Thanks for the feedback! Chapter set in Richie's second year at college.

Richie walks up to the counter, barely pausing before saying, "Coffee to go please."

"What size"

"Uh…" Richie scans the sign above the counter, silently sighing at the prices. "I'll take a medium." The small is barely more than two sips but his wallet won't allow for full size. Richie makes the payment before getting a book out as the girl behind the counter makes the drink. He hasn't finished the first sentence before a guy goes up to the counter, managing to knock the book in Richie's hand as he asks the girl, "So how fast can you whip up a latte?"

Richie looks up in annoyance, a smartmouthed remark already formed, when he stops. He knows this guy. He has blonde hair, an easy grin on his face, and his voice is familiar too. This is Logan, this is Charlotte's father, and Richie instinctively takes a step back. He can count on one hand the number of conversations he and Logan have ever had and Richie isn't eager to add to the list. Glancing at the counter, Richie silently urges the girl to make his coffee faster, hoping he can duck out without being noticed. Logan is checking something on his cellphone. On his way here, he had hoped it would take longer, in order to justify procrastination on his paper, but now Richie wishes he hadn't gone out at all. At least the coffee is to go.

The girl is pouring the liquid into the cup. Come on, come on. Carefully, she places a lid on it and as Richie steps forward, ready to take it from her, she says brightly, "Here you go!"

"Thanks," Richie mumbles. He glances back, hoping Logan will be immersed in his cellphone, but instead he has looked round. A frown is forming on his brow and just as Richie is considering leaving before he really sees him, Logan announces, "I know you."

"No, you don't."

"You're Rory's kid," Logan says, the frown lifting as he makes the connection. "Richie, right?"

Richie nods and stops as Logan says, "Hey, let me buy you a coffee."

"Already bought it," Richie says, lifting up the cardboard cup. "I'm good."

"Then I'll buy you another one. Miss? Make that two."

"Coffee, not latte," Richie says automatically and Logan laughs.

"Coffee with your coffee?"

"That's right." Richie is his mother's son; coffee runs through his veins. He watches as the girl finishes Logan's latte, making a second coffee for Richie. He is pleased that she makes it in a large cup at least. Awkwardly, he follows Logan over to a table, and shrugs as Logan asks, "You busy?"

"Kind of." It's too late now anyway. He should have made an excuse and gone. Richie stares into the black liquid of his cup. Is he betraying his mother and sister by being here? Will they be mad at him or will they want to hear what's going on with Logan? Richie doesn't know. He lifts the small jug of milk the girl has brought over and tips a tiny swirl in, watching the white turn to dark.

"So what's going on with you?" Logan asks, a grin cemented on his face again. "You must be in college now, right?"

"Second year."

"Wow. I remember when Rory was pregnant with you."

"Great." Richie doesn't know what to say to that. He takes a sip of coffee, tolerating the smalltalk of what it is he's studying, if he likes it and mostly responds with one word answers. He realises he is supposed to laugh when Logan says, "I work for myself now but the boss is a sucker."

Richie gives an awkward chuckle and Logan laughs at his own joke, sipping his latte. Putting the cup down, Logan leans forward and asks, "So how's your sister?"

"Which one?" Richie knows which one but enjoys the brief look of embarrassment on Logan's face before he says, "Charlotte."

"She's fine."

"She is?"

"She's great. My other sister is too," Richie says, watching Logan falter as he says, "Good. I'm happy that – great that your other sister is good too."

"Her name is Annie," Richie tells him and quickly Logan nods, hastily saying, "Right, right. I knew that."

Richie doubts the validity of that statement but lets it slide. Instead, he says, "Our dad is good too."

"I'm glad," Logan says sourly. Mercifully, this seems to close the conversation and the two silently drink. Richie wonders if this is it, if he can politely - well, semi-politely – give Logan a line and get out of here. He's not exactly fond of the guy. So he accidentally made some of Charlotte's genes, so what? He was never her father. She, Richie and Annie have a father. They all have the same dad. Until Richie was thirteen, Logan was on the other side of the Atlantic and Charlotte saw him maybe once or twice a year. She never even seemed to care until he moved here and now she sees him every few months or so and exchanges emails. She always seems sad after seeing him and, as much as Rory and Jess have firmly told Richie that it's her thing and to leave it alone, Richie doesn't get it. The guy's a jerk. Why does she want to see the guy who is only her father by blood? Richie has never asked Charlotte this but the question burns on his tongue.

"So how's your mom?" Logan asks, shaking Richie from his thoughts. "I haven't talked to Rory in a while."

"Fine."

"You get the monosyllabic thing from your dad," Logan remarks. "Definitely not from your mom."

"I get a lot of things from my dad."

"From Rory too, I bet," Logan counters, ignoring the jibe. "Just like your sister."

"Charlotte's a lot like our dad," Richie retorts, enjoying how Logan's eyes narrow. "Funny how things turn out, huh?"

Logan drinks more latte before asking, "You talk to Charlotte lately?"

"We talk all the time."

"Yeah? I talk to my sister a lot too."

"Good for you."

"Good for both of us. So how is Charlotte? Have you seen her lately?"

"Not that long ago." Richie decides not to tell Logan he is actually seeing Charlotte later tonight.

"What's she doing these days?"

"Working in a newspaper office. She loves it."

Logan smiles at that and says, "Just like her mom."

Richie stares down at his cup, which is mostly empty, feeling awkward at the fondness in Logan's voice. He looks back up as Logan asks, "So how is she? Is she happy?"

"She's fine," Richie says, angry, suddenly. "She's great, she's more than great, and you'd know that if you bothered to call her."

"Hey!"

"I've got nothing to do with you," Richie says, longing to throw the remaining coffee in Logan's face. "You made my mom miserable and now you're making my sister miserable too. As far as I know, you're the guy who got my mom pregnant. That's it."

"I'm your sister's father."

"Oh, please. You gave up some sperm, big deal. We have our own father, we have a real dad, and it's not you."

"You don't know what you're talking about. I've known Rory a long time."

"Oh, so you knew her first so that gives you the right to screw things up?"

"I did not screw things up! This whole thing started before you were even born."

"Doesn't mean I'm not right."

Logan is scowling, his hand clenched around his cup, but all he says is, "Charlotte is my daughter and I love her. I don't care if you believe it or not."

"If you love her so much why did you act like you didn't even have a daughter until she was sixteen?" Richie demands. "I was around for that. I was around for you messing up Charlotte's life."

"I did not mess up her life!"

Richie snorts and Logan sighs, the fight going out of him.

"I only want the best for her. That's all I ever wanted. I want her to be happy."

Richie gives the slightest of nods, holding back the sarcasm, and Logan says, "Can you just tell me how she really is? With a real sentence?"

"If you want to know how she really is, you can ask her," Richie says, getting up. "Forget buying me coffee to find out." He fishes in his pocket for some change, throwing it on the table. "Take it."

"On me," Logan says squarely, pushing the money back and Richie retorts, "Whatever. Point still stands. You don't care about me or Annie, you didn't even remember her name. If you want to know about Charlotte and Mom, talk to Charlotte and Mom. Leave me out of it."

"Richie," Logan says and, against perhaps better judgement, Richie stops. "I do care about your mom and sister. I always have. It's complicated."

"That was your choice," Richie says. "I've got to go."

"Will you tell Charlotte I want to see her?" Logan asks, a hint of pleading in his voice. "Please. Can you tell her that, that I want to see her?"

Richie almost says no, he's done, but the sadness in Logan's eyes stops him.

"Fine," he says bitterly and as Logan opens his mouth to thank him Richie cuts him off. "I'm doing it for Charlotte, not for you."

"Thanks anyway," Logan says. "See you, kid."

"Right," Richie mumbles. He watches Logan leave, stuffs the coins in his pocket, hesitates, and then gives the money to the girl at the counter as a tip. The money seems tainted now.

Richie spends the rest of the afternoon staring at his essay, barely writing more than a sentence. He jumps as his cellphone buzzes, announcing Charlotte's arrival, and is uncomfortable as he goes out to meet her.

"What's up with you?" Charlotte asks after Richie awkwardly returns her hug and looks disbelieving as Richie replies, "Nothing. Just a long day."

They head over to a cafe which does pizza in the evenings, splitting one between them and ordering a glass of wine and beer each. Richie listens to Charlotte talk about her week, the new guy at the office and having to do his work as well as hers because he keeps screwing up. Charlotte stops to drink some wine and finally asks, "So how was your day?"

"Okay, I guess."

"Did you have class?"

"No."

Charlotte waits and finally exclaims, "Okay, what is going on? You've been weird all evening."

"I have not."

"Yes you have, now tell me what's up."

"I saw Logan today," Richie says angrily and, as his sister stops in surprise, he confirms, "Yeah, that Logan. Your biological father Logan."

"How is he?" Charlotte asks, composing her voice, and Richie rolls his eyes.

"He's Logan."

"What does that mean?"

"You know what that means! He's a jerk."

"Richie!"

"Come on Charlotte, you know he is."

"What were you even doing talking to him in the first place?"

"Ran into him at a café and he got me a coffee. I tried to pay him back though," Richie tells her, silently unsure if refusing the money was such a wise decision as he looks at the pizza and beer. "It was weird."

"What did he want?"

"To hear about you. I yelled at him."

"Richie! You did not!"

"He deserved it! I hate that guy," Richie says angrily, tearing off a slice of pizza. "He treats you and Mom like crap."

"He doesn't."

"Charlotte, he pretended you didn't exist until you were sixteen and the only reason he does now is because you ran away to New York and told his wife! He sees you when it's convenient for him, when he feels like seeing you. How is he not a jerk?"

"Stop," Charlotte says and her voice makes Richie do so. "Stop it. It's complicated."

"Yeah, everyone likes saying that," Richie remarks, forgetting any advice his parents gave him on respecting Charlotte's choice to see Logan. "Seems pretty simple to me. He knocked up Mom, Mom got together with Dad and he raised you. Dad's your father, not Logan, he was your dad before he adopted you and you still want to talk to Logan. I don't get it, Charlotte! You're always sad after seeing him, every time, and you don't need him. You don't."

A tear rolls down Charlotte's cheek and a huge wave of guilt sweeps over Richie.

"I just – I just don't think he deserves to see you," Richie says. "He doesn't deserve to be in your life. I'm mad at him, not you."

"It's not about him deserving to be in my life," Charlotte says quietly, wiping her eyes with a napkin. "It's that I want him to be."

"Why?"

"He's part of what I am," Charlotte says carefully. "I don't know if I'll always feel that way, but he's kind of my father."

"We have the same father," Richie says, throat tight, and Charlotte shakes her head.

"No. I know. That's not what I mean…of course we have the same father, the same dad. Nothing will change that. But I have a connection to Logan. I'm curious, I guess. I don't know if I always will be, but right now I want to see him."

"You always seem sad afterwards."

Charlotte shrugs, eating some pizza.

"Maybe. But I feel sorry for him, not me. I don't think he's happy."

"I still think he's a jerk," Richie says honestly and Charlotte laughs before saying seriously, "I don't need you to fight my battles."

"Yeah. But I'm your brother."

"I lucked out, huh?" Charlotte says, smiling. "Thank you for standing up for me."

"What I'm here for. You are lucky – didn't you want me to be given back when I was born? What would you have done then, huh?"

"Loved being an only child," Charlotte teases. "Until Annie came along."

"Yeah, well, she was an accident," Richie jokes. They both laugh until Charlotte says, "Well, so was I."

"Mom wouldn't say that. Neither would Dad."

"I know," Charlotte says. She smiles, finishing her wine, and says, "I'm okay. It's okay."

"Logan says he misses you," Richie says, after a pause. "He wanted me to tell you."

"Oh," Charlotte says. She looks at her empty glass and Richie asks awkwardly, "Should I not have told you?"

"No, it's fine. It's good."

"I still think the guy's a jerk, but he does miss you," Richie says. "It wasn't just a line."

"I know," Charlotte says quickly. "But thanks."

They finish their meal, settle the bill, and head out into the night. It's still cold, winter lingering, and carefully Richie asks, "Are you going to call him?"

"Yes. I don't know when, but I will."

"Are you going to tell Mom?"

"I guess. She'd want to know. Are you going to tell her about seeing Logan?" Charlotte asks shrewdly and Richie shrugs.

"She'll probably find out anyway. Think she'll be mad at me for yelling at him like that?"

"No. I think she'll appreciate it. She might not say it, but she will."

"Sounds like Mom."

"Dad'll be proud of you," Charlotte comments and Richie laughs before stopping, saying, "He won't be proud of me for yelling that you shouldn't see Logan, and Mom won't either. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"They always said it's your thing, and it is. I should have respected it."

"You're allowed to have an opinion."

"I'm still sorry…it's not my thing to deal with."

Charlotte shrugs, looking at her brother. "We all have our stuff."

They walk in silence for a little while before Richie asks what Charlotte's doing for the rest of the weekend.

"I'm taking Annie shopping tomorrow," Charlotte tells him. "Sister day out. I assume you don't want to come along."

"Not to the shopping part. Besides, I can't mess up sister day."

"We might hang out at Mom and Dad's after I drop her back. You should come."

"I don't know…."

"I want you too. Annie will as well. I think she's having a tough time right now."

"You do?"

"High school stuff. Maybe we can talk to her together."

"First I deal with one sister, then I have to deal with another?" Richie pretends to protest. "Fine."

"Good. Isn't it what family is for?"

"Something cheesy like that."

Charlotte puts her arm around Richie and they walk down the street. Richie doesn't say it, but for a moment he isn't mad at Logan. He has Charlotte because of him and Richie can't imagine life without his sister. He doesn't want to.