The Future is Ours

Twelve

Holly and Ernesto went up to their allocated room, exhausted after the days events and desperately wanting nothing more than anything to spend some time as a new family. They bid farewell to their tribe, Holly's mum promising her she will still be there in the morning, before making their way up the staircase.

"How are you feeling, my Chi Chi?" Ernesto asked as he took Kimmy out of her arms and helped her get settled in their bed.

"Tired." She replied, a small smile on her face. "I can't remember the last time I got to sit down on something this comfy."

Ernesto took off his own shoes, before crawling in next to her, handing Kimmy back so she could be fed.

"Today's been....strange?" He couldn't find the right words for it.

Holly nodded her head in agreement. "Strange is definitely a word for it." She let out a small laugh.

They sat in silence a moment, just taking it all in. The only sounds were of the clock in the room ticking away, a sound unfamiliar to the pair.

"Do you think your parents will come to London?" Holly asked,

He debated it for a moment in his head, remembering how his teen dad had been a few months ago but knowing his adult dad would have no memory of it. "My mum. I think my mum will come. She'll want to meet her granddaughter. My dad..." He trailed off.

"Your dad would be proud of you. He'll want to see you." Holly finished his sentence for him.

"I don't know if I want him to. He shipped me off to military school when I was young, he never had time for me even when I was home. How could he have been so heartless to his own child? I could never do that to Kimmy." His voice softened towards the end, hand going to stroke her cheek as she lay contently in Holly's arms, feeding away.

"Guys, we've got to-"

"Sadiq, mate! Knock, for God's sake!" Ernesto yelled at his friend as he barged through their bedroom door unannounced. He rushed to grab a blanket to cover up Holly's chest.

"Sorry, sorry!" Sadiq turned around, waiting to be given the all clear to face the pair once Holly was decent.

"Are you ok?" Holly asked, concerned at his outburst.

"No, I'm not! Have you both noticed something weird about all this? About how they're treating us?" He asked, sitting down at the foot of their bed.

"Umm...they're not questioning why ex-dictator Fizzy is now part of our tribe?" Ernesto suggested.

"They're treating us like we've just gone through the worst 5 years of our lives!" Sadiq all but yelled, earning him a glare from the new parents. He was quick to quieten his voice. "They're talking to us as if we're coming from a third world country, as if it was a struggle to survive!"

"But it was a struggle to survive?" Holly replied, confused. "I could have died having Kimmy."

"But you didn't! None of us died! We had hospitals, we had trading, we even had a government! Ern, you led the Resistance party! We had our own way of life." He sighed, looking sad. "It feels like they're trying to get rid of that. The world was good. We had it good. We spent the best part of our teenage years bringing back the adults. So why does it feel like it's a mistake?"

"I did wonder why we weren't given clean clothes and allowed to shower before being shown in front of the press." Ernesto wondered aloud.

Sadiq scoffed. "It's because they want it to look like we can't look after ourselves." He put his head in his hands, groaning. "We all need a good nights sleep tonight. Tomorrow we make a plan."

He went back out the door, a determined look on his face. They were left wondering about what Sadiq had said. Could they really have made the wrong decision by bringing the adults back? And would their hard word to make the world work efficiently over the last few years really be disregarded?

"I think she needs a nappy change." Holly said, her nose scrunched as a foul smell filled the room. "No guessing where she inherited that smell from."

Ernesto chuckled. "Proper daddy's girl, aren't you, my little Chi Chi." He responded, taking the baby out of her arms and getting a nappy out of the hamper. "I'll run you a bath if you like?" He looked over at Holly.

She smiled at him gratefully. "I'd like that."

Ernesto got to work, changing the baby's nappy, setting her down in her crib before running the bath and helping ease Holly into it. Her body was still sore and swollen, but the warm water seemed to ease the pain some.

"Can this world really be so bad when they have luxuries like this?" She asked as she submerged her head into the bubbly water, emerging a second later.

He knelt by the side of the bath, helping massage some shampoo into her hair. "Well I can certainly admit that you've never smelt better!"

Holly feigned a hurt expression, giving him a playful bash on the arm before washing the remainder of her hair. Ernesto helped her out of the bath before getting into the shower himself, having a quick wash, and crawling into bed with his little family. The clock on the bedside table told them it was only 9pm, but within moments of their heads hitting the pillows they were sound asleep. Even baby Kimmy only woke up a handful of times throughout the night for a feed. The days events had knackered everyone out.