I'm so ecstatic! Thanks to you guys for reviewing and favoriting. Its literally the first thing I check when I get up and today I woke up to six emails. And I'm so excited. Guys, I'm really trying to make Lori redeem herself, she just keeps saying snide little remarks. The poll is now closed. It was a tie so I'm going to go with the couple I had been thinking about almost all the way through to Alexandria. There's a new poll open too. I have been going back and forth with whether or not Judith should be in this. And someone asked me to find a soul mate for Daryl and I will try he's my favorite character by far. If I can make it flow with the story, I will! Don't worry though I have a few stories in my head for him later on. ;)
Chapter 11
I woke up to Bobby fanning my face. I realized that I was laying on the hot pavement I jackknifed up.
"Ella! I heard her scream! Where is she," I panic pulling on Bobby's shirt. Bobby wraps his large hands around mine trying to get me to let go.
"She's fine Auntie Jo! I promise," Bobby tries to reassure me.
"No, no. I heard a girl scream. Don't lie to me Bobby," I say on the brink of another panic attack.
"I'm not! See for yourself," he says pointing in the direction of my van. And there she is. Maybe a little dirtier, but alive sitting on the floor board with her feet on the ground. I get up to go over to her, but as soon as I stand my vision gets fuzzy.
"Woah, woah," Bobby says steadying me. Dale walks over to us concerned.
"Joslyn, I hope you don't find me intruding, but when's the last time you ate," he asks kindly. I stop and think.
"Dinner yesterday at the CDC," I say in a shaky voice. We are steadily walking to my van while we are talking. I finally reach Ella and touch her cheek. She jumps. She was staring intently at the woods and didn't even notice me approaching. I smile. I glance inside and see Mia still asleep she had kicked the blanket off 71st some point.
"How did you guys know I wasn't just asleep," I ask curious. I absentmindedly kiss Ella's head.
"Easy you wouldn't wake up and you were drenched in sweat," Bobby says. Before I can say anything else Dale starts talking to me again.
"Pardon me, but you wouldn't happen to be diabetic. Would you?"
"No, I'm not. Although when I was pregnant with Ella I had gestational diabetes, but I didn't have it with Mia," I say. Then everything clicks. I had been craving more sweets lately, even before. I was adding sugar on my ice cream and just about everything else. The doctor probably just hadn't caught it yet.
"Oh, well that explains a lot," I say. "It probably doesn't help that I also had a bit of a panic attack when the walkers came by," I add. The voice I expect to hear doesn't pipe up, as a matter of fact it had been pretty quiet. I look around, but Rick isn't there.
"Where's my husband," I say. My heart steadily picking up. Bobby looks at Dale then at me. He takes a breath.
"Auntie Jo, I'm gonna go get you some food. Then I'll tell you. Just know that he was ok the last time I seen him," he says. Well that's reassuring. I try not to panic. I look back at Ella as Bobby jogs to John's RV. I see John pacing up and down the little bit of highway in front of where Ella was staring off at. I put two and two together and realize Rick must have went in there.
I start counting people. Lori and Shane look to be having a quiet argument. Carl looks miserable sitting in Lori's car. Brenda is leaning against her dad's RV biting her lip so hard I'm afraid she'll cause it to bleed. T-dog is standing behind Dale's RV holding his arm, is that blood? Glenn is on top of Dale's RV with Andrea. Daryl is going through cars still. And Jasmine is holding Carol. I look again, but I don't see Sofia. Then I realize what happened. The scream I heard wasn't Ella it was Sofia. Rick must have went after her. Bobby comes back with a box of frosted cereal. I take it and start eating handfuls.
"Why did Sofia go into the woods," I ask Bobby. Bobby looks surprised then looks at Dale.
"I didn't say a word," Dale says lefting his hands up in a placating gesture.
"Its called deductive reasoning," I say. "I heard a scream. Everyone is preoccupied with that bit if woods," I say pointing at the door, "Sofia and Rick are missing. So, what caused her to run off into the woods." I stare at bobby. He begins to explain.
The walkers came from no where. Luckily they were all able to hide. Rick had warned Lori and Carol and was able to get Ella, Carl and Sofia under some cars. Sofia thought the coast was clear, but there were a few stragglers. So, when she crawled out they started chasing her and Rick took off after them yelling at John to watch Carl and Ella and that's the last anyone had seen the two. Then when Bobby went to bring me a shaken up Ella he couldn't wake me up.
I hear little sounds coming from the van, Mia is waking up. I start thinking what would have happened had she been awake when the walkers came through. Would I have been able to keep her quiet? I need to talk to Rick. We need to make it where she understands to not make a noise around them.
"Where's Sofia," I hear Carol call our desperately. When I look up I see my husband emerging from the woods, but he doesn't have Sofia. My heart jumps in my throat. Rick stops and looks around.
"You mean she's not back yet," he says worriedly. I bite my lip. Its quickly decided that Rick will take Daryl, John, Shane and Glenn to where he left Sofia. Before they head back in the woods Rick comes over and gives me and the girls a kiss. Mia pushes him away she's still grumpy her nap wasn't long enough, but Ella latches her arms around his neck.
"Don't leave," I hear her breath in his ear.
"I have to honey. If that was you I wouldn't stop," he says. She lets go and nods her head. Carl walks over and Rick pulls him in and plants a quick kids to his hair.
"Carl. I'm leaving you in charge. Watch out for your baby sister's and m..Joslyn," he says. We all know what he was about to say, but decide not to bring attention to it.
"Yes, sir. I got it. Just bring Sofia back" he says. Rick nods.
"I'll do my best," he says.
I decide to have a look around through the cars and I have the kids help me. I'm trying to keep their mind off of what's going on. I'm playing a real life game of I spy. I list some random, but normal things and send Ella and Carl to find them. If they find whatever it is, then they get ten points. But if they give up, I take away five points and if they bring back the wrong color or size then they only get five. First to a hundred wins.
I was holding Mia's hand, she was always very well behaved when we went shopping and never took off or let go of my hand. Now Ella, was a different story. I seriously thought about getting one of those child leashes for her, but everyone was always so critical of them. I'm just happy she grew out of that phase. I open one car and look in the three suitcases that's in the trunk. I find a few large women shirts and take them. I'm gonna need them soon enough, but that's my only real find.
"Ok guys. Lets make it back to the RVs," I say. We had actually walked pretty far down, but I knew Dale could still see is with his binoculars.
"Bubba, I want horsey ride," Mia says reaching for Carl. He smiles and bends down to let Mia climb up for a piggy back ride. Carl took to been a big brother like a fish to water. Even with Ella he was always very protective. When we found out about Mia he was so excited. I think he was a little disappointed she wasn't a boy, but he never said anything about it. Him and Ella rarely fought, which I am really grateful for. They just mesh well. I used to joke they could have been twins the way they worked together. They never had to talk to one another they just instinctively moved fluidly together.
"So, what do you think this baby is a boy or a girl," Carl says panting slightly from the extra weight.
"Hmm it's hard to say. I know I have a few names picked out for either, but I haven't ran them across your dad yet," I say.
"What are they," Ella pipes in.
"Well when I was pregnant with Mia we talked about naming her Carter of she was a boy," I say Ella wrinkles her nose. It's the same expression Mia gets when she doesn't like something and I have to laugh. "Carl you can put her down. Mia hold bubba's hand," I say. Carl looks relieved, Mia pouts slightly but holds his hand. "Then the name I had picked for a girl. Well I want to run that by your dad first. It's a name I found in a baby book, but it's a good name. I'm hoping he has some good names picked out for a boy," I say. Ella nods her head in agreement.
"Yeah cause Carter was a kid in my class and he ate his boogars every day," she says with that wrinkled nose. I laugh at her.
"Ok no boogar eating Carter for our baby," I say smiling.
When we make it back to our car the sun is starting to set and Carol is crying asking Rick how he could leave her out there. I guess still no Sofia. We sleep in the cars that night. Rick's hand is around me and is proactively on my belly. I fall into a fitful sleep with strange dreams.
The next morning nearly everyone is going to look in the woods for Sofia. Except Dale, who was trying to fix his RV, T-dog, who was hurt, me because of my pregnancy and the girls for obvious reasons. Although, Ella wanted to go, but I talked her into staying to help me find more stuff in the cars.
"Hey! You can't play without me," Carl pipes up. I can't believe Lori is actually letting him go.
"Play what," Rick asks.
"Apocalypse I spy," I say with a grin. "They find the things I say they get ten points. First to a hundred wins."
"But it's not that simple there are rules," Carl says. Like maybe the game sounded too easy so he needed to make it difficult so people would get why we played.
"Oh, I see," Rick tries to hide a grin. He gives me and the girls a kiss and heads off. Carl gives us a hug.
"Don't worry we won't play without you," I say to him before he leaves. He smiles and walks off.
Before John had left he gave us all some food so we could have breakfast. After we ate I decide to let the girls play for a bit. I had found some chalk in one of the cars and they were busy coloring. I was sitting by Dale when T-dog came up.
"Shouldn't you be fixing a radiator hose," he asks.
"I fixed it yesterday," he says T-dog and I look at him in surprise. "if people had known it was fixed. They might not have stayed. There was already talk of leaving it behind since we have John's. So I'm buying time. For Sofia. For Carol," he says. "Now, I think this goes without saying that I would like for this to stay between us." He looks at me and T-dog
"That's one tricky hose," T says. I nod in agreement.
"That it is," Dale says with a smile. "Joslyn tell us something about you before the turn."
"And out of nowhere Dale with the hard questions," I say grinning. He smiles back.
"I was always curious about your and Lori's situation, but thought it rude to ask. And you seemed to hold yourself back when we were at camp." I nod agreeing.
"I've never been good at trusting people except for Rick. Right off I knew I could trust him. No idea why, but something about him just screams 'trust me' 'you're safe' 'come have my babies'" I say. They laugh. "Maybe that last one was just me. Rick's the best man I ever met. He thinks of Ella as his own. And he's an amazing dad to her and Carl and Mia. I think he would walk though fire if it meant making them smile." I pause smiling at the memory that just surfaced, "The day he adopted Ella was on our wedding day. It took me by surprise. He had got all the necessary papers in order. Then the day came and right before I say I do he stopped me. I thought he had finally seen all my flaws and realized it wasn't worth it, but instead he says 'I know I asked you to become a Grimes and I know we often forget, because it so easy to, but I want to make Ella a Grimes legally as well' and then Carl walks up with the adoption papers. I just lost it and kissed him. I was wondering why he was so adamant on having a judge marry us. It was so it could be notarized the same time as our marriage. He later said he wanted to adopt Ella sooner, but wanted us to become a Grimes on the same day. He never was scared to be her dad. We met when she was one. And when she started talking she called him dad. The first time it happened we both just kind of stopped looked at each other and let it go. But in that moment we agreed that we weren't some random relationship, that we were going to become a family at some point in the future. That's when he really started pushing Lori to let Carl meet us." I look over and Dale he's smiling and T-dog has a half smile.
"You know I never realized how sad you were when we were at the quarry, but watching you since Rick's came back," he pauses. "You guys have something special. Its what I had with my wife. You two are it for each other." He pats my hand. And I smile at him.
We decide to look though more cars, but don't find much. The things people thought were important amaze me, but then again I do have at least fifty stuffed animals in the car. We are sitting back on the side of the road when the group comes back minus Rick, Shane, John and Carl.
"Shot? What do you mean shot," Dale asks glancing at me.
"Who's been shot," I have a feeling I already know looking at who's not here, but I'm praying I'm wrong.
"Carl, that's what that crazy bitch on the horse said," Daryl says agitated. I don't even have any warning I just throw up. I have my hands on my knees and I'm taking deep breaths.
"You said there's a doctor there," Dale asks. Talking like I hadn't just thrown up breakfast at his feet. Daryl must have answered in an affirmative because the next thing I know me and the girls along with Glenn and T-dog are heading to this place in my car.
The whole way there I'm praying that he's ok. Flashbacks of being told Rick was shot is playing in my head. At least if Rick had died we didn't have to worry about him turning into a walker. If Carl doesn't make it…. No! I'm not even going to think it. He'll be fine. I repeat that the whole way there.