Hey sorry I know it's been a long minute, life has been pretty crazy but that's no excuse to be gone for so long. I really am sorry about that. This chapter is longer than most which I think is well- deserved and I'm going to try to upload more frequently.
Again, very sorry, family stuff happened that made life get in the way.
Chapter 9- Crazy Girl
Theo whisks the egg mixture, mindful to not let anything slip out. He added bacon, ham, shredded cheddar cheese, and per Mr. Reid's insistence broccoli. Theo rolls his eyes at the little green trees protruding from his bowl. He still isn't completely sure how the agent managed to talk him into adding a vegetable to his breakfast. Usually, Theo avoids them like the plague, but he shrugs to himself.
These last two weeks have been…Theo searches for the right word, fucking weird. Ever since Charlie caught him stealing they've become kind of friends, which is weird. Most of Theo's friends are guys from the football team; although he wouldn't necessarily call those dicks friends cause in elementary school a lot of them used to tease him about his mother. Theo's mom, Victoria, has bipolar disorder and behaves erratically when she doesn't take her meds, for the better part of his childhood; Victoria refused to take any pills. She thought they turned her into someone else…but Theo muses, she was never really there anyway.
He would consider Aviva, Cam, Joss, and Jamie true friends. They knew him before he got good at football; they're all equally messed up too. Although, maybe not so much Cam, but he's still got shit going on so…Theo's eyes bulge as Charlie catches his eye before pouring a healthy amount of sugar into Mr. Reid and Mr. Morgan's omelets when she thinks no one is looking. If he ever dared do that to his stepfather, Frank would knock him into next week. He'd be lucky if he could walk right for a few days. Theo shivers at the thought and reaches into his shirt to ghost his fingers along where scars painted over by skin subconsciously exist.
"Are you okay?" Charlie's words pull Theo out of his thoughts. He blinks like he was just hypnotized before flashing his charming football boy smile; it's the same one he uses after a decent game.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Theo responded as he adjusts his shirt.
Charlie doesn't seem convinced. "You don't look fine." Having been raised in a system where you have to fake it till you make it; Charlie can tell when someone is lying. "You look like you're constipated or thinking about something shitty, either way you're poopy." She's adept at gauging moods and reading situations; none of which came on purpose, but simply as a means of survival.
Before Theo can formulate a response to such an oddly astute remark, Mr. Rossi wanders back over to them with a small bowl of mushrooms in hand causing Charlie to flash an innocent grin. Dave's eyes narrow. "What are you up to piccola?"
"Nothing, Uncle Dave," the fourteen year old assured him. She flashes an innocent grin causing Dave to almost do a double-take, she may have ginger features, but he swears that look is all JJ.
"You say that, but your eyes tell me another story." Rossi hums thoughtfully as he glances at Theo who's quick to avoid eye contact. He raises an eyebrow at that reaction before studying his niece. "You realize lying to an FBI profiler is pointless, right?"
Annoyed bashfulness flashes across Charlie's cherubic face. "I hate it when you guys read my mind." She grumbled just as her mother and Aunt Emily walks past her one carrying Michael and the other nursing a mimosa.
"Then you shouldn't make it so easy," JJ teased ruffling her daughter's hair.
"Not my fault you're a creep." Charlie retorted poking Michael's belly causing the toddler to giggle. JJ smiles briefly at the innocent display before wandering over to one of her best friend's.
Dave watches the interaction, more or less focusing on Charlie's behavior and by the look on her face; he can tell she doesn't mind the innocent ribbing. The profiler smirks to himself; Charlotte's growing more comfortable in their family dynamic. The teenager waits until her mother is out of earshot before whispering. "We pulled a harmless joke on Uncle Spence and Derek."
"We?" Theo gaped. "I didn't do anything."
"Way to be on my team, Theo." Although, Charlie doesn't look that upset if anything her eyes are lingering on concern for the boy. In the short time, Charlie has known Theo she's never been to his house; they always either hangout at hers, the Center, or the park. There have even been times when Theo's little brother Riley tags along but he's a sweet enough kid. In fact, Henry and Riley have even struck up a friendship of sorts with one another.
The Italian scrubs a hand over his face; just what they need, another prank war. "Just a warning, little one neither one of your uncles will take it easy on you." Charlie shrugs with an impish grin. If she can survive Bug's pranks, she can take the pranks of a school resource officer and a genius. Dave hums slightly amused by Charlie's doubt. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Theodore, would you like some mushrooms?"
Charlie wrinkles her nose. "I don't like mushrooms."
"That's why I asked Theodore and not you, Charlotte." Dave pretends to look exasperated.
Theo shakes his head. "No sir." Mushrooms only got a taste when they've been seasoned right and the brown haired boy doesn't want to add seasoning to hit omelet. "Why dontcha like mushrooms, Red?"
"They're too slimy, it's like I'm eating frog legs." The strawberry blonde informed him seriously. As a toddler, Charlie had issues with the texture of certain foods; she's mostly grown out of it, but there are still some things she won't eat. Upon hearing her surrogate grandfather scoff in disagreement, Charlie pulls a face. "I don't get why we're doing this, omelets' aren't like real food."
"Real food?" Rossi knows the little red head is succeeding in getting a rise out of him, but no one ever says a dish is not cooking. He sees amusement dancing behind Charlie's eyes and immediately recognizes it as something JJ would do. "You cannot even fathom the many dishes one can make with just an egg alone, omelets are diverse; everyone has their own special way of making them piccola. If you learn anything from today, I want it to be that cooking is an art that can never be replicated. No dish can ever truly be redone. Of course you can follow a recipe, but every chef is different and every dish comes out of the oven in a new way." Theo nods minutely, transfixed by the man's words.
Charlie's eyes go to the ceiling and back to her bowl while Theo unintentionally admits. "I'm just glad I'm not having chips for breakfast." This causes the strawberry blonde to peer at her new friend confusion etching onto her features, besides Riley, Theo doesn't talk much about his family. She knows his stepdad is intense about football and his mom…well Theo never really talks about her.
"Chips for breakfast," Rossi recoils at the thought. He wonders if this boy is being fed properly, upon discovering his and Charlotte's friendship; Dave looked into Theodore Karr and found quite a plethora of information. To start the boy's father Kevin Karr is no longer in the picture, his mother Victoria has mental health problems, and is married to a Metro cop by the name of Frank Hayes. He also has a little brother, Riley, who's in the same grade as Henry, but according to his surrogate grandson, is in a different class. Theo seems like a kind kid, he plays football which isn't surprising given Virginia's perchance for the sport. Dave shakes his head as he gazes at the young man. "Theodore, if you or your brother ever want a breakfast that isn't chips; you can call me."
"Really?" Theo asked. He isn't sure what to make of this odd bunch.
Dave nods. "Of course, we can have a cooking lesson." As the light catches Theo's forest green eyes, Dave sees an almost kindred spirit. He recognized Theo's loneliness immediately after meeting him and much like the rest of their little family, decided to adopt the boys into their fold. "Perhaps someday, you'll surpass me."
"I'd like that sir uh having breakfast with you sir." The mop haired boy responded sincerely.
The Italian waves him off. "You don't have to call me sir, cucciolo."
Theo is taken aback by the term. "What does cucci…what does that mean?" He asked curiously feeling equal parts confused and touched by how warm everyone in Charlie's family is. Aviva's mom, Pam, still calls him 'Little Bear' from the time when he was four and wore his bear Halloween costume for a week straight. The Italian man shrugs causing the boy to roll his eyes. He'll Google that later then.
Rossi admonished lightly. "Don't stir so roughly, you don't want your omelet to be too thin." His gaze wanders over to his twitchy niece who's reaching for something in the cabinet. He raises his eyebrows in astonishment mixed with confusion. "Charlotte, what are you adding to yours now?"
"Food coloring, I want my omelet to be green." Charlie thought Theo and Uncle Dave were going to keep having their heart to heart and be distracted enough for her to do as she liked.
Shaking his head with a half-way teasing cringe, Dave smiles lightly. Meanwhile Garcia wanders over to the trio and her eyes become wide in excitement at seeing Charlie's concoction. "Ooh why didn't I think of that? I wanna make mine pink. Where's the red?" Penelope gushed as she quickly pries the red dye out of the box.
Theo makes a face at the pair. He watches as Dave carefully adds some basil to his omelet. "If you like cooking so much Mr. Rossi, why didn't you become a chef?"
"Too many bad guys to catch and best-selling books to write," Rossi answered half-honestly. He is a man of many interests, but if he were to redo his life; he'd consider opening a little bistro. Perhaps someday when he retires he can dabble into the restaurant business. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Theo studying him almost waiting for him to give a real answer. Dave nods. "Cooking is one of my many passions and birthrights as an Italian."
"I think football is supposed to be my passion." Theo mused quietly. He knows it's the one thing that keeps Frank from snapping at him and Riley, especially if Theo plays a good game. Whenever Theo does well on the field or during practice, Frank boasts about his abilities to anyone who'll listen.
Rossi's question is innocent enough. He pretends to focus on his omelet, but keeps the majority of his attention on the squinting young man. "Do you feel at peace when you're on the field?" Charlie is now studying the boy she's decided to befriend; at first Theo's friendship was to make up for Ben's absence, but lately Charlie has begun to like Theo's company. He's blunt whereas Ben preferred to sugarcoat things, athletic which is in stark contrast to Ben's distaste for sports, and doesn't mind getting in trouble while Ben detested making waves.
Theo purses his lips together tightly. "Sometimes," he keeps his eyes on stirring the mixture. Before Frank got involved, Theo remembers liking it more. "It can be a lot…my uh stepdad wants me to be the best."
"That must be a lot of pressure on you." Penelope remarked warmly and sadly too, she reaches out and cups the boy's face causing Theo to flush.
"I can take it." The shaggy haired boy decided after a pregnant pause. His cheeks heat up as he realizes just how intently this odd blonde haired lady is staring at him. "You know, I think I'm part-Scottish, maybe I should buy some bagpipes."
"That'd be adorable, you definitely should." Garcia gushed with an easy grin as Theo's face burns crimson.
Charlie, who's been a silent observer in their conversation, peers across the room. "Hey JJ," she called before her cheeks turn pink as everyone glances at her, gaining attention she didn't intend on receiving. Her mother raises an eyebrow, curiously, but Charlie misinterprets it as a sign her mother believes she's being disrespectful. "I uh I mean excuse me JJ?" She corrects herself and swallows a bit unsure as to whether or not her mother is upset with her.
On her part, JJ is stunned Charlie shouted her name that bluntly, for a millisecond she was annoyed at her and Emily's conversation getting interrupted, and then confused as to why her daughter was calling for her. The look on her daughter's face, pure embarrassment, eases her features from annoyance into patience. JJ already knows that unlike Henry, Charlie's inwardly scolding herself for the tiny outburst so the blonde has decided she doesn't need to. Sharing a confused look with Emily, who shrugs and takes a generous gulp of her mimosa as she watches JJ walk over to her kid.
"What's up honey?" The mother asked softly causing Charlie to feel slightly childish.
"Nothing," the fourteen year old mumbled as the room slowly begins to vibrate once again with talk and attention is averted off them. JJ waits patiently. "I'm sorry for shouting."
"I accept your apology, thank you." JJ addressed first. She read somewhere it's important to acknowledge when children admit fault. At least, she thinks she read that or maybe she heard it. Charlie still doesn't look very mollified so JJ adds. "Honey, really it's okay. What did you want to ask me?"
Charlie rocks on her heels. "Well, I was uh wondering what we were. Uncle Dave said he's Italian and Theo's like Scottish or whatever." She feels her mother gently guide a loose curl behind her ear.
Now it's Theo's turn to watch the exchange with wide eyes, his momma wouldn't be cool with him shouting like that and sure as shit wouldn't thank him for saying sorry either. Hell she hates any kind of noise. Riley once got a harmonica and after blowing into it twice; she yanked it out of his mouth and threw it away. Theo had to fish it out of the trash so his then five year old brother would stop crying. He did warn the tyke to only use it when momma wasn't around. To this day, Riley is still wary of being too noisy around her. But then again, the kid is only eight.
JJ continues. "My dad's mother was from Canada and his father was from Pennsylvania and my mother's grandparents came from Poland. So you're American, Polish, and Canadian. Will's family going all the way back to his grandparents is from Louisiana. I think his maternal great-grandparents were from Europe." She looks into her daughter's deep blue eyes guiltily. "I don't know where Dean's family was from, but we can look it up later if you like."
"No, that's okay…I don't want to know about him." Charlie declared stubbornly. The fourteen year old has decided since Dean doesn't want to know shit about her then she's going to return the favor, even though it kind of bugs her that she cares enough to do that.
JJ senses she's deflecting, but decides not to call her on it. There'll be time to have that discussion in a more private setting later, right now there isn't a point especially with company around. Charlie may refer to the other profilers as family, but having her feelings hashed out in front of them isn't an area JJ wants to explore yet. "Is that all you wanted?" She gently pushes back Charlie's unruly curls as the girl's head bobs up and down. "Great, glad I could help. I'm going to check on your aunt cause she–"
Morgan cuts in to shout. "Little Jareau, you did this didn't you?"
A mischievous glint dances across Charlie's face before she schools her features and turns to her surrogate uncle with wide eyes. "Did what?" She asked not noticing the amusement on JJ's face.
"Don't play dumb with me, kid." Derek wags a finger at her, pretending to be angry. In reality, he's impressed by Charlie's gall. She's definitely got fire in her that matches the color of her hair. He folds his arms over his chest as he goes on to add. "You…You poisoned my omelet."
"And mine!" Reid huffed as he turns wide eyes onto the teenagers. Theo appears anxious at the thought of going up against these agents whereas Charlie is attempting to hide her amusement with a terrible poker face.
The soon-to-be ninth grader remarked. "I did not. I just added some spice to it."
Spencer deadpanned. "You mean sugar."
"And everything nice." Charlie does a little dance at the old children's rhyme. Upon seeing her uncles' glares she shrugs impulsively. "Okay, so we may have switched Uncle Spencer and Uncle Derek's salts for sugar."
"What's this 'we' stuff? I was just cooking my omelet." Theo shakes his head all while holding up his hands and taking a literal step away from his friend. He isn't quite sure what the family dynamics are and he's only half-confident that Agent Reid and Mr. Morgan aren't that upset.
Charlie pouted. "Way to sell me out. I thought we were a team." She knows for a fact Ben would never tattle on her, but he also wouldn't look quite as anxious as Theo does. For as goofy as Theo is, he saves that for when the adults aren't around. She squints at him, not understanding his mannerisms.
"Sell you out?" The boy answered mouth agape. "They knew it was you."
Derek meets his niece's gaze. "You realize you're dead right?" In response, his niece smiles at him, causing the former agent to relent. "I'll give you until the count of ten, but I promise kiddo, when I catch you and I will catch you; you're gonna wish you never pranked me." And just like that, Morgan realizes he can't ever have a daughter because one innocent pout and she'll have him wrapped around her finger. Derek doesn't think he's ever given anyone who's pranked him more than two seconds before.
The strawberry blonde either doesn't notice he's being lenient or doesn't care because she turns to her mother with big pleading eyes. "JJ, you aren't gonna let him torture me right?"
"Hmm," JJ pretends to consider her options as she taps her chin. "Don't torture her too much Derek."
"I'm your only daughter. That's gotta count for something." Charlie whined making a face as her uncles' share a smirk with one another.
"Of course it does." Her mother is serious. She sees Derek start to take something out of the drawer and objects when she recognizes the label. "No drawing on her with Sharpie, Morgan. She has school Monday." Reluctantly, the school resource officer puts the Sharpie back in the cabinet before his eyes wander to the hose outside.
Henry follows his Uncle Derek's gaze and his mouth drops to the floor. "You gotta run, Charlie." He advised as he holds up his Captain America shield. He puts on his protective brother face while everyone attempts to hide their snickers and hold back grins. "I'll hold them off for you." His vow has Charlie wanting to laugh, but deciding he's right in this case and she takes off out of the house.
Reid and Morgan wait another two seconds before nodding at one another. Spencer decides to take on his godson while Derek charges out of the house after their niece. Henry giggles as his uncle throws him into the couch and tickles him mercilessly. Theo watches that exchange for all of three seconds before glancing into the backyard. No offense to Agent Reid or anything but that guy is skinnier than a pencil; Theo would bet that a strong gust of wind could knock him over. He's more worried about Mr. Morgan's response. In all honesty, he can't tell when these guys are joking – at least with Aviva's family he knows where the line is.
"They won't like really hurt her, right?" Theo asked as Emily, who's been studying his every move, at first out of curiosity and then out of concern comes over to him.
Emily's eyes shift from amusement to worry in seconds as she registers the genuine fear in Theo's tone. There's a little too much anxiety radiating off this boy for her liking. She puts down her mimosa and reaches out to put a hand on his only for him to flinch back. The woman instantly withdraws, adopting a look of compassion. "I'd never hurt you, honey." She promised in a soft voice Theo's never heard her use before. Then again, he's only met the brunette twice and both times occurred this past week. His face flushes in embarrassment, he isn't afraid of Ms. Prentiss; it was a guttural reaction. "You're safe with us. You know that right?" Theo's eyes go to the floor, his cheeks ablaze. "Well," Emily hesitates before squeezing his hand. "You are and I promise you, Charlie's uncles' would never do anything to hurt her or you. They will probably tickle her until she pees her pants and spray her a little with the hose starting a water fight though." She continues to hold his hand as she adds. "You know, you can come to me if you ever want to talk right?"
"Yes ma'am." The boy answered much like he does any female who's asked him that. People want to pretend like they care, but most of the time whenever he has tried to go anywhere; nothing has come of it. Everyone prefers the idea of patting themselves on the back. Theo's found that he has to take care of himself and Riley; no one actually gives a shit. Frank is a jerk and Victoria…well she needs someone to take care of her.
"Oh no," the black haired agent dismisses this. "You don't have to call me ma'am. I know you mean it as a sign of respect, but…" she shudders feeling about as old as her mother, "you can call me Emily."
There's an art to sneaking out. Charlie perfected it during her stay with the Dalton's. Whenever Rick or Linda would get into one of their moods, she'd make herself scarce. Hell, she'd make herself scarce when they were in a good mood. Charlie learned very quickly that Linda liked to show her foster children off like ponies and Rick's method consisted of ignoring them or using them as cheap labor. Her second set of fosters, the McCall's, ran a girls group home along with having careers of their own. As Charlie recalls they were strict, she never thought to sneak out of their home but again she'd only been nine and stayed there for two years before a fire broke out. So most of her behaviors were typical of a little girl; making up stories for her dolls, playing soccer, and running around like the child she was. However, the older girls got in enough trouble for Charlie to recognize that Jenna and James meant business. Finally, there's Alma and well, Charlie was able to come and go as she pleased; partially because Alma trusted her and partially because the poor woman was so far gone.
She briefly wonders what JJ and Will's reaction will be. The fourteen year old has an inkling it'll most likely closely align with the McCall's reaction. Nevertheless, Charlie continues on her descent out of her bedroom window and lands beside Theo, groaning at the pins and needles sensation climbing up her ankles.
Theo smirked. "You ready for this Red?"
"I guess." Anxieties in the form of getting kicked out invade Charlie's brain; it was going to happen eventually, the girl muses as Aviva squints at her.
"You've never snuck out before?" Aviva's tone comes across as annoyed, but really she's confused.
Charlie admitted. "Not here I haven't…I'm uh I was a foster kid." She waits for them to glance at her in the slightly patronizing way most people do when they learn that detail. Blinking back her surprise, Charlie decides do add a little more honesty to the pot. "I live with my real mom now."
"Not really, it kinda makes sense." Theo wasn't sure what to make of it when he first heard Charlie call her parents by their first name. He doesn't call Frank anything but 'sir'. The man would knock him into next week if he dared call him anything else. "I mean yah call your 'momma' her first name." At first, the teen thought Charlie's folks were modern, but then after hearing the way they lecture their kids; Theo figured out quick that it was something else. Theo's still pretty sure they're liberals, well as liberal as one can be living down in Virginia, but definitely not as conservative as his stepfather. "And I just thought you were tryna show off or something."
"You should've just asked." Charlie laughs, not cruelly, but almost sounding amused.
They walk down the street to where Aviva's older sister, Pippa are waiting. She offers Aviva a brief smile before chewing on her lower lip. "I thought you guys would uh think it was weird…me being a foster kid."
Aviva gives her a sideways frown. "Yeah nope, that doesn't even make the list for me." Charlie grins as Theo shakes his head; Aviva attempting to be kind is similar to a normal person being rude. "Weird is having your mom sit next to you in class because she thinks you'll skip." She shudders at the memory and climbs into the passenger seat.
"Weird is having your mom wear her bath robe, one slipper, and a high heel to a parent-teacher conference." The boy decides to throw one of his many weird life moments into the mix.
"See we're all a little fucked up. Why do you think I like you?" Aviva offered.
Charlie stated. "Thanks I guess."
From the driver's seat, an older teen with jet black hair snorts at the duo's words. "That's how Aves compliments people; she's trying to be nice." Pippa chortled without any malice as she glances into the rearview mirror. "I'm Pippa, Aviva's sister."
"Screw you, Pippy Longstocking, I'm always nice." Aviva muttered purposely mispronouncing her sister's name to get a rise out of her. It works when Pippa glares mildly in her direction. Her older sister's birth-name is Phillipa, but she prefers to go by Pippa and absolutely hates it when Aviva calls her Pippy Longstocking. Pippa raises an eyebrow as though Aviva is proving her point in spades. "I'm nice to people I like."
"That's a short list there." Her older sister chortled as she tosses her light brown hair over her shoulder.
"Ugh just shut up Pippy Longstocking."
Pippa grips the steering wheel tightly before leveling her younger sister with a glare. "Call me 'Pippy Longstocking' one more time and I'll text momma and tell her I was driving back from Lyndy's and heard you were at a party so I picked up your stupid ass." She stops at a red light to whisper to her sister. "Then your dumb friends will see you get in trouble." Aviva turns bright red at the thought; she glances in the backseat to find Theo and Charlie looking elsewhere. She chews on her lower lip as Pippa sighs at the kicked puppy expression. "Look, I'm doing you a favor by even driving you o there's like no reason to be a bitch about it."
"Sorry, okay? Please don't call momma and dad." Aviva relented quietly as she glances once again towards the backseat. Pippa reaches over to ruffle her little sister's straightened dark locks and nods.
There's silence for most of the drive with Charlie and Theo pretending they didn't hear the sister's conversation and Aviva pretending the same thing. Theo flicks through Instagram stories, making a face at Cam dancing with some douche sophomore. He runs a hand through his hair, a part of him wishing he could grow it out but also remembering Frank's rule; no long hair. Aviva meanwhile is lost in thoughts about getting caught and what that could mean for her. Pippa is pondering similar things; she suddenly wishes she'd told Aves to fuck off.
Trying to diffuse the tension, Charlie asked softly. "So you guys snuck out too?"
Theo responds first. "Ah not really – long as I don't make waves, my parents don't care." And that's the truth to the matter; he has to play well on the field and stay out of Frank's way. His mother, Victoria, is mentally ill with more irrational days than lucid ones so Theo's more or less become the parent to her.
"Yeah no, my parents would ground me forever if they knew I was going to the Friar twins party." Aviva shakes her head with a grimace.
"They're gonna ground us both if they find out I drove you." Her older sister muttered.
"But you're too big to be grounded, Pip." The younger girl pointed out sounding almost confused by her sister's words which almost cause a smile to form across Pippa's face.
Pippa chuckles at the younger girl's naiveté. "Umm yeah that has like zero to do with it Avey." She swears for as smart as Aviva is, she sure can be real stupid sometimes. Their nineteen year old sister Natalia was grounded this summer when she mouthed off to their parents. Although, Pippa kept that private given how embarrassed Nat was afterwards. "Just don't get caught or do anything too stupid, cause I'm not gonna save your ass."
"I won't." Aviva's cheeks turn bright pink.
"Something's off about Theo."
"He seems like an all right kid to me." Will murmured turning from the TV to give his wife a sideways look. After the long ass day they've had, he was kind of hoping to watch mindless television programs and relax in bed, but it seems his wife has other ideas. And from the contemplative look on her face, they're in for a long talk tonight. The husband flicks off the TV to give her his full attention.
JJ shakes her head. She didn't mean it like that. "No, I think he's a great kid and a good friend for Charlie especially with Ben living in D.C. now." For some reason, Charlie tends to have more male friends than female. Though, she does have one girl friend, Aviva Russo, who's slightly rude but kind in her own way. The mother's thoughts shift back to Theodore Karr and his mannerisms. "But, he said something weird to Emily."
"What'd he say?" Will is curious; every time he's spoken with Theo the boy seemed tense around him but the cop chalked that up to the fourteen year old trying to be respectful.
"After her prank, he asked if Spence and Morgan would do anything to Charlie. I think he thought they were actually upset with her."
Will rubs his chin. "My daddy didn't much care for jokes like that; his folks could be the same way."
"You can have strict parents without making your kids jump whenever another adult tries to touch you. He flinched when Emily tried to take his hand, that's not a normal response." JJ responded heatedly, she understands most children don't like touch from strangers but typically growing young adults don't flinch back like they've been burned when someone attempts it.
"He don't know Emily real well." The father reasoned with some hesitation in his tone. His Southern side forced him not to question any of it, but his cop side knows there's something off about the boy's behavior.
"Even still, he seemed edgy today. Every time he comes here, he looks around for the exits. Emily said when she reaches for his hand to reassure him, his body tensed like he was preparing to get smacked." JJ said with her mind drifting to Charlie, her daughter doesn't seem to mind affection too much, but Theo appeared almost fearful of anyone getting too close. Not in the same way Spence shies away from touch, but…well JJ can't quite put her finger on it.
The man has to agree, that don't sound right. "He did?" Will was raised in a stern but loving family where his folks employed the old mantra of spare the rod but he most definitely didn't fear them per say. Anyway, the last real spanking he got was when he was fourteen and got too sassy with his momma.
"Did you flinch around people?"
Will shudders, "Only my Meemaw, but that evil bat carried a wooden paddle in her purse." He knows there's a line between maltreatment and discipline, especially down South. The Metro cop turns to his wife. "Yah think Theo's being abused?" From what he's been told, Frank's an aggressive cop with a tendency to go in looking for a fight and if he parents the same way then there's a real problem there.
JJ sighed. "I don't have any proof, just what Emily and Rossi noticed today."
The brown haired man has known cops who should never have become part of an organization that was built to protect people. Unfortunately, some become police officers to bully others or make others feel as though they have to bend to their will. And the system still ain't that great about protecting battered families of cops which ain't something Will agrees with. His eyes become set. "Let's keep an eye on him anyhow." JJ nods as a newfound feeling of sadness stirs her out of bed. "Hey, where're you going?"
"I'll give you three guesses." The blonde profiler teased tiredly as she climbs out of bed to check on the kids.
All this talk about potentially abused children has both adults feeling raw; in many ways they're a representation of borderline abusive/neglectful parenting. As much as Will loved and respectful his father, the Louisiana-born had more fear of the man. He's able to speak about getting whipped as a child and in JJ's opinion there's a fine line between a spanking and abuse and using any implement seems abusive. And to this day, Will would never take the belt to their children or even a paddle for that matter. In contrast, JJ was spanked thrice as a child; once for running across the street, the other time when she hid at the clothing store and didn't come out because she thought it was funny, and the last time was when she was too sassy. After Ross died, JJ's parents refocused their energy on pretending everything was fine. They viewed JJ as the child they needed to keep in their eyesight physically, but at arm's length emotionally. Danny was fifteen when Ross died and became his little sister's emotional sounding board to ensure JJ grew up only slightly scarred. In relation to their own parenting styles, JJ and Will have relied on their pasts and beliefs as adults in order to guide them as parents. They've both given Henry the odd pat on the butt to refocus him, but never more than three or four. They also prefer other methods of discipline like talking things out, grounding, taking away toys, additional chores, and mindfulness exercises.
"And that's why Charlie calls you a stalker." Her husband joked as he climbs out of bed himself to do the same.
"Sorry about my sister, she can be such a jerk sometimes." Aviva muttered her cheeks ablaze at the memory of Pippa lecturing her. In the fourteen year olds opinion being the youngest sucks, everyone treats you like a stupid baby who can't do anything right. On her part, Charlie shrugs, not quite sure what to say. She doesn't know Aviva well enough to agree with her yet, but she also doesn't want to seem like she's being unsupportive. Giving the red haired girl a sidelong glance, Aviva frowns. "You don't have any sisters' right?"
Charlie smiled. "Just two little brothers," she likes the idea of calling Henry and Michael her little brothers. A piece of her is curious about Dean's children, she knows he has two – at least that's what his Wikipedia page says.
"Lucky, sisters are the worst especially big ones."
"You guys don't look a lot alike."
Theo chortled. "Yeah if you think Pippa's cute, you should see Nat."
"Shut up Theo." Aviva groaned, not sounding the least bit annoyed. Deciding to give Charlie some background, the brunette chews on her lower lip. "Pippa's my stepsister, so's Nat. My dad married their momma a long time ago and she adopted me and became my momma too. My first mom split when I was a baby. She sends me stuff sometimes." Theo blinks, stunned by Aviva's omission; he didn't know her mom did that.
"Yeah and they're both super hot too."
Aviva shoots him a glare. "Yeah and they both still see you as Little Bear too."
"Ugh that's your momma's fault." Theo groans feeling his cheeks burn red.
Turning to the strawberry blonde, Aviva decides to give her some background info. "When we were like four, Theo wore his bear Halloween costume for a week straight and my momma started calling him her Little Bear and that's like the only thing she'll call him now."
"Don't remind me," the boy doesn't sound the least bit upset. He doesn't mind being an unofficial son to Pam and Rafael Russo, but he could do without all the embarrassing nicknames. "Yah know Nat's pretty awesome, but she never would've driven us tonight."
"I know. She's such a hypocrite; she acts like she never went to a party before." Aviva huffed, recalling a time when Natalia Russo had been cool. "And my parents wouldn't have let me go to a Friar party." Although, Aviva should say it's more of a Joss Friar party given the fact that Jamie Friar doesn't like them.
Charlie asked. "Don't your parents like Joss and Jamie?"
"They like them, not their parties." A smirk crinkles her cheeks as a memory flutters across her eyes. "Remember when we were eight and we snuck out to go to their birthday party?"
The strawberry blonde asked curiously. "Why couldn't you go?"
"Cause my parents didn't know hers real well yet." And what they did know, they didn't like, Aviva thought. Even her momma forbade Theo from going so they both knew it was pretty serious.
"Did you get caught?"
The boy growled. "Oh yeah we did." His features flush at the memory of Pam Russo spanking him and it definitely wasn't the first or last time she did that either. Pam has more or less adopted him and Riley into their family; she used to be friends with his momma, Victoria. According to Pam, Vic Johnson was the most popular girl at Walnut Hill High. They lost touch after Pam went to college, but after she moved back home and began raising a family of her own, her and Pam's paths crossed once again. Running a hand through his short hair, the brown eyed boy sighs deeply. "See Red this is the problem with knowing everyone forever, they've always got shit on you." He muttered wandering into the sea of potential freshman and sophomore aged youths.
Charlie observed. "I think you pissed him off."
Aviva hums to herself, thoughtful. "No, I didn't. He just thinks too much about shit." She watches him stomp down towards the kitchen most likely in search of a beer or Joss or maybe both. "And now he's gonna be all moody and try to pick a fight with someone, fucking great. Hopefully, he finds Cam and he'll calm him down – he's the only reason Theo goes to these things."
"Who's Cam?" The strawberry blonde asked.
"Joss and Jamie's cousin," Aviva answered shortly. She sometimes forgets that not everyone has lived in Walnut Hill their entire life. Having Charlie around is similar to having a tourist see the suburbs. From what Aviva has gathered the smallest town Charlie lived at was when she was too little for it to matter.
"Theo goes to these parties for him? I-I thought he liked uh your sisters."
The brunette shrugs absentmindedly. "He plays for both teams." As far as Aviva is concerned, Theo is much more tolerable when he's with Cam Schafer than any girl she's ever known him to chase. Cam is different though; he plays soccer but also is publicly out as a gay guy and doesn't care what anyone thinks about him. There's brave stupidity in that, Aviva thought. A slight grin prickles her features. "And he only says that shitt to mess with me."
"Do people know that about Theo?" The strawberry blonde dared to ask. She never would have thought Theo was bisexual with Ben being more upfront about his sexuality than the football player.
Her friend responded softly, "Everyone except his stepdad and I don't think his momma knows either." Not that Victoria Hayes would be the wiser, she prefers to live in her own world; it's probably why Theo and Riley have attached themselves onto the Russo family.
"That's fucked."
"Oh one hundred percent, welcome to Walnut Hill." Aviva's smile reaches her eyes this time. "C'mon I know where the Friars' hide their good wine."
Charlie fumbles as she climbs in through the window. Joss Friar gave her a ride – even though Charlie is only marginally sure the white blonde haired girl is slightly less drunk than her. Aviva decided to stay and Theo slipped off with Cam somewhere two hours prior. Aviva tried to make Charlie stay, but the red haired girl has a feeling JJ and Will are the kind of parents who like to wake up and know their kid is where they thought. Alma never cared too much when she'd disappear to Ben's, but then again she'd lost most of her sense seven months prior.
The girl loses her balance halfway in and collides onto the floor with a dull thud. Groaning, Charlie suddenly feels herself guided up and into her mother's arms. "Are you okay? Do you feel hurt anywhere?" The profiler peppers her daughter with questions seemingly unaware of the smell of wine emanating from Charlie's lips. This is definitely not how she expected to confront her daughter after the little disappearing act Charlie pulled tonight.
"M' okay," Charlie said squinting in confusion and briefly wonders if she climbed into the wrong bedroom. "Am I in your room?" She blinks one eyed closed and looks around then repeats the process with the other eye. It all looks like her stuff, the fourteen year old frowns as though trying to figure out the missing piece to a complicated jigsaw puzzle. "Why're you in my room?"
In the back of JJ's mind, she's elated at hearing Charlie call it her room, but in the present more real moment; the mother's eyes widen. "Excuse me, Charlotte Emily? Do you know what time it is?"
"W-What'd yah call me?" From what Charlie knows she's never had a middle name, the people she thought were her parents named her Charlotte and their last name was Riley until well she was put back in JJ's custody which made her last name Jareau.
JJ rubs her brow. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Cherie," Will attempts to cut in.
"Shh you're being too loud, Jay-Jay." Charlie tilts her head to the side to peer at her mother from what she perceives as a more focused angle. She giggles despite knowing that isn't the best response. "I w-went out Momma Jay-Jay." The almost ninth grader snickered as she wriggles her shoulders in amusement.
After taking a deep breath then exchanging a look with her husband, JJ tries again. "Where were you?" She asked in a significantly calmer tone. At Charlie's girl's giggly attitude and smile, the parent fights the urge to throttle her clearly inebriated child.
Will studies the teenager for another second before groaning. "You're drunk, she's drunk."
"I figured." The mother huffed. She was hoping they'd have a few more years before having to deal with stupid, drunken escapades – evidently not. Rubbing her tired brow, JJ sighs. She only came in here to check on her oldest child again and upon finding her bed empty; she nearly had a heart attack. Will was able to talk her into not calling the police until morning and about five minutes before they saw a sleek look Jag pull up, they only had about an hour or so left on their inner timers. She glances at her husband and mutters. "I don't know what we're supposed to do here."
"What'd your parents do?" The man asked, speaking as though Charlie isn't even there because right now the girl is looking around her room with a dazed glimmer in her eyes. Yeah, he reckons, there's no way she's gonna recall much or any of this conversation tomorrow.
"I never snuck out of the house and got drunk somewhere." JJ admitted honestly, she played on elite soccer teams until high school then played Varsity. She also didn't want to cause her parents any unnecessary worry. Studying his halfway abashed features, JJ's eyes narrow half-playfully. "Did you?"
The Metro cop stifles a chuckle at his good-natured wife. "Yeah and I felt the bite of my daddy's belt three of the four times." He goes on to add. "I didn't get caught the second time."
"We aren't belting her, Will." She responded firmly.
"I ain't saying we should, Cherie, all I'm saying is what happened ta me." He answered with a look, they've spoken about how they want to raise their children before and belting isn't something either wants to subscribe to. Will knows he's Southern, but that doesn't mean he wants his kids to fear him like he did his daddy. "Lookit, let's just put her to bed then we'll chat with her tomorrow cause I know anything we say to her ain't gonna stick the way we want it to."
JJ sighs in agreement. "Yeah, okay." This is the first time she's ever had to deal with something like this. Even when she was a kid she never went to parties because she didn't want to risk her position on the soccer team. "Why don't you get some rest? You have an early shift tomorrow. I can change our girl and put her to bed." That sounds so odd given the fact her daughter is a teenager, she cringes as she takes out some pajamas from the drawer.
Will agreed. "Thank yah darlin." He kneels down so he's eye level with his stepchild. "Now honey, I'm happy you're okay just don't make a habit of givin' your momma and me gray hairs. Here's hoping you have a worse hangover than a dog born with its neck sideways." The stepparent said as he pats her head, "G'night Trouble."
"Night Will," the teenager yawns watching through bleary eyes as he puts the wastebasket beside her bed. On her part, Charlie squints; she doesn't feel sick – just tired and goofy. She watches him wander away before her gaze shifts to her mother who looks equal parts disappointed and concerned. "You mad at me?"
She hands the girl her pajamas and looks away to give her a sense of privacy as she changes. It takes a little longer than it normally would and JJ can tell based on the sounds and annoyed grunts that Charlie struggled some, but once she's done; the mother looks back over to answer. "A little bit, sweetie. I had no idea where you were; you scared me tonight." JJ has tried to be the type of parent who doesn't lie to her kids, not if she can help it.
Suddenly feeling overwhelmed with drunken emotions, Charlie's lower lip wobbles. "Don't kick me out, please…I like it here." She lies down staring up at JJ feeling an odd mixture of vulnerability and ease. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the energy to force herself to sit up again.
"Oh baby, you aren't going anywhere. This is your home and…you're too drunk to be having this conversation with me so let's get you into bed. I can't believe you were drinking, you're fourteen years–" JJ cuts herself off realizing this lecture is not going to be effective on drunken, exhausted ears. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. Prop your body up a little. I put a cup of water by your bed so you have something to drink in the morning." The mother muttered as she gently guides her daughter in a position that's comfortable but has her halfway sitting up. She pushes back Charlie's curls and the teen leans into the touch causing JJ to half-grin at the cuddly nature hidden beneath her kid's tough exterior. "I'm so waking you up at six to Spice Girls." The mother teased before feeling tears trickle down Charlie's cheeks. "What's the matter? Why are you crying baby?"
"I don't wanna be woken up tomorrow." Charlie can't help the emotional outpour and feels more tears escape only to dampen JJ's t-shirt. The profiler resists the urge to laugh at her. "My head's all clumpy so it's gonna be crappy tomorrow probably and I don't wanna be woken up to like old people music."
This causes JJ eyebrows to nearly reach her hairline in shock as she wonders when Spice Girls became considered old. She tilts her head to the side as she sees a glimpse of what the girl was like as an exhausted, overemotional toddler and continues to wipe the stray tears away. "Just go to sleep sweets."
"Wait! I've been wondering something for like ever…and like you called me Charlotte Emily even though I don't have a middle name or like I didn't." Charlie rambled sounding much younger than she is. "I wanna know…what would you have named me? If you got to keep from the way beginning, what would you have named me?"
"Go to sleep honey, you're tired." JJ doesn't add drunk to the mix because even thinking that makes her cringe, her fourteen year old daughter got drunk on her watch. "What a weird question." The mom pushes her daughter's curls back again. This is a conversation JJ never expected to have with the drunken kid nearly passed out beside her. She sighs. "Rosalyn Danielle…I wanted to name you after my favorite people." A small grin graces the mom's face as memories flicker through her head. "Ross and Danny were my heroes." Sighing yet again, the blonde can see her kid's confusion plain as day. "I-I wanted to name you after people I admired."
"Do you admire Aunt Emily too?"
JJ nods patiently. "Yes, I do. She's like a sister to me."
"Is Emily my middle name to you then?" Charlie asked innocently. Her hair standing in every direction, JJ tries to push it back but the hair curls right back up again – almost laughing at the mother's attempts.
"It just slipped out, honestly. I bet your Aunt Emily would love that though." The blonde profiler snickered as she cups Charlie's cheeks; it still stuns her that she has her little girl. The child she thought was gone forever is in her arms and alive and…well drunk, but alive.
Charlie considers this for a moment. She stares up at her mother feeling vulnerable, but also safe. The girl then decides with a sweet smile. "You can call me Charlotte Emily…if you want. I don't mind." JJ nods gearing to stand only to hear a hesitant question that freezes her on the spot. "Where is she? Your sister, I mean. Where is she?"
JJ sucks in a breath; she knew this had been coming. She rarely talks about Ross to anyone, save Will and Danny, and there has been the odd discussion with Henry but other than that; she refrains from the topic. Sitting back down on the bed, JJ looks into her daughter sea blue eyes sadly. "She died when I was eleven."
Tears of intoxication threaten to fall. "I'm sorry that's really sad." JJ nods, humming in agreement. Despite feeling exhausted, JJ knows this is one of many conversations they've needed to have for a while. Well this and the Dean talk too. They need to hash that out; although, both should be had in a more sober light. Charlie snuggles into her as she closes her eyes. "So like is that why you and Dean became a thing? Cause of your sisters?"
JJ's never thought about it like that, entangled due to similar tragedies. "I don't know, kid, maybe." She shrugs as a strange look of sadness crosses over her features. "Neither of us really talked about them." Dean would only talk about Ducky when he was drunk and getting shit-faced and thinking about Ross only made JJ feel worse so she refrained from drinking whenever she felt sad. Dean, not so much, he'd reach for whatever was closest whenever he felt too much. She stares down at her philosophic daughter who's just about asleep. "I hope tonight was worth it sweets cause you're grounded for…I don't even know how long." With that she presses a light kiss to the girl's temple before leaving her bedroom.