Chapter Three Hundred and Sixty Four

That evening, over dinner from the Diner, Charlie and Joey were eager to quiz Ruby about Nicole. They had both carried Marilyn's concerns with them through the day and they hoped that their daughter could help but keeping an eye on their friend.

"So, you think Penn's a bad guy too?" Ruby asked between mouthfuls.

"Not exactly," Charlie said a little awkwardly. "We're just…"

She looked at Joey for help.

"Wary," Joey concluded. "We're wary."

"Well, I haven't spent all that much time with him but he seems okay," Ruby ventured. "A little moody and mysterious but Nicole's pretty smitten."

"That's what we're worried about," Joey admitted.

"Ruby, if she says anything to you that makes you feel concerned, you need to tell us, okay?" Charlie said. "We can't let her fall into a situation like she did with Elliot. Her Dad's not around to protect her anymore and the rest of us have to do what he did."

Ruby nodded.

"I learned my lesson about keeping secrets from you," she assured them. "I'd never do it again. No matter what."


John and Gina were walking along the beach after a romantic meal together to celebrate the restart of their relationship.

"I really do love you, you know," John mused.

Gina smiled, blushing a little in the moonlight.

"I love you too," she replied.

John stopped walking and turned to face her, taking both of her hands in his.

"Then move in with me," he requested.


The house was quiet when Jill sneaked out of her room with the bags packed. She was somewhere between still feeling drunk and starting to feel hungover. She winced when she heard a creak on the stairs and hurried down them quickly. She paused when she came face to face with Marilyn, clearly about to take a drink of water up to bed with her.

"What are you doing?" Marilyn wondered.

Jill didn't quite know what to say.


"Okay, I'll see you for the restaurant viewing this afternoon and then 'care in the community' tonight," Joey smirked when Charlie dropped her off at work.

Charlie snorted and shook her head. They had agreed to go for a drink at the Surf Club with Angelo. It was strange really. Neither of them really liked him all that much, although their strong dislike had mostly abated. But they both felt so sorry for him and the pathetic mess that he had become that they felt like they ought to look after him. Nobody else was going to.

"We don't have to stay long," Charlie promised. "It'll be our good deed for the day."

"For the day?" Joey squeaked in mock horror. "Spending time with Angelo qualifies as my good deed for the Century!"

Charlie chuckled at the drama and leant over to kiss her girlfriend goodbye.

"I love you," she said sincerely.

"I love you too," Joey replied. "And I don't mind hanging out with him really. Now that he's stopped hitting on you, I want to punch him in the face much less!"


Leah was in a terrible mood and largely taking it out on any object she came into contact with in the Diner. Irene and Colleen just hoped an object didn't turn into a customer. From what they could gather, Leah had claimed that Elijah had her on the very bottom of his priority list and she was utterly miserable that he was letting his parents take over their engagement. Everything felt like it was spiralling out of her control.


Jill wasn't entirely sure why but, having been persuaded by Marilyn to stay in the Bay and try to work things out with Romeo, she'd found herself at the bait shop. Joey Collins wasn't exactly her favourite person. She had never understood lesbians and she still resented her for even considering taking Romeo's money. But she was also aware that she was probably the person her son talked to the most when he was having problems. If she was going to try and make it work then talking to Joey seemed like the best place to start.

"Can I help you?" Joey asked when she spotted her.

Jill could tell she was uncomfortable.

"I need your help with Romeo," she replied.


On his lunch break from school, Romeo hurried out for a quick but satisfying surf. He felt utterly bewildered over where he stood with his mother. One minute things had been going well and the next, Jill hated him and had gone out to get drunk again.

Leaving the water, he was pleased when Indi approached him, smiling.

"You really cram a lot into a lunch time," she remarked when he was within hearing distance.

He smiled.

"I try to surf whenever I get the chance," he said. "It's only a couple of times a day now that I'm in school."

Indi laughed.

"Only?" she remarked.

He chuckled and nodded, unaware of the way she looked as him as he undid the top half of his wet suit.

"It helps me feel better when things are rough," he explained.

"Are things rough right now?" Indi asked. "You did seem pretty down this morning."

"Things are just pretty difficult with my Mum," he explained. "I talked to Irene about it this morning because she's been the same position with alcohol but she just said that I needed to be patient and wait for her to want to help herself."


At lunch time, Joey was a bundle of excitement. After a long discussion with John and Alf the night before, both she and Charlie were looking forward to viewing the room above the Surf Club as a potential venue for their restaurant.

"Wow!" Joey said immediately when John let her and Charlie in. "I mean, you know, it's okay. I might be interested."

Charlie giggled at her girlfriend's terrible attempt at playing it cool. Joey's restraint lasted a couple of seconds before she began trotting round the room and planning what would go where. She finally had the blank canvas she had been dreaming of.


Romeo and Indi walked home from school together, having succeeded in ditching Dex on the way.

"I guess this is where we part ways," Indi said reluctantly.

"Yeah," Romeo replied, putting his hands in his pockets. "Thanks for today. It really helped to talk to you."

Indi smiled at him. She had today learnt all about the difficult relationship he had with his mother and the fact that he had had his heart broken recently by Annie, the girl who had briefly dated Dex and moved to Japan. She was disappointed to have been informed that he wasn't interested in a relationship right now but she retained hope for the future.

"It's been nice to spend time with you," she said sincerely. "And um… well, if you ever want to talk again sometime, I could give you my number…"

Still not realising that she liked him, Romeo accepted her friendship.


After work, Charlie and Joey met up with Angelo in the Surf Club and they were already regretting it. He had been drinking too much and too quickly and was lost in his own misery. They had dragged Miles over to join them but even he couldn't lift the mood.

"I'm just so tired of having to prove that I should be a cop," Angelo complained, slurring. "I mean, how many times have I got to prove that I've earned that badge? You make a couple of mistakes and…"

He made a sweeping gesture and knocked his pint glass on the floor. It smashed and made a mess. Alf stomped over to clear it up before banning him from consuming any more alcohol. Protesting, Angelo wobbled back up to the bar for a refill.

"I may swing for him if he doesn't shut up," Joey admitted.

"He is being a little indulgent with the self pity," Miles agreed.

"And he doesn't deserve to be a cop!" Joey squeaked as quietly as possible. "A couple of mistakes? Seriously? He killed a man and then let a fugitive escape. It's not exactly letting someone off for a minor driving offence!"

"Let's put him in a taxi and go home," Charlie decided. "I think you can only be so nice to somebody. I've reached my limit."


Having finished her shift at the Diner, Leah was in an even worse mood than she had been when she'd left the house that morning. Elijah hadn't even seen her all day so he was sure he couldn't have done something new to piss her off. And yet she was still cranky with him but wouldn't explain why. Sighing, Elijah braced himself for what would undoubtedly turn into a very long night.


"If I ever get swamped in my own pity party like that, you have my permission to shoot me," Joey said, arriving home at last and flopping down on the couch.

Charlie came to sit beside her, holding her hand.

"I might try and help you out of it first," she said. "Shooting really ought to be the last option."

Joey grinned and kissed her.

"Am I being too hard on him?" she asked.

"No," Charlie assured her. "For starters, you weren't exactly friends to start with. And secondly, although I do feel really sorry for him for what's happened, he'll gain a lot more sympathy if he tries to start taking responsibility for his own actions. He has to start meeting us halfway."

Joey nodded in agreement.

"I feel bad for him too," she said. "But like you said, it's not like it wasn't of his own making. And I'm not saying this because I'm not that keen on him and I really do appreciate the way he accepted responsibility to stop the rest of you getting investigated but at the same time, I don't think he really did. Take responsibility, I mean. It's like he said everything they wanted to hear but he still thinks he's the victim in all of this. I'm not sure he has any idea how his mistakes and bad decisions have affected everyone around him."

Charlie nodded and sighed, snuggling closer for a hug.

"I think we've spent far too much time this evening focussing on Angelo," she decided. "How about we focus on us?"

They kissed passionately, forgetting about anything but each other.


Next time… Joey settles on a venue for the restaurant, Angelo resigns from the police force and Leah makes things right with Elijah…