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Charlie leaned her head against the toilet and closed her eyes. It seemed everything was more difficult with the boys gone. Kaiden was used to Miles reading to him at night while they rocked together and Bass getting up with him in the early hours of the morning to walk the halls or the grounds of the complex. It was disorienting for him to have both of them gone and made things like bedtime and meals difficult for his mother. On top of dealing with Kaiden's mood swings, Charlie also had a country to run. She was doing the job of three people and although Jeremy helped there were many things that only she could do. Charlie was also experiencing horrible morning sickness morning, noon, and night. Between that, Kaiden, her bed feeling empty without Bass, and running the country, keeping food down and sleeping weren't working well for her.
She was almost asleep leaning against the toilet when Kaiden made his displeasure at being in his crib known. She sighed and dragged herself up to attend to her son.
"You know, little man, you're lucky I love you." Charlie muttered to her son, lifting him out of his crib. He quickly quieted down as soon as he was in his mother's arms. "How about you sleep with Mommy tonight."
The frequency of Kaiden sleeping in Charlie's bed had increased dramatically since Bass and Miles had left. Before, Kaiden was only allowed into Charlie and Bass' bed if he was sick, but now, Charlie needed the reassurance of having him close just as much as Kaiden did. Charlie crawled into bed and cuddled her son close, pulling the blanket over them both. She felt him grab a handful of her hair and his breathing even out quickly. She sighed, dreading the morning, and followed her son into dream land.
Charlie was awake only a few hours later, making a mad dash for the bathroom.
"Morning, Madame President." Jeremy said as he walked into the room bearing her breakfast and was answered by the sound of Charlie retching. "I think you should go see Doc."
"Go make yourself useful and make sure my son doesn't fall out of bed." Charlie called teasingly from the bathroom before retching again.
Jeremy walked into Charlie and Bass' bedroom to find Kaiden battling against wakefulness.
"Come on, buddy. Let's make things easier on your mom and me today." Jeremy pleaded, reaching for the not so little baby. Kaiden only made a face of displeasure and burrowed deeper into the blankets. It was starting to become routine. Charlie puked, Jeremy brought food and attempted to wake Kaiden up, and Kaiden absolutely refused to leave the comfort of the bed to the point where Charlie usually had to get him up.
Ten minutes later Charlie entered the bedroom to find Jeremy glaring at Kaiden and the boy sleeping peacefully in the bed.
"Seriously, Kaiden." Charlie sighed. She sat next to her son on the bed and gently rubbed his back. After only a few moments he looked bleary eyed up at his mother and reached out for her. Charlie picked him up and cradled him close. Jeremy watched as mother and son entered the living area and sat at the small table there. With food in front of him Kaiden seemed to perk up a bit more but Charlie only seemed to get paler. Charlie only picked at the toast while Kaiden attacked the eggs and fruit with gusto, getting almost as much on himself and his mom as he did in his mouth.
"You need to eat more than that." Jeremy said sitting next to Charlie and filling his own plate, eyeing Charlie's plate in concern. "The baby needs nourishment."
"It's all just going to come back up in a few minutes, there's no point." Charlie said tiredly.
"You don't understand, you have to eat well, for your sake, the baby's, and Bass'. I'm worried about what will happen if he loses someone else." Charlie gave a weak smile at Jeremy's concern.
"I know, Jeremy. I'm worried too but I honestly can't keep anything else down."
"If you don't go see Doc by lunch I'm going to drag you down there myself." Jeremy threatened.
"If it makes you happy I'll go right after breakfast." Charlie said eyeing her son slightly in disgust, slightly in awe.
"I know you don't want to…wait, what? Are you ok? You never go to the doctor unless something's wrong." Jeremy looked extremely concerned.
"I have a regular checkup scheduled for nine." Charlie said smirking at him. He let out an audible sigh and the three returned to their breakfast.
Two hours later, Charlie sat up from her bed while Doc put away his instruments. He was a large, intimidating, African American man in his early forties who gave off don't-mess-with-me vibes. Many people hurried out of his way but Charlie knew he was a sweet man who couldn't even kill the spiders that invaded his room.
"So?" Charlie asked nervously.
"I'd estimate you're roughly 11-12 weeks. While your weight gain is in the normal range, it's borderline low. Your body is going to give nutrients to the baby first so you need to start eating a broader variety of fruits and vegetables and more food in general." Doc looked worried. He'd joined Charlie, Bass, and Miles just before Bass met Shelly and was worried about Charlie in general but also how it would affect his president in general if another family was lost.
"I'd love to eat more food but I just can't keep anything down." Charlie sighed.
"I have some remedies that should help. You also need to cut down on your work load and get more sleep." Doc saw Charlie's incredulous look and only glared back at the younger woman. "AND, I will be ordering Jeremy to relieve some of your work load."
"I have a country to run and a family to take care of, I don't have time to sleep." Charlie glared at him. "Besides, I outrank you and Jeremy."
"Jeremy and I have orders from both Generals to do whatever it takes to keep you healthy. As far as I know they outrank you and they're a heck of a lot scarier." Doc smirked at her in triumph and Charlie merely glared at him.
"Overprotective jerks." She muttered under her breath.
"Jeremy and I or the Generals?" Doc asked with a smirk, earning yet another glare from Charlie.
"Both." She growled mutinously as pounding on the main door could be heard.
"Enter." She called, walking to the door as Doc followed her.
"Good day, ma'am." He said walking past the newest intruder.
"Good day, Doc. What can I do for you, Private?" Charlie asked as said Private saluted her before standing before her at attention.
"Your guests are requesting to see you regarding the disappearance of your parents." The Private said, looking nervous. Charlie stared off into space going through all possible situations and multiple contingency plans for each possibility.
"Invite them for dinner tonight, 7 pm. Make sure all weapons have been taken from them and that there are additional guards both inside the dining hall and directly outside it." Charlie said looking at the Private and the two exchanged salutes again before he left her quarters.
5 Years After the Blackout
Ten year old Charlie quickly rushed to Bass' room, leaving mud and muck in her wake. She'd been out helping in the stables when she'd heard that he had collapsed. She stopped just outside when she heard quiet voices coming from inside.
"I'm concerned that if this continues that we're looking at worse than just a fainting spell. He's suffering from extreme malnutrition and sleep deprivation." Doc said quietly to who she assumed was her uncle.
"What can I do?" Miles asked sounding exhausted.
"I'll be ordering the kitchen to bring him lunch every day, you can drag him away from work at a decent time and at meals refuse to leave until he finishes at least half of his meal. Other than that it's up to him."
"Thanks, Doc."
"Anytime, General." Charlie took a deep breath and entered the room just as Doc moved to open the door.
"Good morning, Miss Matheson." Doc said, giving her a nod.
"Good morning, Doc." Charlie answered quietly, looking past him at the bed.
"He'll be alright, he just needs a little help right now." Doc gave her shoulder a squeeze and left her alone with the two men who had been raising her for five years.
"Hey, kid." Miles said softly barely looking up from his spot in the chair next to his best friend's bed. Charlie walked over to him and curled up in his lap.
"What happened?" She whispered, burrowing into his side. Miles sighed and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"He passed out on the stairs. Thankfully, he was only a few steps up." Miles sighed again. "Doc says he hasn't been eating or sleeping enough."
Charlie narrowed her eyes and glared at the sleeping man. "Don't worry, if I have to tie him to the kitchen chair I'll make sure he starts eating again."
"I'm sure you would, kid." Miles smiled against the top of her head and gave her another gentle squeeze.