June 10th, 2016

Sweat ran down my neck, trailing unpleasantly down my clavicle to pool in my bra, soaking into the already damp fabric. I took deep controlling breaths, my eyes closed against the harsh sunlight. I could hear the breaths of others around me, but paid them no heed, concentrating instead on my own thoughts, controlling everything within me.

It had been nearly two months since I had come to Atlanta, and in that time I had learned a great deal about their culture, their farming techniques, and their political beliefs. My time with the leader of the Georgia Federation, Kelly Foster, had been unique.

She was a firmly spoken woman with an intelligence that was frankly a little worrisome to me, considering it was keeping me trapped here. Well…that and Bass's reticence to agree to terms.

I sighed in frustration and rolled my shoulders, trying to concentrate. I had taken up yoga and meditation as a means of relaxing…but today was unbearably hot and I had just received another letter from Bass.

I switched into another pose and felt more sweat run down my spine. I leaned forward, extending my leg and felt my muscles tremble. It felt wonderful. All I wanted was to find some kind of peace; my days were fraught with tense meetings, arguments and when that wasn't happening, boredom from being trapped in my quarters.

I slowly stood upright and shook out my arms, walking over to my window to lean out the sash and try to catch the nearly non-existent breeze. In the streets below people walked about happily, calling out to each other, children running around playing, there was even a farmers market.

I sighed; it was so different than back home. Despite Philly being inhabited, it had never looked like this. I had started writing to Bass and Miles my ideas for the city so that we could try and make life better for the people who lived within the Republic, but it seemed that only Miles was taking my advice well.

Bass…

I leaned back in from the window and glanced at the letter lying on my desk bearing his signature. With a groan I leaned over and snatched it up before sinking down onto the window sill, my feet hanging out of the building.

Slipping a finger beneath the seam I tore it open and pulled out Bass's letter, almost wishing I didn't have to read it.

Dear Becca,

I don't know what to say to you. I guess all I can say is that I will see you soon. This has all gone on far too long. I need you back.

Yours,

Bass

I stared down at the letter in shock. Bass was coming here? His last letters had been brimming with frustration at my inability to resolve the situation and had threatened to invade to get me back, but I had always been able to talk him out of it.

Now it seemed he had decided that it was time for him to step in.

I couldn't disagree at this point; President Foster was being recalcitrant, demanding more and more land from the Monroe Republic in return for peace. My arrival had been…interesting.

April 20th, 2016

I swung down from my horse, my ass sore from riding for so many days. Sweat soaked into every crevice of my body and I knew I smelled like horse, dirt, and sweat. Not the best first impression I could make on the President of the Georgia Federation, but I supposed it would have to do.

The doors to the large regal building in front of me swung open and a thin woman with curly brown hair strode forward, her lips pressed into a thin line as she glanced over our gathered group.

We had been allowed into the city after the guards had thoroughly searched our party and determined we held no explosives, only small arms. They seemed extremely disgruntled to have to let us into the city, but since we were here at the invite of the President, there was nothing they could do.

President Foster strode up to me and regarded me for a moment, a speculative gleam in her eye. I cocked my hip and raised a brow at her, waiting for her to say something. Her lips quirked up on one side and she sighed softly before nodding sharply.

"It's a pleasure to meet you in person Ms. Flynn. Your letters made you seem much older."

I smirked, "That's a poor assumption to make. Besides, we caught more than enough of your spies that I hardly think you didn't know how old I am, let alone what I look like."I watched as her lips curled into a smile and grinned at her in return.

"Well Ms. Flynn, it seems most of what I've heard of you is true. Sharp tongue, sharp wit. I think we'll get along just fine."Her tone didn't indicate that we would get along though; it was sharper than that, like she was waiting to test me.

I nodded and gave her a thin smile, shifting so I stood a little taller. Despite her being close to my mother's age, I felt no maternal sympathies from her, no light in her eyes that indicated any kind of kindness.

She was staring at our group with an intensity that made me nervous, there was something calculating in her eyes. After a moment she brushed her hair back and returned her sharp gaze to me, "You brought a lot of men with you. I assure you, it wasn't necessary."

My lips tightened and I fought a frown, my shoulders tightening in anger. "I can see why you might feel that way Madame President; however these men are loyal to me and to the Monroe Republic. It is their duty to protect me and to ensure that I return to the Republic safely, no more. They mean no harm to you or your people."

A thin smile pursed her lips.

"Hmm, well, be that as it may, I think you will only need half of your men." Her expression dared me to argue.

I frowned this time, shifting my hands towards the guns at my hips. The soldiers surrounding her frowned and stepped forward, their expressions menacing.

"Madame President, these men may be here for my protection, but please don't let that fool you, I am perfectly capable of stopping your men from attacking us." I sighed and shook my head, turning to the soldiers standing close behind me, "Five of you will return to the Capitol and inform President Monroe that we have arrived safely."

I turned back to President Foster and raised a brow at her, "I believe it would be in both of our interests to wait until we've spoken at length and I've had time to write a report, wouldn't you agree?"

She studied me for another moment and then nodded, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Very well, Ms. Flynn."

She turned to one of the men beside her and waved a hand, "Please show Ms. Flynn to her quarters and the men to theirs." Without another word to me she turned and strode back up the stairs, leaving us all sweltering in the sun.

After that moment I had been forced to give up half of my guard and after meeting with Kelly for a tense dinner where we exchanged pleasantries and little else, I had written a letter to Bass and Monroe, informing them of everything that had happened.

Kelly had given me a letter for Bass as well, her lips pressed into a firm line when she had handed it over. Three days later we had both gotten responses back, and neither of us were happy with the results.

April 23rd, 2016

I sat at the desk in my quarters, reading the letter that had just arrived from Bass, absently rubbing at my temples. This heat and humidity was giving me a headache.

Becca,

I cannot believe you agreed to send back half your guard. How foolish can you be? Their forces can easily overwhelm or kill you. I thought you were smarter than this. Why would you put yourself in danger like this? I am going to bring a whole regiment of men down there if that woman so much as scratches you.

I should never have let you go.

We need to make sure we get our lands back from Foster, her forces are still encroaching on our territory and they show no sign of stopping. I've shown restraint in not attacking them, but if she won't stop, I'll have to send forces to repel them. I can't stop the locals from defending their territory, or from being absorbed into the Georgia Federation.

I need you to do this Becca, the rebels are fighting us hard in Jersey and we don't have many resources left. If you fail…we won't be able to win against Georgia.

Please be careful Becca.

President Monroe

That evening at dinner President Foster slid Bass's letter across the table to me, her brows knitted.

"Your President is quite upset with me for forcing half your guard back. His tone was very unpleasant."

I sighed and leaned forward, unfolding the letter. "I apologize for his tone. He's worried that something could happen to me."I paused as I flipped the letter open, the connotation to my words sinking in.

I glanced up to see if she had any reaction, but she only raised a brow. Turning my gaze back to the letter I frowned as I read.

President Foster,

It is my hope that with our Ambassador's great skills and knowledge we will be able to resolve our dispute without continued violence. Please do not take my amenability to participate in negotiations as a sign that we within the Republic will terminate our own great progress. We wish to have safety and prosperity for our people, as we are sure your Republic does. Threats to our Ambassador will not be tolerated lightly, and removal of her personal guard was unnecessary.

We will speak again soon, I am sure.

President Sebastian Monroe

I closed my eyes for a moment, taking deep breaths in and out. Goddamn Bass and his insufferable attitude, always trying to fucking save me.

I opened my eyes and smiled thinly at President Foster, "My apologies President Foster, but President Monroe is a staunch defender of his followers. He believes in making sure people know that we aren't weak."

Foster stared at me for a moment, her expression serious. After a long uncomfortable silence she nodded, her eyes flinty.

"Very well." She lifted a glass of wine to her lips and sipped for a moment before setting it aside, her body stiff with anger. "You call yourself a follower of President Monroe, and you said he would be upset if anything had happened to you. What are you really to him?" she demanded.

I paused with a bite of food halfway to my mouth, barely able to breathe. I had to be very careful here. Most people didn't respect me because I was so young, or because I was a woman, or both. If they knew Bass and I had any sort of relationship other than working together to build the Republic…

I set my fork down and sipped on my own wine for a moment before answering. Foster watched me the whole time, her eyes gleaming with interest. I set my wine aside and gave her a chilly smile.

"What is my relationship with President Monroe? Well, we met four years ago, along with General Matheson, and we saved each other. We kept each other alive, became friends, and over time brought people together into what is now the Republic."

I shrugged and gave her a wry smile, "I'm sure you and others would like to hear a tawdry tale of how I fucked both men into giving me my position, but the truth is that I went to school for International Relations and Business, so I was preparing for a job in politics before our world went to shit."

I laughed, "If anything, I think I do a better job than any of our former leaders ever did because I actually go out and meet with the people and try to make sure that President Monroe and General Matheson understand what it is that they need."

I shrugged a shoulder and furrowed my brows at her, "I resent this accusation, especially coming from another woman. Did you fuck someone to get your position? Did anyone ever ask you that? I wouldn't have asked you that."

I pushed my chair back and stood, giving her an appraising look, "I think I've lost my appetite tonight Madame President. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."

Our meetings had progressed from there, or rather, hadn't progressed. We had argued over what land would remain in the Georgia Federation and what land would be kept by the Monroe Republic, which goods would be traded, and how we would stop our people from fighting.

In the two months since I had come here there had been guerilla warfare conducted on both sides—neither taking responsibility for the attacks. I knew Bass and Miles were behind the attacks, and nothing I said in my letters had stopped them.

May 1st, 2016

Dear Sebastian,

These relentless attacks on the borders are not helping. You say you cannot keep citizens from defending their homes, yet they aren't acting like citizens, they fight like our militia. You need to stop the fighting! I can't negotiate a peace deal if constant guerilla attacks are getting in the way.

Stop making excuses and making this harder on me. Be a President and issue an Executive Order. Send militia to stop the fighting. DO SOMETHING.

Becca

Dear Miles,

I need you to speak with Sebastian. Your tactics at the borders are only making things harder for me and I will not be able to negotiate a treaty for us if they do not stop! Why is he so goddamn pigheaded? Why are you?! Fuck!

If you both do not listen to me we will be fighting a war with Georgia that we cannot win. Our Republic will fail before it ever gets fully formed. Please Miles, I need your help.

Yours,

Becca

May 7th, 2016

Rebecca,

I resent your letter. I am the President of the Republic and I will govern it as I see fit. If I say that our citizens are attacking the borders in guerilla attacks, that is what is happening. I am trying to resolve the situation, now you need to do your best to resolve the situation there. If you can't, I'll find someone else to do it.

President Monroe

May 12th, 2016

President Monroe,

If you could find someone to replace me, you would have. None of the men are capable of doing my job, and you are too…goddamn it Bass you're too fucking stubborn to do this. Trust me! I need you to trust me. I told you I would always have your back and I do. So have mine and pull whoever you have at the border back. Stop the attacks and I can get this treaty done.

Please.

Becca

I wished I was in a room with them so I could give them a piece of my mind like I wanted to. Being this far away from both of them was killing me.

As I washed the sweat off my body the sound of pounding hoof beats thundering down the street below broke through my concentration. I turned and peered out the window, frowning when I only saw dust rising up from the road.

Whoever it was that had thundered by was already gone.

I dressed quickly and brushed out my hair, braiding it and wrapping a tie around the end before strapping my gun on and tossing my door open. The guard outside my door followed closely behind as I strode through the building, intent on finding out who exactly it was that had stirred things up.

Bursting through the doors of the large building that housed both myself and President Foster I came to a halt when I saw the congregation of Monroe militia milling around. Bass's threat to come and deal with the situation rang through my head and I found myself searching for his familiar form in the small crowd.

"Ambassador!"

My head turned at the call of my title and my heart sank.

It was Tom Neville, not Bass that had come for me.

Tom, Foster and I were sitting at a large table, silence ruling the room. Foster and Tom were having the same staring contest she and I had engaged in when we had met, and it was looking like Tom was going to win.

Foster let out a tiny huff and her shoulders slouched. "Why are you here Mr. Neville?" she demanded.

Tom raised a brow, "It's Captain Neville actually…and I'm here because President Monroe is prepared to launch an invasion if his Ambassador is not allowed to return to her Republic. You have had months to resolve your dispute and instead have made the problem worse. The Ambassador has given you reasonable ways to resolve the dispute between our Republics, and you've balked. Now, I'm here to provide incentive."

Tom smirked and tented his fingers, "Just over the border is a reserve of our men. Enough to make your life very difficult. I think you'll also find that the Plains people have been raiding you more frequently. Now, are you prepared to speak with our Ambassador about terms?"

Fury raced through my veins. I hated that Bass had sent this man to be my back up. I should have been able to complete this on my own. If President Foster wasn't so fucking impossible, constantly changing the terms of what she wanted, I would have been able to resolve this weeks ago.

Foster glared at Tom for nearly a full minute before she unclenched her jaw and spoke. "I do not take the threat of war lightly, Captain. I will however, work with Ambassador Flynn to resolve the dispute here."

Tom smiled, and there was nothing pleasant about it. "Very good." He turned and nodded to me, "All yours Madam Ambassador."

I smiled tersely at him and turned to President Foster, "Alright, three weeks ago we were nearly at an agreement. I'd like to return to that."

Foster glared at me but nodded.

An hour later we had finally negotiated a treaty that would allow for both Republics to gain land, begin trade, and declared a peace between us. All in all, it was as good as we could hope for.

It also meant that I could go home.

Dear Becca,

I miss you. I wish I hadn't asked you not to go. I need you back here badly. There are so many decisions to make and I feel unqualified to make any of them. Please come back soon.

Bass

I tossed the letter into the flames, watching it burn. Becca would be back soon. I needed to pull my shit together. I had been distracted for months; Miles had been teasing me about it relentlessly.

It infuriated me that I couldn't stop feeling this way about Becca. She was nearly a decade younger than me, she had taken weeks longer than she was supposed to in resolving the negotiations between Georgia and the Monroe Republic, and she was infuriatingly intelligent.

She didn't want protection, she hated that I had asked her to stay, and I had no idea how to talk to her.

"Fuck" I whispered, rubbing a hand over my face.

None of that mattered. I felt the way I felt about Becca, and I needed to make it right with her.

Our letters back and forth had been combative, angry and cold. I feared I had pushed Becca even further away with every word I wrote, but I couldn't stop. Every letter I wrote and each one I read from her made it all worse.

I had tried taking my pleasure with other women, but it had been empty, hollow pleasure. I wanted Becca and there was nothing that was going to change that.

A knock at my office door made me turn from the fire and I smiled halfheartedly at Miles. We were pushing through our battles, taking our Republic farther, gaining more ground slowly. We needed Becca back though; more and more cities were demanding negotiations and our minor Ambassadors were overtaxed and under qualified.

"I just got a letter from Becca, she's solidified the deal. They're on their way back." Miles handed me the letter and I frowned, wondering why I hadn't gotten one. As I read, the reason why became obvious.

Miles,

Our treaty is finalized. It's not perfect, but it's what we could get. We've set terms to sit down again in a year and renegotiate as our borders settle and our lands grow more fertile. President Foster is a cold and calculating woman who shouldn't be underestimated. She'll make a good ally though.

I wish Bass hadn't sent Neville…you know I don't like him. He undermined my authority…but I suppose by the time he got there the whole thing had turned into a shit show. Why couldn't you two have just listened and done as I asked?

If you had called off the guerilla attacks weeks ago this could have been resolved sooner and with fewer concessions. You both hamstrung me. You are supposed to support me and listen to my policy advice and all you did was undermine me.

We're having a serious discussion when I get back about what happens when I tell you I need something and you'll both hear what I have to say and make some changes or I won't be sticking around.

I love you, but I could murder you both right now.

Becca

As I rode away from the city of Atlanta I looked back, suddenly feeling anxious. All I had wanted for two months was to get out of the city and go home….to Bass. I had tried to forget about him, tried to bury my feelings, but if anything they had only gotten worse with each letter.

Sighing unhappily I turned back towards home and nudged my horse.

I was scared of the idea of leaving the only family I had known in a long time, but if Bass and Miles couldn't respect the job they had asked me to do…I couldn't stay.

AN: Hello my lovely readers! Thank you to those who have followed/favorited! It means so much and I do hope some of you will review soon, I would love to hear what you think! It took me some time and some editing to get this chapter the way I wanted it. I wanted Becca and Bass to be able to "speak", but without that face to face and expressions, it's a hard thing to conquer and convey emotion. Kind of like texting! So I hope I portrayed emotions here accurately. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!