When Fred saw Charlie standing practically at attention next to the bed, which had been made so precisely it didn't seem possible, she almost wanted to cry. This little girl was a child, not an automaton.
"Charlie," she started to say before stopping, not sure what to say to her for a minute. It was almost as though she had stepped out of the Annie musical had watched when she was a child. Walking over to the bed, she sat down and reached out to take Charlie's hands, drawing her over to her. "I know we're going to have some rules and such, because everyone needs rules, but...this isn't the orphanage. You don't have to feel like you have to serve or do anything like that. Rupert and I...we want you to feel at home here."
She gave her a gentle smile and ran her hand over Charlie's temple before brushing a strand of hair back. "If you hadn't noticed, I'm still in my nightclothes too, so don't worry about your clothes not being clean. We'll take them downstairs and dump them in the washer after I let Molly out, and then we'll find something to eat. Rupert and I have never been very formal about breakfast. And after breakfast, you can take a bath, and then we'll get dressed and go shopping to get you some new things since it doesn't look like you have a lot."
If the rest of her clothes were as worn as her nightgown, Charlie was definitely going to need the new clothes. Standing up, she took her hand and reached for the small suitcase Charlie had brought with her, leading her out of the guest bedroom. "And since I'm pregnant and having cravings, maybe we can convince Rupert to stop and get us some ice cream on the way home. There's a really good cafe down the road with the best ice cream."
Charlie looked at Fred and chewed on her bottom lip. She was rather sure this was just another orphanage and there were rules she had to follow. She didn’t want to get in trouble, or have Rupert or Fred upset with her because she didn’t want to get in trouble.
But, suddenly Fred was saying it wasn’t an orphanage and a blush crept over Charlie’s face. “Oh. I didn’t know,” she whispered as Fred came into the room.
She looked up at her and smiled, especially when she mentioned shopping and ice cream. “My mum and I used to go shopping and have ice cream afterwards,” she commented as she walked out of the room with Fred.
“G’morning you two,” Rupert said as he walked out of the bedroom, yawning and stretching. “Oh, let me take that for you, Fred.”
Charlie watched as Rupert took the suitcase from Fred’s hand before giving her a kiss. She smiled because they reminded her a lot of her parents. “Fred’s going to take me shopping today,” she said as they went down the staircase. “Are you coming with?”
“I am. I have to get a new rocking chair,” he said before holding the kitchen door open for the both of them. “I rather broke the last one.”
“You break things?” Charlie asked in amazement before she sat down at the kitchen table.
Rupert laughed a little as he set the tea kettle out before taking down two glasses so he could get Charlie and his wife some juice. “Not all the time but, yes, sometimes I do,” he said before getting the orange juice out of the icebox.
"Your mom sounds like she was a wonderful person," Fred told Charlie. She felt so bad for this little girl, having lost so much only to have the weight of the world put on her shoulders too. It made her want to protect her even though Charlie was supposed to be protecting people from the monsters.
Well, if she could help it, she would, Fred decided. Charlie deserved it.
In the hallway, she smiled at her husband, handing him the suitcase before giving him a kiss. "Thanks, sweetie." As they headed downstairs, she couldn't help but laugh a little at Rupert mentioning that they needed a new rocking chair. Looking back on it, she supposed that yesterday had been rather funny more than anything else. After all, they had plenty of time still to get ready for the baby, and Rupert was right - they'd work everything out.
While Rupert got the juice out, Fred let Molly out into the yard before opening Charlie's suitcase and sorting through her clothes. There wasn't much there, only enough to make two small loads really - light and dark. Fred shook her head, definitely glad they were taking her shopping. Once she had it sorted, she started the washer and tossed the first group of clothes in before walking over to the small table in the kitchen and going over to the cabinet.
"Your first load of clothes are in the wash, Charlie. Now, is there anything in particular you like to eat? We have toast...and eggs, I think...and fruit..." She looked over at Rupert. "Do we have any cereal or do we still need to pick that up? I think we might have to go grocery shopping too while we're out."
Giles looked at Fred ad shrugged at her question. He really wasn’t a fan of cold cereal and the last time he’d seen a box of it in the house was after Willow and Charlotte had watched the house for them. “I’m not sure if we have any cereal,” he said as he looked through the cabinets. “We have oatmeal.”
“I don’t like oatmeal. Can I just have some toast and jam?” Charlie said.
“I think I can handle that.”
Giles turned on the oven and pulled out a sheet. He placed some bread on it and waited for the oven to warm up. While he was waiting, he went over to Molly’s bowls and washed them out so he could fill them up with food and water.
“May I help?” Charlie suddenly asked.
Giles nodded and watched her come over to him. He pulled out the plastic container they used to keep Molly’s dry food fresh. “Put two scoops in the red bowl. Only two because if you give her more, she’ll laze about all day, groaning,” he said.
“Dogs don’t groan,” Charlie said as she laughed and put the food in the bowl.
“I think they do,” Giles said. He gave Charlie a wink before going over to the oven to put the bread in.
Smiling, Fred watched Rupert and Charlie together as he showed her what to do to feed Molly. She rubbed her stomach, thinking that he was going to be such a good father. He was used to dealing with girls because of his job, and he cared so much.
"Molly would eat all day if we let her," Fred said as she walked over to the door and let said topic of conversation. Molly ran in and over to where Charlie was putting down the bowls, licking her face and hand before diving into her food. "I swear, sometimes she acts like we never feed her."
Walking over to the fridge, she pulled out the butter and jam and took them over to the table to set them down. She then took a sip of her orange juice before going to the cabinet and taking down three plates.
"Charlie, would you mind setting these on the table for me while I get out some knives and spoons?" she asked. "And then we should probably make some tea for Rupert since he's making our toast. What do you say?"
Charlie let out a small giggle when Molly came over to her and licked her face and hand. She carefully put the bowl on the floor and watched Molly eat her food for a moment before Fred spoke to her. She nodded her head and went to the tap. She washed her hands and then took the plates from Fred.
“I’ve helped my mum a lot with making tea. We used to have real tea parties,” she explained as she carefully sat the plates on the kitchen table. “We would go to the bakery and get scones and then come back to the house and have tea ready for my father when he returned from work.”
She went over to the counter and carefully unscrewed the top of the tea canister. Charlie knew the water should be done by Fred since she was never allowed to touch the kettle at her old home. “How many scoops?” she asked, looking over at Rupert.
“Two will be fine,” he said as he pulled the toast out of the oven.
Charlie carefully measured out two scoops of loose tea and waited for Fred to pour the hot water in.
Pulling out the silverware, Fred looked over at Charlie, smiling softly as she explained the tea parties she and her mother would have read for her father. She then glanced over at Rupert. There was just something about this little girl that made her wish she could make her life better.
"I used to have tea parties when I was younger but never with real tea," Fred told her as she set the tea cannister on the counter, then filled the electric kettle to heat the water. "Of course, most Americans only use tea bags anyway. My friend Wesley used to complain about that all the time. Said it wasn't proper tea if it wasn't loose tea."
Charlie seemed to know quite well what she was doing, asking Rupert how many scoops he wanted and measuring them out. Fred took the silverware over to the table to set with the plates. After she unscrewed the lids on the jam, she walked back over to the kettle which was finishing boiling. Picking it up, she poured the water into the pot, letting it steep while she got down Rupert's teacup.
"Go sit down, Charlie. We can take care of the rest of this," she told her. She gave Rupert a plate for the toast, then carried the tea over to the table and set it down. "Oh, I hope you like strawberry or black currant jam. I didn't think to ask, and this is all we have at the moment. If there's something else you like, we can pick it up later."
Once the tea was ready and the toast on the table, Giles sat down and placed a couple slices of toast on Charlie’s plate. He then handed her a knife and when she said she liked strawberry jam, he slid the jar over to her. He watched her for a moment, and when he was sure she could handle speading the jam on, he turned his attention to his own toast.
“What grade are you in, Charlie?” He asked as he placed some milk in his tea.
“Grade three. My primary school is in Devon, though,” she commented.
“That’s all right. There’s plenty of schools here in London.” Giles knew they would probably have to send her to a private one or tutor her themselves.
After he finished his tea and toast, Giles stood from the table. “I’m going to take a shower and you ladies can have the bathroom for whatever you need it for,” he said before leaning down and softly kissing Fred on the forehead. “Leave the dishes, love. I’ll clean up after my shower.”
School. That was something they were going to have take care of for Charlie, Fred realized as she nibbled at her toast and drank some more of her juice. But if they put her in a normal state-run school, she knew that was liable to bring problems, especially if the Council learned that they were sheltering her. Plus, there was the fact that Charlie would still need to learn to deal with her new powers - Fred didn't want her freaking out if something happened because she wasn't aware how strong she was now.
They'd figure it out, though. For right now, they needed to let Charlie get settled and then start helping her with her Slayer powers.
After they'd finished eating, Fred nodded when Rupert said he'd deal with the dishes after he showered. She gave him a kiss then smiled, watching him leave.
"Okay. Since we've been instructed to leave the dishes, I'm going to check on your clothes. Should be ready to put the first load into the dryer and start the next one." She stood up, groaning a bit. "Oof. Still getting used to having a baby on board."
She went to the small room off the kitchen and moved the first load of clothes to the dryer before starting the second. Charlie would at least have something to wear when they went shopping. Once she did that, she returned to Charlie.
"Is there anything in particular you'd like to look for while we're out?" Fred asked her, holding out her hand so they could go upstairs. "Any place you liked to go shopping, like Marks and Spencers or H&M?"
Charlie quietly ate her toast and when she was finished, she looked up at Fred. She knew what she wanted but she wasn’t sure if they would get it for her. They might think it was silly to spend money on something she didn’t even really need. She didn’t want them to get upset with her and make her go back to the orphanage. Charlie rather liked living with them.
When Fred held out her hand, Charlie took it and went upstairs with her. Rupert was just coming out of the bathroom and smiled at the two of them before slipping into the bedroom he shared with Fred. Charlie then walked into the guest bedroom and picked up her book bag.
“I don’t remember where my mum and I went shopping,” she quietly said as she sat down and looked up at Fred. “And there is something I want but you might think it’s stupid.”
She unzipped her book bag and pulled out her tattered copy of A Little Princess. “I used to have a whole stack full of books but I couldn’t bring them with me,” she explained as she careful put the book on the bed. “This is my favorite book of all time and I was wondering if I could have another copy. It doesn’t even have to be new. But if you think I shouldn’t get one, that’s all right too.”
"Well, that doesn't matter," Fred assured Charlie, letting go of her hand when they reached the guest bedroom. "We'll find a place that sells things that you'll love, I'm sure."
She furrowed her brow, however, when Charlie said there was something she wanted that they might think stupid, wondering what in the world that could be. Weren't children supposed to want grand and great things? Even if they couldn't possibly get it for her, Fred was sure she wasn't going to think it was stupid. After all, she had wanted a dragon as a pet as a child. Until her parents had explained that even if dragons had been real, it would have burned the crops with its fire breath and caused problems for the cows.
Then Charlie took out a worn and obviously many times read copy of A Little Princess. Fred looked down at it in amazement before looking over at her, a small lump coming to her throat. "This...this is your favorite book ever?" she asked softly before giving her a smile. "It's mine too. My parents got it for me for the first time when I was about your age, and I read it so many times, it fell apart."
She looked down at the book again, a thought coming to her. "Hold on just a moment," she told her before leaving the room and going into the small library they had set up for all their books. She looked through until she found what she was searching for, pulling her hardback copy of the book of the shelf and taking it back to Charlie.
"Here," she said, placing the book in her hands. "I want you to have this one. Maybe...maybe we could read it together? If you'd like, that is. It's been a while since I've had a chance to read it."
Charlie was glad Fred didn’t think she was stupid. She loved her books more than anything and didn’t understand why she couldn’t take all of them with her, along with her toys and clothes. She sometimes wondered if the things were still there but the nun said the house had been sold to someone else. Most likely they had thrown all of her things away.
Her brow furrowed when Fred walked out of the room. When she returned, Charlie’s eyes opened wide as she looked down at the book. It was much nice than the one she had when it was brand new. “Thank you!” she excitedly said as she stood up and gave Fred a tight hug.
“What’s going on?” Rupert asked, stepping into the room.
Charlie held up her book and grinned. “Fred gave it to me,” she proudly said.
“Not was nice of her,” Rupert said as he gave Fred a grin. “Why don’t the two of you get cleaned up and get ready to leave. They sooner we finish with the shopping, the sooner I can come home.”
“Don’t you like shopping for girl stuff?” Charlie asked, hopping off the bed.
“Not particularly,” Rupert said, making a small face.
Fred smiled and leaned over Charlie, wrapping her arms around her head in a hug since she was too short for her to hug properly. She felt a connection to the little girl, not just because of the book. There was something about her that Fred just felt a kinship with.
When Rupert came in, Fred looked up at her husband, laughing softly at his comments about shopping for girls. She shook her head and winked at him as she took Charlie's hand. "And the really funny thing is there's going to be yet another girl in the house besides us soon too." She gave him a kiss as they headed out of the room. "Can you check on the laundry and start the second load in the dryer when it's done?"
In the bathroom, Fred leaned over and turned on the faucet before plugging up the tub so Charlie could take a bath. She looked over at her, not sure whether or not she should stay or whether Charlie would want privacy while she bathed.
"Do you--would you like me to stay? If not, I can let you have some privacy while you get cleaned up. You can just call for me when you need me," she said as she got a clean set of towels out.
“I think I can handle the laundry,” Rupert said as he softly kissed his wife. He reached out and softy touched Charlie’s cheek before walking out of the room.
Charlie went into the bathroom and started to take off her gown as Fred filled the tub with water. “You can stay if you want,” she said. Once she saw the tub was filled, Charlie carefully got in and sat down.
“I think you’re going to have to help me wash my hair,” she said, giving Fred a small smile. “It’s really long and I have trouble getting all the shampoo out. The nuns at the orphanage always hated washing it and tried to cut it once. I ran away so they wouldn’t.”
She shrugged a little and picked up the wash cloth and started to wash her body.
"Charlie," she started to say before stopping, not sure what to say to her for a minute. It was almost as though she had stepped out of the Annie musical had watched when she was a child. Walking over to the bed, she sat down and reached out to take Charlie's hands, drawing her over to her. "I know we're going to have some rules and such, because everyone needs rules, but...this isn't the orphanage. You don't have to feel like you have to serve or do anything like that. Rupert and I...we want you to feel at home here."
She gave her a gentle smile and ran her hand over Charlie's temple before brushing a strand of hair back. "If you hadn't noticed, I'm still in my nightclothes too, so don't worry about your clothes not being clean. We'll take them downstairs and dump them in the washer after I let Molly out, and then we'll find something to eat. Rupert and I have never been very formal about breakfast. And after breakfast, you can take a bath, and then we'll get dressed and go shopping to get you some new things since it doesn't look like you have a lot."
If the rest of her clothes were as worn as her nightgown, Charlie was definitely going to need the new clothes. Standing up, she took her hand and reached for the small suitcase Charlie had brought with her, leading her out of the guest bedroom. "And since I'm pregnant and having cravings, maybe we can convince Rupert to stop and get us some ice cream on the way home. There's a really good cafe down the road with the best ice cream."
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But, suddenly Fred was saying it wasn’t an orphanage and a blush crept over Charlie’s face. “Oh. I didn’t know,” she whispered as Fred came into the room.
She looked up at her and smiled, especially when she mentioned shopping and ice cream. “My mum and I used to go shopping and have ice cream afterwards,” she commented as she walked out of the room with Fred.
“G’morning you two,” Rupert said as he walked out of the bedroom, yawning and stretching. “Oh, let me take that for you, Fred.”
Charlie watched as Rupert took the suitcase from Fred’s hand before giving her a kiss. She smiled because they reminded her a lot of her parents. “Fred’s going to take me shopping today,” she said as they went down the staircase. “Are you coming with?”
“I am. I have to get a new rocking chair,” he said before holding the kitchen door open for the both of them. “I rather broke the last one.”
“You break things?” Charlie asked in amazement before she sat down at the kitchen table.
Rupert laughed a little as he set the tea kettle out before taking down two glasses so he could get Charlie and his wife some juice. “Not all the time but, yes, sometimes I do,” he said before getting the orange juice out of the icebox.
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Well, if she could help it, she would, Fred decided. Charlie deserved it.
In the hallway, she smiled at her husband, handing him the suitcase before giving him a kiss. "Thanks, sweetie." As they headed downstairs, she couldn't help but laugh a little at Rupert mentioning that they needed a new rocking chair. Looking back on it, she supposed that yesterday had been rather funny more than anything else. After all, they had plenty of time still to get ready for the baby, and Rupert was right - they'd work everything out.
While Rupert got the juice out, Fred let Molly out into the yard before opening Charlie's suitcase and sorting through her clothes. There wasn't much there, only enough to make two small loads really - light and dark. Fred shook her head, definitely glad they were taking her shopping. Once she had it sorted, she started the washer and tossed the first group of clothes in before walking over to the small table in the kitchen and going over to the cabinet.
"Your first load of clothes are in the wash, Charlie. Now, is there anything in particular you like to eat? We have toast...and eggs, I think...and fruit..." She looked over at Rupert. "Do we have any cereal or do we still need to pick that up? I think we might have to go grocery shopping too while we're out."
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“I don’t like oatmeal. Can I just have some toast and jam?” Charlie said.
“I think I can handle that.”
Giles turned on the oven and pulled out a sheet. He placed some bread on it and waited for the oven to warm up. While he was waiting, he went over to Molly’s bowls and washed them out so he could fill them up with food and water.
“May I help?” Charlie suddenly asked.
Giles nodded and watched her come over to him. He pulled out the plastic container they used to keep Molly’s dry food fresh. “Put two scoops in the red bowl. Only two because if you give her more, she’ll laze about all day, groaning,” he said.
“Dogs don’t groan,” Charlie said as she laughed and put the food in the bowl.
“I think they do,” Giles said. He gave Charlie a wink before going over to the oven to put the bread in.
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"Molly would eat all day if we let her," Fred said as she walked over to the door and let said topic of conversation. Molly ran in and over to where Charlie was putting down the bowls, licking her face and hand before diving into her food. "I swear, sometimes she acts like we never feed her."
Walking over to the fridge, she pulled out the butter and jam and took them over to the table to set them down. She then took a sip of her orange juice before going to the cabinet and taking down three plates.
"Charlie, would you mind setting these on the table for me while I get out some knives and spoons?" she asked. "And then we should probably make some tea for Rupert since he's making our toast. What do you say?"
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“I’ve helped my mum a lot with making tea. We used to have real tea parties,” she explained as she carefully sat the plates on the kitchen table. “We would go to the bakery and get scones and then come back to the house and have tea ready for my father when he returned from work.”
She went over to the counter and carefully unscrewed the top of the tea canister. Charlie knew the water should be done by Fred since she was never allowed to touch the kettle at her old home. “How many scoops?” she asked, looking over at Rupert.
“Two will be fine,” he said as he pulled the toast out of the oven.
Charlie carefully measured out two scoops of loose tea and waited for Fred to pour the hot water in.
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"I used to have tea parties when I was younger but never with real tea," Fred told her as she set the tea cannister on the counter, then filled the electric kettle to heat the water. "Of course, most Americans only use tea bags anyway. My friend Wesley used to complain about that all the time. Said it wasn't proper tea if it wasn't loose tea."
Charlie seemed to know quite well what she was doing, asking Rupert how many scoops he wanted and measuring them out. Fred took the silverware over to the table to set with the plates. After she unscrewed the lids on the jam, she walked back over to the kettle which was finishing boiling. Picking it up, she poured the water into the pot, letting it steep while she got down Rupert's teacup.
"Go sit down, Charlie. We can take care of the rest of this," she told her. She gave Rupert a plate for the toast, then carried the tea over to the table and set it down. "Oh, I hope you like strawberry or black currant jam. I didn't think to ask, and this is all we have at the moment. If there's something else you like, we can pick it up later."
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“What grade are you in, Charlie?” He asked as he placed some milk in his tea.
“Grade three. My primary school is in Devon, though,” she commented.
“That’s all right. There’s plenty of schools here in London.” Giles knew they would probably have to send her to a private one or tutor her themselves.
After he finished his tea and toast, Giles stood from the table. “I’m going to take a shower and you ladies can have the bathroom for whatever you need it for,” he said before leaning down and softly kissing Fred on the forehead. “Leave the dishes, love. I’ll clean up after my shower.”
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They'd figure it out, though. For right now, they needed to let Charlie get settled and then start helping her with her Slayer powers.
After they'd finished eating, Fred nodded when Rupert said he'd deal with the dishes after he showered. She gave him a kiss then smiled, watching him leave.
"Okay. Since we've been instructed to leave the dishes, I'm going to check on your clothes. Should be ready to put the first load into the dryer and start the next one." She stood up, groaning a bit. "Oof. Still getting used to having a baby on board."
She went to the small room off the kitchen and moved the first load of clothes to the dryer before starting the second. Charlie would at least have something to wear when they went shopping. Once she did that, she returned to Charlie.
"Is there anything in particular you'd like to look for while we're out?" Fred asked her, holding out her hand so they could go upstairs. "Any place you liked to go shopping, like Marks and Spencers or H&M?"
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When Fred held out her hand, Charlie took it and went upstairs with her. Rupert was just coming out of the bathroom and smiled at the two of them before slipping into the bedroom he shared with Fred. Charlie then walked into the guest bedroom and picked up her book bag.
“I don’t remember where my mum and I went shopping,” she quietly said as she sat down and looked up at Fred. “And there is something I want but you might think it’s stupid.”
She unzipped her book bag and pulled out her tattered copy of A Little Princess. “I used to have a whole stack full of books but I couldn’t bring them with me,” she explained as she careful put the book on the bed. “This is my favorite book of all time and I was wondering if I could have another copy. It doesn’t even have to be new. But if you think I shouldn’t get one, that’s all right too.”
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She furrowed her brow, however, when Charlie said there was something she wanted that they might think stupid, wondering what in the world that could be. Weren't children supposed to want grand and great things? Even if they couldn't possibly get it for her, Fred was sure she wasn't going to think it was stupid. After all, she had wanted a dragon as a pet as a child. Until her parents had explained that even if dragons had been real, it would have burned the crops with its fire breath and caused problems for the cows.
Then Charlie took out a worn and obviously many times read copy of A Little Princess. Fred looked down at it in amazement before looking over at her, a small lump coming to her throat. "This...this is your favorite book ever?" she asked softly before giving her a smile. "It's mine too. My parents got it for me for the first time when I was about your age, and I read it so many times, it fell apart."
She looked down at the book again, a thought coming to her. "Hold on just a moment," she told her before leaving the room and going into the small library they had set up for all their books. She looked through until she found what she was searching for, pulling her hardback copy of the book of the shelf and taking it back to Charlie.
"Here," she said, placing the book in her hands. "I want you to have this one. Maybe...maybe we could read it together? If you'd like, that is. It's been a while since I've had a chance to read it."
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Her brow furrowed when Fred walked out of the room. When she returned, Charlie’s eyes opened wide as she looked down at the book. It was much nice than the one she had when it was brand new. “Thank you!” she excitedly said as she stood up and gave Fred a tight hug.
“What’s going on?” Rupert asked, stepping into the room.
Charlie held up her book and grinned. “Fred gave it to me,” she proudly said.
“Not was nice of her,” Rupert said as he gave Fred a grin. “Why don’t the two of you get cleaned up and get ready to leave. They sooner we finish with the shopping, the sooner I can come home.”
“Don’t you like shopping for girl stuff?” Charlie asked, hopping off the bed.
“Not particularly,” Rupert said, making a small face.
Charlie giggled and took Fred’s hand.
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When Rupert came in, Fred looked up at her husband, laughing softly at his comments about shopping for girls. She shook her head and winked at him as she took Charlie's hand. "And the really funny thing is there's going to be yet another girl in the house besides us soon too." She gave him a kiss as they headed out of the room. "Can you check on the laundry and start the second load in the dryer when it's done?"
In the bathroom, Fred leaned over and turned on the faucet before plugging up the tub so Charlie could take a bath. She looked over at her, not sure whether or not she should stay or whether Charlie would want privacy while she bathed.
"Do you--would you like me to stay? If not, I can let you have some privacy while you get cleaned up. You can just call for me when you need me," she said as she got a clean set of towels out.
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Charlie went into the bathroom and started to take off her gown as Fred filled the tub with water. “You can stay if you want,” she said. Once she saw the tub was filled, Charlie carefully got in and sat down.
“I think you’re going to have to help me wash my hair,” she said, giving Fred a small smile. “It’s really long and I have trouble getting all the shampoo out. The nuns at the orphanage always hated washing it and tried to cut it once. I ran away so they wouldn’t.”
She shrugged a little and picked up the wash cloth and started to wash her body.
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