A/N:

I know, I know, I'm a total douche for killing off Rachel, but I feel like this is something that needs to happen in the show, they need to kill off a major character that everyone felt differently about and shift people's emotions around a bit, maybe pave the way for some unexpected character developments...

I have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm ill and seem to have lost the plot a bit, thank you antihistamines!

Charlie and Bass's screen time together seems less... Electric, not happy about this, this needs to be changed, and soon.

Thank you for reading and reviewing, it really does mean so much to me,

Love to all,

PIP

Taking the risk of getting themselves killed, the men buried Rachel in the old town graveyard; it felt only right to give her a proper burial, Willoughby was her home and they certainly couldn't bury her by the burnt up barn with Cynthia, much to Aaron's dismay.

Feeling broken and defeated, they hardly spoke; no one ate or slept, each choosing to grieve alone, a splintered family.

Tom quickly found them other accommodations, an old farmer's house, as far away from the town as possibly convenient for all of them, it was sparsely furnished but it gave them all the space they needed from one another. He departed a little while after the burial, having his own family to consider. The men hadn't heard from him in a few days now, something that wasn't entirely good or bad.

Unusually, there was no blame cast on Bass, but it only made him feel worse, he wanted to be blamed, wanted to be beaten half to death, thrown out on his ass and told to disappear, but no matter how much he sought their pain and hatred, they denied him it, seeing he was suffering just as much as the rest of them, he didn't need any more hurt, none of them did.

Bass had given up on the idea of going to get Charlie; truthfully, he hoped she stayed out in Vegas, just so that he wouldn't have to be the one to tell her that her mom was dead. But he knew she would be making her way home soon, despite Duncan's best persuasion techniques, Charlie knew her place was by his side.

The inevitable conversation and its many scenarios and repercussions played out over and over again in his head, he envisioned her glaring at him coldly before putting a bullet between his eyes, or even putting the gun to her own head and pulling the trigger, he ended up getting physically sick whenever that grim situation scraped its way into his mind.

Connor tried his best to empathise but after days of silence, he couldn't handle it, he wasn't going to watch their little group get destroyed by grief. He took to hunting, something that wasn't all that appreciated by a bunch of people that had no desire to eat, but on the rare occasion, someone would snack on something, it gave him hope that there was a way forward.

Surprisingly, Gene was next to snap out of the darkness that had been clouding his brain, realising that although his daughter was dead, he still had a granddaughter out there that would need him soon. He loved Rachel, he didn't get to say it often but he hoped she knew it; it was one of many regrets that were pushed to the back of his mind.

She certainly wouldn't be happy about them sitting around, being all mopey and 'woe is me', they had a war to fight, and they couldn't let the Patriots get away with killing her. It was something he reminded them of daily, sparking some life into them. The idea of avenging her definitely seemed like a good idea to Miles and Bass, as if the act would give them some closure.

After several more painful days of coming to terms with, and accepting Rachel's death, they were all back to scheming and plotting and pretty soon, a plan was almost in place, filled with plenty of the usual slashing, slicing and dicing with added explosions, all they had to do now was get their sorry asses in gear and do it.

Finally realising the importance of food and the energy it provided, Bass and Miles joined Connor on a hunt the day before they were going to execute their plan, the nutrition would give them the extra bounce they'd need to fight.

A few hours in and they'd managed to catch some rabbits, nothing overly substantial but enough to keep them going for a couple days.

Then Bass spotted something that made his blood run cold, "Hold up," he bent down and shuffled some leaves around on the floor, "These are Charlie's tracks."

"What? You sure?" Miles questioned, doubting she could sneak back into the area without them noticing.

Bass stood with a sigh and began following the all too familiar footprints, "The amount of times I've tracked this girl is un-freakin'-believable, it's her."

He had taught Charlie how to hide her tracks better, if she'd left them so carelessly then they were obviously meant to be found and followed. His heart raced in his chest at the idea of seeing her again, it was a shame it wouldn't be the loving, tender reunion he'd envisioned before Rachel died, she probably wouldn't even look at him again after finding out.

Refocusing on more happy thoughts, he remembered their night together, her soft skin beneath his hands, the gentle but desperate whispers of his name as he nibbled on her neck, the way their bodies moulded with one another perfectly, her firm heartbeat as he rested his head against her chest.

Shaking his head, Bass pushed aggressively through some bushes, reminding himself that that was the first and last time; he couldn't see a way back after what happened to Rachel, he couldn't see Charlie allowing anyone near her, least of all him.

Shifting slowly towards the edge of the treeline, the men were faced with a tent city, bustling with men. Recognising several of the men, and the style of the tents, Bass pondered on the thought that perhaps Duncan had decided to join the fight.

Springing up from his hiding place, he walked towards what he assumed was the entrance to the camp and towards the two armed guys guarding it. The others followed blindly, hoping he knew what he was doing, their hearts stopped collectively for several beats when weapons were drawn and a shouting match ensued.

"Stand down, they're okay." Charlie rounded the corner of a tent, the men felt a stab of pain as they examined her, she had been beaten up recently, with sore, black bruises covering her face and neck and probably other places of her body, her lip was split and there was a cut down her eyebrow, ending dangerously close to her eye.

Looking at some of the other men around her, they weren't fairing much better, something had gone seriously wrong back in Vegas.

Bass sent a thankful nod her way, sensing now wasn't exactly the time for a heartfelt hug and overprotectiveness, it seemed like they both had things to tell each other, the air felt thicker and harder to breathe in as she led them all to her tent, it wouldn't be long now until her world came crashing down around her.

Once inside, Bass pulled her into a near suffocating embrace, forgetting for a moment that Miles was unaware of how far their relationship had progressed from 'just a kiss', he didn't care at this point anyway, wanting one last moment of happiness with his partner, she held him just a little tighter than necessary too, enjoying the calm before the storm.

They separated when Miles cleared his throat, acknowledging the awkwardness that had surrounded them.

Running his hand down her bruised cheek, Bass frowned, "What happened?"

"Turns out, Duncan was in a lot of debt to a lot of bad people, she'd been fighting them off for months but they caught us off guard. They'd slit her throat before I could even blink… I'm sorry, Bass."

There was that heaviness in his chest again, another friend lost. He kissed Charlie's forehead, "It's okay, I'm just glad you're alive."

Miles stepped closer, wanting a better look at his niece; she looked like she'd survived by the skin of her teeth. Annoyingly, he was sure Bass would be thoroughly checking her over later, "So, I get why you're back, but what's with all the macho leather lovers?"

"They're Duncan's men, the survivors anyway, they didn't know what to do with themselves, they needed a leader, they want blood." She was surprised at how many of them had made it, it had been a bloodbath but it was apparent that their loyalty to Duncan had brought out the killers in them.

Miles raised his hands in exasperation, "So you brought 'em here?"

A little bit of Bass rubbing off on her, Charlie squared up to her ungrateful uncle, "Where else were we gonna go, Miles, Canada? You wanted killers, I brought them."

Bass stepped between them, his eyes fixed solely on her, "He's glad you're here, really, it's just… There's something we need to tell you, Charlotte."

"Bass, not now." The kid had enough things going on at the moment.

"You got a better moment, let me know, Miles, it's better she hears it now rather than later," he mumbled over his shoulder before turning back to her, "Charlie, it's your mom, she… We lost her."

"Lost her?" It wasn't quite clicking; her eyes darted back and forth between all of them, "What do you mean you lost her?"

"She's dead," Connor blurted out after no one answered, the older men seemingly more interested in staring at the floor than putting the girl out of her misery, he continued when her eyes pleaded for more information, "Her and my dad were separated from us when we all got ambushed... We got there too late."

At the mention of Bass being involved, Charlie's head whipped around to him, he tried to look her in the eye but each time he did, she grew colder and colder towards him, he knew what was coming, it was the moment he'd been dreading for days, "Did you kill her?"

She still didn't trust him, she couldn't if she had to ask that question, it was tearing him up inside but he simply clenched his jaw and nodded as Connor watched with shock, "Man, that is bull and we all know it! He's just trying to protect you, your mom knew the risks, she ran out into the open under heavy gunfire. She killed herself."

Charlie's eyes softened with what appeared to be tears, but she blinked them away before any of them could be sure, "Give us a minute," it wasn't a request, she waited for Miles and Connor to leave before turning back to the man that was once again the cause of her confusion and pain, he looked devastated, "What's going on with you?"

Sitting down on her bed, Bass scrubbed his hands through his hair vigorously, reeling from finding out she didn't trust him, and from Connor's eagerness to protect him, "I may not have put the bullet in her myself but I led her out there, Charlotte, I didn't have a choice, if we'd stayed, we would've been killed anyway. It's the same with Ben, with your brother, with Emma, and now Rachel, they died because of choices I made, which is no different from killing them myself."

She knelt in front of him, clasping his hands in hers, "It's very different, my brother died fighting a war, Emma got shot by a Georgian, and my mom…," she wasn't sure if her tears were for Rachel, or Bass, "My mom's had a death wish for a long time now."

He knew what she was getting at, he'd been told many times by various people, and by himself, but it never made the guilt go away.

"You didn't kill her, Bass, but if you're looking for something to feel guilty about," she smirked, "You haven't said 'hello' yet."

This woman drove him to the brink of insanity, he was smiling, how the hell did she keep doing that to him?! Leaning closer, he tugged her into a firm but loving kiss, burying his hands in her hair, "Hey." He breathed against her lips.

"Hi." Needing some more of that, she moved closer again, which is when the ever perfectly timed Connor walked in, smirking proudly at assisting in getting them back together properly, it didn't have to be all shouting and anger all the time.

Charlie decided to think about her mom later, away from the group, she needed to stay focused right now and they had seemingly been through an emotional rollercoaster of their own, they didn't need her adding to the mix, besides, she really wanted to check out their new lodgings, hoping for a safer place to put her men.

Bass knew she was keeping it all in and gave her hand a quick, reassuring squeeze as they all walked to the farmhouse together, he'd be there when she needed him, as always.

It was sore moment when they passed by the old barn, its charred remains serving as a permanent reminder of how badly things had gone wrong. They had memories made in that barn, most of them were awful but there were a few moments that brought smiles to their faces whenever they thought about them.

The place had been their home; sure, it was uncomfortable and claustrophobic, and stunk to high hell whenever the men were around, but it was the one place any of them had felt relatively safe in, which was a luxury these days.

The farmhouse was further away than she had expected, which was good for avoiding Patriot patrols but should anything happen to them out here, they'd be on their own. Still, it looked like a pretty comfortable place, nice and spacious, probably with a good view of the surrounding area, there wasn't much in the way of cover for her men but considering how far away from the town they were, they probably wouldn't need it.

Shuffling inside, she was pulled into an overly tight hug by Gene, something that brought tears to her eyes, firstly due to her body's variety of injuries being agonisingly squished, tugged and pulled, but more importantly because of the emotion behind it, his daughter had died, he was latching onto the one person he had left to live and fight for.

Next in line was Aaron, there were numerous creative words she wanted to scream and shout at him, none of them particularly good. She was surprised he was even alive, having never been all that good at looking after himself on his own, but despite taking off on her watch and getting her into Miles's bad books, the man had practically raised her, alongside her dad and Maggie, he was family, and he looked terrible, a quick hug wouldn't hurt.

Her heart fluttered when Bass revealed he had saved her a room, but as they climbed the stairs, she found herself deflated and even a little nervous at the prospect of having a room to herself and spending nights alone, she hadn't slept much since the attack back in New Vegas, it had scared her more than she wanted to admit.

Taking the room in, she realised there was a lot more furniture in here than the rest of the house, she wondered if it had been put there for her comfort and benefit, it certainly wasn't a coincidence that this room had been picked for her.

"It's not much." Bass started as he peered around the room again himself, making sure everything was okay. After everything Charlie had been through, she should be living in a palace, but he did the best he could with what he had.

She was immediately drawn to the window directly opposite the bed; it had an amazing view of the sun starting to set behind a hill, "It's perfect."

Coming up behind her, Bass wrapped his arms around her waist carefully, having noticed her pained expression when Gene had hugged her earlier, it made his blood boil that she couldn't even embrace her friends and relatives properly because someone had hurt her. Still, she seemed content now and he'd always appreciated a good sunset and he couldn't think of better way to watch one than with her in his arms.

In the last of the light, he began tugging at her tank top as his lips grazed her ear; her hands went to his wrists to stop him, "Show me, I want to see what they've done to you. I want to make it better."

She didn't want him to see, it would only upset him, but his kisses were distracting to say the least! It wasn't long before he had her shrugging off her jacket and pinned against a wall, she desperately tried to convince herself that she had more willpower than that, but who was she trying to kid?

There was something about the way his hands glided across her skin so electrically that turned her into putty, hot, sweaty, glorious putty.

He went about leaving sweet, soft kisses on every cut and bruise scattered across her body, being especially gentle around her blackened ribs, he could be mad about it later, right now, he just wanted to hold her, to have her.

Picking her up, she squealed and giggled as he carried her over to the appropriately sized double bed and dropped her onto it, his cheeky grin widening as he crawled up her slim figure.

The other occupants of the house were left to roll their eyes and stare at one another with shock and humorous horror as the couple unsuccessfully tried to hide what was going on upstairs. It was something they had all anticipated, you could practically see the sparks between the pair, but did they really have to listen to it?!

Miles couldn't really complain about it, he'd pretty much consented to their relationship when he let Bass get off so lightly for kissing Charlie all those weeks ago, plus, he'd seen them interact and it was a real struggle to come up with adequate enough reasons against them being together, she was just as much an adult as the rest of them, and Bass's lovey-dovey overprotective neediness would keep her safe, and they made each other happy, most of the time.

But still, he wasn't going to sit around and listen to his niece and his best friend going at it, he decided to take the men that the Monroe boys brought back to the rest of their clan, being reunited with their peers again ought to lift their spirits.

It was a short time after Miles left that the activity upstairs settled down, much to Gene, Aaron and even Connor's relief, he wanted his dad to be happy, but maybe not that happy. He hadn't forgotten his feelings for Charlie, just buried them deep enough to protect his dad, it would be a pretty dick-ish move to try and take away one of the few things that gave him purpose.

Pulling the blanket up over them, Charlie snuggled into Bass's chest, breathless and thoroughly satisfied; it amazed her how well he could keep up with her, she considered herself lucky. He could take control and yet, he remained completely in touch with what she was thinking, feeling, unlike anyone else she'd been with.

Bass thrummed his fingers up and down her arm, catching his own breath alongside her, "Y'know, when your mom asked me to take care of you, something tells me this isn't what she had in mind."

Charlie sat up slightly to see him properly, his eyes reflecting what little light the evening sky had to offer, "What?"

"That's why we were alone when we got attacked; she was telling me she wanted us to run away, so you wouldn't get killed."

"Us, as in you and me, run away together, alone?" He nodded as tears and questions filled her eyes, she hadn't expected something like from her mom, for her to turn to Bass, it must have been something she desperately wanted, "Would you?"

Bass tilted his head, wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb as he considered the idea, "In a heartbeat, if it's what you want."

She did want to, for the first time in a long time, she wanted to hide away, turn her back on everything wrong with the world, and let someone else sort the problems out. She had lost way too much in her young life, she couldn't handle having another person she loved die.

All the tears, all the sadness and the grief came pouring out in quiet sobs against Bass's torso, she didn't need to hide from him, he was her lover, her best friend, and he didn't need to do anything other than hold her tight, they had both suffered severe misfortune, it helped them to understand one another, their pain bringing them closer than anyone else had dared to get.

Gradually, her crying subsided and her breathing evened out, Bass assumed she had cried herself to sleep. His little warrior was falling apart, he couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't lose her.