note: Well, here it is...the last chapter until the epilogue. I hope this chapter makes up for the last few.
Don't own MSB or The Walking Dead or the title.
Enjoy!
under cover of darkness
by the ultimateSora
chapter thirty-six
family, duty, honor
Tim, Hershel, and Patricia were buried beside Maggie, and Judith between Arnold and Wanda. Dorothy Ann was on the end beside Wanda. Oscar was buried beside Axel, their graves closer to the prison. The four crosses of their best friends had additions from Phoebe: Arnold's read "WINTER IS COMING," Tim's "AS HIGH AS HONOR," Wanda's "FIRE AND BLOOD," and D.A.'s "GROWING STRONG," the mottos from the A Song of Ice and Fire houses she put them in. Harry, who was now the leader of the town, had the Walkerville bodies moved to a field away from the prison to burn. He didn't want the prison group to have to deal with those bodies when they were mourning their own.
Five days passed since the battle. Phoebe was sitting on Arnold's bed in what had been his home in Old Walker Vale, clean from a hot shower. Harry offered to let the group stay in Walkerville, but Phoebe declined for herself, too many bad memories now tied to the town. Ralphie, Keesha, and the Ramon brothers understood. Didn't mean she didn't want to clean herself and sit in Arnold's room though.
So many good memories were tied to that bedroom (and bathroom, more specifically the shower and bathtub...and counter). She laid back on the pillows, taking a deep breath so she could smell him. It wasn't just his cologne and aftershave she could smell but also his fresh natural scent...the way he smelled in the morning and after a shower.
The memory of first waking up beside Arnold on that bed was still vivid. His hand on her hip was what woke her, and he kissed her neck, whispering a "good morning" as she turned over on to her back. He looked so neat and clean in the morning, despite needing a shave. She hoped he couldn't see the sleep caked on her eyelids or gunk on the corners of her mouth, but he didn't seem to care. He told her she looked so radiant and beautiful in the morning, to which she smiled, called him a liar, and got up, going to the bathroom to tidy herself.
"But you always did make me feel beautiful when I knew I looked gross," she said, turning over to look at the photo of them on his bedside table. She sat up and picked up the frame. "One of the first photos we took together as a couple."
Phoebe could see her reflection in the glass. The gaunt cheeks, sharp jaw line, and crooked nose were a stark contrast to the round faced girl's features in the photo. The picture was probably two years old, but she looked as if she aged ten years, not two. Arnold had become more handsome, but she became almost frightening. The scars had a lot to do with it.
The ding from the egg timer she had in the bathroom had her snap from her thoughts, and she got up, putting the photo down before she walked to the bathroom. Three pregnancy tests sat on the counter, and she took a deep breath before she looked at them. All three gave her the same answer: Positive.
"I guess you didn't break your promise, Arnold Perlstein," she muttered under breath. "You said you'd come back to me, one way or another."
Phoebe sat at Dorothy Ann's grave when she went back to the prison that afternoon, the pain of losing her still fresh. She found some wildflowers to put at the base of her "headstone," the same wooden cross as the others. Across the horizontal piece, it read "DOROTHY ANN EWING - THE KNIGHT OF FLOWERS." Below it:
B. SEPT 21, 1986
D. A HEROINE
She wouldn't say anything as she sat there and let her tears fall. She didn't need to. It was awful enough losing Arnold, but to lose both Arnold and D.A.? She knew Ralphie was taking D.A.'s death hard, but he was distracting himself with clean up and his peace talks with Harry. She knew he wasn't going to allow himself to mourn in front of her and Robbie.
"I miss her, too."
Phoebe looked up to see Robbie beside her. He was holding his stuffed tiger, which he got back the day before when he went with Ralphie to Walkerville. No one was squatting in their house, so it was still untouched, Robbie's toys all there.
Phoebe put her hand on his back. "You were a brave boy, you know that?"
"But I ran."
"There was nothing you could have done. You did the right thing in taking cover."
He shrugged. "I guess."
Phoebe got up and dusted herself off. "C'mon, let's go inside."
Robbie nodded, and he followed her to the cell block. The others were sitting at the table, and they looked up when Phoebe came in.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
Carlos shook his head. "No, nothing like that. It's just- well, we don't want to separate, since we've been together since the beginning, but Keesha, Mikey, and I decided we're going to Walkerville."
Phoebe knew the day when they'd have to separate would come. "You should. It's a different place now."
Ralphie cleared his throat. "I'm thinking of taking Robbie, too. It'll be better for him there than here in the prison."
The Ramons and Keesha doing their own thing she understood, but Ralphie wanting to separate them? Maybe now was a good time to bring up her plan.
"It would be better for him," she said, nodding. "I- I've been thinking of going somewhere new myself, and if you all are going to Walkerville, then I can make the trip to Baton Rouge."
Ralphie got up. "What?"
"You know I can't go back to Walkerville, but I do want to leave this place. I want to find Daddy."
"You don't even know if he and Ma are-" Ralphie coughed a little, as if the words caught in his throat. "You don't know if- if they're...there."
"Well, I have to find out. If you guys go to Walkerville, at least I'll know you're safe."
"And what about us?" Ralphie demanded. "You could easily die along the way, and we would never know."
"I'll go with her," Robbie piped up.
"No," Phoebe and Ralphie both snapped.
Carlos stood up. "Then screw Walkerville. Let's all go to Baton Rouge. I'm willing to bet Louisiana doesn't have the god awful winters we do up here."
Ralphie shot him a look. "You've never been to Louisiana in the summer, have you?"
Keesha got up, too. "Why not make the trip? It's not like we have anything or anyone left up here. Who knows? Maybe things are better down there?"
Mikey wheeled around to Ralphie and Phoebe. "I'm in. Let's go to Louisiana."
Ralphie looked around at them. "You're all for this?" Everyone nodded, and he sighed. "Okay, well, let's pack up."
Ralphie and Carlos got supplies from Walkerville, such as extra fuel, a tow dolly, a small trailer, and a carrier for the motorcycle to attach to Carlos' truck. Ralphie traded the Winnebago for a newer RV, knowing a motor home would come in handy on the drive down to Louisiana. Within three days, they were ready to go.
With Phoebe's motorcycle strapped in the bed of Carlos' truck, all of the camping equipment, luggage, and other supplies were stashed in the trailer hitched to the truck. The Xterra was strapped to the tow dolly behind the RV, and the extra fuel was stored in the RV. Weapons were kept in both vehicles, everyone keeping their favorites on them while extras were hidden away in case anyone tried to rob them on the way.
Carlos and Keesha rode in the truck while the Ternellis and Mikey took the RV. With everything packed and ready to go, they left early in the morning. To keep in contact, they took the walkie talkies from the prison, only using them if it was urgent.
By around noon, they were nearing the ruins of Washington D.C. Going through New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore had been surreal, all three being ghost towns. They saw the occasional settlement off the highway, but it seemed survivors abandoned the cities. D.C. was different. It looked as if it had been bombed months before, many of the monuments scarred with burn marks and holes.
Ralphie was driving, but he picked up the walkie talkie anyway. "We're not stopping here," he said. "I'm getting a Mad Max feeling."
"Copy that, bro," Carlos said.
"Let's get further in to Virginia, and we'll find a place to stop."
"All right."
Ralphie put the walkie talkie down, and he smiled when he felt Phoebe hug him from behind. "Remember how we always tried to get Ma and Mark to take us to D.C.?"
She nodded, her hair brushing his ear. "At least we're seeing its ruins now."
"What's on your mind?"
She rested her chin on his shoulder. "How're you holding up?"
Ralphie sighed. "Where's Robbie?"
She turned her head to look. "He's in the back, playing cards with Mikey." She put her chin back on his shoulder. "He can't hear you."
Ralphie nodded and said, "I miss her so damn much."
"You seem to be holding yourself well."
"Only because of Robbie. He can't see me mourn."
"Have you had the chance to cry for her?"
"Before we left, I took a moment to say bye to her. I could almost hear her voice, too, telling me to shut up and do what I need to do. She was laughing, of course."
Phoebe smiled. "She never had a problem telling you what you didn't want to hear but needed to."
He gently tapped her head with his. "What about you? You lost a best friend and a boyfriend."
"I'm...better. Arnold left me something that's helping."
"What?"
She took a deep breath. "Well, I don't know how else to say this, so here goes...how would you feel about becoming an uncle?"
He didn't say anything for a moment, but the fact he kept the RV on the highway was a good sign. "An uncle, huh?"
"This was one reason I wanted to go find Daddy and Suzette. I just hope Baton Rouge hasn't gone the way of D.C. or New York."
"We'll find them," Ralphie said, patting one of her arms. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "If my mother senses a grandkid, she'll find a way to stay alive."
They both laughed. In her best "Suzette voice," Phoebe said, "I apologize, Phoebe, that I have to rely on you for grandchildren as no self-respecting woman would procreate with that hulk.'"
"Oh, my God, you sound just like my mother. I don't know whether to laugh or cry."
Still in her "Suzette voice," she said, "'Oh, Ralphie, stop being a pain in the ass.'"
"How a nineteen year old Boston-born ginger can sound exactly like her forty-five year old New Jersey Italian step-mother I'll never know."
"Years of practice."
Camp was set up outside of Knoxville. The night was warm and quiet, but all six were armed and on alert. With the possibility of maulers and survivors that could rob them, no one was going to get much rest. Ralphie took first watch after they had a quick meal, taking a seat with a scoped rifle on top of the RV. Everyone else was going to sleep inside the RV, which would be safer than camping in their tents.
Keesha took second watch, and when dawn came, she woke everyone up so they could have another quick meal, use the bathroom, and continue on their trip. It was mid morning when they approached Memphis. Ralphie slowed when he saw what looked like a wall blocking the highway.
"Be careful," Phoebe said. "We don't have a good track record with walled settlements."
An armed guard held his hand up as he walked towards the RV. Ralphie opened his window. "State your business," the guard said.
"Trying to get to Baton Rouge," Ralphie said.
The guard nodded. "Stay on I-240. Take it around to I-55 and head south. When you reach Jackson, let them know the same thing."
"Do you know anything about Baton Rouge?" Phoebe asked, leaning over Ralphie. "Like, anything we should expect?"
"It's a secure safezone like here," he said. "Most southern cities are. Good luck to y'all. Safe travels."
"Thank you, sir," Ralphie said.
"If you stop anywhere, make sure it's a secure safezone. Crime is rampant in No Man's Land. Them monsters are easier to handle than the roaming gangs."
He stepped back and motioned them forward. They soon crossed the state line in to Mississippi, and when they reached the walled-in Jackson, another armed guard let them through, as long as they didn't stop. The sun was beginning to set as they drove west on I-12, away from the ruins of Hammond, Louisiana. There was a large wall in the distance, taller than the previous barriers they had seen.
Ralphie pulled over to the side of the road when two guards motioned for him to, and they gestured for everyone to exit their vehicles. Robbie followed Ralphie, Mikey, and Phoebe out. Carlos and Keesha joined them, and one of the guards quickly patted them all down.
"We don't let just anyone in to the Baton Rouge safezone," the other guard said. "State your business."
Ralphie looked at Phoebe, who nodded. She stepped forward, hands up to show she wasn't a threat. "We have family here. We just want to know if they're still alive. We haven't seen them since before...this."
"We'll have to relay a message to city hall," the second guard said. "It might take a couple of days to clear you-"
"My sister's pregnant," Ralphie blurted. "We drove all the way from Rhode Island to find our parents. Mark and Suzette Terese. My mother might also go by Dr. Suzette Tennelli. She-"
"Dr. Tennelli?" the first guard asked. "You're Ralphie?"
"You know Suzette?" Phoebe asked.
"She's one of the best medics we got," he said. "You must be Phoebe," he looked at Robbie, "and Robbie. Dr. Tennelli and her husband talk of you kids all the time." He nodded to the other guard. "Let central station know we're admitting six, three of which are Dr. Tennelli's kids." The second guard saluted and ran to the guard post. The first guard gestured to the vehicles. "You kids are free to enter. Dr. Tennelli will be at the Baton Rouge General Medical Center."
Ralphie shook his hand. "Thank you so much, sir."
They went back to their vehicles, and the gates opened. As Ralphie drove through, Phoebe felt herself really relax for the first time in almost a year.
They were home.
They were truly home.
note: Chapter title is the motto of House Tully, and since that's the house Phoebe would put herself in, it seemed fitting.
Still in her "Suzette voice," she said, "'Oh, Ralphie, stop being a pain in the ass.'" - Referencing back to "Going Batty" when Dr. T says "Oh, Ralphie, stop being a pain in the neck."
And there you have it...the last chapter before the epilogue. And yes, Phoebe is most definitely pregnant :D