Author's Note: Inspired by my friend Kgray20 who asked for a "New Vegas story where Bass saves Charlie". That prompt sent my imagination all over the place before it finally landed here. There will be one more chapter. M for what's coming in that one.

Setup: This fic is AU starting with Happy Endings, which is largely left intact with the following changes: Connor and Charlie did NOT sleep together. Bass and Connor did NOT get caught by Gould. Charlie DID get caught by him, and so did Duncan (who Gould assumes was in on the heist). The guys have the diamonds from the heist and the gals are chilling in the big cage. Ready? Good. Let's go….

Chapter 1

Charlie's head is throbbing from where that bastard with the pony tail had slammed it against the door of the cage as he was throwing her inside. She rubs at it absently, surprised at the blood she finds there. She takes in her surroundings. The cage is solid. The walls are high and there are four armed guards situated around its perimeter. All weapons were confiscated before they were thrown in here. "Damn" she thinks. Not much chance of escape. Her eyes fall on the slumped form of Duncan Page who is lying in a heap ten feet away. Charlie had verified she's alive, but has otherwise left her alone and kept her distance. Duncan is going to be pissed when she comes to.

Charlie figures she needs to come up with a plan before that happens.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bass is on top of the world. He and his kid have really pulled off the perfect score. Of course they couldn't have done it without Charlie. That girl is turning out to be a valuable ally for sure. He thinks about how easy it is to communicate with her. He's not sure if it's just a Matheson thing or if maybe the time spent traveling together earlier in the year had helped them get on the same page. It doesn't matter really. He hopes that he and Connor eventually can communicate like that – with just their eyes. Except, he thinks sometimes the looks he and Charlie share aren't just communicating battle strategy. Sometimes there is heat there. Heat that Bass isn't sure how to deal with, so he shakes off that thought, not for the first time. He's in a good mood. No reason to worry about shit he can't control.

They get back to the rendezvous point and Charlie is nowhere to be seen. Bass feels the euphoria of moments before free fall into a pit of worry. "Where is she, damnit?" he mutters, scanning the horizon for any sign of her. They wait for a half hour and then start heading back to New Vegas to track her down.

Connor is still feeling pretty good about the evening, and at first he doesn't really pick up on the change in Bass' mood. "That was awesome. I can't believe how you beat that guy down just when everyone thought you were done!" Connor shakes his head in awe. He knows how to fight. Hell, in Mexico he'd beat down his fair share of idiots, but his Dad is an animal in the ring. Connor can't help but be proud. He glances at Bass and notices the frown and furrowed brow.

"What's wrong? You're worried about Charlie?"

Bass gives his son a disbelieving glare, "Yeah I'm worried about Charlie. She's one of us. We have to find her."

Connor shrugs, "Whatever. She's cute but kind of annoying. I'm sure she's fine."

Bass looks at Connor as if he's lost his mind. "Cute? Who cares if she's cute? She's a kick-ass fighter and I trust her to have my back when things go to shit. Tonight she put her ass on the line. We couldn't have done it without her."

Connor shrugs. "She seems pretty tough. I bet she can take care of herself."

"Maybe she can, but if she can't, we're gonna be there to help her. We take care of our own Connor. She's one of us."

"Yeah, you said that." Connor mutters, frowning. "What's up with you two anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Bass asks, distracted by his own thoughts.

"I don't know. You guys seem to have some weird vibe. It's like you can read each other's minds. Kind of creepy, actually."

"We've been around each other for a while I guess. We know each other. That's all."

Connor looks closely at his Dad, "Yeah, whatever."

Bass increases his pace, his brow furrowing farther. He does not respond.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Charlie was right. When Duncan Page comes to, she is royally pissed off. She is pissed at Sebastian Monroe for coming to her in the first place asking for mercenaries. She is pissed at Gould for assuming she had any part in Monroe's stupid plan. She is pissed at Gould's goons who knocked her out. Mostly she's pissed that she's in a damn cage.

"Hi." Charlie says from where she's squatting against the wall of the cage. She seems relaxed, but Duncan can tell she's ready for action. Charlie is poised like a snake, just waiting to see what Duncan will do.

Duncan relaxes and watches as Charlie does the same, "You want to tell me what the hell is going on?"

Before Charlie can answer, they are interrupted by Gould who has appeared with two of his guys. "We're going to have a little auction Duncan. I'm selling you both to the highest bidder." He grins and Charlie's gut fills with anxiety. "I won't make back what you stole, but it will help."

"Bastard!" Duncan yells, lunging for him through the bars.

"Now behave." He scolds, shaking his finger at her, "I don't want you to get scratched up. You're already a little long in the tooth for this sort of thing. You need to look your best." Gould grins at her while Duncan fumes.

"We didn't steal anything." Charlie says through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, sure. Tell ya what Beautiful; tell me where my boys can find Monroe and my diamonds, and I'll release you and your friend right now."

"No." Charlie stares him down. "I'm not telling you anything."

"Tell him where they are." Duncan urges. "I want to go home."

Charlie shakes her head, her chin high. "No."

Duncan rolls her eyes and walks away from the conversation. This kid has is bad for Sebastian and somehow Duncan has gotten caught in the middle. This really sucks.

"Have it your way," he says tossing a burlap bag into the cage. "You both need to change. The auction starts in an hour."

"I'm not changing." Charlie says flatly.

Gould smirks, "Either you change on your own, or my guys do it for you. Your choice. They do love to help."

Charlie shakes her head, but knows they don't have much choice at all. She doesn't respond except to pick up the bag and look inside. "You have got to be kidding me." She mutters, incredulous as Gould and his men walk away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bass and Connor get to New Vegas and try to blend in as much as possible. Neither wants to be recognized, but almost immediately they hear someone calling "Jimmy". Bass looks in the direction of the voice and sees none other than Brett Michaels, pushing through the crowd toward them.

"Jimmy," he says again when he gets close enough that yelling is no longer necessary, "Do you know about your girls yet?"

"My girls?" Bass stares at him blankly.

"Duncan and your new girl are both in Gould's cage. He's selling them in about an hour. There's already a line to get in. Not sure about Duncan, but the other one is going to fetch a nice price."

"Shit!" Bass mutters, furiously thinking through scenarios and mentally chucking each one. Finally he takes a deep breath, and says, "There's only one thing to do. We're gonna have to buy them back."

"Not with the heist money." Connor says indignantly.

"Yes with the heist money, and for the love of God don't call it 'heist money'." Bass hisses at his son. "There are people who might hear you."

"I don't care who hears me. We went through a lot to get that, and I don't want to give it up."

"Sorry Connor. You don't have a say here. We're buying Charlie back." He takes a couple steps before turning, "and Duncan too."

"Well shit." Connor growls. "There goes the rest of it."

Brett cuts in, "You two can't bid. Gould will know you. I can bid for one of the girls, but you're gonna need another guy. Gould only lets each bidder buy one girl when he has his sales. He says it keeps things more interesting."

Bass nods. "Do you know anybody that could help?"

"Maybe. There's one old dude who visits once in a while. I saw him earlier. He'd help just so he could see the girls up close, and maybe touch one." Brett laughs.

"Nobody's touching them!" Bass is glowering. "Who is this guy anyway?"

"Come with me. I think I know where he is." They follow Brett into one of the nearby casino tents and he leads them to the back where a poker game is in place.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"How bad can it be?" Duncan asks Charlie, who is still staring into the burlap sack.

"Pretty bad." Charlie says grimly, pulling out some lingerie. "Blue or green? You choose."

Duncan looks at the sad bustier and panty sets and groans. "Damn, those are awful." She pauses for a moment, "Green I guess." She says with a sigh.

They take turns holding up the burlap sack while the other changes. The guards do their best to catch a glimpse but the women are fast and are starting to put their regular clothes on top when Gould appears. "No ladies, I'll take your things. The bag too." When he walks away with their boots and street clothes stuffed in the burlap bag, the women stare after him angrily.

"This sucks." Duncan is furious. "We look like hookers."

"Yeah," Charlie is strangely calm. "But it's going to be okay. Bass will be here. We'll be okay."

"You think Sebastian is going to come in and save us? I don't think so. He can't show his face in New Vegas right now or Gould would slice it off."

"He'll be here." Charlie repeats with a shrug. "I trust him."

Duncan looks at Charlie carefully, ignoring her anger at their situation for the moment. "You do trust him. That's interesting. I don't think he gets a lot of trust."

"Well, he's saved me before. He's not as bad as people say."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The casino is busy, but Brett, Bass and Connor make their way toward the poker table at the back. Four men are sitting there. Brett taps a grey haired guy on the shoulder, "Hey we could use your help."

"Busy here." The guy says without looking up.

Bass walks up behind the man and then looks at the other players. "This game is over big guy. We need your help now. "

The man in question starts to turn around, "And just who the hell do you think you are?" when he recognizes Bass. "General Monroe?" he stands up and grins. "Figured you was dead when the bombs took out Philly."

Bass frowns, "Shit. Blanchard? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh I come now and again to dance with pretty ladies and gamble away my savings. Glad to see you're okay. Now I can kill ya myself." With that Blanchard draws a gun and points it at Bass' chest.

"Hey, not now. We got bigger fish to fry." Bass looks the older man in the eye, and it seems Blanchard can tell Bass is serious.

"What exactly do you need my help with?" he asks suspiciously, not yet putting away his gun.

Bass smiles, "We need you to buy us a girl."

Blanchard chuckles, and puts his gun in the generous waistband of his pants, "I guess I don't have to kill you just yet. Tell me about this girl we need to buy."

As they are leaving the tent, Brett looks at Connor blankly, "Who is General Monroe?"

Connor just shakes his head, as they follow Bass and Blanchard. "Shit. This is not going to end well."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Charlie had been so sure Bass would show, but now she's beginning to doubt herself. Gould's guys come to get them for the auction she tries to get away, but gets pistol whipped for her trouble.

Charlie slumps, unconscious to the floor. Pony Tail picks her up and tosses her over his shoulder as he walks toward the auction site. Duncan follows with two more of Gould's men.

"Told you he wasn't coming, Kid." Duncan mutters with a scowl.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Charlie comes to she is dazed and unsure of her surroundings. She hears before she sees. Cheers and whistles and lewd comments being yelled from the gathering crowd tell her the auction is underway. She looks around and sees the leering faces and the dirt and she closes her eyes for just a moment to gather her thoughts.

This is bad. This is bad and he hasn't come to save her. Charlie feels lost, but she's a Matheson, damnit. She stands, unsteady at first – then stronger, facing the assholes who think buying women is fun. She looks into their eyes and doesn't flinch. She won't break. Not even when one of these swine buys her.

Her eyes continue to scan the crowd, and suddenly her gaze is drawn up by a tiny flash of light. That's when she sees him. Bass is here, well not here – but close. He's on top of a nearby structure, mostly hidden in shadows. In his hand is a small mirror. This was how he'd flashed a signal her way. He wants her to know he's here. He wants her to know she'll be okay.

He meets her eyes and she knows. She knows he came back. For her.

The auction is taking place in an open area between some tents and an assortment of small buildings. Blanchard and Brett have taken positions in front of the rickety stage along with maybe fifty other potential buyers. They are ready. Connor and Bass watch from the roof of a nearby shack that houses a small moonshine bar. Bass has signaled Charlie and motioned to the crowd, telling her he has buyers in place. He knows she understands. He can see it in her eyes.

The auction goes smoothly (much to Bass' surprise). At the end, Brett has purchased Duncan and Blanchard has taken Charlie. The men pay (with the heist diamonds Bass had given them), and head in opposite directions with the women. At this point the plan is that the group will go their separate ways and meet up tomorrow. Connor goes to meet Brett and Duncan. Bass follows Blanchard and Charlie at a safe distance. He's just decided to close in when he sees two of Gould's men come out of nowhere and knock Blanchard on the back of the head. The old man goes down and in that moment Bass realizes the auction had just been Gould's phase 1. He never intended to give Charlie up. Who knows what he has in mind, but Bass isn't going to waste any time figuring it out.

He sprints up behind the two goons, and ends the first one with a slash of his knife across the man's throat. The second turns in surprise and before he can say a word, has a blade in his heart. They fall and Charlie is gaping at Bass. They can hear a commotion. Someone or maybe several someones are headed their way in a hurry. Bass grabs Charlie's hand and drags her into a run. They weave their way through narrow passageways and dark alleys. The coast seems clear when loud footsteps approach. Bass pulls Charlie through a narrow door, pulling it shut behind them.

What had appeared to be an entrance to a room turns out to be nothing more than a tiny storage space. Actually calling it tiny is generous. The area Bass and Charlie have crammed themselves into is so narrow, they find themselves literally chest to chest.

"Well this is not going to work." Charlie says, eyes wide. She's never been this close to Monroe before. She's never felt the hard muscles of his chest and thighs pressing against hers.

"It is tight." Bass replies quietly. He looks down and sees a lot of cleavage bulging from the tiny blue thing she's wearing. "Shit. We need to get out of here." He pulls his eyes away from her amazing rack, and reaches for the door. She reaches at the same time which presses her tits closer into his chest and he inhales sharply. "Stop. Moving." He growls.

She does as he asks, going still. He reaches for the knob and turns it, but no sooner has he cracked it open; he's pulling it shut again. Some of Gould's men not ten feet away, talking quietly. "Damn. We're stuck here for a while." He mutters with a frown.

They stand there quietly, not looking at each other, not moving, trying not to bring attention to their location. Without warning she squeals and struggles against him. Bass slams his hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. "What?" he asks with a whisper.

"Spider on my leg." She replies as he slowly removes his hand. "Sorry."

Bass chuckles, and replies against her ear, "I've seen you gut a man without a thought. You're afraid of a little spider?"

"We all have our weaknesses." As she says it, Charlie shudders a little. She can feel his whole body stiffen against hers.

"That's true." His breath is hot against Charlie's ear.

Oh why does he have to be so close? Why does her body suddenly need him to be closer? She can feel desire pooling in her center. This can't be happening. Her body clearly doesn't know who she's stuck with. It's because it's been a while and she's amped up from this crazy day and the close proximity to a hard male body. It can't be because it's Monroe. She hates Monroe, doesn't she? Her heart beat accelerates and she's sure he can feel it.

"What's yours?"

"huh?" Bass is having a hard time focusing. It was a lot easier to ignore that Charlie was a woman when her tits weren't pushing into his chest.

"What's your weakness?"

"Snakes." His lips are now touching her ear, and she shivers, involuntarily leaning into him even more. "Snakes and also I guess, blue lingerie."

She can't help it; nervous laughter bubbles up through her chest and she can't seem to stop it. Bass knows he has to shut her up. Gould's men are still milling around outside. He does the first thing that comes into his head. He crushes his mouth against hers.

Bass tells himself he's doing it because she needs to be quiet. Bass tells himself that he'll stop kissing her as soon as she calms down and her silence is assured. Bass tells himself that he's getting hard because of the circumstances, not because this is Charlie. Bass tells himself he shouldn't be enjoying this as much as he is. Bass starts to pull away, but then she does something surprising.

She kisses him back and in that moment all bets are off.