Word count; 3374 (ex notes)

Notes at the bottom

CHAPTER 21:

Charlie felt Bass' presence behind her as they snuck out of the enemy camp.

*Hours before*

"No" Charlie tried pulling her arm from Pete's grip but the man had too good of a hold on her wrist. "Let me go, right now! We have to get him, we can't just leave him there with Neville!" But Pete just kept dragging her behind him. He was following Miles who lead them through bushes and trees to a safer place, away from the Patriots and their weapons. Charlie was fighting him every step of the way, the look on Bass' face when he'd told them to run still seared in her brain. "Pete, you have to let me go."

It was starting to get light already and the higher the sun got the more desperate Charlie became. They got to the small clearing where they'd made their camp and Miles started packing up their stuff in a haste. Connor finally made his way to her "Charlie, Charlie, where's my dad? Where is he Charlie!" He demanded but she wasn't able to answer him because she was still reeling from what had happened. Suddenly she snapped out of it when Pete started helping Miles pack up. "What the hell are you doing?" She asked incredulously "You aren't seriously thinking of leaving him here?" Charlie grabbed Miles' upper arm "We are NOT leaving him here!" She demanded and Connor joined her in her protest. "We have to get my dad out of there!"

Miles sighed and put the bag he was holding on the ground "Charlie, he's most likely dead before we can get to him. We have to think about the big picture, we have to get back to the rest, find a safe place to stay and see about strengthening our troops." Charlie shook her head, she couldn't believe her uncle would just leave him there. "You don't know that, he could still be alive! What, you've had enough of him and so you decide he's expendable now? No! Besides you he's still the best fighter we got! Not only that but he's changed" Miles rolled his eyes "No! Don't pretend you haven't noticed. He's not the same as he was a year ago. He's been fighting along side us for a while now, he's saved each of our asses a couple of times now. We owe him! It's our turn to save him now!" Charlie was practically screaming now.

She barely noticed her uncle was looking at her as if she'd sprouted another head, all she could think about was the fact that Tom Neville had Bass and that she needed to get him back. Needed. More than anything she needed him back. She'd almost admit that she loved him to not only Tom Neville but to Bass himself as well. Charlie had seen the incredulous look on his face before it went completely blank and he'd ordered her and Pete to get out. And she did. She was completely and utterly afraid of it but she was starting to fall in love with that man, even though there wasn't anyone in the entire world who was more wrong for her than Bass. It was true what they said, the heart wants what the heart wants.

"We can't risk everything for Monroe, Charlie." Miles tried to reason. "Besides, he would leave us there in a heart beat!" She shook her head "No, he wouldn't" That was maybe stretching the truth a little because she wasn't sure that he would go back for everyone but she without a doubt knew that if it was her or Connor that had been caught, he'd have moved heaven and earth to bring them back safely. She was going to do the same for him.

"I don't care if you come with me or not, Miles. I'm going back for him, I am NOT going back to the others without him." She turned to Pete "And don't you dare try to stop me! Duncan said you were mine and even though I won't force you to come with me and get him, don't you dare try and stop me from going."

The bearded man looked down on her and shook his head "If you're going, then I'm going." He replied and a small smile formed on her face. "So am I." Connor stood beside her and was reloading his gun "I'm not going back without him either. He might be a ruthless bastard but he is my father and he's the only family I got left." Charlie understood Connor's need to go with and she was happy to have him back her up because the guy was surprisingly good in a fight, must be those Monroe genes.

"We should hit them as soon as possible, wait for the dark of night and go in." Pete said "We shouldn't give them time to recover or get even more reinforcements. "We are not hitting them!" Miles got in Pete's face "We are going to go back to the others and re-group." Pete, however was completely ignoring Miles "We should distract the most of them while Charlie slips in and frees Monroe. She's small, she's quick and she has the best chance to get in and out without being seen. Their numbers are seriously down after last night so a skirmish should distract enough of the ones still left in the camp so that Charlie can get in and out without much trouble." Charlie was liking this plan but she glared at Miles when he once more told them there would be no rescue mission.

"You don't tell me what to do, Miles" She said coldly "We're gonna go back for Bass tonight, with or without your help, I don't care." And she wasted no time in doing as she said. A few minutes later Miles joined the group on their way back to the patriot camp. At Charlie's surprised look he replied "Do you really think I can show my face around your mother and Gene without you? No, if you're stupid enough to risk your life for him then I'm coming with. I'm either bringing you back to your mom in one piece or I'm getting killed along side ya."

Charlie couldn't help a satisfied little smile at her uncle's words. She'd been thankful that Pete hadn't said anything about her almost proclaiming her love for the former general they were about to save, or attempt to save. It probably would only piss Miles off and then he wouldn't help with getting Bass back, hell he'd probably drag her back to her mother, kicking and screaming.

When they were about to head out Miles grabbed Charlie's arm. "Why?" He asked ad she looked at him quizzically. "Why do you want to go back for him so badly? Why are you refusing to leave him there and why are you so sure that he wouldn't leave you if things had been reversed?"

She swallowed hard. When she'd first brought back Bass to see Miles in Willoughby she'd told him that Bass had saved her life, she'd never told him the specifics. "I hunted him down in New Vegas but he was captured by bounty hunters before I could kill him. In my pursuit of him I got careless and got caught myself things happened and he escaped forcing me on the road with one of the bounty hunters. It was Bass who waited for me and showed me the warrants for mom, if he hadn't stopped and let me know we would still be in the dark, god knows what would have happened then." Charlie took a deep breath "He demanded that I take him to you but I called him delusional and dared him to shoot me as I left him there. He didn't obviously. A couple of nights later I was at this bar having some dinner, a drink when I noticed it was only a couple of guys in there. Before I had time to react they'd locked the door and came at me. Turned out they spiked my drink so I was starting to lose consciousness."

Charlie noticed the angry look on her uncles face "Nothing happened. Bass... kicked in the door and killed them all. He took me to a safe place, took care of me, fed me, gave me water to flush the drugs out of my system." She locked eyes with her uncle "In the school, when looking for Aaron we were cornered by Patriots, at first I thought he left me behind but he didn't... he came back for me, saved my life again."

"Those were all because he needed me to take him to his son, Charlie!"

"Maybe, but he saved me nonetheless and we're gonna do the same for him." She turned to follow Connor and Pete out of the camp and Miles followed behind her. "Charlie...?" She sighed tilted her head, indicating she was listening even though she still moved forward. "He... he didn't do anything to you, did he? It's just, you're talking about him like he's..."

"Like he's what?" She demanded "Like he's an ally? Like he's a friend?" Charlie turned her head and caught her uncle nodding his head. "Because he is. You might have written him off, Miles, but I haven't. That's why we're going back for him. He deserves the same chance as you, the same opportunity to make amends."

Never had it taken so long for it to get dark, it seemed like minutes lasted hours and hours lasted weeks before finally the sun began to set. Charlie's entire body was on edge, she kept thinking about whether or not Bass was alive. What if they went into the Patriot camp only to find out Neville had put a bullet in Bass' brain the moment she was gone. A vision of Bass lying on the floor, blood pooling around him, those blue eyes of him open yet seeing nothing filled her head and she felt nauseous. No, she couldn't think like that. Bass was a survivor, he was the most volatile, manipulative bastard she'd ever known. He wasn't dead. Part of her had been surprised that he hadn't caught up to them with a smug smirk on that gorgeous face of his, telling them he'd offed the entire Patriot camp on his own. It wasn't outside of his skill-set to do so.

He hadn't though and Charlie knew for certain that if he'd been able to get away he'd have been with them by now. That meant he was still in the camp, being held at Neville's and the Patriot's mercy, that or he was... She shook her head. "What's the plan?" Turning to Miles, wanting to get the disturbing pictures of a dead Bass out of her mind.

Miles snorted "Oh, now you want my help. What happened to 'I don't need you, Miles'" His voice mocked hers. Charlie rolled her eyes "Do you have a plan, or not?" Miles nodded "Me and Connor will provide a distraction a little down the road, enough to grab as much Patriot attention as possible. Pete goes around the camp and waits for you at the perimeter. You're the smallest and quickest, you go in through their front door and find him. When you do, take the back door, make one if you need to. Be quiet and fast, understood?"

Charlie nodded in understanding, as did Pete and Connor "I want to be the one to go with Charlie." Connor protested but Miles shook his head "If we're getting Bass back and he finds out I sent his son back in harms way without proper.." He turned to Charlie "No offense, back-up he will filet my ass on the spot." Connor chuckled and shook his head "What, and sending Charlie into a Patriot camp by herself isn't gonna send him into a rage?" Charlie shook her head desperately at Connor, begging him silently to not say anything about Bass and her.

The look on her uncle's face was confused but he shook it off and turned to Pete "Anything smells funny and you get her out of there, understood. I don't care how badly she wants to save his undeserving ass!" Pete nodded at Miles and chuckled "I'll try, but the little lady has quite the mind of her own." Miles grunted "Then you hit her over her stubborn head, throw her over your shoulder and carry her out." Charlie snorted at that but for the sake of getting the show on the road she kept her mouth shut.

Connor and Miles moved out, Pete and Charlie staying behind to follow a few minutes later so Miles and Connor had amble time to create a diversion. They hid behind small hill, waiting for the tell-tale stomping of Patriot boots for them to spring into action. They didn't have to wait long, moments after they'd gotten into position there was some noise and yelling from the camp and a group of about seven Patriots moved out, Neville at the head. Charlie had to fight not to just shoot him where he walked but she kept her cool and waited for the men to disappear from view.

Pete motioned he was going to go around the camp and that she shouldn't dawdle and get going. Charlie unsheathed her knife and gripped it tight, it was now or never, they would never get a better chance. Quickly and quietly she ducked through the tents, trying to figure out which one would hold Monroe and then froze when she saw Jason duck into a tent. One guard in front and she snorted at the lack of security. Was Neville that stupid or did he just really think that they wouldn't come back for Bass.

She followed Jason and hid on the other side of the tent, she could hear the guards breath, she stopped dead when she heard Bass' rough voice "Come here to gloat?" He was alive, she fought against a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice, no matter what happened, he was alive. "So, what the hell did you do with Charlie?" Her head snapped up at the mention of her name. "Are you sure you wanna hear the naughty details, Jason?" She rolled her eyes at the obviously smug and arrogant tone Bass used. "Like Charlie would ever do anything with you unless you were blackmailing her, or maybe it's Stockholm syndrome. You're a monster" She frowned and gripped her knife tighter, she should get going but she was too curious about what they would talk about, her lover and her former love interest.

She heard Bass chuckle and spit on the ground, glad he didn't sound too hurt. Bass chuckled and spat blood from his mouth "Blackmail her with what? I didn't hold her long enough for her to develop Stockholm syndrome. I can't help it that she realized she'd rather have a man instead of a boy, Neville." Charlie nearly groaned, now he was just antagonizing Jason for his own entertainment "Wonder if Miles knows That you're long-dicking his niece." She couldn't believe Jason had just said that! "Charlotte happens to love it when I'm 'long-dicking' her, as you call it so eloquently. Wonder why you care, you had to have known that the second you joined the Patriots she wouldn't so much as give you the time of day." Charlie was getting tired of Bass irritating Jason, if she didn't get going it wouldn't be too far fetched that Jason would kill Bass out of anger before she could even get to him. Slowly she moved to the front of the tent where she could still see the guards standing there, blocking her entrance to the tent.

"She got hit on the head somewhere along the way? I mean, did she forget you killed her father and her brother." She could hear Jason's voice loud and clear, Bass´ too. "Your dad was more responsible for Ben's death than I was, and it was your dad who took Danny away, not me. I merely... took advantage of a situation presented to me. It was a long time ago, I've changed. You, of all people, know that a man can change. You heard what she said, do you really want to take away another person she cares about? You should let me go and I'll think about letting you live as a show of gratitude." Charlie had enough and she stepped forward, the guard had his back to her so she slipped an arm around his neck, hand covering his mouth as she slit his throat without thinking twice. Gently, stealthily she slipped into the tent, making sure Jason didn´t notice her sneaking up on him.

"Charlie is better off without you. Maybe she'll be angry and sad to find out you've been killed but in time she'll see that it's what's best." She pressed the muzzle of the gun she was holding into his back and felt him freeze. slowly she slipped her arm around his shoulder and pressed the blade of the knife Bass gave her against the young man´s neck "Unfortunately for you, I'm not quite there yet." She used the butt of the gun to knock Jason unconscious. On one hand she knew she should kill him because he would never stop coming after them but she just couldn´t put herself to do it. "Charlie?"

His voice was raspy and surprised but she didn´t have time to explain so she quickly walked over to him and cut the ropes stretching around his chest, another slice of her blade cut the plastic restraints around his wrists and he was free. Immediately he got to his feet and he cupped her smiling face in his hands "Charlie, what... You came back?" Charlie smiled even wider and grabbed his hands, exhilaration coursing through her at the sight of him. She was ecstatic that he was well enough to stand and move. A little less fluid than usual but he wasn´t seriously hurt as far as she could see "Figured it was my turn to save your ass for a change. We gotta go, now!"

She took his wrist and dragged him to the back of the tent, not giving him any time to think about Jason or revenge she cut the canvas and pulled him though. Due to the small size of the camp it took them only moments to get to Pete and they silently disappeared into the dark of the nigh. Making sure Patriots weren´t following them they took a detour to the temporary camp. Charlie could hear Bass breathing as he followed her through the trees and hills, his hand occasionally touching her back when she slowed to avoid roots and rocks on her path.

Everything in the camp was packed and ready to go and when they got there Miles and Connor were waiting for them. Charlie watched as Connor smiled and clapped his father on the back "See you made it out in one piece, old man." He joked but Charlie could see the relief in his brown eyes. Even Miles seemed relieved by the fact his former best friend was alive, a little worse for wear but alive.

Charlie was having a hard time keeping her hands to herself. She wanted to go over to Bass and check every little inch of him to convince herself that he was indeed fine. Miles was watching the former General closely though so she didn't dare reach out to him, she also realized that Miles was suspicious of her feelings for Bass and that sooner or later he was going to find out about the two of them. It was killing him that he was so close and she still couldn't be with him. There were moments in time where she just wanted to blurt out to her family that she was with Bass, that she liked him that she... And that she didn't give a damn what they thought about it, he made her smile and made her feel safe and really, wasn't that all they needed to know?

Ha, Thought I was gonna let you hanging on Charlie's POV huh ;p Nope.

I'm building them up for real now, though they might have a spat or two/three in the future. They're kinda together now and they really want to stay that way.

I also need all of you to keep your fingers crossed for a season 3 and if any of you are US residents, watch, watch, watch! Make those ratings count, peeps! I need me a season 3! Turns out they won't be returning until April 30th, pretty pissed off about that, damn NBC. Don't they understand I need my Bass fix?

Read, review, rant... I'm happy with whatever I can get :D

Love, Marisa