#and it kind of started when he was in philomena and people were like damn he's capable of being serious

[the-casbah-way]

i am ALWAYS saying how criminally underrated comedy actors are. i feel like because comedy isn't taken seriously as a genre a lot of people don't fully appreciate just how talented you have to be to give a solid, convincing performance in a comedy. it's why so many actors who gain popularity through comedy then go on to give a 'serious' performance, and everyone acts surprised by how good it was because they though they were 'just a comedy actor'

[suchdan-veryphil]

Two Worlds Collide - Dan Howell Imagine Part 16

Part 15

Word Count: 2,160

Trigger Warnings: None. Lots of fluff!!

A/N: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I have a feeling this story is coming to an end soon. I want to thank those who have read and those who gave my story notes. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

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*Dan’s POV* 

Looking down at Y/N and Guinevere asleep on the bed filled my heart with nothing but love. I couldn’t believe that I was going to possibly miss this, and for what? A job? Kenny really helped me out by transferring me to Oxford. The nurses said that Gwen was a tiny yet healthy 2.5 kgs and a total of 16.7 cm long. Her dirty brown hair mocked mine, and Y/N has graciously passed down the plump lips that seemed to be pouting at me at all times. 

Gwen squirmed in her mother’s arms, but Y/N stayed asleep so I took it upon myself to carefully steal her. My girlfriend just rolled over and yawned as she pulled the blanket up a little closer to her chin. It was like she knew that she had Gwen so she couldn’t maneuver herself, but now that she was with me, it was safe to do so. My gaze shifted to the tiny little thing in my arms that held my heart in her tiny grip. 

“Guinevere, you’re our little miracle baby.” I ran my finger down the side of her pale, chubby cheek. “Momma and I have been waiting for you. I’m sorry I almost missed you. I’ll never ever let myself get that far again. You’re home, and I need to be home.” I took a deep sigh before I began to rock her slowly. “I’m going to watch you take your first steps, hear your first words. I’ll be there to help you ride a bike, and to kiss your boo-boos when you fall down because I can almost guarantee that you have your mother’s grace.” I chuckled and studied her face. She had a concentrated look on her face, even as she slept. It was as if she was taking every word I was saying and memorizing them. Even if she did, that would be okay because I intended to keep every one of these promises and then some. 

She started to squirm and she stretched out her left arm and her right foot as her eyes opened and stared right up at me. She wasn’t crying, and she wasn’t fussing. It was just the two of us, and I knew that she couldn’t see me, but I could see her and it was all that I needed. I felt the tear begin to crawl down my cheek as I lifted her up closer to me and kissed her forehead softly. “I love you, Guinevere. You’re the product of absolute love and passion. I plan on raising you with those same things.” She cooed and stared up at me as she pouted her little lips at me. I couldn’t hold back the chuckle as my entire body rushed with a warm feeling. I couldn’t believe that Gwen had been in our lives for less than twenty-four hours and she already had me wrapped around her dainty little fingers.

My attention was moved when I heard Y/N speak softly. “Hey, how long have I been asleep?” She looked around and when she noticed the empty plastic bassinet, I could see her eyes widen. “Where’s Guinevere?”

“I have her, don’t worry.” I walked over and sat at the edge of the bed so that she could see the baby.

“Oh, sorry. I’m- I just... I don’t want to be away from her.” Y/N’s hand reached out and gently rolled over the baby’s knuckles.

“I understand. It’s like if we keep our eyes off of her for half a second, she’ll be gone.”

Y/N just nodded in agreement as she stared tiredly at Gwen, bottom lip stuck between her teeth.

“You can go back to sleep, love. Nobody is going to take her. It’s just us. And if the nurses take her, I’ll wake you up so you can look at her before she leaves.” I knew she was just scared. We never expected our son to not be with us, but we miscarried and that was that. She knew that anything could happen at any moment.

“I’m okay.”

I nodded my head and pressed my lips together in understanding. “Here.” Slowly, I handed Gwen over to Y/N and watched as our miracle just stared up at her mother.

Y/N smiled down at her and put her pointer finger on Gwen’s dimpled cheek. “You’re so calm now that you’re in the world but when you lived inside of me you couldn’t stop moving.”

“She was just so excited to meet us.” I watched with my face stuck in a smile. Y/N laughed a little and nodded.

“I guess so considering she never stopped squirming when she lived inside of me.” The love of my life didn’t take her gaze off of the accused squirmer. I didn’t make a sound or move a muscle. The sight before me was too beautiful and peaceful to disturb. Ask thought about it, staring at my family in front of me, I knew what I had to ask her.

“Y/N...”

She replied with a questioning hum, but she didn’t take her eyes off of our daughter. I got up and moved closer to the two of them so I could wrap my arms around both of them.

“Move in with me.” I didn’t mean for it to come out so desperately, but I was victim to my own inability to control my tone. Her eyes finally looked up at mine and she took a second to process her thoughts.

“Phil doesn’t need to be waking up at all hours of the night, Daniel.”

My heart sunk. “But you know he doesn’t mind. He wants to be a part of this. He keeps saying that he’s going to just sleep during the day so he can take the night shift.”

“I still feel like that’s too much to ask of him.” She looked up at me and tilted her head a little to the side. “But..” she took a deep breath. “What if you moved into my apartment? We’ve already got her nursery set up, and her bassinet is already by my bed. It’s ready for us when we come back. All you have to do is move your things in.”

I would’ve agreed to move into a box with Y/N, and she wasn’t wrong. It made sense for me to move in with her. I just nodded my head and leaned in to kiss her gently. “I will be sure to start packing my things immediately.”

Y/N kissed me back softly and smiled right back at me. To think I almost lost her. I never would have imagined myself as a father, but ever since Y/N told me she was pregnant with Matthew, I knew that we were meant to be parents with each other. Guinevere, our white light miracle, was the product of a great loving relationship that was no stranger to fighting for what it wanted and deserved.

We were pulled away from one another’s gaze by the tiny whining that turned to crying from our baby.

“Uh oh! What is the fuss about?” Y/N glanced at the clock and nodded. “It’s breakfast time.” With a bit of an adjustment, she was able to move Gwen into a nursing position and begin feeding her.

The noises were almost immediately hushed as Gwen latched and started to eat.

“Boobs! Oh! I mean- ah! Sorry Y/N. I thought you guys said visiting hours were after 9.” Phil closed his eyes and held a purple gift bag out towards us. With a slight chuckle, I took the bag and set it beside Y/N on the bed. She also had a smirk as she looked at Phil.

“You’re okay to open your eyes, Phil. I’m just feeding her.”

Phil popped one eye open and looked at the baby. “I’m not looking at your boob, Y/N, I’m looking at the baby I promise.”

“I appreciate that, Philly.”

“Wow, she’s beautiful.” He suddenly was whispering.

“Thank you, we agree.” I smiled and pointed to a chair in the corner of the room. “Pull up a chair. Stay awhile. She usually is done eating in twenty minutes.”

“Thanks. How are you guys feeling?” Phil took the chair and pulled it beside your bed. 

Y/N bit her lip and shrugged. “I’ve felt fine. A little sore, but when I look at her, it’s fine.” 

“That’s sweet. I hope you feel better soon.” Phil was a great friend, hell we named our daughter after him, but damn was he awkward. 

Y/N just nodded in agreement as she stared at Gwen eating away. 

“I got this for her. I hope she likes it.” Phil pointed at the purple gift bag and smiled proudly. 

“Aw Philly, you didn’t have to get her anything.” Y/N said as she picked up the bag and glanced inside. “Dan, can you open it?” 

I took the bag and removed the tissue paper. Inside was a purple and blue polka-dotted blanket that had Guinevere Philomena stitched in a golden thread along one of the corners. 

“Oh Phil, this is beautiful.” I ran my fingers over it as I leaned over and showed Y/N. 

“Phil, oh my goodness.” She teared up and sighed. “Absolutely gorgeous.” Her hand reached over and felt the soft fabric against her fingertips. “It’s the only blanket I’m going to wrap her in at home.” 

“I’m glad. I know that you guys don’t want to pin her down to any kind of gender roles, so I put both colors on there and then she’s a warrior so she gets golden letters.” As Phil explained his train of thought, he leaned over to watch Gwen. 

“We love you, friend.” Y/N expressed as she looked over at Phil. 

Once Gwen was done eating, Phil didn’t hesitate to ask to hold her. She had fallen fast asleep with a belly full of milk and a room full of love. 

Phil was stiff and still as he held the baby, making us chuckle a little. “You can loosen up, sweetie. She isn’t going to break.” 

“I’m not sure of that. I don’t want to hurt her.” 

I smirked and looked at my best friend. “Well, we appreciate that but you can loosen up your arms. Just support her head and you’ll be fine.” 

Suddenly, he relaxed and looked over at us. If he were a Sim, he’d have a giant question mark in a thought bubble. 

“Perfect.” Y/N laid back against the pillows on the bed, and I could see her eyes getting heavier. 

“Love, sleep. You just had a baby fifteen hours ago and you’ve got four hours of sleep. Non-consecutive. She’ll be here when you wake up, remember?” I tried to reassure her, but I also knew she was nervous. Biting her lip, she just looked at me and sighed. 

“I just-” 

“No. You can’t be an attentive parent if you don’t sleep. Take a nap. Phil and I will have her.” 

She sighed and nodded. “Fine. But, if she fusses please wake me up.” 

I nodded and kissed her head before getting off of the bed and walking over towards Phil, pulling up a chair. 

“She’s perfect, Dan. And she looks just like you already.” Phil whispered as he stared down at Gwen. It was amazing how many people loved this child so much already. 

“I know. Weird, huh?” I looked down at Gwen and then back to Phil. “Hey. I uh- I have to tell you something.” 

“What’s up?” 

“I’m gonna be moving into Y/N’s place when we get out of here tomorrow.” It was weird for me. I lived with Phil for the majority of my adult life, and he was always with me. It was a sad feeling to think that I wasn’t going to live with him anymore. 

“Yea? She doesn’t want to live with us?” 

“It isn’t that. But having a baby and three adults isn’t a good idea for that flat. Plus, the majority of Guinevere’s things are at Y/N’s right now anyways.” 

Phil sighed and nodded. “Well, I’ll be sad and I’ll miss you but I’m happy for you. You almost lost this, twice.” 

When he said it, I felt like I had been hit by a bus for a second. “Yea, and I never thought I would get here. Having a baby, a family. Imagine Chris didn’t pull us into the whole party idea? This wouldn’t be happening.” 

“You got lucky, man. But you also worked hard. It wasn’t easy. You deserve this”

Gwen started to squirm a bit, so Phil looked down and rocked her a little. “Oh please don’t cry, your mum will kick my butt.” 

“Mum? Her dad is right here.” 

“Yea, but Y/N actually scares me.” 

I completely knew what he meant, and I didn’t blame him in the slightest bit. I glanced over at my girlfriend and smirked as I noticed she was out like a light. 

“Yea. Me, too.” But in the best way. 

[spyvstailor]

Hey, @resurrectionofannabellee, are you enjoying this yet? I'm actually flying on this novel for you. Here’s chapter two...

Chapter Two

The bell tower was covered in bird shit and looked like it was going to give him some kind of disease, but the view from it was worth the filth.

Kicking some of the larger detritus out from his new nest, he unfurled his bedroll and began to make himself at home. If he stayed longer than a week, if he lasted longer than a week, he would give it a good, solid scrub down, but for now it was a place to sleep without worrying about having his ass snacked on.

Besides, he was pointedly warned against trying to settle into the cloister, the dorms where the nuns seemed to sleep. So he had to make his bed someplace other than the infirmary.

The clacking on the wooden ladder up to his perch alerted him to the fact someone was about to visit and he settled on his haunches, wanting to appear non-threatening to the woman who was about to appear.

A blonde head popped up into view, followed by a blue jumper dress.

The young nun carried with her a plate with bread smeared with what looked like honey and she smiled sweetly at him.

“Mother Philomena wanted me to bring you some food, she said you'd be hungry.” The woman said.

“That's very sweet of you, thank you.”

Setting the plate in his lap, the woman turned to leave.

“So...tell me about you nuns here, what's your deal?” He called out to her, mostly desperate for some conversation after months of solitude.

The woman turned. “Oh...uh...well, what do you...um. I'm sorry, I'm Mary Elizabeth, I'm a novitiate, which means I haven't taken my vows yet. We're a Cisterian order, which means we value stability and simplicity.”

“And you don't ever...do anything beyond pray?”

“Well, we garden and take care of our chickens and hives, mostly we supply...well, we used to supply vegetables and peaches from our trees and eggs and honey and bees wax to the local farmer's market to support our convent. Most of our funds go to charity in the church, people starving in other countries, disaster relief. And we reflect, on God, on man, on everything in between.”

Splitting the bread slice in half, he handed her the larger piece and bit into his.

Mary Elizabeth took the offered piece with a shy grin and squatted down like a lady to join him, knees together, skirt covering anything inappropriate, one hand on her knees to ensure this.

“Is it really bad out there?” She asked as they chewed in silence. “Some of our order went to the market nearly half a year ago and never came back.”

He nodded. “I can't give you any hope, they're probably gone. Swept away with the dead.”

The woman's pretty little face puckered in dislike of that idea, but she soldiered on bravely.

“It's like Revelations. The dead rising. Scares the dickens out of me, if I'm honest.”

The woman was so sincere in her fear, as she rightly should be. The Lieutenant had been forged by war overseas, by rigorous training and by all he had seen and done in his forty-three years.

This slip of a girl, barely old enough to vote, it seemed, was scared of the rotting corpses that walked across the land and he understood how she could be. It was bigger than them, out of control, there was nothing left but the dead and the vultures who picked at the corpses of society.

Downing the last morsel of his bread and honey, the Lieutenant stood up and pointed at her. “Well, either you're closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge or you are not aware of the calibre of disaster indicated by the presence of a pool table in your community.”

The woman clutched her hands together and beamed happily. “Oh! I love The Music Man!”

“Ya got trouble, my friend, right here, I say, trouble right here in River City,” he went on playfully.

Mary Elizabeth blushed shyly. “Mother Philomena says you're the trouble around here.”

“She's getting a hunter and protector out of this deal, Missy should watch her tongue.” He returned, easing his ass against the railing and folding his arms.

“I'd better get going, I have to do the washing tonight.”

“It was nice to talk with you, Lizzie.”

The woman giggled. “You too, Lieutenant.”

“Mind yourself going down now,” he cautioned, moving to offer her a hand down the ladder, before remembering that he wasn't to touch any of the nuns, so he drew his hand back quickly.

Mary Elizabeth beamed at him. “Thanks for the offer though. I like a gentleman.”

“That is a household worth of baggage, Lieutenant.”

He had just returned to the convent with a successful bounty, three ducks and a goose for dinner, when Sister Mary Agnes approached him. He had met her the other day when she was the one to bring him some food. He liked her plain manner of speaking and her matronly look.

“I got lucky,” he returned, preparing to clean the kills.

“I meant that pack on your back,” she said, kneeling beside him. “Doesn't it ever get awful heavy after all that walking?”

Glancing at his pack, the one he went everywhere with, he grinned. “It's my apartment, everything I own is in that bag.”

“How on earth can a man travel with so much on his back? Don't you ever get tired?” She demanded.

“Well, when you don't have a home, Sister, you make do. My apartment is on my back, ready at a moment's digging.”

The woman stopped them both, her dark eyes grave. “What's it like out there, Lieutenant? Really?”

“Hell on earth,” he admitted. “If it's not full of the dead, it's lonesome and abandoned. Like walking through a bad dream.”

He was on the wall later that evening, watching an uggie as it shambled from out of the woods towards the wall he was on.

Poor little lady in her bathrobe, one slipper still on, the other long gone.

“Didn't expect to be caught in your jammies, huh?” He asked the thing.

It grunted and made a mad dive for the wall just under him, hands clawing at the wall.

“Never actually thought people even wore bathrobes,” he went on calmly. “Maybe I should start wearing one. Look like one of those old Hollywood actors. Cary Grant, yeah?”

“What on earth on you doing up there?” Missy asked from the ground behind him.

“Bird watching,” he returned casually. “Wanna come up?”

“And fall off that wall and break my tail? I think I'll pass on the offer. Being up there in jeans is one thing, this habit is a wind catcher for sure.”

Turning around he held out his hand to her. “Come on. I won't let you fall.”

Hitching her robes to her, she moved to a spot where she must have propped an old ladder in order to climb up.

He moved to help her onto the wall, once more forgetting that he couldn't touch the nuns.

She held out her hand as he moved to grasp her elbow and stood on the wall, peering down at the uggie in her jammies.

“Do you suppose they're in pain?” She asked.

“I don't think so, think they're running on instinct and nothing else.” He said, running his hand over the butt of his rifle a little nervously, ready to steady Missy at a moment should she prove correct and the wind grab her. “Reminds me of this fact I heard about octopi and how if you put their corpse by salt their little tentacles react, but they're brain dead. Like that, I suppose. Them folks in Japan eating them basically raw, and their little tentacles grab at them chopsticks. Little undead squiggles putting up a fight.”

“This is a person,” she murmured. “She had things to do, goals and dreams.”

“We're born astride the grave.”

Handing her his rifle, he pulled out his knife and jumping off the wall, over the thing, he came up behind her and knocked the uggie against the wall, holding her there so he could drive his knife into the base of her skull. It sunk heavily to the ground and he eased the poor woman back into a dignified laying position. Kneeling by the corpse, he wiped his knife blade on her bathrobe, before looking up to find the nun peering down at him quietly.

“Do you want a hand with her?” She asked.

He moved to help her down, his large hand sliding around her waist so that she could hop against him to break her fall somewhat, the other day she had precariously climbed down and nearly fell, today she was wearing her full habit, she offered him a hard look as he set her on her feet.

“That had better been my only option of dismount,” she warned him.

“Unless you want to break your neck today, then yes, ma'am.”

Kneeling over the corpse, Missy pushed the woman's hair out of her face and peered upon the rotted visage.

“Last rites?” He joked.

“I can't give those,” she said. “I just wanted to look at the poor woman. I killed so many of these the past few weeks, I never had a chance to pause and give thought to them. I honestly thought it was for the best to put them out of their misery. They are abominations after all, but they were once people.”

Kneeling with her, the Lieutenant nodded. “Bet she was someone's mama. She looks like a mama.”

“I hope her babies are alright, but from what you tell me, I don't imagine they are.” She was quiet for the longest time, before adding, “you'll keep my girls safe, won't you?”

“If you want me to,” he replied. “I haven't got anywhere to be.”

She looked at him for the longest time, those pretty blue eyes of hers shining and hard, despite being the bluest things he had ever seen. Set against her white chocolate skin and framed by luscious dark lashes, she was hell in a habit. If he had to gauge an age on her, he would wager she was around the same age as him, maybe a little younger. She certainly aged well if she were any older, and maybe she had, she was in charge of her convent, after all, and it took a while to advance in any profession.

“Then if you advise me on how to keep them safe, I will listen, but I will not compromise our faith for anything. The bell will stay silent, and we will do a patrol of the wall, but I will not expect any of my girls to harm anyone or anything without knowing for certain that it won't damn them.”

“Fair enough,” the returned with a grin, holding out a hand to shake.

She considered it for a moment.

“Nobody went to hell for shaking a Cajun's hand,” he teased.

“Yet,” she murmured.

Reconsidering his dirty hand, the Lieutenant wiped it on the front of his shirt, before offering it again.

This time she took it, shaking gently.

“You know this reminds me of this story my mamere used to tell me,” he explained, grunting as he scooped up the dead woman. “About this--”

“Sorry, your 'mamere'?” Missy interrupted.

“My granny.” He said, moving the corpse onto the muddy cattle trail of a road leading up to the convent gate where a fire would burn better without starting the woods ablaze. If they were going to keep collecting bodies, he would have to begin burning them. That pile in the woods would soon be doing nobody no good. “She used to tell me about this old man named Gilliam, used to beat the hell out of his old hound. Never deserved the poor thing, so one night, my...uh...granddaddy, he goes over, dead of night, dark as Hades--”

“I don't mean to cut your tale off at the root, I'm certain it's a wonderful parable, Mister Lieutenant, but we are about to burn a body here? Perhaps some wise words or none at all?” Missy suggested.

The Lieutenant was quiet, settling the corpse up in the middle of the muddy trail, before reaching for his lighter. He set the woman ablaze, burning her clothing, knowing full well the parchment paper flesh that remained on her corpse would go up in smoke easily.

Standing back, he glanced around cautiously, knowing that uggies liked to pop up when least expected.

Finding them alone, he turned his attention back to the burning body.

“Uh, dearly beloveds we are gathered here today to, uh, burn this--”

“Are you marrying the corpse or laying her to rest, Lieutenant?” The woman demanded.

“Mais, girl, go easy on me. I ain't a priest.”

“Honey, even the heathens had idols they worshipped before the Christian God,” she pointed out.

“So I'm lesser than a heathen and yet greater than a toad, yeah?” He winked at her.

As the smoke began to choke them with the scent of burning flesh, the nun turned on her heel and headed back to the wall, hiking her hem up as she went tiptoeing through the mud.

“You're certainly bigger than a toad,” she said. “Now use that might and give me a hand up and over, please?”

She squealed and undignified and rather girlish noise as the Lieutenant came up behind her and scooped her up and at the wall with his hands.

“Mind your hands,” she warned coolly as soon as she recovered her dignity.

“Sorry,” he said easily, shifting his left hand from where it cupped her inner thigh, “there's so much skirt to you that I wasn't sure where the safest place to stick my hand was at. I guess I aimed wrong.”

“I nearly had to abandon my vows for you to make an honest woman of me,” she declared, hoisting herself up onto the wall.

Beaming up at her, the Lieutenant said, “hey, now, Missy. Mind your tongue before the devil cuts it off.”

As soon as she was safely on the wall, he said, “now hand me that rifle you got.”

“Aren't you coming up?”

“Well, I promised you some venison now didn't I?”

“This late? Lieutenant, it's almost dark.”

“Best time of day to hunt for deer, yeah?” He winked at her and held out his hand for the gun.

That night the Lieutenant stood in his bell tower watching over the land.

He had to admit, at night like this with only the cicadas chittering, he enjoyed the silence and peace.

As much as he loved people, he enjoyed his solitude as well and with the stars in the sky and the land absolutely still, he was able to just think his thoughts.

“Lord I was born a ramblin' man,” he sung to himself, wandering around the small perimeter of the bell tower, watching all sides for anything moving in the shadows below. Raising the rifle he peered down the scope at something that shifted, it appeared to be shrubs and the wind. “Trynna make a livin' and doin' the best I can.”

“And when it's time for leavin', I hope you'll understand,” he lowered the rifle as an uggie emerged from the woods.

It was just a shadow really, shuffling from the darkness, finding the wall with its chest, bouncing back and staggering to regain its footing. For a moment, the thing stood dumbly, head bent down, before it seemed to lift its chin and sniff the air.

It wasn't worth it for him to shoot the thing, his gun wasn't much use at times like this, the sound only drawing more to his location, but he liked the scope to watch as the dumb thing sort of collapsed against the wall.

From his perspective, he could only see the top of its head, but the manic bobbing told him it had caught their scent and was trying to find a hole in the wall to get at dinner.

Tomorrow he would have to reinforce the wall properly, a few sharp sticks, some hole traps, he'd head into the nearby town to find something that still drove that he could back against the wrought iron gate.

He wasn't sure about that one, most of the time the vehicles didn't turn over at all. Having never pondered it, he supposed that maybe the gasoline had gone south. He knew it could stale, had tried to drive old lawnmowers enough times to know you had to drain the gas out from the tank if you weren't planning on using them for a good, long while.

Maybe he'd find one though. He only needed her to limp to the convent, it didn't need to win no races.

“Good morning, Lieutenant.”

He had emerged from the church the next morning to Sisters Dymphna, Felicity Perpetua and Mary Claire standing around the steps in the cool shade of the north side.

“Good morning, ladies,” he returned. “What kind of trouble are you up to today?”

“Only the worst kind,” Dymphna replied, her brown eyes sparkling. “Are you heading out?”

“I was planning on doing a little work on the wall today. Did you need me to head out for something?” He asked, coming to stand in the little clutch with them. So far he had found the younger nuns more receptive to his presence than the older ones.

Except for Sisters Gertrude and Boniface, he adored Gertrude and her cats and Sister Boniface was a Quebecois French woman, so he felt a sort of kindred spirit in her.

“Maybe we wanted to do something for you for once,” Sister Mary Claire said with a smile that could brighten a stormy day.

“Something for me?”

Sister Felicity Perpetua, who had been standing with her hands behind her back, produced a child's lunch kit and held it out to him proudly. “We made you a lunch if you're planning on leaving.”

“You have to stay strong,” Sister Mary Claire added. “An army marches on its stomach.”

“Plus, you know, we appreciate you being here for us.” Dymphna added.

There was something sincere in their eyes, something which made the Lieutenant give a slight, unsure pause, before he accepted the lunch kit.

“Thank you,” he said. “I'm going to be just outside the wall working on it today, but maybe at some point I might hike it into the nearby town, see if I can find a big enough truck or some kind of van maybe.”

“What for?” Felicity Perpetua asked.

He motioned for the nuns to follow him towards the gate. They all stopped before it and he motioned with the hand holding his lunch at the rusty gate. “She's solid enough, but old and if enough of those things out there pushed against her at once she could go. I'm going to back a heavy girl up against her and reinforce it.”

The nuns were quiet for a bit, before Dymphna said, “I'm going with you.”

“Nope,” he declared firmly.

“Yes,” she insisted. “You can't go into the town alone with those things out there.”

“I lived this long on my own, I'll be fine.” He stated. “You nuns don't go anywhere outside these walls without me. My job is to keep you safe, your job is to make my job easier by staying here and being your cute little selves.”

“What if something happened to you?” Felicity Perpetua whispered. “My soul would know no peace.”

“Don't you have chores?” Someone asked from behind them, causing a couple of the nuns to jump.

Sister Thomas Aquinas, a stern faced woman of about seventy stood behind them, her arms full of blankets.

The three nuns all ducked out quickly, but not before Dymphna grasped Faye's forearm with a strong, small brown hand.

Looking at him with a hard, glittering stare, the older nun seemed to be sizing him up for a moment, before handing him the blankets.

“Here,” she said. “We found some of these to spare. I thought you might like to keep yourself warmer up in that bell tower.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” she said tersely, before turning and walking off, muttering to herself about a 'fox in the hen house'.

He missed the days when he could go out into the woods and just sit and enjoyed the peace.

Now, whenever he was in the woods, he was vulnerable and on edge. Always prepared for something to stagger out of the underbrush.

There was a time, when he was a boy, he'd duck into the woods by his rural home near Eunice, what wasn't swampy bayou, was pretty little woods filled with mostly with cypress and oak trees, the forest floor was always good and moist, carpeted with the soft needles that the bald cypress trees shed.

The smell of the forest was always the way he found peace. That scent of good, clean country air, with a little harmless stank from the bayou, coupled with the scent of the damp earth. It was home sure enough and he missed it.

Georgia had it's own smell. Less bayou, more fresh water on the air. Rivers and streams and creeks. Nothing like the stagnant scent of the swamp.

He supposed, it was perhaps a little more fresher air, though it just wasn't home and that made all the difference.

Georgia was True Love Ways compared to Louisiana's Oh Boy, if Buddy Holly songs could be used to compare the two. Both good songs, though one was a little more melodic and slow-paced, the other had a bit more get-up-and-go.

“Boy, what are you doing to my wall?”

The voice came from above him on the wall and he looked up to find a furious nun standing there, swaying a little unsteadily in her habit and the mild wind.

“Just reinforcing it, Missy,” he said.

Philomena sighed. “We look like an ancient castle with these sharp sticks poking out.”

Stepping back, he admired his work and nodded. “Yeah, palisades, that's where I got the idea. Figured if it kept them old Celt tribes out, it'd work for us.”

“It doesn't look very inviting,” she muttered.

“It's not supposed to be a welcome mat,” he replied.

“Well, I suppose that's fine, just please don't hoist yourself on your own petard,” she said after a moment of thought.

He wiped his hands off and dug through his pack for the lunch the nuns had packed him. “You up there for a reason?”

“Sister Mary Claire says some of the younger nuns expressed interest in helping you outside these walls.”

“And you want to slap my wrist for tempting them?” He used the gate to climb onto the wall and sat beside her to eat his lunch.

“Not entirely,” she admitted, easing down a little clumsily beside him. “I think...well maybe you could be permitted to teach those of us interested in a few ways to defend ourselves from the abominations.”

Plucking a half a carrot out of his mouth, he crunched on the bitten half for a good long while. It was so delicious. He had forgotten what fresh veggies tasted like.

“Really?” He asked.

She stared off down the cattle trail before them, and he followed her gaze. The path was hung over with oak branches and Spanish moss, pretty for the late summer, but it was tainted by the dead. Somewhere out there in those pretty trees and green shrubs they ambled and shuffled and staggered and crawled, gnashing and drooling for their next meal.

He supposed those uggies all had hopes and dreams and plans set aside now for one thing and one thing only. Same and him, same as the woman sitting beside him, same as all the nuns in the convent behind them.

“Our wills and fates do so contrary run,” he began with a sigh, reminded by something she had said earlier.

Beside him Missy was quiet still, eyes on the world beyond her walls. “You're well read, for a soldier.”

“I'm sure you had to read Hamlet in high school too,” he teased. “A lot of it just stuck with me, I suppose. Don't be fooled,” he went on with a grin, “I'm just a simple country boy from the bayou.”

“I grew up in Savannah,” she said. “Have you ever been?”

“No,” he admitted. “Didn't get a chance before all this and I damned well won't go now. It'll be overrun.”

“We've been so secluded here,” she admitted gently. “I thought though, that someday I would be transferred out to a school or a...missionary, but I suppose this is my life now.” She hurried to add, “not that I'm complaining. I will bear this with grace, only that I miss the outside world, God's real world out there. Art and books, beauty created by the hands of His creatures, so much lost now.”

Faye stared at the woman as she continued to gaze wistfully out at the trees. He so struck by how easy she made being beautiful look. “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Vivian Leigh?” He asked.

For a moment, the woman's face read irritated, then puzzled, before she finally smiled sweetly and looked down. “Tell me, Mister Lieutenant, is it nature or force that compels you to flirt with every woman you meet?”

“Sometimes it's not just women,” he teased.

“Oh!” She offered him a scolding look, though her face was still mostly smiles and amusement.

He beamed.