charlie west, also known as 'cactus the angry elf' (littledeadly) wrote in immune_ic,
Charlie glanced over at the child Leah was carrying, shaking her head with a smile. "It's all right. I understand. Kinda." She didn't, in a way. Her own mother hadn't stuck around long enough to keep her young and innocent, and her father hadn't ever tried. "You should hear some of the phone calls my dad got. I swear, all my schools had his number on speed dial. I was always in some kinda bullsh--crap," she corrected herself quickly. "I probably spent more time in the principal's office and detention than any other kid in the school combined."
Crap. She hadn't meant to make the woman uncomfortable about not being able to defend herself. What had happened in the alley could have happened to anyone. People were scumbags, and they took advantage of any weakness they saw. Hell, if she'd been grabbed like that, alone and unarmed, she might not be able to take the mugger on. "Well, I'm pretty great." She laughed, trying to ease the situation. "Not so sure about my brother. Love him to death, but I'm not so sure about his decisions. Especially when it comes to women."
Officer Stone. Charlie wracked her brain trying to remember if she'd met an Officer Stone. "Can't say that I have. I'd like to though." Unlike a lot of FBI agents, she had a lot of respect for beat cops. They were the first line of defense against threats, most of the time, and they did an admirable job of it. Yes, there were some screw-ups here and there, but she'd eat her rifle if someone could show her a department that didn't have its issues.
"Tell you what," she said after a moment, digging through her pockets to find her phone. "This might be weird, but let me give you my number. If you ever need anything or even if you don't, give me call." It was rare Charlie found people she got along with so easily, particularly people outside of law enforcement. She wasn't about to let a potential friend walk away.