A/N So originally I wasn't going to add anything to this but the wonderful people who reviewed asked for more and I was so excited I sat down to write this right away, and all of this just flew out of my brain. So now what was supposed to be a one-shot has now turned into like five chapters in my head. So I hope you guys want more. Let me know what you think! :-)

By the time they were almost ready to make camp for the night Charlie was in a much better mood. Having the entire day without Conner constantly by her side had done wonders for her sanity. Souting ahead with Monroe all day had started to bother her in an entirely different way though.

His silence was a welcome change at first. It gave her a chance to get her thoughts in order, and gave her tired ears a break. But after nearly ten miles of nothing but eye contact and tilts of the head for communication, she was starting to get bored.

So to occupy herself she started watching him. Well that was a dumb idea, Charlie. It wasn't like she had never watched him before. Their first trip from Vegas to Willoughby, she had done nothing else. But that had been different, she had been trying to figure out what his game was and didn't trust that he wouldn't kill her in her sleep.

But since their little chat by the stream this morning, it was hard not to look at him without feeling differently about their uneasy friendship. And denying her physical attraction to him would be pointless. The way he moved with cocky confidence and grace at the same time. The way his eyes scanned everything around them, from the old, rusted out cars on the road that, could hide a possible threat, to the day old squirrel tracks leading into the woods. But the worst thing was the way he never seemed to be far away. Even when they stopped for bathroom breaks he gave her the bare minimum space required for privacy.

And it was driving her nuts, his constant proximity had her itching to slap him. Or throw him down and tear his clothes off. Either way. Or both. She laughed to herself, forgetting he was there for a moment, and he looked at her, a questioning look in his eyes. She just shook her head and averted her gaze, hoping that it would be enough to make him drop it. The last thing she needed was him figuring out that she wanted to tear his clothes off.

He seemed to buy it though because he just went back to his scanning of the area and threat assessments. She let him get a few steps ahead of her and breathed a silent sigh of relief. Come on Charlie, get it together. Just because you think he almost kissed you doesn't mean he has any kind of feelings for you. It's probably just been a while since he got laid.

This whole thing was going to slowly drive her insane if she wasn't careful. She threw her head back and closed her eyes, soaking up the sun, trying to clear her head.

"Are you alright?" Monroe had stopped right in front of her and she would have run straight into him if he hadn't said anything. The searching look in his eyes gave her butterflies in her stomach.

"Yeah I'm fine." But she knew he wasn't buying it. "I'm just bored that's all." That must have been a satisfactory answer because he nodded and started walking again. But she knew that he suspected something, so she tried to cover it up.

"How long do you think it'll take us to get to Idaho?" Not that she really cared, they just needed a change of subject, and Charlie could really use a break from her thoughts.

"At this pace? I'd say eight, maybe nine weeks. It really depends on how the weather holds up though. We're just heading into spring, if it rains too much it could slow us down."

"I hope the rain holds off. I don't relish the idea of being cooped up in a house with the star-crossed lovers and Monroe the sequel." The image of Miles, Rachel, Charlie, Conner, and himself stuck in a small house all day made him chuckle.

"No, I don't want to spend all day watching them fawn all over each other either." The way he said it made her feel like he had other ideas on how to spend a rainy day, and she wanted to know what he had in mind.

"I guess we could always play cards," not that she really wanted to do that, "Aaron says I'm great at spades." Yeah right, you suck at spades. And Aaron knows it.

Monroe laughed, "I hate card games. I only ever played because Miles wanted too." He went quiet and she was worried that that meant he was done talking.

She hesitated for a second before breaking the silence, maybe baiting Monroe isn't such a good idea. Since when does that stop you? "So what do you want to do then?" It was a simple, innocent question (sort of) and yet he seemed lost for words. He stood there studying her for what felt like forever before stepping towards her.

She looked into his eyes and for the first time ever she saw a raw hunger there that caught her off guard and sent warmth all throughout her body. But just as soon as she saw it, it disappeared behind a mask of indifference. "I'll probably just catch up on some sleep. It's a long journey, we all need to stay rested." He shrugged his shoulders and turned around to continue on down the road.

Suddenly, anger flooded her veins. This hot and cold thing was getting old, and the stubborn Matheson in her was not about to let him get away with it. "Is that all you really want to do?" She stalked towards him and put her face right in his. "Or did you have something else in mind?" Her voice was low and seductive, her eyes boring into his.

He took half a step back and she had to hide her disappointment. "What else could we do Charlotte?" She had obviously pushed some sort of button because this morning he had come to her, and now he was pushing her away. Guess I'll have to be the brave one then.

She stepped closer again so their noses where almost touching, their lips only an inch apart so she could whisper against his lips. " I can think of plenty of things we could do together."

The emotions were running quickly across his face. Hope, fear, hunger, lust. But the last one that crossed his face was sadness, before he managed to shut it all down. He was avoiding her eyes but made no attempt to move.

"What are you doing Charlotte?" His words fell across her lips like a breath.

"I'm showing you what I can do," the whisper caused his eyes to widen a tiny bit and she figured that was probably the best she was going to get. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against his gently. They were dry and cracked, but firm and warm. She felt his lips move to start to kiss her back, when he pulled away.

"Charlie... I'm sorry." He looked torn. Then his face suddenly became perfectly blank. He could be the happiest man on the planet, and no one would be able to tell.

"Oh," that certainly wasn't what she was expecting. Men don't usually apologize after you kiss them. "What do you mean, sorry for what?"

She still couldn't read his expression, but as she watched him, he seemed to make a decision and took another step back. "Your important Charlie. Your important to Miles, to Rachel, your grandpa. Your important to me." She felt something like hope in her chest and moved to be closer to him, but he stepped back again.

Now she was confused. "You just said-" but he cut her off.

"Yes, your so important to me that I let myself get comfortable with you, and I made you think that there was something more here," he gestured between them. "But," he took a long, deep breath, "there isn't. And that's why I'm sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you." His face didn't seem to be working right. This wasn't the guy who saved her from rapists in a cruddy bar, or the guy who came back for her in that school. This wasn't the man she had come to consider a friend. This was General Monroe talking. And she wanted her friend back.

He turned to walk away from her again, this time his movements were no longer graceful and filled with purpose. They looked hard and forced. Charlie could feel the hurt and embarrassment building up in her. She had just laid it all out there and he shut her down because she was too 'important to him.' Then why is he pushing me away?

Now she was more confused then ever. And her anger was ready to burst. "Oh, of course. That's my mistake General." Her voice was soft but the words were sharp. "I just thought after I told you the truth this morning, you would do the same for me. But I guess that would take real courage, wouldn't it?" She stalked off past him, trying to mask her hurt.

She made it about ten feet, and was passing a rusty, old pick-up when he grabbed her upper arm and slammed her into the door. His body flush up against hers and his face inches away. This time her heart was beating fast, but not in a good way.

His eyes were slits, their steely blue barley visible. His lips twisted in a snarl. "Courage? You wanna talk about courage? How about saving your ass from the patriots a thousand times? How about saving Miles and your grandpa and your fat, little friend?" He was yelling, he was so angry.

"How about me staying away from someone I truly care about to keep her safe?" His voice had lowered, and instead of being angry he looked like a man who had been beaten down again, and again. When the reality of his words sunk in she finally found her voice.

"I don't need anyone to protect me." The words came out a little hoarse because he was still holding her firmly against the truck. His hands pinning her arms to the cool metal.

He seemed to consider these words before nodding. "I know that Charlotte, but I can't take any chances." His eyes seemed to soften slightly and he released his hold on her, though she was still crushed between him and the truck. "People around me get hurt. You can't be one of them." He stepped away because he must have thought the conversation was over, but with the General seemingly back in his cage, Charlie regained her confidence.

"Your forgetting one very important thing." She waited for him to acknowledge her words. "I'm a Matheson, and it turns out we can't seem to get rid of you, and you can't seem to stay away." He nodded his head reluctantly in agreement. "So the way I see it, your stuck with me, whether you like it or not."

He just looked at her, a sad expression on his face. So she threw away any ideas of caution.

"Do you want me?" The question completely threw him off. His face was a mixture of shock and confusion. His mouth opened to speak, but she cut him off.

"It's a simple question Bass. Do you. Want. Me?" Moving so her face was once again close to his she waited.

He sucked in a breath through his teeth and gritted out, "yes Charlie, God yes." He grabbed the back of her head and slammed his lips down on hers, his other hand grabbing her hip. He backed her against the old truck and tangled his fist in her hair. It hurt a little bit, but Charlie was all for it. She fisted her hands in his shirt to pull him closer and bit his bottom lip, earning herself a low growl.

"Charlie." It was a breathless little sound, before he plunged his tongue into her mouth. She stood on her tip toes to reach better and opened her mouth wider to let him in, her own tongue meeting his and battling for dominance. She moved her hands up his chest, around his neck, and into his curly hair, pulling him even closer. His hands were stroking up and down her sides lightly grazing over her breasts before moving away again.

She moaned, asking for more when- thump, thump, thump- the two broke apart, quickly untangling themselves, and going for their weapons. They looked around and saw no one. Thump, thump, thump. It was behind them. Swinging around Charlie let out a loud laugh and Monroe simply stared at the little rabbit in the old truck bed like it had just tried to kill him.

"Wow. I officially hate rabbits." His tone was serious but he was smiling.

Charlie grinned at him. "Oh come on, he's a little cutie!" She poked her finger at the tiny animal.

He looked at her as though she had just lost her mind. "What? I like animals." He smiled and leaned in to kiss her, but before thier lips touched he jerked back and looked down the road.

Charlie turned too, and was glad he had. Miles, Rachel, and Conner had just rounded the corner about a mile back.

"Come on, it's getting late. We should find a place to camp." He jerked his head off in the direction they should be going. There was an old pre-blackout road sign that said 'Augusta 2 miles.'

"Let's hope there's something still there." Monroe turned down the road and once they were out of sight of the others he pulled her close and kissed her softly on the lips. She leaned forward as if asking for more but her put a finger to her lips. "Later. That's a promise. Just be patient."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a very patient person."

He smirked at her, "it'll be worth the wait." He leaned close, his breath in her ear, throwing her words back at her. "You have no idea what I'm capable of."

With that, he took off towards the town, leaving her behind.

I can't wait to find out.

A/N Just have to say that I took the line about 'having real courage' from and episode of Person of Interest. Hope you guys liked it!