He definitely took his time eating.  I started to doze off.  Hopefully they save some pie for me.  “I think she is asleep,” I heard Ripley say.  “Almost,” Aris acknowledged, “just save the pie for breakfast.” “We could have some now,” Ripley offered, “I bought the whole pie.”  Aris chuckled, “You go ahead.  I am pretty full.”  I heard some rustling and crinkling.  A minute or so later, I heard a loud moan.  Is he making fun of me?  No.  I think it is just that good.  Did he close his eyes?  He did and he chewed slowly just like you taught him.  Tomorrow you are going to close your eyes and chew slowly.  You could just wake up and eat a little pie.  I will eat some if you will.  I’m already awake.  I opened my eyes.

“I would like to try your pie Ripley,” I said sleepily, “Just a small piece.”  He brought me a piece on a disposable plate along with a plastic spoon.  Aris got his own piece.  You first.  Close your eyes and chew slowly.  I want to watch your reaction.  He slowly put a bite of pie on his plastic spoon.  He dropped it off, then slowly put it back on.  You don't have to be slow about that part.  He slowly brought the spoon up to his mouth and slowly pulled the empty spoon back out.  I watched as he closed his eyes and chewed slowly, then swallowed.  He opened his eyes.

“Well?” I asked after not getting a reaction out of him.  “Well what?”  “Was it good?  Did you like it?”  “It is good.  I do not know if closing your eyes really makes a difference, though.”  “Take another bite without closing your eyes and see if it's better or worse.”  He did so, “it is better with your eyes closed.”  I took a bite of mine and chewed with my eyes closed.  I know I moaned with pleasure.  “I can't wait to try your apple pie.”  “What do you mean?”  “The apple pie that you are going to make for me, Mr. Chef.”  He smiled, “If you stay in bed and be a good patient, I will bake you an apple pie.”  “Deal,” I agreed.

We finished our pie and Ripley stayed for a little while.  He told us more about Lia and his antics, as children, and Aris talked some about his brothers and himself.  I don't have any siblings so I mostly just listened and laughed.  After some time Ripley stood up and said he needed to bring in a cooler that he had bought, in case of a power outage.  So far, the power was still on, so the refrigerator was still working.  After bringing in the cooler, “Well I think I will take the dogs out, then turn in for the night.”  “I will come out with you,” Aris volunteered.

“Are you going to smoke?” I asked.  “We can smoke in these cabins,” Ripley told us.  He lit me a cigarette, then one for himself and handed the pack to Aris, who did the same.  “I have a friend who is going to come check you out Jade,“ Aris started after taking a draw off of his cigarette, “you are not healing as fast as I would like for you too.  He has other means than what I have.  I am hoping he can help.”  “Okay,” I agreed.  “Who is this friend?” Ripley enquired.  “Maximus,” Aris answered.

“You can not be serious,” Ripley said, clearly agitated.  “You will have to put aside your differences.  We need his help.  Jade needs his help,” Aris responded, “I have repaired her twice and she still is not healing properly.  It is this or take her back to the person who did it to her.  I do not want to put her through that.”  “Can I see?” Ripley asked.  He can see below my breast.  Aris picked me up from the recliner and carried me to the bed and laid me on my back.  He pulled my sweatshirt up to just below my breast.  Ripley hissed through his teeth.  “There is more up higher, but she does not want you to see.  I was going to wait until we got to our destination, but we do not know how long we will be here.”  “I will not cause any trouble,” Ripley promised, “but I want to be present when he comes.”  Aris nodded his agreement.  “When will he be here?” I asked.  “Right now.” I heard an unfamiliar voice.

In the corner, opposite of the recliner, a man materialized out of thin air.  He had long grayish green dread locks, that reached almost to his waist.  His face was beautiful like Aris, but with larger, rounder gray eyes and a wider mouth.  He also was a few, maybe six, inches shorter, but with a stockier build.  He wore a suit similar to what Aris and I wore, our impenetrable and ‘can take a beating suits,’ at the hotel a few hours ago.  Like ours, his matched his hair color.

“She thinks you are beautiful, but does not see the beauty in herself,” he told Aris, “This is definitely her.  I can not believe my eyes.  How did you keep her hidden so long?”  “It was not easy,” Aris responded.  “May I approach you, my?”  “Jade,” Aris interrupted, “her name is Jade.”  “I see.  Jade, like her eyes.”  “My eyes are hazel,” I grunted, feeling a lot of pain.  “Did you do as I instructed?” he asked Aris.  “Yes,” Aris replied, “I have not given her pain relief for at least a couple of hours.”  “You may approach,” I gritted through my teeth, sweat pouring down my face.  He hurried over to me and got down on his knees beside the bed.  He took my hand and squeezed a couple of times.  I felt it almost instantly.  “Thank you,” I whispered.  “You are very welcome,” he responded, “I am going to have to look at it and touch you, are you okay with this?”  I nodded my agreement.  Ripley turned his back to me out of respect.  Maximus lifted my sweatshirt, “Can you remove this for now?”  I nodded and removed it.  He didn't hiss, like Ripley, but he did cringe, “He really did a number on you, did he not?”  I gave him a week smile, “Can you help?”  “I sure can, but I am going to put you to sleep first.”  I nodded my agreement.  He gave my hand one long squeeze.  I could feel my eyes getting heavier despite the pain.  Even the pain was subsiding.  Do not run off without letting me thank you, was the last thing I thought before slipping off into blissful nothingness.

I awoke with a start.  The room was dark.  The only light was from the embers in the fireplace.  I was alone except for Jax, who was snuggled up to my feet asleep.  Are you okay?  I feel a lot better.  That is from the pain relief.  Do not sit up without me.  Where are you?  Outside talking to Rip and Max.  Well, can we smoke a cigarette?  Yes.  I will be right there.  I put that same sweatshirt on and waited.  They all filed into the room.  Aris came straight to me and helped me sit up.  I leaned back against the headboard of the bed.  He stuffed a couple of fluffy white pillows behind me.  Then he sat down next to me.  Max got his own pack of cigarettes out and lit one.  Ripley lit his then handed the pack to Aris, along with an ashtray.  Aris sat the ashtray down on the bed and lit me a cigarette,  then one for himself.

I took a long draw off of it.  “How long did I sleep?”  “About four hours,” Max answered, “you need more.  The more you rest, the more you heal.”  I didn't argue.  Just sitting up is wearing me out.  Finish smoking, then I will help you lay down.  Okay.  Can you stay with me?  Yes.  We are all about ready to turn in.  Max is going to stay with Ripley.  His cabin has two beds.  Okay.  Are they getting along?  So far yes.  Any sign of that guy from the gas station?  I am not sure what made me think of him, but, for some reason, the thought was pervasive.  Not yet.  Hopefully, he did not follow us, but if he did, I would like for him to show himself here.

Aris put out his half smoked cigarette, “If you two do not mind, I would like to get more firewood before you leave.”  “I will sit with her,” Ripley stood up and came over to the bed.  Aris got up and Ripley sat down.  Max went to help Aris with the firewood.  “How do you feel?” Ripley asked.  “Just really exhausted,” I answered.  “Well the good news is that we can stay here as long as we need to,” he reassured.  I took a final draw off of my cigarette, as did he, and he set the ashtray on the side table.  He resituated pillows and helped me lay down.  “Can I have a drink of water?” I requested.  He got up and came back with a cold bottle of water.  He helped me sit up and I drank greedily.  He put the bottle on the bedside table and helped me lay back down.

“They sure are taking a while, aren't they?” I asked.  “They ran into a snag, they will be in shortly,” he answered.  “What do you mean by a snag?”  “Your friend from the gas station showed himself.  They are almost done.”  I must have shown the worry that I felt on my face.  “Do not worry Jade.  They will be perfectly fine.”  “Will you hold my hand?”  He held out his hand and I grasped it.  I must have been squeezing hard.  “Jade, everything will be okay.”  I willed myself to loosen up and did so.  I just have a bad feeling.  Are you and Max okay?  He didn't answer me right away, causing my anxiety to heighten.  We are just fine.  We will be there shortly.  Do as Ripley says until I get there.  Okay.

I felt myself start to get groggy.  Not yet.  I need to wait until you get here.  I need to know that you are safe.  I will wake you when I come back.  He did a final push and I felt myself start to doze off.  It was a fitful sleep though.  I was dreaming and it wasn't a good dream.  I saw Aris get stabbed through his side with a long sword.  I ran to him, but it was like running through a swamp.  My feet were getting heavier and heavier.  Then it changed and it was me lying on the ground and him trying to reach me.  I wanted him to reach me but he was taking forever to get to me.  I wanted nothing more than to feel his comfort as I died.  I awoke with a start, before either of us died, as always.

He was with me now, all clean.  Ripley had left.  “No fair.  You had a shower,” I whispered.  “You would not want me in bed without one after that.”  “I want a bath.”  “In the morning if you are up to it,” he promised.  He got into bed next to me, on the right, in pajama shorts.  I changed my clothes to the tank top and shorts that I was getting used to wearing.

“Can I look at your side?” he asked.  I shook my head yes.  He lifted up my tank top.  “Is it any better?”  “It is hard to tell.  Max said that we should see a difference in the morning.”  He turned off the bedside lamp and relaxed next to me.  I want you to remove your top and lay on me.  I don't know if I can move.  I will move you.  When he was done I was half laying on him half laying on the bed.  Are you comfortable?  Yes.  The skin on skin contact feels really good.  He covered us up to my shoulders with the blanket.  Let me know if you get cold.  I am going to put you to sleep now.  I felt myself start to fall asleep again.  Thankfully, there were no bad dreams this time.