Little Moments: Like Mother, Like Daughter's

Chapter 28: As Fate Sets Its Course

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own anything related to the show.

A/N: Here we go guys. Here's the next chapter for Charlotte and Graham. Last time it was Thanksgiving and now it's March and will span into September. Scott's one, Hattie starts the story almost three and by the end she'll be three, Davis is getting married, and things are falling into place. But something's lurking on the horizon that might just make everything fall apart. *And, if you read Sawyer's story you may want to hold off on this chapter because it is SPOILERISH for her. Your decision, but you may want to wait if you can or want to. No mention of "sushi guy" or anything, but something big is set up. Other than that note, enjoy!

OTHOTH

The noise from the hairdryer muffled the noise coming from the other side of the bathroom door. While Charlotte was getting ready for lunch with the women in her family, Graham was playing with the kids on the bed. Pillows were being flung and little children were pushed into covers with belly laughs that were contagious. Horsing around was kinda fun.

"Daddy, me!" The nearly three year old little girl stood up with a smile. Her dad was going to push her into the pillows and she was excited. "Sott move!" She looked at her little brother and wanted him to get out of the way.

Laughing, Graham shook his head, "Hold on a sec, Minnow. He's a little bit slower than you are." Reaching over to pick-up his one year old son, the father of two got the boy in his arms. "Come here, Sailor. We don't want your sister falling on top of you."

Hattie was anxiously waiting to get pushed into the pillows. Something about the rush of excitement had the little girl in a happy daze. "My turn."

Graham pushed his oldest into the pillows and loved the way she laughed. He held Scott over the comforter and pillows, dropping the boy with a grin. Grham watched the dark haired, green-eyed one year old smile and roll over for more.

In the bathroom away from the madness, Charlotte tried to hurry up and finish getting dressed. She knew she didn't have a lot of time until Sawyer got there, and after that they would still be in a rush. The young women had to swing by Clothes of Bro's to grab their dresses for Davis and Amelia's wedding tomorrow, and then they'd be off to lunch. So after quick dab of make-up, fingers through her hair, and a glance in the mirror, Charlotte was ready. She walked out of the bathroom and smiled at her children and husband. The Coastie was so good with them. Graham was a natural.

While she admired her family, Charlotte heard Sawyer's horn and she walked closer to the bed. "That's me. I'll be back later." She put her hand on Graham's back and smiled at the two small children. "Be good for Daddy, okay."

"Otay!" Hattie eagerly ran up to her father and closed her eyes and waited for another push.

Charlotte just laughed at their daughter and shook her head. "Careful. I don't want you falling off the bed." Glancing down, she saw her son. "And you either." Charlotte picked up the little boy and looked into his green eyes that matched his father's. "I'll see you later, Scott." Pressing a sweet kiss against his cheek, Charlotte put the one year old back down on the bed.

Graham looked to his wife and watched her move close to him. He smiled as she leaned in to kiss him. "Have fun."

"Mmm-huh." Charlotte kissed him again, "I'm sure we will."

"Say bye, Mom." Graham glanced to their kids with a smile.

"Bye." Hattie was still laughing from her last pillow push.

Charlotte smiled and started to walk away. She made it through the house and closed the front door behind her when she got outside. Mack was laying in the front yard in a patch of sunlight gleaming down from behind early spring shower clouds, and Sawyer's music was buzzing from the convertible. Charlotte walked to her cousin's car with a smile. "Hi."

"Hey." The blonde watched her best friend sit down and she started to pull away from the curb. "So what's going on with the kiddos?"

Charlotte laughed with a shrug. "Laughing their little hearts out. Graham was throwing them into pillows on our bed."

Laughing, Sawyer nodded. She'd seen a similar sight a few days ago. "I think Ben was doing that with Hattie at Scott's birthday party."

"He did. Hattie was talking all about it at breakfast." Sawyer's boyfriend of over a year and a half had a way with kids. It was too bad Sawyer was set on never having any. "I don't think Graham wanted to be out-done by cool Uncle Ben so he's been tossing them around for the last twenty minutes."

"Ha." Sawyer started to smirk and turned towards downtown. "I'll tell Ben his little game with the mad-hatter was a big-time success."

The two of them drove towards town and stopped by the shop before heading to lunch. Brooke was already at the restaurant but left a note for the girls with instructions on how to take care of there outfits between now and tomorrow. The rules were mainly for the blonde, but Charlotte would follow them too. As they left, Sawyer begrudgingly picked up the pair of chicken cutlets her aunt set out for her, and Charlotte eyed her navy dress with a smile. Graham's favorite color on her was navy and Brooke knew it.

It took all of three minutes to get to the Riverwalk from the shop, and when they walked in the restaurant, Charlotte saw that everyone was already there. "Sorry we're late." She sat down next to her mom and watched Sawyer take a seat next to Keith's pregnant wife and Peyton.

Brooke waved the girls off. "We haven't been here long. Did you pick up the dresses?"

"Yep, and I got your consolation prize too." Sawyer sipped her water and rolled her eyes.

Peyton laughed out loud knowing what her youngest was talking about. "Sorry, kid. Genetics sucks sometimes."

As the women laughed, Charlotte looked to her raspy voiced aunt, "Aunt Brooke, are you getting excited about tomorrow?"

"Do you mean, am I ready to have my only son get married? No."

Haley could relate. "It's not that bad, Brooke." Jamie had gotten married nearly fifteen years ago and while it had been a little difficult, seeing him happy and in love took anything bad she was feeling away. Jamie and Liza's wedding had been beautiful.

"Yeah, especially when you like the girl he's marrying." Peyton nodded and held her hands to Bridget. "Case in point."

Bridget smiled and put her hands on her four months pregnant belly. "Just wait until Amelia's pregnant, Brooke. "

Wide eyed, the fashion lover started to smile. "That may be the only thing I'm excited about right now." The idea of grandkids was more than exciting. Brooke and babies went together as well as peanut-butter and jelly.

"Well...I thought we were supposed to take you out to lunch to get your mind away from all the wedding stuff. Lets talk about something else." Sawyer grabbed a piece of bread and lathered it with butter.

Changing topics numerous times. The women of Tree Hill talked a little about everything: babies, music, the weather, next month's Azalea festival- all sorts of things. Time flew and before most of them knew it, the early afternoon was turning into late afternoon. They all had a big day in store for tomorrow, so the women filtered out of the restaurant eager for the Baker event. Goodbyes and hugs were exchanged and then Sawyer drove Charlotte back home.

Taking the dress from the back, Charlotte held the bagged navy fabric over her shoulder and smiled at the blonde. "Thanks for the ride."

"Sure. See you tomorrow." Sawyer sped away from the curb and tossed her hand up like she always did.

Charlotte walked inside and heard the microwave in the kitchen. Graham had Hattie on his shoulders and Scott was sitting in his high chair. The little one caught site of his mom and started to bang his sippy cup against the high chair tray, babbling in his excited baby mumble.

"Alright, one second, Sailor..." Graham had his back to Charlotte and didn't know their son was making a ruckus because she was home.

"Hi." Charlotte walked towards the happy baby and watched her husband turn around.

"Mama!" Hattie squeezed her father's hair in her little hands when she saw Charlotte.

"Ow...Hattie." Graham laughed and lifted the nearly three year old off his shoulders.

Hattie ran over to Charlotte and hugged her mom. "Dat your dress?"

Charlotte was still holding to her bagged dress and she nodded. "Yep. Aunt Brooke made it for me."

Graham walked over to the three people he loved most in the world and reached for the dress. "I'll take it to the bedroom." Charlotte had her hands full with the kids.

Appreciatively nodding, Charlotte handed Graham the dress so it wouldn't get anything on it in the kitchen. "Thanks."

The Coastie made his way to the bedroom and smiled at the color. Charlotte did always look good in navy. She'd worn that shade a handful of times, and Graham loved it no matter the style, cut, or fashion. Seeing her in it tomorrow would be a thrill. He'd be in a suit, she'd be in that dress, and they'd make a rather dapper looking couple.

And that they did. The next day, the McFarlands walked hand in hand into the church looking put-together and adorable. They'd left the kids with a babysitter, and Charlotte and Graham found a spot in the pews on the groom's side. It didn't seem that long ago that they'd been the ones doing this. Four and a half years ago it was Charlotte and Graham swapping vows and exchanging rings. That had been one of their best days.

Leaning into her husband's side, Charlotte remembered exactly how she felt- a bundle of nerves with a heated blush and an excitement that had yet to fade. Even after four and a half years, she still felt that way around Graham. Some things would never change.

"I have a funny feeling we may be getting a call from Hannah before the night's over." The rescue swimmer slid down the pew to make room for others and smirked at his wife.

"Probably." Charlotte nodded and felt Graham wrap one of his arms around her side and they both quietly laughed.

When they'd left Hattie and Scott with the babysitter, the kids had been less than pleased that their parents were leaving. Scott started to cry first and then Hattie followed suit. It was a nightmare with both of the kids screaming bloody murder as Charlotte and Graham tried to get out of the house. The traces of snot on Graham's suit was an example of just how hard it had been. Thank goodness for the Tide pen to-go, though. In the car Charlotte had whipped it out of her purse, maneuvered over her seat, and made quick work on her husband's jacket. And it worked, too. You could hardly see a thing.

The married couple watched Davis and Amelia's guests fill into the church. Charlotte's parents, aunt and uncle, and everyone else filtered into the church as the ceremony neared. They probably had about twenty minutes until it actually began, and Graham knew of something that could pass the time.

He leaned his mouth towards Charlotte's ear with a smile when he watched their friends walk into the church. "Ever hear the story about Lorelei?"

"Mmm-ugh." She hadn't. Charlotte looked into her husband's sea green eyes. "Is it a good one?"

Graham nodded. "Lorelei was the town beauty. Wiley and hard-headed- she fell in love. She met a sailor she was gonna marry. They were crazy about each other, but just before the wedding he had to go to sea. Lorelei told him she'd wait, and she did. For months she waited. Three years passed and she was still waiting. Everyone told her his ship had been lost but she didn't believe it. Distraught and heartbroken, the beautiful Lorelei jumped into the ocean..."

"Graham..." Charlotte furrowed her brow. "This doesn't sound like happy one." Anytime she ever thought she'd hear a sad or tragic ending, Charlotte would stop him.

He knew she didn't like that sad stories, but there was a good ending on its way. "She drifted through the waves, hoping the hold of the ocean might drown her sorrows, but somehow she stayed afloat. When night fell upon the young girl, she tried to paddle to shore but the tides held her back. She was stranded in the ocean near a rocky reef a mile from the beach. Exhausted, she wanted to give up, but the sea wouldn't let her. Off in the distance a ship was sailing home." Graham looked to Charlotte and could see her smile return.

"It was him, wasn't it?"

"As the ship neared, one of the sailors spotted something in the water. The crewman's heart broke when he recognized the girl and he hurried to the side shouting, 'Lorelei, Lorelei...have you no mind?' The water was freezing and without thinking, the sailor jumped in the water and swam over to the struggling young woman to tell her to take his hand." Slipping his hand over Charlotte's, Graham smilled. "She did and the sailor pulled her to the boat. They got on board and after seeing what an ordeal the couple had gone through, the captain married them right then and there." Graham looked down the aisle where the everyone would stand. "And that's why captains can marry people today."

"All because of Lorelei." Charlotte smiled and leaned into her husband as her eyes fell on familiar wedding guests from town file into the pews.

"Because she waited." Graham nodded.

The duo saw Brooke on the arm of an usher, and Amelia's mom followed. Davis and the minister walked in from the right and the rest of the wedding party started to come down the aisle. Everyone stood up when Amelia started to walk towards Davis. It was a beautiful and poignant ceremony that had many in tears. Charlotte found herself getting choked up, but it wasn't so much about Davis and Amelia's vows, it was the reminders of what she had with Graham- how love was constant and unyielding. It was a beautiful thing.

When the bride and groom walked hand in hand away from the alter, the wedding-goers started to leave the church and Charlotte ran into her older brother.

"I think this will be the last one for a while." Jamie looked at his sister with a grin. Seemed weddings and engagements had been rather popular over the last few years.

Knowing Jamie was right, Charlotte nodded.

Bennet was eleven and looked to his aunt and dad. "I'm just glad I wasn't in this one."

"What?" Charlotte narrowed her eyes with a laugh. "You had a good time in our wedding." The brunette leaned into her husband and nodded towards her nephew.

Liza walked up with a six year old Claire and put her hands on Bennet's shoulders. She'd caught the last part of the conversation. "Oh don't mind him. He loved being in y'alls wedding."

"Was I there?" Claire was little when her aunt and uncle got married. She couldn't remember if she'd gone or not.

"You stayed home." Liza shook her head and looked to her sister-in-law. "Probably just like Hattie and Scott."

"Yep." Charlotte nodded. "They're at home wishing we hadn't left them with a babysitter, I'm sure."

Graham looked to where the snot stain was and laughed. "If you don't see us at the reception it'll be 'cause we got a frantic message telling us to come home."

Jamie patted Bennet on his shoulder. "Kind of like the time Charlotte babysat for you, bud."

"Me? What did I do?"

Charlotte remembered what her brother was talking about. "Well...technically I didn't call your mom and dad. I called your grandma to come help me. You had some serious anxiety about the New Years fireworks going off when I kept you."

"I did?"

"You did." Liza nodded and remembered that night like it was yesterday.

Wincing, Bennet looked to his aunt. "Sorry."

"Happens to the best of us. When I was little, I was terrified of the vacuum cleaner." Graham nodded to the boy with a grin.

Bennet started to grin. "You were?"

Charlotte looked to her husband and furrowed her brow. "You were?"

Laughing, the Coastie nodded. "Yeah."

After a good laugh, they all started heading to their cars, and when Charlotte got into the passenger seat, she checked her messages.

Glancing over to his wife as he pulled away from the church, Graham arched his brow. "Anything about the kids?"

Charlotte listened to the Hannah's update on the Hattie and Scott and turned to the green-eyed Coastie. "Well...Scott settled down but Hattie's apparently throwing an absolute fit."

"Still?" Graham scratched his head, "What do you think we should do?" Did they go home? Did they go to the reception? They at least got through the ceremony. Would that be enough so they could get home and tame their toddler? Maybe? Probably.

"I don't know. I mean..." Charlotte looked out the window and took a deep breath. "You know how she can get. Especially lately."

"So home?" Graham was coming up to an intersection where they would need to decide.

"Yeah. We can go home."

Turning towards the house, the duo drove home. When they opened the front door they could hear their oldest upset and Hannah trying to do and say anything to make things better. Charlotte walked to where the noise was and spotted her friend and daughter. "Hi."

Hearing Charlotte's voice, Hannah turned to Hattie's mom with an exhausted smile. "Hi."

"Hat...what's wrong?" Holding out her arms, the brown-eyed twenty-nine year old took her daughter.

Graham walked towards his two girls and smiled at Hannah. "Sorry about this." He rubbed his hand on Hattie's back. "She's kind of in a stage where she's not really a fan of anyone."

"And that includes us sometimes." Charlotte laughed a little and pressed her head into Hattie's soft hair.

After a little bit of talking, Graham got Scott from the playpen and Hannah left. Charlotte was walking around the house with Hattie, softly talking in her ear. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry. Why don't we eat?"

"No."

"No?" Charlotte smiled expecting that. Fussy three year old had a mind of their own. "How are you gonna grow up and be big and strong if you don't eat? I bet Daddy's hungry." Anytime Charlotte could pull Graham into things normally did the trick.

Hearing Charlotte, the Coastie nodded. "Yeah, Minnow. I'm starving. What do you want?"

"Perial." Hattie wiped her tear stained cheeks and frowned the saddest frown imaginable. She was still upset her parents had left. How could they leave her with a babysitter?

"Cereal? I can handle that." Graham walked into the kitchen and started to fix a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.

"Here..." Charlotte put Hattie down by the kitchen table and walked over to Graham. "I'll take him." She got Scott and walked back over to the little brunette to sit down. It was a two person effort, this parenting thing.

"How about it, Minnow?" Graham put down the little yellow bowl in front of his daughter and nodded. "Breakfast for dinner is the best sometimes."

Hattie got on her knees in her chair and started to slurp the Cheerios into her mouth.

"What do you think you want, Charlotte?" Graham opened the fridge and eyed the possibilities and leftovers. "Lasagna? There's a package of chicken I guess I could throw on the grill...?"

"I'll just nibble off of what you get." Charlotte pressed her cheek into Scott's dark hair with a smile. She didn't think Graham would want to cook and she didn't want to either. "Leftover lasagna is fine."

That suited him just fine and Graham got out the tupperware to toss in the microwave. For a little while the family of four ate their dinner in peace. Charlotte fed Scott and when the kids started to rub their eyes, Graham knew that was his cue for storytelling time. It probably wouldn't take Hattie long to fall asleep. She'd been so upset earlier that she was probably exhausted, and Scott was like most babies. After a decent dinner he wanted to sleep.

Graham took the kids upstairs and Charlotte walked to the bedroom to get out of her dress. She'd taken her heels off as soon as they gotten inside, but now it was time to get into something more comfortable. The navy dress she'd gotten from Brooke zipped down the back and Charlotte stepped out of it once she could. She washed her face and put her hair up in a ponytail, opted for her glasses, and then roamed through Graham's closet for some oversized sweats. He wouldn't mind. Set with a pair of USCG blue sweatpants and a gray sweatshirt, Charlotte made her way to the kitchen to tidy up a bit.

Graham told the kids the story about sand dollars and came back down to see Charlotte in the kitchen. She was loading the dishwasher and Graham walked up behind her. He was still in his suit, but shed the jacket a while ago.

"Need some help?"

Putting the detergent in and starting the appliance, Charlotte turned around and shook her head. "I just finished." Her brown eyes met his green ones and Charlotte couldn't help but smile at her sexy husband. Graham was a handsome man. She put her arms over his shoulders and smiled. "So...you never told me about the vacuum cleaner thing."

Grinning, Graham shrugged, "Not exactly my finest hours."

She tried to imagine her tough husband afraid of the vacuum cleaner and Charlotte could only laugh.

"Hey..." Graham put his arms around her waist and arched his brow. "I was little and I was convinced it would suck me up. Who wouldn't be scared of that?"

Biting her lip, Charlotte nodded. "I was terrified of the Chicago Bulls' mascot. The Grizzlies' too."

Graham laughed at her, "You mean those fluffy things?"

Charlotte's eyes got wide at Graham's tone. "I was...two and Grizz looked like a mean bear. How was I supposed to know they were more like giant stuffed animals?"

Looking at his adorable wife try to explain herself in her glasses, ponytail, and sweats made Graham's heart swell. How could someone look so beautiful so disheveled?

Pulling on his tie, Charlotte raised up on her tiptoes. "I know it seems dumb but..." She kissed him and smiled. "At least it's not the vacuum cleaner."

"Am I ever going to live that down?"

Playfully smiling, Charlotte hit the kitchen lights and left Graham in the dark with a small laugh. "Maybe." He watched her walk away and then slowly followed her into the living room. Charlotte got comfortable on the couch and turned on the television. "So...what's it gonna be tonight?"

Just as soon as she sat down, Graham pulled her back up to her feet. Charlotte was taken aback but liked that he'd decided not to watch anything. He turned off the television and shook his head. "You know what we'd be doing right now if we were still out...?"

Charlotte nodded. "Something like this." She put her hands around him and swayed to an imaginary beat. The mother of two looked down at her outfit with a laugh, "But I don't think this is really dancing attire."

"Doesn't matter." He shook his head and reached for the remote to hit the stereo.

There were expecting music but not Baby Bop: Nursery Rhymes. Charlotte and Graham both started to laugh when 'Ring Around the Rosie' started playing. Graham hit the button to go to the next CD but it wasn't much better. 'John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt' started to echo out of the speakers.

Charlotte started laughing harder and took the remote from her husband to turn it off. "I think we can do without."

"Mmm-huh." Graham nodded and rested his forehead on hers. Their feet moved back and forth- left to right. "Anything else you're scared of that I don't know about, Charlotte Scott?"

Charlotte looked up into those sea green eyes of his. "Not really." She pulled herself closer to him and took a deep breath, biting her lip. "Only losing you." He had a dangerous job after all. No mater how many times Graham told her not to worry, she did.

He took a deep breath an locked eyes with her. "You're never gonna lose me, Charlotte."

Graham didn't know that for sure and that's what worried her. He was so sure, but how could he be when Graham didn't control the things that could take him away from her- from them. Hattie and Scott needed him too.

The two of them stood there in the living room for a while hoping that fate had good plans for their future. Neither of them were ready for anything to the contrary.

Not yet. Not ever.

But trouble was brewing ahead. It was just a matter of when and where.

OTHOTH

Spring sped to summer, Charlotte turned thirty, Keith and Bridget's son was born, and Labor Day fell upon Tree Hill before anyone knew it. Charlotte and Graham's five year wedding anniversary was a couple weeks away, but before the happy couple could celebrate the milestone, Graham wanted to get back to his roots. Since Scott had been born, Banyan, Graham's sailboat, had hardly touched the water, and the Coastie thought a day-and-a-half trip with his old boat and best friend sounded good.

And that was the plan. Graham and Ben had the boat on the trailer, they'd packed a full cooler, and the weather looked good. Everything was set. They'd taken the boat to the marina and put it in the water, and now they were ready to hoist the sails.

Charlotte and Sawyer followed the the boys to marina to say goodbye, and when Charlotte walked by the Tahoe, she saw the bag with Graham's clothes still in the car. She grabbed it and walked down by the water were the guys were. Graham was unhooking the boat when she approached him. "Might wanna take this."

He turned to Charlotte and widened his eyes with a laugh. "Yeah, thanks." Dry clothes on a boat was imperative. Graham took the bag from his wife and tossed it aboard.

Ben came out of the cabin and jumped down from the boat in ankle deep water. He wiped the sweat from his brow with his arm and patted Graham. "I think we're good to go, man."

"Yeah. We'll pull the sails up in just a sec." The green-eyed Coastie nodded and looked to his wife. He checked his watch and smiled. "So I think that's it."

Charlotte nodded, "Have fun." She kissed him and pulled Graham close for a hug. "Be careful."

"We will." Graham nodded and kissed Charlotte again.

Sawyer and Ben stood by the water's edge making out like love sick teenagers, and they didn't move away from each other until Charlotte honked Sawyer's horn. The brunette waved for her cousin and Sawyer hurried over to her convertible. As the boys set sail, the girls drove away.

"Hey. I have to get some gas, alright?" Sawyer took a right out of the marina and knew there was a gas-station next to the causeway.

That was fine with Charlotte. The kids were with her parents, and just like the guys, the girls were spending the holiday weekend to themselves. Instead of the the wind and waves, Charlotte and Sawyer would tuck themselves in Charlotte's big bed and watch movies and girl-talk. It was rare they got to have nights like that these days. With the kids and Sawyer's busy work schedule, the two best friends were looking forward to spending some quality time together.

Sawyer pulled up to a pump and while she let the car fill up, she headed inside for a few Mountain Dews, Cokes, and some junk food for their girl time. Charlotte didn't need anything and instead of going in, she watched the clouds roll through the sky. She heard the familiar caw of sea birds and her attention was taken to a flock that landed just in front of the gas-station. Charlotte's eyes traveled through the group and landed on something she hadn't seen before. Was that a brown pelican? Her initial instinct made her look more closely just to check, because as far as Graham had told her, brown pelicans were signs of trouble ahead.

Opening the passenger side door, Charlotte kept her eyes fixated on the birds and walked closer to where they'd landed. She swallowed hard when she saw the distinct brown color, and then noticed there was a second one. There were two of them? That must have meant something really bad was coming ashore.

Sawyer walked out of the store with a paper bag full of junk food and saw Charlotte standing in the parking lot. "What are you doing?" The blonde walked closer to her cousin and nudged her. "Hey...? Don't get too close. Birds have all sorts of diseases." Sawyer made a funny face and let her gaze fall on what her cousin was looking at.

Looking at Sawyer, Charlotte pointed, "Those are brown...right?"

Was Charlotte colorblind? Sawyer cut her eyes and nodded slowly. "Yeah." Sawyer made a face, puzzled. "Are they endangered or something? I haven't seen those before." Her eyes roamed the group. "There're just two?"

"Yeah." Charlotte looked back to the clouds rolling in and then towards the marina. "We need to go. We need to go back."

"Back where?" Sawyer was a little confused and before she got an answer, Sawyer saw Charlotte walking back to the car.

"Wait, Charlotte..." Sawyer hurried to catch up with her cousin and put the bag down in the back. "What's going on?"

Charlotte couldn't really explain it. "Something's wrong." She shook her head and shrugged. "I just...we need to go back to the marina."

Sawyer looked at Charlotte like she was crazy but started the car and headed towards the marina anyway. "So explain to me what the deal is. I'm lost."

The mother of two felt the wind run across the back of her neck and all the hair on her body stood up. Charlotte shook her head. "Those birds..." Charlotte bit her lip and looked to the water. "Graham always told me to watch out for the brown ones. They come in when a storm's rolling in."

"You know he makes most of what he tells you up." Sawyer shook her head and laughed. "I'm sure it was just something he created on a whim."

Not this time. It didn't feel like it. Charlotte could sense that trouble was brewing. "I don't know, Sawyer. I think..." Keeping her eyes in the direction of the marina, the younger Scott shrugged. "Something's wrong."

That was at least the second time Charlotte had said that, and now Sawyer was freaking out. What was wrong? Everything sure seemed fine when they left the boys at the marina. "Okay, okay...I'm going as fast as I can." Sawyer sped through the traffic and pulled into a parking space at the marina.

Both of the women got out of the car and Charlotte spotted Graham's sails drifting away from land. "They already left." Her shoulders hung and Charlotte took a deep, regretful breath.

"Well if anything happens, they'll be fine." Sawyer was starting to wonder if anything was going to happen and shook off any anxiety her younger cousin instilled in her. "They're in the Coast Guard, for Pete's sake. I think they'll be okay."

Charlotte watched Graham's sailboat get smaller and smaller and her stomach started to hurt. Sawyer better be right.

"Hey, come on... Let's eat shitty food, talk bad about people, and not worry about anything." Sawyer put her arm around Charlotte and guided her best friend back to the car. The blonde couldn't help but take a look back to the sailboat though. Something did seem off.

But the guys were just fine. The wind was blowing strong and they were headed out to sea without a care in the world. Ben ducked under the boom as it swung around the boat. Graham tied off the smaller mast and looked out across the never ending sea.

"So I gotta ask you a favor, Graham..."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" He reached into the cooler and tossed Ben a beer.

"Sawyer and I have a bet going about when you and Charlotte have the next baby, and I'm gonna be out a hundred bucks if you two get pregnant in the next month."

Laughing out loud, Graham nodded. "Alright. I'll see what I can do about that." He laughed again and shook his head. "I don't think you have anything to worry about though, man. We're not trying for another one for a while."

"Yeah, you say that, but I know Charlotte. She's all about babies." Charlotte was the second of two people in town who, hands down, absolutely adored children.

"True, but I also think she can do without the baby weight, swollen ankles, and leaky breasts for a little while longer."

Ben smiled and watched the waves roll by the boat. "You sound like Sawyer...at least how she feels about all that."

"She still hasn't changed her mind?" Graham knew the one issue that had been plaguing his good friend had been that. Sawyer was adamant about not having any kids but Ben had always wanted a family.

"About kids? Ben shook his head, "No." The Tennessean was in a sticky situation. The girl he loved, the one Ben wanted to spend the rest of his days with was convinced that she didn't need snotty nosed kids in her life. It was an issue he thought about constantly and struggled with. There were plenty of others who could give him what he wanted, but the problem was that he wanted it with her. One of these days he was going to make a decision, and it might be a really hard one. "I don't want to break up with her because of it but..." Ben breathed deeply, "I don't know."

"Well what if you have mine and Charlotte's next one?" Graham was only teasing to get a smile from Ben.

"I guess I can live with that." He pointed at his best friend, "Only as long as I can teach him how to play baseball. And I'd rather teach a boy baseball, but I can maybe do the softball thing."

"Alright." The father of two smiled and then thought about the basketball dynasty his wife came from. "You can fight with Nathan about the baseball thing. I think they'll want to keep basketball in the family." Hattie had already taken multiple trips to the Rivercourt and pretty soon Scott would be a regular too.

Holding out his fists, Ben grinned. "I can take Nathan."

Smiling, Graham laughed again and took a sip of his beer. "Right." He glanced to the compass he'd pulled from his pocket and read the engraving on the back. After he and Charlotte had dated a year, she'd given it to him for safe travels. He looked up to the sky and wondered if rain was on its way. The clouds seemed to spread over the sky without warning. Graham looked back to his compass and arched his brow. "I bet you they're talking about us. Charlotte and Sawyer."

"Don't they always?"

While the guys nodded and laughed, the girls were nearly to Charlotte and Graham's house. Sawyer pulled along the curb when they got there and pressed the button for the top. If it was going to rain she sure as hell didn't want her leather getting messed up.

Charlotte was slow to walk to the porch, and when she unlocked the door Mack greeted her with a wet tongue.

"If I'd thought about it, I would have brought Trout. It could have been just like the good old days." Sawyer patted on Mack and pushed her sunglasses into her hair as she walked into the kitchen. "And look what I brought from home..." The blonde pulled out one of those concentrated margarita mixes with a grin. "And..." The thirty-one year old held out some tequila. "Unless of course...you have some news you'd like to share."

Charlotte smiled and put her hand over her stomach. "No..."

"Well not that it would be a bad thing. I'm all about more little McFarland babies."

Laughing at her cousin's tone, Charlotte got out two glasses and the blender. Charlotte knew Sawyer too well for it to go unnoticed. "So how much?"

"Of this?" Sawyer eyed the concentrated container and widened her eyes with a laugh. "Uh... All of it."

"No..." Charlotte laughed, "How much did you bet with Ben."

Sawyer's mouth fell open. "What? How did you know? He told you, didn't he?"

The brunette shook her head. "No, I know you too well, Sawyer. Something's gotta be in it for you if you seem even the least bit excited about another baby in town."

Laughing, Sawyer shrugged. "Ugh-fine. We have this bet... I said you and Graham would be pregnant by the end of next month and he said it would be later."

"How much did you wager?"

"One hundred dollars."

"Sawyer! That's how much you think of my unborn child?" Charlotte acted a little more upset than she was.

"No, no...it was just a bet." Sawyer winced and squinted. "I don't actually think the baby is worth a hundred bucks." The music lover laughed, "But...if you want to jump on Graham as soon as he gets back, that's fine."

Laughing, Charlotte watched Sawyer dropped the necessary ingredients in the blinder and then press the button so the margarita mix and alcohol could blend into a delicious, icy mixture. The blonde poured equal portions into the glasses Charlotte got out and the girls clinked their drinks together. Charlotte sipped hers and watched Sawyer nearly gulp down her entire serving. "Jeeze, Sawyer...save some for later."

"Ah..." Pressing her hand deep into her forehead, Sawyer winced. "Brain freeze." She'd tried to get in as much alcohol as possible. There were some uncomfortable things she needed to talk with Charlotte about.

"Well, uh...that's what you get when..."

"I have to break up with Ben." It was short and directly to the point.

Charlotte let the sentence register and she shook her head. "What? Why?"

Sawyer looked to her cousin because she knew Charlotte already had that answer. "Charlotte..."

"Because of the baby thing?"

Nodding, Sawyer sat down, "And because I won't marry him."

"He asked!" Charlotte's mouth fell open and she hurried to sit down next to Sawyer.

"No, but...they kind of go hand in hand." Sawyer finished the last gulp of her margarita. "It's not fair for him." Her worst fear was having Ben waste his heart on her. She had a soul that wouldn't settle down and couldn't be tamed.

"What about you?" The younger of the two looked to her cousin and furrowed her brow. Sawyer loved Ben, so what about her? Didn't she get a say in things?

"What about me? I love the wrong guy."

"Don't say that. I don't think that's true." Charlotte didn't think that for a minute. Sawyer and Ben were and always would be great together.

"It is." Sawyer nodded and covered her face with her hands. "We don't want the same things and I can't keep going in circles with it."

Charlotte could see that Sawyer was getting upset, so Graham's wife rubbed on Sawyer's back. "It's gonna be fine, Saw. You know how things like this just...work out."

A ripple of lighting shot across the sky and thunder boomed through the September air. Hearing Mother Nature's roar, Sawyer laughed and wiped a tear from her cheek. "See...I bet that's a sign or something."

Looking outside, Charlotte saw the rain start to come down and she bit her lip. "Maybe not. Maybe it'll be like those birds. I worried about them for nothing." Nothing may have been a strong word because the weather had turned ugly in an instance. Her husband was still out at sea. So was Ben.

Sawyer rolled her eyes and she laughed at the coincidence. Two birds and Sawyer wanted to shoot them both. "Ugh... I hate this."

"Well look...," Charlotte got up and topped off Sawyer's glass. Let's go lay down and put in a movie, forget about everything else, and then we can worry about you and Ben in a little while.

Nodding, Sawyer got up and followed her cousin into the bedroom. The girls got settled and Charlotte turned the television on only to see a weather bulletin scrolling at the bottom of the screen. Significant Weather Advisory. Strong wind and rain expected until 4pm. Stay tuned for more information and updates. Great. That was just what Charlotte needed. Not only did she need to get Sawyer's mind away from Ben, but now that a storm was blowing in, all she could think about was Graham.

"What are we watching?" Sawyer hunkered down in the pillows and had a roll of toilet paper by her side. She had a funny feeling no matter the context, she'd do a significant amount of crying. If she and Ben were going to break up, then the last seven years had been worthless, and that was a lot of time to throw away.

"Um..." Charlotte laid down next to Sawyer and scrolled through the On-Demand section. She heard Sawyer softly start to cry and Charlotte put down the remote. "We don't have to watch anything if you don't want to."

Nodding, Sawyer held wads of toilet paper up to her eyes and cried about everything she was going to lose.

For the next two hours the girls did more of the same. Charlotte and Sawyer ended up using multiple toilet paper rolls to dab their eyes after talking about the past and such. Even though they didn't get to watch a movie, they'd done more bonding in the last two hours than they had in the last two years. Sometimes it took a breaking point to bring friends close together again.

The rain was still pounding against the house and Sawyer looked up to the ceiling. "How can you stand that?" The tin roof was noisy as hell and Sawyer had to find something to pick apart other than herself.

"I don't know. You get used to it."

"Well, I don't..." Sawyer stopped mid sentence when she heard something. "Did you hear that?"

Charlotte sat up in bed and listened for anything out of the ordinary. Something sounded like it was coming from the front of the house. "Go check."

"Me?" Sawyer shook her head. "It's your creepy house. You do it." Sawyer laughed and threw her snot wads on the floor.

Charlotte took a deep breath and started to get out of bed. She slowly walked to out of the bedroom just in time to see the front door open. "Oh my God..." She was sure she was about to be killed by a burglar until she heard her attacker's voice.

"Hey."

Peeking an eye open, Charlotte laughed. "Graham?" He was soaking wet but still had that cute grin. "What are you doing here?"

"The weather got bad so we turned back. Figured it would be better to do it when it wasn't storming." He laughed and ran his hand over his damp hair.

Ben hurried inside and dropped their bags on the floor. "I think I got it all." Sawyer came out of the bedroom clutching the hairdryer. It was the only thing she could find to defend herself. Ben looked at his girlfriend with a laugh. "What are you doing with that, O.J.?"

Answering for Sawyer, Charlotte laughed. "We thought you were going to kill us" Charlotte laughed at the mere thought.

Sawyer hadn't said anything yet and Ben noticed her tear stains. "Y'all watch a sad movie or something?"

Feeling his gaze upon her, Sawyer knew her emotions were about to run rampant. "I...I have to go."

"Go?" Graham watched Sawyer move passed them and walk outside. "It's raining."

"Sawyer..." Ben followed Sawyer out the door and left Charlotte and Graham speechless in their foyer.

"What just happened?" Graham asked the question out loud but he knew the answer.

"Sawyer's breaking up with him."

"Ben's breaking up with her."

The husband and wife duo said their information at the same time.

"No...what?" Charlotte frowned. Ben could probably talk Sawyer out of a break-up but if he was thinking the same thing then maybe there was no hope.

"So she told you the same thing?" Graham took a deep breath and glanced out the door to the rain that blurred the view.

"I guess so." The brown-eyed mother of two leaned into her husband's wet shirt. "Maybe it's for the best?" She really hoped not, but sometimes fate had other plans.

Graham wanted to get out of his clothes and walked with Charlotte to their bedroom. "Maybe." He pulled his shirt over his head and started to put on some dry clothes. Charlotte gathered up the toilet paper wads and tossed them in the trash.

As he reached in his pockets, Graham pulled out something cool and metal. He stared at it like he had earlier that day. "Remember this?" He turned to his wife and tossed her the small device.

Charlotte caught what Graham threw her and looked at it with a smile. She ran her thumb over the engraving and laughed. Lt. McFarland. USCG . "I knew you'd be promoted." When she gave that compass to him six years ago, Charlotte had temporarily forgotten that he wouldn't be a Lieutenant forever.

Smiling, Graham shook his head. "I kind of like it." He walked her way and shrugged. "Besides, Lieutenant Commander would have been to big to fit." The Coastie laughed and took his compass back.

Charlotte studied her husband for a second as he looked over his old gift. She swallowed and looked to the rain outside. "I saw two brown pelicans today."

"You did?" Graham arched his brow.

"Yeah, and I freaked out a little. Those are the bad ones, right?"

The green-eyed Coastie nodded. "They signal trouble ahead."

"Did you make that up or is that...for real?" Charlotte couldn't tell if he was going off his old folklore and myths or the actual truth.

"Uh...both, I guess." Charlotte wished Graham had said he'd made it up. Her eyes got worried and he saw her get uncomfortable. "But hey..." He put his hand over her arms and rubbed soothingly, "...everything's fine. Nothing's wrong."

"I know, I just... When it started to storm and you were out on the boat...I guess I was only thinking the worst."

Graham nodded, "Charlotte...you have to stop thinking like that. Nothing's gonna happen."

"I know." She swallowed hard and stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his tall frame.

Holding her close, Graham smiled, "You know what Ben and I talked about today?"

Charlotte had a pretty good idea. She and Sawyer talked about the same thing. "The baby bet."

He laughed at her term and nodded. "So where do you stand on that?"

"I thought I wanted to wait, but I think I changed my mind." Having him so close and the beating in her chest was sending new transmissions to her brain. If they conceived a child soon, Hattie would be four and Scott would be two by the time the baby was born, and those were good age gaps, right?

Leaning down and kissing her, Graham smiled. "Me too."

While Charlotte and Graham had come to a decision about their future, the rain that poured from above left a hazy drizzle of uncertainty on the rest of it. Those two brown birds hadn't been a coincidence. Not at all. In the coming months things were going to unravel, and not just for Charlotte and Graham. Many they were close to would have their entire worlds changed. Good thing or bad, fate would decide. It was just a matter of time.

OTHOTH

Uh-oh. The shit's about to hit the fan. What's gonna happen? Any guesses, ideas, or conspiracies? And what about Sawyer and Ben? They sure didn't seem like they were on good terms at the end. Next chapter we'll see what kind of fate the tides inflict on the people of Tree Hill. It might not all be bad, but I can certainly say the bad outweighs the good. From my Charlotte story description: "He jumps from helicopters to save people but what happens when he's the one that needs saving? Were they destined to be together or will the tide keep them apart?" Questions...questions...

Reviewers: Thanks for the feedback. You guys know you are my rock!

Chrissy: I'm glad you are enjoying the story! I'll say one of your predictions is right. We'll see which one next chapter.

Joan: I'm so happy you liked that we got to see Graham save someone. I always wanted to include him saving someone from the family I just had to figure out how to incorporate it and make sure the timing was right. Yes, I intend on write a Jamie and Liza chapter that hits on what happened with Claire. We'll...clearly Sawyer and Ben were together...their fate as a couple is not known, but we'll find out soon. Ha, yay, I'm glad you liked Will in last chapter. I always liked him. And on a side note student teaching/internship is going well. It's exhausting but I'm battling through it. Graduation is so close!

Review Please!