It's past nine when Charlie arrives home. He's been driving around the city aimlessly for hours and then he parked up on a hill to consider his slim options. He sat for a while underneath the dark sky and time had slipped by quickly. He stands near the front door, taking a deep breath as he hears his mother making noise in the kitchen. He approaches cautiously, wondering how to even begin. His mother stands with her back to him as she roots through a high cupboard, she tries to reach for something and Charlie leans over her head and grabs it. He passes her the bottle of champagne and she doesn't smile.

"You missed dinner," she says. "Your plate is over there, just don't make a mess in the microwave."

Charlie looks at the plate wrapped in foil on the counter and food is the last thing on his mind. He watches as she unscrews the lid and pours herself a big glass.

"Did you win?"

"There are no winners, Charlie," she whispers, before smiling proudly to herself. "But, yeah. I did."

"That'll make your. . . sixty-fifth win?" Charlie backs up to a chair and takes a seat. "Congratulations. Is Jaz in bed?"

"She's doing homework. Thanks for taking her to school again. I'm glad that trial is over."

"Does that mean you have free time? Free lawyer time, I mean."

She folds her arms and moves forwards as she glares at him. "What have you done? What do I have to defend you for now?"

"It's not me," Charlie says. "I have a friend and she's in trouble, she-"

"Let me stop you right there. No." She grabs the bottle of champagne with a glass and heads into the lounge.

"Mum, wait," Charlie says as he follows her. "It's not what you think."

"Let me guess, your friend is currently in jail and her parents can't afford a lawyer that's willing to go through enough paperwork to get her out. Well, I know it's not Aubrey."

"This is serious," Charlie says as he sits opposite her. She turns the television on and puts her feet up onto the coffee table.

"Charlie, it's my time off, let me have some peace, okay? I've had an exhausting few days, I've hardly slept and I've got tons of shows to catch up on."

"I need to tell you something," Charlie says. "It's important."

"Is it about your accident?"

Charlie nods. She mutes the television and finally gives him eye contact. "I'm listening," she says.

Charlie decides to tell her everything, it's the only way she'll agree to help. He tells her about the fight with Aubrey and why he was on the bridge so late and when he finally gets to the part about Molly he starts to feel dizzy. Reliving it isn't easy but Molly has been doing it for the last five days and she's stronger for it. He tells her about the hospital visits, Molly's past, and how much better she is. He explains that the appeal got rejected and that Molly is being relocated on Saturday and then he reveals the big plan, the plan that Molly's foster mother had discussed with him earlier in the kitchen. Jaz must have told Daisy who his mother is because Pam had almost begged him for her help. When he's finished she doesn't say a word for several minutes. Charlie can't tell if she's angry or thinking it over, but she's interested.

"Say something," Charlie says.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me." She rubs her head and clenches her jaw. "You risked your life to save this girl, that was incredibly stupid. But. . . I raised you to be brave and to help people. I can't be mad at you for that."

"I don't care if you're mad at me. I need your help. Molly needs your help."

"I feel for her, Charlie, I do. It sounds like she's had it rough and I hope things work out for her. But I'm not a charity. I have a mortgage to pay; bills, shopping, insurance. Health insurance that you keep racking up with your hospital visits! I'm sorry but they'll have to find someone else."

"They did find someone else and it failed. You are the best lawyer in the city, probably the entire state. They need the best for this, and they can't afford it."

"I'm not a defence lawyer, I'm a prosecutor."

"Law is law!" Charlie's nostrils flare and he shakes his hand to calm himself. "All you have to do is push these applications through the courts by Saturday. You're on good terms with all the judges. They need someone that can take on social services and the FBI. Someone that's not afraid."

"You really know how to appeal to my inner ego," his mother sighs as she rubs her chin. "It is a rather intriguing case. One I'm sure is rare to find. But things like this, they take time. Sometimes weeks, maybe months. I can't do it in two days, it's not possible."

"No one else could do it in two days but you can. Everyone in this world had given up on her until she came to Sacramento. Don't give up on her too."

His mother takes a deep breath and studies him curiously. "You really care about this girl. She must be pretty special."

"She is," Charlie says. "So, you'll help them?"

"I don't know, Charlie."

"Please, mum." Charlie turns and looks at his sister, who is leaning in the doorway with tears in her eyes. "Please help her."

"Jaz knows?" His mother says in disbelief.

"Jaz, go back upstairs," Charlie says.

Jaz ignores him and steps into the room. "If you died wouldn't you want me and Charlie to have the best chance? Wouldn't you want us to be happy?"

His mother widens her eyes at the question. "It's more complicated than that, Jaz."

"No, it's not. Daisy said she heard Molly cry herself to sleep almost every night after she moved here. She loves her like a sister and she doesn't want her to go away again. If you can help then you should."

"Come here," their mother whispers, holding up her arm. Jaz leans into her and she kisses her forehead. "You're too smart for your own good."

"Do the right thing," Charlie says. "Just like you taught us."

Her expression changes as she glances at him. Her eyes become softer and she smiles. "Well how can I say no now? It's two against one." She nudges Jaz's shoulder and Jaz laughs. "I'll try my best but I'm making no promises."

Charlie's relief radiates all over his body. "Thank you."

"Do you have their number? I'll need to contact them once I arrange a meeting at the courthouse. They'll need to be there tomorrow."

"Yeah, I do, somewhere." Charlie walks over to the entrance hall and digs out the paper that Pam gave him a few days ago from his jacket pocket. He passes it to her and she types the number into her phone. "This will mean the world to them."

"I'm beginning to think it means the world to you," she mutters. "Whatever's going on with you and Molly just promise me that you'll be careful or someone can get hurt."

"We're just friends," Charlie says. "But thanks for the concern."

"Okay," she says. "Jaz, I need you to go to bed now. For real."

"Fine," Jaz sighs, kissing her mother. "Goodnight."

"Night, baby."

"See you in the morning, kid," Charlie says. Jaz grins at him and he winks to show his gratitude. Charlie looks back to his mother, who is leaning forwards and staring at him hard. "What?"

"I have twelve hours to prepare for a case that you've vaguely described as just 'awful.' I need every detail you can give me, down to the last meal she ate. Starting with the murder of her family and how often the FBI has placed her in protective custody."

"Oh. You need to know everything?"

"Yeah, that's how this works. Usually I'd get these details from social services when prosecuting against parents but seeing as though I'm now against the entire system I need to prepare something quite extraordinary. I'll call her doctor in the morning and get as much as I can from him but I need you to tell me about her. I sense you can do that."

"Molly doesn't know about any of this yet," Charlie says. "They didn't want to get her hopes up. Will she have to be there?"

"No," his mother says. "That's what they have me for. I'm Molly's voice. But if the applications are accepted then she'll need to be present for consent."

Charlie nods. "Then I guess we're pulling an all-nighter."

She laughs. "Nice try. You're still going to school in the morning."

"Oh, come on, one sick day won't hurt. If you want to know about Molly, everything, then it's gonna take longer than a couple of hours."

She rolls her eyes and admits defeat. "You make the coffee and I'll get my laptop."

Charlie grins and stands up. "You could probably call her doctor now; he never leaves that damn hospital. He's a white coat version of you."

"Funny."

Charlie stands at the counter in the kitchen and takes out his phone. He looks at a message from Perry, asking him if he's still on for tomorrow night. Charlie had completely forgotten that he was meant to be hanging out with his friends and now everything feels backwards. He doesn't reply, he places his phone in his pocket and makes their coffees. When he returns to the lounge, his mother has already fired her laptop up and is scrolling through something while glancing at her phone in between. This is the look she has when she becomes fixated on cases, it's like nothing else exists. She dedicates her entire energy into it and that's what makes her the best at what she does.

"What are you doing?" Charlie says.

"Looking at the recent FBI statements on the killer," she says. "There's a public interview with an agent claiming that he's left the state and that they're tracking him in Nevada."

"Tracking him?" Charlie mumbles. "They don't even know who he is."

"There was a dark grey van seen on Molly's street in Florida for four days prior to the murders. In Utah, there was a black van stationed across the street from the family he killed for five days. And there was a blue van seen in San Francisco. Same model, different colour, and stolen plates."

"He painted it," Charlie says.

"Yes and they've tracked every van of the same model coming out of California since Monday. Only ten were picked up on cameras, nine were investigated leaving one which entered Nevada on Tuesday morning."

"He would have had to pass through Sacramento from San Francisco," Charlie says. "He doesn't know she's here."

"That bodes well for us," she says. "And he's never going to be able to get back in the state now unless he changes transportation. The lawyer that presented the appeal this morning clearly didn't do his research. You see that's the problem with lawyers of today, they think the only thing they need is their mouths but you need more than that to take on a case like this, you need. . ." She swallows when she sees Charlie glaring at her. "Never mind. Talk to me, tell me about her. I can multitask."

"Okay." Charlie breathes heavily. "But can you stop having fun with this? It's disturbing seeing how happy you are over a suicidal girl's life."

"I can't help it. I'm gonna crush them. I'm sure if I met Molly it'd be different, but for now I'm just doing what I'm good at."

Charlie tells his mother everything he knows about Molly. Even the insignificant things like her favourite food and her love for dogs. She writes down most of it as though she's making a list to later use for her appeal speech. He starts with the good stuff, things that made her happy, moments that made her laugh and then comes the harder stuff. He has to describe what it felt like to hold her as she dangled over the bridge, as she fought and scratched at his hands to release her, as she fought to die. He has to detail her breakdown in the hospital and when he held her until she fell asleep. He doesn't know how he's telling it but his mother has tears in her eyes and if she wasn't convinced before then she is now. He tells her about their conversation in the cafeteria and how different Molly started to look and seem every day. It goes on for a while, her story is endless.

"Can you work with any of that?" Charlie asks her quietly.

"Yeah," she whispers.

"Good. Then I'm going to bed. I'll take Jaz to school."

"Yeah, okay. I'll call the doctor and finish up."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she says.

Charlie doesn't say anything else. He walks up to his room and takes his clothes off, throwing them on the floor. He sits down and holds his head in his hands, breathing difficultly. He trusts his mother, he knows she can get this done, but what happens after? How does Charlie confront that nagging, Molly-shaped pain in his mind that he hasn't been able to shake since they almost kissed?

And the bigger question, what does it even mean?

He lays down and closes his eyes. His alarm wakes him up a few hours later and he throws it off his nightstand. He takes a shower and gets dressed, then goes to Jaz's room to make sure she's awake. She's still asleep, buried underneath a mountain of dark hair. He knocks on her door loudly and she pulls her head up with low, furious eyes.

"Time to get up," he says.

"Go away."

"That's the spirit."

He walks down the stairs expecting to find his mother asleep on the couch but instead she's still awake and she's dressed in a clean, ironed court suit. She's drinking coffee as she reads over a sheet of paper.

"Did you sleep at all?" Charlie says.

"I had a couple of hours sometime long ago," she mutters. "I'm okay."

"Did you speak to Doctor Ranch?"

"Yeah, very interesting man. He couldn't tell me much but I've got enough. I've already rang the courthouse and I've gotten in touch with Molly's foster parents. Our appointment is at noon."

"Sweet. Don't lose," Charlie says as he enters the kitchen.

"No pressure!"

Charlie takes Jaz to school just over an hour later and parks up in front of the school. Jaz has hardly said anything during the ride and he knows why.

"I know it's hard," Charlie says. "But you can't tell Daisy anything, okay?"

"Daisy's my friend. I don't want to lie to her," Jaz says.

"She doesn't even know that Molly's leaving let alone about this. Her parents will tell her everything later today but you have to keep this to yourself."

"Okay. Fine. Whatever."

"Have a good day."

Jaz exits the car and slams the door. Charlie waits until she's safely on school grounds and greeting her friends before he pulls out and drives across town. The boxing club is closed and he doesn't have anywhere else he can go to get out his frustration so he circles around the streets for a while before taking an unexpected turn and ending up on a street he didn't want to be on.

"Screw it," he says, as he parks outside the building and leaves his car.

He climbs the steps quickly, wanting to get this over with. He stands outside Aubrey's apartment and knocks. Not aggressively but just loud enough to hopefully wake her up. She'll be in a foul mood but he'd rather do it now than have to explain to everyone around him what's going on. He knocks again.

The door opens and Charlie knows something isn't right. Underneath her gown, Aubrey is wearing the lingerie that Charlie bought for her last year. He can make out the lace that's hanging through the gap in the gown. She never sleeps in it, she said it was too uncomfortable.

"Charlie," she says. "What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk?"

"This isn't a good time."

"Who is it, babe?" a male voice shouts.

"Babe?" Charlie says. "He sounds intelligent."

"Shut up," Aubrey hisses.

The man emerges in the background without a shirt on. Charlie narrows his eyes and his hand balls into a fist at his side. He shakes it off. Aubrey pushes Charlie backwards across the hall and she closes the door behind her, putting a barrier between him and the 'other' boyfriend.

"We've been on a break three days and you've already opened your legs for someone else," Charlie says.

"That's not fair!" Aubrey growls. "What was I supposed to do? Wait around for you forever? You made it pretty clear that you didn't want me so I went and found myself someone that does. We're over, Charlie."

"That's fine," Charlie says. "I was coming to break up with you anyway."

"What? No, you weren't. You were coming for one thing. Typical male, can't even go three days."

Charlie laughs. "Do you even know me at all? And I can't go three days? Look who's talking! Do you even remember his name?"

Aubrey folds her arms and smirks. "It's Peter. And he pays attention to me which is more than you ever did."

"I gave you as much attention as you deserved, Aubrey. And you exhausted me. You have issues, you need help."

"Luckily I'm not your problem anymore," Aubrey says. "So go and help all those damaged girls on bridges because I don't need you."

The door opens and Peter leans against the doorway with his arm extended. He's deliberately showing Charlie his muscles in a typical alpha-dominant way. "Everything good out here, babe?"

"Yeah," Aubrey says. "Charlie was just leaving."

Charlie flicks his eyes over Aubrey's head and meets Peter's threatening stare. "Word of warning, man if you like your car don't leave her on read." Charlie turns and walks down the hall, smiling to himself.

"I'm not the one with issues!" Aubrey screams.

"Have a nice life, psycho."

"You are the one-"

Charlie exits the hall and stands at the top of the stairwell for a moment. This moment feels too good to be contained, he stares up at the heavens and his grin turns to laughter. He runs down the stairwell and almost skips out of the building. The morning is brighter somehow, the sky clearer, the air cleaner. He doesn't know how the rest of the day will turn out, but just for now he couldn't be happier.