Fellow comrades opened the gate to let them pass. Jared was in the driver's seat and Kara had settled into the one beside him. She was happy with the distance between the seats because right now she just wanted to hit him for convincing the Colonel to let him come. Did they both think she needed to be babysat? She's taken down people bigger than Jared.

Sneaking a side glance, she watched as the muscles in his arms flexed against his white t-shirt. His blue eyes were firmly set on the road ahead. There was no freedom for distractions because as soon as they were clear of the gates, they were out of the safe zone and on their own. His fresh cologne, his favorite vanilla scent, wrapped itself around her. She wanted to plug her nose and breathe in deeply at the same time. She growled and folded her arms tightly across her chest, staring straight ahead.

"Did you shower with the cologne?" she snapped. "You stink."

He laughed. "Thinking about me in the shower now?"

Frustration bubbled inside her, creating a knot deep in her gut. "Stop being such a guy!"

"In case you haven't notice, darling," he replied, shooting a sexy grin her way. "That's exactly what I am."

"That's the problem," she muttered under her breath. In an attempt to refocus her mind, she scanned their surroundings as Jared maneuvered the Hummer around the vehicles that littered the road. Some had their doors open and were unoccupied; others had their trunk open, thoroughly searched through. The rest...she didn't even want to think about them or look at them. She closed her eyes to the gore, to the blood, and the guts that said welcome to the apocalypse.

"There's going to be a lot more of this," Jared said softly. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Behind the fence, she was able to shield herself from the nightmare. Hide from it. But to get home, she had to go through it. And it was time to be with her family. They'd face this nightmare long enough without her. She could only hope that her husband protected their daughter with his life; otherwise, he'd have her to deal with. If she had known that she would have been stuck at the camp for as long as she was, she never would have gone. It was supposed to have been a simple quarantine, but it didn't turn out that way. And before she knew it, it had spread to their place, too.

Kara opened her eyes and turned to look at him, concern etched into his features. "Don't worry about me, just keep driving."

"But I am worried."

"Why? Why do you care about how I feel or don't feel?"

"Because I care about you."

He didn't add to that. He just left it at those simple words, and Kara wasn't sure how to respond. Should she say thank you? Or say the same thing back? If he would have said it was because he liked her, then she could have responded with the usual reminder that she was married, and he should focus women that were more available, but instead he said he cared. In that moment, his eyes locked with hers, and she found a kindness in them that burrowed deep within her heart. What would it have been like if she had met him before Shawn?

Kara shook her head at herself. She wouldn't go there. The option no longer existed. The fact of the matter was she was married. She was off the dating table. Anything else wasn't important anymore. Her husband wasn't as gentle and caring as Jared, but he worked hard and cared for them. And when she was called out into the field, he didn't even fight with her. He told her to go and do what needed to be done.

Now that she had a moment to think about it. He actually seemed a little eager for her to go, almost pushed her out the door. She'd been so focused on her job that she'd forgotten about the hurt that had coursed through her when he didn't even try to get her to stay.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Jared said.

"You didn't. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Jeepers, you're worse than my girlfriends back home. Can't you just be like the dark brooding type guy?"

Jared stayed silent a moment as he carefully drove the car through two cars that were parked close together. "I thought women liked to talk?"

That would ordinarily be true, but Kara kept things close to her chest. She was more than happy to listen to other people, but she didn't talk about her problems. That was a lesson she had learned young. If her dad didn't care about her, why would anyone else? Better to deal with things yourself. She could at least count on her own abilities to make it through anything. And she did. She pushed herself through school, got herself a job to pay for her martial art classes, and then left home as soon as she could.

"Hang on," Jared shouted, making her reach for the handle on the ceiling above the window, dragging her back to this present moment just in time for her to see a man standing in front of them with his jaw torn apart and dangling down to his chest, his eyes glossy white.