Charlie wanders into the kitchen a little after eight in the morning, clearly too late for breakfast with the boys, but just on time to be lectured by Maggie. As the Republic's best doctor and Charlie's good friend, the older woman has her own bedroom at Independence Hall, though she usually stays at the clinic when she's in town.
"Sleeping late, are we?" She teases over her bowl of oatmeal.
Charlie rolls her eyes and ignores her, piling her plate high with food. Maggie eyes the tower of toast, eggs, and sausage and gives her a meaningful look.
"Speaking as your doctor, is there something I should know?"
Charlie let's the question hang in the air for a moment as she munches on her toast and sips some orange juice. "Not sure I know what you mean," she says carefully.
Maggie, being the gentler and more subtle of the two, smiles in an attempt to warm the younger girl up a little. "I'm merely pointing out that you've been sleeping in quite a bit lately and you've been eating almost as much as Miles, which is worrying, unless there is a reason."
Sighning, Charlie drops her toast back onto the plate and glares modify at her glass of juice. "I'm not pregnant, Maggie."
The doctor nods, though doesn't take the statement as is. "Are you sure? It's quite normal for a woman for to experience spotting during the early stages of pregnancy."
This statement is met with silence, causing Maggie to think that perhaps her friend is pregnant and just in denial. Though judging by the downcast look on her face, something about the idea is clearly bothering the young woman. Something other than just carrying a child.
"You and Bass have been married for over eight months, Charlie." She says gently. "No one will think badly of you for starting a family, everyone loves you two." This of course is just a guess at what her friend's problem may be. Charlie has been known to hold herself to insanely high standards over the years, Maggie knowing from the personal experience of helping her knock those standards down.
Charlie sighs and picks at the food on her plate before looking around the kitchen to check for eavesdroppers. "It's not that," she says quietly. "I really am not pregnant, but..." She checks around the room again nervously and leans across the table to whisper. "I want to be."
Maggie sits back in her seat confusedly. "I don't understand."
"It's Bass. He... He's always so careful. It's like he doesn't even want to have a baby with me. And every time I bring it up he finds some excuse to leave and doesn't come back until he knows I'm either gone or asleep."
This is clearly something that has been weighing on Charlie's mind for a while. Possibly even affecting her sleep schedule and eating habits.
"And I know that he worries about it," she says suddenly, obviously not finished getting this off her chest. "After what happened to Shelly... I remember how much it killed him when she died, it killed me too, she was my first friend that wasn't a guy, but that hasn't stopped me from wanting a baby. I want us to have kids, even if he only wants one, but he's just so against it."
She leans back in her chair dejectedly and doesn't even attempt to pick at her food again as tears start falling down her cheeks. "Do you think he regrets marrying me?" She asks desperately.
Maggie jumps up and runs around the table, making a mental note to kick Bass' ass later, to comfort her. "Of course not, love. Bass is so in love with you, you know that. But you also know that he's a big, stubborn baby when it comes to things like this. Remember, it took him a year after you turned eighteen for him to even realize that he had feelings for you. He isn't exactly the most intelligent man on the planet."
Charlie snorts, sending a wave of snot from her nose which only makes her laugh harder. Maggie wrinkles her nose and hands her a napkin to clean up with. "You are just like Miles. Disgusting."
She giggles as she wipes her face and leans over to hug her. "Thank you, Maggie. You're the only friend I have that isn't obligated to report to my husband or my uncle."
"Well technically, your husband is the President which means I am kind of obligated to report to him."
Charlie glares at her.
"Then again, you are protected by doctor patient confidentiality so I don't think I'll be telling him anything."
Grinning, Charlie gives her a kiss on the cheek and redirects her attention back to her breakfast. Maggie goes back to her own food, studying her friend across the table.
"You need to talk to him about it Charlie. Bass is a good man, but he's not a mind reader. Communication is key."
She sighs like this is something she's heard before, which she has because she's lectured Nora and her uncle on the exact same topic countless times, but nods in agreement as the two finish their breakfast.
A/N It's short, I know. I'll write the Bass/Charlie side of this later, but I'm pretty swamped with work stuff right now so be patient with me. Thanks for reading!