Sorry for the lateness in updating, I was having a coffee date in order to plan my friend's baby shower. God daughter is due in February! Exciting! But anyway, on with the story… I hope you enjoy it. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety Two

Ruby was quiet through breakfast the next day and Charlie and Joey were both worried about her. She shut them down every time they tried to ask her what was wrong and she seemed abnormally withdrawn.

"Do you have plans today, Ruby?" Joey tried.

"No," Ruby replied. "I'm just going to catch up on some study before school tomorrow."

Charlie and Joey exchanged yet more worried glances. Aden politely continued to eat his breakfast. It wasn't his place to comment.

"How about you?" Joey asked him. "Will you be around for a while or are you heading home?"

"I'll head back tonight," Aden replied. "I just want to see a few people first."

"Nicole?" Charlie asked.

Aden nodded.

"I saw her briefly last night but it doesn't feel right not to come here and say hello properly."

"How's Kate, by the way?" Joey wondered.

He smiled a little goofily and blushed, prompting Charlie and Joey and even Ruby to laugh.

"Is it love?" Joey teased.

"I actually think it might be," he admitted.

It wasn't something he had been looking for or something he had even wanted, really. And Belle would forever be his soul mate. But Kate seemed to be the closest thing he had had to love since he lost his wife.

"How come she didn't come?" Charlie wondered.

"We decided that it would be a bit wrong for me to parade her around or whatever when Nicole didn't even know I was dating anyone," he explained. "Although she had no qualms in showing off her new boy toy."

"You did break her heart, Ade," Joey reminded him.

"I didn't mean to!" Aden protested.

"We all know that," Joey replied calmly. "But it didn't stop it hurting."

Aden sighed and nodded.

"I'd forgotten how much I hate that you're always right," he complained.


"All I'm saying is that you need to tone things down," April said to her sister.

"I can't stop being me, April," Bianca protested.

They were both marching towards the Diner for breakfast.

"Can you at least engage your nice side when you're talking to the rest of the house?" April begged. "You already got us thrown out of our old place."

"Well, if Gina doesn't want us then Leah will have us instead," Bianca said.

"That's your plan, isn't it?" April accused. "Well, I like living with Gina and her family!"

"I bet you do!" Bianca remarked.

"Just stopped screwing it up, would you?"


"I'm so happy with how everything turned out," Joey mused.

Aden had left them to go and see people, including Alf and the staff at the Diner. Nicole was on his list as well but anxiety put her at the bottom.

"I knew you'd make a success of everything," Charlie smiled.

They were walking back over to the restaurant, ready to open up in the afternoon and hope they would get a good volume of customers.

"I love how much faith you have in me," Joey told her, dropping her hand and slipping her arm around her waist.

"Of course I have faith in you," Charlie replied. "You're amazing."


Romeo hurried away from Indi, who looked desperately confused. He marched up the beach, not entirely sure where he was going. His girlfriend, if he could call her that yet, had asked him to teach her how to surf. Once upon a time, he would have jumped at the idea. But his relationship with Annie had begun through surfing lessons. Remembering her made him fear that Indi would break his heart as well.


"I really don't want to go back to work tomorrow," Charlie complained.

She was in the restaurant kitchen with Joey, helping to prepare vegetables for whatever orders they would be taking when they opened.

"I don't want you to go back either," Joey admitted. "I've kind of got used to having you around all the time. I'll miss you."

Charlie smiled at her, touched by her sincerity.

"Hey, why don't you resign from the force and become my bitch?" Joey joked.

Charlie snorted.

"I'm afraid chopping some veggies is pretty much the height of my cooking expertise," she said.

"That's not true," Joey giggled. "You can put milk and cereal in a bowl. And you can make toast."

"Just about!" Charlie laughed. "No, I think I'll leave this place in your capable hands. I'm seeing myself in more of an encouraging, supportive type role!"

Joey stopped chopping and hugged her.

"I'd never cope if I didn't see you in that uniform again," she smirked.

Charlie blushed and kissed her. They forced themselves not to get carried away. They were working, after all.


Tony sat across the kitchen table with his wife. He stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"So that's it?" he asked. "You've accepted the job and I can either hang onto your coattails or live without you?"

"That's not what I said," Rachel replied anxiously.

"But that's what it comes down to," Tony insisted.

He shook his head and half laughed. Consumed with heartbreak and bitterness, he left the house.


"You do realise we're not open, don't you?" Joey said when she opened the door to Romeo, who had been urgently knocking.

"I can't be here when you're open," he told her.

"Why not? You're not boycotting my restaurant are you?" she joked.

She let him in and glanced at Charlie as Romeo sank into a chair.

"I've screwed up with Indi again," he admitted.

"Again?" Charlie and Joey exclaimed in unison.

He sighed heavily and explained his panic and rejection of her request to learn to surf.

"And the problem is…?" Joey coaxed.

"Annie!" Romeo exclaimed. "That's how I got close to Annie."

"Okay, seriously, do you like Indi?" Joey asked.

Romeo nodded.

"And that's a romantic thing?"

He nodded again.

"Then you have to let go of your demons and go for it because she's not going to wait around forever," Joey told him as diplomatically as possible.

The young man sighed heavily and rubbed his face. He knew if he wanted to keep Indi, he had to get his act together.

"Okay," he said, standing up. "I'll fix it."

"Make sure she's not late for work!" Joey hollered after him.


Nicole opened the door, rather surprised to see Aden standing on the other side of it.

"Hi," she managed.

"Hi," he replied. "I um… I didn't feel right to come here and not come and see you."

She nodded awkwardly and let him in.

"How have you been?" she asked as they headed into the kitchen to make drinks.

"Pretty good," he ventured. "I'm working for a tour guide company in the city."

Nicole grinned.

"You're a tour guide?" she asked. "Don't you have to be a bit peppy for that?"

He laughed and nodded.

"I just drive the boats and the buses," he assured her. "No pep required."

She laughed softly.

"How have you been?" he wanted to know.

Nicole put her brave face on. Only a few days ago, had she run into her ex-boyfriend, she would have genuinely bowled him over with the happiness she shared with Penn but her friends had got in the way and given her too much food for thought. Still, even if she didn't mean it, there was no way she was going to undersell her new romance.

"Yeah, great," she enthused. "Things are school are going really well and I'm so looking forward to graduating and starting Uni. Things with Penn are wonderful and I've built my friendship back up with Indi."

She smiled broadly and he returned the gesture.

"I'm really happy for you," he said. "You deserve a really great life, Nic."

"Thank you," she said earnestly. "And you? Are you with anyone or…?"

"I'm dating a girl called Kate," he admitted, feeling slightly on edge over what he should say.

"Is it serious?"

"Well, we're living together but really that's only because we were housemates and colleagues first," he explained.

"And you're in love?" Nicole asked.

He gazed into her eyes, trying to figure out what the right answer was. One of the reasons they had broken up was because he hadn't been able to tell her that he loved her.

"Maybe soon," he said, although he believed it would be sooner than he wanted to indicate.

Nicole nodded.

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


"Sorry, I'm late," Angelo said when he walked through the restaurant doors. "Am I late?"

He had been so busy at home getting ready and trying to look smart for his second shift in his new job, the time had rather escaped him.

"You've got thirty seconds to spare," Joey told him.

He smiled in a relief.

"Are you up for working the bar tonight?" she asked.

"Sure," he agreed eagerly. "Whatever you need."

"Cool," Joey replied, unaware of the way he smiled after her.

She turned to greet Indi, who had shown up with Romeo.

"You're waiting tables tonight," Joey told her. "Presuming people actually show up."

"Joey, stop doubting yourself," Charlie begged from where she was sat at the bar, more than ready for a happy night of keeping her girlfriend company between jobs.

"I'm just going to get into my uniform," Indi said, heading through the back to the staff bathroom.

"How did it go?" Joey asked Romeo.

His smile told her everything she needed to know. High fiving him, she headed over to greet her first patrons, Leah and Irene.

"We've come to check out the competition," Irene joked.

Joey laughed.

"You're more than welcome," she assured them, showing them to the table with the nicest view.


It was late, or early, depending on how you looked at it by the time Charlie and Joey arrived home. Ruby was already in bed and Aden had stopped by the restaurant to say goodbye before he headed home to his girlfriend. Charlie had found herself at Irene and Leah's table for a good, long while and together they had decided Leah ought to text Elijah and admit that she wished things could work out between them.

"Ugh, I don't want to go back to work in the morning," the police officer explained.

"Thank you for all the time you committed to this," Joey said, snuggling up in bed beside her.

"This is your dream, Joey," Charlie said sleepily. "What else would I do than give you all the support I possibly can?"


Next time… Charlie worries about Joey and Ruby, all is not well in the Austen house and Dex gatecrashes Sid and Marilyn's date…