A/N Set roughly two years post finale. The Patriot war is over (Texas won), and life is starting to feel fairly normal…

Bass, Miles, Connor and Charlie are sitting around a scratched up dinner table in the ramshackle house they all share for now. They are playing cards and drinking. The conversation comes in spurts, followed by comfortable silences. Each is mostly lost in thought as the card game progresses.

Miles clears his throat, "So today would have been my Dad's birthday." His voice is a little sad, though he's clearly trying to keep the tone light.

"How old would Grandpa be?" Charlie asks, her own voice quiet. Her memories of her Grandpa Matheson are vague but happy. She remembers he was always smiling and laughing and that he always called her Kiddo.

"Well he would have been sixty-eight I guess." Miles says with a shrug after thinking about it for a moment.

"He was a good guy." Bass says with a sad smile. "He was there for me when I needed fatherly advice on more than one occasion."

"Did he die before the blackout or after?" Connor asks, ever curious about the Matheson family. He and Miles have finally buried the hatchet, and are getting along. Nothing like spending three weeks with crazy ass Tom Neville to put into perspective who is and isn't your enemy. Connor had returned to Willoughby with his tail between his legs, and joined the fight against the Patriots. Life had been good ever since.

"Before. Smoked like a chimney and died of lung cancer. He was gone maybe a year before the blackout happened."

Charlie smiles, "I forgot about the smoking. He always sat on our back steps when he visited because Mom wouldn't let him in the house with his cigars."

Bass frowns at the mention of Rachel, and mutters something that sounds a lot like "stupid ungrateful bitch", but nobody asks him to repeat himself.

"You know, you're it Charlie." Miles points at her, "The last of the Matheson line." He thinks for a minute, "And you…" points at Connor, "are the last of the Monroe line." He shakes his head. "That's just sad."

"Now you're getting all dark and mopey. Maybe you've had enough to drink." Bass suggests, but when he reaches for the bottle, Miles yanks in closer.

"I'm not done Bass." He looks at Connor and Charlie again, "Maybe you two should get married and have a lot of Matheson-Monroe babies? You know, repopulate the Earth and all that shit."

Charlie shakes her head, "Monroe is right. You need to stop drinking."

"Can't stop. It's my Dad's birthday." He looks at them both again, "Don't you want kids, Charlie? Come on. You'd make a great Mom."

"I do want kids. I don't want HIS kids." She points at Connor. Charlie is frankly surprised that Miles has brought this up. In the last year, she's started to think about this exact thing. Turns out all that biological clock nonsense might not be all nonsense after all.

"Why don't you want Connor's kids?" Bass asks, his brow furrowed in anger – though he's not really sure why. "Tainted bloodline?"

"I never said anything like that. I'm just not sleeping with Connor. That's all."

"Thanks a lot Charlie." Connor sulks. "We could have made beautiful babies together." He chuckles then. Clearly Miles isn't the only one who's had too much to drink tonight.

"Don't you mean 'again'?" Bass asks, his voice laced with sarcasm. "You won't sleep with him again?"

Miles looks back and forth, "What? You mean you guys already…"

"Shit. Thanks for that Monroe." Charlie stands, throws her cards on the table and leaves.

"It was a long time ago, and it was just the one time." Connor mumbles to Miles nervously. "She wouldn't have anything to do with me afterwards."

Miles stares at his bottle, "I think that is way too much information for me…. Okay Bass, maybe you're right. I'm done drinking for tonight." Then he too stands and leaves.

"What did you mean just the one time?" Bass asks his son.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next night Bass begs off the usual card game and goes to the stables to tend the horses instead. He's not there long before he hears Charlie approach. He knows it's her. He knows the sound of her steps like he knows the smell of her skin. He shakes that thought off, again. He needs to get a grip.

"What do you want Charlotte?" he asks, not bothering to turn. He continues to brush the horse, waiting for her to speak.

"Can we talk?"

"Seems to me like we are doing exactly that." He still doesn't turn.

He hears her sigh of frustration. "This was a mistake. I'm sorry. See you later Monroe."

She starts to leave and he finally turns to face her. "Charlie, stop. I'm sorry. What do you want to talk about?"

She stops and turns slowly. Her eyes won't meet his, and she's biting her lip. She looks nervous.

He takes a couple steps closer, concerned. "What is it? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She nods, but she still won't meet his gaze.

"For someone who wanted to talk so damn bad, you aren't saying much." He says with a frown.

Finally she looks at him – really looks at him and he can see she's a little drunk. "You're drunk." He states the obvious.

She shakes her head. "Not drunk. I just had enough to get up my nerve to come out here and talk to you."

"Well consider my curiosity piqued. What could you possibly want to talk to me about that would require being drunk first?"

"Well, uh… that thing Miles said last night about me…." Charlie bites her lip again.

Bass frowns because she's so damn sexy when she looks all vulnerable. Actually in truth, he finds her just as sexy when she's in charge and killing the bad guys. If he's totally honest, he thinks she's sexy all the damn time. Finally he shrugs at her, "We sat around talking for like five hours last night. You're gonna have to be more specific."

"The baby thing." She says, exhaling heavily and stealing a glance at him to see if he knows what she means. When he recoils with a distasteful frown, she sighs. Clearly, he knows what she's talking about.

"The baby thing with Connor?" his voice is strained.

She squares her shoulders and looks at him head on, "No. Not with Connor. Just the idea of me having a baby..."

Bass doesn't understand what they are really even talking about. "So… you think you want a baby now?" He has no idea where this conversation is going, and his confusion is evident.

"Yes. I've actually been thinking about it for a while… We're all alone you know? I don't want to be alone forever. I want to have a family….my own family" Charlie holds his gaze. Whatever misgivings she'd had about this conversation at first, seem to have faded. She has the look of someone on a mission.

"Why? Why now?" Bass runs a hand nervously through his tousled hair. He feels totally out of his depth here. Why is she talking to him about this?

"Why not? I'm twenty-four. The war is finally over. Life is settling down nicely. We're actually safe for a change. I'm not getting any younger, and Miles was right… our family lines are coming to an end. Besides, I just think I'm ready."

"Our family lines? So you ARE talking about Connor." Bass is disgusted with himself for how frustrated he suddenly feels.

"No. Not talking about Connor." Her eyes bore into his.

"Then what are you…" he sees something in her gaze then and he feels his cock twitch. Jesus. No way is she suggesting THAT.

She takes a couple steps closer. Now they are close enough to touch each other, though neither reaches out. "Yesterday you asked if the reason I didn't want Connor was because of his tainted bloodline."

"Yeah. I remember." Bass's voice sounds scratchy.

"You had it all wrong. I don't think Connor's bloodline is tainted, Monroe. I think it's… diluted." She actually licks her lips then and he has to stifle a moan.

"Diluted?" he asks, his voice husky.

She leans in, softly pressing her palms against his chest. "Why pick the replica when I could, you know, have the original instead?"

"Assuming a lot there, aren't you? Who says you can just have me?" His eyes are half closed as he looks at her through a haze of desire. He's full of shit and he knows it. By the glint in her eyes, she knows it too.

She smirks a little, just like the cocky little Matheson she is, "Well it's a hunch I guess. That's why I'm here. I'm asking to be sure."

Bass reaches up and moves a strand of hair behind one of her ears. "Asking me what, exactly? I don't want to assume I know what you are getting at."

"Fine. I'll clarify so you can't possibly misunderstand….Bass, would you be the one?"

"The one?" his voice is choked. This can't be happening. She's not really asking him…

"Yeah, would you be the one to knock me up?"

"That's a really bad idea." But even as he says it, his hands slide around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Why is it a bad idea?"

"Miles would kill me."

"No he wouldn't. He might be a little weird about it at first, but he'd come around." Her hands are running up and down his back, sending shockwaves to his dick.

"I'm too fucking old to have a baby."

"You mean, like you can't physically do it? Like things aren't working right?" she's nuzzling his neck, her breath hot on his throat.

He shifts his weight, thrusting his hips against hers. "What do you think?"

"Well, my first thought is… damn." Her voice is low and heated, and he can hear the smile in it. She presses back against him, and his cock grows harder between their bodies.

Bass bites down on her earlobe, "I mean I'm too old to have a baby, not make one."

She chuckles. "The making one is what I need help with. I think I can handle the rest."

He freezes. "I'm not gonna be your goddamned stud horse Charlie. If – and it's a big IF – IF we do this, nothing could keep me from my kid. I won't miss out on another one."

"Okay." She breathes against his mouth.

"Okay? What do you mean okay?" They aren't kissing, but their mouths are touching, lips just barely grazing each other.

"If you want to be involved that would be great."

"I'm forty-fucking eight years old. How involved can I be? I'll be dead before the kid is twenty." Even though his mind is having doubts, his body isn't. He reaches for her belt and begins to kiss her properly as he works the buckle. The kiss quickly takes on a life of its own – lips and teeth and tongue and sucking and biting. It isn't gentle but it isn't brutal either…it's some magical place in between, and it's just where they both want to be.

She kisses him back. There is so much tension between them, so much need. The air around them feels heavy with it. She pulls her mouth from his, "Your Dad died when you weren't much older than that. You still remember him. You still love him, right?"

"Of course I still love him."

"And Connor loves you even though you two haven't really known each other long?"

"Yeah."

"So it's quality, not quantity. You can be in the baby's life for as long as you want to be… for as long as you can be. Okay?"

His head is still swirling with how his whole world has been tipped upside down in the last few minutes, and he can't think straight. Not when he's finally this close to where he's wanted to be for so long – inside Charlie.

"What about Connor? He might feel like I'm overstepping my bounds here." His fingertips slide under the waist band of her jeans, lightly grazing the tender skin on her flat belly.

"Connor is a nice guy and he's become a good friend. That's all he'll ever be. That thing in New Vegas…that was a blip. There was never anything between us that mattered."

Evidently this is the argument that seals the deal for him, because he yanks down her zipper and slides his fingers through her curls, finding her wet and ready. "Shit Charlie." He groans against her mouth.

"So is this a yes then?" she asks him, breathless as he begins to stroke.

"I guess it is, yeah." Bass responds as he slips one and then two fingers into her heat. He rubs lightly at her clit, pressing his fingers into her rhythmically while his lips press against hers in a searing kiss.

She's fumbling with his belt, her hands shaky. He pulls his fingers from her and takes over, pulling his jeans down mid-thigh. Charlie grasps his cock, so thick and hard. "Damn." She says again, wrapping her fingers around his girth, stroking him reverently.

"You gotta slow down. Or else I'm never gonna make it to where you need me to be.

"Inside. I need you inside me."

Bass untangles from her long enough to push her jeans and panties down her hips and legs, the belt jangling all the way down. Everything pools on top of her boots. He quickly unties one. She kicks it off and in moments one leg is completely free.

He pushes her gently against the barn wall, pulling her free knee high to wrap around his waist. "You're sure? We're kind of at the point of no return here."

"So damn sure." She whispers, arching her hips to urge him closer.

He takes his cock in hand and runs it up and down her slit. She's so wet and hot and it's been so long since he's gotten laid and even longer since he first started wanting Charlie. He promises himself next time he'll give her hours of foreplay. Next time he'll take his time. This time, though…this time he just can't wait another damn minute. Hell, maybe this is all just a dream, but if it is, dear Lord he hopes he never wakes up… He takes her mouth in his, changing the kiss, softening it, before pushing into her slowly… filling her up with his thick want for her.

"Charlie, you are so fucking tight." As soon as he's spoken, his mouth is back on hers.

She moans against his lips as her body yields to the welcome invasion that is Bass Monroe. She feels the tension in his body as his lean muscles bunch and move under her roaming fingers. He pulls almost completely from her before firmly filling her again. And again. And again. He never stops kissing her as he works his way deeper into her tight opening. At some point their hands join above her head. Her whole body begins to tense and coil as her orgasm builds. He's balls deep now, with each forceful thrust he shoves the head of his cock against her cervix. Charlie comes around him and he swallows her moans, feeling his own release is almost upon him. She is starting to come down from hers, and he pulls back to look in her eyes, "You good?" Bass asks, breathless.

"So beyond good." She whispers.

"You still want me to…?"

She grabs the globes of his ass and pulls him tighter to her. "Yes, I still want you to."

"God damnit Charlie." He moans against her mouth, kissing her again as his thrusts become faster and more forceful, if a bit erratic. He's so close. She bites down on his lip and feels his whole body jerk as he empties into her with a growl. He pulls her other leg up so that she can wrap both around his waist, jeans and panties still hanging from one booted foot. Bass holds her like that, impaled in her heat as his breathing slows. They both begin to feel the slick evidence of their coupling as is seeps out from where they are joined, coating them both with their combined fluids.

"Wow." She says, her forehead resting against his. "That happened."

"You sound surprised. Thought that's why you came out here?"

"Well," she smirks, "I came out to ask if you'd be interested. I wasn't actually expecting it to happen right now."

"Oh sorry." He is flustered, which is new territory for Bass. "I got carried away. Kind of been wanting to do this for a while now."

"Don't be sorry." Her lips are on his again and she wraps her legs even tighter. "It was amazing and you weren't the only one who has wanted to do that for a while. it was all so much better than I imagined, and believe me I'd imagined it would be really good."

"So, you thought about doing this before? With me?" Now it's Bass's turn to be a little cocky. He grins at her.

"Yeah. "

"Then why didn't you…say something sooner?" he kisses the flesh just under her ear, tasting her.

"I thought you'd laugh or say I was stupid… or too young… or too something else."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Tired of waiting to see if you'd ever make a move, and I really do want a baby."

"You know Charlie, that doesn't always happen right away?" His mouth is on hers again, nipping softly at her lips.

"Oh yeah?" she's pressing against him, feeling his dick still buried inside her, coming back to life.

"Yeah. A lot of people have to try for years before they get pregnant." He grunts as her fingernails scrape across his back. His cock is hard again, and he begins to move, slower this time, fully enjoying how perfectly they fit together. "So, we're probably going to have to keep doing this…. A lot."

"It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make… " She grins at him and he can't help but smile back before covering her lips with his.

**END**