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**Grace**
"No, I'm not saying we need a leader because I'm trying to put myself in that position," Andrea argued over her glass of wine. "I'm just saying we need to have a clear leader in charge around here to regulate and uphold the laws."
"What laws, Andrea?" Sasha demanded. "We've never had anyone murdered or anything stolen. We all kind of respect each other enough to live and let live."
The women of the convent were spread out across the cots and chairs of the infirmary, comfortable and relaxed, drinking wine and discussing politics and makeup.
Reclined on a hospital bed, leaning against Carol a little drowsily, Grace noted that Andrea's politics seemed to lean more towards uprising and fighting some imaginary oppressor, while everyone else seemed content to just discuss how the world may be beyond their walls. They speculated on how things were run in Delgado's group with all those women and Eve and Dolly set them straight, informing the women of the convent that Delgado was in charge, but that he didn't demand respect, but that he had more than earned it.
"So, Gwen, you've seen Ryan naked, haven't you?" Dolly changed the subject from Andrea's war, to something less intense for the night.
The other women laughed as Gwen almost choked on her wine.
"Sorry?" She demanded.
"Just curious," Dolly replied with a sly grin at Eve. The two women touched fingertips like a mini high five.
Gwen cleared her throat. "I heard honey is good for the skin," she said, pointedly ignoring the two women by turning to Mary Agnes.
"I heard that too," the woman said.
"Wait, wait, wait," Michonne broke in, "I want to go back to that other topic."
Everyone laughed.
"Oh, it's okay, honey," Eve assured the woman. "Just morbid curiosity is all."
"Speaking of men, I'd like to know how Grace the nun ended up with a Cajun devil," Gwen said, still managing to change the subject.
Grace hid a grin in Carol's steel curls.
"You have to imagine this," Mary Agnes broke in with a tricky grin , "the first night that boy showed up, Mother Superior, resplendent in her full habit, takes him into her office—"
"Mother Superior, did you…that first night?" Mary Claire broke in innocently.
Grace gave her a half scolding, affectionate look. "No, I most certainly did not."
"I heard her through the door," Mary Agnes went on.
"Eavesdropped," Grace clarified.
"'You are as mangy as a mutt,' she said," Mary Agnes chuckled. "'For as long as you're in the presence of these good women, you will remain out in that shed and be grateful to the good Lord for it'."
Grace flushed, she remembered every minute of that tense conversation with that strange, tall, scraggly man who had boldly appeared on their wall. The first time she laid eyes on him he was two weeks deep into a beard, his eyes were dark from lack of rest, his cheeks hollow from lack of nourishment. He looked feral. But the smile he had given her, that first grin of his, it was the one that melted her cold heart a little. He looked so relieved to see people, to find others.
"You've come a long way from there to here, Grace," Mary Agnes finished with a gentle smile.
"We've all come a long way," Grace said, deflecting the attention from herself, not used to being the belle of the ball. "When you think of it, we've come so far in such a short amount of time. It's barely even been a year and look at us."
"Don't change the subject, Mother Superior," Sister Joan broke in. "We're talking about you and the Lieutenant and how you pushed him so far away. To be honest, I'm amazed you ended up here."
"It doesn't bother us, though," Mary Claire said with an encouraging smile. "I think we're all really happy for you."
"You made a good decision," Joan added. "The Lieutenant may not be conventional, but he's a good man."
"You'll always be our Mother Superior," Mary Agnes agreed.
Reaching across the void from the bed to where Mary Claire sat in a chair nearby, Grace gripped the younger woman's hand and smiled.
"You've all been such strong women during all of this," Grace said. "I'm very proud to have been at the head of you. I only wish the others had made it this far. I wish we hadn't lost them."
"Well, if Sister Gertrude were still alive she'd most likely tie herself to the doors of that church in order to stop the wedding," Mary Agnes said. "You know how traditional she was."
Grace laughed and explained to Carol and the others, "when the Lieutenant first arrived, Sister Gertrude wanted to throw him right back over that wall. If you can imagine, this tiny, frail old nun, forcing that Cajun boy right back against the wall and eyeing him down like she wanted to set him on fire with a look."
"Mm, the way that man looks at you though," Eve broke in.
Everyone looked over at her.
"We need more romance over at the farm," Dolly said wistfully, eyeing her quiet daughter.
Vivian flushed prettily and sipped at her wine.
"We need more romance here," Andrea said. "I mean Carol and Daryl, the Lieutenant and Grace, where's my slab of man meat?"
"Merle and Mary Agnes," Mary Claire chirped.
The nun cleared her throat and offered the younger nun a warning look.
"What? You don't think we didn't notice how sweet he's become on you."
"Merle is not sweet," Mary Agnes stated coolly. "And that is none of—"
"You know he was going around bragging about it, right?" Michonne pointed out. "That snake."
Mary Agnes quirked a brow and took a sip of wine. "Good. I wouldn't want him any other way. You all can have your mice and house cats, I'll take that snake and thank the good Lord for him."
"There's more to Merle than he lets on," Carol defended her brother-in-law gently. "Lately he's proven that."
"Thank you, Carol," Mary Agnes said.
"Now, I'm curious, Mary Agnes," Sasha said. "Is Daryl a mouse or a house cat?"
"Oh, that boy? No, he's a sheepdog."
"You have no idea how much of a struggle it is to get him to sit still for a haircut," Carol said apologetically. "How come the Lieutenant is always so well groomed, that's what I'd like to know," she turned to Grace.
"That man is a house cat," Grace said with a roguish twinkle in her eye. "He preens more than I do."
"But it pays off," Andrea pointed out. "I wonder how Daryl cleans up?"
"Think he'll shave and get a haircut for the wedding?" Adele asked Carol.
The woman laughed. "No. I couldn't even convince him to wear a tie for it."
"Could you imagine that boy in a suit and tie?" Eve demanded. "I bet he's the cutest thing!"
"The sad thing is," Carol began. "He'd only ever wear a suit and tie if the Lieutenant asked him. He wouldn't for me."
"Aw, that's not true," Mary Claire tried to appease her.
"No, it is." Adele argued. "Those two have a weird relationship."
Grace laughed. "Oh, Lord, it's true! They're eerily close some days."
"I swear, sometimes I think they'd make the cutest couple," Dolly pointed out, before back-tracking quickly. "Not that I've dwelt on the idea or anything! But…they are adorable together."
"Speaking of men and relationships," Eve began, "did you know Delgado and Pace have a sort of thing going on?"
"Oh, shut up!" Dolly argued. "You overhear one compliment from Delgado to Pace and suddenly those two are hooking up!"
Everyone stopped when someone pounded on the door. They all looked amongst themselves, wine glasses held still in their hands.
"Ladies! Open up!" Someone shouted from the other side. "We have a situation!"
Adele was first to the door, being the closest, she cracked it carefully.
From her place on the bed, Grace tried to see what was going on.
Stepping aside, Adele let both Kowalski brothers in, Ryan was beaming widely and holding a battery powered stereo.
"Ladies, I'm so sorry," Ryan explained as he handed the stereo off to his brother. "I tried really hard to find someone to take it all off for you. I really did. But I was beginning to feel dirty, like some kind of p…anyways, we have a problem here—"
"Mister Kowalski, you really didn't have to, Carol and I were jok—" Grace was cut off, by the oldest Kowalski.
"We have a problem here…I'm wearing too many clothes for the occasion!" Ryan Kowalski tore his shirt off over his head and tossed it aside to everyone's shock.
He paused, suddenly and turned to his brother who was fumbling with setting the stereo up.
"That was…" Ryan stopped and stomped on the floor to get his brother's attention. "Hey! Cue!"
Kowalski scowled at his brother and pointed to his ear.
"Yeah, I know you're deaf, just…just fucking hit the button! No, the…fucking play! Play button!" He signed to his brother.
Kowalski frowned and pressed play.
"No, track…the other…" Ryan huffed and made another sign.
Grace flushed and got to her feet quickly. "You really, please, just…you don't have to do this, it was a joke."
Kowalski hit the forward button and Ryan turned to her with a grin as Life in the Fast Lane began playing, grabbing the waistband of his pants and jerking his hips in her direction.
"Oh Lord!" Grace exclaimed, scurrying back to the bed to huddle with Carol, who was laughing hard and not at all helping her or the situation.
The women catcalled and went into a frenzy, while Grace tried to bury herself deep under the blankets and covers of the bed, her face burning with embarrassment as she pressed it against Carol's thigh under the blankets.
"Oh Lord, this is so embarrassing, is he still—"
"Yes, he's still stripping," Carol said, watching the show. "I think this might turn into a bare all sort of show."
"Oh God, I'm so sorry for playing that joke on him now."
"He seems happy enough," Carol replied. "Eve and Dolly are dancing with him now, the others look happy."
Cautiously, Grace peeked out from her blanket fort and found her girls were clapping and laughing along with the others, she winced. Lord have mercy on her for this.
Noticing a tattoo on Ryan's back, she tilted her head and tried to read it.
The man caught her looking and beaming, made his way over.
She ducked back under the blankets and gripped Carol tight. This was more stressful than being shot at. She instantly regretted a lot of things, but this was one of her biggest.
Well, at least the others seemed to be having fun.
Carefully, she peered out again and found Ryan was distracted by dancing with Mary Agnes, the two laughing and leaving no space for the Holy Ghost.
Ryan dipped the nun and the two laughed as he swung her back up and against him.
Grace smiled along with them, enjoying their joy. As long as the man kept over there with the others, she'd be fine.
Maybe it was too much to pray to God to keep the man occupied over there?
Ryan's baby brother almost shyly approached their bed and stood there for a moment, before offering her his hand, eyes on his boots.
Grace glanced over at Carol, who smiled and nudged her.
"Go on," she urged.
Deciding that refusing a shy boy like Kowalski's offer for a dance would be too cruel, Grace took his hand and let him help her up from the bed.
He was either a very progressive, modern dancer or really, really bad, but she didn't care, the poor boy was trying, and not being able to hear the music, he couldn't keep the beat and ended up sort of bobbing and weaving. So she bobbed and weaved with him, laughing as he offered her a shy grin.
Grace noticed Ryan's pants were off and she flushed.
His brother smoothly moved into her line of vision, politely interrupting the sight and distracting her with a better version of the dance, Kowalski even opened his over jacket to better block the image from her.
She gave him a grateful kiss on the cheek and they kept dancing.
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Claire Randall Fraser - All will be revealed. The night isn't over yet.
Ciao Bella - Congratulations on the niece! ^_^ I'm so happy for you! I hope both mother and baby are resting happily!
vickih - I'm basing drunk, happy Daryl on Daryl at the CDC. I imagine if they had karaoke and a pushy Cajun, he would have sung then too. ^_^
Yazzy x - Some people just really cannot handle their substances.
Brazen Hussy - A boy? Have you seen half naked Glenn? But yeah, Merle is totally all gruff and rugged and manly.
You'reMyKindOfTrouble - Milton really is a pompous nerd. I love him so much though. I miss the hell out of him on the show.
auntheddy - Have I answered your question about who stripped in a pleasing manner?
itsi3 - I love the guys being guys too. I really need more of the guys just dude-ing it up all over the place.