Carrying on the Torch

Disclaimer: I don't own Good Luck Charlie

A/N: This is a continuation of my oneshot "Remembering Them". If you haven't read that, then I suggest you read it in order to get the gist of what this story's continuing from. If you have, excellent. Several requested this, and I've wanted to write this since the oneshot, so here it is. Enjoy!

Chapter 5 (Stroll in the Park)

"So your brother wants to meet the entire family?" Regina asked with an arched eyebrow. The three friends were walking along the beautiful park with Charlotte pushing Teddy's pink stroller. Regina was to the left of her, Dee was to the right. Charlotte nodded her head and Regina's brow lifted a bit higher. "What did Mason say about it?"

"He only said 'okay', and then something about his aunt not wanting to tell his uncle right away who I was. Apparently she and Skyler have a plan, but I'm pretty sure once PJ and Mason's uncle meet up…all hell's going to break loose." The girls frowned and stared at her with curious eyes. Knowing what they were probably going to ask, she continued on, "Mason's uncle is Emmett. Emmett Heglin…" Regina paused and Dee moved her hand to her mouth.

"You mean PJ's old best friend?"

"Yes."

"Wow…how's that going to work?" Dee stopped walking and held her hand out for the two girls to stop. Once they did, they looked over to see a Frisbee flying by them. "Okay, two cute, shirtless, guys right over there." Charlotte rolled her eyes and smiled as she turned her gaze to see two men waving and calling for them to throw the Frisbee back. The men both hand short, brown hair, and a light tan. The sun glinted off their sweat covered bodies. Regina shook her head and Dee tossed the Frisbee back at them. Neither Regina nor Charlotte thought much of showy, sweaty, muscular men such as those two. Although, it did fill her mind with scruffy images of Mason on the football field, covered with dirt and sweat, and running far ahead of the other team. He would be hot in such a way, simply because it was an unintentional hotness. He did not need to show off his muscles or his ability to sweat like a pig, in order to appear hot. At least, he didn't need to do that with her.

"Hey Dee, I think she zoned out over here."

"Huh? Here, let me…" Charlotte felt someone smack her arm and she quickly snapped back into reality. Her eyes moved around amid the confusion and landed on Dee. The last thing she recalled was dreaming about Mason making a winning touchdown.

"What? What happened? I wasn't thinking about Mason." Regina giggled and Dee's eyebrow arched up. Her stomach flipped when she realized she debunked the theory without them saying anything.

"No one asked if you were."

"Oh…" She mentally slapped herself for that one and quickly rebounded. She cleared her throat and continued walking, the girls quickly followed behind her. "Anyway, back onto the earlier topic…" She paused when she heard the girls snickering behind her. When she glanced at them, they stopped their snickering and smiled. Her eyebrow rose and she quickly turned back, her cheeks reddening. "What are you laughing at?"

"You were daydreaming about Mason."

"I was not!" Arguing really wasn't going to work, they were smarter than that, and she knew it.

"It's okay," Regina replied. She placed her hand on Dee's shoulder and gave her a teasing smirk. "You've only daydreamed about him for all these years."

"Oh shut up." Her blush deepened as she mentally cursed her two best friends for their teasing. Of course, they were entitled to it, after knowing each other for so long. "Anyway…after the plane crash, PJ cut off just about everyone in his life, including Emmett. So, I imagine Mason's uncle isn't going to be too thrilled with him." The girls shook their heads. Charlotte gazed at the baby and sighed. Teddy was such a quiet infant, unless someone woke her up or something disturbed her somehow, in which case, she could bring about World War Three. Teddy's eyes were open and she was suckling her pacifier, quite possibly the only thing keeping her from crying. Teddy gazed up at her and the pacifier pushed forward. She cooed and leaned down, running her finger along the baby's forehead. "I know you want that pacifier removed, but that's not happening."

"I guess you have to keep that pacifier in, or else she cries?" Day in and day out if Teddy was cranky, and today was one of her cry days. Charlotte actually had offered to take her to the park because she wouldn't stop fussing about something.

"Pretty much. There are those days where she'll cry just because she's cranky, this is one of those days. PJ's working and Skyler has a bad headache, so I figured I'd plug in the pacifier and head on over to the park."

"Mr. and Mrs. Duncan really need a break."

"You try telling them that. Though I think they figure once they get out of the house, I'll throw a party or something." She actually had given serious thought to having a party at some point of time, and she most likely would throw a party. However, upon watching the videos, she saw one party that Teddy and PJ threw that ended up with Amy and Bob dancing erratically. If she threw a party, would PJ and Skyler do the same thing? There was a chance they would, perhaps she would have to 'test' these waters. Then again, if she did, they might get pissed. "I know one thing, no matter where they go, they're probably never going to get on an airplane." At least she didn't think they would, but how was she to know? She never asked.

"Yeah. So how's thanksgiving going to go? Seems like there'd be a lot of drama."

"I guess we'll see…" She peered down at her pocket and reached inside, grasping her fingers around the camera she had with her. It was a little bulky, but still fit comfortably in her pockets. She brought it along because she'd considered making a video diary for Teddy that would introduce her best friends. If her older sister did it for Ivy and Skyler, then she should do it for Regina and Dee. After all, one wasn't on the earth forever, and should something ever happen to her, it would be nice for Teddy to know who her best friends had been. "Hey Regina, Dee, I was thinking…" The girls looked to her as she slowly pulled the camera view. "I wanted to know if you wouldn't mind being in a video diary. Let me introduce you guys to Teddy." Regina's lips curled upwards and Dee clapped her hands together.

"I think that would be a great idea!" Dee enthused. "Besides, you've been shooting all those videos at home, it's a shame to keep them to yourself." Charlotte closed her eyes and chuckled. Dee was right, it was a horrible thing to keep the video diaries all to herself. Even though none of the girls were ready for the video, they didn't mind.

"Hold on!" Regina exclaimed. She started to groom her hair, trying to make it perfect for the shot. Dee's eyes went skyward and her head shook vainly from side to side.

"You see, this is why I cut my hair, so I can avoid the hassle of constant concern over hair! Shoot the video Charlotte." Charlotte nodded and flipped the video on. Regina lowered her arms with a sigh of defeat while Dee gave a graceful spin. Charlotte had the camera first turned towards her.

"Hello there Teddy, it's your Aunt Charlotte. Today we're in the park, you mommy and daddy are very tired, so I'm taking you around with my two best friends. I wanted you to meet them, but never really got the chance to introduce them!" She turned the camera to Regina and Dee. Dee waved and shined her pearly white teeth while Regina absently stared off at a butterfly. "Okay, the overly excited blonde is my best friend Dee." Dee lowered her hand to her hip and flattened her gaze, to which Charlotte grinned innocently before moving on to Regina. "The redhead watching the butterfly is Regina." Regina's head snapped over with a sudden gasp.

"Hey, I told you I wasn't ready! Don't make me run you down, I willdo it." Charlotte laughed and set the camera down on a nearby bench, then ran in between the two girls and put her arms around their shoulders. They faced the camera and leaned into a hug. "You know we love you."

"Yep! We're a wacky bunch, that's for sure." Dee smirked and playfully pushed Charlotte's head sideways.

"Yeah just don't call me an overly excited blonde."

"Why not? Didn't you say last week you wanted to try out for the cheerleading squad?" Dee's cheeks became red and Charlotte's lip curved upwards. "You can do it. Unless you're too nervous."

"Yeah well…Regina has asthma and she wants to play volleyball." Dee stepped forward and Regina slowly shrugged her shoulders. She lifted her index finger and cleared her throat.

"It is doable. There are a lot of sports players with asthma, so I wouldn't be the first. Besides, it isn't quite bad, unless there's a lot of allergens, or other stuff that triggers a reaction, then I should be just fine."

"True. What about you, Charlotte? Any interesting sports you want to get in?"

"Besides football of course." Regina smirked teasingly and Charlotte closed her eyes. She covered her rosy cheeks with her hand and slowly glared at her friend. She wouldn't want to play football, but it wasn't too farfetched to see they were teasing her about Mason.

"Watch out guys, I might drop kick the both of you." The girls laughed and she quickly spun around and got into a martial arts pose. Her friends watched eagerly as she attempted a frontal kick. "I want to go into martial arts, preferably Tae Kwon Do. Think I got what it takes?"

"If you set your mind to it, then yeah."

"Awesome! So then, when we all get back from Thanksgiving break, we'll each try out for something we really want to try! Though, they don't teach martial arts at school."

"Look around, there's plenty of great schools here."

"Yeah, and PJ said Gabe went to one somewhere, so we'll look there."

It was good to relax away from the typical worry of the upcoming thanksgiving holiday. The walk was relaxing, the video diary was fun, and Teddy remained quiet the entire time, even when they took the pacifier out for her. They even enjoyed the stumbling upon the plaque in memory of the man who used to roam the park years ago. He'd passed on from a heart condition, same heart condition that Mason's aunt's mom died from several years ago.

It was a somber moment of remembrance, relieved by some wacky jokes and laughter. In the end of the day, it was time to split off for a while. Regina and Dee had their arm around each other's shoulder. They waved at the camera while Charlotte said the closing.

"And so, maybe one day you'll have crazy friends like these. Laughter, tears, fun, and such a ride. Friends like these always stick together, and as a rule if someone ever crosses good friends, well…They'll need some good luck, Teddy." She clicked off the camera and frowned for a second, she needed to work on her closings. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Not at all," Dee replied. The girls hugged Charlotte and wished her well for thanksgiving. They split and Charlotte took a deep breath, watching for a moment, then headed inside her home with Teddy. While it had been a fun day, now was the time for sleeping.

A nice sweet chapter, though the calm before the storm. Guess what, Thanksgiving is coming. Next chapter.