Bass relaxes back on the couch in the living room with a glass of scotch dangling from his hand. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, enjoying the brief silence after such a long day. He senses Charlie as she enters the room and peeks out of one eye at her.

"How's Danny?" He asks without preamble. Charlie eases down next to him and gently presses a towel full of ice to his throbbing cheek. Ignoring his hiss of protest, she holds it against his skin.

"He's fine. Maggie said that all the excitement must have set off his asthma. He's resting now."

Bass takes a good look at his wife's somber face. Her eyes are still a little red from crying and she seems to have aged ten years in just the past few hours. He pushes her towel hand away from his face and give her a soft kiss.

"I'm sorry, Charlie. I know this isn't what you wanted for your family reunion."

With a heavy sigh, she sets the wet towel aside and snuggles up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I wish Miles was here," she says quietly. "He would know what to say to them. I... I can't even look at that woman without wanting to shoot her now." Charlie sits up as the anger courses through her. "She's such a bitch and Ben assaulted you! I still think we should let Jeremy charge him!"

Cupping her cheeks in his hands, Bass pulls her close so their foreheads are touching. "I am fine."

"He hit you."

"So? Miles tried to stab me when I asked him if I could ask you to marry me."

Charlie's eyes go wide with shock. "You asked for Miles' permission first?"

"Of course I did. He's basically been your father since you were five. He wasn't happy about it either, by the way. Jeremy had to pry him off me."

Charlie chuckles at the mental image that paints in her mind. "So Miles knew you were going to propose and didn't tell me. I guess he's been keeping a lot of secrets from me."

"OK, first of all, he couldn't tell you about the proposal because that would have ruined it. And second, he didn't even have time to tell you. I woke him up before dawn to ask him if I could marry you and then went straight to your room to ask you."

Charlie bites her lip hesitantly. "Has it ever occurred to you that Miles only tried to stab you because you woke him up before dawn?"

Bass' frowns thoughtfully and takes a sip of his drink, causing Charlie to burst into laughter. He grins at the glorious sound and the beautiful smile that spreads across her face. Setting his drink on the table, he wraps his arms around her waist and hauls her onto his lap where her laughter slows and she settles comfortably over him. She smiles down at him as she traces the lines of his face with her fingertips.

"I love you." She whispers.

Pressing his lips to her exposed neck, Bass kisses his way up to her ear. "Love you more."

Charlie lets out a soft moan as his hands begin to roam beneath her shirt. "Show me?" He grunts as he gets up from the couch with Charlie wrapped around him and carries her to their bed.

XxX

"But I don't wanna!"

"Seriously Charlie? I thought you were past the whining phase."

"I'm not whining."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No-"

"-Whoa, seriously guys? Do you always act like three year olds?"

Charlie and Jason both stop in their tracks, turning at the same time to look at Danny who is following them through the crowded street.

"We don't act like three year olds." They say at the same time.

Danny chuckles and mutters, "whatever."

Jason rolls his eyes at the younger man and turns to continue dragging Charlie down the street. "You knew that this was coming so I don't know why you're acting so shocked."

Sighing in defeat, Charlie pulls her arm from his grip and follows along behind him without resistance. "It's not that I'm shocked. I mean, of course we're going to have an anniversary gala, we have one every year. It's just that I don't want to help your mother plan the stupid thing."

"But you're the Vice President and the First Lady," Danny says. "Doesn't that make planning the party kind of your job?"

Jason glances back at Danny with an approving smile before grinning over at Charlie. "See? He's only been here for three weeks and he already gets it."

"Yeah," Charlie growls. "But he's only been here for three weeks. He's never actually had to go to one of these stupid things."

"I think it sounds kinda fun," Danny muses.

Charlie stops walking and turns to lay a hand on his shoulder. "It's not. Trust me."

Jason nods in agreement. "Why do you think Miles and Bass both left the city on month long trips right before the gala is supposed to take place?"

"Because they had work to do?" Danny asks uncertainly.

Snorting, Charlie grabs his hand and starts pulling him down the street again. "Not even close. The boys both got to skip town for a few weeks 'cause I lost the coin toss. Again."

Jason laughs loudly, the sound carrying over the noise on the crowded street. "You do realize that this is the fifth year in a row that you've lost the coin toss, right?"

Charlie decides not to dignify that with a response.

A/N I know it's short but I'm working on a longer chapter that will bring Miles back and have some other fun surprises in it. :-) Thanks for reading!