After their play-date for lunch, Bass had gone back to Ralph's and done some work around the house for him. His wife Opal had been so excited when he fixed the squeaky storm door that she'd run inside and put together a little care package for him. Not taking no for an answer, she'd made him take a nice wicker basket that was filled to the brim with various canned fruits and vegetables, a fresh loaf bread, and a bar of her own homemade soap. She'd apologized that it was lilac scented, but Bass shrugged it off, telling her that it was better than not having any at all.

As he unloaded the basket and started filling his kitchen cabinets, he couldn't help but smile. Maybe he wasn't a homemaker expert, but he didn't think that he was doing too bad. There was still a lot of work that needed to be done though. The bathtub needed to be properly scrubbed out, the backdoor needed to be hung back on it's hinges, and the front window that was busted out needed to be boarded up. And that was just the beginning.

He was carrying an old piece of wood around to the front of the house so he could fix the window when Charlie came down the overgrown driveway with Emily in her arms. There were faint red rings around her eyes, she'd obviously been crying, the grim set of her jaw telling him that whatever was wrong - was bad. Bass thought back to earlier during lunch, trying to figure out if he'd done something that might have upset her but couldn't think of anything. "Hey." He gave her tentative smile that she didn't return, but since she hadn't thrown anything or pulled a weapon he figured he must be in the clear. "What happened?" He asked when she stopped in front of him, noting that Emily was fast asleep on her shoulder.

"Mom knows," she said simply. "I don't know how she found out, but she made it very clear that my 'stupidity' isn't welcome." She sucked in a shaky breath and her voice dropped so low that he had to step closer in order to hear. "So I left, and... I don't really have anywhere else to go." Her blue eyes looked up at him and he could see the question in them, the possibly fear that he would turn them away.

In an attempt to lighten the mood a little and to reassure her, because they were more than welcome in his home, Bass swept his arms around in a dramatic gesture. "Mi casa es su casa, or whatever it is. I'd offer you the guest bedroom, but it's currently under renovation."

She rasied her eyebrows at him, cracking a small smile. "Renovation, huh?"

"In other words - it hasn't been built yet." She stifled a laugh behind her hand so as to not wake the baby. "You guys can take the bedroom and I'll... sleep on the floor." Because, duh, he didn't even have a freaking couch.

Charlie frowned up at him, shifting Emily's weight uncomfortably and making him realize that she must have been carrying her for a while in order to track him down. He dropped the wood and the hammer unceremoniously to the ground and gently took Emily from her mother, watching her little face frown at being moved but go right back to being lost to sleep. "I can sleep on the floor, Bass-"

He looked down at her sharply. "You can, but you won't. Not in my house."

A small smiled formed on her lips as she nodded her head in agreement. There was something different in her eyes though. It wasn't just acceptance, though there was that, but something more akin to respect.

XxX

Charlie knew it was silly to think that Bass might turn them away. From the moment he'd reappeared in her and Emily's lives he'd been nothing short of helpful and caring, loving even. Though that was directed at Emily. He'd been polite and respectful to her.

As he led them into the tiny, rundown house, she realized why Bass had been avoiding the subject of where he lived. He was embarrassed. There wasn't a single piece of furniture in the small living room and the old bed that was visible through the open door was nothing to boast about. She wasn't turning her nose up at it or anything like that, she'd stayed in her fair share of shit holes while wandering around The Plains, she just understood now that he hadn't been shutting her out because he didn't want her to be there.

She laid Emily's diaper bag and the bag of vegetables on the grimy kitchen counter, her eyes surveying the room carefully. "I know it's not nice to look at..." Bass began awkwardly, but she shook her head and smiled.

"It's alright, I know you're working on it. And I really appreciate you letting us stay here on such short notice. We shouldn't be here long, I just need a few days to sort myself out."

A hint of disappointment swept across his face, but was quickly replaced with a warm smile. "Take your time. There's no need to rush, you guys are more than welcome here."

The afternoon sun was starting to set, the oncoming winter shortening the days, and Emily started to fuss. Charlie took her into the bedroom to nurse while Bass moved around in the kitchen. He came into the room a little while later holding a wicker basket that was lined with what looked like some of his clothes and one of her blankets from the diaper bag. "No crib," he explained with a shrug.

She smiled and nodded, directing him to set it on the floor next to the bed. After she'd gotten the baby situated, Bass crouched down next to the basket and kissed her head, whispering something to her sleep filled ears. Charlie bit back a smile as she watched him, leaving him to say goodnight to their daughter without an audience.

In the kitchen, Charlie found a loaf of bread, homemade jam, and some fruit on the counter. Bass came out of the bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind him so he wouldn't wake the baby. "Sorry, I don't have a lot of food in the house, so..."

He looked sad and awkward, and embarrassed. Charlie immediately decided that she hated that look on him and was determined to see it as little as possible for the remainder of their co-parenting lives. "Don't apologize. I know that this hasn't been easy for you. One day you're a drunk with nothing to live for, and the next you've got a kid to take care of."

"You don't seem to have any problem with it," he said quietly. Charlie wondered if she was imagining the envy in his voice.

"No, but I had years of practice with Danny, and I had nine months to mentally prepare myself. You went from drunk to Dad in half a second," she told him gently. "It's ok for you to struggle. That's normal. Well," she corrected, "about as normal as this situation can get."

Bass looked at her then, with his head tilted to the side and his eyes filled with admiration. "You are an amazing woman, Charlie." She felt her cheeks burning and ducked her head to try and hide behind her hair, wondering why she was so shy all of a sudden. She mumbled a thank you and they ate together quietly, standing next to the kitchen counter and sharing small smiles as they did.

When they'd had their fill Bass moved to the bedroom, pulling a blanket off of the bed and spreading it out on the living room floor. Charlie looked down at his pitiful bed guiltily, but he caught it and shook his head. "The floor isn't that bad. Actually, after that lumpy mattress, sleeping on the floor might do my back some good. Trust me, by stealing my bed, you're actually doing me a favor." He gave her a crooked grin and she smiled back before heading into the bedroom.

She'd fled her grandfather's house with only Emily's little diaper bag, so she was really grateful when she saw one of Bass' t-shirts laid out on the bed for her. As she slipped it over her head, Charlie tried to ignore his lingering scent on it - like trees, fresh air, and whiskey. It usually took a while for her to calm down and fall asleep, but something about his presence in the other room calmed her down and lulled her quickly to sleep.

XxX

Sleep had been difficult for him even before the blackout. Nightmares about cars squashed like pancakes with blood and guts oozing out of the sides, or gunfire in forsaken deserts. Then after the blackout it was bodies laying piled high in the streets, people's throats slit over a can of beans. After Shelly, they'd been blood covered hands and a faceless, lifeless, newborn baby.

Tonight was no different. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Emily's tiny body laying haphazardly in the road surrounded by a puddle of blood, or sometimes it was Charlie laying crumpled in a ditch. Bass finally gave up after a particularly bad one where Rachel had shot Charlie right in the heart and taken off with their baby. That one had made him get up and silently open the bedroom door, finding Charlie snuggled safely in his bedroll and Emily wrapped carefully in her basket. He stood there for a while, transfixed by the rise and fall of his daughter's chest, her tiny pink lips puckered into a slight frown. He couldn't bring himself to walk away, deciding instead to sit next to the bed with his back propped against the side so he could watch her. Keep her safe. He must have drifted off at some point, waking up to the sensation of gentle fingers combing through his hair, his head pillowed on the side of the bed.

Charlie's sleepy eyes blinked open when he lifted his head, she smiled at him and scooted back towards the wall, tugging on his hair and leaving him no choice but to climb in beside her. They were close enough that he could feel her warm breath on his face, her fingers still running through his hair. He fell asleep with her flowery scent in his nose and a smile on his face, unbothered by his usual nightly demons.

A/N It's a bit short, but I've been in a rare good mood today and didn't feel like messing it up by writing Charlie fights with Rachel. I guess we'll wait for the next one for that unpleasantness. :-D Thanks for reading!