Chapter Five Hundred and Eight

Will had hoped that Irene would go and collect Lily from Leah's but she hadn't been willing to budge, insisting that he go and pick up his own daughter from her sleepover. He knocked on the door. Leah looked surprised to see him.

"Hi!" she greeted. "Um…"

"I've come to pick up Lily," he explained, wondering why she was so confused.

Her face suddenly fell.


Charlie was finally enjoying a day off. She had no plans to so much as leave the house today if she could help it. Her shifts over the last few weeks had been long and arduous and she had been promised some TLC from her partner today to make up for it. She groaned when her mobile phone burst into life but dutifully answered it anyway.

"Hey, Leah, how are…?"

She was cut off by the urgent voice on the other end of the line.

"Charlie, the kids have gone missing!

Charlie sat up suddenly in bed, spilling the coffee she had been about to drink. She ignored her mildly burnt hand and put her cup down.

"Okay, Leah, slowly," she said.

Joey sat up too beside her, worry and concern etched on her face.

"What do you mean the kids have gone missing?"

Leah hurriedly tried to explain that Lily and VJ had lied to both her and Will about sleeping over at each other's house and now they were both gone. Neither had been seen since the night before. Charlie's heart sank. They had been gone for hours already. In situations where people, namely children disappeared, time was very much of the essence.

"Okay, I need you to stay at home," Leah said. "Is Will with you?"

"Yes, he's here," Leah said.

"Good. Stay together and I'll send someone round to you as soon as possible," Charlie said. "I'll get straight to the station and we'll get right out there looking for them, okay? Don't worry, Leah. We'll find them."

"But Charlie, they've been missing overnight…"

"We will find them," Charlie said more certainly than she felt.

"Thank you, Charlie," Leah said, relief flooding her voice.

Charlie could tell that she was near to tears.

"Thank you."

"I'll be in touch as soon as I can, okay? Sit tight."

She hung up and leapt out of bed, grabbing her uniform from the wardrobe and hurrying to get dressed while quickly explaining things to Joey at the same time. Joey also leapt out of bed.

"Can I get a civilian team together to look for them too?"

"Good plan," Charlie said. "Get a group together and start looking. I'll call you with an update as soon as I can. I can give you more of an idea what you're looking for – what they might be wearing, that sort of thing."

She leant forward and kissed Joey goodbye.

"Thanks, sweetheart," she said. "And sorry our day together has been messed up."

"Don't be silly," Joey said. "I just want them found safely."

"Fingers crossed," Charlie said.

She tried not to let on how worried she was as she left her house and headed for her car.


Charlie arrived at the station in a hurry. She called everyone into the meeting room upstairs urgently. Even Robertson came grudgingly but he soon changed his tune when he realised that it was VJ who was missing and agreed to work on the sudden missing child's case.

"Great," Charlie said when everyone seemed raring to go. "I'm heading over to Leah's now to get a clearer picture of the circumstances and also to circulate pictures of the kids, find out what they might have been wearing yesterday. You know the drill."

"I'll come with you," Robertson offered.

"Really not necessary," Charlie objected.

She had wanted to team up with Watson on this. She knew they worked well together and would cover a lot of ground together.

"I'd like to," Robertson said.

As her superior, she knew she wasn't in a position to argue.

"Fine," she said.

She nodded for everyone to file out, adding that a civilian team was also in the process of being set up to help out.

"Won't that just interfere with our investigation?" Graves objected.

"We're a family here in Summer Bay," Watson told her. "We look out for each other."

Charlie smiled to herself. She couldn't have said it better.

Leaving the room, Graves stopped Robertson.

"Sir, don't you think we should focus on our own investigation?" she asked. "Instead of getting distracted with this?"

"Graves, there are children missing," Roberson pointed out easily.

"I know but…"

"Plus, one of those children belongs to one of our suspects," he added. "Could be useful, don't you think?"

He didn't like to lie but he didn't want him to think him soft on Leah. He wanted her to think him professional at all times. And he was. Most of the time.

"Are you ready, Sir?" Charlie asked.

She just wanted to get on with this now.

"Yes," Robertson said brightly, following her out of the room.


VJ and Lily were hungry and freezing cold. They hadn't got terribly far and had spent the night sleeping on a bench in a park. Well, they hadn't really slept. They'd been too cold and too scared and too regretful about their decision to run away. Was it too late to change their minds? Would their parents be angry with them for running away and for lying to them? Would they even want them to come home after what they had done? Last night, it had all seemed like such a good idea but as the world had become darker and colder, everything had become a bit too scary. And in the harsh light of day, they had no idea what they were doing.

The plan was to fly the Africa. VJ had been confident last night that he had known exactly what to do and how to do it but now, he didn't even know how to get to the airport. And what to do when they landed abroad was a whole other matter! He was scared. He didn't know how to lead. He wanted his Mum.


Leah jumped up and opened the door before Charlie had even knocked. She ushered the police officers inside urgently to where Will was waiting at the kitchen table.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking stressed out of his mind. "Where are they? We've been calling them and calling them but their phones just keep going to voicemail. What kids don't have their phones on twenty-four-seven?"

Charlie, Leah and Robertson came to sit down. Robertson surprised Charlie by letting her take the lead in explaining their plan.


Joey, Alf, Angelo, Gina, Kerri, Xavier, April, Bianca, Liam, Ruby and Claire were all gathered at the restaurant, sorting out teams to go out searching for Lily and VJ.

"I'll contact everyone whenever I get an update from Charlie, okay?" Joey said.

"Yep, we'll all keep our phones on," Angelo said.

"So, we're best in pairs," Alf said. "Cover more ground that way."

Kerri and Gina paired up, as did Xavier and April and Ruby and Claire. Liam and Bianca avoided each other, much to April's disappointment, putting Bianca with Joey.

"Am I late?" Roo asked, bursting through the door. "Dad left me a note saying that some kids have gone missing and we're going out looking. Proper Summer Bay spirit!"

She grinned at the father who smiled back.

"Yep, that's the plan," Joey said. "It's VJ Patterson and Lily Smith. We've got photos but Charlie is going to call with a description of what they're likely to be wearing and any more relevant details."

"Great," Roo said. "Count me in."

"We're just pairing up," Angelo said. "Want to be on my team?"

"Um… sure…" she agreed, having expected to search with her Dad.

Alf looking half bemused and half amused. Joey just rolled her eyes.

"Looks like I'm with you then, mate," Liam said to Alf.

He cast a somewhat longing look in Bianca's direction as he followed his friends out of the restaurant. The others followed, Joey and Bianca last so that Joey could lock up the building.


"I promise we will do absolutely everything we can to find them," Robertson said, placing a gentle hand on Leah's hand.

Both Charlie and Will noticed. Charlie made a mental note to ask her friend what might or might not be going on between them when it was a more appropriate time. Leah was only just getting over Elijah after all. But Robertson was clearly still sweet on her from the first time round. She just hoped that he wouldn't turn Leah's head. He was an arrogant creep as far as Charlie was concerned. She could not imagine having to put up with him in her personal life as well as her professional one.

"We've got the whole of Summer Bay out searching," Charlie said. "I'm going to call Joey with an update as soon as I leave here. With our police force and our civilians out looking, we'll have them home in no time."

She looked as reassuring as she could to both of them. Suspicions aside, she wanted to be kind to Will. His child was missing and regardless of what he might have done, nobody deserved that.

"Thank you," Leah said. "Thank you."

She was practically in tears.

"Yeah, thank you," Will said quietly.

He didn't seem far behind her.


"He's a little obvious, isn't he?" Liam remarked.

He and Alf were searching for the children together and Angelo's crush on Roo was the subject of conversation. Alf chuckled and shook his head.

"It's starting to get a little awkward now," he admitted. "I just hope he doesn't actually try anything with her. There is no way she'd be interested in him."

"Poor guy," Liam said. "I mean, he's a nice bloke. It'd be nice if he found someone. I just think Roo might be a bit out of his league. Mind you, he did date Charlie once upon a time so miracles do happen!"

He laughed.

"I think that was in a different life!" Alf said. "Angelo was a very different person then."

"Before he went to jail?" Liam said.

"Yeah," Alf said. "Before everything that happened with Jack, before he went to jail, Angelo was a very different guy. He was relaxed and funny and very good at charming people. He came back very different, as you'd expect really. The person he is now… well, I listen to him complaining and overthinking several hours a day, several days a week. No. My Roo would not look twice at the person he is now, I'm afraid."

Liam sighed.

"Oh well," he said. "Hopefully there's someone out there for him. Hopefully there's someone out there for all of us!"

"Yeah, well, I saw that look of longing you gave Bianca before we left," Alf remarked.

Liam sighed again.

"I don't know," he said. "I think that whole thing is dead and buried. I just can't seem to leave the funeral."


"We could just head home," Lily suggested.

VJ tried not to look too delighted.

"Do you think so?" he asked.

"Well, we haven't really made a success of this so far."

He was disappointed. He wondered if she was criticising him.

"Well, I mean, it was one night," he said. "We've got the whole day to get to the airport."

"But how?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"Shall we get walking anyway?" he suggested. "Try and get some food at least?"

She nodded and they got off their bench, gathering their stuff together.


Joey hung up the phone to Charlie, having paused walking, as had Bianca. She quickly tapped out a message to the others with the description of the kids' possible outfits. Leah had recalled VJ wearing dark blue jeans and a sweatshirt from his favourite football team. Will had been vaguer. He thought it might have been a blue dress. Then he thought it might have been grey trousers and a white top. They'd phoned Irene and she had said it was black trousers and a pink top with a smiley face on it.

"All sent?" Bianca asked.

"Yes," Joey said. "The police are going further afield. I guess they have more of an idea of what they're doing than we do."

"I just hope we find them," Bianca said. "Irene was absolutely broken when April and I left this morning."

"What about Will?" Joey asked.

Ever since Charlie had raised her suspicions about him, Joey just hadn't been able to see him the same way, not that she had particularly happy around him in the first place.

"Well, I didn't see him," Bianca said. "But I'm sure he's devastated."

She paused and looked at her friend curiously.

"Why?"

"I just wondered if he was okay."

"No… why?"

Joey shrugged and plastered an earnest smile on her face.

"I was just concerned."

"Bullshit, Joey," Bianca said, jogging to catch up with her. "You don't like him?"

"I like him fine," Joey said. "I just… don't know him. Do you know him?"

Bianca chewed her lip curiously, turning the question over in her mind.

"No," she concluded. "I guess I don't really."


VJ and Lily were walking along the road together, hoping to happen upon a café or a shop where they would be able to buy some food. They were both extremely hungry. They stopped abruptly when a car slowed and pulled up beside them. The window wound itself down and a man looking to be around the age of fifty, roughly shaven and with greying hair leaned out the window.

"You kids need a lift?" he asked.


Charlie had stationed one officer with Leah and another officer with Irene and Will, who had wanted to go home and wait for his daughter there. He had looked like the pressure and stress and upset of the situation would make him break down.

She had then caught up with Watson, her preferred teammate and sent Robertson off with his lackey, Detective Graves. She just prayed that they would find the children. Time was ticking.


Lily and VJ were sat together in the back of the car. The man who had pulled up to speak to them and offer them a lift was called Gary and against their better judgement, they had accepted. Both of their parents had always told them never to talk to strangers, never to go off with strangers. Their whole lives, however short, they had been warned of the dangers. But they didn't want to go home. They were hungry, cold and tired and they wanted to get to the airport. They wanted to escape to Africa and get away from Leah and Will who were constantly upsetting them.

But now, they were starting to regret their decision. Gary was chatting away but he was a stranger and they were trapped in the car with him and they couldn't get out. They were scared.

"So, you're heading for the airport, are you?" he asked, glancing at them in the rear view mirror.

"That's right," VJ replied.

"Where are you headed from there?"

"To Africa," VJ said. "To see my stepdad."

He swallowed, wondering if he ought to reveal so much to this man. Gary merely nodded.


Angelo and Roo had been knocking on doors for nearly an hour to no avail.

"It's good of you to join the search," Angelo ventured. "I know you don't really know the kids."

"Ah well, it's the Summer Bay spirit and all," Roo said. "You never completely lose it. Especially if you're Alf Stewart's daughter."

She smiled. Angelo chuckled. He heard Joey's voice in his head, reminding him that she was indeed Alf Stewart's daughter and therefore off limits.

"So uh… are you going to stick around for a while or…?"

"I'm actually heading back to the States pretty soon, I think," Roo told him.

His face fell. She didn't want to tell him too much as nothing was cast in stone yet with John and Gina but her departure was likely to be imminent.

"I'm sure your Dad will be disappointed," Angelo said, trying to hide his own frown.

"Well, now I've been back once, I may well visit again sometime soon," she said.

She was surprised to find herself believing it. She had built Summer Bay up in her head as this awful place but once she'd got over her jealousy of Joey, she had genuinely enjoying visiting her old haunts, seeing old friends and making new ones. And it had been so great to see her father and do what she could to support him through a difficult time. Her only regret was that she was leaving before the investigation was over. But she had to prioritise.


Leah couldn't take waiting for news. She had paced so much she was surprised there wasn't a hole in the carpet. And the hold music on her phone was annoying the hell out of her.

"Hello?" she finally said urgently, almost angrily when the customer service operator at her bank answered the phone far too pleasantly and apologised for keeping her waiting.

Charlie had recommended that she contact her back to see whether any purchases had been made on any of her accounts or her credit card, being that VJ didn't have his own bank account. Since they had left, she had been on hold and it was getting her more and more frustrated.

"Hi," she said, preparing to tell her the whole story.

She promptly burst into tears.


"What are you doing?" Lily asked in alarm, as Gary pulled over into a petrol station.

"I just need to make a little stop first, before we go to the airport," Gary explained. "I won't be long."

The petrol station was practically deserted. There were no other cars and the store looked to have just one old man behind the counter. Dread filled both children. They looked each other, jumped out of either side of the car and ran.

"Hey!" Gary yelled, having just reached the door to the store.

He attempted to give chase but it was half hearted. "Come back! Hey!"

They did not stop.


Charlie and Watson were heading out of town and fast. Two children matching VJ and Lily's description had been spotted hitchhiking earlier that morning and they had picked up by a blue car. It wasn't much but it was a start.

Charlie's phone rang. With Watson driving, Charlie safely picked up.

"Leah?" she answered, reading the Caller ID and hoping for some good news.

"I spoke to the bank," Leah said urgently. "VJ bought two plane tickets last night on credit card. Charlie, you need to get to the airport. He's taking Lily to see Elijah!"

"Right, okay, sit tight," Charlie said. "Do you know what time the flight is?"

"Flight?" Watson mouthed.

"No, nothing," Leah said. "Sorry."

"I'll get on it," Charlie said. "I promise. This is good, okay? We know where they're heading."

"But Charlie, both their passports are missing," Leah said.

"Nobody will let them on a plane, Leah," Charlie told her firmly. "We will make sure of it."

She hung up and relayed the information to Watson before calling Robertson, instructing him to find out exactly what flight VJ and Lily were supposed to be on and if they were to actually make it to the airport, to stop them.

"You don't want to head there?" Watson asked.

"I don't think they'll make it that far," Charlie said honestly. "But at least if Robertson and Graves are dealing with that, they're not interfering with us."

Watson suddenly jerked the car off to the side and into a petrol station. At one of the pumps was a solitary blue car. Not bothering to park, Watson killed the engine. She and Charlie jumped out of their car and rushed over to the other one. It was empty. Charlie nodded her head towards the shabby looking store. She led the way into the building, one hand on her weapon, ready to draw it if she had to but hoping it would be necessary.

"Police!" she yelled.

The old man behind the counter and his single customer both looked startled at the intrusion.

"Are you the owner of the vehicle out there?" Charlie demanded.

"Yes, I am," the customer said. "I'm… I'm Gary Willis."

"Did you pick up two children, hitchhiking? A girl and a boy?"

"I did…"

"Right, Gary Willis, I'm arresting you…" Charlie said, charging forward to handcuff him.

"Wait! Wait, please!" he begged.

"Where are the children now, Sir?" Charlie asked.

"They ran away!"

"Why? What did you do to them?"

"I didn't do anything! They wanted to go to the airport. But I stopped here so I could call you."

Charlie paused. She hadn't put the handcuffs on him yet. She looked into his face, wondering if she had judged him too early.

"I stopped and called the police to say that they were hitchhiking and I was worried about them," Gary explained. "I only picked them up to keep them safe."

"It's true," the man behind the counter said. "He came in here and called the cops. But they'd run off by that point."

"I think I scared them but I didn't mean to, I swear," Gary said.

Charlie and Watson exchanged looks, not sure whether to trust him or not.

"We'll need to take your details," Charlie finally decided. "And everything you remember about the children."

"Of course," Gary said. "Anything to find them and get them home safely."


At home, Irene was trying to keep Will calm but she was struggling herself. She was terrified that Lily had been gone for so long and nobody had even noticed. The kids had been clever enough to trick them and Leah. They could be anywhere! She just hoped that Charlie and the police force would find them and bring them home.


Charlie and Watson hadn't gone far. They'd told Gary and the shop worker to stay in the petrol station and they'd called for back up to join them. But probably against their better judgement, they'd left both men alone and gone searching for the kids, hoping that they hadn't gone far, assuming that they had been told the truth and they had run off.

Walking round the back of the petrol station Watson, Charlie shook her head, trying to shake away the awful thoughts that had entered her head about what Gary might have done to them. Watson glanced at her. She could tell what she had been thinking about. The same hideous thoughts had been running through her own mind.

She looked around. There wasn't much along the landscape apart from a rundown looking shed. She nodded towards it and Charlie nodded back. They walked towards it, hoping they would find the children safely inside.


Inside the shed, VJ and Lily were hiding. They hadn't got very far when they had run away from Gary and they were still too scared to move. VJ was terrified and embarrassed and angry all at the same time. He was furious with himself for getting them into this mess. He had wanted to prove himself to Lily, to impress her and show her that he could be a man and save them both from their troubles. But all he had done was get them lost and scared. They couldn't now go forward or back.

They both jumped when they heard the shed door open. A trickle of light crept along the floor in front of them. VJ and Lily silently held hands, holding their breath at the same time.

"VJ? Lily?"

VJ let out his breath. He recognised the voice instantly. It was Charlie. Lily protested when he stood up but he was quick to reassure her, pulling her up with him.

"Charlie!" he called. "Charlie, we're here!"

"VJ!" Charlie said desperately. "VJ, everyone's been looking for you!"

She pulled him and Lily both into her arms, not a police officer now, just a human being. Behind her, Watson breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

"We're fine," VJ assured her. "We're not hurt."

"We ran away," Lily said timidly. "We're sorry."

Watson pulled out her phone, calling Leah first and then Will, quickly reassuring them both that the children had been found safe and sound. She then called the station to inform them and asked them to send word around, including to the civilian search team.

"Can we go home now?" Lily asked. "I want to go home."

"You can," Charlie said. "But we just need to talk first, okay?"

She glanced at Watson, who nodded. Watson took Lily by the hand to a separate part of the shed. Charlie went to sit on the floor beside VJ, who looked anxious.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Suddenly, he looked like such a young boy. All Charlie wanted to do was hug him. But she needed to be a police officer right now.

"It's okay, VJ," she said kindly. "But I need to know what happened. Why did you run off?"

"I was just to mad at my Mum," he said unhappily.

"Mad at your Mum?" she asked, surprised. "Why?"

"Because of Elijah," he said. "I thought… I thought if I went to see him, Mum would have to follow and then they'd talk and get back together…"

Charlie sighed and put her arm around him, cop mode switched back off again.

"Sweetheart, it doesn't work like that I'm afraid," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because sometimes people just don't belong together."

"But I want them to belong together," VJ said. "They were happy… before."

"But not now, VJ," Charlie said gently. "You need to let your Mum get on with her life. You need to let her move on."

"With Robertson?" VJ said, pulling a face.

"Is he hanging around?" Charlie asked curiously. "Is it upsetting you?"

"I think he likes her," VJ said sourly.

"Well, if she likes him, that's up to her," Charlie said. "You need to be a grown up and support you Mum and her happiness."

"But why can't she be happy with Elijah?" he asked.

"Well, the fact that he lives in a completely different country is a problem," Charlie pointed out.

VJ sighed and rested his face on his knees.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Is everyone angry?"

"No," Charlie said. "Everyone has just been worried. Your Mum. Joey."

He looked up very quickly.

"Joey?" he asked.

"Of course, Joey," she told him, making him blush.


Across the room, Watson and Lily were also sitting on the floor.

"So, when you say your Dad is sad and angry all the time, do you know why?" Watson asked.

Lily looked up at her with wide eyes. Her cheeks were stained with tears.

"He told me he did something bad," she revealed.

Watson tried not to look excited. This could be a major lead in the Penn Graham investigation. But in front of her was a vulnerable, scared child and she needed to look after her.

"That must be very confusing and upsetting for you, Lily," she said kindly. "I understand that you felt you needed to escape."

"I'm sorry," Lily said. "I didn't mean to upset everyone."

"Did your Dad tell you what the bad thing he did was?" Watson asked, trying not to sound like she was prying.

Lily shook her head, no. Watson tried not to look disappointed.

"But he thinks about it all the time," she added. "He's always upset and stressed. He gets so angry all the time. He's not the same. Not like he used to be at home with Mum."

"I'm sorry things have been so hard for you," Watson said. "But please, please don't ever do this again, Lily. Please talk to a grown up if you find yourself feeling alone again. Talk to Irene or Bianca, the people you live with. Or you can always come and talk to me."

"Can I?"

"Of course," Watson said. "We're friends now, aren't we?"

Lily managed a smile.

"I guess so," she said.

"Now, shall we get you home?"

"Yes please," Lily said. "I… I know what I said about my Dad but I… I do love him. I do. He's not a bad man. He just… he… he keeps pushing me away. That's all."

"I understand," Watson said.


It was several hours later and VJ had been returned to Leah and now Lily was being reunited with Will and Irene. It had been emotional reuniting Leah and VJ. Leah had been angry with VJ for leaving but overjoyed at being able to hold him in her arms again. Will was thrilled to have Lily home again, as was Irene, who had promptly burst into tears. As soon as she had had moment, Watson had confided to Charlie what Lily had told her about Will. It had only fuelled what Charlie believed about him.

On the way out of the Beach House, Charlie and Watson paused, speaking quietly to Will who had seen them to the door, thanking them profusely for returning his daughter to him. Irene was sitting her at the table and giving her a list of about twenty meals she could make for her. Nothing was too good for her pseudo-granddaughter.

"Will?" Watson ventured.

"Yes?"

Both police officers noticed that he was suddenly on guard.

"While I was speaking to Lily, she mentioned that you'd told her that you'd done a bad thing, something that's been stressing you out for a number of weeks," Watson said.

Charlie remained silent, happy for her colleague to take the lead.

"She's just confused," Will said. "It's been a stressful day."

"She seemed pretty sure of herself," Watson insisted. "She said it was one of the reasons she left, that things had been very difficult at home recently. That she was worried about you and she hadn't known what to do."

"Am I going to lose my daughter?" he asked worriedly. "Are you accusing me of being a bad parent?"

"We'll have to put it all in our report and we'll have to refer it on," Watson told him. "Then it's out of our hands."

She glanced at Charlie.

"But personally, I can see that you love your daughter," she said. "As for this bad thing she said you'd said you did?"

He looked anxious.

"I cheated on my wife," he told them.

Charlie's heart sank. She didn't believe him but it was plausible.

"That's how we ended up here," he explained. "I've been a mess since we arrived. I've been beating myself up about it all. Ask Irene. She's been kicking my butt, trying to make me pull myself together. She got me a job at your restaurant."

He nodded at Charlie, who nodded back.

"And I am trying," he said. "But I just feel like I've stuffed everything up. One mistake, one moment, one act of utter stupidly and I've wrecked my entire life. I've wrecked my daughter's life. And I just… I can't forgive myself. That's… that's what she was talking about."

Charlie sighed. Watson nodded.

"That's for talking to us about it," she said. "Goodnight, Will. And I'm really pleased we were able to find her."

"Yes," he said. "Thank you both so much."

"Keep her safe," Charlie added.

He closed the door and both women walked back to their car.

"What do you think?" Watson asked.

"Bullshit," Charlie replied. "I mean, I think it's true that he cheated. I've already heard that story from Bianca. But I don't think that's what Lily was telling you about."

"Agreed."


Leah sat at the table with VJ who had been tearfully trying to explain that he had thought if he went to see Elijah then she would have had to follow him and then she and Elijah would fall back in love with each other.

"Well, for starters, I don't think I'm going to force you to watch anymore Rom Coms with me anymore," Leah managed with a small grin.

He grinned back at her.

"Well, at least I achieved something," he said.

She reached out and held his hands.

"VJ, I need you to understand that what you did was really dangerous," she said gently. "When I realised that you had been gone all night and I didn't know where you were, I was so scared. Anything could have happened to you."

"I understand," VJ said. "I was pretty scared too."

"The whole town was searching for you," Leah said. "The police. Everyone."

VJ nodded and apologised.

"And I also need you to understand that Elijah and I have ended our relationship and we're not going to get back together," she told him. "I'm really sorry. I know you love Elijah and you wanted things to work out for us. I wanted things to for out for us. But sometimes, things don't work out the way you want them to."

"But why?"

"Because Africa and Australia are pretty far away from each other, for starters," Leah said. "My life is here with you. And Elijah feels called to be over there and we can't make that work."

"But what if he came back here?"

"Maybe," Leah said. "But he's not coming back. And even if he did come back, a lot of time will have passed and time changes people. So we wouldn't know until that happened whether it would be possible to make things work so we can't sit and wait for each other. We have to stop living as if we're going to get back together."

"Do you like that Robertson guy now?" VJ asked.

Leah tried not to blush.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "He's a nice man. And maybe if things hadn't just ended with Elijah, I would like him. But I'm still grieving for the end of my relationship with Elijah, the same as you are, VJ. You and I and Elijah as well, we all thought that this one was going to be forever. I'm finding it as hard to let go as you are. So please, VJ, don't shut me out and run away. Please talk to me when you're finding things hard. Please?"

VJ nodded. He stood up and walked round the table and hugged her.


Charlie arrived home, exhausted from a long day. Joey had been home for half an hour and Ruby for an hour. They were both feeling pretty drained too. They hugged when Charlie walked through the door, confirming the news that VJ and Lily had been found safely, with complete details of everything that had happened.

The three of them collapsed on the sofa and Joey ordered a takeaway. Nobody could be bothered to cook tonight. It had been such a long day.


Next time… April and Xavier try to match make Liam and Bianca, Claire has a date of her own and Ruby tempts Dex into misbehaving…