A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it has been a while! I'm working on an original novel at the moment so I don't have as much time to work on my fanfics! I'm looking for some beta readers so if anyone is interested, hit me up! :) Thanks guys!

CHAPTER 23

"You should try a milkshake!" Charlotte told Mary as they walked into a new café a little out of town, "They're meant to be really, really, really good here!"

Mary chuckled, "Okay, okay, I'll try one."

Charlotte grinned, "Awesome! Milkshakes are the best."

"I like tea," Mary said.

"Yuck," Charlotte stuck her tongue out, "So does mom but I don't get it. Coffee is good though. But the best – "

"Is milkshakes," Mary laughed as they took their seats, "I know."

Charlotte smiled and they ordered their drinks.

She turned her attention back to her mom, "Are you feeling okay now? You seem brighter."

Mary read the worry in her daughters' eyes and placed a hand lightly over Charlotte's, "I'm okay, sweetheart."

Charlotte bit her lip, "You'll tell me if you're not, right?"

Mary hesitated before nodding, "I will."

Charlotte nodded, "Good."

"How about you, honey?" Mary asked, "I didn't know you had emotional issues… we didn't talk about that the other night, it was all… about me."

"Oh, that's okay," Charlotte shrugged, "I'm alright now though. It's just when I was younger I could be really hyper active and then my mood would just crash and I would get really depressed," she looked sad for a moment, "It was horrible, I never knew how I'd feel when I woke up. It took a really long time to find some medication that actually worked… "

"You're very strong," Mary said quietly as their drinks arrived.

Charlotte smiled, "I'm lucky, I had mom to help me," she hesitated, playing with her straw.

Mary could sense her hesitation, "What is it, Charlotte?"

Charlotte let go of her straw and fiddled with her hands, "Was it very bad in that institution?"

"It was…" Mary sighed, "it was okay. I mean, it got better over time. Things have definitely changed since I was first committed. For the better."

Charlotte nodded, "Yeah," she said quietly, "You know I was in one of those places for a little while too…"

Mary's eyes widened, "No, honey, I didn't know that. When? Why? What – "

"It was when I was little," Charlotte shrugged, "Dad caught me dressing up in girls clothes… and then there was an accident with Ali. I didn't mean to hurt her but it could have been really bad. She was crying so I ran her a bath. I was trying to help, I swear. She was only a baby and she slipped from my hands into the tub… Dad said I tried to do it on purpose but I never – "

"Hey, hey," Mary's hand was on her daughters' face, "It's alright. I know you would never hurt Ali. We don't have to speak about this if you don't want to."

Charlotte held her mom's hand to her cheek, "It's okay," she whispered, "Anyway, I was in there for a few years… but then mom couldn't stand it anymore so she pulled me out. That's when I really started the transition. We had a place up in Philly."

"Yes, that's where my private investigator found you," Mary said quietly, "I'm sorry you had to go through that experience. Those places can be very… lonely."

Charlotte nodded, "Really lonely," she echoed softly.

"But look at you," Mary smiled, "You've grown up so beautifully."

Charlotte smiled, "Thank you. How's your milkshake?"

Mary grinned sheepishly, "It's really good. You were right."

"Yes!" Charlotte beamed, "Knew it," she sucked on her own straw, "Yum yum."

Mary chuckled.

Charlotte bit her lip, "Can I try yours? I never get strawberry!"

Mary smiled and slid her shake over, watching Charlotte suck on the straw.

"Mm," Charlotte hummed, "Pretty good but chocolate is better! Mom gets caramel but I reckon caramel is yuck in a milkshake," she pushed the shake back, "Thank you."

"Of course," Mary smiled.

"Oh yeah, Cassie is very happy next to Ted," Charlotte smiled.

"Oh, the teddy bear?" Mary asked, taking a moment to cotton on.

Charlotte nodded, "Yes! She's so cute and warm. You should have a teddy, you know, I know it's pretty silly and you probably think I'm a child but it's nice to have someone to cuddle when you're sad or sick."

"Don't you have Jessica for that?" Mary surprised herself at the question.

Charlotte grinned, "Oh yeah, of course but sometimes if she's out or asleep… I have my teddy's to cuddle. Do you think I'm silly?"

"No, of course not," Mary said reassuringly, "I think it's sweet. It's okay for us to be children sometimes."

Charlotte bit back a smile, "I think so too! Plus, I guess I spent a lot of my childhood in that place so… I don't know. Being a kid is meant to fun and I didn't always get that fun so…"

"So, now you do," Mary finished, "And I'm glad."

"So, are you going to give me the review?" Jessica murmured, as she traced a finger over Charlotte's bare stomach.

Charlotte laughed, "Really?" she thought, "Well, I thought the scream would have tipped it off, but your hands are very soft and gentle – "

"I meant the milkshakes!" Jessica pinched her and rolled her eyes, "Oh my god, Charlie."

Charlotte bit her lip, "Oh!" she giggled, "Well, how was I meant to know? We have sex and you ask for a review. I mean, I can type one up if you really – Ow!"

Jessica pinched her again, "Shush up. You've been raving about wanting to try that milkshake place for weeks, I just wanted to know if it lived up to expectations."

"It did," Charlotte nodded, "It was so yummy. You should take me there so you can see. Even mom…" she stopped, biting her lip, "Um, Mary's strawberry milkshake was really good too! But not as good as the chocolate."

Jessica placed a hand in her daughters' hair, "You can call her mom if you like," she murmured, "I've told you that. It's okay."

Charlotte nodded, "I know. I just don't want…to step on anyone's toes, that's all."

Jessica kissed Charlotte's lips, "You could never. I just want you to be happy, sweetheart."

"I know," Charlotte smiled, "I want you to be happy too. Are you happy, mama?"

Jessica chuckled, "I am."

"Good," Charlotte kissed her cheek, "I love you."

"I love you," Jessica pulled her daughter's head onto her chest, stroking her hair gently.

"Oh and as for that review. In a word… Earth-shattering," Charlotte got up and began getting dressed.

Jessica laughed, "That's two words. But thank you."

"I hyphenated," Charlotte grinned.

Jessica watched the younger woman get dressed.

"I thought you were meant to enjoy watching your girlfriend get undressed, not dressed," Charlotte teased.

"I enjoy watching you do anything," Jessica shot back before sitting up, "What time are you meant to meet Alison?"

Charlotte looked at the clock, "In about twenty minutes. You know, you can come – "

Jessica held up a hand, "No, no that's okay. You two go have your sister night."

Charlotte bit her lip, "You'll be okay on your own?"

"Of course," Jessica smiled, "I'm a big girl."

Charlotte crawled onto the bed, "Oh, I know," she grinned, leaning in for a kiss.

Jessica chuckled and kissed her passionately before placing a hand on her chest, pushing her away gently, "Go. You'll be late."

"So, how's the boutique? Do you get a discount?" Alison asked as she perused the menu across from her sister.

Charlotte grinned, "Ten per cent! It's nice. I like it. It's not too busy so I get to read a lot."

"Is your boss nice?" Alison asked.

"She seems alright," Charlotte nodded, "I mostly look after the shop by myself though. Which is good, suits me! You and Em should come by sometime."

Alison smiled, "We will!"

"Hey, I get my paycheck tomorrow!" Charlotte said suddenly, leaning forward, "Did you find a place to book with your girl?"

Alison blushed, "Oh," she giggled, "I don't know. You worked for your money…"

Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Is someone nervous?"

"But, really, I know you're not exactly loaded – "

Charlotte cut in, "I have mom, remember? I really don't mind spoiling my little sister once in a while!"

Alison bit her lip but nodded, "Thanks a heap, Charlie."

"Sure," Charlotte beamed, "Have you got a dress yet?"

"No, the girls and I are going shopping tomorrow," Alison answered, before snickering.

"What are you laughing at?" Charlotte frowned.

"I have mom," Alison quoted her big sister, "Sugar mama, much?" she chuckled.

Charlotte blushed, "Ali! She's not a sugar mama if she's actually my mom!"

"Yeah, well, that's something else altogether, isn't it?" Alison pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah," Charlotte muttered.

Alison smiled, "Hey, it's okay. You know I'm chill with it."

"Chill with it," Charlotte mumbled, "Is that what the cool kids say now?"

Alison laughed, "Well, I am pretty cool so I guess so!"

Jessica was curled up on the couch, reading her book contentedly. She was surprised when there was a knock on the door. She placed her bookmark in her novel and walked over to the door, wondering who could be visiting at this hour.

"Mary, what are you…" Jessica was surprised to see her sister, "Are you okay?"

Mary nodded, smiling tentatively, "Oh, I'm fine. Really. Charlotte and Alison are out, aren't they?"

"Uh yes, they are," Jessica looked over her shoulder, "Do you…want to come in?"

Mary hesitated, "Are you sure that's okay?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Jessica stood aside to let her sister in, "Come in."

She led her sister to the lounge room and the two sat down.

"This is… unexpected," Jessica smiled hesitantly.

"I know, I'm sorry. I should have called," Mary said, "It's just… when I saw Charlotte today…"

"She said you had a good time," Jessica smiled.

"Well," Mary smiled, "She's not hard to please. Buy her a milkshake and she's pretty happy."

Jessica chuckled, "That's true. Ever since she was little… well, she always loved milkshakes. I think they've become her happy place."

Mary nodded, "I noticed. Anyway, I came here for a reason, Jessica."

"Oh," Jessica had known there must be a reason, "What's on your mind?"

Mary fiddled with her hands in her lap, taking a deep breath, "I wanted to… thank you," she said quietly, "You have done such a wonderful job with Charlotte, she's so… kind and sweet. And happy. She seems so… happy. I know that's due to you, so thank you."

Jessica watched the emotion cross her sisters' eyes, "Mary… You don't need to thank me. I mean, that's just… Charlotte. She half-raised herself, you know that. I wish I had been there for her more than I was, I made mistakes…"

"But you were there," Mary said, "And I wasn't."

Jessica bit her tongue for a moment, "You loved her, Mary. I never doubted that. I wish… I wish I'd told her about you sooner. You both deserved that – "

"I understand why you didn't," Mary cut in, "You were scared for her. You were scared of me. I… "

"Mary," Jessica tried to speak.

"I killed someone," Mary closed her eyes, wiping away a tear hurriedly.

Jessica hesitated before taking Mary's hand in her own, "You did," she spoke quietly, "But you were in an awful situation… you were pushed to a limit. Your mind…" she shook her head, "I don't blame you for what you did, Mary."

Mary's eyes widened, "I left her, she was just a little baby…"

"I know," Jessicia's heart melted as her sister cried into her hands.

She pulled Mary into her arms, letting her cry on her shoulder.

"It's okay," Jessica whispered, "It's in the past. Nobody here blames you. It's alright, shh."

Mary nodded but didn't speak.

"I'm sorry for the way I handled things," Jessica swallowed tightly, "I was so… I didn't know what to do."

"I know," Mary whispered.

"But hey, things are okay now," Jessica said soothingly, still holding her sister, "Right? Charlotte loves you Mary. Her eyes shine when she talks about you. You know she calls you mom, now."

Mary pulled her face from Jessica's shoulder, wiping her red eyes, "I know and I feel so lucky," she whispered.

"Ditto," Jessica said quietly, "We're both lucky to have her," she paused, "And lucky to have a chance to reconnect with each other."

Mary smiled, her eyes still red, "Yes. You're right. We're lucky. You've grown up so well, so much better than…"

"Oh, Mary," Jessica shook her head, "Trust me, I'm no saint. I haven't… I've done things I'm not proud of. It's only the kids that have really helped me…"

"I understand," Mary said quietly, "It's just when we were kids you were always…" she sighed, shrugging, "And I always the black sheep."

Jessica bit her lip, "We were just different. But Mary, you're not a bad person. I know you think you are but I promise you, you're a good person. You love Charlotte. Bad people, they can't love. You're trying to get back on your feet, I can see that."

Mary wiped the tears coursing down her face.

"Hey, no more tears," Jessica pulled her in for an embrace again, "All I'm saying is, well, I love you."

That only made Mary cry more, "I love you too," she half whispered, half choked out.

"Now, how about a drink?" Jessica smiled.

"Oh, I don't…the meds…"

"How about something sweet then? You still like chocolate? You know that's where Charlotte gets her sweet tooth from," Jessica chuckled.

Mary grinned, "I still love chocolate."

"Mom never taught you to drive?" Alison half grumbled as they walked home after dinner.

Charlotte shook her head, "No, not yet. Hey you're old enough too!"

"I went once," Alison said, "Mom got freaked out and hasn't taken me since!"

"What did you do!?" Charlotte exclaimed.

Alison rolled her eyes, "Nothing! She says I was going too fast…" she paused, "I say the other guy was going too slow. So I honked him. Isn't that what the horn is for?"

Charlotte laughed, "Maybe you gotta leave your attitude out of the car."

Alison shrugged, "Maybe," she began to fish out her keys as they turned onto the driveway, "Don't you want to learn?"

"I think so," Charlotte tilted her head, "It was so easy in Philly, I could just walk everywhere. Rosewood's pretty small too. But it would be nice to go out of town sometimes, I suppose. I could share in the driving when me and mom go away!"

They opened the door and heard chattering. They followed the sound into the lounge room to see their mom and Mary talking.

Charlotte stopped in her tracks, blinking slowly, "Am I in trouble or something?"

Jessica looked up to see her daughter watching them, "No, honey. We were just talking."

Charlotte stepped forward tentatively, "So… everything's okay?"

Mary smiled at her daughters' cautiousness, "Yes, Charlotte. Everything's okay," she stood up and gave her daughter a hug before turning to Alison, "Hello, Alison."

"Hey," Alison smiled politely.

"Did you two have enough to eat?" Jessica asked as she stood up.

Charlotte and Alison nodded.

Jessica kissed Charlotte's cheek, "Good. I missed you."

Charlotte smiled.

Alison rolled her eyes, "I've got some homework to do for tomorrow, I'm going to go to my room."

"You leave it to the last minute again?" Jessica half scolded.

Alison shrugged, grumbling as she walked away, "Yeah, yeah. Nice to see you Aunt Mary."

"You too, Alison," Mary smiled, "I should get going too."

Charlotte pouted, "Aw."

Mary chuckled, "Am I still picking you up from the boutique tomorrow?"

"Sure!" Charlotte brightened, "Is it okay if mom comes to the milkshake place too? She wants to try them!"

Jessica laughed at her daughters' slight embellishment, "I don't want to interrupt your time together, honey – "

"It's okay by me," Mary said quietly, "If it's okay by Charlotte."

"It's okay by me!" Charlotte smiled, looking happily from one mom to the other.

Mary pulled her daughter in for a hug, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

Charlotte rest her head on her mom's shoulder for a moment, "I love you too," she said quietly.

Charlotte's eyes widened as Mary then hugged her sister. She didn't often see close moments between them.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Charlotte asked after Mary had left.

Jessica smiled, "So curious," she murmured, "She just showed up wanting to talk. About you. About our past. It was… nice. A step forward."

Charlotte nodded, "That's really good!" she looked excited, "You even hugged!"

Jessica chuckled at her daughters' excitement, "Like I said, another step forward."

"I love you, mama," Charlotte wrapped her arms around her mom's neck and burrowed into her shoulder.

"Oh, honey," Jessica returned the embrace, "I love you too," she ran her fingers through blonde hair.

"Mm," Charlotte hummed contentedly.

"Are you sleepy?" Jessica asked, smiling.

"A little," Charlotte snuggled further into her mom's chest.

Jessica chuckled, "Come on, let's go lay in bed a while. You can watch me read."

Charlotte smiled, "Okay! I just have to brush my teeth," she opened her eyes and pulled away from Jessica before bouncing off to the bathroom.

Jessica smiled after her and went to get ready for bed. She climbed under the covers and pulled out her book. A few moments later, Charlotte came in and changed quickly, crawling under the covers and laying her head on her mom's chest. Jessica raised the book slightly higher to accommodate her daughter. She held the book with one hand and rest another on her daughters' waist.

"Is it a good book, mom?" Charlotte asked sleepily.

"It is," Jessica whispered, squeezing Charlotte's waist gently, "Want me to read out loud for you?"

Charlotte nodded, "Please."

Jessica smiled and began reading out loud. It only took a few minutes for Charlotte to fall asleep, her chest rising and falling in rhythm. Jessica watched her peaceful sleep for a moment before turning back to her book.

Eventually, she put her book down and switched off the lamp. She settled down, moving Charlotte as little as possible whilst she got comfortable. She kissed the top of Charlotte's head and turned them both on their side. Charlotte hummed a little in her sleep. Jessica wrapped her hands around Charlotte's waist from behind, pulling her close into her body and kissed her cheek, before resting her cheek against Charlotte's head and closing her eyes.