A/N For our daily fix of Charloe, what will we do without our lovely ship. Enjoy guys!

Miles' niece is exactly like him, and at the same time exactly like Rachel, though those two almost couldn't be more different. It's an odd mix of personalities. The girl draws on the extremes of passion and fierceness and love mixes it with a special brand of ruthlessness and compassion meeting somewhere in the middle.

He's heard the stories a dozen times, read the reports of every incident she's been involved in, has them piled up in his upper desk drawer so he can re-read them whenever he feels like it, which is increasingly more often.

Jeremy went on and on in great detail about his own confrontation with the young Matheson. His friend's debrief went on for hours so the captain could recount every single word and translate every facial expression. Bass had been intrigued and not stopped him once, despite the fact that he usually shuts Baker up pretty quickly.

How little Charlotte reacted to the news of Miles' past became his obsession. The way he heard it she'd never even flinched in fear when she found out she was facing the General in charge of the Monroe Militia, co-founder of the Republic.

She'd inexplicably tried to understand when she should've killed him where he stood. How she'd waited to hear the whole story and hadn't judged even then.

She'd protected him even though she'd just, literally seconds ago, found out he was just as responsible for Ben's death as Bass himself. Maybe she hadn't followed that logic herself yet, but he would be sure to point that out if he ever got the chance.

Repeatedly, the captain had recounted the moment where Miles could've killed him, defenseless on the ground much like when they first found him. That he had left Jeremy alive and ran instead of taking the whole group of Militia soldiers out in the confusion of the explosions. Knowing Miles, he could've slaughter the division. He's done something similar in Baltimore before (to the enemy of course). Now they still call him The Butcher.

Bass has a chance to get his best friend back. All he has to do is make sure he uses the kid. Miles is attached to her and will do anything to keep her safe and happy. If the president can win Charlie over, she'll do the rest for him. A good hostage works every time, Miles had taught him that.

Speaking of, it's time to convince Rachel to build the amplifier. He is done playing her head games, especially because he is still winning right now, and that might change tomorrow. The woman sets his teeth on edge by simply being herself. She is the only prisoner he's ever had that managed to remain equal to him.

His last plan to mess with her had succeeded beyond his wildest hopes. He'd isolated her from any and all human contact but his own, not even the guards were allowed to see her. The windows in her suite were blacked out so she could not even observe the bustling civilians on the streets below.

All he'd had to do was show her a bit of kindness, and she'd succumbed to it like a starved child aching for food. Rachel had two weak points that would work every time, points that she couldn't stop herself from reacting to; her children's safety, and her affair with Miles.

Causing her to cheat on both her husband and her lover had been the one thing left he'd had to convince her to speak up about the lights. He'd never wanted to go that far, Rachel was too much of a psychopath to actually be interested in, but her manipulation attempts had gotten under his skin, and he'd needed revenge.

It had broken her, sparked an all-encompassing hatred in her that barely kept the pieces together, and still Rachel had not given in. He'd failed, and even the triumph of seeing her really cry for the first time since her captivity hadn't kept him in a good mood for long.

And despite the fact that he'd never wanted Benjamin to die (Miles would hate him for it), he'd hoped that it would be enough to flip her to his side, but even now she was holding out for her children's arrival. The woman was infuriating.

Charlotte Matheson is everything he imagined and more. He listens carefully to every word she says, amused at her strangely realistic naiveté. Her view of the world is jaded, but there is a hope in her voice that causes a perspective of the Dark Days unlike anything he's ever imagined.

He watches, fascinated, as she jumps in front of Strausser's gun. That self-sacrifice is uniquely Charlie, neither of her parents would ever have done something that stupid and brave. He almost snorts at her last argument. There's nothing more important than family, and he's built an empire to prove it.

She stares death in the face, not even scared, frozen and stoic. Maybe it's because everyone knows that Rachel will give in before the bullet can leave the barrel. Charlie is too important to his future and to the Republic that she can't be allowed to die, and Bass wonders if she knows what he's thinking, even if she's barely spared him a glance. The conviction on her face is undeniably real, but the girl can't want to die. No one does in the end.

Like he predicted, Rachel's weaknesses conquer her morals and she acquiesces his request. She breaks down and begs. Victory hasn't been this sweet in a while, he can almost taste it.

He threatens both the kids in front of their mother, but as soon as Rachel is out of ear-shot he changes his orders.

"You know what, kill the boy first if she tries anything. Bring the girl to my office, we have a lot to discuss," he tells one of his guards and sees him separate the kids. Danny is dragged back to his cell while Charlie screams at their actions, struggling to break free and wounding two before she is contained, impressive.

The make-shift office in the power plant is far from imposing. It would've been useless anyway, the girl doesn't look like the type to be impressed by his Persian rug or the 18th century mahogany desk.

The soldiers force her through the door in front of him, and after a quick check for weapons the general tells them to leave. Whatever he's going to say is to stay between them.

"Matheson and Monroe, it seems like it was inevitable for us to meet. Let's call it destiny," He won't ever be able to rid himself of Miles and his family, no matter if he kills them all. The impression these people leave on his mind and skin have already scarred too deeply to ever be erased.

"For you to die? Miles has tried." She's heard the story by now, knows the two used to be best friends, or maybe they still are. "My mom has tried." Not that she has proof, but she can read body language when it's as obvious as theirs. Rachel hates Sebastian Monroe more than her daughter ever will. "I'm next in line, don't you think?" Charlie smirks bravely.

She has no idea what Monroe will do to her, but she suspects he will kill them all either way. The young woman doesn't know any better, doesn't want to know any better. This self-appointed general is not a man in her eyes, he plans to change that.

Monroe is amused at her defiance. "And they've both failed," he reminds her with a confident smile. Miles hadn't killed him that night, and it is a memory he clings to for hope even though it is the source for most of his nightmares. They have a chance; is the mantra that goes through his mind every second he waits for his best friend to show up and rescue this exquisite young woman from his clutches.

"I won't fail, Monroe," she says it confidently enough that he is almost convinced, were it not that the girl who said it is unarmed and has far less than a year of training with Miles, where he has several decades of experience and knows every trick the other general will have doubtlessly taught her.

"You really think you're that good, don't you?" It's an honest question, and he sees her hesitate at the answer, lunging for him instead with the scissors she must've gotten from his desk to hide her insecurities.

He easily stops the stabbing motion toward his stomach, at least she knows to aim for soft tissue, by hitting her wrist. In shock (though it doesn't hurt), it falls from her hand and gives Bass the time to spin her around so her back is glued to his chest. His fingers are resting on her throat, more like a caress than a grip, but his guest knows exactly how easily it can become a chokehold.

She tries to throw him of once more, hooking his leg with her boot-clad foot and moving it forward. He notices her action long before she even starts it and adjusts his grip. His other hand now rests over her bare bellybutton where her shirt has hiked up her skin.

Bass keeps his head just to the side of hers, knowing Mathesons, she'll try to break his nose by slamming her gentle curls into his face. This stubborn family definitely has the hardest skulls he's ever encountered, so he gladly takes the precaution.

His mouth is now in perfect position, just below her ear, to whisper: "Most people that get this close to me get shred to ribbons." He means it more as a reassurance than a threat. He hasn't harmed her, and he won't.

Charlie somehow gets the mixed signal, and frowns. This game Monroe is playing makes her feel she is left way out of his league. Whatever he, Miles and Rachel have set up as a game board, they're fifty paces ahead and she's only just left start.

"I'm not most people," she tries, trying to figure out this plan of his so she can stop it. If she has to pretend to comply with his wishes to end him, she will.

Almost like he knows what she's just decided, his fingers press down lightly on her neck to remind her the president still has the upper hand, like she could forget the digits that have been moving on her throat in what she would call comfort had it not been Monroe doing it.

Right after, they relax again, like he believes her, even if the warning says otherwise. The hand he has left moves to her hip, the other staying in place to cut off her air supply if he needs to, and hooks a finger through her belt loop.

"That, you are not," he agrees, "which is why I could use your assistance." He refuses to use the word help as long as he can. Charlie is unaware of how important Mathesons are to him, and he needs the whole set like he needs to breathe, his family just because Miles is his brother. They have to be close so he can protect them from everything. Every single one of the, is now in his grasp, and he can't stand the though of losing them again.

Charlie, astonished by his request, turns in his arms. She's surprised he lets her, his limbs loosening just long enough to get her back in position. In any other situation, this could've been a lover's embrace. "After all, the only reason Miles would refuse my offer is because he can't stand to lose you."

Immediately, she is captivated by his eyes, blue orbs observing her from a distance that is far too close. His hand in her neck would be in perfect position to guide her lips to meet his if they had indeed been lovers instead of the enemies Charlie wants them to be.

He actually releases her. A part of her, the one that is still delusional from the tunnels beneath Philly and chilled to the bone, misses the warmth of the human furnace.

She takes a subtle deep breath while he's turned away from her as he makes his way to the desk and regains her senses. The scissors she dropped are maybe five feet from her boot, and if she is quick enough she might be able to drive it through Monroe's spine an paralyze him long enough to kill him.

"And why would I help you?" she asks to distract him, eyes darting between her chosen weapon and her target, "You killed my dad."

The president rests his palms on the edge of the desk and sighs in remorse, which is real despite what Charlie thinks. "We never meant for that to happen, Charlotte."

She snorts, than stops once she processes the words. "We?" It seems her list of targets is going to have to expand if there were more people involved. That Neville guy who took Danny is just below Monroe, she has space for a third.

Bass grins where she can't possibly see it. He has her exactly where he wanted to have her from the start. "The bounty on Ben's head was a long standing warrant, almost as old as our Republic." He can barely believe that the Black-out has already been going on for this long. "Miles wrote it because we believed your father was involved in whatever caused the lights to flip."

Charlie temporarily forgets her murder strategy when her curiosity gets the better of her. "My dad," she says incredulously, "involved in the Black-out. You're joking, right?" Bass can't remember the last time someone was this disrespectful to him. It's strangely satisfying to have someone question his sanity out loud. He faces her to explain it in more detail.

"Your mom is busy building me an amplifier because she is one in a hand-full of people on the world who understands how the pendants work, and you still think your dad didn't know anything?" He loves watching her think, he decides as a little part of her world crumbles when she draws her conclusions. "Benjamin called me and Miles that night, and he warned us what would happen before the first light switched off. It is why we tried to find him, and why your mom has been here all these years. She knows how to turn them back on."

She doesn't accuse him of lying. The possibility to do so doesn't even cross her mind as she processes all this new information. Like Jeremy had reported, she barely reacts at first. Her eyes water, but she doesn't cry. Her full focus is on compartmentalizing her pain so Bass can't see that he just flipped her world upside down and took away the last hope she had that her suspicions were wrong.

Bass grants her that. He has all the time in the world until Miles arrives. His friend will try to save his niece and nephew and push Monroe away because even if he loves them all equally, while Bass easily measures up to one kid , the siblings overpower him with numbers alone.

If he can convince the girl to his side, Miles won't have to choose at all. Danny will follow Charlie, and Rachel won't leave her kids. All he has to do for now is plant the first seeds of doubt in the young woman's mind. Keep her in Philly long enough to get them to see his point of view.

"Give me some time, Charlotte, and I'll be able to convince Rachel to bring back the lights once and for all. No harm will come to you or Danny." Now that he has the kids, their mom will work with him no problem, he's already proven it.

"And Miles?" Her quick mind, intuitive and strong immediately bargains for her uncle's safety as well, though Bass is interested to note that her mother's is not worth negotiation.

"I have never planned to harm your uncle, kid," he says truthfully. Charlie believes him in this instance, which proves how smart she is. The young woman might not understand yet, but she seems willing to try.

"I still hate you," Charlie reminds him. She just made a deal with the devil, and she needs to keep that in mind. Once they turn on the power, he'll die by her hand. The scissors lie on the floor, fading back into a simple office instrument instead of the murder weapon for one of the greatest men on the planet.

"How is it," Bass questions, approaching her again and looking her straight in the eye. When defiant blue meets his own, he continues: "that you can love your uncle as much as you do, but hate me this badly?" He hasn't missed the murderous flash that crossed her face after her non-verbal agreement.

"Miles is a better man than you can ever hope to be," she glares like she's insulted he dared to compare himself with her beloved uncle. He can't deny the truth, though the difference between him and his best friend is far smaller than she might think.

"You love Miles only because I'm the scapegoat for his crimes as well as my own," he voices for her. All the blame she could pile on her uncle has been shoved to Bass so she can be allowed to love the only man who has ever put her above everyone else, including her little brother. Charlie can't hate her uncle because without him she has nobody left, and Bass can understand needing Miles more than needing air so he sympathizes.

The young Matheson doesn't deny it, and he feels something shift between them. Maybe he's just succeeded in getting her to think of him as human by halving her hate and shifting it to the others worthy of it, namely her parents and her uncle.

They're interrupted by Captain Baker walking in. Bass is in a good mood, he's accomplished what he said out to do, so he is a lot less stressed at the thought of Miles coming to kill him, again. "Neville?" he asks Jeremy without taking his eyes off the girl. The Captain doesn't notice as he is just as busy staring. "Nothing yet," he reports absentmindly, a grin forming on his face as he figures out the general's plan.

"Matheson two-point-oh," he greets Charlie, "How nice to see you again." He suddenly no longer doubts that Miles will be storming the power plant to get her out.

Charlie perks up at the name of the man who came to her village. "Captain Neville?" she asks Monroe, who hasn't once turned his attention away from her.

Bass has no problem figuring out her plans; he recognizes the vengeful look that was pointed at him not ten minutes earlier. "I'm afraid that he's probably long dead, Charlotte. Miles never liked him much, and he was guarding your friends."

Charlie remembers that there are two more people that need her protection. "You won't harm them either, right?" she reacts, forgetting all about Neville for the moment.

Bass thinks back to the reports. "I could use Pittman," he says contemplatively. With the lights back on the computer genius will come in handy. Not to mention that his friendship with Ben is highly suspicious, he might be able to help Rachel.

Charlie wants to sigh in relief, but waits for Nora's conviction first. The older woman is a rebel bomb-expert, Monroe won't be anywhere as lenient with her.

"How about," Bass suggests with another step toward her, tilting his head as he judges his own plan before speaking it out loud, "you convince Nora into a truce." The woman is a major pain, but if Charlie can convince her to switch sides, even though he has no illusions that it is anything but temporary, she'll be incredibly useful. It's better he has her by his side and uncooperative than out there with the Rebels blowing his camps and soldiers up.

Charlie knows that Nora won't go for it. The young Matheson is content to give Monroe power if the rest of the world gets it too, putting everyone on equal footing and improving the way of life. Georgia has just as many electrical weapons as the Republic, if not more.

Nora will never hand the president that power unless she can be convinced that it will return the world to the way it used to be before the Dark Days and bring back the United States of America. Or if she shares her plan to kill Sebastian Monroe the moment the first lamp turns back on.

"I will try," Charlie agrees, though she promises nothing. If Monroe sees through her attempted deception, he doesn't show it.

Shouts in the hallway and the sound of gunshots alert them to Miles' presence. "Let's go and get your uncle up to speed, kid, preferably before he kills even more of our men."

They make their way through the corridors of the power plant, up the stairs and through the maze of pipes and turns. Monroe follows the sound of gunshots and tracks a trapped Miles to the boiler room. Bass orders his men to stand down for now.

He is about to speak up when something tugs on his sleeve. Looking back he finds the slender fingers attached to Charlie, who looks slightly jumpy between all the Militia men and their guns, though she does her best not to let it affect her. It's probably a reflex to kill them all that she's fighting.

"Let me," she whispers, conscious of the fact that anything louder will echo all the way to her uncle's hiding spot. Bass shakes his head. He might have a weak spot for Mathesons, but he is not an idiot. If she's been playing him she will die with Miles fighting her way out.

"If we're working together, you're going to have to learn to trust me, Monroe." She looks just a little bit smug, not trying to hide her joy at making him do something he definitely doesn't want to do. She's not even sure if the paranoid president trusts anyone anymore these days.

"I think it is a good idea, general," Jeremy interjects from where he's been listening in. "Miles listens to her more than I thought him capable of." It's a badly timed joke, which Bass glares at but makes Charlie laugh. Her uncle listens to nobody unless he had already been thinking the same thing. Just because she and Miles often agree on what to do doesn't mean he ever really listens. The older men look at her like she is ignorant for thinking they're wrong.

"Charlie?" Miles questions from his cover behind the boiler, peeking around the side to see his niece lightly grinning and unarmed in the middle of Bass, Jeremy and a handful of soldiers. It's a sight he had never dared hope he would see again. The three most important people in his world are alive and not trying to kill each other. He doesn't miss the absence of guns pointed at her back.

"What's going on?" He observes as Charlie shoots Bass a childish grin, as if she's just won something. Her words are too soft to hear from his position, but he can read her lips. "Trust me," she tells the ruler of a fourth of the former United States. His niece waits until Bass stops glaring, elated that she's pushing his buttons with sadistic glee.

Someone as distrustful as Bass, as paranoid, will have a lot of trouble to give in to a barely adult kid to get his best friend back, and it obviously grinds on his nerves. Nevertheless, the general nods and hands over the cards he's been trying to keep as close to his chest as possible.

After years of ruling an empire alone, relinquishing even this tiny amount of power is a struggle. His mind has been warped by it over time, and he's only willing to trade it so he can have his best friend back. Bass is nothing without Miles, and vice versa had always been true, until this girl showed up again and gave the older general someone else to fight for.

"It's okay, Miles," she reassures, her voice barely raised above a whisper because the reverberation does the work for her. "Monroe and I have a deal."

They don't have to be able to see the hidden general to know a frown is now prominent on his face. "What deal?" He tries to fight the fear crawling up his spine. He might not be a lawyer, but he knows how easily Bass used to slip in dozens of holes in the treaties they signed with Georgia and Texas.

"We'll stay here and work together to turn on the lights again," Charlie answers, stepping into the room and ignoring the grip Monroe has on her shoulder to prevent her from running off.

Miles feels a strong disappointment in his niece that he doesn't dare to say aloud. Even with the pendants it is not possible to reverse the Dark Days without the information they'd needed from Ben. Their agreement is just a contract for voluntary imprisonment.

It's not like he doesn't want to have Bass back by his side and the kids close and safe, that's like a dream come true. The problem is that he doesn't want Charlie to ever see what he can do while he's in charge of the Militia. He already fears the unconditional love she has for him will turn on him any moment.

"My mom is alive," she adds when her uncle stays silent and out of sight.

Miles jumps up from his crouch and almost bangs his head against the pipe as he reveals himself to the group in surprise. He wants to ask about Rachel, but sees Charlie being lightly restrained by his friend.

"Bass, off!" he barks at the other general. Miles can trust the man with a lot, but never with Charlie.

The president grins against his better judgment and lets go, his arms non-threateningly in the air because Miles seems to have forgotten to pick up his rifle anyway, one hand on the handles of his double swords instead.

"Miles," he says seriously, trying to regain his composure at seeing his best friend. Charlie runs to her uncle and wraps her arms around him in the security that Monroe will keep his promise, though she has no proof the president is a man of his word, yet.

His best friend awkwardly hugs his niece and stares over her shoulder at his two best friends. "Hey General," Jeremy greets with a grin. It is for the good of every citizen in the Republic and many across the border if his friends would just lay aside their differences. "If you and the president would just kiss and make up, we can get back to work."

Miles observes as his best friend's eyes recommend he wouldn't be opposed to actually literally kissing the female Matheson. "Hell no, Bass," he says as he tries to push Charlie into the safety behind him, but of course the stubborn kid doesn't move a muscle.

He tries to change the subject as quickly as he can, zeroing in on the revelation that his former lover is alive and kicking. "You told me Rachel was dead," he accuses Bass. Better to get this all out of the way now.

"I did," his friend agrees without any sign of remorse, "she was playing you like a fiddle, driving us apart and planting these idiotic ideas in your head. Her death would protect you, but unfortunately I couldn't actually kill her."

Behind the president, Jeremy has ordered the soldiers away. They don't need to hear this confidential information that the generals are handing out like candy. Were he not on guard duty of Monroe's sanity for the day, he would leave himself. He never wanted to be promoted beyond his rank for exactly this reason; top-secret stuff is just not his thing. He prefers a simpler life.

"So you turned all her attention on you. That must've been the dumbest move you've ever made." It explained the rapid disintegration of Bass' sanity if he'd been sneaking off to weasel information out of the Matheson-by-marriage.

Together they'd been able to gang up on her and avoid the worst of her manipulative influences. Bass and Rachel fighting one-on-one for so long must've pushed them both over the edge. It's a miracle the Republic is still standing.

Bass agrees with a reluctant nod that it hadn't been his best idea ever. He petulantly wants to argue that he has been winning ever since he isolated her from Miles, but thinks it better not to mention his morally-screwed plots until they're on better terms.

"So where have you been keeping her all this time?" During their shared leadership they'd never been apart for long for security reasons. They'd only been apart when they were sleeping. He finds the answer himself. "Your suite," he realizes out loud. His own back room had been an office, but Bass had already had one, and they'd never come to each other's bedrooms because those were joined by a luxurious sitting room where they gathered.

"I had it renovated while you were on campaign. It took me a while to plan." He'd needed to show Miles a body and have an alternate cell for their long term prisoner.

"And she can turn the lights back on, all of them," Charlie interrupts, a little bit unnerved by the ease with which the two are already half-way telepathically communicating.

It's a relief to Miles that he hadn't taken Rachel prisoner all those years ago for nothing. He'd been right that she knew as much as Ben did. "Is Danny okay?" he asks Charlie the moment he thinks of his nephew.

"Neville did a number on him," she answers, hoping that Miles has indeed killed the captain, "but he'll be okay."

Miles practically winces when he's reminded of the man. "About that," he addresses Monroe, "I might've threatened to slit Julia's throat sometime today."

Bass sighs. "Great," he says sarcastically, "You're lucky I've been wanting to execute the guy for a while, because he won't be forgiving you anytime soon." He'll actually miss Julia, the woman is at the very least amusing and crazy clever. "Care to tell me your escape plan before Nora blows up one of the walls?" he adds.

Miles reluctantly tells on his friends after Charlie assures him they were part of the deal, and Jeremy leaves to intercept them before a bomb goes off.

It takes her a few seconds to notice that they're completely alone with Monroe and that both generals have double swords strapped to their belts and there is a gun only inches away from her foot.

If she can get her mom and Danny out before people notice their president is dead they could turn the power in themselves. Charlie bends over slowly and has her hand wrapped around the barrel, finger already on the trigger when Miles of all people stops her.

Her uncle is almost grinning at her attempt. She turns back to see Monroe with his swords already drawn, tip pointing at the same spot on her neck his fingers had skimmed earlier. "Really, kid," Miles shakes his head. "Come on, Bass, let it go," he tells his friend, "She deserved to try."

Monroe snorts. "I knew she would, just hoped she'd try the scissors again." That way he'd have an excuse to have her back in his arms. No matter, he has enough time to find another opportunity.

"Scissors?" Miles quizzes, his eyebrow raised and eyes darting proudly between his niece and his best friend.

A/N Yes this is a one-shot, no amount of reviews will convince me to continue. You've been warned…or maybe…no, definitely not. I mean it. I can't keep this one-chap-a-day thing up any longer. I have a life...sometimes…