I did make some adjustments to this chapter. Not much has changed besides the added talk between David and Megan.
Charlee's face scrunched up in thought, then took on an almost hurt expression. "But they were fighting." She released, scooting back even more against the back of the couch.
Megan cocked her head to the side. "Who was fighting?"
Charlee hesitated momentarily, then remembered who she was talking to. "My mom and dad."
"Your mom and dad were fighting." She asked her, to make sure she was getting this down.
In response, Charlee nodded sadly. "They were fighting."
"Can you remember what they were fighting about?"
Staring into the distance, her eyes wandered to Megan's. "Me." Her eyes glossed over, the wetness quickly disappearing. "I thought I was doing something wrong." Charlee bowed her head and in turn Megan wanted to do something to comfort her, but she stayed in her place on the couch, waiting for the right time to place the comfort; a few feet on the couch was between them. Scooting forward, Megan caught Charlee's attention. Her hand gently sat on the the young girl's knee.
Megan's eyebrow creased in concern; the young girl's head bowed, fear in her expression that was masking the sadness. Gently raising her chin by gently pressing upwards with her fingers in a loving gesture. "You're not to blame for this Charlee. Your daddy made a choice...a wrong one and now he needs to understand what he did was wrong."
"Like a time out?" An awkward satisfaction narrowed in Charlee's expression, a yawn emitted as she covered her small hand over her mouth.
Megan nodded. "Something like it." Okay so not exactly, but in irony, it was. Grabbing the blanket that was draped over the middle of the couch, she laid it over Charlee's small body. Silence fell over them--Charlee had leaned her head back against the back of the couch, eyes closed tightly. Standing Megan stretched as she walked across the room to the counter where her cup was sitting. One more sip and she poured the clear liquid out of her cup; the strong smell of coffee was tempting but she walked out of the break room without looking back.
At least almost...
"Megan?" Charlee's sleepy voice broke through the silence. "Where are you going?"
Charlee's eyes were wide open; gazing at Megan with an inquiry of sadness. "I was going to go back to my desk to do some work for a little while."
"Oh. Then are you going home?" Charlee asked out of the blue, blinking out the momentary sleepiness.
Megan could sense a question of abandonment, a grasping of familiarity that couldn't be lost. "It will be awhile before I go home." Her lips parted a sly smile. It wouldn't be long that Don would try to send her home after she had told him of her pregnancy. Thankfully right now he was kept occupied with the case.
Charlee's eyes searched Megan's, until they settled upon the hope that had just been given to her. "Aren't you tired?" Clearly reflecting that she saw the truth already, her eyes closed; still anticipating the answer. Megan nodded in admittance as she ran her hand through her hair and walked back over to the couch as Charlee showed an expresision of frustration that changed the subject of the conversation. "Do you think mommy is safe now?"
Furrowing her eyebrow momentarily, Megan sat down on the couch next to Charlee. "I'm sure she loved you. And I'm so sure that she'll never regret protecting you."
The young girl yawned again and laid her head down on the arm of the couch. "Promise?"
"I promise." Megan couldn't hold back as she brushed her fingers through Charlee's hair. The little girl closed her eyes, snuggling in more. "Get some rest." she whispered in effort not wake her, and stood. Leaving the room, Megan shut the door and walked back to her desk.
David looked up from where he had been sitting; a mix of curiousity showed as she sat down. "You look like you're about to crash." Absently she rubbed her forehead and shook off the sleepiness that she had been feeling.
"Yeah well the day is just beginning and I don't have time to crash." She offered him almost a humorous half smile as much as she could muster.
He offered a laugh, "Yeah, well--" rubbed the back of his neck and pushed back from his desk. "You know us, well oiled machines." his teasing brought them some laughter, but ended quicker than the two of them would have liked. It turned out that he had a question in his mind that had cut the happiness short. "You know, I should have said this sooner but when Colby was in trouble, you mentioned something to Don and I about it not being fair that we had been keeping everything inside. And you know one of the reasons of being a team is to share that wealth of information even if it kills us." Exhaling he raised his hand in thought. "It's like we're never on the same beat anymore, playing shots at our own game--you know."
"I know." She confirmed finally speaking, quietly and understanding. "But a part of taking a shot at your own game is knowing the risks that you're taking."
And after the hour had passed since she had the conversation with David, she finally allowed herself to breathe. She had been alone for the past half hour and had buried herself in the remaining paperwork she had to finish. Don, David and Colby had been combing over the crime scene; finally after about twenty minutes after they had started they had received word that the prints found at the crime scene belonged to Antonio Harrison; his record showing that he had been arrested once before on one count of abuse. From the looks of it you would think that he had served enough time for the crime, so why commit another?
At that information the team took off. Megan stayed behind having the right circumstances to staying behind with Charlee still fast asleep in the break room. Already it was a quarter to two and there had been no sign of her waking, or an anticipated call from Dr. Meyer's. It had been awhile since Megan herself had been awake but the day had already taken twists and turns that made her not feel quite up to speed. Already the life that was growing inside of her was a blessing in disguise.