I own nothing.

Charlie opened her eyes, cringing against the brightness of the setting sun glaring through the window to her left, until she was finally able to make out the wooden ceiling above her.

With a feeling of déjà vu, she sat up slowly, taking in the familiar visage of her last childhood home.

She swung her legs off the couch and rose to her feet. Glancing around the room and seeing no signs of life, she traveled through each room, puzzled that no one was home. She was sure her father should be somewhere.

After a full tour of the house, she made her way to the front door and peered outside.

By that time, the sun was nearly completely set and ready to disappear for the evening. Enough light remained for her to see Old John Baker's barn in the distance where several people were milling about outside and in, their profiles visible through the open windows where candle light dominated its gloomy depths.

The barn was used on special occasions for celebrations or holidays since there was plenty of space for the entire community. Charlie didn't often attend the gatherings, finding them frivolous and pointless. She knew everyone in their small village, and saw them every day. She liked to hunt, track, and explore. She didn't need to dress up and giggle like the other girls did. Plus, she didn't know how to dance. Maggie had offered to teach her, but watching her father twirl Maggie around made her too uncomfortable to pay attention to the steps. With a surge of guilt, she remembered how much she held Maggie's relationship with her father against her. Maggie could never replace her mother! Especially since her mother was still alive!

Wait…no. Her mother was dead. Right?

Charlie shook her head. She must still be sleepy. She never took naps. No wonder she was so confused.

At least with the observation of the barn in the distance she now knew where everyone had disappeared to for the evening. Inching the front door shut, deciding to stay in for the night, she paused when a familiar mop of bright blond hair caught her eye.

"DANNY!" she squealed in delight, wondering why it felt like years since she'd last seen her brother. Relief that he was alive washed through her, momentarily confusing her again. She shook her confusion away.

He was a few yards away. He turned back, grinned at her and motioned her forward, "It's Halloween! Party time, Charlie! Come on!"

Before she could argue that he knew she hated those gatherings, or that she had nothing to wear, he took off for the barn without her, assuming she'd follow.

She sighed and gave chase. He disappeared into the building and she followed. As she ran inside, she dashed to the side to avoid a couple and ended up spinning in a circle.

Catching her balance, she felt air around her legs. Raising an eyebrow, she looked down and saw a mess of skirts. When had she put this dress on? Thinking back, she couldn't remember what she was wearing when she woke from her nap, so maybe she had already been wearing it. But if so, how in the world had she laid down on the couch in this...tent? She reached down and felt where the skirt stuck out around her. It was attached to some sort of metal or plastic…hoop? She was wearing some sort of hoop dress!

The dress was baby blue and in a classic antebellum style that she'd only ever seen in those ancient history books Aaron had found somewhere to teach them about history from over 100 years ago, like it mattered to them now. There was a war…it was against people in this country…The Civil War! She remembered, smirking to herself that she must've paid more attention to Aaron's lessons than she thought.

She would've kept wondering where her elaborate costume came from, but she caught sight of her brother again. "Danny!" she cried out, making her way as delicately as possible since she was hampered by hoops and cloth.

Danny waved at her, grinning, before disappearing into a crush of people. She groaned in frustration and tried to follow, but couldn't. She looked around. Maybe she could find her father instead. He could explain why she was wearing this infuriating contraption.

The more she searched, the dizzier she became. She picked at the side seams of her dress, feeling stuffy. Surprised to feel something hard, she remembered they put whale bones in these things. No wonder she was dizzy; she couldn't breathe! She stumbled in her button up boots. At least the shoes weren't as bad as the rest of the dress.

"Allow me," a soft male voice sounded in her ear from behind as a gentle arm caught hers, steadying her.

She shivered, the ghost of breath tickling her skin as the unfamiliar touch warmed her.

"Thank you," she grumbled to cover her embarrassment at her reaction to the stranger. She looked up into fascinating blue eyes.

"Perhaps your gratitude could include a dance?" He tipped his gray cap to her.

She took in his entire gray uniform, single breasted, made of gray fabric, with two rows of nine buttons down the front. Three gold stars framed by a wreath graced his upright collar.

"General Lee of the Confederate Army at your service, ma'am," he bowed with a smirk. "But you can call me Bass…and seeing as our costumes fit together, maybe we should see if we do as well?"

She lifted an eyebrow at his nerve.

"Bass, is it?" she stepped away from his touch, not caring how unnervingly good it felt. "I'm trying to find my brother; I don't really have time for a dance."

He swept his arm out flippantly. "I'm sure he's around somewhere. Everyone is here. He won't mind if you have a little fun, will he?"

Undecided, she glanced around hoping to see her wayward sibling.

"Just one dance?" he flashed the most brilliant smile.

Reluctantly dazzled by that smile and the little crinkles around his eyes, she suddenly very much wanted to dance with him. There was only one problem…

"I can't dance," she admitted, thinking again of Maggie trying to teach her. Why did she suddenly miss her? She didn't even like Maggie that much. Besides, Maggie was sure to be somewhere around here with her father.

"But I can," he reached out a hand. "I'll lead, you follow."

She braced her jaw in determination. She could do this. Everyone else was dancing. How hard could it be?

And through a blur she found herself spinning, swaying, and learning to keep perfect step with this man who somehow made her feel things she'd never felt before as he smiled and laughed with her. His arms were strong but gentle around her. She felt truly wanted, safe and protected…and he felt like home. Which was absurd, of course, she'd never felt like she was home, not since she was 5 years old; and, she hadn't felt safe since the last time she saw Uncle Miles…

Unbidden, an image of her uncle armed with two swords and surrounded by dead bodies flashed through her mind. How did she know what Uncle Miles looked like? Safe? She didn't know him enough to feel safe around him…right?

She shook her head and looked up into blue sparkling eyes. "Where did you come from, Bass? I've never seen you around before."

He shrugged and smiled, "Maybe I'm just a figment of your imagination. Maybe I'm not really here."

She gazed into his eyes, loving the way he focused all of his attention on her, like she was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. And, really, he fascinated her too.

"Well, if you're not here, then I'm going to look pretty silly when I do this," her eyes fell to his lips.

She rose up, but she didn't have to go far because he met her halfway.

As their lips met, everything inside of her fluttered, like butterflies ghosting through her. She'd never thought a kiss could make her world spin. Pulling back slightly, she caught her breath before she kissed him again.

She reluctantly pulled away again when she remembered where they were. She resumed their dance, resting her head against his shoulder. She would've loved to kiss him more, but the last thing she needed was word to get back to her father that she was behaving so brazenly in the middle of the dance floor. She may be twenty years old, but her father still thought of her as a child.

"Danny is gone…Militia took him…My brother, Miles, is in Chicago…He can get Danny..."

She froze in the middle of the dance floor, standing straight.

"Charlotte?" Bass asked, stopping with her, concerned.

"I need to find my brother," she turned about, gazing around the room, searching in desperation.

She didn't know where this dread had come from, but it settled in the pit of her stomach and wouldn't leave.

"Okay, okay," he said in a calming voice. "I'll help you."

She grabbed his hand, clutching it gratefully, as she took off across the room.

They searched and searched, exploring every inch of the barn, but found nary a trace.

Coming to a stop, she took a fearful breath. "Where is he?" she whispered.

Bass reached up a hand to stroke a wayward strand of hair from her cheek. "We'll find him; I promise."

She nodded, wanting to believe him, but she'd learned the hard way that she couldn't trust easily. She had a brief flash of a young, tall, dark haired male, but it was so fleeting, she couldn't catch the full image. Whoever it was, she didn't have time to think about it.

She glanced outside a barn window and shuddered. "That's a horrible costume."

"What is?" he glanced out the window.

"Their uniforms," she said in disgust. "Dressing up like soldiers in the Monroe Republic."

"Oh," he murmured in understanding.

"Would your brother be with them?" he asked.

"No way," she insisted. The dread grew in abundance. "I just have this horrible feeling something is wrong."

"Let's go outside then, maybe he's around the building, maybe he snuck away with some girl, or maybe he just needed some air?" he made suggestions as he escorted her outside.

"I'll go that way," she pointed away from the men dressed as soldiers, "you go that way," she pointed toward the soldiers, "and we'll meet on the other side."

"Okay," though he appeared uncertain at leaving her.

"Go, I'll be fine," she didn't want to leave him, but she could protect herself. She'd been doing it for months already. She scrunched her forehead in concentration. Since when had she learned to protect herself? This day just got more and more confusing.

Danny. Danny was the most important thing right now.

She stalked around the building as briskly as possible, seeing no sign of her brother. As she came into view of the "Monroe Republic" soldiers again, she wondered where Bass had gone. She should've met him halfway around the building, but she'd gone around the entire building and hadn't bumped into him.

Had she lost Bass too now? Maybe he grew tired of the search and went back inside to find someone more fun to dance and spend time with. Everyone always left her anyway. Why should he be any different?

"Danny!" she yelled, done with the hide and seek crap. She was going to find her brother, and she didn't care if she disturbed every person at the party to do it. "Danny!" she hollered again.

"Danny? I know him," one of the 'militia' men said, grinning at her.

She internally shuddered, but forced herself to reply, "You do? Do you know where he is?"

"Sure, he went down to the well," he motioned to the well trodden path away from the barn. The path was dark, but if that was the way Danny went, she would go. The dark didn't frighten her. Maybe that's where Bass went too. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part.

"Thanks," she murmured to the creepy militia 'troops' and scrambled down the path.

"Danny?" she continued to call. She didn't want to sneak up on him, and if Bass was right and he was with a girl, she didn't want to embarrass him either. "Danny?"

"I hope you're out here, Danny! I had to talk to a bunch of creepy guys in Monroe Republic costumes to help find you!"

"Danny?" She was almost to the well. Why hadn't he heard her and come back to her yet? "Danny!"

She was grabbed suddenly from behind and slammed back into a hard unyielding body. She yelped in surprise.

Hard hands grasped her arms as a cruel voice sounded in her ear, "It's not a costume."

"What?" she gulped, struggling to catch her breath between the surprise and the infernal corset contraption she was wearing.

"I'm wearing a uniform, not a costume," she recognized that voice. It was the militia "soldier" who helped her just moments ago. Instantly she realized this jerk didn't know where Danny was; he'd lied to her.

Instead of fear, pure anger swept through her. Without thinking twice, she slammed her head back into the soldier's face. She winced at the pain, but his answering howl coupled with him letting go of her made the ache worth it. She spun around and followed up with a punch to his gut. When he leaned forward at the pain, she swung her fist up into his face. He fell back, losing his balance, collapsing to the ground.

She breathed in surprise for half a second. Where had she learned to do that?

Then she caught sight of the other uniformed soldiers converging on her, lit only by the moonlight. She turned and ran, hoping to make it back to the party before they caught her. Where had these soldiers come from? Surely they weren't there for the party. If the townspeople had known the soldiers were there, they would've cancelled the party immediately.

As she ran, she realized it was taking too long. She knew she'd run in the direction of the barn, so why hadn't she arrived yet? Where was the barn?

Where was she? She could barely make out anything in the dark, but she finally spotted a tree line highlighted by the moonlight to her right. She could find cover in the woods. There weren't any woods this close to home though, so where was she?

Deciding now wasn't the time to wonder, she darted through the trees. She found a place to hide behind some bushes, hoping her dress wouldn't poke out and give her away. As she reached down to rearrange the dress, she felt nothing but denim. She felt around her hips, but strangely the dress was gone. In its place were her usual pants, tank, and leather jacket. Relieved to feel more comfortable in her own skin, she dunked down even smaller, trying to hide and listen for any movement.

She felt like the entire world was closing in on her, that nothing made sense. Suddenly, she wished Bass was here. She felt safe with him. But maybe those soldiers had hurt him. Maybe that's why he'd disappeared? Maybe those soldiers had hurt Danny too?

"Danny is gone…Militia took him…"

She pressed her lips together with renewed determination. She would follow the soldiers. Maybe they'd offer some clue to what had happened to Danny and Bass.

Her ears picked up on the sounds of the men finally reaching her area of the woods. They passed her hiding place and she breathed a sigh of relief. She gave them a moment before she slowly began to follow at a distance.

She followed for a good ten minutes before she saw signs of firelight ahead, out of the woods. She crouched and hid well enough so no one could see her, but she could see that the men had given up on her. They went into an old building across the way, light shining through the windows. It looked like a bar.

She decided she would need to peek in the windows to see if Danny or Bass was there. Even if the bar was a public place, there was no way she'd take a chance on walking into the establishment. She was sure nobody there would help her if the militia attacked her. Heck, the militia guys would probably create some story about her stealing diamonds. No one would question the militia.

She crept up to the building from the side, hunkering down. She came to the edge of the first window. From her vantage point, she only saw the soldiers sitting around a table having a drink. She tried to look all around the bar for Danny or Bass, but she couldn't see everything from her place. She ducked under the window and scrambled to the next. She peered inside once more, but didn't see her quarry. She pulled away and huffed in defeat. These soldiers really had nothing to do with her brother's disappearance. She should just go home. Her mother and Uncle Miles were waiting for her.

She went to stand up, but paused. No, her father and Maggie were waiting for her.

Before she could question her brain yet again, she was, for a second time, grabbed from behind. She was lifted and tossed over a bony shoulder that cut into her gut, making her cry out.

"I'll teach you to head butt me," a dreadfully familiar voice grumbled.

She struggled to break free, but he'd already walked with her inside the establishment.

He tossed her to the dirty floor.

"Look what I found sneaking around outside," he told his compatriots.

She scrambled to her feet, alert and glancing around the room for possible weapons. She could take six guys if she used her wits, just the way Uncle Miles had trained her.

The men started converging on her again, this time she would stay and fight. She only vaguely realized the men weren't in uniform anymore. They were wearing an array of jeans and jackets, dirty from the road as most people in Texas were. Texas?

She grabbed a glass off a table, breaking the top to make a jagged weapon a split second before the first man tried to grab her. She cut his arm and spun away from him. A second man tried to grab her, and she shoved the jagged edge of the glass down into his thigh. He screamed and backhanded her.

Releasing the glass, she fell back into a window, wincing when her elbow broke through it.

As she tried to get away from the remaining five to regroup, she grabbed a pool cue. She jabbed one man in the gut and tried to hit another with it, but he grabbed her arms, stopping her long movement. She changed tactics and reached with her hands to try to gouge out his eyes.

Everything started to become blurry, and with dawning déjà vu, she remembered going through this before. She glanced to the bar stools and saw the glass and bowl on the counter she'd eaten from earlier. They'd drugged her!

She started to fall back, helplessness filling her. These men were going to hurt her, and there was nothing she could do about it. She wished Miles was here. Why had she thought leaving him would be a good idea? Why did she think being a female on the road by herself was a good idea? She was probably going to die, and Miles and her mother would never know.

A loud crashing sound finally gained her attention.

It was Bass!

She watched as he cut through the men, making short work of them. She felt such relief. She didn't know where he'd gone, but he was there now. He was there to protect her. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. She'd seen it in his eyes.

He finished killing the last man, pulled away, and then came toward her.

But…it wasn't Bass…or it was. She finally focused on his entire face, his entire being, finally seeing what her mind hadn't allowed her to see earlier. The fascinating blue eyes, the lips that drew back into the most handsome smile…the scruff that wasn't there before. This was Bass, but it was also…

Monroe.

Everything faded to black.

Her head hurt.

She moved her head slowly from one side to the other, but neither position seemed to help.

Her eyes opened. She saw an aluminum overhang above her, the hard ground pressing into her back. She could hear rain falling, but she wasn't wet.

Facts rushed back to her. Everything that didn't make sense in her dream suddenly did. Her father, Maggie, and Danny were all dead. She hadn't been back to her old home in over a year, and probably never would go back.

The only thing that didn't make sense was Monroe's place in her dream. He'd saved her life at the bar, but that didn't explain why she'd been so attracted to him in her dream. That didn't explain why she'd danced the night away with him while her brother was missing. That didn't explain why she'd dreamed she'd kissed him.

Shuddering at the thought, she struggled to sit up, wanting to get as far away from the man as possible.

He told her to settle down and tossed her a canteen to flush the drugs out.

Reason broke through, so she accepted the water, but she still didn't understand why he saved her.

When he explained, she wanted to hit him even more than usual. He saved her so he could use her to get to Miles and her mom. It made sense, so she wasn't sure why it made her so angry, but it did. She lashed out at him even more, fueled by her loss over Danny flared anew by her vivid dream. She tried not to dream about her brother; but, of course, in her drug induced state she'd gone on a now familiar wild chase, nearly catching up with him only to have him disappear again and again.

She hated that particular recurring dream.

She finally admitted that Monroe was right. Miles and her mom needed Monroe's help with these crazy Patriots. She would do anything to protect the only family she had left, even join forces with the man ultimately responsible for tearing apart her entire world.

Now, if only she could stop thinking about the dream kiss. She must've transferred some weird hero worship onto him because he'd come to her rescue when all hope seemed lost. In her drugged condition, with him being the last thing she saw before she slipped into unconsciousness, she must've grabbed hold of that thought and took it with her into her dream world. Surely, she'd have ended up dream kissing anyone who'd come to her rescue.

Later that night, she struggled to find a comfortable position on the ground to go back to sleep, hoping the dream wouldn't revisit her.

"Mind telling me where we're going?" His soft gentle voice made her shiver and think of that first moment his breath had brushed over her neck in her dream.

"Willoughby, Texas," she bit out angrily. When would she stop thinking about that stupid dream?!

He glanced at his map and a little notebook before stuffing them back into his pack and leaning against it to settle down to sleep for the night.

"It'll probably take five days," he replied with his eyes closed.

She grunted in reply.

"Hope it doesn't get too hot in November down there," he mumbled.

She didn't even bother replying to that, wishing he'd just shut up.

"Oh and apparently today is October thirty-first," he roused himself enough to say, carrying on the conversation even though he had to know the last thing she wanted to do was talk to him.

"So, Happy Halloween!" He laughed to himself. "As if you remember what that is."

She felt a chill race up her spine.

He shifted and finally quieted down enough to fall asleep.

But Charlie, she was stuck with thoughts of a southern belle and her handsome Confederate soldier dancing the night away all night long…

Damn it.

- finished -