Just so you know, I have plans for a proposal but not quite yet! Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Three Hundred and Eighty Seven

"You two are cute," Ruby commented over breakfast.

Charlie and Joey smiled a little shyly. They were also relieved that their daughter seemed to be in a better mood this morning.

"You don't mind the name change, do you?" Joey checked.

"Of course not," Ruby assured her. "You belong to the Buckton family and your name should represent that."

Joey smiled, touched by the teenager's words.

"We're taking Leah and Bianca with us as witnesses," Charlie said excitedly.

Ruby pulled a face at the mention of Bianca. She was determined not to like that woman.


Sid was bemused. Having had breakfast with both his children that morning, one of them was even more peculiar than normal. Dex was full of chatter and was very curious about how things were going between Sid and Marilyn. He had never been remotely interested in who his father was dating. Sid found it very odd.


"Come on then, Joey Buckton," Charlie grinned, linking arms with her girlfriend as they exited the building with Bianca and Leah.

Both women had used their lunch breaks to come with them to witness Joey's name change.

"Next step marriage!" Leah teased.

"Maybe we should finish setting the restaurant up before we do that!" Charlie said.

She smiled, aware that one day, she really did want to marry Joey. She just wanted to make sure that it was the right time in both their lives to seal the commitment they already had.


Over lunch, Sid had forgotten his bemusement over Dex and was focussed on his worry for Nicole. Every time he saw Penn, he was reminded of his concern. Everyone seemed to think that Penn was a good guy and yet he seemed determined to upset everyone. He had told him Nicole had feelings for him still, even though she had sworn she didn't. The whole thing was very confusing.

"Well, I live with her," Marilyn said. "I'm sure I would have noticed if she had a problem with us seeing each other."

"That's what I thought," Sid said. "I just don't understand why he'd say something like that."

"I know," Marilyn said. "She seems to absolutely smitten with him."

Sid nodded, hoping his new girlfriend was right. Moving back to Summer Bay was meant to be a brand new start for all of them and he was desperate for it not to go wrong.


"Well, I'll see you guys later," Bianca said as she, Leah, Charlie and Joey parted in the car park. "I have a long day ahead of me!"

"Oh, is it today that you and April are moving into Gina's place?" Joey asked.

"Yep, after work," Bianca said. "I'm not going to stop looking for another place though. Gina's great but she is my boss!"

Leah chuckled and then paused.

"You know, I have two spare rooms at the moment," she said. "You'd be welcome to move in."

"Really?" Bianca asked hopefully.

"Yeah, it's just been me and Veej since Charlie, Joey and Ruby and well, then Elijah moved out," Leah said. "You and April would be more than welcome."

"Thank you," Bianca said.

"Replacing us so heartlessly!" Joey said with mock tragedy.

"You were the ones who broke up with me!" Leah replied in the same tone.

Charlie chuckled and shook her head.

"Come on Ms Buckton," she said to her girlfriend. "We have work to do!"


Sid spotted Penn on the beach and braced himself to approach.

"Penn!" he yelled, striding towards him.

The younger man turned around slowly, not fazed by the interruption to his day.

"How can I help you?" he asked.

"You can tell me why you're trying to make Nicole and I uncomfortable around each other," the Doctor said.

"I don't know what you mean," Penn lied.

"You told me that Nicole had a problem with Marilyn and I," Sid said. "You said she still had feelings for me and it's not true."

"Disappointed?" Penn asked, amused.

"No!" Sid snapped, increasingly enraged.

"You know she's freaking out now because she thinks you like her," Penn replied.

"And why does she think that?"

"Because that's what I told her."

He didn't seem to care.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Sid demanded.

Penn merely shrugged and walked away.


Charlie and Joey's mood had depleted a little. They'd seen Ruby after school and she had lapsed back into the bad mood she had been in recently.

"I don't understand what's wrong with her," Charlie said sadly.

They were in the kitchen of the restaurant where Joey was trying out some more experimental dishes she wanted to put on the menu.

"Do you think it's Liam?" Joey asked.

"Well, she said she was over him," Charlie reminded her. "I thought it was all done with."

Joey sighed and dished up a small bowl of a pasta dish for her girlfriend to try. Charlie happily accepted it.

"Maybe she was lying," Joey said unhappily.

"This is delicious," Charlie said enthusiastically. "Definitely put that on the menu!"

Joey beamed at her, pleased with her encouragement.

"But yeah," the police officer said more soberly. "Maybe she was lying. I wish I could find a way to get through to her."


April refused to talk to Bianca as they moved their stuff into Gina's house. Bianca had told April about Leah's offer believing it was a wonderful idea. But April had snapped at her that changing their mind at the last minute would be rude and the last thing either of them should do. Bianca suspected that April was excited about living with Xavier as well. Sighing, Bianca dumped her last bag on the bed and sat down. These next few weeks were going to be very, very long.


"Let's bring this home for Ruby," Charlie suggested, having eaten rather a large portion of the honeycomb desert Joey had conjured up. "There is no way that anyone could be in a bad mood with this stuff!"

Joey grinned and looked rather proud of herself. She moved to hug her girlfriend who was perched on one of the counters.

"For the first time, I can really see this becoming a success," she admitted.

Charlie beamed at her.

"I've known it from to start," she said. "But I'm glad you've caught on!"


Liam felt happy as he and Ruby finished rehearsing their music on the beach. With the trial restaurant opening in just a few days, they were aiming to get things perfect.

"We make a great team," Liam said.

Ruby surprised him by leaning in for a kiss.


Next time… Charlie receives a secret phone call, Ruby and Liam are both fretful about the kiss and Marilyn is concerned by Penn's lies…