Later that night, Charlotte was sitting on the patio, looking out at the ocean. Addison popped her head over the dividing wall. "Hey."

Charlotte turned her head and rolled her eyes. "You here to give me another lecture?"

She shook her head and walked through the gate. "No." She paused. "But I do know a thing or two about Amelia's drug addiction. I was married to her brother for eleven years, after all."

Charlotte nodded. "I know—everyone knows that Addison. It's not a secret."

"I'm just saying, I've seen her at her worst—having to have the life breathed back into her by her older brother—I was there. Amelia's my family and family looks out for family."

Charlotte patted the lounge chair next to her and Addison sat down. "I'm sorry I've been so protective over Amelia. I just want to respect her wishes 'cause you never know if she's gonna change her mind if I let one of you guys in the house." She paused. "I want her to feel comfortable doin' this and if I don't let her do this the way she wants, she might not do it at all, and none of us want that."

Addison nodded. "I get that."

"I really wasn't plannin' on doin' this all on my own. No one seems to understand that, but Cooper. I'm not a shrink, I'm not trained in addiction or recovery, I'm not a talker by any stretch of the imagination, so I wasn't goin' to pretend I could make Amelia better by myself." She sighed. "And I think Amelia knows better than that to know I can't—but I can do this part."

Addison leaned back on the chair. "How is she doing?"

"Better."

Addison smiled. "Good." She paused. "Did she say why she called you? Why she wanted help now?"

Charlotte nodded. "But I can't share that with you. Amelia's my friend, and unless she tells you herself, I can't tell you that information."

"Charlotte—."

"If you were in Amelia's shoes, would you want to tell someone about what made you decide to get clean? Your rock bottom? I don't think so. There are only two people who know mine besides the countless counselors and doctors who treated me—Cooper and Amelia. It's personal stuff, Addison."

Addison stared at her. "You—?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "To put it simply, yes—and before you ask, no, I'm not gonna go into detail about it."

Addison nodded. "Ok. So you really know what you're doing?"

"I've been through it, it doesn't mean I'm an expert, by any means, but I know a thing or two about it." Charlotte angled her head towards the house when there was a knock on the door—a rather loud knock. "I ordered pizza. Wanna join me?"

Addison smiled. "Mind if I invite Sam?"

She shook her head. "I guess not as long as you don't go all kissy-kissy on me. I don't do the third wheel thing." She stood up and walked into the house. She grabbed the pizza and brought it out on the deck along with three paper plates. Addison walked over with Sam and a bottle of Coke and a bottle of Sprite. Charlotte looked at them. "You guys have a nice view here."

"You and Cooper thinking about moving any time soon?" Addison asked as she sat down at the table.

Charlotte shrugged. "We'll have to someday, but at the moment, there aren't any plans to. Our plans kind of got squashed by—we started lookin' last year, but we couldn't agree on what we wanted, and then, well, I was just tryin' to get through my day—not really thinkin' about houses."

Addison nodded. "Kids?"

Charlotte swallowed. "We're tryin'—well, not at this moment, but we will be."

"Congratulations," Sam said, biting into a piece of pepperoni pizza.

"You're s'posed to say that after a woman gets pregnant."

"Trying is a big step. It deserves a congratulations," Addison pointed out.

Charlotte nodded. "I guess." Her phone vibrated on the table and she looked down at the contact. "It's Cooper. Excuse me." She took the phone and disappeared into the house.

"What's up?" She asked, leaning against the wall.

"Just want to know how you're doing."

"I'm eating pizza with Addison and Sam."

"Willingly?"

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Cooper."

He smiled. "I wish I was there."

"I do too."

"Why are you letting Addison and Sam in the house, but I can't be there?"

"Calm down, Cooper. They're not in the house. They're on the deck."

He sighed. "Would Sam and Addison mind a house guest for a few days? They'll never know I'm there."

Charlotte laughed. "I'll be home soon, Coop."

He nodded. "Why do I feel like this? It's not like we spend every second of the day together."

"You miss me. It's ok. I miss you too." She paused. "We've never been apart at night since we got married—since we got engaged. Sure, you slept on the couch for a week, but I mean, we were always in the same place—knowing what the other person was doin'—this is an adjustment."

"I think I'm gonna go drink."

"Don't go too crazy, Cooper."

"I'll try not to. I'll make it home safe. I promise."

She smiled. "Call me tomorrow—so I know you made it home ok."

He nodded. "I call you everyday, anyway."

"I'm gonna go finish my dinner. Talk to you tomorrow."

"Goodnight."

"Night, Coop."

"Love you."

"Love you too." She hung up the phone and slipped back out onto the patio.

Charlotte sat back down and Sam and Addison broke the kiss they were tongue deep in. "If you're gonna do that, go home. It's bad enough I'm away from Cooper. I don't need to see you two makin' out."

Addison laughed. "What'd Cooper want?"

"Just wanted to say goodnight."

"Isn't that sweet?" Addison smiled.

"Cooper's goin' to the bar. I'm sure you could join him if you want, Sam."

"You want me to make sure Cooper gets home safely, don't you?" He asked with a soft chuckle.

Charlotte laughed. "Would you? I know how he gets when he's drinkin'. He's usually angry at me, but he's upset that I'm here, he misses me, which is almost the equivalent of him bein' mad."

Sam smiled. "No problem." He gave Addison a quick peck on the lips. "I'll make sure he gets home in one piece."

"Thank you." Sam nodded and walked back over to his house to get his keys and wallet.

Charlotte looked at Addison. "Sorry about that."

Addison held out her hand. "We didn't have anything planned for tonight, anyway."

Charlotte smiled. "He'll probably think I don't trust him."

"He knows you just want him to be safe. It's not like you sent Sam to the bar to spy on Cooper to make sure he didn't do something he'd regret. You sent him there to make sure he got home safe. He'll understand."

Charlotte nodded. "I hope so. I know he can get home by himself. He's done it before. I just—."

"You just want to make sure that happens." Charlotte nodded. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Charlotte finished her piece of pizza and started eating another one. "Oh, by the way, your bed is heaven."

Addison laughed. "It is comfortable, isn't it?"

"Mmhmm," she mumbled as she ate her pizza slice. She took a sip of her water and leaned back on the chair. She watched the sunset on the ocean and adjusted her sling. "This view is beautiful." She closed her eyes and moved her fingers a little on her left hand. She winced in pain and swallowed hard. "Ow."

"How's your wrist?"

"That 'ow' should have answered that question for you, Addison. I can't take anything for it. I don't trust myself with Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Not that they're addictive, but takin' pills, it's just not worth the stress, and thinkin' about pills of any kind, just makes me think about stuff I'd rather not think about. So it's painful. It doesn't help that Cooper collapsed on top of it—with all his weight, mind you."

"Why would he do that?"

She rolled her eyes. "He didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident."

"Well, I should get back to the house."

"Yeah, um, I have to check on Amelia anyway."

"Thanks for dinner."

Charlotte smiled. "Mmhmm."

Addison picked up her cell phone and walked back over to Sam's. "See you later."

"Bye," Charlotte called back to the redhead. She leaned back on the chair and closed her eyes. She listened to the waves crash on the shore and the usual peaceful sounds of night. The light breeze felt good against her skin and she drifted off to sleep.

Charlotte woke up at a quarter to one, shivering. She looked around and she was still outside. She cleaned up the mess—she didn't want seagulls snacking on the pizza crust once the sun rose. She walked into the house and sailed upstairs. She ran into the bathroom and relieved herself before checking on Amelia—something she failed to do last night before she fell asleep. She opened the door a crack and peeked. "Amelia?"

Amelia was sitting up. She turned her head towards the blonde. "I can't sleep."

"How are you feelin'?"

"Like I want pills."

"Are you hungry? Maybe for something small like toast?"

She shrugged. "A little."

"Besides the cravings, how do you feel?"

"Weak, dehydrated, sore." Her eyes widened when she noticed Charlotte's white cast. "What happened? Did I—Did I do that?"

"It's fine."

"I'm sorry."

Charlotte walked farther into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm fine."

"Does it hurt? I mean, I know it hurts, but how bad is it?" Her voice was still low, but she was clearly in her right mind.

Charlotte swallowed. "It kills." She paused. "Can you walk?"

"I'll meet you in the kitchen. It'll take me ten years to get down those steps."

Charlotte laughed. "I'm not much help—only got one arm."

"Charlotte?"

"Mmhmm?"

"I know it's not over yet, but—but thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled. "About it not bein' over yet, we need to talk about what's gonna happen next."

Amelia rolled her eyes. "I was waiting for that."

"You need to see a therapist specializing in addiction and attend group meetings—."

"I'm aware of all that, Charlotte."

Charlotte nodded. "I've done what I can. It's up to you to do the rest."

"You're just dropping like that?"

She shook her head. "That's not what I said. I'm still your friend. I'm just saying I can't make you change—you have to make yourself change. I can't make these programs work for you—you have to do that yourself." She paused. "Oh, and your HIV test was negative. We'll test you again in six months."

"And the pregnancy test?"

"It's negative." Amelia let out a deep breath. "Relieved?" She nodded. "Who knows what else you could have picked up?"

"I didn't—I don't have anything, right?"

Charlotte shook her head. "No, we tested you for everything. I'm sayin' you could have." Charlotte stood up. "I'll make you toast. Come downstairs when you're ready." She nodded and Charlotte disappeared into the hallway.

a/n: some people wanted more charlotte and addison, so there you go.

there will be more addison and amelia coming too.

more charlotte and cooper is coming as well

along with more charlotte and amelia.

as always, please review. :)

and thank you for those taking the time to review, i appreciate it

thank you for those reading too. (can't forget about you)