RICK (rick) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-09-14 22:33:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, rick grimes, riza hawkeye |
Who: Riza and Rick
When: September
Where: Rick’s place
What: Dropping off some things
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete Partner Thread
Riza had received a delivery that was short on a few things earlier in the week and when the correct flowers had finally been sent they’d also included some little gardening kits for children. Just little gardening tools like a fork, spade, gloves etc along with some small pots and seeds, they were actually very sweet and good quality. As soon as she’d seen them she’d thought of Rick and Daryl’s children and decided to call in after work and see if they’d be interested in them.
While she knew Daryl better she’d met Rick and the kids at her birthday BBQ and liked them a lot. They made a sweet family and it was nice to see people so happy.
Making her way to their front door, she shifted the bag of goodies to one hand along with some bright flowers she’d brought for them and rang the bell with the other, waiting for someone to come to the door.
~*~
School was back in session which left Rick and Daryl alone with Judith on the farm. They both had their duties to get to with different tasks each had to take care of which led to them establishing a schedule so Judith would be with one or the other of them at all times. Farming was the perfect job for Rick. He loved taking care of the land, seeing things growing on account of him, knowing what he helped bring about would feed someone else's family as well as his own.
Judith was playing on the floor with some Mason jar rings tied together with a bit of twine. It'd been a toy Rick knew he'd played with himself as a toddler. There were even some photos of him with his jar rings in one of the albums Lori had put together for their family during her 'scrapbooking' phase. Daryl was taking care of deliveries and seeing to his own tasks. The doorbell surprised Rick, but didn't get any response from Judith other than a fiercer shake of her rings to rattle them in answer while she giggled happily.
Shaking his head at her antics, Rick went to answer the door with a smile, "Riza, hello there. I didn't expect to see you, come on in. It's just me and Judith right now so I hope you weren't looking for Daryl."
He stepped aside to let her come in to follow him back to where Judith was playing.
~*~
When Rick answered the door Riza smiled, “Hello” she replied, entering the home when he moved aside for her, “Oh don’t worry, I hope I’m not disturbing you. I popped round on the off chance that someone would be here” she explained, “I just have something I thought the kids might like”
Giving a little wave to Judith who waved her toy back at her, “Hey cutie, that is a fine looking toy you have there” she said before looking at Rick again, “How are you doing? I hear it’s a pretty busy and exciting time for you right now. The beginning of a new business venture”
~*~
"No way to disturb a farmer during daylight hours. Friends are always welcome around here."
There used to be people coming in and out of his place all the time. Small towns in the South led to people being very friendly regarding drop-ins. It was something Rick missed more than he'd imagined he would. He hadn't been the most social man in any situation or location. They were doing well as a makeshift family and having Riza come around to drop off something sweet for his kids was enough to show him he was doing something right.
"Me and my pretty girl are having a good day. I have seen a new location which Gabe found for our dispensary. It looks like a real contender. If I've got my ducks in a row, we could put a payment down on it and get going in a matter of weeks. We've both put in separate efforts to what we want to offer. Gabe has great ideas. I'm excited for what it could mean for my family. What about you? Having a good day playing early Santa?"
~*~
“Thank you, you have an incredible place here” Riza said, the land was incredible and she imagined the soil would be pretty good for plant growth.
With her military background Riza had never been the most social person and dropping into call on people had never really been a thing for her, even as a child but she was slowly getting used to it. She had a couple of friends who encouraged it.
“Oh how wonderful, I remember the excitement of securing premises for the shop. I hope it all goes well for you” she smiled, “I’m having a very good day, got some flowers delivered I’d been waiting for so made up some bouquets for delivery. Nothing too exciting for most people” she admitted. But she loved her job so she enjoyed it.
~*~
Rick was proud of his little patch of paradise. It made him smile to hear the genuine compliment in Riza's voice. She wasn't the kind of woman to offer false flattery. He liked her already and had a feeling he'd come to be grateful for her as a friend over time. There were still so many things up in the air with the dispensary Rick almost felt as if he were trying to juggle without having ever learned how.
"I'm working on the location being secured. Most of the legal legwork I've gotten help with and had squared away. I've been relying on my business partner, Gabe, to do the actual location scouting. He's more equipped for that kind of thing. Better with people than I am. I'm lucky he found this place. It is honestly everything I could have hoped for and more."
Jar rings were only so interesting when there was a new, standing person in the room. Judith tossed the makeshift toy onto her blanket as she moved to crawl over to Riza, pulling herself up into a standing position by using the woman's clothes where she could reach them. She was old enough to walk fairly well. Mostly it was a waddling run which landed her in a sprawl more often than not.
Laughing, Rick gestured, "I think she wants to know what you've got there for her. I can take her if you want. I'm sorry. She's actually the friendliest in the house if you can't tell."
~*~
Riza was definitely not a false flattery sort of person, she enjoyed seeing land put to good use and this definitely constituted that. It was the kind of thing she’d always liked herself but not something she imagined being able to do alone.
“I’m so glad to hear that, location is important. I had to check out a lot of places before I found the spot I wanted for my shop but I just knew as soon as I saw it” Riza said before smiling down at the little girl tugging on her clothing.
“You wanna see?” Riza said bending down to pick her up, remembering the boys when they’d been this little. “Oh she’s fine” she added to Rick, “Can’t blame her for wanting to know, I’d be curious too. Let’s show you and your dad” she said moving to the sofa so she could sit with the little one on her lap and show her the items at the same time. “You’re going to have so much fun growing things” she said as he revealed the little set, “I thought it might be a fun thing for you all” she told Rick as she showed him the seeds, little flowers, pots and other things.
“Oh and I bought these for your house, I always like having flowers around” she added, handing over the bouquet she’d put together.
~*~
"Flowers."
Rick grinned at the sight of them as he was offered the bouquet. He took them gently, afraid to hold on too tight in case he had them shedding their delicate petals all over the place. They'd had flowers in his yard back in Georgia. His mother was the flower type of woman while Lori had been the kind to tolerate her mother-in-law coming over to make sure her house looked beautiful for the growing season since she had a black thumb herself.
He'd never thought of planting flowers here in his new home.
Thinking out loud, he mused, "My mother was the flower lady at home. She made sure her yard was the prettiest around and then she'd come by my place to see to mine. My wife, Lori, had a black thumb. I was always on the job even when I was home. Deputies don't get time off in small towns. It's funny how I never realized how much those flowers meant until now. Thank you for thinking of us."
The little gardening set was a wonderful teaching tool. It was slightly older than Judith's age group and younger than Carl's, but they were the kind of siblings who met in the middle. Between the two of them? It'd be perfect. Carl could teach Judith how he was doing the planting while Rick let him have at it. He and Daryl were trying to give Carl more responsibilities to show him they respected he was growing up on them.
"That set will be real nice. Carl can use it to teach Judith here how to garden. We've been trying to show Carl we know he's getting more mature. Growing up on us. It seems to go so fast. Do you miss having one this little around or are you glad yours are more independent?"
~*~
“I’ve always loved flowers and plants” Riza said, “Being able to help something grow, nurture it and help it produce beautiful flowers or food. There’s nothing better really” Riza, despite her military background, had a very caring nature, “You’re welcome and if you ever need any help planting or anything just let me know I’d be happy to help” she offered.
Riza knew it wasn’t ideal for the ages of the kids but had hoped they’d be able to work together. She knew Ed and Al would have and Rick’s kids seemed the sort to as well.
“I was away a lot when Ed and Al were growing up, I visited them and my sister whenever I got leave from the military but I’m afraid I was somewhat of an absent aunt. But I do remember it was fascinating whenever I was able to visit and found them to be changing, turning into their own little people. Being handed teenagers was a bit of a shock”
~*~
Teenagers were a long way from babies. Rick forgot not everyone had a traditional family. They had people who adopted, fostered, and chose to have children through other means with all of them sharing stories on Valarnet. He appreciated Riza was doing all she could for her nephews. She was a good mother in his eyes. No one asked to be handed teenagers yet she'd lived through the experience while continuing to smile.
"Me too," Rick admitted, "This is my real dream here. This farm. I see other things, horrible things in my sleep. A lot of people here do. Plenty have horrible nights. Plenty have horrible memories both in this life and their other. You've stepped up. No one could ask for you to give more than you have to those boys. You're what my mother would call an excellent woman."
He looked at his daughter reaching for the small pots. Judith still had such small hands the toy set appeared huge in comparison to her. There were days when he looked at her and all he could see was his wife. Lori was stamped all over her as if she had a seal of approval; Riza made Rick wonder whether he was ever going to be able to do right by his girl without her having a real mother to hand.
"Thank you for the gift for the kids. It means a lot. Can I ask you a favor?"
Rick looked at Riza as he slowly smiled.
"When my baby girl gets to those awkward teenage years and needs a woman to talk to -because we both know that's going to happen- would you mind being that woman?"
~*~
It had never really been a choice for Riza, her sister would have wanted the kids with her rather than their useless dad so as soon as she could she’d started the process of legally adopting them. She considered them part of her anyway and after losing their mother she’d wanted to give them stability. Something they were settling into now.
“Thank you, that honestly means more than I can say” Riza told him honestly because of course she was plagued by doubts a lot of the time. She wasn’t a mother, hadn’t experienced the things a mother does but she had tried her best. Having someone recognise that truly humbled her. Sometimes she felt entirely out of her depth. “You stepped up too you know. I mean I know they’re your kids but carrying on alone couldn’t have been easy yet you have the most amazing children and that’s because of you. And now, of course, Daryl as well. They’re lucky to have such dedicated fathers” she wanted him to know she thought highly of him as well.
“Of course” Riza said before he made his request and she smiled, “I can definitely do that. Any female advice she, or any of you for that matter, needs then please know my door is always open. I would be honored to offer my help”
~*~
"You've got a deal. Likewise? If you ever need a man to have a word with your boys? All you have to do is ask."
Judith enjoyed being outside as much as inside. At her current stage of development, she had two preferences: being held and carried all the time or let loose to run wild. Rick got to his feet as she squirmed free of Riza to start running for the door. She couldn't reach the handle which frustrated her into banging her little pot against it. Lori had been a stubborn woman same as Rick was a stubborn man.
Every single time he saw Lori in her Rick wanted to express his frustration at the universe for taking her away before she even got to see Judith.
Starting to walk to the door, Rick waved Riza to follow him, "In the meantime? Let's go enjoy my greenhouse and my daughter's innocence. The vegetables are the same as my baby girl there: they only last so long. We have to enjoy them while they're in season."
They could live in the moment. It was all they were promised after all.