PART 2 WRITTEN BY GINGERSERGEANT

The next few days were long and uneventful. After that night in the attic, though, Abraham found himself wanting Andrea more and more. During the day, he'd go out with Rick and the few others, joining the search party working on finding Dale, ignoring Andrea's wishes, only to return to the church and spend the night with Rosita. He wasn't entirely unhappy with that, Rosita was an amazing woman, after all, and that was why they were together, but Andrea… She was unlike any woman he'd ever met. He never was good with words, but if he were to describe her, he'd simply say she was strong, brave, passionate, intelligent… And of course gorgeous. He admired her in every possible aspect, in a way he'd never admired a woman before. He felt damned guilty for betraying Rosita and cheating on her; hell, honesty was a massive part of a soldier's morals, but he just couldn't help it. He dreaded the day he'd have to break the news to her and tell her what'd happened. He knew she'd be crushed; she spent her days clinging to Abraham whenever she could, like he was her lifeline, and in a way, he was. He was her protector, just like he was Eugene's protector for quite some time, and he'd continue to protect her, and everyone else in the group… He just wouldn't be with her. He'd be with Andrea. And he just hoped she could be happy without him, like he was without her. Until he broke the news, though, he'd have to stick to sleeping in the Sunday School Room with her, and sneak off to see Andrea whenever he could, without making it too obvious.

That night, he was in bed with Rose again - otherwise known as lying on the floor, with only a decent carpet as a mattress of sorts – waiting for her to fall asleep. She clung to him as she always did, her head on his shoulder, a hand on his bare chest. He was used to this sleeping position by now. Hell, it was the only way she could sleep. He suddenly found himself thankful, though, that she was a heavy sleeper. It gave him an opportunity to sneak away, and that was exactly what he did, immediately after she fell asleep. He pulled his shirt on, silently, and then quietly left the room. He didn't know where Andrea was, so he'd just have to search until he found her, though thankfully Gabriel had few candles lit about the chapel. To his surprise, it was much easier to find Andrea than he thought it would be. She was sitting in the pew closest to the altar, her head down. The thought of her praying hadn't even crossed his mind, so he approached, but as she did so, he took notice of her hands; they were clasped together, fingers interlocked. She was praying. He hesitated, wondering if he should disturb her or not. Apparently he'd made more noise than intended, though, because Andrea turned back toward him, the flickering candlelight making the tears trailing down her cheeks all too evident. She was quick to wipe them away as she stood up, clearing her throat some, but neither of them spoke for a moment.

Abraham was the first to break the silence, "Sorry to bother you. Rose fell asleep and I… Came to check on you." He spoke softly, worried about waking the others who slept scattered about the small church, though he was also worried his want to be with her was obvious.

Andrea shook her head, sniffling a bit, as she regained her composure. Truthfully, she knew she didn't need to do that with Abraham, but her pride got the best of her. "It's fine. I was… Praying. Call me desperate, but I think maybe He can help us… Just maybe." She trailed off as she spoke, as if she was trying to convince herself of her own words.

Abraham was quick to nod in understanding, seeing as he didn't want to push her. In order to keep their conversation going, though, he gestured to his leg, "Mind helpin' me out again? Haven't cleaned it, yet, today…" He raised a brow, his gaze on her. She frowned, not at all impressed with how he hadn't been cleaning it, but she nodded. He limped past her to stand in the pew she'd been sitting in, and once his pants were off, he sat down, putting his leg up on the bench as Andrea retrieved the first aid kit again. His gaze wandered as he waited, but Andrea was back soon, hardly ever looking up to him. Yet, he kept his gaze on her, admiring the way the candlelight illuminated her features. He knew her silence, though, was because of Dale. Hell, she probably felt worse than he did. "We'll find him, y'know." Abe stated gently, putting a hand on Andrea's, so she'd stop working on his leg and just listen to him.

Andrea nodded, and sniffled once more as she wiped at her eyes, quickly, with the back of her hand.

Abraham really wasn't any good at this. He was a tough guy, how could he comfort someone? His soft side hardly ever showed, though she'd seen a good deal of it already. There wasn't much more he could say, and, fearing he'd screw up by attempting to say more, he stayed quiet, and leaned back some. He ran a hand through his hair, assuming the sweat on his forehead was just from being oddly nervous around Andrea. He closed his eyes as Andrea worked, exhaustion suddenly hitting him like a train. He wouldn't fall asleep right then and there, but he certainly wished he could. If he didn't have to return to Rosita before she woke up the next morning, he would.

When Andrea was finished, she gave him a pat on his good knee, looking up to him. She'd assumed he was asleep, but when he lifted his head, without seeming all too groggy, she knew he wasn't. "Goodnight, Abraham…" She sighed, before quickly rushing off, still mourning Dale despite how drawn to Abraham she was. She didn't want the comfort yet, she wanted to know what happened to Dale.

He watched her walk off, remaining seated for even quite some time after that. Oddly enough, seeing her that way hurt, and he found himself looking up to the large cross that stood by the altar. He didn't believe in God, or any of that bullshit, but it was worth a shot, as Andrea had said. "Do me a favour and help us find that man alive. For Andrea's sake." He muttered, before he limped off to join Rosita again.

The next morning, Abraham woke up due to Rosita shaking him. The sunlight was blinding at first and he groaned as he tilted his head away, not making out what she was saying just yet. After a moment, he realized how panicked her voice was, and he began to wake up and sit up. She was quick to push him back down, shaking her head quickly. He tried to get up again, but she held him down, and he decided to look himself over, instead. His shirt was drenched in his sweat and plastered to his chest, and his leg was throbbing worse than it had been, previously. Just by those two symptoms and how terrible he felt, he knew his leg was infected. With his luck, he could've predicted that, but he was so focused on helping Andrea and finding Dale that he'd forgotten about the possibility. Maybe he had gone too long without cleaning it, after all. Rosita kissed his forehead once, then explained he had a fever, likely a high one, before she rushed off to tell Rick and the others. She was gone for only a moment, but Abraham stood anyways, groaning quietly to himself as he walked toward the door of the Sunday School Room, stepping into the chapel. He joined Rosita as she spoke to Rick, then willingly lay on a pew when both Rick and Rosita forced him to do so. He of course wanted to continue searching for Dale, but Rick wouldn't allow it. He was forced to lay still as Rosita cradled her head in his lap, coddling him, and that he was thankful for, seeing as it provided some comfort. As he lay with Rosita, he could hear Rick and the others discussing the fact that they didn't have any antibiotics to treat the infection. Glenn was the first to volunteer to go, and, not to Abe's surprise, Andrea was next to volunteer. Rick agreed to let them go, and they discussed a quick plan, now, on how to get the antibiotics, with Gabriel's help, mapping out the neighbourhoods surrounding the church.

Andrea had been lying in wait, hoping Rosita would leave Abraham's side so she could say goodbye quickly. Her wish came true, thankfully, and Rosita excused herself, saying she needed to use the bathroom. She waited until Rosita was gone to approach Abe, crouching down in front of him. He tried to sit up, but she just pushed him back down, though she moved into Rosita's spot to provide some sort of comfort as well. Just by looking at him, she could tell he was getting worse. He was pale, and sweat dripped from his brow, and he could hardly sit upright when he tried to do so. She found her fingers in his hair as she sat with him, and only then did she feel the heat coming from his body, which resulted in her mumbling her favourite profanities. That just made Abe smile, as much as he could manage, but it didn't last long.

"I don't want you goin'…" He stated softly, speaking first. Even his voice was weak; he was forcing himself to speak.

"Well, you don't have a say in it. I'm going. Just like you went out and helped look for Dale when I told you not to, and that's probably why your leg's infected now." Andrea responded quickly, and she didn't give him much time to get a word in before she added, "You'll die without these antibiotics. Rick needs to be here with the group, and Glenn and I are the most capable. Let someone else be the hero. Let us save you." And to her surprise, Abraham nodded. With that said, she quickly scanned the area, and seeing as they were alone, she gave him a quick kiss, before hurrying off before Rosita returned, now ready to head out with Glenn.