"You've got a lovely home." Jacob said, surprising me.

We were stilling in my uncles' living room, which had a very pale blue and white color pallet, as Uncle Freddy grabbed refreshments for us.

I shot him a look, unsure if he was being sincere or not.

"Thank you. We renovated it a couple years ago."

An awkward silence filled the room again.

Johnny examined Jacob's wound from earlier, the one I hadn't done a great job at patching up.

"Is it gonna get confusing?" I asked. "With a Jake and a Jacob?"

Jacob immediately said, "Nah, don't think so."

"Actually it's even better. We'll be JSquared!"

"Heck yeah!" Jacob raised a hand to high five Jake, but winced as Johnny shot him a stern look.

"Careful, Jacob. Shoulder is pretty sore. You should stay here for at least a few days to recover."

"Is that alright... With everyone?" I asked.

I didn't want to trap Nicole, Callie, and Jacob here and I didn't want to impose on my uncles either.

"It's no trouble with us." Freddy said. "There's a spare bed in the room Jake's currently staying in, Jacob can use. And the other guest bedroom has futon the three of you can share. It's not much but..."

"That's absolutely fine." I reassured him with a smile.

"I don't mind staying here. I'm in no rush to get to Alberta and Jacob needs to take a break to recover, before he does something stupid that gets himself killed." Nicole rolled her eyes.

Jacob opened his mouth to argue, couldn't, and closed it.

"Alberta, eh? I'm guessing you don't all have your papers for that." Johnny asked.

Jacob shrugged, sheepishly. "Well... No."

"I've got a friend who can help you with that. There's a section of border that's stopped checking for identification. They just check to make sure you're not infected, or trying to smuggle zombies in. He can help you get there."

"A friend?" I asked. "I would think your social life wouldn't be doing too hot right now."

John waved a hand. "Further north you get the lower chance of infection. We've got a low population density and we had more warning, so there aren't as many cases. We've taken better protective measures. It's even more regular up in Canada I hear. Sure, there are a few bites, but as long as you take the necessary precautions, you won't be one of them. Rick comes up every couple days to check in and say hi. In fact he'll probably swing by soon and I can introduce you."

"Oh wow. That's very different from California." I said.

Jacob nodded and we both remembered what a barren wasteland that had become. It had been a hazard, too dangerous to stay in. We'd be fortunate enough to avoid the hordes for the most part, but before I met the group, I had had a few close calls with hordes and I had been very lucky to escape unscathed.

"I'd imagine so." John nodded.

"Are you sure it's okay if we stay? I don't want you using up too many supplies on us or anything—"

"Erica Wheeler," Freddy shot a glare at me. "You and your brother are the last family I got left. Having you or your friends here is not burden and in fact, y'all are a welcome edition to our home. Just don't go backstabbing anyone or breaking any hearts, ya hear? We don't want any drama."

Freddy's gaze seemed to linger on Jacob a second longer than it did on the rest of us. Jacob shot him a wink, as if that would help. Freddy chuckled in response.

"We're gonna start fixing up dinner, why don't you four get settled in?" John suggested.

Jacob turned to Jake. "Hey, squirt, think you can show me to our room?"

Jake nodded, enthusiastically. Jacob slowly got off the couch and made his way upstairs. I watched him wince every time he moved his shoulder the wrong way. I understood that pain too.

"Well guess we should grab some of our stuff from the car and get settled in. I'll show you the guest room." I told the girls.

Maybe here, we'd finally be at peace.

Sorry about the slow updates but this is still happening! I'm determined to finish this draft this time!

Wooooooo! We're at chapter 50! Yay! Although idk the Q&A doesn't really count.

Please, please, PLEASE leave comments! On anything! Doesn't have to be related to this specific chapter. Authors thrive on comments and I really just want to know what's going on in your heads! Thanks for reading!

~Oz