After Carl shot Lori, he and Ellie made their way back to the others. The baby was a girl.
"…We're goin' back. Daryl and Glenn-" Rick instructed but stopped when he heard the sound of a baby. He turned around and saw Ellie. Her cheeks were tearstained and her hands were covered in blood. In her arms was a baby wrapped in Carl's jacket. A little girl. Beside her was Carl. Everybody stared.
"L-L-L-," Ellie tried to say, but was crying too much. Rick slowly walked towards them, dropping the axe he was holding.
"W-where i-is she?" Rick asked. His eyes were swelling up. Ellie gulped.
"I-I-I'm s-s-sorry," she managed to say. Rick looked at Carl and walked towards him. He wiped his face and bent down next to his son.
"Awe, no. N-no!" he sobbed and burst out crying. He fell to the ground and just cried. Ellie stood there, crying and looked at everyone. Daryl instantly went to her. He swung his crossbow over his shoulder and carefully lifted her chin with his hand. She looked up at him and he pulled her closer and hugged her.
"Shhh. It's okay. It's alright, Ellie," he said soothingly. She finally calmed down and handed the baby to Carl.
"Let me see the baby," Hershel instructed Carl. He took her to Hershel.
"Whadda we gonna feed it?" Daryl asked, apparently concerned. "We got anything a baby can eat?"
Hershel inspected the baby. "Good news is she looks healthy. But she needs formula, and soon or else she won't survive."
Daryl shook his head. "Nope. No way. Not her. We ain't losin' nobody else. I'm goin' on a run."
"I'll back you up," Ellie told him. He hesitated, but nodded. Before they left, he pulled Maggie and Glenn aside.
"Kid just lost his mom. His dad ain't lookin' so hot, neither," he whispered. Maggie nodded.
"We'll keep an eye on 'im," she assured him. He nodded and he and Ellie made their way to the motorcycle. "Get the gate!" he told Glenn. "C'mom, we're gonna lose a life!" When they got to the bike, Daryl turned to Ellie. "Sure you're up for this?" he wanted to make sure. She nodded.
"I have to. For Lori," she said. He nodded and stepped forward to kiss her. She accepted and wrapped her arms around his neck. When they broke apart, she rested her forehead on his.
"Let's go," he whispered. She nodded and they got on his motorcycle and drove to the nursery. When they got there, Ellie got off first and observed their surroundings. When she made sure it was clear, she looked through a window and smashed it with her gun before she carefully hopped in. She looked around and grabbed a few baby bottles while Daryl climbed in, too. The two took anything that would be useful, including toys, pacifiers and bottles, before going into the kitchen. There was a noise coming from inside one of the cupboards. Daryl motioned for her to open it while he readied his crossbow. When she opened it, they realized that it was a possum, but Daryl quickly shot it. "Hello dinner!" he said. Ellie sighed.
"It's goin' in your bag," she said firmly. He nodded and stuffed the dead animal into his bag. Ellie found a few containers of formula and stuffed them in her backpack. "I think we've cleared this place. We should head back." She was right. There was nothing left to take.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked her. She sighed and nodded.
"Yeah." He nodded and they headed back. By the time they got back, it was already dark outside. They made their way inside and put their bags down. Ellie made the formula while Daryl took the crying baby from Carl and held her.
"Shhh," he said. Believe it or not, she stopped crying. Ellie was oblivious to what was happening, so when she turned around and saw Daryl holding the baby, it shocked her. Her heart melted. She thought back to when Daryl first moved to the farm. He was so different. Maybe she judged him too quickly. A small smile formed on her face as she handed him the bottle. The way he held and fed this baby, had Ellie thinking that he knew exactly what he was doing. It was strange, but good strange. She felt butterflies in her stomach. Daryl looked up at everyone and grinned proudly. Then he turned to Carl. "She gotta name yet?" he asked. Carl sighed and shook his head.
"I was thinking maybe Sophia…Carol too. Andrea or Amy. Maybe even Jacquie, Patricia or… Lori. I dunno," Carl said sadly. There was a moment of silence. Daryl looked down at the baby again.
"You like that? Huh? Little Ass-Kicker?" Daryl said softly to her. Then he looked up at everybody. "Right? That's a good name, right?" he asked. Everybody laughed. "You like that? Huh, sweetheart?" Daryl held 'Li'l Ass-Kicker' until she fell asleep. Then, he carefully put in her in her makeshift crib and headed to bed. He stripped down to his vest and went to say goodnight to Ellie. She lay on her bed, facing the wall quietly, in her oversized shirt. The only thing he could hear was her soft, purring breath. He stood in the doorway and folded his arms. "Hey," he said. She lifted her head and looked at up at him.
"Hey," she replied softly. He half smiled and sat on her bed, opposite her. She lay on her back now, facing him.
"Rough day at work?" he joked. She smiled slightly and nodded.
"You have no idea," she admitted and sat up.
"C'mon," he got up and held out his hand. Ellie was confused. "Sleep in my bed tonight."
She smiled a bit more and sighed. "You sure?" He nodded.
"Yep. C'mon." she took his hand and stood up, grabbing her pillow and blanket. He looked back at her and smirked. "Won't be needin' that." She looked at him confusedly, but threw her blanket back on her bed anyway. Ellie followed him and tossed her pillow down on the old, worn-out mattress. She lay down on her side, with her back facing Daryl and felt him gently throw his blanket over her. She pulled it over her shoulders and brought her knees up to her chest. "Night," Daryl whispered as he plopped himself down next to her and closed his eyes. She buried her head into her pillow and mumbled 'Night' back to him, before falling asleep.
…
"Mornin', Ellie!" Maggie sang as her older sister sat down at the table. Ellie half smiled and looked at Maggie.
"Hey. Sleep well?" she asked. Maggie quickly glanced at Glenn, then looked back at Ellie with a nod. "Hey, I was thinkin' of goin' on a run later for baby toys and formula." Maggie and Glenn looked at each other and nodded.
"We had the same idea. There's a store few miles. We'll go together, after breakfast," she said. Ellie nodded and scoffed down her food before going to her cell and grabbing her backpack, handgun and hoodie, just in case, then met Maggie and Glenn outside. As she opened the car door, she saw Daryl jogging towards her.
"What the hell? What's this?" he asked and looked at the car. Ellie licked her dry, chapped lips.
"We're goin' on a run. We'll be back soon. You weren't at breakfast, so, you know…" her sentence drifted off. Daryl nodded and pressed his lips together.
"Okay. I'm gonna hold the fort, since Rick's obviously not gonna do it." Ellie nodded and smiled slightly. "Be safe."
"Always am," she assured him and kissed him goodbye before getting into the car. Daryl opened the gates for them and watched as the red station wagon faded into the woods. The car ride was relatively long. Maybe because it was quiet. Ellie sat at the back, looking out the window. Finally, when the car stopped, Maggie and Glenn hopped out, with Ellie shortly following. The first thing they did was observe their surroundings and check for any walkers or any people, of course. "It's clear," Ellie told them. Maggie nodded as Glenn proceeded to open the door of the shop.
"It's a beautiful day," Maggie randomly said. Ellie nodded in agreement as she looked up at the crystal blue sky. Not a cloud in sight. Glenn broke the lock with the bolt cutters and slowly opened the door with a torch and handgun at hand. There was a moment of silence and as he was about to step inside, a flock of birds emerged out, giving all three of them the biggest fright of their lives. Once they calmed down, Glenn went inside and grabbed anything that looked like it was meant for a baby and food. He came out with two full shopping baskets. Ellie and Maggie smiled excitedly.
"Hit the jackpot! Got some beans, batteries, cocktail wieners. It's a straight shot back to the prison from here. Hope we make it in time for dinner."
"Let's go home," Ellie said and helped Glenn load the things into the car. At that moment, a grisly voice growled from behind them.
"And where is it you good people are goin' home?" it barked, sending shivers up and down Ellie's spine. She instantly spun around and pointed her handgun at the figure, as did Maggie and Glenn. The man was armed with a handgun, too. Ellie also noticed that he only had one hand. He wore a dirty, grey vest, worn-out grey pants with heavy combat boots. His hair was a dark shade of Grey mixed with brown and his eyes were an icy blue. His nose was dripping with blood.
"M-Merle?" Glenn breathed, almost too shocked to say anything else. Ellie looked at Glenn, then back at the man.
"You know him?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of the stranger. The man laughed and put his gun down, then held his hands, correction; hand and knife, up in surrender. He swiftly walked towards them.
"Hey, back the hell up!" Maggie warned him. The man slowed down, and eventually stood still.
"Okay, okay, honey! Jesus!" he said, with a somewhat sadistic smile on his face. Glenn gulped.
"You made it," he said, trying to hide the shock and displeasure in his tone. Still, Ellie and Maggie had no idea who he was. The man's smile vanished and got replaced by a concerned frown.
"Can you tell me? Is my brother alive?" he asked, apparently worried now. Brother? What brother? Glenn nodded after hesitating. Merle's smiled reappeared.
"Hey…you, um, take me to 'im, and I'll call it even on everything that happened up in Atlanta. No hard feelin's. Huh?" he offered. Glenn didn't reply, instead he looked at Merle's right hand, which had been replaced by some sort of device with a knife attached to it. The man noticed Glenn's uncertainty and laughed.
"You like that, huh? Well I found myself a medical supply warehouse. Fixed it up myself. Pretty cool, huh?" he teased slightly. Glenn frowned.
"I'll tell Daryl that you're here and he'll come out to meet you," Glenn told him. Ellie's jaw dropped slightly. Daryl's brother? She tightened her grip around her handgun and waited for his reply.
"Just hold up! The fact that we found each other is a miracle. C'mon, now; you can trust me!" he argued. Glenn stepped forward protectively.
"No, you trust us. You stay here," he growled. Merle snorted. There was a moment of silence and staring, then Merle shot the rear window. Ellie and Glenn jumped out of the way and as they went around the car, to get Maggie, they were both equally horrified to see her in the arms of Merle with a gun to her head.
"Hold up!" Merle shouted.
"Let go of her!" Ellie furiously barked. Merle snorted again and told them to put the guns in the car and get in. Glenn and Ellie looked at each other and surrendered.
"We're not going back to our camp," Glenn informed him. He shook his head.
"We're gonna go somewhere else," Merle said and threw Maggie into the car. He got onto the back seat, with Maggie still being held captive and Glenn and Ellie in the front. Merle directed Glenn and soon they stumbled across a sign.
'Welcome to Woodbury'
I know, I know. It was a short chapter. Sorry about that. Hope you enjoyed it, though! :D