Hi (: Kensi here with another story! I know, it has been forever since I've written something for Revolution! Truth be told? I found this in my Archives and decided to post it :P Because I had written it so long ago, know it is set at the beginning of the second part of Season 1. Quick disclaimer that I do NOT own Revolution and I hope you enjoy (:
"Uncle Mi!" the little voice rang out among all others at the airport and marine grinned, holding out his arms to greet his little niece who stumbled right into him. Her three year old little face looked up at him with a bright smile, big blue eyes reminding him so much of both Rachel and Ben's.
"Hey there Charlie." He said, tossing her up and she let out a shriek of delight as he caught her. He went to do it again, but was caught off guard when small hands gripped the collar of his shirt, causing him to give her a questioning look.
"I got bad news." She told him, her lower lip sticking out slightly and Miles rose his eyebrows at the tone. He often joked to Ben that his niece would always come to him first when she got in trouble because she knew he would take her side…It appeared that his humor became quite literal.
"I'm going to be a big sister." She said with concern in her voice and Miles felt her look over her shoulder to still make sure her parents were still struggling against the large crowd, trying to reach them.
"That's bad news?" Miles asked, trying not to laugh, and Charlie nodded earnestly.
"It is! I'm only three." She said, holding up her small fingers to demonstrate. "I'm not old enough to be a good big sister yet. What if I and make the baby sad? Or…Or….Or what if I accidentally forget about the baby and he gets sick! Uncle Mi, I think you better take me to live with you. The baby can live with Mommy and Daddy and then it won't get sick or sad." Charlie explained, her little hands clenching Miles tighter at her toddler woes and worries.
"Aw, Charlie. It doesn't work like that. I know you'll be a great sister." He said, tapping the end of her nose as she let out a little giggled and reached out to grab his hand.
"Are you sure?" she asked and Miles looked over at Ben, who had hysterically stumbled over someone's luggage and was attempting to pick up the woman's clothes as Rachel laughed.
"Positive." He told her and then held out his pinky "Can I tell you a secret?" Taking her own small finger and linking it in his own she nodded solemnly.
"I am good at keeping those." She told him and Miles pointed at his brother who was trying to explain to the lady whose stuff he had spilled what had happened.
"He's my little brother. When your Dad first came, I was kind of scared too."
"Really?" Charlie gaped "You don't get scared Uncle Miles." She shook her head and Miles grinned.
"Nope. Only when your Dad was born cause I wasn't sure if I was going to be a good big brother." He told her and Charlie looked at him thoughtfully.
"But…You are a good brother Uncle Miles. Daddy loves you and he's never sad or sick." Charlie told him and Miles nodded.
"Yep. And so will you. We'll be the big brother and sister club."
Charlie seemed to take this invitation seriously as she nodded and then stuck out her chubby arm for a seal on the deal.
"We need to come up with a secret club handshake." She told him and Miles laughed as her parents finally caught up with them.
Charlie was quiet again.
It was something Miles had learned to expect from his niece. Ever since they took on Monroe, she had been more quiet and secluded. After Danny's death it only got worse. It seemed like the only thing that mattered to her anymore was killing…and more killing…and more.
It was getting Miles worried, though he would never in a million years admit it. He had tried to discreetly help her in any way he could, even going as far as allowing that Jason kid to spend some time with her…Though Miles had already made up his mind that if Tinkerbell decided to touch her, he would knock his head off.
"Hey." He told her, settling down as she thoughtfully cleaned her gun, blue eyes momentarily turning to him.
"Hey." She responded and looked at him expectantly. She was waiting for him to say something. Trying to think of a good way out of the situation without openly admitting he was concerned, Miles came up with the first thing he could think of.
"Your Mom is worried about you." There. Blame it on Rachel…That seemed legit enough. Charlie flinched slightly, as if those words were a physical blow to her and Miles narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"Charlie…?"
"She shouldn't be. I'm fine." Came the short reply, mixed in with clear resentment and Charlie's fingers traced the side of her face momentarily.
"Did she hit you?" Miles asked suddenly when he saw the movement and Charlie looked alarmed that he asked such a question. He was about to shake his head and call himself overly cautious when Charlie gave the smallest of nods.
"Well, I mean, it wasn't like she punched me or anything…It's no big deal." She shrugged and Miles felt some anger burn through him. He may not be a parent, but he knew that you weren't supposed to hit your kids. Ben never hit Charlie or Danny, he was sure, and Miles would have put money on it that Rachel wouldn't have either.
Of course, it looked as though he was wrong.
"What happened?" he asked, trying to make it sound like he wasn't demanding the information- it still did.
"I had come back from a raid. Wasn't really in the mood to see her… She was worried about me I guess, and followed me. I, uh, got hit in my shoulder a bit so I was trying to get some alcohol on it, when she barged it. Told me that that was enough and I wasn't going back out there. I couldn't really take it anymore. Danny…Danny was dead and she…She was there, and I just didn't want her to be my Mom at that point. Maggie was there for me. Dad was. Danny was. Never her. I wasn't about to do anything she told me to." There was a pause in which Charlie seemed unsure if she should go on, so Miles stayed silent, hoping that would be enough motivation for her to continue.
"I told her that basically, with a lot more anger, and she just slapped me." She shrugged and twisted a piece of her hair. "Then I just walked away. It really wasn't that big of a deal." She added quickly.
"Did you see a medic?" he asked her quietly and Charlie gave him an incredulous look.
"She just slapped me…"
"No, I meant for your shoulder." Miles rolled his eyes and Charlie responded with a slight shrug that was neither a yes or no. After waiting several moments, Miles cleared his throat as a sign that he was still waiting for an official answer.
"The medics here…They remind me of Maggie." She explained half-heartedly and Miles felt his heart sink.
"Charlie…" he sighed and his niece just leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling.
"It isn't that horrible Miles, just a scrape."
On any other day, he might have believed her. Charlie seemed to categorize her injuries fairly well. However, seeing her current mood and new personality...Miles decided he would have to be a little more cautious with her.
"Then you wouldn't mind having someone look at it." He told her and she threw him a small glare, but didn't move. Instead, playing with a loose string at the end of her shirt, she continued her long process of cleaning out the gun she was on for the fifth time.
"How are you dealing with…You know…Danny?" he asked her and Charlie's eyes reattached themselves onto him.
"Fine." She answered stiffly and Miles saw the instant change in her posture. It was the opposite of fine. Great. How was he supposed to enter in the 'untouchable' zone of the conversation? Miles had never been one to tiptoe around something, but seeing how fragile Charlie seemed at the moment, knew it would be dumb to not to.
"I don't think you should be fine after a couple weeks Charlie." He told her softly and her eyes snapped back at him, fire raising momentarily at him.
"Then why did you bother asking me!?" she growled at him and Miles stayed silent, waiting for the anger to retreat before speaking again.
"I just want you to be honest with me." He said and almost cringed at how girly and touchy feely that sounded. Charlie seemed to sense his discomfort because she snorted and leaned her head against the back wall, looking out into the sun's sinking form before slowly answering.
"It was my job to protect him. I walked all that way. I killed people, watched Maggie die, blew up trains, came face to face with Monroe, met my long lost mother, all of it was just to get my little brother back…And I let him die within days of getting him back. I failed right when I won. I as good as killed him." She whispered, still looking straight forward.
Miles wondered if Ben and Rachel had always put this kind of pressure on their daughter to look after Danny. While it was clear Charlie loved her brother more than anything else in the world, she referred to getting him back as her 'job', like some kind of assignment given to her. He at times wondered himself if that was the reason he was so protective of Charlie. She was his responsibility and while Miles knew he cared for her, he couldn't help but question if it was from obligation or if he truly liked her. There were times where he felt like he did, but in the midst of a war such as this one, it was dangerous to start liking people.
"It wasn't your fault." He told her quietly and Charlie's eyes finally drifted away from him the sun to give him a look that clearly told him she didn't buy it. "There really wasn't anything else you could have done."
"I should have made him stay away… I asked him…I asked him to stay inside just this one time. Just once." She admitted and this time, Charlie kept her eyes closed and Miles could only imagine the images being replayed in her mind at the moment.
"Hey… Hey, look at me." He told her as gently as he could and when their eyes met he continued. "It's going to be okay."
It may have been the simplest sentence on the entire continent, but at the moment, it was apparently all his niece needed. Eyes watering slightly, she nodded and all traces of pain melted into something of relief. The fact that she didn't even doubt his words made Miles feel extremely important- more so than being General of the Militia had ever done- and yet, incredibly nervous. He hadn't ever expected the responsibility of his niece to fall upon him- his orphaned niece by the looks of it, considering Rachel's new suicidal ambitions.
Well… He would just have to work really hard on this family thing to see how the Hell it was supposed to work. Memories of Charlie flying into his arms at the airport suddenly brought the next sentence to his lips without thinking it over much.
"Guess we both failed at the big brother and sister club." He said, thinking of his own little brother who was now six feet under. With a jolt he realized that he didn't even realize where they had buried him. Would he ever get to visit his grave? Charlie's eyes launched back onto him with a new look of confusion. Deciding now that the words were out, he couldn't just not explain the comment, he went on. "When you were like, three, I came down and you were all upset about Danny being born." He said with a sad smile "You told me that you were going to come live with me instead." He chuckled and looked over at her again, seeing a slight strain in her face to revive the memory.
"Anyways, I told you that Ben was my brother and you wanted to form a club. We were supposed to make up a secret handshake." He explained, feeling slightly silly looking back on it, but hey, she had been three at the time.
"I knew it." She suddenly smirked at him and Miles gave her a questioning look.
"Knew what?"
"I always knew you were the sentimental type." She told him and he groaned, using his free hand to push her over.
"This is what I get for trying to make you feel better." He sighed and took another moment to mess up her hair. After seeing her annoyed face, Miles nodded, deciding his job was done. Well, almost.
"Come on." He told her, helping her up and she gave him a suspicious look.
"A little late for a raid." She commented and Miles rolled his eyes.
"Not to go see a medic though." He told her and at her objecting face, quickly cut her off. "Don't worry, I'll find some buff guy with dark hair."
"I thought you didn't like Jason?" she smirked at him and this time he turned to make sure she got a full view of his scowl.
"Don't even go there." He said and Charlie laughed as the man in question waved at her from a distance away. She waved back cheerfully, smirking at her Uncle. "You're so annoying." He told her.
"So are you." She shot back and grinned "We should come up with a handshake for the annoying club."
Miles decided to go ahead and like his niece.
Pretty short, but I thought it was sweet and to the point. We need some more Miles/Charlie family stuff don't you think? Hopefully it'll be in the next season. I adore their relationship so much... It is such a perfect combination. Though I am suspicious that Charlie is his daughter, but hey! I'm just a viewer over here...
While I have all of your attention over here, I just wanted to address what an AMAZING season finale this show had. Seriously. Awesome. *SPOILER ALERT*
Norah died...I'm not for sure how I feel. I didn't LOVE her like Danny, but I didn't hate her... I kind of wish Rachel would die. She's been getting on my nerves for some reason. I like her at times and other times I just want to sock her in the face. Smh. As for Monroe/Miles? OH MY GOD THOSE TWO! I was in between the 'awwww' of the whole brotherly thing going on and the 'MILES WILL YOU JUST KILL HIM!?' thing... Though I have to admit, Bass has grown on me quite a bit. I like him now (:
Jarlie is giving me a headache. I love them. I do. But it is a one step forward, two steps back kind of deal... I was kind of hoping for a Jason/Miles talk too, but I never got it :( I like those two together, they make me laugh...
Atlanta blown up? Dang. I liked them. I really want the gang to go to Cali though, which I suspect they will next season... I also want some more flashbacks, those are AWESOME!
Okay, I've bored you enough my thoughts and opinions :P I hope you liked my story, please review!
-Kensi
