AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thank you to the readers and those following and thank you to; InfiniteAndMortal, Kit-cat99, Alemap47, Guest, Tania Ibarbia, DarylDixon'sLover, kevkye, BethFan, Buffygurl077, Guest and Ett Alskar for reviewing on the last chapter :)

WARNING: Complications during childbirth

FLASHBACK INFO: Shawn is 13 years old, Jesus is 11 years old and Maggie is 8 years old in this particular Flashback.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Walking Dead or its characters. Apologies in advance for any spelling and grammatical errors. Thoughts in Italics

The Black Velvet Lounge

Chapter 6

Leaning back in his leather chair, Jesus stares out the window with his feet propped up on his expensive mahogany table, rotating two small metal Baoding balls repeatedly in the palm of his left hand whilst watching the lunchtime rush-hour of people walking in and out of the cafés, bistros and restaurants down along the busy boulevard.

He looks down at his Ipad resting on the table. There were no pressing appointments in his diary today that couldn't wait until Monday. He sighs with relief liking the idea of no head banging meetings with corporate snooze-fest guys in expensive suits discussing contracts, statistics, money, investments nor any appointments with wholesalers. With a few taps on the screen, he clears his schedule sending out emails to all relevant parties postponing appointments until Monday. He was the boss and was paying their wages and decided, he too deserved half a day off especially after the months of gruelling work and the successful opening night they had managed to pull off but there was an appointment at 1.30pm he couldn't and wouldn't postpone "Lunch with Lamb and Scout."

Jesus smiles fondly of childhood memories, remembering the nicknames they'd given each other growing up.

He and Shawn gave Beth the nickname Lamb when she was a baby. She had strikingly white skin, wore fluffy clothes, was pure, innocent and playful and because she literally was and is the Little Lamb of the family.

Maggie without choice, even when her mouth was bigger than her head, was nicknamed Scout from the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird because she reminded them of Jean Louise Finch, always running around with her him and Shawn getting into fights, speaking her mind and was a tomboy with a haircut that looked like she lost a fight with the lawnmower.

He and Maggie named Shawn a G.I. Joe because he was obsessed with the comics and cartoons. Was always trying to lead them all and his friends, had to win every fight, was a protector, a little aggressive, logical and brutal when he wanted to be and in the end used his skills and patriotism and joined the US Army travelling the world to wherever his services were needed.

And he was given the name Jesus by Beth when she thought his long hair and later his beard resembled the images of the Biblical figure, Jesus who she learned about in her religious education in pre-school and took him to Show and Tell so she could show him off to her friends who didn't believe her. Beth changed his name overnight not just for herself but for everyone who knew him. It was a joke to everyone to start off with but the name has stuck ever since and he can't remember a time when no one referred to him as Jesus. Shawn and Maggie had begged one thing of him - no matter how much Beth battered her long lashes revealing her big round eyes – he was never to wear Jesus Creepers. He stares down at his laced up boot covered feet and lets out a chuckle. Beth could make him do a lot of things but sandals – no fuckin' way! He snorts.

He looks up at the family pictures covering the wall and his eyes land on the particular picture in the centre of the frames Maggie and Beth had arranged up on to the wall of their office. In the picture, everyone was huddled around their mamma with her holding the newest addition of The Greene Family.

Glenn tried to subtly tell him this morning at breakfast, he needed to chill and give Beth some space and independence, that people would think he was quite domineering and intimidating the way he reacted last night especially in the way he snatched Beth out of Shane's arms throwing daggers at him who had actually saved her from falling and hurting herself and to top it off, he stalked off with Beth in his arms cradled like she was a baby and Glenn continued to remind Jesus, Beth was turning twenty-one fairly soon.

Jesus starts rotating the metal Baoding balls in the palm of his hand faster so they're no longer touching. He had told Glenn, he was grateful for the guy to have caught Beth, it was the gentlemanly thing to do and all men should do it for anyone who needed help but he knew and could see Shane wanted something in return from Beth in thanks with the way his was staring at her with lust filled eyes and then there was his two quieter friends who were as bad watching Beth from the side-lines but with more intensity like she could be their next meal which vexed him to the max.

He was fine with people thinking he's way too over protective of his sisters, especially Beth but he can't help it and he never really wanted to explain why. He didn't need to explain why, it was none of anyone's business, if they didn't like it, they could walk the other way because it didn't bother him and it didn't bother Beth. He'll continue to do what he's been doing for the past 21 years; watch out for Beth and stand in the way of anything or anyone who looked to be a threat and would one day try to hurt his baby sister.

Flashback – 21 years ago

"Paul!" Shawn huffs watching Jesus pacing the floor.

"Your burnin' a god damn hole in mamma's new rug! Plonk ya ass down next ta Maggie!" Shawn says leaning his elbows down on his knees sitting in their father's armchair. Jesus was making him more nervous than he already was.

"Blaspheme!" Maggie whispers hugging Shawn's old G.I. Joe figurine whilst chewing her nail.

Shawn said god damn and ass and their daddy said those words were foul and banned.

"Maggie, stop that! little ladies don't bite their nails!" Shawn reminds her and she reluctantly pulls her finger away and sticks her tongue out when Shawn looks down at the patterned rug.

They all look towards the big old grandfather clock when it strikes 6pm with a loud chime.

"What's takin' so long!" Jesus says looking at the clock and then up the stairs towards their parent's bedroom.

He steps back and takes a seat beside Maggie who snuggles into his arm.

"Is mamma sick?" Maggie asks looking up at Jesus's worried face which was still staring up at the landing.

"No, mamma's not sick!" Jesus says putting his arm around Maggie giving her a hug.

"Then why she in pain and why is the doctor here with daddy in their room and why is Aunt Patricia runnin' around like a blue assed fly?" Maggie fires away her questions with a heavy confused sigh.

"MAGGIE - don't say blue assed fly!" Shawn tells her rubbing his forehead.

"Mamma's havin' the baby!" Jesus says hearing their mamma's moans from the bedroom.

"She is?" Maggie squeals delighted "Are we havin' a brother or sister, mamma didn't say, she said we'll find out on the day…so what do we have?" She asks tugging at Jesus's arm for confirmation.

"Don't know Mags." He says shushing her to quieten down and she nods retaking her seat beside him kicking her legs back and forth lightly hitting the bottom of the couch.

"What would ya like Maggie?" Shawn asks getting up and taking a seat beside Maggie when he hears another moan coming from their mother, wishing the baby would come sooner rather than later, he couldn't stand their mother in pain any longer, it was too much to bear.

Distracted, Maggie bites on her lower lip in happy thoughts and then her mouth broadens into a smile.

"A little sister, I already have two brothers, I don't got a little sister!" Maggie says adamantly.

"I don't have a little sister!" Shawn corrects Maggie and she nods that was what she meant to say.

"What would ya like?" She asks Shawn curiously.

"A sister!" He says without needing to think "Trouble over there is enough brother for me to take!" Shawn jokes pushing Jesus's shoulder and Jesus gives him a little bow and then composes himself staring back up the stairs when everything goes deadly quiet, he felt uneasy and a tightening in his chest.

"And you?" Maggie turns her head to Jesus and taps his cheek to answer her.

"I'd like another little sister too, she'll be cute as a button just like you but this time with mamma's golden hair and her big blue eyes and she'll sing like a hummin' bird and dance to the beats of her heart!" He smiles anxiously tearing his eyes away from the landing to Maggie.

"Let's pray for a little sister!" Maggie suggests climbing off the couch, sitting on her knees placing her elbows on the table with her hands joined together in a prayer pose.

Jesus follows suit and sits beside Maggie and he motions for Shawn to join them and he does sitting on Maggie's other side so she's nestled close in between them both.

"Dear Lord! It's Maggie Greene here and Shawn Greene and Paul Greene," Maggie begins "You are the potter, Lord, and we are like clay in ya hands and that being said, we'd really like a baby sister so if ya can make sure she doesn't have a willy when you mould her, we'll be most grateful - Amen!"

Shawn cracks open an eye at Maggie rendered speechless and glad their daddy wasn't within earshot because that would have earned Maggie a spanking over his knee.

Jesus just scoffs trying to stifle his laugh, Maggie said whatever came to her mind, it tickled him and he has to compose himself because G.I. Joe is giving him a stern look to shut up. Maggie was young and didn't know any better but they knew better.

"Amen!" Jesus says quickly before Shawn went into boring lecture mode with words of wisdom to Maggie.

"Amen!" Shawn puffs out a second later when he sees Maggie lost in her little thoughts.

Just as they open their eyes, they hear a loud cry, it was their mamma.

"Hold it right there Scout!" Shawn warns Maggie "Daddy said we have to stay down here and we're NOT to go up those stairs!" Shawn reminds Maggie grabbing her hand and pulling her back when she was about to run towards their mamma's cries.

Otis was meant to be back to take them as arranged but his truck broke down.

The bedroom door bursts open and there's running up and down the landing and the doctor shouting instructions they couldn't understand.

"Hershel, what's wrong? Why can't I hear her? Why isn't she crying? Please tell me what's wrong!?" They hear their mamma crying to their father.

Maggie jumped into Shawn, wrapping her arms around his waist, closing her eyes and burying her face into his chest terrified. Their mamma is the most cheerful and happiest person she's known but today, she was scared and frightened, that was not their mamma's normal behaviour.

Shawn grabs hold of Maggie tightly and reaches back to grab a hold of Jesus to huddle together but he only clutches the air. When Shawn turns around, he sees that Jesus wasn't in the room, the front door was swinging and then the screen door slams shut.

"PAUL!" Shawn shouts out alarmed, his heart beating faster than it ever has done before.

Before Shawn could run out after Jesus, they hear someone running across the flat roof of the porch.

"Shit!" Shawn says covering Maggie's ears knowing Jesus was climbing up the house to get to their parent's bedroom window. Their dad forbade them from going up the stairs so Jesus was climbing up the house.

Jesus could climb, jump and get from one place to the other with ease, an ability he discovered a couple of years ago and has been practising and has been using it to sneak in and out of the house to go exploring at night when everyone was asleep.

Shimmying up the pipe, Jesus grabs hold of the tiled panels, scoots quickly across to the centre, swings his body and throws his leg over. He hauls himself up over to sit on the window ledge. He turns and gets to his knees and presses his face up against the window trying to see what was going on. He sees his mamma on the bed being comforted by his Aunt Patricia. His mamma, was red and puffing in the face and looked exhausted. He follows her gaze to the side of the room where the desk is kept and he almost loses his footing as he stands up when he sees an unmoving baby laying on a towel on the table and he sees the doctor pressing her fingers down lightly on the naked baby's chest, he could only assume they were chest compressions. The baby's face was an unhealthy shade of white and then his vision is blocked when the doctor stands in his way leaning over and gently blowing down into the baby's mouth.

He remembers the day when their parents sat them down and told them, that in five months' time, there was going to be a new addition in the family. The odd five of them would become an even six. They were all excited at the news. They lived on a farm and have a wide range of animals so there were baby animals being born all year round and to have a baby baby due was the most phenomenal thing ever to the three of them. This baby wasn't going to be sleeping in the barn or in the coops, the baby will be sleeping in the nursery that once housed them when they were born.

Jesus wedged the window up and their father hears the rattling noise, turns and upon seeing his son standing out on the window ledge, rushes over and pulls him. Herschel doesn't get a chance to yell, he was too preoccupied with the baby and leaves Jesus standing by the window to help the doctor.

Jesus stares at the baby and the doctor working away and then turns to see his mamma in a state he's never seen before and it broke his heart.

"Mamma, she'll be okay, you have to believe she'll be okay!" Jesus tells his her holding her hand now.

Annette just stares at Jesus and he wipes her tears away with his hands and kisses her on the cheek "Have a little faith!" He whispers his mamma's sentiments whenever he doubted himself or worried in certain situations.

He places his mamma's hand back into Patricia's hand and takes a slow walk to stand behind his dad, he looked stressed. Jesus steps around and sees his baby sister, the sister that they had just prayed for not breathing before him. He swallows deeply looking at his father holding back his tears and he looks at the doctor working to save his sister's life, the sweat dripping down her forehead.

Jesus steps forward and reaches out and wipes the crown of golden curly hair and remembers the song his mamma always sang to them. He didn't know why but that song just came to him, it was like a prayer and it's everything he wants his sister to experience, this couldn't be it for her. He doesn't hesitate as he starts to sing wanting to see if the baby had big blue eyes, to hear her singing cries and her body wiggling a dance passing any strength he had from his body to her tiny fragile body.

"May God's bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay Forever young

Forever young, Forever young
May you stay Forever young"

Shawn holds Maggie tightly looking up to their parent's room listening to Jesus singing and quietly mouths the words to the song their mother always sings to them. Maggie listens not able to form any words.

"May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
And may you stay Forever young

Forever young, Forever young
May you stay Forever young"

Herschel and the doctor work in sync and Annette watches Jesus. Her tears have stopped and she clears her head praying watching Jesus singing those soothing lyrics she always sings to her children when they were distressed and needed comforting and encouraging with the troubles they cross in their young lives.

"May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
And may you stay Forever young

Forever young, Forever young
May you stay Forever young"

Everyone holds their breathes and then a wail of a cry fills the room and echoes throughout the house and this time, cries of joy can be heard in place of sorrow.

"Ya wanted to make an entrance, ya sure did Miss Elizabeth Greene, all eyes are on you!" Jesus says stroking his wailing sister's cheek watching her body bounce around energetically, opening her eyes to reveal crystal blue eyes blinking tears whilst she was being cleaned and checked out.

Herschel crouches down looks at Jesus proudly, pulls him into a body crushing hug with tears in his eyes.

"I've truly been blessed!" Herschel says placing a kiss to Jesus's head.

Once the baby was placed into her mamma's bosom, she stopped crying and settled down blinking up, stretching her arm up and wiping her face.

"Elizabeth, I'd like you to meet one of your big brothers!" Annette coos into the blanket wrapped around Beth whose yawning and then looking straight up at Jesus poking his face in to the blanket to take a closer look smiling.

"Hey there Little Lamb, don't be frightened, I'm not gonna hurt ya, I'm gonna look after ya!" Jesus promises.

He reaches down to touch Beth's little hand and when their skin touches, Beth latches on to his finger and doesn't let go.

Shawn and Maggie enter the room with Herschel behind them. When Annette looks up smiling and gesturing for them to come over, they run towards them and settle to one side sitting on the bed marvelling at Baby Beth.

"It worked! He actually listened!" Maggie squeals looking down at Beth.

Herschel sits down and wraps his arm around Annette's shoulder finally able to breathe and she leans her head down on his welcoming chest exhausted but happy being surrounded by all her children. Patricia gets out the camera and takes the family picture before Annette and Baby Beth needed to be taken to hospital.

Jesus's thoughts are interrupted when he hears light footsteps sprinting up the stairs, the door flings open and then a set of arms are draped over his shoulder with a newspaper spread out in front of face. He reaches out and takes a hold of the paper and scans the reviews with a satisfied look on his face. Beth wraps her arms around his neck and squishes her cheek against his whilst reading the reviews aloud for the second time. He can't help but chuckle at Beth's excitement and when she puts on the news reporters voice from KC News.

"Looks like, The Black Velvet Lounge is the place to be if we go on these reviews!" Jesus announces.

"Sure is and I can't wait for next Friday!" Beth declares letting go of Jesus's neck and dropping down onto the couch behind him.

Jesus folds the papers, tosses them down onto the table and twirls his chair around to look at Beth laying down on the couch looking up at the ceiling with a massive smile on her face, she takes a big sigh.

"I thought you were going home to the farm to check on Aunt Patty?" He asks cautiously.

"I was but Aunt Patty called and said she wants to come check this place out and she's gonna have a blast!" Beth beams climbing off the couch grabbing her purse and throwing it over her shoulder.

"I'll be waiting down at the bar, don't take too long, I'm famished!" Beth states rubbing her stomach and rushing out the door and back down the stairs.

Jesus throws his head back into the headrest and twirls back around to stare out into the street.

"Hey Boss!" Oscar calls tapping at the door "Got that info ya wanted, everythin' ya want is in this file on Shane Walsh!" He confirms dropping the folder down on the table "Here's his wallet and here's the untraceable cell phone ya asked for." Oscar says placing them down next to the file.

"Thank you!" Jesus says opening the file and scanning the contents, flipping the pages.

Oscar leans against the sideboard crossing his arms looking up at the multiple security screens of the bar on the wall waiting for the revelation of what he'd found out to come to Jesus's attention.

"Well fuck a duck, he's a cop!" Jesus says surprised "Interesting!"

"The guy, Rick Grimes - the dark haired guy with the five o'clock shadow, he's Shane Walsh's Partner, they've been buddies since they were in nappies and the other guy, I'm still digging there's - not much on him but I'm sure to find somethin' on the redneck but these two are quite the famous boys around here. Deputy Grime's file will be with you by this evening!" Oscar confirms.

"Excellent! But seein' as these guys are cops, we're gonna have to be careful but for now," Jesus say picking up the cell phone and punching in a few numbers as Oscar watches him.

"Good Afternoon, I'd like to place a large order of your finest please!" Jesus says into the phone "The fresher the better!" He agrees confirming the quantity.

"Yes, my card details are, if you'll give me a moment," Jesus says reaching for Shane's wallet and pulling out a Credit Card and Driver's License.

"My name's Shane Walsh, my address is 115 Addison Street, King County…the long card number is…the expiry date is…and finally the security code is…" Jesus confirms the details as he looks at a photo of a topless woman in a G-string hidden in a sleeve of the wallet and then he pulls out a couple of foiled packs on condoms and chucks them in the bin.

"I'd like to give a tip, lets say $100!"

"No thank you!" Jesus beams "And you have a wonderful day Eugene!"

Jesus cuts the line, unlocks his drawer and shoves the file in and locks it up again passing the cell phone and wallet to Oscar to get rid of the evidence.

"I'm taking the afternoon off to take Bethy and Maggie to lunch so if anyone wants me, I'm unavailable!" Jesus says whipping on his trench coat and pulling on his beanie and sorting out his long hair..

There were a few nice fancy places to eat but Beth liked to keep it low key and simple and he wonders whether to venture into one of those nice little family diners they drove by a few times and just grab cheese burgers, large basket of fries and onion rings to share and tall thick chocolate milkshakes.

They hear footsteps racing up the stairs and Beth pokes her head in.

"Jesus, you ready to roll?" Beth asks sweetly smiling at Oscar.

"JESUSSSSS HURRY UP!" They hear Maggie yells up the stairs.

"Yea, Maggie's hungry!" Beth confirms giggling.

"When is she not?" Jesus scoffs.

"I heard that!" Maggie yells back.

"I'll see ya later at openin' time!" Jesus smacks Oscar on the back giving him a smirk and Oscar nods smirking back following them out the room locking the door as they leave.

A/N: Like my other stories, this story will have occasional Flashbacks, I hope you don't mind just to show a few family moments and reasons for why Jesus is OTT protective of Beth. I hope those reading continue to read and follow.

We will be seeing Shane in the next chapter and Jesus will be there too!

FEATURED SONG: Bob Dylan - Forever Young (one of my mom's favourite songs!)