Charlotte turned around slowly, recognizing the voice, her eyes were red but she hadn't shed a tear
"Yeah?" her voice was slightly husky but it didn't break under the word
"I didn't know, I shouldn't have said that, I was wrong." he took a breath, "I'm sorry."
Charlotte looked him in the eyes and saw that he meant it, she softened the tiniest bit, but still remained hard as a stone
"Just remember a tiger doesn't change their stripes." She reached a hand up, as if to brush his hair out of her face, but caught it and brought it to her chest in a fist, "God you even look like Tommy..." She brought her fist down to her side, but didn't unclench it. "Be careful Danvers, she's nothing but trouble."
Caleb nodded stiffly once before opening his mouth to speak and then closing it, he turned around to leave and then turned back towards her
"I'm glad you told me." The words sounded forced but she could tell he meant them,
"You deserved to know. You're a good guy Caleb." Caleb snorted, "Not because you're the golden boy." Charlotte said sharply, catching his attention, "Not because you're captain of the swim team or because you have a 3.9 GPA. Because you care about people, and that's more rare than you think, hell you care about me and you don't even know me." Charlotte paused, Caleb's expression had gone from disbelief to mild confusion quickly
"You'd step in front of a moving bus for one of your brothers without the slightest hesitation."
"They'd do the same for me." Caleb said gruffly and automatically, confused as Charlotte shook her head
"No, no they wouldn't. Not like you would, you see black and white Caleb, you'd jump without asking questions or reasons. Pogue, Reid, Tyler they see the varying levels of gray like the rest of us, they would jump in front of that bus for you. But they'd antagonize and think and wait. You're a good guy Caleb, a bit foolish, but good." Charlotte patted him on the shoulder as she walked by with her tray of food
"How'd you know all that about me?" Caleb said turning around, disturbed that Charlotte had seen through him so quickly, deftly, and accurately, she gave him a small smile.
"I'm fairly good at reading people, don't worry you're not so obvious to most."
"Don't tell the others what you told me, please, as a favor." Caleb said quietly
"I never do." Charlotte said softly, they locked eyes and for a moment Charlotte seemed much, much older than her eighteen years
Charlotte sat down again, calmer, her fury gone. Caleb trailed behind her and took his seat after a moment
"So what do you know about the baby?" Pogue said as she took a sip of her coke, Charlotte snorted and laughed into the coke, setting it down as she held a napkin to her nose to soak up the coke coming out of it. She continued to laugh as she leaned forward and rubbed at her nose.
"I'm about twelve weeks along and I'm having twins, that's all i know," Charlotte said after she'd stopped spurting coke though her nose, her eye sparkled in a peculiar way as she smiled.
"Have fun with that..." Pogue muttered crossing his arms
"What do you know a something about twins?" Charlotte said cocking her head to the side
"I'm an only child, we all are, but some of my good friends are twins and you would not believe all the kinds of hell they raise."
"I bet i would." Charlotte said taking a cautious sip of her coke
"Why's that?" Reid said curiously
"Because I'm a triplet."