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Chapter Text

Eleven months have passed since the last time they saw her, and if you asked each one separately, they had their own hopes or despairs.

Eleven months since someone took her, leaving a totally desolate and unanswered Bass and well, Miles, who had lost the complete sense of his existence.

Eleven months in which Charlie couldn't even recognize herself.

She only had the memory of the day they took her and put her in a van, which smelled of everything but clean, she knew she had left her last class of the day late and, that's it, that's where her life seemed to end.

A life she loved now that she lived with her father, Miles, and Bass, his best friend, since Rachel decided to travel to England to acquire knowledge more than two years ago.
They lost all contact at least two months after her departure, knew she was fine, but neither side had an interest in forcing something that she never was, not even with her daughter.

Charlie was the girl of both men, although in different ways, they loved that girl more than their own life and would never have been prepared to lose her.

April 16 and the memory of the day that marked, them forever, of the damn day that Charlie didn’t come back and they would soon know that that day would become a month, then two, and so on until they reached eleven months longer than all of them.

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She had no way of knowing if it was day, night or even if the days were still passing. She just wanted to close her eyes and appear anywhere but where she was.
They had not fed her for many days, and they only gave her water once a day. She did not think she could take much longer and they believed the same because when she finally fell asleep, it seemed that she was hardly going to survive, they decided that that was no longer their problem.

And so it was that once again she was left alone at the mercy of life somewhere on the street, in a park, that she did not even know and, anyway, it did not matter because she did not have the necessary strength even to try to walk the place with the look.

She took the only option she had, and so she closed her eyes again, asking for a better awakening to whoever listens to her.

Chapter Text

When she opened her eyes again, a blinding white light forced her to close them again. If she had to be honest with herself, it was not only because of the light, but also largely because of the fear that consumed her.
She knew that staying like this, motionless, was not going to last long, she had no choice, so began to open them again, only this time did it more carefully and little by little, when she could get used to it, she investigated the room a little bit and no matter how lost she was, she knew it was a hospital and to a great extent her body was filled with relief, at least she was no longer in captivity.

It wasn't too long until a nurse and a doctor burst into the room, they both had friendly smiles which made her wince as it had been a long time since they had given her one like that.

The first to speak was the doctor introducing herself to her and the nurse who accompanied her.

"Hi honey, I'm Dr. Hanston and this is Gemma" looking in the direction of the nurse.

"Could you tell me your name?"

Charlie began to panic, everything in her was screaming that they were going to send her back to the men who had hurt her so badly, her chest was closing up and not allowing her to breathe, her whole body was shaking, and at that moment she tried. She swung her legs off the bed, in a vain attempt to escape, her whole body collapsed on the floor, she didn't even have the strength to get up, she managed to crawl to the far corner of the room and pull her knees to her chest, she began to cry.

The doctor knew that trying to reason with the girl at that moment was impossible, so she opted for something simpler, she approached slowly and keeping a small distance, she squatted down to be at her height and very gently began to speak.

"Hey, sweetie, listen to me if, just listen to me"
without having the slightest movement in response, she kept talking
"are you cold? " I could bring more blankets"; also nothing, she decided to keep trying
"do you want something to drink?" and this time there was a small movement in the girl's hands that still did not stop shaking, and then she knew
"Are you hungry?" and without a second thought, Charlie nodded curtly, still not lifting her head from the space between her chest and legs.

"I can get you something to eat, but I need you to go back to bed so you don't hurt yourself, can you do that?"
Charlotte was so hungry she tried, even though she knew she wasn't going to be able to get up, she really tried, when she didn't make it and fell to the floor a choked sob escaped her throat, she realized, she thought, that if she couldn't do as she was asked, she was going to be punished and left without food, she was so hungry she got really scared and cried harder again.

For her part the nurse also began to approach and she was right next to the doctor, repeating the movement she was at Charlie's level and for the first time since she entered the room the nurse spoke to her

"beautiful, you are ok, it doesn't matter if you can't do it alone, we will help you" she moved a little closer
"we are going to do this, yes? I am going to take your hand and Dr. Hanston is going to take the other one, you are going to lean on us so you can get up and get to the bed, how does that sound?"

They both thought it had not helped since the girl was still the same, what they didn't know was that Charlie was trying to figure out if she could really trust these two people, it had been so long since she could trust anyone and it terrified her, she knew that anything she did wrong could be a trigger to something very bad, when she cleared that thought she realized that no one was forcing her or pressuring her to do anything and that was when she made the decision, and how good it felt to be able to decide something for the first time in so long.
At least ten minutes had passed and to the surprise of everyone in the room, Charlie extended her hand for Gemma to take it, when she did she repeated the movement towards the doctor, once she managed to stand up they began to carry her to the bed, although she was very wobbly and her knees kept buckling they finally managed it and were able to lay her down, although Charlie still hadn't raised her head to look at them, both women knew it was a huge step forward.

Gema tucked her in as she did with any of her children, seeing the state in which this girl had arrived at the hospital really marked her and internally she had decided to help her in any way she could. Stepping back a little, she pulled away to look at her and it was the first time that Charlie really looked into her eyes, when she realized this, Gema smiled warmly and told her that she was going to get her lunch.

Charlie had been admitted the day before in the early morning, she had just woken up today, but it was not something that scared the doctors since the malnutrition, dehydration and the long history of physical trauma in the girl were quite evident, after the continuous examinations, revisions and analysis they had no doubt that she had gone through hell, some of the wounds found in her body had made the doctors shudder; they had to do all the tests and examinations while she was not conscious as they really needed to know what they were dealing with in order to help her and as their main concern was that she survived they had fed her through a gastric tube and hydrated her through an IV at least to make sure of that. Today she was awake so she could feed herself.

Since the nurse left to get the food the room seemed even quieter, Charlie wasn't moving a muscle and the doctor was trying to be meticulous not to scare her anymore, after a moment she decided to sit on her bed, far enough away not to scare her but almost close enough that they could talk or at least try.

Due to the physical and psychological trauma they knew that the safest thing to do was to deal with her as if she were a small child, maybe stimulate her with games or similar things, they were not there yet.

The doctor took a small notebook out of her pocket and a blue pen with little pebbles that sparkled, that really caught Charlie's attention who couldn't remember ever seeing something so pretty, when the doctor noticed that the little girl was looking at her, she smiled.

"Do you think it's pretty?" she said waving the pen and as Charlie nodded she handed it to him to look at.

She held out her hand with a great deal of hesitation but also curiosity, when she took it and got a closer look a small smile escaped her lips, catching Hanston's attention.

"you can try it if you want?" she handed her the notebook "maybe, write your name?"
At that, Charlie handed both back to her, she wasn't going to say who she was if it meant going back to those men. The doctor sighed and looked back at her only to realize that the girl's eyes were still glued to the pen.

"I want you to keep it, also the notebook, maybe it will help you to hang out here" she told him with a smile, she leaned the things on the little side table next to the bed and as she turned to leave the room she heard a little whisper

"Can I hold it?" her face remained hidden under her hair.

"Sure honey, it's for you, you can write or draw whatever you want."

Charlie lifted her head and smiled a little smile at her

"thank you."

the doctor smiled back and left the room.

Charlie was really excited to have a gift, she had decided that she would keep it and take care of it like gold, it was her first gift in too long and it was so nice, plus it reminded her that Bass, on her last birthday at home, had given her a book that she could never finish reading, and since it's cover was blue they would match perfectly.

It was at least twenty minutes before Gemma came in again and this time with the promised food, her heart broke when she saw the excitement in the little girl's eyes, but she still smiled at her and brought the tray over to her.
Charlotte ate it all in less than five minutes, by the time she did the doctor had returned to the room to check that she had been fed.

Being given food, without having to do anything in return, had made Charlie trust these people and with all the enthusiasm in the world she smiled at them both

"It was delicious, thank you" they both smiled sadly because no one likes hospital food and this little girl was thanking them as if it was the best feast in the world.

"It's nothing, Honey. You need to rest now" and before the doctor or the nurse could say or do anything else, the little girl spoke again.

"Charlotte!"

the nurse looked at her trying to understand.

"Charlotte Matheson" she said again

"that's Charlotte, that's very good" said Gemma, who with a look of approval from the doctor left the room.

Once they got the girl's name they were going to look in the registry of people who had gone missing.

And with that very important breakthrough, back in the room the doctor gave up a little on the idea of Charlie resting at that point and began to check her vitals, trying to touch her as little as possible so as not to startle her, but also with the intention of keeping her talking.

"Now, Charlotte, do you remember how you got to the hospital?"

"Charlie" it took her a while to understand but when she did she smiled.

"Very well, Charlie, do you remember?"

Charlie just shook her head

"Well, a married couple found you in a park a few blocks away and called the police who in turn sent an ambulance to bring you in."

Charlie said nothing, she really had no idea how she had gotten there.

"Do you remember a contact number for any family members? An address maybe?"

And just another shake of the head

"It's okay, we'll figure it out" she smiled.

"Now, could you tell me what happened?"
just a shrug in response

"how long have you been away from home honey?"

and this time there was no response at all

The doctor decided that it was better not to push since the girl was going to have to give her statement to the officers later and it was generating unnecessary harm, this considering that the test results had already yielded all kinds of evidence and there was no way not to involve the police.

"You're doing well Charlotte, you can rest now, I'll come see you later."

And with that she left the room.

The nurse had found the repeated announcements about Charlie's disappearance and so it wasn't too difficult to find the contact for Miles, who had provided at least three contact numbers and two mails for information.

Neither party knew but they were only a phone call away, a call full of doubt and uncertainty but a call nonetheless.

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The phone rang for the first time in a few days, the moment he answered and the voice on the other end announced that they were communicating from Chicago Central Hospital, fear paralyzed him but he still forced himself to react, when he heard the reason for the call he simply could not afford to believe it, it had happened so many times before that he was preparing to suffer once again.

If there was a call that could disconcert them it was exactly that, but this was the first one that came from a hospital, and far from wanting to get their hopes up they agreed that this time it was Miles who was going to go to check the information, setting off almost immediately; as they were not far from their location it took him no more than thirty minutes to arrive, in fact it had easily taken him longer to take courage to get out of the car and enter the hospital than it had taken him the whole way.

Once inside the hospital he went to the reception desk which was very close to the entrance, handed in his ID and having signed his admission papers he was finally on way to meet Dr. Hanston.

The first to greet him was the nurse who immediately went out to find the doctor. Miles had no idea how this was done but against all odds he still had some faith that he could find his daughter, he had never been as nervous as he was in the moment prior to his meeting with Hanston and in the first two words they exchanged he realized that she was all kindness and he was grateful for that, if the situation wasn't easy much less would it be without help.

"Mr. Matheson?" she said extending her hand in greeting.
"I am" repeating the gesture.

"Mr. Matheson, I understand the hardship of the situation and for that very reason it is necessary for you to know that the hospital has all the kind of support needed for both patient and family should it be needed."

Miles gave a brief nod, he couldn't think about that when he didn't even know if his daughter was really there or if it was any other girl who had met the same fate as his.

"And now if you'll come with me" she led the way with her hand and soon, too soon, they were there and in that second right in front of the door to the room where his daughter could be found he felt life slipping away from him once again, almost in the same way as the day Charlotte had disappeared.

The doctor entered the room first since if the girl was awake the last thing she wanted to do was to scare her a little more with the presence of a man in the room, a man who could well be her father but since they didn't know yet she decided not to risk it.
Once she realized that Charlie was asleep she had Miles enter.

Only one foot inside the room and all he could do was look at her, he hadn't moved an inch, it was almost as if his brain and the rest of his body had forgotten to work together, his daughter, his Charlie, was there and beyond the bumps and cuts that adorned her face and arms, which was all he could see, she was still as beautiful as ever and without even being able to speak the tears began to flow freely.

The doctor who was so understanding at all times told him that he could stay in the room but that he had to be cautious when she woke up since the fear and everything that the girl brought with her could be counterproductive, he understood and nodded in gratitude when the doctor left the room, now he only had to wait for her to open her eyes.

While waiting he decided to write to Bass, he knew it was more correct to call him but he didn't even trust that he could talk, he also knew Bass would understand, the reply was immediate;

"I'm on my way"

Miles relaxed a little in the chair, which was next to Charlie's bed, waiting to finally see those beautiful blue eyes again that he loved so much, it was clear to him that what was coming was not easy but this was the moment he had waited so long for.

Almost an hour later Bass was at the hospital, he had decided to stay in the hallway so as not to be a problem when Charlotte woke up, they had been communicating with Miles through messages almost all the time in that hour and he could only think about him telling her that he could see her already, he still couldn't believe they were at this point and if it wasn't because his brother needed him he would have already collapsed the second after receiving the message.

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Another hour later and Miles watched as his daughter began to wake up, her eyelids began to flutter and slowly her eyes opened, he kept his distance so as not to scare her but the urge to take her in his arms was stronger than his common sense.

The moment she opened her eyes, Charlie, she knew she was not alone, that was something she had perfected in that time, she was so scared to have to look at who was accompanying her, all she could think was that hopefully it wasn't any of those men and as soon as the thought crossed her head she started to panic, she started to run out of air, there was no way she could breathe and on top of that she had started to cry uncontrollably as if she was just a very little girl, she felt so useless that everything seemed to get worse. Her body was shaking too much and any attempt felt in vain.
As soon as Miles saw the way Charlie was acting he got up and shouted to the first nurse he saw to help his daughter, not noticing that Charlie had started to calm down the moment she saw him.

Charlotte's breathing was not quite right and her crying seemed to be insistent, but she had still managed to sit up in bed so she could get a good look at him and confirm that it was him. Her daddy, the one she had missed so much and needed so much to hold her and take care of her as he had always done.

As soon as he got a nurse, Miles, he returned to the room and turned to his daughter, at that moment he noticed the change in her, and before he could say or do anything, Charlotte crawled across the bed to where he was and threw herself into his arms so hard he could feel her wince at the contact, He didn't want to cause her any more pain, he held her close and cradled her gently as they both cried, having lost his little girl for so long had taken absolutely everything from him, but here, at this very moment, nothing else mattered, only him and his little girl, who was crying in his arms.

He held her close to him until the doctor came into the room to examine Charlie and as much as he wanted to hold her in his arms he knew the doctor had to corroborate that she was okay so he gave her a kiss on the forehead and urged her back to bed, only for Charlie to cry even harder when she felt he was going to leave her. Miles was heartbroken for his daughter and for the obvious fear he had, he would never have imagined his Charlie, the lively one, full of mischief and joy, this way.

Very softly and while stroking her hair Miles spoke to her;
"honey, I'm here, I've got you" I could really cry at that moment,
"we need to get the doctor to check you out, yes?" without waiting for an answer he continued.
"I'll be with you every step of the way, I won't let go of your hand or let go of your eyes, but you need to lie down and let me know you're okay, can you do that for me?" when he felt her start to move he helped her to make it a little easier

"don't go" Miles smiled at her

"I won't, I promise"

Taking her hand he settled back into the chair again as the doctor quickly checked her over telling them she had suffered a panic attack, which was understandable given the situation, she left the room announcing she would see her again soon.

Miles had not yet spoken to the doctors but he knew the situation was a disaster just by seeing the fear in his little girl's eyes.
When the two of them were alone again he reached out and stroked her hair, at his father's gesture, Charlie broke down.

"Daddy" cried Charlie and Miles moved a little closer.

"little girl" he didn't even know where or how to begin

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry daddy"

"baby, you have nothing to be sorry for, you're here, I'm here, I've got you my baby girl"

Charlie cried herself to sleep and Miles just wished he could find a way to get the hell out of her, even though he knew it was going to be a very difficult time he also knew they were going to make it and his little girl was going to be okay, she was going to be with him and Bass, where she belonged.

Chapter Text

Charlotte managed to sleep through the night without incident, surely it was because her father held her hand the whole time or because of the tiredness in her, both were possible either way, she didn't even notice when Bass visited her in the evening, he had simply come in, gently kissed her head and settled in beside her and Miles for at least an hour, neither man could utter a word.

They had fallen into a comfortable silence, one they had grown accustomed to in the months of Charlotte's absence, really it was always she who kept the energy alive, if she was around there could not possibly be silence and they loved that, no matter how noisy she was, she was the sound of their happiness, and they had longed so much to hear her again that they fell into a kind of infinite silence just for the hope of being able to hear her from a distance.

After they had both been like that for quite some time it was Miles who spoke;

"Our baby girl, Bass, we've got her" not wanting to make too much noise, Bass, walked over and hugged him as tight as he could

"I know, we got her Miles, we got her" it wasn't until they felt both wet shirts that they realized they were crying, they just gave each other a sad smile and pulled away to look at her

Bass could only think of what kind of person could have hurt her, what kind of person had taken his Charlie and taken her away from him, there was no chance of understanding how someone could hurt his girl like that and the more he thought about it the more his anger increased so he decided to push her away as it did no good.

He looked at Miles and asked

"have you talked to the doctors yet?"
the fear was evident in his voice, he still wasn't ready to know the whole story, it wasn't as if anyone but Charlotte knew it either but knowing the damage to her already gave big hints.

"no, not yet, I haven't had time" replied Miles and his friend nodded in understanding.
"surely today I can make it, will you stay with her?"

Bass was afraid she wouldn't want to see him
"sure, always"

"I appreciate it very much, but now go get some rest, I'll stay and you can come over in a few hours"

"Miles"

"I'm fine, there will be time to sleep, I want to make sure I'm here when she wakes up, I promised her"

Bass understood and nodded;
"call me if any of you need anything*

"I will, thanks brother"

Bass was about to leave when Miles spoke again

"could you bring her some clothes? I really hope in a few days she can go home and have her own clothes she'll like it"

Giving him a smile full of affection and empathy, he nodded and left the room.

Once he got home, Bass packed Charlotte's bag, picked out the clothes he knew she would have chosen, a grey sweatshirt with matching pants and comfortable underwear, he also stopped by her bathroom and grabbed items from her dresser, like her toothbrush, a comb and other things he thought she might need.

After getting everything ready he took a quick shower and laid back on the couch, only to be flooded with memories.
That couch was all his Friday nights with Charlotte and Miles, they always picked movies in passing and ate whatever Charlie could think of at the time, and since neither knew how to say no to her, that had become a routine, a routine that Bass really loved, having his two favorite people together and spending his nights like that was just great.
While he loved sharing with the two of them, his real favorite time came when past midnight, Miles, who had no stamina as they used to tease each other, would go to sleep and leave them alone, god he really loved listening to Charlotte tell him about her day, whether it was college or anything else she wanted, if someone had told him he wasn't going to have her for that long he simply wouldn't have been able to continue.

Eventually he had to, for Miles and for Charlie, because she deserved to come home, no matter how destroyed he felt, if it was for her he could always give more and so it was, today they had her back and he swore to himself that no one would ever hurt her again, god help the next person who tried to lay a finger on her; that was his last thought before the exhaustion and emotions of the day took over, falling fast asleep in a matter of seconds.

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At the hospital, Miles, had managed to sleep two or three hours until dawn, the second he opened his eyes he looked at his daughter at least three times to be really sure she was there, with him.
Charlotte must have felt him move because after a few minutes she opened her eyes.

"Good morning sweetie" Miles greeted her when he saw she was awake.

"good morning dad" she tried to smile at him but a wince was all she got

"does it hurt?"

she nodded

"I'll call the doctor"

"No, not yet, I'm tired."

"I know baby and I'm sorry"

Charlie tried to sit up on the bed to be a little closer but the pain shot through her and she fell with a thud onto the pillow

"hey, take it easy" he helped her get comfortable again.

"I want to go home"

"soon kid"

"I want to go home now, please."

"I know daughter, but you need time to recover".

Charlotte began to cry hysterically as she repeated over and over;
"I'm fine dad, I'm fine, I'm just fine".

Miles realized she was saying it more to convince herself.

"kid"

"no dad, no" she began to pull her own hair in a very rough manner.
"I'm fine, I just want to go home" her voice began to rise

"take me home, please."

He tried to grab his daughter's hands to keep her from hurting herself but she cringed at the contact, Miles quickly pulled away.

"Honey, I understand but you have to stay here for a while so they can take care of you, it won't be long, I promise."

"I don't want to be here, why doesn't anyone listen to me when I don't want to do something?"

at this point, Charlie had curled into a ball, pulling her knees to her chest as she hid her face, for his part, Miles, broke down completely upon hearing that, he still had no idea how much Charlie had suffered and that was remarkable.

Miles reached out to stroke her hair, at that Charlotte tried to pull away but her movement was so sudden that she inadvertently hit her father's arm, causing her to panic about what was coming next.

Her body was shaking uncontrollably, her breathing was seizing in her chest, her screams and cries seemed to increase by the second.

"I'm, I'm sorry sir" he didn't understand right away.
"I didn't defend myself, I know I shouldn't have, I didn't, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry sir."
Her every word hurt in his father's chest.

Miles knew he had to find some doctor but he refused to leave her alone so he tried to calm her down

"Charlie, daughter, look at me" he began to close the distance between them,
"it's me little girl, it's daddy, you're safe."

He realized that she was practically in another reality at the moment so he tried to say something that might remind her that she was with him

"duckling, can you look at me?" he watched as his daughter slowly tried to relax as she listened to him, but her fear was so much that it was proving difficult.

"today is Wednesday, we should go think about what movie we will watch on Friday, you are good at choosing, remember?" she really didn't, she could remember almost nothing from before the kidnapping.

Finally she looked at him and all there was in her eyes was fear and pain, Miles really wanted to cry for his daughter but he also knew he had to stay strong, and no matter how hard it was, he would be there for his little girl. When he came out of his thoughts he realized that she was calm, she was still crying, only now it felt different, like it was regret pounding in her.

Instinctively he leaned into her, reaching out his arms to hold her as she collapsed into him, hugging her as tightly as he could he began to rock her gently.

"I'm sorry daddy, I, I thought that" her voice cut off.

"shh Charlie, I know, you're okay, you're with me, we'll be home soon"

"I'm sorry"

"don't be, you're scared and it's normal, I'm not going to get mad about it, ok?"

she looked at him, nodded and lay back down again.

"Good morning, how did you have a good night?"

Miles looked at Charlotte and knew she wasn't going to answer, so he did it for her
"it was good, a few hours of full sleep"

"that's very good" she smiled at Charlie "now I need to examine you a bit, yes...check your lungs and some external injuries, I won't be long''

Charlotte became uneasy again, the thought of being touched terrified her, Miles and the doctor helped her to sit up a little and when Hanston opened the back of her hospital gown Charlotte began to shiver.

Miles got to see some of the wounds on her back and it really chilled his blood, but noticing Charlie's discomfort he moved to sit across from her, he ran a hand through her hair, stroking it. He decided he was going to keep her mind occupied while the doctor checked her over.

"You know, Bass came to visit you last night."

Charlie stared at him.

"Bass?"

"Yeah, he wanted to see you, see how you were doing."

she blinked hard

"He stayed for a while and then I sent him home, he needed to rest" Miles started to doubt if the conversation was going to get anywhere but to his surprise a few minutes later, Charlie, spoke again.

"He's not coming to see me today?" she sounded like a little girl when she asked and Miles smiled at that.

"Only if you want to."

She seemed hesitant, and that worried him, if she said no, he would accept it, but it would hurt Bass a lot and that worried him too.

"would you like to see it?"

"I think so"

"that's okay kid" he stroked her hair again "when Bass comes, he'll stay with you while I talk to the doctor, is that okay with you?" he asked.

From behind Charlotte, the doctor gave Miles a sympathetic look, she knew it was hard for him to leave her alone, especially when the girl was so scared, but she really needed to talk to him.

Charlie nodded briefly.

He still didn't want to ask her too much but eventually he would have to.

"baby" she looked at him, "what happened?"

Suddenly feeling very embarrassed, Charlotte, pulled the back of robe, covering herself and moving away from them both. She sat down in the smallest and farthest corner she could find on the bed and became completely quiet, she had started to cry quietly.

"hey, hey, it's okay kid, we don't have to talk about it now, yes?" but she continued to cry.

"Charlotte, you have done well, I have healed all the wounds that needed it, you can go back to lie down if you want" the doctor spoke very softly to her but Charlie didn't even acknowledge her
"I'll leave them, but I need to talk to you soon" Miles nodded to Hanston and with that she left the room.

He tried to approach Charlie and was surprised when she didn't pull away, at least with that he knew she was aware of her current surroundings.

"Do you want to lie down?" he had held out his hand towards her to help her, she looked at him for a second and then took it, she lay back down and her father covered her again with the blanket, taking a seat next to her.

"Are you hungry?"

a shy smile appeared on Charlie's lips, her tears were still falling but she really was hungry and that she was being offered food again she considered it a kind of miracle.

Her small smile gave him some peace and leaning forward a little, he stroked her cheek.

"What would you like to eat?"

earlier he had asked the nurse if Charlotte could eat anything or if she had to follow a particular diet, which was obvious, so the answer was that they were going to give her a balanced eating plan but that didn't stop her from eating whatever she wanted.

Charlie didn't know what to answer, her excitement was so much that she couldn't think too much about anything in particular, whatever they gave her was fine with her.

Miles didn't know whether to laugh at the fact that she could still get excited over something so simple or to cry because she really didn't deserve to have to get excited over something like that, something that was so basic to anyone's life.

"I could go get breakfast and we could have breakfast together, would you like that?"

"don't leave me"

"I'll just go to the cafeteria, honey, I'll be back before you know it."

"no, don't go"

He saw that she was about to cry so he thought about it some more.

"I'll stay with you, yeah? I'm going to text Bass to bring us something on the way here, is that okay with you?"

Nodding again, she visibly relaxed now that she knew he wasn't going to leave her.

It wasn't long after Miles wrote about breakfast to Bass, until he arrived at the hospital, he had no idea how to approach Charlotte, or even if she was going to accept him, but all he wanted was to be able to see her, feel her, hear her, the least he would get would be a lot for him.

He knocked on the door and from inside, Miles, told his he could come in. Charlie was terrified, her fear wasn't for Bass, it was for what he might think when he saw her or worse when he found out. Her worry only grew when she realized she was shaking again, she didn't want him to see her that way or think she was a silly little girl who was afraid of everything, because come on, it was one thing to be her daddy, she could afford to be his little girl and let him take care of her, but not Bass, she didn't want him to know how weak and useless she was, at least to herself.

She snapped out of her thoughts when the door opened and she saw Bass walk in with three bags of food, he smiled so warmly at her that she wanted to burst into tears.
Bass was very meticulous in all his movements, he gently maneuvered himself to where she was, keeping a considerable distance and since he wasn't going to allow himself to break down, all he could do was smile a little at her, hoping to get one of those very genuine smiles from her that he loved so much, Charlie couldn't do it, she didn't smile, but she didn't turn him away either, she moved slightly giving him a space on the side of her bed, next to her hip, to sit down. He immediately sat up and reached out his hand to stroke her hair.

When he moved his hand she felt too afraid, so far the only man who had touched her, since she was released, was her father and she couldn't remember Bass' touch so she hesitated terribly about staying or turning away but decided to hold on, at least that's what she wanted to show.

"Hi Charlotte."

Charlotte made no move, just followed him with her eyes, trying to figure out what to do.

"I brought you this" and he held up a book a little, one she had always wanted but he was reluctant to lend her, not because he didn't trust her but honestly, his book collection was sacred.
"surely you can kill boredom here" he gave her a warm smile and decided she should leave, she didn't look well.

With the first movement he made to get up she realized he was leaving and instantly everything in her snapped back, she didn't want him to leave her.

"Bass" her effort had been somewhat futile because as soon as he mentioned her name she began to cry.

Bass turned and reached for her immediately, he held her tightly fearing it wasn't real, he had waited so long for this moment he didn't think it likely he would ever let go again, he would never lose her again.

"baby, come here, you're safe, I've got you, we've got you" he rocked her gently for a while until he felt Miles' hand on Charlie's back next to his own. He had watched the exchange silently to give them their moment but then felt he should go inside.

"kid, I know you are afraid but there is no reason to be afraid anymore, we have you sweetheart, we are not going to leave you" Miles sat gently behind her and pulled her to his chest, he gently kissed the top of her head and they were silent for a moment.

"I don't know about you but I'm starving, I could eat anything in less than a second and yes, that's a challenge" he smiled.

"I'm so hungry too" Charlie's voice weak, so weak they could hear the pain in it.

These men loved her so much they would do anything to make her well, Bass drew strength from where he already had none and tried his best to sound a little cheerful, just for her

"And surely you can eat faster than you dad, or won't you accept the challenge?"

Charlie let out a giggle, it was the first in far too long and although it was only two seconds it was enough for the sound of it to warm both men's hearts.

"Of course I can."

Bass had gotten Charlotte's favorites, hot chocolate with banana muffins and almonds, he had also brought her a bar of white chocolate that he knew was her favorite, and it really paid off because the happiness in her eyes when she saw all the food was something she didn't plan on forgetting.

"I really didn't remember everything being so delicious, I was so hungry, thank you Bass."

"my pleasure my girl" he smiled at her, he noticed right away that she didn't remember they were her favorites, but he didn't want to say anything that would change the small change in her.

The three finished breakfast, Miles announced that he was going out for a moment, he needed to get a medical report and now that Bass was with her he could do that.

"I'll be back soon kid, be good."

Bass smiled at him "we will dad."

Charlie smiled too and laid back down, her eyes didn't leave Bass for a single second.

He sat down in the chair Miles had occupied the night before and gently squeezed her hand.

"how are you?" it was the dumbest question in the universe but he had to know.

she simply shrugged, he couldn't know, she couldn't tell.

She began to shake noticeably, her body was a constant reminder of how weak she was, everything hurt, nothing seemed to get better.
Without realizing it her silent tears began to become louder and louder sobs, everything about her felt hopeless, she was so tired.

Bass slowly walked over and sat down next to her on the bed, not wanting to touch her, he opened his arms waiting for her to make the decision, Charlotte looked at him just for a second and moved closer, taking that as a yes he pulled her to him and hugged her, she was practically in his lap now, her head resting on his chest and her hands gripped his shirt tightly, no matter how much she was told no, she was still afraid of being left.
He began to rock her gently until her breathing normalized and then she fell asleep, as she had so many times before, in his arms.

---------------------------------------------------

Miles was waiting for the doctor in a small office, she had asked him to give her a few minutes until she got all the reports on Charlotte.

Five minutes later she was back.

"sorry to keep you waiting Mr. Matheson, have a seat" she indicated the chair in front of her at her desk.

"thank you" He took a seat and looked at her questioningly, he needed to get this done now.

"Well, as you know, your daughter was admitted here because of a call for help from some people who found her in the street, that's why we don't have the complete information and it is very necessary, if you could fill out this form it would be very helpful."

The form asked for Charlotte's basic information:

-date of birth

-current age

-blood type

and a bunch of other things that he knew were just a formality, having filled everything out he handed the form back to her.

"Alright then, Charlotte Matheson, age 19" checking the form she realized that it hadn't been long since Charlie had turned 19, in fact it was only a month and a few days before she arrived at the hospital.

"The situation is difficult Mr. Matheson, we have found superficial injuries and others not so much, our main concern was to keep her alive so we have proceeded with the examinations even without having a family consent, since until that moment we had no idea who she was, it was of utmost importance to know how to proceed with her, I hope you understand."

"I do, I really do, and I appreciate above all things that you saved her" having said that, Miles knew that what was coming was bad, terrible perhaps and the look the doctor gave him confirmed it.

"she came in totally malnourished and with a fairly high degree of dehydration, we are compensating her levels but it is something that takes time, anyway she is stable and could go home in the next few days"

Miles nodded

"we have found at least three cracked ribs, before she leaves here we are going to place the proper dressing for her recovery, we have also found multiple cut wounds, burns and bruise marks that could well be a belt a strap or something similar, some have already healed because they were quite current and others need a healing process"

Miles swallowed and nodded again.

"I'm sorry to have to say this but, when she was admitted and was stabilized, we have performed a rape kit which yielded results consistent with rape, abuse and assault, we can't know for sure but from the injuries found, she has been abused on multiple occasions, her exam has yielded at least three different semen samples, should they decide to report this it will be granted as evidence"

Miles had become paralyzed, his body didn't seem to cooperate and his brain less so, she was his child and they had shattered her life, it was too much to process at that moment or any other, no parent is prepared to hear the damage that has been done to their daughter.

"Mr. Matheson" the doctor waited for him to look at her "I know it is a very difficult time, I recommend that Charlotte start therapy as soon as possible, in the hospital we have good specialists that will be able to help her and you".

"we will do it, when she is ready we will do it" the doctor nodded, she realized that Miles was still in shock so she decided to end the meeting, the necessary was done, now came the worst for this family.

Chapter Text

Miles really wasn't in any condition to go back to the room with his daughter after talking to the doctor, it had been at least four hours and he still hadn't moved from the hospital parking lot, he had sat in his car as if that was going to make the situation better, he needed to get everything together from him to not take his daughter and get her where only he could have her, where no one else could hurt her.
It took him a few more minutes to decide what he was going to do at that point, because he was either going to go back to Charlotte in that state of despair and crisis or let Bass spend the night with her while he tried to pull himself together.
The latter was the better option, any false move with Charlotte and he could really lose her.

He picked up her cell phone and texted Bass.

"I need you to stay with Charlie tonight, I'll be back soon."

"I'll stay, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just need a moment, take care of her."

"Okay, don't worry, I won't leave her."

that was all their conversation, Bass was completely weirded out at this point, but well he knew that the talk with the doctor might have gone worse than they expected and if that was the case Bass was already suffering in advance.

In the room, Bass, tried to keep everything he felt to himself, Charlie had enough of everything, but she knew him well.

She watched him for a few minutes and asked

"what's wrong?"

he looked at her and tried to smile

"everything is fine, why do you ask?"

"Bass" it was more in a pleading tone.

"everything's fine Charlotte, only Miles won't be coming tonight, I'll stay with you."

Charlie didn't answer, she just settled back on the bed, rolled over and covered herself with the blanket, she was even sadder, her father had finally left, she was so scared again.

Clearly Bass didn't understand right away and thought it was just a simple tantrum like the ones she used to throw when she was a child and finished the weekend she had to leave her father's house to go back to her mother's house.

"Miles was tired, he needed a moment" he explained, he didn't realize how much it had hurt Charlotte, she felt so guilty.

She didn't respond and it was there that he noticed something was wrong.

"Charlotte, everything is fine, you mustn't worry."
But for her nothing was fine, her father had left, eventually Sebastian would too, she was too much of a burden for anyone,didn't blame them for leaving her, she was just scared.

"I'm just tired Bass" he nodded silently, knew that wasn't all but he couldn't push her.
Charlotte didn't look at him or speak again for the rest of the night, she lay as still as she could to finally fall asleep, hadn't even eaten and that didn't feel good on Bass, he had seen her excitement over food and was aware that she needed to feed but when he tried to wake her to get to eat dinner he received no response.

Later in the evening Miles returned to the hospital, he had had a beer or two and then slept for a while, he needed it, so took a quick shower and returned to his daughter.

He walked slowly into the room because he assumed she and Bass were asleep, closing the door behind him he noticed his friend was more awake than he was.

"hey" greeted Miles

"hey bro"

"how was she?" the look Bass gave him was enough to know what had gone wrong, he already felt too guilty for leaving her and this didn't help

"she got upset, said she was tired and that was it, didn't talk, didn't eat dinner, no nothing"

"shit" Miles wanted to beat himself up for being so selfish, really he just believed that.

"she'll be fine, Miles, we have to give her time"

"I don't think giving her time is enough, they've hurt her Bass, they've taken everything she had" he was about to break down again but Bass stopped him

"not here Miles, you'll wake her up and she's going to freak out" he put a hand on his shoulder in restraint and they both headed down the hallway.

Miles had told him practically everything he knew, of course it was only Charlotte's injuries, what she had actually experienced was another story and that was even worse.
They lost track of time and as Bass tried to somehow process the information they heard an almost heartbreaking cry.

It was Charlotte.

They had been talking in the hallway just outside her bedroom door, but she couldn't see them from where she was lying and when opened her eyes and saw that was all alone, fear came over her in an instant, triggering the cry that had alerted them.

Both men quickly entered the room with a nurse running behind, she had also heard her. When they entered and saw her, they felt everything in them shatter.

Charlotte was sitting on the bed, her knees drawn up to chest, her head hidden in the hollow between her legs and chest, and her hands constantly covering her ears, she was a mess, her crying getting worse with every second, she was unable to calm herself.

"she's terrified" was all the nurse told them before leaving to find a doctor.

Miles and Bass tried to approach but she just got worse, she started trying to pull the IV out of her arm, was hurting herself but she didn't care, she needed to get out of there, if those men found her alone again she knew wouldn't make it, not again.

One of the doctors on duty came into the room, he saw her and knew that in that state it was not possible to deal with her

"if we don't get through to her right now she's going to really hurt herself, the decision is yours" he stated as looked at Miles "either you get through to her quickly or I'll have to sedate her."

"we'll take over" Bass had to answer for his friend who didn't seem to react.

the doctor gave him a not very compliant look, however he nodded and stepped back a bit, while Bass did the opposite and approached

"Charlotte, hey, you have to listen to me" Miles came out of his initial trance and approached as well

"kid, come on, look at me, we're here"

"I don't want them to take me away from home, not again"

"no one will, I promise Charlotte but you have to stop, you're hurting yourself" Bass was really tempted to swing over her and hug but he was afraid of generating worse damage.

"no, no, no, no, you guys are gone and they will find me" her words came out with so much desperation that she could easily collapse at that moment.

Her words hit them both, mainly Miles, he knew shouldn't leave her and still did, but going back to her in that state wasn't likely either, and on the other side Bass also took responsibility, he hadn't even tried to understand what it was that she was so upset about when she got upset that afternoon.

"honey, I'm sorry yes...I shouldn't have left, but I'm here now, I won't leave you, I promise."

Sebastian realized that they were getting nowhere and decided to proceed, he approached Charlotte, grabbed her hands to make her stop and no matter how much she struggled he did not let go.

"Charlotte, stop, you have to stop" he ordered her gently and she lifted head up

"that's great, just look at me and we'll be fine" Bass instructed, slowly Charlotte nodded

"I'm sorry, I, I, I thought was dumped, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" she held on to Bass as tightly as she could, and he did the same, Miles slowly approached not wanting to scare her

"it's okay sweetie, no one is going to leave you, we'll be home soon and everything will get better" Miles spoke softly to her as he stroked her hair

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

"it's okey baby girl, it's okey"

The doctor left the room when he saw that she had calmed down, said two words to the nurse and closed the door.

"hey sweet, let's get you something so you can sleep, you need to rest" the nurse was right next to her when she finished saying it.

Bass pulled Charlie away from him a little so the nurse could inject a soothing mine into his IV, once done she waved and stepped back.
He held her for a while longer, in less than ten minutes she was asleep, he carefully propped her up on the bed and sat down next to Miles.

"She's going to need help."

"I know, I just want to give her time, I want her to be ready to receive it" to this Bass nodded, he knew his friend wanted the best for her as did he.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days later, on Friday, Charlie was discharged, physically she could now continue her recovery at home, emotionally it was another story, the day before, after the last incident, she had received a visit from the hospital psychiatrist and they had concluded that they would give her time until she felt ready for therapy, the condition was that it should not be more than a month, without much encouragement she accepted it, at this moment she just wanted to go home.

It was around six o'clock in the evening when they left the hospital, luckily for the three of them the trip home went smoothly, she was calm and they were excited to have her home again.

As soon as they set foot inside she visibly relaxed, couldn't believe she was here again, and although she didn't move an inch from the door was genuinely happy for the first time.

"Come on Charlotte, come in" Bass held out his hand, she accepted it without hesitation, they left the bag of clothes on the couch and headed upstairs to her room.

Miles was hesitant about this but he wanted it to be the first thing she saw.

"Bass and I have been doing some work in your room" Charlie looked at him doubtfully, Bass inside was laughing and a lot, Miles had only caused disaster in the process

At Bass's questioning look he rolled his eyes and clarified.
"well, credit to Bass alone" he growled causing Charlie to smile, she knew her father wasn't cut out for crafts by any stretch of the imagination.

They walked into the room and nothing was as she remembered, they had painted it white with aqua green accents, they had also replaced the furniture with new ones, and it was filled with new clothes, everything was just too nice.
Having worked on her room was one of the things that kept Bass on track, at least it increased his own hope that she would come back and get to see the new room, it didn't help Miles so much that he quit the first day because he had gotten frustrated with the first brush of paint, at least they had had something to laugh about.

"I really hope you like it" smiled Bass.

"it does, it's beautiful, thank you both."

They weren't convinced if she had really liked it, she hadn't even smiled a little. Quietly they agreed that they should give her a few minutes to settle in, it wasn't like she had anything to settle in but maybe she wanted a minute.

"We'll be downstairs, come over anytime" Miles kissed her forehead and they both headed downstairs.

Charlie nodded silently and as soon as they left she sat down on her bed. She was really grateful for everything they were doing and god she loved the room, Bass knew exactly what she liked, but she was afraid, what would happen when they found out what those men did to her...what if they already knew...did they still think she deserved the room...her head wouldn't stop for a second, she only came out of her trance when heard name being called.

It took her a few minutes but she finally came downstairs to find Bass and Miles sitting on the kitchen stools, she looked disoriented so they both smiled at her and urged her to sit with them.

"are you okay kid?"

"Yeah"

"so, what do you think of the room?"

"i love" she smiled sadly, her gaze drifted all the way down, she needed to know.

"so? what's going on Charlotte?" Sebastian feared he had done something wrong or that he had hurt her.

it took her a few minutes until she could finally formulate the words

"you, you two..." her tears were about to come "do you know what happened?"

Miles nodded his head and swallowed, "I've received the medical reports honey."

Miles was hoping to have this conversation only he didn't think it would be so soon.

"oh god" cried Charlotte, she had started to fidget in her seat the second the question came out of her mouth.

"Charlotte, we're sorry" was all Bass could say, he noticed she was shaking and her tears were falling in an all too sad silence

"I, I, I, I'm sorry dad, I shouldn't have let it happen, I'm sorry Bass" she tried to get up and run but Bass had already foreseen it, just as she wanted to put one foot down from the stool he held her, hugged her as tight as he could and let her cry as long as she needed to.
They only knew of the physical damage she entered the hospital with, and it was more than enough to know what she had been through hell and back, they were so concerned to know what lay beyond the injuries.

"listen to me Charlotte, none of this is your fault, you managed to survive and you're here, that's all that matters baby" Bass meant it only in Charlie's ears it was all doubts.

"they're not angry?"

"not at you" replied Miles from where he was still sitting, "only at those who hurt you honey, never at you."

"they still think I deserve to have the room?"

Bass looked at Miles, they hadn't realized why she had reacted this way and this was confirmation

"nothing would change our minds about you, we love you daughter, and you certainly deserve everything in this world"

Bass nodded over her and kissed the top of her head "I was so afraid you wouldn't be able to enjoy the room Charlotte, you are here, that's all that matters"

"but, you..."

"of course you deserve it" Bass finished Bass and with that Charlie relaxed a little.

They had fallen silent for quite some time, neither Bass nor Miles knew exactly what to say or do, to their surprise it was Charlie who spoke, her voice sounded muffled, both by her crying and Bass's hug

"mushroom pizza and Mad Max?"

neither of them understood what she was referring to

"Kid?"

"it's Friday, you said I should pick."

Miles nodded and smiled, "it's true, I did, I didn't expect to watch the same movie for the twentieth time but it's okay ducky"

"Oh please Miles, you know it's a quintessential movie" was Bass' continuous complaint, the thing was that's his favorite movie and Charlotte picked it every chance she got just because she knew how much he enjoyed it and also because she kinda liked making him grunt at her dad while they laughed.

Miles rolled his eyes at him statement "you know that's terrible" he said as he got up to head to the living room, on the way he messed up Charlie's hair a little and followed.

At least an hour later the three of them were settled on the couch waiting for pizza, they had the movie on pause to watch it right after they ate.
There was a knock on their door and Charlotte's eyes darted to the sound, clearly she had been startled.

"it's just the pizza honey" Miles announced as he got up to go pick up the order and while Charlie had believed him she couldn't relax until Miles didn't return and sat back down with them.

"we're ready" as he rested the pizza on the coffee table in front of them.

The three of them ate dinner in silence as they watched the movie, Charlotte wasn't even half way through when she fell asleep, she curled up on Bass's side and that was it, both men stayed with her, they could tell they were watching the movie although really each was lost in thought.

"go to bed, Miles" Bass had decided he wasn't going to move as long as she was sleeping on him but he had seen Miles' eyes close a few times, the effort he was making was a lot.

"I'm fine Bass."

at his response he had to chuckle a little

"man, you're destroyed, go to bed, I'll stay with her."

Miles didn't want to move away yet but the truth was that the tiredness of all those days had taken its toll and he couldn't take it anymore

"Thanks bro, wake me up if something happens".

"I will, don't worry"

Miles walked over, grabbed the blanket from behind the couch and covered them both, before leaving he kissed the top of Charlie's head and went upstairs.

Bass took control of the TV, turned it off and settled a little closer to Charlie, he didn't want to wake her, however she opened her eyes a little, looked at him and settled back into him.

Seeing their exchange, Bass smiled and thanked, whoever was listening, for having this opportunity again, having her asleep in his arms was simply all he needed, she was safe and he had peace of mind that his girl was safe.

It had been too long since they had last fallen asleep together on the couch, but it still felt natural, as it always had, he desperately wanted her to be okay, he missed her laughter above all else.

He had always wanted to lie to himself and believe that he loved her the same way Miles did and he certainly had, for Charlotte's whole life or almost because on her 18th birthday, when he saw her at her party, in that red dress, which he himself had given her and which Miles hated by the way, he realized that she was no longer a child and that the woman she had become was simply beautiful.

He knew it wasn't the time to think about that but he couldn't help it, he loved her, he always had, in different ways over time but always with the same intensity, no one was ever going to take her away from him again and right now, as he fell asleep next to her, he was content to hold her in the safety of his arms.

Chapter Text

Bass had actually slept that night, or at least a few hours, because shortly before dawn he felt Charlie stirring in his arms, coming to himself he realized that she must be dreaming, without moving too much he switched on the light on the nightstand next to the sofa.
He stared at her for a moment, her features looked troubled more as if in desperation than anything else, he thought, she was completely bathed in perspiration, her body was shaking violently as were eyelids and she really looked like was in pain there.

Gently he tried to rouse her, his arms were firm around her body knowing how she might react if she became frightened or upset

"Charlotte" he shook her just a little, as there was no reaction he tried a little harder, not hurting her of course.

"hey girl" he called her again a little louder this time, but it wasn't that that woke her up if not the feel of his arms on her, the second she opened her eyes she tried to run away in desperation but Bass's grip was so firm that all she managed to do was fall to the ground with a thud

reacting quickly, Bass, lowered himself to the ground staying next to where she had fallen, he was really worried that she had hurt herself, it hadn't been a really hard hit but in her still recovering state it was very likely that she had.

Charlie saw Bass approach and it took her less than a second to panic even more, not because of him but because she was unaware of surroundings, and in her subconscious any man who came near was only out to hurt her. She pulled her knees to chest and sank into herself trying to protect, she knew it was useless because in eleven months it hadn't served her once.

Charlotte had started crying the moment she opened her eyes, had learned to do it quietly as she didn't want to risk any extra punishment but right now she simply couldn't stop herself nor could stop the cries that came with her crying.

Bass tried not to touch her until they were on safe ground, he thought it was going to be best to talk to her until she knew where was

"Charlotte, you're okay sweetie, there's no one here that can hurt you" as she didn't respond or move he decided to go on

"you're home, dad and I brought you here today, remember?"
he thought he saw her nod slightly but as a few minutes passed with nothing else he guessed it had just been him, sighed sadly as he looked at the staircase thinking about calling Miles, when looked back slightly he realized she was looking at him, her eyes were wide open in fear, he could tell she was trying to distinguish if this was true or not.

"hey, hi Charlotte" he smiled as he reached out his arm to stroke her hair, at the movement she shrank slightly resting her chin on knees without taking her eyes off him, she needed to know each and every move he made, just to distinguish which one was the nightmare or which one was
the reality.

Bass quickly pulled his arm away from so as not to scare her any more than she already was, as much as it pained him to see her pull away like that he wasn't going to push her in any way. Of course he didn't expect Charlotte to crawl towards him hugging him with all her might a few minutes later.

"hey, you're okay, I got you" he said as he wrapped her in his embrace once again, thinking she was calming down he tried to lift them up to carry her back to the couch but she put so much force into his grip that the attempt was in vain

"Charlotte, it's all right, let's sit back down, it's still a little chilly."

Charlie shook her head, he could feel her shivering

"what's wrong Charlotte?"

"he's coming" she whispered with her voice cracking with fear.

"who's coming baby?"

"it's going to hurt me, I was too noisy."

"no one is going to..." Bass didn't finish the sentence because he saw Miles approaching them, as Charlotte tightened her grip even tighter on him

"it's just Miles, your dad, he's not going to do anything bad to you"

"no, no, he's going to be mad, I made too much noise, and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry" her voice was getting fainter and fainter

Miles came around Bass' side and crouched down to her height, he needed his daughter to realize it was him in the room and no one who was going to hurt her

"hey pretty girl, I'm here and I'm not mad" his voice was extremely gentle,
"I needed to know you were okay that's why I came down, I'm not going to hurt you."

Charlie couldn't quite get out of her trance but hearing Miles' voice certainly gave courage to open her eyes again, Miles saw her and tried to smile.

"that's very good Charlie" he reached out and took her hand, he kissed it softly and how she didn't pull away he knew her mind was back in place.

Charlotte felt embarrassed to react like that and all she could do besides cry was apologize over and over again.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry" Bass wiped away some tears that were still falling and kissed her forehead.

"it's okay kid, there's nothing to apologize for, you're doing fine" Miles needed her to understand that this was part of the whole thing, that it wasn't her fault.
"I don't want you to apologize every time, you're not doing anything wrong Charlie, we love you and we're here, with you"

Charlie nodded her head briefly and let Bass lift them both up, now the three of them were sitting on the sofa, Miles ran a hand across her forehead and noticed she was still sweating

"Honey, your clothes are completely damp, how about you take a shower while Bass and I get breakfast ready?" by this time it was already around 7:30, it was already a good time for breakfast

Both men watched as she tensed up again, she had started to move her leg up and down constantly, Miles could tell she had gotten very nervous and tried to go over what she had said or done wrong, the only thing he told her besides the breakfast thing, was the shower thing so he guessed that was it.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, it would just be a good option" he gave her a smile to emphasize that she wasn't obligated.

Charlie stared at him, she was trying to formulate the words but they didn't really come out, she was completely grateful that they weren't forcing her but really wanted to take a shower, was just afraid.

"it's not that" she whispered

They waited for her to speak again but since it didn't happen, Bass, he did it for her

"what's wrong?"

"I'm scared"

"The shower?" she shook her head.

"what happens in the shower" was all that finally came out before her tears fell again

"hey, it's okay, you don't have to cry, okay? Miles knelt down in front of her so she could see him.
"nothing bad is going to happen to you here, not in the shower or anywhere else" he really wanted to ask what it was that was scaring her like that but decided to leave it for later.

Bass joined him, from beside Charlotte and said, "besides you don't have to do it now if you don't want to, it's your choice" she looked at him and back at Miles
"just remember you're safe here"

Charlie's voice was barely a whisper, she looked at Miles

"you, uh, you can" she was ashamed of what was about to say.

"if I can what honey?" Miles wanted to give her all kinds of reassurance that's why he insisted that she take charge of this situation

"I was wondering if you could stay at the bathroom door" Miles looked at Bass and they both had the same sad expression.

"of course I will, if it makes you feel safe of course I can."

"will you stay there?" she wanted to trust that no one would come in "you promise?"

"I promise baby" Charlie nodded and started to get up from the couch.

"Do you want to go get some clothes or would you rather Bass go upstairs and get you something?" she thought about it and agreed in Bass bringing her some, once she had the clothes in her hand walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her, Miles stood in the doorway, on the outside side, as he had promised.

When he heard the shower turn on, Bass walked over to him, he knew Miles was not well at all

"they really damaged her" his voice was cut short by the tears that were threatening to spill out

"I know Miles, but we have her now, she's going to be okay" really Bass was saying that to help Miles but also himself, he was in so much pain for her

"I'll go make breakfast, let me know anything" Bass squeezed her shoulder and headed for the kitchen.

Charlie wasn't in the bathroom for more than ten minutes, she loved the feeling of the warm water on her skin, but she was still too scared to enjoy it any longer, she put on the clothes that, again, Bass had picked out for her and opened the bathroom door to find that Miles had actually stayed there, when he heard the door open, turned to look at it and smiled at it.

"hey, hi honey, was it okay?"

"yeah" her eyes had found a place on the floor "thanks for staying dad"

"nothing to thank, now let's go see what mess Bass must have made in the kitchen."
everyone knew that the only one who knew how to cook was Bass, so it also put him on the list of being the only one who didn't leave a mess in the kitchen.
She followed him to where Bass was and again they sat on the stools waiting for him to finish.

The smell of the waffles and the hot chocolate he was preparing for breakfast really made her forget for a moment about what happened that morning and excitement welled up in her, her eyes had lit up in a very beautiful way and that did not go unnoticed by any of them

"Are you hungry?" asked Miles, knowing the answer.

"too much, I can't believe they're feeding me again, it must be heaven."
she smiled a little, really was glad to be able to eat again and had to take advantage because she didn't know when it would run out, for the rest in the room they were words that felt like knives deep in their hearts.

"Charlotte" Bass tried to sound cheerful, he refused to let his own emotions get to her, "you're always going to have food here, everything in this house is yours, you can eat what you want and when you want it."

Miles nodded from where he sat, he didn't trust his voice at all, Charlie simply smiled at them both as if Bass' words had changed her life.

Bass brought the three plates to the table, Charlotte and Miles' goffres also had chocolate chips inside, he knew they were both of their favorites, his was plain, didn't enjoy sugar as much as the other two. After pouring the hot chocolate for the three of them, he sat down and they started breakfast, usually the trio loved coffee, but Charlie, still wasn't allowed it because of some nutritional supplements she had to start taking so they decided they were going to share that with her.

They ate breakfast in silence, as sad as it was they really were grateful to be able to see her enjoy something, now it was getting hard, within reason the first night had been overcome, but now they had to guess how to move forward, they had too much in their way and the last thing they needed was to push her.
On the one hand they had to talk to her, there were things to ask no matter how much they hated to ask, they needed to know so they could help her.

The issue was how to do it.

Once they picked up the remains of breakfast, Miles took Charlie to the couch while Bass took over cleaning up in the kitchen.

As Miles tried to engage her in conversation, or at least find a way to do so, he knew she was getting particularly nervous, she couldn't even look up from the floor and was so still in place that the trembling in her hands didn't go unnoticed.

"hey kid" he tried to get her attention but she only responded with barely a whisper.

"yeah?"

"look at me Charlie, there's nothing to worry about honey."

She raised her head and looked at him for a few seconds, tried to give him a convincing smile but failed, it was almost instant the way her eyes filled with tears and she broke down, wanted him not to notice by going back to her previous position, but it wasn't that simple.

"Charlie, daughter, come here" he slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled to him, she didn't resist so settled into his embrace, he let her cry, while with his other hand wrapped around her, he gently stroked her back in a comforting way.

"it's ok, let it out, let it out" they stayed like that long enough until she was able to stop crying a little, he didn't pressure her or rush into it so that was fine

"I know it's hard daughter, but you need to let it out, nothing bad is going to happen if you do" Charlotte nodded gently

"I don't want to relive it and if I have to think about it, talk about it I will, I don't want to, I can't" her voice was completely clipped and he knew she was crying quietly

"you don't need to hide anything Charlie, you can cry" he wanted to give her as much reassurance as he could, as she didn't say anything else he decided to go on

"I know it's hard, it was hell honey, I know, but to start healing you have to talk about it, yes? with us or with a specialist, as you wish, you are not obligated to anything, just think about it"

"I'm sorry" at this point I almost couldn't hear her.

"you don't have to apologize for anything, remember?" she nodded very softly.
"let's start slow kid, for the first day, shall we?" without even moving an inch from him she tried to speak

"I, uh, I had gotten out of class late and, and I walked only a block before they showed up" she swallowed hard "they had a truck, they pulled up to the curb and I, I tried to run, I really tried" her voice cracked completely

"hey, you're doing fine" he continued to gently massage her back

"no dad, I had to stop them, but they were stronger, they grabbed me, they pulled me up, I screamed, I promise you, I screamed as much as I could"

"Charlotte, you couldn't have done more than you have done, you could have survived, nothing that happened is your fault, nothing" he reassured

"I'm sorry, for everything, I'm sorry."

"you don't have to honey, everything will get better, I promise" he sighed sadly.
"do you want to go on later?"

Charlie shook her head and looked at him

"it's your decision Charlie, all in your own time"

"I can still smell that, it was the smell of them dad, I felt like I was choking, their hands were on me even before I went down, they wouldn't even let me see anything" she had straightened up in her place, as if she needed to be safe, Miles let go of her immediately so as not to press her to the contact fearing to make her uncomfortable or worse, scare her, but still without looking up from the floor she took his hand.

It was a gesture he hadn't expected at all but was infinitely grateful for, that she felt safe with him at this moment was important. He squeezed her hand affectionately and began to stroke her hair.

"they were laughing all the time, I could hear them even when they left me in the room even with the door closed, all they were doing was enjoying themselves" she had started to shiver noticeably, she felt like was living it again

"I was so cold dad, I thought they could at least give me a blanket but they didn't, I asked them for it but they didn't" even now I could feel the cold, I was in a kind of sensitive memory;
"when one of them came in I told I was cold, but he laughed at me and took off my shoes, my pants too."

"Char..."

"I tried to stop him, I used all my strength to keep him from taking it off but I couldn't, he just pulled it off and took it away, he said he'd be back for more later" she was getting really bad so Miles decided that was enough.

"honey, look at me, yes?" it took Charlie a while to get out of her mind but finally she did and looked at him.

"I'm so sorry daddy, I'm, I'm really sorry."

"no baby, you have nothing to be sorry about, it's been enough for today, you've done great" Miles held out his arms waiting for her to decide to come closer, when she realized looked at him and quickly moved closer, pulling her to his chest he held her until he felt she was a little better.

"you know, Bass and I have a few weeks off, we can do whatever you want, if you want to go out that's what we'll do, if you want to stay home that's fine too" he assured her, he wanted her to be the one to decide at this point because he really had no idea how to go about doing that

"I know it's early but and you can tell me no if it's wrong" again her voice started to fade away

"tell me and we'll figure it out" he smiled at her trying to give confidence

"I'm kind of hungry" she looked at the floor again "I'd like to eat if it doesn't make you mad"

"Charlie" he tried to keep the sadness out of his voice but he was really screwed all over if she was afraid to ask him for something to eat

"just a little, I won't ask for too much, I promise" Charlie had scared, as soon as the words were out of her mouth she feared had said something that would get her in trouble

"honey, if you're hungry it's perfectly fine, no one here is going to be mad about it, you don't have to promise anything''

''sorry'' she whispered faintly, she didn't understand why they didn't get mad at her, it felt so warm

''nothing like that, just tell me what you want to eat and we'll get it'' he smiled at her again, he wanted her to know he wasn't lying
"if you want we can do it at home or go somewhere, you choose and whatever you choose will be fine" he was letting her take control in small situations, at least to give her back some of the trust that had been stolen from her.
"I'd like to stay at home, if that's okay."

"of course it is, what would you like?"

Charlie just shrugged her shoulders, she didn't know what to order nor did want to risk it being wrong, besides as long as it was food she didn't care what

"ok, what do you say I go get some burgers?" he got a pretty excited look from Charlie so knew he was on the right track
"might as well get some fries and some ice cream, how does that sound?"

"awesome" her voice was clearly more animated.

"you want that then?"

"yes, please"

he gave her a kiss on the top of her head

"I'll go for it, you'll be fine staying with Bass?"

Charlie nodded and it was enough for him to leave the house.

Bass heard the door lock and was alerted, he turned to go into the living room only to find Charlie standing near him

"dad went food shopping, I didn't want to be alone but if you want I can come back" she motioned towards the living room.

"of course not Charlotte, besides I could use a few extra hands" he urged her to come a bit closer

"I don't know what I can help you with" she really didn't think was good for much in this state so she was worried that Bass would want something she couldn't give him

"in a lot, but right now I'm baking a cake, do you want to help me?"

Charlie knew he didn't need her help but it really made feel good that he wanted to include her, she didn't realize her thoughts had been triggered until he spoke again.

"Charlotte?" internally he was afraid to make her feel obligated.
"if you don't want to you can just stay here and have company" his whole being wanted to share moments with her but he wasn't going to get mad if she wasn't there yet so he was surprised when she looked up at him, her eyes had a little twinkle in them

"What do I have to do?"

He smiled and held out his hand for her to come over to the counter with him, when she took it without hesitation, he realized that he really wanted to do this

knowing that Charlotte didn't cook much he gave her the most basic directions like measuring, the flour, the milk, mixing things and little else, and good thing he hadn't asked her to crack the eggs because just measuring the milk she had made a little mess; as soon as she noticed that the milk had spilled started to get scared and as he was starting to pick up on her reactions quickly he could tell, determined that she wouldn't have a hard time making a cake he decided to show her that everything was fine.

"that's the reason I don't leave your father or you in the kitchen."
he began to laugh as she watched him, her eyes not missing a single one of his movements fearing what might come, by the time she realized he wasn't going to yell or hit, Bass, had already grabbed some flour that ended up on Charlie's face.

As she stood really still in her place he guessed she hadn't liked the situation and when he went over to help her clean herself up she lashed out with a soft giggle as emptied the rest of the flour over Bass's head, or almost, because her height really wasn't that much.

When he was able to get some of the flour off his face he looked at her and didn't expect to see the smile she was giving him, seeing her enjoy even for five minutes was all needed, he realized could do this with her for the rest of his life as long as she smiled at him like that.

They both continued cooking with all the mess on top of them, just as they put the cake in the oven they heard Miles come in, who as he didn't find them in the living room, where he had left Charlie, he headed straight to the kitchen to drop off the bags of food, he never expected to find them like that but it really warmed his heart.

"damn kids, I'm gone two minutes and my two kids..." emphasizing the two "make a complete mess" he immediately smiled at Charlie so she wouldn't freak out.

"we made you a cake so don't complain dad" replied Bass as he laughed at the face Miles was making at him

"that's great but now help me set the table" luckily the situation managed a funny tone and wasn't scaring her off

"oh no, we've already done it, it's your turn" Bass was really having fun teasing Miles and if it made her fun there wasn't much more to say

"and you're not going to help your poor daddy?" he pointed at Charlie with pure dramatics

"nope, I helped with the cake too, you're on" she gave him a small smile which he was so thankful for

"ok, ok, clean yourselves up a bit and sit down to eat" he walked over to Charlie and kissed her forehead just before she moved away to the sink in the same kitchen

Miles looked at Charlie and then at Bass

"thank you bro, I don't know how you do it but thank you" Bass smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder affectionately

"anything for her and for you, you know that."

They had eaten lunch in silence, simply watching her enjoy meal, they would never understand how anyone could have deprived her of her most basic rights, they still had so much to learn and improve but there was no doubt that they were going to do everything in their power to ensure Charlotte's well being.

Chapter Text

They had made it through the first three days, it was a short time, so she was not making much progress, her dreams were constantly disturbed causing to wake up in a panic and covered in own sweat, she still needed someone to be on the other side of the door while used the bathroom, but they had still been able to help her in every situation.

It was clear to them that it could always get worse and they noticed it from the second night, when they were both woken up for Charlotte's screams, aware that she had had a bad dream either of them would head to her room, the problem was that they would find it empty and following the sound of crying they would reach the sofa, the third night was the same, they had asked her the day before why she had not stayed in the room but she just shrugged shoulders.

for breakfast time the three of them had been awake for quite some time so it wasn't a big deal, they had decided not to talk about it while she ate just so as not to take away the one thing that still excited her, finishing they picked everything up and set out to try. They were still sitting on the kitchen stools so there was no escape.

"What's going on?" it was the first time the conversation was initiated by Charlotte and they could both tell the annoyance in her voice.

"we were going to ask you the same thing" Miles replied as he smiled sympathetically at her, it was an attempt to lighten the moment but it failed instantly, she seemed distant, angry maybe

"I'm fine, really"

"we believe you, we just want you to feel safe here" neither of them were going to buy that she was fine but they weren't going to contradict or pressure to say otherwise

"I do."

''well then, why don't you sleep in your room? you need to rest"

they could sense that she was getting even more upset, she hadn't felt that way in the first few days so it was new territory for everyone in the room

"i did, but i wasn't too sleepy and i got up to watch a movie, i fell asleep on the couch because of that" even she didn't seem sure what was saying

"it's okay Charlie, I just worry'' he had desisted from continuing the conversation because he knew she wasn't telling the truth nor was going to.

Without even looking at him, or Bass, she spoke very softly;

"Can I go to the couch now?

"yes, go."

Miles didn't want to get upset with her, he knew she was struggling but they had had these little breakthroughs before, didn't understand why she was backing down now, he just wanted to help her. He watched her for a few minutes as she pretended to watch tv, everyone knew her head was anywhere but on tv.

"let it go bro, she'll open up when can" Bass was also watching her and Miles, he knew exactly what was in his head at the moment.

"I know, I'm not going to push her, but if she shuts down on us we're going to lose her" he ran a hand through his hair and got up from the stool
"I'll work upstairs for a bit, let me know if either of you need anything."

Miles walked around behind the couch and up the stairs, for her part Charlie, who didn't miss him with her eyes, felt really guilty and when she saw him leave felt something else break in her.

Bass, who was still watching from the kitchen, sighed sadly, he was hurting for both Miles and Charlotte, needed them both to stay strong, watching them walk through limbo was sad enough.

"I'll start with lunch" he announced to Charlie "I'll be here if you need anything" all he received in response was a brief nod without so much as a glance.

Charlotte's tears had started to fall silently, had no idea what was happening on the television in front of her but preferred to pretend she did rather than have to face them, she knew that neither of them had bad intentions but with each passing day everything was getting harder, and knowing that they expected a lot from her really made feel useless, and as if that wasn't enough, the terrible pain in her lower back wouldn't leave her alone.

She finally fell asleep on the couch, only realized it when felt someone covering her with a blanket, she opened her eyes a little later to see Miles walking away towards the kitchen, without any encouragement she settled back down to continue sleeping.

Miles walked into the kitchen to find Bass still working on lunch, it's not like preparing a baked chicken was too much work but frankly he had found it hard to concentrate.

"hey, how's it going?"

"are we talking about lunch or your daughter?"

Miles knew that the tone his friend had used was more in jest than anything else so response was to roll his eyes, at that
Bass was forced to smile.

"she hasn't moved from where is, you'd imagine she hasn't said a single word" he shrugged

"yeah, I figured as much" he sighed loudly and running a hand over his face, he leaned on the counter right next to Bass

"What do you think?"

"nothing, I just..." his gaze went straight to where Charlie was "I don't know how to help her, I feel like I'm doing the complete opposite of what she needs"

Bass shook his head at he statement.

"that's not true, this is as bad as it is new for everyone, how could you possibly know exactly what to do? there is no way to make it better"

"I don't know Bass, she was making progress, the first two days at least had started to talk, she was trying to trust and I really believed that if that's how it was the first few days then it would be vastly better, I have no idea what to do" he admitted sadly

"neither does she" Bass looked at him and smiled sadly "you are doing well Miles, there is no script to follow and no one preaching absolute truth in this, you are a good father, you are all she needs right now"

"I don't know what we would do without you really."

"I know, now set the table" Miles rolled his eyes and before he did the requested thing turned to look at him

"she needs you too Bass" from the look Miles gave him before he started grabbing the dishes, Bass, knew he wasn't exactly talking about an uncle-niece style relationship they had always had as Charlotte grew up, there was more to it and at this point they both knew it.

He'd been silent, thinking about how that would change everything until he heard Miles call out to him.

"hey"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I was just telling you that I'll go wake Charlie up for lunch."

"yeah, okay" he still hadn't fully come out of his trance.

Miles walked to the living room and stopped right in front of where his daughter was, he didn't want her to keep pulling away from him but didn't know how to avoid it either, he gently ran a hand through her hair and called name

"Charlie" she barely opened her eyes and went back to sleep, Miles smiled, waking Charlotte had never been easy, that girl slept like there was no tomorrow and being able to feel something like she was before was encouraging

"Charlie, come on" he insisted, his voice was all affection, it wasn't in his plans to let her drift away let alone lose her again

"I'm sleepy" she murmured, Miles let out a giggle and continued to stroke her hair, she gave him a small smile between dreams, it was all he needed

"I know and I promise you can take a nap later but right now you have to eat" he wasn't giving her a choice, not only because of how much needed to feed herself, also because of how happy it made her

"it's okay" Miles laughed again because she still hadn't even been able to open her eyes yet.

"Charlie? you need to wake up now kid"

without any encouragement she sat up and opened her eyes, Miles was looking at her with a smile that was pure affection and she immediately felt even more guilty for bothering him before

"Let's go?"

"yeah, I just need to use the bathroom for a moment, is that okay?"

"of course it is, do you want me to come with you?"

"I'll be fine, go eat" thought about staying and waiting for her but since she didn't seem to move as long as he was there decided to go to the kitchen.

Charlotte got up as fast as she could and went into the bathroom, locked the door on the inside as a precaution and slowly took off her shirt, noticed that the pain in her lower back was due to one of the wounds had to heal, she hadn't forgotten but was embarrassed to have to tell her father or Bass, her shirt was noticeably wet from the slight infection in her wound which made it obvious, she decided to wash her face quickly and went to get a sweatshirt, once she had it on went straight to the kitchen, still wasn't walking fast so Miles, worried, was already waiting for her.

"ready?"

"Yes."

Lunch was already served, so they both sat down, Bass was waiting for them.

"did you sleep well?" bass needed to be able to talk to her, didn't care what about, he just wanted to hear it

"I did" Charlotte nodded

"that's great" he smiled

"yeah" Charlie wasn't able to lift her head, she wasn't even eating.

"Charlotte"

"I'm sorry" her words had a shaky tone to them, they both realized she was about to cry

"what's wrong?"

"I, I, I, no want you to be upset with me" she was still looking down, she really couldn't do anything else "it's just, just..."

"only what, Charlie?" they both had confused looks on their faces, again they didn't expect it to come out like this

"it's just that I didn't have a bed" her voice wasn't even above a whisper, and they knew she was talking about her time in captivity.

"Charlie..."

"I can't remember what a bed felt like, they only took me to one when..." her voice ended up cutting out completely

"when they were hurting you?" asked Bass, his anger walking to the tips of his toes and back again

"when they were important clients" admitted

"honey, they were paying you to make you do it?" Miles was confused, the word 'client' was the first time it had sounded in her

Charlotte just shook her head

"some days they would bring other men in and, and, and, they would say they were important clients'' by the volume of her voice and the shaking from tears it was almost inaudible

"it's okay honey, just one more question and we'll be done" Charlotte nodded as she tried to find some more below to look at

"were those people who came from outside hurting you?" neither was ready yet to use the exact term for what had been done to her

"yes, on the bed yes" she was silent for a moment trying to figure out whether to say more or not, since no one pressured or forced her, did so

"but the bed was upstairs, they only took me out for that, maybe if I was good they would give me some food" her nails dug hard into the palms of her hands
"when I was downstairs they would hurt me" she shifted uncomfortably in her chair, "all the time."

Miles couldn't process the fact that they had hurt her like that just with the promise of food, he felt his heart die right there, it was inhuman to even think about and this was just a part of it.

Neither of them moved from where they were so as not to scare her, both of them were dying to grab her and hug but maybe it wasn't the wisest thing to do. Bass was the first to speak.

"Charlotte, we're really sorry that you had to go through that, and we're also sorry that we didn't understand what was going on" he was interrupted for Miles

"we would never get upset about something like that honey, all we want to do is help you."

"your dad is right, we only care that you're okay, besides no matter how long it takes you, you're doing great."

"I, I, I, I'm so sorry" just then she looked at them again "it's just something too simple and I can't even, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Now that she was looking at them and could follow their movements, Miles decided to move closer, he held out his arms, just wanted to be sure she was okay with it so let her decide, when she moved closer to him he wrapped her tightly in his hug

"you have nothing to be sorry about daughter, nothing, absolutely nothing is too simple or easy, you don't have to worry about it, we'll figure it out" he assured, knew they would do it

"besides, you're trying and that's a lot" Bass told as he reached over the table to take her hand
"now I think we should warm up some food, why don't you guys go over to the couch and wait for me there?" Miles looked at him over Charlotte's hair
"we can have lunch watching a movie, it doesn't always have to be Friday nights right?"

"right" smiled Miles, he had no idea how Bass managed to get himself out of such difficult situations but he was really grateful. When Charlotte was a little better, they both moved to the couch to wait for Bass.

Miles noticed that Charlotte grimaced as she sat down, not wanting to push her further decided not to say anything, he guessed she was still very sore from everything in general.
As soon as they sat down, Charlotte, rested her head on Miles' shoulder.

"Don't go to sleep Charlie" he said as hugged her a little more, Charlie shook her head as he smiled.

A few minutes later, Bass arrived with the food which didn't last more than ten minutes, it was already quite late and emotions were playing against them.
Adding to the tiredness, the movie they had chosen was terrible and the three of them fell asleep too soon, Charlotte had settled down just to eat, once she finished she went back to snuggle into Miles' side.

Bass for his part was relieved that she hadn't shut down completely but he missed having her asleep curled up on his side, of course not that it bothered him that it was Miles, but needed to feel like he could take care of her, even in dreams.

The afternoon had passed quickly as they slept and if it hadn't been for Charlotte starting to shiver neither would have woken up, in fact the only one who did was Bass, had his instincts so primed and on alert when it came to her that he would hardly miss the slightest thing, he had sworn to himself that no one else would hurt her and he was going to stick to it.

He opened his eyes and sat up quickly, first looked for any sign of danger in the room, when checked that there was no one or nothing he turned to look at her, she was still sleeping, however did not seem disturbed for any dream or torment, he got a little closer and realized that she was not only shivering, she was also in a cold sweat, gently rested his lips on Charlotte's forehead and checked that she had a fever, too much fever.
First he took Miles' arm and gently moved it to wake him up, when succeeded after a few attempts immediately put a finger to his lips indicating him to be quiet, undoubtedly knew that Miles was about to complain about being woken up.

"What's wrong?" he mumbled still half asleep.

"Charlotte" he ran a hand through the blonde's damp hair "she's boiling, has a fever."

That was all he needed to be able to wake up at all, touching his daughter's forehead checked what Bass was saying.

"I'm going to take her to bed, she'll be more comfortable."

"I'm not sure, if she wakes up it will be worse" Bass knew it was necessary for her to lie down but also didn't want to do something that would hurt her even more emotionally.

"I know, I know'' Miles felt lost, when Charlie got sick before it was simple, all she needed was a warm bath, bed and medicine, also the odd chocolate that Bass secretly gave her, which did nothing to help get better but at least it made her happy, then two days and good as new, now he had no idea what to do or what had triggered the fever.

''We should wake her up, then we'll see how to proceed.''

Miles started talking to Charlotte in a very low voice, while gently touching her arm, it took at least five minutes for her to react, as soon as she felt awake realized felt terrible.

"I don't feel good" she mumbled still drowsy.

"we noticed, you're boiling honey" Charlotte's head was resting on Miles' lap while the rest of her body was lying on the couch, Bass had settled her in the second he woke up

"oh" was all Charlotte's response, they didn't even know if she was really awake, they both just stared at her not knowing what to do, a few minutes later she spoke again, the fever was taking its toll on her

"it hurts" she cried "it hurts so much".

"where does it hurt?" Bass limited himself to touching her for fear of reaction, as she remained silent he decided to press a little bit more

"Charlotte, you have to tell me where it hurts."

"my back" she admitted in an embarrassed whisper, they didn't know if it was the fever or she really was embarrassed

"that's fine" he tried to reassure her, "Charlotte?" he wanted to make sure she knew his every move "now I'm going to lift your clothes a little, I need to see your back, are you okay with that?"

Charlotte nodded, Bass didn't know if it was because she trusted him or because of feverish state but was still grateful that she let him, he moved a little closer and started to pull up her sweatshirt, as soon as did he noticed the wetness on her shirt, not wanting to take too long he also lifted her shirt exposing the wound that clearly because of the infection was causing her fever.

"oh god" hissed Bass and Miles quickly looked in that direction.

"Charlotte, how long has it hurt?"

Charlotte began to sob, she hadn't been honest in those days and was afraid of what might come

"I'm I'm, I'm sorry" she started to get up abruptly but Bass stopped her

"what's the matter daughter?" Miles didn't understand why she had started crying

"I, hm, it hurts so much, ever since I got home, I'm sorry'' she couldn't formulate the words right, she was scared.

"it's ok, everything is fine" Bass tried to reassure, "listen to me, yes?" without waiting for an answer he continued.
"we're going to clean and dress the wound, we'll try to bring your fever down, but if that doesn't work we'll call a doctor."

Bass went to the bathroom and fetched everything needed, it was a hell of a lot better if Charlotte agreed to go to bed but he was worried that offering it would be counterproductive, anyway decided to give it a try.

He walked over to the couch, where Miles was explaining how, Bass, was going to dress the wound.

"hey, Charlotte, how about we go upstairs and you lie down on your bed?"
Immediately she shook her head, Bass could already feel her start to cry.

"just hear me out, yes?" was going to try "you need to be comfortable and get a good rest, plus it's easier for me to ease your pain if we have more room"

"but they will come" she whispered, looking fearfully at Miles, who all he could do was stroke her hair

"no, they won't" he assured her "Charlotte, have I ever lied to you?

"no"

"well, I'm not going to start now" he smiled trying to reassure her.
"your room is your place, no one will hurt you there, besides we'll take care of you, can you believe me?"

after a few moments of hesitation, Charlie nodded as she sat up a little with Miles' help.

"all right then, let's go" Bass held out his hand and she took it very gently, they headed up the stairs with Miles at heels

They entered the room and Bass made Charlotte sit on the bed, he needed her to at least take off sweatshirt but didn't know how to ask, she was looking at him, her eyes looked so tired it hurt to see them

"Char..."

"I know" Charlie interrupted as started to take off her sweatshirt.

He gave her a small smile of thanks, when finished taking it off lifted her shirt a little, just enough so they could see the wound, she really refused to let them see anything else, everything felt too out of itself and the rest of the already healed wounds were still visible.

Bass took a seat next to her, trying to get ver to sit so that he could get behind to have a better reach her back, he knew that the best option was for to lie on her stomach but that was going to be the last resort

"first I'm going to clean your back with warm water, just a little, then I'll use alcohol, if you can't take it you have to tell me, ok?"

"okay."

Miles walked in with a small bowl of warm water, handed it to Bass and after kissing Charlie's forehead he left the room, for some reason knew she would be more comfortable alone with Bass at this time

"ok, let's get started" Bass announced and at the first touch of her skin, she flinched, from fear, pain or both, he couldn't tell "sorry, you can tell me if you need me to stop"

"no, just, go on" she tried to sound animated but failed noticeably, Charlie was still afraid of other people's touch but also knew that this was Bass, he wasn't going to hurt her, if only her body and head understood that, she wouldn't have to make him feel bad.

Bass nodded from behind her and continued to give small touches with the warm water cloth, by the time he finished wiping her she realized that in that position it was getting difficult.

"Charlie?"

"what's wrong?"

"I'm going to need you to lie down" she looked at him doubtfully "I need better access, it will just take a moment" he assured her, with a small nod and eyes full of fear, moved to the side of the headboard

"how?" she took a deep breath and he looked at her, "how do you want me to do it?"

"it would work better for me if you lay on your stomach, but it's your decision."

she began to fret where stood, the tears glistened for a moment before they began to fall, he couldn't watch her suffer and struggle so much, it hurt all for her

"Charlotte" he moved closer extending his arm for her to come closer, she looked into his eyes for a second and all he could see was her fear, her pain, not long after she threw herself into his arms

"it's okay baby, it's me here, no one else" he assured her in a firm yet calm voice as he hugged her.

"I just want to take care of you, help you feel better, I'm not going to do anything you don't want."

"I, I know, I just can't help it, I'm sorry."

"you don't have to, I just want you to know that you're safe with me, also with Miles"

"I know" she whispered into his chest, he wasn't going to let go.

"you know I'm not forcing anything on you, right?

Charlotte nodded her head, was too embarrassed, she didn't want to be afraid around them

"it's just..." her voice weakened immediately, Bass realized that she needed that so he waited for her, when she didn't keep talking, he did

"just what? you can say anything, everything is valid here."

"it's just, I'm ashamed to be afraid of everything, I, I" she took a deep breath as an impulse, "I don't want to be afraid around you two but I can't help it, everything takes me back to that place Bass, I can't even distinguish if I'm here or there, nor what my reality is, I can't know how to be the person you two waiting expect, I don't remember her either"

"I don't remember who Bass was, I just know that I am what they made me."

"no, you're not that, Charlotte" he moved her from him just so could look ay her, "you have nothing to be ashamed of, absolutely nothing."

"but"

"no, just listen to me" he tried to sound as soft as possible so as not to scare
"you are our Charlie, the same one who ran around the house in diapers, the same one who got sick all the time from eating chocolates on the sly, the same one who has made our heads hurt with every suspension at school and the same one who fills us with pride every day, we don't expect you to do anything, we just want you to be okay and feel comfortable here, at home"

"Bass" she cried even louder and he pulled to his chest again.

"shh girl, it's ok, everything is ok" he held her until felt a little better

"now, we need to take care of that wound" he whispered into her hair and she nodded, gently guided her to the bed and waited for to get settled.

When Charlie finished settling face down on the bed, he walked over and gently sat down next to her hip

"I'm going to lift your shirt" receiving a small nod from Charlie, he did so, tried to work on the wound as quickly as possible but it was so much fear and physical pain felt that it had been difficult, when he finished passing the alcohol set it aside on the side table.

"you need to let the wound air out, just for a little while" he said gently running his hand down her back.

"it's okay" her voice sounded different, he soon realized she was half asleep, when wanted to remove his hand from Charlotte's back, she grunted in protest

"it's ok, it's ok" he said as laughed, moments later and she was already sound asleep, so he got up, covered her up to where her back started and left the room without making any noise.

Miles was waiting for him downstairs, he didn't even give him a chance to say anything because he had already beat to it

"how did they make her so miserable, Bass?" he could tell right away that his friend had been crying, "I can't and won't understand everything they've done to her."

"you heard it" it was a statement

"I didn't mean to get too far away, I don't know."

"it's okay Miles, it's too much for everyone but especially for her, we're doing this right" he assured his best friend, it hurt like hell to see him suffer too

"we couldn't do it without you"

"I know" smirked Bass and Miles rolled his eyes at him.
"now, two things, I've momentarily healed her wound" Miles nodded

"and, she's asleep in her own bed" Bass smiled again but this time with sincerity, Charlotte's small progress was giving him the strength he needed for a new day.

"you've really done it, thank you bro"

"she's the one doing it, I'm just tagging along and so are you, don't sell yourself short."

Miles gave a small smile to his friend and headed for the staircase
"go to sleep Bass, you need your rest"

"I will, good night"

"good night"

Chapter Text

That was the first night the three of them had been able to sleep uninterrupted, it might have been exhaustion or Charlotte's fever but she hadn't woken up once and to their surprise, sleeping in their own bed wasn't that bad, in fact it was the most comfortable it had felt in a year.

They had fallen asleep early so they hadn't even made time for dinner, nor had they remembered to prepare anything.

As soon as Charlotte opened her eyes she was struck by the uneasiness that was still with her, she didn't realize that her fever was even higher than the night before, nor that it was still six in the morning, all she could think about was that she was hungry, she was a little embarrassed to wake Miles or Bass to tell them that so she thought she could find something herself.

She got out of bed to go straight to the kitchen, she lingered a few minutes thinking about grabbing something that they were not going to notice was missing, all the time they kept telling her that she could take whatever she wanted and whenever she wanted but she still dreaded the fact that they would get mad, she looked over the cabinets and never thought they could fit so many things.

To one side were Miles' favorite cereals, because yes, the boy had his favorites, then there were boxes of closed cookies, bread and god knows how many other things, everything was still packed so if he touched them they were going to notice, she decided to check the trash, as unpleasant as it would be for anyone else she had gotten used to it, she found a bag with some cookies, she figured if they were in the basket no one was going to notice they were missing and after all, it was still food.

She sat down on the stool that Bass always used to occupy, had been so focused on eating that she didn't even hear Miles coming down the stairs, he had woken up just to check on her and not finding her in bed he thought she would be on the couch, when he saw she wasn't there either, he felt the fear take over him until he heard her moving around in the kitchen a few seconds later.

He didn't want to scare her but when he saw what she was eating he couldn't help but raise the volume of his voice a little, he had discarded those cookies because they had been expired for at least two months and with everything that was going on he had just remembered to do it.

"Charlotte, what are you doing?"

Charlotte, who wasn't paying attention to anything but her food, froze for a moment when she heard her father, her eyes widened and breath caught in her chest, losing all control over herself she fell backwards, hitting the floor with a thud, before Miles could get to her she had crawled to the smallest corner of the kitchen, she pulled her knees to her chest, hugged them and hiding her face she allowed herself to sink into her own misery.

-------------------------------------------------
Trigger Warning//

She didn't need more than a second for the musty smell to invade her nostrils, she opened her eyes and the wave of pain hit hard, she had had one of the hardest nights since had been there, there had been so many of them in such a short time.
Everyone was touching, pinching, licking and forcing, no one listened to her as she cried out in pain begging for them to stop.

The cold chilled her bones, they only let her wear a bra and underwear, they told her she was too pretty to cover up, that it made things easier.
The floor beneath her seemed harder and harder and the hunger was killing her.

The only chance she felt had was when the man, who had hurt her the least so far, came in to leave her a bottle of water, crawling as best she could approached him and began to plead.

"I, I, I've been good sir, could, please could you give me some food, just a little bit, whatever is left over, please."

"so the princess is hungry" he leaned over to her and getting down to level began to touch her hair

"what would you be willing to give me for some food?" his smile was all evil and the darkness in his eyes made her shudder, when she didn't respond he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her close to his face, he brushed her lips demanding access to them, when she didn't give it to him he slapped her hard and dropped her again.

"Sorry baby, not going to be your lucky day" he left the room with a laugh, as Charlotte, still lying on the floor, began to cry.

Must have fallen asleep because when she opened her eyes again it was much darker, she guessed it was night and thought about what maybe could get something to satiate her hunger, some nights didn't lock her in, and hoped this would be one of those.

It took her a lot of effort to climb the stairs and open the door, when managed it, only had to walk a few steps to where the table was, a few steps behind there was also a refrigerator, when she opened it noticed that they had some things, not too many but enough to have something to eat.

She didn't want to take too long but it was a little difficult for to concentrate, she was so hungry that didn't think could take much more. She saw an apple, which could tell had been there for a long time and no one seemed to eat it, she didn't care, that apple was great. Could only take the first bite when she heard his voice.

you realize it's your fault that we have to hurt you right? if you were a good and grateful girl that wouldn't happen, I told you you could have something?"

Charlotte just shook her head

"you're being a very bad girl" his smile was disturbing.

"I, I, just, I'm sorry sir, please."

Her request was in vain, the second of the men was already behind her, pushing onto the table he began to pull her underwear down until she was completely exposed, it wasn't long before he forced himself inside her, she was being treated with such brutality as if was just an inert doll.
As Charlotte cried and begged him to stop, all he did was be rougher, minutes later he pushed away from the table, still inside her, to give access from the front to the other man, with every move Charlotte felt like she might die there.

Her ordeal that night ended a few hours later when after each and every one of them took a turn with her, she was thrown downstairs with only her torn lower underwear.

She was angry at herself for thinking the previous night had been rough, in her head they were right, stealing they food was wrong, she deserved it.
With no strength for anything else, she lay there on the floor, at that moment all she could do was pray, to whoever would listen, that this hell would end soon.

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Miles and Bass, who had woken up when he heard the knock, were desperate, she couldn't even look at them, it seemed like she wasn't there with them and whatever was in her head at that moment was just terrifying.
They never stopped talking to her in case she managed to hear them, by the time she did it had been over forty minutes and Miles was already thinking about calling a doctor.

"Charlie, daughter" he tried again, he had been trying too long to get her to react, at this point he really was worried and terrified.
"I need you to look at me, it's daddy sweetie" she seemed to register that last one because her gaze lifted a little bit

"I, I didn't mean to steal your food, I'm sorry dad, I'm really sorry" her words felt sad, with too much weight to them
"I haven't been good but I'll get better, I promise, don't punish me, please, I'll be good."

Miles looked sadly at Bass and walked over to her.

"hey, hey, honey" bending down to her height he reached out his hand to stroke her hair "I'm not mad, no one here is, you're a very good girl Charlie, you don't have to be better at anything, you're already everything, I'm not mad, I promise"

"I took the cookies and you screamed" she whispered faintly

"I know and I'm sorry, I don't mind you taking things but you picked something up out of the trash, those cookies were no longer edible, you might get sick and that's the last thing in the world I want, do you understand why I spoke out loud?"

Charlotte looked at him, "sorry, I was hungry."

"Why did you grab from the trash?" Bass needed to know.

"I thought if I could take something you guys wouldn't notice when I was missing you weren't going to get mad" she muttered embarrassed.

fearing to disappoint them, she spoke again

"I don't mind eating out of the trash, I really appreciate the food."

"oh Charlie" Bass sighed sadly.

"come here" still sitting on the floor next to her, Miles, pulled her to his chest hugging her "I don't want you to ever grab anything from the trash again, you understand? you can eat and drink whatever you want, everything in here is for you, you don't have to be afraid, if you get sick I don't know what I would do honey"

"I'm sorry."

"just promise me you won't do it again" I wasn't planning on leaving anything else in the basket either but I needed her to understand this.

"I promise"

"it's ok honey, now we should have breakfast, what do you think?" she looked at him and she gave him a small smile, "I'll take that as a yes" he returned the gesture.

Miles got up and in the process helped her up as well, then escorted her to the kitchen table and helping her sit down left her there while he and Bass moved around the kitchen preparing something worthy for them to eat. Without waiting for it they heard her again, her voice was no more than a whisper but there she was.

"It was nice to sleep in the bed."

The two shared glances and smiles before turning back to her.

"that's great Charlotte" Bass went straight to the table, leaving Miles to take care of the rest.

"glad to hear it daughter" he went back to the pancakes he was making, it couldn't be that hard to make, he guessed.

"how are you feeling?" Bass reached out over the table and took her hand.

"my head hurts, but better."

Reaching out his other hand he touched Charlotte's forehead.

"that's because you still have a bit of a fever, after you eat something you can take some tyenol."

Charlotte just nodded, she loved the way Bass took care of her but he was obliged to look out for her and she really felt bad about that, she blamed herself for being so weak.

Finishing with breakfast, Miles announced that he needed to stop by the office, as soon as he asked Charlotte if she wanted to join him he saw the terror in her eyes, he quickly assured her that it was no problem for her to stay home and in turn, Bass assured her that he would be by her side the whole time, grateful for this she gave him a small smile and sat down on the couch.

Once Miles left the house, Bass came over and sat down next to her, the TV was off but still she seemed to be super into it, they had fallen into a comfortable silence until finally Charlotte broke, she rested her head on Bass' shoulder and began to cry, he didn't hesitate for a second to pull her a little closer to him and hug her tightly.

"it's okay, let it out, you're okay, I'm here" he whispered into her hair as he gently ran his hand up and down her back.

"I'm sorry Bass, I, I don't even know what's wrong with me, I hate being like this, I'm sorry."

"hey, you have nothing to be sorry about, this is part of your process, you don't have to push yourself so hard baby."

"but how is this supposed to get better? I can't even distinguish between what happened and what's going on now, I can't stop acting like a fool"

"stop, don't do that" taking her chin he urged her to look at him "you can't blame yourself for anything they have done nor can you blame yourself for the time or the healing process, honey, you're not stupid, you're just scared and that's normal, you need to let it out"

"you guys don't even have a life now"

"we were losing our life when we didn't have you".

"but you two didn't have to deal with what I am now."

"What are you now, Charlotte?"

"this, I, I..."

"easy, you're still Miles' little daughter, and the most beautiful woman I've ever known, the very person we'd both give our lives for."

"Bass, I..."

"Charlotte, nothing is going to change who you are, not to me, not to Miles."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry Charlotte, I should have been there" Bass had felt guilty from the moment he lost her, usually he would wait for her when he was done at the office so not only did he take care of her they could also spend more time together, that week was the exception, the chaos at work meant that both he and Miles didn't make it home on time for a few days.

"no, you couldn't have known, I, I don't blame you Bass, I couldn't" her tears had started to fall again and Bass knew this was wrong.

"Charlotte, I believe you yes? now I know it's not my fault but I need you to believe me that it's not your fault either, that you've been so brave and I'm proud of you my girl" of course he still felt guilty but he thought she wasn't ready for that so he just thought telling her something comforting would make her relax.

When Charlotte said she couldn't blame him she meant it, she also wanted to tell him that he was the thought that gave her the strength to endure every day of hell but he didn't seem to want to hear that now so when he pulled away from her a little she took it as a sign and stayed in her place.
She had gotten so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Bass going to the kitchen and coming back to her with a glass of water and some tyenol so when he spoke she jerked a little.

"Here, here" he handed her the glass first, followed by the pill.

"thank you."

"mm, I need to finish up some office stuff, I'll be upstairs, will you be okay alone for a moment?"

With a small nod Charlotte assured him she would be fine, if she got even sadder he didn't seem to notice or so she thought, she was so afraid of doing things wrong she didn't even notice when she did them and now Bass had turned away because of her.

Closing the door behind him he allowed himself to break down for the first time since they had brought her home, absolutely everything hurt for her, not being able to care for her, not being able to find her for so long, not being brave enough to tell her that he loves her, that he loves her in so many ways he can't even explain it, that all he ever wanted was to keep her and protect her in his arms but that simply wasn't any good now, the damage was done and she could never love him again.

Bass decided to stay in his room considerably longer than initially planned so when Miles returned home he only found his daughter sitting in the same position and still watching the screen off.

"hey, Charlie, I'm home" he announced softly so as not to startle her, when she acknowledged him, he came around the back of the couch and dropped a soft kiss on her head.

"how have you been?"

"fine" he realized she was completely gone so he wasn't surprised when she didn't speak again.

"where's Bass?"

Before she could even attempt to answer, Bass, who had heard his friend arriving, came down the stairs almost in a huff.

"here, I'm heading out now, I'll be back soon."

"okey? everything okay?"

"yeah, of course it is, I just need to do a few things" with that last he simply walked out of the house, he didn't look at Charlotte because if he did he knew he was going to break down again.

He was so angry with himself that all he knew how to do was run away for a while, he needed to calm down because he felt he wasn't helping anything, he couldn't be weak in front of her, he wasn't the one who had lived through hell, he felt guilty for only thinking about himself worse still he couldn't help but leave the house, he wished he had known that his presence was enough for her.

At the house, Miles noticed Charlotte quieter and more lost than usual, he knew something had happened but she wasn't going to say it, so he just decided to sit down and keep her company, before long they were watching a movie and eating popcorn that Miles had prepared.

Charlotte's head was going a mile a minute, she was so scared that Bass wouldn't come back that she couldn't concentrate on anything else, it had been a few hours since he left and she was already exhausted so when they finished dinner and Miles offered her to go to bed she accepted without any hesitation.
She was scared, something had gone wrong with Bass and she couldn't even notice it.

Her father snapped out of her thoughts when he went to her room to check on her before bed.

"kid, how are you feeling?" he realized he hadn't checked her fever all afternoon.

"fine."

"sure?"

"yes"

"okay, rest" as he was about to leave the room he heard her voice, barely audible

"dad?"

"what's wrong honey?"

"um I was wondering..." she was rambling so much that it was already freaking him out.

"what's wrong? are you okay?"

"yeah, I was just wondering if I could sleep with you tonight" Miles didn't answer right away because it took him by surprise, of course he didn't care, the closer he had her the better especially without Bass in the house, it took him so long to answer that she started to get desperate.

"I, I'm sorry yeah? if you don't want to it's okay, it was a dumb question, I'm sorry."

"hey, none of that, I'd be very happy to have you around tonight, you're more than welcome"

"You really don't mind?"

"not at all daughter, besides it will be nice to remember our sleepovers" he smiled at her as he held out his hand for her to take.

Once in her father's bed Charlotte tossed and turned between dreams most of the night and if Miles sensed her he said absolutely nothing, he knew she was tormented so he would let her rest as much as possible, little did he know how scared she was still in her dreams.

Chapter Text

At another time in his life, Bass would have retreated straight into alcohol until he lost himself completely, but not tonight, not for too many nights now.

He hadn't intended to leave her, but the overwhelming feeling that went up his body simply wouldn't let him breathe, he managed fine the first few days but seeing her in so much pain, with so much fear and despair was too much, even for him who had seen so many things in his life, of course none of them had to do with her.

The feeling of guilt accompanies him from the first moment, when he knew that Charlotte would not come back everything in him wanted to give up, there was not a single possibility to continue his life without her, but then he understood and knew that he had to become strong, for her, for Miles and for himself.

With every call they received his heart stopped, he got his hopes up many times that she would be the one on the other end of the phone, he also feared many others thinking that it was a definitive call that would put an end to her life and his on the way.
He stayed strong because at the end of the day she was the one who was away from home and he would look for her until the world fell apart.

The night was clear, so calm as if within their lives there was not a constant loop of pain.
He waited long enough to return, seeing her sad eyes tonight was too much for him.

He stepped through the door, the silence hit him hard, the nights were hard now.
He had felt the need to walk away so as not to hurt her, that's why he left and he hoped she could understand, even if he wouldn't tell her. As much as he felt it was better to be away before, now all he needed was to see her, to be assured that she was still there, with them, with him.

He moved as quietly as possible, when he reached Charlotte's room and found it empty his heart skipped a beat, this couldn't happen again, without thinking he turned to Miles.
Bass did nothing more than open the door, he found Miles telling him not to make a sound, following the line of his vision he wanted to hit himself.

When he saw her his heart broke, she was literally curled up in her father's bed, she was fidgeting and terrified, he knew it.
If it had been another time, other years, he would have smiled, as a little girl she spent most nights in her father's bed, they could take her back to her own bed about twenty times and she would come back twenty-one.
Today he knew she was terrified.

Closing the door behind him headed to his own room, the emotions of the day and tiredness hitting him at once, he fell asleep as soon as leaned back against the pillow.

Charlotte had woken up exalted at least three times in the night so Miles wasn't surprised when she didn't want to get up in the morning, it wasn't too early but he still understood that she was tired, leaving his own room where he left his daughter sleeping he went down to the kitchen where Bass already had breakfast ready.

"good morning."

"hey Bass"

"Charlotte?"

"she'll stay in bed, she didn't have a good night."

"that bad?"

"Yes."

"Shit."

"Yeah, did something happen yesterday?"

"Why? Did she say something?"

"Bass, it's Charlotte, she doesn't say much."

"So?"

"please Bass, I came home and she was alone here staring at a screen that's been off for hours, I don't so much as set foot in the house and you come running out, do you really think I'm that much of an asshole to believe that's normal?"

"whatever you're saying I'm sorry Miles, just I needed a moment to myself."

"I'm not blaming you, I know how hard it is, I just want to know that you're okay."

"I am, and I'm so sorry being like this, just is too much, I don't think I'm capable of taking care of her and that hurts."

"For what it's worth, I wouldn't trust anyone else to take care of her, to keep her safe and most of all to love her; it's you for her, don't you see that, right?"

He looked at him for a second and saw the truth in his best friend's eyes, still shrugged, he wasn't being indifferent at least didn't mean to but he didn't know how to respond to that.

"Whatever, don't be so hard on you, either with her."

Miles sat down to breakfast in silence as he left a dazed and confused Bass behind, he had to do something about all this but he didn't know what, the only thing he knew for sure was that he wasn't going to drag Charlotte into something worse.
It took him a few minutes but he finally spoke again.

"so she slept with you last night, was she feeling bad?"

Miles looked at him hesitantly, but when he did knew right away that he was worried.

"partly yes, she still had some fever but I think she was more scared than anything else."

"I should have been here"

"it's okay Bass, you can't blame yourself for everything, she's still trying to process that she's home, that she's safe, with us"

"I know, I'll really do better."

"you don't need to do any better, god Bass, it's you and that's more than enough for her, it's more than enough for me too".

Bass nodded gratefully, he wanted so badly for Miles not to be wrong.

"I'm going to bring her up breakfast, still in your room?"

"That's right."

Unconsciously he had been arranging everything as thought so he had no choice but to put it on a tray and bring it up, knocking gently so as not to startle her he waited for her to respond, when she didn't he tried again, after the third attempt he announced to her that he was coming in.

Charlotte was in a state between consciousness and unconsciousness, she had had such a bad night that she didn't even have enough strength to get up, when she heard the knock on the door she knew it was Bass, he had such a particular way of doing things that she knew him as if they were the same person, still she didn't move. Nor did she when he said would come in, it really didn't feel right in any way.

Closing the door behind him he walked over to the bed, set the tray aside and focused on her, immediately he knew she wasn't fully asleep, before he began to speak he gently ran a hand through her hair.

"hey, good morning" she opened her eyes, keeping on her side still with her back to Bass, he watched her open them but there was no other movement.

"your dad said you were going to stay in bed, I thought having some breakfast would be nice"

Charlotte wasn't going to speak or move, she was scared, completely terrified, if she ever did anything to upset him again maybe he would be gone for good and that was the last thing she wanted, she thought maybe not having to deal with her would be enough to keep Bass happy.

"honey, look at me" when she didn't he knew wasn't going to get anything right now.

"I'll leave the tray here, you can eat whenever you want, I'll be downstairs if you need me" he stroked her hair one more time and left the room.

When Miles went up to see her and let her know he was going to the office the tray with breakfast was intact and although she was still awake she hadn't moved much either.

"I'll be back soon, I'll bring something for dinner, anything in particular?"

"I'm fine, thanks pa"

"ok but make sure you eat lunch".

Nodding she turned back on the bed, Miles left a kiss in her hair and walked out.

She tried to go back to sleep, was so tired her body wasn't responding to her, it was such a point that it wasn't that she couldn't even fall asleep, she tried to get up and go to the bathroom but her legs went weak under her, she held onto the nightstand so she wouldn't lose her balance, the dizziness was so much that a sudden urge to vomit brought her gasping to the bathroom followed by a surge of it.

Bass heard a knock on one of the upstairs doors didn't even think about it before he bolted for it, he entered Miles' room and didn't find her, then heard her.
Heading quickly to the bathroom he found her kneeling in front of the toilet as another wave of vomit hit her fiercely, crouching behind her he stroked her back comfortingly while, with his other hand, he held her hair until he was done.

When she finally seemed to stop, he moved a little to grab a towel, dampen it and help her clean herself, the moment his hand made contact with her exposed skin he knew her fever had worsened.

"oh honey, you're burning up" he whispered to her as he settled back behind her, taking her so she could lie on top of him.
He was startled when she didn't get a response but then understood better.

"Charlotte since when do you feel like this?" it took another moment before he decided to continue "it's okay, I'll call the doctor"

"no, that's not necessary" she whispered

"then I need you to talk to me, I'm worried" without waiting for an answer he repeated "since when do you feel like this?"

"um, I don't know, earlier today I guess" her voice sounded so weak that he had to make a huge effort to hear her.

"then why didn't you tell me? anything could have happened to you before I found you."

"I thought it would have passed before, but I'm fine now".

"we'll talk later, now let's get you to bed" the last thing he wanted to do was argue with her but he wasn't going to let it go either, her health was important.

"I'm fine" she repeated almost with annoyance, her voice was so weak it was only a poor attempt.

Realizing that again he was not going to get anything he decided to act, moving a little he positioned himself to hold her, then almost effortlessly he took her in his arms and carried her back to her father's room, the way she settled her head in the space between his neck and his shoulder, seeking comfort and security, was enough to understand that he was making a mistake, she really appreciated his presence.

Charlotte tried to hold still, the moment he carried her into the room made her feel so safe she allowed herself to relax, she knew that was all was going to get so when he gently set her down on the bed she quickly pulled away from him groaning in pain from the sudden movement.
"hey, take it easy, you need to rest, then we'll talk."

Nodding briefly she closed her eyes, all she wanted was to avoid a conversation about Bass apologizing just because he was worried or worse, just because he felt sorry for her.
The pain in her body, the tiredness and discomfort was so significant that it didn't take more than a few minutes for her to fall asleep, Bass didn't pull away for a second, her sleepy gestures looked worried, sad, silently he wondered if he had caused this.

As Charlotte's fever was rising so was his fear, it took everything from him not to take her and cradle her in his arms, he wanted to be able to give her some protection, something she was so deprived of but he also knew it wouldn't be wise, so he simply decided to busy himself with writing to Miles, he knew that came first but was so worried about her that it had simply slipped his mind.

Miles got home early after receiving the message, from the way things were going before he knew his daughter wasn't going to help herself, he had seen her as bad as the first few days so when his friend told him she was really sick he decided to go back.

He came straight to his room to check on her, finding his friend in a ball of nerves trying to bring down her fever that had gotten too bad while she slept.

"this is not good Miles, we need to get her to the ER".

"I've got the car running."

Almost as an unspoken agreement they decided Miles would drive them, so Bass took Charlotte in his arms trying to be as gentle as possible as he settled them in the back seat of the car.

Chapter Text

Their night had been chaotic, from seeing Charlotte in that state to taking her to the emergency room, staying calm and trying to understand what the doctor was saying had been too much for both of them.
On one hand they were relieved to know that physically she was recovering, that this had been a different collapse, an emotional one and that was where the worry completely washed over them again.

The doctor assured them that there was no physical reason for her illness, that everything that was happening with her was related to her emotions, sure she was still weak, with multiple injuries and undergoing nutrition but none of those were the actual causes.
Anyway it did not surprise them that this was the case, the last few days had been even more difficult for her and they were aware of that, especially Bass who was gathering all of himself not to collapse at that very moment.

They had to talk to her and take a course of action, they knew she needed to start therapy but they didn't want to force her either, they were so scared of making the wrong decisions that they felt as lost as when they lost her.

Miles needed to go to the office, things were in chaos over there too, since he and Bass started taking care of Charlie the company had gotten a little out of hand, there was nothing left but to organize again.
Bass assured him that he would stay with her, take care of her and anything would get back to him immediately, and as much as Miles didn't want to leave it wasn't like he had any other choice either, so he moved a little closer to her, kissed her temple and left the room.

Charlotte woke up feeling like shit, she didn't need to open her eyes to know she wasn't home, again, just hoped she wasn't back in that hellhole, she tried to move but her whole body screamed at not to.

Bass who had fallen asleep in the chair next to her woke up immediately when he heard her moaning, he opened his eyes only to see her disoriented in her place.

"Hey Charlotte" she was finally able to focus on him.

"How are you feeling?"

"like crap" Bass smiled at her answer, he expected nothing less.

"well, that's normal more I'd be worried if you weren't"

"when can I go home?"

"the doctor wants to examine you some more but soon I hope" he noticed that his answer didn't leave her satisfied so moving a little closer he spoke to her again.

"you scared the hell out of us, you know we need to talk, right?"

"About?"

"Charlotte" that particular way of saying her name, she knew he meant it.

"it's okay Bass, I'm fine"

"you keep saying that, look where we are."

"I'm sorry, it's okay?"

"you know that's not what I'm saying, I'm not blaming you, I'm just worried about you."

"why did you leave?" her voice became little more than a whisper

"oh Charlotte"

"no, I mean, it's okay you don't have to be here, I'm not your obligation"

"no, you're not, I choose to be here and you should know that"

"I know but it's too much"

"what thing?"

"I" she felt silly saying it and as if that wasn't enough her words also made her sound like a child.

"you? Charlotte, what are you saying? How can you even think that you are a burden to me?" he could every expression on her face and just as she was about to speak she was interrupted by the doctor who gently knocking on the door entered the room.

"It's good to see you awake girl" he gently approached to check her vitals, as soon as he was satisfied he stepped back a bit and examined her with his gaze.

"you know, you've given your family quite a scare" when she looked away, ignoring both the doctor and Bass, he continued speaking.

"I have to say I'm also concerned, there is no physical reason for your illness, your nutrition is going well and your wounds are healing in due time."

"then can I go home?" she didn't sound animated or anything forthcoming but Bass knew immediately that she was trying to run away.

"I want to keep you a few more hours for observation, and I've taken advantage of that to have a consultation with Dr. Maroney" when she showed no interest he continued.

"he's the psychologist at the hospital, I think having a talk with him might be helpful."

"Do I really have to? I'm tired nothing else, I don't need this" her voice, which was still not much more than a whisper, bordered on the line of annoyance.

"no, if you don't want to no one is going to make you but the longer I put it off miss the harder it's going to be later" he smiled as he watched her, "we'll do this, you agree to have a minimal conversation with the doctor and while you do I'll go prepare your discharge papers" when she nodded her head briefly he smiled at her again, also at Bass, who had stepped back a little to give her some privacy.

"I'll be back as soon as him done" leaving the room he gave a sympathetic look to Bass, who immediately approached her.

"You know, you're not obligated to do it."

"just that it would be okay for me to do it? I know, Bass, I know and I will."

He realized her tone wasn't anger, more like sadness and it broke him.

"you also know I can get you out of that bed right now and take the first flight to the Bahamas, right?"

Trying to lighten the mood was risky, he knew it could make her sadder or even annoy but when he looked at her he realized it was worth it because the smile that came out of her was a real one, one he hadn't seen for too long.

"you know that's all I want right?"

"then we're on the same page" winking at her he turned as the doctor knocked and entered the room.

"hello" he smiled "you must be Charlotte and you..."

"Bass" he extended his hand in greeting, at the kind but inquisitive look he received from the doctor, he approached Charlotte and gently kissing her head he moved to leave the room

"you'll be fine and I'll be just outside the door if you need me"

"thank you Bass."

Closing the door behind him he kept his promise and stayed there throughout, even when Miles arrived who catching up on his daughter told him to go to the cafeteria to wait, when he simply said he would rather stay there, Miles understood immediately.

Nearly forty minutes later the doctor left the room, as Bass hurried back to Charlotte, Miles was pulled aside by the specialist.

"Miles Matheson, right?"

"Yes, Dr. Maroney?"

"Exactly."

Formalities aside, Miles got down to business.

"How is she?"

"lost" he smiled kindly "she needs to work hard on her recovery, it's still early days but she's losing it."

Nodding in acknowledgement of his words he could only ask another question, one for which he wasn't sure he wanted an answer.

"has she told you anything about what happened there?"

"no, she hasn't said much however her gestures, her confused looks and her fear do it for her, that's exactly why she needs to start getting treatment and the family needs to be engaged as well."

Miles nodded again, anyone hinting that he was not committed to his daughter and her recovery was simply not to his liking.
The doctor must have noticed because his smile immediately unfolded.

"don't get me wrong Mr. Matheson, I know you are one hundred percent committed, but I know this can be very hard and sometimes families need help in these situations too."

"I know, I'm sorry, it's the fear of doing it wrong."

"there's no way to do it right either, don't worry there's no manual"

"thank you"

"I understand that in your family it's just the two of you."

"no, it's the two of us and Bass, that's our family" the annoyance was again noticeable in the edge of his voice, exactly the same as in his daughter, the doctor knew right away.

"yes I have noticed" he agreed "I will see her again next week, it is necessary that she doesn't miss any sessions".

"we won't and thank you" with a knowing smile the doctor walked away. Almost immediately he entered his daughter's room.

"hey kid" he greeted her but before she could answer the doctor returned with the promised papers so handing them to Miles he headed straight for her.

"you can go home" seeing her quick reaction to get out of bed he continued speaking "now, you need to take it easy, you need to attend all the sessions that are scheduled and above all you need to start taking care of yourself, otherwise in less than a week you will be here again and it won't be so easy, do you understand?"

"I do" she murmured and nodded her head briefly.

"Good, I'll see you soon."

As Charlotte changed into her own clothes they both shared a look, it was so meaningful they didn't even need words, they both knew that if things didn't start to change they were going to lose her.

Chapter Text

The trip home felt like the first time, it had been so few weeks since that, it was like déjà vu, once again to start from scratch, it didn't bother it just hurt and enough to feel sadness flood the three of them.

When they got home they felt like they were in limbo, no one knew what to say or do or even where to start, to everyone's surprise, including her own, it was Charlie who spoke.

"I'm sorry" her voice was barely audible.

"Charlotte" it was in unison, it was as if they had both coordinated to say her name with such affection.

"no, I'm really sorry and I'm trying even if it doesn't seem like it, I know it's tiring because I'm tired too so yeah, I'm sorry" and that was more than she had said in a long time

"listen, no one thinks you're not doing your best, we're not mad and we're not going to be mad we're just worried, from day one and in fact more than we've ever been in our lives"

"we want to help you and accompany you but you have to let us do it, you have to let us in".

"it just feels sad, you know, like I can never be myself again."

"what happened to you doesn't define who you are, it doesn't for us or anyone else, you've proven to be braver and stronger than anyone else, you've survived and you're here, home, with us, here"

With a small nod she began to move unconsciously.

"I'm a little tired, I'll come up"

"all right, we'll look for you for dinner"

"okay"

Charlie didn't even think about sleeping but as soon as she touched the bed she just melted into it, maybe the need to be close to something of her own or just tiredness but it felt good.

She only woke up when Miles let her know that dinner would be up in a few minutes, she really considered not going downstairs but thought of her father and his best friend, she had promised them would take care of herself and eating counted as taking care of herself, especially when it was Bass doing the cooking, that last thought made her smile, Bass's food was home.

When she got to the kitchen, where they always ate except on special occasions, both men were already seated waiting for her, they smiled when they saw her, they had been afraid she wouldn't come down.

As they began to eat they fell into a silence that wasn't awkward but it felt weird, again no one knew quite what to say or do so Bass broke the ice.

"Were you able to rest?"

It caught her off guard as she ate so her answer delayed a bit worrying them.

"Charlie?"

"oh, sorry. Yeah" just a 'yeah' didn't sit well, not with all the effort her family was putting in so before anyone could say anything else she spoke again.

"I've slept from the moment I touched the bed, so yeah, good" she gave them a small smile, the effort was a lot but maybe it was worth it she thought, the faces of those men lit up at her smile so yes, definitely did.

"That's great, I'll be the same way as soon as I get up there" Miles admitted as Bass grimaced, the worry and adrenaline still wouldn't leave his body so he knew he wasn't going to sleep at all.

Dinner was quiet, some chatter here and there, nothing too serious so it was fine, when they finished cleaning everything up, Miles announced that he was going to bed, he was really exhausted.

"good night, anything I'm upstairs" he kissed Charlie on the head and gently tapped Bass as he passed him.

"Goodnight" they both greeted.

They were still in the kitchen when they were left alone, Charlotte didn't seem to be very present so he waved his hand to get her attention.

"where's that head of yours?"

She lifted her head to find a lovely smile from him and inevitably it made her smile.

"I was thinking" she admitted.

"about?"

"everything and nothing, I think I'm scared."

Bass was surprised, he would never have expected such a confession.

"it's normal, it's all too much but you're doing fine."

"i don't know, you guys don't even have a life now and can't see me as a person, i know"

"what do you mean?"

"nothing, just, dad is dad, it was always the same".

"overprotective, unbearable?" he interrupted her, she smiled.

"sort of, but you've just changed."

"that's true, not having you has changed everything but I don't know where we're going with this."

"yes Bass, I know it's been hard, believe me I know"

Bass regretted saying it, of course she knew, she was the one who suffered the most.

"you're right, I'm sorry, I just want to understand"

"So am I, I mean, are you ever going to look at me like you used to?"

And he knew immediately what she meant, before he lost her they had been very close, so close that even Miles had noticed.

"Charlotte" he waited for her to look at him again, "it hasn't changed how I feel about you at all, I just don't want to push you."

"at least don't pull away."

Her answer surprised him in a way, he never wanted to walk away from her he just thought that was for the best but seeing how that ended he knew he had been wrong.

"I won't, I promise"

"fine"

"are you sleepy?"

"no, I've slept enough, I'm sorry for wasting your time, if you want to go to sleep I'll be fine."

"I'd forgotten you always talked so much."

Charlotte looked at him, seeing his expression she simply relaxed and rolled her eyes at him, at that Bass smiled victoriously.

"Come" standing up he held out his hand to her, when she took it he helped her up as well.

He led her to the couch, helped her settle in and turned away to go back to the kitchen, at the expression of doubt on her face he chuckled as walked away.

When he came out of the kitchen was carrying two glasses of slurpee in his hands, one cherry, Charlotte's favorite and one blueberry, Bass's favorite.
Charlotte's eyes sparkled at the sight, sharing slurpee with Bass had always been her favorite time of the week and that was a date they had set up on Thursday afternoons since she was little, she really didn't realize how much missed this until she saw it.

"Bass, how do you remember?" the hint of excitement showed in her voice, when she saw that it was her favorite flavor just couldn't hide it.

"I remember everything Charlie" they both looked at each other and smiled, she knew it was true it just took her by surprise.

"thank you, this is, this is great" leaning forward she gently kissed his cheek now that she was sitting next to him, Bass not knowing how to react simply smiled at her as he hugged pulling her closer to him.

"Do you want to watch a movie?"

"yes please."

"Do you choose?"

"No, it's your turn."

"Are you going to complain?"

"I promise not to" they both laughed, they knew she was still going to complain.

It took Bass over twenty minutes to choose a typical horror movie, the kind that scares no one and of course got all the existing complaints from Charlotte.

She had settled herself so well on Bass' shoulder that she barely felt when he moved to turn off the TV, she had fallen asleep shortly after the movie started so all the complaining from the beginning was out of effect Bass thought.

It took him a little over two hours to fall asleep but seeing her so peaceful over him made smile so with that last thought he finally managed to fall asleep.

Not long after two or three hours he began to wake up feeling the restlessness of the girl beside him, he didn't know at what moment her tranquility had been interrupted but whatever it was had her terrified.

All her gestures and movements expressed deep terror, at that moment she was sweating and shaking non-stop, a few words escaped into the air and he thought about how much he wished she never had to know.

He tried to wake her gently, his voice was barely above a whisper, the last thing he wanted was to scare her any more. He gently pulled away and, kneeling in front of her, began to shake her arm very gently.

Charlotte's eyes snapped open and, at the unexpected contact, she groaned and slid backwards on the couch, practically hiding in the smallest corner.
Bass looked at her painfully, she was terrified and hadn't been able to realize it was him in the room, his thoughts were killing him again, he had wanted to get away from her again just so he wouldn't cause her any more terror.

Charlotte was having a worse time than usual, her breathing couldn't flow, she stood there curled in on herself, her knees up to chest and her face buried in them as she completely choked, she wanted to ask Bass for help but didn't know how, every time she tried to speak her voice was consumed with fear.
She also noticed Bass' hesitation and knew he was pulling away, that she had pushed him away, she tried to react quickly, she felt desperate about the whole situation but her body didn't seem to want to cooperate so when she moved to get closer to him she lost her balance and fell forward hitting part of her torso on the table in front of her.

Bass hadn't wanted to get too close so as not to scare her any further, in fact he had unconsciously moved back a few inches, but as soon as he saw her fall he mentally reprimanded himself for not having done anything, putting that out of his mind he approached her almost immediately.

"breathe sweetie, you're okay, you're home" when she didn't respond he spoke to her again.

"I'm here, okay? No one will hurt you, I'm not going to leave you, you know that right?"

She nodded and moved slightly so she could look at him, he was there even after she had behaved in such a way, in her mind that was her fault.

"I'm sorry Bass, I'm so sorry."

"none of that, you freaked out and that's normal"

"I wasn't scared for you" her words were cut off as her tears threatened to come out again.

"I know baby, I know, we're fine" he assured her knowing what was crossing her mind, he knew the feeling quite well.

She just nodded, when she tried to move groaned from the pain in her already bruised ribs, now with a new bruise.

Bass noticed immediately that she was clutching the side of her abdomen tightly so draping his arm around her waist he helped her up leaving her gently on the couch.

"Where does it hurt?"

She looked at him, couldn't decide whether to answer or not, she had already caused too much drama.

"Charlie? Tell me where it hurts"

"I think it's my ribs"

"had they stopped hurting?"

"just a little, only now I think it's gotten worse"

"yeah, that was quite a blow."

"I know."

"will you let me see?"

Charlotte looked down, he could see the hesitation in her movements however her small nod surprised him.
Gently lifting her shirt she let him touch the slightly part of her torso, he was so gentle with his movements that she allowed herself to relax a little.

"I think they are just a little more bruised so it will be fine with some ice, but if it still hurts you need to tell me"

"I will" she agreed.

"good, now let's get you to bed" she wanted to protest but he still wrapped his arm around her waist again and putting most of her weight on it helped her up to her room, once he helped her lie down he pulled away to look at her.

"will you be alright if I come down for a moment to get the ice?"

At another time she would have resented such caution but she knew his concern was genuine so she tried to be helpful to him, at least with words, she felt useless that couldn't even take care of herself.

"I'll be fine, you don't have to worry."

"you're perfectly fine just with all your broken ribs" he smiled at her hoping she understood he was joking, Charlotte looked at him and laughed lightly at his expression, the thing is it only lasted a moment until she felt her ribs groan causing a small cry of pain.

"it's ok, it's ok, stay still and try to relax, I'll get the ice and come up" he turned quickly to leave the room but felt the sudden, but constant, need to be close for a moment, so standing next to her he moved her hair to behind ear and kissing her forehead he finally decided to leave.
Charlotte looked at him again but was not surprised by his gesture, in fact she appreciated it, it made her feel a little more human every time she had him around.

"Bass? just, thank you" could have said so much more but she didn't feel up to it.

"none of that, I'm here remember?" when she gave him a small smile he continued on his way, just outside her door he turned to her.

"And Charlotte, I always worry about you."

Chapter Text

Found himself going up the stairs as soon as he had come down them, everything about him screamed concern and need to be close to her, it had always been like that but in the last while and especially with the last events it had simply increased.

He returned to her side placing an ice pack on her abdomen, had hesitated about approaching her directly and doing so but when she saw him coming she lifted her shirt giving him access, at another time this would have been nothing but today it had required too much work on her, too much fear, too many emotions.

In the few minutes Bass was out reach her head went round and round as if on a loop of no return, she wanted to talk to him just didn't know where or how to start.
When saw him enter her room, knowing his every gesture, she knew needed to show him she trusted him, so giving him access to her wound seemed like a good move.

"So it's okay?" Bass snapped her out of her thoughts wanting to confirm that the ice wasn't hurting her at all.

"Oh, yeah, fine"

"Good."

Bass was sitting next to her, almost next to her hip, facing her, trying to decide his next move, he wanted to stay but wasn't sure if she was in the same situation.

"I couldn't even remember who I was, they wouldn't let me do it."

That was a statement, it might seem like nothing but to Charlie at that moment it was everything, she paused to look at him but it was too much, she didn't want to see the feelings cross Bass' face so looked down and tried to decide if it was okay for her to continue.
Bass was dumbfounded, he hadn't expected her to want to talk and in a way it shocked him, still he didn't interrupt her, thought about letting her take her own course but as soon as saw her pull back took her hand and rubbing circles on it urged her to continue.

"I tried you know, but they wouldn't stop, I begged and begged but they wouldn't, I can still feel their hands on me, their laughter, their bodies, I can't get rid of them, I can't forget them even if I try" she didn't realize was crying until felt Bass gently wiping away one of her tears.

"I don't need to sleep to feel them but when I do it's even worse, they don't stop and I need them to stop, Bass" the need and fear in her voice broke his heart.

"Oh Charlotte."

Something in the way he said her name or the way his hand was still holding her trying to contain her, something made the guilt break through causing her to be in a state of despair.

Bass immediately noticed the sudden change in her, yes, she had been shocked and sad but this was new.
Not long after he had her in front of him, kneeling on the bed begging him to forgive her.

"baby I need you to breathe, can you do it?"

"Bass I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, can you forgive me? Please?"

He didn't know if she was talking about this moment, her months away from home or everything in general but there was nothing to forgive and he needed her to know that.

"you don't have to apologize for anything, you've done absolutely nothing wrong."

"I have and I'm sorry, please."

If there was one thing he couldn't stand it was having her begging for forgiveness, she didn't deserve that misery.

"Charlotte, let's just calm down and breathe, we're fine, okay? I have nothing to forgive you for."

"I asked for it, Bass. I did it."

"What are you talking about?"

"about what happened, that was my fault" Bass looked at her with all the pain he had inside, again, she didn't deserve this, he wanted to speak but a choked sob coming from her stopped him.

"I, god I really didn't mean to but I was so hungry."

"Charlotte, breathe"

"I can't, I need you to forgive me."

"there is no..." a choked cry interrupted him.

"don't say you don't need to forgive me, you don't know what I've done, you don't"

"listen to me, I need you to breathe, there is nothing in the world that can change the way I look at you Charlie"

"you don't understand, I agreed to do it, I was hungry Bass, I'm sorry"

He never thought a heart could break so much but when he heard her words, the pain and regret in them just lost him, he couldn't understand how anyone was capable of causing so much hurt, to anyone but especially his Charlotte.
Between many many pleaded apologies he felt her voice fade so he knew she was exhausted, when he looked at her again he saw complete defeat on her face, complete sadness.

"Charlotte, you didn't choose anything that happened to you, they didn't give you a choice, you survived and that's all that matters."

"it's not enough, I shouldn't be here."

"don't ever say or think anything like that again, you are home, we want you here, I want you here."

"that can't be true, I don't even want to be with myself, I don't want to live like this".

"I'm not going to tell you how hard it is because no one but you knows but look how far you've come, you managed to get out of there, you didn't even need us for that, you did it all by yourself, remember?"

"not really, but I don't want to do it alone right now."

"you won't, I promise"

"I'm losing my mind"

"that's not it, you're trying so hard it's just too much to bear on your own, but it doesn't have to be like this, I'm here for you and so is your dad just let us be"

A small nod was her response but he couldn't blame her, she was calmer now but exhaustion was taking its toll, realizing this he helped her lay back down gently putting the ice pack back in place.

"plus you have your doctor, he'll know how to help" trying to reassure her was the least he could do.

"But what if the therapy doesn't work? What if I screw it up? I don't think I can."

"You've been able to handle so much Charlotte, this is just one more test, besides, we'll keep going as long as you feel comfortable."

"I'm scared"

"I know, I'm terrified too"

"for me?"

Bass nodded briefly running his hand down her cheek.

"I don't want to lose you Charlie"

Unable to speak she took his hand and causing a small tug urged him to get up. Bass looked at her blankly but still stood up.

"Charlotte?"

"I don't want to lose you either" she searched his eyes "can you stay with me tonight?"

"are you sure that's what you want?" Charlotte nodded and moved to give him a place on the bed.

"I can't promise how well this will go but I really want you to stay."

Without saying much more he took up the space she was giving him, beyond the night they had had this was a huge breakthrough, he never thought she would ever trust him like that again. Smiling he kissed the top of her head.

"You're not going to lose me," he assured her, resuming the forgotten conversation.

"fine" she agreed already almost asleep, her eyes had begun to give way a few moments ago.

Bass looked down at her and settled her in for a hug.

"rest Charlotte."

He would be lying if he said he was able to sleep that night, Charlie's words repeated over and over in his already exhausted mind, he knew this was hard and that she was struggling but he never thought to hear her say she didn't deserve to be alive, letting the fear break through and take over him, he hugged her even tighter, at least tonight he had the security of being able to hold on to her.

Chapter Text

If Miles noticed the closeness of the two that morning didn't even mention it, he knew how difficult contact was for his daughter right now so he wasn't going to ruin it, any progress she had would make him happy, smiling to himself looked in the direction of where he knew in minutes she would appear, he was waiting for her after her therapy in the car, while it was parked right in front of the entrance this was also progress, the previous days he had had to walk in with her all the way to the waiting room, so yes they were on track.

Knowing exactly what time the session ended he got out of the car and leaning against the passenger side door decided to wait for her, he smiled when saw her, she seemed quite animated and that was saying a lot especially when they were away from home, she had only left to go to the hospital and her therapy and in the latter she was always nervous and cautious, he couldn't blame her, every time they set foot outside the house he could feel his own heart rise in his throat, it's a matter of time he told himself each time.

Charlie slowly walked over and hugged him, he cherished and enjoyed every moment with her and these were his favorite, as held her in his embrace he thought to himself that a little more time away from home might be good for both of them, Bass was at work so today was just for the two of them. Pulling away he looked at her searching for anything in her eyes that would tell him he shouldn't say what was about to, as he didn't find it he did.

"what do you say we go to lunch and you tell me how your session went?"

Charlotte looked at him in surprise, they hadn't left the house for anything but her therapies so wasn't expecting it.

"you're not obligated to say yes" he smiled at her trying to give confidence so she could be honest, if she was scared enough they would just go home.

She was terrified and knew he could tell but he was so understanding of her that she still wanted to try, going out to eat with Miles was one of the things missed the most, they used to do it every chance they got and although their initial plan was to try a new restaurant each time, they always ended up at Charlotte's favorite, the same one he was planning to take her to now.

Miles was sure that, after such a moment of doubt and hesitation, she was going to say no but he was pleasantly surprised when she smiled at him and nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"yes, I am"

"then let's get going" drawing her back to him, hugged and gently kissed her forehead, he waited for her to get into the car and closing the door he headed for his own seat.

As soon as they arrived at the restaurant Charlie's eyes lit up, every time he or Bass remembered something even she couldn't it made her that much happier.

Once they got inside and chose a table they set about reading the menu, Miles was clear that his daughter was going to want the same old burger so when he saw her hesitate at the burger part he knew she couldn't remember.

"I guess you want this one" he spoke quietly to her pointing at the menu, he watched as her eyes focused on the one was marking then darting to the floor, she was completely embarrassed that couldn't even remember what liked on a food menu.

"sorry dad" she mumbled in an almost soundless manner.

"None of that, you're here to enjoy yourself"

He reached across the table to take her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze he urged her to look at him.

"it's okay if you can't remember things, you have too much in that head of yours daughter, give yourself time because all the processes you're going through are difficult"

He didn't know if she was going to say something or not but at that moment a waitress interrupted them to take their orders, as soon as they finished and she walked away Miles spoke to her again.

"I want you to enjoy yourself honey"

"I know and I'm sorry, I really am"

"it's okay kid."

The moments of silence really worried him, she could be living a memory or just closing in on herself, her doctor said it was part of the process but it still kept scaring him every time. He was widely and happily surprised when she looked at him and spoke.

"hey pa"

"yes?"

"do you think we can order dessert?"

Miles looked at her and saw the excitement in her eyes, he smiled to himself because that really was his daughter and anything with sugar in it got her excited.
He remembered how much fun ordering time was every time they went out, she had as a companion a good long list of arguments as to why dessert should come first, a list that clearly over the years she perfected so on more than one occasion she knew how to get her way by having dessert before anything else.
He didn't know if she remembered it but today for today he wanted so badly to see her smile like she used to that he would let her have fifty of those if had to.

Lost in those thoughts he didn't notice that Charlotte had started to get a little restless, the lack of immediate response made her nervous fearing she had done or said something to make him angry.
She was quick to speak again with the intention of fixing anything had created.

"Just a small one please, I won't ask for anything more"

"you can have whatever you want Charlie, the biggest one in the world if it makes you happy"

"really?"

"of course it does, you can have it all"

"I thought you were angry"

"there's no way I am, just thinking you must be the most dessert loving person on the face of the earth" she visibly relaxed and nodded with a small smile

"of course I am, dad, there's nothing tastier and healthier"

"yes, well, let me doubt the healthy part"

"no, if they weren't they wouldn't carry fruit some"

"precisely the ones you, my girl, eat have no fruit in them, only chocolate and chocolate, and plus chocolate"

"the cocoa from which chocolate is made comes from a plant so it's still healthy"

"I won't win this, will I?"

"no daddy, sorry" she smiled just as the food arrived at their table, when the waitress walked away she spoke again.

"a millionaire invention would be a restaurant where they serve you dessert first"

Miles was surprised but still nodded in amusement.

"you remember?" she nodded, "you were insufferable with that list" Miles continued.

"I know but it's still valid"

"sure it does, now eat" he said pointing to the plate in front of her.

They had occasional talks here and there as they ate so when they finished and were waiting for Charlotte's long awaited dessert, Miles took the opportunity to ask more.

"How's your therapy been today?"

"fine"

"just fine?"

"uh-huh"

"Charlie"

"it was good, he wants me to tell him things" her gaze averted in embarrassment.

"you were able to do that?"

She shook her head before speaking again.

"I tried but it's not easy"

"of course it's not, you know, everything is with time"

"I know" she sighed "he wants to know if I remember what happened and of course I do dad, there isn't a single moment where I don't remember"

"sorry about that honey"

"last night I got scared being with Bass, I couldn't even recognize him"

"I'm sure he understands"

"yeah, I know he does but I don't want to live like that, I don't want to have to freak out when it's you guys by my side"

"it's not your fault, you're trying to deal with everything that happened and that's never going to be easy"

"it's exhausting not knowing if I'm there again or home with you, knowing that there is always the possibility that my head will take me there is terrifying"

"it's not always going to be like this daughter, you are being as strong as you can, you need time to heal, to get back to your life and while that happens let us take care of you, let us be a part of what you are going through, we are always here"

"I know, it's just harder sometimes"

"I know it is and there's no pressure at all, just look us up whenever you need us, even if it's ten times in a minute"

"that's fine, thanks dad"

"none of that, you can be as grown up as you want but you will always be my little girl and I will always be your daddy's heavy" he smiled mischievously giving his sentence the finishing touch.

"oh and I'm fine with that"

"with me being heavy or the other thing?"

"really? With everything."

She smiled for a moment, but the way he arched his eyebrows always made her laugh so she didn't hold back and burst out laughing. He looked at her fascinated, if he had ever been told that someone else's happiness would make him happier than his own he wouldn't have believed it, when he had his Charlie for the first time realized that she was everything, her happiness, laughter, fear, pain, everything about her was more important than anything and everything at the same time.
He was her completely, she made him human, she made him live.

They were interrupted again by the waitress with their desserts, Charlotte ordered a slice of chocolate cake and Miles followed her and ordered the same, he really preferred a fruit salad or something fresh but he really wanted to see the look of excitement on his daughter's face when he gave her his and he wasn't wrong, she gave him the biggest smile could.

After paying and leaving the restaurant Charlie insisted on walking around a bit, while he loved seeing her so animated was afraid was pushing herself too hard, still with all the worry on him he agreed, he really didn't want to make her feel bad or discourage her so would take the risk.

The first two streets were okay, there were people but not too many to affect her, plus she had been distracted looking at each and every store, it had been a long time since the last time she took a walk and frankly it was a little sad to see her appreciating every detail as if she was trying to remember everything in case they ever stole it again.
Miles didn't stop watching her for a minute, while she was amused looking around the stores he didn't miss the way she scanned her surroundings every few seconds, let alone the way she kept getting closer and closer to him, he held her so close could feel her flinch every time someone walked past her. He couldn't blame her, he felt the same way, even restrained himself from holding her hand at every turn.

When they crossed the street it was a different story, the amount of people was overwhelming and right away he felt her tense up side to him, cars were coming and going both ways but it wasn't until one stopped almost next to their that she got really bad.

She had made a huge effort to stay calm but the memory of the van slowing down side yo her and taking her really made her frantic, if she had been alone would have bolted in either direction.
Miles noticed her change and reacted quickly, when she wanted to run he simply stopped and hugged her, she was shaking and her legs didn't seem to cooperate so he held her firmly. The people around them were not oblivious to the situation but Miles couldn't care less.

He hoped she would be the one to decide how to take it from there because in all honesty he had no idea what to do, the only thing for sure was that wasn't going to let go of her. He let out a sigh when heard her speak.

"can we go home please?"

"sure we can" he pulled back a little so could see her face, she was completely pale.

"do you feel well enough to walk to the car?"

"I think so" her voice trailed off with each tear.

"okay, we'll try, okay?" when she nodded he kissed the top of her head

"I won't let go of you, okay? I'll keep you with me, I promise, but if you need to stop you have to tell me, okay?"

"I will"

He really didn't let go of her for a second, as soon as they started walking back to the car he put his arm across her shoulder and pulling her in he hugged her until they arrived, it didn't take them too long but on more than one occasion he made them stop to make sure she was okay.
When they reached the car he had her get in and as soon as could he settled in beside her.

"how are you feeling?"

"I don't know, but dad I'm so sorry"

"you have nothing to be sorry about, you put in a huge effort and for the most part it went well"

"but I messed up at the end, I embarrassed you"

"hey not that, never. You could never embarrass me in any way" he took her chin to get to look at him

"you didn't ruin anything, we had an amazing day, right?"

"yeah but..."

"but nothing Charlie, you don't know how proud I am for all that you accomplish day by day, this has been a lot"

"I was just so scared" she admitted sadly.

"honey, believe me, you weren't the only one"

"you too?"

"of course baby girl, you don't know how hard it was for me not to hold your hand at every moment, I was terrified"

"why didn't you say so?"

"because I want you to be able to choose what to do and what not to do, you wanted to walk and we have done it, the next one will be better, you'll see".

"are you still looking forward to the next one?"

"of course I do, I'm looking forward to thousands if it's with you girl".

"I'd like that too"

"then we have not one date, thousands"

"yes"

"do you want to go home?"

"yes please"

"on it" he assured her

When they got home Charlotte was exhausted, the emotions of the whole day seemed to be getting to her so she decided straight away to lie down on the sofa.

"you'll be more comfortable in your bed"

"I know but I don't think I can make it awake" Miles chuckled, the Matheson dramatics were showing.

"get some rest"

"yes, thank you" she settled in even more as he covered her with a blanket.

"and thanks for today, it's been great, next time I'll do better, I promise"

"you don't need to do any better let alone promise, your company is good enough for me"

"I love you"

"and I love you honey"

It wasn't long before she fell asleep nor much longer until Bass got home, when he saw her sleeping on the couch he knew she must have had a hectic day.

Coming straight into the kitchen where Miles was drinking his second cup of coffee, he poured himself one own and sat down across from him.

"long day?" he motioned toward the couch.

"you can't imagine"

"pretty bad?"

"not really, we had a great time but at the end she was scared out of her wits"

"what made it bad?"

"everything I guess, the amount of people was too much but it culminated with a car parking right next to us, must have sparked some memory"

"they ruined she"

"yes they have" he sighed, running a hand over his tired face "she's trying so hard and she was so happy today, in a second she's lost it completely"

"we don't know what she's been through, the smallest thing can trigger a memory"

"I know, but it's so sad to see her blaming herself for everything, I just want her to be happy"

"she will be, brother, but for the moment let's just enjoy her little breakthroughs, we need her to talk to us"

"yes, she is holding back too much and it worries me, is having such sudden changes in her emotions, it scares me that she is pushing herself too hard to please us"

"yes, I've noticed that too" getting up he set his cup down on the table "if you agree tomorrow we could try to talk to her, maybe get her to tell us something"

"I think so, let's just not push her"

"of course not" he assured, he knew Miles was having the same or worse time than he was.

"why don't you go upstairs and get some rest? I'll cook dinner"

"are you sure? You cooked yesterday too"

"go ahead"

"thanks brother"

"always"

Chapter Text

It was a difficult two weeks, some days more than others and some even more than that, they were all clear that it was part of the process but that didn't make it any easier and they were tired, tired because it hurt to see her like this, tired because she couldn't get herself to feel better.

They tried to get her to talk, to give them a place, but she wasn't ready and it turned out that Miles was right when he thought she was pushing herself too hard, the day after they left together she had been even sadder and if they hadn't encouraged her she wouldn't even have bothered to eat and that was the same until now.

Charlie had started having two sessions a week so she was ending up even more tired than usual, her doctor had spoken to Miles expressing concern that wasn't making any progress in her recovery, Miles couldn't blame her, everyone seemed to be regressing.

The last few days, Charlotte, seemed to have too much to think about, her movements were calculated and meticulous, she didn't speak unless it was really necessary and if she had a choice, wouldn't have eaten at all either. She had spent most of time alone in her room so it was really a surprise when she came down to breakfast with them.

They both stared at her as she approached, the dark bags under her eyes a clear indication that she hadn't slept and had most likely been crying.

"morning" she greeted them almost sheepishly as sat down across from Bass, right next to Miles

"good morning Charlie" both of them, almost in unison.

"want some breakfast?"

"not really"

"you have to eat" if there was one thing Miles wasn't going to allow her it was to let her get sick, if it was necessary to force feed her he would do it.

"it's ok" she really had no intention of arguing.

"I'll get you something"

"thanks Bass"

He had almost everything ready for Charlotte so just had to arrange it in front of her. He poured a cup of coffee, with cream, her favorite, some fruit and some toast, he tried to make it light but still feed her well.

She smiled at him as he sat down across from her again.

They both watched her eat, it took almost as long as the other times but at least she had eaten just over half of her plate.

"You know we need to talk, right?" Miles wasn't being demanding but he was using the tone she recognized when things were serious.

"yes" the resignation was evident in her voice.

"couch?"

With the barest of nods she got up and went straight to the couch, positioning herself in the far corner.

She decided to break the silence, needed to take that momentum or she would just quit.

"I know things aren't right and I'm sorry, it's costing me quite a bit more than I thought it would."

"we're not here for you to apologize, we just want to know how to help you"

"I know."

"we are worried"

"yes, I'm sorry about that and everything, the last few days have been difficult"

"we know, honey"

"it's like every move I make, every step I take is taking me back there and I can't take it anymore"

"you know we would never let that happen, right?"

She nodded, her gaze went straight to the floor, as if she was about to confess to a crime.

"is that, god" she took a shaky sigh "when I sleep I can still feel them inside me, I can feel how my body aches and how terrified I am. I try to make things different but when I wake up nothing changes, the pain is there, the fear too and I don't know how to deal with it."

He didn't want to interrupt her so when she was silent, Miles, gave her a light squeeze on the shoulder urging her to keep going.

"when I got there, the first night, I thought nothing could be worse than that, it was terrifying, then I realized it could always be worse, in fact every day it was, with every moment it hurt more and if I wanted to rest they wouldn't allow it, they said it was fun to hear me cry, that it turned them on" she swallowed heavily "I tried not to, I didn't want to cry but I couldn't help it, not once"

"you got scared and your body reacted as it could, it's completely normal."

"but it wasn't normal the way they made me feel, I came to believe that I deserved it, sometimes I still believe that".

"no baby girl, that will never be like that, you have to know that none of that was your fault, not the way you are going through the process, not the time it takes you, not anything you are living, much less the things they have done to you, it is not your fault and never, listen to me, no one will ever deserve something like that, least of all you angel"

"you can't judge yourself for how you're going through it, it's important that you start to see all your breakthroughs as huge because it really is, everything matters"

"they, ugh, they"

"it's okay, it's okay"

"it was horrible, the nights were scary and very much so, I never knew how many I would have to be with, but, god the showers were even worse" she stirred uneasily, just as she was about to get up, Bass, stopped her by gently taking her by the hand.

"You're doing fine Charlotte"

Charlie hesitated, but still sat back down next to them.

"if you want to keep going we're here"

"Every night when they were done with me they would choose who was going to shower me, the first few days I begged and pleaded with them to let me do it myself, but I always made it worse" she looked down at the floor trying to find the strength in her voice.

"they would put me in a bathroom, under the shower and there was always more than one with me, if it was a good day only two would go in, one in front and one behind" her tears had started to fall freely down her face at the memory.

"the water was freezing cold, it was like I could feel it in my every bone, it was like the cold was burning me"

They both looked at her sadly, her eyes were glassy and empty, they seemed to go beyond any reality, it hurt them to see her like this.

"I, I, I didn't think I could take it and I was so afraid that I started to please them, I stopped fighting"

"that's not true, you did what you needed to do to survive"

"dad I didn't want any of that, I swear, I just wanted to get back to you two, I just wanted to see you again"

"Charlotte" Bass' voice was but a whisper, between the shock of the moment and the fear of scaring her he couldn't even speak.

Almost frantically she turned to look at him.

"Bass" she cried "I'm so sorry, I know I should have done more, I should have fought, I'm sorry, I really am, I'm so sorry, I always wanted it to be you."

They both realized the implication of her words, she was apologizing for being assaulted and forced by those guys. She was apologizing because her first time was with someone who still haunts and terrorizes in her dreams, she was apologizing because it couldn't have been Bass.

Charlotte hadn't looked away from his face, she needed to know if he could forgive her, she felt desperate and drained.

"Bass?" she asked almost incomprehensibly, her words were constantly interrupted by her crying.

"Come here" he whispered, reaching out his arm to pull her with him, she looked up at him waiting for an answer.

"Charlotte, I need you to listen to me and I need you to really listen, I don't care how many times I have to repeat myself but I need you to understand that nothing has changed for me, you are still you and I don't want anything else in this world. You have endured hell, have fought until your body said enough, have done what you had to do to survive and that's it, I will never leave, you will never be less to me."

"Bass" the way she said his name made his heart break a little more.

"it's okay baby, come here" now she did, accepting the arm he offered her, she clung tightly to him.

Miles looked at them sadly for a moment, when he felt his voice wasn't going to betray him he moved a little closer and gently stroking her hair he began to speak to her.

"Charlie, i speak for me and also for Bass, we are completely proud and happy that you are here today, that you fought hard enough to manage to survive, we were lost without you, you are the one who makes us into something decent, you are the one who makes us human, everything is because of you, we owe you so much."

It took a moment to understand her father's words but when she did couldn't see the logic, how could they love her so much? Did she even deserve it? She was truly confused. Pulling away from Bass slightly, she looked at them both for a moment and taking a breath, almost painfully, spoke again.

"I don't understand, how can they still love me even when even I can't?"

"we're going to love you always, even when you think you don't deserve it, always"

"you are struggling and you are doing so well, let us love you and take care of you while you get your life back"

"what if that never happens?"

"it's going to happen, look at all the way you've come, you're so strong and brave, you're going to make it, I promise"

"I don't think I can"

"we will do this, every time there is a situation that overcomes you and you think you can't take it anymore, you will come and talk to us so we can help you and accompany you, okay?"

Charlotte nodded, still uncertain that she didn't believe she could make it.

"you're not alone, you don't have to do it alone."

"I know."

"now I think you need to rest, you've done very well baby girl"

Bass nodded and got up almost immediately but Miles stopped him, in a split second he saw his daughter tense up as he was about to pull away.

"I'll take care of lunch, I'll come get you guys when I'm done"

Bass stared at him and thanked silently, he didn't know how Miles was going to take Charlotte's words but he was going to take all he could. Giving a kiss on the top of her head he walked away towards the kitchen.

"you don't have to stay" her voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"I want to stay" he settled back down beside her "only if you want me to"

"yes, please"

"come here" he pulled her to him, allowing to be able to lay back on the couch still as he held her against his chest, with one arm across her torso he began to stroke her hair knowing that would soon put her to sleep, in a few minutes he watched her as she fought sleep and smiled.

"don't force yourself, rest Charlotte, I'll be here"

"you promise?"

"I promise"

"okay" she whispered sinking deep into her sleep.

"I love you Charlotte" he hoped she didn't hear him, didn't know if she would be ready for the real implication of his words so when he saw her sleeping simply jumped in.

"I love you Bass" she replied sleepily as she settled further into his embrace.

It wasn't long before they were both sound asleep, not much longer either until Miles was done with the lunch, with all his senses alert to protect the girl in his arms he opened his eyes in less than a second when he felt his friend next to him.

"hey"

"sorry, I don't know at what point I fell asleep"

"I'm not surprised, too many emotions together."

"that's right" looking at Charlotte, who was still sleeping, he smiled at her.

"she was exhausted"

"yes, she fell asleep as soon as you went to the kitchen"

"it's amazing that she still has the ability to sleep even with a meteorite falling"

"yes, it is" they both laughed "but the first few days, those were bad, she wouldn't even allow herself to close her eyes"

"I know but she's recovering Bass, stop blaming yourself"

"What? I don't..."

"yes you do, so do I, but she's here, she's doing well and that's in large part thanks to you."

"give yourself credit"

"I do but I'm her father, there's nothing in the world I wouldn't do for her but you? you don't have to be here and yet you choose her every day."

"she's everything to me"

"I know idiot"

"wow, and the gratuitous insult what's that for?"

"it's because she's my little girl, little, very little."

Bass smiled knowing full well what he was saying.

"I won't hurt her"

"I know you won't"

"thank you Miles"

"she loves you" he announced pointing at Charlie.

"and I her, more than anything in the world"

"I know that too" he moved back towards the kitchen "and stop being a jerk and wake her up to eat, that girl is scary when she's hungry"

Bass nodded in agreement and smiled, gently kissing Charlotte's forehead he began to wake her up, when she opened her eyes, moaned and then went back to sleep he couldn't contain his laughter.

If he was lucky, those blue eyes would be the first thing he would see for the rest of his life and he frankly couldn't be happier about that.

Chapter Text

The last few weeks had been of many changes for everyone, but especially for Charlotte, she had managed to talk and tell some things about her time away from home and although she knew was not even close to transit, let alone tell, the really bad part, everything was being a progress and she felt reassured by that.

She and Bass had gotten a little closer, he was still keeping a safe distance so as not to cause her any kind of harm either physically, since she was still recovering, or emotionally which was the biggest concern for everyone today.
If was honest, she was grateful that he was so careful around her, she knew he was doing it out of affection but also felt overcome, collapsed, all she wanted was that he could see her as a woman, as a fucking adult. She wasn't stupid, knew she wasn't ready for most things but wanted so badly to be able to prove to him that she wasn't ruined, that she wasn't dirty or used enough, wanted to be able to prove it even if she didn't believe it herself, she was almost certain that even though she wasn't going to convince herself she could strive to prove it to him.

There were so many changes that felt overwhelmed and today particularly euphoric, her body as well as her mind was experiencing the changes and she didn't know how to feel about it. She woke up with a searing sensation of pain, her lower stomach seemed to be rupturing, as if she was being pierced from the inside.

She thought about staying in bed, maybe if she went back to sleep would feel better when woke up, which didn't work because she couldn't find a way to get comfortable without feeling too much pain.
It seemed odd to her that she hadn't been called for breakfast yet but decided to go downstairs anyway, she needed to find some medicine soon.

Going down the stairs was one thing really, even though her stomach didn't seem to want to cooperate she found smiling to herself, even before reached the last step she knew Bass was in the kitchen, the smell of his food, the sound of his footsteps, the way he moved, she recognized it all and was glad she still remembered it.

Tried to be careful with her steps, she didn't want to have to worry him, or Miles, about something as simple as a stomach ache but as soon as she reached the kitchen and turned to see her he knew something was wrong, still he said nothing.

"morning Charlie, I'm running a little late for breakfast, sorry."

"that's okay, I'm not too hungry" she hoped he hadn't noticed the grimace on her face as she sat down.

"that's too bad, I made waffles" smiled proudly at her as he showed his creation.

"oh they look great and smell great."

"I know, I'm quite the chef"

"yes you are" decided to please him.

Bass smiled at her again and began serving the food for both of them.

"and Dad?"

"he had to leave early, looks like things at the office aren't going quite right."

"oh" she thought as moved the food around on her plate "you should go."

"why, you don't want me here?" the amused tone in his voice made roll her eyes.

"it's not that but if things are bad dad must need you, you don't have to be here."

"I'm here because I want, Charlotte, your father can take over."

"Bass"

"no argument about it, now stop playing with your food and eat, I'm going to be offended if this ends up in your angry father's stomach this afternoon"

"you know I love your food, right?"

"but?"

"I'm not hungry enough, I'll eat them later."

"I can make you anything else" he tried to get up but she stopped him immediately.

"no, this is really amazing, I just can't right now."

"are you okay?"

"yeah, fine."

"Char?"

She didn't want to tell him felt bad but the genuine concern could be seen on his face and in every gesture, her heart warmed a little at the sight of him.

"my stomach hurts a little bit, that's all"

"That's all? Charlie I know when you lie"

"I don't want you to worry."

"I'll do it anyway"

"I know."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know, it hurts too much"

"oh baby, why didn't you tell me?"

"because you were going to worry and start dramatizing like you're about to do."

"hey" he growled "so bad you must not feel if you can fight me"

"sorry" she smiled just as a twinge of pain made her double over.

"hey, breathe, it's okay. I'll take you to the couch"

She wanted to protest when he slipped his arm under her knees and lifted up but she couldn't even find the strength to do it, of course he noticed.

"it's okay, just let me help you, yeah?"

"yeah, sorry" she murmured.

Leaning her gently on the couch helped her so could lie down.

"I'm going to let Miles know and then we'll see what we can do."

"no, it's not necessary, I'll get over it."

"really? Do better, honey."

"Bass" she almost cried.

"it's ok, it's ok but I need to know how to help you"

"I don't know, just stay with me."

"of course I will, just let me get some things" gently kissed her forehead wanting to check that she didn't have a fever, he breathed a sigh of relief when knew she didn't.

"don't be long"

"I won't."

It took him a few minutes longer than he would have liked, finding a suitable blanket for both of them, Ibuprofen and water shouldn't have been that hard except Miles was a complete mess, when he came back and didn't find her on the couch he cursed silently.

"Charlie?"

He worried when she didn't answer, his head was already rambling loudly until he heard her moving in the bathroom, taking a somewhat shaky sigh he walked over to the door.

"Charlotte?" he knocked softly "everything okay?"

"mmh yes."

Bass immediately noticed the tone and doubt in her voice, he decided to wait for her so as not to create extra pressure to whatever was going on. A few minutes later she opened the door, walking past him she headed straight for the couch.

"hey, what's wrong?" sitting down next to her he rested his gaze on her.

"nothing" she hadn't even looked up from the floor.

"come on, you're not even making a big deal out of it".

"it's nothing, really nothing"

"yeah, that explains why you're writhing in pain."

"Sebastian" she growled with something Bass couldn't interpret in her voice.

"Charlotte, talk to me"

"it's just" she sighed running her hands through her messy hair "it's just that is back"

"who?" at the lack of her response and the sigh accompanied by a bitter laugh he spoke again.

"what are you talking about?"

"my period, Bass" still without raising her head he could tell she was blushing.

"oh" he felt a little silly, could have realized it sooner "that's a good thing, no? The doctor said it would pass eventually"

"I know but it just hurts so much and it feels so weird."

"I'm sorry about that kiddo"

"it's okay it just took me by surprise, I guess I'm starting to be a normal woman again and that doesn't fit with the attempted human I'm now"

"you don't need to punish yourself so hard, you can't handle everything" he sighed moving closer to her "besides you've never stopped being someone normal, your body needs time to heal"

"really?" she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

"hey"

"okay, I'm sorry, I just need things to get better you know? I need to feel that something is going to go back to the way it was"

"that takes time and you know that, everything is going to fall into place in due time, you don't need to put even more pressure on yourself."

"it's so hard"

"I know, but I'll be here, always"

The sad smile she gave him made his heart ache a little more for her.

"come here" she looked at him hesitantly "come on, I didn't bring all this for nothing"

She smiled at him again, a little more excited this time, still he could feel the gears turning in her head.

"hold on, I'll get a few more things and we'll be ready."

"okay" she laughed at how innocent he seemed about this.

She sat on the couch waiting for Bass to come back, her head kept thinking about everything wanted to tell him, she wanted to be more communicative with him, he deserved it but still couldn't find a way.

When saw him come back all she could do was smile, somehow he remembered how bad she used to have such a hard time with menstrual cramps before all this. He looked like a little boy from the smile on his face, clearly very proud of the items in his hands.
In one he brought the hot water bottle she used to use and in the other a few candies, there was one in specific that she loved and always went crazy to get.

"How do you do it?"

"what thing?"

"remember everything"

"I remember the things that matter to me."

"my menstrual cramps matter to you?"

"no, how unbearable you become with them yes" the amused tone in his voice made her laugh.

"great because when you feel bad you are the most annoying thing in the world, drama queen tells you my daddy"

"you guys lie"

"of course we don't"

"uh-huh"

"thanks Bass" she murmured as he smiled and tugged her hand to stand up.

"we're ready now, come here."

He sat on the left side of the couch and motioned for her to lie down, resting her head in his lap she stretched out on the rest of the couch, as soon as she did Bass reached for the warm water so she could settle it on her belly herself, once they were covered by the blanket she sighed quietly.

"better?"

"oh yes" she shifted sideways "I didn't remember how soothing this was."

"I'm glad it's helpful"

"do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"are you going to fall asleep in the first ten minutes?"

"maybe"

"have you ever seen a whole movie even?"

"nope"

"yes, clearly I'm not surprised"

With knowledge of both the cause and her he knew that in less than half an hour she had fallen asleep, and not long after that so had he.

He woke up a little later than their usual lunch time, they still had to cook but he had no intention of waking her, she looked so peaceful he felt guilty for having to disturb her so decided they could still wait a little longer.

Miles had called him to tell how things were going at the office but even more to find out how things were going at home, Bass thought that maybe Charlotte wanted to tell him herself what had happened so summed it all up in a "fine" whether he convinced him or not didn't matter.

He stared at her for a while, there was an idea swirling around in his head and thought it could be a good thing for both of them but frankly he didn't know if she would be ready for something like that and was afraid to push it, he turned it around in his head so much that almost declined.

As he chided himself for the idea in his head felt her stir, thought she was just going to settle in but was surprised when she woke up for a moment and immediately looked for him with her eyes, noticed how she relaxed at his presence and felt his heart explode when she smiled at him and fell asleep again, honestly that was all he needed, and that was his confirmation.

The next few days would be, well, one thing.

Chapter Text

The next few days felt just like what an abyss feels like, a black hole, a free fall, those days existed for the rest of the world, even for Miles and Bass even if all they could do was look at her and care for her with pain and fear written on their faces. Those days existed but not for her, her body was there, her empty eyes too but not her mind nor her essence, she just wasn't there. All those changes both physical and mental pushed her to the limit, the nights were increasingly difficult, the mornings and afternoons were not far behind, everything seemed to unlock new memories and with them, new traumas.

It had been four nights since Bass invited her to take the trip, his parents' cabin had always been something very much theirs, both of theirs, many of their best summers were shared there, also many sad moments, even the post of a teenage Charlotte's first breakup took place in that house, an old but cozy house and the world knew that Charlotte loved it almost as much as she loved its owners.
She listened to him carefully as he told her about his plans for the trip, she saw the illusion in his eyes, he wished she would say yes and she wished could but just stood there in silence, she couldn't answer, her head was going a thousand miles a second, she knew this was his way of telling her that he still trusted her, that he still loved her and that here she had a choice, that under no terms was he forcing but she also knew it was a chance, the chance, to get out of herself and maybe show some gratitude to Bass.

Doubt was lingering in her mind, she was completely terrified, even Miles had some hesitation about this trip, he was worried about having her away again, he was afraid wouldn't get to her in case she needed to, he knew how hard the last few days had been, he also knew how much his daughter wanted to do this, so the moment she came to him he simply kissed her head and assured her that whatever she decided everything and everyone would be fine, that's not to mention he trusted Bass more than he trusted himself.

With all this on her mind she had woken up earlier than usual, she had had a terrible night so sleep wasn't exactly her thing, as soon as set foot on the stairs and heard him she took what little strength she had left.

"Charlotte, good morning" he smiled as soon as he felt her coming, her footsteps were soft, too quiet, but he could still recognize her.

"Hi Bass" she leaned against the kitchen counter, right next to him as he cooked.

"how did you sleep?" he didn't need to ask but he still did, he always did.

"excellent" she sighed wearily.

"hey" he turned to look at her and tuck one of her unruly locks behind her ear "stop pushing yourself so hard, you're doing your best."

she nodded and gave him a small smile, his gesture had been all she needed to cheer her up.

"You know, I've been thinking" she mumbled, sounding a little embarrassed.

"I have to worry?"

She looked at him and saw the intent behind his question so she smiled and shook her head, he returned the gesture.

"absolutely not Sebastian" the mere mention of his full name made him roll his eyes.

"then what, Charlotte?" he made a small emphasis on that last word, it's not like it was the first time he said her full name but she knew better.

"I want to go with you" the embarrassment returned to her voice and gestures.

"Go with me?" for a moment he felt like a complete idiot not knowing what she meant.

"yes" she looked at him again "I want to take the trip with you".

He could hide neither the smile on his face nor much less the excitement in his voice.

"That's amazing but are you sure? I mean, nothing would make me happier but..." of course she didn't let him finish, more doubts she didn't need.

"I'm sure Bass, I want us to do it."

"perfect, we'll leave Thursday morning."

"I mean, tomorrow?" she was surprised but at the same time sounded amused, he sounded like a child with so much excitement.

"that is, unless you want to delay it."

"no, it's fine with me" she assured.

"great then, now let's get some breakfast the day will go by fast."

"so it seems"

"have you talked it over with your dad yet?"

"no, I mean he knew was considering it but I haven't told him we're going yet."

"do you think he will object?"

"to freeing himself from you for a while? impossible"

"Charlotte" slurring her name in annoyance "I'm serious."

"he'll be fine, he trusts you more than me even"

"hey, that's not true"

"it is Bass and I'm fine with that, you're the pillar of this family, we both trust you."

"pretty rare a Matheson being affectionate" he smiled.

"you will travel alone"

"uh-huh"

She smiled at him, the fact that they still had this connection made her feel happy, they didn't need to explain anything, that was them.

"let's finish breakfast and we can pack, if you want we can go to the office later, it serves that you talk to Miles and I finish resolving some pending"

"okay."

The next two hours were slow, neither she knew what to bring nor did he care about that at all, surely he would set foot out of the house and beat himself up for not having done so, so it was that after the first thirty minutes they were together in her room as she consulted what she should or shouldn't keep, he wasn't much help but the company was welcome.

Soon after they left on their way to the office, this was the first time she would be there since had returned, she hadn't even had the strength to see Jeremy and that mortified her, her father had told her that he understood but she couldn't be satisfied.
Bass noticed her nervousness, the silence during the trip spoke volumes, the bouncing of her legs even more so.

They had parked when he decided to talk to her.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I know" she looked out the window toward the building "it's just that I'm worried it's always going to be like this."

"Like what?"

"like that, that things so small seem as huge as the world"

"take it easy, it's part of the process, you're doing your best and that's all that matters" he took her hand "I'll be there, if you decide it's too much we'll just get out of there"

"thanks Bass" she smiled but he wasn't sure about it.

All eyes were on them, especially her, the moment they entered, everyone was cordial but they all kept a safe distance, they didn't know about what had happened but no doubt they imagined it. Without a second thought, Bass led her to Miles' office, who showed them in immediately.

He brightened up a little to see his daughter there, it was strange not to have her hanging around like she always did so he wanted to take advantage of this moment of normalcy.

"hi sweetie" he went straight to hug her "it's good to see you around" as he said it he could catch the look Bass gave him as he announced he would be finishing up some earrings, closing the door behind him he turned his attention back to his daughter.

"are you okay Charlie?"

"yes" she hugged him again so he didn't hesitate to hug her even tighter "it's strange to be here" she murmured.

"I guess Bass already told you but..."

"take it easy" she sighed "I know, I'm trying to"

"you're doing fine daughter" indicating the chair in front of the desk he invited her to sit down, as he turned around to take his place he poured her a glass of fresh juice, she loved it

"thank you pa" he returned the gesture with an understanding smile.

"Charlotte, everything okay?"

"yes, it is" she stood for a moment looking at the glass in her hands "I wanted to tell you and I hope you're okay with this."

"You can go with Bass, you don't need to ask."

"you don't mind?"

"never, I'll just be worried like every other exaggerated parent but it'll be fine"

"you always exaggerate a little" she laughed, he too.

"I'm your father, I always will" he reached across the desk to take her hand "are you sure about the trip?"

"I am, I want to do it"

"then there's nothing to talk about, if you're okay I am too daughter".

"thanks pa, it means a lot"

"now tell me, when will leave?"

"tomorrow"

"oh kiddo" he looked at her fondly "he couldn't really wait, he must be happy"

"he is" she nodded "and so am i"

"that's all that matters Charlie, besides you know if you need anything, anything at all, just call, no matter the day, the time or the weather, just call"

"I know, I will" she got up slowly and walked around the desk to where Miles was, hugging him from behind she gave him a kiss on the cheek "thank you for this and for everything, I love you so much"

"I love you so much more sweetheart"
Just as Charlotte returned to her seat there was a knock at the door, of course it was Jeremy.

Setting foot in the room he stood motionless watching her, it had been so long since the last time he didn't believe it was real, for her part Charlotte was the same, unable to say or do anything, she didn't know what he thought about her now, if he knew, if was angry, if was ashamed, it was too much.

Her tears had started to flow silently as she watched him, she wanted to hug him but she wasn't sure, maybe he would reject her.

"oh Charlie" he murmured with his voice cracking "come here little one".

She didn't hesitate anymore and threw herself into his arms, he held her as tight as if she was going to disappear, he pulled away a little to look at her.

"I've missed you so much little girl, you were my every single thought, I swear."

"I missed you uncle Jeremy"

They held each other for a moment longer, then Miles excused himself to leave the room, they deserved some space. Taking her by the hands he sat her down across from him.

"How are you feeling?"

"here?" he motioned to the office at large "they all looked at me with pity."

"oh no girl, everyone, every last person in this building has been worried about you"

"i know, i'm sorry, it's just so hard"

"you have nothing to be sorry for, you're here honey, where you belong."

She nodded, shifting uncomfortably in her chair she tried to look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry I didn't answer your calls, I, I, I didn't know what to say."

"you don't have to apologize, I hope your father let you know that you didn't need to answer, just know that I was there, that I'm here."

"he has, still, I couldn't do any better".

"you are doing the best you can Charlie, as long as you are trying everything will be alright"

"you're not angry?"

"absolutely not, no reason at all, besides we have all the time in the world" smiling at each other they continued with a lighter conversation, something without so much emotional charge.

Of course the first thing she asked was about the trip with Bass, she didn't remember how quick Jeremy was to gossip but here he was, getting every last drop of information out, by the time Miles and Bass got back he had even gotten what she didn't even know, it was fascinating.

It was gratifying for the two of them to hear them laugh, their relationship had always been just that, him protecting her and her letting him protect her, friends who were family and the dictionary could have their names.

"Ready to go Charlotte?" having finished with her earrings she hoped to have a somewhat late lunch with her.

"yep."

Extending his hand to her he helped her up, they greeted both men in the room and walked out, once in the car he turned to look at her with a smile on his face.

"What?" she laughed as punched him in the arm.

"how much information did Jeremy get out of you?"

"absolutely everything, he even knew more than me."

"He did the same with me."

They both laughed as they walked out of the parking lot.

"would you like to go to lunch?"

"I'm starving."

"I thought so."

They parked at a burger and milkshake place, that could never go wrong with her and her smile confirmed it.
As they waited for their orders they began to organize their trip a bit, most things were ready but he wanted to be able to include her in everything about it.

"Mom has prepared the house for us, we'll just need some groceries, we could stop by the store on the way tomorrow."

"yeah, we're going to need lots of chocolate, it's cold."

"aha, lots of chocolate it will be"

"also coffee"

"that's a given"

"lots of movie snacks?"

"oh my, shopping with mini Miles is going to be quite an adventure."

"and I haven't even started on the ice cream."

"I couldn't forget it if I wanted to"

Leaving their orders on the table in front of them, the waitress walked away with a flirtatious smile directed at Bass.
Charlotte raised her eyebrow at him as he shrugged in response.

They were finishing lunch, which was rather quiet, when she fixed her eyes on him, when caught his eye she felt embarrassed.

"Hey what's going on?"

"nothing."

"you're lying"

She smiled sadly at him.

"you know, it's my head playing against me."

"I'm here to help."

"I just don't get it, you really haven't met anyone all this time?"

"Is it because of the waitress?"

"No Bass, I need to know."

"okay, I can swear it's not, I haven't met anyone and I won't either."

"why?"

"why didn't I or why won't I?"

"both."

"I didn't do it because all I cared about was you, I wanted to get you back and be able to take care of you, and won't do it for the same reason, you are the only person enjoy sharing my time with, you are the only one I care about more than anything else in the world."

"that's not fair to you, I'm not even a person right now."

"well, you certainly look like one."

She looked down, she was embarrassed.

"you know what I mean Bass, I don't want to tie you to me in my condition."

"oh for goodness sake, stop talking about you like you're a nasty specimen, I choose to be here."

"Bass" she whispered

"I will no longer tolerate you hurting yourself with words Charlotte."

"I'm sorry."

"you must apologize to you sweetheart" taking one of her hands over the table he brought it to his lips and gave her a small kiss "I will always be here because I choose to be, it won't be so easy to free you from me" he smiled at her trying to reassure her.

"I'm sorry I ruined lunch"

"you haven't, all the things you feel have a place in our conversations"

"what if I ruined the trip?"

"there's no way you will, can you trust me?"

"I do."

"then just relax, we'll have a long day tomorrow."

"I'm sorry."

"remember when you were little and your dad wanted to wash your mouth out with soap if you said a rude thing?"

"oh yeah, it was scary"

"I never let him do it, still the warning alone kept you in line" he looked at her hoping she got the message, when she didn't he rolled his eyes and smiled.

"what?"

"that if you keep apologizing and apologizing for everything I'm going to wash your mouth out with soap and you know I don't play."

"oh god, you're going to threaten me the whole trip?"

"only if I have to" They both laughed at that and walked out of the restaurant, he had put his arm through over her shoulder, drawing her to him.

"I'm so proud of you Charlotte"

Chapter Text

As soon as the sun rose both were ready to start their trip, it was only a few hours drive but they still wanted to make the most of their time, having in mind some scheduled stops they tried to make as fast as possible, especially not to exhaust Charlie physically or mentally, who was not coping very well with his nervousness.
After saying goodbye to Miles they set off, he made sure to remind his daughter that he had her at all times, that whatever her needs she should call him immediately, even if she wanted him to come pick her up in the middle of the night, at the affection and kindness in her father's words all Charlie could do was hug him tight, a hug that needed no words.
At the grocery store the situation was quick, almost rehearsed, he set about grabbing everything needed to survive those days while she was all about snacks and sweets, what passed for survival if you asked her, especially on her sleepless and anxious nights, so frequent in the last few weeks.

Back in the car, Bass watched her out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her distant, she seemed oblivious to anything nearby.

"Everything okay in there?" at her lack of response he tried again.

"Charlotte?"

She looked at him in confusion, from his face she could tell he must have been talking to her.

"oh, I'm sorry" she nervously ran her hands up and down over the jeans she was wearing "you talked to me?"

He nodded.

"sorry, I got distracted for a moment."

"I could tell" he smiled warmly at her "I just wanted to see if you were okay".

"yes, fine"

"you know we can come home anytime you want."

"absolutely not, it's not that" she wanted to sound confident "I just don't want to ruin it".

"you couldn't even if you wanted to"

"I understand Bass but you know it's harder than that"

"I know baby, if you agree let's just let it happen, we'll see how it turns out, if you don't feel comfortable you can just say so"

"what will your parents say?"

"about what?"

"about me, what happened and all that, I don't blame them if they didn't want to see me."

"you know they love you, don't you?"

"they used to, before" was fading with each word.

"Charlie, nothing has changed in the way we love you, not them, not Miles, not me" he sighed, he needed her to understand this.

"Bass."

"don't do that to yourself" he took her hand "everything will be fine, they will be happy to have you home, still, if you don't feel up to seeing them you don't have to"

"no, it's not that, I'm happy to see them, really" she looked up at him "it's just that I'm worried about how they might see me now"

"oh Charlie" he immediately knew what she meant, feeling people look at you with pity is sad, to say the least "I can assure you mom is still watching the little girl who was running around trying to help in the kitchen at baking time"

Charlie smiled at the memory, there were many moments she shared with them and she doesn't remember any of them where they didn't love her as if she was their own, when everything went off between her mother and father it was Bass' parents who took care of her giving her a safe place, she would always be grateful.

"and dad, well" he brought her out of her thoughts "he still sees you as the little shadow that followed him everywhere without rest, he always remembers how much loved to read you at night".

"I loved it" she admitted.

"I know" he chuckled, he remembered perfectly all the effort she made to convince Miles to let her sleep there, also remembered how happy her parents were to have the little earthquake by their side.

"they love you almost as much as I do"

She gave him a small smile, she knew it was true but was afraid, she wasn't even close to being that girl they knew.

The rest of the walk passed in comfortable silence, every now and then he would check to make sure she was okay but that was it, he knew anxiety was taking her over so he decided not to push. It was only when they entered familiar ground that they spoke again.

"and here we are."

"that's right" she looked around her out the window "it's still so beautiful."

"they've taken much better care of it since they took you, the thought of having you back around here with them gave them the strength to do it"

She could only smile sadly as she processed his every word, the tears in her eyes were beginning to sting.

"Do you want us to come in or do you need a moment?"

"it's okay, we can come in."

Entering the house was to go back to her childhood nonstop, she had been so happy there that all she could remember was pure affection.

"it feels so unreal to be here again".

"yes, it does for me too"

"thank you for this Bass"

"always sweetheart."

The house was really clean, so there was nothing to do but start their stay, so after checking the rooms they headed to the living room couch.

"we can order for lunch or cook something" it was he who spoke after a few minutes.

"order? here you can do that?" she laughed.

"very funny, you're out of lunch" he retorted.

"no please" she whispered not intending for him to hear.

"hey, just kidding"

"sorry" she mumbled completely embarrassed, of course she knew he wouldn't leave her without food or anything close to it but there was still this sort of latent, irrational fear that hardly left her alone.

"None of that, if you want we can rest first and then order something."

"yes, maybe the trip was too much" she showed him a sad smile that he knew to understand as an additional apology.

They both settled on the couch they shared, Charlie started to fall asleep as soon as her head hit the back of the couch, she hadn't even realized she was so tired, Bass on the other hand had noticed and far from pushing her he gave her options, as he lay back the couch he could only watch her, he wanted so much to pull her to him, to be able to hold her at that moment, he didn't see her as weak but he could see her fragility and he hated it, she had never been fragile.

He was surprised when she approached him, he thought she was asleep, however she opened her eyes and sought his approval before settling into his side, without needing words he lifted his arm so she could settle under his embrace.
With the tranquility of having her by his side he let himself rest as well, he woke up again when he felt her move next to him, resting his cheek on her head, he gave her hair a kiss and looked ay her, her eyes had already found him.

"hey" he greeted her as she gave him a shy smile.

"hi."

"nice break?"

"oh yeah, too much, how about you?"

"the same around here"

"can we have lunch?"

"of course, pizza sounds good?"

"phew, too good" he laughed at her enthusiasm.

"perfect, pizza it is"

Neither of them really felt like getting off the couch so having lunch while watching a movie was the chosen option, once they finished she stared at him.

He smiled at her waiting for her to speak, at his reaction she smiled too.

"What do you want?" he asked, almost knowing the answer.

"Something sweet."

"so predictable"

"a girl needs sugar to stay awake."

"a girl? I mean, you?"

"that's right."

"Okay, stay here"

He went through all the things Charlie had bought and soon knew what she was referring to, there were many things but one chocolate bar in particular caught his eye, it was a favorite of both of them and couldn't count how many times they had shared one, so he knew that was the one, also grabbed two sodas and headed to the living room, she was glad as soon as saw it.

"oh, I love him" she was literally confessing her love to a chocolate.

"just him?"

She blushed heavily, which elicited a laugh from him.

"you're so beautiful."

"shut up."

He thought about finishing off that comment but then remembered why they were there and making her uncomfortable was his ultimate intention.

They both half enjoyed their chocolate, the atmosphere had gotten weird, not necessarily uncomfortable but there was something else; and as was not usual in this last time it was her who broke the ice.

"Bass?"

"What's wrong?"

"nothing, I just need to ask you."

"of course, go ahead"

"we" she looked down embarrassed "you think we had a chance?"

"Charlotte"

"is that really, you haven't been with anyone in all that time? there has to be a good reason for it."

Bass just looked at her and smiled to himself.

"I mean, I know I asked before and maybe it's stupid but I just don't get it."

"no, it's not stupid" he interrupted her "and no, I really wasn't with anyone, but if we're talking about reasons, of course there's a good reason."

"I need to know"

"baby, that reason is you"

"you've already said that, but it's not that simple Bass."

He chuckled as he settled back to look at her, that Matheson-like pressure was a good thing even if it didn't seem like it.

"maybe I haven't said it enough or maybe I haven't been really clear about my feelings but there is no one I want to share my life with other than you."

"Bass-"

"no, just listen" she nodded her head briefly "this may not be our time, maybe even the next few years won't be our time but I'll never stop waiting for you"

"Bass" she blinked to stop the tears "I don't know what to say"

"you don't have to say anything Charlotte you wanted to know and I wanted you to know, it's okay" he slowly stood up and squeezed her hand as he walked past her then disappeared into the kitchen, if she wanted to answer anything else he never knew.

Charlie stood there, motionless, she didn't know what did wrong but her slow response sure wasn't a good thing, she wanted to beat herself up.
She decided to go after him, at least try to explain herself a little, if it would do any good.

When she entered the kitchen he was uncorking a beer, as soon as felt her close he turned his gaze towards her.
He thought about walking away, he didn't want her to have to go through this, not at this moment, but he saw her fidgeting, he felt her uneasy and a little uncomfortable perhaps and he wasn't going to allow that, not being by her side.

"I can see the gears turning in your head, just stop it there" he tried to reassure her.

She moved a little closer, still wringing her hands on the front of her body.

"it's just that I need to explain myself"

"no, you don't have to" he put a hand on her back and urged her to walk towards the door leading to the back garden, sitting together on the porch he continued talking.

"you don't need to feel anything for me Charlie, if that's what you're worried about."

"a moment ago I wanted to hit myself, now I'm pretty sure I want to hit you" she buried her head between her knees, it saddened her that Bass thought that way about her.

"hey baby" he waited for her to move, when she didn't he started stroking her back, since she was a baby that always worked, after a minute, eternal for him, she looked at him sideways, almost without moving.

"I'm so bad at showing that I love you?"

"Charlie" he sighed as his hand still caressed her.

"no Bass, I really don't want you to think I don't want anything with you, quite the opposite, the problem is I don't even know how to live again, I'm not a person, much less a woman, there's nothing I can give you."

"Charlotte, that's not so" he looked at her with that intensity that only the two of them could share and they knew it. "I went crazy the instant I knew you might be in danger, the world stopped at that moment and if someone had told me we had no chance of finding you I would have simply let me go, I had no other reason to go on if I didn't have you with me"

She looked at him, wanted to speak but couldn't, there was something in his voice that she couldn't recognize, a kind of pain that overcame everything, he smiled sadly at her and pulled her into his embrace, he let her settle into it before continuing.
"you need to know that the only thing that kept us sane was the chance to find you, there was nothing more for us without you, we wanted nothing more."

She kissed him softly, just on the side closest to his lips.

"I know you expect more and maybe I'm not there yet but I promise I'll try, I want this, I want us."

"I don't expect anything baby, you don't have to promise anything either because you don't have to, having you here, with me, is more than I can wish for, eventually we'll get there if that's what you want"

"I want it, and I want it bad"

"then we're still on the same page" he smiled warmly at her.

"I love you Bass."

"and I love you baby, always"

They stayed a little longer in that position, it was starting to get cold so when he felt she was falling asleep he pulled her in to snuggle back on the couch, this first day had been a constant up and down of emotions but he understood that maybe that was what they needed right now, the next few days would be better, he had no doubt.
Snuggling her closer to him, he hugged her and covered them with a blanket, tomorrow they could start again.

Chapter Text

It was late when they both finally fell asleep, so Bass was surprised when in the middle of the night he felt her moving next to him, afraid that it was a nightmare haunting her he woke up almost immediately, as soon as he opened his eyes he saw her moving away from the couch.

"Charlie?" he sat up a little to look at her "is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay, are you okay?"

"I am" she smiled tenderly at him "I am hungry"

"Jesus Charlotte" he laughed as he stood up to catch up with her "you scared me"

"sorry Bass" she held out her hand, inviting him into the kitchen with her.

"what do you want to eat?"

"sweet."

"yeah, why am I not surprised?" he smiled warmly at her as he reached up to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"you know, you didn't have to get up for me."

"what's wrong Charlotte?" hugging her by the neck, he pulled her back to him, to rest her on his chest "don't you want me near your sweets?"

"Bass" she whispered, her voice cracking, the current closeness felt more intimate than they both intended.

Realizing that perhaps this wasn't a situation she wanted to be in he pulled away gently, leaving a kiss on her forehead.

"What are we eating?" he asked rummaging through the cupboard as he left a rather confused Charlie behind.

"I don't know, bring whatever you want" she replied to the air as she returned to the couch.

Bringing some chocolates with him, he sat down next to her on the couch, he held out a white chocolate bar with cookies, knowing it was one of her favorites. Looking sideways at him she gave a small smile.

"thanks Bass" she sighed, debating whether to say what was on her mind or just let it go.

"I can hear you thinking" when she didn't even look at him he insisted "what's going on?"

"you know, you didn't have to pull away from me" before he could say anything she stopped him "unless that's what you want"

"Charlotte"

"just listen" she asked "I can understand if you don't want this, I do, I really do, but if you pull away every time I want it to be because that's what you want, not because of me, I don't want you to pull away because of me"

"Charlie, we've talked about this, I want this and I want absolutely everything with you, but you don't need to rush, it's just one day at a time"

"I know, but it doesn't feel right for you to walk away like I have a plague."

He smiled at that.

"I wouldn't walk away even if you had the worst stink in the world Charlotte"

"don't tease me"

"I'm not, I simply mean I won't do it again, but I need you to tell me when you feel it's too much, no matter what, just say it"

"I will" she assured him as she moved to snuggle up next to Bass.

"you're beautiful" he said kissing her cheek and hugging her closer.

"I like it here, I didn't realize how much I missed him"

"I'm the same way, I couldn't even remember how peaceful it is here."

Charlie nodded at his words, she didn't know if it was because of the place, Bass or the whole but felt at peace.

When they both decided that was enough chocolate for the night, Bass got up and headed to the kitchen to put them away, back to her, he held out his hand inviting her to get up.

"let's go to bed" thinking she might take it the wrong way, he spoke quickly "I mean, you have your bed and I have mine, I meant go to sleep" he suddenly felt like a damn teenager and by the smile followed by her laughter, she thought so too.

"we can share if you want" she softened seeing the embarrassment grace his face.

"it was pretty stupid, wasn't it?"

"just a little" she admitted as she reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek "but it's sweet of you to do it"

"do what?"

"take care of me, even of your words" she looked at him so lovingly as said it that he was simply falling apart "still, you don't need to, I know I'm safe with you"

"that's good" he smiled at her, trying to hide his excitement, as he led her up the stairs.

When they entered the master bedroom Charlie gasped, she had been there a thousand times but she didn't remember it being this beautiful.

"this is amazing Bass."

"it is" he admitted "they love this place but not for the luxury, for the memories in it."

"I can understand that" she replied, assimilating that Bass and his sisters had spent part of their childhood here, before all the remodeling.

"do you know what mom's favorite memory is?"

"no, I don't think so."

He motioned for her to sit on the bed across from them, crouching down in front of her he helped take off her socks, as knew how much she hated sleeping in them.

"the sleepovers she had with you right in this room, that's her favorite memory."

"oh" the memory had just hit her.

"she always remembers it, how year by year you guys were changing and growing up but always keeping the tradition."

"by god yes, I just remembered" she exclaimed with a mixture of nostalgia and happiness "last time was all night hearing about the cancellation of my favorite show" she laughed, remembering how much it had affected her.

Bass smiled at her fondly but also sadly, it had only been a few weeks from that day to her kidnapping.

"You think she'll want to do it this year? I don't blame her if she doesn't want to continue the tradition."

"she's going to be more than excited to do it, they actually want to see you, you know that."

"I want to see them too but what if I'm not who they're really expecting?"

"you're their Charlie, our Charlie, that hasn't changed and it never will, no matter what"

"I hope so."

"trust me, ok? now go and get your pajamas on, it's late already"

"I'll sleep with you?" she asked as she stood up to go to the bathroom.

"is that what you want?"

"yes"

"then that's what we'll do"

When Charlie came out of the bathroom already changed, he instructed her to choose a side of the bed while he put on his own nightclothes.

When he came out smiled as he saw her already settled and tucked in almost to her forehead, turning off the lights he settled in on the left side, right next to her.

"Bass?"

"Yes?"

"can you turn on the nightlight?"

Bass knew the dark was difficult for her, and though she had never said it out loud nor had they talked about it, he was grateful that she could ask without fear or embarrassment.

"of course" he reached out to turn it off and then turned to her.

"just until I fall asleep, I promise."

"don't worry about it, if you need it you've got it."

"thanks Bass"

"always baby"

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and turned so her back was to him, being cautious not to startle her he moved a little closer so could hug her, when she relaxed into his chest he smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"goodnight Bass."

"goodnight Charlie."

When he felt her breathing stabilize he knew she was asleep and allowed himself to rest as well, it had been a good night for both of them.

Morning was not long in coming and neither was panic, as soon as she opened her eyes all she could feel was that someone was holding her tightly, it was a matter of seconds before her mind was completely clouded and hell was upon her once again.

She felt the urgent need to pull away but her body was unresponsive, it seemed she was incapacitated in both movement and thought, so much so that she didn't even notice that Bass had not only let go of her he had also spent over five minutes trying to snap her out of her trance.

"Charlotte" he whispered "it's all right, you're home, there's no danger here."

"I, I can't" she cried, as she crawled on the bed trying to pull away, slamming her back against the backrest in an attempt to cover herself with the sheet.

"let's breathe, you know how to do it, just count three and inhale" he began to do so until he got her to mimic his movements, after a few minutes she began to come to.
When Bass noticed she was calming down he tried to approach only to be dismissed by a heart wrenching cry.

"don't come any closer" her voice was getting lower and lower until it was just a soft whisper "please"

"Charlie, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

"I know that, I know that" she replied without raising her head.

"so, what's wrong?" he started to move a little closer "talk to me, I can help you"

"no please"

"Charlie? you're scaring me" he announced almost grabbing his phone "do you need me to call Miles?"

"no, not that please"

"okay, I won't but I need to know how to help you, yes?"

"I don't want to, stay away"

"Charlotte" he sighed with resignation, sitting up in bed, on the side where she had slept that night he immediately realized what was going on, touching her spot on the bed he felt the dampness on the sheets.

"honey, did you wet the bed?"

"sorry, I, I-" bursting into tears again she made every effort to get away from him.

"oh baby, come here"

"no" she whispered "it should gross you out"

"never that ever Charlotte" rounding the bed to sit next to her, he took her chin and forced to look at him "I don't want you to be embarrassed by this or anything, not with me."

"Bass, I don't know how it happened, I didn't do it on purpose, I swear."

"I know you didn't do it and even if you did I wouldn't be upset either, I'm here to keep you company."

"I'm so sorry, I'll clean it up, I promise."

"you don't even have to apologize, or clean anything up, I just want you to talk to me, okay?"

"you should be mad" she cried as he kissed her nose.

"but I'm not" standing up Bass held out his hand "we'll do this, you're going to change while I take the clothes off the bed, once you feel ready we'll go down to breakfast and from there we'll see what the day has in store"

"can you turn around?"

"of course" he smiled sadly at her, he wished she wouldn't hide from him in this situation but if that's what he needed that's what he would give her.

Charlie quickly got up, grabbed some clothes and almost noiselessly walked into the bathroom, as soon as she had stripped off her dirty clothes and submerged herself in the tub she began to cry, she really couldn't understand why this was happening to her, right next to him, she felt so ashamed, so humiliated that she would have chosen to drown herself right there if it wasn't for the soft knock on the other side of the door.

"I'm done here, be downstairs when you're ready" Bass announced even more heartbroken for his girl, he had heard crying and the helplessness of not being able to help her was killing him.

He was racking his brain as prepared breakfast, she had been in the bathroom for over fifty minutes and he still had no sign if she would join him.

Knowing he would be worried she decided to force her body to move down the stairs, she didn't think she would need so much determination to do it but when she got to the bottom of the stairs her legs seemed so weak they could buckle.
She tried to go unnoticed as she walked into the kitchen but of course he noticed her instantly.

"hey, you're just in time" they both knew that wasn't true but he wanted to give her that. As he set a plate of waffles and fruit in front of her he gave her a reassuring smile.

"sorry it took me so long" she said as she savored the coffee "sorry about everything else too" she whispered almost to herself.

"nothing to be sorry about Charlotte, let's eat and then we can talk."

She nodded, she knew he was waiting for her to talk but it was so hard.

When they had both finished Charlie set about getting the dishes up and washing them, any minute head start would be good for her.

"Charlotte" he spoke softly to her "the longer you put it off the harder it will be" holding out his hand he waited for her to take it and pulled her closer to him.

"You understand I'm not forcing you into anything, right?"

"I know" she leaned against his chest as he hugged her "it's just that it's so hard"

"I know it is, but I'm here, I won't leave you."

She pulled away to look at him, seeing the calmness in his eyes she decided that maybe trying wasn't so bad, taking his hand led him to the couch.
Sitting side by side, she began to run her hands up and down her legs in an attempt to calm her nerves.

Bass noticed the growing anxiety in her so gently took her hands and began to give small massages.

"I'm sorry for everything that happened today" hiding her legs under her she settled back against the backrest and sought his gaze "I'm also very sorry for everything I've put you through since I've been back."

"Charlie, there's nothing to be sorry about"

"I don't know how you do it Bass"

"do what?"

"put up with it, put up with me, I don't understand" she admitted "you can't be with someone who wets the bed like a damn little girl, you don't deserve it"

"Charlie, listen, few things are clear to me in this life and one of them is that there is nothing I want more in the world than to be with you, no matter all we have to go through, I'll be here whenever you want me to be"

"Sebastian, you can't wish to be with me"

"stop talking about you like that, I won't allow it."

"but Bass, I wet the damn bed."

"Charlie, that's a defense mechanism, your body needs to express your fear."

"will it still happen?" she whispered with concern, which generated a mixture of sadness and tenderness in him, it reminded him so much of little Charlotte.

"i don't know, if it has to happen it will happen, you don't have to worry about it"

"easy for you to say"

"I know, I just want you to understand that you don't have to be ashamed."

"I don't want you to have to see that."

"and I don't want you to hide from me"

"I'm sorry, I was so humiliated"

"I know baby, there's just no need."

She gave him a small smile that felt like a victory.

"come here" he told her as he reached out and draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him "you know we can go home anytime you want, even at this very moment"

"no Bass, I don't want that" she looked at him firmly "I'm sorry if I made you feel that way but being here, with you, is all I want right now"

"that's good to hear sweetheart, and know that it's mutual"

They lay in silence, holding each other, for at least twenty or thirty more minutes, in fact he thought she had fallen asleep when her soft voice startled him.

"they made me think you guys weren't looking for me."

"oh Charlie"

"I knew you two weren't going to leave me but the days kept going by and I was so afraid that I started to believe them."

"I'm so sorry that happened, but you have to know that there wasn't a single moment where we didn't look for you, there wasn't a single place left without shattering in our wake"

"I know that and I feel terrible that I believed otherwise"

"hey, that wasn't your fault, they wanted to hurt you and knew well what they were doing, they needed you submissive Charlie, that you believed you had no place to go"

"I tried to escape once" he looked at her silently, waiting for her to continue "my feet were hurt and my legs couldn't seem to remember how to move forward, I still made it all the way to the door but he was there, just on the other side waiting for me to make a mistake"

He shifted uncomfortably in his place, thinking about the hell she lived there made every one of his bones shudder.

"he took my hair in his fist and dragged me to the bottom again, I could feel the darkness falling not only in my eyes, also in my body" she sighed as moved even closer to Bass "I knew what was going to happen next, I still begged and pleaded but he didn't stop, he just ripped off what little was left of my clothes and forced himself inside me like they had done so many times before, only this time it was different, it was more violent, more repulsive, like he was even more angry."

She took a few moments before continuing.

"I begged again for him to stop but he started laughing and saying I was a fool for wanting to run away, that there was no one looking for a slut like me" Bass reached up to wipe a lone tear on her cheek "there I lost all the fight Bass, I just let him subdue me for hours"

"no honey, you didn't let him do anything to you, he was going to do it anyway, there was nothing you could do and above all you have to know it's not your fault"

"I don't know Bass, I shouldn't have given up."

"Charlotte, he was already hurting you, wasn't he?"

She nodded with embarrassment.

"then you couldn't stop him, not by yourself with no one to protect you"

"all I wanted was to come home, I wanted to see you, to feel safe with the two of you."

"I know my girl, we were losing our minds, there was a time where we couldn't even be at home without arguing, without blaming ourselves" he sighed, if it wasn't all so horrible it would even be funny "you know what I'm saying? neither I blamed him nor he blamed me, we just both wanted to take the blame, we needed to"

"but it was never your fault, neither of you, even on the worst nights I couldn't blame you Bass."

"that's because you're so sweet Charlie, our duty is to protect you and we didn't"

"you couldn't have known, there was nothing you could do, it wasn't your fault."

"and then why would it be yours?"

She looked at him, she knew what he wanted to tell her but in her mind it was still so hard to understand.

"Can we go for a walk?" she asked hoping he wouldn't bother to change the subject.

"of course" he smiled, knowing she needed the change of air.

As they bundled up to leave the house, she snuck up on him. Hugging him from behind, she forced herself to absolutely remember this moment, the feel of his body on hers, his scent, his warmth.

"hey, what's wrong?"

"nothing, just trying to keep you well in my memory."

"you don't need to do that, we won't be separated again."

"I know but I still want to" hugging him even tighter she heard him laugh "hey, don't tease" she complained as he turned in her arms so he could hug her too.

"I don't tease but you're so beautiful I can't help it"

"you're beautiful too" she whispered as she looked up at him, standing on her tip toes she stretched up so she could kiss his lips, understanding that this was her choice he took the initiative and kissed her hard, with need, if he could he would have never let go.
When they finally broke the kiss they both felt incredibly good, the smiles on their faces were all the other needed.

"How can you be so beautiful?" he asked her as he gently kissed her nose.

She smiled as a slight blush spread across her cheeks, shrugging her shoulders she pulled him towards the exit.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked him as soon as they set foot outside the property.

"I don't know, we could stop by and say hi to your parents, no?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, if you don't mind of course."

"How could I? They'll be more than happy to see you, you know they've been insisting."

"I miss them too" she thought as they walked holding hands "remember the cakes your mother baked for my birthdays? I was really popular for it, in fact that was the only reason people wanted to come" she reflected wittily.

Bass laughed and shook his head.

"as much as mom's cakes are the best in the country I highly doubt that's the reason they wanted to visit you" she looked at him "I mean, all those damn kids were sticking to you like bees to honey"

"jealous?"

"Miles and I were a complete mess" he laughed as he gestured for her to walk down the driveway, arriving at their destination "we may have threatened one or two that we'd leave them without offspring if they ever came near you again" he confessed as she laughed at his men's dramatics.

When they reached the door, she watched him with obvious nervousness.

"are you sure Charlie? we can turn around at this point".

"I'm sure, just nervous" she assured him as he rang the doorbell to the property.