This chapter will be all about love and has a healthy dose of Eugene and Justine. (Justgene?).

Serendipity

Eugene was in a relaxed mood as the caravan left the compound to go to the retreat. He was riding shotgun beside of Morgan and he had his rifle ready. He wasn't expecting trouble but he was secretly proud that Morgan had picked him to ride with him. Eugene had spent his childhood being picked last for any team; Morgan trusting him to protect Josh and Amelia made up for a thousand last picks in his boyhood.

Eugene turned and checked on Michonne and the babies. She smiled at him and he smiled back. The babies were facing Michonne so he didn't get a good look at them but he knew she wouldn't be smiling if they needed anything.

The trip was a nice change of pace. They were planning on staying the night and coming back to the mountain tomorrow morning with the sisters in tow. Eugene and Morgan talked casually as Morgan drove and Eugene scanned the area. Michonne was occupied with Amelia who always seemed to demand more attention than Josh.

Morgan followed the caravan off the main road and onto a narrow road that ran alongside a creek. Trees formed an almost solid barrier on the mountain side of the road and Eugene instinctively checked his pistol and his rifle. The first warning came over the radio from Daryl and the speed of the vehicle picked up. Michonne checked the car seats that her babies were in and Eugene brought his rifle up even closer and turned and nodded to Michonne.

The caravan was moving swiftly now up a mountain. Eugene could see that the road open up to fields ahead and his heart was hammering in his chest. He heard the first gunshots and turned to the window. He had his rifle out and ready when Morgan pushed the big suv through the last line of trees. John and Carl were going slow enough that Morgan passed them before Eugene could get a shot off. They were soon inside the walls of the retreat. The children were hustled to the chapel and the rest of them ran to the walls with their weapons.

The raiders at the top of the hill did not come any closer and Eugene looked around at the little compound. The walls protected the chapel, several buildings and a garden. The orchard was outside but heavily fenced from the deer. The place was serene and tranquil and Eugene was sorry that the peace had been broken and he didn't think it would ever be completely restored.

Jesse took advantage of the lull in action to introduce him to the sisters, Kathleen, Teresa, and Justine. Eugene had politely shaken hands with Kathleen and Teresa but one look at Justine and he was lost. He took her hand to shake it and forgot to turn it loose as he stared at her. She was absolutely adorable. Red hair, blue eyes, and just a dusting of freckle across her face. Justine had finally pulled her hand out of his and he came out of his stupor to find Jesse giving him the evil eye and the women gone.

"Eugene, get your shit together and get up there and start looking for something other than Justine. You understand me?" Jesse's voice was stern but his blue eyes were laughing.

Eugene nodded. He picked up the rifle that he had set down on a bench while he met the women. He climbed the wall and looked out at the fields toward the trees. He had obeyed Jesse's order and he wasn't looking at Justine. Not that she would be hard to see since he had picked a spot right beside her. He could talk to her without looking at her and he found out that she was as delightful to talk to as to look at though he didn't allow himself to look at her very often.

Justine had been overwhelmed since she heard the gunfire from the top of the hill and the sudden onslaught of vehicles at the gate. Life in the retreat was always quiet and serene. Everyone stayed busy just staying alive. Then, they had taken in the women and children from McAllister Mountain and the quiet was broken by the murmur of many female voices, the higher pitch cries of the babies, and the mesmerizing sound of children playing. Justine had went to her room and cried the day that the bus had come for the women and children. The silence after the bus left had pierced her heart and she missed laughing at something outrageous Michonne had said or spending time with the children. She found herself listening for sounds that just weren't going to be there.

The retreat had seemed empty ever since. She missed them all when they left particularly Alia and Matthias. They were filled with scientific curiosity and asked questions about everything. Alia talked about her family. There was a mother, father, and two children, very pre ZA nuclear type family. There was also an Uncle Morgan, Aunt Michonne, and an Uncle Eugene living in their house. Alia and Matthias missed Mommy and Daddy the most and Aunt Michonne was here, but they also talked about Uncle Morgan who was married to Michonne and Uncle Eugene who was the one who always had an answer for their questions.

Justine had imagined Uncle Eugene as a kindly senior citizen who had been kept safe by the others and who helped tend the children. An Uncle Eugene who was her age, wearing black cargo pants, black combat boots, and a tight fitting dark green t shirt was a surprise. He had dark eyes and dark hair that was cut in a mullet. Nothing could save that hairstyle but she found herself stealing looks at him. She had lived so long with just women that his maleness caught her attention. The breath of his shoulders and his strength in his legs and his interest in her made her aware that he was male and different from her. Jesse and the other men she had come in contact with since the women had arrived had all treated her politely and respectfully. This man was attracted to her and she recognized the faint stirrings of her attraction to him. Justine was drawn to the way he looked and only grew more interested in him after they began to talk.

Their conversation had been halting at first, but gradually they discussed their jobs. He had been a physics teacher in a magnet high school in Texas and she had a doctorate in biotechnology. Their mutual interest in science had opened the door to more personal topics.

"Alia and Matthias told me that you had an answer for every question." Justine looked out over wall and tried not to think about what those men might do to the children in the safe room. Finally she turned to him wondering why he hadn't answered.

Eugene finally spoke, "They are just discovering the world around them and trying to make sense of it. I give them answers to help them understand the part that is rational. There is a plethora of phenomenon that I can't explain. Why those men out there would harm any live human is beyond my understanding. Why I will have to kill them to protect Alia and Matthias is beyond by ken. I guess I don't have very many answers after all."

Justine had listened to many geniuses expound on their ideas and had never heard anything that resonated with her the way Eugene's answer did. "Alia and Matthias are learning that there is an order to the universe, a music of the spheres, and an appreciation for how ecological systems work together from you. They talked about you a lot while they were here. They missed you while they were here."

"The house was too quiet while they were gone. I noticed that we all found something to keep us busy until time to go to bed. The house without the children, Michonne, and Carol was just a place to sleep and no longer a home. I will do whatever it takes to keep them safe." Eugene checked his weapons before going on. "We have two new babies in our house now. Two more reasons to stand on this wall." Eugene smiled at Justine, "You need to come to dinner at our house tonight; Morgan and Carol will cook and the food will be wonderful. We will all talk about our day and what we need to accomplish tomorrow. Then, you can help me do the dishes."

Justine found herself smiling at him, "It's a date." She blushed then thinking how wildly inappropriate it was for her to have a date with Eugene. She wasn't supposed to be happy to have a man looking at her the way Eugene did. She was going to hell for sure.

Carol came along and told them that they were going to draw the raiders toward them now. She seemed concerned that more men might show up later on. Soon there was loud music and the smell of cooking meat. Carol moved some more people toward the back and she and Eugene were moved to the left side of the gate. Carol and Michonne were with them and Justine knew that whatever was going to happen was on its way.

The first volley came from the back and almost immediately they heart the clatter of automatic gunfire close to them. They were crouched down so that they didn't offer too much of a target. Justine saw Eugene look at Carol and then he suddenly stood up and let loose a round of his own. She heard the sound of a man screaming in pain and then Eugene was falling toward her. She grabbed him and kept him from falling while Carol and Michonne trained their rifles on another shooter. Michonne shot him and Carol dropped down to check on Eugene. "It looks like the leg is the worst. Try to control the bleeding." Carol said and then she climbed down and ran toward the dorms. Kathleen followed her. Justine's first thought when he fell was that he was dead or dying and that she didn't want him to die. Eugene had opened his eyes and said, "Got that motherfucker."

Michonne had laughed, "You surely did, but you better watch your mouth because Kathleen has been known to use some nasty ass soap on those who use swear words." Michonne patted his good leg, "You did good, Eugene. I am going to make a warrior of you yet."

"You got the other one?" Eugene asked through gritted teeth and Michonne nodded. He looked at Justine. "I claim you."

Michonne kept watch but there wasn't any more raiders coming their way. John and Aaron helped get Eugene off the wall. In a matter of minutes she was on her way to McAllister Mountain with Eugene, Carol, Daryl with Aaron driving as fast as he dared. Carol's husband had been seriously wounded and he and Eugene needed the doctor. Justine looked back at the retreat as they drove away and knew that she would never be at home there again.

Justine was able to slow down Eugene's blood loss but he still was bleeding. Daryl was more serious and she wasn't surprised that the doctor had taken Daryl into surgery first. Another woman had cleaned Eugene's wounds and prepared him for surgery. People kept coming around to talk to Eugene and he was coherent but he still clung to her hand. She let him hold on because he was in pain and she liked holding on to him.

Eugene was worried about Daryl but finally Christie came back and told them that he had come through the surgery and that David thought he would be fine. Eugene relaxed after that. He looked at their hands still entwined, "How come you are a nun?"

Justine smiled, "How come you have a mullet?"

Eugene grinned, "I'll tell you why I have a mullet. My dad had a mullet when I was a little boy. Great guy. I was whining one day that I go picked on because I was smart and not good in sports. He told me that he loved me just the way I am and that I couldn't live my life trying to be somebody else. He got killed on an oil rig not long after that and I grew a mullet as a way to remember him. I got razzed about it all the time but I just let it slide. Now tell me why you want to be a nun."

"I was working at a research facility in Winston-Salem and I thought that the company was interested in bettering the world, but I found out that part of the research was to create biological weapons. I wanted to get away from work and think about what I wanted to do with my life.

My parents were Catholic, I went to Catholic schools, and I am a believer. My mother knew about the retreat and had been there before. She called Kathleen and I went there to stay for a month or so. I was there when the radio began announcing that the dead were walking around. My mother called me to tell me goodbye. Dad never came home from work and she had been bitten while she was outside working on her garden. She told me to stay where I was. Most people staying at the retreat started home, but I stayed. We found out the hard way that dying of anything turns you into a zombie. There was just the three of us left and I love Kathleen and Teresa. I decided to devote myself to keeping them alive."

Eugene smiled, "I'll cut the mullet if you'll give up being a nun".

Justine shook her head at him, "You don't have to cut your hair as ugly as that hairstyle is. I don't know what I am going to do. We were barely holding on as we were and I don't think we'll ever go backKathleen had already come back and told her that they were living in a house on the mountain but that she should take her time coming home. They weren't going to unload everything today.

Justine had eaten dinner with the family. Alia and Matthias showed her their room and the new babies gurgled for her. Daryl was still at the little hospital but he was going to be brought home tomorrow if he didn't become feverish. Aaron and Morgan did the dishes while she sat with Eugene. Carol had taken her children into her bedroom to sleep. Michonne had taken her babies into her room to feed them. It was just Justine and Eugene on the living room couch. He had taken a pain pill and was getting a little loopy.

He kissed her and she knew she should draw back but she kept seeing him fall toward her and she held on. "Serendipity", Eugene said, "I was expecting to spend most of the day loading and unloading your stuff and then I saw you and I knew it was going to be a serendipity kind of day."

She kissed him back and knew that she would be having a long talk with Kathleen when she got back. Anyone who enjoyed being kissed as much as she did was never going to make it as a nun. He kissed her again and more hungrily this time and she didn't even try to deny that she wanted him this time. She put her face against his neck for a minute and then pushed herself away, "You need to rest. I will see you tomorrow, but why did you say that you claimed me after your got shot."

"I never felt like I had really earned my place as a fighter before today. I made up a few bombwhat I wanted. Doesn't mean that you had to let me claim you, just meant that I wanted to let you know how I felt." Eugene felt his eyes droop and Justine leaned in for one more kiss.

"Eugene, I claim you." She smiled at the almost asleep Eugene. Justine got up from the couch and Aaron escorted her to the truck and she went to their new home to have a long talk with Kathleen and Teresa.

Carol had gotten up in the night to check on Eugene. He was asleep and wasn't running a fever. She went back to bed to sleep for a few hours. Daryl was awake when she visited him and David and Chana were happy to report that he wasn't feverish. He was recovering quickly and wanted to go home and finally they sent him home with a list of instructions to the tender care of Carol and family.

Daryl was shocked at how weak he was and how long it was taking to get back to good health. He expected that he would be back to normal in a few days but it was weeks before he could do much of anything and he wasn't allowed to use his crossbow for months. He and Carol took the children on walks to enjoy the autumn weather. Daryl found a hidden blessing in his injury; he and Carol had time to talk more than they ever had. They had both been busy people in the past and they took this time to let the rest of the world take care of itself for a while.

The sunny days of October changed to a wet misty November and then it was December and Carol knew that her baby would be here soon.

AN

Merriam-Webster defines serendipity as luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for. Eugene finds Justine when he accepts that he is happy without anyone.

Eugene and Justine are the two most cerebral characters in my story so I wanted them to be dazzled by their attraction. Very illogical as Spock would say. Eugene was looking for love in all the wrong places and found it when he stops looking. Justine accepts a life of service to others but takes a chance on love.

Daryl is not superman. It takes him months to recover from his wound.

It's Christmas on the mountain in the next chapter.

Please review.