Sorry for the long delay! It's been a hectic few weeks, but hopefully this'll make it up to you a little bit. Also a forewarning, there might not be an update on the 18th December, as I might still be recovering from surgery then, and also there won't be one on xmas day, so I'll try and make it up by doing a xmas eve double bill or something like that. Anyway, hope you enjoy.
"Annie! What seems to be the problem?"
Charlie hurtled towards the bed where her mother was working from with her laptop, and jumped under the covers.
"Annie!" She rummaged about to try and rest a hand on her daughter. "Annie, what's all this about?"
Silence again.
"Annie c'mon. Talk to me, what's the matter."
"How can Annie talk to you right now?" A voice squeaked from underneath the sheets.
"Ok, stop joking now. You can refer to yourself in first person."
"Annie can't talk to you right now."
"Oh? And why not?"
"Because Annie's in San Francisco with her dad and aunt."
At this, Lizzie went silent, before pulling back the duvet.
"Charlie?" She let out in sharp exhale.
"Howdy." She let a corner of her mouth turn upwards in a half-smile.
"Charlie?! Oh my god!" Let enveloped her in a tight hug. "My dear. What the hell?" She pulled her back to look at her face. "Why? How?"
Charlie now felt enough freedom to drop her fake accent. "We met at summer camp, and when we realised, we both wanted to meet the other parent."
"So you switched places?"
"Yep!"
"So, I've had you here all this time, whilst Annie's been with your father?"
"Uhuh. You're not mad, are you?"
"Mad? Oh honey how could I ever be mad?" She wiped back a couple of tears. "I haven't seen you since you were a tiny baby!"
Lizzie pulled Charlie into another hug, and they sat like that on the bed, not saying a thing, for a few minutes. Charlie would breathe in the smell of the fabric softener her mother used, happy in the knowledge that she was finally able to be honest and open about who she was, her life, her experiences, and that her mother knew her again. Lizzie would softly brush the red hair on the back of Charlie's head, and reminisce on how it felt like only yesterday she'd held this little girl in her arms like this for the last time, shortly before she got on that flight to London with Annie and Lydia after the divorce and custody terms had been settled. She couldn't say that she'd she didn't regret anything about what had happened almost twelve years ago. It all seemed so trivial now, and yet so important, not least because of the impact it had had on everyone's lives.
Eventually though, a pressing question entered her mind, and she pulled away.
"Wait, Charlie, when were you planning on swapping back again? You can't have expected to go your whole life as Annie."
"No, no. We were probably going to try and unswitch again by the end of summer break, but we thought," Charlie paused – she wasn't going to give everything away now, "it might be easier on you both and us, if we gave each other a bit more time before school starts again. You know, to unswitch us, and get settled back in again."
"And have you planned this unswitch yet?"
"Almost. We just need to arrange a date and place if that's alright with you." At this, Charlie could see her mother's smile falter slightly. "It's ok, he's really anxious to see you."
"Anxious nervous, or anxious excited?"
"Oh, anxious excited. Definitely!"
"Charlie how did it go?" Annie spoke in a half voice in her room. She knew that her dad was standing close outside her door, talking to aunt Gigi, who had just been in to talk to her about the unswitch.
"It was so great, oh my god you have no idea. She's was just so kind and understanding about it. Plus, I think she might be more open to the idea of seeing dad again that we originally thought."
"That's fantastic. Aunt Gigi's just asking dad when he's free to go out somewhere for a day, and as soon as I get an answer, I'll tell you, and we'll meet up there and give him a shock."
"Give them both a shock more like. I think mom might be just as surprised to find that we've been meddling and he didn't know we were coming than dad seeing her again, out of the blue."
"Maybe."
At that moment, Gigi knocked on the door before opening it, and creeping in.
"Wait, Charlie hold on for a moment, aunt Gigi has news I think."
"He says that he's sorry, but he's so unbelievably busy this week that there's no way we can go out somewhere, just the three of us."
"Oh." Annie replied dejectedly.
"But…"
"I like the sound of this but!"
"He did say that on Friday he's showing Madison's parents round Pemberley Digital, and so he's not going to be working from dawn till dusk."
"So…they could surprise him then?"
"I suppose so." Gigi gave a cheeky grin.
"Are you going to push them both into an office again?"
"I might do. We'll see how it plays out."
"Ok, stay here for a moment. I'll tell Charlie that." She put the phone back up to her ear. "Charlie? He's not got any day free any time soon when he can take us all out somewhere, but he's not going to be doing much work on Friday, because he's showing Madison's parents round Pemberley Digital for the day."
"And we'll come along and crash the party? I like the sound of that."
"Is it too soon for you to get here?"
"Just wait a moment. Mom's in the other room I'll just see." Annie heard a bit of scuffling, and then through the line she heard, "Mom, Annie says that dad says that he's free this Friday. We can meet and unswitch at Pemberley Digital. Is that alright? Can we get there in time?" "She says that's fine. We'll catch a flight at Friday lunchtime, and be there at Friday mid morning."
"You're just a bunch of time travellers, aren't you?" Annie smiled.
"Hey, you did change your phone number's name to that of one of the Doctor's companions!"
"Mom, dad, this is the most incredible man in the world and the love of my life, William Darcy." Madison introduced as her and her parents stepped out of the limo that had collected them from the airport in front of the offices.
"Marlon. Cynthia. Welcome to Pemberley Digital." William spoke, offering them a hand.
"Thank you very much, my dear. Marlon, this is incredible!" Mrs Blair stared in awe up at the numerous floors above, and the bright glass entrance to the atrium just in front of them.
"It is indeed. You've built up quite an impressive establishment here." They began to head into the atrium. "I understand that you took over the company at very young age."
"Yes. My parents died when I was 18 and I took over then."
At that moment, they stepped through the entrance, and out of nowhere, William felt someone a lot smaller than him crash into his side and encircle his waist with his arms.
"Charlie? I didn't realise you were coming in today?" He smiled.
"Yeah, I wanted to help aunt Gigi with the logo for the new app."
He turned towards the Blairs. "Mr and Mrs Blair, may I introduce my daughter, Charlie."
"Pleasure to meet you, darling!" Cynthia leant down to Charlie's height. "You can call me aunt Cynthi!"
Annie replied with only a look of confusion and a forced smile.
"Now," William carried on, "let me show you all the facilities here on the first floor."
"And you-you're suuuure that he is going to look worse than me?" Lizzie slurred, almost falling out of the limo at the front of the offices just half an hour later.
"I can't guarantee that, mom." Charlie winced, before staring at aunt Lydia with worry.
"She almost never drinks this much." Lydia whispered to her niece. "In fact, she always used to scold me for how much I drank."
"Oh, I know. I've watched the videos." Charlie offered her mother a hand to steady herself as she put her heels back on.
"The wonderful hypocrite she is."
"And we love her for it."
"I don't think you or I would be standing here right now if not for it!" Lydia joked.
"I wouldn't be here, period."
"Are you guys t-talking about me?"
"Of course we are, Lizzie. You offer such great entertainment." Lydia retorted.
"I do try and please my audience!"
"So William, I hear that you and Madison are thinking of having the wedding at Grace Cathedral. Why not have the whole affair here? It's such a beautiful venue." Marlon piped up as the group headed towards an elevator.
"Well, partly because this is a place of work, and I wouldn't want to disturb the employees. Also because that cathedral has been witness to quite a few important events in my life."
At that moment, he entered the elevator after the rest of the group, and turned around to face the doors. As they began to close though, an aged version of the face that he hadn't seen in almost twelve years appeared in front of his eyes once more. He viciously pushed on the button to open the doors again, but by then it was too late, and Lizzie's face slipped from his view.