Late Afternoon
Charlie was in her room, enjoying the quiet and solitude. She had been pretty dismissive of Gene's earlier questions and acted like the idea of pregnancy wasn't even a possibility. Gene had looked extremely relieved by this information and quickly dropped the subject, much to Charlie's relief.
Her nausea had subsided as the day progressed, and she was now embracing her 'day off,' enjoying the opportunity to catch up on some reading.
A few moments later, that solitude was interrupted by a voice calling to her from downstairs.
"Charlie? You awake?"
Charlie walked to the top of the steps and could see Miles and Bass standing in the foyer.
Bass was the first one to notice her there.
"Hey," he greeted Charlie softly.
Charlie walked down the stairs to meet them.
"Hey kid, how ya feelin'?" Miles asked.
"Much better, thanks," Charlie replied with a small smile.
"Where's your mom?" Miles asked.
"She went to town with Grandpa to pick up some things from the street market," Charlie responded.
Bass only watched Charlie quietly, smiling when he saw that she looked much better off than she had been that morning.
"I took a nap and I really do feel fine now...maybe it was just something that I ate," Charlie said as a way to explain her symptoms.
"That's definitely possible- Bass isn't the greatest cook, even by campfire," Miles joked and Bass bumped his shoulder.
"Hey, I can heat up a mean can of beans, c'mon man," Bass said, before grinning. He turned his attention back to Charlie, his blue eyes shining.
"So, you're better now?" Bass turned to Charlie.
Charlie nodded in the affirmative.
"Okay, good," Bass replied.
The two just watched each other for a moment, trying to communicate with their looks what they couldn't convey with words.
This wasn't lost on Miles.
"Ahhh, c'mon," Miles said, rolling his eyes. "I told both of you...I don't want to see or hear anything...got it?"
"Miles, what are you talking about?" Bass said, exasperated. "There's nothing- it's nothing."
"He's right," Charlie said. "Nothing is going on."
"Well, I'm not blind," Miles said, shaking his head. "...and I already told you, keep whatever this is, away from me."
"Keep what away from you?" - at that moment, Rachel had walked into the room and froze in her tracks at the sight of Bass Monroe in the foyer of her home.
"What is he doing here?" Rachel asked coldly, glaring at Bass.
"He just wanted to come and check on Charlie," Miles said, his tone low and immediately back in "diffusion" mode; the diffusion tactics were pretty common for Miles now, particularly when Rachel was concerned.
"Mom, I thought you were with Grandpa," Charlie spoke up and Rachel turned to look at her.
"We just got back a few moments ago, came in through the backyard," Rachel replied.
"Rachel, I knew you would be angry that Bass came here with me...but the fact is, we can't do this without him and I think you need to come to terms with that," Miles continued.
"How can you even stand there and say that...with everything he has done?" Rachel said in a biting tone.
"Rachel, we've all done things that we regret- it wasn't just him," Miles said.
"You know, I am actually more interested in what you were talking about when I came in here," Rachel said in a low tone.
Bass' eyebrows rose, looking quickly at Miles. Charlie closed her eyes, not sure of how to respond.
"Miles, you said to keep something away from you and that you didn't want to see or hear anything about it. What were you talking about?" Rachel said in an even tone that was almost frightening.
For the first time since she had met him, Charlie saw Miles look completely helpless. He was at a total loss on how to respond to Rachel.
Miles stood there quietly for a moment, until he threw his arms up- he was tired of lying to Rachel. "I got nothin'" - he looked from Charlie to Bass.
"Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on right now," Rachel said, her tone cold and even, waiting for an explanation.
"He was talking about me," Charlie blurted out then and all eyes went to her.
"What? What was he saying about you, Charlie?" Rachel asked.
Charlie looked from Miles to Bass and then back to Rachel.
"He was talking about us," Bass sighed.
Rachel's eyes shot to Bass. He closed his eyes and then looked back at her again, ready for the onslaught.
"There was an 'us'," Bass said, looking at Charlie and then back to Rachel.
Rachel looked stunned for a moment until she turned back to face Charlie. Her mood remained eerily even and stone cold.
"What...is he talking about, Charlie?" Rachel asked softly, her voice the complete opposite of what emotions she was currently experiencing. She was watching Charlie closely and searching for a sign that this was a joke or a misunderstanding.
Charlie looked at Miles who was shaking his head and looking at Bass like he had grown a third eye.
Charlie looked back at her mom. "Some things happened between me and Bass."
Miles and Bass both snapped to look at Charlie. This was the first time she had ever regarded him as 'Bass,' and not 'Monroe.'
Rachel narrowed her eyes and fixed her attention back on Bass.
"You son of a bitch, you just won't stop until you have destroyed my entire family," Rachel said, her tone now turning to anger.
"Mom, stop," Charlie stepped in.
Miles closed his eyes, shaking his head.
"Rachel- listen...nothing is going on now," Bass said. "It's over, okay?"
"Oh, it's over...is that supposed to make me feel better, Bass?" Rachel said tersely. "Is that supposed to somehow reconcile the fact that you slept with my daughter?!"
"- and is it okay that you slept with him?!" Charlie blurted out.
Miles shook his head again, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. He was never one for drama and this was just getting out of hand.
Rachel's eyes shot back to Charlie. Then, she turned coldly to Bass.
"You told her about that?" she asked, looking at Bass, stunned.
"Actually, I did-" Miles interrupted. Rachel's eyes widened. "- it was kind of by accident, but yes, she obviously knows," Miles said flatly.
"So, Mom- you can stop with the self-righteous act," Charlie said. "You're ready to crucify Bass for all of the messed up things he has done when clearly, we all have skeletons in our closet."
By now, Rachel was seething- angry at all of them. She didn't have anything else. She just wanted to leave.
Rachel turned and quickly walked out of the room, down the hallway, and slammed her bedroom door.
The three of them stood in stunned silence when Gene entered the room a moment later.
He was carrying a small bowl and looked somewhat shell-shocked.
"Grandpa, are you alright?" Charlie asked, noting his expression and grew concerned.
"Charlie, we need to talk, privately," Gene said urgently.
"Gene, what is it?" Miles said, observing Gene's behavior and was beginning to grow concerned himself.
Gene only looked from Miles and directing his attention back to Charlie. "I need to talk to you now."
Gene ushered Charlie back to his 'doctor's office,' leaving Bass and Miles standing therein the foyer, dumbfounded.
"Hell of a day," Bass said flatly and Miles only nodded.
"Grandpa, you're scaring me," Charlie said, walking into the room as Gene shut the door.
"After your exam this morning, you gave me a urine sample so I could test for diabetes and rule out any infection," Gene began. "- those tests came out fine...but then, I remembered an old test to run with a urine sample and sugar."
Gene held the bowl in front of him where Charlie could see the contents.
"It looks clumped together," Charlie leaned over the bowl and observed. "...I don't get it."
"The sugar should have dissolved, like it would in hot water...but the presence of the HCG hormone in urine will prevent sugar from dissolving," Gene said hurriedly, clearly rattled by this discovery.
"HCG?" Charlie asked weakly.
"Yes, HCG is a hormone produced during pregnancy...Charlie, you're pregnant."