Listen to Your Mother

Jamie had her eyes on her task and her ears on the guys at all times. Daryl had gone with Rick and Glenn out through the hole in the fence while she was working with Carol and Maggie to get the trucks tucked out of sight so no one would think to try and get in the prison. T-Dog was acting as a guide, pointing them in the right directions to get the cars in a line along the fence. Carol had originally been driving the trucks, but when her foot slipped passed the break and she nearly ran the man over, Jamie had taken on that task instead.

"You're good!" T-Dog called as he held up his hand in a signal to stop, watching the large silver truck break in place. Jamie put the truck in neutral and popped the key from the ignition, relieved that she had the time to get out of the truck again. It was even hotter than it had been that morning and her skin felt like it was going to start melting soon. She was covered in a glistening layer of sweat already, and she was sure her smell was ripe.

"Thank god," she whispered to herself as she hopped from the cab, actually feeling like it was cool outside thanks to the nice breeze and lack of a hotbox.

"All right, Hershel!"

Looking up after hearing Glenn's cheer, her eyes fell on where Hershel was supported on a set of crutches with Lori, Carl and Beth standing around him. Just the sight of the man already on his feet brought a smile to Jamie's face even as she shook her head in disbelief. She didn't know how the man did it, but he wasn't about to let a missing leg take him down.

"Bravo, old man," she praised him, even if he couldn't hear her.

Maggie stepped up next to her, smiling bright enough to light a room. She and Jamie shared a quick look of happiness and relief. Everyone on the property was feeling the happiness of seeing Hershel back on his feet. He brought with him a new hope, a hope that they really could survive through the apocalypse. They had fought this long, and they had fought hard, but now there seemed to be a beacon of hope for their efforts.

"Your dad is a brave man," Jamie complemented Maggie, seeing the woman seemed to glow with pride.

"That's my daddy," she answered, the pride ringing through in her tone as well. Clapping the brunette on the back, Jamie knew that Maggie had every right to be proud of him. To be proud to be his daughter.

"Walkers!"

Jamie's head snapped forward again so quickly she was surprised not to hear something crack, hazel eyes acutely looking for what Carl had called out. A couple of yards behind where the small group was standing, bundles of walkers were beginning to herd themselves into the courtyard that they had spent all morning clearing bodies out of.

"No!" Maggie screamed, taking off at a dead run.

Jamie mentally kicked herself for hesitating and followed the other woman, putting all of her strength into her legs to run as fast as she could. If felt like the day they had been looking for Sophia, running through the forest to try and find where the church bell was sounding. It wasn't a time to be worried about noise, so Jamie pulled Daryl's gun from her belt and took aim at the walkers closest to Carl and Hershel.

Distantly, she could hear Rick calling and knew that he would be making his way through the fences to get there. Focusing on the walkers, she ran straight into the fray to begin taking them out head on. It took too long to aim her gun when all she had to do with her knife was swing for the face.

"That gate is open!" T-Dog yelled from behind her. Jamie looked toward where he was referring, but her attention was caught by the sight of Lori still standing in place, her revolver in her hands as she took down the walkers stumbling for her.

Kicking a walker in the chest to get it out of her way, Jamie didn't bother with it more before she ran for Lori and snatched her arm in a crushing grasp.

"Get your ass inside!" the blonde ordered in a nearly vicious tone as she pushed Lori in the direction of where Maggie and Carl had run, trying to get into the tunnels of the prison where they weren't so open. Lori stumbled in surprise, both at Jamie's tone and her sudden appearance at her side. Jamie lifted her gun again and followed after Lori as she began to take careless aim at the walkers in their path, dropping them as quickly as she could.

"Lori! Come on!" Maggie was calling from the entrance to the gated doorway, Carl waiting halfway to help his mother. "Jamie!" she added on, seeing the walkers beginning to swarm in on the blonde woman. Her gun was drawing them to her, hearing her instead of focusing on Lori and Carl.

Her eyes flicked in their direction before she glanced over to where Rick was trying to get his gate open. He'd want her with Lori and Carl, to protect them. Cursing under her breath, the woman turned on heel and hightailed it toward the entrance, pulling the gate closed behind her. "Get to the cellblock, now!" she ordered them as soon as she was inside of the tunnels, moving in behind Lori to help her hobble along.

"Slow down," Lori gasped, already out of breath due to her condition.

"I will carry you if need be, now move!" Jamie just snapped, tucking her gun into her pants as they reached the man room outside of their block.

"This way," Maggie encouraged, wanting to get Lori safe inside of a cell as soon as she could. She needed to get back out there, both her and Jamie did. They could help the others and they had loved ones that were still out there fighting for their lives. Before Maggie was even at the cellblock entrance, however, another wave of walkers appeared from within, snarling and growling at the prospect of a meal.

"Other way," Jamie corrected, wrapping an arm around Lori's shoulder to lead the woman toward the tunnels. Maggie grabbed Carl in much the same fashion and together the all ran for their lives to get to the tunnels, Maggie slamming the barred door closed behind them with the hopes that it would stop the walker's pursuit.

Jamie kept a constant hand on Lori's arm, pulling her penlight from her pocket to stick it inside of her mouth. Her knife staying in her other hand constantly, raised for any threat that could come from around a corner. They hadn't removed all of the walkers from the tunnels, not by a long shot.

They only paused briefly when the alarms for the prison started to blare, red and yellow lights flashing in the corners. Jamie didn't linger long on the thought, realizing that someone was screwing with them. Someone had opened the back gate, someone had let the walkers into their cell, someone had turned on the alarms. Any walkers within a couple of miles would hear those alarms and it would bring them right down on top of them.

They were following the arrows painted on the walls when Lori stopped, pulling Jamie to a halt with her. Grasping at Jamie's arms, Lori grunted in pain as her face contorted with effort. Jamie's heart seemed to drop to her feet as she recognized the labour pains. "You had to go into labour now?" she asked incredulously, her eyes widening in fear.

"Labour?" Maggie repeated, rushing up to gently place her hands on Lori's sides in the hopes of balancing her.

"Mom?" Carl asked, his voice trembling with a fear Jamie hadn't heard from him in a long time. The winter and past events had hardened him quite a bit.

All four looked in the direction they had been walking when an entire group of walkers rounded the corner, gnashing decayed teeth as they reached toward them viciously. They turned back the way they had come, Jamie slipping herself under Lori's arm to take the woman's weight so she could walk her. Lori could feel the strength under Jamie's shoulder as she supported her, basically carrying her along. Just as she had threatened to do.

Every turn they made just seemed to lead them to more walkers, Carl taking the lead as he desperately tried to find somewhere safe to put themselves for the time being.

"In here!" Carl called as soon as he spotted a door, Jamie basically dragging Lori inside while Maggie helped Carl to slam the dented door closed behind them. There was no lock, so they had to sit with the hope that they could survive there long enough.

Moving deeper into the room, Jamie let Lori grab onto her in pain as another contraction broke through. She was nearly biting her lips to try and not make any sound, the agony on her face leaving a nauseous feeling in Jamie's stomach. There really wasn't much they could do for her, except protect her from anything that got in.

Only when they couldn't hear anymore walkers did they let themselves have even the slightest breath of relief. Maggie and Jamie were fretting over Lori, hoping beyond all hope that she didn't have the baby in a generator room.

"What are those alarms?" Lori gasped out as her contraction passed, still panting as she began to walk around. It seemed to help her a bit with the pain. Maggie dismissed the question and tried to get Lori to lie down, in hopes that it would help her relax and in some miracle slow the birth. Jamie had no clue what she was doing; she had never delivered a baby herself nor been there to witness someone else.

"No, the baby's coming now," Lori declined, grasping on a metal railing to support herself.

"We can't get back to the cellblock," Jamie forced out as she looked to Maggie. If they were stuck in that room, they couldn't get to Hershel or Carol. Lori would have to deliver the baby there, with only them to help her.

"It'll have to be here," Maggie agreed, sounding dazed.

Lori was struggling to take in air, her breaths laboured as she continued to grab at the railing. Jamie knew that someone was at least supposed to breathe properly while in labour and manoeuvred herself across from Lori on the other side of the railing.

"Hun, you have to breathe. Come on, deep breaths for me," she coached, forcing Lori to look in her eyes until she began to copy her. Maggie warned Lori that she was going to begin taking her pants off, both as a necessity for the birth and to try and made Lori even somewhat more comfortable. "That's it, just like that," Jamie soothed, resting her hands on Lori's arms and rubbing soothingly across the sweat soaked skin.

"We need to lay her down," Maggie told Jamie, the woman nodding her head before she helped Maggie to gently settle Lori on her back. The cement was cold and unforgiving, but they didn't have many options. Jamie briefly felt sorry for Carl, seeing his mother in such a state, but didn't let herself get distracted as she let Lori rest against her thighs while Maggie pulled Lori's pants off.

"I'll do your exam, see if your dilated," Maggie explained as she pulled the jeans off of Lori's feet. Jamie let Lori grab her arms, her head resting back against her stomach. She was entirely uncomfortable right now and didn't seem to care about the close contact between them. Carl, however, turned away as Maggie spread his mother's naked legs.

Jamie watched with a look of disgust and amazement, awed at Maggie's courage. She was sticking her fingers in another woman's vagina.

"I can't tell," Maggie admitted finally, pulling her hand free.

"I gotta push," Lori answered her through gasps. Jamie helped her to stand up, keeping Lori steady as the woman's hands clamped down on her wrists. She used Jamie as her anchor while Maggie stayed behind her, doing all that she could to tell if the baby was coming. Pushing down as hard as she could, Lori's pained eyes stared off past Jamie's shoulder before she cried out and her nails stabbed painfully into the other woman's forearms.

The blonde winced at the stinging burn, but didn't do anything more as she helped to keep Lori up and supported.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Lori assured once she had caught her breath somewhat, meeting Jamie's wide, panicked eyes. Aside from matters that included Daryl in danger, she had never seen such fear in that woman's eyes before.

"Are you sure?" Jamie asked, completely unsure of herself and what she was doing. Was she helping? Hindering? She knew that Lori would probably much rather look at anyone besides her at the moment.

"You're doing great, Lori. Just keep doing it," Maggie soothed from behind her, kneeling to check if there was any visible difference in Lori's progress. "Your body knows what to do, let it do all the work."

Taking a deep breath, Lori tried again. Her face contorted as she once more pushed down on her muscles, trying to push the baby out. Her hands were sure to leave bruises on Jamie's arms, but neither found an ounce of thought to care. Lori yelped in pain and had to stop pushing, Maggie rubbing soothing circles on Lori's lower back. Carl remained off to the side, still holding onto his gun, as he watched the scene with a pale face.

Lori looked up into Jamie's eyes briefly before hers closed and she gritted her teeth with the next push.

"Lori! Stop, don't push!" Maggie ordered as she was kneeling behind the pregnant brunette, her tone desperate. "Something's wrong!"

The order was given too late as Lori released a blood curdling scream, her nails gouging into Jamie's arms and releasing small rivers of blood. Jamie's own pained yelp joined Lori's scream, but she refused to jerk away.

Maggie pulled her hand away from checking on Lori's progress to reveal blood covering her fingers.

"Lay her down!" Jamie ordered once Lori stopped screaming, her face having lost all colour and sweat running down her cheeks. Jamie's arms came around her just as Lori's legs seemed to fold, Carl and Maggie grabbing at her as well. All three carefully helped to lay her down, the woman's looking like she was already dead.

"Mom…?" Carl begged quietly. "Mom, look at me. Look at me, keep your eyes open," Carl called out, taking Lori's hand.

"We have to get you back to dad," Maggie told her, even though Lori seemed too far gone to understand. With her free hand, Lori reached up to loosely grab at Jamie's shirt.

"I'm not gunna make it," Lori argued. Looking down at her, Jamie realized that Lori was fully aware of what was going on. She knew what was happening to herself, with the blood and the pain. "I know what it means," Lori interrupted when Maggie tried to explain. "And I'm not losing my baby." She stared up at Jamie was she spoke, her eyes holding a solid resolve even as her voice trembled with pain and effort. "You've gotta cut me open."

"No," Maggie denied. "We can't. We have no training, no supplies-"

"You don't have a choice," Lori interrupted, sounding fainter than before.

"I'll go for help-" Carl started as he rushed to his feet.

"No!" Lori shouted in a hoarse tone, looking over to her son.

Maggie continued to try and persuade Lori to change her mind, to let them get her back to the cellblock where Carol or Hershel could be. Jamie, however, felt oddly numb. Lori already knew her decision, and it was final. No amount of arguing was going to change her mind. That terrified Jamie, because that would mean that Lori knew she was going to die. Lori knew that to save the baby, she was going to die.

"Jamie has to do it," Maggie argued, looking up to the blonde woman. The suddenness of the comment made Jamie jump, her head snapping to the side as she looked at Maggie with a look of bewilderment that gave way to fear.

Her voice shook as she spoke, "What? No…I-I can't-"

"Your hands are steadier than mine. The cut has to be precise so that you can open her cervix without cutting the baby," Maggie argued. It was then that Jamie noticed she was trembling all over. Her hands on Lori's knees, covered in blood, were shaking with the quakes in her body. Jamie, however, looked down at the hand she had on Lori's shoulder to see that it was still. Just as still as it had been when she held her gun to kill someone.

"Please," Lori begged from below Jamie, reaching up to grasp her bleeding arm. "Save my baby."

Maggie and Jamie carefully traded places, leaving Jamie between Lori's spread thighs. Lifting Lori's shirt with a surprisingly steady hand, the blonde found the scar from when she had given birth to Carl.

"Jamie," Lori started as she looked to the terrified woman kneeling between her knees. "I want you to know that…I forgive you. And I know." Jamie blinked in surprise as she looked up at the mother, her hazel eyes as wide as a child's. "I know you didn't do it. That you didn't kill Shane." Maggie and Carl both looked between the two women in surprise.

Jamie opened her mouth to protest, but Lori shook her head.

"A person wouldn't kill someone and have nightmares about it every night. They wouldn't fear it. It was Rick, I know. And thank you, Jamie, for protecting him. Thank you so much. I got to have these past couple of months with my family. I don't blame you, sweetie, I know why you lied." Jamie's chin trembled as she fought against her feminine urge to bawl her eyes out at Lori's words. She forgave her. "You be strong. You promise me that no matter what happens in the future, you will be strong and you will protect my family."

She was blinking rapidly against tears as she looked into Lori's eyes, soft and maternal. "I promise, Lori." Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss against Lori's large stomach. "I'll protect all of them. You have my word. You're such a good momma," she assured, reaching up to grasp Lori's hand tightly.

When she pulled back, she carefully took Carl's knife from him, her lip trembling as she listened to Lori speak to her son. Told him not to be scared, to take care of his father. They were her final goodbyes. The farewell from a mother.

"You don't have to do this," Carl begged, his voice breaking as he began to cry. In that one, heartbreaking moment he knew that he was about to lose his mother. And he had been treating her so horribly. The guilt began to tear him apart as tears left tracks down his still childishly rounded cheeks.

"You're gunna be fine," Lori assured, her voice breathy and calm. "You are gunna beat this world, I know you will."

Jamie's eyes began to burn with her own tears as she looked down at Lori's scar. At the flesh she was about to maim and tear open anew.

"You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave, and I love you." Lori's eyes were brimming with tears as she looked up to her child. Her son. She wouldn't know her baby, she wouldn't know if it was a boy or a girl, if they lived or died. She would know them. But she could say goodbye to her son. She could help him to understand.

"I love you, too," Carl whispered to his mother, memorizing her face. Her eyes, her lips, the pallor of her skin and the tone of her hair.

"You gotta do what's right, baby. You promise me you'll always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world, so don't—so if it feels wrong, don't do it. All right? If it feels easy, don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you. You're so good," Lori praised as she wiped at Carl's falling tears, cleaning them from his freckled cheeks as Maggie and Jamie watched on with breaking hearts. "You're my sweet boy. The best thing I ever did, and I love you."

Pulling Carl down to give him one last hug, Lori continued to chant her love for her son as she held onto him, sobbing through her words. Maggie and Jamie weren't better off, tears falling freely as they tried to be quiet, to let the mother and son say their final goodbyes in peace.

"Jamie, when this is over I need you to-"

"No," Jamie declined, knowing what Lori wanted of her.

"You have to do it! It can't be Rick!" Lori shouted out through the building pain in her abdomen." Unable to further deny her, Jamie's head bowed her acceptance. She quickly wiped her arms across her face to remove the tears, letting her see clearly again.

Letting out one last long exhale, Lori stared up at the ceiling. "Goodnight, love," she whispered.

"I'm so sorry," Jamie whispered back as she placed the knife to the very left of her scar before digging the blade in just enough to slice flesh before dragging it across the length of the scar.

Blood immediately welled to the surface as Jamie fought against throwing up and looking away, Lori shrieking in agony as the pain registered and rippled through her entire body. Jamie forced herself to ignore the screams, ignore Carl's please, as she stuck her hands in the wound to feel at Lori's cervix. Dipping the knife in again, this time she cut through the protection around the baby. Lori went quiet, her body shaking as she passed out, and began to quickly fade away.

Carl stayed close to his mother, whispering and mumbling to her as Maggie rushed to help keep the cut open so that Jamie could see what she was doing. The blonde remained fully focused as she kept one hand holding open the gaping would with the other reaching into Lori's cervix for the baby. Through the blood and fluid, her head found a smooth, soft head.

"Maggie," she choked out, dropping the knife to instead use both hands to guide the baby from the gaping wound. Maggie's hands trembled as she watched the small body be pulled from Lori's still body, the small newborn not making a single sound.

"Turn her over," Maggie ordered. "Rub and tap her back."

Jamie did as she was bid and manoeuvred the baby over one arm, on her stomach, to rub and pat her tiny back. Not a moment later, the small thing gave a weak cry before beginning to cough and cry louder. Carl was suddenly there, his vest in his hands, as he helped her to wrap up the baby protectively. She began to cry louder and squirm in Jamie's hold.

Looking down at the gore covered face of the tiny baby, Jamie began to cry again. Knowing that the shock of her actions would be setting in, Maggie took over and cut the umbilical cord that kept the baby attached to Lori. As soon as the baby was free Jamie wrapped her up in the vest completely, rising onto shaking legs. She couldn't bring herself to look down at Lori.

"We have to go," Maggie urged, also standing.

"Wait," Carl stopped them. "We can't just leave her here, she'll turn."

Remembering her promise, Jamie closed her eyes in resignation before she turned to face Maggie, holding the baby out to the other woman. Once her arms were free, she turned to look down at Lori's still form. Blood and fluids covered the floor, stained their clothes. It marked that place; where Lori had died.

"No," Carl denied, stopping her cold.

"I promised her-"

"But she's my mum," Carl urged, drawing his gun to punctuate his words.

"No, Carl," Jamie snapped in a hoarse tone. Kneeling in front of the boy, she grabbed his arms almost roughly. "You will not do this. You won't!" She shook him with her final words, trying to make it absolutely clear. They were both crying, both shivering. "I won't let you." Taking a deep breath and lifting her hands to frame his face, uncaring of the blood that lingering on their flesh. "You remember her as she was. You remember what she said to you, and that she loved you. That is what you keep with you."

Carl was openly crying as he looked down at the women before him, her hazel eyes hardened but desperate. She was keeping her promise; she was protecting him. Nodding his head dejectedly, Jamie gave a quivering smile.

"Go with Maggie, and keep your baby sister safe."

Carl moved past her on stumbling feet for a moment before he gained more confidence in his movements and walked with Maggie out of the old, musty room that they had been forced to hide away in. Closing the door behind them, neither one looked back at Jamie or Lori as they departed. They put their focus entirely on Lori's last gift to the world.

Pulling her gun from her belt, Jamie moved to kneel next to Lori's head. Her eyes were closed and her head tipped to the side. Reaching forward, she pressed her knuckles to the back of the woman's cheek. She was still warm, but the chill was already seeping into her flesh. Turning her hand over, she cupped the woman's cheek as tears dripped from Jamie's eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Lori," she whispered, stroking a thumb across a pale cheek. "But she's beautiful. You had a daughter; a beautiful, healthy daughter. And we'll keep her safe, all of us, we'll make sure this world doesn't take her, too." Smiling sadly, Jamie leaned forward to kiss Lori's forehead in farewell. "You're so brave, Lori. And I am so proud of you."

Placing the barrel of her gun to Lori's temple, Jamie let her eyes close before she pulled the trigger. She could feel Lori's body jerk from the impact of the bullet, the splash of blood subdued because of a lack of heartbeat.

Lurching back to fall on her butt, Jamie's hands came up to cover her face, sobs beginning to shake her body. She had kept her promise, yes, but she felt so wrong having done it. Lori had been right, Rick couldn't be the one to do it, but Jamie wouldn't let Carl do it either. He needed to treasure the good memories with his mother; shooting her corpse should never be in his mind.

Lowering her hands as she sniffled and coughed against her tears, Jamie let her eyes fall on Lori's still body.

She wasn't going to leave her here.

Lori deserved a proper burial—somewhere the she could be visited and remembered. Prayed to and spoke to by those who loved her. That closure was going to be needed, especially by Rick. He hadn't been here, he hadn't gotten to tell her goodbye, or that he loved her. Letting Lori rest in peace, properly, would hopefully help with that goodbye.

Rising onto legs that shook a moment, Jamie looked around the room to try and find something that she could wrap Lori's body in. If she could then she was going to preserve both Lori's modesty and her memory by hiding the gore she, Maggie and Carl were likely never to forget. Ripping through the old room, Jamie pulled off tarps and other dirty materials, hoping to find something that Lori could be wrapped in. Everything was decayed and eaten by bugs, barely keeping together.

Looking back at Lori's body, Jamie steeled herself and left the abandoned room. She secured the door as best she could before running as fast as she could to where she remembered the laundry room to be. It was where Rick had killed Thomas, so it was hard to forget. She didn't want to leave Lori's body alone there for long; she didn't want to chance that anything would get in that room.

Taking out walkers without even really focusing on them, Jamie's hand and knife were dripping with their blood by the time she reached the room, immediately beginning to go through the shelves in search of a large sheet. Taking an entire stack of them, the blonde tucked them under her arm and rushed passed the body of Thomas as she ran from the room. He didn't even deserve a second glance.

Her feet pounded on the ground, echoing through the halls as the only sound. No walkers met her on the way back, leaving the halls dark and quiet. They were like a tomb.

Slowing her stride when she reached the room once more, the door was slightly ajar. Rushing inside and pulling her gun, Jamie dropped the sheets on the floor and jumped the small set of stairs to where Lori's body was left, her heart in her throat. The rasping of a walker, however, made her blood boil. It was kneeling in the blood around Lori, but had yet to actually touch the woman.

Stepping right up to the dead man, Jamie put her gun away and instead drove her knife down into the top of his skull, putting her rage into that one hit. Pulling it free with a wet sucking sound, the man dropped down next to Lori. Grabbing him by his arms, Jamie pulled the corpse away from where Lori was lying, screaming in outrage at it as her knife sunk into his face three more times before she moved back with a heaving chest.

Her heart was racing and her hands were shaking, but she was glad she was able to get back before he bit into Lori. If her body was still warm, the walkers would think her to be fresh meat and eat her.

Jamie was not going to let that happen.

Collecting the sheets once more, Jamie tore off a strip of one sheet to wrap around Lori's stomach. She would let the woman keep her body as intact as possible, with a wound as gaping as the one Jamie had cut her with, her insides were likely to fall loose.

"I'm sorry," she chanted as she worked, wrapping and tying the rest of the sheet from Lori's stomach to her feet, soaking up blood. Laying the other two sheets on the floor where no blood was, the woman diligently made sure the sheet was completely open.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, kneeling next to Lori. Carefully slipping her arms under Lori's shoulders and knees, Jamie hoisted her out of the puddle of blood and gore to place her in the center of the sheets. Blood still soaked through, but not nearly as much. Wrapping sheet carefully, tightly, around Lori's body, Jamie sat back to take a calming breath. "I'll make it right," she whispered to Lori as she leaned forward to pick her up again, ignoring the weight of the fully grown woman's body. She was lighter without the weight of the baby, and much of her blood was on the floor behind Jamie.

Stumbling her way over to the stairs, Jamie tightened her grip on Lori's cradled body before she continued.

"Just be at peace," she whispered to the chilling body. "Just rest, and leave everything else to us."

She took the same route that the four of them had taken to get into the tunnels, leading back toward their cellblock as she followed the arrows in reverse. She only had to stop a couple of times to adjust her hold on Lori, but most walkers had been killed already.

Carl. She knew that it must have been Carl.

He protected his baby sister, just like she told him to.

The light in the cellblock was almost blinding in comparison to the tombs, but Jamie just blinked it away. Lori needed to be buried before too long. Her body wasn't going to last forever. Leaving the cellblock behind her, she was only a couple of yards from the door when she heard the loud cries of a baby, screaming clear as day.

"Hear that, Lori?" Jamie gasped out as her arms began to feel like lead. "She's healthy, and has a sure set of lungs on her."

Nudging the outside door open with her foot, Jamie had to close her eyes against the blinding sunlight, stopping just outside the doors. Anyone speaking outside went silent, the only sound in the courtyard being sobs of grown men and women and the piercing cry of a newborn. Blinking her eyes open, Jamie looked toward the others of the group.

Rick was on the ground a couple of paces behind Carl, on his knees as he stared up where she was standing, tears glistening on his cheeks. He looked ragged and torn. Jamie focused on Rick was she began walking again, manoeuvring herself and Lori carefully down the steps and through the open gate, just shy of where Rick was standing.

Her arms were shaking with fatigue and she almost feared she'd lose her grip on Lori, but Rick got up from his knelt place on the concrete once Jamie was free of the cage and rushed forward. He stopped just short of touching Lori, seeing the bloodstain on the sheet that was caused from Jamie shooting her through the head.

"She deserves peace," Jamie choked out finally, looking up to Rick as her eyes burned with fresh tears. All of the crying was making her head pulse with pain, but she refused to acknowledge it. "I'm so, so sorry, Rick," she gasped, choking against sobs that were starting to shake her chest and shoulders. Rick finally reached around Lori's body to take her weight from Jamie, but he ended up sinking to his knees as he looked at the sheet, where his wife's face would be beneath.

Jamie went down with him, letting Rick cradle Lori's body while he had the chance.

A strong set of hands gripped at her upper arms, drawing Jamie back as Rick let out loud, heartbreaking wales through his pain. Jamie recognized that it was Daryl, right there, with his arms wrapping around her from behind. She was shivering, she realized. She felt so cold, even in the beating heat of the sun. She just felt cold.

"It'll be a'right, Angel," Daryl tried to assured as he leaned against her sweaty hair. He didn't care that she seemed to have blood on just about every section of her body. "Everything'll be a'right."

I absolutely bawled my eyes out while I was writing this chapter. That episode always made me cry, not matter how much I disliked Lori, the goodbye she gives to Carl and Rick's reaction just tore me apart every time. I hope you all liked it, as heartbreaking as it may be, and I look forward to any reviews. Let me know what you think about how Lori wasn't eaten by a walker; that was something I wasn't sure I was going to do at first. It seemed right, after the little heart-to-heart she and Jamie had.

Chapter 11 – Wings of Blood and Bone

"I just wanted to see if you needed any help; daddy said your hands were pretty bad," Beth offered, looking a bit out of place. "I…I could wash your back or help you clean your hands." Sitting straighter on the bed, Jamie blinked at Beth's suddenly shy nature. The teenager had been gaining confidence gradually since leaving the farm, now able to shoot walkers and speak confidently. But she was shy again.

"Do I scare you?" Jamie asked quietly, thinking back to how Beth had thanked her on the day she ended up killing Thomas. "Are you...afraid of me?" Jamie was worried that the answer would be yes, that Beth was afraid of Jamie after everything she had gone.

But Beth denied it, shaking her head as she strode quickly into the room. "I'm not afraid of you, Jay. Never," she assured the other blonde, standing only about two feet away from her. Even in the faint light, with Jamie sitting unabashed in her underwear and bra, Beth sounded as sure as she could be. "I'm not afraid of you…but you're…you're very…" the girl couldn't seem to decide on what to say, how she could explain herself to Jamie.

Jamie just waited patiently, the cold water dripping from her hair and down her body.

"You're strong," Beth finally said. "You're strong and beautiful, and nothing seems to scare you."

Jamie actually let out a dry laugh at Beth's words, looking away from her innocent eyes down to the water covered floor. The blood and dirt from her body stained the concrete, the water from the bucket left mostly clean since she had been ringing the rag out on the floor. "I'm terrified of a lot of things, Beth. The only time in my life that I was more scared than today, was the day I thought Daryl was dead, when Andrea shot him.