Chapter 3: Robbie and Katie

Day 3

"So before I ask this question I want to know I won't be killed," Steve's new acquaintance, Roberto "Robbie" Herrera , said with a Hispanic accent.

Steve glanced at Robbie. He was of a medium stature with dark, curly hair. He wasn't particularly fit, but he wasn't out of shape either and he sported a mustache similar to Jack Sparrow's. The two men had been on a bus headed towards Austin when the bus broke down. Steve attempted to help the driver fix the engine, but then the group witnessed a mushroom cloud over Austin and fights began to break out among the passengers. He used necessary force to break people up and Robbie had assisted him.

When the bus driver told the two men that he could handle the situation himself, the Navy SEAL and his new companion decided to walk to a gas station a few miles ahead of them to find help. Steve wanted to find out what was happening in Austin. He had his suspicions on the attackers, but he couldn't be sure.

"I don't kill people, Robbie," Steve assured.

"That's comforting," Robbie smirked. "Who are you?"

"What're you talking about?"

"Like what do you do? Cause' obviously you're no farmer from Eden, or any farm for that matter," Robbie pointed out.

"I used to be a Navy SEAL," Steve explained.

"Bullshit!" Robbie exclaimed from surprise. "No way!"

Steve shrugged his shoulders. He loved his old job, despite how dangerous it had been. It hadn't been glamorous as the movies portrayed it to be, it was something he did for his country. It was something he did to protect the citizens of the U.S.

"Not that unbelievable," he remarked to Robbie when he felt the need to drink something. "How much further is this gas station?"

"It's a couple miles ahead," he replied.

Steve began to wonder how close the station was to Austin. If it was too close to the blast, then they risked being exposed to radioactivity.

"How far from Austin?"

"I don't know, we were halfway there when the bus broke," Robbie answered. "I don't go to Austin very often, I was leaving Eden because I had to meet a detective on behalf of the sheriff. You gotta' do that when you're second in command. I just wanted to avoid having to go to a stupid high school reunion."

He deduced that Robbie must have gone to school with Ali. Steve could tell that his classmates ostracized him. Robbie just told the commander that he was involved in law enforcement. It was a rightfully earned position through Robbie's determination to prove his classmates wrong, to prove that he was capable of doing more than they were. Right now, however, what mattered was figuring out how to avoid being exposed to radiation.

"This is important, Robbie. Focus," Steve instructed him. "If we get too close to the blast radius, our kidneys, our lungs, our stomachs will be radiated. You don't want that do you?"

"I guess not," Robbie answered, running a hand through his dark hair. "It wouldn't seem so far away if it weren't so hot. The stations gotta' be two miles ahead. We were twenty five miles from both Eden and Austin, the halfway mark. I know that the station is five miles from the mark and we've walked three so far, I counted our steps."

"Alright, so we'll be twenty miles from the blast sight," Steve thought out loud, secretly impressed by the deputy.

It would be dangerous to be that close to Austin. If the mushroom cloud had been visible twenty five miles away, then the bomb had been big. As a military man, though, he had to refuse to let anybody from that bus to go on the road. They didn't have enough training to risk their lives. Besides, according to him and every other SEAL, the only easy day was yesterday.

"What were you doing in Eden anyway?" Robbie pulled him out of his thoughts.

"I was at the high school reunion you skipped out on," Steve answered.

"So you came con un mujer," Robbie smiled. "With a woman native to my town."

"That's right," Steve replied, wishing he had some way to call Ali and tell her he was safe.

"What's she like? Your wife?" Robbie stated, pointing at Steve's left hand, where his silver wedding band sat upon his ring finger.

As Steve thought o f Ali, he had to acknowledge that she was this tough woman whose mind raced with a million and one thoughts in a matter of seconds, which had been helpful at Five-0 when the team hit a dead end on a case and needed imagination to direct them in a new way. However, it had been terrible when her own life hit a rough patch. Steve could remember when the smallest thing, such as a negative remark from somebody, would upset her. Now, though, she took things slowly, focused on one thing at a time and told Steve the littlest things. It was amazing how much she had grown. She was going to be an amazing mother and while Steve knew nothing about being a father, he was excited to share this part of his life with her. Even if he didn't let anybody know, he was happy and would not abandon his family.

"She's pregnant," Steve admitted, feeling sweat pool on the back of his neck. "And happy."

"Well we better get you back to her," Robbie nodded his head.

H5-0

Ali walked up the stairs to the house that evening and leaned against the wooden banister. There was a feeling of uneasiness in her chest. She felt as if there was an evil demon, hunching over her shoulder, waiting to pounce on her at any moment. She knew it was because she had been widowed and she was afraid that she would never be happy again. How would she be a good mother if she was never happy?

The screen door screeched open and Katie sauntered from the house, holding her cell phone. She had a look of devastation on her face while she waved the phone in the air. To Ali, it seemed as if her cousin didn't understand that the power went out.

"We were just nuked," Ali remarked.

"So, I need to call somebody!" her cousin impatiently told her.

Ali saw this as a chance to find out more about the man who Katie was cheating with. She bit her lip, wanting to tread lightly on the matter, but she knew she would have to speak to her before the rest of Eden found out.

"Is it the man that you're cheating with?"

"Excuse me?" Katie snapped, lowering her phone and looking at Ali.

"You heard me, Katie," Ali said.

"That isn't any of your business," Katie countered.

Ali loved her cousin, she truly did. However Katie continuously proved to be concerned with her wants more than those of the people around her. Maybe that was what would help her survive in the new world. Ali, however, did believe that a person would make it if they didn't stretch out a helping hand to someone else.

"Katie, Eric was a good guy- he is a good guy," Ali began. "He didn't deserve that."

"He was boring!"

"He cared for you!" Ali nearly shouted. "He was your first boyfriend, your first kiss, your first dance and he actually cared for you. My first boyfriend cheated on me!"

"That's what this is about!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You don't want me to be like Seth? Well news flash, I'm not here to please you!"

"I don't care who you're like, I just want you think of others before yourself!"

"I never felt like I was right for this family because I wasn't a good person-"

"Would you stop that? You're not a bad person, you just need some-"

"It's a new world, Ali, and maybe there isn't room for things that I don't care about! Maybe I'm just the type of person that'll survive," Katie angrily declared as Ali felt nausea rise from her stomach.

She wasn't sure if Katie literally made her sick, or if it was just the baby. Either way, she had to find a bathroom before she puked all over the stairs.

"I'm going to be sick," she remarked, heading towards the door, pausing just before she walked inside. "Just remember, Katie, I'll always be here with open hands whether you care or not. No Man is an island."