Love and Forgiveness
by: Eyes-of-Pearl
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Life belongs to its respective owners.
Author's Note & Synopsis: I was struck by the scene between Charlie and his ex-wife in the episode, "Fill It Up," so I decided to write this brief gap filler of my own.
Love and Forgiveness
She didn't want to see him, but she couldn't bring herself to say no either. Reluctantly, she agreed to meet him at a nearby park to talk.
"What do you want, Charlie?" she asked.
"Do you know what happened to me in prison?"
This was a new thing with him to answer a question with another question. So, in essence, his response could not be called an answer, just another question. And for this particular one, she couldn't answer. It was rhetorical anyways and so, she waited.
"I was angry for the longest time - angry at you. You were my wife, through better or worse, we vowed to stand by each other until death due us part."
"Don't ..."
But he only ignored her protest, and continued, "And for the longest time, I held on to this anger until I realized that you weren't the person that I should be angry about."
"Charlie," she began again.
"I want your forgiveness," he said, effectively cutting her off, "and to apologize. I am sorry for being angry at you. That's all Jenny ... forgiveness."
She closed her eyes at hearing the shortened version of her name. Subconsciously, that name to her was sacred, only Charlie referred her as such. Her family, her friends and even her new husband only ever called her 'Jen' or 'Jennifer.'
Charlie had taken her silence as a response. So, when she reopened her eyes, she saw his retreating form heading towards his parked car. In that fleeting moment, she felt a sense of abandonment and sadness washed over her. She couldn't understand it as much as perhaps, Charlie wanted her to.
However, in a single moment of clarity, she realized that Charlie Crews despite all his bravado and Zen-like interpretations, he was in fact still a man. He is a person who is not infallible and bears deep scars. She too, was not without regrets or flaws, but Charlie chose to forgive her when he called her 'Jenny,' a remnant of the past. And if she could somehow mend a person by granting him the forgiveness that he felt he needed, then she would be selfish for not doing so.
Just as her ex-husband reached his car, she called out to him, "Charlie!"
He turned, one hand clutching the door handle and the other holding his sunglasses, and waited.
She said in a manner that he would understand, "There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love."
... I hope you find what you are searching for.
The End
AN: Quote is by Bryant H. McGill