Little Moments: Like Mother, Like Daughter

Chapter 21: Black and Blue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to OTH.

A/N: I know it's been another long wait, ugh, I know. Y'all, Wilmington was an ABSOLUTE BLAST, and since it was so epic I hardly had time to even open my computer, then I came back to a 3 day practicum at a local high school- talk about exhausting, so sorry about the wait. But I can't be too sorry cause I really did need that trip to Wilmy. The OTH cast is amazing. But back to the story, this one dives a little into Graham's job as a Coastie. Enjoy!

OTHOTH

Shopping with a five month old was never ideal. The sudden crying spells, the potential diaper disasters; there were countless risks whenever anyone took a baby anywhere in public, but Charlotte was taking that risk. And to be quite honest she probably had to worry more about the loud mouthed twenty eight year old blonde who was accompanying her rather than her five month old daughter.

"So how many of these?" Sawyer was just ahead of Charlotte in the aisle of the store and picked up a package of mini quiches.

Charlotte eyed the package and tried to quickly do the math in her head. They were having about fifty close friends and family over this weekend after Hattie's christening, and the two women were shopping for the reception. Normally Charlotte would enjoy actually cooking and preparing for a reception like this, but with a baby everything became about one million times harder. So opting to go store-bought, Charlotte and Sawyer had picked up almost everything they'd need but there were still a few things the girls had to get. The all important quiche being one of them.

"Are you crunching numbers?" Sawyer could see it in Charlotte's eyes. She grabbed another box and walked over to the shopping cart. Leaning down to the baby, Sawyer started to laugh, "Your Mom is a full blown dork, Hattie."

"Sawyer..." Charlotte cut her eyes and then laughed, "Now I forgot how many I'd come up with."

Smirking with a squint she'd inherited from her father, Sawyer arched her brow and looked at the baby, "A super dork." Sawyer winked at Hattie and laughed out loud as she walked further down the aisle.

Charlotte sighed as she followed her cousin and turned the conversation to the blonde. "So...you're coming alone to this thing?"

Turning around, Sawyer was halfway cutting her eyes, halfway sighing, "He's working."

"He's working or that's just an excuse?" Charlotte knew that Sawyer and her boyfriend had been going out for a while, going strong for a while. But he still hadn't met most of the family, and it had already been seven months.

Sawyer walked on down the aisle with a eye roll, "He's actually working, but I don't see what the rush is for him to meet everyone."

Giving Sawyer the benefit of the doubt, Charlotte pushed the cart close to her cousin, "There isn't a rush, I just think it's about time for you to introduce us to him, and him to us."

"You've already met him, Charlotte. I don't see why you're making this a big deal."

Sighing, Charlotte knew that this conversation wasn't penetrating to the depths of Sawyer's mind as she'd hoped. "It was just a suggestion. If you like him we all will."

"It's not even that. Ugh..." Sawyer was sick of talking about her personal life. It was exactly that, her personal life. She and her new guy were good together. The last thing she needed was to push the Scott family drama on him. She was sure that she was a lot to handle as it was. Quickly changing the subject, Sawyer looked at Hattie and then to Charlotte, "So how did Aunt Brooke take it when you told her she didn't need to make the christening dress?"

Charlotte let out a soft laugh, "Actually...better than I thought. I think she knows that Graham's mom had wanted to do the dress, and..." The rest of Charlotte's sentence had been cut short because her phone started to ring. When she looked at the number her heart started to fall from her chest because if that number was calling while Graham was at work it wasn't going to be good news.

Noticing Charlotte's demeanor change, Sawyer furrowed her brow, "What is it?"

She didn't even know what the base was calling about but Charlotte could feel the lump form in her throat as she looked at her five month old. He had to be okay. Whatever it was, Graham had to be okay. Charlotte had more or less trained herself to respond to this kind of situation but everything she'd told herself was starting to fade away. "It's the base." She quickly raised the phone to her ear and answered it. "Hello?"

"Charlotte, it's Megan." Her tone wasn't worrisome but there was some sort of urgency there. It was protocol for Charlotte to get some kind of phone call if any mission went awry and this seemed like one of those.

Not even knowing what was wrong, Charlotte could feel her eyes start to tear, "Is he okay?"

Nodding, Megan spoke in to the phone, "But he's in the hospital."

A magnitude of ailments and problems ran through the young mother's mind and she spoke back into the phone as quickly as she could. "I'll meet him there. Thanks."

Megan didn't get to finish the rest of the explanation but if Charlotte wanted to go it wasn't likely that anything was going to stop her.

"Is everything okay?" Sawyer could see that some of the color had drained from Charlotte's face.

Biting her lip, Charlotte looked to her baby and the blonde. She didn't really even know what was wrong but she knew she needed to get to him. "Can you do me a favor? Can you watch her while I go to the hospital?"

"Yeah, sure, of course."

"Here. Take my bag." Charlotte took her purse off her shoulder and held it out for Sawyer. "Let me have your keys."

"My keys?"

"That way you'll have the car seat."

"Oh...right." Sawyer wasn't so sure about what she was signing up for but Charlotte needed her car, and who was she to say no? "Give it some gas if it doesn't start up right away."

"And third gear sticks sometimes. I know." Smiling a sweet and thankful smile, Charlotte nodded, "I'll be careful with your baby." She let out a smile and then glanced at Hattie, "Be careful with mine."

"I will."

Kissing the five month old's head, Charlotte walked away to the parking lot.

Sawyer found herself alone in a store with a precious doe-eyed baby staring at her. She swallowed hard and then shrugged, "I guess it's just you and me, kid?"

While Sawyer was getting her bearings with the baby, Charlotte tore out of the parking lot headed to the hospital. She had to make sure her husband was okay. She knew it wasn't anything too serious because Megan sounded pretty calm when she called, but even knowing that whatever had happened put him in the hospital made Charlotte's skin crawl. If he didn't love what he did so much she'd love for him to do something else.

When Charlotte walked through the doors of the emergency room, she went straight for the nurses' station. "My husband was brought here. McFarland. Graham McFarland." Her voice was breathy and she was nervously antsy.

The nurse looked at the semi-frazzled woman and felt bad for her. "Let me check." Scanning the room numbers and names, she found what Charlotte was looking for. "He was taken upstairs for a consult. Fourth floor. You'll know where to go."

Charlotte's mind starting racing as she tried to determine what in the world Graham could be getting a consult for. "Thank you." She headed straight for the elevator and waited for what felt like an eternity until the doors opened. The ride was short upstairs and when she walked through the hallway she couldn't help but notice she was in the plastic and reconstructive surgery unit.

"Miss, can I help you?" A tall male nurse walked toward Charlotte and could tell she was looking for something in particular.

"My husband was brought here. Graham McFarland."

"Coast Guard?" He watched Charlotte nod and led her down the hallway. "He's in here.'

Holding her breath as she walked into the small room, the first thing she saw was Trevor sitting next to the bed. He stood up as soon as he saw Charlotte and took of his cap. "Hey, Charlotte."

Graham was laid up on a bed and she could see the white bandaged that nearly encompassed his head. The right side wasn't covered with the gauze and she could see one green eye. The sight of him as a mangled mess made her heart sink and Charlotte walked over to the bed. "Hi."

"Hey." Graham reached up to touch her arm as she sat down next to him.

"Are you okay?" Getting a good look, Charlotte could see that whatever had happened, dealt with his face. She felt a single tear slide down her cheek and it was one of those things she couldn't stop. It wasn't necessarily a sad or happy tear. A tear of relief, maybe? She wasn't entirely sure.

"It looks worse than it is." Graham raised his hand to his bruised face and knew that he looked like a monster right now. He had a broken cheek bone, busted blood vessel in his eye, and the left side of his face was colored with various shades of blue, green, and purple.

Trevor crossed his arms and smirked, "You should see the other guy."

Charlotte's eyes got wide, "You got in a fight?"

Graham shook his head and started to think about how everything had played out. A simple day and a simple mission had turned violent in mere seconds.

The chopper blades overpowered most of the noises coming from inside the cabin but Graham had always loved that sound. It was one of his favorites. The water was reflecting the early afternoon sun on the waves of the Atlantic and Graham got lost in the scenery. He was a lucky guy. Not only did he get to do something he absolutely loved but he had two people in his life that made everything worth living for. Taped to the side of the chopper was a picture of Charlotte and Hattie. Next to pictures of Captain Billings' family, Trevor's fiancee, and the rest of the crew's loved ones, the two brown eyed McFarland girls were the reason his heart kept beating.

"We're coming up on the vessel. Overturned sailboat. Three in the water. No injuries."

Graham heard Captain Billings in his helmet and knew that it was time to get ready. Reaching for his mask and snorkel, Graham took off his helmet and pulled on his rescue gear.

"Mac, we're dropping you first."

Graham saw Jack, the co-pilot, signal towards him and then Trevor pulled open the door.

"I'm coming in after you, man. Carter's fishing the line."

Graham nodded and when he looked down to the open sea, the overturned sailboat caught his eye. It wasn't a big one, a little boat that was good for a day's sailing. He spotted the three passengers and was happy that they were all wearing their life jackets. The weather was good but the wind was high. Seven foot waves rolled across the surface but it wasn't anything the men in orange couldn't handle.

"When you're ready." Captain Billings steadied the chopper at the appropriate level and nodded towards his best swimmer.

He didn't even think. He didn't take a moment to pause, Graham jumped out of the helicopter just as soon as Billings had said 'ready'. His feet hit water first and Graham found himself immersed in the ocean. It was moments like this when he wondered if he hadn't been meant to be a fish. Surrounded by an endless ocean, Graham swam toward the sun and breathed in the salty air when he hit the surface. Stroke after stroke, he made his way to the family of three and reached the young teenage girl first.

"My name's Graham. I'm a rescue swimmer with the U.S. Coast Guard. What's your name?"

"Lexie."

"Lexie, are you okay?" The fourteen year old nodded and looked to her parents. They were floating just a few feet away but Graham could tell she was scared. "I'm gonna get you outta here, alright. You're gonna be okay."

"Okay." The girl was holding her life jacket so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

"Here we go, alright? I'm gonna help you over to the basket."

"Honey, we'll be right behind you." Lexie's mom called out to her daughter as Graham swam her over.

Trevor made sure the parents were alright while Graham signaled up to Carter to take up the girl. Once Graham swam towards the parents Trevor took the mom over to the basket.

"Sir, we're gonna get you outta here after your wife gets in the cabin."

The man's face had lost all the color and he looked back to his sinking sailboat. The weather was beautiful, the day had been going perfectly fine and now things had taken a change for the worse, and it was as if he hadn't heard a single word Graham had said. "I didn't mean...it just tipped...I don't know what..."

Graham knew that a panicked victim could fall into shock and that was the last thing either of them needed. "The winds were high today, but everyone's gonna be okay."

Tugging on his life jacket, the man started pulling it away from him. "Ugh, I can't breathe. I can't breathe!"

"Sir, we're gonna get you outta here in just a minute." Graham knew that his victim was about to loose any sense of reality as the shock of the accident washed over him like the waves did.

The man couldn't stand the orange floatation device. He felt like it was choking him instead of saving him. He found the clasp and pulled it over his head freeing himself of the thing. His legs started flailing and he felt like he was drowning so he went to Graham knowing he would keep him afloat. Instead of being calm about it, however, the guy grabbed a hold of the Coastie pushing him under the water.

It happened so fast that Graham didn't realize the man had him under until he could taste the salty water seeping through his lips. He fought to break free but in this circumstance, people did just about anything to keep themselves above water. The man was persistent and a was slowly pushing Graham down farther. Graham luckily got away and broke to the surface in time to catch one quick breath before being pushed down again.

Trevor was making sure the mom was secure in the basket when he turned around after hearing a commotion. "Oh shit!" He gave Carter a thumbs up and pulled an orange buoy off the basket before it lifted out of the water. While the mother went up, Trevor tried to get to his buddy as fast as he could because he knew that the man might drown Graham.

Fighting to breathe, Graham tried to swim to the surface but it was like he was caught in a net, caught in an imaginary net that had him trapped. This guy was keeping him from the light of day and all he saw, all that was around him, was the deep dark ocean. An image of Charlotte flashed through his brain and then one of Hattie. As he slipped away into the depths of the sea Graham saw images of everyone he loved run through his mind.

But it wasn't happening like this. He wasn't going to let this happen. Pushing away from the guy with as much strength as he had, Graham broke the surface and got in a cough of a breath. Back pedaling away from the frenzied man, Graham held his arms out, "Sir, calm down. You're making this hard for bo..." The man was out of it and incoherent about the consequences of his actions, because he grabbed for Graham again. Realizing the severity of the problem, Graham dove under the water and then came up behind the guy. He knew he shouldn't approach him from behind but he was running out of options because the man was going to drown them both.

"Help me! Somebody help me!" The man wasn't in any real danger, he was the threat. He just didn't know it.

Graham didn't have time to think about what he did next, he simply did it. Securing the man from behind, Graham tried to calm him down, "Sir, I'm taking you to the basket. We're gonna get you..." He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. It happened so quickly that he didn't know what hit him. Literally. Graham had no idea what made contact with his face but something did and it was hard. His body flew backwards and the dazed and confused Coastie quickly tasted blood on his tongue. One blink later and it had been his last. He was out for the count.

"Use this!" Trevor had made it to father and gave him the orange buoy that had been connected to the basket. The man tightly grabbed a hold of it and when he was steady Trevor swam over to Graham. The water had turned a different color because of the massive amount of blood that was coming from Graham's face, and he was floating on his back with his legs beneath the water. Trevor pulled on his suit with a laugh. "What are you trying to do? Invite the sharks?" When there wasn't a response and Trevor grabbed Graham around the shoulders and pushed through the water towards the basket. This could be serious.

"What the hell?" Carter looked down from the chopper and saw that Trevor was pulling an unconscious looking Graham toward safety. "Graham's hurt." He looked to his pilot and co-pilot with worried eyes.

The young girl Graham has safely gotten in the cabin looked out to the water and furrowed her brow, "He's hurt?"

"Pull him up! Pull him up!" Trevor signaled to Carter when he got Graham in the basket. The father who had elbowed Graham in the face looked terrified in the water and he was realizing what he'd done. A man who was trying to save him was the one needing saving.

"I didn't mean to...I was...I was..."

Trevor had half a mind to tell the guy to shut the hell up but right now he was trying to work on a victim who needed help. The man was perfectly fine floating with his buoy. Graham on the other hand was slumped in the basket with a bloody face and what looked to be a crushed cheek bone. It wasn't a busted lip or a bloody nose, this was something much more severe. "Graham, can you hear me? Talk to me, man."

Everything was white noise. When Graham was lifted out of the water, he didn't know where he was or what was going on. Everything was blurry and he could still taste blood. He wasn't conscious but he wasn't unconscious. It was a weird feeling that he couldn't explain and never wanted to feel again. He wasn't going to die, he knew that, but he knew something was wrong and his mind kept going back to the same two people.

"Lets get him in. Come on Graham. Can you hear me? Carter pulled the basket inside and started to pull out his friend. "Graham, open your eyes!" Carter threw off his unnecessary equipment and leaned down to check for signs of breath ready to administer CPR.

Trevor folded his arms and leaned against the hospital room wall. "I was so close to smacking the guy." He narrowed his eyes and looked to his bruised friend.

Graham swallowed hard thinking about his quick memory and knew he didn't remember much after that. "He didn't mean to do it. His adrenaline took over." Graham didn't fault the guy. He wasn't exactly appreciative of the crushing elbow blow but he was thankful it was only that.

"And you're gonna be okay?" Charlotte looked at her husband and felt her stomach twist into knots thinking they'd been lucky.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." He tried to smile but his bandages and the pain didn't let him.

She didn't want to hurt him but Charlotte couldn't help but kiss him. She tried to find a place of his face where it wasn't hurt and let her lips linger. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Trevor took their sweet moment as a hint his time was done and walked over to his pal when Charlotte and Graham parted. "I'm gonna head outta here. Let me know if there's anything you need."

Holding out his hand, Graham looked at Trevor with an appreciation he could never put into words. "Thanks man."

The other Coastie nodded and smiled at the brown-eyed girl. "See ya, Charlotte."

He started to walk away but Charlotte stopped him. "Trevor...?" She took a few steps toward him and hugged the guy. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me, Charlotte."

Maybe she didn't but she sure felt like she should. Stepping away from his she bit her lip and shrugged, "I...thank you."

As Trevor walked away, Charlotte walked back over to Graham's bedside. He could see the worry that still lined her face and he shook his head. "I'm okay."

She sat down next to him and leaned against his side. "I know you are."

Her hair smelled like coconut and Graham breathed her in. He closed his eyes and ran his fingertips along her side. "Where's Hattie?"

"Sawyer has her."

"Sawyer?" Graham would have laughed out loud but it hurt too much.

Starting to smile, Charlotte nodded, "And I managed to pluck her car from her." Letting out a laugh, Charlotte sighed, "I should probably call her."

She probably should but she didn't want to. Neither of them wanted to move. They were perfectly content on how they were, and they'd stay like that until the doctor came in to describe Graham's injuries.

He was going to be fine. A broken cheek bone that would more than likely heal on its own. It wasn't going to be pretty for a while and it was going to hurt a lot but he was going to be fine. They were all going to be just fine. Charlotte could deal with the bruises and the bandages as long as she had him, but their little girl wasn't going to feel the same way.

OTHOTH

They'd spent four hours in the hospital and when Graham was discharged the twosome went straight home. Charlotte had called Sawyer letting her know that she'd she come pick up Hattie once Graham was settled.

Mack met them at the front door and it was as if he knew something had gone wrong because he was whining when Graham walked in. He licked on Graham's leg and tucked his tail between his legs.

"Hey boy. I'm okay. I'm okay." He patted the dog's side but his face started to pound when he bend down.

Charlotte looked at Mack a bit surprised and then looked at her husband. "How do you think he knows something happened?"

Shrugging, Graham looked down at their dog. "I don't know. It's probably one of those intuition things. You know how he can tell when it's about to storm, it's probably like that."

As they walked into their bedroom, Charlotte started to laugh. "Do you remember when he was a puppy and..."

"You called me hysterical."

"I wasn't hysterical."

"You were." He started to smile and as he got the bed and let out a grunt off sorts when the pain in his cheek elevated. "You absolutely were."

Charlotte shook her head because that wasn't how she remembered it.

The rain was pouring from the sky in constant sheets that were flooding the front yard. Charlotte had just pulled in from a long day at work and sat in her car wondering when the best time would be to get out. The rain might let up shortly but then again it could always get worse. After about three minutes she knew nothing was changing and geared up to get wet. It was March and those early spring showers weren't letting up anytime soon.

Glancing out of her window, Charlotte pulled her bag close to her and made sure everything was zipped and shut because this was going to be a soaking. "Here goes nothing." The twenty three year old bound out of the car with as much speed as a race car and hurried to the front door. Splashing through the mud and the muck, Charlotte got to the front door just as soon as a loud thunderclap bounced off the clouds. The sound boomed through her chest and she could feel the vibration of the noise. If would have been nice if Sawyer had been home but she wasn't, so Charlotte fumbled with her keys until she found the right one.

The house she shared with her cousin was dry and welcoming. When she set down her bag, Charlotte was waiting for the four month old adorableness that was Mack to come prancing up to her, but the house was silent. "Mack? Here, boy." Her keys clanked against the table when she set them down and she looked around the living room for the golden retriever puppy.

A super-sonic boom rattled the small home and Charlotte looked outside with cautious eyes. This storm was getting kinda intense. It was certainly the loudest one they'd had all season.

Charlotte walked into the kitchen and saw a note scribbled in handwriting only Sawyer could have left. "With Ben. Took Trout. Call ya tomorrow." It was short and to the point, exactly how Sawyer would have left it.

A bolt of lightening lit up the backyard and the color startled Charlotte. She furrowed her brow and looked around wondering where the puppy was. "Ma-aack? Where are you?" Charlotte was starting to get nervous about the missing dog. Their missing dog. He wasn't just hers. He was Charlotte and Graham's, a birthday present she'd gotten him when he turned twenty seven

Two loud thunderclaps rang through the late evening sky and the rain started hammering the roof. Scouring the next few rooms, Charlotte searched for the dog and wondered where he could have gone. He was still little enough to fit in small spaces but when Charlotte got down on her hands and knees to check under her bed he wasn't there. Room after room, the young Scott girl tried to find the dog but she was unsuccessful.

"Mack, come on. This isn't funny." Charlotte didn't want to overreact but their dog was missing. The loudest thunderclap yet roared above and it sent chills up her body. He had to be scared. That had to be it. Dogs sometimes hid when it stormed, right? Or did they run away? No, he couldn't have run away, right? Thoughts pummeled her mind and she ran through the house in a frantic search to find their pet. Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes passed and she still couldn't find him.

Charlotte went to her purse and fished out her cell phone. Sawyer probably wasn't going to know where Mack was but she could at least ask. Dialing her cousin's number Charlotte ended up disappointed when it went to voice mail. The next number she dialed was out of habit. She'd memorized his number and it felt natural to dial those numbers. She'd hadn't really meant to call Graham but when he answered his voice was comforting.

"Hey, some storm, huh?" He was on his way home and watched his windshield wipers wash away the rain feverishly.

"I think our dog ran away."

Graham let out a laugh and shook his head, "What?"

"I can't find him. I think he got scared of the storm and ran away." There was emotion in her voice that wasn't usually there.

"I'm sure he's just hiding. Did you check around the house?"

"Yes."

Graham knew she wasn't playing around with her one word answer. "He's gotta be somewhere, Charlotte. He wouldn't run away." Looking out his window he turned right at the intersection and spoke sweetly. "I'll be over there in a minute."

"Kay, bye." Charlotte hung up her phone and continued to look for their puppy. She hoped he hadn't run off. Not only was it getting dark but it was horrible outside. Like a protective mom, Charlotte just wanted him to be safe.

It didn't take Graham long to get to the girls' house and he let himself in without knocking. His shirt had gotten damp from the rain and his shoes squeaked on the floor.

Rounding the corner of the hallway, Charlotte saw him in front of the door and sighed. "Hi."

"Hey." Graham slipped off his wet shoes and walked over to her. "And your sure you've checked everywhere?"

"Positive. He's not in the house."

Furrowing his brow, Graham eyed the living room and knew Mack had to be there somewhere. "Mack, here boy!" Graham whistled and waited to see if he heard any commotion.

"Uh, I hate that this is happening. This would happen to us, wouldn't it?" Charlotte got down on her hands and knees to check under the couch for the second time rambling to herself. "Sawyer would never have this happen to her."

Graham started to laugh but tried to hold it in. She turned around to him and cut her eyes. He shook his head and pulled her up from the floor. "We're gonna find him, Charlotte. We're just not looking in the right places."

Something about the way he'd said that sent a shiver down her spine. A good shiver. The kind that signaled the butterflies in her stomach to get ready to fly around.

"Check Sawyer's room. I'll check yours."

Charlotte nodded and the boyfriend, girlfriend pair went off in search of their pup.

"Anything?" Charlotte looked around Sawyer's messy room and raised her voice so Graham could hear her from across the hall.

"Nah. I don't see him." Graham looked in Charlotte's closet but Mack wasn't hidden in there. Walking to the bathroom, he checked in there and even pulled back the shower curtain in case Mack jumped in the tub. He hadn't but it was worth a shot.

Charlotte did not want to be the girl who lost his dog. It wouldn't have really even been her fault but she still felt responsible. Thunder shook the small house and Charlotte huffed as she checked under Sawyer's bed. "Mack, come on, where are you?" While she was on the floor the lights flickered and then everything went dark. "Graham?"

The house got quiet when it lost power and the green eyed Coastie started to make his way toward Charlotte. "You okay in here?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine." She started to get up and rolled her eyes at the situation. She saw Graham's silhouette come into Sawyer's room.

He brushed against her and laughed when they tried to move in the same direction. "Where do you keep the flashlights?"

The darkness had a certain appeal to it and Charlotte bit her lip. She had a sudden urge to kiss him instead of telling him where to go. He felt it too and met her in the middle. While the storm raged on outside Charlotte and Graham were both feeling a storm inside their chests. What they had was something both of them were ready to weather.

Charlotte pulled away and started to laugh as she put her hands on her chest. "Sawyer would totally freak out if she knew we were in her room."

He laughed and kissed her again, "Good thing she's not here." Wrapping his hands around her waist, he pulled Charlotte close and kissed the corner of her mouth as a loud thunderclap boomed through the air.

Knowing they would both be in BIG trouble if they actually went any further in Sawyer's room, Charlotte sighed and tilted her head toward the door. "The flashlights are in the laundry room."

Slowly moving away from his girlfriend, Graham made his way to the laundry room and could see a heaping pile of laundry in the corner of the little room. It wasn't surprising though. Laundry and Sawyer were not friends. In fact, they hated each other. Walking over to the shelf by the dryer, Graham rummaged through a bin of things in search of some flashlights. He moved his foot over and that heaping pile of laundry let out yelp. "Mack?" Graham got a flashlight and knelt down toward the clothes. The puppy's eyes reflected the light and the Coastie started pulling clothes off the golden retriever. "Have you been here this whole time boy?" Smiling, Graham laughed, "You had Charlotte pretty freaked out."

Mack walked hesitantly by Graham's side as they walked to the living room and Charlotte had managaged to find a few candles to light.

"Look who I found."

Charlotte's brown eyes got big and she knelt down welcoming the dog in her arms. "Mack, where have you been? I was looking all over for you."

"Apparently he got under Sawyer's clothes in the laundry room."

Laughing, Charlotte rubbed the dogs head and stood back up. "Guess I seem pretty dumb now, huh? He was here the whole time."

Graham arched one of his brows, "Dumb?" He laughed at her and put his hands on her waist shaking his head. "You're not dumb, Charlotte."

"I would have failed a search and rescue class miserably."

Knowing that's exactly what he specialized in, Graham's kissed her. "That's why you have me."

"Mmm-huh" Her mouth buzzed against his and Charlotte was liking the sound in his voice. "You'll have to teach me a few things."

Graham started to groan a little when he shifted in the bed and Charlotte was brought back from her memory. "Can I get you anything?"

Shutting his eyes, Graham leaned back in the pillows and shook his head. "I'll be alright."

Charlotte checked the clock and knew she needed to go get their little one back home. "I'm gonna go get Hattie. You're sure you don't need anything."

He didn't so he nodded once more and let the medication take hold. Hopefully he could sleep off most of the pain.

Quickly kissing him, Charlotte headed out the door and on her way to get their daughter. She had a little trouble starting Sawyer's car but after the third try it worked. When she pulled up to Sawyer's house she laughed out loud at all the cars parked by the curb. She let herself in to the hold home she used to share with her cousin and smiled at the four women in the living room. Pushing her sunglasses into her hair, Charlotte started to smirk. "Called in the special forces, huh?"

Sawyer looked at Charlotte and shrugged, "Well what else was I supposed to do? You left me alone. With a baby. A five month old baby."

Haley was holding her newest granddaughter and looked at Charlotte concerned, "How's Graham?"

"He's gonna be fine. The guy he was trying to help was in shock or something and elbowed him in the cheek. It looks a lot worse that it actually is."

"But he's okay?" Brooke raised both eyebrows.

Charlotte nodded, "A little black and blue but..."

Peyton folded her hands together and sighed deeply, "We're all glad he's home now."

Sawyer nodded agreeing about what her mom said but pulled out a piece of paper from her purse, "And by the way you owe me."

Charlotte didn't think she'd have to pay Sawyer for watching Hattie but maybe she was. She took the piece of paper and read over the fine print. "Is this a speeding ticket?"

"A speeding ticket? Oh no." Sawyer shook her head and laughed out loud, "Would you count going twenty in a forty five mile an hour zone, speeding?" Sawyer saw Charlotte shake her head and kinked her brow, "Well neither did the cop, apparently there is such as thing as going too slow."

"Too slow?" Charlotte knew Sawyer didn't do anything slow.

"Yes. Dumb cop pulled me over because I was being cautious." Sawyer shrugged her shoulders. "I mean I had the baby in the car. What do they expect me to do?"

Peyton started laughing and patted her daughter on the shoulder, "I never thought I'd see the day, kid."

Sawyer bugged her eyes, "Oh, don't hold your breath. This doesn't mean I've got a maternal side, but I mean come on. Those cars were flying by me on Oleander. Flying. I wanted to smack every single one of them."

Haley smiled because she used to yell at cars that drove by too fast on the street when the kids were younger.

Brooke walked close to the baby and then looked at Sawyer, "Admit it. Babies are infectious. You can't help but love them and you always want them to be safe."

Sawyer was kinda surprised that Brooke knew the word infectious, but she also knew that her aunt was right. "Well..."

Charlotte got Hattie from her mom and walked over to her cousin. "Thanks for keeping her."

Shrugging, Sawyer answered Charlotte. "You would do the same thing for me if I married a Coastie and had a cute baby."

The four other adult women looked at each other and couldn't help but think about the same thing. A past that Sawyer had could have made her statement true if things hadn't gotten messed up.

"So now that we're on this topic. When will we get to mee..."

"Uh-ugh. Out." Sawyer didn't want to talk about it. She looked at Brooke ad shook her head. "Thank you all for the help but that's all for today." Sawyer smiled politely at the three older women and opened up her front door. This current relationship was seriously under wraps.

"Bye, Char. Tell Graham we're glad he's okay. I'll make him some of my chicken dumpling soup."

Charlotte nodded at her mom and said goodbye to the older generation of her family. She gathered up Hattie's diaper bag and switched keys with Sawyer.

When Sawyer had her Volkswagen keys in her and she took a deep breath looking at the baby. "And he's okay?"

"He's okay." Charlotte slung the diaper bag on her shoulder and nodded, "And thank you. Thank you so much for watching her."

"We had a good time." Sawyer looked at the mini Charlotte and smiled, "Didn't we?" Hattie yawned and Sawyer nodded, "See, that was a yes."

"I'll call you tomorrow." Charlotte thanked Sawyer one more time and headed home. They were nearly at the house and Charlotte looked through the rear view mirror. "I know someone who wants to see you. Are you ready to see Daddy?" Charlotte could tell that Hattie perked up when she heard his name and Charlotte pulled onto their street.

Graham thought he'd fall asleep when Charlotte left but he didn't. He shifted in bed because he knew that she'd bring the baby in and when he saw both of them he started to smile. It hurt but he didn't care. Those two girls, those two sets of brown eyes; they made things hurt a little less.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Charlotte dropped the diaper bag on the floor and got on the bed next to her husband.

"Better now."

The new mom couldn't help but smile and held Hattie out to her dad. "Here's Daddy."

Graham took the baby and held her close to his chest. "Hey, minnow." Those big brown eyes that he loved so much started to tear and just as soon as Graham had Hattie she started to cry. Wail, actually.

Taken back by Hattie's reaction, Charlotte furrowed her brow and looked from the baby to Graham. She didn't think about it until now but Graham didn't look good. The entire left side of his face was covered in bandages and the skin that was visible wasn't colored like it should be. He had purply-green splotches that weren't supposed to be there.

"Is she scared of me?" Graham looked at Charlotte and the look in his eye made her heart break.

"I don't know."

Graham tried to soothe the baby but Hattie was scared of Graham. He didn't look like her dad. He looked like a horrifying stranger. He gave Hattie to Charlotte and when their daughter stopped crying in her arms he felt his heart sink. "It's me. She scared of me."

Charlotte didn't want that to be true. "Talk to her. Maybe that will help." She passed the baby back to Graham and nodded, "Tell her a story."

Trying to think of a story before she started crying again, Graham leaned back on the bed and took a deep breath. "Did I tell you, remember the one about the man in the moon, Hattie? I told that to you when you were in your Mom's belly. You wanna hear it again?" It was a little painful to talk but he could bare through it if it meant he got to tell Hattie a story.

This was a good story and Charlotte leaned back on the bed hoping Hattie would recognize Graham's sweet voice. His bruises weren't permanent but his voice was. There was nothing like hearing him talk.

"A sailor works on the moon. Did you know that?" Graham nodded, "There's an old story that sailors who die at sea work up there and control the stars to help the lost sailors find their way home. They're the ones who light up the sky." Graham held Hattie close to him and loved the way she fit in his arms. "One stormy day a sailor and his crew lost their ship off the coast of Cape Hatteras. When you get older I'll take you to the shipwreck museum up there. Uncle Crawford loves that place. But anyway, when the sailors started to sink they didn't go to the bottom, they landed on the moon..."

Charlotte had always liked this story. It had a sweet ending but looking at Graham holding their child got to her. She scooted off the bed and said that she was gonna work on dinner. Heading to the kitchen, Charlotte felt her eyes tear up because suddenly she realized that story hit a little too close to home. The moon was shining bright through the windowpane and the starry night looked like a tragedy in disguise. There were plenty of stars out that night and Charlotte had a chill run up her spine. She was thankful there wasn't one more up there tonight. That was a scenario she wasn't prepared to handle.

Graham was hers for now and for ever. If the tide took him away, if he never came back, it wouldn't only break her heart, but she'd be a lost soul adrift on the open sea until he found his way home.

Swallowing hard, Charlotte knew she couldn't let that happen.

The worst part was that it wasn't in her control. Fate wasn't something she could change.

OTHOTH

There we go guys. We got some insight to Graham's job as a Coastie. This is kinda of the pre-cursor to a much bigger chapter that is on the horizon. I hope you liked it.

My reviewers are fantabulous. That's a new a word that should be added to the dictionary, by the way. Thank you so much for the constant support!

sara: Thank you so much for the feedback!

TP404: I'm glad the story was able to keep you busy while you couldn't sleep, and I'm happy you liked last chapter.

Joan: Yes, Hattie is going to be a daddy's girl, no doubt. Sawyer's BF still remains a mystery but that will be uncovered soon in her story.

Jo: It's great to know you've been following the story for a while. Hearing from readers who don't review often is always a pleasant surprise. Thank you for the idea about the first word, but I'm not gonna go the "Mama" or "Dada" route. I should get to her first word next chapter, though. And ha, I feel like I've written sexually frustrated parents SO much in LM that I'm sure it will end up in here at some point. It would be hard not to include it. I really apreciate the feedback!

C: I'm so glad to know you enjoyed the last few chapters, and I'm really thankful for the feedback!

Anon: Oh Sawyer and Ben. I guess it's obvious now that her current BF isn't Ben. It's depressing. You're right, it's hard to let go, too. Funny you should mention Graham telling Hattie stories because the one he tells her in this one will be really important later on.

Anu: So cool that the last update made your day!

BDavis: I'm thrilled that you iked the three of them together, and that you have been a fan since the beginning!