A bit of west wing for you all.
Unedited.
"Charlie, we have to be quiet." Zoey failed to whisper. Charlie rolled his eyes and regretted not cutting Zoey off at her fifth drink, because right now, she was on the verge of waking the house up and Charlie did not need that confrontation with either of her parents right now.
"Zoey, where's your keys?" He asked calmly, trying to keep holding her upright as he patted down her pockets. He found them in her jacket, and let her dangle herself across his back as he fought with the locked door. He really hoped the Bartlett's hadn't put their electric lock on because he didn't know the code and Zoey was in no fit state to remember and if he woke up the house this isn't how he wanted it to go.
He waited until he heard the lock click and then pushed the door open and waited with a paused breath. No alarm, that's a good sign. He realises at this point that Zoey is almost asleep against him and he turns slightly and manoeuvres Zoey into his arms and lifts her. She giggles far too loudly against his neck and he steps into the house, closing the door behind him carefully. "Shhh." He shushes as he moves a few feet to the left and feels for the switch and flicks it on, illuminating the hallway, giving Charlie the chance to gather his bearings.
He'd been in the Bartlett household many times since he'd started dating Zoey, but he was proficient enough to make his way through the house in the dark. So he continued to shush Zoey as he headed for the stairs, worrying how he was going to get up the top without falling and dropping Zoey. He took a few steps and adjusted Zoey in his arms before he continued to move upwards.
As he climbed to the top of the stairs and turned to head towards Zoey's room the landing light clicked on. "Zoey?" Charlie turned to smile awkwardly at Jed. "Sir." He said with a smile as Zoey lifted her head from his shoulder. "Shhhhh, we'll wake someone." She whispered loudly and Charlie had to close to his eyes for a moment in embarrassment. When he opened his eyes again, Jed was still staring at them with a disapproving fatherly scowl on his face but Charlie could see a hint of amusement, or he hoped it was a hint of amusement, otherwise he'd never be allowed back in the house.
"She's going to regret that in the morning." Jed says and walks past Charlie and heads down the stairs. Charlie doesn't know where he's going but Zoey's starting to drift off and so Charlie continues down the corridor and pushes her bedroom door open. Hoping there's nothing on the floor to trip over he moves towards the bed and when his knees hit the frame he crouches and puts Zoey down as gently as he can. Not that she'll know any different, she's completely out of it. He flicks on the desk lamp at the other end of the room and moves to settle her in better, slipping off her shoes and tugging her out of her jacket. When he turns round, Jed is standing in the doorway, a bottle of water and a box of painkillers. He passes them over and Charlie sets them on the bedside table and then follows Jed out of the room.
"I've put the sofa up for you." Jed says as Charlie heads for the stairs. "Sir, there's no need. I can get back to the dorm easy enough." He insists but Jed shakes his head. "You've probably spent your taxi money getting Zoey home. So you'll probably end up walking back to the dorm, which is 2 miles away, then you'll be back up first thing to get back over here to make sure Zoey's doing alright." Jed says and Charlie looks at his feet nervously, that was exactly what his plan was going to be.
"So instead, grab the spare clothes I know you keep here, and sleep on the sofa." Jed said determined and Charlie knew better than to argue with him so he nodded and smiled at him. "Thank you sir." He says, honestly grateful and Jed just waves his hand. "You brought Zoey home. Literally carrying her to bed, I think you deserve a thank you." Jed says and heads back to the master bedroom.
"Goodnight Charlie." He says and closes the bedroom door. "Goodnight Sir." He says with a smile and slips back into Zoey's room and grabs the sleepwear he keeps in a draw just in case of situations like this. He was tempted for half a second to climb into the bed next to Zoey, but he thought better of it. The Bartlett's had a rule about sharing a bed and he wasn't going to break it. Even if it was just to sleep. He respected them too much for that, and they trusted him with their youngest daughter because of it. A trust he wasn't about to break anytime soon.
So with one last look at Zoey, he heads out of the room, changes quickly in the bathroom and then heads back down the stairs, to sleep on the sofa. A very nice sofa. Better than his dorm room bed anyday.
Hope you enjoyed.
Comments are much appreciated.