AN: Hi everyone! Here's another little installment to our story!
This is another of those times when I feel the need to remind everyone that I'm no expert on hardly anything that I write about. Most things are "researched" on Google, so they're more than likely to be less than accurate. That being said, everything is simply included to be for entertainment purposes so if you're some kind of professional and things aren't right, I ask you to suspend disbelief and understand that this is just for entertainment. I don't have an editor, I don't own Walking Dead or any of its characters, and I don't get paid for writing…so I limit how much time I research what I put into the stories. Please forgive the inaccuracies.
I hope you enjoy the chapter, and as always, if you feel so inclined please review and let me know what you think! I always love hearing from you!
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"So it's a win, win, situation," Andrea said, dropping something in the grocery cart. Carol was walking along the aisles in the A and P pretty slowly and leaning over the handle of the shopping cart, pushing it as she went. She and Andrea had come in for one or two basic things, but mostly they were doing more talking than shopping by any stretch of the imagination.
"I don't care," Carol said. "I mean it's fine with me if you want to stay with us for a while. If we ever get the nursery put together we've still got the extra room."
"I wouldn't stay that long…" Andrea said. "I mean I'm not trying to go all 'crazy Aunt Andrea' and live there forever…but do you think Daryl would be OK with it?"
Andrea's search for a place to stay was turning up less than fruitful. She'd inquired about a few people looking for roommates, but Carol wasn't dumb and she knew perfectly well why none of them ever called Andrea back. They could say that they found someone or they could say that they had this reservation or that one about her moving in with them, but what it really boiled down to was the fact that Sweet Junction was a town packed full of narrow minded nitwits who didn't want someone with Andrea's reputation being their roommate.
Carol knew that Andrea knew that was the reason too, but they weren't talking about it. Who really wanted to admit that the reason people didn't call them back was because they thought they'd be bringing home strange men every night.
It had been at least a week and a half since Andrea had come to stay "temporarily" with Daryl and Carol. She'd been trying to find a place, talking to someone new every single day, but short of renting at the apartment building, it just wasn't looking like it was going to work out. Now she was proposing that she would buy furniture for the guest bedroom to serve as "rent" for a little while so she could continue her search without feeling guilty about staying on their couch.
As for Merle…well that was something all in itself.
He'd basically disappeared almost. Carol knew from Michonne, who found out from Tyreese, that the man went to work almost every day that he was supposed to, but Tyreese said that more often than not he was hung over and more surly than normal with the other workers. Tyreese had only managed to solve this problem by trying to make sure that Merle got assigned to jobs where he could work primarily alone and at his own pace.
Daryl hadn't seen him, though, since the night he'd broken his nose. Carol knew that Daryl felt guilty about not visiting his brother, but he was bothered by the fact that Merle had started drinking again, though he hadn't been reported as visiting the Watering Hole at all, and he had decided that if Merle was going to stress him out the way he had that night, that he'd rather not be around him until Merle could figure out how to clean his act up a little.
Carol didn't fault Daryl, either, for the distance that he put between himself and Merle. She didn't like seeing the effects that Merle had on Daryl, and she certainly didn't appreciate any added strain heaped on their relationship when it didn't have to be that way. She knew that Daryl felt like he had a responsibility to his brother, but she felt like Merle should be somewhat responsible for Merle's actions before everyone expected Daryl to be the one cleaning up the mess.
Andrea seemed to be taking the split just fine, though. Carol had talked to her about it once or twice and thought she understood Andrea's sentiments. They were essentially that she wasn't going to pine away over someone like Merle if he didn't give enough of a damn about her to just admit that he was halfway fond of her.
She wasn't exactly looking for roses and wine…just recognition. So Carol could understand why she was a little less than shaken up over the fact that she'd finally realized it wasn't likely to ever happen.
"Andrea, don't worry about it," Carol said. "Daryl will be fine with it. It's not like it changes anything having you there. Our lives are just as run of the mill as they always were and we like having you there."
Andrea chuckled.
"I guess you're right. I mean Daryl doesn't even care enough to wear pants half the time," Andrea said.
Carol laughed. Daryl had this sort of feeling about the house like it had some kind of force field around it. He was king of his castle and in his castle he could do what he pleased. That meant, apparently, that pants were optional at all times.
The first two days or so that Andrea had been there, Daryl had been stressed out about it. He was worried that she was going to hear them having sex…and then he got worried that because of that worry he was never going to have sex again.
Carol had finally calmed him down by reminding him that he'd heard Andrea and Merle more than once and that Andrea wasn't going to spontaneously combust if she heard them. She also reminded him that she was, in fact, pregnant, and that most people knew how that happened so sex wasn't some kind of big surprised. Besides, Carol had enough conversations with Andrea about sex to know that the woman was polar opposite of prude and didn't mind at all what they did in their bedroom. She wasn't likely to really mind it even if they'd marched right out into the living room and asked if she wanted to watch.
Once Daryl had handled the adjustment that Andrea being in the house didn't make the house nor Andrea any different, and once he'd realized that everything would continue to be essentially the same between them whether or not the woman slept on the couch, he hadn't minded the idea of Andrea being there at all.
Andrea made him breakfast in the morning, something Carol had gotten away from but hoped to get back to if she ever got to a point where mornings, and most afternoons, weren't the bane of her existence. For her breakfast making abilities Daryl found Andrea almost pleasing.
Unfortunately, now that Daryl was comfortable with Andrea there, he'd also settled back into the king of his castle feelings, meaning that he often didn't think about the fact that he was wandering around the house at night sometimes wearing nothing but what the good Lord gave him. Andrea didn't say much about it, but it had become something that she and Carol laughed about.
"We could go driving around tomorrow," Carol offered. "It's Sunday and I've got the day off work. We could check out the thrift stores and consignment shops and see what we find."
Andrea smiled.
"Sounds like a good deal to me," she said.
Carol thought the idea of driving around to the neighboring towns and doing some furniture shopping might be fun, and if Andrea was going to stay for a while she really did need a bed. As much as Carol didn't mind her there, it would be nice to get her off the sofa for a while.
"Do you mind if…while we're out…we look at some nursery furniture too?" Carol asked.
Andrea smiled and shook her head.
"Of course not! Getting the fever are you?" Andrea asked.
Carol laughed.
"I don't know," she said. "I mean I just want to look and get an idea of what things cost…what you need. I honestly don't even know what all I need for a baby."
Andrea made a face before stepping away and loading a few things into the cart.
"I'm making spaghetti when we get home," Andrea said. "Dinner has been decided."
Carol chuckled.
"Fine, I don't care what we eat and you know Daryl will eat almost anything," Carol said.
"We should get Michonne to go with us tomorrow," Andrea said.
Carol hadn't thought about inviting Michonne, but it could be fun and if anyone knew what she would and wouldn't need for a baby it would be Michonne.
"I don't know if she has the girls or not," Carol responded.
Andrea shrugged, giving Carol the look she gave her whenever she said something that Andrea thought bordered on ridiculous.
"So if she does have her bring the girls with her," Andrea said. "You're going to have a kid, aren't you? I mean between the three of us how much trouble could two of the little smelly things be?"
"You're right," Carol said. "It'll be fun. An all girls' day shopping for bedroom furniture and baby furniture. I'm sure Daryl's going to hate trying to find something else to do with his time."
Andrea laughed.
"Just tell him our plan and I bet he goes running and screaming," Andrea said.
Carol could imagine that furniture shopping for the guest room…or in this case Andrea's room…and the nursery wouldn't be Daryl's first choices for the way to spend his Sunday, but she also imagined that he would do it if she asked him to.
Carol finished her stroll around the A and P, lazily picking up items as she went, with Andrea talking to her about something she heard at the Watering Hole. She was half listening to the gossip, but really her mind had been turned at this point by the thought of actually looking at furniture for the nursery. She was sure it was too soon to be purchasing anything and putting the room together, but just the idea of looking at the furniture was exciting enough that she could hardly keep from grinning about it.
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"Son of a bitch!" Michonne spat.
"Michonne…" Rick said.
"I'm sorry," Michonne said. She was normally more mindful of her language when she was around children, but it had slipped out.
She was sitting in the Grimes' living room and Lori and Carl were sitting on the couch across from her, both of them looking at her.
"It's not a big deal," Lori said, she smiled softly at Michonne. "I'm going to do the dinner dishes…Carl, why don't you go play, it'll be ready for bed soon."
Michonne watched as the boy bounded out of the living room and upstairs. He, like most kids, probably knew that in certain situations the conversation that was about to happen would be neither appropriate nor interesting for him. Lori excused herself as well and Michonne really didn't mind. She doubted the woman cared at all about what was going on, and she couldn't blame.
But Michonne cared, and she'd been surprised to get the later than normal call from Rick that she come over for a few minutes because he had something to discuss with her that she might be interesting in hearing. Thankfully Tyreese was at her house and had immediately offered to watch the girls.
"I knew you'd probably be upset…" Rick started in the calm voice that he maintained at all times.
Michonne like Rick a lot and they had a lot of dealings with one another. He kept her informed of some of the inside gossip and she kept him informed from her end, both under the agreement that were they ever asked about it they would deny ever sharing anything. They had, after all, no misunderstandings of the law or even of what was morally or ethically frowned upon.
She always teased him, though, about his cop voice. Rick had the ability to remain outwardly calm in the middle of a tornado if he could channel his inner cop. It amused her most of the time, but tonight she almost couldn't handle it because her blood was boiling.
"Upset doesn't even begin to cover this, Rick!" Michonne said. "Why haven't I heard anything about this?"
Rick shrugged.
"It doesn't have anything to do with you, Michonne. It doesn't really have anything to do with Carol even, not directly. There was no reason for them to notify you that it would be taking place," Rick said.
Michonne frowned. Really her question had been rhetorical. She understood why she hadn't officially heard anything about it but with a gossip chain in the area that was massive enough to span several towns and cover everything down to what flavor oatmeal the Judge at County had eaten for breakfast that morning, Michonne felt that by now she should have heard something. It had gone under her radar though.
"From what I heard from Frank Thomas, this is something that's between Ed and the County," Rick said. "They're arguing he was given an unfair trial and that he was sentenced rashly and without proof. Frank went on to tell me some more, but like everything else, I don't know how much of it was actual gospel truth and how much was embellished around the water cooler."
Michonne took a deep breath and tried to calm down a little. Getting upset or furious wasn't going to change anything. Realistically there wasn't a thing that she could do about any of it. Rick was really only informing her of all this because she had emotional investment in it, not for any legal purpose.
"Did he say who the lawyer was?" Michonne asked. She shook her head at the very thought of someone trying to get Ed's sentence reduced. The asshole had only gotten five years as it was because the history of abuse had gone undocumented for the most part. The rest he was paying out in funds. Now someone was going to go to court to champion the asshole and say he didn't even deserve that? What she thought he really deserved was to be drug through town by wild horses connected to his testicles…but it was the wrong time period for that.
Michonne couldn't begin to think who would be such an asshole that they would actually stand up for a man like Ed Peletier without being court mandated as his attorney, and she knew a lot of bottom feeding lawyers around her.
Rick shrugged a little.
"Said it was Philip Blake," Rick said. He shook his head. "I don't know him."
"Why do I know that name?" Michonne asked. She felt like the name was familiar, almost like it was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't figure out why it felt so familiar there.
"I don't know anything about him," Rick said. "He's either new in town or from out of town…I don't know. All I know is Frank said that the word is that he's trying to show that Ed got unfair treatment and that he's actually a good guy essentially."
Michonne chuckled, but it was less brought on by humor and more brought on by the absurdity of the situation.
"And the pictures of Carol? And the doctor's reports? What does all that say about his good guy status?" Michonne asked.
Rick shrugged and chuckled a little himself, holding his hands out and palm up to her as if to show that he was out of things to say to her about the situation.
She understood what he meant. This was a situation that Rick had no real information about in the first place. He'd passed through the courthouse today, apparently, picking up some files and filling out some paperwork and while he was there he'd talked to an old friend of his who often passed along all kinds of gossip about what was happening behind the scenes of their judiciary system.
Michonne sighed.
"I know…I know…you don't know anything really," Michonne said, pinching her temples. "This guy…he's got to be a real snake if he's defending Ed. Either that or he's completely fucking clueless."
Michonne glanced up and scanned the room. She knew that Carl was upstairs, but she was trying to remind herself that she needed to be polite and get a grip on her tongue before she slipped again in front of Rick's son.
Rick nodded his head a little at her.
"He's one or the other…but that's what's happening," Rick said. "I just thought you might want to be aware. I don't know how far they'll drag Carol into this, but you might consider giving her a heads up in case they subpoena her or something. She might like to know what's going on."
Michonne sighed and rested her elbows on her knees, her face in her hands. Carol was not going to be pleased to hear this at all and Michonne knew it. It could mean a world of annoyances at the very least for the woman and she didn't deserve any of them. It would probably put a stop on her getting more money from Ed, at least until some kind of verdict was reached, however long that might take…and it could mean that Ed walked a whole hell of a lot sooner than they'd thought.
Michonne didn't even know if Carol was involved enough to know how long Ed was sentenced to in the first place. Michonne had hoped for longer than five years, but realistically there wasn't anything that could be done to get him put away as long as she wanted him put away. His record was fairly clean, and because Carol hadn't reported things before, it looked like they were overreacting. He'd gotten a pretty hefty sentence for a first offense at domestic abuse, and what worried Michonne most was that was mostly owing to the fact that some strings had been pulled.
Ed had technically received an unfair trial by the court standards, and it had gotten covered up and swept under the rug. She had recommended a good, old fashioned hanging, but that was frowned upon, even in Georgia. So she'd been happy with what they got given the circumstances.
Now, however, some asshole was going to go snooping around and find out what she already knew…Ed Peletier had gotten an unfair trail because it had been unanimously decided by some of them with the power to do it that he was an asshole and deserved to be punished.
Now that punishment might be reduced.
Michonne felt like she wanted to puke. Rick shifted a little uncomfortably and she wondered if the feeling had changed her facial expression.
"Are you OK?" Rick asked, his question confirming her suspicion.
Michonne nodded.
"I'm fine…I just…I wasn't expecting this," Michonne said. Her head was beginning to pound and she wished she didn't have to drive home. This would be one of those times when teletransportation would be nice.
"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news," Rick said, his face showing that he meant the words.
Michonne sighed.
"It's not you, Rick. I hope that this guy…whoever he is…falls flat on his face in this," Michonne said.
Rick chuckled.
"Well, you know justice always prevails," Rick said.
Michonne chuckled a little at the sarcasm lathered statement. The truth was that anyone who worked with the law knew that was one of the biggest lies about the law. Money prevailed, social standing prevailed, connections prevailed…but justice rarely did.
Only Michonne had thought it did in the case of Ed Peletier. Unfortunately the fat bastard had been clever enough to spend some time trying to figure out how to weasel out of what was really a much more lax sentence than he deserved, and he may have found the loophole.
Michonne wasn't giving up, though. She was going to see what strings she could pull to find out what was going on and how she might be able to get a hole shot in the plan somehow. Something had to be enough to put Ed right where he belonged and keep him there.
"What did you say the lawyer's name was?" Michonne asked.
"Frank said his name was Philip Blake," Rick said. "That's all I know about him."
Michonne dug around in her purse and found a gum wrapper and an ink pen. She wrote the name on the wrapper and stuck it in with her credit cards. First thing Monday she was going to find out every damn thing that anyone ever needed to know about this Philip Blake character, and she was going to start finding out what the hell might be done from higher up to sabotage the case and make sure he lost. She may have been guilty of doing a little dirty law in her life, but at least she did it for the right damn reasons…she felt like anyone championing Ed Peletier, whether he'd been done wrong or not, wasn't doing anything for a good reason.
"I guess I'm going to see what I can find out," Michonne said.
Rick nodded at her.
"I know it's frustrating that it's out of your hands," Rick said. "But whatever happens…it can be handled."
Michonne nodded her head a little. She got up off the couch and Rick stood too.
"Thank you for letting me know, Rick," Michonne said.
"Anytime," Rick said. "I'm sorry that I even had to hear this myself."
Michonne just nodded. She didn't know what else to say, if there was anything else that really could be said. She let Rick walk her to the door and she said her goodbyes to Lori with a smile and then thanked Rick again before finally heading to her car.
She had talked to Carol only an hour maybe before Rick called and the woman was in wonderful mood. She was practically on cloud nine with her life. And tomorrow when she saw her she was going to have to tell her that some snake in the grass was out there and trying to get Ed's sorry ass out on the street again.
Michonne groaned to herself in the cool darkness of the autumn night. She hoped that she could at least get a good night's sleep, and she hoped that she could figure out some way to guarantee Carol, even as she delivered the potentially bad news, that everything was going to be fine and it was going to work out in her favor. Michonne glance up at the clear sky for a moment and repeated the hope for herself. She'd never believed in the bullshit of wishing on stars, but tonight she'd take whatever she could get.