Status: Working on it!!!

No Longer Saving Yourself

Unluck Thirteen

"They got you good, didn't they?" Kathryn was a petite blonde with a friendly smile who also happened to be a nursing student before the outbreak. In this new group of people, Kathryn was the makeshift doctor. Overtime, her confidence in her abilities grew and she could handle almost anything thrown at her.

One of the rooms in the apartment complex had been turned into a hospital of sorts. It even had ammenities one would see in a hospital or doctor's office. In addition to several chairs, there were a two twin mattresses on the floor, several IV bags needles and bottles of various injectable liquids, an array of bandages, gauze and various tapes. There was also a defibrillator, various splints, cast making supplies and surgical items like the needle Kathryn was using to stitch up the bite on Zack's leg.

"Something like that," Zack murmured, holding on to Annie's hand as Kathryn stitched carefully moved the needle back and forth to close his wound.

"Zack's a big baby," Annie teased, pecking Zack's cheek. He blushed at her action, not used to public displays of affection involving Annie. Then again, it wasn't exactly something he normally would have encountered before the outbreak.

"Cori said you were bitten recently. How's your bite?" Kathryn asked Annie.

Pulling up the leg of her jeans, Annie revealed the superficial wound that no longer required a bandage.

"Not too bad then. You'll have an interesting scar, that's for sure. Definitely one to tell the kids about," Kathryn commented.

"Hopefully there wont be any additions," Annie replied, in reference to future scars and future children. She knew that her hand mingling with Zack's had gone slightly stiff at the mention of kids, but Zack didn't show any signs of noticing. Or noticing the mention of kids. This observation cause Annie's mind to rush at high speed.

Maybe he's not freaking out because he doesn't want kids with me. Or kids at all. Or even knows that kids are a possibility now. Not that I want kids. Not in this world. I wonder if he even wants to have sex. I mean, last time I looked in a mirror I wouldn't want to touch me either. But we've been affectionate. He's attracted to me, right? He has to be! But we're with a lot of other people now. A lot of other women. Maybe I was just convenient. Maybe-"

"Alright, next one please," Kathryn said, pulling Annie out of her thoughts. The blonde moved so that Kathryn could reach the bite on Zack's arm.

"This one isn't as bad. The one that attacked your leg took out a sizable chunk." Kathryn merely cleaned this wound and re-bandaged it. However, when she pulled back the bandage on his shoulder, she tilted her head. Blood was still trickling out.

"Sorry, but this one is going to need stitches too. It's pretty intense. When I'm done, I'll give you something for the pain and a pill or two to help you sleep. You're going to need it. Rachel is finding you a room right now." Putting some iodine on the wound, she slowly began stitching it up, pausing occasionally to push gauze on the bite to soak up some of the blood. At some point, Zack's free hand found Annie's and the action put a stop to most of her insecure thoughts.

"How is everything coming along?" Rachel asked, appearing in the doorway.

"I'm almost done," Kathryn said without looking at Rachel, focused on the task at hand.

"We've put your group on this floor. When you're done Kathryn, they are in 405. It would probably be a good idea for someone to stay with Zack given his condition and Rian said you wouldn't mind, Annie." Rachel handed Annie a key before sitting down in one of the spare chairs.

"Tell me about your group," Annie said for distraction, turning to face Rachel. She kept her hand in contact with Zack's, rubbing it in a soothing manner. Whether he wanted her or not didn't matter right now, he just needed support.

"We're all from different places, but we met up in Kansas. We made it here and decided to stay at least for a little while. It's comfortable. We've been here for about two months, not seeing a reason to leave just yet. This is out of the way enough that we've been safe from the infected, and it's got plenty of supplies for now. While the building isn't ideal in size, we've got a system that works to keep us all safe. The building is only 6 floors, and we take turns checking the whole place every morning and night. Eric and Rob were Marines and they take turns guarding the building at night. We tried to get them to take a rest, but they're pretty protective of our group." Rachel smiled, her face taking a slight far off look.

"More like protective of you. She's too much of a chicken to let Eric know how she feels," Kathryn said as she placed the final bandage of Zack's last wound.

"This is going to turn into girl talk now, isn't it?" Zack teased before Rachel could rebuttle. All three girls laughed.

"Let's get you to bed then," Kathryn said, grabbing a few items to make Zack comfortable until the next day. The four walked down the hall to 405. Swinging open the door, Annie gasped at the sight.

The apartment building didn't look like much from the outside, but the apartments inside, well, this one at least, was far from ordinary. It was large and furnished with expensive looking and luxurious items. It looked untouched, like the owners had just stepped out or were on vacation. But the appearance was much more Pottery Barn than lived in. There were no pictures around, or family heirlooms.

"Are they all like this?" Annie asked in wonderment as she explored the apartment.

"Yep. We lucked out. Now you know why we haven't left," Rachel said with a laugh.

There was a sizable kitchen with shinning stainless steel appliances. A large beige suede couch that looked comfortable took up most of the living room, along with a large TV. Annie spotted an x-box game console and several games on a shelf with a large collection of DVD's.

Maybe we won't be leaving for a while. Annie thought.

The large bathroom was just as elegant, sporting the standard, but obviously upgraded, bathroom features such as a toilet and a double basin sink, as well as a whirlpool tub with jets. Bottles of various colored products lined the surrounding form and there was a large walk in shower on the other side with two separate shower heads.

"The water is clean too. Thank god. Simon, another one of our group, discovered a way to test the water. He does every other day to make sure nothing has changed. He's quite old, early seventies, but he was apparently a brilliant scientist before the outbreak," Kathryn explained.

The bedroom was no less glamourous. As expected, it was large and very clean. A fluffy white and gold embroidered comforter covered the king sized bed, while several pillows, practical and decorative, took up the length of the wall behind the bed. A few smaller picture frames with scenic prints were arranged on the wall as well as another television. A large dresser, armoire, walk in closet, two bedside tables and a lamp completed the furnishings.

Throwing several of the unnecessary pillows to the floor, Annie helped Zack into the bed. Kathryn sat on the side of the bed, giving him a few pills and a bottle of water. He swallowed the pills all at once and rested his head on one of the pillows. After setting some spare dressings on the bedside table, Kathryn began checking his vitals, making sure that nothing drastic had occurred on their short walk.

Suddenly Jack and Alex appeared in the doorway.

"Isn't this place awesome?" Jack exclaimed before running and jumping on the bed right next to Kathryn. Zack groaned, both in annoyance and pain.

"Sorry dude. But hey! Alex and I brought up your stuff!" Sure enough, their bags were just inside the bedroom.

"We brought everything else in too. There are actually covered garages in the back. How cool is that?" Alex exclaimed. He was certainly excited about their current housing as well.

"Almost feels normal, doesn't it?" Kathryn said, standing up. Jack stood up too, returning to his former spot next to Alex.

"I put some basic food supplies in your refrigerator. There were some frozen meals in there that should still be good. The expiration dates are a few months away. You should also be pleasantly surprised to see some milk in there. Did I mention we have a cow?" Rachel said.

"It's name is Cat!" Jack exclaimed.

"Yes, yes it is. Henry named her. two year olds certainly have wild imaginations. He's asleep right now, but you'll see him later. He's the youngest in our group," Rachel explained. Annie's mind flashed to babies for a split second before returning to the conversation.

"He'll get along perfectly with Jack then. He's got the temperament of a four year old," Alex teased. Jack pouted, but when Kathryn giggled, he smiled. Annie couldn't help but smile either. Between Rachel and Eric, and then Jack and Kathryn, love was in there air. She didn't include her relationship with Zack in that list, still slightly unnerved by all the other women that would be around now.

"Alright, we'll let you two get settled. We usually meet up around noon for lunch. There is a common room on the third floor. Go ahead and come on down around then so that we know you're alright," Rachel said.

"I'm in room 309, so let me know if anything goes wrong," Kathryn said.

"Oh yeah. I'm in 308. Your group is all on the 4th floor, but don't hesitate to come down if you need anything," Rachel said.

"Cori and Danny are in 401, Rian, Jack and I are in 410. We decided to stick together and that one has three rooms. We'll probably be up all night playing games though," Alex said.

"You're going to be rather far away from everyone, so if you want to move, that can be arranged. Let's go and let them get some sleep," Kathryn said, herding the other three all out of the apartment.

After locking the front door, Annie returned to the bedroom.

"How about some new clothes?" Annie asked, opening their bags. She couldn't decide whether to unpack or not, so she merely pulled out what they would probably use in the next twenty four hours.

"Pajamas sound amazing. I don't know the last time I actually had the opportunity to wear them," Zack said, sitting up carefully.

Annie pulled out some plaid pajama pants, a pair of red briefs and a white v-neck men's shirt and tossed them to Zack, only slightly blushing. She pulled out a pair of black shorts, a blue tank top and a fresh pair of black panties for herself.

"Do you need any help?" Annie asked. When Zack shook his head no, she took her things into the adjacent bathroom to change.

Looking in the mirror, Annie saw that her face was somewhat dirty, and her hair was slightly mangled. Messing around with her hair for a few minutes, she decided she wanted a bath before changing. A new place needed a fresh start. But after looking at the huge whirlpool bathtub behind her in the mirror, she had a better idea.

Opening the door again, she peeked into the room to see if Zack was clothed. His back was turned but he was only in his briefs; he had yet to change.

"How do you feel about a bath?" Annie asked, her cheeks taking on a slight amount of color at his lack of dress.

"Actually, that sounds pretty good," Zack said, turning around. When his bandages came into view, Annie frowned.

"Maybe a shower would be better. I'm pretty sure submerging your injuries are discouraged," Annie suggested. Zack shrugged.

"Alright. The idea of being clean is welcome, no matter what method."

"I'll try to find a movie while you're showering," Annie said.

"Oh. I just figured you would be joining me. I mean, it's big enough for both of us and we would be conserving water," Zack said. He had turned back around to poke around in his bag so Annie was unable to read his expression. She would have seen tinted cheeks and a nervous smile.

"Alright," she said slowly and softly.

Annie nodded, more to herself than him, and turned back to the bathroom to start the shower. After turning the knobs to get the right temperature, Annie grabbed a few of the bottles to use and set them inside.

She began to take off her pants and realized that she was going to be naked in front of Zack for the first time. Her hands began to shake as she pulled her shirt off.

Sure, sharing a fitting room together in the department store was one thing. But Annie was sure he wasn't looking when she was trying on the undergarments. The huge glass shower, built for two, or more, had several small round lights pointing down from the ceiling, making everything well lit. Had it been a shower in her old house, the actual shower would have been much darker and in her mind, a lot less frightening.

Zack appeared in the doorway, fresh clothes in hand. However, he had abandoned the old ones, as well as removed the bandages. Annie tried to keep from staring at the places she had yet to see as she finished undressing, but he made it rather difficult. He moved without embarrassment, something Annie hadn't expected, given his normal shy demeanor. It helped her nerves that he wasn't staring at her and she tried not to stare at him.

The truth was that Zack was trying very hard to keep his mind off the fact that he was sans clothes and soon Annie would be too. Leaving his clothes on the counter, he stepped into the large shower and allowed the water to spray onto his chest.

Annie watched as his skin became wet and the droplets began to flow off his body. His toned muscles made him look like a Roman god and Annie hoped that her own appearance wasn't too gruesome. She would have liked to have been clean for him, but the current situation didn't allow for that. Taking a deep breath, Annie dropped her underwear to the floor, joined Zack in the shower and stood under the opposite nozzle.

Zack turned around when he heard the door close and his eyes immediately zeroed in on the body of the girl in front of him. Her body was soft yet toned, and he took the opportunity to appreciate her naked form.

Annie could feel his eyes on her backside and feared turning around to meet his gaze. But she knew she would have to at some point. Taking a deep breath, she finally turned to face him.

Their eyes met for a moment, before venturing down each others' bodies. Zack wanted to moan at the sight of the gorgeous girl in front of him. Her breasts were full but not too large and in perfect proportion to the rest of her body. Her stomach was flat; not washboard like his own, but softened flesh that was still aesthetically pleasing. Her legs were toned and long, obviously giving Annie her height. He was desperate to touch her.

Annie gazed at Zack's body and felt a shiver run up her spine. His body was toned and fit, evidence of working out. His tattoos were revived in the moisture and the colors much brighter now. His body was almost hairless, alone from the thin line of hair leading from below his belly button down between his legs. She figured his size and girth were probably average, but her experience with nude men was limited, and Zack had yet to show the physical signs of arousal.

Zack could sense her hesitation and slight embarrassment at his gaze. He too was slightly uncomfortable under her eye, but her reaction was not one of disgust, making him feel more relieved. After Annie's eyes met the floor and stayed there, he decided to move first.

She had to know this would happen, he thought.

Slowly, Zack moved to her side of the shower. When he was two feet away, he stopped and reached his hand out to touch her cheek. Tilting her head upward, he gave her a small smile before moving closer. He pulled her slightly out of the way of the water, and began kissing from her cheek, to her ear and down her neck before settling there; kissing, sucking and lightly biting the flesh of her neck and top of her shoulder.

Annie let out a sigh of relief, and felt reassured at his touch. Her hands began to roam his body, and soon his were exploring hers. Minutes later, she could feel his attraction to her growing between them and she pulled away from him.

"Wash, then play," she teased, finally feeling her confidence returning. Zack sighed before retreating to his side. He occasionally would splash water in her direction, but it wouldn't go far enough and she just laughed at his attempts. Soon, when they both felt clean enough, they pulled away from the hot water and turned off the taps. Wrapping up in towels, they began to dry off. Zack finished first and dropped the towel to the floor before grabbing Annie and engulfing her in his arms.

"Is it play time yet?" he whined softly in her ear. He kissed the lobe, her cheek and finally her lips. She kissed him back just as eagerly, dropping her towel too and weaving her fingers in his hair.

"God you're so fucking hot," Zack gasped when they both pulled away. Annie smiled, glad to be reassured that she was still attractive, even if only to Zack. That was all that mattered to her at the moment.

"Are you bleeding?" she asked, inspecting his shoulder as best she could.

"I'll worry about it later," he growled before attacking her lips with his. This kiss was more intense and he began backing her into the bedroom. Annie was surprised when her knees hit the bed and even more so as Zack lightly pushed her onto it.

"I want you," he sighed in her ear as he crawled up her body so that his own body laying almost parallel with her's, his strong arms supporting his weight. Annie moaned softly, closing her eyes and tilting her head back as his lips ghosted over her face, neck, and upper torso. He lightly bit and licked her breasts, giving special attention to her nipples, and the action brought her hips up slightly into his and caused him to moan as well.

"Fuck," Annie muttered suddenly, realizing one tiny problem. She sat up and Zack slowly moved, looking at her curiously. She grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it to her chest in an attempt to shield herself.

"We need to find some condoms," she whispered, looked down at the comforter and traced the lines in the material with her fingers in an uneven pattern.

"Huh?" Zack asked, confused. He knew about the issues associated with menstruation in the current era.

"I got my period back. I can get pregnant." Zack stared back at her, his face not showing any emotion that Annie could tell.

"I guess this isn't the best time for a kid," he said after a few moments. "Well, there have to be some in here somewhere. Did you see any in the hospital room?"

"No. But maybe in one of the drawers?" Annie was surprised Zack still wanted to go through with it.

The two began looking through the room. There were clothes from the people who lived there before as well as a few pens, pads of paper and other random trinkets. Annie grabbed one of the robes out of the closet, suddenly shy and nervous.

"Bingo!' Zack said. The drawer was filled with condoms and a few sex toys including a vibrator and fuzzy handcuffs.

They began laughing quietly at the contents. Zack reached in, grabbed a handful of the foil packages and threw them on the bed. Turning back around to Annie, he took her hands and pulled her on top of him as he fell on the bed. Annie connected their lips and they began to move in sync.

Zack's hands slid over the silk robe in a smooth fashion, the flimsy article of clothing moving easily. While the texture of the material was not unpleasant, Zack craved the texture of Annie's bare skin. Flipping them over so she was beneath him, Zack maneuvered the loosely tied knot until the robe fell open, revealing her body once more. His hands eagerly explored the newly exposed skin, although his lips remained devoted to hers. Every time Annie tried to return the favor of physical touch, he would do something to make her squirm or moan. Occasionally she would slightly laugh if he hit a spot that was too ticklish. Then she started arching as his lips began to explore the rest of her body.

"God," Annie moaned, her fingers tangling in Zack's hair and trying to pull him up to her level as he moved South. She knew where he was heading and she was rather embarrassed at the lack of upkeep. He ignored her attempts and ended up grabbing her hands and pinning them to her sides.

"I want to make you feel good. Please let me make you feel good Annie," he whispered at a sensual volume that caused a shiver to run up Annie's spine.

"You're gorgeous," Zack said, knowing she needed encouragement. He pressed a kiss right above her belly button. Then under it. And then ran his tongue down the top of her right leg before stopping to suck on a spot on the inside of her thigh. He knew it would make a mark, but that was his intention. Next to making her more aroused of course. He wanted to mark her as his, stake his claim. Not necessarily in an old-fashioned sense of property, but rather a love bite that told anyone that came in contact with it that he was there first.

And this was one bite Annie didn't mind receiving.

When Zack's tongue met its destination, Annie tried not to scream or moan; every swipe of his tongue caused her hips to move off the bed. It felt fantastic and colors seemed to flash around her. Unable to stop, she moaned, gasped and whined when his hands let go of hers and he added their abilities to his task. Annie knew she wasn't going to last long. This time, Zack allowed her to pull his head back up to hers. He moaned when she connected their lips without a second though. He knew some girls would have faltered. Whether it was out of desire or that she truly didn't care where his mouth had just been, Zack liked the action. Making out with her again distracted him from everything around them. He knew his arm and shoulder and quite possibly his leg would hurt later, but the feelings running through his body right then took no notice of pain, only pleasure.

When Annie's lips moved off of his, her hand embraced him and began to move along his length. Zack groaned at the feelings the action created in his body. Even his toes felt the tension that had been building. He allowed her a few strokes before pulling her hand off.

"It's been a while babe. I don't want to ruin our fun early." Distracting her with more kisses, Zack grabbed one of the small square packages. However, Annie wasn't so distracted that she didn't hear the noise of the wrapper opening.

"Let me," she said with a devilish grin. Annie made Zack stand up in front of her and she took the condom from him.

Putting the condom in her mouth, Annie placed her lips around his cock and slowly rolled the condom over his length. Zack couldn't believe what was happening and the response his body made to her actions.

When she was done, Annie pulled back and slid up the bed so she was laying at the head of the bed . Her hair was spread out, unintentionally, over one of the pillows and it created a golden halo around her.

Zack practically dove to the top of the bed and the girl waiting for him.

Flipping them over, Annie put her legs on either side of his waist and lowered herself down. She had only had sex with one other person, and that was almost two years ago. The intrusion caused her to wince, but the pleasure that came when she finally reached the end was worth it.

"God," Zack moaned, throwing his head back and closing his eyes tight. It had been quite a while for him too and she felt amazing.

Slowly, Annie moved up and down. She leaned forward and began placing kisses all over her chest. Zack was impatient and carefully flipped them over before kissing her hard and increasing their pace.

It wasn't awkward. It was as if they had done this dozens of times. Zack felt his end quickly approaching and reached between them to rub her clit.

"Come for me Annie," he whispered. It didn't take her long and she was moaning and bucking her hips into his as her body shook in orgasm. Just as her's was dying down, his started and brought hers back.

When it was over, Zack sat up to remove the condom before falling back onto the bed. They lay in silence and waited for their breathing to normalize.

"Are you going to let me check your wounds now?" Annie teased. He grinned and nodded. Quickly, she patched him back up. Grabbing her underwear and his, they slightly redressed to cuddle.

"I'm trying really hard not to be a cliche girl and I might regret asking, but what does this mean? What just happened, the sex, what does it mean?" Annie began to draw nonsensical shapes on Zack's chest, every once in a while outlining his tattoos.

"It's just, there are now other girls here, and since we're kind of stuck living with each other I don't want to get hurt." She finished the sentence in almost a whisper, feeling weak and embarrassed at her objections.

"Annie, you're it for me. And I hope you feel the same way. I wouldn't be here with you right now if I didn't want a relationship with you. I know it's not exactly possible, but I would marry you right now if I could. I don't want to be with anyone else. I love you." He placed kisses over her neck and shoulders every few words, both actions making her feel amazing. The last three words made her heart speed up.

"I don't want to be with anyone else either. Zack, I love you too."
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Made a few changes. Enjoy!