Carrying on the Torch

Disclaimer: I don't own Good Luck Charlie

A/N: This is a continuation of my oneshot "Remembering Them". If you haven't read that, then I suggest you read it in order to get the gist of what this story's continuing from. If you have, excellent. Several requested this, and I've wanted to write this since the oneshot, so here it is. Enjoy!

Chapter 1 (Starting to Move)

Fourteen year old Charlotte "Charlie" Duncan closed down her sister's laptop in front of her on her purple bedspread. She was wearing her red nightgown and had yet to groom her hair on this beautiful morning. Things were starting to get a little better now that her brother actually let her see the videos of the family, but it wasn't hard to see that even PJ wasn't yet over the family's plane crash twelve and a half years ago. She was only two at the time. PJ had not yet turned eighteen. She'd been eternally grateful when Skyler convinced PJ it was time to move on and fill her in Even their family, especially when she was about to have their first baby.

Now, it was officially five months since then and Charlotte was still watching Teddy's video diaries every day Even going so far as to wake up at five in the morning on school days to watch them. PJ told her he didn't mind her doing that as long as she had her homework complete, ample sleep, and was quiet. They didn't want to wake the baby. Rebecca "Teddy" Duncan, named after her Aunt, was an adorable five-month-old baby that Charlotte decided to commemorate her older sister's memory by making video diaries. Hopefully, Rebecca would grow up and enjoy the diaries just as Charlotte was enjoying Teddy's.

"Why do we need school just days before Thanksgiving? It's not fair." Her delicate fingers glazed over the top of Teddy's laptop and her chest became heavy. It seemed every time she had the computer, that same unexplainable heaviness descended down upon her. She had to ask Skyler why that was and the woman explained it pretty well the day prior. Even though PJ was the one who knew them more, thus he'd feel the obvious pain of their loss, she still had that connection with them and would likely feel the same level of sadness when viewing the diaries. "If only you were here, Teddy…I wonder what you'd be able to tell me now."

A salty tear ran from the corner of her left eye and dripped to the indention of her lip. The sunlight bore down on her face and her sunken eyes gazed up with irritation. She stayed up until midnight studying for her history exam and then woke up at five thirty to watch a couple of the video diaries. It would be the last exam before thanksgiving break. Skyler wasn't going to be happy to hear that she only had five hours of sleep. Some days it wasn't exactly great having your sister in law working as the school nurse.

"Charlotte, are you up yet?" Skyler's voice followed a swift knocking at the door. She looked over to the clock and frowned, it was seven o'clock. She had an hour to get to school. She often went with Skyler, considering it saved time. The nanny would be arriving soon as well, considering PJ left for work already. His workday started at seven, at the police station. He normally came home around two in the afternoon, but was on call until seven. "Charlie?"

"It's Charlotte, Skyler." She immediately felt guilty for the irritated tone. She stood and stumbled to the door, opening it. Skyler had her hands on her hip and an eyebrow arched up. She winced and felt the guilt create a pit in her stomach. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. I just haven't had a whole lot of sleep tonight." She watched the woman glance past her at Teddy's laptop. A smile curled at Skyler's lips and she slowly turned around.

"I see. Well get dressed. I'll have breakfast on the table for you when you're ready. Did you say goodbye to PJ on his way out?" She found it interesting that her brother still went by PJ, rather than Peter, but at the same time, it was easiest to stick with the name you used your entire life. He mentioned that he had found out about his name being incorrectly written on his original birth certificate, so he had to change it. Skyler suggested Peter. Of course, even Skyler only used it whenever she was irritated with him.

"Yes. He told me to get dressed like fifteen minutes ago…" Skyler chuckled and slowly walked off. Charlotte rubbed the back of her neck and gazed over at the laptop. Thinking fast, she grabbed her backpack from the ground next to her dresser and started to push the laptop inside. Until now, she'd been the only person to see the videos, but due to one video she saw this morning, she wanted to show her friends. They might be able to tell her if she should show Mason, the person she had a crush on. The two of them talked here and there, hung out on occasion, but weren't really close. She was relatively shocked to discover that she learned to walk during a crawling race with Mason. Ironically enough, he was older than she was, by just a few months, yet she walked before he did. This gave her a feeling of satisfaction over him. She wanted to brag!

Mason might be the only person in the videos that she could ever really know, considering everyone else mentioned, PJ had basically written them all off. Emmett, Ivy, Spencer, Mrs. Dabney, and so on. In his depression and desire to rid himself of all that reminded him of his family and the fact that they were gone, he'd cut off those ties. In hindsight, her best friend Regina, did say that one of her parents knew Teddy all those years ago. Her mother was Alice, a girl that Teddy once stood up for so long ago.

After about thirty minutes, she was out at the kitchen table with her backpack in the seat to the right. She had a plate of peanut butter toast with coffee, a treat that Skyler showed her a year ago. One would dip the toast into the hot coffee and eat it, delicious. Of course, Skyler didn't cook very often, PJ was the best cook in the family. Skyler did take care of the breakfast, obviously.

Charlotte felt much better after the morning shower, her hair was clean and well groomed. She was wearing a blue sweater and denim jeans, hand downs from Teddy. "Breakfast is great this morning," she said as she took a bite of the toast. Skyler beamed from over the counter and walked to the table smiling brightly.

"Glad you're enjoying it. So, will you be hanging out with Regina and Dee this morning?" Dee was her second best friend. She was just a few months older than Charlotte, while Regina was the youngest of the three. Usually in the early morning, she hung out with Skylar for a bit before classes, but lately she'd been hanging out more frequently with the girls and talking about her family to them.

"Yeah, I kind of have something I want to talk to them about." She felt a tad nervous about showing the girls the diaries, but at the same time, it wasn't like they would hate them or anything.

"Are you planning to show them the video diaries?" Charlotte nearly dropped her bread into the coffee and froze as she looked to Skyler. How did she know? "Don't worry, I won't tell PJ. I think they'll find them amusing, especially Dee."

"Why Dee?"

"Her dad used to be the police chief, you know that, right?" Charlotte nodded and leaned back in her chair as Skyler grabbed one of the toast pieces and took a bite. "Well, I think you'll find out in the diaries somewhere, but the Dooleys were your neighbors back then. In fact, you two played together once when Teddy and Ivy babysat." Her eyes went large for a minute and the question of how she was even friends with Dee started to come to her mind. PJ probably wouldn't control who her friends were, but it was still strange, she would have thought they'd be in a different school district. "There was that hilarious moment when Ivy and Teddy accidently took Mrs. Dooley's diamond earrings."

"Oh wow…I think I know what you're talking about though. Same video diary where Mom and Dad are on those strange bike things? They crash somewhere." Skyler tapped her chin "You know, the whole lottery ticket mishap?"

"Yeah, I remember that." Skyler blinked and moved back to the kitchen, biting into the piece of toast she had. "I think that's also around the same time Dad had someone follow PJ around…" Charlotte raised her eyebrow and opted not to question it. After a minute, Skyler grabbed her own cup of coffee from the counter and began to drink it. Charlotte took her plate to the sink and rinsed it off. "You ready to get going?"

"Yeah. So…why do you think I've been going to the same school with Dee, Regina, and so on? I thought we moved out of the neighborhood."

"We did, but not out of the same district. I convinced PJ to keep you around this area and grow up with the friends you were already making. Just because he cut ties with his friends doesn't mean you had to."

"Yeah, but I was young…"

"You would still have missed them." The two moved out to the red Nissan SUV in the garage. Skyler got into the driver's seat and Charlotte climbed into the passenger's seat. She gazed out as Skyler started the car and pulled out of the garage. Would she have missed the friends she made? Would it have mattered? The sound of the garage door closing pulled her attention back to the world around her. "Charlotte, after realizing your parents were gone for good, you went through so much confusion and abandonment…imagine losing your whole family at two years old. I couldn't let you deal with that and have to deal with everyone around you just vanishing."

Skyler was right, it was scary to think of what pain she could have gone through at such a young age. Maybe it was a good thing Skyler was around to give PJ a kick where it was needed. "Thanks for that, then. I'm glad you've been around to give PJ the kick he needs."

"I don't know. I think he really needs his friends he had back then, but there isn't any way to locate them right now. He doesn't want to and most of the people he knew back then have either moved away or their numbers are unlisted."

"That's kind of sad, but, I think I understand. I guess…So I didn't hear Rebecca crying any last night."

"It was a good night."

"I bet!" It was unusual for the baby not to cry throughout the night. Not unheard of, but a rare treat for them all. Unfortunately, it meant the nanny would probably end up dealing with the baby's morning grouchiness for a while. The nanny had already arrived while Charlotte was in the shower and was busy tending to the baby, so she hadn't been able to say hello to the woman. The woman was an older lady in her fifties and often had her hair up in a bun. Despite the stuffy appearance, she was a really sweet woman. PJ joked about the difference that woman had from the old Mrs. Dabney. "Hey Skyler?"

"What?"

"Do you remember Mrs. Dabney?" Stupid question, but she really wasn't sure how to phrase it. She wanted to know if that woman was still around. It seemed she was in her late sixties to early seventies, but she really wasn't certain. "She's still around, right?"

"Yeah, of course. Unfortunately she's dealing with Alzheimer's." She frowned and bowed her head. It was horrible to hear, but an unfortunate fate for some people getting older in their years. "She's eighty two now and has been living in the nursing home I volunteered at about three years ago."

"Oh wow. I feel bad for her. Does she have any family?"

"Yes and no. Her ex husband passed on a few years ago, but her son lives in another state entirely and never goes to see her."

"Hard to believe…I can't imagine being separated like that…" Even if it felt like that for so long, she just couldn't imagine it being to the point where there was nothing they could do. At least now, PJ was trying.

They made it to the school within five minutes and sat in the car for a little bit. Charlotte looked up to see Skyler smiling at her. "Do you think you'll do well on your exam today, Charlie?"

"Charlotte." Skyler chuckled and Charlotte leaned over to hug her. "And yes, I think I'll do just fine. I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving!"

"I know you are, so am I."

"Well duh, PJ's cooking! Come on, let's go! Last day of school before the holidays, I really want to finish this day and get home."

"All right, all right. I have to head straight to my office, good luck on your exam."

"Thanks!" The two left the car and exchanged a final hug before going their separate ways. Charlotte tugged on her backpack and smiled when she entered the school and saw her two best friends. Regina was sitting on a bench, reading a book with her crystal blue eyes. Her vibrant red hair swirled down to her shoulders, which were covered by a red dress. Standing next to her was Dee, who waved at Charlotte. The bottom of her short blond hair bounced at chin length as she jumped up and down, calling out for her. Regina looked up and grinned as Charlotte waved. "Hey guys! I got something I want to show you!"

Well, I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter. I wanted to put more in this chapter, but I felt this was a nice place to end the chapter. I meant to get it started a few days ago, with the start of Thanksgiving, but I didn't get the chance, as I was with my family. I have a good feeling about this, it's exciting to be able to write this, and the show is giving me a lot of ideas that I think I can actually use in here. We'll see Mason next chapter, and I predict Emmett and Ivy will be coming fairly soon.