Thanks to everyone for the lovely support. Been feeling a bit disheartened and this chapter was so difficult to write it was hard. So thanks everyone. Twenty Four reviews away from one hundred.
Thanks to Kateriina Sofia for betaing this for me.
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Happy watched Charlie sleep for a few minutes before the gravity of the situation hit him straight in the face. He was going to be a dad. There was a tiny person that he helped create growing in Charlie. He couldn't comprehend it.
Happy watched as Charlie curled into a ball, hands under her head, curls surrounding her delicate face. This beautiful woman was gonna make him a dad… and he wasn't ready for it. Shit shit shit shit. Happy climbed out of bed being careful not to disturb Charlie. He went into the bathroom and splashed water on his face. He stayed bent over the sink, head resting on his hands as he bored holes into the floor, mind running a thousand miles an hour.
What kind of dad would he be? He was a biker who was never around for more than a couple weeks at the time. He rode hard, partied harder, fought even harder, FUCK what the fuck was he going to do with a baby.
Happy stood bolt upright and went and got dressed. He needed a drink, a strong one.
He didn't speak to anyone as he entered the main room. The party was still in full swing but he ignored the chaos around him to find a bottle of Jack Daniels and started drinking it straight from the bottle. He could feel stares on his back as he sat himself down on a stool and got lost in his thoughts.
How was he going to afford a kid? What was going to happen if he landed in lock up? Fuck, how would Charlie handle it if he ended up in prison? God, that would be a cluster-fuck. She'd end up beating the hell out of him when he got out… well, try to. He rubbed his face as he finished off the bottle. He picked up another as Chibs slid into the stool next to him.
"Got a problem?" He asked simply, watching the brooding killer as he took yet another pull off the bottle. Happy didn't say anything just shot a hard glare at the Scotsman. Chibs took a drink of his beer as he met the stare, dead on. The stare down lasted a minute or two before Chibs chuckled and slid off the stool, clapping Happy on the back as he passed heading for the dorms.
Happy sat there a while longer. A flash of red went passed and he turned to see Chibs leading Charlie out of the back. She looked him dead in the eye and he could see her eyes narrow, her lips tighten, her whole body stiffen as she glared at him. Chibs led her out the door as Happy sucked down the rest of the bottle. He made to stand up but the head rush from the movement almost knocked him on his ass. He got himself to his feet and stumbled out the door to see Azalia shoot him a death glare and the taillights of Chibs' bike as he took off with Charlie.
Tig caught up with him as Happy fell onto a picnic table. "Hap?"
"I gotta see Charlie." Happy mumbled drunkenly. Tig just looked to where Charlie had just been and then back to the killer.
"What happened?" He asked cautiously. Happy started digging through his pockets.
"I gotta go to my Old Lady." Happy said, still stuck on the one track. Tig whistled.
"Okay well, you should go get some sleep and go see her in the morning." He said. Happy stood up swaying pulling his keys out of his pocket. Tig caught him as he overbalanced, smoothly removing the keys from Happy's hands and tucking them away before the very intoxicated nomad realized they were gone.
"Nope tonight now. Gotta tell her." Happy said, digging in his pockets as he pulled away, headed for his bike. Tig followed.
"Tell her what?" He asked.
"The truth." Happy slurred still searching his pockets for keys that weren't there. Tig shook his head.
"Okay okay. I'll take you. We'll take one of the vans." He said, pulling Happy towards one of the black vans they kept for club business. He got Happy into the passenger seat and went to get the keys from the office.
"Tig!" Bobby's voice called. He turned to see the Elvis impersonator approaching.
"Yeah?"
"What's up with Happy?" Bobby asked, watching Tig pull the keys of the of the drawer.
"Something with Charlie. He just keeps saying 'Gotta see Charlie' over and over." Tig said, heading out the door.
"Better grant his wish then." Bobby chuckled. "Woman's got him all sorts of twisted." Tig nodded and got to the van starting it up and taking off. Happy sat there mumbling to himself the whole way to Charlie's house. Tig saw Half-Sack heading back to the clubhouse as they drove. He raised a hand and Half-Sack shrugged as he passed. He didn't know what was going on either. Tig pulled into the driveway and Happy fell against the door as he opened it. He fell out of the van onto the ground as Tig came around the front end to help him. Happy pushed him off and climbed unsteadily to his feet. Tig watched as he stumbled into the house. Tig could see Chibs bike was still here.
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Charlie and Azalia had just gotten settled in the bed with some creature feature on SciFi playing on the television. Chibs was still downstairs probably getting something to drink before he left. The sound of a vehicle pulling into the driveway caught their attention and Azalia climbed out of bed to go look, forcing her mother to stay put. Charlie stayed in the center of the bed. Azalia crept down the stairs waiting to see who was coming in. She was surprised to see Happy fling the door open and fall into the house. She giggled and left him laying there, running up the stairs to tell her mother who it was. Charlie hadn't left the bed though the television was muted and Azalia knew that she'd been listening to every creak and step in the house.
"It's Happy." Azalia laughed. "He face planted as soon as he got the door open." Charlie shook her head, pulling the covers off her legs. Azalia climbed into the bed, curling up into her mother and forcing her to stay there. Charlie gave her daughter a soft smile as she un-muted the T.V. and settled into watch more giant ants kill people.
Tig appeared in the doorway. "Hey me and Chibs got him to the couch. Can you handle him when he wakes up?"
"Yeah we're fine. Go back to the party, Tigger. Have a good time." Charlie said, smiling at him. "Oh and do me a favor?"
"What's that?"
"Dig in my purse and take my smokes with you." She said. Azalia laughed.
"Please. I don't want to deal with her puking anymore." The teen laughed, squealing as her mother playfully shoved her.
"Where's it at?" Tig asked, curious as to why she was getting rid of them.
"Table right inside the front door. Thanks babe." Tig nodded and waved as he headed back downstairs and did as asked.
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Happy woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and the sun shining directly in his eyes. He hid his face in the pillow he didn't remember passing out on.
"Good morning sunshine." A chipper voice grated through his pounding head.
"Go way…" He grumbled. He felt the couch dip down as the owner of the voice sat next to him.
"Here." The voice which he now recognized as belonging to Charlie said. He rolled over, keeping a careful hand over his eyes to block the sun. His brain recognized the bottle of water and two aspirin in her hands. She smiled softly as he swiftly tossed the pills down.
"How'd I get here?" He asked, rubbing a hand over his face, praying the aspirin would kick in soon.
"Ask Tig. All I know is Chibs brought me home after I woke up and you were half way into a Jack induced coma." She said, beginning to stand. Happy caught her wrist. She pulled it out of his hands.
"Breakfast's in the kitchen if your stomach can handle it." She left the living room. Happy groaned.
"Fuck I'm in trouble."
Charlie pulled the toast out of the toaster and added it to the plate of pancakes and sausage. Azalia sat at the kitchen table, sipping at the coffee her mother had made for her. She grinned as Happy walked into the room, wincing at the light flooding in through the sliding glass doors. Charlie set the plate at the table just before Happy sat down. She went back and fixed herself a plate, taking twice as long as necessary to fix the toast.
She picked up her coffee and sat down at the table. She ate only toast, her stomach was still a little sensitive from the night before. Azalia sat there with a smirk crossing her face as she watched Happy. Azalia had pissed her mother off before. She was a professional at it. But there had only been one time that she had pissed Charlie off to the point of being ignored and that was when she had snuck a boy over at two in the morning and was caught in a very compromising position with him. Happy was in deep shit.
"So how's your head?" The teen asked, taking a bite of pancake. Happy shot her a glare as his stomach protested the smell of sausage. Charlie chuckled, taking a sip of her coffee. Happy turned his glare to her. It was then he noticed the mug and how true it was. Bitchy until Caffeinated DO NOT DISTURB. Happy had a sinking feeling this was going to be a bad morning.
"Play nice with my daughter Happy. I won't tell you again." Charlie said, matching his glare. Happy turned his face back to his plate and picked up a slice of toast. The aspirin had finally kicked in and his head was feeling a fraction better. Azalia finished her food and took her plate to the sink.
"Mom, Kip's gonna take me to Teller Morrow. He says he's gonna finish the truck today." The teenager leaned back against the counter observing. She could cut the tension with a knife.
"Don't be gone late tonight. Your brother will be back on Monday and I want the house spotless so it's easier to keep up with." Charlie replied. Happy had eaten all the toast on his plate and was picking at the pancake. "Oh by the way, your phone is in my purse." Azalia nearly spit her coffee out.
"You replaced it?" She asked, excitement flooding her voice. Charlie nodded. Azalia had barely set the coffee on the counter before she sprinted out of the kitchen. The excited squeals that came from the hallway showed how thrilled Azalia was and did nothing to help Happy's headache.
"So why the hell'd you come here last night?" Charlie asked bluntly. Happy grunted. "Answer me." Happy raised an eyebrow at her.
"We need to talk." He said, pushing his plate away.
"Oh no we don't. You made it very clear how you felt last night, when you left me alone and drank two fuckin' bottles of Jack. You don't want this kid." Charlie said, picking the plates up and taking them to the sink.
"The fuck you say!" Happy flew up from the table. He was behind her before she could open her mouth.
"I said, we don't need to talk." Charlie stated, turning and meeting his eyes. Happy growled.
"You drop this fuckin' bomb on my head and because I needed a drink to process it you're cutting me out. Who the fuck do you think you are?"
"I think that this kid is mine, I think that I don't need you, and I think that you'd better get the fuck out of my face." Charlie said, pushing him away. Happy was not pleased. "And if you call two full bottles of Jack Daniels a drink you need help." Charlie stepped away from him, going and getting her coffee. Happy pulled his cigarettes out of his pocket. Lighting one up, he said,
"I'm gonna be a dad. I needed to think about that." Charlie shook her head.
"Whatever Hap. I'll drop you back at Teller-Morrow when I go run errands." She said, leaving the room. Happy shook his head. She was fucking pissed at him.
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Azalia walked into the lot at Teller-Morrow. There weren't a lot of people moving around. She could see a couple people asleep on picnic tables and there were three mechanics working in the garage. She entered the club house to see random naked people all over and several of the Sons lying on various surfaces. Her nose wrinkled at the smell that filled the club house. She stood there a moment before Kip appeared out of the kitchen. He laughed at the look of disgust on her face.
"Hey baby." He said, heading over to her. She accepted his kiss gratefully.
"Hey." She said. "Who's supposed to clean this up?"
"I am." He said, sheepishly.
"The fun part of being a prospect." She said lightly. She picked up a beer bottle. "Let's get started."
"Z, you don't have to help." He said, taking the bottle away from her.
"I want my truck fixed and I want to spend time with you. If you spend all day cleaning this place up then there won't be time for that so I'm helping." Azalia said, turning away from him and starting to clear off a table. Kip stared after her, amazed.
Azalia could clean. Her mother had drilled it into her that no one likes a mess so keep it clean and you'll make a good impression and have a place to be proud of. Kip couldn't believe how efficiently she worked. Azalia had collected every beer bottle, picked up all the trash, and wiped the tables she could get to down before Kip had even finished cleaning the bar off. She turned and smiled at him.
"Well that's a start." She jumped when Juice sat up from the pool table, stark naked.
"What are you doing?" He mumbled sleepily. Azalia rolled her eyes, taking the bag of trash to the bar.
"Cleaning up after you." She said.
"Why?" Juice asked, locating his jeans and pulling them on.
"One I want my truck fixed, and two, I want to actually spend some time with him sometime this century, and three this place is disgusting. What did you expect me to do?" She said, leaning over the bar and giving Kip a quick kiss. Juice pushed the sweet butt off the pool table.
"Get lost." The blonde whined as she hunted her clothes down. She quickly vanished out the doors as Juice finished getting dressed and joined Azalia and Kip at the bar.
"What are you doing here this early anyway?" Kip asked, tying off the garbage sack she'd brought him.
"Mom and Happy are having it out, didn't feel like sticking around to watch him get his ass chewed or to hear the two of them screwing their rage away." She said, taking the cleaning rag to the bar.
"Why are they so pissed off?" Kip asked.
"Happy knocked mom up and then ditched her last night to drink because of it." Juice fell off the bar stool, Kip froze staring at her. Azalia leaned over the bar and looked at Juice. "You might want to get off the floor, we haven't cleaned that yet."
"Your mom's pregnant?" Kip asked.
"Happy's gonna be a dad?" Juice asked. Azalia laughed.
"You guys are surprised?" She said, continuing her cleaning raid on the bar. They just nodded at her.
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Charlie had dropped Happy off just like she'd said she would. She left him at the garage and ran her errands. When she got home, she pulled a photo off the wall and sat at the kitchen table with it.
Staring at it, she began to cry. She ran her fingers over the two faces in it.
"I miss you so much. I really wish you were here right now. I need advice. Badly." She said, a tear landing on the glass. "Everything is going crazy. Azalia is dating a twenty three year old biker and I can't fight her on it anymore. I can't handle the crazy teenager in her. She's going to club parties with him and I don't like it but I don't know what to do to stop her. Her birthday is in three weeks, she'll be eighteen. She's so beautiful and I want so much more for her than to be stuck here with a biker but I can't tell her that because I'm pregnant with a different one's baby." She sighed.
"Carson is still barely speaking to me. I don't know how to help him with this. He's not like I was as a kid. This is the first trauma he's ever dealt with. He's shutting down." Charlie sobbed. "And Happy and me. God that is a cluster-fuck. I'm so mad at him. He couldn't just say I'm not ready to be a dad, that I could've handled but no he had to act like he was okay with it and then when I wasn't looking went and had a freaking meltdown about it. He passed out in my front door way, he was so drunk. He's such a prick but he can be so kind to me. Well until now. My life is a fuckin' disaster! I need you guys right now, so bad."
"Will I do?" Jax's voice startled Charlie. She turned around and saw him standing in the entrance to the kitchen.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, wiping frantically at her face. He went and joined her at the table. Sliding the frame over, he looked over the picture.
"You know you look just like her." He said, tapping the glass. Charlie smiled.
"My mom was the best. I wouldn't have made it through anything without her." She said. Jax smiled at her.
"You know I came over here to look for baby stuff but I'm guessing you need to talk." He said, watching her closely. She was always one of the prettiest girls at Charming High and age hadn't changed that. Charlie had never let anyone in while in high school. She was always guarded. It wasn't until she needed a ride to the hospital and caught him out in the parking lot during third period that he discovered why. Charlie was a mom to a four year old. She hadn't told anyone about it, she didn't want to be the freak of the school. Jax had taken her to St. Thomas and followed her all the way to Azalia, even when she'd told him not to. He'd followed her into a room to see the tiniest little blonde laying in the bed.
"Momma momma!" This little girl had cried, reaching for Charlie as she walked into the room. Charlie had dropped her bag and climbed into bed with the little girl. "Hush now momma's here, momma's here baby girl." She had stared at Jax, her eyes daring him to say something stupid but at the same time begging him not to say anything to anyone about this. Jax had sat in the hospital room with them and Charlie's parents for almost an hour.
To this day no one knew exactly what had been said in that room, but no one in the high school found out until the day Charlie graduated when Azalia had sprinted to the stage yelling "Momma Momma you did it!" and Charlie had picked her up and kissed her on the cheek.
Charlie waved her hand in front of Jax's face. "Hello anyone in there." She said, still sniffling a little. Jax looked at her.
"Sorry just remembering the day I found out about Z." He said, "Your dad scared the living hell out of me that day." Charlie chuckled.
"He had a habit of doing that. He always blamed himself for me and became so overprotective. I swear he picked Charming off the map then called the police station and asked about the crime rate before we moved here." Jax shook his head.
"You know, every parent is different. Every person handles it a different way. I mean look at my family."
"Your family is like something out of a Chuck Palahniuk novel." She said with a laugh. Jax shook his head.
"No shit. Charlie, Azalia and Carson are happy and healthy. Look at my son, he's in an incubator 'cause his junkie mother did crank while she was pregnant and nearly killed him." He said. "Yeah Azalia's dating the prospect and coming to parties but do you think any of the guys down there are gonna let a single thing happen to her? No one wants to set you off for one and two, the guys have had the prospect on edge about it since the whole thing came out. He's been working twice as hard to win everyone over." Charlie sighed.
"I know, but she's my baby. I don't want to be a horrible mom. I mean what do people this of me, letting my seventeen year old go to a fuckin' biker party?"
"What do people think of me? Marrying a junkie who almost killed my kid? He may still die." He countered. Charlie shook her head.
"Jax one thing I can tell you from experience. Every day that Abel gets stronger, the doctors have good news, one of those ten pound weights on your shoulders will lift." She said, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers.
"How can you be sure?" He asked.
"Because." She said, smiling softly at him. "Z was twelve weeks early." Jax stared at her, she'd never told him this before.
"Why? How?" He asked.
"I was thirteen years old, four foot ten and eighty five pounds soaking wet when I got pregnant. My body couldn't handle the pregnancy past that point." Charlie said, fingers twitching. Jax went to get his smokes out and hand one to her but she stopped him.
"I can't smoke." She said, he looked at her curiously. "I'm pregnant, and even though it's unhealthy to quit cold turkey, the smoke makes me vomit. Not pleasant." She said.
"So twelve weeks early?" He asked.
"I was so tiny that once I hit twenty eight weeks, my body said, I can't do this anymore." She said. "They could only stop the labor for a day at a time. They flooded me with steroids in an attempt to speed her development. Azalia was born at two pounds, seven ounces. Her lungs were still underdeveloped so they kept her for four months in the NICU." Jax was still, processing everything she had just told him.
"Jesus. You really have been through hell." He finally said. Charlie chewed the inside of her cheek. "Wait…. You're pregnant now?" He said. Charlie nodded.
"Jesus Christ. We need to get your head sorted out fast." Jax said, shaking his head. Charlie smacked him on the arm.
"Look who's talking jerk." She said.
"Where should we start?" He asked.
"Ha! Take your pick."
"Carson." He said. Charlie's eyes dropped to the table.
"He won't talk to me about it. He lost his dad, granted the jackass hadn't acted like one in years but still. He's upset about it but he won't say anything." She said, picking at a spot the cleaner hadn't gotten. Jax thought about that a moment.
"Well he's a boy. It's not cool to cry or talk about your feeling like that." He said.
"But I'm his mother."
"And he's a preteen boy who doesn't want to look like a pussy and cry to his mommy. He needs to talk to someone but it can't be you." Jax told her.
"You volunteering?" She asked.
"Well I dunno about that."
"Jax?"
"What?"
"Be honest with me?" She asked timidly.
"About?"
"Do you know what happened to Jesse?" Jax froze. He knew. Wolf in Tacoma had called and filled them in when they found out that Charlie was from Charming. "Jax?"
"What do you mean?" He evaded.
"I mean, Happy disappears for a week, calls me randomly asking about Jesse and then poof! He's dead. I'm not stupid Jax. There's something more." She pushed, not even sure if she wanted to know the answer. Jax sighed and said nothing. "I knew it. It was Happy."
"Happy is a lot of things Charlie. But one thing we all count on is he gets the job done. He's protective of the club. What do you think the happy faces are for?" Jax asked bluntly. Charlie thought about it.
"Jesus." She went and got something to drink.
"Happy cares about you Charlie. In a weird twisted Happy way, he cares a lot. Before you women were playthings, use 'em and lose 'em, but he saw you that day at Teller-Morrow and that was it. He hasn't touched a single crow eater in Charming." Jax said, watching her reaction.
"He hasn't?" She asked, in a very small voice. Jax shook his head slowly. A small smile crossed her face.
"You need to sit down and talk to him." He said.
"I know. I'm just so fucking mad at him right now. Everything's so messed up." She said, sitting back at the table next to Jax.
"I know darlin'. I know."
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Happy left Charming that night. Charlie would get texts once a day asking how she was. She always reply back, Good. When will you be back? He never answered those. Charlie would just sigh and continue what she was doing. Carson had come back and was still very quiet. Four days of this went by.
"Carson?" Charlie peeked her head into his room.
"Yeah mom?"
"Do you want to go to the carnival with me?" She asked. "Z's going to. We can go on some rides, eat some unhealthy food, take pictures in the photo booth?"
"Sounds fine to me." Carson said, turning back to the motorcycle magazine he'd bought. Charlie sighed. The carnival was in town that weekend and Azalia had agreed to make it a family trip, no prospects allowed.
"Well we're leaving soon. I'll come get you when it's time to go."
"Mom?" Azalia called from the kitchen.
"Coming." Charlie called as she headed down the stairs.
"What time are we leaving?" Azalia asked.
"Ooh, about half an hour. Carson's not ready yet." Charlie said. She went and grabbed her wallet, putting everything necessary in her pockets was easier than carrying around her purse. Money in her left front pocket. Driver's license in the back. Phone in her bra. Keys would be carried in the right front pocket.
"Carson. We're leaving in ten minutes baby." Charlie called up the stairs.
"I'm coming." Carson said, appearing at the top of the staircase. Charlie smiled at her son.
"Cheer up. Tonight will be fun."
"Sure." Carson replied, clearly not impressed with his mom's chirpy attitude. Charlie sighed. She looped an arm over his shoulder. He looked at her.
"You look pretty today mom." He said. Charlie stared at him. This was the first compliment she'd gotten in a month. Carson was always the sweet one who told her she looked pretty. She looked down at herself. The tight mid thigh length jean skirt and tank top with a loose sheer purple top over it, finished off with gladiator sandals was one of Charlie's new outfits.
"Well thank you baby. You ready to go?" She asked. Carson nodded. "Well get your sister and head out."
It didn't take them long to get to the carnival. Gemma met Charlie at the entrance and dragged her and the kids over to all the guys. Carson got a huge grin on his face at the sight of the bikers. Charlie hugged him before letting him go to the guys and ask his questions. She got a couple surprised looks about the questions he was asking, apparently the motorcycle magazines were very informative or he'd been doing a lot of research. Azalia stuck by Gemma and Charlie.
"How are you doing?" Gemma asked.
"Oh good. Doctors say I'm about five weeks. All the blood works good, so on. All in all healthy as a horse." Charlie said.
"Okay. How are you doing?" Gemma reiterated. Charlie sighed.
"Getting better. Happy texts every day. Carson actually complimented me today. So that's a good sign."
"Good. Now let's go." Gemma dragged her over to the group. Azalia followed the two women. Jax favored Charlie with a bright smile as she approached. She reached over and hugged him.
"How ya doin' midget?" He asked.
"Everything's better." She replied, smiling up at him.
"So?" Jax directed the question towards Carson. "What are you riding first?" Carson grinned. The rest of the afternoon was spent riding rides. Charlie bought the three of them funnel cakes, they played carnival games, Bobby won Carson a stuffed tiger. The entire day was a blast.
Which was why Charlie was very concerned when she got a phone call at two in the morning.
"Hello?"
"Charlie? It's David Hale."
"Shit. Did Azalia sneak out and get in trouble?" Charlie asked sleepily.
"I need you to come down to St. Thomas."
"Why?"
"There's someone you need to talk to." Charlie climbed out of bed.
"Don't tell me, David. Young?"
"Young enough. You're the best person to talk to her."
"I'll be there in half an hour."
"Thanks Charlie."
"Yeah." Charlie hung up and pulled a better shirt over the tank top she was wearing. She had loose sweat pants on and didn't feel like changing those. She headed downstairs to the hall closet and pulled a shoe box out of the closet. Her hand shook as she ran her fingers over the lid. Steeling herself, she walked back upstairs, pulling a couple pictures off the wall as she went. She went into Azalia's room and nudged her daughter.
"Z, I gotta go out to the hospital. I'll be back in a bit." The teenager mumbled something and Charlie left the room. Charlie hated calls like this. She'd gotten two in the past and they were not easy to deal with. Charlie headed out to St. Thomas.
Hale met her in the parking lot. Charlie gave him a tight smile.
"Who is she?" She asked, grabbing the shoebox and the framed pictures off the passenger seat.
"Tristan Oswald."
"Fuckin' serious?" Charlie exclaimed. Hale nodded. She sighed.
"Well let's go." She said, striding off towards the entrance. She breezed into the hospital, Hale right on her heels, guiding her towards Tristan's room. Charlie could see the officer stationed outside the door. She assumed Tristan's parents were in there with her. She brushed past the officer and entered the hospital room. The parents quickly stood and made to approach her.
"Hello. I'm Charlie Ryzdale." She said. The man approached her.
"Eliot Oswald. This is my wife Karen. Can I ask why you're here?" He said, shaking her extended hand.
"I need to talk to Tristan." Charlie said, simply.
"Well as you can see now is really not a good time." Karen snapped. Charlie sighed.
"Ma'am I understand exactly what kind of time it is. Just please let me talk to Tristan."
"No absolutely not." Karen said. Charlie turned to Eliot.
"You just need to trust me. She doesn't have to talk. Just listen." Charlie said. Eliot looked at his wife who was adamantly shaking her head.
"I don't know about this." Eliot said. "I don't think you can help." Charlie looked at Tristan, who looked back at her. She sighed and set the shoebox down.
"Look at her." She said, pointing to Tristan.
"We've seen her." Karen snapped.
"No you haven't. You have seen how battered she looks, how quiet she is. I've seen the inside of her head. She's scared, confused, hurt, mad, and above all she wants someone to make it make sense." Charlie snapped. She was tired, it was two in the morning, and while she got the stress they were under, she understood how Tristan was even more and the last thing that girl needed was her parents causing trouble.
Eliot looked her straight in the face, Charlie didn't know what it was whether it was the look in her eyes or her words, but something in his face changed and he took his wife by the arm and led her out in the room. Charlie watched them leave. She turned to Tristan who was watching her.
"What do you want with me?" The girl looked tiny in the hospital bed. Charlie gave her a small smile.
"To talk. I have a story to tell you." Charlie said. She grabbed her box and sat herself crossed legged on the foot of the bed. She opened up the box and began pulling pictures and trinkets out.
"Now. Almost nineteen years ago…."