Matheson Reunion 2024

Charlie is not a girl anymore. She has become a stunning beauty. Her body is long and lean. Her hair hangs in golden waves. Her skin is tan and her body is curvy in all the right places. Eyes follow her wherever she goes, and Ben worries about her. Rachel worries too, but she also struggles not to be jealous of the daughter who is now more beautiful than she. Boys and men alike have been paying Charlie much more attention than her family is comfortable with.

For her part, Charlie really doesn't care about any of it. She keeps busy. She runs track at the high school where she is currently a senior. She loves running and keeps herself in great shape. She's academically gifted, and will be graduating with honors. Recently she's taken up kick boxing and she spends a lot of time sparring with her coach. He's a little older, but she is pretty sure he wants to do more than spar with her. For now she pretends not to notice. She still hangs out with Danny a lot, but he's doing better – having found a new medication that seems to do wonders.

When she hears Bass is coming to the reunion, she can't help but feel a little rush. When she's all alone in her room at night, she sometimes thinks of him as she explores herself – seeking release. And other times when she's fooling around with her boyfriend Jason, she closes her eyes and pretends he's Bass. Even though their encounters have always been friendly and nothing more, the crush on Bass which she's harbored since Kindergarten has never faded. She takes care to plan what she'll wear when he visits this year. It's been a while. She wants him to see she's not a child anymore.

Bass has had a promotion at work. He's dating a dental hygienist named Duncan. The relationship is not going anywhere, but she's fun and keeps his mind moving in a positive direction. He still drinks (what best friend of Miles Matheson's wouldn't?) but he's no longer endangering himself on a daily basis. He knows that Miles and Rachel have now been having an affair for several years. He knows it's tearing Miles up inside to hurt his brother, but he can't seem to shake his need for that woman. More than anything, Bass' decision to go to the reunion is to support Miles. After all, Miles has always been there for him. He thinks about Charlie once in a while, but in his mind she is still the gangly teenager from his last visit. He remembers a promise of womanhood, but she is still a child in his mind. He forgets how much difference a few years can make.

Bass is forty-two years old. Charlie is seventeen.

Danny opens the door this year. He is a handsome kid, though somewhat frail. He smiles at the visitors and welcomes them inside. "Sit down in the den with Aaron and Dad. Mom will be down in a few minutes. She's upstairs fighting with Charlie." The way he says this tells them that fighting with Charlie is the norm for Rachel these days.

They've just settled and started to catch up, drinks in hand when a thunder of footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs. "I told you no." Rachel's voice is steely.

"And I told you to mind your own damn business." Charlie replies as she walks into the room. Her face is flushed from the argument and her eyes are sparkling with mischief. Bass can't hide his surprise. She is taller than he remembers her. She is in fact, nothing like what he remembers. Charlie is most definitely not a child anymore. She is crazy beautiful, curvaceous and tall, with long hair that hangs down to her ass, and oh what an ass it is, he can't help but notice as she leans down to hug her Dad and then Aaron. She is wearing a short white tank top which exposes an expanse of tight, tan belly. Her faded Levi's hang low on perfect hips. She's smiling as she walks up to Bass and Miles, "Uncle Miles, Bass." She greets them nodding to each in turn.

"Charlie?" Miles squeaks out in surprise. "Damn girl, when did you start looking like that?"

She doesn't answer, but instead turns her attention to Bass with a raised eyebrow. He can tell she's asking what he thinks. Her eyes hold some sort of challenge that confuses him… that stirs him in a way he's never felt for her before. "Uh," he stammers, "Hi Charlie." He looks her up and down and back up and sees that she's still staring at him. They hold the gaze for a moment too long. Damn. He glances over at Miles and sees that the exchange has not went unnoticed.

"What the hell, Bass?" Miles punches him in the arm. "You aren't supposed to look at HER like that." He mutters so only Bass can hear – except that Charlie is still close enough that she hears him too.

"Well, why not Uncle Miles? She asks laughing. "If he wants to look, let him look." but before Bass can even reply, she's leaving the room, swaying her hips just a little extra – knowing she has his attention, finally.

Bass is shell shocked. What in the hell just happened? He runs a hand nervously through his curls and looks over at Ben and Aaron who had clearly witnessed the whole weird Charlie interaction. "I'm sorry. I don't know what just happened here." He stutters.

Ben is shaking his head apologetically. "Don't worry about it Bass. Charlie is going through a phase. Physically she's becoming a woman, but emotionally she's still just a girl." He shrugs. "We've been struggling lately; it's been hard on Rachel especially."

Aaron nods, "I wonder if some of it has to do with Jason. Can't say that I like that kid. She sure acts differently when he's around."

"Who's Jason?" asks Miles.

"Her boyfriend." Ben is rubbing his temples; clearly this is not a topic he enjoys. "I think he's probably okay, but Aaron is right. Things have been different lately and he might be part of the problem. He's an odd duck."

"Well, where is he?" Miles asks, standing. "I'll go talk to him right now."

"Calm down Miles." Rachel has entered. "It would make things worse. And you can't talk to her either. The more you try to talk to her about that boy, the more she clings to him." She sounds tired. "We're just going to have to wait this out."

Miles snorts. "That is bullshit." He mutters. "I want to see him at least, see what they're like together."

"Well he'll be here for dinner. You can see him for yourself then."

Dinner is well underway, with only two empty seats to show for Charlie and her boyfriend, when the front door slams and in they come. Charlie is obviously more subdued when in the presence of this guy. Gone is the vivacious flirt from earlier. Now she is quiet and doesn't meet Bass' eyes. Jason is a good looking kid, Bass admits to himself. He's got dark hair and a brooding expression that is probably a big hit with the girls. He clearly spends a lot of time in the gym. Bass hates him on sight. From the tension he feels pouring off of Miles, he can tell that he's not the only one.

They don't say anything to him directly, but both men covertly watch the way Jason and Charlie interact. She says little. He twice corrects her when she does speak. She makes a smart ass remark to him at one point – something about how much he lifts weights, and Bass sees Jason smile at her as if he enjoys the joke, while at the same time squeezing her wrist until she goes pale. Nobody else seems to notice.

"He's a dead man." Miles says lowly under his breath.

Their eyes meet and Bass nods. Quietly he asks, "Fallujah, 2008?"

Miles shakes his head with an unfriendly smile. "It was an expression Bass. I'm thinking a good old fashioned ass-kicking is in order, you know… rather than actually killing him."

Bass shrugs. "Either way," he says with a steely glint in his eye.

Dinner wraps up and the young couple disappears before Miles and Bass can pull Jason from the party for a little 'come to Jesus' meeting as Miles refers to it. Miles takes a moment to sneak off with Rachel, saying they need to talk. "Yeah sure, talk," Bass scoffs with a frown. He likes Ben and hates to see Miles screwing over his own brother. Oh well, that is not his problem.

Bass decides he needs some fresh air. After the weird conversation with Charlie, and watching Jason dominate her at dinner, and then all this mess with Rachel and Miles… he needs to clear his head.

Bass wanders out the front door at a leisurely pace. He's heading toward the sidewalk when he hears something…. something that sounds a lot like a muffled scream. Without hesitating, Bass follows the sound in a run – shocked to realize it's coming from behind Ben's house. What he sees makes his blood boil. Jason has pinned Charlie against the back wall of her home. Her tank top and bra have been yanked up to her throat. Jason has one hand covering her mouth. The other is roughly squeezing an exposed breast. He has one leg jammed between hers and is ignoring the fact that she is trying to get away. "Relax Charlie," he's saying to her. "You know you're going to like it, you little tease…"

Bass sees red and Jason doesn't get another word out before he is punched solidly in the head. Caught off guard by the punch; the younger man drops to his knees. Charlie is crying and moving to cover herself. She can see that Bass is beyond pissed, and she steps out of the way while he begins to beat Jason. Bass is methodical and strangely graceful with the attack. He alternates between kicks and stomps. Every time Jason gets up, Bass does some martial arts move that puts him back on the ground. Jason is bleeding profusely and moving little, when Miles comes running around the back of the house, panic on his face.

"What the hell, Bass?" he yells before seeing how distraught Charlie is. "Stop, or you're gonna kill him."

Bass isn't even winded, but his eyes are steely with hatred, "That was the idea." He says, not stopping until Miles grabs his friend and pulls him away.

Miles bends down to check for a pulse, and while he's busy with that – Bass goes over to Charlie. She is trying unsuccessfully to cover her nakedness with the badly torn tank top. It's just not working, and she is getting more upset by the minute. Without even thinking about it, Bass pulls his tee shirt over his head and hands it to her. He looks away as she pulls it on. When his eyes return to hers, she is calmer. The tears have stopped and she seems to have regained her composure. She isn't meeting his eyes though. Instead she's focusing on his chest, staring at the dog tags he still wears more out of habit than anything else. With a shaky hand she reaches out and touches the metal; her fingertips caress the raised letters of his name. "Sebastian Monroe" her voice is little more than a whisper, and he's almost not sure if she really said his name or if it was only his imagination. For the briefest of moments she places her hand flat on his chest over the tags. He feels his body responding to her touch. His heart begins to pound. She looks up and catches his gaze. "Thank you." She says, dropping her hand from his chest.

Rachel chooses that moment to come running into the backyard. "Bass, where the hell is your shirt?" then she looks at her daughter and Miles and lastly to the bleeding Jason and it all clicks. "Oh no Charlie, are you okay?" She moves quickly to her daughter's side.

"Bass saved me." He hears her say. He misses the rest of the conversation as Ben and Aaron come barreling around the corner. They see Rachel and Charlie and head right over. Bass relaxes for the first time since coming into the backyard. She has plenty of back up. He looks at Miles, "That jackass was going to rape her."

Miles nods. He'd figured as much when he saw the epic beating Bass had been giving the poor bastard.

An ambulance is called, and they take Jason away. Bass knows there will be a lot of questions and he's not looking forward to it, but figures it will all work out. Aaron makes his excuses and leaves. Charlie is presumably in her room. Everyone talks in hushed tones. Nobody wants to bother her. Miles and Bass decide to crash in the guest room for the night. They are both too exhausted to drive.

At 2am Bass is still tossing and turning on his makeshift bedroll. Miles had called dibs on the bed of course. Bass' mind fills with images of Charlie's attack every time he closes them. Miles' snoring doesn't help him settle down. Quietly he lets himself out of the room they're bunking in and walks downstairs, wearing only his boxers. He's digging around in the fridge looking for something to drink when he hears something move behind him. Whirling he sees Charlie. She's sitting on the kitchen counter opposite where he's standing. Her legs are tucked in against her chest. Her feet flat on the counter top. "Looking for this?" she holds up a beer. It's open and from the look in her eyes, it's not the first one she's drank tonight.

He cautiously walks to her perch. "You okay?" he asks, ignoring the beer. After the day she's had, she deserves whatever relief she can find and who is he to judge her anyway. He drank more than his fair share when he was seventeen.

She shrugs, "I'm okay now, I think." She just looks at him for a while, questions swirling in her expression.

"What?" he asks.

"You are a very good fighter." She says, "You were all focus and motion and grace. I was so scared, but even so… I was impressed."

He's not sure what to say to this. "I practice a lot I guess. Don't want to get rusty in my old age." He attempts to joke.

She doesn't laugh. Her eyes meet his and she says, "You are not old," her gaze drops to his naked chest, and trails down over his shorts and down his legs. Raising her eyes to his again, she continues, "and based on what I saw you do today, I'd wager you are not rusty either." Involuntarily Charlie licks her lips, and Bass is watching her tongue and thinking about what it would feel like to kiss her. Shaking his head at the thought, he takes a step back.

"Charlie, what the hell are you doing? Why are you talking to me like this?" He can't hide the slight tremor in his voice. She's a child he reminds himself. The problem is she doesn't look like a child. She isn't talking to him like a child. He sighs roughly, running a hand through his unruly curls.

"I am trying to get you to see me."

"Oh, I see you." He says. "Believe me, I see you."

In one fluid motion she hops down from the counter, sitting the empty bottle in the space she has just vacated. She advances on him. He notices abstractly that she's still wearing his shirt, and very little else. Long tan legs stretch down forever. In his head an image flashes uninvited – Charlie back on the counter, those long legs wrapped around Bass as he pushes into… He shoves the thought away, standing his ground as she moves so close he can feel her breath on his chest.

"So Bass, do you like what you see?" her voice is throaty and full with promise.

His sharp intake of breath at her words is evidently the kind of answer she was looking for. Without warning, she stands up on tip toes and presses her lips to his. He doesn't respond at first, but doesn't move away either. When he doesn't pull back, she deepens the kiss until he's compelled to join in. His tongue delves into her mouth as his lips angle over hers in an unexpected fit of passion. Deftly he turns her so that she's against the counter. He places his hands on either side of her face. Hers go around his neck. Her body feels pliant pressed against his. Bass' hands move down and stroke up her bare thighs, and around to the small of her back. He's pressing his body against hers, when reality slams into him and he pulls away. "Damnit Charlie. This is wrong."

"It didn't feel wrong to me." She smiles breathing heavily, "It felt very hard, but not at all wrong."

"Jesus Charlotte! Stop it!" he barks at her as he backs away. Turning to leave, he says, "You know if Miles walked in right now, he would kill me?"

"No he wouldn't." she says, but she can't hide the doubt in her voice.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Thanks but no thanks Charlie."

"Goodnight Bass." She whispers as he walks away. In her head the kiss is replaying, and she realizes that it has only served to make her want him more. She's kissed boys before, but Bass Monroe is a man. She swallows hard as she watches the muscles in his back move with each step.

"Goodnight Charlie." He responds without turning.

Bass goes back to his sleeping bag on the floor of the guest room. Miles is still snoring loudly from the bed. There will be no sleep tonight Bass figures, but it's the last thought he has before waking to the aroma of coffee and bacon.

He pulls on pants, and after rummaging through his bag comes up with a new tee shirt. He puts in on too and then opens the door padding out in his bare feet.

"Hey." Charlie's leaning against the wall outside his room; a steaming coffee cup in each hand. She holds one out to him, "Forgive me for being an idiot, and a little drunk?"

He takes the peace offering and nods. "Let's just pretend it never happened, okay?"

She doesn't acknowledge his suggestion. Instead she says, "Here's your shirt." He takes it from her and tosses it back into his room. When she motions for him to follow her, he complies. They walk down the steps and she stops near the bottom, sitting on the same step that she always thinks of as 'theirs'. "Do you remember sitting here with me when I was little? We talked. You said you wanted me to be happy."

He nods, and sits next down next to her. They aren't touching. There is a respectable distance between them. Today they are also both fully dressed, which definitely should help him think clearly. She's wearing a baggy grey sweatshirt and loose jeans. Her hair is pulled up on top of her head in a messy bun. She's wearing no makeup and her feet are bare. She's incredibly sexy. He has to stop looking at her so he looks at his feet next to hers. He imagines their bare feet next to each other in bed, along with a lot of other bare body parts, tangled together, all sweaty and content… "Jesus," he swears under his breath. Why is she so deep in his head?

They hear a knock on the door. "Probably the police to take me away for beating up your boyfriend," he swears. "Shit."

"Nobody is coming for you." He looks at her as she sips her coffee and sees she's grinning with mischief.

"Why not? What's going on?"

"Aaron put in cameras a while back. Jason didn't know if of course. There had been a lot of robberies in the neighborhood. Aaron's kind of a tech geek and offered to do it just in case our house was hit. Anyway, we all kind of forgot." She pauses to take a sip before continuing, "so after the thing happened yesterday Aaron got the video and took it to his magic computer geek lair or whatever and tweaked it a little."

"What do you mean 'tweaked it a little'?"

"He changed all the frames with you in them. I don't know how, but I heard him telling Miles that the video will show everything that Jason did to me, followed by Brad Pitt swooping in to save the day by beating Jason up."

"Brad Pitt, eh?" He's laughing a little in spite of himself. Relaxing, he leans back a bit, sitting his now empty cup on the step above them. His relaxation is short lived however, because she chooses that moment to reach over and take his hand. He tries not to feel anything, but when she gently brushes the bruised knuckles with her fingertips, his belly tightens with desire. A moment later, she lifts his hand to her lips and softly kisses the sore fingers, one at a time. He tries to pull away from her grasp, but his attempt is halfhearted. She just holds his hand in hers. "Thanks, you know - for saving me. I'll never forget that."

She lets go of his hand. He can't exactly explain why that loss of touch makes him feel empty, but it does. They sit in silence for a few moments. He gets up to find Miles. She stops him with a question, "Bass, where is my present?" He turns to look at her, and he smiles back.

"Patience. Patience.. Good things come to those who wait. Don't you know that Charlie?" his eyes are sparkling. She sighs a little, feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time.

"Yeah, that's what I've heard." She grins at him. "It's all about timing."

"Yeah, timing." Their eyes lock, and they share an unspoken acknowledgement. The timing isn't right for them - not right now. Maybe it never will be, but they both recognize that if given a chance – maybe in another life where their bithdays aren't divided by twenty-five years – the timing might just work itself out.

He doesn't see her again before he leaves. She finds the present tucked under her pillow. The fact that he had snuck into her room to put it there sends shivers down her spine. She opens the package and laughs. He's left her his shirt, the one she'd borrowed. Charlie lifts it to her nose to smell the Bass-nes of it, realizing as she does so that the shirt is wrapped around something. Carefully she unwinds the shirt, revealing a book. It is worn and dog eared. "The Prophet", she says aloud. She's never heard of Kahilil Gibran, but opens the book curiously. Inside the front cover is an inscription. "Charlie – this is not the gift I'd planned to give you, but after our time together this weekend, the first thing I'd chosen didn't seem right. I've been carrying this book around with me for years. It's helped me get my thoughts straight on more than one occasion… helped me to deal with a lot of stuff that happened in my life. It's special to me and I want to share it with you, because you are special to me too. I hope you like it and I hope you find happiness again. Bass". She opens the book farther and is surprised to see passages underlined and notes scrawled in margins. His handwriting, is not just in the front, but all through the pages of prose – he really has been reading this for years. Some of the writing is faded, other bits are newer. She smiles and reverently places the book on her night stand, next to the volume of Dickinson he'd given her when she was thirteen. She'll read it later, and then probably a hundred more times, running her fingers over his words, imagining his lips on hers.

"Timing is everything." She says softly to herself, smiling.

Author's Note: If you aren't already a fan of Dickinson or Gibran, I highly recommend both. As always, reviews are appreciated. The next chap is almost finished. Should be publishing within the next day or so. Thanks for reading!