One Stupid Thing

2:4:53

None of us caught even a wink of sleep that night. We were all on edge from Rafe and Barry's invasion and if they returned, we needed to be on high alert. All we knew was that we needed to get out of there ASAP. Unfortunately for us, Pope and Kie haven't returned yet.

JJ stationed himself at the front porch with his pistol. I tried to convince him to come inside with the rest of us, but he was too stubborn to leave his post.

I spent the night packing not only my things, but JJ's too. As soon as Kie and Pope come back on the boat, we are leaving until the waters settle. Now, as the sun rises over the marsh, I brew up some coffee for the four of us.

"I'll be right back," I tell John B and Sarah. They nod in response. I pick up two mugs of coffee and bring them out to the porch where JJ sits. He is scanning our surroundings just like he has all night. Not breaking for a second. "Good morning."

"Oh, mornin'," he replies. He never once glances over at me, too afraid that if he does, he will miss something. I sigh and stand directly in front of him to capture his attention.

"I figured you could use a pick-me-up," I say, thrusting on of the mugs into his hands.

"Oh, thanks. Just, uh, put it inside for me," JJ dismisses me.

"Okay, so I guess we're gonna have to do this the hard way aren't we?" I mumble. I set both mugs down on the side table next to his chair. I lay a hand on his shoulder for balance and seat myself sideways on his lap. Now he has no choice but to look at me. "Let's try this again. Good morning, JJ." I reach behind me and grab his coffee mug from the table. I take the gun from him and replace it with the mug. "I made you coffee."

"Okay, okay. I get it. Thank you, but all I care about is making sure your psycho brother doesn't step foot here again." JJ tries to reach for the gun, but I toss it onto the couch across from us.

"Uh-uh! You need to take a break. If he hasn't shown up yet then he probably won't at all," I assure him. "Now here. Coffee. Drink." JJ reluctantly takes the mug from my hand and as he drinks it I reach for mine, but as I do, something catches my eye. "JJ, I think that's Pope and Kie."

"Yep, sure is. Hey! Sarah! JB! They're back!" JJ calls out. I stand up from his lap, ditch the coffee, and sling the backpack onto my shoulder. I hurry out the front door after JJ, followed by Sarah assisted by John B. Her wound has been bugging her ever since she arrived back here. "Finally. Hey! Guys, don't tie up. Stop it!"

Kiara stops tying and looks up in confusion. "What?"

"We're dipping," JJ explains briefly as he hurries down the stairs.

"Wait, why?" Pope asks.

"What? What are you talking about?" Kie watches as we all file down the stairs and onto the lower dock.

"I got it," Sarah tells John B. She removes her arm from around his shoulders and uses the railing to help her get down the stairs instead.

"Where'd you guys go? What happened last night?" John B insists.

"We slept on the break. What's up?" Pope replies quickly.

"Slept, right. Yeah. We were up all night," JJ hints, not-so-subtly. I smack him on the arm and give him a look. We both board the Pogue and settle ourselves down in the front.

"We gotta get the hell out of here," John B tells them seriously. He moves out of the way and allows Sarah to go first, keeping close behind her just in case.

"Rafe knows we're here, so we have to leave, like, now," Sarah says urgently. She grunts with effort and uses the railing to get into the boat.