[ -- don't grow up, CHASE!

[Charlotte Cooper]

Charlie was not usually the type to feel nervous by any means. She was a strong, confident woman and that showed in her demeanor. People knew her as a no-nonsense feisty little thing and that was precisely how she liked it. However, recently she’d been feeling a bit nervous because she knew there was something she had to do and that something was not going to be a fun task. Charlie needed to tell poor Chase Andrews that he was a father despite the fact that he and everyone else in the United Kingdom thought that little Nathaniel belonged to Cooper and Charlie, not Charlie and Chase. In the beginning she had started the charade of convincing people that Cooper was her baby-daddy and while it had been weird even to say out loud since Cooper was so much like her brother, other people seemed to accept it pretty easily. It was almost as if they all seemed to think the inevitable had finally happened in the two of them sleeping together which Charlie and Cooper both found highly disgusting.

For nine months Cooper had gone along with her request without too much complaint. He’d been supportive and helpful and overall a great friend throughout the entire pregnancy… Once Nate had been born though, Cooper seemed to get a little antsy. It was as if he was waiting for the game to be over and Charlie knew she needed to figure out some way to release him of his pseudo parental responsibilities towards her baby. It wasn’t fair to her best friend for Charlie to keep asking him to play daddy when he had no obligation to do so. Charlotte knew she was going to have to tell both Chase and the rest of the world that the baby wasn’t Cooper’s son sooner rather than later. She just needed to figure out how to go about doing that. It was easier said than done though. The whole lie had gone on for far too long and the longer it continued to go on, the harder it was going to be to tell people the truth. So, Charlie had finally made the decision to do something about it all. She was going to tell Chase first. Then she was going to have to hold a press conference (something she absolutely hated doing) to tell everyone else that poor Cooper was in fact not the father of her child, just a fabulous best friend who had agreed to do something stupid for her.

She and Chase hadn’t spoken much since the night that had resulted in Nathaniel’s conception though, so it was bound to be a little suspicious when she sought him out to tell him. From what she’d heard around the quidditch compound, he was not a happy person as of late. Chase had become a brooding, cranky mess over the course of the few months or so and as such Charlotte was not looking forward to the upcoming task at hand. But it had to be done, she reminded herself over and over again as she got little four-month-old Nathaniel dressed and ready to meet his real daddy. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to bring the baby when she told Chase, but Charlie was sort of hoping that Nate would serve as a cuteness buffer to protect her from any backlash of anger that Chase may throw her way.

Double checking that she had everything she needed for Nathan and her to leave the apartment, Charlie sighed and smiled at her little man as she picked him up out of his crib and grabbed her diaper bag. She just hoped that Chase would love him the way she did, and how could he not? Nathaniel was cute as hell, there was no denying it. A few minutes later, she found herself anxiously standing outside of Chase’s apartment door with Nate sitting on her hip. Pressing a kiss to the baby’s cheek, Charlie took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Now or never.

[Chase Andrews]

Chase Andrews had been having a rather interesting year, to say the very least. Everyone who had known the happy-go-lucky, adrenaline junkie could attest to the fact that he was a changed man. For the past year, he'd been dealing with the fact that his best friend, who also happened to be the woman he'd been hopelessly in love with since back at Hogwarts, had left the country without a single word sent his way. He hadn't heard from her - not a single letter had been sent - and it was killing him. He'd told her he loved her and she'd not only rejected him, but she'd packed her bags and gone on a music tour. Although Bailey had frustrated the hell out of him in the past, this was the first time he'd felt genuinely angry with her. He couldn't explain why he was so surprised. She'd given him no indication in the past that she thought of him in a romantic sense. This behavior shouldn't have come as so much of a shock. She didn't love him and she probably never would. But, that didn't mean he wasn't still bloody pissed about the way she'd handled everything. Chase regretting putting his feelings out there. He shouldn't' have said anything. Maybe then she wouldn't have run off and slept with Jackson Scott. Maybe then she wouldn't have gone on tour. Maybe she would still be here.

Chase had found solace in his Hogwarts sweetheart, Reagan Connolly. He hadn't told her about his feelings for Bailey. He hadn't told her the real reason he'd been acting strangely. He attributed his strange behavior to his sister's transfer to the Australian Quidditch league. Even though he was still in pain, he tried to put on a brave face for Reagan. He needed to accept that Bailey was not coming back - at least not for him. She was gone. She would never see him the way he'd seen her. So, all of his efforts had gone into romancing Reagan. Reagan was sweet and beautiful and comfortable. It hadn't taken much to pick up from where they'd left off at. And, not too long ago, he'd found himself on bended knee, asking her to marry him. He was moving on. He was happily engaged to a great girl and his mother couldn't have been happier. Things were finally getting sorted out. But, then Bailey Finnigan had decided to come back. She'd moved back in with Ridley and Max and decided to come see him at practice. She'd said all sorts of things and, once more, his world had started crumbling. He hadn't told Reagan a word about what had happened. He had simply told her that he'd had a bad practice. She'd accepted his explanation and comforted him. That entire night, he couldn't get Bailey to escape his thoughts. Why had she come back? Did she honestly think things could go back to how they were?

Chase didn't know what this meant. But, he'd held Reagan close to him that entire night. He wasn't prepared to sort everything out. He'd taken a few days off from practice, explaining to his coach that he was incredibly sick and didn't want to infect the entire team. Instead, he'd sat around his house - restless and wondering why he didn't deserve happiness. Whenever he thought things were finally falling into place, something (or in this case, someone) came forward to shake things up again. Right now, he couldn't see how his world could get thrown off balance any further than it already was. Of course, that was before he'd opened the door to find Charlotte Cooper holding a baby. He hadn't seen her in awhile (aside from the matches they'd played against one another), but he welcomed her inside nonetheless. "If it isn't Charlie Cooper," he said, opening the door for her and allowing her to come in. He'd heard she'd had a baby. With Cooper Chambers of all people. But hey, who was he to judge? "How have you been?" he asked, taking a seat and allowing Charlie to do so across from him. He wasn't sure what this was about, but it was nice to see a friendly face.

--------------------

chase owen andrews

YOU CAN BOW AND PRETEND THAT YOU DON'T KNOW YOU'RE A LEGEND.

[Charlotte Cooper]

She didn’t realize it, but Charlie had been holding her breath as she waited for the door to open. Part of her had been hoping that Chase wouldn’t be home, that she would be able to run away without having to go through with this confrontation. However, when the door did in fact open and she saw Chase standing there, she released the air she’d been holding hostage in her lungs for the last few moments. Perhaps it was better that he was home now, she needed to get this over with and there was no saying how long it would take her to muster the courage to come back if she had to do this whole thing over again. No, this was better. Besides, as she saw Chase standing in front of her, Charlie reminded herself that he was one of the good guys. Plus, it wasn’t as if she was putting any pressure on him! She just wanted to inform him of the situation, she wasn’t asking for his help in any way, shape, or form. Charlie just wanted Chase to be aware that he had a son, that was it.

Nodding her head with a steely resolve, Charlie followed Chase inside his apartment and took a seat, plopping Nathaniel down in her lap and instinctively bouncing her knee a bit to appease the little one. She couldn’t help but let out a little laugh at Chase’s question. It was such a commonplace, simple inquiry. However, the answer was not as easy as it used to be. ”Busy,” she admitted honestly as she glanced down at Nate before looking back up to Chase with a hint of a smile on her lips.

”Having a baby takes a lot out of you,” Charlie explained with a little shrug of her shoulders. ”Not to mention the fact that being pregnant is a total bitch, and kind of disgusting too, actually. They talk about how you’re supposed to be ‘glowing and radiant and beautiful’ all the time when you’re pregnant, right? Well, let me be the first one to say that is a load of bollocks. I was far from glowing and radiant and beautiful. Ask Cooper. I was an absolutely horrendous mess most of the time. I can’t even tell you how many pickle, pineapple, and peanut butter sandwiches he made me, much to his dismay.” Charlie laughed a bit as she rolled her eyes and shook her head at the mere thought of her pregnancy and how excellent Cooper had been throughout the entire thing.

Charlie smiled fondly for a moment at the thought of her best friend before pushing ahead. This was it. She was going to just go ahead and get it out there while she had the guts to do so. ”Cooper was really fabulous throughout the whole thing, surprisingly. He truly is the best friend anyone could ask for, but that’s the thing… he’s just my friend. My absolute best friend, yes, but not the father of my son, not by any means.” Charlie took a deep breath and forged on, knowing that if she didn’t say it all now, she probably never would. ”Cooper has gone above and beyond for me and I’ll never be able to repay him for everything that he’s done, especially when he didn’t have to do any of it, but I need to start by releasing him from this weird baby-daddy prison that I’ve sort of gotten him stuck in.” Charlie bit on her lip for the briefest of seconds as she dropped her eyes down to Nathaniel quickly and then glanced back up at Chase.

”I can’t keep asking Cooper to pretend to be Nathaniel’s father forever just because I’m scared of admitting the truth to people. So, here I am, telling you first. I figured that I had to start somewhere since I’m going to have to tell the entire wizarding world the truth sooner rather than later and who better to start with than Nate’s actual father?” Charlie paused for a moment to let that sink in. Charlie sighed a bit as she ducked her head and pressed a kiss to the top of Nathan’s head.”I should have told you ages ago, back when I first found out that I was pregnant… I’m sorry.” Charlie finished her little speech quietly, her eyes searching Chase’s face for a reaction to the monumental news she had just thrown at him.

[Chase Andrews]

Chase had always liked Charlie. He thought she was a great girl and a hell of a Quidditch player. But, he honestly didn't know what was going on. She hadn't spoken to him since they'd hooked up over a year ago. He'd been upset about Bailey and had been looking for some company. They'd acted on a mutual attraction to one another. And, that had been it. He'd tried owling her a couple of times, but he'd never received anything back. He supposed it had just been a one-time thing. He wasn't the sort of guy who was all too used to one-night stands. In fact, he'd spent most of his Hogwarts years in an on-and-off relationship with his current fiancee. He liked stability. He'd always wanted that for himself and Bailey. He'd wanted an actual relationship. Not some one-sided encounter in which she'd run away and never looked back. Regardless, looking back on everything that had happened, it seemed very strange to him that Charlie was sitting in his kitchen, bouncing a baby on her knee, and spilling her guts out. She was going on and on about how Cooper had been helpful to her during the entire pregnancy. Chase was glad that Charlie had found someone who made her happy and was willing to take care of her. Sure, like the rest of the world, Chase had been a bit confused when it had emerged that Coop was the father of Charlie's baby. Yet, he supposed he should have seen it coming. They were closer than close and, well, he, too, harbored feelings for his best friend. Who was he to judge?

Chase simply sat there, nodding. He stood up to pour himself a cup of coffee, offering a cup to Charlie, as well. He was glad that Charlie felt comfortable enough to go into so much detail, but he was also confused by this sudden communication. She'd ignored him for awhile now. He hadn't even seen her on the pitch much, as she'd been out on maternity leave for the past year. He knew she must have been dealing with a lot, which seemed pretty understandable to him. He hadn't expected anything to come from their interaction. It just seemed odd that she'd chosen to come here of all places to sit and chat. Taking a sip of his coffee, Chase's eyebrows went up in surprise as Charlie revealed that Cooper was not, in fact, the father of her baby. That certainly changed things. Again, though, Chase didn't know why she was choosing to tell him instead of someone else - someone she was closer to. He could have easily found this out through the press. While he tried to steer clear of the tabloids, the news always managed to get back to him somehow. Again, Chase didn't really know Charlie's situation. Maybe she just needed someone to talk to. They weren't close, but maybe this was her way of reaching out his way to forge some sort of friendship. He'd always admired her on the pitch and found her intensity to be attractive. And, of course, one night they had both acted on the mutual attraction they'd felt towards one another. Naturally, their shared intensity had made the experience pretty damn enjoyable. But, obviously, he was in no position to ever repeat that encounter. He was engaged to be married. Somehow, though, Chase didn't believe Charlie's visit had anything to do with rekindling their short-lived romance. For starters, she'd brought her baby along. And, well, she definitely was not giving off that vibe.

The second Charlie revealed that Chase was Nathaniel's father, his head turned and he spat his coffee out and off to the side. He hadn't meant to have such a knee-jerk reaction, but that definitely was not something he had been expecting. He was the father? How could that even be possible? They'd only been together once and they'd used contraception, hadn't they? Thinking back on it, the night was a bit blurry. Chase had been upset and had indulged in quite a bit of alcohol that night. And, well, while he thought he'd cast a Contraceptive Charm, it was very likely that he had forgotten to do so. This couldn't be happening. How was he going to explain this? To Reagan? To Bailey? To his family? He wasn't the type of guy who knocked someone up, for lack of better words. He was a good guy. He had never been the guy who went off and slept around for the hell of it. He'd had a few hook-ups over the years, but well, he had always considered himself to be a pretty responsible person. And, now, there was a baby sitting in front of him, laughing and bouncing on his mother's knee. "I'm sorry," Chase said instinctively, his manners kicking in. Thoughts had been racing through his brain and he realized that from her perspective this might have seemed a little rude. He'd spit out his coffee and sat there muttering to himself, going through everything. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have been there for you. The visits to Mungo's, the delivery, the first night home...I would have been there." Chase was not only a bit shocked, but he was also slightly upset at the fact that this whole fatherhood thing was not getting off to a great start. This wasn't how he'd imagined becoming a parent.

He knew that most guys would immediately question how Charlotte had known the baby was his. But, Chase, for whatever reason, trusted her. He didn't believe she would lie to him. He didn't know a whole lot about Charlie Cooper, but just looking into Nathaniel's eyes, it was not difficult to believe that the child was his. He had Chase's nose and the goofy Andrews grin. He hadn't recognized it initially, but now that the truth was out, Nathaniel was undeniably his. "I don't know what to do. How does this work, exactly?" This was all so new to him. He was inwardly freaking out in a major way, but he was trying his best to stay strong. For her sake. She'd already been through so much alone. The least he could do was pretend to be semi-competent. "If I had known, things would be different. You wouldn't have had to tough this out alone. I know you said Cooper was a big help, but still...I wish I had been there." He was speaking to Charlie, but his eyes hadn't stopped gazing into the baby's. This was his son. His own flesh and blood. And, somehow, Chase knew it would be okay. Yes, it wasn't ideal. But, they would figure it out. Reagan would understand. She would have to. Nathaniel was his and he planned on taking full responsibility for him. He had a lot of lost time to make up for. He refused to look away for even a single second. He was completely and entirely transfixed.

--------------------

chase owen andrews

YOU CAN BOW AND PRETEND THAT YOU DON'T KNOW YOU'RE A LEGEND.

[Charlotte Cooper]

As Charlotte had rambled on and on, attempting to finally spit out the news that she had come here to reveal, Nathaniel had obviously been able to sense the tension his mother was feeling because he’d begun to squirm in her arms. Little noises escaped from the infants mouth as he reached up and began tugging on whatever he could reach, Charlie’s shirt, her hair, her earrings. Having a baby had made Charlie into a new person. She was a mother now, not a reckless teenager focused on having fun and playing quidditch. She had responsibilities now, she had another person to care for and look after. Charlie had left behind the life that she’d been leading as a famous athlete. Sure, she was still going to play quidditch, but things were very different. She no longer went out partying with Cooper, no longer found herself being as reckless on the pitch. She needed to take care of herself so she could take care of her son.

As she’d been speaking, she’d simply continued on with her speech as she reached down and took Nathaniel’s hands overtime he grabbed for something he shouldn’t. She kissed the tiny fist of the baby and placed his hand back down in his own lap. The little munchkin was far too much like her with all of the energy in the world. He was as curious as could be too, always wanting to see and touch everything in sight. It was fascinating to Charlie to watch her son discovering new things. She could tell that he wanted to get down on the floor, to be able to crawl around and explore, but Charlie didn’t want to just let him loose in a strange apartment which held all sorts of unknown baby dangers. So, she kept a firm grasp around the little one’s waist and continued bouncing her knee a bit to keep him calm.

When she finally managed to get it out that Chase was Nate’s father, the reaction she got was one that she couldn’t help but laugh at. Any other woman would have been upset by Chase’s initial spitting of his coffee, but not Charlie. She simply smirked a bit, shaking her head as she chuckled quietly at the father of her child. She’d always admired Chase on the pitch, he was a lot like her in the way he performed, the way he lost himself in the matches. She respected his intensity and his devotion to the game. However, she really didn’t know too much more about him beyond that which made her a bit sad. It was not a pleasant thing to think about, the fact that she barely knew her child’s father. It was something that Charlie was hoping to change. She wanted Nathaniel to know Chase and in the process she hoped to get to know him better as well. However, she was going to leave that decision up to Chase. She wanted to give him the option to have as much or as little involvement in Nate’s life as he wanted to, but she couldn’t help but hope he would want to be there for his son.

As Chase instinctively apologized, Charlie quickly shook her head. ”Don’t be, Chase. If anyone should be sorry, it’s me. I shouldn’t have kept this from you. I know it was wrong, I was just scared.” Charlie admitted honestly. She dropped her eyes down to Nate and caught the little one staring up at her. Making a silly face, she smiled when she got a giggle out of her baby before she lifted him up above her head and blew a raspberry on his tummy. Nathaniel squealed in delight and Charlie beamed like the proud mama she was as she lowered him back down onto her lap. ”There’s no need to feel badly about not being there for those things. Like I said, I wasn’t alone for any of it. Cooper was by my side for everything. Even the delivery. Although he did pass out during the birth, I happened to catch a glimpse of his horrified face in between my contractions right before he dropped to the floor. It was hysterical,” Charlie laughed at the memory and lifted a hand to ruffle Nate’s little head of hair.

As Chase asked her how this worked, Charlie smiled gently. She was pleased to see that Chase seemed to want to be involved, or at least that he wished he’d been there for the beginning of things. ”This works however you want it to, Chase.” Charlie told him calmly. ”Nathaniel is your son, I wanted you to know. But that doesn’t mean you have to change your life in any way if you don’t want to, you don’t owe us anything, there’s no obligations here. You can be as involved in raising him as you’d like whether that means being around all the time or not at all. “ Charlie took a moment to adjust Nate on her knee before leaning down to grab a small toy out of her bag that she’d brought along. She handed it to her son before continuing to address his father. ”I can handle raising him by myself. I’ve got the support system that I need, and Nate will have more than enough people to love him in his life. So, if you think this is too much to handle or you don’t want to be involved then I completely understand. I just figured you ought to be aware of the situation so you could make your own decision on the matter.” Charlie was feeling a lot better about things as she sat there with the baby who Chase couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of. She’d laid out all of the options and now it was up to Chase to figure out how to handle things. The relief of finally getting things off her chest was setting in and Charlie couldn’t help but smile at the peace that she was starting to feel.

[Chase Andrews]

Chase could recall several moments in his life very clearly. The first time he rode a broom, his first day at Hogwarts, the moment he first set eyes on Bailey Finnigan. He hadn't realized the importance of these moments until later on, but right now - in this moment - Chase knew this was a conversation he was never going to forget. Although Chase hadn't spent a long time thinking about becoming a dad (since he had figured it was pretty far off), he could honestly say he hadn't anticipated it happening this way. He'd thought he'd have nine months to prepare for it; to get used to the idea. He also had imagined that he'd be married to (or at least in a relationship with) the mother. Chase wasn't a one-night stand type of guy, so the possibility of this happening had just been slim to none. He knew that the moment he told his mother or any of his siblings, they'd probably die of shock. But, nothing was going to bring Chase down. He was looking into the eyes of a little boy who was his. His son. Even if it wasn't the most ideal of circumstances (and, it might complicate things a bit), Chase couldn't have been happier. How could he resent a baby? Seeing the small child in person pretty much melted his concerns away. Family had always been very important to Chase and he wasn't going to let Nathaniel down. Or his mother. Charlie could count on him.

Chase couldn't wipe the smile from his face. He couldn't believe this. He'd had no idea that in opening the door for Charlie, he'd be opening his heart to someone new in his life. Even though he and Charlie weren't dating (or anywhere close to it), he wanted Nathaniel to have a normal upbringing and feel love from both of his parents. He'd missed out on quite a bit of time so far, but Chase was more than willing to make it up. He and Charlie played for different Quidditch teams and had immensely busy schedules, but Chase was certain that they'd figure it out. He had plenty of friends and family members who would help him out and share love for this little boy. Because, if there was one thing Chase was confident about (in terms of parenting), it was that you couldn't have enough people supporting your kid. And, this kid was pretty damn lucky. Between himself and Charlie, there were going to be a lot of people who loved him. "Well, as long as you're okay with it, I'd like half of the responsibilities. At least. We can formalize it, if needed, through court. But, joint custody would be ideal," Chase said, after thinking about how he'd respond. Hell, he'd take Nathaniel all of the time, if that's what Charlie wanted. But, he figured joint custody was the best compromise and it would ensure that Nathaniel had a relationship with both of his parents. "I'm willing to work out whatever kind of schedule you want. I'd like to take full responsibility for him. He's my son and I can't imagine being the kind of parent who isn't involved." Whatever was necessary, Chase would do it. This moment would forever change him as a human being. He felt pain at the idea of not being in this child's life for so long already. He couldn't imagine a single day in which this news would not impact his life. From this point forward, Chase's priorities had changed.

"I'm glad you had Cooper around to help you," Chase insisted, although part of him was dying to follow this statement up with a question. The moment Charlie told him that Nathaniel was his son (and not Cooper Chambers), Chase had been filled with joy and was excited. It wasn't a reaction most men would have to finding out that their one-night stand had resulted in the birth of a child. But, Chase wasn't like other guys. Even though he was heartbroken and bitter and much angrier than the old Chase, this news still brought out a positive reaction in him. The only thing he wanted to know about, aside from custody arrangements and such, was why she had waited. "Can I ask you one thing, though?" Chase asked, his eyes still transfixed on the baby who he could now refer to as his son. "Why didn't you tell me when you found out? Did you think I'd freak out or abandon you or what? Because, I would have helped. I know Cooper was there for you, but Nathaniel would have had a father from day one. Why wait until now?" He wasn't angry or upset or sad, even. He was just curious. He knew Charlotte had been through a lot in the past year - enduring a pregnancy alone and now raising a child alone, on top of hiding it all from the media - and he understood that she'd went about things this way for a reason. He knew it probably would have been more polite to keep this question to himself, but Chase couldn't. Now that he knew, he couldn't imagine not knowing. And, the fact that it had been kept from him for six months seemed crazy. He didn't want to waste a single second of the time he now had to spend as Nathaniel's father.

--------------------

chase owen andrews

YOU CAN BOW AND PRETEND THAT YOU DON'T KNOW YOU'RE A LEGEND.