Chapter Thirty-Five: TS-19 (pt2)
The morose and solemn mood that had fallen upon the group following Dr. Jenner's declaration that he was the last scientist left working in the CDC had dissipated. Merry conversations bounced around the long table they were all seated at, all of them enjoying the spread the doctor had commandeered from the well-stocked kitchen.
The Māhoe girls were still a bit pouty over the blood drawing incident but the infectious mood had definitely struck them as they giggled happily around mouthfuls of spaghetti with tomato sauce. Most of the adults around the table were downright joyful as they continued to pass around one of the bottles of wine Dr. Jenner had broken out. Marie was just relieved that the tears had stopped when she gave Iolani a bottle.
Honestly, everyone was just so giggly and happy that Marie couldn't help but fixate on their expressions... the alcohol had worked wonders on the group. She had elected to stay as the sober one of their group, her brother and the Dixons gleefully downed glass after glass of wine. Someone had to watch the kids after all… and well, Marie was not a wine person. Though she couldn't help but snort at Carl's disgusted expression and loud "Ewww!" after trying some of it for himself. When Glenn put down his empty glass of wine on the bar he had perched himself on, Daryl protested loudly.
"Not chu Glenn. Keep drinkin' lil' man, wanna see how red yet face can git." he proclaimed which started off another round of laughter.
Merle chortled, "Be thinkin' same thing 'bout chu baby brotha!"
Marie only rolled her eyes as she set the now empty bottle down and burped the youngest Māhoe. After Iolani let out a quiet burp she settled him back into the sling across her chest and dug into her own plate of spaghetti, all the while keeping an eye on Ailani to make sure that toddler wouldn't accidentally fall off her chair.
Rick tapped his fork on his wine glass as he stood up to grab everyone's attention, "It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly."
"He is more than just our host." T-Dog stated as he raised his glass in the air.
"Hear hear!" was cheered around the room as they all raised their glasses.
Daryl, who couldn't seem to sit still for more than a moment raised the bottle he'd been carting around, "Heres ta you doc, booyah!"
Merle was quick to shout, "Booyah!" as well, a chorus of "Thank you" rang throughout the group and glasses clinked. Dr. Jenner smiled awkwardly and raised his glass before taking another sip of his wine. Marie only giggled softly when Leilani raised her own cup of orange soda and clinked it with Marie's. Her charges were just too cute.
"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" Shane asked, making the entire table go silent. The said man lowered his wine glass onto the table and looked at the deputy. "All the- uh, the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out happened, where are they?" Shane insisted.
"We're celebrating, Shane." Rick protested, "Don't need to do this now."
"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right?" Shane stated -bitterly- rhetorically, "This was your move- supposed to find all the answers. Instead we, uh," he snorted as he pointed at the doctor with his thumb in a dismissive manner, "we found him. Found one man. Why?"
"A supposed you'd a preferred we find nobody," Merle mumbled in annoyance as he snagged the bottle from Daryl and took a swig.
"Well, when things got bad," Dr. Jenner explained, "a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."
"Every last one?" Shane needled.
"No." the doctor stated, "No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides." uncomfortable glances were shared across the group as Dr. Jenner's stare unfocused and was redirected to the glass of wine in his hand, "That was a bad time."
"You didn't leave." Andrea piped up, "Why?"
"I just kept working, hoping to do some good."
Glenn hopped off the bar and slowly approached the full table as he eyed Shane, "Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man."
On Shane's part, he did look more than a little awkward with the doctor's revelation. Conversation didn't really start up again after that, although it didn't stop the Māhoe sisters from chatting with one another as everyone finished up eating their meal. The mothers of the group were quick to clear up the table and toss the paper plates in the trash before Dr. Jenner stood up from where he'd been nursing his wine and told them to follow him.
"Most of the facility is powered down, including housing, so you'll have to make do here." The doctor explained, "The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy." the blonde turned around to address the children that'd wormed their way to the front of the group, "Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power." he stood up and eyed the adults of the group, "The same applies- if you shower, go easy on the hot water." before walking away.
Her brother turned to look at her with glee on his face, "Hot water?"
"That's what the man said." T-Dog grinned widely.
Hot water that Marie didn't need to work for... it sounded like a dream. Laughs and excited grins were traded as they began to split ways. Glenn tugged her into a spacious-looking room with two comfy-looking couches and a bed pushed against the wall. "Here, we'll take this one for the night. Merle, Daryl, you're bunking with us, right?"
The Dixon brothers shared a look before nodding, "We's got stuff ta talk 'bout anyways." Merle grunted as they dropped off the bags in the doorway. The Māhoe girls started running, chasing each other really, around the room gleefully. Marie smiled at the scene as she plopped down on the couch tiredly.
"Well, should we talk first or shower?" Glenn asked as he huffed down next to her. Marie shoved his arm a little in warning, "What? Oh, sorry. How'd Ion fall asleep with all that noise anyway..."
She rolled her eyes before ignoring him altogether, "Maybe we should talk first. I'm gonna be too tired to talk after showering anyway."
"Sounds good ta me." Daryl grunted as he sat down on the other couch, Merle stretched out before joining him with a grunt.
"So... first impressions." Glenn prompted after running a hand tiredly through his hair.
"I don' like 'im. Jenner." Merle started, "If he's been alone fer so long it'll a started gettin' ta him."
Daryl nodded in agreement, "Don' see why he had take blood fr'm the lil ones either. Wasn' necessary."
"Don' even git me started on tha'." Merle growled out, "Almost knocked 'im on his ass when he said tha' he was takin' blood fr'm Ion."
Marie winced, "I don't want to remember that either... besides all that, well he didn't mention any of the safety protocols you talked about either Merle. How long is this place gonna last?"
The older Dixon nodded as he scratched the back of his head, "Saw a big clock counting down in th' 'big room.' We don' wanna be here when it reaches zero."
"What happens when the clock reaches zero?" Glenn piped up, worry clouding his expression.
Merle rubbed his chin, "I don' thin' we'll have to worry too much when tha' happens, I think the buildin's set ta self-implode or some shee-it like tha'."
"Oh, fuck … h-how am I not supposed to worry about that." Glenn gasped quietly in horror while Marie tried to keep her breathing even. Daryl looked furious.
"Then why's the hell we come here in th' firs' place!"
The girls squeaked in surprise but a quick reassuring smile from her relaxed them enough to start chasing each other again.
"Don' be givin' me no lip boy." Merle grunted angrily, "We's needed ta come 'ere anyway, find out more 'bout the fuckin' walkers. I didn' think tha' we'd have so lil' time."
"Okay, okay..." Marie hummed softly, "We just need to think for a moment, plan. We need to talk to Dr. Jenner. Ask him where he got his gun, for one, and start gathering supplies. Will we be able to stay the night without worrying, Merle?"
The oldest man in the room nodded, "Mmhmm, woulda say somethin' a'fore now if we needed ta be in a hurry. We's got till, I'd say, early evening tomorrow at the earliest ."
Marie nodded, "After I get the kids showered, I'm gonna go talk to Dr. Jenner. See if there's any medicine I can take with us."
"I'ma find his stash a guns, you comin' baby brotha?" Merle asked as he headed for the door.
"Hell, yeah." Daryl grunted and followed him out. It looked like the Dixons couldn't stay still anymore after Merle's revelation. Not that she could blame them.
She carefully lifted Iolani out of the sling and transferred him into her shell-shocked brother's arms, "Here, watch him while I take a shower with the girls." a small affirmative squeak escaped from his throat as she grabbed her and the girls' overnight bags and herded them into the bathroom.
The shower itself was amazing, even if she was sharing it with two little girls. The Māhoe sisters had thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Marie took the time to thoroughly shampoo and condition all of their hair. She even found a bunch of hair ties in the sink drawer so she took the time to make two tight french braids in Leilani's long hair before doing her own. After getting the girls in their pajamas she got them comfortable on one of the pullout couches Glenn had made up.
While her brother showered Marie quickly put the girls to sleep before making a make-shift bed for Iolani for the night. The Dixon brothers weren't back from their hunt for the guns just yet. Once Glenn got out she told him to mind the kids, since the older Rhee was still a smidge too drunk to be useful for anything else, and started looking for their host. She finally found him the 'big room' that he'd led the group through when they first arrived.
"It'll all be okay. It'll be okay." Dr. Jenner's voice echoed up to her. He was sitting at one of the desks, though his chair was turned away from it, as he faced Rick who was sitting on the ground as he leaned against one of the other empty desks. She hesitated for a moment before she walked down the ramp, her footsteps quickly drew the attention of both men.
"Am I interrupting?" Marie asked cautiously.
Rick shook his head, "Nah, jus' leaving." he slurred a bit as he stood up on shaky legs, fingers clenched tightly around the neck of a wine bottle, and began walking back up the ramp, probably towards wherever his wife and son had decided to sleep for the night.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Dr. Jenner asked curiously.
Marie nodded somewhat sheepishly, "Yeah, um, sorry to bother you at this time I know it's late..."
The doctor shook his head, "It's no trouble, I've had a hard time keeping track of the hours. My sleep schedule is off."
"Right," she nodded before deciding that being blunt would probably be better, "Listen, I'm really grateful that you decided to take us in tonight, and I'll probably sound like an ungrateful bitch, but I know this isn't going to last." she gestured to their surroundings as Dr. Jenner looked shocked at her blunt statement, "I mean, I don't know how this is all going to go down exactly, but a facility this big- well the powers gonna go out sooner rather than later. Right?"
Words 2110
(Hi!~ SO, I just wanted to take a quick second to say how floored I am by how much love this fic has been getting. I mean, over 400 followers and last week we capped over 300 reviews! Thank you all so much!)
(RaphaeltheCowboy: I'm glad you enjoyed the update! Things are slowly but surely changing... most of which will be more evident in the next part. We'll see about more storylines in the future. I have some firm plans for the future but I'm also flexible about some other things because not everything is set in stone... so, we'll see what happens!)
(Wondy-SW: Sigh... sometimes I wish that tags could be used to describe fics on this site, because Found-Family is a perfect way of describing this fic... at least there's ao3, LOL. You bring up some excellent points about fuel/gas for cars. It's definitely something I've thought about before too. I once read this fic where the character had the most tricked-out car ever because the engine somehow ran on solar power... pretty sure it's not possible, but I thought it was so freaking cool anyway. Never be disappointed in the lack of realism... although, sometimes it's because of the lack of realism that people decide to write fics anyway... I have now cornered myself between hating it and loving it... Only me. I love the Māhoe children too, and the Dixon-Rhee's. I always thought there was so much potential for Merle's character, and it makes me so happy to see that there are people out there who agree! Honestly, I kind of can't wait for the romance as well. I have so many plans for Daryl/Marie, and their heckling brothers... LOL. Super excited for Maggie too! I'm a bit nervous to do her character justice but I can't wait to start weaving Maggie into the dynamic! Thank you so much for your kind words! It isn't easy to find people that can relate to your situation. I hope your family is happy and healthy as well!)
(Hi . Ruby: LOL. I'm glad you enjoy the updates! Thank you for your kind words and review!)
(flawsome4ever: Thank you! :) )
(Beachgirl25: The FabFour are always planning something. I think the introduction of the kids only pushed their own need to always think ahead. I have never thought of or read a fic where Lori's pregnancy is discovered at the CDC, but that is such an interesting thought... though it might actually trigger the whole Shane/Rick thing even faster... I mean Rick would know right from the start that the baby isn't his -though he'd always assumed that- but that might set Shane on him faster. LOL, Lori would lose her freaking mind if Shane moved on with any of those lovely ladies... it's actually a pretty funny thought. I liked the Morales family, definitely planning on keeping them around! You have so many predictions and thoughts about the future! I always enjoy reading them! You know, I read a story once where Carl was the one to run off... but I don't remember how that one ended, LOL. I do remember that Sophia grew up to be a major badass like her mom. There's going to be a major change from canon in the next chapter and I can't wait to read your reaction! On that note, the next chapter is probably the longest one because of all the dialogue *wink, wink*... LOL. Thanks for reviewing!)
(NixieNora23: Thank you!)
(NaRuKo-InuTaiSHo-XD: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!)
(MADStar529: LOL. I know. Glad you enjoyed it!)
(purplemonkey36: Happy to know that you're enjoying this fic!)
(Sorry guys... No short today... but if you check out this fic on ao3 -it's been brought to my attention that I forgot to tell you guys that this fic is called "Geeks, Rednecks and Koreans... OH, My!" on ao3 while the series name for it is Ripple Effect like it is called here... LOL, my bad guys- you'll see I posted some pictures at the end of the chapter there!
Oh, and I have a TWD fic recommendation from that site too! I think ya'll would really like it; there's a badass resourceful mom and dogs... and a buttload of chapters already published [118 of them, yes 118] and it's not done yet. It's called: "Wash The Sins Away" by Shiniko1898. I swear, ya'll are going to love Coretta... and the changes in canon *wink, wink, nudge-nudge*. If anyone decides to read it let me know what you think!)
