Chapter Ten
By the time Claire had been released from the hospital, 24 hours after the events, Bass' quarters were under renovation and had been relocated to an even bigger part of the house, nothing more than the entire top floor of the building. Militia guards were everywhere; anyone and everyone who were entering and leaving the grounds were searched. It had become clear with the explosion that there had been a breach in the security and it could never happen again.
When she walked into his quarters with him, she was stunned. The decoration was much warmer, cheerier, filled with colors and soft tones. Flowers where in every room and it was very welcoming. It almost felt like home.
Bass closed the door behind her. "I took the liberty of having your personal belongings moved up here. I hope you don't mind"?
He placed his hand on her shoulder and bent down to kiss her neck. She turned and faced him. Oh, how he had changed over the past couple of days. His face was more relaxed, happier. He finally resembled who she had once come to know.
"This is perfect Bass. I think I'll enjoy it here more than where I've been".
"You want to take a look around"?
She shook her head. "Actually, I'm still kind of tired. Is it alright with you if I rest for a while"?
He kissed her forehead. "Of course. Dr. Zelner said you might be a bit tired for a couple of more days and that you need to take it easy. Come on".
He took her hand and guided her through the living room and dining room and stopped in front of a closed door. He pointed to the other closed doors of the hallway.
"The bathroom is all the way down the hall. Across from it is my office".
He turned and pointed to the door behind him. "An extra bedroom".
He turned back. "And this is where we'll be sleeping". He opened the door and showed her in.
She held her breath as they walked in. The room was pretty big. Against one of the walls was a beautiful and very big baldaquin bed with a fireplace just across it. A couple of cupboards and pieces of furniture were also decorating the room, which obviously held his things as well as hers. She was about to head for the bed, when it caught her eye. There, just above the fireplace was a picture frame. She walked over to it and smiled. It was a picture of her and Bass more than fifteen years ago. She still clearly remembered when and where it had been taken.
Flashback begins:
Claire looked out at the ocean. She watched as Miles and Bass relaxed in the water. They had set out their things on the sand just in front of her beach house. The beach was mega crowded as it was a gorgeous day. She grabbed her camera and shot pictures of them in the water. When they came out of the water, Claire was working on one of her books.
"Hey Bass, how about we go for a quick jog"? asked Miles as he was drying himself off.
Bass sat down next to Claire. "No thanks bro.. I'm going to sit this one out and grab some rays. But don't let that stop you".
Miles nodded. "OK. I should be back in an hour".
Claire looked at her watch. It was 5PM. "Ok babe. We'll fire up the barbecue just before you come back so we can have dinner before heading back to base".
He knelt down and kissed her. "Sounds like a great plan to me. What do you think Bass"?
Bass smiled. "Hey, I'm up for that anytime".
With that Miles had left for his beach jog and Claire returned to her book and notes. Bass dozed off, or at least he tried to make Claire believe it, but he opened his eyes every so often to look at her. He loved how he could steal a look at her without her knowing it. He knew it could be risky, but he loved putting himself in his risk zone. He was a Marine after all, and comfort zones were boring. He loved the challenge, the thrill. After about a half an hour of pretending to sleep he sat up and grabbed a book from the pile next to Claire. As he picked it up, he found the camera and scanned through the pictures she had taken.
He placed the objective to his eye and looked at Claire. "Smile".
She turned around not understanding and he took the shot. "Bass, what are you doing"?
"I'm taking your picture. Hey let's get a picture of the two of us. We could get it enlarged and give it to Miles; I think he would like that. I mean a picture that has both people he loves the most in the world, would be nice don't you think"?
Claire thought about it. It's true that if she thought about the pictures Miles had at the house, it was either ones with Bass alone or her alone but there was not one where they were together. She knew that both she and Bass had an important place in Miles' life and this picture would be a great idea.
Bass placed himself next to Claire and held out the camera in front of them.
Claire stopped him. "What are you doing"?
"I'm taking the picture".
"Not like that you aren't. If we want this to be a nice picture for Miles to have, then we need to have someone take it".
She looked around and called out to a young woman passing.
"Excuse me Miss? Can I ask a small favor"?
The girl walked up and smiled.
"Can you take a picture of us, please"?
The girl nodded and took the camera from Bass' hands. She stepped back and focused the camera and took the picture of the two of them smiling.
"You two make a cute couple", she said as she handed the camera back to Bass.
"Oh, we're..", Claire started to say but Bass cut her off.
"Thank you".
The girl resumed her stroll as Bass looked at the picture she had just snapped of them. "It's perfect. I'll take it to be developed this week. It's Miles' birthday in a couple of weeks and we could give it to him as a present".
Flashback ends:
She stared at the picture nostalgically. It had all been such a long time ago. Everything had been different. Now as she looked at the picture, she realized how much Bass had already loved her back then, it was written all over his face, it was in his smile, in his eyes.
"I can't believe you still have this picture".
He smiled. "You know, when we are deployed, we bring something personal with us. Some have letters, other pictures of their wives, girlfriends, children, parents. It helps us cope when we are far from home. This picture was the one I took with me. Even after the blackout, it never left me. You have always been what kept me holding on, even after the blackout".
She turned away from the picture, walked over to the bed and sat down on it.
"Bass, do you think things would have been different, had I chosen you instead of Miles that day on the beach"?
He walked over to her and sat down next to her on the bed. "What do you mean"?
She shrugged. "I don't know. I mean what do you think our lives would have been like"?
"Well for one thing it's clear that you and I would be married. We would have kids as well. Before the blackout we would have been transferred to California and that's probably where we would have been when it occurred. I think we would have been more at peace there, the situation on the West Coast is nothing like it is here".
"What makes you believe that we would have been in California"?
"A year or two before the blackout, I had the opportunity of transferring to California. I declined the offer to stay near you".
"Bass, there is something I need to tell you. You mention being married and having kids but you need to know that Miles and I tried to have kids and we couldn't".
"Why"?
"I don't know. We never got far enough in our medical investigations to know the reason. Look, we are not there yet, but I thought you should know".
He looked at her. "You know Claire, sometimes in life, things happen for a reason. Maybe you and Miles weren't meant to have kids. We will tackle the problem when we get to it and if it arises, but thank you for being straightforward with me. I actually didn't know that you went through this difficult moment".
She yawned slightly. "Come on, why don't you get some rest? I'll be in my office if you need me".
He stood and started to head for the door.
"Bass"?
He stopped and turned to face her.
"Yes"?
"What about Miles"?
"You said a while back that Miles would never hurt you, but the way I see it, the bomb that he and his friends placed shows just the opposite. Miles is willing to risk your life to get to me and I can't accept that. I have received word that they have left and to me that is the best news I've heard in a long time. Let's focus on us. He is the past and what I'm interested in is the present and the future".
Claire said nothing, but simply nodded in agreement. Bass left and closed the door behind him. As she striped down her clothes to a minimum and settled down in the bed, she still could not believe that Miles would have taken the risk of hurting her with the bomb. If he had, then he had definitely changed as there would have been a time when he would have given his own life for hers.
She stared at the empty spot next to her in the bed and finally realized that tonight; Bass would be sleeping next to her. It felt strange. She had never shared a bed with any man other than Miles. She had never been with another man since Miles. She wasn't afraid of what would eventually come to happen, it was just that all these years she had remained faithful to Miles and she was afraid of feeling guilt even if there was no reason anymore to do so. She had let Miles off the hook with her letter, he was gone and free to do as he wished. She was obviously going to do the same.
She eventually fell asleep and awoke three hours later. It was middle of the afternoon and she realized she had skipped lunch. She got dressed and slowly walked out of the bedroom. Bass' office door was opened and she walked over to it. He was leaning over a big map that was laid out on the desk. He apparently didn't realize that she was there and she took the advantage to get a good look at him. It was the first time she looked at him in a long time without any kind of anger or being on her guard and she realized how handsome he was. He was wearing a short sleeve shirt and his muscular body showed through it. His hair was a bit longer than she had ever known it to be and it brought out the wavy, curly hair he had. Had she met him before Miles, she knew she would have been attracted to him, it was crystal clear. She continued looking at him in silence with a smile on her face.
Bass was smart. He had from the corner of his eyes seen that Claire was standing against the door frame looking at him. The way she looked at him was so intense that he could not bring himself to interrupt her. When he saw the beautiful smile come across her face, he knew it was a done deal. There would be no more holding back either from her side or his. He looked up and pretended not to have seen her there.
"Hey there beautiful. Did you have a good rest? How are you feeling"?
She walked into the office and placed herself on the other side of the desk from him. "It felt great. I feel recharged and hungry".
"Good. I'll have someone bring up lunch".
Way north of there, Miles sat behind a bar drinking some infect concoction. The walk had been long and painful but not so much in the physical sense than in the atmosphere it had been done in. He was pissed off, pissed off at the entire world. Claire had decided to stay with Bass, Nora had thrown a jealousy act along with more than stupid actions and Charlie hated his guts for hiding the fact that her mother was still alive, that he had been in love with her and that now not only was Charlie not free but her mother was captive as well. He could get the fact that Charlie was mad at him, but it wasn't his fault that Nora had ruined their chance at getting everyone out of there. When it came to Nora, he didn't get it. It had been a fling, nothing important, that's what she had always led on, why had there been all of a sudden a change in how she had perceived their relationship?
Yet, of all the things that had been thrown at his face, those were the easiest to come to terms with. As he took a big gulp and emptied his glass, he kept wondering if he was being punished for all the terrible things he had done since the blackout. Before the blackout he had everything he could ever have dreamed off: he did a job he loved, he had a roof over his head, he had an amazing wife that he loved more than life itself, they were planning a family and then in a blink of an eye, he had lost it all. It was Ben and Rachel's fault that all this had happened.
He looked at the bartender. "I'll have another, but make it a double this time".
The bartender nodded and filled up his glass and looked at him. "Hey, do I know you from somewhere"?
Miles looked up at him. "If you do it's from hell, so I don't think so. Cheers"!
The bartender ignored him and went to tend on other customers at the bar.
Nora popped up on the stool next to his.
"Miles? What are you doing"?
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm having a drink".
"Miles, look, I'm really sorry".
He started to boil inside. "You don't get to be sorry. Your ruined everything Nora.. Do you get that? You ruined every chance we had of getting Charlie, Rachel and Claire out".
"Claire had already made up her mind Miles".
Miles slammed his fist on the bar, causing heads to turn in their direction. "See, that is what you don't get Nora. I know Claire, the only reason she did that was to protect me, it was out of love. She didn't do it out of want, she did it out of need"!
Nora kept his stare. "Things change Miles, don't forget that and so do people".
"In a couple of months, I'm going back there to get her back Nora, with or without you, but I will get her back".
She swallowed knowing that what she was about to say, was risky.
"Fine, and then what happens Miles, when a few months down the road you go get her and she has fallen in love with Monroe for good and this time because she wants to"?
Miles took his glass in his hand and in pure rage threw it at the mirror behind the bar, making it shatter into a million pieces.
He stood and looked at her. "That will never happen! Not until my heart is still beating".
He stormed out of the bar leaving Nora alone. She hated to see him like this. Especially as she was more than certain that what she had just said would probably happen, and there was nothing Miles could do about it.
After lunch, Bass returned to do some work in his office and Claire went for a walk on the grounds. Ever since the explosion and the fact that Miles was known to be gone, Bass gave Claire more freedom in what she did and where she went.
She walked around, saying hello politely to the people she crossed and smiled when the occasional child would come say hello to her. After a half an hour, she got tired and sat down on one of the benches in the park and looked out at a group of young boys playing football in the grass.
"Well, well… If it isn't Mrs. Matheson? Or should I say the future Mrs. Monroe"?
She didn't have to look up to know who it was. His voice had already triggered her fear. It was Strausser.
He sat down next to her, a bit too closely and she slid away as far as she could.
"You know you are a very smart woman. Why settle for Matheson, who is no longer part of the militia and who has a death warrant hanging over his head, when you can secure yourself and your future here with Monroe"?
Claire didn't answer.
"Yeah, I get it; you're not much the talking type. You prefer actions. I loved the way it felt when I hit you, but I would love even more how I would feel if I caressed you".
He put out his hand to touch her face and closed his eyes. Claire did too, she knew that hitting him would only make things worse; it was best just to ignore it, not see it. But after a few seconds, she reopened her eyes, when she felt nothing. There holding Strausser's hand was Bass. He had somehow intercepted it before Strausser could touch Claire.
Bass pushed back Strausser's hand fiercely in the opposite direction than it was intended to go.
"I thought I had made things clear last time. You just as much as lay a finger on her and you won't see the light of day for as long as you live. Now get the hell out of here Strausser, I'm sure you are needed somewhere else".
Strausser stood, said nothing. He gave Claire a look that said more than enough. The look that said, when you least expect it, I'll get what I want. He left and Bass took his place on the bench next to Claire.
He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. She didn't resist one bit. "I'm sorry. Are you OK"?
She closed her eyes. "I'm fine".
"I'll try to send him for a long term mission, get him away from you. He can be very useful, but I don't trust him around you".
They stayed there in silence, for a while longer watching the boys play football. Eventually Bass stood and put out his hand to help Claire stand. She took his hand and for the first time realized how hers fit perfectly in his. That was something new. Miles' hands had always been bigger. She stood and expected Bass to let go of her hand but he didn't. They walked back to their quarters hand in hand. Passersby would look at them and smile and some people whispered as they did. Claire stole a quick stare at Bass; he looked relaxed, happy, to her and probably to some others, the monster, the cold-hearted General was gone.
When they reached their building, Captain Neville was outside talking to some of the guards. Bass stopped in front of the door.
"Why don't you go on upstairs, I need to talk to Captain Neville for a minute or two"?
Claire smiled and let go of his hand. He leaned in and kissed her cheek before she entered the building and headed upstairs.
"Tom, may I have a word"?
Tom nodded from afar, excused himself and reached the General.
"Tom, what is the situation with Matheson"?
"We lost their tracks General. I sent the rest of the men to continue the search north and have come to round up some more to send to the West. I was hoping you might know where he would go, Sir".
"He's gone north, that I'm more than a 100% sure. Don't send the men to the west; instead send all your search efforts to the New Jersey and New York area".
Tom nodded. "Yes General. Was there anything else I could do for you"?
"Yes, actually there is. I want you to send Strausser to our Training Camp in Norfolk for the next couple of months to supervise things and assist in the training".
"Consider it done General".
"Thank you Tom".
Bass entered the building and climbed the 4 flight of stairs to his quarters. When he entered, Claire was looking out the window as the sun slowly set behind the forest. The sun was shining on her brown hair and she looked simply stunning. He felt his desire for her grow inside him and he knew he would not be able to hold back much longer, he wanted her.
He walked up behind her and gently removed her hair from her neck. He leaned in and kissed her next at first gently, then more passionately. He felt her quiver underneath his lips and gently moan. She turned and in seconds their mouths locked, lips parted and tongues searched each other. He pushed her against the wall and continued kissing her. Slowly his hands trailed down to grab the end of her shirt and pull it over her head. His mouth worked down her neck to her chest, he kissed the edge of her breasts as she caressed his hair and sighed. He placed his hands in her back, unhooked her bra and removed it from her. She removed his shirt and kissed his chest as he gently caressed her breasts.
Kissing her again, he led her down the hall to their bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and placed himself next to her and resumed kissing her. He closed his eyes… this was it, there would be no bomb this time to prevent him from being with her, he had all the time he wanted and he planned on taking it. He had been waiting for years to feel her against him, to feel her breath in his ear as he made love to her, to hear her yell out his name in ecstasy. The moment had finally come!