Little Moments: Like Mother, Like Daughter
Chapter 25: Little Boy Blue
Disclaimer: Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe. Catch a tiger by his toe. If he hollers let 'em go. I don't have any affiliation with the show!
A/N: I'm so ready for winter break it's ridiculous. How ridiculous? Ridiculous enough to procrastinate studying for my Civil War final and write this. ;) A few important things come up in the chapter. Not to mention you get to meet the 2nd Coastie baby. Enjoy!
OTHOTH
-7 months
Graham was lost in a daze. He hardly noticed his surroundings or the music that was playing around him. The freshly turned thirty-two year old Lieutenant Commander was caught up in the paper work in front of him. He'd read the letter a thousand times and somehow the black ink on the page didn't seem real. But it was. He was up for re-assignment. He'd have to leave Tree Hill.
Not now; not immediately, but when January rolled around to April, Graham would be heading west. Northwest more precisely.
He wouldn't be going on a Diligence patrol. He'd be heading to Aviation school as an officer. A-school, where all rescue swimmers are trained, wasn't so bad. Graham had gone through the program himself, but he wasn't going to the Elizabeth City, North Carolina headquarters like he'd done when he was younger. They were sending him out of the state; out of the continental United States.
As Graham's mind flew elsewhere, he thought about the 5000 miles that separated home and this new assignment. Graham absentmindedly reached for his drink hoping the alcohol might wash away reality, but his glass ran dry.
"You want another one of those?" Neil slung a rag over his shoulder and looked at the Coastie.
Nodding, the rescue swimmer pushed his glass towards the edge of the bar. "Ever been to Alaska, Neil?" Graham's eye drifted to the folded letter hidden by its USCG stamped envelope that he'd put on the bar.
Pouring the scotch over ice, Tric's bartender shook his head. "Can't say that I have."
Watching the alcohol fill the glass, Graham sighed, "Me either." He got his drink and took a swig, feeling the scotch coat his insides as it went down his throat.
The bar stool next to the Coast Guard officer was taken by a familiar face. Arching her brow with a sarcastic smile only Sawyer Scott could pull off, the music producer bumped into Graham's shoulder. "And what do I owe this pleasure? You're stopping by work just to see me? How sweet." Her facetiousness was riddled with a smirk and her blue eyes.
Turning to his friend and Charlotte's cousin, Graham shook his head. "Not now, Sawyer." He moved his hand to his head and started to soothe an ache that was just starting to gain strength.
The blonde twenty-nine year old instantly saw Graham's troubles crinkle across his brow. "Oh shit. What's wrong?"
He slid the letter towards her and nodded. "Read it."
Her hand pulled the formal document from its covered pouch and her eyes scanned the lines. "Lieutenant Commander McFarland...blah, blah, blah..." Sawyer kept with the lines until she found his reason for worry. "Due to your supreme experience and expertise as a United States Coast Guard rescue swimmer you will serve as an advising officer for Kodiak's A-School program..." Sawyer looked up from the letter and to the green eyed Coastie sitting to her left. "Kodiak? As in polar bears and Eskimos, Alaska?"
With a laugh, Graham nodded and took his letter. "Yeah."
"Wha...Does Charlotte know?"
Graham folded the letter along its creases and tucked it back in the envelop as he shook his head. "Not yet." He took a deep breath and picked up his drink. "She's seven months pregnant and I'm about to drop a bomb on her." He rolled his eyes and shook his head more adamantly, "Charlotte can't catch a break. Two months ago we were dealing with her mom's cancer scare and now I have to go to Alaska."
With a smile, Sawyer tried to change the tone of the mood. "Can't you ask Ben to go for you? He's done it before. He'd probably do it again."
Graham wasn't going to do that. Not after letting Ben take the Texas job for him. He shook his head and got out some money and placed it on the bar. "I wouldn't, but even if I did he couldn't go. Ben's not a rescue swimmer."
Sawyer knew that but thought offering up Ben might make Graham smile. It didn't work and the worry on the young dad's face was a little heartbreaking. Sawyer could tell that he didn't want to go. "How long will you be gone?" Sawyer hoped it wasn't long. Her best friend needed her husband. Hattie needed her dad. The new baby needed his dad.
"Twenty to twenty-four weeks." He shrugged, "Depends on the candidates, really." The faster and harder the A-school students worked, the faster he could get home.
Quickly realizing that was at least five months, Sawyer swallowed hard. "If you need me to watch the mad hatter while you figure things out I will. Just drop her off..."
"Thanks..." He shook his head. "But I gotta get going." Graham grabbed his jacket, nodded towards Neil, and then headed outside. He was headed home. Home to Charlotte and Hattie. Home to the house they'd bought nearly four years ago; the home that wasn't going to be home very much longer. At least not for him.
Charlotte was cutting new potatoes when she saw the white Tahoe pull into the driveway. A smile started to spread across her cheeks and she turned to the little girl who was playing with colorful blocks on the kitchen floor. "Somebody just got here, Hattie. I wonder who it could be?"
Big brown eyes looked up to a set of matching ones and the twenty-one month old started to get up. She stuck her bottom in the air as she rose to her feet and quickly stomped over to the front door. Pressing her face against the glass, the toddler's excitement started to shine through when she began to bang on the door when she saw that familiar man dressed in blue.
Charlotte couldn't help but smile when she heard their daughter's sweet and excited laughter. She tossed the potatoes in the colander to run some water over them and heard the front door open.
Even with his sour mood, seeing that little girl waiting for him at the door made Graham's heart swell and his smile had nowhere to hide. He opened up the front door and scooped up Hattie. "Hey, minnow!" He blew a quick raspberry against her cheek and smiled smiled. "How are you?"
"Pie me, pie me...!" Hattie flapped her arms and wanted her dad to fly her through the air.
"Fly you?" Securing his arms around her, Graham nodded and started to guide the little girl through the air. His path through the house led him to the kitchen and he almost stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Charlotte. Her back was to him but she still looked beautiful. Simply rinsing potatoes, and that woman nearly made Graham's heart burst at the seams.
Turning to look over her shoulder, Charlotte flashed a sweet grin. "I think I narrowed it down to two." Even though they were settled on Scott, the baby needed another name. She wiped her hands with a paper towel and nodded.
"Oh yeah?" Graham set Hattie down and walked towards his wife.
"Mmm-huh." Charlotte felt his hands on her stomach and she put her arms around his shoulders. "Off the the list you made I like Hutton and Gray."
"Hutton Scott McFarland, or Scott Hutton McFarland?" Graham's eyes flew to Charlotte's pregnant belly as he said the potential names out loud.
"Or Scott Gray McFarland." Charlotte nodded with a smile. "I don't know. I'm having trouble deciding." She rested one of her hands above his and shrugged. "Do you have a favorite?"
Graham shook his head and glanced up from her belly to those brown eyes of hers. "You?"
Feeling her cheeks heat, Charlotte laughed and rolled her eyes. "I don't know, honey. Scott You McFarland doesn't really have a good ring to it."
He hadn't suggested it as a name, he just couldn't stop thinking about Charlotte. Ever since he'd gotten that letter she'd been the only thing on his mind. Now that she was in front of him, he couldn't stop staring. Graham's green eyes started to deepen and he took a step closer. "I love you."
Something about Graham was off and Charlotte knew it. "Babe, what is it?" His slow response made Charlotte kiss him quickly, and the whiskey on his breath made her brow furrow. If he'd had a drink before he came home something bad happened at work. "Did you miss a save today?" One of her hands moved down his shoulder to his back and she soothingly rubbed it with a concerned look.
"No...I uh..." He felt nervous. Graham took a deep breath and pulled the letter from his pocket. "I got a new assignment."
Feeling her face fall, Charlotte also felt her stomach twist in knots. "You did?" She knew it had to be far away considering his demeanor. "Where? How long?"
"Kodiak, Alaska."
Moving away from Graham, Charlotte felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Kodiak, Alaska? Wasn't that one of the most dangerous bases in all of the Coast Guard? "For how long? When do you leave?" Her eyes had a glossy sheen as she turned to her husband.
"Charlotte..." He didn't want her to get upset. Graham hated that he had to put her through this.
Her shoulders shrugged and she bit her lip. "Just tell me, Graham."
Instead of beating around the bush, he gave her the answers she wanted. Maybe not the answers she wanted, but the answers to her questions. "I leave April tenth for five months, maybe six."
Sitting down, Charlotte felt like she was going to throw up. "Six months?"
Walking to her side, Graham pulled up a chair in front of her. "I know it seems like a long time, but..."
"April tenth?" Charlotte sighed heavily and rested her head in her hands. "God, I hope I don't have this baby late." The little McFarland boy was due in late March but the date wasn't ever in stone.
"You won't, and if you do I'll work around it." Graham put his hand on her stomach and shook his head. "I'm not missing this, Charlotte." There were a lot of things Graham was going to miss and a lot of things he already missed from being an active Coastie, but the birth of a child was not one of them.
"So April to Sep...October?" Charlotte knew better than to hope for the earlier month.
"Probably." He nodded and reached out for her hand.
"And it's dumb for me to come, isn't it? I'll have a brand new baby who probably isn't even supposed to fly, a two year old, and I won't have the support system up there like I have here."
Nodding, Graham shrugged. "It's your decision, but I think you know what's best."
"I do." She didn't want him to leave, but between her options, Charlotte knew the route she needed to take. She needed to stay in Tree Hill.
"And A-school is an around the clock thing. Drilling from six to six and then practice missions. It's hectic." Even if Charlotte and the kids did come to Kodiak he'd see them in brief instances which didn't make a move for them plausible.
Charlotte assumed as much. She'd heard stories of his days about the program and how brutal it was. Throw in the Alaskan weather and it was probably ten times as hard. It was smart for her to stay. They had the house, their family; home was in Tree Hill. Spending any length of time away from Graham was never what she wanted, but as a military wife, it was the life she signed up for.
Taking a deep breath, the brown eyed mom looked to Graham and shrugged. "I..." Her pregnancy emotions were starting to shine through. Charlotte's tears filled those big brown orbs of hers and she started to slowly get off the chair, using the table as a crutch to help lift her growing belly. "Will you finish that?" She pointed at the potatoes and started walking towards the bedroom. She needed to lay down.
"Charlotte..." Graham got up and wanted to say something that would make her feel better.
Turning around, Charlotte shook her head. "I'll be fine."
Left in the kitchen, Graham took a deep breath. Then he felt a tug on his pants and looked down to a little girl who could make a bad day better. "Hey, Minnow."
"Up."
Scooping up the little girl, Graham put Hattie on his shoulders and held her back for support. "How about helping me finish this?"
While Graham and Hattie tended to dinner, Charlotte found herself softly crying in bed. She was ready for him to go for an extended amount of time, but she was going to have to find the will to make it through. Her hands roamed over her belly in hopes of finding comfort in the motion. When she felt a kick, Charlotte smiled. Baby Mac would keep her company while his dad was gone. He and Hattie both would.
OTHOTH
-Late March
Charlotte was trying to set a speed record for putting on clothes. So far she was doing a pretty decent job considering she had a full term pregnancy belly that kept getting in her way. Standing in front of the mirror, clad in only her bra and underwear, Charlotte was trying to get her pants up when she felt him come up behind her. He kissed the top of her shoulder and she raised it to her ear to keep him at bay. "Graham..."
"You don't have to leave yet."
His voice tickled her neck and she bit her lip. "Stop..." She pulled mightily on her pants and bugged her eyes when she felt her husband's hands dangerously close to her bra clasp. "You have already made me late."
"Mmm..." Wrapping his arms around her stomach and peppering her shoulder with a few more kisses, the Coastie grinned against her skin. "I didn't hear you complaining."
Cheeks roasted with the darkest shade of red, Charlotte lightly elbowed him. "Graham! Just...just get me my shirt...please."
Didn't she mean his shirt. Technically is was one of his, but obviously she wasn't getting technical. Her shirt had been thrown on the bedroom floor and he picked it up with a smile. "You don't have to go to Sawyer's. You can stay here." Hattie was with her parents and they had the whole house to themselves.
Graham was putting on his best look, giving her the puppy-dog eyes and everything, but Charlotte had to resist. "I have been cooped up in this house for the last month. I want to get out, and I missed Sawyer's birthday because I was so uncomfortable that day, so we're doing our own thing tonight."
He knew Charlotte had plans. He had plans with the guys, as well, but it didn't mean he couldn't try to persuade her into doing other things. Holding out the button-down shirt, Graham helped Charlotte get it on and smirked as he started to button her buttons. "I think I like this method more."
"What? You buttoning my buttons?" Charlotte laughed and felt him move up her shirt as he finished the job.
Grinning with a laugh, Graham shook his head. "No. Having sex to induce labor." He glanced at her belly and knew that their little guy was three days late. With Graham leaving town in less than two weeks, they were trying all the home remedies they could find to get Charlotte's labor spurred. So far nothing was helping, and they were willing to try just about anything.
"Oh...that." Charlotte started to smile. "Yeah..." She haphazardly shrugged "I guess so." Her smile started to curl from her lips as Graham's face fell.
"You guess so? Oh, really?" He laughed and started to un-do the buttons he just did.
Holding her hands in front of her chest, Charlotte laughed. "Okay, okay. Yes..." She leaned close and placed a lingering kiss on his lips. "It wasn't so bad." Of the multiple home and natural remedies, sex was one of the good ones. Taking castor oil was a common practice but the side-effects were less than pleasant. Quickly moving past Graham, Charlotte fluffed her up hair and grabbed her purse. She looked at her husband and crossed her arms. "Well come on, you have to drive me."
Graham just laughed and grabbed a shirt. Charlotte's protruding belly made for a troubling driving experience as of late. It was better if someone did the driving for her.
When the couple got outside, Graham helped his wife get in and then he headed over to Sawyer's. She'd turned thirty just a few days ago and since Charlotte hadn't been able to make it out to Mexican to watch all their friends salute the music producer with margaritas, Charlotte was going over to celebrate tonight.
Pulling up to the curb, Graham stopped the car. "You want me to help you get out?"
Laughing, Charlotte shook her head. "I'm pregnant, not elderly." She leaned into kiss him with a smile. "I'll call you later. I probably won't be able to stay up past eleven so..."
"I'll be here." Graham kissed Charlotte back and watched her waddle up to the front door.
Sawyer saw the headlights in front of the house and opened to door to see her best friend and cousin looking rather plump. "Well only forty minutes late." The cool March air let a breeze run through the house as Sawyer stood in her doorway.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." Charlotte winced and turned to wave Graham off.
Arching her brow, Sawyer waved at Graham as he drove away. "He had something to do with your tardiness, didn't he?"
"What? No." Charlotte quickly dismissed the idea causing Sawyer to laugh.
"Oh, Charlotte Scott McFarland you are the world's worst liar."
Shrugging, Charlotte walked into Sawyer's house. "Well anyways...what's on the docket tonight? Which movie are we watching?"
"Thelma and Louise, Char." Sawyer laughed like it had been a dumb question. "Story of our lives, right?"
Laughing out loud, Charlotte took a spot on the couch. "Hardly."
"Then what movie is ours?" Sawyer dialed the pizza place on her phone to order dinner before they got set with their movie.
"Ours are different." Charlotte loved the fact that Sawyer handed her a blended margarita but smelled it first. "Is there alcohol in this?"
"Yes, Mrs.-I'm-about-to-pop-out-a-baby-and-alcohol-is-totally-good-for-me." Sawyer laughed and shook her head. "Hell no. I'm not that irresponsible. But sorry if it's a little melty. Someone was late, remember."
Sipping on the slushy non-alcoholic margarita, Charlotte laughed. "Well...your movie should be a combination of Empire Records, Bull Durham, and...Mean Girls."
"Mean Girls!" Sawyer's mouth fell open as she walked back towards the kitchen. "What?" Laughing as she got herself a drink, Sawyer made sure to put the tequila in it. "Alright, I'll play this game. How about Cheaper by the Dozen for you? I mean at this rate, you and Graham are gonna have twelve kids."
Resting her hands on her stomach, Charlotte laughed. "Twelve is a frightening number." She and Graham wanted a big family but twelve was pushing it; pushing it way too far.
"That it is." Sawyer nodded and sat down next to her best friend. "I can't imagine doing that." Twirling her finger around Charlotte's belly, the blonde grimaced. "And besides, I'm thirty now. I'm past my prime."
Disregarding the second half of Sawyer's sentence, Charlotte smiled. "Happy late birthday, by the way." She turned to Sawyer and looked a little more serious. "Sorry I couldn't go out a few days ago."
Smiling but shaking her head, Sawyer shrugged. "You're here now."
Holding out her drink, Charlotte nodded as she tapped her glass with Sawyer's.
The girls got situated with their movie and enjoyed the women driven characters as the story played out on screen. The pizza boy came and delivered an extra large, extra-cheese, thick crust pizza that Charlotte all but devoured on her own. In her defense, she was eating for two.
With about thirty minute of their movie left, Sawyer opted to the kitchen to get refills. She came back in the living room and turned her nose up. "Dear Jesus, was that Trout?" She put down Charlotte's drink and waved that rank smell away from her face. "Outside, boy. Come on." She snapped once and led the dog outside.
Meanwhile, Charlotte found herself in a laughing fit that made her belly bounce with each giggle. She was so bad. Not to mention she couldn't believe she was letting Trout take the heat. None of it would have happened, but it was just too hard for her to get up and go to the bathroom with so much belly in her way.
Sawyer came back in the room with a hilarious expression. "Whoa, sorry about him. You know how he gets." Charlotte only burst out laughing even harder and Sawyer turned to her friend confused. "What?"
Trying to spit out the truth, Charlotte only laughed harder which then allowed Sawyer the time to put the pieces together. "Oh..oh my God. You farted! You're the culprit!" She couldn't get it halfway out of her mouth without laughing herself.
In between laughs and trying to wipe the tears off her face from laughing so hard, Charlotte pointed at herself. "I couldn't get up...it was all that cheese." At this point she was over being embarrassed about it. Too much dairy didn't suit her well.
"When he's born I'm calling him Stink Bomb, or Scott McStinky." Sawyer pointed at Charlotte's belly and was laughing so hard she was in tears now.
"I'm sorry." Charlotte was trying to soothe her laughter and then when she leaned up to reach her drink Charlotte felt something other than laughter. "Oh my God."
Bugging her eyes, Sawyer gasped. "Please don't tell me you did it again!"
Looking down, Charlotte shook her head. "No...my...my water broke."
"What." Looking rather ridiculous as she tried to get up out of her seat in a speedy fashion, Sawyer's mouth fell open. "You're kidding?"
Feeling the wet spot, Charlotte shook her head. "No...we need to go."
"Fuck." Quickly covering her mouth, Sawyer's eyes remained bugged. "Sorry, I hope he couldn't hear me."
"Help me up?"
Sawyer did as she was asked but one glance at the wet spot on her couch and she was starting to feel faint. Why did people say 'my water broke'? That shit didn't look like water at all. "Oh, I'm gonna gag. I'm gonna gag!" Add this to the list of why Sawyer never wanted kids. Pregnancy was just plain nasty.
Charlotte was trying to stay calm but her best friend was not helping the situation. "Sawyer, get a phone."
With her nerves shot, Sawyer searched for her phone and held it out.
"Well call Graham!"
"Right!" Dialing his number, Sawyer waited for an answer.
"Hello?"
The voice she heard wasn't Graham's. "Ben? What the hell? Where's Graham? Charlotte's in labor!"
Graham was flipping burgers on the grill while the rest of the guys got ready for half-time as the Bobcats faced off with the Grizzlies, so the Tennessee born Coastie answered his phone. Stunned at what Sawyer was telling him, Ben looked around flabbergasted. "Uh...uh...uh."
"Get with the program, Trammell! Charlotte's having the baby!"
"Graham!" Ben yelled for his friend and the green eyed Coastie came in with a raised brow.
"What?" He was about to come in and take a head count of who wanted cheese on their burgers.
"It's Charlotte, she's...in labor."
"Now?" Those green eyes of Graham's got as wide as saucers.
Sawyer heard Graham through the phone and she nodded. "Yes now, what do I do!"
Ben was like the mediator. "What does Sawyer do?"
"Tell her to take Charlotte to the hospital. We'll meet them there."
Relaying the message, Ben heard Sawyer's dial tone after she hung up and turned to Graham, stunned at the events that just took place. His baffled state of mind changed when he started to grin. Holding out his hands, Ben nodded. "Come on man. You've a kid on the way!"
As the Graham and the other guys raced out of the house, Sawyer was trying to help Charlotte in the car. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God..."
"Sawyer...deep breaths. Deep. Slow. Breaths." Charlotte had felt a few contractions during this whole ordeal but knew that they were pretty far part. "Just breathe, Sawyer."
"Ha...why am I getting direction on how to breathe," she asked rhetorically. Sawyer hadn't meant to get so worked up. "You're the one having the baby!" Jumping in the driver's seat, the blonde cranked her old convertible and peeled out of the driveway like a very cautious hell on wheels.
The hospital wasn't far way and with Sawyer's mad driving skills, the two Scott girls got there in no time. Hurrying to get a wheelchair from the lobby, Sawyer sprinted back to the car and got Charlotte in. "Are you good?"
"Perfect." Charlotte wasn't in pain so much as she was nervous. She'd never thought this is how they'd be experiencing this baby's birth.
"Is Liza working? That would be epic."
Laughing, Charlotte shook her head. "No. She doesn't work nights." Jamie's wife a pediatric nurse but that didn't mean she could lend her nursing expertise. Liza would be so much better in this situation than Sawyer.
The hospital door slid open and Sawyer ushered Charlotte into the elevators. "Maternity is upstairs, right?"
"Yeah."
Sawyer pushed the up button and waited for the doors to open before they got in. Outside the hospital Graham had just arrived. Ben let him out at the front, and the expectant father hurried inside.
Catching a glimpse of her husband, Charlotte reached out. "Graham..."
Hearing his name, Graham turned to see Charlotte just as the doors started to close. He tried to hurry over and catch the elevator before it went up, but he was too late.
The second elevator dinged and Graham jumped in that one, hitting the maternity floor button as hard as he could. As soon as the doors opened on the appropriate floor, Graham saw Charlotte and Sawyer by the nurses station. He hustled over to his wife and knelt down by her. "Hey."
Looking up when she heard his voice, Charlotte met his smile with her own. "Hi."
"So we're having the baby?"
Nodding, Charlotte put her hands on her stomach. "We're having the baby."
"Let's get you situated in the room, Mrs. McFarland. We'll get you set up and have Doctor Walker in shortly."
"Great, thank you."
Stepping away from the wheelchair, Sawyer held out her hands as if to pass the reigns. "She's all yours."
"Thank you, Sawyer. For getting her here. For all of it."
Nodding with a grin, Sawyer crossed her arms and watched her two friends wheel away towards Charlotte's room. "You owe me a new couch, by the way!" Sawyer laughed and couldn't help but shake her head at all that had unfolded.
Laughing, Graham furrowed his brow. "What did you do to Sawyer's couch?" He opened up the door to Charlotte's room and then pushed her in.
"My water broke...on it."
The Coastie couldn't help but laugh, and the duo got situated in the room until Dr. Walker came in. He told them it would be a few hours before anything significant happened which gave time for Charlotte and Graham's family to get there. Nathan and Haley made it to the hospital, and Graham's parents were headed down first thing in the morning.
As soon as Haley set foot on the maternity floor, she was pointed in the right direction by Ben. The older mom walked into her twenty-eight year old's room with a smile. "Hi, honey."
"Mom, hi." Charlotte leaned back in her pillows with a relieved sigh. Graham was absolutely the most important person to be by her side, but having her mom there made things even better. For the most part.
"Brooke sends balloons." Nathan walked into the hospital room with a bundle of blue balloons. "Since she's watching Hattie for us, she wanted to send something till she can get here."
"That was sweet of her." Charlotte admired the balloons and expected nothing less of her Aunt Brooke.
All of the adults heard the beeping from Charlotte's passing contractions and Graham held his wife's hand as he looked to his in-laws. "I think the baby knows we want him to get here before I leave."
"Probably." Haley smiled with warm eyes and knew that her newest grandchild would only get to spend two weeks with his dad before Graham had to leave for Alaska. "Any word about that. Will Charlotte get to come visit you?"
Another beep from Charlotte's machine echoed through the room but it wasn't a contraction. It signaled a spike in her heart rate. She shook her head and closed her eyes. "Mom...not now." Charlotte didn't want to talk about Alaska. Pretty soon she'd be living it. Graham would be gone, she'd have a newborn, a near two year old, and no plans to see her husband until he came back to North Carolina in October. It was only late March so October seemed like light years away.
Seeing the stress on Charlotte's brow, Nathan reached out for his daughter's arm. "Let us know if you need anything. We'll be back." He knew that the couple might want a minute or two alone, so Nathan figured he could get Haley out of the room for a little while. It might do Charlotte so good, too.
Nodding towards her father, Charlotte appreciated his gesture. She took Graham's hand when her parents left the room and she looked at him for what felt like forever. "I don't want you to go." There was no choice in the matter, but it didn't mean Charlotte couldn't say it.
"I know." He felt helpless, but Graham knew how she was feeling. "I know." He kissed the inside of her wrist and pressed his against his cheek. "Everything's gonna be okay."
Nodding, Charlotte knew it would be. Shifting on her side, she took a deep breath as she rode out a contraction. "I need to practice my story telling. Hattie's gonna expect a lot out of me when you're gone." She smiled and closed her eyes.
Smiling, Graham nodded. "Tell me a story."
With eyes still closed, Charlotte started to repeat a story she'd heard from her husband about a valiant sailor who acted as the peoples' hero. A native along the shores of the Carolina banks, the old man guided those who were in need and warned them in case of danger.
As the expectant mother went on about the sailor, Charlotte's story was interrupted as her pain increased with each passing minute. She didn't get to finish the ending but it didn't matter. Charlotte and Graham both knew the ending.
What became more important and more heartwarming than the story came at 4:16am. In the early morning hours, the newest addition to the McFarland brood came into the world with green eyes and a tuft of dark hair. Scott Gray McFarland was finally here.
It was a shame that Graham would be leaving so soon. He'd have to enjoy his time with the baby as much as he could. Kodiak was calling his name, and Graham couldn't do anything to change it.
OTHOTH
April rolled around faster than anyone wanted it to, and on the morning of the 10th, Charlotte woke up to an empty bed. Graham hadn't left yet, but he gone somewhere. The bassinet by the side of the bed was quiet and empty, so she knew he must have been with the baby.
Slowly getting out of bed, Charlotte started to leave the bedroom but stopped just as she got into the living room. Graham was sitting on the couch with not only their son, but Hattie was curled into the side of her father as well. Charlotte couldn't make out Graham's soft whispers but whatever he was saying nearly made her tear up. It was an image she'd never want to forget.
Mack heard the floor creak with Charlotte's weight and his ears perked up. Graham noticed and turned to see his wife and he smiled. They shared a silent 'good morning' and Charlotte slowly walked over to her family.
"Hey." Graham watched Charlotte sit down and he turned to her with their youngest cradled in his arms. "He woke up about two hours ago. She did about twenty."
The toddler between Charlotte and Graham was barely asleep. Charlotte ran her hand over Hattie's soft hair and smiled with the little girl started to lean into her side.
Graham looked to the little boy in his arms and could see his eyes flutter as he slept. Turning to Charlotte with a smile, Graham grinned. "He's so little."
Admiring Scott, Charlotte nodded. "Green eyes, brown hair..." Looking to Graham, she smiled. "I won't have to look far for a reminder of you."
There it was; another reminder that he'd be leaving. Graham took a deep breath and looked at his watch. "I should probably get dressed." He started to hand over their son and quietly got up, hoping he wouldn't wake up their children.
Charlotte stayed like that for a while- simply looked at her peaceful kids while Graham got ready for his flight. Haley was coming over to watch the kids while she took him to the airport so when she heard her mom's voice, Charlotte realized how much time flew by.
"Morning."
Smiling at her mom, Charlotte nodded. "Morning."
Hattie had woken up and met her grandmother halfway into the house. "Sot." The little girl pointed at her mom as Haley picked her up.
"That's Scott, huh?" Haley flashed Hattie a cute, curious smile and the little girl's big brown eyes got bigger.
"He'll wake up soon, and want a bottle. There are a few in the fridge ready to go. She may not eat much for breakfast so don't worry about cooking. I'm gonna get dressed and Graham will be out here soon to say goodbye to the kids." Charlotte passed Scott over to her mom with a quiver in her voice. "I don't think I can watch that."
Haley understood, nodding as she took her second grandson in her arms.
Charlotte walked into the bedroom and saw Graham going over his packed duffel. She could already feel herself getting emotional and headed into the bathroom. "Mom's here. I'll be ready in fifteen minutes."
She disappeared behind the bathroom door before he could respond. Graham knew it was hard for her. It was hard for him. He greeted Haley, took his bags out to the car, and then did one of the hardest things he would ever have to do. The only upside in telling his kids goodbye was the fact that they were too little to know what what going on. Hattie would catch on in a few days when he wasn't around, but Scott might not even notice Graham's disappearance which killed the Coastie dad. He wanted his son to know him, and now that he was leaving, Graham was afraid Scott wouldn't know him at all.
"Thanks for doing this, Haley." Graham took his son into his arms and nodded at his mother-in-law.
Haley didn't need his thanks, but smiled anyway.
Clearing his throat, Graham looked at the baby boy with kind eyes. "Alright, you. Man of the house, okay? Take care of your mom and your sister. Mack will have your back, and if he starts barking it just means he loves you." Graham felt his throat close up and he nodded. "I love you."
Charlotte had been right. She didn't want to see it; Haley was hardly keeping it together just overhearing it. She stepped away from her son-in-law and waited for the father and son to have their moment together until she got the baby back.
Graham didn't realize how hard this was going to be until he was doing it. He kissed Scott on the head about a million times before passing him over to Haley. Seeing Hattie on the floor with a stuffed animal, Graham walked over to her. "Hey, Minnow..."
Looking over her shoulder, Hattie smiled at her dad and ran over to him.
"I'm leaving for awhile, alright?"
"Bye, bye?"
"Yeah. I'm going bye-bye." Graham nodded. "I'm going away on a big plane today..." Between connections it would actually be multiple planes, but Graham didn't need to explain that to his oldest.
"Ooh, ooh. Pie me! Pie me!"
Laughing, Graham nodded and figured he could fly Hattie around the house one last time. The next time he'd do it wouldn't be until fall.
While Graham was flying Hattie around the house, Charlotte was debating on mascara. She knew she'd just cry it off at some point, and none of that stuff was really even water-proof. Opting to go without it, Charlotte took one last look in the mirror and then headed out of the bathroom. When she saw Hattie and Graham she about lost it, but kept it together as best as she could. She checked on Scott and then heard Graham saying bye to their oldest.
"Hey, Hat...you know what?" Graham had Hattie sitting on his forearm and her head was resting against his cheek. "When I get back it'll be you and me trick-or-treating, alright? You can dress up however you want."
"Me you." Hattie reached for Graham's cap and put it on her head sideways. "Me, you."
Smiling at Hattie's Coast Guard look, Graham kissed the little girl on the cheek and took his hat back. "I'm gonna need that back though, Minnow."
"Me." Hattie furrowed her brow and reached back for her dad's hat.
Graham moved away from those little hands of hers and shook his head. Hattie's eyes started to well with tears and Graham looked to Charlotte and Haley for help.
Charlotte got up and walked over to Graham and Hattie. She looked to their little girl and nodded, "Uncle Ben will let you wear his hat later, but Daddy needs his today." Smiling, Charlotte rubbed on Hattie's back, "And you better give Daddy a big hug. You won't see him for a while."
The little brown eyed girl threw her arms around Graham and prompted to give him and open mouth kiss on the cheek. It was a little sloppy, but sweet nonetheless.
"Behave, Minnow. I'm counting on you."
Charlotte's eyes were stinging as she fought back tears. This was so much harder than saying goodbye for a Diligence patrol. Graham was going away for so much longer. She took a step away from Hattie and Graham to take a deep breath.
After a final goodbye, Graham put Hattie down and watched her run towards her grandmother. "Bye, Haley."
"Stay safe, Graham." Haley nodded to her son-in-law and wondered if her tone conveyed the message of fact. They didn't need anything to go wrong. Charlotte didn't need anything to go wrong.
Graham nodded. "I will." He put an arm around his wife and they both walked out the door.
The car ride to the airport was uncomfortably silent. There were few words if any, and the Coastie simply took Charlotte's hand the entire way there. It was all he could think to do.
When they parked and Graham got his bags out of the car, Charlotte waited for him to check in with the airline and the empty feeling in her stomach was making her whole body ache. After Graham was done, he walked over to her, looking especially handsome in his uniform.
"You do wanna go sit down somewhere? I've got thirty minutes before I board." Charlotte nodded and slipped her arm through Graham's as they walked to the airport Starbucks. He sat across from her and took a deep breath. "When I'm gone if you need anything around the house call Jamie or Ben...or you're dad. You've got a whole Coast Guard base who will be at your beck and call."
Smiling, Charlotte nodded, "Ben already told me he wanted to tighten up that loose board on the front porch."
Glad that Ben was already taking initiative, Graham added, "And Sawyer said she'd probably be over all the time."
"Between her and mom, Aunt Brooke, and Liza, I don't think I'll spend much time alone."
"I'll have my cell phone when I'm not working, training, or on a mission. We've done the Skype stuff before and email..." Graham sighed and looked at his wife with a heavy heart. "There's not a day that will go by where we won't talk."
Nodding, Charlotte was trying to make the best of it. "I have your address written on the fridge so I can send you things." Charlotte wasn't sure what she'd send him. Pictures, letters, anything really. "I don't think food will travel well but I might find a way to surprise you."
Smiling, Graham laughed. "If you find a way to ship a dump cake up there I'll try to get home early."
"I'll try." She cracked a smile at his joke.
Leaning over the table, Graham took both of Charlotte's hand and couldn't help but look at that ring on her left finger. "Happy early anniversary."
The fact that he would be missing their four year wedding anniversary hadn't even crossed her mind. Considering he wouldn't be home until October meant Graham would miss the September date. He was going to miss other things, too. Hattie's second birthday was at the end of the month, Charlotte's twenty-ninth birthday was in June, the Diligence Dash- the event that started it all six years ago, and their anniversary; Graham was missing a lot.
"And happy early birthday." He looked into her dark brown eyes and shrugged. "God...I can't believe I'm missing so much."
Charlotte shook her head. "In the big scheme of things it won't be much." Her eyes traveled down to Graham's grandmother's ring that graced her finger. "What's one anniversary when we'll have fifty more?"
He started to smile thinking about that perspective and leaned into to kiss her sweetly. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Charlotte locked her eyes with his green ones and nodded. "Today, tomorrow..."
"...and the day after that." Graham finished Charlotte's thought with a cute grin. He got up from his chair and they started walking toward security. It was as far as Charlotte could go.
Standing where the line began, Charlotte ran her hands over the flaps of his jacket, dusting it off out of habit.
"You know you clean when you get antsy or something's on your mind."
"I know." Charlotte pulled her hand away and took a step forward. "Please be careful up there. Be safe." Charlotte's throat was filling with emotion. "Come home."
Pushing on of his hands through her hair, Graham shook his head. "You won't have to worry about that, Charlotte. I'm coming home. I will."
He better. Charlotte wasn't ready for anything to the contrary. She never would be. Wrapping her arms around his muscular frame, Charlotte breathed in Graham's scent and hoped his smell would never go away.
She felt so small in his arms, and Graham held onto Charlotte for as long as he could.
The loud speaker announced final boarding calls for certain terminals and Graham's was mentioned.
"I have to go." He pressed his mouth to the side of her temple.
Her lip started to quiver but before she could cry, Charlotte placed a few short, sweet kisses on him. "I love you, Graham. I'll be here. All three of us."
"I love you, too." He kissed her one more time and turned to walk away.
Charlotte watched him leave and her heart dropped to her stomach just as a tear fell down her cheek. She'd done a really good job so far, but now she knew there wasn't any use in holding it back. Once he disappeared out of sight, Charlotte headed outside and got into the car with a sense of emptiness. She drove towards home and pulled into the driveway behind the Tahoe that would stay relatively stagnant for the next six months.
When she opened up the door, Charlotte heard some chatter coming from the kitchen and saw Hattie in the high chair smashing up some banana against her plate. Her mom was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs feeding Scott and Charlotte simply burst into tears.
Haley looked up and furrowed her brow. "Honey..." She got up and walked over to her youngest, and hugged Charlotte as best as she could with a baby in her arms.
"It was so hard, Mom. So hard." She looked at Scott and then to Hattie, wiping her eyes as the tears rolled down her cheeks. "And now I have to do this alone."
"You're not alone, Charlotte." Haley held her daughter closer and rubbed her back. "You'll never be alone in this."
Charlotte knew that was the truth, but it didn't make it any easier. These first few days were going to be the worst. If she could get through this, she could make through six months. Hopefully time would fly by.
OTHOTH
So Graham's in Alaska and Charlotte's home with two young kids. Next chapter we'll see how well/not well she deals with being a "single" parent for lack of a better word. Next chapter will also include a wedding. I was gonna have it in here, but realized I didn't have room.
My reviewers: You guys continue to be the fuel to my fanfiction fire. Thanks for the support and feedback!
Chrissy: Thanks for the input! Drama is coming. I just have to get through some things before I can jump into it. It's on it's way though.
Anonymoususer: Hey again, replying here for now. Ugh, yeah the lap-top issue is getting really aggravating. I can't wait till I get a new one for Christmas. Literally I'm counting down the days, lol. I think I've adapted pretty well, but it's getting annoying, ha. I will always emphasize the kids' eye colors cause I think it adds character and personality to them. For instance since Hattie has Haley and Charlotte's eyes you can imagine she'd most like them. Scott has Graham's eyes and will be most like Graham, so on and so forth. Ha, well, I'm glad you find the stories educational. I'll admit. Nothing's perfect. I'm not in the Coast Guard nor is anyone I know, so my portrayal will not be perfect but I do research things before writing about it. And to clear things up, Hattie didn't cry because of her parents shock of her walking- she cried because when the camera broke it scared her. You're right, I sped through this pregnancy seeing as I've already written on pregnancy already- I didn't want to be repetitive and I needed to move the story along. Glad you liked the cancer scare inclusion. Also, thanks for the baby name suggestion even if I didn't choose it. And looks like you got what you wanted in Scott since he has green eyes. That's was planned from the get-go so I'm glad it matched up with what you wanted. I appreciate the feedback!
Review Please!