5. The way ahead

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They were sitting on the couch as Danny had filled Frankie, Ravit and Kara in about what had happened on the road and after they had left the base.

Burk peeled off from behind to continue towards the cabin as he and Wolf had responded to the gunfire. Hitting both the car tire's and one of the hostiles. Windshield in front of them had a few bullet holes, but it was possible to drive forward. They couldn't follow after them without a car but they might be able to communicate to get reinforcements. They had driven a longer route to the cabin, making sure they weren't being followed. It was a relief to know they were safe for the time being. But it did seem that the way back home wouldn't be easy.

As they had come out of the truck they saw Ravit running out of the cabin and placing a hot kiss on Burk's lips. Chuckling to himself, and Burk thought he hadn't made an impression. "Looks like he isn't doing that bad." Wolf stated smiling.

"So what's our plan?" Ravit had asked looking at the three men sitting on the couch. "Norfolk is the safest bet." Burk glanced at Danny. "But if the roads are filled with people.." Frankie stated, looking a little frightened. "I suggest we wait for a day or two. From what we saw out there, everyone is on the move. Getting to a safe zone." Danny reasoned. "Shouldn't we just follow them then? Get to safety?" Ravit wondered. "No. Danny is right. We should try and avoid human contact as long as we can." She shared a look with Danny. "The symptoms are vague. Fever, headaches and exhaustion.. it's impossible to know who might be carrying the virus. The less people we meet, the better." She reasoned and Ravit looked like she understood. "Should think the safe zones are safe.." Wolf had then added. "There is no way to check for the virus. There is always a risk." Frankie said.

"Since Smith left to find his family.." Danny started to say. They were so focused to getting to Norfolk because in their minds the Navy had to have a plan. But they needed to talk about finding their families.

"Well mine is in Boston and New York. Long way from here to there. Given the chaos out there." Frankie told them, looking sad.

"My folks are in Philadelphia, but my brother is with them. He'll keep them safe." Burk said as if to reassure himself that they would survive.

"My Mom is in Norfolk." She added. She was the only one who had family there.

"Ravit's and mine are clearly not here, so.." Wolf said. She might be just 3 hours away from her mother, but these two had thousands of miles between their families and they might never get to know what has happened to them.

"Mine are in Connecticut. I'm sure they are okay. They'll follow the instructions from the authorities." She heard Danny explain. She could sense the fear in his voice. "And my sister.. she's on a cruise in the Bahamas or at least she was.." He then added, knowing that he might never get to see her again. And they had just been at her wedding. She thought back to the day of the wedding.

The ceremony had been lovely and she had noticed Danny glance at her way as they had sat in the church. She felt that things had gone pretty good between them, but as she had been standing with Danny in the family pictures, she didn't feel quite at ease with the thought of being portrayed for family albums, when she might not even be part of this family in the future.

She did feel strangely happy about Danny and that he had told her that he had it bad for her. She smiled at the thought of him being such a romantic at heart. Working as a Navy SEAL, she thought he was all badass and tough guy, but it seemed he had a softer side. She did wonder why would anyone ever break up with the guy. But perhaps it was the lifestyle he had. Home for short periods at a time. Long distance relationships weren't easy. And how would it be with the two of them if they decided to date for real?

She then felt his hand on her lower back as she was standing on the edge of the dance floor. "You wanna dance?" She heard him ask with a smile. She nodded and took his hand as they walked further to the dance floor and began dancing. "See, everything went well." He looked at her. "Good planning sailor." She smiled at him. Not sure why she felt so girly at the moment. Perhaps it was because she felt his hand behind her back as she was holding her hand in his other hand. The feel of his touch was full of sparks. She then leaned a little closer so that their bodies were meeting and her head was near his chin. She could hear him swallow hard. Chuckling at the thought that she was making him feel tensed, she was intrigued, how much more could she do to him?

She was coming back from her thoughts as Frankie said "Without any reliable communications, it will be hard to go look for them."

"Even if the cell services go up, there will be millions trying to call or send messages. It won't hold if the demand is too much." Wolf stated the facts.

"So we all agree to try and get to Norfolk?" Danny had then looked around and he got a nod from everyone.

It had been a long night and day, so everyone was getting ready to get some rest, hopefully. It wasn't easy to relax to sleep when your mind was filled with thoughts of the future. If they would survive. If they got to Norfolk and what was waiting for them there?

She was lying under the covers as Danny came in to the room after he had quickly washed up. Not sure how long the water to the cabin would be running.

He got into bed and embraced her from behind, snuggling his chin to her neck. "You are warm." He smiled closing his eyes. "How you holding up?" She asked. Wanting to know what he was thinking. "Taking it a day at a time. I'm sure our families will be fine." He said, not very confidently. There was no possible way of knowing if they ever got to see their families again.

As she was lying in his arms, feeling his breath on her skin, feeling the warmth of him. She felt safe enough at the moment, so when she had closed her eyes, she had been able to fall asleep.

All feedback is appreciated, so if you have any thoughts about the story, let me know. :)