"He's late."

"I know."

"He promised he'd be back in three days."

"I know, Charlie." Nora says patiently, watching her friend waddle back and forth across the floor in the President's office.

The younger woman takes a deep, steadying breath. "What do we do?" She asks, her voice almost childlike as she worries for her family.

Nora rises from her seat and wraps a comforting arm around her. "We wait."

Somewhere in Kentucky,

Four days before Duncan's planned attack…

With Tom sleeping soundly on his left and Jeremy snoring softly on his right, Miles continues to stare at the stars above him as he has been for the past several hours. Despite how exhausted he is, sleep refuses to come. They've been practically on the run for the past ten days, only stopping to piss and sleep for four or five hours every night. There's dust and dirt caked into the wrinkles of his face and his clothes are so dirty they're stiff, but they keep moving.

The knowledge that Duncan Page will be descending on his home any day now, where his wife and daughter, best friend and impending grandchild all believe they are safe, gnaws away at him. When the lights went out eighteen years ago and Charlie lost everything except for those two dumb Marines she had wrapped around her finger, he'd promised himself that if all he ever did for her was protect her, then that would be enough. But now he can't even manage that.

Miles grinds his teeth together, blinking back the tears of failure in his eyes. All Charlie has ever done is love and trust him, but now, when she needs him more than ever, he won't be there. It cuts him deep. Worse than having Rachel thrown back in his face after nearly twenty years and ten times worse than having Nora hit him with a frying pan.

He's done a lot of bad things in his life. Pissed off a lot of people. But he's never truly failed Charlie.

Until now.

Somewhere near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Route 76…

If it weren't for the imminent doom, Bass might actually be enjoying this little outdoors trip with Maddox and the rest of his crew, plus the 300 something men following them on horseback. Nora had objected to him only taking 300 men to defend Philadelphia, but Charlie had backed him up. The clan has 1,000 men on foot ready to fight. Against 300 trained soldiers on horseback, it should be a pretty even match.

Again, if it weren't for the dire circumstances, he might be excited to see how their Militia would measure up against some competition. But seeing as how they'll most likely lose half of these men in the battle, he isn't really looking forward to it.

Not to mention the fact that he's gone and missed his deadline. Charlie had generously given him three days to deal with the clan and come home, but due to some misdirection, it's already day three and they haven't even met the clan yet. Maddox is blaming the messenger for getting his directions mixed up, but Bass has a growing sense of dread in his stomach that this fight isn't at all what it seems. There's some new obstacle at every turn and the enemy always seems to be just out of reach. It's too difficult. No group of people that big can move so quickly, especially not on foot.

This whole thing is starting to feel like a setup.

"Sir, is everything alright?" Maddox asks when he notices the thoughtful look on his commander's face.

"This doesn't feel right," Bass murmurs.

Maddox nods. "I was starting to think the same thing," he says quietly. They look at each other, then nod.

"I'll take North. You go south. Round back East and meet me back on the highway," Bass tells him.

Bass recognizes the hesitation on Maddox's face. After six years of being the head of the President's personal guard, the idea of letting him walk into a potentially dangerous situation alone must be insane.

"Don't worry," Bass tells him with a grin, "I'm sure Charlie will forgive you for letting me get killed."

"I doubt it, sir."

"Maybe not right away," he says with a shrug.

Maddox smiles and then turns serious again. "If I don't see you in the next four hours I'm tearing this forest apart to find you. I will not return to my post without my President."

Bass nods, moved by the loyalty this man has shown. "You're a good man, Owen. If I don't make it back… just make sure Charlie knows…"

And then it hits him. The reality that he may never see her again. His beautiful Charlie with her long blonde hair and big blue eyes, and that snarky attitude that drives him crazy but makes him smile at the same time. He may never know their child's face or hold them in his arms. Feel the weight of their body in his hands or the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Until now, he hadn't been willing to let himself hope for his family's future, but with the possibility of it being ripped away, now he can't help it.

A strong hand grips his shoulder and Bass looks up into Maddox's eyes. "You can tell her yourself when we get home."

With a nod, the men split the group in two and head off into the woods lining the highway they had been traveling on. They move as quietly as they can through the brush on horseback, the dread in his stomach growing the further in they go.

SNAP!

Bass' head whips around towards the source of the sound so fast that his neck cracks. A few soldiers have drawn their weapons but Bass waves them off as he spots a young man looking around self-consciously. His horse must have stepped on a tree branch.

He sighs and they continue on in a large loop, looking for any sign of this so called 'war clan' that he's starting to doubt even exists. He's all but made up his mind to go back home when they arrive back at the highway. He's thinking about what he can pick up on the way back to make it up to Charlie for being late when he realizes they've stepped into a trap.

A young man with dirty blonde hair steps out of the woods on the opposite side of the road. Bass' first instinct would be to shoot if it weren't for the man bound and gagged, being drug out onto the pavement for the men to see.

"President Monroe," the young man drawls. "We've been expecting you." Around him, his soldiers point their weapons at the man holding Maddox hostage. "Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn't do that if I were you," he says happily. "My men have orders to execute the soldiers that you're buddy Maddox was leading if they hear even a single shot."

The man looks directly at Bass, his eyes shining with amusement. "Now, Mr. President, I think you and I have some things to discuss."

"Alright. Let's talk," Bass says calmly.

The man smiles. "Oh, not here. Surrender yourself to me or I slit Captain Maddox's throat, right here, right now. Your choice."

Despite the restraints, Maddox manages to pull free and run towards him, though the man catches him by the collar after only a few feet and yanks him back. Bass starts forward to help him, but is forced to stop when he meets Maddox's eyes and the other man shakes his head.

The message is clear: surrendering will end with the destruction of the Republic.

"I hate to ruin your little plan," Bass says condescendingly. "But I'm not really one for surrender."

"Well you should reconsider," the man tells him harshly. "Unless you want to watch your man and hundreds of other die. Not to mention what we have in mind for Philadelphia. We have some… creative ideas for your friends in Independence Hall. Personally, I can't wait to meet the First Lady." He gives Bass a nasty grin.

"Touch my wife and I'll kill every person you've ever known," Bass growls.

The man laughs. "It's funny how you think you're in a position to make threats."

The confidence in the man's voice makes Bass' stomach churn. "What are you talking about?"

The man grins. "I've been leading you and your people around in circles for days. What makes you think that my friends haven't already taken over Philadelphia?"

There are more of them.

Of course there are, you idiot. Bass scolds himself. He should have seen this coming. Miles getting dragged away, all the way to Tennessee and then him getting pulled out of the city as well. This was their plan, whoever they are, and he fell for it from the beginning.

"What do you want?" He asks the man angrily.

But the man merely smiles. "You and your men surrender your weapons. In exchange, you'll all live - for now - and then you and I will have a little chat."

"What about our families back home?"

"That isn't part of the deal. I guess you'll just have to hope she's in a forgiving mood."

"She?" Bass asks. "Who the hell do you work for?"

A broad, genuine smile stretches across the other man's face. "Duncan. Duncan Page."

Independence Hall…

"It's been almost a week," Charlie says angrily. "You can't possibly expect me to believe that my husband and three hundred soldiers just disappeared into thin air!"

The officers in the conference room all shift in their seats uncomfortably as they watch their First Lady and de facto leader pace furiously back and forth.

"Charlie, maybe you should sit down," Jason suggests, indicating the chair at the head of the table.

She glares at him.

"He's just trying to help," Nora says gently.

Charlie turns the glare on her and both of them shut up. Turning her attention back to the table of officers, Charlie stops pacing and pulls herself together. "The President was headed due West to intercept an incoming threat. I want scouting teams to go as far as Pittsburg. Have them look for abandoned campsites, tracks that lead off the main roads, or - hell, I don't care if all they find is a half eaten apple - I want to know about it. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." They murmur around the table.

"Good," Charlie says, a little breathless. "Dismissed."

They are silent as the officers exit the room, but as soon as they're gone Charlie lets out a long breath and plops down into a chair, pressing a hand to her lower stomach and closing her eyes. "Are you alright?" Nora asks, eyeing her hand and stomach nervously.

"I wish people would stop asking me that," she says flatly. "I'm fine."

"How are you feeling?" Jason asks carefully.

Charlie cracks one eye open to look at him and says, "this baby isn't coming out until Daddy gets home so you guys may as well stop asking."

With her eyes closed again, Jason and Nora look at each other, matching worry on both of their faces.


A/N So I think the next chapter will be the big action one and then probably one more to tie it all up nice and neat. I think you guys will like what have planned for the big finish. ;-) Thanks for reading!