Carrying on the Torch

Disclaimer: I don't own Good Luck Charlie

A/N:

Chapter 26 (Bringing them Home)

The 9th had arrived, all the relatives had arrived at the motels late last night, so Charlotte hadn't seen anyone yet. She and Skyler were on their way to pick up PJ and Nana from the airport. The ride had been smooth and relaxing, no worries whatsoever and only slight turbulence. "It's been an exhausting week, but we made it," Skyler stated. Charlotte nodded and exhaled, she was looking forward to a great day.

"Can't wait to see PJ and Nana!" She was worried that she was overly excited, but at the same time, she just didn't care. She was expecting to have a really good time, she knew Teddy would have a great time. What baby wouldn't love that attention? Mason confirmed his grandfather would bring Tyler, much to Emmett's disdain. Regina's aunt Jenny was bringing Candice and Quinn. Dee wasn't able to show up because her family had decided to take a small weekend vacation together. Regina would hopefully have fun with her birth dad, getting to know him. "Oh! Skyler, I don't know if I told you or not, but you won't believe who Regina's birth dad-wait…"

"I already know about that, dear." Of course, she'd forgotten, her sister and Skyler had been close with Alice before the accident. Skyler and Alice still talked on occasion. She even got a discount whenever she went to the store for groceries. "I also know that Alice is having a rough time this week…she said she actually went out to talk to him a while back about his lack of child support and lack of ethics, he claimed he was trying to clean up his act. Apparently he wants to start spending time with his daughter."

"Regina was happy to get the chance."

"I imagine she would be." Skyler pulled her lips back into a straight face and she slowly shook her head. "Though that man still knows how to smooth talk Alice. She informed me the two of them 'did it' again." Charlotte glanced out the window. This was exhausting, how was Alice dealing with all this? How would Regina deal with this?

"Why would she want to have sex with him again?"

"When you're connected to someone like that, I guess it's not hard to fall prey to the…do I seriously have to give you this talk right now?" Skyler raised an eyebrow and stared over at Charlotte, who flashed her an innocent smile. She already had been given the sex talk by Skyler when she was very young. When she started to have her first period, she knew what it meant. Skyler did not mess around, so Charlotte indeed know how babies were made and why. She knew about pheromones, emotions, lust, and she knew the consequences of giving in. She also knew about birth control, and that it isn't always sufficient. In fact, the sex education she got from Skyler was a lot better than what they gave in school, much more informative, so much that it actually scared her. If the aim was to scare her away from experimenting and having sex before she was ready, then damn, Skyler achieved that goal.

"So you think she's still physically attracted to him?"

"I'm not going to lie, when he was younger, he was a physically attractive man. Not near as attractive as your brother, but still, attractive enough that he could easily have any girl swooning at his feet. When you have sex, you can become sexually and physically attracted, then there's also the connection, the almost spiritual bond that sex creates…it never leaves you. You never forget the first person you had sex with."

"So, that's why it's so sacred, then?"

"Yep." Sex was a meaningful act, and one day, when it was the right person, she wanted to make sure that person would be the one she'd be with for the remainder of her life. She would never give herself to someone without knowing if it was the right person. "I don't know how Spencer feels about Alice or how she feels towards him, but you know, if he does wind up cleaning up his act for her and for Regina, then I guess I can say he'll be worth something."

"I don't want Regina getting hurt…" She didn't have a bad feeling about Spencer, but she did want to know if he knew how serious the things he might say would impact her. "Seems like everyone's going though something these days, don't you think?" Everyone had their troubles and everyone had their dilemmas, she just wished she could help them all. "Dee and her mom started bonding, I think Mrs. Dooley's actually going to quit throwing those balls just to get Dee to find some wealthy rich kid." Skyler chuckled and turned her eyes to the rearview mirror. Teddy was asleep in her car seat, making the ride so peaceful.

"I'm proud of Mrs. Dooley then, love should happen at its own pace."

"Yeah…not forced into it. Oh, and I think I know why Emmett's so bitter, more so than just PJ's vanishing. His own parents abandoned him because he went into music."

"That hardly seems fair."

"I know!" She tapped her foot on the ground, anticipation and impatience running wild inside her. She tired of this conversation and really was getting anxious in regards to seeing PJ. "I don't mean to sound like a redundant nag, but, are we there yet?" Skyler laughed and pointed ahead of her.

"See for yourself." She glanced ahead and grinned when she saw PJ and Petunia standing just outside the doors of the restaurant they wanted to be picked up at. PJ was holding onto a few suitcases while Petunia held her purse and waved in the air. There were several bags around them, which was strange, but PJ did mention a cab driver helping them load up and get to the restaurant. They just didn't want to have anyone get stuck in airport traffic, it was hell to drive through.

"You know the first thing Nana is going to want to do is hold Teddy, right?" She looked in the backseat and smiled at the softly snoring baby. It would probably be okay, Teddy was actually a heavy sleeper and often was willing to be moved around even when asleep. "Let's just hope she doesn't wake up and dirty her diaper, otherwise we'll be changing her in the car."

"We'd pull over and go into a restaurant to do that, dear." Skyler parked alongside the curb where PJ was. The two exited the vehicle and opened up the doors. As Skyler started to walk around the car, Charlotte immediately rushed to PJ and hugged him.

"You're home!" Well, almost, anyway. PJ hugged her back.

"It's been a long plane ride, that's for sure. Aunt Diane's already been picked up by her relatives." She had? Then again, all the relatives were already there in Denver. "Your grandmother quite literally slept the entire way." Charlotte turned to Petunia and grinned, hugging her, not so tightly, as the woman was starting to become frail in these years.

"Nana!" She felt like dancing, she finally got to see Nana, and she was staying for sure. Petunia's aged lips curled up as she hugged her granddaughter. Her once vibrant red hair had actually faded to white, she stopped dying her hair ages ago. Her hair resembled mashed potatoes, being curled in such a way. She had ample wrinkles on her face and was starting to develop liver spots on her arms.

"Careful for my bad knee dear." Petunia lifted her hands to Charlotte's cheeks and met her eyes with a tearful smile. "You are such a beautiful sight." Charlotte's cheeks burned and her smile grew.

"Thanks Nana." She looked back and saw Skyler walking around the car with Teddy. She took Petunia's hand and started moving towards Skyler. "This is Skyler and baby Teddy, she was named after Sis." Petunia put her hands over her mouth and slowly moved towards the two.

"I have heard so much of you and Teddy from PJ, I've been looking forward to meeting you two." She extended her hands and Skyler happily handed Teddy to her. The elder carefully held the baby in her hands and smiled as teddy gazed up at her with a wide-eyed smile. "Hi sweetie, I'm your Nana, your great grandmother." She swayed her arms gently like a baby cradle, and Teddy made a quiet cooing noise. "PJ, you have a beautiful family." She looked up to Skyler with a gentle gaze. "You really are as pretty as my grandson says, and for you to have stayed with him through that terrible accident…I'm glad he's had someone like you at his side." Skyler blushed.

"Well, he is a good man. A homicide detective now. I'm a nurse, school nurse, though there are some doctors trying to hire me on as the head nurse down at the hospital."

"You should consider the job."

"Yeah, it would give me more time at home to take care of the kids." She'd been thinking about it more frequently in the last few days, and Charlotte's been trying to convince her to go for the job at the hospital. It would pay well, the hours were better, and as a school nurse, she might be needed at home one day when she's not there. "Well anyhow, let's get you set up at home, get some rest, and then head out to the park." Petunia gasped, remembering the big reunion today. She smiled and put her hand to her chest.

"I can't wait to see everybody. It's interesting, they're getting together to celebrate new life and old life." Charlotte got a chuckle from that, she hadn't really thought of it in that way before, but it did make sense. The relatives were there to see Petunia as much as they were there to see Teddy.

"Don't forget, Nana, they're also there to reconnect!" She reminded them. "It's going to be a monthly thing, maybe not the same thing each month, but at least the get-togethers. We're also going to Aunt Diane's for Christmas!""

"Splendid. It's the way family ought to be, dear."

"I agree. I think it's going to be so much fun! My friends are even bringing some of their cousins along so that Jennifer isn't the only young kid there."

"Good idea. Shall we get to the house now? I'm afraid I'm getting tired from all this standing around…" The others nodded and moved Teddy into her car seat.

It wasn't long before they were home and moving everything to Petunia's room. Despite her bad knee, she didn't have a problem with her bedroom being upstairs. It wasn't something she couldn't get used to. She was perfectly happy with her bedroom, even though she didn't have everything she used to have.

Skyler, PJ, and Charlotte decided to wait down stairs and talk about their week while Petunia napped on her bed. They had an hour before they had to get down to the park. PJ sipped his coffee and smirked subtly at Charlotte. "So what's this I hear about you going down to Kwikki Chikki?" Charlotte's eyebrows shot up and she quickly ducked behind the couch, as if hiding would keep her from this situation. "Hiding won't help you now."

"Dang." She rose to her feet and chuckled nervously, it was too much to hope that she could just forget the whole deal. She looked to Skyler for help, but the woman went to reading some book. No help this time. She put her hands to her hips and turned to PJ. "I learned my lesson, I am not eating there again. How was I supposed to know I was allergic to shellfish? More so, how was I supposed to know they were serving crabmeat instead of chicken?"

"Yeah, they do that to customers…It's a good thing Dee called Skyler when she did." She swayed her body to the right and lowered her arms, sighing with defeat.

"Yeah it is…but I'm definitely not eating there again. That, and, next time Skyler tells me not to do something…"

"Oh you'll do it anyway," he teased. She paused for a second and stared at him as Skyler started to snicker. He sipped his coffee once more and waited for a second before swallowing. "You're a Duncan, enough said."

"So what, mischief's in my blood or something?"

"Sure, we'll go with that." He laughed and pat her shoulder. "Now, Skyler said something earlier about Spencer trying to spend more time with Regina? Is that true?"

"From what I saw the other day, I'd say he's been trying to be a dad, maybe he's trying to shape up. Who knows?" PJ hummed and looked over to Skyler. She lifted her eyebrows momentarily and closed her book.

"I hope for her sake he does," Skyler commented. "Somehow the guy got her pregnant again." PJ moved his hand to his forehead and slowly shook his head. Charlotte moved around to the front of the couch and sat down. She felt like she wanted to do something, like maybe find the coach and remind him that it's important for him to get on the better track, but she knew it wasn't her place. She tilted her head back and gazed up at the ceiling, she was still thinking about Petunia.

"Nana seemed to take to the house well, but she still seems depressed." She turned her gaze to PJ and Skyler. They frowned, and PJ looked towards the stairs.

"She doesn't have a lot of years left, and I think she understands that. So it's difficult for her when she can't have everything that's been so important to her. She may not have a lot of her own things left, but at the very least, she wouldn't have to pass on alone." Charlotte's heart sank and her head bowed, she honestly didn't want to think about her Nana passing away, but it was very possible that Nana could go before she even reached college.

"I don't want her to be sad or anything, and I don't want anything to happen to her."

"I know, but it's a part of life. When you grow old, your body starts to deteriorate one step at a time." He sat next to her, in between her and Skyler, and rubbed her back. "Keep in mind that Nana is resilient, knowing her, she'll keep going for maybe another twenty years." She looked up to him with a smile. She'd like that, even though the average life expectancy wasn't nearly high enough for it. "Also, she's got something to live for now, and that typically keeps a person going. She's got her family, and, I've been thinking about maybe getting a dog…" Skyler's eyebrows rose and Charlotte gasped. "Child friendly, of course. It would have to get along with Teddy."

A dog, they'd had one before, when PJ started out as a police officer in the K9 unit, he had a partner that was the sweetest and most loveable dog, a German Shepherd of course. Loyal to the core, couldn't hurt a fly, but also a very good dog on the force. When she was just five or six, PJ had taken the dog for a walk and was shot at by some gang member. He was fine, but the dog ran after the shooter and latched on until PJ managed to call for help and arrest the man.

After the struggle, the dog had been shot and the Veterinarians couldn't do a thing for it. It was a very painful, heartbreaking two weeks, watching the dog's health slowly slip away. In the end, PJ made the decision to put his canine friend down. After that, he refused any other dogs, went on to become a homicide detective, and swore off any family pets.

"What's making you decide to do this?" Skyler asked, her voice full of concern for him. He pressed his lips together and exhaled. His shoulders rose and he brought his coffee mug to his lips.

"Dogs are very therapeutic for the elderly, very calming and loyal to children, and I do miss having a dog around here." He lowered his coffee mug and smiled at the two of them. "That, and, I got a phone call from an old friend down at the K9 unit. One of the dogs there just had a bunch of puppies. They usually don't have the runts of the litter on the force, so he wanted to know if I'd be interested in taking in the pup. I suppose we can talk more about that after the reunion though."

"Yeah, and I think having a puppy would be great. Teddy could grow accustomed to having a pet."

"You mean we'll really be able to get a dog?" Charlotte asked with a widening smile. She was ecstatic! PJ chuckled as she quickly hugged him, he already had her vote. But, he was right, first things first, the reunion. What a day this was going to be.

PJ's home, woot!