And memories weigh more than stone
A Revolution fic (Blackout AU): Sebastian (Bass) Monroe/Charlotte (Charlie) Matheson; Charloe. Mention of regulars incl. Miles and Rachael Matheson, Aaron Pittman, the Nano & the Patriots… Set after 'A holiday in New Xanadu' Bass and Charlie are back on the road to Willoughby – only things are a little different this time…
Rating M…
Authors note: Thanks so much for reading…and to those who were kind enough to review, follow or favourite previous chapters of this story (or me as an author:D) I send extra thanks – your support is hugely appreciated and I really hope you like this chapter… Sorry for the long wait – I got diverted by Christmas and other stories…but am planning to finish this one soon….Oh…some partial lines of dialogue are included from relevant episodes of the show where they fit into this story…
I don't own any part of Revolution unfortunately – I continue to love it though and I find these two characters especially fascinating… Cheers, Magpie
The story so far: It is about three weeks now since Bass and Charlie became lovers in a hidden place called New Xanadu, and the two of them are becoming closer by the day as they journey on towards Willoughby and the almost certain conflicts waiting there… They now have a – strange - ally in the Nano, which is helping to keep watch for dangers along the road while at the same time developing some interesting new talents… controlling the movements of humans, animals and insects, creating virtual images and environments, developing new – and dramatic - capabilities rapidly… It now has a tangible avatar (a golden, floating head taken from Bass' memory and the memory of a story that Aaron told Charlie once..) and is able to communicate verbally with humans using this. Thea and her group of NX Scouts have just met up with Bass and Charlie, with the guidance of the Nano, and are going ahead to check out what's happening in Willoughby and to discover the location of Patriot, Dr Calvin Horn, who is thought to be heading there to find Rachael. They have arranged to meet Bass and Charlie at a safe house 4 miles north of the 10mile sign out of Willoughby in about a week. Bass is also going to see if there is a way for the Nano to keep in contact with Thea along the way. Thea's mission is basically to ensure Rachael's safety – so that she can answer the questions of Xanadu's creators, William, and Petra, regarding the Nano and it's ability to heal in particular. Thea and her troops are willing to help Bass and Charlie as part of the mission – as long as it leads them to Rachael.
Chapter 4: Darkness on the edge of town…
After Thea's visit Bass and Charlie travelled on until late afternoon then set up camp for the night a short walk from the river. Bass was on first watch but there was time to relax before that… and they always spent some time at midnight changeover together now - as well as during lunchtime stops, pre-dinner drinks, after dinner settling down, swimming in the river - or whenever the opportunity or fancy struck… and driving in the wagon had become an adventure of story telling, laughter, teasing and sometimes just companionable quiet… Charlie was enjoying herself so much travelling with Bass that she was almost able to forget everything else…it felt as though they had somehow fallen into some alternate world where happiness was allowed… and she didn't want it to end… For his part, Bass treasured each moment with Charlie, storing them up against an uncertain future… he was dreading getting to Willoughby more with every mile and trying very hard not to brood on it… He measured his happiness now by the minutes, hours and days that he spent with Charlotte Matheson – counting not just from their time in Xanadu…but from the moment she had landed in that dry pool and changed his life forever…
Their awareness of each other's moods and thoughts as well as their feelings for each other seemed to be getting stronger every day… their time together becoming increasingly precious the closer they got to Willoughby – and to what seemed like inevitable conflict with both Miles and Rachael… as well as confrontation with the Patriots and all the rest of the mess…
….
Charlie and Bass had just finished dinner and were relaxing back on their shared bedrolls after their now customary evening work out – swords, hand to hand practice, weights and stretches… They were watching the stars, the fire dying down to coals… Both had changed after a wash in the river and Bass was in his oldest jeans, holed and threadbare but still serviceable – no shirt although he had a t shirt handy for watch… Charlie was in a clean tank and the old, soft pair of jeans she wore for sleeping… She was wrapped around Bass just the way she – and he – liked best…her head cradled on his right shoulder, one hand idly playing with his scruff then stroking down over his wonderfully muscled – and beautifully bare – chest then back again… one of her legs slung over the two of his… Bass had an arm around her shoulder, playing with her hair, making strands into ringlets around his fingers… his other hand stroking up and down the foot and ankle draped over him…
'Bass…?' Charlie said quietly… 'hmmmn…?' he murmured back… She pulled on his beard – very gently… 'Hey, sleepy head… You're on first watch…so no snoozing…' he chuckled… 'Have I ever missed a watch Charlotte…?' Charlie smiled up at him, her lips soft and a little sad…'No… and you know you haven't… Mr. Perfect…' Bass gave her a little slap on the butt with his right hand… his left moving up from her ankle to brush a lock of hair away from her face and back over her ear… 'If the shoe fits…' he said, lightly teasing… then he leaned over and kissed her… his lips soft on hers, tongue gently probing territory now so wonderfully familiar…
She enjoyed the kiss for a lovely minute or two then pulled back, smiling against his lips to ease her withdrawal… then the smile faded and her hand came up to meet his, holding it tightly, her fingers interlacing with his… she looked into his eyes, hers huge and bottomless … 'Bass…?' He brought her hand up and kissed the fingers…he had known she had had something on her mind - she had been very quiet over dinner… 'What is it Charlie…?' she licked her lips, loving the taste of him there… 'I've been thinking… We don't have to go to Willoughby…we could just keep driving…' Bass took a deep breath in… his heart seeming to pause… 'Is that what you want to do Charlie…?' her lids fell, hiding her gaze…'I… It'd be easy Bass… we could just turn around…find somewhere and settle down… just disappear… and no one would know…' he brought her fingers up to his lips again… shutting his own eyes for a moment… It would be so good…he could see them finding a little farm somewhere…or even going back to Xanadu – he knew they'd be welcome… Thea could take Rachael there, hell she'd already planned for it…and she'd carry through… especially if she knew that he and Charlie were out of the picture… and for a moment the dream seemed perfectly reasonable…
Then he remembered the Patriots and everything he'd seen – and heard about them… And Miles – and… ok …Rachael… who didn't know – or didn't know enough - about the bad stuff that was coming their way… and he knew as well that there probably wasn't anywhere he and Charlie could go that was far enough away to be safe - for long anyway…Fuck… He sighed… 'Charlie…' She pulled out of his arms and sat up… 'Why does it have to be up to us Bass…? What difference could two people possibly make?' She was angry now, her eyes stormy… body stiff…. And he couldn't blame her… He pulled her to him and she hugged into him as though she was adrift and he was her anchor… 'Charlie there is absolutely nothing I want more in the world than just to stay like this… with you…' she turned her face up to him again, her eyes swimming with lights glinting off angry tears… 'Then why don't we…' he brought a hand up and brushed a tear away from her cheek… then he smiled, a small sad smile… 'You know why Charlie… We have to go help your family, because we know there's a big fucking asteroid of trouble heading their way and they don't - and no matter how much I wish I wasn't saying this… someday you'd regret it – and maybe regret us…. if we didn't go help them now… '
He held her eyes… 'We're not far away from Willoughby now… are you getting worried about what to tell Miles and Rachael about us…?' she met his gaze and kept it… 'Bass, I meant what I said before… what we have is nothing to do with them…they can take us or leave us… I don't care… ' She shrugged…' I'm not stupid… Miles and Mom have had something going for a long time – I just didn't want to see it at the time… but I know now… Grandpa said some things too… to Miles… they didn't know I was there… ' She reached up and pressed a kiss to his lips… 'You – and us - are what matters to me now - although it does matter that I know they're going to be mad at you…even if they don't have the right to be…' Bass couldn't put a name to his feelings then… Part of him, the small, still insecure, still damaged part of him…had been worried that she would go to them… leave him… then he felt ashamed of that – after all the times she had told him, had proved to him that she wouldn't, that she loved him…
She took a huge breath in and let it out… 'And you're right… we do have to go, I know we do… But I hate it and I don't want to…' she stared at him, her eyes full of tension, her body strung tight as a drum… 'Bass… do you remember that morning in Xanadu…? When you said that you knew we had to leave but you didn't want to…?' he nodded… 'I remember…' 'I want you to make love to me like you did then Bass, I want you to make me forget… I don't want to have to think about… Willoughby… or the Patriots…or anything but you…' she leaned into him, resting her cheek in his hand… 'Make me forget, Bass…'
His eyes became icy blue bonfires as he let his own anger out – no, more than that… his bone deep fury…. at whoever was controlling this fucking world and thought it was ok to keep throwing shit and sorrow time after time after time at him and the people he loved… especially her, most especially her… 'I'll do my best Charlotte…' he pushed out… then he reached down and grasped the edges of her tank top, pulling it up and over her head in one fast movement… she gasped as she met his eyes, feeling them burn into her…and she laughed – a wild and feral sound… he lifted her, moving her through the air so fast that she was underneath him in a flying moment… Then he yanked her jeans down - they were loose enough and old enough that it didn't matter that he didn't undo them first… her boots were already off, ready for sleep, so that she was there - utterly and beautifully naked beneath him… He left his own jeans on for the minute but tore open the buttons…his cock springing out…long and thick and already hard…
He knelt above her, one knee between her legs, one beside her, supporting his body and keeping her hands above her head with one hard muscled arm, his hand locking her wrists… the other hand held her face while he pressed a hard kiss to her lips, tongues and teeth tangling, moans and panting breath mingling in their mouths… all his anger and pain at this world focused – not on her – but with her, because she was matching him stroke for stroke… and the intensity of it shook him to his bones… He raked a hand down her body, stroking her shoulders, grasping one breast after another, squeezing the nipples until she rose up under him, her belly tight, her hips rising towards him and pleading for more… She was twisting and fighting him hard but he felt her need for something to keep her grounded… somehow… so he kept holding her down… pinning her with a hand and his knees… making it last, helping them both get rid of as much of the hurt and pain as they could…
He spread his fingers and stroked them down her belly and between her legs, fingers sliding over curls and through her wet folds, feeling how much she wanted him… He looked down at her – spread out beneath him and he smiled, a smile full of love and lust…it didn't matter how often he saw her like this, it would never be enough… it was always new - and he loved and wanted to see her open and ready for him so much it was both a raging hunger and a feast for his senses … He moved his knee out from between her legs, then stroked his hand down to her ankles, holding them together and bending her back around his knees until she was bent like a bow between his hands… he caught her eyes… they were fierce and wild, full of a primal need… 'Bass… please….' Her voice was hoarse and demanding… and he was only too happy to oblige… he looked down at the moist and tempting triangle of curls at her centre… then bent towards it, able to reach only because he was that much taller than her… Her legs were held tightly together by the way he was holding her but he forced his tongue in between the folds framed and squeezed by her thighs…working his lips to open her up… then he found her clit with his tongue, stroking down the little ridge of flesh… she gasped and then moaned and her whole body spasmed as she came…
Charlie watched him avidly, her body shaped by need, her blood pounding through her veins in a molten rush as he held her down, bending her back around him… giving her what she needed by giving her something that she could strain and fight against - because fate was so fucking unfair and she couldn't fight against that… He was so strong that she could just let herself go without worrying that she might hurt him – and she knew he wouldn't hurt her beyond what she wanted and needed… She watched the play of muscles as he moved; runnels of sweat making his skin glisten, his hot, male scent wafting down to her… He was everything she wanted and needed and more, and she could feel his passion for like the air before a storm…ion filled and lightening driven… She felt his fingers sliding between her legs, sensation tightening her belly, making her breath catch and her mouth dry… her breasts were tingling and her skin felt so sensitized to the air, to him, that every hair was standing up… Then his mouth was on her sex and she felt his tongue slide in between her lower lips like an arrow hitting its target and she felt the building tension in her centre explode into shards of light as she came…
It wasn't enough though… she could never get enough of him… She found his eyes again… he always knew when she wanted to look at him…and she saw her own excitement and greed for him reflected in his… 'What do you want Charlie…?' He asked her, smiling, his eyes alight, his beautiful face coming closer, his lips ready for hers – with the moisture from her coming still on them… Her legs were free now and she lifted them to wrap them around him… feeling his lovely length hard and so ready between her thighs… she rubbed herself against him… 'You Bass…' she whispered then her voice yelled and shattered in delight as he entered her like the force of nature he was… 'I want you …'
The green cloud of the Nano; that had been hovering just out of sight … floated back to its usual station above the horses…it's cycling patterns roiling and agitated… It/they wanted Sebastian and Charlotte to have each other, to be happy… There was so much trouble in Willoughby, so much violence…they would need protection… The Nano needed to consider what to do – especially about the other assembly, the one that was with Aaron Pittman…the one that had killed for him and had brought him back to life…the one that didn't know enough about happiness and too much about fear...
…..
It was almost time for their midnight changeover and Bass gazed down at a sleeping Charlie, about to wake her … Her gorgeous face was relaxed, lips still bee-stung from his kisses… he knew that there would be bruises on her body - and similar bruises on his own from the fierceness and intensity of their love- making earlier… she had stripped him of everything but the need to be inside her as far and as much as possible… A little smile twitched the corners of his mouth… She had made good her promise about him as dessert too… after the second – or was it third round…? And he wondered if she could still taste him in her sleep, he licked his lips – as he could still taste her… He smiled at the memory then looked down, sternly reminding his cock that it was on watch along with him…
She stirred, her blue eyes opened, and smiled when she saw him gazing down at her… reaching a hand up to stroke the side of his face… 'Hey Bass….'
As she woke, the golden head of Nano materialized from within the green firefly cloud hovering in its usual station above the horses and floated over towards them – it's brightness dimmed to a pale glimmer… 'Sebastian? Charlotte? Could we talk?'
Charlie rubbed her hands over her face, sat up, yawned and reached for her water bottle to wake herself up…taking a mouthful while gazing at the still amazingly surreal sight of C3p0's golden metal head, floating without a body before them… Bass reached for his bottle too…so much for the midnight tryst he'd been planning… 'What do you want to talk about Nano…?' … The robot face tipped slightly, seeming to project a degree of confusion… 'I…we… are trying to understand humans…' the golden eyes turned towards him, questions in their depths… 'While it seems obvious that cooperation towards a common goal is more likely to produce positive outcomes, humans in general seem to have great difficulty with this… we would like to know why?'
Charlie reached for her clothes and quickly got dressed… the Nano wasn't human but it still felt weird being naked while she was talking to it…
Bass sighed… he had thought a great deal about how to answer that inevitable question… although he would probably have phrased it a lot more simply… 'You mean why do people behave like morons most of the time…?' the golden face somehow seemed to appear amused… 'That is a – reasonable - summation Sebastian… '
'It's complicated Nano…' he looked into the golden eyes… 'I wish there was a simple answer but there isn't…' He thought of something that might help… 'Remember when you took control of the Patriot couriers?' the head nodded… 'Of course…' Bass lips twitched a little hearing the voice – it was like being in the movie…he'd want to be Han though – Han ended up with his cool warrior princess… he shook himself back to reality…'Well, we could have killed them… it would have been easier, but not better – besides the two men were helpless thanks to you…they weren't attacking us, you were able to send them on their way and keep us safe…' Charlie nodded… 'We didn't have to kill them – in fact it was better not to then…' the Nano inclined it's head 'But you cooperate with each other…' she and Bass shared a look… Charlie smirked… 'We didn't always…he was a sort of mad Dictator for a while, got a whole lot of people killed and almost killed me and then I tried to kill him… before I got to know him better…' Bass shrugged then laughed…'Something to tell our children…' they both stopped suddenly and looked at each other, the words echoing somewhere in time and space…
The swirling patterns in the cloud became agitated, moving faster than he had ever seen them, their movements seemed disjointed, conflicted, out of balance…then they went still for a long moment…
The patterns started up again, slowly, and he could see them reflected in miniature deep within the golden eyes…and over the golden skin… 'Sebastian, Charlotte, you have never asked, or thought to ask us to kill other humans - even though you know that we could easily do it… why?'
Bass gazed into the shining eyes… the golden face was motionless in its bubble of air in front of him… He realised that this could be a critical moment in their relationship with this strange ally… 'You know I haven't thought of doing that Nano… 'And neither have I…' Charlie said… Bass took her hand…'and I know you are aware of that because you've seen into our minds…' he sighed, 'I don't really know how to answer your question though... ' He took a deep breath… glancing at Charlie… she seemed anxious, she knew how important this seemed to be too… he turned back to the Nano… 'There are some situations I can think of where I might ask though…for instance if someone threatened Charlie and I couldn't stop them, but my first instinct would be to rely on my own skills I think...' Charlie nodded… 'Same here….' The golden eyes came closer 'Aaron Pittman asked us – another assembly of us… in his mind… to kill humans… The first time he didn't know that he had done it, but later he knew we could do other things – after we had brought him back when one of the war clan killed him with a sword…' Charlie jerked, suddenly pale, her eyes shocked…'Aaron's dead?'
Bass answered without thinking 'Pittman's not a fighter, and he might not have realized that you would take him literally…' then he reeled back, his head spinning… 'He's dead? And what do you mean you brought him back…?' the gold head tipped a little again… 'His physical body had ceased to function due to trauma… and we didn't want him to die so we healed him…' Charlie's fingers clenched tightly in Bass' hand… 'But you said he was killed…what do you mean…is he dead or not?' Bass was beyond stunned… He had visions of a drooling Aaron reaching out with damaged hands, hungry for brains…' Did his mind function properly after you brought him back?' Bass felt his heart pounding and he wished he had some whiskey handy… 'What about his personality – his…his… soul…the things that made him Aaron Pittman?' the Nano's metal mouth appeared to curve in a smile that looked odd on that face… 'We maintained brain function and supplies of oxygen and nutrients to his cells while the damage to his body was being repaired… so although he appeared to the others to be dead for a little over two hours, his mind, and what you call his soul, were protected' The golden head turned and directed its gaze to the side of the wagon…
'Watch…' parts of the cloud swept down and images appeared on the metal and Bass was reminded startlingly of watching a tv set. He saw several members of what looked like a Plains Nation war clan breaking into a house – attacking and holding a slight, struggling brown haired woman… Then, a soft looking, bearded man burst into the room, laying into the attackers with angry abandon… 'He's doing ok…' Bass said, a little surprised 'Charlie made him sound like a total geek…' Charlie shot an indignant glance at him but quickly returned her gaze to the picture… A moment later they saw Aaron struck by the sword of one of the attackers in what both knew had to be a killing blow… Charlie gasped and Bass winced as Aaron fell to the ground, blood spurting from a large wound across his chest… The brunette ran to his side, then ran out of the room sobbing… The scene changed and Rachael and an older man – Charlie whispered 'That's Grandpa…' and Bass realized it had to be Rachael's father Gene Porter - a doctor, were kneeling by Aaron's side… and fingers were gently closing his eyes… Charlie choked back a lump in her throat…'oh…Aaron…'
The picture changed again to show Rachael sitting alone, next to Aaron's body, staring into space… then suddenly Aaron's eyes opened and Rachael jumped up in shock… along with both Bass and Charlie…
Bass was silent for a long moment… taking in what they had just seen… Charlie was just standing there, her eyes huge and shocked…'You said that Aaron asked you in his mind to kill humans… how did you do that Nano?' a picture formed showing Aaron walking past a car with a couple making out in the back seat, a man emerged, obviously threatening Aaron… who walked away, visibly embarrassed and afraid … a few seconds later the interior of the car erupted in flames… The picture changed and the image appeared of someone he recognized very well… 'Miles…' Charlie focused intently on the scene before them, and Bass felt his body instinctively tense for action – even though there was nothing he could do to help… Miles was in a situation that even he would have trouble getting out of; confronted by two Patriots both with guns trained on him… The Nano spoke… It's voice mild and even… 'Miles Matheson is part of Aaron's network - we showed Aaron what was happening to Miles and Aaron didn't want him to be captured and die… he wanted the Patriots to die…' the image grew larger and he could see Miles looking up (at them?) with hundreds of little green lights reflecting in his eyes… The image refocused on the Patriots and Bass saw the ground around the men's feet start to smolder then flames raced up the legs of each soldier, rapidly engulfing them, turning them into screaming torches… Charlie gasped…'Oh my God…' and in the picture, Miles looked at the burning men in shock, the flames edging his hair in a red glow… then he turned and darted away… The image faded…
Bass took a deep breath in then let it out… 'Nano, in that situation, if I wasn't there and if I knew you could help, I might have asked you to kill the Patriots too… there was no way that Miles was getting out of that without being captured or killed…' he turned to the golden head…'The decision to fight or kill is one that depends on the situation… Family and friends… our network… are the most important people in the world to us and I…we… would do anything to help them, to keep them safe - with a chance to be happy…' his eyes were very serious… The golden head floated serenely… 'The Patriots have families too Sebastian… we have seen in their minds…and although many are clouded and confused - some of them believe very strongly that they are right and you are wrong... ' Bass realized that this was the crucial point – what was the difference between them and the Patriots…? Why should the Nano choose them…?
He looked straight into the golden eyes… he was so close that he could see tiny versions of himself reflected there… 'Nano, I know we're not perfect…but the Patriots are not giving people a choice in how they want to live…they are taking choices away, they're lying to people and doing terrible things to them, because they think they have the right to make everyone do what they say…believe what they believe… and that's wrong…'
The golden head floated for a moment…'Thank you, we need to consider…'
It started to move away, then stopped and turned back… 'There is something else we should show you…' Another picture appeared and Bass saw Rachael's father, Gene, in an empty room, sitting near a grill in the wall… he appeared to be listening to something… the scene then moved them down a set of stairs to a kitchen where Miles, Rachael and Aaron were talking… then the scene changed again, whizzing them through a street to the edge of town and a hole in the wall… the view changed to bird's eye and they could see a Patriot soldier on the other side of the wall…Gene appeared to be telling him something…he didn't appear to be under any sort of duress, he was talking willingly. Gene handed the Patriot a piece of paper, through the wall… the Patriot passed Gene something that he put into his pocket, looking around furtively as he did it - and then Gene left… Charlie's horrified gaze turned to Bass…'What's Grandpa doing?' Bass dropped his gaze… 'There must be an explanation Charlie… your Grandpa's a doctor… maybe it's something about that…?' but they both knew that that wasn't what it was… Charlie slumped against Bass' shoulder…Willoughby was going to be much worse than either of them had expected…
The golden head, slowly dissolving back into its green cloud… retreated back to its usual station near the horses, the cloud patterns resuming their usual routine formations, quietly circulating…although every now and then, a burst of agitation skittered through it, disturbing the patterns and creating ripples and jagged rifts…
There was no way that Bass could sleep after all that… so he and Charlie shared second watch – getting up and going before dawn to make an early start… the urgency to get to Willoughby back for both of them… the thought of not going vanishing like particles of dust in the wind…
….
The next several days passed without incident…although both Bass and Charlie felt subdued after the revelations about Aaron and Gene… and the more lethal abilities of the Nano…They kept to the routine of drive, camp, work out, watch, sleep, eat and drink and drive again…They both had a feeling that things were speeding up… that there was more trouble coming…
They made love as often as they could… it was a joy, comfort and a release as well as a reinforcement of the depth of their feelings for each other… they gained strength from it, and even though the journey had been long and hard they were both physically fit and ready as they could ever be for what was to come…
The Nano had stayed mostly quiet after its night of questions, although it continued to report on the movements of any travellers in the area - notifying them that Thea and her group had made their observations and were on their way to the safe house… There had been little movement otherwise though – no travelers coming their way from Willoughby – strange in itself… the Nano had reported movement of soldiers on a couple of occasions – all heading for Willoughby but they had gone by a different road…otherwise they had seen no one.
…..
The 10mile sign was just ahead… Bass clicked the horses and looked across Charlie at the sign…then caught her eye, raising a brow in ironic salute… 'Here we are…the outskirts of good old Willoughby… So where's the turn off Charlie…?' she glanced back at him then back to the road, face set and serious… her eyes searching along the edge of the road ahead of them… 'It should be… right… there it is Bass…' and she pointed at a barely there track heading off into some scrub… He turned the horses onto the potholed and ridged track, forehead creased into a frown of concentration… 'We'll be lucky if the wagon makes it through this…'
A few miles later in the approaching dusk, with Bass nursing the horses and wagon gently the whole way along what had become an accident waiting to happen trail… they came upon a small, dusty homestead, obviously abandoned but still relatively intact – the garden overgrown, outbuildings cavernous and dilapidated but safe enough to hide the wagon inside and shelter the horses… There were rustling sounds in the back corners that were either feral cats or rats… but nothing else moved.
After Bass pronounced himself satisfied with the accommodation and comfort for the horses they went to check out the house… There was no sign of recent occupation in the tired old building although Charlie found a couple of knives hidden in spots that clearly yelled 'Miles was here' to anyone who knew him…Bass found a couple more – as well as a shotgun - in slightly more obscure places although he somehow managed to avoid being too cocky about it when Charlie was obviously impressed that he'd found them… 'I've known Miles a long time Charlie…' he said with a little smile… They decided to camp outside… the Nano had sent a sub-assembly out to track Thea's party down and let them know Bass and Charlie had arrived, all they had to do was wait…
Thea rode up – on her own, having left her troop camped and hiding in some woods on the outskirts of town – shortly before midnight. She swung down from her horse, and after giving it some water and tethering it near some grazing she sat down around the camp fire and gratefully accepted a cup of lemon and mint tea made from a few useful things Charlie had found in the garden… Thea was tired and looked it, her dark skin dry and chapped… clothing dusty and loose… she took a sip and sighed 'That's so nice…Well… after an apparent invasion of the town by a misplaced and extremely nasty war clan from which it was rescued in the nick of time by a large band of Patriots soldiers who just happened to be passing by…' she lifted her mug in an ironic salute… 'Your town is now a Patriot outpost within the great nation of Texas and Texas is going to want to know what's going on…'
Charlie moved restlessly… 'Do you know what's happened to my Mom…?' Thea nodded… 'We saw her…and Miles? Your Uncle?' Charlie nodded…'yeah…' They seem to be ok Charlotte, although your Mom was injured in the fighting… they're walking around now anyway though and she looks ok…' Charlie smiled gratefully 'Thanks Thea…' Whatever had happened, they were still her family and she was glad that at least her Mom and Miles were ok… they still needed to find out what was up with Grandpa Gene…. Thea frowned…'There was something really weird about it though…' she rubbed her free hand over her face then sipped some more tea… 'I thought you said that your Mom's name was on a wanted poster?' both Charlie and Bass nodded…'It was…' 'And there was a bounty of six ounces of diamonds' Charlie added… Thea frowned 'Well it's just that the Patriots seem to be treating your Mom with kid gloves – and Miles, although he's calling himself Stu at the moment…' Bass looked up at that… 'They're polite… even friendly…' she frowned… 'It's sort of sickeningly lovey dovey… Their commander – Truman, there's something really off about him…'
Thea went on… 'They did this Halloween thing, kids everywhere in costume, you know? After the war clan was… well I don't know how to put it because it was really strange… Some of the Patriots had been pretending to be war clan… We saw them get changed… they marched in, killed a whole lot of the clan, stashed what was left of them in the old trains in the train yard…and have been slaughtering a few at a time, loading them onto horses and taking them into the town as trophies…' Bass frowned… 'The saviour deal…' she nodded 'Yep…and its working… the town's on lockdown, curfew, gates locked at night, no one going in or out…' Charlie leaned back against Bass' shoulder… 'Well that explains why there's been no road traffic…' They talked for a bit longer, sharing more news, making plans and talking strategy, and then Thea left to rejoin her people…and to get some sleep…
After she left, Charlie turned to Bass…he opened his arms and she settled into them…'now tell me again Bass…' he kissed the top of her head… 'Again…? You are an insatiable woman Charlotte…and we mustn't be up too late tonight… we go in to town at dawn…' She smiled gently up at him 'I don't care… tell me again…I want to have it all in my head for tomorrow…' He leaned down and kissed her…loving the feel of her against him… 'Ok… here we go…' he tightened his arms around her and she leaned her head back against his shoulder… 'Charlotte… ' He cleared his throat…'You make the sun rise for me each day, you are my moon and stars at night and…' he looked into her eyes, his own serious and intent but with a little glint in them…'you are the one who keeps my heart beating…' she sighed and her eyes sparkled up at him… 'I love it… we'll find a guitar so you can sing it to me when you finish it…and I love you too Bass Monroe… ' He shrugged… pleased… it was a bit soppy and 'Ramble on' it wasn't but it was his first song…and the thing was he meant every word…
…..
The next morning they rode the horses into town, leaving the wagon and their supplies at the safe house… They stopped at a small house just outside of town… hiding the horses and checking things out from the rooftop with the binoculars… Charlie was starting to get impatient - wanting to get going with things now that they were here… but Bass checked her with hand on her arm…handing her the glasses… 'Town's overrun Charlie… We've got to be smart…' she looked…Khaki everywhere…and US flags…then she saw some riders coming down the hill towards the town gate…'Who the hell are they…?' she passed the binoculars back to Bass…he looked grim… 'Those are Texas Rangers…and if I'm not mistaken the one at the front is a certain John Franklin Fry and he might not feel like being friendly to our cause…' she looked a query 'Why's that…?' he raised a brow…'Well, your Uncle Miles tried very hard to kill him once' Charlie chewed her lip…'Oh…' like they really needed more enemies...
Charlie walked into town…keeping a low profile although she hadn't really needed to, there were guards on the gate but no one challenged her when she said she was there to visit her grandfather the doctor… she just walked in… She spotted Miles walking along the street and tracked him until she had a chance to catch his attention with a carefully aimed can kicked into his path…
He was so pleased to see her… He gave her a big hug, and told her he was heading out to find some evidence for the Texas Rangers but he was happy enough to follow her when she said she had something to show him under the bridge… She said that she'd brought them something important (the cases from Petra were still in the wagon but they'd deal with that later…), and after he asked her to go easy on her Mom, she asked him to promise her not to do anything too over the top himself…he shot a look at her…puzzled … then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Bass standing there…just in front of one of the rusting pylons… She thought for a moment that he was going to be ok… But then he looked at her, then back at Bass and headed off like a bull into a fence…she sighed…'Miles…' he didn't listen, just kept heading towards Bass 'What did you do to her…?' he demanded… Bass shook his head 'Miles…' Miles just kept going 'I know you… what did you do to her…?' Bass concentrated on just keeping out of the way while Miles got used to things… he met Charlie's gaze over Miles' shoulder and lifted his hands in surrender, asking for help… Charlie came closer…trying to get his attention…'Miles... I wouldn't let him do anything to me…' she rolled her eyes at Bass… 'That I didn't want him to do…' she finished… and finally got his attention… 'Charlie…' Miles still looked like he'd been hit with a brick…'You brought him here…?'
It took a little while but Miles finally calmed down enough to accept that Bass wanted to help in the fight against the Patriots… and that he wanted a truce… Charlie and Bass had thought they would need to take things in stages so they didn't fill him in on everything … although by the looks he was casting between Bass and Charlie he seemed to have an idea that there was more to tell… and it took a bit longer again for him to tell them of the situation with the Texas Rangers and the Patriots and that he had promised John Franklin Fry proof of the Patriot's masquerading as part of the Andover Clan to gain the confidence of the town… Then they were all off to the Railway yards to see if Charlie could track anything or if the Patriots had left any evidence around the carriages where they had kept the clan members prisoner…
For Charlie it was a surreal experience… she was walking between two of the most famous (or infamous) men of their time and they were behaving like estranged relatives trying to work out what to say to one another… Bass mentioned a city (?), Miles told him to drop it… Miles tried to find out where they'd been, Bass moved on to talking about the Patriots… Miles accused Bass of 'practically skipping…' then said it wasn't Butch and Sundance (whatever that was…) So at the rail yards she just left them to look through the carriages for evidence or whatever and went searching for tracks – or anything - dizzy with the things they left unsaid between them…some of them to do with her – with Bass and her, but so many to do with them… She felt their history as brothers, friends and enemies (?) circling around them like a weather pattern heavy with high's and lows and the possibility of storms…
She found some wagon tracks and they followed them…and followed them… and followed them…'These are going nowhere…' she complained as they came upon yet another deserted and falling down building… it was getting dark, she was tired, hungry, thirsty and she wanted Bass…and she wanted Miles to stop being an idiot…Then suddenly a shot rang out, then another… they ran behind the closest cover – some broken bits of wall… and suddenly both Miles and Bass seemed to drop into some mysterious shared secret soldier mode; Miles asking Bass how many he thought were there…seven or eight…? Bass nodded 'guess it is Butch and Sundance after all…' Miles shook his head… 'How do you want to play this?' Then Charlie got really pissed off because they started talking in city names – really fast – what the hell was that about anyway, she felt confused and – left out…? Then Bass tipped his head, winked at her and tossed her a rifle as they darted out from behind the crumbling stones…'Cover us…?' he threw back at her as he and Miles wove out into the night… she swore and did her job, although she was so looking forward to getting him back later….
Then, in between shots, although she couldn't see everything, she saw and heard enough to get a good idea of just how very good at killing Bass and Miles were when they were together… they fell into a poetry of seamless teamwork that made their movements over walls, around windows, behind tiny bits of cover, somehow finishing off Patriots at each turn seem effortless and almost supernatural… and in just a few minutes there was only one Patriot left and he was their prisoner… Apparently he'd been one of the Patriots who'd pretended to be a member of the clan, Miles recognized him and said he would be their proof…then knocked him unconscious…
Miles and Bass carried and dragged the man to the Mill on the river where Miles had arranged to meet John Fry and they tied him to a chair in one of the empty rooms… Charlie standing guard over him while Miles and Bass got things ready… Then, Aaron and Rachael arrived, and Rachael grabbed a gun and went to shoot Bass (of course…so predictable…), Miles got between them and was trying to get the gun… then Rachael asked Miles why he was protecting Bass… Which is when Charlie stepped out into her Mom's line of sight…and told her 'Because I brought him….' Her Mom just looked at her for a moment, which gave Miles the opportunity to take the gun off her… 'You brought him? Now why would you do that…?' her voice was so cold… Miles was getting quite antsy because his Texas Ranger was due and he asked them first, then when that wasn't working quickly enough, he told them all to go upstairs… please… then he tossed the gun to Bass and asked him to cover them from outside… and Rachael maintained her dagger sharp glare at Bass but also at her…all the way across the room…
Charlie, her mother and a very puzzled but absolutely alive and himself Aaron made their way up the narrow stairs to the top floor… and as soon as they were there Charlie turned to Aaron… She smiled and walked over to him… the picture of him on the floor with that awful slash across his chest horribly vivid in her mind… She was so glad the Nano had brought him back… Aaron had been like a second father to her, a good friend and a wonderful teacher… He held out his arms to her and she hugged him tight… 'It's good to see you Aaron…and I'm so glad you're ok…' He squeezed back…'It's good to see you too Charlie, in the flesh…' she started, and wondered what he meant by that… Had he seen her from a distance with his Nano's help too…? As if their lives weren't complicated enough just by being human…
He let go and she stepped back…trying not to look too hard at his chest… she blew a breath out between her teeth and turned to the inevitable and seriously tiresome confrontation with Rachael…'How are you Mom…?' Rachael just looked at her… 'I've been better Charlie…' Charlie tried, she really did… 'Mom I understand, I tried to kill him too when I first saw him…' Rachael's mouth worked…'But you didn't…then he said he wanted to help…. and so you brought him here… are you really that stupid…?' Charlie sighed… 'Maybe I am stupid… for coming back here…' She wasn't even going to try to talk about it… she just wanted to get the Patriot thing over and done with and get out of here so that she and Bass could get on with their lives… all three of them were quiet then… Rachael looking off into the distance, Aaron uncomfortable and Charlie – worried about what was happening downstairs…
Downstairs… John Fry had arrived and Miles was greeting him… Bass was watching from outside, just covering things in case John F decided to take the opportunity to gain himself some kudos with the Patriots and Texas by taking them the head of Miles Matheson… He was concentrating so hard on what was happening inside that he nearly jumped out of his skin when the golden head of Nano appeared beside him… 'Sebastian…' Bass went to shush it… then caught himself in time… he'd almost forgotten about their Nano companion… life was really quite strange at the moment…. 'What is it Nano' he whispered… 'I needed to inform you that the Patriot tied up in the other room was about to ingest enough poison from an implanted tooth to cause him to cease functioning…' Bass started to move… 'Shit… He mustn't do that, he's our proof…' The golden head placed itself in front of him… 'We have him under our control Sebastian… He is alive I assure you…' Bass let out a breath… 'Thank you… that's great…' he looked back into the room to check on Miles, then chuckled a little bit under his breath, it had felt a bit like old times with his brother back there and he was still buzzing a bit… Charlie had fitted in just fine too… He couldn't say the same about Rachael, although he couldn't really blame her for wanting to shoot him in the circumstances – and she didn't even know everything yet…
Miles and John F were still chatting but they were moving towards the room where the Patriot was tied up… he turned to Nano…'We'd better get round there…they'll need to talk to him and I have to let Miles know to get that tooth out first…' Bass ran around the side of the building to the other entrance to the room they had the Patriot in… He peered through the empty door frame into the room… the Patriot was still tied up but was sitting up, staring blankly at the wall in front of him… Bass was pretty sure that it was an extremely bad idea for him to go in that room – if either Miles or John F saw him they were quite likely to shoot him on reflex or general principle…and he really didn't want to shoot the ranger if he didn't have to after all the trouble they went to… but he could try to catch Miles attention…
Then it was too late… The two men in question came through the door and two sets of eyes fixed straight on him… John F went straight for his hand gun and Bass was suddenly looking right into the black hole at the end of the barrel… when suddenly a metallic golden head shot past him and stopped, hovering in space, right in front of the gun… Miles went very still, his shocked gaze going from Bass to the head then back to Bass… John Fry's mouth dropped open, his eyes went wide and his voice came out in a deep, hoarse croak with a Texan accent…'What the fuck…?'
…
AN: thanks so much for reading… and I really hope you enjoyed it – I am really enjoying writing it, I love having Bass and Charlie together already although there are of course lots of sticky bits still to come… I've got most of the next chapter worked out so shouldn't be too long I hope before the next post… please let me know what you think if you have a moment… all the best, Magpie