A year after marrying Callie, Frank Hardy became the father to a baby girl they named Charlotte. She had dark hair like Frank, but had piercing blue eyes like her grandfather and uncle. Joe and Iola also had another child three years after Charlotte was born. They had named her Margaret Gertrude Hardy.
Charlotte was a very happy little girl. Her eyes lit up and she seemed to bring love everywhere she went. She was caring and new what she meant. One night even, Frank heard her talking to her grandpa Fenton while sitting on his lap.
"What's on your heart?" the five year old wondered.
"That's a scar. It saved my life."
She kept her eyes on it for a moment before looking up at him again.
" Why do people get scars?" she asked him.
"Well, for some, it's to remind them of something. For others, it's to make them realize something. Some hurt, some don't." he told her.
" Aunt Iola has a scar on her belly, so I believe you both got scars to make you not underestimate the little things in life." she said.
Margaret was a c-section, it always got Charlotte's attention when she saw it.
"You are wise beyond your years, Charlotte." Fenton said kissing her cheek. She ran off to bed and Frank walked in.
"She is something special, everything that little one said was true. How could she understand it?" Fenton told him.
" I'll never know. She just always sees the best in things."
Two days later, Charlotte and Ben went to play in the woods behind their grandparents' house. They were walking across a large log when suddenly, Charlotte slipped. Six year old Ben gasped and quickly ran to get help.
" Dad, Uncle Frank, Charlotte is hurt! She's gonna drown!" he exclaimed.
The brothers sprinted into the woods and panickly searched the water for any signs of a head bobbing up and down. Joe spotted the little girl underneath the water, limp. Frank dove in the water and swam to her.
He had been a swimmer in high school, so he swam through the water at a quick pace. Frank found her and pulled her up to shore.
"I think she hit her head, we need to get her back to the house!" Frank exclaimed grasping his unconscious daughter.
In a full sprint, they ran back to the house where they drove her to the hospital. Callie was still a nurse and got to go back with her while Frank and the rest of the family paced in the waiting room, fearing the worst.
The Hardy family was finally allowed back and they saw sweet little Charlotte in bed watching Sesame Street.
" Look at big bird, daddy!" she said.
" Yeah, he is silly."
"Grandpa, I have a scar like you now! What did I do wrong?"
"You did nothing wrong, it was a simple accident." he assured her.
" Do you remember anything?" Laura asked.
"I remember falling in and seeing Uncle Joe and daddy save me."
Frank hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead. She had received a small cut on the back of her head which resulted in a small scar. Callie told them that Charlotte was very lucky.
That night, while Charlotte was asleep in her bed, Frank sat up awake.
"Frank?" asked Callie.
"I should've went to the woods with them. It's my fault."
" It isn't your fault. She is alive and that is all that matters. "
" I just don't want to lose her. She means the world to me."
"You won't lose Charlotte, we'll protect her."
However, Frank knew that protecting Charlotte wasn't going to be that easy as she got older. It also meant that he would once again face a year of change.
