New Georgia Home Chapter 11, a walking dead fanfic

Hello all! Sorry it's been so long...

Got married two weeks ago this Saturday, then we went on our honeymoon. Currently, we're living out of my parents RV in their driveway until we move to New Orleans. In August. Yep. Two whole months. I'm working now too, so it's even busier. Hope you like it!

-A

Chapter 11:

Christmas had successfully come and gone without incident. Rick and Amanda chose to spend the day with Hershel, Annette, Daryl, Beth, Maggie, and Glenn. Shawn and his wife, Anna joined them with their daughter Katie and their baby Thomas, and Merle, Lizzie, Mika, Carol and Sophia came by later in the day. Christmas Eve was spent with Dale, and of course Daryl, Beth, and Merle were there. Christmas morning was spent at Amanda's; Amanda was excited to be able to give Carl things that she knew he'd love. Amanda was also able to give Daryl and Beth baby items that she'd knitted and crocheted, and she loved knowing that their child would have keepsake things. In truth, Amanda missed her family dearly, but she knew that it was important to spend Christmas with the surrogate family she had in Georgia. Two days after Christmas, her family surprised her by coming to see her, and they stayed till the new year. Amanda loved that her family surprised her, and she hated to see them go.

January, classes began again. Amanda was teaching the second part of Survey of American History, and was lucky enough to teach a class on American Civil War and Reconstruction. Funny enough, Beth had registered for her class, and was taking it. The baby wasn't due until July, and Beth needed to get the last of her general education courses finished. For the sake of the class, Amanda pretended not to know who Beth was, or that she was her best friend. Amanda's graduate focus was on the Civil War, and she was in her element. It was the second week of the semester, and Rick, Glenn, and Maggie had decided to sneak into one of Amanda's lectures. Rick was still focused on finding the Claimers, and had secretly been escorting Amanda to class. He was afraid that something would happen; he just couldn't take that chance. This particular lecture, Amanda was excited. She couldn't wait to teach that day, she was more excited than she probably should have been.

"I don't have a problem with Southern guilt." Amanda began, "I do, however, have a problem with Northern innocence."

The class seemed intent on listening; even the kids that were normally texting in class were paying attention. She noticed Rick, Glenn, Maggie, and Beth were intently listening, too.

"The South romanticized the war, but the North refused to bend. The Missouri Compromise was the nail in the coffin, really. You guys want to know what the Civil War was about? It was four years of misery. Four years of people starving to death. Four years of death and destruction, and you know what? Neither side was willing to give in. Both sides refused to give in, and they got what they wanted. They got a war."

Everyone was hooked at this point. Amanda had no idea where it came from, but she was talking about something she loved, and everyone knew she was just as interested as they were. Everyone was enthralled at this point, especially when she came to a story concerning the fall of Nashville, and everyone, it seemed, couldn't get enough.

"Nashville fell to Union troops. And at this point, Nashville, like ten blocks of it, was pretty much just one giant brothel. The troops were getting venereal diseases left and right—the Union forces there, they were getting taken out by syphilis so fast that it was causin' 'em problems. Pretty much, 1 in 3 soldiers were taken out by STD's. " She paused to collect her thoughts, the class was laughing.

"Anyway, Union commanders had enough. They decided they'd arrest all of the prostitutes and put them on a boat headed for St. Louis. Well, they got there, and the port people were like 'whatcha got on the boat?' and the boat captains were like 'whores', so they weren't allowed at the port. They had to go up to Ohio, and the port people there asked, 'whatcha got on the boat?' and the captains said, 'whores'. They were turned away again. At this point, you know, these hookers were pretty much destroyin' the boat, they weren't the classiest of ladies. So THEN, they finally get to Kentucky, and the same thing happens; 'whatcha got on the boat?' "whores!' 'sorry, can't stay here.'. The boat captain gets so fed up that he lets them go, and this army of hookers goes marching back to Nashville. And fun fact: prostitution was made legal, and it was taxed. Nashville allowed prostitution. Boats and hoes, guys, you're welcome. We're outta time, I'll see y'all on Monday. Don't forget, we've got a quiz on This Republic of Suffering. Read chapter 2. See ya!" Amanda dismissed the class. Rick and Beth walked up first, wide grins on their faces.

"Amanda, seriously, this was hilarious." Beth said giggling.

"If I'd had a history teacher like you in school, I might've actually liked it." Rick said. Maggie came up, smiling.

"Y'know, the kids on campus actually were telling people to take your class. Apparently you're the grammar Nazi, but they like you." Maggie said.

"Thanks, Mags. They all wanna take your Latin American Colonial History course too. You should hear how the kids remember some of those names." Amanda replied. Maggie laughed.

"I think one kid kept calling Quetzalcoatl something like 'Quetzal-Pretzel'. Whatever works!" Amanda added. Maggie laughed. Maggie excused herself quietly to answer her phone, and Amanda, Beth, and Rick heard Maggie squeal happily. She ran back over excitedly.

"Guess what? Sasha is having a little boy!" Maggie said excitedly. Amanda and Beth lit up; they were so excited.

"Do they have an idea on what they wanna name him?" Beth asked. Amanda and Beth had been excitedly waiting the day that Beth could find out what the gender of her own baby was, so that Amanda could monogram everything.

"Actually, yeah, they do. They said his name is gonna be Mason Robert Stookey. His middle name will be Bob's name." Maggie said, still beaming from ear to ear. Amanda had gathered her books and they were on their way out of the classroom; Amanda and Beth were riding with Rick.

"I can't wait! If I know Bob and Sasha, that baby will be beautiful." Amanda said. She was so excited to meet little Mason.

"I know, right? Well, I gotta head to class, then I gotta meet with Dr. Franklin. I'll see you later." Maggie said. Beth and Amanda waved goodbye, and the two girls joined Rick in the parking lot. All three climbed into the police cruiser, and were somewhat silent on the way home.

"I kind of hope this baby is a little girl." Beth whispered from the back.

"Why?" Amanda asked.

"'Cause Daryl is so manly. I don't know what I'd do if it was a boy." Beth replied. Rick laughed.

"The doctors told us Carl was a girl." Rick said.

"Really?" Beth asked, "When'd y'all figure out he wasn't?"

"Lori was about seven months pregnant, right before the baby shower. Lori was so mad he was a boy. But I was so happy, because it was a healthy little baby, as far as we knew. I was just a kid, though. I was scared, but I just wanted a healthy baby." Rick explained.

"How'd y'all come up with his name?" Amanda asked. Rick laughed, as did Beth.

"Hershel Carl Greene. Of course, Carl isn't Carl's first name either." Rick laughed.

"Yeah, it's Timothy Carl Grimes." Amanda said.

"Yeah, we had the hardest time comin' up with a name for him. But before Carl was born, I realized I wanted to name my first born son after the guy that was a father to me, and Lori wanted to name him after her brother that died in a car wreck. So we came up with Timothy Carl." Rick told the girls.

"I'm named after my mama." Beth added. "Elizabeth Louise Greene. Louise is mama's middle name."

"Yeah, my grandmother named me." Amanda said, "Amanda Leigh. That was after they all thought I was a boy and my name was supposed to be Thomas James."

"Wow. Almost like Carl." Rick replied.

"Except this was at the hospital and suddenly there was a girl." Amanda said. The three burst out in laughter as Amanda told them of the pictures of her in boy's clothes until she was a year old. Rick pulled up in Beth's driveway, dropping her off before heading back to Amanda's house. Amanda kissed him lightly on the cheek before getting out of the car.

"What time do you get off?" Amanda asked.

"Six. Will you have all the kids?" Rick asked.

"Just Carl today. Merle's off, so is Carol. They're taking the girls to Atlanta to go buy clothes." Amanda said. Rick nodded.

"Well, I reckon it'll just be us then." Rick said.

"Yep." Amanda replied happily, "I can't wait to see you this evening."

Rick smiled widely. "Me either." He replied.

Rick pulled out of the driveway and Amanda walked in, checking the house and locking the door behind her. She sat down on the couch, propping her feet up and turning on the TV. She hadn't been home for more than ten minutes when her phone rang.

"Hello?" Amanda answered.

"Hey. Are you at home?" Amanda hadn't even checked her phone; but she knew by the voice that it was Michonne.

"Yeah, yeah. I just got in. Whatcha need?" Amanda asked. It'd been a month since Amanda had spoken to Michonne last. Since Mike and Andre's death, Michonne had purposefully thrown herself into her work.

"Would you mind...If I stopped by for a little while? I just need to breathe. I know it's weird but..." Michonne began.

"Michonne, come on over. You know my door is always open." Amanda replied.

"Thanks, seriously. I'll be there in fifteen." Michonne said.

"Okay. I'll be waiting for ya." Amanda told her. Amanda said her goodbyes and hung up the phone, sighing heavily. She walked back to the guest bedroom, and opened up the toy box she'd bought at a thrift store for the kids. It had dolls she'd bought for Lizzie, Mika, and Sophia, toy cars that Carl played with, as well as toy guns and cowboy hats. But then, there was something she hadn't touched since before Thanksgiving: a toy bear that Sophia had given to Andre. Andre carried a stuffed animal around with him everywhere, and Michonne had forgotten his usual "baby dog" the first day she'd dropped him off. The boy screamed for nearly twenty minutes before Sophia had given him a bear that she'd brought. Amanda remembered the moment fondly.

"Here, Andre." Sophia said warmly, "This is Mack. He can be yours now."

Amanda's eyes filled with tears, remembering how over the month that she'd kept Andre, he constantly walked around with Mack, clutching the stuffed bear tightly to his chest. She'd pushed Andre to the outer corners of her mind as best she could; but today there was no use. She'd have to deal with it.

Michonne was true to her word, showing up fifteen minutes after she called. Amanda unlocked the door and let her in, and Michonne sat nervously on one end of the couch.

"You want some coffee or tea? Maybe a cookie?" Amanda asked. She looked at Michonne and frowned. Michonne had visibly lost weight. Amanda wasn't sure when Michonne had eaten last.

"Maybe some coffee, if you don't mind." Michonne replied. She still looked tired, almost empty. Amanda poured her a cup and handed it to her. The pair sat in an awkward silence for what felt like an eternity.

"Does it ever get better?" Michonne finally asked, "I could deal with losing Mike. I missed him even when I was with him. But Andre... I feel dead. I feel like a piece of me died right along with him."

Michone began to sob. Amanda pulled her close, hugging her tightly.

"You're the first person who hasn't tried to pet me or baby me." Michonne added.

"To be honest, Michonne, it's cause I don't know what to say. I don't know what you're going through. I've never lost a child, and I don't know what you're feeling. I don't know if it gets better, 'cause I've never gone through it. All I can say is that I'm here. That's all I can give you." Amanda said.

"That's all I wanted. I don't need people telling me they know how they feel. I just need someone to listen." Michonne replied.

"You know I'll always be here." Amanda said.

Michonne smiled. "I miss my best friend." She said, "Andre was named after my best friend, Andrea. When she died...I thought the pain couldn't get any worse, but it did. But maybe, just maybe, Andrea is taking care of Andre. I hope they found each other."

"They did. I know they did. You gotta keep going. Andre knew you loved him. He knew that you loved him more than anything." Amanda said. Amanda could hear the school bus roll to a stop; she knew Carl would be walking through the door. Michonne stood up, getting ready to leave.

"You don't have to leave, Michonne." Amanda said, "I think Carl may need some help with his math homework anyway."

Michonne looked relieved, as if wanting a reason to stay. "I think I'd like to help." Michonne said quietly.

Carl walked through the door, eyeing Michonne and looking visibly unsure of how to react.

"Hi, Miss Brown. It's good to see you today." Carl greeted nervously.

"It's good to see you too, Carl." Michonne said.

"Carl, do you have homework today?" Amanda asked.

"Not today. Well, except for that test I gotta study for." Carl said. Ah, the dreaded reading test. Carl had pulled his grades up significantly, but he was still struggling.

"Well, Michonne may be able to help you out today too. I gotta grade some reading responses. You wanna take over for me a while, Michonne?" Amanda asked. Michone nodded, and sat down at the table with Carl.

"I'll be there in a little bit, y'all. I gotta grade these, or those kids will pester me until they get 'em back." Amanda said.

"Isn't Aunt Beth in your class?" Carl asked.

"Yep. She's a kid too though!" Amanda said playfully. Carl laughed, and Michonne began to work with him. Amanda admired Michonne; not only did she have a law degree, but in her undergrad she had a BA in English/Political Science with a minor in Sociology. She spoke nearly perfect French, flawless Spanish, and a hint of Portuguese. She was brilliant, really, and Amanda often felt dumb just standing next to her. Lately, though, Amanda had hated to see the brilliant, vivacious woman that Michonne was shrivel up. Amanda wanted her to be happy, though she knew that'd be difficult.

An hour later, Amanda was still grading reading responses. She'd assigned What This Cruel War Was Over by Drew Gilpin Faust, and had made them read chapter one. She knew she assigned a lot of reading, but in the words of one of her old college professors: "we read because we're in college, if we don't like it, we don't have to be in college." Amanda put the stack of papers down, and walked over to the table. Carl had managed to do something a room full of adults couldn't seem to do: he'd gotten Michonne to laugh.

"Yeah, so my friend at school drinks soy milk. And he let me try some. It was awful!" Carl exclaimed. Michonne laughed.

"You don't know what you're missing. Chocolate soymilk is the best." Michonne replied.

"Mom—er, Amanda, tells me I have to drink milk so my bones will grow. Dad does too, but Amanda makes me chocolate milk." Carl explained.

"Well, my mom made me drink my milk, and I'm grown up." Michonne said.

"Yeah, Amanda says you're the smartest lady she knows. I guess that's cause you drank your milk, right?" Carl asked.

"Yep. Exactly why." Michonne laughed.

"I see Carl is keeping you entertained." Amanda said, giggling.

"Yep. I think young man is going to ace that test." Michonne said.

"I didn't miss any the last time. I like Michonne!" Carl said. Amanda laughed.

"I like you too, Carl." Michonne replied. She pulled out her phone, checking the time.

"Listen, I have to run. I promised Hershel and Annette I'd have dinner with them." She said.

"Alrighty. Don't be a stranger, you hear?" Amanda said as she walked her to the door. The two hugged, and Michonne smiled widely.

"Thanks. For everything. Carl is great." Michonne said.

"You know you're always welcome here." Amanda said. Michonne nodded.

"I know. I haven't felt this good in a long time. Carl thinks of you as his mom. And I'll be honest, I knew his mom, and you love him more than she ever did. Hold him tight for me." Michonne said.

"I will. Promise." Amanda said. She waved goodbye to Michonne and closed the door. She ruffled Carl's hair and began to make dinner, with Carl standing beside her the whole time. Tonight's menu was requested by Carl, one of his new favorite dishes since he'd met Amanda: poppyseed chicken casserole. Amanda had given Carl the task of stirring the green beans, and dinner was nearly ready. Like clockwork, Rick came in the door, smiling widely as Amanda greeted him.

"Hey sweetie." Amanda said. Rick kissed her, revealing a bouquet of yellow roses that he'd had hidden behind his back. Yellow roses were Amanda's favorite, and Rick surprised her often.

"They're beautiful!" Amanda exclaimed. Rick smiled.

"Thought ya might like 'em." Rick said, pulling Amanda in for a hug, "You look beautiful."

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." Amanda said. She put the flowers in a vase and put them on the kitchen table, and pulled the casserole from the oven.

"Hope you're not takin' a drug test. We've got Carl's favorite tonight." Amanda said. Rick laughed.

"Poppyseed chicken?" He asked. Amanda nodded. The three sat down to dinner, and Carl ate more than usual.

"So... Michonne came by today." Amanda mused. Rick looked up from his plate.

"Really?" He asked.

"She just needed some breathin' room I guess. She helped Carl study for his test." Amanda said.

"How's she doing?" Rick asked.

"Lost a lot of weight. Looks exhausted." Amanda replied.

"She's been tryin' to prosecute or indict anyone remotely connected to the Claimers." Rick explained, "She's more determined than any of us."

"Can you blame her though?" Amanda asked. Rick shook his head. Neither one of them wanted to discuss it too much in front of Carl. As they continued eating, Carl spoke first, with another random question, which he asked much like checking the weather.

"Can I call you mom in public, or will people make fun of me?" He asked. Amanda and Rick looked up.

"Why you ask that, buddy?" Amanda asked.

"Well, you're my mom. I just want people to know." Carl said flatly.

"It's fine with me, as long as you're dad's cool with it." Amanda explained. Carl looked at his dad with pleading eyes.

"It's fine with me, Carl, we already had this chat." Rick said. Carl nodded, and went back to eating.

Rick mouthed a silent "What was that about?" to Amanda, and she replied with a silent "I don't know". After dinner, the three took Scout for a walk, and then it was bath time for Carl. The three were watching The Incredibles before Carl's bedtime, with Carl laying in the floor, on top of Scout as usual. They were halfway through the movie when Rick's phone rang.

"Deputy Grimes." He answered. Instantly, his face fell, become white. He stood up, putting his belt with his gun holster on.

"I'll be right there." Rick said, hanging up. Rick motioned for Amanda to follow him outside, and she did, closing the door behind her so Carl couldn'

"It's fine with me, Carl, we already had this chat." Rick said. Carl nodded, and went back to eating.

"Deputy Grimes." He answered. Instantly, his face fell, become white. He stood up, putting his belt with his gun holster on.

"I'll be right there." Rick said, hanging up. Rick motioned for Amanda to follow him outside, and she did, closing the door behind her so Carl couldn't hear whatever was going on.

"We got officers down." Rick said, with a look of terror on his face. Amanda grabbed his hand slightly.

"Oh no." She replied. She didn't know who it was, but she knew that Rick took it hard. The sheriff's department was like a family; they all shared their joys and struggles together.

"Go to Beth's with Carl. You three wait there till I call you." Rick instructed.

"Beth's probably doing homework. She's pretty busy this week." Amanda said.

"She won't be tonight." Rick replied. Amanda knew something was wrong, she just didn't know what.

"Is something wrong with Daryl?" Amanda asked. He wasn't a cop, but he did do a lot for the sheriff's department. Daryl was part of the volunteer fire department as well, and dealt with the sheriff's department all of the time. Rick was trying to get him to join, but Daryl was hesitant about leaving Dale's shop.

"No. It's Merle." Rick said. Amanda's heart fell. Those little girls of his, and Carol too. They needed him.

"W—what's wrong?" Amanda asked.

Rick's face fell, and then he grew angry.

"The Claimers. All I know is that two deputies are down." Rick said.

"Who's the other deputy?" Amanda asked nervously. She prayed it wasn't Abraham, Tara, Rosita, or Bob.

Rick's face fell. Amanda was terrified, she knew what was coming next.

"It's Bob. He and Merle were respondin' to a call... I know they were injured, I knew Merle took a Claimer out. That's all I know." Rick said. Amanda nodded and kissed him, hugging him tightly.

"Go. You call me when you can. Be safe, Rick. Please." Amanda said.

"I will. I love you." Rick said.

"I love you too." Amand replied. Rick ran to his patrol car, turning on the siren and speeding away. Amanda took Carl and headed over to Beth's, and not surprisingly, Daryl was gone. Beth answered the door, her eyes red and puffy.

"Rick just told me. How is he? Do you know?" Amanda asked. Beth began to sob, and Amanda ushered Carl into Daryl and Beth's room where Lizzie, Sophia, and Mika were.

"They cut off his hand." Beth whispered.

"What?" Amanda asked.

"They cut off his hand. I don't know what all happened, but I know they shot Bob and I know they cut off Merle's hand. Daryl is at the ER right now, Merle's in surgery. He thought it'd be best if I waited here. Merle lost a lot of blood. What are we gonna do?" Beth cried. Amanda hugged her tightly.

"He'll be okay. It's Merle. No one can kill Merle but Merle, remember? He wouldn't leave those girls. He's gonna fight." Amanda said. She was trying to comfort Beth, but she knew that looking a limb was dangerous.

"I'm scared." Beth admitted.

"Me too." Amanda said.

Beth and Amanda sat in Daryl and Beth's room, watching movies with the kids and trying to keep them occupied. The girls didn't know of their father's injury, and Amanda wasn't sure how they'd react. Daryl had called two hours later and said that Bob's gunshot wound was non life-threatening, that it'd only grazed his arm. Merle, on the other hand, was still in surgery, and had narrowly missed going into shock. Amanda wasn't sure where Rick was, and was still waiting on his call. Amanda and Beth knew that Daryl wasn't leaving his brother, and so they waited for any news at all on Merle.

It was nearly midnight when there was a knock on Beth's front door. It was Abraham and Rosita.

"Amanda?" Abraham asked. Amanda's heart sank. Something was seriously, seriously wrong.

"Yeah?" Amanda asked.

"You need to come down to the hospital with us." Abraham replied.

"Is he okay?" Amanda asked. They knew who she was talking about, it's the reason they were there.

"He's been shot. We don't know his condition right now." Rosita said. Amanda fell to the floor, sobbing violently as Beth hugged her. Amanda stood up, wiping her eyes but still sobbing.

"Rosita, will you stay here with Beth?" Amanda asked. Rosita nodded.

"Take me to him, Abe. I need to be there." Amanda said.

"Amanda, he may not be around when we get there." Abraham admitted.

"But if he is, he doesn't need to be alone. I have to be there." Amanda repeated. Abraham nodded, and the two left in his patrol car. Amanda was unsure if Rick would be alive or dead when they got there, but she prayed he'd be okay. Only time would tell if he'd pull through, and Amanda didn't know what would happen.

As Amanda gazed out of the patrol car window, she continued to sob. She wasn't sure if he'd be alive when she got there, but she knew that this attackt hear whatever was going on.