Chapter 57
"That would be about right." Tex grumled as he upturned the milk bottle to get the few drops of liquid into his coffee. He'd been working non stop the last few days and his normal cheery mood was in short supply as he'd ended up with a cold shower, his towel used by who knows, and now there was no milk for his coffee. It also wasn't the first time that week for it to happen.
The house was always filled with people. Which he didn't mind but they were starting to eat and drink him out of food. He didn't want to know what the utilities bill would look like when they came in. Which was why he was thinking of asking for some of the inhabitants to pay some kind of rent to build a nice safety net for the inevitable bills.
Danny and Kara's place would be finished soon but they weren't in the way too much. Barbara was definitely starting to rub him the wrong way. He wanted to like her but with the hours he was pulling at the farm, well she had become head of the family and overstepping her role. He knew it was just jealousy but he wanted to be the one helping Kat with her homework as she was now in school. Frankly the woman was always around so it wasn't like he could get some quality father daughter time in with Kat.
Then there were people coming and going throughout the day and sometimes staying over. He was starting to feel like he was running a half house for displaced people. Doc was sleeping on their couch spooning Halsey who was becoming more of a house dog than the work dog he was supposed to be. Val kept popping around as she decided she'd help out on Danny and Kara's house with rewiring the place. Apparently she did community service for an undisclosed crime where she helped build houses. Now she wasn't needed by Tom and the others; well she had to keep her hands 'busy'.
Burk and Alisha were also coming around a lot to help with the house when they weren't on duty and usually staying late helping plan the wedding. So there wasn't a night where someone wasn't sleeping on the couch.
Now, Larrin was being released from the hospital today as her arm was going to be put in a cast. He originally got the house to give her and Kat some peace and stability. Right now, with all the activity and noise it wasn't much of a sanctuary. He didn't want to be rude but he felt like mentioning that perhaps some people could get their own lodgings. He wasn't sure where Larrin was going to sleep as they didn't have enough space.
"Tex," Miller said,
"Yeah?"
"This is for you." Miller said as he handed him an envelope. Tex put down his coffee on the bench and took the envelope with a frown.
"What's this?" Tex asked, he opened the envelope and found it was filled with what looked to be about $500 in cash.
"Rent." Miller told him.
"You don't-" Tex started but Miller cut him off.
"I do, we're all sharing the space and it's only fair. I also want to pay my way." Miller said as it was a matter of pride for him to show some independence. Tex gave a nod and pocketed the envelope of money; accepting it.
"Ok, thank you." Tex said appreciating that he hadn't had to ask and impressed with Miller's initiative. "You excited? your girl is coming home today." he added with a smile.
"Yeah, it's going to be good. I think she's ready to escape." Miller said, his cheeks bright red as they always were when someone called Larrin 'his girl'.
"I don't know why I can't keep the splint and have no cast." Larrin said to Rachel who just came out of the bathroom to their room dressed in t-shirt and skinny jeans. Rachel had signed all the paperwork and was now just waiting for Andrea to pick her up.
She had extended her stay in the hospital to keep Larrin company. Not because Larrin was lonely as the young woman had many visitors. Miller showed up quite a lot with food, Kara came to visit once or twice. Wolf was in daily and Tex showed up at random points to visit Rachel as much as he did Larrin. But Rachel had stayed also for herself because she wasn't ready to face the world yet. But she no longer had any excuses. She ran a hand through her short hair still not able to stop wincing as she reached the ends. It would grow but for now it was still a reminder of her time in Julian's hands.
"Because a cast is stronger. You won't have to wear it for too long as the bones are probably half mended." Rachel said as she slowly moved to the chair by Larrin's bed and sat down. She gave a sigh as her body felt tired and sore but then she had been off the IV and painkillers for the past hour.
"True." Larrin said.
"You happy to be going home?" Rachel asked.
"I think so," Larrin said blowing out a breath to calm her nerves.
"They will understand you not remembering everything. Remember to take all the meds the Doctor prescribes." Rachel said to her, they'd talked about Larrin's concerns about going to Tex's house. It was a chaotic environment and understandably Larrin was feeling anxious and a little hesitant as she'd been experiencing nightmares. Nightmares that she wasn't sure were memories resurfacing or not.
Rachel and Larrin had shared experiences, Doc helped in talking with Larrin to help her digest what she was going through. Larrin didn't seem able to open up fully but it was clear she was afraid of being seen as crazy or weak. It was why Rachel tried to share her own side not just to excise it from her psyche but also to show the young woman it was ok. That it was all going to be ok and assure her there wasn't anything Larrin could tell her to make her take back her job offer or their foundling friendship.
"I will." Larrin said, she felt like a mental case but so far Doc gave her a few coping strategies for the stress and anxiety she felt. Sleeping tablets to put her to sleep because her body needed to heal and rest and pain killers for the injuries.
She said if Larrin needed more pharmaceutical aids then they'd discuss it and sourcing a psychiatrist. But Larrin hoped it didn't come to that, she didn't want to be like her father who lost it. She wanted to be normal, and when she was around people she felt sane. It was only when she woke with the nightmares or caught some movement out of the corner of her eye that she kind of lost it. But only a little and usually the movement was nothing.
"Everything will be fine." Rachel said as she leaned forward an gave Larrin's hand a gentle squeeze.
"It will, thank you." Larrin said to her as she squeezed her hand back. She had come to really appreciate Kara, Rachel, Doc and Andrea as the women didn't judge, they listened and accepted her as she was. They had words of wisdom that soothed her instead of feeling like she was grasping for some unreachable goal. They were the pseudo mothers to her in the absence of her own. It was exactly what she needed.
"Anytime and you have Andrea's phone number and address. You're welcome anytime." Rachel told her as she and Andrea already discussed it as they were happy to give Larrin a safe haven. She already knew Kat went over to Andrea's when she needed a break from the chaos or just quiet place to do her homework. Rachel was looking forward to being in the bungalow as there was a strong sense of matriarchy and womanhood. A sense of belonging but still having one's space.
"Update?" Tom asked as he moved to Lt Commander Burk's side in the Command Centre. It had been a long few days, filled with very little sleep and too much coffee. Definitely too much time for him to think over everything.
"It's slow progress but two factions of the scavengers have surrendered. We're picking up the stragglers thanks to our informant network. The President can safely call the regional leaders and organise the country if he wants to." Lt Commander Burk said to him.
"Good." Tom said as any progress was better than none and anything that brought them closer to rebuilding America to it's former glory. Michener was making all the right moves so far as he with the new leader of St Louis had set up a system for allowing displaced international citizens with temporary visas, housing and food stamps. Not that many people were coming out to take the offer but then the fear of the Scavengers was a hard one to break. But at least it meant when they were ready they would be taken care of.
"Sir, permission to speak freely." Lt Commander Burk requested.
"Go ahead." Tom said to him.
"What are the plans for the Military because I've taken a temperature check and not many people are thrilled at being roped into Michener's agenda let alone associating with the Regional leaders." He told him, Tom appreciated the honesty and the loyalty that Lt Commander Burk and the personnel he worked with. They came together and did their job, they protected the weak without breaking the mores and ethics of the vow they made. Though they did blur the lines as he was now inferring the military wouldn't follow their Commander in Chief's commands.
"I know there is a lot of bad blood." Tom empathised.
"Michener was the secretary of HUD. He's a non elected President, he's also an Immune. I know that he says that he didn't know the Immune's agenda but it's a little hard to swallow as truth." Lt Commander Burk said.
"It is true and we all had to blur the lines a little in the past few months to survive. I can understand your apprehension but Michener is solid. You and the people you work with need to recognise that any long term goals you have will require a functioning government body. Michener is going to give us that." Tom told him.
"Yes, Sir." Lt Commander Burk said, he appropriated a more neutral expression as he decided it was safer to finish the conversation than continue to argue.
"Ok, taster menu of the wedding food is for Dinner to make sure we picked the right people. No one is cooking, Food is all being provided." Kara told Barbara an the others at the table who were eating breakfast. "We need your taste buds for figuring out the cake and make sure the food is still acceptable." she added as she sat down with a smile.
She and Danny had decided- well, she decided they needed to get married pronto as she knew it was vain of her but she didn't want to waddle down the aisle and she just wanted to be married to Danny as soon as possible. Luckily everything was lining up for them. They had permission from Captain Chandler, they had a date set, all the permits and licences were in order and ready to go. Jeter had agreed to officiate the ceremony for them. All they needed was a cake, as they had their menu done and they had told everyone they knew about the wedding and invited them. So everything was in order except for a few last things.
"Count me in. Though just admit it, you want more of those chicken wings." Doc told her as she ate her breakfast. She hadn't meant to be around Tex's place so much but she found comfort in the mayhem an normalcy of the people. Wolf had stopped his attempts to flirt with her when they were in the walls of the house. He told he felt better not tempting fate and that Kat was an impressionable teen who needed healthy PG rated adult relationships on display.
She had to admit she respected for being a gentleman but once they were outside of the house he became a fairly vulgar mouthed Australian. Nothing is respectful but he made it pretty clear that if she gave him the go ahead to even just kiss her, well he'd definitely make it worth her while. She had to admit she expected more alpha male attitude from him but appreciated the space he was giving her as she couldn't really figure out what she wanted. She couldn't even figure out if she wanted to use her real name and take back her identity or stay as she was.
"Yes, but isn't it best to be sure?" Kara asked Doc with a smile as she did love the food and was craving marinated chicken wings so bad she would cry real pain kind of tears if she did't eat them in the next 24 hours.
"Yes, it is as you never know if they are having an off day. So count me in as free food is always good." Val said as she was typing away on her laptop. She hadn't even looked up. Alisha gave a shake of her head as she gave a smile to Kara feeling for her as she was obviously wanting others to speak up first not the newest additions to their weird crowd.
"There's going to be cake right?" Burk asked as the type of cake being had on Danny and Kara's wedding day hadn't been chosen yet.
"Yep, you can invite your brother if you want." Kara said to him.
"Nah, he's wrapped up in his work." Burk said dismissively as he didn't want his brother at the dinner party. Why should he invite his brother when the man hadn't taken the time to call him let alone see him. "I'll make sure Cruz shows up." he added.
"Is there anything you'd like us to bring?" Alisha asked Kara.
"Drinks." Tex said answering for Kara.
"Done." Alisha said looking to Burk who gave a nod acknowledging the suggestion. "Did you decide on if you were going to wear your uniforms at the ceremony?" she added, Kara gave a grimace as she didn't want to think about it. But she had asked Alisha to be her Maid of Honour, so of course she was on the ball with everything and helping them. Something Kara deeply appreciated.
"I'm not going to fit into mine." Kara said with a sigh, it had been a struggle to fit into her dress blues for the Inauguration ball. She highly doubted there was a a way for her to get a new tailored uniform in time and frankly she just kept expanding which was fine but not helpful for her planning her wedding outfit.
"Well, I'm wearing my dress Blues and expect the groomsmen to do the same." Danny said speaking for the first time as he'd been eating before.
"I don't have dress blues." Tex piped up with a smile reminding the man he'd yet to actually select his groomsmen. Danny and Kara exchanged looks that made Tex feel like he must have missed something like not being invited.
"I thought you asked him." Danny said to Kara.
"I thought you had." Kara told him.
"What?" Tex asked, Kara looked at him with a kind smile that had him worried as it was the smile she used for 'not so good' news. The smile of everything is going to be ok as long as you don't get upset when it was probably going to reduce someone to tears.
"We-" Kara started but stopped and corrected herself. "I was hoping you'd walk me down the aisle and give me away. If Kat doesn't mind." Kara said looking to him and Kat.
"He'll need the practise. So I don't mind." Kat said in a mocking manner that made Tex frown and Kara laugh. It was clear Kat and Kara had spoken about it as Kat wasn't surprised at all.
"I'd be honoured to." Tex said a little gruffly as he was touched by the offer as he knew Kara didn't have a father growing up and her mother had gone off the rails since they'd landed in St Louis. So her asking Tex meant a lot not just to him but to her as well as she could have easily chosen anyone else. "Still don't have dress blues." he added with a grin and his usual levity.
"Your suit will do nicely." Kara assured him.
"Do I have to wear a noose?" Tex asked referring to a tie.
"Yes, it's a wedding Dad." Kat told him giving him an incredulous look before she looked Kara with a look that said 'Men are morons; he frowned wondering where she'd learnt it but let it go. "I'll make sure he gets a hair cut and beard trim." Kat added speaking to Kara.
"What's wrong with my beard?" Tex asked as he stroked his chin to emphasise his beard.
"Nothing, Duck Dynasty." Danny said with a teasing smile.
