Thank you again to everyone who has supported this story for so long! I hope you continue to enjoy it. Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Four Hundred and One
Confident that her staff would cope without her, Joey agreed to let Charlie leave her in bed when she went to work on Monday morning. She mumbled a goodbye but made the effort to kiss her, nearly dragging her back into bed. Against her own wishes, Charlie extracted herself and headed off to work, promising to be back at lunch time to see her.
Tony had forced himself to venture back home to try and talk things through with Rachel.
"I just can't believe you're willing to leave your son and everything you've worked for here to go over and work at some fancy schmancy hospital in Boston!" he exclaimed.
Their conversation had become heated within minutes.
"What do you mean 'leave my son'?" Rachel asked. "I'm not leaving him anywhere! He's coming with me!"
"For fuck's sake!" Joey groaned.
She had finally indulged in a lie in and shortly after Charlie had left, the drilling had started. She rolled over and tried to ignore it but it wouldn't stop. She couldn't blot it out with pillows and the vibrations were jarring. Finally losing her temper, Joey stomped out of bed, threw her robe on and stormed into the corridor outside her front door.
"What the hell is going on?" she demanded.
Rachel had gone to the Diner after her argument with Tony. They were still at loggerheads at what to do for the best and now custody of Harry was a big issue.
"I just want him to come with me, Leah," Rachel sighed. "I love him so much. I don't understand why he's digging his heels in about this."
"I guess he doesn't want to move away," Leah said carefully. "I mean, poor Watson stayed her when her girlfriend moved to the other side of the world. Relocating isn't for everyone."
Her last sentence was rather wistful as she thought of Elijah.
"But why doesn't he love me enough to even consider it?" Rachel wondered sadly.
"We're installing a lift," the builder told Joey as if she was stupid.
He pointed to the construction site across the hall for emphasis.
"Why?" Joey hissed, aware that her hair was messy and she probably looked a bit mad.
"Because that's what we're getting paid for," he replied sarcastically.
"We're a four storey building!" Joey snapped. "Who the fuck is lazy enough to want a lift in here? And why didn't we get some sort of notice that it was happening?"
"Um… I am," said a voice behind her.
Joey turned and was stopped short to see a woman in a wheelchair in the doorway to the apartment next door.
"And you should have had a note through the door," the woman added.
"If you really want Tony to go with you then why don't you try another tactic?" Leah suggested.
"Like what?" Rachel asked.
At this point in time, she was willing to try anything.
"Like, maybe you could call Lucas?" Leah ventured. "I mean, if you all go to Boston, you'll be closer to him. I know a big part of him wants to stay here for Jack but maybe he could look towards getting closer to Lucas instead?"
"I am so, so sorry," Joey gushed. "I'm not normally such an insensitive arse, I swear. It didn't even occur to me… Wait."
The woman, a pretty, petite blonde raised her eyebrows.
"How did I get up here in the first place?" she asked.
"Well um… yeah," Joey said, sounding and feeling lame and out of place.
"I can walk just a little," the woman explained. "With a lot of support. My legs don't hold me but I had to move in earlier than expected. The people I sold my house to were pretty eager."
Joey nodded and apologised again.
"It's fine," the woman said, extending her hand and introducing herself as Kerri Winters.
Joey shook her hand, introducing herself also.
"And again, I'm really sorry for being so rude," she added.
Kerri smiled and assured her that she didn't mind.
"If you can forgive the state I must look, would you be interested in coming in for a cup of coffee?" Joey asked.
Kerri smiled, relieved to have apparently begun to make a friend.
"Sure," she accepted.
"So, we can get on with our work then?" the building snapped gruffly as the women closed Joey's door on him.
Sid stopped for coffee with Marilyn on his morning break from work.
"So, what are you up to for the rest of the day?" the sunny tarot reader asked.
"Well, I'm working for most of it," her boyfriend said. "And I'm meant to be having lunch with Dex."
"Oh really?" Marilyn asked.
She had become quite fond of good Doctor's son.
"Yeah, well, he's being so sweet with trying to get to know you and everything," Sid explained. "I figured it was high time that I started making more of an effort with him. I mean, I have a good relationship with Indi but Dex is more… creative. He's harder to get to know."
Over cups of tea, Joey was happily getting to know her neighbour. So far, she had established that she was new to the area and had a son VJ's age called Danny.
"So, how come you ended up moving here?" Joey wondered.
"Well, after my accident that left me… in this," Kerri explained, pointing to her wheelchair. "Things just started to go wrong. My husband left me and Danny behind and then when I eventually recovered, I started dating a woman called Emma."
Joey raised her eyebrows.
"I hope me being bi isn't a problem," Kerri added quickly.
Joey grinned and explained her own home setup.
"Oh really?" Kerri grinned. "I found the only gays in the village!"
Joey laughed and nodded.
"So far I've met a couple more of our kind but we're a fairly rare species round here."
Kerri chuckled but felt comforted to have something in common with her new friend.
"So, do you live here with your partner then?" Joey asked, hoping she wasn't being too nosy.
"No, we broke up," Kerri said awkwardly. "I thought it was the real thing but just as I suspected, my disability proved too much. One minute she couldn't do enough for me and the next, she couldn't cope. I mean, we were together for three years but… well, it's over now."
Joey nodded sympathetically.
"So yeah, it's just me and Danny now," Kerri said brightly.
"Right, I'm off home for lunch," Charlie announced to Watson. "I'll see you this afternoon."
"Have fun!" Watson called.
Charlie paused.
"Would you like to come home with me?" she asked.
"Oh Charlie!" Watson teased. "Whatever would Joey say?"
"She'd be there too!" Charlie smirked.
Announcing it was kinky, Watson eagerly accepted the invitation. She knew she should be moving on with her life but she still missed Monica desperately. And spending time with her friends was part of the healing process.
Sid and Dex sat somewhat awkwardly across from each other at the table in the Diner. Bonding had seemed like such a good idea but now it seemed that they didn't have anything to say to each other.
"So… how's Marilyn?" Dex asked.
"She's fine," Sid said. "I saw her this morning. She told me to tell you 'hello'."
Suddenly Dex seemed full of life.
"Um… hello?" Charlie said, somewhat surprised to find Joey still in her pyjamas entertaining a woman she had never seen before.
"Hey, sweetheart!" Joey enthused, standing up to kiss her 'hello'. "Hey, Watson!"
She then began making introductions.
"Hi," Charlie said to Kerri, taking a seat at the table beside her girlfriend. "Welcome to the building."
"She says as if she's ever actually met anyone in the building," Joey remarked.
Charlie swatted her hand playfully and insisted she had met old Mrs Tilsey downstairs on more than one occasion.
"Watson, come, sit," she instructed.
Watson blushed as her boss caught her looking at Kerri with a certain level of interest.
"So, I'm fairly certain Joey's demanded your life story," Charlie said, as Watson made herself comfortable beside Kerri. "So, an abridged version?"
Kerri laughed and nodded, thrilled that she had moved in next door to such friendly people.
After school, encouraged by the message Sid had passed on, Dex went round to visit Marilyn.
"I just wanted to apologise," he ventured, hovering on the doorstep.
"Apologise for what?" Marilyn wondered.
"For interrogating you," he said. "It was rude of me. I just… wanted to get to know you better. You know, for my Dad's sake. He's pretty big on family."
He became yet more smitten as she quickly reassured him and referred to him as 'sweet'.
That evening, Charlie and Joey regaled Ruby of their new neighbour, who they were planning on having round for a meal sometime in the near future.
"Do you understand the concept of resting on your day off?" Ruby asked Joey, her toned amused.
Joey blushed and then explained how everything had happened.
"Note to self, don't wake you up before you're ready!" Ruby teased.
Charlie laughed ass Joey pouted.
"Anyway, today made me think," she ventured.
"Think about what?" Charlie asked.
"The restaurant is completely inaccessible and disability unfriendly," Joey said. "What do you say to using some of the left over money from the loan on putting in a lift?"
Next time… Marilyn tries to help heal Nicole's heartbreak, prompting Mr Oddly's reign of terror comes to an end, Angelo's crush continues and Charlie misbehaves…
