Charlie woke with a strangled gasp, propelling herself upright as she sucked air into her lungs, shielding her eyes from the bright light that blurred the face of the woman who was currently grasping her by the shoulders, unable to hear the shouts for someone to find the Generals. With one hand cupping Charlie’s face and the other her shoulder, Rachel guided her daughter back down to the bed. “Charlie, Charlie! It’s Mom! I need you to breathe! Breathe, Charlie!” “Mom!” Charlie gasped as the room spun around her, gulping in a lungful of air that hung thick and heavy. The kind of air that always made the hair on the back of Danny’s neck prickle. “I’m here, baby, I’m here,” Rachel soothed as she pushed her daughter's hair back, stroking her face as tears rolled down her own, watching as Charlie finally …show more content…
Eyeing him suspiciously, Charlie drug her feet forward, hesitantly sitting when he patted the spot once again. “Now, why don’t you tell me the last thing you remember and we’ll go from there,” Bass suggested as he relaxed, leaning against the headboard. Charlie took a deep breath, releasing her grip on the gun as Bass casually reached over and covered it with his hand, relinquishing control of it to him. “We were at home in Willoughby and Blanchard suddenly decided he needed you in Austin. I wasn’t invited, so stayed home.” Bass looked up from where he was pulling bullets out of the gun. “Blanchard? You mean Frank Blanchard?” “Do you know any other pervy old men named Blanchard?” Charlie asked with a sneer. Bass couldn’t help but chuckle at her description. “Nope.” “I got sick while you were gone. I don’t remember ever being that sick before. I know Grandpa was scared. I could see it in his eyes. The last thing I remember before waking up here is you coming home and reading to me. I told you that I knew I was safe if I could hear your