A/N - Hey guys, I think this is the longest update yet! I tried to write it out to feel like an episode rather than just a chapter but it didn't work out all that well. Anyway, hope you like, let me know what you think!

Bass ignored the furious half-whispered shouts of Miles coming from behind him. And he also ignored the alarm bells that were going off in his own head.

Deep down, he knew he was being reckless, dangerous and about thirty kinds of stupid. He was putting himself and Miles at serious risk just blindly running towards the other version of himself. But the idea of seeing even a glimpse of Charlotte Matheson knocked what small sense of self-preservation that remained to him right out of his head.

It didn't help anything that he was physically and mentally drained, surviving on only a couple of hours sleep a night and letting his desperation to get his infuriating, amazing girl back fuel him. And now, she was so close he couldn't control himself anymore. People were literally shoved out of his way as he rushed forward.

And then there was no one in his way. His eyes searched and found her immediately.

Charlie looked amazing, like something out of a dream. Was she always this beautiful? Oh, he had always wanted her, but this... this was something else. The first thing he noticed was her radiant smile as she spoke to a little kid and a woman. Bass' heart started pumping wildly in his chest. His mouth opened to call out to her but quickly found he couldn't speak.

Instead he let his eyes roam over her body, as he had done a thousand times before. Taking her in, he noticed she was dressed simply, skinny jeans and a purple tee shirt that hugged her breasts and settled around her waist. But to him she looked like a goddess.

'Charlie...'

"Are you gonna marry Charlie, Sebastian?"

'God, I hope so kid.' he thought.

And then he blinked.

He'd been so caught up in looking at her that he hadn't even noticed the man at her side. Now, he watched as a carbon copy of himself crouched down to smile at the kid Charlie had been talking to.

Bass was struck with a powerful hatred. The intensity of it burned through him as he watched himself grin like the happiest man in the world, up at Charlie. His Charlie.

"If that's your idea of a proposal, you've got no chance!"

Her voice snapped his eyes back to her. She looked distinctly uncomfortable now as she glanced around her. Bass found himself reaching out, almost like he could stretch his arm across the distance between them to touch her.

And then her eyes finally found him and the world around him disappeared.

The moment she recognized him his heart jumped. An unnatural feeling jolted him. He quickly realized that it was actual happiness. A smile slowly spread across his face as he watched her own register complete shock.

"Hello Charlotte." He said, hoarsely, barely audible. But the light in her eyes told him she knew what he meant.

"Monroe..."

Bass could tell she was stunned, only smiling wider as she started moving towards him.

He was just about to close the distance between them and wrap her in his arms, when the bullet whizzed past his ear.

There was chaos immediately. It was like slow motion to him, somebody screamed and then a lot of people screamed. Charlie, whipping her head around, was tackled from behind. He could only stare as his twin pushed her to the ground, shielding her body from whatever had just kicked off.

The other him looked up as Bass stood incredulous, people knocking into him in their sudden scramble to get out of there. Their eyes met and held. General Monroe's widened almost comically.

Then Miles was behind him, dragging him back. Before he could even contemplate struggling, he had been pulled behind a recently abandoned stall. His eyes sought to find her even as he and Miles crawled underneath the wooden structure.

People were scattering left and right, no one seemed to know what was going on. He found her just as Jeremy Baker reached her.

"Sir, we gotta go, now." he was saying, "Miles has been sighted."

Bass exchanged glances with the exasperated man beside him before turning his attention back to Charlie.

She was on her feet, trying to push past his evil twin.

"Good girl." he mumbled.

"Where is he? Where is he?!" she was yelling.

"Miles isn't here for anything good Charlie. We gotta move." Jeremy was telling her urgently.

"He was there! He was, he was right there!" She sounded desperate and it took everything he had to stop himself going to her.

"Miles? Did you see him?" Jeremy asked.

"Who?" She asked, distractedly, her hands coming to rest on General Monroe's arms. Which happened to be wrapped around her. Bass' eyes narrowed.

"Not Miles. Didn't you see him? He was right there!"

At this point, his twin seemed to find his voice. "There's no one there Charlotte." Even as he said it, his eyes were scanning the retreating crowd.

"But, I saw him, I swear he was right there!"

"Who was?" Jeremy asked again.

"Monroe! He was here. You had to see him, you were right there..." Charlie's pleading eyes focused on the other him.

"I didn't see anyone Charlie."

The lying bastard! Bass made to move, to do something when Miles grabbed his arm. "Don't be an idiot!" He hissed quietly. They had a brief, silent yet furious struggle, which Miles won. But only because Bass was distracted yet again by the sound of Charlie's voice.

Her heart was hammering in her chest. The General's arms were just about the only thing holding her on her feet. Even so, she still tried to pull away from him.

"Charlie, honey, we have to go now." Jeremy's hand found her back. She looked up and saw the sympathy in his eyes.

This was so wrong. Monroe... He was right there in front of her, she wasn't imagining it. "He was there...he was." There were tears in her eyes that she didn't even try to blink away.

The General gently grabbed her face, bringing her attention back to him. "Charlotte..." The look on his face made her want to sob. It was sad and guilty and possessive. "I'm sorry, there's no one there. We have to get back. Somebody saw Miles and I need to get you back home where it's safe, okay?"

Charlie felt numb inside. She nodded slowly. His hands dropped and his arm slipped around her shoulders as he led her away, surrounded by men with guns that she hadn't even noticed until now. Had they been there the whole time?

They had to stop at least once as she span back around, her eyes searching desperately for any sign of him. There was nothing.

She felt nothing, barely saw anything. The only thing she could focus on was the image of Monroe, standing in the sunlight smiling at her.

He was here. Monroe, her Monroe was here.

Philly, a few miles from Independence Hall...

Back at the safe house, Bass was still reeling. To have been so close to Charlie and ultimately powerless to get her was a crushing blow.

Miles, who had eventually dragged him away, after talking him out of simply running after her and announcing himself, was trying to focus on the positives of the situation.

"We know that she's really safe, that's huge Bass. I mean these guys trust their sources, but now we know for sure that Charlie is safe." He leaned back in his chair, watching Bass pace back and forth. "But man, did you see that? He just dove right on top of her like, half a second after they started shooting. That was insane. They seem close..."

Bass' head snapped up so fast he heard a click in his neck. "What are you saying?"

The even more irritating version of his brother shrugged, "Just that they seem pretty close."

"And what?" Bass asked the question that had been plaguing him for hours. "You think she'll want to stay with him or something?"

"Maybe... I don't know. I mean, look at it seriously. He's rich, he's powerful, he seems to really care about her..." Miles was really trying to be diplomatic, Bass could tell, but he was Miles and he really sucked at it. "Look man, I'm just reminding you that once we get to her there is a chance she might not want to be rescued. She didn't exactly seem uncomfortable when he was being all gross and puppy-like trying to comfort her."

This was exactly what he had been torturing himself with all day, the closeness he saw between Charlie and his evil twin. It cut at something inside him, something deep.

"Remember our Intel suggests that she might be under the mistaken impression that he's you. Makes sense that she would trust him, right?"

'She thinks he's me. She thinks he's me.' The words had been running in a loop through his head for so long today that they felt like permanent background noise at this point.

"Whatever she thinks is going on here, you're forgetting something Miles, it's not just me she left at home. There's her uncle, her mom, Staypuft, her grandad. And I'm telling you, that girl would never choose to just stay put and forget them." And it was true, she wouldn't, Bass was certain of that. Charlie would never leave them behind if she had any say in it. Well, her Uncle Miles for sure. Probably Aaron too. And him - he had to count a little as well, right? They had become real friends since the patriots were destroyed. She wanted him to be a part of her future, she had admitted as much the night she was taken. And Charlie was the only future he saw for himself, in whatever way she wanted him he would be there. Friend, family, something more maybe. one day.. it didn't matter, he'd take what he could get.

The look on her face came back to him as he finally sat down. She'd seemed so happy to see him... they'd obviously formed a friendship recently, but he'd never seen her look at him like that before.

They sat in silence for a while, one plotting a new version of the plan to save the girl and the other plotting all the ways he wanted to touch the girl once they'd saved her. Then the door opened and two rebels entered, followed by two women Bass immediately recognized.

"Janine..." The maid smiled at him, reaching behind her to pull Rachel forward. They all heard Miles' gasp.

"Well hello General." Janine didn't seem to notice the atmosphere in the small room. "Girl was right, the leather look is hotter." Her eyes roamed over his body like he was lunch.

He smiled, he couldn't stop himself, "Charlie told you that?"

Janine shrugged, winking over at one of the rebels, whose name Bass hadn't bothered to remember. "She mumbles a lot when the boss man pisses her off." She started chuckling, "The other day she called him a jumped-up, boy-band reject.. I thought he was going to kill her!"

"What did he do?" Rachel had torn her gaze from her former lover, looking across at the maid, seeming determined not to look Bass in the face.

"Well he glared at her for a minute and just when I thought he was going to order her execution he asked her how she knew what a boy-band was."

"What, that's it? He didn't scream? Threaten her? Pull his own hair out?" Bass suddenly found himself the center of attention, everyone was looking at him as if he could answer Miles' questions. But he hadn't finished with his own. "How is she? You're her maid, right?"

The amusement disappeared from Janine's face. "How do you think she is? What were you thinking, showing up like that?" Bass looked away, feeling slightly shitty and very embarrassed. "She's half convinced that she's as crazy as the boss. Won't talk to him, or anyone really. Which is why I'm here." Now everybody turned to look at her. She didn't seem bothered. "Now, there's no point in my trying to get her out to you because after today there's no way she'll be allowed out again without an army."

She glared at them all in turn, like they were a bunch of naughty schoolkids and every man in the room looked at his shoes. "So we're going to have to sneak you inside."

"That was the plan anyway," Miles grumbled, glaring daggers at Bass.

"Yes, well. The place is on lock-down because of the Matheson sighting. The General is in paranoid mode, so it's going to be impossible for you to get through security without me. He's got a lot on his mind so he's been locked away in his rooms-"

"Is he still telling Charlie he didn't see me?" Bass cut in. He'd never fucking hated himself more.

"He saw you?!" Now everyone was back to staring aghast at him.

"Dammit Bass!"

Charlie was still curled up in bed, where she had been ever since they got back. She'd locked herself in her room, refusing to see anyone. It felt like she'd lost someone she loved all over again. Janine had been in earlier, trying to cheer her up but even the smart-mouthed woman had failed to raise a smile and had eventually given up.

Could she really have seen Monroe? Was it really that impossible? The Nano had somehow gotten her here, why not him as well?

But she knew deep down exactly what had happened. Today had been the first time since arriving here that she had felt relatively happy. So of course her guilty mind had shown her how wrong it was, what she was missing, what she was probably never going to have again through her own actions. If that guard hadn't fired into the crowd, she probably would have reached Monroe only to find that he had never really been there at all.

She eventually talked herself into getting up and slipping some clothes on. The intention had been to go find the General or Jeremy and see if they'd found Miles, although she was certain they hadn't.

As she got to the door though, Charlie couldn't bring herself to open it. The image of Monroe was still in her head and she couldn't let it go. So instead she turned and went to sit at her window. There were soldiers everywhere and no civilians. More soldiers than she had ever seen. They must be planning to go after Miles. She felt another pang of loss as she wondered if Nora would be out there somewhere, fighting against them. She wished that the rebel woman was here with her now. Having someone like a sister to talk to would make her feel a little less alone. The ache of missing her family was now stronger than ever.

It didn't help anything that despite every warning she had given, General Monroe still seemed determined to find a way to go after the power. It was hard right now to even want him to stop. After all, if he found a way to bring the electricity back without killing Danny, she might be able to use the Nano to get her back home. The idea of seeing her Uncle Miles and everyone again was too wonderful to keep buried after the day she'd had.

A knock at the door leading to the General's room pulled her out of her head. "Yeah?"

As General Monroe came in she barely looked up. "You haven't left this room for hours."

She shrugged, staring out the window. "I miss them." she said quietly, annoyed at herself for showing so much weakness. This habit she had of saying whatever was on her mind around him just could not seem to be broken. To his credit, he never laughed at her or accused her of being soft. Instead, he gave a small sigh and sat down facing her.

"I understand. To lose your family - well - that's something you never really recover from." The tone of his voice never wavered, although she could feel the sadness in his demeanor.

"I just wish I knew, if they're okay, if the Nano took over. My Mom and Miles, they were going to make a real shot of it and then we found out more trouble was coming. And poor Aaron, he finally got his wife back." she was rambling, only half aware of what she was saying, so relieved to have someone to say it all to, "and Monroe was actually laughing, in public." She missed the way his expression changed at the mention of Monroe, the intense curiosity that was directed at her. "He's gonna think I'm dead, or worse, abandoned him. They all will." She'd said it before, but it didn't hurt any less repeating herself. Sighing deeply, she went quiet again.

For a long moment, General Monroe didn't say anything, they just sat together, watching the people below.

"You would rather this other me thought you were dead?" He finally asked her, "Am I really that big of an asshole?"

There was a half smile on his face when she looked up and Charlie understood that he knew what she was getting at in spite of his words. It's much more painful to know that someone you loved left you by choice.

"Actually..." she paused, unsure how to put her feelings into words, "I'd rather he didn't have to think anything. This is the worst."

"I'm sorry that ending up here was the worst thing that could have happened to you Charlotte." He sounded sincere, to her surprise and she looked up at him again. "Especially considering that I'm not sorry to have you here now."

She let out a small laugh. "It's not that I hate it here or anything, I don't. I mean, look at this bedroom alone, it's like something out of a fairytale. If the people I love were safe - if they knew that I was safe, you probably wouldn't be able to drag me away from here."

"I get it," he said, "but you know, if we turn the electricity back on we could find a way to get to your family, bring them here, where it's safe."

"If you turn it back on it won't be safe here. The Patriots will nuke this place and then they'll come in to clear up the mess all over again!" She thought of Jason and all of the other people, some just kids, the Patriots had destroyed. There was no way she'd be responsible for making it all happen. But General Monroe still wasn't used to being told no.

"Now that we know what could happen it'll be different. We will be more careful this time...we'll keep your brother safe..."

"There is no 'we' in this, General." she cut him off, "I won't have any part in it." As soon as she said it she regretted it. His icy blue eyes went hard instantly.

"You think I'll fail?" Man, this guy was high maintenance sometimes. Every time she spent more than five minutes in his company she appreciated the future version of him all the more.

"No, I don't think you'll fail," she told him as calmly as she could manage, "I know you won't. But those Patriot guys? They don't fail very often either. And if you go after the power they will find a way to get at it."

He sighed, "Let's agree to disagree for now. Besides," he noticeably perked up, "I didn't come in here to argue with you, I came to see if I could make you feel better." He stood up and held his arm out to her with a grin. "There's something I want to show you. Will you come with me?"

Charlie blinked at him for second. He'd yanked himself out of one of his homicidal moments so fast her head hurt. And now he was grinning at her with what she would swear later resembled excitement.

"Um, okay." She took his arm and let him lead her out of the room. Her breath caught as he leaned in unexpectedly to whisper, "Do you have protection with you?" After the things she had seen on the market stalls today, her mind immediately shot to a dirty place. He laughed outright as she turned grey. "A weapon, Charlotte, I meant a weapon." She could only nod as she felt a blush cover her face, sending him a glare as he laughed beside her.

"Don't make me have to use it on you!" She snapped, embarrassed. It wasn't her fault they had passed a stall filled with some scary looking sexual protective-aids earlier. His eyes were twinkling with amusement and she just knew what he was thinking. As he opened his mouth to respond she quickly jumped in, "I meant the weapon!" He snapped his mouth shut and shot her a fake pout. She couldn't help it, she laughed with him.

By now they had wandered past a lot of security and reached the ground floor. He came to a stop outside one of the rooms and became suddenly serious. He seemed filled with nervous energy.

"This place, well - very few people are allowed in here. It's kind of a sanctuary I guess you could call it. I like to come in here when things start to get to me." He didn't need to elaborate. Even before Miles left the man had his fair share of demons to escape from.

Charlie gave him a smile. "Wow... I get to see the Batcave."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the reference and her smile widened. "Ah, so you only start referring to yourself as Batman after you meet me..."

General Monroe's confusion gave way to amusement as he smirked at her, "Well from what I understand, playing the hero for you seems to take up a lot of my time in the future." She cut him off with an indignant huff, "Hero, my ass!"

He was still chuckling to himself when he opened the door in front of them and gestured for her to go first.

As she stepped inside her eyes went wide as saucers. There were literally hundreds of books lining the walls. The General stepped in beside her and she reached across to grip his arm tightly. The entire room was beautiful; huge, white patio doors led out into the gardens and right beside the large fireplace were a pair of deep, comfortable looking armchairs. Charlie had thought her room was like a fairytale, but this... this was incredible.

Looking up at him, her face registered the awe she was feeling. "This is..." There weren't words for what he had shared with her.

The smile he gave her in return was the most open and genuine she had seen on his face. This, she realized, was the man her Uncle loved so much. The kind, decent man who did sweet things for people he cared about... and smiled like a kid when he pleased them. Letting go of his arm, she wandered over to one of the walls to get a better look at the books.

For several minutes, he just watched her as she scanned the walls, letting out an excited noise every time she saw a title or author she recognized. When he finally spoke, she actually jumped a little. "You may come here as often as you'd like Charlie. This room is yours."

She almost dropped the copy of 'The Notebook' she had been clutching. "I. Really?" she asked, surprised.

He was staring at her with the exact same look on his face that Monroe used to stare at her with. Something inside of her clenched painfully. She would never see him again, it was time to give up hope. Yet here was this man - so similar, yet totally different to the one she missed. It was beyond confusing and so messed up. He smirked, as though he could tell what she was thinking and her heart gave a leap. Monroe always knew what she was thinking..

"You're not my prisoner, Charlotte. If you want to come here, or go anywhere you're free to do so. All I ask is that you have guards with you at all times. And a weapon too." He told her as he walked towards her.

Her Monroe was a paranoid guy, no question, but this was him at his worst. And she couldn't blame him, after all, when you couldn't trust your best friend in the world how could you possibly trust anyone? It was strange that apparently he trusted her and she told him so as she moved to meet him in the middle of the floor.

"Why are you trusting me? You don't trust anyone." She said.

He came to a stop when their shoes touched, his eyes boring into her. "Who says I am?" He said softly.

Charlie bit her lip, trying to fight a smile. "Was that you trying to be enigmatic?" He chuckled low in his throat, so close that her lips felt the breath of air escaping his, her legs weakened of their own free will.

Peering up into his eyes, she saw that they had softened. The ice that usually lived in them - distinguishing him from her Monroe - was gone. As his gaze flicked down to her mouth, she felt her heart begin to race. 'He's going to kiss me... He's going to kiss me! What the hell am I going to do?' Even as his face drew closer, she didn't know if she was really going to let this happen.

She was saved the trouble of deciding when the doors crashed open. In half a second, General Monroe had grabbed her and shoved her behind him, shielding her from whatever had just shattered the moment.

Jeremy rushed in, eyebrow raised as he took in the scene before him. Charlie couldn't even being herself to be mortified at behind seen literally hiding behind anybody - because she too stunned that when faced with a potentially dangerous surprise, for the second time in one day - his instinct had been to protect her. It had happened too quickly to be a conscious decision, that much she knew. Being unable to see his face right now was probably a good thing. An extremely amused looking Jeremy was looking between them.

"Um, sir, there's been another sighting of Miles." Charlie's sharp intake of breath caused both men to turn and look at her.

The one thing she hadn't been asked was if she knew where this time's Miles might be. As General Monroe eyed her speculatively, she knew he had just realized the same thing. Things had been too crazy earlier for it to occur to her, but now that it had she felt panicked.

"Jeremy, go to my office, I'll be there in a moment."

With an apologetic glance at Charlie, Jeremy left.

Charlie tried to look anywhere except the General's direction. Fear had returned so quickly. She was angry with herself for forgetting, even for a second, just how dangerous this man was. No matter what he said or did she wasn't about to give him her Uncle Miles.

He opened his mouth just as she blurted, "I won't tell you!"

To her shock, he laughed at her.

"Charlie I wasn't expecting you to. I know you well enough by now to figure that out for myself."

"Are you going to try and force me?" She glared at him defiantly, defenses back up.

Hi sighed, coming closer to her again. This time she flinched away from him before she could stop herself. The disappointment and hurt in his eyes was a bad sign. She knew him pretty well by now too - and getting any kind of emotional could send him into psycho mode pretty quickly.

"When are you going to realize that I don't want to hurt you, Charlie?"

She shook her head at him, wanting to be honest but afraid of provoking his anger too. This involved Miles, and Sebastian Monroe was always going to be unpredictable when it came to him.

"Saying you don't want to hurt me isn't saying that you won't. I know what you're capable of-"

He cut her off with a frustrated growl, "Yes, you know what I'm capable of, everybody does. But have I ever hurt you, in anyway?" She went to speak but he held a hand up to stop her. "I've protected you, cared for you... I let your bitch mother go free even though she knows, she always knew, what happened to the world... All for you, to earn your trust. And you think that I would just turn around and harm you?"

Charlie was frozen in place. Not only had she made him angry, but she'd hurt his feelings as well. This wasn't going to end well if she didn't say the right thing now.

"You're right, I'm sorry." She told him softly. "You've been nothing but kind to me. It's just - just- you remind me so much of the other Mon- General Monroe.. When I first met him he almost had Strausser kill me. And then he did kill my little brother."

His eyes had gone wide, Charlie had told him very little about the circumstances of their meeting and she knew that now was the time to share it. She reached out to take his hand in hers and he let it happen. "I am really sorry. I just get so confused sometimes... Please forgive me."

He squeezed her hand, his other one slipping up into her hair. Gently, he ran his fingers through the blond locks. "I'm not a good man, Charlie. I haven't been for a very long time and I won't pretend otherwise. I'll do whatever it takes to protect my Republic, to protect you. But I swear to you that I won't ever hurt you."

When he kissed her, she didn't even try to resist. It was a soft, lingering moment of pressure on her mouth and then he turned and walked away - leaving her to stare after him.

Bass walked alongside Janine, glad he wasn't in Miles' shoes right now. Once they all finished reminding him how stupid he was and settled on a new plan, Miles had asked to speak with Rachel alone.

The resounding smack she must have given him the moment the door closed behind them made everybody wince.

Rachel herself had decided to ignore his existence it seemed, she had carefully avoided looking at him let alone speaking to him. It continued right up until the minute he was leaving the safe house. "Get her out of there Bass, please. She doesn't know what she's dealing with." The pain in the woman's eyes made him wanna punch something. He'd simply nodded sharply at her and turned away before he could say anything that caused trouble. He wondered how Mommy-Matheson would react when she was told that Charlie wasn't her daughter after all. He might have to keep a close eye on her once he got Charlotte out. Rachel had explained to them that Charlie had told General Monroe all about the Blackout in exchange for letting her go. She had also informed them that Charlie believed she'd been sent back in time.

Knowing that made Charlie's intentions here clear. It was both heartbreaking and amazing to him. He hated that he'd have to be the one to tell her that her efforts to help her family, and him, would be wasted.

"I didn't want to, you know." Janine said suddenly. "I didn't want to be a traitor. I still don't. Just wanna keep my brother safe. He's another damn fool like the rest of 'em, thinking they could do it better. I'd never tell them how to hurt The General. Never."

Bass smiled at her, "I know Janine, believe me I understand. Protecting your family can sometimes make you do things you thought you wouldn't."

"Yes, I suppose you do." She tilted her head to the side, looking at him speculatively, "You sure came a long way for Charlie. I guess that means you care as much about her as she does you..."

He had no idea what to say to that. "I guess."

"Just, try to remember that she cares about him too. I wouldn't advise making a move against him or anything. And I'm not just saying that sir."

Bass' understanding mood vanished. "I'm here to get Charlie back. If anyone gets in my way, I'll kill them. No matter who they are."

General Monroe's office, Independence Hall...

Jeremy was tired. He wanted to go home and go to bed, but it just wasn't gonna happen anytime soon. An hour ago, reports had begun flooding in that several people had sighted General Matheson in different parts of the city. Most of the soldiers had already departed to hunt him down, but Jeremy felt like they were missing something. What could Miles possibly be doing running from place to place around their city? No, this stunk of a trap.

Bass was drinking heavily, he noted, probably preparing himself for a showdown with his former best friend. And all Jeremy could do was sit back in his chair and watch.

"You think he'll try to get in here?" He asked after the silence had wound him up enough.

General Monroe was quiet for a moment, then looked up with a half smile, "He's doing something. And whatever that is, won't be good for us. We need to find him now. Bass was slurring his words slightly. "Did you see to it that the little girl and her family got home safe? Soldiers firing into crowds of people... no wonder they're afraid of me. When this is over I expect answers about that." Jeremy nodded, one way or another he'd be lucky to live through this. If Miles didn't shoot him, his boss probably would.

"Did you give the patrols the other orders?" His boss asked.

Jeremy sighed, everyone around him had gone insane. "Yes, sir, they're looking for you as we speak."

"And Charlie?"

"She's still in the library, no one without clearance will get anywhere near her."

15 miles from Independence Hall...

Miles checked behind him to make sure she was following. When he made eye contact with her there were a thousand things he wanted to say. But now just wasn't the time for it.

They were sneaking around like burglars, roaming house to house to find a place to execute the next phase of the plan. If this went wrong the whole city could burn to the ground. But something about the desperation he'd seen in other Bass' eyes had reminded him too much of the brother he used to have. Coupled with the fact that it was some version of his own flesh and blood that they were trying to save... well how could he not help? It sure beat sitting around in his bar waiting to die and hoping every night that he didn't see the next morning.

Everything he and the real Bass had done haunted him now. And he knew that the entire thing was his fault. He'd pushed too hard on his best friend, and then instead of trying to save him when he went over the edge he just pushed harder, giving in to his own darkness in the process. What he had done to his brother, both of his brothers - what he had done to Rachel... Miles shook his head. Now just wasn't the time for this.

They finally came upon an empty house that was set apart from the surrounding properties. Perfect. He shot another glance over his shoulder to see Rachel reach into her bag and pull out a hastily-made bomb. Their eyes met again and she nodded. The fact that Charlie wasn't really hers didn't seem to have made a difference to her need to protect the girl.

Just as they reached the front door, an explosion boomed through the air. It came from the other side of the city. A smirk curled his lip for a second. "Let's move, it's started."

Independence Hall...

Bass heard the first bang just as they approached the back of the building. He and Janine exchanged quick smiles, "I was expecting that, but my heart still about jumped out of my chest." She told him. "Come on let's hurry. She'll be in her room."

They had reached the back door of the kitchens, having decided it would be the easiest place to slip in. Predictably, the door had been left unlocked. At this time of night, people coming and going to the bins so often meant it was just easier to leave the door unlocked. Bass felt a moments sheer irritation that his regime was this lax about security even during an emergency. He quickly decided if he ever got the chance to actually go back in time in his own world, the first thing he would do involved choking his cooks. The second would be to hand over the reins to someone else. When he got home with Charlie he was retiring and dragging her with him, whether they were needed or not.

Janine, who'd gone on ahead, poked her head back out the door. "It's clear, let's go." Bass moved quickly, shooting her a grateful smile. He knew what this woman was doing for him, the risk she was taking.

Once inside, he quickly rid himself of his coat and stuffed it behind a shelf full of plates. The dark clothes he'd been given to wear resembled his old General's uniform well enough from a distance, but up close they'd be in trouble.

Janine opened the door leading out to the main hall of the building. He made to follow until he saw her freeze. Quickly, he moved behind the door to hide. "Captain Baker, what a pleasant surprise. You sneaking down for some pie again?" Her voice didn't betray the fear she must surely be feeling.

"Now you know I never do such things Janine." Came the amused reply. "I was actually just on my way to check on Charlie, she's been locked away in the library for hours. Poor girl has had a hell of a day."

"Oh I know," Janine seemed to have forgotten that they were in the middle of a high risk operation as she chatted away with the Captain, "That was nice of the boss, to let her use his library. I do hope it made her feel better."

There was no mistaking the leer in Jeremy's tone as he responded to the maid, "I'm pretty sure the General is counting on her, erm, gratitude..." Bass fist closed tightly, 'One more word, Baker and this whole plan will go to hell cause I'll fucking strangle you where you stand.'

"Oh stop you,"Janine giggled, "Why don't I come along with you? I'll keep her company for a while." What? It took a second for Bass to realize what the woman was doing. The library's internal doors led right outside, just a few doors away from here. If she got inside the library and opened the doors for him, grabbing Charlie would be a hell of a lot easier than they'd thought.

As the door swung shut and Janine disappeared, he could have kissed her. He grabbed his coat back and slipped out the way he'd come in.

Independence Hall, library...

Charlie was lost in Pet Cemetery when the doors opened, letting Jeremy and Janine in. Setting her book aside, she smiled tiredly at them both. "Come to make me go to bed? Cause I'm pretty seriously thinking about talking him into letting me sleep here from now on."

Jeremy grinned at her, "Count yourself lucky you're not locked in the dungeon for your own protection right now. Didn't you hear the explosions? Word is your uncle is attacking the city. You wouldn't happen to know what's gonna go down next would ya? I like my ass and I'd rather keep it."

Charlie shrugged, she'd heard the bangs and dismissed them. Miles never attacked Philly, he never came near it, not until her dad died and she went to Chicago and made him. "Don't worry Jeremy, the Republic isn't gonna fall tonight. I don't know who said they saw Miles, but they were wrong. I'm certain that my Uncle is far away from here." She noticed that Janine was watching her, a strange look on her face. Jeremy had plopped himself right into the chair facing her, but the maid seemed content to stay back. "You okay?" Charlie asked her.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." The woman seemed to be moving backwards towards the doors. "You were telling Captain Baker that you're sure it's not Miles?" Knowing she was being dismissed, and that there was something wrong with her maid, Charlie turned back to Jeremy with a frown. 'What's up with her?' she mouthed. The Captain shrugged, grinning, 'She's a girl, it'll be girl things.' he mouthed back. Rolling her eyes with a snort, she sat forward in her chair.

"So, explosions? What do you think it is?"

"Well, the reports are that Miles has been spotted all over the city... We think that he may be attempting a takeover."

Charlie smirked at him, "That's what the soldiers think. But I'd be chained to a chair, being poked in all sorts of places by Sergeant Strausser if that's what you two thought. So what's going on?"

Jeremy was staring wide-eyed at her. "You're too smart for your own good kid."

She shrugged, "Having genius parents makes people automatically think you're stupid just cause you're not like them."

"Oh I never thought you were stupid Charlie, just the opposite. I always knew you were smarter than you let on." He winked at her, earning a small laugh for his trouble. "How are you feeling now?" His voice was suddenly sympathetic.

"Better," she answered quietly. "I really thought..." She shook her head, determined not to dwell on the feelings she'd experienced when she thought Monroe had come for her. Even he couldn't reach her when he didn't know where she was... or how to get there.

Jeremy had leaned across to pat her knee when the doors crashed open.

Rebel safehouse...

Miles and Rachel had made it back relatively unscathed. There was chaos in the streets, people rushing around, mixing with soldiers, trying to understand what was going on.

"How'd it go?" Miles flopped into a seat, looking to Riley, who had made it back just after him and Rachel. "You took your time."

The young rebel shrugged, "I stopped by my house to check on my family. My Sophie is beside herself. She met General Monroe today and just about fell in love." His nose scrunched up in distaste while Miles tried to hide a smile. "She's scared witless, I had to make sure she was okay. Apparently Militia soldiers brought them home and stood guard at the door to make sure they were okay. They only split when the bombs started going off." The confusion on the young rebel's face made Miles laugh.

"You know, contrary to popular belief, Monroe isn't a monster. Sure he's gone a bit screwy, but he'd never sanctify what happened in that market today. I'd bet anything that when the dust settles on all this mess - he'll have the Militia responsible for firing into the crowd executed." Everyone was staring at him like he had two heads. He waved them off, reaching for the whiskey he'd stashed down the side of the chair earlier. He opened the bottle, smirking around at them all.

"Yes," Rachel piped up from across the room, "well, what he'll do to my daughter if he catches Bass is what I'm worried about."

The smirk died on Miles' face. If they failed again tonight, General Monroe might just get the idea in his head that Charlie was involved in it all, that she'd helped... Would she still be his little princess then?

"Look," he tried to sound reasonable, "Bass isn't going to fail. The whole city is in chaos right now, he'll be able to get her out and away. I know him, he won't stop until he succeeds." He sounded more confident than he felt. It was only a matter of time before the Militia calmed everyone down and discovered that the only things that had been blown up tonight were abandoned, empty buildings. Then it would become clear that the whole endeavor had been an elaborate distraction. If Bass and Charlie weren't far away from Independence Hall when that happened then they were screwed.

Suddenly glaring at his bottle, Miles gave a sigh and decided that drunk was the only way he could deal with whatever was going to happen now.

'Hurry, Bass.'

Independence Hall, library...

General Monroe stood in the doorway, almost swaying on his feet. His eyes zeroed in on Jeremy's hand on Charlie's knee and darkened noticeably."Leave us." He said. Charlie and Jeremy exchanged glances. He seemed to realize he hadn't made his orders very clear. "Captain, go. Leave us. I have to speak to Charlotte."

She shot a pleading look at the Captain, extremely against the idea of being left alone with the man when he was this drunk and this emotional. "He won't hurt you, you know he won't." Jeremy mumbled to her as he rose to his feet. He beckoned to a shocked looking Janine and pulled her out of the room with him. Charlie hoped he could feel the 'Traitor' she was mentally projecting at his retreating back.

And then she was alone with him.

"You been at your whiskey stash huh... Things that bad?"

He shrugged. moving over and dropping himself into Jeremy's vacated seat. Charlie sank back in her chair. "It's all gone to shit, Charlotte. All of it. I tried, I did I tried but I just couldn't hold it together..."

Feeling sorry for him now, she slipped from her chair and moved to kneel in front of his, taking one of his hands. "You know it's not Miles, right? If he had launched an attack on this place I'd have known about it. Whatever's going on it's not him."

"I know that," General Monroe laced his fingers through hers, staring down at their hands, "I know who it is, and I know what he wants. And I won't let him take it."

Confused, she went to ask him what he was talking about, but her voice was muffled by his lips as he yanked her up onto his lap and crushed his mouth to hers. His tongue forced its way into her mouth as she pushed against him, suddenly panicked. This wasn't right, it wasn't him. She shoved hard at his chest and he finally pulled away, eye wide. Charlie immediately sprang back off his lap, walking backwards in a hurry. "What- what are you doing?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"Claiming what's mine," he told her as he got to his feet, his eyes dark. He stalked towards her like she was prey and she shot back, tripping on her own chair and falling into it. He was on her in a heartbeat. His hands roamed all over her as his lips pressed against her neck. In other circumstances, this might have felt pretty hot, but right now all she felt was fear. "Stop! Stop it!" She struck out at him, catching his cheek. He abruptly stopped. She stared in horror at the scratches she'd left on his cheek. He looked even more horrified than she did. "Charlotte... I'm sorry... Charlie..."

Before she could react, the doors leading to the garden were kicked in. Charlie could only stare in absolute shock as her eyes focused on the intruder. Sebastian Monroe stood in the doorway, blood on his neck and a sword in his hand, looking like he was ready to commit mass murder. He stepped forward and Charlie still couldn't speak. General Monroe's weight on her was making it hard to breath. His total lack of reaction brought her attention briefly to him. He was passed out on top of her. Quickly, she shot her gaze back to the man who'd broken into the library.

"Charlie..." He said. In half a second, he had dragged the General off her, when he stirred the man punched him hard in the face and he slumped forward, unconscious again.

"I'm crazy," she muttered as she stared at him, feeling like she was gonna be next to pass out, "I've lost it. I'm insane. You're not real." She told Monroe.

He was suddenly on his knees in front of her chair, his hands were touching her...

"Monroe?" Her voice came out in a frightened, half-hopeful whisper. The man smirked at her, "I told you, you're not as hard to track as you think."

Memories suddenly engulfed her and she let out a cry of emotion. He was really here. He'd come for her. Charlie slumped forward, wrapping her arms around him tightly, feeling him tense up briefly before slipping his own around her. "Monroe..." She buried her face in his neck, breathing in his scent. "Monroe." There were tears leaking out of her eyes and she didn't give a damn. Cause he was here, he'd found her, right when she needed him, just like he always did.

They were gripping onto each other tightly, each so relieved and happy that they failed to notice the door to the hall opening.

"For goodness sake, can you do the reunion hugs later? You have to go now!" Charlie blinked, watching as Janine entered the room, scolding them like it was perfectly normal to walk in on two Monroe's and a crying Charlie. "I just got rid of Jeremy, but someone's bound to come back here looking for the boss."

"Hang on," Charlie could feel her temper start to rise in spite of herself, "You knew he was here? You knew?! And you let me think-"

Monroe cut her off, "We don't have time Charlie, Janine helped me get here and we gotta go before we're seen." As he let go of her and stood up, she felt the loss of his arms immediately. Then she saw the General sprawled on the floor beside the fire and let out a sharp gasp. Quickly, she bent down to check on him, unsure of what she was feeling when her fingers pressed against his neck and found a strong pulse.

Janine walked to the doors and peered out. Just as quickly, she pulled her head back in and shut them. Turning to glare at Monroe, she hissed, "They were open! What did you go and break them for?"

"He was hurting her, trying the handle would've wasted more time."

"And what's your excuse for killing the guards?"

Charlie looked up in time to see him do his trademark shrug, "They were in my way."

She burst out laughing, getting up and launching herself at him again. He caught her in his arms easily. "I missed you so much." She whispered against his ear. His arms tightened around her, squeezing her against him. "I missed you, Charlotte. I missed you."

Janine was watching them with an exasperated frown. "Well now we have to figure out how to get you out of here."

"Can't we just sneak out the way he came?" Charlie asked.

"Not after the bloodbath he left out there. No, safest bet is the front door." She was met with two pairs of incredulous eyes. "Think about it! There's a pretty big chance you'll get caught stealing away out the back door like a couple of rats. But stick this big guy in the General's clothes and walk out of here like you own the place... Well no one will suspect anything, will they?"

Charlie pulled back to give Monroe a skeptical look. "She's got a point." He told her. The hug was effectively broke, but his arm remained around her. He seemed afraid to let her go in case she disappeared. She knew how he felt.

"So we're just gonna walk out there, past everyone?"

Janine nodded, "It's the safest way out of here. Order is probably being restored as we speak. If you go out the front and tell everyone you're taking Charlie to one of your safe houses, no one will bat an eyelid."

"There are safe houses?" Charlie asked. Monroe nodded. "After Miles went AWOL I figured he might come back and try to finish what he started. I set up a few secure places to go in case I ever needed to get out of the way in a hurry. Most guys know they exist, they just don't know where."

"Okay." She nodded.

"Wait," he looked at her, "You're not gonna argue? Say I'm crazy? Insist on any plan but the one I'm all for?"

Charlie grinned up at him, her agreeing with him out loud was rare, even now. "I guess I must really have missed you." Their smiles were wider than ever as they beamed at each other.

"You two are so sweet." Janine grumbled, "But unless you'd like to die together, one of you should probably help me get the General's uniform off before he wakes up or someone else bursts in here."

Rebel safehouse...

Miles was pacing the floor, just about out of his mind with worry and heartily sorry he had ever agreed to get involved with this whole thing. It was too stressful. Bass should have been back by now. He could be dead. The real Bass, his brother could be dead. Because of him.

He was ignoring everyone, Rachel included, as he walked the same path Bass had earlier. Just as he was about to begin tearing his hair out, the door opened and Bass appeared.

He was clutching the hand of a young woman. They both appeared to be catching their breath.

"Charlie..." Rachel breathed out somewhere to his left. The girl looked up, but only as far as Bass. Her eyes were wide. Bass was staring intensely down at her like she hung the moon.

"You came for me..." She said softly. Bass reached up to cup her cheek. Miles was watching like he'd just found a new favorite soap opera. "Don't I always?" Bass replied after a second. Whatever that meant.

Clearly it meant something to Charlie though, because the moment he said it she let out a long sigh and dropped his hand. Reaching up, she slid her hands into his hair and kissed him.

'Well, that's disturbing.' Miles thought. He cleared his throat, attempting to draw their attention. He failed miserably. Bass had hauled her against him, kissing her back with a passion that Miles had never seen from him. For which he was grateful, cause... well, yuck. But the two people in front of him clearly had no respect for his delicate stomach, or the staring eyes of the others in the room.

Charlie felt her heart flip as her mouth moved against Monroe's. The touch of his hands on her back were sending sparks through every part of her. He'd been gone from her for too long and now that he was here, she wasn't planning on wasting a single second doing anything other than kiss him. Vaguely, she was aware that there were other people in the small room, but they didn't matter, the only thing that did was the man whose arms she was finally in. And she was never going to leave them again.

Finally, the kiss broke. Breathing harder than when they'd ran here, she smiled up at him. "I miss the beard." He appeared dazed, like her kissing him had been the last thing he had expected. "Huh?" Was his brilliant reply. Charlie laughed softly. Then she remembered that they hadn't been alone. But as she looked up she discovered that the room was now empty.

"There were people here, right?" She glanced up at him. He seemed to have returned to his senses.

"I think so," He said.

Charlie shrugged, then turned back to him, "I don't understand, how did you get here? Is everyone okay?"

The look on his face made her feel chilly. "Listen Charlie, there are some things I have to tell you."

A/N - Had to stop or I'd have been writing for a week and you guys would have no update at all. Thanks again for all the reviews and messages of support, they mean the world to me. Just so you know, whenever I post without an authors note I'm not being snooty, when I'm really sick I can't get at my computer so I send the chap to my cousin, who understands just enough about this site to update for me. So if I ever miss any pms or anything please forgive me, just shoot me another one and tell me to get my ass in gear lol. Anyway, this story was supposed to end when Monroe got Charlie back, but now I've written that part it feels like there's so much missing. Like how they'll get home, or what's gonna happen when General Monroe wakes up with no clothes on, no memories and scratches on his face... Or how Charlie and Bass will deal with everything around them. Let me know if you guys think what happens next is worth reading - if reviews aren't your thing then feel free to shoot me a pm, I do get them eventually. I'm running on zero sleep so off to bed now, see you folks next time x