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Stubborn Love- A Modern/AU Walking Dead Story	By : ImagineLayla131 Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 2907 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH TWD FRANCHISE NO MONEY/PROFIT IS BEING MADE!

Chapter List
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Hi everybody! I hope you're all having a wonderful winter break. I am ecstatic to say that the harassment has ceased since posting this chapter! Woo-Hoo! The most recent chapter of Forever Rising Phoenix should be up this week I'm hoping, and be sure to check out my two new stories for the Chicago franchise. The house I went with at the end is phenomenal, send me a message if you would like to see it.
I wanna give a special shout out to 6980085LMFAO, Headwalkerz, Joshua the Terminian, pen123, Prettyprincess45, and SilverSun09. Please check out their stories, because they are freaking awesome! Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Forty Five: Fresh Roots
LORI
"Home sweet home."
I stepped out of the town car, thanking Abraham and Eugene for picking us up from the airport. After ten wonderful days in Hawaii, the Grimes family was finally home with lifted spirits and killer tans.
"I wouldn't have minded staying in Hawaii another day longer, or forever."
"Yeah, we should move there, it was so peaceful and the surf was killer! Dad, we gotta go to Malibu or San Diego and check out surfboards."
Rick smiled, ruffling Carl's hair. "Cworal, I just got us two surfboards, The Big Khauna said they'll get here next week, we'll get wetsuits at Becker before school starts again. It's a good thing he's sending it directly, now we have a return address to send back the lava rock you snuck."
"By the way, how did you even get it in, sport? I checked your backpack before we left the hotel." I asked.
Carl frowned as we walked through the front door. "You told me I could take it back, Dad!"
"That was before I found out it was bad luck! The only way to break the curse is to send it back to the land of origin."
All Carl did was roll his eyes. "Whatever. Adults and their crazy superstitions. Aunt Melody, Gareth, we're home!"
I turned to Rick, wrapping my arms around his neck. "It's feels so surreal to be back. Maybe we should consider getting a time share."
"I agree." He wrapped his arms around my waist, giving me a long kiss and lingering hug. "I am so glad we took this vacation."
"Me too."
"Melody, they call it a one-time hall pass for a reason. It's so you can only use it once, not twenty times. Besides, what happened to your Josh Hutcherson devotion?"
We looked up to see Gareth and Melody coming down the stairs.
"What?! It's not my fault the world is filled with insanely hot guys. I'm still devoted, he's just not the type I can see letting loose in the bedroom. Plus, have you seen Ryan Gosling's abs? Or Chris Hemsworth?! They're crazy stupid hot! Oh, my god. Just the thought of Chris Hemsworth is making my mouth water. He's the only guy that I approve of having long hair. I would kill to see him without pants on!" Melody nodded her head over at me. "Lori, back me up here."
I nodded with narrowed eyes and a smirk. "Oh yeah, they're both babes. I can see your difficulty picking one person. Mine is Josh Holloway from LOST. What about you, Rick?"
"You already know. Catherine Zeta Jones."
"Good choice. Welcome home!" Melody skipped down the rest of the stairs, giving us huge hugs. "Loving the tan, you guys! Especially on you, Rick. You're usually whiter than Eminem!"
"Ha, great to see you too, Melo."
"You all look like you had a blast." Gareth said, greeting us.
"That's an understatement, it was beyond freaking awesome! Gareth, I was shredding up some serious waves, man!" Carl beamed enthusiastically.
"Alright, kid! That sounds badass. We should definitely go surfing when it gets warmer."
"You got it, dude." They high fived.
"We did have a wonderful time, it was an incredible vacation. Thank you both so much." I said, squeezing Gareth's shoulder.
"Really, the pleasure was all mine."
Melody scoffed and elbowed him. "Hel-lo! Don't forget who came up with the idea, credit hog!"
"Oh, right. How could I forget? The pleasure was all mine and my better half's." He wrapped his arm around Melody's shoulders and pulled her into him, her hand on his chest. "Actually, we have some pretty big news to tell you."
"What?" Carl asked.
Melody was grinning from ear to ear. "I'm pregnant!"
My mouth nearly flew open. It's not that I wasn't happy, but my baby sister pregnant?! "Wow, really? Congratulations!"
"How far along are you?" Rick asked.
"Nice, a new sibling and a little cousin? Baby overload for me." Carl said sarcastically.
"I'm not, I was just messing with you guys." She giggled, burying her head in Gareth's chest as he rolled his eyes and smirked.
"Melody! That's not funny, don't joke about that." I shoved her shoulder with a laugh. My sister never hesitated to pull a fast one, even when she was little.
"In all seriousness though," Gareth cleared his throat. "Melody and I have decided to move in together."
She nodded. "It's true, we're going to be looking for places with Albert."
"You guys!" I hugged them both. "That is so amazing! Such a huge step."
"Congrats, you two." Rick said.
Carl high fived them. "Find a house with a kick ass game room! I'll be over there a lot since mine is being turned into a playroom for Jude."
"Carl, the spare is going to be the playroom, we told you this."
"That's what you say now. I gotta go and use my game room while I can. Patrick and I need to seriously get back into Call of Duty mode." Carl headed up the stairs, slinging his backpack and duffle bag over each shoulder.
"I'm going to put these away." Rick gave me a peck before grabbing our luggage.
"Thanks, handsome."
"Here, Rick, I'll give you a hand." Gareth grabbed my Louis Vuitton duffle bag. "I gotta talk to you about something."
"Ok, sure."
Once they went up the stairs, I turned to my sister. "What was that about?"
What could Gareth possibly have to discuss with Rick? He seemed a little hesitant, hopefully it wasn't too serious.
Melody shrugged. "I don't know, dude stuff I'm sure."
"Probably. Come on, I need a cup of coffee, this Hawaiian roast is supposed to be mind blowing." I linked arms with Melody, walking towards the kitchen. "Tell me everything, baby sis. Where are you looking, what kind of house, all the good details."
RICK
"What's going on, Gareth? Did something happen at Woodbury?" I asked, walking into the master bedroom.
"Huh? No, everything at the office is great. It's not really related to work, it's about Melody's dad."
"Oh. Then lay it on me, man."
He sat down on the love seat, running a hand through his hair. "For some reason or another, The Governor has a hair up his ass and does not like me. I know you can please some people some of the time but not everybody all of the time, but he actually tried to bribe me."
I gave him a strange look. "How?"
"He told me to name my price to dump Melody so she could end up with Ben, that he's a very wealthy man that can make things happen, that I'll be taken care of for the rest of my days."
"You didn't agree to it, did you?"
I don't know why I asked that, it kind of just slipped out of my mouth. The semi-dirty look Gareth gave me in return was deserved.
"What? No! Of course not! Did you seriously just ask me that? I didn't even take the money you offered, why would I take his?"
"I'm sorry, man. My brain is still on vacation mode." I threw my hand up by my head, rolling my eyes. "Does Melody know?"
"No, she doesn't and I haven't told her. I don't think I should. What do I do, Rick? Not only are you my boss, but you're one of my best friends, so your opinion and input means a great deal to me. You're pretty much the big brother I never had yet always wanted."
I couldn't help but feel touched over what he said. In a way, I also saw Gareth as a younger brother, which I always wanted.
"I appreciate that, we've become pretty close and I'm delighted to have you as a future brother-in-law. At the same time, I do think you should come clean. Look at what happened the last time you held something back from her."
Gareth cringed a bit. "You're right, Rick. I'll tell her, I just got to figure out when. Probably after New Year's. She's so excited for the party, I don't want to put a damper on things."
"You promise?"
He nodded. "I promise."
New Year's Eve, Staples Center, 8:00 pm
GARETH
"Wow, this place is incredible insanity! I've never seen anything like it!"
Melody and I looked around as we walked into Billy and Delilah's New Year's Eve party, their last California soirée before heading to St. Thomas next week. They rented out the Staples Center and had it decorated with a circus theme, tents and balloons splashed in bold colors, streamers glittering from the ceiling, game and concession stands set up all around. Tamed elephants, tigers, lions, giraffes and even a seal were on display while stilt walkers, jugglers, flame throwers and sword swallowers performed on the side. Luckily, Delilah's step family made up the Bulgari circus, whose family history originated with the Bvlgari jewelry line. They had it all: acrobats on the trapeze and aerial silk, a lion tamer, clowns, a magician, and they were all here tonight to put on quite the show.
"Can you believe all the famous people that showed up? Andy Sandberg, Brie Larson, Sarah Silverman, Dane Cook, I could have sworn I saw Josh Hutcherson! EEEE!" Melody gasped and started jumping up and down, squealing. "OH, MY GOD! Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are over at the bar! They're the comedic version of me and Beth, Beth is the Amy to my Tina. Oh, my god, oh, my god, oh, my god! Damnit, she isn't here yet! We have to meet them NOW!"
"Ha, calm down, Crazy Girl! You ALWAYS think you see Josh Hutcherson, and I'm sure you girls will meet Tina and Amy." Lori nudged her before pointing discreetly. "Look, it's Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift."
"And over there is Judd Apatow's group. They're all here. Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, Danny McBride, Adam Scott. Carl would about lose his mind right now." Rick said with a laugh. "I saw Ellen Degeneres and Peter Dinklage already checked off of the guest list when we came through."
"I think I see Eddie Redmayne and Channing Tatum with their wives. This is going to be a really fun night." I squeezed Melody's hand with a smile.
"Welcome, welcome one and all!"
We looked to see Delilah and Billy walking towards us, hand in hand. Delilah was wearing a red bra with a gold laced and black and white checkered pattern with gold beads and pearls dangling with hearts on the straps, a popped up collar of playing cards, a red, white, and black tulle skirt adorned with black spades and red hearts, and glittered cherry ombré silver to pink and red high heels. Billy was wearing a top hat and black suit, steampunk style.
"Ahh, the couple of the hour! The MAD Hatter and Queen of Hearts, I like it."
Billy smiled, greeting us with hugs and cheek kisses for the ladies. "It's cool, but I can't wait to take this damn hat off. I feel like a moron."
"See?" I elbowed Melody. "I told you I wasn't the only one." Melody and I were dressed as mimes for the evening in full makeup. While she looked positively adorable in her black and white striped swing dress, black and white heels and black beret, I felt like an idiot in the typical male mine outfit of a black and white striped shirt, black pants with matching suspenders and a black beret with white gloves.
"Speak for yourself, Gareth. Look what I'm having to wear." Rick was wearing a black and red male leotard, dressed as a strong man, while Lori looked divine in a flapper dress covered in peacock feathers.
"At least it has shorts, it could be worse with a thong." Delilah laughed. "Come on, Gare. You guys look freaking awesome!"
I shrugged and nodded. "You're right, we do, all because of your fantastic makeup skills, my love." I gave Melody a mime kiss on the cheek.
"That's very true. Excuse me, I'll be right back. Quincy Jones and Mick Jagger just walked in, I have to say hello. Enjoy the party and I'll see you a bit later. I'll be back soon, my beautiful bride." Billy gave Delilah a tender kiss before walking off.
"Ooo, look! A sushi buffet! Come on, Rick. I'm starving." Lori grabbed Rick by the hand, pregnancy hormones and cravings raging.
Melody smiled at her cousin. "Somebody is certainly in a fantastic mood tonight, and that's not saying much since Billy is always upbeat. Did you have a New Year's Eve quickie or something?"
"Billy has been spoiling me rotten since our vacation started. A new Tesla for Christmas, a Harry Winston diamond tennis bracelet, a chinchilla fur coat."
"Wow, Delilah, you must be amazing in the sack!" Melody giggled, sipping champagne. "Maybe he's feeling extra generous since it's the holidays? Besides, he's kind of always gone all out with your gifts."
"He wants us to have another baby."
"Do you want to?" Billy had told me in Vegas that they were trying to get pregnant again, but this was the first time I was hearing Delilah's side of it.
"It's not that I don't want to, we've always said we'd have another or two after the twins, it's that am I in a position to take two years off from my career? Billy's new album means he'll have to go on tour for most likely a year, which I understand, but I wouldn't be able to go with him being pregnant or having a screaming newborn. I mean, with the shows and films I'm swamped, and I've been selected to appear on Dancing With The Stars again, with my star selection. I'll give you a hint: Luke Perry."
"OH, MY GOD! LUKE PERRY?! Go for it! He was sooo sexy on Beverly Hills, 90210 back in the day!"
Delilah laughed at her younger cousin. "I'm definitely doing it and we do want to have more children before I'm thirty. What about you two?" She pointed back and forth at us. "I'm surprised Grams hasn't been haranguing you about your biological clock ticking like she did with me."
"Trust me, I've already heard it." Melody looked up at me and smiled. "There's really not a rush, we want to enjoy living together first and take it from there. Right, hun?"
I nodded. "Absolutely."
While I couldn't wait for us to start our own family, Melody was right. I wanted more nights like what we had when we were house sitting. Cooking together, having sex all over the house, hell, just coming home to her. More than anything, that's all I really wanted.
11:55 pm
"It's five minutes to midnight, people!" Delilah shouted with glee. "Make sure you've all got champagne!"
"Wow, it's been some night, huh?" I asked Melody. "Could you believe that show?"
Delilah and Billy had surprised everybody to a performance of "Topsy Turvy" from Disney Broadway's North American revival of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, complete with acrobats from Cirque du Soelil and the Chinese Peking Circus, not to mention Michael Arden reviving his role as Quasimodo, Priyanka Chopra as Esmerelda, and a surprise appearance by Neil Patrick Harris as Clopin, topping it off with a tremendous downpour of confetti from the ceiling.
"It was phenomenal! Michael Arden is so talented, I loved him on Anger Management! I always wondered something about Quasimodo. He's so grotesque looking, but what if he has a huge amazing wang? All the bitches that scorned him would be missing out!"
"Ha, that's quite the observation. Is your mind always in the gutter?"
"No, it's not. I have A.D.D., my mind wanders."
"Point taken. What's your New Year's resolution?"
Melody took my face in her hands. "For this-what we have- to never end."
I smiled at her, my heart skipping a beat, which a lot of people thought wasn't possible for guys. "I like the sound of that."
"The thought of our future fills me with such joy and hope. I haven't felt like this in so long and I don't know what I would do without it. Having you and Autumn Montana in my life has opened my eyes even further to all the different kinds of love there are in the world. Love of a child, second chance love, everlasting love. I've grown and matured since being with you and I like this new version of me. To be perfectly honest, I couldn't think of a single thing I would want. I have it all and I am very happy with how my life is right now."
Melody's words moved me to tears, so poetic at such a young age. "What we have, it's pretty close to perfect. I've also changed, you taught me to keep believing even when I didn't want to. I'm happier than I've been in a long time, I mean that."
The countdown started getting louder and louder all around us.
"10! 9! 8! 7! 6!"
"Melody, I love you!" I shouted the best I could, bringing her in for a kiss, my hands on her waist. Melody put her arm around my neck, almost leaned back in a dipped style.
"5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!"
We were still kissing when another downpour of confetti came from the ceiling, all the shouts and cheers tuned out just to focus on the two of us. When we pulled away, Melody was laughing.
"Your teeth are all black from the lipstick!"
She laughed, showing that her teeth were also stained.
"So are yours."
Still laughing, we kissed again, ringing in the new year and having the time of our lives.
TWO DAYS LATER
MELODY
"That 17065 Encino Verde Place was fabulous, but it's on the end of a cul-de-sac. My mom always told me never to live on a cul-de-sac."
"Medley Drive was too small."
"Are you sure you don't want to go more south?" Albert asked from the front seat. "I've got some great listings in Pacific Palisades and Beverly Hills."
Today was the big day, Gareth and I were officially house hunting. We decided to stay relatively close to our families in the San Fernando Valley, but not too far from the city. We had looked at about seven houses and couldn't agree on a single one, which made me a little worrisome. What if we never found it?
"What about that other Verde Place listing, the vacant lot? You'd literally be building your dream house."
Gareth shook his head. "That's true, but the process is so strenuous and drawn out. Besides, whatever house we find, we'll just have it renovated need be."
"The Stone Oak house had a great pool." Whatever house we ended up with had to have an awesome pool.
"The Oak View and Meadowgate houses were beautiful but either one of them would need so much work done, they're totally dated. We wouldn't need to do anything with the Grand Royal Oaks Spanish Estate, the one off of Valley Meadow Road."
I laughed. "It's definitely a house sitting for a king, but what would we do with 15,000 square feet, ten bathrooms and a seven car garage? We'd have to expand the pool, that's for certain, it was kind of rinky dink."
"But the Italian marble floors were amazing and there was an elevator. I think you're going to like this house, that and it's the last one. Eight out of ten couples always select the last house." Albert said as he parked in front of a sprawling peach colored Italian villa style house with lush greenery all around and blue stained glass windows.
"Wow, the outside is beautiful." Gareth grabbed my hand as we followed Albert through the gate and up the stairs.
"The house was built in 2008 and is over 7,500 square feet with two separate two car garages. The appliances in the kitchen were just updated, including two SubZero refrigerators, a six burner range and two dishwashers. Two stories, six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, including a maid's quarters downstairs. There's also an elevator, wine cellar, a study, two fireplaces, and the master suite has a customized walk-in closet and a luxurious spa. It's within minutes of two of the best elementary schools in the Los Angels Unified School District."
The inside of the house was spacious, all white with high ceilings and polished wood floors, the kitchen in Italian marble and granite. Excitement started bubbling up as we looked around from room to room. Just being in the master suite was enough to visualize what life would be like as Mr. and Mrs. Mandel, the dining room had visions of dinner parties with all our friends dancing in my head.
"Babe, we would definitely need to add on a bathroom and another walk-in closet. Lori told me the key to a long lasting relationship is separate bathrooms."
"I agree. We'd also need to add on a gym, maybe a second guest room and turn the bonus room into a movie theatre room." Gareth turned to Albert with a smile as we walked down the stairs. "It's really something else. Great job, Al."
"I'm in the top 1% for a reason, it's because I'm the best. Wait until you see the pool."
He led us outside and my jaw hit the floor over the spectacular grotto styled pool and jacuzzi made entirely of rocks and had a natural waterfall, not to mention the expanded paver patio.
"Oh, my gosh! It's the most fantastic pool I've ever seen! I could totally be The Little Mermaid!" I squealed, with the guys laughing at me.
"I think my queen is happy. What's the asking price?"
"$3.9, but I can probably get it down to $3.7 with a three to four week escrow."
Gareth turned to me. "Is this the house you want to go with?"
"Gareth! Don't leave it all on me. This is our house, you need to like it, too."
He put his hands on my shoulders. "Melody, I want what you want. I love this house. It's huge, sophisticated and it's so close to my moms' house, Autumn Montana can ride her bike over there. Can you imagine what it will look like once the rooms are added on?" Gareth smiled at me. "This is where I see our lives happening, where we're going to raise our family and make more memories. I want this and I know you do, too."
I'm sure I looked like an idiot or the Cheshire Cat, my smile was so huge. It was almost hard to believe that in a year I had gone from miserable single to potential wife, but this was it. This was my new normal and it was already starting.
"I do. I love it, this is our house."
"Welcome home, gorgeous." Gareth turned to Albert. "Get it down to $3.5 and a two week escrow and I'm sold."
"You've got yourself a deal, buddy." Albert reached out, giving Gareth a firm handshake before pumping his fists in the air. "Woo Hoo! I'm making bank, baby! All I do is win win win no matter what!"
"You're such a dork, Albert! You should be the first to try out our new pool." I grabbed Albert by the wrist and tossed him in the pool, laughing hysterically. When he came up, he was pissed.
"Melody, you bitch! It's fucking freezing in here! This is dry clean only!"
"Hey, don't have a cow, bro." Gareth said, who was cracking up right alongside me.
"Take that, Barney Stinson!"
After a minute, even Albert thought it was funny. So far, this had been a pretty outstanding start to the new year, and I couldn't wait to see what could possibly be in store next.
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Stubborn Love- A Modern/AU Walking Dead Story