Friday, March 5, 2010
Rick slowly walked the perimeter again that night. They'd made some progress on the dining hall wiring while he'd been gone and he'd helped do some inside work on the four-bedroom cabin on the first row when he'd returned. They wanted to get the dining hall up and running so they could cook large meals there instead of the farmhouse. Then the four-bedroom cabin so those of them in tents could relocate to a more comfortable sleeping area. They should be able to get the cabin done in a few days-at least to a point they could move in out of the cold. Not that the tents were cold with the heating they'd set up, but it would surely be more comfortable.
He made his way down toward the end row where the five-bedroom cabin would sit. He'd specifically requested this large cabin to accommodate his and Sandi's kids. It was next to his orchard and should be a peaceful spot for them to get away from the community when needed. Although, this time with a council he should have more free time. He sat on a stump he'd have to pull out for his future orchard and looked at the foundation for their house, envisioning what it'd look like in the future, when they were all finally living there.
"Am I interrupting?" He heard Lori ask from behind him. He turned to look at her.
"Not at all." He patted the large stump he was sitting on. It had been a large tree, there was plenty of room. "Have a seat."
She sat down and stared in the direction he was. "That's where you're gonna build?"
"Yeah. Ordered the largest cabin they have. It's gonna take some work but it'll be great once it's done."
"That's right. Sandi has kids, doesn't she?"
"Yeah. Four of them. Three girls and a boy." He chuckled, "Carl was just thankful to have another boy to conspire with against the girls."
"He's talked about them a little, but not much. I think he was worried about it hurting my feelings. I talked to him about that today, told him it was okay to love them. Even okay that he loved Sandi."
He looked more closely at her. "You were always a good Mom, Lori. I knew you'd want him to have another woman love him like a Mother. You need to know though, Sandi never tried to take your place. She let him decide what he wanted and just supported him as he needed."
She nodded. "It's all surreal, ya know? You don't generally get to find out what happened after you died. Or at least if I did I don't remember it." She hesitated a minute, and looked like she was searching for words. "I'm glad you found someone, Rick. And from what everyone says it was someone who suited you well." She glanced up at him nervously. "Honestly, it sounds like she suited you better than I did."
Rick huffed out a breath. "We did suit, but I still made mistakes. It wasn't perfect, no relationship is, but we made it work in the end." He laughed. "You heard what they thought of my methods at breakfast this morning.
She grinned at him. "I'm sorry, but you really, truly, told her your intentions when you first met her? What was that all about? You didn't used to want to talk about feelings at all."
"Well, a lot happened between now and then. I changed a lot, I'm sure you've noticed?"
"Yes. Some. You definitely speak your mind now. You're more driven, focused."
He nodded along. "Yes. All of that. I woke up and the world had ended. Then you know what it was like while we were learning, on the farm. It was a steep learning curve and then there was Shane."
Lori nodded along, remembering. They'd gone through a lot in a short period of time.
"Then there was the long winter, trying to survive and running from place to place. Trying to keep you and the baby alive. Then the prison and I lost you. Carl lost you." Rick's voice cracked then. It was still difficult to think of all the things he'd done wrong, how that had led to her death.
"You need to know, I didn't handle that well. I kind of lost my mind for a while. I did love you, I know I didn't show it, but I did."
She reached out and grasped his hand, squeezing tightly.
"I owe a lot of thanks to Hershel, Maggie, Daryl, Beth, Glenn, Carol...hell everyone for doing what needed to be done to keep Judith alive. For taking care of Carl. Because I lost it for a while and I was no good. I saw you everywhere, it seemed so real. I was basically an insane man after you died, Lori."
Lori said, hesitantly, "I know this makes me a shallow woman, but it's nice to hear that you missed me. I was so horrible to you…"
Rick cut her off. "No. I mean, yes, you made mistakes. But so did I. I should have talked to you sooner, but I thought there would be time. After the baby was born there would be time and we could work things out. I was just so angry right then."
Lori reached over and put her hand against his cheek. "I know. But I think you needed to be. And it's not your fault I died, just stop thinking that right now. But I need to ask you an important question. What was she like? Judith?"
"She was wonderful. She was so patient with me, once I finally got my head on straight she just accepted it like she was just waiting for me to get my shit together. And on the road, after the prison fell…"
"The prison fell?"
"Yeah." He looked at her with a slight smile. "We have a lot to catch you up on. Maggie might be the best at giving you all the details, but there was a leader of a town that wanted us dead and wanted the prison. So he destroyed it, scattered us. We finally found each other again at a cannibal's community," she gasped and he continued, "we escaped them but we were on the road for a long time after that trying to find a safe place. Judith, it's like she knew she had to be quiet. She was just patient with us all, even when she was hungry."
"She sounds amazing."
"She was. She will be."
"Do you think...do you think she'll still be born? Have I lost my chance with her?"
Rick shook his head. "I just don't know, I don't know how any of this works. But when I think of Judith I just can't believe she won't be here. So I have to hope. You need to as well."
Lori gestured to his future house. "Would it bother you if I lived close? Maybe across the street in that one-bedroom there? Just so I can still be close to Carl?"
Rick shook his head and Lori looked devastated. "I don't think you should take the one-bedroom. At least take the two-bedroom next door or maybe even the three-bedroom kitty corner to us. The two-bedroom would give you room for Carl but the three-bedroom would give you room for Judith one day when she joins us."
"You wouldn't mind me that close? With your new family? And I figured Carl would stay with you like he has in your tent. You'd let him stay with me?"
He took both her hands. "Lori. We are *both* still Carl's parents. I figure he'll probably stay with both of us based on what he wants at the time. This way he has room at either house. And I definitely don't mind if you live close, that'll just make collaborating for Carl easier. You've accepted that we don't belong together anymore and I appreciate it. That doesn't mean I don't still love you as the Mother of my child and want the best for you. Sandi will love you too."
There were tears in Lori's eyes when she said, "Thank you. If you don't mind, I think I'll take the three-bedroom and keep that hope for Judith alive. Even if I have no idea how that's going to work or if it'll happen. Obviously Sandi was good for you even if you did botch the courtship."
Rick rolled his eyes at that. "I didn't botch the courtship, no matter what they all told you. After everything we'd been through and after losing so many people, I just realized that instant attraction and chances like that didn't come along often. I was done waiting to see if things work out. So, I was being honest with her about it from the start. It's not like I wasn't going to respect her choices, but she needed to know where I stood on it. We had something pretty intense going on between us already and I'd only met her the day before. I wasn't going to ignore it and put it off just because people thought it was too fast. If I learned anything over those years, it was to take whatever happiness you could find with both hands as soon as you could. Because waiting only leads to losing that chance. I just needed her to know how I felt."
"That actually makes a lot of sense. I'm glad things worked out for you two. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I look forward to meeting her. She's coming to Maggie's cabin raising, right?"
"Yeah, she is. She and the kids. I want you to meet her as well. I think you'll like each other, actually."
Lori smiled. "You've changed a lot."
"Better?"
"Just different. But I'm glad we can be friends."
"Me too. And as your friend, can I make a suggestion?"
"Maybe. Depends what it is."
"Maybe give Shane a chance? He loves you, you know?"
She sighed. "I'm not sure. But my mind is open. I'm not holding what happened before against him."
"Glad to hear it. Also...remember that Carl is older in mind than his body is. He lived several years before this rewind happened. And it wasn't a kid's world anymore, he had to grow up fast. He's more mature than you think."
A bigger sigh came out this time. "I know. It's strange, but I know. He keeps reminding me too."
They sat there together for a while, watching the sun set in harmony. It was weird compared to his memories of their last time spent together, but he was grateful they'd found this peace.
/\/\/\/\/\
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Beth let go of her last bolt from her TenPoint Titan M1 crossbow, after she'd aimed carefully at the target. She'd been practicing for days with Daryl's instruction since the archery range had been finished and had challenged Carl to a contest this morning.
"Yes! Beat that!" She challenged, as her bolt hit the right edge of the bullseye, giving her a solid 9 for her last hit.
"I think I *will* beat that," Carl said as he positioned himself to shoot his last bolt.
"Don't go getting cocky now, remember your training," Daryl reminded him.
Beth did a little dance because she had done better this time than any other time. And...if it distracted Carl then that was a bonus.
"Daryl, this cocking device is amazing," Beth said. "Even that smaller crossbow was hard to pull but since you've put this on, my arm doesn't want to fall off after one shot anymore."
Daryl nodded. "Yeah, knew I had ta add somethin' special for you two. But the ACUdraw cocking device reduces the draw weight 'nough ya both can handle it. Glad they finally came in. We'll get ya both experienced enough ta take down walkers from the guard towers once we get 'em up."
Carl let his bolt loose. "Yes!" He crowed. "Take that Beth!"
Beth rolled her eyes. "You won by one point, big whoop. I'll take you tomorrow, I'm not worried."
"Don't get overconfident there, kid," Daryl told Carl. "I'm still gonna have ya both in the gym once the equipment gets here. Yer both too scrawny. I bet you'd fall over jus' runnin' down ta the farmhouse an' back. Yer a bite sized walker snack right now is what ya are."
Carl immediately bristled. "Am not. I could take a walker right now if I needed to. And I can run that, just you watch!" Carl took off in a burst of speed.
Beth just looked at Daryl.
"Well?" He asked. "Gonna let him jus' show ya up like that?"
She rolled her eyes again. "Subtle Daryl. Very subtle. I'm not a kid anymore even though I might look like one. I don't care if he wins. I'm just not that competitive."
Daryl heaved out a heavy sigh. "Fine. I'll give ya some pointers so ya can beat 'em at the targets next time. But ya need ta get that ass workin' out. Yain't dyin' this time girl."
"I don't intend to. That makes it worth it, and you can't teach Carl the same stuff for at least a week. Deal?" She grinned at him and held out her hand.
Daryl raised an eyebrow and shook her hand. "Deal. Not competitive my ass."
She just giggled as she handed off her crossbow to him and took off at a steady pace instead of running hell for leather like Carl had started out. He wasn't much of a kid anymore either, she knew that even if his body was smaller. But she did some track last year in school because there was a cute boy. Now she rolled her eyes at herself. Luckily even though the cute boy never looked at her, they actually made her run. She didn't think it was lucky at the time, for sure, but now she understood pacing herself and endurance.
She looked around the farm as she ran, still amazed at all they'd been able to do in just over a month. There was the archery range, they'd just finished that up a few days ago and Daryl had them all starting practice immediately. He said crossbows were silent and efficient and everyone was going to learn. She didn't mind, she liked being able to do it. It made her feel stronger. It definitely woulda worked better on Dawn than the stupid scissors, that's for sure.
She ran along the road that had been leveled and was ready to be paved that went from the cabins down to the farmhouse where another road went back up. They'd decided it'd help to have the roads paved at first at least. Carl had taken off through the cabins in the straightest shot toward the farmhouse. It was shorter, but at least on the road she wasn't gonna turn an ankle like she knew she would on the path he took.
Soon she approached the kitchen garden. Her Mom stood with her hands on her hips staring after Carl where he'd dashed passed on one side yelling out a hello. Her Mom turned and saw her coming along on the other side, raising her eyebrow at her in that way she had. She knew her Mom had planned on planting onions and parsnips today. She'd swing back to help when she was done. But first, Beth smiled and took a short detour and pecked Annette on the cheek quickly and then put on a burst of speed to step back onto the road and catch Carl.
"Hi Mom," she yelled behind her as she ran. Soon she was curving around the farmhouse and coming up the other road heading back toward the archery range. Carl was just ahead of her, on the road as well now, but she could see him starting to lag, so she just kept up a steady pace for now. She'd save her energy for the end.
She looked over the apartments as she passed. The outside looked great, but she knew they were working on the inside. She'd heard them say they were almost done with the drywall, so it sounded like the harder construction was almost done. Just cosmetic stuff now-painting, light fixtures, flooring.
The Laundry/Salon was barren in comparison. The concrete pad was poured, but that was all. As she approached the dining hall, it looked the same outside as the apartments, but she knew they'd been working on the inside as well and were further along than the apartments she'd just passed. She hoped they got it done soon cause her Mom really wanted the bigger space to cook in.
She passed another concrete pad for the second apartment building. That would get their attention last. They needed the space, but not until much later. She'd heard them say everything else was a higher priority for now.
She sped up a little as they were about to turn the corner back toward the archery range. She looked over the cabins that all had pads ready to put the prefab outsides up, except the first row that had all the walls and roof up. They'd finished one four-bedroom cabin enough that all the tent dwellers had bedrooms now. She knew the rest of the cabins were going to be the main target of their 'cabin raising' later today. Maggie was all excited about the idea and it did sound like it'd be fun with everyone here and helping, including their neighbors that were excited to get a closer look at the 'crazy plan' Hershel had started over here.
She turned her attention back to the race and surged forward on the last bit, running full out. Quickly she raced past Carl and hit Daryl's outstretched hand in victory.
"Ha! Take that Carl Grimes! You'll be the walker bait, not me!" Carl just shook his head at her as he tried to catch his breath.
She knew she had work to do, but she was gonna be ready. She was gonna be strong and never again would she be at the mercy of others like at Grady. Today was a start. Today was a good day.
A/N Got another update for you! I figured that Lori and Rick should have another conversation before Lori meets Sandi. It went pretty well, actually, so we'll see what happens when they meet. I also thought we should check in with the 'kids' so a little bit from Beth and Carl. Afterwards I wondered why I didn't include Duane, but figured he will be there later for the 'cabin raising' since Morgan's family haven't move to the farm quite yet. Plus Beth and Carl deserved a little time, they were friends before after all.
Next up will be the 'cabin raising' event. It's not written yet, lol. It's just a general idea of how things will go in my head right now. There will be Rick and Sandi time, of course, but I have a lot of people's perspectives I'd like to get in so this one event might actually take a few chapters to get through it all. There will be work done, but also interactions with both Team Family and neighbors and others. And some lighthearted fun after the work is done. And we can't do this without good food, Annette insists on feeding everyone, of course. :)
I know things are moving kind of slowly right now, but it's just how I see it in my head and they have a LOT to do to get ready. So many things to set up and have ready for success. So for those of you chomping at the bit for the walkers to come...well, we'll get there I promise.
Someone asked how often updates are. My goal is for once a week, sometimes I luck out and get something up more than that. It just depends on a lot of things, mostly time. I work full-time, have kids and a husband who need my time and all the other activities of daily living that have to be done. As long as I'm finding enough time to get a chapter up each week I'm feeling pretty good about it.
Anyway, again, thanks for reading my story, I appreciate you all and your feedback.