Time for a Talk (Char and Cobie)

There was something that she hasn't been able to tell anyone.

Nobody at all.

She was alone in the fact that nobody could help her any more, she had hoped that Cobalt would have been able to do this job for her in the half term but he hadn't come, so she assumed that he had other clients to deal with and she, as a result, had ended up in a situation she couldn't get out of.

Moving slowly into the Room of Requirement she looked around at the large bed and steaming cup of hot chocolate on the table next to her and she sighed softly, crawling onto the bed and letting everything out that she had been holding in.

It was like she hoped the pain that she was feeling would run out of her in the tears that she cried and she let her bruises and cuts show through, her real self. Charlotte waited, and waited, and hoped that she would be able to be free of this nightmare soon.

Cobalt knew something was wrong.

He didn't know how but he knew something was wrong as clearly as he knew that the sun would rise again tomorrow. Or that the moon was not made of cheese. It was a simple thing. It was an instinctive thing. He just knew and that kind of scared him.

The last time he'd known something he'd buried his son a few hours later. But this time he was determined that no one was going to be buried. No one he cared about would suffer for his inaction, as his son had done.

Following the feeling, Cobalt came across a blank stretch of wall on the seventh floor. Realising that what he sought was inside the Room of Requirement, Cobalt focused a little and his body became both intangible and invisible. Stepping through the wall without difficulty, he glanced around at the room. Fairly strange set-up for a room that could be anything. It looked like a bedroom.

He heard the sound of a girl crying and the hair on the back of his neck stood up on end.

The feeling was growing stronger.

The feeling that he knew something was wrong was telling him that it had happened to someone familiar. Someone he cared about a great deal. Normally this would leave only Richard but this was a girl crying.

A young girl.

The pieces clicked into place.

It was Charlotte.

Fading into view and becoming solid again, Cobalt quickly made his way across the room to kneel by Chalotte's beside, wrapping his arms gently around her and pulling her into a hug. Her cries were sending unpleasant, jarring, shivers down through every bone in his body. Every part of him wanted her to stop crying, to be well again. He stroked her hair softly,

"It's me Charlotte... it's Cobalt..." he reassured her quietly, "I'm here now. I'll make everything alright."

The next thing Charlotte knew she was being touched and this scared her so much that she screamed loudly and struggled away from the person who was stroking her and whacking her head on the wall as she did so.

Whimpering softly she let herself relax and as soon as she saw who it was she sobbed louder and in a flicker her wounds were covered up once more. Charlotte never wanted to go back, she never wanted to go home, she just wanted to stay at Hogwarts forever and ne away from...from him.

Charlotte said nothing as she stared into Cobalts eyes she just looked at him with her own grey ones, the flickering red light gone from them, just as the hope had gone from her soul, she wasn't meant to escape she knew that now and she blinked soft tears away from her eyes so they flitted down her cheeks.

Starting up sobbing again Charlotte threw her arms around Cobalt and started to hug him tight to her, she wanted to believe him, she wanted to believe he could make everything alright again.

"C-cobalt? I-I waited for you...I did...I did but I-I must have missed you so...I'm I'm sorry."

Hearing her scream, Cobalt knew something very wrong had happened. He could see it in her body language clear as day as well. The way she held herself cried out in vulnerability. He hugged her tighter to him as his mind raced. The first thought that came to mind stayed clear and vibrant in his mind.

He was going to kill the person who'd done this to her.

Slowly.

He frowned a little as she began to cover up her wounds with her abilities. Moving up onto the bed with her, Cobalt held a hand out over her chest and closed his eyes, feeling his magic and gently easing it into her to get a feeling for her injuries. A lot of cuts and bruises, which he began to gently heal with his magic. Then there was-

He froze and his eyes snapped open, looking deeply into Charlotte's. He felt the absense of something that really should be a part of her, especially at her age. But it made sense with the lack of life in her eyes and the way she carried herself. Gently he cupped her cheek and brushed some of her tears away with his thumb. He hugged her tightly to him as he sat with his back against the back of the bed,

"Charlotte." he gently stroked her hair, but was looking down at her with a soft kindness in his eyes, "Tell me what happened Charlotte. Tell me what happened and I can make it better. I promise."

Charlotte blinked up at Cobalt, should she be angry with him? For not coming to save her? Or should she be upset with him for the same reason? Both approaches she rejected, this was Cobie, she didn't want to be mad at him at all, she only wanted him to keep holding her close the way he was.

Whimpering softly as he held his hand over her chest Charlotte bit her lip and she looked up into Cobalts eyes with an expression of hurt, she didn't know what he was doing but as soon as his eyes snapped open she knew, without him saying, that he knew. Breath catching in her throat Charlotte began to sob again, ashamed of herself."

"You...you promise Cobie? You'll make it all go away?" she whispers in a small, broken, voice

With a bite to her lip Charlotte tried to stem the flow of tears and she locked eyes with Cobie as he hugged her tight to him, hearing the beat of his heart against hers made her relax a little, her wracking sobs becoming less, enough so that she could speak.

"Well...I just finished the picture of my mother and sister I was painting, oh Cobie it was so beautiful, I loved it so so much and I was happy with it finally, I was setting it to dry when Dad came in. I-I could smell he was drunk...he drinks a lot...especially when he has his friends around."

Trying to swallow the large lump in her throat Charlotte felt her hands shaking as she played with her hair.

"H-he insulted my painting and threw paint all over it, so I started crying and then he thought it was f-funny so he...he ripped up the canvas and threw it into the fire so naturally I started to cry more a-and he didn't like that so..."

Charlotte let a soft sob come out of her throat and tried to think about how best to say what she needed to, she didn't think that Cobie needed to know all about what happened, just about her father.

"So he beat me up, made me turn into my older self and he raped me...a-and I couldn't...I couldn't...I couldn't stop him! I'm s-sorry...I'm so stupid and weak and useless I'm sorry..."

He saw the conflict in her eyes. Conflict directed at him. He had a sinking feeling in his gut. It was happening just like it had happened six years ago with his son. He had failed her somehow and it had hurt her, in a way that no woman should ever be hurt.

The way she whimpered was strangly reminisent of how a cat would mew if someone was violent towards it. It was a sound that encouraged you to beat the living hell out of the person who'd made them make the noise. He shushed her quietly as he finished up healing her mild injuries. It was in her eyes as it was in his. He knew what had happened to her. And she knew that he knew. For a moment they were silent before Charlotte began to sob. Cobalt hugged her closer to him,

"I promise on my life and my magic." he vowed, glowing slightly as his magic accepted it. He paused for a moment, "Charlotte... I can make it like it never physically happened... should I?"

As soon as Charlotte started talking he knew his worst fears were true. He knew, from the way she mentioned that he father was drunk, that this was not going to be a happy story. Even even just a story. It was going to be a disgusting story that would make him want to kill her father even more. He hugged her tigher as she began to nervously play with her hair.

It was getting worse.

At hearing his worst fears realised, Cobalt tightened his hug and cooed softly to her in an effort to comfort her. One thing was for damn sure, her father was going to die a long, slow and incredibly painful death. He wiped some of her tears away to look her in her eyes,

"None of it was your fault Charlotte." he assured her softly but firmly, so she'd understand, "It's all his fault. And he will pay for what he did to you."

When Cobalt promised on his life and magic that he would help her Charlotte nodded, she believed him and she snuggled her head into his chest to try and stop herself from crying when in fact it really just made her feel like crying more. With a soft bite to her lip Charlotte gazed up into Cobies eyes.

"Okay Cobie...I would like that...I don't think, I don't think I'd like to stay as I am, I want to be fixed properly, so please, could you do it?"

Softly Charlotte began to cry again and she felt her getting Cobalts jumper all wet with her tears, she couldn't get his face out of her mind, so jeering, so happy with himself and she placed a hand on her stomach.

"Cobie? A-am I pregnant?"

She whispered softly, as she did so her whole body convulsed as she attempted to hold back another fit of crying. If she was, Charlotte wouldn't know what to do..,she didn't think she was but how could she be sure?!

"I wouldn't know which one it was..."

Eyes widening as she realised what she had said Charlotte could only hope that Cobalt wouldn't pick up on it.

With Charlotte nuzzling her head into his chest, Cobalt stroked her hair soothingly as he concentrated on just holding her. He leaked off some of his magic into the air around them to make them both comfortably warm by it's presense. He nodded a little as he looked her in the eyes,

"I will make it as if he'd never touched you." he promised her before holding his hand a respectable distance away from her lap. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea. His hand glowed briefly as he restored her barrier within an instant. He nodded at her, "You're back to how you were Charlotte, don't worry."

Cobalt just let her cry on him without really caring that it was probably going to ruin his expensive jumper. It didn't matter to him. The jumper was worthless to him but Charlotte was quickly becoming everything. At the question he frowned a little and held his hand over her stomach. After focusing a moment he found that no, she was not pregnant,

"No Charlotte." he told her quietly, "You're not pregnant and I've removed everything that shouldn't be there."

At her slip up, Cobalt felt his body tense for barely a second before he was back to comforting her. He stroked her hair,

"It'll all be okay Charlotte." he promised her, "I will make it okay."

Feeling the air around her get warmer and warmer Charlotte sighed happily for the first time in this interaction and she simply leant herself against Cobie, just letting the dull sense of reality creep through her veins, letting her mind tick over what she should do...what she should say.

"T-thank you Cobie..." she whispered softly stroking his cheek

Charlotte bit her lip and flinched as Cobalt even neared her lap but when he stopped she still looked intently at his hand, monitoring him, until he moved it away and it felt like she was whole again, back to normal. But there was a part of her that she felt would never heal, she would never be totally better.

"That's such a relief to hear that you know, I was worrying myself about it, I wouldn't know, know the first thing about that...or what to do..."

Slightly purring as her hair was stroked Charlotte nuzzled her head against Cobalts hand and she smiled softly, serenely, into his skin. The warmth comforting her itself, so Charlotte breathed softly.

"Will you get them all? Will you tell them off?"

Hearing her sigh happily made Cobalt's heart seem a little less heavy. Having her relax and try to deal with her pain had been his only concern so he was doing quite well so far. As she stroked his cheek and thanked him, Cobalt smiled a very weak, ghost of a smile,

"I just want to help you Charlotte." he told her honestly, still stroking her hair, "I want you safe."

He could feel her tense as his hand neared a very tender area. A very vulnerable area for her, especially right now. She relaxed but not totally and he knew why. He couldn't get rid of all of the pain. He'd have to memory charm her for that and he didn't want to do that,

"Well don't you worry about it." he told her quietly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, "All you have to worry about is homework and being a kid Charlotte. Let me deal with the ugly world outside. Okay?"

He heard her purring a little as he stroked her hair and couldn't help but smile the same ghost of a smile as before, stroking her hair more before lightly scratching her behind her ears. When she nuzzled into his hand, Cobalt nodded,

"I'll get them all. And I'll make them see the error of their ways." he told her quietly, "Right before the end."

Charlotte placed her hand on Cobies cheek again and stroked it, reaching up to peck him on his cheek, drawing away with a large smile on her face so that he might feel a little better about himself. After all it wasn't Cobalts fault that this happened to her. It was nobodies but her fathers.

"Be happy Cobie, mkay? It'll make me happy to see you smile, properly, like nothing is wrong, because then I can start to believe it."

Letting her smile slip a little Charlotte remembered something and groaned unhappily, sighing she shuffled around and then, almost as if deflated flopped onto her back. Her hair in a ring around her head.

"I didn't do my potions homework...and it's due in soon...oh well I suppose I'll take the fall this time."

With a smile Charlotte stroked her hand through Cobalts hair, it made her calmer to have someone take her mind off her pain and at the way Cobie reassured her of the fact the men were going to pay she relaxed.

"You know you're everything I need in one package Cobie! You're perfect! After all you're a good tutor for defence, you're comforting me like a dad and you have an...attractive other half..."

Cobalt smiled faintly as she stroked his cheek and ducked his head a little when she kissed his cheek. Seeing the large smile on her face though made any potential embaressment disappear. He hugged her tightly,

"I can be happy. For you Charlotte." he promised her, smiling a little more, "We can put this behind us. Move forwards. Have more happy fun times!"

He caught her when she fell backwards and chuckled lightly at her problem. Cobalt shook his head and stroked her cheek softly,

"Don't you worry Charlotte..." he winked at her with a small, cheeky, grin, "I got this. What's the point of having a teacher being you're confidant if he can't get you out of trouble eh?"

Cobalt didn't usually like it when people touched his hair, bit of a pet peeve, but he allowed Charlotte to do it and found it somewhat comforting. He chuckled a little,

"I'm far from perfect I'm afraid Charlotte. Sorry to burst your bubble and all." he smirked a little bit before it fell a little, "I was a father once before. As for my other half... well let me just say that physically making yourself younger is a bitch! You get all the hormones at once!"

Charlotte wondered why Cobalt had ducked his head when she had kissed his cheek, she smiled at him and kissed his cheek again, he must not be used to having a little girl hanging on him, maybe he was embarrassed? So she let go of him from hugging him so tightly so that he might relax a bit.

"Fun times? We can have fun times together? Could we...could we play a game?"

Eyes lighting up at the very idea Charlotte closed her eyes and thought about all about the games that she could play, she had never played a proper game before, she wanted to play Monopoly, she'd liked the look of that game.

"You'll sort it out with the teacher? Really? You will? Aww thank you Cobie, that makes me feel a lot better because there was no way that I could have done it all in one night."

With a small smile Charlotte hugged Cobalt tighter for a moment, she could see that something had happened to make him sad...and maybe it had something to do with him being a father before...maybe something happened to his child?

"Well, I guess nobodies perfect, but you're one of the best people I've met Cobie, and I just want to thank you, for being so nice to me."

Cobalt felt more and more embaressed by his actions by the minute. When she kissed him on the cheek again before hugging him tighter he sighed faintly, kissing his tough-guy mask goodbye for when he was around Charlotte. He returned her hug tightly,

"Yeah, fun times." he repeated with a small grin, "Yeah we could play a game! Got any in mind?"

The way her eyes danced with internal light for the first time since he'd seen her tonight made Cobalt hug Charlotte a little tighter before ruffling her hair affectionately with a grin. He chuckled a little and nodded,

"I'll sort it out." he promised her before kissing her lightly on the cheek, "You can rest easy on the homework department for the rest of the week. I'll make sure you don't have to do it."

When she praised him, Cobalt flinched as if struck. It reminded him so vividly of his son. The little boy had worshiped him, elevating him to the status of a hero. He clung desparately to Charlotte, trying to hug away the re-emerging feelings of self-loathing over his past failure,

"I'm not a good person Char..." he told her quietly, his voice cracking a little, "I failed at the only thing I was every entrusted to guard above all else... you are special Charlotte. You make me want to be better."

As Charlotte felt that Cobie was returning her hug she wondered if she was in fact wrong before and he did want to be around her and hold her tight. Which was alright by her. She really did want to have someone like Cobie in her life, someone like her father should have been.

"Well I was wondering if it would be okay if we played Monopoly? I've always wondered what you did in that game...I tried to make one myself once."

Smiling serenely up at Cobalt Charlotte thought that it would be a good thing perhaps for both of them to hang out together, after all, both of them needed help. And she could get out of homework when she needed to.

"Thank you Cobie! You're the best!"

With that Charlotte wrapped her hands around Cobalts neck and hugged him again, nuzzling her head into his neck so that she ruffled her hair even more, not like she really minded, she was just happy to be held.

"Nobody is a wholly good person Cobie, but that's okay, because you know what, I'm not a real good person either, so we will make each other better? Mkay?" she grinned and kissed his cheek again.

He could tell that Charlotte liked being held by him. Seemed to him that her father had never been anything like he should have been and this affection from him was a welcome change to her. He sighed a little as he simply held her close to him. This was getting into very familar waters and that wasn't a good thing in this case. He didn't want to be a father again but with Charlotte... with Charlotte he didn't care about his own feelings regarding being a father. She needed a father and he wanted to provide everything she could possibly need,

"Monopoly?" he shrugged a little and the board game appeared on the bed with them, the room giving them what they desired, "What piece do you want to be?"

Cobalt shook his head a little as he idly played with her hair,

"Don't worry about it." he told her quietly, "The teachers will listen to me. And if they don't... well I've been told my younger form is very good at convincing people."

As she hugged him so intimately and so full of trust and care, he found himself blinking away tears. She was so understanding and yet so vulnerable. She needed him but he also needed her. He hugged her back, resting his head in the crook of her neck so that she couldn't see any tears,

"Yeah... we can make each other better." he agreed queitly, "Do you... do you need a place to stay for the holidays?"

Smiling softly at him Charlotte squeaked happily as the board game appeared on the bed, pulling it towards her she opened the box with a look of awe on her face, all the money was fresh and crisp and there were all the pieces like she had seen them before, and the one piece she wanted.

"Oh oh oh can I be the hat?! Please Cobie please!"

Charlotte took the piece out and lay out the board on a table that had appeared in front of her and she started to set out the cards and all of the money, frowning in concentration and sticking her Tongue out as she did so.

"Well then it says I need this amount of hundreds, this amount of..." trailing off as she counted out the money out and gave it to Cobalt with a large smile on her lips.

Softening Charlottes eyes looked over Cobalts face, biting her lip she knelt in front of him and cupped his cheek squeezing softly as she smiled softly at him so that she could reassure him with what she said.

"Cobie? Did I say something wrong? I think that were going to be able to work things out just fine mkay? And if you don't want me any more, that's okay too, I'm just happy that you're here now with me, I couldn't ask for more." Charlotte smiled brightly and kissed his cheek

Seeing the unrestrained glee she felt at seeing the board game, Cobalt couldn't help but smile happily, just because she was so happy. He chuckled a little bit. He hadn't played monopoly since he was a kid but the rules were simple enough. Smiling a little he nodded at her question,

"Sure, you can be the hat." he told her before setting the game up, "I'll be the banker as well as the battleship."

She looked cute with her tongue sticking out while she was concentrating so Cobalt ruffled her hair again with a small chuckle,

"You want to be the banker instead then?" he teased her lightly before shrugging, "You'd probably do a better job than me anyway. Always preferred taking from banks than anything else."

When Charlotte cupped his cheek so gently and looked at him with her soft and kind eyes, Cobalt felt the tears welling up no matter what he did. He sniffed a little and put on a large smile even as the tears fell,

"No it's nothing you said... it's just something I tried to forget about. I'm fine." he tried to reassure her even as he sniffed again, "You'll always be welcome at my home Charlotte. I mean... it's not the biggest place... and if you don't like the smell of fresh bread it sucks but... well you're welcome to live with me whenever you want."

Charlotte looked up as she heard Cobalt chuckle at her or something that she was doing, she wondered what that might be and she smoothed out her trousers while trying to stop blushing, wafting her money around Charlotte grinned happily and she lay down on the bed while Cobie set it up.

" Okay you can be the ship and the banker! Have you ever played this before? Have you been the banker before?"

With a soft smile Charlotte bit her lip and laughed softly to herself as Cobalt said he normally stole from the bank but she really didn't know what to do so she ruffled her own hair and she shrugged happily.

"It's okay I want you to be the banker, I don't know what to do really?"

Gasping softly as Cobalt started to cry Charlotte leant forward and kissed the tears from his cheeks and wiped the wet trails away from his eyes with a soft smile, leaning forward Charlotte whispered into his ear:

"You should never forget, not even the bad things, because I guess people don't like to be forgotten, and if they were special to you, they're practically impossible to forget because they're always with you here..."

She pressed her hand to his heart.

"And there is where they'll stay. You're here."

Charlotte pointed to her own heart with a broad smile.

"And you always will be, Cobie."

Seeing her blushing because of his chuckling, Cobalt ruffled her hair with a small grin before he finished setting up the board, putting both of their pieces on GO and handing Charlotte the dice,

"I like being the ship, only piece I ever use." he told her absently with a smile, "I played it all the time back when I was a kid. Back then I played as the banker, yeah."

Hearing her laugh softly, a little bit nervously, he smiled and helped her along with her hair ruffling. He grinned a little more,

"Not much to it really." he assured her with a lighter smile, "Just have to take away or add to their money based on chance and community cards. Oh and hand out the hotels and houses when a person buys them."

When Charlotte leant forwards and began to kiss and wipe his tears away, Cobalt closed his eyes tightly in shame. He didn't want her to see him like this. He didn't want her to see him at his weakest when he was supposed to be strong for her,

"My life is a list of bad things Charlotte..." he whispered quietly, his voice sounding hoarse, "I know he's still with me..."

He patted his chest,

"He's in here." he tapped his head, "And he's in here. And he won't go away. But I... I don't remember the good times anymore... I just remember the end..."

Cobalt smiled a little and kissed Charlotte's cheek,

"And you've worked your way into my heart too." he told her before smiling a little more, "God knows how you found it."

A little unsure Charlotte took the dice from Cobalt and she smiled as she held them loosely in her hand, biting her lip she shook them and let them clatter onto the board, counting out five she moved her piece forward and grinned looking at the space she had landed on.

"I landed on a train...what happens now? Do I buy it?"

Still a little confused Charlotte decide to just leave the technical stuff to Cobie until she knew how to do it properly, unable to stop a giggle as Cobie ruffled her hair Charlotte ruffled his in return with a grin.

"I still think you should be the banker, just don't cheat okay?"

Charlotte wondered if Cobie was trying to be strong for her, he needn't be, all she wanted was to have someone there for her and to be able to talk about their feelings made them closer, or so she thought.

"Well you'd best stop that," she said softly looking at Cobalt through her light pink eyes showing how much that she loved him through their colour

"I'm sure that he wouldn't want that, he wouldn't want his Daddy to be sad...and your life is a list of bad things, but people also have a list of good things! And so do you! You just can't see it. It's like...having a beautiful jewel on your back, everyone else can see it but you can't..."

With a small smile Charlotte wiggled into Cobalts arms and hugged him close, winding her arms around his neck.

"The best things are not found on purpose but discovered by accident, I didn't look for your heart, it just came to me, and so it goes for everyone. You shouldn't give up Cobie, because you'll miss out on so much fun stuff if you shut yourself away."

The ways she was so hesitant told Cobalt a number of things. The most important though was that she'd never learnt to be a child. That much was obvious from the fact that she seemed so happy with the single most played board game in the world. He shook his head a little,

"You can't buy anything on your first go round the board." he told her as he took his turn, moving a couple of places forward before giving the dice back to her, "Once you've gone past GO again you can buy things."

Her giggle was cute so he let her ruffle his hair even though he had a natural adversion to people playing with it. So far only Charlotte and Lalia had been able to touch his hair and get away with it,

"Well you'd best learn the rules of being the banker before we play next time." he teased her lightly, "I might not be able to stop my old habits and I might just steal from the bank."

Cobalt sighed a little as he brought himself under control quickly. His tears dried up and disappeared. He kissed Charlotte on the cheek,

"My son is dead because I failed to act Charlotte." he paused before shaking his head, "No, it's worse than that. He's dead because I decided not to act. How can I forgive myself for that? How can I be a father again if I did that?"

He reached up and ran a hand through her hair with a sad smile,

"I'm willing to try and be a father again." he paused as he stroked her cheek gently, "That is... if you wouldn't mind being... well being like my daughter."

Charlotte pouted, she has wanted to buy that train but she took the dice from Cobie after he had taken his turn and she rolled them again squeaking excitedly as they showed two fours and she pointed at them while jumping up and down slightly in her happiness.

"I got two fours! That's 8! Do I get to do something special?!"

Waiting for Cobie to say something Charlotte nodded her head firmly and watched Cobie as he banked, so that she may learn the art of banking for the next game that they would hopefully play together.

"Well I'll pull my sad face if you do...you don't like my sad face do you? Because it's sad...and things"

With a soft smile Charlotte locked eyes with Cobalt and smiled softly letting her hands rest on his back as she hugged him close to her, she loved the way she could jug him as much as she wanted and Cobie didn't seem to mind.

"Cobie, I know you still feel bad about it, but that shows you have the capacity to be a father again, you care about children, you want to redeem yourself and make it up to your little boy right? So you should do."

Charlotte gasped a little and her heart sped up in her chest, she, becoming Cobies daughter? What about her father? Would he be mad? Would he try to hurt Cobie and her?

"W-would you want me to? I-I would like that, but I still have a daddy."

Cobalt laughed happily at her enthusiasm and hugged her to him, ruffling her hair as he did so,

"Ah I'm afraid not kiddo." he replied with a smile, doing his turn and landing himself on the jail, "Visiting jail huh? Oh well. At least I'm not in jail. Jail really sucks."

The way she watched his actions as banker so intently almost begged to be teased but he couldn't bring himself to be that mean to the little girl in front of him and so just patted her head,

"You just keep up your watching of the bank." he told her with a grin before ruffling her hair again, "I gathered that your sad face would be sad. But don't worry, I'm not a cheater."

He sighed a little as he hugged her once again. For some reason he felt comfortable hugging Charlotte in a way he didn't feel with anyone else, except probably Lalia. He nuzzled her neck absently,

"I don't care about children." he replied bluntly before smiling faintly, "Just you. I don't know why you're different Charlotte but it's like something inside me tells me to protect you. To make sure you're never harmed."

Cobalt clung to Charlotte in a tight hug,

"I want to protect and care for you Charlotte... I think the best way for me to do that is to become a father to you." he told her quietly before scowling at the mention of her real father, "He won't be around much longer."

Charlotte felt her hair get ruffled and she smiled moving her head to rub against Cobalts hand, not wanting him to let go of her just yet, she liked it when he played with her hair or even ruffed it up slightly. Any form of affection she lapped up from him.

"You've been in jail? Was it scary?" she whispered as if asking something top secret that shouldn't be discussed "Did you make scary friends?"

With a slight pout Charlotte took the dice and rolled the dice again and she got a six so moved herself forward, landing on a 'Chance' card. Eyes lighting up Charlotte gingerly took a card off the pile and read it cautiously:

"Maintenance Costs: pay £20 for each hotel. Awwwwww that doesn't apply to me does it because I don't have any?"

Biting her lip Charlotte smiled into Cobies neck and she smiled again, happy that she was special to someone, not even her own father, but she had someone wanting to be her father, someone she had come to love.

"I want to be your daughter Cobie. I love you. And I think you will make a lovely daddy and I would very much like to be your best girl, your daughter, as soon as im able to be. If that's okay?" she asked nervously.

"You have protected me Cobalt, you've helped me as much as you were able and for that in so happy. Im happy you want me as your daughter."