Hi, I'm back! And I brought a brand new chapter with me. Enjoy!
"Dad, promise me!" Charlie called from the kitchen. The food was in the oven and almost finished. That's why his father had the courage to leave Charlie in charge of it for a minute while he was in the other room setting the table. It was still about thirty minutes before their friends would arrive and Charlie had to make some things clear before they would get here.
"What are you saying Charlie?" Alan called back from the dining room. Charlie sighed and left the kitchen.
"I'm saying don't ask Amita too many questions." Charlie explained when he joined his father.
"What? I'm not allowed to ask questions? You don't think I have the right to know what's going on in my son's life?"
"No, what I meant was…"
"I know what you meant Charlie. I just don't know why you are so worried. I only want to invite the guys over for dinner. Nothing unusual about that, right?"
"Right…sorry."
"Charlie, we talked about this. Don't worry so much. Besides, if she is your girlfriend we should all meet her."
"Dad, it's Amita. You've met her before. Several times if I remember correctly."
"I know…just…humour me." Charlie rolled his eyes and Alan smiled. "Besides, it isn't everyday you have a girlfriend over for dinner."
"Oh my God! Would you all just give it a rest. And why is everybody suddenly so interested in my private life anyway?" Charlie whined.
Alan chuckled. On some level he understood how Charlie felt. When he first started dating Charlie's mother he was scared to death. No one approved of their relationship or believed that the two of them could be in love. Even once they were married no one liked the fact that he was her husband. But that's not the point. The point is that if you really care about someone you should not be afraid to show it and you should not be afraid of what other people might think. Although it would have been nice not to have most of his relatives disliking him. Of course in Charlie's case it was different. He could see how much they liked each other. You didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Amita was the perfect girl for his son.
"Wait, if you are here…" Alan started and looked at Charlie "…who's checking the food?" The change of subject was highly appreciated. He gave Charlie a pat on the back and went back to the kitchen to save the dinner from being burned.
Charlie was left alone with his thoughts. Maybe this night wasn't going to be so bad after all. Maybe it could be like all the other nights they've had dinner together. Yeah, the only difference now was the fact that Amita was his girlfriend…so what if he now spent every opportunity he had in bed with her?
Charlie sighed. Who was he kidding? He has the nosiest brother in the world. And on top of that he is a FBI agent. A FBI agent who knows what kind of questions to ask. Charlie took a deep breath. This is ridiculous. He was nervous because everything was so new to him. It was just like everybody said, he hadn't had a girlfriend since…well since Susan but she never really became a girlfriend. She was more of a...well don't really know what she was but Amita on the other hand could actually be…the one?
Larry and Amita were the first guests to arrive. Charlie opened the door and was greeted with a bottle of wine from Larry and a kiss from Amita. The four FBI agents, including Don, arrived twenty minutes later. They had a little paperwork to finish before they could leave the office.
All eight of them were soon seated around the table chatting about nothing and everything. To Charlie's relieve no one had yet asked anything about his new relationship. He had to be honest. He wasn't really afraid of the questions. He just wasn't sure how Amita felt about it. They'd never talked about it. They'd never talked about this…this…thing that was going on between them. I mean, sure they told secrets and shared experiences with each other but their conversations never went any further than that. They never talked about where this relationship was going. What they would be doing five or ten years from now. Charlie didn't want to get ambushed with questions they weren't ready to answer. Okay, maybe he was a little afraid of the questions.
Amita was sitting next to him, hands touching under the table to not get any attention from the others. If she was nervous it was hard to tell. Every time he turned his head towards her he was met with a beautiful smile.
"So, you two are finally dating huh?" David's question came out of the blue and he pointed at the two lovebirds on the other side of the table. Charlie dropped his fork back on the plate and looked at Amita. She was still smiling when she met his "deer caught in a car's headlight"-gaze. "What? I was just asking." David explained when it went dead quiet.
"I take it Don told you." Charlie said and turned his head back towards him. Every pair of eyes was now focused on them.
"Actually Megan told me." David explained.
"Sorry, but the secret was already out when I told him." Megan defended herself and raised her hands up in the air.
"Wait!" Colby said and waited until he had everybody's attention. "This was a secret?" Colby asked with a playful expression in his eyes. It was met with laughter and a grin on Charlie's face.
"Yeah, we really weren't the best in keeping this secret," Amita admitted.
"Yeah, you sucked big time. I was actually wondering when you guys were going to tell us." Don who hadn't said anything yet opened his mouth.
"You knew they were seeing each other?" Alan asked Don and looked surprised.
"Oh…yeah…I accidentally sort of walked in on them making out in Charlie's office."
"I knew it! We knew you saw us!" Charlie said a little loud.
"We actually talked about it when you left but we weren't sure if we…stopped in time." Amita said.
"You make out in your office?" Larry asked Charlie and Amita after nearly choking on some bread when he heard what Don said.
"That's not the point Larry." Charlie said.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Amita asked Don and raised one eyebrow.
"I figured you wanted to tell us when you were ready." Don explained and smiled at his younger brother who looked slightly appreciated by it.
The rest of the evening went smooth and everybody was enjoying each others company. For the first time in days Charlie felt he could relax. With a beer in his right hand he walked around the room. When he looked out of the window he saw Don sitting alone in a chair on the porch.
"Hi." Charlie said and sat down in the chair opposite the one with his brother in. Don lifted his head as soon as he heard the door open.
"Hi."
"Why are you out here?" Charlie wondered.
"Just needed some fresh air." Don took a sip of his beer and then held the cold bottle firmly with both of his hands in his lap. Charlie nodded and the two brothers sat in silence. It was a peaceful night. Nights like this he was glad he didn't live downtown with the loud noise and sound of the cars rushing by on the streets.
"Thanks…for not telling anyone about me and Amita." Charlie said after a while. He noticed in the corner of his eyes when Don turned his head to look at him and he did the same. Charlie actually wasn't that surprised to find out Don never told anyone about it. Fifteen years ago he was more than sure everything would have turned out differently. Back then they weren't this close and they definitely weren't good friends. When their mother died everything changed. They started to talk more and they started working together as a team. When Charlie became aware of how Don lived his life taking criminals off the streets he couldn't be prouder to be his younger brother.
"No problem Chuck." Don said and turned his gaze back towards the empty street in front of the house.
"Yeah…and don't call me Chuck." Charlie said and saw a smile form on Don's lips. He wasn't really sure when this "nickname-thing" started but it made him feel even closer to his brother even though he always pretended not to like it. Charlie slowly got out of the chair and went inside again to look for his girl. He found her in the living room having meaningless conversation about…he really had no idea what they were talking about but the look on Amita's face was priceless. She looked happy and relaxed when she sat on the couch surrounded by her friends. He decided he wasn't going to disturb her now and went into the kitchen where his father was doing the dishes.
"Need any help?" Alan turned around when he heard his son's voice.
"Sure thanks. Take the towel and dry." Charlie did what he was told. He put the dried plate in the cupboard before he picked up another one and repeated his action.
"So…this night wasn't that bad, was it?" Alan asked and handed Charlie another plate.
"No, I guess not. I don't know what I was so afraid of." Charlie answered. It was silent for a few minutes. When Alan was finished with the final glass he handed it to Charlie who dried it and put it in the cupboard with the other ones.
"You really like her, don't you?" Charlie closed the cupboard slowly and met his father's gaze for a short while before he looked away.
"Yes, of course I do." He said quietly. Alan nodded.
"Do you love her?" His father's question took him by surprise. Love? Did he love her? He never thought about it before. Neither he nor Amita had said the word to each other. He knew he didn't want to live without her. And he made sure Amita knew that when he told her he didn't want her to go to Harvard. He was also fully aware of how it felt whenever they are apart, even if it only was for a few hours.
"Yes, I think I do." The words just came out and his answer startled him. When his mother died he made a promise to himself not to let people in again. God knows how much he hated goodbyes. He locked himself in the garage for weeks after her death, not wanting anyone to see him or hug him. He felt responsible and he didn't want to lose any more people he loved. When his father had had enough he dragged his son out of there and forced him to go to work. For a long time after his mother's death it was hard to let people in again. He buried himself with the one thing he was comfortable with, work.
Back then he hated his father for doing what he did. Hated him for forcing him to come back to this cruel world. Now he knew he just did what every father would do. He made sure his son started living again.
"You should tell her that." Alan said and met Charlie's gaze. When Charlie didn't answer he continued. "Charlie, you shouldn't be afraid to love again. Just because your mother…"
"I know." Charlie interrupted him before he could finish. "I know." He gave his father the towel he had dried the dishes with and walked out of the kitchen.
TBC very soon
