Season 13.                   Age 11.
run away girl.

TW: abuse.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

night one.
Charlotte jacobs is used 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.

"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 wooden baseball bat out of her backpack 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. "woah, kid, what happened?" charlotte only grips her bat tighter. this was 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 bat ever so slightly. 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 to 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. today is her birthday.)

just as the girl is about to shake her head, a bubbly brunette jogs over to the pair. she places her hands upon the man's shoulders, asking "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 at an animal trapped in a cage. nevertheless, she is willing do anything to get them out of her face. feeling slightly more comfortable now that she is no longer alone with the man, she nods once at the woman's gentle question.

"is there anyone we can call for you?"

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 bench at the park. 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. the woman 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."

alex shoots the woman a look, almost as if to say "are you crazy?"

charlotte recognizes that look. she knows they legally had to call social services. this wasn't charlottes first rodeo. but nonetheless, her face was really hurting, and she hadn't been able to move her wrist in at least twenty four hours. as if just remembering, the girl loosens her grip on the bat with a 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 fiancé alex." the woman introduces, unaware that her spouse had already given his name. "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.

for the first seven years of charlottes life, her aunt had adoringly referred to her niece as "girl" or "shitbird." (this was charlottes personal favorite as it was more creative.) foster homes called the child by her given name, but it always sounded foreign falling from the lips of total strangers.

and then, when charlotte was returned to her aunts at the age of seven, she met paul. from then on charlotte was "lottie," as the man had decided directly upon meeting the child. since then she had never really known a name other than 'lottie', but just thinking about saying the name 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' as well? the thought makes charlotte nauseous. she swallows anxiously.

with one last nervous breath, the young girl 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 needed to be able to see, and to swing her wooden bat 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. "so, bad news first; you've got a clean break in your right wrist. good news is it should heal pretty easily after we put your cast on."

alex speaks up. "i'll even let you choose the color."

"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. even the streets are 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 us 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 technically not exactly legal, so all we ask is that at some point, doesn't have to be right now or today, you tell us what exactly happened that led to you on that bench." jo ultimates gently. "so we 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, and a man at the very least, enough to go home with them. but charlotte 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, "it's small, but like i said earlier, it can only be temporary. we have a friend with kids who lives in an actual house and has extra rooms—" jo rambles, leading charlotte up the stairs.

"and it's one room, so there won't be much privacy, and for now you'll have to sleep on the couch, but it's comfortable, really. 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.

jo leads the girl over to the couch in the center of the loft. "make yourself at home. we'll be right back." she smiles before she and alex disappear into what charlotte assumes to be a laundry room.

charlotte knew she was meant to sleep on the couch, but she wasn't a huge fan of the fact that it meant her back would be to the two strangers considering the way the furniture was set up. so instead, she opts for the chair facing outwards, awkwardly taking a seat.