Day 10…

Bass jerked in the chair. He'd dozed off. He'd been up all hours and only catching a cat nap or two during the day ever since he'd brought Miles home. It was starting to take a toll on him and he hadn't been able to stay awake.

A glance out the window told him it was almost dawn. Already, the sky was beginning to lighten and the stars fade out. He looked around to make sure he was leaving no evidence of his having been in the house. Seeing nothing, he headed back to the window.

He was reaching up to close it a little from behind him when the door to Miles' room opened and Charlie entered. She froze and locked eyes with him. He'd just been busted.

"Shit!" The word escaped him as he dropped down. He just knew she'd wake the household, so he'd let go of the lattice. He hit the ground hard, rolling as he did so. It hurt, but he was sure he'd not injured anything. He might be sore for a day or two, but he'd live. He heard her voice in a loud whisper. "Monroe, wait!"

He didn't take the time to look; otherwise he'd have seen her leaning out the window. He kept going. If he was smart, he'd hightail it out of town before Miles' family had a chance to complain to the sheriff.

And yet, as Bass entered the small loft above the bar that he called home, he couldn't bear to do it—not until Miles woke up; not until he could tell him how sorry he really was. Once he'd had that chance, he fully intended on disappearing. Gene was right; all he did was hurt people. It would be best for everyone if he went away, but not until he knew his brother would be okay.

He flopped down on his sorry excuse for a bed. It was little more than a mattress on the floor—and a lumpy one at that. He stared at the ceiling. The light of the rising sun was streaming in through the filthy window now. As he tried to fall asleep, he knew one thing was for certain; he would not be able to go back.

If he tried, he'd find the window locked. Or even better, the barrel of a gun would waiting for him. He'd stick around and lay low for a while. Hopefully, if Miles woke up, he'd hear some news about it in town.

The very next morning…

Bass woke up to find Charlie standing over him. Her hands were on her hips and she had an unreadable expression on her face—well not quite unreadable. She looked annoyed with him, but not angry. Not as angry as he'd have expected at any rate.

"Where were you last night?" she asked.

Bass blinked a few times to clear his vision. His eyes were still bleary with sleep and he was a bit hung over. With no chance in hell of successfully gaining access to Miles the previous night, he'd just gotten drunk instead. "Um, here?" he replied as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes and feign innocence.

"No, I mean where were you? You didn't visit him last night."

Complete shock and confusion sank in. "I… you…? What?"

Charlie rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, I've known about it. I figured it out the morning after the storm."

"And you didn't rat me out?" That was unexpected indeed.

Charlie merely shrugged. "Why did you risk it?" She asked. She knew the answer, but maybe that was why she hadn't said anything about his haunting of Miles' room. She wanted to hear it from him first.

Bass dragged a hand through his hair. He'd just been put in a very uncomfortable position. He didn't think she'd believe the truth. She'd said more than once that he was just an empty mask behind a selfish, sociopathic killer. She'd never buy it that he'd risked it because he actually had feelings, just like anyone else.

And, even if she did believe him, the idea of confessing his inner thoughts and feelings with Mini-Miles did not sit well with him. But, she could have made his already miserable life a hell of a lot more miserable with just a few words and for some unfathomable reason, she hadn't. For that, maybe he did owe her a little honesty.

"Because he's all I got left, and I wanna be there when he wakes up—or lets go," he told her.

The way her expression softened just a little told Bass that she'd miraculously decided to take what he'd said at face value and neither question it or expect him to explain it further. It also made him very aware that she was standing in his shitty little excuse for an apartment and that he was quite undressed under the thin sheet. Don't think about being naked, dummy!

He felt something twitch which ought not to be twitching at a moment like this. He had to shift to conceal that fact from her now. The last thing he wanted was for her to catch onto that fact. Bass watched in relief as Charlie headed towards the door. She was going before he had a chance to embarrass the hell out of them both.

She turned right before she left. "Don't say so late next time—they'll catch you."

She was gone before he had a chance to react or respond. Bass flopped back down onto his flat pillow and slowly let out a breath. He was pretty sure she'd just given him the green light to keep up his nightly visits. What he didn't understand was why.

Day 15…

Bass had only been in the chair next to Miles' bed for a few minutes when a commotion could be heard below. Someone was banging on the front door. He froze in place, momentarily thinking he'd been betrayed.

It wouldn't have made sense though. He'd been coming every night since Charlie had given him the okay and she knew that he'd taken her up on that unspoken offer. Twice he'd turned to see her adjusting the window after he left. It was hard to get the damn thing to move from outside.

As such, he was positive that she'd been waking up right before he left so she could make sure there was nothing that could point to his having been there. What he didn't know was that Charlie had actually made it a point to stay up and listen to his one-sided conversations. If he had, he wouldn't have spoken at all.

Both times they'd locked eyes and then she'd offered him a silent wave of farewell. If she'd been determined to reveal his secret, she'd have done it that first time she'd caught him. She wouldn't have waited a week. One thing that could be said of the youngest Matheson was that she was honest to a fault.

If she didn't want him to keep sneaking in, she'd have just told him. No, this was probably just someone needing Gene's help in the middle of the night. As the only doctor in town, it was bound to happen from time to time. Either way, he felt the need to escape. If Gene was up, the others could be too. Rachel might take a moment to check on Miles. He was halfway out the window when the door opened.

He silently cursed. So much for not getting caught. "Not that way!" Charlie's voice said in a harsh whisper. "Neighbor behind us saw you sneak up."

He ducked back inside and out of the line of sight. Sure enough voices could be heard below the window. "…saw someone climb up here…"

Rachel's voice could be heard with the sheriff. Bass looked at Charlie. What now? He mouthed.

She motioned for him to follow her. When he was right behind her, she turned and whispered in his ear. "Deputy Dipshit and Grandpa are downstairs. Follow me and be quiet."

She led him out of the room. They paused long enough for him to quietly close the door. Making a face when it the sound of the latch clicked. She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him into the next room.

Charlie closed them into her room and they waited by the door. "How the hell did they see me?" he whispered.

"Hal's old and doesn't sleep well at night. He must have gone out for a smoke when he saw something on the lattice. He got his nephew to wake up the sheriff, thinking we were getting robbed. That clan is still running loose. The sheriff said the town raids have increased—mostly in and out stuff but they killed a guy last week over in Crockett."

"And I'm the bad guy for trying to track them," he murmured. He winced the second he said it. "Sorry."

Charlie shushed him then, instinctively covering his lips with her fingers. Footsteps could be heard on the stairs. Bass pulled her hand away, grabbing her gently by the wrist. He didn't immediately release her.

He looked down at her, feeling as if he was in a daze. He watched in slow motion as she looked up at him, the moonlight coming in through the window offering just enough light for him to see her. Their gazes locked for an endless moment. What happened then was likely a byproduct of too little sleep and having them both been on an emotional rollercoaster for the past weeks. Without a sane thought left in his mind, Bass bent at the neck and pressed his mouth to hers.

He was gentle and didn't press things further. In fact, he was about to pull back and apologize when Charlie suddenly slid her hand up to the back of his neck and moved her lips back against his. Instead of letting her go, He wrapped his other arm around her back and pulled her closer, his other still loosely wrapped around her wrist.

She sighed and he used that as the perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue skimming over her lips just before delving in. Charlie wrapped her arm around his neck and pressed herself to him, molding her body up against his. Bass finally released her hand, letting it fall to his chest as he ran his own down her ribcage to her waist.

It was then that it registered in his mind what she was wearing. In the rush to avoid discovery, he hadn't given it any notice before now. He'd gone from oblivious to hyperaware of the fact that she'd just worn a thin tank top and her panties to bed.

Something in him snapped. His hands roamed of their own volition and he was suddenly desperate to learn every curve of her body as quickly as he could. Charlie arched under him like a cat, allowing his exploration, the eagerness in her kiss giving him all the encouragement he needed. He boldly found the hem of her top and pulled it over her head.

Charlie tossed it aside and reached for him again. They'd just come back together when someone knocked on her door. They broke apart and just stared at one another. Charlie's chest was heaving, each breath coming in soft pants. Bass swallowed nervously, his own pulse racing and feeling like he'd just run the Boston Marathon.

The knocking continued and the spell between them was broken. With a jerk of her head, Charlie came back down to reality. "Yeah?"