Chapter 11 - I Love Babies

 "At least this week can't be worse than last week!" Yoshi laughed with Orlando Monday morning.

 Just in case you forgot you were in a Zombie Apocalypse!

Wasabi was so glad she conned her brother into giving her Peaches.  She played with the colorful bear, pretending have tea parties and all other cool make-believe stuff.

 "WEBSTER!" Xerxes called. 

 The poor dog came when he was called & then pouted all the way through the bath.

What the heck are you chewing?

Oh! Dammit.  I thought there was a random toy over there or something.  I should've checked.

 "Bad dog!" Orlando lectured.  Even he was starting to lose his patience with the dogs.  Poor Pepper wasn't even the one who chewed the bed up, but she was the only one he could scold.

Orlando quickly cleaned up the mess before Yoshi saw it.  Maybe he could get a new bed in here before she noticed.

 Well, she noticed. 

"What the heck happened in here?" she yelled through the open door.

His new bed was awesome, so Xerxes wasn't complaining. In fact, he would happily give Tucker treats forever! 

 "Good boy!" he said happily, scratching behind his dog's ears. 

Wasabi was jealous that her big brother got a new bed and all she got was a carpet in her alcove. It wasn't fair.  Maybe she should bounce on her bed until it broke, she thought sullenly.

Yoshi made sure Tucker was in the best mood possible before he had to go to work.  For that matter, she was making sure she got plenty of rest and was in a good mood before heading out the door, too!

Orlando felt bad for the lady as she walked by.  She looked so cold.  Maybe he could make a friendly offer to let her warm up inside.

 "By the way, I like your coat," he told her.

Lily gushed. "Oh, thank you!"

 "...And this is how you punch when you fight a Zombie," Yoshi was instructing her son.  When it was his turn, he pulled his fist back and whammied her upper arm.  "Ow! Not that hard!" she said with a grimace.

"Thank so much for your hospitality!" Lily said, giving Orlando a hug.  "You are such an angel!"

Yoshi couldn't help but think that Lily was laying it on a bit thick.

 Orlando was oblivious to Lily's veiled flirtations. "I'm glad you're feeling warmer," he told her.  "We're headed over to the base, would you like to come?"

Lily must've seen the look Yoshi sent her, because she politely excused herself.

 The family trailed behind Yoshi, as she apparently made sure the base was safe.

 Then Xerxes raced ahead, eager to finally put his name on the volunteer board.

Xerxes Sharp, he scrawled in a tight, messy script. Paintball Attendant?

Yoshi began doing her laps on the obstacle course.

 This time she had someone to compete against.

Not that he was competition.  Yoshi easily smoked him.  Not that she was competitive about it.  She tried to hide her fist pump when she lapped him.

Xerxes grabbed his side, trying to ignore the aches and pains.  He'd expected to just be able to jump up and crush the course, but he was finding out it was much harder than Mom made it look!

"Best friends!" Wasabi said, hugging her new friend. 

The girls ignored the boy as he walked by.  "Boys are stinky," Wasabi announced.  She should know, she had an older brother!

Kinda creepy. The dude was eyeing Yoshi through the fence as she raced the course. 

Orlando tried not to be annoyed. He'd started to make some sandwiches when he had to run to the bathroom.  By the time he got back, everyone else was eating.  

He just made some more for his family.  There was enough to share in the soup kitchen.

 He was cleaning up after he'd finished when Xerxes came in.  "How was your workout?" he asked.

"So hungry!" Xerxes said while shoving half the sandwich in his mouth. 

The family headed home, no Zombies in sight at all.   Maybe the military was making headway in the war on Zombies after all!

 Yoshi greeted the friendly man as he walked by.  Wait a minute, is that the creepy fence stalker?

 Geez, she doesn't have to tell everyone about the roach problem. Keep it to yourself!

Since she was exhausted from the obstacle course, Yoshi gave Waylon a hug and sent him on his merry way.

He inhaled deeply.  Even her hair smells good! he thought, relishing the moment.

 Xerxes headed off to work, even though the carpool never showed up.  It must've been an oversight!

As soon as he disappeared from the screen, his friend Ivy walked by.  Unfortunately, Xerxes wouldn't be back home for 2 hours.

 OH FOR THE LOVE OF PLUMBBOB!

 You guys have a chew toy. What the hell is your problem?

Xerxes came home, took one look at where his bed used to be and then headed to the couch.  This was ridiculous.

Yoshi cleaned up the broken bed, sighing.  She considered not even getting another bed until the dogs learned how to behave, but didn't want to punish Xerxes.

 So, she got another cheap bed and threw his old sheets on.

Mom said he was old enough to play Operation with the TraumaTime station. He just had to make sure he didn't break it.  Mom said the next person to break something was getting kicked out.

 She headed to work, in a good mood despite the chaos swirling around her house.

I saw Wasabi chowing down on a bag of chips and almost told her to stop.  I might be traumatized from the Culinary Restrictions!

Yoshi came home, pleased that Christopher had given her a promotion. Level 4. She was now officially a Junior Officer!

Since there was still a little over an hour left on the clock, she headed back to work to show her boss she had drive and ambition.

Somewhere along the way, Pepper was fired from being a Security Dog.  I didn't even catch it happening.  The only reason I noticed was that Xerxes rolled a want for Pepper to get a job. Good job Pepper. Three dogs and only one of them can lift the Security Pet Restrictions.  No pressure Tucker!

"Dad? Why are you crying?" Xerxes asked with alarm.

"Your Mom won't have any more babies with me!" he sobbed, swiping at the tears in his eyes.

 You have got to be kidding me!  AGAIN?!  Tucker is looking at the camera like "not me!"

 Distracted, I missed Wasabi turning into a teen.  Happy Birthday sweetie!

Since I forgot to share his teen age-up, I figured I'd show both the teens in one fell schwoop.  Everyone will have the Turn Off of Zombie. Because this is a Zombie Apocalypse.  I decided to make skills as the Turn On because they'll be more likely to find skilled partners!

This is not a good sign.

Pretty sure Zoe scared them alot more than this. If you want to scare someone for breaking your bed, go scare Tucker!

Although, she could be mad about the urn.  Alright, carry on.

Go Tucker, go! Mama wants a new recliner!  Chew like the wind!

 Aw, cute father/daughter games outside.

"SORRY!" she said glibly as a stray ball hit her Dad where it hurts.

 "Watch it, Wasabi!"

Back inside, she grabbed the family heirloom fiddle and started sawing the stick thingie across the strings, producing a horrid, screeching noise.  

 Another promotion! Yoshi was nailing it!

 She headed straight inside and started practicing the speech she would give the new recruits.

 Guess who else got a promotion?!

 Orlando was so damn proud of his pup.  "You did it! Free treats for life!" he told the cute little guy.

Immediately Webster ran up and nosed Orlando's hand.  "Oh, alright, free treats for you too!" He was such a sucker for his dogs!

 Xerxes was glad the dogs hadn't destroyed this bed. Mom said she was getting tired of replacing it.

 Oh dear.  It's going to be a long night.

Zoe, if you have an issue with Xerxes, scare him, not Wasabi.

After being frightened within an inch of her life, Xerxes then grabbed her and put her in a headlock.  "I told you there were ghosts!" he told her knowingly.

 "Quit it or I'll slug you!" Wasabi snapped with irritation.

Finally, Wasabi ran upstairs and hid under the covers of her bed.  She was never coming back downstairs again!  Grandma was mean!

 Yoshi hopped out of her carpool and took off at a sprint towards the safety of her trailer.

Andres Legende came home with her from work.

It was like the Afternoon of the Living Dead!   Webster didn't seem to understand that Zombies were bad.  He trailed around after the red-headed Zombie, begging for pets.

He laid down in front of the male Zombie and waited for pets, but it just shooed him away.

"Is he still out there?" Yoshi called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, and it looks like he's playing fetch with Webster," Wasabi said, a touch of surprise in her voice. 

Because of the wild Zombie camped outside their front door, Mom told the teens to stay inside.  They spent the time skilling.

 Finally, it wandered off and the family sighed a breathe of relief.

*face palm*

With the pressure off of Tucker to reach the top of Pet Security, Orlando tried to see if the pups would be able to have a litter.

To his surprise, neither dog really liked each other.  He would have to work on that, he thought stubbornly.  He was going to get a litter, one way or another!

TUCKER, NO!

"No time to eat!" Yoshi called as she raced to work.  She didn't realize she'd slept in so late.  She didn't have time for breakfast and she really had to go pee.  No way was she getting a promotion today, she thought sourly.

Playing in the bathtub, a fun past-time in the Zombie Apocalypse.  Good times were had by all.

"I can't wait to move out and be on my own!" Wasabi told her brother.

Xerxes just scoffed. "Never gonna happen," he told her flippantly.  "No judges around to buy property."

"A girl can dream!"

Keeping the sidewalk clean was a constant battle.  Too bad they didn't have litter boxes for dogs.  Maybe a fire hydrant you could put in the back of the property so dogs didn't pee by the mailbox would be nice.

BRAAAAAAAINS.

 They might look like innocent little pups, but we've seen the mess and destruction they can cause!

 Xerxes was psyched when he saw a cute blonde walking by. He hurried out to greet her.

 "Hey, I'm Meadow Thayer," she said, greeting him with a small smile.

Eh, Xerxes thought to himself.  Not really my type.

But at least they could be friends! He talked her ear off about being an honest to plumbbob recruit in the military. 

 She didn't seem impressed by him either.

 Aw, poor Orlando!

"Don't worry," Yoshi told her husband, reaching out to stroke his hand.  "The kids are getting older. You'll have little grandbabies around the house in no time."

"I love babies," he said longingly.