Chapter Fifty-Three

John smiled, when Claire turned his light on, noticing the tube of ointment in her hand. "Hey doc." He chuckled, rubbing his eyes as he tried to not wake Amelia up.

Claire smiled, pushing his blanket farther down on his chest and squeezing some paste onto her fingers to rub over his rash. "I swear, you have the most sensitive skin I have ever seen." She smeared the medicine over the rash, noticing that she still had way too much on her fingers. "Shit." She whispered, grabbing a tissue from his nightstand and wiping it off on that.

John smirked, pulling her down so that she was kissing him. He let her lay on his chest, feeling her shift so that her whole body was on top of him. He ran his fingers through her hair, relishing in the feeling of her. "I love you." He whispered, pressing another kiss to her lips.

She smiled, slipping her hands under his shoulders and feeling his muscles move to allow her between his body and the bed. "I love you." She breathed, looking into his deep brown eyes, noticing that they were the rich dark chocolate that showed his love.

He kissed her neck, gently suckling on her skin, turning it to a dark purple. "I love you more."

She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart and ignoring the scent of the rash cream. "I love you most."

He chuckled, tracing his fingers over the little sliver of skin above her waistband and under her shirt hem. "That's impossible."

She closed her eyes, taking comfort in his body pressing against hers. "I'm happy you're okay." She mumbled, resting her chin on his sternum to look at his face. "You scared me when you ran out."

He nodded, closing his eyes so he could force himself to be surrounded by her. "I'm sorry." He felt her shift, her knees resting on either side of his hips. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just couldn't stand to see her."

Claire nodded, holding him tighter. "She's got a life sentence now…" She stated, feeling his muscles tighten.

"What did she do?" He asked, knowing that she'd only had a five-year sentence when they'd left Shermer.

Claire kissed his collar bone, burying her nose in his neck. "She killed Rachel for drugging you." She yelped as he suddenly tensed, afraid that this might be a seizure. "Are you okay?" She asked, pressing her hands to his face.

He nodded, rolling until she was underneath him, startling when Amelia woke up.

"What're you doing?" The kid yawned, rubbing her eyes as she took in the pair kissing beside her.

John breathed a laugh, pushing himself off of Claire. "Claire was telling me how much she loves me, and I was returning the favor."

She tilted her head, looking at John's scrawny form. "By laying on her?"

Claire chuckled, lifting Amelia up as they left his room. "Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes." She smiled, knowing that John had to be hungry and not feeling well from not eating all day. "Mom and Brian made spaghetti for you."

He grinned, pulling on an old ratty hoodie that had a Superman logo on it. "Awesome." He chuckled, stretching his arms above his head as he got out of bed. "Oh shit." He looked up at his girl, his face having the look of a teen who'd forgotten to go his chores. "We lost the bet."

She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "It was worth it." She chuckled, taking Amelia to her room to get into pajamas. "I'll meet you downstairs."

John smirked, starting down to the dinning room. He didn't bother to hide his limp, knowing that he was completely safe here. He breathed in the scent of cooking spaghetti sauce, loving the smell of basil and other Italian spices in the kitchen.

Clarissa smiled, giving him a hug as he grabbed his diet Coke from the fridge. "Good evening, Pumpkin." She ran her hand over the bump where his incision scar was. "Ryan wants to take you in on Monday morning for that." She tapped her finger over it, noticing his behavior change. "None of that." She scolded, holding out a spoonful of marinara sauce to him. "Try this." She ordered, holding her hand under the spoon as she lifted it to his lips.

He took the spoon in his mouth, tasting the sauce on his tongue. "Mmm!" He exclaimed, nodding to tell her that it was good. "That's it, Mom. Perfect as always." He popped the top on his Coke, taking a drink as he waited for dinner to finish cooking. "How the hell are you two so good at cooking?" He asked, pushing himself to sit on the counter.

Brian looked up from the noodles he was boiling, shaking his head as John burped. "I guess it's a learned skill." He dropped his gaze as he realized what he'd said. "Sorry."

John shrugged, taking another drink of his soda. "You're right. It's a learned thing and I never got that chance." He jumped down from the counter, walking over to try and help Brian. "Do you need me to help with something?" He asked, discreetly slipping his hand into the candy jar and grabbing a sucker.

Brian pointed to the colander beside the sink. "Can you hold that while I pour the noodles in it?"

John nodded, picking up the strainer and letting Brian dump the noodles in. "So, do we have to rinse these now?"

Brian shook his head taking the colander from him and placing the noodles onto a plate. "Get the butter for me, please."

John nodded, handing him the butter and lifting the little silver lid on the tray. "How much do you put on?"

Brian took a butter knife and cut the stick in half. "About two or three tablespoons." He rubbed it over the pasta smiling as it melted into the food.

"Huh." John looked up at the younger boy, tilting his head. "I guess I never knew the difference between a tablespoon, a teaspoon, and a regular spoon." His brown furrowed. "What is the difference?"

Clarissa chuckled, turning to look at the boys. "It's the size." She pulled the sucker from his mouth, tossing it in the trash. "What did I tell you about sugar?"

He smirked, rubbing a hand over his chest. "That Sweets is the only sugar I get."

"Johnathan…" She sighed, looking up as the rest of the family filed into the dining room. "What am I going to do with you?"

John shrugged placing the pasta on the table next to the marinara sauce and garlic bread. "Love me."

She rolled her eyes, patting him on the back. "I guess that's all I can do." She looked at the family. "Dig in, everyone!"