Chapter 20: Something Unexpected?

ONE WEEK LATER.

Liv stood and looked at the room before her. The light shined brightly through the big windows. All was quiet and surprisingly it overwhelmed her. It was strange to not hear a baby cry every other minute without an end. Being in silence just didn't sit well with her anymore.

She looked at the bed that she had lied on for a week upon her arrival. Not many others came to see her, which was fine. She was sure that Rick had told them to hold off on visits til she felt better.

Her shoulder seemed to be getting better except on occasion when she moved her arm too fast and could feel the pressure of her muscles wanting to tear apart- it was anything but pleasant.

Liv took a step before she felt the room spin. She shut her eyes tight and gave herself a few moments before she continued to walk. She wasn't tired but walking to the door of the medic room took more energy than she had anticipated.

As she took a step outside the sun was brighter than is appeared to be from the inside. Liv held a hand above her eyes and looked around. At a glance everything seemed normal. People were out and about. The few children at the base camp were out playing as the adults watched. But the atmosphere seemed to weigh heavy on her.

How could I have left these people? Why did I feel the need to be the one that killed Chris? How could I have put my unborn babies at risk the way I had?

She hated being alone in her own mind, because - like now - it was eating her alive at the fact that she didn't have an answer to any of these questions.

Liv lowered her arms to her side. She needed to relax and take in the fresh air. But she couldn't. Not when she saw Rick walking to her with a troubled look.

Immediately Liv felt horrible. The night before she had acted completely unreasonable. She threw somewhat of a tantrum and Rick was the one left to deal with it. Thankfully they had been alone so no one could see or hear the awful things she said. All she could remember was that she was tired and angry at herself but in the moment she blamed it all on him and for that she hated herself.

Once he reached her she kept her eyes on the ground not being able to physically face him. She had no right to yell at him like he was a child. "Rick." Liv spoke, her voice barely audible.

"Twins and Judith are down for a nap." Rick quickly mentioned before noticing Liv's blank stare toward the ground. "You still don't want me around?" Rick sighed when she didn't answer. "You need to give me something-anything, Liv. I can't read your mind." He started to get frustrated now. He had done all that he could for her everyday since she'd been back. He was there for his children as well. He thought he was doing right by her, then -out of nowhere- she exploded on him. He felt completely worthless listening to what she was saying. He didn't know if the words she spoke were true but it comforted him to believe that she was just tired and that she didn't mean a thing.

"I know." Liv finally moved her eyes to meet his. "I just… I was mad at me, not you." She made sure not to take her eyes off of his. "I can't remember all that I said but I didn't mean any of it. Rick, I really feel like crap." Her eyes filled with tears. The past week had been so emotionally draining. Most days she'd be with the babies and when they were sleeping (which was mostly during the the day time) she had a lot of time to think over all that she had done. Last night happened to be her breaking point. "Please-"

"I need to know what is bothering you when it's bothering you. You can't jus' hold it in then let it go all at once. It's not good for you and you know that." Rick explained while Liv nodded to his words. He gave her a faint smile and moved his hand till his fingers interlocked with hers. Her soft warm skin made him realize just how much he had missed the feel of her. "You don't have to apologize. You've been through a lot and I'm jus' glad I got you back." He moved his other hand up Liv's arm till his thumb caressed the side of her face before pulling her in with closed eyes and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead admiring the fresh scent of her hair.

Liv looked up at him again, her eyes gazing over the light stubble that defined his sharp cheekbones. For a moment she got lost in the way he stared back at her with such clarity. "I love you."

"And I love you." The corners of his lips curved in a smile as Liv chuckled. "What?"

"Nothing… I just really really love you." She shrugged and moved into him resting her head against his chest. His tender arms wrapped around her and as a cool breeze rushed between them it only strengthened the hold Rick had on her.

"Well look who's up!" Marco nodded to Liv as she pulled away from Rick.

"Yeah, felt like it was about time." She offered a smile.

He returned the kind gesture. "Well good. It's nice to have you back." Marco assured. "You've got a strong woman there, Rick."

"I know." Rick nodded looking back at Liv with a small smile playing on his lips.

"You should probably take it easy for a few days." Marco offered. "I'll catch up with you guys later though. The Alexandrians are leaving and I need to gather a few things for them."

"They're leaving already?" Liv lowered a brow in question.

"They haven't had contact with their people in weeks. They need to get home." Rick explained.

"Yeah, I should go see them at least one more time." Liv shrugged.

"I'll take you." Rick assured. He held onto her hand as they walked toward the entrance of the base camp.

When they got there Liv smiled at the sight for the four men.

"I'll go talk to Abraham, see what the plan is with getting them home." Rick told Liv, placing a kiss on her temple as he went off.

"Well, for now, I guess this is it." Aaron stated.

"For now." Liv nodded giving the man a hug.

"You have good people here. We appreciate everything your family has done for us." Aaron said sincerely.

Liv nodded. "I know you'd do the same, you did do the same. I should be dead, including my babies, but were not because of you and Aiden."

"You've said enough thank yous, Liv." Aaron chuckled. "Our paths were just meant to cross, that's all." He assured.

"Wow, you look great Liv! How are you feeling?" Eric asked using a makeshift crutch to walk toward her.

Liv wrapped careful arms around Eric in a gentle hug. "I'll be alright, but look at you! You're not looking bad yourself." She stated, stepping back to get a full view of the man.

"I definitely feel better. Though I must say having you as a recovery partner was fun." He joked.

"It was." Liv chuckled. "And as long as you keep your feet out of bear traps and I stop having babies, I think we'll be safe."

Eric nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Aiden closed the trunk of a small four door Volkswagen that Marco had given them. "Well everything we need is packed. If we leave now we might just make it to Alexandria by morning."

"Well we wish you a safe trip." Abraham stated as he walked to the men with Rick at his side. "Tank's full of gas. You should have no problem getting there." He assured.

"Great. This means a lot." Spencer told them as Glenn came and handed him the key to the car.

"Aaron, it was nice meeting you." Rick held out a hand as the other man shook it. "Thank you again, for keeping Liv alive when I wasn't there to."

"Absolutely. And thank you for welcoming Eric here as well. Stay safe. And keep those babies safe too."

"I will." Liv nodded. "Take care too Aaron."

He flashed her a smile before getting into the back seat of the car with the usually quiet man named Nick. Glenn handed Spencer a map through the window which would help them get to their home. When the car was no longer in sight Rick turned to Marco.

"The next few days we need to double the watch on the catwalk."

"I'm already on it." Marco assured.

"Those men aren't the type to come back and attack us." Liv pointed out with certainty.

"No, but we don't know the people they're going back to. We can't put our guard down because we think they're good people." Rick explained.

Liv wrinkled a brow. She was confused as to why she hadn't been looking at the full picture of things. The most important priority was that they kept their base camp safe for her children and the people living inside. She knew her emotions had been getting in the way of her thinking lately and decided it was best if she stopped making decisions for the camp. She needed to have a conversation with Abraham and Marco about this later.

As for now, Liv pushed it to the back of her mind and sighed. "I'm gonna go to the twins n' see if they're hungry."

Rick nodded. "Okay. There's a few things I gotta get done here then I'll head over to our room in a bit."

The way to her room was long and tiring. She was just glad that she wasn't in the medic room anymore. Relief came over her as she finally reached her door and a smile appeared on her lips. Her fingers wrapped around the door handle and she oddly admired the knob for a moment before turning the handle and walking in the door.

"Carol?" Liv raised a brow when she noticed the other woman standing in her room.

"Hey!" Her voice was soft so she wouldn't wake the babies that were laying side by side on the queen sized bed. "I wanted to come check on them. I didn't think you'd be out of the medic room today."

"I'd rather finish my recovery here, where I can be comfortable." Liv shrugged then moved closer to her bed.

"Judith is- Liv?" Daryl come from the connected room where Judith usually slept but stopped abruptly when he saw his sister. "You shouldn't be up." Daryl stated while he rushed to her side and helped her to her bed.

Liv shook her head at her brother's behavior, but she didn't refuse the help. She knew he was just looking out for her. "Thanks." Liv mumbled then she sat up to look at the twins.

"Suri said they'd be alright." Daryl spoke up as he too stared at the babies.

Liv nodded. "Yeah-"

"We couldn't find- Liv?" Maggie, who walked through the bedroom door with Carl, asked.

"Yup, I'm here!" She smiled at the two.

"We were tryna find you." Maggie smiled back then went over and sat at the foot of the bed.

"We thought maybe the babies would be hungry when they woke up." Carl clarified.

"Mmm." Liv hummed with a nod. The room fell silent as they all focused on the two little ones. The baby girl started to wake as she stretched her tiny legs and yawned which made everyone subconsciously smile.

"A tiny beauty." Maggie's heart melted as she took the baby into her arms.

"Liv- oh." Now Rick came through the door and furrowed a brow to the others in his room. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin'." Daryl shrugged. "Everyone just can't stay away from the army of lil' ass kickers we now got." He stated.

"True." Glenn- who had walked in with Rick- agreed, then went to stand over Maggie as he looked at the baby in his wife's arms.

"Do we got names? 'Cause she looks like a Beth to me." Maggie smiled as she rubbed the baby's cheek with the back of her finger.

Liv couldn't help but smile at how lost Maggie got when she looked in the little girl's eyes. "I did think a lot about Beth during this week." Liv scooted over making room for Rick to sit beside her. "Beth had a way of turning anyone's day better. She had enough faith for everyone, that's just who she was, and that's what I see in her." She nodded to her daughter. "I see Beth's faith in my baby every time I look in her eyes."

Maggie's smile grew bright. She loved hearing those things because they were all true. The baby girl in her arms was a symbol of what her little sister represented. "Faith." Maggie quietly whispered.

Rick looked up at the sound of the soft voice that came from Maggie. "Faith." He nodded. "Faith."

Carol hid her smile. "So Faith, and what is Little Guy's name?" She asked as she picked the now awake baby boy, and rocked him in her arms.

"Merle." Both Liv and Daryl answered at the same time.

Rick shared a glance with Carl before looking toward his younger son. "Maybe we should think about it n' give it some time." He offered.

"But I thought about it this whole week." Liv furrowed a brow.

"Me too." Daryl said while moving to stand by Carol as he looked at his tiny nephew.

"Merle could be a middle name." Glenn spoke up as everyone but Daryl and Liv nodded.

"Y'know I also like Daniel." Liv shrugged.

"Daniel sounds nice." Carl said almost immediately. "We could call him Dan or Danny." He explored the options and possibilities before a thought popped in his head. "Wait, why Daniel?"

"It's a Bible name." Glenn stated as Liv nodded.

"Daniel was a man who was thrown into a den full of lions as a punishment, though, when morning came he was still alive. Daniel told the king that an angel was sent by God to close the mouths of the lions so that they wouldn't hurt him." Liv explained. "God let Daniel live because he was an honest and faithful man, which is why the name Daniel means God is my judge."

Daryl furrowed a brow. "Really? I thought Daniel 'cause that's your dad's name."

"That too." Liv nodded smiling at her brother.

"Knock-knock." Michonne came through the door. "I heard you'd be back- oh, I guess everyone knew you were here before me." She raised a brow as she walked further in the room.

"Nope, we all came to check on the babies and Liv just happened to be here." Maggie said.

"Yup, just happened to be in my own bedroom." Liv shrugged with a smirk.

Michonne laughed and shook her head. "So, what were you guys doing?"

"Getting the names for the twins." Carl answered.

"Do we got any winners?" The woman with the sword on her back asked as Maggie got up and handed her the little girl.

"Her name is Faith." Rick told Michonne as he nodded to the baby in her arms.

Michonne nodded as her lips bent in a pleasant smile. Faith was just what her group needed and to have a daily reminder from the precious baby girl in her arms made her very happy. "And, Little Man over there, what's his name?"

"Daniel, after my dad." Liv answered.

"I like that." Again Michonne smiled.

"I'm gonna go check on Judith." Carl said as he went to the other room.

"Yeah, I've got to do some rounds." Glenn waved as he left the room too.

Michonne nodded. "I'm on catwalk for the evening." Michonne gently place Faith in Rick's arms before walking out.

"I need to be in the kitchen cooking however I believe he belongs to you." Carol placed Daniel in Liv's arms before she left too.

"Hmm, I should probably go meet up with Marco, see if he needs anything." Daryl shrugged. "I'll check back in a bit later." He said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.

Liv's gaze went from Rick then to her son in her arms, and finally landed on the only other woman who was left sitting on the edge of her and Rick's bed. "Guess it's just us three." Liv announced.

"Yeah." Maggie looked down at the blanket she sat on and traced over the floral design with her finger. "There's something I gotta say." The brunette didn't bother lifting her head until after she said, "I'm pregnant."

I finally know where this story is going and I'm very excited, don't get me wrong, there is still a lot more to come, I just can't wait to share it with you all!

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-~Until Next Time~-