Athor's note: OK, so, I watched the latest episode of twd (East, was it called? I don't pay much attention. Episode 15 of season 6 anyway) and if Maggie is going into labour or something like that, well. I had a horrible thought.

What happens if a baby dies while still in its mum's womb?

And what is it about script writers that always makes it look like they're killing off favourite characters? It's annoying! Why do this? Reasons I love writing fanfiction. Pretty much anything goes. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter and hope that my nasty thoughts are completely false.

I sat on the bed that I had claimed in the our new home. It was strange to me. Back in the basement neither Eric nor I had a bed, we just slept on the floor or the arm chair we had down there, but I ended up finding it uncomfortable after a while. Not that the floor was very comfortable either. I looked up as Eric entered the room, now wearing clean(er) clothes, his hair slightly damp. Evidently he had treated himself to a wash. They had a working shower here? That would be amazing, even without hot water. I hardly remembered what hot water felt like on my skin, it had been so long. Occasionally Eric and I would escape upstairs back in the city and run a bath, but we only used cold water. Hot water would only waste our resources.

"You OK?" I asked him. He was frowning slightly.

"It feels strange. Being around people and being unsure whether to trust them or not."

"I'm pretty sure they feel the same way about us. Just don't do anything stupid and we'll be fine."

"But we don't know anyone."

"We've met Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Michonne, Maggie. So we do know people, even if it isn't very well."

"They were... kinda scary though. And seeing you that angry... I've never seen you quite like that." He looked at the floor, slightly embarrassed. I chuckled quietly.

"Yeah, didn't think I had it in me. Maybe Daryl at least will think twice before pissing me off."

"I'm being serious, Alex!"

"So am I," I stood up and placed my hands on Eric's shoulders, "We don't know them, that's true, but they've taken us in. They invited us. If they didn't think that there was a chance we were trust worthy, or a possible asset, they would have sent us on our way or killed us, or they would have taken us prisoners. At the very least they wouldn't have agreed to teach me and offered to teach you how to fight." I looked him in the eye and smiled in what I hoped was a reassuring way. He smiled back, nodding once.

"Right." He said. I pulled him into a hug, the way Mum used to when we were scared. I could understand his doubts. I was having the same ones. At least I managed to reassure Eric, even if it didn't work on me.

"How bad is your asthma?" Rick asked me when Eric and I found him, telling him we were ready for our lessons. I was excited, and I could feel Eric shaking slightly next to me. Evidently he was excited too, though shaking would make it harder for him to learn how to shoot straight.

"That was the worst attack I've had in a while."

"How often do you have an attack?"

"Once a month? Twice if unlucky, and usually they don't make me fall over. Use inhaler, it settles down in a minute or something like that. I hardly pay attention."

"Well, start paying attention. Having an asthma attack when fighting could cost you your life next time. Us finding you when those walkers were attacking you was just a matter of luck. You don't know what will happen next time." He turns to Eric and I frown. Was he just going to criticise me for my asthma? I couldn't help that I had asthma. Eric held Rick's gaze, bewildered. Rick was frowning slightly, thinking.

'That must be hard for him.' I thought, though I reprimanded myself for it afterwards. Rick wasn't a bad man, he was just doing what was best for the group, looking out for them. Even if it meant being harder on us newbies, me for my asthma, Eric for how young he was, despite how he was a natural with a gun. Unlike me.

"How long have you been shooting?"

"That was my first time. I didn't even know we had a gun." Rick nodded at Eric's answer.

"Seems you're pretty good at it. You both are." I spluttered. Rick looked at me and frowned.

"Sorry." I said. I had expected him to say many things about my shooting, but saying that I was pretty good at it wasn't what I had expected. Eric looked at me in surprise, he hadn't expected me to splutter like that and he hadn't expected me to apologise for it. I smiled at him.

"I wasn't expecting anyone to compliment my shooting. Yours, yes. Mine, no. I managed to shoot hardly any walkers in the head. You, on the other hand, managed to get down most of the walkers you shot at."

"Yes, but you still show promise too. It might just have been the type of gun you had, it's possible it wasn't very comfortable for you." Rick explained. I frowned. He sounded like he was being... nice. It was weird. He had seemed very macho when he had first found us and even though he seemed reasonable enough, he was always seeming strangely distant and slightly cold.

"Um... OK? I know hardly anything about guns though."

"You're still pretty good with them. Same with hand to hand. You took Daryl by surprise, and that's surprising in itself. He's not the easiest guy to take by surprise. Play to your strengths where you can."

Play to your strengths.

That's what Dad used to say, but I never figured out what my strengths were. The way Rick was putting things, it seemed he believed that I was good at hand to hand and shooting. He looked back at Eric, folding his arms. I smiled. He seemed to be quite good with Eric.

"You know what your strengths are?"

"Shooting is one of them, obviously," Eric said, frowning ever so slightly, "And I'm pretty good at skateboarding."

"What? Where did you get a skateboard?" I looked at him in confusion and he looked a bit sheepish.

"When you were out looking for food I went out exploring. Found a skateboard in a shop."

"Where did you keep it?"

"In my pack."

"Oh, for crying out loud... only you would do something like that." I shook my head. At times Eric was the most hopeless person I knew. Well, considering he was the only person I knew for a while, he probably was the most hopeless person I knew. Rick looked rather amused and it annoyed me slightly. There was me, working my ass off for this kid, trying to keep him safe, and he buggered off behind my back to grab himself a skateboard! In a city! With God only knew how many walkers!

"Well, I don't really see how a skateboard will come in handy, but it's good to know you have a hobby." At that moment a baby started crying somewhere and I looked around.

"There's a baby here?"

"Yeah. That's probably my daughter. Judith."

"Cute." I said, smiling slightly as I looked around, trying to pinpoint the sound. Judith was lucky. She had a dad. I wondered where my dad was, if he was still alive. Was there a chance that he could be? Despite all the odds against him? He had been overseas when the outbreak happened, right in the middle of a war zone. The chances of his survival were slim to none. And yet I couldn't help but hope that he was still alive and well.

" – Alex. Eric, you go with Carl. He'll teach you how to shoot better." I looked around. Damn, I didn't pay enough attention. I watched as Eric walked off with a teenage boy with only one eye. I frowned and looked at him curiously, then turned to Rick and shrugged.

"Now what?"

"Follow me." Was all he said. I raised an eyebrow and followed him to an area away from everyone else, near the wall. He turned and looked me, hands on his hips. I ran my hand through my hair, getting it out of my face before deftly tying it up in a ponytail. Eric had his hair cut far more recently than I had, and his hair grew slower than mine anyway. It annoyed me to high heaven, I hated having long hair, but at least there were ways to get it out of my face.

"Which is your strong hand?" Rick asked me as I lowered my arms to my side. I frowned.

"Left. I think."

"You think?"

"Pretty sure. I use both my hands equally often."

"That's good. If you use both your hands about as often as each other, you have an advantage. Make sure you use it. You ready?"

"For what?" I asked, confused, the frown on my face deepening.

"This." Rick took a swing at me and I dodged back.

"Woah! Aren't you going to teach me something first?!" I asked. Rick laughed and shook his head. I didn't know why he was laughing. It felt like the wrong time to be laughing.

"I need to see what you know first. Attack me."

"What?!" He didn't answer, just took another swing at me. Again I dodged, swinging around behind him to kick his feet out from under him. He dodged, moving to grab my leg but I swung out of the way. I had no clue what was going on. I stopped and shook my head.

"What the hell am I doing?"

"Keep your guard up." Rick punched me in the stomach and I doubled over, receiving a fist in the face and falling on the ground. I spat out blood and glared at Rick. He shook his head and walked around in front of me a bit.

"You were doing fine until you let your doubt get to you. Your body knows what it's doing, your mind doesn't. Watch for openings, learn to read your opponent."

"No, really? I would never have come up with that solution for myself!" I wiped my mouth on my sleeve, thankful I'd left Mum's coat in the house Eric and I had claimed as our own. It would be getting blood on it right now if I hadn't. I sat up and glared at Rick. I didn't really approve of his teaching style. Did he teach everyone in this way? He held his hand down to help me up and I took it, deciding when I was halfway up that I'd take advantage of the situation. I hauled him down to the ground next to me, then leapt away, smiling.

"Keep your guard up." I taunted. He laughed.

"Fair enough." He said, standing up again, getting back into a position to attack me. I felt my face change to a look of utter horror.

"You're still not going to teach me anything? Like how to block?"

"You'll learn in your own time. Now, attack me." I sighed and got into a better position, one where I was better balanced and my face better protected. I imagined that if Dad had returned from whichever country he had been deployed to during the outbreak, he'd be the one teaching me these things. I wondered what his teaching style would have been. I leapt back slightly as Rick took a swing at me, reaching out to grab his wrist and pushed him past me. It took me by surprise when I managed, meaning I lost the advantage when I paused, leaving me open for another attack. Rick spun around and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me down to meet his knee. I just managed to get my hands up to protect my face, leaning forward slightly to head but him in his gut. I shook my head in an attempt to see things straight again. Evidently I hadn't protected my head as well as I would have liked. Next thing I knew I was on the ground again. I put my hands up to show I was done and shook my head, still seeing stars. Rick helped me into a sitting position and handed me a bottle of water.

"Thanks." I muttered.

"You did good. I'd hate to see what you can do with a knife." I smiled slightly and took another swig of water.