April 23, 2011

~*~ MD ~*~

Merle proved correct that with rotating three drivers in each vehicle and the help of the waxing to full moon, they made the Virginia trip in less than two full days. The worst part of the trip was that Carol and most of the children rode separately, since she couldn't alternate as a driver for the livestock hauling semi.

He figured they were just as safe in an RV with Olivia and Enid, with the adult ladies and Jazz as drivers, but still, being separated even by a vehicle length bugged him in unknown territory. At least Honey ended up one of his co-drivers. Her ease with the big vehicle and its live cargo made him tease she missed her calling as a long-haul trucker.

They arrived at Hilltop less than twenty hours after they left Homestead, pulling up outside the walls not long after the community ate their breakfast. Electric sheep fencing and temporary corrals kept the animals inside the walls while everyone set into a construction project on a scale Hilltop hadn't seen since the beginning.

They're enclosing an additional forty acres around Hilltop to match the five acres inside the palisade and the ten weakly fenced cropland acres. The biggest problem is that the property nestles right up into a wooded area, so after he surveyed it, they're building a somewhat circular fence around the existing location.

It'll take the Hilltop residents a while to fell the trees that end up inside the fence his people are laying out, but at least they'll have safe areas for their livestock, expanded crops, and new homes if need be.

One of the locals remembering the company a few towns over that made precast concrete walls changes his plans from shipping container walls to the concrete. It's not going to be a pretty wall, sunce they're using pieces from different orders, but sixteen feet high concrete means no walkers will breach.

"Gonna tell you, I'm glad you've done these before," Earl says as the crews all meet back at the trucks to go home as the light fades.

He's running the installation, with a crew running far enough ahead on footings that they'll easily cure in time. Honey spearheading the retrieval crews for additional panels.

And his gorgeous wife is climbing down from her mobile lookout post along with Sophia. The ladies are superb lookouts with rifles in hand.

"Goes faster when there's no overtime being paid out," he jokes. It's true enough. With cost not an issue and speed a necessity, they're putting in twelve-hour shifts.

"Still, it's a resource we couldn't use without training. Think my wife is about beside herself getting to expand the fields safely."

Merle glances at the fields already in place and nods. The fencing around them is more to give any workers time to run for the gates than to keep the dead out.

"If someone can keep lookout, she can probably start her tilling."

Poor Tammy put in ten acres with a regular garden tiller. Now she's got something a little better and faster. Jesus's tractor equipment place is a treasure trove of working equipment.

Earl nods and looks like he's going to walk back to the palisade, which Merle thinks sounds like a good idea. Carol and Sophia join him while others drive the two work trucks back.

"How far have we gone, Daddy?"

"About a quarter of a mile." And that in two days putting up concrete panels, so he's optimistic of finishing the enclosure in ten days.

"And when we're done, we'll see the other communities?"

"Maybe. Both of them are talking about sending folks to visit." He's hoping they follow through on that, but they did bring Hershel along for a reason. Can't give checkups to the animals without going on site.

That leaves Alexandria as a problem to be resolved, though.

They've reached the gate, waving at the cheerful folks on duty. Their crew is the last to return, and the others are gathered around the outdoor kitchen setup between their two RVs. With seventeen Homesteaders here, not everyone sleeps in the two RVs, but the weather's held up well enough for their people to spread into tents.

The stew Carol put into a couple of crockpots is already being served around, along with enough pita bread for a small army. Based on the dusting of flour along Jazz's sleeve, he's the one who cooked up the dough Carol left rising.

"Paddocks are looking good," Merle notes.

Jazz just smiles. He and Enid recruited a couple of the younger teenagers to help and they have been making good progress. The two-dozen sheep they brought will have a nice rotational grazing system set up by the time they leave, and Hilltop a plan to expand it when the lambs come at the end of July.

"Gonna eventually need to send someone to get the water troughs and irrigation equipment," the teenager notes.

Merle can almost see Carol making the mental note. This isn't her domain, but she's friends with Olivia, and it is the quartermaster's domain. He's confident it'll get organized between the two women.

"Critters doing alright in the smaller pens?" Merle asks Hershel.

The older man nods. "They're all quite happy. The livestock they had here already is doing well, so we should be good until the outer wall is finished to keep them in the palisade."

"How are lessons on training the human docs to treat the animals going?"

"Relatively well. Harlan was already looking after them the best he could with limited information. I gave him what texts we could spare from the veterinary school raid, but the communities here need to plan a trip to Blacksburg to raid their own veterinary school."

"That the only campus?"

"There's two more, but one's equine and the last on the other side of DC in Maryland. Outside of that, Raleigh, but I'm not sure I want to recommend a group take on an unknown large city like that after the state Atlanta was in."

"And no way of knowing if there are other survivors around, as big as North Carolina is."

"Always weird to realize all the medical schools out there, but so few veterinary," Carol adds. "We got lucky to be in a state with one."

"And that it was in Athens and not Savannah," Merle remarks. They needed the vet stuff early on. With the search for the man who ordered the Vatos slaughtered, they still haven't pushed far toward the Atlantic in their home state.

~*~ DD ~*~

Daryl sings softly as he turns slowly in the shower to bring Judith in and out of the warm water. She's bathed already, but every time he rotates her back into the water, she makes a gaspy coo that he's pretty sure is her laughing.

"Does it tickle or you just that happy about being in the water?" He gives her a bright smile, which she returns, babbling a series of nonsense sounds.

He rotates her back into the water, and this time, her newly found giggle has an echo. He looks back over his shoulder to see Lori in the bathroom doorway.

"Is she really laughing?"

He nods. "Think so. She's definitely a happy girl right now."

Judith kicks and wiggles, head arching to try to locate her mother. When he turns to angle so she can see, Lori comes up to the glass door. She makes an exaggeratingly happy face and Judith giggles.

"She ready to dry off?"

At his affirmative answer, Lori moves the curtain back and wraps the baby in a fluffy towel when he passes her out. He moves to shampoo his hair, but realizes as he finishes rinsing that they haven't left the bathroom yet.

Judith's content to be cuddled to Lori's chest, which means Lori's leaning against the sink and watching him shower.

"Need me to hurry up?" He's blinking through the water dripping off his bangs, which reminds him he needs to get her to cut his hair again soon.

"Not at all. In fact, if it wasn't for leaving her undiapered, I wouldn't mind watching til you ran out of hot water."

Ah. Distracted by the baby laughing and the showr, he didn't clue in there as fast he should. "Maybe next time she's next door for the night."

Since the first overnight visit, they've worked out a pattern of shared nights between the parents. Whichever of Scout or Shane is home that week takes her for the night after the family supper on Monday night and again on Friday.

Most of the time Abby goes too, so they make a point of offering for Anaya to stay with them on Saturday nights. Tonight is the first night since the search trips began that she's accepted.

Lori just gives him one of those slow, promising smiles that makes him wonder how in hell things fizzled out in her first marriage.

"Gonna get her nursed and settled. Girls are not quite asleep, so you should get in a goodnight if you hurry."

"A'right." She leaves the bathroom and he sets about finishing his own clean up. Abby gets cranky if she falls asleep before he bids her goodnight.

By the time he's dry, dressed, and checked in on the girls and Carl, Lori's almost finished nursing the baby to sleep.

He sits on the bed next to them, gently smoothing Judith's curls. The longer her dark hair gets, the more it seems to take on Shane's curls. Her eyes are darkening, slowly but surely, with enough change around the pupil now to give an almost multicolored effect.

"Think her eyes are going to be as dark as yours."

"Was kind of hoping they might stay blue, like Carl's did, but I guess my odds were higher there." She smiles a little wistfully.

"I remember Merle kept expecting one of the kids to turn up with brown eyes, but it never happened."

"Lilliana's eyes were brown then?"

Daryl nods. "Nana Josefa's eyes were brown, but Grandpa Robert's were blue. His daddy was a redheaded Irishman from Pittsburgh. Abby was the first time I ever saw a baby's eyes change color."

Judith's drowsy now and not really nursing, so he takes her and settles her on his shoulder while Lori pumps the side the baby didn't nurse from.

They've been lucky so far that all the new mothers have managed to nurse, but everyone's wary of the fact that most formula is expired or close. The mothers that can are putting away any excess they can manage. In their case, it helps the co-parenting, too.

He gets the baby tucked into the bedside co-sleeper around the time Lori's back from stashing the milk and cleaning the pump.

She pulls him into a lingering kiss that he enjoys and she's smiling when they finally draw apart.

"What's the smile for?" he asks, curious.

"Just being reminded how much you have a soft spot for little ones. Even the other babies clamor for your attention."

He just returns her smile, a little abashedly. "Like kids better than adults."

"Well, long as you keep liking me best if adults, I'm fine with that."

He laughs at her smirk and nudges her toward the bed. His wife is always going to have that particular honor.

~*~ Jesus ~*~

Jesus smiles a little as he spies Jazz sitting on his ratty old couch. The teenager's eyes are closed, earbuds firmly in place. His fingers are twitching, playing along to the music on the knees of his jeans.

It didn't faze Logan, who trotted by without any interruption to take his turn in Jesus's shower. It's dark outside now, and he spent an enjoyable evening among the visitors.

Jazz actually disappeared at least an hour ago and never came back after his shower. He guesses the teenager needs some downtime he normally gets with his milking rounds. The big guy that helps him out back at Homestead trends toward the quiet end of the spectrum.

Hoping to leave Jazz undisturbed for as long as he needs it, he directs Oso down the hall and follows him. The big dog is now right at eighty pounds and Hershel estimates him to likely be fully grown now that he's slightly larger than both parents.

Oso curls onto the side of the bed that will put him at Logan's feet. They're missing the last of their human trio, with Honey's boyfriend along this trip. But the dog seems happy enough to have Logan back for a little while.

He kicks his boots off and relaxes with a book, listening idly as the shower shuts off. He can hear Logan humming as he dries and dresses. It's a new habit, one he's actually picked up from Jazz.

He listens to see if he recognizes the song, which is why he notices when the sound moves the wrong way down the hall. He puts his book aside and goes to intercept the boy.

It's too late, but Jazz is smiling as Logan sits next to him on the couch. It's easy to forget that Logan's age seems to exempt him into Jazz's comfort zone.

"What are you listening to tonight?" the boy asks. Jazz passes him the earbuds and music player, which Jesus notices is a defunct cell phone.

When Jazz notices his own curiosity, he shrugs. "Classical music tonight. Vivaldi. Easier for him to listen than explain."

"Probably true. Most kids his age haven't had a lot of classical exposure."

"I'll teach him." Jazz's fond smile toward where Logan is swaying along with the music tells Jesus that once again, he made the right choice in sending Logan to the Dixons.

"I don't think I remember which one is Vivaldi. My classical music education consists of one world music class for my degree back in my sophomore year. I think I could recognize Bach or Beethoven, maybe."

It gets him a half-smile from Jazz. "Most people know them, even if not by name. When he's done, you can listen, if you like. It's one of his oboe pieces, not the more popular work, though."

He recalls vaguely that Jazz plays oboe, as well as guitar, although he hasn't seen him play. "That sounds like a plan."

It's how he ends up listening to music with Jazz once Logan trots off to bed. Since music won't keep him from sleeping, they forego the headphones.

It puts them awake an hour past when they should, going through a list of composers he vaguely remembers from college. If his professor was as animated as Jazz in enjoying the music lesson, he might have retained more.

They both startle at the time. Jazz groans. "Honey's gonna be pissed if I wake her."

Remembering the teenager is sharing a tent with his sibling, Eugene, and Elias, Jesus feels a little guilty. "I would offer you the couch, but you would have to become a pretzel. How about you go crash with Logan and I'll sleep out here?"

"Really?" The grateful look makes him wonder if the crowded tent makes Jazz uncomfortable.

He nods and Jazz stands and stretches with a yawn. He hands Jesus the phone with the headphones plugged back in. "In case you wanted to still listen."

Once he's seen Jazz settled in and fetched a blanket, he ends up losing another hour of sleep browsing through the other music on the phone. It feels like he's been handed a key insight into the younger male's personality, and he falls asleep feeling content at the trust.

~*~ Olivia ~*~

Olivia didn't expect the first night with Bryce to turn into a second, but it did. When the man ended up on the teams going north, she mustered her newly found boldness and offered for him to share her room at Hilltop in Barrington House.

His continued interest is causing a few envious glances her way, but she's reveling in it. She knows there's little long-term future in it with their roles at separate communities, so she's enjoying it whilenit lasts.

He's stretched out on his belly on her bed, watching idly aa she changes for bed. An amused smile crosses his face.

"Is that a before or after type of choice?"

She glances at the prancing unicorns on her nightshirt and laughs. "After. I didn't have much in the way of pajamas packed when I evacuated out of DC."

"Good. You didn't strike me as the unicorn type of woman."

"Are you anti-unicorn?" she teases.

"If someone's over the age of sixteen, yeah."

She just smiles as she joins him. The carefree night clothing hasn't come up before because they end up going from her fully clothed to sleeping naked. But their earlier makeout session ended with amused yawns.

It's been a long week for both of them. She's coordinating everything between Hilltop and their volunteer builders. He's part of the crew laying in the footers for the wall.

He rolls to spoon against her side, nuzzling sleepily at her shoulder. His beard tickles a little and incites a tired giggle. She reaches over to card her fingers through the facial hair.

"Did you have the beard before?" She's normally a sucker for a clean-shaven man, but it's hard to imagine Bryce without the dark, well-groomed beard

"Nah. Against department regs. Could have a moustache, but that's not a look I favor."

She tries to imagine him with just the mustache and has to agree. "If I remember right from Homestead, most of the former cops are bearded now."

He yawns, dislodging her hand, but catches it to kiss the palm before setting it on her belly with his own hand still covering it.

"We're obvious in our rebellion, huh? But you're right. I think Shane's the only exception." He smiles a little. "It bother you?"

"Not at all. It's softer than I thought it would be." That's something she only really figured out the reason behind here at Hilltop. His morning routine might not include regular shaving, but he's given her curiosity full reign by letting her learn to apply the beard oil that keeps it so silky.

"I think I might feel half-naked without it now.". He yawns again, and his eyes drift closed.

She's amused to see he falls asleep as fast without sex as after it. It's probably a habit picked up between his military service and polce work.

She yawns heavily herself and reminds herself dawn comes damned early, and facing Gregory of low sleep is a formula for disaster.

She'll miss Bryce when he's actually gone.

~*~ SW ~*~

Shane's exhausted in all the best ways. With their duties and Anaya's increased need for attention, there hasn't been a lot of alone time for them lately. They celebrated their child free night tonight with enthusiasm.

He tries to will himself to go get a wash cloth to clean them both up, but his body's telling him that pushing it as hard as his college days is too much to ask at his age.

He glances over to his wife, only to realize she's not moving anytime soon either as she snores just the tiniest bit. That makes him grin and finally work himself upright.

Scout doesn't even wake to the gentle movement of the warm cloth. He can't resist a kiss on the sensitive skin along her unscarred shoulder, breathing in the scent of her.

He makes a return trip to the bathroom and catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. She's left little love bites along his chest that remind him of their first night together. He considers teasing her about warning Rick off, since his former partner is likely the only one to see them this week.

He pads back to their bedroom, navigating the dark cabin with easy familiarity. Scout's moved in her sleep, obviously cold now. He disentangles the bedding from where it was shoved out of their way and gets the sheet and a soft blanket tucked around her.

She's not as deeply asleep as he assumed, because when he lays down and scoots close as little spoon to her, she wraps around him with deft movements. There's no mistaking the hug.

"Didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," she mumbles, pressing a kiss against his bare shoulder. "Be safe out there this week. It's making my skin crawl, the longer we go with no sign."

"I'm hoping his luck ran out, but I doubt we'll find a ghost town."

They've found evidence of survivors who made it past the outbreak, but not later challenges. So far, none of them appear to be ended by a larger group, not with supplies left behind.

"I honestly expected more people to be holed up here and there. It's not like Georgia isn't chock full of people with skills to get by. If Virginia managed four communities, surely there are more here."

"Took the Virginians long enough to find each other. Just got to be patient."

"If we haven't found him by the end of summer, I think we shift elsewhere to finding general survivors and supplies."

"Like the coast?"

"Yeah. I imagine Savannah is going to be a smorgasbord if there's no survivors there. Maybe poke around South Carolina."

He mulls it over. A fruitless search will drag on their morale over time. Finding the two pockets of survivors helps, but the extra care in searching for a boogyman will wear thin.

"Sounds good to me. Need to concentrate on the positive."

His agreement gets him another kiss to his shoulder, and he wonders how long she's been considering it before speaking up.

"Love you, baby. Get some sleep."

She returns the affection and settles back to sleep. If her grip is just a little too tight as he follows her, he can live with that aspect of her worry.

~*~ CP ~*~

"I think I know who one of the potential fathers are with Andrea's baby."

"And how did you deduce that?"

Merle looks curious in the dim light of the RV bedroom. Sophia's asleep in the overhead bunk up front, while Enid's continued the two girls' friendship by bunking on the RV sofa. Carol suspects some of that is to give Olivia privacy.

"Harlan asked about her when I went over to the infirmary after dinner with Eugene to see how Tina's still tolerating the insulin. His brother made a remark that implied a stronger interest."

"And did you ferret out any special information?"

"Amazing what you can find out in a random conversation about emergency supplies and my own pregnancy. I know his blood type now, and that he's never been married. His brother's twice divorced."

"That reminds me. Will you consider him doing a check-up while we're here? I trust our people, but if we've got access to an obstetrician, we should take advantage."

"Could make for a good lesson for his assistant with how to use the ultrasound machine, if we want another peek."

She does. Being pregnant again, this time a happy, planned event, makes her want to constantly peek in on their growing baby.

"Long as it's safe, might as well."

She can hear the fatigue in his voice. Standing watch the way she does is tiring. She and Sophia took out a dozen wandering walkers today, drawn by the sound of the equipment. She can only imagine how much the work crews are zapped on energy.

She kisses him tenderly and smooths back his curls. He responds with a gentle stroke across her belly, where the barest hint of change is beginning for her waistline.

The quiet "G'night, peanut" makes her love him just that much fiercer.