Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty Two

"Have a good day," Charlie said, kissing Joey goodbye.

Dressed in her uniform, the police officer was reluctantly readying herself to leave the house and venture back to work. Joey had promised to meet her for lunch and had decided that today was the day she was definitely going to get a job. What with Christmas, New Year, everything that had happened with Charlie and then their holiday, Joey had let the job hunt slip a little but she was determined to get back into the swing of things.

"Good luck, okay?" Charlie added, patting Leah affectionately on the shoulder.

Today, Leah, Coleen and Irene had all arranged to go and see exactly what the damage to the Diner looked like. Joey had offered to go and support them and, secretly nervous about leaving the house, Leah had readily accepted the offer. She had also roped Ruby into looking after VJ for the day.


Pulling into her car parking space, Charlie cut the engine and took a deep breath.

"There's nothing scary about going back to work," she told herself, trying to ignore the tremble in her fingers.

Her counselling appointment on Monday morning couldn't come soon enough as far as she was concerned. She hoped that with a little time and support, she would be able to piece her courage back together. Bracing herself, she headed into the police station, surprised to find that there was a team meeting in place.

"Glad you could join us, Charlie," her boss, Ken said.

"Um... I uh... I didn't realise there was a meeting," she said uncertainly, glancing at Angelo and Watson. "Sorry I'm late."

"Oh, it wasn't sarcasm," Ken assured her. "I'm genuinely glad you could join us. Now, I'm very happy to announce that after such a good job on the human trafficking case, Angelo has been promoted to Senior Constable and will be stationed here permanently."

Charlie forced a smile and applauded with the rest of her colleagues. She didn't mind him sticking around, although she knew Joey would be miserable.

"And after her fantastic job on the same case," Ken said. "I'm proud to tell you all that Charlie is now a Sergeant of this station."

Charlie blanched in shock. More applause rang out. Watson reached out to hug her.

"I..." she stuttered.

"You risked life and limb to bring these monsters down," Ken said. "You deserve to be rewarded."


Leah, Irene, Colleen and Joey stood in the dismal mess of the building that had once been the popular Diner.

"Everything's ruined," Colleen said sadly, turning in a circle.

For once, she was not exaggerating. Almost everything had been burnt. Tables and chairs were barely recognisable and the walls were completely black. Joey put her arm around Leah who tried not to cry.

"How are we meant to rebuild this?" the Diner owner wondered. "How are we meant to start again?"


"Congratulations, Charlie," Angelo said.

He had waited until last to approach her, hoping that that would mean he'd get more time.

"And you," she replied, still feeling rather stunned. "How do you feel about being stationed here for good?"

"Happy," he said. "I made amends with Martha on New Year's Eve. I guess a near death experience will do that to you. She's the only reason I wanted to leave, you know, to make it easier on her. But I think she can tolerate me now. I think we've made peace. I think... I think I could really make a go of things here... start again."

Charlie battled with images of her near death experience. She plastered a smile on her face and patted his shoulder.

"I'm happy for you," she said.

"Charlie, Ken wanted to talk to you about moving offices," Watson said, approaching her.

"Um... okay," Charlie said, still feeling bewildered. "One sec. I've just got to make a phone call."

Then she ducked out of the station.


Joey was just putting Leah back in her car in order to go home when her mobile rang.

"Charlie, are you okay?" she said by way of greeting, knowing how anxious her partner had been at returning to work.

"I'm good," Charlie assured her. "Actually, I'm great. I feel fantastic."

Joey smiled.

"Well, that's good to hear," she said. "Any particular reason?"

"I've been promoted to Sergeant!" Charlie squeaked excitedly.

"Seriously?" Joey said, immediately overjoyed.

"Yep!" Charlie grinned. "I mean, this is like three years ahead of my plan, Joey! I'm in shock! I'm so excited! I..."

"I'm really happy for you, Charlie," Joey enthused. "You deserve it."

"Can we celebrate tonight?" her girlfriend asked hopefully.

"Absolutely! Leave it with me, okay? I'll book us a table somewhere really nice."

"I love you, Joey," Charlie said sincerely.

"I love you too," Joey replied. "And I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of you."


Heading into the Surf Club with her newspaper, Joey was about to sit down at a table to begin her job hunt when she spotted Nicole and Aden laughing together.

"Aw, paradise," she teased.

"Says Little Miss Permanent Honeymoon!" Aden remarked, kicking out a chair so she could sit down.

Grinning, Joey joined them.

"Seriously, I'm happy for you," she said.

"Hey, what's that?" Nicole asked, suddenly full of concern.

"Um..." Joey said, confused.

Nicole took the paper from her, horrified to read a front page article about Liam being admitted to hospital after taking drugs. Aden tried not to be worried about her level of concern for her ex-boyfriend. Joey made eye contact with him, silently warning him not to overreact.

"I should go and see him," Nicole said.

"Why?" Aden asked.

He had chosen not to wonder why he hadn't seen his housemate around for the past day. He had been too wrapped up in his new relationship to care, not that he had ever thought much of the guy in the first place.

"Because he must be really messed up right now."

"So?"

"So, I care about him."

"Why?" Aden asked.

"Aden, you can't share a relationship with someone – good or bad – and then not be affected when you hear that they're sick," Joey pointed out as diplomatically as possible.

"He's not sick, he's a drug addict!"

Both women stared at him. He cringed when he realised what he said. Shaking his head, he mumbled that Belle's problems had been different.

"I'm just going to check he's okay," Nicole said. "I won't be long."

Aden nodded and watched her go.

"Don't start," he begged when he turned back to Joey.

"I won't," Joey agreed. "But can I give a small piece of advice?"

"Go for it."

"Don't let your ego and your dislike of Liam get in the way of being happy with Nicole," she told him. "You've got a good, caring person there and you're lucky to have her. Not everyone could be so kind to someone after what Liam did to her. Be glad that she's got such a big heart."

Aden pondered her words and then managed a reluctant smile.

"I hate it when you're right," he remarked.

"Surely you should be used to it by now!" she smirked.

They both turned when Alf approached, hovering around their table.

"You two were exactly the people I wanted to see today," he said. "Mind if I sit down?"


Charlie stood in her new office, looking and feeling pleased with herself. Watson and Angelo, the two Senior Constables at the station now, had moved into her old office together and she had been given a brand new one, all to herself on the other side of the building. She was giving her new digs one more inspection when her phone rang.

"Hey, Joey," she greeted warmly.

"I got a job!" her partner squeaked joyfully.

"You did?" Charlie said. "That was quick!"

"Aden and I are now official members of staff down at the bait shop," Joey said. "I mean, I know it's not the most posh job in the world but..."

"It's amazing," Charlie interrupted. "And it calls for a double celebration."

Joey smiled happily.

"I'm looking forward to it," she said. "See, Charlie? Everything's working out for us."


Next time... Charlie and Joey celebrate their job news...