Day 1
"She's so cute."
Beth smiled up at Mika.
"Judy's the sweetest little baby I've ever known."
"Can I watch her sleep?" Mika asked shyly.
"Of course you can," Beth replied. "If you don't mind, I could leave her with you for a bit. She'll sleep for at least an hour, maybe more. You could read if you get bored."
"You mean, babysit her?" Mika asked eagerly.
"Mika, you're good with her," Beth smiled at the ten year old. "If she wakes up and starts crying, you remember how I taught you to hold her?"
"I need to support her neck," Mika remembered.
"Good. I have a bottle in Judith's bag there, shake it before you give it to her. And afterwards, burp her on your shoulder. If that doesn't stop her crying, just bring her to me and I can take over."
"Alright," Mika nodded. "I've seen you do it all before."
"We found some funny looking bugs."
The girls looked up to see Lizzie in the door.
"Come and see," Luke added, practically bouncing on his heels.
Beth glanced at Mika. The ten year old bit her lip, then looked over at Judith.
"I can't. I'm babysitting Judith," Mika said proudly.
"Fine," Lizzie shrugged. "Come on Luke."
As the other kids left, Beth put a hand on Mika's shoulder.
"Thanks for sticking with it."
"Babysitting's important," Mika said decisively.
Beth's heart warmed at that. Sometimes she felt that some people in the prison didn't find her role very important. But looking after Judith and the other kids was important.
"I'm glad you know that," she told the younger girl. "My daddy always says that we all got jobs to do. That means that every job is important, and everyone is important."
Mika nodded thoughtfully.
"Your daddy's really smart."
"That he is." Beth stroked the younger girl's head fondly. "I'll see you later."
"See you!" Mika waved after her as Beth headed out.
Beth waved back cheerily. Judith had been good today, but a little break would be real nice. Shepicked up her walkman and headed outside, slipping on the headphones and starting it up. She hoped there were still a few hours left on the batteries.
Tori Amos started playing in her headphones as she made her way outside. When she was inside, she missed the breezes. The sun was nice as well, except on days like this, when it was so bright that her skin burned easily.
Beth walked to the guard tower, admiring the garden as she went. Everything was growing tall and strong, Rick had done a wonderful job. The corn stalks were about ready to harvest. Hermouth watered as she pictured the corn on the cob they'd be eating soon. It would be even better with a little fresh butter melting on it…
If only they had a cow, Beth thought wistfully, then they could try and churn butter - and have fresh milk in the mornings. She wondered if there were any cows left alive in the world. They were far too slow to escape walkers. Even if she never saw another cow again, she liked to think that they still existed somewhere.
She settled down on one of the sleeping bags, trying not to think about what she knew some people got up to on these things - her sister and Glenn included. The door to the outside was open, allowing the breeze in. It was a nice place to relax, away from everyone.
Beth closed her eyes and let herself relax, reminding herself that she deserved this break. The music was soothing, blocking out the rest of the world and letting her feel like there was nothing out there that could bother her - not walkers, not sickness, not anything.
She was starting to doze off when she heard it a terrible explosion. Beth tore off her headphones and scrambled to her feet.
Looking around, she realized in horror that something - someone had blown up the western watchtower. It was in pieces, on fire… She swallowed hard - if she'd picked that watchtower to rest in, she'd be dead now.
There was nobody by the gate, so who had… Beth turned to the right and saw them. There was a tank just thirty feet away, surrounded by a caravan of vehicles - and there were at least twenty people there with guns.
Beth ducked down, terrified, and looked around frantically. There were a couple guns left over from whoever was last on watch - a glock, as well as a scoped rifle.
Grabbing the rifle, she checked the magazine, and was relieved it was full. She took the glock as well, bringing it with her as she lay down on her stomach on the floor. Slowly, she wiggled across the floor to the open door, trying to be as quiet as she could.
Beth propped the rifle in front of her and peered through the scope. She shuddered as her suspicions were confirmed - it was the Governor. He was never going to leave them alone, she realized, however much she had hoped that he had just moved on.
"Rick!" The Governor called. "Come down here. We need to talk."
Beth began to count - four, eight, eleven… She gulped as she finished counting at twenty two. And that was just the people that she could see.
"It's not up to me." Rick shouted back.
Beth felt a frission of hope. Rick was there, he would find a way out. Maybe they didn't have to fight these people.
"There's a council now, they run this place!"
"Is Hershel on the council?" The Governor returned.
Beth frowned at the seeming non-sequiter. The Governor motioned to some people, and then a brunette woman with a gun walked over to one of the cars.
The teenager in the watchtower watched in horror as her father was dragged from the car, and pushed to his knees in front of the tank.
No, not her daddy, Beth thought desperately. Her finger slipped to cover the trigger, terrified - would they hurt him?
"And Michonne? Is she on the council too?"
Her heart fell further in her chest as they led Michonne out as well, setting her down beside Hershel. Beth took a deep, shaky breath - then she adjusted the aim, until the center was at the Governor's chest.
"I don't make decisions anymore!" Rick shouted.
"You're making the decisions today, Rick," the Governor called back.
Beth bit her lip - Rick was doing so much better, healing from his emotional injuries by being the farmer. He shouldn't be forced back into that position - she was certain that it was the overwhelming responsibility of being their leader that had made him snap in the first place.
And yet… she did feel a little relieved, knowing that Rick would be commanding everyone. If the council was the peacetime government, Rick was most certainly the most natural leader in wartime. And the governor had brought war to their doorstep.
"Come down here and let's… Let's have that talk."
Beth waited nervously, wondering if Rick was going to do it. Would there be actual talking, or was it just a ploy to isolate their leader for the Governor to murder him? She didn't doubt that the man was capable of such an underhanded tactic.
The wait seemed horribly long, and Beth's finger twitched slightly.
"Let him go, right now." Rick was there, she realized, but she didn't dare move the scope, not when she had to be ready to take a shot.
"I'll stay down here, talk as long as you want. But you let him go. You got a tank, you don't need hostages." Rick told the Governor.
Beth tried to picture where he was, probably right behind the second fence.
"I do," the one-eyed man replied. "This is just to show you I'm serious. Not to blast a hole in our new home. You and your people, you have until sundown to get out of here, or they die."
"Doesn't have to go down this way," Rick countered.
"I got more people, more firepower… We need this prison."
You can't have it, Beth thought fiercely. It wasn't for the likes of the Governor. She wondered how all these people could follow a man like this. Beth always wanted to see the good in people, but it was hard to find in a situation like this.
"There it is," the Governor chuckled. "It's not about the past, it's about right now."
"There are children here," Rick told the intruders, trying to plead with them. "Some of them are sick, they won't - they won't survive."
Beth looked carefully at the ones she could see - one man's expression shifted, seeming a bit nervous at Rick's speech.
"I have a tank!" The Governor snarled, then half-smiled, his voice sounding calm again. "And I'm letting you walk away from here. What else is there to talk about?"
Beth stared down the scope at the Governor, thinking about what she might have to do. She had the ideal position to take him out, but it was dangerous. There were only ten rounds in the rifle's magazine and fifteen rounds in the glock - twenty five shots in total. Even if that was enough to kill all of them, she doubted that she'd be able to take them all out before one of them shot her.
She tried hard not to think about the fact that these were people, and she'd never killed a person before. If they attacked them like the Governor was threatening to do, if anyone tried to hurt her father, she would just have to shoot.
Everybody has a job to do, Bethie, her father's words echoed in her head.
"I could shoot you all. And you all'd shoot back, I know that," the Governor said, his tone strangely placating.
He was trying to sound reasonable, Beth realized suddenly. Her group knew how horrible the man was, but they also knew that he was a great actor. He had fooled a lot of innocent civilians at Woodbury, and probably done exactly the same thing here. Beth wished she could explain to them why they shouldn't trust the Governor, but they would likely shoot her if she spoke and revealed her position. She just hoped Rick could make them see reason.
"But we'll win, and you'll be dead. All of you. Doesn't have to be like that - like I said, it's your choice."
Beth heard the telltale signs of walkers - loud moaning, and realized that some were approaching the fence. The Governor drew his gun and shot, three times.
"The noise will only draw more of them over. Longer you wait, harder it'll be for you to get out of here," the Governor said. "You got maybe an hour of sunlight left. I suggest you start packing."
There was another pause.
"The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be for you to get out of here," the Governor repeated, irritation in his voice.
"We can all live together," Rick said seriously.
Beth couldn't help but smile at the sentiment. Maybe he could convince them.
"There's enough room for all of us."
"More than enough," the Governor agreed. "But I don't think my family would sleep well knowing that you were under the same roof."
Beth's arms were beginning to tremble, and she tried to keep them steady. The Governor wasn't going to make a deal, she knew suddenly. His people would have to turn against him if they wanted peace.
"We could live in different cell blocks. We'd never have to see each other, til we're all ready," Rick suggested.
"It could work, you know it could!" Hershel called. Beth smiled at her father's words.
"It could've, but it can't. Not after Woodbury, not after Andrea."
"Look," Rick cut in. "I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. Fact is, it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder than standing here shooting at each other. But I don't think we have a choice."
"We don't. You do."
"We're not leaving." Rick said firmly. "You try to force us, we'll fight back. But like you said, the gunshots would just bring more of 'em, they'll take down the fences, without the fences this place is worthless. Now - we can all live in the prison, or none of us can."
The Governor turned and jumped down from the tank. Beth sucked in a harsh breath, attempting to re-aim. When he came back into view, he was carrying a sword - Michonne's katana.
Before she could fix the aim, the Governor had the katana to her father's throat. Beth desperately tried to lock onto his chest, but her hands were shaking. She wanted to sob, but she knew she had to keep her mouth shut.
"You - you, in the ponytail! Is this what you want? Is this what any of you want?" Rick called, addressing the group.
"What we want is what you got," the man in the tank called back. "Time for you to leave, asshole."
"Look, I've fought him before," Rick tried to explain to them. "And after, I took in his old friends. They've become leaders in what we have here. Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates, you're one of us."
Listen, Beth thought desperately. Please. She bit down on her lip so hard it began to bleed.
"We let go of all of it, and nobody dies. Everyone's alive right now. Everyone's made it this far. We've all done the worst kinds of things to stay alive. But we can still come back."
Beth's heart was pounding with anticipation. Rick was giving an empassioned speech - if she were one of them, she knew she'd be swayed. But would they?
"We're not too far gone," Rick said. "We get to come back. I know - we all… can change."
Beth took a breath as the Governor slowly began to pull the blade away from Hershel's neck.
"Liar." The monster said lowly.
Her hands stopped shaking as he swung the blade. Her finger pulled back on the trigger, and the Governor staggered back, dropping the sword to the ground.
The rifle kicked back against her shoulder, bruising it, but she couldn't pay it any mind - she had to kill him.
The Governor looked right up at her, a hand going to his shoulder, where she'd shot him. He looked confused - he hadn't seen it coming. But now he knew where she was…
Beth pulled the trigger again, but she was too hasty - the bullet struck the tank behind him. The Governor dodged out of the way, going to the other side of the tank where she couldn't see him.
A rain of bullets began - first one, and then another. The two groups were firing on each other, Beth realized. With the Governor out of her line of sight, Beth re-aimed, this time at the man shooting from on top of one of the cars.
The rifle kicked back, but she just breathed out in relief as the gunner she'd shot went down with a cry, falling over the back of the car. Beth took another shot at the man next to him, but she missed.
"Kill the girl in the watchtower!" The Governor bellowed, and suddenly half of them were re-aiming their weapons towards her.
Beth rolled violently to her left, stunned as bullets sprayed into the back wall, shattering the glass, while still more were striking the floor where she'd just lain.
She hid behind the solid interior for now, terrified that the fire was now concentrated on her.
"Take it down!" He shouted again, and Beth realized with a bolt of horror just what he meant.
Beth scrambled to the ladder, tossing the guns down, and then jumped - it was a twelve foot drop, and she hit the floor hard, but just managed to stay on her feet.
Her feet and shoulder ached, but she couldn't stop to catch her breath - Beth grabbed the dropped guns and headed for the door.
The explosion rocked the tower, and she fell, clutching to the wall. The ceiling was coming down in pieces around her, and Beth turned the doorknob and flung herself outside.
A falling brick struck her on the back, and Beth fell to the ground, shaken. She covered her head with her arms, frozen in place as pieces of stone and metal rained down around and on top of her.
Finally, it stopped raining debris, though the gunfire was still loud and constant. Beth slowly uncovered herself and sat up. The top of the tower had been blown to smithereens by their tank. She looked up at it numbly - she'd barely gotten out in time.
"Go through the fences! In your cars, get your guns. We go in. Kill 'em all."
"Roger that. Move in!"
Beth could hear car engines starting. She backed up to the wall, jamming the glock into her belt and taking the rifle in both her hands.
The fence made a horrible creaking noise as the tank rolled over it. Glancing back at the prison, Beth almost cried out at the sight - the tank was firing again, taking down a chunk of the outer walls, while her family tried desperately to fire back at the invaders with the weapons they had. But Beth knew that their guns were no match for the firepower of the tank.
She could see a figure behind the overturned prison bus, and felt a sudden rush of relief - it was Rick, and he was alive. Somehow he'd gotten out of the line of fire alright.
Rick looked over at the same time, his eyes widening as he saw Beth. He lifted a finger to his lips, and Beth nodded.
Then, he pointed twice in the direction of the gates. It took her a moment, but then she realized - he wanted her to flank the attackers. Gulping, she nodded to him.
Beth hurried to the corner of the guard tower and peered around. The tank and the cars had already made their way through the fence, crushing it under them. But there were a few people behind the cover of the tank that she could still see.
And there was her father, crawling along the ground, in her direction. He was alive!
Beth glanced up in time to see one of the men glance over at Hershel crawling away. He turned his gun towards her father, and Beth yanked the trigger.
The first shot hit the man in the belly. He screamed, and his gun went off.
Beth heard her father cry out in pain. In a panic, she blind-fired. One shot went into the man's head.
The rest of the Governor's group had almost moved beyond her range of sight, so Beth fired off two more shots, hitting one woman in the neck, probably fatally. The man next to her saw her go down, and turned his gun towards Beth…
She ducked back behind the tower, staring at the bullets hitting the ground and wall beside her. He was shooting with an automatic gun, and after he'd shot a dozen rounds, he stopped. Was he reloading, or was he just waiting for her to stick her head around again?
Beth realized that she couldn't chance it, not if she wanted to save her father. She ran to the other corner, peering out at the group. The others were still advancing on the prison, not looking her way.
She scooted forward along the side, looking at the man who'd tried to shoot her. He was advancing towards the tower, but he wasn't looking her way, but at her last position.
Beth fired at him with the last two rounds in the rifle, both striking him in his chest.
He fell backwards, gasping as he clutched to his chest. Beth dropped the rifle and ran to her father, drawing her glock as she did.
There were walkers advancing from the woods, dozens and dozens of them. She got off a few shots, taking care of the closest ones.
Beth heard a terrible moaning and looked down - it was the man she'd just shot. He was still alive…
Right now, he didn't look like an enemy. He was maybe thirty, with blue hair and messy brown hair. He just looked scared - and in agony.
"Please," he gasped, looking at her, then the walkers advancing on him. "Finish it."
Her mouth formed into a tight line. Then she fired once into his forehead, ending his misery.
"Daddy!" She ran to her father's side.
"Beth," Herschel gasped, surprised to hear her.
She took her knife from her belt and carefully cut away the rope binding his hands. As her father came to a sitting up position, rubbing his wrists, Beth planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
Before he could say anything, she was standing and firing again, at two walkers who were getting too close.
"We have to go," Beth told her father breathlessly.
She helped him up, then slipped her arm around her father's waist. Beth led him along the outside fence and past the front gate, moving as fast as she could towards the back of the prison. Hershel didn't say a word, focusing on keeping up with his daughter.
Beth glanced back at the walkers streaming through the downed fences, and felt a terrible heaviness in her heart. They were losing their home.
As they walked, Beth had to shoot three walkers that got too close. She tried to remember how many bullets were left, but she couldn't. Finally, she could see the bus ahead, and Beth was able to breathe a little easier.
The sound of the continuous gunfire was still terrifying, but they were out of the worst of it, and she was going to get them to the bus. Herschel stumbled a little as Beth sped up, and she gave him a concerned look.
"I'm fine," he assured her.
Finally, they were at the back, at the bus. There was a stream of people running from the prison into the escape vehicle.
Beth helped Hershel up the stairs, and sat him down a few rows back. She glanced around, seeing a number of familiar faces - but not Maggie, Glenn, or…
"Judith," Beth realized with horror. She was an idiot, she'd left her with Mika and never came back - she had to keep her safe.
She turned quickly to bolt for the front of the bus.
"Beth!" Hershel roared after her. His daughter whirled back to face him.
"I have to find Judith."
"No, someone else can do it, you stay here," Hershel said urgently.
"Daddy," Beth told him fiercely, reaching out to grab his hand. "We've all got jobs to do."
He took a deep, shuddering breath before smiling at her, a proud little smile that warmed her to the bone.
"Go. I love you."
"I love you too, daddy." After a moment's thought, she handed him the glock, ignoring the look of protest on his face.
"There's at least six bullets left," Beth informed him. "Stay safe, daddy."
Then she ran. Beth pushed past a few people trying to get to the bus and made her way through the halls to cellblock C. Where was her baby?
Beth tore through the courtyard and back to the cell block. She could hear the sounds of Judy crying, but where…
"Mika!" Beth screamed. She waited a moment, and then -
"Beth!"
She ran to her cell, only to find Mika sitting in the corner, clutching a crying baby in her arms.
"Sweetie," Beth breathed, infinitely relieved. "Are you okay?"
Mika was crying too, but she tried to wipe away her tears.
"They shot me."
"Where?" Beth demanded in a panic.
Mika pointed at her arm. Beth looked at it for a moment, and let out a shaky breath.
"It's just a graze. You're going to be fine."
"It really hurts," the ten year old sobbed. "Can you fix it?"
"I know it does, you're so brave. I'll take care of it," Beth assured her.
She knew they had to go, but Mika was so scared, Beth needed to help her.
Setting Judith down on her bed, Beth quickly grabbed a strip of gauze from the box under her bed - there were always scrapes and cuts at the prison, and this time was no different.
Beth hurried to dab the wound with a peroxide-soaked cut. Mika cried out at the sting, and kicked out instinctively - knocking over the bottle. The rest of the peroxide spilled out over the floor. Beth ignored it, focusing on quickly wrapping the gauze around Mika's arm.
"It'll get better soon," Beth promised.
Mika stared at her arm, rubbing it, as Beth stood up. She watched as Beth took a long piece of fabric from her bed and quickly wrapped it about her shoulders and torso, leaving it loose in the front.
"Help me put her in," Beth ordered, and Mika moved to help immediately. With Judith and Mika to care for, she would need to strap Judith to her so that she could still fight if need be.
They secured Judith in the baby sling, and Beth tied it tightly about her waist, glad that now she couldn't lose the baby again, not with her tucked so close on her front.
Beth glanced around the cell. This had been her room for so long, with everything she had in it…
"Mika, please carry Judy's bag."
The ten year old nodded and slung the baby bag over her shoulder. Beth grabbed her own backpack from under the bed, quickly shoving a few things into it - the remaining gauze, bottle of water, her old diary, the music box Daryl had given her for her last birthday, filled with photos of her family and friends… Some items were useful, others sentimental, but they were leaving forever and she just couldn't leave them.
Beth zipped the backpack up and slung it over her shoulders, then grabbed her pistol in her right hand and took Mika's hand in her left.
"Let's go!"
They had barely made it through the cell door when a blast from the tank struck the ceiling of the cell block. Beth hauled them backwards again, both of them coughing at the resulting smoke and dust.
When Beth dared to look back out, she realized that there was now a giant pile of rubble that completely blocked the door that led back towards the bus. No, she thought in horror. If she hadn't bothered to try and grab her possessions, they could have gotten out easily. Stupid, she berated herself.
"We'll go this way, then," Beth declared, trying to keep her voice calm for Mika's sake. Judith was still wailing as Beth and Mika ran to the front of the cellblock, to the only other exit.
They burst out the door and were greeted by a hail of bullets.
Beth screamed at the same time as Mika. But miraculously, she hadn't been hit.
There was a young brunette woman and an older man in a plaid shirt, both of them pointing guns at them.
The man was hastily reloading, not looking at them. The woman looked absolutely shocked at the sight of her - whether it was Mika holding her hand, or the baby strapped to her front, Beth wasn't sure.
Beth was horribly aware that she couldn't raise her gun before the woman shot. She shoved Mika behind her, and the girl clutched at her backpack, grateful for the cover. Beth wrapped her left arm around Judith, who was still wailing in fear.
"Please. I just want to get my girls out of here!" Beth pleaded. She hoped they'd listen. None of them had to die now.
The man had finished reloading. He looked back up, a vicious look in his eyes.
"Brian said all of ya."
Beth tried to get her gun up, but she wasn't going to be fast enough -
Five shots sounded, and the man slumped to the ground, riddled with holes.
Beth turned to the brunette woman in shock. She met Beth's gaze, and gave her a little nod.
"Go."
Beth began to run across the courtyard with Mika. Halfway across, she stopped and turned.
The brunette was staring after her, her gun pointed down at the ground.
"What's your name?" The words slipped from Beth's mouth before she knew what she was doing.
"Alicia."
"Come with us."
Beth watched as a look of total amazement came over the woman's face.
"What? We attacked you."
"You killed him when he tried to shoot us. You're not a bad person." Beth looked the woman over, eyeing her stance, the way she carried herself. "You were military, weren't you? You thought you had to follow his orders."
"How did you know that?" Alicia asked in astonishment.
"It's all over your face," Beth said softly. "You didn't want to hurt us. So join us."
"I - I have to find my girlfriend," Alicia blurted, looking around. "But… thank you."
"Be careful," Beth said finally, and turned to run again.
They turned the corner, only to find several walkers waiting for them. Beth didn't pause, moving forward as she shot, once, twice, three times…
She advanced down the courtyard, firing again and again as the walkers came closer. She kept firing until the bullets ran out.
Beth dropped her gun and drew her knife. With a cry, she buried the blade in the eye of the closest walker, pushing it backwards. The next one fumbled for her, falling to the ground and grabbing her ankle.
"Beth!" Mika was screaming.
In the moment it took to pull herself free, a walker from behind had knocked Mika to the ground.
Beth kicked it in the face, knocking it away, and leaned down to stab it through the top of its head it before she hauled the younger girl to her feet.
"Thanks," Mika gasped.
Beth looked around and saw walkers approaching them from all sides. There was one perilously close, on their left, and Beth yanked Mika to the right, crying out as she slammed her shoulder against the stone wall.
Her heart pounded as she realized that walkers were coming from three sides, and they were trapped.
No, she didn't want to die like this, Beth thought fervently. She couldn't let Judith and Mika die! She stabbed one walker, only for another to grab her left arm… Beth tried to jerk away, but couldn't…
The walker's head exploded in front of her, spraying her with its blood. Beth gasped and stepped back. There was another shot, and the next-closest walker went down.
Rick Grimes was limping towards them, moving slowly, but firing quickly, stopping the walkers before they could touch them.
Beth grabbed Mika's right hand in her left and pushed to the side with fewer walkers, stepping over the bodies as Rick continued to take them down.
But another hand grabbed her, and this time it took her down. Beth twisted herself to land on her side on top of another corpse, one arm wrapped around Judith so she wouldn't be jarred too badly.
The walker was crawling up to her, trying to bite her ankle, and somewhere along the way she'd dropped her knife.
"Rick!" Beth screamed in terror.
He ran towards her, firing at the two walkers in his way, and finally got a clear shot at the one about to bite her. His gun clicked in his hand, and Rick glanced at it in horror. He'd shot the last round.
Beth screamed as the walker's head lowered to her leg, trying to pull away, but it's teeth were almost on her -
The walker jerked back, and Beth gasped. Mika had grabbed a hold of its leg and was pulling it away from Beth with all her might.
Beth snapped her foot up and away from the dead, grasping hand. She rolled to the side away from it, keeping her arms stiff to make a cradle under Judith, trying not to crush the little one.
Rick descended on the last walker with a roar, falling on top of it and bashing its head in with his gun. Mika flinched and stepped back, dropping the walker's leg.
Beth looked around and saw that they were in the clear for the moment, no more walkers were close by. Mika crashed into her side, hugging her tightly, and Beth pressed a kiss to the top of her head before looking around to find her weapons.
The gunfire was petering out - very few people were still firing, but the prison was almost overrun by walkers at this point. How could they have done this, Beth wondered in dismay - how could anyone have wanted this to happen?
She was glad to find her knife, and then her gun, though she was out of ammo for it. She resheathed it for the moment, wiping her bloodied hands on her pants, and wiped her face with the back of her arm.
"Rick," she called again, and he looked up from pummeling the walker. "We have to go!"
He staggered to his feet and hurried over to her. Beth gasped - he was covered with blood and looked like he'd been badly beaten.
"Are you okay?" Beth gasped.
"We've gotta get out of here," Rick told her, reaching out to stroke Judy's cheek, staring at her wondrously. He left a little blood smear, but Beth just smiled, seeing how much he loved his little girl.
"Thank you." He turned his gaze to Beth. "For Judy…"
"Always," Beth replied simply.
There really weren't words good enough to thank her. Instead, he leaned down and brushed a kiss to her forehead, one arm coming around her for a quick hug.
"Come on," Beth told Mika, reaching out for her hand. "You did good, pulling that walker off me."
"I'm glad you're not bit," Mika said fervently, squeezing Beth's hand tightly.
They made their way further through the courtyard, towards the bus… Or where the bus had been, Beth realized - it had already left.
She glanced at Rick, who looked defeated at the sight of the absent evacuation vehicle. He was limping badly, and Beth reached for him instinctively, wrapping her right arm about his waist.
Rick leaned into her gratefully, his left arm coming to rest on her shoulders.
Together, they all began to walk away from the prison.
"Don't look back," Rick hissed as they passed beyond the fence, though Beth wasn't sure if he was talking to her or to himself.
She didn't, unable to bear the sight of their home completely overwhelmed by fire and walkers.
"We have to find Carl," Rick said roughly. "Did either of you see him?"
"No," Mika said sadly.
"I didn't," Beth said regretfully. "But I'm sure he got out."
"He did," Rick agreed forcefully. He had to believe it. "Carl can take care of himself. He'd go to the nearest town. We just have to meet him there."
"Alright," Beth said, looking down at Judith. She was still crying, but more softly now that they were further away from the noises. Judith had grown so big that Beth usually needed both arms to carry her comfortably. Maggie had found the wrap on a run last month, and Beth was grateful that she'd been able to grab it before they left.
They made their way through the woods. There were a few Walkers, but none were too close. They were all drawn by the sounds from the prison, so thankfully they were able to pass right through.
"Rick, your injuries," Beth began, questioningly. "Who…"
"The Governor," Rick growled.
"Is he - did you…"
"He's dead," Rick said firmly.
Beth let out a harsh breath.
"Good," she said viciously. Rick glanced at her, startled by the tone - he'd never heard Beth sound like that before. If anyone deserved her ire, though, it was the man who'd wrecked their home and tried to murder her father.
"Did you see anyone else get out?" Rick asked her.
"After they went over the fence, I went to find my father," Beth told him. "One of the Governor's men was going to kill him, but I shot first. Daddy was just shot in the arm. I got him to the bus and then went to look for Judy and Mika."
"I'm really glad you did," Mika whispered, squeezing Beth's hand.
"Me too," Beth assured her. "How's your arm feeling?"
"It still stings, but I'm okay," the ten year old said.
"You're strong," Beth told her decisively.
"What happened?"
"Mika got her first scar today, a bullet graze," Beth answered Rick. "And she's being a real trooper about it."
The little blonde smiled shyly at that. They walked in silence for a moment until Mika spoke again.
"I hope Lizzie's okay. And Carol."
Rick flinched bodily, and Beth frowned at the reaction. Did he know something about either of them? But he said nothing, and she didn't press him for information.
"I'm sure they are," Beth said firmly. "We're going to find your sister, and my daddy and Maggie, and all the others." She squeezed Mika's hand gently, and the girl smiled at her hopefully.
They walked in silence for a while, until Rick nearly tripped over a branch.
Beth let out a little cry as she nearly fell as well from trying to keep him from collapsing.
"Sorry," Rick said, embarassed. He wasn't used to having to rely on anyone, and she was already carrying Judith…
"It's okay," Beth said simply. She seemed to mean it - of course she did, he thought, Beth Greene was always honest and generous with everyone.
Today, Rick thought, Beth had proved that she was stronger than anyone had known. She may look small, but she was keeping him on his feet. Beth had helped everyone, fighting bravely, despite her position of vulnerability in the guardtower. She had shot the Governor, perhaps not fatally, but she'd stopped her father's murder. And most importantly, she had saved Judith.
Beth looked up at Rick every so often, gazing over his face - the cuts, his swollen eye and lip, and all the blood streaked everywhere. The Governor had beat him badly… she shuddered involuntarily as she remembered what else that horrible man had nearly done. He'd been trying to kill her father, and if she hadn't been there, that monster might have succeeded. Her father was alive, she was sure of it, but because of the Governor, she had no idea when she'd see him again - or Maggie.
"Where are we going?" Mika asked.
"Franklin is the closest town, we should head there," Rick answered roughly. "The rest of the group should go there too.
But it wasn't certain, Beth sighed inwardly. While they had prepared the prison bus as an emergency evacuation plan, they'd never selected a location to meet up at if they were separated.
Rick hissed in pain as he put too much weight down on his injured leg.
"Maybe we should stop for a while," Beth said, immediately concerned. Rick really couldn't take this pace, slow as it was. He had to rest, and bind up her wounds. He had to know that.
"We can't," Rick bit out. "Have to find Carl."
Or maybe he refused to see it, Beth thought in frustration. But she pushed ahead, steadfastly ignoring the ache growing in her back and shoulders from carrying a baby and trying to support the weight of a grown man.
"You're doing great, Judy," Beth murmured to the baby. Judy looked up at her, looking confused and worn out - of course she didn't know what had happened, but she'd definitely been scared by the loud noises.
It was a relief when they found Highway 34. The road was much smoother than the forest path, and they made quicker time as they advanced towards Franklin.
There was nobody on the first stretch of the highway, not a Walker or another survivor, and Beth breathed a little easier. Still, she couldn't stop thinking about who might have made it. Even though they hadn't been at the bus, she figured that Glenn and Maggie were together somewhere. She was equally sure that Michonne and Daryl had made it - they were survivors. She had hope for Carl too - she had to, for Rick's sake. And where would the bus go? She had hope for Franklin, though the group had mostly picked through the nearby town over the last eight months.
"Beth!" Mika cried softly, dropping her hand to point out a Walker stumbling out of the woods on the north side.
"I got it," Rick growled. He pushed ahead on his own, limping determinedly towards the groaning walker. Rick got close up, and sunk his knife into its face, but it had enough momentum that it knocked into him as it went down, making him fall backwards.
Beth watched in horror as Rick collapsed on the ground, cursing. She hurried to his side, bending her knees to reach down for his hand. Once she'd helped him up, she looked him in the eye and decided to be brutally honest.
"Rick, we need to stop. You need rest."
"We can't," Rick refused, shaking his head. "We have to find Carl."
"Rick Grimes!" Beth cried in exasperation. "You're going to collapse very soon if we don't stop, and I can't protect you, Mika and Judy on my own."
He was stunned by her commanding tone - and then somewhat sheepish. He couldn't sacrifice their safety because of his desire to find Carl. He just had to have faith that his son would be alright for a little longer on his own.
"We can rest for a little, but wherever it is has to be on the highway so we can see anyone coming by."
"Thank you," Beth told him, stroking Judith's hair. Rick's gaze softened at the sight, and Beth fought to hide a smile. Judith was the man's greatest weakness.
"Now, come back here," Beth ordered, and Rick sighed and held up his arm for her to slide under, giving him her support.
Mika giggled quietly, and Beth smiled back at the girl.
It was thankfully only another hundred yards before they found a small residential road leading off the highway.
"This'll work," Rick decided.
The trees were thinned here, and one house was close enough to see over the highway. He figured that this area was so close that they'd already cleared it out at some prior point, but at least it would be a place to stop.
Rick went to the house and climbed the front steps. Peering inside, he rapped his gun against the open door.
"Anybody home?"
Beth and Mika chuckled a little. Rick opened the door and stepped back, nearly toppling backwards down the stairs.
"Mika, please take Judy for a minute," Beth said suddenly. "Rick, come back here. We don't want to shoot and draw more walkers."
Beth plucked the baby out of the sling and handed Judith over to the ten year old, who willingly took her.
Rick nodded and made his way back to them, agreeing with her point. Beth pulled out her knife and walked slowly towards the house.
A single walker stumbled out of the house. It was a barefoot teenage male in jeans and a UGA sweatshirt.
"Beth, you got this?" Rick asked, resting his hand on his own knife.
"Yeah," Beth answered, and went to meet the walker.
Rick watched as Beth pivoted on her left heel, delivering a low roundhouse kick to the back of the walker's left leg with her right foot. It toppled backwards as its weight shifted, and then Beth was on it, slamming the knife down into its face.
She turned back to him with a little grin, and he couldn't help but smile back approvingly. He'd been amazed to find it had been her in the watchtower - Beth had grown to be quite a good shot. But seeing her this skilled at melee combat was admittedly a new thing.
"Where'd you learn to do that?"
"I've seen Maggie do it," Beth replied, before advancing to the door to call out for any more walkers.
"Hello! Pizza delivery!" She joked for Mika's benefit, and felt warmed when Rick joined the ten year old in soft laughter.
"It sounds good," Rick said after a moment. "Let's get in and make sure it's clear."
"You two stay right here until I clear the downstairs," Beth told them, vanishing inside before Rick could say anything.
Rick looked over at Mika in exasperation.
"Beth knows what she's doing," the ten year old told him confidently.
Rick shook his head and leaned against the wall.
"I never thought otherwise. I've never seen her this bossy before."
"Beth's only bossy when it's important," Mika shrugged, adjusting Judith in her arms.
"Thank you," Rick said after a moment, and when Mika looked confused, he clarified. "For taking care of Judy."
"Oh, you're welcome," Mika smiled back shyly. "You should really thank Beth. When that man shot me, I went back inside to hide in Beth's cell."
She sighed, staring at the ground.
"I was so scared, I couldn't move. If Beth hadn't come to find me, I might have stayed there and both of us would've been eaten."
"Hey," Rick frowned. "You did a good job. Don't worry."
"The downstairs is clear!" Beth declared, sticking her head through the doorway. "And I mean real clear, our runners have definitely hit this house before."
Rick nodded, and led the way in, limping over to the couch. At least there was still furniture, even if there weren't supplies. His gaze turned immediately to the windows overlooking the highway, hoping to see Carl walking by at any minute.
Beth went to the door and closed it behind them.
"I'm going upstairs," Beth told them. "If I shout, it means there's trouble and you guys need to get out, okay?"
Mika nodded nervously as she sat down beside Rick, still holding Judith.
"Beth," Rick called as the blonde stepped onto the first stair. She turned questioningly. "Be careful."
She nodded back at him, feeling glad that he trusted her with this - it had been a long time since she'd been asked to do anything more at the prison than look after Judith.
Beth looked carefully as she reached the top of the stairs. There were six doors. She glanced into the one closest to the stairs. It was definitely a teenage boy's room. The walls were covered with posters of Tony Hawk and action movie stars, there was a skateboard by the dresser, and the decor was decidedly gray-green and boyish. Beth checked the closet before moving on.
The next door on the right was the bathroom, easily cleared. On the left she found another bedroom, likely belonging to a girl around her age. The next bedroom had belonged to a younger child, probably around about eight years old, Beth guessed. There was a full linen closet, and finally she entered the last door and found the master bedroom.
Beth breathed in happily at the sight of a small white crib in the parents' room - maybe there were supplies for Judith here!
"It's safe, come on up," she called down to the others. Right after saying it, she realized how hard it would be for Rick to climb on his own, so she went running downstairs.
Rick was already struggling to his feet when she got there. Beth didn't say a word, she simply caught him before he fell back. He wished he could do this on his own, but he had to be honest with himself and admit he couldn't.
Mika led the way up with Judith while Beth and Rick followed slowly behind them.
"Let's go to in the room to the right," Beth directed them. "It's the only one that looks out over the highway."
Beth sat Rick down on the bed beside Mika, then ran off. When she came back, she was wheeling a small white crib with her.
"Judy, you get your own fancy bed!" Beth told the baby as she plucked her from Mika's arms and deposited her in the crib.
Judith blinked up at her and Beth blew her a kiss before turning to Rick, who was wincing with pain, a hand on his left leg.
"Take off your pants." Beth told him absently.
Rick and Mika both stared at her, wide-eyed.
"I - I mean, I need to dress the wound," Beth said, flushing at how that had came out. "Mika, why don't you check out the other girl's room? Maybe you can find a book to read. Call out if you need anything."
Mika looked between them, and hurried out, giggling as she shut the door behind her.
Beth turned on Rick, her hands on her hips as she glared at him.
"Rick Grimes, you were shot. Now take off your damn pants so I can fix you up!"
"Yes, ma'am." Rick chuckled.
She huffed a little at his response. Rick undid his belt and then his pants - and quickly realized that it was a lot harder to get them down than he'd hoped.
When Beth realized he was struggling, she hurried over to him and began to unlace his boots. Rick felt a momentary feeling of embarassment - but Beth was doing it calmly, not looking like she pitied him in the slightest.
When she'd gotten them untied, she carefully set both boots down on the ground by the bed. She tugged at his jeans, and he just got them out from under him. Beth finished pulling them off, then carefully folded them to set beside him.
He was grateful that she was so no-nonsense about it, it kept him from being too embarassed about letting her undress him. Beth had a good bedside manner - much like her father had.
"Oh my god," Beth whispered when she saw the wound.
"It went clean through," Rick told her, and she tried to smile, but it still looked so painful.
"I have gauze," Beth declared, setting down her backpack on the bed. "But I'll need to find something to sterilize it with."
She went to the dresser and found a clean t-shirt.
"Hold this on it until I'm back," Beth ordered.
Rick took the shirt and pressed it down, grimacing at the feeling.
"If you can't find anything, we'll dress it without."
Beth nodded regretfully, and left the room. She checked the bathroom first, and found it utterly empty, except for a few spare washcloths and extra toothbrushes, soap and shampoos. The runners had taken all the medicine and first aid supplies.
Next she checked downstairs, searching every cabinet in the kitchen as well as the pantry. It was completely bare.
Beth bit her lip as she tried to contemplate where else she could find something. Families sometimes kept alcohol in their dining rooms… But there was nothing there either.
"Where would I keep alcohol?" Beth wondered aloud. She'd never had to - she'd never drunk a drop of it in her life, unless you counted Patricia's famous rum cake.
She suddenly remembered the time when she was ten, and she'd found a bottle of wine hidden in Maggie's dresser.
Beth bolted back upstairs. Even before she entered the room, she could hear Judy gurgling contentedly. Beth slowed as she looked in, and smiled at the sight.
Rick had pulled the crib close, and was stroking Judy's hair, watching her with a look that was the closest to contentment that Beth ever saw on him.
Beth walked in quietly, giving him a little wave when he looked up.
"Anything?" Rick asked.
"No, but maybe this boy had some," Beth replied. First she checked the dresser, going through each drawer. When that only unearthed a few erotic magazines tucked under the socks, Beth went to check the bedside table. Finally, she was just left with the closet.
She poked through everything on the hanger, even checking the laundry hamper filled - ick - a teenage boy's old dirty clothes. The last hope was a box of papers on the ground, old school things and such. Beth tugged it out of the closet and starting tossing papers to the side.
About halfway down, she grinned at her find.
"Thank heavens for underage drinking," Beth quipped, as she raised high the thin, oval-shaped bottle.
"Hear hear," Rick laughed, shaking his head.
Beth stood up and brought it over, admiring the label. There was a large pair of wings sketched on the bottle - it was just about the prettiest bottle of alcohol she'd ever seen.
"Angel's Envy." Rick's face had lit up a little.
"It's good?" Beth asked.
"More than."
She collected another t-shirt from the dresser and went to sit by Rick. Beth tried not to wince as she got closer, and had a better look at him. She knew Rick was always so strong for all of them… It just hurt to see him like this. He was covered in his own blood. There was a nasty cut across his nose and a few more on his forehead and temple, a split lip, and his left eye was swollen. The Governor had really gone to town on him. Bruises and scratches covered his bare arms, and she could only imagine what he was hiding underneath his shirt.
Beth poured some of the whiskey on the shirt, and was amused by Rick's groan.
"If there's any left after I treat your wounds, you can have some."
"That's a hard choice," Rick said mischeviously. "Do I want to be real careful not to get an infection, or do I want to save more to drink?"
"The first one," Beth said firmly, rolling her eyes at him. "And I said some, not all of it."
Rick chuckled good-naturedly in reply. Beth scooted closer, looking carefully at the wound. She glanced at his face - Rick had closed his eyes and was breathing deeply, steeling himself for this.
Carefully, she began to dab at his wound. It looked horrid, still leaking blood, and Beth could only imagine how much he'd lost in total - it was streaked all down his leg. She worked as efficiently as she could, while also trying to be gentle. He flinched a few times, but didn't make a sound.
Rick watched as Beth worked her magic. In a different world, it would have been awkward to be in his boxers around the girl, but they'd known each other for too long.
He tried not to think about the pain in his leg, instead closing his eyes and trying to think of better memories.
The image of Beth in the mornings immediately sprang to mind. Rick woke up at six every day, to go work on the farm. Since the day after he'd started this routine, Beth made sure to wake up at the same time, without him ever having to ask.
Rick would bring Judy over to see her, and Beth would beam at him before taking Judith in her arms and giving the little girl a kiss. He trusted her with Judy more than probably anyone else. And he relied on her near every day, letting her take Judith every morning and often into the afternoon.
Whenever he got back from the farms, Beth would be in the cellblock with Judith on her lap, sometimes reading to her, sometimes singing. He'd always pause to watch them for a while, enjoying how peaceful a picture they made, and actually relaxing because of it. When Beth noticed him, she'd always smile brightly at him before handing him his daughter to hold.
Now Beth was doctoring him just as carefully as she always held his baby girl. Rick let his eyes open again, breathing carefully so as not to make her think she was doing badly. He admired the way she worked - her hands were steady, and she never looked away from her task.
"Your father would be proud of you," Rick told Beth as she wrapped the gunshot wound with a white cloth.
"Thank you," Beth said softly, sadness taking over her face. She wished she knew where the bus was, where her father had gone. So much of their family was missing.
"Hey." Rick caught her attention by touching his hand gently to her cheek. She looked up and met his eyes as he stroked her face carefully.
"We're going to make it. Because of you."
"Not just me," Beth told him shyly. "I wouldn't have gotten out of the prison alive without you."
"I can say the same," Rick countered calmly. "Probably would've collapsed halfway here without you helping me."
"No you wouldn't have," Beth said confidently. "You're Rick Grimes. You never give up."
He smiled at her, amazed that she believed in him so much. As she smiled back shyly, he carefully pulled back his hand.
Beth carefully wrapped gauze around his wound.
"Tell me if it's too tight."
"It feels fine," Rick lied. Her doctoring was excellent, but the wound itself still hurt like a son of a bitch.
Beth crawled closer so she could wipe at his face with another whiskey-soaked shirt. Rick hissed as it stung.
"Sorry," Beth whispered, wiping as gently as she could.
"Don't be," Rick told her roughly. He closed his eyes and held still so she could work.
He could feel just how slowly and carefully she was wiping down every cut. She rubbed the cloth carefully over the eye he couldn't fully open - it must be rather blackened, Rick realized. She finished with his lip, wiping the cut gently.
The whiskey burned as it had everywhere, but it was better here. Rick licked his lower lip instinctively, savoring the taste.
Beth stared, her heart speeding up a little at the sight of him licking his lips.
Rick's eyes opened and he looked right at her.
"Thank you, Beth."
She found himself caught by his gaze, unable to look away. He was smiling at her in a way he'd never done before, and she was a little too enchanted by it.
"You're welcome," she said softly. She pulled back from him and climbed off the bed.
"I should go see what I can find around the house. We're going to get hungry soon - and thirsty before that. I have a bottle for Judy in the baby bag if she gets hungry."
"You managed to grab that?" He sounded impressed.
"If I hadn't, we might've made it to the bus," Beth admitted. "I took too much time packing and putting Judy in the baby wrap. The tank brought down the ceiling in C block near the back door, and we had to go out the other way."
Rick's eyes widened a little.
"Maybe your timing saved Judy's life," he said after a moment. "If you hadn't taken what you did, you might have both been crushed."
He meant to reassure her, but imagining that fate for the two of them made him grimace, wishing he hadn't. Beth shuddered at the idea.
"And even if you had made it to the bus, you wouldn't have had these for Judy," Rick continued, going through the baby bag. He sifted through it, smiling at the sight of the cans of formula.
"It's hard to find this," Rick told her seriously. "You did the right thing."
"Thanks," Beth said softly. "I'll go search for more supplies around the house." She grabbed her backpack and headed off.
"Good luck." Rick peered into the crib and smiled at the sight of his little girl blinking up at him sleepily. Maybe she wanted a nap - no wonder, after such an exhausting day.
Beth went to check on Mika first. Mika was curled up on the bed in the teen girl's room reading a book, and looked up as Beth walked in.
"Is everything okay?"
"I took care of his injuries. I think that with a little time to heal, he'll be just fine."
Mika smiled in relief.
"Now I'm just checking the house for anything useful," Beth informed her. "Are you reading something good?"
"It's called Betsy-Tacy," Mika told her. "I'm only on the sixth page."
"Ooh," Beth grinned at her as she searched the room. "I loved that series! I bet you're going to like it. Don't let me distract you."
As quietly as possible, Beth hurried around the room, opening drawers and checking under things. She found some clothes and other typical teenage things, like make up and fashion magazines. The pictures of the girl and her family on the bureau suddenly made Beth's heart feel heavy.
This was a lot like what her room had been like, before. In the struggle to survive, she'd forgotten about all these things, about how she'd once fretted over boys and clothes instead of being solely focused on just staying alive.
Beth opened the closet door and almost giggled at the sight of all the dirty laundry crumpled on the floor. She'd always done that when her mother had asked her to clean up, hiding it from everyone else's eyes, even though it wasn't properly cleaned.
As she sifted through the pile, Beth wondered if maybe in a different life, she could have been friends with the girl who lived here. Maybe they would have met in college and hit it off… But in this world, she never had the chance to meet her - she had just taken her things.
Beth was distracted from her sad musings when she found something underneath the dirty clothes. There was a shallow box that had three containers of red gatorade and two large bars of dark chocolate.
"Mika!" Beth whispered excitedly, getting her attention. She brought the box over, and was treated to an excited squeal.
"Can I have some chocolate?"
"I'll leave one of these bars in your hands," Beth told her. "As long as you promise not to eat too much at one time."
"I promise," Mika swore, practically bouncing on the bed in excitement.
Beth handed over the chocolate and a bottle of gatorade.
"We got lucky," Beth smiled. "Red's the best kind."
She left Mika to her treats and went back to Rick. He looked up from Judy and smiled at her. She didn't know how he could smile when he was in such pain, but she was glad of it.
"That's a good find." Rick said, seeing the drinks and food in her hands.
"Help yourself," Beth urged, passing him a gatorade. "I love this stuff."
She opened one bottle for herself, and took a large gulp to sate her thirst before she continued with a few smaller sips. It tasted nice and sweet, as it always had. It was nice to find something familiar like this.
"I never liked this stuff," Rick admitted. "But now - it's not so bad." He'd already drained half the bottle.
"Do you think Judith would be able to drink it?" Beth wondered.
"In a pinch," Rick replied, frowning.
"I just mean, if we can't find clean water to mix with formula," Beth said, revealing one of her fears. "Someone's mostly cleared this house already. But maybe I can find baby food, or at least something I can mash for her, like the peas and carrots she's been eating for the last couple months."
Rick's brow furrowed, suddenly worried about what they might find that his eight month old daughter could eat.
"That worked when we had a garden. I don't know if we'll be lucky enough to find things like that."
"I'll find something," Beth said firmly. "Eat some of the chocolate, Rick."
Beth searched every crevice of the house, from top to bottom, and concluded that she'd gotten lucky in the teenager's rooms. There was nothing much else of use left in the house, besides some extra blankets and plenty of clothing.
"We've definitely cleared this house before," Beth reported as she returned to him. "I'm going to have to look somewhere else."
Rick sat up, frowning.
"Beth, I don't like the idea of you going out on your own…"
"You stay right there," Beth told him with a pointed wave of her finger. "As long as you're healing, your job is to stay here and protect Judy and Mika. My job is to find us food. Judy will need something soon."
"Alright," Rick agreed. She had a point, but he hated the idea of sending her out on her own. The walkers from the prison could be migrating this way any time now.
"Don't go far, and take my gun."
"No," Beth said, stepping back as he tried to hand it to her. "What if you need to defend yourself?"
"What if you need it?" Rick asked exasperatedly.
"Judy is the most important thing," Beth said passionately. "You keep her safe, and I'll keep her fed. I've got my knife, I can defend myself."
"Alright," Rick said after a minute. "Don't go far, and Beth, you promise me you'll run away if there's more than one walker out there."
She blinked at him a few times.
"I will," she lied, trying to keep her voice light.
"Oh no," Rick said, pointing at her. "I've got a thirteen year old son. I know how this works. You have to say you promise."
Beth sighed, looking at him, then at Judy.
"I promise I'll run," she said, twisting her fingers together behind her thigh.
But it was apparently enough for Rick, who breathed out in relief.
"Anything I should be looking for besides food and water?"
"More formula if you can find it," Rick said immediately. "Baby food, ammo, guns… Maybe some stuff to make a sign. You can put it up by the highway, so if Carl or the others come by, they can find us."
"Alright," Beth said, nodding quickly. "I'll be back before you know it."
She waved to him, a little smile on her lips, and Rick tried to smile back, but he was worried.
"Be safe."
"Yes, Mr. Grimes," Beth sing-songed back at him, and left to find supplies.
"Hi?"
Rick looked up at the doorway, and smiled at Mika.
"Hey, Mika."
"Can I sit with you?" The ten year old asked shyly.
"Of course," Rick said automatically.
Mika climbed up on the bed.
"I'm reading this book," she told him, displaying the cover for him. "Do you want to hear?"
"Sure," Rick said after a moment.
Mika began to read to him, and he turned his head to look out the window. She wasn't a half-bad storyteller, he realized, but his mind was too distracted. Now he wasn't just worried about Carl, he was also worried about Beth, and hoping to God that she would make it back.
Rick honestly didn't know how he'd make it without her help, how he could care for Judy and Mika without her. He'd been relying on her to basically be Beth's nanny since day one - and he hated to admit it, but he probably didn't know half the things Beth did about his own daughter.
Darkness overwhelmed his vision before he knew what was happening.
"Rick? Rick?" Beth shook him again, but he wasn't waking up. "Come on, please!"
She felt his pulse, still beating, Beth thought with relief… But why wouldn't he wake up? Had he lost too much blood and passed out? Were there internal injuries that were going to kill him?
"Is he going to die?" Mika asked softly.
No, Beth wanted to say, but she bit her lip. She didn't want to make a false promise.
"We just have to give him time to sleep it off," Beth told Mika. "Are you hungry?" She went to pick up Judy, who was whimpering.
"Yeah," Mika said, distracted for the moment. "What did you find?"
"Oh, just lots of stuff," Beth winked at her. She settled onto the bed beside Rick, with Judith in her lap. Mika joined her, peeking into the box of food Beth had set down.
Beth had cleared the house next door, and fortunately she only encountered two walkers in the yard. She'd taken them out with her knife, and searched until she got lucky.
The house had been raided before, and the pantry had seemed empty. But when she'd searched the darkened corners, she'd discovered a box shoved under the stairs, nearly hidden, which was filled with canned tuna, beans, tomatoes, peaches, and sweet peas, and two boxes of probably stale crackers.
Right next to the box had been a twenty four pack of half-litre water bottles. When she'd found them, she'd had to reach out and touch them to make sure they were real. When she realized that they were, Beth had closed her eyes and known that God was watching over them.
"Church Food Drive," Mika read from the side of the box. "What's that?"
"Sometimes a congregation would get together to donate things they can spare to poor or homeless people," Beth explained. "A food drive asks just for items of food, and drink."
Mika took out a can of tomatoes and smiled.
"I love tomatoes. I'm glad they didn't give this to the church. Then we wouldn't have found it."
"Me too," Beth agreed. While Mika was checking through the food, Beth checked Rick's pulse again. It was still there, but it seemed weaker than it should be.
Beth wished she knew what else she could do for him, but maybe he just needed to sleep and heal. She tried instead to focus on the girls. She picked out a can of peas, deciding that she could mush some up and feed them to Judith for her supper.
"It's not as fresh as the stuff your daddy grew for you," Beth told Judith, who was looking up at her with wide eyes. She opened the can of peas with a can opener she'd found - food was looted quickly, but nearly every home still had utensils and kitchen implements still around.
Beth took a moment to squish the peas a little more with the spoon.
"Did you decide what you want?"
"Tuna and crackers," Mika decided. She was able to open the small can herself, and began to spoon it out with the saltines.
"Here comes the airplane!" Beth said cheerily, swooping a spoonful of peas in front of Judith's face.
Judith smiled at the familiar phrase, and opened her mouth to be fed.
"Ahh," Beth murmured, beaming at Judith, as the airplane 'landed' in her mouth.
"This is yummy," Mika spoke up as she tried to scrape the last of the tuna out with a cracker. "Thanks for dinner."
Beth smiled at her, leaning over to press a kiss to the girl's hair.
"You're very welcome. If you're done, you can keep reading."
Mika nodded and pulled out her book, lying back on the pillow next to Rick.
Beth continued to feed Judith mushed peas until she recognized the signs of the baby being full.
"You're such a sweet girl," Beth told the baby, and laid her back on the bed. She moved over and took Rick's wrist, relieved that the pulse was still there.
Beth stayed there for a while longer, watching the girls and then out the window. She fed Judith half of the bottle, then ate her own dinner, half a can of black beans, while amusing the baby.
It was growing dark, and Beth found herself wishing intently that someone would come by already. This was the way to the closest town, so wouldn't the others have come here?
Beth knew that there were dozens of directions the survivors could have gone in. They could be taking the highway to Franklin like them, but if they were on foot, they might be traveling through the woods instead. Or maybe they'd follow the Chattahoochee River north… Or the bus could take the highway northeast to Newnan.
Judith's whimpering distracted her from her worries, as it often did. Beth picked her up to burp her over her shoulder.
She eyed Rick, forcing herself to listen that horrid little voice of sensibility in her head and said that he might die. It was a shocking idea, Rick Grimes dead. He'd always been such a pillar of strength, saving them from the farm and from their own follies, teaching her how to put down walkers… He'd been a good leader, although he was certainly human. Beth knew how Lori's death had affected him - he'd been half mad for a while, but he'd come back from it, proving himself strong enough to get through it. Even when they'd had the council, Beth had always felt comfortable going to him when she needed something, always trusted him more than almost anybody, along with Maggie and Daddy.
If Rick died, it would just be her, Mika and Judith. Her heart thudded worriedly at the thought. She loved Judith like her own daughter, and she'd die for either of the girls in a second, but how could she care for them, and kill walkers, and find them food and shelter?
Judith needed her father, Beth thought grimly, and she needed Rick too. More than that, she would miss him terribly. She was so used to him being there to look out for them, smiling at her when he found her singing to Judy, and kissing the top of her head every evening when she returned Judy to him. Rick Grimes was a constant in her life, one she desperately didn't want to lose.
Whenever she was worried, he'd meet her eyes, put a hand on her shoulder and assure her that all would be well - he would make sure of it. When he'd brought her and Judith to be quarantined, she hadn't had to tell him she was scared - he'd just wrapped her in his arms and held her until she could breathe steadily again, feeling safe and protected, trusting him to be come for them.
Rick always looked out for her. Now it was her turn to look after him.
"Please wake up, Rick." Beth told him softly. "Mika, honey, it's time for bed."
"Alright," Mika agreed. "It's getting harder to read now, anyway."
Beth walked Mika to the girl's room and took the time to tuck her under the covers.
"I want you to push this dresser against the door," Beth told the girl, and Mika nodded in understanding.
"So walkers won't get in."
"Just in case," Beth assured her.
Mika hurried over to her, and hugged her around the waist. Beth shifted Judith to one hip and hugged the girl back thoroughly.
"You get some sleep, now."
In the hall, Beth waited to hear the sounds of Mika pushing the dresser against the door.
"Good night," she called softly, and heard Mika answering the same back.
Beth took Judy back to Rick's room and set her in the crib. Sitting on the bed, she tried to wake him once again, to no avail.
He just lay there, his breathing slow and labored, his eyes still closed. Beth studied his injuries - his face looked a bit better than it had earlier, but what if he did have internal injuries, or something on his chest? She had to find out.
Beth reached out carefully, and began to unbutton his shirt. She winced at the sight of another slash across his chest - and several older scars. She wondered what they were all from.
She hissed as the sight of the bruising, which stretched across his right side, going across his belly. It looked bad, and she could only hope that he didn't have any internal injuries - she didn't know she could help him if he did.
Glancing up at his face, Beth lightly traced her fingertips over the older scars on his chest and shoulder. The gunshot was likely the one Carl had told her Rick had sustained before the world ended. And this one had to be where that crazy man, Rick's former friend, had stabbed him.
She marveled for a moment at how many injuries he'd suffered by defending other people. He was scarred from all the battles, but he'd pulled through every time so far. He just had to pull through this time too.
Beth drew her hand back quickly as she realized she been touching him for a little too long. She cleaned the cut he had with a whiskey-soaked cloth, and even rolled him to his side a bit to look at his back - thankfully there were no more wounds there.
She grabbed one of her finds from the run, a small box of assorted bandaids. It was nearly empty, with only four remaining - two were flesh colored, while two were meant for kids - one had a little Elmo, the other a little Cookie Monster, which grinned up at her.
Beth giggled at the images. The fun bandaids were meant for a kid like Mika or Judith. Considering his wounds, she put the two regular bandaids on his forehead and across his nose. She considered his other injuries, and decided to put Cookie Monster on the biggest cut on his right arm. She saved the last one for when she changed Mika's bandage in the morning.
When she pulled back and set the supplies on the table, Beth realized that Rick was now practically naked, except for his boxers and socks. Blushing, Beth pulled the covers out from under him, and tucked him in properly. Now he looked more like he was just sleeping.
She didn't know what else she could do for him at the moment. And if he did die… They should be in another room when night fell.
Looking back at him sadly, Beth began to carry things over to the master bedroom, and wheeled over the crib with a sleeping Judith in it. She left Rick his bottle of gatorade, and after a moment's hesitation, left him his gun as well.
Finally, she closed the door and pushed a small bookshelf from the hallway to the top of the stairs. If a Walker did come in, she would hear them knocking that over to get by.
In the master bedroom, Beth closed the door and did a quick inventory of the remaining supplies. One bar of chocolate, five cans of beans, four cans of tuna, four and a half cans of peas, five cans of tomatoes, one and most of a second box of crackers. And twenty-four bottles of water.
What was there to do now, Beth fretted? She didn't think she could sleep - she could still feel nervous energy flowing through her.
Beth eyed the bottle of whiskey. She'd never tried any before. But she shouldn't, not when she had to look after all of them. She tucked it back in the box with the food, and looked around.
She approached the vanity and examined the various beauty products. She remembered the first time Maggie had shown her how to apply makeup, how Beth had insisted on only a light blue makeup to be proper, even when her sister had wanted to give her cat eyes with liquid eyeliner.
Beth bit her lip and glanced in the full length mirror. She looked ragged, and there was blood on her arms and face… She wanted to be clean again. She had to do something, or she'd start thinking about…
She walked to the bathroom and began to strip down. She looked fairly horrible all over, streaked with dirt and blood, and on top of that, she was far too skinny. Her breasts had never been large, but they were certainly fuller before the apocalypse. They were tiny handfuls now, and her hips were bony like never before.
She pulled the drain up, and tried for water. There was a little remaining in the pipes, and it flowed into the sink. Beth smiled - it wasn't good for drinking, but it was good enough for washing. Beth wet a washcloth and dabbed soap on it.
First, she scrubbed her face, then moved on to the rest of her body. It hurt to wash her shoulder and her back, and she knew that she must have bruises from the rifle kickback and whatever bit of the tower that had fallen on her, though she couldn't see them in the light. When she finally felt clean, free of blood and dirt, she sighed in relief. In the moonlight she saw that she was pink and almost shiny.
Glancing into the hall, Beth grabbed her things and darted across to her room again, sliding the door shut behind her. She dropped the dirty clothes and went over to the vanity, sitting on the chair naked. Her next step was to take up the bristle brush and begin brushing her hair. She stared at herself in the mirror, continuing until she could run the brush through all of it without it snagging on everything.
Beth braided her hair carefully and tied it off with a small black hairband that she kept around her left wrist. Then she began to go through the drawers.
There was a pair of silky pajamas in the top drawer. She touched them, enjoying the soft feeling, but quickly stopped herself. If a walker or something worse came by, she'd have to be ready to fight them.
First she picked out a pair of clean purple panties. It felt a little weird wearing another woman's underwear, but she'd much rather be wearing something clean than reusing her old pair. They fit nicely, and Beth thought that it actually looked rather pretty. The woman's bras were a little too big, but she found a couple sports bras that would fit. Beth pulled a light purple one over her head, and felt pleased that for the first time in a while, her underthings were matching.
Beth checked the other drawers for proper clothing. The jeans were too big around her hips, but one pair of dark blue leggings was comfy and fit her well. She pawed through the shirts until she found a nice set - a soft cotton t-shirt in a faded dark red, and a blue and red plaid overshirt.
She put on her ensemble, keeping the overshirt unbuttoned. She rolled it up to her sleeves, and did a little spin in the mirror. She looked reasonably clean and pretty now, and felt a little more satisfied.
Beth went over to look at Judith. The baby was still sleeping. Beth blew the girl a kiss before climbing into bed. She made sure that her knife was on the table right beside her, and so was her pistol, even though it was out of ammo. An empty gun still had its uses - she could bludgeon a walker, or frighten an intruder away.
She lay under the covers for a while, looking up at the ceiling. She was alive, and she had Judy, and she still prayed Rick would stay with them… But so much had happened today. She didn't know when she'd see her family again, her father and Maggie, Carol and the other children, Carl, Daryl…
"No crying," Beth said fiercely. She tried to blank out her mind, blinking furiously.
It took a while, but finally, sleep found her.