A/N: Thanks to any and everyone reading this! I'm really excited about the next few chapters, having a lot of fun writing this story :)
Chapter 9
Charlotte tossed and turned, finally laying on her back.
"Honey," Jessica spoke sleepily from beside her.
Charlotte bit her lip, "Sorry," she said guiltily, "I can't sleep."
"You're nervous," Jessica ran a hand through her daughters' hair, "It's going to be fine, baby."
"What if she hates me?" Charlotte asked in a small voice.
Jessica pulled Charlotte closer, running a finger down her cheek, "I really do think she'll be glad to see you, Charlie. And whatever happens, just remember you're coming home to me," she smiled.
Charlotte smiled, "You always know how to make me feel better," she mumbled.
"Then no matter what happens, nothing can really hurt us," Jessica said firmly.
Charlotte nodded, "You're right," she whispered, "I love you."
"I love you more," Jessica kissed her cheek and pulled her into her chest, "Now, do you think you can get some sleep?"
Charlotte nuzzled further into her mom's chest, "Maybe if you hold me a while," she whispered.
"Of course I will," Jessica kissed the top of Charlotte's head, "Close your eyes," she murmured, "I'll stay awake until you fall asleep, I promise."
"Thanks, mommy," Charlotte murmured.
"I'll be right here if you need me," Jessica held her daughters hand firmly, "You'll be just fine. I know it."
Charlotte nodded before taking a deep breath. She followed a nurse down the hall and was shown to the visitors' room. She sat, waiting nervously. Her fingers tapped on the edge of the table. She cracked all her knuckles. She bit her nails.
"I do that too."
Charlotte took her nail out of her mouth and looked up.
"H-hi," she stood up on instinct, "I'm – "
"Charlotte," the woman finished, "I know," she smiled.
"You do?" Charlotte frowned, "But I thought… are you… my mom?" she finished weakly.
The woman put a hand on Charlotte's cheek, "Yes, I am."
Charlotte's eyes widened, "How did you know… I was me? I mean, since last time you saw me I was a baby…boy."
"I've kept tabs on you," the woman said simply.
"Oh, but I thought… mom said she hasn't spoken to you since… a really long time," Charlotte wondered.
"If by mom," her expression darkened slightly, "you mean Jessica, that's true. I haven't spoken to her since you were barely five. I've had… professionals keep me up to date on you."
Charlotte tilted her head, "Like private investigators or something?"
"Yes, exactly," her mom nodded.
"And you're not… disappointed?" Charlotte nibbled on her lip.
"That you've grown into a beautiful woman?" her mother said, "No, not for a single moment."
Charlotte smiled, "Oh, cool. Um, what should I call you?"
"You call me whatever you like," her mother shrugged, "Mom…Mary. I suppose Jessica's with you today?"
Charlotte noticed the way Mary's eyes darkened each time Jessica was mentioned, "Yeah, she drove me up here…" she nibbled on her lip, "Um, she can probably come in if you want to see her…"
"No," Mary spoke sharply, "That's not… necessary."
Charlotte nodded, "You know, she took really good care of me," she said tentatively.
"I'm sure she did," Mary muttered, "But tell me, did you ever know about me until recently?"
Charlotte sighed, "No," she admitted quietly, "She just told me the other day… but it's… it's complicated."
"I'm your mother, she should have told you about me," Mary tried not to sound defensive, but not very effectively.
"Yeah, well," Charlotte shrugged, "I mean, I said so too. I wasn't very happy… but I know she was just trying to protect me."
"From me?" Mary asked quietly.
Charlotte shook her head, "No, from… just from the darkness of it all, I guess."
Mary pursed her lips, "I see," she settled on, "I never meant to leave you… I wasn't in a very healthy state of mind back then. I'm very sorry."
Charlotte nodded, "Do you feel better now?" she asked.
Mary smiled, "I feel much better. I have to live with the things I've done which isn't always pleasant… but I must be doing well if they're giving me a parole hearing," she supposed.
Charlotte's eyebrows shot up, "You're getting parole?"
Mary frowned, "I suppose so. You didn't know? I thought that's why you came… "
Charlotte shook her head, "No, I didn't know that. That's… big."
"Well," Mary swept a hand through her hair, "It's been a long time coming. Hm, funny I would have thought they would have notified Jessica."
Charlotte frowned, "I don't think she knows or she would have said something, I'm sure."
"I'm sure," Mary sounded unconvinced, "She would have said something."
"You really didn't know?" Charlotte asked.
"No, honey," Jessica squeezed her daughters hand quickly before putting it back on the steering wheel, "I had no idea. Did she say when it was?"
"A few weeks," Charlotte answered, "Do you think it's… you know, safe for her to be out?"
Jessica looked at her daughter quickly, "I'm not sure," she said slowly, "You've seen her more recently than me… What was your impression?"
Charlotte nibbled her lip, "She seemed nice…until…" she trailed off.
"Until I was mentioned?" Jessica guessed.
Charlotte hesitated before answering, "Yeah… I mean, mom I want to know her because she's my… bio-mom but I don't want her to hurt you."
"Charlie, I don't think they would let her out if they thought she'd hurt anybody," Jessica said reassuringly, "Don't you worry about me, honey."
Charlotte shrugged, "I love you. Of course I'm going to worry."
"Was it weird?" Alison asked.
Charlotte squinted while she thought, "It was a bit… she has my eyes. Or I have hers, I guess. She seemed pretty nice but then whenever mom was mentioned she'd get this heavy look about her. It was intense."
"I guess it would be hard though… her hearing you call mom, mom and not her," Alison thought aloud.
"Yeah, I guess," Charlotte shrugged, "But mom will always be my mom."
Alison nodded slowly, "But isn't it weird calling her mom since you guys are… you know, intimate?"
Charlotte was surprised at the question; they didn't talk about Charlotte's relationship with their mom very much, "Oh, well not really. She raised me, Ali so she'll always be my mom," she said quietly, "Does it, me and mom, still… make you uncomfortable?"
Alison sighed, "It's not the easiest thing to get used to. I mean, I'm relieved that it's only a recent thing because you know, you're old enough to know what you're getting yourself into… and I can see how much you love her when you're with her or you talk about her but… " she shrugged, "It's just a bit… I don't know," she shrugged again.
Charlotte nodded, "I understand. But it was nice of you to talk to mom when I stormed out the other night."
Alison smiled, "She told you about that, huh?"
"Yeah," Charlotte returned the smile, "She said you were very supportive and caring. She really appreciated it, Ali."
"Yeah, well," Alison mumbled, "She was pretty upset, Charlotte. What kind of daughter would I be to just let her sit alone and suffer like that?"
"Still, thanks, Ali," Charlotte smiled, "I know things have been intense…"
"I'm glad you're here, Charlie," Alison said honestly, "I really am glad you're my big sister."
Charlotte grinned, "Me too!" she wrapped her sister up in a hug, "It makes me so happy to hear you say that."
Charlotte crept up on her mom in her bedroom and slipped her arms around her waist.
"Oh, you," Jessica started a little and turned around, "Why do you insist on sneaking up on me like that?"
Charlotte giggled, "I don't know," she kissed Jessica's neck, "It's just fun."
"Funny idea of fun," Jessica rolled her eyes.
Charlotte laughed, "Oh yeah? So… what's your idea of fun?" she asked, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
Jessica chuckled, "You are so transparent," she pushed at Charlotte's chest, but only gently.
Charlotte smiled sheepishly, "That's not an answer."
Jessica rolled her eyes again and gently pushed at Charlotte again, repeating the action until they were in front of her bed. With one last push, Charlotte lay on her back. Jessica crawled over her, tracing a hand from her waist to her underarm.
"Is this what you had in mind?" she purred into Charlotte's ear.
Charlotte nodded.
"That's not an answer," Jessica teased, tracing a finger down her daughters' side.
Charlotte giggled, "Fine. Yes. Exactly what I had in mind," she put her arms up as her mom took off her dress, leaving her in only her underwear.
Jessica kissed her way up to Charlotte's lips, "You always get so tense," she whispered, "Relax. Do you want me to stop?"
"No," Charlotte said quickly, "Definitely not," she smiled, "It's just… I love you so much and I can't believe that I get to touch you like this, or have you touch me… "
Jessica smiled as she pressed her lips to Charlotte's cheek, "Baby, let me help you relax," she purred, "Would you like that?"
Charlotte nodded, "Yes, mommy," she whispered.
Jessica smiled and began massaging Charlotte's bare stomach gently as she kissed her neck gently, nipping it occasionally. She felt Charlotte's body start to relax under her touch.
"That's it," she murmured, "You feeling better now?"
Charlotte nodded, "Much," she replied honestly, before pulling her mom in for a heated kiss. She cupped Jessica's face with her hands and kissed her fiercely until she ran out of breath.
"Wow," Jessica breathed, "You've gotten very good at that, honey."
Charlotte grinned, "You think so?"
"Oh, yes," Jessica smiled, lowering her hand into Charlotte's underwear, "You're very wet," she whispered.
Charlotte felt her cheeks heat up, "I knowwww," she groaned, "You're just so sexy."
Jessica chuckled as she ran her hands through Charlotte's wetness, "So are you."
Charlotte moaned, "You always make me feel so… " she moaned again, "It's not fair."
"Not fair?" Jessica asked, "Don't you like feeling like this?"
"Yes, I do!" Charlotte rushed, "Well, I do now but sometimes I feel like this like if we're out or Ali is there and then we can't do anything and that sucks."
Jessica grinned, flicking Charlotte's clit, "You just need to learn to control it a little better."
Charlotte grumbled, "It's not so easy, you know."
"I know, I know," Jessica chuckled, "It'll get easier when you're older."
Charlotte pouted, "But I don't want to not have sex like old people…"
Jessica laughed and quirked an eyebrow, "Do I not have a sexual appetite, silly?"
Charlotte grinned sheepishly, "Oh yeah, well… I suppose."
"You suppose?" Jessica rolled her eyes, "Maybe I should show you just how sexual an older woman can be."
Charlotte's reply was lost in her throat when Jessica's fingers entered her. Her eyes swung backwards and her nails dug into her mom's skin, but she couldn't form enough coherent thought to think it might be painful, not that Jessica minded. The moan's and sigh's dripped from her throat until her body began jerking of it's own accord.
Jessica nipped her ear gently before whispering, "I love you so much, darling."
Charlotte wanted to reply but couldn't figure out how to work her tongue. She leant her head into her mom's chest, kissing it gently when she had the breath.
With one last strangled scream of ecstasy, her body began to still and she nuzzled further into her mom's chest. She could feel Jessica's fingers combing through her hair.
"You're still shaking a little," Jessica whispered gently, "You okay?"
Charlotte nodded, sniffing a little.
Jessica heard the sniffle and pulled back a little, putting a hand under Charlotte's chin and tilting it up to see tear streaks down her daughters face.
"Hey, it's okay," she wiped away the tears.
"Sorry," Charlotte smiled a little, "I'm not sad, I promise."
"I know," Jessica smiled, "Sometimes we just get a little overwhelmed."
Charlotte sniffed and wiped her eyes, "I don't know why… I think I just love you so much, sometimes my emotions… "
Jessica kissed her face where her tears ran down, "I know, you feel things very deeply. It's not a bad thing, baby."
Charlotte bit her lip, "I love you," she whispered, before placing a quick kiss on Jessica's lips.
Jessica smiled, "I love you too," she swallowed her own tears, "Very, very much."
Charlotte ran a hand over Jessica's cheek and pulled her into her shoulder, "You can cry too if you like," she whispered.
Jessica half chuckled, half sobbed, "You are very perceptive, Charlie. Thank you."
Charlotte smiled as she ran one hand through her mom's hair and the other over her back. She heard her mom sniff a few times and then hum contentedly. Still, she held her until the two of them fell into a comfortable silence, hands tracing gently over each others' bodies until they each fell asleep.