Day 29 continued

8:25 pm

Getting the Republic back turned out to be ridiculously easy, especially since it hadn't really gone anywhere. Of the twenty soldiers, plus Johnson, that Miles and Bass had brought with them to The Tower, Tom and Jason had killed eleven during their little coup. The remaining nine people all claimed that they'd only given in after seeing how ruthless and ready to kill the Nevilles were if they didn't join them. When Tom left with Madelyn he'd put Jason in charge, and with him dead, the soldiers had reverted back to what they'd always known. Monroe.

Bass had surprised even Rachel by telling them that it would be their choice to continue serving the Republic. It wasn't a joke, he was trying to weed out the traitors. In the end, five of them opted to stay on. Of the other four, two left camp immediately and headed into the belly of The Plains. The other two decided to opt out of service, but stuck around for Bass' offered helicopter ride back to Philly. When they asked the remaining two men why they wanted out, they'd said that they wanted to go home to their families and hopefully have a chance to see their kids grow up. Bass had slapped them on the back and thanked them for their service.

He'd offered Andy a jod in the Militia that the other man had readily accepted. Andy made it clear that he would never go back to Georgia, they'd let Dixon and Neville murder his cousin and that wasn't the kind of people he wanted to work with,

A pair of soldiers had gone out to try and track Tom and Madelyn down, coming back to say that their trail ended at a patch of grass in a field that had been flattened in a circular pattern. Obviously, they'd escaped in a helicopter.

Charlie had finally disappeared about an hour ago, hell, Bass couldn't blame her. It had been the longest day he could remember having in a very, very long time. Getting into The Tower, dealing with Rachel in that bunker, Nora dying, being scared to death that his home would be blown to smithereens, Tom taking over his men, watching Jason croon over Charlie, and then having to deal with Madelyn's betrayal. His head was spinning.

The President's tent had remained untouched during the brief coup, the only difference from how he'd left it that morning was the sleeping woman currently occupying his cot. Charlie was passed out on top of the blanket with her clothes still on, even her boots. Bass smiled, moving towards the cot to gently remove her boots and socks, tucking them inside of the shoes and setting them aside. Then he moved on to her pants, pulling them off, folding them up, and setting them next to her pack. He slipped her shirt over her head and added it to the pile, deciding at the last minute that her bra may as well go too. He wanted her to be comfortable. After stripping himself down to his boxers, Bass climbed in behind her and pulled her back against his chest, falling asleep almost instantly.

Day 30

5:30 am

It was early in the morning, the sun still hidden by the horizon. Bass watched Charlie's sleeping face flicker in the light of the watch fire outside. Her skin was so flawless. Tan and unblemished, her age giving her a youthful glow, no darkness to weigh down her life. She was breathtaking.

Rachel may be a selfish, manipulative bitch that does things for all of the wrong reasons, but maybe this one time she might be right. Charlie was young. Twenty-one gave her plenty of time to live life and be happy. If she stayed with him, the only thing it would cause her was pain. Even if he managed to keep her safe from enemies, what about himself? The image of Charlie crying over his dead body came to mind, blood covering the floors of Independence Hall, a bullet hole in his head. A widowed Charlie sitting in a graveyard came to mind, a bottle in one hand and a gun in the other, overcome with grief for her dead husband. Bass didn't want that for her. She deserved so much better than the life he could give her.

Charlie mumbled something in her sleep and snuggled closer to him, Bass pulled her close and pressed a kiss into her hair before quietly getting out of bed. He needed to think and that was impossible to do with her distracting him. He wandered the woods for a while, coming to a fast flowing river and plopping down on the damp grass. It was peaceful, the white noise letting his thoughts run freely.

Rachel's a bitch, always has been, always will be. So forget her and their non-binding deal that they made and that just leaves the truth. That Charlie would never be safe with him. Even if he were to step down from the Presidency, the name Sebastian Monroe would ensure that they were never welcomed anywhere. Every time she walked out of the door would be a risk.

But wasn't that part of being in a relationship, taking risks? That you would love someone so much you would be willing to take the risk of being with them, regardless of the consequences.

Maybe that was just the selfish way to think about it. If he really loved Charlie, shouldn't he be willing to risk his own happiness, his own heart, so that she could be safe and happy.

Memories of his mother, faded by time, came to mind. 'If you truly love someone, you have to let them go.'

But could he do that? The simple answer was yes. If Charlie lived a long and happy life then he could deal with it. The long answer, absolutely not. She was his tether to the real world, his sanity, he couldn't live without her. Though that wasn't fair. That was a lot of pressure to put on one person.

'If it was meant to be, they'll come back to you.'

No. She wouldn't. Because he'd been fooling himself this whole time. He and Charlie weren't meant to be. They were two people caught up in the emotions of war and captivity, a relationship born out of desperation and boredom.

He would have to let her go. It was only fair.

"Stop thinking so hard, you'll hurt yourself." Miles sat down next to him on the grass and Bass gave him the best eye roll he could muster. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Miles finally asked, "so are you going to tell me what's wrong or are you gonna make me guess? Please don't make me guess, I'm not nearly drunk enough for that shit."

Bass huffed a laugh and laid back, staring up at the lightening sky. "This didn't go the way it was supposed to," he said quietly.

Miles laid back next to him. "No shit, eleven men dead. Nora... None of this went the way it was supposed to."

"No, I mean - yeah, that stuff was bad - but I meant this thing with you and Charlie."

He was silent for so long that Miles asked, "what about it?"

Bass sighed and shook his head. "She was just supposed to like Philadelphia. I needed her to like it so that when you got back, she could convince you to stay."

"But it didn't work? Charlie doesn't like Philly?" Miles seemed a little confused about where the conversation was going.

"She does, or at least I think she does, but that's not the problem."

"So what is the problem?"

'I wasn't supposed to..." Bass hesitated. Surely addmitting his feelings for the young woman would end with a bullet.

"Ah," Miles chuckled and shook his head. "She got to you too, huh? Damn, kid. She just shows up and burrows her way in. Then the next thing you know you're trying to take down an army with a fat guy, a crossbow, and an old bottle of tequilla. Don't worry," Miles nudged his side, "it happens to the best of us. You should hear what Jer's been saying about her."

Even though that wasn't quite the situation, it made it easier for Bass to talk to him. "Now I don't know what to do. I mean, do you want to come back to Philly, Miles?" He turned to look at his oldest friend.

Miles shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't be too bad. But only if Charlie wants to, and then there's Rachel, who we both know will never get within a hundred miles of the place ever again."

They laid in silence for a while and watched the sunrise. "I think you should go with Rachel," Bass told him. "Take Charlie with you and just... dissappear. Go someplace far away. Charlie's so young and she's already dealt with more than most peope will in their entire lives. She deserves to be... free."

Miles gave him a sad look, but nodded his head in agreement. "You gonna hunt me down again?" He joked.

"Nah, I think I've had enough of you and your family's bullshit for a while."

"Dick."

"Asshole."

They smiled at each other. "I want to tell Charlie myself," Bass said seriously. "After everything that I put her through, I think she deserves that much from me."

Miles nodded. "I'll talk to Rachel."

7:08 am

The crisp morning air was like a sigh of relief after the horrible day before. Charlie lay awake in bed, taking note of her missing clothes with a smile. She could see them piled neatly next to her pack, Bass had obviously taken care of it for her. The warmth in the gesture made her heart swell, after four months of pure hell, things were finally looking up.

She dozed off again, hearing Bass come back and mumbled, "it's early. Come back to bed."

"I can't," he said softly, a spark of sadness hidden in his voice.

Charlie immediately sat up, unconcerned by the blanket pooled around her waist and her bare breasts on display. "Bass, what's wrong?"

But he shook his head and turned away from her, speaking in a low but firm voice. "Miles is taking you and your mom away from here. You should get your stuff together so you're ready to go when it's time."

His voice was like a slap in the face, making her recoil and pull the blanket up around herself protectively. "What do you mean he's taking me and my mom away? Aren't we all going?" But his refusal to look at her coupled with his rigid posture sent something heavy sinking into her gut. Dread.

"Bass, aren't we all going back to Philly?"

Her words were met with silence. When Bass did finally turn to look at her it was with his old, impassive President facade. "No. You and your family are going someplace else. I don't know where, I don't think Miles has decided yet."

Why was he acting like this? Where was the man that took care of her and folded up her clothes? Why was he acting like she was nothing more than a visitor in his tent?

"But I thought that..." She trailed off as it finally hit her. This was goodbye. He was sending her away.

Bass seemed to realize that she'd finally caught on and moved to leave the tent, but Charlie sped after him, clutching the blanket to her chest. "So that's it?" She asked angrily, trying to hold back the tears threatening to escape. "You got what you wanted and now I just disappear, like it never even happened?"

He looked down at her, his blue eyes cold. "Don't make a scene, Charlotte. It's beneath you." She watched him walk calmly out of the tent, barely managing to get back to the cot before collapsing into herself, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

9:20 am

Jeremy was having a pretty good day. No more Flynn, no more traitor housekeepers, and Bass and Miles were working together again. Maybe things would finally start getting better. The only thing that could possibly ruin his good mood now was the fuming blonde furiously stuffing food from the mess tent into her pack.

"Charlie," he teased, "you do know that there's food back home, right?" He grinned but it quickly fell when he spotted the redness in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" He reached out a hand to comfort her but she slapped it away.

"I bet you were in on it, huh?" She asked, practically hysterical. "Was that the plan? You pretend to be my friend and he-he..." She burst into tears, grabbing her pack and running off before he even had a chance to absorb what she'd said.

Aaron appeared at his side. "Dude, what's wrong with Charlie?"

Jeremy stared at the place where she'd just been standing, realization igniting anger in his chest. Without a word to Aaron he stomped off, making his way through camp until he found the man he was looking for.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He growled, pushing Bass roughly against a tree.

"Captain Baker, you should watch who you're talking to." Bass' face was a mask of calm and Jeremy knew what that meant. He quickly let him go and took a step back, shaking his head sadly at his friend. "That's more like it. Was there something you wanted to discuss with me Captain?" Bass looked at him expectantly.

Jeremy ground his teeth together, hating that they'd been brought back to this. "No, sir."

The President nodded. "Good."

Jeremy took of in the direction Charlie had gone with the hope that he could catch her before it was too late. He didn't notice the tortured look that flashed across his friend's face as he walked away.

9:35 am

Charlie gathered at the tree line with her mother. If she'd actually been paying attention she may have noticed the smug look on Rachel's face and wondered what it was all about, but she wasn't, so she didn't catch it. Miles approached them wearing his old clothes that he'd had back in that bar in Chicago, Charlie couldn't help but think that the uniform had actually suited him. "We're just waiting on Aaron, he's grabbing the last of his stuff."

It wasn't long before Aaron joined them with Andy and Xbox by his side, the dog sniffed sadly at her pack as if he knew that she was leaving. Tears prickled in her eyes but Charlie blinked them away. "I'm sorry, buddy. You can't come with me, it might be too dangerous," she whispered. "You're gonna go with Andy, he'll take good care of you."

She wasn't sure how Andy had managed to become so important to her in such a short amount of time, but she found herself tearing up at the thought of never seeing him again. He wrapped her in a tight hug. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." Andy's eyes were sad, but he seemed to understand that she needed to go.

"Thank you."

Johnson approached the group carrying another pack. "Take this too," he said handing it to her. "We're headed straight home so we won't need any of the food." Charlie nodded her thanks. She and Johnson had only spoken a handful of times throughout her stay, but he had been a constant presence the past few months and she was sorry to see him go.

"Thank you. For everything."

He gave her a sincere smile. "Your very welcome, Miss Matheson."

Jeremy and Bass chose that moment to appear. Bass' eyes were fixed on Miles, Jeremy's on her, but Charlie turned away from him and went straight into the woods. "Make it quick, Miles. I want to get going." Rachel followed her through the trees, but Charlie didn't notice the satisfied smile on her mother's face.

Bass clapped Miles on the shoulder. "Good luck, brother."

Miles nodded absently, confused eyes following Charlie through the trees. Shaking it off, he turned back to his oldest friend. "Thank you."

Bass merely shrugged, knowing that any attempt to speak would result in the total collapse of the wall he was desperately trying to build in order to protect himself. Miles and Jeremy shook hands and Miles disappeared into the trees. Aaron stuck around long enough to give Jeremy a quick hug, giving Bass an angry shake of his head before he left the Militia's camp.

Day 115

Bass kneaded his fists over his forehead in an attempt to chase away his throbbing headache. Nearly three months after Charlie had disappeared through those trees and he was barely hanging on. The only thing that seemed to keep his rampant delusions away was-

"Unky Bass!" Little Tyler Riley toddled towards him on chubby legs.

"Hey, buddy." He mustered up a smile and pulled the boy onto his lap. Tyler shoved an ancient, plastic army man in his face.

"Play, play!"

Bass laughed, shoving the papers on his desk unceremoniously aside and pulling out his hidden stash of toys. They played on the desk for a while, eventually moving their makeshift battlefield to the floor to give them more room. He was in the process of smashing through Tyler's pathetic defenses - which consisted of Lego bricks - with his own 'tank' - an orange Hot Wheels car - when his mother came in.

Ellie Riley, sixteen year old mother of the year, took one look at the toys on the floor and Bass' messy desk and shook her head. "What are you two doing?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

"Hi, Mommy." Tyler waved at her with a purple crayon shoved up his nose.

Bass glared at his unhelpful companion. "Seriously? Come on, Tyler, help me out here."

Ellie snorted. "Yeah, blame him because you want to act like a two year old. Real mature."

Bass winced. "Sorry, Mommy." He nudged Tyler who quickly copied him.

"Sorry, Mommy." The little boy blinked up at her with big green eyes and her face instantly softened. Catching Bass' grin, she smacked him over the head with the stack of papers she was holding.

"Shut up. Don't you have work to do?"

He groaned, laying back on the floor and whining like he had as child when his mother told him to clean his room. "Do I have to?"

Ellie simply shook her head and laughed, straightening up the papers on his desk that they'd pushed aside earlier. He and Tyler cleaned up their mess of toys and stashed them back in his desk. With his office back in acceptable condition, Ellie sent Tyler back to the residential side of the house with Johnson before giving him a serious look. "I can't believe you're in here playing when you should be preparing. President Foster is going to be here tomorrow."

Bass couldn't help but roll his eyes. This wasn't the first time she'd scolded him for procrastinating. "I know, I'll get it done. I promise."

She frowned slightly but quickly turned it into a smile. "Ok, and then I need you to try on that suit again." Bass groaned loudly and she slapped his arm. "Just one more fitting, it won't kill you. You are such a baby. If you didn't want someone telling you what to wear you shouldn't have hired a stylist." She held her head up proudly, making him smile.

"You know that's not why I 'hired' you," he said quietly.

Ellie bit her lip ad shrugged. "I know, I appreciate everything you've done for me and Tyler. And he just loves his Unky Bass," she mocked.

They both laughed and she turned to leave, shouting over her shoulder as she shut the door, "you're still trying the suit on!"

Bass shook his head with a smile as the door closed behind her. In truth, Ellie and Tyler were the only things keeping him from abandoning the Republic all together and going in search of Charlie.

A/N I can practically hear the angry growls coming my way. Don't worry though, there will be a happy ending! Thank you so much for continuing to read this story!