A/N This isn't necessarily a Charloe moment but it exists in the same little universe so I posted it here rather than doing it separately. Don't be too disappointed!

Bass can't really say that he's enjoying having The Plains Nation representative in town, but considering how badly Miles and Charlie have been fighting lately, he's definitely thankful for the excuse to get away from them. They've been arguing nonstop about the stupidest things for weeks. It's gotten to the point that the only thing he can do to avoid them is lock himself in his office.

Which apparently isn't good enough anymore.

"You can't tell me what to do, Miles. You're not my Dad!"

Charlie rushes into the President's office and tries to slam the door behind her before her uncle can get in. Unfortunately, being a small statured thirteen year old doesn't work in her favor. Miles easily pries the door open and steps inside, a very well hidden expression of hurt on his face. He's spent years trying to locate Ben and Rachel with no success, and as much as he wishes he could, Miles knows he can't replace Charlie's father.

"That's not the point, Charlie. It's my job to protect you!" The shouting is nothing new. Miles and Charlie only have two settings; silent brooding or screaming, bitching mad.

"I was fine." Charlie growls back. "I didn't need your help."

Now Bass has absolutely no idea what's going on, but if experience has taught him anything, it's that getting in the middle of a Miles and Charlie showdown is a very, very, bad idea. Normally, his strategy at this point would be to quietly leave the room, but with The Plains Nation people in town, that isn't really an option.

"General Matheson," he practically shouts over whatever Miles is about to say next, "how nice of you to join us." The Mathesons both turn his way, making him wince at the sight of their angry faces. Charlie looks ready to start screaming at him too when she notices their guest. Duncan Page, a merciless clan leader, is watching the three of them with a small smirk. Charlie immediately drops her rebellious teenager persona and pulls on her political face.

"Ms. Page," she says calmly. "I didn't realize that you had already arrived. We weren't expecting you until tomorrow."

Duncan, seeming confused by the abrupt change in the previously murderous looking girl, gives her an awkward smile. "Yeah, well, we had good weather. Made good time."

Charlie smiles kindly at the other woman. "Oh, how lovely. We're all happy to have you here in Philly." Then she turns, almost menacingly, to her uncle. "Aren't we, General?"

And Miles, who should be used to Charlie's mood swings by now but still doesn't seem to get it, scratches his head and nods. "Uh... Yeah. Glad to have you, Duncan."

Charlie promptly smiles approvingly at Miles' weak greeting before turning towards Bass again. "My apologies for the interruption, Mr. President. Why don't I just leave the three of you to your work, and I'll go and... get you some refreshments."

Her smile as she leaves the room looks forced, but Bass knows that it's only because she's still angry about whatever she and Miles were arguing about. Said best friend, slowly takes the seat next to Duncan, still looking confused, and seeming momentarily stunned into silence.

Bass clears his throat awkwardly. "So... Where were we?"

Duncan snorts and hooks her thumb in the direction of the door that Charlie had just disappeared through. "Wait, you expect me to pretend that that didn't just happen?" He opens his mouth to make up some sort of excuse for Charlie's behavior, but Miles beats him to it.

"She was right, anyway." He mumbles.

Bass knows him well enough to know that Miles is internally beating himself up about the entire thing. He hates it when Charlie's upset with him. "What were you guys fighting about, anyway?"

Miles doesn't answer at first, merely scowling down at the rug between his huge, booted feet. "I caught her making out with Neville's kid on my way back from the training camp." His voice suddenly takes on an angry tone. "Stupid kid had his hand up her shirt. In public. What was I supposed to do, stand there and watch?"

Duncan laughs loudly at Miles' outburst. "Are you kidding me? The Militia has to control people's love lives too?" Her voice takes on a nasty edge. "Food supplies and guns aren't enough for you two?" It takes a moment for Bass to realize that Duncan has no idea that Charlie is Miles' niece. She probably thinks that Charlie's just some random recruit. Unfortunately, he doesn't get a chance to explain it to her as his office door slams again.

Duncan turns in her seat to find a very angry Charlie glaring back at her, holding a tray of tea and cookies. "Actually," Charlie growls at her, "my uncle, while completely wrong in this instance, was just trying to look out for me. So, why don't you keep your idiotic views of how The Republic runs it's military, to yourself instead of mouthing off about things you couldn't possibly understand." Duncan's jaw drops, Miles is staring at Charlie in shock, and all Bass can do is set his head in his hands, willing the universe to have pity on him.

The warlord recovers quickly. "Think pretty highly of yourself, don't you sweetheart? Not many people can get away with talking to me like that."

Charlie raises her eyebrows in disbelief but then immediately starts laughing. "Are you serious? Did you really just threaten me in front of the President of The Monroe Republic and the General of its Militia? Do you have a death wish, lady?"

Duncan turns to the two men, finding a pissed off General and a very angry President. She instantly tries to backtrack. "Mr. President, I didn't mean that I would actually hurt her-"

"I would certainly hope not. I take threats to my family very seriously." Duncan looks confused, probably trying to figure out how they're all related, but Bass doesn't give her a chance to ask. "Ms. Page, I think it's time for you to leave."

"But I just got here."

"Do me a favor and tell your superiors to send someone else next time."

"But-"

"Get out of my house!" Charlie yells. Duncan jerks at the harsh sound and scrambles toward the door, slamming it behind her without a backward glance.

Charlie sets the untouched tray on Bass' desk and sinks down into Duncan's vacated chair. The three of them lapse into silence. Bass watches his two Mathesons with amusement, they're both silent by nature, though both easy to read for anyone that pays attention.

Miles is clearly waiting for someone else to take the lead in the conversation. If they were on a battlefield it would be different, but on the home front, he's just not comfortable taking center stage. Touchy feely stuff isn't his thing. Charlie obviously feels guilty. She knows how important the negotiations with The Plains are, and the entire thing was just ruined because of something she did. Bass also suspects that she feels bad about the 'you're not my dad' comment. Despite what she says, Miles is the closest thing she's ever had to a father, which is probably what prompted her to defend him to Duncan in the first place. Basically, both of them want to kiss and make up, but neither of them wants to go first.

Bass sighs. They've been fighting for weeks and all he wants is for the two of them to get past this little snit. So, and not for the first time, he takes the lead. "On the bright side, now I don't have to deal with Duncan hitting on me anymore." He sees Miles roll his eyes and Charlie bite back a laugh. "But it would have been nice to finish the negotiations first."

Her eyes drop to floor and she bites her lower lip. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, I just..."

Bass gets up and moves to stand next to her, stroking his fingers through her long hair. "Don't worry about it, OK? Just try not to scare off the next guy that they send." She nods and smiles up at him.

"Did you see the look on her face when she realized how mad you guys were, though? I thought she was gonna pee herself." He chuckles but inclines his head in Miles' direction. Charlie follows his gaze, finding her uncle still staring sadly at the floor. She watches him for a moment, clearly weighing a decision in her mind, before she reaches out and touches his arm.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, I swear."

Miles shakes his head, brushing her hand away. "But you're right. I'm not your dad."

Charlie pulls her hand away quickly and folds them in her lap, staring at her fingers. "But you're all I've got," she says quietly, and there's a heartbreaking waver in her voice that makes Miles reach out to her and yank her from her seat, pulling her into his lap.

Bass watches Charlie cling to Miles' shoulders like she had when she was little and was afraid of the dark, her face buried in his neck. "I'm sorry, Uncle Miles."

Miles strokes her hair soothingly. "Shh, it's OK, Bug. Don't cry." But his use of her old nickname only makes it worse. It takes them a while to coax Charlie away from him, but when they finally do, the three sit and eat the cookies from the tray. The cold tea sits forgotten, and Bass hopes that the rest of their fighting will go with it.