AU: Hey, you angels! I have to apologize for a countless time for the gaps between updates, but I've written several chapters to several fics and I'm just going to check them over and upload them over the next few days, instead of trying to do one big bulk upload. Hope you enjoy this one!

-Bae xoxo

Chapter Six:

"God, what is going on today? Everyone out there is running around like a chicken with its head cut off"

Rick had just finished putting his t-shirt back on when his ex-wife stepped into his room at the hospital. He looked back at her from over his shoulder as he spoke, "I'll find out when I get to the department"

"By the way, I had to tell them that we're married just to get up here", She said, clearly annoyed, "So if anyone asks¬"

"Got it.", In spite of being hit by a vehicle at high speed, he was fortunate enough to only come away with an aching neck and shoulder. He reluctantly allowed a young doctor to check him for any signs of trauma and just as he had assumed, he was fine. Once he'd finished fastening his belt, he sighed tiredly as he reached for his footwear.

Lori tore her gaze away from the window in the door and looked at him, "Where's, um.."

"Michonne."

"Michonne", Lori huffed, tucking her hair behind her ears, "Where is she? The baby? Are they okay?"

"Nurse said they're just checking her over", Rick held the back of his boot as shoved his foot into the shoe, "I need to find her… Did you bring Carl?"

"No, he's with your parents", Lori looked back out the window when they heard someone barking orders, "So… how does she feel about all of this?"

"No different to you.", Rick pulled his jacket on, "Thanks for this, by the way. I know it's… it's not the way we planned it to go but I just didn't want her driving back into Atlanta when there's stuff going on"

"I understand, and you know that I don't have a problem helping out but we have to remember Carl in all this, Rick", Lori gave him a knowing look, "He's going to work out that something weird's going on soon enough"

He detected a hint of concern in her tone, "I know, and Michonne said the same thang and we're just gonna' have to keep that quiet for now. He'll meet her...Hopefully, like her… then we'll have to sit him down and talk to him properly"

"Looks like we're going to have to do that sooner, rather than later", Lori turned back to face him, "Are you going to take her back to your place later?"

Rick scoffed as he made his way towards her, "That's if she hasn't already booked herself into a hotel¬"

The door opened in a hurry but Lori was able to move away in time. It was the same petite, red-haired nurse that had checked Rick before, "Oh, hello"

"I'm his wife", Lori blurted out nervously, leading Rick to narrow his eyes at her.

"Oh? Um…", The nurse closed the door behind her, "Nice to meet you, I'm Nurse Morris but you can call me Evelyn¬"

"What's going on?", Rick probed as he sat his hands on his sides.

Evelyn blew out a breath, "You're… the lady that you came in with- She's doing fine and the baby's heartbeat was stable but we're going to down the surgery center for an emergency cesarean"

Rick's eyes widened in surprise, while Lori frowned at the woman as she began to question the news, "If they're fine then why is she having a cesarean?"

"Her placenta came away from her uterus", Evelyn explained, looking back and forth between the two of them, "We think that this must have happened when you were struck by the other car- sometimes the impact can be enough to¬"

"Isn't that life-threatening?", Lori shot back eagerly, "She's not even due yet¬"

Rick grabbed her wrist to stop his ex-wife from becoming hysterical, "Where is she now?"

"She should be down there by now so you can come with me but... ", Evelyn explained, then looked at Lori with uncertainty, "Your wife will have to stay in the waiting room"

Rick nodded in agreement as he urged them to move, "That's fine, let's go".

The usually quiet hospital was buzzing with commotion when they exited the private room, but there was something about the way that nurses and doctors were hurrying back and forth that peaked Ricks interest; he couldn't see any patients, just medical staff rushing from one room to another. A frantic looking man in a white coat ran past them covered in blood from the waist down to his boots, causing Lori to almost bump into Evelyn when she caught sight of him too. Rick caught up with Evelyn before they entered the elevator and spoke in his authoritative tone, "What's been going on here?"

She looked up at him, appearing speechless for a moment but she quickly shook her head, "I wish I could tell you Officer, but I don't even know"

"But what do you know?", He quizzed, trying to pry some information from her confusion.

Evelyn said nothing until they were finally in the elevator, then she began spewing information, "I got back from vacation three days ago and I had to come straight here and I haven't left since I got here. People that I've seen in recovery have all of a sudden in critical condition- even people that were just here for minor surgeries or just staying the night for observation... and we're doing everything we can to keep them alive but it's no use they're just getting worse and we're losing people like flies"

Rick's brows furrowed together furiously, "So people are just 'dying' here for no apparent reason? That doesn't make any sense- Somethan' must have happened to¬"

"I know", Evelyn hissed, sticking her hand up to stop him, "They've been sending blood samples to the lab like junk mail but we aren't getting any answers. So far all we know is that we're trying to stop a lot of people from dying right now"

"So are my family safe here?", He questioned firmly, pointing a finger towards the ground, "If there's somethan' going around then¬"

"They should both be fine. All the action is on the top floors and they won't be anywhere near there", Evelyn insisted, "Just… maybe don't get anything from the canteen or drink the water. A couple of us think the food was contaminated or something so we've been going across the street for lunch"

Lori glanced in Rick's direction, "Duly noted"

Rick couldn't quite grasp how his day was coming to an end. He thought he'd just have to go over to Michonne's new home and help her put together her new furniture; instead, he was preparing to welcome his second child prematurely, all while trying to figure out if they had a state of emergency on their hands.

Evelyn left Lori in the waiting room and led Rick to an operating theatre in the quieter part of the hospital, which did bring him some sort of relief, but he was still unnervingly worried and wanted to see Michonne as quickly as possible. He imagined that she was possibly frightened too and she most definitely would have preferred to have her parents close by, so Rick made a note in his mind to call them the first chance that he could.

After changing into some scrubs and a mask, he stood by while several medics hastily moved around the theatre, obscuring his view of Michonne. He caught sight of her hand when it fell off the operating table and dangled off the side until one of the medics grabbed it and placed it back at her side. Rick's nerves stood to attention when he realized she wasn't awake.

"She's fine", Evelyn declared as she pulled her own mask over her face, "They probably gave her some general anesthesia because we don't have much time. Go on, you can stand beside her"

Rick did as suggested and placed himself at the top of the table, standing above her head. He inspected her face carefully, looking for any indication that she was in distress but found nothing. All the muscles in her face were relaxed, her mouth slightly parted to make way for a large, clear tube. He touched her cradled the side of her face protectively, feeling overwhelmed by how fast everything was moving. She did look fine, and he could see that she was breathing but too many things about their setting made him uncomfortable.

"Alright, we need to have that incubator ready", A man announced as he stood on the other side of the medical curtain that blocked Rick's view from Michonne's bottom half, "I want this tiny person in there as soon as she's cleaned up"

Rick heard faint laughter behind him but couldn't look anywhere else but at Michonne.

"You the father?"

He still didn't look up, but answered assertively, "I am"

"Well don't worry, we'll be done before you can even say 'birth control'...", The surgeon chuckled to himself as he started doing things that Rick couldn't see, "...Now let's see if we can get to the baby in under five minutes... We might even be able to get her out while she's still in the sac, which by the way… will be the coolest thing you'll ever see in your entire life"

Rick ignored the man's commentary and leaned down to whisper in Michonne's ear, "I hope you're doing alright"

He noticed some kind of band-aid on her temple and remembered how she'd banged her head. He quickly remembered how he panicked when he saw that she was unconscious after their accident. He feared the worst, but she came around by the time the ambulance arrived. The other driver apologized profusely but pleaded with Rick to let him go to the hospital. Rick only agreed because he saw a sickly young boy in the man's car, possibly around the same age as Carl. He let him go, but not without getting his license plate number before he sped off.

"...We just gotta' get passed this slippery part and move that over here… and…", The surgeon squinted downward for a few nerve-wracking moments, then made a sigh of relief as his large brown eyes lit up, "And we got her!... Jesus, little fighter, isn't she?"

Rick slowly stood up straight to look at the smiling surgeon; then at the newborn, he held in his hands. To say that he was delighted would be an understatement. He felt complete and utter euphoria. His daughter had a full head of hair, and the smallest hands and feet he'd ever seen. She squirmed once or twice as if she were trying to figure out where she was, and Rick felt his eyes sting with tears.

"Alright, let's get her wrapped up", The man instructed, handing her over to the army of nurses who were waiting. In the blink of an eye, they had his daughter cleaned and up and placed in the incubator, where they began sticking penny sized circular disks on her chest and a band on her wrist.

Rick used the back of his wrist to wipe his eyes before he crouched down beside Michonne, "You did great, Michonne"

"It takes a while for the anesthesia to wear off but she'll probably drift in and out for a while", Evelyn popped up on the other side of him, "You can come over and see the baby while they get her fixed up"

Rick released a long exhale, hoping to get some control over his emotions. He gently kissed the top of Michonne's forehead on his way up, then crossed the room to see what was going on with his new infant. He wiped his eyes a second time, not wanting his tears in the way of his view. He couldn't believe that he finally had a daughter. Her eyes were clamped shut, and her arms and legs flailed aggressively. So much personality was already starting to shine from her tiny little chest, and it made him beam with joy.

"We don't get many like her", A voluptuous, blonde haired woman chuckled and slapped a hand on Rick's back, "But we're glad when we do. It's a good sign"

Rick truly felt triumphant. He wanted to tell everyone about his special delivery and wished he had his friends and family with him but he was desperate for Michonne to wake up first. It was a moment that he was meant to share with her above anyone else, but he had to wait, so while they finished up in the operating room he stepped out to find Lori, who was sitting anxiously on the edge of her chair a few rooms away.

"She's perfect", He choked out happily as he trudged over to his ex-wife, "She's so small, but she… She was kicking and eveythan'..."

Lori slapped her hand on her chest as she gasped and jumped out of her seat, "So she's fine? They both are? Are they still in there?"

"She's fine but Michonne's not up yet. They said she'd come around soon", He looked back towards the hallway, "They're gonna' take them upstairs but I need to call… I need to call everyone"

"I called your parents, and I told them to hold off because it's getting late and they have Carl...", Lori quickly informed, "I called Daryl and he said he'd let the department know- He was out somewhere but he said he'd come over here as soon as he could"

He gave her a knowing look when he met his ex-wife's gaze, "Thank you. I mean it, you've really¬"

She waved a dismissive hand at him, "Oh enough of that- When do I get to see the baby?"

Rick rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't see why you can't come up for a little while¬"

"I thought you'd be in here", Evelyn appeared, pulling her mask off as she stepped into the waiting area, "We're taking them up now"

"Yeah? Alright- uh, can my… Wife… take a quick look?", Rick tried to sound normal but it was an odd request.

Evelyn nodded, a smile plastered on her face like it wasn't unusual for a man to ask if his wife can see his newborn child that he shared with someone else, "Yeah sure, but it has to be quick because they're pretty strict about visiting here"

"I just want a little peek", Lori added for good measure, "I won't even take a minute"

"Okay, come on."

Michonne and his newborn had been wheeled out of the operating room and into the hall, waiting by a nearby elevator. Rick was glad that their ride was taking so long to arrive because it meant that Lori good really get a chance to look at his daughter, and she began to coo as soon as she saw her, "God, she's so tiny, Rick! Her head's the size of a tennis ball!"

"It is", He agreed, tilting his head as he looked at the little infant, "I can't wait until she opens her eyes"

"She's precious…", Lori sighed adoringly as she tipped her head to the side, her brown eyes dancing up and down the length of his daughter, "I don't even think Carl was this small at any stage of my pregnancy"

Rick grinned at her joke, "He was a big boy, and he's gonna' big brother"

"I think he'll be the best big brother he can", Lori began to cup her own cheek with her hand but quickly sprang up when there was a chime to signal the arrival of the elevator, "Oh great, time to go"

"Sorry about that", Rick gave her an apologetic look, "You can stop by tomorrow, and meet Michonne properly"

"Oh of course. I didn't even get to see…", Lori's sentence came to a rolling stop when she looked over to the bed that carried Michonne just as the porters turned it around. Her eyes narrowed into a squint before widening to their fullest. She spun her head back around to gawk at the baby in the incubator, and finally back to Rick, "Uh…"

He stepped out of the way so that Evelyn and another member of staff could begin moving his daughter, "I'll call you later"

His ex-wife seemed to be a daze, "Yeah… yeah… tomorrow- Call me… We'll talk later… or tomorrow or… just- just call me"

Rick wasn't sure of what to think of Lori's strange reaction, but he wasn't given much of a chance to mull it over as they were taken to the third floor, and Michonne was wheeled into one room and their daughter was taken across the hall, which was easier for him. There wasn't much he could do while Michonne slept so glued himself to the spot beside his daughter's bed. The midwives spoke with him about the type of care she'd receive and the kind of development they hope to see, so Rick paid close attention so that he could repeat it all to Michonne when she woke up. When he was finally given the chance to touch his daughter, he went straight for her hand and slipped his pinky finger into her grip. He cried once again, wishing he could really hold her in his arms. He didn't even know how long he'd been stood there staring at her, watching her little chest rise and fall when it was brought to his attention that Michonne had finally woken up, so he crossed the hall excitedly.

"Hey there", Rick rasped in a whisper, strutting up to her bedside with a wide smile, "How are you feeling?"

Michonne groaned she blinked up at the ceiling, "...Horrible"

He perched on the edge of the bed so she wouldn't have to turn to much to see him, "I'll let them know, they can give you somethan' for that"

She tipped her head to see him and spoke in a hoarse tone, "Why isn't she in here?"

Rick took her hand between his, noticing that it was cold to touch so he began to rub it tenderly between his own, "Because she needs to be kept warm and they wanna' keep an eye on her… But she's just across the hall and she's doing just fine so far"

He could see that she was unhappy about something but too drugged up to really show it through her expression. He knew he was correct with his assumption because her eyes started to glisten as she spoke softly, "I want to see her"

"You will, but you have rest first", He used his thumb to stroke the back of her hand. He saw her face start to crumble before she used her other hand to shield herself from him. He gave her a gentle squeeze, "Hey? What's wrong? She's fine- Aren't you happy?"

"No…", She scoffed with disbelief, as if the answer should have been obvious to him, "I… I missed it- I missed everything and I… I wake up and I can't even see her or hold her yet, and I just... I just want to see her"

Rick felt unbelievably helpless, "I know, and I'm sorry, I know we didn't expect thangs to go this way but you will see her, and I promise that you'll be the first to hold her when we can. I won't let anyone take that away from you"

She sniffed as she wiped her eyes roughly, "God, what is wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you. You just woke up and you want to see your baby; that's how you're meant to feel", He assured her tenderly, hoping to get her to relax, "And I think she's ready to meet you. She looked like was trying to get back in there when they took her out"

She ever so slightly smirked as she averted her gaze back up to the ceiling, "I can't believe this"

"Believe it. You're a mother now", He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a little peck on her knuckles, "Congratulations"

"...Thanks", She sounded exhausted, "Same to you. Again."

Rick sat back and looked towards the doorway, "...I'm gonna' give your parents a call on my way out… I still need to stop by the department- and probably get you some stuff¬"

"My mom can handle that", She ran a hand over her face, then sighed, "Don't worry about it"

Rick eyed her curiously as he asked, "...Are we still doing that?"

Her drowsy brown eyes looked over to him. Even in her tired and drug influenced state, she knew what he was talking about, "She knows what to get, Rick. That's all"

He tucked the topic away, hoping that she was now willing to let him help look after her. Not wanting to leave things on a strained note, he slowly stood up and placed her hand down gently on the bed, "I'll come straight back once I've handled a few thangs. Get some rest"

"I don't think I have a choice…", She replied lightly as her eyes rolled shut, "Wake me when you're here"

"Promise I will.", Rick left her to sleep, then checked on his newborn once more, then he checked on Michonne once again, but then forced himself to leave so he could return as soon as possible.

The truth was that he didn't feel comfortable leaving them in the hospital. So much of what he'd learned throughout the evening was still stuck in his mind and he couldn't relax until he knew that they were not in any imminent danger. Luckily for him, the floor that his daughter and Michonne were on was quiet and well managed, but when he reached returned the ground floor he found that it had quickly descended into pandemonium.

Staff at the hospital raced by him while residents of Kings County did their best to be seen. Rick stood center of it all and watched the busy scene for a few moments, trying to catch information from the passing conversations. Nothing that anyone said seemed to make any sense, so he snaked his way to the entrance and stepped outside, feeling the need to hurry to his damaged vehicle when he heard a familiar voice yell, "Hey!"

Daryl sprinted over to him from the squad car that was parked on the other side of a row of vehicles, "Where are you going? I was just coming to see Y'all"

Rick stopped and looked his friend up and down, "I was gonna' head to the department- what's going on?"

Daryl slowed down, his eyes darting over to the Hospital entrance, "Man, no one knows. They were talking to folks up in the city but lines went dead an hour ago."

Rick stared at the other man, "What did the Chief say?"

"He's got us all out, telling people to stay in their homes until we get word from somebody", Something about Daryl's tone told Rick that his friend didn't agree with the instruction.

"And what's he doing?", He questioned, not sure if he agreed with that instruction either.

"What do you think? He went home", Daryl's top lip curled with disgust as he spat out the information, "Left us to figure it out"

Rick exhaled through his nose as his eyes surveyed the parking lot, "It's no better in there. One of the Nurse's told me that everyone's sick with the same damn thang but they don't know what"

"Yeah? That's what we heard from Atlanta", Daryl began to frown as he looked back at the hospital, "Michonne still in there?"

"Yeah. She had the baby. She had to have surgery."

Daryl's head whipped around to look back at Rick. His typically dull and interested green eyes seemed to brighten up with a hint of excitement, "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

His friend blinked at him as the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly into a crooked smile that didn't appear for long, "Well congrats, man… But, uh… You gon' keep them in there?"

Rick placed both hands at his sides as he peered back at the building, noticing that he could see shadows moving hurriedly across most windows. He almost shuddered, "They're alright where they are for now, but I think we should have a couple officers over here¬"

His sentence came to a halt when he saw the lights in and around the building shut off, leaving everyone inside in darkness. He and Daryl eyed the hospital with concern, ready to jump into action when they heard a nightmarish scream erupted over the buzzing commotion of worried residents. Both men surged forward without hesitation.