Author's Note: I realized too late that I forgot to post an A/N with the last chapter; I would just like to thank you all again for all the wonderful reviews. They really mean a lot. Also, a big thank you to my beta, Lemon Supreme, for all her support and kindness, without which I'm not sure I would have made it this far. This chapter is a little shorter than originally intended; I have a lot going on right now and wanted to get something posted but will try to make up for it next time. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 8

Bass sat outside the door of the tankard keeping watch; they had decided to keep the door open, as none of them could really stomach the thought of being closed up in there again with the drying blood and lingering smells of sweat and cauterized skin.

Connor and Charlie were still laying inside- Gene didn't want to move them just yet and figured with the open door, they were getting some needed fresh air. Connor was holding his own and Charlie was responding well when awakened every few hours.

Bass checked his watch- almost 11:30. Damn, he thought. Where were Miles and Scanlon? It'd been four hours since they'd left; he hoped they hadn't run into any trouble. Bass moved slightly, his side aching from where he'd been grazed by the bullet- even the belt tied around his waist was starting to annoy him and he decided to take it off. As he sat there removing it and checking to see if he was still bleeding, Rachel came outside.

"Sure you should be doing that?" she asked.

"It's just a graze and this thing is bugging the hell out of me," he replied motioning to the belt.

She looked away and he knew that his wound was the last thing she cared about. He had to wonder if he were ever on his death bed or bleeding to death, would she lend a hand to help. He doubted it- she'd probably crack a smile for once in her life.

"I want to talk to you about Charlie," Rachel began.

Here it comes, he thought. "What about her? She's okay, right?" he asked, worry clouding his voice.

"Yea, she's okay…for now. She's sleeping."

He breathed a sigh of relief and waited for her to go on.

"This thing…between you and Charlie," she said, "I think it's taking too much out of her. I mean, she's been through so much recently with Jason and all…and now this seizure and fainting. I think trying to please you is asking too much and…"

He cut her off. "Trying to please me how? Charlotte doesn't have to do anything to please me," his voice starting to rise in anger. "I love her the way she is."

"Love?" she asked, incredulous. "You call this love? We all know you're incapable of loving anyone but yourself. I've held my tongue long enough…Charlie isn't capable of making rational decision's right now and you're just taking advantage of that. She shouldn't be spending her time worrying about you when she needs to worry about herself. I want you to back off!" Her own voice had risen and her hands were clenched into fists.

"Rachel," Gene said quietly from the doorway. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Not now, Dad, I'm busy," she said, annoyance clear in her voice.

"Yes, now," Gene insisted. "Your daughter is awake."

Both Rachel and Bass looked up and started to walk towards the door. Gene held up his hand to Rachel to say stop. "She wants to see Monroe…only Monroe," he said insistently, his gaze still on his daughter.

Rachel shook her head, irritation clear on her face. Bass climbed inside the tankard and handed his gun to Gene to keep watch while he was gone.

"Thanks Gene," Bass said as he passed.

Gene nodded and stepped out into the night air holding the gun. He stared at his daughter, a look of pure frustration on his face.

"I need to see Charlie," Rachel said, trying to move past Gene.

"No," Gene said definitively. "For once in your life you need to stand back and listen. Charlie isn't awake because I woke her; she's awake because she heard you. She heard you yelling at Monroe and she woke up upset asking for him. And she told me she did not want to see you. So for once in your life you're going to respect your daughter's wishes and leave her be. "

Rachel stared at her father pissed.

"You don't tell me what to do, dad, especially when it comes to my own daughter," Rachel chided.

"We're talking about my granddaughter who is currently also my patient so in this case, yes I am telling you what to do. She's lying in there upset…and she's upset because of you. Now this needs to stop!"

"But it's Monroe! You don't know him like I do," she said.

"I know I've certainly never been a fan of the guy but I know one thing; from everything I've seen this past day that guy would do anything for those two people in there. Anything. And you're out here accusing him of upsetting her but it's YOU that's upsetting her. If you won't listen to me as your father than as Charlie's doctor, I'm putting my foot down. Unless she asks for you, leave her be. I mean it, Rachel."

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Bass lay down on the floor next to Charlie. Without saying a word, she reached out and stroked his cheek with her thumb and then ran her fingers through his hair.

"Hey," he smiled at her.

"Hey," she said, smiling back.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips.

"Like my head might explode," she grimaced.

"I'm sorry, babe," his eyes conveying his concern.

"I heard my mom talking to you," she looked at him, "It's not true what she said. Being with you…it's not taking too much out of me. It's just the opposite, in fact," her blue eyes glistening by the light of the flashlight.

"Is it?" he asked, feeling a little unsure. "I mean, you remember no pressure, right?" Rachel's words had gotten to him a little.

She squeezed his hand. "Bass, don't let her mess with your head. Being with you gives me strength; it fuels me somehow. If anyone is draining me it's her; I thought she had accepted that you and I were together but I guess that was wishful thinking."

He nodded. "I love you, Charlotte."

"I love you too, Bass."

Bass leaned forward and instead of kissing her on the forehead, kissed her softly on the lips. He lingered there for a few seconds, neither of them wanting it to end.

He pulled back a little ways, "Ok, I promise to not let your mom get to me if you promise to get some more rest and do what the doctor tells you."

"Can't do much else," she said. "Bass, I feel like there's something my mom and grandpa aren't telling me; did something else happen to me besides just fainting?"

He hadn't lied to her thus far and didn't plan on starting now. "Yes, Charlotte. After you fainted you had a seizure."

Her eyes grew big and her grip on his hand grew tighter. He leaned in closer to her. "Your grandpa thinks it was because of how hard you hit your head, seeing as you've never had one before. He thinks you're going to be okay," he reassured her.

"Wow," was all she could manage.

"I know it's scary to think about," he breathed, "it was scary as hell to watch. Are you okay…should I not have told you?"

"Yea, I'm okay…its just weird- I don't remember anything," she said.

"Gene said that's not unusual even with the fainting, "he said, kissing her cheek.

"I'm glad you're here," she sighed. "Thank you for being honest with me- sometimes I think you're the only one who is. They treat me like I'm still a kid." She exhaled deeply. "Will you stay with me 'til I fall asleep?"

"Of course," he whispered, nuzzling her nose.

She smiled.

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Bass checked on Connor before exiting the tankard once again; he took the gun back from Gene who went back inside. Rachel stared him down, no longer trying to conceal her feelings of anger and hatred.

Well, I was wondering how long it would last, he thought, holding her gaze. "Something you want to say, Rachel? If so, do it quietly so you don't wake Charlotte again."

"She hated you once; she will again. She's confused right now…she doesn't know what she's doing. She'll realize soon enough that you are the last person she should have ever trusted and I'll be there to pick up the pieces when you break her heart," she seethed through clenched teeth.

"If anyone breaks her heart it'll be you by treating her like a child and not trusting her enough to make her own decisions. She just said as much in there. I love your daughter and she loves me, whether or not you want to believe that or not," he smiled at her.

"You sick bastard…" she began, her voice rising at the fact that he was so calm. She wanted him to be angry- she wanted him to lose it. That was the Monroe she knew.

"Am I interrupting something?" Miles asked. "You know if I'd been a Patriot you'd be dead already."

Bass turned around. "Where the hell have you been, man? I was starting to think the patriots had gotten to you."

"We've been foraging for supplies in case we can't leave here 'til morning," he answered. "We also found a new place to hideout—place used to be a convenience store at a gas station…seriously, what's going on here?"

"You're going to have to speak to Rachel on that one," Bass said calmly, "she's the one with the problem." He unloaded some of the supplies that Miles was carrying and took them over to the door and sat down; Scanlon followed suit.

Miles looked at Rachel who merely shook her head and came over to put her arms around him. "I missed you," was all she said.

"Rachel," Miles pulled away from her, "I thought we weren't going to butt in because Charlie seems so happy…"

"Charlie doesn't know what the hell she wants!" Rachel snapped.

Miles tilted his head, staring at her and releasing a sigh of annoyance. "Listen, I'm not going through this with you again, especially when I'm so tired…all I will say is you keep pushing it and you're going to lose Charlie…for good." He threw his hands in the air saying, "God, you don't know when to stop," as he walked away from her to go help sorting through the things they'd found.

Rachel simply stood where he left her wringing her hands again and again.

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They had managed to find quite a bit- the best of which were a small sewing kit which Gene could use to finish sewing up both Connor and Bass' wounds; a bottle of vodka, which was about a third full for sterilizing them first; and an old army cot that they could use to transport Connor on.

"The cot we found in the back of the convenience store; looks like the guy crashed there sometimes. Most of the other stuff we found in an abandoned house about a mile past the gas station."

"Can't we stay in the house?" Gene asked as he picked up the sewing kit and vodka.

"No," Miles replied, "a fire took half of it and most of the roof is gone. We did find a mattress there, though, which we carried back to the gas station. We figured Charlie could sleep on that for now; it might help a little with the pain she's in."

"When should we head on out?" Rachel asked.

"First light," Miles and Bass chimed together, both on the same train of thought. They each chuckled; Rachel shook her head, clearly annoyed.

"I see you two now have shirts…any for the rest of us?" Bass asked.

"Oh yea," Miles said absently, "got 'em here in my bag." He pulled out two shirts and handed one to Bass while setting aside the other one for Gene who was already inside with Connor.

"I could use some help in here," Gene called, "and Monroe, don't put on that shirt until I've had time to sew your wound- you're still bleeding."

Both Bass and Miles went inside to assist Gene with Connor while Scanlon took watch outside.

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They set out as the sky turned a slight pink before the sun had even hit the horizon. Bass and Scanlon carried Connor on the cot while Miles carried Charlie. Connor had withstood the stitches well, groaning slightly during the procedure, which had reassured them all that he was slowly coming around. Bass took two stitches in his waist and while he had said he could take turns carrying Charlie, Gene had advised against it, citing that carrying the cot would be less of a strain on his wound.

Carrying Charlie turned out to be much more of a struggle anyway as she was still very dizzy with every movement and began dry heaving once again. Miles stopped and set her down telling her to sip some water.

"If you're going to puke you might as well have something in your stomach; less painful that way."

She nodded and took a sip. "I'm sorry."

"Hey! What's a little puking among family?" he smiled down at her. "You ready to try this again?"

"Yea," she breathed, already tired. Her skin was pale and clammy. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he gently picked her up. "Ever feel like you've got an ocean in your head?" She stared at his neck hoping that keeping still and focusing her eyes somewhere would stop the swaying within her.

"Oh yea, plenty of times…after a night of whiskey," he smiled wishing he could will her dizziness and pain away.

After walking for almost three miles they finally arrived at their destination. Charlie's face was ghostly white from all the nausea and vomiting and when laid down upon the mattress did not move for fear of starting it all up again.

They put Connor in the back room where there was a storage locker and sink and had been where they'd found the cot to begin with. They opened a window to let in some air; he stirred a little but then went back to sleep.

Gene and Rachel went exploring outside to see if they could find any roots or herbs that would help ease pain or nausea.

Once Bass made sure Connor was settled and okay he went to check on Charlie. They had placed her mattress behind the checkout counter in the front of the store so she would have at least a little privacy and quiet. Bass kneeled down beside her and she appeared to be asleep. He studied her, concern clouding his face at how pale she was.

"I'm awake," she breathed, "it just feels better to keep my eyes closed right now."

"Charlotte," he said quietly, "you are so pale. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Water," she sighed.

He went and retrieved his canteen and gently held it to her lips. She sipped carefully.

"We found an apple tree," Bass said, "Do you think it would help to try and eat something?"

"No, I'll just throw up again. All I can stand is water."

He took her hand, "I'm so sorry you're going through this, babe. I know it must suck."

She smiled a little at this, "That it does."

"Can you stand a little company?" he asked, "I was up all night and could use a little shut eye myself. I don't want to make you nauseous though by climbing on the mattress."

"I'll take my chances," she said sweetly, sounding more like the Charlie he knew.

He took his boots off and slowly climbed onto the small mattress, spooning with her and draping his arm over hers. She took his hand and rubbed the back of it with her thumb.

"You're going to be okay," he told her, "it's just going to take some time. Be patient."

"I know," she sighed. "In case you haven't noticed patience isn't exactly my strong suit."

He chuckled, "Really…I hadn't noticed at all."

Smiling, they both lay there with their hands linked until their breathing became more even and they were fast asleep.

A/N: Please let me know what you think and thank you in advance for your reviews. All are appreciated.