The troop leaders stood and departed, with the exception of Vincent and Stephanie who stay behind glaring at each other.
"Don't ever question me in front of my crew again, Vince." she stated firmly.
"Then don't surprise me in front of the crew, Steph. A little heads up would've been great." Vince leaned forward as Stephanie leaned back, closing her eyes and sighing.
"You're right. I should've told you. I'm sorry," she said, peeking at him slightly.
"I'm sorry, too," he replied almost too quiet to be heard. Stephanie lowered her head in her hands, exhaustion sweeping in. The meeting ran a little longer then normal, and with the morning looming over her head, she knew she would once again go sleepless. It had been a few weeks since her last excursion beyond the safety of the unit, but she knew she would never find Ian if she didn't get out there.
She didn't hear Vincent stand up, but she felt his hands as they found her shoulders and began to massage gently.
"You push yourself too hard," he said. "You need to find the time to relax. Have some you time."
"Who has time to relax? Or even sleep for that matter. I'm lucky if I can get an hour or two of shut eye each night. Someone always needs something. I don't think I'm cut out for this Vince. It's been almost two years since this Unit opened, and a for almost two years, I've been known as President Malone. Before the outbreak, I was a school teacher for Christs sake. I thought it would all get easier as time went on, but it hasn't. And I'm just so tired. I don't think I'll ever understand why President Jackson chose me to head this unit." He gently pushed Stephanie forward so that she was leaning over the table, and began to massage her back in circles.
"He chose you because you led a group of over 60 people to the safety of the white house before the explosion. You've gained these civilians trust and respect. This is a democracy. They chose you for Unit leader, Steph." She pushed back and stood up slowly, letting his hands fall away.
"They shouldn't have," she argued. "What do you think Ian would think of all of this? Of me? This," she said waving her hands in front of herself for emphasis, "This is not the woman he married." she said to her husbands best friend.
"Ian would be so proud of you," he said gripping her shoulders. "He will be proud of you. He's out there somewhere, sick, and now that we have the cure we will find him and bring him home."
"You don't know that he hasn't been exterminated already. You can't possibly know. And even if he is still out there, you don't know if he's a candidate for revival."
"You can't loose faith, Stephanie. In a world this fucked up and this difficult, hope is the only thing we have." She nodded.
"I have you, too," Stephanie said touching his shoulder gently. She felt a shock and pulled back, blushing slightly. "I don't know what I would do without you," she whispered. Vincent smiled at her.
"Always," he whispered, looking down. He cleared his throat and stood straight, trying to get their conversation back to a comfortable level. "Get some sleep, President Malone. We depart at sunrise," he said with a wink.
"Goodnight," she replied as she watched him walk from the room and head to the elevator. She stayed behind a few minutes longer, trying to regain her composure and look like she actually had a clue what she was doing, before walking out of the conference room.
One of the front gate guards from Troop 4 hurried down the hall toward her. She sighed, knowing that her night was far from over. "What can I do for you, soldier?," she asked tiredly.
"We met some stragglers out front. A group of nine." Stephanie was surprised by that news. It had been almost 3 months since any one had come upon Unit 15. The few times that someone from the outside had come in, they usually didn't last. Being on the outside for so long, surviving in the conditions they were in, they just weren't capable of surviving in a thriving, more normal environment. They either killed themselves, hurt someone else and got thrown in the brig, or they just disappeared all together.
"Take them to TL Smith, Troop 5, for rooms and a change of clothes. A hot meal."
"The leader wants to speak with you right away." Of course he does, she thought to herself. She usually did meet with new people right away, to check out their mental states and make sure they weren't a threat to her or her people. She planned on it some time during the remainder of the night, but she wanted to grab a bite to eat, first. Hell, she could just kill two birds with one stone, she supposed.
"Take them to 5.," she repeated briskly. " Tell Troop leader Smith that they are to be taken directly to the wardrobe for fresh sets of clothes and assigned rooms. They can settle and shower. Then you, soldier, are to meet them back on level 5 in precisely one hour and bring them upstairs to my room for supper. Also inform TL Smith to inform the kitchen of my dinner guests."
"Yes, ma'am," he responded promptly and set out on his way.
The top floor of the complex was designated for the unit leaders, their families and for Stephanie. Usually, on her way home from the ground level conference room, she would stop at each level on the way up, check in on things and make sure everything was running smoothly. But tonight her mind and body were drained, and she couldn't muster up enough energy for the half hour excursion from the ground to the top. And now, she had a damn dinner to get ready for as well.
The elevator opened up to the common area, where the level TV and VCR/DVD player were. The Generals children, Maxine and Rodney, were playing with a board game on the floor while their stiff and proper mother, Betsy, crocheted a sweater on the sofa. An old Disney movie played on the television screen, The children turned at the sound of the opening elevator and their faces lit up with pleasure at seeing Stephanie emerge.
"Stephi!," the youngest, Rodney, cried as he ran over and wrapped his little 3 year old arms around her legs. "I missed you today!," he exclaimed. Stephanie smiled and swooped him up for a bear hug as his mother glared at them.
"I missed you, too, buddy," she replied smiling at Betsy even though she knew it would never be returned.
"Hey!," five year old Maxine exclaimed as she stood pouting with her hands on her hips. "What about me?" Stephanie set Rodney down and walked to Maxine, giving her a huge hug.
"How was your day today?," she asked as she ruffled her hair.
"Fine, I guess. But after my sewing lesson Mommy put on Aladdin for the kajillionth time and it's driving me crazy!," she said the way an overdramatic five year old would. "Can you get me a new movie, Stephi?"
"I'll do my best, kid." Betsy cleared her throat and stood, putting her yarn in her bag.
"Time for bed, children," she commanded. Betsy had never liked Stephanie. Stephanie thought it was perhaps the fact that she had been chosen as president over the general, but she could never be sure. She did know that Betsy hated the fact that her children had become so fond of her over the years.
The kids pouted but obediently followed their mother to their sleeping rooms. With the common area now empty, Stephanie made her way to her door.
"President Malone has given me specific instructions. Please follow me," the soldier who returned to him said. They were silently brought into a large sitting area in what was probably once a large, fancy hotel lobby. People walked in and out of the area, glancing at them curiously, but said nothing as they went about their business.
Ricks family walked toward the elevators, and the soldier ushered them all inside. Rick looked at himself in the mirrors inside the elevator, at all of them. They were full of grime and walker blood, a mess compared to the people they had just seen on the other side of those elevator doors. The soldier pressed 15, and a few seconds later the elevator came to a stop, the doors opening to a large sitting room. Children and families were everywhere, and Carl's eyes widened at the sight of a group of teenagers huddled in the furthest corner. Rick reached out and touched his shoulder. Carl looked at him and smiled.
"Stay, please," the soldier commented before sauntering off to talk to a young woman who smiled over at them, warming each of them like a ray of sunshine. She walked over to them and clapped her hands together.
"I'm so happy ya'll found us," she said hugging each of them. While the groups arms circled her awkwardly, or in some cases not at all, she hugged each of them genuinely, and bless her heart, she didn't cringe at the smell.
"Please excuse Mr. Soldier man over there. Those Troop 4 boys are all business. My names TL Valerie Smith, and I'm so pleased to meet ya. Come on ya'll," she said leading them down a hallway that they assumed held the bedrooms.
"What's the TL stand for?," Daryl asked gruffly. She smiled at him.
"Troop leader, but you'll learn all about that later when you meet President Malone. First things first," she said closing the silence gap so they would feel more comfortable. "Ya'll are gonna want some fresh clothes to change into after yer showers."
"Showers?," Michonne whispered to Carol, who smiled back. The idea of a warm shower seemed like something out of their dreams. Rick pushed his way through his family until he stood next to Valerie.
"And when's that gonna happen?," he asked briskly. "Don't get me wrong, a shower sounds mighty tempting, but my minds spinning. I need to know what's going on around here. How ya'll manage all this." She smiled at Rick as they reached the room at the end of the hall.
"The young man told me ya'll would be having dinner with President Malone in an hour or so and all your questions will be answered then. Ya just gotta be patient, doll," Valerie said with a smile before she flung the door open. "Ya can pick 3 outfit's a piece. You're allowed 3 per month, in the event of damage. Yer undergarments are over there against the windows. All the womens clothing is on the left, mens on the right, and childrens in the middle. All sizes, so don't none of ya worry."
The women were like kids in a candy store, and Rick smiled as he watched even Daryl pick through the clothing rack, a half grin on his face. He shrugged, tired of fighting, thinking that a shower sounded damn good, and the rest he supposed he would just find out at dinner. Like the woman said, he just had to be patient.
A/N: Hope you guys are liking it. More tomorrow. :)