"Come on Charlotte! We're going to be late!"

"But Pen, really? Do I have to wear this dress to the reception? Can't I change first?"

"No!"

Charlotte groaned as Penny grabbed her arm, pulling her out the door of the church and into the waiting limo. She looked at the light blue dress Penny had forced her into – it felt so foreign to her, after being in khaki shorts for so long. Not to mention the heels and the layer of make-up across her face, each freckle powdered into submission.

She glanced sideways – Penny had already launched into a conversation with her maid of honor, who was wearing a dress similar to Charlotte's except whereas Charlotte's was sleeveless, the maid of honor's had short little sleeves. Charlotte didn't even want to be here, at this wedding, part of the wedding party, but Penelope had convinced her and all but forced her into it. The redhead would much rather be back in Tunisia.

Brushing a loose curl from her face, she focused her attention out the window. They were driving toward the park, where the wedding reception was being held. Penny had already been married – but Desmond had forgotten something back at home, so he'd grabbed a quick ride with a friend to rush home to his and Penny's new apartment.

"Charlotte, are you all right?" Penny asked, shifting slightly in the mounds of white lace she was buried in. She tossed her veil out of her face to look at Charlotte, almost concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine Pen. Why?"

"You look… distracted."

"I always look like this. I'm always thinking of something else." She shrugged. In fact, her mind was miles away, back in Tunisia. She was so close. So very close to finding that island. So very close to proving her mother wrong, and that she hadn't made the entire place up. All her friends just thought she was trying to find old bones, but it was so much more than that.

It took her a moment to realize that Penny had started talking to her again.

"I'm sorry. What?"

"I said, Desmond's got a friend that's just about as nerdy as you, if not more. You two would get along well." She said, suggestively. Several of the other girls in the limo giggled and Charlotte eyed her suspiciously.

"Are you trying to set me up?"

Penny simply smiled, and turned back to her previous conversation.

Charlotte frowned. Last boyfriend she had – well, lets just say they weren't together anymore. He'd called her a cold-hearted bitch, and told her she was away from home for too long. He's accused her of cheating with an Egyptian (she'd kindly pointed out that she hadn't been in Egypt but in Peru that time) then left her. Not that was any skin off her back. She'd only dated the guy so her sisters would stop bugging her. Both of them were already married, so she was the odd one out who apparently still believed in fantasy islands and mythical creatures. Yeah, whatever.

By the time they'd reached the park, she'd gotten herself in a bad mood, so the frown remained on her face. Penny instantly rushed off somewhere – toward Desmond, Charlotte noted – and the other girls scattered, off to find their dates. Charlotte unhappily sat down at one of the tables covered in a white clothe, away from everyone else who was either sitting down, or watching Penny and Desmond dance. She should have been happier she knew, because it was her friend's wedding, but Charlotte just couldn't force herself back into a happy mood. Now all she wanted to do was go back home, change into her pajamas, and crawl under her sheets and sleep.

She'd just gotten up to see about getting herself a glass of champagne, but someone ran into her. She stumbled, feet twisted around one another. She crumbled to the ground, wincing as her ankle twisted and her heel snapped off, having gotten caught on something. The person who had run into her landed beside her, having fallen as well.

"S-Sorry!"

Charlotte pushed herself up off the ground, using the table to pull herself to her feet. The man that had run into her was just getting up as well, dusting off his suit. He looked a bit frazzled, with dark hair sticking in several directions and a now empty champagne glass still in his hand.

"Uh, sorry? I wasn't watching where I uh, was going." He mumbled.

"You already apologized." She pointed out.

"Sorry."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly, but shrugged. "Its fine. Really." She noticed the glass in his hand. "Where'd you get that?"

"Over there?" He offered, pointing toward one of the tables. "I'm going back that way so I'll show you." He said. She nodded, and began to dust off her dress, wincing when she noticed the grass stains at the hem – Penny was going to kill her.

Her mood lifted slightly once she got her hands on a glass of the bubbly stuff. She wasn't a heavy drinker, of course, but she didn't have Tylenol on hand, so she figured what little alcohol in the drink would somehow get rid of her headache, or at least dull it enough to where she could suffer through the rest of the party.

"You don't look too happy to be here." He commented as they stood near the table, neither of them having left yet.

"I'm not. I'd much rather be working."

He let out a soft laugh, more to himself.

"That's, that's not something you hear often."

"I have a weird job." She replied. "Anthropologist. And I'm Charlotte by the way. Charlotte Lewis. I'm here with Penny." She added as an afterthought, extending her hand for him to shake, which he did.

"I'm uh, Daniel. Daniel Faraday. And I'm a physicist. Oxford professor actually, but still. Physicist."

So he's the friend Penny was talking about, Charlotte noted to herself. He is kinda cute, I guess, if you're into that sort of thing.

"Charlie!"

Charlotte visible winced at the nickname, her upper lip curling. God how she hated that nickname and how she wanted to just punch whoever called her such in the face. Turning though, she saw it was Penny, her face flushed a soft pink. Obviously, she'd been dancing.

"What?"

"Come dance with us!"

"I don't dance." Charlotte muttered. Penny frowned, but rolled her eyes.

"Charlie." She stated, emphasizing the nickname and Charlotte gritted her teeth together. "You have to dance. One dance." She stated. It wasn't a suggestion. "Daniel! Dance with Charlotte! Please?"

The man jumped, having been absorbed in his thoughts but pulled away by his name. It took him a moment to process what Penny had said, which he quickly tried to back himself out of.

"N-no! I mean, its not that I don't want to its just – I can't – I don't know how to dance!"

"Come now Dan. You danced perfectly fine at that luncheon the other day."

"I faked it."

Penny gave him a stern look, but took both Charlotte's and Dan's glasses of champagne, ignoring Charlotte's protests. She grabbed them both by the arm and ushered them over to the dance floor, standing there with her arms crossed, looking stern. Charlotte's shoulder's slumped, knowing she wasn't about to leave until she danced. Now she began to wonder why she had become friends with Penny in the first place.

She sighed, taking his hand and placing the other at her waist. He looked surprised she was actually going to dance with him.

"Uh, you might get hurt if we go through with this." He warned and she shrugged.

"She won't get off my back until I do." She stated, looking directly at Penny, who simply smiled fondly. He tried to smile, but it faded as another song began up, by the small band on the stage that had been set up.

They swayed in small circles like most of the other couples did, not really doing anything fancy except whenever Charlotte would do a small twirl, and Daniel nearly ending up with his arm wrapped around his neck before he realized what she was doing. And finally, Penny wandered off.

"I'm going to pay her back." Charlotte muttered, almost darkly as they continued to dance. Daniel let out a nervous laugh.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side then." This time, Charlotte laughed.

"Charlotte!"

The familiar voice made her half turn, just as her youngest sister, Marie, came up to her, kneading her dress in her hands. Charlotte had almost forgotten Marie and her other sister Lyla were there.

"What is it now?"

"Mum said she wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

"Didn't say. Just that I should come find you. Now." She said, and then finally seemed to notice Daniel. "Hi! Sorry I have to pull my sister away, but our mum has to talk to her."

Charlotte sighed as Marie drifted off. She turned back to Daniel.

"It was nice dancing with you Daniel." She flashed a brief smile, before she was gone, weaving through the dancing crowd toward where she had last seen her mother, gossiping with some of her friends at a table in the corner. But those friends were gone now, and only Jeanette remained, looking very livid, and staring directly at Charlotte.

Crap.

Charlotte slid into a chair across from her mother, looking very much like she was eight again, caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing. The thing was, Charlotte couldn't remember that she had done anything.

"Marie said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, I do." She said in a dangerously low tone, not taking her eyes off Charlotte. "I want to know what you've been doing in Tunisia."

Charlotte frowned. Was that all? Of course, she was going to have to lie a bit, and not tell her mother she'd been looking for an Island.

"Looking for ancient cultural remains." Charlotte replied after a moment. But the look on Jeanette's face told her that either she knew she was lying, or Jeanette already knew. It was confirmed when Jeanette reached down beneath the table and pulled out her purse. From it, she pulled out a dusty, weathered looking leather collar and Charlotte internally groaned, recognizing it from where she had found it only mere weeks before, right before she had to come back in time for Penny's wedding. She'd wanted it shipped to her flat, but apparently her mother had found it.

"What's this?"

"Just something I found." She said, trying to pass it off with a nonchalant shrug. Jeanette's lips twisted into a smirk.

"You know, I just hate it when you lie to me, Charlotte. I can tell when you are, because you can never look me in the eyes. Tell me the truth." She said, and Charlotte sighed, hanging her head.

"I found it in Tunisia, in the desert. I recognized the symbol from when I was a little girl." She explained reluctantly. Jeanette sighed.

"Charlotte, I thought we were over this!" She cried, tossing the collar down on the table. Charlotte stared at it as her mother continued, not looking her in the face. "That place or Island that you seem to think is real doesn't exist! You made it all up!"

"No I didn't! You just don't want me to know, but I already do. I'm don't even care what you say anymore, because I'm going to find it. And you're not going to stop me." She said quietly, glaring at her mother now.

"No, you're not. I forbid you."

Charlotte let out a hallow laugh.

"I'm over twenty one, so I can do as I please."

"Why can't you be more like your sisters?"

"Because I'm not a brainless idiot like they are." Charlotte said between gritted teeth, snatching the collar off the table and clutching it in her fist. She stood up so quickly that she nearly knocked the chair over, and stalked away from her mother, visibly upset now. Angry, hot tears pricked at her eyes as she headed away from the party, not caring where she went – as long as it was away from there.

Her feet followed a small path to a playground, where she collapsed on one of the seats of a swing set, dropping the collar at her feet without a care. She sat there, rocking herself back and forth on the swing, staring at the collar. She didn't notice the footsteps coming up beside her, nor even bother to register that someone had sat down in the swing next to her with a creak of the rusty chains.

"I take it your mother talking to you didn't, uh, go well?"

She glanced up with a watery chuckle, using her palm to furiously wipe the tears off her reddened face. She kept her hair hanging in her face – she didn't like people seeing her cry.

"No, not really. She -." Charlotte paused, not really wanting to tell him everything. "She doesn't want me to keep pursuing my career, to put it simply."

"Why?"

"For reasons that you probably wouldn't understand."

"O-Oh." Daniel muttered, frowning slightly. "Well, I think if you like your job, you should keep doing it, no matter what your mum says." He told her as she wiped the last of her tears away. Reaching down, she picked up the collar, running her fingers over the symbol gently.

"You're probably right." She murmured after a moment. "I mean, what I've been doing – its important to me. But she doesn't understand that."

"Maybe if you tried to explain-."

"I have. She still doesn't want me to. I think she's afraid."

"Of what?"

"I don't know. But I don't care. She's not stopping me." Charlotte muttered, looking up at him. He gave a friendly smile, adjusting his tie. "You said you taught at Oxford?"

"Uh, yeah." He confirmed. "Physics."

"I don't remember seeing you there when I attended. I got my PHD from Oxford." She told him. He frowned.

"I – I really don't get out much."

"Well, next time I'm there, I'll come say hi. My youngest sister is a second year there." She smiled.

"I'll, um, look forward to it."

So this is my new, AU Charladay story. I hope you're enjoying it so far, because I plan to continue it – I have many plans. I've got writers block for Do You Believe in Destiny at the moment, but hopefully that muse will come back soon! Reviews are love!