Kate
The dress was black, with spaghetti straps and little tortoise shell buttons that ran down the front. She turned to the side in front of the mirror and tried to remember the last time she wore something that made her feel pretty. She loved the way it fit, snug at the waist and then flaring out to just above her knee. She'd had a dress just like it a long time ago, in green. She'd worn it to a baby shower for one of her best friends. She wondered what had happened to that friend, to the chubby cheeked baby boy she had named Mason. She looked away from the sad face in the mirror and busied herself with a pair of earrings, little gold, dangling feathers that she forced through the nearly healed piercings leaving her ear lobes an angry red.
She felt a bit ridiculous, almost like a little kid playing dress up in her mother's closet, wearing a dress and jewelry that wasn't hers and make-up applied too liberally with an unpracticed hand. She self consciously rubbed her tinted lips together and fought an urge to wipe the color off. She'd let her hair escape its typical braid and it fell in soft waves all the way to her waist, it had gotten too long and having it down felt vulnerable. She tried to push away the image of a walker's rotting hand wrapping around it.
"KATE!?" Carol called up the attic stairs. "We're heading over, you coming?"
"Just a second." She called back down. Crossing to the bed she dug through the pile of clothes that she had gotten from Olivia that morning. There was more than she'd hoped for, Olivia said it was the one thing they had no problem finding and Kate knew from their days at the prison that that was true. She had added another pair of jeans, two pairs of shorts, four shirts and some underwear to her wardrobe. She'd also gotten several things for Daryl, including the nicest black shirt they had. She picked it out of the pile now and grabbing a hanger from the closet she hung it off the knob of their dresser. He hadn't returned home since he stormed out of Alexandria this morning, but it didn't mean she didn't hope he'd change his mind and join her. It was a long shot, but she left the shirt there just in case and with a final glance in the mirror headed down.
Carol stood anxiously at the bottom of the stairs. Kate noticed she'd swapped one sweater and blouse for another and her hair looked fluffier than usual.
"Ready?" She asked impatiently, balancing a covered plate of cookies in one hand.
"I guess." Kate said unenthusiastically, making her way down the stairs slowly in a pair of sandals that didn't fit right. She knew she'd have blisters by the end of the night.
"You guess?"
"I don't know." She said, making a face. "I feel nervous."
Carol tsked, rolled her eyes and headed for the front door where Rick stood in a white, oxford shirt, Judith in his arms.
"Oh she looks soooo cute." Kate exclaimed, noticing that he'd put her in the pink dress and sweater she'd found for her today. "It's a little big, but you'll grow into it with all this food in your belly."
She reached out and tickled her little tummy and Judith rewarded her with a smile. Rick laughed.
"I think she likes it." He said. "You look nice."
"Thanks. You do too."
"So, he still roaming around out there?" He asked.
"I guess." Kate said quietly. She wasn't interested in discussing it in front of Carol. "Where's Michonne?"
"I'm coming." She called from the stairs, rushing to join them in a gray and white striped dress.
"Michonne!" Kate declared. She had never once seen Michonne in anything but pants. "You look…"
"Beautiful." Rick said, finishing her sentence. His declaration took all of them by surprise and it seemed to just hang in the air until an impatient Carl shouted from the porch.
"Let's go!."
Kate wondered why he wanted to go to the party so badly, it seemed like the last thing a teenager would want to go to, but she made her way to the porch just the same, trying to ignore the nervous flutters of her stomach.
The door to Deanna's home was opened by a tall, good looking man who introduced himself as Deanna and Reg's son, Spencer. They all mumbled their greetings and walked into the foyer of the Monroe's house. Even though the sun hadn't completely set yet, the living room was already filled with people, their conversations mixing with the soft sounds of a piano playing over stereo speakers. Bottles of wine, beer and liquor lined the dining room table and the smell of food wafted in from the kitchen. It was as if she'd stepped back to the days where gatherings like this were a weekly occurrence.
"Oh my!" Deanna exclaimed as she noticed them standing hesitantly just inside the door. "Welcome! It's so good to see you. Thank you for coming!"
She zeroed in on Judith, cooing and smiling like most people did when they saw the baby, before inviting them in. Rick and Michonne followed her deeper into the living room as Deanna called her husband over to meet Rick. Carol wandered towards the kitchen, placing her dish on the table as she greeted the women she'd met over the last couple of days. They stood close to where the food was spread out and started chattering happily about something.
Kate and Carl hung back like awkward teenagers at a school dance, trying not to draw attention to themselves. They watched Deanna's husband and Rick exchange compliments over glasses of bourbon while Deanna and Michonne clinked together glasses of wine.
"How come Daryl didn't come?" Carl asked her.
She looked at him and rolled her eyes.
"Being a dick again, huh?"
"Carl!" She said, but she couldn't help laughing. "Daryl will knock your head off if he hears you call him that."
He grinned. "I'm not afraid of him."
A teenage boy with dark, badly cut hair and freckles pounded down the stairs and greeted Carl with a complicated handshake. As goofy as Kate found it, she couldn't help the swell of happiness she felt that Carl had someone his own age to interact with.
"They have a foosball table upstairs. Wanna play?"
"Let's go." Carl said enthusiastically and then as if he suddenly remembered she was there he gave Kate a sympathetic look. "You wanna come up and play with us?"
Part of her, the part that felt conspicuous and awkward, wanted to. It would be much easier to go and play a game and ask teenagers how they felt about living here, but she knew that she should give Carl his space.
"Oh no thanks." She told him with a smile. "That dick might show up eventually."
Carl thought that was hilarious and he was still laughing as he followed the boy up the stairs. Kate sighed and looked around the party. At this point she'd even be grateful if Eugene showed up so she could stand silently with someone instead of by herself. She cursed Carol for insisting they show up so promptly and wished she'd hung back and waited for Daryl. Maybe he would've changed his mind. She knew she could go over and stand with Carol, making chit chat with the housewife types and she might've been ok with that if she could stand fake Carol for more than a minute. She considered joining Rick and Michonne who were still talking to Deanna and Reg, or at the very least taking Judith off their hands, but they all looked engrossed in a conversation and Deanna was happily rocking Judith on her hip. Somehow she felt like she'd be the fifth wheel in that grouping.
Finally the bookcases caught her eyes, standing at the end of the room like old friends and she made her way quickly towards them. Plucking a random title off the shelf she busied herself reading the back cover, keeping one eye on the door for someone she knew.
"No Country for Old Men. It's a good one, although personally I kind of liked The Road better."
Kate looked up from the book to find Deanna's son holding two glasses of wine in his hands. Kate didn't respond, a puzzled look spoke for her.
"The McCarthy book you're holding." He said with an amused grin. "I liked his other book better."
Kate looked down at the front of the book, and sure enough the name Cormac McCarthy stood bright white against red. She'd heard of him of course, but she'd never read him. She shoved the book back into its spot on the shelf.
He laughed. "Ok then. Well, would you like a glass of wine?"
"Thank you." She said, taking the wine glass he was holding out to her and examining his face. There wasn't a mark on it and that surprised her. Michonne had said Glenn had hit Deanna's son hard. "I'm sorry I don't remember your name."
"Spencer. You're Kate, right?"
"Yes…" She said, suspicious. It made her uncomfortable that all these new faces seemed to know her's already.
"I watched all the videos."
"Ah." She said uneasily. "The videos. I'm surprised you recognized me without the layers of dirt." She took a big sip from the glass and scanned the room again for anyone she knew.
He laughed again. He seemed to laugh a lot. Not a trouble in the world, just like his mother.
"Where's your husband, I wanted to shake his hand."
She made a face and swallowed the mouthful of wine. "Shake his hand? Why?"
"Because I heard he and Glenn taught my brother and Nicholas a lesson the other day. My brother is kind of a prick, I'm very supportive of any attempt at reminding him of that."
"Oh, you're not…"
"The guy who tried to pick a fight with Glenn? No."
It was Kate's turn to laugh and she relaxed a little knowing she wasn't fraternizing with the enemy.
"I'm much taller and better looking than my brother." He said smoothly. She was sure he'd said this exact thing many times over the years.
"Good to know."
"So what do you think of this place so far?"
"It's… literally unbelievable."
"It's amazing, isn't it? I'm a bit biased, but I think my mother does a wonderful job running everything. I guess it makes sense, being a congresswoman."
"I never thought I'd see a place like this again. It's so...normal."
He chuckled. "Relatively, but obviously you haven't met all the neighbors yet. Who've you met so far?"
"Ummm…." Kate looked around the living room at the little groupings of people talking, laughing and drinking with each other to pick out the few she'd actually talked to. "Well, of course we know Olivia and...Maia brought us dinner last night."
"That was nice of her, even if she was completely ignoring my mom's request that everyone give you some space." He grinned. "Who else thinks the rules don't apply to them?"
She laughed. "The woman in pink looks familiar." She said, recognizing the woman standing near the staircase as the one who was on the porch when Daryl had his outburst. "I think she's been by to visit."
"That's Erin." He said, making a face. "Be careful with her, she'll know everything about you by the end of the night and then so will everyone else."
"Ugh." She made a face, wondering to herself how many people had heard about the maniac with the crossbow. "That's good information to have."
"I'm full of it." He said and then paused and started laughing at himself. "I just realized how that sounded. I meant that I'm full of helpful information and I'd be happy to share it with you, if you share some with me."
"OK?" She said slowly, wondering what information she could possibly have that Spencer would find interesting.
"Beth."
"What about her?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Tell me about her." He said, smiling charmingly down at her. She could practically see the twinkle in his eye. "What's she like?"
"I thought you said you watched all our videos?" He didn't seem the type that needed help with women and she didn't want to feed Beth to a wolf.
"How old is she?"
She stared at him.
"I'm a nice guy. I promise."
She drained her wine glass and sighed. "Young. Like eighteen, maybe nineteen."
He smiled. "That's not too young. I thought you were going to disappoint me."
She made a face that he ignored.
"Ok...my turn...let's see." He leaned against the bookcase as they both viewed the room. "See the woman talking with my dad and Rick?"
Kate spotted the woman, she practically had Rick and Reg cornered and it was clear they weren't getting a word in. A brown headband pushed her red hair away from her face, revealing the creases of worry on her forehead. Whatever she was talking about seemed very important.
"That's Mandi. So get this, Mandi doesn't believe everyone turns into rotters when they die."
"What? No way." Kate challenged.
He nodded.
"I think a lot of people thought that at first, but how can she think that still, after all this time? How does she explain unbitten people turning?"
"She hasn't really seen anyone turn. She's been here, behind the walls the whole time."
Kate's mouth fell open. The idea that there was anyone left who hadn't watched people die had never occurred to her.
"But you've lost people."
"Of course, but she didn't see it."
"So, what, she thinks you guys are lying to her?"
"She thinks the only people who turn are those that were vaccinated by the government when it all first started. She claimed her cousin or someone she knew was in the military and that he told her it was true."
Kate looked at Mandi with a mixture of wonder and anger. She remembered finding out they were all infected, just after losing the farm. They were standing in the middle of a road, freezing cold, desperate to be somewhere safe and warm and Rick dropped the truth on them. She didn't blame Mandi for not wanting to believe that something ugly and destructive was lurking in the living, waiting for the chance to take over. She hadn't wanted to believe Rick, but he'd heard it straight from Jenner at the CDC, and she'd seen too many times over how true it was.
"She's also very concerned with dentistry." Spencer added.
"Dentistry?"
"Yes, she was very disappointed that no one in your group was a dentist. She's probably talking about it right now. Dental health is very important to her."
"We were just happy we had a veterinarian in our group for so long, you guys have a surgeon. She has no idea how good she has it!"
"Ok, your turn." Spencer said, moving on easily while Kate stared fascinated at Mandi as she continued to talk to Rick and Michonne, her face intense and serious. "So...Beth isn't with anyone in your group, is she? Seems like you're all paired up."
"It does?"
"You and your husband, Maggie and Glenn, Rick and Michonne."
"Rick and Michonne aren't together."
They both looked across the room at the pair in question who at the moment were standing so close their arms touched. As if to prove Spencer's point, Rick reached over and grabbed an olive off Michonne's plate and popped it in his mouth. She smiled at him.
"They sure seem together." He said with a shrug.
He wasn't wrong.
"I'll assume that Beth is single then. Alright, don't look now," He whispered conspiratorially, but that woman there by the fireplace." He gave an exasperated sigh. "I said don't look."
"Ok, sorry." Kate said, giggling.
The fireplace was only about 6 feet away from them and Spencer had turned his back to face away from it and whispered.
"That is Mrs. Neudermeyer. Susie. She is the most boring person in this entire room."
"We should introduce her to Eugene."
"Oh yeah, I saw his interview." He pulled a face. "Yeesh, how's that guy still alive?"
Kate thought of Eugene's lies and how Abraham would've shot the rest of them dead if it meant Eugene could live; until he found out the truth anyway. She was positive this wasn't a story Spencer should hear.
"Just lucky I guess." She mumbled.
"I guess." He repeated. "Anyway, despite her lack of personality, Mrs. Neudermeyer runs a hell of a book club, so, if you know, you're interested in books," He motioned to the bookshelves they stood in front of. "Then she's your woman."
The doorbell rang.
"Excuse me a moment." Spencer said as he headed back to fulfill his duties as doorman for the evening. Kate looked back at the bookshelf hoping it would keep Mrs. Neudermeyer at bay and listened to see if she could hear Maggie or Glenn introduce themselves at the door.
"Good evening Pete. Jessie." She heard Spencer boom. "Sam! Good news my man, there is a plate full of cookies on the table, if you hurry you might get some."
Kate watched a husky, blonde boy make a beeline for the food table and a woman call after him not to run.
Pete stepped into the living room and spotted Kate hiding by the bookcases. It wasn't Maggie or Glenn, but Kate was relieved it was someone she knew.
"Chicago!" He said warmly, moving towards her and offering her a hug. "Honey…" He called out, waving a blonde woman towards them. She took a few hasty steps across the rug and stretched her hand out to shake Kate's.
"Honey, this is Kate, she's the one Deanna assigned to the infirmary. Kate, this is my wife Jessie."
"Kate! Of course." The woman said with an easy smile. "So glad to meet you. Welcome to Alexandria!" She looked a little bit like Allison and it made Kate like her immediately.
"Can I get you two a drink?" Spencer asked.
"A scotch for me, thanks Spencer. Jessie will have a glass of red."
"No problem." He replied and pointing at Kate's glass added, "And you need a refill."
"No, I'm good." Kate said. She could feel the flush of the wine in her cheeks, she hadn't eaten yet.
"I'm getting you a refill." He insisted, plucking the empty glass from her hand.
"Where's Darren?" Dr. Anderson asked, looking around the room.
"Darren? Oh Daryl, uh, he isn't here tonight. Headache." She said, hoping she was being convincing and feeling a little angry at him for putting her in this position to begin with.
"Oh dang, I'm sorry to hear that." He replied. "I was looking forward to getting to know him better."
"He was sorry to miss it." She lied. "He was hunting today, I think he got too much sun."
The idea was laughable, they'd spent days upon days under the hot sun and Daryl never seemed even slightly bothered by it.
"Look who it is!" Pete exclaimed, suddenly distracted.
Kate smiled gratefully at Glenn, Maggie, and Beth as they walked into the party looking unfamiliar in their new clothes.
"How's the snake bite?" Pete asked Beth as she joined their little circle at the bookcases.
"Better." Beth said with a smile, looking down at her bandaged arm. "Thank you."
"Glad to hear it." He said. "This is my wife Jessie. Jessie this is Beth...and I'm sorry I haven't met the rest of you yet."
"Nice to meet you." Beth said quietly to Jessie. "This is my sister, Maggie and my brother-in-law, Glenn."
Glenn and Maggie smile politely and traded handshakes with the Andersons.
"You're her sister!?" Pete said, surprised. "For some reason, when I met you in my office I thought you two were sisters." He motioned between the two blondes.
"I got my mama's dark hair and Beth here looks like our Daddy's mother" Maggie explained.. "No one ever thought we were sisters growin' up either."
"Beth here met a copperhead out on the road." Pete explained to his wife.
"Oh no!" She exclaimed. "The dog we had when I was a kid was bit on the muzzle by one once. Poor dog's face swelled up to three times the size…"
Pete cleared his throat and shot his wife a stern look. Jessie trailed off.
"Mrs. Anderson, merlot for you." Spencer said, swooping in, balancing several drinks in his large hands. " Doctor, your scotch."
"Thank you Spencer."
Kate reached over and rescued her wine glass and Spencer looked at her and motioned at Beth with his eyes..
"Oh guys, this is Spencer. Spencer, this is Maggie, her husband Glenn, and her sister Beth." She watched him shake their hands. "Spencer here is Deanna's other son. Spencer is the...what was it you said? Taller, better looking one?"
Spencer chuckled nervously. "Did I?
"I think you did." She said grinning.
"Well, so far you're my favorite one." Glenn said good naturedly, reaching out to shake Spencer's hand.
"Well, uh...can I get you guys anything to drink?"
DARYL
He was disappointed to find her gone. The whole way back he'd been entertaining the hope that she'd have let the others go ahead to the party and she'd be there waiting for him. He thought maybe he could talk her into skipping the party altogether and then they could have the house to themselves, just the two of them. Maybe they could watch a movie. Maybe they could fuck on the couch. Instead he found the house dark and empty.
He'd spent the majority of the day tracking a horse with Aaron. He wasn't sure why, except that it gave him something to do while Aaron followed him around trying to convince him that the people of Alexandria weren't as bad as he thought they were. Half the time it seemed like he was trying to convince himself as much as he was Daryl, admitting the community was having a hard time accepting him and Eric as a couple. Daryl didn't really know how he felt about Aaron and Eric either. He wasn't exposed to a lot of gay people in his life and he knew how Merle and his old man felt about it. Still, Aaron seemed like a good guy, and what did Merle and his old man know anyway.
In the end the horse ended up devoured and Aaron went back home, probably to clean up for the party he was encouraging Daryl to go to. Daryl thought his spirit seemed a bit broken and it bothered him. The fact that he cared how Aaron felt took Daryl by surprise. Daryl stayed outside the gates, giving a half-assed attempt at hunting and avoiding the house as long as he could.
Now he was standing in front of the refrigerator shoveling cold, leftover duck into his mouth with his fingers. It was greasy and there wasn't enough to make a meal out of, but it was good. Sticking his head under the faucet he slurped up some water and stood looking around the empty, dark living room. There was no reason he couldn't still watch a movie.
He scanned the row of DVDs quickly and picked the first movie he liked - 12 Monkeys. He shoved the DVD into the player and settled in on the couch, kicking off his boots and resting his sweaty feet on the coffee table. He wished he had a beer.
Thirty minutes in and he was regretting his choice.
"Fuck this." He said to the screen. He remembered he'd loved this movie the first time he saw it, but he didn't really feel like watching a story about a virus that wiped out the human race. They hadn't gotten it right anyway. He turned off the television and tossed the remote control onto the table. He stared at the black screen and then with a sigh he went upstairs to get dressed.
KATE
Kate sprayed a liberal amount of spray cheese on a cracker and added a couple baby gherkins to her plate. She spied Maggie across the table sitting on one of the barstools at the kitchen island and moved to join her, picking up a half full bottle of wine off the table on her way.
"Is Beth funny?" Maggie asked as Kate took the barstool next to her. "I don't remember her being funny, but he sure keeps laughing."
Kate followed Maggie's gaze and watched Spencer as he dipped his head down towards Beth. She whispered something to him and Spencer threw his head back and chuckled loudly. Kate snorted and filled Maggie's glass and then her own.
"Why does she always attract guys like that?"
"Guys like what?" Kate laughed..
"Guys who look like they'd put a drug in a girl's drink at a bar."
Kate laughed again.
"You think I'm being ridiculous." Maggie said grumpily.
"I think you're being a big sister." Kate said. "Plus I don't think Jimmy was old enough to set foot in a bar, much less slip anything in anyone's drink."
"Jimmy doesn't count." She dragged her eyes away from Spencer and Beth and looked at Kate. "God that seems like a long time ago doesn't it?"
"Standing here with a chilled glass of Chardonnay I would say it seems like a lifetime."
"Ladies!" Deanna said, approaching them with her arms spread out as if she intended to hug them both. They stood and she did just that, throwing an arm around each of them at the same time and air kissing their cheeks. "I wanted to introduce some of the women here from the neighborhood who can't wait to meet you both. This is Theresa, Barbara and Erin." She said motioning to three women standing closely together and flashing big smiles. "This is Maggie Rhee and Kate Dixon."
The women exchanged handshakes and nice-to-meet-yous and Kate reminded herself that Erin was the one that Spencer had warned her about.
"Maggie will be working with me." Deanna explained to the women. "I've enjoyed getting to know her these last couple days and Kate here will be starting in the infirmary soon."
"Tomorrow actually." Kate said.
"I'm not sure what you did to impress Pete," Deanna began. "but he was adamant about having you work with him."
"I live right across from the infirmary." The tall woman in the middle offered. Kate couldn't remember if she was Theresa or Barbara, but she'd heard so many new names tonight it probably wouldn't matter, she'd have to learn them all again anyway. The woman was thin with shoulder length blonde hair and improbable as it was, perfectly manicured nails.
"Aaron and Eric live on one side of me, which, you know, is interesting." She gave a little chuckle and her friends exchanged amused glances. "Maia lives on the other side of me. Have y'all met Maia yet?"
Maggie nodded her head. "She made us a delicious dinner the other night."
"Well, I would've loved to have dropped something off." The woman said in a sugary, sweet voice. "But Deanna, I thought you said we were supposed to let them have some space."
"Well, Barb, I suppose some people interpret my suggestions differently than others." Deanna explained with a little roll to her eyes.
"Well, then, I hope you both will come over sometime to my home for tea." She offered. "I would love to get to know you better and hear about some of your stories from beyond the walls."
Kate and Maggie smiled politely, becoming more and more aware that for most the residents here they were more a sideshow attraction than anything else.
"Carol was just telling us tonight about how Rick was reunited with his wife and Carl." Erin added, placing a hand over her heart. "What an amazing story! It brought tears to my eyes."
"Of course it's so sad that he ended up losing his wife after all they went through to find each other." The other woman, Theresa, said. "Poor Rick, alone in this world raising his son and that sweet baby. I'm just heartbroken over it."
Kate didn't think she looked heartbroken.
"How did it happen?" Erin asked.
Kate felt Maggie stiffen next to her. Kate could feel her own face contort as she grappled for words.
"I don't really think that is something we want to talk about." She said quickly.
"You know what I want to hear about?" Deanna interjected, her ability to read people far better than the others. "Is how the two of you met your husbands."
The women, as if on cue, let out breathy sighs.
"Yes, please, we'd love to hear." Erin said. "I'm so curious."
Kate and Maggie looked at each other, daring the other to go first, until Maggie, unwilling to disappoint her new boss, started.
"Well, the group, Rick's group, found my family's farm. They needed medical care and my Daddy was a veterinarian. Glenn was with them and we did a couple runs together and got to know each other. We've been together ever since."
Kate approved of Maggie's omission of most of the details. These strangers were desperate for entertainment, but the wounds they all carried were none of their business.
"And y'all had a wedding then?" Barbara asked. "You call him your husband."
"Yes, my Daddy married us. Married Kate and Daryl too."
"Wow, he was a veterinarian and a preacher?" Barbara exclaimed.
"Somethin' like that." Maggie added.
"What about you Kate?" Erin asked. "I have to admit, I'm very curious how you ended up with ...is it Daryl? You seem like such an odd match."
"How so?" Kate asked, knowing perfectly well what Erin was getting at.
"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but he looks like he used to rob gas stations for a living."
Her friends giggled.
"Erin!" Deanna admonished.
Kate felt her face go hot. She'd known women like this before and she was never prepared, never knew what to say until it was far too late. A week from now she'd probably be in the shower or doing dishes and going over her words for the millionth time when the perfect response would pop into her head, but here in the moment she couldn't think of the right thing to say to defend her husband.
"Daryl is about the nicest man you'll meet." Maggie said quickly. "He'd give you the shirt off his back, take a bullet for you, put himself at risk to save someone else. There is nothin' odd about their match, if you just take the time to get to know them before you go judgin' someone on their appearance."
"Well, I certainly didn't mean anything by it, it was a joke." Erin laughed defensively. "I'm sure he's a perfectly nice enough man or Deanna wouldn't let him be here, now would she. He just looks a little...rougher than most, that's all and Kate, honey, you look like you were the homecoming queen."
Kate supposed Erin meant that last part as a compliment, something to sweeten up the harsh words, but Kate let the silence hang between them.
"So tell us how you two ended up together." Barbara finally said. "I love me a romantic story and Lord knows we haven't heard much of them lately."
The last thing Kate wanted to do was talk about the beginnings of her life with Daryl, it felt too much like being ok with the things that were said.
"There isn't much to tell." She said. "We met at the beginning."
"Oh you've got to give us more than that!" Barbara whined.
Kate was just starting to wonder how she could excuse herself to the bathroom without abandoning Maggie when Rick walked up holding Judith and the conversation devolved into baby talk as the women took their turns pinching her cheeks and grabbing her chubby fists. Kate couldn't tell who they were actually more excited to see, Rick, or the baby.
Judith let out a cranky wail.
"I think she's tired." Rick said apologetically. "It's past her bedtime."
Kate saw her opportunity.
"I'll take her home Rick."
"Kate, I'll do it. I don't want you to miss..."
"I don't mind at all." She said, reaching out to take Judith in her arms. "Thank you so much Deanna for having us. It was a nice party."
As Kate made a hasty retreat, she heard Erin say to Rick, "Tell us about waking up from a coma to this mad world."
Kate walked out the front door and into a wall of hot, humid air filled with the rattle hum of cicadas. She barely made it off the porch when she heard the wooden screen door smack closed behind her.
"Kate! Wait!"
She didn't recognize the voice, but she stopped and turned reluctantly back towards the house. It was Jessie and she made her way quickly down the steps to meet Kate in the street.
"Don't worry about those women." She said. "I heard what Erin said about your husband."
Kate shook her head dismissively and shrugged.
"Really, it's fine."
"It's not fine. It's rude. Believe me, I know. She still can't get over the fact that a doctor, a surgeon no less, would be married to a lowly hairdresser like me. She makes little snide comments every chance she gets."
Kate took a deep breath, trying to figure out what to say. Disappointment weighed heavy on her heart. Disappointed that women like Erin still existed in this world, disappointed that she stood speechless while Maggie came to Daryl's defense.
Jessie's face softened and her mouth turned up in a kind smile. She reached out and took Kate's hand in her's.
"I just don't want you to think that we are all like that." She squeezed her hand. "Every community has its "Erins", but most of us are nice people.
Judith let out another tired wail.
"Oh sweet, tired girl." She said, releasing Kate's hand to pat Judith's back. Judith rubbed at her eyes with her tiny fists. Jessie looked at Kate again, but the smile had been replaced by the worried frown again. "Ok, I'll let you get her home. Pete is probably wondering where I've gone."
Kate watched her turn and head back to Deanna's.
X
Kate laid awake in their bed, unable to sleep because she didn't know where Daryl was. She eyed the empty hanger, suspended from the dresser knob - proof he'd come home, gotten dressed in the shirt she'd found for him and then left. He wasn't at the party, at least not when she had been there and she had a hard time imagining he'd made his way down there and decided to stay if he knew she'd gone home. Unless, of course, he was still angry at her. He deserved to be, she guessed, after all she'd been selfish. She knew that now. She was so desperate for normalcy, for a home - for the hot water and flushing toilets, that she dismissed his concerns so easily. But now, with Erin's words seared into her heart, she knew she was wrong. She still wanted to stay, still thought this could work - but not if it meant that Daryl was miserable or treated poorly. If he wanted to leave, she would. That had always been true.
The windows in their bedroom were open, but the muggy air outside didn't help cool the room. She'd opened them wide to listen for movement on their street. She was pretty sure that Glenn, Maggie and Beth had returned to their house next door, but no one from Kate's house was back from the party yet. She had arrived home to a dark, empty house, feeling vulnerable and strange as she felt around for light switches she hadn't memorized with a sleeping baby in her arms. She had gotten Judith down easily in the tiny crib that was pushed into the corner of Rick's bedroom before heading upstairs to her room, leaving the door open so she could hear if Judith cried out. She'd put away the pile of clothes she'd left on their bed (that was when she discovered Daryl's empty hanger) and picked an outfit to wear for her first day at the clinic in the morning. She'd brushed her teeth and wiped the make-up off her face, feeling silly for putting it there in the first place. When everything else was done she traded the pretty black dress for a gray tank top and a pair of shell pink underwear and crawled into bed trying her best to not let her mind wander to dark places.
She would've sworn she hadn't fallen asleep, not completely, but when she opened her eyes she saw Daryl standing at the open window staring down at the suburban street. She threw the sheet off and got off the bed, silently crossing the floor and feeling him jump as she slipped her hands under his arms and across his bare chest.
She kissed his back, a peace offering. He glanced back at her, the edges of his mouth turning up in a smile that looked sad to her. He put his hand around her's and looked back towards the dark, empty street.
"How was your party?" He asked.
She sighed against his skin. "I owe you an apology Daryl."
He turned in her arms and looked at her carefully. She knew he was trying to see if she was upset, if she'd been crying.
She shook her head to an unasked question and took his rough face in her hands. He looked wounded and boyish and she wanted to just fix it all if she could. "I've been selfish. I haven't been listening and I'm sorry. We can go. You're my home Daryl, I'll go anywhere with you."
He nodded, looking at her so intensely she felt exposed. He kissed her, slow and softly. He tasted like garlic and tomatoes.
"I want to stay." He said, his voice low and gruff.
"You do?" She asked incredulously. She was suspicious, afraid he was just saying that for her sake.
"I was at Aaron's tonight."
"How'd you end up there?"
He let out a deep breath and ran a hand over his face, pulling away from her and falling into the oversized armchair in the corner of the room..
"I was going to go to the party. I got as far as the tree across from Deanna's place. I stood there for a long time looking at the windows and listenin' to everyone. I just couldn't go in. I'm sorry, I know you wish I was…"
She shook her head. "Don't Daryl...I don't wish you were anything but what you are. Finish telling me about Aaron's."
He nodded. "I headed back to the house, but he was on his porch when I walked by and he asked me to come in for dinner. Spaghetti."
"Good?"
He raised his eyebrows over sleepy eyes and nodded. She laughed.
"He gave me a job Kate."
"He did?!" She moved towards the chair, kneeling down in front of him.
"Wants me to recruit with him. Says he knows I know the difference between good and bad people."
There was real emotion in his voice and although the idea of Daryl out recruiting scared Kate, she smiled encouragingly.
"Did you say yes?" She asked, part of her hoping he'd declined, but knowing better. She was afraid her voice was betraying her, it sounded higher and squeaky.
He nodded. "I want to try to make it work here."
"Me too." She agreed. "But we can go if we need to."
He kissed her again and pulled her onto his lap, slipping a hand up her shirt.
After they made love they stayed in the chair, naked and sweaty, and lazily stared out the window. Her fingers moved up and down his forearm and he kissed the tip of her shoulder.
"I've got to meet Carol and Rick again in the morning."
"For what?" She asked, remembering her irritation this morning at finding the three of them coming in the gate.
"Carol planned to take some guns from the armory tonight while everyone was at the party. I wasn't supposed to tell you."
Kate scowled, but she held her tongue. Her anger was towards Carol, not Daryl. Not anymore.
"I'm gonna tell her I don't want one. I'm gonna tell her that I want to make it work here."