Better Days

Chapter 291

Author's Note: It still amazes me that people are still finding this story and are chugging through it! Thank you all! It means a lot to me. The party will be in this chapter, but will continue into next chapter and maybe the next. We've got a lot of people! Please review.

Team Family POV:

Carol turned around to see Mika's hand reaching for a cookie and arched an eyebrow. "Good thing I made extras," she said as she handed one of the cooled ones to her. "Share with Mitch," she told her.

"No problem, Carol. Thank you!" Mika said as she skipped over to Mitch and split the cookie in half.

Mar laughed. "It's good to seem them relaxed," she said as she finished the pasta salad she was working on.

"Yeah, I hope it lasts," Carol responded.

Mar went to say something but was interrupted by Abraham. "Hot damn! Look at you hot momma," Abe commented as Rick and Jewel came down the stairs.

Rosita playfully hit him. "You look amazing."

Daryl blinked. "Aint seen you in a dress since you were…well hell if I can remember. You plan to put a sweater on right?"

Rick looked at his brother in law and nodded. "That's not a bad idea," he said.

"She's not putting on a sweater, she looks good. She's taking this serious, trying to make it work," Carol told him. "Jes, see it wouldn't hurt you to dress up a little."

Jes looked down at herself then at Carol. "I'm wearing jeans with no holes and a clean t-shirt, I am dressed up."

Jewel looked around the room, making sure everyone's accounted for. "We're all here," she said as she looked at Eugene. "I swear to God Eugene if you make one comment about Hope making me well endowed, you're going to be limping at this party," she warned.

"Gabriel isn't here," Mika pointed out.

Jewel smirked. "Did I forget to tell him about this meeting? Oh well, to late now."

"I guess there's a reason we're all here before the party? Is this the be on your best behavior speech?" David asked.

Rick shook his head. "No," he told him. "I know a lot of you don't want to go, I don't blame you. I don't want to go, Jewel doesn't want to go. Deanna expects us to be there, expects Sasha and Jes to be there. We're all in this together, but if you can't make yourself go in, we aren't going to make you."

"This is outside my comfort zone," Jewel said as she glanced at Daryl. "I think Deanna is pushing this gathering a bit to soon for all of us. She's expecting us to feel like we're them, and we're not. So, we're asking you all to try, but no one is going to make anyone go. No one is going to look bad at any of you, if you don't show up, and if they do, I'll straighten them out," she said with a smirk.

Rick nodded. "We don't have to all go together, show up when you feel like it, leave when you feel like it."

"What about the guard tower?" Glenn asked.

Joey looked at Summer who gave a slight nod. "I'll do it. I'm afraid what may happen if I see Aiden and Nicholas," he told them.

Rick nodded. "Alright, we should go make an appearance. We'll go first, get it over with," he said as he took Judith from Lexi.

"I'll go with you, if that's alright Sasha?" Lexi asked.

"Yeah, I'll be over in a bit, got to change," Sasha responded.

Jewel went to take Hope, Summer shook her head. "We've got her, you're all dressed up. Between, Mitch, Mika, Carl, Lexi, Beth and I, we'll keep her entertained."

"I can help too, I helped with my brothers," Noah told them.

"And if anyone tries to take her, we'll say no and find you or Rick immediately," Mika told her.

"Or any of us," Abraham told her. "Aint no one gonna touch one hair on her head when any one of us around," he said. "She aint got much hair to mess with to begin with."

Ronnie and Jes laughed. "Abraham Ford, before the end of the night, we're going to have you holding that baby. Maybe give you some ideas about having one of your own," Ronnie told him.

Abraham rolled his eyes as he looked at Rosita. "Let's get this living hell over with."

Mar looked at Daryl. "Mitch and I'll go, you can decide later if you want to come. It's alright," she said as she kissed his cheek.

"I'd be right with you if it wouldn't be so noticeable that I was missing," Jewel told him.

Rick and Jewel's POV:

Carol and Mar walked in first, both carrying in trays. Carl, Lexi, Summer, Hope, Mika and Mitch came in, with Jewel, Rick and Judith bringing up the rear.

Deanna spotted them as they came in. "Oh my, welcome!" she greeted as she came over.

"Hi!" Carol greeted with a smile.

"Hello you all," Deanna greeted the kids. "Oh my, Summer you and Hope match, both wearing green."

Summer gave a smile. "It wasn't planned, but we are the oldest and youngest of this brood, aren't we Hope?" she asked sweetly. Summer was in a green striped sweater dress with black leggings, while Hope was wearing a light shirt with a frog on it and matching leggings.

"Jewel you look amazing," Deanna answered as she smiled at Judith. "Thank you for coming," she said to Rick. "You know I didn't get a chance to interview these two," she said directing her attention to Judith and Hope. "I envy them."

"Why?" Rick asked.

"They'll get to see what this place will become," Deanna answered. "Come in, come on in."

Carl took Judith from Rick as they walked.

Jewel rubbed Rick's back as everyone separated. "Abraham, Rosita and Ronnie just came in," she told him as she kissed him. "You alright?"

Rick shook his head. "Can we go yet?" he asked as he put his arm around her.

"No, not yet," Jewel answered with a smile. "Once again, I didn't put on this dress and suffer Rosita's hair curling skills just to show up for a few minutes," she teased.

Rick laughed as Deanna approached with a man. "You're Rick and Jewel," the man said.

Deanna smiled. "This is my husband Reg," she introduced.

Reg looked at them. "You're a pretty remarkable guy, Rick. You're an amazing woman Jewel. The power couple of the apocalypse."

Rick and Jewel looked at each other. "How's that?" Rick asked.

"I watched the tapes; all of them. The things those people said about you, the things you did for them. Both of you," Reg told them.

"Didn't you build that wall out there?" Rick asked.

Reg laughed. "Yeah, I did, with help, a lot of it. And it's a damned incredible achievement. But it's a wall," he told them. Deanna laughed as he continued," twenty eight lives in this world? I think you have me beat."

"Well, we're standing behind that wall right now, dear. So let's call it a tie," Deanna told them.

"You had help, so did we. Most everyone that walked through that gate, helped us, helped each other to make it this far. From the first moment that Glenn saved Rick in Atlanta, to every point up to this, is why we all walked through the gate," Jewel told Reg as she squeezed Rick's arm. "If Glenn hadn't saved Rick that day, if he hadn't brought him back to the camp, there would be a lot less people alive right now. We all saved each other, we all look out for each other, we all made it because that's how we survive," she said as she shook her head.

Rick kissed the side of her head. "She's right, it was definitely not something we did alone."

"Is everyone from Atlanta?" Deanna asked.

Jewel shook her head. "Rick, Carl, Summer, Carol, Daryl, Mitch, Glenn and myself are the only ones left from the original camp. Mar worked with me, was my friend, we found her later. People joined us later. We've lost some, a lot actually. We've had a string of losses lately, Bob, Ty and Merle…." she commented.

"Hey, it's alright," Rick told her as he kissed her. "We're here. Ty was Lexi and Sasha's brother, Bob was a close to all of us, and Merle…Merle was my brother in law."

"You must have been close," Deanna told Jewel.

Jewel gave a laugh. "We were….at the end. But we hadn't been that close ever in our relationship…he wasn't like Daryl or me. He had to learn what family really was."

"Being at the end of the world, that does it to you. You all traveling from Atlanta must have made you close," Reg told her.

Rick glanced at Jewel. "He wasn't traveling with us. He was in Atlanta with Glenn and others, others that aren't here any more. He was high on drugs, beating people, ranting racists comments," he told them.

"Merle had issues, lots and lots of issues. Red neck trash was made for just the type of man Merle was. I had told them not to take him, that he'd cause trouble. Rick handcuffed him to a roof," Jewel said with a small smile. "T…he dropped the key down a drain," she said as she remembered.

"We came into camp, Daryl was out hunting. I found my ex-wife and son and I was confronted by a very beautiful, strong willed woman and her daughter about leaving blood up on the roof. It was hard to believe these two were related to Merle Dixon. Glenn, Daryl, T and myself went back the next day. He had sawed off his hand," Rick explained.

"That was Merle….he never trusted anyone not even blood. We didn't see him for almost a year, thought he was dead. Then when Judy was born…and we lost Lori….Glenn, Maggie and me went to a store to find baby formula, and risen from the dead was dear old big brother. He shot at me," Jewel rolled her eyes. "Then took us back to good old Woodbury. He almost killed Glenn. Had a grudge to settle with Rick. Jes was ordered to kill me, but she made another choice, got me back home, they went after Maggie and Glenn. Then Daryl got captured, and Merle and him escaped with the others. Merle living with us, yeah it took all of us to adjust but he was willing to sacrifice himself to save the rest of us. We defeated the man who ran Woodbury, the first time anyway, that was the night Hope was conceived….Merle ultimately died saving me. He changed, we all have to change or we don't survive."

Rick kissed her again. "I'm grateful to Merle's sacrifice," he told them but was talking to Jewel.

"Well we are too," Deanna said.

"I'm happy that you are here," Reg told them. "Now take a glass, both of you."

Jewel shook her head. "No, thank you."

Rick nodded. "I'm good."

Reg looked at them. "You don't have to be."

Jewel glanced at the glass then at Reg. "Yes I do. I'm a recovering alcoholic. Fifteen, maybe sixteen years sober. Even as tempting as it is, I'll have to refuse. But, Rick doesn't," she said.

Rick looks at Jewel. "You sure?"

Jewel laughed. "We've been through this before. The first night you kissed me, you had been drinking. It didn't make me go run for a bottle. I'll just have some iced water, and you relax. Plus I'm nursing," she told him. "Go ahead Reg, pour my husband a drink."

Rick laughed. "You heard the boss."

"There you go," Reg told him. "Welcome, both of you."

"Thank you," both of them said as Jewel glanced around taking stock where her family was.

"Whose missing?" Rick asked.

"I'm missing something," Deanna said with a laugh.

Rick laughed. "Jewel has this uncanny ability, to keep track of everyone in the family. She's looking around and seeing whose missing."

"Sorry, it's a hold over from being an emergency room nurse. I was so good at it, that every time we had a drill, they'd put me in charge of supplies. Always be prepared, always know where things are, always know where your people are. Just carried over to this world," Jewel answered with a smile.

"It saved us more then one occasion," Rick told her as he kissed her. He sipped his drink as he saw Jessie and her family walk in. He felt Jewel tense at his side. "Maybe we should mingle?" he asked his wife. "Go see how Hope and Judy are holding up."

"They're probably being passed around, being loved on," Deanna told them.

Jewel gave a small smile. "Well Judy is used to it, but my kids would have alerted me if they tried with Hope. They know I'm not fond of people holding her that I don't know," she said.

TBC