Along came Reid

3. Normalcy Lulled

The door was closed. The door was never closed. What was worse, Barron was not at her side licking her face awake. Jaime bolted upward, letting her thick blankets pool at her waist. A hand instantly flew to her head when a dizzy spell warped her balance after the sudden movement. The clock on the wall read fifteen minutes to noon. To say she overslept was an understatement. Jamie frantically scrambled to dress herself in her ripped jeans and yellow printed tee, taking her hacksaw and securing it in its worn leather glove at her waist.

Cautiously, Jamie cracked the door open, listening for any telltale groans of deaders. Instead, Jamie's ears were met with some 80's jam on a boombox accompanied by a raspy tenor in the kitchen. Someone was in her home. The memories of the night before slammed on her conscious like a pipe bludgeoning a deader's skull. That incomparable idiot Reid followed her home only to arrive during the thick of the screeching. Now he was in her home.

Carefully, Jamie crept towards the kitchen and peeked in to find Reid dancing while he cooked with Barron at his side, her dog wide eyed and hoping for scraps. Then, as if he knew she was there the whole time, he hopped around pointed the wooden spoon to his mouth and sang into it, his eyes looking to her. "–ran all night and daaaay. I couldn't get away."

Stupefied, Jamie gawked at the sight of Reid in her kitchen. He wasn't supposed to be here. In fact, no person was supposed to be here. People weren't safe, especially ones stupid enough to travel through  the screeching. Before Jamie could wail on him about why he was in her home, Reid dropped pancakes, eggs and bacon onto a plate and shoved it into her chest. Jamie scrambled to steady the hot plate before it fell.

"Before you ask, yes I brought this with me so I didn't eat up your food. Peace offering." Reid grinned, putting his hands on his hips as if he were proud of himself. The heavenly food beneath her nose made it increasingly difficult to be angry at him.

"First chocolate, now breakfast." Jamie noted suspiciously. "That's a lot of peace."

"I just wanted to be sure you wouldn't try to abandon your own pad because of me or anything." He said, lifting a hand to sheepishly scratch the back of his head. Jamie wondered briefly if Reid blamed himself for why she abandoned him at the museum the day prior; not that she cared. The bigger, unforgivable issue was that he was in her home. Reid shooed her, spinning Jamie by her shoulders and moving her to the kitchenette table to sit. "Come on, eat while it's still hot. You can scowl at me after you're fed."

"It's not poisoned is it?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Only if you're deathly allergic to care and love."  he teased, fluttering his eyes innocently as he moved to sit across from her.

Jamie's hard expression cracked as the corner of her lip lifted with his antics. Rather than encourage his antics, Jamie raised a syrup soaked pancake square to her mouth, doing her best to ignore the eager Reid across from her. An explosion of taste tickled her senses and for the first time in weeks, Jamie was really hungry.

"So, how does it taste?" Reid asked impatiently, sitting on the edge of his seat.

"You cook well for a guy." Jamie answered, deciding to hold back on her enthusiasm towards the meal. If she were honest, Reid's cooking was the best thing she'd eaten in years; even before the Collapse.

"In the words of you, that's a sexist view." Reid beamed, revealing his perfect teeth, putting his cheek into his palm.

Jamie paused her chewing to consider his play of words. "Huh. Guess it was..." she admitted with a shrug.

"For your information, I've been cooking for years."

"600 right?" Jamie asked with a wryly raised brow. Reid's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and his smile widened. "Aw, so you didn't forget our little chat."