𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘, greys anatomy

personal jesus.

chapter 9.
personal jesus.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

The morning after paul's surprise visit, alex bursts through meredith's front door, eager to see for himself that charlotte truly was alright; however, too caught up in her fear of paul finding her and still in a state of shock from the night before, charlotte jolts upright at the sudden burst of excitement at the front door, heading straight into a panic.

"woah, charlie, it's just me." alex tries, slowly approaching the terrified child. the closer he got in proximity, the more worked up the twelve year old became.

hearing the commotion from their respective bedrooms, amelia and meredith rush down the stairs and into the living room. charlotte was sat upright, nearly folded in on herself. she was violently hyperventilating, an intense stream of tears cascading down her face. her wide brown eyes were locked onto the approaching alex karev, who hadn't yet realized that his presence was the cause of this sudden episode.

"alex," meredith hisses, grabbing her friends arm and steering him into the front hallway as amelia hurriedly goes to comfort the young girl.

"i was just coming to s—" the peds surgeon begins, quickly being cut off.

"i know that. but she's terrified that paul's still out there looking for her. every little noise sets her off. she hasn't even let any of us touch her."

"she knows me best. i can calm her down. let me take her back to—"

meredith again interupts. "alex. think. she's terrified right now. give her some space. she'll come around."

"i've never hurt her. she knows i'd never hurt her. remember when we first met her, and—"

"you need to go alex. i'm sorry, but look at her."

with a sigh, alex turns his head to peek into the living room. amelia sits on the ground in front of charlotte while the latter has her arms wrapped protectively around her knees, fingernails aggressively digging into her forearms.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

"Charlie. charlie, i'm here. you're safe, he's gone." amelia chants as soon as she hears the door shut and lock behind karev.

charlotte cautiously lifts her head up, desperately trying to slow her breathing back down to no avail.

"hey, breathe. just look at me and breathe."

charlotte darts her eyes across the room. she watches through the window as alex's car backs out of the driveway and continues down the road. she notices meredith hovering in the doorway, unsure if she should get any closer.

"can i sit next to you?"

charlotte averts her eyes back towards amelia,  reminding herself that it's just amelia and meredith with her. amelia, who had calmed her down from several previous panic attacks, and one of the only two people charlotte had even let near her during those incidents for the longest time. meredith, who had been the one to convince charlotte that alex was safe and to give him a chance. amelia, who had never once given charlotte any reason not to trust her. meredith, who had let charlotte stay at her place for as long as she needed, whenever she needed to. amelia, who let charlotte crawl into bed with her any given night, even if that meant kicking out her husband-at-the time. meredith, who also had never once given charlotte any reason not to trust her.

charlotte nods, allowing amelia to climb beside her on the couch. the older surgeon tentatively wraps an arm around the young girl, who leans into the touch just as cautiously. as soon as she does so, she breaks into tears yet again; this time not of panic, but of pure exhaustion.

amelia gently pulls charlotte into her, feeling an immense sense of relief when the traumatized child doesn't still or pull away. instead, charlotte allows the comfort; a huge improvement from the timid eleven year old she was just a few months prior.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

"Charlie, jo's about to pull into the driveway, okay? i'm going to let her in." meredith warns, walking past the living room and to her front door. charlotte makes no attempt to respond, head laying on amelia's lap while she numbly stares straight ahead. the surgeon had her hands in the girls hair, loosely braiding it.

meredith pulls open the door right before jo had the chance to knock. the resident hesitantly enters the home, pausing in the living rooms entrance, "hey, charlie."

when charlotte doesn't immediately erupt into a panic, jo takes that as the go-ahead to get closer to the pair on the couch. "charlie, i thought i should be the one to tell you this." jo starts, continuing when the child makes no effort to respond. "paul died this morning."

now that warranted a response. charlotte shoots up, shocking the three older women as the girl hadn't moved from her spot on the couch in nearly twenty four hours. "what?"

"there was a hit and run. drunk driver." jo purposely left out the part where the abuser was only given a mere concussion from the accident; his death had been caused by second impact syndrome following his attempt at attacking his fiancée and jo when the former announced she would be leaving and reporting him. obviously this attack didn't go his way; the doctor hit his head on the edge of his hospital bed and then the tiled floor, leaving him brain dead.

charlotte didn't need to know all this, however. all that mattered was that her nightmare was over and dead. literally.

"he's gone?" charlotte felt herself beginning to tear up, voice wavering. "like, totally? for good?"

"for good." jo confirms, "we're free."

the weight of the world lifts itself off the twelve year olds shoulders. she felt such immense relief, she wasn't sure just quite what to do with herself. "we're free," charlotte repeats.

jo nods, her own eyes filling with tears as she lowers herself onto the couch, just to the right of charlotte. without thinking, she leans forward and pulls the child into a tight hug. charlotte immediately reciprocates, wrapping her arms around the resident and holding on tightly as she sobs with pure relief.