A Floating Life
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Charlotte Black
Sue had taken it upon herself to smooth Charlie's transition into the world of make believe. She had become very protective of him -a fact that had not gone unnoticed by Billy, resulting in some tension in the formerly tightknit friendship group. Sue had tried to lessen hostilities by hosting a dinner for them all, hoping to smooth things over a little. It had not gone quite as well as she had anticipated, even with Seth's sunny personality to deflect from the pressured atmosphere, Billy obstinately refused to play along. The dinner had ended with him and Charlie barely on speaking terms, much to Sue's chagrin.
However, Sue wasn't going to let one little minor setback stop her from forcing a resolution. She worked her charms on Charlie, gently encouraging him to go and see Billy on his own for a change. She hoped that with her presence taken out of the equation, both men could relax and enjoy some male bonding time like they used to before the underlying resentment and jealousy took hold.
So, with a case of beer locked under his arm, and a fixed smile on his face, Charlie did as Sue wanted and went to visit Billy. He hopped lightly up the porch steps, his fist raised to knock on the front door to announce his arrival. Yet before he had a chance to follow through, the door was pulled open by Billy himself.
Charlie was so startled at seeing Billy standing before him on his own two feet that it made him drop the case of beer. The glass bottles smashed on the wooden boards of the front porch, the cold liquid seeping through the cracks. His mouth hung open, stunned into complete silence as Billy stared him right in the eyes. Charlie had forgotten how tall Billy was; it had been that long since he had seen him without the wheelchair. Billy eclipsed him by at least three inches.
"What the fuck?" He exclaimed.
"Good to see you, too, Chief." Billy answered grimly. "Are you coming in?"
Charlie closed his mouth, glancing down at the broken beer bottles littering the front porch. "I brought beer." He said needlessly.
"So, I see." Billy barely spared the broken bottles a glance. "I'll clear that up later. Are you coming in or not, old man?"
Irked by his friend's abrasive tone, Charlie glared at him. "What's with the bad attitude?" He demanded. "I came over here to make peace, but I'm beginning to think it wasn't worth the bother."
Billy's expression remained aloof. "I wouldn't blame you for thinking that when you hear what I have to say."
Charlie frowned, his confusion rampant as he stepped inside the house, bypassing Billy, he stared at him, shaking his head in disbelief. He had been forced to accept so much change in his life of late. The 'need to know' basis had been working for him up to now, but the questions continued to secretly buzz around his head. Seeing Billy standing, apparently walking unaided, no longer grimacing with pain at his aching joints had completely blindsided him.
Billy led the way into the tiny kitchen, bending down lithely, without showing any indication of pain as he pulled two beers out of the fridge. He passed one to Charlie, keeping the other for himself.
"I know what you're thinking." He said grudgingly.
"I doubt that." Charlie muttered as he popped the top of the beer bottle off with an expert flick of his thumb. "So, what's the behind the miracle cure?"
Billy's expression turned uneasy. "You haven't spoken to Bella then?"
Charlie was on the alert at once. He paused with the beer bottle raised halfway to his mouth. "No. Why?"
Billy fidgeted agitatedly, making no move to open his own beer. He avoided Charlie's stern gaze, his face looking guilty as hell. "You want to know what's behind the miracle cure?"
"Yes." Charlie snapped.
"Your granddaughter – that's who."
Charlie stiffened, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What has Charlotte got to do with you suddenly being able to walk? And why do you look so shamefaced? What have you done, Billy?" He demanded, his voice coming out in a forceful growl that could have rivalled any of the wolves.
Billy flinched, still unable to look Charlie in the eyes, he hunched his shoulders and began to mumble his excuses.
"Speak up, man." Charlie ordered harshly, slamming his beer bottle down on the kitchen counter.
Billy cleared his throat, his gaze still directed at his feet, he began to explain in slow, halting sentences exactly what had happened between him and Charlotte. The more he talked, the grimmer Charlie's expression became, his lips pressed so tightly together in silent fury they turned white from the pressure.
"And that's it." Billy finished eventually. "There are no excuses to condone what I've done. I let old prejudices get in the way of common sense. I can apologize until my tongue falls out, but words mean little after the fact. I deserve whatever punishment you see fit."
With a weary sigh, Billy raised his head, understanding Charlie well enough to know what was coming his way. He finally found the courage to meet the police chief's steely gaze, just as Charlie's curled fist landed a carefully placed blow on the left side of his jaw.
The smashed case of beer on the front porch was the first sign that something was wrong to Jacob. The second was the sound of his father's faint groans of pain coming from inside the house. The third being Charlie's gruff voice ordering Billy to put some damn ice on the swelling to get it down.
"Shit." He whispered to Bella, who was standing next to him holding Charlotte in her arms. "Can you hear that?"
"Yeah." Bella whispered back anxiously. She tightened her hold on her daughter. "What is my dad doing here?"
It had taken a lot of coaxing and persuasion on both their parts to convince the nervous little girl to come back and see Billy with them. Charlotte sensed their tension and she hid her face in her mother's neck, her breathing escalating. To her this house was a place of fear.
"What on earth happened do you think?" Bella said in a low voice to Jacob.
"I'm not sure." Jacob frowned slightly. "Wait here. Let me go in first and figure out what's going on." He warned Bella.
"Okay." Bella agreed, withdrawing to the porch swing she sat down carefully, balancing Charlotte on her lap. "Don't take too long."
"I'll be quick." Jacob promised.
Creeping stealthily inside, Jacob closed the front door quietly behind him as he slipped into the front room. He heard sounds of movement coming from the kitchen. Charlie was mumbling something unintelligible under his breath, while Billy continued to groan in pain.
There was a slight squeak as the lid of the freezer was opened, then the sound of someone rifling through the contents.
"Jeez, when was the last time you went food shopping?" Charlie complained. "There's food older than I've been alive stashed in here."
"Always the comedian." Billy moaned. "Just give me that bag of frozen peas, that'll do."
Jacob chose to announce his arrival at that point, not wanting to startle the two men. "Hi, anyone at home?"
"In here, Jake." Billy called out gruffly.
Jacob rounded the corner, entering the kitchen to find his father leaning against the counter nursing a frozen bag of peas against his jaw.
"What the hell happened to you?"
Billy glanced warily at Charlie. "Nothing." He muttered.
Charlie snorted derisively. "I hit him." He announced baldly without an ounce of guilt.
Jacob's dark eyes widened at this surprising news. "Why? You're not fighting over Sue Clearwater, are you?" He asked, jumping straight to the wrong conclusion.
This earned him an exasperated glare from both men.
"We would never fight over a woman." Billy said testily. "I told Charlie about what happened with Charlotte. He gave me a well-deserved punch to the face. That's it."
"Jeez, you're worse than toddlers." Jacob replied in disgust. "How am I supposed to explain this to Bella?"
"Bells is here?" Charlie exclaimed.
"Yes, she's waiting outside with Charlotte."
Billy's complexion turned wan as he exchanged a guilty look with Charlie. "Oh, this is not good. I've already scared that poor little girl enough without her seeing me like this." He lamented.
"Too bad." Charlie was still in no mood to be forgiving. "You're just lucky that my granddaughter takes after me. She's a brave little soul, full of fire and spirit, she'll be fine just as long as you man up and sincerely apologize. Bring the girls in, Jacob."
"No fucking way." Jacob answered stubbornly. "You have no idea how much this all impacted the kid emotionally. She may very advanced for her age, but she's still a scared little girl. Your words were hurtful, Dad. I don't want her upset anymore than she has to be."
Billy flushed red with renewed shame. "Jake, son, I know I did wrong. Please, you must let me make it up to Charlotte. I don't want her to be scared of me."
"Well, it's a little too late for that." Jacob spared no punches. He needed his father to know just how badly his cruel words had affected Charlotte. "For too long you've let old prejudices and preconceived notions influence your way of thinking. You need to move with the times. Circumstances change. None of us expected to be gifted with such a unique person as Charlotte. She is truly special, but that comes with its own unexpected and tough challenges. She's growing quickly, and changing all the time. She has miraculous gifts – but underneath all that we must remember that she is still an innocent child. She is completely blameless in this. She just wanted to help you like she helped Bella. She didn't think about what she was doing, she just acted. The way you reacted was awful."
Jacob's forceful words stabbed Billy right in the heart. He knew he deserved them just as much as Charlie's punch to the face. Everything Jacob said was right. Those old prejudices and preconceived notions had heavily influenced his actions. He hadn't seen Charlotte as the little girl she really was or thought to question what she was doing. He had just reacted in the moment, to the detriment of both.
"I know I don't deserve forgiveness. I agree with everything you say. I acted abhorrently. All I can say is I'm listening and I hear you. I am determined to change for the better. It will mean a great deal to me if you'd let me apologize to that lovely little girl for the cruel way I behaved and spoke to her. I need to at least try and make this right."
"We hear you, too, Billy." Bella's soft voice came from the entrance to the kitchen. She emerged into view, holding Charlotte against her hip.
Jacob was the only one who had heard Bella enter the house. He had kept quiet, knowing that she would speak up herself when she was ready. It seemed that Billy's honest and sincere promise to change for the better and his earnest need to apologize had made an impact.
Billy's eyes were immediately drawn to the tiny little girl clutched in her mother's arms. He felt moisture welling in them, his body trembling a little as he looked directly at her pensive face.
"I am so sorry, Charlotte. I need you to know that I never meant the words I said. I am just a frightened, foolish old man. I didn't see that you were only trying to help me." He smiled sadly. "And you did. See? I'm walking again. You cured me, Charlotte. I can never thank you enough. I hope that you can forgive me one day. I don't want you to be scared of me."
Charlotte gazed back at Billy with dark eyes that so resembled his late wife's that it was startling. Jacob had inherited his mother's eyes and Charlotte had inherited his. Billy felt like it was Sarah looking back at him. He held his breath, waiting out the little girl's reaction to his sincere apology.
Slowly the pensiveness left Charlotte's face as she looked back at him. She raised her hand to Bella's cheek, but Bella stopped her. "No, Charlotte, say the words aloud." She encouraged gently.
Charlotte paused, sucking in a sharp breath, her dark eyes fixed on Billy's face. "I'm a wolf girl, Billeee." She whispered, drawing out the last syllable of his name. "Daddy says so. Look." Her proud gaze fixed on the delicate wolf charm bracelet Jacob had given her to mark her inclusion in his pack family.
Bella wasn't the only one to emit a quiet gasp of surprise when Charlotte referenced Jacob as her daddy for the first time. She exchanged a long look with him, seeing the same emotions of love mixed with tenderness and awe in his eyes. She didn't protest when Jacob lifted Charlotte carefully out of her arms and held the little girl up in front of him.
"I say we put this all behind us and start again." Jacob announced with a sunny smile. "I think it's time we reintroduced you to your other grandpa, kid. Would you like that?"
Charlotte looked over toward Bella, who was beaming at her with pride. She gave a subtle nod of encouragement. Then Charlotte looked over at Charlie, who she caught wiping a discreet tear from the corner of his eye. He, too, nodded at her. Lastly, Charlotte's gaze was drawn back to Jacob. She smiled at him, nodding her acceptance.
"That's my brave girl." Jacob praised her, making the little girl's smile widen. He carried her over to Billy. "Dad, I want you to meet the newest addition to the family – Charlotte Black." He declared, claiming Charlotte as his own.
Billy arched his eyebrows in surprise, but refrained from commenting. Instead, he smiled at Charlotte, opening his arms to her. "Hi, Charlotte." He said huskily. "Welcome to the family."
A/N-thanks for reading!
