Recovery

The following morning, Jack wakes up with Jesse and Auburn busy cooking some morning breakfast. The smell of bacon and eggs fills the area and causes Rebecca to slowly stir around. 

The two girl's sister is nestled in bed sleeping soundly, covered in a mountain of different colored blankets. 

Jack walks up to where Rebecca is nestled and checks on her. 

Seeing that her bruises and wounds are turning yellow, a smile appears on Jack's face. 

Thinking to himself, 'Good, she's recovering nicely.' Jack puts his hand on her forehead to check her temperature. Feeling normal, he brushes her hair and pats her head. A smile appears on Rebecca face. 

Jack heads outside where the two girls are cooking. 

They notice him approaching and wave to him. 

"Good morning." Jack says rubbing his head, "It smells delicious." 

The girls beam with satisfaction. 

"Felt like the right thing to do with you and Rebecca and our sister recovering." Jesse says with a beaming smile that is so bright it causes Jack to squint his eyes. 

Jack rubs the back of his head slowly, "That begs the question... What's her name?" 

Both girls begin coughing, surprised by Jack's sudden question. A few moments of their coughing fit they start laughing, realizing that they never introduced her. 

Once the laughing subsides, Auburn looks up at Jack while Jesse returns to the stove. 

"Her name is Sara. She's the youngest of us three. I would appreciate it if you took your time getting to know her and where gentle around her, the past experiences and this damn invasion has kind of put her in a mute state of mind." Auburn said with a serious expression on her face.

Jack nods his head, "Yeah, I get that. You've girls been through quite a traumatic event. I'll take my time getting to know all of you very slowly. And if you guys' desire to leave, I won't stop you and even will provide some sort of supplies for you too." 

Auburn smiles and nods as she turns toward Jesse.

Jack walks around, seeing that the girls forget to get plates and silverware for everyone, he rushes over to the small dish pan he has and starts washing up a pile of dishes for everyone. 

A couple minutes go by, and the girls shout out to Jack, "Food is ready!" 

Jack dries the last plate and with all of them stacked together with a bunch of forks and knives on top he walks over to the girls. 

The girls laugh as they see Jack approach with the stack of plates and silver, "Ha Ha... I can't believe we forgot to get those ready!" 

Jesse shakes her head, "Yeah..." 

Jack sets the table for the girls and himself. 

Once the table is set and the food is on the table, Sara comes walking out of the tent. 

Jack gives her a warm smile as he fills up a plate of food for Rebecca. 

He walks by her, and Sara gives Jack a meekly nod. 

As he enters the tent, he sees Rebecca eyes wide open and a smile, she appears to be sitting upright with blankets laying across her. 

Jack grabs a small tray and places the plate of food on it. Walks over to Rebecca and hands her the tray. 

"Good morning." Jack said with a bright smile. 

Rebecca smiles back, "Good morning." 

He hands her a bottle of water from the small cooler he has and turns around. As he exits the tent he looks back at Rebecca, "If you need anything holler." She nods as she stuffs her face with the food. 

Jack sits down across from Jess and Sara, with Auburn sitting next to him. He begins to eat his food.

"M-My goodness!" Jack says as he devours the food in front of him. "This is so ddamn goood!" 

Jesse and Auburn smile as they watch Jack just bite after bite devour the food they prepared. 

Sara on the other hand takes small bites and slowly eats her food, awestruck by Jack's aggressive eating she can't but help watch as Jack devours everything on his plate in a matter of seconds. 

In just a sort few seconds everything is gone from his plate, and he leans back, with a satisfied smile and a belly rub he thanks the girls for the delicious food. 

The girls finish their food a few minutes after him and Jack hears Rebecca calling for him, "Jack, Jack! I'm done." 

Jack jumps to his feet and walks into the tent. 

Seeing a clean plate and a satisfied smile on Rebecca face, he walks over to her and picks up the empty plate and heads outside. 

Jack rounds up all the dirty dishes from the food and puts them in the dishpan. 

He walks back to where Rebecca is and walks right on up to her. 

"Hey, Rebecca, Wanna try walking around a bit." Jack holds out his hand, hoping for Rebecca to grab onto it and get out of bed. 

Rebecca smiles, "Of course!" 

She hasn't left her bed for a few days and Jack has decided that she needs to get some exercise otherwise she'll start losing muscle strength and it'll be harder for her to help around the camp. 

Rebecca grabs Jack's hand and he hoists her up. She falls into Jack's chest, "Easy now." Jack said with a bright smile as he slowly backs away from Rebecca, watching her carefully as she struggles to stay on her feet. 

"Any slight pain." Jack said with concern. 

Rebecca nodded her head and started taking small baby steps toward Jack. 

Jack nods with a satisficed smile as she begins walking around. 

About a half hour later Rebecca is walking around camp all by herself. She has to stop every few steps to catch herself but otherwise she's moving very well. 

"Thank god I got her outta bed before this got any worse." Jack said as he watches Rebecca get some steps in. 

Auburn appears behind Jack, "Yeah, it would have sucked, her not being to walk." 

Jack jumps forward a bit surprised by Auburn's sneakiness. "Wah! You scared the shit outta me." 

Auburn struggles to hold her laughter in, but eventually it overcomes her, and she bursts into a short but hearty laugh.

Once she calms down, she looks at Rebecca, with a joyous expression on her face, skipping around the camp. "Seems she's getting much better." She says pointing at Rebecca. 

Jack looks and sees her moving about really well and a big bright smile on his face appears. "Good!" He shouts out.

Rebecca walks over to the two of them, "Look at that! I can move easily again! Thank you so much!" She gives a warm embracing hug to Jack. 

He freezes for a second, it's been a few months since he felt a females embrace and he isn't too sure how to react. He's been on killer and protection mode since this whole apocalypse has started.

A moment later he finally returns the hug, and they hold each other for a few moments before she lets go and Jack blushes from ear to ear. 

Auburn lets out a few coughs and walks over to Rebecca, "I'm glad you're able to move around now and your recovery is going great." She said with a smile. 

Rebecca nods, "It's all thanks to you guys." 

Jack rubs the back of head and just gives a slight smile and a small cough, "Glad you're alright."

The three of them enter the tent and sit across from Jesse and Sara. 

They both look happy seeing the bright smile on Rebecca!

It appears they are playing a board game and the two of them have just started. 

"Can we join?" Rebecca asks. 

The two nod their heads, "Of course." Jesse responds. 

Jack, Rebecca, and Auburn sit across from the two of them and begin playing what looks to be a cheap version of life. 

This goes on for a few moments and eventually Sara wins the game. 

 Night begins to fall, and Jack prepares a hearty meal for everyone. Some Spaghetti Os!

After dinner they all return to their beds. 

A sudden storm approaches and the sound of rain and distant thunder can be heard as they all slow drift off to sleep.