Brothers and Sisters

Carol woke up the next morning, took a wistful looking at Mark, and scooted off the bed. A quick shower and she was on her way downstairs. Michael was sitting on a kitchen stool drinking coffee. "Good morning, Sunshine."

She smiled at him, "You don't seem surprised to see me instead of Mark."

"Sunshine, Mark can't cook worth shit and we both know it. On the other hand, you're a woman who likes to cook. I knew you would show up and save breakfast." Michael stood up. "We better get started."

Michael was in charge of the scrambled eggs and coffee. Carol entrusted a sleepy eyed Mark with the ham mostly because she thought he couldn't mess that up. She began whipping up blueberry pancakes. Sophia set the table.

Michael began to tease Sophia about her name, "You don't look like a Sophia. That's a name for a grown up woman. I'ma gonna call you "Sissy".

Sophia narrowed her eyes at him, "If you get to call me "Sissy" then I'm going to call you "Uncle Mike".

"Watcha gonna call Mark then?" Merle smirked. Everyone turned to look at Sophia.

"I'll call him "Daddy". Hell, it'll be easier to remember than deciding whether this is a Daryl day or a Mark day. It's obvious that we're going to be one big dysfunctional family." This should be a Hallmark moment.

Uncle Mike roared with laughter. "Sissy, you better stop cussing so damn much. Sunshine is gonna kick your ass." Don't think Hallmark makes a card that captures the Reynolds's family moments.

Mark said, "Daddy won't let her this time. Next time Daddy is gonna send you to your damn room." Sophia grinned at him. She is still angling for the horse. She has Uncle Mike in her corner already.

Christie showed up early with Jada and James. She brought fruit and herbal teas. She smiled at Carol, "Looks as if you have this well in hand."

Carol and Christie had been in the background as Michael and Mark welcomed their guests. Michael and Morgan gave each other a polite shoulder tap and a warm handshake. Jesse Graham on the other hand and walked up to Mark and hugged him tightly and Mark hugged him back. Mark who had flinched against close contact with her when they first met hugged Jesse like a long lost brother. Mark is keeping secrets again. He has never mentioned Jesse Graham to me. Very good looking Black man with blue eyes. I would have remembered meeting him.

A dark skinned woman with braids smiled at her. "My name is Michonne. I'm guessing you are around five months pregnant like I am. I am having a boy."

Carol smiled back, there was something familiar about this woman. Most have known her in a previous life. Felt like that when I met Andrea. She shook off the weird moment and said, "I'm Carol. And I'm having a boy too."

The breakfast was a loud happy meal. Merle had managed to do a nice blessing over the meal without one curse word. Carol and Michonne sat together and talked babies. Carol wished Andrea was here. Three women with babies due the same time. It was surely kismet that they should all be friends. Carol had talked to Andrea this morning. Rick was taking the job in Roanoke. Andrea and Rick were coming tomorrow to look at houses in the area. They had sold their house and everything was packed in a moving company truck. Things are working out the way they were supposed to.

Sophia left with Jada and James for a day of hiking. Carol watched her go with some trepidation, but with an odd certainty that her daughter was safe with those two. Jada and James wouldn't let anything happen to someone that they called "Sissy".

Mark followed Michael's Suburban in his own Subaru. Michael had taken Christie, Morgan, and Jenny in his vehicle. Jesse sat up front with Mark and Carol sat in the back with Michonne.

They left the main highway ten miles out of town and veered off onto a secondary road for a few miles and then onto a gravel road. We're turning around if I hear banjos.

They passed through a gate and the main house was in view. It set up on knoll some distance away from the horse barn. The log and stone house seemed to fit into the rustic background. This wasn't a genteel Virginia estate. It looked more like its country cousin, but it looked strong and sturdy. The road and driveway were lined with mature maple trees still hanging onto their autumn leaves. There was a huge pond off to the side and Carol could see cattle grazing out on one side of the road and a couple of horses on the other side. It looks so peaceful. This is the part in the movie where the newbies wander around having a good time while the inbred mutant watches from the woods.

Michonne muttered, "Where the hell are we?" Good question. Let's go back to town.

Michael drove up the driveway and parked in front of the house. Mark followed close behind and everyone got out of the vehicles to look at the view. Mark put his arm around her, "Can you imagine living here?"

Oh, dear God. He loves it. Sorry, Mark. Be prepared to have your heart broken.

The pond make a perfect mirror to the bright blue sky and bright leaves and Carol wished again that she had brought her camera. The meadows were bordered by a creek on one side and the hill on the other.

"I have the key to the house. The man who owns this place is giving us first bid on the house and land. The property is bordered by a national park so this is the last house for miles." Michael climbed the deck and opened the door to the house. Large windows dominated the front of the house but they mirrored the outside and gave no clue to the inside.

Carol could see the outside very plainly from the inside and she tapped on the window. It gave a dull thunking sound. Not like glass at all. We are down the rabbit hole for sure.

There was a stone fireplace and hardwood floors in the great room. It looked more like a small hotel than a house. The middle section was the fireplace with comfortable couches. There was a pool table on one side and the other had chairs and large bookcase filled with books. The wireless router was there. Not too far down the hole if there is access to the internet.

The kitchen, dining room, laundry room, powder room and a bedroom with a private bath were downstairs. Carol glanced out the window of the bedroom and noted that the house was set up at least eight feet off the ground. There were six bedrooms upstairs all with their own bath. They were all furnished in the same neutral style.

The basement had a huge television screen. There were two dorm like rooms on either side of space with three single beds with Spartan bathrooms. It didn't look like any home Carol had ever seen. A third of the space was designated storage area for food and supplies. Must be planning on a nuclear winter or a zombie apocalypse.

Michael was beaming though and the men seemed interested. Carol saw her disbelieving expression mirrored on the other three women. Is this supposed to be a home or a club house for the boys? It's going to be a very expensive man cave. I love me some testosterone laden male as much as anyone else, but this is over the top.

Mark smiled at her. You're cute as hell, but no way in hell.

"Sweetheart, let's take a walk. It's warming up outside." He took her hand and it felt so warm and strong. Be tender but tough, Carol. You don't even know these people. You want a farm, not a fortress.

They walked down the knoll and toward the horses, "Sophia could have a horse here." Oh, low blow. Using my own child to try to persuade me to cave in to this ridiculous idea, but I love that you don't bully me when we disagree.

Better counter with my most convincing argument that doesn't make me out the bad guy. "Mark, we can't afford this. This place must cost millions."

"Two million. It's a bargain. It was designed and built as a private hunting club. One member bought the others out thinking that he would make it a farm, but he lost interest. It's a steal. The barns have living quarters in them. Right now a local farmer is keeping an eye on the place. Each of us is going to contribute a half million. The property will be registered to an offshore corporation."

I am so far down the rabbit hole that I can't see daylight. "We don't have half a million dollars lying around. I might be able to sell my farm for two hundred thousand, maybe a little more. You might have that much from your house."

They walked further and the leaves crunched under their feet and were swept off the trees and Mark caught one. "Me and my mother caught leaves me one time. She told me that each leaf was a letter from your sweetheart." Is that why he calls me sweetheart? "She told me that the initial of your true love would be on the leaf. I used to catch them after she died. Never saw an initial in any of them. Now they all have a "C" on them." Shit, I don't care if I live in a cave as long as Mark comes back from a hard day of wooly mammoth hunting to me.

Mark caught another leaf, "We have the money." He peered at the golden leaf, "It has a "C" on it. I guess if you are my true love then you should know the whole truth. You shouldn't marry me without knowing everything." Everything? Let's not be hasty.

He put the golden leaf in her hair, "I love you. Let's take a seat on that rock by the creek."

Carol watched leaves float in the clear cold water and listen to the man that she loved tell her a long and complicated story. She listened with her mind and her heart and both of them reminded her that Mark Reynolds was a good man who had done what he had to do to keep a massacre from happening. The money was a shock, but he hadn't went after the Stowers for money. She heard the worry in his voice. He is afraid that this might change how I feel about him. I have to keep this secret. Families all have secrets and this one is one that will bind all of us together forever.

A vivid red leaf fell into her lap. She picked it up and twirled it between her fingers. "There is a "D" and an "M" on this one. That makes it official. We're each other's true loves. I understand why you did what you did. You are a fireman. You run toward the blaze trying to save everybody. I love that about you. I won't tell anyone." She kissed him, "We have enough money to build our own house, right?" Since we have a million dollars in an offshore account and a million dollar gold bar in a safety deposit box. Plus the two hundred thousand in cash.

Mark laughed, "Next spring, we'll start our own home. Maybe this creek can be in our back yard. I love you, sweetheart."

They stayed out there for a long time. Carol wondered if Michael was telling Christie. How would Christie handle that? Would she be able to see the good man underneath all the protective layers? Something told her that Jenny and Michonne already knew the story.

They were still enjoying the warm midday sun when they saw Michael and Christie walking toward them holding hands. Mark was sitting behind her and Carol leaned against him. "They look happy. Your brother must have talked her into it."

Mark kissed her ear, "We're going to be just one big happy family." I just hope we're going to be more like the Waltons than the Borgias.

They met as a group around the dining room table. Jesse explained that the money to buy this place was in an off shore account and that he could move it electronically. The property would be owned by a shell company that all four of them controlled. They agreed that the big house would not belong to any one of them but shared by all. House sites were plentiful and they all agreed that they wanted to build their own homes close by.

Carol looked around the group, "Andrea is my best friend and she is pregnant with her first baby. Her husband used to be a policeman in Atlanta. He has been in training in Quantico for the past few months. He is taking a job in Roanoke. Their coming to visit tomorrow while they look for a house. They know Mark as Daryl Dixon. How do I explain this to her and I don't want to lose her friendship."

"He is going to work in Roanoke? What is his last name? DOB?"

Carol supplied him with the information and Jesse went toward the computer center. Carol volunteered, "I'm telling all my friends that Mark is this great guy I met on line after I moved to North Carolina. I am marrying him and moving to Virginia. I won't give them a last name or give any more information. I told Andrea that I was coming here with Mark this weekend."

Michonne nodded sagely, "That's a good plan. Your friend's name is Andrea? My baby boy is going to be name Andre. Jesse lost a good friend by that name while he was an army ranger. He wants his son to carry that name as a memorial to his friend."

Morgan smiled, "Our son Duane is visiting with a friend this weekend. He is going to love this place. He and Sophia are the same age."

"Rick was married before and he has custody of his son. Carl is Sophia's age. Maybe they can be friends."

Jesse came back. "Richard Allen Grimes is taking a job with Homeland Security in Roanoke, but his job requires a lot of travel within Virginia and North Carolina. Tell the truth about the witness protection part. I sealed that off before I left my last job so there isn't any information available anyway. We decide if we can trust them with the rest later on."

TWDTWDTWD

The next day Andrea, Rick, and Carl Grimes came to visit her good friend Carol and her fiancée Mark. Michael was there to help tell the story. Carol wasn't returning to North Carolina until Monday. Sophia was going to stay with Christie while she and Mark went back to North Carolina and began packing up. Carol was giving two weeks' notice.

Andrea, Carol, and Michonne spent Sunday evening talking and laughing. Michonne and Andrea decided to open a law office together. They wanted Carol to be their office manager, but all plans were on hold until their babies were born. Andrea and Rick were staying at the Reynold's house until they found a house they liked. Carl and Sophia were planning their Halloween costumes.

Carol enrolled Sophia in Lost River Middle School the next morning and then she and Mark left for North Carolina. They were taking this week to get things moved to storage in Lost River. Morgan, Jenny, Duane, Michonne, and Jesse had already moved into the Big House. The double wedding of Carol/Mark and Christie/Michael was taking place on Halloween at Christie's church. Michael was having so much fun with a Halloween wedding that they didn't dare change the date. They did refuse to wear orange wedding dresses with black flowers. The wedding march was not going to be "Monster Mash", and no one really trusted that Big Mike wouldn't do something outrageous.

Marriage is always a gamble. It can be all "Treat" or it can be all "Trick". Carol was just happy to be marrying the man who she initially thought was a "Trick" and who turned out to be a "Treat".

AN

Guess the wedding is my next chapter. I think I'm going over the top with that one.

Love your responses. So how bad can a Halloween wedding be with Big Mike? Pretty awful I imagine.

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