Lies that Destroy

Disclaimer: I do not own Good Luck Charlie

A/N:

Chapter 21 (Sudden Heat)

"You really think I should go?" Teddy asked as she walked with Ivy around the front of Emmett's house. She had her head bowed and was trying desperately not to tear up. Her heart was literally torn in two, she didn't want to have to choose between her brother and her best friend, and it felt like if she made that decision then she would never see one of them again. She lifted her gaze up to Ivy and smiled sadly.

Ivy had a black shawl around her and was gripping the edges, she wrapped it further around her shoulders and sighed. "I'll always be your best friend, Teddy. You know that. No matter what, I will be…and right now, don't you think you need your brother more than you need me? Don't you think he needs you?" She honestly didn't know. It was like there was some sort of mental roadblock. Ivy put her hands onto her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "I will love you as my best friend forever, no matter what, but please don't torture yourself or make yourself unhappy just because of me. I'll be fine. You're not going to be happy looking after me, and I'm not going to be happy if you're unhappy."

"But-" Her heart dropped and her sunken eyes began to water. Why did it feel like Ivy was rejecting her, though she wasn't? Ivy took a deep breath and continued to hold her gaze, full of concern.

"I can tell you need your brother. Believe me, I know you well enough to know what you're like when everything crumbles…and it is…" Everything was beyond crumbling, she didn't know who or what to hold onto anymore. She did need her brother, but how much did he need her? She reached up and rubbed her neck. It was hot to the touch, seeming only to cool when she put her fingers to it. "Teddy, PJ is your brother, he's the only family you have left. He's your best friend too, whether you think so or not. You've known him a lot longer than me, you've got a sibling bond thing with him, you're closer to him than you are with me, you have to admit that."

"I guess…" Ivy raised an eyebrow and shot a skeptical look her way. Emitting a nervous chuckle, she smiled halfheartedly and shrugged, Ivy was right about that. Even though she didn't really want to admit it, she was lost without her brother. "Okay, so maybe I am…"

"Right now I am more than thankful for Emmett, I need someone like him in my life. You…you don't need him right now, but you do need your brother. And girl, you know I will always keep in touch with you."

"Even after what happened to-" Ivy waved her hand in the air and Teddy quickly silenced. She watched her friend scrunch her face for a split second, trying to shake away the flashback that was sure to come.

"What happened to my parents…doesn't define…our friendship." She choked on her words, but they came out truthful and meaningful, which delighted Teddy. She was confident that she would always have Ivy as a good friend. "Let's go inside, all right?"

"Yeah…" There was a vanishing feeling in her stomach as she eyed a black car moving up to a stop sign in the distance. She hummed softly and followed Ivy into the house, then to the bedroom. She still wasn't sure what she wanted to do. If she wanted to be here for Ivy, or go to PJ, who was likely waiting for her. "Ivy, you promise we'll still be friends? No matter what?"

"Of course I do, girl." Teddy smiled wholeheartedly and shared a long hug with her. Tears dripped from her eyes as they did Ivy's, she was glad their bond was strong enough to withstand all this drama.

Soon Emmett came rushing into the bedroom, his face spread in panic and concern. Teddy jumped at the door being blown open. She quickly glanced over as he let out a rapid shouting whisper. "Hide! Bob and Amy just drove up! I think they're looking for you." Fear stabbed her like a hot blade and panic spread through her veins. Ivy froze up and fell back onto the bed, whimpering with fear. The three of them were all alone, his parents were out picking little Mason up from daycare! Emmett tensed his muscles and growled as the doorbell rang. "Never mind. Just stay in here and don't move."

"But-"

"Don't move, and keep quiet! There's a window right behind you. If anything goes wrong, run." She flinched as he slammed the door shut and clicked the lock. She looked towards the window behind the bed, then to Ivy, who was beginning to hyperventilate. Thinking fast, she moved over to Ivy and put her hand to hers.

"Ivy, it's okay. We're going to be okay…" She didn't know that for a fact, but she had to be positive. Now she was beginning to realize that Denver wasn't safe for her, not at all. She reached for her pocket, but remembered her phone was no longer with her and she hadn't managed to get a new phone anyway.

Ivy met her eyes and started to breathe, still holding on to Teddy's gaze, trusting her. They remained silent and listened to the voices in the other room. "Bob, please don't do anything," Amy begged. Bob groaned and Amy seemed to silence.

"Amy, please go back to the car. You're the lookout remember? That little message, hit send if you see any cops or anyone suspicious."

"I know, but just…I'll go."

"Thank you. Now Emmett, I wanted to know if you have any idea where Teddy is? I think she's still in Denver, and if she's not with Spencer…maybe she's here?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Mr. Duncan," Emmett replied with brave confidence. "I haven't seen Teddy since she was at the police station. The only one here is Ivy."

"Ah Ivy! Maybe she knows where Teddy is…" Teddy's heart began racing and her eyes flicked to the window. She heard a clattering noise, followed by Ivy whimpering. "Emmett, let go of my wrist."

"Ivy's not here either, she's at the cemetery!"

"You have got to be shitting me." Emmett seemed as though he'd do anything to keep Bob from going after the girls, but how long would it last. She ran for the window and started fiddling with the latch, she was going to hurry out if that door began moving at all. Then again, she'd have to convince Ivy to get up and run.

As she turned her gaze to Ivy, her heart stopped. It was dawning on her that here in Denver, not only was she not safe, neither were her friends. Her legs started to shake and her body was about to give out as she took a staggering step forward, reaching a hand out to Ivy. "I-Ivy…I'm so…so sorry…this is all my fault."

"It's not," Ivy whispered. "Don't ever say that, you had no control over this…" The girls flinched at the sound of Bob's bellowing voice. "My cell phone's in my pocket, I'm thinking of calling Deputy Dooley…he's back in town…"

"Call him." She put her hand to her stomach, groaning as a fierce pain shot through her. She thought about PJ for a minute, then suddenly filled with great concern. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what that was. All she knew was her brother needed her, and here she was in Denver, with a madman coming after her. "Oh god no." She whimpered and fell onto the bed with tears staining her face.

In New York, PJ was working hard to drill holes in the cement above him so they could put anchors in to hang up the hangers for the pipe the team was to bring down. Elezar was a few feet away hanging one up, Tim was cutting a few long metal poles with a saw-saw, Tanner and Chad were at the water jug all the way back at the main station. Uncle Douglas was checking on them every once in a while and taking measurements along the floor and the pillars.

It was burning hot outside, so where they were was a tad cooler, yet still very warm. He desperately wanted an air pocket and hadn't had any water in hours. He was putting in all his effort to push up with the hammer drill, the ceiling was almost eight feet, so it was hard for him to push upwards.

His stomach was churning as violently as the sweat that had been pouring down him moments ago. He had was also wearing a heavy face shield, as per regulations for drilling, so it didn't help much. He needed to take a water break, but he was busy trying to occupy his mind with the job, knowing that if he stopped for a second, his mind might wander back to Teddy and the situation in Denver.

The fear that Teddy was in some sort of danger was killing him, but he didn't want to bother his coworkers with personal problems that he could do nothing about. He had no choice but to keep working, despite the immense concern he was feeling, these were the thoughts he was struggling to put away.

He wiped his brow and sighed, dropping the drill onto the ground. His head was aching terribly and his heart was beating very fast. His body stopped sweating just a little bit ago and he was horribly out of breath. "Damn it, I can't get these holes in!" Douglas looked over and started moving towards him.

"PJ, when was the last time you had any water? You need to stay hydrated!"

"It's fine Uncle D."

"No, it is not, go get some water."

"I'm fine." PJ grabbed the hammer drill and took a deep breath, struggling to raise it up. His heart was about to tear out of his chest and he could barely lift the drill now. Douglas eyed him with suspicion and put his hands to his hips.

"Duncan, as your boss, I'm telling you to stop and get some water." Behind them, Chad and Tanner were making their way over. PJ started to lower the drill, his vision was starting to fade. He thought he felt a sudden rush of air and let his eyes go towards the sky as his movements began to blur. Someone caught him. "Shit!"

"What's wrong!" Tim exclaimed while rushing over with the other team members.

"Heat stroke! Tim, call the ambulance! Tanner, help me get him out of this area and to a fan. Eleazor, Chad, get some washcloths, we need to cool him down! Hurry the hell up!"

In the office, the head foreman was discussing an employee's misconduct. It was stressful to sit there with everything going on in his mind. "Look Henry, I'm sorry."

"Right now, it's 'sir' or 'Mr. Booth' to you." Henry narrowed his eyes and smacked his hand onto his desk, ruffling the newspapers he'd been reading. "This is the fourth time you've been caught smoking in the project grounds! We have designated smoking areas across the street! Each time, I've attempted to be lenient, more so than I usually am. I've ignored this since I have other things on my plate, but now it's becoming a problem. What are we going to do about this?"

"I don't know…I get a craving for a smoke and I have to have one."

"You know the guidelines and you still break them." He rubbed his forehead and groaned as he moved his eyes to the file on his desk. It was of one of the new employees, PJ Duncan. When he saw him, he thought he looked like the boy on the news, the boy that was his son, but he couldn't possibly believe it. Why and how would his son be here in New York? To top it off, working at a construction site. Not only was he too young, but the boy ought to be getting into college.

How could he talk to him though? What would he say? He'd been running the words through his head when he found the file with the name that confirmed his suspicions. After eighteen years, it seemed impossible to believe that he might really get a chance to see his son again.

"Jasmine, if it's true, god if it's true…" He was happy, but scared at the same time. Nothing could prepare him for this, and when he saw his son sitting there in that room, all those age old memories came back. "Why did we have to lose him? Why us? Why our children? David and April…and you taken from me…but now, here he is right in front of me, and I'm scared…"

"Sir?" Henry's thoughts vanished and his gaze shot over to the worker before him. "You uh…am I free to go?" He sighed and leaned forward, propping his hands together in front of his chin. He

"You know what? Yes…turn in your things, you're fired."

"W-What?"

"You heard me. Leave, permanently, I don't tolerate people who break the rules…they are there for a reason." Suddenly the door burst open and a worker rushed inside, panting heavily and talking rapidly.

"Sir! One of the new workers…heat stroke…ambulance is on it's way…everyone on the project's trying to cool him off."

"What? Shit!" Instant panic shot through him as he ran from his desk and burst from the office. He had a bad feeling about this. He'd dealt with workers going through this before, but for some reason, this instance was scaring the living shit out of him. "Where is he?"

"They've moved him to the fan just outside the hole and stairs. I think it was one of the Sheet Metal workers." His heart paused and his eyes grew in an instant, PJ was the first person that popped into his mind.

"Fuck no, not again, I'm not losing him this time!" He charged towards the project as fast as he could. He could hear the sirens rushing towards the area. Henry was praying the worker wasn't PJ, hoping that it was not his son. After all these years of trying to distract himself, trying to forget, doing his best to push away the pain of his loss, he had a chance to be happy once again. He was not losing his son this time!

When he arrived at the scene, he paled. Douglas and the rest of the team had cold ice packs and wash cloths underneath PJ's armpits, groin, and around his neck. They were rubbing a wet cloth against his forehead while trying to fan him off. "Bosca! What the fuck happened to my son!"

"W-What?" Douglas looked up, his jaw agape. The other workers flinched, all shocked by what just echoed through the project, but it was only for a second. They immediately returned to trying to cool PJ off. "I-he's…wait, the news…Henry Booth, god why didn't I see that!" He smacked his forehead and quickly rose to his feet, clearing his throat. "Henry, he would not get a drink of water, hadn't had one for hours. I think he was just trying to work and distract himself from all the shit going on right now."

"So you let this happen? Are you crazy! For Pete sake, you're his boss! Goddamn it, I knew he was too young to be working out here!" He threw his hand to his hair and started to pace, groaning as his heart began pounding in his chest. "I should have pulled him off the project hours ago! My god!"

Someone groaned and Henry immediately looked to PJ, his eyes were open and his fingers were trembling. The boy's weak eyes were gazing up at him with a mixture of pain, shock, and astonishment. "D-Dad? My father…" Henry knelt beside him and put his hand to PJ's forehead. His free hand he put over his own heart and gazed down at him. As hardened as he'd made himself over the years, he was closer to tears than he'd been since Jasmine passed away.

"I'm right here…son…you know I'm not going anywhere this time. The ambulance is on the way, hang in there…god hang in there…" Where were the monsters that did this to him? Where was that couple that took his children away and caused his wife's life to turn to hell and misery? He wanted to find them and he wanted to tear their throats out.

"Don't be angry with Uncle D, I was just trying to forget…so I overworked…"

"I know." Henry chuckled vainly and brushed back PJ's hair. "I'm the same way. When I lost you, your mother and your sister…god I just…" He was forgetting the workers around him, but he didn't care how they saw him. He liked them thinking he was a hard-ass, but they could see a soft side if it came, and this was one of the first times that happened.

"We can talk later…" PJ moaned and turned his head to the side, groaning as his body trembled with pain. "So hot." Henry quickly looked up at the nearest worker, shouting out an order.

"Where is the ambulance? Go find them and lead the paramedics in here damn it! Scratch that…this is taking too long…" Thinking fast, he ordered Douglas to pick up PJ's feet, then lifted PJ up by the armpits. They started rushing for the exit, hoping to meet the paramedics somewhere in the middle. "Hang in there PJ, hang in there."

"Teddy…" He frowned and glanced down at PJ, curious as to whether or not he was delirious. He then remembered the news report he saw recently, Teddy was the name given to April by her kidnappers.

"Your sister?"

"She's in Denver, her phone's broken. I keep trying to get her to come up here, she needs to be here…and now that I've found you…" His heart began flooding with hope and tears started to come to his eyes. He couldn't believe it, he could truly get his daughter back as well!

"After all these years…"

PJ groaned out and closed his eyes. "She's staying…with a friend, Emmett. In my phone is Deputy Dooley, call him…he'll know what to tell her to get her to come. She needs to come."

"I will. God I will…" He watched his son slowly move his hand to his pocket to pull his phone out. Carefully, he took the phone and pocketed it as they met up with the paramedics, who immediately took PJ from them and placed him onto a stretcher. Henry took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair, then glanced over to Douglas. "Bosca…"

"Sir?"

"I'm going with them. He's dating your niece, right? You might want to give her a call. The workers are getting the rest of the day off…I have a phone call to make."

"Yes sir." He rushed into the back of the ambulance and sat next to his son, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. There was no way he was letting his son out of his sight, not now.

Ivy and Teddy were frozen in the bedroom closet, they hadn't remembered to flee the window. Bob was now trying to break down the bedroom door and Emmett wasn't making any sound. They were terrified that something bad had happened to him, as well as terrified Bob was going to kill them both.

"Come out, come out girls, I know you're in there! I just want to talk!" Teddy threw her hands to her head and let out a shuddering whimper. She wanted PJ, she wanted her brother, more than anything she needed him. Had she made the right choice to stay back in Denver? She was seriously doubting it.

"Now do you wish you went to New York when you had the chance?" Ivy whispered in a harsh tone. Now was hardly the time, though. Yet, they didn't have an escape plan. "What are we going to do Teddy? I don't want to die. My momma saved me for a reason…"

Suddenly the bedroom door flew open. The girls gasped and backed up further in the clothes. Never before did Teddy think she'd be this close to Emmett's clothing. "Ivy Wentz, I knew I should have double checked your body out there! Now where are you!" Teddy's hands flew to her mouth as tears streamed down her face. Her heart was racing a mile a minute and she was struggling just to move her body.

Suddenly, in what must have been a miracle, Amy was signaling Bob with the horn. Clearly they had designated several signals, as he understood this one very well. "Shit! Cops are coming! Another time…"

When his footsteps descended, the girls slowly fell to their knees, sobbing and praying it was over. While they were hugging each other, the door opened and fear spiked through them for a split second. They saw Emmett standing there, his hand was holding an ice pack to the side of his head. Ivy sobbed and shot out, hugging him tightly. "Oh god you're alive!"

"Yeah. Deputy Dooley just pulled up with a few police cars. Come on…are you guys going to be okay?"

"In time…" Emmett nodded and helped Teddy to her feet. He led them out to the living room where Deputy Dooley was hanging up his cell phone. Teddy looked at him with a soft whimper and slowly moved towards him.

"M-Mr. Dooley…they were here…they were here…"

"I know." She hugged him and started to sob. He hesitated for a second, then gave her a comforting hug in return. "We got a call from Emmett while on the way over here, by the time the units arrived, they were gone…" Had it all happened so fast? Then again, any amount of time could have taken place during the moments after Bob left. "Also received another call from New York…"

"New York?" Teddy's heart clenched and she moved her hands to her chest, she prayed nothing bad had happened to PJ. "W-What's happening there?"

"Well first off…your brother is in the hospital, but he's going to be just fine." She cupped her hand over her mouth and felt Ivy's hand on her shoulder. "He suffered a heat stroke while on the job." What the hell was she still doing in Denver? Now PJ needed her support more than ever! She didn't want to stay here and be a cause for more danger towards Emmett and Ivy.

She looked back to them with a heavy heart and a decision to make. A tear ran along her face and she fought over what was the right choice, even though it seemed obvious. The two friends gave her a brisk nod, almost knowing what she was thinking. "W-Will you two be okay…if I go?"

"They will be just fine, we're going to provide them with police protection from here on out." Teddy looked to Deputy Dooley and swallowed. He closed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "Another thing, if you go to New York…well, we need you to submit to a DNA test, both you and PJ. He's found his birth father." Teddy's heart leapt up in her chest and her jaw dropped. She wanted to scream out for excitement, but was too stunned to do so. Now she had no other thought in her mind other than returning. If her birth father was there, then she had to go!

"Seriously? You think…" She shook her head and cleared her throat. "I-I'll go! For PJ and for my real dad." This was almost too good to be true. She thought this day was going to be pure hell when Bob showed up, but now that issue had vanished completely from her mind. She wanted nothing more than to go be with her father and her brother. "Just let me get ready and I'll go when I can…"

"The next flight to New York is tomorrow morning. I'd like to bring you three into the station for guarding in case Bob and Amy try to come back. Is that okay with you?" The trio nodded and instantly followed the officer outside.

Teddy could only smile and fantasize about how it would feel to be with PJ and her father. It was like a dream and she was on cloud nine, eager to finally meet this man. Even more, when she got to New York, she'd not only have to transfer school, but she'd find a therapist to talk to about all of this. Finally, things might be looking up for her. Although it did still suck, just a small bit, that she was the last to find her birth father. Though she did understand, being the last to accept everything.

This is all real. This is really happening.

Now however, she was willing to accept the reality. No more would she push away those doubts, fears, and wishes, and maybe those nightmares would finally go away.

Intense! What did you think of everything going on?