Chapter Text
Grizz couldn’t wrap his head around how things had gone so wrong, so quickly.
It didn’t seem like they had been gone all that long, but somehow everything had gone ass up since they’d left, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty that he hadn’t been here to talk those idiots out of making such a massive fucking mistake. He’d told them that they were wrong. He’d known that they were cooking up some dumb ass, half-baked scheme to take over the town, but never in a million years would he have dreamed that they would ever get the best of Allie.
Allie was fucking smart. She was tough as nails, and those guys…
Those guys had nothing on her.
How the hell had this happened?
“C’mon,” he muttered as the crowd dispersed from the near public stoning of his friends - their once trusted leaders. Will and Allie were good people - they were the right people. They didn’t deserve the treatment Grizz had just witnessed in front of that God forsaken church.
He lead the others away from the church yard, instinctively walking toward Allie’s place. Along the way, it occurred to him that they couldn’t go back there - it wouldn’t be safe. Harry would want to get rid of anyone who was loyal to Allie. Going there would make them far too easy to find.
He swallowed, slowing.
“What? What’s wrong?” Bean asked, a nervous quiver clinging to the edge of her words as she peered around anxiously.
“Nothing,” he assured her, “Just...figuring out what the next move is.”
He wasn’t used to this - not here, not within town limits. Grizz wasn’t a leader. He was the brawn, the muscle. He was an enforcer - everyone knew that. Yeah, he was good on the trails, but this?
This was different and, somehow, for some reason, his team of explorers were all looking to him to tell them what they were supposed to do next.
He stopped, hitching his pack higher on his shoulders and turning to face the others as they all huddled around him, “Where are you guys staying?” he asked, looking between them.
“At home,” Gwen piped, folding her arms over her chest defensively, “Why?”
“Who’s there with you?”
“Jessica, Erika, Liv - why?” she pressed.
Grizz shifted his weight, licking his lips, “I don’t know - I just…” he sighed, shaking his head, “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but obviously we missed something big, right? I dunno about you, but I don’t think I wanna sit back and wait to see what happens, but I’m not...I won’t ask you to stand with me. I don’t even know what that means yet, I just know that Harry, Clark, Jason - those guys don’t give a shit about this town. Things are gonna change - things are gonna get bad.”
“So...if you wanna go home, just lay low and stay out of it, I’m not gonna hold it against you,” he muttered, peering up at them all, “But if you’re with me, if you wanna fix this and help Allie, then I think we should find a place to set up a base to figure this out - figure out what our next move is gonna be. Somewhere we won’t be found.”
“You want to go to war with Harry and Campbell,” Bean concluded bluntly, her voice firm, yet quiet.
“Maybe,” Grizz confirmed with little to no certainty, “If we have to.”
“That’s asking an awful lot. You know that, right?” Gwen snapped, glaring intently at him.
“Yeah - that’s why I’m not asking you to come with me. I’m just, like…” he gestured vaguely, “Giving you the option.”
She considered him, eyes narrowed, head tilted. After a few tense moments - just when Grizz was about to shift under the intensity of her stare - she nodded, “Okay.”
He blinked, “Uh,” he frowned, “Okay. Okay what?”
“I’m with you. Let’s do it,” she breathed, giving an incredulous laugh, like she couldn’t believe what she was saying.
“Let’s do it,” Bean chimed, clenching her jaw fiercely.
The rest of the group nodded in solidarity, and Grizz beamed at them, “Alright,” he grinned, despite the weight of what they were doing, “Cool. Thanks.”
They stood awkwardly for a moment before Grizz clapped his hands together, “So. Any ideas on where we can go?”
They were quiet for a moment while the group thought it through, trying to think of the last place anyone would look for them - somewhere where they could lay low and organize. Somewhere out of the way.
“The hospital?” Bean suggested after a moment, “No one’s used it since Thanksgiving - except Becca, I mean. No one except Gordie and Kelly even knows what to do with it, so...they’ve got no reason to go there.”
“Yes! Good. That’s good,” Grizz agreed. For a moment, he’d forgotten about what had happened with Becca and Sam.
Well...he hadn’t forgotten, but it hadn’t been at the forefront of his mind. He wanted to check in on Sam, make sure he was okay. This would make that easier, if Becca was still staying in the hospital. Sam would be with her - with his baby.
He hoped to God he hadn’t been at Allie’s when shit had hit the fan.
They made their way toward the hospital, being careful to be as inconspicuous as possible, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. The air in the town was different - they could all feel it. There was a tension that Grizz couldn’t quite put his finger on - a dark sort of anticipation. Like he was just waiting for something to go wrong.
They hadn’t even been back for a full day and, already, he regretted coming back at all.
When the hospital appeared ahead, however, his heart raced in anticipation. Things with Sam were so uncertain. There were a lot of things that they needed to talk about and figure out, but Grizz was eager to see him, if only to know that he was alright.
That was all that mattered in that moment. He would make sure he was alright, and the rest could wait.
The explorers headed inside, and Grizz made his way to where Becca had been rooming, preparing to give birth. He hadn’t been back since he’d found out about Becca and Sam. He didn’t want to blame Becca for what had happened between him and Sam. He didn’t want to resent her, or this pregnancy. Despite his personal heartbreak, Grizz understood how important this was. This was the first baby born in New Ham. It was a big deal.
And it was Sam’s.
Sam, who was sat next to Becca’s hospital bed, laughing at something she had said, his finger tucked in the palm of the infant in her arms. It was a beautiful scene, and it sort of broke Grizz’s heart. It nearly knocked the wind out of him, seeing them all together like that. He hadn’t been expecting it - he hadn’t known that she’d had the baby.
It was...a lot.
He knocked gently on the doorframe, feeling guilty for interrupting such a sweet moment. He smiled sheepishly when Becca beamed up at him, “Grizz! You’re back!”
Sam turned, then, having seen his name on her lips, and Grizz watched as his whole body sighed in relief, “Hi,” he mouthed softly as he shifted eagerly, like he wanted to get up and greet him properly but didn’t know if he should.
Grizz understood why he didn’t. He understood, as he looked from Sam to Becca, that he was still some kind of secret, and the baby still held tight to Sam’s finger. Becca was right there, oblivious to anything that had transpired between the two boys in front of her, and Grizz understood why Sam didn’t leap up to embrace him, even if it hurt.
Sam had to keep his secret. He wasn’t ready to break Becca’s heart just yet.
So, he’d keep putting little cracks in Grizz’s instead.
“Hey,” he murmured in return. He cleared his throat, “Boy or girl?” he asked quietly, signing as much as he could.
“Girl,” Becca smiled, “Eden.”
Grizz gave a genuine smile at that, his eyes welling as he became overwhelmed by the moment and by his own conflicting emotions, “She’s beautiful,” he told them earnestly, looking between the pair, “Congratulations,” he said - and he absolutely meant it. It was wonderful, and she was perfect.
Of course she was.
He swallowed, blinking away his tears, “We, uh - I wanted to make sure you guys were okay,” he explained, assuming they had to be wondering what he was doing there, “And with everything going on, we needed somewhere to crash, so -”
Sam looked to Becca, frowning deeply in confusion. She shook her head, just as lost as he was, “What do you mean?” she asked, doing her best to sign with Eden in her arms.
“You don’t know?”
Sam shook his head, “What’s going on? What happened?”
Grizz gave a dismayed shrug, “I don’t know - they, like...fucking arrested Allie and Will, or something. I don’t know where they took ‘em, or what they’re gonna do with them, but Harry and Lexie are running the place. They’ve got Jason, Clark - fucking Luke -”
“Oh my God,” Becca breathed, instinctively holding her child just a bit closer.
He looked at Sam then, his eyes sympathetic, “Campbell’s with them,” he signed, voice gentle, “Whatever they’re up to, he’s part of it.”
“Figures,” Sam murmured, shaking his head, “It was a matter of time.”
Grizz gave a nod of agreement, considering the family in front of him, “If it’s alright with you, we thought we’d set up camp here. Figure out what to do next. We can keep you safe - “
“Of course it’s okay - more than okay,” Becca assured him brightly.
“There are plenty of beds,” Sam pointed out playfully.
“Right, yeah,” Grizz agreed, humouring him with a half-hearted smile.
Sam frowned, and Grizz knew he’d worn out his welcome, “Well, I’ll, uh...leave you to it,” he clapped, stepping back toward the door, “I’m glad you guys are okay. We’ll be around if you need anything - food, diapers. Lemme know.”
“Thanks, Grizz,” Becca chuckled.
Then, with a nod, he headed back out into the hall. He didn’t know what he’d expected from his reunion with Sam. Maybe he’d built it up too much in his head, but he’d hoped it would be…more.
But nothing had been resolved between them. Sam had apologized, and Grizz was ready to forgive him, but did that change anything?
No. Not really.
Forgiving him didn’t make anything easier, or less confusing. It didn’t change the fact that Sam hadn’t told Becca about them, and Grizz sort of suspected that he had no intention of doing so.
“Grizz!”
He heard the all-too-familiar voice and felt the grip on his coat, urging him to stop and turn to see Sam looking up at him, eyes bright. The charmingly freckled redhead reached up, without any hesitation whatsoever, and touched Grizz’s cheek, “You came back,” he beamed, “You’re okay. You are okay, right?”
A look of concern crossed his features as he stepped back to look him over, just to be sure, before he returned his gaze to the taller man’s face.
“I’m okay,” Grizz assured him, signing the words while he spoke.
Before he’d left, they’d had a moment. They’d kissed and held each other because they hadn’t known for sure that it wouldn’t be the last time they’d get the chance to do so. Grizz had been able to put everything aside then because, Christ, he’d been scared that he might not make it back. Of course he wanted to have that moment with Sam before he left. He didn’t want to go out with everything wrong between them.
But he hadn’t died. He’d come back, and now he didn’t know what that meant for them. He didn’t know what they were to each other. He didn’t know where they stood, or how he felt about it all.
“What’s wrong?” Sam signed worriedly, his hand gripping the pockets of the coat Grizz had yet to take off.
Grizz sniffed, glancing back toward Becca’s room, “It’s a lot to swallow,” he admitted quietly, voice breaking. He swallowed the lump in his throat, taking Sam’s hands in his and stepping back, putting a bit of distance between them. He brushed his thumbs over his skin, looking at their hands for a moment while he collected his thoughts and tried to think of what he needed to say.
“You waited until I left Becca’s room to come to me,” he murmured, pursing his lips and clenching his jaw to keep his emotions in check. He stopped Sam when he tried to interject, “No, I know - you don’t want to upset her right now. I get it - I got that, but I just…”
He shook his head sadly, “I’m don’t want to be your secret,” he shrugged, “I kept myself secret all through high school, Sam. I’m done.”
“Tell her the truth,” he pressed gently, “Doesn’t have to be now, but if you want to do this - “ he squeezed his hands, “You’re gonna have to tell her first. Okay?”
Sam swallowed thickly, blue eyes clouded with unshed tears. He nodded, “Okay,” he agreed quietly.
Grizz smiled sadly, stepping closer to kiss Sam’s forehead sweetly, lingering just a bit longer than he should have, “I’ll be around if you need me,” he promised once he’d stepped back enough for Sam to see.
Sam did his best to return the smile and nodded. Grizz let go of his hands, then, but Sam held on to one until the last second as Grizz headed off down the hallway to rejoin the explorers.