A.N/ Hello! So, the Christmas period has been as busy as expected and I've had hardly any time to write, coupled with the annoying lack of energy and inspiration to write that I'm sure all fellow writers understand. But this is written for the Charloe Holiday exchange, a gift for the wonderful Revolutionary MotherRunner33. It sort of got away from me. You requested Nano, so you got Nano, and Neville (*cringe* sorry) and really cold weather (feel my suffering), and a lovely naughty ending. So, as requested, and I hope you had an amazing Christmas! Love you.

Celebrate, I reached the deadline!

You probably need a bit of background for this fic. It's set the following winter after the Patriots. The Nano have quickly become a problem, yet the group have decided to lie low for a while until Rachel, Aaron and Priscilla figure out what the Nano's plan is.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you may recognize. Any relation to my version of the characters and real life persons is purely coincidental. There is no copyright infringement intended.

Wish Upon A Silent Night

The sun was mocking them, hung low in the sky it threw rays that bounced off the frost, throwing bright glares into their eyes as they walked. Both Charlie and Bass were forced to slow their fast walk into a slow ambling stride due to a lack of ability to see more than a few yards ahead. The streaks of dirt that seemed to be permanently etched into their skin were dry and cracking, the cold air leaving their skin feeling stretched tight and lips chapped.

It was times like this Bass wished for nothing more than a news report, an overly cheery young American woman giving a prior heads up to unforgiving weather that would be best fended off indoors with central heating and hot water bottles. But, alas, they had no central heating and he doubted that even if they found a hot water bottle discarded somewhere that it would be safe to use. Hell, he wouldn't deny he had thought about taking the risk more than once. Especially when his body was freezing up with cold, every joint protesting the movement he forced in order to keep circulation.

They needed supplies, and Miles had slipped on black ice earlier in the week and broken his leg. Bass would have found it hilarious; the prestigious ever unforgiving Miles Matheson bested by ice he couldn't see, and bed-ridden by a controlling Rachel Matheson refusing to let him out of her sight. But he had to deal with the outcome. And now he was on a long hike to the nearest town to get supplies with the youngest Matheson – who was currently surreptitiously ignoring him and had gained an extra few paces lead while he was absorbed in thought.

He called her to a stop, they needed a minute to rest. Especially if they were going to make it to the town and back again by nightfall (he was already doubting it). He quickly caught up to her and propped himself up on a rock just off to the side of the road. Charlie stood in front of him, hands tucked under her armpits and teeth clenched against the cold. He ran his gloved hand through his hair, white flakes of frost falling into his eyes as he knocked it free. He cursed, blinking rapidly to clear his now stinging eyes, avoiding rubbing his gloved hands over his eyes in fear of making it worse.

He swore he heard Charlie chuckle under her breath, but once he cleared his vision her expression was set back into her normal impassive frown. Frost had gathered on the edges of her hair and he watched as she shook it out, eyes following the small flakes dropping to the ground where they immediately melted. She breathed out slowly, the white vapour her warm breath created mingling with his. He watched it swirl together for a second, the way it merged together so he was unable to tell which came from him and which came from her, before abruptly standing up, and shaking away his thoughts.

If Charlie's sudden jump back was anything to go by he'd jolted her by his quick movement. He thought about apologising but she had already recovered, and was sending one of Rachel's perfectly crafted icy glares in his direction. He inwardly rolled his eyes. 'Come on. Times wasting.' He turned and strolled away, hearing her mutter something under her breath and choosing to ignore it. If he knew her at all, which he did, then it was probably some Miles influenced insult.

Charlie shook her head as Bass strolled away from her, eyes narrowed. 'Dick,' she grumbled under her breath. He was the one who had all but commanded at her to stop, who was he to waltz away hinting that it was her who was being lazy?! He could be so infuriating. She sighed deeply and trudged after him.

The cold was making her bones ache, her clothes were itchy against her skin and being uncomfortable made her grouchy. She wished, not for the first time, that she had gloves too. God knows where Bass had found his, but they looked warm and cosy and she wanted some. Miles had at least found her a coat before he had slipped on the way back, but Bass already had the gloves. He probably stole them from some poor soul. Charlie smirked to herself as she caught up to him, keeping an eye on the sides of the road. Bass caught her smirk and looked at her strangely, but he shook his head and gave another courtesy glance around the area. They were in the clear so far, but they were walking in open range, with no cover if anyone decided to open fire on them.

Her coat was a little too big, ending behind her knees and the hood – when pulled up – swallowed her head entirely. Thankfully because it was overly large it covered most of her hands, her fingers just poking out the sleeve and despite looking like a twelve year old in her mother's clothes, it did keep her warmer than Bass probably was in his leather jacket. Miles had grabbed him a coat but it was too small, and had ripped as he tried to zip it up. Charlie was rather glad, because it had looked damn right uncomfortable. And restrictive. There was no way he would have been able to fight in that.

They continued on in silence, passing by nothing but rocks and the occasional lonely looking frozen plant. They took few breaks, preferring to march on in quiet to preserve as much body warmth as possible. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. The first time she and Bass had been completely alone was when they had hiked their way across the Plains and Texas to Willoughby. That journey had been rife with tense, resentful silence and jabbed remarks. This was entirely different, and although Charlie had thought Bass would have jumped at the first opportunity in taking over Texas after Carver died, so far he had remained with them. Seemingly to silently agree to stand by them with their next problem; one in which they had to rely on the brains rather than the brawn. A completely different type of war for them and Charlie wasn't completely sure where she fit in. But then again, with Bass and Miles, she knew she wasn't alone. The three of them had stood there, feeling utterly baffled as Rachel and Aaron had tried to explain what had happened to the Nano. Most of it had gone over her head, but she nodded and silently told herself she'd just go along with it. She'd know who the bad guys were. That much she knew, and she could help there – she hoped.

Charlie stuffed her hands in her pockets, the tips of her fingers were freezing and as the sun started to set she was starting to worry about frostbite. Rachel and Aaron had informed them that this area was mostly taken over by the Nano; which was why they had settled there, so the brains in the team could get a better gist on what was happening and how far the Nano had advanced their plans. There were few towns remaining and therefore they had to be careful. They were closing in on the small town now but they had passed no one. Surely there would be a few people; travelling, out for supplies, or simply wondering around. But there was no one, and it was putting her on edge, making her jittery. She rested a hand on her knife at her belt to steel her nerves and cast a glance at Bass. His clenched jaw told her he was feeling it too.

Something was wrong.

Without communicating they both slowed their pace, coming to an almost stop. Bass glanced at her and gestured with his head and they both moved off the road, still in the open but heading towards the trees that surrounded the town. Charlie kept low and slightly behind Bass as he edged his way along the trees. He slowly pulled his sword from its sheath and Charlie followed suit, resting her sword against her leg as they moved quietly through the underbush. He gestured with his hand and she crouched down beside him, just hidden behind a thick bush. They could hear movement from the other side. He shifted and started to edge his way around, only stop to turn and shake his head sharply at her, 'stay here,' he hissed as she moved to follow him.

'Why?' She hissed back, narrowing her eyes at him. He didn't boss her around. He may have been re-promoted to General during the Patriot War but she wasn't his underling. Wasn't his soldier. It may have annoyed Blanchard that she refused to be drafted into the newly re-established General Matheson and Monroe army, but she acted on her own. She would have been an awful underling, she never was a stickler to the rules. She still fought by their sides, but she was her own person, and if Blanchard wasn't willing to give her a higher place in his new army then she had wanted no place. Both Miles and Bass had understood that. Bass also knew she wasn't someone to wait around and be killed. He knew this, so why was he saying she held back? 'I'm not waiting here.'

He had stopped edging his way along the bush as she had protested, and remained quiet as she sorted through her thoughts. His eyes softened as he appraised her statement. 'Charlotte, I need you to stay here. Just until I see what's out there. There's no point us both being caught if it's an ambush.' He laid a hand on her shoulder, and she had to stop herself from leaning into it. He stared at her intently. 'Trust me.'

Her thoughts immediately went to protest, and she had to catch her already partly opened mouth and stop herself from speaking before thinking it through. He was right, she did know this, but leaving him to go out there on his own? Without someone at his back? She looked at him, and he stared back. She trusted him, but that wasn't the problem. It was that she didn't trust anyone else. Didn't trust them not to hurt him. 'I'm counting to twenty. If you're not back then I'm going to assume something's wrong.'

'And if something's wrong then you run. Find Miles and the others and let them know the towns been breached.'

She immediately shook her head. 'No, then I'm coming to help.' She edged a little closer to him. 'I'm not running.'

'Charlie…' He growled, low in his throat, and she had to resist a shiver. 'If something happens, go.'

'No.'

'Yes.'

'No, I'm not going anywhere.' It was hard to keep her voice to a low hissed whisper, when she wanted nothing more than to yell at him. He was being stupid. 'I'm not leaving you Bass!' He seemed a little taken aback by her use of his given name. She rarely used it. That wasn't because she didn't trust him, didn't like him, no it was because using his surname was a learned habit. Something difficult to un-teach herself when there were more important things to be worrying about. But it had been a slip of the tongue. A slip of the tongue she found she rather liked. He opened his mouth to protest and she quickly interrupted, 'I mean it, Bass, I'm not leaving you here to die.'

He scrutinized her for a second, and she stared defiantly back, before he sighed, 'fine. So stubborn.' He added under his breath.

Charlie smirked at him, did he expect anything less? Before nodding, happy with the compromise but still feeling the fast beat of her heart and the lump in her throat as he turned and walked away from her. She started counting immediately in her head as soon as he was out of sight. 'One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi...' she hadn't even gotten to 13 when there was an unmistakable yelp of pain, causing the next number to halt in her throat. She had to force herself to breathe and she listened intently, edging slightly closer to the bush to try and get a glimpse of what was going on.

There was another grunt, again unmistakably Bass', and Charlie had to restrain herself following her instincts to just dive in and help. Miles wouldn't agree with her rash behaviour; she had to keep a clear head, work out her chances and the avenues of escape. She especially needed to see if Bass was badly injured and if he'd be able to help fight his way out.

She breathed out in silent relief when Bass' voice filled the air, slightly strained but he didn't sound in pain – then again he was good at hiding it. But she hadn't heard a gunshot so that was a point in their favour. 'Neville, what a pleasant surprise. Hadn't expected to see you here.'

Charlie froze. Neville was here? They hadn't heard from since before the war began, he'd been mysteriously absent and remained that way all summer and fall. They'd presumed him dead. Killed by Patriots maybe and dumped by the side of the road, just another unidentified body in a sea of hundreds. She hadn't given much thought to him, thinking about Tom Neville brought back unsettling memories of the younger Neville. The one whose name she couldn't even think without guilt overwhelming her. She licked her chapped lips, and pushed the thoughts away. Focusing on Bass was the priority now, and how she was going to get them out of this. What was Tom doing here anyway?

'Monroe. I would say it's nice to see you, but well, it's not.' Charlie tried to peer through a gap in the bush, but she could make nothing out and she wasn't risking moving the branches. She'd probably have to reveal herself to get a good look at the situation, and that'd mean she'd have to have a plan before then or they were both doomed. 'How've you been? Finished your war I hear.' He was sneering, sounding exactly like the Neville Charlie knew and loathed. Except for the 'your' war, something was definitely up.

'There's eight creepy zombified people staring at me, it's putting me a little on edge. You're not going to have them eat my brains are you?' He sounded light, chipper, his voice showing no strain of the situation he was in.

Charlie knew he'd said that for her, and she was able to quickly put the pieces together. The town had obviously been taken over by the Nano, recently if she'd hazard a guess, and for some reason Neville was with them. She had no time to contemplate why, but he seemed able to speak for himself. Much unlike the other Nano infected people they'd come across. Perhaps he was their leader? Bass seemed to think he was in control of them.

There was a brittle sounding laugh, startling Charlie out of her thoughts. 'Heavens no. That would be terribly messy. But this is unfortunately going to be your end. The Nano said you cannot be converted, so we aren't going to try.' There was pause, and Charlie had no idea what was going on. 'Sorry Monroe, seems your time is up this time.'

'Always so melodramatic Neville. Since when were you working for the evil body-snatching robots?'

'Since they brought my son back to me.' Neville replied. Charlie knew this, knew they could make the 'dead' appear. It wasn't really Jason. She knew this. But the thought of seeing him again, apologising – no, she squelched that thought down.

Apparently Bass was thinking the same thing. 'Jason? You do know he's dead? The Nano imitate, they can't actually bring the dead back to life.'

Another brittle laugh and Charlie had to refrain from flinching. Neville was always better than her, always one step ahead. She'd be dead now if it wasn't for an empty clip. She'd survived by chance. 'They said you'd say that.' Charlie visualised him shaking his head, in that patronising manner he always seemed to carry around.

Bass sighed regretfully. 'Believe what you want. I'm not here to talk you around.'

There was the sound of a gun hammer being pulled back. 'No, you're not.'

'Neville. You don't really want to kill me.'

'But I do Monroe. I want you dead nearly as much as I do the youngest Matheson girl.' He spat. 'The bitch killed my son, and after you I'm going to hunt her down and put a bullet through her head like I should have done.'

'You don't touch Charlotte. You don't even deserve to be in the same proximity as her.' Bass was finally starting to sound panicked, and Charlie blinked at the open hostility in his voice. He was protecting her?

Neville chuckled, malice and mockery turning his voice into a sneer as he spoke. 'Oh she's gotten you wrapped around her little finger too? The great Bass Monroe, enslaved to a 22 year old girl.' He snorted. 'How pathetic. Be grateful I'm ridding you of the burden.'

'Bite me.' Bass growled. 'You're a pitiful worthless mockery of a man. Waltzing around pretending everything's fine while the Nano are slowly working their way through everything that was once redeemable about you.' He paused. 'You're the pathetic one.'

Charlie swallowed, trying to ignore their bickering. He was buying her time. It was now or never, and she wasn't going to be too late. Never again. She quickly sneaked her way along the bush, retracing Bass' steps. She had an idea, but it counted on Bass being able to follow her lead. She prayed he would. She steeled herself, counting quickly to five in her head and moving before she had second thoughts. This would work, it had too. 'Stop!' She called out, abruptly standing up and revealing her hiding place.

All heads in the clearing swung towards her, and she carefully avoided Bass' eyes, not wanting to see the panic she would surely see there. He'd catch on, he had too. 'You want me, right Neville? Not him.' She pointed at Bass who was on his knees in the centre. There were six Nano infected people standing around him in a circle, Neville in front with two flanking his sides. She judged all this in seconds. 'Sure he's hurt you. Mislead you. But what's worse than killing someone? Leaving them to suffer while someone they care about dies. You know this. So why kill him, when you can kill me?' As she spoke she slowly emerged from the bush and walked closer. Dropping her sword just out of Bass' reach as she stopped by his side. She spotted Bass' sword in the grip of the female Nano-Zombie standing to the right of Neville's shoulder. It looked damn right ridiculous in her hands. Still she sent a winning smile towards the man still holding his gun levelled at Bass' head. 'Hello.' She pulled her best Miles smirk, knowing she had it almost down to perfection.

'Stop talking!' Bass hissed up at her.

She refrained from sniping back I have and smirked down at him. 'Shut up Monroe.'

The use of his surname seemed to shock him into silence, and he glared at her, but otherwise saying nothing. She had no idea if he understood what she was doing here. They were usually on the same page, but this was completely unlike her. She was usually shoot/stab first and ask questions later, like her uncle. But here she was, standing here, seemingly handing herself over on a silver platter. God, she hoped he understood. She wasn't a martyr. Not anymore.

'Charlotte Matheson. As I live and breathe. Looks like I won't have to hunt you down after all.' Neville sneered, moving the gun to point at her.

She'd been in this situation before and again she stared down the gun, raising her head defiantly. 'Let him go and you can have me.'

'Why? When I can have you both?' He laughed, a cruel harsh sound. 'Do you think I'm that stupid?'

She clicked her tongue against her teeth. 'Aw, it was worth a try. You usually are.'

'Careful girl or I'll shoot you where you stand.'

'You're going to do that anyway.' She retorted, raising an eyebrow.

Bass hooked a hand around her ankle to get her attention. 'Charlie stop channelling your uncle. You're making it worse.'

She glanced down at him and shrugged. 'It can't get much worse.' She had a point, it couldn't, but the feeling of his hand wrapped around her ankle reassured and grounded her. It told her he understood, and he was letting her know. He'd finally caught onto the plan. She hid a deep sigh of relief. 'Looks like we've both hit the end of the road this time.'

'Correct.' Neville grabbed her arm and yanked her forwards. She stumbled into him. 'But first I'm going to have them rip Monroe apart. A little fairy told me you have the hots for him.' He gestured at the Nano-Zombies standing around him. Before shoving his face so close to hers she could see the little beads of sweat on his brow, she stopped herself from recoiling in disgust. He grinned, teeth wide, this version of Neville was certainly more brazen. He grabbed her other arm and pulled her back into him, turning her around to look at Bass. 'So say bye bye to Mr Wonderful.' He spoke into her ear, hands tightly gripped over her shoulders.

She watched in horror as the six Nano-Zombies circling starting converging. He didn't seem injured, surely the sword she'd left only centimetres from his reach would be an easy leap. He locked eyes with her for a second, his shoulders slumped and seemingly defeated. She swallowed, her mouth dry. Only slightly thankful she couldn't feel the cold with the blood rushing through her veins. She watched the Nano-Zombies come closer, and as one reached for his shoulder he jumped up. She sagged in relief as he leapt for the sword, immediately swinging it around and slicing off the head of the Nano-Zombie closest to him.

Her slumped body meant Neville had loosened his hold a little, she took the advantage and swung an elbow backwards into his gut. He doubled over and before he could recover she yanked the hunting knife from her belt and stabbed it into his stomach. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she twisted her hand until he convulsed, before placing her foot on his knees and pushing him backwards and pulling her knife clear. He slumped to the floor. She quickly spun and landed a kick in the stomach of the Nano-Zombie closest to her. He stumbled back a few steps and she used the time to throw her knife into the neck of the female one holding Bass' sword. She caught it as it fell from her grip and spun the heavier sword around with both hands, it weight giving it more strength as gravity worked it's magic and she sliced the first Nano-Zombie from shoulder to hip. He stared at her a second before dropping.

She turned the sword properly in her hands and turned to find Bass stabbing the last Nano-Zombie in the side, shoving it to the ground as it reached out for him. She wiped her hand over her forehead, panting a little and marvelling at the sweat she found there. In this weather she hadn't thought it was possible. 'Now I'm warm.' She grinned.

He cracked a small smile, sheathing his blade and reaching down to pick her sword up. She watched him as he held it out. She gave him his and reached down to wipe her sword on the dead Nano-Zombie's jeans, not wanting to make her jeans wet, before putting it back on her belt. 'Charlotte, that was dangerous.' He was eyeing her seriously now, small smile gone and blue eyes intent. 'You could have gotten yourself killed.'

'If I hadn't done anything, you'd have been dead.' She shrugged, walking over to the female and pulling her knife from her neck. Scrunching her nose up as she again sheathed it, without cleaning off the blood. She'd do that later.

Bass came up behind her. 'Yes. One less ruined twisted man to spoil the world.' He breathed in her ear. 'Hardly a loss.'

She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. 'To me it is, and to Miles, and Aaron. He's really grown quite fond of you. Don't think he'd be too happy to learn I let you die.'

'You wouldn't let me die. It'd be my choice.' He gripped her shoulders from behind, and she immediately cringed at the pain. Neville had obviously left bruises. He moved his hands off her shoulders and rubbed her upper arms. 'Promise me, you won't do that again.'

She'd closed her eyes, his actions rather soothing, but snapped them open at his statement. She turned around in his grip and sent him her best death glare. 'No.'

He sighed. 'Charlotte.'

'Bass,' there was a hesitant silence before she added lowly, 'two can play at the name game.'

Her playful spiteful mutter had the desired affect and he smirked, shaking his head, the matter thankfully dropped for now. They both stood there for a few moments until Charlie shivered, her body reminding her that it was, despite all the warmth and adrenaline she'd just exerted, very very cold. They both looked up at the sky, the first few stars winked back at them. 'It's too late to walk back to the others. We'll make camp and head off first thing.'

She nodded, pulling her coat tighter around her. 'Let's go. I think I spotted a small cabin before we reached the woods.'

'Good. Collect anything you can for a fire. The night is warmer than it's been for a few days, but we don't want to risk it.'

She frowned, falling easily into step beside him and keeping one eye out for anything dry enough to use for a small fire. 'But what about the Nano?'

He cast a glance at her. 'We'll take shifts. I'd rather return to Miles with you having all fingers and toes.'

She laughed at that, all teeth and wide beaming smile. She hadn't taken well to the cold weather, and on top of the Nano and not being able to do much to help; she'd been rather miserable recently. So, despite his statement being the truth, he'd never been happier to see that smile.

About an hour later they'd collected enough firewood for a small camp fire. They were sitting side by side, cross-legged and shoulder to shoulder staring into the flames, in amicable silence. Charlie held out her hands, feeling the heat immediately lick her fingers. She inched a little closer, only stopping when Bass grabbed the hood on her coat. 'Careful.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Stop treating me like a kid. I'm not going to go up in flames.'

He eyed her intently, eyes reflecting the flames and she wasn't but she'd swear she'd just watched his eyes darken. 'I'm not treating you like a kid.'

'If you say so.' She mumbled, looking back into the fire and wishing she had a blanket. The thin one she'd packed wasn't thick enough, and provided little extra warmth on top of the coat she was already wearing.

She startled when Bass grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning her around, and placed a rough kiss on her lips, swiping his tongue along her lower lip, his hands sliding down to rest on her waist. She immediately went to respond but he had already pulled away, smirking. 'Was that treating you like a kid?'

'N-no.' She stumbled.

She watched as his smirk grew smugly before he sat back on his haunches, moving until he was sat down, long legs stretched in front of him. And Charlie had to blink at his casual demeanour. 'Do you know what time of year it is?' His question flippant, and he stared at half rotten roof. The gaps provided enough ventilation for the smoke to escape. She stalled at his blasé question and fumbled around in her head for an answer, had she just imagined that whole thing? 'Do you?' He repeated his question.

She looked at him, shaking her head. 'No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me.' She decided inwardly to just go with it, he obviously had something on his mind.

'It's the 25th of December,' he looked at her, still lounging backwards, 'well give or take a few days.'

She frowned. 'How do you know that?'

'Always keep a record of the dates Charlotte. Helps you stay sane.' She had to raise an eyebrow at that and he chuckled good-naturedly. 'Mostly sane.' He reached over for his pack and pulled out a small worn battered leather book, tossing it at her.

She flipped through the pages, taking note at the hand written months written in different coloured inks, and crossed off dates. She had never seen him using it before, but there it was, clear as day; 25th December circled in black ink numerous times. God knows where he'd found working pens. 'Okay.' She passed it back to him. 'Happy Christmas, I suppose.' She'd never really held a high regard for the event, her family had always been too poor to buy her anything. She'd gotten her first crossbow one Christmas but every weapon since she'd found or made herself. Miles and she had shared a bottle of whiskey between them in companionable silence in the time they were fighting Monroe; she guessed that was around Christmas time. It was cold and snowy anyway.

Bass was watching her carefully, but he nodded, his voice soft when he spoke. 'Merry Christmas Charlotte.' She watched as he flicked through the journal, finding something in the blank pages further towards the back. He passed the piece of paper over to her, and she automatically reached out to take it. Only realising it was a photograph, blank side up, when she felt the shiny texture on the other side.

Their fingers brushed as she took it off him, and she ignored the jolt of static electricity as she carefully turned the photo over. She was unable to hold back the gasp as three people on the paper grinned back at her. Miles, Bass and who she guessed to be herself. She stared at her small self, holding an ice cream, teeth bared at the camera. She was crushed between the two men, looking for all the world extremely happy. She didn't remember the day, but it caused a lump in her throat as she stared at it. 'You kept this?' She murmured, tracing her happy smile. Bass looked so happy, eyes crinkled and mouth in a laugh. Miles had his eyebrows raised in his signature look, but he was smiling all the same.

Bass was silent long enough that she had to look up to make sure he'd heard her. He was simply watching her. 'I thought you might want it someday.'

'Even through all your time as General Monroe. Trying to hunt us down, end our campaign against you.'

He visibly flinched, but nodded. 'I didn't want to hurt you Charlie, but you were so stubborn. Just like your mother. And it angered me so much. And then there was Miles, he'd abandoned me. Left in the middle of the night. I, I didn't know what to think.' He swallowed. 'I lost myself.'

'And now you've found yourself.' She whispered.

'Yes. Thanks to Miles accepting me, trusting me, letting me help you fight against the Patriots… granted I may have struggled a little, it's hard coming back from such a dark pit and I may have failed a lot when it came to your mother. But, I have a lot to be grateful for… and most of it is down to you.' His pauses between sentences resonated how difficult he was finding this. 'So, thank you Charlie. That's for you.' He nodded at the photo.

She immediately shook her head. 'No, no. It's yours. You kept it, it's a good memory for you. I can't even remember it. Keep it, treasure it.'

She handed it back to him but he held up a hand. 'I kept it for you Charlotte. It's now yours.' He lightly gripped her wrist and tugged her to him, 'take it. Please.' She deftly nodded, taking the photo back and wishing she had somewhere safe to put it. He'd kept it safe all these years, she didn't want to accidently ruin it. 'I have another journal somewhere, I'll give you that so you can keep it safe. And record the dates until next Christmas.' He took the photo from her carefully and she watched as he put it back in his journal and tucking it back into his pack. Sometimes he could read her so easily.

He turned back to her and she was suddenly surprised to realise how close they were. She stared at him for a second, her eyes dropping to his lips, remembering the feeling as he pressed them to hers. He slowly reached for her face, eyes searching hers, and whatever he found there he seemed satisfied with as he leant down and again pressed his lips to hers.

This time when she responded he didn't pull back, simply smiled into the chaste kiss. She gently rested her hands on his shoulders and when he didn't immediately freeze she slid them up into his hair, wrapping her fingers around the blond strands as she'd always longed to do, and tugged lightly. He groaned a little, and she smiled a little, tugging harder. He pulled back a second, staring into her eyes. 'Wicked woman.' She smirked in answer and when their lips met this time all restrain was gone.

They clashed together, tongues immediately fighting for dominance. She battled, but eventually let him win, and relaxed into the kiss, moaning a little as his hands slid from her face and onto her shoulders, before down her arms to rest on her thighs, rubbing lightly. In response she moved her hands from his hair and unzipped his leather jacket, fingers trailing down his worn t-shirt until she reached the edge. She could feel the heat radiating from him through the t-shirt and greedily slipped her cold hands under his top to rest on chest. He hissed a little into the kiss as she moved up and caressed, exploring with touch the rugged edges and jagged tears along his skin. He was fascinating, every scar telling its own little story. 'I'd let you take it off but… weather.' He stalled as she scratched a nipple, and she smirked into the kiss, she loved knowing she had an effect on him. 'Minx.'

He slipped a hand under her coat, the other reaching to undo her coat and she helped in shrugging it off her shoulders, it fell forgotten to the floor behind her. His hands immediately untucked her top from her jeans and slipped underneath. The gloves that had kept his hands warm had been discarded earlier when he was building the fire, but they had kept his hands protected from the cold and the heat radiated through her. He ran a finger under the edge of her bra, teasing, before lightly trailing it over the fabric and over the place her nipple was. She narrowed her eyes at him, and pushed forwards. He chuckled, kneading her breast through the fabric before reaching round. She arched her back as he reached for the clasp on her bra, expertly unclipping it and letting it fall loose around her. 'Hmm…' He muttered, kissing his way up her jaw, 'I can't wait to see you but that's going to have to wait till next time-' she bared acknowledged his words, lost in the feeling of his fingers tweaking her sensitive nipples, but she caught the trail end and hummed her agreement, next time, and shuffled forwards seeking more friction.

Charlie's hands immediately flitted to the buckle at his belt and easily threaded the belt out the loops and unbuckled the belt, giving her access to his zip. Her hands paused in her movements for a second as pleasure rolled through her, he'd bent down to lightly nip her right bud with his teeth. She closed her eyes and fiddled with his zip, finally tugging it down and pulling him out. She stroked lightly, enjoying his low groan as she tightened her grip. He stiffened more in her grip, and she quickly bent down to kiss him on the tip. She peeked a look up, smugly smiling when she noticed his eyes were screwed shut tightly. His hands were now tightly gripping her hair, and she enjoyed the feeling as he tugged when she placed another kiss before bending down to take him partially into her mouth. 'Fuck. Charlotte.' He growled, the same growl he'd used earlier but huskier and she shuddered. The effect his voice had on her was astronomical. She lightly flicked her tongue out and bobbed her head down, taking more of him into her mouth. His grip momentarily tightened before one hand dropped away, trailing down her heated body to her thighs, easily unbuckling her own belt and unzipping her jeans, she lifted herself up a little so he could pull them down over her ass.

She used the momentum as she lifted to swallow, tightening her mouth a little around his shaft. Her reward was his calloused hands slipping in-between the apex of her thighs and easily finding the dark curls soaked with her own juices. He lightly trailed down over her folds and she responded by tightening her thighs to create more friction. He chuckled at her, so she hollowed her cheeks and took him in deeper, his fingers clamped down and she moaned, pleasure spilling through her. He stroked the little bundle of nerves and she buckled into him, hissing through her teeth trying not to bite down on him. She moved faster, bobbing her head up and down, flicking her tongue out to rub the top of his shaft. He groaned, and rubbed harder on her clit and pushed herself onto him seeking more. He trailed his finger around her clit before pushing one finger into her, and then before she processed he added another, hooking them up to find her g-spot.

She closed her eyes as waves of pleasure rolled through her and bit back a curse as his thumb rubbed over her clit. She managed one last hard suck, drawing a low moan, before one final flick on her clit and she reached her limit, flying over the edge and convulsing around his fingers. She managed to hold her head perfectly still so she didn't bite down, and as the lights around her eyes began to clear she could feel Bass running his hands though her hair and slowly her senses picked up on her words he was muttering, '…you're going… to have to… get off. Charlotte.' He swallowed. 'Not gonna last.' He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her gently back. She looked up at him and he pressed a kiss to her lips, not at all disturbed by where her mouth had been, and hummed as she responded eagerly.

He moved them so she was on her back, her coat fanned out under her, and positioned himself between her thighs. She watched as he manoeuvred himself to her opening. They locked eyes for a second, the moment seemingly to last forever, before she reached up and gently pulled his head down to meet her lips. He closed his eyes and slammed home. She cried out in pleasure, breaking the kiss and arching her back. He slowly pulled out and slammed back in. She wrapped her legs around his waist, heels pressed into the back on his thighs, urging him to go faster. He did, speeding up, hands placed either side of her head. She turned her head to lightly kiss the bandage he still had tightly wrapped around his burned tattoo, and he froze for a second. Turning to look at her. She smiled softly at him and kissed her way up his arm. He blinked, an expression she couldn't identify filling his eyes, before he crashed his lips back to hers, picking off where he stopped. Their moans mingling as they both reached their climaxes.

She fell over the edge first, inner walls clamping around his shaft tightly, her eyes squeezed shut as she drowned in the pleasure rolling through her. He watched her for a second, marvelling at the way her head fell back and her mouth opened into an 'o' as she let go. He didn't last long before he tumbled over himself, spilling into her. His arms lost their balance and he collapsed on top of her, quickly rolling them round so she was splayed across his chest, eyes still closed. They both lied there, tangled together and Bass' arms rubbing soothing motions over her back, her hands still tangled in his hair, until the chill in the air started to work its way back into their bones. She shivered and he carefully moved them and pulled himself out. He unwrapped the bandage from his wrist and used it to wipe himself and her clean before zipping himself back up. She quickly shimmied back into her jeans and redid her belt, burying herself into her coat. He gathered her into his arms and she easily buried herself into his warmth. 'This changes everything, doesn't it?' She whispered after a few minutes of companionable silence.

He eyed the journal edging out of his pack for a second, a soft smile unfamiliar for such a battle-worn man taking over his features. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head and tucked her sleepy body tighter into him. 'Merry Christmas Charlotte.' He whispered to the already sleeping young woman, as he prepared himself to take watch for the night.

A.N/ Hope you enjoyed. Drop a line to tell me what you thought. And, once again, hope this met your expectations Motherrunner33! :D - it is now 02:41 here.