Better Days

Chapter 368

Author's Note: I was not going to include the pasta lady in this but since it's her last rant, I decided I owed it to her. Plus Mar has a couple comments to say. Summer is all excited to get to season seven, she's got things planned. Self sacrifice is obviously a Dixon trait, because she's going to change the game. Rick and Daryl aren't gonna be happy. Not to sure about the one of the people at Hilltop you'll be introduced to soon. Summer's excited. And season 7 is definatley going to be different. My poor guys! Don't forget to go review Lonley to Long by Littletonpace on youtube. It's awesome at the best. She worked hard to bring my vision to life, go review her too. Any way please review.

Mar and Carol's POV:

Mar adjusted Hope in her carrier. "Why do I get to play Miss. Happy Homemaker with you?" she asked Carol on the way to the pantry.

Carol laughed. "It's not that bad, really. You're intriguing to them, you're married to Daryl."

"We're not married, Carol," Mar reminded her.

Carol gave a small chuckle. "As close to it as you can get. You know it too. My point is, that you intrigue them because you managed to get close to the one person that is a mystery to them. That makes you interesting, plus we're bringing our cutey pie secret weapon with Hope here," she said.

Mar smiled down at Hope. "Aunt Carol is using us to save her from the Stepford wives. I think we should be offended and just leave her on her own. What do you think?" she asked the sleeping child. "No response huh? Well, then," she said.

Carol smiled as she walked up to the pantry. "Game time," Carol said as they walked in. "I hope we aren't intruding, but we need to get some things to make for our family for dinner. They are going to be starved by the time they get back. They sure weren't expecting to do all the hard work today."

"Of course not, I don't think that anyone minds seeing this cutie pie," Erin said as Mar walked over to the side of the shelves she was on.

"Jewel is out there isn't she?" Stacey asked.

Carol started looking at the soups and spoke before Mar could. "I am sure Rick sent her right back when everything started. It was just supposed to be a walkthrough anyway. Jewel was just out there giving Rick and family her support. She has this way of making Rick calmer about things, doesn't she Mar?"

Mar gave a small smile. "They make a good team. Everyone should know that by now," she said sweetly.

"It's just..." Stacey started to say.

"Stacey that's enough," Erin said as she touched Hope's head softly.

Mar glanced at Carol over the shelves then down at Hope to make sure she wasn't disturbed. "It's alright, Erin. I'm quite interested in what Stacey has to say."

"Well, we all think that Jewel shouldn't be out there, she should be happy having walls and she can give up the tough girl act," Stacey responded.

Carol shook her head slightly at Mar then smiled sweetly at Stacey. "Stacey, dear, Jewel is tough, it's not an act. She survived things that would make you shake in your boots, maybe even put a gun in your mouth and take her life. I've known Jewel since almost the beginning of this thing, her, Summer, Daryl and there other brother Merle, were part of our camp. If it wasn't for Daryl and Summer's hunting skills, we would have all died of starvation. And Jewel, well, I just wish I could remain as calm as she does under pressure. It's saved all of us at one time or another. The Dixon's grew up hunting and fighting, and I thank God for them everyday. And poor Merle, he gave up his life saving his little sister, and in turn he saved Hope's life. We would have never survived on the road with a newborn if Jewel had died and wasn't able to nurse. And, Mar can tell you Daryl is not as gruff as he seems once you get to know him."

"In all fairness, he hasn't let us know him. He didn't come to the welcome party," Mrs. Neudermeyer said.

"That isn't Daryl's thing and I'm not going to make him do anything he is uncomfortable with. I understood it. Daryl isn't a saint, but who is? And if you haven't done something to get your hands a little dirty by now, that's just because you've been behind these walls to long," Mar answered.

Olivia cleared her throat. "Celery soup, it's been here since the start, you're very brave," she told Carol as she put it in her basket.

"I'm hoping the paprika masks the soups celeryness," Carol told them.

"Then you'd be stuck with something that tastes like paprika. No thank you," Mrs. Neudermeyer said.

Mar arched an eyebrow seeing Carol's warning look. "Spoken like someone whose never been hungry," she said.

Carol smiled. "Well I just figured since we were running low on staples, I'd try to use a few things nobody seems to want. I used to make Ed these spring cleaning casseroles just to empty the pantry. I made some miracles happen with water chestnuts," she said with a smile.

"Talk about miracles, that recipe for cola canned ham. Mmm, Ms. Paletier you are an honest to goodness hero," Erin said as Carol gave a small laugh. "Do you have any recipes to share with us Mar? I mean from before all this, you must have fed Daryl something other than possum."

"Daryl and I knew each other before, but we weren't together. I grew up in Boston, prestigious family, maids, butlers, nannies, old money, something like fourth or fifth cousin to some Kennedy somewhere or another. Married into another old family, didn't have to raise a finger, but I wanted to, to help you know? I had already went to nursing school, might as well put it to use. I moved to Atlanta after my divorce, worked in a clinic with Jewel. Knew Daryl, Summer and Merle. Jane, a wonderful woman, a saint really, she taught me how to cook. I had a small child so she said I needed to at least try. She was happy I didn't try to burn down the house like Jewel did, she taught me. It just kind of made sense for me to help Carol with our brood when we got here. Now I can make a mean possum casserole if you all ever get so hungry that you don't care what you have to eat," Mar told them. "Here's some noodles, Carol," she said casually as she held up the noodles.

"Ugh," Mrs. Neudermeyer said.

"Something wrong Shelley?" Erin asked.

"It's just these old noodles. I mean I tell you if someone would just find me one of those machines, I swear we would all be eating like we were on a tour of Tuscany," Mrs. Neudermeyer told them.

Mar shared an eye roll with Olivia. "You know, why don't you suggest going out with the supply teams one time to look for that, Shelley?" she asked.

Shelley turned and looked at her. "That's not my job."

Mar took a few deep breaths as she rubbed Hope's back calming herself. "And, it's not the supply teams job to risk there lives for something so mundane as a damn noodle maker. You just don't get it, do you? What do you think they are doing out there right now? They are trying to save your ass and you are in here bitching about fresh pasta? Every time one of us walk out those gates, we are risking our lives. My husband is on a motorcycle leading countless number of walkers' away from this place so we can be safe, so you can be safe, but you're still moaning about fresh pasta. You have a dog don't you?" she asked.

"Mar," Carol said in a warning tone.

"No, Carol, I tried, but if I didn't have Hope attached to my chest right now, I'd have hit you by now Shelley. I'm scared to death for everyone out there, I want to be out there myself, but I have a job to do, and that's to protect this baby, Judith, Mitch and all the other children, including all of yours. Yeah you have a dog, well you know what I think about when I look at Fido? How good his brothers' tasted on sticks, roasted over a fire after not having enough to eat for days. But you probably would be complaining you didn't have some fresh pasta to go with it. I'm going to go put Hope down and start getting things ready to cook," Mar told Carol leaving her with the other women.

Carol tried not to smile. "You know Shel, I could teach you how to make pasta with your own two hands, but you'd have to promise not to smoke in the house, it's a disgusting habit and it kills you. If you ask me, there are to many things trying to do that already, right?"

The other women sat stunned as Erin was the first one to find her voice. "Right."

"I better be going, Mar is probably waiting right outside for me. We all got used to doing things in pairs, it's hard to break that habit," she said as she walked out seeing Mar standing a few feet away. She walked over and started to laugh. "I really want to be mad at you, but man the look on Shelley's face was priceless."

Mar laughed. "Yeah, well, what can I say, I'm technically a Dixon, can't hold my tongue if it kills me."

"Don't you think I didn't notice that you called Daryl your husband," Carol teased.

"Yeah, it slipped out," Mar said. "You have company," she said as they saw Sam sitting on the porch.

Carol sighed. "Your dad used to hit you and then he got himself killed. It happened, now it's done, you live with it or it eats you up," she told the boy as she walked into the house.

Mar looked up at the door then down at Sam. "You know, your mom needs you to be strong right now," she said as she sat down beside him.

"She does?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, she does. Ron's a teenager, and I bet he's giving her a hard time over everything. It's what normal teenagers do," Mar pointed out.

"Did Summer ever give any of you any trouble like that?" Sam asked.

"I said normal teenagers, Sam, Summer was anything but ever normal. Your mom needs you to be there, to be understanding. I know right now all this doesn't make sense, but in the long run, well your dad not being around, it'll make you all stronger. It'll make you stronger and you'll become someone you never thought you could become," Mar told him.

"How do you know?" Sam asked.

"Because it happened to me. I'm a completley different person then I was years ago, and it's because I had enough and left a man like your father. I'll send Mitch down, the two of you can go do something, wait here alright?" Mar asked as she went inside. She took Hope off her chest and put her down in the bassinet and walked upstairs. "Mitch," she said as she opened the door. "Come downstairs and hang out with Sam please."

Mitch looked at her. "You're kidding right? That kid is afraid of his shadow."

Mar sat down on the side of his bed. "Mitch, if Daryl, Jewel and Summer hadn't started taking care of you at the camp, then at the farm, what would have happened to you?"

Mitch looked at her. "I probably wouldn't have made it."

"If you lived inside walls like this, would you have been the strong ass kid I know and love? Would you be the boy who stood up to Abraham about finding his family? Probably not huh?" Mar asked.

"No," Mitch admitted.

"I know Sam is weak, but he's a typical ten year old. He's the boy that I wish you got a chance to be, safe and protected behind these walls. But you didn't and I think it would be good for him to have you as a friend. I'm not asking you to hang out with him every day, or more than maybe an hour to start with, but just a bit. We all have jobs to do, and I'm asking you to make this your job, alright?" Mar asked.

"Dad better take me hunting when he gets back," Mitch grumbled as he went down the stairs.

TBC