Safe Haven

Surviving for Two

Chloe yawns audibly, stretching her arms in the air, then immediately dropping them down to continue cuddling with Hunter. Nathan looks over at her, notices her big smile, and smiles himself. He walks over to her, crouches down, and gently rubs her side.

"Hey, wake up sis," he whispers. Chloe lets out a quiet, high pitched whine, and cuddles Hunter tighter. Hunter looks up and Nathan, begins panting and wags his tail. Nathan giggles and scratches Hunter behind his ears. He kisses Chloe's cheek, and makes his way back over to Jillian. He caresses her cheek and kisses her head. "Hey, babe, wake up," he says. "We've gotta get moving soon."

"Five more minutes babe," Jillian yawns.

"You said that five minutes ago, baby girl. Come on, let's get up," Nathan smiles. Jillian sits up and throws her arms around him.

"I love you so much. I had a dream that the world was finally back to normal, and we were sitting in our cottage home, cuddling in front of a fireplace, watching our adorable little babies running around."

"How many kids did we have?" Nathan laughs.

"Fifteen," Jillian says.

"Wow, fifteen kids?" Nathan asks, shocked. "How did we end up with fifteen kids? I have a pretty decent pull-out game," Nathan chuckles.

"Well, about that..." Jillian looks away momentarily, then continues, "...I think I might be pregnant."

"P-pregnant?" Nathan exclaims. "Are you sure?"

"I haven't had my period in over a month, babe, and I've been feeling kind of sick recently," Jillian reveals.

"You... you can't be pregnant, not now, not until things are back to normal."

"I am, and I think I want to keep it."

"I want to keep it too," Nathan responds. Jillian's face lights up. She put's her hands on Nathan's cheeks, and pulls him in for a long, passionate kiss.

"Have you thought about any names yet?" Nathan asks.

"I don't know, I mean, we won't even know if it's a boy or a girl until I squeeze it out of me."

"Well shit, I can't believe this is actually happening. I feel so euphoric, you know what I mean? I feel like everything is finally going well for us."

"Nate, you're going to be an amazing father. You've led this group fearlessly since we all met up in the shelter. I knew I'd fall in love the moment I laid my eyes on you."

Nathan smiles, and his eyes begin to water.

"Are you alright babe?" Jillian jokes.

"Yeah, I think I, uh, got some dust in my eye or something," he laughs, wiping the tears from his eyes.

Jillian's demeanor suddenly fades to a more serious one.

"Are... you okay?" Nathan asks.

"Griffin told me something troubling a while back, and I figured I'd ask you about it when I got the chance. Griff said you've killed unarmed, innocent people, is that true?"

Nathan sighs, "yes, it is, but let me explain myself. I follow my gut for almost every decision I make. Most of the time, my gut feeling is right, and I end up saving the day, but sometimes... sometimes it's wrong, and I end up bearing the weight of killing an innocent person, killing someone just like us, someone just trying to survive. I forget that not everyone is out to get me, and some people are just looking for a friend, or a place to call home. I'm nothing like Griff, if that's what you're worried about. My morals are still intact."

"Thank you," Jillian says, "for explaining yourself. I was just so worried that my angel was some wolf in sheep's clothing."

"I'm not angel," Nathan replies, "but I'd sooner die than lose you, or anyone in our family."

"Nathan, please, promise me you'll never change. I love you, so much, and I hope our little baby is just like you."

"I can promise you that I'll do everything in my power to stay the way I am. I won't let this world change me, if I'm able to prevent it."

Jillian leans in and kisses him again.

"That's enough for me, babe," she says.