Thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers. And anyone who favortied/alerted this story, but didn't leave me a comment... well, one would be appreciated ;), just saying. Unfortunately, this is one of the stories I'm writing as I go along. Which means you guys have to suffer along with me on my writer's block. Sorry. Here we pick up as soon as our beloved doctors get Char and Coop locked in a room together. Chapter title by Kt Tunstall.

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Private Practice, though I wish I did. I'm open if anyone wants to give them away (who would?)

Chapter 4: Suddenly I See

Cooper glanced over at Charlotte surreptitiously. She was still leaning stony faced on the wall, looking down at the floor, refusing to meet his eyes. Cooper then looked through the blinds to the lobby, where the rest of their colleagues gave him encouraging and determined smiles. Damn it. He knew there was no getting out of this conversation, not if he wanted to go home tonight. But Charlotte, she just looked so…unapproachable. Even though Cooper longed to close the distance between them and take her in his arms, everything about her screamed 'don't touch', and 'shut up'. He buried his head into his hands, biting back the words on the tip of his tongue.

Charlotte, for her part, just wanted to go home. She didn't know what had possessed the rest of Cooper's incestuous family that he called colleagues to stick their noses in her business, but they had, and now she was stuck in a room with the one person she'd gone to great lengths today to avoid. The situation screamed of awkward and Charlotte fought to keep from trying to climb out the window, knowing it wouldn't be safe for the baby.

The baby. Charlotte suppressed a groan. This would be the perfect time to tell him. They were alone, she'd probably never get a moment of privacy with him again after he walked out that door, and she'd finally thought things through. She was keeping the baby. She wanted him to be in the baby's life, and she wanted the baby to know him as daddy, not Uncle Coop. But Charlotte knew she couldn't tell him all this, at least not until she knew whether or not he loved her back. No way was she putting herself out there without feeling a bit secure in his feelings as well. If he wanted more with her… if he wanted a relationship and all the things that she realized last night, under the influence of apple juice, that she wanted with him, well then maybe they'd talk about the baby.

With a grimace, Charlotte realized that to get a hold on Cooper's feelings, she'd have to talk to him. She blew out a breath, and broke the silence, "Look Cooper. I don't know what I did to make you act like a pissed off teenager, but… whatever it was, I'm sorry, okay?" She said irritably. God, how she hated to be the one to fold first.

Cooper's head snapped up, and he rubbed the ache in the back of his neck furiously. How the hell did Charlotte manage to insult him and apologize in the same sentence? On one hand, he was a pissed of teenager, and on the other, she was sorry? Cooper suppressed a rueful grin. At least she was trying, which was more than could be said for his sorry ass. Say something. Damn it, Cooper. He chastised himself. "I'm sorry too… for yelling at you this morning… and… eating all the candy." He said hesitantly, wondering how well his apology would be received.

Charlotte simply groaned and rubbed her forehead, "What the hell happened to us, Coop? We were friends, sort of, at one point, right?"

Cooper snorted derisively, the anger from this morning returning with a vengeance, "Yeah, two friends who slept together, wherein one friend refuses to talk to the other friend about it, even though the other friend tried." He said helplessly.

Setting her hands on her hips, Charlotte shot back, "It's always about the sex with you, isn't it Cooper?"

Cooper stared back incredulously, "What the hell''s that supposed to mean?" He wanted to talk, just like he had when he walked into her office the day before, but it hadn't been about the sex, it never was. He just wanted to see her again, to make her realize how much he… loves her.

"It means, you just can't leave it alone. You can't accept that we did an inappropriate, incredibly stupid thing and now it isn't going to happen again." Charlotte said defensively. Damn it, this definitely wasn't going well. She'd meant to be nice to him, to get an idea of how he was feeling and hopefully tell him the truth about their child, but the way he talked… it just… pushed her buttons, made her lash out.

And then all other logical thinking was interrupted at Cooper's shouting. "Is that all it was to you, Charlotte? Just a one-time deal, some sort of late night booty call?" He knew they could hear him outside, that all their suspicions were confirmed. He found that he didn't care, he just wanted to grab Charlotte and shake some sense into her. Wanted to make her see what he was trying to say.

Charlotte must have been realizing how indiscreet they were being too, so she lowered her voice, "I just wish we could go back to the way things were… you know, before. Before this whole damn mess."

No! Her mind screamed at her. You don't want that. You want him, and his baby. Tell him, damn it. What's wrong with you? This could be your only chance.

She ignored the voice in her head.

"I don't think things can go back." Cooper muttered, the anger bleeding out of him and being replaced by helplessness, "At least, not for me."

Charlotte took a tentative step toward him. "You mean…?" Was it possible? Was he possibly feeling the same way?

Cooper took a deep breath, and turned around to find her much closer than she was before. The look on her face was a mixture of curiosity and fear. The Ice Queen mask she liked to wear was dropped and all Cooper could see was the raw emotion underneath. He started to talk, to say everything he'd wanted to before, but chickened out.

"I dunno about you, Charlotte, but there is no way, that I can go back to how we were before. Not now… 'cause now I know what else we could have." Cooper blew out another breath, knowing what he was about to say would change everything, hoping that it would change things in the direction he wanted it to, but not daring to hope too hard. "I can't stop thinking about you Charlotte. And it wasn't… the sex, which was amazing by the way. It's just being with you. Being around you and making you laugh and doing all those things make you crazy… "

He looked up to find Charlotte still standing there, frozen in place. Her mouth half open in surprise, and was that? Yes, it was. Cooper's heart swelled with joy when he noticed the corners of her lips begin to turn up in a smile. Her gentle encouragement gave him the final push to say the rest.

"I don't care that there's no baby. I just want you." He finished simply.

At this, Charlotte felt a pang of guilt at the information she was still keeping from him. She was tempted to spill the beans right then and there, but… she found that she couldn't. If there was one thing Cooper hated, it was being lied to, and she'd lied to him, outright lied. She looked up then, and realized that she hadn't said anything after his breathless admissions yet, and Cooper was looking at her with dread in his eyes.

Hastily Charlotte stumbled over her words, "I've… been thinkin' about you too Coop. And I think maybe we could, you know try the talkin' thing and the, well the everything else that Violet has names for, but for life of me I don't know what they're called…." She trailed off, realizing that she was rambling and glanced at the floor in mild embarrassment.

In a second, Cooper closed the small distance between them with a few steps. "You mean the relationship?" He asked, a full grin now plastered on his face. "Never thought I'd see the day…"

"Don't go all mushy gushy on me Cooper." She teased, but the smile on her face told him that it was just that, teasing.

Cooper stepped closer, "You like me. You like like me. You have the hots for me and you think I'm the sweetest thing ever…"

Charlotte rolled her eyes, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks and cursing her pale skin, "What are we, in junior high again?"

They exchanged another glance, both feeling the inexplicable urge to burst into helpless gales of laughter and the all consuming desire to just kiss already. Looking out toward the lobby, Charlotte nodded at Cooper, and they reached the first real agreement they had since agreeing to leave the bar and go to his place a week ago. Charlotte stepped away to draw the blind closed on the left side of the room while Cooper took care of the others.

The moment they were out of everyone's prying sights, their lips met. Charlotte groaned and reached a hand up to cup the back of his hand, bringing him in closer and deepening their kiss. His hand travelled around her waist and down to her hip, while his lips blazed a trail of heat down her long neck. And holy hell, kissing her was all that he'd imagined. Every reconstructed memory from their one night together could not measure up to actually kissing her, and feeling her lithe body pressed up against his.

Unexpectedly, her back hit the exam table and she toppled over, both of them landing in a heap on the small bed.

"What do you think they're doing in there?" Naomi asked to no one in particular, chewing nervously on her fingernails. She leaned on the receptionist's desk with the rest of the doctors, "Maybe… maybe we should let them out."

Addison grabbed Naomi's wrist, stopping her friend from doing more damage to her fingernails. It was a nervous habit, she knew. "Stay strong, Nai." She said defiantly. "I'm sure they're talking it out like adults. Come on, 50 bucks." She pulled a 50 dollar bill out of her purse, "Who's in?"

Sam chuckled disbelievingly. "Them? Adult talk? No way. They're probably fighting, yelling at each other and throwing around whatever equipment's in there. Thank God it's only cotton balls."

"They're being awfully quiet for a fight." Violet mused.

"Fine. They're having a quiet fight," Sam amended. "I'll go in for 50 bucks on that." He added another 50 to the pile.

Pete reached over and put in his contribution as well. "I'll bet 50 dollars… that they've stopped talking and are doing the nasty now." He said with a grin, noting the blinds being pulled closed.

Addison smacked his arm. "I birth babies on that bed, Pete." She protested with disgust, holding out her arms defensively. "It's a sacred place."

"Yeah, that they're now desecrating." Pete said assuredly, earning another disgusted glare from both Addison and Naomi.

Ever the rationalist, Violet calmed her colleagues, "Let's just wait and see okay?"

Just then, the doorknob turned, and the door creaked open slowly.

"Coop… God, Cooper…. S-stop." Charlotte managed breathlessly, in between her soft cries of pleasure as Cooper's lips traveled across her collarbone and back up to her lips. Her words contradicted her actions, as she tugged on his clothes, aching for more skin on skin contact.

He started to unbutton her shirt, ignoring her halfhearted protests. All he could feel was her soft skin under his lips, and it was so amazing. God, she felt so amazing. This was all he wanted, to be with her, and have the right to kiss her like this for the rest of his life.

"Cooper. This isn't the place, or the time. They could come in any minute." Charlotte's slightly disappointed voice burst through his bubble of lust as she regretfully pushed his hands away.

He sighed, "You're right." He admitted grudgingly, taking a few steps back. When he saw her chest heaving breathlessly, her hair ruffled and her eyes blazing with unsatisfied want, he almost jumped her again.

"We should probably get back out there," Charlotte said, smoothing down her clothes and buttoning the few buttons that he'd gotten to. "Before they start to wonder what we're up to."

Cooper nodded in agreement, but before he could let her open the door, he reached down and took both her hands in his, resting his forehead on hers and whispered breathlessly, "My place, tonight?"

She nodded, a smile permanently fixed on her face, and hand in hand, they opened the door and walked out into the lobby.

As soon as they walked out together, 5 heads turned curiously toward them and everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the smiles on their faces and their intertwined fingers.

"You guys talked it out like adults right?" Addison asked triumphantly, taking one look at their composed faces and taking her money back from the pile. "I knew it."

Charlotte and Cooper nodded, but then Sam stepped in front of Addison. "There was a fight." He said, examining Charlotte's slightly red eyes, "But, no one's hurt, so… it was a calm, quiet fight, with minimal yelling." He reasoned.

Cooper and Charlotte glanced at each other. "Yeah, I guess there was a fight too." Cooper admitted sheepishly, never letting go of Charlotte's hand. They glanced around slightly awkwardly, not quite knowing how to explain to the rest of them that the office dynamic would definitely be changing, now that they were taking a step together.

"But you guys did it, didn't you?" Pete blurted, waving his hands in exasperation. He looked frantically for a sign of misplaced clothing, or maybe a lipstick mark on Cooper.

To her horror, Charlotte felt a blush creep up her cheeks again, knowing it would be all the confirmation Pete needed, all of them needed, for what had almost happened. Still, she began to protest vehemently, "No! God, this is damn medical practice… we didn't…" She looked to Cooper helplessly…

…and found him wearing a proud grin, wordlessly sharing their indiscretions with Pete. When Cooper saw Charlotte's glare, he backtracked hastily, "well, we didn't… exactly…. But… almost?" He stuttered.

Addison rolled her eyes, looking disgusted as Pete high fived Cooper and took his money back. "Okay! Nothing else to talk about here," She said loudly. "Everyone… just… go home. I'll see you tomorrow morning." She stifled a chuckle as everyone disappeared into their offices and Cooper and Charlotte stepped into the elevator. Another eventful day at Oceanside Wellness.

That night, Cooper sat across from Charlotte at his dinner table. He'd cooked for her. A beautiful dinner with candles and wine, the whole nine yards. Charlotte smiled, she had no idea Cooper could cook like that, hell, she knew she couldn't.

As she pointedly avoided her glass of wine, she knew there was something they had to talk about, something she needed to be totally honest about so that they could really give them a shot. She sighed, put down her fork and leaned her elbows on the table. The look on her face gave him pause.

"You okay?" He asked, his food halfway to his mouth.

"Yeah." She replied with a smile, "It's just… I've got to tell you something…."

Ooh, cliffhanger. I promise Charlotte will definitely spill the beans in the next chapter. Tell ya what, you leave me a review, and I will get right on the next chapter. Deal? Kay. :)

Til next time everyone!