Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty Nine

The following evening, Leah reluctantly left the house with Charlie and Joey in order to meet Brett and Amber at the Surf Club for a drink. Renovations at the Diner were already underway and she knew she had to brace herself to get back into the swing of things soon. Despite her anxiety, she was having a good time. Brett was surprisingly pleasant company, considering what had gone on in the past and Amber was simply charming.

"Okay!" Joey squeaked when her brother had finished regaling the group with her first attempt at baking a cake when she was eight years old. "So I didn't necessarily start out so well with cooking! But I maintain that it was the oven's fault."

"Sweetheart, I don't think the oven switched itself onto grill by itself," Charlie giggled, putting an affectionate arm around her girlfriend.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" Joey protested.

"I'm sorry, darling, but the evidence is damning."

Joey merely poked her tongue out and grumbled about the horrors of her brother making friends with her girlfriend.

"Oh, you know I love you," Charlie grinned.

"You'd better," Joey replied.

Leaning over, Charlie placed a delicate kiss on her cheek.

"Shall I get more drinks?" Amber suggested, noting everyone's empty glasses.

"Sounds good," Joey said.

"I'll help you," Brett offered, standing up and following his girlfriend to the bar.

"They're really nice," Leah said when they were alone.

Joey smiled.

"He's really changed," she agreed. "I can even begin to describe how it feels to have my brother back. I tried to pretend otherwise but I missed him. He's the only blood relation I have left, that I know of."

"You don't have aunts and uncles or anything?" Leah asked in surprised.

Sometimes she forgot that not everybody came from such a big family. Joey shook her head.

"My grandparents died when I was small and we had one aunt who passed away a couple of years back," she explained. "And with my parents gone too..."

She trailed off sadly. Leah felt a little guilty until Joey plastered a smile back onto her face.

"But I've got Brett and of course I have my new family," she said cheerfully.

Brett and Amber returned to the table.

"I have to say I still find it mildly amusing that you now have a teenage daughter," Brett commented as he made himself comfortable again.

"Yeah, it makes me feel kind of old," Joey admitted. "But I like it."

"Well, you are getting on a bit," Charlie teased. "You're pushing into your late twenties now."

"Thirty," Joey coughed, prompting the others to laugh.

"You are in so much trouble later," Charlie mock warned.

"Okay so, let me get this straight," Amber said. "Leah, you're landlady to these guys, right?"

"Yeah," Leah said. "We live together with my son and their daughter."

"Who's right over there!" Charlie realised, pointing and waving Ruby over.

With Geoff in tow, having obviously made up, Ruby approached cheerfully and greeted everyone.

"Want to join us?" Joey offered.

"That'd be great," Ruby said, moving to sit down beside Charlie.

She tugged on Geoff's hand but his attention was elsewhere.

"Geoff?"

Ruby peered in the direction he was staring. Before anyone could stop him, he had charged up to a tall, dark, tattooed man who was hanging around with some friends.

"Geoff!" Ruby shrieked when her boyfriend promptly punched him in the face.

Charlie was on her feet in a heartbeat, hurrying over. Both Leah and Joey froze as the man launched his own assault.

"Jo, is that...?" Brett asked worriedly.

Joey shook her head quickly and he shut up. The group watched as Charlie separated Geoff and the other guy, Heath Braxton.

"He was one of the rioters!" Geoff yelled.

Charlie struggled to stop Heath retaliating. Seeing Joey's panicked expression, Brett leapt to his feet in order to help her. He caught hold of Geoff, who was gearing up to hit the guy again. Charlie had a firm hold of Heath, warning him to calm down.

"He punched me!" Heath protested. "You saw him! You're a cop. You should be dragging him to the cop shop!"

"I also saw you hit him back so maybe I should drag you both down there," Charlie pointed out.

"I was defending myself!"

"He was part of the riot," Geoff repeated. "Why is he even free?"

"Look, Charlie's off duty," Brett intervened. "So why don't you both grow up, stay on opposite sides of the Surf Club and let everyone else enjoy their evening in peace?"

Geoff continued to glare but relaxed a little, deciding it was better to walk away.

"Is there a problem here?" another guy asked, approaching them.

"You might want to keep your brother in line," Charlie told him, recognising him as Daryl Braxton, the leader of the River Boys that always kept the police station on their toes.

"He just attacked me," Heath told him.

"Why?" Brax asked.

He couldn't help but look Charlie up and down. He did it every time he saw her. For a police officer, she was decidedly good looking. Back at the table, Joey tensed.

"He was part of the riot the other week," Charlie explained.

"He didn't get done for it so I guess you've got no proof," Brax said evenly. "So why don't we do what this guy suggested?"

He nodded towards Brett.

"Why don't we all just walk away?"

"I think that's a good idea," Charlie said, releasing Heath from her grip.

She nudged Geoff back towards their table. Heath and Brett glared at each other for a moment and then turned in opposite directions.

"What the hell was that all about?" Ruby demanded when Geoff, Charlie and Brett sat back down.

"He was one of the guys who beat Hazem up," Geoff explained bitterly.

"You really don't want to make enemies of those guys," Brett warned.

He glanced at Joey who stared right back at him.

"They're trouble," Charlie agreed, not noticing. "Stay away from them, okay?"

Geoff nodded although he didn't look any less riled.

"Joey, do you know them?" Ruby asked.

"No," Joey said.

She was relieved when Brett chose not to contradict her.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked worriedly, reaching for her partner's hand.

"I'm fine," Joey said.

She looked at Leah who still hadn't spoken.

"Do you want to go home?" she asked.

Leah nodded quickly.

"Let's drink up then," Charlie decided, doing just as she instructed the others to do.


Later that night, Leah had gone to bed and Amber and Brett had gone home. Noting how stressed her girlfriend was, Charlie had offered a massage, to which Joey had readily agreed. Lying face down on the bed, Joey closed her eyes and enjoyed the way Charlie straddled her hips and worked on her back.

"Tonight really shook you up, didn't it?" the police officer ventured.

"It was fine," Joey lied, wanting to enjoy the massage as much as possible. "I was just shocked by Geoff's behaviour."

"You just seemed to panic."

"You know I don't like the thought of you getting into dangerous situations."

"And you know I've dealt with worse," Charlie pointed out.

"Do you have to deal with those guys a lot?" Joey wondered.

"Sometimes," Charlie said. "To be honest, that gang come with the job – kind of like a gun and handcuffs. I guess every area has their own gang related problems."

"I guess," Joey said.

Charlie leant a little closer. Joey giggled as her hair tickled. Charlie smiled, placing a gentle kiss on her bare back. She trailed her lips further up, until she reached her neck. Sighing in contentment, Joey smiled. Charlie allowed her to roll over and certainly enjoyed the view. Pressing her body against Joey's she kissed her lips and gazed into her eyes.

"Are you sure there's nothing more wrong than you've said?" she asked.

"I'm sure," Joey said.

She smiled.

"I'm perfectly fine."

Charlie shrieked as Joey used her hips to flip them over. Grinning broadly, Joey smiled.

"See?" she said, immediately tugging at Charlie's clothes.


Next time... Ruby seeks Charlie and Joey's advice about Geoff, Charlie and Joey support Leah, and Michael makes a suggestion...