So I was listening to my new Jason Manns Christmas Album, and on it the lovely and wonderful Jensen Ackles sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, and it's such a wonderful version and I was listening to it on repeat, because that's what I do when I find a song I really like until I don't like it anymore...lol And the idea for this story popped into my head. This is the first chapter of a three part story. I'm about half finished with the second chapter and will post it later tonight or some time tomorrow and will post the final chapter on Christmas, if not before.
I hope you enjoy this, I've been having a lot of fun writing it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Revolution, or the Town of Pendleton Indiana, though I have a pretty good claim on it since I've lived there most of my life :)
Sebastian Monroe popped his collar to cover more of his neck, pulling his worn leather jacket closed and shoved his hands in his pockets, as he wondered down the snow covered street.
The war with the patriots had taken more than they had hoped for, more time and people. Everyone had lost someone it seemed. Gene was taken from them when the patriots fired upon the medical tent that he had been inside of treating the wounded. They had counted on the loss of a doctor being a blow, but when the patriots learned that the loss was especially strong for some of the people that were at the head of "the pack" that opposed them, the patriots counted the victory even higher.
After realizing that the others had been right all along about Tom Neville, Connor had come back to the group, seeking forgiveness from his father as well as the others, and it was with them, by their sides that he fought to stop the khaki covered SOB's.
It wasn't until the fight against the nano that they lost him for the final time. He died a hero, fighting the good fight and sacrificing himself to save the life of Priscilla Pittman and Rachel Matheson. Everyone is still a little unsure exactly what happened in his final moments, most of the fight having been witnessed one sided as he fought against the nano that tried to take over his body. They were all assured though by the two women that they, as well as many others, wouldn't be alive if he hadn't been strong enough in the end.
Now here they were almost a year after the fighting had ended, it was Christmas time again and this year they were as close to home as Miles and Bass were comfortable getting. They no longer felt as if they could go home to Jasper, thanks to his actions in the past Bass knew there was no one there to welcome him home, and thanks to Miles forgiveness he knew that he would be shunned right along with Bass. So instead they all found themselves in a little town a days ride from Jasper. The sign over the old town hall building had informed them that the place was called Pendleton. Miles and Bass had both heard of it but had never actually been.
It was a town that time had forgotten, from the looks of it it had been that way before the blackout as well. It drew them all for different reasons, Rachel fell in love with it because of the homey feel the town exuded, Miles liked it because it made Rachel happy and he didn't have any trouble finding a position at the old reformatory that had been turned back into a prison after years of disuse after the blackout. Charlie loved the park, it took up most of the town, and she found that she could hunt plenty of small game in the surrounding woods. She also found a small place to live over an old bar that she had taken a job at before taking over the day to day operation of it completely after the old codger that owned the place saw how good she was with the customers and how she drew in the fellas, young and old alike.
Aaron and Priscilla had found a small farm right on the outskirts of town where they were raising her children, who they had found during the fight against the nano, as well as the baby that was born right after settling into their new place together. They liked the town because there were plenty of children around the girls age for them to befriend. Aaron didn't so much care for the school that he was once again working at, but he took what he could get.
That left Bass. He was here for one simple reason. He didn't care about what kind of job he could get; though he worked right along side Miles like always; or what place he could find to live in, and as much as he liked kids, they didn't factor in one way or the other for him. He was here because as much as they might not see it in him, they were his family, and as pathetic as it might seem to others, he would follow them anywhere.
And because he saw them as family and knew that in some small way at least most of them saw him as part of the group, he would normally horn his way in and not bother waiting for invitations to dinner or some family gathering or another. But this was different, this was Christmas Eve. And this time he just didn't want to bother anyone with his presence if it was unwanted. That would be his gift to everyone, a night without him.
So as the night fell, he found himself wondering through town and watching the families that were out gathering last minute items for their own Holiday celebrations, and he saw some children playing in the park, sledding down the hill, no longer having to worry about the road that lay at the end of it like they would have before the lights went out and all the cars stopped running.
He passed the gazebo that sat in the middle of the park, trying not to think about the one so many miles away that looked so similar, when he noticed Charlie sitting on an old wooden bench swing at the outer edge of the play ground.
Bass stopped in his tracks and watched her as she brushed some hair out of her face, pushing it back behind her ear as a cold wind threatened to blow if forward once again, and he found himself wondering why she was out in the cold without a hat.
If he were being 100% honest, which let's face it rarely happened even in his own head, she was the main reason he was still here. It wasn't really them he would follow anywhere so much as her, but damned if he'd ever tell anyone else that.
Here he was, forty-seven years old and he was willing to follow a twenty-five year old girl around like some lovesick teenager. But he accepted it and the fact that his feelings would go unrequited, and as much as he hated that, he was willing to live with it, just to get the chance to be close to her and do whatever he could to bring her some semblance of happiness after being at least partially responsible for so much of the heartache she's had in her short life.
He found female companionship on the occasional nights when the thought of his empty house was too much, the nights when his losses seemed too great and the thought that the one person he really wanted would never be his.
But that's all it ever was. The occasional night. It would never be more than that because he knew it would never be her.
Charlie looked up then and saw him and when she smiled his breath hitched in the back of his throat and he shoved his hands a little farther into his pockets and headed towards her.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked as he sat in the open space beside her, making the swing rock as he adjusted his weight. "It's cold." he added.
Charlie nodded and smiled again. "Yeah, it's colder than I thought it was." she said. She had always loved the cold, it was something that she had missed during her time in Texas.
Bass unwound the scarf he had on, tucked into his jacket and draped it around her neck. "You didn't answer the question." he said, ignoring her look of surprise at his gesture.
Charlie wound the scarf around her neck and smiled softly at him. "I like the cold." she said. She laughed when he raised a brow and she shrugged. "OK I was actually looking for you."
If she had told him she was hunting a polar bear, he wouldn't have been more surprised.
"Why were you looking for me?" he asked, the surprise evident in his voice.
Charlie shrugged again. "I was at mom's when she asked Miles if you were coming over for dinner and when he said he didn't know, he hadn't seen you all day, I took that as my opportunity to make a break for it and get a respite from all the holiday cheer that Rachel has been pushing at us."
Bass snorted at that making Charlie laugh. He loved that sound.
"So?" she asked.
He cocked his head. "So what?" he asked.
Charlie rolled her eyes and he smiled. Whether they were fighting or laughing; and they did a lot of both, he may be completely in love with her but she still infuriated him on a regular basis; he loved getting a reaction out of her. Everything just seemed easier when it was the two of them.
"So are you coming to dinner?" she asked, talking as if she were asking a young child.
"Rachel actually wanted to know if I was going to be there? Not like she was going to be disappointed if I showed up, but like she was just genuinely curious?" he asked.
Charlie smirked and nodded. "I know, it's a Christmas miracle." she said.
He smirked along with her, but inside they both knew this was a big deal. He and Rachel had come to an unspoken understanding. They both cared about the same people, so they would put up with the other one for all of them. They didn't always make it easy on the other of course. He made snarky comments and she made snide remarks and more often than not he ended up leaving whatever gathering they were at early; be it the bar where Charlie worked that they all frequented or just an evening spent at Miles house; to avoid a real fight.
Which is why they both knew that they would never be friends like they had been once upon a time, too much had been done from both sides for that to ever be an option.
So now, for her to be willing to open her home to him on Christmas, that was an olive branch he had never expected to receive.
"So?" Charlie asked again and he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there for dinner." he said.
Charlie nodded once and turned to look out over the snow covered playground. Night had fallen completely, and sometime while they sat talking it had started to snow.
Charlie tipped her head back and watched the flakes fall for a moment before she stood up and held her hand out to him. "Come on then, they'll be wondering what's taking so long."
Bass reached a hand out and grabbed hers, letting her pull him up. To his surprise; he's had a lot of those tonight; she let go of his hand and wrapped an arm around his waist, dragging him through the snow with her.
He laughed; a sound not heard often from his lips; and put his arm around her shoulders and walked along beside her.
As they walked down the street, the snow falling around them, Bass wondered what had gotten into the woman under his arm. They were friends, sure, and like with most friends they had their moments of levity and silliness, but there was something different about her tonight. The easy smiles and the playful way she threw her arm around him and then proceeded to leave it there. He wasn't complaining, but this was not normal Charlie behavior.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter.
And remember...
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