A/N: In order for readers to keep up with the flow of the Reunion arc, I'm going to label them in the correct order, despite being on alternating stories. So yesterday's chapter of Furnished will be Reunion, Part 1, and the rest will be labeled as a guide. I'll keep alternating chapters until Reunion is concluded.
October 15, 2010
Despite the warning Morgan delivered, Shane isn't really prepared for the shock of seeing Sophia wrapped in her mother's arms. It's the day he's both dreaded and hoped for, because the longer Carol was absent, the more he began to think he gave Sophia false hope that Daryl would keep the woman alive. But here they are, and he can't see much of Carol because Sophia's growth spurt puts the girl at her mother's height, and steady work with Michonne in martial arts has been putting muscle mass on her, too.
Daryl Dixon, however, he's got a clear view on, and he can see the moment when the pin drops for the other man. While recent contact with Merle disabused him of the idea that Merle fried any brain cells he once had, he's never been able to completely bury the instinctive reaction that Daryl's native intelligence is probably shrewder than his own. The man's broad shoulders shift, but before he can make any move, Shane feels a heavy arm drop across his shoulders.
"Now, baby brother, whatever thought is in your pretty little head right now, you best drop it right now." Merle's voice shifts from irreverent to stern paternal by the end of the sentence, and the effect on Daryl is instantaneous.
The hunter flicks his gaze between Merle's face and the arm around Shane's shoulders, reading exactly the message Shane knows Merle's sending. He sure as hell didn't expect the big redneck to make an open declaration of whatever this is: brotherhood, protectiveness, whatever. But the second Sophia squirms free of her mother's embrace to look at what has Merle riled up, he makes the connection.
Merle and Shane have the solid beginnings of a friendship between them, but Merle Dixon adores Sophia.
Sophia's eyes widen, and she backs up a couple of steps, her own chin coming up stubbornly as she deliberately steps in front of him, and Shane thanks instinct that has him reaching for her elbow nearest her belt knife and gun. She did pull a gun on Merle once to protect him, after all.
"Let's not add both Dixons to your list of people you've threatened to shoot, Fee," he says softly.
She relaxes into the touch, letting her attention drift back to her mother. Carol's watching the interplay, tears still evident on her face. Once the woman's gaze falls on the protective hand at Sophia's elbow and back to Merle's arm on Shane's shoulders, something clicks for her. She's not as gentle when she wraps a hand around Daryl's right bicep, but the intent is the same.
"I think maybe we have a lot of stories to exchange," Michonne says, smiling to diffuse the situation. She's scooped up Andre, who is responding to the ebb and flow of tense emotions among the adults. He looks near tears, his face half-buried in his mother's shoulder. "No sense in frightening the children any more, all of you."
There's steel in the woman's voice that draws Carol's attention to her. "I would very much like to hear everything," she says, voice husky from the tears she shed on reuniting with her daughter.
"Let's head upstairs. I've got enough food for three extra, but y'all might want first dibs at it."
It takes Shane's very soft spoken, "Fee, take your mama upstairs and show her around," to get Sophia to stop eying Daryl like he's the antichrist.
She offers her mother her hand, finally deeming to notice the third visitor, but he doesn't seem to raise her hackles the way Daryl did inadvertently. Shane never thought to really prepare her that most reactions to him are going to be exactly like Daryl's. She knows what he did, almost all of it, but that's different than living through it.
"Anyone sent word next door that we've got visitors?" he asks Michonne. Andrea and Eastman are normally back by dark, but he can't imagine either the feisty blonde or the psychiatrist not being present for a reunion like this.
"Elwood said they were almost finished repairing that coop the raccoons tried to dismantle and to not wait supper on them." Michonne motions toward the stairs, although she eyes the third visitor as Sophia leads Carol upstairs. "The other two don't need an introduction, I suppose, but you don't match any of the descriptions I've heard from these two."
The bearded man smiles and offers a hand to Michonne. "Paul Rovia. My people only recently crossed paths with Daryl and Carol, and I came with them today to show them where we found Sophia's notes."
Michonne takes the hand and somehow gets the man to follow her upstairs, skillfully leaving just Shane and the two Dixons.
Merle waits until they're out of sight to drop his arm from Shane's shoulders. "Now, baby brother, reality is like this. You're gonna hold your horses until you've got all the facts, not just the ones spoonfed to you by that pansyass Officer Friendly, or I'll put you back on the other side of the fence my own self. You got that?"
There's no room for argument in Merle's tone or body language. Shane believes him at this point, that he would honestly evict his brother off the property if he won't follow the rules Merle's setting down.
Daryl nods, still watching Shane through narrowed eyes. "Guess I don't have much choice, do I?"
"That does seem to be the situation." Merle scratches at his scruffy chin and allows his body language to relax, flowing from ex-Marine to relaxed redneck with the motion. "Now get your skinny ass upstairs before Chonne takes offense you aren't eager for the food she's putting in front of you."
Shane decides to provide the example, even though turning his back to Daryl with so much left unexplained makes his skin crawl. He's halfway up the stairs when he hears boots hit the bottom step and does his best not to look back to see if it's Merle or Daryl. He sidesteps some of the issue of speaking to their visitors by going to pull the card table out of where they have it stored behind his dresser, snagging two of the folding chairs in his other hand.
Michonne's finishing up supper, keeping a careful eye on where Sophia's got all their visitors on the barstools, chattering at her mother about the raised bed garden now enclosed as a mini-greenhouse thanks to Morgan.
"We'll have tomatoes all winter, Mama, from plants I grew all by myself, starting in about a month. I had to have help to build the beds and haul all the soil up here, but that was my project to start with. It's got lights too, so I can show you, after supper."
"It's not just tomatoes," Shane says, drawing attention to where he's setting up the folding card table. "She's got beds going of field peas, turnips, and winter squash too, before she snuck those tomatoes in to get a head start after Morgan helped her put up the greenhouse walls." The peas and turnips will harvest in early November, and Sophia already has replacements planned for their spaces. The squash will take longer, but they'll be eating it by Christmas for sure.
Carol ventures a smile at that. "It sounds like you've been busy, sweetheart."
"We're always busy here, Mama. Lots of ideas to get going because nobody wants to eat out of cans all the time, especially since they don't last forever. We started out with Miss Gloria's garden, but then we replanted according to her chart for winter vegetables, and she had lots of books and notes about gardening and canning."
Shane misses a section of conversation when he retrieves the other two folding chairs. It's a tricky fit, tucking the card table up close to the pantry so that Michonne and Sophia can move around if needed. But they've overflowed the table and bar capacity already without the visitors, although Andrea and Eastman running late will help. Those two will just have to take their supper in the living room or out to the deck.
He honestly considers whether he could pull off sitting with the kids at the card table without looking like an idiot, but even if Michonne would let him try it, Sophia wouldn't.
"Help with the silverware, Fee?" Shane asks out of old habit. He ignores the looks from Carol and Daryl at that. Carol's is just carefully assessing, but Daryl's is laced with that edge of hostility that brings Shane back to the quarry and his early dealings with the Dixons.
Sophia slides the drawer open, scooping out silverware by the handful even as Shane sets a stack of plates on the counter for Michonne. With this many people, it'll just be faster to serve up the plates instead of a parade of folks through the kitchen.
"How many people live here?" Carol asks her daughter as Sophia sets out forks or spoons, depending on the age of the intended.
"Twelve right now. Six kids, six adults."
"All in the one house?"
"Mostly. We set up a camper for Merle, but he keeps sleeping on the couch anyway, so we gave it to Mister Eastman and Miss Harrison when Merle and Morgan found them three days ago. He likes animals so much he brought a goat along." Remembering Eastman's vegetarianism, Sophia flits a comment to Michonne. "We did make him something that wasn't venison, right?"
Michonne laughs and points to a foil tented plate that is separate from the ones that hold the venison tenderloin steaks. "Just because you were out and about today, missy, doesn't mean I forgot what people can and can't eat."
Sophia turns back to her mother. "Mister Eastman is a vegetarian, but he won't mind that the rest of us are eating Bambi." She grins as she moves to start filling glasses with tea. "And I shot the Bambi we're eating tonight."
Since Carol and Daryl both look clean and well-fed, Shane supposes wherever they've been holed up at, it's safe and no one's going hungry. That's been a worry in the back of his mind, especially as they build up their stocks far beyond what those residing here can use. He hopes it means that Lori and Carl are safe, and Rick, but he can't bring himself to feel he has the right to ask about them.
"You've been hunting?" Carol looks intrigued, but not upset by the idea.
"Yeah. Just deer though. Shane won't take me along when he hunts the feral hogs. Says they're too dangerous for a novice hunter."
Further hunting discussion is interrupted by Michonne, who directs them to get the plates all on the table. She points the three visitors to sit at the table as Morgan troops up with the rest of the kids. They all have the fresh scrubbed look of having used the outdoor sink, and Shane appreciates that Morgan sent them up the backstairs when Molly and Luke both freeze at the sight of newcomers. Neither kid has warmed to Eastman yet, although they're plenty friendly with Andrea.
Morgan smiles and leans in. "I'll sit with the youngest kids. Let Patrick and Duane go out to the patio table."
The two older boys are more than happy to take their meals outside, although Duane looks endlessly curious during the brief introduction all the children are given for their visitors. The search for Carol has taken his father off property so much that Shane's not a bit surprised the boy would be interested now that she's appeared.
Sophia motions for Shane to take the seat next to her, putting him on one end of the table. Her mother is next to her, with Daryl looking uncomfortable in the other end seat. Paul declines the table, telling Merle this sounds like a family discussion, and takes a seat at the bar. It leaves Merle and Michonne to take the other seats, once Michonne is assured Andre will eat his supper sitting with Morgan.
His discomfort must show, because Michonne hooks a foot around the back of his ankle, the comforting touch hidden by the table. Merle settles his uncovered stump on the table closest to Daryl with a deliberateness that tells Shane he's reminding his brother of how they came to be separated. With Duane outside, saying grace slips by, everyone too caught up in the tension of the newcomers and everything still left untold.
Shane clears his throat, knowing he isn't going to enjoy the meal until he says his piece. "Night the farm fell, walkers were all being drawn toward the barn fire. I just kept going in the opposite direction until I couldn't make it any further. Found a cabin south of Sharpsburg. Wasn't in the best shape and probably wouldn't have lasted more than a few hours longer if Sophia didn't pop out of that place and drag me inside to safety. She patched me up, said she'd been there for over a week."
Sophia takes up the tale, laying her fork down next to her plate with only her asparagus touched so far. "The first night I was lost, I slept in a house. Shane says you found that place, Mister Daryl, with the pantry?"
Daryl nods, eating methodically the same way Merle does, which Shane knows now is from going hungry as a kid. They eat whatever they can, when they can. "With the sardine cans."
"Yeah. They tasted really nasty, but I was hungry. I took some boy's clothes because I got all scratched up with what I was wearing. There wasn't any food or water really after that, so I couldn't stay. The next night, I found a tree I could climb. I was real hungry by then, but the only thing I found were mushrooms that didn't look like what Shane said was safe at the quarry. Then I found a shed to hide in, and the place had a well so I got something to drink."
She pauses, taking her mother's hand when Carol reaches for her. "Then I found the cabin. There was a lot of camp food, like Ed's MREs, and a little hand pump inside the cabin and a camp toilet so I didn't really have to go outside. I stayed put there, hoping someone would find me instead of me keeping wandering. It was a good thing too, when I found out just how far I went in the wrong direction."
"Was that near that peanut farm you left the note on?" Carol asks.
"Yeah. We followed a trail out of the woods from the cabin and found the farm. That poor lady was bumping around inside, so Shane taught me how to take care of walkers. We found a car there, so we weren't walking after that, at least."
None of the visitors seem outraged that he taught Sophia to kill walkers, so at least they're all in that level of reality. "I knew from the last conversation with Randall that his people were north of Senoia, so I hoped y'all might keep heading south to Fort Benning. Wasn't risking crossing their path, not with me getting sicker by the hour."
"We found the notes," Carol says, still clinging to Sophia's hand. "All the way down and all the way here."
"Sorry we didn't keep looking, but I had a hell of a fever, and the last thing I wanted was to be somewhere I didn't know was safe. Figured with Columbus gone, y'all might circle round here, especially if y'all found the notes."
"He almost died, Mama," Sophia says softly. It's both remembered emotion and trying not to let Molly and Luke hear, he thinks. "The wound in his chest got so infected, and then it spread everywhere. My book said the infected parts had to be cut away, so I did." She favors her mother with a smile. "He got better then."
Shane feels the mix of fear and relief and utter fucking gratitude he always does when he thinks of Sophia bravely cutting away the dead and infected flesh that nearly killed him. "She saved me," he adds, waiting until Carol is looking at him instead of Sophia to add, "Not the other way around."
It's not the first time he's found his will to live in a child who needs him as much as he needs them, but at least with Sophia, there's no guilt or horror left. He's made up for his disbelief that she could survive the woods.
"That sounds pretty brave," Carol says. "You figured it out from a book?"
Merle laughs. "Spitfire's got a whole shelf full of medical books now. Regular little Florence Nightingale. She ain't even afraid of my stump here."
Sophia beams happily at that, finally eating a few bites of food again. "When Shane got better, we went looking for Morgan and Duane. They came here and then Merle and Michonne found us."
"And the other children? Do they belong to the other two people?" Carol asks, looking to where Molly and Luke are splitting their attention between the adult table and their meals.
It's then that Shane realizes Carol must not remember Andrea's last name, because Sophia mentioned her in that carefully formal way she reserves for adults she doesn't trust yet. "No, but that's a story best told another time. Little pitchers have big ears." He cuts his eyes toward Molly and Luke.
Carol frowns and Daryl nudges her, leaning in. "Remember what Merle said about worm food?"
"Oh." The woman's face looks horrified, so Merle definitely mentioned the Claimers in some fashion.
"Might want to warn you about the other two, though, Carol," Shane says, figuring it's a bit mean not to tell the woman another of the quarry people survived. "Eastman, he'll be new to you, but he rescued another person out of the woods after the farm fell, just like Sophia found me."
Carol makes the connection almost instantly. "Andrea's alive?"
Daryl muffles a curse, dropping his fork to the table. "I knew I should have gone back to look for her, dammit."
It finally brings up what Shane wants to know, but doesn't feel he's got the right to ask. But Sophia's not so shy.
"Is Carl okay? Shane says he was shot, and Andrea said she saw him get off the farm, but it's just you two and him here."
Daryl and Carol both startle, and Carol starts laughing just a little. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I should have told you right away. Carl's plenty safe, back at the place where we were staying. The only people who didn't make it off the farm were ones you hadn't met, with Andrea being found. We can take you to see him when we leave. He'll be so happy you're okay."
It's a terribly wrong thing to say, because Sophia snatches her hand back from her mother. "No! I'm not leaving my home, not even to see Carl."
"Sophia, this isn't your home," Carol starts, and that's the girl's limit.
"It is so my home. I helped make it safe and grow food and learned how to hunt and fish. I'm not leaving." She's on her feet, putting space between herself and her mother as if Carol intends to carry her off right this second. The movement takes her around behind Shane, but she stops when she's pressed one hip to Michonne's shoulder, which puts three adults between her and Carol.
Merle lays his fork down with a thump. "Just what's back there that you gotta uproot the girl?" he asks. "Sounds like a bunch of people with a history of losing members of their group like they're feral cats they're tired of feeding."
"Ain't like that," Daryl interjects. "But there's people depending on us to be there. People that will want to know Sophia's alive. She'll be safe there, just like here."
Merle's eyes narrow. "Pretty damned sure most of them would be just fine with being told she's safe and sound. Never saw that any one of them was attached to the girl except the little boy. Was high at the quarry, little brother, not stupid."
"She belongs with her mama, and they need Carol there."
"I don't give two shits what any of those people need. They can fucking figure it out all on their own like every other person left standing in this world. You and your lady are talking taking the girl away from where she's safe and cared for, to be among people that include the fucking jackass that abandoned her in the first place? Bullshit."
"Wasn't just me he left," Sophia says, the venom in her tone worrying Shane. "That's what he does. I'm not going anywhere he is, and if you try to make me, Mama, I'll just leave and come right back, even if I have to walk right across Georgia."
Carol looks distraught, and Shane can imagine her terror at the idea of her daughter carrying through with that threat. It makes him want to find a way to lock Sophia away safely so she can't carry out such a foolish idea.
"They need us there," she says softly. She looks at Shane, expression pleading. "Lori's been really sick, and all we have is Hershel. He's not an obstetrician, and he needs my help."
That information tears into the as-yet-unhealed wound Shane bears regarding the baby. "That cannot be a consideration for me, Carol. It can't be. But Sophia? Please don't take her somewhere she's got to live with another man she fears like she feared Ed."
It's a low blow, he knows, but Sophia's shaking where she's wedged into the space between him and Michonne, her grip on his shoulder enough to draw blood from her nails, he thinks. He promised her she would be safe, and in her mind, obviously anywhere near Rick isn't safe.
It makes Carol cry, which brings Daryl to his feet. "Rick isn't Ed Peletier, and you of all people got no right acting like Carol doesn't have her kid's best interest in mind."
"He's got all the right," Sophia cries out. "You just shut up because you don't know anything. I wish you stayed gone. Both of you." She's gone before Shane can catch her, boots pounding down the hall and slamming the door with enough force he hears something hit the floor in the hallway. Her CD player comes on, deliberately loud.
Typical teenage tantrums don't happen often with Sophia, but the once or twice she's been mad as a hornet for a while, she likes to bury herself in music and hide from the world. The heavy metal beat that is sounding the hallway is agitated, and the lyrics of the Five Finger Death Punch song are bitterly appropriate for the moment.
"Fee's playing her angry music," Molly says, sounding upset.
Fuck. He knew it would be bad, when Carol finally showed, but he didn't realize how opposed Sophia was to leaving here, not truly, until now.
"Carol, I'm sorry," he starts, only to get a pissed "Fuck off, Walsh" from Daryl, where he's got the woman cradled against his chest.
So he opts for the problem he can solve and heads down the hallway to try to convince Sophia they can fix this somehow without her wishing her mother lost again.
Jesus Christ, he can't imagine how that must feel for Carol.
A/N: Sophia is 13, with all the angst and temper that can entail. Faced with being removed from the first place she's felt safe in her entire life, she's going to strike out pretty viciously. It isn't that she doesn't love Carol, but she's more afraid of losing her newfound family and having to face someone who features in her nightmares more than Ed does. They'll find their middle ground, but it'll be bumpy for a bit.
The song featured in the chapter is Five Finger Death Punch's "Never Enough". Those lyrics would really resonate for a kid who grew up feeling like her opinion and effort doesn't matter much in the reality of the world.
And Merle got a lot froggier than I planned for this chapter...