Because We're Family
Summary: Miles hesitated before he started running away from the one person who had managed to wrap herself around his heart after all these years of shutting everyone out. Because we're family, he could hear Charlie's voice ringing in his ears.
A/N: I PROMISE that I'm going to finish my New Girl story These Are The Days Worth Living. A HUGE thank you to you all for reading, following, and reviewing! I know it's been forever since I've updated, I'm so sorry, but I fully intend to finish it and soon! In fact, this little one shot from the world of Revolution may have finally gotten me out of writer's block. If you haven't already watched Revolution, I highly recommend it. I fell in love with the characters instantly and this popped into my head. Revolution season two starts at 8pm tonight!
Charlie stood looking out of the lake by the clearing they had camped out at the night before. The sun was rising and shining rays of light through the trees. On any other day she would have appreciated such a beautiful view but today was different. Today she woke up aching from head to toe, her head fuzzy and her movements sluggish.
"Charlie, you ready to go?"
Charlie closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then turned around, forcing a smile.
"Yeah, Miles, be right there."
Miles looked down at Charlie and narrowed his eyes. Something was off.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, let's go" Charlie said quickly, adjusting her pack and fighting off the dizziness she'd felt since waking up.
They started on their way, sneaking around a militia camp 2 miles ahead. Monroe was there. They had staked it out for a few hours, but it was clear that Danny wasn't being held captive there. Miles had been right, they were keeping Danny in Philadelphia. Why Monroe was on a trip, none of them knew, but it couldn't be anything good. If Charlie hadn't been feeling so shitty, she definitely would have tried to kill him right then and there, but it was too risky and her priority above all else was getting Danny back.
It was only 5 miles out of the many, many more to go on the hike towards Philadelphia when Charlie knew she couldn't deny it any more. She was sick. Probably an infection from the bullet that hit me a few weeks ago during our latest standoff with the militia, she thought warily.
Miles and Nora had stitched her up and cleaned and bandaged the wound as best they could, but Nora hadn't been able to find any antibiotics. They had been watching the wound carefully and had camped out for a week before starting their journey again, giving her some time to recover, and it had seemed to be getting better.
Guess it just isn't my lucky day, the inner voice in her head sarcastically said as her pace slowed down. The wound really hadn't been that bad considering the circumstances. It could have been a lot worse, Charlie thought as closed her eyes and flashed back to that night.
Flashback
They were outnumbered, but what was new? They'd managed to beat the militia before and they would do it again this time too.
She scanned the area from behind the tree. Three militia men moving towards Jason. Three shots fired and the three men were down. He's fine, she thought. She glanced towards Miles. He was holding his own as always. But then her heart stopped as she noticed two militia men heading towards Nora and she hadn't noticed yet, too busy covering Aaron as he ran for shelter behind a fallen log on the ground.
"Nora! Look out!" she cried as she darted from behind the tree towards her latest mother figure and new friend. She'd be damned if she lost another person close to her. Not so soon after her dad and Maggie.
She fired 5 rounds, hitting both targets, but not before she felt a searing pain in her right abdomen. She gasped as she fell to the ground, hitting her head hard against the cold, hard terrain as she heard a few more shots being fired and then everything faded to black.
"Charlie?! Charlie! Wake up, come on Charlie!" she dimly heard Nora yelling before she registered pressure on her wound that sent shocks of pain to her brain and her eyes flew open as she screamed.
"Charlie!" she heard Miles yell as he knelt down beside her and gently cup the side of her face.
"Shhh, Charlie, it's okay, it's gonna be okay," he said reassuringly as he tried to calm her down.
Jason and Aaron had joined them, kneeling on the ground. Jason grabbed one of Charlie's hands and squeezed it tight, brushing some of her hair back from her eyes.
"Nora, let me see," Miles commanded and Nora moved back slightly releasing the pressure from Charlie's wound. Miles glanced at it quickly assessing the damage before he put pressure on it again. Charlie whimpered, trying to push his hands away.
"I don't think it hit anything major, but we need to stitch her up before she loses too much blood. Nora, we need antiseptic and painkillers and antibiotics. There should be a pharmacy in town about a mile from here but there is going to be militia there."
"Don't worry, I'll get the supplies and I'll be back as soon as I can," Nora said determined.
"I'm going with you," Jason said as he squeezed Charlie's hand one more time and grabbed his weapon from the ground.
"S...s…stop, p…please, it hurts," Charlie cried as Miles put more pressure on the wound, seeing the blood started seeping out from beneath his hands.
"I know, Charlie, I'm sorry, this is going to hurt too, okay, but we need to take cover," Miles said softly as he clenched his jaw regretful that he had to cause her more pain as he moved her.
"N…no… please," she whimpered.
"Aaron, run up ahead to that clearing and make sure it's safe… and Aaron, do it quietly," Miles instructed firmly.
Aaron's eyes were wide as he shook his head and started running ahead.
"Okay, Charlie, up you go," Miles said as he lifted her up quickly, wincing as she screamed in pain.
"Shhh, Charlie, shh, I know it hurts, but I need to you to try to be quiet, okay? I don't want anymore militia men coming this way."
Tears leaked down her cheeks as she held her breath and nodded as Miles took off running with her in his arms.
"I'm sorry, kid, I know it hurts, but you're going to be okay, just keep you're eyes open, okay Charlie? Charlie! Charlie!" Miles spoke frantically as Charlie's eyes slipped shut.
End of Flashback
"Charlie? Hey, Charlie!"
Charlie opened her eyes, coming back to the present as she saw Nora staring worriedly at her.
"You okay, Charlie?"
"I was just thinking," Charlie whispered warily.
"We're falling behind," Nora warned as she glanced up at the distance separating them and the rest of the boys up ahead.
Charlie looked down at her hands and realized they were shaking. Her chest started to heave as she swayed, not being able to catch her breath. She looked up at Nora slowly as she fought not to pass out.
"Nora," she whispered as her knees gave out and her eyes rolled back in her head.
Nora gasped and reached forward to catch her before she fell.
"Miles! Miles!" Nora cried as she gently lay Charlie down.
Miles heart stopped as he saw Nora kneeling over Charlie on the ground.
"Charlie!" he ran as fast as he could until he fell down on his knees beside them.
"What happened?" he said, seeing a sheen of sweat on Charlie's face and neck.
"She just collapsed," Nora said as she scanned Charlie's body for any injuries.
Miles pulled up her shirt to where her bullet wound was and gingerly peeled back the bandage.
"Dammit," he swore, seeing the inflamed and clearly infected wound.
"Shit. It's infected. Miles, what do we do?" Nora asked frantically.
"Charlie, hey, Charlie, open your eyes for me, kid," Miles said shaking her gently.
Charlie's eyes fluttered open weakly.
"Mm… Miles… I…I…'m sorry," Charlie slurred.
"Hey, hey, hey, shh, it's not your fault," Miles said as he took off his coat propped it under her head.
"I'm so sorry, Miles. I tore that pharmacy apart but I couldn't find any antibiotics, it had already been raided and I knew she was losing too much blood already, and I just grabbed what I could and-" Nora shook her head as she desperately rambled.
"Nora. Calm down. We're going to fix this, it's going to be okay, but we have to hurry, she's going to slip into shock soon." Miles spoke firmly.
Miles squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath trying to slow down his racing heart before he yelled for Jason to bring him his pack.
"How much antiseptic do we have left?" he said as he rooted in the pack searching for the bottle.
"Not enough and that's not going to help much at this point," Jason said as he looked worriedly towards Charlie.
"Look, Miles, this is my fault. I'm going to go get some penicillin, okay?" Nora said determined.
"And how exactly are you going to do that, Nora? Are you planning on just walking into Monroe's camp and stealing it from the medical tent?" Miles said harshly, frustrated.
"Yes, if that's what it takes, then yes!"
"That's insane, Nora, no way!" Aaron yelled.
"Nora, he's right, that's suicide, they will capture you, torture you, and then kill you, and that's not going to help Charlie," Miles said seriously.
"We can't just let Charlie die!"
"I'm not going to let that happen, but you're not going to that camp…I am."
"No, they will kill you the moment they see you!" Nora yelled.
"Not if I find Monroe first. He won't kill me," Miles said.
"What makes you so sure?"
Miles glanced down at Charlie's still form and brushed some hair off of her face gently.
"Because we're family… well, the closest he has, anyway" Miles said quietly. "Stay with her, Nora, try to keep her awake as much as possible, okay?"
Nora nodded.
"Jason… stand guard and Aaron, make sure Nora doesn't come after me, would you?"
Nora looked at Miles in frustration, rolling her eyes.
"What? I know you were thinking it. Stay here, Charlie needs you." Miles said as he grabbed his gun and started walking towards the militia camp 3 miles back in the direction they had come.
"You better come back in one piece, Miles! Charlie needs you more than anyone." Nora yelled.
Miles hesitated before he started running away from the one person who had managed to wrap herself around his heart after all these years of shutting everyone out. Because we're family, he could hear Charlie's voice ringing in his ears.
It wasn't long before he was back at the militia camp. He quickly slipped past the guards and into Monroe's tent. Well, that was easy, he thought, they clearly weren't trained by me.
"Hey Bass," Miles said as he approached him.
Monroe looked up startled and stood up abruptly.
"Miles, what the hell are you doing here?" Monroe said shocked as he reached for his gun and pointed it directly at Miles.
Miles raised his hands in surrender.
"Whoa, hey, look. Just listen to me, okay? I need you help," Miles said seriously.
"What? Now that the tables have turned and it's me holding the gun to your head suddenly, you need something from me? I don't think so," Monroe said as he cocked the gun and placed his finger on the trigger.
"Bass, please. I know that you cared for me once, and I know that you cared for my family… our family. Rachel, Ben, Charlie, Danny. You and me… we were and always will be brothers. Nothing is going to change that. And that means that my family is your family too and I'm asking you to please help our family."
Monroe clenched his jaw and slowly lowered the gun.
"What happened?" Monroe asked, his weapon still in his hand by his side.
"It's Charlie, one of your men shot her a few weeks back. We did the best we could but the wound is infected and I need antibiotics before she slips into shock."
Monroe stared into Miles eyes and was shocked by the desperation and fear in his eyes. He had never seen that in Miles ever before and it shocked him to the core. He was most definitely telling the truth. Dammit, he thought as he sighed and placed the gun back on his desk.
"I'll go get some from the medical tent. Do not move, Miles. I mean it," Monroe said as he glanced at the gun on his desk. "I'm trusting you, right now, not to do anything…. stupid."
"You're forgetting that I'm trusting you with something much more important than our issues, Bass. Just go get the penicillin."
Miles paced anxiously in the tent as he waited for Bass to return. A few minutes later he slipped back into the tent with a bag filled with antibiotics, painkillers, fresh bandages, antiseptic, two bottles of water and a few needles and blood transfusion bags and tubes.
"You owe me now, Miles," he said as he pushed the bag into Miles' hands.
"Actually, until you order your men to let Danny go, I don't owe you anything," Miles said quickly before turning away from Bass.
Bass clenched his jaw in anger. "You son of a bitch," he spit.
Miles paused and turned around, looking Bass straight in the eye.
"Thank you for this, Bass. Seriously." Miles said sincerely before slipping out of the tent.
When Miles finally got back to the group, Charlie had already begun slipping into shock, her head in Nora's lap as she whispered reassurances to her.
"Hey Kid," Miles said gently as he poured out a few of the antibiotics and painkillers and pulled out a bottle of water from the bag.
"I need you to take these, okay? They're going to make you feel better," Miles said as he helped Charlie swallow the pills down with water, frowning as he saw how much Charlie was shaking and how pale her face was.
"I need to give her a blood transfusion. Nora, give me a hand with this?" he said as he inserted two needles as gently as he could in each of Charlie's arms and connecting one tube to an empty blood bag and the other to a needle that Nora helped him insert in his own arm. Miles lay down next to Charlie and took her hand gently. Everything is going to be okay, kid. I got you. Uncle Miles is going to make it better, he thought.
He closed his eyes as he flashed back to the last time he saw Charlie as a kid. She was only 4 years old, and yet she still was the same stubborn and strong willed girl she is today.
"Uncle Miles! Uncle Miles! You're back!" Charlie yelled delightedly as she ran and leapt into Miles' arms.
"Wow! Look at you, kid, you're getting to be such a big girl now, aren't you?" Miles smiled and held her close as he walked towards Rachel and Ben.
"Uncle Miles, I have to tell you something! It's very, very important," she said seriously as her blue eyes pierced his own. "There's a baby growing inside mommy's tummy. She said I'm going to have a baby brother," she said sadly.
"Isn't that good, news, Charlie?" Miles asked slightly confused.
"No! It's not good, Uncle Miles. My brother is going to come and then mommy and daddy aren't going to love me anymore." Charlie sniffed, burying her face into his shoulder.
"Hey now, what do you mean? Of course they're going to still love you!" Miles said stroking her hair comfortingly.
"Uncle Miles, no matter what happens, you'll still love me, right?" she asked seriously.
"I'll always love you, Charlie girl, you never have to worry about that," Miles said as he squeezed her into a tight hug and felt her little arms curl around his neck.
Miles opened his eyes, coming back to the present filled with regret. He had broken his promises. So very many promises. He had left his family behind, left Charlie. And then she had come to him and begged him to be there for her and he had initially turned her away. He hadn't really ever stopped loving her, but she didn't know that. If, no, when she recovered, he would make sure that she did.
Her color had started to improve after the transfusion and he gently coaxed her into taking more medication a few hours later and every few hours throughout the night.
After two long days and nights the wound started improving and Miles sighed in relief. It was only a few hours later that her eyes fluttered open and she blinked, confused.
"Hey Kid," Miles said as he moved towards her and took her hand in his. "Welcome back," he smiled in relief.
"What… what happened?" Charlie asked confused.
"You're wound got infected. We almost lost you. But you're a fighter, aren't you?" Nora said as she kneeled down next to Charlie and smiled at Miles.
Jason and Aaron smiled as they approached Charlie.
"God, Charlie, you scared the crap out of me. I thought you were going to leave me all alone with Miles and these two rebels," Aaron joked.
"Charlie, you okay?" Jason said his face showing relief and concern as he tried to reach for her hand.
"Hey boy band, give her some space, back it up," Miles said swatting his hand away from Charlie and tightening his own hold on her hand.
"Miles," Charlie admonished quietly as she closed her eyes.
After a minute she opened her eyes again and her forehead scrunched in confusion.
"How? I mean, we didn't have any antibiotics," she asked looking up at Miles.
"I found some antibiotics and I gave you a blood transfusion too." Miles said, avoiding details.
"You found some? Where?" Charlie pressed on, trying to figure out what had happened. She thought for sure she would die from the infection.
"Bass." Miles said quietly.
"Wait…what? Bass? As in Monroe?" Charlie said in shock. "Why? Why would he do that?"
"Because… because at the end of the day, when you put aside all of the other crap…we're family," Miles said as he smiled slightly.
Charlie was quiet for a moment. It was true. Monroe was a son of a bitch and he had Danny. But Miles was right, forget the power, the militia, and the rebels, all of it. Miles was her family and Bass had been his family for a long time and it was clear that Bass still cared for Miles even after everything. And he hadn't hurt Danny…that was all on Neville. She supposed she could forgive Monroe…for one night at least. After all, he had just saved her life.
"Family." Charlie said, returning the smile and squeezing Miles' hand.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please read and review.