Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter—and special mention goes to BassCharlie for leaving me two reviews. JI greatly appreciate any and all feedback I receive. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 7

Miles stood on the dirt road looking out at what used to be the vast forest outside of Willoughby. He stared at the blackened wasteland that now remained and sighed. They couldn't have asked for a better night, weather wise, as it had poured consistently for hours. The ground was still wet now and the creek was higher and running at a more normal pace, clearing the ash and soot from its path along the way.

Miles knew he should feel thankful for this little bit of good news but he wasn't. He couldn't get the image of Bass and Charlie out of his head and the fact that they'd come so close to losing them. The thought drove him nuts and he balled his hands into fists; he still had yet to hear all the details but he was floored by the fact that it may have all been caused by Rachel. He would never have suspected her of being capable of such a thing; he knew her hate for Bass was consuming her—it had been what started the demise his own relationship with her—but this? How could she of put Charlie and the baby in such danger? There had to be more to it…had to.

"You're thinking of Rachel, aren't you?" Nora came up behind him.

They had only started working together three months before but she already knew him so well. It was one of the things he liked about her, the fact that she was able to read him so easily. It helped a great deal when they worked together.

"I know she was losing it over Bass and Charlie being together…but she never would've wanted Charlie in danger- never!" he said emphatically.

"Maybe something happened…something went wrong?" Nora suggested.

"I don't know…you'll be ready to go after lunch, right?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"Of course," she answered placing her hand upon his arm to try and calm him.

They heard a noise coming from down the road and mounted their horses to go investigate. As they rounded the bend the sight before them took them off guard.

"Shit," Miles muttered, "Flame…"

At Nora's confused expression he explained, "Charlie's horse…they haven't seen her since before the fire. Bass thinks Rachel took her."

The horse appeared frantic and was pawing the road- Miles realized she was standing in the road right at the former turn-off to where Bass and Charlie's house used to be. He got off his horse and slowly approached her calling her by name- he wasn't sure she would remember him but he didn't want to spook her. As he got closer he spoke to her in hushed tones.

"Flame," he soothed, "you made it back…good girl. Charlie and Bass have missed you." The horse eyed him warily.

As he got closer he took in her condition; she was a mess, her mane all matted and snarled with leaves and thorns. That was far from the worst of it though; he gently took hold of her reins and rubbed her nose as he took in the rest of her. Her legs had burns on them, one pretty severe; and there appeared to be bloody welts on her stomach and at the top of her front right leg.

Miles sighed heavily, "Charlie can't see her like this; Bass either for that matter. Go to town and get Gene- tell him to bring his medical kit as well as his horse grooming supplies. Hopefully, Bass and Charlie are still asleep but if not, try to get him alone- don't let them know its Flame. I'm going to try and walk her to the creek where the water's clean so she can drink; not sure I'll be able to- she doesn't want to move from this spot yet."

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When Gene arrived a little while later Miles had managed to coax Flame to the creek where she was drinking water greedily.

"Oh, dear God," Gene murmured as he looked her over.

"I've been wiping her down with the water," Miles said, "She's very hot; hasn't been brushed down in days…"

"I brought a bucket; we need to wash her down and clean her wounds before I start dressing them," Gene said. Flame knew Gene right away and nuzzled his face with her nose. "Hiya girl…good to see you again too."

They began washing her slowly, not wanting to scare her—but having seen Gene the horse began to relax a little and was so exhausted she did not put up a fight. They removed the reins from her mouth and began brushing her down. Her mane was such a mess and in such tight knots they would have to cut it; Nora started on that while Gene and Miles began taking care of her wounds. Gene put salve on the leg burns and Miles wrapped them; the welts were the worst of it. It looked like she'd been beaten.

"Rachel couldn't have done this…could she?" Miles asked.

"If you'd asked me that even a month ago I'd have said no," Gene sighed, "now…I just don't know."

One of the wounds had a deep cut which seemed to be infected. Gene cleaned it thoroughly and stitched it up, Flame tolerating it all fairly well.

When they were done Gene took her head in his hands and said, "How 'bout we get you home, girl? Charlie will be happy to know you're okay."

Okay was the extent of it- she still looked pretty beat up but was at least cleaned up now. Her poor mane was so short now that she was just a shell of her former self—no longer the beautiful mare that took your breath away.

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Bass woke up feeling like his head might explode…he gingerly touched the swelling mound on the side of his scalp and it showed no signs of going down. He reached for his glass of water on the night stand and winced with the effort- he took a sip and then gently rested his head back on the pillow.

He looked at Charlie- she was sleeping as if in a cocoon, all curled up and nestled beside him. He rested one hand in her hair feeling the softness and waves, loving the texture and thickness of it.

He lay there thinking about their life…about what they might do now, where they might live, what they would do. There certainly was no need to rush he decided. Charlie was nearly five months along now- she carried a small football in her belly. He would do whatever it took to protect them both- keeping them safe was his main priority. He knew Miles and Nora planned to go searching for Rachel- he wanted to go but knew he would only slow them down with his injuries. Charlie would never allow it anyway, not with how he was hurt; besides, she needed him here and he needed to be here…with her.

Neither of them wanted to be apart from the other at the moment for any length of time. After how close death had come to taking them they both realized they could lose the other at any moment and the thought terrified them. Of all their potential enemies who knew that it would be Rachel who nearly killed them both. Bass hated her for this, not for what she had tried to do to him but the fact that she had tried to hurt Charlie and their child—her own daughter! He was also sure she had Flame…

"Penny for your thoughts," Charlie smiled tiredly up at him.

"Hey beautiful," he said. "I was just thinking about you…us…what we'll do now." He didn't want to bring up Rachel now.

"Well, right now I'm perfectly happy to snuggle up with you in this bed all day long," she said. "Beyond that I have no clue…this bed is sooo comfortable," as she stretched her arms and legs out in front of her.

"Remember, Miles, Nora and the sheriff are coming for lunch to hear everything we know," he reminded her.

"Oh damn…must we?" She pouted at him and then leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. "I'd rather do more of this."

He winced in pain, "Me too…if my head weren't so damn swollen."

She gently touched the knot on his head, "Ouch, damn I know how that feels…Grandpa needs to bring you some more of that tea for the pain. I can go find him for you."

"Maybe in a minute," Bass said, "but first, just lie with me for a bit- I want to feel you with me."

She smiled, "You mean like this?" She got in next to him laying her arm across his chest, "And like this?" She draped her legs across his thighs, "And like this…" She laid her head on his shoulder and ever so gently kissed his neck.

"Exactly like that," he breathed, wanting her so badly but his head rebelled against him.

There was a gentle knock on the door and they both made sure they were covered before saying, "Come in."

It was Gene followed by Miles; Bass and Charlie sat up sensing something was wrong.

"What is it?" Charlie asked, worry present in her voice.

Miles spoke first, "We found Flame," waving his hands in the air at their scared expressions, "she's okay…she's here in the stable."

"I have to see her," Charlie said, climbing out of bed, not caring that she was in nothing but a flimsy t-shirt.

"Charlie, wait…" Gene said, going to her, "you just need to know some things first. Honey, listen…"

Charlie looked frightened. Miles came over and sat down on the bed patting the seat next to him for her to sit. Bass scooted over to sit next to her and put his arm around her waist.

"Just tell us, Miles," he said.

"She's hurt- nothing life threatening…but it will still be a bit of a shock to see her," he warned. "Her legs are burned, one pretty badly…and she's got some welts on her body- we're not sure from what. It looked like…like she'd been hit with something."

Charlie winced and Bass closed his eyes while tightening his hold around Charlie's waist.

"But thanks to the doc here," Miles motioned towards Gene, "she's been sewn up and her burns are wrapped and she's been given something for the pain. Whoever had her didn't brush her down at all while she was gone…her mane was in knots…and it had to be cut off. We just wanted to warn you before you see her." He squeezed Charlie's hand, "Hey, she's okay now and will only get better from here on out…okay? But it would help calm her to see you."

"Of course," Charlie wiped a tear from her eye and stood back up, "I'll be down in a minute. So…she…she was upset?"

"When I found her she was standing in the road by what used to be the trail to your house. She was frantic—I'm pretty sure she was trying to find both of you." Miles said.

Oh Flame, Charlie thought.

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In the stable Charlie and Bass approached Flame quietly. She smelled them before she saw them and let out a small neigh, like a cry. Charlie walked right up to her and looked at her. She looked her in the eye and then gently laid her head upon her long head.

"I'm so sorry, girl. You didn't deserve this…but you're home now, here with us and I promise to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again," Charlie whispered.

Bass inspected Flame's wounds and then came to where Charlie stood in front of her. "Hiya, girl- missed you," as he stroked her face and neck.

Flame noticeably relaxed seeing them both- Gene took in the scene from the door of the stable and said, "I think now she'll relax enough to sleep- something I don't think she's gotten much of the past two days. You two need to rest also."

They had a quick lunch and told Miles, Nora and the sheriff everything they knew, including Charlie finding Rachel in the woods spying on them the day of the fire. Miles and Nora headed out to search for her and the sheriff went to file a report, while Gene shepherded his two patients back upstairs.

"Bass, I can tell you're in pain just by looking at ya'…and Charlie, I'm willing to bet your blood pressure is still high which isn't good for the baby," he said. "I want you both to drink some of this tea to help you relax…and Bass, yours has something in it for the pain. I want you both to sleep all day if you can- I can bring dinner to you later," and noting the question on Charlie's face he added, "You can see Flame again later too…but rest for now. She is too."

After he left Charlie and Bass crawled into bed again, she in just a t-shirt and panties, he in just his underwear; they drank their tea and cuddled together silently, kissing each other before their much needed rest.

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Miles and Nora made camp that night about four miles north of Willoughby; they were fairly certain they had now found Rachel's trail and would find her the next day since she was now on foot.

They cooked a rabbit they had caught over their fire along with some corn from town. They sat across from each other eating in silence.

"Do you want to talk about it…her, I mean?" Nora asked.

"I don't know what to say…or what to think," Miles ran his hand through his hair, staring into the fire. "I mean I loved her…truly loved her. I thought she was it for me…but this? I just can't believe it…" he trailed off.

"I'm sure she loved you too," Nora said, "But something happened to her- something wasn't right about her…the way she was stalking Charlie and became obsessed about the baby…"

"That's one of the things that bothers me the most- why would she try to kill Charlie if she couldn't wait to see that baby?" Miles asked, incredulous. "I don't get it."

"Maybe it was the fight she and Charlie had in the woods…maybe she thought if she was going to be cut off from them then what was the point of trying to keep Charlie 'safe'—safe in Rachel's mind anyway," Nora offered.

"I don't know…one thing's for sure, when we find her I have a helluva lot of questions for her," Miles said.

"I'm sure everybody does," Nora agreed. "Come on, let's get some sleep." She started to open up her bed roll.

He looked at her a moment and said, "Now why on earth would you want to sleep all the way over there?"

She looked at him, a crooked smile on her face. "I just thought…well, you've got a lot to think about."

"I'm done thinking for tonight," Miles proclaimed. "I want some 'you' time if that's all right."

"Sure," she said, a grin widening across her face. She walked over to him and he took her hand, leading her to sit down upon his bedroll. They used hers to cover themselves and lay down, staring each other in the eye.

"I thought Rachel was it for me…but I was wrong. She's part of my past—you are my present," he grinned, leaning in to kiss her softly on the lips.

"I must admit I do like the sound of that," Nora said as she kissed him back, the passion growing between them.

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The next morning Charlie woke up early with one goal in mind- seeing her horse. Bass was still sound asleep so she got up quietly and got dressed and gently shut the door behind her as she went downstairs.

Gene was sitting at the kitchen table when she entered the kitchen. "I had a feeling you'd be up early," he said.

"I just want to see her," Charlie said.

"Why don't you take her for a walk?" Gene suggested. "She'd probably like that…you too, I'm guessing. I don't suggest riding her until her wounds are more healed but she'll still need regular exercise."

Charlie smiled, "Okay…maybe we can have breakfast when I get back?"

"Sounds like a plan- I've got some house calls to make today so after breakfast you and Bass will have the place to yourselves," he said.

"Okay. Be back soon," Charlie walked out the back door.

She went to the stable and greeted Flame with a smile and hello. She wrapped her arms around her long neck and hugged her gently for a moment. "Aww, girl…I'm so happy you're back. I missed you," she sighed. Flame nuzzled her face against Charlie's neck.

They took a nice long walk through the streets of Willoughby and watched as the town began to wake up. Since the patriots had been run out of town it was finally coming back into its own—stores were opening back up, people were comfortable and friendly once again and there was just a general vibe of happiness to be alive and have things back to normal once again. Some families who had lost children to the Patriot re-education program had moved away, the town now holding bad memories for them. Others stayed wanting to raise their younger children in the town that they still loved.

Bands were even playing once again in Marion's bar three or four nights a week. There were two local bands, one comprised of two brothers who sang and played guitar; another group of four friends who sang covers of old songs. Charlie and Bass had yet to make it there for one of these shows, time having gotten away from them recently. They had hoped once Charlie's morning sickness had passed that they could start doing more fun things but had never expected what would befall them with regards to Rachel.

Mom, Charlie thought. She quickly told herself no, I don't want to think about her right now- this time is for me and my horse. Flame finally seemed relaxed which made Charlie smile…maybe I can start to relax a bit too, she thought.

On the way back to Gene's house Charlie passed a corral that had been built for the Patriot's horses when they weren't being used; she stopped and looked at it thinking. She thought it might be a good place for Flame to get more exercise each day and decided the next time she saw the sheriff she would ask him about it. Maybe Flame and Cola could play there- they were both young mares still and if Flame saw Cola being playful it might help to lift her spirits once again. She walked back on home to Gene's liking the idea the more she thought about it.

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Miles and Nora found Rachel's camp late afternoon that day. When they came upon her they found her sleeping in a cave. Miles thought of making a dig at her by commenting that he thought only coward's like al-Qaeda hid in caves but then thought better of it. Nora stood at the mouth of the cave as he went inside.

"Time to wake up, Rachel," he lightly kicked her boot. She started and jumped but relaxed just a little when she saw it was him. She sat in silence.

"You got yourself a little turned around here, didn't ya'? You're headed back toward Willoughby…or are you goin' back to finish what you started?" The bitterness and anger in his voice startled her.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, Miles…you've always had a blind spot where Bass is concerned. That's your problem—you always think he'll change. He got you to fall for it again but this time…he got my daughter to fall for his act as well. I couldn't convince her to see what he really is so I did what needed to be done," Rachel said simply.

Miles stared at her incredulous, "And what about Charlie? Why did she have to pay for it too?"

"Charlie will eventually come to understand…she'll remember everything he's done to our family and it will help her to realize that I was justified in what I did…and that I did it for her and the baby," Rachel said. "I hope that in time she'll forgive me and allow me back into her life…deep down she knows how much I love her and little Da…and the baby."

"Rachel…the baby is not Danny- it's never going to be Danny, no matter how much you want him or her to be," Miles said, struggling to remain calm. He now realized just how much Charlie and Bass had been dealing with. He wondered what had happened to the woman he had once loved so much.

He stood there also realizing something else…Rachel assumed Bass was dead; but more importantly, she also assumed Charlie had been safe…the entire time. Why?

Rachel sat in silence not wanting to argue about it any longer. If he was here to take her in, she thought, then let's just get it over with.

"Who is that?" she asked after a while, motioning towards Nora.

"That's Nora Castillo, my partner," Miles answered.

"She's more than just your partner, isn't she?" Rachel queried.

Miles had never played games with Rachel before and he wasn't about to start now. "Yes…she is," he replied.

"You moved on quickly," Rachel said sweetly, not a hint of malice in her voice although he knew it was there.

"Rachel," he sighed, "when you and I were together and things were good they were really good. But when things were bad they were really bad. I loved you so much…and I know you loved me too. But you know what you loved even more than me…more than Charlie?"

She looked at him, confused.

"What you loved more than either of us was your hate for Bass. Hating him became your passion—and when others didn't share it you turned on them…us. You claim you love Charlie but yet you tried to take away what she holds most dear…the man she loves."

She paled for a moment. "Tried?"

"Yes, Rachel…tried. Bass is alive," he let this sink in. All the color drained from her face.

"But…but how?" she asked, feeling sick.

"Charlie…Charlie saved him. They both barely made it out of there because of you but they're okay," he swallowed.

"Charlie…" she said confused, "but how? Charlie shouldn't have been there…why?"

"Where exactly did you think Charlie would be if not at her house with her husband?" he asked drawing his hand along the sides of his mouth into a downwards V.

"She…she….was supposed to be in town…dad said…oh my God," she said shocked. She suddenly leaned over and threw up.

Miles exhaled deeply. At least that mystery was now solved. "Your father said she was staying in town?" he asked.

"Yes…I overheard him tell Marion. Bass and Charlie had a fight—he didn't want her and the baby in the house just yet…I heard it…Charlie was so angry at him…she was supposed to be in town…at your house," she said, wringing her hands again and again.

Miles bent down to look at her, "Well, things must've changed because Charlie was at the house that night with Bass. It was a bit of a miracle that she even woke up in time. She's all right, Rachel," he added hoping to calm her. Even after everything that had happened he would always care about her.

"Oh dear God, what have I done?" Rachel said as she began to cry. Miles sighed and sat down beside her putting his arm around her as she sobbed.

After a long while he said quietly, "You need help, Rachel. There's a guy in Austin—was a psychologist before the blackout. He's been working with PTSD soldier's trying to help them. He's also trying experiments with some of the kids who were in the reeducation camps- seeing if there's a way to help de-program them. It's a long shot but who knows…maybe he can try and help you."

"I didn't realize hating someone for actual crimes they committed was a mental disorder," she said in a biting tongue.

Miles shook his head in disgust and stood up. "All right, let's go. I've tried to help you here but it's obvious you don't want my help or anyone else's. But let me tell you something…if you don't at least try to work with this guy on some level…you'll be in jail or you'll be exiled…or hanged. It's up to you."

She tried to speak but he held up his hands in protest, "Nope, I'm done here. Nora, get the rope."

They tied her hands behind her back and put her on a horse with Miles and started their trek on back to Willoughby.

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Charlie and Bass were sitting on the porch swing that night with their arms around each other when they heard the main gates to town opening. Both of them had a feeling as to who it was and walked to the edge of the street. Apparently, Gene had the same feeling and came to stand beside them.

As Miles rode by he nodded towards Bass who nodded back. Charlie, however, only stared at her mother. A mixture of great sadness, anger and a million questions crossed her face as she looked at the woman who had nearly cost her and her husband and their child their lives.

Rachel looked back at her, a shadow of great sorrow clearly marking her features. In that moment Rachel felt deep down into the core of her being that she had lost her daughter forever.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review if you have a moment. I love getting them and they really do help! J