Chapter 11

***I don't own TWD or any of its associated thangs. I just have fun fitting the pieces together in (hopefully) creative ways.***

Me: A little nervous about this one, our cast of characters is about to grow by quite a bit! Really hope y'all like it.

"Hail and well met, gentle folk! It is an honor to be amongst such good company on this day of days," Ezekiel greeted them, holding a tupperware container in one hand and a cat carrier in the other.

Carol embraced first Michonne, then Rick. "Hi, guys. Thanks for letting us bring Zeke's kitten. He just got her and doesn't want to leave her alone for too long." Sophia gave them both hugs as well, then bounded off to find Carl and Enid.

"No problem, " Michonne replied. "Shane's locked up in the garage, and we have another litter box, so it shouldn't be an issue. Juju will be happy, since she'll have another kitty to play with."

Ezekiel handed the tupperware to Carol, set down the cat carrier and opened it. A faint mewing could be heard. Kneeling down before the container, he crooked a hand and beckoned. "Come forth, little one. We await you."

A pointed, furry little face with big whiskers poked out of the carrier. Zeke reached his hand in and scooped up the tiny, tiger - striped kitten, planting a kiss atop its head. "We are amongst friends, sweet Shiva. Be not troubled."

"Ah, yeah. Come this way, we're all in the family room or kitchen, depending on what your preference is," Rick advised, working to keep a straight face.

Ezekiel and Carol followed Rick and Michonne into the family room where Maggie, Glenn, Andrea and Phillip were all sitting. Michonne's mother Odette, Michonne's brother Langston and Daryl were all in the kitchen drinking beer and discussing football.

"Hey y'all!" Maggie beamed. She and Glenn embraced Carol and exclaimed over Ezekiel's kitten. Andrea gave Carol a kiss on the cheek and asked if she could hold the kitten for a bit, to which Ezekiel obligingly passed her over, with the admonition to, "Take care, fair maiden. Shiva may be little, yet she is fierce."

"That's Shakespeare, isn't it?" Phillip drawled, his one visible eye twinkling at Ezekiel.

"I take it you are also devoted to the glorious Bard, my fine fellow?" Ezekiel replied.

"The Bard and I aren't much acquainted, but I did play Iago in my college drama club production of Othello."

Michonne's mutter of, "That figures," was mostly covered up by Ezekiel's pronouncement of, "That black-hearted knave! I trust you are not cut from the same villainous cloth." However, Rick, who was cuddled next to her on the loveseat, did catch it and elbowed her softly as a warning.

Andrea, who had passed Shiva over to Glenn and Maggie, placed her head against Phillip's shoulder. "He's a great guy, I can vouch for that."

Carol asked about Phillip's eye patch, which masked Michonne's snort of disbelief. Rick whispered low, "Watch it," while Phillip explained that his pink eye was an allergic reaction that sometimes occurred with exposure to certain types of tree dander and pollens.

"Guess that extended hike earlier this week wasn't the best of ideas," Phillip observed, shaking his head a bit.

This led to a discussion about Georgia's mountains and forests, along with the farm Maggie had grown up on. Ezekiel and Phillip in particular had questions as they hadn't heard most of those anecdotes of farm life.

Michonne now had Shiva, and asked if she could take the kitten in to Judith, Jared and her nephew John, who were playing in Judith's room.

"Yes, you may do so. Only for the sake of my little one, please caution the children to take care with her, as she is as yet somewhat high strung. I am sure they are well-mannered, but please take pains to ensure they comprehend that my sweet Shiva must not be exposed to rough handling."

Michonne resisted an eye roll as she assured Ezekiel that she would tell the kids to be careful, then took the kitten to Judith's room upstairs.

/

Carl, Enid, Michonne's nephew Octavian and Sophia had all decided to play ping pong on the table set up in the garage. The first game was a set of mixed doubles, with Enid and Octavian beating Carl and Sophia soundly.

Octavian, a bright and gregarious boy of thirteen with his father's charm, offered to instruct Sophia in the finer points of the game before they played another match, as it was quite apparent that Carl and Sophia had lost due to her timid approach to the game.

While Octavian went over the best ways to serve, Carl and Enid sat down on the overstuffed couch from Michonne's old apartment that had taken up residence in the garage.

At first Enid watched Sophia and Octavian with a small smile on her face. Carl snuck looks at her, feeling his stomach churn at being so close to the object of his affections. She was fresh and pretty in a dark orange slip dress that was in keeping with the season and holiday, and her long hair fell in a braid down her back.

"I'm glad your dad has this ping pong table...it's so much fun!" Enid confided, leaning towards Carl as she continued to watch Octavian's lesson.

"Really?" Carl asked before he could stop himself. "You wouldn't rather we had a pool table instead?"

The look she gave him was quizzical. "No," she stated firmly. "I like ping pong better. It's a lot more fun." Her head snapped back towards the table as she watched Sophia execute a great backhand serve. She and Octavian cheered, causing Sophia to blush with pleasure.

"You've been playing a lot of pool lately," Carl noted, trying to keep his voice even.

"Yeah. Ron's been inviting me over a lot," Enid explained, searching Carl's face as she spoke. "It seems like it'd be mean to say no."

Octavian and Sophia went to grab something to drink, both needing to rehydrate. They headed towards the kitchen, promising to return in a few minutes.

"That's kinda weird, since you keep telling me no when I ask you to come over here," Carl said, hearing the sullen tone in his voice and hating it, but somehow unable to hide all of his anger. After all, it was true.

A line appeared between Enid's brows. "I thought you'd understand."

"Sorry, I guess I don't."

She glared at him. "It wasn't all that long ago I was new, remember? Do you remember how scared I was all the time? How I thought nobody would like me or hang out with me?"

Carl nodded, reluctantly.

"And a lot of people wouldn't talk to me, at first. They weren't that nice to me. Most of them didn't start being nice to me until they knew that I was friends with you and Sophia. I was glad to have you guys...but it was still hard," she recalled, a shadow crossing her face.

"Don't you see?" she continued, "It's like that for Ron right now. He's the new kid. Lots of people don't talk to him or hang out with him...Including you," she said pointedly. Carl flushed with embarrassment. "I'm trying to make it easier on him...He's got it rough."

"Yeah, I'm sure it's rough, having a whole bunch of girls think you're cute," Carl muttered.

Enid gave him a not-so-soft punch in the upper arm. "Don't be stupid! None of those girls talk to him except me! And you don't know what it's like for him at home! His dad's a surgeon who wants him to be the same thing and he's always getting on him about his grades! His brother is this spoiled little sneak who's scared of almost everything...and his mom! She cuts his hair so bad he has to wear that beanie to cover it up and she keeps going on about this dumb owl statue she always wants Ron to help her with, even though he's not interested. He needs somebody who gets him, he needs someone who can help him out...He needs a friend. Just a friend. And the Carl that I know...would be a good friend for him to have."

He put a hand briefly to where she'd punched him and hung his head. He didn't speak for a while. "I'm sorry," he said hesitantly. "I'll try...to be his friend."

He was shocked, then thrilled when she threw her arms around him and gave him a tight squeeze. "Thank you," she whispered. After half a minute, she pulled away, her cheeks red. Her eyes met his.

"I-I like that shirt you're wearing," she murmured, placing her hand on his arm where she'd punched him. She caressed the material of his sleeve with her forefinger, then pulled her hand back.

He gave her a brilliant smile as Octavian and Sophia came back into the room.

"So how about Sophia and I beat you guys next?" Octavian offered, a grin on his face. He and Sophia high-fived.

Enid stood up and turned back towards Carl. "C'mon, Carl...Let's win this."

He stood up, smile still on his face. "Let's do it."

/

"I've pulled the turkey out of the oven," Rick told them, coming back out to the patio. "It just has to cool for about ten minutes or so before I add the finishin' touches."

Everybody, minus the kids, was out in their backyard helping get the folding tables and chairs set up and various other necessities for dining outdoors. It was a warm day, not too hot, not too cold. Everyone inside would be a tight fit...but here outside with the long tables it would work out perfectly.

"Sweetheart, do you think this looks okay?" Odette asked her daughter. She had folded the napkins into a cornucopia shape

Michonne laughed and kissed her mother's cheek. "They look great, Mama...but you didn't have to go to the trouble!"

"Don't be foolish, this is a holiday. Gotta pull out all the stops."

"Rick, I think we need a couple more chairs," Glenn called. He and Carol had been setting up the folding chairs around the tables.

"Should be a few more over on the side of the house," Rick advised.

"No, Daryl," Andrea huffed, exasperated. "Forks on the left, like this, see?"

"Rick, is the placement of the torches satisfactory? Will it provide enough illumination for us to feast by?" queried Ezekiel. He and Maggie had been setting them up with strategic placement.

"Lookin' good, Ezekiel," Rick approved.

Phillip and Langston had pulled out the trash can and recycling bin for easy clean up. "This alright, Michonne?" Phillip asked her, nodding towards where he and Langston had left them.

She worked to keep her tone cordial as she replied, "Yes, Phillip, that's great."

Rick came up beside her and put his arm around her. "Everythang looks great, doesn't it?"

"It does," she agreed.

"I think it's time to go touch up the turkey and get to eatin'," Rick declared. "What do y'all say?"

A general round of assent and catcalls was his response.

"Hell yes," Daryl affirmed. "I'm so hungry I could eat a bear."

"You already finished all the almonds and olives," Langston smirked.

"Okay, Michonne and I are gonna start bringin' out the food and we'll call the kids. Get ready for some delicious grub!" Rick laughed, heading back into the house.

He and Michonne walked into the kitchen and found a frantic Judith, a silent Jared and John holding Shiva tightly.

"Daddy, I'm sorry, I tried to stop him!" Judith cried.

There on the island, paw-deep in Rick's maple-bacon, sage-butter turkey, was Shane. He was purring as he attacked it with gusto.

"Oh Juju," Michonne sighed, "what happened? "

Tears ran down Judith's face. "W-we wanted Shiva to meet Shane, and Shane was crying in the garage. I-I let him in, and then he...he…" She hiccuped, remorseful.

Rick's jaw was clenched. "I am gonna kill that cat!" he shouted. He started towards the island. Shane, catching sight of him, momentarily abandoned his repast to start spitting at Rick, tail bristling up as he wrapped his paws around the giant bird protectively.

"Daddy, leave Shane alone! He was just hungry!"

"Rick, calm down…" Michonne warned him as Judith sobbed harder. She pulled the distraught little girl into her arms.

The commotion had brought Daryl, Langston and Glenn running in, as well as Carl, Enid, Octavian and Sophia. Everyone was piled into and around the door well, fighting to see what all the fuss was about.

It took a few seconds for everyone to take it all in. For about ten seconds, the only sounds anyone could hear were Shane's hissing and Judith's muffled sobs as she wept into Michonne's shoulder.

"Bet y'all are glad I brought that squirrel now, huh?" Daryl asked, voice smug.

To Be Continued