Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews of the last chapter. Many of you were surprised by the return or should I say, 'reincarnation' of Nora. She was always a favorite character of mine and I always thought she and Miles had much more chemistry together than he and Rachel did. As you know from 'Last Light' I do like to change things up a bit. I haven't included Aaron or the nano in either story and to be honest, there were many things about 'Revolution' I would've done differently and so I get to do them here. Que' sera sera. I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Chapter 6

Charlie ran the tips of her fingers through Bass' curls as he slept, marveling at the softness and feel of them. She gently pulled them out watching as they went straight for a moment only to spring back into the curly tendril's she loved upon her release.

The morning sun was high in the sky and the temperature was climbing; if they couldn't find a way out soon or no one came for them they'd have to go in the pool again below- only now it was filled with ashes and soot from the dying fire. Charlie sat there dreaming about rain fall when Bass woke up.

"Hey," he smiled up at her.

"Hey yourself," she said, unable to contain the happiness she felt at seeing him awake. "How do you feel?"

"Like my head is in a vise…but other than that, great. Just seeing you smile makes it a hundred times better," he said.

She kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them down upon his lips- they were dry and chapped as were her own.

"I forgot to bring canteens," she lamented.

"You probably never thought we'd be out here this long. I probably wouldn't have either," he sighed.

She looked at their attire; she had only a t-shirt and her shoes on- he had pants but no shirt. They would both be fried up here if they stayed too much longer.

"I think we may have to go back down to our rock," she said plaintively, "or we're going to dry out like prune's."

He moved to sit up but laid back down as his world began to spin.

"We don't have to go right this second," she said. "Give yourself time to wake up and we'll go as slow as we need to." She took hold of his hand and squeezed.

They both were silent as they stared out at the barren wasteland in front of them.

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The search party was having its own set of problems- Miles, upon realizing the group was grossly unprepared for what lay ahead, sent two people back to town to gather axes and buckets for each of them. There were going to be downed trees everywhere they turned, some of which he was sure, would still be on fire. They would have to put the fires out with the buckets and try and chop some of them apart to make it through.

He didn't like this—didn't like it one bit; he knew the odds weren't good for them to have made it out okay, meaning they were either trapped somewhere or…he didn't want to even consider 'or'. With Charlie being pregnant he was very worried about her safety. The increasing sun would be adding to their problems; if they'd had fresh water they had to be running low or be out of it by now and the creek water was filled with thick gray and black soot- so thick the water was barely moving down stream. What they needed was rain; but this being Texas he didn't think they would get it.

Once the extra supplies were brought back from town they set off down the creek for what would be a very long, arduous journey.

God he hoped they were all right—they had to be all right.

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Charlie and Bass made it slowly down the incline to the side of the pool; they found a spot that was in shade and decided to stay there until the sun caught up with them and forced them back into the alcove. To get to the rock they had been on before they'd have to get in the water which was now so thick with soot they wanted to try and hold off for as long as they could.

Bass wanted to try sitting up for a while and leaned back against the rock, his head resting on Charlie's shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. They both already had sunburns.

"When I get out of here I want to sit in a bathtub until my skin prunes," Charlie said dreamily.

"When I get out of here I want to sleep for two days," Bass said, "after drinking about a gallon of water."

"Two days of sleep? You're too antsy to sleep that long- you've always gotta be moving," Charlie mused.

"You're right," he admitted, "okay one day then."

"I'm going to hold you to that," she smiled.

"All right," he agreed, "but only if you're there with me."

"Deal," she said.

"Hey…we never finished discussing names for this kid we're having," he said with a smirk, "any more thoughts?"

"Actually, yes…I have given it some thought. I was thinking about all those nights I stayed up late with you at camp- when I couldn't sleep- and you would tell me all those stories to distract me? I loved the ones about you and Miles but also the ones about your grandfather when he was a boy."

Bass smiled remembering it all well.

"So," she smiled at him, "I was thinking that if it's a boy…and this is just an idea…we could name him after your grandfather…Jackson- Jack, for short. What do you think?"

He smiled, very honored that she had thought so much about this and had enjoyed his stories as much as he had when he heard them as a young boy. "I love it," he breathed, "and I love you." He turned his head to look up at her and kissed her on the lips.

"I love you too, baby," she breathed, kissing him back.

As they pulled away from the kiss he asked, "And what if it's a girl?"

"The girl I'm still unsure of…I was thinking maybe Mia or Ava- do you like either of those?" she asked.

"I do, I like both," he smiled. "They both sound great with the 'Monroe' moniker."

She nodded, thinking the same thing.

They sat there together, hands intertwined, thinking about the little one who would be entering their lives before they knew it.

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Miles was growing impatient. This was taking far too long, he thought. The deeper they climbed into the former forest the more trees they found still on fire in the creek bed. The ground was still far too hot for them to cross; they had to take the route of the creek. Each time they threw buckets of water on a tree to put the fire out they were enveloped in clouds of smoke- even with their bandanna's everyone was coughing and all of them had red, burning eyes.

If Miles had his way he and Nora would do this on their own and send everyone else back to town; he felt it would be a lot quicker as they both knew what needed to be done. Two of the helpers ended up going back having been overcome with smoke inhalation. Miles tried to send Gene back with them but it was no use. The old guy wouldn't budge.

"I'm not going anywhere, Miles, until my granddaughter and Bass are found so just don't even try it," Gene argued.

"Okay, okay," Miles gave in knowing it was pointless to even try.

"Damn it, if I'd just kept a better eye on Rachel maybe none of this would've happened," Gene said, angry with himself.

"Rachel...you mean?" Miles questioned.

"That's exactly what I mean, Miles. You haven't been here…but my daughter's gone off the rails. She needs help and I waited too long to acknowledge it. I just didn't want to see it. Damn it, if anything happens to Charlie or Bass, I'll never forgive myself," he said, the pain and guilt he felt obvious in his voice.

My God, Miles thought, was Rachel really capable of this? He knew how much she wanted Charlie away from Bass but…to threaten the life of Charlie and her unborn child? Would she go that far?

Miles was getting more upset and anxious by the minute.

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Charlie woke up, her back aching and desperately wanting some water. Her throat was so dry it felt like sand was dripping down the back of it. She and Bass had both fallen asleep after discussing baby names.

She looked at him now sleeping beside her, his head resting on her shoulder. Images of the night before flashed before her; what if she hadn't been there; what if she hadn't woken up? What if she'd lost him? Tears brimmed around her eyes as she thought of how real a possibility that had almost been. She suddenly wrapped both her arms around him, holding him tight, needing the feel of him…to see him there, breathing. A shiver ran down her spine thinking about what her mother had nearly accomplished.

Bass woke up and saw the look on Charlie's face, the tears streaming from her eyes; he knew instinctively what images were floating around her head and he quickly took her in his arms.

"Hey," he breathed into her hair. "It's okay…we're okay. Please don't cry, baby. I know how scary this all is to think about but you and I- we're fighters. We've both had our lives on the line so many times and we always manage to make it through- we find a way to survive. Let's not focus on what might have happened—it didn't. Let's focus on the fact we're okay, we're alive and we're going to get out of this and take care of this baby." He placed his hand on her womb and she placed hers on top of his; she smiled as more tears fell.

She was about to speak when she noticed a tear on his face; she kissed it away when another one appeared. As one landed on her it suddenly dawned on her…they weren't tears at all but rather raindrops!

They both gazed up at the dark clouds above them as more and more drops began to rain down upon them. Charlie shrieked in joy and Bass began to laugh. They raised their arms in the air to the oncoming deluge and let the warm water fall upon them. They both opened their mouths, hungrily trying to drink some of the heavy drops that fell, while also cupping their hands out in front of them and drinking greedily only to start the process over again.

Charlie would later think back on this moment and remember it as one of the best of her life; in that moment she felt renewed in every way possible; renewed in hope, renewed in spirit and taking a look at Bass beside her and the excitement on his face-so deeply in love.

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Miles and Gene were at the head of the pack when the rain began to fall. At first, they weren't sure if they were seeing it clearly—rain fall? It couldn't be…they couldn't possibly be that lucky…to have rainfall on the one day they needed it the most? But it was.

The whistles and cheers from the group rose into the air almost like a song, the elation plain on their faces. There were hugs, pats on the back and just a sense of renewed hope- that their mission was not in vain; they would succeed.

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Charlie touched Bass' shoulder, looking in the direction of where the sound had come from; she was almost positive she'd heard whistling.

"Did you hear that," she whispered in case it came again.

"Yea, I think so," he replied quietly.

They both listened. Silence. They looked at each other feeling discouraged.

"Maybe we should whistle?" Bass suggested.

"Can you? My throat is so dry but let's try it," she said.

"Yea," he agreed, "on three…one…two…three!"

They both whistled as loud as they could and then sat back and waited.

It took a moment but when it came it was like heaven to their ears. A loud, shrill whistle so distinct that they knew it could only be coming from one man: Miles! They both sat back, ecstatic, and held each other for a long time; it was over, this nightmare was nearly over. They whistled back again and this time, in response they heard shouts and cheers, although they couldn't make out what anyone was saying. That didn't much matter, though- help was on the way. The people they loved were coming for them and it wouldn't be long before they were out of all this.

The onslaught of rain was putting out the remaining fires and a fine sizzling could be heard all around. The water in the creek started moving again as fresh mixed with dirty and pushed it along downstream.

Bass took Charlie's face in his hands and looked at her clear blue eyes; he pulled her to him and kissed her on the mouth, hungrily, the rain pouring down around them. The level of love he felt for her knew no bounds; he could not comprehend what he would do without her. They pulled back, sitting with their foreheads touching, trying to absorb the fact that they would be okay; because deep down they'd both been scared at times during their ordeal that they wouldn't make it. Neither had admitted it to the other but they both knew…they wouldn't have lasted another night out here without water and little protection from the smoke and sun.

In that moment they were just grateful to be alive.

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Miles couldn't wipe the grin off his face even if he'd wanted to. Since hearing Bass and Charlie's response everyone in their group was ecstatic, he and Gene especially. The deluge of rain was making their trek easier, no longer needing the buckets or axes as the trees were getting soaked enough that they could just climb over them.

Everyone had a second wind and renewed energy and spirit and they made their way towards the pool quickly.

As he made his way around to the pool and stopped to take in the scene, a shit-eating grin took over his face.

"Aww hell," he smirked,"come all this way to save you two and this is what we gotta walk in on…figures."

Bass and Charlie were kissing like there was no tomorrow, their hands all over each other. They finally pulled away from each other upon hearing Miles' voice, huge smiles on both their faces; but Miles had to wonder if they'd gotten there five minutes later would it have been a much more intimate scene? Bass' hand was already inside Charlie's shirt which he now removed feeling only slightly embarrassed.

"It's about time you got here, brother," Bass smiled happily.

"Yea?" Miles asked, "From the looks of it I'm not sure you would've minded if I'd shown up a little bit later."

Charlie laughed but then turned serious, "Bass needs help- he's got a gash on his forehead and I'm pretty sure he's got a concussion…and we both need water!" Both of them proceeded to cup their hands again and take gulps of water.

"Can you make your way over to us or do you need help?" Gene asked concerned.

"I'm fine, Grandpa, but Bass keeps getting dizzy so I don't know…" she trailed off.

"Well, he looked fine just a minute ago," Miles laughed. "I say he's faking."

"Dick!"

"Asshole!"

"Okay, okay, enough bitching," Gene said good naturedly, "Let's get you out of here!"

Charlie was already in the water, her clothes and skin temporarily turning black; she gave a hand to Bass who followed her in and together they made their way across.

There were hugs all around and sighs of relief on both sides. Charlie was now in a soaking wet, nearly see-through t-shirt but didn't much care at this point. As she put her arms around Miles she held on tight and her voice broke as she said, "It is so good to see you; I have missed you so much."

Miles hugged her just as tightly not wanting to let go, "I've missed you too, kid." They pulled back and Bass stood there, his eyes glistening, as he reached forward and took Miles in a deep bear hug.

"Man it's good to see you," Bass said.

"You too, man," Miles smiled. "Let's get you guy's outta here."

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That night as Charlie and Bass lay snuggled together in bed in Gene's guest room, they finally were able to relax. Since being back they'd had IV bags inserted to rehydrate them, stitches to the gash on Bass' forehead, baths, examinations and questions galore…and were truly exhausted.

"Okay," Charlie yawned, her face snuggled against Bass' neck, "You said earlier today that you'd stay in bed for a day when we got out of this- I'm holding you to it, remember?"

He held her close and kissed her forehead and said, "Baby, I may not move for the next week as long as I'm in this bed and you're in it with me!"

She laughed sleepily and ran her fingers across his bare chest. "It's a deal!"

Bass' hand was resting on her womb and she placed hers over his. "Little one in there, you like that idea? Staying in bed for the next week? We made it, baby, mommy, daddy and you…we will always fight for you," she said sweetly.

Bass smiled, "I like the sound of that…mommy and daddy; we're really going to be a mommy and daddy…wow."

"You're already a great dad to Connor; you're going to be a great dad to our baby," she said, squeezing his hand.

He took her hand to his lips and kissed it, "And you're going to be an amazing mom."

"I hope so."

"I know so."

They both fell into the deepest sleep they could remember, holding each other all night long.

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That night a thunderstorm rolled in along with the rain…and eight miles north of Willoughby, a horse was spooked by the lightning and broke free from the tree it was tied to in the hills.

A/N: As always reviews are most welcome and encouraged—they really help keep me going!