This is very much a Charlie/Joey/Ruby bonding chapter so I hope you enjoy it. And I'm introducing the River Boys a year early but they won't feature properly until the time that they arrived on the show. The last chapter was kind of the beginning of how their story will start playing out in this particular fic. Watch this space... Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty
It was late before Charlie, Joey, Ruby and Leah arrived back home. Hazem and Geoff had both been taken to the hospital and several of the rioters had been taken into custody, although several more of them had escaped, including Heath Braxton and some of his friends. Hazem had been rushed into intensive care and Geoff had to stay in overnight with a damaged shoulder. Leah, Alf, Colleen and Ruby had all been treated for smoke inhalation. Charlie and Joey had introduced Mink to Alf, who had agreed to take her home and see Romeo.
"I'm going to bed," Leah sighed, hurrying to her bedroom and wanting to close her eyes on the world.
"Me too," Ruby said.
She flung herself into Charlie's arms, holding her tight for a long moment. Charlie stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.
"Sleep well, okay?" she said gently. "And come down if you need anything."
Ruby nodded gave her another squeeze, hugged Joey and then jogged up the stairs. Alone, Charlie fell onto the couch, pulling Joey with her.
"You were amazing tonight," Joey said softly, holding her hand.
"Hardly," Charlie replied.
"You were," Joey insisted. "Flying across town, breaking up the crowd, charging in and saving the day. Just when I think I can't be prouder of you, you go and do something like that."
Charlie gazed at her.
"How do you manage to make me feel good even after such a terrible day?"
Joey smiled a little shyly.
"Because that's what you deserve," she said.
Standing up, she pulled Charlie to her feet.
"Let's go to bed," she said.
"I'll probably have nightmares again," Charlie pointed out.
"And I'll be there to comfort you," Joey promised, leading the way to their bedroom. "And in the morning, we'll phone Michael and book you an appointment."
They reached their bedroom and shut the door behind him. Charlie flipped the light on while Joey shut the blinds. They came together in the middle of the room, holding each other.
"I'm scared," Charlie admitted quietly.
Joey gazed into her eyes, stroking her hair. She touched her thumb to her lips.
"I'll go with you if you want me to," she offered. "Like I did before?"
Charlie nodded, feeling a little better.
"I'd like that," she said. "If you don't mind?"
"Of course I don't mind," Joey replied. "I'd do anything for you. You know that."
Charlie smiled softly, bending to kiss her. Silently, they got into their pyjamas and slipped into bed.
"I wish we were still at the hotel," Charlie admitted when they were snuggled up together.
"Me too," Joey said. "But then you wouldn't have been able to save Hazem and Geoff, would you? Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't been there?"
Charlie sighed quietly. She closed her eyes, both willing sleep to come and feeling afraid of it. Now, every time she closed her eyes, not only did she see Hugo pointing a gun at her, Suzy trying to kill her and the dying asylum seekers, but she saw her precious Ruby, and her beloved friends in danger. Everything felt suddenly too much. She was about to tell Joey how she felt when there was a knock at the door.
"Hello?" Charlie called out.
The door opened and Ruby appeared through the dark.
"Can I get in with you?" she asked in a very small, tearful voice.
"Of course you can," Charlie said without hesitation.
The teenager crawled onto the bed, wedging herself between them and making them laugh.
"Can't you sleep?" Joey asked gently.
"Every time I try, the only thing I can see is Geoff being stretchered into the ambulance," Ruby admitted sadly. "He was trying to save me."
"And he succeeded," Charlie pointed out. "So he did a good thing."
"And he's going to be fine," Joey added. "The Doctor said so, didn't he?"
Ruby nodded.
"I just feel so lost," she said. "And I needed my Mums."
Joey couldn't help but smile. Charlie caught her and grinned.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"Nothing," Charlie replied.
"You two shared a look," Ruby insisted. "What was the look?"
"Joey just gets all cute when one of us refers to her as your mother."
"Well, she is," Ruby said.
She turned to Joey, studying her face in the dark.
"You are."
"Thank you," Joey said.
"I mean, you're okay with that, aren't you?" Ruby checked. "I know there's only ten years between us and you didn't really know what you were taking on until you and Charles were already together but..."
"I'm happy to be your Mum," Joey confirmed. "I'm really happy."
Ruby beamed at her.
"I know we've all been adjusting over the past few months," she ventured, addressing both of them. "But I'm happy with how things turned out. I'm happy that you're my Mum, Charlie. And I'm thrilled that you've met your soul mate. And that she wants to be my parent too. You're both wonderful parents, even when you tell me off."
"You're really happy?" Charlie asked quietly.
"Yes," Ruby said. "Charlie, you've always meant everything to me. I didn't understand why until last year but we always had a special bond, didn't we? If there was one thing I was ever sure of it's that you love me and you'd do anything for me. You always looked after me, listened to me, cared about me... Looking back now, I can remember all those times that I caught you looking at me in a certain way. I didn't get it then but I know now that you were looking at me like a mother looks at her child, when she's thinking about how much she means to her."
Charlie nodded. She tried to speak but tears came instead. Ruby leant closer.
"Charlie, are you crying?" she wondered with a mix of compassion and amusement.
"It's been a long, hard day," Charlie managed. "Give me a break!"
Ruby turned to Joey and giggled.
"I made her cry," she said, pausing when she caught Joey wiping her eyes. "Geez! You two are so sappy!"
"Says the girl who just pledged her love for her parents!" Charlie pointed out.
Ruby shrugged.
"Can I sleep here?" she asked. "I feel protected here."
"Of course you can," Joey said.
Next time... Charlie and Ruby quiz Joey about whether she knows the River Boys, Joey tries to cheer up Alf and Leah, and Mink starts causing trouble...
