Chapter Four Hundred and Four
Penn rushed Nicole straight to the hospital, assuring her that everything would be okay and that he was right by her side. She was grateful to him, unaware that the whole thing was his fault.
"Nicole!" Sid said, surprised.
He had just been about to take his break and give Marilyn a call. He was constantly surprising himself over how much he cared for her, how much he missed her when she wasn't around.
"What's wrong?"
"I was on the beach and…"
The teenager was shaking, too overwhelmed to explain. Penn put a firm arm around her.
"There was a needle in the sand," he explained. "She pricked her hand by accident."
Sid nodded gravely and let them into a side room, hoping that he could alleviate Nicole's fears.
Pleased with the result from the Council, Joey had agreed to take the rest of the afternoon off work to spend it with Charlie – not that it was a chore. She felt much more settled at the restaurant now that it was becoming a striving business and she trusted her staff to keep the place going when she wasn't there. Every day, she was surprised by how much she trusted Angelo too. It was something she never believed would happen.
Having got an ice cream and a juice from the Surf Club and told Alf the news, the girls headed out onto the beach to enjoy what was left of the sunshine.
"Mmm… lovely day for it," Joey remarked, sitting down on the sand.
Charlie sat beside her.
"For what, exactly?" she asked, her voice low and seductive.
Joey smirked back at her.
"Whatever you have in mind," she said.
"Well, we do still need to christen the car," Charlie told her.
They kissed, pulling away when they heard a wolf whistle. They blushed and giggled as they spotted Liam and Bianca approaching them, looking rather pleased with themselves. It might not be quite official yet but it was very obvious that they were now an item.
Penn remained by Nicole's side as Sid took blood for tests to check out any diseases she might have picked up from the needle. The Doctor had also alerted the police, aware that if there was one needle in the sand then there could be others. Watson had promised to get on the case straight away.
"Now, most of the tests will come back today but one is going to take a good few months," Sid explained.
Nicole swallowed, vaguely aware of which one it would be. She asked anyway.
"The HIV test," Sid confirmed.
"But that's the most important one," she said quietly.
Penn bristled as Sid touched Nicole's hand.
"I'm sure it'll all be fine, Nicole," the Doctor said. "Whatever the results of whatever the tests, we'll all be there to support you."
"Yeah," Penn chipped in seriously. "We'll take care of you."
Having chatted to Liam and Bianca for a little while, Charlie and Joey had headed out for a drive, with the sole purpose of sex in mind.
"This is very naughty, Sergeant Buckton," Joey murmured.
They'd pulled over in a quiet area and hopped into the back seat.
"It's the law to christen a new house or car," Charlie murmured back, stripping Joey of her clothes. "We're really just following the rules!"
Joey giggled and pulled her closer, kissing her passionately and taking her breath away.
Sid finished with Nicole, relieved to have at least given her good test results. She still had to wait a while for the results of the HIV test but everything else was fine and it looked like everything would be okay. Penn had even taken him aside and apologised for the trouble he'd caused recently. Sid had to take it with a pinch of salt and still didn't trust the guy but he thought it was worth trying to make peace. And he had been very supportive of Nicole.
"Marilyn?" he said when his girlfriend answered the phone.
"Where are you?" Marilyn asked, surprisingly impatient.
"At work," he said. "I left you a message."
"Right," Marilyn said grimly.
"Marilyn, are you okay?" Sid asked a little worriedly.
"Fine," Marilyn said.
Then she hung up.
"Okay, it's depressing when even Dex has too much of a life to hang out with me," Ruby said glumly.
Xavier and April had taken pity on her when she had been moping round school and had convinced Indi and Romeo to join them for an early dinner after school. They'd invited Dex too but he'd claimed to be busy and bailed on them.
"And I do appreciate the effort you guys have made but honestly, I'm not a charity case," Ruby added.
"We know," Romeo assured her. "We just wanted to spend some time with you."
Ruby raised her eyes sceptically.
"We do," Indi insisted. "And we don't want you to feel so down."
"I'm fine," Ruby lied.
The truth was, she felt like she was starting to suffer with serious depression. And she had no idea what she was supposed to do about it.
Despite the awkward position on the backseat, Charlie and Joey climaxed in unison. Charlie collapsed rather breathlessly on top of Joey, who wrapped her arms around her and held her tight. She was about to speak when there was a tap on the steamed up window.
Horrified, Charlie and Joey attempted to cover themselves up, just in time for the back door to open.
"Do you know it's a criminal offence to…?"
Watson trailed off and grinned.
"Christening the car, huh?" she smirked.
"I just don't understand why you lied, Dex," Marilyn said as she gathered the remains of the picnic up in order to come home from a date she'd never actually had.
"I just… wanted to spend time with you," Dex said anxiously, humiliated at having been caught out in his lie. "You know, for Dad's sake."
Marilyn paused and frowned, staring at him as realisation hit her.
"You mean for me," she said quietly.
Dex looked suitably mortified.
"I can't… I can't help how I feel about you," he mumbled, looking at the floor.
Having been told off but let off for their afternoon delight, Charlie and Joey had left Watson in order to go home. They were both embarrassed but amused in equal measure.
"We should call Nicole when we get home," Joey said, settling herself, fully clothed, back into the front seat of the car while Charlie settled in the other.
Watson had informed them of the needle stick injury and Charlie had agreed that they should shut the beach and comb it for more needles. Charlie dreaded to think how annoyed Alf and John would be about that. Still, she wasn't on duty until the morning so she didn't have to deal with it until then. And she wasn't planning to.
"Yeah," Charlie agreed. "That must be really scary. I hope she's okay."
Joey smiled and touched her hand. Her grin turned wicked, making Charlie blush.
"I hope Watson didn't actually see anything!" the police officer remarked. "How embarrassing!"
"Worth it though?" Joey asked, looking rather devilish.
Charlie laughed.
"Worth it," she agreed. "And very much looking forward to round two at home."
Next time… Joey's builders set to work, there is an attraction between Watson and Kerri and Tony and Rachel finally reach a conclusion…
