Chapter 14

~May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears~ Nelson Mandela

This is it folks. Many, many thanks to you who took the time to comment or leave Kudos. I know this story wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's always fun to explore how things would be if just one tiny thing were different in their universe.
~One raindrop raises the sea.~

It's almost twenty-four hours later when they arrive on President Carver's front lawn, greeted by what appears to be no less than a battalion of Texas Rangers, all with various firearms pointed in their general direction.

"Stay here," Jeremy yells grumpily sliding open the door to disembark, accompanied by only one of their men.

Charlie gives in to the despair for the briefest of moments, leaning her forehead on Duncan's shoulder.

Duncan lets her have it, before squeezing her hand and Charlie takes a deep breath, sitting up straight. She meets the eyes of the men that have accompanied her. When she silently nods, they return the gesture.

They're all in this together now.

After several agonizing moments, due more to the fact that their hearing is adjusting to the silence than the actual wait, Jeremy reappears and the soldier nearest the door slides it open, the men disembarking at his orders.

Once Duncan has exited, Jeremy and another soldier take Charlie by the arms, easing her to the ground. As her men take up strategic points around her, Jeremy guides them to the front steps of Austin's Capitol where President Carver awaits.

He extends his hand as she makes her way to stand in front of him. "Mrs. Monroe, or should I say Mrs. President?"

"President Carver," Charlie nods shaking his hand in return. "Sorry to turn up on your front steps like this but we find ourselves in a bit of dire straits."

"Yes, Captain Baker gave me a brief rundown of your situation. Why don't we get you and your men settled first. I imagine it's been a long trip."

"Thank you. That would be most appreciated," Charlie replies sagging just a bit.

Jeremy reaches out to grab her elbow, "If you could have a physician called as well?" he asks the Texan.

"Of course." Carver responds, noticing how Charlie's hands are placed protectively over her slightly extended stomach.

Carver issues orders effectively and efficiently, as Jeremy sends all of their men with the Rangers assigned to them, except for Sargent Gorman who will take the first watch outside of Charlie's door.

"At least let him eat," Charlie badgers Jeremy, until arrangements are made for a tray to be sent up for the Sargent as well.

She's situated in a lovely room overlooking the back gardens. Jeremy and Duncan are in the next room with an interconnecting door. They eat slowly when their dinner arrives, watching as buckets of water are brought in to fill the tubs in each room.

An older man with a friendly face, who introduces himself as Doctor Pierce, is waiting on her when she emerges from her bath in a borrowed robe.

After a cursory exam, he declares her in overall good health, but of course recommends resting for the rest of the evening. Charlie reluctantly agrees before pressing a bag of diamonds into Duncan's hand as Carver has offered to ask several shop to temporarily open in order for them to purchase a few items.

When she wakes the next morning, there are clean and pressed clothes in her closet, a small handgun on her bedside table and toiletries in the bathroom.

She chooses a brown pant suit with an elastic waist that she'll be able to wear for months and when she's dressed, knocks on the adjoining door.

"Morning, Princess," Jeremy greets her cheerfully looking her up and down, "You were out cold when we got back last night. Looks like Duncan was dead on though," he chatters as he sets her down and shoves a plate in front of her.

"What's on the agenda today?" she asks cutting into a piece of ham while sipping on a cup of tea.

"Meetings, meetings and more meetings, just as soon as you're up for it." Jeremy replies. "This is huge, Charlie. You're negotiating two separate treaties. Possibly three depending on the entire outcome and where Georgia lands."

Blinking rapidly, she focuses on her breakfast. She wants nothing more than to load back up in that helicopter and fly to Colorado to bring her family back, but she's made a promise, several actually, and sworn an oath and has responsibilities and duties to carry out, regardless of her actual feelings.

She's lost in thought when Jeremy lays a hand on her shoulder. Startled she sloshes tea from her cup onto the table. "President Carver and his cabinet are waiting downstairs for you, Mrs. President."

Charlie looks at him in confusion for a moment before looking over at the door to see two men waiting to escort her downstairs. Standing, she smooth's a hand over her stomach before reaching out to take the binder that Jeremy is holding out towards her. She's already poured over all of it multiple times on the way here and knows what needs doing.

"Gentlemen," she nods walking out the door as they fall in behind her, one of her own behind them.

Day after day, she's locked in this meeting room with these Texans, whom she doesn't have high opinions of, refusing to back down on a few key issues. She will not let Texas walk all over the Monroe republic. On her fourth day of negotiations, she hears the familiar "whoosh, whoosh," of helicopter blades and rushes outside with everyone else.

The pilots immediately seek her out. President Foster has of course refused to leave her country in its time of need but invites Charlie to call upon her when this whole mess is over with and true to her word, the pilot places a set of blueprints for the steam powered buses in her hand.

By the end of the week, Charlie and Carver have signed off on two different treaties, each one dependent upon the success or failure of Randall Flynn. Regardless of how it turns out, Charlie feels that they're more than fair to the Monroe Republic.

Carver is holding a dinner party in her honor and in celebration of a new era of peace between the two nations when a soldier comes bursting into the room with the news that Philly and Atlanta are gone. Nuked the very day President Foster refused Charlies offer.

Charlie quietly excuses herself and the Monroe contingent from the now somber party, barely making it out of the formal dining room before Jeremy is sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her to her bed.

After that, it's back to business. True to his word, Carver supplies Jeremy with men as they take one of the helicopters and scout the train depots the Republic trains were headed to over a week ago. He'll also stop at their new home and hire locals to do any repair work needed and to get the house and grounds ready for the influx of their soldiers.

It hasn't been spoken out loud but she, Jeremy and Duncan all know that the chances are slim that their family has survived. Philly being bombed would have happened over Sebastian Monroe's dead body.

She does her best not to think about it, spending her days working with Carver to initiate their new shared ventures.

Jeremy is anxious for them to get on their way to Louisville, where Bass and Miles backup capitol is located, nearly tearing Charlie apart. When she leaves Austin, she's basically admitting that Sebastian Monroe and Miles Matheson are dead.

So, against her better judgment, she tucks her grief-stricken heart into a box and watches Austin disappear. Closing her eyes, she focuses on her unborn child. Six months down, three to go until she can finally hold a piece of Bass in her arms.

She throws herself into re-establishing the government as she and Carver communicate on a regular basis, banding together to deal with the Georgia Federation. When it's all said and done the Monroe Republic will take the top half, Texas the bottom.

~Our Family is a circle of strength and love, with every birth and every union, the circle will grow, every joy shared adds more love, every crisis faced together, makes the circle stronger.~

It's an early Sunday morning and she's been up for hours with a nagging backache, taking advantage of the late summer breeze flowing in through the windows to put things from yesterday's baby shower away in the nursery.

Her brows dip down as she hears the distinct sound of a helicopter in the distance, meaning someone has made a trip up from Texas, but she and Carver had met just last week and agreed that anything pressing would be put off until after the baby was born.

Just as she hauls herself out of the rocking chair, her stomach clenches and she's suddenly wearing wet panties with a puddle on the floor between her feet. She lets loose a string of words that would probably make her father blush as she tugs her wet briefs down her legs and leaves them laying atop the puddle.

She decides to leave the mess for Jeremy to clean up as she had caught him and Carver betting on her delivery date last week. "It'll serve him right," she grumbles under her breath.

She makes it to the door before the next contraction hits fast and hits hard, making her realize she's probably been in labor since late yesterday afternoon when her backache first started. Taking a deep breath, she's able to make it to stair railing, before carefully lowering herself to her knees, groaning as another contraction hits.

The noise attracts the ever faithful Sargent Gorman who's become her personal guard and is usually found somewhere in the house. Rushing to her aid, he throws decorum out the window and sweeps her into his arms. Everyone knows about the birthing room that Duncan and the midwife have set up, so he takes her there, promising to return with Duncan and to send someone to town to bring back Ms. Lila.

Charlie nods her agreement and understanding as the panicked young man bolts from the room once she's comfortable enough on the bed.

Duncan, who had been on her way to the house anyway upon the approach of the helicopter, passes the soldier on her way and takes off at a run.

"Already?" Duncan asks upon entering the room as she runs a hand over Charlie's swollen womb.

"Had a backache all night and my water just broke a few minutes ago."

"Shit!" Duncan exclaims turning back to the door, putting the rest of the guards to work fetching water and putting it on to boil. Duncan quickly washes her hands to examine the younger woman the way that Ms. Lila had shown her. "Damn it, Charlie! You're not going to make it till the midwife gets here."

"Of course I'm not! Why would anything go the way it should now?" Her scream of frustration melds into one of pain.

Duncan moves to sit behind her on the bed, using her fingers and hands to knead and manipulate Charlie's spine hoping to relieve some of the pressure. "You can do this, Charlie. You're one of the strongest people I know. This baby is so lucky to have you as its Mother."

Charlie's scared to death and about to admit to it when the door crashes open downstairs.

"Where is she?!" A voice demands as footsteps ring out along the wooden floors of the hallway.

"Bass?" Charlie whispers turning to see if Duncan heard it as well.

"Charlotte!" The voice calls out getting stronger.

"Bass!" Charlie calls back as the footsteps are now running up the stairs, ending when a dirty, bedraggled, unkempt man appears in the door way, but Charlie would know him anywhere.

"Oh, Bass!" Charlie sobs holding out a hand to him.

"Oh no, you don't!" Duncan chides softly, guiding Charlie's hands back to her side. She's serious as she looks between the two of them. "If Daddy here wants to be anywhere near you or this baby, he's going to have to get cleaned up first."

"I'm not going anywhere," Charlie grinds out between her teeth as she pushes back against the headboard, "but you better hurry up, because this baby is."

He kisses her quickly and follows Jeremy's shouted directions to the kitchen, clothes being ripped off in his wake. He's standing in front of the kitchen sink in nothing but his birthday suit drying off, when Jeremy hands him a clean t-shirt and a pair of boxers that he keeps in a spare bedroom. Charlie's screams are nearly one on top of the other now and Bass is nearly white at the sound of them.

"Better get in there, Man," Jeremy tells him with a watery smile.

Bass tugs on the ill-fitting clothes and rushes back to his wife's side.

"What can I do?" he asks Duncan as Charlie is clearly lost in the pain coursing through her body.

"Take my place." she instructs moving so that he can sit behind her, letting her use him for leverage.

"And talk to her, Bass. Let her hear your voice."

"Charlotte," Bass breathes in her ear before brushing his lips against her mark causing her to whimper his name.

"I'm here, Baby. I'm sorry that it took so long, but I'm here."

"They burned our home, Bass. Destroyed our City."

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry I couldn't stop them." He tells her tears welling in his eyes as he looks towards the door where Miles and Nora watch in silence. There was nothing any of them could have done to stop the nukes. But in the end they had won taking out the tower and those within.

"How we doing, Duncan?" Bass asks the woman who is hovering in front of Charlie.

"It's time to push!" Duncan announces, "It's time to meet your baby!"

"Did you hear that, Charlotte? It's time."

"Okay Charlie, on the next contraction I want you to push!"

Charlie pushes as Duncan scoots towards them on her knees placing the flat of Charlie's feet against them, yanking her long shirt out of the way.

Everyone is openly sobbing as Charlie pushes again, birthing the head and Duncan clears its mouth just as Ms. Lila taught her, before encouraging Charlie to push again, the child's slimy body, sliding into her hands.

"It's a girl!" Duncan announces to the room as she uses the tools the midwife left to clear out the baby's airway, eliciting a lusty cry that has everyone laughing.

Duncan urges Bass to unbutton Charlie's shirt waiting patiently as his hands shake over the job before placing their daughter sideways on Charlie's chest so that she can quickly tie off the umbilical cord, offering the scissors to Bass who looks away from the girls in front of him long enough to cut the cord.

Charlie is sobbing to the point she can barely hang on to her newborn daughter as Bass does his best to wrap them both up in his arms and stay out of Duncan's way at the same time as she kneads and mashes Charlie's abdomen to hurry along the afterbirth.

He nuzzles his face up against Charlie's as he encourages her to look at their daughter, this tiny beautiful creature that they've created together, admiring the soul-mark on her wrist.

"Look at her, Charlotte. She beautiful!" he says pressing his lips to her sweat covered temple. "What did you decide to call her?"

"Didn't…pick out…a name…yet" Charlie hiccups her way through an explanation.

"That's okay, Baby, we don't have to decide right now."

"That's good" Duncan answers in reply, "Because we're all done here. There should be a bath waiting in her room. Last door on the left."

She turns to Charlie next, "Charlie, let me give her a bath and get her all cleaned up. Ms. Lila will be here soon and will want to have a look at both of you."

"You'll bring her right back?"

"Of course I will," Duncan soothes her.

Bass helps her hand over the newborn to her Godmother as he manages to get he and Charlie on their feet.

"God I missed you," he whispers against her mouth as he brushes away her tears, which only cause more to fall.

"Thought you were dead."

"I know, I know."

Duncan clears her throat near the door. "Bass,now."

Slipping Charlie's arm around his neck, he bends down to slide an arm under her legs and the resurrected President of the Monroe Republic carries his wife down the hall in nothing but a borrowed t-shirt and boxer shorts.

When the midwife arrives, Jeremy leads Bass and Miles to the officers' barracks' which has solar showers in the back.

Nora is sent to the Bakers house with a female lieutenant to see to her needs.

Charlie is sleeping when they return, the baby tucked into a cradle next to the bed. Bass picks her up, marveling at her tiny features as he passes her over to Miles who's settled into the chair next to the bed.

He brushes away a tear, overcome with emotion, at holding his granddaughter for the first time. He remembers the day that Charlie was born and that breathtaking moment when she was first put in his arms. Nora kisses the top his head and leaves to go help with lunch when Miles catches her hand and pulls her back.

She must understand what's in his eyes because she smiles, leaning down to kiss him. "Love you, too" she whispers to this man she's spent the last fifteen years with.

He's given the baby back to Bass, when Charlie wakes with a start. "Bass!"

"Right here, Charlotte," he calms her stepping into her line of sight. "The baby, too. And look who else is here." He says nodding towards the side of the bed.

"Daddy?" Charlie whispers in wonder.

"Hey, Baby. How you doing?"

"Good. So good now that you're here," she says beginning to cry as he moves to sit next to her on the bed.

"How's Mom and Nora?"

She watches as he flinches, half turning his head to Bass.

Charlie exhales loudly. "Which one?"

"Rachel." Miles answers lowering his head.

Bass makes his way towards the two of them. "We weren't able to save Philly and Atlanta but she made them pay, Charlotte. Burnt every single one of them to the ground along with their facility. We couldn't have done it without her."

Charlie nods, as she takes her father's hands in hers, grateful that she still can.

She can't manage to get the words out that she needs to say about her mother, but Miles seems to know what she's struggling with. "She did it for you Charlie. You were the last thing on her mind."

Charlie nods, taking a deep breath as the baby begins to squirm and mewl in Bass' arms. "I think she's hungry," he says half-delighted, half-terrified as he looks to Charlie and Miles.

"Pretty sure that's Charlie's department, Moron," Miles says as he stands leaning over to kiss his daughters forehead and then takes a last peak at his granddaughter, leaving the family to themselves.

Charlie pulls herself up in bed, unbuttoning the shirt she put on after her bath.

Bass lowers the baby down to her as Charlie exposes her breast, coaxing the child to eat, watching in delighted wonder as she nurses.

"I still can't believe you're both here" Charlie finally utters looking from her child to her husband.

"It was a long walk back." He jokes with a small smile as he settles next to her on the bed, content to watch mother and child.

He notices the look that she's giving him and reaches up to caress her face. "There'll be plenty of time to tell that story later. What I want to know is why you don't have any names picked out?"

"Because you told me that I wouldn't have to do this by myself. But if I picked out names that's exactly what I'd be doing."

"I'm so sorry that I haven't been here, but I am now."

She nods giving him a shaky smile as he reaches up to cup her cheek, his thumb sneaking around to caress her mark.

He watches as she switches sides and leans up against the headboard pulling her back against him. They both sigh at the contact as they watch their daughter greedily nurse.

"Once upon a time I would have named her Constance Anne" she says breaking the silence causing Bass to chuckle.

"And I suppose a boy would have been Athos, Aramis, or Porthos?"

"Don't tease."

He uses his finger to pull her chin in his direction. "Never," he says kissing the corner of her mouth.

"Margaret Paige Monroe." She blurts out raising her eyes to look at him.

"Charlie?" he asks pain ripping through his eyes as she shakes her head and looks down at the baby.

"Maggie Monroe," Bass says quietly running a finger against her tiny pink cheek. "She's got some mighty big footsteps to follow in."

Charlie looks down at her now sleeping daughter. "She can handle it. She's got Matheson and Monroe blood flowing through her veins. There's nothing she won't be able to accomplish."