Chapter Thirty Six

Present Day

It was the end of a long night. Wife Swap had aired to the nation and now everyone knew their business. Ross and Morag said goodbye to their family and headed home for the night, glad that even if their family's dirty laundry had to be aired in public, some good had come out of it. Ross had never really been an Angelo fan. He'd never quite been able to place why but he thought he was a bad egg and didn't particularly want him hanging around his daughter. Joey, on the other hand, he thought was lovely. And Charlie was happier than she had ever been as an adult. It was a beautiful thing to witness.

Mel turned the television off with a bitter taste in her mouth. She continued to rant about how badly she had been edited and dreaded to think what people would believe about her now. She hated Joey for walking out on her and she hated Charlie even more for being the one to steal her away. This television debut had certainly not gone to plan.

"Okay, guys, I'm going to head on home," Aden said, standing up and stretching.

"Okay, Ade," Joey said. "See you bright and early for work tomorrow."

She grinned. Aden groaned, although they both knew how much they both enjoyed their work.

"Would you mind dropping Xave home?" Charlie asked, gathering up the mess from the drinks and snacks they'd enjoyed over the evening.

"Sure," Aden said.

Ruby pouted at her boyfriend having to leave. Charlie merely raised her eyebrows.

"We'll say goodbye at the door," Ruby said, taking Xavier's hand and dragging him off.

"You know, sometimes I worry that they can't control themselves," Charlie frowned.

Aden snorted.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Aden backtracked.

Charlie folded her arms expectantly.

"Well, it's just that you and Joey don't exactly find it each to leave each other alone either, Charlie," he smirked.

"Me and Joey are not sixteen," Charlie reminded him. "And we're not my daughter. My sixteen year old daughter losing all her faculties over a boy is not good!"

Joey stepped up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist, kissing her shoulder.

"She has a smart head on her shoulders," she assured her. "I don't think you need to start panicking yet."

Charlie turned and kissed her.

"Okay, that's my cue to leave," Aden said, heading towards the kitchen. "And say that you only proved my point!"

"Hey!" Charlie protested.

She and Joey arrived in the kitchen just as Ruby and Xavier pulled away from each other.

"Ready to jet?" Aden asked.

Xavier nodded, kissed Ruby one more time and the boys headed out. Ruby turned to her mother and Joey with a silly grin.

"Xavier is so awesome," she swooned.

Angelo switched the television off and dropped the remote. He swigged his beer and pulled a blanket over him without bothering to get changed, brush his teeth or actually go to bed. Bitterly, he wondered what Charlie and Joey were up to. And he hated himself for letting his life unravel so drastically.

Having tidied up and made sure the cats had food and water for the night, Charlie and Joey headed to their bedroom together, shutting the door on the world.

"It was kind of nice watching us fall in love on film," Joey said, standing in front of Charlie and holding her hands.

Charlie smiled and nodded. She inched closer and pulled Joey into her arms.

"It was," she said. "I feel bad if we hurt people but... I wouldn't give you up for anything."

Joey grinned and kissed Charlie tenderly. She stroked her face and hair, gazing into her eyes.

"I love you so much, Charlie," she whispered.

"I love you too," Charlie replied. "For everything in my life that I feel has been broken... you make me feel complete."

Joey hugged her, pulling her in for another kiss and nudging her back towards the bed.

Well, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing this story. I hope you have enjoyed it. I actually wrote it ages ago and it's been sitting on the back burner for a good long while as I wasn't sure if people would take to it or not. So all your feedback is really appreciated. Love, IJKS xxx