Episode 18

"Are they okay?" asked Mike, and Abraham nodded.

"Yeah, they're okay. Bella was shot in the shoulder and Dale in the arm. Bullet went through her shoulder and into his arm. There's a doctor here, and we're just waiting for her to come out," said Megan, and Mike, Andy, Liam, Teresa, and Bonnie's eyes widened.

"A doctor?" asked Andy, and Steve nodded.

"Where's Charlie?" asked Bonnie, looking around, and Sarah walked out onto the porch.

"He's in with his sister and Dale. Hi, I'm Sarah Cline. Abraham, Megan, you can go see them now. They're all stitched and bandaged up."

Bella's parents nodded and ran inside. Mike stared at Sarah, thinking she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She had short brown hair, green eyes, and an average figure.

"So, you're a doctor?" he asked, and Sarah nodded.

"Was before all this stuff happened. Listen, it's a nine-bedroom house if ya'll want to stay inside tonight. My brothers and I have the four rooms to the right, and ya'll can have the ones on the left side of the hallway upstairs. Dale and Bella can stay in the room where they're at. It's not much, but it's home," she explained, and Mike nodded.

"Thank you."

Mike, Andy, and Teresa looked at each other.

"Well, Bonnie, Teresa, and I can take a room. We camp together, anyway," said Andy, and Teresa nodded.

"I'm staying out here. Someone ought to keep an eye on things," said Steve, and he headed toward Liam's truck.

"I think I'll stay out here with him. Keep an eye on him," said Liam, and Andy only nodded.

Liam sighed and headed after Steve.

"Not my monkeys, not my circus. Mike gets a room, and I guess the last one is for Abraham and Megan. I'm sure Charlie will bounce between his parents and sister," said Teresa, and Mike agreed, chuckling.

"Great. Grab your stuff and make yourselves at home," said Sarah, and she walked back into the house.

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Abraham and Megan stood in the doorway and smiled, seeing Dale, Bella, and Charlie snuggled up together. Megan walked to the bed and covered them with a blanket. She kissed Dale, Bella, and Charlie's foreheads and tucked them in.

"Sleep well," she whispered and turned off the bedside lamp.

Abraham smiled, and he and Megan left the room, closing the door behind them. They saw Sarah standing at the bottom of the stairs, and Megan ran to her and hugged her.

"Thank you so much for helping them," she cried.

Sarah sighed and hugged her back.

"I'm glad I could help."

Megan smiled as the embrace ended, and Sarah nodded.

"Now, there's a bedroom on the left side of the hallway waiting for you two. Get some rest, and we'll talk more over breakfast."

Abraham and Megan nodded and headed up the stairs.

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Bella slowly opened her eyes, feeling Dale's warm body against her back and her brother curled up against her chest. Pain shot through her shoulder, and she sobbed quietly.

"Bell?" asked Abraham, sitting in a chair beside the bed, and she looked at her father.

"Dad, my shoulder hurts so bad," she whispered.

"Alright. I'll go get Sarah. She has stuff for the pain," he said, getting up from the chair, and he left the room.

Bella looked at her and Dale's fingers intertwined, and she rubbed his hand with her thumb. He squeezed her hand gently, and she sniffed, smiling. She felt him snuggle into her neck and sigh.

"Dale?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright?" she asked softly, and he nodded.

"Yeah, shit just hurts like hell."

Bella sighed, nodding.

"I know the feeling. Dad went to find Sarah. He must have given her my backpack. It was full of medication when I raided the hospital," she breathed.

"You're too smart for your own good, you know that?"

Bella chuckled softly.

"Maybe."

Sarah walked into the room, holding two syringes, and smiled at them.

"Hey guys, how are you feeling?" she asked, and Bella snorted.

"Like I've been shot," she snickered.

"Besides the shooting pain, good. Just tired," said Dale.

"I have something for the pain, and I expect you to eat something when breakfast is done."

Bella and Dale nodded, and Charlie rolled over.

"Thank you for stitching us up," said Bella, and Sarah nodded, putting the pain medicine through the iv.

"It was the right thing to do since my brother was the one who shot ya'll. I have to say. Your little brother is so cute. He asked me if his sister and her Dale were gonna be alright," she said.

"Her Dale, huh?" Dale chuckled and buried his face in Bella's hair.

"I could live with that," he murmured, and Bella and Sarah chuckled.

"Alright. I'm gonna start breakfast. Ya'll just rest," said Sarah and left the room.

Bella felt the medication kick in, feeling relief from the pain in her shoulder, and blew a slow breath.

"Better?" asked Dale.

"Yeah," she breathed.

He unlinked their fingers and moved his arm underneath her, pulling her close.

"Comfortable?" asked Bella, and Dale buried his face in her neck, nodding.

"Careful big bird. Little bird might think you're falling for her too," she whispered, and Dale smiled.

"Yeah, so?"

Bella smiled, falling back asleep, and Dale's eyes closed. Charlie smiled, looking at his sister's peaceful face, and gently rolled out of bed. Abraham waved him out of the room, and they headed toward the kitchen.

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A couple of weeks passed, and Bella and Dale were back on their feet again. They would ride out to High Point and use the playground equipment as a training area. They used the spring for swimming exercises and to cool off after a workout. Bella taught Dale training exercises to work his arm and get it working again, and Dale taught her a couple of shoulder exercises he had learned when he broke his shoulder in his first motorcycle accident.

Mike and Sarah started getting close, and Mike moved his stuff into Sarah's room, giving the free space to Liam. Sarah decided to let the group stay, and everyone seemed to get along with each other except Steve. He still acted like he was in charge of everyone and was mean to everyone. Marcus, Waylon, Marshall, and Steve went out on a run, and Waylon and Steve were the only ones to return. Waylon explained to Abraham that Steve set them up, resulting in his brother's deaths, and he was out of control.

Andy, Teresa, Mike, Abraham, and Dale would go on runs, scavenging for supplies, and Dale and Abraham became close friends. Things were going well on the farm, and Steve seemed to be the only problem they had to worry about.