Work Text:
The snow was falling heavily as Charlie Thomas sat on a bench in front of Stoneybrook General Hospital Monday afternoon, his head in his hands. His letterman's jacket wasn't exactly meant for such extreme weather, and his jeans were broken in enough that the wind whipped through them, and he had forgotten his gloves back at the house, but he didn't really care. He felt he deserved to be miserable.
Watson was in the hospital, and it was all his fault. Of course, Watson and his mother had insisted it wasn't, but he knew better. They were just being too polite to say so.
Though Charlie noticed the person shaped shadow watching him, he paid them no heed. He was sitting on a bench designated for smokers, after all, they probably thought he was someone with one to spare. The thought that it could be one of his friends didn't even cross his mind. None of the guys from the team had come to see his step-father.
The intruder came closer, clearing her throat.
"I heard the news," Charlie heard a familiar voice say, and he peered up in its direction, squinting his eyes against the harsh winter sun. There stood Janine Kishi, clad in a seasonably appropriate winter jacket, coupled with a suitably subdued scarf, gloves, and hat. Her cheeks were red due to the biting wind, and Charlie wasn't exactly certain what she was doing there. "You and Sam weren't in school today...and Claudia...Claudia said that your step-father was in the hospital."
Charlie didn't say anything in response, instead choosing to wordlessly brush the snow off the spot on the bench beside him, sliding over to take it and allowing Janine to sit where he had previously been. She sat down beside him, her gaze concerned, yet kind.
"I should have shoveled that day," he said after a moment, drawing in a shuddering breath. "I should have shoveled, and I should have been the one to push his car, and -- "
"You can't live life focusing on your regrets," Janine said, somehow managing to effectively cut him off. "Mr. Brewer....he wouldn't want that, Charlie. He wouldn't want to hear you talking about yourself this way. He wouldn't want you and Sam and Kristy to be skipping school because of him."
She placed her hand on his arm, worrying her lip as she did. "I don't want you to think that this is your fault, alright?"
But it was Charlie's fault. Charlie was supposed to be the man of the house, he had been doing so since that Summer day all those years before when Patrick had gone and left them, he was good at being the man of the house. He had gotten complacent about his duties for his family when Watson had fallen in love with his mother and married her, and now everyone was paying the price. What if Watson had died? Karen, Andrew and Emily would be without a father, and it would have been all his fault.
"When Patrick left it became my job," was all he said, was all he was able to say, before he shuddered, the tears he had been spending the weekend repressing in order to 'be a man' finally escaping him. "It should have been me."
Beside him, Janine let out a quiet sigh, and he felt her hand running up his arm, her gloved fingers attempting to provide some sort of comfort, not that Charlie had any idea what would possibly comfort him. He continued to weep.
"Mr. Brewer doesn't think that way," his old neighbor finally replied, once he had calmed down, dragging the palm of his hand across his face to wipe away the tears. "He wants to be your father, Charlie. Or at least a father in your life, whether you consider him to be your father or your stepfather. He wants you to be seventeen. To be a teenager."
The fact that such a statement was coming from Janine caused Charlie to abandon the retort that had immediately sprung to his mind, that of which was the opinion that Charlie did not have to act like a teenager, thank-you-very-much.
"How did you get here?" He asked, desperate to change the subject. "You...you didn't walk, did you?"
"What would you say to me if I had?" She asked, her tone somewhat defiant. "I don't want to hear anything about how cold it is or the fact that it's snowing, when you were sitting out here in the cold and in the snow with a letterman jacket on. I had to check up on you, Charlie," she added, her tone moving from defiant to insistent. "You're my friend. I know what it's like to feel like your entire world is falling apart right here in this very spot."
Janine very rarely raised her voice at him, and Charlie wondered why he suddenly felt like he was channeling Claudia having trouble with Algebra.
It was true, anyways. What she was saying.
"I miss her," Janine continued softly, and Charlie found himself looping an arm around her shoulders. "I wish that she was still here, because she would have known what to do, how to help. She would have known what to say."
"You are helping," he said softly, blowing his fringe up as he did. "Janine...you are helping. I wouldn't lie to you about that. And, I miss Mimi, too."
"You were the one who said that she would want me to go to class, that she would want me to...that she would want me to live my life. You were right. But that applies to you as well. How do you think Mr. Brewer would feel if I went upstairs and paid him a visit and told him that you were on a public bench in front of the hospital in a middle of a blizzard brooding?" Though Janine's countenance was serene, Charlie didn't doubt that she would follow through on her threat.
He doubted his mother's reaction to the threesome playing hooky that day would be all that beneficial to Watson's recovery.
"He probably wouldn't like it very much," Charlie admitted, daring to tighten his hold on her. Much to his surprise, Janine leaned against him, and he felt her wrap an arm around his middle. "Thanks for coming," he added. "No one else has."
Janine wrinkled her nose in response to that comment, before shaking her head. "I don't suppose they would," she said. "I mean...teenage jocks aren't generally known for their common sense and emotional depth. They probably find it awkward to visit. I don't mean you, of course," she added. "You're different than them."
"Thanks, Janine." Charlie quirked a small smile in her direction. "You're better company."
The flush that came to her cheeks was unexpected, but he didn't mind. "You think I'm better company?" She asked, her shock evident.
"Yeah," he said. "You are." He shivered slightly, letting out a sigh. "Wanna get out of here? We can go for a spin?"
"Alright," Janine agreed, smiling widely up at him. "That would be nice."
It would be nice, Charlie decided. He reluctantly relinquished his hold on her, missing the warmth of her body pressed against his. "We could go grab a slice, even?" He suggested. "Movie? My treat."
Spontaneous, he thought to himself. Like a seventeen year old. Janine beamed up at him, her face entirely red. Charlie wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from his offer, but he liked the look of it either way.
"You want to go see a movie with me?" She asked. "You don't have to, Charlie, you can just bring me home. I don't want you to feel oblig--"
He pressed a kiss to her cheek, feeling himself flush. "I want to," he told her. "Please?"
"Okay," Janine answered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I would like that...I would like that very much."
"Me too," he said. "Thanks for snapping me out of my funk."
For the first time since Watson's heart attack, Charlie finally felt somewhat better about life. It was a pleasant change.
"One thing," she added, and he peered down at her in confusion. "You are going to school tomorrow."
He chuckled. "I'll pick you up. I think I know where you live."