With all of her bags now officially packed for the trip back home to Alexandria, Carol collapsed onto the foot of the bed, then proceeded to throw her back into the springy mattress beneath her as she let out a deep sigh of relief. She'd pretty much been running on nothing but fumes for the past three weeks and was looking forward to finishing up that last task on her to-do list so she could finally steal a few minutes for a little afternoon siesta. If Daryl managed to make it back with Rick and others in tow before sundown, then surely not a one of them would be getting much sleep this evening in lieu of catching up on everything that had transpired between now and the last time she had seen them.
Daryl had only been able to fill her in through the "end" of the war with the Saviors. They all used that term loosely she learned because Negan had managed to flee the scene after the last stand-off, and was never seen or heard from again. Through their various connections with other communities, including some that had joined Rick and their army after she had left, they were at least confident that the Saviors who survived were either no longer supportive of Negan, or intimidated by Rick enough to not pose any serious threat. Some had even pleaded to seek refuge in one of their sister communities, but all were turned away with the exception of one. A special counsel had been held right before Daryl left on whether or not to allow Dwight to become part of one of their communities. It was to be a group vote between all residents, but it had been unanimously decided by all that the call should be left up to Daryl and Maggie alone. Dwight had become one of the MVPs of the war, and between Daryl, Dwight, and Eugene all secretly working together from within the Savior's compound, they discovered the Achille's Heel which would lead to their downfall: there was a considerable amount of discord among Negan's top soldiers. Between the three of them interacting with those Saviors highest up on the chain-of-command, they had every one of Negan's right-hand guys, and the man with the bat himself, so psychologically fucked that no one knew who to trust anymore, resulting in every single one of their plans going haywire, and really, all they had to do was repeat to one what the other had been saying behind their back, with a few little extra white lies thrown on top for garnish. It was solely Dwight however that actually had opportunity to have verbal contact with Rick or one of his many confidants, and was therefore the one who was able to take what he knew and break it all down. It was because of this that it was ultimately decided he would be allowed to stay in the Kingdom. Although his assistance had been much appreciated by all, neither Maggie or Daryl cared to have to look at him on a daily basis.
Maggie. Carol smiled as she thought about her dear friend, just as she did every single day since she had left them all behind. Her baby would be here by now, and she absolutely could not wait to meet the little one. She often pondered, first of all if it was a he or a she, and secondly, what features did she steal from who. It was something that had always fascinated her, seeing the resemblances between family members. She remembered thinking right before she left how much Judith was beginning to resemble Lori in the eyes, and although she would never dream of bringing it up to Rick, it was her own personal belief based on the little girl's looks alone, that maybe he was wrong about her paternity after all. That little girl's sweet face was a Grimes face through and through.
And speaking of babies, this place was full of them. A nursery full of newborn ones, in fact, and right across the hall from where she bunked at night. Well, full considering that three out of three cribs in said nursery were currently occupied anyway. It was the first time since she'd arrived in Riverview that the nursery had actually reached capacity, leading to the discussion that two new cribs should be built to ready themselves for the next, "big baby boom." Typically there was ample time to prepare for new arrivals since most of their expectant mothers in this massive community came from within, but every few months or so a new expectant family that was referred to them would move in from the outside, sometimes with little time to spare before the baby was to arrive, forcing the staff to reevaluate the nursery capacity based on projected due dates. As a matter of fact, the third crib had only recently been added when she had been brought to them. Most times since she had taken up residence there, there would only be a single baby in the nursery at a time, but occasionally, and more recently, there would be two whose stay in the nursery itself might overlap by a day or so. And there was no predetermined time-limit on how long a baby could stay. The current occupants were born almost exactly a week apart each.
"Hey," a sweet, perky little blonde-haired girl with big blue eyes, almost eerily reminiscent of Beth, said cheerfully as she poked her head inside the door. "I know you're trying to relax, but believe it or not, Dena is in there delivering a baby right now and she needs my help. We had a brand new arrival who just barely made it through the gates. Do you mind tending to Larry, Moe, and Curly? It's about dinnertime."
"Of course not," she replied with the utmost sincerity and graciousness despite her extremely exhausted state, and effortlessly rose to her feet.
It hadn't taken those at Riverview long to recognize her strong motherly nature and as a result, once she had completely recouperated and was given a clean bill of health, with her consent, she was assigned to reside at Thornton house which housed the delivery room, nursery, and post-natal care facility, where new mothers and their families were welcome to stay for as long as they felt was necessary after the baby was born. Additionally, already established families and individuals alike were invited to attend an assortment of classes provided throughout the week in a variety of subjects pertaining to basic healthcare, nutrition, first aid, and survival. They lived in a different world now, and although Riverview was known for their large percentage of professionally trained medical staff, their main goal was to educate the community on how to treat as many medical conditions as possible right from their own homes, and the families bringing new children into the world were their primary focus. Carol had spent the last 4 months sharing her survival skills and assisting with the care of the infants, both in and out of the nursery. Most of the time, the babies would remain in the same room as the family as soon as possible after delivery, but for babies who were born a tad bit early, or whose mothers were recouperating from c-sections, or those who just needed a little extra tlc, stayed in the nursery. Sadly, on occasion, there were babies whose mommies didn't make it and had no other family living in the community, and that baby would remain there until he or she was placed with a family. One of the aforementioned Three Stooges was one such child, but thankfully they had already found him a suitable home.
That was baby "Moe" although it was merely a nickname bestowed upon him and the other two babies by Dena, who was the resident bonafide obstetrician, since all three were little boys. His was the first crib that she visited, simply out of fairness since he happened to be the one singing for his supper the loudest. "Larry" was also putting in his order from the menu when thankfully, his mother arrived in time to take over the duty herself.
"Hey, Carol, I'm so sorry I'm late," Ashley, who was "Larry", AKA Dakota's, mom, began apologetically as she scooped her crying son up from the crib. "Sarah is still not feeling a hundred percent, and she started pitching a fit about not being able to come visit her baby brother still."
"Awww, poor sweetheart," Carol said with a sympathetic frown. "I know how much she's been looking forward to this, but pneumonia is nothing to fool around with."
"Honestly, I think she's more upset about not getting to see you and Xander before you leave. I really want to thank you for letting her spend so much time with him. She really was not happy over the idea of having a baby in the family until you were able to show her how important a role being a big sister is. She's really going to miss the two of you."
"Well, you make sure she knows that we'll be back to visit, and that is a genuine pinky-swear."
"I really wish you weren't going so far," Ashley confessed as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Everyone is so bummed that you're leaving us, but we're all so happy that you and Daryl found each other again. Little Xan man is one lucky boy to have the two of you."
"Oh no, I think I am the lucky one," She murmered quietly as she stole a glance at her baby boy.
"Well, I'm going to take this one outside in the carriage for a bit of fresh air. If I don't see you later, then I'll just see you later I guess."
Carol elected to blow her a kiss instead of saying the dreaded goodbye, and just as Ashley was making her way out, another group of visitors made their way in.
"Hey, Jacinta, Dean! I suspect you're here to take this little guy home today," Carol cooed as she bounced little Moe around in her arms.
"We sure are," Meredith beamed as Carol carefully placed the now content baby into her arms.
"Well, that was perfect timing. He just finished his bottle so you guys should be good to go for a while."
"Oh, wonderful," Jacinta exclaimed before kissing the little boy on his forehead. "Thank you so much for everything, Carol. I know you had a lot to do with Dena choosing us to be Logan's parents. By the way, that's what we decided to name him- Logan. What do you think?"
"I think it's an adorable name for an adorable baby boy! And for the record, Dena thinks the world of you two. Believe me, she really does not have a huge stick up her ass at all times. I may have been the one to drop the suggestion, but she didn't flinch when I mentioned the two of you. We're all different people now, and that's something that I think most everyone has come to accept." True statement. So Dean used to be in a gang, so what? So what if he had a greater percentage of tattoos on his body than unmarked flesh? For as long as he'd been a part of the community, he spent every spare minute of his day mentoring the older children at the youth centers through sports and other activities, and he was well admired and respected by every single one of them, and their parents alike.
Jacinta nodded in agreement. "We're going to miss you. I hope you know how much everyone has grown to love you."
"Ditto," Dean added with a wink before Carol had a chance to react. "It's been great having you here. I'm sorry we never had the opportunity to work beside one another down at the center. I was aching to get you down there once things settled down for you."
Now it was Carol's turn to get misty, but no big surprise there since she was generally more emotional these days. "I'm going to miss you alltoo. And never say never. I'd love the opportunity to come back for an extended visit sometime."
"I think it's safe to speak for all by saying we would love that. Maybe one day you and the fam came come down for a few weeks and we can start teaching that Little Ass-Kicker of yours some football-throwing skills."
"Speaking of, I suppose we should let Logan say goodbye to his best buddy as well. Is he awake," Meredith inquired as she craned her neck to get a view at the last baby boy remaining in the crib.
"I think he is," Carol said giddily as she lifted the bald-headed baby "Curly," AKA Little Ass Kicker the second, AKA Xander, from his crib and carried him toward the little person who would forever be one of his oldest friends, to say, or at least wave by the assisance of her own hand, a proper farewell.
"Gosh, it's funny cuz the first time I actually got to meet Daryl and get a good look at him, I told my husband, I said, yup...I knew that was Daryl before Carol could even introduce us cuz that baby boy is the spittin' image of his daddy."
"He is," Carol remarked, smiling radiantly upon their beautiful son, Alexander Glenn Dixon, who was nestled comfortably in the crook of her arm. She could hardly wait to see Daryl and the others again and get started in writing this exciting new chapter in their lives.