The sound of an air circulation unit turning on woke Alice up from what she could only describe as sleep. There was a pounding in her head and a dull pain in her cheek. She couldn't remember exactly what had happened after she tried to get her father off of her mother. A cough racked her body as her throat was scratched up and slightly swollen. Where was she? It hurt to move even just a little as her entire upper body felt stiff. She looked down at first and saw that she was wearing an oversized hoodie. Not one of hers. Her eyes looked around the room noticing that the decorations looked rather familiar to her.

It was the hotel her mother had once tried to hide in the last time they attempted freedom. The same one that had tried to help her mother by reporting her father for indecent conduct towards the employee at the counter who refused to tell him their room number. But this room was a little different. The room before had only had one bed like her and her mother shared with David in between them. This one had two. She was sitting in one and as her eyes drifted over towards the other side of the room she noticed a boy that looked around her age feeding her brother a bottle.

Panic filled her at first. Who was this person? Why were they holding David? Was he going to hurt him? Was he going to hurt her? Did he change her clothes? How did she get to the hotel? And how much of the night before was actually real? But slowly her brain realized the best thing to do at that moment would be to keep her wits about her and remain calm so that she could get out of this situation safely. While the stranger wasn't currently moving in a threatening manner she was all too familiar with how fast people could switch from a calm, docile demeanor to an aggressive and violent one. It was best to approach this new person tentatively.

"Th… thank you for feeding him." She managed to croak. Her tongue felt too big for her mouth and the soreness in her throat made it painful to speak.

"I was lucky in remembering to grab that diaper bag before I left your home." The boy chuckled as he looked up at her causing a jolt of shock to run up her spine.

On the right side of his face there was a large burn mark going from his jaw to the side of his eye. Based solely on the one time she had seen "Nightmare on Elm Street", she guessed the wound was not caused by a fire. He seemed to notice her staring at it and turned his face so that only his left side was facing her. This caused guilt to settle in the pit of her stomach.

"Sorry…." A cough erupted from her as she said the word. "I need some water."

Grunting as she moved, Alice lowered herself off of the bed. The carpet scratched against her feet slightly as it was old and poorly taken care of. Her legs felt like they could barely hold her weight when she placed pressure on them. Too much energy had been used the night before. Too much...

No. She had to focus. They still weren't safe. There was a stranger there and they still needed to get to someone who could care for them. One thing at a time. The first thing on her list of objectives was to get away from their supposed savior. Even if he had saved her from her father, he still couldn't be trusted as far as she could throw him. Right now that wasn't very far. The bathroom was on the other side of the bed from her and that meant turning her back to him for a moment. Something she wasn't really looking forward to all things considered.

She stumbled at the door of the bathroom and caught herself with the counter with a grunt. The corner digging into her hand. Black spots danced at the edge of her vision as she felt a hand on her shoulder making her flinch away from its warmth and her breath hitch in her throat. Don't touch me.

"You shouldn't move around too much too soon." Like a quiet roll of thunder, his voice reached her ears. "Let me help you."

Why do you want to? Biting her tongue and swallowing the response she wanted to give and allowed him to move her to the toilet. Her body flinched from every move he made towards her but every touch was gentle, patient and almost too warm to bear. What was his aim being so kind? A killer was not supposed to be so kind. Her father had always portrayed them as people who didn't give a shit about people. Their feelings, aspirations or families. But so far this stranger, this killer, had shown her more kindness and patience than her own father had in fourteen years.

"My name is Jacob." The boy told her as he grabbed a water bottle from the other room. "I figured you would want to know what to call me."

"Alice…" Her eyes focused on the water as it traveled into the awaiting vessel.

He nodded and handed her the bottle along with a couple of white pills. "Tylonal." He clarified after her dubious glance at the pills.

Throwing back the pills and chugging some water graciously, she turned her attention back to David. "My brother-"

"I fed, changed and burped him. He's okay, I swear." He stood up from where he was crouched on the floor and walked back into the main room to get the baby and bring him back.

Alice was relieved to see her brother smile at her and hold out his hands. Tears began to gather in her eyes as she saw her mother in his eyes. He had gotten her beautiful blue eyes just as she had. Holding out her arms, she took the small human from Jacob's arms and held him close to her as the tears left tracks down her cheeks. Reality hit her like a freight train. David would never again have the warmth of his mother's love in his life and he was far too young to even remember how her eyes would sparkle when she was happy.

Jacob placed his hand on her shoulder as a form of comfort. For once that morning, she didn't flinch away.