Chapter One Hundred and Eighty Two

"Has he picked up his phone yet?" Charlie asked, approaching Watson.

From his desk, Angelo watched the women talk about Ian Radcliffe. They had been trying to get in touch with him for two hours but he wasn't picking up the phone.

"Anything I can do to help?" he offered, always eager to interact with Charlie whenever he could.

"No thanks," Charlie said politely, turning back to Watson.

She was just about to suggest that they go round to the house when the man himself walked through the door, dragging his son with him.

"I want Miles Copeland to be arrested for assault," he said.


Joey took VJ down to the beach for some fresh air. She had never been much of a soccer player but he was keen to teach her and she was keen to keep distracting him from his troubles. Up ahead, celebrations over the end of school had already begun.

"Okay, prepare to get beat!" VJ bellowed.

"Oh, I am taking you down!" Joey challenged, although she didn't think she would be doing any such thing.

She glanced to her right.

"Miles?" she called.

The curly haired man turned round to look at her. She and VJ hurried over, concerned by how beat up he looked and how shaken.

"I thought you'd still be in the hospital," Joey said. "You look like you got hurt pretty badly."

"I discharged myself," Miles said.

"Was that such a good idea?" Joey wondered.

"I think it was the first of many bad ideas," Miles admitted.


Charlie sat opposite Riley and Ian. Watson was beside her and clearly felt just as frustrated.

"So, you're saying that Miles Copeland came round to your house and assaulted your son?" Charlie asked incredulously.

"Yep," Ian replied, leaning forward in his chair and looking her directly in the eye.

"Miles is in hospital," Watson said.

Charlie sat back, happy to let her colleague take the lead. She had made her a Senior Constable for a reason after all.

"He must have left hospital then," Ian said. "He attacked my son. Look at his wrist!"

The boy's wrist was indeed in a sling.

"So, what happened exactly?" Watson asked.

Ian began to explain how he had found Miles having a go at Riley on the doorstep. When he'd tried to get rid of him, Miles had become aggressive and attacked Riley, breaking his wrist in the process.


Aden had gone home, leaving Joey to play with VJ and Nicole to swoon over Liam. From his bedroom, he heard voices, recognising Liam with someone else. He moved to the top of the stairs, listening in on what was apparently a guitar lesson and pulled a face. He just hoped he could get a new job and then move out of this house, away from the man he hated.


Charlie and Watson pulled up at the beach, having spotted Miles making a vague attempt at playing soccer with Joey and VJ. The officers braced themselves to bring him in for questioning.

"Hey, Charlie!" Joey greeted warmly when she spotted her girlfriend.

"Hey," Charlie replied, hating that she had to be all business.

She gave her a quick hug anyway but then told Miles she needed to talk to him.

"Okay," he said uncertainly.

"It has to be down at the station, I'm afraid."

Miles nodded glumly and followed Watson to the car. Joey caught hold of Charlie's hand.

"What's going on?"

"Hopefully nothing," Charlie said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Are we still doing the dinner date thing?"

"Yep," Charlie promised. "I'll meet you at home."

She kissed her cheek and then followed Miles and Watson back up the beach.


"Woah!" Liam protested when his seventeen year old student swooped in to try and kiss him. "What are you doing?"

"I thought..." the girl faltered.

He shook his head and stood up, thinking of Nicole.

"I'm seeing someone and she's very special to me," he said. "Also, you're seventeen."

"I'm legal!" the girl remarked. "And from what I hear, it wouldn't be the worst thing you've ever done."

She tried to kiss him again. He backed away quickly.

"The person I'm with is very special to me," he said. "I'm not going to cheat on her – not with you or anyone. I'm actually planning a big surprise for her tonight."

The girl looked disappointed.

"I think the lesson's over," Liam said, opening the front door to see her out.


Watson was interviewing Miles, who had denied hurting Riley. He admitted to discharging himself from hospital, having heard that it was the kids who had attacked him, and going round to talk to Riley himself to find out what happened. He was mortified that it had been a bunch of kids who had put him in hospital. He had tried to stop him from shutting the door. And he'd touched his hand for a brief moment but that was all. Nothing had broken and nobody had been hurt while he was there. Charlie left her office, spotting Riley sitting alone in reception. She moved to sit next to him.

"Where's your Dad?" she asked.

"Having a cigarette," the boy replied.

She glanced at Angelo who kept his head down. It wasn't technically legal for her to talk to the boy without his guardian but if she could just get him to admit that Miles hadn't hurt him then it could go a long way towards not having to charge her friend.

"Is it just you and your Dad at home?" Charlie asked.

Riley nodded.

"And are things okay there?"

He nodded again.

"Can you tell me why you started bullying VJ?" Charlie asked. "That's how all of this started, right?"

Riley merely nodded.

"If there's something on your mind..."

The boy glanced at the door and then back at Charlie. He was about to open his mouth when Ian reappeared, looking sterner than ever. Riley fell silent.

"I hope you're not trying to intimidate my son," Ian warned.

Charlie stood up, keeping everything calm and casual.

"Nope, I was just checking he was alright," she said. "Now, if you want to sign your statement, you can go."

"What about Copeland?" Ian asked.

"We'll let you know."


Nicole was enjoying the beach party. She'd arranged to see Liam later in the evening, after she had hung out with her friends and celebrated finishing school. For now, she was having lots of fun. Glancing up, she smiled when she saw Aden walking along the seafront. She waved him over.

"Enjoying your new found freedom?" he asked.

"Yep!"

"Well, here's hoping you do as many wonderful things with your first post-school year as I did!" he remarked.

Spontaneously, she hugged him, reminding him that he had done a lot of special things since leaving school, namely marrying Belle. He nodded, trying not to feel sad over what he had lost since then.

"And you helped Joey," Nicole added brightly.

He smiled. Charlie had taken the lead in bringing his friend out of her darkness but he liked to think he had helped. And she definitely brought a lot of life to the Bay these days. Perhaps she might not have been able to do that if people hadn't been around to love her like she deserved.

"So yes," Nicole said firmly. "I hope I do as many good things as you!"

Aden grinned.

"What are you up to tonight?" he asked. "Partying hard?"

"I'm just going to hang out for a bit and then I'm meeting up with Liam."

Aden nodded. He'd overheard the girl hitting on the former rock star. And he'd heard him rejecting her and saying he had special plans for the evening.

"Want to stay and hang out with me?" Nicole asked hopefully.

Keen to regain their old friendship, Aden agreed.


"I'm so sorry, Miles," Charlie said.

She and Watson had been left with no other choice but to charge him for assaulting a minor. Neither of them believed it was true but he hadn't been able to offer any kind of proof that he was innocent.

"What happens now?" he asked. "Are you going to lock me up or something stupid like that?"

"No," Charlie said. "Go home and we'll be in touch, okay?"

He nodded unhappily.

"I should never have got involved," he said. "I'm always trying to help people, always trying to do my best and I always get screwed over."

He turned and left in a hurry. Charlie and Watson exchanged glum expressions.

"Still want to go out tonight?" Watson asked.

"Yeah," Charlie said. "I think after today we both need a good night out."

"See you at the Diner at eight?"

"Sounds good to me."


A few hours later, Charlie and Joey headed over to the Diner, where they had booked a table for four. Charlie had unhappily explained everything to Joey and it looked like word had got round the Bay already.

"I hope nobody is going to blame me," Charlie fretted.

"It's not your fault, Charlie," Joey reassured her. "You did what you could but you have to do your job. I mean, come on, we know that better than anyone."

Both of them thought to the difficult time they had been through when Robertson had charged them both with murder.

"We didn't hate Robertson for investigating the case," Joey said.

"Well, we kind of did," Charlie pointed out.

"I hated him because he was an arrogant arse," Joey smirked. "Not because he locked me up for a night. Well, okay, that helped. But at least you don't want Miles to be guilty."

Charlie reached out and squeezed her girlfriend's hand, thanking her, just as Watson appeared.

"Hey guys," she greeted warmly. "This is Monica."


Nicole was feeling a little tipsy and she had had a very merry time so far. She and Aden had had a heart to heart over a couple of drinks on the beach and then, not wanting to get too sappy and emotional, they'd mucked about with the rest of the school leavers and somehow or other, Nicole had ended up being dunked in the sea. She just hoped her phone would dry out.

"I guess I should head back," she said, grabbing Aden's wrist in order to look at his watch. "I'm already late."

"Oh, stay for one more," Aden said. "Liam won't mind."

It didn't take much persuasion for her to sit back down again.


"You must see so much as a barmaid," Joey said. "I worked in a bar for a few months several years ago. It was crazy."

"It's pretty hectic," Monica admitted. "Although I'm presuming it's nothing compared to being a cop."

She smiled sweetly at Watson who blushed. Joey and Charlie found their interaction adorable.

"So, how long have you been together?" Monica asked the couple.

"Nearly eight months," Charlie said proudly, holding Joey's hand atop the table.

"And you live together already?" Monica remarked.

"Well, you know what they say about lesbians," Watson teased.

Charlie offered her a mock glare before explaining that they'd lived together as friends before they got together for real.

"Have you lived here long, Monica?" she asked.

"Only a few months," the newcomer admitted. "I'm still kind of getting my bearings really. How about you?"

"Born and raised," Joey said.

"I've been here for just over a year," Charlie said. "I transferred from the city in June last year. And it was the best thing I ever did."

She beamed at Joey.

"Do you think we'll be that cute in months to come?" Watson asked without thinking.

Monica beamed at her.

"I can't wait to find out," she said.


Gina knocked on Miles' door, finding him looking battered and bruised and clutching a bottle of beer. His eyes were glassy and he was a little wobbly on his feet.

"I guess this isn't a good time," she said.

"Not the best," he replied flatly. "But I suppose you're here because you heard what happened."

Gina nodded before blurting out that pending the investigation, she had no option but to suspend him. He shut the door in her face.


"And then it dawned on her that we were in the middle of the ocean and she couldn't run away after all," Joey smirked, having relayed the story of her and Charlie first getting together to Monica, who laughed loudly.

Charlie blushed and defended herself by saying that Joey had spun her out by kissing her and she'd temporarily lost her bearings.

"Aw, it's a sweet story," Watson said. "I can't say I wasn't shocked though."

She then explained that Charlie had identified as straight before she met Joey.

"How do you identify now?" Monica asked curiously.

Joey studied her girlfriend curiously. Charlie licked her lips.

"Mostly, I identify as being in love with Joey," she explained. "Because I'm not attracted to any guy or any girl other than her. But I guess if I was being general, I'd assume I'm bisexual. Obviously I was attracted to men and obviously I am attracted to a woman. But it's not something I think about, to be honest. I just... love Joey."

She searched her partner's face, hoping it was an acceptable answer. Defining her sexuality still seemed like shaky ground somehow. She smiled when she was rewarded with a chaste but tender kiss.


Liam was sitting, alone and miserable on the sofa when a giggling Aden and Nicole burst through the door. The guitarist stood up angrily, his eyes blazing.

"Where the hell have you been?" he demanded.

Aden and Nicole looked guilty as naughty school children.

"I got carried away with the party," Nicole said sweetly, moving closer to apologise to her boyfriend.

He pulled away bitterly and said that she'd ruined his night. Aden disappeared quietly as the couple began to argue.


Charlie and Joey arrived home after a wonderful night out with Watson and Monica. Both couples had decided that they would like to make it a regular thing.

"How was your day anyway?" Charlie asked. "Leah said you've been an angel with VJ all day."

"I did my best," Joey said. "And I might as well make myself useful while I'm out of work."

Standing in the middle of the living room, Charlie wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist.

"You're always useful," she said, kissing her on the lips.

Joey smiled.

"I do my best," she said. "And I love VJ."

"And he definitely loves you!" Charlie smirked, leading the way to their bedroom.

Closing their door behind them, both women began to get ready for bed.

"I wish you'd stop teasing me about that!" she said.

"Well, I can't blame him for having a crush on you," Charlie said. "You are damn hot!"

She sat down on the bed in order to take her shoes off. Joey immediately straddled her.

"How hot?" she asked with a grin.

Charlie kissed her, pulling them both back on the bed.

"Very, very hot," she said.


Next time... Nicole and Ruby turn to Joey for advice, Geoff turns to Aden and Charlie struggles to work with Angelo...