Disclaimer: I do not own "Life".
A/N: OK, I was rewatching "Evil and his brother Ziggy" and felt like there was a missing Charlie/Rachel scene in the episode. So, here it is!
Charlie hesitated before tapping on Rachel's door. The rest of the house was quiet, and he could hear Whitehat snoring from the guest room. But there was still a light on in Rachel's room. He tapped again.
"Come in."
Feeling his heart pound with relief that she'd let him in and nervousness….that she had let him in, Charlie pushed open the door, sliding himself into the room.
Rachel was sprawled on her bed, a magazine open in front of her, and her iPod's earbuds hanging around her neck. When she saw it was him, her face fell even further…if that was possible.
"Oh," she said in a dull tone. "It's you."
Sighing, she tossed her magazine aside and shut off her iPod, pulling herself into a sitting position. "No doubt come to give me a speech about how sorry you are for forgetting about me?"
"No," he said, feeling more nervous than he ever had. "No speech."
One of her eyebrows rose and she nodded, as if she'd known his answer.
"Just an apology," he continued.
She froze in mid-nod, looking skeptically at him. He took a deep breath. "Rachel, I am sorry. I'm sorry for not finding you sooner, and I'm sorry that I've been busy with work, but most importantly, I'm sorry that I let you down. I'm sorry that Hollister let you down, I'm sorry that Jack Reese let you down, and I am so sorry that the police let you down all those years ago when they couldn't find out who killed your family."
She wasn't staring at him anymore, she was staring at her knees, and he thought he could see the telltale gleam of tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry that I can't be what you need," he went on, feeling tears in his own eyes. "And I'm-!"
"Stop."
He looked at her. By now she was openly crying, shaking her head. She laughed a bit before looking down. "Do you have any idea how scary it was, those first few months, living with him? I'd lay awake at night, praying for a guardian angel to come down and rescue me."
"Rachel," he whispered, covering his hand with hers.
She blinked rapidly, apparently struggling to hold back tears.
"And then, once I got used to his being there, I was so scared he was going to go away," she admitted, "Just like they did."
The dam burst, and she started sobbing, hard. Crews wordlessly pulled her into a hug and she clung to him, her sobs of pain muffled in his shirt. He stayed quiet, knowing that this was probably the first time she'd ever been able to let it all out.
"When you came back, I was so happy, but so scared that you'd go away, too," she admitted.
"Oh, Rachel," he murmured. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Uncle Charlie," she whimpered. "Please don't leave."
"I won't," he swore.
She pulled back, looking at him through wet eyes.
"I'm sorry I keep pushing you away," she said softly.
"We've been through hell," he said with a grin. "I'd be surprised if you weren't pushing." Then he sobered up. "Rachel, I just want you to know that, no matter how hard you push, I'm not budging."
She smiled and squeezed his hand.
"I know."
Crews sighed and stood up.
"Well, it's late, and I have work tomorrow, so…."
"Yeah, I should get to bed, too. G'night, Uncle Charlie."
Charlie smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Good night, Rachel."
He stood up and exited the room, closing the door behind him before padding down the hall towards his own bedroom, a spring in his step.
"One problem solved," he said softly to himself as he climbed into bed. "Now all I gotta do is solve the case. And figure out what to do about Ted."
He lay awake for a few moments, suddenly stunned by what he had to do. Then he shrugged.
"It can wait."
There! Hopefully no one was too OOC or anything! Review if you like! Btw, I know he didn't mention finding out who framed him, but I don't think that's the kind of thing he'd say aloud, even to himself.