I'm back! No one puts me in the corner. (Clearly, I'm absurdly corny). Seriously though, I cannot thank Romeokijai enough. Literally, without her there would be no chapter right now. So all of yall owe her too! Thank you for beta-ing my work and making me sound at least half way decent!

Enjoy, Lovelies!


Chapter 2 — Three Amigos

Bass had crashed on Miles's couch, after helping him consume an ungodly amount of whiskey, his usual room taken by a precocious five year old. He didn't mind; he could sleep anywhere after training at Parris Island. However, his training also taught him to be acutely in-tune with the area around him, which is why he awoke early Saturday morning to the pitter-patter of little feet on hardwood floors. He tried to ignore it, burrowing his face deeper into his pillow, hoping Charlie's curiosity was only leading her to explore Miles's home. He had no such luck.

"''Bastian… Bastian…" Charlie sing-song whispered, poking her finger against his bare shoulder. He resisted the urge to groan in annoyance, and instead turned his head to see the toe-headed pre-schooler smiling down at him.

"Hey, Lottie." His voice was rough with sleep, eyes heavy from too much drink. Charlie looked like a new kid, double the energy of the day before, basically bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was going to be a handful for the two marines, making terrorist and militant fighters look like cuddly puppies. "What are you doing up so early?"

She gave him a puzzled look, like he was the crazy one for wanting to still be asleep.

"I'm hungry." She murmured, unsure of what to do, her mom always had breakfast ready or cereal out. "And I already looked, and Uncle Miles doesn't have any food, 'cept pizza."

She seemed confused at her findings, surprised breakfast wasn't ready. Bass felt a bit bad they weren't more prepared. Miles and he rarely cooked, much less ate breakfast. They usually didn't wake up in time for it on the weekends, instead grabbing lunch together after returning from their respective one night stands. For a moment he considered telling her to eat pizza, but the image of his mother rolling over in her grave stopped him.

"Hmm… Well, that's a problem now isn't it? Why don't I go wake your grumpy uncle and we can go get breakfast somewhere. How does that sound?"

"Really?" She asked, shocked at the treat. Rachel rarely let them eat out, too nervous that certain foods would upset Danny's allergies.

"Yeah, go get dressed and I'll get Miles."

Charlie skipped off excitedly, her hair swishing behind her as she went. Bass let out a tortured moan, pulling himself up off the couch before he went back to sleep. With lazy movements he picked up his shirt from the night before, slipping it over his head before standing up. He let out a breath of relief as clothes shifted, jeans no longer awkwardly digging into places they shouldn't.

He followed the path Charlie had taken, down the hall and turning into Miles's room without a knock. His old friend shifted at the noise, but didn't move to get up. Bass narrowed his eyes, and shut the door behind him with a jerk, the noise loud enough to gain a disgruntled grunt from Miles.

"Wake up, dickface. Your kid's hungry and wants breakfast."

Miles rolled over at that, middle finger raised towards Bass. Miles's head was pounding, and he could still taste the whiskey on his tongue from the night before. He fumbled for a moment, blindly searching the side table for his phone. Once he caught hold of it he quickly looked at the time, letting out another groan. "7:30. It's 7:30… On a Saturday."

"Welcome to fatherhood, Daddy."

Miles grasped wildly for a pillow, chunking it at Bass, who deflected it easily, laughing at Miles's petulance. The man had never been a morning person, the total opposite of Bass, who, once he was moving, could take on the world.

"Let's go, up and at'em, Buddy." Bass encouraged, taking a bit of pity on his best friend. Miles made another undistinguishable noise as he pulled himself from bed, pausing at the edge and laying his head in his hands. The world was spinning. Five hours of sleep was not enough time to run the whiskey out of his system.

"You okay?" Bass asked, watching his friend with concern. Maybe he'd had more to drink than he'd initially thought; he'd lost count around midnight.

"Fine. Just give me a few minutes."

"I'll go watch the pipsqueak." Bass said, turning back to the door and opening it. He paused once it was open, the girl in question standing before him in an eclectic outfit that he was pretty sure covered every color of the rainbow.

"I'm ready!" She announced with a crooked smile, hair wild and her blue eyes shining with excitement. Bass looked her over, pretty sure Rachel would have a conniption if she saw her child at this moment.

"Let's go take a brush to that hair of yours while we wait on Uncle Miles."

Charlie shrugged. "Okayyyy, but only if you braid it like Katniss." She hated having her hair brushed, the knots always making the comb pull at her scalp. When her mother tried to do it she usually ran away, hiding until Rachel gave up. Or it became a crying battle to the end. Recently though she hadn't minded as much, as long as her hair was braided like Katniss. Charlie would suffer as long as she got to look like her idol.

Bass swallowed. He knew a thing or two about girls. After all, he'd grown up around his younger sisters, with all their hair products and makeup everywhere. He could handle girly things.

He didn't, however, have a clue how to braid hair.

"Uh, we'll have to see about that, Lottie." He answered awkwardly. There was no way in hell he was doing that, and the kid was just going to have to get over it.

When Miles found them twenty minutes later, freshly showered and feeling a hell of a lot better, Bass had eaten his own words. He sat perched on the couch with Charlie in between his legs. In his mouth he had bobby-pins and rubber-bands, his hands buried in Charlie's hair as he tried to follow the youtube video she had playing for him in her lap. The man had led top secret operative missions, yet he was befuddled on how to do a French braid.

"Hold still, Charlie." He growled through a full mouth, while she kept shifting in her seat, making his job that much harder.

"You're taking too long!" She complained, with an exasperated sigh. Her Mommy never took this long. "Owww!"

"I've almost got it. Just hold still."

Miles looked on with jealousy turning in his gut. He hated himself for it but couldn't deny it was there. Bass had always had charismatic appeal that Miles lacked; women flocked to him, fellow soldiers respected him without questions, but Miles never thought the man would be able to win over his own daughter. She was his kid, she was supposed to have an instant connection with him. Not his best friend. It hurt, and only strengthened his fears that he was unsuitable for fatherhood.

"You want to try, Uncle Miles?" Bass asked, catching the doubtful look on his friend's face. He knew Miles better than he knew himself, and he could see insecurity crawling over his features.

"No, I think you got it." Miles said, still too standoffish, uncomfortable to try. With his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched, he approached as Bass put the final twist in a hair tie.

"All Done!" Bass reached around, grabbing the iPad from the kid's lap before she could dump it on the floor in her haste, setting it on the couch next to him. Charlie turned towards him beaming, running her hands over the braid that fell across her shoulders, absolutely preening under the attention. "Thank you!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck with a tight squeeze. "I love it!"

Bass couldn't help but grin back, her happiness contagious. Maybe it would manage to rub off on her asshole of a father over the week. Bass picked her up, swinging her onto his hip. "Why don't we go get some food?" He tickled her tummy. "I know I heard a hungry monster in here earlier."

Charlie squealed, trying to squirm away from him, and turned towards her uncle. "Stop! Uncle Miles!"

Miles stepped in, scooping her out of Bass's arms before she tumbled to the floor. She wrapped around him like a vine, pressing her face into his neck.

"I gotcha, kid. He won't get you." He said, pressing a kiss to her head, a slight quirk to his lips.

Maybe he could do this.

Twenty minutes later they entered a restaurant in town. It was one of those chain restaurants with a kitschy name that went out of its way to seem better than it was, adding local art and memorabilia in an attempt to distance itself from its corporate owners. It wasn't their usual lunch spot, too bright and cheery for men who were usually nursing hangovers. The food was good though, at least for the price, and it was kid friendly if their memories served correctly. They'd stuck to avoiding it after Miles ended an unfortunate relationship with one of the waitresses a few months back. As they walked in Miles looked like he had just sucked a lemon, scowling over at his best friend.

"Stop giving me that look. She probably won't even be working today. Chill." Bass bit back, following Charlie as she slid into the nearest booth. Miles seemed unconvinced, and continued to frown at him with dark, brooding eyes.

"I'm gonna get pancakes." Charlie babbled, picking up the oversized menu and looking it over for pictures. When she found none she dropped it back down, then gave the puppy dog eyes to Bass, who'd slid in behind her."Where are the pancakes?"

Bass picked up his own menu and began reading off the options to her. Charlie listened attentively, taking her meal picking very seriously. Bass was almost finished when he felt Miles kick his shin underneath the table.

"What the…?" He snapped his head up, pausing as he followed his friend's line of sight.

So he was wrong.

"Oops." He let out, with a half-hearted shrug, finding this more amusing than he should.

"Oops. I'll oops you, you asshole."

"Bad word!" Charlie shouted at Miles, finger point and all.

Miles had the good sense to look abashed, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "Sorry, kid."

Bass was shaking with restrained laughter, watching his friend fluster under his daughter's stern gaze. She was definitely Rachel's with the way she scolded Miles. There could be no doubt about it. For a five year old she certainly had her annoyed face down pat.

"Mommy says only bad people use those words."

"Yeah, well… Sometimes when people are shocked or upset they say them too. Even if they aren't bad." Miles tried to placate her with a reasonable excuse. He should have known it wouldn't work on an inquisitive child like Charlie.

"Are you upset with 'Bastian?" Charlie asked, eyes crinkling and lips quivering.

"I, uh… Yes, I'm annoyed with him." Miles tried again to explain, flustered with how to make Charlie understand. He was totally inept with how to deal with this.

"Why?"

"Because, he…."

"Hello, Miles… Bass." A pretty waitress interrupted Miles's rambling, giving them both hard smiles that didn't quite reach her deep, almond eyes.

"Laura, Hi." Miles said, avoiding her cold glare, choosing instead to stare at Bass who was struggling to hide his grin. It was clear that if they were anywhere else, Miles would already thrown a punch at him.

"Laura, how are you?" Bass asked, laying on the charm thick, flashing her his dazzling blue eyes. She flushed under his stare. He'd liked Laura. She was quite cute, with a charming disposition - the opposite of his brooding friend in almost every way. They worked for a few months, until she wanted to get serious, and Miles, still hung up on Rachel, couldn't do it.

"Fine." She answered with a sad shrug, her gaze on Miles turning more rueful by the second.

"Uncle Miles, you never answered my question." Charlie said from across the booth, arms crossed, her eyes flickering between her uncle and the pretty brunette waitress.

"And who might this be?" Laura turned her attention to Charlie with a more genuine smile.

"This is my, niece, uh, Charlie."

"Charlie, its nice to meet you! Aren't you just the most adorable thing?"

Charlie's smile was nearly blinding, relishing the compliment, totally sidetracked from hounding her uncle for a better answer.

"What can I get you for breakfast?"

The pre-schooler looked over at the menu Bass held again, perusing the items as if she could actually read them. She was a big girl after all, and could order for herself. "I want pancakes with chocolate chips… Please."

"Anything else?" Laura asked jotting down the order.

"A glass of chocolate milk —"

"Let's try regular milk? Hey, Lottie? And a bowl of fruit." Bass cut her off, giving Miles a pointed look. Father of the year needed to step in anytime now. She pouted for a second, sticking out her lower lip as far as it would go, but Bass held strong.

"Okay." She sighed.

"And for you two? Miles?"

"The Grand Slam platter, with bacon and grits, and a cup of coffee." He answered, handing off his menu to Laura.

"And fruit." Charlie added with raised eyebrows and a tilt of her head.

"Yeah, and fruit." Miles corrected blandly; clearly his kid was as insistent as her mother.

"I'll have the same, with fruit." Bass slyly grinned at Charlie who returned his look. Miles rolled his eyes. The friendship these two had created in the past day was getting old, quick. He felt like the odd man out, a position he was not comfortable with.

"So what do you want to do today, kid?" Miles asked somewhat awkwardly, after Laura left with promises that their orders would be out shortly.

He usually only saw Charlie around Christmas, or on quick weekend trips while he was on leave. When they were together he'd take her riding in his Charger or out for ice cream. He'd never really had to entertain her for an extended period, and the task was daunting.

"Umm… Can we go swimming?"

"I think it's a little cold out for that now. Try again, kid."

It was true; autumn had reached the east coast early this year, bringing with it unseasonably cool temperatures. While they would probably be okay in the late afternoon sun, he didn't want to risk Charlie getting sick. He was smart enough to know better.

"Can we go to the park? I wanna show you how high I can get on the swingset! Daddy told me I touched the sky last time."

"Can't wait, kiddo." Miles replied, pushing a proud smile through his pain; her words were like a dagger, stabbing him with guilt. They were just another reminder of his betrayal and unworthiness. Ben never would have cuckhold him, he was a better man than that. A better father and a better example.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Charlie announced, looking to Bass, and urging him to move with her eyes. He listened, sliding from the seat, allowing her to get out.

"Uh, do you need help?" Miles swallowed, not positive of what to do in this type of situation.

Charlie turned around with her hand on her hip, looking at her uncle with an exasperated sigh. "Noooo." She she drew out, before turning on her heels and walking towards the black and white restroom sign.

"That's it. You and Rachel have managed to create the sassiest kid alive. There is no doubt that she is yours." Bass said, watching the blonde little ball of energy move through the restaurant. When he turned back to Miles the man looked haunted, brows furrowed and face pale.

"I need to call Ben."

Bass shook his head in confusion. "Excuse me? What?! No. Stupid move."

"I'm not cut out for this Bass, and Ben, he's her father. He deserves to know she's here. Charlie was right when she said I'm a bad person. Ben was always the better one of us, the one that deserves to be a father. Not me."

"Woah, Miles. Where is this coming from? I know this is all shock, but she's your kid. Your family. Don't let Rachel get in your head."

"She kept her from me for a reason, because I'm not father material." He threw his hands up in anger, whispering harshly. "I mean you've been better with my kid than I have."

"That's not fair. I had little sisters to take care of."

"It doesn't change the fact that I'm not prepared for this."

"Look, give it a few more days. If things don't get better, then call Ben."

Miles gave him a long hard look before flickering his gaze to his side, catching Charlie's approach. "Fine."

"Don't act pissy about it." Bass chewed out, angry at his best friend who couldn't see what was in front of him, and perhaps somewhat jealous of what he had. "You love her, be grateful you have her. I would give anything to have my family back, Miles, don't take it for granted because you're scared."

Miles looked down, the wrinkles between his brow deepening, ashamed at how selfish he'd been. "Bass…"

"Don't." He could hear the sadness catching in his brother's voice, tears on the verge of spilling over. Bass took a deep breath, pushing back the emotions. "Stop making excuses, and embrace the opportunity you have."

Miles looked up, just in time to see Bass wipe away a stray tear, and suddenly Miles felt like a fucking jerk. "You're right, Brother. I'm sorry."

Bass shook his head, letting out a laugh. He couldn't take the melodrama anymore. The past was the past, and they needed to move forward. "Damn, right I am. Don't you forget it."

"You said a bad word, 'Bastian."

Charlie looked up at him from the side of the booth, her stern little gaze deepening his laughter.

He picked her up, lifting her over the table, and depositing her into her seat with some playful tickles. "You're right. I did, little monster."

"I'm not a monster." She said petulantly, not finding his new nickname for her funny. " Uncle Miles, tell him I'm not a monster."

"I don't know…"

"I'm not!" She said, pounding her tiny fist against the laminated table.

"I think that's something a monster would say… What do you think, Bass?"

Charlie's face was turning red. "I'm not."

Bass took pity on her, pulling her into his side and placing a kiss atop her head. His hand reached down to tickle her tummy again, causing her to squirm with giggles. "Not even a cookie monster?"

"Cookies?" She perked up at the word, sending a questioning look to her uncle.

"Maybe after breakfast." He said, watching as a hungry grin broke out across his daughter's face. "But only if you eat all your fruit."

Her smile fell, face scrunching in resigned disgust.

He smirked, eyes catching Bass's approving look.

Maybe he was getting the hang of this father thing, after all.


So how do you think Miles is handling fatherhood? Let me know in a review! I'd love to hear all your thoughts!

XOXO