Rise of The "Beast"

No Big Improvement: part 1

A few days pass and Casie awakens from her slumber one morning. Yawning, she drops out of bed and exits her room. Stepping into the living room, she saw her dad sleeping on the couch, his only arm dangling off the side of it with his belly down on the cushions. He didn't look to good... his skin leaning on the greener side, even his tentacles were fading into a cyan hue. He now had actual wrappings on the wound, rather than the makeshift tourniquet he made. So at least the bleeding to his removed limb was decreasing... He still hasn't touched any sustenance since he came home though.

She made her way to the kitchen and climbed up a chair to grab a cup, filling it with water at the sink. Coming to her fathers side, she gently shook him awake. As he groaned, he blinked his eyes open and rubbed one with his wrist, trailing at the clock as he did so. Looking down at the youngling and seeing her big green eyes looking back at him, he smiled and ruffled her tentacles. She did notice the change in his eyes as days passed... the gray in his eyes darkened into a black void, and the yellow pigment in his corneas was changed to a cyan glow by now. But he was still the same as how she remembered him.

"Is that for me?" Josh asked, pointing to the cup.

Casie nodded, holding it up for him. "You haven't eaten anything in a while, papa. I just want you to get something in your tummy to fill you up!"

Huffing out a laugh at his kid's sweetness, he took the cup from her. "Thank you, kiddo. At least someone cares about me..." He told her, taking a second to glare at the door to his and his wife's room. Her dad then tilted his head up and chugged the water down. Doing the usual gasp of satisfaction after intaking a refreshing beverage, he gave the cup back to her.

"I'm gonna say it again, but thanks kid. Really means a lot to me."

"No problem, papa! Nurse Casie will do the best she can!" Casie said happily, trudging back into the kitchen.

He smiled as he watched her walk off. Good, she still maintained some of her innocence... She reminded him of his wife when they were younger, so full of life. Josh leaned back and rubbed his face. His mind has been running in circles ever since the accident... mostly of his wife and child as well. Ever since he and his wife found out about Casie's condition, she's been distant with their daughter. She only did things out of reluctance for her, it drove him crazy. It broke his heart that their perfect family wasn't actually as perfect as he wanted it to be. His heart also broke for Casie... knowing that because her mother is distancing herself away from her, they won't have the bond that a mother and daughter should have together. Being infected didn't help with any of the problems either...

Eventually, Tammy came out of the bedroom, tiredness in her eyes as she walked past the couch. Josh saw that she didn't bother with putting any sweatpants on, stepping into the bathroom with only a tank top and underwear on.

"Morning babe..." He muttered to her, resulting in a grunt back.

He watched as she brushed her teeth, staring at herself in the mirror as she did. Getting up from the couch, he joined her in the bathroom and hugged her from behind. The male looked at her through the mirror, watching as her gaze shifted towards his own.

Josh kissed her shoulder. "I miss the old you... I miss holding you..." He muttered.

Tammy washed the toothpaste out of her mouth and looked back at him. "I'm still here, am I?" She remarked.

"Well, yeah... but you're always locked up in our room. We don't really do anything together anymore." He told her.

She rolled her eyes and turned whole body towards him. "Fine, what do you wanna do?" she asked.

Josh snaked his arm around her waist. "I was thinking that we could do something as a family? With you, Casie, and I? I am... well... I am technically dying soon and my last wish is for the family to be like it should've been..." He replied.