Sorry for disappearing on you. Please bear with me while I catch up on updates. Here is Saturday's instalment. This fic is getting pretty dark at the moment so this, along with the last chapter, should hopefully provide some light relief! Enjoy! Love, IJKS xx

Chapter One Hundred and Ten

It was dinner time and Charlie was busy cooking when Joey arrived home. She'd gone for a drink with Aden after work and was now very hungry. Charlie greeted her with a kiss and then guided her into a chair before putting a plate of pasta in front of her.

"I smell of fish," Joey complained.

"I'm used to it," Charlie smirked. "Eat before it gets cold."

Joey nodded, needing no further encouragement to tuck in.

"No Leah or Ruby tonight?" she asked between mouthfuls.

"Leah and VJ have gone to Stella's and Ruby's out with Xavier," Charlie explained.

The last part of her sentence made her sad. She missed Ruby so much and craved the relationship they had once had. Even though she had moved back in, it felt like part of her wasn't really there. Charlie had hoped so much for them to fix things between them but every interaction felt awkward and difficult now.

"Well, maybe me, you and Rubes could do something nice at the weekend," Joey suggested. "Or maybe just you and Ruby..."
"I need you," Charlie said quickly.

Joey smiled and touched Charlie's hand.

"I'll be there for whatever you need me for," she promised.

Charlie smiled her gratitude.

"So, how was your day?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty good," Joey said cheerfully.

Charlie loved the way she was always so perky about everything. Just being around Joey made her happy. Even with all she had been through, she had such a positive outlook on life. It was something to be proud of.

"Well, you know pretty much any day out on the trawler is a good day in my book," Joey said. "At least, it is now that I'm out there with Aden and Geoff. I know I can trust my boys!"

Charlie chuckled.

"And did you manage to...?"

She made a running gesture with her fingers. Joey nodded and announced that she had stayed below deck for a whole three seconds, which she was sure was better than nothing at all.

"How's Aden doing?" she asked.

"Every day is a struggle," Joey admitted. "But he's getting there. He's doing his best. But to be honest, I don't know if he'll ever really recover. Belle was his life. He shared so much with her, he loves her with his whole heart and... how do you move on from that? At least with a break up or something, you know the person you love is still out there, still safe and well and you have hope that you might get the chance to be with them again. Death is so permanent... it's so... How do you cope with that? With your partner, the person you planned on sharing your life with..."

She shook her head sadly.

"Maybe we should make a pact that neither of us dies!" she grinned.

Charlie giggled.

"I don't think that'll work," she said.

"Oh, it totally could. If you just promise never to die and leave me... well, then you can't break a promise!"

Charlie put her fork down and kissed her.

"I love you so much," she said affectionately.

Joey kissed her again.

"I love you too," she said.

They resumed eating. Joey looked suddenly thoughtful.

"Speaking of love, can I ask your advice about something?" she asked.

"Sure" Charlie said.

"It's about Nicole."

"Nicole?"

Joey nodded before awkwardly explaining the teenager's obsession with Sid, a married older man.

"She's going to get hurt," Joey concluded. "And I just... I feel like I need to do something but I don't know what."

Charlie swallowed another forkful of pasta and then sipped her orange juice.

"Maybe you should tell Miles," she said.

"She'd kill me!" Joey protested.

"Not if you promise to live forever and never leave me," Charlie smirked.

Joey giggled and sipped her own orange juice.

"Nicole is under Miles and Kirsty's care," Charlie said. "They need to know what she's getting up to so that they can help her. And Miles is a lovely guy. He's a sweetheart. I'm sure he'll react well and help her realise that chasing after married men isn't a good idea."

Joey nodded thoughtfully.

"He does seem like a nice guy," she agreed. "I don't really know him that well."

"He's lovely," Charlie confirmed.

Joey raised her eyebrows.

"Last year, there was a teenage rape victim called Melody. She ran away to Melbourne and Miles and I went after her to bring her home," Charlie explained.

Then she blushed. Joey noticed.

"And...?"

"And we kissed," Charlie admitted. "I'm still not entirely sure how it happened."

"Well, usually, you lean in and..."

She leant in and kissed Charlie, smiling proudly. Charlie laughed and kissed her back.

"Did you date?" Joey asked.

"Goodness, no!" Charlie said. "It was this really awkward, spontaneous kiss that should never have happened. We laughed about it afterwards. He knew I was vulnerable at the time. I'd split up with Roman and I wasn't really in a very good place. But he was so sweet. He was a perfect gentleman. There was never even a question about him taking advantage."

"Better than Angelo," Joey muttered.

"Joey..."

"Don't think I've forgiven him for the other week," she said. "Not that I've forgiven myself either but still..."

"Angelo acts before he thinks," Charlie said. "And I'm sure in his head, it wasn't meant to come out like it did."

"What, 'have sex with me or I'll send you to jail'?" Joey quipped.

Charlie sighed.

"And come to think of it, weren't you in just as bad a place when you slept with him the first time as you were when you kissed Miles?" Joey asked.

Charlie had already recounted the story of VJ, Annie and a storm drain and how she'd ended up with Angelo the same night.

"Well, yeah..." Charlie admitted. "But he was in a bad place too. I don't think..."

"I don't think he's a nice man," Joey said firmly. "And the fact that he's so desperately in love with you, doesn't help."

"I can't help being so loveable!" Charlie giggled.

Joey grinned.

"No," she said. "I guess you can't. And I definitely see what he sees in you. But still..."

Charlie pushed their empty plates away and drew Joey a little closer. She kissed her and firmly stated that she didn't want to talk about Angelo anymore.