Chapter 11
CHPT 11
Half way through the movie Lizzy fell sound asleep on Charlotte's lap. To her mild surprise this didn't prompt a movie change. The entire group of adults seemed to enjoy watching the animated frogs charm their way into figuring out how to be human and learning a few life lessons along the way. She supposed it made sense on several levels. When your life had the exceptionally high stakes theirs seemed to it was probably nice to relax to something that didn't matter and wrapped up neatly in the end.
After the movie JARVIS raised the lights part way and the adults minus Clint, Charlotte and Natasha began to stand and stretch.
"Come on, there's still time to get the last numbers." Jane said as she pulled Darcy along with her.
"Find but we are going to bed before two am. That gives you four hours to science Jane and we're sleeping for at least 8 hours." Darcy agreed as she let herself get pulled along. Thor looked after the pair longingly but made no move to follow them.
"Still in purgatory, big guy?" Clint asked quietly from next to her.
"It seems so my friend." Thor answered in what Charlotte assumed was his quiet voice, "I have not yet proved myself and my intentions to the Ladies Jane and Darcy."
"Did you apologize?" Charlotte heard herself ask, "I have no idea what happened but did you sincerely apologize without excuses or anything- just let them know that you know you caused them pain and are sorry?"
Thor opened his mouth to answer before closing it again. "No I do not believe I have now that I am called to reflect upon it. I sought to justify my choices at the expense of their pain." he answered.
"Try that," Charlotte suggested, "sometimes people just want to know that their pain is seen and valued. Once you apologize you can start with making amends."
"I shall try this Lady Charlotte. I thank you for your sage advice." Thor stood and followed after the two women. Soft choruses of good luck went with him.
"It might not be a bad thing having a regular well adjusted human around here every now and again." Tony spoke up from his chair only to be poked by Pepper.
"What? Pep you worked as my assistant for years! That is not the sign of a well adjusted person." Tony declared.
"I don't even have a response for that. I'm going to my 12% of the tower." Pepper laughed and unfolded her long legs before walking to the elevator. "Charlotte it was lovely having you here and I'll see your dress cleaned and delivered tomorrow."
"Thank you, you really didn't have to." Charlotte said.
"Nonsense, it was Tony who started the food fight and he can pay the bill to have it cleaned." Pepper assured her. The departure of Jane, Darcy, Thor and Pepper seemed to spur the others into leaving also. Steve muttered something about working out before bed to the eye rolls of everyone else in the room. Bruce and Tony devolved into a discussion that seemed to involve obscure math and Star Trek mentions that Charlotte didn't even try to follow. Natasha set her hand on Clint's shoulder and raised an eyebrow. Clint raised one back at her and Charlotte could see a whole conversation pass between the two with no code to crack it.
Within ten minutes it was just Charlotte, Clint and a sleeping toddler left in the room.
"I know where Natasha hides the Phish Food ice cream. Think Lizzy will stay sleeping if you move?" Clint asked her.
"I think it's worth a try." Charlotte said as she carefully shifted the two and a half year old off her lap and onto the couch. She managed to slide out from underneath the kid while keeping her wrapped in a blanket.
"JARVIS can keep an eye on her and we can tip toe back to the kitchen and grab the ice cream and two spoons." Clint suggested. Charlotte glanced at her watch and noticed it wasn't even half past nine.
"Sounds good to me. But if she wakes up you're in charge of hiding the goods. I'm not giving her sugar this late."
"Deal, I'll go steal the ice cream and you go grab the spoons." Clint said. Charlotte watched wide eyed as Clint hopped on the kitchen peninsula and quick as a blink shimmied his way into the air vents. She still wasn't sure what all the interpersonal relationships between everyone she'd met were but she was already willing to put money on Clint's story with Natasha was a hell of a ride.
Within five minutes Clint popped out of the same air vent triumphantly holding a carton of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream.
"She really should learn to hide this better." he said as he plucked a spoon out of Charlotte's hand and popped off the top of the container.
"Or she knew you'd take it. I get the feeling you guys are close." Charlotte said digging her own spoon into the caramel, chocolate and marshmallow swirls.
"Yeah, I've known Natasha for ten plus years. We saved each other's lives a few times." Clint didn't offer any more details.
"Sounds like a good person to have." Charlotte said.
"The best." Clint agreed. "What did your friend Claire say about getting your stitches out at your kitchen table?"
"She said you did a very good job." Charlotte laughed. The pair passed the carton of ice cream back and forth while talking. Charlotte told Clint stories of Esme and Claire's many attempts to set her up on a date and Clint told Charlotte about the various pranks he and Natasha had pulled both on each other and on coworkers.
Finally the last of the ice cream melted in the bottom of the container and Charlotte clutched the stitch in her side from laughing too much. Both adults kept a close eye on the sleeping toddler but she remained still.
"Not a bad first date even if my friends decided to hijack it." Clint offered looking as shy as he had when he knocked on her door after he'd already left a few days before.
"Not a bad first date at all, the food fight really made it memorable. I've never had a food fight on the first date before." Charlotte smiled.
"Well now that I pulled out my best move I'll have to step it up." Clint said. He leaned slightly closer to her, giving her a chance to back away if she wanted. Charlotte met him in the middle and pressed her lips against his.
His lips tasted of the chocolate and caramel they'd just eaten, his mouth still cold from the ice cream. He opened his lips carefully under hers and she responded in kind. She felt his hand come in front of her to rest on the curve of his hip and she let her arm curl around his shoulder. Neither of them deepened the kiss yet. They both seemed content to let it flow from this spot.
Still soon Charlotte wanted more than the soft coals that'd begun to heat and curl inside her belly. She brought her hand up to tangle in the short hair at the back of Clint's neck. She felt his hand tighten on her hip and his other hand come up to brace himself as he leaned forward. The angle was a bit awkward given that they were side by side, perched on the counter but they made it work with shocking ease. Charlotte leaned in and let her tongue dart out to deepen the kiss.
"Ice Cream!" Lizzy's voice broke through the kiss.
They both jerked back at the same time, Charlotte losing her balance and almost falling off the counter. Only Clint's hands, still around her waist, steadied her and kept her up right.
"What?" Charlotte asked blinking at the toddler who still held the blanket she'd been snuggled in on the couch.
"I want ice cream too." Lizzy said pointing at the empty carton.
"There's none left baby girl. Clint and I were just looking to see if there was any." Charlotte scrambled to say.
"Tony ate it all." Clint added. Charlotte turned to glare at him but he only shrugged.
"Fucker." Lizzy said nodding with a solemness only toddlers seemed to possess.
"Well we really shouldn't use that word." Charlotte tried to say while Clint did his best to hold in his laughter next to her. She could feel his shoulders shaking. She knew if she looked at him though she'd lose her own composure. "Let's head home so you can sleep in bed and we'll go buy ice cream first thing in the morning."
Lizzy turned her head to the side and seemed to consider the offer.
"Ice cream AND cookies." she said.
"Deal. I'll show you how to make homemade ice cream sandwiches and we can have them for dessert." Charlotte agreed looking down at the little girl. She looked back at Clint to see an amused slow smile spread across his lips. She smiled back at him as she hopped off the counter.
"What do you say we head home and read a book and cuddle in bed?" Charlotte asked Lizzy. The toddler nodded and held her arms up, demanding to be picked up.
"I'll grab the keys to the Lexus and your bag." Clint told her as she gathered the little girl in her arms. Charlotte nodded and turned her attention back to the toddler as Lizzy started to tell her about the dream she'd had.
~&~
Clint thought maybe he should be cursing the bad timing of the toddler but he was also a bit grateful. He never wanted to end the kiss- didn't want to stop, didn't want to keep going forward. He just wanted to be a man kissing a beautiful woman and he figured his therapist might have opinions if he used sex to forget everything else.
He figured she'd have opinions anyway but that sounded a lot like Monday's problem.
He also figured he was going to kiss Charlotte again as soon as possible and that sounded like anything but a problem. He might not know if he was ready for sex yet. At least not sex that his therapist would consider healthy. Taking things slow though? Seeing Charlotte again, kissing her again.
Yeah that sounded really good.
Clint drove the Lexus back to the tower. He headed up to his room and as expected found Natasha sitting on his bed. He flipped her off before crawling in on his side of the bed.
"Charlotte, I like her. I don't trust her though." Natasha signed to him.
"You don't trust anyone you haven't known for five plus years. I like her too. Still kicking your ass tomorrow." Clint signed back.
"You can try." Natasha promised him. Clint rolled over with a smile. Maybe things would be getting better. Besides he had a date on Tuesday now too. He knew by the end of the week Natasha would hand him a file on Charlotte. He knew he'd read it too. It probably wasn't healthy but he wasn't dating a civilian or anyone else without looking into them first.
He figured he should talk to Dr. Geller about that too. He probably would eventually.
He made a promise to Phil and somehow in his brain as long as he kept his promise Phil would get better.
He should talk to Dr. Geller about that too. She'd probably have all sorts of things to say about reasonable expectations and controllable results but that's why he had therapy three days a week. He suggested Natasha go but the look she leveled at him caused an agent at the complete other end of the hall to piss his pants so he didn't think that was going to happen.
He'd have to ask Tony about restaurants though. Something nice but not too nice.
Fuck asking Tony. He'd ask JARVIS in the morning. Besides the AI should have more information on that apartment building by the time he finished sparring with Tasha in the morning. They'd convinced Thor to join them so after Clint soaked in the Epsom bath he knew he'd need then he could tackle that problem.
Clint fell asleep quickly and slept soundly. Four weeks after the helicarrier and the nightmares only came about every other night.
~&~
In her apartment Charlotte quickly settled Lizzy onto one side of the bed before changing into her own Pj's. She didn't know what switch flicked in her mind but knew that she knew Lizzy's parents couldn't look for her, she now crawled into bed next to the two year old instead of sleeping on the couch.
The social worker also said that co-sleeping after a trauma would provide reassurance and Charlotte wasn't moving permanently to the couch. If it took them too long to find whoever her parents named as guardian Charlotte would figure something out. For now though she just let the toddler cuddle close and soon fell asleep herself.
Her last thought before she drifted off was hoping she and Clint would have a chance to pick up that kiss soon.
She found herself in the streets of New York. Buildings collapsed around her as she ran. She was looking for something.
She didn't know what but it was important.
If she found it everything would be okay.
She ran past people as building after building fell from the sky. Alien bodies mixed in with humans. The blood ran together until she couldn't tell what was human, what was alien anymore. The blood splashed from her shoes and up her legs as she ran.
Finally she heard a scream ring out through the air. A child screamed again and again.
Charlotte ran toward the voice. If she got to the voice it would all be okay.
She couldn't find the child.
Every time she got close the direction the voice came from changed. She sprinted down street after street but there never was a child. There never was anyone but there was still the screaming. She sprinted down street after street looking for the little girl.
Lizzy, her brain supplied the name. She was looking for Lizzy and there wasn't anyone else to take care of the little girl. Her parents were dead and Charlotte had to find her. If she ran just a little faster she'd find the little girl.
She had to.
Charlotte ran down yet another street when her body jerked awake. She sat in her bed and took in the air in sharp gasps. She immediately looked to the side where Lizzy slept sprawled out on more than her half of the bed. Somehow the two and a half year old star fished out to stretch on three fourths of the bed. Charlotte could feel the spot on her ribs that must have had a toddlers heel digging in her side. Charlotte watched Lizzy's chest rise and fall in the calm rhythmic breathing.
Watching wasn't enough though. Charlotte had to be sure Lizzy was okay. She carefully placed her hand on the toddler's sternum and closed her eyes counting the rise and fall of her breath. She let her hand stay there until she fell back asleep herself.