Carrying on the Torch

Disclaimer: I don't own Good Luck Charlie

A/N:

Chapter 19 (Perfect Evening)

So far so good, she hadn't thrown up, she hadn't choked up, and she was enjoying Mason's company over a nice juicy steak. Why had she been so worried? He was sitting across from her, watching her eat, a smile on his face. As she swallowed her bite, she met his eyes and grinned. "What are you staring at? Am I eating too fast or something?" He shook his head and took a bite of his own steak.

"Would it be too soon to say I think you're very beautiful?" She paused midway through her next bite and her cheeks started to glow bright red. He sure wasn't sparing any time letting her know how he felt. She liked it. She might have to call up Dee or Regina and let them know everything was going so well, but then again, she did know better than to do something so silly on a first date.

"Thanks." She needed something to say, and that was all she had? Pitiful. Maybe they could mix business with pleasure, perhaps talk about something that won't make her blush. She watched as he sipped his water. Her heart went aflutter and her body leaned forward. He was definitely handsome in this light. "You know something? I think you're great." She blinked and slowly sat up. Great? That was her big word choice? Seriously! "Um, not great, handsome. Handsome! Moment's over isn't it?" Mason chuckled and took a bite of his food.

"You know, you're cute when you get all hot and bothered like that." She blushed once more and her lips formed a wide grin. Nothing could get in the way of this, unless Emmet and PJ decided to suddenly arrive home and come bursting into the restaurant. She shook her head, trying to keep from imagining that possibility. She did not want to start daydreaming, which she'd been doing for the majority of the car ride over. Sometimes though, it was too damn hard to fight.

Just imagining how it must feel to have his strong arms around her as she lay against his chest. He moved his hand along her arm, sending chills along her body. When he kissed her neck, they were like little drops of honey on her skin. His voice as he called her name was soft, like satin. She couldn't get enough. "Charlotte? Are you still with us?"

The vision went away and she saw Mason staring at her with a smile. She cleared her throat and sank in her embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

"You start daydreaming?"

"Yeah…" She leaned back and huffed. He smirked at her, teasing her with his grin. She felt a shiver and gazed into his eyes, falling silent as they seemed to look deep into her soul. "I shouldn't daydream, but…"

"So what were you dreaming of?" Her cheeks burned and her heart shot into her throat. Should she tell him? What if he thought it was weird? What if she told him and he decided to end the date? "You can tell me, I won't bite."

"Well…I was in your arms for one thing." He smiled and motioned to the space beside him.

"If you want, you could move over here. I don't have any issues with cuddling up if you want to." Her heart swelled and she fought back the urge to squeal with delight. She moved from her seat and quickly moved beside him, leaning up against his chest. She smiled as he placed one arm around her shoulder and a hand over her right hand. She tangled her fingers with his and closed her eyes as she moved her head against his shoulder. It was just like her dream. Why dream now when it was reality? "So how do you feel?"

"I feel…great." Euphoric, adored, splendid, and a million other descriptive words she could use to describe just how right with the world she felt. "Thanks for this." She enjoyed feeling like she was the only girl he was focusing on right now and she prayed this moment would never end. Of course, it would have to end eventually.

"You know, there was something I was thinking about. Not sure if you wanted to talk about it on a date though."

"What?"

"Well…everything that's going on. Your family being separated, your brother and my uncle being so distanced. I was wondering if there was something we could do about all of that at all." She nodded and exhaled softly. She'd actually been thinking about all of it, but what could they possibly do? Especially when it came to PJ and Emmet.

"We can't hide from PJ and Mr. Heglin forever. Eventually they're going to discover we're dating." And then possibly try and tear them apart.

"Old grudges are stupid. However, they'll just be harder. I was thinking about my family. I know just about everyone lives in Colorado now, they kind of centralized around this state over the years." It was a helpful thing, because that meant they weren't far away. "Aunt Diane is about an hour north of here, towards Fort Collins, with Uncle William. Her daughter, my cousin Taylor is in the same city with her husband and daughter."

"They're on your mom's side?"

"Yeah. Dad didn't have any siblings, but his Uncle Mel had one daughter, Juliet, who married Randy. They live down in Colorado Springs." She was aware that was only an hour and a half away, but it was very possible to be so close to family and never actually see them. God how she wished they could be close. "Juliet has two living children, though they're older than PJ is. Chuck and Ginger, Chuck has one daughter, who I believe is one year younger than I am."

"Do you know if they live in Colorado Springs?"

"I think so." Mason lifted his hand and rubbed his chin, staring down at the table for a moment. Charlotte took the opportunity to reach across the table and pull her plate towards her so she could finish her steak. "So I'm actually at a loss, and I'm pretty certain Dee and Regina wouldn't have any better ideas than I could come up with. I talked to them about it once and they didn't know how we could possibly pull the family together."

"Well Mr. Duncan's gone to get your grandma, right? She's your Aunt Diane's mother?"

"Yes, and PJ said she actually decided to go down to Florida and help with some things."

"Wouldn't Diane's family like to see Granny?" She hadn't really given any thought to that, but she was almost certain they wouldn't want to see the woman. "As for the relatives as a whole, find out why they've distanced. Was it because of the accident, not knowing what to say to Mr. Duncan?"

"That's what PJ said." She forked her steak and brought the bite to her lips. She chewed the meat slowly, letting the juices flood her mouth and throat. After she swallowed, she cleared her throat and looked up to Mason. "He hasn't talked to any of them in the longest time."

"Do they know about Teddy?"

"No…" Mason snapped his fingers and grinned, stunning her. What did Teddy have to do with anything.

"I read an article once about babies being a possible way to promote 'family togetherness'. Come on, your brother has a child, surely family would want to see the child." She lifted her eyebrows and rubbed the back of her neck. She could imagine her family getting together, possibly gushing over the new birth. It was a lot of attention for a small babe, that was for sure. "Another thing, since both sides are only an hour away, maybe you could suggest a tradition."

"Tradition?"

"Right. A friend of mine on the team says that once a month, everyone in his family gets together and spends a week doing whatever. Sometimes they take a trip somewhere, sometimes they chill at someone's house."

"Regina's family all lives in this city, so they hook up like every two weeks to play card games and stuff…"

"Exactly! Now, Mrs. Duncan seems like the type of 'get things done' person. Much like Aunt Ivy, I would think she'd be one to try and get the ball rolling. Don't you?" She rubbed her chin and slowly nodded. Skyler was the type to push for something like this. Hell, it was Skyler who convinced PJ to show those home movies after all these years. She'd be gung ho for something like this tradition stuff. "The thing is, when it comes to bringing families back together, someone has to be the one to break the ice."

"What about the awkwardness…I mean, the reason everyone sort of dropped off was because no one really knew how to respond after the accident. So they just pushed off communication…for twelve years…"

"Life gets in the way, you can't really blame the twelve years part. As easy as it is to pick up a phone, sometimes we just forget or get so busy we say we'll do it another day, and it builds up. When's Mr. Duncan getting back?"

"Next weekend."

"Talk to Mrs. Duncan, and ask if she thinks it would be a good idea to set up a small gathering for when he gets back." She smiled and quickly nodded her head, she would love to have a monthly gathering. The games, the family bonding, the laughter, she could just imagine how great that would be, and someone just had to start the ball rolling.

"Do you think they'd actually go for it?"

"They're family, and one thing I know about family…unless you're Uncle Emmett's parents…" He blinked and slowly shook his head. "Family will always be willing to come around, and the ones who are reluctant, may still come just to be nice. With your family, there was no argument, no hate, just lost time and lost communication. I'd be willing to bet your extended relatives would love to hook up."

"Right, I just have to talk to Skyler about this." She turned slightly and met his eyes with a gentle smirk. "How did you get so smart?" He laughed heartily, then reached for his water.

"Uncle Emmett is always getting onto me if I don't study, study, study."

"Oh, well, I like smart guys then." She spoke with a flirty tone in her voice. He smiled at her and brought his water to his lips. "I wonder what my sis would say about you. Hm."

"Probably wonder why you lost that race to me." He flashed a smirk, making her practically melt in her seat. "No matter how many rematches you order, you know I'm going to win, right?"

"What? You wouldn't let me win?"

"We'll see about that. Maybe someday, but for now, nope." He set his glass on the table and grinned as he poked her side. She laughed as a tingling sensation ran through her body.

"Hey! I'm ticklish!"

"Oh hey, learn something new every day."

"Don't you dare." She gasped as he started tickling her side once more. She started laughing wildly. She covered her mouth, hoping to cover any giggles that were threatening to escape. "You are evil." Her face became red and her words were coming out in quick, short gasps and whimpers.

"Now I know your weakness." He stopped tickling her and she fell back against his chest, sighing deeply as she regained her breath.

"Evil." He laughed again and wrapped his arms around her waist. She put her hands on his arms and stared down at them, her cheeks still red as a balloon. His arms were so big that her hands looked as small as Teddy's. "Your weakness is?"

"You'll never find out."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe, maybe not." She smirked playfully and quickly forked her food. She'd get him back one day, oh yes, she would get him. But as for now, she would enjoy the rest of her date.

An hour later, the date was over and Mason was parting ways with Charlotte on the doorstep. She looked into his eyes, a wide grin was plastered upon her face. "I had a really great time." He lifted his eyebrows and smiled back, nodding with agreement.

"Good enough of a time to consider another date?"

"I would."

"Then I'll be sure to plan a second date, unless you get any better ideas than I do." Her heart was beating at a very steady pace, her breath was held back and she was falling into his eyes. She was so happy that nothing went wrong, so happy that everything went well and he was serious about having a second date. "You going to talk to Mrs. Duncan about the family idea?"

"Y-yeah." She'd almost forgotten about that plan, it was a definite need. First, however, she wanted to give Skyler the complete spill. She knew Dee and Regina would probably want to know how the date went, but Skyler was first. "Thank you for such a great evening…"

"Was it a perfect date?"

"I'd say so." The left corner of his lip curled up and his hand squeezed hers. She thought she was going to pass out on the spot, but she was willing herself to stand.

"Think anything could make it any better?"

"I don't know…it was perfect."

"I bet I could make it better than 'perfect'." She chuckled and lifted her free hand to her hair, brushing the bottom of it with gentle, distracting strokes.

"I'd like to see that." How much better could the date get, really? He moved his hand from hers and gently placed it to the small of her back. Her eyes widened and her heart started racing as he leaned forward and kissed her lips. She froze, taking in the full enjoyment of the kiss. Her body lit up, sparking with flames and desire, then came the giddiness. When he pulled away from her, she giggled nervously and quickly silenced, though she did stumble forward and grab his shoulders to catch herself. She looked into his eyes and smiled wide. "That works…"

"I'll call you?"

"Uh huh." After he said goodbye, she watched him depart, then continued staring into the distance. What just happened? Where was she? Had she forgotten so suddenly?

The door opened and Skyler stared at her, a motherly smile gracing her face. "Charlotte, are you still with us?"

"Uh huh."

"Did you have a good date?"

She heard her talking, but she wasn't too sure she understood exactly what she was saying. Her mind was too distracted by her emotions and thoughts. "Uh huh."

"Details?"

"Uh huh." Skyler smirked and folded her arms, leaning against the side of the doorway.

"You want to stand here on the front step all night?"

"Uh huh…"

"Even when it gets really cold out?"

"Uh hu-wait, what?" She blinked and turned to Skyler, her eyes wide and her cheeks still rosy as strawberries. Skyler laughed and motioned for her to head inside. She quickly walked inside and made her way to the couch. Absolutely nothing could bring her down tonight.

There are no words to describe this chapter, I think I'll let you tell me what you thought ^_^