Firsts Part 4
First Kiss
Michonne frowned at the email she'd received. She read through it three times and still couldn't understand it.
"Everything alright?" Asked Rick, placed a cup of coffee next to her.
"A couple's asked me to get restraining orders against their adoptive daughter's biological parents." Said Michonne, "I've tried to contact the social workers that placed the girl with them, and I've just been told I can't see any part of her file."
"Okay, so how's that a problem?" Asked Rick, leaning back in his chair.
"I need to know how she ended up in social care in the first place." Explained Michonne, "I can't request a restraining order without a good, solid reason."
Rick frowned, "Have you contacted the parents?"
"That's my other problem," Confessed Michonne, "I've got the other side trying to get my help."
Rick let out a whistle.
F
Clementine gnawed her bottom lip, glancing around the garden.
"Why'd your parents suggest this again?" Asked Becca, dropping down next to Clementine.
"Something to do with making friends, I think." Muttered Clementine, as AJ ran around with some of his classmates.
"For AJ or for you?"
"I dunno."
"This looks like fun." Drawled Gabe, joining the two girls, "where're the others?"
"Sarita's at the hospital, something about baby trouble. Carlos is conducting surgery, and Sarah's watching him, and Gill's on a date with some guy he met at his dad's store, but they'll all be making an appearance later. Hopefully." Said Clementine, as Jamie, Luke's daughter, tripped over a root and landed hard on her face.
Clementine flinched, "Ooh." She glanced towards Jane, she hadn't been happy when she found out she was Luke's girlfriend. Luke had assumed that Clementine had a crush on him, until Jane told him about her past with Clementine.
Jane started making her way over to Jamie, only for the little girl to jump to her feet and continue running after AJ.
"I still don't get why Mr Saul and his wife are here." Said Becca, making Clementine and Gabe look over at the couple.
"Kenlee's friends with AJ." Shrugged Clementine.
Becca looked around the garden, "I thought you said Chuck was gonna be here."
"Yeah, AJ specifically asked for him to be invited." Confirmed Clementine, as the doorbell rang. They heard Rebecca hurry to the front door.
"Five bucks it's Sarah with a gruesome story about her dad's work." Said Becca, getting a frown from Gabe.
"Ten if it's Gill saying his date went bad."
"It's Duck." Stated Clementine, "Because you'll hear a thud in three…two…"
There was a thud, before Duck stumbled through the back door, with a black Labrador in his arms.
"Oh, fuck, no." Hissed Clementine, pulling her feet onto the bench, trying to put as much distance between her and the dog.
The dog, Whistle, looked his eyes on Clementine, before bounding over to her.
"Oh oho, nope." Cursed Clementine, "Nope. Fuck this. I'll see you guys later."
Clementine made a dash to the fence, before hopping over it.
"Sorry." Said Duck, nervously rubbing the back of his head, "I wanted to come over, but I couldn't leave him alone with Butch."
"Oh, fuck this!"
Everyone looked over, as Clementine hopped back over the fence.
"Why the hell do you have so many dogs?!"
"Swear." Said AJ, getting a disbelieving look from Clementine.
F
"How come people still feel their limbs after they've been cut off?" Asked Sarah, getting a sigh from Carlos.
"It's called phantom limb syndrome," He explained, "the brain is responding to the last signal the limb sent, for example, a hand would curl into a fist or a foot would tense up, the brain continues to send signals either continue clenching or to release."
"So, why doesn't it just stop sending signals?" Asked Sarah, frowning.
"Because it's happening on a subconscious level," Answered Carlos, "you can acknowledge that somethings missing, but there'll be a small corner of your mind where you'll keep acknowledging it's presence."
"So, why doesn't it go away when someone thinks of uncurling their hand?"
"Because you can't see it." Responded Carlos, as they pulled up in front of the Brooke home, "The subconscious part of your brain needs to see the hand let go, which is where mirror therapy comes in."
"What's that?" Questioned Sarah, tilting her head slightly.
"It's a form of therapy that, basically, tricks the brain into thinking the missing limb lets go by having the reflection of the other, remaining limb tense up and letting go." Said Carlos, as they got out of the car, "it's surprisingly effective."
"Cool." Said Sarah, as they reached the door.
"DUCK GET YOUR ANIMAL AWAY FROM ME!" Screamed Clementine, making Sarah giggle.
Carlos frowned, as he and Sarah walked through the Brooke home. Entering the garden, they found a black labrador standing at the base of a tree, their tail going a mile a minute, with Clementine clambering around the branches.
"Clem, he's harmless!" Called Duck, the labrador barking and jumping.
"What'd we miss?" Asked Sarah, drawing level with Becca and Gabe.
"Clem's convinced Duck's dog is going to bite her, going on her last couple of experiences with dog sized animals, AJ and the other kids are playing with the dog, Duck's trying to get her out of the tree and the dog wants to play with her." Said Becca, as Clementine's foot slipped off the branch and fell out of the tree, her hat coming off in the process.
In the blink of an eye, the labrador was on top of Clementine, licking away at her face. Grabbing the dog's shoulders, Clementine pushed the dog until it was at arm's length and glared at Duck, "My mouth was open!"
"But, he's not trying to eat you!" Grinned Duck, as the dog dropped down and rested it's head on Clementine's legs.
Glancing down, Clementine hesitantly moved one of her hands to the dog's heat and started patting it. AJ wandered up to Clementine and the dog and buried his face in the dogs fur.
"Okay," Clementine stiffly looked at Duck, "This one is fine, the rest are bad."
Duck froze, before shrugging, "Eh, baby steps."
Clementine rolled her eyes, and reached to adjust her hat, only to find it missing. Twisting around, Clementine found her hat a couple of feet away, quickly grabbing it and pulling it on her head.
"You okay, Clem?" Asked Rebecca, getting nod from Clementine, "Because that fall was about seven or eight feet."
"I've survived worse." Dismissed Clementine, getting a grin from AJ.
"Yeah, she fell off a roof." Said the child, making Clementine freeze.
"I'm sorry, what?!"
"It wasn't that high."
"How high was it?"
"…ten feet?"
"When did that happen?" Asked Rebecca, as Becca froze.
"Is Clem talking about the cabin incident?" Asked Sarah, getting Rebecca's attention.
"When was it?"
"A couple of months ago…." Clementine winced, "…I think?"
Rebecca breathed in deeply through her nose and spun in her heel, "I'm going to get Carlos."
"But I didn't break anything this time!" Protested Clementine.
"THIS TIME?!"
F
"Well," Carlos frowned, looking at Clementine, "you didn't break anything."
"See." Clementine gave Rebecca a pointed look.
"But, your ankle is dislocated." Finished Carlos, "Now, I should tell you to go to a hospital, but-"
Carlos abruptly relocated the joint.
"Fff-" Clementine sucked air through her teeth.
"There, I just saved you about sixty-thousand dollars." Said Carlos, as Duck helped Clementine to her feet.
"It still hurts." Grumbled Clementine, limping as she hobbled away.
"She only found it painful because she's never damaged that ankle before." Said Carlos, frowning as the friend group talked amongst themselves, "I'll speak to Vernon, see about getting her an x-ray or something."
Rebecca hummed, as AJ ran up to her, holding a tooth, "Mommy! Look!"
"Oh." Rebecca stared at the tooth, "Wonderful."
F
A week later, Clementine and Gabe were quietly walking through a park together. Clementine laughed at something Gabe said.
"You know, they're gonna find us." Said Duck, as Becca shushed him.
"No, they're not." Becca looked back at Clem and Gabe, only to find they'd vanished, "Shit, where've they gone?"
Clementine and Gabe stopped running, with Clementine letting a laugh out.
"I think we've lost them." Said Gabe, as Clementine laughed.
"Yeah." Clementine let out a few more huffs of laughter, before leaning against Gabe.
"We need to do that more." Said Gabe, as he and Clementine dropped onto a bench.
"Hmm." Hummed Clementine, as Gabe looked down at her.
The two stared into each other's eyes and, the next either of them knew it, they shared a kiss. They pulled part, before leaning into each other again and sharing a longer kiss.
Meanwhile, from another bush, Sarah snapped a picture of the pair.
F
"Is it me, or has Clementine become…affectionate?" Asked Michelle, looking at Ida.
"I think everyone's noticed it." Answered Ida, as Greg shifted across from them.
"Tell that to my nose." Huffed Greg, getting an eyeroll from Michelle.
"Have you heard?" Interrupted Danielle, dropping onto a seat.
"Heard what?" Asked Ida, frowning.
"We're going to be merging with another school."