Sam welcomed her back from the bathroom with a light breakfast before they went — instant oatmeal enhanced with some diced dried fruit and a little swirl of honey. Rebecca supposed that apricots were in the same general vicinity of the rest of the peaches and cream flavoring and rolled with it. Usually they tried to stick to the more time consuming, but more available bulk dry goods, whether oats or beans and rice, etc. But, they allowed themselves an occasional dip into scavenged "old world" convenience now and then. Rebecca had to admit, she missed Trent's creations, between his experience and more developed resources. But they got by. After they'd taken Rufus out for a morning pee and filled his bowls, they ruffled his ears and slipped into the main hallway, leaving him in their apartment. Rebecca self-consciously tugged her baggy hoody a little lower, trying not to feel too indecent going to "church" in clingy-but-warm thermal leggings, somewhere between yoga pants and a neoprene wetsuit.

Allison and Leonard welcomed everyone into their condo, already defrosted a little by their stove and getting warmer from the gathering visitors. Rebecca thought she and Sam got slightly longer hugs on their way in, and contemplated briefly how all of Allison's embraces were sideways now that her baby bump was really manifesting. It surprised her a little how Allie was definitely starting to fill something of a "foster mom" spot in her head, between the way she'd nurtured her through the initial stages of trauma after Jaime's death, and the way she seemed so ready for a child of her own. Rebecca had faith that if anyone could raise a little one in the state of the world, it would be Allie... and as she half listened to Allison's mellifluous reading of a few bible verses, Rebecca reflected that she was damned well going to do anything she could to boost those chances. Having a sense of purpose felt like it couldn't be overvalued — especially these days.

She chewed on that idea more as the gathering progressed to the quiet time at the end, and even with Allie's focusing guidance, it was the one thing she couldn't get out of her head. In fact, the more she tried, the more important it seemed to become, and she felt a strong, insistently growing adrenaline tingle that she couldn't shake. Eventually, especially when she saw Allison unconsciously caressing her growing abdomen, it got to the point Rebecca couldn't contain it anymore. She squeezed Sam's hand before letting go and stood up from her folding chair to speak.

"I... apologize if this is as embarrassing for Allison as it is for me. I'm not much of a public speaker, but... " She felt Sam reach up and squeeze her hand again, not letting go, and squeezed back in brief appreciation as everyone's eyes turned to her as she gulped and pushed through her stage fright. "Just... the world's so f... messed up still, and Allie's been a source of light in it for me for a while now." She noticed at least two or three other people nod in agreement. Allie gazed at her with a surprised but patient expression, half of a slight smile on her face. So classic, coming from her. Rebecca took a deep breath and fumbled her way forward.

"In the face of so much sadness, here she is bringing a new life into the world. It's a kind of braveness I don't know if I'd have. And... " she wiped a tear away and felt her chest and voice grow tight. "And... it gives me hope and I'm thankful for it and the gift she is giving us by treating us like family and sharing it all with us." She blurted out a final "We love you Allie, we're here for whatever you and your little one need!" before sitting down, letting out a shaky sigh of relief, and clinging to Sam's arm as she wiped her eyes again repeatedly.

She heard Sam sniffle too and looked up to see her dabbing her own eyes. Sam elbowed her sharply and whispered, "You butt. Making me cry!"

Rebecca smiled apologetically in reply, and as Sam switched which hand was holding Rebecca's and used the original to rub her back supportively, Rebecca gathered enough nerve to look up at Allie, hoping desperately to see approval. Unsurprisingly, Allison had been watching her, waiting, and smiled warmly as she mouthed a silent "Thank you" across the room to her.

A short while later, while nursing a mug of rosy-scented tea (not "Rosie scented", that was the apple-cinnamon brew last week...), Rebecca tried to hide from everyone next to Samantha while Allison shook hands and hugged her way through the guests. When she inevitably reached them, Rebecca spoke up.

"Hi Allie... I'm sorry, I hope that was okay." She didn't miss Sam's pointed "Shut up, dummy!" frown at her apology from next to her.

"Rebecca... Remy, as I hear Sam call you sometimes..." She smiled at Sam warmly for a moment before refocusing on Rebecca. "You honor me and humble me. That was beautiful." She reached up and patted the side of Rebecca's face, who leaned into the touch and closed her eyes for a second. She wasn't sure what to do next, hoping Allie and her grace would somehow help her move forward from feeling like an awkward duckling, but Sam was the one to rescue her.

"Remy, that was incredibly sweet. But... please, next time, warn me first so I can bring a hankie to bawl into, okay?" Her teasing was gentle, her voice soft, but it provided Rebecca with an opportunity to laugh quietly and nod as Allie lowered her hand away.

"Okay. Sure. Like I totally planned that ahead of time. I'll try."

Sam shook her head. "Oh, how many times do I have to tell you. There..."

"... is no try. I know." Rebecca finished the sentence and nodded, smiling wanly at her.

Allison chuckled. "You two are adorable. Rhonda told me on the way to her watch this morning that we're expecting some company?"

Rebecca's face brightened. Dammit, Allie had probably done that on purpose! Ah well. She could live with friends gently manipulating her to make her happy. "Yeah! Chrissie and Pat should be here late today with some other folks. It sounds like Lieutenant Fairbanks wants to talk about using the other main building as some kind of local logistics hub. It'll be nice to see them again."

Patrick and Christine had been laying low at Broadway through the last storm or two, helping them protect their agricultural beds and run an inventory of what supplies they'd diminished most over the winter. It had probably been about five weeks since Rebecca had seen them, so she was excited when little Nate, the kid in the wheelchair up on Five, had called on the local radio to let her know they were on the line for her. He'd taken to helping out with monitoring the nascent comms station, and greatly enjoyed diligently taking down messages as calls came in, or paging the relevant recipient on their smaller neighborhood system. Tania, his mother, loved that it gave him something stimulating within his easily accessible domain.

Allie commented on how it would indeed be good to see them, hugged both Rebecca and Sam again, and moved on. Rebecca pondered for a moment how physical contact was returning as a social norm... perhaps even intentionally so to demonstrate a personal connection... after the year following the outbreak, when everyone retreated into their own small personal quarantine space. Several months ago, the idea of someone touching several people in rapid succession was foreign and scary. Now, it was heading back towards the routine it used to be.

A whole year, and a few months on top. She knew it wasn't much longer until it'd be one year since Jaime's death, knew it was creeping one day closer at a time, and knew she wasn't looking forward to it. She was already developing anxiety just about how the day itself would affect her, on top of the background ache that thinking of him inevitably brought. She shook those thoughts away as Sam finished chatting with Leonard about infrastructure stuff and rejoined her to go collect Rufus and long coats.