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Miss Sally's constant insinuation that James didn't know Thana as well as he thought wasn't really so much of a bother to him. It was true, they lost touch a while before the Outbreak, and it was equally true that, if she was a Navy Officer, then she did most certainly turn herself back around and made use of her family's sense of commanding ambition. It made sense. But what didn't make sense to him was Newnan's Commanding Officer and all around okay guy Ash falling into the sack after knowing someone for less than a day. Just didn't seem like him.

Somewhere deep down, he hoped in equal measures that Ash did and didn't, both. The guy deserved a moment of happiness, however fleeting, and the Martins were generally good people. At least, they were Before, from what he knew. But on the other hand, despite logic and time and proper grief before moving on following her death, Ash was in a long-term and committed relationship with James's best friend ever; his troublemaking partner and preferred supply run backup, Alicia Gonzalez.

He missed Alicia. The thought of her, among the other conversation going on (not to mention his face stuffed full of yummy food) caused him to get a little misty. Before he realized it, he was rubbing his wrist over one eye, hoping to get rid of a tear before anyone noticed. As soon as he had a mouth clear of food, he picked out Jack's comment as the one he would address directly in the ongoing conversation. "Hells, Jack, I dunno about all that. Me an' Ash spent plenty of time in the back of his 'Buster, sippin' corn squeezins. He opened up plenty. But if he needed someone to rub fuzzies with to get his shit together, sorry. Brotha's got limits. Good on Miss Thana. I still got my doubts, alls I'm sayin'."

Try as he might to keep the conversation steered toward the suppositions and maybes of their C.O. and the new girl, the thought of Alicia kept with him. His general animation slowed a bit, the tiniest or somber notes visible in his face. True, he had found another running partner and damned good friend to have your back, Bryn, but she just wasn't the same as Señorita Badass Taco Belle Gonzalez. He really missed her. And he knew that Ash missed her even more.

James recalled several late night conversations with Ash. His guilt was crushing him, and after a few drinks he was pretty forthcoming with talking to an available ear. He did give one concession to his point. "Tati's right, thinkin' on it. Him not requestin' a bunk for Miss Thana? That there is interesting. Tell ya though, he's the sort of fella that'd try to protect someone he thought might need it. He might've just set her up in one of those rooms he ain't usin' in that shiny house of his." He nodded, picking up another full fork of porcine goodness. "Mmm hmm. He's a good guy. "Never take advantage" sorta man, least not like that."

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Hearing the tone of his voice and his words, Thana glanced slowly over her shoulder. If she couldn't hear the crest fall she could surely see it in his expression. Turning she stepped back over to him and took his hand in hers. Running her fingers over the skin as she rolled it over in her palm, her light touch going over his palm; tracing the lines and moving over the callouses. Her lips were pursed slightly as she shook her head. Her eyes remained down trained as she she spoke in a gentle voice. "Ash," she started, calling him by his given name. No Captain, no sir. She was obviously speaking on a much more personal level right then. "I didn't mean alone."

Ash's heart quickened, threatening to drum through his chest. In that moment, he couldn't recall hearing his name in spoken in a more angelic voice. Was she saying what he hoped she was saying? He moistened his lips, preparing to ask, to find some subtle way to confirm his ardent hope.

Gradually her eyes swept up to his and she smiled ever so softly as the light of the fire danced in her eyes. "Or to sleep."

The radiance of those eyes had already stilled the words in Ash's mouth before they could be heard. But when she spoke, it destroyed them utterly. Right then, she could have asked the man to remove a finger and he would have done it without question. A pang of emotion streaked out as a physical sensation from his heart; one of painful desire and familiar longing. He had been drowned and pulled alive from the water, looking at this angel caressing his hand, that sweet, blessed oxygen he was taking in that went by the earthly name of Thana. Ash couldn't hide the look of relief and desire on his face, any more than he could the sudden rush of blood reddening his cheeks. He hoped the fire's orange light would disguise his sudden blush, but part of him disagreed. Part of him wanted this woman to see the color and understand the pure and honest effect she had on him that evening, that the change from gruff Captain to this softer, more open and affectionate Ash was a real thing; happening to him quite unexpectedly but most welcome.

Seeing the redness to his cheeks caused her smile to pull up a bit on one side as she stepped closer. A simple nod of understanding came from her as she looked into his eyes. She could see everything on his face, it was there as plain as day and it gave her a sense of relief. He seemed to be as genuine as she was trying to be right then. She was torn, afraid to break him, yet wanting to see where things went even if only for the evening. To her it would have been hypocritical to tell him he needs to live if she was not willing to as well. Today had been a roller-coaster, yet there was a chance for them to end the evening in warmth and solace. It was a chance she was willing to take, even if she set sail for another port come morning.

He ran his hands upward along her arms, bringing them to rest lightly on either side of her face. Her skin was a smooth contrast to the roughness of his hands, but he could easily tell that strength resided within her. He held them there for a moment, just looking into her eyes with awe. He could have looked into her firelit gaze for hours, and would have, were his need for her any less formidable. "Please... please," he struggled, trying hard to remember the simplest of words in his fevered enthusiasm. "Ah, upstairs, door on the right. Only room with a bed. Please, one minute - less. I need to handle something here. I'm right behind you, I promise."

Leaning into his touch she felt the connection between them and could only let out a light chortle as he stumbled over his words. Her hearts pace quickening as her nerves set in, not unwelcome ones that caused fight or flight responses but those first time knee buckling ones that made you fall into another person and loose yourself. Her hands coming up to his cheeks and cupping them in the palm of her hands she leaned in and brushed her lips to his. "Of course," she breathed into the light kiss.

Then she heard it, the crackle of the radio and a groan came from her mouth as she rested her brow to his. Holding him close to her as her eyes drifted close, her long lashes resting against her skin and grazing his. Taking a long shuttering breath her lips thinned but she understood. This was his home and he was being called on to help it once again. Swallowing the growing lump in her throat, pushing down the building desire she leaned back and looked up at him. "Duty calls," she said in a disappointed but very understanding voice. She knew the call, what it meant.

"Yeah, it does." he responded, downtrodden tones coloring every syllable. Duty indeed called. The announcement of "Newcomers at the wall" was important, it could mean anything from people seeking shelter or trade, even a potential security breach. But it was exactly the kind of job he personally handled here since he was established as Newnan's Second, seemingly ages ago. This is what he did. He took up his radio and responded, "Understood. Hold position." Then he saw Thana's face change.

"Sure thing boss," the wall post chimed in over the radio. Thana slowly pulled her hands from Ash's face and nearly took a parade rest position, her hands slipping behind her back. As much as she hadn't wanted the moment between them to end, again, she understood. She was military after all and with that came the belief that the unit always came before the person; though that very notion had driven more than one couple apart but they weren't a couple. They were just two ships passing in the night. Looking up at him still she gave a nod and waited, figuring she would be turning in while he went to take care of his community.

No. Hell no. This is what Ash would do. He would take on every responsibility he could to ensure that everyone within the walls of Newnan was safe and fed. But what would Leann have done? For her faults, the Lieutenant Colonel was a damned fine officer, who knew how to... delegate. Certainty flashed across his face. Not today. Ash was not going to disappoint or walk away from this woman. It would take a hell of a lot more than a routine security measure to pry him out of his home that evening. He had a Second now, who barely had his teeth cut with anything except for managing Medical. The Captain dialed his walkie over to the Medical Lead's channel, and locked eyes with Thana as he spoke.

"Victor. Hey Froggy, Ash here. Newcomers at the Gate. Need you to handle it, standard. Get a welcoming party from Security together and use your discretion, Doc." He gave it a moment of thought, then addressed his Second again. "Make sure I'm not disturbed unless it's an emergency. I'll be taking the rest of the evening off, as soon as the Lieutenant Commander is done giving me a thorough debriefing." There. Passable excuse established without being dishonest. Then why the growing feeling of anxiety?

"Oui Captain," Froggy said through the radio; his voice as it normally was. Apparently he hadn't picked up on the double entendre or if he did, he wasn't letting on to it right then. Thana did though and her brows rose, her bottom lip curling in as she bit it hard between her teeth and choked back the guffaw that was threatening to erupt from deep within.

Ash let the sentence hang in the air for a half-second before he realized the potentially dual meaning of his last few words. The alarm in his face was sudden and striking, which was precisely what his left hand did as it made audible connection with his forehead. He cleared his throat and tried to salvage his dignity, face still quite palmed. "You have your orders," he snapped, stowing the radio back on his belt. No small amount of honest apprehension covered him as he opened his eyes to look back at Thana. Maybe Froggy wouldn't have the mind of a fifteen year old. He was a surgeon. Even money either way. He wasn't certain where to go from there, so he slowly removed his hand from his head. The blush had come back, but for a horribly different reason. "Ah, Thana, I..." He wasn't usually this speechless. It had been a very odd day.

Slowly Thana's lip slipped from her teeth and she just let out a half relieved half tickled giggle. Letting a long breath fall from her she shook her head slightly as her hands moved back to cup his cheeks gently within them. She hadn't expected him to turn over the responsibility to someone else but he had. It was a surprise, but a pleasant one. She couldn't help but smile up at his blush and the way he was at a loss for words. Her thumbs softly caressing his skin as she pulled him closer to her; her eyes dancing as the disappointment melted from them. "Ash," she whispered softly, "shut up. You talk to much." Her voice was a mixture of playfulness and want. Her smile growing as she pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply as her breath left her.

The greatest amount of pleasure he had felt so far that evening came to him when he saw her eyes light up, right at that moment. He gladly submitted to Thana as she drew him into her, wrapping his arms around her back and pressing her hard against him. He just couldn't seem to get her close enough, no matter how totally his arms encircled her. Rational thought was lost as he returned her kiss, catching her bottom lip lightly between his teeth and ever-so-lightly pulling back before releasing. He buried his face into her neck, showering her with gentle affections, even as he breathed in the smell of her hair and the pheromones from her skin. It drove him to maddened distraction.

A soft sigh escaped Thana as her hands slipped from his cheeks. Gradually gliding into his hair and over the back of his neck as she pulled herself closer. Her neck craning as she savored the feel of his lips against her skin. It had been so long since she had been close to someone, even longer since she had found an actual connection with another. God, what was she getting herself into? Pushing the thought out of her mind she let herself lose herself in the moment. Tomorrow was another day, tonight it was just two people living; a rare moment in that day and age.

Ash barely remembered that Thana had given him an order just seconds ago. Breathlessly, he answered her, "Yes Ma'am." still kissing her neck and moving up to her exposed earlobe. His searching hands instinctively grasped a handful of fabric at her back, straining the buttons on the front of her pajama top to the point that they might burst if he continued. He made a conscious effort to slow down, to stop being so eager and forceful with Thana. "I'm sorry." he panted, "It's been a long while since I've let anyone this close." The intensity, the longing was easy to read on him, as was a continued attempt at self control. In no way did Thana did not make that easy. "We should continue this debriefing upstairs."

Thana's eyes came to his as she leaned back, her fingers tickling the back of his neck as they ran along the collar of his shirt. "No apologies, no guilt, no regrets tonight," she said softly as the same desire that was in his eyes swept through hers. Taking a calming breath as she tried to control herself at least for a moment she nodded. Resting her brow against his. "It's goin' to be an intense debriefing, I hope you are ready," she teased in a sultry voice.

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"Maybe she get through to him vhere rest of us couldn't," Tatiana said as she pulled her chair up more and took a drink from a glass of water. She had been trying to get through to Ash, she was the towns counselor after all. Yet each time she broached the subject he told her he was fine. She doubted that but she wasn't going to press him, it would have only made things worse. She had no doubt that Ash had opened up to James. James was easy to talk to and the two were best friends as it were but still, talking to a best friend and talking to someone you connected with in other ways was a very different thing.

Miss Sally chuckled to herself as she set her cup of tea on the table. "Now, tell me James. Which of those rooms has a bed?" she asked with a rather coy smirk for a woman of her advanced years. Tatiana's eyes widened a bit at the thought, she had been in Ash's house before when the leads were having meetings. One such time she ended up chasing the orange tabby around trying to shoo him outside. From what she could tell there was only one bed in that house.

"And who said he'd be taking advantage of her? She's a grown woman. Seems rather sure of herself and to the point. If something does happen I seriously doubt Ash pulled the wool over her eyes," Lyon quipped before taking a large chunk of meat off the bone of a rib.

Looking over at Tatiana drinking her water Miss Sally cocked a brow. "Wouldn't you prefer to have some wine or champagne dearie? You were telling me you missed the stuff from time to time. No time better than the present," the older woman said as she reached for a bottle on the table and went to fill a glass for Tatiana. Tatiana shook her head and glanced down at her lap as her hand rested over her stomach. "Oh crumpet, is it true?" Tatiana could only giggle and nod. "That's bloody brilliant!!"

Froggy put the radio down and rubbed his chin. This was a first for him. Looking over at Ceil he sent out over the radio. "Medic, can you come back to the infirmary?" he radioed over the general one. It wasn't long before he got a call back confirming. Another radio went out to Jim asking him to join him at the front gate. Jim turned over the booze watching duties to another member of the security team before rushing out the door. After what went down with Bryn he had to wonder if Ash was kicking her out and sending her packing while everyone was distracted. Theft carried a heavy price in Newnan, for good reason.

Rushing out he met Froggy on the street and they headed down towards the front gate while Medic took care of things. Gavin just rocking back and forth on his heels as the gates opened. "Hey, in this weather at this hour, walls is walls. Don'tcha be worryin' none, I won't lets them make you a bitch. I protects my hetero life mate," Gavin joked as he gave Ravi a bit of an elbow.

"Bonjour! Weapons where we can see them and hand them over. You may have them back when you leave," Froggy said, he wasn't exactly sure how to do this but he had come into Newnan a while ago though under very different circumstances. Even though it was his first time he knew the basic drill. No weapons for new comers

"Shit, a'right, a'right," Gavin said as he started puling out weapons but keeping the ammo. Handing them over to Jim while the guns stayed trained on them.

"Welcome to Newnan. This normally goes very different but we are in the middle of a celebration. You will have a security detail on you until we are sure you aren't going to try anything. People in the town are armed and are trained. You would be wise not to try anything," he said trying to be intimidating but he wasn't Ash. Sighing he shook his head. "I am the resident Doctor and second in command of Newnan. You can call me Froggy, and you would be?"

"Well I'm Gavin Comfort, Texas Ranger and this strapping young Englishman is..." he said before glancing over at Ravi and smirking a bit.

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Raymond gave Tiffany a loving smile as she returned the kiss, he had been thinking about this for awhile as well and he was truly happy to hear it from her. Ray gave a lot of thought about it even asking Jack earlier in the day what his friend's thoughts were, Raymond set down his fork and pushed his plate to the side for now. "I've been thinking about it for the last few months as well." Ray said as he ran a hand through his hair, he always thought of a small wedding as well nothing big like Tatiana and Jack's were and a small ceremony. "I think we have some time to talk alone for a little bit, before the first dance and the cake."

Ray reached for his one crutch and slowly pulled himself up to his good leg, he looked over at Beatrice for a moment. "We will be back, just watch our food so no one takes it." Ray said jokingly as he looked over at Tiffany giving her a smile. "Where do you want to go?" He asked her, probably wouldn't be to far from the reception.

Tiffany thought about it some. She didn't want to make him walk a whole lot, but she wanted to enjoy some alone time before they went back to the reception for dancing and cake. "Maybe we can walk a little bit. Not sure what would be a good place. The cafeteria maybe?" She held her arm around him helping him walk. Despite his use of the crutches, she was still worried, especially given the fact he has fallen already. Guilt held her still.

"I just wanted to step away from the commotion and everyone. Talking about marriage kind of got to me a bit. It made me think of my fiance, Zachary, from way back when all this first started. Hell, we were in the midst of planning for the wedding when the crap hit the fan. We stayed together for a while, but he ended up getting bit. I tried to save him, but he was growing weaker and weaker. I had to put him down. It was hard, but eventually, I moved on. When we first met, it hit me hard then too, because it was similar. You got bit and I tried my best to save you and you ended up losing a leg. And you were growing weaker and weaker and I thought 'this is Zachary all over again' because I didn't think I would fall for someone again and I did." Tiffany tried to hold back what tears wanted to come out. She hadn't opened up much about all of this and the floodgates were on the breaking point.

"Sorry, I don't want to burden you with all of this on a happy night. I just needed to air it out. I wanted to tell you how much I care about you."

Raymond wrapped his arm around Tiffany's grateful for the support, normally he didn't really like others to help him walk but with Tiffany he didn't mind at all, and actually preferred it sometimes it made him feel more comfortable with her when they just walked along together. Ray pushed open the door. "The Mess Hall works for me." Raymond said softly, catching a small bit of what Kristina was asking Niesha as they started walking down Jefferson Street.

Ray listened to Tiffany a she spoke, it was also part of his job in Newnan to listen to others and how they are doing and their problems. He remembered their first conversation while they were in Franklin their first day, and her bringing up Zachary. "Don't be sorry, i'm still here because of you. We wouldn't be here now having this conversation if you didn't do what you did to save my life." Ray said brushing some hair out of Tiffany's face and gave her a loving smile. "I care and love you deeply Tiffany, I would do just about anything for you just to make sure that you are safe." Raymond said as they got closer towards the Mess Hall. "I don't see spending the rest of my life with anyone other then you."

Tiffany let out a small chuckle, mainly because it still didn't fully hit her how amazing Ray was. She was lucky to have him and he continued to make it known. "I love you too Ray. I want to spend the rest of my life here with you. Today just kind of hit me harder than most because it made me even more aware of how precious time really is. Life is so different now than it was years ago. I was telling Bea while you went to go get food how important days like today are where we can forget about trouble for a couple of days. We can't just keep surviving. We have to live too."

She calmed down a bit, wiped the remaining tears from her eyes before she took a deep breath and continued, "So yes, I do want to get married one day. Obviously, it's going to take a bit of planning all things considered, and I do think Tatiana and Jack should have their glory moment for a bit, but eventually yes. When the time is right."

Raymond simply just smiled at Tiffany as they talked, she was truly amazing. "I agree with you, the wedding was a great change from the usual days of just simply trying to survive." Ray said as he gave her a loving hug, he was more then willing to wait for whenever Tiffany was ready to get married. "I am more then willing to wait, and we could maybe talk to Meg about it as well since she planned the whole thing for Jack and Tati's big day today." Ray suggested as he leaned in and gave her another loving kiss.

Tiffany nodded. It was nice to hear that Ray shared her similar beliefs on marriage. It was also important for her to get it all out in the open. She mourned Zachary and it was time to move on. It had been time. Zachary would always be a part of her, but Ray filled what void she had and more. She couldn't imagine a life without him. "Yes, I agree. If it's anything like this wedding, ours will be amazing. Shall we head back?"

She stood up and waited for Ray so they could make their way back. There was still time to enjoy the rest of the night. Still time to live. She would walk step in step with him through it all.

Ray smiled and gave Tiffany a nod, Meg did do really well with planning on the wedding, he stood up taking Tiffany's hand. "Lets head ack then love." He said as Ray gave her another loving kiss, he started walking back to the Rec Center alongside with Tiffany. They eventually made it back to the party. He was happy that they had their alone time to have their chat, and their thoughts on their future together.

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Kristina looked up at the night sky for a moment as Niesha spoke looking up always reminded her of the times she spent with her sister. Sitting on the roof of their father's farm house before her parents ended up divorcing each other they always did that while were younger and just talked about the future. She then turned her attention back towards Niesha remembering the first day that Niesha came to Newnan, and then the day that she lost Sophia. "I know at times it is pretty hard just talking about things like that, but you aren't alone either." Kris said giving Niesha a soft smile, she at times did enjoy just having sometime alone to just think and not be around with anyone else. The weeks that followed after her sister's death she wanted to simply be left alone, but things slowly started to get better over time.

Then Niesha asked her a question, and started to think it over in her head it really depended on if it was something that could affect the whole community or if it was just something very little. "It really depends on what it is that you found out. I'd just go and ask the person about it straight up, but that's what I would do anyway." Kristina answered giving Niesha a friendly smile for a moment it started to wonder if Niesha knew something or not. "Do you know something?" Kris finally asked her friend, which started to get her very curious about it now on what Niesha meant by her question.

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Riley turned her head to look at Amelia seeing her reaction for suddenly snatching up her drink, which made her start to laugh ever so slightly, it was kind of a cute little reaction from her. "Sorry, I really thought that you were actually done with it." Riley said softly, she also felt slightly bad for stealing it from her friend. "I could get you a new one or we could share the rest of mine if you want?" Riley offered to Amelia, Riley went to take another bite out from her plate.

Riley's mind started to slowly trail off wondering if Chloe her sister was alright, she did walk out of the rec center with Ryan not that Riley didn't trust Chloe with him. She looked over at Amelia for a moment, and gave Amelia and Meg a quick smile as she stood up pushing her chair aside. "I'll be right back, i'm going to check up on my sister. But i'll be back before the dancing starts." Riley gave Amelia a quick hug as well as Meg. Riley started to make her way out of the Rec Center making her way past Tiffany and Ray as they both came back, she gave them both a slight nod and smile.

As she stepped out into the cold once more, there were three major roads in the inner wall she looked down Jefferson Street for the most part it was bare aside from whoever was trading off their shift to go to the reception. Riley didn't see Chloe there, she cut between the armory and Apartment E to Lagrange Street, she looked up and down for a moment and eventually Riley spotted Chloe heading south. Riley started making her way over towards Chloe, and realized she didn't see Ryan with her. "Are you okay Chloe, why aren't you with Ryan?" Riley asked as she managed to catch up to her twin.

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Meg looked up at Riley as she excused herself as well, raising her eyebrow slightly just leaving her and Amelia to sit together she turned her head to look at Amelia and gave her friend a smile. "I'm sure that the cake will be completely amazing." Meg said as she took a drink and then a bite out of her food. Meg leaned back in her seat as she looked around the room as everyone continued to enjoy themselves she quickly turned back to Amelia. "Riley will be back i'm sure, she probably just wont to check and see if Chloe is alright or something." Meg reassured Amelia.

Then Amelia mentioned the weather, Meg wondered that slightly herself it had been snowing for quiet awhile now it was also pretty weird to have snow this far south as well. But she wasn't a weather man, all she knew was that it is still going to be pretty cold until the weather warmed up. "I'm not sure, maybe a few more weeks or so?" Meghna said giving a slight shrug as she took another bite. "So you and Riley a thing or something?" Meg finally asked Amelia slightly curious if they were together or not, since they were dates for the wedding after all.

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“It's fine, if I feel better later, I can take a sip or two from your glass.” Amelia nodded with a smile as her friend realized that she wasn't completely done yet with the alcohol. Still Amelia suspected it was for the better to not drink much anymore. Considering how hot she got from just a few sips. Curse her shyness before the fall and the fact she never tested her drinking limits!

“Alright, just be careful, okey?” Amelia said to her close friend, when Riley decided to go check up on Chloe. It was good and normal to be concerned about her sister, so Amelia just hoped nothing bad happens outside. Maybe she was just a little bit too paranoid at times? She also blushed at the hug, but otherwise liked it!

“I hope so.” She then replied to Meg with a smile, returning her attention to her meal. At least for a few moments before she heard the other thing her friend had to say. When she heard the words 'a thing or something' , Amelia choked and started coughing from surprise.

“Wha... no... ye...I...” She flushed red, dropping her fork in the plate as her hands didn't know where to go.” We haven't...” The blonde added, regaining some semblance of logic in her thoughts.” I...” She just couldn't really say anything right now as she herself wasn't sure what to think. They didn't exactly date, but Amelia did like Riley a lot and lately she was starting to wonder if her BFF was something more than a friend to her.” Aghh...” She hide her face in her hands. She didn't expect such a topic to be raised here.” I don't know... I'm still trying to figure how I feel and if I should tell her, okey? Don't tell her anything, please Meg!”

”I know I am not alone” Niesha responded after a few minutes thought, simply letting herself think things few for a moment or two. There were times when she thought that people didn’t understand her meanings, when she spoke, although that could easily be her fault. Half the time even she didn’t know what she meant. ”I meant...being someone like me isn’t easy, in normal circumstances. In these? It’s harder. But we’ve all changed, throughout the months, haven’t we?” She mused, before giving a small sigh.

Kristina’s answer wasn’t anything she hadn’t expected, and she let her thoughts churn another moment or two, before she sighed again. ”Its not something that I can just go an ask right now. I’d rather not bug them today” She said softly, looking back up to the sky, she thought for a few more minutes. Could she really tell Kristina what she had found?

It seemed like a breach of confidentiality, and trust, not that she knew who it was...but it was Titiana’s trust….not that she know Niesha knew...but that wasn’t the point. Niesha had no right to talk about it, without first talking with her. So Niesha gave a heavy sigh, ”I… think I have to first talk with them first, I’m sorry, Kris” She said, looking to Kristina ”It wouldn’t be right…”

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Jack whistled slightly at Miss Sally's expert verbal sparring, as she reminded James that there wasn't another bed in Ash's house. The more he learned about this entire situation, the more he figured that Ash was getting some well needed stress relief that evening. And if that was truly the case, he couldn't help but be ecstatic for the man. While he'd never chatted with Ash about those sort of exploits, he figured it had been way too long for Newnan's Commander in Chief. People had needs, after all.

As Lyon added into the conversation, Jack couldn't help but again notice how perfect he seemed to be for Miss Sally. Both were some of the more elder members in Newnan and both were sitting all smug, discussing with near certainty that the Captain might have finally scored. He couldn't help but imagine Lyon and Miss Sally sitting by a fireplace, drinking tea, as they discussed potential relationship pairings in Newnan. Maybe they even gambled over it, placing bets on which couples would happen, which would stay together, and which would fall apart...

...Maybe he'd ask Miss Sally about that later.

"Yeah, isn't she amazin'?" Jack beamed, wrapping an arm around his wife giddily. He had put a little thought into names--and by a little, it was more accurate to say almost none at all. Bazhooli seemed a good choice for a boy--and Davina, perhaps, for a girl. Or maybe Sally for a girl and Victor for a boy. Was the father supposed to pick the name, Jack wondered? Or was that a mother's job? He'd honestly never thought about it.

...Another thing to ask Miss Sally about, then: the role of the father. Or maybe Lyon or Froggy would be better for that conversation. "Bet she's already a bettah dancah and everythin' than I evah could be," Jack joked. "Or he. Could be a he, too."

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Beatrice nodded at Ray as he asked her to watch their food, though the odds that anyone would take it were rather slim. She figured that the little kids would be the obvious culprits, if any, and she didn't see any youngsters in the immediate area. Beatrice recalled spotting Ciel earlier that evening, but it was likely getting too late for the kids anyways. It may have been the apocalypse, but sleep was still important for the little ones.

However, Beatrice did observe Jim leave his bartending duties and head out of the rec center. Ordinarily, that wouldn't have been enough to gain her interest. The wedding had been designed for people to go on shifts and then come to the reception when they were able to. But instead of going to chat with the couple, as she imagined he'd do when his shift ended, he left. As she remembered all of the disasters that had happened the day she arrived, with the explosions that had drawn her attention to Newnan, she couldn't help but hope this wasn't a repeat of that.

She hated weddings, but damnit, she did appreciate the relative peace and quiet of not being eaten alive by walkers.

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Chloe heard footsteps approaching her, and she already dreaded the forced interaction. If it was Ryan, she didn't want to deal with him at the moment. She could hardly keep it together as it was. She doubted that it'd be her sister--she'd be performing at the wedding or wooing the redhead, Amelia, from earlier. Someone from the security detail seemed to be the most likely bet--probably to make sure that she wasn't trying to pull any shit, because in Newnan, there was no goddamn trust to be found.

"I didn't fucking do--" Chloe began to snap, as she turned around to face the person. But when she saw it was her sister, she quickly rubbed her hands against her eyes, trying to keep the tears from continuing to flow. For the most part, she managed to clean herself up, but her eyes were puffy and the skin around them was red. Her breathing was a bit shaky--not the very worst it could have been, but not normal and even.

Was she okay? Chloe had an honest answer to that question: not at all. Memories that she had attempted to repress for ages were coming back with a vivid intensity and it was all too much. She found herself in the same situations, repeating the same mistakes, and it only caused her small self esteem to fall even lower. But at the same time, she found the thought of voicing those thoughts, of verbalizing those feelings, to be horrifying. If she said aloud what was on her mind, then it became all too real.

"He went for a walk or some shit, probably getting high as kite," Chloe responded, ignoring the question as to whether she was okay or not. She didn't know the words to say to her sister just yet, and she scratched at her wrist, feeling nervous and vulnerable and sad and unclean all at once. "Don't you need to be singing or something?" Chloe asked, forcing a smile, but sniffling slightly all the same. The more she tried to keep it all in and bottle it up that night, the more cracks appeared in her façade.

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Ravi rolled his eyes at Gavin, with a slight hint of embarrassment to his action. It was a facial expression that wouldn't have been out of place in an old married couple, when one partner acted a bit too weirdly in public--especially around strangers. He would have come up with a comeback--absolutely brilliant and original, of course--but representatives of Newnan interrupted his train of thought.

"Of course," Ravi nodded. The request for the weapons to be handed over was reasonable, as they were strangers. He handed over his machete and pistol, nearly grabbing his green card from an old, old habit. The last time he had been asked to hand items over before entering an area, his identification had been needed. And while country borders didn't exist anymore, he still had a lingering sense of paranoia that drove him to hold onto the piece of plastic.

Hearing the French accent was a slight comfort to him as well--if they weren't in public, he might have teased Gavin about how it was the European Union that provided this shelter for them, rather than the Lone Star State. And although he may have been glad to see another doctor, he generally didn't care for doctors that treated the living. They reminded him of his time with the CDC, and his (in his opinion) unjust firing.

"Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti," Ravi introduced himself, extending a hand. Had he been paying attention, he would have been thrilled to know that his beard was looking rather stunning at the moment, with not a hair out of place.

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Sally's words put the start of a big smile on James's face. He shook his head a couple of times and responded, "Aight, aight. Y'all got a good argument. Only one bed in Cap'n Ash's place. Plenty couches, though. He's the kinda man that'd take one for a guest, too."

In truth, it was a very good argument. With repeated insistence to the contrary of his stated suggestion from multiple sources over the past few minutes, one of them being the elder and wiser of the town, James began to see possibilities of an Ash/Thana coupling. He still didn't fully believe, it just didn't seem like it was in Ash's nature to be a fast operator or a One Night kind of guy. Then the thought hit him: How did he know that? It was true, his social life had been next to nothing for the past year, but was that guilt? No... Responsibility, maybe, but guilt? And why did that come up in his mind? Ash was no where in sight when Alicia died.

James shook the idea away from his brain. Or at least tried to. The subject was starting to move on, and to a more event appropriate topic anyway. "Hells yes, Jack! Just flat amazin' lady. The both of you. Newnan just wouldn't be right without the botha y'all." It was funny that way. Life moved on. It changed, it altered, sometimes it got better, sometimes it got worse. But as long as you were alive to see it, it just kept chugging along. He voiced part of that observation out loud, as it struck him. "Like that Little Engine that Could, ya know? No matter what Charlie keep throwin' at y'all, you two just keep on a'chuggin', what with y'all findin' each other, this marriage, and now they's gonna be a Little Newnan runnin' around? Hot damn, y'all. This excitin' stuff, right here."

He stood up and extended his hands to the couple in a very informal sort of handshake, "And I just gotta toss a bigass CONGRATULATIONS at ya. I don't think folks can say it enough. This wedding, party, baby, whole nine? You need it. We all need it. Gettin' some good experiences in, doin' the Human Thang 'stead of just scrapin' by. Hell y'all, that's what it's all about. Mmm hmm." James looked around the room from his now standing position before announcing, "Hey, I'm low of fluids... I'll be right back." James began the short walk to the bar.

His pace was slow, and colored by a troubled look on his face. James's head hurt, and he kept remembering bits and pieces of the day that Alicia died. Unbidden, they kept coming up. Ash was devastated. James was devastated. They talked about her several times in the back of Ash's truck, at length, while self-medicating on homebrew. But this was old news.

By the time he made it up to the bar, it hit him - If Ash was in flagrante delicto with Miss Thana Martin, it meant that he was getting over it, moving on. And the only reason it would have bothered James so much was that he just hadn't dealt with it, himself. I mean, why would he need to? He was there to help out Ash, a man who was hopelessly in lo... No. Not hopelessly. They were in a relationship. Alicia had described their relationship to James in the past, saying that it was definitely more than lust, but they weren't sure if it was love. Not the kind that Jack and Tati had, anyway.

He leaned against the bar table. His head was pounding. He could feel his heart racing. No. James was talking to Ash so that he could have someone to talk to, whether Ash knew it or not. The Captain mourned, though. Mourned hard. Went through a rough period. Faced it, dealt with his demons. But for the past year, James had been hiding from his, be it behind smiles, with hard work, or chumming it up with Ash. He felt like such a hypocrite.

James ordered two neat drinks of whatever was clear and flammable. He killed one on the spot, and began to nurse the other. He barely realized that his hand was shaking, if just a little bit.

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"I'll meet you up there, one minute." His voice gave a solid promise that there wasn't a radio call, summons, or incident short of all out war that would prevent him from being with Thana in that one flat minute.

Thana's head snapped back slightly, wondering just what they needed to wait on this time. Cocking a brow her lips pursed to one side. "Better hurry," she said as she looked at him. "60, 59, 58, 57," she said as a smirk came to her lips. Letting the seconds tick over her tongue.

"...better hurry..." mused Ash quietly, smiling down at Thana. But then she kept counting.

"56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50," she continued as she started to step back away from him. Her hands trailing down his chest until they left his body and she took slow deliberate steps away from him. He slowly cocked his head to the side like a curious but confused mastiff. Her smirk turning into a coy smile as she let out a light giggle, yet she didn't halt her count.

"49, 48, 47." Turning on her heels as she sauntered out of the room and towards the stairs. The monosyllabic thought of "Crap." lanced across his mind. She was counting down his minute, and he was thirteen seconds down.

Thana couldn't help but continue to smile as her feet padded over the floor, she knew she was making the situation too literal but she found it fun. "46, 45, 44, 43, 42," she counted down, letting her voice raise slightly in volume to make sure he could still hear her. Every second she spoke aloud hammered an ongoing sense of fueled purpose. He would not be made a liar of that evening. Oh yes, Ash was making that minute.

"41, 40, 39, 38, 37," she called out in a sultry tone as she stepped up the stairs, her hand resting on the banister. She wondered what Ash was up to, what he needed a minute for. It wasn't like he needed to slip into something more comfortable.

Comfort was on his mind, however. Thana's, mostly. Without much time to dally, Ash tossed another two logs on the fire and slid the fireplace screen closed. The last thing he wanted to do was set his home ablaze with the two of them inside of it, but he did want to ensure that his bedroom has some access to heat. That meant opening the flue. It was a real shame that the flue lever was stuck.

Stopping at the mid landing of the stairs she turned around and glanced down the hallway. "36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27." Ash leaned against the lever. Shook it. Grunted and strained against it, digging his heels in and easing his weight against it. The flue would open, as God was his witness that fucking flue would open and he would make his minute.

The numbers clicking off her tongue as she leaned back against the wall, ticking each one off on her finger tips as they drummed against the wall. "26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20." Momentary panic hit Ash. "...damnitdamnitdamnit..." he mumbled, fully aware that he had lost precious seconds in this endeavor. There must be something wedged in there.

"19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14," she said as she bit on her bottom lip. She really didn't have a plan if he was late but she was sure she could think of something.

Meanwhile, Ash had damned well had enough of that lever. He swiftly drew his big combat knife and deftly inserted it into the mechanism alongside the offending device, wiggling it about until he felt the telltale giving of carbon buildup breaking away. The lever slid into place, finally. Now his bedroom had access to the warmer air of the fire, though it would take about a half hour before a really noticeable change took place. They would have to find some way to stay warm until then. Ash had ideas.

Turning she continued up the stairs, each step slower than the one before it. Time moving with each second she called out to Ash. "13, 12, 11, 10." But he still wasn't quite ready. With speed of limb he did not commonly demonstrate, he slipped the bottle of peach liquor into a cargo pocket and grabbed both of their plates. At a dash, he crossed the hallway. He spied Thana from the corner of his eye as he passed by, but refused to waste any precious time acknowledging anything except for his one-minute mission.

Stopping at the top of the stairs her eyes darted around. "9, 8, 7, 6," she hummed out as she leaned against the railing at the top of the stairs. There was movement from the dining area below as Ash tucked their food into his personal fridge (benefit of being in charge) and grabbed two bottles of cold water. He had a feeling that they would be upstairs for a while, and would require precious hydration in the meantime. That was if he made it in time.

Watching for him the last seconds rolled off her tongue. "5." Ash sprinted like a madman over those last few seconds, hitting the stairs with zeal. "4." His speed almost cost him about halfway up as his balance shifted forward, prompting the man to run/crawl the last few steps. "3." Still practically on the floor, he looked up at Thana. It was an excellent view. "2." He shifted both water bottles to his left hand and steadily regained his feet, throwing her a perfect military salute at the end. "1."

"Present and accounted for, Ma'am." he said with the utmost of reverence. A rare boyish smile and rapidly dilating pupils betrayed him as he took the second to just look at Thana. No matter what tomorrow brought, Ash was extremely thankful for tonight. Thorough, intense debriefing. Yes, he liked this woman.

Thana had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing. He was a handsome man but right then he was just down right adorable. A light chuckle slipped out as she returned the salute. The chuckle faded but the smile it had brought remained. Reaching out she took the bottles of water from his hand as her eyes met his. "I think your hands should be dealin' with somethin' else soldier," she whispered as she stepped closer and draped her arms over his shoulders.

Ash reached an arm around Thana, leaning in to sample the sweet, sweet nectar of her lips. At the last possible second, he froze. Arching his eyebrow in the most mischievous manner he could summon, he quietly agreed. "You're absolutely right, Ma'am." Thana's eyes had begun to drift close but snapped open as her lips didn't feel his. Her brow arcing in a curious manner. She didn't have time to ponder why his expression had suddenly become like a cat toying with a mouse.

In an instant, Ash dipped her, supporting her controlled descent with a steady hand on her back. He pulled her in close, taking a moment to steal a kiss before slipping his other arm under her knees and lifting her from her feet. Glancing at the slightly ajar door to his bedroom, then back to Thana, Ash strode forward with confident, heavy footfalls.

Pulling herself closer to him, her arms tightening around his shoulders while he carried her. Leaning close, her lips brushing against the side of his neck between soft nibbles. She hadn't expected to be carried across a threshold this evening but she was beginning to learn to expect the unexpected with Captain Holloway. It seemed he was full of surprises. Ones she was quite enjoying, especially this feeling of being held in his arms against his strong frame.

A solid knock sounded as Ash kicked the door fully open and stepped inside the dimly illuminated room. The heavy wooden portal rebounded from the rubber tipped door bumper and closed behind the pair with a muted click; an otherwise undramatic sound sealing them away from the rest of the empty house, promises of intimate euphoria within.

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A door! Indeed, a door had opened somewhere in this house. Ever since the Alpha and the slimmer female that smelled of mating hormones began to rub mercilessly upon one another in the room with the fire, Schrodinger had made himself scarce. By "scarce", he tucked himself in the shadows of the side of the room, just underneath a piece of vintage furniture he was considering sharpening his claws upon sometime in the next few days. Well, if he decided to stick around. And yes, he watched as shamelessly as a Ceiling Cat.

You see, the game plan was simple: Stick around to get warm, maybe get some quality nap time in. Afterwards, locate and consume as much unattended food as possible, then leave to find a concentration of Humans to show him as much love and attention that he could cheerfully tolerate. Just then, the step was Food. He knew that good stuff was in here someplace; the Alpha usually had some comparatively decent eatables around. The problem was, even in the haste associated with the two-leggers finding someplace private for their own personal howling sessions, that dog-spawned asshat put the leftovers someplace else. Schrodinger wasn't around to see exactly where, and he couldn't immediately smell it out. So when he heard the door, he resolved that this would be a good place to continue his search.

Further, split-second examination revealed that the door was upstairs. That was all Schrodinger needed to know. He was off in a flash, digging claws into carpet for proper purchase, turning on a dime, breaking feline land speed records. Silently hauling ass up the stairs, he saw the last second of Alpha carrying the female into the dim room before the door swung back. Schrodinger poured on the speed, but it was for naught. The same nanosecond the door came to a gentle close, he plowed into it. Now, he had the forethought to slam on the breaks and catch the solid door with his side instead of his face, but damage done. The wind was knocked out of him.

Schrodinger lay next to the door for a few seconds, contemplating merely returning to the room with the lit fireplace and catching some more sleep. He stood, shook himself off, and wondered curiously into the air, "Meow?"₁ During his introspective moment, he strained figure out what they were doing, locked away in an upstairs room without observable food nor fire, but to no avail. The fuzzy orange bastich didn't speak much in the way of Human, it was an odd sort of communication that was much more complicated than it needed to be.

"Meow..."₂

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Kristina gave Niesha a slight nod, she at times didn't understand some of the philosophical stuff Niesha said sometimes but she was still there and did her best to try and understand what Niesha said at times. "We aren't the same people from four years ago." Kristina said softly and shrugged ever so slightly. She definitely knew that she wasn't the same sixteen year old girl growing up in high school enjoying her life as much as possible back then. Kris looked at Niesha for a moment when she continued to mention the thing that she had found out earlier in the day. Kris ran a hand through her hair looking up at the sky as well, she could understand why Niesha didn't want to tell her, it was most likely something that was pretty personal.

"I wont budge on it then." Kris said giving Niesha a soft and friendly smile, she started to gently rub her arms for a moment looking down at her dress, she never thought she would actually wear a dress or become a bridesmaid until today. The day was great, and felt like that the apocalypse never happened. She looked at Niesha gently laying a hand on her friend's shoulder, deciding that it was getting a to cold for her. "Did you want to head back in?" Kristina finally asked her friend, wondering if Niesha needed some more time alone or not. Kristina watched as Ray made his way back to the Rec Center she gave him a friendly wave she turned back to her friend to see what she wanted to do.

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Meghna turned her attention over to Amelia and couldn't help but laugh at Amelia's reaction to her question about Riley and Amelia being a couple. Seeing her reaction though her question was pretty much answered they weren't dating yet, but she thought for a moment and smiled they really did look cute together. "Well you should ask her out sometime then." Meg suggested as she started to eat more of her food and ran a hand through her hair giving Amelia a friendly smile. "The worse she could do is say no." Meghna started to take another drink letting out a relaxed sigh.

"Don't worry Amelia I wont tell her anything, you are when you feel the time is right." Meg stretched slightly, as she looked over at Tatiana and Jack where they were sitting they seemed to be having a great time she also took notice of she watched him from a distance, she also saw Jim leaving the Rec Center and another member of security taking his position as the bartender. She then turned her attention back over to Amelia. "So any plans after the reception?" Meghna asked Amelia. "Are you and Riley going to get it on tonight?" Meg asked her friend teasing her, just to see her friend's reaction.

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Raymond made his way back to the rec center, he had enjoyed the talk he had with Tiffany and really happy that she felt the same way, he slowly made his way up to the front door. Ray gave Kristina and Niesha a friendly smile as the two of them talked when he entered the rec center everything seemed to be the same still Jim walking past him to do whatever duty he was asked to do. Ray started his way back over to the table that they all had been sitting at earlier. Ray saw Beatrice still there at the table by herself, he made his way over and pulled his seat back and flopped down.

"Thanks for watching my food." Ray said giving her a friendly smile as he quickly went back to eating his food, luckily he didn't fall on his ass again on his way back to the Rec Center. He leaned back in his seat turning his attention back to Beatrice. "So did I miss something while we were gone?" Ray finally asked curious if anything interesting did happen while he and Tiffany were talking to one another outside.

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It was the summer before their last year of middle school. Their younger brother, Kyle, had gone off to a Christian summer camp, leaving the girls with the house virtually to themselves. Their father was off at work and their mother volunteered at Vacation Bible School, after all. And while they weren't explicit about it, it was heavily implied that Chloe would be in charge. Already, the Ridgeways had decided which child to invest more time and energy in. They didn't have enough love for more than one.

Chloe was currently in the middle of her parentally enforced two hours of violin practice time. Concentrating on the notes on the page, she played with a mix of clumsiness and grace, going through rhythm after rhythm. But as she pressed the bow down, intending to end with a nice flourish, the strings on the violin snapped. She hadn't snapped a string in ages, and Chloe stared at it, her expression a mix of shock and horror. Their parents had already shouted at her over the expense of replacing the strings--she imagined the screaming and yelling to come, and Chloe closed her eyes tightly, as if she could vanish and appear somewhere entirely else.

Riley sat in front of the TV with her scruffy looking cat named Midnight on her lap. She found him a little over a year ago sitting in front of their front door, Riley despite how strict their parents were towards her managed to convince her to have him. On the other side of her was a bag of Cheetos next to her, lazily leaving a cheesy looking mess on the white couch's fabric. Riley ran a hand through her cat's fur while also listening to Chloe playing on her violin, their parents did try and force her to play it as well. But she was never as good as her sister would and Riley did of course get very jealous over Chloe and Kyle since they were praised more then she ever did.

Then Riley heard her sister's playing coming to an abrupt end, pulling herself up and turned around facing backwards looking over at Chloe's face, Midnight climbed off the moment Riley moved. The look on her sister's face said it all as Riley noticed one of the strings had broke during Chloe's finish, it had been a really long time since Chloe broke one. Riley licked away some of the powdered cheese off of her fingers and started making her way over to the room that they had set up for Chloe's violin practice. "What happened?" Riley asked sounding concerned for Chloe she then started looking at the one string that was now dangling off of the violin's neck.

Chloe very slowly set the violin down, looking at the violin string with a tear in her eyes. She could attempt to fix it herself, but the instrument wouldn't play the same way. She closed her eyes again, shuddering for a moment as she took a deep breath. She heard the cat sauntering off, and she slowly turned, her hands fiddling with her hair as she did so. It was pulled back in a ponytail, with the classic and ever-so-popular hairband that all the middle school girls were in love with topping off the look. "N-nothing," Chloe replied, forcing a smile. She was the quietest of the Ridgeway siblings.

"Just a broken string, that's all," Chloe squeaked.

Riley looked over at the violin feeling bad that Chloe would end up facing the verbal wrath and abuse from their parents for breaking the string. "We could try and fix it together maybe?" She suggested, knowing that tuning it would take awhile to get it to sound how it sounded like earlier. "I can take the blame this time if they find out." Riley hated seeing Chloe being verbally abused by their parents, but it didn't happen as much to either Chloe or Kyle unlike Riley. She started making her way over to a nearby drawer where they kept spare strings for Chloe's violin, finding the opened box their parents wouldn't notice one missing. And if they tuned it right then hopefully their parents wont notice it out of tune either.

"No, I can't let you do that," Chloe replied, finally seeming to get over the momentary trauma. Her sister tended to take the majority of their parents' anger and rage, and while there had been occasions that Riley covered for her, she'd only feel guilty afterwards. She pulled the broken string off of the violin, and brought it over to Riley, looking at her twin sister. She'd never strung the violin herself before--her parents or the owner of the local music store tended to do it.

"Are you sure?" Riley asked looking over at her twin sister when she said she would be the one to take the fall this time, she set Chloe's violin down on the table. She slowly started to unravel the string looking at it over Riley had no real clue what she was doing, other then seeing some people at the music store being forced to wait there while Chloe did her practice there sometimes as well.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Chloe asked nervously.

"Nope, not really." Riley said softly, she looked down seeing a ball at the end of the string and looked down at the tail end of the violin. She started to aligned it through a small notch and made sure that it was tightly secured, Riley then slowly started to pull the thin end of the string forward finding the peg with a hole in it. Riley started to slowly twist the peg making sure that the new string was straight and tight enough, once she was done she looked over at her sister and handed it over to Chloe. "Try it out." She said, she had seen a high schooler doing the same thing to his guitar awhile back and assumed it was about the same thing with a violin.

Chloe nodded and picked up the bow, putting the violin in the crook of her neck. Pulling the bow across the strings, the sound wasn't all together that bad. She let out a sigh of relief--it'd just sound out of tune, and that was something she could fix later. She tuned every other day or so, so there shouldn't be too much of a question by their parents. "Thanks, Rye," Chloe said quietly, putting the violin back in its case carefully.

Riley leaned up against the table as she watched Chloe bringing the violin back up, hearing her running the bow along the strings it sounded a bit off tune to her as well. Once Chloe set her violin down Riley gave her sister a loving hug, hopefully father wouldn't notice a thing she hated seeing Chloe getting yelled at by him. "No problem at all sis." She said happily before letting her go and took a step back looking over at the mess on the couch from the Cheetos she had been eating. Looking over at the grandfather clock in the room they had about another thirty minutes before their father came home from work. "Should probably go and clean up my mess." Riley said softly as she started to head into the kitchen and grabbed a wash cloth, then quickly went towards the sink running it under some water. If their father came home to see the mess she would get in a lot of trouble as she came back scrubbing down the cheesy mess she had made.

Chloe nodded. They didn't have much time before their parents would come home, and in Chloe's experience, it was usually best to be out of the house. She tended to walk to the park herself and climb up a tree, and sit there with her journal. If there was anything Chloe enjoyed to do, and while she never told anyone--nor did anyone ask--it was to write stories. Her parents may have decided that she would be a surgeon, but that wasn't what Chloe wanted in life. She wanted to write. She adored shows like Saturday Night Live and pictured herself as one of the writers one day.

Riley couldn't help but slightly panic, she was scrubbing the wet cloth over the couch the stain was pretty hard to get out she looked up at Chloe as she moved over to the kitchen. Seeing Chloe grabbing some baking soda and water, seeing her mixing them together to make a paste Riley didn't really pay much attention to class especially when it came to math class or science. Her mind always went to other places, while Chloe liked to play violin she always imagined herself picking up a guitar someday and becoming a singer. That is where she really wanted to be when she got older, she shook her head slightly when Chloe came back looking at it for a moment.

But it wasn't the time for fantasies. They had reality to deal with. "Here," Chloe offered, having run into the kitchen and grabbed the baking soda. She mixed it with a little bit of water and made a paste, before hurrying over to the couch. "It'll remove the stain," Chloe explained, before applying it to the slightly orange areas. "Just wait a few minutes and then remove it. Should do the trick."

"Thank you Chloe.." Riley said softly as her sister started to apply it to the stain, she grabbed the bag of Cheetos that she had been eating and quickly rolled up the opened bag making her way back to the kitchen, setting it into one of the cabinets where they had all of their snacks and candy. Riley slowly made her way back towards Chloe rubbing the back of her neck slightly, she sat down looking at the stain for a moment then back at Chloe. "I need to start paying attention in class more.." Riley had always been struggling to get good grades, and usually they were pretty bad and their parents would sometimes beat her if they weren't good enough.

"You don't need to thank me," Chloe said quietly, knowing the thoughts running through her twin sister's head. But what were they going to do about it? It wasn't Riley's fault that she struggled in school. Some people just didn't have the skill set for it, and Chloe wished that she could protect her sister, though she knew that she was powerless to do so. "...Maybe instead of school, do something you like," Chloe suggested. School wasn't for everyone, after all. Perhaps there was something else that would fit Riley better.

"Mom and dad would kill me if they saw the mess though..." Riley said as she sat back and waited for a few more minutes thinking that it was long enough, she started to scrub the wet cloth over the baking soda like paste seeing the stain slowly starting to fade away. Riley closed her eyes letting out a soft sigh, the crisis was averted now. She looked at Chloe when she mentioned doing something other then school, that she liked doing.

Their parents cared more about Chloe and Kyle they were the more successful ones of the family, and already pretty much wanted to have their paths laid out for them. While she was left to struggle more, she thought for a moment what she really enjoyed doing Riley enjoyed music a lot. But it wasn't the violin or any sort of classical music that Chloe played, she would secretly if their parents were gone she always would have MTV or VH1 on TV, and the only subject Riley truly enjoyed was music class. "I do really like music."

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The Ridgeway sisters were barely seventeen years old, enrolled in their junior year of high school. Their school was much like any other--divided by cliques and ruled the by the so called royalty, the preps. Chloe had grown into the role of bookworm, while Riley belonged with the freaks. As for Kyle, their brother? They spoke to him less and less, and he had recently decided that his calling was to become a missionary, much to the excitement of their parents.

It was a little past nine in the evening and it was already pitch black outside. Chloe sat on the same white couch, thumbing her way through an SAT prep book, with an MCAT prep book sitting on the table next to her. In the words of her mother and father, it was never too early to begin studying for medical school. Her entire schedule was consumed with studying and clubs, to the extent that she usually stayed up well past one working, and then woke up by five, in order to get an early start. She didn't enjoy the grueling schedule, but the prospect of disappointing their parents had far larger consequences.

Mr. and Mrs. Ridgeway sat on the couch next to Chloe, watching reruns of Jeopardy! on the television, as they waited for Riley to return home. Mr. Ridgeway frowned and glanced over towards the door. "Chloe, where the hell is your good-for-nothin' sister?" he barked, pumping his fist in the air. "What is China!" he shouted at the television set, startling Mrs. Ridgeway.

"I'm sure she'll be home soon," Chloe said quietly.

"Her sorry ass better be," Mr. Ridgeway grumbled.

Riley sat in the back of Alicia's car, they became very close friends ever since she started high school they had spent the last several hours in band practice. Though they were just starting at the time, and performed at school events Riley had been dreading coming home pretty much every day now and decided to come home later then usual. She also started to have feelings for other women, and her family pretty much being deeply religious Riley was always terrified of either coming out to them or them finding out that she was gay. Only a few of her closest friends knew that she was, Riley didn't even tell Chloe yet either.

"Hey, you okay there Ri?" Alicia asked, she had been quiet pretty much the entire car ride they had gone out to dinner and met Anthony there another of her bandmates also another close friend of Riley's. She turned her head slightly to look at her friend letting out a slight sigh and gave her a slight nod. "Yeah, just dreading being home." Alicia frowned slightly and gave her friend a pat on the shoulder. "You are more then welcome to bunk at my place ya know." Riley gave her friend a slight nod. "I know, and thanks." Alicia's car parked in front of the Ridgeway household. She did from time to time go Alicia or Anthony's house to crash if things did get really bad with her family at home, and usually relied on them for comfort as well.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school Ali." Riley said as she got out, and grabbed her guitar case she slowly started to make her way towards the door she looked through the window. She saw Chloe sitting and studying, and their mother and father sitting in front of the tv watching Jeopardy! taking a deep breath Riley opened the door, hoping to sneak in and get upstairs before they could see her.

Chloe locked eyes with Riley as she stared through the window, desperately hoping that their parents wouldn't notice Riley. She felt horrible for her sister and the way she was treated, but she also had decided she was powerless to stop it. All she could do would be to study even harder, to attempt to win more of their parents' happiness, and distract them from unleashing their rage on Riley.

"Riley Marie Ridgeway!" Mr. Ridgeway barked, pausing Jeopardy! as he spotted the younger twin entering the house. "What in God's name do you think you're doing, being out so late?" His eye twitched slightly, the rage hardly held back. "I ain't raising a whore, goddamnit!"

Riley's eyes met Chloe's when she entered the house, it slightly annoyed her when Chloe didn't stand up for her at times just as Riley did her best to quietly close the door behind her Riley threw her head back letting out a very loud groan when her father noticed her coming in. "For fucks sake..." Riley muttered to herself, she then clenched her fist when he mentioned her being a whore for coming home so late. "Why the fucking hell do you care where I come and go? You give a damn more about Chloe and Kyle then me!" Riley instantly snapped back at her father as she took the strap of her guitar case onto the floor. It was usually a very bad idea swearing in front of them, it always turned out bad she looked over at her sister Riley crossing her arms over her chest turning to look at her father.

Chloe wanted to curl up into a shell and hide, but with the prep books, as well as her parents right next to her, she couldn't move a muscle. She knew that this wasn't going to end well--and that Riley's swearing likely hadn't helped matters, as much as she wished the situation would just vanish and go away. But of course, Riley was right--their parents didn't give a shit about her. They played favorites from the day they came into this world.

"Damn straight I do--they give me shit to be proud of!" Mr. Ridgeway growled, slamming his fist on the end table. "They aren't fuck-ups like you, Riley! All I've ever done is provide for you--I pay for your fucking food, I own this fucking house, and you don't do shit for this family but give us lip, what with your fucking stupid music and your lesbo friends." Mr. Ridgeway took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Chloe looked like she was on the verge of tears, watching as the screaming match went down.

Riley started to clench her fists even tighter her nails digging even tighter into the palm of her hand breaking the skin ever so slightly, her lip started to tremble ever so slightly of course he always called her a screw up and a fuck up. Riley flinched slightly when her father slammed his fists onto the table. "All you ever fucking do is give me fucking god damned bruises!" Riley was really tempted to throw something at her father's head. She looked over at Chloe, the ever quiet one Riley sometimes wished her sister would help her out and stand up for her sometimes, then her father insulted her friends calling them gay.

"I like my fucking music, that's the only thing that keeps me happy, I dread coming home every fucking day to deal with your fucking shit! And I do shit for you, I fucking clean up after you fucking lazy asses every single fucking day, I got a damn job at the fucking grocery store just to make you damn happy!" Riley slammed her fist on the table by the front door glowering over at her father, while her mother just sat there by Chloe their mother absolutely did nothing to stand up for her either as well. "And don't you dare call my friends gay, because I am!" Riley then instantly went quiet with a terrified look, she looked over at Chloe for a moment. Riley did her best to try and hide her sexuality from her family, knowing exactly what their views are on homosexuality.

Mr. Ridgeway went quiet, staring intensely at his youngest daughter for a moment, before he rose from the couch without a word. His hands were clenched into fists and a vein in his head looked to be on the edge of bursting. For a moment, it looked like he was going to strike Riley, but he instead grabbed his wallet from the table, and pulled out a five dollar bill. He handed it to Riley, before walking over to the front door and opening it.

"That's enough for a bus ride out of here," he said, his voice filled with a quiet rage. "Don't come back. You ain't no daughter of mine."

Riley took a step back as her father started to approach him, she quickly averted direct eye contact with the man she remained very quiet and started to tremble fearing that he might hit her again just as he was about to search through his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Riley flinched slightly when he shoved a five dollar bill into her hands, and then she heard the door opening once more. His next words made her heart sink, tears started to go down the sides of her face. It was something she was terrified of, being disowned by her own family she looked up at her father's eyes for a moment.

"Can I at least get some of my clothes and other things?" Riley asked him, she would then look over at Chloe her sister was still oddly quiet during the entire argument between her and their father. "Please say something Chloe.." Riley's voice cracking doing the best to not breakdown or make the whole situation even worse.

Mr. Ridgeway nodded once. It was a reasonable enough request for the unreasonable and painful situation. "Don't take too long," he warned, clearly wanting Riley to be out and on her way. Chloe, meanwhile, was in a state of shock, with tears dripping silently down her face. All of the studying couldn't have prepared her for a situation like this. She had always suspected that her sister was gay, that she was different from the rest of the family--but she never dared to ask. It was too dangerous.

When Riley asked her to say something, Chloe opened her mouth, wanting to stand up for her sister--wanting to confront their parents and exile herself along with Riley. She wanted to shout and to scream for her sister, to protect her the way Riley had always protected her. She wanted to tell Riley that she loved her and that she was so incredibly sorry for everything that had happened--but she couldn't make a sound. Her voice refused to function and silence reigned.

"Get on with it," Mr. Ridgeway said gruffly.

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While Chloe's friends were busy with internships and summer courses at the medical schools of their dreams, she was clad in prison orange. She had been arrested for use and possession of a controlled substance, as well as vehicular theft and reckless driving, just over a month ago. Since then, she had been sentenced to two years--a relatively lenient sentence, courtesy of a good lawyer who was friends with someone she went to high school with.

But even then, her accomplice had gotten off with community service, and she, she had spent her time thus far in the Secure Housing Unit, left to detox apart from the rest of the community. The food had been inedible, and without a single human being to talk to, there were moments when she felt insane. When they removed her from the cell that morning, and brought her into a private room--one often used for interrogations--she wasn't sure what to expect. She had no knowledge that her sister, by then famous across the country, had arranged for a visit.

"Inmate 51434-499, you have a visitor," the correctional officer announced as he entered the room, stepping aside to allow someone else to enter the small and desolate room.

Riley stood just outside of the interrogation room, she managed to pull a few strings with some people to help arrange a meeting with her sister, it was six years ago since she was given the boot by her family. The last year of high school was really tough on her, still the struggles of high school as well as having to find places to crash every few months. But after high school she mainly focused on just her music, and working odd hours, before finally getting a record deal which instantly made her famous.

She was shocked when she first heard the story of her sister being put into jail, something she never expected Chloe getting in trouble with the law. When her producer and manager found out she was going to visit her sister, he suggested not to go but that didn't stop her at all she held a bag of fast food for Chloe and herself. Which was checked before hand, and okayed by the officers when the door opened Riley took a step into the room looking at her twin wearing prison orange.

"Thank you." Riley said to the officer, he nodded and left the room leaving the sisters to their reunion she slowly walked over and then pulled Chloe into a hug. She at first held the longest grudge against Chloe since the night she was kicked out, but after awhile she started to forgive Chloe. "How have you been?" Riley finally asked her sister as she set the bag of food down on the table and sat down across from her twin.

Chloe couldn't help but be shocked, and it showed on her face, the moment Riley came into the room. Her eyes were wide and for a moment, they were filled with happiness, rather than fear and sadness. The guard didn't stay too far away, just on the other side of the glass, able to jump in at a moment's notice. She shuddered slightly as her sister pulled her into a hug, before hugging Riley back fiercely. It was the first physical contact she had had since leaving isolation.

"...Not that great," Chloe admitted, smiling uneasily at her sister. There was so much that she wanted to say to Riley, so much that she wanted to tell her, but she felt like she was at a loss for words. She hadn't properly spoken to Riley since their parents disowned her--and Chloe figured that she had been disowned as well by now. Neither sister had ultimately met their parents' standards. "...Everyone back home knows, don't they?" Chloe asked. Her sister was a famous rockstar, after all--her trial had been well publicized from that.

Riley couldn't help but feel bad she at one point thought the roles would have been reversed, she being in prison and Chloe coming in to visit her. Riley bit her lower lip when Chloe asked if everyone at home knew, though Riley never stayed in contact with their family she came to the conclusion that Chloe was now in the same boat as her now. "I think so I haven't talked with mom, dad or Kyle since I was kicked out.." Riley said softly, she stayed in contact with a few people back home mainly classmates and some friends that still lived back in Grimm.

Riley then opened the bag of food and handed Chloe over a wrapped cheese burger and some fries as well, figuring that prison food always tasted awful. "I thought you might be hungry, beats the hell out of prison food right?" Riley asked, it felt good to actually talk with her sister she did miss talking with Chloe after being disowned. There was so much Riley wanted to ask about her since she was kicked out of their house, in high school she was still so angry she didn't want to talk with her twin at the time.

Had Chloe not nearly been starved in isolation, she would have eaten the food slowly, and maintained a conversation with her sister as she did so. Instead, she quickly unwrapped the cheeseburger and took a large bite into it, her eyelashes fluttering as she tasted the glorious, greasy food. It was a bit impressive how much she managed to get in one bite, and she blushed slightly at her sister. "Yeah...They make cafeteria food look gourmet," Chloe joked, chuckling a bit. "I think my dinner last night was actually just a big piece of rat shit and some expired milk." She took another bite into the cheeseburger, trying to savor it a bit more this time, knowing that she'd never get something this unhealthy but delicious again in prison. "They have this thing they like to serve, they call it loaf...If you throw it, it sticks on the ceiling."

Riley watched as Chloe quickly unwrapped the cheese burger and taking a large bite out of it, which made her chuckle back ever so slightly it was more from her reaction she felt bad Chloe didn't have the greatest tasting food in the world. "So whats worse food from high school, or the food in here?" Riley asked with a smile as she took out her own and started to unwrap the burger and started to take a bite out of it, she then stopped for a moment and leaned back slightly in the seat across from Chloe. "What happened the night I got kicked out?" Riley finally asked, since that night she had no contact with their family, and she was curious why her sister never spoke up.

"The food here, for sure," Chloe replied instantly, without having to think about it. "I'm hoping it gets better when I'm put into gen. pop...but I'm not too hopeful, y'know? Probably gonna be more shit on a stick." But when Riley asked her about what happened that night, Chloe took a final bite into her burger, chewing it thoroughly as to buy herself time. She remembered that night vividly--it wasn't something she could easily forget. She remembered hearing her mother sob after Riley left, and she remembered the sounds of her father beating her mother until she quieted down.

"I don't know what happened," Chloe said, half lying, half telling the truth. She ate one of the fries, before looking back up at Riley. "I'm sorry. I should've...I should've done something."

Riley took another bite out of her burger while Chloe took a moment to answer her question, she looked down when Chloe finally answered her she bit her lower lip for a moment when Chloe apologized for not doing or saying anything to help her that night. Riley had a feeling Chloe wasn't telling her everything, after she left. "It's fine, after that night I really did feel alone.. I mean sure I had Alicia there her family took me in, until we graduated." Riley said rubbing the back of her neck slightly.

"But I guess it was a good thing, I didn't need to have my parents approval and just focused on my music and what little I could for school as well."

Chloe nodded, finishing off the french fries as she tried to think of something else to say. Her own life had become a train wreck and all of her mental energy was on the possibility of appeals, on the chance of parole. She was supposed to be entering medical school in the fall, she was supposed to have the approval of their parents. And instead, she felt directionless, and wasn't able to answer a simple question from her sister honestly.

"I'm glad you're doing well, Rye," Chloe said honestly, as the guard wrapped twice on the door, signaling that their time was running out. Chloe made a bit of a face at the guard, out of a force of habit more than anything else, before returning her attention to her sister.

Riley gave Chloe a soft smile looking over at her. "Thanks Chloe." Riley said softly as she started to eat her fries, she turned her head slightly seeing the look Chloe was giving towards the guard. She started to return the same look at him as well, Riley did really want to spend more time with Chloe even if it was just for a little bit longer. "So when do you get out, and do you have any hearings coming up?" Riley asked, she started to hope that they could have that same relationship like they did while they were kids. "Once you are out, maybe we could have a relationship like we did when we were kids?"

Chloe's face fell at the mention of hearings. She hadn't been able to speak to her lawyer since sentencing, but she knew that the outcome wasn't likely. She had gotten a fairly lenient sentence as it was, mostly due to character witnesses who claimed that she was a good kid who just spiraled out of control. The judge easily could have sentenced her to five years in maximum security, if not more. And while she knew her short sentence in minimum security wasn't that bad, prison was prison. Nothing would change that fact.

"I don't know, Rye...I haven't been able to talk to anyone since I got here," Chloe admitted. "...Well, there was this one bitch I talked with through the vents in the SHU. She's cool, in here for kidnapping or some shit. Think she got transferred about a week ago or so but...Time's hard to keep track of in there. They leave the lights on constantly...But I haven't seen my lawyer in ages, so I wouldn't know if I did have anything coming up...It doesn't look likely." As to Riley's other question, however, Chloe smiled softly at her sister and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Riley looked down for a moment, seems she hadn't had any contact with the outside world since she was sentenced biting her lower lip for a moment. "I could get you a better lawyer or try and pull some strings, if you want." Riley offered, she could get in contact with some really good law firms. She then smiled softly when Chloe did agree to restart their friendship once Chloe was released from prison, Riley then turned her head as she heard a knock on the door once more to signal that their visiting time was done.

Riley closed her eyes letting out a slight groan, before taking out a small piece of paper and quickly started to write down her cellphone number and slid it over to Chloe. "Call me, if you need anything." Riley said to her sister, as she stood up and moved over pulling Chloe into another hug. "I love ya sis." Riley said as she stepped away looking over at her unfinished food and handed the rest over to Chloe, the guard opened the door she gave Chloe one last smile. "I'll try and set up another meeting." Riley said to her before being escorted out of the room.

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The sun had barely risen and the small group, crammed into two cars that functioned as both shelter and transportation, had been on a rotating watch system for a while by then. After leaving Los Angeles and narrowly escaping the bombings, they found that the outbreak wasn't just a local issue--it was pretty much everywhere. And beyond the plight of walkers, there was the threat of supplies being looted by other survivors, as everyone struggled to make it to the next day.

On first watch was a fiery redhead, with multiple tattoos and piercings. She pulled a small plastic bag out of her coat pocket, revealing a white powdery substance. The girl, an ex-con called Tuesday, had found it in the pocket of a walker a few days back, and hidden it away. Tuesday opened up the back and stuck her finger inside, taking out a little bit of the powder, and then placing it on her tongue. Almost instantly, she threw the bag on the ground in frustration, and she then kicked it as best as she could. But being a small plastic bag, it hardly moved an inch.

"Fucking sugar. God fucking damnit," Tuesday growled, as she frantically searched her pockets for anything to smoke. She came up empty and the look of desperation on her face would have explained to anyone what was going on. Chloe Ridgeway, a small-time drug smuggler with the nickname Tuesday, had run out of drugs and was in dire need of a hit. The ginger groaned before scratching at her wrist frantically, as if that would serve as some form of substitute. "Kill me now," Tuesday muttered under her breath.

Riley slowly opened up her eyes letting out a slight yawn and stretch as she slowly got up from sleeping in the back of her car it had been about two weeks or so since they had left LA. She slowly pushed aside the front car seat pulling herself up to the front seat. Riley grabbed her knife that she kept in the front seat and opened the front door, Riley stretched slightly letting out a slight. Across from where her car was a black SUV there was a man and his family.

Riley gave them a slight nod and smile towards them, she started making her way over to Chloe, hearing her sister growl and muttering letting out a sigh. Riley dug through her pocket and pulled out a quarter carton of cigarettes and a liter tossing it over towards Chloe, she also handed Chloe a bottle of water. "When was your last fix Chloe?" Riley asked looking back at the family they left LA with, making sure that they weren't in ear shot, Riley knew that her sister slipped back into her addiction for awhile now.

It still felt a bit odd to Tuesday, hearing people call her by her old name--Chloe. Riley and she had decided that it'd be for the best to introduce her as Chloe, and if possible, to keep her past a secret. They didn't need anyone getting spooked at the prospect of sharing quarters with a convicted felon. Catching the cigarettes and the water, Tuesday quickly lit up a cigarette and enjoyed the taste of nicotine that came with smoking the thing. "Too damn long ago," Tuesday sighed. She hadn't had a proper fix in over a week, with the last of the small stash she'd brought with her all used up.

Drinking a bit of the water, Tuesday felt a bit queasy. The cigarette helped some, but it didn't hit the spot like something stronger would. And with the happy-go-lucky family they were traveling with, she doubted they'd have any of the hard stuff on hand. They didn't even know Tuesday was an addict. "Fuck, even some Mary Jane would be heavenly right now."

Riley watched as her sister quickly lit up one of the cigarettes, she leaned up against a nearby bench for a moment. "You know I always thought i'd end up becoming the addict and you looking after me." Riley said jokingly to Chloe, she let out a slight sigh looking over at the family for a moment. Then she pulled out a folded map of the area and spread it open, Riley looked over at Chloe for a moment and pointed out there was a ranger station in the town.

"There is a ranger station nearby, maybe they have some drugs, maybe weapons, and gas." Riley suggested, she knew that Chloe needed to be wined off of the drugs slowly, one of her band members was a drug addict and the withdrawal never turns out pretty at all. She also pointed out to two restaurants and a café in the small town as well. "We could also hit these stores, maybe the town hasn't been looted yet?" Riley said, they were running pretty low on food already as well as gas.

It didn't take Tuesday incredibly long to finish off the cigarette. She lit up another one a moment later, and nodded at the map, perking up noticeably at the prospect of hitting up the ranger station. While she understood the need to get food and water, as well as more weapons for defense, her brain always placed drugs on a slightly higher pedestal. It'd be deadly and dangerous, but she needed another hit.

"That sounds good," Tuesday nodded, before abruptly dropping her cigarette to the ground, She took a moment to stomp it out, before lurching forward a few feet. She dropped down to her knees, her forehead sweating, as she proceeded to empty her stomach. The puke-extraganza lasted for a few good minutes, before Tuesday crawled to her feet, and uncapped the water Riley had handed to her. Drinking a good portion of it, Tuesday wiped off her mouth. "Sooner rather than later might be a good idea."

Riley quickly moved over to her sister's side laying a hand on Chloe's back as she vomited onto the ground, biting her lower lip for a moment as she did her best to comfort her in some way. Riley looked at her sister with a concerned look as Chloe stood up once more, letting out a slight sigh it was dangerous they managed to park in an RV park just outside of town. "Are you sure you are well enough to travel around a bit?" Riley asked as she looked over at the man and his family.

Tuesday shook her head. "Either the drugs will kill me or the detox will, so I'm fucked both ways," Tuesday sighed. She wasn't sure how much she'd be capable of doing, her mind unable to recall medical knowledge at the moment. All she knew was that she had a serious need, and the longer she went without it, the more she felt like one of the walkers shuffling their way around the country. Sometimes, she wondered if she had hallucinated the entire apocalypse, and that she'd wake up in a shiny new cell in maximum security the next day, beginning to serve the twelve year sentence the judge had given her.

"We are going to go out on a run see what we can find in town." Riley yelled out to them, as Riley moved over to her car and opened it up, waving for Chloe to get in. The man started to head over to the gate that was to the entrance for the RV park, so that they could make it out and make the short drive into Alpine.

Tuesday climbed into the car after smoking up another cigarette with impressive speed, the carton almost empty. She brought the carton and the water bottle with her, having two shivs in her shirt pockets as a means of protection. The man they were traveling with had owned a gun range in Los Angeles, and while he had been teaching the Ridgeway sisters to use a gun, Tuesday still preferred the makeshift weapons of prison.

"Rye, promise me something," Tuesday said, as she sat shotgun in the car.

As soon as Chloe climbed in and closed the door Riley started to pull out of the RV Park the man closed the gate behind them, she started to drive down the road. "Sure whats up?" Riley asked as she looked over at Chloe while still paying attention to the road, seeing a few walkers in the background.

"If I ever get too sick to travel and it's too dangerous to stay put, fucking leave me behind. You got that? I don't want your death on my conscience." However, her request was cut short, as she rolled down the car window, leaned out, and wretched again. There wasn't anything left in her stomach at that point, with it mostly amounting to dry heaving. Each day, she looked a little worse.

Upon hearing Chloe's request for leaving her behind Riley couldn't help but stop the car right then and there after her sister finished her heaving out through the window.

"No, fuck that shit there is no way in hell I am going to do that!" Riley said looking over at Chloe, deep down Riley knew that Chloe was right each day since Chloe's last use her sister started getting worse and worse. Riley sighed and shook her head, she didn't want to lose her sister again and it would feel like she would be the one killing Chloe if it ever came to that. "I don't want your death on my conscience either Chloe." Riley said, as they finally made it to the Ranger Station. Riley parked her car in the parking lot and started making her way towards the door looking through the glass window before trying to open the door.

"It won't be," Tuesday protested. "I'm the one that made some piss poor choices and this is my karma. This is how I'm paying for all the shit I did--I deserve this after I let the stupid ass Bible thumpers toss you out!" She sighed a bit, pulling a shiv out of her pocket. Her hands were trembling, not from nerves, but from illness. The last time she detoxed, it had been within the relative safety of a prison cell. But now, she'd be lucky if the detox killed her and a walker didn't.

"Let me have this--let me make shit right."

Riley moved over towards the door, letting out a sigh when it was unlocked she opened the door to the Ranger Station taking a step inside the building itself looked like it had seen better days. Papers were strewn across the floor, and a body of a dead forest ranger laid in his seat causing Riley to cover her mouth getting a slight stench from the body. When Chloe protested Riley turned around giving Chloe a slight glare, she was still blaming herself for being kicked out all those years ago.

"Chloe, you know I forgave you a long ass time ago for that." Riley said as she gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "You are the only family I got left, we will get you through this okay?"

Tuesday ran a hand through her hair, before nodding at her sister. And as much as she wanted to believe Riley that she'd make it through this, the odds were stacked against her. She was living on borrowed time. "Alright...Let's go steal some shit, then," Tuesday joked, laughing slightly before heading deeper inside of the police station.

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When Chloe turned around Riley noticed her sister's eyes were getting red and puffy, was she crying for some reason? She was surprised that Ryan wasn't there usually he was close to Chloe for the most part. "I saw you walking off with Ryan, not that I don't trust him with you or anything I was just concerned." Riley said as she took a step closer to Chloe she could hear her sister's breathing was shaky looking at her with a concerned look. "Did Ryan upset you or something?"

Riley then shook her head slightly, as much as she wanted to go back and enjoy the party itself she wanted to check up on Chloe, she didn't see her sister this upset since the day on that run back in Alpine Arizona when things started to get hectic. The run ended up getting worse when a herd came in, they managed to lock themselves in a nearby café. She noticed Chloe still didn't answer her question if she was alright or not "You know you didn't answer my question, whats going on why are you alone?"

Chloe took a deep breath, contemplating how to answer Riley's question. Every turn of phrase she could use seemed inadequate or cheap, hardly touching the heart of the issue. Eventually, she made herself stop scratching her wrist, and look her sister in the eye. "It's nothing, we both said some shit and it reminded me of what...well, what the guards'd have us do in exchange for a favor." She shook her head again as she looked away, having found just that little explanation incredibly hard to vocalize.

"I'm nothing more than a used up piece of shit," Chloe sighed. "Hell, I'm ruining your night with Amelia, nixing your chances of getting laid." She rubbed her eyes a bit, finding more and more random things spewing out of her mouth. "It's almost like in high school...I tried to convince myself so. fucking. much. to crush on Marc, but I couldn't. And Ryan is super sweet and he--usually-gets me but...I just can't. I can't like him like that, and I feel like shit about it sometimes. He fucking said he's celibate because of me..."

"You aren't a piece of shit Chloe." Riley said as she moved in and pulled Chloe into a hug, hearing her sister mention of what the prison guards would do to her sister for something made her slightly angry at them. "You changed since then, you got yourself clean now you aren't the druggie four years ago. I know you can be the person before the drugs. Hell you were way better then I was when you and I were kids, I was always the fuck up." She smiled slightly and shook her head when Chloe mentioned Amelia and ruining her chances with her tonight.

"Don't worry about me and Amelia." She said gently laying a hand on Chloe's shoulder when she mentioned Ryan, was obviously no secret he did like her. "It's Ryan's choice to not get his fucking dick wet and that's on him, don't let that get to you and pull you down. The two of you are good friends and you two get along and you two have stuff more in common then I do with you."

Chloe nodded a bit, hugging her sister back. The tears continued to come on and off, along with a glorious case of the sniffles. But she still couldn't believe Riley that she was a better person than she was when they were kids. Riley had always known what she wanted in life--Chloe never knew. She still didn't know what would make her happy. Working in medical didn't put a smile on her face--not even the internships she held at hospitals in college had brought her joy.

"Everything gets to me," Chloe admitted, laughing sadly. "I act like I'm tough as shit, but...but I'm not. I'm still that scared little girl who couldn't take it when Dad'd yell."

Riley smiled softly as she hugged Chloe tightly. "I guess you get the tough act from me then huh?" Riley said jokingly gently running a hand through Chloe's hair. Back in high school she was always getting into fights constantly with Simone and the other bullies back in school, for the most part she rarely ever took shit from anyone. "What did you want to do while we were growing up? Aside from whatever the fuck our mom and dad wanted you to do with medical school?" She asked. Riley knew growing up that their parents practically dolled Chloe up to go into the medical field, she was pretty much the prodigy of the family growing up. They never asked her what Chloe ever wanted to do with her life truly after all.

Chloe shook her head slightly. She had never even thought about anything else, growing up. It had always been decided for her, so she hardly saw the point in imagining other things. "I don't know," Chloe said quietly, her voice cracking a bit. "I didn't even want to be a smuggler--I don't even know why I did it." She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think of something that would give her life meaning and purpose, but she was still too caught up in memories of the past. Her demons wouldn't let her go.

"Theres always time to find something you like doing now, its not all about trying to survive and work around town." Riley said she still had time to just simply write more music in her spare time. Though she knew that her performing days were long gone by now, tonight though felt great just standing in front of others and singing again. "I could maybe help if you want. And help you find something that you are passionate about." She said giving Chloe a soft smile, she shivered slightly at the cold for a moment, ignoring it as best she could.

Chloe had stopped crying for the most part, nodding again at her sister. She knew that there had to be more to life than simply surviving, as it lacked a point otherwise, but sometimes it was hard to see that. At the prospect of figuring out what she actually enjoyed to do....she wasn't all too hopeful. She had spent most of her life pleasing others or rebelling against others to the extreme--the odds that she could find herself, somewhere in the middle, seemed to be slim. "You should go back to the wedding," Chloe urged. "Work your magic on Amelia and all...I think I might call it a night."

Riley bit her lower lip for a moment looking over to where the Rec Center was and then over at Chloe as she told her she should head back, and be with Amelia blushing ever so slightly. "You sure you don't want to go back with me, and enjoy the rest of the evening with us?" Riley asked looking at Chloe, she was still concerned for her for the most part she just wanted to make sure that her sister was alright and didn't want to see her twin being alone. Riley did imagine that they would be bringing the cake in pretty soon, and the dancing would start fairly soon as well once the cake was there as well.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Chloe replied, giving her sister a final hug. "Go and have fun--I mean it."

Alright then, just come by if you want." Riley said softly as she returned the hug she gave her a slight smile and then started to turn away making her way up Lagrange Street, and back over towards the Rec Center giving her sister one last friendly smile before turning up a corner.

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"A doctor and an Englishman? Well then I know someone you will want to meet," Froggy's said in a chipped voice as he shook Ravi's hand. As they handed over their weapons he looked over to Jim. "Get these checked into the armory with their names, you can have these back when you leave or when it is deemed you are staying and are trustworthy enough to carry within the walls," he said motioning for them to follow him before he shoved his hands into his coat pockets.

"Normally you would have been met by Captain Holloway but he is speaking with another new arrival currently," Froggy added as he lead them towards the inner gate.

"Doctors, walls, Frenchmen, y'all gots quite the set up here don'tcha?" Gavin said letting out a long whistle as he looked around.

"We work hard but yes, this place is quite a paradise compared to most these days. Actually we are celebrating a wedding right now. So you picked a good time to show up. Let's get you two inside and some food in you. Then we can find a place for you to sleep this evening," Froggy said as they continued heading towards the inner gate.

Gavin perking a brow. "Well tarnation! I was just gonna take a quick look, sees if it was safe to be leaving me best bud here and head out but if yous got food, I might just stay the night," Gavin exclaimed. Froggy looking over to him and chuckling, his way of speaking reminded him so much of Zoie.

Tatiana couldn't help but laugh and lean against her new husband. "Hopefully our baby be as happy as you all time," she said before giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. When James got up he watched him for a bit before turning her attention back over to Jack. Miss Sally on the other hand kept an eye on James before standing up and excusing herself from the table.

Walking over to him she rested her hand on his shoulder. "James, let's go talk," Miss Sally said in a kind voice. She could see something was bothering him and she was like the grandmother for the entire town at this point.

Tatiana gasped as Mike finally rolled out the cake. "Jack, look, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed as she dropped her napkin on the table and rushed over to it. It looked stunning and she couldn't wait to cut into it. "Oh Mike! Thank you!" she giggled as she gave the man a hug.

"It was my pleasure," he said before pulling out a smaller six inch round cake that looked just like the big one. "This is for you to keep in your freezer. Eat it in a year, tradition here. My sister did the same when she got married," he said handing it over to her.

"So sveet! Jack! Ve should cut cake?" she asked as she looked around and spotted her husband, waving excitedly towards him.

Niesha was grateful that Kristina didn’t push the issue, even if she herself had brought it up. Satisfied that, having used Kris as a sounding board, she had an answer to her twisting thoughts. She gave Kristina a smile, and nodded, ”Sure” She realised that Kristina was probably cold, and she couldn’t let her friend get sick because of her. She took Kristina’s hand, and led her back inside, ”You looked amazing, up there Kris” She told her friend, smiling at her again, before looking around the rec centre.

Niesha didn’t really want to be there, she’d had enough social interaction for the day, and yet a part of her didn’t want to be alone. Even if a part of her always thought she would be. She gave a soft sigh, standing there, letting her hand fall from Kristina’s so Kris wouldn’t feel obliged to stay with her, standing on the very edge of the celebration.

She looked over everyone, knowing if Kristina wanted her to go with her, that she would. She looked to Kristina, waiting for her to make a move, noting that the evening had moved on towards the cake, always something that Niesha understood was a big part of the evening. She wasn't too sure why. Wouldn't it make more sense to have something more... memorable, something that lasted longer then cake? Or maybe it was simply the fact that it was something the couple could appreciate. Trying to understand symbols was not something NIesha was good at, at least with this sort of thing.

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Jack laughed a bit at Tatiana's comment, though truthfully, he hoped the same. If their baby was going to grow up in this world of the damned, he hoped that the kid was happy as could be, and safe. They'd grow up behind walls, but at least they'd be protected. And maybe, maybe they'd bring a little hope to this sorry world. The name Little Newnan from James brought another grin to Jack's face, imagining a kid named Newnan Newnan.

"Thanks man," Jack replied to James, shaking the man's hand as James extending it out to him and Tatiana. He blushed a bit as James went on about how the entire town benefitted from all of this stuff. He knew that it was true, but he didn't feel comfortable taking so much credit for it. He wanted all of the adoration to go to Tatiana--she was the one that was pregnant, after all.

As Tatiana ran after Mike and the cake, Jack took a moment to shove some of James' food in his mouth. But of course, like a mature adult, he chewed it with his mouth closed, enjoying the mouthful of meaty goodness. As Tatiana waved excitedly over at him, he gave her two thumbs up, before swallowing his mouthful. Hurrying over to Mike and Tatiana quickly, he whistled softly when he saw the cake.

"Damn, that's mighty fine," Jack said, his eyes a bit wide. He couldn't help but imagine that it'd taste even better than it looked, and it looked amazing already. "Cuttin' it sounds good to me, solovey," Jack answered, prompted by his stomach more than anything else.

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"Don't worry about it," Beatrice said, taking another bite of her own food as Ray rejoined the table. "It didn't move or come alive," she joked dryly. Her humor was always like that--understated, to the point that if you didn't listen to her words, you could miss the jokes entirely. At Ray's friendly smile, Beatrice attempted to smile back--though she didn't try too hard. It looked more like a strange contortion of the face, as the guarded, patient, and judgmental girl made a purposeful effort to try to loosen up around him. The only way she knew to do that was with horrible and hidden humor.

"Well...People have mostly been coming and going," Beatrice shrugged, trying to think of one event in particular to tell Ray and Tiffany about. But to be honest, she was so bored with weddings in general that she had hardly been paying attention. "They brought out the cake," Beatrice offered as news, glancing over at Mike, Tatiana, and Jack.

She took another bite of her food, musing to herself a moment over the various things that had happened at the wedding. There had been no further tantrums from Dick, a fact that disappointed her. It would have been entertaining to watch. Ryan had left before she could properly talk to him, and she couldn't even see James anymore at the bride and groom's table. Everyone seemed to be disappearing.

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Chloe watched as Riley left, taking a few more deep breaths before she too headed on her way. Her breakdown had ceased for the most part, aside from the occasional catch in her breathing. The shoes had started to kill her feet and the cold was getting to her, and she rubbed her arms as she headed on home. Trains of thought came and went, but for the most part, she felt calm. As rapidly as her mood had swung negatively, so had it gone in near reverse once more.

The walk wasn't a long one--all she had to do was go north on Lagrange Street and stop just before the inner wall. She nearly slipped on a patch of ice as she went, but managed to catch herself in time. Her right shoe went flying in the process, and she hopped on one foot to get it, not trusting the ground to not be littered with glass and the like. It was an old habit, fostered when to go barefoot was practically asking to catch one infection or the other, and die.

When she got home, Chloe quietly opened up the main door, rather aware that her eyes were all puffy and red from crying. She tried her best to go just as quietly to her room, but luck didn't seem to be one her side. She wasn't normally this clumsy, but she nearly tripped again--but instead of losing a shoe, she stubbed her toe.

"Fuck!" Chloe muttered, grabbing her foot in her hand and putting pressure on her toe, as she hopped to her room. She flopped onto her bed and took a few more deep breaths, more preoccupied with the pain in her foot rather than the pain in her soul. A few minutes later, Chloe got off of her bed and quickly changed into pajamas, grateful to be out of the dress. As much as she resented slightly living in Reject's Housing, she couldn't help but love the sanctuary of her room. No one (with a few exceptions) bothered her there.

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Ravi raised an eyebrow at Froggy's words, excited by the prospect of meeting more of his countrymen. It had been ages since he had seen another Brit, and already, he could feel the nostalgia rising within him for his homeland. The decision to leave Great Britain had been a difficult one, though back then, it was a simple enough matter to hop on a plane and go home for a visit. Now, it was highly unlikely that he would ever set foot on British soil again. It broke his heart.

"Another arrival?" Ravi asked, more than a little curious. "How many people stumble across this place?"

The more he learned about Newnan, of course, the more impressed he was with the settlement. It didn't look like a temporary camp for a handful of survivors--it looked almost like the last bit of civilization left in the world. They had medical staff, walls, people of all nationalities, and weddings! His jaw practically dropped, and he glanced over at Gavi, before grinning at his heterolifemate.

"We could get hetero-married, mate," Ravi teased, though he was infinitely glad Gavin had decided to spend the night in this place. On one hand, it made Ravi feel a little safer--these people could easily be cannibals, after all. And on the other hand, he felt his friend would be in more danger if he left and went back out into the snow, searching for the monsters at Peachtree City.

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“But what if she decides we can't be friends anymore...?” She quietly asked when Meg proposed to just ask Riley out. Well it wasn't a bad advice, but Amelia wasn't sure she was brave enough to actually do it. It seemed so weird how others seemed so open about how they felt and expressing it. She had gotten better at not simply shying away from everyone all the time, but doing something like this was still hard to bring herself to do.

“...get it on... ? “ She replied almost in autopilot, in slight confusion, trying to figure out what her friend meant. Well it didn't take her more than a few moments to do so. She had just brought a mouthful of food to her mouth, but luckily the question didn't come as she was swallowing. Instead she just was about to spit it out from the surprise as she was about to caugh, but held it down and swallowed the food properly. Her face was bright red, very obvious bright red.” What... why? Yes?...No?... I don't... can't...” Amelia broke as she started saying random words, unable to form sentences to reply properly. Finally she though hell to it and quickly pulled what was left of Riley's alcohol and drank it all. It felt burning down her throat which kind of pulled her coherent thoughts back together from the confusion though the fact she felt so hot right now was another matter entirely.” It would be nice to not be alone tonight...” She shyly admitted to her friend, looking at the table.” I fear she will dislike me...”

“Ohh.. the cake's... so pretty!” She stated when she suddenly saw it when it was brought. Her mind was still flooded with random thoughts about what to do now. How to ask Riley out. What to say tonight and then there was the fact she suddenly felt a little daring! It was all Meg's fault! But it was true that Riley would love to not be alone tonight, but with Riley.”Uwaaa... Meg why did you have to mention all that... How will I face Riley when she returns now!?” Well if nothing else at least the cake presented a perfect opportunity to congratulate the newlyweds!

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Tiffany walked back into the Rec Center with ray, casually waving at Niesha and Kris as they talked. It was interesting seeing the dynamics of relationships form. Obviously, there were the ones from Newnan before without the introduction of the Franklin people. It interested her seeing the dynamic change. Like your favorite TV show adding on new characters, it was always fascinating to see the old cast interact with them and see what forms. Friendships. Rivalries. Romance...

Tiffany sat with Ray, thankful her food was still there. She started picking at it while he and Bea talked. Beatrice seemed rather uncomfortable and she wondered why. Bea never struck her as someone who would be uncomfortable in this setting, but perhaps it was because she didn't really know her all that well. She would have to make a better effort in the future. When Bea mentioned cake, Tiffany turned around to look at it. They really did go all out. The cake was beautiful. "That looks amazing! I hope it tastes as good as it looks." She didn't say what she was thinking. That she hoped Tatiana and Jack would cut into it soon so they could get some of that. She couldn't remember the last time she had cake. It had to be well before all of this happened. Be that as it may, it was calling her. She sat patiently, eyeing the delectable tower of sweet.

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Kristina felt Niesha taking her hand and started to follow her back into the rec center, she looked up at her and blushed slightly when Niesha complimented her and how amazing she looked up there. "Thank you Niesha. You look really nice in that dress by the way." Kris said to her friend with a friendly smile, it was really her first time being apart of a wedding she did feel very happy to help her friend Tatiana out with it as well. Her eyes wondered over towards the cake as it was brought in, seeing it made her mouth water ever so slightly it truly looked amazing and just wanted to shovel a slice of cake into her mouth the moment she could get a slice.

"That looks so good, I cant remember the last time I ever had any kind of cake." Kristina said softly to herself, the last time she ever had a slice of cake of any kind was probably before the outbreak happened. She decided to stay close to Niesha in the mean time looking over at her friend, Kris knew that Niesha wasn't a fan of crowds and she didn't want to make her friend feel uncomfortable. When she watched Tatiana getting up and making her way over to the cake, that made her smile ever so slightly she hadn't seen anyone so happy in a really long time seeing her waving Jack over.

"They both look really happy together huh?" Kris asked her friend looking over at Niesha, she wondered what Niesha and Sophia's wedding would have been like, it probably would have been a really good event if they did end up staying together and if Sophia never had died in that explosion all those months ago.

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Raymond chuckled slightly at Beatrice's comment about their food not getting up and walking around. "Well at least a rotisserie chicken wont come back to life and try and take a bite out of us instead." Ray said with a light laugh as he looked over at Tiffany as she sat down next to him gently laying a hand on top of hers. Ray gave a slight nod nothing big or interesting has happened since they left to talk alone, which was good then that there wasn't any sort of problem that occurred while they were away.

Ray turned his head as he watched the cake being pushed into the room, it truly looked amazing as Tatiana quickly got up and made her way over towards the cake. He looked over at Tiffany for a moment giving her a smile, it could be them someday a day he would really look forward to. "I'm sure that it will be really amazing, cant remember the last time I ever had any cake." Raymond said as he watched the newlyweds before him.

Ray reached over and started to finish eating the rest of his food, just to make room for the slice of cake they would be cutting the cake fairly soon and then the dancing would start. Though he wasn't sure if he would be doing the dancing himself he couldn't really dance with one leg after all. "After the cake, what do you want to do?" Raymond asked Tiffany, he would be willing to stay for as long as she wanted to before going to bed for the evening. Or if she wanted to leave after the cake he would leave with her as well, after he congratulated Tatiana and Jack one last time.

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"Amelia i'm sure Riley would still be friends with you regardless, of what happens." Meghna said giving Amelia a friendly smile gently laying a hand on her friend's shoulder. She couldn't help but laugh some when Amelia's face started to turn another shade of red and seeing her friend's reaction and downing all of Riley's drink completely. "I don't think Riley will ever dislike you, you've been friends for awhile now and you two are great friends." Meghna reassured Amelia as she took a drink of her own as the cake was brought into the room, it looked so good. As Meg watched Tatiana and Jack both making their way over towards the cake Mike really and truly did outdo himself with the cake.

"It really does look good." Meg said remembering the planning for the cake with Tati and discussing the supplies and putting some away in order to make the cake. Though she didn't see the cake until now, she turned her attention back to Amelia Meg giggled ever so slightly at Amelia once more giving her friend a playful nudge. "Just be yourself, and try and relax." Meg said as she watched Riley making her way back into the room, getting another little evil smile as she got up. "I'll be back, going to go check on my brother now." Meghna said leaving the two of them alone for now and made her way over to where he brother was sitting

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Riley walked by herself closing her eyes and letting out a soft sigh to herself, she couldn't help but be worried about her sister Chloe remembering all the things that had gone on between them over the last sixteen years between the two of them. She started to head back the way that she had came cutting between Apartment E and the Mess Hall and back onto Jefferson Street. Riley lost traction on the frozen street for a moment, but luckily she didn't end up falling onto her ass like Raymond did back at the Rec Center earlier. Riley walked her way up to the Rec Center closing her eyes again letting out a soft sigh, wishing that Chloe did come back with her but it was her sister's choice. And she did promise Amelia that she would be coming back, and enjoy the rest of the reception with her.

Riley pushed open the doors and walked inside, her eyes wondered about the room before she laid them upon the cake that was the taste of cake suddenly hit her mouth. Riley was tempted to walk over and just stick her finger into the frosting to taste it, but Tatiana and Jack didn't get the first slice yet. She saw them together which made her smile ever so slightly as Riley started making her way back over towards Amelia, getting the tail end of their conversation and Meghna turning around to leave the table.

Riley approached Amelia and smiled ever so slightly hearing what Amelia asked Meg before she left, "What did Meg mention?" Riley asked as she pulled her seat back her eyes wondering over to her glass and realized that it was empty now. Though she didn't mind, she could request another one later if she needed to. "Did Meg steal my drink while I was gone?" Riley asked Amelia.

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James wasn't exactly sure what was going on with him. His pulse was rapid and his hands were shaking. There was a sense of a lack of control, somehow. Anxiety, like a ton of worry just dropped onto him. James was lucky that his outward appearance didn't show the extent of his sudden burst of emotion. If it had, likely more than one person would have taken notice. His face showed something, though. That much was apparent when he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard Sally's cultured, British accent.

It was funny. Not "ha ha" funny, but "strange" funny. The feeling dissipated the second that Sally lay a hand on him, as if she was warding away some unknown evil. Or his own subconscious swallowed just enough of his stress to effectively fake it, seeing as he didn't want to embarrass himself or cause a scene at the reception. "Naw... naw, Miss Sally. I'm good. Really." He was a bad liar. Something was up, obviously, but his usual outgoing smile had returned, along with a more relaxed demeanor. "Just havin' me a moment, is all. Brotha can't live through a 'pocalypse without pickin' up some issues every now an' again."

Topping off the rest of his shot, James motioned to the barkeep for a bottle of something a little less potent to sip on. As it turned out, there was a glass bottle that was just right for him, repurposed to hold some decently drinkable corn and/or sweet potato fermentation. James didn't care too much, Ash and his boys working the Distillery were good at their jobs. Now, as this made his third beverage, the girthy blackneck wasn't sure if this marked the end of his alcohol ration. Naturally, he intended to take it nice and slow. "But hey there mama, don't you worry none. I'll start talkin' with Tati when she's all settled after the honeymoon. Cool?"

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The inner gate opened and Froggy showed them passed it, the gate swinging closed behind them heavily. Looking over at Ravi he shrugged a bit. "It really depends. Some days were get many, other times we will go months without seeing a single new soul. Today just happened to be a busier day," he explained as they walked down the road. There were people coming and going at this point, dressed in their finery if they were leaving or heading to the reception, others in their usual clothing if they were just off shift or heading that way.

"Dang man, this be a fine place you gots here. How you manage to keep things going like this?" Gavin asked as he looked around, giving polite nods and broad smiles to people they passed, as well as the occasional "evenin'."

"We all have jobs. Whether it be in the infirmary, armory, agriculture, shop. Everyone has a main job and a secondary one. We also do education so people can learn more skills and pass on what they know to the children," Froggy explained as little Tina rushed passed them, her mother chasing her and giving a quick hello as they passed. Tina couldn't have been more than five, carrying a worn out Blue from Blues Clues stuff animal in one hand and sucking her free thumb as she skipped away from her mom putting up a chase. Gavin couldn't help but laugh at the scene.

"Well, weddin' do sound nice English; I think you'd be looking sweet in dress, wonderin' if we can find heels in your size," Gavin joked as Froggy lead them towards the Rec Center.

Miss Sally looked at James and gave a smirking huff. "And I am the Queen of England. You make sure you go talk to her, or I'll be sitting on you like a butter on a crumpet," Miss Sally said before giving James a big hug and walking back over to Lyon. She didn't buy for one second that he was fine, the man sucked at lying. Even more so than he did at hiding his emotions.

"Mr. James!" Froggy called out as he lead Gavin and Ravi into the make shift reception hall. "I'd like to introduce, Gavin and Ravi. I need to get them something to eat and speak with Miss Sally about a room for the evening," he said as he walked over to James and cocked a brow. "Are you alright?" he asked concerned as he held out his hand to shake James.

Gavin looked around and whistled, "Oh man, it's warm in here, smells wonderful and my god, there's cake," Gavin said rubbing his hands together. Looking at people and smiling like a giddy kid as he followed Froggy. "Well hey there Camo! I be Gavin Comfort, Texas Ranger, really nice to meets ya. This is one fine place you's gots here."

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Tatiana giggled and nodded as she looked at the cake. She hadn't ever been one that really liked sweet things. It wasn't that she didn't like them but she preferred more savory items when it came to food and snacks. Yet it had been so long since she had had cake, she couldn't help but be excited. Even for someone that wouldn't have normally enjoyed a slice she knew she was going to devour this one. Right then she was very glad that she hadn't had any type of morning sickness as of yet. She would hate to miss out on this treat, lord only knew when they would be able to have another.

"Well then you two better get to cutting that first slice, before the rest of the place mobs you," Mike laughed as he handed over a cake slicer to Jake. Tatiana leaned her head against his shoulder and placed her hand over his.

"No cake smoosh! Too rare to vaste," she giggled against his ear. Jack pouted slightly in response, before nodding. It had been his dream since he was a little kid to throw his face into a cake, and when the new tradition came about of smooshing cake into the face of one's spouse after the wedding, he had been ecstatic.

"Fine, fine," Jack said, chuckling a bit as he took the cake slicer in his hand, and waited for Tatiana to join hands with him. It was to be their first official act of husband and wife--cutting into this amazing creation of sugar and flour. "Ready, solovey?"

"Dah," Tatiana said excited before she pushed down on Jack's hand and the first slice was made. A quick movement of their hands and another. She couldn't help but smile as she turned it out onto a plate Mike had held out for them. Taking the piece of cake between her fingers she held it up, holding the plate beneath it as she looked at Jack. "You first!" she giggled edging the cake closer to his lips.

"Isn't it ladies first?" Jack countered, chuckling along with her. He took a piece of cake between his fingers and edged it towards her mouth, before the goofy grin on his face widened. "What 'bout doing it at the same time, Tati? On the count of three?" Jack suggested. It'd have an added benefit, of course, of him being able to show off his meager Russian skills. That's right, he could count.

Tatiana perked a brow as she looked up at her husband and smiled, a quick nod of her head in agreement. "You count dovn," she said in a giddy voice as she inched the cake closer to his lips and waited for the count down. It all felt like a dream to her, she was married, standing there with her husband, about to share their first slice of wedding cake. She still had a hard time believing it was happening.

Jack nodded, shaking his shoulders a bit like an MMA fighter getting ready for the hardest challenge of their career or a contestant in American Idol, preparing for the final round. "Odin..." He inched the piece of cake closer to Tatiana's lips, and he couldn't help but admire how lovely they were. "Dva..." The goofy smile on his face kept getting wider and wider, as the cake went a little closer towards Tatiana. "Tri!" Jack practically cheered, as he put the piece of cake into his wife's mouth.

Tatiana slowly put the piece of cake into Jack's mouth and couldn't help but let out a soft moan as she tasted the piece he shared with her. It was sweet, vanilla, decadent. She had forgotten just how wonderful a treat like cake could be. Mike had really out done himself with the cake. Giggling as she leaned back and licked the icing off her fingers she leaned against Jack just sublimely content in the moment. Looking at everyone else as she took the cake slicer and handed it back over to Mike. "Please make sure everyone get slice!" she laughed from behind her lips. Sighing happily she savored the flavor of the cake and looked up at Jack. "Oh my gosh, it so good. Glad ve have small cake for anniversary. Though baby might want before then," she giggled as she took Jack's free hand and rested it on her belly.

Jack tried to savor the piece of cake as best as he could, his cheeks puffing out slightly like a chipmunk. He couldn't remember the last time he had tasted something so delicious, something so amazing. Swallowing almost reluctantly, he giggled along with his wife, content to have his hand rest on Tatiana's belly. "I don't blame the baby if they do," Jack chuckled. "Think they'll have a Boston-Russian accent? Or maybe Southahn?" he joked, grinning widely at Tatiana.

Smiling, Tatiana shrugged. "Maybe British if Miss Sally babysit?" she giggled once she finished her slice of cake. Taking a breath she tilted her head and looked up at her very goofy but handsome husband. " Ve should dance. Detka making me sleepy," she admitted. It had been a very long day and being in her first trimester made it even longer. It had been wonderful but she did still want time alone with her husband before she fell asleep that evening.

Jack's eyes widened as he nodded excitedly. "A British baby would be amazin'. It'd be all "pip, pop, and cheehio!" But then there was also the possibility for a French accent, if Froggy looked after the kid. All this information was telling Jack that the kid would end up with one hell of an accent--a combination of just about every possible accent, as far as he could tell. He also had to resist the urge to start calling the baby Detka. While he was able to speak some Russian, he was still learning, and he had to catch himself before adding Detka to a list of possible baby names. "Say no more, solovey. One Chicken Dance comin' right up," Jack replied.

Tatiana giggled and rushed over to the CD player, pulling out a CD from the back of the box that was unmarked. She smiled it herself as she put it in and walked out to the make shift dance area, holding her hand out for Jack. This had been one part of the wedding/reception that she had been looking forward to almost as much as she had their vows.

He was a mixture of excited and nervous as he took Tatiana's hand. His dancing skills could be described as extremely basic and it would be an extremely kind compliment at that. As talented and skilled at dancing as Tatiana was, Jack was perhaps just as untalented and horrible. Of course, he had done some practicing for the wedding, all in hopes of not smashing his wife's feet. "Apologies in advance if I step on your toes," Jack whispered, blushing from nerves.

Tatiana slipped into his arms and rested her hand on his shoulder. "You vill do fine, trust me," she whispered as she smiled up at him. Leaning up she kissed him softly. She knew he was nervous. Her husband had many talents, none of them involved dancing. Yet she was a dancer, she taught others how to dance, and she knew how to bring out the best in her husband. Her smile brightened as she waited for the song to start and once it did she started to giggle. Playing for their first dance together as husband and wife was the perfect song: The chicken dance.

Jack kissed her back, finding strength in her embrace. With Tatiana, he felt a little safer, a little more secure. But when he heard the opening notes of the song, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He had been expecting something fancy and sophisticated--some flavor of waltz. Never in his wildest dreams did he actually imagine it'd be the chicken dance. "Is this for real?" Jack asked, his voice filled with astonishment like a little boy on Christmas day.

Smiling brightly she nodded excitedly. The music had been left to her but she wanted to make him happy. The wedding had been all eyes on her, she wanted him to have his moment too. Making him happy made her happy. Sure she would have liked to be able to dance something romantic and slow with him but she knew she would love just laughing and dancing like a fool beside him. "Dah, nov shov me your smooth moves," she chortled as she started flapping her arms.

"I've been practicin'," Jack teased, before throwing his entire body into the perhaps more ridiculous rendition of the chicken dance. He flapped his arms like nobody's business, with little whooshing noises as the air brushed up against his rapidly moving limbs. And when it came time to clap his arms and jump, he did a little hip wiggle, clapping as strongly as possible. He was ecstatic and giddy and enjoying himself, but he would have enjoyed any dance with Tatiana. This one was just one of his favorites.

Tatiana couldn't help but burst out laughing at Jack's antics. She wasn't laughing at him, just at the pure joy she saw on his face as he went full out on the dance. She followed along, the chicken dance wasn't in her normal repertoire that was for sure so he got to take the lead in this one. A clap of the hands here, a wiggle of her toosh there. It wasn't the easiest dance to go in her dress but she made it work. It was worth it to see him this happy. As the dance came to a close she bounced over to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply as she continued to giggle. "Best first dance ever," she said brightly as she leaned against him and gazed up adoringly into his eyes. The world might be falling apart constantly around them but they had at least been able to steal a little bit of happy by being together.

Jack nearly couldn't manage to pull away from Tatiana's kiss, enjoying the tender feeling of her lips against his. He held onto her tightly and gave her a bit of a twirl, nodding in agreement at her appraisal of the dance. He knew it wasn't what she normally did, but he was glad to see her just as happy, all the same. "And I'm sure we'll have more to come," Jack replied, staring back into her eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of hazel he had ever seen. He could spend hours looking into them.

Pulling herself closer Tatiana let out a content sigh. The day had been more perfect than she could have ever imagined. Hell it went off better than most weddings she had been to before the outbreak. It was perfect but it wasn't over, though the rest of the night was something more private. Biting her bottom lip she leaned in and whispered. "Come on, let's go home." Pulling back just slightly she gave him a wink and started to back away, but she didn't let go, pulling him with her.

At first, a look of confusion went across Jack's face. They had just started dancing--didn't Tatiana want to dance some more? But as she bit her lip and gave him a weak, understanding dawned on him, and he nodded eagerly. It was time for perhaps a different sort of dance--more of a tango, really. "Yes, ma'am," Jack replied, not fighting Tatiana's pull on him. He was grinning with a bit of a dazed expression on his face during the short walk home. But as was tradition, he stopped just before their house and swooped Tatiana up off her feet, and carried her over the threshold, slamming the door behind him with his foot.

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While Beatrice's dislike of weddings may have appeared illogical to some, she had her reasons for it. It all stemmed from her disgust towards romance in general, with each Hallmark card and cheap rose appearing like a rotting carcass to her. It was why she preferred casual hookups to anything more serious and intimate. In some ways, it would be possible to see her aversion to romance as an aversion to intimacy.

"It looks good," Beatrice agreed, feeling as though she may suffocate on smalltalk, but she preferred it to wedding praises. She neatly finished up her food, as Tiffany and Ray attempted to estimate how long it had been since they had enjoyed cake. Beatrice doubted that it had been less than five years since she herself had had a slice.

The wedding couple was obnoxiously sweet and adorable, as always. Beatrice was glad that the cutting of the cake at least signaled that the wedding would almost be over. From what she knew, there'd be dancing next, and then, then she'd be free. She preferred the monotonous nature of everyday life--though it still contained significant interest and threats to survival--to the soft and cuteness of the wedding.

She figured she'd grab a piece of cake after most of the others had already gotten some. She didn't feel like having to deal with a crowd of people, but as she watched Jack and Tatiana do the chicken dance, a quiet chuckle came from Beatrice's lips. One that if asked about, of course, the Justice native would readily deny.

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Lying in bed, Chloe had spent what felt like eternity staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Every little noise in the house sounded as loud as a poorly tuned high school marching band, no matter how she plugged her ears or covered them with a pillow. Sighing in frustration, Chloe sat up and felt around in the dark, waiting a few moments for her eyes to adjust. Sure, she could have turned on the light, but she was in the habit of moving around in darkness at night.

Once her eyes had adjusted, Chloe knelt down by a piece of paneling near the window. Pulling on it gently, she took out the pack of cigarettes that Ryan had given her earlier, and took out the number that amounted to her debt. She then set those down by the door to her room, as a reminder to her to give them to the Irishman tomorrow. Or better yet, drop them off while on her way to work. It'd be just another day, as far as she was aware--another day where Ciel came in for medicine, another day where someone injured themselves on the job.

For the most part, she had calmed down from her earlier breakdown, but she continued to think about some parts of the conversation she had with Riley. She never really knew what exactly she had wanted to do, and when she thought of it, she only came up with a gigantic blank. Sighing, she curled up in her bed again and forcibly closed her eyes, though sleep continued to evade her.

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Ravi's eyes widened in amazement as he took in Newnan. The dresses and suits and generally amazing pieces of clothing stunned him. For whatever reason, he never imagined fancy clothes still being around--or even still being used. The sheer number of people they saw on their brief walk amazed him as well. It had been four years since zero day and everything about Newnan boggled his mind. He nearly choked a bit when he saw the sweet little girl and her toy, with her doting mother running after her.

It was as if the walkers had never existed here. It struck him as a safe haven, one that he hoped Gavin wouldn't be too quick to leave. He chuckled a bit at his hetero-life-mate, seeing the man acting like a social butterfly, greeting strangers in the street. He shook his head slightly at the comment about finding heels in his size. It was something Liv would have done to him, and although the thought made him feel a little down, he still smiled.

He was taken slightly aback when he saw the dreadful camo tux that Mr. James had donned. He tried not to stare too much, instead focusing on the other details in the reception hall--the people, the food, the cake. "Thinking with your stomach, are we?" Ravi teased Gavin, smirking like the shit he was.

And after Gavin introduced himself, Ravi followed suit. "Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti, Medical Examiner." Gavin was right, of course--Newnan was positively brilliant.

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“Okey.” Amelia quietly to Meg when she walked away, leaving her bright red, confused and unsure of what to do with herself right now. The only saving grave was that Riley was not present when these questions were asked. Well that was at least until the singer returned, causing Amelia to lose momentary her ability to speak as she embarrassed looked down at the table, face flushed red from the heat caused within by the alcohol and her mind racing through things she really didn't want anyone to quite know.

“No...” She barely replied with quiet voice, gulping as she stole a glance at Riley.” I... drank it.” She replied, looking at her friend. Why did Meg ask her all those things? Now she couldn't take them out of her mind! While she was trying to force some order in her mind, Tati and Jack proceeded with the cake cutting which startled her as she turned to watch at them. They looked so well next to one another. Very pretty bride and groom! She watched them afterwards get to the dance.

Amelia watched them with slightly hazed eyes as the alcohol was getting to her. When they went to go home, she barely realized that she missed her chance to congratulate them. Maybe... she gulped and turned to Riley once more.

“I...” She started, looking at her friend.” Riley...” She was trying to say something.' It's all Meg's fault!' Was a vague thought in her head, but she shrugged it off, gathering up as much as her courage she can.” Riley... stay with me tonight...? I … like you!” She finally stated, looking at Riley with pretty serious eyes. She said it now it was going to end one way or another and she just hoped no matter what Riley replies, she won't lose her friend.

Niehsa looked down at herself in the dress, and gave a shrug, “it seemed appropriate to wear a dress… I normally like wearing pants and tops… “ She said softly, looking back up to Kristina, and giving her a small smile. She knew that Kristina was only staying with her, because she knew that Niesha would otherwise melt into the background. Despite the fact she had grown over her time here, she wasn’t quite up for continued socialising. She was grateful for her friend, and knew there wasn’t anything she could do to repay her. Except just be there for her.

“The cake does look rather pleasant” And it was a treat that they hadn’t had in a long time. She smiled at Kristina’s delight. It was so nice to see her friend happy… She shifted and gave Kristina a hug, “thank you Kris, for everything” She said softly to her, before looking over to Jack and Tatiana, and nodded. “They do… “ She said softly, watching them for a moment.

She smiled, a small smile that was nevertheless genuine. She let her gaze drift over the rest of the community gathered for the event. Such… pleasure. It was nice to see… and maybe it was a step in the right direction. Normalcy… it was something that was rare, these days. “In fact, everyone dose” She said, watching the scene of dancing occur, quite content where she was.