The Baudelaires (Unedited)

1: "Took your time"

I was sitting in class, my brother, Tommo, was at the back. My teacher was talking in full Spanish, so it was hard to understand.
I heard a knock at the door, everybody's attention slowly turned toward the door too.
"Come in." Mrs Swan allowed.
The door opened.
I got up instantly.
It was Klaus Baudelaire.
I hadn't seen him in months, not since I attempted to throw him the sugar bowl from the Hotel Denoument's roof.
"Can I borrow Charlotte for a bit..?" He asked Mrs Swan, who looked at him confused.
"Are you from around here?"
"Ma'am it's pretty important." Klaus glanced at me.
"Please?" I begged.
"Fine." She said.
I walked over to Klaus and out the room.

"Hello, Snicket." He smiled.
"Hello, Baudelaire." I laughed, "took your time."
"I was stuck on an island for a year bringing up Kit's child, don't blame me."
"What happened to her..?" I asked.
"Meducoid Myselium got her...same for Count Olaf..."
My smile slowly faded, "so she's gone.."
Klaus nodded slowly and hugged me.
I hugged back, looking through the still open classroom door.
Everybody was staring at us.
"How did you get home..." I asked.
"We found Justice Strauss."
"Oh, right."
"I guess she's our guardian now." I could hear the smile in his voice.
I looked up at him, "you're not allowed to leave me like that. I was supposed to go on the boat with you."
"No, otherwise you would've gotten poisoned too, by that point there wouldn't be any apple left."
"Klaus, everything would've been better just as much if you stayed."
"No, if we had stayed Kit and her child would be dead."
I thought about that for a moment as he grabbed my hand and lead me down the steps toward Violet and Sunny.

"Father will be so happy to know that you're here...alive.." I smiled.
"Lemony would just be questioning why we didn't go with him in the first place, you know, when Dewey got shot."
"Probably. He doesn't talk about it much, I guess he understands that you guys were confused."
He smiled at me for a moment.
I went over and hugged Violet, "Hey!"
She laughed, "Hello Charlotte"
I picked up Sunny and gave her a big bear hug. She giggled.
I looked at them all, "you guys have grown."
"That's what everyone says." Violet smiled.
"This isn't an unfortunate event, is it?" Klaus questioned.
"No, I guess not." I looked at the ground, smiling yet sighing.
"What's wrong?" Klaus and Violet asked me.
"Kit." I mumbled.
"I know, we begged her to stay, just to look after Beatrice and you." Klaus explained.
"So much that we cried." Violet added.
"Father is going to be in pieces.." I whispered to myself.
Klaus came over and grabbed my hand, "it's okay."
I smiled a little.
"We're all volunteers, we go through this time and time again, we do not fall down." Klaus tried to encourage me to keep high spirits.
I smiled.
We walked outside the school, jumping over the fence, leaving my bag and my brother alone.
Klaus had his arm over my shoulder; we were going to my Father's. I didn't want to get told off by the queen of law.
Violet had Sunny on her shoulders, she was behind us.

"How's Beatrice doing?" I asked.
"She's great, actually. She's like one and a half years old now so.." Klaus explained.
"You've been gone for a year then." I sighed.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I'm sorry I missed the boat."
"In what way?"
"As in, completely missing the boat when I threw the sugar bowl."
"Oh, no it's fine."
"What happened on the island?"
"Well, our parents had been there before, so we were staying in their little hideout. Mother's inventions were still up and the library was still there.."
I smiled, "so you were occupied."
"Yeah, exactly. There was this tribe that lives there, it was strange. The whole island was surrounded my a wall that got flooded over every year, so we took our chances on Beatrice's birthday."
"How did it go?"
"Seas are rough.." he sighed and laughed a little.
I laughed, "I bet."
"What have you been doing?"
"Looking for ways to find you guys."
"How?"
"Father has his ways." I pulled out the photo of them and passed it to Klaus, "Justice Strouse gave it to him after the hotel fire."
He stopped walking, which caused Violet to come over and look.
"How did she get that.." Violet questioned.
"Justice Strauss." Klaus instantly replied, still looking at the photo.
Sunny pulled the bottom of my blazer and I turned around.

"Oh god.." I mumbled looking across the road, grabbing my spyglass and looking at the house fire in detail.
Klaus got out his and passed it to Violet.
"What do we do?" I asked.
"I'm not sure." Violet said.
"It could be the Man-with-no-hair-but-beard and the Lady-with-no-beard-but-hair." Klaus suggested.
"Maybe, but what do we do if it is them?" Violet questioned.
"We alert VFD."
"But how?"
"Call your Father, Charlotte."
"No, he told me he had retired from this. What about Larry?"
"No, he's-"
"Gone too...huh?" I mumbled.
"Yep."
I sighed and gave my spyglass to Klaus.
He started to look through it, "I guess they're still at large."
"Esme and Carmelita are still around too?" I wanted to clarify.
"Yeah, I'm not sure where though." Violet admitted.
"They doing trouble." Sunny said.
I giggled a little, "Sunny is right."
"We continue walking?" Klaus suggested.
"I guess so.." I sighed and started walking home.

I opened the front door to the everyday newspaper wall covered in thread and pins and pictures.
"Father?" I shouted, wondering if he was in.
"I'm in my office, Charlie!" He yelled back.
I ran upstairs, grabbing Klaus's hand with me.
I knocked on the office door and went inside, keeping the Baudelaire's behind me, trying to hide them. Luckily, Father was concentrating on another article on them so I was safe.
"Why aren't you at school?" He asked.
"They let me go. There's no point in me being there right now."
"Yet, your brother has to stay?"
"He's finishing a test."
"O-okay.."
Easy.
"What do you want anyway, Charlotte?"
"I have something that might be of great importance to you."
"What is it?"
I pulled the Baudelaire's out from behind me, "this."
Father instantly got up, his smile beaming, "oh my god, how.."
"Don't ask me, ask them." I smiled.
"Justice Strauss." They all said in unison.
Klaus smiled and so did Violet.
"Wow...Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire..finally.."