A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry that this is a bit delayed but what I did was write out all of the five remaining entries to wrap up Brandon's Journal. They're a little shorter but I couldn't really write several days into one entry because it defeats the journal-style of the posts. I hope you've enjoyed this little sneak peek into Brandon's head. It's not meant to tell a different story. It's just to let you get better look inside this prince charming's heart. 

Enjoy!

***

In the week leading up to Charlotte's party, I've been tempted so many times to tell her to cheer up because the family and friends she thinks hate her are in fact planning her surprise birthday party.

She came out of that Sunday brunch with my family in far better shape than I'd imagined once our secret was out but there was an undeniable weight on her shoulders. She'd often chase away the faraway gazes with a tight smile and her typical dry humor. Most people who didn't know her well enough wouldn't see the cracks but in the short time I've met, married and loved Charlotte, I've definitely gotten close enough to know that her scars make no steel armor. She's still all skin, and while the scars make her tougher, they still break and bleed all the same.

But as much as I wanted to squeeze her tight in a hug and tell her that she has nothing to worry about, I bit my tongue and willed the days to move faster. Given everything I was trying to do, I could've probably used the time but I was lucky that my sisters and Felicity and every single of one Charlotte's close friends were more than happy to help out in the party-planning. I was looped in on almost everything but I couldn't push Anna and Tessa aside to fully take over if I'd tried with a bulldozer. So I focused my time on closing the deal on the house at Back Bay. I've also instructed Filbert to make contact with Louisa Samuels. So far, he's reported a lot of resistance. I don't blame her. Technically, she'd fraudulently married her husband and probably never told her other children about the family she'd left behind. I still really don't know what I'm doing if she agrees to discuss Charlotte (or even admit to their relation) but I feel like I need to do something with an advantage like this. But that's a surprise that will have to wait another day.

This morning, knowing that I would only have a couple of hours alone with her before the plan sets into motion, I made breakfast as best as I could. I'm not talented in the kitchen and the only time I ever made breakfast was many years ago, when I was eighteen. Anna and Tessa were eleven and ten and I was overseeing their little project—to make breakfast for Evelyn who'd just come home with baby Mattie from the hospital a day after he was born. She and Dad were with the baby in their room while the three of us were making a mess of the kitchen, trying to make chocolate chip pancakes and a fruit smoothie. I had to pay the staff some extra money to never mention to our parents the disaster they had to clean up after us. Evelyn probably wanted to throw up at the sight of the mushed up, overcooked pancakes my sisters presented her, but she'd smiled and kissed both of them, thanked me with a knowing look in her eyes, and happily downed several bites. This time, I had some preparation (Youtube videos—honestly the best thing out there) and without the distractions of two fussy little sisters. It was just waffles from the high-end waffle-maker I ordered. Some fresh sliced strawberries and whipped cream and syrup. Some crispy bacon and perfectly fried eggs. A glass of orange juice and a single-stemmed pink rose. Charlotte's grin was from ear to ear that it was worth the many minutes, possibly a few hours, I'd secretly spent watching the how-to videos in my office.

I hated leaving her but I had to get to Marlow's to meet with my sisters and the others to finalize our plans. Jake had volunteered to lure her out, claiming it would seem less suspicious. I doubted it but I had a feeling he just wanted to harass my wife again for advice. The man's been acting lovesick lately, all brooding and moody. Whatever problems Jake's having with women (only women are ever Jake's problems), he seems to have found some kind of counsellor in my wife. I love Charlotte and adore her but she's going to interfere way too much. She and I are a bit like that. I should probably sit him down on night over some drinks and tell him to get out in the open. There's not a problem that can't be solved. Besides, knowing Jake and his tendency to let his heart run away with him all the time like some kind of Romeo, this problem is probably just a temporary one until something else comes along to distract him. But I'll give it to him that his lure worked.

The look on Charlotte's face when the lights and the confetti came on and a few dozen people squealed 'happy birthday' is quite priceless.

I'd take it that she's never had a birthday party in her life. At least not one she could remember from recent history.

Ah. Just another thing I'll have to rectify because it's simply not acceptable to celebrate nothing of a day that would later turn my life around.

Amazingly enough, despite the big party and the fact that all of the people Charlotte thought had turned their backs on her after the big reveal were there, Charlotte could still outdo me in the surprise department.

She introduced me to Riley—a boy so much like her when she was about the same age. It's so easy to see why she would've been unstoppable at helping him, no matter the dangers or the consequences had I known them beforehand and presented them to her. Turning her back on him would not have been an option for her at all.

Charlotte probably doesn't know this yet but she has a mission—to save the child that she was. And she sees a little bit of this child in every person. Which means she wants to save everyone—the world, really.

And I can't blame her. I would never blame her for it.

I'd save her if I could but I can't. And I doubt that she can either. And she'll have to realize that at some point but for now—actually, I suspect it's going to be for a long while—I'll have to be by her side, doing what I can to help her.

Can't save the girl she was but I can still save the woman she is now.

- B

***

So, what do you think?

One of the pleasant surprises I've found writing Brandon's journal are these little snippets of the Maxfield family when the siblings were much younger. It shows Brandon being the big brother, how he's always had to be the leader and the protector considering the age gap between him and his younger siblings. It explains a lot why he grew up to be more of that kind of man. And in TMMM, we've heard all about Charlotte's sad, heartbreaking childhood. Here, we see glimpses of the happy Maxfield household with plenty of love to go around. 

P.S.

I chose this song because there's quite a bit of sadness to this underneath all the visuals. And no, Charlotte doesn't really need Superman or Prince Charming. But at one point she'd been just a kid. She could've used someone to love her.

♪♪♪ Chapter Soundtrack: Waiting for Superman by Daughtry ♪♪♪

She's watching the taxi driver, he pulls away

She's been locked up inside her apartment a hundred days

She says, "Yeah, he's still coming, just a little bit late.

He got stuck at the laundromat washing his cape."

She's just watching the clouds roll by and they spell her name

Like Lois Lane

And she smiles, oh the way she smiles

She's talking to angels,

Counting the stars

Making a wish on a passing car

She's dancing with strangers,

Falling apart

Waiting for Superman to pick her up

In his arms, yeah, in his arms, yeah

Waiting for Superman

She's out on the corner trying to catch a glimpse

Nothing's making sense

She's been chasing an answer, a sign lost in the abyss,

This Metropolis

She says, "Yeah, he's still coming, just a little bit late.

He got stuck at the Five and Dime saving the day."

She says, "If life was a movie, then it wouldn't end like this,

Left without a kiss."

Still, she smiles, oh, the way she smiles, yeah

She's talking to angels,

Counting the stars

Making a wish on a passing car

She's dancing with strangers,

She's falling apart

Waiting for Superman to pick her up

In his arms, yeah, in his arms, yeah

She's waiting for Superman...

...to lift her up and take her anywhere

Show her love and flying through the air

Save her now before it's too late tonight

Oh, at the speed of light

And she smiles