The Home We've Built

Chapter 1

They had just barely escaped the police with the help of Cleo and were now headed back towards home so they could take Ward and Rafe down and get the gold once and for all. They had been on the boat for a bit of time now and were far enough away to only be seeing the ocean that's surrounding them on this beautiful night. "Alright, this is the Gulf Stream." John B said as he set the boat up so that he can make his way up to Sarah in the front of the boat, "It's going to take us north right home." "Home." Sarah replied dreamily like starting to hurt as the medicine starts to wear off, John B then makes his way up to Sarah to check on her. "Hi." She says, "How ya doin'' he replies, "Never better." She answers, "No seriously Sarah, is there anything that I can do to make the pain more bearable?" John B asks with a worried look on his face, he hates the fact that Sarah is in pain let alone that she was shot... by her own brother. "Just you being here is making it bearable, I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you with me through this." She knows that he's feeling guilty and that he feels as though it's his fault, but it's not, it's Rafe's fault because he was the one who shot her and it's Ward's fault for defending his son the way he has instead of turning him in from the start. "Well, if you weren't with me through this then you wouldn't have been shot." John B says. "Whoa." Sarah replies, sitting up so that she can move closer to him. "I chose to be with you through this, I chose to stay with you that night, I chose to get on the boat with you and to hit the storm head on. Do you hear the key words here John B? I chose it. You didn't force this on me at all." Sarah said, "Well you did kinda force me to get you into Chapel Hill." Sarah mentioned to lighten up the mood, she smiled when she heard John B chuckle quietly. "That was one of the best days in my entire life." He told her, "Mine too." She smiled. "If anyone is to really blame for this entire mess John B, it's Ward. He is the one who was the last person to see your dad and as it's sounding from what you've told me, he's the reason your dad isn't here. It's Ward's fault for lying to the cops about who really killed sheriff Peterkin and starting this manhunt on you. It's Ward's fault that she was shot in the first place because he knew Rafe wasn't well and needed help as soon as possible. And lastly its both of their fault that I got shot. But hey, I'm alive-" "But you weren't!" John B cried out, he couldn't hold it back anymore, the memory of her lying there on the table haunted him. "Your heart stopped Sarah and I thought I lost you. I was so scared because I had put you in harm's way for some gold which resulted in you losing your life." He sobbed, she hugged him as best she could while humming to him to calm him down. "I know, I can't imagine what you felt and went through." She said, "But I'm here and I'm alright, just need to heal a little and then I'll be brand new."

They sat there holding each other for a while before she spoke again. "You know what I was thinking?" She asks him, he squeezes her a little. "What's that?" "Let's get married." She states, he's frozen for a moment trying to process what she had said to make sure he heard her correctly. "Um.. don't, don't we need like... um a.. preacher or something? Not that I don't want to though." He finally says. "And what about the rings?" He asks, every girl wants a ring. "What about them?" She replies, "For future reference though, I like princess cut, emerald cut." "Yah?" "Never an emerald shape though." She says. "Okay, I'll remember that." He chuckles as he pulls off his bandanna, she looks at him slightly confused as he rips off a piece. "Omg, princess cut, my favourite!" She says excitedly. "I give you this sweaty piece of my father's bandanna," He says while starting to tie it around her neck for her, "as a token of my love." She lifts her hair up to help him out. "It's perfect!" She says, "Yeah." He replies. "By the power vested in me," Sarah starts with the boat slightly rocking with the waves, "by the sky, the stars and the sea, I now pronounce us husband and wife." She says, "Through sickness and health, through rich or poor, till death do us part." He finishes, "You may now kiss your bride." She says as he stands up and grabs her face and leans down to kiss her. It's a nice moment between the two, a moment where they don't have to worry about anything. They kiss for a few seconds before she all of a sudden asks "Can we get a dog?" He chuckles at her, "let's get a dog!" She says. "One thing at a time Sarah." He tells her. "As soon as we get my names cleared, I promise you Sarah we can get whatever dog you want." He tells her, looking at her in awe. "Agreed" she says.

A while later, they are lying on the seat at the front while cruising towards home, Sarah asleep on top of John B while he watches her and caresses her hair. He's gotten a bit of sleep not wanting to sleep long in case something was to happen. The sun was coming up and Sarah was starting to wake up. "Good morning wifey." He said in a quiet tone. "Good morning husband." They decided to sit there for a bit, Sarah cuddled into John B while sitting on his lap. Then Sarah points out the land ahead. "It looks quite large." John B stated while getting to go behind the wheel. "But we will have to stop there to get gas because we are almost out." he said. "That sounds perfect!" She responded as she got up and stood beside him, placing a kiss on his cheek. She closed her eyes while resting her head on his shoulder just enjoying the breeze that she felt, "Look Sarah, it's Charleston!" John B exclaimed, "Which means we are closer to OBX than we thought." Sarah told him.

John B had parked the boat up along the shore, got out and stuck the anchor in the sand, then he quickly went to help Sarah out of the boat. "Ok ready?" He asked her, she was sitting on the edge of the boat and he was standing there with his arms open ready to grab her, "Yah. I'm a little sore though." She told him "Hey that's all good, we will take it at your pace, but the less you stretch it out the less pain you'll be in. Okay?" "Yah '' she really appreciated how thoughtful and caring John B was throughout this whole time. She put her hands on his shoulders and he grabbed her legs pulling her off the boat and placing her on the ground. "How are you doing?" He asked, making sure she wasn't in too much pain, "I'm good." She answered, he smiled at her and grabbed the two jerry cans that Sarah brought up when he was parking the boat. "Okay here's what we need to do, we're going to get some gas, find a phone, then get out of here, sound good?" John B stated as they started walking up the beach. "Yah that all sounds good, just one small inconvenience." She said, "What is it?" "How are we going to pay for the gas?" "Oh that? Don't worry about it, we'll figure it out."

They've been walking for a bit of time when they pass this small café, "That looks so good." John B whispered to Sarah, "I'm starving." Sarah put one hand on his shoulder and the other on her wound as they went up the stairs onto the patio, "We need to get some food, so just follow my lead." he told her. "Okay." She said as they started walking over to a table. He walks up behind the waiter and bumps him with one of the jerry cans, making the waiter spill the drinks all over the customer. Instantly the waiter starts apologizing profusely and Sarah knows just what to do, she goes over and starts apologizing moving close to the table to grab the cash sitting there as John B tells them it was his fault. "Are you going to pay for it?" The angry customer asks, "I can't, I'm so sorry. I'm broke." John B tells the guy "Of course you are." He says, "Pathetic." He states as John B stands there trying not to laugh, that's when Sarah walks up and they go to walk away. "I'm sorry." John B says one last time "No need for name calling, sir." Sarah says, and with that they walk away. "Did you get it?" John B asked when they were out of hearing reach, "What are you talking about?" Sarah asked. John B looked at her confused, "Oh you mean this?" She asks as she holds up the cash she took from the table, he scoffs at her relieved that she understood the plan. "Oh my god." "I'll sugar mama you." She tells him, "I was hoping you would say that." He responds.

They had finally reached the gas station after walking for a bit, they came to the agreement that John B would get the food while she filled the gas. "Okay, how many hotdogs do you want?" He asked her, "Okay, um like 50." She responded. "Fifty hotdogs?" He asked as he started to go in, "one hundred, I don't care." She started to fill the jerry can, that's when she felt something rubbing up her leg. When she looked down she saw a stray dog that looked to be like a chocolate colored Labrador Retriever. "Well hello there buddy." She said to the puppy who only looked to be about 4 months old. The puppy was obviously a stray by the way it's fur was and how skinny it was. Sarah picked the puppy up, "Well aren't you gorgeous... little girl." She told her as the puppy wagged its tail. She then put the puppy down and went back to filling the jugs with the puppy sitting beside her. As she was filling the first one she heard familiar voices, when she found out where it was coming from she realized they had found them. "Shit." She exclaimed trying to hide, then at the worst time possible John B came out of the store. "They ran out of the real deal-" he started as she immediately tried to quiet him, "-they're vegan, what?" "They are right there. Literally right there." She whispers to him. "Hey! You!" The man yelled when he spotted them, "Come here thieves! You stole my money!" John B quickly closed the jerry can while Sarah grabbed the puppy and they booked as fast as they could, the man running shortly after. "Where did you get the dog Sarah?" John B asked when he noticed the puppy in Sarah's arms, "She came up to me while I was filling the cans up. Can we keep her John B please?" "Yah you can Sarah as long as you take on the majority of the responsibilities for her." He replied "Thank you John B! You're the best!"