Beth woke up before Daryl. He lay next to her, snoring softly. She remembered the events of the night before. She got up and walked out the room, leaving Daryl to sleep. She found Mary sitting at the kitchen table with the other three men.
"Oh good you're up." Mary's gaze dropped to her stomach where her shirt was still torn and bloody from the cut Alex had carved into her. She'd almost forgotten about it. "Let me look at it." Mary led her back into the living room for some privacy and she sat down. Beth rolled her shirt up and was happy to see that the cut wasn't deep and only superficial. She shivered as Mary rubbed a cold disinfectant cloth over it began to bandage it up. "You two should get a move on, Terminus will already have a group on the move if I know them right." Sasha's death had distracted them from thinking about the possibility that the people of Terminus would want revenge.
"You guys wouldn't come with us?" Mary shoke her head and said
"Bruce and the others won't leave their home."
"And you?"
"I don't know," she said, "I could stay here for awhile, can't go back to Terminus." She heard Daryl's voice from behind them and say
"You could come with us." He was standing in the doorway, having of just woken up. "We need a doctor." Mary looked flustered and said
"You'd want me to come along?" Beth knew no matter what she was having this baby. She'd care and love it but knew in the end they were doomed to a painful death. Yesterday had proven that to her.
"Of course we do," said Beth, "The baby will be here in a couple of months and you saved our lives." Mary smiled and said
"Where would we go?" Daryl looked crestfallen and said
"Dunno, another safe place hopefully." He looked at Beth, his eyes full of concern. "Don't wanna be on the road for too long." Dale walked in and said
"Breakfast is ready." After Mary covered up her wound Beth got up and followed Daryl into the kitchen. There was a large plate of venison and vegetables in the center. The three men along with Daryl quickly dug in. Beth got a piece for herself but had no appetite. Mary on the other hand seemed to be tasting deer meat for the first time in a long time. It was sickening to think that eating other humans had been the norm for her and others. As Beth picked at her food Daryl watched her with critical eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Just not hungry." He wasn't going to berate her in front of the others but later he'd talk to her about it. Her stomach felt sick and she really wasn't hungry. Daryl turned his attention from her and to Bruce.
"So you ain't comin' with us?" Bruce shoke his head and said
"Can't leave this place. Like I said, all of my memories are here."
"What if they noticed you helpin' us? When they send out a group to search for us they'll be comin' here first."
"It's a risk we're willing to take," said Bruce, speaking for the other two.
"I'll be going with them," said Mary, "To help with the birth of the baby."
Michonne and Carl had been on the road for days. They'd only managed to find one workable car but the gas had run out quickly and they were back on their feet. The passing of Rick was still hurting them and Michonne couldn't help but feel like their search for the others was pointless. They hadn't seen any sign of them. Giving up on their search left them without a goal or purpose. Where would they go? Where would they live? Could they really let themselves settle with a new group and make new friends?
The sun was starting to set and like always they set up camp in the woods by the road. As Michonne began to set the fire Carl said
"Can I go look and see if there's anything in the cars we saw up ahead on the road?"
"Ya," said Michonne, "Be careful and yell if you need help." She'd been hesitant to let him go off and do small tasks by himself but she realized that with just the two of them they needed to work together as equals.
Carl walked along the road towards the group of cars, his knife in hand. Everything he did now was thought out. He'd think to himself what would his father do? How would he handle this situation? Michonne hadn't been lying when she told him that his father would remain with him forever. His death still was painful to think about and Carl would hold back fresh tears whenever he thought about it.
The first car had nothing of any value inside. As he continued on to the others he was surprised to see that none of them had anything inside of them, they'd already been stripped clean. As he turned the corner his heart stopped. The bus from the prison was pulled over onto the side of the road. There was wood nailed to all of the windows and he was shocked to see a small fence of pots and pans strung up around it. There was a fire pit out front that was still smoldering. Somebody was in there or had been recently. Slowly he circled the bus, trying to find a window to look inside. Unfortunately they were all completely boarded up.
"Hey you!" He turned to see a man walking up behind him, his gun out but not aimed at him. The moment he saw the man's face he recognized him. He had been from the prison. He was one the Woodbury survivors. Of course Carl wasn't as thrilled as he would be if it had been Daryl or Glenn but he was excited to see that at least one other person had made it out. Carl couldn't recall his name but the man seemed to recognize him as well. "I know you." Carl nodded and said
"I escaped from the prison, you were from Woodbury weren't you?" The man nodded and said
"Are you alone?"
"No," said Carl, "Michonne's with me." He didn't expect the man to remember Michonne either so in a bold move that made his emotions skyrocket he said "My mother."
"It's me and three others," said the man, "We've been living in the bus for weeks." He heard a distant voice calling his name and turned to see Michonne coming up the road. When she saw the man standing across from him she ran towards them. She was on the defense immediately, removing her sword from its sheath. In a stern voice she said
"Who are you?"
"It's ok," said Carl, "He's from the prison." That got her to lower her blade and she said
"I don't remember you."
"I was from Woodbury," he said, "'Fraid we didn't all get to know each other to well before things went to shit." Michonne still stared at him with a burning stare. "We drove as far away as we could but the bus eventually ran out of gas. We got swarmed by walkers, all of us were killed 'cept for me and three others." A woman's voice called out from the front of the bus and Carl saw an older woman step out.
"Talmidge what's taking you?" When she saw Carl and Michonne her jaw dropped and she said
"Oh, visitors." Smiling Talmidge said
"They're from the prison Sarah." Sarah looked back inside and said
"Carlotta come out here." Another female voice said
"What's going on?" The young blonde woman stepped out beside Sarah, holding something in a white blanket. The bundle suddenly moved and kicked, revealing a baby. Carl nearly felt his heart stop when he recognized his little sister. She was alive and well, lying in the woman's arms. Michonne saw her too but Carl was the first to move.
"Judith!" Without thinking he took his sister from the woman's arms and held her close.
Beth sat on the bed while Daryl was quickly packing a bag full of supplies that Bruce had given them. She felt numb again; Sasha's pained face burnt into her mind.
"You're gonna need to eat somethin' 'fore we leave," he said, "You need strength for the road."
"I told you I'm not hungry." Daryl dropped the bag in frustration and said
"Please don't fight with me on this," he said, "We both know I'm right." There was a quick knock on the door that interrupted them. Bruce walked in holding an armful of clothes.
"Hey," he said, "Pulled out some of my wife's old clothes from the attic. Thought you'd like 'em." Beth smiled and said
"Thanks Bruce." He smiled and said
"I fixed up some lunch before you three hit the road. Come on out when you're all ready."
Carl couldn't stop looking at his little sister as she happily slept in his lap. He, Michonne and their new friends were all sitting inside the bus. Carl was impressed with what they'd done with it. They'd pulled out most of the seats and made a table, two beds, a kitchen area and even a couch. Talmidge had explained he'd worked in construction before the turn and he had made the vehicle into a camper. He then went on to tell their story.
"Didn't know what we were gonna do when we broke down here. There were a lot of us and it was overcrowded but we all made it work." He looked down in sadness and said "Then 'bout a week after we stopped here we got swarmed. Us four made it to the roof where we were safe but the others weren't so lucky." Intrigued Carl asked
"How'd you get the walkers out?"
"Had to wait a couple of hours before they cleared out. It was a miracle that she didn't start crying, otherwise we woulda been screwed." Carl saw the blonde woman watching Judith fondly and she said
"I was the one who got out with her. Someone had left her in her carrier. Nearly got eaten but I managed to get her in time." Carl felt an enormous amount of gratitude towards this woman and he barely knew her. All he could do was turn towards her and say
"Thank you."
"Didn't know her name so I've just been calling her baby," said Carlotta, "Was gonna try and call her something eventually but it felt weird, knowing she already had a name that I didn't know about." Carlotta smiled and said "Judith is a beautiful name, old fashioned and Biblical." Sarah interrupted the moment and said
"So where have you guys been?"
"We've been looking for others," said Michonne, "Haven't seen anyone 'til now." Carl knew she wouldn't tell them of Rick. It was still too fresh.
"Well thank god your son found us," said Talmidge, looking over at Carl, "If he hadn't you mighta walked right past us and not even known." Michonne looked over at Carl whose face was red. He hadn't intended for her to know that he'd called her his mom but it was stupid of him to tell Talmidge that and not expect him to bring it up. To his surprise her face broke out in a warm smile and she said
"Thank god my son did."
Beth was sitting at the table again, picking at her plate with her fork. She felt Daryl's gaze on her and she took a piece of the venison and swallowed. It felt too thick as it went down her throat and into her stomach. She continued to cut off pieces and eat, the sick feeling not going away. She would have blamed it on the pregnancy but her morning sickness had stopped a long time ago after her first trimester was over. As she took her seventh bite she felt it coming back up. She got up and quickly ran to the bathroom, just making it to the toilet as she vomited. She heard Mary and Daryl standing in the doorway. It was Mary who spoke first.
"Are you alright?"
"Ya," said Beth, "Just think I caught the stomach bug or something."
"We're taking food for the road," said Mary, "You can try and eat a bit later and see if it's any better. You're already malnourished from Terminus, can't let you get any worse." Beth nodded, knowing that she and Daryl were right. She needed to eat no matter how she was feeling. She'd lose the baby. The only problem was going to be keeping food down. She got up off the bathroom floor and they went back to the kitchen. Daryl had their one bag slung over his back. Bruce, Dale and John were waiting for them by the door. Daryl shoke Bruce's hand and said
"Thank you, for everything. Couldna done it without your help."
"I'm glad I could help you," he said, "You two will make it, I know it."
"Sure you don't wanna join us?"
"Nah," said Bruce, looking at his two friends, "We belong here. We'll be ready to take whoever comes knockin' at our door." They were led outside where Bruce and the others had managed to get a working car for them. It had half a tank of gas but it would be enough to get them far away. Beth looked at Sasha's grave one last time. Her name was carved into the rock they'd used as her headstone. She deserved a full funeral, with flowers and a church service. She spotted a group of daisies sprouting next to the house. She went over and picked them, placing them and the bottom of the headstone. She placed her hand on the cool rock and whispered
"Thank you Sasha for all that you did. You were a true friend and I'm sorry you had to go like this but now I know you're happy with your brother and family."
It was night and Michonne found Carl still sitting with Judith in the candlelight. Everyone had gone to sleep. Sarah had made up Carl and Michonne a bed on the floor and although Michonne was tired she wanted to talk with Carl. She sat down opposite of him at the kitchen table.
"How's she doing?"
"Good," said Carl, "She's been sleeping soundly since earlier." Michonne smiled, enjoying watching Carl cuddle his baby sister. He looked up at her and said "I'm so happy we found her and that we're here." Michonne nodded in agreement. At first these weren't the first people she would have wanted to find. She had thought finding Maggie, Daryl or someone else from the original group would be more beneficial. But now she was grateful towards this new group. They'd taken she and Carl in without question and given them a roof to sleep under. They'd reconnected Carl with his sister and his happiness was all Michonne could ask for in such a corrupt world. She smiled and said
"I think it's time for bed." Carl yawned and placed his sister carefully in her crib. They blew out the candles and both got into bed. Although they were just air mattresses they were the comfiest things they'd slept in for weeks. Michonne leaned over from her bed and kissed Carl on the forehead. "Goodnight son." She saw him smile in the darkness and he said
"'Night mom."
Thanks everyone for reading :) I really focused on Carl and Michonne in this chapter because I think that he and Judith's reunion was an important part of the story. I also wanted to show how he and Michonne's connection got deeper and how he started to see her as more of a mother rather than just a guardian.