Author's note: I just realized that, due to the timeframe of this piece, some of you might be wondering why Sam and Ainsley are still being mentioned. I decided to ignore their leave-taking of the show and keep them in this particular AU. I will write more cannon pieces later that include Will (the new speech-writer), but for the moment, he is so new, that I'm not certain how to write for him. Also, I have no geographical knowledge of Washington, DC, so if I mention directions, street names, etc… don't believe them. Thanks, and happy reviewing.
Disclaimer: Again, if you recognize them, they aren't mine. If they were mine, I wouldn't be writing this, and Charlie would definitely have more screen time. If you don't recognize them and like the characters (Tony DiMenna, etc.), ask permission, and I might let you play with them. The plot is belongs to me, and I think I'm proud of it.
Author's note two: Chapters 2 and 3 will deal primarily with what Charlie was doing on Saturday, before the West Wing staff found out about Deena. Questions? Let me know and I'll try to answer them. All reviews welcome.
**** Saturday – Charlie
9am
Charlie walked down to the visitors' desk, growing more uneasy with every step. There, standing by the desk, was Tony DiMenna, a man Charlie had seen only rarely since his mother's funeral. Still, Charlie knew the look on his face. Not again. God, please, not again.
"Charlie…"
"Outside, Tony. Not here, please." DiMenna could see that Charlie knew. He would never get used to seeing that look on anyone's face – and to tell Charlie news like this, for the second time… it was too much. There are days when I really hate my job.
"Alright, outside works." DiMenna watched as Charlie signed out and then followed him. The two made their way to DiMenna's unmarked police cruiser, but didn't get in. Charlie's next words were whispered so softly that the officer could barely hear them.
"Is it too much to hope that she's just hurt?" Charlie knew better; he didn't need to see the officer shake his head, but he looked anyway. Both of them knew, but neither could manage to say the words that would make it real. Deena was dead.
Charlie was shivering in the chill November air, having left everything of value except his wallet and White House ID inside. He didn't even notice. "When? How? This morning? What about the other girls?"
The police captain couldn't think of anything to comfort Charlie, but he could answer the questions. "Early this morning, I'll tell you how later, and there weren't any other girls. Just Deena and a teenage boy in a tux. We haven't identified him yet."
"Andy Yahze. Her date for the Prom. Where… she was supposed to be at a party after the Prom. A bunch of her friends… girls. I…" DiMenna could see Charlie shaking off the sense of shock, pushing it to the back of his mind, to be dealt with later. It was a dangerous habit to get in to, but right now, Tony needed Charlie to be able to think clearly, and he could do that better if he wasn't thinking about what had happened to Deena.
"Charlie, get in the car before you freeze. We'll go down to the precinct, sit in the office for a bit. You can let me know how to get in touch with Andy's parents, and I'll fill you in on what happened last night." And I'm not about to say the rest of it in the White House parking lot.
Charlie nodded, bit-by-bit sealing off that part of him that wanted nothing more than to sink to ground and mourn the loss of the only family he'd had left. He slipped into the car, and they drove through the gates.
Half an hour later, in the station house that Charlie had thought he would never see again, they sat in a small office – silent, because, for all his years of experience, Tony had never seen something like this happen to someone he actually knew. Charlie's grief was walled away in the back of his mind, and for the moment, that allowed him to think. He had already given the captain the contact information for Andy's parents, but neither of the men was particularly eager to bring up the next topic. They both knew that someone had to do it, and it was Charlie's voice that broke the almost morbid quiet.
"Why wasn't I informed earlier?" Tony looked at him, quizzically. Charlie responded, "You said that it happened early this morning. Why wasn't I informed earlier? When were they found?"
"They were found around four a.m., sitting in what I presume is Andy's car, stopped on a side street about two miles from your place. The plates were missing and there was no ID with them. No one knew who Deena was until I came in for my shift and looked over the new cases."
"She was supposed to be going to a party. So, why does it look like she was coming home?"
"Maybe," and Tony said this cautiously, "they wanted a little time together…"
"No," Charlie replied. "Deena knew that I would be home. I called Andy's cell at 1am just to let them know that I was getting off work and Deena could reach me at the apartment if she needed. Besides, I gave Andy the Big Brother Talk. Somehow, it's more impressive when your boss is the leader of the Free World."
Even in the midst of this mess, Tony could appreciate humor – and apparently some part of Charlie could still dish it out. One corner of his mouth turned up slightly, in what would have been a grin under other circumstances. He still hadn't told Charlie the worst.
"Tony?"
"Yeah, Charlie."
"Didn't anybody on the night shift run her prints? She's had dinner at the Residence; she was vetted shortly after I started working in the West Wing. Her prints should have been on file."
"Good question; let me check the case." Charlie flinched at the cold wording. His sister was a statistic now. Can't think about that yet. "They should have, but if they had, you would have known before I did." Tony looked. Who was in charge of this case when it was first brought in? Both the kids should have been printed. He was… she wasn't. And, naturally, his prints weren't on record. Who the hell fucked this up?
"Tony, I need to see her."
The one thing I hoped he wouldn't say. "You don't want to do that, Charlie. It's… it's not pretty."
"I need to see her, Tony… and you still haven't told me what happened."
"You don't need to see her, Charlie. I already ID'ed…" Tony tried once more to dissuade him, but Charlie's words cut off his own.
"Tony… I need to see her. It won't be real, otherwise."
The older man sighed, locking his blue eyes with Charlie's brown ones, and running a hand through his thinning, dark hair. "Alright, let's go." He paused for a second. "Charlie… it's not pretty."
`It's not pretty.' He couldn't have given me a little more warning than `It's not pretty?' Deena. Charlie could barely catch his breath as his back hit the nearest wall, and he slid to sit on the floor. There was only one person he wanted right now, one person who could make it all go away for a little while. Charlie knew that if she were here, they'd go after her next. I don't know how I can get through this. I'm not strong enough to lose her, too. She's safer in France. She has to stay away from me. They all have to stay away from me. Zoey…
At the same time that a worried police captain tried to reach his best friend's son, a young woman halfway around the world listened to the anguished whisper that reached her… and knew that she had to go home.
