Nights in white satin, sweet dreams – Epilogue: Every road leads back to you…

A Revolution fic: Bass Monroe/Charlie Matheson, Charloe; Blackout AU. Miles Matheson, Rachel Matheson, Aaron Pittman, mention of other characters from the show. After the Tower, and before he found New Vegas, Bass headed towards Philadelphia, aiming to see what was left of the Monroe Republic… Somewhere along the way, something happened that made him wonder about the power of dreams, and why Charlie Matheson kept turning up in his…

Rating M

Author's note:

Hi there and thank you so much for having a look at this. The story started out based on prompts from the Orgy Armada's Revolution, The Second Coming but it sort of took on a life of its own and here we are. This is for LemonSupreme and Sparrowhawke though, I couldn't bear to think of either of you being sad because I'd left Bass and Charlie in the wind in the last chapter– I hope this makes up for it, xx Magpie.

The title of this chapter is from a song by Diane Warren

I don't own any part of Revolution though and am writing this purely for love of the show and its characters.

Nights in white satin, sweet dreams – Epilogue: Every road leads back to you…

Two months later.

Miles passed Charlie the binoculars, 'Can you see him, Charlie?'

She looked and shook her head, 'No, not yet,' she kept looking. The clinic was easy to identify – a big red cross hung above the door, but there was no sign of anyone going in or out who looked like her grandpa, not yet anyway.

Willoughby was spread out below them, the high wall around the town looking rough but effective, sheets of tin, bits of metal, car wrecks - anything that'd work was incorporated into the structure… Miles had checked the perimeter out already. There were a couple of holes over on the northern side but otherwise as a defence it was pretty good.

Miles rolled over onto his side and looked back at the wagon, 'maybe we should just go on down anyway, we need supplies and if Gene's not there we'll just find somewhere in town to hole up until Bass and Aaron get here.'

Charlie nodded, her lips curving into a smile, 'they're close, Miles, just a couple of days away now. Bass said that Aaron's making progress deciphering Dad's notes too, and he can't wait to talk to mom about it,' she passed the glasses back and wriggled back out of sight of the town guards patrolling on the raised walkway before getting up on her knees, 'he thinks it might even help her get better…'

Miles rolled his eyes then crawled back to join her 'you do realize how weird this conversation is, don't you…'

She grinned, 'maybe…' She looked down, then back up to him, the grin fading a little, 'but Rose came by last night, to say goodbye and to wish us luck. She said it'd been getting harder and harder to reach us, that there was something stopping her, something to do with the nanotech…'

He frowned, 'I'm sorry, kid, '

She nodded, 'yeah,' she got to her feet, 'but then we were lucky to have had her help at all, I mean, who'd believe it if they hadn't seen what we have?'

Miles got up too, put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed 'you're dead right about that, Charlie, and I gotta admit that all this stuff about ghosts and the nano? Way, way out of my comfort zone…' He let go of her, brushed the front of his pants down and checked the hang of his sword belt, 'But Rose helped me to see Nora again, and that was pretty damn special, then she helped us put a dent in some of the Patriot's plans and probably saved a whole truckload of people at the same time, and...' He pulled her into a hug, 'she helped make you happy, and that's a major league achievement as far as I'm concerned.' he leaned back, eyes warm and his mouth twisted into a grin, 'although I'm still not sure that I'm happy about who she made you happy with…'

Charlie grinned up at him, 'would you rather I'd fallen in love with Jason Neville?' the grin morphed into a smirk 'I mean, he's cute, and young…'

He rolled his eyes, 'God, no…' his eyes narrowed, lips tight, 'Tom Neville is ambitious and utterly ruthless, Charlie, and so is his wife Julia, believe me I know, and their son?' Miles blew a breath out through his teeth, 'he's gotta be one seriously mixed up kid and the last thing I'd want is for you to get caught up in that…' He cradled her cheek in one large hand, 'and Steve was right too, you've seen too much, been through too much to be satisfied with some sweet young guy whose only experience of the world is the local dance…' He dropped a kiss on her forehead, his lips dry and warm, 'I want you to be happy, Charlie, bottom line, and Bass?' he met her eyes, his very serious…'I wasn't sure at first but I know him, I've seen him in love before and I know that he'd die for you…' He pulled back a little, 'Maggie once said to me that if I let you, you'd save me from myself, and from what I've seen of Bass since all this started? I think you saved him too, Charlie…'

Charlie's eyes filled and she swallowed down the lump in her throat…'He was the one who saved me, Miles, even before the barn. I was almost ready to give up because I didn't know how to help you, or mom. It was so hard and I was so tired…' She buried her head in his shoulder, feeling his arms tighten around her, his warmth and steady strength so familiar. Memories flooded through her of their journey together – Chicago, Philadelphia, the Tower… 'It was so hard, Miles, I was so tired of trying…'

Miles frowned…'and I nearly got us killed' he took a deep breath and let it out… 'Anyway, we made it, Charlie, so let's get your mom into town and find Gene…' He picked a twig out of her hair and smiled, 'then it's time for you to have some time to yourself, to do what you want to do, ok?'

Charlie nodded, 'First thing I want to do is find us a couple of safe houses, then keep watch for Bass and Aaron…'

Miles chuckled, put an arm round her shoulders and steered her towards the wagon where Rachel was sitting on the bench seat, staring into space, her eyes vacant and a hand absently twirling a strand of dirty hair, 'Once girls would go dancing or shopping to have fun…'

She shrugged, 'I'm not other girls, Miles,' then she thought of something, 'Do you remember that war clan Bass said they'd seen signs of a couple of weeks back?'

'Yeah?'

'Well, they saw them again and apparently they're sort of heading this way,' she pulled out her water bottle, put it to her lips and swallowed, her throat moving as she drank…

He stopped, frowning, 'Now why would a war clan be coming to Texas?'

Charlie put the stopper back in the bottle and clipped it back on her belt, 'don't know, but he said it's a big one, lots of fighters…' She looked up at him, 'and he said Horn was there too, with some Patriot soldiers – but no Texas Rangers'

Miles huffed, 'so we already know Horn's a creep, but what's he doing with a war clan? And what's Carver's angle?' He climbed up into the drivers seat and started the horses off, taking them down onto the road into town. 'We can do a bit of snooping around while we're here…'

Charlie swung up on the other side of her mom, who smiled vaguely then went back to staring…'and Stu Redman will have a better chance of doing that than Miles Matheson…'

He chuckled, 'yeah, and you're lucky you get to keep your real name, Charlotte'

She laughed and settled back onto the seat, stretching and yawning. Her muscles were aching but in a really, really good way, her whole body feeling very happy after last night, not to mention most of the nights before that. She shifted her butt, there was a little fabric burn on the skin over her tailbone and her jeans felt like sandpaper rubbing on it. There were also more than a couple of bruises from his fingers on her breasts and thighs, although she had a feeling that Bass'd be feeling the nail marks she'd left on his back and butt too…

What with taking her turn on watch every night and her dream visits from Bass, she was really, really glad they had the wagon and that she wasn't riding a horse.

She yawned again… Only two days and he'd be here, two more days…

She and Miles and her mom were here in Willoughby at last, after so long being on the road, and even if Grandpa Gene was working with the Patriots at least they knew about it now and they could watch him…

And Grandpa Gene would know how to help her mom.

She really hoped he was here...

….

Three days later.

To their relief, they'd found Grandpa Gene at work in the clinic and after the shock of seeing them had worn off, he'd taken charge of her mom, insisting that she and Charlie stay in the big, elegant house that Charlie thought she remembered from when she was little. He hadn't been as happy to see Miles, though, especially once he heard that Ben was dead, and Charlie could see old bitterness, old anger in both their faces.

She learned that her grandmother was dead too, although Rachel didn't ask and they didn't tell her, that would all come later…

But when she walked into the house behind her grandpa and a sleepwalking Rachel, the first things Charlie noticed were the photos of her Grandma and her mom on the wall, then one of her mom and dad together, her dad smiling in that lopsided, warm eyed and kind way he had… Then there were some of Charlie and Danny as children, laughing at the camera, Danny so blond and sweet... Charlie had run her fingers gently over the glass. The frames were polished and shining, the glass clear and clean and the thought of her grandpa caring for them enough to do that made something inside her feel like crying, it was so hard to think of him as working with people like Horn…

Grandpa Gene had seemed to understand why Miles had to be Stu, in fact he'd agreed so quickly Charlie knew for sure then that something was wrong…

Miles had met her eyes and she knew he'd seen it too, and later, when they were getting their gear out of the wagon, they'd agreed that Bass had to stay out of sight, whatever happened. That Gene couldn't be allowed to see him.

It had been touch and go at first for her mom though – the very first night Rachel had cut her wrists open, saying that she'd broken everything… And whether Grandpa Gene was a patriot or not, Charlie had to admit that he had done his best for his daughter, he hadn't left her side since, not even to eat. His friend Marion and others from the town had been bringing food for them all, helping with the house, with other patients. Everyone had been very kind. The townspeople had adopted Rachel and Charlie as re-found family, and Stu Redman as their friend – albeit a damaged one, a harmless drunk, but as Charlie watched as he drank himself into a kind of oblivion after Rachel tried to kill herself, she hoped like hell it was just part of the act…

Then this morning, her mom had actually started to talk again, started to eat without prompting, started to look around. They had to keep reminding her that Miles was called Stu though, because it was too dangerous for him to be himself.

Anyway, Grandpa Gene had told Charlie to try to relax, to go for walks…and when she couldn't drag Miles away from the bar and the local whiskey, she'd gone hunting in the woods and fields around the town by herself, checking out possible safe houses as she went. Finding places to hide was even more urgent now because the name of Sebastian Monroe was on posters all around town, wanted dead or alive, a small fortune in diamonds on his head.

She sighed as she made her way back to town, a couple of rabbits slung on a stick over her shoulder, the evening sun sending her shadow stretching over the road in front of her.

She really hoped that Bass and Aaron were close, because she was going out of her fucking mind with worry… She hadn't realised how much she'd come to rely on seeing Bass in her dreams every night, knowing he and Aaron were ok, hearing their news. She'd heard people talking about how it was before the blackout, when they could talk to anyone, wherever and whenever they wanted. It had sounded like magic, unbelievable, until Rose had given her and Bass a way to do it.

The town gates started to close with the screeching of metal on bitumen, and Charlie jerked out of her day dreams and started running, just scraping in before the deputies closed the town up for the night, smiling and cheeking her way past Simone, one of Gene's friends who was stationed on the gate, and producing the rabbits to support her story of hunting for a little extra for the pot and to trade.

Safely inside, she set off along the main street, waving at people she recognised, making sure everyone knew she was heading back to her Grandpa's place, presumably for the night... Miles had shown her a couple of the gaps he'd spotted in the perimeter wall though and she was planning on heading out later on tonight to check again, because there was no way she was going to be able to sleep until she knew Bass was with her, and safe…

She was passing by one of the narrow alleys that ran between some of the buildings on the street when a tin can rolled out in front of her feet, almost tripping her…

She dropped to her knees, making as though she was fixing her bootstrap, glancing sideways into the shadows between two buildings. A pair of blue eyes met hers – gleaming out of the dark like two stars, and her whole body tingled, her breath catching in her throat, Bass…

She couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face then and she looked around, checking the street. There were a couple of people walking up and down but none were looking her way. So she stood up and casually stepped into the alley, the rabbits falling to the ground along with her pack...

Two muscular arms reached out from the shadows, pulling her in against his tall, strong, beautiful body, holding her so tight she could feel every throb of his heart, every part of him pressed against her…

His lips found her ear…'Hello, Charlotte'

For a long moment she just held on to him, her arms wrapped around his waist, her face against his shoulder, just glad to have him there at last, to know he was actually, really there, not just a dream. And then he was kissing her, his lips warm, hard, his scruff longer, its softness tickling her cheeks, his tongue meeting hers in a soft, sweet battle of who'd missed who the most...

Charlie snaked her arms up around his neck and pulled him in tighter, wanting him closer, desperate for all of him…

He laughed against her mouth, the vibrations rippling through her.

She pulled back just a little, so she could see his face. He'd grown his beard out – and his hair, it was curling down around his ears, even longer at the back, she smiled running her hands over the sweat sticky curls on his head, the soft curls of his beard. Then she looked around, 'where's Aaron?'

Bass looked down at her, his eyes the clear sky blue they went when he was happy, one of his hands playing with her hair, the other stroking her back as though he couldn't get enough of touching her. 'He came in a couple of hours ago. He was going to get a room somewhere and catch up with you and Miles in the morning.' He feathered kisses from her temple down to the side of her mouth.' We left the wagon and the horses down the road a bit, just in case, with most of the Patriot stuff. Aaron's got some of it to show Gene, and Ben's papers for Rachel – and the pendant…' Bass smiled down at her, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, 'and I've been here waiting for you,'

She leaned her face against the base of his strong neck, where it met his shoulders, breathing him in, 'I missed you so much…'

'Missed you too, Charlie,' he ran a hand through her hair, tugging it gently so that she was looking up at him again. 'That was the longest two months of my life, the only thing that kept me sane was knowing you'd be in my dreams, and my fucking satin sheet, and then when Rose said she couldn't do it anymore I nearly lost my mind.'

Charlie nodded, 'me too…' Then she smiled, 'I've found us a safe house about an hours ride away' she reached up and pressed her lips to his in a fast, hard kiss, his taste familiar, precious… 'You can't stay in town, Bass'

He chuckled, 'Yeah, I saw the posters, it's nice to be wanted…'

She kissed him again, letting him go, reluctantly, then bending to pick up her pack and the rabbits…'I'd better go, Grandpa will be expecting me at the house. I have to let him know I'm ok, but I'll meet you outside by the gate on the northern side in about half an hour? There's a way through the wall there.'

He nodded, 'I know, it's where I came in, thing's more full of holes than my boots, the town'll have to fix that…'

'That's what Miles said,' she reached up and cupped his face, running her thumb over his lips… 'We can't trust Grandpa, Bass, and Miles is drinking again…'

'Shit…' he helped her settle her pack and bow, checking the straps, his fingers lingering on her shoulders, her arms, sliding down to run along the edge of her tank, over her breasts, leaving a trail of fire on her skin, her nipples peaking and goose bumps running down her arms, her clit pulsing with anticipation… 'We'll worry about Miles later, right now all I want is to be alone somewhere with you…'

'Yeah, me too,' she looked around the alley hopefully but as far as she could see there wasn't a square foot of it that wasn't ankle deep in crap… damn…she looked back at him, 'half an hour, Bass, Ok?'

He kissed her again, a hard, bruising kiss that sent sparks and an electric current slithering down to her toes and back up again, then he let go, 'I'll be waiting'

…..

Back at the house she called in on her mom who was sleeping, Gene dozing in the chair next to her. So she didn't wake them, just left a note saying that she'd found a good hunting spot and was camping out for the night to watch her traps. She also left a note for Miles, telling him that Aaron and his friend Jimmy had arrived and that Aaron was staying at the guesthouse. They'd worked aliases out weeks ago, although Jimmy wasn't something she'd have picked for Bass…

Then she shoved some bread, hard cheese and jerky, dried fruit and a bottle of whiskey from Miles' own supplies into her bag, then ran, keeping to the shadows, making sure no one saw her…

Outside the wall, she looked around searching, where was he? Then a shadow moved and walked towards her, the moon catching the tumbling curls of his hair and the angle of cheekbone sloping down towards his chin, the masculine lines softened by the tighter curls of beard. His eyes were in deep shadow and he looked powerful, dangerous, a bit unearthly, his shoulders very broad in the leather jacket, his legs long and strong in black jeans and heavy boots, the sword belt and gun hanging at his side…

She ran towards him…

….

The spot she'd found for them was in the basement storm shelter of an abandoned farmhouse a few miles out of town. It was out of the way, quiet and had a bed and some basic facilities. She'd organised things there earlier, just hoping, although she didn't care if they slept on the ground as long as she was with him. They hid the wagon in an old stable, grabbed the important stuff, taking it with them and tethered the horses out to graze.

Bass lifted the heavy door and Charlie went in first, Bass' rifle ready just in case, but everything looked good, the room was empty and brightly lit by the moon through the angled Louvre windows… They didn't even need to light the candles.

Bass shut the door behind them, threw the bolts and walked towards her, shrugging out of his jacket and kicking his boots off as he came, his sword and gun belts laid carefully but quickly on a table near the bed…

Charlie was doing the same, her jeans and tank already hung over the back of a chair, her boots on the floor and she was down to her panties, her pendant shining silver between her breasts, watching him as he strode towards her, his eyes on hers… electric blue, sending little shocks running from the top of her head to her toes and all parts in between.

By the time he reached her, his shirt was gaping open then thrown off, and his pants were staying up only because he was holding them. The clean, hard lines and curves of his chest and six pack with the little trail of golden hair snaking southwards from his navel to the glimpse of his thick, heavy cock peeking out from lower down were making her mouth water, her heart pound and her pussy fill to bursting with sheer unadulterated lust.

Then he was on her, his lips on hers in a deep, deep kiss, then searing down her neck searching for her breasts, while he tore off his pants with one hand, the other between her legs, the thin fabric of her panties ripping as he yanked them off her, making her gasp as his fingers plundered her wet folds, plunging inside, his thumb working her clit until she was clamped around his hand, her thighs around his arm, her hips angling towards him to give him better access while he licked and sucked his way from nipple to nipple, then to belly button and the soft, sensitive skin of her abdomen.

His body was hot, hard muscled and so big… Fuck she'd missed this… surrounding her with his warm, spicy scent and hot flesh, her senses tingling, her hands desperately searching for handfuls of him, his flesh sliding under hers, slippery with sweat and fierce, engulfing need.

His eyes found hers, wild, pupils blown to black, that swallowed her up as his lips claimed hers again, his fingers in her pussy replaced by his cock, sliding inside her like a force of nature…unstoppable, inevitable, irresistible…

She lost herself in feeling, her legs wrapped around the strong, thrusting hips and ass, the thickly muscled thighs, one of his hands holding both of hers high above her head so she was stretched out underneath him like a bowstring, the other cupping her face while he kissed her, his lips demanding everything and more, her breasts rubbing against his chest as he moved, his cock sliding in and out, in and out, her flesh opening out for him, then letting him go, opening again, calling him home, wanting him there forever, feeling him lose himself in her too.

And this time she held him there, deep inside, not wanting him to go, telling him it was ok, that she'd taken care of things, feeling him come inside her for the first time outside of a dream, her own coming hot and hard and total as she felt him fill her up, a wave that took her gasping and helpless into a brilliant darkness.

…

'Charlie?' He'd cradled her into the curve of his body, his cock, still semi hard, nestled in between the cheeks of her ass, the fingers of one hand gently stroking her belly and breasts.

'Yeah?' she turned a little, too lazily satisfied to move too much yet, meeting eyes full of promises, and something more than that…'what is it?'

'I don't want to be away from you again, I can't do it...' He turned them both around a little, so she could see him, 'your mom's as safe as she can be right now. She's got your Grandpa and Miles, Aaron…' He took a deep breath, 'I don't know what use I can be right now, though, hiding out here. Miles has to pull himself together and I don't think he will as long as you're here to do things for him' He sat up a little, 'and when your mom's well enough, she and Aaron can work on your Dad's things, try to find out what he was working on, and they don't need us to do it…'

Charlie stared up at him 'so what are you thinking?'

He nodded, 'ok…these patriots are going to be big trouble, Charlie, for everyone. I can feel it. We've seen Horn, seen how crazy he is, and we know from what was in the wagon what they're capable of. We need intel, we need to know numbers, strategy, what they're planning, what's going on in other parts of the country. I'm thinking you and me should go have a look around.' He smiled, although his eyes were tense, focused, hopeful? 'You're a good fighter, a great hunter, and I'm good at killing and a few other things… we're a good team. I'm thinking we could head down to the Plains Nation to start with, see what's going on and maybe find us some allies'

She studied his face, it was open, unguarded, he wasn't hiding anything from her… And he was right. Her mom was safe, for the time being anyway. Rachel seemed to be getting better all the time in her father's care, and if she was honest, Charlie wasn't needed, in fact her mom barely noticed when she was there. And she'd tried to help Miles, but she thought Bass was right about that too, Miles had to get himself out of his own pit this time. The upshot was that she wasn't much use here either and the thought of staying around without Bass made her want to curl up and die.

Because most of all, she didn't want to be away from him either, in fact the last few days had been a hell of worry and tension wondering where he was and if he was ok, missing him as though he'd taken her heart with him, which he had, she knew that now.

She nodded, her heart pounding, feeling like she was stepping out into a new world, 'Ok, let's do it…'

…

Three days later.

She and Bass were ready to go. Charlie hadn't told her mom or Grandpa much, just that she had to go away for a while. Her mom hadn't said much either, hadn't even come out to wave her goodbye. Her Grandpa had been called out to an emergency delivery earlier that morning and he wasn't there either.

She and Bass had said goodbye to Aaron the night before over a campfire dinner, because he'd started a job teaching at the local school while he waited for Rachel to improve enough to talk to about Ben's things.

So, Miles is outside with her at the gate, sober, his face a mix of pride and sadness, with a bit of envy in there too maybe?

She shrugged, 'you know that we need to go, Miles, don't you…' Her eyes glanced up at the window where her mom stood, watching. 'Neither of us are any use here right now'

Miles, stepped forward, his arms pulling her into one of his rare, tight hugs, 'I know, and I can't stop you, Charlie, and I don't even know that I should try, but, you know, try to…'

She grinned, 'try to keep our stupid to a minimum, I know and we will if you will,' she tipped her head to where Bass was waiting in the trees, out of sight of the house, Stony and the black saddled up and the satin sheets in their packs, although they were just for fun now. 'We'll look out for each other, ok?' She pulled back, gently and stretched up to kiss him on the cheek, 'and we'll see you in a couple of months,'

And then she was walking away, feeling lighter than she had in quite a while…

When she reached them, Bass took her pack and stowed it in Stony's saddlebags, then pulled her in for a kiss, 'You ok, Charlie?'

She smiled up at him, and nodded, 'Yeah' Then she mounted up, turning then kicking Stony into a canter, calling back over her shoulder, her hair flying and her eyes glinting a challenge, 'lets go have some fun,'

He laughed...

…

AN: There, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I loved writing it… anyway, wishing you all the best and thanks so much for reading! Cheers, Magpie