After the initial shock wears off, Bass carefully puts each piece of the divorce papers back into the envelope and turns to Charlie. She's leaning against the kitchen sink with tears leaking from the corners of her eyes and her arms wrapped around herself for support, completely lost in thought. He moves over to stand in front of her and drops his forehead onto hers.
"Hey." She sniffles and raises her eyes to meet his. "I won't let Jason take Tyler. No matter what happens."
"His lawyers..."
"I don't care about the lawyers Charlie. I don't care if we have to run away to Mexico, no one is taking your son."
Giving him a watery smile, Charlie reaches up to stroke his stubbled cheek. "Thank you," she whispers, pressing her lips gently against his own. Bass tenses, the urge to kiss her mixing with his fear of taking advantage. But her lips are soft and warm, tantalizing against his own, and he can't help himself. He leans into the kiss, letting his tongue slip out to trace her luscious lips. Charlie opens up without hesitation, her own tongue darting into his mouth greedily, licking it's way over his tongue and teeth in a slow, but heart-pounding search.
It's the best kiss he's had in years.
Bass let's her lead, threading one hand into her soft, blonde hair and settling the other just above her hip. Charlie continues to move though, her hands roving over his shoulders and chest, her fingers running through his curls, and her lips exploring, marking her territory.
Because that's what he is now. He is hers, for however long she'll have him.
His hands don't seem to have gotten the message about not pushing his luck, though, and they're already beneath the hem of her tank top before he breaks the kiss.
"What's wrong?" Charlie asks breathlessly.
Bass rubs a final circle over her hip with his thumb and pulls his hands from beneath her shirt. "Nothing. We should call Nora. She'll want to know about the papers."
Thankfully, Charlie accepts his poor excuse with nothing more than a raised eyebrow and heads into the bedroom to get dressed. Alone in the kitchen, Bass leans against the counter and takes a deep breath.
Calm down, he tells himself. She isn't even divorced yet, you ass.
Then again, it's not like she was protesting.
He groans in defeat, her taste lingering on his lips even as he calls Miles and Nora to break the news. Nora's reaction is immediate. He can hear her mumbling sleepily in the background.
"Motherfuckers are quick. I didn't expect them to react so fast." She yawns loudly and Miles grunts, presumably as Nora crawls over him to get out of the bed. "Tell Charlie to get ready and I'll pick her up in twenty minutes. I want to get to the court house as soon as it opens."
"Don't worry, she's already on it."
Tyler comes stumbling sleepily out of the bedroom wearing one of Bass' old t-shirts as pajamas and nearly trips over the bottom of it as he walks.
"Where are we goin'?" He asks with a yawn. The little boy walks right to him and wraps his arms around his thighs and rests his head on his stomach. "I'm hungry." He mumbles against his shirt.
Charlie's giggle makes Bass look up from the boy wrapped around his legs. She's standing in the bedroom doorway with dark jeans on and a simple red blouse, watching the boys with a small smile on her face. Smiling himself, Bass ruffles Tyler's hair and reaches for the refrigerator. "Well let's find us something to eat then."
They manage to get some scrambled eggs and toast on the table and Bass even coaxes a few bites out of Charlie before Miles arrives and lets her know that Nora is outside waiting.
"Where are you going Mommy?" Tyler asks urgently, attempting to follow her out of the apartment while tripping over his pj's and still munching on his toast.
Miles scoops the boy up before he even makes it to Charlie and waves her off. "Go. Me and Bass have this under control."
There's a moment where Miles and Charlie's eyes meet and the fleeting glimpses of their silent conversation is more than enough for Bass to interpret. Charlie's not used to having people she can trust to watch her son, but she's trying to trust Miles and he's trying to earn it.
"OK," she says softly, walking over to drop a kiss on Tyler's head. "Be good for Uncle Miles, alright?" She waits for Tyler to nod in understanding before rushing out the door. Miles drops Tyler back in his seat and takes Charlie's vacated one, finishing her uneaten breakfast in a matter of bites.
"You got anymore?" He asks around a mouth full of food?
The remainder of the morning passes slowly with the occasional text from Nora with an update. She and Charlie are filing an opposition with the court to oppose Jason's claims that Charlie is an unfit mother and they're also requesting that he pay some form of spousal support. Having never been through a divorce himself, Bass isn't really sure what any of that actually means.
Tyler gets bored with the TV around mid morning, so they decide to take him to the park again with the hopes that he'll need a nap after. It's the middle of the week so there aren't many people around and all is quiet while Tyler runs from swing to swing, to the monkey bars, down the slide, and back to the monkey bars. The silence presses in around Bass, bringing up all of the problems he's been trying to avoid.
"I'm worried Miles."
"About what?"
"Charlie and Tyler for starters."
Miles looks over his face with calculating eyes, his confusion evident. "Why?"
"I have to work tonight," Bass says simply. "And I won't be home until after eleven o'clock, which means they're going to be by themselves. I mean what if Jason decides to drop by and I'm not home?"
"Relax Bass, me and Nora can hang out at the apartment until you get home. You know I'm not just going to leave her. Not again."
"I know... But it's not just that."
"What do you mean?"
Bass shakes his head at himself, knowing exactly how stupid he's about to sound. "What if... What if I can't protect them?"
Miles' eyebrows shoot high up on his forehead, but he seems to sense that this isn't the time to go poking fun at him. "From Jason? Yeah, sure the guy is big, but you're stronger and definitely smarter. You can take him."
Fear and self-doubt, mixed with that ever present guilt tugs as Bass' mind. "But what if you're wrong?" He doesn't give Miles the chance to contradict him. "I need a gun Miles."
Sitting back in his seat, Miles gives him a strange look. "Well where is yours?"
Bass swallows down the lump in his throat at the mere mention of the deadly weapon and looks to Tyler as a reminder of why he needs it. "I pawned them. Back in Philly."
"All of them?" Miles asks incredulously.
"Yeah Miles. All of them."
"But why?"
Anger suddenly courses through him. "You know why," Bass growls. "I didn't want them in my house after..." He stops to take a deep breath and repeats, "You know why."
"Bass," Miles says gently.
"And now I can't buy a gun because if they run a background check on Sebastian Miller they're going to realize that he doesn't exist. So I need you to get me a gun. OK?"
Miles bites his lip hesitantly, his eyes filled with concern. "Have you considered just putting Sebastian Miller to bed and letting Bass Monroe come back to life?"
Bass shakes his head roughly. "I can't."
"Why not?" Miles persists. "It was over a year ago Bass. You can't hide forever. You need to move on."
"How can I?" Bass asks, his voice pitching into a shriek. "How do I move on knowing that he never will? Huh? You tell me Miles and I swear to you I will do it."
Miles sighs heavily. "It was an accident Bass. No one blames you."
"Tell that to Andrea Fulton," Bass hisses in Miles' direction before getting up from the bench and stomping away from his friend. He's so set on getting as far from Miles as possible, that Bass doesn't even notice his tail until Tyler grabs onto his hand and tugs on it insistently.
"Where are we going?" He asks innocently.
A reluctant smile pulls at the corner of Bass' lips and he squeezes Tyler's little hand. "No where buddy, I just wanted to walk. OK?"
Tyler nods, his blue eyes searching Bass' face seriously. "Why are you mad at Uncle Miles?"
Bass sighs. "I'm not. I just... got upset, that's all."
"Mommy always eats ice cream when she's sad," Tyler says knowingly. Bass laughs when the boy then points to an ice cream truck parked on the corner.
"Hmm. You're a smart little kid, aren't you?" Bass asks with a grin. Tyler's only response is a giggle.
Bass gets a sherbert popsicle and Tyler gets some ugly thing that was supposed to be shaped like SpongeBob SquarePants. Miles shows up a few steps behind them and gets the same thing as Tyler, hovering by Bass' shoulder while he waits for the man to hand it over.
"I'm sorry," he murmers.
Bass nods. He is too.
If he could have things his way, none of this would even be necessary, but there's nothing he can do. You can't change the past.
Tyler skips along ahead of them on the way back to the apartment, though both both boys keep a close on eye on him as they walk behind.
"Does Charlie know?" Miles asks curiously.
Bass shakes his head. "No I haven't told her."
"Are you going to?"
"I don't know. Why?"
Miles blows out a log breath, tossing his popsicle stick in a trash can before turning to face Bass. "I know that I said it's none of my business what she does or who she does it with, but she's still my niece. You can't lie to her forever."
"I'm not lying-"
"-You're just withholding the truth. I know." Miles finishes for him. They walk silently for a moment before he adds, "Nora would argue that those are the same thing."
"Nora argues about everything," Bass grumbles.
Miles snorts. "Well it is her job."
They let the subject drop as they ascend the stairs to the apartment because Tyler insists that they go first so he can count how many stairs there are. Bass is glad for it. Miles may be right about withholding the truth, but that doesn't mean he's ready to tell Charlie about what happened. Other than the occasional slip with Miles or Nora and the mandatory visits with a shrink, he hasn't talked about it with anyone. It's not that he doesn't trust her, he just isn't ready to have Charlie look at him like that. The same way people were looking at him for months before he skipped town.
Though deep down, Bass knows she wouldn't.
Tyler pushes past him into the apartment to run into his mother's arms as if he hasn't seen her in years and kisses her softly on the cheek. "I missed you Mommy."
Her smile in return is genuine, but he can't help but notice the puffiness around her eyes as if she's been crying again. After Nora calls Tyler to the table for lunch, Bass grabs Charlie's hand and pulls her aside into the kitchen.
"Everything OK?" He asks quietly.
Charlie shakes her head, fresh tears forming in her eyes. "They took the car." When Bass only looks confused, she explains. "The Range Rover, it's in Jason's name so they took it."
Bass wraps his arms around her and pulls her close, whispering into her hair. "Don't worry about the car Charlie. We'll figure it out."
She nods against his chest, her breathing evening out against his neck. "I know it's stupid. It's just a car. But I know that this is just the beginning. They've already cut my access to bank accounts and canceled credit cards. I'm a single mother with no job, no home, no car, and literally thirty-seven dollars to my name."
Taking her face in his hands, Bass looks into her red rimmed eyes and feels an unfamiliar protectiveness come over him. "You have a home, here. You can get a job. You don't need a car. And I have money. Not a lot, not like you're used too. But we can make this work."
Charlie closes her eyes, letting out a long breath. "I feel like such an idiot," she whispers. "I can't even take care of myself, nonetheless my son."
"Hey, stop that. You are a good mother and Tyler adores you. You had the guts to walk away from the only home you had and took the chance that a stanger would be able to help. I wish that I were as brave as you."
A smile tugs a Charlie's lips and she kisses his cheek, her eyes shining. "You let a woman you didn't know and a five year old take over your apartment. That was pretty brave."
Bass chuckles as she turns to join the the others at the table, catching Miles looking at him from across the room with a raised eyebrow. He doesn't say anything, but the meaning is pretty clear.
Maybe you should try being brave enough to tell the truth.
A/N I'm sorry that my chapters have been so short and and spaced out lately. I recently took up a little part time job on the side and it's been taking up more of my time than I thought it would and I've just been exhausted all the time. I'm hoping things will mellow out soon so I can take nap and stop feeling like a zombie. Also, I blame any terrible mistakes in this chapter on the zombiness. ;)