Bass is riding as quickly as possible back to Independence Hall. Jason's message about another couple of supposed Matheson's had reached him two days ago and he's been going nonstop ever since. Not that he doesn't have faith in Jason and Jeremy's ability to do their jobs, though. The problem is Charlie. His wife has a tendency to be too nosy for her own good and she has a knack for wheedling information out of people. He would know, she's been perfecting the tactic on him since she was six years old.

They've managed to cut what would have been a five day journey down to what will probably end up being three. But even with that extra time, he has a feeling Charlie will have gotten herself stuck in a mess before he manages to get home. He hopes for her sake that she keeps her nose out of the secret just this once, but he expects he'll have a hell of a disaster to clean up when he gets home.

XxX

"So you're my sister."

"Yup."

Danny squirms uncomfortably in his chair at the table in the kitchen. "Can we just pretend I didn't say that stuff about, you know, the way you look?"

Charlie snorts. "Already forgotten."

He blows out a relieved breath. "Good."

The two of them continue to eat their breakfast quietly, their eyes occasionally meeting before flitting away. The awkward silence is more than Charlie can bear.

"This is weird," she finally blurts out.

Danny coughs into his glass of milk and smiles. "I know, right? Yesterday I didn't even know I had a sister. Today I not only have a sister, but she's the Vice President of the Monroe Republic and is married to the President." He shakes his head in disbelief. "I can't believe they never told me."

Ben and Rachel had done as Charlie requested and told Danny everything yesterday afternoon. Since then, the two elder Matheson's have been hiding out in their assigned bedroom. Charlie isn't sure what the hell they've got going on but she's got Rolland keeping an eye on them just in case.

She smiles over at her little brother. "How do you think I feel? Yesterday I was an orphan. Now I've got parents and a brother on top of everyone else that are already considered family."

"How many people do you consider to be family?" He asks with raised eyebrows.

Charlie shrugs. "Lots of people. Jeremy, Jason, Tom, Julia, Nora, Maggie. Oh, and Maddox. He's Bass' head of security. And Marla." She pauses to take a bite of her pancakes. "Basically everyone that lives in the house really."

Danny shakes his head slowly. "That's a lot of people."

"Well most of them have been with us from the very beginning. Except for Maggie and Nora. Maggie showed up about a month after we settled in Philly, she and Jer will get married eventually, and Nora started coming around about a year later. She and Miles kind of have a thing."

"A thing?"

She shrugs again. "Sometimes they love each other and sometimes they want to shoot each other. But it works for them."

"What about you and Monroe?" He asks.

"Well first, you can't really call him Monroe because that's my name too, so call him Bass. And second, we are nothing like Miles and Nora."

"Damn right we aren't." Bass says gruffly. Charlie whips around in her chair to find her husband standing in the doorway with a smirk on his lips. She runs over and crashes into him, letting him wrap her up in a tight embrace.

"I missed you," she whispers against his neck.

Bass kisses her temple and rubs her back. "Not as much as I missed you."

Charlie pulls away from him with a grin. "I didn't expect you back so soon."

He hesitates for a moment. "Well there's something I need to check on." He peers around her curiously and looks uncomprehendingly at Danny. "Babe, what's going on?"

Charlie raises an eyebrow at him. "Like you don't already know," she scolds. "Jason and Jeremy were harboring my little brother in the north wing like a fugitive on your orders."

Bass sighs. He'd thought she might figure it all out before he got home but he hadn't really anticipated meeting his wife's brother the moment he walked through the door.

"It wasn't like that," he tells her gently.

Charlie raises a skeptical eyebrow but Bass shakes his head at her. There will be plenty of time to talk about it later.

"So you must be Danny." He rounds the table and sticks a hand out for the boy to shake. The kid eyes him nervously but nods and takes his hand.

"Yeah. And you're... my sister's husband."

"I prefer Bass." Danny laughs as Bass looks around the kitchen for Ben and Rachel. "Where are your parents?"

"Hiding in their room," Charlie answers flatly.

Bass takes his wife's hand and gives her a soft kiss. "I need to see them."

"It's them," she assures him.

Their eyes hold for a moment as understanding flows between them. "I believe you. But I still want to see them."

Charlie nods and turns to her brother. "Wanna come?"

Abandoning his breakfast, Danny practically skips over to the door to join them. "Do I want to be there when my parents are introduced to the man that married their daughter? Absolutely."

Rolling his eyes, Bass leads the way from the kitchen. "You know, technically Ben and Rachel already know me."

Danny snorts. "So a guy they knew like twenty years ago married their daughter. Even better." Bass sighs as Charlie tries and fails to contain a giggle.

Jeremy joins them as they pass down the hallway. He gives Bass a quick pat on the back and winks at Charlie. Apparently, he thinks this will be as exciting as Danny does. Jason joins their parade as well, grinning like an idiot when he wishes Bass luck. Danny snorts and mutters something under his breath which Jason seems to find particularly funny.

Shaking her head, Charlie gives Bass' sweaty hand a reassuring squeeze. He glances at her out of the corner of his eye and gives her a nervous smile.

"It'll be fine," she whispers close to his ear. His clenched jaw is the only response she gets so she leans over and kisses his cheek, letting her lips linger by his ear. "They're just a couple of strangers to me. They don't change anything."

Jeremy clears his throat loudly. "Seriously guys? I thought we talked about the PDA policy. You guys are supposed to keep it PG when I'm around." Bass huffs and shoves Jeremy's shoulder, but smiles gratefully as some of the tension leaves his shoulders.

The group arrives outside Ben and Rachel's bedroom door where Sergent Rolland is standing guard.

"Have they gone anywhere?" Charlie asks curiously.

He shakes his head. "No, ma'am. In fact, they haven't done anything. Haven't heard a peep out of them."

Bass takes a deep breath and raps his knuckles on the door. They all stand around looking at each as they wait, but no answer comes. "This is ridiculous," Charlie mutters. She throws the door open and walks inside, finding her parents sitting calmly at the coffee table in the room playing what looks like Go Fish.

Rachel glares at the people standing in the doorway but Ben smiles as his daughter enters the room. "Charlie, what are..." His voice trails off when he spots Bass following along behind her.

"Hey, Ben."

A moment passes where the two men simply stare at each other. Even after seventeen years, neither of them have really changed. Ben gets up and walks over to Bass with his arms hanging limply at his sides and his mouth slanted open.

"I-I can't believe it," he sputters out.

Bass shrugs and gives him a genuine smile. "I know. I can't believe-"

WHAM!

Although small in stature, Ben can apparently pack a punch. Bass goes sprawling backwards into Jason who nearly falls over onto Danny because none of them were prepared for it. Jeremy rushes forward and grabs Ben by the collar, yanking him away from the President as Rachel shrieks in anguish. She pounces on Jeremy but is quickly ripped away by a very angry Charlie.

"Enough!" She shouts over the other's voices.

Bass, Jason, and Danny are still trying to right themselves after the surprise attack and Jeremy still has Ben by the collar, but Charlie shoves Rachel so hard that she falls back onto the couch in shock. Everyone falls silent and looks to her questioningly.

"That's enough," she says, quieter this time.

Bass runs a hand over his left cheek and groans, making Charlie look at him worriedly. She motions to Rolland, who poked his head into the room when the noise started, and tells him to find Bass an ice pack. Her husband mutters something about not needing it but she glares at him which shuts him up right away. Jeremy finally lets go of Ben's collar only to grab his wrists instead.

"Mr. Matheson, you are under arrest for assaulting the President of-"

"Whoa, whoa, Jer, hang on a sec." Bass works his jaw from side to side, gritting his teeth against the pain. "It's no big deal, let him go."

"Bass-" Jeremy starts.

"Hey, it's no worse than what Miles did to me when he found out and so there's no harm done."

Charlie goes over to him and gently trails her fingers over his reddened cheek. "Are you sure?" She murmers.

Bass grabs her hand before she can poke at the injury anymore and kisses her fingers. "I'm fine, Baby. Don't worry about it."

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Rachel spits out.

Charlie whips around to look at this woman who is supposed to be her mother with blazing eyes of fury. "Well you make me sick," she spits back. "Seventeen years that I haven't seen you, didn't even know if you were alive, and now you show up acting like you're in charge? You're not my mother! You were just an incubator. I don't need you to here to judge the family I've made for myself. If you don't like it, then feel free to get the fuck out of my house."

She doesn't even stop to admire the dumbstruck look on Rachel's face before stomping from the room with Bass just behind. They barely make it two doors down before her pushes her into a spare room and yanks her against his chest. The tears running down her face soak the front of his uniform but he doesn't pay any attention to that. He presses his lips to her temple and runs his hands soothingly through her long hair.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," she murmers against his neck.

Bass sighs and holds her tighter, wishing that he had the power to protect her from everything. But he can't. All he can do is hold her and whisper in her ear. "I know, Baby. I know." And hope that that's enough.