"Dinner's ready!" Jackson called out from the kitchen. Carlos perked up at the sound of his voice realizing how hungry he actually was. He looked out the window of the small house, and saw that it was beginning to get dark. It had to be around eight or so. He then looked down at Sarah who was sleeping soundly in his lap. She must have fallen asleep while watching the movie, but Carlos didn't blame her. She was probably exhausted beyond belief, after all, they'd been staying in a car for almost a week now. He wanted something better for his little girl, not this apocalypse. She should grow up somewhere safe, and hopefully Jackson and Alyssa's home would help with that.

Nikki and Trevor had already made their way into the kitchen, so Carlos figured he'd better wake up Sarah so that they could go eat. He didn't want to keep Jackson and Alyssa waiting after all the stuff they had done for them so far. "Sarah..." He shook her shoulder gently not wanting to startle her by waking her up too violently. She stirred slowly, but still never woke. "Sarah." Carlos tried again. "Come on honey, dinner's ready." He coaxed, which seemed to finally work.

"Dinner?" Sarah questioned, her brown doe eyes opening slowly. "I'm starving!" She nearly yelled, jumping up out of her father's lap and running to the kitchen. Carlos chuckled, he was glad Sarah was able to keep her such high energy even in the worst times. He got up and followed her into the kitchen, because he was really hungry as well. When he entered the small room, the smell of beef stew immediately filled his nostrils and his stomach growled in hunger. The last time he ate was the day that this all began; when his wife made his favorite meal right before she died. A sigh escaped his lips, and he knew he couldn't think about all this right now. He had to show Sarah that he was strong.

Carlos then saw his daughter sitting at the kitchen table beside Trevor. So he decided to sit on the other side of her. Nikki was also sitting at the table, and so was Alyssa. Jackson was getting the bowls of soup ready though. "Man, that soup smells so good!" Trevor said. Once everyone had a bowl of food in front of them, it was time to chow down.

"Thank you for dinner." Carlos thanked Jackson and Alyssa.

"Eat up, 'cause we got plenty!" Alyssa smiled in reply.

"Beef stew is my special recipe." Jackson bragged. "I thought I should make it for y'all since you've decided to stay with us." He said as he took a large bite of the food.

"It tastes really good!" Sarah said.

"Well thank you little lady." Jackson thanked. They ate in some small conversation for the rest of dinner. Just talking about little things, like what everyone liked to do, their jobs, and where they used to live. Carlos thought it would be a good idea to get to know these people a little better since they'd all be staying together for a little while. Everyone seemed really nice, so this might be a good place for him and Sarah to stay for a while until all of this nonsense was over. Or at least until he thought of somewhere else for them to go that was safe.

Carlos looked over and saw Sarah smiling... So at least she was happy for now. That was all he wanted was for her to be happy and safe. He'd stay strong, and together they'd be able to make it through anything together. He was still sad after losing Robin, and Sarah probably was too. But he couldn't let it show. He had to show her that everything was okay, that losing people was normal, and that he didn't want her to be sad about it.

"Dinner was great." Nikki said as she pushed her empty bowl away from her. "I think it's time I put Trevor to bed though." She said as she stood up.

"Come on mom, let me stay up! Please?" Trevor begged.

Nikki shook her head, "Maybe tomorrow. Come on." She said, motioning him to get up, and they headed upstairs to their room.

"I think Jackson and I are going to turn in too." Alyssa said.

"Do you need help with the dishes?" Carlos asked.

"Nah." Jackson waved off. "Go ahead and put your little one to bed."

"Goodnight Alyssa, goodnight Jackson." Sarah said and stood up. "Thank you for dinner."

"Goodnight honey." Alyssa replied.

"Come on daddy." Sarah said and grabbed her father's hand and led him upstairs to the room that they were going to stay in. "I'm really tired." She said once they entered the room. Carlos shut the door behind him and went to go lay down with Sarah. He had a feeling that she was going to have some questions for him, and Carlos wasn't sure how he was going to answer them. He would try his best though, and hopefully that would be enough for Sarah.

"I'm tired too. Let's try and get some sleep, okay?" Carlos asked as he smoothed Sarah's hair down, laying beside her.

"Daddy?" Sarah asked.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Why do we have to stay here with Jackson and Alyssa? I like them, and they're nice, but why can't we go home?" She asked as she looked up at her father with those doe eyes that belonged to her mother.

"It's not safe at home." Carlos explained to her. "There are bad people there."

"But there's no bad people here?" She asked.

"It's safe here." Carlos confirmed.

"Oh." Sarah said and remained silent for a moment. "Dad?" She asked again.

"Yeah?"

"I miss mom." She said with a sigh.

"Me too Sarah." Carlos replied.

"I bet she misses us too." The girl said with a yawn. "Goodnight dad." Sarah said and turned over.

"Goodnight honey."