January 27, 2011

~*~ Jesus ~*~

When he brought the Georgians up to the Kingdom to meet its eccentric king, he didn't imagine they might end up stranded there for a couple of days. The snow blew in mid-afternoon the day they arrived, heavy and thick like he's not used to seeing often. It's wet and messy and he imagines if the world still depended on electricity by wire, utility companies would be having a hell of a time restoring power.

Unlike Gregory at Hilltop, Ezekiel - and his people - find Honey charming and a little bit intriguing. He suspects that if the young woman didn't have family to return to, she would have an open invitation to stay in the Kingdom.

Honey, well, the self-titled king has a pet tiger, and that won her over from the beginning.

"What are you brooding about over there?" Honey asks. He was surprised when the Georgians accepted the invitation to rooms within the Kingdom's residential buildings. The converted boarding school is an ideal location for a community like this, which is part of why it's thriving. Jesus thinks if they find more pockets of survivors like Shirewilt that need to move, Ezekiel's people will outnumber Hilltop in the end. It's close already as it is. He knows that the Kingdom sends searchers out just like himself.

"Just wondering how long the snow's going to stick around. I didn't mean to get your people stranded up here." He drops the thick drape back into place over the window. There's heat of a sort in the building, but it's temperamental and leaves the rooms chilly enough to be glad they've needed to double up. Logan's attachment to them both led to Honey actually sharing his trailer back at Hilltop for the three nights they were there, doing supply runs. It made it an easy enough pairing for the roomshare here too. Logan's sound asleep in the bed, worn out from an afternoon playing in the snow.

"It's fine, Jesus. We knew traveling in winter was risky when we left Georgia. We outran the last storm, so I guess we used up all our luck. At least this wet stuff will melt off soon." She's poring over a book Ezekiel loaned her, making notes and diagrams in a composition notebook, sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed. She pauses and looks up at him and grins. "Although if we had to be snowed in, here's much nicer than Hilltop, if you aren't offended by the comparison."

He laughs, because he can see where her people are far more comfortable here than they are at Hilltop. He doesn't think it's the nicer surroundings, because they all seem perfectly happy on the road crammed in their odd little caravan, but more the people here seeming to be more of a community than Hilltop. Leadership does make a difference. "Gregory certainly doesn't compare to Ezekiel in the least."

She hums thoughtfully, tapping her lips with her pencil and studying him closely enough that he feels the need to squirm. "I've met far more competent people to lead at Hilltop. Why is Gregory in charge? You or the doctor brothers or one of the craftsmen?"

"He was already in charge when I arrived. I think he was there before the doctors. I think he just stepped up and the folks there saw someone who wanted to make the decisions so they didn't have to and let it happen."

"Yet he does nothing for the community that I can see. We have folks who do administration back home, but none of them do nothing but. My mother has a nice pretty office that she maybe spends a couple hours a day in. She's cross-training as a nurse and works two of the meal shifts every week on top of keeping track of the supplies and supply runners. What does Gregory do? Sit around and drink while the others do the work?"

Jesus sighs. It's a common enough complaint about Gregory, especially among the few newcomers they've taken in who are more likely to question the status quo. But the problem is, no one wants Gregory's job. He's easy enough for Jesus and the doctors to work around as they need, and he's almost positive the Carsons just see him as a mouthpiece as well. "It's not like he's going to go out and work even if we changed leaders. At least this way, we can pretend he's contributing, and some days, he actually does."

"Well, if he hits on Andrea again, he's likely to be 'contributing' his balls to the pigs' slop bucket."

Gregory's misogynistic attitude toward women at Hilltop has caused waves before, although at least the man's just slimy and not predatory. Jesus would have taken care of the problem if he crossed that line. Watching him pursue Andrea has almost been entertaining, and since Andrea's own people are leaving it to her to handle, he's let it be. "There's actually a betting pool going, you know. How long before she decides the only way he gets the picture that she doesn't see him as some gift to womanhood is to deck him."

"What are we betting?" Honey looks interested and he laughs.

"Duty roster slots, so I'm not sure they'll let you in on it. Probably think you've got inside knowledge."

He sees the mischievous look cross her features. "I'm pretty sure I could work Andrea up to the right moment, if I asked nicely. You got a bet in?"

"No. No one wants extras of my duty slots if I win." He shrugs. Considering he's either on supply runs or solo scouting trips, he can understand.

"That's just sad. I was going to egg her on for you." She studies the book and shivers a little. Even her careful layers get chilly as the building's ancient heater struggles with the winter weather outside. She tucks a bookmark into the book and slides off the bed to put everything on the desk. "It feels so much later, being so overcast outside."

He nods. Logan's need to nap like a younger child throws things off too. It's why they're in the room rather than in the social areas. He motions her over to him and lets her lean into his warmth. It's an interesting experience to hug her, because she's actually several inches taller than he is. She's aware and accepting of his sexuality, so he never worries about giving her the wrong idea, and he thinks she enjoys their closeness for a similar reason. No one's confirmed it, but he's about ninety percent certain the man she chats with each evening for the report to her home is her boyfriend.

"You still worried about the baby back home?" he asks. The Georgians check in twice a day on the impending arrival, but so far, she's not made her appearance. Jesus remembers Honey dragging Harlan off to one of the trucks for a radio consultation with a lot of amusement. Luckily the former obstetrician seemed amused by being appropriated to consult with the medical staff at her home. Although he's still not entirely sure about how the baby's related to her, because she calls the baby her niece, yet calls the mother-to-be her aunt.

"Til she gets here, yeah. Anything happens to her or her mom, it would just gut the whole family."

It's a foreign concept to him, after growing up in group homes, but he supposes if he had the huge family Honey does, he might. He's firmly decided that sometime when the weather's better and Hilltop more stable, he's taking the invitation to go visit. He needs to meet these people she describes to Logan in such vivid details and see how much is real and how much is a girl's adoration of her loved ones.

The idea of Logan leaving aches a bit. He's grown attached to the boy, and vice versa, but he can't offer him the type of life at Hilltop that he can have in Georgia. Maybe one day they'll be that stable, and Logan can visit, but for now, what's best for the boy is going home with Honey.

That's the nice part of being stranded in the Kingdom... extra days with Logan and Honey both.

~*~ SW ~*~

Shane smiles reassuringly when Lori's eyes flutter open. She's been sleeping a lot today, but all monitoring indicates everything is as it should be. Even though the contractions were halted by the medication earlier in the week, she's been kept in the infirmary. Yesterday, she was understandably irritable about the confinement and eventually ejected all her visitors except the kids. Even Daryl was sent to take a breather.

But today, she's been napping off and on, and all the irritation with her family and the situation gone. They've tried to balance things out though, which is why it's just him at the moment. Daryl took the kids to eat supper at the community center so that she isn't waking to a half dozen people watching her.

"Where's everyone?" she rasps. He hands her a bottle of water as she raises the bed so she can sit.

"Caleb's back in the staff room with his supper tray. Everyone else is eating." He indicates the covered containers on the little tray table. "Carol brought that when she brought Caleb's food."

Despite not having much of an appetite the last few days, Lori's been making a valiant effort to actually eat. She reaches out to open the takeout container. "What about you?"

He points to the empty box sitting on the next bed over. "Already ate."

"Time is it?" She's poking at the food with the plastic fork, but takes a bite of the brussels sprouts. Everything in the tray is a noted favorite. He suspects Carol or Glynnis cooked it specifically for Lori.

"Close to eight. Daryl and the kids should be back soon, Scout too."

She abandons the food after finishing the sprouts, sipping on her water instead. He worries about how tired she seems to be. He wasn't there when Carl was born, so he has no idea if this is normal for her. "Can you hand me the notebook in the side table?"

He moves his chair to pull the drawer open, removing one of the small pocket sized notebooks many of the women keep to make notes in while they work. She takes it and looks over something before handing it to him. He looks at the list of girl names and realizes what it is as she speaks. "She'll have your last name, of course, but I'd like her to have Daryl's middle name for her middle name. The girl version, anyway, although I doubt she'll care if we used the male."

"What's that?"

"Michael."

He likes Michael, and he can't see Scout being anything other than enthusiastic about any inclusion of Daryl in the naming process. He quirks a grin at her. "Could just go with Daryl. Got that actress with the name, even spelled the same."

Lori surprises him by giggling. "I did argue for that for a bit. He finally talked me around to Michael instead."

"You thinking Michaela or Michelle?"

"Depends on how it sounds with the first name, I suppose."

"Lori, you know it won't bother me if you wanted that as her first name." It really wouldn't. Lori's relationship with Daryl settled her in a way he never thought possible. The fact that they've come round to the friendship they had as kids again, Rick included, makes him even more appreciative of her current happiness.

"I considered it, but I think family names are easier as the second one."

He remembers her own given name isn't Lori and nods. He supposes she's got some experience with that, although the way the world is now, it probably won't matter was much. "This your final list?"

He's happy enough with any of the names on the list, although he figures with six of them, there's plenty to choose from. None of them make him want to just stay 'hell no', but he would have been damned surprised if anything Lori let make her final list triggered that reaction.

"That's the list we came up last night, me and Daryl and the kids, from the names we've been collecting that we like. But Carl reminded me we hadn't asked you or Scout for any additions. Figured eight or ten isn't too big a list, then maybe we take a group vote if no one name leaps out by then."

"Whose are whose here?" It's more curiosity, because he really wonders which of these is Carl's pick. He won't admit it, but he might throw his vote to the boy's selection.

"Natalie and Rachel are Abby's. Judith is Carl's. Amelia and Renee are mine. Aida is Daryl's."

In the spirit of the idea, he snags his pen out of the pocket of his cargos and grins at her as he adds two more names.

"You better be adding serious names, Shane Walsh," she cautions. She does know his expressions far too well after all these years, but she's safe enough this time. He passes her the list and she smiles. "Such a contrast of modern and old world."

He shrugs and leans back in his chair. "Don't gotta favor the one because it was my grandmother. Just wanted it in the running, at least." Jean was obvious for him to add. He isn't admitting to a few perusals of a baby name book left in the community center, but he doesn't think anyone will object that his preference for Serena is because the meaning's so close to Scout's given name's meaning.

"It is a good name. Could call her Jeanie."

"That'd be cute. Wonder how long it'd take for her to end up with a toy from the Aladdin movie from Merle?"

Lori giggles again, looking a little more alert than she was before. "About as long as it takes him to find an old Disney store somewhere."

The noise of their family returning diverts the conversation. As the kids and Daryl greet Lori, Shane borrows the notebook back to go explain to Scout. She looks pensive for a moment, a little unfocused, then writes Alexis on the pad.

"Just the one?"

She smiles. "Yeah. It's a good one, and I think there's some strong options already on there." Since the others are still distracted, he takes time to steal a little kiss before taking her hand to lead her back to Lori's bedside and return the notebook.

"Oh, the names," Abby exclaims happily, clambering up to sit beside Lori and peek. "Can I change mine? I like Shane's better."

"Which one?" Lori asks.

"Both! But I like Jean. I had a friend named Jeanette up in Kentucky."

"You sure, sweetie?" When the girl nods, Lori crosses out the two names she indicated were Abby's contributions. "Alright, let's vote on this."

After a few minutes of voting on tiny paper slips, they're in a tie, which has Abby giggling so hard she falls off the hospital bed. Thankfully, Daryl catches her with the ease of practice of dealing with children's hilarity.

"Since we seem to be stuck after two votes, and by handwriting, people are changing their votes to try to change it, I've got a suggestion," Lori says. "Nothing says she can't have three names."

She's looking to Shane for agreement on that. "Not the first kid to end up with three names," he says. It works for him. "Judith Michaela Jean Walsh."

Their newest family member has a name. Now she just has to arrive so they can see if it fits her.

~*~ Jesus ~*~

"Ever get the feeling watching her that she would have made a hell of a politician if the world hadn't fallen?"

Jesus follows Andrea's line of sight as the blonde sits down next to him. Honey's sitting with Ezekiel, along with Logan and Christopher. Whatever she's telling the king, he seems intrigued.

"That or the world's best salesman. What was she doing before?" Her primary answer to anyone at Hilltop was that she was studying construction management to join her father's company. It solved about half of the issues people had about her age, since they see her as a young-looking college student rather than a teenager on the loose.

"Story she tells has enough of the truth to it not to be a lie," Andrea answers. "She graduated high school about two weeks before the world went to hell. But she really was signed up to study construction management at college on a lacrosse scholarship."

"So, she's eighteen or nineteen?" It fits his general idea of her, and at least she actually is older than her initial appearance suggests.

"Thereabouts." Andrea takes a drink of her wine, studying the dark liquid thoughtfully. "You know Hilltop thinks you're sleeping with her."

He arches a brow. "Are you subtly asking if I am?"

"Doubt subtle could be applied to that comment."

Well, at least she's honest. He considers whether or not to provide an answer. Of all the team members, Honey spends the least amount of time with Andrea, and there's none of the casual affection between Honey and Andrea that the girl displays with all of the male members of the team. Even Abraham gets random hugs here and there, which always make the big guy seem a bit baffled.

He doesn't know Andrea well enough to tell her the truth, so he shrugs. "Is it a problem if I am?" Technically, he is sleeping with her. Is it really this woman's business if that's all they're doing? Especially when logic should tell her that Logan's been with them every night.

The blonde just shrugs and takes another drink of her wine. As her eyes track among the males present, he finally puts the pieces of the puzzle together. She was testing the waters with him to see if he was available. He resists the urge to shudder. She's a pretty woman, no doubt, but gives off too much of a predatory feel for him, even if he liked women. But he might as well help her out, because it means she'll end the attempt to talk to him.

"The Kingdom is rather open-minded about how people spend their personal time," he says. "Not like Hilltop where a night with someone has you practically married by the next day."

The smile she gives him is less calculated that most of their interaction and he finds he likes it better. "Thanks."

She rises, but before she walks away, he adds, "I'd talk to the blond with the scruff that just left Ezekiel's table."

It gets him another genuine smile and a wink as she sashays off after the man in question. He hopes Daniel forgives him for the suggestion. At the king's table, Logan is motioning him over and the folks around the king are laughing uproariously. He wonders what he's walking into, but he responds to the boy and stands behind him. Christopher is involved in a conversation with one of the medical staff, so seems unaware of whatever the discussion is about.

"Is it true, that the lady bought you for two bags of supplies?" Jerry asks. The big man is definitely amused as hell.

"Well, one of those bags had a whole lot of whiskey in it," he replies.

Honey just grins. "I'm sure he could have gotten himself out of that mess without my help, now that I've worked alongside him a while, but at the time, I sure was thinking that I hoped those men were as dumb as they looked."

Ezekiel leans forward, interest intent on his face. "How did you even begin to think it might work?"

"Three men that just stand there holding guns on a seemingly unarmed man despite vehicles approaching doesn't show much brains, even in our current world. It was a risk that one might get trigger happy, but if they were that type, they wouldn't be all standing around yapping at a potential victim." She shrugs, and it makes the light catch on the silver thread woven into her braids. "Sometimes looking a little different, a little exotic, is a blessing."

Both of the men seem to understand the reference, and in his own way, Jesus does too. His hair and beard contribute to the nickname, but they also work as a shield among others.

"This radio set up you use to contact your home. Could that be duplicated here, for our allied communities? It would be far easier than people having to travel half a day or more just to deliver a message," Ezekiel asks.

"We could set it up for you. If you've got someone good with electronics, they should be able to keep it maintained and even expand it to any vehicles. Biggest issue is making sure you can keep them charged and then installing solar-powered repeaters along any routes you want to be able to signal."

"It's like rebuilding the system the emergency services personnel used before, correct?"

Honey nods. "Much the same. If more of their repeaters were less reliant on electrical power, the communications grid wouldn't have failed on a mass level. You've heard of ham radio before, right? Not the CBs in cars, but the ones that needed a government license."

"We would greatly appreciate the assistance in learning how to set them up and use them. Will we need to build a tower?"

She shakes her head. "No, the water tower you have is already perfect, or we can put it on a rooftop for easier access. Tower's taller though, so less likely to have interference. The weather can affect it, as well as geography. Our engineer, back at home, was telling me that solar flares and similar can mess with it as well, when using it at large distances. Danny and I can make the climb, get the antenna installed, but it'll help if you've got at least one person who doesn't mind heights to go along."

Yeah, Jesus is pretty sure that Ezekiel is wishing he could adopt these folks instead of the Shirewilt residents that aren't really that happy about staying at Hilltop. "They've already installed one at Hilltop," Jesus adds. "I've got a general idea how it works now, so I'm going to show the Bay community how to set it up too. They're at such a distance that it'll help them out more than us. There's that other community I haven't contacted yet we can bring in too, if they're friendly."

Ezekiel leans back in his chair, steepling his hands and nodding thoughtfully. "If your people don't mind staying, we'll be more than happy to have the assistance, and you may ask whatever payment you require that we can provide."

"At this time, nothing," Honey says. It gets a lesser version of Gregory disbelief from the king. "But if my people can manage a trip back up here when the crops are in season, there are things that grow here that don't further south. Cherries, common pears, lingonberries, cranberries. We've found a lot of success in going around to the small farms that were the pay-to-pick farms at the right seasons. Ended up swimming in apples, but down there, it's just certain types."

"You would trade help with electronics for foodstuffs?"

"It's not like you're needing anything big," Honey says, waving her hand in dismissal. "Knowledge is meant to be shared, and I saw a lot of folks back at Thanksgiving realizing that once our stocks of cranberries and cherries and so forth are gone, we can't just grow them easily, not where we are. You can put tropical plants in greenhouses, but it's really hard to reverse that trend for cold loving plants. But if that seems to simple, textbooks, like the one you loaned me? We're always collecting knowledge. And in the end, if the good people of the world don't stick together, we don't come back from this."

That gets an understanding nod from Ezekiel. "It is unfortunate that we are not located closer for regular trade."

"Weather allowing, fuel's going to be the long-term issue. Our people have a few ideas in line for that."

"How did you manage the fuel for such a long trip? Surely most siphoned fuel is coming from vehicles and about expired."

She grins. "I'm guessing none of your people served in the military overseas?"

Ezekiel leans forward. "I don't believe any of them have. There's a few ex-military."

"Gather up the military leftovers and be prepared for certain parts to wear down, but guess what diesels can run on?" Honey's grinning, and Jesus might not believe it if he hadn't seen the damned fuel barrels himself. "Jet fuel. And imagine how much of that is sitting around in airports and on abandoned raceways all over the great state of Virginia for you to find?"

"Fuel drums." Ezekiel's eyes light up with delight. "Will you share the modifications? You are your group's mechanic, correct?"

"Of course."

Logan yawns hard enough to make his jaw ache, which distracts the adults.

"It seems your young fellow here is past his bedtime," Ezekiel remarks.

"He surely is. I'll speak to you in the morning, King Ezekiel. We can sort out the logistics then."

She leads Logan off, feeling safe enough in the Kingdom's confines since Ezekiel didn't require her to disarm completely, only asking that the rifles not be carried around. Jesus lingers at a signal from Ezekiel.

The king glances at Christopher, who is probably too far away from where he and the doctor moved to the end of the table with their discussion. "You trust them? Truly trust them? They allow the youngest among them to lead." He's lost most of the jovial expression he wore with Honey. Jesus wonders, not for the first time, just how much of the man's behavior is an act.

"I can't speak for all of their community, but these travelers? Yes, I do." He glances back to where Honey's disappeared out of sight. "Abraham leads where it's needed, because she is young, but I suspect that for all their community is run by a council of people and not a king like yourself, we're speaking with their equivalent of a princess."

"But not of the Disney sort."

Jesus laughs softly. "Hell no. Unless you're thinking Mulan. Have her do a weapons demonstration when the snow clears."

"I shall do just that."

Leaving Ezekiel to his thoughts and Jerry's company, he follows Honey back. The Georgians fit in here so much better than at his own home, that he really is starting to see all the flaws of the place in a way he tries hard to forget.