A/N: Oh my gosh you guys, I have to say, this chapter was seriously hard to write. Charlotte gives me a headache. I'm not too sure where this is headed now, but I'll just keep writing, and see where I go! Anyways, please read and review! I absolutely love reading all the reviews, they keep me going! Thank you all so much for reading my little story, you are all AMAZING! Also, if you are curious, the song I used is called "Love Triangle" by RaeLynn.

The next night, Charlotte found herself taking a good, long look at the bar Herb was heading into. He didn't notice when she stopped outside, shooting a wary eye at the tinted windows and lopsided sign. No one was really outside, and it was dark. Charlotte didn't like to think of herself as a baby, but this really was the kind of place she avoided at all costs. The places that smelled like beer and weed, cheap perfume and body odor. Herb opened the door, turning to wait for her, taking note of the nervous way her hands pulled together in front of her body, then broke apart to run through her curls, shaking out her mane as she continued appraising her location. A man stepped out of the bar then, dressed in jeans, worn down cowboy boots, and an old, dirty t-shirt. He brought a cigar up to his lips, lighting it, and catching a glimpse of Charlotte standing there, so very clearly out of place in her blouse and flats. He leered at her, taking a slow drag from the cigar, and blowing ringlets of smoke out. His teeth were stained yellow from a lifetime of nicotine and bad hygiene, and the bulge in his pocket told her he was carrying more than a large penis. She averted her eyes as she almost felt his eyes rake up and down her body, and even though she was fully clothed, she wrapped her arms around herself, hoping to feel a little less naked. Herb motioned her inside then, but still, she hesitated, not being able to move from her uncomfortable spot because she wasn't sure what awaited her inside. But, she finally took a deep breath, convincing herself that Herb would never bring her into any danger.

"Come on, girl, I ain't wanting to wait outside forever." Charlotte felt, more than saw, the man's eyes go to Herb, and he nodded his appreciation that Herb could snag someone like Charlotte. Her temper got the better of her then, and a bit of Mellie rose to the surface.

"He's my father." She stomped off from her spot then, shooting the man a glare meant to kill, as she moved inside the bar, Herb closing the door behind her.

If Charlotte thought the outside of the place looked dangerous, she realized, that was child's play compared to the inside. There seemed to be a uniform she hadn't gotten the memo for. The men were all dressed in jeans, cowboy boots, and a t-shirt. The women had low V-neck shirts on, accentuating their breasts with push-up bras, along with tight, bedazzled jeans, and stilettos. Charlotte felt extremely out of place in her expensive, modest clothing. There was a small stage on the far side of the bar, where a band was setting up, and Charlotte could make out a ring of tables through the haze of smoke. Next to the stage was a door, but Charlotte couldn't figure out where it went. It didn't look like a bathroom to her. Right next to the entry was a dusty, sticky bar, with bowls full of peanuts, and a line of liquor bottles longer than the Great Wall of China behind it. The bartender was a woman, dressed similarly to all the others in the bar, but for some reason, the outfit looked about ten times better on her curvy figure. Angel wings were tattooed across her chest, right above her breasts, and she carried herself in a way that let everyone there know just who was boss. Herb walked straight up to the woman, who leaned over to accept his offered kiss on her cheek, but there was an edge in her eyes as she looked him over. He spoke to her, but Charlotte wasn't able to hear what he was saying over the din. Then, he motioned her to come forward. She did as he asked, and felt his strong arm wrap too tightly around her shoulders.

"An' this here's my daughter, Charlotte. Charlotte, this is Darlene. She owns this place, and also a recordin' studio not too far from here." Darlene stuck her hand out to Charlotte, and Charlotte shook it, surprised by Darlene's hard grip, and the way she dug her acrylic nails just slightly into Charlotte's hand, showing who was the boss in this situation.

"Nice to meet you, Darlene." Charlotte's manners were never going to leave her, and she really didn't want to say that right now. Her gut told her that this introduction was anything but "nice."

"Likewise." Darlene pulled her hand back slowly, appraising Charlotte with her venomous green eyes. She tucked a piece of raven hair behind her pale ear, tilting her head as she turned to Herb. "Now, Herb, baby, I know you didn't come back here without the money you owe me. So let me see it."

"Money? What do you owe her for?" Charlotte was confused now, and desperately trying to ignore the sick feeling twisting her stomach apart, and instead pray that Herb owed Darlene for a coffee, or lunch, or something. But from the embarrassed way Herb was now rubbing the back of his neck, Charlotte knew that wasn't it.

"Well, now, see, I actually don't have your money just yet, sweetheart, but my daughter here, ya see, can really sing, an' I was thinking-"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Charlotte jumped in again, confusion reforming into anger as she realized Herb was trying to bring her into his problems.

"Jus' wait, Charlotte." The way he snapped at her scared Charlotte into staying quiet for the time being. "Anyways, I was thinkin' she could maybe sing for ya, an' maybe if ya like, ya could record her, an' we could just call it even."

Darlene didn't say anything for a long, drawn out moment. She already knew her answer to Herb's proposal. He was idiotic. How he thought he could make up his debt by having his daughter sing was completely beyond Darlene. But she wasn't ready to say that quite yet. She liked to play with people who made her mad, and Herb had made her madder than anyone when he had taken off without paying her what she was owed. It was a miracle no one had found him and shot him yet, and he was stupider than dirt to have returned here, penniless. So, she would play with him, and then kill him slowly, later. But his daughter… She turned her eyes on Charlotte, wondering what to do with her. Darlene was a business woman, and a mobster, she wasn't about to let Charlotte just walk out of her when she realized what happened to Herb, what Darlene did to Herb. That was putting Darlene in a dangerous position, a position where she could easily go to jail. But, for the moment, Darlene couldn't figure out what to do, except kill her too. But there was time before that needed to be decided. So, play with them she would.

"Alright, Herb, why don't you send her up there to sing for me, and we'll see about that, huh?" Darlene shot Herb a wink, and Charlotte's stomach twisted itself up worse than it ever had. She knew that whatever was going to happen afterwards was not going to be good. And still, she needed confirmation, of some sort.

"At least tell me what you owe her for, Dad." Charlotte forced herself to keep her tone light, remembering Mellie's and Karen's words, about how Herb was such a bad guy, an addict, about how he did drugs. And now, Charlotte could tell, he associated with some very dangerous people. She hadn't missed Darlene's nod to the extraordinarily large man in the corner, the one who had been outside when Charlotte arrived. He was now slowly moving towards the group, hand on the bulge in his pocket. She made sure he didn't see her looking.

"Oh, darling, your daddy stole some of my finest meth, made off with it in the middle of the night, without paying me. Now, I don't know about you, but I really hate it when people take my stuff." Darlene shot Charlotte her brightest, most innocent smile, putting danger in her words. But Charlotte didn't react the way she was expected. Instead of looking like the scared rabbit Darlene pinned her for, Charlotte drew herself up, and turned to Herb.

"I just have to make a really quick phone call, first."

"To who?" Herb gripped her arm, afraid to let her go.

"Just Karen. She called me earlier, and I'd be the worst big sister ever if I didn't let her know I was ok." Herb tilted his head, trying to read Charlotte's expression, and finally nodded. As she walked away, Darlene leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"What kind of dumbass thinks a few songs are gonna repay his debt?" Her voice sent chills down Herb's back, and he turned to her, fear in his eyes.

"What ya mean?"

"Come on, baby, you really didn't think I'd let you off that easy. No, you, darling, are a dead man. I'm just having some fun, first. Let's see if your daughter really can sing. Maybe she'll get me some money." Suddenly, a thought came to Herb. He wasn't exactly the smartest man alive, but he was a survivor. And right now, all he wanted was to survive.

"Do ya know who her mother is?"

"Who?" Darlene replied, already bored with the conversation. She amused herself by playing with the sound her nails made as they hit the bar.

"Mellie Grant." At that, Darlene's head shot up to meet Herb's eyes. He started nodding like a maniac. "Yea, an' I'd bet she'd pay a pretty penny to get her baby girl back, don'tchu?"

Darlene let him shiver under her withering gaze for a moment, before she smiled wide, patting his hand. She wasn't normally one to let a grudge go this easily, and she was pretty sure she'd still have Herb killed after they got the money, but for now, she was having fun imagining just how much money Charlotte was going to get her.

"Herb, baby, you got yourself a deal."

Outside, Charlotte was desperately trying to stop her hand from shaking as she dialed her mother's number. It was all she could do to keep the tears from washing over her face as her breath kept coming in short, quick bursts. She wanted to run away, but couldn't figure out where to go. She hadn't seen another town in miles. Charlotte was beating herself up inside for not listening to her mother. If she only had been mature enough to look past the anger, and to believe that Mellie really just had Charlotte's safety in mind. But she hadn't, and now she was stuck, and she had no idea if she was going to make it out of this place alive. There was not a doubt in Charlotte's mind that Darlene would kill her without a moment's hesitation.

Finally, Charlotte managed to get her fingers under control long enough to punch her mother's contact, and waited, holding her breath, as it rang twice. Then, she heard Mellie's voice on the other end of the line, and the tears she had been fighting threatened to well up again.

"Charlotte?" Mellie sounded surprised, and very, very scared.

"Mom," Charlotte sobbed out, not being able to say anything more.

"Charlotte, where are you? Please tell me."

"You were right, Mama. He's… There's a woman, and he owes her money, for drugs. He uses drugs. And she's scary, so so scary. I don't…" Charlotte couldn't finish her sentence, and Mellie's heart threatened to beat out of her chest at the fear in her child's voice.

"Charlotte, baby girl, tell me where you are, please." Charlotte turned around, searching for the sign, and tilted her head to read it.

"Angels and Beer. It's some bar." Charlotte could hear typing on the other end, and then mumbling as someone tried to figure out how far they were from Charlotte.

"Ok, baby, ok. Huck says we'll be there in fifteen minutes. Just sit tight, ok?" Charlotte had just started to reply when the door to the bar opened, and Herb popped his head out.

"Ya ready?" He asked, his tone overly upbeat for the situation. Mellie's blood boiled as she heard his voice. Charlotte just nodded.

"Talk to you later, Karen." Charlotte mumbled into the phone, and hung up. She followed Herb back inside, standing beside him as he resumed his place at the bar. The band, she noticed, wasn't even finished setting up. He really didn't need her back inside. But then again, Charlotte supposed, maybe he was worried she was throwing a wrench into his plan. Which, of course, she was. Trying to, at least.

Darlene offered them both drinks. Herb asked for a beer, but Charlotte just wanted a water. She wasn't about to let herself get the slightest bit tipsy when she wasn't sure just where this night was heading. She barely sipped on her water as they waited for the band to finish. Mellie had said fifteen minutes, and Charlotte was counting down every one of them.

Thirteen minutes later, the guitarist nodded at Darlene. Charlotte shot Herb a questioning look, remembering that he said they came here so he could play guitar. When he didn't return her gaze, she realized he must have just been lying, and her head spun around on itself, wondering just where the lies had begun, if anything he had said was true, besides the fact that he was her biological father. She headed to the stage, after a pointed look from Darlene. She caught him and Darlene talking as soon as she was out of earshot, and looking at her, and the sick feeling in her stomach made itself known again. Something was very, very wrong, and Charlotte's intuition told her that Darlene and Herb were plotting something much scarier for her than singing onstage. She turned to the band, ready and waiting for her song choice. After a moment of discussion, the guitarist started to strum the opening chords. She kept her eyes carefully on the door as she began to sing.

"Sittin' on the front steps, little white suitcase

Hearin' that diesel before it hit the front gate.

His headlights burning down a Friday night.

Southern belle statue

Standing in the screendoor

Watching her whole world head for an old Ford.

With a man that can't look her in the eye.

Then I run to him, big hug, jump in

And I cry for her out the window.

Some mamas and daddies are loving in a straight line

Take forever to heart and then share a long sweet ride

But some mamas and daddies let their heart strings tear and tangle.

And some of us get stuck, in a love triangle."

As Charlotte finished the first chorus, she couldn't help but remember all the times her parents had fought when she was in the house, all the times she'd heard them yelling hurtful things at each other, trying to break the other one down. Flashes of memories flew through her brain. She remembered the first time Mellie had taken her, Karen, and Jerry to Santa Barbara, without Fitz, and how empty she had felt, like her family was broken. Which, she supposed, it sort of was.

"Bowling alley burger, fries and a milkshake

Headed to the same old two dollar matinee.

Baby how's your school been, and how's your mom?

Patsy Cline echoes back off the dashboard,

Staring at my boots and the dusty old floorboard.

Baby two weeks ain't really all that long.

Then I run, to her, wrap my arms around her skirt

And I cry for him out the window."

At that moment, the door opened, and Huck and Quinn stepped inside, followed closely by Olivia, and then Mellie and Marcus. Mellie searched around for her daughter, until she heard a familiar voice coming from the stage.

"Some mamas and daddies are loving in a straight line

Take forever to heart and then take a long sweet ride.

But some mamas and daddies let their heart strings tear and tangle.

And some of us get stuck, in a love triangle."

Huck muttered something in Quinn's ear, and the two started to make their way towards the stage. Mellie followed, after she shook Marcus and Olivia off of her arm. She hadn't seen Herb yet, but he sure as hell had seen her. Charlotte made eye contact with Mellie just as she moved into the last chorus, and neither one moved her gaze.

"Some mamas and daddies are loving in a straight line

Take forever to heart and then take a long sweet ride

But some mamas and daddies let their heart strings tear and tangle.

And some mamas and daddies ran out of love in '94

And some mamas and daddies don't even talk no more

And some mamas and daddies let their heart strings tear and tangle.

And some of us get stuck, some of us grow up, in a love triangle."

As she listened to her daughter sing that beautiful song, Mellie realized something. Yes, Charlotte was mad because Mellie lied. But, more than anything, Charlotte was heartbroken because she felt she had gotten lost in the feud between her parents. Mellie's and Fitz's twisted, tumultuous, broken, toxic marriage hadn't just hurt Mellie, it had hurt her children, and now, Charlotte was hurt most of all.

As the last chords played out, the crowd applauded. Charlotte stepped off of the stage, smiling, but immediately felt someone yank her arm. She turned to find Darlene's giant leering down at her. Mellie watched as he started to pull her daughter towards the door next to the stage, and weaved through the crowd, yelling for Charlotte. Huck and Quinn heard Mellie's cry, as did Marcus and Olivia, but none could make it through the crowd fast enough to get to Charlotte. Mellie, however, had the strength of a mother, and pushed quickly through the crowd as the man pulled Charlotte through the door. Marcus was yelling for Mellie now, as he saw where she was going. Fear ripped through him as he ran in her direction, but she was through the door before he had even made two steps in her direction.

Charlotte felt herself being pushed down into an old wooden chair. She looked up to see both Herb and Darlene standing above her. Darlene handed her a glass of water, and Charlotte drank about half of the glass, her nerves making her extremely thirsty.

"What are we doing back here?" She tried to keep her voice innocent, as if she still thought Herb was getting out of his debt with her singing voice.

"Charlotte, darling, I don't think you're really that stupid. You see, your daddy, here," Darlene put one of her claws on Herb's shoulder. "Has told me just who your mama is. And I think she and your real daddy would be willing to pay a pretty penny to see you alive."

Charlotte couldn't stop herself from shaking at the terrifying way Darlene spoke to her. So she said the only thing she could think of. She thought it would be intimidating, but she was horribly wrong.

"I'm not that stupid, but you are. She here, right now, and she's not about to let you get away with this."

"I know Mellie's here." Herb intoned darkly. The tone of his voice scared Charlotte. When he said Mellie's name he sounded… pissed, and heartbroken. And... Charlotte realized what it was he really sounded like. Vengeful. Herb sounded downright vengeful. And that scared Charlotte more than losing her life. He sounded like he wanted to hurt Mellie. But before Charlotte could say anything more, her world started to go fuzzy. She looked slowly down at the glass in her hand, and realized just how idiotic she'd been to drink it. Darlene noticed, and let out a cold laugh.

"You, darling, are about to go to sleep. And if your mama comes in here like I think she will, I'm of a mind to take her, too. I think her and Herb here have got a few… unresolved issues, shall we say? And I think he'd like to resolve them." Darlene winked at Charlotte. The last thing Charlotte saw before the fuzz took over her whole world was Mellie rushing through the door, and the big man grabbing her, before bolting the door shut. Charlotte hoped to God that whatever drug Darlene had given her made her imagine the whole thing.