May 25, 2017
- Shane -
Shane wakes to sleepy baby sounds and slides out of the bed. He's not covert enough not to wake Scout, but the only time he's managed that was the few times she was sick or recovering from a rare slip into a PTSD episode. There hasn't been one of those for nearly four years now. While he knows it's something that will always lurk in the back of her mind, the timespan gives him hope that seeing her laid low like that will be a long time coming again.
His wife is content to let him be the first out of bed, and he's happy to let her sleep. She was the one up the most during the night last night, after all.
Peering into the side sleeper, he can tell that for once, he's made it there before Griffin woke his brother. Separating the twins so that the better sleeper, Cameron, could sleep more actually resulted in the opposite. The usually content older twin was inconsolable when Griffin was put in a separate bassinet. How the baby knew that his brother was in a different bed and not just down the hall with a parent, Shane will never understand.
Since Cameron does seem like he might snooze a while longer, Shane lifts his youngest son to his shoulder. "Hey, little man. Let's sneak off together and let the slugabeds sleep a while longer, okay?"
The soft giggle from where Scout's pulled the sheet up over her head makes him smile.
No matter how quiet he is going down the hall, he can't slip past Judith any easier than he can slip away from Scout. His six-year-old shadow follows him to the kitchen, sliding a stool to the sink and filling the kettle. He gets a couple of bags of donated breast milk out of the fridge and hands them off to Judith before going to make sure Griffin doesn't go from soggy to worse during his breakfast.
He spares a thought that the women who volunteered milk so easily for Scout's child probably didn't expect she would need a double order of it. Not that any of the various currently nursing mothers of Homestead cared. Their freezer shows it.
"You don't have to get up every morning you're here, Judy."
His youngest daughter shrugs. "I know, but I want to. I like helping with babies."
That's probably a good trait, considering she has two younger sisters and spends enough time with Rick's daughters that they've had visitors think she was his brother's child. Rick has never faltered in his promise that he would be the best uncle Judith would ever need. Considering the size of Judith's extended family of Dixons, that's a tall order.
No one really figured on Shane and Scout being the next one to add babies for Judith to oversee. Scout's inability to have children was just an accepted fact, and with Anaya and Judith, his wife never seemed to worry about that being the end sum of their family. That changed when he came home one day last summer to find her sister voicing an extraordinary birthday present for Scout.
There will come a day when Judith will understand the biological significance of Meredith, Shannon, and the twins to herself, but until then, it's the tiny brothers who hold her fascination. They arrived a full month early, as twins were prone to do, the first set of identical twins in any of the Georgia communities. But they're healthy and growing - and keeping Shane and Scout on their toes.
The kettle whistles that odd sound before a full boil. Judith scampers to the couch, climbing up and crooking her arm in an unspoken request for Griffin to be settled into her embrace. He tucks the baby into her arms and goes to thaw out the milk.
"You've got school today, right?" he asks Judith.
"Yeah. We did a science scavenger hunt yesterday, and today we're going to make a lab book with all that we found that we get to bring home to keep."
"Sounds like it's going to involve a lot of glue and coloring."
"Lots. But no glitter because it's not good for babies."
Shane would be happy if someone would ban glitter entirely, but so far, Carol's laughed off the not-quite-joking request. Luckily, Judith's not as enamored of the craft supply as Anaya and Abby were.
"Glad to hear that." He drops the two warmed up bags into the bottles and tightens the lids. Cameron hasn't woken yet that he can hear, but he's rarely more than half an hour behind his twin. No point in warming water twice.
Sitting on the couch next to Judith, he lets her take the bottle. Her bright smile as she gets the baby to latch on makes him slide an arm around her to hug her close. "Anaya should be home for a visit this weekend."
That had been one of their debates in his oldest daughter's apprenticeship, since Anaya turned sixteen at the beginning of May. With the boys on the way, Anaya initially decided there was nothing wrong with waiting an extra six months to a year before she apprenticed. The fact that she would go to Tybee or Jekyll was a given, since everyone knew the girl's true love was the ocean, whether swimming in it like the dolphins or learning to the workings of a boat that brought in catches to help keep the people of their communities fed.
In the end, she finally bent to the logic that going now was even better than later, since the babies wouldn't remember much of their first six months. Technically her apprenticeship should last a full two years, but it's not so far away that travel isn't fairly easy. He foresees a lot of time at the shore for the Homestead half of the family in their future.
Griffin is just finishing off his bottle when Scout appears with Cameron, the baby's tiny fist tangled in her braid like it's a source of comfort. It's still odd to see her wander the house in soft pajamas. The moment she saw the first ultrasound, long before they knew their special gift was going to be doubled, Scout announced she was retiring from the field indefinitely once the baby arrived. It will never cease to be strange to not see Scout leading her team out in the field, but as she said, it gives leadership experience to others.
"Good morning, Nåna. I've fed Griffin all his breakfast already," Judith announces, brandishing the empty bottle as Shane eases his son onto his shoulder to burp him. As good as Judy is about most baby care, burping is not one of her skill sets yet.
"So I see. Do you want to feed Cameron, too, or help with our breakfast?"
The six-year-old's eyes go wide, even as Shane lays Griffin down in the living room's playpen for a post-bottle snooze. "I'll help Tåta with breakfast, while you feed Cameron."
Scout laughs. "I figured we would let Tåta cook either way. Today is not the day I magically learn to cook eggs."
It isn't quite as bad as it used to be, where years of the military curtailed most ability or interest Scout had in the kitchen. But for some persistent reason, his wife cannot manage to successfully cook eggs if her life depended on it.
"Okay. Then I want to feed Cameron, too."
Shane just hides his grin as best he can, kissing Scout in passing as he heads for the kitchen. "Omelettes?"
"Of course," she replies, going to take his place next to Judith.
As he starts to crack eggs into a bowl, he watches his wife with two of their children and can't imagine any better life he could lead.
- Eugene -
Even though they've lived together for six years, Eugene will never cease to be amazed that his life includes Honey at its very center. They've never taken the formal step to being married that everyone expects, not that it matters much to their family. Ceremonies really aren't required for their family and friends to consider them irrevocably linked. He would give Honey whatever ceremony she required, but since that currently is still none at all, he's content.
The last four years they've lived at Hilltop, and honestly, he was surprised that Honey lasted that long before she followed her brother north. The family bets were that she wouldn't make it a single season. He didn't even have the chance to miss their original little cottage, because she promptly reconstructed its twin in the cluster of small homes that sprung up at Hilltop as the original FEMA trailers slowly outlived their usefulness.
He's going to have to take another shower, since he didn't make it out of his towel this morning before Honey lured him back to bed and undid every bit of cleaning he accomplished. She smiles down at him as she moves away to sit up, smiling with that same smug Cheshire smile she always has when she distracts him into losing a half hour with her.
"You headed out on patrol today?" he asks, sliding his fingers across the field of wildflowers that landscape her back. Tiny bees alight on the flowers, joined by other hidden wildlife. His favorites are a tiny mouse holding a sunflower seed near her right hip, and a spider spinning a beautiful web that spans onto her left shoulder. The garden continues onto her belly, with vines reaching between her breasts to curl against her collarbones.
She turns and leans in for a kiss, flashing the gender flipped Doctor Who quote that encompasses her left inner forearm. It matches the only tattoo he bears, which has the last lines of the quote curled around a pocket watch. He draws a finger gently along She's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun on her arm and smiles.
"Yeah. We're escorting one of the Solomons scientists back home and taking them some fresh produce in trade for enough tuna for us to be sick of the stuff by summer's end. You working on the new engine concept?" She reaches out and tugs his long ponytail lightly, winding the length of it around her hand. Her love of toying with his hair is why he thinks he would never cut it.
"Might as well. Eventually we'll get something more durable for ethanol than we currently have to expand our fuel capacities. If we could use the ethanol primarily for manufacturing, we can reserve biodiesel for the vehicles."
She lets his hair slide slowly from her fingers. "I need to see if Jazz minds me borrowing Logan for the day. Camille mentioned on the radio last night that they need someone to do some checks on their rabbits on the island."
"He'll probably enjoy getting a trip outside the walls."
"To go flirt with pretty girls who spend half their time on sailboats, you mean."
Eugene just laughs. "He's seventeen, Honey, that's to be expected. Danny's team is going, too, right?"
With the extra security patrols, they usually don't send out any fewer than three teams of four for security. All the teams are pretty good, due to Honey's training, but he likes the former Marine out with her best.
"Yeah. His team and Kenneth Sutton's." Honey stretches, her skin shimmering in the sunlight beginning to creep into their bedroom. "Going to shower. Wash my back?"
Eugene hasn't turned down that invitation in six years. He certainly isn't going to start today.
An hour later, he's standing near the gates, stealing one last kiss as he sees Logan's blond hair disappear into Honey's cargo truck. Danny leans out the window of the next truck, wolf whistling at them and laughing when Honey calmly flips him the bird. The former Marine looks far more like Logan's sibling than Honey does, but the two aren't the only blonds among the adopted Dixons.
Case in point is Eugene's own apprentice, climbing onto the running board to tease Danny into a sweet kiss. He wonders what the girl's father will think of that, but he can't see any Dixon objecting to one of Scout's Marines.
"We'll be home by supper," Honey promises as she climbs into the driver's seat and smiles down at him.
"We'll be waiting." Eugene steps back out of the way of the trucks, reaching a hand down to brush it across Augustus's greying head. They watch the gates shut behind the trucks, and he looks down at the elderly catahoula.
"C'mon, boy. Let's get to work."
- Carol -
Carol checks the guest room one last time. It's almost the end of her time in Virginia, and she always ends these trips with at least four or five days at the Kingdom. The early friendship she struck up with Ezekiel has endured for years, despite the vast majority of it being conducted through emails and the occasional radio conversation between her trips north.
His community is the spearpoint of them all, protecting their north in a way that Homestead protects the south and west, and Hilltop often sweeps into the Carolinas and the land gone wild with no humans to inhabit it. It's an easy system, although Carol often wishes that everyone were closer.
Shouldering her duffel bag, she heads for the stairs in the old dormitory that's slowly ceased to house the majority of the Kingdom's people as they spread out into permanent, individual residences like most of the communities under years of peace that make everyone look forward and not back. Pausing on the stairs, she feels a chill roll over her that she can't quite define. Shaking away the odd feeling, she continues on her way down.
She's reached the big communal dining hall that still serves meals to those who don't have the time or inclination to eat. Ezekiel waves her over, and she can see that Abraham and Michonne are both already seated with the king and his family for lunch. She slides into the seat opposite of Dianne, nodding to the blonde who serves as both queen and chief of security for Ezekiel now.
"Our scouts swept west to check on the cranberry bogs across the state line," he tells her. "They expect we'll have a bumper crop this year to trade with everyone."
"Something tells me that Homestead better start stockpiling shrimp," Carol replies as she heaps roasted vegetables onto her plate from the big serving bowl on the table.
"Shrimp, of course, but Shiva would also appreciate one of those large water buffalo."
Carol laughs at the blatant hint. "Shiva can have a water buffalo or two long before there are cranberries to trade. You know half my family is in love with her."
"We should figure out how to run a herd up here, if we can do so," Dianne suggests. "Although it would remove Daryl's excuse to visit with fresh meat for his friend if we did."
"I'm sure he would find some other animal that suits a tiger for a treat if he needed to," Michonne remarks.
The feeling from the stairs returns, and Carol can't focus on the conversation. She loses focus on the room, just breathing deep and trying to place what is wrong.
A warm hand on her arm jolts her back. Michonne's looking at her with concerned, dark eyes. "Is something wrong?"
"I don't know. I feel like I need to crawl right out of my skin."
"Dad!" A teenage runner skids to a stop, trying to catch his breath.
"Yes, Benjamin?" Ezekiel looks concerned, and from what Carol knows of the boy, this isn't his norm to be excitable.
"Daniel sent me. Solomons radioed in to Hilltop that the Hilltop patrols is three hours overdue. Hilltop alerted us."
That crazy cold feeling grips Carol fully. "Which patrols went out today?"
Dianne pulls a notebook out of a pocket on her BDU pants. Her expression softens as she looks back up. "Plans were for Honey to lead this patrol."
"I need to get to the radio," Carol says. Everyone is rising to their feet, and Ezekiel slips a hand under her elbow.
"I'll lead you to it."
Dianne splits off as soon as they're outside the building. "I'll gather our patrol teams. Abraham? If you'll do the same?"
The big redhead nods, disappearing without a word to round up his teams. Michonne stays with Ezekiel and Carol. The small building at the base of the water tower isn't that far away, but it seems like miles.
"Daniel! Do you still have Hilltop on radio?"
The blond man nods and cues the mike. "Hilltop, we have Carol and Michonne here."
It's Paul's voice that Carol hears. "Carol, Honey took three teams out to escort someone home to Solomons this morning around seven. They radioed in at the midpoint of the route she chose, but nothing since." He pauses, and Carol gets the horrible feeling he's about to add to her anxiety about Honey. "Logan went out on Honey's team."
Carol curses, understanding for the first time why men like to punch things when they're angry and afraid. It's not just her resourceful, Marine trained adult daughter out there, but her seventeen year old son.
"Is there any reason she might go radio silent?" Carol begins mentally running through protocols, coming up with a few.
"Yes, but there are silent alerts that go out. We got nothing."
"Alright. Dianne and Abraham are readying patrols. We'll start sweeps from here south. I'll ask Alexandria to send out a patrol, and you see if Solomons can help Hilltop by sweeping from the east."
"I've got four teams loading up as we speak."
Carol bids him farewell, while Daniel gets in touch with Alexandria to relay the request. When she steps back into the sunlight, Abraham is waiting, with body armor in hand.
"Let's get you and Chonne geared up and go find our people," the burly redhead says gruffly.
It's been years since Carol wore full military gear, but she lets Abe guide her through them. Once the last strap is adjusted, she turns back to Ezekiel, who is similarly geared.
"Do we raise the alarm with Homestead?" he asks, tying back his dreads with a soft fabric band.
Her first instinct is to say yes, because Merle needs to know. But she shakes her head, because Homestead is twelve hours away, and unable to help. "Not until we know more."
With luck, only one parent gets to be terrified today.
On a roadside, a bloodied blond crawls from beneath the too still body of a man he calls brother. His body aches from the bullet that tore through his ribs, but he's still breathing and not choking on blood. He scrambles through the EMT bag of one of his dead teammates, jamming the special pressure bandage in place where he can feel far too much blood outside rather than in. He gropes his back under the body armor and doesn't feel an exit wound.
The attackers left no vehicles and no obvious weapons, and he can only be grateful they aren't as well trained as his people as he applies another bandage to the graze wound that made a mess of the side of his head. Despite his injuries, he checks each body to make sure they won't turn.
At the end, he confirms what he hoped was trauma from the head wound. Honey isn't among the dead, which means he probably didn't hallucinate her limp form being shoved into a truck and driven away.
He lurches to his knees, vomiting from pain and fear. But then he finds one of her knives buried in the gut of an attacker and wrenches the curved karambit from the dead stranger. Slipping his blood slick fingers into the grips, he stumbles forward.
Alexandria is closest.
He has to find help.
One foot in front of the other, he ignores the fact that the dampness on his face is no longer just blood.
He rubs at the tears and walks.
A/N: I don't cliffhanger often, but... Maybe y'all won't drag out the torches and pitchforks just yet.
Poor Scout has the world's shortest military retirement... ️
And I think most had narrowed it down to Honey being Negan's captive by now, but if you hadn't...
The two major clues are the body modification and the garrote. Honey is the only female in RBM with a habit of modification (although it was still just a lot of piercings then), and Eugene vowed to be the Q to her James Bond. He is definitely the type that would design an underwire garrote.
Honey's tattoo is a genderflipped line from an episode with the 10th Doctor: "He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and can see the turn of the universe." The final phrase is "And he's wonderful."