ZRP-2: Chapter 4, Backtracking

Hibiki smiled, pulling Sam into a hug and kissing her head. "Don't give me any reason to stop calling you my daughter. Or my friend. Alright?" Hibiki smiled. "Now. There's a poor girl who really wants a big hug. I know she'd love one from you."

Eve was watching the men stuff the sacks, nearly turning into Twitchy on double caffenated coffee.

(Sam)
"Will do. Don't worry, I don't plan on making the same mistakes."

(James)
=After the candy had been loaded up, one of the guards got in the drivers seat and started the engine. I held my arms open to catch Eve=
"Jump."

Eve smiled and jumped.

Hibiki ruffled Sam's hair. "Good."

(James)
=Right as she jumped, the truck moved from under her. She flew through the air, but I managed to catch her, faking a groan=
"Oh man, cut back on the candy Eve, you're getting heavy."

(Sam)
"Thanks."

Eve giggled. "Maybe you should get more exercise. No. Sleeping with mommy doesn't count."
She rested her head on James' shoulder, putting her arms around his neck. "You'll always catch me...right, daddy?"

Hibiki nodded, then started to walk back to James.

(James)
"Of course Eve. I'm always here to catch you. Especially when Sam can't get off her lazy ass to do it."
=I chuckled, resting my forehead against hers in an affectionate way. Somehow, it also felt like what a parent would do=

(Sam)
=I watched James and Eve having fun, and I smiled. God, he really was a natural=

Eve hugged him tighter.

Hibiki beckoned Sam over as she hugged them both. "Family hug."

(Sam)
=Smiling, I walked over and joined in the hug=

(James)
"Okay, what is this? Really, all of us hugging?"
=I still welcomed it. God, it felt like it had been years (in point of fact, probably was) since I had last had something like this=

Hibiki smushed Sam between them all, then laid her head on James' shoulder.
"It's a family hug. All of us together." She reached up to stroke Eve's hair. "I love you all."

Eve blushed and closed hid her face in James' shoulder.

*Marcus*
"That's cute James. You want me to take a picture?"
=He had walked over to the group from the apartment building, a look that was torn between amusement and longing on his face=

(James)
"Marcus! How long have you been standing there?"

*Marcus*
"Long enough to forget that there isn't an apocalypse going on."

Hibiki gently pryed Eve off James and set her down.
"Sam, take her to your room. Get her cleaned up. Relax. We should be fine for a bit."

Eve immediately took Sam's hand.

(Sam)
=I gripped her hand gently, and we walked back to the hotel=

(James)
"So, I'm guessing they're going to weld the truck to the hole?"

*Marcus*
"From what I gathered, yeah. Not just that, but they may try and mount a turret there, to hold back any future attacks."

"Sounds fun." Hibiki said.

Eve smiled softly. "Can we resume what was interrupted by daddy?"

(Sam)
=I blushed a little, smiling though at James being called daddy=
"I don't know. Most of that was all....accidental. But I'd like to try again in the future."

*Marcus*
"Should be. But those fucking Raiders drew blood. Cooper and Clarissa are planning an attack, though I don't know all the details yet."

Eve nodded. "Ok...take your...time?" She said quizzically, not sure if that was the right thing to say.

Hibiki grimaced. "We'll need to scout it out..."

(Andrew)

=I roll up in the ATV, pulling up a bit short=

Well...let's see what happens next...

=I stop the ATV's engine, and hop off and walk to where Marcus and James were at, curious as to what was going to happen next=

So, what's our next plan? Because I saw some walkers that might object to that.

(James)
=I turned to face Andrew=
"Next order of business is getting the truck installed in the wall. Andrew, see what you can do to help. I don't care if all you can do is hold up a bucket of nails, the more people we have working on that, the faster it gets done."

(Sam)
=We got back to the room, no hassle. After the candy, I didn't feel all that hungry, and even felt like sitting down for a few minutes=

Eve followed Sam, then plopped onto the girl's lap when she sat down. She hugged Sam tightly.
"Thank you for being my friend."

Hibiki nodded. "I'll join you once James and me make sure we have no boring meetings, alright?"

(Andrew)

=I sigh and give a half smile=

Well...guess it's back to work again...

Your help would be welcome...Danke. But get business done, too.

=I then head towards the hole in the wall, knowing that any welding would be a bit of a chore=

*Marcus*
"Well, I guess you may as well go right now. Neither Cooper nor Clarissa said anything about seeing you two, yet. For now, let's focus on the wall. I'd join, but I need to see to my people, though some of them are already helping on the wall."
=With that, he left=

(James)
"Well, guess that's that. Let's move guys, that wall won't fix itself."

(Sam)
=I smiled at her, though I was a little uncomfortable with her in my lap. After all, we were still just friends, no matter what we wanted right now=
"Anytime Eve."

After a minute of her hug, Eve got off Sam and sat on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest.
Not sure of what to say, Eve started to sing softly.
"Mirror...tell me something...tell me who's the loneliest of all...

Hibiki nodded. "Let's go fix a wall."

(James)
"Not exactly how I wanted to spend our first day as a married couple....."
=Was all I could grumble, as we headed off for the breach. People already swarmed around the hole, and the truck, tools out and work well underway. A few bright flashes let me know that yes, there were welding torches being used=

(Sam)
=I sat in silence as she sang the song=

(Andrew)

=I chuckle=

Beats the alternative, man.

=I look and shake my head, seeing that some people weren't using masks=

Idiots...

"Mirror, tell me something.
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?

Fear of what's inside of me.
Tell me can a heart be turned to stone? "
Eve continued quietly.

Hibiki sighed. "Duty calls."

(Andrew)

=I nod, looking at the crew with mild disdain=

Well...let's just hope their aim is better than their engineering...

=I head towards the work-site, wondering if they would even need any help=

(James)
"Yeah, I guess.....still."
=Granted, there wasn't much for us to really do. They had aligned the side of the truck with the wall, the big cargo end covering the hole itself. Between the truck and the edges of the hole, they had sandwiched a bunch of metal plates, mostly thin sheets. That was where the welders came in: they melted the sheets to serve as a glue to keep the truck stuck to the hole, sealing the breach. At the same time, another set of metal plates were welded onto the center of the truck, creating a more solid wall=

(Sam)
"Where'd you learn that song?"

"Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?
Save me from the things I see!
I can keep it from the world,
Why won't you let me hide from me?

Mirror mirror tell me something.
Who's the loneliest of all?

I'm the loneliest of all.

When Eve finished, she looked up at Sam. "When I was in the training compound, I learned this song from my friend Blanca. It...it fit me, I suppose."

Hibiki put an arm around James' waist. "Bright side: We get to be together."

(Sam)
=Hmm, Blanca? She didn't talk at all about her time with the Shepherds, so this was new=
"Blanca? Who was that?"

(James)
"Not exactly my idea of us being together, but I guess this works."

(Andrew)

=I stand behind them, rolling my eyes=

Oh brother...

=I just watch, resisting the urge to make a sarcastic remark=

"My friend. Blanca Martinez. She and I had rooms next to each other...she was my only friend."
Eve sighed softly. "That's why I'm so clingy even now. I'm afraid of losing my only friend again."

"What did you want, me in a sexy dress in a very expensive restaurant?" Hibiki teased.

(Andrew)

=I roll my eyes again=

Jeez...get a room.

=I sigh once again=

(James)
"No, not really. Just....you know, some time alone. Talking, being together. Something like a date."
=As I stood there, watching the workers finish welding the truck to the hole, I saw a small group of people come in, from behind us. They were carrying a freaking machine gun, and a ladder. The ladder they welded to the side of the truck, and used to get up to the top of it. from there, they welded a few more plates or small barriers on the roof, and created a gun emplacement after setting up the HMG=

(Sam)
"But I'm not your only friend Eve. Yeah, James is your dad but he was your friend first."

(Andrew)

=I move on towards the worksite, wondering if they even needed my help=

Well...time to put that two years of college education to the test...

=I give a half smile, and look to see if I would get any offer to help out=

Eve blushed. "I didn't feel it...not until recently...because...everyone just saw...saw me as Jonah's daughter..."
She sniffed. "That's why I'm like this now. I don't want let go of anyone who sees me as me."

"I'd like that." Hibiki said.

(Sam)
"Well, no one sees you that way now."

(James)
"Then maybe once that's done, we can try something like it."
=I was still gawking though at the machine turret they set up. Damn, keep a healthy supply of ammo there, and you had a very defensible position=

Eve nodded. "I know...but I'm still closest to you."

Hibiki only smiled.

(Andrew)

=I look at the set-up, my disdain turning to approval, letting out a low whistle of appreciation=

Nice work...very nice work...

=I look out towards the horizon=

Let's just see if it can hold up against a horde of walkers...

(Sam)
"Yeah well, try and branch out a little. Make some more friends."
=I resisted the urge to say "because Friendship is Magic"=

(James)
"Okay, so the hole's been plugged and it has a shiny new gun. Is this the part where we discuss a plan of attack, or relax for a half hour?"

"I want relaxation." Hibiki said.

Eve sighed. "I'm too scared."

(Andrew)

=I turn around and shake my head, clueless=

Your guess is as good as mine, man

=I then shrug, not knowing what to do next=

(Sam)
"Making friends is always scary Eve, but look at it this way: you opened up to me once, and that was maybe the scariest thing in your life. Making friends should be easy compared to that."

(James)
"Sounds like a plan."

Eve looked down.
"No...the scariest thing in my life was recent...when we had our fight. I was...I was so scared...that I wouldn't be your friend anymore." She covered her face.

Hibiki grinned. "Lead the way General-chin."

(Andrew)

=I walk back to the hotel, just wanting to rest a bit, still trying to recover from my injuries=

Sleep is still my best friend right now...

=I feel my stomach rumble a bit=

That...and I worked up a bit of an appetite...let's hope Derrick doesn't prank me again with the hot sauce...

=I smile in grim amusement at the thought=

(James)
"Still with the General-chin stuff? Come on.."
=I still chuckled though=

(Sam)
"Yeah and you faced it head on. That makes you brave enough now to make some friends."

Eve nodded slowly. "Ok..."
She sat there, letting her hands fall to her lap.

Hibiki grinned. "Of course. Would you prefer..." She rested her hands and chin on James' shoulder. "...James-Sama-Chan?"

(James)
=I stopped walking, and blinked at her. Twice=
"James-Sama-Chan? Seriously?"

(Sam)
=I got off my bed and walked over to her, picking up her hands and holding them in mine=
"Hey, don't get so depressed over this, Making friends is fun."

Eve looked up and smiled shyly. "Ok Sam...thank you."
Eve then fell backwards, obviously trying to pull Sam down as she smiled.

Hibiki put on an innocent expression. "Yes James-Sama-Chan. Seriously."

(James)
=I wasn't sure if I should have rolled my eyes or chuckled. So I did neither. Honestly, not much I could do to respond to that=

(Sam)
=Smiling sadly, I pulled against her, so I didn't fall down with her=
"Not yet Eve."

Eve looked a bit sad. "Ok..."
She pulled herself up using Sam until she was again upright. "At least a kiss on the forehead?" She tried hopefully.

Hibiki grinned in victory.

(Sam)
=I felt like after everything from today, I could do better than that. So I lightly kissed her on the corner of her mouth=

(James)
"Wipe that grin off your face. You won the battle, but not the war."