Season 13. Age 11.
the runaway

TW: abuse.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

night one.
Charlotte knew she'd make it out someday. this knowing is the only way she managed to escape.
there's no room for survival in acceptance. only defeat, and charlotte jacobs would not be defeated. she couldn't be; she's eleven. she'd barely even played, she couldn't lose already.

so she hatched a plan and put it into motion. after escaping her prison she patrolled the streets of orlando, picking enough pockets until she had enough for a one-way bus ticket. charlotte had to go as far from florida as possible, a place no one would ever think to look;
the great city of seattle, washington.

during her first week she met a group of other runaways and foster kids. throwaways, seattles unwanted. together they took up residence in an abandoned warehouse, becoming each others first true family. ranging in ages from nine to seventeen charlotte had been one of the youngest, older only than two sisters nine and ten. for over three months the runaways kept each other company; charlotte had a black eye and likely broken wrist ontop of countless bruises littering her skin but the all others had matching scars and wounds. she had never felt so seen, so understood. they shared each others pain; both emotional and physical. 

but then police received a call about squatters in the building and the children spooked, fleeing before they could be caught and sent back into state care... or worse, home. as they took off in the dark it quickly became everyone for themself. no one waited up, no one made any plans to meet later on once things had cooled off.

and just like that, charlotte jacob's was entirely alone once again.

but that's okay, because she had grown quite accustomed to being on her own for long periods of time. one might say this could become quite lonely, but charlotte would have to disagree. she never felt lonely when she was by herself. alone, sure, but never lonely. in fact, charlotte had grown to prefer being on her own. by herself, she never had to worry about being let down or disappointed. she was trustworthy—others, not so much.

it was this mindset that contributed to charlottes wariness upon being approached by a concerned stranger three months and nine days after fleeing her aunts home in florida.

"hey, kid!" a man calls out to the young girl curled up on a park bench. "you alright?"

when charlotte doesn't respond, too busy pretending to be asleep, the man reaches out to gently tap her on the shoulder. having constantly been in fight or flight mode her entire life, charlotte jolts upright, pulling a shiny pocketknife from her waistband in one swift move.

"woah, woah!" the stranger backs up, holding his palms out. "not gonna hurt you. just wanted to make sure you were good."

charlotte stays quiet, glaring daggers at the man in front of her as she silently wills him to leave her alone.

her powers are futile. "hey, you alone out here?" the man crouches down to get on charlottes level, leaning forward slightly as he notices the bruises littering the girls face. he doesn't know this is just the leftovers; the majority had healed over the last three months. "woah kid, what happened?" charlotte only grips her knife tighter; this is surely a trap. "what's your name?" when the man realizes the child in front of him wasn't going to introduce herself anytime soon, he decides to go first. "i'm alex karev. you can just call me alex." he waits a beat for the girl to respond to no avail. "hey, i'm a pediatric doctor at grey sloan right around the corner. why don't you come with me, get checked out? then i'll call your parents for you."

charlotte balks, raising the knife ever so slightly in front of herself. she shakes her head rapidly, parting her lips to harshly but quietly growl, "no!"

alex holds his palms up once again. "okay, okay. no parents." he points at his own eye. "but we gotta get that eye of yours checked out, okay? looks pretty nasty."

charlotte warily glances around. she knew the hospital alex spoke of wasn't even half a block away from the park she had spent the night in, but wasn't too keen about the idea of going off alone with the man. charlotte had yet to meet a single man who hasn't hurt her in all of her ten years. (eleven, actually; she had run away on her birthday. this is how she keeps track of passing days.)

just as the girl is about to shake her head, a bubbly brunette jogs over to the pair. she crosses her arms around her middle, keeping a visible distance between herself and alex. "who's this?"

alex gestures to the child sitting nervously on the bench. "not sure yet."

the mystery woman follows the doctors gaze, eyes widening slightly at the look of the terrified girl. "are you by yourself?"

charlotte does not like the idea of these two strangers staring at her like zoo-goers would an animal trapped in a cage. nevertheless, she is willing to do anything to get them out of her face. feeling slightly more comfortable now that she is no longer alone with the man, charlotte nods once at the woman's gentle question.

"is there anyone we can call for you?"

at this inquiry charlotte begins to realize these strangers are in fact morally obligated to alert authorities about the injured child they had just stumbled across sleeping on a park bench. instead of lying, however, charlotte chooses to put her rather inspiring acting skills to good use. "no, please. don't call them." she wills years of repressed tears to the surface. "i can't go back. you can't make me go back."

alex seems uncomfortable with the sudden burst of emotion. "go back where? did you run away?" charlotte swipes at the water on her cheeks, nodding yes. "did they hurt you?" another nod. he kneels down in front of charlotte. "okay, we won't call them. but would you let us take you to our hospital and check you out? we're both doctors, we won't tell anyone."

the woman shoots alex a look, almost as if to ask 'are you crazy?'

charlotte recognizes that look. she knows they legally had to call social services. this isn't her first rodeo. but nonetheless, her face is really hurting, and she hadn't been able to move her wrist in months. as if just remembering, the girl loosens her vice grip on the blade with a not-so-subtle wince.

this does not go unnoticed by the doctors. "is your wrist hurting you?" the woman asks softly. charlotte nods. "my name is jo, and this is my... this is alex." the woman introduces, unaware that her partner had already given his name. she seems unsure of their relationship label. "what's your name?" now this is one question that could not be answered by a simple nod or shake of the head.

truthfully, charlotte isn't exactly sure of the answer. of course she knew her name. she isn't stupid. her name is and always had been charlotte. but she had not been addressed as such in years; only foster homes had ever called her by her given name but it always sounded foreign falling from the lips of total strangers. charlotte. a lost child, a number. only known by a two syllable name— not her long dark blonde hair or deep hazel eyes. not her wit or fight or the fire in her belly. a case, a check.

for the first ten years of charlottes life her aunt had only referred to her niece as "lottie." for most this might sound as a loving nickname, however hearing it always sent pins and needles down the child's spine. it was only ever spat with venom and followed by vicious words and lies. it had never been spoken by a candy-sweet tounge.

digging the knife even further was the man lynn met when charlotte was seven. when he spoke her name, 'lottie' dripping from his tongue like poison, a pit hardened in charlottes stomach and she immediately grew nauseous. while she had never really known a name other than 'lottie', just thinking about saying it aloud to these strangers sent shivers down her spine. telling them 'charlotte' didn't seem any more appealing, as what if they took the names second syllable and turned it into 'lottie'? the thought nauseates charlotte immensely.

she swallows anxiously and retracts her knife's blade. slipping it into her waistband with one last nervous breath she whispers, "charlie."

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

Immediately upon entering grey-sloan memorial hospital, charlotte already begins regretting her pain-driven decision. but her wrist is incredibly sore, and she can barely open her left eye beyond a mere squint. she needs to be able to see and swing her pocketknife out if needed. if living at her aunts had taught charlotte anything, it was that she could run and hide all she wanted, but when it all came down to it, she needed to be ready to fight when cornered.

"alright charlie, i'll just have you lay down right here and we'll get you all checked out." alex leads charlie to a bed in the far corner of the emergency room.

charlotte suddenly finds her voice. "you don't need to check me out. it's just my eye and my wrist, so i just need an ice pack and i'm good to go."

alex smiles a crooked smile. "right. but we still need to check you out anyways."

after a few obnoxious tests and bright lights, the brilliant dr. karev confirms what charlotte already knew: she had a black eye.

"so i'll give you this ice pack, and the swelling should start to go down within the next few days."

charlotte rolls her eyes, accepting the ice pack as the privacy curtain surrounding her bed slides open, revealing jo. she hands karev a tablet with charlottes x-ray scans and he clears his throat. "so, bad news first. you've got a clean break in your right wrist. looks pretty old too, which means it'll take a bit longer than usual to heal. but the good news is i'll let you choose your casts color!"i

"you let everyone choose the color; i'm not special." charlotte rolls her eyes, unimpressed. "just do whatever, i don't care. whatever gets me outta here faster." alex hesitates, glancing at his fiancée hovering between the curtains. charlotte groans, surprising even herself with her sudden boldness. "you've gotta be kidding me."

"look, kid. if it were up to me, i'd let you walk." alex defends. "but it's not. you're a minor, and we legally can't discharge you without a parent or guardians permission."

"i'll be here for the next seven years, then." charlotte crosses her arms. "cause that ain't gonna happen."

"and why is that?" dr. karev raises an eyebrow.

"'cause." charlotte answers rather descriptively.

"okay." alex shrugs. "then we've got no choice but to call social services."

"go right ahead, stick me in the system. i'll just run away again. last time it got so bad they thought bringing me back would be better. spoiler: it wasn't." charlotte snaps, pointing at her swollen eye. "so go ahead. i'll just keep running away. i've been living on the street for months now and even thats been better than both the system and going back."

the doctors glance at each other before excusing themselves. "wait here, we need to sort something out."

charlotte thrusts her arms up in annoyance, instantly wincing in regret and cradling her injured wrist. "not goin' anywhere. broken wrist, no cast, remember?"

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

Charlotte traces a finger across her new red cast, jerking to attention when the curtains surrounding her begin to open. "hey, charlie." jo greets. "how are you?" charlotte remains silent, holding up her casted wrist. "red! nice choice." the doctor smiles briefly, losing it immediately after noticing the child's expression. "or, not nice?"

charlotte lowers her arm, sitting up straight. "look. you can't hold me against my will. that's called kidnapping. so just walk the other way and i'll be outta here 'fore you even reach the other side of the room. just tell them i ran away; it won't be a lie and you won't get in trouble."

jo looks slightly amused. "you really put some thought into that, huh?" charlie huffs, dramatically leaning back against the bed frame. "hey, just listen for a sec." jo takes a seat on the foot of the bed, laying a hand on the child's leg. charlotte immediately pulls it away, hugging her knees to her chest. "alex and i talked, and we wanted to ask how you'd feel about staying with me for a little bit? it'd keep you off the streets and hidden from social services for a bit while we figure out what to do next."

charlotte cuts the doctor off. "next?"

"well, yeah. we won't call social services, but it's not exactly legal, so all i ask is at some point, doesn't have to be right now or today, you tell me exactly what happened that led to you on that bench." jo ultimates gently. "just so i know how to best keep you safe if something comes up, if someone comes looking for you."

charlotte looks confused. "you won't send me back? even if they find me?"

"based off of what can be inferred by your injuries, even past the black eye and broken wrist, i will do everything in my power to keep you from going back."

now usually charlotte would have never trusted a complete and total stranger enough to go home with them. but she was so very tired, and hungry, and in so much pain. she delicately nodded her head.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

Jo and alex immediately start defending their apartment the moment they arrive late that night. (they'd somehow managed to get the chief to turn a blind eye while they discharged a child that was not theirs.) "it's small, but it can only be temporary. we have a friend with kids who lives in an actual house with extra rooms—" jo rambles, leading charlotte up the stairs.

"and it's a loft so it's only one room, and for now you'll have to sleep on the couch. but it's really comfortable, honestly. and it pulls out into a—"

charlotte has to put a stop to alex's tangent. "you do remember where i was sleeping when you found me, right?"

alex looks sheepish. "right." the doctor slides open a heavy barn-style door to reveal the loft. charlotte is incredibly grateful for the lack of space, though she would never admit it. she is glad she would be able to see where the two doctors were at all times, and what they were doing. no surprises.

as charlotte and jo enter the loft, the former notices alex beginning to retreat back down the stairs exiting the building. she draws her brows together. "are you two...not together?"

jo forces a small smile. "no, we are... we're just not living together at the moment." she closes the door and clasps both palms together, leading the girl over to the couch in the center of the loft. "make yourself at home. we'll be right back." she smiles before disappearing back out through the front door and into the hallway.

while charlotte knew she's meant to sleep on the couch, she wasn't a huge fan of the fact it meant her back would be to the stranger considering the way the furniture was set up. so instead she opts for the chair facing outwards, awkwardly taking a seat and curling her knees to her chest.