Thank you for all the great reviews. I don't know much about custody arrangements. My parents are divorced, but they always kept everything about custody pretty basic. Before college, my siblings and I lived mostly with our dad and saw our mom on the weekends or at sports games. So thank you Bohogal1998, I'm going to adjust the custody part of this story.
Chapter 4- Brand New Life
"So, custody-wise she's in our care now?" Will checks his phone for the time. "We skipped over the whole foster parent deal?" He has two hours until his shift starts and he still has to drop Henry off at his friend's house. He'd have liked to make Charlie something to eat too, but the teen is sleeping the day away. His nieces do the same thing whenever they visit, but he kind of thought Charlie would be less of a sleeper. "We skipped over the whole foster parent thing?"
"According to Tanya, because I'm her biological mother and never legally signed away my parental rights, custody of Charlie has been transferred back to me." JJ explained watching in amusement as Will glances over her shoulder to see if their newest housemate has decided to grace them with her presence. "Tanya does have to do a few more checks in a few weeks, but she said that's more for Charlie's benefit than anything else."
"Makes sense, speaking of the kid, when do yah think she's gonna wake up?"
"I don't know. I've never had a kid who wasn't an early riser." JJ glances down at her phone noticing with a sigh as it nears eleven in the morning. Thus far, her boys have enjoyed breakfast at about seven-thirty followed by a mid-morning snack at a quarter to ten and in an hour, they'll be eating lunch. "Should I wake her up?" She doesn't want Charlie to sleep through her meals and only have snacks until dinner. The curly haired girl is already small enough as it is, she doesn't need any extra help to waste away even more.
Will shakes his head. "That didn't turn out too well when Tess wrestled Lulu and Nikki outa bed in June." He recalls the war that ensued thereafter between his sister-in-law and her irritated teenage daughters. Danny was against the idea from the start, Nik and Lulu are sweet but they don't like assistance waking up. He shudders at the memory of slamming doors while Danny calmly buttered toast at the counter, Sandra read a magazine, and JJ took their two outside to play. It felt like all of the peace of game night had evaporated, but everyone was acting so casual and going about their everyday routines. Will was floored to say the least. "I'd say just leave her be." He offered, for the first time wondering where he's going to stand in all of this. Charlie isn't his kid; legally speaking she's in JJ's custody, not his. He reckons that'll be another conversation he and JJ need to have sometime soon.
"Watching someone sleep is super creepy."
Charlie doesn't have her eyes open. She's never been the deepest of sleepers, hardly any foster kid is, but having someone breathe only inches away from her face would wake the dead. Through the slits of her eyes she recognizes said creeper as Jennifer's oldest son, Henry. She didn't get to see him last night because she and Jennifer got in kind of late and the only introduction she had was to her mother's husband. She attempts to fall back into a state of mild sleepiness, but fails as she realizes the kid isn't going anywhere. The fourteen year old had forgotten just how nice it was to get two solid nights of sleep. She'd grown accustomed to waking up randomly in the middle of the night.
"Sorry, I wanted you to be awake and you weren't but now you are!" Henry's eyes widen. He grins, his new sister is up; he'd only been waiting for the past two hours. Momma and daddy told him not to bother or wake her and technically he didn't. "Daddy says you're my sister."
"Half-sister, but yeah I guess I am." Charlie said still feeling sleepy. She definitely isn't awake enough for this. She rubs her eyes and slides up to lean against the headboard. Last night is kind of a blur, she came back with Jennifer and after gobbling down soup with a grilled cheese, she crashed.
"No you're not half a person." Henry shakes his head as he climbs onto the bed to sit closer to her.
Charlie yawns. "No, that's not what I meant. I just mean uh you know how you have your mommy and daddy." She gets a pointed glare from the boy causing a grin to tug at her lips. At least, genetics gave him a similar sarcastic gene too. "Well, your mommy is my…" she pauses, feeling unsure about the word, "is my mom. But, your daddy isn't my daddy. I have a different daddy than you do. So that's what makes me your half-sister, because we both have the same mom but different daddies."
"How come your daddy's different than my daddy?" The little brother wondered. He can't seem to wrap his head around the idea of having a sibling who has a different daddy than he does.
"I don't know. He just is." Charlie said with a tired shrug.
Henry takes a moment to really study his sister. She has different colored hair than he and Mike do; hers has a red hue and is much curlier. "Is that where you lived before here, with your daddy?" He asked adjusting himself to be more comfortable. Charlie yawns again shaking her head. "Then where'd you live before?"
"With my friend, Alma, but she's not feeling good so I'm gonna stay here."
"Is your friend gonna get better?" Henry asked he can sense the sadness creeping into her tone.
The fourteen year old nibbles down on her lip. "I don't think so." Charlie responded hoarsely. Feelings of guilt gnaw at her core; she wishes she could've done more to help Alma. It feels like she failed the woman, even though, Tanya assured her that wasn't true; it's just how Charlie feels.
"Oh, I'm sorry your friend is sick and it's making you sad." The soon-to-be second grader said, reaching out to take her hand. He's seen his dad do that when his momma is upset like this. Charlie smiles; he's a sweet kid, a little weird, but sweet. Henry grins back. "Hey, maybe you can make her a card. My class made cards for Jarvis when he got his tonsils taken out. He liked them a lot."
"Sure yeah, I think Alma would like that." Charlie wants to give her foster mother something. Tanya said last night that Alma was going to stay with her son Randy and his wife, Rebecca, until they can find a close nursing home that specializes in memory-care. Randy had been in denial about Alma's health for a while, refusing to admit his mother was as bad as she is. The teenager frowns, just realizing something. "There's a kid in your class named Jarvis?"
"Yep," Henry's head bobs up and down. Jarvis Belmont is the meanest kid in class; he picks on kids like Miguel Santos because his father is a janitor and Addie Herron for being overweight. He switches the subject off the school bully. "Daddy says you're gonna stay here for good."
Charlie answered quietly. "Yeah maybe probably I will."
"Good cause I'm your brother so that means I got your back."
"Thanks…" the girl pauses, she's never had a real brother before let alone one who seems intent on becoming her new best friend and for some reason she doesn't hate it. Henry kind of reminds her of Ben when they were living at the Dalton's, Ben used to make up stories to help pass the time. He was the sweetest kid with his short brown hair and sea glass green colored eyes, such a beautiful addition to his caramel hinted skin. Linda would parade Ben around women in the neighborhood like he was a show horse. She, Bug, and Tasha were saved the humiliation most of the time – but whenever Charlie got wrangled into a dress, she'd be in the same rodeo. Looking at her brother's excited eyes; Charlie recalls moments with Ben and smiles. "I've got your back too." She rubs at her eyes. "Okay, so I'm starving, let's get something to eat its…" she glances at the clock, "shit, it's almost lunchtime, yeah let's get lunch then."
Henry's eyes are wide as he scrambles to follow after her. "You just said a bad word."
"What word? Oh shit, shit." The teenager hasn't been around little kids in a while; she's gotten rusty at knowing what the right and wrong things to say around them is. In fairness, when she was Henry's age, she heard a lot worse than 'shit' so that's…Charlie blinks, an odd reflection of her childhood. As they near the kitchen, the fourteen year old also remembers verbally regurgitating everything a big kid said around her. "Um could you maybe not repeat that?" She asked a little too loudly because JJ's ears perk up and she glances at the pair with some sternness entering her posture.
"Repeat what?" JJ poises her hands on her hips, amused by the shared nervous glances among the siblings.
"Nothing," Charlie answered with a hopeful glint towards Henry. He smiles as he climbs up onto the bar stool and reaffirms what his half-sister just proclaimed. JJ raises her eyebrows feeling pleased that they're teaming up, but also worried too.
Will does his best not to crack a smile. "Don't believe that for a minute, but since yah slept in a little, how'd yah like some options for your first meal? I can whip up some chocolate chip pancakes or a ham and cheese sandwich?" He offered already walking over to the fridge.
"Sandwich, please." Charlie goes for the easier choice despite wanting the pancakes. Will's already in his uniform anyway, so the teenager figures he's got to be at work soon. She climbs up on the stool beside Henry's to peer around the kitchen. She was too tired to think straight last night and didn't get a good look at her surroundings. This is a nice enough house; an open kitchen with two bedrooms downstairs and more than likely a few upstairs too. Her gaze abruptly lands on her mother. "Jennifer?"
"Yes, uh you can call me JJ." The mother offers a small olive branch. She knows being here was not her daughter's plan so the least she can do is help her feel comfortable.
"Can I call you JJ?" Henry asked excitedly. He doesn't care that much about calling his mother by her name, but the fact that his new sister gets to should me he ought to be allowed to as well. The almost second grader has heard some of his friends refer to their parents by their first names, but his daddy said that wasn't respectful.
JJ responded almost immediately. "No."
"How come she gets to?" The boy pouted while Charlie watches the exchange looking equal amounts intrigued and uncomfortable.
The father finishes making his stepdaughter a sandwich and turns to level his son with a look. "Cause Charlie ain't used to calling momma 'momma' and we want to make her feel comfortable." He puts it on a plate accompanying it with a cluster of carrot sticks and a glass of milk. Henry harrumphs into his chest at the perceived injustice. "Here yah go darlin' enjoy."
"Thank you, um so did you get my pills from Tanya?" Her question causes JJ's mouth to go dry at the realization that they let her sleep in even though she has to take her heart pill in the morning. But, Charlie doesn't seem too nervous about taking it later than usual, if anything she's unaffected.
"Yes, I did. I put them in the medicine cabinet." Without needing to be asked to, JJ strides over to the cabinet to fetch the girl's pills. She pops the cap off and hands Charlie the bottle. Normally, the mom wouldn't feel comfortable letting her kid be so in charge of something like this, but Tanya advised that unless Charlie gives her any reason to worry then not to press too much on it. The fourteen year old has managed her health just fine before she came here. "So, Charlie," she watches the girl wince after she swallows two pills from the bottle. She waits for eye contact. "I was thinking we could talk a little." JJ caps the bottle and goes back over to the cabinet to put it away.
"About what?" Charlie takes a bite of the sandwich and reaches for the milk again. She should've gotten up earlier to take her pills, but her body needed to work to catch up on some sleep.
"About why the Riley family gave you away to start," JJ doesn't beat around the bush and for that Charlie respects her, but it also causes an aroma of discomfort to breeze through the kitchen too. Even Michael from his little area on the floor putting plastic straws into a cup notices.
"Didn't Tanya tell you?" Charlie puts down her cup. "My heart's all messed up. I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, that's when like the muscles in my heart are too thick. When I was a baby, I got sick and the Riley's took me the hospital and after they uh they found out I was sick and needed a heart transplant and left." The girl said feigning indifference with a shrug. "Who wants a sick kid? I wasn't even theirs and I don't even remember them so I don't care."
JJ nods, recognizing a lie when she hears one. "How long were you in the hospital for?"
"It took a while for me to actually get the heart. You gotta love that foster kid life." Charlie joked causing Will to raise his eyebrows, seeing that his stepchild tries to use humor to ease a situation much like his wife. "I basically lived there until I got my new heart when I was four." Sympathy etches onto both parents figures and Charlie stares at the half eaten sandwich in order to avoid it. "But, like most people want a baby and not a preschooler with an incurable heart defect. I'm always gonna have HCM, but I'm okay. I don't need any more surgeries so that's good." None that I know of anyway, she thought but doesn't voice. "I just need to take my heart meds and see the doctor for check-ups more than other people." She picks up a carrot stick. "All of this is in my file."
"I know, but I wanted to ask you so you could tell me yourself." JJ feels tears singe the walls of her eyes and she coughs in order to hold them back. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
Charlie can see the shame oozing from this woman. She's never had a foster look at her with such guilt, not even Alma when a neighbor called them 'charity cases'. Alma verbally tore Brooke's grandma apart and Paige said the only reason she didn't get physical was because there were too many people around. The blonde lady in front of her, Charlie realizes, feels guilty for someone else's actions. "It's not your fault." She answered quietly.
After a moment of silence, Henry reaches over to take a carrot off Charlie's plate. "Daddy, can we go now?" He asked mid-chew while glancing at the oven clock. His parents signed him up for a club that meets every Saturday afternoon from twelve to two. David's dad, Matt, and Uncle Derek run it as a way of encouraging fitness and teamwork. "I'm going to basketball." He informs his sister who nods; she didn't ask but appreciates it nonetheless. "You wanna come? You're not real tall, but you can probably shoot the ball good. Daddy, can Charlie come too?" Charlie glances pleadingly at the adults, not wanting to hurt Henry's feelings but also not wanting to spend the day with seven to nine year olds.
"I don't think so big guy." Henry's shoulders slump. "We didn't sign Charlie up in time and she's fourteen, that's too big. Maybe, if she's not too busy today she can come with your momma to pick you up and play with you then." Will offered hopefully, chancing a glance at the teen who nods with a shrug. She doesn't mind doing that if it means she won't get harassed by third and fourth graders all afternoon. Anyway, she likes Henry. Will puts the butter knife into the dish washer. "All right, let's get going. I hafta be a work soon."
Henry takes the lunch off the counter, sliding off his stool. He waves. "Okay, see yah Charlie."
"Um excuse me," JJ poises her hands on her hips pretending to be upset. "Where are my and Mikey's goodbye hug and kiss?" A bashful blush forms across Henry's features as he dutifully hugs and kisses his mother and brother before skipping out of the house with his father following. JJ waits until the door is shut before turning to the girl. She isn't sure why she suddenly feels awkward now. With a nervous, almost foreign laugh, JJ cringes inwardly and states. "So it looks like it's just you, me, and Michael today sweets. Anything you want to do?"
"I don't know, Jennifer." Charlie shrugs, feeling anxious without another kid around. Michael's fine and all, but he's a baby; at least with Henry, she can relax a little because he likes having most of the attention on him.
"JJ, call me JJ," the mother reiterated with a warm smile. "All of my friends do."
Charlie's impish grin reminds JJ of her older sister and her breath catches. "So we're friends?" There's never been a foster who wanted to be her friend; Jenna and James mainly had older teens in the house so they had to be strict to keep peace, the Dalton's preferred to be feared, and Alma's role shifted from grandmother-like to someone that needed looking after.
"I'd like to start as friends and work from that."
"Work to what?"
JJ shifts uncomfortably at the question. "To parent and child," she said.
"This is messed up." Charlie breathed, putting the plate in the sink. She can feel JJ's eyes boring into her. She rinses it off and opens the dish washer. "I'm not trying to be rude or make you mad, but it just is." JJ watches her shut it. "I don't know what I'm supposed to feel or say cause it feels like you ruined everything." The girl shrugs helplessly; she's doing her best to be upfront. Tanya told her when she left yesterday to try and she is, JJ deserves her honesty. "Sorry, it's just how I feel."
"You don't have to apologize," the mother takes a step towards her, "and I promise if I do get mad at you, it won't be for expressing how you feel." She vowed compassionately, further confusing the strawberry haired teenager. This woman seems to care a lot about her. "I know it seems like I ruined your plans, but sweets, the chances of them happening anyway were impossible." Tanya told Charlie that about ten times yesterday, but it seems her child has a thick head when it comes to hearing things she doesn't like.
Charlie laughs feeling tears prick the walls of her eyes. "I don't even know you and you don't know me."
"You're right." JJ agreed getting closer until she's standing in front of her daughter. She can see the girl shaking in front of her. Gently, grasping her shoulders, the mother bends down so they're at eye level. "You don't know me and I don't know you and I wish that wasn't the case." She squeezes her daughter's shoulders, this is the first physical contact she's had with Charlie. Besides, leading her into bed last night, but JJ doesn't necessarily count that as being contact. "I'm not going to pretend to know what you're feeling right now because I can't. All I can do is try, that's what I'm doing now Charlie, I'm trying the best I know how because this is a messed up situation. I want us to get to know each other so we can be a family, is that something you want too?" Charlie nods letting JJ tuck a stray loose curl behind her ear. It took Alma weeks before she felt comfortable with her doing that. The blonde gives her daughter a small smile. "I know you didn't ask for any of this to happen."
"Neither did you." The fourteen year old responded finally looking up to meet her mother's gaze with a sense of patient compassion that wasn't there yesterday.
JJ spends the majority of her shopping trip with Emily and Penelope distracted. Michael fell asleep at the third store and is now snoozing comfortably in his stroller as the trio sit down for coffee. They'd spent the last hour shopping and need a break, JJ has about another hour before she has to pick Henry up from baseball and on the way to get him, she has to get Charlie too.
However, because this is the second time Emily has visited this summer, the three felt it important for them to spend some time together. JJ also hoped Charlie would come so she could introduce her daughter to the brunette. She thought Emily would be Charlie's godparent since Penelope is both Michael and Henry's. JJ also believes the brunette has a better idea into the mind of Charlie than anyone else because they are slightly alike. Despite not being raised in a wealthy household, the fourteen year old has dealt with parents who were supposed to care but didn't much like Emily.
"What's up with you Jayje? You've been distracted all morning." Emily is the first to finally address the blonde's slightly sullen mood. JJ didn't spend nearly as much money as she normally does on their wild shopping trips. That was her first sign something was off, her second was when JJ got a vanilla iced coffee and not a latte; it's a best friend thing. "Is it the undead daughter?"
"I wish you wouldn't call my kid that, but yes, it is." JJ laughed feeling guilty for even saying it out loud. Of course, Charlie still feels strange around her. The profiler would actually be concerned if her kid adjusted too quickly into the environment. "I asked her if she wanted to come to the mall with us and she said she was busy." In hind sight, JJ realizes she should've corrected Charlie and told her she should ask for permission before going to a friend's house, but the mom didn't want to push it.
"Oh Sugar Momma," Penelope takes a sip of her latte. Usually, she's the irrational one in their friend group so it's nice to see that cap being worn by someone else. "This is all new to her; the Shortcake is probably feeling unsure about everything because it's happened at rapid speed." In JJ's defense, she's likely feeling anxious about her newfound relationship with Charlie. The techie adds. "Anyway, she's a teenager; teenagers never want to spend time with their parents."
JJ agreed. "Yeah, I know, but it feels like I just got her back and I want to enjoy her more before I have to share her with everyone." The profiler runs a hand through her hair as she checks on Mike who's still sleeping peacefully. "But, I mean, it's not like she had a bad reason for going to her friend's house. He's moving away so she's helping him pack."
Emily nods. "See, she likes you Jayje." The brunette takes a sip of her drink. "Hey, I never spent any time with my parents either but I think the feeling was mutual and I still…we have a relationship. Ah we know of each other and see each other in passing at some holidays."
"Um my Leading London Lady, please stop helping." Garcia whispered to the black haired woman. She loves Emily to death, but her tidbits are going to only cause JJ to spin out. "Can we talk about how adorable she is? I've followed and befriended her on everything just to look at her pictures and oh my goodness, she's like a little Shirley Temple version of you." Penelope switches the subject causing her friends to laugh.
"Did Shirley Temple have red hair?" The Interpol Liaison asked sounding genuinely curious.
"I think so, it got redder didn't it? Or maybe she dyed it, who knows." The techie inquired as she grins at the other blonde. "Your daughter is so cute and to think I thought you were only capable of producing blondes."
JJ's brow furrows. "Thank you?"
Garcia answered sweetly. "You are so welcome my lovely." People pay to get the color Charlie has and it's all natural too. Emily takes a sip of her latte, considering something.
"Do you think maybe she's avoiding spending time with you because she's afraid of bonding with someone? Think about it through her eyes, her last foster parent, who you said she was close to got sick and she had to get taken away." Emily dusts off her old profiler hat. She distinctly recalls being a teenager, feeling like she had no one in the world and afraid of getting too close to anyone especially after what happened with John and Matthew. Having moved around a lot as a kid, Emily grew tired of the charade that is making new friends and eventually stopped trying. So she can sort of see where the kid may be unconsciously coming from. "Charlie may not want to bond with you or Will out of fear of getting attached."
"And this is why you should move back permanently." JJ decided. She needs the Emily Prentiss advice to help real her back in and hell, she misses having another piece of her best friend triad around.
"What about Mark?" Emily asked holding back a laugh.
"He can come too!" Penelope claps her hands excitedly causing Michael to fuss and JJ to give her a look, she shrugs inwardly shushing herself by taking a long sip of her latte.
Emily grins, shaking her head. "Have you and Will talked about where she'll go to school? She's going into high school right?" The brunette asked as a way to change the topic. She'd love to move back to Virginia and spend even more time with her family, but London has pressing matters right now.
"You're so changing the subject." Garcia accused, this time more quietly.
"I'm trying to yeah."
"No we haven't everything's happened so fast; we got Charlie and now Will's working to make the storage room hers." JJ shrugs. "We also have to take down the wall between Henry and Michael's rooms, if you can even call Michael's room a room; it was supposed to be an office, but it's closest to our room." That only became Mike's room as a way of giving the parents space and not having their then four month old get too used to sleeping in their room. "That snowballed into us delaying the project when Michael got colicky, but we should get started on that too." She groans reaching for her iced coffee. "And yeah we're screwed; we have way too many projects we need to get done. Do we need a bigger house?"
"No, stop it. You love your house, it's the perfect size." Emily waves her off. "You and Will just have to renovate it a little. Focus on one project at a time, start with Charlie's room then move onto the boys."
Penelope agreed. "Our beautiful raven is right, I tried rearranging my kitchen while renovating my closet and it was a nightmare." She shudders at the memory. "I drunk called Kevin and Sam at the same time." That was quite the interesting call, the techie sort of recalls bringing up a possible three-way to which the other lines went dead.
"If you need help with anything, we're here." The brunette gestures to herself and Garcia. JJ raises her eyebrows. "I'm in London, but I can Facetime and I'll try to get here as soon as I can." She promised reaching out to pat JJ's hand. "Hell, if you're worried about renovations, ask Derek to help."
"Then he and Will would spend all day drinking beers pretending to work."
"Can you imagine those two in hard hats?" Garcia swoons at the thought. She reaches her hand out to put it on top of Emily's as a way of connecting the three of them. "I'd cat-call those two all day. If you do bring in the chocolate thunder, call me and Savannah, so we can watch them work. We'll Facetime you in Em."
JJ tries not to laugh at the prospect. "I'll be sure to do that." She knows Savannah would be down for it and also the margaritas that would be brewed during said day. The blonde shares a glance with Emily, before smirking at Garcia. "Can we talk about how you called your exes at the same time?"
Ben squares his shoulders as he watches Charlie silently fold the top of a box. Things began fine with Charlie getting dropped off by her birth mother and the duo listening to music while packing up Ben's things to ship to Jack's house in D.C. Then Charlie had to bring up how living with her new family was weird and how she felt awkward about eating at the table with them around. Ben tried to reason with her while at the same time still coming to terms with his imminent move. This isn't an easy fucking time for him either. Charlie has and always will be his best friend, but sometimes she forgets she isn't the only one with shit going down. When Ben not so wisely brought up the fact that her idea of normal isn't well normal, that's when things soured into a silent pack up.
Because Ben isn't as stubborn as his best friend, he breaks the silence. "You know I'm not wrong. You can't say we're normal cause we aren't. I'm about as gay as a rainbow on Broadway and gonna live with my dad, a guy I don't even know cause my mom's too immature to be a mom." Charlie's eyes become loving as she looks over at her best friend. She sometimes forgets how crazy Ben's life is; it isn't that she doesn't care, but she also has a lot of craziness going on too. Ben adds. "And you're kind of really self-destructive." The teenage girl gives him a sideways glare causing her friend to shrug helplessly, like this is common knowledge. "Remember when you first moved in with Alma and ran away?"
"I wouldn't call going to your house, running away." Charlie commented huffily just as Ben's Aunt Jules walks into his bedroom. The woman scoffs loudly causing both teens to glance over at her, one in amusement and the other appearing slightly embarrassed.
"It is when you do it at night without telling someone and leave a note that says 'maybe I'll be back'. Yeah Alma told me about your note." Charlie resists the urge to laugh, when she did go back per Jules request; Alma greeted her with cookies and a hot chocolate, an odd pairing but one that had the eleven year old convinced she'd like it at Alma's. The woman also kept and framed said note. "You were lucky Alma didn't get upset. If Benji had done that to me I'd…" she trails off with a shake of her head, the Southerner in her is coming out. She checks her watch, groaning. "Ooh, I'm late for a meeting with the realtor. Do you need anything while I'm out?"
The teenagers answered. "No ma'am."
"Okay, don't burn down the house I'm trying to sell." Jules wags a finger at them jokingly, adjusting her purse onto her shoulder and heading out. Ben waits until he knows his aunt can't hear him before remarking.
"See, even Aunt Jules thinks you're self-destructive and she wore turtlenecks." Charlie makes a face at the thought of cool Aunt Jules wearing one of those. She may not be a fashion guru herself, but she knows what to wear and turtlenecks should never be part of an ensemble unless someone is spending winter in Vermont. "Yeah, it was some weird 90s trend. There are way too many yearbook pictures of people with giant ass clown jeans and turtlenecks." Ben's seen his aunt's yearbook and has made plans to burn it if/when Jules gives him permission; it's a piece of history that should never be witnessed again. "Actually it's more like you have self-destructive tendencies." The surrogate brother knows why, the Dalton's did a number on all of them. Ben still wakes up in a cold sweat at the memory of Rick's belt sailing through the air, crackling midway like popcorn. To this day, he can't really eat steak without feeling sick to his stomach because Linda once made it every night for two weeks.
Charlie scoffed annoyed. "Stop watching Dr. Phil and Oz."
"Can't help it, I love seeing people's crazy ass drama." The teenager snickers doing a little dance. Watching shit like that reminds Ben his family isn't the only one that's moderately insane. His tone takes a more serious turn as he places his shirt into a suitcase. "Yah know, we aren't gonna be able to hang as much when I move in with Jack." That reminds Ben, before he goes, he's going to need to talk to Charlie's birth mother and tell her all of his secrets so she can understand Charlie better. "He lives in D.C. and that's kinda far from the suburbs."
"When do you meet him?" A part of the young girl wonders at what Ben's dad looks like; if he has the same set frown or know-it-all smirk when he's right.
"Tonight," the green eyed teenager takes a deep breath. He wants to make a good impression on Jack and his wife, but at the same time, he's moving in with them next week regardless of whether they eat lo mein tonight or not. "Auntie Jules, momma, Jack, his wife, and I are having dinner."
"Does Jules even know how to cook?" Charlie teased half-seriously, the last time Jules tried to cook it resulted in the fire department visiting and the kitchen needing to be renovated.
Ben shakes his head, grateful his aunt left or else she'd have whacked Charlie upside the head for being so sassy. If there's one thing he knows, it's that Jules is a woman whose equal amounts Bohemian and Southerner. She's easy going about most of everything except disrespect. "We're ordering Chinese." He reported, lucky for him his aunt's longtime girlfriend Colette Meyers, is a chef or else he would've ballooned up to three hundred pounds rather than the buck thirty he is. Granted, according to Jules, he has skinny genes on both sides.
"Do you think you'll like it? Living with him?"
"Don't know, Jules says he's nice enough…kinda nerdy though."
"You'll fit in just fine then." The teenager smirks, her eyes glinting at his expense. She's going to miss Ben, even if she sucks at saying it. He and Tanya have been the constants in her life, he even more than Tanya. Ben has always been there and with him leaving, it feels like she has no one. Ben's her voice of reason. The one she calls to help her get rid of the metaphoric dead body, Tanya's been there for her more as a parental figure.
"Don't hate cause I'm a genius. You could be too if you tried." Ben rolls his eyes. "When things at dinner get weird and I ditch and text you, could we meet for ice cream like old times?"
Charlie responded simply. "Yeah sure," she watches Ben walk out of the room and shakes her head at his lamp. "How am I the self-destructive one?" The girl mused looking around his bedroom with a sad smile. Over the past five years, she's spent more time here than any other home she got placed into.
"How was your friend?"
"Good," the teenager slides into the seat with a yawn. Packing for someone who actually has a lot of crap is not as much fun as people depict on T.V. She flicks on the radio, dancing a little in her seat as a song she likes comes on causing JJ to grin. Her kid is too cute. Charlie turns down the volume slightly. "He wants to meet you."
"He does?" JJ is surprised. She wanted to bring up possibly meeting Ben too, but wasn't sure how Charlie would feel about it so this is good news actually.
"Uh-huh, he's weird." Charlie shrugs buckling her seat belt. Ben didn't give her a solid answer as to why he wanted to meet JJ, but he must have a good reason. At least, that's what Charlie hopes. He's always had her back so Charlie isn't going to freak out until they have a date on the books. She turns to JJ. "Are we gonna get Henry now?"
The blonde profiler nods. "I hope you don't mind if he shows you off. He's a little excited about having a sister." From what Derek has texted, Charlie has reached celebrity status among the kids and she has Henry to thank for her newfound stardom.
"That's okay; it's kind of cool not to be the youngest in a house." Charlie can't keep the enjoyment from slinking into her tone. She looks in the rear view mirror at Michael with a soft smile. "Every house I've been in, I've been the youngest so it's nice not to be." Against JJ's objections, the teenager has claimed the front seat and refuses to be demoted to the back. Anyway, Charlie likes being up front she can see everything that's going on and has control of the radio.
"How many homes have you been in?"
"Including yours, four." The teenager glances out the window recalling each home. Of the four, the McCall's house was equal parts nice and crowded. They did well financially, but including Charlie had five other girls residing there with ages ranging from fifteen to seventeen. The Dalton's house was much smaller with three bedrooms; she and Tasha shared a room while Ben and Bug slumbered across the hall in theirs. Alma's house was on the small side too with only two bedrooms; she and Paige shared the room until the older girl left. JJ and Will's house is a pretty decent size for the amount of people living there, this is also the first time Charlie's began off a placement with a room to herself so that's kind of great. Her past roommates snored, spoke in their sleep, and in Paige's case rolled around on the already creaky bed; all of which kept her up at night. She blinks out of her trance to gape at JJ. "You didn't know that already? Didn't you read my file?"
"No and I don't plan to." The profiler responded, not expecting the doubtfully confused squint she gets in return. She ignores the girl's look and switches the subject as a way of not over-emphasizing a certain detail she thought they brushed over this morning. "Sweets, would you mind if I brought a friend over to meet you? She's like family and when she's in town we hang out a lot, but I'd get it if you didn't feel comfortable yet." Emily is going to be the first person to meet Charlie, because she leaves for London this Wednesday and JJ wants to slowly integrate her family into the teen's life without it seeming like she's bombarding her.
"Uh sure, I guess." Charlie shrugs still looking moderately pensive.
The profiler's eyes narrow at the question hiding not so discreetly behind her daughter's lips. "You want to say something, what is it?"
"Nothing," she shakes her head.
"No, you can say it." JJ replied kindly as they near the baseball field. She's hoping they don't get there before she can encourage Charlie to speak up. The profiler knows if she does that'll only give Charlie even more of an excuse to bolt out of the car and avoid this conversation like she seems to be itching to do right now with her fingers twitching against her shorts.
Letting out a sigh, the teenager scratches her head. "How come you didn't read my file?" She finally demanded as she shifts in her seat and readjusts her seat belt anxiously.
"Because, if it's not about your health or school then it's none of my business. If I want to know something about you, I'll ask you, not look at a file someone else has written about you." JJ keeps her tone matter-of-fact and frank. The parent wants Charlie to trust her and by being this upfront with her, JJ's hoping to build a sense of trust between them. She flicks on her indicator to turn onto the street two miles away from the field. "Your past is yours and yours only; no one has the right to know about it unless you choose to tell them. All that matters to me is the present and future, but I'm here if you ever want to talk about anything."
Charlie is speechless. No one has ever refused to read her file before. Granted, they mostly get an abridged version from Tanya because reading the full file isn't allowed, but still, most fosters like to know what they're getting into before taking a kid. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Good," JJ smiles warmly as she turns into the parking lot. "So, what do you want for dinner?"
"I don't care, I'll eat whatever."
JJ stops at the red light and turns to her child. "This is your first real meal living with us and I want it to be something you really enjoy okay?" Charlie nods feeling her cheeks turn pink. "Okay, whatever you want to eat tonight, we'll eat. Will and I are pretty adventurous eaters and Henry…well Henry likes peanut butter." The girl laughs, recalling a time when her go-to food was ants on a log. "What's your favorite thing to eat? Will's a really great cook, I get by in the kitchen but that man could make old tuna taste good."
"I guess uh…can we have macaroni and cheese?" Charlie asked innocently. Growing up in homes like the Dalton's, Charlie learned to get used to whatever was on her plate and eat fast. "The squiggly kind, that's the only kind I like." JJ resists the urge to laugh as the teenager reveals her age.
"Oh you are so mine." The mother snickered before she can help herself. A sense of surprise and uncertainty form across the girl's cherubic features, JJ swallows. "I just mean…I like mac-and-cheese too." She pulls into an empty space in front. "Hey, so I'm pretty sure we have all the stuff we need for it, but I'll text Will in a sec to get anything else we may need or whatever you like okay?"
"Okay," Charlie offers her a grin. There hasn't been many fosters who have gone out of their way to do stuff like that. Usually, Charlie eats whatever is available and doesn't complain because there isn't any point to. Her cheeks turn pink as she catches Henry's eye and he practically hops up and down waving at her. As they get out of the car to walk over to the excited boy, the teenager suddenly remembers one of her all-time favorite snacks. "Oh yeah hey can you ask Will to get Cheetos too, please?"