"Just…try to keep control of yourself this time," Miles insisted.
"I am always in control of myself," Bass retorted. "Aren't I, Maggie?"
The British woman chuckled as she finished texting her boys. "You two know I don't get involved in your fights."
"She'd take my side anyway," Miles pointed out. "She's dating me."
"Look, I promise to be on my very best behavior," Bass vowed with his innocent face that Miles didn't buy for a second.
Miles just rolled his eyes and rang the bell. The sound of running feet could be heard before the door swung open to reveal Charlie. "Uncle Miles," she squealed, hugging him.
Miles laughed and lifted her off her feet. "God, kid, you've grown so tall," he said as he set her down. "You remember Bass, right?"
Charlie gave the other man a hug as well. "Of course, I remember Bass. How could I forget you?"
"You look more beautiful than ever," Bass complimented. "It's great to see you again Charlie."
"You too, Bass." Charlie turned to the woman with Miles's arm around her waist. "Who's this?"
"This is Maggie Foster," Miles introduced. "I know I've told you about her."
"Maggie, of course," Charlie laughed. She hugged Maggie tight. "It's so great to finally meet you."
"Forgot to warn you, she's a hugger," Miles said.
"I can see that," Maggie agreed, gingerly hugging Charlie back. "It's very nice to meet you as well."
"Come on in, all of you. Make yourselves at home while I tell everyone you're here."
Miles led the way inside with a smile at his niece. As soon as her footsteps could be heard on the stairs he turned to Bass with a glare. "Stop staring at my niece," he ordered.
"I wasn't," Bass denied.
"Yes you were, I saw you."
"Okay, even if I was, which I wasn't, she's pretty hot, man."
Miles made an outraged face. "She's too young for you," he objected.
"She's legal."
"She's my niece."
"Gentlemen," Maggie cut in. "That's quite enough. Let's remember where we are."
Bass held up his hands in surrender. "No staring. I promise."
"Good."
They made themselves comfortable in the living room while listening to Charlie squeal that Miles had arrived to her entire family. Danny was the first to come pounding down the stairs with his mother calling for him to walk like a normal person. "Uncle Miles," he grinned.
Miles shot to his feet to hug his nephew. "Good Lord, Danny, what are they feeding you?" he chuckled.
"He's twice as big as the last time we visited," Bass agreed.
"I eat right," Danny said with a modest shrug. "Hey, Uncle Miles, I made the lacrosse team this year. The actual team, not an alternate."
"Nice going," Miles beamed. "I knew you had it in you." Maggie gave a delicate cough and Miles nodded. "Danny, meet Maggie."
Danny put out his hand for her to shake. "Not a hugger like your sister then," Maggie smiled.
"Danny hugs people and their bones get crushed," Bass joked. Both Mathesons shot him an amused glare.
"It's very nice to meet you, ma'am," Danny said to Maggie.
"You as well. Miles talks about all of you so much, I'm glad I can finally put faces with names."
"Well, I hope the talk is all good," a new voice responded. Rachel had finally come downstairs with Charlie close behind.
"Rachel, I am offended that you think I would ever bad mouth family," Miles replied. He gently hugged his sister in law. "Bass, on the other hand."
"Oh I do it all the time," Bass agreed with a grin.
Rachel smiled fondly at him. "It's good to see you too, Bass." She looked to Maggie. "This must be the Maggie Foster we hear so much about in all your emails. It's wonderful to meet you, I'm Rachel Matheson. I'm Ben's wife."
Maggie shook the other woman's hand with a smile of her own. "A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Matheson."
"Oh, please, Rachel."
"Rachel, then. Tell me Rachel, since when does Miles use email?"
Miles rolled his eyes at the long running joke that he was not a fan of new technology. "I feel such love in this room," he muttered.
"It's alright, little brother, I still love you."
"Ben!" Both Matheson brothers had a grin a mile wide on their faces as they embraced.
"They're very, very close," Rachel explained to Maggie in a low voice.
"I can see that," Maggie nodded. "I knew Miles was close to Ben from all his talk but…"
"It is an intense thing," Rachel agreed.
The two brothers ended their quiet chat with Ben introducing Aaron Pitman to his brother. "So you're the tech guy," Miles said.
"Yeah, I'm the tech guy," Aaron agreed, clearly uncomfortable with the Marine's searching look.
"Don't mind Miles," Bass called. "He has the tact of a shark."
"And you'd know all about that," Miles shot back. "Ben, you remember that idiot I call my best friend."
"Bass Monroe is hard man to forget," Ben smiled. "It's good to see you again."
"You too."
"And the woman hopefully not getting an earful of embarrassing stories from your wife is Maggie Foster."
Ben came forward to shake her hand. "It's great to finally meet you. Miles has told us so much about you."
"Has he really?" Maggie said with that shark smile that made Miles uncomfortable.
"Ben, I'd like to remind you that this is not seventh grade anymore," Miles said.
Maggie raised an eyebrow. "Back when little brother was in seventh grade, I used to embarrass him in front of the girls he liked," Ben explained. "He'd go beet red."
"Danny, Charlie, how do you feel about being half orphans?"
"Now, now, gentlemen, let's all play nice," Bass advised with a smirk.
"Hey, Bass, weren't you bringing a date too?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, her name's Nora. She…she couldn't make it today. Do you mind if she comes by tomorrow?"
Ben smiled fondly at the younger Marine. "Of course not. You're family, Bass. Besides you know Rachel and I believe in the more the merrier."
"Ben believes in it because he doesn't do the cooking," Rachel joked.
Miles felt his heart warm at the love in the room here. This was how the world was meant to be. Good people getting together just because they wanted to be together. Miles deicded he was definitely going to be spending more of his leave time here. He and Ben needed catch up and his niece and nephew were growing too fast for his liking. They would like seeing more of their cool uncle. Charlie turned to him with an excited. She was probably going to ask for a ride on his motorcycle. "Hey Miles," she began.
Miles frowned at the rough shaking of his shoulder. "Jesus, Charlie, don't yank my arm off," he muttered.
"Then wake up and take your shift," she insisted.
Miles blinked awake. He was on the forest floor and Charlie was waking him so he could take his turn as look out. Miles shook aways the remnants of the dream as he staggered to his feet. Ben and Maggie were dead, Rachel was a prisoner and Danny was being taken to the sociopath Miles had once called his best friend. His subconscious had apparently decided to torture him with what could have been if the power had never turned off. "Go get sleep," he gruffly ordered Charlie.
"You okay?" she asked, concerned.
"Fine," Miles snapped.
"Geez, don't need to bite my head off," she mumbled, heading back to her own sleeping spot.
Miles felt a brief urge to stop her and explain the dream but crushed it quickly. It was just a bunch of idiotic images his dead tired mind had thrown together to entertain itself while recharging. Charlie would probably put some sort of meaning in it where there was none. She'd get all hopeful on him. Miles needed her sharp like she was now. But looking over at her trying to get comfortable on the hard ground, he wished for a single moment that she could be like the happy girl in his dream.