Tomorrow Will Come

Two

The next day Mary struggled to get out of bed; her late night combined with the argument lead to a restless sleep, and her bed was so much more welcoming than the Thursday morning mix of maths, biology, and history.
"Moo! Momma says get up! School starts in half an hour!" RJ shouted through Mary's door, and the girl rolled over in bed, pulling the blanket up to her ears. "Mary? Mary, breakfast!" RJ insisted, and he came into Mary's room, throwing himself on top of her.
"RJ!" Mary whined, as he wriggled under the covers with her, putting his forehead against hers.
"Morning." RJ smiled sweetly, and Mary sighed, then rubbed her eyes and kissed RJ's nose.
"Morning, buddy."
"You're gonna be late for school." RJ pointed out, and Mary nodded, sitting up.
"Go help mom with breakfast. I'm coming, I'm just gonna get dressed." Mary assured, and RJ nodded, and jumped down from Mary's bed, his tiny feet running down the stairs. With a sigh and a groan, Mary pulled off her pyjamas and pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt, ready for a warm autumn day. She pulled a brush through her soft curls, the strands bouncing back up, reaching just below her chin, and pushed Carl's Sheriff hat over the top of them, then put on some socks and her boots, and went downstairs.
"Hi." Judith smiles softly from over her oatmeal, and Mary smiled back, putting a hand on top of her head.
"Morning, honey." Michonne said softly, passing Mary a blow of oatmeal with raspberries, and Mary thanked her, then sat by her siblings as they ate in silence.
"It's a nice day." Michonne commented, and Judith silently smiled back at her.
"Wanna go for a ride after school?" Mary asked Judith, and the girl nodded, grinning broadly.
"I don't want you going far." Michonne warned, and Mary nodded.
"I know. We won't." Mary assured. She finished her oatmeal quickly, then ran upstairs to brush her teeth, and grab her school bag. "Okay, come on Jay. School time." Mary called to RJ, and the boy ran towards her.
"Miss Jo said we're doing maths first today. That's my favourite." RJ grinned up to Mary, and the older sister smiled back at her.
"Okay, lunches are in your bags," Michonne declared, zipping up Mary's backpack, "have a good day."
"We will." Judith smiled, hugging and kissing Michonne, as did RJ.
"I'm sorry." Michonne whispered, hugging Mary, and Mary nodded back.
"Me too."
"Come on! Time to get Gracie." Judith grinned, skipping out of the door, Mary and RJ following her. Judith ran to the house next door and rapped on the door, Gracie flying out and hugging her; despite the two years age gap, they were best friends.
"Gracie, bag!" Aaron called, coming into view, and he passed the girls backpack to Mary, who smiled at her uncle.
"Come on! We'll be late!" Gracie called, her and Judith already down the street, RJ trailing after them, and Mary laughed, chasing after them.
"Can we skip?" RJ asked Mary, and Mary smiled and nodded, taking his hand and skipping down the street until they got to the makeshift classrooms. Mary saw RJ into his class, and Judith and Gracie into theirs, then went to her classroom, sitting down beside Daisy.
"Hey." Daisy grinned, chomping on an apple, and Mary smiled back at her.
"Hi. Ready for another day of algebra?"
"Always." Daisy grinned teasingly, and Mary laughed, rolling her eyes, then grabbed her notebooks, ready for the day.

"How's Jack?" Mary asked Daisy as they ate their sandwiches by the lake, watching as Judith, Gracie, and a few other kids their age swam.
"Annoying," Daisy laughed, referring to her three year old half brother, "he's over the chickenpox now, but dad and Jane kept him out of daycare today to make sure. He's running up the walls."
"I loved Jay at that age." Mary reminisced, and Daisy scoffed.
"He's just annoying."
"You love him really."
"God, yeah." Daisy smiled, a hint of pain behind her eyes. She adored Jack, but saw her other brother when she looked at him; her little brother, Tim, was one when the Turn happened, and he died a month in, alongside their mother. Daisy adored Jack, but saw Tim when she looked at him, and it pained her every day, in a similar way to how it hurt Mary to see how alike Judith and Carl were, and how RJ reminded her of their father.
A bell rang from inside the school building, and the children ran from out of the lake, hearing the fifteen minute warning for the end of lunch break. Judith ran up to Mary in just her underwear and a shirt, her hair soaking wet, and a grin on her face.
"Here." Mary half laughed, standing up and passing her the towel she'd been sat on, Daisy doing the same for Gracie, and once she was dried off, the two children laid on the grass, letting the sun dry their clothes. Mary sat behind Judith, and pulled her head onto her lap, brushing the wet tangles out. She braided it, then moved over and did the same to Gracie's golden curls, then kissed the girls forehead.
"Okay, I've gotta go to the infirmary. Don't be late for afternoon lessons." Mary said firmly to Judith, and Judith nodded. "See you later," Mary smiled to Daisy, "you bringing Jake by? We're doing the measles vaccinations today?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll see you."

"Hey, Jude! I'm done at the infirmary, you wanna go for that ride?" Mary called up the stairs as she got home that afternoon, and Judith charged down the stairs with a grin.
"Yeah."
"Okay. Mom! Me and Judith are going for a ride! See you in an hour!"
"Bye! Have fun." Michonne shouted back, and they left, Judith pulling on her boots as she stumbled out of the door. The girls walked to the stables in silence, and tacked up their horses; Mary had her beloved Julius, and Judith had an old pony, tame and safe, called Jasper.
"You love that pony." Mary smiled softly, watching as Judith fed him some strands of grass, and put a braid into his mane.
"So much."
"It was Aunt Maggie who found him," Mary explained, giving Judith a leg up to sit on her pony, then jumping onto Julius' back, "he was just at a farm. I think his owner had only died a little bit before."
"He's a good pony." Judith confirmed, and they walked on, through the streets of Alexandria. When they got to the gates, the man on watch, Marcus, let them pass after confirming their mother had allowed it and they had their weapons; Mary had a gun, a knife, and her slingshot, and Judith had her katana on her back.
"What were you and mom arguing about last night?" Judith asked suddenly, as they got into the woods.
"You heard that?"
"Yeah. You was shouting a little bit."
"Sorry. It... We... I want her to let Alexandria take more people in. I met this boy, this group, outside of the walls. It made me think about what would have happened to us without Alexandria. It doesn't seem fair that we get this life, but others don't."
Judith nodded slowly, listening to her older sisters words. "Yeah. I get that."
"We wouldn't have made it," Mary continued, "if we hadn't found Alexandria, if Aaron and Eric hadn't found us, we would have died. Maybe not all of us, but most of us. Me and you wouldn't have made it. How's that fair, Jude? Just 'cos Aaron found us, we get to live, but others don't? How's that fair? Why can't she see it isn't fair?"
"Because she's keeping us safe."
"But what if... What if we found another doctor? Uncle Siddiq has saved so many lives because Carl found him."
"But if Carl hadn't found him, he'd still be alive." Judith whispered, and Mary nodded slowly.
"Yeah. There is that. But Uncle Sid didn't kill him, he didn't cause that, Walkers did. It was them, not us."
"I think we should let them in too." Judith said quietly, and Mary nodded.
"It's what Carl would have wanted," Mary breathed, "I don't know why she can't see that. Carl would help them. Daddy too. I just... I wanna grow up to do what they wanted. We should help people. That's their legacy."