Chapter 19- Back to Simplicity

SO, I wasn't as long as I was last time. Are you proud? You should be. LOL! Any ways… I hope you like this chapter. It is the pre-finale chappie. So sit back, grab a soda, and enjoy. LOL! Yeah… I'm watching Lost right now, so I'm getting high on it.

"Ok, I'm sure you guys are ready for a shower and a clean pair of clothes." Liam said rubbing his hands together.

"And we need to get their rooms ready." Karen added.

"Alright, Karen… Can you show Claire where the bathroom is?" Charlie asked, giving Claire a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Yes, follow me." Karen said smiling.

"Liam, can I trust you to make it upstairs with out dropping my daughter?" Charlie asked smiling.

"Hey, I never dropped Megan." Liam said laughing.

"I know, I was just joking." Charlie said picking up Adam.

"You better be, because…" Liam said beginning to walk up the stairs with Charlie following behind him. He turned to look at Charlie with a smile. "I have your daughter."

"Hey, don't threaten my daughter." Charlie said laughing as Liam turned around and continued up the stairs.

"I wouldn't have to if you would quit talking bad about me."

"I'm just making up for the missed years." Charlie said keeping a steady laugh. Liam reached the top of the stairs and turned to look at Charlie again. "It's good to have you back Charlie." Liam said as Charlie too reached the top of the stairs. "When we were told that you died, well, I felt a bit guilty."

"Liam…"

"No, let me finish." Liam shifted Faith into one arm and put a hand on Charlie's shoulder. He looked into Charlie's eyes. "I felt guilty that I didn't go with you. I shouldn't have let you go like that… I'm your big brother and I should have taken care of you… but instead I got you hooked on heroin and let you continue it."

"And how were you going to stop me, Liam? I was self destructive. I could have hurt you."

"Hurt me? You? Oh… come on Charlie. You couldn't hurt me if you tried."

"I bet Ethan would have said the same thing." Charlie said smiling and then realizing he brought Ethan up again.

"Charlie… do you want to talk about it?" Liam asked

"No." Charlie said smiling and shaking his head. "I've had enough of talking about Ethan."

"Charlie, I think you need to talk to someone."

"Liam, I'm fine." Charlie said putting Adam down.

"You never could talk about your feelings. I thought you would never find a woman." Liam said laughing. "But it seems I was wrong. You found a very beautiful one."

"She is isn't she?" He said smiling at his brother.

"Well of course she is. I can tell she really loves you and you really love her."

"I do." He said with a goofy grin.

"Come here you knucklehead." Liam said pulling him into a hug.

"Liam, I think we're squishing my daughter." Charlie said pulling away laughing.

"Right." Liam said also laughing. "Your room is right over here." He said walking in the room to his left. It was a spacious room, but not huge. It had a queen sized bed, a closet, a vanity mirror, and a dresser. The walls were a light blue color that matched the bed spread and the carpet was dark blue. Across the hall was a pink schemed bathroom, which Claire was currently in, taking a shower. "I'll bring in Megan's old crib and playpen."

"Thanks."

"No problem, anything you need… just ask or help yourself."

"I'll hold you to that." Charlie said pointing at him.

"I know." Liam said laughing. "You probably want your daughter back."

"Yeah, I don't think she'll be much help in helping you bring up the crib and playpen."

"No, but you will."

"I have to watch my kids."

"Karen can watch them."

"Fine." Charlie said taking Faith from him.

"You are such a whiner." Liam teased.

"Oh, shut up." Charlie said as Liam picked up Adam.

"Shut up isn't a nice word." Adam said to Charlie.

"I know, bud." Charlie said kicking himself. "I'm sorry Liam." Charlie said pretending.

"It's alright." Liam said laughing. "Karen!"

"Yeah?" She asked walking out of the room to the right down the hall, which was her and Liam's bedroom.

"Can you watch the kids while Charlie and I bring the crib and playpen into their room."

"Yeah." She said taking Faith from Charlie. She shifted her into one arm.

"Thank you." Liam said kissing her cheek. He put Adam down and kissed Karen's cheek. She took Adam's hand, helping him down the stairs.

"You ready?" Liam asked, rubbing his hands together.

"I guess."

"Okay, Megan's old things are in the basement, lucky for you I didn't take the crib apart."

"How did you manage to get it through the door by yourself?"

"Well, the crib is really light. The playpen is heavier, but it folds up." Liam explained.

"Karen helped you, didn't she?" Charlie asked smiling.

"Yeah." Liam said following him down the stairs.

"I knew it." Charlie said laughing. Liam opened the basement door and they walked down the stairs. Charlie flipped on the light when he reached the bottom of the stairs. "So, where is it?" Charlie asked looking around.

"Over here." Liam said walking over to the crib and placing a hand on one end.

"Okay, let's get it upstairs." Charlie said walking to the other end.

"On the count of three." Liam instructed, getting his hands under the crib to lift it. Charlie did the same.

"One, two, three…" Charlie said as they both hoisted it up.

"You want to go first, or should I?" Liam asked.

"I will." Charlie said, beginning to walk up the stairs backwards.

"Alright."

When they got it up both sets of stairs, Charlie went back down to get the playpen and brought it up. Liam had moved the crib, so it was out of the way and Charlie unfolded the playpen.

"You're done." Claire said walking in.

"Of course we are." Charlie said walking over to her and placing a kiss on her cheek. "You want a hug?" He asked smiling.

"No, you're all sweaty." She said laughing.

"You're no fun." He said smiling at her.

"I know, go take a shower." She said walking away.

"Yes dear." He said grabbing some clothes from his bag and walking across the hall into the bathroom. He closed the door and turned on the water.

Karen was downstairs cooking and Adam was in the booster seat, while Liam made him laugh. Claire walked upstairs with Faith in her arms.

"Is she going to put Faith to sleep this early?" Liam asked as Karen walked over.

"She's going to nurse her, so Faith will sleep while we're eating." Karen explained, giving Adam a few grapes.

"Give him some cookies." Liam said laughing.

"He's never had a cookie." Karen said smiling.

"All the more reason to give him one." Liam replied.

"Liam, haven't you ever heard of, save the best for last."

"Yeah, and I never abided by it."

Upstairs, Claire had just finished nursing Faith and laid her in the crib. She sat down in the rocking chair and waited for Charlie. He walked in, fully dressed, with wet hair.

"Feels good doesn't it?" Claire asked looking up at him with a smile.

"What luv?"

"Being clean." She said standing up.

"Yes, and so does this." He said kissing her lips softly.

"I'd have to agree." She said putting her arms around his neck.

"Dinner's ready!" Karen yelled up to the two of them. She made lasagna, corn, and hot rolls. She gave Adam a small portion of lasagna, a couple spoonfuls of corn, and buttered a hot roll for him. She decided to give him a glass of orange juice, since he could have milk with his cookies. Charlie and Claire walked down the steps.

"It smells delicious." Claire said laughing at Adam, who was getting sauce on his face. She sat down in the other chair next to him and Charlie sat next to her. Karen sat next to Liam.

"Is Faith asleep?" Karen asked.

"Yeah." Claire said looking over at Adam. He had sauce spread across his face. He smiled at Claire and she smiled back. They all laughed at him.

Well, hope you enjoyed. AND REMEMBER: next chapter is the last one. HAHAHA! Yeah, so, DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! I like caps way too much! YAY!

Thanks to these people for reviewing Chapter 18:

LostChickenWednesday723

Yeah, it's hard to get motivated to update. I have been quite bored lately, so thank my boredom.

Beth95

Gotta love Liam.

Lara Chubb of Deephollow

I love Liam…

Zoaster The Toaster

Glad you liked. I loved the haircut scene!

bluejolteon

WOW! That was a long review! That site you told me about got cut off. You can email it to me if you want. I am interested.

Lost Hobbit

No more waiting. Hope you liked it.

StarfireFowl

Liam is great, isn't he!

Ponyboysgirl1

Glad you liked it.