A few tense moments pass by before Maggie rushes to Charlie's side and guides her towards a loveseat in the corner of the library.
"Oh my God," Charlie says. "I'm gonna have a baby. Holy shit."
"Everything is going to be alright Charlie. Just try to breathe and stay calm."
"Calm," Charlie repeats, nodding her head up and down. "I can do that. Calm."
"Yes," Maggie says soothingly. "I know you can."
"Not to break up the calm," Danny says in a mock whisper. "But what about the crazy bitch that just tried to kill us?"
"Right," Charlie says, nodding her head again. "Uh, Danny, go find Jason and tell him I need him, like right now." Danny nods, looking down at her as if waiting for her to say something else. "Now, Danny!"
"Oh. Right." He takes off out the door as a contraction tears through her, temporarily blinding her with pain. She vaguely registers Maggie's calming voice, but her only thoughts are for her husband and baby. When the pain clears, she turns to look at her new friend.
"Aaron, do you know how to use a gun?"
"Uh, not really," he says stepping closer to the couch, his face worried.
"Well get ready to learn. My shotgun is on the ground over there, pick it up and aim the barrel at Duncan. If she moves, pull the trigger."
"Pull the trigger." Aaron repeats, his eyes going wide.
Charlie can only nod as she feels another contraction coming on. Aaron takes a deep breath and crosses the room, picking up the shotgun with shaky hands. He points it at the unconscious woman on the ground and clenches his jaw. He will shoot her if she moves, he just hopes he doesn't have to.
Abandoned building, five miles from Independence Hall…
Bass watches through the window as the fires around Philadelphia continue to burn. His heart aches. It was his job to protect those people and he failed. The only hope he has is that the tower of Independence Hall is still visible and not in flames. It's possible that Charlie is still inside, locked away in the room inside his closet, safe and sound. Though as he watches Scanlon pace across the room, another hope seems to blossom. Something about the look on Scanlon's face isn't right. He seems… worried.
"Everything alright?" Bass asks in a friendly voice.
Scanlon merely glares at him and throws open the door to the room they're in, making the guard outside jump. "What the hell is going on?" Scanlon yells. He glances at Bass for a moment and then lowers his voice. "What is taking so long, we should have heard something by now."
"I don't know," the guard answers stupidly.
"Well go find out," Scanlon says through gritted teeth, sending the idiot away.
"You look worried," Bass says, trying and failing not to sound happy about their plan falling apart.
Scanlon glares at him again. "Mind your own business."
Bass gives him a friendly smile. "Just trying to help."
The guard comes back in and Scanlon follows him out into the hall out of sight. They're trying to talk quietly, but Bass can still hear them. "Are you sure?" Scanlon asks.
"Well that's what everyone is saying."
"I don't want rumors you idiot! Go find out exactly where Duncan is, then come back and tell me."
A moment of silence passes and Bass imagines that he can see Scanlon out in the hall, running his fingers nervously through his hair, as their carefully constructed plan begins to fail. When he comes back into the room, he's trying very hard to hide his obvious agitation.
"So where is Duncan hiding these days?" Bass asks easily. Now that he knows their plan is falling apart, it's time for him to make his move.
"She isn't hiding," Scanlon says harshly. "I'm sure she's just too busy gloating to notice that she's behind."
"Right," Bass agrees. "Makes total sense that you'd plan a coup and then waste time gloating before you even won."
Scanlon throws his hands up in the air in anger. "What are you talking about old man? We've already won. Independence Hall is under our control."
"Is it? Because if it was, I'm sure Duncan would be here rubbing it in my face, but since she isn't… I've gotta wonder."
"Shut up," Scanlon growls, opening the door and making to leave the room, but he's stopped by an angry woman standing just outside the door.
"What the hell is going on?" The woman asks. "Duncan assured me that the Republic would have fallen and been under her control by now."
Scanlon backs into the room cautiously, clearly afraid of this woman's arrival. "I-I'm not sure ma'am. I've got people looking into it."
Bass looks curiously to the door but isn't all that surprised to see none other than Rachel Matheson stalking her way into the room. He sighs, looking at his hateful mother-in-law, who turns to him with a surprised expression.
"And what is he doing here?" She yells at Scanlon. "He was supposed to have died hours ago. That was the deal Duncan and I made."
"You did what?" Bass yells, but Rachel just ignores him and continues to stare at Scanlon, who starts to mutter.
"I was… well I had too… I was just following orders."
"Excuse me?" She asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
Scanlon shifts uncomfortably but still manages to look her in the eyes. "I was following orders."
"Your orders should have been to kill Sebastian Monroe the second you had him in your sights. That. Was. The. Deal."
An absurd laugh bubbles up in Bass' chest and he can't help but let it out. It only gets worse when Rachel turns to glare at him. "What the hell is so funny Bass? Huh? It'll be really hilarious when you're dead won't it?"
"God Rachel," Bass says, the humor fading away. "You are so fucking stupid it isn't even funny." She stares at him, apparently stunned, so he continues. "Duncan never intended to kill me. I'm the one she wants! All you've done is give her the best chance she'll ever get to storm my house and murder my wife, who by the way, is your fucking daughter. Who is also pregnant, or most likely a new mother, of your grandchild."
Rachel stares at him for a moment longer and then shakes her head. "No. Impossible. Duncan and I had a deal."
Bass groans in frustration, the woman's stubbornness even more than her daughter's. "Are you not hearing me Rachel? Duncan hates Charlie! She told you what you wanted to hear so you would give her what she needed, which I assume were those missiles that just destroyed most of my city, but in the end she plans to kill you, Charlie, Miles, Nora, probably even Danny just so I'll be alone and have no choice but to go along with her plan."
Rachel shakes her head in disbelief, but he can see that he's wedged a gap in her logic. "She can't do that though… that - that's crazy."
"Yes! Duncan is insane! And she's going after Charlie. Rachel, you have to get me out of here."
"No," she says defiantly.
"Rachel I know you hate me, I don't really know why, but I know you do, but you have to put that aside and think about Charlie. Do you really want her to die by the hand of some psychopath or would you rather let me go so I can save her."
There's a moment, just a flicker in her expression that makes him think he's won, but the victory is torn away as Scanlon raises his gun and shoots her in the temple. Bass watches, horrified, as Rachel falls to the ground, blood and brain matter oozing from her skull.
"You killed her," Bass says, trying to make sense of what just happened.
"Yeah, well, the bitch wouldn't shut up."
Bass tears his eyes away from her lifeless body, not really sad himself, but already grieving on Charlie's behalf. "You'll pay for that," is all he says to Scanlon, the menace in his voice enough to make the younger man retreat as far away as he possibly can in the tiny room. And he will pay. Despite the years that have passed, the anger, and the betrayal, Miles will hunt Scanlon down if he has too, and then skin him alive for murdering the mother of his child. Though Bass doubts all of that will be necessary. He plans to snap Scanlon's scrawny, little neck the second he gets out of this chair.
Independence Hall…
Jason skids to a halt in the library, his eyes immediately drawn to Charlie laid back on the couch, her legs spread open as Maggie checks her cervix. "Holy shit."
Danny comes up behind him, struggling for breath. "Holy shit," he repeats when he sees his sister's condition.
Charlie bangs her head back on the arm of the loveseat and groans. "Guys, we don't have time for this."
Nora enters the room, shoving the boys out of the way in order to get to Charlie, but stops dead when she sees her. "Holy shit."
"Oh my God," Charlie yells. "The next person that says holy shit, dies."
The underlying panic in her voice seems to get everyone else under control and Jason runs over, dropping to his knees beside her to hold her hand. "Sorry Charlie, it's just… wow. Like you're actually gonna have a baby."
She laughs, a few tears streaming down her cheeks as she does it. "Yeah, no shit. And Bass isn't here, Miles isn't here, Duncan is still in the same room as me, and the Republic currently has no leadership because we're all in here!" She screams and squeezes his hand as another contraction threatens to tear her apart.
Jason stays stoic, holding her hand and petting her hair as she tries to breathe through it. When the pain subsides enough for her to look at him he asks, "what do you want me to do?"
"Take control. As of right now, you are in charge."
"OK," Jason says, hiding his panic. "Consider it done. What else?"
"Get Duncan in a cell."
"She's on her way." Jason kisses her temple and releases her hand, moving aside so Nora can step in and take it.
"Hey, honey," Nora says in a motherly tone Charlie's never heard her use before. "Tell me what you need."
Tears slide down Charlie's cheeks as she whispers. "Bass. I need Bass."
"You got it. I won't come back without him." Nora hurries to her feet and leaves without another word, only to be replaced by Danny, who smiles weakly.
"Guess it's up to me now," he jokes as he takes his sisters hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.
"Don't let go," Charlie whispers.
Danny shakes his head and smiles. "Never."
Just outside Philadelphia…
Nora grips her gun tightly in one hand and the horse's reigns in the other, the predawn light just enough for them to make it through the woods outside of town. She'd decided not to bring anyone with her, unsure of who she could trust or who Jason wouldn't need. She's just deciding if she should head North or South when she hears a loud crack!
"Who's there," she calls out, but there's no answer. "I'm warning you, I am in no mood for bullshit right now. It's shoot first, ask questions later." She cocks her gun, just for effect, and waits, nearly jumping out of her skin when she hears his voice.
"That's a mood? I just figured you were always that way."
Nora gapes as Miles emerges from the trees, dirty and tired, but just in time. She slides off of her horse and practically falls into his arms. They stand there for a moment just holding each other before he asks, "Duncan?"
"Taken care of."
"And Charlie?"
"Safe, but she's in labor."
"What?" Tom and Jeremy ask together as they come into sight.
Nora nods. "Yeah, but Bass is missing."
"Define missing," Miles says. ''Is he just drunk and hiding because Charlie's in labor or is he actually missing?"
"He's been gone for days. I think Duncan must have had him captured to keep him out of the way."
"You think he's dead?" Jeremy asks.
Nora shakes her head. "No way. Ducan was planning to kill Charlie and keep him for herself. Bass is out here somewhere."
"Well we should get looking," Tom says, already heading back to his horse.
"Wait," Miles says, his eyes on Nora. "Who's in charge right now?"
Nora gives him a nervous half-smile. "Uh, Jason."
Miles takes a deep, calming breath. "Tom, I need you to get home and help Jason. He's great and I'm sure he has it all under control, but I bet he could use some help right about now."
Tom nods. "You got it, Boss."
"Jeremy, you go back with him and start gathering up some people to put those fires out. The last thing we need is for the city to burn down."
''Alright. And you hurry up and get to Charlie,'' Jeremy says.
"Can't," Miles says as he heads back to his horse.
"And why the hell not?" Nora asks incredulously.
"Because I told that idiot when he asked me if he could marry Charlie that he better be there when she needed him or there'd be hell to pay." He looks down at Nora and gives her a little grin. "Just call me the Devil."
Nora shakes her head and smiles, mounting her horse and following her husband further into the woods.
Meanwhile…
As hard as he tries, Bass still finds his eyes drawn to Rachel's lifeless body. It's not like he's never seen a dead body before, it's just the fact that it's Rachel, someone he used to think of as family, is dead on the floor.
Scanlon has apparently given up all pretenses that all is going to plan since he's standing with his nose pressed against the dirty window glass and muttering to himself. Not that it matters. While Scanlon was yelling at one of his idiots to find Duncan, Bass managed to pry a rusty nail from the arm of the chair he's tied to. Now all he needs to do is free his hands without him noticing.
It actually takes very little effort. Bass has no idea why Duncan chose this moron to be her second in command, but it certainly wasn't for his smarts. It takes him a good five minutes to get the ropes completely undone, but in that time, Scanlon doesn't even look at him, so it's easy to hold his hands behind his back and pretend they're still tied. Then the only problem is that his feet are still tied. He can't fix that without tipping Scanlon off, though, so he decides to take the direct approach.
"Hey, do you think I could get some water or something?" Bass asks innocently.
Scanlon turns to look at him as if he's surprised he's still there. "Huh?"
"Water," Bass says slowly. "I've been sitting here for hours and I don't think Duncan would be very happy if her prize died of dehydration."
"Oh. Right." Scanlon crosses the room as he pulls off the canteen hung around his neck, but before he can even open it, Bass extends his arms and grabs hold of his neck. The younger man struggles against his hold, but eventually goes limp. Bass allows his body to drop to the ground and unties his feet, jumping up the moment he's free.
For a second, he hesitates over Rachel's body.
"I'll send someone back for you," he says quietly, stepping around her and into the hallway on his way to freedom. He runs into a guard at the end of the hall that raises their gun at him. He stops. No gun, not even a knife to defend himself. He doesn't stand a chance.
Bang!
Blood explodes from the guards head and he hits the ground. Bass takes a step back, shocked, but then immediately relieved when Miles comes storming around the corner with Nora at his heels.
"Miles!" He runs towards them, expecting Miles to embrace him after being apart for so long and then nearly dying, but all he does is push him hard in the chest and scowl. "Dude, what the hell?"
"Charlie's having the baby and you're out here playing around?" He asks incredulously.
"Seriously? You think I wouldn't rather be - wait - Charlie's what?"
Miles grabs him by the collar and literally drags him from the building, tossing him towards his own horse tethered to a tree nearby. "She's having the baby you fucktard, now get your ass home!" Bass leaves without having to be told twice, leaving Miles with Nora and her horse. "Was I too hard on him?" He asks his wife.
Nora shrugs. "Nah. Just right."
Independence Hall, the President's Suite…
Jason sits outside of Charlie's bedroom with Bass' shotgun in his lap and Danny's head resting on his shoulder. He keeps having to shake himself awake since Danny's even breaths keep trying to lull him to sleep. He perks up when he hears a door slam somewhere downstairs and jumps to his feet when heavy footsteps start coming their way.
"Was' goin' on?" Danny asks sleepily.
"Shh! Get down!" Jason clocks the shotgun and points it towards the end of the hall, but before Danny can even blink himself awake, Bass comes running into view. He stops dead when he spots Jason with a gun pointed at him.
"What the hell are you doing?" Bass asks.
It takes a second for his tired brain to catch up with his eyes, but as soon as he recognizes Bass, Jason sets the shotgun down and smiles. "It's about time you showed up."
Bass hurries forward, his eyes full of worry. "Charlie?"
Jason just grins. "She's fine." He reaches out to grab Bass' shoulder as he sags with relief. "Now why don't you come meet your son."
It takes a moment for the words to sink in, but when they do, Bass' entire face lights up. "My son?"
"Yeah. You have a son." Jason steers Bass into the bedroom and as soon as he's over the threshold he hurries to the bed where Charlie is sleeping peacefully. Bass goes to grab her hand and kiss her but Jason pulls him back. "Wait, Maggie only just now got her to sleep. Leave her be for a while. She needs to rest."
Bass nods in understanding and leans down close to Charlie's head to whisper, "I love you," before turning to where they had set up the baby's bassinet. Jeremy is standing next to it with a huge smile on his face and a bundle in his arms.
"Congratulations, man," he says, gently placing the bundle into Bass' arms. He panics. While the weight of the child is next to nothing, it feels like the world just landed on his shoulders.
"Hey, buddy," Bass whispers, causing the baby to stir, his pink lips parting and his tiny tongue flicking out. "Look at you." Sudden tears blur his vision but he blinks them away so he can keep looking at his son.
"Bass?" Charlie rasps out. He turns around quickly, jarring the baby and earning an unhappy grunt, and rushes to her side. She immediately scoots over so he can sit on the edge of the bed next to her.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't here," he starts, but Charlie just waves him.
"It's OK, you're here now, that's all I care about."
He nods, a few tears making their way down his cheeks, and kisses her. Charlie takes his face in her hands and holds him there, refusing to break the kiss. "I missed you," is all she can say when they finally part.
Bass nods in agreement and moves to hug her but realizes he can't with the baby in his arms. "We have a baby," he says almost as if he'd forgotten.
Charlie laughs. "I know. I was there when he was born."
He looks away guiltily. "I'm so sorry-"
"-It's OK, Bass."
"No its not. My son came into the world and I wasn't even there to see it."
Charlie reaches out and strokes his cheek, a small smile on her face. "Don't worry, you'll be there for the next one."
"The next one?"
"Yeah. The next one."
Bass nods. "OK. I'll be there."
Charlie turns her attention to her son, her smile growing as she looks at his chubby cheeks. "So what's my son's name?" She asks.
"Huh?"
"His name," she repeats slowly. "Remember we had a deal. You stay sober and you get to name the baby. So what's my son's name?"
"Uh…"
"You didn't pick one out, did you?"
Bass laughs. "No, I didn't. Well, actually I picked out a girl name."
"What? I thought you said it had to be a boy. Why didn't you pick a boys name?"
Bass rolls his eyes. "I only said that because it irritated you, and I like to irritate you." He smiles down at her and then it's her turn to roll her eyes. "But you said it was gonna be a girl and you're usually right so I picked out a girls name."
Jason and Jeremy both laugh. "So what name did you pick for a girl?" Jeremy asks.
"Well… I was kind of thinking Savanna."
"Savanna," Charlie repeats. "I like it, but why Savanna?"
Bass shrugs. "I just picked it 'cause it started with 'S'. You know, Sebastian, Savanna. That kind of thing."
"OK," Charlie says with a smile. "What about Samuel? Sam?"
"Too plain," Jeremy says with a frown. "How about Sean? Or… Scott, Seth, Sylvester."
Bass huffs a laugh. "Definitely not Sylvester."
"I kinda like Sean…" Charlie says.
Jason shakes his head. "No, the only Sean's I know are assholes. What about Sidney, or Saul, or Simon, Sawyer…"
"Ooh, I like Simon," Charlie says with a smile. "It sounds smart."
Bass nods in agreement, but then frowns. "Hey, I thought I was supposed to name him."
"Well… you can pick the middle name then," she says.
"OK. But you don't get to say no, then."
"Alright, fine. Let's hear it."
Bass grins and passes the baby into her arms. "Charlie, meet out son, Simon Grant Monroe."
She sighs, but smiles just the same. "I guess I should have seen that one coming, huh?"
"Saw what coming?" Miles asks as he and Nora finally arrive. If it weren't for the baby in her arms, Charlie would have jumped up to hug him but she settles herself with beckoning him to her side. Miles doesn't argue, sitting down next to Bass on the edge of the bed. He looks her over with his eyes as if checking for injuries, before letting his eyes fall to the baby. "So what did I miss?" He asks softly.
Bass chuckles, taking the Simon from Charlie and putting him into Miles' arms despite his silent protest. "Your grandson. Miles, meet Simon Grant."
Miles snorts, his eyes drawn to the baby's face. "That's a raw deal you got there, pal," he says to the baby. "How 'bout I just call you little bug." He looks to Charlie as if asking her permission and she smiles.
"I can live with that."
Several days later, just outside Philadelphia…
The cemetery is full of fresh graves. The missiles Duncan had set off and the resulting fires had killed twenty-seven people, four of them were under the age of twelve. Flowers are piles high on the graves, homemade markers set at the head. The one in front of Charlie simply reads Rachel Matheson. The grief she feels isn't so much for the loss of her mother, she'd lost her when she was five years old, but for the loss of the relationship they could have built, had her mother not been so stubborn.
A strong arm wraps around her shoulders and Miles pulls her close against his chest. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I'm sorry you never got to know her like you wanted to, like you should have."
Charlie wraps her arms around his middle and squeezes. "It's OK. That's what I have you for."
He nods and kisses the top of her head. "Love you, Bug."
"Love you too, Miles."
They head back to the wagon that will take them to Independence Hall, where Bass stands waiting with Simon in his arms. "Ready to go?" He asks her quietly.
She gives him a quick kiss and climbs up, taking the baby from him so he can join her. "Let's go home."
Danny and Jason smile from their seats across from her with Tom and Julia right next to them. Jeremy and Maggie sit hand in hand next to Nora, who welcomes Miles with a kiss when he sits down with to her. They're all quiet as they make the journey back into town, passing the burnt out buildings lining the streets.
"What do we do now?" Danny says into the silence.
"Now…" Charlie starts. "Now we rebuild. It'll be hard and stressful. We'll all fight a lot, but we'll do it. We'll get through it." She looks at Danny and gives him a warm smile. "Because we're family. And that's what family does."
A/N Is it weird that I kind of want to cry? I started this little adventure over a year ago and I can't believe that's it's actually over now. I just want to say - or type - thank you, to all of you who have been patient, kind, and encouraging throughout this entire thing. And say goodbye, for now. I hope that someday soon I can come back and finish New Name, Old Games, but at the moment I just don't have it in me. Thank you so much for everything guys. I really mean that.