Author's Note: This is my first attempt at a Revolution fanfic, taking place after the episode "Austin City Limits". It's a hypothetical missing scene between Bass and Charlie. While I'm sure there are a few fics with a similar situation, this is my spin on it. I hope you like it. Feel free to give me some feedback, as I wouldn't mind writing more Charloe in the future.
The night seemed particularly dark with only a campfire for company. The shadows danced along the edge of the wagon, on the surrounding trees and on the outlined faces of the men sleeping wrapped up in their blankets. It was surprisingly peaceful after what they had gone through. It was a hot night, but never before had Charlie feel colder, numb to the world around.
It was hard to believe Jason was dead.
For all that she did not trust him, he was her first love. If you could call that feeling love…what was love anyway? He was not family, he was not really her friend. He betrayed her too much for that but deep down, Charlie felt numb. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes but they would not fall. She felt angry, she just wanted to kill someone but there was no particular person to blame.
There was no fixed bad guy to hunt down. Not anymore, it wasn't like Danny. It wasn't like Dad.
The Patriots were an organization, not a person. There would always be more people to take down, more people to kill but for some reason that still felt bittersweet. What was the point? How long till they were all gone, till everyone she cared about was dead? Was it days, weeks, months? They were mice attacking a lion, hardly enough manpower to cause any real damage.
She swished the whiskey in the bottle she held. Taking a hearty swig, she put it down next to her and tried to no think about what happened. Instead, she tried trying to study the flames of the fire licking against the logs and the bright red glow of the surrounding stones. She watched as the smoke billowed up into the dark, cloudless sky, the stars faintly twinkling amongst the moon.
"Mind if I join you?" A voice said from behind her.
Charlie turned around sharply, her hand grabbing the knife and facing the intruder. Sebastian Monroe looked undaunted but he put his hands up in surrender. He smirked at her startled expression and plopped himself down next to her. "Careful Charlotte, you might hurt yourself."
Putting down the knife, she glared at the man next to her. "Don't underestimate me Monroe. Sneaking up on me might get you killed one day. I'm deadlier then I look. I killed a man today."
Bass shrugged. "Join the club, kid. We all killed somebody at some point. I just figured you could use the company. That and I figured you'd be too drunk to really be useful as our lookout."
The young woman said nothing, just took another swig of her bottle. Bass watched her from the corner of his eye, watching as she did not even argue. She had never been so quiet, so listless. Finally she spoke up; her voice slightly raspier from barely contained sobs. "Does it get any easier? Killing people, watching loved ones die? Does the fighting get easier? Will it ever end?"
The firelight crackled in the silence. Charlie could hear Miles snoring softly in the background and for a moment, she felt grateful that it was just the two of them, her and Monroe. She felt strangely comforted by that fact and studied him, watching as he searched for the right words.
"No…it doesn't." Bass said quietly. "The more you kill the more numb you eventually become. Soon you don't even think about it. You don't watch the blood spill from their bodies. You do what you have to do and that is all. Killing is about achieving something, not gaining pleasure."
The words came out bitterly from his mouth, like he was thinking about his past.
For a moment Charlie was curious to what he was referring to but stopped herself. It didn't matter. What had happened a year ago or even fifteen years ago were all things of the past. Some things were better left buried under the dust and rubble of fallen men and women. The blackout was so long ago, she could barely remember what life was like before all this. It seemed more like a dream. One filled with air conditioning, working electricity and something called Google.
"You know it's funny. From what Maggie told me of life before the blackout, I might have been a college student. I would have learned how to drive a car or learn how to text on a cell phone. Jason might be still alive. We all could have had a future. Imagine that." Charlie said bitterly.
"Well if wishes were horses…" Bass said, half smiling. The younger woman just scowled at him.
"Hey, just so you know, things were not always great pre-blackout. It was all overrated bullshit, romanticized from being away from the noise, movement and pollution. I mean sure, indoor plumbing is nice but do we really need so much technology? I mean look what the nanites did!"
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, fair point, but don't you ever wonder what your life would have been like if this blackout never happened? Where do you think you would have ended up?"
"Probably dead." Bass said bluntly. "That or drunk in a ditch somewhere. I had lost my family not long before all that happened. I only had Miles and a bottle of whiskey. It's not like there was all that much to live for. I even considered offing myself, just to put an end my misery."
Her eyes widened at that. Charlie looked to see if he was joking but his expression was completely serious. Her bottle of alcohol forgotten, Charlie watched as the light from the fire danced on his face. His eyes looked so tired, so sad. Was this really the man that had killed so many people? The one who created the Monroe Republic from the ashes of a fallen country?
"So why didn't you?" Charlie asked quietly. "What changed your mind?"
She glanced at him, his blue eyes studying her intently. There was so much emotion behind them it made her heart begin to race. For a brief moment, her face felt hot but she brushed it off as the Texas heat. She looked away and listened to Connor and Miles, their soft sleeping noises. They were still crashed in the corner luckily. Charlie quickly scolded herself for being so paranoid.
"Well, that wouldn't have done much good, would it?" Bass said, laughing a little. "I mean, at least I had my brother. Even if he had tried to kill me; Miles was the only person that kept me sane during those years. It's kind of ironic isn't it? The moment he left, nothing else mattered. Ruling alone is not all that it's cracked up to be and besides, it just went to hell from there."
Bass shook his head, smiling still. Charlie didn't meet his smile but she glanced at him shyly. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you didn't kill yourself. Too many people are dying as it is."
Looking at her with surprise, Bass watched as Charlie wobble up, trying to stand on her own two feet. Instinctively he got up to steady her with his arms but she only leaned into him. Standing there in a half embrace, he wondered briefly what he should do. Charlie was hugging him! He awkwardly hugged her back and watched as she stumbled off towards her own makeshift bed.
"Hey…just so you know…I don't normally do that." Charlie drawled out drunkenly. She gave him a wry smile. "Just…thanks for listening. But if you tell anyone, I will deny this ever happened. I have enough trouble building up a badass reputation as it is and I really don't need you screwing that up for me. Goodnight!"
Bass watched her go, still feeling a little shell shocked. Did that just happen? He watched as her hips swayed as she found her sleeping place. He watched as she stretched and made herself comfortable. Already, his mind was wandering towards thoughts…forbidden, naughty thoughts.
Shaking his head, he sat back down next to the fire. Finding Charlie's abandoned bottle of whiskey, he chugged down the remaining ounces greedily. This was one hell of a world that he ended up in but for some strange reason, he was kind of glad. At least he got to fight alongside Charlie Matheson. Maybe she did not hate him like he originally thought.