Chapter 40: Pictures.
"It's creepy," Ally mumbled and she looked at Mary. They were helping to pack up the trucks ready for them to head out towards the farm. "He keeps watching me."
Mary glanced over and saw Craig leaning against the wall and his eyes were firmly locked on Ally's form.
"Just pretend he's not there," Mary suggested and she lifted one of the boxes into the back of the truck.
"I'm trying, but he just makes me feel uncomfortable," Ally said, then Jaime appeared next to her.
"Who makes you feel uncomfortable?" Jaime asked.
"No one," Ally lied, knowing if Jaime found out she'd kill him.
"Don't lie to me," Jaime growled.
"Did you know it's my birthday!" Gregory ran up next to Jaime and flung his arm over her shoulders. "Sarah's been keeping track of the days and today's my birthday! What did you get me?"
"Nothing," Jaime grumbled and Gregory ruffled her hair. "Cut it out!"
"How long now till we get to the farm?" Elliot walked up with Tom in his arms, and he kissed Mary on the lips.
"I'd say a day or so, we might even make it there by tonight," Ally explained. "It depends if anyone gets in our way."
"You spoken to your mom?" Gregory asked, looking at Jaime.
"No, I'm not even going to waste my time on a woman like that," Jaime crossed her arms, and narrowed her eyes at Gregory. "I hope we leave her behind."
"She's your mom, shouldn't you be grateful she's alive," Elliot pointed out, and Ally turned to look at him, and gave him a 'shut-the-hell-up' look.
"I'd rather not have a mom," Jaime growled, and she walked off.
"Probably not the smartest thing to say," Gregory said.
"How was I meant to know she has a problem with her mom," He responded.
Ally sighed, and she looked over her shoulder to see Austin walking over, carrying a box in his hands. He slipped it into the back of the truck. Ally walked over and she kissed his cheek. He smiled, then pulled her into his side.
"Where's Nathan?" Ally asked.
"Tess has him," He replied. "Jess, Nevil and Billy are off playing with the other kids-" A growl erupted from Austin lips, and she felt his hands go to her hips, and he gripped them hard.
"What's wrong?" Ally whispered, and she looked over her shoulder to see Craig was looking at them, a disgusted look on his face.
"What the fuck is he looking at!" He snapped, and he went to move towards him, but Ally placed her hands on his chest.
"Don't," She said, firmly.
"He needs to stop looking at you," He grumbled.
"It's fine, I just ignore him," She explained. "He's doing it to get a reaction out of you, and that's exactly what your giving him."
"If he touches you at all-"
"Austin, don't worry," She got up on her tiptoes, and kissed his lips. "C'mon, let's go find the kids."
...
Kira crouched down and began to pack the things into the plastic box. She was in one of the storage rooms in the hospital. She heard footsteps get closer and closer, until a shadow filled the doorway behind her. She looked over her shoulder, and saw Michelle standing there, a smile plastered on her face.
"Are you Kira?" She asked, and Kira silently nodded her head. "Do you have anything I can eat," Kira grabbed one of the granola bars that she'd put in the box, and handed it to her. "Thank you."
"No problem," Kira whispered, and she turned away from her.
"Are you always alone?" Michele asked, mockingly.
"Yeah, it's just the way things are," Kira replied.
"Why?"
"Because I did things," Kira continued to pack things into the box, and she could tell with her back turned that she was smiling.
"It's not very nice of your group to make you feel alone," She said, and Kira sighed.
"I don't care, I'm just glad I have a group," Kira was increasingly growing annoyed with her questions.
"But, I bet if you left, they wouldn't notice you were gone," Michelle chuckled.
"You really are a bitch!" A new voice snapped, and Kira looked over her shoulder to see Jaime standing behind Michelle. "Who the hell do you think you are!?"
"I think I'm your mother, and you should speak to me with more respect," Michelle responded.
"You want respect, I'll show you fuckin' respect!" Jaime lunged forward, but Wayne appeared, looping his arm around her waist and pulling her away. "GET OFF!"
"Jaime, calm down," Wayne demanded. "Michelle, go!"
"You don't tell me what to do-"
"I'm in charge here! Not you! Either go, or I'll make you stay behind whilst we leave!" Michelle rolled her eyes and walked off.
"Why does she have to come with us!" Jaime yelled at Wayne, and Kira picked up the plastic box, then left.
...
Kira walked outside, and she almost walked into Austin's back. He turned to look at her, his face was all scrunched up in anger, but it clearly wasn't because of her. Kira could see the kids were getting ready to leave, with the help of Tess, Mary, Grace, and Harriet. They were making sure they had rucksacks, and something to protect themselves with.
Kira stood next to Austin and looked to see he was venting all his anger over in the direction of one of the trucks. Craig was leaning against the side, talking to Ally, who was clearly trying to focus on packing everything up, but he wouldn't leave her alone.
"You know that Ally's pretty, and she's going to get attention from other guys," Kira spoke up, and Austin's head whipped in her direction.
"Did I ask for your opinion!" He snapped.
"No, but I'm going to share it with you," Kira remarked. "Ally loves you. Do you really think she'd cheat on you?"
"It's not that," He grumbled, running a hand through his hair, then rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't want him to touch her. I mean what if he tries to make a move on her, and she can't stop him-"
"I feel like your looking way too much into this...Austin, you're a scary guy, and I'm pretty sure if you just tell him to back off from your wife, he'll back off," She explained. "And, I'm pretty sure Ally will appreciate it."
"Hm," He grunted, and Ally moved away from the truck, then Craig reached out and grabbed her arm. Before Kira could do anything, Austin was over there in a flash, punching him square in the face. Ally jumped, but reacted quicker than Kira had. She grabbed the back of Austin's shirt, and pulled him off of Craig. Lucas came running over, and Kira watched as he tried to diffuse the situation.
Looks like they were in for a long trip.
...
They had taken off in a long train of vehicles. Wayne was in the front truck, watching Michelle like a hawk. Kira, Cal and Alice were stuck there with her too. In the second truck was Tess, Jasmine, Daniel, and Frederick. In the third truck was Derek, Billy, Roxana, and Ronny. If that wasn't the definition of awkward, Ally didn't know what was anymore. In the fourth car was Mary, Elliot, Tom, Dean, and Sarah. Then in the fourth one was Ally, Austin, Nathan, Jess, and Nevil. Ally kept glancing at his cut knuckles, and she knew they were hurting him, but he was clearly pretending they weren't hurting. In the car behind them was Craig, Jaime, Gregory, Jack, Harriet and Lizzy. Ally glanced out of the back window of the truck, and Jack was grinning at Jaime, who was rolling her eyes, then Ally laughed when she saw Gregory glaring daggers into the back of Jack's head. Near the back was Trish, Dez, Kyle, Julie, George and Lexi. Lastly, at the very back was Lucas, Grace, Erica, Trish and Dez.
Ally never realized how big her family actually was. There was certainly a lot of them. But she was happy. Ally looked at Austin, who was scowling. She sighed, and sat Nathan up in her lap.
"You didn't have to react like that," Ally said, and she watched his hands tighten around the steering wheel. "I can handle myself, and he wasn't going to do anything."
"He touched you," He spoke through gritted teeth.
"Yeah, I know that, but that's exactly the same as Ronny grabbing my arm. It's the same as me and Cal hugging, but you wouldn't punch them, would you?"
"No, but that's because they have no intention of doing something to you," He explained, and Ally could see the anger in his eyes.
"But, now you've shown Craig that he can get a reaction out of you," She stated, then looked at the kids in the back. Nevil was fast asleep, his cheek pressed up against the window, and Jess had her head in his lap, her eyes shut, firmly. "I wish we had a camera..."
The mood softened around them, and Austin glanced at her.
"It's just...it's kind of sad that we don't have a picture of Nathan when he was born...I don't want to forget what he looks like...and we don't have a picture of Nevil, Jess and Billy...it's just sad..." Ally explained, tears welling in her eyes.
"I know," Austin whispered, and he grabbed her hand, linking his fingers with hers, but he couldn't stop the smile from forming on his face, when an idea came to his mind.
...
They pulled up at a gas station. They had made sure the area was clear of creepers before letting any of the children come out of the cars. Ally smiled over at Jaime, who looked annoyed out of her mind. She walked over to her, and flashed her a friendly smile. Nathan gurgled in her arms, and reached out, latching his fingers around a lock of Jaime's blond hair.
"Ow!" She exclaimed, and Nathan smiled, letting go.
"Did you have fun flirting with Jack?" Gregory spat from behind her, and Jaime turned around.
"I wasn't flirting!" Jaime snapped, offended.
"Sure looked like it!" Gregory snapped back, and Ally's eyes widened slightly.
"What the hell is your problem?" Jaime snarled at him, and he clenched his hands into fists.
"My problem!?" Suddenly, Nathan began crying from his outburst.
"Way to go, you made Nathan cry! Just because it's your fuckin' birthday doesn't mean we've got to treat you like royalty. If you haven't noticed we're in the middle of the apocalypse!" Jaime yelled, and Gregory stormed off. Jaime turned back around and she wiggled her fingers in front of Nathan's face, then he stopped crying, another grin forming on his face. " Sorry about that."
"It's fine...erm, Jaime you aren't blind are you?" Ally asked, smirking.
"Excuse me?"
"You do realize that he's head of heels in love with you, right?" Ally questioned, and Jaime huffed, rolling her eyes.
"No he's not..."
"Yes he is...seriously, you've never noticed it?" Ally quizzed, and Jaime didn't respond, she only looked down at her feet. "You like him, don't you?"
"Pfft," Jaime breathed out. "I'm going to go and see if someone needs my help," Jaime walked off, and Ally grinned.
"Mommy," Ally looked down to see Jess tugging on her jeans.
"Yes sweetie."
"Are we going to be able to go to the park?" She asked, her big eyes beaming up at her.
"I'm sorry honey, but we'll go another day. I promise. You're going to love it on the farm, there's a lake you can swim in-"
"I can't swim," She replied, innocently.
"Well, I will teach you how to swim, and so will your daddy," Ally smiled down at her, and Jess grinned, jumping up and down.
"Really!" She exclaimed, and Ally nodded her head. Jess took off and Ally heard her shouting. "Hey! Nevil, we can go swimming in the lake when we get to the farm!"
Then, she heard Nevil reply. "You can't swim!" Ally laughed to herself, and Nathan rested his head on her shoulder.
Ally looked over to see Austin shoving something into his rucksack, and he looked over, smiling at her. He walked over, and he seemed to have a skip in his step. He kissed Nathan's head, then kissed Ally's cheek.
"Okay, what did you do?" Ally remarked, looking at his huge smile.
"I'm just happy, baby," He poked out his bottom lip, and Ally raised an eyebrow at him.
"Sure," She said, not believing him at all.
"Just think about it. Jaime said they built cabins on the farm, and that means alone time," He winked at her. "If you know what I mean."
"God, the children know what you mean," Dez groaned from the back of the truck, and Ally looked to see he was smiling. Ally couldn't remember the last time she had seen Dez smile, and it made Trish grin from next to him.
"Hey, I know I'm not the only one happy about getting some alone time," Austin shrugged his shoulders, and he watched Dez's face turn light pink.
...
They had decided that they were going to stay at the gas station for two more hours. The kids were happy playing, and running around, it was like the world around them wasn't so bad. It also gave the others time to plan a route towards the farm.
Jaime was standing next to Ally, who had her head resting on Austin's arm, whilst he held Nathan in his arms. Jaime sighed, then watched her dad talk to the group. To be honest it was all going through one ear and out the other. Her mind was just in other places.
She could feel Michelle's gaze burning into her, but she refused to look at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone walk off into the trees, and she realized it was Gregory. She rubbed the back of her neck, and told Ally she'd be back.
Jaime pulled her knife from her belt, just incase. She slowly followed him, keeping her distance. He stormed through the trees, and she could tell he was still angry, so she wondered if she should go back, but she carried on following him.
He stopped by a creek, and sat down at the edge of it. Jaime stopped at one of the trees, and watched him. He rubbed his hand over his face, and she heard him grumble something under his breath. Jaime took her time to admire him.
She remembered Ally had told her how they'd came across Gregory. How he was from a group that kidnapped all the women from the group, but Gregory was being held against his will there. Ally had explained to her that, Austin had tortured him, and had wanted to kill him, but Ally had fought for his freedom. Jaime, then found out that he had lost his sister, and Ally reminded him of her. The way Ally described him back at the farm, was as a small fragile boy, but now she was looking at a strong man.
"I know your there, Jaime," He called out, and Jaime slowly made her way over. She sat down next to him, and gazed at the creek.
"How old are you today?" Jaime asked.
"Twenty," He said. "I was seventeen back on the farm. It's going to be weird to go back."
"I bet," Jaime replied, and silence fell. Jaime glanced at him, and she felt something burn in her back pocket. A smile formed on her face, and she reached into her pocket and pulled the photograph out. "Here, happy birthday."
Gregory looked over at the photograph in her hand. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, and took it from her hand. He glanced down at it, and saw it was a picture of them two. They were sat on a hill, and he remembered it was when he had followed her, because she stormed off after hearing Wayne and Ally talking about her mom. They were both smiling, and looking at each other.
"When Michelle took me. I found pictures of us all. I took one of me and my dad, and that one of us two," She explained, and he stopped slouching, his gaze landing on hers.
"Why?" He whispered.
"Hm?"
"Why did you take this picture. I understand why you took the one of you and your dad, but why this one?" He asked.
"I...I..." Jaime sighed, looking away from him. Her face fell, and turned serious, but Gregory watched a smirk appear soon after. "I just thought I looked great in that picture," She remarked.
"Jaime?" He said, seriously, and her face fell again.
"I...I...I just really liked the picture...I wanted a memory...something I could look at, and know I'll never forget," She explained. "And..." She whimpered, bringing her knees up to her chest. "And..." She hiccuped. "Incase...something happened to you," Tears fell from her eyes. "I don't want to forget your face...so, I can always look at that picture, if I stopped being able to p-picture you in my mind..." She sniffled, and looked his way, smiling through her tears. "I know it's stupid..."
"It's not stupid," He whispered.
"Of course it is-" Gregory reached out, and grabbed her by the side of the neck. He crashed his lips down onto hers, cutting her off. Jaime went rigid against his lip at first, but she soon relaxed, melting against him. She reached out, and curled her fingers around his shirt. Gregory's hand moved from her neck, and into her hair, as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip, and she let him slide his tongue along hers. His other hands went underneath her thigh, and he pulled her closer to him. She pulled away, both of them gasping for air. A small smile grew on Jaime's face, and she rested her forehead against his.
"Happy birthday," She giggled, her grin widening.
...
Austin watched Ally. She was crouched down in front of Jess, holding her small hands. Nathan was being held by Elliot, and Mary was standing next to him, holding Tom. Both babies kept reaching out to try and grab each other, but they kept failing miserably.
Austin smiled at the sight of Ally talking, and laughing with Jess. Ally was feeling bad about not being able to take them to the park, and she knew Jess was the one that really wanted to go, so Ally was telling her a list of fun things they would do when they got to the farm.
Austin pulled off his rucksack, and he pulled the special item out. He grinned to himself, and walked over to the grass, still a distance away from them both. He got down on one knee and held it up to his eyes. Ally grinned and Jess beamed at her. Austin pressed the button, and a flash bursted from it.
Ally's face fell, and she looked over in his direction, wondering what the flash was. She glanced at the item in his hand, and she watched the photo film come out of the front.
A polaroid camera.
A massive grin exploded onto Ally's face, and she raced over to him, tackling him to the ground. He landed on the ground with a 'thump', and Ally hugged him tight. She pulled away, and he went to open his mouth, but she crashed her lips against his.
"I love you," She beamed down at him, and he smirked.
"If I'd know you would react like this. I would've done it sooner," Ally smiled, and punched his shoulder. Austin sat up, and she landed in his lap. He held out the picture for her. Ally looked down at it, unable to fight her huge smile. She was grinning at Jess, and Jess was looking back at her in happiness. Ally felt tears burn her eyes, and she looked at Austin.
"Thank you," She whispered, and kissed him again.
Soon after they needed to get ready to leave. Ally looked around and she saw Gregory and Jaime walking out of the trees. Both of them were smiling, and Ally saw that their lips were red. They both separated, and Jaime walked over to Austin and Ally.
"Hi," She greeted them with a smile, and Ally couldn't stop smiling.
"Hey, why are your lips red?" Wayne walked over, and Jaime's eyes widened slightly. Then realization washed over Wayne's face. He looked around and saw Gregory nearby, and he looked at his lips."Gregory!?" He yelled, and he began to storm over. "What the hell did you do to my daughter!?"
AN: Hey guys. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was a more fluffy chapter, and in the next chapter they will be reaching the farm :)
Please review and tell me what you all think about it :) You guys all make me smile :) Also, I have just posted and brand new story called Personal Assistant, and Ally basically becomes Austin's personal assistant, please check it out :)
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