[open] Time Off

[Charlie Parker]

Well... the peace and quiet hadn't lasted long. Under the strong advisory of everyone who knew him, Charlie was still working double shifts Monday through Thursday, but now working only the morning shift on Friday, the evening shift on Saturday, and was taking every Sunday off. He needed to provide for his family... but he also needed to be there for them, and he couldn't do that if he was constantly working. Plus he was on the verge of reaching the end of his fuse and just snapping under the pressure and stress of it all. Being a full time cop and a single dad of two was a lot harder than it sounded, and all things considered he had been handling it quite well... until now. Work was running him down so much he was finding it increasingly difficult to get up every day much less carry out day to day tasks on his job... and Chuck had started asking him more and more when his next day off was... even little Melody had taken up the habit of crying for half an hour every time he would leave. So they convinced him... he needed more time off to spend with his family.

He had gotten up early this morning, knowing that if he didn't it wouldn't be long before Chuck came flying into his room and started begging him to get up, and from that point on he would have no peace and quiet. He loved Chuck, don't get me wrong, but he was like the energizer bunny on 12 energy drinks... he just kept going and going and going at such a fast pace, Charlie was certain there was no one alive who could keep up with that kid all day long... except Brody... but Brody was like a kid in an adult body, so he didn't really count. Anyway, Charlie got up at about 6:00, and got himself ready for the day, then headed down to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee, knowing he would need the caffeine to survive the morning.

About 8:00 Chuck got up, and very shortly after that Melody was crying in her room. So he got up and trudged up the stairs, knowing that the second he walked through that door he wasn't an "eligible bachelor" anymore... he was a dad. His two best friends were both already married...oddly enough. Everyone always said that of the three Charlie would be the first to get married, and Sebastian would be the last. Charlie was a lady's man. Unlike Sebastian he actually wasn't a total jerk... sure he could be a bit of a jackass at times, but he was a guy.. it was only natural. Anyway, Anthony was too crazy and too focused on racing to be getting married, and Sebastian was too... Sebastian to get married. Now here they were, Sebastian had been married for a year, Anthony was approaching his one year anniversary shortly, and Charlie was still single. Funny how that works isn't it?

Once Charlie had gotten the baby and Chuck both fed and ready for the day it was off to the stable to take care of the horses. Even though it was Charlie's day off, his police horse still needed feeding and all that good stuff. Once the stable chores were done, Charlie asked Chuck what he wanted to do today, and of course, Chuck's answer was that he wanted to get ice cream. Charlie couldn't help but chuckle at that... it was only 10:00 and the seven year old wanted ice cream... he should have guessed. Anyhow, Charlie of course told Chuck it was much too early for ice cream, so Chuck settled for the second best option. Football in the park. Now, considering Melody was only a year old, and Brody had the day off from the kids, football was sort of out of the question. Babies and football didn't mix. So Charlie came up with a compromise. They would take the dog to the park and Chuck could throw the ball for him and play on the playground. That always kept him busy for a good long time. And when the baby was sleeping later they could play football at home.

So after going back home and getting the dog and a few tennis balls, the trio turned quartet headed for the park. Charlie's police dog, Jigsaw, was essentially Chuck's best friend. If the dog could come, you bet he would be right along side Chuck's heels. Charlie knew the German Shepherd would take care of the kid, he'd done it several times before when Hayley had still been with Charlie and had hosted a party at their house when Charlie was gone at work. One of her "friends" who was high and probably drunk, went into the kids room where Chuck had taken the dog and the baby and was hiding, and attempted to take the baby for God knows what reason. Leave it to Jigsaw though... who had been trained as a drug dog as part of his police work. The animal wasn't about to let this stranger who wreaked of drugs to go touching his family and lit into that guy like there was no tomorrow. He was just lucky Charlie got home when he did or the dog probably would have killed him.

At the park, Charlie found a bench to sit on while chuck raced about the park like a little hooligan with Jigsaw always just one step behind him. It didn't matter where the kid went, up the ladder, down the slide, across the swinging bridge... Jigsaw followed him, keeping a close eye on him. It was nice for Charlie to know that nothing would happen to Chuck if he looked away for a moment or two. Being Mr. Mom and a full time policeman was hard... harder than most people would imagine... but Charlie wouldn't trade his baby girl or Chuck for the world. Those kids meant everything to him, and the day someone managed to force Charlie to let them go would be the day that he died. He loved them, and even though it was hard, this life was better than he possibly could have imagined it being.

[/size]

[Anastasia Hart]

<sub><sup>Ana was having a tough enough time adjusting to this new place, and she couldn't help but wonder how difficult it must be for her son, Tristan. He may only be just over a year old, but Ana had brought him away from everything he had ever known, everything which was ever familiar to him; his room, his family, his few young friends, his favorite places to play. Ana thought about this as she sat in her bed their first morning in their new house. Most everything was moved in, with the help of a few people her father had hired and it was starting to feel like home, at least to her. It wasn't even 8 o'clock yet, but she had always been an early riser, even if Tristan was the exact opposite. Still, he would be up soon calling for his Mommy in his babble talk, though it was slowly becoming more distinct.

Ana figured she should get up for the day and decide what to do. So she rode from her bed, took a quick shower and tossed on a comfy pair of jeans and a nice flowy blouse, why not dress up a little bit? At least for once. She headed down stairs and made herself eggs, while she heated up some baby food and a bottle for Tristan, since she knew he would be up soon. And of course, right before nine, she heard him upstairs and hurried to his side. "Good morning, sleepy-head." She smiled down to him in his crib before scooping him in her arms and getting him ready just as she had done herself. Once his diaper was changed, and he had fresh clothes on, Ana brought him downstairs and sat him in his high chair with his breakfast all prepared.

She sat beside him, helping him sthingy in his baby food, and occasionally taking a bite of her food. Ana remembered when her father had offered to hire a full time nanny for when they moved here. She couldn't believe he would even say such a thing, Ana wanted to spend every moment she could with Tristan and would never give that time up for someone else. If she did, she might miss something, and she wanted to be involved in Tristan's life as much as possible. As she sat there and fed him she said, "So, what should we do today?" To which her son actually managed to say something along the lines of 'Ba.' What could that mean she thought, but then she saw he was pointing to something in the corner of the room... his favorite ball! "Oh, ball!" She said, now understanding. But that small thing gave her an idea. Why not take Tristan out with his ball to play? Maybe to the park?

No more than an hour later, Ana had Tristan buckled into his car seat in the back of her Jeep, and the two were on their way. Ana was excited to finally be out and about her new home, maybe she could meet some new people, maybe parents with their kids! She couldn't even imagine how great it would be to have a friend, or friends, for Tristan, she was sure he would feel at home instantly that way. When they arrived, Ana picked Tristan out of his car seat and put his diaper bag on one shoulder, and a back pack with more supplies on the other and began to walk through the park. She looked for a good place for them to start, or for Tristan to practice walking (which he was becoming quite good at) and then she spotted a man with two children. Ana was so excited that she had to hold back from running over. She smiled as she walked over and sat beside the man on a nice bench.

He seemed to be watching a young boy, who no doubt was his son, they looked very alike. She saw he had baby with him also. She sat Tristan on her lap, and he shyly buried his face in her chest, which he often did when new people were around, though she didn't mind. Ana looked directly at this man and smiled. "Hi." She said, putting her hand out to greet this man. "My name is Anastasia Hart, or Ana for short, and this is Tristan." She tried to slow down her voice a little. "I just saw that you had children and I couldn't get over here quickly enough," She said honestly, "I'm just trying to help my son get used to his new home." She finished, still smiling. Ana also couldn't help but wonder where this man's wife was, but when she saw no ring on his finger, she wondered about a girlfriend, or even that he possibly misplaced his ring. Tristan was slowly beginning to show his face and smiled at the man, and he smiled wider when he saw the young little girl; Tristan was a sucker for anything smaller than he was. Just to keep the conversation going, Ana then said, ".. Is that your son over there? He looks just like you." And handsome at that, but she decided she better not say that, some thoughts are better kept to yourself.</sup></sub>

[Charlie Parker]

More and more Charlie had been finding that women seemed more... fearless... perhaps when it came to introducing themselves to a guy who had a baby with him. He found the occurrence rather strange, considering normally a guy with a baby indicated that there would be a wedding ring on his finger and a loving wife at home... but then again, what did he know? Maybe having kids really was more appealing to women. Not that Charlie was really looking for someone, and he definitely wasn't using his children as bait.

As Pinewood's most notorious police man, it was difficult for him to go anywhere without being recognized. In a place like Pinewood, the local celebrities were usually the high end riders, or the police who made the news regularly. For such a small quiet town, the police had to be rather active in the community, and generally the little things they did seemed big to the small town people who made up Pinewood's population. Though, admittedly, since Sebastian got hitched and Charlie's ex-fiance, Hayley, left town, things had quieted down considerably. Charlie would never admit to anyone except maybe Seb or Anthony that Hayley had caused or attracted most of the trouble in the town, but it was true, she certainly had. Now that she was gone his job was a lot easier.

His story was long and complicated with twists that you wouldn't ever expect in the history of a very law abiding policeman like Charlie, and most of the details he didn't generally share with people. He wasn't exactly proud of a lot of the things he did in his younger years, and he would much rather not broadcast them to the world. The Hayley incident, for example, still stung like hell when it was brought up, and he really didn't like to talk about it much. He had loved her, and she broke his heart about twenty too many times before he finally had to cut his losses and give up on her.

He really wasn't all that sure how to respond to... Ana... at first, since most of what she said came through in a flurry of words before he even really had time to process that there was someone sitting next to him. It took him a moment to notice her offered hand as he tried to process everything that she had said, then decided to just go with the introduction and response to the question, considering anything else he might say could potentially come off as prying. He couldn't help it, he was a cop, interrogating people was his job, and sometimes he had a hard time keeping general conversation and his job from running together... so he tried to say as little as possible without coming across as rude or standoffish.

Charlie Parker. he said with a smile and nod as he shook her hand then released it again. He's adopted, actually... but this one is mine. he added looking down to the drowsy baby girl in his arms. He had adopted Chuck after the break up with Hayley. She'd tried to get full custody of Melody, and when that failed, she just took off and left. Charlie knew that she loved Chuck and Melody, but she was unstable, and he didn't want any harm to come to either of the two children. Being only 5 when his mom took off, Chuck didn't really understand what had happened, and since Charlie loved him as if he really was his, he went the route of adopting him. He deserved to have someone constant in his life, and there was no way Charlie was just going to toss him into the system and hope he survived.

Where are you from? he asked... hoping that didn't come off as sounding too interrogation like. He had been told a time or two that whenever he asked questions he mad it sound like he was interrogating the person he was talking to, and he certainly didn't intend for it to be that way. Melody was already half asleep by this point and didn't seem too interested in what was going on around her. She was just barely a year old, and every bit a daddy's girl. The way her tiny hand was wrapped around Charlie's finger was proof enough of that... no one doubted the trouble she would cause Charlie as she got older. With her curly blond hair and big blue eyes, she was going to break a lot of hearts and give Charlie multiple heart attacks before she finally found someone Charlie was willing to give her away to. She was his first child, no way would he give her up easily.

[Anastasia Hart]

<sup><sub>Ana used a free hand to grab Tristan's sippy cup from his diaper bag. The little boy was slowly learning how to use that as compared to a bottle and was getting closer each day to holding it on his own. Sometimes she would just look at her son and wonder how his father, Nick could just walk away from him. She wished Nick could have seen his face just once and she knew he would have fallen in love. Ana re-fell in love with her baby each and every day; when he laughed, when he smiled, even when she had to change his diaper. It was all like a new adventure. Ana had even tried to call Nick after Tristan was born; multiple times, and just as he had done when she informed him of the pregnancy, he ignored her. At first she was angry, and then extremely sad, but she had come to terms with the entire situation since then and had decided that the only thing she felt for Nick was sorry for him. It was his loss, and even though Tristan had his eyes, his smile and his light skin tone, and as much as it hurt, Ana knew that someday Nick would regret his decision and would realize how much he had really lost.

Ana watched as the young boy and his dog, and she smiled. She was excited for day that Tristan could keep up with a dog and run like that; she would buy him a dog, and that dog would be his best friend. It was then that Ana was brought back to reality and remembered she was speaking to somebody sitting right beside her. Her son continued to drink his cup, with a small bit of help from his Mom as this man introduced himself, Charlie Parker. He said as he shook her hand. Ana nodded and smiled, which she almost always was, even to the point her cheeks hurt. Shortly after, Charlie said, He's adopted, actually... but this one is mine. Ana felt her cheeks get hot, and she was clearly blushing. She almost said, 'oops' out loud and wanted to cover it up by saying that the two really did look alike, but decided it was probably better to just drop it and move on. Although when he mentioned the baby, Ana did look at her, and could definitely see some resembling features between her and her father, much more distinct than it had been with the young boy. But, again, she dropped it right then and there.

Ana found herself watching the young boy, though, again, and smiling, once again thinking of her own son in her lap. It was at that point that he handed back his sippy cup and attempted to be released from his mother's arms. Ana decided there would be no harm in letting him down, he had loved walking since he had started and the only way to get fully stable was practice. So she put him down and allowed him to walk around as he pleased, within reason, and she just kept him in the corner of her eye at all times. Though, Ana turned her head back towards Charlie for he was speaking to her, Where are you from? He asked, and Ana found nothing at all out-of-the-ordnary about his way of asking. She simply thought of it as a question she would ask anybody she were first meeting. "Oh, I'm from North Salem, New York." She said, and then realized she was in West Virginia, and he probably had no idea what she was talking about. "It's about an hour from the city, right on the Connecticut border." She explained with a smile. "How about yourself?" She asked simply, "How long have you been here in Pinewood?" She now hoped she wasn't being too personal.

But Ana didn't want the conversation to end directly after that, so she attempted to come up with a question that wasn't too prodding, but would continue an easy conversation on. Maybe his occupation? She thought. Or ask about his dog? She continued to ponder, though she couldn't stop herself from continuously looking back at his left ring finger. She wasn't as curious about whether he was married or not, but rather if he was in a similar situation to herself. Having somebody to relate to about being a single parent after a bad break up would mean the world to her, and it would also be incredible to have someone to talk to about those type of things. Then again, even knowing somebody with children was more than she had ever had before, so she figured that she better not push it. But she found herself speaking without meaning to or wanting to. "By the way, I hope i'm not being rude, but i noticed you aren't wearing a wedding ring..." Ana instantly clamped her hands over her mouth. She really hadn't meant to say that.

These were the times that Ana knew she was still a teenager, almost 20, but still 19 and still a teenager. Plus, she did miss some of her senior year of high school when she became pregnant and sometimes wished to go back and finish that experience. But right then, blurting something out like that, without even thinking about it and then instantly blushing, like she had before, and covering her mouth, made her feel slightly childish. She was almost tempted to get up and walk away, but she knew that would only make it worse. She forced herself to look back at him and could only clearly manage an "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry..." Ana wasn't sure what else to say. "I really.. I just... I'm very sorry." She felt so rude and prodding. She just turned her attention back to both her child, and Charlie's son, she was trying to do anything to just stop talking. There was really nothing else to say. And if anything made her feel better about anything and everything, it would definitely be Tristan.</sub></sup>

[Charlie Parker]

They talk about irony all the time, but usually in relation to some movie or T.V show. It doesn’t really happen in real life does it? Well, occasionally it does. There are small ironies, like dreaming about something that later happens, or talking about someone and then they walk up, or meeting someone in the last place both of you ever thought you would see the other. Then there are the ironies that are rare and far between. The ironies that happen only once or twice in a life time. The ironies that change life as you know it. Such irony had been fate’s twisted sense of humor in Charlie's life, none of them had been in any way pleasant, and all of them had nearly destroyed him, until now.

Charlie had been your typical teenage guy, full of himself, thought he was invincible and all that good stuff. Graduating at the age of 16 didn’t help any of that at all. He was smart, athletic, and popular. He was the kid that everyone wanted to be, and he took it all for granted. He took it for granted that is, until fate’s first irony hit. After high school he’d trained to be a policeman. In his off time, he would hit all the clubs. Unfortunately, on the job one night, he had to go to one of the clubs he went to regularly, and make an arrest. Someone who knew him, and was exceedingly drunk, got mad at him for “betraying them.” Just as Charlie cuffed the guy he was arresting he turned around to take him out to the patrol car that had just arrived and BAM! A bullet to the chest. How was that for a thank you for arresting an armed and dangerous man who was wanted for three counts of first degree murder and possibly saving our lives?

Next irony to hit. He was deathly allergic to morphine which happened to be the only drugs the medics had on hand. Turns out it was the only drug anyone had on hand, and he would have to wait 24 hours before anyone could get anything he could actually take. Imagine getting shot and having to deal with the pain for 24 hours with no meds to ease it a bit. It was more than pain, it was like walking through hell and barely making it out alive. At one point it got so bad he wished that bullet would have been three inches down and four inches to the left…his heart. He wished he could just die so that the pain would go away.

When he had joined the mounted police, he had wanted to do something dangerous that involved horses, and this seemed like the best way to get that. Unfortunately, fate decided to turn that on him as well. While riding down the street one night on the late shift, they stopped to check out a car that had the plates pulled off. As they’d expected, it was stolen. Also as expected, the guy who’d stolen it had run out of gas, parked it on the side of the street, and was passed out on the back seat as drunk as anyone could possibly get and still be alive. While Charlie’s partner called it in, Charlie was over by the car attempting to get the guy to stand up long enough for him to get cuffs on him and keep him awake long enough to explain his rights…not an easy task. That was when he heard the screech of tires. He turned around just in time to see a van come roaring around the corner and head directly for his partner and his waiting horse. Before he could say even so much as a word, both of them were lying on the cold hard ground. The man was dead, the horse dying.

In one night, the two things he had wanted most were taken from him. The danger had killed his partner, his close friend. The danger had killed his horse, his closest companion. Every time he heard a gunshot now he could see the barrel of that gun against Brigadier’s head, he could see the blood everywhere on the street. He couldn’t take it, everything he had joined for no longer brought him pride, no longer thrilled him. In fact, it only haunted him day in and day out. He left the force, never intending to return, though the possibility was still there.

Yet another irony struck him, and this irony was not one he considered one of those cruel twists of fate. This one he considered more of an act of fate to make up for all those others that life had thrown at him...but it wouldn't stay that way. Hayley had asked him several times...when she was high...to marry her, and he had always just shrugged it off. Now though, it didn't seem quite so ridiculous. Sure, nothing like that would be happen for a long while, but it was still feasible in the future. So if he thought that, why not just marry her right then? As before mentioned, Charlie was the sort of guy who wanted to make sure he had found the one. He was pretty sure he had, but only time could tell. Besides, she was still only 19, and in his opinion, that was pretty young to be getting married. Unfortunately, this is where the cruel part comes in. After two years of trying to deal with her drug addictions, her constant screaming, her eating disorders, her cutting, her bipolar disorder, the numerous break-ups, and drinking, he simply couldn't handle it anymore, and finally informed her of that. It was about the hardest thing he'd ever had to do, telling her that things weren't going to work out between them. Then she left him, and their kids and sort of disappeared for a while. Now Charlie was a single dad of two, and worked full time as a cop, not to mention the number of times he had to go help Anthony sort out issues with Sebastian.

Then his cousin moved in with him until she was 18 and could live on her own, and that became another cruel twist of fate. He was already stressed to the max, and then when she started sleeping around with Anthony's little brother, he was about ready to kill someone, and Andrew was the unfortunate one who pushed Charlie over the edge and so became the one who was the victim of his anger. Of course, Andrew deserved it, and he'd had it coming ever since he'd arrived here, he was just very unlucky that Charlie was the one who did it...and that everyone there knew better than to stand between Charlie and his prey. If Sebastian hadn't stopped him eventually though, he probably would have killed him...he was just that far gone.

Yes, fate had it in for Charlie, and he was looking forward to the day when it finally threw him something decent that wasn't going to make him want to shoot the next person that does so much as one thing to irritate him. He had taken a bit of time off, which had helped to relieve the stress a bit to the point that he had it back under control again, though most people would be smart enough to not push him. It was going to be a long while before Charlie was fully back to the carefree guy he used to be, and one wrong move just might push him over the edge again. So that was another reason behind his taking on fewer shifts than before.

He was about to answer her question about how long he'd been here, which was all his life with the exception of the year he spent in New York City as a mounted police man before returning here to a quieter lifestyle, when she brought up the lack of a ring on his finger. There never had been one. He'd come within two months of getting on... twice... but now it had been a year since he really even had a steady girlfriend. It made life difficult for sure, being a single dad, but he was working through it.

It's alright, He said, offering the obviously flustered girl a smile, I'm not married. He didn't have a girlfriend either, for that matter, but he figured he didn't really need to add that in there. If she asked, he would tell her he didn't... at least not at this point... but unless she asked he wouldn't say any more on the matter. He was a single dad, and he wasn't ashamed of it. It wasn't like he went around getting girls pregnant all the time just for the sake of sleeping around and not bothering to be careful. Chuck was the result of Sebastian and Hayley doing it that way, but Melody was the result of him really truly being in love with Hayley and believing that he would spend the rest of his life with her. It just didn't work out that way.

In an attempt to make her more comfortable with the current situation and get off the topic that had caused her so much embarrassment, he went back to their original subject casually, as if she hadn't ever brought up that he wasn't wearing a wedding ring. I've been in Pinewood nearly all my life except between 19 and 20 when I was working in New York. If there was one thing Charlie was good at, it was just rolling with things. To be a policeman and a good interrogator, he had to be able to do that, so he was quite well practice in the art of hiding any emotion brought up by any subject. It was a part of his job that had become a part of his life.

[Anastasia Hart]

<sup><sub>As much as Ana was embarrassed about what she had said to Charlie, she was also glad, for a few reasons. One being Ana was finally finding her own voice, almost growing up in a way. She no longer had to have her Dad or older brothers protect her, or ask the things she didn't want to- she could do that herself now. Being shy was something that came over her after Nick had ended things upon finding out about her pregnancy. Ana had gone from a loud, fearless, even sometimes obnoxious girl to shy and quiet. She had become afraid of rejection. If somebody could say 'no' that easily and without any explanation, especially somebody she loved very much and cared about, what was to say that somebody else might do the same? Ana was pretty shocked that she still had those thoughts. Like with Charlie just then, she felt so regretful after asking him that question, but why? It was a little personal, sure, but Ana didn't have anything to really be afraid of any more.

Another reason she was glad she had said something about it was that, depending on the answer, she felt as though Charlie could potentially be somebody she really related to. Who knows about his past relationships, but was it possible he had a rough break-up with his ex? Even the mother of his child? Sure, but not necesarily. Ana was just glad that Charlie's answer was I'm not married, as opposed to, "Oh, I just left my ring at home." Because if they could relate to one another about anything, it was being single parents, and that was more than enough for Ana. Although, the talk of marriage brought her right back to thinking of Tristan's father, Nick. It hurt to think about, and even more so to talk about, which was why Ana usually avoided the subject; she never even spoke of him to Tristan. What was she going to say about him? And where to begin? She thought...

"Nicholas James Alexander was his named." She would tell her son. "He was quite the catch in high school... Captain of the football and lacrosse teams, handsome, sweet and a senior. How I was able to snatch him over every other girl in my school, especially only being a sophomore was beyond me, but I felt like the luckiest girl in the world." Ana thought that as she was telling Tristan she would probably smile at that thought. "We dated for a little over two years. When we were still in high school, it was like a dream, he opened doors for me, he always payed, he respected my boundaries, I couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend. Even when he went to school, he didn't go far and would visit me almost every weekend, or I would drive up to see him..." Ana would then sigh at this part, "But then, when eh started his sophomore year in college, he started getting into heavy drinking and drugs, but mainly just drinking and boy was he an angry drunk. Seeing him was no longer a joy, which hurt because I was so deeply in love with him. And then over Christmas break that year, I thought we could maybe try and rekindle our relationship, but all he wanted to do was have sex, and ended up forcing me into in." Ana then closed her eyes, she decided telling Tristan wasn't a good idea, not for a very very long time.

As she tried to fix her extremely twisted emotions, Charlie was at complete ease, which made Ana feel much better. He had moved on from the previous subject, which also calmed Ana. It did make her curious, though, as to how he became so talented at speaking with such ease, and for that matter, changing subjects in the same manor. But, she would try and save her long list of questions for later. For now, she sat back against the bench, trying to relax a little bit, but watched Tristan as she did so. Her little boy was now sitting in the grass, right in the midst of Charlie's son and dog running around. Tristan was highly amused at the pair and as they would run past him, he would erupt in laughter, sometimes so hard that he would tip himself over. Ana couldn't help but smile, she was glad Tristan was having fun and was seeming to already get used to his surroundings. She continued to keep an eye on him, but he really didn't seem to be going anywhere.

So, she felt perfectly safe giving half of her attention to Charlie as he spoke, while the other half was still on Tristan. She couldn't help it, she was his Mom. I've been in Pinewood nearly all my life except between 19 and 20 when I was working in New York. He said, still with such ease. It was as though he should be reading a book, not having a conversation with her. Ana was going to ask what he was doing in New York, and why, considering New York was her home, she traveled to the city often as well, but then Ana decided to ask something else instead. "Okay, you've got to tell me how you do that!" She said and laughed slightly before she explained, "You talk like you should be.. I don't know.. an actor or something. I have never met somebody who speaks with such ease!" She said honestly, still laughing a little, both at her question and at Tristan, who was still rolling around with laughter in the grass.</sub></sup>

[Charlie Parker]

Charlie really wasn't one to talk much about himself on a regular basis. Part of it was just habit, after working so many years on the job it was just natural for him to inquire more about the other person than to tell about himself, and the other part was that he just wasn't that interested in the whole world knowing everything there was to know about him. It was sort of a dad thing, I suppose. In his younger more vain years, like any other young guy, he was always more than willing to talk himself up, but now that he was a single working dad, he had found his many limits and flaws, and most of the time all those things he thought were so great about himself when he was younger really didn't seem to matter all that much anymore.

No one doubted that in his mere 22 years of life he hadn't experienced more than most people at the age of 50 had. Some would even go so far as to say that he grew up too fast... and whenever anyone brought that up, Charlie just blamed Sebastian... after all, someone had to be the mature adult, otherwise they'd have been evicted from their apartment and been arrested more than once for only God knows what, and Seb sure wasn't going to step up to the plate. They were a strange group of friends. Sebastian was reckless and carefree, Anthony was happy go lucky and impossible to shoot down, and Charlie was the constantly over-worked, over-stressed, over-thinking mature one of the group. How in the world any of them stayed friends for as long as they did was indeed one of the greatest mysteries in the history of mankind.

Of course, considering Charlie decided to move out at the age of 16 when he graduated high school two years early, he sort of had to figure out how to be an adult at a premature age. He was really just using it as a way to rebel against his parents who wanted to coddle him until the day he died which really just ticked him off. But even so, he got quite the reality check when he discovered that it was a lot harder to make your own way than it appeared. If he wasn't do damn stubborn, odds were he probably would have moved back in with his parents after a few months, but he wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of getting what they wanted out of him.

Charlie had the same problem as Ana when it came to telling Melody about her mother... except he really had nothing good he could tell her. Yes, he had loved her, and yes, she was beautiful... but how was he supposed to tell her that her mother was a drug addict, alcoholic, and suicidal? Chuck already knew, for being only 6, that kid was definitely mature beyond his years, even though he didn't really understand why his mom had just left him. He knew Charlie wasn't his biological dad, but it didn't make any difference to him, Charlie had "saved him" from all of Hayley's other boyfriends who were just as bad as she was, and as far as Chuck was concerned, Charlie was better than his real dad because he was there and cared about him. Charlie figured he'd know what to say when Melody started asking about her though, and for now he wasn't going to worry about her.

He just smiled when she asked how he spoke so easily. He never really thought about it before, he'd always been this way. It was how he got out of trouble on a daily basis when he was younger, and how he was so good at his job now. Most people would be at a complete loss as to what to say to the sort of people Charlie dealt with at work on a regular basis. From drug dealers and users to thieves to people with anger management problems to people who were just freaks in general, he came in contact with all of them regularly. For that reason he was just extremely good at going with the flow and not letting anything affect him. He'd had people in interrogations just totally flip out and make an attempt at "attacking" him, and he still just rolled with it. It was all just a part of the job.

I'm a policeman and a single dad. he said with a grin, it's all a part of the job. He had to be pretty good at making everything seem like it was just fine when he was talking to Chuck. Especially when he'd had to tell him that Hayley wasn't coming back. He'd had no idea what to say to the five year old to explain what had happened, but when it came right down to it, the words just sort of came and went, and apparently whatever he had said had worked, because Chuck seemed to be okay with it. He had always thought it was just something most everybody was good at... but then again, what did he know? It was entirely possible that it was just a gift that only a few people had, and he happened to be one of them.

[/size]

[Anastasia Hart]

<sup><sub>Ana was suddenly very glad that she had moved away. Even though she was leaving the home she had always lived in, and grew up in, it was the better decision for her and her son. Ana had never been the child of her family to act out (that part belonged to her eldest brother), and leaving home was the first thing out of the ordinary she had ever done, besides getting pregnant, that is. None of her family had understood her decision though. "Why leave when there are so many opportunities for you here?" Her mother had said, but Ana was sure that was just a Mom not wanting to lose her child, especially when her father agreed. Ana thought her siblings would be more accepting, but they had asked questions along the same lines. Even Ana's friends, the few who had stuck around after Ana had a child that is, wondered why Ana would want to leave her home and go some place where she only had one acquaintance near by, and that was a friend of her parents.

At the time, Ana wasn't sure what to say, besides that she needed to go, whether it be she needed a change in her life or needed to escape the past that consisted of her ex, Nick, she wasn't sure, but after sitting on this bench with Charlie, even for a short while, Ana thought she knew. It was to get away from people who she had always known. Away from the town where everyone around her age judged her for having a young child, not only that, but also where everybody knew the entire back story to her having her son, and the back story to most of her life as well. Especially since her family was so well-known in the area, Ana was tired of just being "one of the Hart girls" she wanted to be known as Ana Hart, or even just Ana. Instead of being, Ana Hart, that girl who was pregnant in high school or Ana Hart, the one who had a young son but wasn't in a relationship, or even the simple, Ana Hart, where even her last name gave so much away. Here, as cliche as it may sound, it was different.

It was nice to meet someone who didn't know any of that about her. And also somebody who had young kids and was in her general age range, at home, her closest friend with a child the same age as Tristan was 34. And Ana had only met them through her parents' business. Here in Pinewood, Ana was able to be herself, while at the same time being whoever she wanted to be, it felt so nice to have that. Just then, Charlie spoke, still with clear ease, which Ana was beginning to almost envy in a way, I'm a policeman and a single dad, he said, to which Ana just smiled. She was guessing that was why he had been in New York, so her second question was now answered, he continued by saying, it's all a part of the job, with a smile. Ana gave a polite chuckle with this, though she wasn't sure why, maybe because being a single parent as well, she agreed. She was going to ask him about being a policeman, she had never known one, as a matter of fact, but her phone rang inside of her bag. Ana guessed it was her mother, checking up on her, as usual.

But Ana was shocked to see the name NICK showing on the front screen, it was followed by 'DO NOT PICK UP' but Ana couldn't help herself. She tried to ignore it and just put it away, but when it rang for a second time, she quickly turned to Charlie. "I'm sorry," She said, "But could you excuse me for just a second?" She asked, smiling, "And maybe keep an eye on Tristan? He should be fine and I will be right back." Ana was so nervous and anxious that she didn't even wait for a response, but managed a quick, thank you as she walked away. About 10 steps away, the phone was on its final ring, And flipped it open. "Hello?" She said simply, even if she knew who it was. "What the hell, Ana, where are you?! I go to your house today to be told go away and that you moved?!" Nick was completely screaming from the other line. Ana tried to cover the speaker so others wouldn't hear his outburst. Ana tried to stay calm. "I don't know why you went to my house. You haven't seemed to bother talking to me in over 2 years." She said to him, trying to breathe deeply in order to keep calm.

Nick was far from calm though. "Don't give me that crap Ana. That kid is as much mine as it is yours. I want to see him, I want custody rights!" He said firmly, still yelling. Ana was shocked, custody rights? He wanted to see him? Was that a joke... "Why now?!" Ana said, her voice firm as well. "You haven't cared at all, don't pull this. We both know you don't care. And you don't deserve to see my son. I have done well raising him on my own." Ana could feel her voice cracking. "Well guess what? I'm his father, and I have my rights, and you just wait until my lawyer gets a hold of you." He yelled, and then hung up. Ana cupped her face in her hands, trying to hold back tears. She couldn't believe that had just happened, their first conversation since they broke up, and he is angry at her?! He was the one who walked away! He was the one who ended things and never wanted to see Tristan! Ana's knees were shaking, she didn't know what to do. Call a lawyer? Call her Mom? For now, she knew she just needed to sit down and breathe.

She walked, very slowly, back over to the bench and sat down. Ana was taking deep breathes, trying as hard as she could to not let tears spill over her eyes. She didn't know what to think anymore, or what she should believe. She was mostly just in shock that Tristan's father and a person she thought she loved could be so hateful towards her. She didn't even deserve a "Hi, I miss you." or a "Hey, maybe we could go for coffee sometime." or even a "I know it's been a while, but I want to see my son." No, of course not. Nick had to be nasty. Ana was in disbelief that he had changed so much. The man she had been in love with would never speak to her like that, to anyone like that for that matter. Thinking about it, and reliving the conversation was only making things worse. Ana felt a few tears make their way down her cheeks, and a quick sniffle escape her also. Before she knew it, her face was back in her hands and she was sobbing.

She tried to contain herself, but it took a few minutes. Ana then remembered Charlie was sitting right next to her, and Ana was suddenly thankful she hadn't worn make up. She breathed deeply as she tried to stop herself from sobbing, and wiped her puffy eyes and red cheeks as she brought her head back up and turned to Charlie. "Sorry." She was able to managed and wiped her face once more. Ana wasn't really sure what else to say so she then said simply, trying to lighten the mood, "Baby Daddy trouble." With an added shrug and a chuckle. Ana then looked out to see Tristan walking quickly towards her, smiling. He made his way right towards her and hugged her legs. It was moments like this that reminded Ana why she loved to be a mother, and also reminded her why no matter what ever happened with Nick, she would always fight for her son Tristan, and what was best for him. That was what is was to be a Mom in her eyes, putting your child before yourself, no matter what.</sub></sup>

[Charlie Parker]

Charlie hadn't ever seen himself as a dad when he was younger. He was basically a horrible older brother... always picking on his brother Chase. He and Sebastian got into the biggest trouble you could possibly imagine for abandoning Chase whenever they possibly could so that they could go out to parties and whatnot without the obnoxious little brother tagging along. He never really looked out for Chase... he was too busy being two years older than he was. He wasn't really the best son either. Unlike his little brother, Charlie was a problem child. His parents tried to coddle him, and he just pushed them away more than before. He wanted to be independent and do things on his own... and unfortunately his way of doing things meant he was going to rebel against anything and everything his parents wanted him to do.

Responsibility had been anything but Charlie's middle name when he was in high school. Of course, having graduated at 16 didn't help his ego any. He got himself emancipated from his parents and moved out with Sebastian into an apartment they'd been planning to get since... well forever. Neither of them were all that fond of their parents and it was sort of problematic. When Charlie got emancipated, he also cut off all financial ties with his parents. He was going to do things on his own if it killed him. Of course that meant a lot more work than was good for him. Aside from going to the police Academy, he also had to work to pay his rent, and that was when responsibility hit him hard and fast.

Sebastian had offered several times to tell his parents that Charlie had moved out so they would pay the other half of the rent as well, but Charlie always refused. At 16 years old, Charles Robert Parker became an adult. It may have been early, but he was independent, he could be responsible, he was definitely mature enough, and no one doubted that he was smart enough. Even so, he never would have imagined being a dad of two kids by the time he was 22... and a single dad at that. Back in the day, his life plan was to be the heroic police man that all the girls loved, enforcing the law and living it up. Now his life plan was just to provide for his kids and make sure they had the best life they possibly could.

When Brody came, it made Charlie's life so much easier. With all the shifts he took on with work, trying to balance that out with his kids was difficult for him. He would take Chuck to school, drop Melody off with either Alex or Lexi depending on the day, go to work until 2:00, then go pick Chuck up from school, take him to whoever was taking care of them for the day, go back to work until midnight, then come home, thank whoever was there taking care of them, crash for a few hours, get up and repeat the process all over again. It was exhausting and stressful, but Charlie was going to make sure he had a college fund set aside for both those kids if it killed them. Even if they decided against going to college, he wanted to be able to give them whatever they needed to succeed.

Once Brody got there though, Charlie didn't have to worry about getting off shift in the middle of the day to get Chuck from school, and he didn't have to worry about finding someone to take both of them all day on the weekends. Yes, Brody did have work with the fire station, but he was a lot better at finding babysitters than Charlie was. He still couldn't quite figure how he always managed to do it, but somehow whenever he had to leave, someone they knew and trusted was always right across the street and, according to Brody, they were always willing to take on the kids for a while... though Charlie had a sneaking suspicion that Brody just dumped the kids on them and took off without giving them a chance to protest.

Charlie smiled and nodded when she asked if he would excuse her for a moment. What else would he say? He had never understood that question, would anyone ever refuse to excuse them for a moment? It seemed like the sort of thing that should have been used as a comment, not a question... but then again, Charlie was known for over thinking silly things like that, and to most people it had probably never even crossed their minds. Anthony and Sebastian used to get annoyed with his constant over thinking of everything, but by now the three of them had been friends for so long, that most of the time the other two just rolled their eyes and ignored him. It was good to have friends who knew you well enough to know when to stop paying any attention to you.

As she walked away, Charlie did his best to not pay attention to what she was saying, but it was kind of hard to ignore. She was definitely upset about something, that much he knew, but he forced his attention away and back to Chuck who was still running about like a mad man who was imagining things coming after him. His energy never ceased to amaze Charlie, and he had no doubt that all the energy came from Sebastian's side of the family. He felt bad for Chuck, not knowing who his dad was, and more often than not he really wanted to tell him who it was, but Seb didn't want Chuck to know... so Charlie just never told him. Besides, Chuck seemed happy with accepting Charlie as his dad, even though he knew he wasn't his biological father, and Sebastian really wasn't a very good father figure anyway.

When Ana returned, Charlie really wasn't quite sure what to do. He had dealt with these sorts of situations many times in his job, and often with Hayley before he broke up with her, but it was different when you were a police man or a fiance than when it was someone who you had just met. For one thing, the people who broke down sobbing when he was on the job were usually either drunk or trying to get out of whatever citation they were about to get... or both. With Hayley she had almost always been high on something or another or just being way over dramatic and he had come to expect it, but this... he hadn't seen it coming at all, and he definitely wasn't close enough with her to make some sort of attempt at comforting her. He was just at a loss as to what to do or say.

He was about to say something, but she spoke up first, apologizing for the crying and explaining that it was trouble with her baby's dad. Something to do with custody, no doubt. Charlie had gone through all of that with Hayley, right down to the court "trials." Of course no one in their right mind would have given custody to Hayley over Charlie. She was a drug addict and an alcoholic. Her job wasn't steady by any means, and she was totally unpredictable. Charlie, on the other hand, had been working as a police man ever since he was 18, was very well known as a strictly law abiding citizen and was always the picture of calm and cool... even when he was so stressed he felt like he was going to kill someone... at least most of the time anyway. It hadn't been hard, but it was unpleasant all the same.

You don't need to apologize. he said earnestly, if the guy is bad enough to get you all worked up within five minutes, I don't blame you. Besides, from the looks of things you're doing just fine without him, and if he hasn't been there for you up to this point, he doesn't deserve so much as a postcard in my opinion. Yes, Charlie was making assumptions, like that the guy hadn't been in the baby's life at all... but he was a cop, he was good at making assumptions that were very much so the way things were. He'd learned a lot in his years of work, and from the way she was so upset, he had a feeling that this had just dropped on her out of the blue and she hadn't been expecting it. He felt sorry for her, since he knew what it was like to go through all that trouble, but he was certain she would be alright. She just seemed like the sort who could get through things like this.

[/size]