Finger On The Trigger

Part II

Chapter 9

Beth-

Merle sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall while Shawn and Annie crawled around beside him.

I slid down the wall next to him and laid my head on his shoulder.

"Do you think they're really there?" I asked.

"Gotta be."

"And if they're not? What then?"

"If they ain't there, we find ya some place safe ta have that kid then after a lil' while we'll get back on tha road an' try ta find 'em."

"That's assuming I make it that long," I mumbled.

"Ah hell. I know you'll make it. Ya have ta fer these two kids an' that one," he said, pointin' at my stomach.

I sighed and watched them crawl around. "But what if we get there and we can't find them? What if they're all gone? What if none of them are left?"

"We'll find 'em," he muttered after a moment of silence.

Rick-

"If we're goin' back to find Beth, we need a plan," I said to the others.

Maggie scoffed and shook her head. "We already have a plan, Rick."

"Yeah, I know y'all do but it has too many holes in it. We'll never…."

"We don't need your help on this. We have a plan and we will bring my sister home but make no mistake, we are not bringin' her home to you!"

"Maggie," Glenn said and put his hand on her shoulder. "You can do this later, after we find Beth but for now, we're waistin' time here."

"I know," she said to him. "I just don't want…."

"You don't want Beth to come home to this, I know. We all know that but she can handle this when we get her back."

She nodded then glared back at me.

"We'll find my sister and then we're all havin' a talk."

I looked around at the others and they were all starin' at us and they were probably waitin' for Maggie to knock me on my ass, which she had every right to do.

They all finally started lookin' away and goin' about whatever they had been doin' or needed to do and left me standin' there.

I didn't blame Maggie for bein' pissed. I had fucked up.

Beth-

"Here," I handed Merle a bag of supplies we had gathered and he stuffed it in the trunk of the car before turnin' around to pick the babies up off of the ground.

"Ya should let me put 'em in those car seats," he said.

"I wouldn't mind that but in case somethin' were to happen, I would rather not have to fight with a car seat to get them out. They'll be fine without them."

We had put most of the supplies in the trunk and packed the backseat and floor of the car with all of the pillows and blankets we could find so we could put Annie and Shawn back there without worryin' about them flyin' all over the backseat. Of course that didn't stop Merle from suggestin' and even findin' some car seats for them.

"Alright," he groaned. "They're in."

I smiled and peeked in at them in the floorboard. "I guess we should get goin' then."

I bit my lip as we pulled away from the church. Knowin' this would probably be the last time I would be in Georgia made me want to cry but I choked back the tears because it would have only caused the babies to start cryin' and we couldn't have that.

Maggie-

We were gettin' ready to go back for Beth but I needed a break.

I know everyone thinks I'm takin' my guilt out on Rick and in someway that may be true but I couldn't understand how or why he would do what he's done.

He had loved Beth and she loved him.

Rick-

I finished packin' up some things to carry with us then went outside to where Maggie was sittin' on the porch.

She didn't look up or say anythin' to me when I sat down beside her. I didn't really expect her to but after sittin' there in silence for a few minutes, I decided to get it over with.

"I know you hate me, Maggie, and you have every right to hate me but I want you to know that I'm sorry for the shit I've done. I love Beth and when we find her, I'll tell her everythin' and if she hates me too, well, I'll live with that as long as I know she's back with us and she's safe."

She snorted and looked over at me.

"The way you say that, like it's nothin', like you've rehearsed it, it's disgusting! She may have walked away but you're the one who gave up. You gave up on her and then you forgot about her. The way you moved on so quickly reminded me of how quick you moved on from Lori. The only difference is, we all knew you and Lori had been over for a long time and we knew you loved Beth, or at least we believed you loved her."

She looked back out at the street and shook her head before she continued.

"I think, what hurts the most is that Daddy trusted you and believed you were a good man but if he were here now, he would be more than disappointed in you."

"You're right about that. He would be but he's not here. If he were, I'd talk to him about it even though I know I was wrong. I made a mistake, Maggie. I know that, you know it, everyone in the house knows it and come time, Beth will know it but I need you to hear me out. Will you do that? Will you let me try to explain?"

I watched her bite her lip as she stared at me and then she nodded.

Merle-

"What's wrong?" Beth asked as she jerked awake when I slowed tha car down.

"Nothin's wrong. I'm jus' gon' stop for a bit. Figured we could both get out an' stretch our legs an' maybe we could all eat somethin'. Sound good?"

She nodded an' muttered, "I have to pee anyway."

"Aight. Think ya can take a piss on tha road 'stead a goin' out in tha woods?"

"I've done it before, Merle, now's not any different."

Beth-

I waited until Merle had gotten out of the car and came over to my side before I got out.

He opened the back door to check on Annie and Shawn while I squatted between the doors.

"They're both fine, Mama," Merle said. "I'ma get us somethin' ta eat then we'll feed 'em an' get back on tha road."

"Okay," I mumbled as I took his place at the backdoor to look in on them.

They were both still layin' down on a pillow but they were awake and cooin'.

After we all ate and we got Annie and Shawn's diapers changed, we got everythin' straightened out and got back in the car.

Merle-

We hadn't been back on tha road fr more than fifteen minutes when Beth screamed out fer me ta stop.

I slammed on tha brakes an' put tha car in park 'fore I looked in tha back ta make sure tha babies was alright.

After seein' they was fine, I looked over at Beth an' was 'bout ta ask 'er what tha hell was wrong when I saw she had 'er hand on 'er stomach an' was starin' out a tha window.

I saw she was starin' at tha state line 'fore she looked over at me with tears in 'er eyes.

"We're really leavin' Georgia, Merle."

A/N: I left out Rick's explanation to Maggie because I feel like we should hear his reasons when he finally gets to talk to Beth. Don't y'all think that would be best?

Anyway, please leave a review!

-A