfortable silence between them.

"Charlie?"

"Yes?"

Charlie shifted onto her side, leaning into her partner and holding her hand.

"I um... I had a chat with Ruby today."

Charlie tensed and closed her eyes.

"She wanted to know what I knew about the baby."

"You didn't...?"

"Of course not. Don't be silly. Besides, I think she would have tackled you about it by now."

Charlie nodded. That was certainly true.

"She kept saying that she felt bad for the baby, not knowing where he came from. She said she'd want to know if it was her."

Charlie's eyes widened. She took a breath.

"You think I should tell her, don't you?"

"I don't think it's doing you any good keeping secrets," Joey ventured. "And if Ruby were to find out some other way... if your Dad let it slip to her like he did to Morag or something like that. It'd be awful if she found out by accident."

Charlie nodded and sank against Joey's body. Joey held her close.

"Let's talk to her tomorrow," Charlie decided. "Will you be with me when I do?"

"Of course I will. Whenever you need me, I'll be there."