Cameron

I try to swallow the lump in my throat but it doesn't end up going away.

"Umm... Ok what does that mean?" I stutter.

Tim scoffs and stands back up to her full height. 

"What does that mean, he asks," she mumbles mockingly. Then turning to face me full on she rages, "Are you stupid?? It means one of these guys is loose, probably looking for back up so he can attack again and do who knows what to you and your family!"

"Tim!" I scold, trying to stop her before she blows up again.

I hold up my hands desperately as I look around and see the confused and frightened looks on all the kid's faces, expect Phoebe's... She's smiling like it's Christmas morning, without the slightest clue of what just happened. Ignorance is bliss I guess.

Tim's face slowly loses the tomato red it had turned and her shoulders loosen. "I'm sorry," she murmurs."

She takes a sheepish glance at all the children who are looking at her with wide eyes.

Liza shuffles slowly over to my side, keeping her eyes on Tim as if she was about to attack her. 

"Cameron," she whispers. "What did those men want with us?"

I pull her into me and then lock eyes with Tim.

"I don't know, baby," I reply honestly.

Tim lets out a shaky breath and stalks over to me, grabbing my free arm. 

"Can I talk to you, please?" she begs.

I raise my eyebrows at her waiting for her to proceed.

"Alone," she grunts, pulling me away from Liza. "Thought you didn't want to worry the kids.

I scowl at her and counter, "Too late. Strange men just tried to kidnap them; I think they're already a bit concerned."

She makes a weird annoyed sound in the back of her throat, but still proceeds to drag me just a few feet from the kids.

"Where's your mom?" she asks suddenly. 

"Probably out at the market, I don't know," I reply rather sheepishly.

As if on cue, all the kids start screaming, "MOM! MOM!"

I turn to see her coming up our little path, wide eyed and extremely terrified at the fight scene ahead of her.

Tim walks briskly over to her. I can tell she's trying to sound urgent but still polite as she talks to my mom. It doesn't take long for Tim to convince her that she needs to come over and have a chat with me.

"What is going on??" Mom asks.

"Ma'am, the men after your family, they came sooner then we expected. All of your children are safe but one of the men got away. We need to move you and your family to a new home and fast."

"Anew home?" Mom cries. 

"We can't afford a new home," I inform Tim, embarrassed. 

"I know of an old abandoned cabin, in the heart of the forest. You won't need to pay and it will only be temporary."

There's silence for a moment as we all try to take things in.

Then Mom hesitantly says, "Ok, I'll... Try to get the kids together without them worrying too much."

She calls the kids together and I hear the chatter of everyone talking at once. I watch for a while until Tim's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Cameron?"

I turn to face her. "Yeah?"

"Do you know anything about what your dad... Umm... What your dad spent his life doing?"

I smile at her oddly and glance back at the herd of children before raising my eyebrows and looking back at her.

She can't keep herself from smiling. She snorts and immediately covers her mouth as her eyes go wide with embarrassment. I chuckle as she tries to regain her composure. She does one of those fake coughs and then says, "Dude, you know what I mean. What did he do before he had a flock of children. What was before marriage?"

I shrug nonchalantly. "I don't know he never really talked about it."

Once the words are out of my mouth, I realize how eerie that sounds. I stiffen and glance over at Tim, who seems to be considering what I just said.

Our thinking is interrupting as the kids and Mom come up to us, already set to go.

Pat shoves Phoebe in my arms commanding me to be the one to carry her as she's "getting really heavy."

I scowl at him but really, I don't mind.

"Lead the way, Tim!" I say, as if we were going on a vacation and not running away from something.

She nods, and we marches off into the forest.

========================

By the time we get to where we're going, the kids look about ready to keel over and fall asleep on the ground. Tim pushes back a curtain of vines to reveal a little valley with a cabin and a lake.

The cabin is pretty run down, but so was our old place after all.

"I know it's not much, but it's in a little hidden area, so it's good for, uh, hiding," Tim says.

No one says anything, there's really nothing to say.

I suddenly notice that Phoebe is already asleep on my shoulder. 

"Uh, Mom?" I say. "Do we have cribs or beds or... Anything?"

Mom's face pales. "Uhhhh..."

"Oh don't worry," Tim says. "There are some things in the attic."

I look at her curiously and she tenses under my gaze.

"I've been in quite a few ur... situations..." she says. "I've used this cabin before and stored some things in it."

I nod slowly and she quickly turns away from me.

What is with this girl?

Tim runs ahead so she can get the things from the attic and set them up in the various rooms. Her goal is to make sure we are spread out as possible in the little thing, but I don't know why she bothers. We're so used to be crowded together that it's almost more comfortable to be laying on top of each other than it is to have our own personal bubble. Plus, I think everyone is going to want a snuggle buddy tonight.

None of us really know exactly why we're here.

Little Erica runs up to me and grabs my arm.

"Cameron, I'm still scared," she whispers.

"Why, Hon?" I ask. 

"I get the feeling Mom doesn't trust Tim. I want to trust her but I'm really confused," she says.

I furrow my eyebrows. "What makes you think Mom doesn't trust her?"

"She keeps saying, 'Maybe we should go back and figure this out without this girl.'"

I lick my lips and say maybe a little too quickly, "Well, I trust her."

Then after a pause, I admit, "There is something funny about her though."