October 31, 2010
~*~ DD ~*~
Daryl takes the drink Lori's brought him and smiles at the woman. "Wanna see how far it's gotten?"
She takes his hand and follows.
"We finished the last of the sheetrock today. Gonna have to do the primer before we can paint, but we figure on doing that over the next couple of nights."
She's still quiet as he leads her through the little Adirondack style cabin. The kitchenette is just a rough in of electric and plumbing, a small island bar separating the work area from the living area. The bathroom is similarly half-done, with the composting toilet system in place and the corner tub/shower combo set up but not tiled or the glass doors in place yet.
Past the bathroom is the tiny second bedroom, which is ready for primer and paint, plus the larger master bedroom. A ladder style stair climbs one wall by the bathroom, giving access to the loft area.
"What color do you think?" he gestures to the master. "Abby wants green, and I figure that's pretty neutral for a few years anyway."
"You like darker colors, but the room needs a lighter color. Maybe off-white on the walls and burgundy trim? I don't know what you've got in paint supplies."
She isn't really looking at the room, instead staring out the window that faces east. The cabin's built east of Scout's, so it'll take advantage of early morning light in both bedrooms and kitchen.
"Lori? I asked what color you would pick."
She studies the room finally. "I actually do like the burgundy trim idea. There's a quilt in stores that would work well."
He pulls her in close, luring her to a kiss. "Why the hesitation?"
"I don't want to pick everything and leave you out of it."
Ah. Probably something to do with her home before, which he remembers a passing comment from Shane that Rick didn't help her decorate.
"Well, you already noticed I'm partial to dark colors and I like red. Just no purples."
She laughs softly. "Okay, no purples. Can the bathroom be yellow and white?"
"Like rubber duck yellow?"
"Yep."
"Long as it's not all four walls and the tile's white."
"Kitchen and living room?"
"Like white cabinets, but you figure out the colors."
"White walls with navy trim. Make the fireplace wall navy too and the island counter."
"See? Not so hard."
She laughs and kisses him soundly. "I wish I could help paint."
"Carl's offered already. Figure he'll manage a room or two and then I'll borrow Al and Patrick from Patricia to finish."
"I'm guessing he picked a color for the loft, then?"
"Sophia is doing a mural. She suggested red trim to match her sketch. I'm guessing comic book themed from the comics she's been frowning over."
"That is not going to help his crush on her."
"No, but I know better than to embarrass him by bringing it up. He'll move on eventually, hopefully without any drama."
"Hopefully." She draws him along to Abby's room and studies it for a moment. "Do you think Abby would be okay if we left her room mostly white or pale green?"
He studies the built-in bunks, knowing the room will house both girls eventually. "She might, if you tell her it's something special for when you can paint again."
"You saw my sketchbook?" She's twitching her hands in that nervous way again.
"I did, and it's beautiful that you want them to have a flower garden. Wouldn't mind the same in ours, you know." He doesn't quite understand why she hides her art training, maybe because she didn't finish her degree.
She looks down the hall, eyes narrowed in thought. "Maybe not flowers... forest?"
"That's good too."
As she goes down the hall and turns in their future bedroom as if she's designing it all in her mind, he grins. The more he gets behind that protective shell of homemaker she throws up, the more she intrigues him.
~*~ CP ~*~
Carol loves the laughter of the small horde of kids who are bouncing around the area cleared for dancing. The music's upbeat and there's little coherent dance happening, but the kids are happy.
She's surprised at how many adults are at the tables. They offered box suppers for anyone not wanting to be part of the happy chaos that's following trick-or-treating, but few took them. She figures maybe it's the normalcy in a world gone wrong. These kids are happy because they're safe.
After a glance shows her all the younger Dixon kids plus Patricia's are on the dance floor, she looks for Honey next, needing to do her little check. The girl's dressed as a football player, in costume like most of the teens and younger adults, who will take over the community center once the littler ones are sent home to sleep off their sugar highs. She's with Beth and Jimmy, so safe and happy too. Jamie and Danny are among a group that is mostly made up of the teams they lead, although she sees Amy's blonde locks among them.
Cricket's in the corner with Tara and the baby, which is also where she finds Merle. She thinks everyone is exactly zero surprised to see him dote on the baby. Little Christian's recovery is done and he's sleeping through the night. He's busy alternating bites of fruit between himself and Merle.
Lori and Daryl are at a table they moved in after realizing the increasing number of pregnant women didn't really mesh with the fold-and-roll tables. She's just glad it's a compatible group of women, especially for Daryl's sake.
Shane and Scout are actually busy shuffling food out to the serving tables. It's neither of their turns at supper, but she's discovered Shane's need to lead by example now often has him filling in. Carol thinks if the man were single or Scout less popular, he'd be beating women off with a stick.
"Everyone is accounted for, woman, come sit with us while your old man is playing Grandpa." Jacqui takes her by the shoulders and guides her to a table that holds several members of the old quarry group.
Carol laughs and accepts the soda that's spun her way down the table from T-Dog. One day, they'll run out of all these old-world treats, and she's going to miss strawberry Crush a lot. She takes a drink, nudging Jacqui a little as she realizes Jim's on her other side, debating something mechanical with Dale.
The older woman leans in to whisper, "He said he needs to see the kids being normal tonight."
It's something she's glad to hear. Slowly, but surely, Jim is stitching himself back together.
"So big family life obviously agrees with you." Andrea's comment sounds almost wistful. Out of all the quarry folks, Carol thinks she's struggled the most, next to Jim.
Carol smiles, her gaze going to Merle, who is carrying on an animated conversation with Tara while Christian toys with a sippy cup in Cricket's lap. "Yeah, it does."
"Jamie's a good man, right?" It's an unexpected question, but Carol turns her attention back to the blonde.
"He is. One of the best." It clicks then that she saw Amy with Jamie's group. "He was in college in some program the Marines have to go from enlisted to officer when everything went bad, Andrea. And he needed to finish his degree because he left college after two years to enlist when his brother died in Iraq. He's still studying now, although more with Caleb and the nurses than Hershel. I think he's aiming for nurse."
"I just know him from his martial arts class. His team seems to respect him." Andrea looks over her shoulder to where her sister is part of what looks like a rowdy game of cards.
"I'll put it this way. If Sophia were Amy's age, I wouldn't have a worry in the world if Jamie came courting."
That earns her a smile from the former lawyer and a nudge from Jacqui. "Been seeing the sweet little romance going on with Sophia."
"I never thought I would be having to remind my daughter not to push a boy's limits."
"He's a sweetheart of a kid. Might be the exact sort of stubbornness she needs," Jacqui says. "He seems to have figured out a middle ground. Still makes the Grady ladies a little twitchy, but Maria's foster daughter is a staunch advocate, and so's the supper crew ladies he works with."
Carol checks on Sophia out of habit, finding the punk rock costumed girl easily due to Jazz's height. He's dressed completely in black, making a joke about the world's tallest ninja when he hugged Carol earlier. She has his fake katana, apparently knighting one of the other teens.
"I'm just glad Amy took up the offer Cricket made us for long term protection. I'm not ready to be an aunt just yet."
"Andrea is thinking the pregnancy thing's a bit contagious."
Carol laughs. "Only contagious if you want it to be."
"I keep expecting an announcement from you any day now, actually."
She turns to look at Jacqui in surprise. "Seriously?"
"You love kids. He loves kids. Granted, he's got grown kids and now the surprise grandbaby, but he's still young enough."
Andrea shrugs. "Does seem to make sense." Carol isn't sure why she's finally settling in, maybe giving up on her interest in Rick, but she's glad to see it.
"We've talked about it. I think once we get a few of these babies here safely, maybe it'll be time."
"Well, if Daryl's an example of Dixon caretaking, you're in for a treat." Jacqui's watching where the tall former ranger is carrying two laden plates to where Lori is next to Miranda Morales. The two women seem to have found a common ground finally in their pregnancies.
"Not to be rude, but how the hell does that work?" Andrea flushes when even the men turn to look at her. "Not Daryl and Lori as a couple. That makes sense with his daughter as a matchmaker. But the whole rectangle, square, whatever around the baby."
"Honestly, they're just deciding the baby gets four parents off the bat."
"Probably not a bad thing, in our world," Dale says. He's been helping out with the school children, so he's probably acutely aware of how many are full or partial orphans. "How is Patricia doing tonight?"
"Tired more than anything. I think the thrill has worn off to a countdown now that she's in her third trimester. She was joking earlier that a Christmas baby might be more fun than a January one."
"Would that be safe?" Jacqui is frowning in concern.
"Based on her scans, anything after December 20th should be okay, but she's due January 7th by the ultrasound best guess."
"So, January, February, and March? What about the newest lady?"
"Ellen will fall between Lori and Miranda, just earlier in March. The irony is that her husband is one of the few people here who has actually delivered a baby. He handled an emergency delivery when he was a deputy, before he switched to a state job."
"What about the doctors?"
"All three nurses have assisted in deliveries during their training, but Christopher delivered a baby working in the E.R. when the doctor didn't arrive fast enough. Caleb did an OB rotation, but just regular deliveries. Edwards assisted on two C-section deliveries during his residency, which is a relief to Hershel."
"We aren't expecting C-sections, are we? I mean, best be prepared..."
"Carl was a breech baby, so Lori's had one before. She's going to try labor, but the infirmary will probably be crowded with standbys."
"Gonna be one nervous as hell community that day," T-Dog mutters, and Carol agrees. Patricia's age and Lori's medical history both make the first two deliveries to Homestead interesting ones.
"We're going to call it a night," Jacqui says. Dale and Jim agree, although it seems they're wanting to check on a project at the garage with Jacqui tagging along. T-Dog is called away to sit with his team now that Scout and Shane have taken seats and he bids Carol and Andrea goodnight.
The blonde follows his path as he settles across from Shane, laughing at something the former deputy said. From this angle, you can see where the married couple has their hands laced on Scout's thigh.
"I always wondered why you objected to them, back at the quarry," Carol says before she can curtail old curiosity.
"Honestly? I thought she would toy with him and he was already vulnerable with Rick back. I was the queen of the one night stand myself, and to be honest, a guy raw after a breakup was my favorite type. Just figured she was too much like me to be good for him."
"Sounds like you harbored some affection there."
"Affection? No. Maybe a little attraction, if I'm honest, but we were too small a group for me to rock the boat there."
"That the reason you had your eye on Rick?"
"Not my finest hour and caused me any number of fights with Amy. But probably so. Trying to stick to the no strings attached, no baggage guys now."
"Could settle down and try out something a little more permanent."
"Maybe. But remember that trick where you imagine waking up every day, doing all the mundane things together? I've done that and no man here clicks for that."
"Maybe you shouldn't just consider the men."
Carol has to laugh at Andrea's nonplussed expression.
"Would you? If you weren't with Merle?"
"Maybe. I could claim I was making up for missing my experimental phase in college."
"I'll keep an open mind, but I think I'll stick to the men for now."
Carol finishes her drink. "I'd apologize for abandoning you, but that young Grady cop's headed this way."
Andrea's expression turns anticipatory. "Definitely worth a repeat effort," she says with a wink as Carol leaves her to go bid the baby goodnight as his mothers gather up for the night.
The drowsy baby reaches out for her as she approaches and she gives him a cuddle before returning him to Tara's arms. She finds herself pulled into Merle's as they leave, with him leaning against the wall so he can cuddle her.
"Scout's gonna keep an eye on the younger two for us. Saw you favoring that shoulder you jammed up yesterday. Good hot bath and a massage sound good?"
Oh, it definitely does.
~*~ TD ~*~
"Want to finish watching that movie?" T-Dog asks. Honey's in costume from the Halloween party Carol arranged, her brother's football jersey not as big on her frame as he would've thought.
"Sure. Borrow your bathroom to wash this off?" She motions to the eye black on her face and he nods. She heads for the bathroom while he sets up the movie, snagging a soda for each of them out of his fridge.
She's tugged off the jersey and football pants too during the bathroom trip, emerging with a fresh scrubbed face wearing a tank top that says 'I flexed and my sleeves fell off' over dark leggings. The bad thing is, he can't poke fun at the tank top, because her shoulders and biceps show the payoff of years of lacrosse and now construction work.
She kicks her shoes off too, wriggling her toes as she settles beside him on the loveseat that's about as large as a couch can be in these units.
"You borrow his shoes too?" he asks, amused.
"You ever seen the size of his feet? I'd look like I had clown shoes on. Figured my own lacrosse cleats were close enough." She flips a shoe with her toes so he can see the cleat set-up has a few more than he's used to.
"You should try to get a few teams together. Mini sports league. Got enough of us to pull off most of them."
She looks thoughtful enough that he figures Carol's going to get more social activities for the calendar. Tonight's party was nice, falling in after the trick or treating. He's a little buzzed, a drink past his normal two limit because he hadn't wanted to say no to the excited new brewers.
He knows Honey drank a little, but she pawned half her mug off on Zach after declaring beer too boring to be fun.
She fiddles with his remote, tucking her feet under her as the movie restarts from where they were too tired to finish it two nights ago. By the time the romantic subplot's taken over from the action, her feet have moved to where her toes are slid under his thigh.
That's not unusual for her - she's tactile like every Dixon he's met - but the fact that she's twitchy is. He reaches down to grab one of her ankles and she turns to look and smiles enough that he knows it was on purpose.
"You bored with the movie?"
She shrugs and shifts unexpectedly, moving so that she's kneeling next to him on the couch. He doesn't get the question voiced about what she's up to until she's kissing him. It's not inexperienced either, because she nips at his bottom lip until he parts his lips by habit. The kiss that follows is heated, with her maneuvering to be astride his lap.
A warning flickers in the back of his mind, a reminder of her age, but it's losing ground with the sheer joy of being kissed and touched after many months without. That need to be touched carries him all the way through his shirt and hers coming off, where he discovers the little hints of piercing are true, both her nipples sporting delicate silver jewelry in addition to the navel ring he already knew about.
Exploring them leads to the discovery she's that close to finishing, because she shudders against him with a hoarse cry. His conscience begins its reminders anew as she slides to the floor and begins working the fastenings of his pants. He might have failed to resist temptation even then, but she turns her head as she frees him from his briefs. The light catches the little 'gem' on her daith piercing and he realizes it's a Pokemon ball.
It's like a bucket of ice water to the libido he let free, to know he was about to let her... "Stop, Hannah, please."
The use of her given name has the effect he needs. She lets go of him, one arm going back to cover her bare chest. She doesn't move from where she's kneeling, but he can see the dawning realization on her face that he's calling a full halt, even before he covers himself up.
"Honey, we can't do this." She's eighteen years old. He graduated high school before she started kindergarten.
"Because I'm too young and inexperienced for you?" She doesn't look away or give him any relief from those disappointed blue eyes.
"I am too old for you. I'm thirty-two."
"And if I were twenty-five you wouldn't be worried about a fourteen-year age difference. This isn't before, with all the milestones like college." Her stoicism fades a little and she reaches for her shirt, which ended up on his tiny coffee table.
She tugs it on and rises enough to sit on the edge of the coffee table. He's not sure how to counter that, so she speaks again.
"I should have said something first, but at least now I know, at least a little, what it would be like."
Based on his body's cold shower reaction when his mind caught up, he knows he can't give in to the yearning look. She's a beautiful young woman, and he knows this fucks up their friendship maybe beyond repair, but he just can't forget the tearful girl from the quarry.
"I'm sorry, Honey. I shouldn't have let it go as far as I did." If he stopped her at the kiss, she wouldn't look so heartbroken, maybe.
"I'm not as sorry as I should be."
She stands and leans in for a chaste kiss that he allows despite his misgivings, and then she's gone.
He doesn't know where he missed her interest, perhaps under the impression that her lack of flirting with him meant she categorized him with Shane and the other older men, but his chest aches with the idea he's upset her.
He doesn't need the cold shower, but he goes anyway.
~*~ SW ~*~
Shane's sprawled on the couch reading through the Chamorro language book Cricket gave him while he waits on Scout to come back from a run up to the main house to find the movie she forgot up there earlier.
The knocking at the door is rapid enough to worry him, so he rolls to his feet and gets to the door. He definitely didn't expect to find a weeping sister-in-law on the porch, but he tugs her inside anyway.
"Scout should be back in a minute," he says, but she doesn't seem to care. She's wrapped around him and crying in earnest now. He leads her to the couch and coaxes her to sit and wraps Scout's fleece blanket around her when he realizes how chilled she is.
He just lets himself be her pillow until she finally calms. "You need to talk, che'lu?"
"I wish I was older," she says plaintively.
"Can't help you there, I'm afraid." He thinks he knows what's going on now though. "Tee found out about your crush?"
"More than found out."
Oh Lord. He's not entirely sure he wants details. "I'm sorry."
"I don't want to talk about it. It's too embarrassing."
"Your sister will be back soon," he repeats.
She responds by snuggling close to him. "It's not that. I like talking to you. I just don't want to relive it yet."
He wracks his brain for the sort of things he used to see on TV for women after a heartache and remembers the DVD set Cricket left after Scout's PTSD episode when she brought the little TV. "Can't offer you ice cream or chocolate, but how about popcorn and Gilmore Girls?"
She raises her head to give him a puzzled look, which he meets with a smirk. It makes her laugh, so he goes to stick the popcorn in the microwave and grab the DVDs.
That's how Scout finds them half an hour later, Honey still curled into his chest while she helps him make fun of some of the show's dialogue. He remains surprised how much he actually likes the show. They've demolished the bowl of popcorn already.
She takes a look at the still miserable look on her sister's face and mouths, "T-Dog." He nods and she slides the DVD she went to retrieve onto the counter and fetches the popcorn bowl for a refill.
Even when she returns, Honey makes no move away from him. Scout slides between his feet to sit on the floor and hooks an arm under his leg to take her sister's hand.
It's way further into the night than it should be with runs planned tomorrow when Scout coaxes Honey onto the camp cot to sleep.
"Mind if I go check on T-Dog?"
"Go." Scout kisses him and smiles. "I hope you know how much I love you for looking after her tonight."
He's careful with the door behind him and makes his way to the little Village. If T-Dog's light is out, he'll wait until tomorrow, but he sees the glow before he reaches the stairs.
"She okay?"
T-Dog startles him, because his voice comes from the patio table. "Yeah, she's good."
He sits across from the obviously miserable man. T-Dog is turning a glass bottle in his hands, but Shane's pretty sure it's Honey's favorite drink and not his friend's.
T-Dog sits the empty bottle down. "Just how long have I missed she wanted more than friendship out of me?"
"Not that long. Couple of weeks since I noticed anyway."
"Went to get a drink and realized half the items in my kitchen are because she likes them. How did I end up dating a teenage girl without knowing?"
"I think it makes you a decent man that you didn't assume her attention was more than platonic."
"Wasn't a good man tonight." He sounds more miserable than Honey did. "Shane, I should have stopped her when she kissed me, not when I did..."
Shane leans over and grips the other man by the forearm. "Hey, Tee. It's alright. Even if you slept with her, it's alright."
"Didn't go that far. She's too young for me."
"If you think any of us are going to fault you if you are interested, put that aside."
He listens as the man details out exactly what did happen, as little as he wants that level of detail about his younger sister. T-Dog needs a friend, and he hasn't forgotten the man stood by him after Rick's return.
"Wasn't even thinking, wasn't prepared for any woman in my place. That could have had consequences."
Shane can at least absolve him there. "Not an issue with her. With her sisters? She's been covered since she was fourteen." He knows that exact detail due to council meetings, where offering birth control while they have it includes girls as young as fourteen. "And man, far be it from me to tell you what to do, because if you aren't attracted, you just aren't, but you might want to remember she's not the sweet little teen she would've been six months ago."
"I keep seeing her crying that night in the quarry, about me not going back for her dad."
"I don't think nine extra years helped Scout much in seeing her daddy laid low. Think that'd gut Honey at fifty as bad as eighteen."
The other man shifts a little, still playing with the bottle. "Back when I played ball, had teammates in their twenties that saw girls young as sixteen as fair game, long as they weren't jailbait. Never could understand it."
"I get it. Had those same types of teammates. Hell, might have been one of those assholes if it wasn't for a preference for cougars back then. But that ain't you, not now even more than then."
T-Dog sighs. "I don't want her to hate me."
"I think you give her a bit of time to forget the embarrassment factor, and she'll be fine."
"You sure about that?"
"You've met Gage, right?"
"Redhead farm boy that goes back and forth between the farm and building crews?"
"Dated Honey for a year and a half. Broke up last spring."
"She's been matchmaking him with Beth."
"Just goes to prove she won't hold a not-relationship against you." He rises from the chair and reaches out to pat the younger man on the shoulder. "Get some sleep, man. It'll turn out alright."
He leaves him still sitting outside, but Domino passes him on the steps, so at least he's got the lanky dog's company. His own dog falls in at his feet. "Been chasing rabbits with the other dogs, Maverick?"
The staffie just gives his usual goofy doggie grin to getting his ears scratched and they trek back home in the crisp October air.
~*~ LG ~*~
Lori grimaces as the baby tap dances on her bladder and slides out of bed. She knows she probably woke Daryl, but that just means she'll get a few kisses as they settle back down.
She thinks about the cabin today, about his hints toward her taking up her art seriously again. It's been a long time since she considered anything leaving her sketchbook. Her choice to major in art didn't sit well with her parents, who ended up almost relieved that she ended up pregnant and married young with Rick in a steady career.
Rick never discouraged her art. He even bought art supplies as gifts the first few years. But over the years, it fell by the wayside except when the PTA needed posters or a T-shirt designed.
Being turned loose on the cabin without any worries of whether or not it fits a certain preset view of the home feels wild and bohemian. She almost feels her fingers itch in anticipation and wishes paint fumes weren't an iffy issue right now. She'll just have to trust her guys as her brushes, for now. And there's other art she can do or learn.
She tucks herself back into bed and Daryl rolls sleepily back into place. "Whatcha smiling about?" he asks huskily after lazy kiss.
"Would you teach me to carve?"
He takes her hands to explore her fingers. "Could. Wonder if it'd soothe that anxious thing you do with your hands like it does me "
"Is that why you learned?"
"Some. Uncle Gio thought it would help me focus. Had some trouble with motor skills for a while, after the attack. So, when we went to Guam that year, Gio took me to the oldest damned man I ever seen and he taught me to carve. He survived the Japanese occupation of the island, had some nerve damage himself."
He's quiet for a few heartbeats, placing a kiss on each of her cheeks. "I think his stories helped as much as the lessons. He survived years of hell, of literal torture because his skin was too light and they thought him part American. So, it helped to know he got better and had a good life anyway."
"Then I really want to learn. That's a legacy that should be passed on." She rolls to get back to their usual sleeping position. "Teach Abby and Carl and Asskicker too."
"Bet that'd make that old man laugh, all these haole kids carving like his granddaddy taught him. But yeah, any of our kids want to learn, I'll teach." He kisses the back of her neck with a gruff, go back to sleep, woman, and drifts off himself.
One day she needs to ask Merle just how much Daryl had to recover when he was twelve. The scar under his hair isn't the only one she's found, and she hates ripping open wounds she knows from the fight with Scout have never really healed. It'll hurt Merle for her to ask, but she thinks he'd prefer it to be him.
Pushing away the worry, she goes back to sleep herself.