The case has been dragging them, but he feels like he's the one dragging them down. He wanted to talk to them. (The Newsroom, Charlie, Will, Elliot, Sloan)
It's been twenty-five days since Dantana v ACN shook the world of cable news networks.
They all took the opportunity to beat ACN senseless. The other networks had portions of their primetime shows, dedicated to knocking down Will McAvoy and his show off his high horse and his claim of "being the media elite".
("How dare this man claim to be on the side of truth, when he himself was the one who delivered the biggest lie against the administration?" He was tired of hearing all variations of that point.)
Then came the attacks against everyone involved. Whenever one of them came to the witness stand, everyone else would have researched their backgrounds and had "analysts" mark up on their characters.
(He held his breath when Elliot Hirsch and Sloan Sabbith came to the stand. He remembers Elliot shaking with anger one day, telling him that reporters were hounding on his wife and daughter. He remembers Sloan pacing the whole length of his office, wringing the printout of a report in her hands - the report about her leaked photos.)
He was there, every single day, being there personally when one of his own was called to the stand. His eyes would wander to where Jerry Dantana sat, his eyes gleeful whenever something was favorable for him. He had wanted to smack the smile of his face, beat him up, make him hurt. He wanted him to pay.
(Charles Skinner would have done everything for them. Because he knows that he was the cause of the fall.)
—
It's day twenty-six, and Rebecca Halliday called in Leona Lansing to the stand.
When Charlie heard of this, he objected. There was no need to drag either Leona or Reese to the proceedings, they were not involved in Genoa.
"I am as every part responsible in Genoa as you are Charlie," Reese had said. "We do the news, and someone tampered with it, and I am sure as hell won't let him get away."
"You are not going to steal my moment of glory Charles," Leona followed, putting such emphasis on his name that he wanted to ask if he was high again. Rebecca rolled her eyes - at this point, he couldn't tell if that was a yes or a no to the question he didn't ask out loud.
But, from the moment she entered the courtroom ("Man, she does have some kickass courtroom outfits," Will whispered to him) to the way she answered the questions ("I would not like to be Dantana right now," Don wrote in a piece of paper), Leona held the attention of everyone present. She wasn't one of the powerful women in media for nothing.
He noticed that her eyes were focused on Jerry when opportunity allowed it. For the first few minutes, he was still the smug son of a bitch he'd been loathing since day one. From the tenth minute onwards, Charlie was sure as hell Jerry was wishing that he could disappear.
Leona's message to Jerry was loud and clear: You dare destroy my family? I will destroy you first.
—
Charlie found himself going to Leona's office on the forty-fourth floor. She was about to go home, when he knocked on the open door and leaned against it.
"Great show today," he told her.
An eyebrow raised. "Show?"
He replies with a shrug.
"Those are just my true, honest feelings, old man," Leona said as she did a final sweeping check of her office. "The icing on top to mask my feelings of 'Fuck off Dantana' from ever surfacing and ruining my courtroom couture."
It's the first time he chuckled ever since this whole shitstorm began.
"Oh thank Moses and Jesus, you finally smiled." Leona said as she picked up her bag.
"Thanks. May I accompany you downstairs?" It wasn't much as a question as he took her coat and helped her wear it.
"As owner, and possibly saviour of your asses, I am allowed that right."
In the elevator, he presses the button for the ground floor. A few floors, she suddenly presses the one for the news studios.
The doors open, and she puts out her hand to stop them from closing.
"They need you right now. And you need them." Leona said, motioning him to step out.
He agrees. "You know me very well," he says as the doors close.
The last thing he saw was her knowing smile.
—
One of the few lights that were still on belonged to Will's office. Charlie could see the three silhouettes, and he made them out to their respective owners.
Elliot, as usual, was standing. He was gesturing wildly - Charlie knew that when Elliot did this, he was leaning towards nervousness about a situation. He could see Sloan seated, perhaps listening intently to whatever Elliot was nervous about. She had that way of knowing when to listen and when to speak. Finally, there was Will, leaning at his desk. He's back, and better than before. Things got shaky, but yes, he's back and he's leading them through this shitstorm.
Oh, what have things become?
"I'm just saying Will, there is nothing I want more in my life than crush the soul out of his body. I want to take the soul and just… Crush it." he smiled to himself. Elliot's the very last of them three to think about crushing someone.
"You can't crush Jerry's soul because he is plain soul-less, Elliot. You will be crushing air."
"Nice to know you're getting good with the comebacks, Moneyskirt."
All three of them turned at once. Charlie was there, smiling at them.
The happiness didn't reach his eyes - the three of them observed, and they knew why.
"Walk with me," he said. And then he left.
Without asking why, they all grabbed their things and followed him to the elevator. There was silence - Elliot and Sloan looked at Will as if to ask if he knew what was going on, but Will could only shrug.
But the three of them trusted Charlie - let him lead, they will follow.
Downstairs, his car was waiting for him. He motioned for the three of them to get in.
"I thought we were gonna walk?" Elliot asked, weary of getting into Charlie's car.
"You wanna walk from here to Central Park?"
Elliot pondered for a moment. "I probably can."
Sloan yelled out from inside. "Try doing that in heels!"
This satisfied the anchor. "She has a point."
Will went in last, looked at Charlie, his worry obvious. "Are you okay?"
Charlie nodded.
He sat at the front, and waited quietly as they made their way to Central Park. It took a while, but Sloan was the one who broke the silence by asking Will how the wedding planning was going.
"I'm not too involved in it. Every time I try, Mrs. Lansing shoos me away."
"Mrs. Lansing?"
Charlie wasn't surprised at all.
He was looking at them from the rearview mirror. He saw Elliot give Will a consoling pat, while Sloan was trying her best to hide her smile.
The three of them break his heart.
— —
It's not that Charlie didn't think this through. He simply wanted to talk to the three of them, and let them know things are going to be all right. But he didn't want to just sit down and talk to them. He wanted to be on the move, because for him, it was easier to let things out whenever he's on his toes.
But where do they go now?
"Walk. Just walk." his gut said.
So now the three of them were walking around, admiring the view of people going about their business during the Holidays.
It's foolish for him to think that these people didn't have problems of their own, but right now he badly wanted to be one of them. For a few minutes, he just wanted his mind to be at peace.
Everyone around them was laughing and smiling. The four of them were waiting for the others to do so.
"It is too damn cold. I am freezing my fucking balls down here."
Charlie expected this statement to come from Will. So when the three of them looked at Elliot, he couldn't help but to laugh out loud.
That did the trick.
Sloan hugged Elliot, rubbing his arm for warmth. Elliot looked at Charlie, seemingly apologising for his outburst.
"Let's seek warmth somewhere." Will said "I am not about to hug Elliot for warmth."
"I have a better idea." Charlie said, as he walked to his intended destination.
—
Once inside, he felt a lot better. After all, FAO Schwarz was a happy place for children and the children at heart.
He looked at the three of them, to gauge their reactions. Will was somehow on the borderline of being thankful for the warmth and wondering if Charlie was really all right. Sloan was more direct - she walked to Charlie and and raised an eyebrow. Elliot went for a different approach - he went straight to the stuffed animals not too far away.
Charlie followed him.
Elliot was looking intently at the bears - different sizes and colors, before grabbing a brown one in a suit and a white one with a blue bow tie.
"Abbie already has a bear with a suit. But this is a light brownish one, which may remind her of me. But she doesn't have one yet with a bow tie." Elliot let his thoughts ring out loud, weighing each bear's pros and cons.
Elliot smiled. "Screw it, I'll buy her both."
"Dude," Will said, as Elliot got a few more of the bears to pick the one with the least damage. "I am a cool dad Will, I am a dad made of awesome, and every time I am down, her smile brings me back up."
Elliot ended his declaration with a sad smile.
And now it was out. This whole lawsuit was dragging them down.
It was tiring - day in and day out, a part of them had to do the news, the other one had to keep their defences up. They all had to be careful.
They longed for the normal as you please, carefree days.
Being careful about whatever you did was tiring.
They roamed around the aisles, trying to avoid the casual stares of the grown-ups who were there. The children, however, didn't seem to mind them. They were grateful for the innocence these children had.
One of the kids was trying to reach up to the dolls. Sloan reached out to the box and handed it to her.
"Thank you Sloan,"
Sloan froze. Will asked the question for her, "How do you know her?"
"Daddy watches her show. He likes the way she reports."
A long "Okay" went went from Sloan, prompting Charlie to guide her away from the scene. "That was creepy." she said, as they went on.
Elliot handed her the bow tie bear. "Hug this, it will make you feel better." Sloan did as she was told, making Charlie smile at the sight before him. "Hmmm, you're right. This does make me feel-"
"Oh. My. GOD."
Elliot walked faster. They kept up with him, and when he saw where Elliot stopped, Charlie could only smile.
They were in front of The Big Piano.
Elliot started removing his shoes. Charlie and Will instinctively looked at the nearby clerk, who was smiling at Elliot's enthusiasm - the clerk motioned, "Go ahead."
"Sloan, hold my bear." he said, and Sloan obliged.
Charlie watched at Elliot stepped in gingerly in one of the keys.
"Awesome."
For an impossibly huge man, he's the one who has the most child like of ways.
He started moving around key to key, but he kept getting a few of them wrong. "Da- Nope. Not gonna curse."
Charlie laughed, and said, "You need a partner." He started removing his shoes.
"Charlie?" Will asked.
"What?"
Will was motioning between the keyboard and Charlie. Elliot was smiling from ear to ear.
"Eh, go buy some whimsy in the other floors Will!" he said as he reached out for Charlie's hand.
Still, Elliot was getting the keys wrong.
Sloan turned to Will and managed to shove the bears to him. She removed her heels, grabbed Elliot by the arm and said, "Let me show you how it's done."
"Aww, come on Sloan!"
Still, he let her into the keyboard.
The starting keys went in perfectly.
"Piano lessons?"
Sloan smiled back at Charlie. "Ever since I was born into this world."
Elliot and Will stood there, amazed. It was as if Charlie was Fred Astaire, expertly moving from one key to the other. Sloan was light-footed and sure.
"Heart and soul," Charlie began. "I fell in love with you,"
"Heart and soul," Sloan followed. "A way a fool would do,"
Together. "Madly, because you held me tight."
"And stole a kiss, in the night."
She turned to Elliot. "Got it?"
"Of course."
Well, no. He didn't.
Charlie was starting to slow down, and Will wasn't about to let them have all the fun.
"My turn." he told Charlie, who smiled and let him in.
"Here you go!" Elliot said as he clapped Will in the back.
Elliot got the hang of it.
"Heart and soul," Will sang. "I begged to be adored,"
"Lost control - no really - and tumbled overboard!"
Together now. "Gladly, that magic night we kissed, there, in the moon mist…"
There was a brief, slightly sweet moment between Will and Elliot, making Charlie and Sloan laugh out loud.
They spent in a few more minutes, at least until Elliot managed to get the keys perfectly. Or until the clerks were already looking at them with the intent of dragging Elliot away.
At the counter, they were still discussing Elliot's attempts on the piano. Sloan was next in line, and paid for a small frog plushie; Will, for a Golden Retriever. As Elliot was about to pay, when Charlie reached out for the bear with the bow tie. "Let me pay for this Elliot," he said.
"Oh no, Charlie…"
"A thank you, for me to her."
Then Charlie hugged Elliot. The hug was returned, longer, and Elliot whispering, "It's gonna be okay Charlie."
Charlie fought back the tears. He had a lighter heart when they parted ways.
— —
The next day was his.
He was reminded of his schedule, Rebecca ran him down again with the answers he was to give, how he was to give them. Then he want back to his office.
And there they were.
Seated neatly in his desk, a bear, a frog, and a Golden Retriever. A handwritten note in each, all saying the same thing.
You're the man. Came from Elliot.
You're best. Signed from Sloan.
Thank you, Charlie. Said Will.
A knock from the door.
"Give me a minute." he said, as he let the tears flow. The sound of the heels gave away the identity of the visitor.
A hand reached out for the bear with the bow tie.
"They all love you Charlie. Each and every one. Never think for a moment, that you are putting them down. They will be with you, in every step of the way."
Leona handed the bear back to him.
"Chin up, Charles. You're gonna be kicking Dantana's ass today."
Charlie took the bear.
"And I will do it in a spectacular fashion, as always."
She straightened up his bow tie.
"Heart and Soul Charles? Really?"
He smiled at her. "You should see the three of them do it."