skittletitz - I'm glad the show gave Michonne a playful side. I really am. I think she's going to get along great with the Lt.
Peta2 - Carol knows all about handling distant, hard-to-get men. ^_^
MarionArnold - I'm not a baby person myself, but damn are they good at snuggling whoever the hell they want. ^_^ I'd imagine Judith is badass!Daryl's kryptonite.
spygrrl99 - Aw, you're too kind. I am playing with the idea of my this a series...we'll have to see how badly it ends. There might not be anyone left to make a series with. -_-
HGRHfan35 - Annnnd now I have that song in my head. Thanks for that. (Also I hope you had a great weekend!) ^_^
Brazen Hussy - Haha, you're really pushing the Merle/Michonne, aren't you...clever little devil...*mimics the Mother Superior*
MollyMayhem84 - Could you imagine how painful an actual exploded ovary would be? *just thinking muh thoughts*
Lilone1776 - I know. The thing about writing fanfiction (for me at least) is I abstain from reading other works while writing so that I can't be accused of stealing ideas...but good God I miss reading some of the ones out there. Especially some of the older ones...I enjoy the AU's where Sophia is still alive and everyone's happy...ier...happier. Still walkers around, can't be too Disney of course...*le sigh*
Surplus Imagination - I guess you're just going to have to put a little faith into me as a writer...you're still reading this, so I must be doing something right. ^_^
Axelrocks - I think he was just tormenting her when he called her 'bele', you know how he is with his pet names. Does she really love the Lt? Does she?
Raeysama - Here's your update! Thanks for the review!
rebecca taylor - And IT loves you...I'm sure...maybe...^_^
AFishNamedSushi - I need to find time to incorporate more girl talk into this story...dammit, I enjoy Carol and Grace just hanging about being besties.
GG - Yeah, we had a damned sex scene with Shane and Lori and Andrea slutted out and grabbed Shane's crotch and let's not forget the multitude of Andrea/Philip sex scenes, but there hasn't been any good lovin' for awesome characters on the show in a long while...daymn. Also, you're such a beautiful person for telling me I'm a wonderful author. I think you deserve everything good to come your way in life. ^_^ (And don't worry, I have big things planned for both Carol and Grace).
SilverWolf84 - Gee, you've made me blush. ^_^ Thanks a million for this review and others you have posted. I appreciate every last one of them.
This chapter is lacking in Daryl, but makes up for it in plot development and such...so...at least it has appearances by Merle and Carol...so...
Chapter Forty-Five: Possede'
**The Lieutenant**
They should have been digging the cold pit root cellar, but with all the rain they had gotten in the past week, it seemed risky to go down into the soggy ground to dig in a hole, so the Lieutenant and Merle passed the time until their shift on the wall by securing ropes and a flat board to a thick limb on the walnut tree by the church for the wee boo to swing on.
They probably could have been doing something better, but the Lieutenant wanted to do something nice for the little girl. She had been having a rough time lately and he thought she'd enjoy a tree swing on the convent grounds for her to play on.
In the back of his mind he thought about what Carl had said to him about arming her and it stuck uncomfortably. It wasn't like he pushed the thought out of his mind entirely. He had plans for when he came back from Woodbury to teach the wee one weapon safety before just handing her one, but in the time before the war he wanted to give her a nice childhood while she could have one.
Not like she had a great one so far, but he'd like to think she deserved a little bit more.
It was a hard world they found themselves in.
"Test it out," Merle suggested, weighting the flat board seat with his hand and pushing.
"Go ahead, Merle."
"Come on, dummy. Don't be a puss, get on."
"What on God's green earth are you doing to my walnut tree?"
The two men straightened and turned to find Grace standing behind them, her hands full of lunch for the both of them.
"We're making it fun," the Lieutenant pointed out, pushing the swing in her direction.
She looked unimpressed, eyeing the thing. "Someone's going to get killed on that thing."
"It's a swing, not much damage can be done." Merle argued.
"Um-hm, here's your lunch boys," she handed them off their plates, still eyeing the swing.
Slumping onto the ground beneath the tree, the men dug in, eating voraciously.
Sucking a bit of the canned vegetable stew off his thumb, the Lieutenant motioned with his other to the swing.
"Try it out, honeychild."
She folded her arms. "So I can fall on my dignity? No, thank you."
"Don't trust our construction abilities?" Merle grunted.
"Don't trust you boys," she replied with a small grin, moving towards the swing cautiously and testing it with her hands on the rope, before easing onto the bench tentatively.
The men beamed at their success and the Lieutenant set aside his plate to scramble to his feet.
Moving up behind the nun, he gripped the rope just above her head and leaned over to gloat.
"Haven't fallen yet," he teased.
"Give it time."
"Anything will fall given enough time and weathering," Merle pointed out.
"I think you boys need something better to do with your time," she continued to argue.
Moving around her, the Lieutenant pulled the swing up close to him. The woman weighed next to nothing. It was almost unhealthy.
"Lafayette, don't!" She protested.
He released her, setting her in motion with a wide grin.
Before she could hop off when it returned, he pushed the swing again, sending her backwards.
"Well, she made the return trip," Merle said. "Can't be that horribly constructed."
Dragging her feet put a stop to the fun, Grace huffed and clasped her hands in her lap, eyeing the men.
The Lieutenant smirked at her as he returned to his meal under the tree.
She remained seated on the swing, watching them with guarded eyes.
For as long as he'd live, the Lieutenant would never be able to fully understand what went on in the woman's mind. She kept herself so carefully guarded that he couldn't read her face half of the time and the other half it was a general, standard emotion.
He often liked to watch her when she thought no one was looking, trying to catch a glimpse of her true self.
The only time he ever saw her was that night she had the breakdown, when she was frail and so shaken, but that wasn't the 'her' he wanted to see.
Maybe it was because despite all he did for the convent, he was still a stranger to them.
Patting the grass beside him, he invited her over.
Merle cleared his throat quickly and stood up with his plate. "I'm going to go and eat this elsewhere."
Nodding his appreciation to Merle, the Lieutenant invited Grace over to his side again, this time she came quietly, easing onto the grass at his side.
"You eat yet?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Not yet."
Enjoying the afternoon quiet, the two of them eyed the convent grounds. In the distance they could see Tyreese standing on the wall talking with Beth who stood on the ground below, holding Judith. He was holding a plate, so Beth must have just delivered his midday meal to him. Michonne was on the front gate with Father O'Rourke who seemed to be idly chatting at her while she listened quietly.
"Where's Annie?"
"In the church with Carl, I told her to go and sweep it out, you know how much she enjoys that."
The Lieutenant grinned.
One of the first days she was with them he had returned to the convent after hunting and found the girl in the church grinning from ear to ear and sweeping the dirt around happily.
Whatever made her happy, he supposed, knowing how easily she seemed to fly off the handle at times.
"The girl needs some structure in her life," Grace added.
"That girl needs more affection," he argued.
"Hm, well we'll always differ in opinions on that matter."
Beside him the woman sat so primly, so properly on the lawn. Her hands folded in her lap, her legs crossed at the ankles, right over left like a dainty little lady of the country.
It was one thing Lafayette always admired about her, just how much like a queen she could be when doing something so common.
The past few days he had found himself watching her much more carefully, with more scrutiny and he was amazed to find a grace and fluid motion to everything she did.
He was reminded of a dancer, the way she moved.
"I've decided to give you permission to go to Woodbury."
He pursed his lips to stop him from grinning. "Oh?"
"I expect you to report to duty afterwards in one piece, Lieutenant." She stated firmly.
The grin he had fought found its way onto his face in a small, cat-like fashion. "Yes, ma'am."
Casting him a baleful look, she sighed. "I'd love to offer you some kind of incentive to return to us, but…I have nothing. You're a hard man to read and I couldn't even begin to think of what to offer you."
This surprised him. He had never thought he was that hard to figure out, his needs were few and simple.
"Never asked you for any incentive," he argued lightly.
"No, but you should have something worth coming back to," she said.
He shrugged. "I was fighting before and there wasn't anything for me to come home to. Got back from Fallujah, wasn't anything I was looking forward to...except maybe a good night's sleep and no one shooting at me. Which was nice, admittedly."
"But you probably didn't have so many people who'd miss you if you didn't return."
"A few, but…I like you better," he admitted with a quick grin.
To his surprise Grace laughed, her mouth splitting into a wide, child-like grin.
He couldn't recall ever seeing her smile quite like that and it pleased him immensely.
"Why Mother Superior, I do believe I've finally made you smile," he teased.
"It's not hard when you stop tormenting me and speak with genuine affection." She pointed out.
He leaned in close to her, about to continue the tradition they had set up of torment, when Annie's shrieks had them jerking to their feet, his lunch fell with a splat onto the ground as they tore off in the direction of the church.
Instinctually he had his knife out and ready to defend the little girl, when he spied Carl standing in the middle of the church looking helplessly lost.
Annie was screaming and kicking and generally tearing the inside of the church apart wildly. At her feet Boo the dog was fluttering about, yipping in the low, deep rumble of a bark the dog had.
"Annie!" The Lieutenant called out, moving to her aid as she swung blindly at everything that moved.
"No!" She shrieked loudly.
"What happened?" Grace asked Carl who was backing away from the girl.
"I was just trying to get her to hold my gun." He said. "I just thought she should see what it was like."
Trying to grasp flailing hands, the Lieutenant failed as Annie landed a hand on his face, scratching four red marks down his face.
He collapsed onto his ass, still trying to get her to stop jerking about in a fit.
"Boo!" He shouted at her, trying to get her attention.
"No!" She repeated wildly.
Finally managing to get his arms around her waist, Lafayette pulled the girl to him in order to get her to slow her warpath.
"Boo," he cooed in her ear.
"Annie Louise!" Grace shouted. "You need to stop this!"
As Annie bit down hard on his forearm, the Lieutenant released her in shock, cursing as a reactionary measure not an angry. He recaptured her, better prepared for an unexpected bite, keeping his arms low and away from her mouth.
"Hasn't she ever held a gun before?" Carl demanded.
Grace turned to him. "She's only six, honey." Taking hold of his shoulders, she marched the young man to the door. "Look, we'll handle this, you go outside and let everyone know it's nothing serious."
He hesitated. "I'm sorry. I was only trying to help. I thought she should know."
"It's alright, go on now."
On the floor with a squirming, crying, moaning girl, the Lieutenant panted heavily. She had put up one hell of a fight, but that wasn't what had him going, it was the fact that Annie had never reacted this way. Not even during her worst nightmare.
Even Grace looked horrified as she sunk to her knees before them, reaching out to stroke Annie's red and tear streaked face.
"We can assume she doesn't like guns," Lafayette said softly, holding the girl against him as she began to calm down, touching his hand to her ear to prevent her from hearing the conversation.
"But she's been around guns, a lot more than the average child should," Grace argued.
"But she's never touched one, and I try to keep mine away from her."
Removing his hand from her ear, Lafayette stroked the wee boo's hair from her face and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head.
"Boo? You feeling better, honeychild?"
Pressing her face deeper against his chest, she shook her head.
"Come on, let's get you to bed."
"No," she muttered stubbornly.
"Want me to make the frog face?" He asked.
Annie looked up at him, nodding with a sniffle.
Drawing his mouth into a flat, straight line, he hunkered his head down on his shoulders a little and stuck his tongue out.
The little girl giggled.
"Brobbit," he croaked deep in his throat.
Across from him Grace sat back on her bottom on the church floor and shook her head at them.
"You have to catch the fly," Annie pointed out.
Flicking his tongue out quickly, the Lieutenant pretended to chew on something.
Carol stepped into the church quietly.
"Is everything okay? Can I help?" She offered softly.
"Yes, let's try and get Annie into bed, she'll get sick from crying so hard," Grace said, pushing to her feet. "Maybe cool her off with a wet cloth."
"I'm okay," Annie protested.
"You should probably try to get a lie down in, pischouette."
"I don't wanna."
"If you do I'm sure Mother Mena will look the other way if you want to come and have a camp out with me tonight in the shed, okay?"
"I didn't hear anything," Grace added.
Sniffling again, Annie swiped at her tear stained face. "Okay."
"Good girl," the Lieutenant said, pressing a kiss to her temple.
"I love you, Lieutenant," she added, coming back to give him a tight hug.
He hugged her back. "You do?"
"Um-hm."
Beaming at Grace over Annie's head, the Lieutenant scooped the girl up one last time and snuggled her. "Well, that's good, because I love you too. Now go on, get some rest, yeah?"
He slipped the girl to the ground and pointed her in the direction of Carol and Grace who were waiting to take her for a nap.
Annie waved back at him from the doorway and he wriggled his pointer finger back at her.
It wasn't until he was by himself in the church that he collapsed onto a pew and heaved a world weary sigh. The poor beb was in hell and he had no clue how to deal with it. He wasn't a head shrink, but he was sure her actions weren't normal.
The Cajun Dialect
Possede' (A refresher) - A bad , mischievous, child. The literal translation is possessed.