This chapter has a lot of Irene in it so I just thought I'd shout out to Lynne McGranger who has shown herself to be a true ally and stood up against her own network for the way they treat LGBTQ relationships. Bravo. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Five Hundred and Forty Two

Irene woke up very suddenly in the middle of the night. She was sure she had heard a noise. Jumping out of bed, she hurried out in the lounge. The person she hoped it was, was also the person she feared it was. She arrived into the communal area in the dark to find it empty. Flipping the light on, she found the back door open. Her heart was racing as searched the place. Various cupboards had been left open. Some food had been taken. Nothing valuable. And Lily's antibiotics remained in the drawer.


"Thank you for your consideration last night," Ruby said, tucking into a particularly hearty breakfast.

It was the first day back at school, her final year of high school and Joey had got up early to make a filling breakfast for her step-daughter, wanting to set her up for the day. Now the three of them were sat round the table and the teenager was enjoying teasing her parents.

"I mean, I don't think I heard anything last night," she said. "Hey, I hope I haven't caused the beginning of Lesbian Bed Death!"

Joey snorted. Charlie looked a little alarmed.

"Claire told me about it," Ruby said, finishing her egg. "How lesbian couples in long term committed relationships just end up not doing anything in bed together but sleeping."

"That won't happen to us," Charlie said defensively.

"Well, either you did it really quietly last night or…"

Charlie frowned. They had not done it last night, too worried about being overheard.

"You know you're just asking to listen in now," Joey pointed out. "If you wind us up about losing it, we're going to make sure we don't!"

Charlie laughed. Ruby did not look impressed.

"Anyway, if you want a lift, you'd better be ready in five minutes," Charlie said, getting up and heading into her room to finish getting dressed for work.

She still had a murder investigation to complete and justice to serve.


Xavier was almost grateful to get to school. He felt sorry for John, he truly did. But he was already a bit sick of hearing about how his 'daughter' Shandi had lied to him. Apparently she wasn't his daughter at all. She was some woman called Daria who had passed herself off as her best friend in order to rip John off. The real Shandi had had no intention of ever meeting her biological father at all. She was quite happy without him. So now John was several thousand dollars lighter and the daughter he had taken time to get to know was gone. He was not very happy.

Arriving at the familiar school building, Xavier did feel happy though. He was in his final year and was hopeful that he would do well. He couldn't wait to finish school and get out into the real world, not that he had any idea what he wanted to do with his life. All he knew was that he wanted to make things right with April, who remained distant and preoccupied.

He spotted her at her locker and jogged down the corridor to say good morning. She distractedly replied. He was relieved when Romeo and Ruby approached.

"Excited to start the new term?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," Romeo replied. "Thrilled to be repeating school for the third time!"

He shook his head at the insensitive question.

"Hey, you're going to ace it this year," Ruby said. "And thanks to you being my study buddy, so am I!"

Romeo laughed.

"Hey, can I get in on that?" Xavier asked hopefully.

"No!" Ruby laughed.

But inside she meant it. Her private study sessions with Romeo meant the world to her. She did not want her ex-boyfriend muscling in on them and ruining the one to one time she had with her new crush.

"Ah well," Xavier said. "Good job my girlfriend is a genius then!"

He attempted to put his arm around April but she had already wandered off, her nose in her phone. He frowned.

"Are you sure?" Ruby teased.

Romeo nudged her, aware that Xavier was genuinely upset. She apologised, not wanted to fall out with Romeo. These days, she didn't much care for Xavier's feelings. There wasn't much love lost between them now.


At the Diner, Irene could hardly concentrate on the orders she was taking. All she could think about was Will. Or more specifically, Lily. She was positive it was Will who had broken in overnight. But he hadn't taken her prescription medication and Lily needed antibiotics. That little girl was out there, unwell and probably not being well cared for.

"Irene?"

Joey waved a cautious hand in front of her face. Irene snapped to attention.

"Sorry, love," she said. "I was in a world of my own."

"You're worried about Lily," Joey concluded, concern etched on her face.

She had come to ask Leah if VJ had got off to school okay, his first day at Summer Bay High.

"Yeah," Irene sighed. "It's just that she's not well and I just…"

Joey put a gentle hand upon hers, slowing her down. Irene was grateful. They hadn't been on the best terms since Irene had chosen Will over Alf. They hadn't fallen out exactly. But they hadn't really spoken. Everyone knew that Joey was Team Alf without question.

"Charlie is putting everything she has into finding her," she assured her. "Honestly, I've barely seen her these past few days. The whole station are on it. They're doing everything they can to track them down and bring Lily home safely. You know how good Charlie is. You know she won't rest until Lily's safe."

Irene squeezed Joey's hand gratefully.

"I know," she said. "You've got a good one there. Thank you."

They smiled at each other. Any awkwardness had definitely dissipated.

"What can I get you anyway?"

"I was just looking for Leah," Joey said. "Is she here?"

"Oh, she's in the kitchen, love," Irene said. "Go through. But I warn you, she's even weepier than I am!"

Joey chuckled and headed on through to the kitchen to find her friend.


Charlie approached Blake at his desk.

"Any luck?" she asked.

He had been set the task of finding out if the antibiotics Lily was on had been requested in an unusual way or even stolen from any pharmacy in the area. It was a tedious task but hopefully not a thankless one.

"Not so far," he said. "I've had a few potentials. People ordering that don't usually order from particular pharmacies but they've not come to anything."

She patted him on the shoulder and told him to keep up the good work. He smiled. It felt nice to get a compliment and some encouragement from the Sergeant.

Charlie continued onto Watson.

"What time is Daria's bail hearing?" she asked.

"Two o'clock," Watson told her.

They hadn't had enough to charge her with murder yet but they were still working on it. They had the sequin and her knowledge of the murder weapon. With a little more digging, Charlie was confident that they would be able to find a solid link to connect her to Penn Graham's death. She just didn't want to rush in the way Robertson had with Alf. However, they did have enough for fraud and theft. And if she was denied bail, they could keep her and question her further.

"Will you go?" Charlie asked.

"No problem, boss."

"Charlie, I think you're making a mistake."

Charlie whirled around and came face to face with Robertson. She glared at him, not prepared to put up with anything he had to say. He was the person who had ignored her from the start and messed the whole case up to begin with.

"Why, do you think Alf Stewart owns the sequins?" she snapped, heading back to her office.

"No," Robertson said a little desperately. "I'm willing to admit I was wrong about Alf."

She looked at him, surprised. She didn't think he was the type of man to admit he was wrong.

"But I think you have enough to press charges against Daria," he persisted. "You're risking letting her go to ground."

She stopped walking and turned to face him.

"I don't want to charge in all guns blazing," she told him. "Like you did. I want to make sure I get this right."

"Well, technically I'm still in charge of this case so…"

"Are you?" Charlie challenged. "You might want to check your email, Detective."

She walked into her office and closed the door.


Joey walked into the Diner kitchen and immediately gathered Leah into a hug. Leah clung onto her friend and cried.

"I'm being so silly," the Diner owner said. "I know I'm being so silly but he's my little boy and high school is so big. And I'm scared and I'm worried. And I just… how did he get so big, Joey? How did he get so big when he's still so little?"

Joey chuckled.

"He's always going to be your little boy, Leah," Joey said. "Always."

"Am I wrong to worry about him?"

"I think it would be weird if you didn't," Joey said. "I mean, my parents didn't give a shit about me and they were really weird!"

She grinned. Leah burst into tears again.

"Hey! I'm joking!" Joey protested. "I'm over it! I'm fine!"

Leah just hugged her tighter.


It was lunch time and Ruby made a point of finding VJ at his locker, aware that it was his first day at Summer Bay High. She tapped him on the shoulder and asked him how he was doing.

"Yeah, I'm okay thanks," he said. "I mean, it's okay. I've made some friends. And I've got Danny."

"Good," Ruby said.

She knew that Leah, Charlie and Joey had been worried about him.

"Well, remember you can always come to me if you need anything," she offered.

"Thanks, Ruby," VJ replied earnestly.

He smiled at her and headed off with Danny and the two new friends he had made in class that morning. He was disappointed that Lily wasn't at school. He had hoped that giving up his phone temporarily to the police would have helped them find her but still Charlie had come up with nothing. Lily was still out there somewhere, poorly and with her father who by all accounts was irresponsible. Since he had had his phone back, VJ had tried to contact his friend multiple times but she had stopped replying.

Ruby watched VJ vanish and then returned to Romeo, Xavier, Dex and April.

"They grow up so fast," Dex said wistfully.

Ruby laughed and shook her head, although she had to admit that he was right. It wasn't that long ago that VJ had just been a small boy, watching cartoons when they had shared a house. She hadn't even imagined them actually attending the same school. It all seemed a little bit strange.

"Imagine how I feel!" Romeo remarked. "I am actually too old to be in high school."

"Come on, you're going to ace this year," Ruby said confidently. "Lunch, everyone?"

The others all agreed apart from April who had been distracted all morning.

"April?" Xavier nudged.

"Um… no, sorry," she said. "There's some stuff I have to do. See you later."

She walked off.

"Is she mad at you still?" Dex asked Xavier bluntly.

Xavier scowled at him and stormed away.

"Nice one, Dex," Romeo said.

"I was only asking!" Dex protested. "She's been weird ever since she got back. And who can blame her? She walked straight back into him kissing some other girl!"

"The boy has a point," Ruby agreed. "I'd be pretty pissed if I was April."

"Well, what goes on between them is between them," Romeo said. "Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. They need to work it out themselves without any of us interfering."

Ruby couldn't help but think he sounded a little defensive. She also couldn't help but wonder if that meant perhaps not everything was as perfect between him and Indi as it always seemed. Then she told herself off for wishing negativity on her friends.


It was drawing near to the end of another long day and Will didn't know how much longer he could continue. He had thought escaping Summer Bay was the answer but life on the run was hell on earth. Lily was growing more unwell by the day and he didn't know what to do to make her better. He had tried over the counter cold and flu remedies but he knew he needed proper medication. He also knew that as soon as he went to a Doctor, the police would track them down and then he would be in serious trouble. Abandoning Charlie by the roadside was just another thing that haunted his dreams.


Charlie was pleased that Daria had not been granted bail. It had been a risk but it had paid off and it meant that she now had the chance to push forward with the Penn Graham case. Earlier in the day, Robertson had indeed checked his email. He had then stormed out of the station and not been seen since.

This morning, Nick Parrish had contacted her, asking her to take over control of the murder investigation. She had met the news with happiness and anxiety in equal measure. It was a lot of responsibility, especially with her determination to clear Alf's name. But she knew she had Watson working with her, side by side and she felt sure they were close to a conclusion.


Ruby was gathering her stuff together at the end of the school day, which really hadn't gone so badly. Curiously, after lunch, April had vanished and not returned. It really wasn't like her. Xavier seemed to be going out of his mind with worry. She was almost glad that she was single and didn't have to fret about another person. She only had herself to deal with.

But then she glanced over at Romeo who was laughing with Dex about something. She thought she would happily deal with him if she had the chance. She shook her head. No. She had to stop thinking about him like that. Romeo didn't belong to her. He belonged to Indi and that was that. He hadn't even given her any indication that he had ever thought about her in that way. She had to get that thought out of her mind.

She paused when she heard Gina and Bianca talking in hushed voices in the doorway of a classroom.

"I'll speak to her," Bianca promised. "It really isn't like her to skip class."

"I know," Gina agreed. "And I know she's not had the easiest of summers. But this is her final year. It's really important that she gives it everything she has."

"I agree," Bianca said. "I promise I'll talk to her as soon as I finish here."

Gina thanked her. Bianca asked her if she was alright. Ruby continued to eavesdrop.

"Oh, yes, I'm okay," the Principal said. "Just… between John's distress with this girl having conned him and now these… chemicals missing…"

She said the last two words very quietly but Ruby was sure she had heard correctly. Confused, Ruby shook her head and closed her locker. She slung her bag on her back and caught up with Romeo, Dex and Xavier, eager to leave school for the day.


That night, Irene sat at home, feeling tense as she deliberately set out Lily's medication. She had no idea if Will was intending to come back but if he did, she wanted to make it easy for him to treat his daughter properly.

Things were stressful enough at the house, with Bianca having visited earlier and given her sister a huge telling off for skipping school that afternoon. They'd then had some sort of argument about April's interest in their father's eco-warrior campaigns, which April had strongly denied. Irene wasn't sure exactly what was true and what wasn't. It definitely wasn't like April to skip school. However, she had been behaving very strangely since she had come home. Irene just didn't have the energy for it.


Charlie was stretched out on the sofa, her head resting in Joey's lap while Joey stroked her hair. They chatted idly while watching TV, both enjoying not having to do anything for anyone this evening. Ruby was studying at the kitchen table, sighing loudly at various intervals.

"It was sweet of you to check on Leah today," Charlie said.

Joey smiled. She bent her head and kissed Charlie's lips.

"I mean it," Charlie said. "You're so thoughtful."

Joey blushed. Charlie noticed, thinking it was cute.

"It's one of the many things I love so much about you."

Joey kissed her again and continued stroking her hair. They were interrupted by Charlie's phone ringing. Charlie groaned.

"Go away!" she complained. "I don't want to people tonight! I just want my Joey and that's it!"

From the table, Ruby made a retching sound. Charlie told her to be quiet and reached out for her phone.

She sat up quickly when she saw it was Irene calling.

"Charlie, love?" Irene said urgently.

"Hi, Irene," Charlie said. "Are you okay?"

"No," Irene admitted. "Not really. I um… I should have told you this morning… I think, I think Will broke in last night."

"Will broke into your house?" Charlie repeated worriedly.

Joey was also concerned. Ruby appeared in the lounge, hovering anxiously.

"He just took some food," Irene said. "I'd been more at ease if he'd found young Lily's medication."

Charlie nodded even though the older woman couldn't see her.

"I um… I was going to leave it out for him tonight in case he came back but um… I know that's daft," Irene said. "Dangerous. I needed to tell you. Tell the police. But since then um… well, he phoned me."

She took a deep breath, hardly able to believe that she was about betray the boy she thought of as a son.

"I've arranged to meet him, Charlie," she said. "I can… I can tell you where."


Next time… Watson and Charlie hunt Will down…