Breakfast is a bit awkward the next morning. While Rachel hasn't been joining them for meals from the start, Ben had at least been making an effort, though he's mysteriously absent this morning. A fact that doesn't go unnoticed, though everyone except for Danny seems to be aware of the fact that it's most likely Charlie's assault on Rachel that caused it. In fact, Bass isn't even sure if the boy knows that his mother and sister fought at all.
"I wonder where Dad is," Danny muses out loud. Everyone at the table carefully avoids his eyes and focuses on their food, Charlie subtly moving her swollen knuckled hand beneath the table.
"Probably in the library," Miles says with a roll of his eyes. "You know how he is."
Danny nods in agreement and continues eating his breakfast as though nothing out of the ordinary is happening while the rest of them worry about what will happen when he eventually finds out.
XxX
True to the promise he made to his wife, Bass has been overworking his tired brain in order to find a solution to their Rachel problem. Unfortunately, short of shipping her off to California, he's come up with nothing. Miles' attempts to help have so far ended in even less unpleasant ways.
He knows that his last hope will be Ben. Really, he's known it from the moment the Matheson's arrived, but he'd been hoping that the situation wouldn't hit murderous levels so quickly. Of course, he should have known better than to hope for that. Charlie's hot headedness is one of the many reasons he fell in love with her. But if anyone can find a way to diffuse the tension between mother and daughter, without dragging Danny into the middle of it, it will be Ben.
Bass finds him lounging in the courtyard under the shade of a tree with his nose burried in a book.
"Guess you found the library after all," Bass jokes.
Ben's eyes flick up to his and he frowns, closing the book and setting it aside. He gives Bass an expectant look. "Well go on then, ask me whatever it is you came to ask."
Bass hesitates. He hadn't been expecting Ben to be quite so hostile, but then again he did marry the man's daughter, so...
"Look, I know that you're mad at me, but I'm not here for me, I'm here for Charlie."
Ben considers him for a moment, then sighs. "What do you want?"
"This arrangement, with you and Rachel living here, with us. It isn't working."
Ben snorts. "Really? What gave you that impression?" He asks sarcastically. "Rachel's broken nose, maybe?"
"Actually, it was exactly that. Charlie wants Rachel gone."
This, if nothing else, seems to clear up Ben's attitude. "What do you mean, gone?"
"I mean that Charlie wants Rachel out of the house. She thinks that she'll be a bad influence on the baby, possibly a danger, and I agree. Since the moment she's arrived, Rachel's done nothing but cause problems and Charlie's finally had enough. She tried to have her thrown out last night but I managed to talk her out of it for now."
"Why?" Ben asks, confusion evident in his voice. "Why bother prolonging the inevitable?"
"Because no matter what crazy scheme you and Rachel seem to think me and Miles are working, all I care about is Charlie's safety and happiness. And if that means I have to play nice with Rachel then I will, but right now I think Charlie would be happier if Rachel was a little farther away."
"Then just kick us out. I know you want to anyway."
Bass can't help but chuckle at the pure truth in his words. "Oh, believe me I've considered it. But Charlie and Danny are just getting to know each other. It would be cruel to tear them apart now just because Rachel can't get along with everyone else."
"So what are you saying? You want me and Danny to stay, and you'll send Rachel off into exile?" Ben shakes his head angrily. "If you really think I'll go along with that then you're crazy."
"Which is why I wasn't even going to suggest it," Bass tells him.
Ben gives him a long, searching look and nods as if he's satisfied with something. "Then what are you going to suggest?"
XxX
"This is ridiculous," Rachel mutters as she continues to shove her belongings into an old suitcase. Ben shoots Bass a look that says he isn't much happier but he shrugs it off.
"Relax, Rachel. You'll only be a few blocks away and Danny can come see you whenever he wants."
"But I can't come see him?" She snaps back.
Bass sighs, shaking his head slowly. "Just for now. Once things between you and Charlie cool down, you will be more than welcome to move back in."
Rachel rolls her eyes at him and turns back to her suitcase. The bedroom door swings open and Miles comes slouching in. The look on his face says that he'd have much rather missed their going away party.
"You guys ready to go yet?" Miles asks awkwardly. Clearly he can't wait for this whole thing to be over.
Rachel turns to glare at him. "You just can't wait to be rid of me, can you? First you turn my daughter against me, and now you're after my son too!" She grabs the nearest thing she can get her hands on, a vase full of fresh flowers, and throws it straight at Miles. He ducks it easily and stares at her with wide eyes.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asks incredulously.
But Rachel merely shrieks something unintelligible and snatches up her suitcase before fleeing the room. Bass, Miles, and Ben all look at each other with matching confused expressions as Charlie enters the room, her gaze immediately drawn to the broken vase on the floor.
"What happened in here?" She asks conversationally.
"Your mother," Bass answers simply.
Charlie nods and moves on as though the vase isn't even there. She crosses the room to embrace her father and gives him a warm smile. "Don't forget to come see me, OK?"
"I won't." Ben promises, kissing her on the cheek before he follows after his wife.
"How did Danny take the news?" Miles asks Charlie once the three of them are alone.
Charlie shrugs. "He says he understands that me and Mom don't get along but he didn't seem too happy with me when I left. I sent Jason to check on him. They're close, maybe he'll be able to explain it better than I can."
Miles gives her shoulder a tight squeeze and kisses her forehead. "You didn't have to kick her out, you know. I'm a big boy, I could have handled Rachel."
"I know you could have, but that doesn't mean you need to. Plus, I don't think there will be any getting along with her after that punch."
The boys both agree with her and the three of them head off to the dining room for dinner. As Bass pushes in Charlie's chair for her, he asks, "so what is this crap I hear about you quitting? I don't remember hiring Nora to be my VP."
"OK, first of all, you didn't hire me to do this job. You dropped it in my lap the day I turned eighteen."
"You say that like you didn't know it was coming," Jeremy says with a grin.
Charlie shakes her finger at him. "Not the point. Anyway, Nora will be a great Vice President, and besides, it's only temporary. I just want to be able to spend some time with the baby when she gets here and the Republic doesn't need a President and a Vice President that are both preoccupied with a newborn."
Bass gives her a funny look, his eyebrows knit together in confusion. "You mean he. When he gets here."
Charlie raises an eyebrow at him. "No. I said she."
"But-"
"-Oh, hell. I'm taking my dinner upstairs," Miles groans. Jeremy grabs his plate as well and follows Miles out of the room. Bass and Charlie stare at each other across the table.
"The baby could be a girl, you know." Charlie tells him.
"It could also be a boy," he snarks back.
They spend the rest of dinner arguing back and forth, chasing poor Maggie from the dining room as well.
A/N I apologize for how long it's been since my last update and how random some of this chapter might seem. I've had a rough couple of weeks (blah, blah, excuses, etc.) so my head isn't really back in place yet. I'm trying to get used to a new job so you guys will just have to bear with me. Thank you for reading! :-)