Word count: 2703 (ex notes)
Notes at the bottom
CHAPTER 4:
Bass rolled onto his side and sighed. He'd been drifting in and out of sleep for the better part of an hour and it was driving him insane. Not like the day hadn't been eventful enough now he also couldn't sleep. Images of the day raced through his mind and he cursed, rolling onto his back. The fear he'd felt when he realized Charlie had left the resting place some time ago and hadn't come back. It wasn't like her to stay away from the group this long, she knew the dangers out there and that there was strength in numbers.
He'd gone in search of her, telling the other men to stay with the wagon in case something should happen and he'd disappeared into the tree line. Knowing she had gone to wash up he headed towards the river and started following the bank, making sure to stay just inside the tree line so he wouldn't be spotted by anyone on the riverbanks. The the feeling of his blood turning to ice in his veins, the complete and utter fear when he'd heard her faint scream. For a moment he'd hoped an animal had scared her but moments later there was another sound. Another scream and this one was most definitely male.
He took off on a dead run towards where the sound had come from, slowing down to a jog when he got near the commotion. Bass could see everything from where he was standing. Two unkempt looking men had cornered Charlie with her back to the river, both of them holding a knife and her without any way to defend herself. After he'd gotten her out of this situation he needed to have a stern conversation with her about being armed at all times.
She was kneeling on the little sandy shore of the river, her hair disheveled and her eyes wide and frightened. He couldn't hear what the men were saying due to the blood pumping through his veins. All he could hear was his own heartbeat, his own anger rushing through his body as he stepped out from between the trees. The men didn't even hear him, neither did she and when he looked down at his hand he saw that he'd already drawn his sword without even realizing it. In the corner of his mind the words 'Little bitch' registered with him and in a fit of rage he struck out and drove his sword through the man closest to him. A wave of satisfaction coursed through him as the man sank to the ground, all life having left his body.
The fat one was talking to him now. His eyes wide and scared as he pleaded but all Bass saw was Charlie. Charlie and those big blue eyes of her widened with a mixture of fear and relief. She was huddled on the ground still, but the smallest of smirks graced her beautiful lips and before he knew it he'd slain the fat bastard as well.
Bass had sank to his knees, his hands gripping her face as he tried to convince himself that she was OK, thumbs running across her soft cheeks. When she'd confirmed that she was fine he could finally breathe normally again. Her small frame had sagged against his chest and he could do nothing else but wrap his arms around her and, for the smallest moment in time, revel in her embrace.
Pete had disturbed them by placing a hand on Charlie's shoulder, offering her knife back to her and it had taken all of him to not just deck the man right in the face here and now but then realization set in. This was Charlie, the girl who hated him, the girl who merely tolerated his existence because they needed him to defeat the Patriots.
He'd lowered his gaze and had picked up his sword before moving back to the wagon. They got everything together and took off, four hours before he slowed the wagon down for the night.
Bass let out a sigh and sat up, might as well take over watch from whoever had it now so they could get some sleep, because he sure as shit wasn't getting any. Looking next to him he deduced Charlie was on watch, since it was her sleeping bag that was deserted. Connor was fast asleep, snoring away softly on the other side of Charlie's vacant sleeping bag. Sitting up he rubbed his hands over his tired eyes, how in the hell could he be so tired and yet not be able to sleep was beyond him but he got to his feet and started making his way to the second, smaller fire set up for the watch.
When he saw Mark sitting there he narrowed his eyes "Where's the girl?" His voice left no room for argument and he noticed Mark had picked up on this. "In there" He nodded towards the darkness of the tree line "Girl needed a breather, said she'd stay in earshot took a knife and sword with her."
Bass didn't know whether to storm off after Charlie or first take a few moments to beat the ever-living crap out of the moron keeping watch. He decided to leave the ass-kicking for later, grabbed his sword belt and stormed off into the woods snapping an "I'll deal with you later" towards the man near the small fire.
Rage was coursing through his body, was she out of her fucking mind, was she trying to kill him, was she that stupid. His eyes frantically searched between the trees for any sign that she was nearby, his ears strained to pick up any sound that did not belong to mother nature. He systematically searched the woods and couldn't help but sigh in relief when he found her leaning against a tree. Her eyes closed and it seemed as if she hadn't heard him. That, once more, fueled his anger and he stepped out from behind the tree.
This got her attention and her eyes snapped open as he hand reached for her knife, the blade bright in the dim light of the moon. "Damn it, Monroe." Her voice was soft and agitated as she looked at him, the knife disappearing back into the sheath it came from. "You scared the hell out of me." It was even harder now to control his agitation and he reached out, grabbing her upper arm with bruising strength. "Are you out of your god-damn mind?" His voice was rough and angry. "Not hours ago you were attacked by two men, goddammit, what if there had been more in the area, huh?"
His fingers were tight around her arm, keeping her from being able to move anywhere. Her eyes wide and blue, even in the darkness and her lips parted slightly. Every ounce of his control went to not pressing her up against the damn tree to ravish those luscious lips of hers.
"Christ, Monroe" She breathed "I took a knife AND a sword, plus, I stayed in earshot of Mark the entire time."
She was right, she did have weapons with her and they were close enough to the camp that, should she have called out, they would have all been able to hear her. "I don't give a damn, you still didn't hear me approach, what the hell is up with that, you're a hunter, you should have heard me coming a mile away!" Logic wasn't really his strong suit right now.
Her eyes locked with his and softened. He didn't know what she saw when she looked at him but lately her eyes hadn't been as hard as they had when they first went on the road together. Now they looked at him as if they were searching for something, maybe a last piece of his humanity, he didn't know. What he did know was that she felt good. Her small, lean body was pressed up against his taller, harder one. She barely reached his chin but still she stood up to him when she felt like it. She was so close he could smell her hair and to his surprise it smelled flowery, feminine, soft, which was a strange thing in this harsh world.
He sighed and let go of her arm, before he did something he knew he shouldn't. Taking a step back, putting some distance between their bodies he looked at her. "Just... For once, can you just do as your told and go back to camp, please?" Not knowing if it was because she took pity on him or because she heard the tiredness in his voice but he was glad when she lowered her intense gaze and stepped around him, towards camp.
"Thank you." It was a whisper, so soft he thought maybe he'd imagined it but when he looked down at her he saw the words reflected in her bright eyes. "Thank you, for... Everything." Bass was speechless. For a moment he didn't know how to react, how to respond to her whispered words. Her eyes were open and honest, and apprehension in them he hadn't seen before. "Anytime" He whispered back. She smiled at him and turned back to camp. "I mean it, Charlotte" She stilled but didn't turn her face towards him so there was no way of seeing her reaction. "Anytime."
He watched as she made her way back to camp, a small smile on his face. The soft, faint 'I know' still lingering in the air where she'd spoken the words. She knew. Knew she could trust him, knew she could count on him and there was no way he was going to betray that trust.
Back at camp he decided to grant Mark clemency and not pummel him into the ground for letting Charlie walk out of the camp alone. The fact that he'd found her without a scratch on her helped temper his anger so he'd let it slip. "I'll take watch." He clapped the guy on the shoulder and nodded towards where the other 4 men Duncan had sent with them were sleeping. "Go get yourself some shut-eye, I'll keep an eye out. There's not much chance of me catching some tonight, anyway." The short, stocky man grinned knowingly and stood up from the rock he'd been sitting on "Women, huh. I feel sorry for you, dude." Bass glared at him "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" But the man had already made his way to his sleeping bag and Bass was left with the fire and his thoughts.
Mere feet away, Charlie had crept into her sleeping bag. Her eyes closed and her breath even, signaling she was fast asleep. The nights were cold opposed to the heat of the day and he heard her shiver for a moment. Without thinking twice he stood up, walked over to where her blond hair was peeking out from the top of her sleeping bag and covered her with his. It's not like he was going to need it tonight anyway. She stilled in her sleep and burrowed further into the warmth of her little cocoon. A smile crept up his face as she let out a content sigh. How did it get to this. How did it get to the point where one single girl had such an effect on his mood. She was pissed, he was pissed, she was happy and he couldn't keep from smiling. It was insane.
To his surprise it didn't take ages for dawn to come. So caught up in his thoughts, it seemed to take only moments for the sun to start showing her golden hue on the horizon. All around the camp people started to stir, the light penetrating their eyelids and waking them to a brand new day.
Bass watched as Charlie woke, slender arms popped out of the little nest she had rolled herself into and she stretched in a languid motion. Yawning and stretching she slowly sat up, he small hands rubbing the sleep from her eyes. He saw the surprised look when she noticed that there was an extra sleeping bag covering her and he turned his gaze away before she could catch him looking at her.
She was rummaging furiously through her bag as if she was searching for something, a slight panicked look on her face. "I know it's in here somewhere, I couldn't have lost it." Charlie was muttering to herself and he couldn't stop a smile. "Lost something?" She just kept searching through her bag and it was about two minutes before she came up with an "Aha!" A small white piece of god-knows-what in her hands and a triumphant look on her face.
Bass studied her for a moment "What in gods name is that?" He couldn't contain his curiosity. It must be something very special if she'd been that glad that she hadn't lost it. "Soap." He looked up and frowned "Beg your pardon?" He asked for clarification. "It's soap. One of the women in Willoughby makes it, puts like, herbs and dried flowers in them and such. It's in short supply and this is the only bar I could take with me."
Soap, that would explain the flowery scent of her hair. He wondered vaguely what kind of flowers they were and what kind of scent she'd like on a man. Shaking his head he cleared his mind. He went about the morning routine, dividing the left over food between the 'troops' and packing up the camp. This time he insisted Charlie take someone with her to the river. "No arguing" He demanded "Pete is going with you, he can keep his back towards you, stand behind a tree, hide under a damn rock, I don't give a shit. You're not going out there alone right now."
For a moment he thought she was going to protest but to his amazement she turned around without so much as a huff and allowed Pete to follow her. Her bar of soap and a cloth slash towel clasped in her hands.
When he finished packing up his stuff he made his way to the river as well, making sure to head the other direction as to where Charlie went. He stripped and headed out into the cold water taking his button-down shirt with him. It was looking to be a hot day so he'd have enough with just his shirt so he decided to wash this one so it could dry on the back of the wagon.
Bass quickly washed himself and the shirt, he had no soap or detergent but clean water got out most the dirt, sweat and grime.
After he rubbed himself dry with his makeshift towel he slipped into his clothes and headed back towards the camp. The wagon had been loaded and everyone was waiting for him. This time it wasn't his son that sat on the front bench. It was Charlie. Great. Now he'd have to spend the entire day next to her with her smelling of that damn soap, as if his nerves hadn't suffered enough. With a steel look on his face he climbed on top of the wagon and grabbed the reigns. Clicking his tongue he set the horse in motion.
The first half of the trip was blissfully silent. Connor and Devon had Chosen to walk for a while, they were a little behind them, chattering about stuff that Bass couldn't make out. There was a smile on Connor's face so he figured it was all good.
Charlie had been uncharacteristically silent next to him, as if she could feel that he didn't want to talk. Mark, Pete, Roger and Bart were playing cards in the back of the wagon. Sometimes calling out profanities or words of triumph when someone won or lost. It surprised him ho quickly they had gotten into this comfortable, familiar rhythm with Duncan's men. Mostly that was due to the fact that they not only listened to Charlie's orders but they actually seemed to like her. He shouldn't have been surprised about that. Charlie was like the sun, everything and everyone gravitated towards her.
Author's notes;
Are we still enjoying it? Hope so.
I'm making them both a little gentler than they are in the show. Bass because I feel like he could be and Charlie because I really don't like the ruthless, non-caring Charlie the writers have given us this season. She's completely gone down hill after Nora died and I liked her a lot better when she was just a little nicer and a little less bad-ass.
I hope you're liking the way I'm writing them but please let me know if the changes are too unbelievable. I like to stay in the realm of possible Bass/Charlie reactions so let me know if I'm taking it to far, Like maybe with the 'like the sun' line.
Thank you so much for the reviews you've given so far, I enjoy reading them and it's nice knowing the story is being read and followed. Thanks for reading and reviewing, people. Much apreciated.
Love, Marisa
