Realistically, Charlie knew that she couldn't blame Bass for something that had happened years ago, but that didn't help the icky feeling she got everytime she pictured her mom and Bass in the same room. It wasn't jealousy or anything, it wasn't like she and Bass were together. Regardless of their current living arrangements, Bass was his own man, he didn't owe her anything.

That still didn't help her queasy stomach.

She had shut the bedroom door when she came in in order to give herself some space, but as Bass' booted footsteps crossed through the house on the other side of the door she felt guilty for locking him out of his own room. Cabinet doors were opening and closing, more footsteps, more doors. By the time Emily had finished nursing, there were soft knocks on the door.

"Charlie, can I come in?"

Yanking her shirt back down, she called back, "yeah, it's ok."

Bass came in quietly, looking unsure. "Listen, the thing with your-"

"No, don't," she stopped him. Now that he wanted to say it, she was sure she wanted to hear it. "Look, it's... that's none of my business."

He hesitated for a moment. "I know, but-"

Charlie squeezed her eyes shut as if that could keep her ears from hearing him. "Bass, stop. Just stop." Taking a calming breath, she laid Emily down on the bed and stood in front of him. "I appreciate everything you've done the past few weeks, but you don't owe me anything."

His blue eyes looked sad and dissapointed. He scratched his head awkwardly and cleared his throat. "I told Ralph I'd be by to help him today, so... I'll see you later." Though the way he said it made it sound like more of a question.

"Yeah, we'll be here," she assured him.

Bass smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners and his teeth gleaming. "Ok, I'll get some food while I'm in town." Charlie thanked him and waited until he'd left the house before she plopped back down on the bed to think.

XxX

He hadn't actually told Ralph that he would help him today, but the closed off look in Charlie's eyes had clued him in that she needed some space. Which was completely her right. Regardless of how he'd woken up this morning, they weren't together, and he'd warned himself on multiple occasions not to get to attached to her. Emily was his daughter so he had every right to her, but Charlie wasn't his wife. No matter how pretty of a picture that made in his head.

On his way out of the house, he'd grabbed what little money he'd managed to save up so far and now he understood a little more about what Miles had meant. How was such a small amount of money supposed to support three people? Sure Emily mostly just nursed still, but in order for her to eat that meant that Charlie had to eat, and in order for Charlie to eat he needed to have money to buy food, but he had to eat to keep up his engery so he could make money. Either way you looked at it he was screwed.

After reaching Ralph's house he'd been discouraged to find that the man wasn't even home. According to his wife Opal, he'd gone out for the town board meeting. Something in his face must have given away his bad day though because she'd made him a deal, clean out the chicken coop and collect the eggs, and she would let him keep a dozen to take home.

Now normally he wasn't one to accept handouts, but given the fact that how was now supporting two other people, he took the deal.

It was dull work. Put shovel in chicken shit. Scoop. Throw outside. Repeat. It gave his brain something to focus on other than the fact that when he finally did return home, it was possible that he'd find it empty. Scoop. Shovel. Repeat.

"What's the matter, huh?" Opal asked, handing him a glass of apple cider.

"Oh, it's-it's nothing."

One of her silvery eyebrows shot up and she grinned. "Mhmm. This about your lady friend, the Doc's granddaughter?"

How was it that old people always just seemed to know what was going on? Maybe his mother had been right, age equals wisdom.

"Yeah... she's not very happy with me at the moment." He shoveled another clump and tossed it in the pile, trying to keep away from Opal's knowing smile.

"Another woman? I didn't peg you for the cheating type."

"I'm not," he answered. "It was a long time ago."

"So what's that got to do with now?"

Bass sighed tiredly. He knew that Opal would never understand unless he told her the truth, and since she was being so nice to him he kind of felt like he owed her. "It was her mother."

Opal's eyes widened a fraction, but went quickly back to normal. "That's... tough."

He stopped shoveling and flopped down onto the steps of the hen house. "I know, but it wasn't even... Rachel and I aren't..."

"You love her."

Bass stared at Opal's small smile in shock. "Rachel? No way, we can't even-"

"No, no, no." Opal waved off his excuses. "The girl, what's her name-"

"Charlie."

"Yep, that's the one." She tilted her head, studying his face. "You love her, don't you?"

Bass tried to think about it. Did he love Charlie? Sure she was smart and beautiful. Forgiving to the point of unbelievable, too. Which was definitely something he admired. She was strong and brave, but loving and kind. Yeah, it seemed like loving Charlie was pretty obvious when he thought about it like that.

Opal smiled as if she could read his mind. "And how does she feel about you?"

That was more complicated. This morning it had seemed like there might be something between them, but after hurricane Rachel had her say things didn't look so good for him.

Opal frowned, looking thoughtful. "Just give her some time, sweety." She patted his cheek affectionately. "Let her figure it out on her own."

Before he left, Opal made him take a few quilts that she'd found in the attic with him. He'd tried to turn them down, but it turned out that the old lady was about as stubborn as a Matheson. He entertained the thought that the families might be distantly related while he made his way towards the market.

XxX

Charlie could only wallow in her own self pity for so long. Emily and her stomach demanded her attention. Finding the bag of clothes on the kitchen counter as well Emily's rash cream had brightened up her day a bit, the toothy little smile on her daughter's face took care of the rest. She was a mother now, she couldn't afford to be selfish, she couldn't afford to be like Rachel. Though she was pleased to find that the other woman's name had finally stopped making her stomach churn.

She shoved down the last of the bread, fed Emily again, and put her down for a nap. The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon was spent cleaning up around the house. She scrubbed out the bathtub and put some water on the stove to heat, gathered up the small amount of clothes that Bass owned, washed them, and hung them out back. She'd been surprised by the fluffy kitten she'd found under the sink, having not pictured Bass as a cat person, but fed him some fruit from her lunch.

After a quick bath she felt much better. Yes, Bass slept with Rachel but they obviously couldn't stand each other now, so whatever they had going on was clearly over. Which meant that it didn't matter. Now whatever was going on between her and Bass... that was a different story.

Did she want a relationship with him? Ideally that's how the whole 'family' thing worked, but she wasn't sure how he would feel about that. Sure he loved Emily, anybody with eyes could see that, but Charlie was pretty sure that Bass' tolerance for her was mostly due to their shared interest in the baby. Nothing more.

Maybe someday he could see her as more than that.

XxX

Man, meat was so expensive. Was it always like this or was he only just now noticing? The guy at the butcher shop didn't seem to like him very much either, and he was sure that that wasn't helping things. But a savior in the form of a fat guy with a beard came to his rescue.

"Hey, how's Charlie?" Emily's godfather, otherwise known as Aaron Pittman, stood next to him at the counter.

"Uh... good." Bass gave him a strange look. He hadn't ever talked to the fat guy, so he had no idea why he was acting like they were buddies.

"Good. How's my little Emily?" Aaron's eyes flicked in the direction of the unfriendly butcher. Bass followed his gaze, finding the man watching them with rapt attention.

Choosing not to question why Aaron was helping him, Bass gave him a big smile. "She's great. It's an adjustment for her, but she's handling it well."

Their partially staged conversation was cut short by the nosy butcher. "Charlie and Emily Matheson?" He asked. At Bass' nod, he frowned. "What are they doing with you?"

Aaron answered before he even had the chance. "Oh they just moved in with him. Charlie wanted Emily to be closer to her father."

"Oh." The butcher's previously mean disposition disappeared and was replaced with a smile. "That Charlie's a great hunter. I wish she hadn't gone and had a baby so I could get some more of that good meat."

Bass gave the man his best charming grin. "Yeah, well Emily's still little so we have to make due with what other people bring in. But I'll let her know you're waiting on her."

He smiled and slapped a hunk of wrapped meat on the counter, giving Bass the best price he'd heard since he walked through the door. Aaron got what he needed and the two of them were on their way out of the shop, an awkward silence hanging between them.

"So... thanks. For helping me in there," Bass said awkwardly.

"No problem." Aaron shifted around uncomfortably. "Miles said that you might have some trouble, asked me to try and help you out."

The fact that Miles was still trying to help him made Bass' heart soar. "I appreciate it."

"Well, it's for the girls."

And that was all it took. Their mutual love for the youngest Matheson women made them instant friends.

"I guess after Rachel got back she went batshit crazy and tried to destroy all of Charlie's stuff," Aaron told him. "Most of it's done for, but Miles managed to salvage a few things and brought them over to my place for safe keeping. If you want, you could come get some of it to take back for her."

The trip to Aaron's house was quiet but not unpleasant. Bass was surprised to find a pretty woman in his kitchen making apple pies. "Oh, you must be Bass." She smiled good naturedly. "I'd shake your hand but..." she held up her dough covered hands with a giggle.

"Don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you-"

"Cynthia," Aaron finished for him.

His little sister's name burned in the back of his skull, but he forced himself to smile through it. He picked up Charlie's crossbow and the pack stuffed with odds and ends, promising to get the rest of the stuff at a later date. Cynthia added a sack full of carrots, onions, potatoes, and beans to his load. He'd tried to refuse but something about her sweet smile made him take it. Maybe it was just the memory of his dead sister making him think it, but the woman seemed like a gentle hearted person.

Tired, dirty, and laden with packages, Bass finally made his way home.

XxX

It was bath time and Emily wasn't cooperating. Every time Charlie got near her with the washcloth the little girl threw a fit. She blamed it on Miles. Miles and that stupid rubber duck that he insisted Emily needed to play with during bath time. The duck had been left behind with the majority of the rest of their stuff and her daughter was not happy about it. Frustrated and soaked through with Emily's would-be bath water, she hadn't noticed Bass coming through the front door. He finally caught her attention when he laid several bags and packages down on the kitchen counter.

"Where did all of that stuff come from?" There seemed to be an awful lot of stuff there and she knew he didn't have the money for all that.

Bass seemed to catch her train of thought and looked a little hurt. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you're thinking."

She tried to backtrack, "no, I didn't-"

"Relax Charlie, I was kidding." He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes, slapping him with a wet hand. "Actually most of it's yours. I guess Miles gave it to your buddy Aaron to keep it safe from your mom." Charlie nodded, her mind really on her pack that was now on the counter, wondering if Emily's ducky might be in there while Bass' mind was clearly on the splashing baby in the kitchen sink.

Bass easily took her place at the sink, attempting to wash the white blonde hair on Emily's head but only getting screeching in response. Charlie chuckled as she dug through the pack. Emily's rag doll, old journal, extra diaper pins, sharpening stone, some underwear, and... yes! The ducky! She turned around to find an angry, slippery, Emily trying to claw her way out of the sink and a confused Bass trying not to lose his grip on her tiny limbs. Biting her lip to keep from laughing, Charlie squeezed the ancient rubber duck in her hand, the squeak it made immediately catching her daughter's attention.

Emily stopped fidgeting and let Bass set her back in the water before reaching for the ducky. The moment it was in her little hand the poor thing's head was in her mouth. She chewed happily on the old toy while Charlie showed Bass the best strategy for baths. He was a quick learner and as usual, Emily seemed content to let Daddy do the work. She also showed him the best way to fasten the cloth diapers into place, having noticed his poor job from this morning.

He actually blushed when she mentioned it, turning his tanned skin an adorable pink. "Sorry about that, I don't really have much experience with this sort of thing."

She waved him off with a comforting smile. "Don't worry about it, I didn't either when she was born. It's taken me a while to get this good."

Charlie had put on some water for a bath for Bass before he got home, so while he was getting cleaned up she went through all of the stuff he'd brought back. Nice thick quilts, some fresh venison from the butcher's, vegetables and beans from Aaron, and her crossbow - which meant that she would be able to help out by getting them meat so they wouldn't have to buy it. With that in mind, Charlie went ahead and used the meat he'd bought to make some stew. They ate quietly, Emily eating some of the stewed carrots from Bass' bowl.

After dinner, Charlie watched Bass line Emily's basket with one of the quilts. Then he took his bedroll off of the mattress and covered the musty thing with a quilt, leaving another one to use as a blanket. Out in the living room, he laid out his bedroll and left the last quilt folded up beside it for, presumably, for himself to use.

Charlie bit her lip thoughtfully. They had shared the bed just fine last night so there was no reason for him to sleep on the floor. Unless he wanted to, but she pushed that thought away. "You don't have to sleep out here, you know." The look on his face was a cross somewhere between pleasantly surprised and too good to be true.

"It's a small bed and we have more blankets now, so it's not a big deal," he said.

Charlie nodded her head in agreement, hoping that he couldn't see the disappointment on her face. She headed for the bedroom, brushing past him on the way. "Well if you change your mind..."

His fingers brushed the inside of her arm making her shiver, his eyes catching her off guard with their sincerity. "Look... today was a lot to take in. For everyone. I just don't think we need to," he hesitated for the right words, "rush into anything."

Charlie's heart thumped happily in her chest and she had to fight down the impossible grin forming on her lips. "Ok."

A/N Obviously this is supposed to be Charloe, but I'm honestly having more fun making Emily do adorable things and trying to figure out how Bass and Charlie would react. Hope you guys don't mind! :-D