This fic is possible additions to the Vegas saga, and this particular installment is opening up a possible revision- or just reinterpretation- of a "Fear and Loafing" story arc. Comments welcome: Who thinks this way would be better?

Wichita, wearing only her extra-oversized T-shirt, rocked back and forth on her husband's vibrating knee. He held her hands behind her back. "Oh g-god-d!" She arced her spine and stretched her arms further. He bent forward and kissed the back of her neck. "Oh-h-h f-f-fu-fu-!!" She tilted back her head for a kiss on the lips.

When they both had had enough, he lay back on the bed while she lay facedown, her chin in her hands at the foot of the bed. He reached under her shirt just enough for an affectionate pat. "That was good," he said, blushing. "Listen... we love each other." She nodded. "We- like making love."

"No complaints on this end."

"We both agree, we're married. We're going to stay together. Be a family. Have a family."

"Yes," she said without hesitation. Then, slowly, she turned her head just enough to fix on him with a piercing blue eye. "She told."

"She didn't have to."

Wichita assumed a sitting position. "You never asked! You didn't seem interested in waiting, either."

"I was wrong," he said. "We didn't talk before. We can talk now. Are you-?"

"Late?" She sighed. "A little."

"How much?"

"A week. Maybe a week and a half. I've been late before."

"That's a lot." He frowned. "Wait. How-?" His eyes widened.

Week 14

They had driven north, to within sight of San Francisco Bay. After what they had seen, they went south, and took greater care to stay inland and avoid cities. Their course brought them to Monterey County, and to the vast fields of a place called Castroville. Tallahassee halted to examine one of the dead zombies lying the road. After a moment's examination, he chuckled. "What happened?" Little Rock called from the "shotgun" seat.

"They found something they couldn't handle, but couldn't resist," he said. He pried a half-chewed green object from the zombie's hand. "The artichoke: God's greatest edible gift to man- after Twinkies, of course- but God only knows how we ever figured out how to eat 'em."

As they entered the small town, they passed a 10X20 ft concrete sculpture of the town's signature vegetable. "They built a statue?!" Little Rock said. "What's the big deal about artichokes?"

Tal slowed the SUV and pulled into a restaurant. "That's it! We aren't leaving until this poor little girl has had cooked artichokes!" He quickly set about gathering pots, pans, and, of course, artichokes. Columbus and Wichita set off for a motel room with a bottle of wine.

An hour later, they walked back to the restaurant. Wichita held her head high, her stern face almost purple. Columbus walked two or three paces behind, staring mournfully at his shoes. He closed the distance and reached out to put an arm around her waist. "Please don't," she said curtly.

"Okay," he mumbled.

She sighed and took his hand. "Look. You weren't- I mean- It wasn't you. What I mean is- it wasn't your fault. Stuff just happens sometimes. Especially when people are- new. Well, and drunk. The thing to do is chalk it up to experience, and try again later. Not make a big deal." She met his gaze and let go.

At the dinner table, Columbus and Wichita were almost entirely silent, and didn't speak a word to each other. Tal coached Little Rock through removing the leaves, dipping them in butter and stripping off the edible inner part. "It's okay," Little Rock said, "but I still don't see why it's such a big deal."

Wichita planted her head in her hands hard enough to rattle the dishware.

Wichita rolled over laughing at the memory. "Oh, God, that was such a disaster!"

"But- we didn't really- make love," he said persistently. "And you never... had before."

"Yeah, good job not figuring that out."

"So- if anything happened, it couldn't have happened then. So... maybe nothing did."

"Actually-" She hesitated. "It's funny. Well. We did get pretty far- further than I expected, really. Thing is, I've heard stories- sometimes that's enough."

He leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair. "Holy- Do you really think-?"

"I don't know. But I'll tell you something. I didn't play goody twoshoes like you did, but I made sure to hold what mattered to me back. I did it so the first man who had everything from me would be the one who gave me my babies. I always wanted to start young, and have a lot. I figured, as long as I had the right man- I would be ready."

He pulled her up beside him. "Krista- that's not how things work. Even before- People need time to set up a home. Find ways to support themselves. Get used to each other. And now- It's not something we should even think about until we find a safe place to live."

"Really? Then why didn't you wait?" He sighed again. "Listen, I'm willing to go along with whatever you decide. But I'll tell you something. You act like Zombieland means we have to wait longer and plan more before we do anything. But before Zombieland, would you have even thought of being where we are, only a month after we met?"

He laughed nervously. "I'd probably still be trying to decide whether to talk to you."

She snuggled against him. "Let me tell you something else. That first try? I was impressed. I mean, I didn't think you would get that far on the first try. And you really weren't bad. In fact- there were moments when it felt pretty good." His eyes widened, and he smiled. She straddled his lap and kissed him. "Now, tell me honestly. If you knew, as an absolute certainty, that if you got in me now it would get me pregnant- would you do anything different?" He actually paused, but it only took a few moments for him to kiss her hard as he rolled on top of her.