A/N: Ahhh.. The dreaded Chapter 2. It's always a transition chapter for me, so is always one of the hardest. Most of the next several chapters are written (just need to be retyped, edited, etc.). But there are always those chapters in between that must connect the different isolated scenes that make up this story. This gets them from Louisiana to Kentucky (where the majority of the story will take place). Initially this was two chapters, but I can't stand to have 2 transition chapters in a row, so I joined them together to make one longer chapter. Most of the "action" so to speak is in relationship development and a few conversations here and there. And, of course Daniel is back. He was harder to write in this story. In Lose Yourself In The Fog he came pretty easily: old, a little grizzly, kind of like a redneck country boy Mr. Miyagi, if you will. For some reason, I kept having to go back and make him a little less formal... Anyway, I hope my promise for some actual action will forgive the slowness of this chapter. As always, I appreciate your feedback. What did you like, not like, etc? :-)

Monroe had done a lot of traveling since the power had gone out. He and Miles had walked from Parris Island from Chicago. He'd even stumbled from the Tower to New Vegas with nothing more than the clothes on his back, but noting could have prepared him for traveling with two newborns. Aaron and Priscilla had walked the distance in three weeks, but even with the cooler weather settling in, they had to move slowly.

Even in the south the weather was unpredictable in winter, so they had to stay close enough to civilization so they could stop if needed but far enough away to avoid the Patriots and anyone that would recognize Monroe. Because of the twins they had to start later in the day than he liked and had to make frequent stops throughout the day. So instead of traveling for a good eight to ten hours a day they would be lucky to get in six. Some days they only managed four or five.

The close proximity of the others ensured that Monroe and Charlie still had not been able to talk about what had happened the day Danny and Angie were born. He knew there would never be a resolution between them until that happened. She needed to know the truth. As far as she knew, the Republic was something he still sought for the future. He could say otherwise until he was blue in the face, but if she didn't know why, she'd never believe it and it would always hang between them, along with everything else.

She was still very hot and cold with him, only now with everyone being together at all times, Charlie was more distant than before. The only time he felt like there was something more there on her end was during the nights. Gene had been able to procure an old nylon tent. When he was not on watch, they would lay there with the twins between them to keep them warm. He'd catch her watching him from time to time, her expression soft. On those nights they'd lock eyes long enough to lose track of the time and when he worked up the nerve to lean over and kiss her, she wouldn't push him away for once. But sooner or later he'd have to go on watch or one of the twins would fuss and the spell would be broken.

Twice they'd had to stop for days due to the freezing temperatures. They'd found small towns both times that had a safe place for Charlie and the twins to stay. Of course, Monroe couldn't join them. It was simply too risky. He'd had to camp a few hours outside of town – alone. As a precaution, the others could not go back and forth between his camp and Charlie. The last thing they needed was someone getting suspicious and following them. So, he'd had to wait it out nervous and alone.

The first time had only been for a few days. But this second time it had already been almost a week with no sign of the temperature rising. He sat alone by his small fire with Brodie at his feet. The dog's injured leg from the day of Neville's attack had healed so his days of backseat driving were now over. Monroe took one last bite of his slightly overdone rabbit. Too annoyed (and if he'd only admit it, lonely) to eat he went to toss the rest of his meal to the dog when suddenly Brodie took off into the woods.

"No, that's not weird," he murmured as he dropped the rabbit and slowly drew his gun. Monroe silently stalked off in the direction his dog had headed when he heard a playful yap. Brodie came bounding back happily with Gene not far behind. "What's up doc?" he said flatly as he uncocked the weapon and headed back to the fire. Brodie had already reached the discarded meat and was gulping it down, tail wagging.

"Just thought you could use some company," Gene said as he sat down next to the dog and gave him a friendly pat.

Monroe didn't believe that for a second. "Charlie sent you, didn't she?" Gene's look confirmed it. "She afraid I'd get bored and wander off?"

"Give her some credit. She was just a little worried about you being stuck out here alone," Gene snapped. This thing between Monroe and his granddaughter was starting to get on his nerves. Charlie bordered on protective when it came to Monroe when it was behind his back. But, he'd seen the annoyed indifference she often portrayed for his benefit. It was like she was putting on some kind of show. And of course all Monroe did was mope about and assume the worst of her motivations towards him. But then he'd catch little glimpses of tenderness between them, which only seemed to bolster her efforts at pushing him away later.

When Charlie had caught that fever when she was pregnant and had talked openly about Monroe and her feelings for him, she'd been very clear that she cared about him very much. It was the sole reason behind her hiding the truth from him and later letting him go. He didn't know why she was so adamant to ignore those feelings now.

They sat in silence for a while before Gene tried again. "So where exactly are we headed?" For all the work he'd done with Monroe to get ready for this trip, the former general hadn't been very forthcoming on their end destination.

Monroe took out his knife and began sharpening it on a whetstone. "Providence, Kentucky."

"And what's in Providence?" Gene asked, his curiosity having been piqued.

"A friend," was all Monroe said. He wasn't in the mood for gene's attempts at idle chit-chat.

"Really? That's… nice." Gene winced when he realized he'd just insulted Monroe unintentionally. "I mean –"

Monroe raised a brow at him. 'Wow Gene. That's great. So I can't have friends now?"

Gene flushed guiltily. Charlie had practically ordered him to 'be nice'. He would never come to truly like Monroe, but he really had been trying. He knew that if anyone could and would protect Charlie and his great-grandchildren it would be him; even if it meant protecting them from himself. That did command a certain amount of respect. And, one thing he would never forget was the terrified and injured man that had woken up with a broken mind and body after having saved Gene's entire family. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong," he finally added. "I was just surprised that you had contacts in the Georgia Federation, with all the bad blood between them and the Republic."

Having finished with the knife, Monroe examined the edge one more time before putting it away. "I met him later – after I left."

Uncomfortable, Gene changed the subject. "So why are we headed east? If we want to hide from the Patriots, wouldn't it be better to go the opposite direction from where they're based?"

Monroe now pulled out his swords and looked them over. He'd already done this a week ago, but other than taking care of his weapons, he had little else to do. "We can't go west. That's where the actual fighting is. They're concentrated in larger groups in the Plains. Out east they're spread thinner. Plus it's easier to hide in plain sight. Daniel will hide us."

Gene thought about this for a second. Miles had thought the same thing of him when he'd brought a catatonic Rachel to Willoughby, not having known he'd been helping the Patriots all along. They'd tried to keep their plans a secret from him not because they didn't trust him but because they thought they were protecting him in the event they were caught. And they'd been so wrong. "How do you know you can trust him? I mean he could have allied himself with the Patriots years ago."

Monroe looked up from what he was doing. "Like you did? Not Daniel. He stuck his neck out for me even though he knew who I was from the start. If he was going to double cross me, he'd had countless chances to do it. We can trust him."

"For Charlie's sake and the sake of your children, I hope you're right."

Monroe sighed. "The mother of my children tried to shoot me in the head with a crossbow. You were happy and honored to be the guy to execute me." He watched Gene squirm at those words. "And yet for some reason, I trust you both not to kill me in my sleep. If I can trust the two of you, then you can trust Daniel. For one, he's never tried to kill me."

They spent the rest of the night without speaking. There was little else left to say. And the next day passed pretty much the same way. They couldn't risk Gene going back. His absence and subsequent return to town might be noticed, so they were stuck with each other until the day after. That morning, the weather quickly grew mild. They would press on as soon as Charlie and the others arrived. It was a good thing too. They'd already been on the road for three weeks and were only a little over halfway there – and their funds were getting low from having to pay for the past week's accommodations. Monroe had already learned the hard way that looking for work on the way was not an option.

It was late morning before the others arrived with the wagon. As they approached, Gene noticed the mixture of relief and longing that Monroe betrayed before he got himself under control and masked his emotions. The journey from town had taken over two hours; they would have to break before moving on. Today they would not travel very far, but Monroe was glad to get moving again.

He didn't bother lying to himself. He'd missed Charlie every bit as much as he'd missed his children. This was the longest he'd been away from them since the twins had been born, and it was harder than he'd thought. He couldn't imagine now how he had considered walking away from them.

Monroe took Angie from Priscilla so she could jump down. Charlie was already settled with Danny to feed him. He sat down next to her and watched her for several minutes while she nursed. "What?" Charlie asked, no longer able to stay quiet.

"It's nothing," Monroe said as he dropped his eyes to look at the baby he held.

Charlie wasn't buying it. "You're still a bad liar; it's something." She knew she was embarrassing him, but something inside her couldn't resist.

"It's just… I, uh missed… them," he stammered as he stood up. Angie had already sensed her brother was getting fed and was no longer happy to sit quietly. He paced with her to calm her down.

Charlie took pity on Monroe. She knew none of this was easy on him. It wasn't easy on her either. She'd missed him as well, despite her refusal to admit it. "Well maybe they missed you a little too." She watched him brighten a little at her quasi-admission. Why does this have to be so hard? Charlie asked herself. She knew he loved her, and deep down she reciprocated those feelings. But it was one thing to indulge in being held at night and a few kisses here and there. It was something else to accept a relationship when she was confronted with it in the light of day, especially with the past hanging over them at every turn.

When they finally got on the road again later that day, Monroe joined Charlie in the back of the wagon for a little while. This had been the first time he'd done so since they'd left. He'd been trying to give her some space. He'd thought there would be plenty of time to try and figure things out when they got to Kentucky, but he was sick of waiting.

The rest of their journey proved uneventful. The weather remained mild for the most part so they didn't have to separate again. He made it a point to sit with her for an hour or two each day before trading spots with Priscilla and riding again. The weeks of distance had only served to make things more uncomfortable between them, and he was determined that would end. When it all came down to it, they were in this together.

They were a few days inside of Kentucky when one morning he approached her before she had a chance to settle herself in the wagon. "Ride with me a while," he said from behind as she handed Danny off to Priscilla.

Charlie turned around to face him. She could see the hope and determination written all over his face. "What about the twins?"

"Come on, Charlie. Priscilla and Aaron can take care of them for a few hours." He refused to let her use Danny and Angie as an excuse.

As if on cue, Aaron jumped into the back of the wagon. Charlie knew a conspiracy when she saw one. Resigned, she nodded and walked over to Monroe's horse. She waited for him to mount, intent on riding behind him. Monroe stood there with his arms crossed and waited. Charlie sent him a challenging look. She'd agreed to ride with him but was determined to do it her way. "You asked for it," he warned as he quickly moved and grabbed her by the waist. Charlie let out a quiet squeal in protest as he lifted her up and set her on the saddle.

Before she could open her mouth to argue he quickly mounted behind her and took up the reins. She had little choice but to settle her back against his chest and sit with his arms around her. "I wanted to talk to you. Hard to do that if you're sitting behind me, Charlie."

Charlie couldn't tell if he was annoyed or amused. In reality, he was a little of both. He gently kicked the horse into motion and they started the day's journey. Charlie tried to ignore the way his body moved in sync with the animal as it trotted along. "Well, you wanted to talk, so talk."

"Jesus Charlie, does everything have to be a battle between us?" Monroe waited for a response from her, but she was apparently determined to pout. "I don't want to fight with you. This isn't what either of us had planned, and we've both got reasons to be angry with each other."

Charlie spoke up now, "You have reasons?"

He let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, I know you've got more and better reasons than I do. But you lied to me Charlie. You may have had good intentions behind it, but you still tried to hide that you were going to have my baby – or babies as it happened."

"And you left us the moment they were born," Charlie shot back, not to be undone.

Of all the things she could have attacked him about, he was surprised that this was the one she'd chosen. He'd been gone a day. Just long enough to get his head straight after what had happened with the nanites. "But I still came back. I meant what I said. I always will." She didn't' seem so convinced regardless. "What all do you know about what happened that night?"

"Just that I had a complication and that those nano-things healed me somehow; just like the healed Aaron after the Andover clan attacked Willoughby."

Unconsciously, Monroe tightened one arm around Charlie. "You were dying. You were bleeding out in my arms and there wasn't a damn thing we could do to save you. And then Priscilla was there. Those things had taken her over, and I begged her to save you."

The rawness in his voice struck her. "And she did, and I'm fine."

"It wasn't as simple as that." Charlie turned her head to look up at him, clearly waiting for him to elaborate. "There is a cost for everything in life, Charlie." When she asked him what he meant by that, he clammed up. Monroe had fully intended on telling her everything about that night, but in the end chickened out. How could he bring himself to tell her what he'd almost done when she could very well hate him for it later?

As the silence between them stretched, he felt Charlie becoming more rigid in the saddle. Apparently she was not happy with the way the conversation had ended. "Listen, I'm not ready to talk about why I tried to take off, but I did it because I care about you, okay? I told you that night outside of Austin – I don't have to pretend." Before he had a chance to think the action through, Monroe brought a hand up to pull her hair to one side, exposing the column of her neck to him. He briefly entertained the idea of kissing her there; just to see what she'd do. He thought better of it though. In the mood Charlie was in, she'd probably just try to knock him off the horse if he did.

The intimacy of the gesture was not lost on Charlie though. Sighing, she leaned back against his chest. Her feelings for him may have been conflicted, but one thing she couldn't deny was how good it felt to sit there with his arms around her. Smiling she just started to enjoy the ride.

After almost five weeks on the road, they'd finally reached Providence. Not wanting to attract attention on their way in, Monroe made the decision to go around the town and head straight for Daniel's farm. He had no way of knowing if the Patriots had been around in his absence, and it wasn't worth the risk to find out the hard way.

Brodie raced ahead as Monroe turned the wagon down the main drive. Charlie held their daughter next to him on the bench. Within half an hour their journey would finally be over. She was anxious to finally get off the road and was curious to finally see the place he'd settled down in before coming back for her. Whenever Monroe had talked about Daniel Forrester and his farm, a certain peace seemed to come over him that she'd never seen before.

Finally the farmhouse came into view. In the distance, Brodie was running around in circles in the main yard. It amused Monroe to see the dog acting like a little puppy. "Well, someone's happy to be home." He did not notice the sidelong glance Charlie gave him at his use of the word 'home'.

Monroe stopped the wagon in front of the house just as Daniel came out to stand on the porch. He climbed down and reached for the baby in Charlie's arms so she could join them. "Let a boy take in a dog, and sure enough he starts bringin' home more strays," the old Farmer cackled as he shuffled down the porch stairs to greet them.

Charlie watched as Monroe shifted Angie to shake the old man's hand warmly. "I figured you could use some company. How you been Daniel?"

"Old and crotchety as ever. You look well, Sebastian. So who you brung with ya?" Daniel asked, his gaze switching from Charlie to the sleeping bundle Monroe held.

Monroe's free hand went to the small of Charlie's back, gently urging her forward. "Daniel Forrester, meet Charlie Matheson."

The old man held out his hand. "So you're the one?" He looked at Monroe with approval. "Well she's a pretty thing, I'll give you that."

Monroe laughed. "Don't let her fool you. You'd be surprised how much ass she can kick." The others had now joined them. "This is Charlie's grandfather, Gene."

"Pleasure," Daniel said, shaking Gene's hand as well. "Well I see you brought your bearded friend and his unusual girlfriend," he added as he nodded to Aaron.

"Priscilla, this is Daniel," Monroe introduced them. "She's not the same as before. The only thing unusual about her now is that she sleeps with Aaron." Charlie elbowed him then, not finding his joke funny. The motion caused Angie to stir. Priscilla smirked as she handed Danny off to Charlie.

Daniel gestured towards the twins now. "And what do we have here?"

"This is Danny," Charlie answered as she showed off her son. "And the other one is Angie." Something about the old farmer in front of her made her feel comfortable about this place. She could see why Monroe may have been happy here. For one, she noticed right away how Daniel's face softened when he got a good look at the twins. You had to like an old man that loved babies.

"Danny, huh?" the old man laughed.

Monroe rolled his eyes. "Don't let your ego run away with you, old man. He's named after Charlie's brother. Although he can get about as crabby as you, so maybe it works out."

Daniel just laughed him off as he gestured them all to come inside. "No use standin' out in the cold when there's a perfectly good fire inside."

Later that afternoon Monroe and Daniel sat in the living room with Gene. Aaron and Priscilla had wandered off to the stable and Charlie was busy feeding the twins. "So what brings you back, Sebastian?" Daniel asked as he poured all three of them a liberal drink.

Monroe reached out to take the glass he was offered. "Patriots showed up, so we had to cut out of Louisiana. I didn't know where else to go. We don't want to put you out, Daniel. I know it's a large group for you to take in."

Daniel waved off his concern. "Rubbish. I told you were welcome back if you had a need, and I meant it. There's more than enough room. Things get cramped we can always fix up the old bunkhouse." He took a sip of his whiskey. "Besides, spring planting'll be here soon enough. You know I can always use the extra hands."

"That we can do." Daniel had taken him in at a time he was desperate and low. He felt guilty repaying him for that kindness by giving him seven more mouths to feed. He'd been clear with the others that they would need to get used to being farmers, especially if they were going to blend in with the rest of the community.

"How long you figure on stayin' on?" Daniel asked.

Monroe set the glass down and leaned forward on his seat. "Daniel, we don't know what's going to happen with the Patriots. Texas and Cali are forcing them east, but things in the plains will only get more hostile. And I can't go back to Texas." He knew he was about to ask a lot, but it was now or never. "I can't speak for the others, but Charlie and I will stay as long as you'll have us. We can't raise kids on the run."

Daniel thought about this. "Well now. It'd be nice to have little uns running around this place again, I suppose."

"Thank you," Monroe said with no little amount of gratitude.

That evening Monroe knocked gently on the door to the room he'd used when he'd been here before. He heard Charlie's invitation for him to open the door. Taking a deep breath he opened it to find her unpacking what clothes she'd managed to bring. His own pack was in the corner of the room next to the closet. "Hey," He said, unsure of himself.

Charlie looked up briefly from her task before turning her attention back to putting things away in the drawers. "We're lucky your friend is such a packrat. He had some nursery furniture in the attic from when his old kids were little. It's old, but it looks okay. Aaron got the crib down for me. We can get the rest down tomorrow."

"Good," he mumbled as he sat down on the edge of the bed to watch her. "Listen, with so many people there isn't enough space for me to have a separate room. If that's a problem, I can stay in the stable until I can fix up the bunkhouse."

Charlie picked up is pack and moved to hand it to him. Assuming she was effectively telling him to take a hike, he sighed as he reached out to grab it. When he realized it was empty, he shot her a questioning look. "You were easier to unpack. We really have to get you some clothes. The rest of your gear is in the closet. Do something with that, will you?"

"Yes ma'am," he said as he stopped to pick up her now empty bag and take them to the tack room in the stable. When he returned a short time later, Charlie had already doused the lantern and gotten into bed. He quickly undressed down to his boxers and climbed in to join her.

Charlie laid on the far side of the bed with her back to him. Uncertain, he stared at the ceiling. It had been a long five weeks, so he knew she had to be exhausted. Hell, he was too. So much for finally being alone, he thought as he listened to her breaths slowly evening out as she fell asleep. She shifted towards him in her sleep just a little. He rolled over on his side and tried to get comfortable. I am such an idiot. Giving in to what was probably a stupid impulse, Monroe pulled her sleeping form over to him. They had to start somewhere, and this was as good a place as any. Wrapped around her, he finally fell asleep.