Charlotte Wolfe stands in front of the full length mirror behind the door of her room. She studies her thin, naked frame as she holds onto a walker in front of her. She had promised her mother that she'd use it if she doesn't want to use the chair. It pains her to do so for too long, but she pushes through as much as she possibly can. Usually to the point of hurting herself. Hearing a knock in the door in front of her, she backs away slowly, "Hold on a moment." Picking up her robe from the foot of the bed, she wraps it around herself quickly, "Okay."

It's been a month. A month since this young woman started living here with them, blending their family even more. Serena Campbell carefully opens the door, poking her head through, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Everything is fine." It wasn't. Not to her. The scars over her body causing her to be a bit self conscious. Very self conscious. The ones over her torso weren't stitched as finely as the one on her head, and even that was something that she hated, but understood that it was more important to stop bleeding than anything else. "I got a bit of sun today and...I'm just kicking myself for not remembering sunscreen." The faint scar on her chest matches that of her mother now, as the woman near her had to massage her heart to resuscitate her while she was on the operating table only a couple months prior. She was even self conscious about that, which was rather out of character from the person she was before all of this.

Slowly nodding, Serena steps into the room more, "Would you like me to get you some aloe? It would calm some of the burn."

Charlie shrugs, nonchalantly, "I'll live."

"Let me at least switch the sheets for you." She furrows her brow slightly, "I know these won't be terribly comfortable on skin that is-"

"I said I'm fine, Serena."

Serena moves to sit next to the young woman on the edge of the bed, able to tell there was more that was going on than the young woman cared to admit, "Want to talk about it?" She wants to rub her hand over the young woman's back, having grown close to her over the past couple months of her being a daily occurance in her life. "I'm not your Mum, but I do have these two ears and I've lived a rather fulfilled life so I could probably be a decent sounding board for you...if you need one."

The young woman gives herself a quick huff of a laugh, shaking her head slowly, "At this point, I feel like I'm just whining about things that I can't control. Just...in a well of self pity that I'm unable to crawl out of. I don't want to drag you down that well also." Charlie slowly lifts her head to glance over toward the other woman, "You have your own fair share of demons...you don't need to hear mine on top of it."

"Oh, come on." She nudges against Charlie by gently bumping her shoulder to the other woman's, "Your mum says she has a surprise for you when she gets home...which shouldn't be for another couple of hours yet."

Charlie sighs slowly, "I feel...really ugly. My hair is gross, I haven't been able to shave my legs properly, which is why I haven't worn any short trousers to any place where people can actually see me. Which, isn't many places to begin with. I'm so uncomfortable in my own skin, it's pathetic."

"You aren't pathetic, Charlotte." Serena shakes her head slowly, "In fact, you're the least pathetic person I know. You're remarkable really."

"Doesn't feel that way."

"Look, how about I plan a day for us? Massages, manicures, pedicures, even getting our hair done. How does that sound?" She raises her eyebrows, "Might help take your mind off of things. Your hair can be whatever color you want...maybe I'll even get something done myself."

Charlie raises her eyebrows, "Bit of a bonding session? You really don't need to do all of that."

"What if I help you shave your legs?"

The younger woman starts to laugh, "Yes, I'm sure my mother would love to come home to that. Seeing her girlfriend helping her daughter doing...something rather intimate. I'm sure there's absolutely nothing that would go through her mind at that point." She snorts, teasing the other woman, "It isn't what it looks like, Berenice." Charlie mocks the woman's more formal style of speech, grinning.

Serena starts to chuckle with her, "I suppose that could be taken in a manner one wouldn't...want it to be." She smiles a little, "I'm sorry. I just want to help you feel better and I'm not really sure how I could possibly do that."

"Because you don't have to, but I appreciate that you want to." The young woman responds quietly, leaning her head against the other woman's shoulder. "I do."

"So, you don't want to get massages, manicures, pedicures, and a new hair color of your choice?"

"Now, I did not say that. I just said that you don't have to do that. Besides, I look gross. I don't...I don't feel comfortable at the moment doing all of that. Hair, sure, but...I can do that here at home. I don't want you to waste actual money on me coloring my hair something...bizarre." Charlie blinks slowly, "I can order those things on Amazon..."

Serena takes a deep breath, waiting a moment before speaking, "I want to get to know you better...the you now, not the you that you used to be."

The young woman licks her lips slowly, thinking out loud, "I don't know who that person is. Not really. Not outside of these..." She lifts her hand, motioning to the obvious scar on her head, "I mean, you did a fantastic job attempting to hide them...and really they're quite good, but I'm...still a bit..." She shrugs, at a loss for words. "They're who I am now, I guess."

"I don't think so." The silver haired woman shakes her head slowly, "I hear you sing the things you've written in your notebook." Serena motions to the leatherbound book on the bedside table, "Your hands shake, but...the words, Char...I listen and, at times, they bring tears to my eyes."

"They're nothing-"

"They're not nothing." Serena shakes her head slowly, "Don't give up on that."

"I can't...write the words. Frieda helps me when she's able to...or I type them. Sometimes that isn't possible either, but...I'm protective of the words. Protective of the emotions." Charlie shakes her head, quickly wiping a tear away as it escapes her eye to trickle down her cheek, "Listen to me ramble on. No, let's...get our hair done. I can agree to that."

"Good." Serena leans over, gently kissing the girl's temple, "Try to settle on a color if you're able to." This young woman would never be her Elinor, but there was no reason she couldn't treat her as her own daughter. No reason she couldn't make the relationship with her that she should have had with her own daughter. This is a second chance for her, for both of them. "Your Mum should be home soon. Try not to fall asleep before then."

"Easier said than done."