March 19, 2011

~*~ SW ~*~

If you told him if he would be attending a youth sports event in the apocalypse back when it began, it would've given him hope, he supposes. Although back then, the hope would be of the government returning and putting things back in order, not having to help rebuild everything from scratch.

But he's grateful for the introduction of sports just as they started up the search for the Governor, because it's given Anaya a distraction from alternating parents in the field and it's a good break from the thus-far unfruitful search for all the adults involved. Her anxiety spiked enough that first week Scout was out that he set her up with Denise once a week. Any extra input is more than welcome in his opinion, and they were blessed with a psychiatrist here for a reason.

But Scout was right about her having a harder time with him being gone. She managed the four days this week... every single night in Scout's bed. It continued when he got home, and Denise's advice is to let it run its course. She'll regain her independence once her routine is normal again, just like Abby did.

But she threw herself into the idea of sports wholeheartedly, although he suspects a lot of that is ending up on a team with people she's already comfortable with.

The teams are ages nine to twelve and thirteen to seventeen for the actual mock competition, rotating sports with rules modified for teams of six on soccer and lacrosse. The younger kids appear to be one massive cheerleading team, complete with cute uniforms and tumbling tricks. Volleyball, originally meant to be included, seems to have become the sport for impromptu adult teams after the kids.

At noon on Saturdays for the next few months, Homestead will gather in the sports field near the nursing home. There are even bleachers of a sort now, reminding Shane of the Little League games Carl once played. The elderly who want to watch are outside, although their area is more comfortable camp chairs and event awnings to keep the sun off. Box lunches and cool drinks are distributed, adding to the game day atmosphere Shane remembers from so much of his youth.

All of the eight youth teams will play today, with the youth lacrosse followed by the teens, before switching to soccer. Luckily for Anaya, hers is the first match because she's vibrating with excitement. It's her favorite of the three sports so far, but he thinks ninety percent of that is because she's played lacrosse with the various Dixons before.

It became obvious early on that Tyreese would need assistant coaches, so the teens who played competitively in high school before each have a youth team.

"I'm glad Abby wasn't serious about being jealous Jazz is coaching Anaya and Logan's team," he murmurs to Scout. She nods, watching where her brother is kneeling on the field with his six players, checking helmets and pads and going over last-minute instructions about their lacrosse sticks. Honey's former teammate, Jenny, is doing the same with the other team.

"No matter how tall I realize she is, putting her next to Jazz still dwarfs her." Scout laughs at Shane's words. His brother-in-law is kneeling now, and it takes that to put him on eye level with Anaya, Logan, and Mika and the others on the team. While most of the teenagers playing later are well over five feet and a few of the males even approaching six feet, Jazz is still six inches taller than anyone else.

"The jerseys are cute as hell. Carol outdid herself in planning that one out."

Shane agrees there. Anaya's team, self-named the Tigers, has bright orange jerseys with their given names and individual numbers. Clearing out a shop that did embroidery and custom work wasn't an essential run, but as with many things here, the insistence on quality to quantity holds for the kids. There's nothing to distinguish any of the team jerseys the forty-eight kids and teens playing today are wearing from the ones before that school teams wore.

The kids are on the field now, their teenage coaches looking on a little anxiously.

"They've modified the rules," Honey explains from her seat in front of them when Lori asks. "Field lacrosse normally has ten players, so it's different with six. Molly's goalie, and that's similar to soccer or hockey, except instead of just blocking shots, she's going to try to catch them in her crosse."

"That's why she's wearing extra padding, right?"

"Yeah. We erred in the side of caution, because if you remember me telling you about my broken arm needing surgically repaired, that was from a shot I took playing goalie. Arm guards weren't required and it got me above the gloves." She grins at them. "Just be glad helmets are required. Women aren't required to wear them in lacrosse except for goalies."

The game's starting, with Tyreese and Leo as referees, and Honey continues. "The regular team would have three attackers, three defenders, and three midfielders who do a bit of both. They've eliminated the midfielders in favor of three attackers and two defenders, generally, but they can switch."

Shane reminds himself she's wearing a chest protector when Molly takes a ball to the chest. The determined look a few minutes later when Anaya has her crosse back to make a shot makes him grin. It makes it past Rachel's nephew, Nick, at goalie and lands her team the first score.

By the end of the first quarter, the score's in Anaya's team's favor by 2-1, with the other point scored by a shocked and then joyous Mika. The two-minute break pauses all the kids for a mandatory water break, since the temperature is over eighty today. Both teams grow in confidence over the next three eight-minute quarters. Anaya's team comes out victorious, 10-8, and he and Scout get a sweaty and happy daughter wedged between them.

Judith's tired of the noise by then, so he offers to take her home, only to get teasingly overridden by Scout. Neither of them wants Daryl or Lori to have to leave, with Carl and Abby yet to play.

"You're going to want to see Carl play next. We can switch off next week if she fusses." Lori passes Judith off with a grateful smile, and Shane completely misses the first score of Carl's game because he's too busy watching them head off.

"Every time I see you with that goofy look, I wish you met my sister earlier." Shane looks down to see Honey's smile. He gives her a sheepish one in return. He often wishes that too.

"Who scored?"

"Miguel, for Carl's team," Anaya answers, just as Carl actually catches the ball at goalie. Shane can picture the face-splitting grin under the helmet as Carl returns the ball to play. He hopes it doesn't cause any real grief that the teen's first game is against his girlfriend's team, but he doubts it will. Audrey's got her Uncle Christopher's laid-back personality.

They don't get a second lacrosse victory for the family. Carl's team ends the game down one goal. He's the perfect gentleman in congratulating the other team, but shucks his equipment quickly to cheer on Abby's team at soccer, which wins by two goals. With the teen soccer game splitting all three kids' loyalties, Shane's grinning. Sophia's athleticism is something he never would have predicted when he first met the shy, frightened girl. But now? She's fearless and scores two of the three goals for her team. It's not quite enough, Jazz's team winning by one, but everyone's happy.

The best part is that Anaya's willing to venture out and away from her parents, grouping with her small friend group in a way she hasn't been willing since he got back Thursday night. It's good progress, since she is aware that Scout leaves out in the morning.

The field's being shifted for the volleyball game, and Shane's still not entirely sure that there are set teams to this part of the day. They'll end up playing in the light of the sunset, but no one seems to mind. Most of the elderly didn't make it the full five plus hours of games, but he suspects there were still watchers from the windows of the nursing home's closest common area, which overlooks the playing field.

Raised voices draw his attention from where Molly's patiently trying to teach both Abby and Anaya to cartwheel. He's the closest adult to whatever's going on, and too many years as a cop have him stepping up before he's even thought about it.

"Anyone care to explain?" he asks. It silences the heated argument as effectively as if he had a switch, and Carl backs off Ron when he raises an eyebrow at the fact that the teenagers are chest to chest like any other pending fist fight he's witnessed over the years.

Jazz is about three feet behind Carl, and from the body language of both Carl and Audrey, the two younger teens are blocking Ron from Jazz. Even without those two, he isn't going to be able to provoke Jazz easily, because while he doesn't think it's deliberate, the rest of the teens most commonly around Jazz after hours are damn near in one of the formations the teens have been taught for runs. Even Patrick, normally the calmest of the teens, is looking angry, not anxious.

"Ron's unhappy to be on the team with Jazz for some stupid ass reason," Sophia grinds out.

He's unsure as to what would cause that sort of conflict. Like all the council, he's aware of Ron's background, and he knows from yesterday's meeting that no one thinks the boy is settling in well. His mother and brother are doing well. Sam even played earlier, on the soccer team that opposed Abby's.

"Easy solution to that would be to ask Tyreese to be reassigned," he suggests. Sometimes teammates just don't get along, and while on a larger team, he might say suck it up and deal with it, small teams don't work that way. Besides, these games are supposed to be fun for the kids, not stressful.

"I don't want to play at all, but my mom and Denise say I have to."

Shane's also aware of the reasoning behind that, because Ron isolating himself isn't healthy. He shows up and does his assigned work and is polite to adults, but refuses all overtures from other teenagers. The most time he's spent around others kids is that he seems happy enough that his little brother has buddies among the younger ones.

"And what's your problem with Jazz in particular?"

"He's spoiled. Always trying to be so nice to me, like he understands a damned thing about anything. Just wanders around petting animals and playing with little kids and singing to old people, and y'all still give him weapons."

Ah. Probably a big source of the issue then, because like every other teenager, and several adults, Ron's got to complete training before he's allowed more than the standard belt knife everyone over the age of nine or so carries.

"Jasper. Pull up your sleeve."

It gets him a hesitant look from his brother-in-law, but Jazz's tendency to wear longer sleeves even in warm weather means that most people who came after the quarry have never seen his arm. Today's jersey is just long enough that the sleeve falls just past the twisted scar on his bicep. He reaches out and reveals the discolored flesh along his dark skin.

Shane turns back to Ron, who isn't experienced enough to know what kind of scar it is. "Jazz earned the right to carry the weapons he does because he's been outside the walls and been shot defending those who couldn't defend themselves, Ron. Maybe he's lucky to have his home, unlike a lot of us, but what you see as spoiled is his way of making sure we're safe here too."

It's one of those horrible facts of life now, that even Jazz's innocent tasks like milking the sheep or caring for the animals on the horse farm mean that he's assessing his environment as clearly as any academy-trained cop. Shane's drilled him enough, hell, every related adult has.

"Those old people he sings to?" Beth says softly. "That's who he was helping when he got shot."

Ron angrily waves that off. "Even so. Why's he think he can understand anything about me?"

Shane is deciding how to answer that when a voice behind him does. "Because my father killed my mother." Merle steps into Shane's line of sight. "Ron, it's time we take a walk." He doesn't give the boy much choice either, a firm grip on his arm ensuring he walks away from the sports field and toward the main house.

"You good, Jazz?" Shane asks.

The teenager nods, shrugging off the confrontation as he returns to securing equipment. The other kids return to helping him, but as Shane moves away, Carl follows.

"Do you think Ron will listen to Merle?"

Sighing, Shane shrugs. "It's really hard to predict how teenagers will react when they're pulled out of abusive situations, Carl. You gotta remember that no matter what, Ron probably loves his father. That's not going to go away, and there's a part of him that is always going to wish he stayed behind."

"Why would you stay where someone's going to hurt you like that?" The confusion in Carl's voice is one that Shane's experienced himself, both as a kid who wondered why his mother stayed with a loud-mouth alcoholic and as an adult who hated he couldn't do his job and save people without their cooperation. He's not entirely sure he's the best person to answer that question, but sending Carl to talk to Carol? That's just not going to happen.

"Love makes people do some really crazy stuff, Carl. If it were your dad or mom, you might think that they could change or get better. And sometimes, people feel trapped, with no place to go. I've seen people like Ron's dad go after their families when they left. Remember what Ed did?"

Carl was sheltered to an extent from Ed's final day in camp, and Shane agreed with it then. But he's getting older and needs more understanding.

"He had a gun. We weren't supposed to know, but we heard." The boy studies him for a moment and Shane sees an even stronger glimpse of the man in Carl's future self. "I know Scout or you killed Ed. No one talks about it, but no one has ever worried he'll find us, not like this other guy y'all are looking for."

Shane nods, not admitting who did it either way. Everyone close enough to hear at Grady knows that Scout ended Ed's miserable existence, because she declared as much to Dawn Lerner before her execution. Carol has never asked the details. Sometimes he wonders why they aren't as open with it as the Grady or Terminus issues, but maybe it is because in the end, they knew Ed, unlike any of the others.

"But Ron's father's still alive. What's the difference?"

"Because he's never come after his family once they left. If he did, he wouldn't be." And because Honey's not yet so hardened to be able to take that action, he thinks, to shoot an unarmed man. If Pete Anderson had needed to die up in Alexandria, he suspects the man would have died by Abraham or Andrea's hand. "Just be patient with Ron, Carl. Having someone you love be the person who hurts you most? That's a hard thing to heal from."

"You think he'll learn anything from Merle?"

"Maybe. I think he's got a better chance than most." And if taking direct action in talking to the boy is where they're at now, Merle's not the only abuse survivor. He's just their worst-case story. "How about you go have fun, kiddo? I'm gonna go find Scout and your sister."

Carl nods and returns to the group of teenagers and Shane sighs, rubbing a hand over his curls and going to see if Anaya wants to stay with the other kids or run home with him. He really hopes the older Anderson boy's ready for a breakthrough, because he sure doesn't want to deal with more jealous outbursts.

~*~ Jesus ~*~

Jesus steps carefully into the clearing, watching the black horse as intently as it watches him. He came across the animal two weeks ago, on his way to a meeting point to check in with Aaron and Eric. The Alexandria recruiters are familiar with the animal, noting that the kids in their community named it from seeing it through the gates.

Buttons seems like a weird name for a horse, but he's trekking through the Virginia countryside with a dog he thought was named after the Spanish for bear only to have Honey giggle and correct him that it wasn't quite right. The lanky catahoula is actually named Special Agent Oso after some preschool show Honey's former babysitting charge used to watch.

Oso's lounging in a patch of sunlight near his discarded backpack, completely ignoring Jesus' attempts to coax the horse closer. Damn dog will probably laugh at him if this doesn't work out.

But Honey knows horses and she swears that they're best tamed by treats, so here he is, wandering around the woods with a pocket full of treats Ezekiel's people gave him in amusement when he asked. They have a few horses and Hilltop doesn't, so he figured it was easier to just ask than to try to find some random pet or feed store.

Reassured by both his friend down south and the folks at the Kingdom that the horse is likely an escaped pet and once tame, he keeps stepping forward, babbling nonsense with what looks like a lumpy oatmeal cookie in his open palm.

"Open palm, Paul. Keep it open and flat and let it eat off your palm." He doesn't figure the horse cares what he says, so repeating the instructions as a mantra works for him.

It isn't running away, at least. Aaron and Eric both say it never lets them near when they've tried.

He stops about three feet away from the horse, who keeps eyeing him carefully. It shakes its head, huffing a little, but then at last, takes a few steps forward. He feels the warmth of its breath against his skin and then the brush of lips and teeth as it delicately takes the treat. It doesn't back off, huffing again, almost expectantly. He wonders if horses are like dogs, able to smell the other treats he has on him.

He eases another out of his pocket and offers it to the horse. It actually nudges him a little after eating that treat, so he risks reaching up to rub a hand along the animal's silky hide.

His reward is the damned thing stealing his hat.

It costs him a treat to get the horse to drop the hat and he inspects it before cramming it back on his head.

"You're laughing at me, aren't you?" he asks. Up close though, he can finally see that Buttons is a mare, which he suspected but couldn't confirm. "Well, laugh all you like. A lady like you shouldn't stay outside by yourself. Too many bad things out here nowadays."

She lets him pet her and he grows bolder as she accepts the affection. He was warned not to try to ride her. Tame doesn't mean she was a riding horse, and the last thing he needs is to be thrown and break a bone.

"How about you follow me to where we can get more treats?" He offers her another before heading slowly to his backpack and returning it to his shoulders. Oso rises and yawns, trotting beside him. He glances back to see that Buttons is following.

Curiosity. It's the curse of most mammals, he supposes. He just hopes she stays curious long enough to follow him back to the Kingdom and the safety of people who know more about horses than he does.

~*~ JD ~*~

Jazz watches Logan trudge back from the bathroom, still grumpy that the older boys made him go back to brush his teeth. It's not that they're required to look after the younger boy that closely, but more that it's such a small thing no one wants to pester adults about. Besides, Jazz isn't entirely sure that any adult other than Honey can truly get through to Logan most days.

It's not that he seems opposed to being an adopted Dixon. He's sweet and polite to Merle and Carol, although there's still a wary distance between him and his new parents that doesn't exist between Logan and any of the "kids" around him. Jazz figures if he lost his parents and sibling, he probably wouldn't be in a hurry for new ones. It's kind of like Audrey, who dodges the issue simply because she's got uncles and a grandmother in charge of her, so no one needs to adopt her. Logan treats Carol like an aunt and dodges around acknowledging Merle. Everyone's just letting it slide for now.

He seems a bit off-kilter tonight though. Normally, a reminder of bedtime hygiene gets shrugged off and he does as he's asked. But tonight, he's obviously stewing about something.

"You okay?" Al asks. He's always faster than Jazz or Patrick to just push for answers. He doesn't seem to mind the idea he might be labeled nosy for it.

"Honey's always with Eugene," Logan huffs and flops onto Jazz's bed instead of climbing to his own. Jazz doesn't mind. Logan's had some nightmares, and it's a really tight fit if he climbs into Jazz's bunk, but if it makes him feel safe, they'll squeeze in.

"They live together. It kinda happens that way," Al replies. Jazz nods.

"I don't understand why she's so into him. Jesus was nicer."

Oh. Well, crap. Jazz slings an arm around Logan and sighs. "Gonna tell you one thing about having sisters, Logan, and that's that you don't always like their boyfriends. Or girlfriends."

"Shane's nice and Tara is too."

"Yeah. But so is Eugene. He likes you. He's just not really good with words." The boyfriend Honey had the last few months of high school is one that Jazz was really glad didn't last past graduation, even if the world did end. And the woman Cricket lived with in Atlanta, before Glenn was her roommate, well, he didn't care much for her either.

"He talks to you."

"Well, yeah, but he didn't at first." Honestly, he's fairly certain Eugene is still half-terrified to talk to Scout most days.

"I still liked Jesus better. I wish he came with us and then it wouldn't matter about Eugene."

"Logan." Jazz waits until the boy looks up at him, bottom lip bitten between his teeth. "Even if he came back, it might still matter about Eugene. They were dating before she went to Virginia."

"But…"

"Do you think he makes her unhappy?" Jazz asks, interrupting him.

"No. She smiles a lot around him. But she did that around Jesus too."

"Did they ever do anything to make you think they were a couple? Kiss or hold hands or things like that?" It's Patrick who asks that, and Jazz shoots him a grateful look.

Logan shakes his head.

"Then maybe you should ask Honey about it? She can tell you if it was ever even a possibility."

Jazz hopes it wasn't, because then Logan's just going to hope. And unless Jesus comes here, that'll just mean the kid's disappointed. He should probably ask his sister himself.

There are footsteps on the stairs, with Ron Anderson appearing with Sophia right on his heels. The other boy looks torn between ashamed and curious as he looks around the bunk room.

"This is really where y'all sleep?" he asks.

Jazz looks around and shrugs. It's cozy enough, with the four sets of bunks providing eight sleeping spaces. With Logan here now, all four of the bunks in the area closest to the stairs are occupied. Jimmy's the only one in the other set, although occasionally someone like Carl sleeps over. They've customized their areas, between posters, artwork, and their own choices in bedding. He wonders what Ron sees as he lets Sophia lead him in. Isabelle's right behind them on the stairs.

"I thought…" Ron sighs and takes a deep breath. "I figured you would be upstairs, in your own room."

"I could be, I guess. But I like it here better." That gives him a hesitant smile from Patrick and a bright one from Al. Logan's still pouting a little. "It's nice not being the odd one out with a lot of sisters."

"Daddy thinks Ron should stay the night," Sophia announces.

Jazz isn't the only one with a wary look about that idea, but if Merle's requesting it, they'll go along with it. He motions toward the other bunks. "Bottom two and the top on their side are free. Jimmy's not home yet, but he's got the messy top one."

Ron goes over to sit down on the bunk that'll put him facing Jazz, looking uncomfortable and out of place. As much as he's refused to hang out with anyone in this group, or been outright rude like today that made Carl so pissed off, Jazz doesn't like that he looks almost afraid.

"We've got snacks," Logan announces, his grumpy mood clearing with a goal in mind. "Do you like trail mix?"

Surprisingly, Ron nods, settling in a bit when Sophia plops onto the other open bottom bunk and Isabelle wedges between Al and Patrick on his bunk to muss up the younger boy's hair. Al grumbles, but accepts the grinning hug his foster sister offers.

Logan trots off to the little cabinet and hurries back, dropping the little pouches of trail mix in everyone's laps, careful that Ron gets one of the ones with the little fake M&Ms.

"It's only nine. We could probably watch a movie," Sophia suggests. He's surprised she didn't stay at the community center. With the movie starting at eight there, it's still going. Logan didn't want to see the Narnia movie, although Jazz now suspects it was because of Honey and Eugene being together and watching, so the other boys came with them back home.

Jazz doesn't really want to start a movie this late. Since she doesn't help with the milking, Sophia often forgets he's up at least an hour before everyone else. "Y'all go ahead. I gotta be up at five."

"Oh, sorry. I always forget." But her frown disappears when he just smiles at her, so she leads Logan off to pick out a movie. The boy staying up past ten isn't really a bad thing, so long as he's ready by seven for breakfast, and Sophia will make sure he goes to bed.

The other kids bid him goodnight and follow them to the television area except Ron.

"Why do you have to be up at five?"

"I have animals to look after. Mostly milking that early though."

"They make you do the milking?"

"No. The sheep are mine. It's my job to look after them. And Titus usually handles the mini-Jerseys and the goats." Jazz hesitates, unsure the other boy would even be interested, since he's turned down all other overtures. But he's here, and something about the way he's holding himself reminds Jazz of Daryl when the bad memories get really bad. So, he tries once again. "You're welcome to come with me, in the morning. Titus will probably be glad to get on with other chores."

He's only half-surprised when the younger boy nods. Ron glances toward the other kids, but then kicks off his boots to get ready for bed. Jazz nods approvingly and then rolls himself into his own bunk. "Extra toothbrushes under the sink in the bathroom over by the stairs."

When he hears the other boy head that direction instead of towards the television, he smiles a little.

It isn't until a few minutes later that he realizes Ron's stopped between the bunks, hesitating about something, so he rolls to peer up at the other boy.

"Your dad… did you know about what his dad did?" Ron's voice is rough, cracking with emotion instead of vocal changes.

Jazz nods. "I've seen his scars." It's hard to miss, even if Merle's never put them on display.

"My dad dislocated my shoulder once and it didn't heal right. I can't lift my right arm over my head. That's why I really don't want to play sports."

That gets Jazz back upright where he can see Ron's face better. He looks ashamed.

"Have you talked the doctors about it?" He doesn't know enough himself, to know if a healed injury like that can be fixed. But Scout's got scar tissue all over her shoulder, and he had teammates tear rotator cuffs. It's similar, from what he understands.

Ron shakes his head.

"We should, tomorrow. They can X-ray and maybe see if there are ways to fix it." Jazz thinks about the sports schedule too, because if Ron's been reluctant to talk about it, he doubts he wants the other kids to know. "You did okay today, right, with just soccer?"

"Yeah. It's lacrosse I can't really do."

"Alright. Well, our next two games are soccer too, so we'll see what the doctors say and go from there." He meets the other boy's gaze evenly. "Sports injuries happen all the time," he said, hoping Ron gets the idea.

He can tell when Ron does. This isn't like before, where he would never cover up if he knew a teammate was being hurt at home. Ron's father can't come here and hurt him again. And while everyone already sort of knows why the Andersons left Virginia, it isn't their business to know these sorts of details, any more than it's anyone's business to know about his dad's scars or what happened to Scout and Daryl.

"Thanks."

Jazz just nods and lays back down, hearing Ron go toward the other bunk. He's starting to doze when Ron speaks again.

"I'm sorry I was an asshole."

"Don't worry about it. My sisters would say it's just part of being a teenage boy."

Ron laughs, actually laughs, and Jazz smiles to himself. Maybe things will be easier for the younger teenager now.