Disclaimer:
Carol Peletier, Sophia Peletier, King Ezekiel, Henry, Jerry, Shiva, and any other recognizable character or plot of The Walking Dead belong to AMC Network and Skybound Entertainment, Image Comics and Robert Kirkman.
In no way is the author claiming ownage of any of the characters nor is there any economic/monetary gain at any time. The author is extremely respectful of the original creators and is willing to take down this work of fiction if requested.
No copyright infringement intended.
Original characters are the property of the author.
Keeper of My Heart: A Chance Meeting
The only reason they are in DC is that Ed needs them; he needs a loving wife by his side and a cute little daughter to charm his bosses and help him get the promotion that would take them out of Atlanta.
He needs her to smile and tell them that he is the perfect husband, all while pressing herself to his side, smiling proudly.
He needs Sophia to call him Daddy and give shy smiles to the wives of his bosses while she plays in her mother's arms.
They do it, not because they want him to get the promotion but because Sophia is terrified of the beast her father becomes and Carol knows better than to contradict him.
For the past two weeks, they have been playing happy families whenever they are with his bosses, whenever they go out for dinner, or when they welcome their families to the apartment they are staying at, paid of course by the company. They are always under his watchful glare, never able to do anything he doesn't approve of.
It is only when he's at work that they are free; free of his glares, free of the fear, free of having to pretend.
In the hours between 8:00 am when Ed gets up and leaves for work, and 3:00 pm when he comes back expecting a full course meal ready and waiting for him, Carol and Sophia are free to do whatever they want.
If Ed asks what they've done, Sophia says she has played with her dolly and Carol says she has kept their apartment feeling like a home. Ed always finds something to complain about, anyhow, so occasionally they leave the house and walk to museums, those that are free, or to parks where Sophia can run around, or lately, to the zoo.
Sophia loves the animals and Carol loves the smiles and looks of wonder her daughter gives every time she spots a new creature, so the trips to the zoo become a little more frequent.
After teaching her not to bang on the glass, Sophia presses her face against it, her forehead and nose almost squashed in her need to get closer.
"Mama!" Sophia calls out delighted as she notices one of the panthers dozing away by the window.
"No banging the glass, Soph." Carol reminds her and smiles when her daughter gives her a soft nod then gently places her hands against the glass.
With her face once more pressed against the glass, Sophia whispers "Cat... big cat."
"It is a big cat, isn't it?" Carol kneels by her daughter, her hand gently placed on Sophia's back. "What color is it, Soph?"
"Black!" Sophia exclaims knowing fully well that she was right.
"Yes, it's black. Do you know what they are called?"
Sophia's expression turns into a look of complete focus. She bites her bottom lip and narrows her eyes as she tries to recall if she does know the name. "Big cat, Mama?" She asks as she turns to look at Carol, her eyes wide and round.
"Not quite," Carol replies, her tone soft and encouraging so that Sophia doesn't feel bad for not knowing their name. "That's a panther."
"Pa... pan...ther." Sophia tries out, feeling the word slide out of her mouth. "Pan... panther, mama?"
"Yes, my bright girl."
Once again Sophia presses her face against the glass, squealing in delight as the panther stretches then lazily opens her eyes to focus on her.
"Panther, Mama!"
"Is she looking at you?" Carol asks her, to which Sophia eagerly nods. "Do you want to say hi?" Sophia doesn't answer but waves enthusiastically.
The panther rolls over and goes back to sleep.
"Sleepy?" Sophia questions as Carol goes back to standing, which only makes the little girl look up, the sun catching her auburn hair, lighting it with tones of strawberry blond.
"Yes, she's sleepy."
Pulling back from the glass and stepping down from the little ledge in front of it, Sophia raises her hand, fully expecting her mother to take it. "Done, Mama."
"What do you wanna see know, sweet pea?" There is so much in their life that is out of their choosing that Carol likes to give Sophia the feeling of control by letting her choose what she wants to see next. This sometimes means going from one end of the zoo to the other, or seeing the elephants twice and the giraffes three times. Carol doesn't care as long as her daughter is happy.
"Tiggy!" Sophia declares as she starts hopping beside Carol.
"Tigers it is."
They walk for a couple of minutes, Sophia skipping beside her mother, singing a little song to herself.
Before long they enter the area where the tigers are kept. They obviously fan favorites for the viewing areas are surrounded by families and screaming children.
Carol's hand tightens a little more around Sophia's "Don't let go of my hand."
Sophia's little fingers hold on tighter as they approach. She can feel a little shake in her daughter's hand; she knows it's because of the loud noise but other than taking Sophia somewhere else, there is nothing else she can do.
"Do you want to go see something else, sweet pea?" She asks her, once again giving her the option to choose what they will do.
Sophia's thumb goes straight to her mouth, even as she shakes her head. "Tiggy." She says around it.
Carol takes a deep breath and bends down to pick up Sophia, securing her against her hip. "Okay, let's try to get closer."
The closest she can get, with mothers hovering around their children, and most of the kids pressed against the glass, banging it and making faces at the tigers, is not close enough so that her tiny daughter can see the tigers.
"Can you see, sweetheart?"
"No, Mama." The little girl mumbles around her thumb.
She knows that the only way Sophia will be able to see anything is if she gets closer, but letting her get closer meant letting go of her. With so many people around them, anything could happen.
Turning to look at Sophia, Carol notices right away the sad look in her daughter's eyes. She instantly wants to erase that look and bring back her daughter's cheerfulness.
"Okay Soph, Mama is gonna put you down." Sophia's arms instantly fly around her neck, holding on tightly. "No, no, it's okay. Mama is gonna watch you, I'm not gonna look away I promise."
She leans down, letting Sophia know she's gonna have to climb off. Once her daughter's feet are on the ground, Carol kneels to look straight into her daughter's eyes.
"I'm gonna be right here, and I'm gonna be watching, but if you want to see the tigers you are gonna have to be a brave little girl and go to the glass. Do you think you can do that?"
Sophia glances at the crowd of kids and shakes her head.
"That's alright, sweet pea," Carol assures her. "We'll just wait for them to leave, would you like that?"
Sophia's nod seals the deal.
They wait for almost an hour before the crowd has thinned enough that there are some gaps and holes through which Sophia can fit.
Guiding her daughter, Carol starts towards the viewing glass. She feels a little tremor go through Sophia but nothing like the shake she'd had at first. They make their way as close as possible before Carol gives her a little nudge. "Go ahead. I'm right here."
It takes Sophia a couple of seconds but she finally moves forward. She first tries on one side, but the kids are too close together for her to wedge herself between them. She then goes to the other side, where bigger kids are at. She looks so tiny compared to the older kids, but she uses her height to her advantage to see between them.
"Tiggy, Mama!" She declares happily but doesn't look towards Carol.
Not for the first time, Carol wishes she could give her daughter a normal life. A normal life away from a father who screams at her one day then ignores her the next. A life where she could be a little girl and explore the world around her without having to watch over her back in case her father got mad. A life where she didn't have to hear her father beating the crap out of her mother. She has tried many times, but each time she has failed. She doesn't know if she'll get another chance, but she knows that if she does she will no doubt to try once more, for her daughter.
"Tiggy!" She hears her daughter exclaim again.
Besides Sophia, an older boy, around five or six, starts banging at the glass to catch the attention of the tigress and her cubs. Sophia quickly turns to look at him with a confused look on her face.
Carol is too far away to stop what happens next.
"No," Sophia says with a shake of her head towards the boy. "No!"
The boy ignores her for a couple of seconds before finally turning to look at her baby.
"Move out of the way, you baby!" He declares before pushing Sophia away.
Sophia falls on her butt, her eyes wide with fear. Before Carol can get to her, Sophia's chin starts quivering then her face crumbles completely.
"It's alright, it's alright," Carol whispers over and over as she collects Sophia and cuddles her against her chest. She moves as far away from the crowd as fast as she can, her words almost a prayer as Sophia buries her face against her mother's chest, her tears making Carol's blouse wet.
"Shhhh, shhh, it's okay Soph," Carol whispers to her daughter as she gently rocks her back and forth. "I've got you."
Her daughter is inconsolable, though her tears are quiet and her sobs soft. That is also a bi-product of Ed's wrath and Carol hates him for it. Not even in her weakest times can her daughter be safe from her father.
"Is the little lady alright?" A deep, yet soothing voice comes from somewhere in front of Carol.
She shields her child automatically, putting herself between Sophia and the man.
"I mean no harm." The man promises her.
Carol looks up at him; he is a little taller than she, with long dreaded dark hair that falls to his shoulder, dark skin and the beginnings of a beard. He is of strong build though not extremely muscular, which makes his tender smile and worried gaze deeply contrast with his stature.
"I observed what happened." He explains. "That young man did not behave like a gentleman, and I wish to extend my most sincere apologies to the young lady on behalf of all men at this zoo."
"She's alright," Carol promises just so that the man wouldn't feel bad. "Just a little spooked." As if to prove her mother's point, and perhaps because she has been trained by her father to not cry in front of men, Sophia peeks a little, half of her face moving away from Carol's chest, her thumb instantly back between her lips.
"My name is Ezekiel, what might your name be?" He asks, directing his question not at Carol but Sophia. He gives a small glance towards Carol to check if it's alright with her that he speaks to the toddler.
Carol would normally move away, but something about that man makes her nod instead.
Sophia doesn't answer, instead burying her face against her mother's chest.
"Want to tell him your name, sweet pea?" Carol urges if only to show to her daughter that she doesn't have to fear men, not all of them.
Sophia mumbles her name around her thumb and it is practically unrecognizable.
Carol would normally pull her daughter's thumb from her mouth, but she knows it is Sophia's security blanket when dealing with new things.
"Want to try again?" Carol asks her.
Sophia moves back to her previous position of half peeking and half hiding, before finally saying her name. "Phia."
"Phia?" The man asks to corroborate.
"Sophia." Carol translates.
"Oh! Sophia!" He exclaims. "Princess Sophia, it is an honor to meet you."
Sophia giggles at the title, recognizing its importance and moves a little away from her hiding space.
"And who is this lovely lady that accompanies you today, Phia?"
Carol can't help but blush slightly. The man has a weird way of speaking, something that reminds her of the old Shakespearean texts she studied in high school.
"Mama." Sophia declares without moving her thumb away.
"What's my other name, Soph?"
Sophia turns to look at her then gives her a ready smile. "Cawol."
"Carol," Ezekiel repeats before giving a nod toward her. "Well, Sophia and Carol, I wish to offer my sincerest apologies for the behavior of that young boy. He shouldn't have pushed you."
"No ban...ging." Sophia hiccups which instantly makes her dissolve into soft giggles.
"That's right, no one should bang against the glass, it is rude for the animals." Ezekiel agrees with her. "To make up for his indiscretion, would Princess Sophia and Lady Carol wish to accompany me to see the tiger cubs? There is a special exhibition of the work that the zoo does with them."
Carol instantly protests for as much as she wishes she could indulge in the exhibition and hopefully mend whatever wrong the kid had done, they have zero pocket money to spend.
"Oh. I'm afraid we cannot." Carol whispers at the same moment that Sophia peeks up and excitedly nods at the semi-stranger. "Sorry Soph, but we can not afford it at the moment."
"That is not an issue," Ezekiel says confidently.
Carol is about to protest once again and remind him that they don't know him and he shouldn't feel obliged just because of the behavior of a stranger when he reassures her. "There is no charge, not when you know one of the zookeepers."
Carol gives him a shake of the head. "But we don't know any of them."
"Nonsense, of course you do," Ezekiel assures her, a sparkle of mischief in his eyes. "Ezekiel the zookeeper, at your service." He does a little vow for effect, then grins at her widely. "Let me introduce you to my favorite cub, what do you say?"
Sophia turns to look at her mother, eyes wide in wonder and excitement. Her little hands raise to push against each side of Carol's face, squeezing her cheeks. "Yes, Mama?" She asks. "Yes?"
Her daughter has had a rather tough life, and after the rough push she had just received and an equally hard landing, Carol doesn't have the heart to deny her request.
"Is it safe?" She finally asks, turning to look at Ezekiel.
Ezekiel nods but quickly adds. "As safe as can be."
"Tiggys, Mama?" Sophia reminds her that she hasn't answered her request.
Smiling at her daughter she leans forward and gives her a tiny Eskimo kiss. "Alright, Tiggys it is."