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My muscles ached as I wrung the clothes. I dressed, aware of how empty my stomach felt and looked. There was a mirror in the bathroom that I dared to face, and my reflection appeared tired and gaunt. How could he think this was beautiful? I braided my dark hair and secured it with my hairband, inspecting my hollow cheeks and dark under-eye circles. The mess hall opened tomorrow, and I prayed they wouldn’t ration our first meals. Everyone had to be starving.
Refreshed, I walked back to my room to find Dean waiting at the door. My elation dissipated when I noticed his demeanor. His arms crossed at his chest and he had a scowl on his face. He paced in front of my door, clucking his tongue. When I came into his view, he tilted his chin upwards and made his stance wide towards me.
“Your boyfriend won’t open the door,” he barked. “And I-” he stopped short.
And you left your key, I thought to myself.
“Isn’t it great he pulled through?” I clipped back.
Not ready for sarcasm, Dean bent down inches from my face and continued, “It might be a good time to remind him who else saved his life.”
I gave the door a gentle knock. “It’s me, Sam. I didn’t bring the key. Could you open up?”
A moment later, BeLew stood at the open door. They waved at Dean, turned, and sat back down next to Sam.
I stepped into the room and arranged my things while my hands gave a slight shake. Sam noticed and furrowed his brow. Dean strolled in behind me, arms still crossed. He slammed the door with his foot and glared at Sam.
“Sam, this is my friend, Dean. He’s the one that helped us get on the ship,” I said. “Dean, you remember Sam.”
“Oh, how could I forget?” Dean hissed. “The man that I allowed on this vessel, then carted to this very room, and the one I just signed intake papers for. Intake papers that are full of lies. Lies that could get me killed. That Sam?”
“I’m sorry, man,” Sam calmly replied. He wasn’t defensive or upset. Dean’s aggression had no effect on his demeanor. “I didn’t know who you were, and these boys are my responsibility.”
“And Rowan isn’t? You let her go to the bathrooms by herself on the first day here. We don’t even know how many psychos made it onto this thing.”
“Wait a minute,” I interjected. “You don’t think it’s safe for me to pee by myself? You left that out in your, that’s all, speech last night.”
“All I’m saying is you’re picking and choosing how to protect your newfound family,” Dean snapped, keeping his eyes on Sam.
I moved next to Dean and gently placed my hand on his bicep. “And all I’m saying is you are picking a fight right now over nothing. We appreciate what you’ve done, Dean. Sam’s sorry you had to wait outside.”
“I am sorry, Dean,” Sam affirmed. “I owe you my life. The last thing I would want is to offend you.”
With that, Dean uncrossed his arms and put his hand on top of mine. Bringing me to a hug, he kissed the top of my head. “I’m short-tempered,” he whispered into my hair. “All that matters is you and BeLew.”
“And Sam,” Beau added.
Dean cleared his throat but didn’t comment. He took out papers from his back pocket and handed them over to me. “I started your assignments and got the boys enrolled in school when I saw your forms come over. I can get us to the mess hall now and we can go over them. It isn’t open to the public yet, and it will be quiet enough.”
He turned his head to Sam and gave him a sideways smirk. “You have to walk there, so it will just be us for now.”
“Not a problem,” Sam said. “I’ll rest. You need to eat, Rowan. I can hear your belly growling from here.”
BeLew grabbed at Dean’s hands to yank him towards the door. Fully rested, the boys needed to escape these four walls and stretch their legs.
“I’m right behind you,” I told Dean. “Start with them, and I’ll run-up. I just want to check on Sam’s bandage, okay?”
“We’ll wait at the end of the hallway unless we’re still afraid of hallways. We might have big problems if that’s the case.” Dean gave the boys a wink.
“We aren’t afraid,” Beau announced, stepping towards the door.
“We are like Captain America,” Lewis added.
Dean left with the boys bouncing at his sides, and I sat next to Sam on the bed.
“You just changed my bandage. I think it’s fine.”
“I’m sorry you can’t come to the mess hall, but I’ll bring you back something to eat. I just feel bad leaving you here by yourself. And after that weird interaction with Dean…” I trailed off.
