─☼☼☼─

"𝙃𝙀𝙔," 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙊𝙏𝙏𝙀 𝙎𝘼𝙄𝘿 softly, lowering herself down on the bench next to Sarah. 

The warm air of the Barbados sunset had faded, leaving behind a cool night. Silently, Charlotte passed one of her extra sweaters to Sarah, noting the way the blonde shivered slightly beneath the breeze. 

"Thanks, Char." Sarah mumbled, pulling the sweatshirt overhead. 

It had been hours since they left the port in Barbados, hours since they had left John B behind. 

All they had received from him was a crackled phone call in which he directed them back to Kildare, ensuring he would meet them there. At least he was alive...well, at least he was alive a few hours ago. 

Now, stopped for fuel, Charlotte had a moment to address Sarah alone. Pope and Cleo were off gathering snacks from who the hell knows where, and JJ and Kiara were filling up on fuel. 

The tension on that damn boat was so tight it could have been cut with a knife. Whatever was going on between JJ and Kiara had pulled Pope in, creating some tension filled triangle that Charlotte wanted to steer clear of at all costs. 

So, sitting with Sarah was all she really wanted to do at this point, more than she wanted to be alone. Currently, the Cameron girl was maybe the only one who knew how Charlotte was feeling, and vice versa. 

"You okay?" Charlotte wondered, examining Sarah's features. She knew how hard it was for Sarah to leave John B behind, maybe even harder than it was for her to leave Rafe. 

Shaking her head slightly, Sarah toyed with the strings of the hoodie, "No." She answered honestly before looking to Charlotte. "Are you?"

Charlotte's answer was just the same, "No."

A small and humourless laugh fell from Sarah's lips as she looked up at the starry night, tears coating her eyes. "Did you ever expect us to end up here? A year ago all we were worried about was stupid Kook shit and now..."

"Now we're in over our heads." Charlotte admitted, giving Sarah a sad smile. "Sometimes I miss my old life...my Kook life."

She glanced toward the harbour where the rest of the Pogues were, out of sight, but there. "I'm not sure if I was actually happier, but it felt like it."

Sarah was quiet for a moment before she spoke, "Me too," She confessed. "Everything was so much less complicated then."

Charlotte nodded, recalling the way things had been; when her and Rafe were happy, when her biggest concern was keeping her status as the Kook Prince's girl...Kook Princess, if you will. True enough, things seemed easier back then. But at the same time, she had barely spoken to her sister, even more rarely spoken to the Pogue boys. So maybe back then wasn't better, maybe not at all. 

After a comfortable silence, something sparked in Charlotte's memory. "Oh, that reminds me," She said softly, holding out her wrist to pull off one of the two handmade bracelets that sat there, "Wheeze made this for you."

More tears welled up in Sarah's eyes as she took the bracelet with shaky hands. It was one of those friendship bracelets, the ones often made at camp. Wheezie had given Charlotte one as well, with the promise that they would always have each other. 

"She knew I was looking for you guys." Charlotte explained, "Said that if, for whatever reason, I found you before she did, she wanted to make sure you had that."

Hastily reaching up to wipe her eyes, Sarah nodded. "She's okay?"

Charlotte nodded, a reassuring smile on her lips. "She misses you, but she's okay. Rose is really great with her."

Sarah sniffled, and hesitated before speaking again. "And─and my dad?" It was if she hadn't wanted to answer the question, but needed to know. 

"Coma." Charlotte answered, "He was still unconscious when Rafe and I left to come to Barbados."

"Okay," Sarah answered meekly. "Good."

"Would you go back?" Sarah suddenly wondered, "To wherever they are? Would you go back to be with Rafe?"

This caused serious consideration from Charlotte. 

Of course she wanted to be with Rafe, but Ward would be waking soon, she was sure of it. And she'd just gotten her friends and sister back, how could she just leave again. 

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't know?"

Sarah nodded, giving her a sad smile. "Yeah." She assured. "I get it."

Feeling a rush of gratitude for the younger girl's understanding, Charlotte pulled Sarah into a tight hug. "I love you, Sare. Everything's gonna be okay."

Clutching onto her, Sarah let out a quiet sob, the weight of everything finally seeming to come crashing down. 

These two girls, two Kooks-turned-Pogues had endured so much chaos and confusion that neither of them knew how they were supposed to feel anymore, what they were supposed to think. But at least through all of it, they had each other. 

"Okay!" JJ called, re-boarding the ship, "We got a few hours until we're back at the OBX, everybody prepare for launch in t-minus five minutes!"

Home was just on the horizon. 

─☼☼☼─

Kildare Island was unchanged.

But somehow, as the group of them walked through the quiet streets of the early morning, it seemed like everything was different. 

"So, this is where you all live?" Cleo wondered, taking in the expensive houses of the Cut.

"Not all of us." JJ corrected, kicking at a stone, "Just these two Kooks."

Both Charlotte and Kiara shot him a look as the turned onto their street, getting closer and closer to home, closer and closer to a reunion with their parents. 

Charlotte couldn't even begin to predict how it was going to go. She assumed that there would be tears, and quite possibly yelling, but that's all she really knew. 

"Bet Poguelandia has nothin' on your place, Kie." Cleo assumed, her words sending a pang of jealousy through Charlotte just as it did every time one of them mentioned Poguelandia. 

She knew she was foolish for feeling such a way, but a large part of her felt left out, as if she'd missed six weeks of precious memories. 

"Actually," Kie muttered, a shuddered breath leaving her lips as they stopped in front of the Carrera house, "I'd much rather be in Poguelandia right now."

"Damn." Cleo hooted, examining the house, "You two live here? It's like the Whitehouse, man."

A nervous weight had settled itself on Charlotte's chest as she looked up at the house. Guilt riddled her at the thought of her parents inside. She could have called them while she was in Guadeloupe. Should have called them. But her own fears beat her obligations, and for that she felt like shit. 

"How bad do you think it'll be?" She wondered, her voice cracking slightly. 

Kiara turned to look at her sister, this being the first time they had spoken any words to each other since their argument on the yacht.

"Out of ten?" Kie clarified. "Probably like a twenty."

Pulling open the gate, Charlotte let out a breathy laugh, "I was thinkin' more like a hundred."

"Do you want us to hold up here?" Cleo questioned, looking between the two sisters. 

Kiara was the first to shake her head. "Nah, we need to face this. Just the two of us. Thanks for walking us."

Looking at the three of them, Charlotte gave them a small smile, "If you don't hear from us within an hour, assume the worst."

Pope let out a small laugh, "Got it, Charley."

Kiara, who had focused on one member of the group, spoke again. "Bye, Jayj."

From where she stood, Charlotte watched the way he looked up at Kiara for a moment before giving her an awkward wave. Something had happened between them, that much was obvious. 

Deciding she need to do some damage control, Charlotte addressed all of them. "We'll see you guys later." With that, she lightly shoved her sister up the porch stairs. 

Their footsteps seemed to reverberate in Charlotte's head as they walked the length to the doors, the anxiety building in her chest with every passing second. 

"We'll be okay." She said aloud, partly to her sister, partly to herself. 

Kiara looked over at her, needing her big sister's assurance. "You really think so?"

"Yeah." Charlotte answered, "We've put them through hell, but they'll be so relieved to see us, hopefully they'll forget about that for at least a little bit."

Nodding, Kie let out a deep breath, "Here it goes."

She reached for the door handle, attempting to pull it open. But as their luck would have it, the door was locked. 

Raising a shaky hand, Charlotte knocked on the glass, altering their parents to the presence on the deck. 

As their mother came around the corner, Charlotte felt her heart swell and her eyes fill with tears. She hadn't realize just how much she'd missed her mom until now. 

Anna was distracted, on a phone call it seemed as she approached the door. Even through the glass, she had yet to notice that it was her two missing daughters who were standing on the other side. 

The door swung open, Anna finally looking up. 

The look of pure shock, of pure joy that covered her face was enough for the tears to start streaming down Charlotte's face. 

Anna lowered the phone from her ear, quickly dismissing who was on the other end. 

A sob fell from her lips as she reached out, pulling her two daughters toward her. Each of her hands found their faces, touching them as if to make sure they were real. 

"Oh my God." She cried, running her hands over their hair, their cheeks. "My babies."

"It's okay, mom." Charlotte assured, her voice wobbling, "We're okay."

"Mike!" Anna called, voice coated in sobs, "Mike!"

Their father came flying around the corner. The once look of concern quickly turned to shock at the sight of Kiara and Charlotte. 

He was in front of them in second, pulling them from their mother's grasp and into his own. Anna joined the hug, none of them seeming to want to let go. 

And they didn't, not for a while at least. 

─☼☼☼─