Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/837958.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/F
  Fandom:
      Supernatural
  Relationship:
      Charlie_Bradbury/Jo_Harvelle
  Character:
      Ash_(Supernatural), Ellen_Harvelle, Charlie_Bradbury, Jo_Harvelle
  Additional Tags:
      first_long_work, Sexy_Times
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-06-10 Completed: 2014-01-08 Chapters: 6/6 Words: 13212
****** Ginger and Honey ******
by SerendipitousDreams
Summary
     Charlie's on the run once again and finds herself in Bill's Diner
     being waited on by a gorgeous blond named Jo. Suddenly, her life goes
     from craptastic to a dream come true.
Notes
     In my mind Jo and Charlie are both around 16-17 in this fic. I've
     kinda screwed around with the timeline a bit. Jo's dad is still
     alive, and they own a diner instead of the Roadhouse for now.
     I've also screwed around with the chronology of computer stuff
     because I'm only familiar with modern software. Sam gets wifi
     everywhere, so we'll say the Supernatural universe is slightly
     advanced in the tech area.
***** Bill's Diner *****
Charlie slumped down onto a park bench with a groan. Her legs were burning from
aimless wandering and her stomach growled at her for forgetting to snag some
food before running from her last “home.”She pulled her laptop out of her
backpack with the half-hearted hope that some business nearby had wifi. No such
luck. And, as if the universe wanted to add insult to injury, the battery on
her laptop was getting close to dry. Though a small voice in the back of her
mind suggested that she give up and go back, Charlie’s mental fortitude was far
too stubborn to bend to self-doubt. Tucking her computer safely away, she stood
up and cast her eyes about for an open business with free wifi. It didn’t take
her long to decide on a small family-owned diner. Unlike the multitude of chain
cafes and sandwich shops that crowded the park, it didn’t give off the intense
consumerist vibes of pseudo-hospitality and outrageous prices.
 
Entering the diner to a room unoccupied save for a gorgeous blond confirmed
Charlie’s good taste. She immediately took a corner seat next to a power
outlet. The internet was slow, but she didn’t particularly mind. It gave
Charlie the opportunity to sneak glances at the blond milling about the diner.
Before long, the waitress in question approached her with a laminated menu.
 
“Morning. Welcome to Bill’s diner. What can I getcha to drink?” She asked with
a southern drawl. Up close, Charlie figured that she was maybe a year or two
younger than her. Or maybe that was wishful thinking.
 
“Um... I’ll just have water.” Charlie replied. She wondered how long she could
stay before she was kicked out.
 
If the waitress suspected her inability to pay, she gave no indication. “Name’s
Jo. Just holler if you need anything.” The blond said with a hospitable smile
before disappearing through a door behind the counter that ran the length of
the dining room.
 
Charlie watched her golden head retreat out of sight. What were the chances of
getting this girl--Jo’s--number? Probably not likely. Charlie know she barely
looked fit to be in public. She was a mess and hadn’t slept at all the night
before. It was too bad. If she were at her best she would have Jo swooning
before she got her order in. With a smirk, Charlie opened her laptop. The wifi
speed meant she couldn’t do anything too risky. However, that didn’t mean she
couldn’t show off.
 
To begin, Charlie needed something to do. She started up her proxy. Once
connected to a server, she opened up an encrypted chat client to a room she was
particularly fond of.
 
Granger_Ranger155: ‘Sup bitches! Any quick projects?
QuirkyQuark1323: you’ve got a slow connection
QuirkyQuark1323: who you trying to impress
Granger_Ranger155: HOTT blond waitress.
MadHatterHat: ooh... someone’s gettin lucky. I got you covered, girl.
MadHatterHat: This tobacco company has been putting out some false information.
QuirkyQuark1323: i heard about that mad!
QuirkyQuark1323: super quick and simple for ya ranger
Granger_Ranger155: Thanks guys, I’ll take care of it.
Granger_Ranger155: Stay frosty, bitches.
 
Charlie collected the web address of the company. While waiting for Jo to
return, Charlie researched the information the company was releasing. They were
making preposterous claims that their products were considerably less dangerous
than they really were. Gathering her sources, Charlie compiled the true facts
about the merchandise. Spotting her waitress’ golden head through the kitchen
window, CHarlie dove into her work.
 
Getting into the company’s website was a breeze. They had very little in the
way of security. Charlie saw Jo place a glass of water to the left of her hand
out of the corner of her eye. It was obvious Jo’s eyes were glued on Charlie’s
screen. Finishing her message revealing the company’s deceit, Charlie turned to
Jo with a smile as she exited the site, double checking to make sure her tracks
were covered. She tried to keep the pride on her face as subtle as possible as
she leaned back and waited for Jo’s praise.
 
“I know a guy that does stuff like that.” Jo finally announced, shoving every
ounce of triumph Charlie felt into the garbage. “He’s a real cool guy. I’m
awful with computers.”
 
Charlie did her best to hide her disappointment. That was just her luck: to
find probably the only super hot waitress that already had a hacktivist friend.
In the end, it wasn’t too much of a surprise. She didn’t have much of a chance
to begin with.
 
“So what would you like?” Jo asked, her hospitable smile in place.
 
After her spectacular failure to impress, Charlie was ready to leave and lick
her wounds. “I actually don’t have any money to pay with.” she admitted with a
sigh.
 
Jo leaned down over Charlie’s shoulder to get a better look at the computer
screen. She was close enough for Charlie to smell the sweet apple scent of Jo’s
shampoo. Charlie could kiss her and whisper breathlessly into Jo’s ear if she
dared to turn her head to the left.
 
Jo leaned back, scattering Charlie’s thoughts into the wind before they had the
chance to turn too racy. “Revealing shitty corporate schemes?” The pretty
waitress said, tapping her index finger against her lips in an impression of
thoughtfulness. “I think that’s worthy of a lunch on the house.”
 
Charlie gaped. “Are you being serious? Because if not, that’s a really shitty
thing to say to someone who hasn’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”
 
Jo laughed. For the first time since Charlie came in, her smile wasn’t generic
service-industry charisma but an actual sign of amusement. Suddenly, Charlie
felt like the day wasn’t lost after all.
 
After eating probably the best hamburger she had ever had before, Charlie was
still the only customer at the diner. Her laptop was pushed to the side so that
she and Jo could talk across the table. Jo was talking excitedly about her
father who was away because of his job. It was obvious to Charlie that she was
attached to her father in a way that she would never understand. It was
endearing, and Charlie enjoyed listening to Jo ramble about all the things she
did with her dad.
 
“He promised that after he comes back from this trip that he’s going to take me
on a small hunt. My mom’s super pissed about it, but she’s always been a bit
overprotective.” Jo was saying, stealing one of the few fries left on Charlie’s
plate. “Anyway... what about you? What are you doing wandering around without
any money?”
 
Awkward silence swallowed to two girls. Inconceivably, Charlie felt the urge to
tell Jo everything. She’d been around long enough to know better. “There’s not
much to tell.” was her noncommittal response. “I have problems with authority.”
 
That seemed to be enough to sate the waitress’ curiosity. The awkwardness was
far from dissipated, however. Charlie poked around the fries on her plate with
faked interest. Once again, she started to excuse herself and get back to her
aimless wandering.
 
“Well... if you really need someplace to stay, I’m sure my mom would be okay if
you stayed here for a couple of days.” Jo finally offered.
 
Charlie dropped the fry she was holding and stared at Jo. “You need to stop
doing this to me, because I hope to god you’re telling me the truth.”
 
Jo stood and grabbed Charlie’s mostly empty plate. “Follow me to the back and
we’ll ask my mom together.”
 
Following Jo through the door to the kitchen, Charlie felt increasingly self-
conscious. She should have backed out of the diner back when she had the
chance. Maybe Jo’s parents were serial murderers, and she was preparing her for
slaughter. On the other hand, she was officially being invited to sleep over
with a super gorgeous blond.
 
It wasn’t long before the they found Jo’s mom in the kitchen. She was sitting
back, reading the newspaper with a glass of iced tea next to her. She raised an
eyebrow over her paper as Jo and Charlie walked up to her. “Who’s this?”
“Mom, this is Charlie.” Jo introduced her new friend with a hand on her
shoulder. “She needs a place to stay for a bit, so is it okay if she stays at
our place?”
 
Charlie gave what she hoped was her most charming smile. As much as she hated
relying on others, she had to admit that getting a warm bed to stay in until
her foster parents actually started caring would be awesome. Not to mention the
great food and the hot girl beside her. Maybe the universe didn’t hate her
after all.
 
“I don’t make a habit of picking up strays...” Jo’s mother began with a sigh.
She folded up her newspaper and placed it on the counter beside her. “But, I
suppose I can make an exception. My name’s Ellen. You’ll have to wait until
closing time to get settled in, but you can help around the diner in the
meantime.”
 
That was a good enough deal for Charlie. It gave her a chance to do something
other than feel useless all day, and she got to spend more time learning about
Jo. She still had yet to pin down the other girl’s sexuality. So far she was on
a roll with the good luck, so maybe things would work out in her favor in all
aspects.
 
When it got closer to an actual lunch time, the diner started getting more
business. Charlie was set to work bussing tables, leaving Jo to take orders and
serve food. It was boring for the most part, but every time there was a lull in
activity, Jo would point out one of the regulars and tell Charlie about them.
Bill’s Diner had an odd range of customers. A lot of them had traveling jobs
like trucking or else were sent around the country for meetings and
conferences.
 
They were talking about a man that did mechanic work across the country when Jo
looked over Charlie’s shoulder and waved at the latest customer. “Gordon! I
didn’t know you were in town!”
 
Charlie turned to see a young man, a few years older than Jo and herself. He
had a grim expression on his face that lightened only slightly when he saw Jo.
“I got done early, and I thought I’d drop in.” He told her as he sat down at a
booth. Charlie watched Jo’s expression as the two interacted. She was
completely engrossed in what he was saying--something about this hunting trip
he was on. Well, there was the answer to the question about Jo’s sexuality.
 
With a sigh, Charlie resumed picking up discarded dishes and wiping down
tables. She shouldn’t have been disappointed. She was given a free meal and a
place to stay. The thought did nothing to chase away the bad mood creeping up
on her. She could tell that Jo was absolutely enamoured with this... Gordon.
And he, well, perhaps she was a bit biased, but he seemed like an absolute ass.
He looked at Jo like she was some sort of tool rather than a human being with
feelings. Bad news and heartbreak was written all over the situation.
 
Thankfully, Ellen yelled at Jo to get to work before Charlie could get too
entrenched in the business of near-strangers. Jo went back to serving meals and
taking orders, eventually Gordon left, and it wasn’t long before it was closing
time and Jo was telling Charlie all about where she would be staying. Her house
was small and had no guest bedroom, so Charlie would be sharing Jo’s room. “Or
you can have the couch if you would prefer that.” Jo offered.
 
“No thanks... sleeping on couches always ends with an awful pain in my neck.”
Charlie replied, following Jo through the simple little home. Jo led the way to
her room. The room itself was fairly neat. A small pile of clothes was in one
corner. Shelves covered in knives took up most of the wall space.
 
“I’m sorry... I’m a bit of a collector.” Jo said meekly, watching Charlie look
over the display of blades.
 
“Don’t be. It’s really cool.” Charlie replied. “I’d be a hypocrite if I judged
people for being obsessed with things.”
 
That made Jo smile. “You don’t look like much of a weapons collector, so what’s
your obsession?”
 
“Nothing so badass... Star Wars, Harry Potter, Stephen King... I’m a bit of a
nerd.”
 
Instead of laughing as Charlie expected, Jo took a step forward while her smile
widened. “I figured that, what with the hacking and all. My dad and I used to
watch the Star Wars movies all the time. I haven’t seen them in forever, but I
think they’re great.”
 
Of course, that led to the two girls sitting down in front of an old TV and
watching the original trilogy. There was a pause for dinner during which Ellen
started interrogating Charlie. Having practiced the art of evading questions
since she was twelve, Charlie had little trouble satisfying Ellen’s curiosity
without revealing too much. By the time the credits of Return of the Jedi were
rolling, both Charlie and Jo were yawning. Jo gave Charlie some clothes to
wear, and the nestled into Jo’s bed.
 
“You know... I’ve never actually had a sleepover before.” Jo admitted after the
lights were extinguished.
 
“You’re not missing much. I’ve never liked sleepovers.” Charlie turned over
onto her side and put an end to the conversation.
 
***** Dreams Can Come True *****
Chapter Summary
     Charlie gets settled into the Harvelle household.
Chapter Notes
     I'm in London at the moment so it might be slow going for a bit, but
     I promise I'm still writing (how could I stop?)
     This also means I'm writing and posting from my phone, so tell me if
     you find any mistakes.
The next few days were like heaven on earth for Charlie. She spent her time
helping out around the diner, bussing tables and even taking a few orders. Jo
introduced Charlie to most of the regulars, including Ash. The gangly boy first
appeared to be awkward and ignorant to Charlie, but she soon learned that he
was a computer whiz with skills on par with her own. It wasn’t long before Jo
had to remind Charlie she had to earn her meals. Ash and Charlie often found
themselves arguing about the best components and software for hours if they
weren’t interrupted.
 
Somehow, sleeping in the same bed as Jo was not as awkward as Charlie feared it
would be. While there were several things she would like to attempt, it was
easy enough to stuff away her urges and be thankful for her good fortune. So
what if the blond wasn’t into her? She got three meals a day and a roof over
her head. Charlie’s only problem was the nightmares. It had been years since
the accident, and yet she still found herself waking up in a cold sweat, heart
monitors and that awful antiseptic smell of hospitals fading from her senses.
It wasn’t like they were confined to sleeping at the Harvelles’, but she
constantly worried that she’d wake Jo. She feared the questions that would
inevitably asked, and she doubted her ability to evade what she secretly wanted
to tell.
 
After a marathon of trying to get Jo interested in Doctor Who, Charlie and her
new friend stumbled into bed some time after midnight. “I don’t see what you
see in that show. The special effects are awful!” Jo giggled. “Seriously. Trash
cans with plungers? How is that supposed to be scary?”
 
“Hey! The Daleks are a powerful and merciless species!” Charlie argued,
nestling into a comfortable spot on the bed. “They terrified me when I was a
kid.”
 
Jo rolled her eyes. “I bet you were afraid of heights as well.”
 
Instead of answering, Charlie stuck her tongue out and closed her eyes. Right
at that moment, she felt the happiest she’d felt in a very long while. It was
nice pretending that she had a normal family life with friends and sleepovers
in which she didn’t get scared and call her parents. For a short moment,
Charlie could almost imagine what it would be like if she had been as brave and
strong as Jo. How great her life would be... Charlie fell into unconsciousness
as her thoughts turned sour.
 
-
 
Charlie adjusted her fedora as she trekked through the dense jungle. She could
just begin to make out the Nazi camp through the trees. As she moved closer,
she could see that it was too well guarded for her to easily infiltrate as she
was. Stealthily moving closer, Charlie spotted a lone guard with his back
turned. Pulling out her pistol, she flipped it around and with one quick
strike, knocked the guard out with the butt of her gun. Dragging him into the
jungle, she found an inconspicuous hiding place for him until he woke up. She
quickly stripped him down and replaced her clothes with the miraculously well-
fitting uniform. Charlie hid her hair under a cap, and marched towards the
camp.
 
She figured she had five, maybe ten, minutes before the unconscious guard was
discovered. She needed to find Jo before then. All the tents looked the same,
and there was no way for her to check every last one of them without arousing
suspicion. Looking around, she noticed a young boy that looked to be a newer
recruit. An idea formed in her head.
“I have to speak to the imprisoned girl.” She said, adopting a gruff German
accent.
 
The soldier looked at her with surprise. “No one is to see her except for the
general.”
 
“Who do you think gave me these orders!?” Charlie yelled, looking about as if
the man she was speaking to was an imbecile.
 
The man looked shocked, and escorted Charlie to a tent near the middle of the
camp. She scowled. That was going to make getting out of the camp a bit harder.
It would be impossible to go unnoticed. Once inside, Charlie dismissed the
young man and turned her attention to the girl held captive. She was dressed in
a simple white dress, and though she was bound with her back towards the
entrance, Charlie could tell she was as beautiful as ever.
 
“Don’t be alarmed, it’s me.” Charlie whispered, returning to her natural voice.
She quickly moved next to Jo and sawed through the ropes binding her. Jo stood
as soon as she was free, turning to look at Charlie with a smile. Her eyes
looked Charlie up and down, inspecting the uniform she was wearing.
 
“We should keep that after we’re through here.” She murmured appreciatively.
Charlie responded by wrapping an arm around her slender waist and dipping her
into a passionate kiss.
 
“There’s a murderer loose in this neighborhood!” Charlie looked up to find
herself sitting in a circle of pillows and blankets. Hannah, Sara, and Carly
were sitting next to her.
 
“That’s not true!” She heard herself say. The other girls laughed.
 
“It is!” Hannah insisted, “Jenny saw him looking in her window one night!”
 
Charlie frowned. She knew there was no murderer. But what if there was? She
didn’t want to be killed in her sleep. It was a stupid thought. Hannah’s
parents would wake up and call the cops. That didn’t stop her from feeling
terror well up in her gut. She wanted to go home. “Hannah can I use your
phone?”
 
Hannah led her through a door and into a hospital room. The sound of a heart
monitor and the smell of antiseptic permeated the air. Charlie stood at the end
of her mother’s hospital bed. “I’m sorry I got scared.” She whimpered. “I’m
sorry I made you come get me.”
 
Footsteps to her right caught her attention. Looking over, Charlie screamed at
the sight of a mangled body she could barely recognize as her father. His face
was twisted into an awful scowl. One bloodied arm slowly raised to point a
broken finger at her. “...Coward...”
 
Charlie jolted awake, gasping for breath and shivering from the cold sweat
covering her. As usual, she glanced over to see if she had awoken Jo.
Unfortunately, she was wide awake and staring at her. Charlie had to make a few
attempts before she succeeded in swallowing the lump in her throat. “Uhh... Bad
dream...” She croaked in a lame attempt to diffuse the tension.
 
“You were talking in your sleep.” Jo said softly. Charlie was caught with the
sudden terror that Jo knew about her weird Nazi Indy lesbian fantasy. That was
not how she wanted to come out to her new friend.
 
“...I’m afraid my dad won’t come home from one of his trips one day.” Jo
admitted in a whisper. Charlie blinked. Of course she wasn’t talking about her
damsel-saving adventure. Jo shook her head. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have
brought it up. You don’t need to talk about it.”
 
Guilt flooded Charlie, making her skin feel awkward and ill fitted. “No...
You’re probably the best friend I’ve got, even if we only met a few days ago.
You ought to know.”
 
Both girls sat up in their shared bed. Jo listened silently as Charlie unfurled
her personal history. She told her everything. The sleepover at Hannah’s house,
getting scared and calling her parents. The crash, her father’s death, and her
mother’s coma. She told her about stealing the Red Scare and releasing it for
free, dropping out of high school, running from authorities for hacking into
various government servers simply because she could, and occasionally being
caught and sent to various foster homes. Once she finished, she took a deep
breath and gave a tentative look up at Jo. Jo pulled her into a tight hug.
 
“I wish I could make things better.” She said into Charlie’s hair. Charlie
sighed. Well, there was something she could make better... Rolling her eyes at
the perviness of her own mind, Charlie spoke up. “I’m also a lesbian.”
 
Jo’s laugh could be felt rumbling through her entire body. That was a good
sign. “Awesome,” Jo said with a smile.
 
Charlie looked up, confused. “Awesome?”
 
“Yes. Awesome.” Jo leaned down, grabbing the sides of Charlie’s face and
pressing their lips together. Charlie’s eyes widened a fraction. This was a
thing. This was a thing that was happening. The gorgeous blond she failed to
impress was kissing her. She was kissing her.
 
Jo’s hair was as soft as Charlie imagined. She ran her hands through it,
careful not to tug on the sleep-made snarls. Charlie cupped her hands around
Jo’s warm cheeks and deepened the kiss. She surged forward, pushing Jo onto her
back and claiming the upper ground. In truth, Jo probably could have thrown
Charlie off with a single hand, but she allowed the other girl to have
dominance. Something about the confessions Charlie made added a feeling to the
kiss she couldn’t place. It was bittersweet and made her hold Jo more tightly.
She knew all about Charlie’s secrets, and she didn’t care. She even initiated.
 
Charlie tilted her head back a fraction, gasping for breath. “You have no idea
how long I’ve been dreaming about this.”
 
“You should have come out sooner.” Jo replied with a breathless chuckle and
closed the gap between them. She undulated her body against Charlie’s pulling
down the soft fabric of her pants a couple inches. The movement caused a low
moan to slip through Charlie’s mouth. Charlie stroked her hand down from Jo's
cheek to her side, massaging lazy circles into her hip. Jo whimpered under her
breath. As Charlie moved to slip her hand under Jo's shirt, tentative fingers
stopped her.
 
"Sorry." Jo whispered, panting slightly. "I'd just prefer if we held off on
this until my mom isn't in the room right next to us."
 
That put a damper on Charlie's mood. She wanted nothing more than to fuck Jo's
brains out, mother be damned. She sighed. "Yeah, I understand... I'll just...
go and masturbate furiously in the bathroom."
 
Jo smiled. "Think about me."
 
Charlie guffawed quietly. "Jesus, I haven't thought about anything else since I
met you."
 
With a final glance at Jo's disheveled form on the bed, Charlie left the room
with a triumphant grin plastered to her face.
 
--
 
They didn't get the chance to talk about their encounter in the morning.
Charlie awoke to the sound of excited chatter, and Jo was nowhere to be found.
Running a hand through her hair, Charlie wandered out of the room in search of
answers. The sound of Ellen and Jo's voices emanated from the kitchen along
with a man's voice she didn't recognize. "...simple job, really." It was saying
as Charlie approached. "In and out, just like that. The only reason why I got
held up was because some kids were in a bad way, and I wanted to make sure they
got taken care of."
 
Charlie entered the kitchen to find Ellen, Jo, and who she assumed was Jo's dad
seated at the small table. She could see a bit of him in Jo around her chin and
nose. The group fell silent as she walked in, and she wondered if it had been a
bad idea. They may not have had the time to break the news that a random
homeless lesbian was staying at their home... though Jo was the only one that
knew she was a lesbian. The way Jo smiled as she turned from her dad, however,
was enough to dispell all of her fears. Jo stood up and pulled her closer.
"Dad, this is Charlie, the girl I was telling you about." She introduced
Charlie. She'd told him about her. For some reason, that made Charlie's stomach
do a little flip.
 
"Nice to meet you Charlie, I'm Bill." The man replied with a welcoming grin. "I
haven't heard her talk so much about someone since Gordon first came to the
diner."
 
So Charlie hadn't been completely wrong there. It hardly mattered, though.
Knowing that Jo talked about her and smiled when she walked into a room was
enough to keep her from jealousy. Instead she gave Bill's hand a firm shake and
didn't stop the happy smile from popping onto her face. "It's nice to meet you
too, sir."
 
The feeling that welled up in Charlie's gut took her by surprise. She hadn't
felt like this since she was a kid. In the messy kitchen of that tiny home, she
felt like she was a part of a family. Jo seemed to recognize the look on her
face and secreted her a reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder. Though she
was the happiest she'd been in a long while, she had to fight back tears as
Ellen served them all scrambled eggs and bacon. 
***** Daydreaming *****
Chapter Summary
     A conversation with Ash makes Charlie realize her time with the
     Harvelles is limited.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Bill's arrival brought an energy to life with the Harvelles that had not been
there before. Everyone seemed to smile more now that he was around. Regulars at
the diner greeted him by name and asked him about his last job. Gordon chose
not to show his face for more than a few minutes now that Jo's father was
watching. Bill's presence also meant that Charlie's assistance at the diner was
largely unnecessary. She felt bad now that she was essentially freeloading off
the family, but they ended up shooing her out of the kitchen every time she
attempted to help. Instead, she and Ash bent their heads together over various
projects.
 
"Hey, Ginger, as homey as this place is, how 'bout finding somewhere with a
faster 'net connection?" The scruffy boy asked Charlie on a particularly slow
day at the diner.
 
Of course Charlie agreed, grabbing her laptop and trotting after Ash as he lead
the way through the small town. "There's a business a few blocks down, dunno
what it's doing in a place like this, but it's got great wifi. Password's super
easy to crack."
 
The two climbed over a chain link fence, landing on a dumpster and sliding into
the alley behind an unusually new looking building. Ash and Charlie took seats
against the back wall of the business, cracking into the wifi within minutes.
As usual, Charlie immediately started her proxy and encrypted chat room. A
string of familiar usernames greeted her as soon as she logged on. It'd been
awhile since she last checked in with her online friends.
 
Granger_Ranger155: 'sup bitches! What have I missed?
MadHatterHat: not too much. Quark has been putting fingers in every pie he can
find.
QuirkyQuark1323: hey dont be jealous mad
QuirkyQuark1323: its unbecoming
QuirkyQuark1323: ranger! you got a decent connection!
Granger_Ranger155: Yeah, a friend of mine hooked me up. Anything of interest up
for grabs?
MadHatterHat: Radio’s been pretty quiet lately. Quark’s been taking everything
he can get.
QuirkyQuark1323: yeah yeah
QuirkyQuark1323: youre just jealous because you cant get them faster than me
 
Charlie let her online friends badger each other for while she surfed the
internet for any interesting news. The business’ faster internet was much
easier to navigate than the connection at the diner. Ash and Charlie sat in a
companionable silence in the dark alleyway, lit up light ghosts from their
computer screens in the slowly fading light.
 
“So...” Ash drawled after a few minutes. “You and Jo...”
 
Charlie jumped and stared at the mulleted hacker. She could feel her ears
burning despite the chill of the evening air. “W-what do you mean me and Jo?”
 
Ash rolled his eyes. “You two doing the nasty yet?”
 
If Charlie thought she couldn’t flush any further, she was wrong. “No!” She
yelped defensively.
 
The other kid smirked and returned his attention to his screen. “I called it
from the beginning.”
 
Charlie sighed, if there was any doubt in Ash’s mind, she surely erased it with
that reaction. That sent an awful queasiness into Charlie’s gut. Jo obviously
didn’t want her parents to know about her less-than-heterosexual escapades.
Ash’s deduction felt like a betrayal. Charlie huddled over the safety and the
comfort of her laptop. “Don’t... don’t tell anyone, okay?” She pleaded softly.
 
With a raised eyebrow and a nod, Ash returned to typing diligently into his
Frankenstein’s monster of a computer. Charlie excused herself a few minutes
later. She tried focusing back on the internet, but her mind was racing too
fast. It kept going back to her... thing with Jo. Was it so obvious? Did Jo
want people to know? What the hell was this, anyway? Charlie shook her head in
dejection as she trekked back to the Harvelles’. She shouldn’t have taken Jo up
on her offer of a bed. She should have just left after the free meal. Now
things were all complicated, and she couldn’t have very much time before the
police start broadening the search for her. It’d definitely been long enough
that they were searching now. Even the worst foster parents reported a missing
child as soon as they were nowhere to be found.
 
It was getting late enough that the diner would be closed. Charlie headed
straight for the small house that was beginning (in an unsettling way) to feel
like home. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to go back to running
around, changing her name, stealing things to get by, and dealing with the
scares that came along with being out on the streets. Charlie hated it, but she
was now used to the simple and happy routine that she’d fallen into with the
Harvelles. As confusing as it was, she wanted her relationship with Jo to
continue. Charlie didn’t want to start running again now that she’d stopped to
regain her breath.
 
Charlie was still deeply engrossed in her brooding when she stepped into the
Harvelle household. Before she could process what was happening, her back was
pressed against the front door and warm hot lips were toying with her mouth in
ways that made her knees weak. After swimming through the confusion and sudden
passion, Charlie became aware of Jo planted firmly in front of her. The other
girl’s hands trapped Charlie against the door by her shoulders. In a brief
respite from the kiss during which Jo sucked in a deep breath, Charlie noticed
that she was clad in nothing but a lacy camisole and a pair of black panties.
Charlie’s brain froze for a moment at the revelation. It rebooted just in time
for her to mumble a frazzled “what?” against Jo’s lips.
 
Jo leaned back to smile at her friend. God, she was something to behold. “My
parents are out on a date night.” She explained with a saucy wiggle of her
eyebrows. “They won’t be back for several hours.”
 
All of the worries Charlie built up on the walk back to the house somehow
managed to keep her in a sulk. It didn't escape Jo's notice. "What's wrong?"
 
"I... I can't stay here much longer." Charlie admitted with a grimace. "People
are looking for me. I'm a fugitive of both the law and social services. I have
to keep moving."
 
Jo stared at her for a moment before grasping Charlie's upper arms and giving
her a hard shake. "The fuck are you talking about!? How stupid are you? No one
knows you're here, and if someone comes looking for you, half the town would
help hide you anyway. I ain't letting anyone near you."
 
Charlie stared, completely flabbergasted. The doubt about her relationship with
Jo withered without so much as a token protest. "I don't think half the town
cares that much..."
 
"I care enough to make them." The surety behind Jo's words made Charlie
tremble. The redhead wrapped her friend into a tight embrace, willing herself
to keep it together and not look like a total wimp.
 
She failed, and Jo made a noise of surprise and distress when she felt
Charlie's happy tears plop onto her shoulder. In response, she squeezed the
smaller girl and murmured reassurances into her ear. They were still just
inside the door, so Jo began guiding them back to her room, careful not to
break their embrace or trip over anything in the process. They fell back onto
Jo's bed unceremoniously, and Jo wrapped herself protectively around Charlie.
"I'm never gonna let anything take you away from me." She promised with a
whisper into Charlie's ear.
 
After a brief moment in which Charlie bolstered her willpower and wiped her
eyes, she looked up at Jo. For once, she dared to hope that things would work
out in her favor. She didn't want to leave. Even if the wifi was crap and her
online friends were making projects without her, Charlie was willing to deal
with it for the delicious apple pie life she'd somehow found. Though she was
doing her best to keep her trembling emotions out of her voice, it wavered as
she mumbled, "I don't want to go."
 
Rather than poke fun at Charlie's lack of stoic badassery, Jo cracked a grin
and kissed her forehead. Then, she kissed her temple; then her cheek, the
corner of her mouth, and finally her lips. It was slow and gentle, unlike their
usual heated and urgent make out sessions. Jo wasn't trying to prove how much
she wanted Charlie, she wanted to show how much she wanted her to stay.
 
Charlie wrapped her arm around Jo's waist and allowed the languid pace of the
kiss for a little while. She indulged in its tenderness before slowly pressing
forward, turning up the volume like she had a hand on the dial. She could feel
Jo grin against her lips as she reciprocated the sentiment. They still had the
night to themselves.
 
They pressed against each other and pulled at each other's clothes until thry
found themselves underwear-clad and rolling together like a boat on the ocean.
From her position on top, Charlie made a point of exploring every bit of Jo’s
mouth she could, and then escaping for an expedition along her jaw, gently
tugging at the delicate skin of her neck with her teeth. Hisses and moans of
pleasure egged Charlie on as her hands stroked Jo’s sides, dipping into her
curves and revelling in their perfection. Charlie was starstruck.
 
Jo positioned one of her legs between Charlie’s and began making slow
undulations with her hips. The friction brought gasps to both of their lips.
Their breathing grew heavier and hotter as they memorized every inch of each
other’s bodies with fevered hands and whimpering mouths. Jo slid her work-worn
and beautiful fingers over Charlie’s hip bone, dipping below the waistline of
her panties. Charlie froze. “Wait.”
 
Jo paused, huffing and staring at Charlie in confusion. This wasn’t right. Not
yet. Charlie wiggled herself out from under Jo and pushed herself up, leaning
into her elbows. “I’m sorry... I just.” She cursed her mind for being too
clouded with lust to think of the right words. “I... I haven’t been totally
honest with you, and I think that that’s something we should be before we do
this.”
 
It was an odd statement from Charlie. She didn’t tell anyone her personal
details. It was strange enough that Jo was told about her parents. Still,
Charlie felt that Jo needed the whole truth. “My name isn’t really Charlene
Bradbury.”
 
Jo blinked. “I know.”
 
Charlie stared. “You know?”
 
Jo paused for a moment before bursting into laughter. “You think Ash doesn’t
look up every person I get close to? He’s like an older brother. You’re really
predictable. Annie Tolkien?”
 
“It was the first thing I could think of.” Charlie pursed her lips in
irritation. Well, there went the heart-to-heart of a groundbreaking revelation.
“So... how much do you know.”
 
“Enough to know that I don’t care.” Jo looked into Charlie’s eyes with a sudden
seriousness that made her want to squirm. “I don’t care what you’ve done or who
you’re running from, or who you are. I know enough.”
 
“Damn... that was good.” Charlie cracked a grin. She no longer cared what
exactly her relationship with Jo was. It was good, and that was all that
mattered.
 
Jo scooted forward until she was sitting on Charlie’s lap. Slipping her fingers
into the hairs at the nape of Charlie’s neck, Jo pulled her into a deep kiss.
After mere seconds of breathless moaning through locked lips and entangled
tongues, Jo once again began revolving her hips. With a strangled gasp she
found the right position to slide her and Charlie’s bodies together in the most
delicious way. Charlie pulled herself up, wrapping her arms around Jo and
pressing kisses into her shoulder. She rubbed circles into Jo’s back before
reaching up and pulling the camisole over Jo’s head. Faced with the now-topless
blond, Charlie smiled and licked a wet line up Jo’s sternum. Jo made soft
keening and sighing noises as Charlie caressed and massaged on of her breasts
while licking the other into her mouth. Gently, she sucked the tip into her
mouth and rolled the nipple over her tongue. Encouraged by sounds of pleasure,
Charlie continued reveling over Jo’s chest while pushing her back onto the bed.
 
She released the breast with a wet noise and a sigh from Jo. Charlie licked and
nibbled and kissed her way down Jo’s stomach to music of pleading whimpers.
Once at the black lace panties, Charlie looked up and grinned at her partner.
Jo gazed back with pleasure-hazed eyes, and keened something like a plea for
mercy. Charlie responded by licking a flat tongue up the damp fabric, pulling a
high pitched cry from Jo that had Charlie’s muscles tightening in her lower
gut. She massaged Jo’s inner thighs and gently spread them apart. Pushing the
lace to one side, Charlie rubbed the seam between Jo’s leg and her outer lips.
Jo emitted a low guttural groan.
 
“Fuck... Charlie...” She mumbled, flinging her forearm over her eyes. “Please.”
 
Charlie smirked and ran a teasing finger ever so lightly against Jo’s flesh.
“Use your words, Jo.”
 
A scathing glare attempted to force Charlie into action, but its strength was
sapped by desperation. “Charlie, jesus, please fuck me.” She breathed with a
desperate huff.
 
The words sent sharp tinglings throughout Charlie’s body, and she jumped to
action. Slipping of the panties in one smooth motion, Charlie leaned down and
licked up the length of Jo’s lips. Charlie teased and probed until Jo was
practically wailing with pleasure. Charlie felt herself soaking through her
panties at the noise. She pulled her hand around rubbed circles into Jo’s clit
with her thumb. Jo arched off the bed, shuddering with pleasure. Charlie held
her in place with her free hand and relentlessly flicking her tongue along Jo’s
musky and dripping entrance. Slowly, she slid her index finger into the hot
folds, eliciting a wonderful groan from Jo. Charlie grinned, rolling her tongue
around Jo's clit while making a beckoning motion with her finger. With a
throaty moan, Jo curled her toes and  balled her hands in the bed sheet.
Charlie continued her ministrations, watchfully eyeing every noise and tremble
Jo made, studying her and moving to coax out as many delightful whimpers and
moans as possible.
 
"Fuck... Charlie... f-fuck..." Jo slurred through a daze of lust and pleasure.
Charlie reveled in her ability to take the girl apart so thoroughly, and
redoubled her efforts. Charlie hungrily teased Jo's clit with her tongue and
fucked into her with three of her fingers. Her entire body moved in an effort
to bring Jo as much pleasure as possible. Jo's whimpers and whines came to a
crescendo before the building tension and heat within her seemed to snap like a
cord. With a drawn out moan of delight, she collapsed back onto the bed,
panting and murmuring curses at the ceiling.
 
"You've done that before." She said between breaths in a sad attempt to be
accusatory. Charlie smirked impishly in response. Jo decided it was a good
thing.
 
Charlie yelped in surprise as Jo grabbed her by the upper arms and dragged her
up the bed to plant a wet kiss on her lips.Not much time passed, however,
before Charlie recovered and lazily returned the kiss. Jo’s hands trailed down
Charlie’s sides and hooked over the edge of her panties. There was a bit of a
struggle as the two girls tried to maneuver Charlie’s underpants off while
keeping their kiss intact. After a few seconds of fumbling, giggles, and
curses, Jo’s slender fingers entered Charlie, pulling out a soft whimper.
 
Compared to Charlie, Jo’s experience with women was nothing, but she was a
quick learner. She paid close attention to every little whimper and moan that
Charlie gasped and moved accordingly. There was already a tight knot of heat
low in Charlie’s gut, and it took only a little more effort before she was
moaning Jo’s name in her ear and shuddering in the best way. After a couple
deep and shaky breaths, Charlie attacked Jo’s mouth with little pecks. Jo
giggled and traced eddies into Charlie’s lower back while capturing her lips in
her own.

They spent the next few hours talking about whatever happened to come into
their mind. Charlie ranted about the lack of strong female characters in Star
Wars. Jo talked about different types of knives and her experiences when her
dad would take her out hunting. By the time they heard the front door close
behind Jo’s parents, they were sprawled over each other, laughing and listening
to Jo’s Led Zeppelin tapes.
Chapter End Notes
     Sorry this took so long. This is one of the first smut scenes I've
     ever written and I spent a lot of time messing with it.
***** Confrontations and Farewells *****
Chapter Summary
     Jo's father Bill is called away on a job. Charlie can't figure out
     why, but no one seems happy about that.
Chapter Notes
     I am so sorry this is so late, but getting ready for college has been
     hell. Not to mention I'm also working full time now. ugh.
     I'm sorry, but things are going to start getting a bit angsty from
     here on out.
As a rule, Charlie avoided fights. Physical or otherwise, they made her
uncomfortable. Especially if they were between her best friend’s (girlfriend?
lover?) parents. Charlie and Jo were awoken by the sound of shouting. Neither
of them could make out the words, but Jo seemed to already know what it was
about. She ignored Charlie’s questions and concerns, tugging on the first
clothes she could grab and stalking out. Charlie heard the screen door that
lead out the back of the house smack against the doorframe a few minutes later.
The shouting continued. Charlie sat in the middle of Jo’s bed, confused and
awkward. She didn’t want to pry into the private lives of her hosts, but then
again, was it prying if she was just overhearing the argument? She really just
wanted to be able to help Jo. It was surprising how strong the twisting in
Charlie’s gut was in response to Jo being upset.
 
Pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, Charlie crept from the room. She
barely had to move down the hallway before the heated words made sense.
“...just got back, and now you’re going to run off at a moment’s notice?”
Ellen’s voice sounded angrier than Charlie had ever heard her before. It was
terrifying.
 
“You can’t expect me not to help!” Bill responded with equal heat. Charlie
still had no idea what Jo’s father did for a living, but she felt that this
argument was about just that. The few times she had asked Ellen or Jo about
Bill’s occupation, she was met with uncomfortable stares and derisive grunts.
 
“I can expect you to stay here and give your daughter a father, but you refuse
to do that!”
 
“Don’t you dare make this about Jo!” Charlie’s stomach sank at the mention of
her friend’s name. Judging from the way Jo left, they had had this fight many
times before. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have her name be
brought up as a weapon like that.
 
“Jo is exactly what this is about, Bill! You’re the reason why she runs around
with that kid Gordon and sticks herself in danger.” That took Charlie by
surprise. She disliked Gordon from the beginning, but she never thought that he
was dangerous. Or that Jo would put herself in danger because of him. Her
distaste for the boy morphed into hatred.
 
“I’d rather her fight than go around without knowing how to defend herself
against what’s out there.”
 
“It’s one thing to defend yourself, but it’s another thing entirely to seek out
a monster.”
 
“I’m not going to let someone die, Ellen.”
 
There was a pause. Charlie couldn’t tell if they had lowered their voices or if
they had stopped talking completely. She tiptoed her way closer until she could
almost see Bill and Ellen standing in the kitchen. She could hear Ellen’s sigh.
“I’m just afraid someone’s going to let you die.”
 
Charlie’s eyebrows furrowed. How dangerous was Bill’s job? Ellen moved out of
Charlie’s line of sight, and Bill’s next words came out muffled, as if he were
speaking into his wife’s hair. “Don’t worry about that. John’s got my back.
He’s a good hunter.”
 
So they were talking about hunting? Charlie retreated, turning the conversation
over in her mind. Why were Ellen and Jo so concerned about a hunting trip? And
if they were talking about hunting, what did that have to do with saving
people? The biggest problem that Charlie could see was that both Ellen and Jo
were concerned about Bill’s safety. She had only known him a few days, but his
family’s obvious love for him made her want to help in some way. Especially
since Ellen seemed to be worried about him dying. That alone was enough to tell
Charlie that there was more to this than just hunting deer. It was decided, she
needed to help. But she needed to figure out how exactly she was going to do
that.
 
After retreating to Jo’s room for a few minutes, she rushed out the house in
search of her friend. Before she talked to anyone else, she needed to make sure
Jo was going to be okay. Surprisingly, Jo couldn’t think of any particular
places where Jo would hide. Most of her time was spent at the diner or at the
house. She and Ash would occasionally go out to the movies, but those
excursions were few and Charlie doubted that that was Jo’s go to place for
dealing with emotional problems. Instead, she decided on the brute force method
of solving the problem, running through every place she came across that might
have attracted her friend. She scanned the empty dining rooms of cafes and
bars, and she quickly searched through the small groves of trees that sprinkled
the small town. It wasn’t long before she was wheezing with the effort to
supply the necessary oxygen to keep her body moving, but Charlie refused to
slow down. She’d nearly made a complete circuit of the town and found herself
standing on the edge of the park where she had taken a break what seemed like a
year ago. She was too tired to run, but Charlie refused to go slower than a
brisk walk as she searched the winding trail that ran through the small park.
Finally, through a thin covering of trees, she spotted Jo sitting on a swingset
near the far side of the park. Charlie abandoned the trail, instead choosing to
make a beeline towards Jo.
 
“Jesus, you can be hard to find.” Charlie gasped between large gulps of breath.
Jo was silent, watching Charlie out of the corner of her eye. “Look, I sorta
eavesdropped on your parents’ conversation, and I know you’re worried about
your dad. “ Charlie explained once her breath was caught. “I want to know if
there’s any way I can help.”
 
Jo stared at her feet, ignoring the growing awkward silence until Charlie
almost pressed her again. “There’s nothing you can do to help. “She finally
answered. “My dad’s gonna go, my mom’s going to worry until he gets back, but
he’ll be okay. He’s helping people, and I can’t ask him to stop. I don’t even
really want him to.”
 
“Just because he’s helping people doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to want him
to stay home.” Charlie said, sitting in the swing next to Jo. “I mean... He’s
your dad.You’re allowed to be selfish when it comes to him.”
 
Jo graced her with a small grin. “Maybe you’re right.” She admitted. “But it’s
still his choice, and he’s gonna go.”
 
Charlie heaved a sigh. “Yeah... I just don’t like seeing you sad.”
 
That made Jo’s grin transform into a roguish smile. She grabbed the chain of
the swing Charlie was sitting on and pulled her over to plant a kiss on her
cheek. “Then make me forget about it.” She whispered into Charlie’s ear.
 
“I don’t think that’s a healthy way to deal with your emotions.” Charlie
mumbled back, but made no other protest as Jo slipped out of her seat to give
her a hungry kiss. Charlie tilted her chin back, breaking the kiss for a moment
to mutter, “You realise we’re in public, right?”
 
Jo simply chuckled in response. “I’m showing off.”
 
While she was happy (more than happy) that Jo was comfortable enough with her
relationship for such a public display of affection, Charlie was worried about
what the conservative thinking locals would do. “People will see.” She babbled
on. “They’ll see and then they’ll gossip and your parents will find out, and
I’ll be chased out of town by an angry mob for sullying the local maidens.”
 
Jo laughed and silenced her with another kiss. “Trust me. People can talk all
they want, but no one will be chasing you out of town. Not while you’ve got me
and my knife collection by your side.”
 
Charlie grinned and stood, grabbing Jo’s wrist to pull her along. “You are by
far the best maiden I’ve ever sullied. Now let’s go.”
 
The grin on Jo’s face vanished. Charlie did her best to suppress a huff and
tugged her arm a bit in an attempt to get her to move. She did little to move
Jo, who was slowly descending into anger. Charlie dropped her wrist and moved
both hands to her hips in the vague hope of looking stern and demanding. “Look,
I get that you don’t want to confront your issues right now, but like you said,
your dad’s going to go no matter what you say.”
 
“Exactly! Why the hell should I talk to him when he’s gonna go put himself in
danger anyway?” Jo was practically growling.
 
No longer able to meet Jo’s eyes, Charlie studied the mulch that covered the
playground. “Because you never know what will happen.” It was hard to figure
out how to say what she was thinking. Charlie would have killed for the chance
that Jo had--to be given a head’s up when her dad was in danger; to be given a
chance to say goodbye just in case. Worrying at her lip, she looked up at her
friend. “When you’ve got the chance to let someone know you care, your have to
take it.”
 
Jo mentally slapped herself as soon as she realized what Charlie was talking
about. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean...” She didn’t know what she was trying
to say. Charlie shrugged off her concerns, instead weaving their fingers
together and once again pulling Jo back towards her home. This time, Jo
followed willingly.
 
As soon as they reached the little house, Charlie pushed Jo into the kitchen
where her father was now sitting alone. With a small smile and a thumbs up, she
left them alone and went to Jo’s room. There wasn’t an Internet connection at
the house, but she had some programs she was working on that didn’t require a
connection outside of research. Charlie’s mind was surprisingly at ease as she
lost herself to typing out lines of code and testing different algorithms. Jo
wandered in at some point, smiling softly, though Charlie was far too immersed
in trees of logic to notice. By now it was a common occurrence to Jo, so she
simply patted Charlie on the shoulder and went about sharpening the knife her
father gave to her after their talk.
 
By the time Charlie looked up from her laptop, blinking the blurriness from her
eyes, the light from her screen was the illumination in the room. She could see
the top of Jo’s head peeking out from under the blanket. She must have been
working for hours, oblivious to the passage of time. She stood up and stretched
in a futile attempt to work the stiffness out of her limbs after sitting in the
same position for so long. A low rumble in her stomach persuaded her to creep
out towards the kitchen. Charlie was surprised to find that a light was still
on, leading her to her destination. Bill was rummaging around the room, putting
some food supplies into a backpack. He looked up in surprise as Charlie
entered. She grinned sheepishly. “I kinda missed dinner...”
 
“I noticed. Jo said you do that sometimes.” He was a bit concerned when Jo
first announced that Charlie was not going to be at the dinner table, but both
Ellen and Jo seemed to be used to it. To be honest, he was glad to have the
chance for a meal with just his small family, though he was too polite to
reveal that to Charlie.
 
“So... I guess you decided to go on that trip.” Charlie blurted out of a need
to fill the awkward silence. She then realized that she had learned about the
trip from eavesdropping and quickly added, “Jo told me it was something to do
with your job.”
 
If Bill suspected her of listening in on his earlier conversation with Ellen,
he didn’t show it (or he didn’t care). “Yeah, I’ll probably be heading out
tonight.” He paused for a moment. “You’re the one that convinced Jo to talk to
me, aren’t you.”
 
Unsure of how to respond, Charlie simply froze with the expression of a trapped
animal. Bill smiled kindly in an attempt to ease her nerves. “I just wanted to
thank you... I wanted to say something to her, but I never knew what to say or
how to get her to sit down and listen instead of running off to God knows
where.” He took another moment to inspect Charlie. She couldn’t help feeling
judged under his steely gaze as he took in her ratty hoodie, star wars tee
shirt, and scrawny figure. “I can tell you care about her. And she might not
show it all the time, but she cares about you too. Take care of her for me,
would you?”
 
Charlie’s mind blanked out for a moment. That was not what she was expecting.
She had pinned Bill as a super conservative God fearing stereotype of a
southerner. She shook the shock out of her head. That’s what she got for
judging people too quickly, she supposed. Setting her features into the most
confident and serious face she could muster she nodded. “Don’t worry, I will.”

Bill tossed a large container of salt into his bag before zipping it up and
looping it over his shoulder. With a final nod of appreciation, he gave
Charlie’s hand a firm shake, grabbed a shotgun from its resting place beside
the door, and walked out the door.
***** Homecoming *****
Chapter Summary
     Jo's dad doesn't come home, and Charlie can't handle losing any more.
Chapter Notes
     I think this is one of the longer chapters that I've written. Once
     again I'm sorry for not updating more regularly, but I'm moving
     across the country at the end of this week. Hopefully I'll be able to
     figure things out after the dust settles.
     Also, um, warning for a bit of rough sex in this chapter. Totally
     consensual though.
Two days after Bill left, Ellen, Jo and Charlie were getting ready for a movie
night. Charlie insisted that they had to have a marathon of Firefly, insisting
that it was the best show they will ever see. Ellen was watching Jo connect
Charlie’s laptop to the television as Charlie made popcorn. There was a knock
on the door.
 
It wasn’t especially odd for the Harvelles to get unexpected visitors. They
were known by most of the small town’s residents to be friendly people, and
they would sometimes drop by for a chat or to ask Ellen and Jo if someone had
been by the diner or if they knew any gossip about someone else. However, it
the sun was setting as they prepared for their night in, and it wasunusual to
get visitors after dark. Being the closest to the door, Charlie called out that
she would answer it. Unlocking the deadbolt and pulling open the front door,
she was met with the sight of a scruffy man she’d never seen before on the
other side of the screen door.
 
The man looked like he hadn’t slept for days. He had the scraggly beginnings of
a beard, and wore a beaten leather jacket. Charlie could see a gleaming black
car on the curb behind him that she assumed was his. It looked to be in
pristine condition for a classic car, and she had to tamp down the urge to slip
past and hotwire it.
 
“Is Ellen Harvelle here?” The rough voice of the stranger returned Charlie’s
attention to him. She nodded in response to the question. “My name is John
Winchester. I need to talk to her.”
 
Suddenly, Charlie felt her stomach sink. She didn’t know why, but a sickening
thought came to her. “Is this about Bill?”
 
“I need to talk to Ellen.” John repeated, but the hard look in his eyes was
enough of an answer to Charlie. She took one last, brief look at the man before
turning and quickly disappearing into the living room.
 
“Who was it?” Jo asked without looking up from the mess of wires she was trying
to navigate as she attempted to connect Charlie’s laptop. Charlie was too
flustered to parse the question, instead turning to Ellen with wide eyes and
stammering, “There’s a man... he needs to... see you.”
 
Charlie’s frantic behaviour must have given her away. Ellen’s eyes widened and
she ran from the living room to the front door where John was standing. He
shifted awkwardly as Ellen confronted him, but he didn’t show any outward signs
of grief or humility. Charlie turned away, closing the kitchen door behind her.
Jo was staring at her with an anxious look in her eyes. “What’s going on?”
 
There was a knock on the door. It wasn’t particularly different from any other
knock, but something about it was menacing. Perhaps because it was late at
night, but she was expecting her parents. She and her friends peeked around a
corner to watch as her friend’s mother opened the door. A policeman stood
there. Her friends gasped, convinced for a moment he was here about a serial
killer in the neighborhood until he spoke.
 
“Is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Middleton here?”
 
“Charlie?” She snapped back to the present at the sound of Jo’s voice.
“Charlie, what’s going on? You’re shaking.” Jo’s hands were gripping her upper
arms. After a confused moment, Charlie realized she was telling the truth.
Tremors shuddered through her body, and there was a hot pit of nausea creeping
through her stomach.
 
“I’m so sorry.” Charlie attempted to say, but all that came out was a whimper.
Jo pulled her into a tight embrace. She was confused and growing steadily more
scared by the minute, but she needed to comfort her friend. Charlie wrapped two
trembling arms around Jo and gripped the back of her shirt in clenched fists.
It wasn’t until she felt the dampness of Jo’s shirt against her face that she
realized she was crying.
 
“Your parents were in an accident. I’m going to take you to the hospital now.”
 
Her friends were staring at her. “No. No, they were coming to pick me up.”
 
The policeman looked at her with sad eyes. “Their car got hit on the way over
here. I’m going to bring you to them.”
 
She felt tears well up in her eyes. It was all her fault. All because she
believed a stupid story about a serial killer and got scared. It was her fault.
 
Jo clumsily navigated them to the privacy of her bedroom, sitting down on the
bed with Charlie in her lap. The other girl had her face buried in her
shoulder, shuddering and heaving at some unknown grief. Jo gingerly smoothed
down her hair and whispered soothing thoughts in her ear. It felt dumb and
inadequate, but she wasn’t sure what else to do. Her mother was still talking
to whoever was at the door. Jo was seized with the terrified thought that the
authorities had finally caught up to Charlie and were going to take her away.
 
Charlie wouldn’t be this upset about that though. She would be grabbing her
laptop and stealing a kiss before she climbed out the window like the hero out
of a movie. She wouldn’t be sobbing into her shoulder. Jo frowned. She couldn’t
think of anything that would make her friend cry like this.
 
The hospital was white and sterile. After glimpses of medical dramas on TV, she
had expected people to be bustling everywhere, but it was the middle of the
night and the waiting room was empty save for her and a tired receptionist. Her
friend’s mother had volunteered to stay, allowing the policeman to leave.
 
A harried doctor entered the waiting room, caught sight of her tiny, trembling
form, and ran an exhausted hand through his hair. It was bad enough dealing
with the physical side effects of the crash.
 
The doctor knelt before her and gently told her, “Your mother is in critical
but stable condition.”
 
She nodded as if she knew what that meant other than her mother was still hurt.
 
The doctor paused a moment before continuing. “We did our best, but... your
father didn’t make it.”
 
She killed him. It was her fault. She killed her dad. She hurt her mom. It was
all her fault.
 
Charlie stared at Jo. Her vision was blurry, and her eyes were puffy with
tears. “I killed him...” she muttered. Jo’s response was a confused look.
Charlie wrapped herself around the other girl and squeezed her tight. “I’m
sorry.”
 
“Charlie, what are you sorry for? You’re worrying me...” Jo whispered as
soothingly as she could. As she opened her mouth to continue a knock on her
bedroom door interrupted her harried train of thought. Without waiting for an
invitation, Ellen stepped into the room. For what seemed the first time in her
life, Jo thought she looked completely exhausted. There was a tension in her
body that Jo had never seen before. Ellen stood still in the door for a moment,
running her hands over her face in a half-assed attempt to compose herself. A
looming and dark pit formed in Jo’s stomach.
 
“Jo, sweetie, your dad…” she began before bracing herself against the
doorframe. She was visibly trembling with the effort to keep herself together
in front of the two teenagers. She started again, “Your dad…”
 
Jo extracted herself from Charlie’s limbs, ignoring the bout of silent,
trembling sobs that followed. “No…” Jo mumbled, stepping towards her mother.
“That can’t be right. He said it was just a simple hunt.”
 
Ellen nodded, the knuckles of her hand gripping the doorframe going white. “I
know, but things went wrong.”
 
Taking another step forward, Jo’s vision began to whiten with rage. “Things
don’t just go wrong! He said that John would have is back! He said he would
come back!”
 
“Sometimes the world doesn’t work like that, Jo.” Ellen said. Her voice was
wrung and weary. “Sometimes things go wrong when you think they won’t.
Sometimes people make promises they can’t keep.”
 
“That’s bullshit!” Jo shrieked, no longer really saying anything but letting
out the storm that was coursing through her. “You’re all bastards and liars!”
 
Jo pushed her way past Ellen, the sounds of her sprinting footsteps echoed
along with the slamming of the back door long after she had left. Ellen
contemplated the worn floorboards with a sigh before turning to make a cup of
tea for Charlie.
 
--
 
The sun was beginning to brighten the sky when Jo made her way back to the
house. Her hair was a mess of tangles and leaves, and there were grass stains
on her jeans. Her knuckles, hiding in the confines of her jacket pockets, were
bloody and sore. Ellen sat at the small kitchen table as Jo walked in the door.
Neither said anything as Jo brushed past on her way to her room.
 
Charlie sat on the bed with her backpack clutched to her chest. It was stuffed
full, and the hem of a tee shirt poked out every time Charlie tugged on the
zipper as an outlet for her nerves. Jo stood just inside the doorway and
watched her. “What are you doing?”
 
Charlie’s eyes remained fixed on the wall opposite of her. Her response was
whispered.  “Waiting for you.”
 
“Well, at least you gave me that courtesy before you left.” Jo began to feel
her anger returning. “Why the hell would you choose now to leave?”
 
Charlie’s gaze moved to Jo’s with a desperate plea. “I can’t do this again.
I’ve been running away from it too long for it to come back now.”
 
“It’s not your dad that’s dead, Charlie!” Jo slammed the side of her fist into
the wall, making Charlie jump. “At least have the decency to pretend to care
offer some fucking support!”
 
The grip on Charlie’s backpack tightened. “I care… I really do. But I’m not
exactly a stellar example of how to deal with grief.”
 
Jo surged forward, grabbing Charlie by her upper arms and shaking her. “I don’t
want a how-to on mourning, you ass, I want you!”
 
Charlie blinked, wordless and flabbergasted. “Why the fuck would you want me?”
 
Jo issued a dramatic groan before ripping Charlie’s backpack from her arms and
tossing it to the side. She ignored Charlie’s squeak of worry about her laptop
as she crashed her lips into the other girl’s. The kiss was rough and
punctuated with growls from deep in Jo’s throat. Charlie felt as though she
were being washed away under the hurricane of Jo’s frustration. She also
couldn’t help shoving her thoughts about grief and mourning to the back of her
mind as she pulled Jo closer and tugged her jacket off her shoulders.
 
Tossing her jacket to the side, Jo pushed Charlie back until she was sprawled
across the bed. “I never want you to leave, you got that?” She growled, running
her hands over Charlie’s ribs.
 
“I never want to leave.” Charlie whimpered, wriggling for friction. Jo smiled
at the response and lightly bit her hip. She pushed her hands and Charlie’s
shirt up and over her head, giving her access to suck bruises into Charlie’s
stomach. Charlie whimpered delightfully each time Jo wobbled over the line
between pleasure and pain. With a completely predatory smile, Jo drug a thigh
between Charlie’s legs and soaked up her mewls of pleasure with another deep
kiss.
 
Charlie arched her back and rolled her hips in an attempt to produce enough
sensation. She whimpered as it was not nearly enough to satisfy her. Jo’s
possessiveness and well-directed anger made Charlie soak through her panties
before she’d even touched her. Jo unhooked Charlie’s bra and tossed it to the
side before her mind could register what was going on. She took a hardened
nipple between her teeth. That, combined with the beautiful gyrations she was
doing against Charlie’s cunt made the redhead emit a high-pitched yelp of
encouragement.
 
While she lavished Charlie’s tits with the attention of her teeth and tongue,
Jo’s hands moved down to unbutton and pull away Charlie’s jeans. They stroked
appreciatively over the curve of her butt as they stripped away the layer of
denim. Charlie whimpered as the cool air of the room brushed across the wetness
between her legs. She felt Jo grin against the soft skin of her chest before
the other girl bit down sharply, earning another squeaky whimper of approval.
 
Blunt fingernails scraped lightly over the tender spot between her labia and
her leg. She keened, begging to be touched more, aching to feel Jo rip an
orgasm out of her. Instead of giving what she wanted, Jo continued to work her
way around Charlie’s body, sucking bruises into her skin and teasing around her
cunt. Charlie was bucking into her hand moaning a symphony of erotic noises
that were muffled in a half-assed attempt to keep Ellen out of earshot. Jo make
that hard, each time she bit and sucked and massaged her mouth and fingers into
Charlie’s skin made her want to cry out ever louder until she was reining in
screams. Charlie was burning with wantand need, and she found herself begging
Jo to fuck her around the fist clamped over her mouth.
 
Finally, Jo did as she was bid, pushing two fingers into Charlie and rolling
her tongue over her clit. Charlie’s hips rolled up to meet her, making Jo push
her into the mattress with her free hand. Crooking her finger in a “come
hither” motion, Jo found that sweet spot inside Charlie. The other girl writhed
underneath her, choking out desperate moans. “Oh god… more…”she urged Jo
onwards. She continued to move her hips despite the hand pressing her into the
bed. She needed more friction, more of Jo’s fingers expertly playing inside
her. Where the hell had she learned that?
 
The mixed sensation of Jo’s deft fingers and tongue lavishing her clit had
Charlie’s toes curling. When she took a moment to glance down a high pitched
whine escaped her. Jo was staring back up at her, eyes intense as she suckled
and played with Charlie. Eyes locked, Jo sucked in and curled her fingers.
Charlie’s back arched off the bed and she bit back a loud cry as pleasure shook
through her entire body. Jo slowly crawled up to face Charlie with a haughty
look on her face. Charlie grabbed either side of her head and pulled her into a
deep kiss.  They pulled away breathless and sweaty. Jo loomed over Charlie, her
hands placed on either side of her shoulders. “You’re not going anywhere.”
 
Charlie simply nodded, and Jo tangled herself into her lover’s limbs. They
drifted off to sleep pressed against each other.
***** The Breaking of the Fellowship *****
Chapter Summary
     Charlie finally says goodbye.
Chapter Notes
     I actually have no excuse for this taking so long, I'm really sorry.
     But this is the last chapter with a nice little epilogue at the end.
     I hope you enjoyed this, it was my first real fanfic, and it was
     pretty fun to write even though I procrastinated a lot.
     I'm also sorry this is kind of short, but whatever.
It was months since they had gotten the news about Bill’s death. Charlie, Jo,
and Ellen had tried to go back to their normal routine. It shouldn’t have been
much different since Jo’s dad had never been around much to begin with. He had
always been gone on hunting trips or working-related retreats. But there was a
change. Charlie couldn’t quite figure out exactly what it was, but knowing that
Bill wasn’t ever coming back through everything out of balance just enough to
make everything seem surreal and awkward.
 
To add to their problems, the regulars that used to come into the diner every
day started to stop coming in. They dropped off like flies until the diner was
nightmarishly quiet. Charlie had overheard Ellen grumbling about it one day.
“Those bastards think there’s no point in coming here now that Bill’s gone, but
it’s their own damn fault for scattering in the wind…” She had then slammed a
pan of hashbrowns on the counter hard enough to overturn it and splatter fried
potatoes everywhere. Charlie had quickly scampered off to the sound of Ellen’s
cursing before she got caught eavesdropping.
 
Charlie had always felt a bit like a freeloader in the Harvelle’s house. She
had never really felt like she deserved their kindness no matter how much Jo
assured her otherwise. Now that business at the diner was slowing down and she
couldn’t even help out there, she felt completely useless. Charlie didn’t know
much about business, but even she knew that the diner couldn’t last as things
were. They were barely getting any business at all. She figured that she needed
to actually get a real job to start repaying all the help that she had been
given. She thought about telling Jo, but knew that the girl would try to
convince her otherwise or at least distract her with sex, so she kept her quest
a secret.
 
Charlie kept her job search online. She knew that Jo would get suspicious if
she kept sneaking out for interviews, and Charlie always thought she had more
charisma online anyway. She would spend hours pouring through job listings,
looking for something that allowed her to work with computers--preferably that
allowed her to play around in her free time. After one of these marathon
searches, Charlie stood up, rubbing the soreness in her neck. She crept to the
kitchen so she wouldn’t wake anyone up, but paused as she heard Ellen and Jo
talking.
 
“You know as well as I do we can’t stay here anymore.” Ellen’s voice was
saying, “Too many people know us.”
 
“Why does that mean we have to move?” Jo’s voice replied. They must not have
been talking long because Jo’s voice wasn’t very heated yet.
 
“You know damn well why!” Ellen growled, more at the customers abandoning her
than the girl in front of her. “No hunter’s gonna go near us because of guilt
or shame or some other macho bullshit reason.”
 
It seemed like Jo was actually going to accept the argument for a moment before
she spoke again. “What about Charlie?”
 
Ellen sighed. “I don’t know, sweetheart. We can’t really expect her to stay
with us.”
 
“Well we can’t just leave her in the dust either!”
 
Charlie tiptoed away from the kitchen without grabbing anything. She sat back
down in front of her laptop and looked over the list of jobs she’d found
interesting. By the end of the night, she had sent in an application to each of
them.
 
The next few days went on as before. Everyone pretended that nothing was wrong
as the diner remained unvisited other than a couple of occasions in which Ash
came in to borrow the wifi. Charlie sat in her own booth, browsing the Internet
and checking her email. She froze as the notification for a new email popped
up. She’d gotten a job.
 
Normally, Charlie should have been happy at the prospect, but she could only
manage a bitter feeling. The acceptance was just another nail in the coffin of
her relationship with Jo, and she couldn’t help feeling sad. With a sigh,
Charlie did her best to push aside the feeling and keep pantomiming normalcy
until she could talk to Jo alone.
 
That night they lay side by side in bed. Neither of them could speak, and both
of their minds were running wild as they stared at the ceiling. Finally Charlie
turned her head to look at Jo’s profile in the dark and took a deep breath.
“I’m…. I’m leaving.”
 
Jo didn’t even flinch. “No you’re not. You’re not going anywhere. I thought I
made that clear.”
 
Charlie sighed. “This is different. You and I both know that.”
 
Jo rolled over onto her side to face Charlie. “When did you hear about it?”
 
“Sometime last week.” Charlie shrugged. “But I’ve been looking for a job a lot
longer than that…”
 
“Why?” Jo couldn’t keep the hurt out of her voice and made Charlie’s stomach
twist.
 
“I feel useless just standing around while you and your mom work so hard to
make room for me. I don’t want to rely on you guys forever.”
 
Jo averted her eyes with a resigned look. “I’m not going to force you to stay…
But I don’t want you to go.”
 
Charlie smiled and scooted closer so that she could wrap her arms around Jo and
bury her nose into her golden hair. “Don’t worry. It’s not like we’re dying.
We’ll see each other again.”
 
Jo took a deep breath and grinned slightly. “Right… so who in the hell actually
gave you a job?”
 
“Some up and coming corporation--Roman industries. It sounds pretty boring.”
 
“I thought you hated corporations.”
 
Charlie nuzzled Jo’s neck. “I like to think of it as reconnaissance for when I
bring the whole system down.”
 
Jo chuckled and tilted up Charlie’s head to kiss her deeply. “I’ll miss you.”
 
Charlie rolled her eyes. “You’ll find some hot badass to moon over in no time.”
 
------------------
Seven years later
 
In a musty corner of the bunker, Charlie sat with a book propped open on her
knees. She was staring at the pages in front of her, but not actually reading
them. Her mind wandered back to when she was a teenager wandering around in
search of free wifi and cheap food. She had thought about looking up Jo and
Ellen several times since she left. It wouldn’t be hard for her to find them,
even if they had changed their names for some reason.
 
Nerves had gotten the better of her every time. Jo probably had found that hot
badass to moon over and forgot all about her. And now Charlie was involved with
all this supernatural monster stuff. She really didn’t want to get Jo and Ellen
involved as well. So she stuck to her memories.
 
“I know that look. Thinking about Princess Leia?” Dean’s voice startled her out
of her daydreaming. Charlie glanced up to see him standing over her with a
triumphant smirk on his face.
 
“No… I’m… doing some research.” Charlie replied a tad too defensively.
 
Dean’s smirk widened. “Definitely thinking about Princess Leia.”

Charlie rolled her eyes. “If you really want to know, I’m thinking about an old
friend.” She stood up, unable to completely contain her smile when she thought
back to nights with Jo. She shoved the book she had been reading into Dean’s
hands. “Much better than Princess Leia.”
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