As the summary will tell you, this story is originally set to be a one-shot set around the anniversary of Big Daddy's death and nothing more. I have been starving for creativity on all of my other stories (though I am not neglecting them) and the idea for this one-shot hit me at 2 AM last night. I was too tired to boot up my computer to type it up, so I did it now and I hope that everyone likes it. Like the summary says, if I can get 20 people to tell me that they want more than I will do my very best to continue this story from here. I don't know why I picked 20, I think it is a small number given the amount of traffic that the entire website gets globally each day. I guess it's a challenge for myself to see if I can get 20 people to tell me that they want more. lol So if you want to know what could happen next, either PM or as always review. :)
The lights were low in her office as she sat in her large chair, her fingers gently caressing a picture in a solid gold frame. Dr. Charlotte King let out a low sigh, tracing the profile of the once almighty and powerful Big Daddy, the only father she ever knew, and her closest companion in her mixed-up Southern family. She let out a large sigh to mask a loud cry ready to form from her small body. Had it really only been a year since his passing? So much had happened to her in that short amount of time. Reaching for a tissue Charlotte cursed herself for not following Big Daddy's mantra of keeping feelings inside oneself while emotions were for the week. This has to be an exception, Charlotte told herself, relieved that her breakdown was occurring at the end of the day, when most of Oceanside Wellness and Pacific Wellcare had gone home. There was no one there to see her cry – or so she thought.
Cooper Freedman held the small slip of paper in his hand. It was something that he had been working on for the past few months, something that he knew that he needed to do for himself, for his own sanity. Taking one last look he read the document once more: $50,000 paid in the amount to Charlotte King. The check was a breakthrough for him, something that he had been working toward for months. He had cut takeout food in half, decreased his visits to the local bars, and ignored the latest electronics in the stores. He was determined to repay his debt to her – Dr. Charlotte King – the woman that had bailed him out without asking. Looking back, he knew that she thought she was doing the right thing, being selfless, protective of her boyfriend. And though he put on a brave face, the anger over her action built up inside of him to the point where it exploded – when she told him one of her deepest secrets, something that he could never imagine her doing. He used her secret as an excuse to break up with her, to vent out his anger over her bailing him out and keeping him at Oceanside Wellness. He was wrong and he knew it. Paying her back was the first step in righting his past wrongs with her.
He wanted to do it when no one else was around; there were too many listening ears at the practice, and he wanted to make it quick and painless. He knew that she would still be working; she always worked late, usually one of the last ones to leave the office. Walking down the hall he was surprised to see the lights dimmed low, but he saw her silhouette in her office chair. The door was open a crack, the small light from the room hitting the now darkened hallway.
Cracking the door open, he stood in the threshold. "Charlotte?" he questioned, expecting her to look up at his intrusion. Things were still very awkward between them after the breakup. Cooper had made matters worse by cornering her in Addison's house at the wedding of Sam and Naomi's daughter Maya. Against his better judgment, he came onto her and he slept with her, not thinking about what would happen within the next hour, when his impulsion was over. Cooper's best solution was to leave town – and he did, with best friend and coworker Dr. Violet Turner. He spent time in Costa Rica, hoping to sort out his issues with Charlotte and get his life back on track. When he turned back to California, he was forced to deal with the aftermath from his post-break up fling with Charlotte, and neither party was willing to discuss what happened.
Cooper flinched when Charlotte's posture didn't change. She was hunched over her desk, with only a small desk lamp to guide her. Cooper stepped forward, assuming that she was giving him the silent treatment. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he saw her body begin to shake slightly.
Charlotte took in another staggered breath. She wanted this to be over, she wanted to be in Alabama with her family or at least what was left of it, with Landry and Duke now tending to their own families, and their mother still in denial over what happened one year ago that very day. She was oblivious to Cooper's presence in the room, her eyes transfixed on Big Daddy's smile – the smile of a man who was confident enough to do anything, and told his daughter that she too could do anything that she set her mind to.
Cooper lowered his eyes to make contact with Charlotte. Her cheeks were red, her make-up smudged, and if he wasn't mistaken, he could hear the soft, gentle cry coming from her lips. Cooper quickly grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it next to hers. There had only been two times that he could remember strong Charlotte King cry over anything. One was when she lost her job at Pacific Wellcare, fired by owner William White for not being the kind of leader that he expected. The other time – Cooper reached out to touch Charlotte's shoulder – the other time was on an airplane, flying back from Monroeville, Alabama to Los Angeles, California, after her father Big Daddy had passed away from lung cancer after fighting it for nearly two years. Cooper had followed her down to Alabama after hearing the news, knowing that she needed someone to rely on. She hadn't shed a single tear when she saw him in the master bed, in her family's lavish Southern home. She didn't cry when Cooper pulled the plug, finally ending Big Daddy's struggle. It was on the airplane ride back that she broke down in hysteria, letting out all of the emotion over her father that had been building for over a year. Cooper did the only thing he could, he held her in his arms and promised her that everything would be okay, that she wasn't alone. He soothed her; despite a nasty break-up with her a few weeks earlier, he put Charlotte's needs before his own.
It's been a year, Cooper remembered, recalling their ride back from the South to the West Coast. Cooper began to massage her arms; and if I hadn't have been so selfish and stupid I would have remembered. He inwardly scolded himself for being so callous towards her – not just now, but for everything in the past few months: for exploding at her and ending their relationship, for taking advantage of her at Maya's wedding, and for avoiding her afterwards. "Charlotte," Cooper whispered, coaxing her to look at him.
Charlotte looked deep into the eyes of the man that had crushed her, called her nothing more than a toy, broken up with her for being a strong woman. She couldn't understand why he was here in her office now, why he even cared to bother where she was after the way he left her after Maya's wedding. But at this point, Charlotte felt so alone and broken that she forgot all about her mess with Cooper. She needed someone and was afraid to ask, yet there he was, standing before her, offering her solace. She slowly gave in, not wanting to be brave and share the burden of her sorrow alone. "It doesn't get easier," Charlotte whispered as Cooper slowly and tentatively enveloped her in his arms. "Mamma promised me that it would get easier and that the pain would go away." She was no longer able to hide her tears from Cooper or from herself as she let out a scream of anguish.
In a swift motion, Cooper slowly lifted Charlotte off the chair and into his arms in the same way that he had done in the airplane. Her tiny body fit perfectly into his as he cradled her close to him. Reaching for a box of tissues in one hand he pulled one out and gingerly lifted it to Charlotte's face, wiping a stream of tears from her left eye.
"He promised me that he wouldn't leave me alone," she whimpered, burying her face in Cooper's chest. "He said that he would always be in my life."
Cooper rubbed her back as Charlotte let out emotions that she had been carrying inside all day, all year even. He could smell the scent of her hair, a mixture of strawberries and kiwi, a smell that he always found intoxicating about her. He struggled to keep his personal emotions at bay, his selfish desires to be with her once more, to recreate the night at Maya's wedding. Cooper took a deep breath. He wasn't going to tell her that he had saved the money to pay her back; that he was grateful for what she had done; that he was sorry for the way that he treated her; or that he missed being close to her. The only thing that he was going to do that night was be there for her, be her sole ally on a night when she was once again confronted with the death of her beloved father.
Cooper gently lifted Charlotte's chin, starring into her deep blue eyes, filled with tears and sorrow. "You are not alone," he whispered, holding her tighter. "You are not alone."