(no subject)
Title: Dream a Little Dream
Author: royal_ivy
Fandom: Private Practice
Pairing: Charlotte/Violet
Summary: Violet is having some pretty inappropriate dreams about a certain Dr. King and at Oceanside Wellness gossip travels fast. Takes place in season 2.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to Shonda Rhimes and ABC.
A/N:Okay, so I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm going out of the U.S. tomorrow for 6 weeks. I won't have access to a computer there so, I won't be posting any new chapters till after August 10th. The story isn't done yet and I have a bunch more chapters planed out. Happy reading.
Chapter 14:
Violet felt like the world's biggest idiot. Life had been going good for her. She had a great job, an amazing best friend and a great relationship with Charlotte, even if she wouldn't admit that that's what it was. And now she only had the great job. She lost Charlotte because of her own stupidity and Cooper was pissed at her for being such a sucky person.
When she came into work the Monday after her "date" with Sheldon, she told Cooper everything that had went down. She told him how she had been distracted the entire time and what she figured out. She explained that she was a coward and didn't want people to know that she liked women just as much as she liked men. She was just afraid of what everybody would think. Of course, now she realized none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that Charlotte made her happy, that they had made each other happy and she had to go and ruin it.
So, Cooper was kind of mad at her for intentionally hurting the blonde. She was getting the silent treatment from him and she definitely deserved it. Monday was also the day she had heard the news that Archer had slept with the blonde. And now it was Wednesday and she just felt miserable.
She sighed and poured some more coffee into her mug. She was definitely going to need it today. She added a healthy dose of sugar before adding just a dollop of cream. She took a few grateful sips from her mug and then put it down.
Raised voices could be heard coming from the lobby. She abandoned her coffee to see what was happening.
Speak of the devil, the woman that she had been thinking about all week was standing right there in the lobby, arguing with Pete. She walked over to see if she could help.
"What's going on guys? You're scaring away the patients."
Pete let out a huff of frustration. "She poached one of my patients by telling them I was a quack and that my holistic treatments wouldn't work."
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Oh, would you quit being such a wuss and give me that file already?"
"You could at least apologize or try acting like a normal human being for once." Pete muttered the last part under his breath.
"Pete," Violet admonished.
"Sorry," Pete said reluctantly.
The blonde ignored him.
"Just give her the file Pete. You're already making a scene."
Pete begrudgingly handed the file over to the blonde. Charlotte flashed him a smug smile before leaving. The blonde didn't acknowledge her, but she knew she deserved that. Pete scowled at her before heading back to his own office. Great. Was everybody mad at her this week?
0oo0oo0
Charlotte was pissed for a number of reasons. First, there was Violet and her refusal to acknowledge that what they have is much more than a friendship. There was also Violet's date with Sheldon, a betrayal in her eyes, and lastly, there was Archer who couldn't keep his big mouth shut.
Apparently the pompous ass had been telling people that they slept together when they clearly hadn't. What's worse was that she explicitly told him not to say anything about that night.
She rounded the corner and strode angrily down the hall towards Archer's office. It was the second biggest one at Pacific Wellcare. She had offered it to him to sweeten the deal when she was desperate for a big name doctor at the practice. She should have stuck him in the supply closet where she would never have to see his annoying face. She entered his office without knocking and glared at the male Montgomery.
Archer's smile fell when he saw the sour mood she was in. "So you've heard the rumors."
"Rumors?" She was not amused. "I heard you telling Dr. Barnhart about your conquest this morning. If you don't tell people the truth, I will tell everyone from this practice to my hospital that you have a dick the size of a tic tac. Understood?"
Archer gulped visibly. "You've got it boss."
"Good. And you better make me a lot of money this month too." She glared at him one more time and then walked out. She smiled once she was out of eyesight. Tearing down a man was always good fun.
She went back to her own office and looked at the big pile of paperwork left to do on her desk. She sighed, but sat down away and picked up the first packet of papers. She tried not to think about Violet as she did her work, but it was hard not to. All she wanted to do was just be with that woman. She missed her. Her heart felt like it was broken. It hurt to see Violet. It especially hurt to see that Violet was doing okay without her.
Love was the worst. If she could, she would never fall in love, but her stupid heart had fallen in love twice in one year already. She had always prided herself on being in control of her emotions, but right now she was in control of nothing.
About half an hour in she decided to push off the paperwork till later. She headed over to St. Ambrose instead, just in time to help with a three car pileup. That kept her busy and distracted. After that she saw a couple of patients and made a couple of referrals. A few of these referrals were for Cooper. She had yet to find a decent pediatrician for her practice, not that she particularly wanted a bunch of rugrats running around her lobby.
She decided to make the trip to Oceanside herself since she was head back in that direction anyway. Maybe if the other Oceanside pansies saw her being semi-nice and giving them patients, they would stop acting so bitchy towards her. Maybe.
She found Cooper in his office when she got to Oceanside. Strangely enough, her relationship with Cooper was the only one that wasn't down the tubes. He had been friendly to her even after Violet went out with Sheldon and they stopped talking to each other or rather when she started to ignore the curly-haired nuisance.
She waved the three referral slips at Cooper and gave him a half hearted smile. "I brought you presents." She sat down in one of the chairs in front of Cooper's desk and stretched out her hand to him.
"You brought me patients," he said while taking the slips from her and grinning. "To what do I owe this pleasure? Are you planning something? The Charlotte I know doesn't give anything away for free."
Charlotte rolled her eyes at him. "I just want to make sure my patients get the best care they can possibly have and since I don't have any pediatricians at my practice, you're the next best thing."
Cooper tucked the slips away in his desk and turned his attention back to her. "If you say so. So, what's been going on with you?"
She focused on a small toy car on Cooper's desk. He had told her once that it was his favorite one from when he was a kid.
"Same as usual. Work, work, work. It's endless."
Cooper seemed o hesitate over what he was about to say next. "How are things with Violet?"
She sucked in a breath and stood. She did not want to have this conversation. Not now, not ever. She could feel tears prick at the back of her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of Cooper. She had to get out of there, but Cooper knew that she was going to bolt. He shot up out of his chair and was between her and the door within a few seconds.
"Charlotte," he said softly. "I know you like her and I know that she upset you by going out with Sheldon. It's okay to be sad."
She scowled at him. "I'm not sad Coop, I'm furious and hurt and…I want to throttle that woman and then kiss her." She let her face fall into her hands. She was on the verge of a breakdown and she really, really did not want that to happen. She just wanted to get through one day without falling apart. That's all.
Cooper was silent for too long and that worried her. She looked up finally to see him with a strange expression on his face.
"Oh my god, you love her," he accused.
"What? No, I don't." How the hell could he tell that just by looking at her once, when Violet couldn't figure it out all? "Don't be ridiculous Cooper."
He was right of course, so incredibly right. She tried not to cry, but Cooper was one of the few people who knew her well enough to see through her. He was looking at her with compassion and sympathy clear on his face. She let him guide her to the couch.
"She…. and Sheldon." She had to stop and take a calming breath. She tried to speak again, but her voice broke and now it was just pointless to hold back the tears. "I do. I love her. Dammit."
Cooper wrapped an arm around her and she buried her face in his nice clean white shirt. It was going to be ruined after this, but he didn't seem to mind. He rubbed her back while she sobbed like a baby.
The door to Cooper's office opened behind them and they both turned to look. Julia stood before them looking like she could breath fire from her mouth. The woman was livid. Charlotte began to back away from Cooper knowing what this scene looked like.
"Julia!" Cooper exclaimed. "It's not what you think. I was just-."
Julia, of course, cut him off. "You little bitch," Julia snarled. "I knew this was going to happen. I knew you were trying get you claws back in him."
Charlotte was speechless. She definitely wasn't expecting anything like this to happen today. Julia grabbed her wrist roughly and tugged her to her feet, away from Cooper.
"We weren't doing anything," she tried to explain.
The door to Cooper's office opened again, but no one paid any attention. Cooper was now standing behind her, trying to talk some sense into Julia. Julia ignored him.
"What were you doing with my boyfriend?"
"Just talkin'. I swear."
0oo0oo0
Violet heard the commotion coming from Cooper's office and went to investigate. Before her was an interesting scene. Julia and Charlotte seemed to be in some sort of argument, most likely because of Julia's jealousy. Cooper was behind them trying to help out, but was staunchly being ignored.
She watched from the doorway, ready to intervene if things got worse. She was liking Julia less and less these days. The woman's jealousy was turning into paranoia.
"What were you doing with my boyfriend?" Julia yelled, her face red with anger.
Charlotte put her hands up in surrender. "Just talkin'. I swear."
"I highly doubt that. I see the way you look at Cooper. You're still in love with him!"
"Okay, you're being ridiculous. You just need to calm down."
"No, I don't think I do. You need to leave Cooper alone."
She could see Charlotte ball her hands up into fists and she moved forward just a little, afraid that the blonde might hit her. She didn't blame her. Right now, Violet wanted to hit Julia.
"Just because you're a jealous bitch and can't trust your boyfriend doesn't mean-."
Charlotte never got to finish that sentence. A resounding crack rang through the air as Julia backhanded Charlotte across the face.
On instinct she rushed forward and grabbed Charlotte away from Julia. She wrapped the blonde up in her protective embrace and tucked Charlotte's head under her chin.
She glared at the auburn-haired woman. "I swear to god, if you touch her again you'll be so sorry. Nothing is going on between her and Cooper because Cooper is very much in love with you. Now get out of here before I decide to take a swing at you."
Julia wisely said nothing and left. Cooper apologized to them and then followed his girlfriend out.
Once they were alone, she buried her face in Charlotte's hair and inhaled the light floral scent of the blonde's shampoo. She felt the blonde hug her back tightly and felt tears well up in her eyes. She should talk to Charlotte, explain things, maybe even fix this.
She let go of Charlotte and took a step back. Charlotte discreetly wiped her eyes and then waited for her to speak.
"So, how are you? We haven't talked in a while." She cringed internally. That was a stupid question and not at all what she really wanted to say.
"No, we haven't and I've been miserable." The blonde crossed her arms and looked away. "And upset. So are you with Sheldon now?"
She shook her head no. "No, I'm not."
"You're not?" The blonde said, surprised.
"Yeah, and that's what I've been trying to tell you all week. You were just too stubborn to listen."
Charlotte rolled her eyes at her. She walked over to Cooper's couch and sat down. The blonde followed suite and sat down next to her.
"I went on that date with Sheldon, but nothing happened. I didn't sleep with him. I didn't even kiss him. I was thinking about you the whole time when I should have been paying attention to him," she confessed.
The beginnings of a smile were starting to form on the blonde's face. "Good, because I didn't sleep with Archer either. Although, he's been puttin' the word out that he has. It's not true. He's just an ass."
"He is," she agreed. She took Charlotte's hand in hers. "I'm sorry I treated you the way I did. I knew you cared about me and I should have been braver. I was afraid of being in a real relationship with you. I ruined everything didn't I?
"And you did a spectacular job at it too," the blonde said dryly.
She smiled at the blonde and shrugged. "It's a talent of mine."
"Just to be clear," Charlotte began. "I was never mad at you because Cooper found out. I was mad because I wanted to be more than friends."
"You wanna be my girlfriend," she teased.
The blonde blushed and she found that to be pretty damn adorable.
Charlotte looked down at her lap. "Yes, I'd like that. I care about you Violet. I'm not good at relationships and I usually try to avoid them at all costs, but it doesn't seem like I can do that with you. Believe me, I've tried. It's funny because I used to hate you, like a lot. You were too cheerful and goofy and you meddled in everyone's business, but now I kind of like all those things about you. And I love you Violet. I tried not to, but I can't. I just can't."
As soon as Violet heard the word love, she froze. Charlotte loved her. That was amazing. Charlotte loved her back. She didn't completely ruin everything. Oh, god, she was actually getting a second chance. Once she was done internally celebrating, she turned back to Charlotte.
Apparently, she had taken too long to think because the blonde looked panicked.
Charlotte stood up abruptly. "Shit, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You don't love me, do you? I am so stupid and now I'm embarrassed. I'm sorry, I have to… leave."
Charlotte was out the door before she could stop her. She stood up and followed after the blonde. She wasn't stupid enough to squander the second chance she had been given. She should have said something right away. Outside of Cooper's office she could see the blonde hurrying across the lobby and heading to the staircase. She had to do something quick or she was going to lose Charlotte again.
"Charlotte!" She yelled across the practice. "I love you too!"
The blonde stopped in her tracks and turned around slowly. "You do?"
She nodded and then raced to the blonde. She cupped Charlotte's face in her hands and did what she had been wanting to do all week, she kissed the blonde.
Behind them a series of gasps and ohs brought them back to reality. They turned around to see the Oceanside gang minus Cooper in the break room staring at them.
"Oh, god," Charlotte said mortified.
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled that so loud. I just didn't want you to go thinking I didn't love you."
Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again. The blonde was clearly uncomfortable with all the attention they were receiving. "Can we talk about this later? They're starin' at us like zoo animals."
"Right, sorry." She leaned in again and gave the blonde a goodbye kiss. Might as well, seeing as how the entire practice knew now. "I love you," she said again, quiet enough so only the blonde could hear her.
Charlotte smiled at her and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. "I love you too."