Chapter 7: Together

Days at the prison were starting to get easier. The Woodbury residents were starting to pull their weight while the original group still had their own routine they were used to. With more people around Rick's stress level was starting to go down to the point he was able to sleep peacefully at night. Finally he was able to spend more time with his kids and be a leader everyone deserved. He couldn't help but worry, it seemed like whenever things started to go their way they were hit with a massive blow. One morning he was heading into the cafeteria when he heard soft humming up ahead. Stopping at the top of the stairs he saw Beth cradling Judith while fixing breakfast. "Mornin,'" He said making her jump.

"Gosh, I thought everyone was still asleep." She sighed.

"Most of them are, where's Carol?" He asked taking Judith from her arms.

"She went to talk to Daryl while he's still on watch. I told her I could handle it for a little while. Besides I had to fix Judy something to eat." She explained handing him the bottle.

Sitting down at one of the tables he began to feed Judith while watching the blonde girl out of the corner of his eyes. "So how have things been going?" He heard her ask.

"Better, now that the Woodbury people have started helping it seems like things are finally going smoothly."

Beth was about to say something else when they were interrupted by a loud scream. Dropping the bottle he quickly handed the baby to Beth before telling her. "Go to your cell, stay there until I tell you its safe."

Nodding her head she followed his instructions. Closing the cell door behind her she cradled the baby trying to keep her as calm as possible. The screams were getting louder, followed by crying and yelling. "Beth?!" She heard her father yell.

"Daddy? In here!" She called back to him.

"Oh thank goodness," He sighed in relief seeing his youngest daughter behind the bars.

"Daddy, what's going on?"

"A walker got into the other cellblock but it looks like it was someone from Woodbury." He told her. "Have you noticed anyone ill lately?"

Thinking back she had noticed a few people coughing at their last shooting lesson. She just thought it could be allergies. "Yeah, but I didn't know how serious it was."

"I think it might be the flu but I can't be for certain." He explained. "I didn't even keep a check on what medicines we had but I know its not enough."

"How many are sick?"

"About ten or so but everyone that's been in that cell block has been exposed to it already so we're gonna need more."

Looking down at Judith Beth couldn't help but think, 'What are we gonna do?'

Her father's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "All right, have you seen Maggie?"

"She was with Glenn the last time I saw her."

Nodding his head he sighed. "When you see her tell her we might need her to go with Rick for an emergency supply run. You two are the only ones I can be sure will grab the right medications."

"I could go. I mean I've been around you enough to learn what you'll need. Carol hasn't been anywhere near that cellblock so she could watch Judith."

"Beth, I don't know."

"Daddy, please. I've been practicing my shooting for a few weeks now and I always have a knife on me." She said, her voice strong. "I'm not afraid anymore."

Closing his eyes Hershel thought it over. After several minutes he nodded. "Ok, I'll tell Rick while you go talk to Carol."

Opening the cell she stepped around him to head outside when her father stopped her. "And Beth." Turning around she noticed how afraid he looked. "Please be careful."

"I will, Daddy. I promise."

Rick was trying to calm the frightened residents when Hershel found him. "We need medicine and we need it quick. You and Beth need to go on a run."

Rick was quick to agree but stopped when he heard Beth's name. "Wait, Beth? Hershel are you sure?"

"No but don't tell her I said that." He mumbled. "I need to be here for the sick ones and we don't know where Maggie is. Beth knows what I need to treat everyone. Now go, the sooner you go the sooner you get back."

Nodding his head Rick left the older man to head outside to the SUV. Beth was waiting for him when he arrived. "You ready?"

"Yeah, lets go." She answered but she had to admit she was nervous. She told her father she wasn't afraid anymore but she had to admit she was scared.

"Where's Judith?"

"Carol has her, don't worry, Carol hasn't been around anyone sick so she'll be fine."

During the ride into town they fell into a comfortable silence. Rick stole glances at Beth and could see her hands shaking. He couldn't tell if it was excitement or nerves but he had a good guess. Stopping a few yards away from the local shops he turned to look at her. "Ok Daryl told me there's a pharmacy around here that should still have what we need. You go in there and grab what you can. I'll be right outside, just holler if you need me."

"Ok." She said grabbing her gun and holding it tight.

As quietly as they could they closed the car doors and headed into the town. Beth could hear the walkers from all around them but it was impossible to tell how many there were. Just hearing them sent shivers down her spine. Staying close behind Rick she kept turning her head trying to keep an eye out for any trouble. When he suddenly stopped she rested her hand on his back, gripping onto his shirt she looked up ahead to see a few walkers. Fear gripped her as she thought they were going to spot them and come after them but soon they walked off. "Lets go," Rick whispered as they started jogging towards the pharmacy.

When they reached the old brick building he checked the store window. "It looks clear, now hurry. We don't know how many there are." He told her.

Nodding her head she pushed the glass door open as softly as she could. Luckily there was no greeting bell above the door making them both sigh in relief. With a bag over her shoulder she scanned the aisles of the leftover medications. Thinking back to when her brother had the flu she remembered what her father gave him. The memory of Shawn complaining about the pills would usually make her laugh but she couldn't at the moment. Picking through the scattered boxes she recognized a few names and threw them in the bag. After going through each aisle she had found plenty of what she felt they needed and then some. She was about to head outside when she noticed a few walkers approaching Rick. "Oh no," She muttered looking around.

If she went out the front they would come after her giving Rick time to get away but she couldn't take them all on by herself. Turning on her heel she ran towards the back of the store. Lucky for her there was a fire exit that led into an alley. Pushing the heavy door open she knew she needed to get to Rick but she knew they both didn't have enough ammo to take on all of the walkers. Looking around she found a sharp piece of broken pipe next to a dumpster. She ran over to pick it up and then went over to where she last saw Rick. She just hoped she wasn't too late.

Rick saw them coming but he didn't know how many. Gripping his knife he calculated his move carefully. When one got close enough he stabbed it through the head making it drop to the ground. After the first one fell another came over. Doing the same thing he kicked the body away and took a few steps back. Glancing at the pharmacy he hoped Beth was almost finished because he knew he needed help. He didn't want to shoot his gun, the sound would draw them in and leave them both trapped.

He was so distracted by the walkers in front of him he didn't even notice one coming towards him from behind. Hearing a body fall to the ground he turned around to see Beth holding a piece of broken pipe with blood on the end. "Come on!" He commanded grabbing onto her arm.

A few walkers blocked their way which they took care of easily and ran straight to the car. Beth almost screamed when one jumped out at her from her side of the car but a single shot hit it in the head. Turning her head she saw Rick holding his Colt Python up. "Lets get out of here."

Climbing into the SUV she tried to catch her breath as Rick put the car in reverse. Backing up they headed in the opposite direction of the walkers who were quickly making their way towards the car. Out of instinct Beth held onto Rick's arm, her eyes wide watching the dead in front of her. The tires squealed as he turned the car around. Throwing the gear into drive he sped off in the direction of the prison.

Realizing her hand was still on his arm she pulled away from him. "Sorry." She murmured, her head down.

Glancing at her he noticed how red her face was. "Its ok, thank you by the way. You saved my ass back there."

"Well you saved mine too." She breathed. "I think I got everything Daddy will need. I just hope its enough."

"I do too." He sighed, leaning his head back on the headrest.

So this was my first time writing a scene with the Walkers, hope it was good :)