"Don!" April called out with concern and worry as she saw Don's body lying on the floor.
Don was lying on his back with his pants still on. He managed to get his shirt and vest off before seeming to have collapsed. His eyes opened slowly, his vision blurry as he saw April. "April?" Don inquired weakly.
"Don! Are you okay!?" April exclaimed with worry.
She could see he was sweating profusely. He was also breathing heavily. She placed the back of her hand on his forehead. He felt like he was burning up once again. Was it the sting?
"I'm fine. Just tired." Don replied in a weakened manner. "I just wanted to wash off before I went to bed." Don added, pacing his wording through breaths.
"Okay. I'll help you. No talking back." April was firm with her remark. She helped Don to his feet and walked him toward the bathroom. When he was able to lean against the sink, she would run the water for the shower.
"Thanks, April." Don felt as if his head was going to explode. Everything was starting to become dizzy. Pretty soon, he probably wouldn't be able to tell up from down. He closed his eyes and tried to relax after removing his pants. April turned around to see Don in his boxers, and a faint pink took to her cheeks. She moved beside him and took his arm. "Come on. Nice and slow." April led Don into the shower.
"Thanks." Don spoke once more.
"Of course." April would reply before helping him into the shower.
She took a step back and closed the curtain.
"I'll stay here until you are done. Don't force yourself too much. If you need help, just ask." April stated while moving to sit on the toilet seat lid.
Don could feel the water running over his body. His body seemed to relax slowly, a bit too much, maybe since he needed to place a hand on the wall to keep himself up. "Yeah." Don replied to April.
All he wanted to do was rinse off any insect blood and clean out the wound from earlier, if possible. He let the water run over his body for a moment or two before trying to run his hands over his body and through his hair. Afterward, he moved his hands down his leg to unwrap the medical tape. He removed the bandage as well.
He ran his hand over the grazing wound. The swelling seemed to have gone down a little bit, but it still stung when he ran his hand over it. Even the warmth of the water was stinging his flesh. "April, can you dress this wound and patch it up again when I get out?" Don asked, his voice still coming out weakly.
"Yeah." April replied.
"Thanks." Don thanked her once again.
Don decided to stay a few more moments in the shower before turning it off. Any longer, and he may have just passed out from the relaxation.
Don moved the curtain aside, and April offered him a towel. "Here." She said she placed the towel against his hand, which he took.
He slowly dried himself off, and April held him up as best she could. "I went ahead and grabbed some underwear for you. I placed it on the sink counter. I'll guide you over there, then step out." April stated her cheeks still a tinge of pink from the sight before her.
"Thanks." Don thanked her again.
April guided him to the sink when he was done drying himself off, then stepped out so he could change real quick.
Real quick.
It wasn't a good phrase since it took Don a moment. He was slowly removing the wet underwear, drying himself off down there, then putting on the clean pair. He needed to maintain his balance as well as not pass out. It wasn't easy, but he persevered. Once finished, he slowly made his way toward the bathroom door. His eyes closed the entire time, so he had been using his hand to feel for the wall. When he opened it, April moved from the bed to help him sit on it. She already had the necessary items to redress his wound and patch it up again, which she started to do once Don sat down on the edge of the bed.
"It looks a lot better compared to earlier. The swelling has even gone down. I've brought several bottles of water to the room. They are on the nightstand beside the bed. For now, take these pain killers and drink this." April stated once she finished with the wound.
She took his hand and placed some painkillers into his palm before setting a cup in his other hand. Don took the painkillers and down the cup of water. He gave the cup back to April. "Thanks." Don thank her yet again.
She set the cup on the dresser with a soft sigh. "Just rest and relax, okay?" April suggested, and Don nodded softly before slowly allowing himself to lay back on the bed. Now that he was lying down, everything was starting to seize, shifting around. His mind wasn't bouncing around in his head either. "I'll stay here in case you need anything, okay?" April remarked, and Don nodded without another word.
What Don didn't see was that April had undressed into nothing but her underwear. She would move to lie down in the bed beside Don, but she didn't cuddle up next to him. Instead, she watched him closely. She could tell he managed to fall asleep and would just watch over him. Eventually, her eyes started to feel heavy, and she passed out.
The next morning came, and interestingly enough, nothing bad happened. April slowly opened her eyes to find herself covered up with a blanket. She recalled not having gotten under the blanket. She turned to where Don would have been, but he was not there.
"Is he feeling better?" April asked softly before sitting up and rubbing the remaining sleep from her eyes. Her eyes shifted to the door when she heard a knock. She took hold of the blanket that fell from her chest and used it to cover up before telling whoever to come in.
"Hey, sleepyhead. I figured you stayed with Don all night when you didn't return." Rebecca stated as she entered the room. "You didn't assault the man in his sleep, did you?" She gave her a teasing look with a teasing remark which caused April to blush lightly. "N-No! I just wanted to sleep beside him. I wanted to be comfortable too!" April spoke with slight embarrassment in her voice which caused Rebecca to chuckle lightly.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Before you go asking about Don, he is completely fine. The swelling in his leg is completely gone, and he seems to be back to a hundred percent. I figured something may have happened since the sting came from an oversized wasp, but I guess it was just a graze. Still, good job, Nurse April." Rebecca teased her with the ending remark and a wink which caused April to groan softly and hide her reddening cheeks with the blanket. "Anyways, get dressed and come on out. Breakfast is ready." Rebecca stated before leaving the room and closing the door.
Once April finished dressing, she made her way out of the room. She looked around and saw John, Josh, and Jake were all in the living room talking about something. Juan and Catalina were playing with Sofia. April made her way into the dining area and saw Tyrone, Sarah, and Alice eating breakfast there.
Rebecca had just set down April's plate when she arrived. "What's wrong? You look a little lost?" Rebecca asked with a smile. "Umm... Where's Don?" April inquired, to which Rebecca sighed softly.
"He's in the garage with Noah. Something about trying out a new invention. I assure you that your *husband* is fine. Settle down and eat, okay?" Rebecca answered and teased her a bit more.
A soft sigh of relief left April's mouth, along with a soft smile. "Fine, fine..." April sat down at the table and ate. Sarah and Alice had overheard what Rebecca said about Don being April's husband and asked, which caused a bit of an exciting conversation to come up about Don and April, as well as a lot of teasing.
"And so you see, once it is completed, you will have another weapon at your disposal. I figured that only using a combat knife in close combat wouldn't do well against people who have bats or crowbars." Noah finished going over a new weapon with Don. It was mainly the base, along with the blueprints.
"Well, aren't you just a handy little person. What did you call it again?" Don asked as he looked at the blueprints of a blade that looked like a sword but wasn't as long as one. If anything, it was maybe a short sword, but even a bit shorter than that. The design also had an eastern feel, looking like a katana, if anything.
"Tonto." Noah answered him.
"I see, and I strap it to my backside on my hip?" Don asked, and Noah nodded. "You can, but you can also wear it like a sword. I'll be making a sheath to go with it." Noah answered.
"I see. Well, thanks. What about the other thing, I asked for?" Don inquired after thanking Noah for the information and additional weapon he was creating.
Noah's brow perked up, "Oh, you mean the laser sight? Hmm... It's possible. It'll take some time. It would be better if you found one." Noah answered.
Don scowled for a moment since he didn't like the answer. "I see." Noah was curious as to why Don even wanted a laser sight. The man was good with a gun as it was, so what need did he have for it?
"Why do you want one anyway?" Noah asked.
"Oh, that's because I want to teach someone else how to use a gun. Preferably April, but maybe Tyrone, John, Josh, and Jake. I believe it would be best for them to learn the basics of firearms." Don replied, to which Noah nodded lightly.
"I see. That makes sense. I suppose that I could give it a try as well, but we would need the rounds for it, and while I may be a crafter, I do not know a thing about making ammo for guns. Sorry." Noah shrugged at the last part.
"It's fine. You know how to do plenty as it is. If not that laser sight, then what about a melee weapon for the others?" Don asked.
"Melee weapons? Yeah. That wouldn't be a problem. I would just need the proper materials." Noah responded, and Don nodded. "Fair enough."
Not too later, after Don's reply, did April make her way into the garage. "Don?" She called out with slight worry. "Oh, awake, are we?" Don asked with a smile, and April nodded while looking over at Don, who turned towards her.
"Are you okay?" She asked, just to make sure.
"Mhm. Thank you for everything, April. Really." Don answered.
April didn't sense any pain or lies in his voice. A soft smile curved across her lips, and she nodded while making her way over to him to hug him tightly. "Of course, Darling~" She replied gleefully. Noah shook his head with a soft exhausted sigh and a slight smile. He felt like a third wheel now.
"So, what's on the plan for today, boss?" Noah asked.
"I want to go get my bike. It'll probably take some hours to get there, and I probably won't be back until dusk or nightfall. So it'll most likely take all day." Don answered.
"Oh!?" April seemed thrilled at this remark, and Noah chuckled lightly.
"Well, looks like you got your partner for today. What do you want the rest of us to do? We could go ahead and do some simple scouting. Well, when I say we, I am mainly talking about the others." Noah remarked.
Don already had something he wanted the others to do, so there wasn't much to think about. "I was actually going to start a short meeting after this. I want to get a team of people who will go out and do a bit of scavaging in the area." Don stated, and Noah nodded with understanding.
"You have thought about all of this, haven't you?" April teased Don, and Don chuckled in reply to her remark.
"Not at all. Not everything goes as plan. I just know that with the addition of more people, we will have more mouths to feed. We also need to get materials for Noah so he can build new weapons or modify any weapons we come across." Don explained.
April nodded, showing she understood. "Anyways, let's get going." Don finished and made his way into the house to gather everyone for a meeting.
"I know we have been having a lot of meetings, but I like to keep everyone informed. Starting today, I want people to do some basic scavaging in the area. A small group of three or four people will be fine. This is only for when I am not around. This group will only be doing scavaging within a few blocks of this home. You will not have to venture too far out. All this party will be doing is searching for materials that Noah is requesting, things that can be used as weapons and shielding, and even food or water. This search can apply to whatever else you think is necessary. Under no circumstance do I want you to fight. If you find a place to be too dangerous, you turn around right away. I do not want any of you dying on me, so only fight when you have to. With that said, do I have any volunteers?"
When Don finished and asked for volunteers, everyone seemed a bit silent. Rebecca had a question, so she raised her hand, "Actually. I have a question. You said that the scavaging group will be when you aren't around. Does that mean you will be going elsewhere?" It was a good question, and Don was more than okay with answering it.
"Yes. Of course, I will also ask for volunteers for my party. As you all may be aware, I plan on searching further out. My searches will usually begin around morning or past morning, and I probably won't return until dusk or evening. The party size will be the same. Three to four people, myself included. As such, you are more than welcome to apply for either or. Of course, even if you choose not to scavage or scouting with me, you can stay here. I am sure that Noah could find something for you to do or even John's Mother." Don answered Rebecca's question and added a bit more information as well. Both John's Mother and Noah would wave with a smile on their face.
"Well, I'll always be with you. So it's more like two to three people." April stated while cuddling Don's arm, which caused Don to shake his head lightly with a smile.
"What will you be doing?" John asked out of curiosity.
"Today? I plan to go get my bike. As such, my party is already filled. Only two people can ride on my bike, and April claimed that spot." Don answered.
Everyone seemed to giggle or chuckle, which caused Don's brow to raise curiously. "What?" Don asked. "So, you two just wanted to go on a date." Josh replied.
April blushed softly, and Don sighed gently. "Even if that were the case. I don't see why it's funny." Don remarked.
"It's cute." Alice said,
Sure, she didn't know Don personally. Still, from her conversation with Rebecca and April at the table, she could piece together that Don wasn't always honest with his feelings.
"Anywaysss..." Don would clear his throat before moving the conversation elsewhere. "Any volunteers?" Don asked, referring to the previous topic about the scavaging group.
"I don't think you need to ask. We'll handle it." John remarked.
"Yup. I don't think anyone else would be better suited." Josh stated.
"I'm down for it." Jake pitched in.
"Well, then that clarifies that. The rest of you will pretty much be holding down the fort or helping Noah and John's Mother. Are there any questions?" Don left the floor open for any remarks or questions.
"Umm... how long do you all plan on staying here?" Catalina asked. It was something she was curious about.
"Until we find a better place to base." Don answered.
"A better place?" Catalina asked curiously.
"Yeah. A place we can fortify against whatever may come. If I have to stay here an entire year, I plan to make that duration as safe as possible. Not just for me, but those around me." Don was firm with his ending remark. It was surprising to see how much Don seemed to care for everyone.
Sure, those Don already knew were understandable, but what about those he didn't know of? They were pretty much strangers. Even Don was a bit surprised about his remark. He wasn't too sure why he even said such.
He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Anyways, if there are no further questions. Everyone is dismissed." No more questions came, and everyone seemed to have gone their separate ways. Don and April prepared to move out. Meanwhile, John, Josh, and Jake decided to go over their plans for when they were going to leave. They even asked Noah what he was looking for in particular and would make a list. It seemed like it was going to be a long day for everyone.