Written for a prompt received on tumblr. Takes place 3ish years after the start of the ZA.
drabble? The farm never got overrun, Dale never died, Michonne wandered onto the farm and never left. Gleggie goes through their first pregnancy and year of parenthood surrounded by family and friends, safely on the farm with food (lots of cattle and chickens), shelter and water.
The first time she noticed something was off, she was spending time with her horse in the stable. It was a cool morning, in what must have been the beginning of fall, and she was saddling up her horse to take him on a morning run. Just as she went to hoist herself into the saddle, a wave of nausea hit her so hard that she almost toppled backwards off her horse. It was gone as soon as it hit, and she shrugged it off before leading her horse out of the stable.
The next time she noticed it, she was helping prepare dinner with Patricia, Beth and Andrea. The smell of the cooking venison wafted to her nose, and the next thing she knew, she was bending over the sink, gagging. Andrea and Patricia rushed to her and tried to sooth her, while Beth ran to find Hershel. She had tried to brush them off, but she could hardly speak, she was gagging so hard. Hershel deemed her sick, and sent her to her bedroom (her and Glenn's bedroom, since they had gotten married a few years ago) to rest. She had curled up on Glenn's side of the bed, trying to control her nausea, but the smell of cooking meat had already drifted upstairs. She buried her head under Glenn's pillow and tried to sleep.
Later that night, she passed on the venison, but loaded her plate with vegetables. Hershel had gotten rid of the kids table a few years ago and allowed her, Glenn, Carl, Beth and Jimmy to join the grown ups at the dining room table. But for once, she was wishing they were back at the kid's table, because she wanted to escape the looks Dale was sending her. When he casually comments that it isn't like her to pass up on fresh venison, she shrugs and replies that she's just not in the mood. She doesn't bother to try to decipher the look he gives her.
Her husband had taken one look at her plate, determined that she needed to eat more, and scraped the rest of his meat onto her plate. When Dale commented on how green she looked, it took all her self-control to not throw up on him, then and there.
A few days later, she is sitting on the porch steps, waiting for Glenn to return from a run. She had wanted to go with him, but Hershel had refused, telling her she still looked pale and needed to rest. She rests her head against the banister and watches Rick and Michonne walk with Judith in-between them. She's glad Rick was able to find love. After Lori's death from the birth of Judith, she had been worried. He had become so shut off and cold to all of them. He just stalked around the farm, kicking anything that got in his way. It wasn't until months after Michonne showed up that he began to get back to his old self. The woman brought something out of him, and she was glad that he had found her. She waved at the three as Judith toddled past, clearly enjoying her new mobile skills.
She looks down the driveway. Waiting on Glenn was killing her. As time went on, they had to expand their supply runs further out each time. She knew Glenn and Daryl were going a few hours away, and they weren't expected to be back until late tonight, but that won't stop her from waiting for her husband. The ring on her finger catches the sun, and she stops to admire it. She's so lost in thought that she doesn't notice Andrea and Patricia sitting down next to her. She startles when they speak. She can tell they're up to something by the way they glance at each other and begin to ask how she's feeling. While she's glad that her other mother figure had found a best friend in Andrea, she didn't like the way they were starting to gang up on her.
"I told ya'll, I'm fine. I must've just caught a bug or something." Patricia and Andrea exchange a glance.
"Sweetheart, who would you have caught one from? No one here is sick, except you." Patricia pushes some of her hair out of her eyes. She had always hated when she would wear it in her face, claimed it was a sign of disrespect when she allowed it to cover her eyes.
She pushes Patricia's hand away. Again, Andrea and Patricia shoot a glance at each other.
"What?" She's starting to get irritated now.
Cutting straight to the chase, Andrea blurts out, "Are you pregnant?"
She finds herself lost for words. She snorts and then rubs her hands over her face. She's tempted to tell them to shove off, but she has too much respect for the older women. Instead she questions them, asking them why the hell they would think that.
"You're throwing up and nauseous, you're pale, and you're avoiding meat like the plague, when just a month ago, you were the first one to dive in to a plate of fresh venison. And you and Glenn aren't exactly quiet or subtle in your, um, nightly activities."
She rolls her eyes, "You guys are being ridiculous. I just had my period about-" but she cuts off. When was her last period?
It suddenly dawns on her. She feels panic hit her like a ton of bricks. Her hands fly to her stomach and she starts to cry.
"No, no, no, no, no. I can't be." Patricia wraps her in her arms and pulls her into her lap, just like she did when she was little. She rocks her while she continues to sob. Images of Lori, lying dead on the ground fill her head. She cries harder. She begs them to help her, to tell her it's not true, but they don't say a word.
"You have to tell your father."
It's the first words spoken in hours. Patricia and Andrea had led her into the old barn, up into the hayloft, so they could get some privacy. She fiddles with a piece of straw.
"It's the only way to know for sure, dear."
"I want to talk to Glenn first."
"Shouldn't you know first, though? Before you tell him?"
She shakes her head. Glenn is her very best friend. They'll do this together.
She sits in the living room later that night. Her family is scattered about the house. Beth, Jimmy, Carl, and Michonne are in the dining room, playing a board game while the rest of her family are in the sitting room. The sun has long since set, but no one will go to bed until they know Daryl and Glenn are safely home. Her dad sits next to her on the couch, and she rests her head on his shoulder. He pecks her forehead, and talks to Rick and Carol about food rationing for the winter. The sound of his voice quickly lulls her to sleep, just like it had when she was a little girl.
She's awoken sometime later to the feel of fingers gently stroking her face. She can feel her dad's shoulder still under her head and then she hears her name quietly whispered. The voice of her husband pulls her from her dreams immediately and she launches herself into his arms.
"You're safe." She whispers. She buries her face in his neck and sighs in happiness. She loves being in his arms, snuggled up against his chest. He gives her a kiss before pulling away. That's when she notices all the supplies in the room and she kisses him again in congratulations for a successful run.
Later that night, when her and Glenn are naked and sweaty in bed, she tells him. He seems shocked at first, but then his face lights up.
"Are you sure?"
She shakes her head, "No. Daddy could probably confirm it, but I wanted you to know first."
He jumps out of bed and begins to hastily get dressed.
"What're you doing?" He throws her clothes at her.
"Come on, we gotta see your dad."
He literally drags her down the hallway to her father's room. He ignores all protests she gives about it being the middle of the night and he knocks on Hershel's door, all the while dragging her in by her hand.
Hershel seems annoyed at first, but once Glenn explains what they think, he smiles.
"Well I'll be. Been wondering when this was going to happen." She rolls her eyes.
No one seems to care that it's the middle of the night anymore. Hershel goes down stairs and gets his medical kit, then has her lay down on his bed. She tries to ignore the awkwardness of her father giving her an exam and instead focuses on Glenn. He lies next to her and holds her hand, placing kisses all along her cheek and jaw. She smiles at him.
She watches as her father shines a flashlight on her, and then flips through a book. He nods, then slams the book shut. He presses around on her abdomen for a few minutes.
"I can't say for 100% certainty, but I'm more than 95% sure that I'll be having my first grandchild in about 7 or 8 months." Her dad helps her sit up and pulls her into his arms. He also grabs Glenn and pulls him tight to him.
"I love you, honey. I love both of you."
When they tell the rest of the family a few weeks later, it turns in to a big celebration. T-dog brings some whiskey out and the men venture to the porch for celebratory cigars. She doesn't miss the way Dale wraps Glenn in a tight hug. The man has truly become a father to her husband.
The women sit in the living room. Carol and Michonne spout baby advice, while Andrea and Patricia begin to talk names and gender. Beth rests her hand on her belly, already talking to her niece or nephew.
"I think it's a boy." She says. When asked why, she shrugs.
"I just think it is. Motherly instinct, I guess. But I'm sure part of it is just that I want a little Glenn more than anything."
She touches her still flat stomach and smiles at the thought of a little boy identical to Glenn, running around the farm.
The idea of pregnancy was truly finalized in her mind when she was about 3 months along. It was a cold morning in what had to have been December. Glenn had gotten up an hour earlier, as it was his turn to split wood for the fire that was constantly burning in the living room fireplace. She rolled out of bed, already dreading having to leave her warm bed, and grabbed a pair of jeans to shrug on. She got really irritated when they wouldn't button and she stormed into Beth's room (Beth never paid attention and always ended up sticking her jeans in her and Glenn's closet, instead of her own) and tossed them in her face.
"You gave me your jeans again, instead of mine." She begins to root through Beth's closet, looking for her jeans.
Beth begins to apologize, then bursts out laughing when she checks the tag.
"Maggie, these are yours."
She begins to argue with her, saying there is no way they're hers, as they won't button, when Beth shoves the tag in her face. Sure enough, the jeans belong to her.
"You're getting a belly." Beth says. She places her hands on her stomach and begins to talk to her nephew (Beth was adamant that it was a boy, just like her). Maggie touches her stomach, tears in her eyes, as she too begins to talk to her baby.
When Hershel and Patricia walk in a few minutes later, they are taken aback at the site of Maggie in just a sweater and underwear, with Beth on her knees, face pressed against the barely visible baby bump. When they explained what happened, Hershel and Patricia pulled them in to a hug and take turns placing their hands on her stomach and whispering to the newest member of their family. Patricia even helped her modify her jeans with a hair tie to make them fit, if only for a moment.
At 5 months pregnant, she became moody as hell. The cold weather had forced her family to stay inside most days and the cabin fever was catching up to her. She changed between moods in the blink of an eye. One day, she sobbed over the deer that Daryl had killed and then 5 minutes later, she was helping to butcher it. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn't control it. It was like the tiny being inside of her was forcing her to feel all these emotions at once. Her family had taken to walking on eggshells around her, as no one knew what type of mood she was going to be in.
No one was more scared of her, however, than her own husband. The poor guy couldn't seem to do anything right. She wishes she could ease up on him, but then she would see him, all fit and non-bloated and nowhere near as uncomfortable as she was and her blood would boil.
But more often than not, her blood boiled for a different reason. She would watch him as he worked, chopping wood, helping with the horses, or hell, even just reading a book, and she would feel a fire starting to build in her. Her skin would tingle and she would have to grip on to whatever she was holding. The fire would build and build, until she was forced to grab him and drag him away to have him extinguish it. She would search for him multiple times through out the day just to drag him upstairs to help her satisfy the craving. She also woke him up at night. At first, he loved it, but after a few weeks of it, she could tell she was exhausting him. At one point, she overheard him talking to Dale.
"It was great at first, but I can't take it anymore. I can't do anything without her jumping me. I can't eat, I'm barely sleeping. I can't even go to the restroom anymore!"
She heard Dale whisper some words of encouragement to him, telling him to enjoy it.
"Trust me, son. Soon enough she won't even want you to touch her."
She laughed, like that would ever happen.
It happened. The cold season dissipated and gave way immediately to boiling hot weather. It's as if spring was completely skipped over and summer had hit full force, even though it was only April. Her pregnant belly had become so large that she could no longer walk, and was forced to waddle around the farm.
Glenn had earned himself a week on the couch when he had burst out laughing at her when he saw her waddle down to the duck coop to feed the ducks. He had made a joke (that left the men face palming and the woman groaning at his stupidity), to which she had cracked another egg over his head and then waddled off to spend time with her horse. It took him a full week of groveling to worm his way back into her bed.
As the days went on, the weather grew hotter and hotter and her belly continued to grow larger and larger. She even began to worry that her stomach would split open, but when she voiced this concern to Carol, she just laughed at her and rubbed her belly. She began to hate being around this many people. Everyone would touch her belly as she walked by them. She no longer had any privacy, as everyone would eye her suspiciously, as if they expected her to drop the baby then and there.
She was sick of Glenn hovering over her. He followed her around the farm like a lost puppy, constantly asking her if she felt okay. To make matters worse, he began to put others up to the task of following her. There were so many times through out the day that she would glance over her shoulder to see her father, Beth, Dale and even Daryl lingering a couple yards behind her, trying not to look too obvious.
She had taken to hiding in her horse's stall, just to get some alone time. As of late, her horse had been better company than her family. At least he didn't hover over her or constantly ask her how she felt. His silent companionship relaxed her and her baby. Her horse would put his nose up against her belly and nudge it, and in return, her child would kick and move about. It always made her grin. Already, the little one shares her love of horses.
She was spending the afternoon with her horse, one warm day in May, while waiting for Glenn to get home from his run. He had headed out early this morning with Michonne, Rick and Daryl, searching for some supplies and more baby gear.
She smiles when she hears tires pull up the driveway and she waddles out of the stable. As she heads up to the house, she sees Rick, Michonne and Daryl talking to the group. Dale has his head in his hands and her father looks close to tears.
"Where's Glenn?" She asks when she gets closer to them. Michonne, Rick and Daryl exchange glances before Michonne approaches her. She places her hand on her shoulder and speaks to her in a tone that one would use when approaching a wounded animal.
She begins to explain what happened. The four of them had been scavenging through a town when a herd had trapped them in a building. There seemed to be no way out. Glenn volunteered to sneak out the side door, head down the road and light an old building on fire to distract the walkers.
"The fire never got lit. But over half the herd was gone. We were able to get out, but we couldn't go look for him. If he's out there, he'll find a way to let us know."
She can feel the world around her spinning. She gasps for air. She feels like everything is shattering around her. Patricia and her dad each grab one of her arms and lead her into the house. As soon as she sits down, she feels her chest tighten. She can't breath. She hears her dad whispering to her to calm down and take deep breaths. Patricia tells her the stress isn't good for the baby, but all she can think about is her husband.
"He's not dead." She gasps out. She sees Rick and Daryl exchange a skeptic glance.
"Maggie, that herd was huge. We just don't see how he could've gotten out of there."
"You're wrong! He's out there, and we have to find him."
She attempts to get up from the couch, but her pregnant belly prevents her from doing so.
"Maggie, you can't even get up from the couch. How're you supposed to make it out there? If he's out there, he will come home. You have to trust him." Dale says as he places his hand on her shoulder. She brushes him off, rolls off the couch and storms out the front door.
She spends the next two days sitting on the front porch. She refuses to leave. Beth even brings out blankets and spends the night with her, not wanting her to be alone on the porch all night.
By sunset on the 3rd day, she could feel her hope fading. Her baby kicks softly, and she wraps her arms around her belly and speaks to her little one, her last remaining part of Glenn. Just as she goes to stand and finally go inside, she hears T-dog from the top of the RV.
"We got a walker! Coming down the drive."
Rick yells up to him, asking how many. When T-dog responds it's just one, Rick tells him not to shoot. He nods to Daryl and Andrea, who begin to follow him down the driveway, weapons in hand. She stares down the driveway. The walker had just come in to view. It was moving at a slow pace, dragging its left foot behind it.
She stares harder.
"Oh my god." She starts down the stairs and heads across the lawn as fast as she can. Beth, Hershel and Patricia follow her, begging her to stop.
She sees Daryl, Rick and Andrea falter.
"Is that Glenn?" She hears Andrea whisper. She approaches the three and then pushes past them.
"Maggie, no!" Rick tries to grab her, but she shrugs out of his grasp. When she gets a look at the walkers face, she instantly launches herself towards it. She sobs.
Glenn collapses in her embrace, "Maggie."
He repeats her name, over and over and over again. All he is capable of saying is her name. She pulls back and begins to wipe his blood stained face with her shirt.
"Hi." She whispers.
"Hi."
She crushes her lips to his, not caring in the slightest that her father was watching.
Glenn was laid up for a week with a severely sprain ankle, but she couldn't complain, because he had come home. However he hadn't come home alone.
Tara became the newest member of their family. While the two wouldn't talk about how or why they met, everyone could tell they went through something serious. While Glenn was on bed rest, Tara wandered the farm aimlessly. Once he was free to move about the farm, she remained glued to his side. When Glenn officially introduced the two, Tara gave her a smile.
"He's a big fan of yours."
When Glenn announced that he wouldn't be here without her, Maggie wrapped her in her arms and hugged her close. Her belly prevented her from hugging her as tightly as she wanted, but she was sure Tara got her gratitude.
As the month went on, Tara became one of her closest friends. They spent the day together, talking about anything and everything. By this point, Maggie was due any day now. Tara would help her walk around the farm, as she claimed exercise had jump-started her sister's labor.
Everyone was giving her advice at this point. Carol suggested spicy food, then cooked up a dinner full of Mexican spices. All that did was give her major heartburn, which kept her up for the whole night.
Michonne suggested castor oil, but all that did was leave her with an awful taste in her mouth. The baby gave her a strong kick to her kidney, telling her that the oil was not well received.
Much to her embarrassment, Patricia brought up sex, saying that it was a well-known fact that a good romp in the hay could get any labor started. The group laughed while Glenn's face turned bright red, getting even redder when she states she'll try anything at this point. She then grabbed him by the hand and drug him upstairs to their bedroom, while their family catcalled them from down below.
This baby was stubborn. After days of walking, spicy food and sex, there was still nothing. She waddled around the kitchen, venting to her father.
"This baby is being so stubborn! I just want him out. I'm sick of being pregnant."
Her father chuckles and places a kiss on her forehead, "That little one will be here when he's good and ready. It's your job just to be patient and welcome him when he decides to get here."
"Well, he needs to hurry his little ass up."
Hershel smiles, and then scolds her for her language. She rolls her eyes and heads outside. She adjusts her skirt (the only item of clothing that still fits) and leans against the porch railing and watches her family. A storm had knocked a tree down by the end of the driveway, and the group was spending the morning chopping it up for firewood for the winter.
She smiles as Glenn drives a wagon hitched up to two of their draft horses. The wagon was full of split wood, with T-dog, Carl and Dale in the back. She watches as Glenn easily maneuvers the horses up to the wood shed.
When he had first arrived, Glenn had been skittish around the horses. Watching him now, it was as if he had been raised on a farm. He jumps off the wagon and walks around to stroke the horses and she can't help but notice how sexy he is.
She watches his muscles, his broad chest and shoulders, as he begins to stack wood into the shed. He lifts his shirt up to wipe the sweat off of his face and she shudders as her husband's abdomen is exposed.
When she can't take it any longer, she calls out to him.
He jogs up to the porch, jumps up onto the banister and places a kiss on her lips. When he asks her what she needs, she shrugs and busies herself by playing with the hem of his shirt.
"What?" He asks again. She shots him a sly grin and reaches down and begins to rub him through his jeans. He glances around, ignores the look Dale gives him, and then pulls her inside the house.
They spend the next few hours together, locked away in their bedroom.
At dinner, the group gives Glenn a hard time for skipping out on the work. He shuts them up by saying that at least he can get laid on a regular basis. Maggie smacks him on the shoulder.
She goes to reach for the bowl of green beans when a contraction pulls her back into her seat. She gasps and clutches her belly. Everyone starts to fuss over her but she shrugs them off.
"I think it was just a Braxton Hick. I'm fine, really."
A few hours later, the contractions still haven't stopped. She sits in the living room with her family, breathing through the contractions. Her family is playing a game of cards when her dad sits next to her. He places a cool cloth on the back of her neck.
"Still haven't stopped, honey?" She shakes her head.
"I think they're getting stronger."
"This might be the real thing, Maggie. Come with me, I'll give you an exam."
Glenn puts his cards down and helps her to stand. As they get her to her feet, she feels a warm liquid trickle down her legs.
"Daddy, I think my water just broke." Hershel lifts the hem of her skirt up and looks at the clear fluid gathered at her feet.
"Yes, dear. That's what that looks like. Come now, let's get you upstairs." Her family sends her well wishes as her Dad and Glenn help her up the stairs, Beth and Patricia trailing behind them.
12 hours later, she lay in bed, clutching tightly to Glenn's arm. The contractions are intensifying. As Patricia lays a cool cloth on her head, she moans in pain as another contraction hits full force. Glenn whispers to her, giving her quiet reassurances and kisses.
By her 18th hour of labor, she begs for it to stop. She begs for medicine. Her father shushes her and strokes her hair. Glenn wipes the tears from her eyes while Beth runs a warm bath for her. She spends the next hour soaking in a warm bath. Glenn had gotten in behind her and holds her tightly against his chest. The warm water helped to take the edge off of her contractions, but they were still constant and severe. Glenn applies gentle pressure to her lower back while her father holds her hand and gently rubs it.
Finally, after 24 hours of labor, Hershel tells her she can start pushing. He encourages her to let her instincts take over and to listen to her body. Within 20 minutes, her baby is put on her bare chest. Patricia immediately covers the baby with a blanket and she wraps her arms tightly around the newborn. She's so absorbed in the baby that she doesn't even notice Hershel delivering the afterbirth or stitching her up.
The baby has finally stopped screaming when Glenn asks about its gender. She lifts the blanket and peeks at the newborn.
Glenn cries when she announces that he has a son. Hershel asks to hold him and he quickly does an assessment on the infant. He proudly announces that his grandson is in perfect health. He kisses his forehead and then places him back on her chest.
Her little boy squirms around on her chest. Her instinct takes over and she knows what he is searching for. She helps him to her breast, where he instantly latches on and begins to eat his first meal.
She doesn't even notice that Hershel, Patricia and Beth had left the room, leaving her and Glenn to bond with their son.
Their baby looks up at his parents. His black hair already has a bit of curl to it and his eyes are a shade of brown that match Glenn's.
She presses a kiss to his tiny forehead, "I love you so much, baby boy. Mommy loves you."
Time flies, and before she knows it Hershel Benjamin Rhee is already a month old. Ben, as everyone calls him, is a quiet, curious baby. She finds herself having to wake him up throughout the night in order to feed him. Everyone loves him. The tiny boy gets fought over, with everyone wanting to hold him and love on him. Dale and Hershel bond over being grandparents, talking about how they can't wait to take Ben fishing.
Glenn takes to being a father immediately. He's so relaxed and calm around the baby. Ben loves to be held by his dad, but not nearly as much as he loves his mommy to hold him.
Whenever her little boy is in her arms, he coos and smiles at her. She places kisses on his face and bonds with Michonne and Carol about motherhood.
When he's 6 months old, Maggie leaves him for the first time. It wasn't for long, but she took her horse out for a gallop in the snow, remembering how much she loved being on a horse.
When she gets back to the house, Benny is sitting in Andrea's lap. At the sight of his mother, he begins to babble excitedly.
"Hi baby boy! Mommy missed you so much!" She pulls him up into her arms and gathers him to her. He looks up at her, still babbling away.
When she sits down to nurse him, he pulls away from her breast and shoots her a grin.
"Mama!"
She shrieks in excitement, praising her baby boy for his first word. Glenn pretends to pout that it wasn't his name and places kisses all over his son's silky hair.
As the warm weather returns, her son continues to grow. She can't believe it's already approaching his first birthday. Benny's personality grows everyday. He smiles and laughs constantly and loves to give and receive cuddles. Beth taught him to give kisses, and now their little boy constantly gives kisses to anyone who holds him.
Benny takes his first steps on a warm spring day, in front of their whole family. Everyone cheers and praises the little boy, who just giggles and claps his hands.
His first birthday is a quiet affair, with a family dinner and a small gift exchange. Benny lay in bed with them that night, curled against his father's chest, with his new stuffed duck from his Aunt Beth tucked in his arm.
"I think someone's in a food coma." Glenn whispers to her, motioning to their sleeping child.
"He loved that cake that Carol made." They laughed at the memory of their son, smearing cake all over himself.
She runs her hand through her baby boy's hair.
"I can't believe it's been a year already." Glenn leans over and places a kiss on her lips.
"I love you. Thank you, for giving me him."
She smiles at her husband. There's no one else she would rather have by her side. The world was a mess, it was trying to die. But here on the farm, their little sanctuary that somehow has remained untouched, there is life. The little boy lying in between her and her husband is proof of it. She knows she will do anything to protect this child, but for now, she allows sleep to come to her, taking comfort in the fact that there is peace on their farm.