Paul Meets Charlie
Summary: Just a short drabble about Paul and Charlie meeting at Graceland. Pre-series one-shot
Disclaimer: Hah, like I own anything besides too many pairs of flip flops.
It took just over two months to get himself back together, to put back the pieces that Jangles had stolen from him. And when he heard that there would be a new house that was called Graceland, he offered to be put in the house first.
Paul Briggs had a plan.
He had nearly a week before any other agents would be placed, and he put his time to good use.
Six days later, when the plaster was dry, another agent walked through the doors, a man that Briggs was nothing but happy to see.
Dale Jakes.
Briggs was prepared to wait this out, knowing it was a long-term plan, doing what good he could along the way.
But those plans would eventually be derailed.
Six months later, Charlie Demarco stepped through the front doors of Graceland for the first time.
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Briggs had elected to wait for the newest agent to show up since he had no jobs to work on today. It was just after three when the front door opened.
"Hello?" a female voice rang throughout the house. Paul heard her from upstairs.
"Yeah?" he called back, heading down the stairs. He stopped briefly on the landing at the sight of the women in the living room before continuing his approach. "You're Catherine Demarco?"
"Paul Briggs", he offered calmly.
"I know who you are", she murmured. Then the woman scowled. "It's Charlie. Call me Catherine again and you'll be wearing your spleen for a hat."
His mouth twitched in amusement. "Wouldn't Charlie a better nickname if your name was Charlotte?"
"Do I look like a Charlotte?" she snarled derisively.
"Nope."
"Exactly. Well, this has been… something. Where's my room?" she asked flatly, gesturing to her suitcase.
"You're the fourth person here. The rooms with doors open are free. Take your pick, princess."
Her lip curled. Who the hell did this guy think he is? "Look, buddy, why don't you do us both a favor and stop trying to stick me with a handle."
He quirked an eyebrow, 'Whatever you say, Charles."
She turned, wheeling her suitcase in the direction of the stairs. "Jesus Christ", Charlie muttered under her breath. She heard his low laugh, but didn't turn back around. Charlie went to go find a space that she could call her own.
Half an hour later, she was hanging her clothes in the closet when she heard a knock on the doorjamb.
"So, you got the bad first impression out of the way", she said mildly without turning around. "What do you want now?"
"I wondered if you'd take the other room with a view."
"It's peaceful here."
He snorted. "We're agents. If it's peaceful, we aren't doing our jobs."
"Valid point."
"Truce?" he asked finally.
She turned then and smiled slightly. "Yeah, okay."
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As the rest of the agents trickled in, and Paul introduced her the same way he had to Jakes, Donnie, and Paige.
"This is Charlie. Call her anything else and her threats get violent."
"That wasn't funny the first, second, or third time, Paul", she grumbled.
He just smirked lazily. "Hey, I'm just saving our fellow agents from impending spleen hats."
"Cute", Charlie drawled sarcastically… and ironic since he'd taken to calling her Chuck or Charles, and she'd yet to throttle him. Somehow he'd still managed to tag her with a handle. She'd just keep her mouth shut about not hating it.
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That had been Charlie's first impression of Paul Briggs: a man who had something to prove to himself, but kept his ego in check when it mattered. He was a man who made their shared space safe to come back to.
So two years later, when a no-nothing rookie came into the house and asked her what had happened what it had been like when she had met the legendary Paul Briggs for the first time, she'd just shook her head a bit patronizingly.
"I never met the legend", she said seriously. "I met the man. And I trust him with my life."
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A/N: Drabbles are so nice. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading! I feel for Charlie. The season finale was heartbreaking for her and she doesn't even know it yet.