October 16, 2010
Daryl finds himself alone with his brother for the first time since he found him again, and part of him feels a trickle of guilt for that. It's not like he avoided him, but Merle seems content and settled in a way that Daryl isn't used to seeing. The older man watches the kids and Walsh disappear around the curve before turning back to Daryl.
"How big a shit show is the really gonna be, little brother?"
"I wish like hell I knew. If it was just Rick, that I could get a handle on, but add in Hershel's family and anything the others aren't saying yet, and it's like a damned powder keg waiting to blow."
"Figure I'll give you a chance to get them settled before I show my face. Couple of them have good reason to be wary of me, and I stirred enough shit in your life already."
Daryl's surprise is great enough that he lets it show on his face. Rather than make fun of it, Merle just gives him a slow smile and fumbles a piece of gum out of a vest pocket. The scent of the spearmint crosses Daryl's senses as his brother opens the wrapper and separates the gum one handed with practiced ease.
"See you later, baby brother." Merle takes a step away before pausing. "But if you do need me? I'll come."
"I'll remember that. G'night, Merle." Merle was all he had for so many years that it's still a novelty to have Carol and the others to rely on. Even before, counting on Merle was a risk once the man hit adulthood. Now? Maybe there's hope for more than one Dixon to stand on their own two feet.
T-Dog and Andrea are waiting on the porch. "The good news is there's no shouting so far, right?" the other man quips to Daryl.
"There is that." Daryl reaches for the door and steps inside. They follow, and Andrea's appearance brings Lori near to tears. The blonde goes and perches on her chair arm, patting Lori's shoulder. It reminds Daryl that Andrea got out of a vehicle to put Lori and Beth inside.
Rick probably isn't the only one feeling guilty relief that the blonde is alive and well.
"We got places for everyone?" Daryl asks, looking where Michonne seems to be filling everyone in. Rick and the doc are missing, off in a bedroom for privacy, he guesses.
Carol smiles, leaning into him when he comes to stand next to her. "T-Dog, Karen, and Noah are taking the house across the road. That gives Rick his own room. Same for Lori. Glenn and Maggie are taking the master, and we'll need to shift bunk beds from the next house down the road for Hershel and Beth."
Daryl's of the opinion the teenager needs her own space, but that's a battle for later. "T-Dog and I can get those switched tonight."
"What about Carl? Is he staying with Lori?" Maggie asks, scanning the room and frowning.
"He's staying tonight with Shane, so we can decide on anything else tomorrow," Lori answers.
"He already has a room at the house, so of course, that's always an option." Michonne's words get everyone's attention. "But we can expand as needed, too. There three other houses not yet in use, since I'll likely assign the one they're at to Paul's group."
"Is that a good idea allowing Carl to stay with Shane considering all he's done?" Maggie asks, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning.
Daryl watches as the friendly but detached air Michonne wears melts away in an instant to a cold and clinical expression that makes a chill run down his spine. He's seen the woman's katana out of its back sheath during her morning exercise, and it is most certainly not a prop or something recently learned.
"After all he's done involves saving the lives of several children, Miss Greene. Implying that a child he's loved the boy's entire life is in danger from him will win you no friends nor sympathy from those who actually know him."
"He killed our friend! Otis didn't do anything wrong."
"Aside from shooting a twelve-year-old boy?"
"That was an accident! He didn't deserve to die for it."
"And yet you are convinced Shane is entirely at fault without ever speaking to him. That attitude is why people were entitled to a trial, before. But I am aware of far more of the situation than you are, because I asked." She turns to Lori. "I can assure you, there is no safer place on this property for your son, or mine would not live there."
Lori manages a wavering smile. "You don't need to reassure me. I talked to him long enough to know he's himself again."
"I'm not answering to a killer," Maggie states. Poor Glenn looks torn between reassuring her and backing away as Michonne returns her cold gaze to the younger woman.
"What gave you the impression that Shane is the leader here?"
Daryl wonders what the woman did for a living once upon a time as she flicks her dreads back and studies Maggie. Something educated, from the pattern of her speech. Reminds him of Andrea, actually.
"From what I can tell, you've been following Daryl's lead for weeks and Rick's before that. You answer to Daryl, and I will work with him and whomever Paul's group designates. Stay in your own little world down here, my people will stay in mine, and we'll all coexist for the people who need us to do so."
Ignoring Maggie, who seems a little lost for words, Michonne turns to Daryl. "That sound acceptable to you?"
Daryl assents after a scan of the room. No one seems to object, even Maggie, who jerks her head in a brief nod. Any further conversation is interrupted by the sound of an engine and voices. T-Dog looks out the window and chuckles despite the tension of the room.
"Apparently, Sophia knows how to drive now. Think we're about to get a food delivery." The man opens the door for Sophia to enter after Michonne waves her inside, but she's followed by Duane and Patrick.
The girl looks around the room and arches a brow under the shaggy bangs across the right side of her face. "Well, aren't y'all just a room full of rays of sunshine." She slides the big crockpot onto the counter and hugs her mother. The boys deliver boxes and scamper back out the door.
"We do have plenty of supplies," Carol tells her. "But it's sweet for you to bring things down."
"We just brought what you made for tonight and things Carl said they didn't have, like milk and butter, and half of what we gathered today because we won't eat it all in time."
The boys return with two bushel baskets, one full of field peas of some sort, and the other with squash and tomatoes. While Hershel cleared the garden back at the old place, they didn't have nearly this variety or quantity. They simply didn't have the time for it to grow by the time they settled.
"This is a lot of fresh food," Hershel observes, taking the basket from Duane.
"One of the neighbors had a few acres planted for her farmer's market business. We've been babying it along and following her instructions."
Patrick huffs and sets his basket down carefully. "We, as in we help Sophia. She's the green thumb."
Sophia squeezes Carol gently and wiggles away to snag a paper bag out of one of the boxes and hand it to Lori. "Carl sent these up for you. They're washed. We're headed out to check our trotlines. Can Carl go along? Shane said that needed extra permission."
"How far out are you going?" Lori asks, peering into the bag and smiling before she pulls out a ripe fig.
"Just on the oxbow. Debris in the river messes up the lines, so we just fish out in the channel right now."
Lori's gaze tracks across Sophia and Patrick's well-armed forms. "That sounds fine."
"See you at supper, mama." Daryl is a little surprised when Sophia bumps him lightly with a shoulder on her way by and smiles. "You too, Daryl."
Her shadows trail her to the pink Bug, and she backs it down the long drive with good skill before chugging off home. "Wonder if she would consider painting that crazy thing?"
Michonne laughs. "Pose it to her as a new skill she needs to learn and save us all the eyesore. Just don't let Merle help, because he's been suggesting adding rainbows and flowers, and she's quirky enough to humor him."
"Does she drive often?" Lori asks, biting into a fig and making an enraptured face at the taste.
"Only on property now. Shane taught her back when it was just the two of them, because he didn't want her stranded if something happened to him." Michonne makes her way to the door.
"Michonne?"
She turns when Lori calls out to her, looking curious.
"Are the children recovering okay?" The pregnant woman's hand to her throat signals what she's not asking.
Michonne smiles kindly at Lori. "Patrick will always have scars, but he will tell you better him than the younger children. The best thing for all three of them is both knowing the men will never hurt anyone else again and that they have a family again to keep them safe."
"That's good to hear."
"We'll certainly make sure if anyone else tries such a thing, they can rescue themselves like Sophia did, but even if they can't, they'll always know someone is coming for them."
"Like Shane did," Carol says softly, looking toward Maggie and Hershel.
"Like Shane did. He came back with those kids, and they didn't care that he was covered in blood. All they saw was someone willing to do whatever it took to keep them safe. In this world? If you aren't willing to go that far to keep the children alive, make sure they never have to rely on you."
Daryl catches the motion of Karen draping her arms over Noah's shoulders and hugging the teen close.
Michonne's expression softens at the sight of the teen. "You're all welcome to join our morning self defense classes. I know Daryl's been teaching what he knows, but we figure every skill any of us can layer onto the kids is one more that prepares them."
"What time?" It's Beth who speaks, stepping away from the counter she's been leaning against.
"Sunrise. It's best to do it before breakfast. Every other day, and tomorrow is one." Michonne studies the older teen for a minute and smiles at her determined expression. "I'd best be getting home before supper is cold."
Once the door shuts behind her, Maggie turns to Beth. "You don't need to go down there to learn anything. We can teach you."
Beth scoffs. "Did you not notice the woman has a katana, Maggie? I'm sure as hell learning whatever she'll teach me."
Daryl hides a smile at the enthusiasm in Beth's voice. He's a little surprised that Hershel doesn't chide her for the language, but something about the older man's expression makes Daryl think he's fighting himself not to present the same objection.
"Carol and I will be there, Hershel. We're staying there for the time being." It's a wonder no one caught on they weren't assigned a room, but since they were bunking in the barn loft, he supposes it was easier to overlook.
The veterinarian sighs and nods. "Beth is correct that we are condemning without having all the information. We don't even know that Rick knew everything, and we forgave him for keeping it from us."
"Redetermining our moral limits is an ongoing task in this new world, I'm afraid."
Everyone turns to see Dr. Eastman entering the room from the hallway. Rick is behind him, looking drained, but he makes his way to Lori's chair and reaches for her hand. She takes it, lacing their fingers together with a tired smile.
"I'll extend the same offer to anyone here that I've given the others. My professional skills are at your service. A session might involve helping me milk a goat or repair a fence, but my figurative door is open. But I can reassure you that no one on this property is a danger to others at this time."
"You're saying Shane actually talks to you?" Maggie asks, looking doubtful.
"I'm saying that I have assessed the man and found him no danger to himself or others. Considering I worked for the Georgia Department of Corrections before the world ended, I would say I am uniquely qualified to make that determination."
"How can you say he won't snap again?"
"You can't guarantee that of anyone. Should you be faced with a similar decision, kill someone you barely know to save your sister or father, only then would you know if you are capable of the same. I know evil, Miss Greene, up close and personal. While he may have committed acts that can be seen as such, Shane Walsh is no more evil than you or I."
When Maggie just nods and leans into the comforting arm that Glenn offers, Eastman turns to Lori.
"I would assess your husband's condition is the same. The pressures that led to his breakdown are removed. With a support system and counseling, I see no reason to confine him for his own safety or others."
Lori smiles up at Rick. "That's good to hear."
"I will request that you adhere to the request to stay within the property for now, Rick. Give the young lady time to adjust to you being a normal, fallible human and not the person that haunts her nightmares."
"Why does Sophia have nightmares about Rick?" Carol asks, sounding distressed. "He didn't intentionally lose her in the woods. I would understand nightmares about Ed, but not Rick."
"Consider it a symbol of all that went wrong seemingly all at once in her young life without enough time to deal with it. She was alone and afraid, and she had to care for someone she can't help but see as another casualty of the same thing. Then she met two more, one as damaged as her own guardian."
"How bad was it, if I'm allowed to ask?" Rick looks apprehensive.
"The wound got infected, and Sophia was forced to debride the dead tissue without proper tools or painkillers. The infection still nearly killed him, a toxic shock syndrome based on her description. Probably strep and not staph, as I doubt she could have saved him if it were the latter."
"Jesus." Rick sounds stricken. "No wonder she doesn't want to be near me."
"Give it time, and she'll make the adjustment, but it needs to be at her pace."
"I agree." Rick looks to Carol, who smiles reassuringly at him. "I owe her that much."
"Thank you," Carol tells him. "And if everyone will excuse me, I promised to eat supper with my daughter."
Daryl makes his own farewells, and Eastman walks back with them. Andrea stays behind, probably needing to reconnect with those she's been separated from.
"Dr. Eastman?"
"Call me Elwood, please, Carol."
"Sophia is going to get better, right?"
The man doesn't answer immediately, but his smile is gentle when he does. "It's possible that she may suffer from PTSD for the rest of her life. But I am quite certain she stands a strong chance of overcoming the worst of it. She is very determined to do so."
"And you're offering her medical training?"
"She has a gift for the field, so as long as she wants to learn, I will teach her."
"Would you also teach me? I've been studying and training with Hershel, but the more teachers the better."
"I would be quite happy to. Perhaps we can set up classes and have Hershel and our other doctor all teach those interested."
Daryl laughs and tweaks Carol's hand at seeing her happy grin. "Gonna end up with a full house, doc."
"A society settled enough to pass on its skills is one not yet fallen beyond repair. I would be delighted with a full house of those learning to heal."
Funny thing is, Daryl thinks he would be, too, if all the children learning to defend and kill could only learn to heal instead. In their world, he supposes they'll settle for children who can do both, with each knowledge balancing the other.
Daryl can find delight in that, too.
A/N: a reminder that this story is part of a paired set of stories, and at times, action may shift between the two. If you feel like you missed a scene, check Hell is Yourself to see if its last chapter fills in blanks.
Eventually, the two stories will diverge more and be less intertwined once the reunion and adjustment period are over.
Poor Maggie. I need a contrast character with the oomph to speak up, so she's getting to be the grumpy one for a bit. She and Michonne will eventually work it out.