Miles was wandering through Willoughby's town square, taking note of the amount of Patriots scattered throughout. They seemed to be everywhere, guarding the town gates, the businesses, and patrolling the perimeter. He shook his head, wondering how the hell was he going to mount a serious resistance, as he'd told Rachel, when they were clearly horribly outnumbered. As he watched the other residents of Willoughby peacefully going about their day, he figured that maybe ignorance is bliss and sort of wished he could be like them. Not have to be the hero for a change. With a sigh, Miles disregarded that thought and headed back to the house he shared with Rachel, her father Gene, and Aaron. Miles hoped that Gene would be gone; sure, he'd gone along to rescue Miles and took care of his injured hand but things were still tense between the two men, especially things concerning Rachel. As for Rachel, she had left awhile ago with Aaron, who desperately needed someone to talk to about what was happening to him since he'd been resurrected. Miles was almost home, just walking past the shed that attached to Gene's house when a face peeking around the door caught his eye. He turned fully and a smile broke across his face, "Charlie?"

Charlie smiled at him and Miles quickly walked over to her, wrapping her in a big hug as he said quietly, "I didn't think you'd come back."

Charlie closed her eyes for a second before pulling away. "I didn't think I would either," she answered truthfully, "But with these government people showing up..." she shrugged, "Things kinda changed."

Miles nodded and put his arm over her shoulder again, pulling her close to his side as he said, "Well, let's get to your Grandpa's house and you can tell me where the hell you've been all this time."

Charlie pulled away from him, looking a little sheepish, "Um, actually Miles...I brought someone with me."

Miles raised his eyebrows, "By someone, I really hope you don't mean a guy."

Charlie rolled her eyes, "It is a guy, but nothing like that." She turned and walked into the shed, knowing her uncle would be curious and follow. Sure enough, she heard him enter right behind her and she led the way down some stairs to the basement below.

Miles followed his niece somewhat cautiously down the stairs as he asked with irritation, "Is all the secrecy really necessary..." he trailed off when, in the dim lamp-light, he finally recognized the man standing at the far end of the small room. "Bass..." he breathed, not quite believing what he was seeing.

Bass warily walked to the middle of the room, stopping and letting his hands hang at his sides so Miles would know he didn't mean any harm. "Miles," he greeted softly, letting Miles dictate the next move.

Miles just stared at him before turning to Charlie, who had been standing to the side watching the reunion with genuine curiosity. "Charlie. Explain. Now." He didn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it did but saying he was caught off-guard would have been putting it too mildly.

Charlie ignored his tone and replied, "Well, my original plan was to put a bullet in his brain," she gestured towards Bass, "But like I said before, these new guys changed things...for now."

Miles turned to Bass again, raising an eyebrow.

Bass shrugged and nodded, "Yeah, that's the short version."

Miles almost asked about the long version but decided against it in favor of asking, "Why'd you come here?"

Bass decided to just answer honestly, "To help you fight these Government guys."

Miles finally walked up to Bass, analyzing him for a moment before letting out a breath and walking by, stopping and facing the far wall. He didn't know how to handle this. So much had happened...was still happening.

Bass dropped his head for a second before turning around. Miles still had his back turned so Bass couldn't judge what his friend was thinking. "Miles, you know as well as I do that this isn't some ordinary militia and it's definitely not the U.S. Government. Whoever these people are, they are much bigger than anything we've fought so far," Bass told him, trying to keep his voice firm but unable to totally hide the hint of desperation.

Charlie stayed quiet but watched the two men with interest. She knew her uncle and Monroe had been best friends and she'd seen first-hand how hard the split had been on Miles when they were walking to Philly. This was the first time she'd actually seen the two together though and it became clear to her why they had failed at killing each other. Despite the threats from both ends, they still cared about one another.

A noise from the entrance caused all three to look towards the door in time to see Rachel to step into the room followed closely by Aaron. Without meaning to, Charlie stepped forward, a shy smile on her face as she saw her mom.

Rachel's eyes widened, "Charlie?" Then she noticed who the man was in front of her. Before anyone could explain, Rachel reached behind a box on the shelf beside where she stood and pulled out an AR-15 that her dad kept hidden there, pointing it right at Bass.

Bass flinched back a little, opening his mouth as if he were going to speak but staying silent.

Without thinking about it, Miles grabbed Bass by the shoulder and pulled him back, quickly stepping in front of him. "Hold on, hold on!" he shouted at Rachel, holding his hands up as he tried to diffuse the situation.

Rachel stared at him, "What the hell is going on?"

"Put the rifle down and I'll explain," Miles tried to placate her.

It didn't work. Rachel tightened her grip on the rifle, "Miles, I swear to-"

Charlie cut her off. "He saved me!" she said quickly. Everyone in the room looked at her but she held her mom's gaze. "I was on my way back here and I stopped at a bar," she ignored the disapproving looks from Rachel and Miles, "The guys there...they slipped something into my drink. I tried to fight but there were five or six of them."

Rachel sucked in a sharp breath, "Oh honey...they didn't...?"

Charlie shook her head, "I think they were going to but Monroe found me. He killed them and then watched over me until the drugs wore off." She didn't necessarily want to defend Monroe but at that instant she also knew that she didn't want him to die either...at least not by her family's hands.

Bass stepped forward until he was beside Miles, "Rachel..." he waited until she looked at him, "I don't want to hurt any of you. I swear."

Rachel still wasn't convinced, "Why would you care?"

It was just like Bass had told Charlie, he knew he couldn't make it up but he had to try. Plus, he'd made a promise to Rachel back at the tower that he'd protect Charlie "I keep my word," he stated simply, looking at her closely.

Rachel understood, grudgingly lowering the rifle and Miles gave a sigh of relief, reaching out and taking it from her.

Bass glanced at him and reached into his pocket, trying to ignore how everyone tensed. He pulled out Rachel's wanted poster and handed it to Miles, "This is what tipped me off. Bounty hunter had a pile of these with him. Said they're being distributed all over."

Miles scanned the page and then handed it to Rachel as he said, "This doesn't make any sense. They know who Rachel is...why haven't they done anything yet?"

Bass shrugged and was about to reply when Rachel cut him off. Speaking only to Miles, she said, "We can fight this on our own." Everybody looked at her in confusion so she turned to Bass, "We don't need you here. We don't want you here. Leave. Now."

Miles and Bass glanced at each other and Rachel frowned. Those two had always been able to communicate whole conversations silently and it had always driven her crazy when they would come visit Ben, especially when she just knew whatever they were thinking was about her. It looked like, despite being separated so long, they still had the ability. Finally, Miles spoke to her, "Rachel, it would be better if Bass stayed."

Rachel glared at him, "How can you say that? He's crazy! He's just as soon kill us than help us!"

Miles shook his head, "We can't do this by ourselves!" He hesitated and then admitted, "I can't do this by myself. It'd be difficult enough even if I were completely healthy, but I can barely handle a sword right now. As much as I hate to say this...I need someone to watch my back."

"So let me! I can help you, Miles!" Rachel replied forcefully.

Miles sighed, "You aren't trained. Besides, you're still recovering." He really didn't want to bring this up but he had to convince Rachel, "Bass and I together took over a large portion of the United States. Separated..." he glanced over and met Bass's gaze that was filled with an unidentifiable emotion as Miles continued, "everything has kinda gone to hell." He forced himself to face Rachel again, "So you choose: Take down these "Patriots" or rekindle a never-ending rivalry?"

Rachel let the silence stretch for a couple long minutes, glaring at Bass all the while. Finally her shoulders slumped, "Fine. But he's not to be left alone. Even at night."

"He can stay in my room," Miles offered quickly.

Rachel nodded and said grudgingly, "We'd better get him in there now, before dad gets home. He's not gonna be happy either." She stressed we because she still had plenty to say to Sebastian Monroe before they all went to sleep for the night.

Darkness had fallen by now and Miles quickly led Bass into Gene's house and up the stairs to his room, Charlie and Rachel following while Aaron went to his girlfriend's house.

Bass waited until the door shut before speaking, "Well, this is going better than I thought it would."

Rachel and Charlie both glared at him from where they were sitting on the bed while Miles snorted, "What'd you expect, Bass? Everyone would just welcome you with open arms?" He was quiet for a second before looking at Bass seriously as he said, "Thank you for watching out for Charlie and bringing her home, though."

Bass gave a half-shrug, "I didn't do much. The girl is tough. But, for what it's worth, you're welcome."

Charlie raised an eyebrow at him but otherwise stayed silent, her mom doing the same as they watched the two men in the middle of the room. Rachel was angry but knew better than to interrupt right now.

"Why'd you do it though?" Miles asked him, echoing Rachel's earlier question.

Bass frowned at him, "Why wouldn't I?"

Ignoring that question, Miles answered with one of his own, "Was it because you needed her to find us?"

Bass was confused, "She made the search a lot easier..." then realization at what Miles was implying dawned on him and he stared at Miles incredulously, "Do you honestly believe that if I'd already had the info, I would've just left her with those guys?"

The silence that stretched between them pretty much answered Bass's question.

"Miles, can you remember for just a second who I am?" Bass snapped, unable to hold back the irritation any longer.

It seemed the two men had forgotten about the girls. They were tensed and focused only on each other.

Miles cocked his head as his eyes hardened, "What, you mean General Monroe? Sorry, pal. That title won't do you any good here." It hurt Miles to do what he was about to do but he needed Rachel and Charlie to at least trust that Bass wouldn't hurt them, that he just wanted to help and the only way that would happen was to push Bass into proving it.

Bass didn't even know where to begin but he knew this discussion had been a long time coming and figured they may as well have it now, "No! See, that's the problem! I am not General Monroe. And you know what? I'm happy about it. Don't forget, Miles. I followed you into all of this. I didn't want it. If you had told me you wanted to leave instead of trying to assassinate me and running, I would've been right behind you. As always. We could've appointed Jeremy or someone as President and just left. But you did run and you left me with everything. You know what would've happened if I'd just taken off after you? The Republic would've been a battleground between the Georgia Federation and the Plains Nation. Its citizens that depended on us would've been slaughtered and replaced with the victor's own people." Bass finally paused in his rant to suck in a deep breath, ignoring the way Miles, Rachel, and Charlie were all staring at him.

Miles finally spoke, a somewhat accusatory edge in his voice as he asked the question in all their minds, "So why didn't you appoint a new President and leave anyway, if you disliked it so much?"

Bass gave a humorless laugh, "And go where? Georgia hates me. Plains Nation hates me. You would've killed me. Hell, we'd pulled so much shit in the Republic that even our own citizens would've killed me." He paused for a moment, asking in a quieter tone, "So, just because I was General Monroe...does that erase everything else I was?"

"Were you ever anyone else?" Miles asked him.

The one hurt but Bass answered anyway, "How about just Bass; the kid that grew up with you? Enlisted in the Marines and served two tours in the Middle East with you? And after the blackout, the one that walked all the way across the country with you?" He stopped, looking at Miles closely. "If you remember what I told you the day we left base, it will answer your question about why I protected Charlie and got her home," he finished.

Miles held Bass's gaze as he considered the other man's words. Charlie interrupted his thoughts as she asked, "What did he say that day, Miles?"

Miles glanced at her with a frown but clearly she wasn't intimidated, just looked at him expectantly, as did Rachel. He was surprised to hear Bass speak up.

"I tried to talk Miles out of walking to Chicago. Told him how stupid it was," Bass said. He intentionally left out the rest of the story. The way he left it made it sound like he was trying to keep Miles from his family and garnished the expected responses from Rachel and Charlie. They both sent him dark glares as well as muttered insults. Bass sent Miles a challenging look, waiting to see if the man would even bother trying to defend him by telling them what had happened next.

Miles sighed, looking down at the floor as he picked up the story, "I told him I was going anyway and he said okay, he'd pack his stuff." The mumbling from the two women stopped and Miles went on, "I told him that he was staying, that I wasn't dragging him into this. My family, my problem, that's what I said." He locked eyes with Bass again, speaking to him this time, "Of course I remember. You said that I'm your family which makes it your problem." He let out a small laugh as he added, "You also said you weren't asking."

The room fell silent, finally broken by Rachel's hard voice, "If you'd actually cared about us, you would have offed yourself by now."

Charlie and Miles both looked at her in surprise but almost immediately their gazes shot to Bass when he replied, "Trust me, Rachel. I wished that Miles had just pulled the trigger."

Immediately, Miles mind flashed to a night long in the past. Sitting beside Bass with four fresh graves in front of them. Taking the gun from his hands and holding him close while his best friend sobbed his heart out for his lost family. Another flashback; this time Miles held the gun in a shaking hand, barrel pointed at Bass's head while his friend stared up at him, making no moves to protect himself. Blue eyes full of emotions. Confusion. Betrayal. Most of all, a deep, deep sadness.

Shaking his head, Miles finally looked at Bass. Really looked at him. That's when he truly realized Bass was right. This wasn't General Monroe standing in front of him. This was his best friend, his little brother. The guy that had refused to run and leave Miles for dead. If you're dying, I'm dying with you.

Bass noticed the strange look on Miles' face and the way he was staring intently at him and frowned, "You okay?"

Miles tried to answer but more memories were flooding his mind, choking him up. Everything I have ever done has been for you...All I ever cared about was watching your back...We're family, Miles...I'm your family...

Without a word and surprising everyone, including himself, Miles took a step forward, closing the distance between Bass and him. He reached out and pulled Bass into his chest, wrapping him in a tight hug, ignoring the wide-eyed looks from Rachel and Charlie. Miles couldn't keep the act up anymore. He'd just hope that the two women had heard enough from Bass to assure them he meant no harm.

Bass was too shocked at first to respond but after a few moments he embraced Miles back, tightening his grip when Miles didn't push him away. "I'm sorry," he mumbled against his best friend's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, too," Miles replied softly, voice rough. They separated after a minute and both looked over when Rachel cleared her throat.

"You guys obviously have some things to work out," she said, voice tight but controlled as she stood up and pulled Charlie up as well. "We'll all discuss this to a further extent in the morning." With that, she walked out of the room with Charlie, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Bass watched them go, a confused frown on his face as he turned back to Miles, "What just happened? I half-expected you guys to kill me a minute ago."

Miles shook his head with a chuckle, "Sorry about that. I needed you to prove to them that you were honestly here to help."

Bass tilted his head, looking at Miles as understanding washed over him, "So all that stuff you said..."

Miles nodded and Bass sighed, bringing a hand up to rub his face. "You could let me into that plan next time," he stated wearily.

"Wouldn't have worked. Rachel would have known it was rehearsed. But look at the bright side, I don't think she'll kill you...at least not right now," Miles told him with a smile.

Bass nodded but asked "Alright, so where am I sleeping?"

Miles gave him a strange look, "Uh, the bed? That's normally where people sleep."

Bass raised his eyebrows, "But there's only one bed."

Miles laughed, "We've bunked together in the field plenty of times. You got a problem with that now?"

"No, but I thought you would," Bass said before he could stop himself.

Miles sighed and walked up so he was standing directly in front of Bass, "Told you, Bass. Everything earlier was for Rachel's benefit."

Bass quickly nodded, "I know that."

Miles gave him a sad smile because despite the protests, he knew his friend didn't completely believe what Miles accused him of was fake. "I've been where you were, remember? And I know that you're not General Monroe anymore than I'm General Matheson," Miles told him.

Bass let out a breath, "Sorry. This is just gonna take some getting used to, you know?"

Miles let out a soft chuckle, shoving Bass towards the bed as he replied, "Yeah. We'll make it, though. Always do."

They both laid down on the bed; it was a Queen-sized so it had plenty of room for two people. Miles was laying in his back with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling as he thought about the evening's events. When he felt the blanket get pulled off him, he rolled his eyes, "You know, I'm sharing my bed. At least you could share the blanket." Not hearing a response, he glanced over at Bass and couldn't keep from smirking.

Bass was turned toward Miles, curled up in the blanket and fast asleep. All the stress lines on his face were gone and his breathing was soft and relaxed, making him seem much younger than he was. Miles considered taking the blanket back but then he wondered just how long it had been since his brother had gotten a full night's sleep without first drinking enough to pass out. Miles would bet it had been too long. With that in mind, he let out a defeated sigh and left Bass with the blanket, making a mental note to himself to find a second blanket before tomorrow night. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a mumbled, "Night, Miles," from beside him. He smiled and replied softly, "Night, Bass."

Author's Note: I'm really, really terrible at endings but I hope you enjoyed the story! Thanks for reading!