Hi, everyone! I am halfway through my holiday and having rollercoastered, visited Hogwarts, swum with dolphins and fallen in love with Donald Duck, we are all having a rest day so I thought I would update. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Three Hundred and Seventeen

It was Saturday morning and Charlie, Joey and Ruby were having breakfast together as they usually did. Both Charlie and Joey were pleased to have the day off and Ruby was thrilled to not be at school.

"What are your plans for today, Rubes?" Charlie asked conversationally.

There had been some awkward tension in the house for a little while now. Charlie and Joey were both aware that their daughter was hiding something and they thought it was more than likely to have something to do with Hugo.

"Not much," Ruby replied quietly. "I think I'm going to see Xavier this evening but he's kind of busy with... um... with family stuff right now."

She studied her toast.

"What kind of family stuff?" Joey wondered.

Ruby looked panicked.

"I think they're all just trying to look after Martha and... stuff," she said lamely.

Charlie caught her eye, silently willing her to tell the truth. Ruby felt terrible for lying and she was getting closer and closer to confessing. But she was scared of ruining things with Xavier.

"What are you guys up to today then?" she asked, needing to change the subject.

"We are spending the day making plans for the restaurant," Charlie said. "Now that Joey's passed her course, we really need to figure out how to get started."

Ruby grinned.

"That's really cool," she enthused. "I think this restaurant is going to be awesome."

"I'm still a bit nervous about it," Joey admitted. "I mean, for starters, where on earth am I going to find a space to rent for it? And how are we going to afford the rent?"

"One step at a time," Charlie said gently. "One step at a time."


Jill woke up on the sofa feeling like she had been hit by a truck. She rubbed her eyes and caught a whiff of her own breath, which made her feel unwell. Sitting up, she found Alf, Miles, Nicole and Romeo all sitting round the breakfast table. Everyone was looking at her with the most unimpressed of them being her son. Sighing heavily, she flopped back on the sofa and wished she could sleep forever.


Ruby decided to go to the beach with Charlie and Joey to help them plan for the restaurant. Sitting in the sunshine, it was almost possible to forget about her big secret.

"You're really going to make the menu Ruby friendly?" she asked incredulously, touched by the gesture.

"Of course," Joey said. "I'm not about to open a restaurant and not provide things you can eat."

She smiled. Ruby beamed at her.

"You are so awesome," she said. "Hey, does this mean we essentially get to eat out every day?"

"Maybe not every day!" Joey chuckled. "But you get free access to the menu the majority of the time. I promise."


Gina and Xavier had gone round to visit Hugo and Martha. They tried not to go to the farm any more than normal, not wanting to arouse suspicion but with Hugo planning to move on any day now, they was eager to spend as much time with him as they could.

"I still think you could just stay here with me," Martha sighed, speaking more from longing than any sense of reality.

"You know it's not practical," Hugo said as gently as he could. "For starters, I'm shocked that Angelo hasn't found me yet. He's been parked outside the farm almost twenty four hours a day. He knows I'm here. He just can't get inside yet."

"And that could only be a matter of time," Gina sighed.

"Why?" Xavier asked.

"All he needs is a search warrant and I'm screwed," Hugo said. "I'm surprised he hasn't obtained one yet."

"Well, if he hasn't yet then maybe he won't..." Martha said hopefully.

"We really can't take that risk," Hugo told her.


"So, what are you going to call this place anyway?" Ruby wondered.

"We haven't thought about it yet," Charlie replied.

"I've already decided but I'm not telling," Joey said at the same time.

Charlie raised her eyes curiously at her girlfriend.

"You've decided on a name?" she asked.

Joey nodded. Both girls waited for her to elaborate.

"I said I'm not telling," Joey said. "It's a secret."

"You're not meant to keep secrets from your girlfriend!" Charlie protested.

"Or your daughter!" Ruby added.

Joey couldn't help at the confirmation that Ruby really did see her as a parent.

"I'm still not telling," she said. "I want it to be a surprise."

Charlie and Ruby both pouted.

"Come on," Joey said. "Just let me have this. Please?"


Romeo stared at his mother in sheer disbelief. She had told him that she'd received a huge payout from the life insurance of her late husband, the man Mink had wrongly gone to jail for killing. She'd been living a life of luxury since then.

"And you didn't think to, I don't know, help your kids out with all this cash?" Romeo demanded.

"That's what I'm doing now!" Jill protested, thrusting the cheque she'd written out in his face.

Romeo moved away, looking disgusted.

"Don't you even care about everything we've been through?" he asked, standing up and beginning to pace.

"Look, I'm sorry I haven't been there..."

"You let Mink go to jail for something you did!" Romeo yelled. "And you got paid for it!"

Jill sighed and hung her head. Eventually, she stood and handed the cheque over.

"I know I've made mistakes," she said. "But at least give me a chance to try and make things right."


"Listen, there's something I think we need to talk about..." Ruby ventured.

She, Charlie and Joey had made a complete plan of the restaurant, including how the tables would be laid out. Now they just had to figure out how to be practical about it. Having stalled for days now, Ruby knew it was time to face up to reality and tell the truth.

"What's up?" Charlie asked, hoping she was about to say what she thought she was.

"It's..."

"Ruby?" called a voice.

The teenager whipped round to find Gina hovering nearby. Her heart sank.

"Hi, Gina," she said meekly.

"Could I have a word?" the head teacher asked.

Joey held Charlie's hand, willing her not to fly off the handle at whatever Gina was planning to say privately to Ruby. They watched the teenager moved off further down the beach with her boyfriend's mother.

"She was about to tell us," Charlie sighed. "And there's no way she will now."

She sank against Joey who held her close and kissed the top of her head.

"Keep the faith," she said quietly. "Ruby will come through for us. I know she will."


Having left Martha and Hugo to spend more time rekindling their relationship, Xavier had headed out to the Surf Club. Starting a game of pool by himself, he considered calling Ruby. They'd said they might hang out later today and now seemed as good a time as any.

"Hi, Xavier," said a voice behind him.

The teenager turned and glared as he came face to face with John. He was probably his least favourite person on the planet. He thought he might even prefer Angelo, which was quite a statement, especially in light of what had transpired recently between him and Martha.

"What?" he snapped.

"Look, I was wondering if we could call a truce..." John ventured.

"No chance," Xavier said.

Pointedly ignoring him, Xavier texted Ruby to invite her to the Surf Club. Realising he was never going to get through to him, John gave up and walked away.


"What did Gina want?" Charlie asked when Ruby returned to their blanket on the beach.

"Oh, just school stuff," Ruby lied.

Gina had taken her aside for no other reason than to ensure that she wouldn't tell anyone – namely her parents – that Hugo was back in town and living at the farm with Martha.

"You're not in trouble or anything?" Charlie checked, even though she didn't believe her for a second.

"No," Ruby promised. "I've just got a big assignment coming up. It's fine. Not important."

Charlie and Joey nodded but exchanged a look. Both women knew she was lying.

"Listen, Xavier sent me a text," Ruby said. "He wants to meet me at the Surf Club. Is it okay if I go?"

"Sure," Charlie said, sounded rather defeated. "Just make sure you're back by nine thirty."

Ruby nodded and scurried away. Charlie flopped back down on the sand in despair. Joey moved to lie beside her, resting her hand on her tummy.

"I could kill Gina right about now," Charlie said, quietly fuming.

"I still think Ruby will do the right thing in the end," Joey said. "Let's just give her some more time to come to us. Okay?"

"Okay," Charlie sighed.

Joey leant over and kissed her, pulling her back into a sitting position. Looking up, they saw Romeo storming across the sand.

"Romeo!" Joey yelled.

The blonde surfer looked up and tried to smile.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked when he approached.

"How long have you got?"

"Until my tummy starts moaning at me for not feeding it," Joey said. "Which I think will be about half an hour or so."

She grinned. Romeo chuckled.

"My Mum's trying to pay me off," he revealed.


"I just hope you know what a difficult position you're all putting me in," Ruby complained.

Having abandoned the pool table, the teenagers were huddled in a miserable corner of the venue.

"Look, I'm sorry," Xavier said. "But it's the right thing to do."

"How is it the right thing to let a criminal – who nearly killed my mother, I might add – wander off, free of charge?" Ruby demanded.

The more she thought about the pressure Xavier and Gina were putting her under, the angrier she felt about it. She and Charlie had been to hell and back over the last year but they were finally getting things back on track. She didn't want to lie to them or to keep secrets.

"Because he's my brother, Ruby," Xavier snapped.

"I'm starting not to care," his girlfriend admitted.

Xavier looked furious. He gripped her arm urgently, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"I will never forgive you if Hugo ends up in jail or dead because you couldn't keep your mouth shut," he warned.

"And I'll never forgive you if I lose both my parents because I've lied to them," Ruby snapped back.

They both glared at each other for several moments before he dropped her arm. Sinking onto his knees in front of her, Xavier took both of Ruby's hands gently in his. She was startled to see tears in his eyes.

"Ruby, please?" he said. "I'm begging you. Please don't take Hugo away from me. I already lost him once. I think I'd die if I lost him again."

Ruby sighed heavily and nodded. She reached out and cupped his face, kissing him delicately on the mouth.

"Okay," she said. "I won't tell."

Xavier leant in and hugged her for all he was worth.


"Take the money!" Joey said without hesitation. "It's the least she owes you."

"But I don't want to be paid off for her neglect," Romeo sighed.

He rubbed his temples. Not so long ago, he'd been so happy living in Summer Bay. Annie had returned and for a while there, he had really believed that she would stick around. Now she was gone, Mink had been a passing tornado in his life and now his mother was causing even more problems.

"Fifty grand though," Charlie said. "Think about what you could do with that. You'd be set up for life."

Romeo shrugged and sighed heavily.

"I just..."

"Hey, if you don't want it, I could always use the cash," Joey smirked.

Romeo laughed.

"I just want to rip the whole cheque up, to be honest," he said. "It feels like blood money."


Feeling guilty for her words to Ruby, Gina headed to the Surf Club to see if she and Xavier were still there. She didn't find them. Instead, she came face to face with John, who had a drunk, flirtatious woman hanging off her arm. He looked alarmed and guilty the moment he saw her.

"Gina, this isn't what you think..." he tried.

Ignoring him, Gina marched out of the Surf Club. Extracting himself from Jill, John hurried out after her.


Charlie and Joey were solving crimes on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Wii game when Ruby got home.

"Don't you fight enough crime at work?" the teenager teased.

Charlie laughed and paused the game, putting the remote down.

"How was the rest of your day?" she asked. "Did you have fun with Xavier?"

Ruby shrugged and flopped into the arm chair.

"I guess," she said.

"Are you okay?" Joey asked worriedly.

"I guess," Ruby shrugged again.

"Is this anything to do with what you were going to say earlier?" Charlie tried.

Ruby studied both of them, weighing her options. Then she pictured Xavier's frightened face and shook her head.

"It doesn't matter," she said. "I think I'm going to go for an early night."


Next time… the police finally get a search warrant, Ruby is more interested in Liam than Xavier and Romeo finds a use for his money…