Brothers

We swore blood brothers against the wind, I'm ready to grow young again.

Bruce Springsteen.

I want to dedicate this chapter to Bass and Miles. Because, friendship stays.

He held her as long as she wanted to be held, there under the roof of leaves in that silent corner of the trees around their camp. Out of breath, her breasts pressing against her chest, one hand going over her neck, brushing her hear. He kissed her again, a warm slow kiss against her temple.

'So, that was kind of nice,' Charlie smirked at him, her teeth white, her mouth relaxed as she smiled at him.

'Nice,' Bass grunted, 'You got that, from all of that?' He bit some skin lightly.

'Well, okay, maybe it was kind of real good.' She raised an eyebrow, messing with him, as she bit his earlobe.

'You are one hell of a woman,' he pulled her in the lock of one arm, messing with her as she fought back.

They met somewhere in a long kiss as Bass gentle stroked the side of her breast.

They knew they had to go back. So when he gave her her top, and sadly watched how she covered up those amazing tits of her, which earned him an actual fucking wink from Charlotte he met her eyes. God, she was beautiful. Her skin flushed, her hair messy and wild. He kneeled down to help her with her boot that was giving her trouble. He looked at her one more time.

Then he looked at her.

'What?' Charlie felt uncomfortable, his eyes missing his usual smug arrogance.

'You look fucking beautiful like this, Charlotte.' And then she almost blushed, at so much honesty. She was not used to this.

He walked her back to camp. And right before they were there, he pulled Charlie towards him, for an almost aggressive harsh kiss.

And from that silent place where he almost found some fucking peace of mind for a couple of minutes, they would walk back straight into hell. Bass had found a bottle of booze, and wanted to give his brother that to let him know that Miles could be a dick, but he was damn glad the dick did not die.

Of course, Rachel was there. The minutes he had with Miles, without her, were different than the rest. Miles did not even take the fucking bottle.

And after that, a large group of birds flew over their camp, calling their alarms with high cries in the air. He could hear Priscilla say something to Staypuft, who started running first.

'What's wrong with staypuft?' Bass growled, looking at the sky, as their whole camp did pretty much the same.

He stood nailed to the fucking ground as he found out was wrong. The yellow cloud of gas reached around a corner.

'Get to higher ground, now.' Miles barked through the camp.

And then, he heard the nauseating sounds of shots. The assholes were trying to kill them all with the gas, and those who tried to run would be shot, shutting down their only escape route. Bodies fell from the higher parts of the structure. Screams, shots, his own boots hitting the ground, making sure Connor, Charlie, Miles, they were all within his sight. Miles shouted something, and then Bass saw it too. And old truck, with a loading hatch.

Charlie ran, with her heartbeat in her body as she felt every part of her telling her not to stop. Keep going. You are still alive. She headed for the tank in front of her, as she desperately tried to open the hatch. It did not give an inch

He watched Charlie try to open it, but she would never have enough strength for it, even with her stubbornness. He was with her in seconds, opening it with everything he had until the damn thing moved. He barked at anyone to get in. She watched his face fill with edgy lines as he used all force to open the hatch.

And then, there was darkness. As the shooting continued and the camp grew silent under a blanket of mustard gas.

When they were all in, Bass, Miles and Connor with their weapons aimed at the hatch, her mom, Gene and a devastating Aaron who had to leave Priscilla behind sitting in front of her, with a Scanlon behind her uncle, she aimed her gun right at the hatch, as sounds from outside broke fear in her that they would be found out. That it would be all over. That fear was in her eyes, her eyes meeting with a Bass that was concentrating, strength in his tall shoulders, determined to shoot each and every one that stood behind him and his family. He looked at a blazing Charlie, who's eyes were firing at him. He met hers, trying to ground her as both Miles and Connor stood by him.

They would not be found out. They sat there, many hours, in that empty tank until both Miles and Bass decided with one look. They moved out.

As she looked at Bass, free air finally there, she could see the intensity in his eyes, his shoulders blocks of tension, his every step of his boots putting anger in the ground. She did not talk to him as they walked to their next safe house but he was close.

A couple of hours later.

Whispers. Charlie was looking for things they could use, in the abandoned safe house they found in the cover of trees near a silent road. Bass was outside, with Connor and Scanlon. They had walked for hours straight and she could feel how tired she was.

Again. Whispers.

'Miles it is the only way. I've heard you on the way here, Bass is out of control. Please tell me you see this too.'

It was her mother's voice.

Miles sighed. Charlie could hear the doubt in his voice.

'Go with him, fetch that mustard gas from them, bring it back so I can neutralise it. I'll be here, waiting.'

Charlie put her hands before her chest. She was in the doorway, not even hiding herself.

'He would never go for that Rach, he would never believe I just turned my back on you.'

'Then we will make him believe it, pretend we are done. Bass wants to believe that.'

Rachel's voice was filled with too much anticipation as she said that. Charlie's stomach turned ,the words making herself nauseous, sick, sad and disappointed at the same time.

It is that moment that Charlie decided to announce herself. She stood hallfway between the room and the door that lead outside, as she felt she is not alone anymore. She knew Bass is standing right behind her.

'I have never said anything when I knew something was going on between the both of you. Never said anything when the both of you are never even mentioning his name.

Ben.

But I am not going to stand here, talking about playing Bass and using this, between the both of you to do that. It's a disgrace to dad's memory.'

Miles looked at her in awkwardly as her mother was ready to talk, of course she was. Charlie was sure she had something to say to make this all right. For herself.

'Do you know what an insult this is to dad, doing this?'

She kept her voice firm, but tears were thickening her chest, sadness too, as she saw her dad before her. Allowed herself for a second to miss him.

'Charlie, we have to stop this,' him her mother tried.

'Then go talk to him,' she looked straight at Miles, 'he is right there. Talk to him, fight him. But don't use this to play him.'

She felt Bass' eyes on her.

'You were going to play me like some chump, huh?' Rage, complete and utter rage for what the bitch and his brother were voice was rough, dark, just like his eyes, that matched the colour of the night sky. His hands were close to his body, but Charlie knew that would not last.

Bass had stood there for a while, long enough to understand what the hell was going on. He could not believe his fucking ears. He heard some pathetic shit, but this was the cherry on the god damn cake.

'God, Rachel has her head so far up your ass.' He circled around Miles.

'This is not about Rachel, this is about you and me. And the fact that you did not change.'

Charlie felt Bass' pain, as she watched the rage that covered Bass pain at those words from Miles. But his eyes, they betrayed him. His strangled rough voice too. Bass shoved Miles in his chest.

'Wrong, you are wrong. I did change.'

She was about to step in, as Miles told her to go inside and go back to her mom. And that was the wrong thing to say.

Bass moved closer to Miles, putting himself right in front of Charlie.

'You don't talk to her like that Miles. Stop treating her like a damn child, telling her to keep her mouth shut when you,' he shoved his fingers into Miles' chest, 'don't want to hear it.'

'We need that gas. Stick it to them where it hurts the most.' Bass continued.

'For what?' Charlie's voice, 'your revenge or where I brought you back for, because you told me want to win this, make sure the patriots don't win this.' Her voice was sharp.

Itt was like she was looking straight to him. She knew. Of course she knew. And she was Charlie, and she was not keeping her mouth shut. But unlike Rachel, hell, maybe even unlike Miles, she was honest, even if was something that was fucking hard to hear. She never backed down. From the start, she had given him hell.

SHE had given him truth.

ANd from the moment he considered her as an equal, not wanting to kill her off for the truth, for being in his face, in his personal space he knew this was so much more.

His almost dark eyes pierced right into hers. Both. The answer was both. She knew. He swallowed with difficulty.

Charlie already knew that he wanted both. Revenge for framing him for the bombs, realising he was broken inside with shame and guilt and need for revenge, for recognisation, for the fact they pinned that on him. But he also wanted to make sure those assholes did not win.

He held his arms next to his body in a frustrated gesture. 'So, if we are not stealing that gas, than what the hell are we going to do here? Because I am done holding our lady parts here, Miles.' He spat those words out in a low rhythm with sarcasm.

'We do have something to do.'

It was the old man.

Two days later

Connor had basically told him to go to hell, when he was about to move out with Miles, Charlie, the old man and the Joe kid. Bass had watched him.

Connor's eyes were stormy and intense and sickening at what was happening here. Just like always, it was about Miles. Again.

'Let's just get out of here dad,' Connor said to Bass, 'I think we are kind of done with this whole dysfunctional Matheson family.'

Scanlon walked over to Connor, ready to leave this shit behind. He had already lost enough men.

Bass pressed his lips together. Nodding no. No matter how fucked up this nice giant enormous mess was, he was not walking away. He was ready to punch the shit out of Miles, but he was not leaving her. And fucking hell, apparantely he was not walking away from Miles either. But he swore, if the bitch would play one more bitch move, he would fucking not take any of her crap again. But it stung like hell, his kid walking away this easy from all of this. He was a god damn Monroe, they did not walk away from anything.

'Connor, come on.' He tried, feeling fucking stupid this showdown happened in front of Rachel, Miles and Charlie.

'Fine,' Connor bit at him, 'then I'll go. I had enough of this.'

And with that, his son had turned around, Scanlon tailing him, as he had moved out.

Connor stood in front of Scanlon, as they had found a place to get some rest, water and eat something before they would move on. A blade, and Tom Neville behind him.

'I am not going to kill you boy, we have work to do.'

They had stolen a fucking train, like a story out of a boys book he read so many years ago.

It had been the old man who had finally made himself useful. Gene had gone into town, came back with Truman's girlfriend and with intel that told him there would be gas out there to take. A whole train wagon load full of it.

They would only have to steal the damn thing.

So, in town they had found a guy named Joe, when he was getting water for that damn train. Charlie held him at gunpoint with such a fucking smile, that Bass felt pride. Joe worked at the train yard, and his kid would stop by to bring the officers some food with a flirty smile every now and then. He, together with Charlie, Miles and the old man hid in a compartment under the wagon.

At the end of the day, all kaki's shot and dead of their train, he climbed back up to find Miles and Charlie, together on the first wagon behind the steam engine. She lay on her belly, almost comfortable, on her ellbows, watching Miles, laughing at him.

The sun moved through the leaves, hitting her face with the rhythm of the train moving through her hips.

'Pull the whistle Joe, we just stole a train.' Miles yelled, getting onto his knees.

And as the whistle blew, the sound moving through the trees that were moving past them, and the rhythm of the train under him, he watched the brother he thought he had lost.

Broad smile, dark hair, eyes that never changed, free. Free from all the bullshit, free from a world that was broken around them. as it all changed for good, taking dreams, woman, an unborn child, and a piece of their souls with them.

And then, he watched how Charlie howled to the sound of the whistle, as she laughed at Miles, freely too.

Two boys were running through the summer day, over a small bridge over a small creek in a small town called Jasper. They are inseparable. They are free, free to live and laugh and get into trouble and play with fake guns, chasing each other, yelling at each other they would kill each other, reliving stories from books and moves, being soldiers, without fear and with the feeling that these days would never end. How could they. They run, they laugh, and later, they will have dinner at Bass', his mother putting dinner on the table as she shakes her head with a smile at the state the boys have walked in. They have dinner on a late summer night in Indiana.

His heart broke free for a moment, as he joined them. The tree of them, free from everything else in that small moment of time, as they were just Charlie, Bass and Miles.

Brothers. Friends. Family.

Charlie looked up at him, as she lay there, on the top of the wagon, between her uncle and Bass. And she smiled, again, so hard it hurt in her stomach.

Her family. Her guys. Friends. Brothers.

Hers.

Brothers.

And there, she knew that if life could not break them, break their bound, then maybe, things would be all right for them.

Her family. Her guys. Friends. Brothers.

Bass watched her, restraining himself from wanting to push back a lock of hair behind her ears. Her smile stunning,warming him as his eyes locked with Miles, and he grinned at him, as his brother grinned back at him.

The moment on the train, for me, was golden perfection. I loved it! It was the perfect moment for this. This is a dedication to Miles, Bass, to friendship that survives through time. So, this chapter was something different from the show, but I wanted to write something about their brotherhood, and that moment with the train, felt so perfect for that. A way to heal something for myself what we saw in the show, because I hated that moment when they played Bass and Charlie kept quiet. And well...Charlie looked so freaking amazing there, and I wanted Bass to see how amazing she was there with the badass moments with Joe near the river and the moment on the train. Last chapter is on the way, epsiode 22, chapter 22, as everything comes together. Join me there? Love from Love