Disclaimer: I own nothing. The amazing show belongs to the amazing Frank Darabont.
BAM! New story! Enjoy a typical and short first chapter! Pretty please review and let me know how the first chapter went!
Chapter One: Mellow Day
"You get one more week." Hershel says as he pulls the too familiar blood pressure cuff from my arm. "If this little one isn't here by then we'll try to induce labor with all the tricks, and if that doesn't work we'll do a c-section."
"I'm willing to start with the tricks right now." I say as I swing my swollen feet off the side of the table. "I'm sick of this."
"Gonna give the baby an extra week, just incase we've miss-counted the weeks."
"If we miss-counted I will be shocked. I don't think I can get any bigger."
"You'd be surprised." Hershel helps me off the table and I follow him out the door.
"How are Judith's theeth doing?"
"Better since that medicen got brought back. She back to being into everything now."
"She's one. If you think she's bad you should have seen Carl."
"You should have seen Maggie. One day, just a few weeks after she got comfortable on her legs, she walked right out the front door. Her mother yelled at me from the front yard saying she couldn't find her. Well, we searched all over the house and the porch, and I eventually found her, you wanna know where?"
"Sure."
"Under the front steps, playing in the mud with the dog."
I walked Hershel to the library where the council was having another meeting. It was late spring or early summer, or I could be off entirely on the time. But it was hot and runs were happening again. I smiled at Daryl through the door before I set off in search of my brother. I waddled down the steps and into the hot Georgia sun. Sure enough, Rick and Carl were down by the pigs and the crops.
Those two had finally gotten their relationship back on track. In so many ways Rick putting his gun down was the best thing for him and his son. But there were days where I missed the feeling of sureness I always felt when Rick was calling the shots. I didn't like the Carol had more say in the running of the prison than Rick. But that could just be my personal feelings getting in the way of logic, putting the gun and the leader role aside has been good for my brother.
There were a few people patrolling the fence line. We kept people on it almost constantly since an incident we had about a few months ago where we had a huge build up and they weakened several spots along the fencing. After that not only did the council add more people to the fence, but we put an evacuation plan in place. A way to get everyone and a lot of supplies out in case the prison fell. We had surprise drills every now and then. But since I'm the size of a barn I have been exempt from the last two. I was glad we had the plan in place, but I prayed we wouldn't have to use it. If we lost the prison I don't think I could go on. That winter on the road after we lost the farm had been bad enough, but now I had a baby. I couldn't survive that again.
"Still got the bun in the oven huh?" Ty calls at me from the fence line.
"Unfortunately!"
"Eat some pineapple. That's what my momma did when Sasha was over-due."
"Go find me some!" I yell back. He goes back to walking the fence and I go over to where Rick and Carl are washing the pigs. "Isn't that a waste of water?"
"Gotta keep 'em clean if we plan on eating them later. Don't want to risk anything with the meat." Rick says as he releases one of the pigs who immediately rolls back in the mud.
"I don't think Edgar liked his bath."
"Dad just got done yelling at me 'cause I use their names." Carl says as he tosses his rag on the ground.
"Their not piglets anymore. Don't get attached."
"Like you did to that fish when we went to the Great Lakes?" I ask crossing my arms on top of my stomach.
"Yah!" Carl says with a smile. "What did he call it…Anderson!"
"That was different." Rick defends himself.
"Not really, dad told us we were fishing for dinner."
"At least I caught something." Rick says splashing water at me.
There have been more times like this between us lately. The three of us being able to laugh and be silly. We even talk about Lori now without Rick getting that haunted look in his eyes. I never want to see that again. The way he was after Lori died was horrible. "So what's on the agenda today?" I ask when they wash the last pig.
"Nothing today, that I know of anyway. Tomorrow is the big run to that store Daryl saw when he brought Bob in." Rick says as he wraps his arm around me and leads me back towards the prison. He doesn't let me stay on my feet too long. Its rather annoying, but today I'm too tired to argue.
"Daryl told me the place was over-ran."
"Glenn and Frank fixed up a boom-box." Carl says. "Dad, can I go?"
"Sure, I'll get you later." We watch as Carl walks off.
Rick and I get to the pavilion and he sets me down at a table before he goes and gets us some water. "He's doing so much better." I say when Rick sits back down.
"I know. He's almost like he should be. But I think I let him get too far. He never should have gotten to that point."
"It's not your fault Rick."
"Yes it is. I lost sight of what was important. I forgot about my son."
"But your making up for it now." I say taking a drink of my water. "Has Merle gotten back from hunting yet?"
"No, and you wont see him until the sun goes down. After he was cooped up for so long, because of you, he got cabin fever something bad."
"I told him to leave the bookshelf alone. He insisted."
"I'm just glad he didn't break his leg. That would have been the last thing we needed was a broken Merle Dixon."
"You shoulda see him when he broke his wrist when I was a kid. He bitched for a month."
Daryl tosses his bow and rope on the table in front of us. "Meeting over dear?" I ask looking up at him.
"Was no big thing. Just going over assignments for tomorrow."
"And let me guess, you put yourself on the run group."
"Don't I always." He says as he takes my cup and drinks all of my water. "What did Hershel say about my kid?"
"Has a week to make itself known before he starts taking action. While you're out tomorrow get pineapple and anything spicy."
"Black licorice too." Rick adds. "That's what Lori ate with Carl."
"That stuff is gross." I say making a face.
"Saw in a movie that sex helps too." Daryl says with a grin.
"You just stick to the pineapple and spicy food buddy." Rick says standing up. "Are you gonna teach today?" he asks me.
"No, I will tomorrow when they're out on the run. It'll keep my mind off it."
"Okay, see you later." He looks up at Daryl. "Be safe out there." Then he walk back down towards the crops.
"Maybe we should pick him up some overalls." Daryl says as he slings all his stuff over his back.
"When will you be back?"
"Before the sun goes down."
"I'll walk you down." I say moving to stand up.
"No, you need to rest. I won't feel like rubbing your huge feet tonight."
"It's your fault." I say back. He smiles and gives me a quick kiss.
"Stay away from D. Carter moved back there." I tell him I will and he walks down the hill towards the doors.
Of course the ass moved back into D block. E block was too far away from most of the population, he couldn't annoy people if he lived there. I still don't know what happened between Merle and Carter while Daryl and I were gone on our hooky date, but ever since that day Carter has kept his distance. And Merle wasn't telling me what he did either. Too bad Carol was a different story. I swear that woman could not take a hint. She didn't mess with me or Daryl directly, but I think she used her place on the council as a way to try to get close to him again. Only this time Daryl was using his head and was brushing her off each time. But I still saw red if I saw them talking together.
I stood up and went back inside the prison. I needed to give Beth a break and play with my niece. She had to be a year old by now and Beth and I were so close to getting her to walk on her own. She did okay if you held her hands, but she needed to do it alone. Plus I told her I would take her to see Lori today. I know Judith didn't know or would remember these trips until she was older. But I loved taking her down to the crosses. I'd let her crawl around and play while I told her stories about her mother. Just like why Carl fought to bring back a picture of Lori so Judith would know what her mother looked like, I wanted Judith to know who her mother was.
I got Judith to walk about half way to the crosses before she sat down and I had to pick her up. Not an easy feat with a huge middle. I told Judith about the time Lori and I got stranded on the side of the road on a Black Friday when Carl was two. Rick had been so mad because he had to get out of bed with a two-year-old at four in the morning to save us. Shane then taught Lori and I some basic mechanics after Rick complained about the experience for a week after the face.
"You should have seen your daddy's face when he got to us. He was in his Pepsi pajamas and his Falcons t-shirt. He was fuming, or as much as your daddy can fume." Judith could careless about the story since bugs were flying across the grass, but this was my favorite thing to do these days. It helped me bond with my niece and it kept me busy. I wasn't able or allowed to do too much these days. And I was usually board over half the time.
When I got too hot outside I grabbed Judith and took her back inside where we played together until she needed a nap. I needed one too. So we cuddled up on my bed and fell asleep. A soft breeze from a tiny battery powered fan that Glenn had found me on a run was blowing across my sweaty skin, the sound helping me fall asleep.
When I woke up Judith was gone. I guess I had overslept her nap time. I got out of bed and headed outside. The sun was lower in the sky, but I knew not to expect Daryl back anytime soon. There was still a few more hours of daylight left. Or that's what I thought. When I stepped outside Merle was up and moving all over the pavilion area. And if Merle was back, Daryl was too. A quick whiff of the air and I figured out why they were back to early, they had gotten a deer. "About time you shot something good." I say when Merle moves within ear shot.
"And its past time for you to pop out my nephew!" He says back as he walks over to me. "I'm sick of waiting on you."
"Your hands are filthy, go wash yourself."
"Daryl is in the shower right now."
"There is more than one stall now."
"But he likes to sing while he showers." Merle says as he gets distracted by a woman who I think was named Ashley, but I could be wrong. I was bad with names before, but I was worse now.
"Are you seriously going to oggle a woman while you're in the middle of a conversation with me?"
"Sure am. I brought back food. I'm a hero. She should be willing to show me some gratitude."
"Ew." I say smacking him on the shoulder. "You are the nastiest person alive. You know that right?"
He just shrugs and walks off in the direction Ashley walked off in. I shake my head and walk over to the water cooler. It's hot from the heat, but at least we have a supply of it, so I don't complain. It's been so long since I've had a cool drink my tongue would probably jump out of my mouth if I had one. I sit down across from Ty and Karen. One of my new favorite hobbies was messing with Ty about him newly forming relationship. For all his big muscles and tallness, Ty was a big teddy bear who was very awkward around women. Especially women that he had crushes on.
The rest of the evening passes peacefully. Daryl, Ty, Karen, and I played cards and ate some deer until it got dark and we all had to go inside and get some sleep. Today was a pretty mellow day. But tomorrow would be stressful for me. I always had anxiety when Daryl went out on runs, but I was worse these days. The thought have having the baby while he was out was scary, and the thought that he could die while on a run and leave me alone with the baby was unthinkable. But staying true to our promises to each other, I told Daryl about my fears and he did what he could to help. But nothing but him being with me at the prison would put them to rest.
But I know I can't be selfish with this. The prison depended on the runs. With Michonne gone and Rick in retirement, Daryl was one of the best. Glenn was in charge of his own running group, but he had been spending a lot of time glued to Maggie's side lately. I had a feeling something was up with them. But Maggie hadn't said anything, and I wasn't going to meddle. I had my own problems to worry about and Maggie would tell me if something was up. She was, without a doubt, the best friend I have ever had.
"How are you feeling?" Daryl asks as he sits down on the bed beside me and pulls off his shoes.
"My feet are sore again. But other than that I'm okay. Just so tired."
"I'll pick up all that stuff tomorrow for you." He says as he pulls his shirt off and tosses it on the floor.
"You're picking that up in the morning." I say as I lay down and stretch my legs out.
"If you can bend over and pick Judith up, you can pick up a shirt." Daryl says as he grabs one of my feet and starts rubbing my ankles.
"Thank you." I say as the pain starts to melt away.
"We need to talk about names again." Daryl says as he starts to rub my other ankle.
"I think we should wait and make sure."
"Kelly, the baby is fine. She's moving around, kicking. Your blood pressure is back down to normal. You and the baby are healthy. I think we're safe enough to pick out a name."
"I just….I want to make sure that the baby will be okay. If the baby doesn't make it….I cant risk what a name might add to it. Right now, the baby is a possibility, and a name might make it more."
"I don't think the baby can get more "real" sweetie. But I get it."
Daryl moves my foot off his lap and he crawls in bed next to me. It's too hot for covers, but the heat doesn't stop him from wrapping his arms around me. His fingers brushing over my middle. "But at the same time, if something happens to you, I want to know a name you like."
"Daryl I'll be dead. I won't care."
"But I'd care. Kelly, if something happens to you…lets just say I've been there before, where I thought you were gone. And what I felt was unbearable. And I know that it would be worse now. And anything I can do if that happens might help me. And knowing a name you like could help me."
"I'll let you know. Let's get some sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow."
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