Surplus Imagination - It's funny you mention the wine...there will come a time when the wine gets discovered...
Violeta27 - Have a lot of practice in dealing with assholes, eh? (I keed, I keed!)
KrisAnthemum221 - My theory is that with Merle if he isn't trying to cause a fight, he's trying to get him some.
Lilone1776 - I'm glad you appreciated that bit. I figured that Merle would be the honest type.
6747 - Yup. A loveable ass.
Axelrocks - Mah, you're always so sweet to my work in your reviews...you deserve something nice...
animeprincess11 - Yes, the others will come into play soon. (Glenn is my third favourite of the men with Rick coming in right behind Daryl). You know they'll be coming around. ^_^
earthbound68 - ^_^ Back at you!
MollyMayhem84 - You've basically summed up my feelings about Merle perfectly. No one is ever pure evil. Merle is definitely hard to get along with, but I think he's suffered just as much (if not more) than Daryl. After all, Merle was looking out for Daryl (we can only really assume) when they were growing up, but who was looking out for Merle?
MarionArnold - Oh, Sister Joan is definitely going to help keep Merle in line. She is named after the patron saint of soldiers, so you know she's tough as nails.
spygrrl99 - Hmm, you bring up a good point. I suppose if pressed, I'd have to say I based the Lieutenant's looks a little on Gary Cooper. He always seemed to play average men who fell into situations greater than them (the best example: Meet John Doe) and I guess when I started writing the Lieutenant, Gary Cooper was the one man on my mind. Although, I'd be interested to know who others see him as...
LL - Hahaha! Oh wow, Linda Hunt! You have quite the imagination, my friend. ^_^
GG - Aw, wow. Your review was super kind. I mean it really touched me. Thanks a lot.
jwoods592 - Thanks! I'm going to try!
Hey, if you people follow me over on tumblr, let me know if your screen name is different here. I'd like to bust your chops over there more.
Also, sorry that this chapter is OC heavy...I know, OC's are the worst, but if you just bear with me, I promise the next chapter is Caryl-y goodness.
Chapter 11: Honneur
**The Lieutenant**
By the time they hit the dirt road winding up through the thick trees, heading home, the Cajun found himself heavily amused by the petit cabri. They had stopped in at the prison to grab more formula for the baby, before hitting the worn old dirt road to the convent and in the span of that time the man seemed to have both softened and hardened.
He softened earlier, in that the Lieutenant actually witnessed him kissing a baby on the forehead, but this seemed to spur in him a sort of self-loathing that caused him to immediately harden. He both commanded the woman named Carol to stay close to him at all times, then immediately acted as though she weren't moving at his side.
The tiny blonde named Beth moved up to walk beside Daryl and the Lieutenant could hear the words 'trust' and 'kill', but the rest of the conversation was lost on the wind.
The petit cabri shrugged her off, storming on further ahead.
At his side the old man eyed the Lieutenant quietly. The vieux reminded the Cajun of Father Christmas with his beard and his grandfatherly kind eyes.
"This group of yours?" He asked, feeling safer to speak once they had left the deeper woods behind. "How many among them?"
"Ten of us, sir."
"Ten of you? How'd you survive this long?"
The Lieutenant faltered at the far off warble of a turkey call, but figured there wasn't much he could do about the ugly bastard now. "Sheer luck, I'd imagine. We're pretty far off the beaten trail, the road into the convent looks like a cattle trail and the Sisters have always lived on little to no electricity. They preserve most of their garden vegetables and I hunt most of their meat. The walls keep all the uggies out, the heavy wrought iron gates help in preventing any infiltration."
"Are the Sisters nice?" Beth asked, falling back to walk on the other side of her father.
The Lieutenant nodded. "Sure. Don't nuns have to be nice?"
"You'd be amazed," Carol added playfully.
Grinning, the Lieutenant shifted the rifle on his shoulder. "Well, the Old Missy may have a problem with your beard, sir." He addressed Herschel. "But she has some kind of facial hair phobia, I'm sure. Lafayette," he mimicked her no-nonsense Georgian tone, "just because the world has ended doesn't mean personal upkeep has to as well. Shave that thing or I'll set fire to it in your sleep, so help me…"
The group laughed at him, except for Daryl who hardly paid him any attention, keeping his eyes on the forest surrounding the group.
Falling silent, the Lieutenant stopped short, eyeing the road ahead.
He noticed on the wall in the distance two nuns walking the length of it and it bothered him. To keep from wearing out he made sure they patrolled one on the wall, and one at each gate, but two on the wall? It wasn't normal.
Adjusting his rifle, he stepped up his pace, jogging to the convent.
"Lieutenant!" Sister Mary Monica greeted as he approached the gate.
"What's up?" He asked. "Something's happened, yeah?"
"Abominations," she explained. "Sister Joan, Father O'Rourke and that new guy took care of them though."
Looking around, noticing the others had joined him at the gate, he eyed the forest and the road. "How many?"
"Five or six."
Pulling his rifle off his shoulder, the Lieutenant looked about a little more cautiously. "Everyone okay?"
"Of course."
"When'd this happen?"
"Yesterday. Haven't seen any more of them though."
Motioning the others into the safety of the convent walls, the Lieutenant took one last look about, before bringing up the rear.
Forgetting for a moment the other group, he marched across the lawn, heading to check on his own people.
As he burst into the main building he did a head count as he passed by nuns doing various household chores, Sister Mary Agnes sweeping, Sister Gertrude stopped by an icon of Saint Francis with one of her many cats, the wee boo came racing up to him with a hug and a smile and he scooped her up absently, holding her tight in his arms as he continued on heading for the Old Missy's office.
Without caring about manners, he burst into the room.
She jumped from where she was dusting the books on her shelves and placed a hand to her chest.
"Lafayette!" She scolded. "I think you aged me three years! Whatever are you doing bursting into people's rooms without knocking?"
He moved towards her, eyeing her quietly. "You alright, Missy?"
"Of course, good heavens, my heart is racing, but I'm fine," she hopped down from the stepping stool she was perched on and wiped her hands off on the crisp white apron she wore over her habit.
Suddenly embarrassed by his reaction to the uggie attack, he shifted on his feet. "I…heard about the uggies."
Removing her apron, the woman calmly folded it and placed it on her desk. "I'm sorry I may have overreacted by placing two Sisters on the wall, but I was concerned with you gone so far away from us."
"I'm sorry, Missy." He said.
In his arms the wee boo giggled and pressed a kiss to his chin. "Did you catch me a turkey yet?" She demanded, drawing his attention from feeling bad about abandoning his group back to her.
The Lieutenant smiled crookedly at her. "Naw, but I found some more people to entertain you, princess."
"Are they fun people?" She asked.
"More fun than me, I'm sure." He replied. "You finish your chores for the day?"
"Um-hm."
"Are you fibbing?" He inquired.
She shrugged.
"Did you finish your chores, Little Missy?" He repeated in a harder tone.
"Not yet."
"Then you best go and finish up."
The girl squirmed. "Can't I stay here with you and Mother Mena?"
"No, go on. You know the rules, we all gotta pull our weight." He put her down.
The little one glared up at him. "How come you get to go outside and play and I have to clean the stupid old church?!" She growled. "Jesus knows it's the end of the world, he won't care if the stupid old floor gets dusty!"
"Annie Louise Miller," the Old Missy scolded archly. "You better watch that tone around me, young lady."
Kneeling, the Lieutenant glared at her, sticking his bottom lip out, mocking her.
The little girl huffed.
"Alright," he grunted, "that's it. I'm dunking you in the holy water…"
She giggled suddenly and dashed out of his reach as he made a playful lunge at her.
"The devil's in this one, Old Missy! I feel it!" He cried, chasing the little one a bit as she hopped around the room away from him.
Laughing all the way out of the room, the wee boo could be heard giggling all the way down the hall.
Turning to the Old Missy, the Lieutenant adjusted his rifle over his shoulder sheepishly when he noticed her grave look, before speaking. "I, uh, should go get the new comers settled."
"Just a moment, Lafayette. I'd like a word with you, please."
He set his gun down at the door as he was supposed to and joined her as she met him in the middle of the office.
She was so small that she came up to the area just under his chest, but she carried herself like a Queen of eight feet in height.
"Sorry about the devil thing, it's just the wee boo has a wicked streak to her that—" he began.
"Never mind that, Lafayette. I've been thinking these past few weeks, that perhaps the next time you're out scavenging, you might bring back some more suitable clothing for the Sisters here. Our habits are hardly suitable for this new environment, wouldn't you agree?"
The Lieutenant hesitated, rubbing his palms over his thighs. "I agree, but…maybe the habits will keep you safe should anything happen, yeah?"
"Are you talking about the other humans who may come here with wicked intent? I'm not concerned by man, Lafayette." She replied firmly. "What I'm most concerned with are those things outside my convent."
Giving in with a nod, the Lieutenant sighed. "Alright. I'll see what I can scrounge.
"Good," she moved back towards her apron. "And…I'd like a gun, if you have one to spare."
Furrowing his brow, he took a jilted half step after her, mouth open, before he stopped himself. The woman had been the only Sister to adamantly refuse a weapon, even Sister Gertrude had been convinced to carry around a small 9mm that the Lieutenant had left over from his squad. She didn't partake in any of the weapon safety lessons he had given, nor had she expressed any interest in them before.
"A gun, cher?"
Ducking into the apron, she calmly tied it. "Yes, a rifle I think."
Taking a step towards her practically had him toppling over her as she spun around quickly. They halted short of colliding and he noticed a flush to her cheeks that confused him. In fact, the entire mood of the woman had changed dramatically since he was gone. She seemed calmer, more relaxed in his presence.
"A rifle?" He repeated.
She looked him up and down. "Yes."
Folding his arms, the Lieutenant shifted his weight, sticking his hip out. "A rifle'll knock you on your ass, Missy, you're just a little thing. I think we'll get you a handgun of sorts."
"I'm a southern woman, Lafayette, I used to be a southern girl and I know rifle's better than handguns. I want a rifle."
"You used to be a sweet little Baptist church mouse," he argued almost playfully. "You've never held a rifle in your life."
"I'm insulted by your insinuation as to my rifleman skills, Lieutenant." She replied dryly.
"Oh, it's 'Lieutenant' now, is it?" He teased, finding a comfortable niche with this new Old Missy.
Touching a hand to his chest, she smoothed his flak jacket pocket idly. "You have a group waiting outside, don't you? Best get them settled, honey."
"How can a man argue with you, cher?" He inquired. "No, I'm honestly curious…"
"Leave my office, Lafayette, you've been dismissed." She replied, turning a cold shoulder on him.
He gawped like a fish on dry land for a moment, before heeding her, taking a dramatic deep bow behind her back at the door, before scooping up his gun and heading out of the room quietly.
..-~-..
..-~-..
"You ladies can stay in the dorms with the Sisters," the Lieutenant said as he led the group around the convent, giving them the grounds tour after Sister Mary Claire had a once over with them and the baby, checking their overall health. "But the Old Missy has a rule about men in the dorms. No way, no how. You boys will have to shack up with Merle in the infirmary." He noticed Herschel didn't like that idea one bit, but gave him a friendly nod. "Beth'll be safer with the Sisters than anyone, I guarantee."
At the door to the dorms as they approached, the Mother Superior waited with the wee boo at the hem of her skirts.
"This is Mother Superior Philomena," he introduced. "She'll get you ladies settled. Old Missy, this is Carol, Beth, Herschel and that squirming bundle is Judith. Plus, I don't think you properly met Daryl Dixon."
The woman eyed the group for a moment, before turning to Daryl. "I have had words with your brother, Mr. Dixon," she said. "I'm glad to see you seem like the more civilized of the two."
Daryl squinted up at her. "Where is Merle?"
"Sleeping in the infirmary, I'd imagine. He took watch for us last night."
Nodding, the man moved off towards the building.
The Lieutenant didn't miss the way Carol stared after the moody redneck, nor did he miss the small smile she had for him when he glanced back at the group.
The Cajun himself grinned broadly, hiding it under his hand as he rubbed at his jaw.
"Lafayette," the Old Missy snapped him back to the moment.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"I'm sure there are things for you to do while we have you with us in body and spirit," she stated.
He knew a 'get lost' when he heard one and rigidly saluting her, slunk off, heading for his garden shed before regrouping his senses enough to get back to his chores.
The Cajun Dialect
Honneur - Honor
Vieux - Old man