Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett (notamandate) wrote in notebookthreads, @ 2015-05-30 22:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! 40 points, ! closed, ! complete, ! plot, rick grimes, steve mcgarrett |
Who: Steve McGarrett and, Rick Grimes
What: Steve is bringing soft foods to Rick and Judith
When: Backdated to Thursday, May 7. Afternoon
Where: Streets of Test City/Rick’s place
Rating: G
Warnings: Low? Talk of the necromorphs.
Status: Complete/GDocs
Steve couldn’t complain that this place was boring. First, he was keeping watch over the strange structure that suddenly appeared as well as keeping an eye on the civilian volunteers that were standing guard around it. Then when these….things, the Necromorphs appeared, Steve had been busy battling them and keeping them away from as many civilians as he could.
During a little lull, Steve had sent out message on the network asking civilians to stay inside where it was safe and also asked if anyone needed help or supplies. Steve wanted to keep fighting but it was also important to him to reach out and help out the fellow residents of Test City if he could.
When Rick answered Steve’s post and asked if he could bring soft foods to him and his daughter, Steve didn’t hesitate. After grabbing the supplies from the store, Steve cautiously made his way over to Rick’s place, having to to stop a time or two to deal with some Necromorphs on the streets but he eventually made it to his destination.
Walking up to Rick’s door, he knocked. “Rick. It’s Steve McGarrett.” Steve stepped back and it was at that moment that he took a look at himself. He was a little banged up and not so clean but he was otherwise none the worse for wear.
********
Hours stretched into days when someone was trapped in a place. There was no way to make time function on the same scale any longer if there was never a true day or a true night. Artificial lighting was all Rick allowed into their apartment. He'd closed over all the windows. Those things were tough as Hell. The last thing he wanted was one coming through the balcony onto his baby girl or through a window onto him.
Rick was a Hell of a man when it came to fighting for his life, but he knew the difference between walkers and these Necromorphs. They were revolting creatures raised from the dead same as walkers yet nothing like walkers all the same seeing as they were mutated to the point they didn't even resemble human beings any longer. He doubted it would be hard to kill one in comparison to shooting a walker child.
He simply couldn't risk it with Judith.
Steve McGarrett was an unknown. Rick had to trust him for his girl though. There wasn't any choice. It was either trust a fellow resident or risk Judith by taking her into the fray or leaving her on her own in the apartment while he went out possibly never to return to her. Rick had made the call. He'd decided to trust McGarrett which was why he didn't hesitate to open the door, pistol at the ready to blow anything following their rescuer away if he had to in order to get the man inside.
"C'mon in. I got my girl tucked in the kitchen on the floor behind the cabinets. She's safe, but hungry. Unfortunately not a new experience for her. Where we come from? It's a lot like this: Hell. You hurt anywhere? Need medical treatment? Water? I got plenty of solid foods. I could make you a sandwich if you haven't taken time to eat."
It was the least Rick could do as he ushered the man in to barricade the door closed once more.
~*~
Steve did not have any experience with anything supernatural or the like in Hawaii. The only thing that was helping him survive through this ordeal was the fact that he was well skilled in adapting, trained in hand to hand combat and he was an excellent shot.
When the door opened, Steve saw the gun and he instinctively went for his own, unholstering it but not pulling it out as it didn’t take him long to notice that Rick wasn’t pointing the gun at him but rather over Steve’s shoulder as if Rick was expecting to see a necromorph appear behind him. “I dealt with the ones that were hanging around the building. The last thing I’d want was to lead them to you and your daughter.” Steve holstered his weapon, holding up his free hand to show that he was not a threat.
Steve entered the apartment and glanced around as Rick barricaded the door again. Steve was happy to see that Rick had taken appropriate precautions by closing off all of the windows to keep those things out. Setting the bag of supplies down on the table Steve turned and looked at the man as he asked if he was in need of medical supplies, food or water and told Steve that this experience is not uncommon for Rick or his daughter. “This happens often where you’re from? Is this normal for here?” Steve was still relatively new to Test City. He had just arrived with the green hand in the sky and now this.
Steve shook his head as Rick asked if he was hurt anywhere or in need of medical treatment. Steve was banged up and he had more than a few scrapes and bruises but nothing serious or he couldn’t handle. “No need of medical treatment. Maybe a sink where I can wash some of this grime away though.” Steve needed to clean the open wounds at least to prevent infection.
“A sandwich and some water would be terrific if it’s no trouble to you.” Steve hadn’t had anything to eat since those things arrived. “I hope I got things that your daughter will like. I grabbed a bit of everything that I could.” Steve gestured to the bag. He didn’t have any children or know what kids like so the contents of the bag was the result of his best guess.
******
Rick gave a mirthless laugh as he went to unpacking the bag of supplies Steve had brought in. He wasn't worried over finding something his girl could eat. Judith had never had the opportunity or the luxury of being picky. As long as he could turn it into enough of a mush for her to swallow it, she'd eat it and be grateful for the nourishment. Their world didn't leave much room for anything else.
"We're from a world where the dead are walking, always hunting for food, and they eat the living. Food is hard to come by. You could say we're used to scavenging. This is the best we've lived in her whole life."
He set about fixing the man a sandwich as he pointed at the sink to let him know he was welcome to it. Rick didn't have much, but he didn't need much either. All he needed was his daughter to be safe, fed, and as comfortable as he could make her. Test City was working with him on all those points as far as he cared. There were a few things he could complain about -missing his son, the rest of his people, being disoriented- but he felt too bad when he thought about it to do anything of the sort.
Sliced turkey went onto white bread with lettuce torn neatly off the fresh head from the crisper. Rick made sure to put a light spread of mayo on both slices of bread. It was a trick to making it taste more moist. His Lori had taught him that one sometime during their marriage. He couldn't honestly say when. Likely around the same time she'd taught him to wash the lettuce, drain it upside down, and then put it into the crisper to keep it ready to put on sandwiches. Some would have laughed at him as he sliced it into two neat triangles, but Rick had eaten like an animal for too long to take for granted the simplest niceties of a civilized life.
"Hope you like turkey and cheddar on white with mayo. I didn't have any tomatoes left or I'd have put some slices on there for you, too. I really don't know how to thank you for risking yourself for us."
A sandwich seemed a paltry thank you to keeping his daughter from starving, but Rick didn't know what else to offer.
~*~
Steve wasn’t a stranger to living in less than stellar environments. He had spent a portion of his life as a Navy SEAL and also had spent some of his time in some remote areas of the world. He had even spent some time living off of the land. But as bad as conditions as Steve had experienced in his life, it was no where near as bad as what Rick and Judith had to endure in theirs. At least in his home, Steve had a roof over his head, fresh food and water and was relatively safe. Relatively only because of the nature of his work. The Five-0 task force did not operate without taking some risks.
“When you say “the dead are walking” do you mean zombies?” Steve asked, heading over to the sink that Rick pointed at and set about cleaning up as best as he could. Steve was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that everyone here came from different times and even places. Some had even seen things that only existed in scary stories and movies.
Steve took some extra care with washing out the open wounds he had, not even flinching at the sting of the soap hitting the wounds. Steve was trained in enduring torture and to him, the pain of cleaning out the wounds was minimal. He had definitely endured worse. Upon inspection, he was pleased to see that none of the cuts were exceptionally deep and none needed to be stitched up. He’d just had to keep them clean until they healed.
Like Rick, Steve had little to complain about here in Test City. He was still mostly pissed off that someone or something had gotten the drop on him and he had been abducted, but in all of the places that he had been kidnapped and stashed, this place wasn’t all that bad. He was grateful that Kono was here and Steve was making friends with some of the other residents. He had a roof over his head and although this place was definitely strange, he had been in worse conditions. He hated being landlocked and was missing Hawaii as well as his fellow Five-0 members, especially his partner Danny (though he’d never admit that out loud). Steve had many strengths and amongst those strengths was being able to adapt and that was exactly what he had been trying to do here. He had no choice.
Steve finished what he was doing at the sink, feeling a little better to be rid of a little bit of the grime he had acquired. He turned away from the sink to face Rick, his stomach letting out a low growl at the mere mention of food. “The sandwich sounds great, thanks.” Steve waved off Rick’s thanks. It was Steve’s job to help civilians and to keep them safe. He would have done a lot more than bring Rick and Judith food if he had been asked to. “Anytime, man, don’t even worry about it. I’m glad to have been able to help. Your daughter needed you to stay with her. Besides, I have a feeling that if it were not for your daughter, you’d be out there with us battling these things.”
*******
Rick gave Steve his space to clean his wounds. He quietly offered him the plate with the two halves of sandwich, hoping it would appease some of the man's basic needs. Rick had poured him a glass of milk to go with it. There was nothing like milk cold enough to freeze a man from the inside when water was all there was to drink in their world. He'd forgotten how much he had enjoyed it.
Leaning against the counter, Rick grinned as Judith lay against his leg. Her body was still too unbalanced to allow her to stand for long periods of time. She could pull herself up with her hard, tight grip, but she wove unsteadily on her feet until falling back down on her bottom every time. For a while, he'd worried she'd not get enough nutrition to allow her bones to form. She was hearty though. A survivor like the rest of them.
It felt strangely funny to think of them as 'zombies' when Rick had always associated the word with movies. He was outright smiling as he looked at his guest.
"Yeah. I mean zombies. They're infected with a virus which activates upon death. We all have it where I'm from, every one of us. Even Judith. I die? It's what will happen to me. I've got a contingency plan. My boy's going to stab me through the side of the head with a knife. Taking out the brain is the only way to kill them. You can literally cut their heads off and they're still biting, rolling around, looking to eat when they don't even have a gut. Some of the older ones are so wasted they're skeletal now. The smell---"
Rick shook his head, his smile fading.
There wasn't anything funny about the smell they gave off.
He gave Steve McGarrett a look lacking any humor, any civility, and almost all humanity as he acknowledged, "If I did not have my child to think of, I would be out there. I'm a survivor. The dead haven't taken me down at home. Nothing this place sends my way will either."
In a kill or be killed world, Rick Grimes was a killer. Always.
~*~
He was grateful for any kind of food at the moment. He hadn’t ate for hours since these things appeared and the work wasn’t done yet. In order for him to keep going, he needed sustenance. Steve picked up one half of the sandwich and took a bite and relishing in the taste of the food as it hit his stomach.
He looked down as Judith laid against her father’s leg. Steve didn’t have any children of his own and he always felt a little awkward around them. His mother had died when he and his sister were both pretty young, his father had never been the affectionate paternal type and he had sent Steve off to join the Navy as a way to protect him. He was getting better around kids though. His partner, Danny, had a daughter which Steve considered her a part of his ohana and he loved that girl as if she were his own. There was not one thing that he wouldn’t do for Grace. Watching the way Rick looked down at his daughter, he could tell that Judith was the center of Rick’s world. As it should be.
His eyebrow raised as Rick told him that everyone from where he called home was infected with a virus that will turn him into a zombie upon death. Steve looked down at the little girl frowning. Judith had a cruel fate waiting for her. “Your boy is going to end you when you turn?” Steve was impressed, if not a little concerned. He can’t say that he wouldn’t have put a contingency plan in place if he had he been in Rick’s position but surely there was someone better to do the job than the man’s son. “Are there any other people here from your home here?”
Steve finished the sandwich and downed the glass of milk, taking the dishes and placing them in the sink as Rick told him that if it had not been for Judith, he’d be out there fighting those necromorphs and Steve couldn’t help but give a small smirk as Rick said that the dead hadn’t brought him down at home and they wouldn’t here. Steve very rarely thought of his own safety. If there was a job to be done and the lives of his friends, ohana or civilians were at risk, there was little that he wouldn’t do. “As much as we could use your expertise out there, you are exactly where you need to be.” The girl needed her father.
Steve held out his hand for Rick to shake. “Thanks for the food, Rick. It’s much appreciated. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.”
*****
"No one else here I'm aware of as of yet. It seems only Judith and I have been voted necessary at this stage. I keep hoping for my boy---"
Rick shook his head. He couldn't think about Carl. There was nothing he could do for his son where he was in Test City and nothing Carl would need from him if he were home. Growing up had been something he'd wanted his son to do at his own pace until the infection had spread causing the dead to walk. Rick couldn't wait on Carl to be ready to be a man. He had to grow up.
There was no place for children in their world.
Shaking Steve's hand, Rick nodded, "I'll keep you in mind if we've a need again. I'll bar the door back after you. Take care out there. Don't worry about where I'm from, Steve. You won't ever see it if you're lucky. It's not a world I'd wish for anyone to see."
He escorted the man to the door, clearing it to let him out to rejoin the fight once more. It was clear this man could handle himself no matter what was waiting outside. Rick wished he was comforted by the reassurance he was where he should be, with his daughter, but he could only wonder how many would die because they were short one more fighter seeing as he was held back by his love of his family.
Rick had to put Judith first. He had to because there was no way anyone else would. She was a good baby, but people weren't always good to babies. Her mother had died for her. Her brother had killed for her. The least Rick could do was live for her and hope too many others wouldn't pay the price for his decision to put her first.