(Getting back into the swing of things, so here's a relatively short chapter of some cuteness and some building. Thank you all for being so patient. I know it's been a while since I've updated, but there is much more planned for this story. Also, yay, Richonne!)
Tears Chapter 10
"Who's this, Judy?" Carl asked while bouncing his little sister and pointing to Carol. The little girl was in the beginning stages of turning baby babbling into words, and trying to teach her new words and names was one of the ways the fractured group was trying to pass the time.
"This is Carol," Carl said, drawing out the name for the baby to hear.
Judith's little face scrunched up in concentration as she thought about how to form the word, her brain trying to memorize and repeat what her older brother had said.
"Cah," she said after some struggling, then looked to the boy with hopeful eyes to see if her attempt was successful.
"Almost," Carl said in a cheery voice. "Say Carol."
Michonne watched the two children for a moment, remembering when she'd done the same thing a few years ago. And, if all went well, they would be doing it again reatively soon.
The group knew about the baby. Rick had to tell everyone. After all, why would he leave his best fighter behind while he went on an overnight mission to clear out a warehouse?
The group had mixed emotions about the baby. They tried to be supportive about it, but Michonne could tell they were worried. Many of them had been on the road when Lori was pregnant with Judith and nobody wanted to be in the middle of walker infested woods with a crying baby.
The baby was the reason why Rick had decided to fortify the furniture warehouse they'd found. Being on the road with a newborn was impractical and reckless. They didn't have the prison anymore.
Now, Michonne was worried. The group had left two days ago, and they were only supposed to be gone for a day. She feared the worst, but wouldn't let her mind wander there. She wondered what was holding them up, but she wouldn't accept the very real possibilty that they weren't coming back. That was impossible to her.
"Ma!" She heard, pulling her out of her thoughts. It was a voice so similar to her own baby girls', that it almost startled her.
"That's Michonne," Carl said, pronouncing her name slowly. Judith just smiled and reached out to her, wanting to be held.
"Ma!" She said again, crawling from where Carl and her had been seated on the floor to the couch where Michonne was sitting.
Michonne picked the toddler up from the floor and pulled her onto her lap, where the baby immediately started playing with Michonne's dreads.
"Judy, what's my name?" She asked her.
"Ma!"
"No, baby girl, it's Michonne."
"Ma!"
She really didn't want Judith to call her Ma, because she wasn't her mother, but the baby seemed to have decided that that was her name. She knew it wasn't really being called her mom, it was just how the girl shortened and pronounced the word.
"How are you going to tell the difference between me and Maggie, then?" She said, in a last futile attempt to reason with the child.
"Gee!"
That settled it, then. Maggie was Gee, and Michonne was Ma, at least for the time being.
...
Rick and Glenn walked up to the door of the house, not bothering to knock before going in. They saw everyone lounging in the living room, but immediatly, the energy picked up again. Maggie got up and hugged Glenn tightly.
"Where are the others?" She asked, worried.
"We left them at the warehouse to make sure everything stays safe," he answered.
Rick walked in and immediately hugged his son, while Glenn answered everyone's questions.
"We were worried," Carl said as he let go. "Why are you so late?"
"We did a little work at the warehouse to make sure it's safe before we all moved in," Rick said, then looked around. "Where's your sister?"
"Upstairs, taking a nap with Michonne."
Rick ruffled his son's hair, before he walked up the stairs quietly and opened the only bedroom door that was closed. Inside, he saw Michonne laying on the bed with Judith sprawled across her belly and chest.
He stepped inside the room and shut the door quietly, but that little bit of sound woke Michonne.
Her eyes popped open, and she her arm instinctevly reached for the katana that lay on the bed in its sheath next to her. Her eyes found his, but it took a moment for her to register the absense of a threat.
"You scared me," she said softly, not moving because of the baby on her chest.
Rick walked over and sat on the bed, reaching over to hold her hand.
"I didn't think you were so easily scared," he said. "I thought I'd need more than a closing door to startle you."
"That's not what I'm talking about," she said, squeezing his hand. "I was scared when you didn't come home."
"I know, and I'm sorry, but I'll make it up to you. This place is going to be a home for us."
"I know it will. Did everything go okay?"
After catching up, Rick, Michonne, and Judith went back downstairs and rounded up all the supplies. What was left of the group was soon packed up and headed towards the warehouse.
By the time the group got to their new home, its defenses had been raised. The chain link fences were reinforced by the wood and pallets that had been inside. Walker traps, like the spiked bars they'd used at the prison, were lined up around the entrance, allowing only one person to pass through at a time.
The group squeezed through the walker traps and waited as Daryl opened the gate for them to come inside.
The warehouse was rather big, and the area the fences enclosed was even bigger. There was space between the fences and the building for a dozen tractor trailers to park. With a little time and work, they could have this place turned into a community.
"Rick, come look what we've been doing," Daryl said after he closed the gate behind them. He walked inside, followed by the whole group. The first floor of the warehouse seemed to be missing many of the boxes that were being stored there.
The group went upstairs, looking around curiously as they walked, then they all stood in shock as they reached the second floor.
The large empty space had been converted into rooms by strategically placed bookshelves. The rooms were lined up along the wall, giving each one a window for light. While they were still empty of furniture, Eugene, who had come over from assembling bookshelves, quickly assured them that there were enough disassembled beds downstairs to sleep at least fifty people.
"All we need are mattresses, but some of the other warehouses and stores nearby should have enough," he said. "We're going to use some of these leftover bookshelves for garden beds, some down on the ground, and some up on the roof. We have enough space to feed a hundred people."
"A hundred people," Michonne mused to herself, thinking of just how much food that would be. They had space to grow and to thrive if they planned things just right. For the first time in weeks, she felt a glimmer of hope.
"We've got to get food growing as soon as possible," Rick said. "We should go out and scavenge what we can in the meantime. We need to make this place last. Abraham, do you think there's any way we can expand the walls to that field over there?"
Abraham thought for a moment, looking off at the field.
"I'm sure we can," he said. "It'll take a shitload of planning, but we can use the supplies from those construction sites nearby."
"That field would work for corn and grains," Maggie said. "If we can find any place that has seeds we should stock up. Corn, oats, and barley would do well there."
"Maybe sorghum," Eugene added.
"This could work," Rick said, looking around at the group. "It has to. We have to make it work."