New Beginnings (Charlie Bartlett Fanfic Starring Robert Downey Jr.)

Chapter 21 - Changes

The following morning, Susan Gardner returned from spending the night with her best friend. When she walked through the front door she was caught off guard by several things. First, there was the irresistible smell of bacon wafting from the kitchen to the foyer. Scents never came from the kitchen, especially not good ones – in fact usually the only odor coming from there was stale takeout or an overfilled garbage can. Then she noticed, right from the entranceway, that things seemed out of place.

"No...things are in place." She looked around, first peeking into her father's study just around the corner. It was immaculate. The clutter she'd been after her father to clear out for months was gone. She moved through the hallway and the living room and the same went for those areas. The house looked like an actual home, rather than a place where people slept and tossed their things. The air, along with its hint of bacon, smelled fresh. Susan smiled widely, then panicked. "Dad?" She rushed toward the kitchen.

"Morning, Susie Q," Nathan said, a bright smile on his face. "I was hoping you'd get home early enough to join me." Her eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open. "Everything okay?"

"Uh...I thought...I thought maybe someone broke in and...cleaned up." She walked closer to him. "You're cooking breakfast."

"Always knew my daughter was smart," he said, his tone lighthearted.

She shook her head. "It's just that, well Dad, you haven't cooked since before...you know." She looked around the kitchen; it too was spotless. "What happened after I left here yesterday afternoon?"

Nathan fixed each of them a plate and motioned for Susan to sit at the table. She couldn't remember the last time they'd done so. He sighed. "Your mother came to see me."

"And forced you to clean the house?"

"No, that was of my own doing, but we'll get to that." He took a bite of his eggs, feeling strangely proud of himself. "I'd love to lie to you, honey, but I'm not going to. She came to 'discuss' your English paper."

Susan almost choked on a piece of bacon. "What? Oh my God! She went through my stuff when I was there? That was totally private except for being graded by..."

Nathan put a loving hand on his daughter's arm. "I know, and you're not in any trouble as far as I'm concerned. She had no right to go through your bag." He slid a folded piece of paper across the table. "I'm proud of the A you got on it."

"Ugh! You read it too?"

Nathan shook his head. "Wasn't mine to read. The ink from the A bled through the paper."

"I'm sure she told you all about it."

"Susan, your mother said a lot of things yesterday and it's only fair to you that I be completely honest: she almost made me mess up." He looked completely ashamed. "I drove to the liquor store, I bought a bottle...but it's gone and I didn't have a drop of it."

Susan's eyes watered and she took her father's hand in hers. "Dad, please stop letting her get to you, she's not worth it. She's nothing but a selfish bitch." She didn't scream or raise her voice, she just stated what she saw as fact.

"She's your mother, Susan, remember that." Nathan hadn't slept at all that night. Once Sydney left, he thought about how he'd acted earlier in the evening; how he'd all but completely lost his grip on himself because of a woman he no longer loved...and wasn't quite sure he ever had. He told Sydney that he wanted to change and as he sat in his study and looked around him, relics of the past in every space, he knew no time was better than the present.

When Celia barged in on him, she didn't just criticize Nathan himself, but everything that surrounded him. She always made snide comments about the house or his clothes or his car – never mind his sexual side – and she always knew it took him one step closer to the edge. The worst part was that he let her do that to him. He never felt a reason to care about himself, with the exception of getting sober for Susan's sake...until now. He smiled to himself. Empowering sex?

"Dad?" Susan waved her free hand in front of her father, as she was still holding his hand with the other. "You didn't trade booze for something else, did you?" The question was meant to be a joke.

He cleared his throat, as well as his sex-fueled memory bank, and turned his attention back to his daughter. "Susan, you've been after me for months to get myself together, haven't you?"

"Try years."

"Right, well...last night was the night. A few pots of coffee and a little self-motivation can do a lot for a person. I tossed out all the crap you've been asking me to toss for ages and cleaned all of the 'old us' out of here."

"Us? I didn't have piles of...oh please tell me you didn't clean my room!"

"Just changed your sheets and left your laundry, folded, on your bed. No drawer searching or privacy invading." Though I may have replaced something I borrowed... His smile returned.

"This all came from one of Mom's fits yesterday?"

"Yes and no. I just know that it's time for me to take back my life."

Susan smiled. "I'm proud of you, Dad. You went back to Wess, you cleaned...you remembered that you can cook." She laughed. "I might just have to stop going to Charlie's for dinner all the time now."

"That," Nathan said, his voice breaking slightly, "would be really nice." They finished eating and Susan cleared the table while Nathan cleaned the pans he'd used for the bacon and eggs. "You have plans today? Charlie or..." He trailed off.

"You know, I kinda think I'd like to hang out with my dad." She smiled. "It's pretty kick ass that he decided to move back in."

Nathan dropped the pan he was scrubbing into the sink and grabbed his daughter up in his arms, sudsy hands and all. "I'm so sorry for everything I ever put you through, sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head and didn't care that tears were falling from his eyes.

Susan didn't completely understand the sudden change in her father, but she certainly wasn't going to question it. She held him tightly and she felt her tears fall as well. They stood there for several minutes, Nathan gently rocking them back and forth, his heart feeling light and so much fuller than it had in years. He sniffled and Susan looked up at him, her heart feeling the same.

Nathan pushed Susan's hair behind her ear. "How about we get changed and head out for the day, hm?"

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

The man smiled, his eyes alight. "You've been wanting to make me over for a while now, right?"

Susan beamed. "Are you serious?" He nodded. "Gimme a half an hour!" She ran from the kitchen, as giddy as a five year old.

Nathan closed his eyes, happy. While the previous night held so many things for him, he was concentrating on "the now" – something he hadn't focused on in years. Not only did he want to change himself to fight for some sort of normalcy with Sydney, but he was beginning to realize that his time with Susan was going to end sooner than he'd ever been willing to accept...and he had to make up for so much.