with your switching sides... (open)

When she first got word of the accident she held her breathe. Before the rest of the staff were notified, Charlie's phone had rung in the middle of the night. No one ever called her save for her parents and her employers–the advantage of not having friends–so she knew to pick up, even in her groggy, half conscious state. They told her the Hadley's were dead. Unfortunate yes, but also completely pivotal. Anything could happen from that point, anything. They told her to pack her essentials, keep them by the door with her passport. If things went south for GR Biotech there was a chance there was a chance she might have to get out as fast as humanly possible. After all, her spying wasn't the worse that could have gone on between the companies. Not where the Brideston's were concerned. But things hadn't gone south, far from it.

When she first got word that GR Biotech was buying the project she wanted to jump for joy. They'd acquired an island some time ago and planned to move the whole operation even further from prying eyes. Isolation didn't bother Charlie. She'd grown up in a small lake town. The kind of place where everyone knew your business if you let them, and your name and occupation at the very least. Charlie knew perfectly well how to deal those types. The key was to stay quiet, be pleasant if spoke to, and ask a lot of questions. The more you kept people talking about themselves the less they'd find out about you. Plus, personal details were bankable when you did the work she did. Most of the time people got so wrapped up in their own narcissism, they wouldn't even notice they learned nothing about the other person they were speaking to. That suited Charlie just fine.

When she first got word that Cecil Sharpe was leaving that happiness rose up again. She was told to keep quiet a while longer, now but that didn't stop the spark of hope. Charlie didn't dislike Cecil. Not by any means. She considered Dr. Sharpe one of the easiest of her co-workers to deal with, probably partly due to his impeccable ability to do his job well and hold his tongue at the same time. A skill few at Hadley had seem to understand. But even if personally she was a bit saddened to see him go, her utterly logical brain saw it clearly. That was one more who held seniority over her gone. The head nurse Laura and Dr. Valentine the only two remaining. Seniority went hand in hand with superiority and after so much time keeping quiet and working hard Charlie was more than ready for a promotion. She was in GR's house once more and after more than a year in the hell that was Hadley, she deserved it.

So now, hard at work in the hospital as usual, she was preoccupied. How many days had passed with no word from anyone? If the objective was to make her as crazy as the St Christina's patients from anticipation they were certainly succeeding. Charlie was antsy as hell and stuck doing medial clinic work to waste the time away. Someone had let an exacto blade slip while opening their boxes as they unpacked. So, out came the stitching supplies. This would likely be the high point of Charlie's day if word still refused to come. Snapping her rubber gloves on and readying her needles she hummed a little to herself before turning to the patient and getting to work. It was a small cut for the situation. They were lucky. It would only take a few stitches. It wasn't long before her brief bit of fun was over. She let the nurse assisting show them out after Charlie placed a neat dressing. She pulled the gloves off and dropped them in the bin. Strolling out into the hall and running a hand over her blond hair thoughtfully.

She was only a few steps down the hall when someone ran up and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, slowly, casually, raising one neatly groomed eyebrow in question. A courier. Complete with the brimmed hat, shorts, and socks pulled to high. Charlie couldn't imagine what would possess a person to accept a job with such a basic fashion no-no built into the uniform. Still, the male before her seemed young enough that it remained just barely socially acceptable. Hopefully he's grow up enough soon and move on. There was nothing sadder than a grown man with the same medial job he started as a teen.

A package for her? She nodded neatly as he confirmed her name and reached forward for the clipboard and documentation to sign. Balancing the board of the inside of her forearm with her fingers curled around the other side. The movement and pressure of the pen making it wobble a bit. The young man made small talk about the influx of island residence and Charlie followed along as easily as anyone. Smiling, explaining that they were largely transfers from another facility, even giving a good natured sort of laugh as he jokingly asked why anyone would want to move to Green Ridge. She gave a nonchalant answer about missing small town life and thanks him as he handed her the padded manila envelope. The man left thinking she was a sweet blonde woman in her late twenties, most likely. None the wiser.

Charlie knew enough to open her mail in private these days. Stepping into her empty office she closed the door neatly behind her. Tearing open the envelope with no ceremony she peeked inside. Keys. Her heart skipped and beat and her hand shot inside to fish them out. Complete with keyfob, there was clearly a pair of car keys and a pair of brass keys. Adrenaline moving through her system with her heartbeat she clutch the keys tight and pulled out the papers inside. Eager to read just what they might unlock and why they were being delivered to her. As she read her smile grew and grew. A new car (finally an excuse to sell that truck, even though it finally seemed appropriate again on the rough island terrain, on second thought, maybe she'd keep it anyways) and a new house. A bigger house. Charlie stared at the address, ...wasn't that?

It wasn't a promotion, but it was more than a close contender. What in the hell was she going to do with a house that big? She could put in a library, a gym, a backyard big enough to flood a skating rink in the winter if she wanted. And did she ever want.

This called for celebration. Charlie folded the letter neatly and deposited it in the inside pocket of her white coat. Her keys in her pocket along side those that would open her truck at the end of the day to take her to peruse her new home. With a smile on her face, a genuine one, Charlie left and locked up her office. Heading down to the medical centre cafeteria. Standing in line she wait to get her hands on a mocha with whipped cream. It certainly wasn't starbucks, but after her mail it would be a nice cherry on top.