Sorry for the delay in updating! I hope you enjoy the chapter. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Six Hundred and Four

Charlie reluctantly left Joey at the restaurant in order to head to the police station for her shift. She tried not to glance around too obviously to see if Sandy was in the vicinity. She really was trying not to be jealous. Joey and Sandy had kissed when they were kids. Joey was loyal and had never given her any reason to doubt her. Not ever. But it was hard to ignore that nagging voice in the back of her mind that worried that Sandy might make a play for Joey one day. They had dealt with Angelo trying to win Charlie. They had dealt with Brax. But Sandy hanging on Joey's every word felt like something different somehow. Charlie wasn't keen to admit that it was perhaps because she had never had to deal with someone being after Joey; each time before it had been the other way around. Although she had wondered for a while if Angelo had had a soft spot for Joey. Until she had fired him.

"I'll come by later if I get the chance," she said. "If not, I'll come and collect you at the end of my shift to bring you home."

"Thanks," Joey said. "See you later, darling."

They kissed each other goodbye. Charlie waved at Romeo, arriving for his shift and looking distracted.

"I'm so glad you're here," he said to Joey.


Charlie arrived at the police station. Watson approached her immediately.

"Please, not bad news," Charlie begged, leading her into her office so she could sort her bag out.

"Heath got bail," Watson told her. "Surprise, surprise."

"Brax's slick lawyer again?" Charlie asked. "Honestly, that guy could be found with a dead body, holding the murder weapon screaming a confession and he'd still get off with that bloke behind him!"

"Tell me about it," Watson complained.

"Anyway, how's your interview prep going?" Charlie asked, changing the subject.

"It's… going," Watson said. "I'm a little nervous."

She sat down heavily.

"A lot nervous."

"It's only me and Nick interviewing you," Charlie said.

"No offence but that kind of makes it worse," Watson said. "I don't know Nick like you do and my best mate analysing all my answers is tying me in knots."

"But I know you're going to be great and I want you to get the job," Charlie pointed out. "Chill, Watson. You're going to be amazing. Trust yourself."

Watson nodded, still nervous.

"Oh, hey, have you seen these tweets from the Surf Club?" she asked, changing the subject.

Charlie looked puzzled.

"The Surf Club has Twitter?"

"It's new," Watson said. "And John is delivering the world's biggest snore-fest. I mean, seriously…"

She started to read one and then pretended to fall asleep, making Charlie snort with laughter.


"So, now I don't know what to do," Romeo explained, as he and Joey worked behind the bar together. "The way she hugged me… and the fact that she turned to me for help last night… I mean, what does it mean, Jo? Does she still have feelings for me or what?"

Joey sighed.

"I don't think I'm the person you should be asking," she pointed out. "It's more likely that Indi has the answers you need, don't you think?"

"But we've got so much closer," he fretted. "The last thing I want to do is risk pushing her away."

"Or miss your chance," she countered.

"You're not being very helpful," he frowned.

"By suggesting you be proactive and tell the love of your life that you love her and ask her how she feels when she's been giving you significant signals?" Joey smirked.

Romeo shook his head with a small smile.

"Fine," he decided. "I'm going to talk to her."

"Good," Joey said. "And for the record, Charlie thought you were amazing last night. And we're both so proud of you for everything you're doing to turn your life around."


Charlie knocked on Indi's front door. They could hear George crying inside and exchange glances, wondering how they would manage an interview with such distraction. Sid opened the door, looking a little harassed.

"Hi Charlie," he said. "Watson. Sorry, it's a little hectic here. We had a rough night with George. Would it be alright to talk in the garden?"

"Of course," Watson replied.

They walked past a frazzled looked Marilyn, trying to settle the baby. Charlie stopped to ask how Marilyn was.

"Not a natural, apparently," Marilyn said unhappily.

"Of course you are," Charlie said, squeezing her shoulder. "You're an amazing Mum."

She left her and followed Sid and Watson out to where Indi was waiting in the garden to give her statement.


"What is happening with this Twitter account?" Scott exclaimed excitedly.

"Which Twitter account?" Romeo asked, leaning over to look.

"Boys," Joey scolded. "You're supposed to be working, not checking social media."

"John's gone nuclear on Mangrove River," Romeo chuckled.

Scott handed his phoned over to Joey, who could hardly believe the provocative tweets the Surf Club had dished out, challenging the rival club in Mangrove River, ahead of the Surf Carnival.

"What is he thinking?" she wondered, reading the equally provocative responses.

"I have no idea!" Scott said. "But it's pretty fun to read."

"Hey, why don't we have a Twitter account?" Romeo asked.

"Because we're too busy actually working?" Joey suggested.

"No, seriously," Scott said. "Social media is a huge part of advertising now. Let me do it, Jo! Please?"

Joey sighed and then agreed.

"But none of this nonsense," she warned, pointing to John's tweets.

"Cross my heart."


"You've been really brave, Indi," Charlie said kindly, thanking her for giving her statement about the previous night.

"Is he still in custody?" Indi asked anxiously, grateful that her Dad had stayed with her throughout.

"Yes," Watson confirmed. "He was denied bail."

The teenager looked relieved.

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you for coming to rescue me."

"Well, it wasn't just me," Charlie said.

"I'll call Romeo and thank him," Indi said.

"Well, him too, yes," Charlie said. "But yourself, Indi. You got yourself out of there. You thought fast and did exactly the right thing in a really frightening situation. A really brave thing. You did really well and you should be very proud of yourself."

"You should," Watson confirmed.

Sid agreed.

"I just feel so stupid for getting in the car with him at all," Indi fretted. "I didn't feel comfortable about it but I did it anyway. It was just that Nicole needed to get home and then he pressured me to get in the car and I didn't know how to say no and…"

"Indi," Charlie interrupted gently. "You didn't do anything wrong. None of this is your fault."


"Beer, please," Sandy requested, throwing herself onto a bar stool.

Joey observed her in her gym gear, aware that she was in the middle of a shift.

"Really?"

"Fine," Sandy snapped. "Juice. I can pretend there's vodka in it."

Joey obliged, wondering aloud as to how things were going at the gym.

"The gym's fine," Sandy said. "It's my family that I can't stand."

Joey frowned, leaning against the bar. Family dysfunction was something she understood. It had taken years for her and Brett to get along and she would never have the chance to make peace with her parents.

"What's happened?" she asked. "Ruby was only saying last night that you and Casey were getting along well."

"Casey's fine," Sandy said. "He's great, actually. We had dinner the other night and he's just… he's worth being here for. But I can't stand the other two. They're just awful, Jo."

"I know," Joey frowned.

"I just got hassle from my own brother down there," Sandy explained. "Heath and all his mates calling me all sorts. John had to break it up. Brax came in and he called Heath away but he didn't stand up for me. They both just think I'm this… 'other'. I don't fit their lifestyle. It doesn't matter that I'm their sister. All this family stuff is irrelevant just because I'm gay. And don't even get me started on my Mum."

She sipped her drink.

"I actually thought when I turned up here and there was practically a gay bar in the middle of town that this place might have changed!" she half laughed.

"It has," Joey assured her. "Look, I understand how you feel. I lost my family too. My parents died before I had the chance to come out to them properly but my Dad… he definitely didn't appreciate my 'otherness'. And when I came out to my brother, he completely disowned me. It's taken a long time for us to even speak to each other again."

Sandy listened intently.

"And when Charlie and I got together, we were pretty much the only gays in the village," Joey continued. "Then another one appeared and another. And you know what? This very straight town, isn't so straight anymore. And pretty much everyone here is so accepting of everyone."

Sandy smiled, hoping that in time, she might be accepted and happy too.

"The only step back has actually been the arrival of your family and their friends, throwing their weight around!" she added with laugh.

Her friend sighed heavily.

"That's the kicker, isn't it?" she said. "I am never going to be accepted by them."

"Who even cares?" Joey said. "Why do you want to be accepted by some muscle-bound, no-brained surfers who can't see beyond their own dicks?"

Sandy spat out her drink. Joey just about managed to dodge.

"Sorry!" Sandy laughed. "It just didn't seem like the kind of thing you would say!"

Joey grinned.

"All I'm saying is that you're better than people who can't see you for who you are," she said. "Better than people who see your sexuality and that's it. Even if they are your family. I was trapped in that situation so I built my own family instead. I have my fiancée and my daughter. I have my mother in law. And I have a surrogate Dad. And I have the most beautiful friends who I would do anything for and who I know I can rely on anytime I need them."

"I think you're right," Sandy agreed. "Maybe I need to build my own family too."


"Hello, you," Charlie said, approaching Nicole on the beach.

She had been on her way to the restaurant to see Joey when she had spotted the forlorn looking teenager sitting on the sand.

"What's up?"

Nicole sighed, lying that there was nothing wrong.

"Well, I don't really believe that," the police officer nudged.

"Have you been to see Indi today?" Nicole asked. "Is she okay?"

"She's bearing up," Charlie said. "She's been through quite an ordeal. Why don't you go round? I'm sure she'd love to see a friend."

"The friend who put her in that situation in the first place?" Nicole asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"If I hadn't got drunk, she never would have been forced to get in the car with that guy in the first place!" Nicole said desperately.

"And did you know he was dodgy?" Charlie asked.

"No…"

"Well, then," Charlie said. "Look, I'm not going to miss an opportunity to advise you to be more careful and more safe on a night out. Drink more sensibly, be more aware of yourself and who you're with. This time, something happened to Indi, who was sober and able to look after herself. It could easily have been you that this guy was after and in the state I gather you were in…"

"I know," Nicole nodded. "I heed your advice."

"And I think I know why you were drinking so heavily," Charlie ventured.

"But I still need to be careful," Nicole agreed. "It was a one off. I swear."


Romeo was nervous when he knocked on the door of the farm. His heart sank when Sid answered the door, not looking very pleased to see him. He cleared his throat a couple of times when no words seemed to come.

"Hi," he managed. "I've come to see Indi… to see if she's alright after last night."

"She's fine," Sid said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Would it be alright if I came in?" Romeo asked nervously.

"Romeo, you did a good thing last night and we all appreciate it but you still cheated on my daughter so don't think you can use your heroics to try and worm your way back into her life," the Doctor warned. "So, no, you cannot come in."


Charlie passed Sandy when she walked into the restaurant. She still felt a little insecure around her. Shaking it off, she approached Joey at the bar, leaning over and kissing her.

"She looked like she had a lot on her mind," the police officer remarked.

"Family stuff," Joey said. "You know, like I went through with Brett when I came out. Rejection."

"Sorry to hear that," Charlie said sincerely. "I guess I had it pretty easy. Ruby and Dad were very supportive."

Joey smiled.

"They were."

"They were probably relieved I'd met someone as amazing as you after dating so many car crashes," Charlie grinned.

She stole another kiss, as Joey blushed at the compliment.

"How's your day going?" Joey asked, after taking her fiancée's lunch order.

"Okay," Charlie said. "A little emotional, taking Indi's statement about last night. It was very frightening for her."

"We can both well imagine what she went through," Joey said sadly, squeezing Charlie's hand.

They had both been in danger at the hands of violent men before.

"But hopefully she'll have something to smile about later," Joey said cheerfully. "I think Romeo is going to tell her he wants to make another go of things."

"Do you think she feels the same?" Charlie asked.

"I hope so," Joey said. "They've been spending more time together recently. And he was the first person she called when she was in danger last night…"

"Fingers crossed then," Charlie said. "It'd be nice if something good could come of it. I know Nicole feels really guilty about it all."

"It's not her fault!" Joey protested.

"I know," Charlie said. "I've just been sat on the beach with her, explaining that it wasn't her fault. Just as I explained to Indi that it wasn't her fault either. But they're both blaming themselves."

"I guess it's what we do when we end up as victims of crime," Joey said sadly.


The evening was drawing in and Leah had finished her shift at the Diner. She had been distracted all day, unable to stop thinking about Miles. Decisively, she headed over to his house and knocked on the door.

"Don't say anything," she said, when he answered.

She leant in and kissed him. It was the only way to know if there was a spark between them. To her surprise, there was.

Upstairs in his bedroom, Romeo was despondent. He had allowed Sid to send him away. He had been so hopeful that today might be the day that he and Indi made a go of things. His phone beeped: "Thank you again for everything you did last night. Xx"

He stared at the message, his heart pounding, trying to figure out what to say. He considered calling her, ignoring Sid and telling her exactly how he felt. Instead he replied: "Don't mention it. X"


Next time… The Surf Carnival descends into chaos, things get competitive between Ruby and Miranda and Romeo gets up to no good again…