A/N: I am currently working on a sequel to A Million Reasons but I have horrible writers block. This story is coming relatively easier so I decided to post it and hope that when I get over my writers block I can handle two very different stories with the same characters at the same time. This is not in the same universe as A Million Reasons so for those of you who have read it don't get confused. This takes place just after the events of the Host…maybe 6 months to a year later.
I noticed there's a lack of fics from Melanie's POV. I find that sad because she's one of my favorites so I had to make her the star of mine. Hope you enjoy!
I woke with a start. I had been having a strange dream. Not exactly a bad dream, just different. I hadn't been having many nightmares lately, mostly because there weren't a lot of things that scared me anymore. As long as Jared and Jamie were safe I was happy. The only thing that could go wrong would be to lose one of them, and that thought was so horrible I didn't even allow myself to dream it.
I rolled over to face Jared, still soundly asleep. It was probably too early to be awake but I would use this extra time just to stare at him. It was refreshing to be able to look at him through my eyes without a filter. No matter how many times Wanda looked at Jared through my eyes it was never quite the same as when I saw him myself. I counted his breaths, thankful for every one. I gently laid my head on his chest to hear his heartbeat. Constant, steady. Much the way our love was. Always present, never wavering or faltering. Even when it looked like we would never see each other again, we vowed to love each other no matter what. And neither of us went back on our promise.
I pulled my head back to look at him and as I did so my hair brushed across his face. He stirred, looking for the sensation that had woken him. He saw me leaning back onto the mattress and smiled widely. Wordlessly he sat up on his elbow and leaned in to kiss me.
His kisses never failed to surprise me. He would vary the intensity so that I would never know whether it was going to be a sweet, thoughtful kiss or a hot, intense kiss. I had tried to decide which I preferred and in truth it did not matter. Just the fact that I was kissing Jared was enough for me.
That morning he opted for a sweet kiss, which was a welcome change from the hot night we'd had previously. He softly touched his lips to mine, moving his free hand to my face. His lips moved over mine as he whispered, "Good morning." I smiled at him and moved my hands to his sides. He pressed his lips firmly against mine and shift so he was above me. Our legs intertwined as he opened his lips to allow me access. I ran my tongue across his lower lip and pulled it into my mouth. He let out a satisfied grunt and moved his hand to my waist. He started to pull up my shirt when there was a knock at the door.
I groaned and pushed Jared back a little. "Who is it?" I asked, knowing full well it was Jamie at the door.
"It's me," he answered. "Can I come in?"
"Of course," I answered as Jared rolled back onto his side of the bed. I gave him an apologetic look, knowing that he wasn't enthused that Jamie made these early morning visits. More than once he'd asked him to wait until breakfast but he rarely could. At least we had trained him to knock. That was an interesting morning when he learned that lesson.
Jamie bounded into the room and jumped on to the bed with us. "Morning," he said brightly.
"Morning, kid," Jared replied as he sat up, stretching. He wasn't going to punish Jamie just because he loved us. He made an effort to get out of bed but I wasn't ready to officially start the day just yet so I put a hand on his forearm, holding him with me. He understood my meaning and smiled. He didn't want to start the day yet either.
I turned my attention to Jamie. "What's up?" I asked him. "How did you sleep?"
He took a deep breath and I knew I was in for a rant. Jamie wasn't the biggest fan of his new room, a fact which he reminded of frequently. "Not good," he started. "Aaron is still snoring. I swear it's getting louder. Those strips Wanda got him on the last raid are not helping. And Brandt is all over the place. His bed is 3 feet from mine and he still manages to kick me at least twice a night. Are you sure I can't move back in with you?" He gave me his best puppy dog eyes but I would not be swayed.
"Absolutely not," I answered firmly. "We've been over this. You cannot stay with us. I'll try to help you find somewhere else to sleep if you want me to but this room is not an option."
He stared at me. He was trying to look hurt but I knew he wasn't. We had been over this too many times for this to be news to him. He was just trying to wear me down now. However, he had no idea of my resolve when it came to keep my private space with Jared.
Things weren't that bad with Brandt and Aaron. He was just going to have to toughen up. He'd slept in worse places before and he knew it. He turned his eyes to Jared, though he knew it was a lost cause. It had been Jared's idea to kick him out in the first place.
"You heard her kid," Jared said, shrugging his shoulders. He shifted out of my reach and got out of bed. He was stretching and his back cracked in several places.
I chuckled to myself. It was a long running joke that Jared was becoming an old man. He had just turned 30 so he was moving out of the younger group and into the older one. We had been teasing him lately that he fit in better with Jeb and Maggie than he did with the rest of us. His back cracking was just adding fuel to the fire.
Finally I decided to heave myself out of bed. I still wasn't quite ready to be up yet but I wanted breakfast. I dressed and brushed my teeth in the bowl we kept in our room for just such a purpose. When I was finished getting ready Jamie and I walked arm in arm to the kitchen to hunt down our meal.
Life in the caves continued much the same as it had before. We turned the fields, planted the crops, and harvested the final products. That day we were scheduled to turn the south field, getting ready to plant lettuce. It was me, Jared, Kyle, Sunny, Brandt, Lily, and Ian turning in the morning, with Wanda, Trudy, Aaron, and Heath planting in the afternoon. We knew Sunny wouldn't be much help with the manual labor but she still wasn't comfortable being away from Kyle. We made our way to the field and I grabbed the first shovel I saw. I was anxious to get to work.
We were getting ready to take our lunch break when Jeb came around to see how we were doing. He appeared to be checking the field for clumps. Did he not trust us to do our job? I knew he did of course, but he still had to remind everyone who was boss. I couldn't disagree with that. When he was finished with his round Lacey was coming in with water for everyone. I dropped my shovel and grabbed two cups, one for me and one for Jared. I couldn't help but give Lacey a glare. She was kind of annoying in her own right, but I also remembered the soul that occupied her mind. And I wanted nothing to do with either one of them. I tried to keep my distance at all times.
I walked to where Jared with sitting against a wall and handed him his water. It was especially hot today so I made sure he drained every drop. He handed his cup back to me and put his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him and closed my eyes. It had been a long morning so far and we were only half finished. We sat in silence, resting against each other, Jared absently tracing circles on my shoulder. The rest of the group was sitting on the other side of the field discussing planting.
After a little while I heard Jeb's voice drifting across the room. "All right, naptime's over. Get back to work."
I sighed and opened my eyes. I squinted, adjusting to the light. I scanned the room making sure the others were moving too. No sense in being the first one back. I glanced at Jeb and something about his expression drew my attention. He had a strange look on his face. Not like pain, just confusion. As I stared he moved a hand to his temple and started rubbing it. I started toward him, worried. He didn't look right. When I was halfway across the field he clutched his skull with both hands and fell to the ground.
A/N: Poor Jeb. I feel bad about killing him off but there wouldn't be much of a story if I didn't. Reviews are always appreciated, and I'm really making an effort to reply and return them. Keep reading, this is going to get dramatic.