Hi thanks for all the reviews. I know it's been a while since I've updated and I do hope you guys like the changes I've had to make. I want to flush out the characters more, especially Charlie, in the first story I don't think her intentions were as clear.
Chapter 11- Unsteady
Luckily, JJ had been bluffing and Charlie wasn't woken up to Spice Girls. She did wake up with a headache pulsating in her temple at a similar tempo as Wanna Be. There's an odd sense of worry gnawing at her insides and she's wondering if JJ only said what she did last night to appease her. Charlie's heard the stories before, when kids are bad enough they get sent away. Although childish in thought, it's one that Charlie isn't taking lightly in the midst of her anxieties. She's screwed up in a royally fucked way. She knew they'd be upset once they realized she wasn't in her bed, but she only wanted to see what would happen. Now she's regretting her choice to test the waters.
She never dared push the Dalton's, Tasha and Bug warned her against it and being as young as she was; Charlie was quick to heed their advice. Jenna and James McCall were the most parental fosters she ever had and the most they ever did was time-outs. Charlie was also there from the age of nine to eleven. She was the youngest and often times the older adolescents there required more attention. Alma never did anything when she acted out; so for the last three years or so, Charlie's been given free reign which hasn't dampened her wild streak.
The girl frowns not remembering this feeling after she puked last Easter. Then again, maybe she vomited the bad junk out and didn't have anything left in the morning to make her feel gross. Jules whacked her butt a few times with the spoon so that refocused most of her energy from one part of her anatomy to the other. Charlie wonders if JJ plans on doing that, she seemed plenty annoyed last night. She and Jules are a lot alike and they do live down in Virginia so it wouldn't come as much of a surprise if JJ did do it. Although in her fourteen years Jules is the only one to have ever done it, fosters aren't allowed to, despite the Dalton's attempting physical means of discipline Charlie was always too fast for them. Still though, Charlie isn't sure what exactly JJ has planned and briefly wonders if her butt is going to reap what she sowed last night.
"Hey kid," her mother's voice floats through her bedroom and pulls Charlie out of her thoughts.
Charlie feels the bed dip slightly and she burrows her body even deeper into the mattress trying to make it appear as though she's still sleeping. JJ cards a hand through her daughter's wild red locks. "I know you're up sweets, I can hear your thoughts from the kitchen." The girl makes a face at that. "Come on, you need to get up now; it's almost ten and I don't want you to sleep the day away. You need to take your medicine too." She tries to stay as still as possible earning a half-annoyed scoff from JJ. "I know what you look like when you're really sleeping and this," JJ pokes her daughter's tickle spot causing a forced giggle from her victim, "isn't it."
"But, that's like still early." Charlie whined rolling over so she's looking up at the woman. "And I don't want to get up and it's still summer for a few more days so I shouldn't have to."
"Excuse me, which one of us made the choice to sneak out and get drunk hmm?" JJ questioned her tone taking on a firm edge. She expected some push back from Charlie this morning, partially because she knew the kid would be nursing a hangover and partially due to her stubbornness but it's still irksome to hear.
Charlie mumbled. "You never said I couldn't."
Steam might as well be puffing out of JJ's ears as she blinks in an attempt to keep her composure. "You did not just say that to me." Her mother's voice is low. Charlie cringes realizing that was the stupidest thing she could have possibly said. JJ takes a calming breath. "Okay I need to know, do you actually believe that? Was that really a thought in your head that we'd actually let you go out drinking?"
After a pregnant pause, Charlie sighs admitting. "No…I-I don't know why I said that." She plays with her ear, an unconscious habit JJ's beginning to recognize as a calming technique of sorts.
JJ nods and scrubs a hand over her face. She hardly slept last night. This is not a discussion she expected to have two weeks into having a fourteen year old. Studying the girl with scrutiny, JJ sees unease settle into her daughter's deep blue eyes. "Okay, even though I shouldn't, I'm going to cut you a break right now." JJ decided. "I'll give you an extra thirty minutes to get up and be ready for the day." She sets a timer on Charlie's phone and then her own. "If your butt isn't in my kitchen ten minutes after our timers go off, I'll be back in here and you don't want that. Am I clear?" The federal agent keeps her voice calm, but firm.
"Yes ma'am," a grateful look scrunches up Charlie's features as she melts back into her bed. "Thanks JJ." It isn't lost on the fourteen year old that her mother is offering her some leniency. As she gauges JJ's mood, the thought of leaving enters her mind; maybe if she disappears for a few hours then her mom will be calmer when she gets back.
"You're welcome kiddo." In all honesty, JJ needs some extra minutes before having this heavy talk. She thought she knew what she wanted to say, but after trying to wake up her cranky kid – JJ felt more frustrated than she did before. The mom stands and then pauses. There's an unreadable look forming on the strawberry blonde's face that makes her nervous. "Sweetie, I'll know if you take off so please don't do that." Charlie's face turns a dusty pink color at JJ's ability to read her. "I want you to take these extra minutes to wake up some more and think about why you made the choices you did last night so you can tell me with a more awake head." JJ decided as Charlie squirms under the firm kindness in her mom's words. "Rest up honey," she pulls the covers up before leaving her eldest child's bedroom.
Sleep doesn't come again for Charlie. She instead lies in bed wondering whether or not she should dip out. It'd make things much easier if she disappeared for a few hours. She glances forlornly at the window and purses her lips together in thought. Whenever she took off in the past, things settled down more. The girl gnaws on her lip trying to choose between a rock and a hard place.
With the Dalton's, Charlie learned pretty quickly that disappearing whenever Rick or Linda got in a bad mood was the safest thing to do. If you weren't fast enough, Rick's belt would clip you somehow or in Linda's case; she'd give your hair a yank. It only took one hair pulling from Linda and a burn from Rick that Charlie realized as long as she was faster than them, she wouldn't get hurt. They were both lazy after all and often gave up easily.
At the McCall's she'd go into the woods where James built a tree house for her. He felt guilty that she the youngest and thus the dubbed the 'baby' of the house and her fourth grade issues were considered low level as compared to the older high school aged adolescents' they had residing in their home.
And at Alma's, Charlie could come in and go as much as she pleased. From the start, Alma let her get away with a lot more than Charlie knows she should've. The only other kid there was Paige and she was mild-mannered and left a few months after Charlie got placed there. Whenever Charlie took off there, it was usually to Ben's house and he lived about fifteen minutes away. Alma never seemed to mind either.
Running off seems like the best option. That way JJ will stop being so upset with her. For some reason seeing the genuine disappointment on JJ's face bothers her more than she thought it would. Even recalling Will's look of dismay last night rattled her. Before she can make her decision, the teenager abruptly feels someone squirming into bed beside her. Her gaze shifts from the window to her little brother. "What're you doing?" The girl asked, not upset just curious.
"Where's Trouble?"
"I let her sleep in half an hour more." JJ answered only for her husband to smirk at her. He voiced his opinion this morning about letting Charlie wake up and face the consequences herself, but Cher vetoed that idea as she wanted to get this done and over with fast. The blonde catches his look and scoffs. "Oh shut up."
Will chuckled. "Don't think I said anything, Cherie." He chews on a strawberry and then cuts another for Michael who seems to be shoving enough in his mouth for hibernation.
"Your face did. I wanted to give her some time to think through everything and wake up hopefully in a less angsty teenager mood. She tried to tell me she thought it was okay because we never told her it wasn't." The profiler stated as her brow knits together. "I think she only said it to get a rise out of me though."
"Sounds like she's fulfilling her end of the deal of being a teenager," the stepparent's tone is one of amusement at the thought of JJ getting riled up. He was pretty wild as a boy and based on JJ's stories, she wasn't. He knows how to deal with a teenager testing the waters because he was that kid. Granted, Charlie probably doesn't know how they're going to approach this, but he reckons she's acting out cause she feels safe enough to. "Hey I think yah did the right thing, she needs more time to think about what she wants to say and you need more time to ah…" Will searches for any other phrase besides 'calm down' and smiles warmly at his wife, "to eat breakfast."
JJ's eyebrow rises in mock annoyance. "Mhmm breakfast," she echoed. "I don't know what I'm doing."
"No parent does." Will takes her hand giving it a squeeze.
"But, I feel like I know the boys better. If Henry or Mike had done this ten or fifteen years down the line, I feel like I'd know how to react but…I don't know with her."
"Cher, don't feel guilty for knowing the boys' behaviors better than Charlie's. You've had them all their lives, we've only had Charlie two weeks; it's okay to know the boys' better. You didn't understand them in a minute; it took a shit ton of trial and error...sometimes more error than actual trial." He reasoned kindly. "Hell, every day is a new day with all of our kids. One week Henry likes cars and the next he's into volcanoes and this fella," he pokes Michael's stomach, "liked bananas best yesterday, but today he won't eat em'." The father smiles fondly at his youngest. "And I promise the same will happen with Charlie. You don't know her so good now, sure, but yah know what? Yah will. It takes time and there'll be good times like movie nights and bad times well like this."
The blonde mother nods. She knows that. It just sucks having to discipline any of her kids. She hears her timer go off and groans. "I hate this part."
"I don't reckon this is gonna be fun or easy for her or us, but she'll figure out real quick we don't play around when it comes to her safety." Will's words earn a nod in solidarity from his wife. She loves that they're on the same page, but deep down knows when it comes to Charlie; Will's still hesitant to be more than her friend. And JJ knows that's perfectly normal, but she wishes she didn't have to be the bad cop all of the time.
"I wasn't like her as a teenager." JJ revealed feeling guilty for not knowing her daughter better, but understanding it'll be a learning curve for all of them. Charlie does remind her of Rosalyn and in some ways JJ loves seeing that, but in other ways, she finds it concerning. However, JJ is determined not to be like her parents; they didn't trust any of their children, but especially Ross and that often led to needless arguments. The profiler is determined to parent differently, she guesses most people are like that though; they want to be better than their parents. And if it takes JJ counting to one-hundred to keep her cool, she will.
Will shrugs in understanding. "That's all right darlin' cause I was."
"You weren't at breakfast and I got scared you decided to not be my sissy anymore."
"I'll always be your sissy." A grin breaks onto Charlie's face. She has to say being the oldest kid in a house is an interesting change, not one the teenager is totally against either because there are times when Henry can be adorable and that's especially true for Michael.
Henry smiles brightly. "Good," he stares at her with newfound concern etching his delicate features. "Are you okay Beans? Cause you look weird." He's taken to calling her that which is sweet but Charlie finds it more than a little embarrassing. The teenager also doesn't understand the origin as JJ only called her Charlie Bean once, but since then Henry's decided that's his name for her.
"I'm fine." The girl knows she can't tell him she's technically hung over. Charlie may not be around little, little kids a lot but she knows explaining what a hangover is, is definitely a huge fucking no-no.
"Are you sick? Is that why you sleeped so late?" Henry asked, reaching out to touch her forehead.
"No, I'm okay…I went to sleep late last night so I woke up late today."
"Oh is that how come you're in trouble?" Henry puts his hand on his knee and rests his face in his fist. He's giving her the same curious squint Will does when he's in thought. "Cause you didn't go to bed at bedtime?" However, Will has much more tact than his eight year old son.
Charlie's cheeks redden to the point of almost matching her hair color. "I don't have a bedtime." She huffed at him doing her best to not appear rattled by his words.
Henry stated seriously. "Yeah you do, Mikey goes first cause he's a baby then me and last you. Well last momma and daddy, but you go last for us." The almost third grader chews on his lower lip. "A few sleeps ago before you were here, I stayed up late and played on my tablet and was a grumpy monster. Daddy called me that. He said I was a grumpy monster cause I got mad and threw my Lego's all over. I got my tablet taked and had to go to bed early that night too." He pouts at the memory before glancing at his sister. The boy leaves out how his brief time out and he now has to give them his tablet after he brushes his teeth. A sudden thought comes to the boy. "I bet I'll get to stay up way later than you tonight."
"Yeah right," the older sister chuckled rolling her eyes. Although, a tiny part of her does wonder if that's the route JJ and Will plan on going with her. If it is, then that'd really suck cause she sure as hell isn't going to bed the same time as a baby and there's no way she's going to bed before Henry now.
"Yeah-huh, you'll hafta sleep at Mike's bedtime." The younger brother retorted smirking at his sister's discomfort. His friends at camp used to say trying to bug their big siblings was fun and he didn't really understand that until this very moment. Actually, that moment came to him a week or so ago, but right now, he's starting to get what they meant.
"Shut up Henry." Charlie bops the cocky boy with a stuffed bear on her bed.
He pouts up at her indignantly. "You shut up. You're just mad cause I'm right!"
They're interrupted by the sound of Will's voice. "Hey now, what're ya'll fightin' about?" Will originally came up to get a fresh swimsuit for Michael; his daycare advised parents send in more than one pair and was pulled from his quest to the sound of two bickering kids. He did manage to grab the Paw Patrol one with a hat, but he still needs to get water shoes for the boisterous one year old.
"Nothing, sorry I just woke up in a bad mood." Charlie deflates. She likes Will and they get along pretty well, but she isn't his kid and isn't sure whether he'd hear her out.
The stepfather glances from both kids, gauging the unease in one and confusion in the other. Will's brow furrows in thought. He's not quite sure what to make of either child. He studies his slightly bewildered son with a raised eyebrow. "Is that true, bubba?" He asked wondering briefly if his son is going to lie. Henry shrugs in response a look of confusion crinkling his face. Charlie meanwhile looks apprehensive and tense. "Lookit, I dunno what happened to start this but anymore arguin' today will earn you two some chores. Do yah hear me?"
"Yes sir," the teenager stated politely causing Will to cringe at the moniker but nod nonetheless.
"Bubba?" Will turns to his stubborn son who looks away sulking. Henry never has been a fan of getting scolded by his parents, especially in front of an audience. However, the parent thinks his son is more upset at having to be lectured than the person who witnessed it. Will studies him, recognizing the drawn in glower. "Do you need space to think about making kinder choices, Henry James?" He offered firmly. "Okay then, did yah hear what I said about you and sissy arguin' anymore today?"
Henry muttered. "Yeah, no more fighting."
"Thank you for listening bubba, and thank you Charlie for answering nicely." Will read somewhere that regardless of age, children need to be praised for the good things they do. At the slightly brightened postures, the Southerner figures there's something to that. "All right, Henry, go get your shoes on. We gotta drop Mikey off at his school and then go to the dentist." The little boy groans loudly. "Hey now, don't pout too much; we're gonna meet momma and Charlie at the batting cages after."
"What about Charlie and momma? Is she in trouble for staying up late?" The boy pointed out causing a scowl of aggravated embarrassment to form on Charlie's face and for Will to groan internally. He's suddenly grateful he didn't grow up with siblings. He was more of a smart ass than his son and if there were times when his cousins gave him a dead arm while joking around then he would've gotten killed for the other crap he said.
"Ugh, shut up already Henry!" The red haired girl groaned throwing a pillow in his direction. Henry pokes his tongue out at her and does a mocking dance in response.
Will pinches the bridge of his noise. "All right that's enough you two." His tone becomes strict. The father peers at the pair of arguing siblings. "Charlie, you know kinder ways to say things; find them for the next time your brother riles you up." He doesn't mince words. That's not his style. "Henry, Charlie bein' in trouble has got nothing to do with you sir and you know it so I reckon you better get your shoes on before I decide we shouldn't go to the batting cages at all." The boy makes a face, but knows better than to fight further and stomps out of the room. The teenager stays in bed, wishing she could've enjoyed her last minutes before getting rudely interrupted. Will starts to leave before turning to his stepchild. "I'd shake a tail feather if I was you, Trouble, cause if your momma hasta come up here to getcha; she ain't gonna be too happy."
Theo squirms on the couch, trying to look tough in front of Agents Prentiss. A part of him wants to give up on his venture to find a comfortable spot and simply stand, but that'd be admitting his butt hurts. It's a good thing Agent Rossi went to find bowls and ingredients for pancakes or else Theo would be trying harder to look unaffected. But, right now, because it's just Agent Prentiss; the fourteen year old decides to hell with his toughness and stands offering the brunette a slightly forced grin.
He chose to crash at Aviva's last night because he figured with his parents out of town and Riley at a sleepover that there'd be blueberry pancakes in the morning. Aviva's mom makes the best blueberry pancakes. What he didn't expect was for Aviva to bump into the coffee table and knock a flower pot over. That noise woke everyone in the house – save Aviva's dad and sister who're out of town checking out apartments for her – but Pam and Pippa came downstairs to find two slightly drunken fourteen year olds. Pippa was downright amused which contrasted Pam's irritation; she sent everyone up to bed with the promise of a painful conversation tomorrow.
And when tomorrow came, she did not disappoint.
"You feel like talking about it?" Emily pressed studying the fidgeting boy; he was quiet when they picked him up from the Russo's earlier this morning. And the only reason they got Theo was because the boy called Dave, requesting a cooking lesson, but after arriving at the house; Emily and Dave knew cooking was the last thing on his mind. Not to mention the fact that while Theo was getting his stuff upstairs, Pamela Russo told them what happened last night followed by today's consequence. She also didn't seem too bothered by Theo calling them, in fact she seemed downright amused.
"Not really ma'am." Theo mumbled.
The brunette hums. As a young child, if Emily was upset then Elizabeth and Edward Prentiss would banish her to her bedroom until whatever she did to irritate them was forgotten. Eventually, Emily grew to hate being in there for anything other than bedtime and even then she found the space suffocating. But, besides her Ukrainian nanny, Olena, spanking her a few times as an adolescent; Emily's parents never did it. Those instances will forever stand out in memory because those were the brief moments she felt cared for and chastised. To Emily's knowledge, her parents either never found out about the spankings or chose not to acknowledge them. As an adult now, Emily has mixed views on spanking and isn't quite sure how she feels about Theo getting one. Professionally, she gets that it could be detrimental to his health but personally she can see where Pam was coming from and recognizes that both Theo and Aviva needed some reining in.
"It's Aviva's fault." The boy breaks the silence he didn't realize was bugging him. Emily glances in his direction and raises her eyebrows, prompting him to explain further. "If she didn't bump into the stupid table, Pam never would've found out and she wouldn't have–" he pauses as a peachy pink dusts his features. "It just sucks."
Emily commented. "I'm sure it feels that way right now."
"That's cause it is that way." A pout etches onto his features. "It's not fair, I didn't even do anything that bad really like all I did was drink a little…and Pam bugged out on me; it's bull." He ranted forgetting that Emily is technically a grown-up and one who is now frowning in disagreement.
"I think you drinking underage is a big deal. I also think you and Aviva walking home from your friend's house late at night was a dangerous thing to do. You don't know who could've been wandering around; maybe a cop who would've arrested you guys or maybe a person who's deranged, you don't know." Emily speaks plainly. When they first arrived at the Russo's, Pam told them Theo may be moody today due to getting a spanking half an hour prior. Dave nodded, looking a little uncomfortable, but not as much as Emily would have expected. On her part, Emily was stunned because she was under the impression that Theo was too old and Pam was overreacting to a situation. But, after hearing Pam speak about the events that transpired last night, it caused Emily's view to alter slightly. And after hearing the facts, Rossi voiced his agreement to the punishment.
Theo's gaze shifts towards Emily in unsure surprise. He hadn't expected her to say that. He figured Pam would tell them what she did and they'd take pity on him. He heard what Dave said about it and figured since the guy is old that's probably why he feels that way, but Emily's reaction stuns him. Theo bristles. "Didn't you ever drink when you were my age?"
"Yeah I did and I wish I had someone around to kick my butt and tell me it's a dumb thing to do – and since Pam already kicked your butt today then I'm going to be the one to tell you, it's a dumb thing to do." Emily said softly and without any heat. She pushes the boy's hair out of his eyes causing Theo to flinch, but let her anyway. Emily's brow knits together at the response and she drops her hand. "You get what I'm saying right?"
"Yeah, drinkings dumb and I'll get my butt kicked for it."
Emily nudges him. "Don't be a smart ass." She chuckled as she levels him with a look. "But, yeah until you turn twenty-one kid, and let's be real if you're caught drinking after you turn eighteen and before you turn twenty-one; there's a lot worse that could happen to you than getting a spanking." Theo's skin tone changes to a peach-like color and he pouts at his punishment getting broadcasted, even if it is just them in the living room right now. Emily sighs, she can tell Theo's beginning to feel ganged up on so she switches gears. "All right, let's shut this chapter, what happened has been dealt with so why don't we check in on Rossi to see about having a cooking lesson? Cause I don't know about you kid, but my cooking consists of ramen or pizza rolls and I'm pretty sure I don't want to die of high cholesterol."
"Grounded? What?" Charlie takes her heart medication from JJ with a pout.
"You heard me." JJ slides a glass of chocolate milk over to her eldest child. She made the mistake of giving Charlie orange juice with pulp once and her daughter nearly had a fit equivalent to Michael's over it. The girl deemed the liquid too stringy and hasn't had a sip of the stuff since; not that JJ is complaining orange juice is acidic and sugary and she'd prefer no one in the house drink a lot of it.
The teenager whined. "Why?"
JJ paused mid-rinse of a plate to give her kid an unimpressed look. "You're not asking me why you're grounded," at the stunned look on her kid's face JJ sighs. She's suddenly grateful Will took both boys after Charlie came downstairs. "Charlie, you snuck out of the house and got drunk at a party. You're lucky it's only for two weeks." Had JJ dared do any of the things Charlie did she knows she would've gotten grounded for a month and Will's parents would've literally cracked the whip. Charlie doesn't know this, but with Will working overnights and JJ on rotation it makes supervising the grounding tricky. The duo doubts they could actually manage to ground the teenager for longer than two weeks.
"Two weeks? B-But, but JJ–" The young girl began.
The parent cuts her off. "I don't want to hear it, Charlotte." She gives the girl a very stern glare. "Do you know how scared I was when I went to check on you and you weren't in your bed? Or let's talk about the fact that you were drinking, you're fourteen years old Charlie! Drinking at your age is illegal and stupid."
"I'm not stupid." Charlie's voice is full of hurt. Her eyes are cast downward in shame, she knew JJ and Will would be upset but she had no idea they'd be this annoyed with her.
"I'm not calling you stupid, sweetie; I'm calling your choices stupid. There's a difference." JJ stated tucking a loose red curl behind her kid's ear. A thought occurs to the mother and her eyebrows knit together. "How'd you get home last night? Because I know none of your friends have their licenses yet." The profiler makes a face at her child who appears to be staying quiet with the hope that if she doesn't answer maybe her mother will forget she asked. Henry does this too, whenever he's asked something he doesn't want to answer. "Charlie, how did you get home last night?" The mom uses a firmer tone. "I saw a car in the driveway so someone must have driven you." In response the teen shrugs already knowing JJ won't like the answer. "Charlotte Jareau," this is the first time JJ's using that name and it causes Charlie's head to snap up. JJ demanded, "who drove you home last night?"
Charlie plays with the hem of her shirt. "You're gonna be mad."
"Yeah and I'll be even madder if you don't answer." The words slip from JJ's mouth before she has a chance to stop them. She pinches her nose, groaning at how much she sounds like Sandra Jareau especially when she was talking to Ross. Deciding they're getting nowhere, JJ leans against the island. "Okay, I may be upset with whatever the answer may be, but I won't stay that way forever."
"Joss Friar," the girl admitted cringing at the horrified look on her mother's face.
"Excuse me what?" JJ blinks, trying to understand if she heard the strawberry blonde right. Her gaze hardens as Charlie's cheeks turn as red as her hair.
The teenager murmured. "J-Joss drove me. S-She said she practice drives with her uncle sometimes." The excuse sounds lame even to Charlie who cringes at the look on her mother's face. Charlie presses her fingertips on the island letting the countertop cool her fingers and hopefully chill the hot feeling of shame shocking her body.
"You had someone who doesn't have a license and who'd been drinking drive you home last night? Do you realize how irresponsible that was?" The blonde profiler can't stop it as she raises her voice slightly. "Let's forget about the fact that Joss is also fourteen, but she was also drinking! You're a smart girl Charlie, I know you know better than to get in a car with someone who doesn't have a license and was drinking."
"She was less drunk than me." The response sounds feeble when it's lined up with her crimes.
"And what, that makes it better? No don't answer that." JJ struggles to control her temper and is fighting the growing urge to throttle her annoyingly stubborn child. Charlie squirms under her mother's eyes. "You never get in the car with someone who's been drinking regardless of whether they seem less drunk than you. Anything could've happened to you girls and you and Jocelyn are lucky nothing did." And just like that her in-law's parenting method doesn't seem as barbaric anymore. JJ takes a deep breath trying to regain some of the patience she had at ten minutes ago "Okay," she decided, "to start your grounding you're going to write me a paper on underage drinking and driving – I want three pages and for you to put your best effort into it."
"You can't make me write a paper." Charlie's forgotten what it's like to be with real parents who give real consequences. The last time anyone did was Jenna McCall and that was over three years ago.
JJ raises her eyebrows before nodding at the challenge in her kid's voice. "You're right I can't, but if that paper isn't done by the time your grounding is over then you're going to stay grounded until it is." The profiler hopes Charlie sucks it up and does the paper because monitoring this grounding is going to be difficult enough without her kid getting days added on. JJ doesn't show her poker face. "And I want you to really put some thought into this, is that understood?"
The fourteen year old muttered. "Yes ma'am."
"Thank you," JJ acknowledged kindly. She doesn't enjoy being called ma'am by anyone specifically her children, but there are times when the formality is somewhat appreciated in a way. Running a hand through her hair, she studies Charlie feeling as though she doesn't know her daughter.
"Are you gonna tell everyone else's parents?" The thought of JJ calling all of her friends' parents seems more like a punishment than getting grounded, especially because Charlie's so new to the group. It'd really suck to have everyone think she let her mom do that.
"By everyone else, I'm guessing you mean Aviva, Joss, Jamie, and Theo's parents' right?" JJ pressed waiting for her daughter to nod before humming sympathetically. The thought to not inform them crossed her mind, but had the situation been reversed; she'd want to know. "I planned on it, but Aviva's mom beat me to the punch."
"What?" Charlie questioned her brow squinting.
The blonde haired mother explained. "Pam Russo called me this morning to let me know after she caught Aviva sneaking in last night. She told me she was working her way down a long list."
Charlie makes a face. "That sucks. Aviva must be so...wow that just sucks." She can't imagine the complete and utter shame of having her mother tattle to everyone else's parents about what happened last night.
"Mhmm," the mother agreed glad she wasn't making those calls today. In hind sight, JJ realizes she has to get to know more of those parents. Steering the conversation back to its original point, the blonde asked. "Was this your first time drinking?" As much as she wishes they could end this discussion, she has to press on anyway. Charlie shrugs wordlessly. "No, a shrug isn't going to cut it; we're going to talk about this."
"Do we have to?"
JJ thinks for a moment. She wants to take the easy way out and let Charlie off the hook of this conversation, but she can't; it wouldn't be fair. "Yeah we do." Charlie's shoulders slump and her chin drops into her chest.
"None of my other parents have before." Charlie stated quietly. She leaves out how she was too young to have this talk in the Dalton and McCall households. In the Bertram home, she got there at eleven and by the time she was old enough, Alma was too far gone mentally.
"And that was their choice, but this talk is mine." JJ's tone takes on a strict edge. The blonde takes in her child's pinched cheeks and furrowed brow before softening her features. "This is new for me too, okay? I've never been the parent of a teenager before and…and I want us to be able to talk about these kinds of things. In fact, I think it's important we have these kinds of talks a lot." In response, Charlie nods albeit reluctantly but agreeing in her own way. "You know, when I was your age, I didn't go out much. My world revolved around soccer, my friends and family, and schoolwork."
Her daughter questioned. "Why?"
"Because," JJ sighs deeply. "I didn't…I didn't want my parents to worry about me." Charlie's face turns ashen and she avoids eye contact; it wasn't like she planned last night, not really. JJ reads her expression. "Honey, I'm not saying that to guilt you or anything, I promise. After my sister Roz died, my parents…" she blinks painfully, "they never recovered." A piece of JJ selfishly wonders why; she lost two children and knows how painful it can be, but was still able to be the mom her boys needed. "And I guess not having them worry was my way of trying to help. I made my world small so they wouldn't have to think about me." Only now does JJ realize how much she put on the back-burner in order to ease her parents worries. "I don't want you to do that. I want you to experience things and to make mistakes, like the ones you made last night. This isn't me being okay with your choices, though, this is me understanding kids need to make mistakes in order to grow as people."
"Okay," the girl isn't quite sure how to answer that but she knows she has to say something.
"You haven't lived me long." JJ stated, not unkindly. "I get that, I do, but you know Will and I wouldn't have let you go to a party with alcohol and I'm guessing no parents around right?"
Charlie answered feeling chastened. "I know." She squirms in her chair before admitting. "Last night wasn't my first time drinking, I've only gotten drunk one other time…with Ben. We got into Jules's cabinet and drank her vodka on Easter and puked a lot. Peach vodka is like super gross. We thought it'd taste like peaches, it didn't." JJ has to press her lips together to keep from laughing at the innocence displayed in those words. She nods for her to continue. "Jules was real mad at us too." Charlie groans at the memory of vomiting which led to her crashing. The next morning, she awoke to an incredibly, long lecture from Jules and a few whacks from her spoon as she skirted past the woman and back to Alma's. "Besides that, I've only had a sip of beer before and it wasn't even like a real sip."
"What do you mean it wasn't a real sip?" The mother's brow furrows together thoughtfully. In her own life, JJ began drinking at eighteen when she was a freshman in college.
"It was the last drop in the can and…and it was like drinking vinegar and oil at the same time." Charlie said trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice. She doesn't talk much about that time in her life; Ben, Tasha, and Bug are the only ones who know about it and they only know because they were there for it. Tanya doesn't even know much about it given the fact that she wasn't her social worker yet. Of course, Charlie has no doubt Tanya's read the reports, but reading shit is different than hearing it. During her time at the Dalton's, her curiosity as to why Rick got mad after he drank got the better of her and she took a sip of one of the near empty cans by the TV. The taste alone set her teeth on edge, at the time eight year old Charlie was repulsed. She spent half an hour afterwards brushing her teeth in an attempt to get the taste out of her mouth.
The blonde profiler considers her daughter's words and switching to her profiler hat, she gauges the validity of it all before seeing truth and nodding. "Okay."
"Okay, just okay?" The girl's confusion is clear as she peers up at her mother.
JJ frowns at her thoughtfully. "Yeah sweets, okay, I'm not going to punish you for being honest with me about stuff that happened years ago. That wouldn't make any sense." Her reasoning is sound, but stuns Charlie nonetheless and the girl isn't shy about hiding it. "Char, I know my word may not mean much to you because let's face it we don't know each other that well yet, but I'd never punish you for something that happened in your past – and by past, I mean anything that happened when you weren't in my care."
"So uh if you wanna make some more sense, then I shouldn't be grounded at all."
"Nice try, kiddo." JJ chuckled. "This happened while in my care, you're getting a consequence for it." She levels her adventurous daughter with her patented mom face. "Look, I want you to feel like your world can be big and you have control, but you can't leave this house without asking me or Will first, drink underage, and you definitely can't get into a car with someone who doesn't have a license and that's been drinking either."
The girl hangs her head. "I know." And she does, the minute Charlie shimmied out the window she knew her new parents were more than likely going to catch her and she'd be busted. It was a test of sorts to see how far she could push them; Charlie didn't realize it until this very moment, but that's what it was. There've been stories where fosters kick kids out for less than what she pulled. Charlie wanted to see what it'd take to get them properly pissed off – and by the looks of it this morning, her plan worked too well. They were disappointed – a detail that irked Charlie, she'd prefer them exploding as opposed to their saddened expressions when she saw them this morning.
"If you know, then why did you sneak out last night?" Charlie shrugs. She chances a glance up to see JJ staring at her, waiting. With a sigh, the teen chews on her lower lip and shrugs again. JJ nods. "Okay, well you're grounded so go get me your laptop, phone, and tablet please. You can use my or Will's laptops for homework in the kitchen and if you want to Facetime Alma or Ben all you have to do is ask; we won't say no." She adds. JJ doesn't want to cut off communication from Charlie to them; they've been her connections too long for the mom to feel comfortable with the girl going cold turkey. "And you can have your phone back for school, but that's only for your own safety and once you get home; your phone goes back in my room." The profiler knows she and Will's schedules can be sporadic, so they usually have their nanny, Jade around until someone gets home to relieve her. But, having a twenty-one year old attempt to enforce a punishment on a fourteen year old would not be good for anyone. And, JJ wants her to feel like she has control. "If you choose to keep your phone and use it when Will and I aren't home then I'm going to choose to add days where I keep your phone after your grounding. Is that understood?"
"Yes ma'am…" Charlie pauses for all her sass, no one can truly call her disrespectful. There have been times when she's pushed boundaries, but the limits Charlie pushed were a test of sorts. The only people who she never dared test were the Dalton's and that was because she was forewarned by Bug and Tasha to never push them too far or she'd taste the belt. Southern policy regards discipline of children to be strict. However, Charlie knows oftentimes it depends on who you get as a social worker that decides whether or not its worthy to take a kid out of a home that incorporates beltings as part of the punishment repertoire. Charlie has no issues with getting spanked, in the past she got spanked by Jenna once and Jules…well more than once; never with Alma. "I'm sorry about last night."
"I know you are sweetie. These two weeks will fly." JJ promised earning a doubtful look from her daughter, but the girl wisely keeps her mouth shut.
Charlie slides off the stool, beginning on the short trek to her bedroom. She pauses at the door and turns so she's halfway facing her mother. "I knew I'd get caught when I snuck out last night, I knew I'd get caught and I knew you guys would be pissed, I just wanted to see what would happen I guess." The teenager walks out of the room before the profiler can formulate a response.