Author's Note: I hope you guys didn't forget about Charlie! Here's what been going on with him…

Chapter Thirty Five: I Wish I Was the Moon

"God blessed me, I'm a free man

With no place free to go…

How will you know if you found me at last

Because I'll be the one, be the one,

With my heart in my lap…

I'm so tired,

I wish I was the moon tonight…"

Ooo0ooO

While my sister was off with her mate or whatever, I decided to explore everything Mystic Falls had to offer.

And let me tell you- the food and beer was great, the forest perfect, but the women… there are no words.

Especially a certain doctor… Doctor Fell, to be precise.

I sat at the Grill's bar and mulled it over with a bottle of ice cold brew in my hand.

I remembered my date with her on Christmas…

I walked up to Meredith's small apartment, holding a bunch of pale yellow roses in my hand. I shifted my weight, unable to deny the fact that I was, well, nervous. Sue me, it had been awhile since I had been in the dating game.

I raised my hand to knock on the door right as she opened it. She gave me a pretty smile and I felt myself respond to it immediately.

"Hi," she greeted. She wore a hunter green dress that flattered her darker complexion and deep chocolate eyes.

"You look wonderful," I said easily, handing her the roses. She smiled as she took them.

"No red roses?" she asked teasingly. I grinned.

"Something told me you weren't a red rose kind of girl," I replied, shrugging. Meredith eyed me before laughing in that low, sultry was of hers. My gut tightened.

"You'd be correct," she said. She motioned me inside and I was immediately assaulted by womanly scents- flowers, perfume. It wasn't too bad- her perfume was rather light and flowery, instead of sickly and sweet like other woman's. Then again, I was quickly learning the esteemed Dr. Fell wasn't like most women.

I helped her into her coat, which was soft black, and pulled her hair out of her collar. It was shorter now, lighter. The new look emphasized her already large brown eyes and full lips.

She turned to face me with those lush lips of hers curved. "Ready?"

I took a second to compose myself, when all I wanted to do was yank her into my arms and take those lips. I grinned to hide my internal struggle.

"You bet," I said.

We went to a small Italian restaurant and sat outside, since the night was warm and clear. Our table was small and intimate, with a small candle between us. I was transfixed by its glow in her depthless eyes.

We talked about everything- our lives, where we're from, hobbies, family. We both had lost our parents when we were young but Meredith had no siblings.

"You were alone?" I asked, a frown marring my expression. Meredith shrugged, resting her hands in front of her, brushing a fingertip over the rim of her wineglass. I reached over to clasp her hands in my own, making her eyes meet mine.

"I know that must have been hard for you," I said gently. Meredith's eyes softened.

"Yes but I made it, and became someone who can help others for a living," she said. I rubbed my thumbs over her knuckles.

"Tell me about your sister, Annabelle," she requested, pulling her hands away. I swore for a moment her cheeks were pinker than usual. I resisted the urge to hear if her heart was pounding.

"Oh Anna? She's great," I said with a smile. "She's…well, she's awesome. Anna isn't your typical run of the mill girl. She's one tough cookie. She's the one person who will keep fighting no matter what life throws at her."

"You care about her." I nodded.

"More than anything. She's my baby sister. When she was born, I was barely four but from that moment, I swore I'd protect her no matter what."

"You seem to be doing a great job," Meredith said. "You both seem very close to each other." I grinned.

"Yes, we're all each other has, so we stick together," I replied easily, leaning back a little to sip at the red wine Meredith had selected. It was pretty good grape juice.

Once we were finished with dinner, we walked along the park downtown. The stars were out and bright, the sky clear from any clouds. The air was cool and brisk, so I offered my arm to Meredith. She took it with a smile as we walked side by side.

Halfway through walking, I heard the call of a wolf. I tilted my head a little.

"Is that a wolf?" Meredith asked. "Or…?" I smiled down at her.

"It seems Anna is out and about tonight," I replied. Meredith stopped so we could listen to my sister's song. I looked down at Meredith, who was smiling a little.

"How come you're okay with all of this? You know, werewolves and vampires and witches?" I asked curiously. She shrugged.

"I knew what I was getting into when I moved to Mystic Falls. I used vampire blood at the hospital for serious, hopeless cases… even though in the end that caused someone to change."

"That Elena girl?" I asked. Anna kept me up to date on what was happening around town. Meredith nodded.

"I know if she hadn't had the blood in her system she would have died… but after seeing her this way, I can't help but wonder if that was a rational decision on my part." I squeezed her hand and stopped her.

"You wanted to save her life, and you did everything you could. You can't blame yourself for what happened," I said. She looked up at me with those big eyes and I felt like a man drowning.

I brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek, brushing her skin softly with my fingertips. I saw her pupils dilate and heard her breath give a little. Her heart skipped in her chest, pounding loudly.

Slowly, very slowly, I leaned down. Right before my lips met hers, I saw her eyes flutter close, her lashes brushing her cheeks. I brushed my lips against hers and nearly groaned. She tasted sweet, like strawberries. I paused and she lifted her hands into my hair, pulling me back.

I gave in, letting her pull me down for another kiss. My tongue teased hers and she sighed.

"Meredith," I murmured against her lips. She pulled away and looked me in the eyes.

"I think I should be heading back," she whispered. I nodded and took her hand to walk with her back to her place.

I smiled at the memory. After that, we kept seeing each other often. There were a few lunches at the Grill, a hike in the woods, a picnic in the park.

The couple of times I went over to Klaus and Annabelle's place, she had teased me about dating her doctor. Of course, that was after her initial shock and mild disapproval. Klaus didn't say much, he just clapped me on the back and gave me a wink.

He was a pretty cool guy, for a Hybrid.

I sipped my beer and turned my head a little when I heard the front door of the Grill open. The cool winter air brought in a warm, familiar scent.

"I figured I would find you here." I turned in my seat and smiled. Meredith sat down on the stool next to mine, unwrapping the light scarf she wore around her neck.

"What can I say, I like the beer," I joked. I leaned over and kissed her hello.

"Hey," I said softly. Meredith smiled and laced a hand against my cheek.

"Hi," she whispered. Matt, one of Anna's friends, walked over to us.

"Do you guys wanna eat at the bar or do you wanna booth?" he asked politely. Meredith looked and at before looking back at Matt.

"Here's fine," she replied, leaning against the bar with her arms. "Can you bring me an iced tea when you get the chance, Matt?"

"Sure thing, Dr. Fell," he said before walking away.

After we finished having lunch, Meredith went back to the hospital. She promised to call me later and I gave her a long good bye kiss that left her cheeks flushed.

I wandered into the woods, feeling the urge to stretch my legs. My wolf legs.

I jogged out until I was close to the river before I shifted. I leaned back, stretching my front legs in front of me like a cat. I yawned and shook out my fur.

I began walking, enjoying the sights and the sounds. I weaved in and out of the trees slowly, keeping to the shadows. Even though it was pretty remote out here, I didn't want to take the chance with running into any stray hunters. My pelt probably wasn't worth much when it'd change back to skin.

I stopped when I reached the quarry, sitting at the water's edge. The sun was beginning to set, making the sky turn into a brilliant rainbow of oranges, yellows and pinks.

I tilted my head to the side and smiled to myself. I knew Anna would have enjoyed watching the sun set. We use to watch it constantly when we were younger, preferably as wolves.

I wondered how she was doing. After her and Klaus worked out a majority of their differences, she seemed happy. Really happy. She had a glow about her I never had seen before until she met this Klaus guy.

Rising, I decided to go for a run. I took off at supernatural speeds into the distant forest. I followed the river for some time until I found a path heading up higher into the mountains.

I stretched out my strides, covering the ground in long bounds. By the time I reached the peak of a large hill, the sun had disappeared below the horizon.

I looked out over the view and huffed with pleasure. The wind picked up and ruffled my fur. I sighed and wagged my tail a little, before catching myself. Anna always joked I acted like a wolf more than I acted like a guy.

Snorting, I began to descend, deciding to go pay my sister and her boyfriend a visit. I dashed through the now familiar forest.

When I reached the mansion, I noticed right away that Anna and Klaus weren't home. None of the lights were on and the surrounding area was dead quiet.

Shifting back, I called Anna's cell. It rang a few times before her voicemail picked up. I frowned and tucked my phone back into my pocket. I felt like something wasn't right.

Shaking off that feeling, I headed back into town to stop by the hospital. Meredith's shift was nearly over and I was hoping to coax her into having a scoop of ice cream with me.

When I reached the hospital, I saw Meredith exiting through the front doors. She spotted me and waved.

"Charlie! I was just about to call you," she said, walking over to me. I reached out and pulled her closer to me. I leaned down and kissed her slowly. She tasted like strawberries, light and sweet.

"I was hoping you would like to join me to have a scoop of ice cream," I said once I pulled away. Meredith's lips curved.

"I'd like that."

We drove over in her car and found a small table inside. We decided to share a banana split, since we discovered that was our favorite treat.

"What did you do after lunch?" she asked, taking a bite of vanilla ice cream. I scooped up some chocolate ice cream with a sliver of banana.

"Went for a run in the woods," I replied. Meredith raised a brow and gave me a knowing look.

"A normal run or a werewolf run?" she asked teasingly. I grinned.

"Why would I run on two legs when I could on four?" I retorted. Meredith laughed at that.

When we drove back to her apartment, I walked her to her front door. She turned after she drew her keys out of her purse. She watched me for a brief moment before stepping forward to lean up and kiss me. I smiled against her lips and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Would you… Would you like to come in?" she asked, looking at me from under her lashes. I smiled and brushed her hair off her shoulder.

"There's nothing I'd like more," I replied. She took my hand and led me inside.

Afterward, I laid back on her bed with her cradled to my chest. Her heart pounded against mine as I rubbed her back lightly. She stretched, her long, lithe body sliding against mine under the sheets.

"Well," she sighed, a small smile flickering over her face.

"Well," I repeated, looking down at her in amusement. Her hand rested against my chest and her finger traced the tattoo lying underneath the right side of my collarbone.

"What does this mean?" she asked. I looked down a little.

"It's my family crest," I replied. The drawing depicted a half sun, half moon, with a howling wolf overlapping it. It was suppose to stand for the Original Pack and how we were the first werewolves to live through the Sun and the Moon curse.

"Does Annabelle have this tattoo too?" I grinned.

"Yeah," I replied. "If I remember right, it's at the bottom of her neck, just a little above where your shoulder blades meet. I doubt she's even mentioned it to Klaus before." Meredith raised a brow.

"Does he have an objection to tattoos?" she asked. I shook my head, laughing.

"No, apparently he has a few. Why, do you have tattoos?" I didn't see any, and I had been over every inch of her body.

"No," she replied, smiling. I rolled her onto her back and kissed her.

"Maybe it's you that has an objection to tattoos," I teased. She laughed, wrapping her arms around my neck.

Right before I kissed her again, I felt a tremor rack my body. It was ice cold and I felt a sense of dread come over me. I looked up and over at the window. The sun was slowly beginning to rise.

"Charlie?" Meredith asked, her voice concerned. "Is everything okay?" I looked down at her, my brow furrowed.

"I… I don't know. Something doesn't feel right," I said, rolling off her to stand by the window. I felt my wolf bristling warily. Meredith stood and placed a hand on my arm.

"What do you mean?" she asked. I looked down at her, frowning.

"I think something's wrong with Anna," I explained. "It's an instinct us wolves have when one of our pack members is in trouble… and with Anna it's stronger since she's family." Meredith's hand tightened.

"If you have to go…" she trailed off, raising her brows pointedly. I nodded and quickly got dressed. Before I left, I gave her a quick kiss.

"I'll call you once I figure this out," I promised. Her eyes flickered a little and I paused. I strode over to her and cupped her face before kissing her hard. Her doe eyes stared into mine as I pulled away. I rubbed my thumbs over her cheeks gently.

"Promise," I said. She nodded and I quickly left.

When I reached the woods, where my instinct was pulling me, I shifted and began running.

It wasn't long before I heard the sounds of my sister's screams.

"Klaus!" echoed through the forest. I ran faster, digging my claws into the dirt.

When I burst into the clearing, I saw my sister crawling her way towards Klaus, who was obviously hurt. To my horror, I saw stab wounds on Anna as well.

She kept screaming in pain and crooning soothingly at Klaus, who was writhing in pain from something.

"Someone help!" she yelled. "Someone please help!" I shifted and ran towards her.

"Annabelle!" I cried out. She turned towards the sound of my voice, her eyes full of desperate, pain filled tears.

"Charlie," she choked with relief. I threw myself down next to her. I cupped her face, looking her over, then Klaus.

"What the hell happened? Who did this?" I demanded. Klaus looked up at me, his teeth gritted.

"Silas," he growled.

"Who the fuck is Silas?" I asked. Anna gripped my arm, her nails digging into my skin.

"Charlie, you have to help Klaus. He's hurt. Silas staked him with something and it's stuck and I- I can't get it out," she sobbed, her face streaked with dirt and tears.

"Shh," I soothed, drawing her in. She pressed her forehead to my chest, her heart slamming loudly in her chest. I could almost feel those quick, fearful beats.

"It's okay, Anna, everything's okay."

But by the look of her and Klaus, everything was definitely not okay.

Ooo0ooO

Author's Note: To be continued!

Let me know what you thought of this chapter!