You Again

[soph1303]

CHAPTER 11

Charlie and Ruby were woken abruptly by the alarm on Ruby's phone. Ruby stumbled off the switch off the alarm, whilst Charlie blearily took in her surroundings. Suddenly realizing where she was, Charlie quickly checked the time. Thankfully she still had half an hour to get to work. Looking down, Charlie realized that she had fallen asleep in her uniform which was now slightly crumpled. Ruby shuffled sleepily back into the room, and the pair smiled at each other sheepishly.

"Good morning" Ruby said quietly.

"Good morning Ruby" Charlie replied. There was an awkward silence for a few moments. "I had better be getting to work" Charlie said, to break the silence.

Ruby nodded and she and Charlie walked towards the door. Charlie opened it and had walked a few steps out of it when Ruby called out to her. "Will you come back?" Ruby asked quickly, her words jumbling together in her nervousness, and Charlie turned around and looked at Ruby with a confused look on her face. Ruby took a deep breath. "After you've finished work can you come back?" Ruby asked slowly and shyly, fearing rejection.

Charlie's face lit up as Ruby asked her. "Yes. I'd love to come back. I finish work at 5pm, so should I come over at about 6pm?" Charlie suggested.

Ruby nodded happily. "Ok see you then" she said as she shut the door. Once the door was shut, Ruby let herself grin a happy grin as she bounced off to get ready for school, the day's prospects already looking brighter.

Meanwhile Charlie was also finding it hard to stop grinning as she got into her car. Pulling herself together, Charlie drove off towards the diner.

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Charlie pulled into a parking space and got out of the car. She admired the beach view for a moment, before walking into the diner. Ignoring some of the disgusted looks that some people were giving her (no doubt because of Colleen's gossip) she walked towards the counter which Leah was standing behind. She smiled at Leah as she approached. There was an older woman standing behind Leah preparing the food, whilst also eavesdropping on Leah's conversations.

"Hey Leah, can I get a coffee and a bacon and egg wrap to takeaway please?" Charlie asked.

"Sure thing Charlie" Leah replied as she took Charlie's order. At the mention of Charlie's name however, the older women turned around.

"Charlie! You aren't that Charlie that just moved here and is young Ruby's mother are you?" she inquired nosily.

Leah turned around angrily. "Colleen! Mind your own business" she chastised.

Colleen rolled her eyes as she turned back around. "I was just asking" she muttered to herself.

Leah threw her hands up in the air. "I am so sorry" she apologized to Charlie.

Charlie half-smiled at her "Don't worry about, I'm already getting used to people asking me that" she told Leah as she handed her the money. Leah smiled at her sympathetically as she passed Charlie her order. "See you around" Charlie said as she exited the diner.

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Ruby walked into school, to find everyone whispering about her. Rolling her eyes, Ruby walked towards her locker, where Casey was standing.

"Hey" she greeted him as she got out her books. "So I guess you heard the gossip then?"

Casey nodded. "Yeah I heard it all right. Are you ok?" he asked his girlfriend in concern.

Ruby looked at him in surprise. "Yeah of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

Now it was Casey's turn to be surprised. "Because you just found out who your real mother was and apparently you completely lost it at her at the police station".

Ruby rolled her eyes again. "God, gossip gets around fast in this town. Well yes I did lose it at her at the police station, but I met up with her again later and we talked calmly about stuff, and it was good. She's coming back over later. Now come on nosey, we've got to get to class" Ruby told him as she shut her locker, and dragged Casey off towards their class.

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Charlie walked into the police station, to receive a similar reception to the one that Ruby had got at school. Ignoring all the stares she was getting Charlie signed in and walked towards her desk. She had just begun to lose herself in paper work, when she was interrupted by Jack.

"Didn't think I'd see you here today" Jack commented as he sat on the edge of her desk.

Charlie looked at him in confusion "Well I am rostered on today" she told him.

Jack looked down "Well after yesterday..."

Charlie nodded and he trailed off. "Yeah well, I managed to sort out stuff with Ruby, and while other people are going to judge me about it, I don't really care about what they think" Charlie told him.

Jack nodded. "Fair enough. And I'm not going to judge you, that's not fair on you and besides that's not what friends do" he told her. Charlie nodded. Jack patted her shoulder and walked off. Charlie looked at him as he walked away. Charlie smiled to herself, even though practically everyone in the bay now knew her secret, she knew that she already had friends that she could count on - Jack, Martha, Leah, Bianca, Jenny and Brax. Charlie's heart fluttered slightly as she thought of Brax and how he had already been there for. So despite all the bad things, Charlie was definitely glad that she had moved to Summer Bay.

[soph1303]

Thanks for all the comments they mean a lot

CHAPTER 12

Charlie and Ruby were walking down the beach, arm in arm. It had been just over a week since they had made peace, and they were growing closer each passing day. They found that they could ignore most of the gossip by sticking together, and there was already a new bit of gossip now (April and Dex getting together whilst April was still dating Xavier) and most people were focusing on that now, much to both Charlie and Ruby's relief. They were now discussing relationships and Charlie found that she was almost glad that she hadn't had to do the whole parental thing when it came to Ruby dating, as from what she had been told, Ruby had been in her fair share of scrapes when it came to men.

"So what about you?" Ruby asked Charlie as they continued walking down the beach.

"What about me?" Charlie replied.

"Anybody caught your eye yet?" Ruby asked cheekily.

"No, not yet" Charlie lied, thinking of Brax. Ruby raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything. At this moment in time Brax himself emerged from the surf, and upon seeing Charlie he ran towards her.

"Hey Charlie" he called.

Charlie smiled as she saw him and waved slightly "Hey Brax".

Brax stopped as he reached the two women. "Um I was just wondering if you wanted to go out with me some time?" he asked Charlie who blushed slightly. At hearing this Ruby let out a little squeal, and then quickly covered her mouth, and turned around, grinning as both adults gave her a strange look.

Turning her head away from Ruby, Charlie answered Brax's question. "Yeah I'd like that" she told him.

Brax smiled at her. "Are you free tonight?". Charlie nodded. "Ok I'll pick you up at about 7pm?"

"Sure, see you then" Charlie replied. Brax nodded and sped off towards Angelo's for his shift, silently thanking his lucky stars that she had agreed to go out with him.

After making sure that Brax was out of ear shot, Ruby turned to face her mother. "Oh you are such a little liar" she squealed.

"I am not" Charlie protested half-halfheartedly.

Ruby raised her eyebrows again "Yeah sure. Because I just asked you if anyone in the bay had caught your eye yet and you said no. And then two minutes later you agreed to go on a date with Brax! But you know what I'm so happy for you that I'm not even mad at you for lying" Ruby told her cheekily, dodging out of the way as Charlie attempted to swat her arm. "So what are you going to wear?" Ruby insisted. Charlie sighed, she had a feeling that this was going to be a long day.

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"Ok that's it, I'm not going!" Charlie moaned as she threw another outfit rejection onto her bed where all the other clothes she had rejected were starting to form a pile.

"Why not?" asked Ruby who was sitting on Charlie's bed trying not to laugh as she watched her mother freak out about her date.

"Because I have nothing to wear!" Charlie complained, as she pulled at her hair in desperation.

Ruby laughed and rolled her eyes "Well Brax has seen you in your police uniform and not been scared off, so he obviously isn't going to worry too much about what your wearing" Ruby told her mother. But seeing that Charlie didn't look convinced, Ruby sighed and got off of the bed. "Ok, let me have a look". Ruby rummaged through Charlie's suitcase, whilst Charlie paced the caravan. Ruby eventually pulled out a white halterneck, knee-length dress. "What about this?" she asked Charlie as she held it out towards her. Charlie quickly tried it on, while Ruby waited with bated breath.

"Yes, thank you, you're a lifesaver" Charlie told Ruby who sighed with relief and flopped onto the bed while Charlie pulled out a pair of white heels which she slipped on. Charlie started to apply her make-up while Ruby studied her mother's face intently. "What?" Charlie asked self-consciously as Ruby continued to stare at her.

"You're really nervous about this date aren't you?" Ruby inquired.

"Me? Nervous? Never!" Charlie bluffed, and Ruby raised her eyebrows.

"Ok, then why do you keep checking the clock every 5 seconds?" Ruby pointed out, laughing slightly as Charlie couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. At this moment however there was a knock on the door, and Charlie's heart started racing. Looking at Charlie gleefully, Ruby ran towards the door and opened it before Charlie could stop her. "Good evening Brax, are you here to pick up my mother?" Charlie heard Ruby say cheekily. Charlie ran towards the door as Ruby prepared to open her mouth again.

Brax's eyes raised as he saw Charlie. He swallowed slightly. "Wow, you look amazing" he told Charlie, who smiled nervously.

"Thanks" she told him. Charlie turned to Ruby who still had a sly look on her face. "I'll deal with you later" she told Ruby who pouted angelically. she turned back to Brax who was looking at the pair of them, with an amused look on his face. "Shall we go?" she asked Brax who nodded and took Charlie's arm.

They had walked about 10 steps away from the caravan, when they heard Ruby shout "You better not get up to any funny business, I want you home by 12 - you have work tomorrow".

Charlie stopped and called over her shoulder "Good night Ruby". Charlie could hear Ruby cackling as she walked off. Charlie turned back to Brax who was trying not to laugh.

"Are you sure she's not the mother?" Brax chuckled, and Charlie couldn't help but chuckle also. "Shall we go?" Brax asked. Charlie nodded, and the pair set off, both enjoying each others company already.

[soph1303]

Thanks to pembie, Red Ranger 1, -Carina- , Angel90, callyha (welcome by the way and thanks for all your reviews ), elikell , ~JarlieFanEver~, Chickiboomxx and totally for all your great comments

Note: This chapter is Charlie and Brax's date. I have added a preview at the end of this chapter which I'm hoping will get you wondering

CHAPTER 13

Brax and Charlie walked in companionable silence until they reached the end of the caravan park.

"Umm, where are we actually going?" Charlie asked Brax as they walked.

"Patience Miss Buckton, patience" Brax told Charlie.

Intrigued now Charlie pressed it further "Patience is not a skill I possess Mr Braxton, and I don't like surprises - I don't like the waiting part!" Brax laughed at this. After a another two minutes of walking Brax stopped and turned around, and held out a blindfold and looked at Charlie pointedly. Charlie looked at the blindfold for a moment before speaking. "No way" she told him. "There is no way that I am wearing that".

"Why not?" Brax asked, amused.

"What part of I hate surprises don't you understand? Besides it would mess up my hair" Charlie told Brax as she patted her hair protectively.

Brax chuckled "Just put it on".

Charlie continued to look at Brax for a moment, before adopting a martyred facial expression "If I must do". Brax motioned for Charlie to turn around, which she did. Brax brought the blindfold over Charlie's eyes and proceeded to tie it at the back, Charlie could feel his breath on her neck as he did so, and hoped that Brax couldn't hear how loudly her heart was now beating. Brax finished tying the blindfold, leaving Charlie with no vision. Brax moved in front of Charlie and took her hands gently and started softly pulling her forwards. After a few moments of walking, Charlie's impatience got the better of her. "Are we there yet?" she asked, sounding like a small child.

"Almost" came Brax's reply. Charlie huffed slightly which caused Brax to laugh again. After a few minutes they stopped and Brax let go of Charlie's hand. Charlie found that she was almost disappointed when he did so, - she was surprised by how comfortable it had felt holding Brax's hand. Brax took off Charlie's blindfold, allowing her to have vision again. Charlie gasped as she saw her surroundings - they were at Angelo's except the place was empty, and all the tables had been moved out of the way except one which was in the middle of the room, adorned with candles, wineglasses and was set for two. Brax moved to stand next to Charlie. "Was it worth the wait?" he asked hopefully.

Charlie nodded. "It was definitely worth the wait" she told told Brax, who grinned as he heard this. Taking Charlie's hand again, he led her towards the table.

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About an hour later Brax and Charlie were sat at the table eating the dessert that Brax had prepared. Charlie found that Brax was very easy to talk to, and Brax felt himself slowly falling even harder for Charlie with each passing moment. Brax had just finished explaining about how he had got into working at Angelo’s and then eventually buying him out and they were now onto the subject of Charlie’s job.

“So what made you want to be a police officer then? I mean with your looks, I would have thought that you would have had more of a modelling career in your sights” Brax told Charlie, not even trying to hide his blatant flirting as he ate the last mouthful of his dessert.

Charlie laughed slightly at Brax’s flirting before replying. “Well my dad was a cop, so I guess that eventually sort of rubbed off on me. Well that wasn’t the only reason, but that was one of the main ones” she told him.

Brax nodded knowingly as the pair stood up and Brax threw some money down on the table. “Was one of the other reasons that you wanted to impress your dad, and make him proud of you?” he asked Charlie as they left the restaurant.

Charlie considered what Brax had just asked for a moment. “I’ve never really thought of it like that before, that was never something I ever intentionally set out to do. But maybe on some subconscious level, that’s what ended up happening” Charlie admitted as they continued to walk. Unintentionally they reached the beach and sat down on it, neither wanting to stop the date quite yet.

“So if that wasn’t one of the other reasons, what was?” Brax asked Charlie as he turned to look at her. He was eager to find out more about the beautiful women that he was on a date with.

Charlie was hesitant with her reply. The other main reason she had become a police officer was to stop other women being put through what had happened to her when she was 14. Charlie did like Brax – a lot. But she wasn’t sure that it was something that she should be admitting on a first date. Brax was starting to look worried as the silence continued. “I think that is more of like a 15th date sort of revelation” she told him.

Brax looked slightly confused and worried for a moment before a mischievous grin appeared on his face. “So there will be a 15th date?” he asked Charlie cheekily.

Charlie looked serious for a minute an before grinning herself “Yeah. I think there might just be” she told him quietly. Without saying anything, Charlie leant towards Brax who also leaned in and kissed Charlie softly on the lips.

Next Chapter:

* What will happen in the aftermath of the kiss between Charlie and Brax?

* Some familiar faces return to the bay, one of whom has a connection to Charlie, but how do they know each other?

* A tragic accident occurs and not everyone will make it. Who is in the accident?

Hehe hope that got your interest up xx

[soph1303]

Thanks for all the comments and glad that you all liked the preview If you had any predictions about what was going to happen, it will be interesting to see if you are right or close to being right Anyway here is the next chapter

CHAPTER 14

Charlie leant into Brax to deepen the kiss. Brax put his hand around her hair and kissed Charlie back. After a few moment’s they both pulled away from this kiss and stared at each other.

“Can the 2nd date be really soon please?” Brax asked Charlie, who giggled.

“Well you heard Ruby earlier, so I probably should go, but I’ll call you” Charlie promised as she stood up. Brax groaned but stood up as well. Charlie started to walk away, but Brax pulled her back and kissed her again.

“Now you can go” he told Charlie a few seconds later. Charlie smiled and walked off. Brax smiled too as he watched her walk away. Brax knew at that precise moment, that without a doubt, that bad boy Brax, was definitely falling for good girl Charlie.

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“Oh my god!” came Ruby’s very loud voice down the phone. Charlie held the phone away from her ear for a few seconds whilst Ruby squealed. It was the next day and Ruby had phoned to see how Charlie’s date had gone, and to say that she was excited about it would be a huge understatement.

“It’s not that bigger deal Rubes” Charlie told Ruby once her squealing had calmed down.

“Are you kidding me?” came Ruby’s reply. “You went on a date with Brax and you kissed him, yet you don’t think that that is big news?”

“We just kissed Ruby, nothing more” Charlie protested whilst looking around the interior of the caravan.

“Yeah but you had a good time right? And I bet there will be more kisses to come won’t there?” Ruby said cheekily and Charlie couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah maybe” Charlie admitted, and Ruby started squealing again. “Look I gotta go to work, and I know Jenny and Mark are taking you to the Uni open day, so I’ll talk to you later, ok?”

“Yeah you better, I want all the details” Ruby told her and Charlie sighed.

“Fine. Bye” Charlie insisted.

“Yay. Bye” Ruby giggled, and Charlie hung up the phone. She was kind of looking forward to talking to Ruby more about her date. It made her feel more like they were having a normal mother daughter conversation, and she liked the thought of that. Charlie grinned to herself and started to get ready for work.

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Ruby sat in the back seat of the car, whilst Jenny sat in the passenger seat and Mark drove. They were on the way back from looking round the uni that Ruby would be attending next year. It was one of the first peaceful outings they had had together since Ruby had found out about everything. Ruby’s phone beeped and she grinned as she read the text message she had just received.

“Oh my god, you’ll never guess who’s moving back to the bay” Ruby said out loud to the car, as she re-read the message again.

Jenny took her eyes off of the road and looked at Ruby. “Who is sweetie?” she asked.

Ruby looked up to reply, and screamed as she saw a car straight ahead which had swerved into the wrong lane and was about to hit the front of their car. “Look out!” Ruby cried, and Jenny turned around just as the two cars collided.

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Charlie and Jack were sitting in a police car, on their way to a road accident which had occurred. There had been fatalities and two senior officers had been required to be at the scene. It was times like this when both Jack and Charlie both really hated their jobs.

“So what do we know?” Charlie asked Jack as she drove.

“That one car swerved and hit another. There were 3 people in the car that swerved; 2 adults and an infant, and there were also 3 people in the car that got hit; 2 adults and a teenager ” Jack said in a somber voice.

“Do we know who the fatalities were?” Charlie inquired.

“Two of the adults. I’m not sure which two” Jack told Charlie as they pulled up to the scene. They both exited the car, just as someone was lifted onto a stretcher. Charlie screamed as she saw who it was.

“Ruby!” she yelled and ran towards the stretcher where Ruby was lying. Jack followed Charlie as she ran. Charlie turned towards one of the paramedics who were lifting Ruby. “That’s my daughter, is she going to be ok?” she asked frantically.

“She’s unconscious, and she’s broken a few bones but she’ll live” the paramedic told Charlie who sighed with relief.

“Were Jenny and Mark in the car? Are they ok?” she asked.

The paramedic shook his head. “I’m sorry Miss. They didn’t make it; they would have died on impact.”

Charlie whimpered and Jack hugged her. “Look, why don’t I finish up here and you go down to the hospital with Ruby, ok?” Jack suggested gently, and Charlie nodded as the words “Died on impact” ran through her brain. She slowly got into the ambulance as they lowered Ruby into the back of it. She took Ruby’s hand as the tears started to stream down her face.

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Charlie sat in the hospital room and held Ruby’s hand as she slept. Ruby hadn’t woken up yet, and the only sound that Charlie could hear was the beeping of the machines. Charlie had been there for 2 hours waiting for Ruby to wake up, even though she was dreading telling Ruby what had happened. The silence was finally interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. Charlie turned around to see one of the nurses was standing at the door.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but the woman who was in the other car would like to speak to you if that’s alright” the nurse asked. Charlie turned to look at Ruby who was still asleep, and looked like she might be that way for a while.

“Alright, but can you come and get me if Ruby wakes up?” Charlie whispered and the nurse nodded. Charlie stood up, and the nurse led her to another room where a blond woman was lying in the hospital bed. The woman had a broken arm and lots of bruises but otherwise seemed to be ok. The woman was crying as Charlie walked towards her and sat down in the chair that was placed there. The nurse quietly left the room, leaving the two women to it.

“Are you the family of the people in the other car? Are they all ok?” the blond woman asked.

“My daughter was in the car and she will be alright. But my two friends who were in the front of the car were killed on impact” Charlie told the woman quietly, who sobbed even harder as she heard this. “They said that your car swerved, what happened?” Charlie asked, wanting to know the reason behind the accident and why her friends were dead.

It was a few seconds before the woman could control her sobs enough to speak. “My baby was in the back of the car, and he dropped his bottle, and I just turned around to pick it up without really thinking about it, and the car must have swerved” she cried, and Charlie couldn’t help but feel sorry for the woman against her better judgment, even though she wanted to stay angry. But Charlie could tell how sorry the woman was, and knew that the woman was just trying to be a good mother.

“Is your baby alright?” Charlie asked the woman gently.

The woman nodded. “Yeah he’s fine. So is my boyfriend. My son’s just in the children’s ward and they’re going to bring him to see me later. My boyfriend decided to go and get us a coffee, so he’ll be back in a moment. We’re both really sorry about everything”.

Charlie half smiled at her. “It’s alright, I believe you. It was just a tragic accident.” Charlie said softly just as the door opened and the door opened and man holding two coffee’s walked through it.

“Hey Nic, how are you feeling?” he asked the woman as he walked towards the bed and took a seat on the other side of the blond woman, he hadn’t seem to have noticed that Charlie was there yet. Charlie couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the man looked strangely familiar to her.

“Yeah I’m fine; I’m just talking to this lady. She’s the family of the people in the other car” Nicole told him.

The man looked up and saw Charlie. “Oh, hi. Look, we’re really sorry about everything.... Charlie?” the man asked in surprise. Charlie gasped as she recognized the man.

“I should go” she said as she hastily stood up.

The blond woman looked at the two of them in confusion. “Am I missing something here?” she asked.

“I used to know Charlie a long time ago” the man explained, still staring at Charlie who had started backing away towards the door. “It’s been a long time since we last saw each other though”.

Charlie paused by the door “It certainly has .... Angelo”

Next Chapter:

* How do Angelo and Charlie know each other, and why isn't Charlie happy to see him?

* How will Ruby cope with the fact that not only are her adoptive parents dead, but it was her best friend driving the car that killed them?

* What will happen to Ruby now?

* Charlie makes a hard decision.

[soph1303]

Thanks for all the comments. It was good to read all your theory's, hope this chapter doesn't disappoint .

Note: As Ruby was adopted, obviously her last name isn't Buckton, it's the same as Jenny and Mark. I decided to just give them a generic last name - White. So, Ruby is Ruby White

CHAPTER 15

Charlie stared at Angelo. She couldn’t believe that she was seeing him again after all this time. The woman called Nicole was still staring at the two of them in confusion, but Angelo bowed his head. He couldn’t even look at Charlie, without being reminded of all the hurt he had caused her.

“Ok, so how exactly do you two know each other then?” Nicole asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Angelo looked up at Charlie, and he could tell by her stony facial expression that there was no way she was going to tell Nicole, which meant that he had to.

Angelo sighed. “Charlie and I first met when we were training at the police academy together, and we used to go out” he informed Nicole, worried that she wouldn’t be too happy at this revelation. Nicole pursed her lips, but didn’t say anything. Charlie however had something to say.

“Yeah and when he say’s go out, he means that we were engaged!” she spat at Angelo angrily, who looked down ashamedly. Nicole gasped. She had been expecting that they had gone out, but she had not even considered that they had been engaged.

“You were engaged?” Nicole spluttered in shock. “What happened?”

Charlie glared at Angelo. “Are you going to tell her what you did, or shall I?” Charlie asked sarcastically. Angelo looked down at his hands again. “Looks like I will then. We met at the police academy and started dating pretty much straight away. After 8 months of dating Angelo proposed and I said yes. Then we got posted to different stations, and we had to the whole long distance thing for a bit. Eventually Angelo got posted to the same station as me, and it looked like things were going to go great. Then, the very next day, a woman turned up on our doorstep, pregnant with Angelo’s child!” Charlie hissed the last part directly at Angelo, who hung his head.

“Charlie was angry at me for cheating, so she broke off the engagement, moved out and got transferred to another station” Angelo finished for Charlie, who was so angry that she was beyond words and had resorted to pacing the room. Nicole simply stared at the two of them, words not able to express the shock she was feeling at finding all this out. “But because you left so suddenly, I never got the chance to tell you that she lost the baby” Angelo told Charlie.

Charlie glared at Angelo angrily. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? I should forget that you cheated and be glad that she lost the baby? Angelo, you broke my heart. I will never forgive you, ok?” Charlie yelled. At this moment in time a nurse walked into the room.

“Excuse me miss, but you asked me to come and get you when Ruby White woke up” the nurse told Charlie, who nodded. The nurse closed the door quietly as Nicole and Angelo looked at each other in shock.

“Ruby was in the other car?” Nicole asked worriedly, and Charlie nodded. “Oh my god; that means that Jenny and Mark were the ones who didn’t make it! Oh my god!” Nicole hyperventilated, whilst Angelo stroked her back soothingly.

“Yeah that’s what it means. So how exactly do you know Ruby?” Charlie inquired, trying to fight off the tears that had started when Jenny and Marks’ names were mentioned.

“We were best friends before Angelo and I left the bay. Oh my god, I put my best friend in hospital and I killed her parents! Hang on a second; I thought you said that your daughter was in the car?” Nicole asked in confusion.

“Ruby is my daughter. Jenny and Mark adopted her, but Ruby is biologically my daughter” Charlie explained to Nicole who looked quite shocked at this. Angelo looked surprised, but not as much as Nicole; given the fact that he knew about what had happened to Charlie when she was 14. “I’m gonna go see Ruby now, so I’ll leave you guys to it” Charlie told the couple, before walking quickly out of the door before they had a chance to say anything. Charlie walked down the corridor, until she reached Ruby’s room. Taking a deep breath, Charlie walked into the room. Ruby looked round as Charlie entered.

“What happened? Is everyone ok? The nurses won’t tell me anything except that I was in a car crash. Please tell me what’s going on” Ruby begged frantically as Charlie sat down and took her hand. Charlie felt her eyes well up; she knew that she had to tell Ruby about everything, even though it would break Ruby’s heart once she knew.

“Ruby, I’m really sorry, but ..... Jenny and Mark didn’t make it” Charlie told Ruby gently. Ruby gasped, and tears flooded down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry” Charlie whispered, through her own tears.

“But they can’t be!” Ruby cried, and all Charlie could do was stroking Ruby’s hand soothingly. “One second I was talking to them and the next minute the other car hit. Oh my god, she turned round to talk to me. It’s my fault that we crashed!” Ruby sobbed hysterically.

“Ruby, it’s not your fault, ok?” Charlie told Ruby, trying to calm the hysterical teenager. “The woman in the other car looked away from the road to pick up a baby toy that had fallen, and the car swerved. The whole thing was just a tragic accident.” Charlie explained, and Ruby seemed to calm somewhat and lent back on her pillows, wiping away some of her tears as she did so. Charlie hesitated slightly; she wasn’t sure if Ruby could deal with the fact that Nicole was the one in the other car right now. But she knew that she needed to at some point, and it probably needed to be sooner rather than later.

Ruby had noticed Charlie’s hesitation and picked her up on it. “What? Has something else happened? Please just tell me” Ruby insisted, and Charlie sighed.

“Ruby, you know the woman who was driving the other car. Her name is Nicole, and she say’s that you two used to be best friends before she moved” Charlie explained carefully.

Ruby’s jaw dropped. “Nicole? Nicole was driving the other car?” she spluttered and Charlie nodded. “Were Angelo and her son George in the car? Are they all ok?” Ruby mumbled the question out through all the shock she was feeling. Now knowing that Nicole was the one in the other car, Ruby found it harder to be mad at the person who had killed her adoptive parents. If it had been a random stranger in the other car, Ruby would have had no problem hating them for killing Jenny and Mark. But the fact that it was Nicole made it so much harder for Ruby to be mad.

“Nicole has a few broken bones, but is otherwise ok. Angelo has a few bumps and bruises, but is fine. And I’m pretty sure her son is fine too” Charlie reported, her face contorting slightly as she mentioned Angelo’s name. Luckily Ruby didn’t seem to have seen Charlie’s facial expression change, which saved Charlie from explaining the whole story again. She wanted to tell Ruby at some point, but definitely not right now. Ruby sighed in relief as she heard that all of her friends were ok.

“I’m really tired now, but can you please stay with me?” Ruby whispered vulnerably.

“Of course I will, I’ve already organised with Jack to take some time off work, so I can be with you when ever you need me” Charlie told Ruby, who smiled slightly before closing her eyes. A few minutes later, Charlie heard a small snore and she knew that Ruby had fallen asleep. As Charlie watched her daughter sleep, she thought about how all of this had changed their lives. She knew now that she had some difficult decisions to make. 2 in particular stuck out; she would happily do one of them, but the other decision was one that Charlie really didn’t want to make. But Charlie felt that she had to, and resigned herself to do so. Charlie shuffled around in her chair; preparing herself for a long and uncomfortable night.

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“Ok thankyou very much. Bye” Charlie said as she hung up the phone. She had been talking to Jenny and Mark’s lawyer about their will, and was on her way over to the hospital to tell Ruby. It had been 4 days since the accident. Luckily everyone at the station had been very understanding about everything, and she still had another week of leave left before she had to go back. Charlie had virtually lived at the hospital the last few days; wanting to be there for Ruby. But Ruby had finally convinced her to go home, have a shower, get changed and talk to the lawyer. Charlie had briefly seen people that she knew, all of whom had passed along their condolences. And while Charlie appreciated all of this, she found all of it a bit hard to take. She sighed as she saw Brax running towards her down the beach. Part of her had wanted to see him, but the other really didn’t as she knew what she had to do.

“Hey Charlie” Brax greeted Charlie as he caught up to her. He went to kiss Charlie, but Charlie moved her head away and he ended up kissing her cheek instead. “I heard about the accident, I’m really sorry” Brax told Charlie earnestly. Charlie felt her eyes prick with tears as he spoke, and tried to blink them away, but Brax saw before she could successfully do so. He went to wipe away her tears with his thumb, but Charlie jerked away, leaving Brax confused. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m really sorry Brax, but I don’ think we should see each other anymore” Charlie said quietly, looking down; not wanting to see his face as she said the words.

“What?” Brax asked, confused. “But the other day you said...”

Charlie cut him off “I know what I said, but then the accident happened. Jenny and Mark are dead, and I need to be there for Ruby, and I just can’t handle being in a relationship right now” Charlie told him, looking up. Brax’s face was twisted with pain as she spoke. “I’m really sorry” Charlie said again as she started to back away. She turned around and started walking hastily up the sand bank towards her car.

“Charlie, wait” Brax called, but Charlie had already got into her car and was driving away. Brax sat down on the beach and sighed, putting his head in his hands. He hadn’t even been seeing Charlie for very long, but he already felt like his heart was breaking as she drove away.

Next Chapter:

* What will happen to Ruby now?

* Will Charlie regret her decision?

* Summer Bay say's goodbye to Jenny and Mark.

[soph1303]

Thanks to Pembie, Siobhan B and abbie(welcome to you both and thanks for the lovely comments ), Danni02, elikell, Red Ranger 1, cally, Angel90, -Carina-, ~JarlieFanEver~ and Chickiboomxx for all your great comments. Here's the next chapter.

CHAPTER 16

Charlie tried to dry the tears that stung in her eyes as she walked down the corridor to where Ruby’s room was. Breaking up with Brax was way harder than it should have been; given the fact they had only been out on one date. But it was hard, and Charlie didn’t know why this was so much harder than all the other breakups she’d had combined. Reaching Ruby’s room, Charlie wiped her eyes and tried to force a smile on her face. Today, Ruby was getting discharged from the hospital, which was great news. Charlie opened the door. Ruby was sitting on the bed, with her feet over the side. She had a sling on her left arm (Ruby was very disappointed that it was her left that was broken – meaning she still had to write at school) and was staring very pointedly at Charlie.

“Hey Rubes, how are you feeling?” Charlie asked her daughter as she walked into the room.

“Yeah I’m fine. So when exactly were you planning on telling me about your history with Angelo?” Ruby asked, getting straight to the point as always.

Charlie sighed. “I was planning to tell you Rubes, I just thought given the current circumstances that it wasn’t exactly necessary for you to know. How do you know anyway?” Charlie asked, trying to get the heat off of her as Ruby still looked unimpressed.

“Nic came to see me earlier, and we had a really good chat about everything. I don’t blame her for the accident, it wasn’t her fault. But she did happen to mention the little chat that you 3 had. And I when I say mentioned, I mean that she told me practically everything that you guys said to each other. Including the fact that you and Angelo used to be engaged. Speaking of which, isn’t it going to be awkward living in the same town as your ex-fiancée?” Ruby asked.

Charlie looked quite confused at Ruby’s question. “What do you mean? Angelo and Nicole don’t live in Summer Bay anymore … do they?” Charlie asked worriedly.

Ruby’s heart went out to her clueless mother. “Just before the accident, I got a text on my phone from Nicole saying that they were moving back to Summer Bay” she told Charlie, who paled slightly and sat down on the bed next to Ruby. Ruby took her hand and squeezed it; trying to comfort Charlie. “Yeah apparently things weren’t working out too well for them in the city, so they decided to move back to the bay” Ruby continued. “It’s certainly gonna be interesting now. On one hand, Nicole is my best friend and I’m pretty good friends with Angelo, but on the other hand he cheated on you when you were engaged for god’s sake!” Ruby finished angrily.

“Ruby you don’t have to stop being friends with Angelo” Charlie told Ruby.

Ruby shook her head. “Yes I do. He hurt you, and I don’t care how long ago it was” Ruby insisted stubbornly. Charlie bit her lip to stop herself from smiling, she liked that her daughter was sticking up for her. Charlie was saved from answering by a nurse coming into the room with discharge papers to be signed. After they had been filled out and the nurse had left the room, Charlie turned to Ruby who had opened her mouth to speak again.

“I spoke to Jenny and Mark’s lawyer earlier” Charlie said quickly as she picked up Ruby’s stuff for her, hoping to lead the conversation away from the track that it was currently on. Luckily her words had the desired effect.

“And what did he say?” Ruby asked, trying to hide the sudden dread that she was feeling as she and Charlie walked out of the room and down the corridor.

“Well apparently it’s all pretty simple. Jenny and Mark left everything they own to you.” Charlie told Ruby, whose mouth dropped open.

“They left everything… to me?” Ruby stammered as she tried to remember how to put one foot in front of the other.

“Yep, so that means that you get all their money, their cars and the house as well as all of their other possessions. The lawyer is going to do all the financial stuff and Jenny and Mark had paid off all of their mortgages, so you won’t have too much to worry about there.” Charlie informed Ruby as they walked out of the hospital and reached Charlie’s car. They got in and Charlie started to drive away as Ruby digested what Charlie had just told her.

“Ok, so what will happen to me now?” she asked slowly.

“Well you are legally an adult so you can live wherever you want to, I mean you could sell the house if you want to and get a new place” Charlie told Ruby as she drove.

“Huh” was all Ruby said as she thought about what Charlie had just told her. “I have an idea” she told Charlie a few moments later. Charlie glanced at her daughter quickly – Ruby’s eyes were lit up and she had a small smile on her face.

“What is it?” Charlie asked warily; she hadn’t known Ruby long, but what she did know was that Ruby’s great ideas weren’t always fool proof.

“Well” Ruby began. “You’re still staying at the caravan park aren’t you?” Ruby asked, and Charlie nodded. “Well I was thinking that you can’t live in a caravan forever, and that I’m going to be lonely by myself at home all by myself, so….. why don’t you come and live with me?” Ruby suggested and Charlie choked slightly. “I mean if you want to that is” Ruby added self-consciously as Charlie stared at her in amazement. “I mean I totally understand if you don’t, so don’t worry about it, it’s fine” Ruby babbled feeling rejected.

“Ruby, I would love to” Charlie said loudly; trying to get a word in over Ruby’s nervous babbling. Ruby immediately stopped and turned to look at Charlie in surprise.

“You would?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think its great idea. I was just surprised that’s all. I never thought that you would want to live with me, not the other way around” Charlie confessed as she pulled up outside Ruby’s house, and both women got out. Ruby walked around the car to where Charlie was standing.

“So, you’re going to move in with me?” Ruby clarified.

Charlie took Ruby’s hand. “Yes Ruby, I’m going to move in with you” Charlie replied. Ruby was silent for a moment, before throwing her one good arm around Charlie, whilst jumping up and down and squealing. Charlie couldn’t help but laugh as she hugged her daughter back, and joined in with Ruby’s jumping and squealing.

-------------------------

Charlie walked with her arm around Ruby as they entered the church. It was the day of Jenny and Mark’s funeral and nearly all of Summer Bay had come to pay their respects. Charlie had moved in with Ruby the same day that Ruby had suggested the idea (Ruby insisted that she had to move in right away) and now 3 days later it was time to say goodbye to Jenny and Mark. Charlie and Ruby walked past everybody that they knew and to the front row where Jenny and Mark’s closest family were sitting. Charlie looked determinedly forward as she passed where Brax was sitting, trying to hide all the pain that she was feeling inside. Brax’s eyes followed Charlie as she and Ruby walked to the front and took their seats. It was only when the minister started to speak that he finally looked to the front.

2 hours later everyone who had attended the funeral were now leaving the wake which had been at Ruby’s house. Ruby was glad that it was over – she had been starting to get tired of everybody coming up and saying what a beautiful service it was, and how sorry they were for her loss. Though she did have to agree that it was a beautiful service, and she had cried the whole way through. She was glad Charlie had been there to hold her hand; otherwise Ruby honestly didn’t know if she would have been able to do it. The funeral had had one good effect however; nobody was gossiping about Charlie and Ruby anymore. In the light of recent events, everybody was making a bigger effort to be civil.

Ruby went straight off to bed after giving Charlie one more, big cuddle, but Charlie sat on the couch lost in her own thoughts. Angelo and Nicole had both attended the wake. Charlie didn't particularly care about Nicole being there (she had no problem with Nicole and had forgiven Nicole for the accident), but she wasn't so happy about Angelo attending. Luckily Ruby had told him that he could come, but not to approach either of them on any circumstances - Ruby was very angry at Angelo for cheating on her mother all those years ago. Angelo, not wanting to cause either of them any more pain than he already had, agreed to this, but still hoped that he and Charlie could at least be friends again one day. Charlie sighed; she had done her best to ignore Brax at the wake, and thankfully he hadn’t approached her. She had seen Ruby shooting her a few odd looks, but Ruby hadn’t picked her up on it yet, but knowing Ruby that probably wouldn’t last long. She also knew that now that the funeral was over, that it was very likely that Brax would try and contact her again – he didn’t look like a man who gave up very easily. But for now, Charlie was adamant that she had made the right decision by breaking things off with Brax. Sighing heavily, Charlie went off to bed, dreading facing the questions that she was bound to get from Ruby and Brax tomorrow.

Next Chapter:

* Charlie and Ruby continue to grow closer.

* Ruby and Casey find out about Charlie and Brax's breakup.

* Brax tries to talk to Charlie. Will she change her mind?

[soph1303]

Thanks for all the comments guys . I'm sorry that I haven't updated for ages but like I said earlier, I unfortunately lost my USB which contained chapters of this story. Just to let you know, the next update will probably be on Monday. This is because from Friday to Sunday I am doing the 40 hour famine, and this year I am giving up food and the internet (which is a big sacrifice for me lol). And I will not be able to complete a chapter before that starts, hence the next update being on Monday. That also means to anyone who reads this, and I comment on your fanfics: please don't post anything too good until I get back haha.

CHAPTER 17

Charlie’s prediction came proved to be correct, as when she sleepily entered the kitchen the following morning, Ruby was sitting fully dressed at the breakfast bar, looking like she was going to burst if she didn’t start talking soon.

“Morning” Charlie said to Ruby groggily, as she took a seat next to Ruby.

Ruby spun round on her chair to face Charlie. “Morning” Ruby began. “I was just casually wondering when you were going to go on another date with Brax” Ruby said quickly, her face and tone clearly showing her excitement about the matter.

Charlie sighed; this was the price she was going to have to pay for not telling Ruby that she had ended things with Brax. “Given everything that’s happened recently, I wasn’t sure that I should go on another date so soon” Charlie told Ruby; avoiding the question, and avoiding telling Ruby the truth.

Ruby looked at Charlie dumbfounded. “Are you serious? I would have thought the exact opposite given everything that had happened recently” Ruby told Charlie, and Charlie could see that Ruby was telling the truth, which made Charlie wonder whether she had made the right decision by ending things with Brax. “So, when are you two going out then?” Ruby asked cheekily, whilst grinning.

“Ruby can you please just drop it!” Charlie snapped, and Ruby looked surprised; whilst Ruby had certainly yelled at Charlie quite a few times, Charlie had never lost her temper with Ruby. Charlie’s hand flew to her mouth. “I’m so sorry Ruby” Charlie apologized, and Ruby smiled to show that she was forgiven. “It’s just that...” Charlie trailed off, not wanting to get into a discussion with Ruby about why she had ended things with Brax.

“It’s just that what?” Ruby pressed the matter gently.

Charlie smiled at Ruby. “Don’t worry about it” she told Ruby. Ruby opened her mouth to argue, but Charlie spoke first. “What are you going to do with your last day of freedom?” Charlie asked Ruby as a distraction (Ruby had to return to school the next day).

It worked, as Ruby sighed. “I’m going to go over to Casey’s; he’s going to help me catch up on some of the things that I missed while I was away” she told Charlie, who nodded. Ruby looked at Charlie shrewdly, “And while I’m there I might just talk to Brax, about whatever’s going on between you two” Ruby hinted mock-menacingly.

Charlie groaned; she had forgotten that Casey was Brax’s brother, and she knew that her stubborn daughter would stick to her word and talk to Brax. “There’s nothing going on” Charlie lied. Ruby opened her mouth to speak again, so Charlie quickly added “Well you’ve missed a lot of school so you had probably better get going to Casey’s, like now” Charlie told Ruby, whilst guiding her daughter to her bags and then to the door where Ruby stood with an annoyed look on her face.

“This isn’t over” Ruby warned Charlie, before closing the door behind her. Charlie leant against the door and breathed a sigh of relief. But she knew that she had only just managed to get out of the 101 questions Ruby was going to ask when she found out the truth.

------------------

Ruby knocked on the door of the Braxton household. Within a few seconds, the door was opened by Casey, who greeted his girlfriend with a careful kiss and hug (being mindful of Ruby’s injuries) and took her book bag for her whilst leading her down the hall way. Ruby and Casey walked into the living room where Heath was lounging on the sofa, watching the TV.

“Hey Heath” Ruby greeted the middle brother, as she and Casey set up their books on the table. She was on good terms with all members of the Braxton family, and they were used to Ruby constantly being at their house.

“Rubes” Heath acknowledged Ruby briefly before turning back to his program. Casey and Ruby managed to work studiously for half an hour, before Brax came loudly banging into the room.

“Hey Brax” Ruby and Casey called out, but Brax just stormed past into his room, slamming the door as he did so. Ruby looked at Casey and Heath in surprise. “What’s up with him?” she asked.

Casey just shrugged; he was used to his brothers getting in moods, so it was no big deal to him. Heath on the other hand had just finished watching his program, so he turned to Ruby to dish the dirt on his older brother. “We dunno, he’s been in a mood for about a week” Heath informed Ruby.

Ruby looked interested at this. “Really? Huh, my mum’s been in a funny mood too. I wonder if they’ve had a lovers tiff” Ruby speculated. It was now Heath and Casey’s turn to look surprised.

“What do you mean – lovers tiff?” Casey asked; he and Heath didn’t know about Charlie and Brax’s date.

“Well you know how they went out on that date, and my mum said it went really well” Ruby explained slowly; like she was explaining it to a two year old.

Heath and Casey looked at each other before Heath burst out laughing. “Are you serious? My brother and your mum are dating? My brother is dating a copper?” Heath snorted loudly. Ruby nodded, and Heath wiped tears of laughter away from his eyes. “Oh that’s priceless” Heath chortled. At this moment in time Brax walked out of his room and grabbed a drink from the kitchen. Heath smirked and whispered to Casey and Ruby (who had both given up on studying a while ago) “Watch this” he told them before raising his voice to yell at Brax. “Oi Brax” Heath yelled, and Brax turned around.

“What?” Brax asked grumpily.

“Aw why so down mate? You having girl troubles?” Heath asked Brax, adopting a very fake looking concerned look as he did so.

Brax glared at Heath. “Go to hell” he told his brother before walking towards the sofa where Heath was sitting and sitting down next to his brother and determinedly staring at the TV screen. Heath looked mock-offended, and scooted up next to his brother, smirking as he did so.

“I’m so sorry, I’ll rephrase that shall I? Are you having copper troubles?” Heath cackled, before Brax tipped Heath off of the sofa. Heath landed on the floor with a thump. Heath turned to look at Casey and Ruby, who had been watching the previous exchange with amusement. “Do you see how tetchy he is? I would definitely say that he is having copper troubles. Well, I’m sorry mate but if you need a shoulder to cry on, you’re going to have to find someone else because I am not romantically challenged and I have a date to get to” Heath said as he stood up. He was about to turn to leave, before he asked. “What happened anyway? Did she come to her senses and dump ya?” Heath asked, unwittingly nearly getting it spot on. Brax threw a cushion at Heath, who dodged out of the way. “Later” Heath chortled as he left the Braxton household.

Brax turned back to looking at the TV and Ruby suddenly became very aware of how quiet it was, now that Heath had left. She really wanted to ask Brax about what had gone down between him and Charlie, but after a warning look from Casey she decided to drop it for now. As she turned to listen to Casey who was explaining what they had been doing in English, Ruby made a mental note to herself to try talking to Charlie again later.

----------------

Ruby stood in her uniform looking at the clock. Charlie had left a note last night saying that she was going out for drinks with Leah and Bianca and that she would be crashing at Bianca’s afterwards. Ruby knew that Charlie was avoiding talking to her about the whole Brax issue, which only made Ruby more determined to find out what was going on. Ruby had been hoping that Charlie would come back before she had to leave for school, but Ruby knew that she had to leave now and Charlie still wasn’t back. Sighing heavily, Ruby grabbed her bag and set off for school.

---------------

Brax stalked down the beach. It was his lunch break, and he was still in the mood that he had been in for the last few days. He was annoyed that Charlie had broken up with him, and he was angry at himself for getting so worked up about a woman he hardly knew. But through the course of his and Charlie’s date, they had both connected really well with one an other, and had both (unbeknownst to the other) opened up to each other about things that they didn’t normally open up about.

As Brax continued to walk down the beach, he spotted Charlie walking down the beach from the opposite direction. She didn’t seem to have noticed him yet. Brax hesitated; on one hand he wanted to talk to Charlie, but on the other, she had made it very clear that she didn’t want to see him. The matter was soon out of his hands when Charlie suddenly looked up and spotted him. Charlie quickly turned around and started walking quickly away in the other direction. Brax started running, and managed to catch up to Charlie.

“Charlie, can you please just talk to me for a minute?” Brax asked. Charlie visibly hesitated, before stopping and nodding.

“Ok, what about?” Charlie asked, looking down with her arms folded.

“About why you have to stop seeing me to look after Ruby” Brax said. Charlie shifted where she stood, clearly uncomfortable. “Look it’s not that I don’t get that you need to be there for your daughter, because I do get that. I do.” Brax assured Charlie. It’s just I don’t understand why you can’t be in a relationship to do that”.

Charlie sighed. “Its not that I wouldn’t be able to. It’s just that I’m new to being a mum. I’m still learning all that stuff. And I’m actually getting better at it, and I don’t want my being in a relationship to jeopardize that” Charlie explained to Brax.

Brax nodded slowly. “Ok, I get where you’re coming from, but I still think that you’re worrying too much about it” Brax said. When Charlie still looked unsure Brax continued “Look, just go on one more date with me, and if it’s too hard then I won’t bother you anymore, I’ll just leave you alone. What do you say?” Brax asked hopefully. Charlie hesitated; clearly contemplating Brax’s offer. At this moment in time however, she spotted a tearful Ruby running down onto the beach, with Casey not far behind her. Ruby curled up into a ball on the sand and Casey sat down next to her, putting his arm around his girlfriend as he did so. Brax turned around to see why Charlie wasn’t answering his question. “What’s up with Ruby?” he asked Charlie.

“I’m not sure, but I’m about to find out” Charlie replied before heading off in the direction of Ruby and Casey, with Brax not far behind her. “Hey Rubes, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you at school?” Charlie asked as she approached the teenagers and kneeling beside Ruby.

Ruby sniffled and wiped away her tears. “Well it was lunchtime so I’m allowed to not be at school” she pointed out before quickly continuing. “It’s just that everyone at school knew about the accident, and everyone was really nice about it, but it was just too much to bear” Ruby whispered sadly. Charlie put a comforting arm around Ruby. Ruby wiped away her tears and tried to smile at Charlie and Brax who was standing uncertainly behind Charlie. “So did you guys sort things out?” Ruby asked. Charlie and Brax shot a quick look at the other. This was not missed by Ruby. “What’s going on you guys?” Ruby asked suspiciously.

Charlie hesitated before replying honestly “The truth is, there’s nothing to sort out; we broke up”.

Ruby and Casey looked at Charlie and Brax in surprise, “Why?” Casey asked.

“That’s not important” Charlie quickly added. “What matters is that we did, and that’s all there is to it”. Seeing that Ruby looked ready to argue, Charlie quickly continued “Would it be alright if I talked to Ruby alone for a minute please?” she asked.

Casey nodded, but Brax spoke, “But you haven’t given me an answer yet”.

Charlie looked at Brax sadly, “I’m sorry but my answer is no. I really wish it wasn’t, but that’s how I feel at this moment in time” Charlie told Brax, who nodded slightly and started walking towards the surf club, pulling Casey along with him as he did so.

Ruby waited until both Braxton’s were out of earshot before turning to Charlie who was wiping away a tear which had formed in the corner of her eye. “What was all that about?” Ruby demanded. “Why on earth did you guys break up? Did he break up with you?”

Charlie sighed. “No Ruby, I broke up with him” Charlie replied.

“Why?” Ruby exclaimed, throwing her good arm up in the air to add effect.

“Because I’m new at all this mum stuff, and being in a relationship is too hard right now when I’m trying to concentrate on being a good mum to you” Charlie confessed, looking down.

Ruby looked at Charlie in astonishment. “But you are a good mum” Ruby told Charlie, still sounding surprised.

Charlie looked up when Ruby made this comment. “What?” she asked in disbelief.

“I said you are a good mum. And I’m not lying to make you feel better or anything. I’m telling the truth” Ruby told Charlie earnestly. Ruby looked over at her mother, who now had tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Really?” Charlie asked through her tears. In answer Ruby snuggled up to Charlie, who put her arm around Ruby and pulled her close. As the pair watched the waves, Charlie smiled to herself; she may not be very happy with the way things were going with Brax, but Ruby thought that Charlie was a good mother. And this made Charlie content with what she had, for now.

Next Chapter:

* Brax witnesses a confrontation between Charlie and Angelo, and doing so learns more about Charlie's past.

* Charlie makes an unexpected friend in Casey.

* Charlie and Martha clash, but manage to reach an understanding after someone makes a surprising revelation.

[soph1303]

CHAPTER 18

Charlie walked out of the diner with her coffee, and sat down on a bench which overlooked the beach. It had been about 2 weeks since she had spoken to Brax that day on that beach. Brax had stuck to his word and left Charlie alone, but the awkward silences that occurred now every time they were forced into each other’s company was almost too much for Charlie to bear. Charlie was interrupted from her thoughts by somebody calling her name. Charlie turned around to see Angelo walking towards where she was sitting. Charlie sighed, and started walking away from Angelo; she really didn’t have the patience to deal with him right now.

“Charlie, wait up” Angelo called, but Charlie did not slow. Angelo jogged up to Charlie, “Charlie, please” Angelo said, pulling her arm so that she was forced to turn around and look at him. Charlie jerked her arm out of Angelo’s grasp, but stopped and looked at Angelo.

“Don’t touch me” Charlie warned him.

“Sorry” Angelo apologised.

Charlie sighed. “Whatever. What do you want Angelo?” Charlie asked rudely; she didn’t really feel like Angelo deserved anything better. Unknown to both of them, Brax was rinsing off after his surf in the showers which were near where they were standing. Brax had his back to both of them, but he could still hear everything they were saying perfectly.

“To make peace. If we’re going to live in the same town, we need to put the past behind us” Angelo told Charlie.

Charlie spluttered indignantly. “You honestly expect me to forget everything that happened between us, and what you did you have got to be out of your mind?” Charlie said to Angelo angrily.

“Look I know I hurt you Charlie, and that we were engaged ,but it was just after you had told me all about Grant, and I…” Angelo started to say, before stopping when he saw the death glare that Charlie was giving him. Brax raised his eyebrows when heard Angelo mention being engaged to Charlie; Brax had not been expecting that – at all.

“So let me get this straight. I tell you the hardest thing that I have ever had to tell everyone, and instead of being supportive like a fiancée should, you decide to make yourself feel better by sleeping with someone else” Charlie spat at Angelo, who at least had the decency to look ashamed. Brax couldn’t believe what he was hearing; not only had Angelo been engaged to Charlie, but he had then gone and slept with someone else after Charlie had told him about someone called Grant.

“I know and I’m sorry Charlie. You’re right; I should have been there for you, but I was scared and I ran, I’m sorry” Angelo told Charlie, who shook her head.

“Just go” Charlie told him through grounded teeth, trying to resist the urge she felt to slap him.

“But…” Angelo started to say, before Charlie’s hand flew forwards and hit his face hard. Angelo stumbled back a few steps. Angelo opened his mouth to say something, before deciding against it and walking off in silence. Once Angelo had gone, Brax turned around to see Charlie trying shaking off the slap. Charlie turned around and saw Brax looking at her.

Brax knew that he had promised not to bother Charlie anymore, but he couldn’t resist saying “Nice hit” Brax grinned.

Charlie tried to bite her lip, to stop herself from grinning as well, but Brax’s smile was too infectious and Charlie couldn’t help but smile back at him. “It was, wasn’t it?” Charlie admitted.

Brax laughed, “Remind me not to get on the wrong side of you”.

Charlie laughed as well. “He deserved it though” Charlie added.

“I know” Brax told her. Charlie looked confused. “I heard the conversation which came before the slap” Brax explained, and Charlie nodded understanding. “Man that sucks though, what he did to you” Brax said to Charlie.

Charlie nodded. “Yeah” she agreed bitterly.

“What did you tell him that freaked him out so much?” Brax asked curiously; wanting to know why Angelo had been such an idiot to cheat on Charlie all those years ago.

Charlie felt her face grimace as Brax asked that question; just when they had finally looked like they were back on speaking terms, he had to go and ask the one question that Charlie didn’t want to answer. “I should go” Charlie said quickly, before walking off. Brax stared at Charlie’s retreating back in bewilderment; one minute they had been getting along, and then the next Charlie had completely closed up. Brax assumed it was at the question he had asked her, which made Brax think that whatever had happened to Charlie all those years ago must have been pretty bad for her to react the way she did.

----------------------------------------

Charlie got out of her car and walked towards the front door of her house. As she walked up the driveway, Charlie noticed that Casey was standing in front of the door, ringing the doorbell.

“Hey Casey” Charlie greeted him, as she got out her keys.

Casey turned around to look at her. “Oh hey Charlie,” he greeted her, moving aside so that Charlie could open the door.

“Ruby’s at April’s, but she should be getting back soon, so feel free to come inside and wait for her if you want” Charlie told Casey, as she walked into the house.

“Thanks” Casey said as he followed Charlie into the house and into the kitchen.

“Do you want a cuppa?” Charlie asked as Casey took a seat.

“Um sure” Casey replied. Charlie set the kettle boiling, before turning around and leaning against the counter, so that she was facing Casey. Casey noticed that she winced, as she brushed her right hand against the counter, “You ok?” Casey asked.

“Yeah, it’s my own stupid fault, I slapped somebody” Charlie explained with a small smile on her face.

“Was it Brax? Because he probably deserved it if it was” Casey told Charlie who laughed.

“No it was Angelo” Charlie answered.

“Oh. Well you don’t look like the person who would hit someone for no good reason so he probably deserved it” said Casey.

Charlie smiled. “Thanks Casey. And yes he did deserve it. Brax saw me do it and he agreed that Angelo had it coming”. For some reason, Charlie didn’t find it so hard to talk about Brax with Casey. She wasn’t sure if it had something to do with the fact that Casey was Brax’s brother, or if it was that Casey was a just a good listener. Either way, Charlie found that Casey was a very easy person to get along with – just like his brother.

“What did Angelo do?” Casey asked curiously.

Charlie hesitated, before deciding that Casey would probably find out at some point; either through Brax or Ruby, and knowing Colleen it probably wouldn’t be too long til she found out any way. Besides, Charlie knew that she could trust Casey to keep his mouth shut. “Angelo and I used to date when were at the police academy together” Charlie began.

Casey raised his eyebrows, “Really?” Casey asked in surprise. When he saw Charlie giving him a funny look he added, “It’s just that you’re so hot, and he’s so … not”.

Charlie chuckled. “Thank you for the nice, yet totally inappropriate comment Casey” she told Casey, who grinned ruefully. “Yeah Angelo and I used to date. We were even engaged after 8 months of dating. I thought that I could trust him, so I told him the biggest secret that I have. After I told him, he went kind of quiet for a while. Then we got posted to different stations, and we had to the whole long distance thing for a bit. After a few months Angelo got posted to the same station as me, and it looked like things were going to go great. Then, the very next day, a woman turned up at our house, pregnant with Angelo’s child. She lost the baby, but still. The damage was already done” Charlie told Casey bitterly, who looked quite shocked at what he was hearing.

“Are you serious?” he asked Charlie who nodded. “What a jerk!” Casey added.

“I agree” Charlie said.

“Wow, I’m so sorry Charlie. Does Brax know all that? Because I’m sure he’d go punch Angelo for you after hearing all that” Casey told Charlie.

“He knows that Angelo and I were engaged and that Angelo cheated on me, but that’s it. And if it’s ok with you, I’d prefer it if it stayed that way, please?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah of course. Wow I can’t believe it. So was that the reason you slapped him?” Casey asked.

“Partly. He asked me if we could put the past behind us; like nothing had ever happened – that’s why I slapped him” Charlie said.

Casey shook his head angrily, and was about to speak, when the front door opened and Ruby came in. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late Case. I’ll just go pop my stuff in my room and then we’ll go yeah?” Ruby asked and Casey nodded. She grinned at Charlie, before walking off in the direction of her bedroom.

Charlie’s phone started to ring. “I should probably take this, but thanks for listening to me whinge. I appreciate it” Charlie told Casey sincerely.

“Don’t mention it” Casey told Charlie, who smiled and walked into another room to take the call, as Ruby came bouncing down the stairs.

“Ok I’m ready. Let’s go” Ruby told Casey, who grinned and kissed his girlfriend. “What did you talk to my mum about?” Ruby asked.

“Put it this way”, Casey told Ruby, “I’m pretty sure your mum and I just became friends”.

----------------------------------------

Charlie got out of her car and walked towards the front door of Jack and Martha’s house. Jack had just called to say that Charlie had left her purse at the station and that he had picked it up for her, and would she be able to swing by now and pick it up? Charlie was about to knock on the door before she realised that it was already open. She pushed the door open and was about to call out when she heard voices. Charlie was about to call out anyway, before she heard her name mentioned. Charlie took a step inside the door, and saw Martha and Jack both in the kitchen with their backs to Charlie.

“I can’t believe that Charlie and Ruby are living together now” Martha was saying to Jack.

“Well they are mother and daughter” Jack pointed out fairly.

“So? Charlie didn’t care what happened to Ruby for the first 18 years of her life. She obviously was careless when she was a teenager, and boom she gets pregnant with Ruby. She can’t handle the pressure of being a mum so she gives up her baby. And now 18 years later they meet by chance, and they’re acting like best buds. I don’t know how she’s got Ruby sucked in with whatever she’s been telling her” Martha ranted.

Charlie felt the heat rise in her cheeks when she heard Martha say this. Charlie knew that she hadn’t got on quite as well with Martha as she had with Leah and Bianca, but Charlie would never have guessed that this was how Martha had really felt about everything.

“Come on Martha, that’s not fair” Jack protested.

“Look Jack, I know you work with her, but I’m sorry but I just don’t buy her whole sob story” Martha continued, as if she had barely heard Jack. Charlie decided that she had heard enough and turned around to leave; she didn’t care about getting her purse back anymore. She would just get it off him tomorrow at work. As Charlie turned to leave, her bag lightly hit the door handle which rattled as it was hit. Martha and Jack both turned around as they heard the noise. Martha’s face paled as she summed up from Charlie’s red face and the fact that she was turning to leave rather than come in, that Charlie had heard every word that Martha had just said.

“I just came for my purse” Charlie said quietly. Jack silently walked over to a cupboard, where he picked it up and handed it to her. “Thanks” Charlie mumbled as she took the purse of Jack.

“Charlie, I’m so sorry!” Martha told Charlie sorrowfully. Charlie just nodded slightly; acknowledging the apology but not accepting it, before walking out of the door.

When he was sure that Charlie was gone, Jack turned around to Martha who still had a horrified expression on her face. “Nice one, Martha. Well done, I’m pretty sure that that’s the end of mine and Charlie’s friendship thanks to your big mouth” Jack told Martha sarcastically.

“I’m sorry” Martha repeated.

Jack just shook his head dismissively. “No you’re not; you’re just sorry that you got caught. You had better fix this Martha” Jack warned Martha before walking into their bedroom and slamming the door shut behind him, leaving Martha to wonder how on earth she was going to fix the mess she had just created.

----------------------------------------

Half an hour later Charlie pulled up outside Leah’s house, wiping away the last of her tears from earlier as she did so. Charlie was used to people reacting the way Martha had, she just hadn’t expected it from someone she thought was her friend. Charlie had been letting herself get depressed, before Leah had called and asked if Charlie had wanted to come over. Grasping at the chance to distract herself, Charlie had quickly said yes. Charlie walked up to the door and knocked three times. A few seconds later, Leah opened the door.

“Hey Charlie, come in” Leah greeted her as the two women hugged. Charlie stepped inside and Leah closed the door behind her. “Charlie...” Leah began, as they walked into Leah’s living room. Charlie noticed straight away that Bianca was there and so was Martha. Martha stood up uncertainly as she saw them, fidgeting with her hands as she did so. As soon as she saw Martha, Charlie turned around to leave. Leah stood in Charlie’s path and tried to reason with her. “Charlie, Martha told us what happened. She knows what she said was wrong, and she’s really sorry about it. So I invited you over so you guys can talk. Can’t you at least give her a chance to explain?” Leah pleaded. Charlie did stop, and turned to look at Martha incredulously. Once she was sure that Charlie wasn’t going anywhere, Leah took a seat next to Bianca, leaving Charlie and Martha standing and staring at each other.

“Martha, why on earth should I listen to you explain? Have you ever bothered to let me explain?” Charlie asked Martha sarcastically.

Martha looked down. “Well no...” Martha admitted.

“Exactly. So how do you honestly think that you have any right to make judgements about me, my life or my daughter?” Charlie asked angrily.

“You’re right Charlie; I never should have assumed that stuff about you, without hearing your side of the story. I’m really sorry,” Martha apologised sincerely, and Charlie’s facial expression whilst remaining stony, did soften slightly as Martha apologised. Leah smiled at the pair of them, hoping that Martha didn’t stay true to form and open her big mouth again and ruin the progress she had made with Charlie. But of course; Martha put her foot in her mouth by then adding, “But, Charlie, seriously, what are we supposed to think? I mean I shouldn’t have assumed, but I’m probably right though”.

Bianca and Leah winced as Martha said this. “So close,” Bianca whispered to Leah, who nodded. Charlie simply stared at Martha, with her mouth open.

“What did you just say?” Charlie spluttered.

Martha shuffled where she stood uncomfortably. “You heard. Just because I shouldn’t have said it, doesn’t mean that it’s not true” Martha mumbled, looking down.

“You know what? That’s it! You know, I actually thought we could be friends Martha, but clearly I was wrong. Because I’m pretty sure that friends don’t treat each other like this” Charlie said angrily. “And for your information, even though it isn’t at all any of your business, you are completely wrong about everything. So next time, you want to judge me, at least get your facts straight before you open your mouth” Charlie added quietly, but with sarcasm laced through it.

Martha’s face fell as Charlie said these words. Charlie just shook her head and turned her back to Martha and started walking away. “I’m really sorry Charlie, I am I swear! I really do want to be friends. it’s just...” Martha hesitated, and Charlie paused in the door way; wanting to hear Martha’s excuse for being the way that she was. Martha sighed before continuing, “I got pregnant myself as a teenager from being careless, but I miscarried the baby. Before I lost the baby, a lot of people judged me and I found myself at the end of some pretty harsh comments. And since then I guess, I’ve just been really judgemental of teenage mothers , because of what people said to me.

Charlie stared at Martha in shock; she had been expecting Martha to try and come up with some lame excuse, but after hearing what Martha had said, Charlie totally understood why Martha was so judgemental and she felt nothing but sympathy for the other woman. “Martha, I’m so sorry” Charlie told Martha.

Martha sighed, “I know it’s no excuse for the way I’ve been treating you, but I really would like it if we could be friends” Martha told Charlie. Charlie looked at Martha for a minute, before slowly walking towards the other women and pulled her into a hug. Martha wrapped her arms around Charlie, and they both cried silently as they hugged.

Bianca nudged Leah, “This looks like fun, lets go join them”. And before long, all four women found themselves crying but laughing, as they all hugged each other. As she hugged her friends, Charlie was once again thankful, that she had moved to the bay.

Next Chapter:

* Charlie and Ruby have another heart to heart talk with surprising results.

* Whilst working, Charlie runs into more people that she hoped she'd never have to see again. What will happen when they meet again?

* Brax accidentally finds out the real truth about Charlie's past.

[soph1303]

Thanks for all the comments And Pembie just to let you know now - there will be no love affair between Casey and Charlie . I hope that this chapter does not disapoint.

Warning: References to Charlie's rape.

CHAPTER 19

Charlie glanced at her watch and sighed; as usual Ruby was running late. It was lunchtime and Ruby had agreed to meet up with Charlie for a juice during Ruby’s school lunch hour and before Charlie’s shift started. Charlie was about to get her phone out and give Ruby a call when she saw Ruby walk into the surf club. Charlie was surprised however to see that Ruby had walked in with an elderly couple. Charlie couldn’t see either of the couples’ faces, but she could faintly hear their conversations.

“And this is the surf club,” Charlie heard Ruby tell the man and woman. “I haven’t got long left of my break and I supposed to meet up with my mum, so I had better go. But I hope you enjoy your holiday here in the bay” Ruby continued. Charlie felt her heart swell faintly with pride as she heard Ruby acknowledge Charlie as being her mum. Whilst she had never called Charlie mum to her face, it was nice to hear that she was still introduced as being Ruby’s mum when she came up in conversation.

“Thank you so much dear, and don’t worry about us; you go have lunch with your mum. Thanks for the tour” the woman told Ruby. Charlie’s ears pricked up slightly as she heard the woman’s voice; Charlie was pretty sure whose voice that was, but dismissed it. There was no way that woman would show up in Summer Bay. Charlie saw Ruby smile at the couple, and then start walking closer, to where Charlie was, waving at Charlie as she spotted her. The old man and woman’s eyes followed where Ruby was walking to, until both of their faces were visible to Charlie. Charlie felt herself go numb with horror as she finally saw the faces of the elderly couple; whose faces now showed expressions of shock as they stared back at Charlie. Charlie struggled to tear her gaze away from them as Ruby sat down.

“Sorry I’m late,” Ruby apologized to Charlie, not noticing that Charlie was barely listening. “I was just showing this really nice couple who were on holidays here where to go” Ruby continued. Ruby finally looked closer at Charlie, “Hello, are you listening to me?” Ruby asked as she waved her hands in front of Charlie’s face. Charlie jumped slightly; she had been watching the couple, who had now taken a seat at the other side of the surf club, but were staring back at Charlie and whispering to each other.

“Stay here a minute,” Charlie ordered Ruby. Ruby gave her a strange look as Charlie look as Charlie stood up.

“What are you doing?” Ruby asked curiously. Charlie ignored her and started walking towards the old couple, who looked up as Charlie approached them, coming to a stop in front of their table.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Charlie found the courage to say through gritted teeth; trying not to let them know how freaked out their presence was making her.

“We could ask you the same question” the man told Charlie, who barely repressed a shudder as he spoke.

“I live here,” Charlie told them flatly.

“Well we’re just on holiday, so don’t worry; we’ll be gone before long” the old woman said. Charlie inwardly sighed a sigh of relief, before the woman added, “So you tracked your daughter down did you? I must admit I hadn’t recognised her before she walked over to you, but then it became obvious to me that I had just been showed round town by my granddaughter”.

Charlie felt her fear turn to anger, as she heard what the woman was saying. “She is not your granddaughter” Charlie told the woman, her voice rising in anger. Conversations from nearby tables faltered as Charlie’s voice got louder. Brax and Jack, had both been standing in the corner of the surf club discussing something, when they heard Charlie’s angry voice.

The old man gave a cruel laugh, which sent shivers down Charlie’s spine. “I hate to break it to you, but she is our granddaughter. Though I will admit that she has your looks; she looks nothing like Grant at all. Not a bit of Bledcoe visible” Mr Bledcoe commented to his wife who nodded in agreement.

“I don’t care if she is your granddaughter, if you or your son, go anyway near my daughter, I will kill you! Do you understand? I will kill you!” Charlie yelled at Mr and Mrs Bledcoe; not caring that now the whole surf club had gone silent and was listening to their conversation. After a quick look to each other, Brax and Jack both decided it was time to step in. They walked towards Charlie and each grabbed one of her arms; forcing Charlie to back away. This didn’t stop Charlie from sending murderous glares at the Bledcoe’s, who were now adopting expressions of total innocence and shock. Brax and Jack managed to drag Charlie outside, and Ruby quickly followed after them; now thoroughly confused.

Once they were outside, they decided it was safe to let Charlie go. “What the hell was that?” Jack asked a fuming Charlie.

“Exactly what it looked like” Charlie told him sarcastically.

“Charlie, you can’t just go around threatening people. Even if you weren’t a cop, and especially not when you’re wearing your uniform” Jack reprimanded Charlie.

Charlie raised her eyebrows at Jack. “I am perfectly aware of that fact. And it’s really none of your business, so I’d appreciate it if you would leave now; I need to talk to Ruby privately” Charlie told them; not really caring that she was being rude.

Jack sighed, but nodded. “Ok, fine. But whatever is going on, you need to have sorted out by the time you get to work, alright?” Jack asked sternly.

Charlie nodded curtly, and Jack walked away. Brax stayed where he was however. “You wanna tell me what that was all about?” Brax asked curiously.

Charlie shook her head. “No, I really don’t,” she told him.

“I know I’ve not known you all that long, but you don’t seem like the person who goes around issuing death threats a lot, so I’m guessing you had a pretty good reason” Brax pressed. Charlie just stared at him until he sighed. “Ok you win, but I’m here if you want to talk” Brax told her before walking off as well. Charlie waited until Brax was out of earshot, before turning to Ruby who was looking at Charlie with an incredulous expression on her face.

“Ruby, I need you to promise me, that no matter what that couple you were talking says, that you will stay away from them, ok?” Charlie pleaded.

“But why?” Ruby asked.

Charlie sighed, and lowered her voice, “Because those were Grants parents – your grandparents, and I don’t want you having anything to do with that family, do you hear me?”

Ruby gasped. “Are you serious? God no wonder you lost it at them” Ruby commented.

“So do you promise?” Charlie asked desperately; Ruby had only just come into her life again, and there was no way in hell that she was going to let the Bledcoe’s ruin that.

Ruby nodded, and Charlie looked relieved. “I promise mum” Ruby told Charlie, who stared at her in surprise.

“What did you just say?” Charlie stammered.

“I said I promise mum” Ruby told Charlie, self-consciously. “It’s no big deal, let’s go” Ruby said and tried to walk off, but Charlie grabbed her arm to stop her.

“You just called me mum; that is a big deal – you’ve never called me that before” Charlie insisted.

“Well you are my mum, so I called you mum. Is that alright with you?” Ruby checked.

Charlie felt her eye’s well up with tears, “Yeah of course it is” she told Ruby as she pulled her in for a hug. Ruby wrapped both of her arms around her mother (she had got her cast off yesterday) and the two stood for a while, in happy silence.

-------------------------------

Charlie dropped her keys on the kitchen counter and sighed; work had been horrible – Jack had kept on asking Charlie questions about the whole surf club incident, and Charlie had kept refusing to tell him anything, which had made Jack annoyed, meaning that the rest of Charlie’s shift had been extremely uncomfortable. So all in all, Charlie was extremely happy to be home.

Charlie walked over to the answering machine and checked her messages. There was one from Ruby saying that she was staying over at April’s. Charlie decided that if it was going to be just her, then there was no point doing anything fancy. Charlie changed into some comfortable sweats, lied down on the couch and turned on the TV. After watching the TV for a while, Charlie felt her eyes drooping, so she turned off the TV and let them close.

--------------------------------

Brax walked up the driveway of Charlie and Ruby’s house. He wasn’t convinced by Charlie’s brave show earlier and wanted to check if she was alright. He reached the door, and knocked. Brax waited a few minutes but there was no reply. He knew Charlie was in because he could see her car. Brax tried the door handle on the off chance that it was open. To his surprise, the door swung open he turned the handle. Brax took an uncertain step inside.

“Hello, Charlie?” Brax called as he entered the house. “It’s just me. I just wanted to check if you were ok after earlier”. There was no reply, so Brax took another few steps down the hall. He was about to give up and go, when he thought he heard a noise come from the living room. “Charlie?” Brax called again, but there was still no reply. Brax walked to where he thought he had heard the noise come from, and sure enough Charlie was lying on the couch. Brax was about to call out to her, before he realised that she was asleep. Brax was now thoroughly confused as to where the noise he had heard had come from, until he heard it again. It was Charlie; she was crying and shaking in her sleep. Brax wasn’t sure what to do, until he heard Charlie moan in her sleep.

“Get of me! No Grant! Please!” Charlie yelled, and Brax found himself moving forwards, and kneeling next to the couch and trying to gently shake her awake. Charlie’s eyes flew open, and she started gasping with fear.

“Hey, hey it’s just me” Brax said, trying to calm the shaking woman down.

“Brax?” Charlie stammered, as she looked over at him.

“Yeah. Are you alright?” Brax asked, concerned about Charlie.

Charlie sat up slowly. “Yeah I am now, thanks for waking me up” Charlie told Brax, as she tried to calm her breathing.

“Don’t mention it,” Brax assured her, and she smiled weakly at him. Brax hesitated before saying, “I’m not trying to pry I swear, it’s just you sounded more scared than if it was just a normal nightmare, and I was wondering why”.

“That’s because it wasn’t a normal nightmare,” Charlie admitted, turning to face Brax as he sat down next to her.

“Was it to with what happened earlier today?” Brax asked curiously. Charlie looked down at her hands.

“I haven’t had that nightmare for ages. I guess seeing them again brought it on” Charlie muttered so quietly, that to Brax it sounded more like she was talking to herself than him.

“Charlie when you were yelling before,” Brax began cautiously; not wanting to upset Charlie any more than she already was. “You kept saying to get off you, and you mentioned the name Grant,” Brax continued and Charlie looked up at him sharply, her breathing becoming more erratic again. “And when I overheard you and Angelo the other day, you mentioned his name then as well. And now you’re looking so freaked out when I mention his name … what’s this guy done to you Charlie?” Brax asked gently.

Charlie started to tremble. “I can’t tell you,” she whispered as she felt her tears flow faster.

“Charlie, you can trust me, you know” Brax assured Charlie.

Charlie looked at Brax, and could tell that he was being sincere. Charlie was scared to tell him – scared that he would run when she told him. Just like Angelo had run after Charlie had told him. Angelo had been the same as Brax – wanting Charlie to tell him the truth. And when she did – he got scared and ran from the truth. But when Charlie looked at Brax, she knew that his reaction would be different. It might just be a product of wishful thinking, but Charlie didn’t think that Brax was the sort of guy who would leave after she told him.

“I know,” Charlie said finally, taking a deep breath as she prepared herself. Brax could see that whatever Charlie was about to tell him was extremely difficult for her to do, so he placed a comforting arm around Charlie’s shoulder. Charlie smiled at him gratefully, before beginning to tell her story. “Grant was my boyfriend when I was fourteen,” Charlie began slowly. “Those people you saw today are his parents. Ruby’s grandparents. Grant is Ruby’s father” Charlie told Brax, looking over at him slightly to see what his reaction would be.

Brax nodded and said slowly, “Ok. But that doesn’t explain why you were so angry to see them. Were they unsupportive of you wanting to keep the baby?”

Charlie shook her head. “No, that’s not the reason why. You see the thing is, I didn’t get pregnant because Grant and I were careless,” Charlie said. Charlie looked down as her tears blurred her vision as she got to the hardest part of her story. “I got pregnant … because Grant raped me!” Charlie sobbed. Horror filled Brax’s face as he finally understood the truth.

“Charlie I’m so sorry” Brax said. He knew that his words seemed so insignificant compared to what Charlie had just told him, but he didn’t know what else to say. He tried to express the words that he didn’t know how to say by wrapping his arms tighter around Charlie, and let her sob into his shoulder. Even though this wasn’t the first time she had told anyone the truth, it had been the first time in a long time. About 5 years ago Charlie had given up expecting anyone to care about what she had been through. So she just shut herself off from everybody; to just prevent the rejection that she now expected after she told someone the truth. So telling Brax the truth, and the fact that he was still here, was one of the biggest reliefs she had ever felt.

Brax was late for starting his shift, but he didn’t really care. There was no way that he was going to leave Charlie after she had told him the truth – he wanted to be there to support Charlie and to show her that just because every other guy she had told had ran, he certainly wasn’t. So they sat there and Charlie wrapped her arms around Brax and let herself finally realize that people do care, and Brax was one of those people.

---------------------------

Mrs. Bledcoe leaned against the table in the caravan that she was staying, with her phone pressed to her ear. She grumbled to herself as she waited for the person she was calling to pick up. Eventually the other person replied.

"What?" came the grumpy reply.

"Hello to you too" Mrs Bledcoe grumbled to herself. After there was no reply to this, she sighed and continued, "Well I arrived in Summer Bay, and you'll never guess who I bumped in to".

"Who?" the voice said wearily.

"Charlie Buckton" she replied.

The voice on the other end sniggered. "Really?" he asked.

"Yes, and she's managed to get in contact with her daughter - your daughter" Mrs Bledcoe said.

Grant laughed cruelly as he heard this. "That is very interesting. Maybe it's time I took a holiday to Summer Bay too".

Next Chapter:

* Brax helps Charlie to move forward.

* Grant turns up in Summer Bay. What will happen when he sees Charlie again? Or his daughter for the first time?

* Brax and Angelo come to a truce to protect Charlie and Ruby from Grant.

[soph1303]

Thanks for all the comments . I'm glad that you liked how I wrote that chapter, because it was difficult to write and I wasn't sure whether people would like how I made things go. Especially thanks to Angel90 for her comment - I'm glad that you think that! I really wish that they would do something like this on the show - Brax finding out about the whole Grant mess. But its an old storyline so they will never mention it again, which is a shame .

Warning: There is some language in this chapter. And Grant is in it, so beware of all things that relate to him, because I've decided to make him a nasty piece of work in this fic (even more than he already is).

Note: Obviously Grant is not dead in this fic. So Ross didn't kill him, but he still died from Alzheimer's. I've decided that Charlie and Morag have met a few times but don't really know each other that well, and that the funeral still happened, but Charlie was unable to attend. I might possibly bring Morag into this story but I'm not quite sure yet.

CHAPTER 20

Brax shut the door quietly. After about half an hour of Charlie finally crying the tears that she had been holding back for the last 5 years, she had managed to cry herself to sleep. Brax stayed with her for a while, just in case she needed him. But it seemed that now Charlie had shared her secret, that she was able to sleep peacefully. Brax had thrown a blanket over her, and written a note. Brax put his hands in his pocket and processed what Charlie had told him, as he started walking towards Angelo’s to help close up. Now that Brax knew the truth, the more everything made sense to him now. Like why Charlie had given up her baby, why she had been so mysterious about her past, and why she always seemed slightly nervous around men. Brax had never been a role model citizen, but he’d never crossed too far over the line. But after hearing Charlie’s story, there was nothing he’d like better than to go and hurt the guy who had hurt Charlie. As it was, Brax thought he could deal with hurting Angelo for running when Charlie had told him. Plus, Brax had never really liked Angelo that much anyway. With this is mind, Brax stalked into Angelo’s.

As Brax entered, he noticed Angelo putting away the chairs in the now empty restaurant. Angelo looked up as Brax walked towards him.

“What time do you call this?” Angelo demanded. “Your shift started three hours ago. I hope that you haven’t been doing this a lot since I’ve been gone. I never should have left; at least I’m back now.”

Brax snorted, “Get off your high horse Rosetta, I bought you out remember. I own this place now, and I just let you work here because I feel sorry for you. So arguing with the boss is not a good thing to do if you want to keep said job”.

Angelo glared at Brax; he hated it when Brax was right. “So was there any particular reason that you’re late, or did you find something more important to do than looking after your business?” Angelo asked in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Yeah I did actually” Brax said, his voice getting slightly quieter as he started to become angry. “I was with Charlie,” Brax told Angelo, who raised his eyebrows.

“Right, and to you, chasing a chick that’s never going to like you back, is more important to you than working? Nice.” Angelo said condescendingly.

Brax just stared at Angelo. “No, she was telling me about Grant,” Brax said angrily. Angelo’s jaw dropped slightly as he heard this; it had taken Charlie ages to tell him about Grant and they were engaged, and yet here Charlie was telling a guy that she hadn’t known for very long already. “Yeah, and she also told me what you did when you found out the truth” Brax continued, getting angrier and angrier as he spoke.

Angelo felt his mouth go dry. “Yeah, ok so I panicked. But I was…” Angelo started weakly, before Brax cut him off.

“So? It shouldn’t matter what age you are. If somebody that you care about – especially somebody that you are engaged to –tells you something like that, you don’t do that. You don’t just run away, have an affair and get the other chick knocked up” Brax yelled, finally expressing the anger that he had been feeling since Charlie had told him. Brax pushed Angelo in the chest and sent him stumbling back a few paces. “You’re just pathetic” Brax told Angelo, before turning around and exiting the restaurant, leaving an ashamed Angelo to close up.

----------------------------------------------------

Charlie walked along the beach top as she thought about everything that had happened last night. It had been hard, but Charlie was glad that she had done it. Charlie smiled to herself slightly, as she noticed Brax walking in her direction.

“Hi,” Charlie said, somewhat shyly as they stopped in front of each other.

“Hey. How are you feeling this morning?” Brax asked, concernedly.

“I’ve been better. But I’m glad that I told you though,” Charlie admitted, which caused Brax to smile slightly.

“I’m glad that you told me too” Brax said.

“Look Brax, I’ve been thinking. About what I said the other day...” Charlie began.

Brax cut her off. “So you tell me what you told me last night, and now you want me to back off again. Please don’t push me away again Charlie, I don’t think I can handle losing you again” Brax said desperately.

Charlie sighed, and continued. “If you would let me finish,” she hinted with raised eyebrows, she said as Brax opened his mouth to speak again. “Let’s try again,” she said as Brax closed his mouth. “About what I said the other day...I want you to forget what I said” Charlie told Brax.

Brax looked at her, confused. “What?” he asked.

“I want you to forget what I said about staying away from me,” Charlie explained with a small smile. “I tried to make myself believe that I could deal with not being with you, but I can’t.”

“Really?” Brax asked. He grinned broadly when Charlie nodded. He picked Charlie up and swung her around, kissing her as he put her back down.

-------------------------------------------

A car door opened, and a man with curly brown hair and a cruel smile got out of it. Grant Bledcoe slammed the door shut, as he wondered what to do first in Summer Bay. He was glad his mother had called and told him this; his wife had recently left him and taken full custody of their children. So now Grant thought that he might come and meet his other daughter. But first, he needed to have a little chat with Charlie Buckton.

Grant walked along a beachside path, and considered the views of Summer Bay. It wasn’t bad, he thought as the early morning sun hit his face. He had driven through the night to get here, and now he was ready to go and have some fun. Grant debated where to look for Charlie first; he had found out from his mother that she was a police officer, and considered looking for her there. Grant snorted to himself; if she thought being a police officer meant that she was safe from him, then she had another thing coming.

He was saved the trouble of looking for Charlie however when he heard his name mentioned briefly in a conversation. Grant turned around to see who had spoken his name. About 20 metres or so from where he stood, a darkhaired guy with tattoos all over him had his arm around a petite brunette, and they were deep in discussion. Grant grinned to himself as he recognized Charlie. He started walking towards her. She did not seem to have seen him. Grant carried on walking until he was about 5 metres away from where the pair stood. They now both looked up at him; his face confused, and hers filled with horror. Grant noted that Charlie’s arm tightened around the man’s waist slightly.

“Hello Charlie,” Grant said, taking immense satisfaction from the terrified look on Charlie’s face. “Did you miss me?”

“I’m sorry, but who exactly are you?” the man asked after Charlie seemed unable to reply.

“My name is Grant Bledcoe, maybe you’ve heard of me?” Grant smirked as he saw the man’s face fill with anger. “So you have heard of me then?” Before Grant could react, the man’s fist flew through the air and punched him square in the face, causing Grant to land on his back on the ground. Jack, Martha and Colleen walked out of the diner as this happened. Bianca and Leah walked up from the beach also. They all paused to watch the beachside brawl.

The man brought his hand back to hit him again, but Charlie grabbed his hand. “Brax please don’t” she begged.

Brax looked at Charlie in disbelief. “Charlie this scumbag needs to be taught a lesson. He can’t just get away with what he did to you” Brax said angrily. Grant got to his feet and grinned at Brax. Brax was just about to pull his arm free and punch him anyway when Jack decided it was time to intervene.

“Brax don’t!” Jack warned him as he ran over. Grant smirked, before Jack turned to him. “I don’t know who you are, but I think that you had better leave now.”

“Yeah, ok. I’ll go...for now” Grant said as he started to back away. He looked at Charlie as he spoke, “See you again soon, yeah, Charlie? You should bring our daughter along too and we’ll have a proper little family reunion” Grant cackled as he got into his car and slowly drove away.

After making sure that Grant had driven away, Jack turned to a nauseous looking Charlie. “Was that Ruby’s father?” Jack asked.

Charlie nodded, but seemed unable to speak. “Jack you’ve got to make sure that that b******, doesn’t go anywhere near Charlie or Ruby,” Brax said angrily, still wishing that he had punched Grant again.

Jack looked at Charlie and Brax. “I’m sorry but I can’t really do that without knowing why” Jack told Charlie.

Charlie looked around. She could see that Martha, Leah, Bianca and Colleen were all watching, and Colleen was inching closer and closer to where they were standing in an attempt to hear what was going on. “Later,” she told Jack. “I’ll tell you at work later.” Jack looked around and saw how public the following exchange had just become.

“Ok,” Jack said, before walking back over to where Martha was standing, and leading her away. Colleen followed, albeit very disappointedly. On seeing that everybody else was leaving, Bianca and Leah quickly made their way off as well. Everyone wondered as they departed, what the heck had just happened.

Brax waited until everyone was out of earshot, before turning to Charlie. “Are you ok?” Brax asked in concern.

Charlie shook her head. “What happens if he comes back?” she whispered with fear. “What happens if he tries to approach Ruby?”

Brax wrapped his arms around Charlie. “Don’t worry” he told Charlie. “I’ll make sure that he stays the hell away from you and Ruby”.

Charlie looked up at him. “How?” she asked.

“Just trust me” Brax told her. He knew that Jack wouldn’t help him. But he knew that Angelo was desperate to make it up to Charlie. This was why he knew that Angelo would help Brax deal with Grant.

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Grant walked into the crowded diner and looked around. He wasn’t sure if he would even be able to spot Ruby if he saw her. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the middle aged lady who had been eavesdropping on his confrontation with Charlie. Grant smiled to himself; he was good at turning on the charm when he needed to, and this busybody looked like she would fall for it easily.

“Hello I was wondering if you would be able to help me with something?” Grant asked the woman pleasantly.

The woman looked pleased. “Of course, what can I help you with sir?” she asked.

“You see the thing is, I bumped into my old friend Charlie Buckton earlier, and it didn’t exactly go the way I hoped. So I really want to go and apologize, but I don’t know where she lives” Grant hinted. “Well she lives with her daughter Ruby. Hold on a sec, I’ll write down the address for you” the woman told him, as she wrote an address down on a piece of paper and handed it to Grant.

Grant looked down at the paper and smiled at the woman who looked gratified. “Thank you,” Grant told her. “Thank you very much”.

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Brax pulled out his phone, and dialed Angelo's number. Charlie had gone to work and to explain to Jack about Grant. Brax had made Charlie promise that she would call him after she had finished work. He didn't trust Grant one bit, and he was not going to let his girlfriend be hurt by Grant again. Now that she had gone it was time for Brax to sort out his plan.

"Hello" came Angelo's reply.

"Hey. Look we have a problem" Brax told Angelo, getting straight to the point. "Grant Bledcoe had just showed up".

"What?" Angelo asked angrily. "The guy who abused Charlie?"

"Yep. He turned up while me and Charlie were talking. She's really scared about what he's gonna do to her and Ruby" Brax said.

"What did he say?" Angelo asked.

"Not much. I punched him before he could say too much" Brax said with relish.

"Good." Angelo said grimly. "I only wish that I could have hit him too".

"I was hoping you would say that," Brax told Angelo. "Because the cops aren't going to do anything. They already let him get away with it once. But I swear if that guy goes anywhere near either Charlie or Ruby, he is going to become very well acquainted with my fist. So I need you to help me keep him away from Charlie and Ruby, ok?"

"Definitely," Angelo agreed. "Just let me know next time you want to deck him, because I would really love to help".

Brax laughed darkly. "Agreed" he confirmed as he hung up the phone.

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Ruby hummed to herself as she tidied the house. She knew how stressed Charlie was about Grant’s parents being in town, and Ruby wanted to do something nice for her. Ruby was just about to collapse onto the couch, when she heard a knock on the door. Sighing to herself, Ruby walked over to the door and answered it. A man with curly brown hair stood at the door.

“Hi. Can I help you?” Ruby asked politely.

“Yeah. Is your name Ruby Buckton?” the man asked.

“Yes. Who are you?” Ruby questioned, slightly suspicious.

“My name is Grant Bledcoe” the man said with a small smile on his face. Ruby’s jaw dropped as she recognised the name. Grant added for extra effect, “I’m your father”.

Next Chapter:

* How will Ruby react to meeting Grant?

* Brax and Angelo warn Grant to get out of Summer Bay.

* Charlie's attempts to stand up to Grant go badly wrong. What will happen to Charlie?