Neck deep in paperwork that should have been done a week ago, Bass decides to work through lunch with the hope that he'll finally get it done. The only reason he's behind is his adorably pregnant wife. Well, sometimes she's adorable. Like this morning when she'd cuddled up next to him in bed, pressed his hand against her little baby bump, and whispered all of the things she hopes their child will become. The world's most renowned surgeon or a hero that leads their country to greatness, or even a simple mother with a loving husband and children of her own.
But Bass has learned not to let the cuteness fool him. One minute Charlie's all cuddles and rainbows, and then the next she's puking her guts out and blaming him for the hang nail she'd had when she was eleven. Seriously, she's blamed him for two hang nails, a scraped knee, and long list of missing socks. And that was just this week.
On the bright side, her mood swings have been keeping everyone on their toes. Independence Hall has never been more alert, though at the moment, everyone seems to be more afraid of attacks coming from the inside rather than the outside.
His office door opens, snapping Bass from his thoughts so he can look up at the woman herself. Charlie stands with her back pressed against the door, a smirk playing at her lips as she clicks the lock into place.
"Babe, what are you doing?" There's a note of caution in his voice that even he notices, but Charlie ignores it and saunters over to him, pushing his chair back from his desk so she can climb into his lap. She kisses him hungrily, her tongue sweeping into his mouth with a hungry growl.
"Not that I'm complaining," Bass says as she unbuttons his shirt and starts licking her way down his neck. "But what brought this on?"
Charlie finishes the buttons of his shirt and bares his chest, her eyes dark as she admires the hard muscle. "Been thinking about you," she says distractedly, raking her nails down his chest and brushing her fingertips across the growing bulge in his pants.
"Well that's good to know." Bass reaches up to stroke her cheek in an attempt to get her attention. "But do you really think we should be doing this in the office?"
"I locked the door," she huffs.
"Yeah, but you know how it is around here, Babe. People are in and out every five minutes."
A low whine starts deep in Charlie's throat and she grinds her hips down against him. "But I want you now," she moans.
That's all it takes for him to cave. Bass takes her lips in a heated kiss, cupping her swollen breasts in his hands and kneading them softly. Charlie breaks the kiss to purr in his ear. "God I love your hands." She's rubbing herself on his leg like a cat in heat and it's driving him crazy. He starts to unbutton the shirt she's wearing only to be stopped by the office door opening and Miles strolling in with his key in hand.
Their eyes meet over Charlie's shoulder, Miles' eyes wide and almost terrified as Charlie notices that they aren't alone and turns to face whoever is interrupting them.
"Miles! The door was locked for a reason," she growls.
He blinks several times and shakes his head, awkwardly waving around the piece of paper in his hand. "Yeah, but I-"
"-Get out!" Charlie shouts at him. Miles nods quickly and all but runs from the room, slamming the door closed behind him. Charlie turns back to Bass with a mischievous smile. "I think we were in the middle of something," she murmers, returning her lips to his. Barely half a second later, the office door flies open and Miles stomps back into the room.
"Are you deaf? I said get out!" Charlie yells.
Miles comes closer to the desk, averting his eyes when he spots Bass' bare chest. "Trust me, if I could be anywhere else right now, I would be. Preferably Mars, but this is important." He brandishes his paper in their general direction and Charlie snatches it from his hand. Her frown deepens the farther down her eyes get on the page.
"What is it?" Bass asks. Charlie hands him the paper but he looks to Miles rather than it.
"It's Georgia. Word just came in that their western border is under attack."
"From who? Frank knows better than to piss off Kelly."
Miles shrugs. "They aren't sure, but Kelly's asking for our help. Her guys are already spread thin as it is and this is smelling like a set up. If she pulls men from somewhere else to send out west then she'll probably be attacked wherever she pulls them from."
Bass scrubs a hand over his face as Charlie clambers off his lap. "Well we have to do something," she says.
Miles nods in agreement. "I can take a small squad down there to back them up and hopefully figure out what's going on before anything else goes wrong."
"Good idea. You should take Tom with you, he's good at wheedling information out of people." Bass says.
The boys share a look and Miles turns to leave, not noticing the horrified look on Charlie's face until a choking sound draws his eyes to her face. Tears are brimming in her eyes and her chest is heaving with every harsh breath that escapes her lips.
"Charlie what's wrong?" Miles and Bass both rush to her side but she's breathing so heavily that she can't speak.
"I'll get Maggie," Bass says, hurrying towards the door.
"You can't leave!" Charlie cries.
Bass steps back to stand next to his wife again, though her eyes are focused completely on Miles. "What are you taking about?" Miles asks her.
"I'm pregnant, you can't just leave! The baby needs her grandpa!"
Miles looks over at Bass at a complete loss for what to say but all he gets is a confused shrug.
"Charlie, honey, you're only three months pregnant. I'll be back long before the baby comes." Miles says soothingly.
Fat tears trickle down Charlie's cheeks as she starts to cry in earnest. "But what if something happens to you!" She blubbers. "I want you here, with me, not in Georgia." Charlie flings her arms around Miles' neck and he's left with no choice but to embrace his distraught niece.
"What the hell?" He mouths at Bass, who can only shrug in return. Charlie has gone from being his horny wife to Miles' little girl in less than sixty seconds and it's kind of making his head spin. He blames the pregnancy hormones.
"Charlie, Baby, listen to me." Bass gently steers her away from Miles and sits her down in his desk chair, crouching down in front of her to wipe away the tears on her face. "Not only is Kelly our friend, but Georgia is an ally The Republic can't afford to lose. We need to show whoever is attacking who they're dealing with and the best way to do that is by sending Miles."
Charlie nods in understanding, a little hiccup escaping her lips as she looks at Miles with pleading eyes. "I know that our people are supposed to come first and that we can't lose Georgia, but I can't afford to lose you. Tom can handle it on his own. Please let me be selfish. Just this once."
Miles sighs and moves over to crouch down next to Bass, both of them at her feet. "Tom is good for information but he might need some help if it comes to fighting." Charlie's lower lip starts to tremble so Miles quickly adds, "But I think Jeremy can handle it. He and Tom work well together."
"So you're staying?"
Miles pulls her in for hug, running his fingers through her long hair and kissing the top of her head. "Yeah, I'm not going anywhere."
Charlie sniffles into neck and clings to his shoulders. After a few minutes she mumbles into his neck, "I'm sorry. I just don't want to lose you."
"It's alright Bug. Everything's going to be fine."