A thousand apologies for how tardy I have been with these updates (for anyone actually still reading this!). I hope you enjoy this chapter. I endeavour to be much better this year with updates and I also hope to post some new stories too. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Six Hundred and Eight

Charlie came into the bedroom from the shower, towel dried and threw her uniform on. She was keen to make sure she was early to work today so that she was ready and organised ahead of Watson's interview. She knew her friend was nervous, more nervous than she should be. There was no way she wasn't getting the Sergeant job. She absolutely deserved it. She was the finest officer Charlie had ever worked with. Charlie just hoped she had enough faith in herself.

Heading out into the lounge, she was surprised to find Ruby already awake and in the kitchen with Joey. It was much earlier than the teenager normally surfaced, even on a school day.

"What's going on?" the police officer asked curiously.

"I gather this is an 'I'm sorry' breakfast," Joey informed her.

"It is?"

"It is," Ruby confirmed. "I'm sorry. I've hardly slept. I don't want you to think I don't care about what happened to you at the beach. I do. I do care."

"I know you care. Thank you."

"I'm sorry," Ruby said. "I just panicked. I was scared that Casey was getting accused of something he didn't do."

"I get it."

"He didn't hurt you, Charlie."

"I know. Watson just had to ask the question, Rubes. It's her job."

Ruby nodded and apologised again.

"It might help if you apologise to Watson too," Joey suggested. "She's been pretty stressed about it."

"I will. I was out of order," Ruby said. "I really am sorry."

"Well, breakfast looks lovely," Charlie said. "I love what you've done with the cereal!"

She grinned, making Ruby blush.

"I didn't have a lot to work with!" she protested. "I mean, if you guys would go shopping once in a while!"

Laughing, the three of them sat down together. Ruby apologised again. Charlie reached out a hand, reassuring her that everything was okay.

"Georgie, just relax, okay? You've literally been chosen for this job. You are amazing at your job. You are going to ace this interview. I am already so incredibly proud of you," Kerri said.

She pulled her girlfriend in for a kiss and a very tight hug.

"Don't tell any of my friends but I made this for you," Danny said quietly from behind them.

He thrust a handmade card into her palm. Watson and Kerri both smiled. Watson felt suddenly very overcome as she looked at the good luck card, created by her stepson – Good Luck Georgie, the Best Police Officer in the World!

"Thank you so much, mate," Watson said, pulling him into a hug.

"Well, you know, you are the best," Danny said. "The best cop and the best step mum too."

Kerri turned away and very quickly brushed her eyes, as did Watson. Danny caught them and let out a groan.

"I'm not going to say and do this stuff if you guys keep crying!"

That afternoon, Watson sat down nervously in front of Charlie and Nick in a private office upstairs. Lots of her colleagues, including Blake had wished her luck. She just hoped she wouldn't end up looking stupid and feeling embarrassed if she didn't get the job. She had brought Danny's and Kerri's cards to work with her for strength.

"Please don't look so nervous," Nick said. "Remember we're on your side."

She managed a smile, although she still felt like she was tied up in knots. She was terrified of saying something stupid and messing everything up.

"Coffee, please, Waitress," Heath said to Angelo with a sarcastic leer.

Angelo wanted to punch him. He knew he would have to deal with the Braxton brothers and their friends at some point but he had hoped it would be some point a little further down the line.

"Excuse me," Leah intercepted. "You talk to my staff with some respect or you get your coffee elsewhere."

Heath looked at Angelo and then at Leah's very firm glare. Then he apologised very grudgingly and asked for a coffee again without the quip.

"Sure," Angelo said.

Leah nodded and headed back into the kitchen.

"Do you always need a woman to fight your battles?" Heath asked.

"Do you want to find out?" Angelo asked.

Heath laughed.

"You do you know I went to prison for murder, don't you?" Angelo said.

The boast was out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He hated himself for it. Jack's death was something he was definitely not proud of. It haunted him every day of his life. It was not something he would ever expect to hear himself mouthing off about, like it was something that could be reduced to banter or be heralded like a trophy. He had taken a man's life. A good man. A colleague. A friend.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard something like that," Heath said. "Hard to believe something like that of someone like you. I feel like there must be some kind of mistake."

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Who's made a mistake?" Brax asked, appearing behind his brother.

"Angelo's been showing off about how he killed a guy," Heath said loudly.

Too loudly.

"Oh yeah," Brax said. "A cop wasn't it? You murdered one of your own?"

Angelo was beginning to feel distinctly uncomfortable. If anyone heard this conversation, they would get the wrong idea. Or perhaps the right idea. He had shown off about killing Jack. But it wasn't the truth about how he felt. It was a stupid thing to say. Once again, his mouth had got him into trouble.

"Fancy shooting some more pigs?" Brax suggested.

"What are you talking about?" Angelo asked, suddenly panicked.

"We're going hunting tonight," the leader of the River Boys told him. "Why don't you join us this time? Show us what a good shot you are?"

"Or we might out shoot you!" Heath laughed.

Still panicked, Angelo knew he had a choice to make.

"Fine," he said. "I'll come with you. Yeah. "Sounds good."

Watson stood up and shook hands with Charlie and Nick.

"Thank you very much for coming in," Nick said. "We'll give you an answer by the end of the day."

"Thank you," Watson said, worried that her hands were clammy. "I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity."

"See you in a bit, Watson," Charlie said, also shaking her hand.

It felt a little strange to be so formal. They watched her leave and then turned to each other, sitting back down.

"So, what did you think?" Charlie asked eagerly.

"I think she's absolutely perfect," Nick confirmed.

Not long afterwards, Charlie opted to take Watson out for a late lunch, eager to tell her the good news.

"Are you really going to leave me hanging until we get there?" Watson complained.

"Patience!" Charlie scolded.

"This had better be good news," Watson said. "Or there might be two Sergeant positions available, that's all I'm saying!"

Charlie pulled into a parking space outside the restaurant, Watson still complaining about her very frustrating silence.

"Look there," Charlie nodded towards Brax and Heath loading up their van. "I'd hazard a guess that they're up to no good."

"Well, they're breathing so yeah, probably committing a crime," Watson agreed.

She followed Charlie out of the car and over to the Braxton's.

"What are you boys up to?" she asked.

"Just loading up our van, Sergeant," Brax said. "Is that against the law?"

"It depends what you're loading it up with," Charlie said, "and what for."

"We're going on a pig shoot tonight," Brax said. "Which we're allowed to do."

"Where?"

"Over at Mangrove Forrest," Heath said.

"Oh really?" Watson piped up. "Did you happen to be there a week ago? Because there were reports of a disturbance there."

"No, Watson," Brax said. "Sorry. We weren't there."

"It's Sergeant Watson, actually," Charlie corrected.

Watson balked at her. Charlie smiled. Watson felt like throttling at her for giving her the news like that but also wanted to hug her at the same time. Only Charlie would tell her in front of the River Boys!

"Oh!" Brax said. "You got a promotion, Watson! Sorry, Sergeant Watson! Congratulations! Well, I'm sorry – we still weren't there. But if we see anything of interest tonight, we'll be sure to let you know."

Joey had sent Scott out to buy a congratulations balloon. They had weighted it and set it with some glitter on a table. She had also phoned Kerri and invited her over to meet them, hoping Watson wouldn't be annoyed with her for telling her the news about the job behind her back. She had just been eager to make the celebration special. Their friend deserved it.

"I cannot believe you told me that way!" Watson said, shaking her head, as soon as they were out of sight of the Braxton Brothers.

Charlie offered a devilish grin.

"Come on," she said. "You knew!"

"I was starting to panic you were bringing me here to let me down gently!"

"Aww, Watson!" Charlie said, pulling her friend into a hug. "You had us both at your first sentence! You're perfect for the job!"

She pulled the new Sergeant into a hug.

"And sorry about my little joke," she apologised. "I couldn't help myself."

"I'll get you back," Watson warned. "Hey, I'd better call Kerri and let her know."

"Sure," Charlie said. "Hey, why don't we go up and order some drinks first?"

Watson nodded and they headed up through the Surf Club and into the restaurant.

"Surprise!" Joey, Scott, Claire and Kerri called from a table by the window when they arrived. Watson looked shocked.

"What's all this?"

"A surprise," Kerri said. "Obviously."

Watson rushed forward and kissed her.

"I am so proud of you," Kerri said, wrapping her arms around her.

Charlie slipped her arm around Joey's waist.

"Did I do okay?" Joey asked.

"Absolutely perfect."

Scott left them with some menus, promising to be back to take their drinks order when they were settled. Claire congratulated Watson and also made to leave.

"Are you not joining us?" Watson asked, disappointed.

Claire looked awkward.

"We set a place for you," Joey said, pointed.

Claire looked half embarrassed and half touched to be included. All four of them wondered if the shy girl would ever reach the point that she would know that she was invited to a family occasion.

"Thank you," she said, joining them at the table.

"Now, we're really going to have to play this down when we talk to Danny about it," Kerri confided to her partner. "He's going to kill us for getting together when he was stuck in school."

Angelo was struggling to concentrate at work and was dangerously close to making a mistake. He couldn't be fired from another job. He had been sacked from the police force. Twice. He'd been sack from Buckton's. Then from The Pizza Oven. He couldn't lose his job at the Diner too. His job history was awful. Throw in the fact that he had been to prison and who on earth would ever give him a chance? He was lucky Leah had taken pity on him. He didn't want to waste the opportunity, even if this was the opposite of his dream job.

"Well, suffice to say, we are all exceptionally proud of you," Joey said.

She raised her glass.

"To Watson!" she declared.

Everyone 'cheers'd'.

"To my Georgie," Kerri said, more sentimentally. "You have worked so hard and I am so happy that's been recognised. You truly deserve this."

Watson blushed and sipped her drink, thanking them all quietly.

Charlie glanced up, spotting Nicole hovering in the doorway. She excused herself and approached, following Nicole back out of the restaurant, so that they were hovering in the lobby by the stairs.

"Are you okay, Nic?" she asked. "Did you want Joey, or…?"

Nicole shook her head. She didn't know what she wanted.

"I didn't know what to do or where to go," she said. "I'm sorry to interrupt your get together."

"Tell me what's happened," Charlie said gently. "How can I help?"

Nicole shook her head. She didn't think anyone could help.

"I can try," Charlie said.

"I went to visit Marilyn and the baby," Nicole ventured. "I didn't want her to leave me alone with him. I asked her not to. But she was so tired and so desperate and I felt bad. All she wanted was a shower."

"Okay, so what happened?" Charlie asked, a little concerned.

"He started crying!" Nicole said desperately. "Marilyn swore that he would sleep through but he didn't. He woke up almost immediately and started crying. I tried picking him up and soothing him but he was hungry. I could just… tell. I've been expressing milk for him all this time. Sid's been collecting it or Angelo or Roo have been taking it over there. But I was there with him. Right there and I just… Charlie, I don't know what came over me."

Charlie knew what was coming.

"One minute he was in my arms and the next minute, I started to…"

"Feed him," Charlie concluded.

Nicole was mortified.

"And then Marilyn walked in and she was so upset and angry. I handed George back to her and just ran out the house. I don't even remember putting myself back together. I just… ran. I don't know what to do now. I should never have gone over there. I thought I was ready to spend time with him. Now Marilyn is never going to let me see him again. I don't know if I even want to see him again. Charlie, how did you ever do this? How did you survive all these years?"

"I didn't cope to start with," Charlie said. "I didn't cope for a long, long time. It's only been a couple of weeks for you, Nicole. You can't be expected to just manage. But like I've said to you before… you need to really think long and hard about what you want and what you need before it really is too late. For you, for Marilyn and for George."

"I can't take him away from her now, Charlie," Nicole said sadly.

"Better now than weeks, months, years down the line," Charlie said. "Nothing is cast in stone yet."

"I was expecting you to back out," Brax remarked, when he saw Angelo approaching the truck.

"I'm not the kind of guy to back down," Angelo told him.

Brax laughed in his face.

"Bullshit," he said.

The truth was, Angelo had very nearly not turned up. When he'd got home from work, he had found Nicole very upset after some kind of incident with Marilyn. Evidently her visit had not gone well. She hadn't gone into detail and he hadn't had time to pry. He had left her with Roo, although he felt guilty about it. They'd become so close recently and he wanted to support her and look after her. But he was also determined to prove that the River Boys were up to no good. He was determined to eradicate them from Summer Bay and make it a safer place for everyone to live.

"It's really lovely of you to invite us round for dinner," Joey said. "Thank you."

"Well, I was shocked at how long it's actually been!" Leah said, welcoming her old housemates into the home they had once shared together. "It's a shame that Ruby couldn't make it, though."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Charlie frowned. "We couldn't pry her away from darling Casey."

"Teenagers! I am dreading VJ's descent into adolescence. And it's coming faster than I want it to!"

"Speaking of VJ… where is he?" Joey wondered.

"In his room, doing his homework – I hope," Leah said. "He said he'll come out and say hello later but he's already eaten so we can have our dinner in peace to catch up on all the gossip, hopefully uninterrupted!"

"Well, we came in a taxi and brought some wine!"

"Excellent! I have lots to tell you!"

Angelo was not having a good time. Brax, Heath and the two River Boys he didn't even know the names of were most definitely a team, leaving him shut out on the outside. And the deeper they drove into the forest, the more sinister the sense of underlying threat there seemed to be. He had been on such a mission but had he just walked blindly into a trap like a completely moron.

"So, what's this news you have to share?" Joey asked eagerly as the three of them sat down to dinner.

Leah blushed.

"Okay, well… Miles and I are… kind of a thing," she admitted.

"I knew it!" Joey said.

Leah looked almost affronted.

"How?!"

"After you said you kissed him, I knew you were going to get together!"

"She did know it," Charlie confirmed. "She said you've been 'stealing glances'."

"We have not been stealing glances!"

"You have so been stealing glances!"

Leah refused to believe it even though she absolutely knew it was true. She allowed herself an amused smile. Joey beamed proudly, making both Leah and Charlie laugh.

"So, how's it going?" Charlie wanted to know.

"It's going pretty well," Leah admitted. "I mean, it's very new. I haven't told VJ yet. And I haven't told Elijah either. That's going to be tricky. I'm not looking forward to it. We don't want to say anything unless it's going to become something. But so far… it's good."

She smiled.

"It's really good."

Angelo's heart was pounding. He was struggling with flashbacks from the night Jack had died, running around in the dark with the sound of gunshots going off, not knowing what to do or where to go. His hand was on the gun that Brax had given him but it would take a lot for him to fire it, especially with not being able to see anything. He had sworn that night that he would never fire into the dark again. He would never risk taking another life, not even the life of a River Boy.

He turned quickly when he heard a rustle behind him. Was that a pig? Was it a person? Something rushed towards him. His finger trembled on the trigger. Something rushed beside him. He was scared. He ran as fast as he could, without even knowing where he was going. He just ran.

"There's just one problem," Leah said awkwardly. "Elijah told me that he loved me. The other day, at the carnival."

"And you don't feel the same," Charlie understood.

Leah shook her head.

"I did, once upon a time," she said. "But he left. We were so good together and he just left. I followed him and it didn't work. Then he came back with a wife! And it just… neither of us were in the same place at the same time – physically or emotionally. Our time passed, I guess."

"And in the meantime, along came Miles!" Joey said.

"I know!" Leah laughed. "How did that even happen?"

"I guess sometimes you look at someone the same way for years and then one day, it's just… different," Charlie said wistfully.

"Yeah," Leah said. "I couldn't have put it better myself."

She smiled at her.

Angelo ran as hard as he could. He didn't even care where he was running to. He was terrified. The River Boys were chasing him, as had clearly been their plan all along. They were also shooting at him. He didn't know if they were a bad shot, if he was very lucky or they were just trying to scare him. Or maybe his luck was about to run out and by the end of the night, he was going to be buried in these woods. He knew he hadn't lived the best life but he didn't think he deserved this. He pictured Nicole's face. He was desperate to get home to her.

"Oh, I am so happy that Watson got the job!" Leah said.

Dinner had been cleared away. VJ had appeared just in time for dessert and to say hello to Charlie and especially Joey who would always be his dream girl. He had since shuffled back to his room and the three women had reconvened to the sofa and arm chairs.

"We're really proud of her," Charlie said. "I mean, she was the obvious candidate. She's the best cop I've ever worked with."

"Hey, don't let Angelo hear you say that!" Joey teased.

Charlie snorted with laughter.

"Speaking of, how's it going with him in your employ?" Joey asked Leah.

"Yeah, it's okay," Leah said. "I mean, I get the feeling that he thinks he's better than the Diner. Like the place is a bit beneath him."

"I wouldn't take it personally," Joey said. "I think he thinks any kind of hospitality is beneath him."

"When hospitality is as noble a career path as the police force," Charlie said. "And he was sacked from the force twice. And from two different restaurants."

She shrugged.

"Thank you," Leah said. "He also had a bit of an altercation with Brax and Heath this morning."

"Well, I can't necessarily blame him for that…" Joey frowned.

"Well, no," Leah said. "Which is why I stood up for him and put them in their place. And I thought that would be the end of it. But he carried on serving them and it got a bit… weird."

"Weird how?" Charlie asked curiously.

"I'm sure I must have misunderstood but it kind of sounded like he was bragging about killing Jack…"

Charlie and Joey both looked confused and appalled.

"Like I say, I'm sure I must have got my wires crossed," Leah added quickly.

"What did he say?" Charlie asked.

"Something along the lines of, 'you don't know who you're messing with', 'I've been to prison for murder'… that sort of thing," Leah said.

"But he was always so devastated about what happened," Charlie said, upset at the memory of the death of her friend and colleague.

"I know," Leah said sadly.

"Maybe Brax and Heath were intimidating him and he didn't know what else to say?" Joey suggested, trying to think the best of him.

"You're probably right," Leah agreed.

"It's still not okay," Charlie said unhappily. "Boasting about murdering your friend? A death that hurt so many people? No. No, it's not okay."

"Caught ya!" Brax said, when Angelo finally landed, sweaty and dirty on the ground.

The former police officer looked up at Brax, Heath and their friends, standing menacingly over him.

"Well, this has been fun, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," Angelo said sarcastically. "A shitload of fun."

"Oh, did you not realise when we said we were going hunting that you were the hunted?" Heath laughed.

"Yeah, this fear that you feel right now," Brax suggested. "I suggest you remember it before you decide you want to play Detective again or mess with me and my boys in any way."

He and the others stepped away.

"You can find your own way home."

Next time… Leah tells Elijah the truth, Watson starts her first shift as Sergeant and Romeo is distracted over Indi…