Nights in white satin, sweet dreams… A shade of sadness (J G Whittier)

A Revolution fic: Bass Monroe/Charlie Matheson, Charloe; Blackout AU. Miles Matheson, Rachel Matheson, Aaron Pittman, Nora Clayton, mention of other characters from the show. After the Tower, and before he found New Vegas, Bass headed towards Philadelphia, aiming to see what was left of the Monroe Republic… Somewhere along the way, something happened that made him wonder about the power of dreams, and why Charlie Matheson kept turning up in his…

Rating M

Author's note:

Hi there and thanks so much for having a look at this, and for enjoying it so far… The story is based on prompts from the Orgy Armada's Revolution, The Second Coming. Its another long one, but worth it I hope... I don't own any part of Revolution and am writing this purely for love of the show and its characters.

Nights in white satin, sweet dreams… A shade of sadness

Charlie followed Bass and Miles as they ghosted through the trees towards the road and the shelter of the hedge that bordered it. She'd never admit it but she was having a hard time keeping up – the two of them had dropped into some sort of secret soldier zone and were zigzagging from cover to cover, keeping out of sight of the road; occasionally giving each other hand signals that someone had better be planning to teach her the meaning of pretty fucking soon or she would be really, really pissed. Then Bass turned and caught her eye – a wide grin on his face, his teeth gleaming white…

Charlie couldn't help grinning back; the man was practically skipping. So much for big bad General Monroe... She moved on to the next tree, following his lead. She was finding it harder and harder to match the Bass she was coming to know with the starched and paranoid General she'd met in Philly and who'd saved her life back in the Tower. This was a Bass she could imagine growing up with Miles, a brother, someone Miles wouldn't, couldn't kill… She hoped he'd kept some of the General's ruthlessness though, she had a feeling they'd need it…

Miles turned to check on her too, saw her grin, did a double take to Bass then back to her and narrowed his eyes. Then he tipped his head towards a thick bit of hedge…'If you've finished making googoo eyes at each other, I think that's our best vantage point…'

Bass caught her eye, his grin even wider; his teeth white in his sun-bronzed face and his eyes a brilliant shining blue…'I don't know how you move so fast with that stick up your ass, Miles…'

Charlie chuckled when she heard Miles growl something under his breath…

When they were in position, crouched behind some thick bushes, Miles pulled a pair of binoculars out of a pocket and had a look, the newcomers were still a way down the road and just visible in the early light of dawn… 'Khaki uniforms, American flags on the sleeves; I'm guessing they're Patriots…I count ten on foot, two on the wagon, can't see any outriders…' He handed the glasses to Bass, passing them over Charlie's head, totally ignoring her outstretched hand - and her scowl…'I'm beginning to think there might be something to those weird cards of yours…'

Bass peered down the road…'Rosie's been right on the mark so far' he shifted to get a better angle, rubbing the bruise on his butt from his fall earlier… 'Even if she does overdo the 'pay attention to me' stuff sometimes…' he handed the glasses down to Charlie….

She took them with a tight smirk, and focused on the wagon, 'I see some boxes in the back… Wrapped up in blankets? Looks like supplies of some kind, something fragile I guess… but why only one wagon?'

Miles reached for the glasses again… 'I'm thinking we should find out…' he studied the oncoming convoy 'Soldiers are one thing, it's the Death card I'm worried about…'

Bass stood up cautiously, keeping his head low, and checked his gun...'I'm down to two rounds and my swords…'

Miles reached into a pocket in his coat and pulled out a box, tossing it over Charlie's head…'Here…'

Bass chuckled…'still haven't run out, Miles?'

Miles allowed himself a tight smile…'Don't ever intend to, Bass…' he looked through the glasses again… 'What do you think…Skippack?

'I was thinking Phoenixville'

Charlie looked from one to the other…'What are you talking about?'

'Phoenixville it is…' Miles turned to her 'Charlie, we need you to distract the guys on the wagon while me and Bass take care of the others…' he looked her up and down, eyes narrowed…'Lose the jacket and the crossbow and look helpless; tell em you're lost or something…' he shrugged…'you know… keep them looking at you, then be ready to grab the horses…'

Her eyebrows had been getting higher…'is that all? Don't you want a song and dance routine? Or juggling maybe?'

Bass patted her on the butt, 'just wriggle that lovely ass, you'll have 'em eating out of your hand…'

Miles had stood up too and was checking his own weapons, 'keep your hands to yourself, Bass, at least in front of me, or I might forget who I'm supposed to be shooting at.'

Charlie grabbed the hand and kept it right where it was, her eyes narrowed as she glared at Miles…'Quit it, Miles.' She let go, reefed her bow strap over her head and stripped off her jacket, dropping them both on the ground, then turned to a slightly startled Bass, reaching up to pull his head down for a kiss.

Bass kept half an eye on Miles, just in case, then forgot all about him for a long, sweet, moment as he lost himself in that kiss… Charlie's lips were warm and soft, her tongue flicking out to play with his, her legs framing his, her denim covered pussy hot against his thigh. His arms tightened around her lush, strong curves, and then his cock forgot all about Miles too...

She laughed, her hands snaking up around his neck as she pulled him even closer, her fingers playing with the curls at the base of his neck, one of her legs pressing in between his, feeling his cock jumping to attention against her thigh…

Miles cleared his throat and waited a moment, but when they kept on ignoring him he turned and stomped away…'I suppose I'll go kill the patriots myself then…' he shrugged…'I feel like killing something…'

Some part of Bass' brain registered that his oldest friend was more than usually pissed and he reluctantly untangled his arms from around Charlie…

Her eyes were hazy and her lips pink and swollen as she stepped back…'Um… what was that, Miles?'

He growled something else under his breath, sighed heavily, then turned back to them…'I said… If we're going to do this, lets do it for fuck's sake…'

…..

Charlie looked down into the crates they'd opened up, one was full of carefully wrapped small medicine bottles, the crate next to it was held what appeared to be about an equal number of small glass vials and re-usable syringes…She picked one of the bottles up, holding it up so she could see the clear fluid inside moving around…'So what do you think they are?'

'Careful with that, Charlie…' Miles pointed at a symbol on the bottle label, 'that means biohazard' and then he showed her the same symbol enclosed in a triangle on the vials in the second crate, 'and that's the symbol for vaccine' he shook his head, 'looks like they've got enough here to infect a small city, his eyes narrowed…'If I had to guess I'd say it looks like they're planning to start an epidemic or ten...' He frowned, 'and maybe only save the people they want to save…'

Charlie put the bottle back, very, very carefully… 'So the vaccine keeps the Patriots and their friends safe?'

Miles shook his head…'maybe…' he lifted the lid of another crate, there were more of the bottles and vials in that one too, 'there's a hell of a lot more of the biohazard stuff than there is vaccine by the looks of it…'

Bass came around the wagon, wiping his hands on a blood smeared cloth, he tipped his head back towards a limp figure tied to one of the wheels…'He didn't know much about the stuff in the crates except that they were all warned not to touch it. But I was right; they were heading to Texas…' He pulled a piece of heavy gauge paper out of an oilskin wallet. 'He was carrying this,' he put the wallet down then spread the paper out on one of the unopened crates. It was a map of Texas with some of the towns outlined in red, Willoughby amongst them. There was writing across the blank space at the bottom in some sort of flowing script…

Charlie squinted at it…'so what does it say?'

Miles shrugged; 'Beat's me…' he looked at the paper then over at Bass, 'are the rest of them in Arabic too?'

Bass nodded…'It's a pretty good code really, there wouldn't be that many people around who would be able to read it, we'll need to find someone else to translate though…' He tipped his head back to the Patriot tied to the wagon wheel…'Guy had a fucking cyanide tooth, died before I could ask him much.' He handed the wallet to Miles… 'Most of those were sealed, meant for their CO. Our guy said they were meeting up with the rest of their platoon just this side of Texas, said he's travelling with a guy called Andover'

Miles frowned…'Andover?'

'You know him?'

'The name's familiar, but I can't place it'

Charlie looked at the two of them together, her uncle Miles - former General aka the butcher of Baltimore and Sebastian Monroe, former despot and leader of the Republic. She was still amazed at the way they'd worked together; it had been as good a demonstration of speed, coordination and deadly force as she'd ever seen and it made the stories she'd heard about the two of them seem a whole lot more believable…

They'd mown and sliced their way through the ten Patriots in what had felt like moments… she'd barely had time to look helpless, wiggle her ass and start telling her story before Bass was up on the bench seat of the wagon slitting the throat of the guy riding shotgun and Miles had the driver out cold on the road… all she had had to do then was keep the horses from running off and once she secured their harness to the pommel on the bench seat, that was all good too…

She shook her head to clear it, damn, she was suddenly ravenous…'why don't we get the dead guys out of sight and go get something to eat?'

Bass grinned, jumping up onto the wagon 'If I know soldiers, and I do… I'm betting they've got a few little luxuries hidden away in here…' He rummaged through the supply chest under the seat, grunting in satisfaction…'guys, you'll be happy to know we've got flour, beans… dried fruit and other stuff, and some jerky' he tossed a paper wrapped parcel down to Charlie…

She caught it with a smile, peeling back the paper and having a look, 'thanks"

'And…' he reached into a box pushed right at the back, pulling out a bottle, 'some whiskey…' he tossed the bottle over the side… 'They must have gone shopping at the last town'.

Miles reached up and caught the bottle mid flight, 'If there's any coffee in there I might even let you have some of this.'

Bass pulled out a waxed hessian bag, putting it to his nose and taking a deep sniff…'we're in luck…' he threw the bag back, 'there's at least four more bags in here, Miles, and another couple of bottles so you can have that one all to yourself…'

He jumped down again, then went around the front to check the horses…'Dead guys first, then breakfast, ok?'

…

Bodies rolled into the ditch behind the hedge and covered over, they headed back to the house, a couple of blankets tied on and dragging behind the wagon to disguise their tracks. With Charlie in the middle, between him and Bass, Miles was taking them up the drive towards the house, the morning sun making their shadows look like strange giants on the grassy field. A couple of rabbits darted away as the wagon got close and birds wheeled above their heads, startled into flight.

There was a sturdy figure waiting for them on the verandah, and even at this distance Charlie could see Aaron's frown…

Bass nudged Charlie's side…'He looks worried…'

She smiled, although her eyes were sad…'It's hard to tell really, worried is sort of his permanent expression these days...'

Miles huffed out a breath, 'He's a good man, Bass, remember that, ok?'

'Hey…it's alright, I'll be nice to Staypuft, I promise…'

Miles choked off a laugh then turned to Charlie… 'If your mom's doing ok, I'd like to show her some of these bottles, she and Aaron might be able to tell us how to get rid of the stuff without infecting ourselves with something…'

Charlie frowned…'should we tell her those guys were going to Willoughby though? She's bad enough as it is without knowing about that…'

He nodded, 'you're probably right…' He looked over Charlie's head at Bass…'Rachel doesn't need to know about you either, Bass'

The other man nodded, 'I know, Charlie and I've already talked about it…' he pointed over at a spot near his camp, 'You can drop me off over there, I need to check on Painful and the horses anyway…'

'Painful?'

Charlie laughed…'that's his mule, it bit him on the ass…'

'So he called it Painful…' Miles mouth curved in a genuine grin…'gotta love mules…'

Bass shrugged, laughing…'hey, she hasn't done it for two days straight now, I think she's getting to like me…'

….

They dropped Bass off with some of the coffee and drove the wagon round the back of the house, unhitching the horses and tethering them out to graze.

Charlie looked across at Miles as he finished the last of the tethers…his eyes were red-rimmed and he was stiff with exhaustion. 'You've been up most of the night, Miles, why don't you have a sleep first? I'll go and fill Aaron in on everything and check on mom…'

Miles nodded, 'I might just do that, Charlie,' he lifted the bottle…'Hey, give Aaron one of these, will you?' he yawned, jaw cracking; 'he deserves it'.

Charlie patted the bag over her shoulder 'all taken care of, Miles…' then she reached around and hugged him, 'Hey, are we ok?'

He pulled her closer, planting a kiss on the top of her head…'If he hurts you, I'll have to kill him, just saying…'

She laughed…'If he hurts me I'll kill him myself…' she leaned back, looking up at him 'I'm all grown up, Miles, you don't have to worry about me…'

He chuckled…'yeah, I know…just…you know… keep the…'

'Keep the stupid to a minimum…' she nodded…'I'll try, but he's different, Miles, I don't think he's that man anymore, I'm not sure if he ever was, not really…' Her deep blue eyes held his, 'he's saved my life twice already that I know of, I mean, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him, those men back in the barn would have killed all of us…' She squeezed the lean waist…'And someone or something, whoever or whatever it was, brought him here to us, Miles, when we needed him, that's got to mean something, doesn't it?'

Miles sighed, a heavy sound in the morning air, 'All this spooky crap? It's really not me, kid, I don't understand it, but I'm not just worried about you…' he paused for a minute, 'Bass is hauling a whole truckload of baggage around of his own, and it's sent him over the edge before…'

Charlie nodded…'I know, he told me about Shelley and the baby… '

Miles looked startled…'Did he?'

'Yeah, and that he's got a grown up son somewhere, he said he's going to find him, once we sort the Patriots out…'

Something flickered across Miles' eyes that she couldn't quite catch, and then he turned round towards the house, pulling her with him. 'Go check on your mom and Aaron, Charlie, I'll get a couple of hours in the sack,' he let go of her as they went up the steps into the house, 'and maybe we should just tell Aaron about the stuff in the wagon? I don't like leaving your mom out of things but I really don't know what seeing it'll do to her...'

She nodded, 'I was thinking about that too, I mean she's already paranoid enough, she keeps talking about some weird government conspiracy…'

He turned to go to the spare room where he'd put his bedroll, then turned back to her, his face solemn... 'I'm beginning to think she's right, Charlie. These Patriots? They're well organised and they've got resources that had to have been put together before the blackout.' He tipped his thumb towards the wagon, 'that little lot wasn't cooked up on a backyard barbecue, it was made in a real lab – one that had power, so it's been stockpiled somewhere till they were ready to use it,' he lowered his voice…'and do you know what worries me even more?' his dark eyes were very serious…'If there's one place like the Tower, who's to say there aren't more? Who knows what else they've got hidden away…'

Charlie stared… 'So Bass was right… he said the Patriots were going to be bad, and the bounty hunters he killed back in the mountains talked about sleeper agents too, all over the country, hidden before the blackout.'

Miles nodded… 'Which means we can't trust anyone, even people we think we know, so we have to be extra careful from now on, Charlie, your mom's the one they really want, and maybe Aaron too. And as for Willoughby?' he ran his hand through his hair… 'We'll have to work something out before we get there' his lips twisted…'maybe we can kidnap Gene, bring him to us, keep your mom away from town altogether…' He sighed, taking another pull from the bottle… 'Oh, and those six guys we killed for the wagon? It was pretty easy right, for you and me?'

Charlie's nodded slowly…'yeah, they were pushovers…' she shrugged 'I didn't even have to wiggle my ass'

He smiled, or tried to anyway, his face lined with exhaustion…'that's right…' he went into the room and started to close the door behind him… 'Wake me in a couple of hours?' Then his face reappeared…'and if you go, you know… hunting… again, don't get all caught up in the moment and forget about us, ok?'

Charlie grinned…'Ok, Miles…'

Aaron came out into the hall from the kitchen, his voice a harsh whisper…'Charlie? What the hell's going on?'

She walked towards him…'where's my mom?'

'She's still asleep' he chewed his bottom lip, nervous…'Charlie, I saw, you know… him…'

Charlie brushed past him into the kitchen, 'No you didn't, Aaron, you saw me and Miles with a wagon and some intel we got from a bunch of travelling Patriots, I'll show you after we've had something to eat…' She put her bag on the table, ignoring his confusion and started pulling out packages, 'Look, we've got some hard cheese and biscuits, fruit – and coffee.'

'Real coffee?' Aaron sucked in a breath and nodded, his eyes full of questions… 'I guess I could have been too far away to see properly…' then he picked up the bag of coffee beans, and sniffed it, 'My God, that smells good…'

Charlie smiled, her dimple showing…'I'll tell you all about it later, I promise, but look, they had some whisky too,' she held out the bottle…

His eyes lit up, 'later on is fine, Charlie,' he reached for the whisky 'come to papa…'

…

Miles stripped off his duster and took a deep pull from his bottle of whiskey, feeling the alcohol burn a searing welcome way down his throat. He put the bottle down, rubbed his hands over his face and sank down onto the bedroll spread out on the wooden floor...

He lay back and looked up at the cobwebbed ceiling…

Somehow Bass had found them, found Charlie with the help of some crazy ghost lady and a pack of weird cards, and somehow she had developed…feelings… for him. Miles honestly didn't know what to do about that. One thing he did know was that if Rachel even suspected that Bass Monroe was here and screwing her daughter, she'd lose whatever was left of her mind…

Having Bass along though meant that maybe, just maybe they'd all make it to Willoughby in one piece. But if Bass and his weird fucking cards were right about the Patriots, then what if they were right about Rachel's dad? What if he really was working with the Patriots, then they were walking right into a trap…

And then there was Connor. Sometime soon he was going to have to tell Bass about his son, and explain why he and Emma had kept the boy a secret… Shit…

He sat up just enough so he wouldn't choke on another pull, then put the cap on the bottle and lay back again, closing his eyes, every muscle in his body aching like he'd been rolled on by a mule called Painful…

….

Miles woke up somewhere else… He was wearing his duster and the same old jeans and shirt that he'd gone to sleep in, but he was somewhere else. He looked around; the streets were achingly familiar and completely impossible. It was Philly… but Philly before the bombs had blown it into piles of dust and ash. He looked around, it wasn't just Philly, he was on the street in front of Otto's lounge.

He rubbed a booted foot on the worn and crumbling bitumen and it felt real, it was colder here too and almost dark instead of mid morning… He shut his eyes, then opened one, it was all still there… he shut that one and opened the other, ditto, ok, Toto, we are so not in Kansas anymore…

'Hey, Miles?'

He turned towards the voice, not daring to believe his ears, but his eyes told him the same thing, 'Nora?'

She walked up to him, all sleek, dangerous curves in a short, tight black dress. Her long luscious legs and beautiful, brown skin a sweet, sweet sight, and as for those wonderful cheekbones and full, lush lips…

Miles felt his heart break into a million pieces all over again when he remembered her, lying broken and so fucking still in the Tower…

The exotic, slanted, dark eyes in that gorgeous face fixed on him with a puzzled frown creasing her brows…'Where have you been?' she looked him up and down, 'you look terrible.'

Some sort of laugh pushed its way out of his chest; although his heart was pounding so hard he was surprised it wasn't showing on the outside…'Away I guess, you look great…'

She shrugged…'what, this little thing?' she slid her hands down the tight fabric that hugged her killer body like a dark, silken glove, her nipples budding as he watched… She smiled, her white teeth and the tip of her tongue as she flicked it out over her lower lip drawing his eyes like a magnet…'I bought it with my winnings from last night…' She came closer, her high heels bringing the top of her head almost up to his nose and her lips within kissing range along with her scent, a warm, tantalizing spicy musk that went straight to his dick… 'I totally killed 'em at the tables… are you alright, Miles?'

Was he alright? 'Yeah…' he licked his own lips, and found he was still looking at hers…'I'm fine…' he cleared his throat and looked around, she was alone. 'Where are you headed?'

She put her arms around his waist, her body flush against him, and damn, it felt so fucking good…

'I was coming to meet you of course, like we said' her eyes were puzzled… 'You look really tired, Miles, are you sure you're ok?' She ran a hand up his chest and cupped his cheek, her thumb stroking over the thick stubble, 'you haven't shaved, your clothes are a mess' she sniffed at his shirt… 'And you really need a bath…'

He lifted her chin with his knuckles…'I've got an idea…'

She curved her throat into his hand, letting his fingers slide gently down to her shoulder…'what is it?'

He leaned down and kissed her, and the feel of those soft, warm, wonderfully pliant lips under his nearly brought him to his fucking knees, and if this was a dream it was a perfect dream, and he didn't want to wake up yet… 'What if we go to your place? I can get cleaned up there…'

She kissed him back, her tongue flicking out, meeting his. 'Ok, I suppose the dress will keep for another night'

He let his fingers drop to the shadowed cleft between her breasts, one finger sliding between the soft mounds…'all I can think about right now is getting you out of the fucking dress…'

Her eyes danced up at him and she licked her lips…

He wound his arm around her waist as they walked through the lamp-lit, elegant streets to her house, and if there were any other people around, he didn't see them; his eyes and arms were full of the woman walking next to him, her lithe body bumping his, both of them laughing, her heels tapping on the concrete pavement, the curves of her breasts and the shadowy valley between them bouncing a little with every step…

She opened her door and pulled him inside, lighting the lamp on the hall table and leading him upstairs to her room, his eyes following the swell of her hips, the tight globes of her ass swaying in that delicious dress with every upwards step.

His hands strayed to her hips, stroking over the smooth fabric and down, and he heard her breath catch as his fingers slid under the short hem of the dress and under the light fabric of her panties, spreading out over the warm, springy flesh of her ass, feeling the strong muscles bunching and releasing as she climbed…

He pulled one hand back and undid his fly, feeling his cock spring out, 'God, I've missed you, Nora…'

She laughed, a low, sweet sound that rippled through his heart, 'I missed you too, Miles.' She turned that laughing face to him…'though it's only been four days,'

Four days, a lifetime… He laughed back, although it caught on the lump in his throat…'Seems longer than that.'

She reached the top of the stairs and turned towards him, setting the lamp on a small table, and suddenly clothes were everywhere around them. The dress somehow came off over her head, and he threw it over the rail while she was pulling at his jacket sleeves, her bra went the same way…

Then she saw his cock, rising like a search light out of his pants. She had his pants button undone and her lips around his hard length before he could finish kicking off his boots and he staggered, one hand on the landing rail, the other holding her head so she didn't lose her grip on him, 'Shit, Nora…' then his words dried up…

She looked up at him, dark eyes wicked as she licked and sucked; her lips wrapped around him and her tongue and hot wet mouth doing magical, amazing things to his cock, her hair falling in long, dark waves around her shoulders, her breasts beautiful with the dusky nipples pebbled… She looked so fucking amazing he almost lost his load then and there… Instead he somehow found the strength to pull her up and off his dick... 'Bedroom, now…'

She licked her lips and swayed away from him, still in those high heels, her eyes laughing at him, her hands pulling him towards her room 'Come on, Miles, hurry…'

He stumbled over his boots, yanking them off and tossing them somewhere… his pants following them, although he kept enough presence of mind to keep hold of his swords and his gun, laying them on her dresser before getting rid of the rest of his clothes, lifting her in his arms and tossing her onto the bed…

Then he stood there for a moment, just looking at her as she lay there, smiling back at him, her head propped on one hand, her slim body flowing in graceful, lovely curves down the bed… and then he was next to her, his hands roaming over her smooth skin, reaching down to pull one graceful leg over his shoulder so he could dive in, totally balls deep into her tight, hot wetness… her gasps and moans sounding like sweet music in his ears, and the sound of his name on her lips, and the feel of her around him as his cock slid in and out of her like all the good things he'd forgotten existed…

And for a long time, all he knew was her, her arms around him, her feet thudding on his back as he plumbed her, pushing her further into the soft, yielding mattress with every thrust, her lips on his, their sweat mingling and rising like steam into the cool air of the room, their bodies moving together faster, harder, more urgently as they reached for the moon and stars…

And afterwards, he held her as she fell asleep, his hand stroking her hair, her breath tickling the little hairs on his chest, her long, slim legs tangled in his and her face looking so, so beautiful…

….

Miles woke to find himself alone on the bedroll in the bedroom of the safe house with tears running down his cheeks and dust on his lips, with Philly, and Nora so fucking far, far away…

He sat up, reaching for the whiskey bottle, but before he could get hold of it, he saw a woman sitting on the old chair in the corner of the room, and he realized suddenly that could see straight through her to the dirt streaked wall behind.

She smiled, a gentle smile, with more than a trace of sadness in it…'Hello, Miles, my name's Rose, and your Nora was a very special woman, I think…'

…

AN: Hi and thanks for reading, I hope you liked this – it's sort of leading me in a few unexpected directions, including Miles having a dream of his own… I think he genuinely cared for Nora and If I were Rose, and had the power to, I'd want to give him something to remember her by… anyway, hope to see you at the next chapter – there'll be more of Bass and Charlie there, just because… cheers, Magpie