The Risks

October: Chapter 41

A/N: Call your dentists and schedule appointments. Prepare yourself for tooth-rotting fluff.

There was nothing like tragedy to bring people together.

It had only been two days after the attack, and we'd already managed to rebuild the section of destroyed wall. Graves had been dug, a funeral put together, and the ones we lost had been laid to rest. The grieving had barely just begun, and yet it seemed as though it had never really ended.

One thing was for certain: it would be a long time before we forgot the damage done by the Zoners. And as for the Zone itself, Raleigh had some ideas.

Parker and I had met him at the gates that night before leaving, and I'd asked if anyone had seen which way George had gone when he'd escaped. Raleigh couldn't give an answer, apologizing profusely for the mix up that led to his getting away. Apparently someone misunderstood exactly what the signal was and had let a Molotov cocktail fly too early. And when one domino falls...

"So. The plan," Parker had said to Raleigh as we waited for a truck to be brought up for us. "What's the next part?"

"I'm gonna stay here," he'd answered, looking around at the people wandering about.

"You sure? You can always come back with us. All your people can."

Raleigh shook his head politely. "Nah. I've got plans for this place. I'm gonna make something good from all the bad."

With that, they'd shook hands, which had turned into a hug, and we agreed to get together soon to discuss setting up some infrastructure between our two communities. I think that made both of them feel better -knowing this wasn't goodbye again. We'd be seeing a lot of each other over the course of time.

It was a comfort knowing we'd have a friendly neighbor nearby, but there was always George to worry about. Would he return to the Zone, reclaim what was his? Would he come back to the school to finish what he'd started? Or would he die on his own without the safety and protection of walls and his people?

There was no way to tell. I should find a way to let it go, to allow myself to move on. It wasn't going to be easy, but as I sat alone and out of sight on a bench beneath one of the trees in the courtyard of the school, I decided I needed to at least try.

I was starting now, by reminding myself that there was so much to be grateful for.

I had this community. Its walls, its supplies, its attempt at old-world structure.

And more importantly, I had its people.

When we'd returned late that night, the reunion had been a bitter sweet one. We'd won the war, but there had been too many casualties. And when I was able to see their faces again -not just in my mind, but there, with my own eyes- I'd cried and accepted their embraces willingly.

And I still had Parker. We'd somehow made it out alive, and without the threat of Deacon now, I'd never seen him happier. He was playful and goofy and impossibly endearing. And his smile, god, his smile. I'd never seen anything more beautiful.

Make something good from all the bad. Like Raleigh had said. So it was time to let go, because there was still so much good in this world and I didn't want to take any of it for granted.

I felt the pressure of two hands on my shoulders suddenly and then the press of lips against the crown of my head.

I sighed contentedly as I tilted my head backwards, resting it against his chest so I could look directly up at him. He was wearing a grey shirt under a red flannel, the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms. And, oh, did he look good in flannel.