Nights in white satin, sweet dreams – Thank you, Mr Sandman...

A Revolution fic: Bass Monroe/Charlie Matheson, Charloe; Blackout AU. Miles Matheson, Rachel Matheson, Aaron Pittman, 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 thank you so much for having a look at this, for being so patient - it has been a little while between updates - and for travelling with me… The story started out based on prompts from the Orgy Armada's Revolution, The Second Coming but it sort of took on a life of its own… It felt like time to wrap it up, so this is the last chapter for now. Down the track there might be more stories to tell from this universe though – so if you'd like to know more, please let me know...

I don't own any part of Revolution though and am writing this purely for love of the show and its characters.

Nights in white satin, sweet dreams… Thank you, Mr Sandman

Rose had basically thrown the whole pack of cards at Aaron, but they all felt a sense of urgency, a need to move quickly, even without her warning.

Aaron's face had gone white when everything exploded, then he'd yelled something at them about getting Rachel and their stuff ready to go, then he was gone...

Charlie coughed and spluttered as she ran out of the spreading clouds of dust and smoke behind Miles and Bass, trying to get the taste of the oily stuff out of her lungs.

Back in the yard, they found the horses restless, frightened, and all the dogs barking, leaping up, twisting and straining at the end of their tethers, trying to get free, their high, excited yips echoing around the yard. Miles ran to the front of the wagon, working to calm the horses, the dogs settling a little with humans nearby although they were still upset, still searching the smoky air…

Bass started throwing the bags he'd taken off Painful earlier into the back of the wagon, careless of where they landed, just wanting to get the stuff loaded.

Charlie looked around, trying to work out where Steve would keep the donkey and what the hell were they going to do with a jersey cow? She had just decided to put the dogs in the wagon and was heading over to untie them when she saw something, a bulky shape coming towards them out of the smoke. She turned and ran towards it, shouting over her shoulder…'Miles? Bass? Quick, it's Steve, I think he's ok.'

Miles had his hands full with the wagon and the horses but Bass tossed another bundle into the back and came running…

Steve came stumbling and retching out of the smoke to a chorus of wildly excited barks. Bright red blood was trickling down one side of his face and he was coughing in harsh, wracking heaves. His beard was singed and still smoking and his clothes black with soot and grime, but in between coughs he had a big grin on his face…

Charlie reached him just ahead of Bass and they each took an arm, helping the old man across to a bench seat against the back wall of the house, letting him gently down onto it…

'Thanks, you two,' Steve looked up at them; his eyes bright although red rimmed and streaming. He held out a filthy hand, the thick, work-roughened fingers clenched over something. 'We did it, it's all gone… and here, I managed to grab this on the way out.' He grinned again, teeth white against a soot blackened face, 'I couldn't let those Patriot bastards get their hands on it, could I?' The pendant gleamed in his palm as he opened his hand out.

Charlie grinned back… 'You're something else Steve, d'you know that?' she took the pendant, looping the blackened leather thong around her neck, 'what about your music thing?'

He grinned, patting his shirt pocket… 'Just in case you guys get the power back on somehow…' Then the dog's barking changed, becoming harsher, growling, and Steve sat up straight, 'Someone's coming…' He looked around the yard, searching; then nodded... 'Get the wagon and your gear into the shed over there, the double doors, see 'em?'

Bass looked, 'yeah?' he looked Steve up and down, his eyes worried… 'So what about you?'

The old face creased into a smile, every wrinkle outlined in black…'I'll tell 'em an old fuel tank exploded while I was doing some maintenance… '

Charlie frowned, 'what if they see our tracks?'

Steve got to his feet, favouring one leg slightly… He shrugged 'then I'll tell em I saw you but you're long gone… Don't worry, it'll be ok.' He started to head into the house, 'let the dogs off for me will you?'

Charlie nodded, ran over to do that and all five raced across to join their master in a tumble of black and white and golden brown…

Steve bent to pat them, grinning at the wagging tails and eager faces looking up at him, then he looked up at Bass… 'The shed's partitioned off, go through to the back and there's a big set of doors on the back wall that lead out to the lane, they look rusty but they'll move ok if you're careful and if you have to you can get the wagon out that way.' He winced and leaned back against the door, 'but wait and see, let me try and get rid of them first, just in case they've got eyes on the roads.' He turned to go in again, then changed his mind, 'Oh… and maybe if you leave the mule tied up there it might help explain the droppings and the tracks?'

Bass chuckled…'you really want that mule don't you…'

Steve grinned again, 'can't blame a man for trying'

'She bites…'

'Never met a mule that didn't…'

…

Miles and Bass worked quickly to get the wagon, the black and Stony into the shed and out of sight and Charlie did a quick sweep to make sure they hadn't left anything behind - except Painful, who greeted her with an expectant whicker…

She gave the mule a quick pat and left her tied up, wincing at the almost human look of betrayal in the big brown eyes then headed into the shed, stealing a quick glance at the sky above them where smoke was still billowing in huge, dirty, roiling drifts after the explosion. She stared… right above their heads loomed a thick cloud of smoke that looked like the fist of the devil on Rose's card, a finger pointed straight down at them. She choked off a laugh, silly, must be all the ghost stuff… but so much for getting in and out of Pueblo quietly.

The sound of hoof beats echoed down the road… several horses by the sound of it so Charlie scuffled her tracks and darted in to join Bass and Miles.

…

Miles stayed with the wagon and the horses while Charlie and Bass found the ladder up to the shed's mezzanine and shimmied up, crawling through the straw, dust and layers of bird droppings to a small, dirty window that looked down over the courtyard.

There were eight riders, and they came clattering through the gates, over the cobblestones and wheeled into the dusty yard.

'Who are they?' Charlie held the binoculars up to her eyes for a moment then passed them across.

He took them although he didn't need glasses to know who the riders were. 'Texas Rangers, Charlie, live ones this time, and they've been kind enough to cover any tracks we might have left out there…' Bass met her eyes, his brimming with a kind of humour.

She grinned back, 'Well, I guess that makes them good for something…' then she froze, 'so who's that coming in after them then…'

A wagon rolled in through the gates, a driver and a guard up the front and a thin older man in a long trench coat looking like the Nazi interrogator out of Raiders of the Lost Ark... 'Don't know, Charlie, the markings on the wagon are the same as on ours, so my guess is he's a Patriot, and what he's doing with Texas is a bit of a mystery…' Bass studied the newcomer through the glasses, 'but I bet I can tell you the name of his favourite movie…'

'His name is Horn, and he's looking for Rachel, but he mustn't find her…'

The whispery voice came from behind them and Charlie swung around to find the hazy form of a woman kneeling by the top of the ladder… She felt her eyes go wide, it was the first time she'd seen their ghost up close, back on the road she'd been too busy running away from the grey people to look back at Rose and back at Crystal Lakes cabins she'd kind of had other things on her mind... She tried to focus on the shadowy face but it kept sliding away somehow, and the long hair was flying around in a breeze that wasn't there… 'What does he want with my Mom, Rose?'

The transparent face got a little clearer, the eyes a whirling, hypnotic misty grey…'He knows about her, he worked in the same place as she did. He knows about the pendants and he wants them back, he knows that the technology Rachel and your father developed was used to cause the blackout, and he's heard of the strange things that have been happening. He thinks she'll be able to explain them, help him get what he wants…'

Bass frowned, glancing round at her, 'Ok, so what does he want?'

Rose flickered…'He's thinking of a town called Lubbock in Texas where there's a man who's healing people, and he's thinking of one of his men who saw the Grey people on the road past Ludlow and escaped' She came closer, moving towards Bass, 'he's thinking about taking the power for himself, using Rachel and the healing man and the pendants to take over from the man who's in charge of the Patriots now, someone called Davis?' Her face looked almost solid for a moment, her eyes meeting his then turning to Charlie, 'he's thinking terrible things, Charlie, he doesn't care about hurting anyone or anything, just the power…' She shivered, light and dark ripples skittering through her skin. 'He's evil.'

Then she vanished…

Charlie looked out the window. Horn had got out of the wagon and was standing in front of Steve, one of the Rangers holding the old man's arm. There was no sign of the dogs.

Bass tensed as Horn slapped his gloves into a hand and turned, his eyes skating over the yard like pale search beams… 'Keep very still Charlie, and don't look at him.'

She nodded, 'think like a brick, I know,' She stared into space and concentrated on being invisible.

Horn looked up, his eyes roving up over the buildings and up to the black cloud above them then back down, settling on the shed for a long, excruciating moment... Then, he turned and climbed back into the wagon, tipping his hat to Steve as the wagon turned and headed back out the gate.

Charlie let a breath out that she knew damn well she'd been holding.

Bass kept watching out the window, 'The Rangers are heading out too, Charlie' he chuckled, 'maybe we should give Steve one of the pendants, he sure as shit deserves it.'

She nodded again, a relieved smile curving her lips, 'yeah…'

Miles' head appeared at the top of the ladder, 'Get down here, Bass, that fucking black horse of yours keeps trying to eat my coat…'

…

Once they were sure the Rangers and Horn had gone, Bass and Steve got to work disguising the wagon, covering up any marks identifying it as Patriot and bedding down the horses. In the meantime Charlie and Miles took Painful and between them and Aaron they'd managed to walk her mom and their stuff to the museum and one of Steve's spare rooms.

Rachel hadn't said a word, just walked where they told her to, then sank down onto the bed in the cosy little room and closed her eyes. She was lying on her side now, sleeping, one hand with it's thin, dirty fingers resting on the pillow next to her head. The once lovely hair was stringy and unkempt and she looked drawn, cheekbones high and stark above hollow cheeks and dark circles under the closed eyes.

Charlie sighed and pulled the blanket up a little to cover one thin shoulder. Aaron had given her mom something from the wagon supplies to try to help her sleep properly and stop the nightmares and to her relief it looked as though it was working. Her mom was in a deep sleep.

It didn't seem to matter what else they tried to do for her though - she seemed to be getting worse, more distant, further away from them…

Charlie turned the lamp to low then went to join the others in the kitchen.

…

The large, open plan kitchen was warm and bright, candles and lamps making a cheerful glow inside although thick blackout curtains covered the windows to keep the lights from showing too bright outside. A rabbit stew was bubbling away on the wood fired range and the smell of apples roasting joined the aroma of freshly ground coffee that filled the kitchen…

They'd decided to stay put for a day or so to give Horn and his men and the Rangers time to get further away and everyone was gathered around Steve's big kitchen table, the puppies in furry piles around various feet while the adult dogs were stationed outside on guard duty.

Steve took a reverent sip from his mug, then closed his eyes as he swallowed, a blissful smile spreading across his face… 'I never thought I'd taste coffee like this again…' he lifted the mug and toasted Bass, then the pendant hanging from a hook on the wall, 'Bass, for an ex-President and former Marine, you make a damn fine cup of coffee'

Bass chuckled as he started on another cup, his hands moving deftly around the espresso machine, 'the guys in our unit used to rib me about being fussy, but I loved the ritual of it'

Miles grinned, sipping from his own cup, 'they thought the only coffee good enough for a Marine was three days old, thick enough to stand on and brewed in a tin hat…'

Aaron had a beatific smile on his face, 'this is the best coffee I've had since the blackout…' he leaned across the table and picked up the jug of cream, pouring a little more into his mug… 'And cream, actual honest to goodness cream'

Steve smiled, proud…'Jersey cream is the best'

Charlie shook her head, took a sip of hers and wrinkled her nose, 'it's different.'

The others turned to her, wearing almost identical expressions of mixed disbelief and outrage.

She lifted an eyebrow and shrugged 'sorry…' then took another sip, 'it's ok, I guess'

Aaron shook his head, a little bit of cream framing his moustache, 'Ok? Charlie, there are people who would kill for a taste of this'

She shrugged again, 'I believe you, it's just not my thing, I guess' she pointed at his top lip with a grin… 'And by the way, you've got cream on your moustache…'

Aaron jumped, wiped it off then he brightened and reached across the table, 'if you don't want it, give it here, I'll have it'

'Hey,' Charlie pulled away, 'I didn't say I didn't want it'

Miles ran a hand through his hair, then leaned towards them over the table, his cup cradled between his hands… 'Sorry to burst the bubble, guys, but we need to talk about what we're going to do next'

Bass finished making his coffee, flipped the grounds cup and tapped the grounds into the scraps bucket, 'We could just leave them to duke it out – Horn'll take care of Davis then Texas'll take care of Horn once they realize the kind of guy they've gone to bed with.' He came over to the table, taking a sip as he walked and sitting down next to Charlie, one long leg splayed out under the table, the other crooked next to hers, a hard knee resting against her thigh and an arm snaked over the back of her chair.

Charlie leaned back against the arm with a sigh. Her foot was next to his under the table and she rubbed it up over his calf, 'Rose said Horn was really bad, Bass, what if he's worse than this Davis?'

Miles nodded, 'If she's right about him, it does seem a bit like saying it's ok for Darth Vader to take over the empire because he's gotta be better than the last guy…'

Aaron nodded, 'yeah…'

Steve nodded too 'the little guy, the one in the wagon? He was seriously weird,' he shuddered, 'he had these crazy eyes - and that outfit? He looked like a Nazi,' he looked around the table, his beard vibrating, 'and the idea of him running things gives me the galloping heeby-jeebies.' A thick eyebrow rose, 'If it hadn't been for your lovely non-corporeal friend helping out and doing the 'these are not the droids you're looking for' thing,' he made an exaggerated Jedi gesture in front of his face, 'I think he and his tame Rangers would have had me strung up by my toenails and pulling out my short and curly's one by one to find out if I'd seen you and that wagon'

Charlie was looking a little confused, 'can you all just speak English, please?'

Bass stared at the old man, 'You saw Rose?'

Steve's lips curved into a soft smile, 'Of course I did, she was standing right next to me, large as life and twice as pretty'

Charlie felt her eyes go wide, 'and they saw her too?'

They were all looking at Steve now.

Aaron's mouth was a little open, his coffee cup hovering somewhere between the table and his lips…

Miles cleared his throat 'so did they? See her?'

Steve nodded 'Yeah… can't you?' he tilted his head towards the empty chair next to him, 'she's right there'

Charlie looked, and now that she did, the outline of a woman sitting on the chair and smiling was quite clear, and when she met the hazy eyes, there was a sense of happiness, of peace there and somehow she knew that Rose was going to stay here, with Steve, that this was goodbye.

The hazy face nodded, smiling back at her, and she heard the light, silvery voice….'I knew you'd understand, Charlie' There was laughter that sounded as though it was coming from far away, then the voice again…'It's not goodbye quite yet though.'

Bass took a deep breath and looked at Miles and Aaron, 'so, we go on to Texas then? Take our chances with Gene?' his arm tightened around Charlie...

Aaron cleared his throat, 'I think I might have an idea'

They all turned to him.

Miles looked impatient, 'Ok, let's hear it, Aaron'

Aaron drained his mug and set it down, 'when Rose sent me to see how the pendants worked? I was in Ben's house, in the basement and I saw his desk…'

Charlie felt tears rising and she swallowed them down…'and you saw Dad, And Danny'

He nodded, 'and Maggie, I saw Maggie too.'

There was silence for a long moment…

Steve looked at the faces round the table and his smile faded, 'I can see you've all been through some stuff…'

Aaron choked off a laugh that sounded more like a sob…'You could say that.' Then he took a deep, deep breath. 'Anyway, I saw things on Ben's desk, papers, schematics, pages of calculations' he looked at Bass, 'lots of it, about the pendants, the Nanotech, other stuff.' His eyes dropped then lifted to Bass again, determined, 'so I have to ask you, when Tom Neville brought Danny to you in Philadelphia, did he bring any papers as well? Anything of Ben's?'

Bass went very still then slowly shook his head, 'No… no he didn't'

Miles sat up straight 'so Ben's things could still be there? In the house?'

Charlie didn't know what to think, how to feel. She had a bad feeling about where this was heading and honestly didn't know what to do. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard she knew Bass could feel it… She leaned back against him, wanting him to know that she didn't blame him, not anymore…

Aaron chewed his lip, 'it was way down in a corner of the basement and the desk looked like a metal one, with a filing cabinet drawer under it, you know? And the monitor looked like any other old, junk computer,' he shrugged, 'so maybe people would have just left it?'

He picked up his mug looking hopefully inside, tipped it up to get the last little drop, then put it back down… 'Anyway, It's worth a try isn't it? Especially now we've got the pendants. Maybe Ben had something on his computer that we could use?'

Bass nodded, 'Aaron's right, we have to go check it out'

Charlie sat up and looked round at Bass, but she already knew what she'd find in his eyes, and she was right, the blue eyes met hers with regret and apology in their depths…

She turned back to Miles, shaking her head in denial, 'No, no, we're stronger if we stick together, we take Mom to Grandpa Gene and then we all go, Ok?'

Miles met Bass' eyes for a long moment, then moved his gaze down to Charlie, the brown eyes sympathetic, but resigned…'I'm sorry, Charlie, but this is too important and you know it, if there's any chance at all that Ben has left something we can use to win this thing, then we've got to take it…'

Bass sighed and tightened his grip around Charlie's shoulders, 'I'll go with you Aaron, Miles and Charlie can take Rachel to Gene and we'll all meet up in Willoughby in a few weeks,'

Miles nodded, 'sounds like a plan'

Aaron looked down, 'Thanks,' he let out a breath through his teeth, then looked up at Miles, then Bass… 'Ok, so when do we leave?'

…

Later that night, Charlie smoothed out the white satin sheets on another of Steve's spare beds – it was lucky the place used to offer accommodation as well as being a museum, so everyone had a bed tonight… Then everything went blurry for a minute as her eyes filled with stupid tears, again... She and Bass had so little time together – in real time anyway - and fear for him, and Aaron, felt like a solid lump of rock in her belly.

She pulled the towel from around her and bent over, fluffing the water out of her hair with the thick fabric. Wonder of wonders, the electric water heater still worked, and there'd been magical loads of hot water for baths… She'd even managed to help her mom have a proper wash. They'd also been able to do some laundry and Steve's drying room was full of almost clean clothes and bedding, ready for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, when Bass and Aaron headed off for Wisconsin, to a town full of ghosts - and she, Miles and her mom headed off alone for Willoughby.

Then a warm, hard muscled pair of arms slid around her from behind, her breasts mounding above ridged forearms and an even warmer body pressed up close to her, his thick, hard, velvety cock sliding between her ass cheeks… She chuckled as his scruff tickled the side of her neck then she dropped the towel, arching back against him, pressing her legs together, squeezing him tight as his lips kissed their way to her ear lobe, his teeth gently nibbling and sucking at the sensitive skin, making her shiver.

He wound his arms round her tighter, as though he didn't want to let her go, and he didn't…'Hello Charlotte.'

She reached back, her head falling back onto his shoulder, her hands playing with his hair, the curls damp and springy between her fingers… 'Hello Sebastian'

He laughed, 'I love the way you say my name,' He reached down, hooking a hand under one of her thighs, lifting it, his cock sliding part way inside her slippery core… He groaned, 'damn it, I'm too tall to get inside you like this,'

Charlie wriggled, circling her hips and tipping them forwards, teasing him. 'So what are you going to do about it?'

He pulled out and swung her up into his arms, his eyes gleaming down at her, little blue and golden lights dancing in them from the lamps and mirrors in the room. He chuckled, 'This…' Then he lowered her onto the bed, sank to his knees next to it and pulled one of her legs up over his shoulder. He looked down at her body spread open in front of him and stroked a hand up her thigh to her pussy, his hand covering her mound, his fingers slipping between her pussy lips and over her clit, his palm circling her, pressing onto her soft, wet, swollen flesh.

Charlie sat up a little, so she could see.

He smiled, 'you're one gorgeous woman, Charlie.' Then he leaned down, his eyes staying on hers as his fingers spread her lips apart, the little bud of her clit looking pink and shining in her juices. He licked his lips then gently licked her clit.

She gasped, her hips jerking up towards him.

He smiled again… Then dipped down to lick some more, nibbling and sucking until she was squirming in his hands, her breath coming in hoarse, begging gasps, her juices making his scruff dark golden, the hairs of his beard catching on her own curls, making the skin of her fleshy lips tingle… Then dipped his tongue inside her, hard and as deep as he could, watching as her eyes rolled up and her lips opened in a scream of pleasure…

Charlie felt everything splinter into little shiny pieces… Then felt him as he reared above her, her leg still over his shoulder as he surged into her hard and fast and deep, his thickness so familiar now, and so very, very welcome. She wrapped her other leg around him, her clit still throbbing, pulling him in deeper, harder, her lips searching for his, finding them, her arms holding him as close as she could as she lay underneath him on the cool, slippery sheets, his body sliding into hers, again and again, surrounding her until all she could feel was him, inside her, her orgasm this time slow and deep, and so, so sweet…melting her bones and spinning her round and round until she was dizzy and all she could see was those blue eyes so, so close to hers and his lips, kissing her over and over, his lips hard and demanding, and so, so .

She felt her eyes fill again and she held him tight, holding on with arms and legs, keeping him there, inside, not wanting him to go, she didn't want him to go…

'Charlie?'

She held on tighter, 'I don't want you to go, Bass, what if Rose can't reach us? What if something happens to you? To Aaron? It's such a long way away.' She met his eyes again, 'She's staying here with Steve, Bass. Did you know that?'

He kissed her, gently this time, 'I know, but it's alright, Charlie, it'll be alright, It's just a few weeks…'

She looked up at him, her eyes an urgent, swimming blue, 'You take one of the sheets, and I'll take the other, ok?'

He kissed her again, settling down next to her on the bed and pulling her in beside him, his big body spooned around hers, 'We'll do whatever you want, Charlie.' He lifted one of her hands and brought it to his mouth, kissing her fingers. 'Whatever you want…'

She turned in his arms, her lips searching for his in a desperate, searching kiss. As though it was the last time…

….

Bass and Aaron left first, just after dawn, in an old farm wagon that Steve had been just finished refurbishing, drawn by Stony and the black. They took one of the pendants with them as well as a new stash of supplies from Steve's well-stocked storeroom.

Miles and Charlie were taking the other pendant with them to Willoughby. Steve had refused to accept it, saying he had been repaid enough with Painful – and Rose…

Charlie waved them off, still feeling the strength of Bass' arms around her, his kiss on her lips…

Miles waved too then pulled her into a sideways hug, and she hugged him back, grateful for the contact.

She sighed, 'I hope they'll be ok.'

He shrugged, the heavy muscles of his chest and shoulder moving under her cheek 'Don't worry, Bass'll keep Aaron from getting killed and Aaron'll keep Bass from doing anything too stupid.' Then he chuckled. 'It's funny but the two of them actually seem to be hitting it off pretty well'

She smiled, just a little, 'yeah, I did notice that,' Then she blew out a long breath and glanced up at him… 'You know, if you'd said to me a couple of months ago that I'd have feelings for Sebastian Monroe, Miles, I'd have said you were crazy' she shrugged, 'and I'd have probably hit you…'

Miles dropped a kiss on the top of her head, 'That goes double for me, Charlie, but if there's one thing I know for damn sure, it's that you can't always choose who you love'

She smiled, and hugged him tighter, 'yeah…'

Steve joined them, sucking a finger, 'that damn mule bit me…'

Charlie did laugh then...

…..

Charlie, Miles and Rachel left for Willoughby a couple of hours later.

Rachel had looked a little confused when Aaron didn't join them, but she didn't say anything, just got on the wagon…

Charlie had a little package in her bag, with instructions from Aaron on how to use the stuff in it to help her mom sleep. The rest of the Patriot drugs were in their crates in the back of the wagon, hidden as best they could – the stuff they'd kept anyway. They were planning to show it to Gene, to try to get him back on their side…

Also in Charlie's bag, wrapped in a clean towel, was one white, satin sheet.

Steve waved them off, with Rose a faint, wavering outline standing next to him, waving too, the dogs somehow dancing around her feet, not through them…

Charlie sighed, 'Do you think we'll be ok?'

Miles chuckled, 'Well, I'll try to keep us alive if you keep me from doing anything too stupid'

She grinned, 'sounds like a plan…'

…

That night they found another old farmhouse, abandoned for years but still sturdy. Miles was on first watch and Rachel was sleeping on a couch in the lounge room.

Charlie laid her bedroll out in the room next to her mom and carefully laid the white sheet down over it.

Just having it there made her feel better about being alone, and the sheet smelled of him, of Bass, of them together and she ran her hand over it, slowly, enjoying the smooth feel of it...

She took her belt off, laid it on the floor next to her bedroll and sat down to loosen her boots. The moonlight shone in through the open windows, misty through the tattered remnants of flowered lace curtains… She sighed, then turned when she saw something out of the corner of her eye that definitely hadn't been there before…

A tarot card lay on her pillow, the little naked lovers smiling up at her…

…

Bass and Aaron had found a barn, and driven the wagon inside. The horses were tethered out to graze and Aaron had taken first watch, stationed outside the big double doors.

Bass was stretched out by the back of the wagon. His bedroll cushioned on some old straw and the white sheet laid out over that. Aaron had looked at him a little strangely when he saw it, but he hadn't said anything, in fact, if Bass didn't know better, he'd have said there was sympathy in those clever eyes.

He lay back, the sheet cool under his hands and smelling wonderfully of Charlie, of them together... His eyes closed as he drifted off, thinking of her, missing her already…

The next thing he knew, she was there, his heavy, full cock told him she was there, his arms knew she was within them, his body knew she was on top of him, her skin smooth and warm, lithe body muscled and strong from the hunting, walking, fighting. Her legs woven between his, the lightly hair roughened skin of her calves catching on his own, sending whispers of sensation from his toes up to his lips, sending them searching for hers… Strands of her long, brown blond hair caught on his scruff as she moved, sliding across his face and throat like long fingers…She stretched her length against him, sighing, her hands tracing the heavy muscles of his arms, her soft breasts, nipples pebbled and teasing, cushioned against his chest, her pussy, all soft curls and wet, luscious folds, clit a firm nubbin against his belly…

His cock rose, hard and ready, filling the hot valley between her legs, her ass cheeks parting around him like warm, soft flesh pillows… He caught her face in his hands, and damn, she felt real, solid, wonderful, 'Charlie…'

She smiled down at him, her eyes shadowy and warm in the dark inside the barn, her lips reaching for his…'Hi Bass…'

…..

Finis… for now…

…

AN: hi there, and thank you so much for reading! I've loved writing this story – and I wanted to give it an ending that gave them another beginning too – and that reconnected a little with events in Canon (kind of). Anyway, wishing you all the best and hope to see you at my next story, cheers, Magpie