One shot #5
Bailey was sitting on the bed folding their laundry while 10K sat on the couch with TJ, he was reading him a book while TJ fiddled with a stuffed toy raccon in his hands. He was just over a year old now and they'd been trying to encourage him to start talking by reading to him. Bailey loved watching 10K hold their son while he read him to sleep at night but lately he'd been reading more and more as their collection of children's books grew.
"Early in February, Hermit Crab found just the house he was looking for. It was a big shell, and strong. He moved right in, wiggling and waggling about inside it to see how it felt. It felt just right. 'But it looks so – well, so plain.' Thought Hermit Crab." Tommy read while TJ leaned back against his chest.
Bailey smiled as TJ reached out and tried flipping the pages himself and pointed at the pictures. She looked down at the shirt in her hands and knew she'd have to get bigger clothes for him after work the next day. Excluding the winter Altura always had tents up in the courtyard where people could swap things, sometimes when a person had more food then they needed and didn't want it to go to waste they'd take it to the courtyard and trade it for ammo or clothing. One tent had been designated for just kids clothes, since kids were always growing so much it made sense for people to donate the clothes their kids no longer fit into and pick up bigger clothes someone else had donated or that had been acquired through supply runs. Bailey had already given a lot of TJ's clothes so a few of the other new mothers could use them for their babies. But TJ had gone through another growth spurt and the clothes they had were just barely fitting him now.
"In July, Hermit Crab came upon several sea urchins. They had sharp, prickly needles. 'How fierce you look!' said Hermit Crab. 'Would one of you be willing to protect my house?' 'I would.' Answered a spiky sea urchin. Gratefully, Hermit Crab picked it up with his claw and placed it near his shell." Tommy continued reading.
"Ahhh." TJ cooed pointing to the picture with one hand and holding his racoon in the other. Tommy smiled at him while he paused his reading and TJ kept making little noises.
"Aba. . . mmmma. . . ab baba. . ." Bailey chuckled as TJ went on and she looked back down at the clothes on the bed getting back to the laundry. "Apa. . . papa."
They both froze and looked at TJ who was oblivious as he looked from the book to Tommy wondering why he hadn't flipped the page yet.
"What did you say?" Tommy asked in shock as he looked down at TJ in his lap. He didn't answer, obviously, but TJ just turned back to the book and started hitting the page wanting to be read more of the story.
"Ab, ba, ahhh. . . Papa." He said looking to 10K again. "Papa."
Bailey brought her hand to cover her mouth and 10K looked like he was torn between shouting with joy and crying. Then the biggest smile she'd ever seen appeared on his face as he left the book in his lap and pulled TJ closer to him and kissed his head. TJ, not understanding what was so important, whined and reached out for the book again wanting more.
"Okay, okay, I'll keep reading." 10K finally gave in and let go of TJ and picked up the book again and kept reading, though he still had that wide smile on his face that made Bailey's heart feel warm and fuzzy.
«»
A few days later Bailey wasn't feeling well. She'd woken up with a sore throat and it was so painful it hurt to swallow. TJ was still asleep and Tommy was just getting out of the shower when he walked in and saw her sitting on the edge of their bed drinking a glass of water and cringing whenever she swallowed.
"You alright?" he asked opening the dresser drawer and grabbing some clothes.
She shook her head, "I think I'm catching a cold. I might go to the infirmary for a couple days."
That made Tommy turn with a worried look on his face, "You think it could be that serious?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.
"No, but I'm worried about TJ." She explained and Tommy's concerned look turned into understanding. "Even a simple cold is dangerous for a baby. And I don't want to risk getting him sick."
"Yeah, then he'd be fussy all the time like with the teething." Tommy said as he put a pair of pants on and used his towel to dry his hair.
"It would be worse than the teething." Bailey said laying back on the bed.
"Well if Red has an extra cot I'm sure she wouldn't mind you staying a few days." Tommy said as he put his long sleeved white shirt on. Bailey sat up again and looked at him, her expression hesitant.
"You sure?" she asked seeming nervous and maybe a little scared.
"Yeah." Tommy replied shrugging and moving to sit by her on the bed not understanding why what he was saying seemed to be the opposite of comforting to her.
"But then you'd have to take time off from work, and I –"
"I covered some extra shifts for Luke last month, I can get him to go in for me." He said as she got up off the bed and started pacing the room. "You don't think I can do it do you?" he asked piecing together what had her so worried. "You don't think I can take care of TJ for two days on my own."
"It's not that." She said stopping and turning to him and he smirked.
"Oh yeah? What then?" he asked still smiling getting some enjoyment out of watching her try to come up with a better reason.
She crossed her arms, "It's just a lot Tommy. Diaper changing, making the formula, giving him a bath, getting him dressed. It's hard to do by yourself –"
"You do it." He pointed out, "When I'm at work you do it and go to your job."
"That's different." She defended herself, "I –"
"Have more than one hand." He said and she looked at him horrified.
"No! There are days that even with two hands I wish I had five." She said walking toward him, "And I've never held that against you." She said sitting on his lap and playing with his hair before resting her hand on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her.
"Bailey you've never been away from TJ since he was born." Tommy pointed out, "Maybe you have a cold now because you burned yourself out. If you need a few days to rest and get better let me help." He said rubbing her back, "I can handle it. And if I need help I can go to Doc or Warren."
There was a moment of quiet while she rested her head on his shoulder while he rubbed her back letting her think it over. They probably sat there for a good ten minutes before she muttered into his neck, "You promise?" she asked lifting her head and looking him in the eye, "You promise you'll go get help if you need it?"
He smiled, "Bailey I care more about TJ then I do about wounding my pride." He reassured her, "I promise."
She looked down at her lap sheepishly still seeming reluctant. "Okay."
«»
When Bailey got to the infirmary she found Red doing an inventory report as she ate from a plate of what Bailey assumed was breakfast she'd gotten from the dining hall.
"Hey Red." She greeted and cringed at how talking made her throat hurt more.
"Hey Bailey." Red replied looking up from her work and zig-zagging through the desks in the room to make her way over to her, "Everything okay?"
"Just a sore throat. Do you have an extra cot for a couple days? I don't want to be around TJ if there's a chance he might catch it from me."
"Sure. Here." She patted an examination chair by her, "Take a seat. I'll give you a physical."
Bailey followed the doctor's orders and sat down while Red gathered her supplies. She couldn't stop herself from playing with her fingers and tapping her foot as Red brought over a thermometer and held it to her ear.
"Well your temp is teetering on the edge of a fever." She said when the small device had beeped and she looked at the tiny screen. "So if you wanted to stay here for a few days while it runs its course I have a spare room you can take."
"Thanks Red." She said.
"How's Tommy?" Red asked, "Is he showing any symptoms of anything?"
"No he's fine. He's at home with TJ."
"Ohhh." Red said now grinning, "His first time alone with the baby huh?" Bailey nodded looking like one of those figurines on a dashboard. "You nervous?"
"You want me to be honest?" she asked and Red chuckled and nodded as she kept getting Bailey's vitals, "You know I'm a religious person right?" again Red nodded, "Well I've been praying since I walked out the door that Tommy will survive the next two days with minimal injury."
Red burst out laughing and her laugh even got Bailey to chuckle a little bit.
«»
Meanwhile 10K was mixing the powdered formula and water for TJ in his plastic bottle, holding the lid on it while he shook it until it was combined. As he was working TJ was crying in his crib waiting to be fed and 10K hoped Bailey couldn't hear his crying from across Altura.
"Work with me TJ, I'm new at this." 10K said as he finished making the bottle and took the lid off making his way over to his little boy. Usually Bailey had pre-made bottles that would last the whole day, but without her the fridge was empty. And it didn't help that without someone to distract TJ a bit with a toy or peek-a-boo his cries only got louder as he felt like he was being ignored.
10K rested the bottle on the small table next to the couch and picked TJ up, then he sat down and propped TJ in his lap letting his son rest his back against his chest. He wrapped his right forearm around TJ to keep him steady as he grabbed the bottle and brought it in front of TJ's face. At seeing it his crying stopped and he opened his mouth and accepted the formula. 10K breathed a sigh of relief at the quiet as TJ leaned back into him as he drank and 10K made a mental note to prep TJ's food for lunch before he started crying.
Before he knew it TJ had finished the bottle and had been burped. That left 10K with his next challenge: getting TJ dressed.
He found a onesie that was light blue and had grey stripes on it that he thought would be simple enough. He laid TJ on the bed but had trouble keeping him still since all he seemed to want to do now that he'd been fed was wriggle around.
"Toy." 10K thought, quickly putting some pillows on either side of TJ to hold him still for a second, "Toy, toy, toy." He muttered to himself as he dug through the box of toys next to TJ's crib and pulled out a yellow dog that made crinkle sounds when TJ squeezed it like it had paper stuffed inside. He knew TJ liked that one so he grabbed it and rushed back over to the bed. Once he passed TJ the toy its ear went straight into his mouth and he seemed satisfied enough that he held still while 10K tried to get the hole of the onesie over his head. It took some maneuvering but he did get him dressed, threw a pair of tiny socks on and a hat and TJ was ready for the day. But this was definitely going to be harder than 10K had thought - he knew from the start it would be tough, but he was really in for a workout.
«»
A couple days later when Bailey was feeling better and Red told her she wasn't contagious anymore she was happy to leave the infirmary. The moment she walked through the door she was prepared for chaos, dirty baby clothes all over the room, formula spilled across the counter, stuff like that. She was pleasantly surprised when everything was in just as much order as when she'd left and 10K was standing by the kitchen counter holding TJ in one arm while he was getting some baby food out. When their son saw his Momma he squirmed in 10K's grip and pointed to the door and made a high pitched coo before calling, "Momma, momma."
10K turned smiling, though he did look tired, and walked over and passed Bailey their little boy.
"My baby." Bailey said smiling as she took him and TJ nestled into her like he couldn't get close enough. She kissed his head before turning to 10K and shared a kiss with him too.
"How did it go?" she asked.
"Fine." Tommy replied, "It was an adjustment at the start but I got the hang of it."
"But. . . " Bailey trailed off sensing there was something he wasn't telling her.
"Well, the sides of his nose started turning orange." 10K admitted and Bailey pulled back so she could see TJ's face. The little indents by his nostrils were tinted orange and she laughed.
"Oh, that's nothing." She said and 10K looked relived, "The same thing happened to my mom when she had my oldest brother." She looked from TJ to Tommy, "What baby food have you been giving him?"
10K shrugged, "Mostly the puree carrots and mashed sweet potato." Then he seemed to get it, "Oh, stuff that's –"
"Orange."
"Orange." They said in unison before Bailey turned back to TJ who was resting his head on her shoulder, "Well someone is getting mashed peas for dinner."
"I couldn't get him to eat the peas." 10K warned.
Bailey looked from him to their son again, "Well Momma's going to make you eat the peas. Sorry bud."
.
.
One shot #6
Bailey had just gotten TJ down for a nap and was looking in the fridge for something she could use for dinner. They were short on food so it looked like they'd be going to the dining hall that night with the others. Then she felt Tommy wrap his arms around her from behind and lean his head on her shoulder as she stood straight again. She leaned back into his hold and covered his arms with her hands.
"What do you think about going away for a week?" he asked softly against her skin. The question confused her and she turned in his grip to look at him.
"It'd be great, if the apocalypse wasn't just outside the gate." She replied.
"The Islanders have a nice community. I've been there on a few supply runs. They keep guards so the Z's can't cross the bridge. It's really nice there, like when we go to the river, but better."
She hesitated. "Tommy. . . I don't know. I wouldn't be comfortable leaving TJ here for so long. What if something happened? We'd be too far away."
Instead of being disappointed Tommy smiled at her, "I've planned for that too. Addy's coming to babysit."
"Addy? You called her in all the way from Heartland to babysit?"
He shook his head, "No. She's coming with us. She's staying in the house next to us and -"
"Hold on." She stopped him, "Did you already plan this out?"
He blushed, "I wanted to surprise you." He admitted sheepishly, "George gave us both the time off from work. There's a supply truck heading out in that direction anyway that can take us with them. Addy will meet us here. . . "
She looked at him in a mix of shock and awe. "Why?"
He shrugged again before he took his fingers and started playing with the end of her hair, twisting it around, "I wanted to give you a real honeymoon. We didn't even really get to have an actual wedding." He said looking up at her, "I didn't want the apocalypse to take everything away from you."
She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. His hand moved from her hair to her waist as he pulled her closer. When they pulled apart he gave her one of those smiles that melted her heart.
"So. . . is that a yes?"
She chuckled and nodded, "It's a yes."
«»
The Islanders Outpost was actually on a small island west of Altura. There was a large metal bridge that connected it to the mainland and the Islanders had it blocked off and guarded so any Z's that came their way in pre-Newmerica days were kept far from the community and dealt with swiftly.
Their convoy of supply trucks pulled up to one gate and the guard there waved them through recognizing their driver. Altura had had a grain delivery two days prior and while Finn's team had then left for Pacifica, Waterkeepers and Hackerville; Altura's trucks were going to deliver to the Islanders, the Mountaineers, and the Inlanders. Addy had come with Finn's group, kissed him goodbye, then helped Bailey and 10K as they packed for their trip. TJ squealed happily as he smiled at his Aunt Addy and Bailey had a good feeling that Addy would become that aunt that would spoil him rotten. Not that she minded too much, having a baby in the apocalypse she hoped her son would never want for anything, and she knew she could trust Addy to protect him and keep him happy while she and 10K enjoyed their vacation.
On the other side of the bridge was another tall guarded gate, Bailey thought it was smart, in case the first post fell they could fall back here, maybe they even had a way to destroy the bridge if they had to and seal themselves off from the zombie mainland completely. Once they were in the second gate Bailey's jaw almost dropped. The island looked like a small hill and the trees were all full with bright green leaves that the summer sun reflected off of. Dotted among the trees were big houses that were probably housing two or three families. Closer to the shore smaller houses, a bit bigger than a log cabin, like quaint little cottages; sat at the very edge of the sand before it became foresty terrain. At the end of the bridge one road branched off probably leading to the houses and some smaller roads that took you to the cottages while the main road they followed in the opposite direction became less woodsy as a small downtown was revealed. All the store signs had been painted over so things like such-and-such restaurant now read 'Food Supply', and clothing stores read things like 'Ammo' 'Fishing Gear' 'Firearms' and 'Bizkit Storage'. The only signs that were untouched were the Town Hall and Pharmacy. The trucks pulled up and the men started to unload their delivery into the proper buildings as many of the Islander's people greeted their Alturian friends.
Bailey got out of the truck holding TJ as 10K and Addy followed behind her. TJ's little face looked around in awe until his eyes spotted a colorful butterfly fluttering in the breeze and his green eyes followed it as sharply as his father's eyes followed his targets in his scope. Bailey giggled at him and kissed his head before Addy tapped her shoulder and she knew she'd have to hand over her little boy. She reminded herself that he'd be safe with Addy and she'd see him again at the end of the week. She kissed him one more time and passed him and his diaper bag over before Tommy took her free hand and they made their way back to the fork in the road; passing little shops as he led her to where they would stay while they were here.
"How did you arrange all this again?" she asked as they walked hand in hand and she saw him smile looking like a mix of pride and slight embarrassment.
"The leader of the Islanders owed me a favor." He shrugged looking at his feet and blushing.
"What kind of favor?"
Tommy licked his lip before he turned to her with a quirked brow, "A twenty-five-zombies-added-to-my-count favor."
Bailey didn't ever remember him mentioning running into Z trouble during a run to the Islanders and she gave him a look until he kept going.
"Ocean zombies." He said with a shrug.
"Ocean zombies?"
"It was after we had a bad storm. It washed up some waterlogged bodies. Usually when Z's go into the ocean their lungs fill with water and they sink to the bottom. Because they don't know how to swim they just sit at the bottom maybe picking off a fish or two that get too close. The storm effected the tide and the ones that had been at the bottom between here and the mainland got washed up." He shrugged again. "It only took the better part of an afternoon to clean it up. But the leader was impressed I had killed so many and offered me a favor when I needed it."
She shook her head slowly in disbelief as a smile slowly grew on her face. She squeezed Tommy's hand and saw him smile too as he blushed again. They continued their small conversations as he told her about his reaction the first time he'd been here and she couldn't stop talking about how lovely it all looked. Honestly, she didn't think places this beautiful could still exist after the nukes then the Black Rain but somehow this place had made it. Even the weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, there were only a few clouds dotting the pure blue sky and it was warm enough that she was in just a pair of cotton shorts and a thin light blue and white flannel that she'd cut the sleeves off of while Tommy had thrown on one of his old black shirts he'd ripped the sleeves off of leaving his strong arms bare, except for the navy bandana on his wrist.
She and Tommy kept walking, continuing past the main bridge and down the road they'd passed earlier. The trees eventually thinned out and the road became a path made of planks of wood. He pulled her along to one of the small cottages she'd seen when they'd been driving in and he pointed out the one next to it, only a yard's distance away, where Addy and TJ would be. As for the yard, the sandy area between the houses was filled with flower boxes and wooden lounge chairs. It even had a bird feeder and when Tommy let go of her hand to open the front door she pinched herself on the arm to make sure she wasn't dreaming. . . or dead.
Inside the cottage was small and quaint just like the outside. The kitchen, living room and dining room where really only one space; the kitchen was on one side and the window above the sink looked out to the ocean, then there was a small dining table and closest to the front door was a L shaped couch. Tommy stood by the door leaning by the window while she walked around, throwing the backpack she'd brought on the floor by the sofa. There was a small fireplace between the couch and the dining room table and across from that was a set of French doors that led to the bedroom. There was a large bed with dark blue sheets and a sandstone colored quilt, off to the side was a bathroom and across from that was another door that led out to the deck which looked out at the beach.
"So how'd I do?" she heard Tommy ask and she turned and saw him throwing his own backpack down by hers along with the duffle bag that was slung across his chest. He did look a little weary and it reminded her of when they'd first started 'dating' after he'd recovered from anthrax. He'd always been good at romance even then, she thought back to their first date in the RV and how sweet he'd made that night. But that didn't mean he still didn't get nervous about if he was doing the whole relationship-thing right. She smiled and walked over to him before cupping his face in her hands and kissing him deeply. He seemed a little surprised by it but then relaxed into it and kissed back. When she pulled away the weariness was gone and he was smiling and the blush was back.
"Let's unpack." She said dropping her hands and he nodded in agreement looking thankful that she hadn't mentioned how much he'd been blushing lately. She had to admit she was impressed, he'd done a great job, how many guys could plan a secret honeymoon in the apocalypse?
As she unpacked their clothes and laid them out on the couch Tommy went to the bathroom giving Bailey an opportunity to look around again and take it all in. She'd had a good amount of lows in her life and couldn't be happier that now it seemed like she was being given a lot of highs to even things out. She had a beautiful child, a loving husband, her family was safe and not only safe but the world they lived in was rebuilding so well that things like 'vacations' and 'honeymoons' - words she thought had lost all meaning and were a thing of the past - were actually possible again.
When Tommy came back she passed him his stack of folded clothes and he brought them to the bedroom to put them away in the dresser. There was still something in the bottom of his backpack she noticed before moving on to her things and when she looked at what it was she rolled her eyes and smirked.
"Tommy." She called and he walked back in as she looked up at him, "We are only here for a week aren't we?"
His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion as he leaned on the bedroom's doorframe, "Yeah."
Her smirk widened a bit as she held up the backpack at an angle so he could see inside, "Then why did you pack about a months' worth of condoms?"
The blush came back stronger than ever before, he licked his lip nervously and opened and closed his mouth but no words came out. She gave a small giggle at his reaction before he came up with something to say, "I -I, there's nothing wrong with being. . . overly prepared."
"Mmm-hmmm." She shook her head, still smiling, as she turned back down to the rest of the clothes in front of her. She still had some of Tommy's stuff and everything she'd brought that had to be refolded and put away. Tommy pushed away from the doorframe to the bedroom and began to walk over to her.
"Oh, come on." He said, "Don't judge me." She kept her eyes on her work but felt him wrap both arms around her and rest his head on her shoulder before he whispered softly in her ear, "I know you're looking forward to that part too." Then he kissed the side of her neck that was exposed thanks to her side braid, "It is a honeymoon trip after all."
She hummed as he kept kissing lightly along her neck, "Tommy –"
"I know it's been a while." He cut off her protest, "But I still know how to make you shiver." He bit her neck lightly with his teeth trying to leave a mark as he dragged his left hand down before using his fingers to lightly dip under the hem of her shirt. Then he trailed the pads of his fingers delicately along the dip of her hipbone. It wasn't a ticklish feeling but it did make her shiver and her stomach clenched involuntarily. Her right hand came up and gripped his wrist tightly, bunching up the navy bandana he wore over his stump and she felt him smile against her skin. She knew she was doomed, he had her right where he wanted her, and she was perfectly okay with that.
«»
Bailey nestled her head on Tommy's chest enjoying the steady beating of his heart under her ear. His arm was around her as he ran his fingers lazily up and down her bare spine as they laid in the – now messy - bed.
"Do you ever wish we waited?" he asked softly in the quiet darkness. "So that way we could have had a real honeymoon?"
"That's a hard question to answer." She admitted as she brought her hand up and ran it across the fine hair on his chest, "Part of me does. But then another part of me knows if we had we wouldn't have TJ now."
Bailey shifted herself so she could look up at Tommy easier as he turned his head in her direction, "It's like asking do I wish the apocalypse never happened, one side of me does, because then my family would still be alive. But on the other hand, would we still have met? It's on of those questions that you know two parts of yourself will always being fighting over. You'll never really have an answer."
He nodded as he kept running his fingers along her spine, "That makes sense. And it's not any good wondering anyway. We're here, right now, and we're okay and we're happy. That's all we can hope for at this point."
She nodded and rested her head on his chest again listening to him breathing, "I did always want to wait until my honeymoon though, I figured it'd be better for my anxiety."
Tommy's fingers halted for a moment, "I didn't know you had anxiety."
"Yeah, the apocalypse kind of cured me of that, I was too busy trying to survive I didn't have time to stop and panic over things." She gave a humorless chuckle, "So the world ending wasn't all bad."
She had a mental list going of all the things she wouldn't have if the outbreak hadn't happened, it helped to comfort her when things got tough. Tommy of course was the greatest thing on that list, now tied only with TJ.
Bailey thought back and tried to put herself back in her Pre-Z teenage mind. She always knew, even then when she was young and naive, that if she had slept with someone in high school or college she would have constantly been wondering, was I good enough at it? Is he going to be there in the morning? Is he going to brag to his friends about it? Has he had better? Prettier? Is this a mistake?
She could never have imagined being so open with someone who could turn around and hurt her. It was like dropping her mask, to be completely bare in front of someone who might be judging you, who could use your insecurities against you. Who might look at the most private parts of yourself and tell the world.
"I guess, being married first just always seemed like good insurance, I knew if I waited until I was married I wouldn't have all those anxiety-level worries. I know not all marriages work out but I figured if a guy is willing to spend thousands of dollars on a wedding I knew he'd at least be serious about the relationship." That he'd be around for a while and would be above petty judgements, she tacked on in her thoughts.
She raised her head again and rested her chin over her hand that was now over Tommy's heart, "Which I guess is pretty equal to a guy who's willing to risk getting eaten by zombies just to save you. "
She saw Tommy blush again and lick his lip before he tilted his head down to look at her. He saw her smiling and smiled back at her, "You know, I never would have slept with you in that casino if I wasn't already planning to be by your side every day for the rest of my life."
Bailey took a deep breath trying to keep herself from tearing up from the joy that seemed to overflow in that moment. Tommy might worry from time to time if he was doing the relationship-thing right, but he always seemed to be so good at it without ever trying. And just like he'd broken through her mask, Tommy had been the one to teach her heart how to trust. And as terrified as she'd been at the idea of trusting someone that completely, Tommy's faithfulness to her she saw as her reward for doing things the right way, for making the right choices.
He gave a chuckle under her, "Though to be honest, I thought you had more faith then that. You sound so passionate when you preach about it."
She looked down and started drawing patterns across his skin, running the pad of her finger from one freckle to another, "Well I do have a deep faith but there are lots more reasons in the world for waiting until you're married, not just the religious ones." She explained as he resumed rubbing up and down her back. She didn't want to unload old high school baggage on Tommy right now, so she let it spin in her mind while the crashing of the waves relaxed her. She remembered how much she'd hated the society the modern world had become, how it felt like the world and the other students were all saying 'a person is incomplete or lacking something if they're not having sex. You're not as good as me because I've done something you won't do. You're lesser then I am'. She rolled her eyes to herself. She hated how everyone seemed to treat sexual intimacy like it was just some casual thing to do when you're horny and wanted a good time. It made the modern world feel like it had regressed instead of progressed. Maybe that's why karma, or the universe, or something, decided to tear the world apart and kill so many in the apocalypse. Then she realized what a dark hole her mind was slipping into and she fought those negative thoughts off with a good one. "I'm glad I waited because then my first time was with you."
She heard Tommy hum before his fingers found her hair, her braid now destroyed, and he tilted her head upward so he could kiss her. It was deep and full of love and only confirmed her thoughts that she had been right to wait. That Tommy was her reward for not giving in to the peer pressure or the temptation. And now they had a beautiful child together and she felt like the luckiest woman in the world. They were at a gorgeous beach, on a trip he'd planned just for them, and they finally had some alone time which had become quite rare after TJ had been born.
Tommy pulled away letting them both catch their breath though he was still close enough that their noses touched and Bailey let out a breathless sigh, "You know what?" he began, "I used to wish that we weren't apart for those two years. That was probably the worst part of my life, next to the night I lost Pa. . . But now, our life together, and TJ. . . I don't care about what pain we had to go through. It's all so perfect now."
She smiled up at him for what felt like the millionth time. Then she brought her hand up to cup his jaw and pulled him closer so he couldn't move away - not that he would - and she kissed him deeply. They ran out of breath fast but he seemed fine with that as he moaned in the back of his throat. Then Tommy shifted and rolled until she was on her back and she broke their kiss to giggle as he continued to kiss his way down her neck and she knew she was in for a very long night with nothing more than the sounds she and Tommy made along with the waves crashing against the shore in the background.