Leading Lady | Charlie Barber x Reader.

The Plan.

"Angel, you're awake..." You heard that deep, sweet voice say gently.


Your eyelids flickered open, avoiding the glare of the bright lights, looking out for the eyes of which belonged to the voice. Charlie was perched on a small chair near the window of your hospital room. He was still wearing his suit, the shirt unbuttoned, his hair ruffled. His large frame was hunched over, his eyes were red and irritated, two shadowy purple bags underneath them, like he hadn't slept all night. But he was still gorgeous, sat waiting for you to wake up like your guardian angel.


"Charlie." Your voice croaked.


He walked towards you and knelt beside you at the edge of your bed. His hand found a home on the side of your face, cupping it gently, you winced at the pain but you still nuzzled into his touch. His eyes were glassy as he looked at you, the warmth of his hand made you feel contented and at home once more.


"What happened? Are you okay?" You said softly, your dry throat wheezing as you spoke.

"Sweet girl, you're in the hospital, and you're asking me if I'm okay?" He said, letting out a breathy chuckle, tears pooling in his warm honey eyes as he kissed your frail hand gently. He held a small plastic cup of water to your lips and you drank it gratefully. "What do you remember?"


"I was taken to this, empty warehouse. Mary and Vic were there, and his brother Gray. They drugged me, and tied me up, hit me...." You said, trying to piece together the fragments of your broken memories. "Mary wants money, she said if I gave her one million in cash by midnight then she would leave me alone for good." You added.


Charlie frowned and shook his head in disbelief, he looked at your face, where they had hit you and left you bloodied and bruises, they had hurt his angel. He wasn't there to save you, his stomach twisted into a painful knot, thinking about what was going on in your mind, how afraid you must have been, how helpless. It made rage seep into his veins. 


"And then, nothing. How did you find me?" You asked.


"Mary called me, left a voicemail from an unknown number. They left you on the ground outside of the Hollywood sign. I carried you to my car and brought you here, I didn't know if you were going to wake up." He said, sniffling as he held your hand gently. "If I was any later..."


"Charlie, don't think like that. I'm okay. But what are we going to do about Mary?" You said, a pool of worry rippling on your brow.


"You need to give a statement to the police, they will come up with a plan." Charlie said softly.


You nodded and he left the room. A few moments later he returned with an officer, he looked at your obvious injuries and sighed, removing his hat and placing it down on the small bedside table. He took some paper and a pen from his belt and introduced himself, Charlie came back to your side, taking your hand in his. You went through the entire situation again, as much as you could remember and the police man took notes. He showed you a photograph of Gray, a mugshot of him when he was in prison, you nodded that it was him and he sighed again, jotting down notes as you finalised your statement.


"And where did they ask you to hand them over the money?" The officer said.


"The central underpass, at midnight." You said. "If I don't, I'm certain they won't leave me alive next time." You felt Charlies hand grip you tighter as those words left your mouth, the fear of losing you was too much for him to bare, he had only just got you back.


"So, I have an idea that I think might work." The officer suggested, leaning back in his chair. "You will go to the underpass, with an empty briefcase."


"Please tell me you're joking, look at what they did to her!" Charlie snapped. You squeezed his hand and looked into his eyes, calming his temper.


"A team of officers will be there with you, hiding. The moment you hand over the non existent money, we will come out and arrest them." The officer added.


"Okay." You said. "I'll do it."


"Angel. You can barely move." Charlie whispered.


"I can do this Charlie, it's going to be okay, we don't have any other options." You said, with more optimism than you felt.


"Get as much rest as you can for now, I will go and gather my team and we will be back this evening." The officer said, gathering his belongings and leaving you and Charlie together alone once more.


"Elizabeth, does she know?"


"I told her last night, she was worried sick, we all were my sweet angel. You are so loved, you never deserved this. If it wasn't for me, you would have never have met Mary, this would have never happened. I'm so sorry." Charlie rambled, his tone set with panic.


"Charlie...you have nothing to be sorry for, you cannot blame yourself. They are sick, and tonight they will get what they deserve and we will get our happily ever after." You sighed, reaching your hands up and wrapping them around his neck. 


Charlie kissed you deeply, your hands nestling in his soft black hair, his tears wetting your cheeks. You sighed into his mouth, you'd missed how he tasted, how it felt to have him this close to you. You wanted every single part of this moment to last forever. Your body felt like it was on fire, you needed his touch, you wanted him to consume you. But you also felt sick, sore and weak, the anxiety of seeing your captures again was enough to make you shiver.


"You're shaking, angel." He said, whispering into your ear.


"I'm just frightened Charlie. Whilst we have been apart, I have become something I never wanted to become. I've made so many stupid mistakes. I've become a drug addict, an alcoholic...I've slept with men that I didn't even know the names of. How could you ever want to be with someone like that? I'm not an angel anymore, I'm a disaster." You said, your voice wavering, tears pricking in your eyes as you looked at the only man who had ever made you feel something other than worthless. 


"You're not a disaster. I do not judge you for what you have done. I broke you heart, I ripped the goodness out of your soul when I left you that day and I can't apologise enough. You coped with it the only way you knew how, but you don't need any of that anymore. I will help you get better, I will take care of you. I'm never going to leave your side again, because you will always be my angel. And I have loved you since the first moment I saw you." Charlie said, his words filled you with love, your icy heart slowly warming through. He did break you, he spilt your soul to the bone, but now he was back in your arms, kissing your lips, it was like he had never been away.


You could finally forgive him.


"There's someone else who wants to see you." Charlie said, checking his phone as his lips leaving yours.


"Okay." You said, watching Charlie leave the room once more.


He back in after a few minutes, a small boy clutching his side. It was Henry. He walked towards your bedside slowly, holding a small pink bag covered in little flowers. He handed it to you and gave you a smile.


"Henry! It's so nice to see you again." You said, sitting up gently on your elbows.


"Your face looks painful, did you fight a bad guy?" He asked, you laughed at his honesty, that innocent childish no filter was something you had missed.


"Sort of, but it's okay, I'm tough." You said, raising your arms and tensing your muscles, causing Henry to giggle at you. "Is this bag for me?" 


"Yes, it's a bag of get well presents, dad helped me with it." He said eagerly. "Open it, open it!"


"Okay...lets see what we have here." You said chuckling. "Chocolate, stickers...and this card, oh Henry it's lovely. Thank you so much, I feel better already!" You beamed, looking at his handwriting and all the small flowers he had drawn.


"Dad, you have to give her your present too." Henry said, tugging on Charlies shirt sleeve.


"Okay, okay." Charlie said, sifting through his trouser pocket. He pulled out a small silver chain, and your eyes began to water once again. It was your necklace, the word angel glimmering in the pale morning light. He placed it around your neck and fastened it for you. "I thought you might want it back." He said, brushing your cheek with his fingers. 


"It's perfect, this is all perfect. Thank you both so much." You said, Henry gave you a hug and you shared your chocolates with him, it was almost like you had never left New York, like nothing bad had ever happened to you. You felt so content.


"I'm going to take him back to Nicole's. I won't be long, are you going to be okay?" Charlie asked, soothingly.


"I'll be fine, I'm going to call Rose, it's about time I start rekindling some old friendships. It was so good to see you Henry, thank you for my gifts." You said sweetly.


"That's okay. Come to dads for dinner soon and I can show you my new Legos." Henry said, bouncing on the spot in excitement.

"I would love to." You said, smiling up at them both. You gave them a small wave and they left you in your hospital bed. You reached over to the bedside table, thankful to see your clutch bag still there, your phone still inside. Mary clearly didn't want your personal belongings, just your money. You pulled out your phone and dialled Rose, she answered almost immediately.


"Hello!" 


"Rose, hey. I just wanted to start by saying I am so fucking sorry for not calling or reaching out, my life has been a crazy whirlwind and I know it's no excuse, but I am so sorry. I miss you, I miss you all, so much." 

"Girl, you don't have to apologise. You are always my best friend, no matter what. I love you, I'm just glad you're okay."


"Well about that, I'm actually in the hospital right now. Vic and Mary found me, if Charlie wasn't there for me last night I don't think I would have survived."


"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. And Charlie? He finally came to his senses?"


"Yes Rose, he was at the movie premiere and he found me, he told me he loved me and I have never felt so happy, things are finally falling into place. I was just so frightened last night, I had to call you, I'm sorry for not being a good friend over this past year..."


"I'm just glad you're okay and that you have found Charlie again. What are you going to do about Vic and Mary? Have you told the cops?"


"Yes, we are going to end this tonight, once and for all." 


"I'm coming to LA, I'm going to grab Armie and we are coming to see you girl."


"Okay, but come tomorrow, I need to get this situation sorted first."


"Of course, oh I can't wait to see you babe. We have so much to catch up on. I love you, please be safe tonight, I will see you soon."


"I love you too Rose. I'll see you soon."

You said your good byes and hung up the phone, just as Charlie walked back into your hospital room. You looked at him and smiled. Charlie was your life now, he was the only man you had ever loved and he was finally yours. Your two best friends were coming to see you, and your were finally healing. But there was only on problem in the way, and that was approaching quickly.


You pulled your bedsheets off of you and eased yourself out of the bed. Charlie was by your side in a flash, holding your arms for you and helping you stand. He held you closely to his chest and you sighed deeply, nothing was going to stand between you and your happiness anymore.

You sat with Charlie for hours, talking and catching up about everything that had happened to both of you since you had last seen each other. He had been enjoying his teaching role at the University of LA, it gave him a sense of pride teaching up and coming talent and writing original plays, he did miss New York but he loved being closer to Henry. You told him all about your experience with filming a movie, how it was much more stressful than theatre. You didn't go into too much detail about the darker things that had happened to you, he didn't need to know, that was in the past and right now all you cared about was the future.


After talking and kissing and making each other laugh a lot you managed to walk around the hospital room a few times without assistance, you were determined to go through with the plan and your body was fighting through the pain for you. You changed into some clothes that Charlie had kindly bought for you, your nurse patched up your cuts and burns and gave you some medication to help with your pain, and before you knew it a team of officers were entering your room. 


You sat and went through the plan, the officer who had interviewed you earlier showed you where you would stand and what you would say, he showed you how to signal if you were in danger, and what to do after you handed the fake case of cash over. You went through the plan over and over again in your head, hoping it went smoothly. But with Mary in charge you weren't exactly sure if it would. As the time started to draw closer you saw the fear in Charlies eyes, he looked unsure, he didn't want to let you go out there on your own, he didn't want to sit around and have to wait and hear if you were okay or not. But he knew you were strong, he knew you were capable of this.


"You ready Miss?" The officer said, giving you a faint smile.


"I'm ready." You said, fastening your shoe laces, clutching the briefcase in your hand.


"I'll be right in the car angel, as soon as it's done, you run to me okay."


"I will Charlie." You said softly, kissing him on his plush lips. "Lets fucking end this."