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Season 13. Age 11. family line.
TW: none.
☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★
When charlotte finally arrives back at the loft with alex she's surprised to find the furniture had been moved. jo greets the two from her spot in the kitchen. "hey charlie." she smiles. "we moved some things around. figured the couch might be more comfortable than the chair."
charlotte turned slightly to eye the new set up. the couch had been angled to face the three more populated corners of the apartment, with the chairs set in a semi circle with their backs to the same areas. at first charlotte was slightly embarrassed her motive had been caught out, but relaxed upon remembering that jo herself is a former foster kid; she must know all of the tricks. "i'm sorry." charlotte apologizes timidly. she's not exactly sure what for but felt as though it was needed.
"what are you sorry for?" alex asks, removing his coat to hang it over a set of hooks nailed into the wall.
"well, i mean, i basically ran away without telling you, and now you rearrangeed your furniture just to accommodate me and the reason for that itself is ridiculously stupid, and—"
jo cuts off the nervous girls ranting. "charlie, you can stay with meredith whenever you want, and for however long you want. and you did tell us, so we knew where you were. we just didn't know how long for, but that's okay. we knew you'd come back when you were ready to." she gestures toward the couch. "and as for the furniture, we were in need of an interior design redo anyways. it really opens the place up, don't you think?"
"yeah, it does look pretty good." charlotte laughs timidly, slowly making her way over to the couch. she expects alex and jo to retreat to their bed and is slightly taken aback when they follow her, lowering themselves on either side of her.
"charlie..."
charlotte's heart sinks but she remains stoic. "oh, okay. just give me a minute to get my bag an—"
"wait, charlie—we aren't making you leave." alex shakes his head, snorting at the irony. "quite the opposite, actually."
charlotte rapidly whips her head towards jo who smiles nervously. "we wanted to ask how you'd feel about us becoming your legal guardians. i mean, we'd have to petition, but it'd keep dcs off your back." she reaches for the child's hand and squeezes. "and you safe."
charlotte's stomach drops and she yanks her hand from jo's grasp. she can't tear her gaze from the suddenly interesting floorboards. everything in her entire being screams for her to decline. you're a runner. it's in your wiring, it's what you do. get out before you're trapped.
