Lies that Destroy

Disclaimer: I do not own Good Luck Charlie

A/N: From this point on Teddy will go by her given birth name, April. To avoid confusion, it will change to that within both the narrative and dialogue.


Chapter 29 (She Will be Loved)

PJ opened his eyes and groaned as the morning sun poured in on him. He was asleep on a blanket he spread out on the ground, since last night, April had come running into his bedroom, saying she was having terrible nightmares. He decided to let her sleep in his bed while he moved to the floor. Throughout the night, April had woken up shaking and sweating multiple times.

He understood the nightmares she'd been having, as he'd had a few himself. Most of his nightmares were basically just Bob popping up out of nowhere, looking to kill him or take him back. The nightmare that had been consistent for so many years, however, was gone. Being with his father must have made it go away.

He stretched his arms and slowly sat up, glancing over to the bed. April was sitting up as well, her hair was a mess and she looked half-asleep. She looked over at him with a subtle smile. "Hey bro…I'm still in the process of waking up." He snickered and rose to his feet, earning a swift glare from her. "Just because you had a good night's sleep doesn't mean you should laugh at me." He chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed, motioning her over. She moaned and sat next to him, putting her head on the edge of his shoulder and sighing. "I guess I still have to get used to things changing so fast, Brother."

"I know. I wasn't laughing at you either, I understand you're upset. Even I still have some trouble with things…" He glanced at the window and frowned, his guitar was sitting right beside the crème curtains. Lately he'd been working on a new song, working through the emotions of everything that happened to him. "You, me, Gabe…we'll all probably need some therapy. It's inevitable." April chuckled slightly and rubbed her right eye. He moved up and walked towards his guitar. "I've been working on a bit of a song, if you'd like to hear it."

"Sure…you want to be a music teacher, don't you?" He nodded and lifted his guitar up. April leaned back on her hands as he propped one foot onto the edge of the bed and rested his guitar on his knee. Closing his eyes, he started to sing from the heart.

So messed up

We trusted you and we loved you

Thought you'd want the same for us.

But we were just a game to you.

Our livelihood you stole

For what, I'll never quite know.

We must have played some kind of role

Just another act in your show

We are…surrounded by your lies

With these, our lives you've destroyed

Wish we could have seen through your devilish snake eyes

Now the truth's out, and you can't avoid…

These…lies that destroy…will take your life

But I'll be okay, I know. We'll be okay.

He opened his wet eyes and stared at the edge of the mattress, giving his guitar one final sweep with his hand. April had tears running down her face and was clapping slowly, as though she were trying to hold back her emotion. "That was beautiful…"

"Thanks. I think it could still use some improvements though." He set his guitar down and moved back to the edge of the bed. "You came in last night worried about Charlie, among other things, right?" She came in mostly complaining that she was having nightmares about Bob catching her, or those she knew, and butchering them. One of her statements, however, was in regards to Charlie's safety and future. "I've been pretty concerned about her too, actually."

April folded her hands into her lap and glanced up, brushing her hair behind her ear. "You have?"

"I mean, we seriously thought she was our sister at one time." Or at least April did, but he couldn't shake that connection he had with her. It wasn't quite as strong as the bond with his true sister, but a connection still had formed as one had with Gabe. "You know how I escaped, April?"

"How?"

"I had Gabe's sister with me, we backed out, Bob was coming at us and Amy had Charlie with her in their car…I looked at Charlie, I wanted so badly to get her away from them…" He knew the legal ramifications, but also the issues of what would happen had he attempted to. April put her hand over her chest and bowed her head, gazing with a hard expression at the floor. "Denise was in more danger than Charlie in that moment, and if I had tried to take her from that car…not only would Amy start clawing at me, but Bob would have gotten to me. I don't know if I, or Denise, would have survived if we tried…"

"Do you think she's okay now? Deputy Dooley told me she'd go into foster care…" His stomach clenched and he slowly turned his gaze to the door, he didn't want Charlie to have to deal with all that. Then again, he had a thought going through his mind. Their father had been cheated out of raising a family, here he was about to go off to college, and Teddy had only a few years. Never had the man experienced what it must feel like to raise a child. It seemed like a crazy idea, but perhaps they could talk Henry into adopting Charlie.

"I'm thinking about talking dad into adopting her. I've been thinking about it for a while now." April smiled and quickly stood from the bed, already seeming eager to talk to their dad. "What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea. We'd get to have Charlie as a part of the family, and Dad gets another chance to raise a baby." She motioned him with her hand and quickly charged from the bedroom. PJ waited for a second until her head popped back into the bedroom. "Of course, it'd probably be best I get dressed first."

"Yeah."

After about half an hour, they were at the table in the dining area, Henry was at the head of the table with his back to the wall. PJ was on his right and April to his left. With them, visiting, was their cousin James and his mother Casey. They arrived in New York a few days ago. "So you want me to adopt…" Henry raised his eyebrow and smiled slightly. "Of course, I would never blame the baby for her parents' actions, but…I don't know, I'll have to think on that."

April gave him a quick smile to try and melt his heart, as all daughters do. "I know it's a big decision, but it would be great for everyone. She wouldn't have to go through foster care, you'd be able to raise a child through life, and we'd feel a lot better knowing she was safe." He hummed and leaned back, gazing down at the omelet in front of him.

"Well…" He was definitely being swayed into the general direction of adoption, PJ could tell that much. "I'll have to think about that. I mean, I would hate to see her go through the foster care…"

PJ frowned and leaned back in his chair, he knew the man was hesitating, but didn't know why. "Is it because of who her parents are?"

"No, not so much, I just worry about whether I actually would make a good parent for her. I mean…we're talking a motherless home…" And of course, he never dated. PJ actually wondered if it wouldn't be such a bad idea for him to start dating. Then again, he understood why the man never did. "I know the connection she has to you two, so maybe…but no, it has nothing to do with who her parents are."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Well, her mother at least." He breathed in a deep sigh and crossed his arms over. "Let me tell you something about her parents that I'm sure you don't know…"

"Okay."

"Amy and your mother were the best of friends, not only were they best friends, but your mom spoke well of her until the day she died." PJ and April were shocked to hear this. Maybe it was just that she didn't know Amy was the one that had her children. "Amy was not the bad one, just manipulated and controlled by Bob. I know this, because it was clear to see, she didn't start changing until after she met him. Before then, he wasn't such a good guy…never was one…he tried to hurt your mother very badly one day, and Jasmine regretted her decision to not tell her about it." PJ felt a knot forming in his stomach and let out a slight groan. "That man has always been the one to manipulate women, your mother was too strong and too Christian to let him near, but Amy…I remember Jasmine used to tease that she was a 'little ball of crazy', she was weak."

April leaned forward, she seemed perplexed, but eager to know about her mom. "So Mom was kind of like Ivy is to me?"

"Yeah, and I think if she saw Amy again, she would have tried to help her."

"So, do you think Mom would want you to adopt Charlie?" Henry chuckled and slowly rose up from the table. "I mean, just because there's not someone to mother her…She has me, PJ, and you to be a father." He smiled and slowly nodded his head.

"I'll think about it."

April cheered and high-fived PJ. He felt a good sense of hope that they'd see Charlie again, especially since their father looked like he wanted to take the kid in. It was a big decision, and a scary one at that. There didn't need to be a mother in the house, though it would be nice, but at least Charlie would be safe.

As they were finishing up their breakfast, the doorbell chimed out, catching their attention. PJ moved over to the front door and opened it, revealing Gabe with his parents and sister. "PJ! We were passing through and I wanted to stop by, Skyler said you and Teddy were over here." April gasped and quickly hurried over, nearly knocking her plate off the table in the process.

"Gabe!" She exclaimed joyously, throwing her arms around him. Gabe laughed and hugged her back. PJ watched the exchange with a delighted heart, it was always great to see the kid again. He saw Gabe beginning to turn blue in April's hug, so he quickly tapped her shoulder and motioned for her to step back.

"I think you're crushing him, sis."

"Sorry…" She took a step back and smiled as Gabe adjusted his shirt some. "I go by April now, Gabe. This is a good home, it feels great to have family here." He looked up at her and agreed, nodding his head.

"I know! We're taking a big vacation, we stopped at…" He started counting off his fingers, sticking his tongue slightly from his lips while gazing at the ceiling in thought. "Pikes Peak, the Grand Canyon, went through Amarillo, Texas, stopped off to see Elvis's house in Nashville, and now we're going to go see Niagara Falls before heading back to Denver!"

PJ's eyebrows lifted and his lips parted for the moment, he would love to have gone on such an impressive trip. Perhaps one day, he'd go out for a drive like that with Skyler. "Well, sounds like fun," he commented. "We're trying to convince our dad to adopt Charlie. Though, I guess that can't happen until she's in custody…" He heard footsteps and glanced back to see Henry walking back into the room, an intrigued expression rested on his face.

"That your dad?" Gabe asked. He rushed forward and waved. "Hi I'm Gabe, I grew up with PJ and Teddy-er, April." Henry nodded and shook Gabe's hand.

"I've heard quite a bit about you from PJ and April, good to meet you."

"And over here-" He moved beside his family and pointed at each of them. "My dad, mom, and my sister Denise." Henry looked to each of them and nodded respectfully, asking for them to come inside.

After a couple hours of talking, they all were sitting lazily around the main living room. The phone rang and Henry answered. The others silenced and waited for him to finish his call. He looked shaken, but relieved at the same time. The call seemed to drag on, only making the others more and more curious.

Once he hung up the phone, he looked over to PJ and April with a small smile. "That was…Deputy Dooley calling." PJ practically fell out of his seat, always eager to know what the man had to say. April was the same, practically revering the man and putting him on a pedestal. "Amy Duncan has been arrested…" His heart pulsed out with shock, and those in the room started to exchange various glances. They were relieved she was arrested, but at the same time, it sounded as though Bob were still out there.

"So Bob is still out there?" Michael growled.

"Unfortunately…Deputy Dooley says it's for the best that Amy's in police custody now, however. She was found at my sister-in-law's diner, oddly enough." This likely meant the Sloan family would be returning to Denver soon, to make sure everything was okay. PJ didn't want to see them go back home so soon, but it wasn't avoidable. Henry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "The Deputy also told me…Amy herself wants me to take Charlie in." PJ smiled and April covered her mouth to hide a growing grin.

"So will you?" She asked. "Will you adopt her? I know she deserves a good family."

"She does…and I think it's what your mother would have wanted, so…yes. I'll adopt her. Mr. Dooley still has to do some paperwork, social workers have to deal with phone calls and whatnot, but I'll take her in." He paused, gazing at his two kids with a low chuckle. "You kids are turning me soft."

Michael laughed while PJ and April beamed with pride. "Children and family will do that," he remarked while patting his own son's shoulder. "I'm glad to hear you'll be taking Charlie in, you seem like a good man. It doesn't bother you at all who her parents are?"

"No, not at all. Besides, I see her as my wife's best friend's child, and that is Amy Blankenhooper, not Duncan." A good way to look at it, PJ had to approve, though he hadn't thought of it like that beforehand. Bob never made a good father, so Henry would be a god change for Charlie, just like he was for them, and Michael for Gabe. "Charlie will be well taken care of."

April moved over and hugged Henry, thanking him for his decision. He smiled and hugged her back. PJ couldn't help but to laugh, she was already becoming a daddy's girl. Chances were, Charlie would be too.


Hope you enjoyed the chap. By the way a little preview for a future epic chapter set: In the future, Chief Douglas and Michael will be driving a patrol car that explodes. Kaboom. This has been a future predictive preview for you, thank you.