Aaron and Priscilla are married, and parents to little Zoë. Zoë's favourite aunt in the whole wide world is Charlie and the two are very close. Charlie's favourite uncle is still her badass Uncle Miles. Miles is still moody as ever and he is still with Rachel. Who still hates Bass. Bass still thinks she is a hypocritical bitch. He knows there is not enough whiskey in the history of ever that would change his fucking mind about her and although both and Miles have history with woman they both been with, Rachel is not one of them. Bass has a kid too, just like Aaron. Only his kid, Connor, is a little bit older, and is enjoying himself with the local ladies in and around Willoughby. Connor tried to enjoy himself with Charlie one time in Vegas. That kind of backfired. Charlie wasn't interested. Bass on the other hand, is interested. In her. Kind off. Not that he would ever admit that. Ever. Charlie still thinks Bass can be a bastard, but maybe not as much as she thought he would be. Not that she would ever admit that. It's stupid.

Enter little Zoë in this story.

The bottle is in his hand again, and he refills the glass that Miles is holding in front of him. Then he fills his own glass for the second time and looks at the pathetic face that belongs to his brother. Miles.

'Buck up tiger.' He leans back into his chair, looking at Miles in his dark pool of misery before he continues.

'You can do 72 hours without the old ball and chain,' Bass puts the bottle on the table in front of him, 'this is a boys' weekend, we are going have ourselves some fun.' He grins at Miles from across the table.

He thinks back to the days when that fun had included some whiskey and some strippers. But now, since Rachel has Miles on a fucking leash he doubts there will be some strippers. Ever. At least there is some god damn whiskey and a Rachel who is out of town with the old men for a couple of days.

The two men enjoy their booze after a long day where they had to face Frank Blanchard when the back door opens.

And then, Bass looks right into the eyes of Charlie. His eyes don't stay locked at her eyes for a change.

Because Charlie Matheson, is wearing a fucking tiara.

She holds open the door and a little girls walks in the kitchen under Charlie's arm. He knows she is Aaron's kid.

And she is quickly turning into as much trouble as Charlie was at her age.

Charlie knew there was probably a good change they would run in to him here. She tells herself she does not care he is around that much. He is Monroe He is there.

She offered to take care of Zoë today, because there has been a stomach flu going around town and both Aaron and Priscilla are still recovering. Zoë has been sick, but only needed a day to get over it before she was ready to put on her shoes and go out for another round of playtime. Both Miles and Bass have been bragging about not getting sick. Ever. And of course, neither of them never seem to get sick. It is simply infuriating.

Charlie meet his eyes head on when she gets out her jacket.

'What you never saw a tiara before?' Charlie shoots at Monroe, raising a daring eyebrow at him.

'Oh I have Charlotte,' Bass smirks, 'Just on you, it looks so damn adorable.'

There is a husk low rhythm in his voice.

'So, you two had a good day?' Miles informs, an amused grin plastered on his face at the fake gold tiara with purple fake stones on top of the head of his niece.

'We were princess today.' Zoë smiles happily, while she adjusts her tiara on her head.

'You like hanging out with Charlie ?' Bass asks her.

Zoë nods eagerly. 'Yes, Chalie and I looked for pinecones. And then we were princesses again.' she then looks up at Charlie. 'When I am grow up, I want to be like auntie Charlie and have long hair and look very pretty.' Zoë giggles.

'You do huh?' Bass holds Charlie's gaze for a couple of seconds when he puts his glass to his lips.

Zoë nods with even more enthusiasm when Charlie rolls her eyes at him. Zoë shrugs out of her little jacket too, and she gives it to Charlie. Then she walks up to the table and climbs on a chair between Miles and Bass. Charlie walks over to the cabinets behind them to find some fruit for herself and her fellow princess.

'I am thirsty,' Zoë looks up at Bass when she says this without blinking. When he does not move immediately she continues. 'Daddy always gets me some water when I'm thirsty.'

Bass lets out a deep sigh, when this time Charlie looks at him with amusement. Then he pushes himself of the chair, grabs a small mug and fills it with water. He puts it in front of her when at the same time, he sits down on his chair again.

'Thanks you,' Bass is rewarded with a quick smile from the little girl as she sips the water.

Not much later, Aaron is there to pick little Zoë up. Charlie nuzzles the little girls hair and tickles her, as Zoë burst out in wild laughter.

With content she lets her hand slide into Aarons when she waves at Miles and Bass.

'Bye Chalie,' Zoë waves at her one more time.

'Bye babe,' Charlie smiles back.

Zoe giggles, and the last thing Miles and Bass hear before she walks off the porch with Aaron is a 'Auntie Chalie calls me babe, daddy.'

Charlie closes the kitchen door and grabs Miles' glass and finishes what is left in his glass.

'Easy there, princess whatever you are today.' Miles smiles at his niece. Charlie rolls her eyes at him.

'You staying for one more?' Bass asks her, voice low and his voice relaxed. Although Charlie picks up on something else in it.

'Nah, have to go.' Charlie says, when she puts the now empty glass in front of her uncle.

'Meeting someone, kid?' Miles wants to now.

How much he wants her to stay that stubborn four year old herself, how much he wants to shield her from everything out there, he know he can't. Charlie is strong, and how much Rachel tries to still interfere with her life, Charlie stands on her own, she has her own life now.

'Yeah, and I'm already late.'

With an easy movement of her arm, she grabs her jacket from the chair on Miles' right. She is meeting someone, but the friend, the guy friend, she is meeting with is sweet, but a friend. No attraction. Nothing there. She likes hanging out with him, but that's it.

If she did not know any better, she thinks she sees something close to disappointment in Monroe's eyes.

'I'll let you get back to your boy's night.' She smirks at Miles and Bass. Bass nods at her, and his eyes are back on his whiskey.

The tiara is still on the table, long after Charlie is out the door. And the only damn thing on Bass' mind is that other guy Charlie is meeting with, and how much he likes to break every fucking bone in his hands for touching her.

Of course the next day, Charlie is sick. But a lot needs to be done in the small practice of her grandpa where she is working. She cannot even think about breakfast. When holding water down is a problem later that morning, Gene sends her to his place, telling her he will check on her later. Another swirl in her stomach and another moment of nausea later, Charlie finds herself doing absolutely nothing, feel absolutely miserable, on a couch. And it is not even noon. She tells herself she will take a nap and then she will get to work. She closes her eyes, her face on a soft pillow in the corner of the couch in the living room of her grandpa's. Before she knows it, she is fast asleep.

She wakes up again to the sound of two pairs of boots. She wakes up with a headache, a sore feeling in her stomach and a woozy wave in her head.

'You look peachy, kid.' Miles.

'Holy hell'. Bass.

She opens her eyes. She groans.

'Grandpa send you guys over didn't he.' Great. Her badass uncle and Monroe are here to babysit her.

She watches how Miles gets out of his jacket and turns around to walk to the kitchen.

'Miles...' she protest, gets up and closes her eyes to the feel of the dizziness. She can't remember the last time she ate and her body is protesting, 'Miles I'm fine..you guys don't have to..'

'So, Whiskey?' Bass asks Miles in a deep voice, totally ignoring what she is saying, although his eyes are very much not ignoring her.

'Sounds good, Bass. Be right back, you better make yourself comfortable, because we are going to be here a while.'

Charlie closes her eyes, lets out a sigh and falls back into the pillows when Monroe sits down in a chair not far from her and she hears Miles in the kitchen roaming for a bottle.

They here a knock on the door, and Charlie hears the sound of the screen door slamming shut.

Not much later Charlie hears tiny footsteps on the wooden floor of the living room.

'I'm here to see Auntie Chalie.' Zoë's bright little voice in the room. Charlie pushes herself up from the pillows.

'Staypuft,' Bass grunts a not so unfriendly hello to Aaron.

'You just can't help yourself, can you.' Aaron sighs with irritation, then he turns to Charlie.

'Hey kiddo, Gene told me you've kind of stuck with this bug too. You kind of look not so good.' Aaron sounds worried.

'Yeah, I've heard that before.' Charlie says flatly.

Bass looks up to see a chair moving their way. He sees little hands and little feet and then the chair moves closer to Charlie. He shares an amused look with Miles.

'You need help with that, kid.' Miles asks, whiskey in hand.

'No thank you.' Zoë's voice sounds determined.

When she is close to Charlie, she stops moving the chair. Walks into the hallway and comes back with a little backpack.

'Can you hold this, Chalie?' She does not wait for Charlie to answer, before she puts the little backpack close to Charlie on the couch. Charlie smiles at the little determined girl in front of her.

'Sure, I can.'

Little Zoë pushes herself of the floor and onto the chair and sighs with content, when her little feet dangle in the air. She reached out her small hands and Charlie hands her back her backpack.

Aaron accepts a whiskey Miles pours him when Zoë opens her bag en brings out a book that is one of her most valuable possessions. It is about princesses, tiara's and castles and it is her favourite in the whole wide world.

'She came prepared,' Bass said with amusement in his voice when he looks at the little girl, the chair, her backpack and the book in her tiny hands.

'Could you please be quiet, because auntie Chalie needs to listen.' She looks at Bass with a very serious face.

Two pair of eyes look at him. One belongs to a very amused Charlie, who is grinning at him with a big smile. The other one belongs to Aaron's kid. He lets a small sigh out between his teeth.

Miles leans his head in one hand, his whiskey in the other. This is fun, watching a kid telling his brother to basically shut the hell shut up, Miles thinks to himself when another gulp of whiskey burns in his throat. This is becoming a good afternoon, he decides.

Bass holds his hands up in surrender, the glass of whiskey still in his hand, when Zoë's eyes are already on the page in front of her. But Charlie's eyes, lock with his for a moment, and he looks at her fucking blue eyes, unable to look away from a moment.

Charlie feels it again, the wave in her stomach that has nothing to do with the stomach bug that has been bugging her the past few hours. This wave is caused by some very blue eyes, blue eyes that belong to Monroe.

'Once upon a time, in a land far away, over hills and clouds..lived a pretty princess..' Zoë starts to read, remembering the story by heart, adding some changes or details when she wants to.

And so, on that late July afternoon, two former badass rough and though generals listen to a story about a pretty princess and a very handsome prince charming with a whiskey in their hands.

Thank you for reading! Being a proud aunt myself, I know all about princesses, tiara's and the way a tiny person can change a lot...:) Until the next chapter...Love from Love