Epilogue

Bass makes a left. He moves the car onto a path that makes the car move over harder terrain. The shadows of the trees above them. Charlie sits next to him, his hand on her knee, his fingers close to her thigh. His hand is warm, just like his smile. His fingers and touch is strong and gentle, just like they love they give each other.

It is three years after Charlie received a phone call that changed her life. Her father, Ben, Benjamin, now gone but a part of her heart, forever branded into her. The people around her stronger and closer than they ever were around her.

They both grin when they see Jeremy before the small cabin in the distance. He is grinning back when he spots them. There are already three cars in front of the cabin. Charlie recognises Miles' car, Jeremy's car and Connor's. Jeremy has the gang back together. He has booked a cabin in the woods.

They make a chaotic group of twelve this weekend while Bass stops the car in front of the small cabin in the woods on a Friday afternoon.

Bass is grinning and saying something to Charlie while Miles looks a bit pissed when he gets out of the car with Rachel.

Jeremy greets Charlie and Bass with a quick hello. He looks from them to Miles.

'Ah come on guys, one weekend without electricity. We will be just fine.' Jeremy grins while he unloads a large crate with food and booze, both whiskey and beer.

Charlie stretches when she gets out of the car, the couple of hours in the car spend with music and Bass' hand on her knee making her muscles a bit tired. She catches Bass staring at her ass. She just winks at him and then throws his bag to his stomach a little bit harder then she needed too. Bass can't help but grin and the fire that is still Charlie. And dammit, is that fire turning him on right the hell now. He just smiles at her smugly, making Charlie rolls her eyes at him.

'Uhu.' Bass grunts in his response to Jeremy, looking at Charlie who is blushing with all the ways he is telling her with his eyes what he will do to her later as revenge.

Charlie nods to her mom with a fast smile when she walks to the cabin. Rachel walks up to her to greet her. Things between them have not been easy. But with many hours, talking, fighting and crying they have found some kind of balance. She had told Miles a couple of months ago she wanted it to be him, that if her mom moved on it should be with him. Miles had looked at her, not being able to speak.

After that, the affair he had with Rachel moved into the open reality, and they were both trying to make it work. Bass had just pulled Charlie close that night in the bed of their apartment, pressing a kiss in her hair. Telling she knew how to give love like no other woman he knew. She had buried her nose into his neck and had not said anything back, her hands circling around his shoulders, needing him close, her heart swelling with love and pride.

'Hey kid,' Miles grins at her.

'Uncle Miles,' she smiles sugar sweet, knowing how much he hates it. She catches his grin and she is happy to see him smiling a bit more. He is drinking less and she is happy he is in a better place. The both of them are. Both of them on a basis of trust again.

Charlie walks upstairs while she moves her bag, quite heavy, to one of the bedrooms. She finds a room with the door open and Danny and Connor bickering who gets the top bed in the bunk bed.

'Well, that is very mature of you.' She grins.

'Hey sis.' Danny grins while Connor walks to her to give her a hug after Danny. Charlie moves her bag into a room a couple of doors from them. There is a large bed waiting and she smiles at what could be happening there.

'Oh that is one hell of a bed kid.' Jeremy grins when he watches Charlie unpack.

Connor and Danny grown in agony behind him.

'Dude, you are talking about my sister...' Danny starts. 'And my dad..' Connor sighs, nodding his head.

Rachel is unpacking groceries in the kitchen, enough to feed an army for weeks to come. The guys had build a fire in the fireplace and to celebrate that, Jeremy is pouring everyone drinks. Deciding it is after four and they all could use one. Bass and Miles are enjoying their whiskey with Connor and Danny.

Charlie is just busy with another bag she has just move into the crowded but warm living room of the cabin. It is slowly getting dark. They all hear another car outside.

Bass grins when his father appears in the doorway, followed by his mom. 'Dad.' He smiles warmly, when he kisses his mother on her cheek and greets his dad.

'We brought some guests...hope you do not mind.' William starts as he starts to greet Connor with a hug for his grandson. He shakes hands and pats on the backs with Miles and Danny before he greets Jeremy. And then Angela and Cynthia appear in the doorway.

'Hello big brother.' Angela starts, moving into the cabin with a smile. Cynthia follows her, both of the young woman smiling. Angela has a bottle of whiskey in her hands. 'Let's get this weekend started, shall we?'

They are all met with laughter and quickly the living room is turned into one chaotic family afternoon with food, whiskey and dinner.

Jeremy moves his head to Charlie, nodding to her and her bag in the corner of a room.

'Kid, I have to ask, what is in the damn bag.'

Charlie just grins lazily and she opens her back. She shows her an impressive survival package with knives, a compass, maps and everything else she has packed.

Bass and Miles just grin with pride at her. Jeremy laughs. 'Oh kid, you would take care of all of us when the shit would go down.'

Dinner has been hectic, chaotic and good. There are not enough places around the table so Charlie had been next to Angela and Cynthia on the floor with their plates on the low wooden coffee table. Bass' eyes always following the most important woman in his life.

Gail had walked up to him, her warm hand in his neck. 'I am so happy you found each other.'

Bass grabs her hand, nodding. 'Me too mom...me too.'

Charlie falls asleep with Bass' arms around her, after many glasses of wine with Gail, Angela and Cynthia. The ladies embarrassing Bass and Miles with many childhood stories. Charlie had not remembered giggling so much.

At the end of the night it had been her and Gail on the couch. She had moved her hand slowly to and around her cheek. A motherly gesture.

'He would have wanted you to be happy like this Charlie.'

Charlie nodded, a glass of wine in her hand. Her dad so close, grateful for Gails' warm words. She had let the wine and the warmth of the fire and everyone chatting in the cabin pull her into sleep. It had been Bass' arms that had moved her against his chest before he had carried her to bed.

She is hiking. Again. The brisk air of the early morning in the forest filling her lunges. The sounds of the forest close. And then she smiles. Because she knows when she will turn around, he, will be there. Bass. The last years have been kind to them, giving them room and time to get to know the other, to let love form and grow. They are in a good place and both of them care for the other and are there for the other.

This morning they had sneaked out, after Miles asking them where the hell they were going, laying on the couch with one hell of a hangover. He had muttered something about coffee and Bass had just signalled Charlie with his eyes to leave his brother be and come outside with him.

And now they had been following a trail, Charlie's eyes on the ground and looking where the path would take them next.

'Charlotte, what are you doing?'

'Taking a left, what does it look like, you moron?' Charlie says, a bit irritated that he is using a name that she had decided was not for her at the age of seven. But pissing him with an easy insult is worth the risk of his eyes filling with thunder. The hot make up sex never far behind adding more sweetness to pissing him off.

Bass feels turned on and a bit pissed at her stubbornness. He had not been able to take her last night, since his woman had been passed out after conspiring against him with his sisters and mother telling stories about him they wished they hadn't.

His male parts are pressing and protesting in his pants at the look of her being her stubborn fucking beautiful self. Hips, lips. Attitude.

He does not need long before he pulls her close and moves her to the nearest tree. Smiling and whispering into her hear.

'We are so taking a right.'

Charlie grins into his kiss. She knew they wouldn't. Left it was. But for now she just let him pull her to his tall body.

'Shut up and get to work Bass.' She grins at him.

His hands are moving already to his damn pants when he presses her a bit harder against the tree with his thighs only. 'Oh you are going to pay for that, Charlotte.' His voice is husky, making her already more ready for him than she is.

Charlie feels his breath against her neck. She shivers as she responds to his strength, him taking the lead and his thighs under her legs. His hand is about to move to the backpocked of his jeans, but Charlie stops him.

'I do not want to use protection, Bass.'

He looks at her, shocked love in his eyes. They look, they touch, they wait. They have talked about this before. Many times. And now, here, today, it is there. He kisses her urgently. Her feet dangling in the air when he moves into her. Bass filling her, her body needing and welcoming him.

Bass takes care of her, thrust by thrust. He is about to come fast, the fresh air hitting his ass and the rawness of taking her outside against a tree stimulating his brain.

'Stay inside of me..' Charlie whispers.

Bass just looks at her as he forgets to trust inside of her. Her whisper means another step, another step in time and in their relationship. They could make life while making love, they both know.

'Are you sure?' Bass pants, his eyes filled with love.

'So sure, Bass..' She kisses him as he kisses her back. 'So sure..' Charlie hangs on to him as he speeds up the pace of his thrusting as he holds her closely against the tree in a dark forest, right until he cannot hold back and empties himself inside of her, while his lips search in need for her.

She feels how he comes inside her for the very first time, without boundaries. It brings tears to her eyes, for what it could mean, for what he means. Tears he just kisses away with his gentle lips.

It is a Saturday evening, and a group of people sit around a fire. William Monroe moves a blanket around his wife' knees, Bass and Charlie not missing the gesture.

Bass moves his mouth to her ear, as his eyes move to her belly once again, hoping for what could be growing there after this afternoon. 'That is going to be you and me, babe.'

Charlie smiles and nods, telling him she loves her with his eyes.

Angela and Cynthia are sitting next to Connor and Danny, talking about their life's. Their family, college, hopes and dreams. The two woman very interested in a woman Connor met through work. Duncan. They are torturing him until they get every last bit of information out of him. Connor looks helplessly at his dad and then at Danny, who are shrugging and would not dare to interfere with two woman who are trying to get to the bottom of this.

Their laughing fills the air, grinning at stupid jokes and enjoying their whiskey's, while Cynthia choose a bottle of wine she shares with her mother.

William smiles with pride when he looks at them, at his daughters, and son and grandchild and everyone around them that is family, blood or no blood relations. They just are.

Miles is moving his fingers slowly over Rachel's back, guarding a bottle of good whiskey that was once Ben's. He had brought it and Jeremy grabs twelve glasses when they all hear another car in the distance on the other side of the cabin.

Charlie starts to feel the excitement in her chest. When they all look to the cabin, Maggie Foster appears. She had called her, to be here, to join them tonight. She had introduced Jeremy and Maggie on a birthday and they had hit it off. Charlie had decided they could use a little push into the right direction. Maggie and Jeremy had been talking, realising they had much in common. Jeremy missing his children, now they were gone. Maggie's children on the other side of a wide ocean. They both enjoyed a good glass of whiskey and Charlie had watched them on her birthday a couple of months ago. Talking and forgetting time.

Charlie walks up from her spot near the fire, walking to Maggie. She introduces her to everyone. Maggie standing in front of Rachel in silence. They shake hands and nod.

Jeremy gets up. 'Well..hi...' He starts to stammer as he shakes hands with Maggie, while Bass and Miles are grinning.

Charlie looks at them. 'Don't be suck dicks.'

Miles then cannot help but laugh at her using a words he just loves to use like he drinks whiskey. Jeremy si grinning and Maggie is smiling. Gail is getting her a glass of wine and Maggie and Jeremy cannot stop at looking at each other.

One hour later and Jeremy can still not look away from Maggie. God, he has been falling for her. Years ago he though life had stopped for him, after losing his wife and kids. And now, life can move on, begin again. With her. He will have to talk to Charlie about this little stunt, but when Charlie is grinning at him, he knows he cannot be mad at her for long. Not at her.

Miles starts to fill the whiskey glasses with Ben's whiskey that Jeremy had brought to their circle around the fire. Charlie feels tears sting in her eyes but then she feels Bass' hand in her neck, reassuring, soft, warm, home. She watches Gail and William, who sit closely together. Cynthia and Angela share the blanket around their legs that Bass grabbed for them just like William had grabbed one for his wife. Rachel lets Miles put an arm around her shoulder and Danny and Connor enjoy their whiskey's. Maggie is sitting next to Jeremy, the distance between them closing with every minute they share this evening.

Jeremy remembers his two children, his wife. He remembers them and has to swallow. He remembers how he tried to deal with the grieve with destruction and booze and getting lost in fight after fight. He remembers two man that had been there while two men had been hitting and beating him in a dark alley. He remembers each and every moment and what it had meant to him, their friendship.

Bass nods to him as Miles moves an arm around him.

He locks eyes with Charlie as their group of twelve is toasting together around a warm fire and crisp golden forest air around him. Then he looks to the ground, overwhelmed with emotions. Maggie looks up at him and laces her fingers through his hand. She nods at him, silently and warmly.

It is silent for a while, the fire warming them as the group sits together around a simple fire. But there is nothing simple about their love. It is strong and complex and everything that is there and matters. Connor. Bass. Charlie. Danny. Miles. Rachel. William. Gail. Angela. Cynthia. Maggie. Sitting around one fire, their thoughts and love with all the people that were there and the people that are there forever with them.

Jeremy breathes in and then breathes out as his voice reaches them all above the sounds of the fire and a owl high above their heads in a tree nearby, a nightly sound high above them.

' Here's to them.'

Here's to the people who are there. Love. Family. Friendship. Thank you so, so much for reading. Dear Lemon, it has been my pleasure to write this for you. You are a very kind and talented woman, and I am so happy we met here through the stories of Revolution. Here's to you! Love from Love