Charlie Archer ☾ Bigby Wolf (bigbadsheriff) wrote in thereincarnates, @ 2012-09-12 18:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | charlie archer, charlotte evans |
Who. Charlie Archer & Charlotte Evans
What. Snow White finally wakes up from her slumber.
Where. Miri's Clinic in Tennessee
When. Forward dated to Thursday morning, September 13th 2012
Warnings. None!
Charlie had been gone for who knows how long. At least a decade, but to him it felt like a lot longer. Maybe because he'd spent most of his unnaturally long life gone in some way. It all started when he left home after becoming a reincarnate, and he'd been on the move ever since. He hadn't stopped moving in over eighty years, but his decade-long stint in the wilderness was probably the most he'd ever stayed put in one place in a long time. Isolated, completely cut off from civilization. Charlie had been in self-imposed exile since the whole debacle with the CIA, and he hadn't been heard from or seen since, unless you were his older siblings. Irene and Andrew were the only two living souls who knew where he was, and it was only because of his older brother's monthly check-ins that Charlie learned about her.
Snow. The only name that could possibly pull him and Bigby Wolf out of their decade-long funk. He hadn't caught wind of a Snow reincarnate when she'd first appeared, probably because he'd been so far deep in seclusion that even Snow's scent was hidden from him. Bigby had done it once before, gone far enough away that even she couldn't reach him. Hers was the one scent that was almost impossible to shake, no matter how many packs of cigarettes Bigby smoked a day, but if he traveled far enough that overwhelming scent of his love became less so. Charlie had spent so much time avoiding looking for her that it was she who found him, only she found him asleep. Charlie only learned of her existence after a mandatory check-in with his siblings a few months back, and he'd already been too late. Charlotte Evans had fallen fast asleep.
Not from a poisoned apple or anything cliche like that. After doing some digging, Charlie was able to find out that the young reincarnate of Snow's condition had been the result of a confrontation with Mister Dark. Those facts alone were enough to send Bigby into a furious rage, angry at himself and at Charlie for having kept them away for so long. If Charlie hadn't, maybe they would have been there when it happened. Maybe they would have been able to stop her from getting herself nearly killed. The guilt in Charlie was misplaced, since he didn't know this Charlotte Evans at all, but it was because of Bigby that he left that same day and re-entered the real world. Reluctantly, of course. Charlie had gotten used to living a life of simple, isolated means, but some things that he hadn't even known were important suddenly became the only things that mattered. He had to see her.
Charlie had been visiting the clinic for weeks now. Never during visiting hours, of course. That would be silly. He wasn't ready to announce himself to the other Fables, not while Snow was still in a coma. The first person that Bigby wanted to see them was her, so they snuck into the clinic after hours and sat by her bed, dodging nurses whenever they came to do checks. Charlie had never watched someone sleep before, but being able to memorize Charlotte Evan's face while she slept was unlike anything he could have ever imagined watching someone sleep would be like. Even in a coma she looked strong, resilient. Like she was determined to hang one even when she only had one thread left. That was his Snow. After not too long a time Charlie started to get uncomfortable with their new found habit, but it was because of Bigby that he kept coming. This was Bigby's wife, no matter what Charlie thought of the arrangement, and he had to respect that. Or Bigby would make him.
They were doing pretty good at stealth until they underestimated Briar Hayes's penchant for working overtime when she had insomnia. Just a few hours ago while it was still dark she'd caught them coming back in to start her morning shift early, and after calming the reincarnate of Rose Red down before she shot them, Charlie managed to explain who he was. Thankfully he'd had the foresight to clean himself up a little and shower recently, or else with the way he'd been living in Romania might have had her mistaking him for a crazy homeless guy. He wouldn't have blamed her if she still had, but after talking she let him stay, though Charlie wasn't sure what for. There was nothing special about today, no sign that unlike all the other days, today would be the day that Charlotte woke up. Right? Sitting in a chair by her bedside, Charlie and Bigby both tried not to get their hopes up. He also fought the urge to have another smoke, her scent was still impossibly overwhelming.