Jack looked at the slice of bread on the plate in front of him with disgust. His stomach was begging for more than one small sliver of the grainy sliver in front of him. Jack looked up at his mother as she sat to nibble on her small slice. So this was it. Jack would not complain he refused to. Pippa had already devoured her portion and was now sitting solemnly looking at her now empty plate. "Momma? Is there more?" she said looking out from under her bangs. She had began to pick up the crumbs on the plate and put them in her mouth.

"Honey, I'm sorry but there…" Jack cut her off.

"Yes." Jack grabbed his portion of bread off his plate quickly and hiding it from his sister to see, got up from the table and walked to the cupboard. Making it look as though he was pulling his uneaten slice from within the cupboard's depths, Jack spun around holding it out to his sister.

Jack's mother glared. Jack needed to eat. Brushing off his mother's gaze he placed the bit on Pippa's plate and smiled. Pippa picked up the bread in delight and was soon eating Jacks dinner happily, completely unaware of the silent argument going on between her mother and brother.

After Pippa was finished Emily dismissed her from the house to go and play. Jack tried to get up from the table without his mother noticing, unsuccessfully.

"Jackson Overland. I know that you were trying to help me, but it won't help if you get sick from not eating." She said rounding on him from the doorway.

Jack felt no remorse for giving Pippa his bit of dinner, and refused to apologize for doing so. He simply looked at his mother and shrugged.

Sighing Emily Overland waved her son out the door after his sister. We need more food. But she refused to complain to John. He worked so hard as it was. This winter was simply harder than past ones. Not for the first time she wondered if it would have been better to have stayed in England with her parents. She could have convinced John to work at the port. But he had had such dreams of wild land and adventure. He had been much of what Jack was now. John had been easy coming with laughs and jokes. Emily missed that, but understood that the colonies were a hard place that one had to adapt to or die. So they had. John had become a smith, and she had cleaned and sowed, for men whose wives had died on the boat over or had come unmarried to the land.

Jack walked with his sister into the town center. "Jack do you think there will be more food tomorrow?"

Jack looked into his sisters dark brown eyes and lied. "Of course Pips." Jack smiled a false smile and pushed his younger sister to children her age playing hopscotch in the street. Leaving her there he went to the different shops in the small town asking if they need any work done such as sweeping and the like. Two he walked into gave him two pence for odd jobs. Jack looked at the pitiful earnings. Talking it to the bakery he bought a loaf and a small wedge of cheese. Smiling at his work he returned home and placed the cheese in one of the holes his father had dug over the years to store food that was better to keep colder then the cupboard. His mother walked in as he was putting the bread in the cupboard.

"Jack, where on Earth did you get that bread?"

"The store Mum." Jack teased as he closed the door.

"Well where did you get the money for it." She asked exasperated.

"Worked for it." Jack said as he walked out the door and into the dusk cold air to go play a game with his sister before his father would call them home.

AN: so sorry I just don't have any ideas. I am working on Jack meeting the others but it is really slow going. Well thank you for all being so wonderful with reviews and everything. I hope you like this chapter it took way too long to write. Sorry if there are any errors I didn't edit as much as I normally do. Review and all that please.