AUTHORS NOTE* I DONT OWN THE WALKING DEAD OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE
WARNING: JUST LETTING READERS KNOW THIS ISNT THE STORY FOR THOSE WHO WANT AN ABSOLUTE HAPPY ENDING. THERE WILL BE SOME EXTREMELY HARD TIMES AHEAD FOR MY OC AND THE REST OF THE GROUP. HEARTBREAKS AHEAD. OKAY? OKAY. LOVE YA, AND REVEWS ARE MORE THAN WELCOME!
Th next morning everyone was up early, ready for the day and awaiting Glenn's return. While everyone sat around and ate breakfast which consisted of cold oatmeal and warm water, they heard a car coming from the distance. Josephine jumped up from her place on the hood of one of the fallen cars, watching as Shane's car rolled up from in the distance. She ran over towards the car, eager for news. Shane was with Rick and Carl when they had heard the gun go off, he must know how her nephew was.
"Shane, thank god, is everything okay?" Josephine ran over to her brothers friend, embracing him in a short hug before looking him over, a complete and utter mess about him. His head was shaved and he looked like he had seen a ghost, all shaken and upset.
"Carl is going to be okay, resting but he pulled through," Shane's voice was quiet and he shot a look at everyone around him.
"And is the farm safe?" Dale's question rang out through the group. Daryl now stood behind Josephine, she could feel his warm body heat emanating behind her, and he placed a hand on her shoulder as shane nodded and got back into his car, wanting them to follow. Daryl hopped on his bike and nobody said a word, they just followed suit. Josephine let out a breath she hadn't realized she was taking in and began to feel her heart rate normalize. Baby boy was okay, and she couldn't wait to see him.
They all drove up to the farm and were greeted by Rick, Lori and some people Josephine didn't recognize, but knew were must be the ones who owned that farm. Josephine quickly exited the RV and ran into Rick's arm whispering that she loved him and was so glad he and Carl were okay. She pulled back just in time to see the others coming over to greet everyone as well. The man Hershel, who owned the farm, had two daughters. One a teenager with blonde hair and a cute face and another brunette who seemed to be a little younger than Josephine and closer to Glenn's age. There was also an older woman who seemed to be very sweet and maybe a neighbor of his or friend of Hershel's family, along with another teenage boy who had taken a hold of the young teenage girls hand and Josephine figured it must have been her boyfriend.
After introductions and a small ceremony for a man named Otis who died helping Shane and Carl, the group then parted ways. The women, excluding Andrea, were setting up camp outside the farm house and the men huddled around Hershel's old truck, making plans for where they were going in order to find Sophia.
Josephine decided that now that her tent was up she would go over to where the boys and Andrea were stationed to go see what was going to be the plan for today.
They all talked quietly among themselves and it was decided that only Daryl would go out looking for the little girl today since everyone wasn't in the best health and Andrea needed more practice with her gun before going off into the woods.
"I can go with Daryl, if that's alright?" Josephine asked quickly. Both Rick and Daryl shot her and unhappy look.
"No way," They both yelled, and Josephine giggled a little at their harmonious response.
"Geez, I was just asking because I wanted to see if I can help," She retorted throwing her hands up in the air. Hershel looked down at her growing stomach as if to see it for the first time.
"I'd like to take a look at you, see how you're progressing," He offered politely. She looked surprised at his kindness and nodded.
"That would be great actually," she smiled at him excited that she was now in the presence of someone who knew a little, if not a lot more about medicine than she did.
Hershel ushered her to the house and she followed him, before turning she looked sternly at Daryl.
"You best be back before dark, you hear?" She looked him up and down before turning away. She could here him grunt as a response but she knew very well he would be back at camp again by nightfall like he always did, he knew not to make her worry more than she had been already.
As she and Hershel walked to the house he kept looking at her. She felt awkward at first that some random man was gong to look her over, but she was also very thankful someone knew what the hell they were doing and maybe could give her some kind of answers. She had still been feeling a slight pain in her back now and her shoulders felt almost like there was a gigantic weight pushing down on them.
"Thank you again, for your help and letting us camp out here until Carl gets well," Josephine said giving the older man kind eyes. He nodded and then pointed his fingers back towards their camp site and where the group was huddled.
"Those people are out finding a little girl, what happened if you don't mind my askin?" His eyes burning with question. She knew he was going to be a tough man to crack, but she hoped he would let them stay on they farm, and she could even help grow some nice crops in his field, the whole group could really offer him something wonderful.
"She got chased into the woods by two walkers up near the 105. She must have gotten lost in the woods when my brother told her to run back to the highway. She's been out there for a couple nights and her mother is very worried," Josephine took one look at Carol who was huddled next to her tent folding laundry, a look of pain across her face.
"Your husband is a brave man going out there alone to look for her," Hershel said sweetly. Josephine looked at him confused, what the hell was he talking about? Then she realized the banter between her and Daryl had probably looked a lot different to someone who doesn't know the awkward relationship between the two of them. Hershel must have figured they were married, and then she thought for a moment that he must also think this baby was in fact Daryls. The thought jolted her back and she waved her hands in protest.
"No, Daryl is NOT my husband or boyfriend, he's just a friend. My long time boyfriend was killed about 5 months ago,' she looked down at her shoes then at Hershel.
"I'm very sorry to hear that, my wife passed about the same time, I know how hard it is to go through this without that person to lean on," He put a hand on her shoulder and she thought for a minute about what it would be like if Dean was there right now.
Dean was a flirt, he would probably be trying to get right in Andreas pants about now. He also was very stubborn and rude at times, and knowing Daryl they would have most certainly fought a few times. Her thoughts then drifted to what Hershel had said about having someone to lean on, and she oddly already had that in Daryl, which made her insides turn a bit uncomfortably at that thought. She just nodded as they entered the house and he ushered her upstairs to what looked like a young girls room.
"This here is Beth's room, she wont mind if we use it to check you over," he motioned for her to sit on the bed and she hesitated for a second before sitting down. After a few uncomfortable minutes he had a bit of confusion on his face, and she sat up quickly.
"Have you been feeling any discomfort this far in your pregnancy?" He asked her placing a hand on the bed post.
"I did have a bit of back pain, but nothing severe," she replied honestly.
"Well, we will have to keep an eye on that, you don't want to push yourself too hard because that could make you go into premature labor, and back pain is one sign, so you better tell me if something like a sudden pain happens again." He looked concern and sat down on the bed next to her.
"You need to be extra carful around here. This isn't like it used to be, babies bein' born in hospitals is no longer an option anymore. You need to keep yourself safe now, those back pains are nothing to brush under the rug, because I don't have all proper medical supplies to know exactly whats going on, but if your baby is still moving and your cervix is still not dilated I say you're in alright health for now," He patted her knee before exiting himself from the room. Josephine sighed and but her head in her hands. The last thing in the world she wanted was to sit around all day, but she knew Hershel was right, and she needed to take extra care of not only herself but her baby now that it was growing at increased rates. He had said to her surprise she looked about 7 months at this point but he really didn't know for sure, but if she kept eating healthy and maybe a bit more she would start to grow big in a few weeks. She wasn't very excited to start showing a larger bump. She hated feeling bloated and uncomfortable, and she couldn't imagine how life was going to be when she was out running around and killing dead people with a bump the size of planet earth.
She laid back on the bed, taking in her surroundings. Beth's room was clean and barely touched. Her pale pink walls were covered in pictures of horses and pictures of what looked to be friends and family. She looked on the bedside table to see a picture of Hershel, Beth, his other Daughter, Maggie and an older women and a young boy. The two strangers must have been Hershel's wife and step son that he had told Rick he had lost from the walker virus.
She felt the pain in her back start up again, this time a little worse than it had been before. She thought of what Hershel had said, but she knew with everything going on she really didn't need to have that extra stress weighing on her. She walked downstairs, ignoring her pains and walked to her tent and decided maybe a nap would make her feel better.
A few hours later Josephine woke up, she cursed to herself as she saw the sun setting, knowing she should have stayed awake because now she was going to be up all night. She got a sting of excitement at the thought of Daryl being back and maybe he even had found Sophia. She jumped up from her tent and the pain in her back had subsided a considerable amount, yet it still lingered.
"Hey you," Rick's voice rang out as she unzipped her tent and climbed out.
"Hey yourself, how's Carl?" She asked her brother.
"He's awake and askin' to see you. I was just about to come in and wake ya," He replied touching her shoulder and looking her up and down. "Hershel said you can also take a shower now, if you want to." She smiled wide at the though of a shower and even wider at the though of her little nephew asking to see her. She nodded and grabbed some clean clothes before heading up to the house. She walked quietly into Carls room where Lori sat hunched over his bed smiling and talking to the boy. He was pale and clammy and she walked over to him and ran an hand through his thick brown hair.
"Toughest man in these woods right here," She looked to Lori and Rick and then down at Carl, making him smile
"You should have seen it Aunt Jo, it was beautiful," Josephine scrunched her face in confusion than looked to Lori.
"He saw a deer in the woods before..before the accident," She replied grabbing Ricks arm and holding onto his hand.
It was hard to see Lori show affection to her brother, because it seemed to always shoot her back into thoughts about the time she had caught her sister in law wrestling in the leaves with Shane.
"I bet it was awesome buddy," She replied leaning down and kissing his forehead.
"I think its time we had a new sheriff in town," Rick said pulling his sheriff hat from a chair near the bed. He placed it on Carls head and smiled. Carl looked to his parents and back at Josephine, his face in a full grin.
"I think that hat suits you well," she said sweetly. She decided that it was the best time as any to leave the family alone and she ducked out of the room, but not before telling Carl how strong he had been and how happy she was that he was alright. She went upstairs and quietly entered the bathroom. She hadn't had a shower in what seemed like forever. Probably since the CDC. Her and Lori took turns washing each other's hair in Dales RV with bottles of water and shampoo they had taken along their journey. They also just heated up some water and used it to bath down their dirty bodies, but a shower pelting on her skin would feel absolutely wonderful after the day she had.
She stripped off her clothes and looked down at her belly, she seemed to be growing a little bit everyday. She felt slight movement inside of her again and she smiled running her hands over her bare skin. She turned on the running water and stepped inside. She could only be in there for a short time, knowing the generator could only take so much from everyone taking showers often so she washed up quickly, but not quick enough to not absolutely enjoy the moment of pure bliss. Showering made her feel normal again, like the world outside wasn't filled with walkers or that most of her family and friends were dead. She remembered showering before work everyday, and that gave her such a calm feeling. She stood there for a few moments until a pain so sharp pulled at her side and then traveled to her back, making her buckle at the knees. She slipped on the surface of the tub but caught herself with both arms out grabbing the wall railing and part of the shower curtain. Just as quick as the pain started, it ended and she stood there panting, freaking out at what had just happened. She wondered if this was normal and that maybe she just felt stressed, but then her thoughts turned to Hershel and what he had said to her. She quickly got out of the shower and put on clean clothes before rushing out of the house and back into her tent. It was late and she would probably be up all night anyway She told herself if she felt anymore pain then she would talk to Hershel, but for now she just needed to relax and hope nothing else went wrong today.
She brushed by everyone at camp. She had slung her wet hair into a braid and put on one of Daryl's clean wife beaters that she found in the laundry. Most of her clothes fit too snug around her middle, but most of Carols clothes had been a bit too uncomfortable for her taste, so she settled for stealing Daryl's tank tops in hopes he wouldn't notice.
"Woah, someone smells and looks nice and clean," Dale laughed as he watched her walk past him and she didn't even look over at him nor say a word she just plummeted towards her tent with her dirty clothes in hand. He brushed it off as some hormonal attitude, and looked to Daryl with a questioning look, who had just exited the RV, where he had given a Cherokee Rose to Carol in hopes it would keep up her faith in this shitty situation.
"I aint goin near her if she's grouchy," Daryl retorted towards the older man. Dale smirked before heading on top of the RV. He noticed that Daryl had now made his way towards Josephine's tent and he smiled, knowing the kid seriously cared for this girl and wanted to make sure she was alright.
Josephine rubbed the exhaustion from her eyes. How was she still tired after she had napped for hours? She was really getting tired of feeling tired, and it was a lot for her to handle but she knew she had to stay strong. She heard footsteps near her little orange tent and suddenly without warning someone was unzipping it.
"Don't anyone know how to knock around here?" She shouted as she watched Daryl's head poke through the flap of the tent. She was sitting indian style on her cot, with her head resting on her hand, staring annoyingly at her intruder.
"Yeah, whatever," He responded as he laid down on the ground and put his hands up under his head. He sighed and continued chewing on what looked like a piece of straw.
"You smell like a dead animal," she told him waving around the stench but also slightly smirking.
"Hey, I was out all damn day looking for that little girl. I aint got no time to shower or nothin." He looked to her up and down, knowing full well she had just taken a luxurious shower herself.
"Well, nobody said you couldn't take one," She responded now rolling her eyes she laid down on her cot, trying to find a comfortable position. "Something funny happened today," she said looking down at him, "Hershel called you my husband."
Daryl looked at her and a smile seemed to cross his face and he chuckled for a second, "Well thats gross," he replied shaking his lead lightly as he was looking at the ceiling of her tent.
"Hey, am I really that bad?" She said chuckling to herself.
"Pretty much, I think youre-" before he could say anything more Josephine shot up and hissed in pain, clenching her back.
Daryl rushed to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, having no idea what was going on.
"You alright?" He asked with wide eyes. He had a bad feeling and he began to feel panic rise inside of him, but tried to stay calm because the last thing Josephine needed was to see Daryl Dixon scared.
"Go, go get Hershel right now," She said between clenched teeth and then she let out another yelp out of pain and Daryl moved so fast he hardly knew what hit him.
