Chapter two hundred and twenty one:

Becky was sitting calmly in the waiting room.

She was sitting nervously with her hands tucked under her knees. Jen had been checked into the hospital with little effort, and for the most part, had gone willingly. The four of them had decided to give Jen some time to sleep, while the doctors discussed her case, and treated her for vitamin deficiency.

Zac was sitting with an old comic book in his lap, and Taylor was sitting across from everyone else, his arms crossed over his chest with his head back and eyes closed, trying to get some sleep.

Luke was leaning forward, with his elbows balanced on his knees, as his right leg nervously bounced up and down. His running shoe was squeaking loudly on the linoleum.

Taylor sighed in exasperation and opened his eyes to glare at Luke.

“Dammit, do you have any idea how annoying that is?” He snapped. 

Luke’s knee stopped bounding. “Don’t snap at me, we wouldn’t even be here if you had been watching her!”

“What? It’s hardly my responsibility to be watching out for her all the time. She’s your girlfriend!”

“And I wasn’t there, was I? If I had been, this wouldn’t have happened! How could you not have noticed? She’s skin and bones!”

Taylor opened his mouth to respond, but Becky interrupted immediately.

“For fuck sakes, will you just shut the hell up?” She demanded.

Taylor raised his eyebrows, and Luke turned in alarm. Zac’s jaw dropped. He had never heard her swear out of anger.

“This is no one’s god damned fault! No one saw this coming, not even me and I’m her best friend!”

Becky pushed herself out of her chair and stormed from the waiting room.

Zac sat in shock for a moment, before deciding to go after her.

He found her standing in the hallway with the vending machines, clutching her sweater around her shoulders and staring at a large advertisement for Mars bars.

Without a word, he walked up behind her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

She turned, and seeing him, folded herself into his arms, hiding her face in the shoulder of his t-shirt.

He gently stroked her hair. “It’s okay,” He whispered.

“It’s not okay… we were spending so much time worried about these people coming after us, and we weren’t looking at what was going on right in front of our eyes.” She sobbed.

“I know. But she’s going to get better.” He tested.

She nodded slowly.

“I should go and see her.” Becky pulled herself out of the embrace, tears still cascading down her cheeks.

“Okay, if that’s what you want to do.” He gently brushed a tear away.

“God, I’m such a baby.”

“No, you’re not.” He smiled warmly. “You’re a good friend.”

She smiled slightly. “Thanks. Will you come with me?”

“Okay.” He took her hand. “If that’s what you want.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Isaac emerged from the shower, and followed the scent of food to the kitchen, where he found Christy dressed in a pair of jeans and a stomach bearing t-shirt.

She was standing at the stove frying bacon and cooking scrambled eggs.

“Wow, smells fantastic.” He smiled, gently kissing her temple.

“I thought you might like breakfast. To build up your strength?”

He grinned at that and sat down at the table. “Did you get a hold of Jen?”

“I was on the phone with her for almost an hour.” She replied. “When I came to bed, you were sound asleep.” She smiled warmly. “You looked so cute; I didn’t want to wake you.”

He laughed. “I think all the sun is wearing me out, or something. Or maybe it’s something else we’ve been doing non-stop since we’ve got here.” He winked.

Christy laughed.

“How is she?” He continued.

“She’s okay. She doesn’t like being in the hospital, but I think she’s starting to understand that she needs to be there. She says they’re taking good care of her.”

“Good. That’s excellent news.”

“And she insists we finish our honeymoon and not worry about her.” Christy poured a cup of coffee and crossed the kitchen, placing it on the table in front of Isaac.

She smiled at him, and before he could thank her, she pressed her lips against his and quickly turned her kisses into a passionate embrace. She straddled his hips, wrapping her legs around him.

He moaned softly as she kissed his throat and sucked at his Adam’s apple. “God, are you trying to kill me?”

“Would you mind?” She asked teasingly.

He chuckled. “I don’t know.”

“I bet I could talk you into it.” She seduced her lips dangerously close to his.

“Yeah?” He asked, distracted by the desire to return her kisses.

“Oh yeah.” She reached down and pulled her t-shirt over her head, tossing it over her shoulder.

His gaze dropped downward, to rest on her breasts, tightly enclosed in a skimpy black bra.

She smiled to herself, noticing the development in his jeans. “See? I told you.”

He moved to kiss her, deeper and more hungrily than before, lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around his hips and allowed him to back her out of the kitchen.

“Wait! Wait!” She gasped for breath.

Reluctantly, he stopped kissing her, and let her slide to the floor. She quickly turned off the burners on the stove and turned to smile at him.

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