First- Thank you all so much the warm feedback, I am so excited that you like it! Here's the next installment~~
~~"Here, put this on your jaw," Rachel said calmly, handing a warm compress to Bass. He placed it on his now swollen jaw and sat back on the kitchen stool, watching her.
Rachel had turned around to tend to the tea kettle and felt his eyes on her. She turned back around.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.
Bass' eyebrows raised at this question. "Why? I'm trying to figure out what you're going to do next, Rachel...you're being awfully nice to the man who just admitted to sleeping with your daughter...or maybe you're just planning a screwdriver to my temple while I sleep?"
Rachel smirked. "Six months ago, if you were to tell me that we would be having this conversation, I would have laughed in complete denial or I would have been shocked...but now, I really can't say that I am."
Bass just looked at her in silence, hoping she would continue.
"Bass, since you came back to Willoughby with Charlie, I have seen another side to you, a side that I thought had long been dead and gone...the 'old' you, Pre-Blackout Bass Monroe. The guy who would come over to our house for family dinners. A guy who showed true warmth and compassion; I kind of missed that guy and it looks like he's coming back."
Bass furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, it's nice that you have selective memory syndrome here," he said with a hint of sarcasm. "...because back then, I distinctly remember you calling me, what was it? Oh yes, a complete womanizer."
Rachel tried to hide a smile, "well, there was that part of your personality that I wasn't so fond of...I always thought that you were a bad influence on Miles."
"Rachel, I had zero influence over Miles, trust me."
"I think you underestimate the power that your friendship with Miles has with him," Rachel replied. "I think your survival is due to that friendship. Look at how many times the two of you could have killed one another, and yet, you never did."
Bass nodded quietly, removing the compress from his jaw.
"Well, clearly I am now once again on his sh*& list," Bass said.
"He's just angry," Rachel said.
"Which once again leads me back to my earlier question, how are you not ready to kill me? I mean, I'm not exactly complaining but...after my declaration in there, I get a punch to the jaw from Miles and you say nothing."
"...because for the first time in many years, I believed what you said," Rachel said. "I think you do love her. I have seen the way you are with her, the way you look at her when you think no one is watching. At first, I thought it was just a protective instinct, but then I realized it was much more than that. I know that you will keep her safe, and a man to love and protect her daughter is all a mother can really ask for."
"Well, I know I'm not exactly the top choice of suitors for Charlie after all that's happened...and you may not seem surprised but Miles certainly acted blind-sided by it," Bass replied.
"He's been in denial about it for several reasons, but he's noticed...but it's unfamiliar for him. He's used to the womanizing Bass Monroe, not the one who declares his love for someone. I mean, how many women have you told Miles that you loved?"
"Shelly, she's the only one," Bass replied.
"Exactly," Rachel said. "This is not a common occurrence for you or him. Of course, he's very protective over Charlie so his first instinct was to get angry...but deep down, this is not something that shocks him."
"So are you ok with this then?" Bass had to ask.
"To say that I'm 'Ok with this' may be a little too strong at this point...but I get it," Rachel said honestly. "She's grown so much but she's always going to be my little girl...I missed so much of her life already, so for me, she's still that little girl with pigtails..."
"Yeah, you missed watching her grow up because of me," Bass said in a grim tone.
"Bass...don't go there...I think we can all see that our relationships have evolved past the pain we have caused each other. I was ready to kill you when you first got to Willoughby but I was the one who ended up making sure you weren't executed...and the main reason was because of what Charlie said to me. She didn't want you to die. She told me how you had saved her life..."
Bass nodded silently. "So, what do I say now? How do I get through to Miles?"
"As always, it's just going to take time," Rachel said. "I think I wanted to offer you support since I have a few secrets of my own that could derail the relationships that I have worked so hard to repair," she said after a moment.
Bass looked at her confused but remained silent.
"I can't judge you for you being open about how you feel and the circumstances of your relationship with Charlie...I would be a complete hypocrite otherwise. I know exactly what it feels like to be in love with someone when all signs point to it being the wrong person, wrong circumstances and could be catastrophic if anyone knew the truth."
"Rachel, what are you talking about?" Bass asked quietly although he had a feeling that he knew where she was going with this.
"Did Miles ever tell you about us?" Rachel asked suddenly, catching Bass off guard.
"Miles never really talked about any of that stuff with me...even though we were best friends, he just never really went into details. Of course, I knew about Emma but that's the extent of it." Bass said.
Rachel only nodded, looking down at the counter.
"...but I would have been a fool to not know that something was happening between the two of you...he had a different way about him when you were around. He looked...happier," Bass said. "...but because of Ben, he could never bring himself to really say anything about it, at least to me."
"I found him at the airport, right before he was going to deploy," Rachel spoke up. "I gave him an ultimatum - told him that if he said the word, if he loved me, I would leave Ben."
Bass sighed, his eyes widened. He had never heard about this.
"...but he told me that he didn't love me and he told me to start a family with Ben," Rachel said.
Bass shook his head, looking grim.
"...but what Miles didn't know was that I had already started a family...with him."
Bass had been looking down at the counter but his eyes snapped up to look at Rachel. His eyebrows furrowed as though he was trying to decipher what she had just said.
"...Rachel, are you saying?" Bass trailed off.
Rachel nodded solemnly. "Yes, Bass...Miles is Charlie's father."