Title: All Grown Up
Author: Chickiee-Dee
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own McLeod's Daughters or anything associated with it.
Summary: AU. Charlotte's a teenager, how has her life been affected by the absence of her mother?
Authors Notes: This is only my second attempt at a McLeod's Daughters fic. I mostly write Alias fics (if anyone's interested in reading them, I'd love to now what you think). If anyone wants to read my first McLeod's fic, its called 'Final Thoughts' and I'd appreciate feedback on that as well. I LOVE constructive criticism but any other comments are welcome. I wanted to dedicate this fic in its entirety to my friend, Kimby, whose a huge McLeod's fan and was the one who gave me the idea for this in the first place.
My apologies for the lack of updates…I sorta forgot that I was writing this, cos I had this idea for a new Alias fic…and well I've been working on that, and with Christmas, comes tourists to Coota, so I've been busy with work and stuff. And now the bad news, while I have an update for you now…I'm about to start getting ready to move out of home, so there'll be another break in updates, cos I've got a million things to sort out. My apologies.
Jordan-thanks so much for your review. I'm trying but at the moment, I'm writing five stories, and stories get lost in the back of my mind (I've been kinda lax in updating a couple of my Alias stories too) but I really try to get things written. I think when McLeod's starts again, I may have some more inspiration, you never know. Thanks again for reviewing :D
Chapter 5Mark, Tarlia and Andrew arrived at Drovers Run a little after 9:45. Charlotte came outside, dressed in plain jeans and a singlet top, which showed off much of her cleavage. Her hair was left loose, and hung over her shoulders, emphasizing the roundness of her face. "Hey," she greeted everyone, giving Andrew a quick kiss, "Where we off to?" Mark held up a slab, "One of the back paddocks, got us some grog." Charlotte nodded approvingly, "Great, it's been too long since me last drink." The four of them set off in the general direction of the National Park.
When they were a fair distance from the house, they stopped and sat down on the damp grass. Mark passed the others a drink each and the girls settled themselves against their partners. "So Char, why'd you give up living in the City to come here?" Mark asked.
"I was in Boarding School, it wasn't like my Dad really wanted me with him anyway, so I came back out here, plus, I kept messing up, they were on the verge of kicking me out of school when I decided to leave."
"Why were they gonna kick ya out?" Tarlia questioned Charlotte, who tensed up slightly.
"Well, it was an all girls school, and they sorta caught me sneaking out with a guy, and then I got in the shit for hooking up with a guy from our Sister School, and it was pretty much all over after that. I didn't want to be there, it's too restricting, but out here," she gestured to the open air, "I can pretty much do whatever…whoever I please, and as long as I act like a good whittle girl for Aunty Tess, then she won't notice."
"She will eventually Charlotte, you know that don't ya?"
"Yeah, but it'll be fun while it lasts. In Adelaide, there were too many rules, I don't take to rules too well."
"Aww, bit of a Rebel are you babe?" Andrew asked, nibbling the side of her neck.
"Just a little," she breathed after a minute, "Keep doing that and I might have to show you just how much of a Rebel I can be."
"Really…" Andrew said, continuing his assault on her neck.
"Definitely." Charlotte stood up and grabbed Andrew's hand, dragging him off behind a nearby tree. Mark and Tarlia watched as Charlotte's shirt came flying out from behind the tree, and they took the opportunity to have a little couple time themselves.
Later that night the four of them were sitting around, drinking the last of the slab, while they continued to talk about anything and everything. "How many guys you been with?" Tarlia asked out of the blue. Charlotte counted in her head, "Seven, including Andrew. How bout you?"
"Four, including Mark. What about you boys, how many girls you been with?"
"Six," Mark said, "Including you baby."
"Five, including Charlotte." Charlotte leaned back into Andrew, resting her head on his shoulder, "It's so nice out here, I don't want to go back to the house."
"So don't, sleep out here tonight."
"I can't, I'm a good little girl, who wouldn't sneak out to drink and have sex with her boyfriend."
"Why do they think that you're so perfect?"
"They expect me to be like Mum. I'm not."
"What was she like?" Tarlia asked quietly.
"I dunno, she died when I was a baby. I only know what I'm told by everyone on Drovers."
"Do you wish you knew her?"
"Sometimes, I think that if I knew Mum, then maybe I wouldn't do some of the
things I do, but maybe it's who I am, maybe I'm like my Dad in some ways."
"What do you mean, like your Dad?"
"Dad cheated on his wife with my Mum. Then she found out, and dumped him. They
got back together one night and she got pregnant. Some other shit happened and
he ended up with his wife, thinking that I was someone else's kid. That I was
Uncle Alex's kid. Long story short, Mum died and Dad ended up with custody of
me, so I went to live with him and his wife and their kids. Only he was a shit
father…put me in boarding school so he wouldn't need to deal with me. I hate
him so much, I guess that's why I do the things I do, to get back at him."
"But you're living here now, you don't need to do any of that any more."
"Old habits die hard."
Charlotte made it back to the Homestead a little after three am. She staggered up the stairs trying to make as little noise as possible, so she didn't wake Tess, who had obviously returned from Gungellan, as the ute was parked in its usual spot near the sheds. As she readied herself for bed, Charlotte thought about what had transpired in the last few hours, she had taken the next step in her relationship with Andrew, and it was like nothing she had experienced before in her life. Although she had been with a few guys before, being intimate with Andrew actually meant something to her, whereas those other men meant nothing to her, they were more like faces with out names, people she used to get back at her father, and men who were able to satisfy her needs at that moment in time. but Andrew was something else, maybe…just maybe she could grow to love him and he might be the one guy who could stop her promiscuous ways. Whatever she felt Charlotte knew for sure, she didn't want to let Andrew go.
A/N: I know it's short but I wanted to get it posted, I'll try and update again soon. Let me know what you think…:lol: Alyce :D
