CHAPTER 44;

Hi guys, Sooooooo sorry for not updating sooner. I am ashamed to admit that I have pretty much abandoned the Revolution train. The fact the show was canceled was a big blow for me and since there aren't any weekly new episodes to keep me interested I'm affraid my attention was drawn elsewhere (I am now a pathetic addict of Teen Wolf, yes, I know... NOTHING like Revolution but soooo adictive.)

This is the last full chapter, afther this there is only the Epilogue left and then it is over and done with. I'm on one hand sad to see this story end because I love these characters and I loved writing them but I'm also grateful that I was able to finish this story and not leave you guys hanging without a proper ending.

Enjoy the last one and continue imediately to the Epilogue because that weill be up seccond after this one.

It wasn't like waking up from that time she'd almost been shot in the head nor was it like waking up from when she'd been drugged. It was violent, sudden and uncomfortable. She came too gasping for air like she'd been drowning.

She surged back to life with the feeling there was no air in her lungs so she was gasping and fighting for oxygen. Her body ached and felt a little weird, she was in a strange position, half on the ground, half on something elevated but solid.

Charlie coughed and choked and fought for air, arms flailing around as she tried to find purchase.

In the distance she heard voices other sounds but they were muffled behind the need for breath, it was scary and crazy and what the hell had happened to her?

There were hands on her, several pair. They were on her face, on her shoulders and on her arms and the voices sounded excited and worried above her.

Charlie opened her eyes and though the sunlight was fading it almost blinded her it was so bright to her. She squinted and raised her arm to rub in her eyes, wondering where she was and why she felt like she'd been run over by a herd of cows.

"Charlotte?" Through the haze of panic and pain she recognized his voice. Turning her head in the direction the sound had come from her eyes found his. There was something wrong with them though, they were red and wide and... was he crying. "Bass?"

Her voice sounded nothing like her, it was rough and dry and it sounded like an old lady was talking. She tried to swallow but there was nothing to swallow down and she tried to clear her throat and speak again "Bass?"

A canteen appeared before her and Bass held it up to her mouth, she greedily swallowed down the water, finishing what was left in the canteen to soothe her sore throat.

When she drank enough she once again focused on where the hell she was. It seemed she was in the woods, Bass was holding her in his arms and her family and friends were gathered around. She noticed Priscilla standing there with an even more confused look on her face than Charlie probably had on her own.

Bass was staring down at her, a strange look on his face and her earlier assessment had been right, he was or had been crying. That seemed wrong, she'd never seem Bass cry or come close to something that even remotely resembled it.

"Why are you crying?" Charlie's voice still sounded croaky but she needed to know what was wrong because if Bass was crying than shit had really hit the fan.

Surprisingly the only thing coming from him was a bark of laughter that sounded... relieved? Wasn't that crazy? "Bass... what happened, how did I get here... did we win?" She wanted to know all those things, not sure which first.

He just stared at her and smiled. Miles, Rachel and Aaron were on her other side, her Mother's hand tightly squeezing hers and she could see that Rachel'd also been crying. What the hell was wrong with everyone, why was everyone crying? Did they lose, was someone dead?

Charlie went to sit up and gladly accepted Bass' help because it turned out that for some reason she felt like a newly born foal. "Bass... why do I feel so strange?"

A worried look crossed his face "What do you feel like?" He wanted to know "Are you hurt anywhere, how's your head feel?"

"My head?" Charlie raised her hands to her head and cringed at what she felt, her hair was hard and matted and stuck together by something. It felt like she'd been rolling around in the mud and it had dried on her hair, it didn't hurt though.

Come to think of it, aside from her throat she felt pretty damn good. "Did I fall and hit my head... I told you that it had been a dumbass idea to drug me, Bass!" She glared at him and took the new canteen that Miles now offered her "I'm so gonna make you pay for that." Charlie spoke between sips.

"Charlie... you didn't hit your head." Her head shot up and she looked at her mother "What the hell do you mean. Why do I feel so weird."

"You were shot in the head." Bass voice sounded strained and she frowned at him "What do you mean, shot in the head? I'm not hurt and a shot in the head isn't really something you just recover from."

The look in his eyes made the smugness she felt fade and Charlie studied his face. Bass looked genuinely upset and relieved at the same time and for some reason she didn't think he was lying. "I was shot in the head?" He nodded "What.. I mean.. how did I... how am I not dead?"

Blue eyes shot over to Priscilla and Charlie followed his gaze, what did Priscilla have to do with any of this, she barely knew the woman. "The nano... they healed you."

Charlie's eyes widened and shot over to Aaron who'd spoken up for the first time. His eyes were also brimming with tears "You were dead and the nano brought you back." Her jaw dropped and looked around the group of people surrounding her.

Each pair of eyes she connected with told her that Aaron was telling the truth "I died?" Charlie asked completely baffled "You mean I actually died, dead, gone, game over?" Her mother cupped her face and planted a kiss on her cheek "But you're back now, and that's all that matters."

Slowly she got up, her legs still a bit unsteady but the ground was hard and uncomfortable. Bass let her go and without saying a word he walked away.

She called out after him but he ignored her completely, fully intending to go out after him she was stopped by a hand on her arm "Give him a second." It was her uncle "I think he's a bit shell-shocked."

Her eyes followed Bass' disappearing frame and she frowned "Now, will someone please tell me what happened?"

"You got shot, right in front of him... and me." Charlie turned and saw Pete walking up to her, he wrapped her up in a big hug and held on tight. "You chewed him out for drugging you and locking you up and when you turned away from him you started to walk over to me." The man took a deep breath "Halfway over there was the sound of a gun going off and you went down... shot in the side of your head, you were dead on impact."

Charlie still found it a little hard to believe even though everyone was nodding their heads "You were actually dead for a few hours," His head motioned to the side and her eyes spotted a deep hole in the ground "We dug you a grave."

"That's a little... strange." Was all she could think to say. What the hell else should someone say when they found out they'd been dead for a few hours and people actually dug a grave to put them in.

In succession she was hugged by her mother, Miles, Aaron, Connor, Gene and even Evan, who it turned out felt really guilty because he was the one who'd let her escape. Slowly her memory came back and she remembered everything, she even remembered waving at Pete but then it had all faded to black.

She had no recollection of death, no white light, no pearly gates just... nothing. No joy, no happiness but also no fear or pain, just a big nothing. Turned out in the end death was just that, the end.

Miles and Connor helped her get back to the camp since she was still a bit unsteady on her feet. On the walk over they told her that they'd won the war, it was over now where the Patriots were concerned. There could always be a new threat around the corner but this one was over and done with.

It also seemed that the Nano were backing off, though they were still there because there was still no power. It had been so long ago since the black out that Charlie wasn't sure she even wanted the power back, though.

Bass was still nowhere to be found. It had been two hours since he'd left and Charlie was starting to get worried. Miles noticed her anxiety and sat down next to her, his large hand calming on her knee.

"Just give him a little longer, he was really... I think that before this he hadn't really realized how much he needed you. Your death really messed him up." Charlie looked at her uncle "Then why isn't he here, I mean, I'm back now so shouldn't he want to be with me?"

"I think Bass scared himself a bit with how much he... You gotta understand, Charlie, this is a guy who's been repressing any and all feelings of family and love and a couple of hours ago the woman who brought it all back died right in front of him. Give him a little more time."

Charlie decided to give him until she really couldn't stand it anymore. It was weird how quickly everything had gone back to normal once she was feeling better. Her mother was packing up with Gene and Aaron was trying to explain to Priscilla everything that had happened the past few weeks.

Since there wasn't anything to do she decided that she would start packing her and Bass' things, they would be on the road again in a day. That is, if he was ever going to come back to camp.

Their tent was cool and dark, a candle lighting the space since now darkness had set in. Charlie was stuffing her pair of spare jeans into her backpack when a strong hand grabbed her arm and forcefully turned her around.

She gasped in surprise but not even a second later she couldn't make any sound because firm lips claimed hers and a persistent tongue delved into her mouth.

Charlie instantly recognized the feel of the hard body against hers, the scent of it something she would never forget for the rest of her life. That was the only reason she didn't freak out when arms encircled her and held her so tight she was afraid he'd break her ribs.

Desperation laced Bass' kiss and she allowed him access for a little while. His hands were gripping her hips, bruising the flesh he was holding on so tight.

He devoured her, there was no other explanation for it. He claimed her, took what he wanted and gave all of himself in return. Moments into the kiss Charlie gently peeled herself off of him and looked into his bewildered blue eyes "Nice of you to come back."

It was supposed to have been funny to lighten the mood but his eyes just bore into hers. She squirmed under the scrutiny "What?" Bass shook his head and cupped her face in his hands.

While he'd been gone she'd taken the time to wash her hair, the blood was all gone and there was no trace of there ever being a wound. His deft fingers scoured her skull for any damages but like she knew he didn't find any.

"There's nothing there." He said incredulously "There's not a trace of the gunshot wound." Charlie nodded "Guess the nano's don't like to do their jobs half-assed." She quipped.

Bass just stared at her ""You were shot." Her heart constricted at the broken sound of his voice "You were shot and you died. You had a hole the size of a quarter in the side of your head... I felt your blood run through my fingers. I dug your grave."

That last sentence was said with so much pain she could almost feel it as her own "I had to dig your grave, Charlotte."

Charlie reached up and demanded he look at her "I'm fine." She said the words but she could see he still wasn't convinced.

On one hand she felt for him, she was so sorry that he had to go through that, that he'd been hurt so badly by her passing but on the other hand... On the other hand she felt like a million bucks, she felt like she could do anything BECAUSE this man had been so devastated by her death. It only proved how much he actually loved her and she hadn't thought in a million years that she would ever find that in this broken world, let alone with a man like Sebastian Monroe.

"Why did the Nano bring me back to life? Why me?" Bass ran his thumb along her cheek and smiled "I threatened to go on a gigantic killing spree." She chuckled but then he turned serious "Because even it could see that this world needs you... more importantly.. It saw how much I need you."

She smiled and accepted his light kiss "You do?" He nodded "More than you will ever know. I'm so fucking thankful you're back, baby." Charlie sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck when he kissed her again "I love it when you call me baby." She muttered in between kisses.

They stood there kissing for what seemed like eons but in reality only minutes had passed "So what are we going to do now?" She wanted to know. The Patriots were defeated, DC was back in the hands of the people who ran it before and it seemed that at least for now the war was over.

"We are going to pack our shit." Bass said "And we're going to follow Miles and your mother wherever the hell they're going. Then we're gonna find ourselves a house and get those chickens and pigs we were talking about so you can cook me eggs and bacon every morning."

Charlie snorted "If you think I'm going to play your little housewife then you are sadly mistaken, good sir." But there was a smile on her face that belied her words. "And what will you be doing while I'm cooking you breakfast?"

Bass chuckled and pulled her tightly against him "I'll be arguing with Miles about who's going to plant the corn while you're mother is shooting daggers at me because we kept her up all night because I kept making you scream my name."

"You're messing with me, give me a straight answer!" She shoved him playfully and he smirked. "You're right, I am messing with you." He said "I don't know what we're going to do, where we're going to go. I don't really care as long as this little group stays together. I have no idea if we'll find that house or if we go to a city, all I know is I want to take you away from all this damn violence." His eyes turned mischievous "I did mean the part about pissing off your mom, though."

She laughed out loud "You're crazy!" Bass nodded a grin on his face "Bat-shit." He replied "and it's all your fault."

On to the epilogue