A Mother's Treasure Is Her Daughter

[welshjess]

aw good old micheal having done that:)

love the talk at the end to:)

keep going:)

[callyha]

That was a well-written emotional chapter.

So glad Ruby opened up to Charlie,

That whole bit near the lake, wow.

Keep up the good work

[tasha91]

loving the fic

keep it up

[lollypop]

Chapter 45

A few weeks had passed and Charlie found herself driving to the rehabilitation center to pick up Ruby. After more than three weeks and a lot of therapy later, she was finally being allowed to go home. It had been hard on Ruby, being away for such a long period of time. However Nicole and Romeo had been to visit a couple of times to show their support and to be there for her which helped a lot. But even they weren't prepared to see just how fragile and broken there friend seem to be. Even the incidents that occured during their first few visits was a big wake up call.

Walking through the reception area Charlie was greeted by the desk workers who she had become very familiar with over the last few weeks. They smiled at her and they spent a couple of minutes talking and they wished Charlie and Ruby the best before returning to work. Charlie smiled at them as she walked around the desk and made her way to the corridor that would lead her to Ruby's room. As she made her way down the corridor, she saw Michael approaching from the opposite end.

"Charlie, just the person I was looking to see", he said with a smile as they finally met in the middle of the corridor. "I want to talk to you about some stuff before Ruby's discharged today. Do you have time right now?", he asked as he placed the files he was carrying under his arm.

"Yeah of course", she replied and walked over to the windowsill that Michael had gestured to and sat down placing her handbag down beside her.

"Now I know that Ruby will be continuing her therapy sessions while she's at home but I just wanted you to be aware of some things that will more than likely affect your home lives for a while", he said as he looked at a concerned Charlie. "Ruby's nightmares have returned and at times they can be quite intense and at times it his caused her a great deal of distress. Now unfortunantly that's not something that can be cured through therapy. It's something that will eventually cure itself naturally. What I am more worried with is her anxiety around large groups of people and her hesitation when being touched by people...".

"Wait, what do you mean?", Charlie asked standing up.

"A couple of days ago some of Ruby's friends came to visit. When they went to hug her she panicked and backed away".

"What, why?", Charlie was beggining to feel anxious as she listened to what Michael was saying.

"Ruby's been hurt by a lot of people of the last year, physically and emotionally...",

"Including me", Charlie cut in sadly as she thought of how much she had hurt Ruby when she revealed to her that she was her biological mother.

Michael looked at Charlie. He could tell she was upset but he thought it would be best if he kept it professional. After all, he heardly knew the woman. He looked down at his hands trying to find a way to phrase what he was about to say next in a more sensitive way so that Charlie could find some comfort in his words. Looking up he saw Charlie gazing at him and realised she was waiting on his response.

"Charlie what I mean is, a lot of people have intentionally set out to hurt Ruby and I believe that this has had a very traumatic affect on her. She feels like she can't trust people", he said as he watched the woman before him take in everything he was saying. "Except you. Charlie I've never seen such a strong connection between mother and child before. Especially when there's such a close age gap. Usually it would be completely the opposite way around. But what you have with Ruby, it's remarkable. You should be very proud", Michael finished as he gave Charlie an encouraging smile,

As she saw the sincerity in Michael's eyes, Charlie found herself smiling back. Hearing those words, especially from someone who didn't really know her that well, warmed her. If her love for Ruby could be noticed by somebody they were not close with, then it obvously meant that Michale was right, They had a remarkable bond. And that was something she cherished in knowing. After a couple of minutes they exchanged handshakes and Michael handed Charlie his business card. Offering his services if they were ever needed again and then they parted ways.

Just as Charlie was about to head for Ruby's room she stopped and thought to herself for a minute. It had been a long year for both Bucktons and after everything that had happened, it felt like they had been ripped from reality in had been floating in limbo ever since. They needed to come back to earth. They needed a sense of grounding. And then it hit Charlie. The one place they had always felt gorunded. Removing her phone from her handbag Charlie decided that both she and Ruby needed a break from Summer Bay. Dialling the number she listened patiently to the dial tone for a couple of minutes. Then finally a voice answered at the other end.

"Hey Morag, I need to ask a favour, could you talk to Dad for me?", and with that Charlie set her plan in motion.

After working things through with Morag and her father, Charlie headed down to Ruby's room. When she arrived she knocked and found her daughter was all packed up and ready to go. She just had to wait for the nurse to finish taking her bloods. Within the two minutes that Charlie had been in the room the nurse had finished and neatly packed away Ruby's diabetes kit, handing it to Charlie as she said goodbye. Putting the kit into her handbag, Charlie removed her car keys so she would have them easily at hand.

Ruby smiled as she slowly stood up from the bed hugging her 'Ruby the Diabetic Teddy' close to her as she did so. She looked around the room and the uneasy feeling she had been fighting since the night before. The center had become her source of comfort over the last month or so. She felt safe where she was, even if at times she did feel lonely. It was still hard having to go back out into the real world. With real people. As she thought about it, suddenly she began to panic and her breathing became more rapid. Dropping the teddy bear on the bed she ran into Charlie's arms, clinging onto her mother tightly.

"Hey, hey it's okay", Charlie said as she dropped a kiss on top of Ruby's head. "It's okay I'm right here".

"'I'm scared Mum", Ruby said through her tears as she tugged on Charlie's top.

"Oh baby I know your scared", Charlie said as she clung to Ruby, gently stroking her daughter's hair. "But I will be here for you, night and day. Whatever you need. But you have to promise me that you'll let me, that you'll talk to me. Because I need to know what's going on to help you. Deal?", Charlie asked gazing into her daughters eyes.

"Deal", Ruby replied as she hugged her mother once more before they parted.

After saying goodbye to the nurses, Ruby and Charlie finally made it to the car. Sitting in the car they both strapped on their seatbelts and Charlie roared the engine to life and drove down the driveway towards the gate. When she reached it, she indicated right towards the city intsead of left towards Summer Bay. Ruby looked around confused and then turned to her mother.

"Um, Mum, where are we going?", she asked as Charlie turned right.

"Well I figured that you wouldn't want to go home to face everybody yet until you' d found your feet, so we're going to the city for a little holiday first for a couple of days", Charlie said with a grin on her face.

"But, why the city?", Ruby asked as she looked as the familiar scenery out of the car window.

"You'll see when we get there", Charlie replied mysteriously.

The drive was rather relaxed and it had only taken them two hours to finally reach the city. As they hit the city center, Ruby began to remember her old life. This was further helped along when they drove passed one of Ruby's old hangouts. Even after two years it was still the same. Before she knew it, they were driving down a road that was all too familiar to Ruby, because it was the road that lead to her childhood home. And with the blink of an eye, Charlie had pulled up right outside their former home and pulled to a stop. When she turned to look at her daughter she saw her smile.

"Wha...what are we doing here?", Ruby asked as she gazed at her mother with one of the happiest expressions she'd seen in a long time.

"Well, I thought, if we're going to stay anywhere it might as well be here. With the economy the way it is, Dad couldn't sell it so he decided to hold onto it for now", Charlie smiled as she looked at the house. It was this house that held fond memories for her of Ruby growing up. "Come on, lets go".

They both stepped out of the car and walked toward the house. As they fell into step with one another, Charlie took a hold of her daughter's hand and they intertwinded their fingers as they walked up the driveway. The pavement still bore the markings of the painted hopscotch Ruby had done when she was six, although it was beginning to fade away. They walked along another bit and as they approached the garage they spotted the old basketball net that hung above the garage door. Battered from the may games Charlie used to play with Ruby when Ross was too busy with a case to make a play date.

The house was a mixed bag. It held memories both good, bad and painful and over the next couple of days both Bucktons would face them together. When they approached the front door, Charlie unlocked it and they stepped inside, stepping into the past and revisiting whatever memory chose to return during their stay. As they looked around the familiar living room Charlie placed a comforting arm around her daughter's shoulders and they smiled at each other.

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Okay, so I know it's been a while, but I was at a bit of a loss recently. But here's the new chapter and I have some ideas that I'm feeling pretty confident about so there may be a few more chapters to come over the next few days. The story's going to take a bit of a dark turn soon so stay tuned. Thanks for reading

[Inactive User]

Great chapter

Charlie and Ruby returning to their old house where they used to live when they grew up together as sisters before it was revealed they were mother/daughter That does sound good.

Looking forwards to next chapter ;)

[callyha]

Great Chapter!

More soon please

[lollypop]

Chapter 46

To prevent any confusion, any flashbacks in this chapter will be in italics. Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

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Lying in bed Charlie tossed and turned. As she slept she had the same uneasy dream about Grant she'd had a few months ago. Everything was the same. Grant was standing over Ruby's grave promising to take care of her, a sick grin across his face as his eyes seemed to tear into Charlie's soul and just like the first time, she found herself running away in the opposite direction in disgust. Charlie tossed and turned over and over again, so much so that she kicked the covers off the bed until all of a sudden, like an alarm going off, her eyes snapped open and she shot upright in the bed. Wiping the sweat away with the back of her hand she sat there for a minute trying to catch her breath. Turning on the bedside lamp, she climbed out of the bed and pulled on her night gown, opening the door and heading down the hallway towards the kitchen for a glass of water.

As she entered the dining room she flicked on the light and crossed over to the adjoined kitchen. Wlaking over to the sink, she pulled out a glass from the delf rack and filled it with cold water, drinking down half the contents of the glass, she wiped her mouth and emptied the rest down the drain, cleaning the glass and placing it back on the rack. Placing her hands on either side of the sink she gripped it tightly and lowered her. Trying to interpret what exactly her dream meant. The last time she'd had that dream, they had been held hostage in their home by John Doe. Was her mind sub consiously warning her of danger? Or was she reading too much into something that could only be, just a dream.

Just then, Charlie was pulled abruptly out of her thoughts by the sound of Ruby's screams. Bounding out of the kitchen and down the hallway, Charlie sprinted to Ruby's old room and burst through the door to find the teen. tossing about aggressively against the bed, her forehead soaked in sweat. Rushing over to the bed, Charlie grabbed a hold of her daughter's shoulders and tried to restrain her as she tried to sooth Ruby out of her nightmare. But the harder she tried, the more resistant Ruby became until it almost became physically impossible to hold her down. Charlie became more and more worried as Ruby continued to struggle through her dream. Suddenly Ruby's hands became latched around Charlie's wrists

Flinching at the sheer pressure that Ruby was applying, Charlie finally decided that being gentle was not going to calm her daughter. Taking a more firm grip of Ruby's shoulders, Charlie began to shake her to make her come around. As she did so Ruby started mumbling again and Charlie tried to listen to what she was saying.

"No...no please!", Ruby said in a panicked tone, furrowing her brow in her sleep. "Don't hurt Charlie...I'll do it...I'll do it!", she shouted.

Listening to her daughter ramble on Charlie felt a wave of guilt wash over her as she realised that Ruby was dreaming of the day she slashed her wrists. Images of the men that Charlie and her collegues had apprehended, the dirty, dark, old run down building that had been the scene of the crime. The awful way they treated her precious daughter. It was no wonder Ruby was plagued with such terrifying nightmares. Charlie herself understood what it was to have such dreams, for she was haunted by her own horrific ordeal for years after it had happened. Even now she sometimes found herself locked inside a mind game prison with Grant. But watching her own child struggle against months of pain, anguish and terror, mader her own ordeal seem petty.

"Let go of me!", Ruby screamed.

Just then Ruby began to pull at Charlie's arms, trying to free herself. When she could remove them she began to violently pound her fists against her mother's chest, trying to push her away, Completely unaware that the arms trying around her were the protective arms of her mother and not the aggressive arms of the villian in her nightmare.

"Ruby...Ruby!", Charlie shouted, hoping her voice would snap her out of the dream. "Rubes wake up. It's Mum", she said as she grabbed a hold of Ruby's wrists to stop the pounding.

As if like magic, Ruby's eyes sprang open and focused on her captive wrists and the sight sent a wave of fear through her as memories of her real captivity came flooding back. Snatching her arms away from her mother she leaped of the bed and dashed to the far corner of the room. Leaning her back against the corner of the wall she sobbed as she tried desperatly to catch her breath, sliding down along the wall and into a heap on the floor. Bringing her legs up under her chin she wrapped her arms around them and cried her eyes out at what she had just done and about the intensity of the dream.

Charlie watched on in sheer disbelief at what had just happened. Her own daughter had rejected her and was now crying her heart out on the floor. Standing up she made to move across the floor towards Ruby but stopped when she saw her daughter lean further in against the wall away from her. Sensing that Ruby wanted to be alone, Charlie held back her tears as she headed for the door and walked out of the room closing the door behind her as she did so. She stepped forward to the wall on the opposite side of the hallway in front of her and turned her back to it, sliding down until she was seated on the floor facing Ruby's bedroom door...

It had three weeks since fifteen year old Charlie Buckton had returned from her aunts. Three weeks of pain and misery as she dealt with the heart breaking decision that she and her parents had come to about her baby daughter's future. Only it wasn't 'her' daughter anymore, it was Ross and Elsie's. And Ruby was not her daughter, she was now and forever more, her sister. Had the decision been made a year ago when Ruby was born, Charlie would have taken it in her stride, as she felt much, much to young to have a child.

But the year away at her Aunty Michelle's had helped to ease her pain, or at least heal enough for her to see that Ruby was not to blame for what happened to Charlie. She was the good that came from the bad. The blessing in the disguise so to speak. And realising this, made Charlie realise how much she truly loved her daughter and how much she wanted to be there for her. To raise her, to protect her, to care for her. To be a proper mother to her. Because that's what Ruby deserved.

However one year, proved to be one too many and although Charlie was emotionally prepared to take resposibility for her child. She was emotionally ready to see her own daughter bond with her own parents. It tore her apart to see Ruby so attached to her own mother and father. Her anguish was made worse by the fact Ruby reacted badly to the stranger Charlie now was to her. Any chance of bonding with baby Ruby as her mother was now long gone. As far as the child was concerned, Ross and Elsie were her parents.

"Charlie, your father and I are going out to do the grocery shopping. Will you keep and eye on Ruby please?", Elsie asked as she put on her earrings.

"Uhh...um...yeah I guess", Charlie hesitated as the idea of being left alone with Ruby scared her.

"Don't worry. She's asleep. You'll be fine", Elsie said giving her daughter an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder.

A couple of hours had passed and Charlie was busying herself with biology homework, catching up on what she had missed from the first couple of months of the school year while she was away at her Aunty Michelle's. At times it felt like a never ending up hill struggle, but she was glad of the distraction. It stopped her from thinking too much about everything that had gone on in her life over the last year which was something she really appreciated. Just as she was about to get stuck into another chapter of her text book, the soft cries of a baby rang out from down the hallway. Charlie put down her pen and stopped what she was doing, hoping that the baby would stop so she wouldn't have to tend to her.

But the crying continued and with no other option, Charlie stood up from her seat and made her way down the hall towards the baby's room. Charlie felt panicky as she thought about the last time she had been alone with Ruby before she ran away. The baby had latched onto her finger and smiled at her. She remembered it well because it reminded her of the intense feelings of motherly love she felt for Ruby at that time and it scared her. What if it happened again? Could she really continue on pretending to be her older sister? It wasn't fair that she had to fight all these feelings and make all these tough decisions. She was only fifteen years old, she should be thinking about clothes and parties. Not what kind of a relationship she wanted with her child.

Taking a few deep breaths, Charlie opened the door and stepped inside to the piercing screams of the baby who seemed to be in a great deal of distress. Walking over to the cot, Charlie atempted to sooth the baby by stroking her hand and stomach, but it didn't work. Picking Ruby up she and leaning her against her shoulder she swayed back and forth, rocking the child as she did so. But baby Ruby continued to kick against Charlie's embrace. And then screamed the one word that tore through Charlie's hard like a knife.

"Mama", the baby screamed through her tears.

Feeling completely and utterly rejected by her own child, Charlie felt the tears wll up in her eyes as Ruby continued to struggle against. Her tiny arms and legs kicking pounding against Charlie's body. With all atempts to sooth the child failing, Charlie quickly placed the child back in the cot and ran out of the room, closing the door behind her. But even with the door shut, she could still hear the piercing scream rang out through the house. But Charlie couldn't go back in. She couldn't deal with being rejected by Ruby. It hurt too much. Taking a step forward to the far wall she turned her back to it and slid down along it until she was in a sitting postion. Staring at Ruby's bedroom door as tears fell freely down her cheek...

A couple of minutes had passed, and feeling dejected by the who ordeal, Charlie lifted herself up off the floor and made her way back down the hallway towards her own room. Walking into the room, she made her way over to her old dressing table and sat down. Taking in all the old photos that still adorned her mirror. she narrowed her eyes on one photo that was unfamiliar to her. It was a picture of Ruby when she was almost two years old gazing into Charlie's eyes with a big smile as the older girl held her tight in her arms. It was taken around the time that Ruby had started to reconnect with Charlie and they had begun to bond. Turning the picture over, Charlie noticed a note on the back of the photo in her mother's handwriting. She slowly began to read it toher self "One day, Ruby will know her mother, and love her unconditionally".

Charlie smiled at the note on the back of the photo. Elsie always knew exactly what Charlie was thinking and feeling and she always knew what to say to put her mind at ease. Even now. As she placed the photo back down on the dresser, she was startled when she caught the reflection of Ruby in the mirror standing in the doorway. Turning around she saw the red eyed teen gazing at her looking very uneasy and rubbing her wrists until they were rubbed raw.

"Ruby", Charlie said as she stood up and walked over to the teen, taking a hold of her daughter's hands to stop her from wringing her wrists.

"I'm...I'm sorry Mum", Ruby said through her tears. "I didin't...I didn't mean to push you away. It's just...when I saw you holding onto my arms I freaked out. I fel...I felt like I was being hel caaptive and I just...snapped" she finished.

"Oh God...Rubes I'm so sorry. I didn't...I didn't think", Charlie replied as she flung her arms around the younger Buckton and tried to comprehend what she had just done.

Feeling Charlie's arm wrap around her and pull her close, Ruby clung to her and instanly began to feel safe again. As they pulled apart Charlie looked down and noticed Ruby's still healing scars were red and sore from her incessant rubbing. Taking her daughter by the hand, she lead her down to the kitchen and walked over to the kitchen cabinat and removed the first aid kit. Sitting down at the table, Charlie rubbed aloe vera gel on Ruby's wrists to sooth the stinging pain and then then gently wrapped a bandage around them to stop them from rubbing. And once they were finished they curled up on the couch and flicked on the t.v. Falling asleep to Judy Garland singing 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'.

[callyha]

Great chapter!

Very well written.

The flashback was written well also lol

Enjoying this fic, keep up the good work

more soon please

[Inactive User]

Wow great chapter you had written! So beautiful and touching More soon please

[lollypop]

Chapter 47

Hey everyone, I'm gonna be busy with exams for the next week or so, so this will be my last update for a while. But once I'm done I'll officially be on holidays so updates will be more regular. Anyways hope you like the new chapter. Thanks for reading and please any comments are greatly appreciated.

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Waking up on the couch to the sound of breakfast television, Charlie squinted as the morning light hit her eyes. Rubbing them with the back of her hand, she turned to her side and noticed Ruby was no longer sleeping beside her. Removing the blanket that was sprawled across her legs she stood up and stretched, cracking her fingers like she did every morning. Walking down the corridor she stopped at Ruby's old bedroom and peered inside but found it was empty. Taking another few steps down the corridor she knocked on the bathroom and again no response came.

Suddenly panic set in as the worst possible to thought that could pass through Charlie's mind, passed through and sent a terrifying shiver down her spine as thought to herself...Oh my God, there's a mirror in there...and Charlie burst open the door and again found it was empty. The mirror still intact. Placing her hand on her chest she breath a sigh of relief and then cursed her self for thinking the worst of her daughter. Especially after last night. Walking over to the sing she turned on the cold water and splashed her face to wake herself up. Then, while dabbing her wet face with a towl, she heard the soothing sound of Somewhere Over The Rainbow drifting down the hallway .

Walking out of the bathroom, she stopped and listened to the melody. She rolled her eyes up the heavens and had rubbed her forehead, asking herself why she never thought to look in Ruby's old practice room for her AWOL daughter. Moving down the corridor towards the front room she softly opened the door and stepped inside to find Ruby sitting with her back to her at the piano . Leaning against the door frame Charlie closed her eyes and smiled as she listened to Ruby sing the lyrics of the song, her voice gliding over every note effortlessly. It reminded Charlie of when Ruby was a little girl...

...As the eldest Buckton daughter returned from school, she was greeted by her mother as she entered the kitchen. Giving her mother a quick peck on the cheek she smiled as the smell of Elsie's home cooking circulated around the room. The rich aroma was enough to set the taste buds into overdrive. As she filled her mother in on her day at school she looked around and noticed that her father was again absent from the family home. Something she had become accustomed to growing up with a detective for a father.

Just as she was about to sit down and make herself comfortable, she heard the footsteps of a small child running down the hallway towards the kitchen. Turning around her face lit up when her gaze fell upon the small curly head girl bounding towards her with outstretched arms. Leaning forward, Charlie engulfed the younger Buckton in her arms and hugged her tightly as she felt Ruby wrap her arms around her neck. With Ruby in her arms, resting against her hip, Charlie ran her fingers through the little girls hair and smiled at her.

"Hey baby girl", Charlie said as she gave Ruby's cheek a playful squeeze.

"I'm not a baby anymore Charlie", Ruby replied as she played with her big sisters long brown hair.

"I know. Your growing up so fast. Too fast", Charlie stressed as she tipped the little girl on the nose with her finger.

"Charlie come look at what I learned on the piano", Ruby said excitedly as she jumped down from her big sisters embrace and grabbed a hold of her hand.

As she held onto Ruby's little hand she laughed as her little sister practically dragged her down the hallway towards her practice room. Bursting through the door, Ruby ran over to the piano and and struggled as she tried to climb up onto the leather bench. Charlie laughed a little as she watched on from the doorway. Eventually she made her way over and helped Ruby onto her seat and Charlie took her place next to her. As they sat there Ruby placed the sheet music in front of her and began to play.

Charlie listened intently as the melody of the familiar tune drifted around the room. A smile crept across her face as she found herself singing along to the same song she would sing to Ruby before bed or.

"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high", she looked at Ruby who's face lit up when Charlie began to sing along, and then she too joined in, "There' a land that I heard of, once in a lullaby".

"Wow, Rubes that was awesome", Charlie said when the little girl was finished, "Why'd you pick that song?", she asked as Ruby moved over and sat on her knee.

"Cause, that's the song you sing to me when I have a bad dream", the little girl said, "It's my favouritist song in the whole wide world", she said as she stretched out her arms to demonstrate the big world they lived in.

"You know what Rubes, I think it might just be my favouritist song too", Charlie said with a warm smile as she kissed Ruby on the cheek...

Running her fingers along the last keys of the last few notes, Ruby finished up the song and let out a large breath. Charlie opened her eyes and focused on her daughter who turned around and looked at her mother with a surprised look on her face. Charlie however continued to look at her, completely awestruck by the whole thing. Sixteen years, and she never knew her own daughter hhad such a beautiful voice and that she still had the same extradionary talent for the piano she always had.

"Rubes...that...that was beautiful", Charlie said through a quivering voice as she moved across the room and sat beside her daughter.

Without any prompting or any persuasion, Ruby began to talk to Charlie about her stay in the treatment facility and how she coped during those many weeks alone.

"When...when I first got to the center, I started having nightmares again. Really intense nightmares about everything. I didn't know how to cope. You weren't there and the nurses had so many patients to tend to that they didn't really do anything. Just give me a sedative and leave", Ruby explaind with sad eyes that expressed just how alone she was at that time. "Then, then I started to remember when I was kid and how you always used to calm me down by singing that song to me. So one night I was walking about and I sat down at the piano and just started playing. I did the same thing every single night. And it just calmed me down.".

Charlie placed a comforting hand of Ruby's back and gave it a rub. She felt guilty that she couldn't have been there for Ruby when she needed her. But she reasoned with herself that if she could have been there she would have, it was a situation to which her hands were tied. Looking out the window, Charlie could see that it was a beautiful day. Pulling Ruby to her feet, she decided that they would have breakfast on the veranda at the back of the house. To which Ruby smiled at her mother and followed her out towards the kitchen to help making breakfast.

Sitting outside in the beautiful sunshine, the two Buckton women reminsced about old times from when they were younger, growing up in the family home. Charlie was amazed at how many good memories there were. She never realised it until now, but maybe the good did out weigh the bad. Maybe it was time for her to let go of the past and start building a life towards the future. As Ruby gazed around the garden her eyes fell upon the large lushious green tree at the back of the garden. She smiled to herself as memories from when she was a child came flooding back.

"Wow, I can't believe that tree is still there. Gosh I remember I used to love climbing it all day every day", Ruby said with a small laugh.

"Yeah, I know. Do also remember taking a trip to the hospital with a broken arm after falling out of it?", Charlie asked through her own amused smile as she remembered the day like it was yesterday. And then the amusement in the childhood story was lost on her when she remembered what else happened that day...

...Speeding towards the hospital, Elsie tried to calm young Ruby from the back of the car but the distressed chid was in too much pain to listen to her mother. She just sat in Charlie's lap and cried the whole way there and back while her big sister rocked her back and forth trying to keep her from moving her badly broken arm. A difficult task to say the least. It was hard anough trying to keep the six year old still on a good day. Let alone now with a broken bone to contend with.

As Elsie came uo towards the hospital, she drove directly up to the emergency entrance and stopped the car telling Charlie to take Ruby inside while she found somewhere to park he car. Without a moments hesitation Charlie found her underlying motherly instincts kick into action as se carried Ruby in her arms to the emergency bay and straight up to the nurses who quickly made their way towards her when they seen her coming.

"Please, I need help, she's broken her arm and she's in a lot of pain", Charlie said as the sound of Ruby's crying overwhelmed her.

"Miss, calm down just lay her on the bed and we'll check her over", the doctor said as he looked at the distressed young woman before him.

Placing Ruby on the bed as gently as she could Charlie kissed the little girl on the forehead and then began to run her fingers through Ruby's hair to calm her. Charlie's gaze fixed solely on her.

"Miss, can ask what your relationship is to the child?", the doctor asked as he and Charlie moved outside to the reception area while the nurses tended to Ruby.

"I'm her mum...", Charlie replied without thinking.

Suddenly she realised what she had just said but before she could take back her words, the doctor had gone to bring Ruby down to x-ray. Placing a hand to her forehead, Charlie tried desperatly to comprehend what had just happened. But she couldn't. Shehad just made a huge slip up and now she had to face the rath of her contolling father, who would more than likely blow a fuse when he found out what she had just done.

A couple of hours later, Charlie found herself sitting in the waiting are. Her father standing over her, shouting at her with sheer fury over. Asking her how she could be so stupid while Elsie tried to calm him down. She was always the more understanding. Being a mother herself, she knew how difficult it was to watch your own child hurting. She could sympathise with Charlie, more so than Ross could.

"It just slipped out, I'm sorry", Charlie said as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Sorry? Charlie sorry's not good enough. Who knows what could have happened if you had let that slip in front of Ruby", Ross said with anger building in his voice as he spoke, pointing his finger in his daughter's face.

"Ross, that's enough..."Elsie began but stopped when saw Charlie rise from her seat.

"I made a mistake and I'm sorry. But I was left alone with my daughter while she screamed in pain. I wasn't thinking straight. I just wanted to comfort", Charlie said.

"But she's not YOUR daughter", Ross said in huseh voice that couldn't surpress his anger.

"YES! Yes she is", Charlie shouted back before lowering her voice when the nurses from the reception desk across the way began to stare at her. "Yes she is. But because of you she'll never know that and I'll never get to be her mum", Charlie's voice trembled as she spoke through her tears.

"Charlie...", Ross said as she tried to reach out and embrace his daughter. But Charlie pulled away and turned to her mother who offered her the warm embrace she was seeking...

"Mum, mum", Ruby said as she looked at Charlie who was lost in her own little world. "Mum, helloooooooo", she said waving her hands in front of her mother's face.

Suddenly Charlie was pulled from her thoughts at her daughter's manic waving and smile at her daughter to mask her pain.

"Sorry Rubes, I got lost there", Charlie said taking a sip of her coffee.

"Riiiiight", Ruby said looking at her curiously. "So um, if we're going to be staying here for a while maybe we should stock up on some groceries?", Ruby asked hoping it would push Charlie into going out.

"Yeah of course. Go get ready and we'll leave in about twenty minutes", she said and watched as Ruby leaped up from her chair and bounded towards her room.

Sitting back, Charlie rubbed her forehead. She never realised how much being back in there old house would drum up so many memories for her. It made her wonder what else from her past would creep up. Standing up she brought the dishes inside and headed for her room to get changed. Maybe a day on in the city is exactly what she needed to get her mind off things.