A/N: My crazy imagination forced me to write this. It apparently wants this as ep. 2x14. I do what it tells me to.
Title totally stolen from my favorite song by Hurts. Like the song? Make vids? Great...because to get us through this painful Olympics break I'm going to run a contest. Follow my Tumblr or Twitter ( candystars121) for more details. Trust me, I'm going to make it worth your time, because I'm just that desperate to see a Charloe fan vid to this song.
I don't own Revolution, or any of it's characters.
Charlie waited at the Rendezvous point for Bass & Connor but they never showed. She knew going back to New Vegas would be a risk, but it was one she had to take. There's no way they would have taken off without her, something must have happened.
Making her way back to the tents where the heist took place, being careful to avoid being noticed, she couldn't help wondering what could have gone wrong. It had to have been on Connor's end. There's no way the plan would have failed had it been her Bass & Miles. The three of them worked like a well oiled machine. Knowing the others moves before they even made them. And of course, she wouldn't have ended up sleeping with Miles, like she did Connor. Not that it didn't have the intended impact, at least partly.
She had pissed Bass off by doing it, that much was clear when he caught them laying out there by the wagon afterwards. That plan had worked perfectly, even if it was a somewhat childish reaction to seeing the looks shared between Duncan and Bass. But it certainly did nothing to satiate her needs. Because Connor wasn't the one she really wanted. In some ways she had hoped that she had been over thinking things….that a romp in the hay with anyone would quell it, even better if that someone was a mini version of Bass. But God was he being sweet and sentimental afterwards, when all she wanted to do was tell him to shut the hell up. Sure, he's nice enough, cute even. But he is immature and full of hope in a world where she has learned there's no room for it. What she needed….what she wanted was Bass. Someone who had felt the same kind of pain, loss and guilt that she did. Someone who wouldn't think of her as broken because she was good at killing and couldn't deny enjoying some part of it.
Oh, she knew it was as much wrong to want him, as it was right. Afterall he was culpable in the deaths of her dad and Danny, but she wasn't even sure she could pin that on him anymore knowing what she did about her mothers involvement in blackout...because really it did all lead back to that one moment. Even her mother's being held captive was direct result of a choice that Rachel had made herself. But if she considered only her interactions with Bass, he had been there to save her several times. Hell, in a world where it seemed like everyone left her, he came back for her even knowing he had a clear escape from the school. In battle, she knew that she never had to worry about what he might do, he'd never really given her any reason not to trust him...and that trust was essential to surviving.
But standing in that casino tent where she found her self now, seeing the look between Bass and Duncan...it had made her jealous. Yeah, she pulled a gun on her. Not just out of protection for Bass, but because in that moment, she really just couldn't stand the idea that Bass had been with her, or the possibility that he might use sex to get what he wanted tonight. So, she had set off to get back at him, just like the kid she was trying so hard to prove to him she wasn't.
She kept her hair down around her face and stuck to the middle of groups of people trying to pick up on what may have happened. It didn't take long before she had heard the whispers. That Jimmy King was really Sebastian Monroe, and that he was going to be put into a deathmatch with his kid for robbing Gould.
Knowing that she was on her own, and really, unable to do anything to rescue them herself she knew what she was going to have to do. There wouldn't be enough time to get Miles so she had no choice but to go to the one person she wished she had never met.
"Duncan, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, walking up behind her at the same poker table they had found her at earlier.
Duncan didn't bother turning around. "Back to finish the job? I would have thought you'd want your mercs before you kill me...where's Sebastian?"
"That's what I need to talk to you about. Then again, I'm pretty sure you already know why I'm here don't you."
She turned in her chair, staring Charlie down with the same look of intrigue that she had earlier when she had implied that there was something going on between Charlie and Bass.
Charlie held her glare.
"I might have heard something, although I'm not sure what that has to do with me." she smirked.
"Don't play coy, Duncan. You're not fooling anyone. You don't want him dead any more than I do. And you know that's exactly what will happen. He'd never take his son's life to save his own."
Duncan stood to face her, leather clad arms crossing her chest. "And what would you like me to do about that…..Charlie, isn't it?"
"Yeah, you know what I want. I want your help to get them out of there. I'm on my own here. I'd go bring Miles back but by then it would be too late. Whatever your price is, I'll find a way to pay it."
"And what if my price is Sebastian...what if I say he has to come with me when I get them out?
Charlie thought about what she was saying, analyzing the look in Duncan's eyes, the tilt of her head as she had asked it. She suddenly felt naked, as if Duncan had just stripped everything down and could see exactly how she felt about Bass.
She hesitated in responding "I...that's...I"
Charlie wanted to tell her it wasn't an option. That he had to stay with her. That Duncan couldn't have him. But when once again faced with the thought of Bass being dead as an alternative, she knew it wasn't a choice. She already knew what it felt like when she thought he was dead at his execution and she knew there was no way she would survive feeling that loss again.
She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Fine. If that's what it takes to save him, fine."
Duncan smiled, her eyes twinkling as if she was figuring something out. "Hmm...that's what I thought. It's interesting really. You're willing to hand him over to me if I get him out. And if I don't, he dies. But yet either way you don't get him and yet you're still willing."
Charlie knew that her silence spoke volumes. But she couldn't bring herself to respond to it. There was no way she could explain to that woman why a world where Sebastian Monroe didn't exist wasn't a world she wanted to live in, especially when she barely understood those feelings herself.
"Alright, I'll do it, but I don't want him. I've been with that ball of crazy once and I have no interest in a repeat."
The tension immediately left Charlie's body and for a moment she felt as if she might need to sit down. She didn't know if this angle would work, didn't know if she'd be able to save them in time but the sense of relief she felt knowing that she'd succeeded in getting Duncan on board overwhelmed her. And knowing that Duncan didn't want Bass just added to it.
"But just so you know" Duncan continued "It's just me and my guys. I don't know you, and I don't trust you, even if you are a Matheson."
Charlies head jerked up from the ground where she had been looking.
"Yeah...I know who you are. Only a Matheson could get themselves this tangled up with Sebastian Monroe"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Duncan laughed, leaning in as if she were sharing a secret. "Nothing and everything. Just know that you're not fooling anyone either." She pulled back and turned to walk away. "Give me an hour and meet me outside the entrance, I'll let you know where and when you can meet us once I have them."
"Thank you Duncan, really."
"Uh huh...I'm not doing it for you" she winked, walking away and exiting the tent.
Charlie waited outside of New Vegas, just far enough away that the torches that lit the little pit stop in the middle of the plains blended together making it nearly impossible to make out any structures. If she was being honest, she hoped it was the last time she'd ever see that place. Not that the place was without its charms. When Bass had made mention of going back there, Charlie jumped at the chance to get to relive the trip that had led them to Willoughby. Go going so far as to convince Miles she needed to go to keep an eye on Bass and Connor.
She tried to keep herself occupied arranging and rearranging the stuff in her pack while sitting in the back of the wagon facing towards the town hoping she would see them coming. She wasn't entirely sure what to expect or what she would say to them when they got there. Show relief and give hugs or make some sarcastic quip about how she was the one who saved their asses. Though the longer she waited the more she began to worry that she might never see them again as all the things that could go wrong with Duncan's plan began to run through her mind. Fortunately the mental torture wasn't long lasting as she saw them heading up the road ahead of her. She could just barely make out that it was Duncan, Bass and Connor and what appeared to be several of Duncan's men. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the group come to a stop….Duncan and Bass engaged in conversation and Connor heading her way. She hoped that Duncan would be kind and not share with Bass any of the suspicions she had about Charlie's feelings towards him before they parted ways. She wasn't ready to deal with that fallout.
Duncan grabbed him by the wrist holding him back as she stopped. "Monroe, before you go can I talk to you for a minute" she said glancing at Connor and back to him.
Connor took the hint "Alright, well, I'm gonna go wait with Charlie"
"Hey, can you try to keep your clothes on this time" he said before Connor could get too far ahead, he just laughed in response.
"Listen, Duncan, I owe you one. I appreciate you getting us out of there, giving me more time with the kid. He's got a good heart and I don't know if he could have lived with himself if he had to kill me. And I still want the men, it's just going to take me a little while to come up with the payment."
"Sebastian, you've got the men. I'll make arrangements and send them your way tomorrow. If these patriots are as bad as you say they are, then you're gonna need them. I may have questioned some of your tactics as the General of the Republic, but you seem oddly grounded now, so I'm just going to have faith that you're not going to go crazy dictator on all of us again."
"Well, thanks…"
Duncan cut him off before he could continue "Don't thank me. If you want someone to thank, you'll need to thank Charlie. If she hadn't come and asked for my help, I can't say that I would have done anything to get you out of there. But if I can offer you some advice, be careful with that one."
"Charlie?" he asked "I know she can be a little impulsive but it works for her, even if it does drive me crazy."
Duncan laughed "Oh Bass, come on, tell me you don't see it. That girl right there, she's in love with you. Although I can't say that she even knows it herself. But she is."
It was Bass' turn to laugh "You don't know what you're talking about. She was off screwing my kid while I was busy negotiating for the men with you."
Duncan smirked as if she had figured something out. "Think about it. You saw the way she looked at me when she pulled that gun. She knew there was something between us….what do you think she thought we were doing when we were negotiating. The girl was jealous. She was trying to get back at you for what she assumed you were doing with me."
The look in his eyes changed as he processed what she was saying. He wasn't entirely convinced, but thinking of the interaction with her after he had found them, and some other little things he's noticed over the past couple of months, he could almost see how someone could assume that there was something there.
"No, no...it's not like that. She's younger than my kid and she's Miles' niece and Rachel would…" his voice trailed off and Duncan got a brite smile on her face.
"Seriously Bass, I can't believe it! This isn't just a one way thing, is it? I can tell by the look on your face, and the excuses...they're just pitiful. You just can't stay away from the Matheson's can you?"
He just shrugged his shoulders, unable to admit to or deny anything that she was saying.
"Hey, it's not any of my business, I really don't care one way or the other but let me just say this….if she loves you like I think she does, even after everything that you've done...and you love her, don't be stupid and piss it away. You know better than anyone how quickly things like that can be taken from you. Don't let some crap like age, or what Miles thinks stop you. Screw all of it, and just take what clearly already belongs to you. Besides, you've changed….a lot, I can see that. Who knew you just needed somebody to die for." She leans in placing a hand on his cheek and places a quick kiss on the other before heading off back to New Vegas.
Bass stood there for several minutes watching her walk away still trying to take in everything that she said. He wouldn't say that he never thought of Charlie like that, because it would be a lie. He just never imagined it as a possibility. But he knew Duncan, knew that she was perceptive and was always able to manage to get a read on someone quickly. Maybe she was right. But hell, if he acted on it and was wrong, it could destroy everything he's been working so hard at. Rebuilding his friendship with Miles, trying to atone for all that he's done wrong. He headed on towards where Charlie and Connor were waiting sitting in silence on the edge of the wagon.
"Everything okay?" Charlie asked, eyeing him suspiciously trying to see if Duncan had revealed anything to him.
He ignored her question. "Let's get out of here."
Charlie pulled herself up to go sit further into the wagon, and Connor hopped down to head up front with Bass.
"Charlotte, you're up front with me."
Her head popped up and she met his blue eyes, staring at her. She still couldn't be sure if he knew...if he did, he certainly wasn't showing it.
"You" he pointed at Connor "hop in the back and get yourself some rest
"
Charlie climbed into the front seat, and Bass followed on the other side, sliding next to her so that every inch of the side of his body was pressed against hers. She looked up at him and he turned and gave her his trademark smirk.
He knew. She knew that he did just by that simple contact of his body and hers, but in that moment it didn't really matter who knew what. There was no admitting or denying anything from either of them. Just comfortable silence as she laid her head on his shoulder and they headed off back to Willoughby for the second time.