So, this chapter has an empty swimming pool, but it's filled with tension. Tension between Charlie and Monroe.

Thank you all, for reading and following the first chapter. This is chapter two, and I hope to have chapter three ready by the end of the week. Thank you for reading!

After this story I am working on another Charloe story, that will follow the season but will leave out some parts, like the connor-charloe hook up in Vegas. A lot of Charloe fans wanted another twist in the story and you know what's the beauty in fanfic? We can do that! A different view on things, following the episodes, but then with new scenes and some alterations, combined with the old one!

So, if you have any requests, thoughts or ideas on that story, please feel free to share!For now, my gratitude for reading and best to you all!

Of course, like everyone else: I do not own Revolution, just daydreaming about it! ;-)

War of words

It had been warm in the tent where she watched his every move. The casino, the blonde next to Monroe. It took her some time before Charlie realised that this was real. He was there, really there. Now she was hiding, waiting. Monroe came out of his trailer. She had her eyes on him, her crossbow firmly in her hand. There were only a couple of seconds between him being alive and dead. She expected to feel a lot, but there was only her breathing and the cold night air around her. And the hope that maybe after this, she could finally move on. Just a little bit, but move on nevertheless. But then the bounty hunters showed up, breaking that moment to pieces. Her arrow missed Monroe. And instead of dead, Monroe ended up being dragged away.

Like a dream, parts of that night were going on and on in her mind when she woke up. Her head hurt, her body hurt even more. The last thing she remembered was following the bounty hunters. A surreal empty swimming pool in the dark. And Monroe asleep and tied up against one of the walls. She tried to focus, realising it was day and that her hands were tied up. Her first instincts told her to find a way out. As fast as she could. Even when Miles was far away, he trained her well. Helped her in that moment. No panic, just think, she told herself.

'Rise and shine.'

A deep voice coming from her right. It took her only a second to realise she was tied up. Next to him. Intense blue eyes staring at her. Monroe. Before she could process this, the bounty hunter walked her towards her to help her with the wounds she got from the shot right before she passed out, falling into the swimming pool. She could feel Monroe's eyes on her, but when the bounty hunter touched her jacket to pull it aside to reach the wounds, he looked to the ground.

Talking to the bounty hunter, that was the first time she heard about the US government. Charlie had no idea then, that it was the moment that would change everything again, start another fight, again. No had no idea then, that she was going end up fighting next to Monroe in the future, instead of fighting him.

When the stupid and annoying bounty hunter left, Monroe had the nerve to actually talk to her. Ask her questions about all those things she was trying to leave behind. The tower, her mother, Miles. The moment she saw how two cities got destroyed with a push on a button, almost crushing her. And the cautious and low tone of his voice surprised her. Like she was really going to open up towards him. It made her angry, so angry she calmed down and used everything she had to be in his face. But with every punch, Monroe knew exactly how to punch her back. Push her buttons as well. God, this man knew how to get under her skin. It irritated her. The swimming pool might have been empty, it was still filled with tension. Tension between them. Like it always had been.

And now, with a lot of distance to that day, while she was getting closer to Duncan's camp, she heard his voice again.

'You don't know me Charlotte,'

Charlotte. She knew now that he only called her Charlotte when he was trying to get under her skin, to get her attention. She hated when he did that, it made her feel smaller then she wanted. Was he right? Did she know him, or only a part of him, paused in time? That moment in time with Strausser, forever standing still in her head. And then Charlie did, what she always did when she reached this point. She kind of knew the answer to this question for herself. And it had her heart torn up in two. Her loyalty to her family, her stubbornness. The way she looked at the world, the people in her world. It was changing. In ways she was not ready to admit. But they were.

And from the swimming pool her thoughts went back to Miles, her goodbye to Miles. He had told her to try to limit the stupid down to a minimum. And then, with a smile she thought about the moment she actually attacked Monroe when he escaped from the bounty hunters. Well, as far as she was concerned, he deserved it, nothing stupid about that one. She did not succeed in killing him, but fighting him that night, still worked magic for her anger. He had punched her back, so hard she could hardly breath.

But that was all he did. He could have killed her there, within seconds. But he didn't. He could have told the bounty hunter exactly who she was. Gave her identity away. General Matheson's niece and daughter of the woman with a bounty on her head. He didn't to that either. He could have hurt her, shot her, when she dared him to shoot her, after walking away when he told her he came along with her to warn her family.

She remembered what it was like to stand so close to him before walking away from him, she could feel his breath on her face. She knew she was on thin ice, only a small fraction away from push him over the edge but she could not help herself. He was taller and stronger, but every time he was around her, she felt herself moving closer to him. Leaning in just a little bit more. Close to his chest, his shoulders, his strength. Being able to see every line is his face. Pierce her eyes into his.

Now, after spending so much time with him, Charlie knew exactly what happened when Monroe's eyes got filled with rage, when she saw every muscle in his body tense up. But he never hurt her. How much she tried to push his buttons, how much Charlie wanted him to lose control, so she could keep telling herself what a monster he truly was, he never did.