Sorry for the late update – I was rather distracted by the very exciting arrival of my gorgeous, perfect, wonderful, baby niece arriving in the world! I now have a niece, a nephew and a surprise due in November! What an expanding family! Anyway, thanks to those who have sent such lovely well wishes. I really hope you enjoy the chapter. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Four Hundred and Ten

The next morning, Charlie and Joey were pleasantly surprised to find that Ruby had got up early and prepared breakfast for the three of them.

"I thought I'd try and make things up to you a different way," the teenager said. "I hope I did okay?"

Charlie reached out and hugged her.

"You did great," she said. "Thank you."

She kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you, Ruby," Joey echoed. "This was really sweet of you."

They all settled down to eat together.


At their house, Gina was pleased to find that John and Xavier were getting along well still. For the last few weeks, peace had settled in their home and it was a very pleasant experience. There was no fighting, no sniping, no glaring. They were actually being civil. They weren't warm exactly but they were friendly enough and that made Gina very happy indeed.


With Charlie having dropped Ruby at school, Joey arrived at the restaurant to find a letter of complaint about Indi still working at the restaurant waiting for her. She sighed heavily and sat down at her desk, reading and rereading it, trying to figure out what to do. She knew already that she had to fire her. She'd already decided on it, having talked it all through with Charlie. But she wanted to do it because it was the right thing to do, not because some busybody had got a bee in their bonnet. She was instantly irritated.


Arriving at school, April was nervously wittering away to Xavier about her new plan. She had put together a speech to deliver to Gina about school recycling bins, that she hoped the Principal would be prepared to implement. Xavier was outwardly supportive but didn't think his mother would actually go for it.


"What's up?" Charlie asked when she managed to get over to the restaurant.

Anxious over the complaint letter, Joey had called her, prompting her to convince Watson to make a detour on their patrol that morning.

"This," Joey said, handing the letter over.

Charlie frowned as she read it.

"Anonymous," she said. "Any idea who it's from?"

"One," Joey admitted.

"Who?"

Joey stood and cautiously closed the door in case anyone was listening to them.

"What do you think about the similarities of handwriting?" she asked, presenting Charlie with another piece of paper.

Charlie took it and read it through. It was a stock sheet from the restaurant.

"You think it's someone that works here?" she asked, the writing oddly familiar.

"Well, he has had a bee in his bonnet about everything, hasn't he?" Joey pointed out unhappily.

Charlie put both items down.

"You think it might have been Angelo?"

"I don't want it to have been," Joey said. "I really, really don't want it to have been but…"

She sighed heavily.

"I don't know what to do."


Ruby was trying hard to hold her head up high but it was difficult. She felt like everyone was looking at her and talking about her. And it was certain that nobody was talking to her. Indi had been glaring at her every time they'd passed each other and when she'd tried to speak to her, she'd stormed off and taken Romeo too. April seemed preoccupied and Xavier just followed her around everywhere she went these days. As for Dex, he was in his own little world and so was Nicole. Once again, Ruby felt totally lost. She was just grateful that she had her parents to go home to. They might be rigid with discipline at the moment but it least it meant they cared.


With Charlie having had to return to work, Joey approached Angelo, who was preparing tables for opening. He turned and smiled, although with all the tension that had been going on lately, he felt a little awkward. He found it difficult that the woman he now thought so much of, hadn't been getting on that well with him lately, that they couldn't see eye to eye.

"Nice to see you," he remarked. "I thought you were going to be holed up in the office all day."

"I've had some paperwork to deal with," Joey said awkwardly.

He nodded and moved onto the next table.

"I um… got a complaint about Indi," she ventured.

He nodded again, continuing to set lunch places.

"You don't seem terribly surprised," Joey commented.

"Well, I'm not, to be honest," he admitted. "I mean, she sold drink to an underage girl. I don't understand why she's still working here. If I'd have done that, I'd be out on my arse. I don't know what's so special about her."

"Did you write the letter?" Joey accused.

He stopped abruptly and stared at her.

"Excuse me?"

"Did you write it?" she asked.

"No! How could you accuse me of that?"

"Because you pretty much repeated what it said," Joey suggested.

"Just because I might agree with whoever it is, doesn't mean I'd write and complain or threaten the business or whatever," Angelo said. "I love… I love this place. I love this job. I wouldn't try and damage anything. And I'm hurt that you'd think so little of me."

He put the cutlery down and hurried off, busying himself in the kitchen instead. Joey sighed, annoyed with herself for getting it wrong.


April left Gina's office in a state of euphoria while Xavier was a little bemused. The Principal had immediately agreed to the recycling bins idea and was happy to implement them straight away. She had listened to the speech and needed no further persuasion.

"That was much easier than I thought," she mused, as she and Xavier strolled down the corridor together, past Ruby who was talking on the phone. "Almost too easy. I think I'm going to need a new project sooner than I expected."


Charlie hung up the phone, having called to check in with Ruby and continued her foot patrol with Watson.

"How is she?" Watson asked, concerned for her colleague's daughter's welfare.

"Struggling," Charlie sighed. "I think she's lonely. She doesn't really have that many friends right now, apart from Nicole but she's pretty caught up with Penn at the moment."

"Yeah, I gather she's swooning rather since he helped her with the needle thing," Watson recalled.

"Pretty much," Charlie agreed. "Do you think it would be wrong to interfere and ask her to look after Rubes a bit?"

"I think it would be acceptable in the circumstances," Watson said. "So long as you don't get caught."

They looked up when they heard a commotion ahead of them and immediately leapt into action when they realised someone was in trouble. A group of lads were hassling someone.

"Oi!" Charlie yelled.

The young men, instantly recognisable as being River Boys broke away, revealing Kerri in the middle, looking fraught and stressed.

"What's the problem, Officer?" a taller, dark haired Braxton brother asked.

Charlie thought he was the middle brother, renowned for causing trouble and barely having a brain cell in his head.

"Looks like you and your mates are giving this young woman a hard time," Charlie said. "Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners? Oh, that's right your Dad's in jail and your Mum's always drunk."

Heath looked furious. For a moment, Charlie wondered if he was actually going to swing for her.

"I think you'd better watch what you say to me," he warned.

"And I think you'd better watch what you say to a police officer," Charlie replied. "Now, are you and your boys going to apologise for hassling this woman?"

She nodded towards Kerri, who was being looked after rather attentively by Watson.

"No way!" Heath said. "We weren't even doing anything."

"They were taking the piss because of my chair," Kerri snapped bitterly.

"We were complimenting you because you're so beautiful," Heath sneered.

Kerri glared at him.

"Apologise before I arrest you for harassment," Charlie warned.

"No fucking way," Heath said. "We were only having a laugh."

"What's going on?" said a voice behind them.

Charlie rolled her eyes when she spied Heath's older brother, Brax approaching them. It was like he could sense when his idiot sibling was caught up in something. And he had an irritating habit of getting him out of it too.

"Your mates seem to find it funny to hassle a disabled woman," Charlie informed him.

"No mates of mine would ever sink so low or be so disgusting," Brax said, looking pointedly at all his boys.

Charlie was surprised to realise he genuinely seemed outraged.

"And if they were ever to make such a hideous mistake, they'd immediately apologise and do whatever they could to make it up to her," Brax added.

Immediately, all of the boys fell over themselves to apologise to Kerri, who grudgingly yet somehow also graciously accepted. Brax also stepped forward and apologised, taking both her hands in his. Even Charlie and Watson had to admit that he was charming.

"If there's ever anything you think of that any of us can do to make it up to you, here's my number," Brax added, handing over a business card.

Charlie noticed Watson grimace.

"Thank you," Kerri said.

Brax squeezed her hands and smiled. He turned back to Charlie.

"Will that be all, Sergeant Buckton?" he asked.

"Just keep your thugs away, will you?" she requested.

"I will," Brax promised.

He then shoved them all away. Watson immediately turned to Kerri and checked she was alright.

"I'm fine," Kerri assured her. "Just a bit irritated. They were idiots."

Watson frowned. It was obvious that she was shaken.

"Why don't you let us take you to the Diner for a coffee?" she suggested. "Make sure you're alright?"

Kerri looked hesitant.

"I don't want to put you out," she said.

"It's no trouble," Watson said. "Is it, Charlie?"

"Of course not," Charlie said. "In fact, why don't I leave you to it? I need to check on Joey anyway. She's struggling with all the Indi stuff. I'll meet you at the Diner in a bit."


"Indi, please can we make friends again?" Ruby begged when she ran into the blonde girl on her way back from lunch.

"Why would I want to be friends with you?" Indi snapped.

Romeo hovered anxiously behind her, feeling awkward.

"Look, we both made a mistake," Ruby insisted.

"And I'm the only one paying for it!" Indi argued.

"I'm living under lock and key!"

"Because you're a lying alcoholic!"

"I'm not an alcoholic!" Ruby said, wounded. "I bought the wine for Charlie and Joey."

"Pull the other one," Indi said. "You lied to me. I could have lost my job."

"You should lose your job," Ruby said. "You made the decision to sell it to me. You knew I was underage and you still did it. We've both put Joey in a horrible position. Do you know she's had a letter of complaint demanding that she fire you?"

Indi looked stunned and then guilty. She stormed away, dragging Romeo with her.


Watson and Kerri sat at a table in the Diner together. Silently, Watson told herself to be cool and not embarrass herself.

"Thanks for helping me," Kerri said, a little flushed from what had happened.

"No problem," Watson said. "I'm just sorry you had to go through that."

Kerri shrugged.

"It's not the first time," she said.

Watson looked shocked.

"How could anyone be so awful?"

Kerri shrugged again.

"Ignorance, I guess," she said. "Picking on people that appear weaker than they are, that can't physically stand up for themselves."

She laughed a little bitterly at her own choice of words. Watson instinctively touched her hand and then jolted away, embarrassed.


After school, John was enjoying the atmosphere at home. Xavier hadn't come home yet so he and Gina were preparing dinner together. Ever since he and Xavier had called their truce, things had settled nicely and Gina seemed so much happier. The only worry in the back of John's mind that the favour that Xavier might call in – when and what it might be. But for now, he was relishing the praise from his girlfriend and happiness in their home.


Charlie had brought Ruby to the restaurant with her for dinner and then set her up in the office to do her homework. Joey was on shift and, knowing that she was stressed, Charlie had wanted to keep her company. But neither of them had wanted to leave Ruby alone.

Having found out about the complaint from Ruby, Indi had come to the restaurant straight after school and to save Joey the awkwardness of firing her, had resigned. Joey felt sad about it but was relieved not to have had to sack her at least.

Now, on either side of the bar, Charlie and Joey were looking at reshuffling the staff and taking on someone else.

"I think I need an actual bar manager," Joey mused.

"Someone new or someone current?" Charlie asked.

"Well, up until recently I'd have thought there would be an obvious choice…" Joey sighed.

She glanced along the bar to where Angelo was serving customers, oblivious to their discussion.

"You two haven't been getting along so well, have you?" Charlie noted.

"Nope," Joey said. "And if it was just a personal thing, it wouldn't matter so much but his decision making really has me flummoxed. Like, using Nicole's needle stick injury to promote the business. That's so ruthless. I don't really want to put someone like that in a position of responsibility. And the way he's reacted to all this Indi/Ruby stuff."

She shook her head.

"I think I need to find someone else."


Back at the school, library duty was not going well. Liam and Bianca had been squabbling again, culminating in her rejecting his request to rate his kissing ability. Now, he found himself knocking on the bathroom door, apologising for pushing too far, although he still wasn't quite sure what he had done wrong. The day he understood women was likely to be a day far, far in the future.

On the other side of the door, Bianca ignored Liam's knocking as she read and reread a text she had just received from her ex-fiancé, Vittorio. Her head was in a spin.


Next time… Work on the lift is completed, prompting a special dinner at the restaurant, Joey starts looking for a Bar Manager and Brax charms Kerri…