A/N - I do not own TWD or TWD universe. This will be shortish chapter. I wanted to include a Christmas scene but since Chloe and Zachary's birthday falls right after Christmas I thought I would devote a chapter to them. Hope you enjoy!
"It's so hot in here!" Chloe sat back and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. What had ever possessed her to think baking bread the old fashion way was a good idea? She stared at the stove in front of her. It had seemed like a godsend the day Zachary had wheeled it in. Not even three days later she wished she'd never layed eyes on it.
"Just this morning you were complaining about how cold it was. You just can't be happy, can you?" Zachary's voice was light and teasing. The sting of the words slid right on by as she enjoyed the smile on his face.
"What's gotten into you?" She eyed him for a few moments before she went back to her bread. She was kneading her second batch. She hoped to get enough done today to last them a few days. It was hard to find dry wood and she was afraid the smoke would attract any stray zombies in the area to them. So far they hadn't seen any out in the open. They seemed to staying indoors just as much as they were. Which was a disturbing thought.
What if those things retained some shreds of their humanity. Obviously they were sensitive to the cold. How else could they be like their old selves. Did they retain some memory? Would they retain some other function besides eating? What if all this time Zachary had been killing things that were still partly human?
"Your dough is about to touch the floor." Zachary raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh!" She looked down to see her dough stretching through her fingers into a long tendril towards the floor. She gathered it all back up and began kneading it again. She certainly had enough pent up frustration to make it very light. "Go check on the girls if you aren't going to help." She could hear his laughter as he left the room. It was good to hear him laugh like that. It'd been months.
She placed the dough back in a bowl and covered it with a relatively clean cloth and sat it on shelf next to the stove to rise. She looked the stove over to make sure none of the smoke was coming back into the house. Zachary had rigged it as best he could to go out the window when they used it. Which wasn't often. She only knew how to make a few things the old fashioned way in wood burning stove. Her foster mom when she was 15 had made sure of that. She still thought fondly of the woman and wondered if she had survived the zombie hoard or not. Probably best not to dwell on it.
She checked the bread to determine it was done then took it out. She flipped the loafs out on a cloth to cool and set the pan aside. She would refill it in a bit. Right now they were going to hand out gifts. It was hard to believe it was Christmas. Just this past September she had been teaching in her classroom and looking forward to watching her pupils learn. Now she was in an abandoned town holed up in a day care center with her brother and those two precious little girls. Part of her was glad she had the girls. They kept her sane. She had something else to do besides worry about those things that hounded them all fall long. She just wished they hadn't stayed with them the way they had. She knew what it was like to loose a momma. She knew what it was like to not get to say goodbye. Unlike the girls though, she got to go to a loving home and be comforted while her brother tried to find a way to get them back together. The girls got stuck with her and Zachary with zombies constantly trying to eat them.
"Momma Chloe!" One of the girls shrieked from the living room. A stifled giggle soon followed. No. The girls might now have gotten the best break, but they did get one. They were loved and they were cared for. They were safe. That was a gift all in its own these days. Safety wasn't guaranteed. While she could, though, she would care for these girls. She would love them.
She rounded the corner into their 'living room' to see the girls huddle up next to Zachary. She raised an eyebrow and moved forward. "What's going on in here?"
The girls looked over their shoulders at her and giggled. They turned and thrust something at her. It was a very large book. No. It was several smaller ones stacked on top of each other. She took them in her hands and looked them over. Her eyes rounded and she looked up at the girls. Zachary smile behind them. It was a set of fairy tale books like she had had when she was little. She had had to leave them in the house when her and Zachary got split up after their mom died.
"Uncle Zachary said you would like them." Janie came forward and wrapped her arms wound Chloe's waist. Jackie followed suit.
"I do. I like them very much girls. I'll read to you after supper." She smiled at Zachary to show her thanks as she hugged the girls back. "Now, go get the thing we got for Uncle Zachary." The girls ran down the hall to one of the back rooms.
"I know you used to read them to me when we were little. I tried to sneak them out with me when we had to leave the house but the landlord caught me. I found these in a house about a mile down the road. Thought you might like to have a new set." He scowled at her like he wasn't comfortable with all the personal talk.
The girls came back in each carrying and end of a long, thin thing wrapped in paper. They handed it up to Zachary. He unwrapped it and smiled. It was a bowie knife. The blade was long and slightly tilted at the end. The handle was criss-crossed leather. He held it up in his hand and smiled. "I think the zombies will be to afraid to attack now." He grinned at the girls. "Where did you get this?"
"It was at that pawn shop the day we went scavenging for food. I found it while you were checking out the guns." Chloe put a hand on each girls shoulder and smiled. "Alright. Go sit on the sofa while Zachary and I get your gifts. Close your eyes and no peeking!" She watched while they scrambled to the couch.
When they had the table and the puzzles sat in the floor in front of the couch she told them they could open their eyes. Their squeals of delights caught in her heart. This is what the girls lives should be like. Not running from zombies. She helped them start one of their puzzles then went back to her bread. He heart was heavy yet light at the same time. This was the happiest she could remember being in a while. It was also the most worried.
"Happy Birthday Chloe." Zachary hugged her close to him. It had been three days since Christmas. It was hard to believe they were now 23. Things might not be how he had hoped they would be at this age, but at least they were alive. That's what mattered.
"Happy Birthday Zachary. I'm surprised you remembered." She turned around to peek out of one of the windows. There still wasn't a sign of any of those things on the street. Something still didn't feel right. She was past saying anything though. Surely everything was okay.
"Well, it is mine too." He grinned at her. "Here. I got you something." He pulled a shopping bag up from beside his feet and handed it to her.
Chloe peeked inside. It was full of of bags of popcorn! She could pop some for the girl now. She hugged Zachary tightly. He even remembered her favorite food. "Where did you find all this? There wasn't any in the supermarket."
"I got to it before you did." Was all he said. He tilted one side of his mouth up in an attempt to smile. "Don't get to many opportunities to do stuff like this for you. I though we could have popcorn and you could read to us this evening."
"Of course!" She set the bag down next to where her books lay. She went to a cabinet in the corner of the room and got one of her backpacks out. She took out a small grey square and a small bag. She took them back and handed them to Zachary.
He flipped them over in his hands. "You got me a game boy? And some games?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why would I need these?"
"I remember when we were younger and you used to love playing Pokemon. There are several of those there along with a few other games. I found them in the cabinet over there. I thought you would like them."
"Yeah. Thanks. I won't be able to play much though. We can't waste batteries like that. But I do love it." He turned it on and smiled. "I'll be over here if you need me." He went to sit on the sofa beside the girls table.
Jackie looked up at him then looked at Chloe. "Is there any bread left?" This caused Janie's head to pop up too.
"Yes, but I have something even better. I can even make it on the small propane stove so Uncle Zachary doesn't have to fix the stove again." She fetched her bag of popcorn and made her way over to the food supplies. She smile inwardly. Here they were in the middle of a zombie invasion and they were making popcorn. Zachary was playing a game boy and the girls were coloring at a Tinkerbell table. What would make it complete would be a nice hot bath with bubble bath. Mmmm. A girl could dream couldn't she?
A/N - Sorry it's a short one. I just wanted to throw in a little down time. I'm thinking the next chapter is when they'll meet the prison group. I think it's about time to bring the two groups together. As always, please review. I'll take any comments or suggestions or requests into consideration.
