A Christmas Eve

Disclaimer: Revolution doesn't belong to me. This story does.

A/N: This is my entry into the Good Ship Charloe's Secret Santa fanfic exchange for 2015. This is for motherrunner35, who wanted lots of Charloe and very little interaction with any other characters. I tried really, really hard to abide by that. I hope that you enjoy this. Merry Christmas!

It should be noted that this exists in the same universe as my fanfic gift last year, "Love Remains the Same." It isn't necessary to have read that to enjoy this story. But I found that I really loved that world I created in that fanfic and its sequel (The Rest is Just Details) and I wanted to explore it again.

"Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling." – Edna Ferber

"City officials have declared a state of emergency for the next forty-eight hours. They ask that everyone stay home if they can," the news reporter spoke over the television mounted on the wall. "Hopefully everyone listened to our own Doug Worthington when he warned us that he believed this storm would produce significant snow fall and purchased provisions in case of power outages."

For all Charlie and Bass Monroe were listening, the TV could've jumped off the wall and danced a jig on their living room floor. Not even Civil War reenactors firing canons outside could draw Bass' attention away from the breathtaking image of Charlie naked and riding him. Her hair spilled like gorgeous golden waves over her heavy breasts as she arched her body. Her head was thrown back, eyes closed. The ecstasy on her face and the soft mewling she made as she writhed over him was wildly turning him on. Bass was constantly holding himself back from orgasm. It felt too good to hurry but too good to resist the need to spill himself inside her heat.

They were breaking in their new sofa—again. They'd moved into their new home earlier in the year after spending most of the last two years together in Bass' condo. But the new living arrangement was necessitated by the news that Charlie was pregnant. There was no room for a nursery in their old space. It had been sad to let the place go—it was where they finally stopped running from their mutual attraction and feelings. They'd made love for the first time there as the old year turned new.

Since that night they'd never looked back. Bass and Charlie had moved in together and everything felt fait accompli. Bass never took for granted his beautiful life with Charlie. He'd long ago given up hope that he'd be granted the miracle of family. He'd already lost two. It had completely surprised Bass to discover that he had less than platonic or familial feelings for the daughter of his oldest friend. He'd been convinced that it'd been a midlife crisis. Bass had known growing up Charlie had a crush on him. It seemed harmless so Bass never said anything. He'd had a crush on a teacher so he'd sympathized and hadn't mocked her. Then he'd met Shelly and Charlie's crush faded. Both from his mind and in her heart. The times Bass encountered Charlie she had been different. Bass had put it down to her maturing and getting on with her own life. Then when he had lost Shelly and their baby, Charlie had been wonderfully supportive and constantly reminding him that he wasn't alone. It was then that Bass became aware of the young woman that Charlie had grown into. Then tragedy had taken Charlie's father away and Bass tried to return her kindness. It was then that Bass realized he had fallen for her.

But Bass was thinking about none of those things at the moment. Nothing could distract him from the glorious sight he beheld. With every upward stroke Charlie clenched her muscles around his length. On every downward stroke she ground her pelvis against him, stimulating her clit. Charlie was grinding as low and as fast as she could on his lap. He put his hands on the small of her back to help support her. Bass lifted his hips up against her to increase the friction.

"Oh, Bass, right there," she moaned.

Bass moved his hips faster and he knew he couldn't hold off anymore. He needed his release. "Baby, I'm gonna come," Bass told her as they moved together faster. He gently sucked one of Charlie's nipples. He knew she was particularly sensitive at the moment and the ministration always tended to stimulate her into orgasm when he sucked and flicked the taut peek with his tongue. Then he felt Charlie clenching around him and the sensation broke the last of his will. He spilled into her and held her hips to him so he could grind up against her as they came together.

Afterward, Charlie collapsed forward and rested her head on his shoulder. Bass felt warm, rapid puffs of air brush his flesh. He stroked her back as she settled from her high. He knew she had come back to earth when she chuckled softly and whispered into his ear, "Thanks Bass. I really needed that."

"Yeah it was a real hardship for me," Bass said sardonically.

Charlie leaned back to look him in the eye. "You know what I mean. I'm big as a house right now but I can't help it. It's these pregnancy hormones. I'm fine and then boom! They hit."

Bass chuckled. Charlie's already considerable sexual appetite had increased a lot with her pregnancy. She had also had her fair share of cravings. He'd had many a late night trip for tacos or ice cream. Charlie was always very apologetic as she devoured whatever treat he brought back for her. Bass just smiled and told her it was alright. He always figured it was the least he could do considering everything her body went through carrying their child. Besides this wasn't his first rodeo and he knew it was always smarter—and safer—to just go in whatever direction the pregnancy pendulum swung.

Bass didn't tell Charlie that though. He didn't like bringing Shelly up to Charlie. Not because it was something that made Charlie uncomfortable but because he didn't want to alarm her. Shelly had died in childbirth. Bass battled against his fear of losing Charlie the same way every single day. He knew he would not survive it. He would throw himself into the ground with her. Bass wanted to do everything he could to ease Charlie's pregnancy and hoped the delivery was smooth. So he kept his fears to himself so as to not stress her out.

"First of all Charlie you are not as big as a house," Bass said. He placed his hands on the swell of her belly and stroked it reverently. "You are giving me a gift. You are giving us a family. How could I possibly not find you more beautiful than ever? You are sexy as hell, baby."

"I love you Bass," Charlie said. "This snow was a real blessing in disguise."

"How do you figure?" Bass wondered.

"Well if the snow had held off a few more hours our house would have been filled with family and friends and I wouldn't have been able to have my way with you," Charlie told him.

He laughed. "Sure and it has nothing at all to do with the fact that you don't have to share your homemade chocolate cake with Miles."

"Mmm, cake," Charlie said with a purr akin to the one she had when she was aroused. She had woken up that morning craving chocolate cake and figured it was a sign that she should make it for their family Christmas dinner. It was going to be the first family holiday in their new home but it had been canceled when the storm had hit hours before forecasters had predicted. They didn't want to risk their loved ones having an accident on the roads. So now they had a kitchen full of food they'd never be able to eat by themselves. "Damn it now I want a slice."

She slid off his lap and grabbed his shirt and pulled it on. Because it had to stretch over her belly, it fell a little higher than normal on her. Charlie didn't care; she moved to the kitchen focused on chocolatey delight. She was even humming "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow," under her breath.

Bass smiled and then turned off the neglected TV. He listened. He heard the creak of the cabinet door and the jangling of the silverware drawer that Charlie unconsciously bumped shut with her hip. Next came the clanging as the glass dome was pulled off their cake plate and the hollow thud as Charlie put it on the counter. It was silent until he heard the low, deeply pleased moan from Charlie that he knew came after her first bite.

Then it got quiet. Too quiet. Pregnancy craving Charlie never ate quietly. She always vocally expressed the pleasure she felt when a craving was met. He heard a soft "Oh" followed by a longer, "Ooooh," that was then followed by, "Bass!"

Startled, Bass shot up from the sofa. Then cursed a blue streak when he crashed onto the hardwood floor. He had forgotten that Charlie had run out of patience when she'd seduced him on the sofa. She had simply pulled his pants and briefs down around his ankles because she couldn't waste precious time unfastening his shoes. He had hardly felt compelled to argue the matter when she'd wrapped her warm mouth around his throbbing cock. He'd forgotten his own name when she'd taken him deep in her throat and purred with pleasure around his manhood.

Bass struggled to his feet and quickly redid his clothes and dashed across the spacious atrium and through the kitchen door. Charlie was leaning against the counter, fingers gripping it so tightly that her knuckles were white. She stood barefoot in a pool of liquid. At first Bass stupidly thought she'd spilled a glass of water until sanity returned. First, Charlie never drank anything but ice cold milk when she ate cake; secondly, that would never make her death-grip the counter. Clearly, Charlie's water had broken.

He walked cautiously towards his wife so he didn't slide into her and hurt her. "Let's get you in a chair."

"Help me to a kitchen chair. I don't want to ruin the fabric ones in the living room," Charlie grunted.

Bass aided her into a chair and then grabbed the phone to call the hospital and speak to the doctor. He watched as Charlie clutched the table as she obviously felt pain again. "Charlie, how long have you been having contractions?"

"I wasn't having any until my water broke," Charlie told him. "I just had a bad backache but I'm pregnant so it's par for the course."

Bass didn't think so and guessed Charlie had been feeling labor pains in her back. It was the same way with Shelly. Bass immediately put the brakes on that thought. This wasn't going to end the same way as it had for Shelly and their baby. No matter the similarities. He couldn't afford to let his fear distract him from being there for Charlie at this time. He turned his attention to the phone and spoke to the nurse that answered. He detailed the situation to her as much as he could. She suggested they not wait given how fast her labor had progressed. Bass had timed her contractions at about fifteen minutes apart but with the road conditions they couldn't risk waiting until the contractions moved closer. The nurse dispatched a call for an ambulance to their home. Bass hung up and went upstairs. He dressed himself in warmer clothes because he was going to have to clear a path outside for the medics.

Before he left the bedroom he made sure to grab the hospital bag that Charlie had packed months prior when the nesting phase had begun. It had been a fun time for Bass as he was constantly moving furniture around for Charlie's OCD cleaning and the mad rush to finish the nursery because it needed to be all set up for the baby's arrival. He checked the note Charlie had left in the front pocket listing all the things left for the bag, such as her robe and slippers. He completed all his tasks and was back downstairs to Charlie all within five minutes of having left her in the kitchen.

"Charlie, baby, how are you doing?" Bass panted as he knelt beside her.

"I'm okay but I am pretty sure that my contractions are now closer to twelve minutes apart," Charlie informed him.

That was worrisome. But Bass tamped the panic down.

"And Bass?"

"Yes baby?"

"I need to get dressed," Charlie reminded. She pointed at her general state of undress.

"Crap. I forgot," Bass said. He dashed back upstairs and listened as Charlie gave instructions on what to get her to wear. He was taking the stairs two and three at a time back down. He nearly crashed into the front door but he pivoted to the right quickly and dashed through the kitchen door again. He carefully dressed Charlie and then grabbed his cell phone to call the hospital for an update on the ambulance. He told Charlie he was going outside to check for the squad.

"I'm sorry but the ambulance was delayed," the same nurse as earlier told him.

"My wife's contractions are now twelve minutes apart," Bass told her.

The nurse suggested they find a way to the hospital and hopefully the ambulance would meet them in route. Bass swore silently to himself and hung up. He called Miles.

"Ho ho ho," Miles said dryly when he answered.

Bass skipped the preamble. "Charlie's in labor. The ambulance can't get here in time. I have to take her myself."

"Shit," Miles said.

"I am going to take her in my truck. I will drop my plow the whole way if I have to," Bass told Miles. "I don't fucking care if they ticket me or not."

"I will call the station. I think Baker is on duty tonight. He will make sure you're clear. Maybe he can get you a police escort to the hospital," Miles said.

"Thanks man," Bass spoke gratefully.

"No sweat. I will get Rachel and we will try to meet you at the hospital as soon as possible," Miles informed.

"Drive carefully," Bass warned.

"I will. You too," Miles said. There was a beat before he added, "It's gonna be okay, brother."

Bass swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Of course Miles would understand the thoughts that were echoing in his mind. He had lost his first wife and child in childbirth. Before that he had lost his parents and sisters in a car accident right around this time of the year. Now he was about to take his very pregnant wife out in roads not fit for travel. The edges of Bass' mind wanted to splinter off and drift into a void of dark fear. "Thanks. I will see you at some point."

"Give Charlie our love," Miles said before they hung up.

Bass went back inside to check on Charlie. "Charlie, the ambulance had a delay. We are going to have to try getting to the hospital on our own."

"It's okay, Bass," Charlie said and reached out her hand for him. He took it quickly and knelt beside her. He kissed her hand. "I believe it, Bass. We will be okay."

"I am holding you to that, Charlie," Bass told her. His whole world was literally in his hand. Bass couldn't see a single day without Charlie, let alone the rest of his life. "I have to go outside and clear the driveway. Are you going to be okay?"

"I will try not to ride off with some tall handsome stranger," Charlie teased to break the tension.

"Better not. I will hurry." Bass went to the atrium and grabbed his heavy winter coat and pulled on his boots. He went through the side door off the kitchen that led to the garage. He opened the garage doors. He jumped in the cab and started the truck and then waded through the snow as quickly as possible to their next door neighbor's. She and Charlie had hit it off pretty fast after they had moved in. Bass knocked and rang the doorbell. He didn't care if it was being rude. He couldn't stand leaving Charlie alone for so long.

"What's up?" Nora Clayton asked when she opened her front door. She stood there in red fleece pajamas.

"Charlie has gone into labor. I have to clear the driveway so that I can take her to the hospital. I don't want her sitting alone. Can you go sit with her?"

"Sure thing. Let me grab my coat and boots," Nora said. She was back quickly and dressed. She marched through Bass' original foot prints that were sunk into the already foot of snow. Bass led her to the side door and then got back inside his truck. The vents were pumping lots of warm air. Bass pulled out of the garage and dropped the plow blade. He went as fast as the heavy snow allowed. He didn't care if he tore up the front lawn. He would re-sod it in the spring if necessary.

He left the truck idling and returned to the house to see how Charlie was holding up. Bass entered and saw that Nora was helping Charlie breathe through another contraction. He also gratefully noticed that Nora had retrieved Charlie's winter coat and helped get her wool-lined boots on and that the floor had been mopped up. "Babe?"

Nora answered for Charlie who was still panting. "Contractions are now about eleven minutes apart."

"Can we get you to the truck?" Bass asked.

"Yeah," Charlie said. It came out like a grunt.

Nora grabbed the bag and other items. Bass helped Charlie walk into the garage. He didn't want to risk her getting hurt pulling herself into the cab so Bass picked her up and sat her down on the seat. He pulled the seatbelt across and snapped the buckle for her. He took the items from Nora and put them in the back part of the cab behind Charlie.

"Thank you for your help, Nora," Bass said.

"Don't worry about it. I will even lock up your house for you. Just drive carefully. Congratulations and Merry Christmas," Nora said.

Bass thanked her again and then ran around the front of the truck to get in the driver's seat. True to his word, Bass ignored public ordinance and plowed the public roads as necessary. The trip to the hospital usually took twenty to thirty minutes depending on traffic on good days. Bass' hands clenched the steering wheel the whole way. Every time Charlie cried out in pain he nearly broke it in half or wrenched it off the console.

"I am so sorry, baby," he uttered. Between his nerves and the misery of listening to Charlie being in such agony his sanity was a fraying rope set to snap. The contractions were now eight minutes apart.

"Just drive, Bass. I really don't want our child born in a truck on the side of the road." Charlie hunched forward and clutched her stomach as another painful spasm pierced through her. She'd long since abandoned trying to quietly endure the contractions. Her cries echoed in the cab; Bass was sure he would never forget the sound.

Miles called while they were traveling. Bass answered on the truck's Bluetooth. Bass tried to speak loud enough to be heard over Charlie's cries. Miles and Rachel were going to be delayed because their street hadn't been plowed yet and there was an accident at the nearby intersection that was blocking the plows from getting through. Bass told Miles where they were before he ended the call.

Bass cursed when a car pulled out in front of him. But the anger disappeared when the emergency lights came on and he realized it was Miles' promised police escort. Thankfully they had finally reached streets that had a plow pass through at least once so the smaller car didn't slow Bass' travel. After what felt like an eternity for Bass, they finally reached the hospital. Bass followed the cop car right up to the emergency doors. He threw the car into park and ran around to get to Charlie.

"Toss me the keys, Bass. I will park it for you." Bass turned and saw Jeremy Baker stepping out of the passenger side of the police cruiser. Without a thought, Bass pulled the keys from his pocket and sent the keys through the air towards his friend. He reached into the back seat and grabbed Charlie's belongings and threw them over his shoulder. Then he scooped up his wife and spun towards the automatic front doors.

"Someone help, my wife is in labor," Bass declared when they breached the inner doors of the ER.

After that it was a flurry of activity. People swarmed. He put Charlie in a wheelchair and they were quickly ushered up to the maternity ward. Then four hours later, Charlie and Bass heard the first angry cry of their newborn child.

It was a girl, born at 9:58 PM on Christmas.

"I want to call her Eve," Charlie said later as she cradled her sleeping babe in her arms. Bass was sitting on the bed with Charlie, his arm wrapped around his wife and his finger rubbing his daughter's cheek. His heart was about to burst with the love he felt and the pride he had for his wife and child.

"Eve?"

"Yeah because we got together on New Year's Eve and our whole worlds changed. Now they've changed again," Charlie explained.

"Eve. I like it," Bass affirmed. "How about Hope for a middle name? You both gave me that."

"Eve Hope Monroe," Charlie said. "It's a good name."

Later, Bass held his newborn girl while Charlie slept. She had been a force of nature in labor but she was exhausted from the exertion and the pain. There had been no time to give her an epidural. He bent his head down to kiss Eve's brow. He stood by the window and watched the world get covered in frost and snow. But inside the piece of him that had gone cold with bitterness and loss thawed. He would always miss his lost loved ones but he could do that without resentment. His mother always told him that good things come to those who wait and she was right. It wasn't that he wasn't meant to have a family; it just hadn't been the right time before.

He looked back at his wife's sleeping form and whispered, "Thank you for all my good things, Charlotte." Then he kissed his daughter's forehead again.

- THE END –

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." – Norman Vincent Peale

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Be safe, be healthy, be kind, be well. Here is to even more Charloe in 2016!