Author's Note: Well, this has been in the works for a while, and I can't wait any more to start posting. I make no promises as far as updates go for various reasons, but I have no intention of abandoning this story, so don't worry about that.

I'm not sure what else to say, so let's just get into the story of a pairing that needs more love.

Holding her breath, Belle carefully aimed her rifle. The surest shot was right through the sorry creature's brain. That way, it couldn't even survive long enough to notice and attack her. So, she stayed quiet, watched the motion of its head, and...

With a sharp bang her gun spat out its bullet, and the bit of metal buried itself in the creature's grey-green forehead. The monster fell to the ground dead long before the buzz faded from Belle's ears.

Slipping out of her cover, the twenty-year-old kept an eye out for any other humanoids that might be attracted to the noise. But she saw none; when she glanced at Antonio, in the trees a bit farther away, he gave her the thumbs up.

Dirt and rubble tumbling as she dragged the body bag behind her, Belle knelt by her kill and quickly opened up the large sack. Gloves were already on her hands, but she still took immense care not to touch any of the dribbling blood as she handled the monster. She put the thing inside the bag, zipped it in, and dragged her kill into a battered old building.

A few more of these suckers, and her job would be done for the day.

"Oi! Francis!"

The owner of the Nourriture qui Sauve restaurant popped his head out of the glassless window. There he could see the hunters hauling their day's work towards the building. Walking just behind Antonio was Belle, standing tall even though she was doing her part to pull the utility trailer behind the group. Her right wrist and hand were wrapped securely in pulling rope, but her left arm was free to wave at Francis.

"Ah, good afternoon, mon chere!" he cried, greeting her back with a single wave of his arm. "Have you had a good day of hunting?"

Motioning to her cargo, she grinned and said, "What do you think?"

With a laugh, Francis withdrew from the window and hurried to the back door. Positioning himself just outside, he held the door open as Belle pulled her kills off the trailer and into the building.

Pursing his lips in a whistle, the restaurant owner said, "Yes, I believe you have had a good day of hunting."

Belle laughed, stepping aside so the boys behind her could bring in their haul. "How about you? Good day of cooking?" She leaned back against the wall with a sly look. "Find your secret recipe at last?"

Francis exhaled, though he still smiled. "Still no progress on that front, I'm afraid. I'm still only an astounding cook." Then he heaved a larger sigh, looking a bit less happy. "If I only had better raw materials to work with, I could guarantee everyone in this town would be fat by now. They wouldn't be able to resist—at least, less than they can now."

Belle looked over her shoulder at the accumulating body bags. "Oh, I'm sure there's much better meat out there somewhere."

"I know there's better meat," Francis said matter-of-factly, glancing at the beef-inclusive menu on the far wall. "What I'd like is this meat—" he nudged a body bag with his foot—"not always half-rotted by the time it's of any benefit to eat."

With a shrug, Belle replied, "You win some, you lose some, I guess. At least we can get enough of this stuff to keep the whole town immune."

Seeing this didn't bring the light back to the chef's eyes, the woman smiled and patted him on the head. "But you do excellently with what you have, I promise. If we left your job to someone else, I don't think any of us would eat this junk, plague or not."

At this Francis finally smiled again.

"Speaking of which," Belle continued, slipping around the back counter, "do you have my wages ready?"

"Ah, yes," Francis said, quickly thanking the boys for their contributions and stepping over to the drawers near Belle. Drawing out an airtight sack filled with disorganized pieces of dried meat, he announced, "Two weeks' worth of my finest immunity jerky." He shook his head as he handed the package over. "I still can't imagine how someone with your fine palate can stand to chew so long on this meat, even if I've tampered with it."

Belle shrugged, taking the wages with a thanks. "It's certainly not your finest cooking, but it keeps." Looking down at the package in her hands, she drew in a breath. "And I'll need it to keep for who knows how long."

Francis beheld her with a frown. "Still planning that journey of yours?"

"Of course." Belle leaned back against the counter, propping herself up on her elbows. "I can't just give up on my own little brother."

"But in these sorts of circumstances, and after so long?" Shaking his head, Francis said, "The older sibling should look after the younger ones, but there's only so far we can go."

He looked down for a minute before continuing, "You last saw him halfway across the state, didn't you? Across dangerous terrain, on foot, and you know it would be so easy for you to get lost or hurt..."

"Yes, I know." Belle watched as the other hunters took their pay and closed the door. "I've had years to think it over, Francis. And I just have to go. So," she said abruptly, standing upright with the bag of jerky between her arms and midsection, "thanks for making the jerky for me. I have enough now, so I think I'm going to head out tomorrow."

Though Belle had started towards the door, Francis immediately put himself between her and the exit.

"No, no, no, no, non! Tomorrow?" He looked her in the eye though he seemed unable to close his mouth. "Tomorrow?"

Belle sighed, giving up on her escape for the moment. "Yes, tomorrow. I've worked my rear off for years here to get enough jerky, enough ammo, and enough other supplies, and I need to go already. The longer I wait, the bigger the chance Claus is..." She shook her head and looked back up at the twenty-six-year-old, her cheery demeanor altogether missing.

Francis opened his mouth but stopped himself, sighing and looking away. "There's really nothing I can say, is there?"

She closed her eyes and smiled softly. "Nope."

"All right," Francis sighed. He paused for a moment before sidling up to her slyly. "But may I at least have a goodbye kiss first?" He winked.

Belle rolled her eyes but laughed. "Sure—why not?"

Francis's grin just began to morph into a pucker when Belle leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. She then deftly sidestepped him and swung the door open.

"Bye, then!" she chimed.

Francis whipped around with a heavy gasp, placing a hand over his heart as if struck. "That was not a proper goodbye kiss—!"

But Belle, laughing, shut the door on him.

Taking a deep breath, Belle started packing her supplies. She was going to have to cram this stuff in her bags pretty hard. The baggage wasn't going to be any bit too light, either.

She could hear metal grating against stone somewhere behind her. Tim, counting out their money on the mostly intact counter yet again. She had a feeling he was only going through their coins so much lately because her leaving made him especially anxious. Just a feeling, though.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" Belle started, looking over her shoulder at her older brother.

Tim didn't respond for a moment. Once he finished sliding their coins to one side of the counter, though, he turned around, no cheer in his expression.

"Someone has to pick up your slack while you're gone," he said gruffly, resting his hand on the holster at his waist.

"Thanks," she responded, pausing in her packing to smile at him. His expression didn't change beyond a tiny quirk of an eyebrow, though, so she resumed her business.

"Are you sure you don't want to be there when I finally find Claus, though?" she asked.

"I trust you," the twenty-four-year-old replied, closing his eyes. "We can't just both leave this house, or someone else will take it." A scowl split his face. "Probably make a mess of the place, too."

Belle laughed, shaking her head as she crammed the last of the jerky into the backpack and struggled to zip it partway shut.

Tim watched her silently for a second, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed. "You couldn't find anyone else to help you, though?"

Belle shrugged, going through the few pieces of clothes in her other bag. "It's a pretty crazy mission, especially for townspeople that are finally a bit safe from all the craziness. And it'd be difficult to find someone else rich enough to get their share of rations before we leave." She threw in her frayed first-aid kit. "Although with all his family's bulls and things, Antonio could probably afford it. I could convince him pretty easily, too—"

"You have my permission to go alone," Tim interrupted bluntly, turning back to the counter.

Belle laughed quietly to herself. There had been some bad blood between Antonio and Tim at the start of things—though, to be honest, Belle hadn't been entirely on Tim's side in that chaos, either—but, even when things were calm, they wouldn't patch up the feud. Antonio seemed fond enough of Tim—as he was of just about everyone—but Belle's brother still couldn't stand a mention of the cowman.

Belle continued packing into the evening. She finished a bit before sunset—good, since they still didn't have consistent electricity, and she wouldn't risk lighting one of their candles when Tim could catch her.

So all of that was done. She just had to get a good night's sleep, and she would be off first thing tomorrow.

The thought made her shiver a bit. She may have considered herself brave, but there was definitely a difference between risking her life just outside the town and miles away from it. Still, there was no way to turn back now. Whatever dangers were ahead, she had to do this. She had to finally know if Claus was still alive.

If only he hadn't been so far away in the first place. But they had to send him to a sleep-away camp so he wouldn't just slave over the next year's schoolwork all summer...

Though none of them knew back then what was going to happen, and there was certainly no way to go back and change it. All Belle could do now was set out and find him. It was going to be tough, and it was perfectly possible he wasn't even alive. But it was also perfectly possible he was alive, and Belle could not for one day longer stand doing nothing while he was in this world without his big sister to watch over him.

And not for one day longer would she do nothing. Just this one last night to rest, and she would finally set off.

Trying to uncurl her clammy fingers, she arranged her supplies until she was positive they looked perfect. With an exhale, she walked to the bedroom, lowered herself onto her pile of tattered blankets, and tried to get some rest.