Hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? *sheepish laughter* Hehe, well...I'm sorry. School, you guys! It's killing me, slowly and painfully. I'm trying my best, so bear with me. I appreciate all the support and as you all know, reviews both terrify and motivate me. Love you all!
This chapter will be done partly in 3rd POV because I feel that it is necessary for the storyline.
Shane tried to swallow as he heard the news. Lori was dead, she was gone. And that crying child clutched in Beth's arms was her baby. His baby? Rick's baby? Did it really matter anymore?
"What are we going to feed it?" Daryl was asking Herschel. "We got anything a baby can eat?"
Herschel finished his evaluation and looked up at the hunter. "The good news is she looks healthy. But she's going to need formula, soon, or she won't survive."
"Nope. No way, not her. We aint losin' anyone else. I'm going for a run." Daryl decided, casting an unsure look over at Rick who was still swaying back and forth on his knees, dazed.
"I'll back you up." Maggie volunteered in a thick but determined voice.
"I'll go too." Piped Glenn, immediately supporting his girlfriend.
Daryl pulled Beth aside and gestured towards Carl, their voices too hushed to hear. Shane cast a glance at his old partner, pity breaking through the cold indifference he usually felt when he looked into Rick's eyes. He took a hesitant step towards him, halfheartedly wanting to do something to ease his pain, but he couldn't bring himself to close the distance.
Since the last night on the farm he and Rick had kept to the barest of communication. In a single act that he had brought on himself with his damned pride, he had dropped from beta to omega. Daryl had taken his place quick enough, and Shane was man enough to admit he did a decent job. He was also man enough to admit he deserved getting his ass whipped by Rick that night. He threw the first punch, he pulled his knife. Rick could have killed him, should have killed him, but he didn't.
He bore no ill will towards Rick, but neither did he intend to try and fix their fractured friendship. Rick was where he was supposed to be, Shane was where he was supposed to be, and both had been happier for it. Shane had Rachelle, and that was all he needed. Steeling himself, he turned away from the Grimes man that was trying to push himself to his feet.
"Somebody get the fence!" Daryl yelled. "We get too many of those things piling up, we got ourselves a problem!"
Rick sprang to life, grabbing his axe and darting inside the prison before anyone could stop him. Shane watched him go, jaw clenched and hands fisted tight.
"Rick!" Maggie yelled.
"Let him go." Herschel said. "Nothing we say will matter."
Daryl nodded hesitantly in agreement, but his tense body showed that he wasn't comfortable letting his friend go alone.
"Alice!" Rachelle yelped in surprise.
Eyes darted towards the pair, Shane spinning around at the panicked sound of her voice. Alice's eyes were shut, her face lax. She had started a quick descent towards the ground before Rachelle had snagged her. Daryl and Shane both hurried over to them, Herschel handing the baby to Beth.
"What happened?" The old man asked, voice all business.
"I don't know!" Rachelle stammered. "She was fine, then she just-,"
Daryl grabbed one of her arms and Shane the other as they helped Rachelle set her down on one of the outside tables. Her limp body offered no resistance, but no help either. Herschel pushed forward and observed the young woman's face, pressing two fingers to her neck. Riddick had darted forward when he'd seen his master falling, and now he had his paws perched on her thighs, nose busily sniffing.
"What's wrong with her?" Daryl demanded in worried agitation, backing up a step only to dart forward again.
"She's in shock. Probably just passed out from all the stress. We need to get her back inside. Nothing sleep can't fix." No one missed the unspoken word that finished the sentence. Hopefully.
When Maggie and Daryl started forward to help, Herschel warded them off with a crutch.
"No, you need to go. We need that formula. We'll take care of her."
With a reluctant nod, Daryl swung his crossbow over his shoulder and motioned for Glenn and Maggie to follow him. He cast only one look over his shoulder before moving into a jog to head down where they kept the cars. Herschel clutched his crutches tight as he formulated a plan. He turned to his youngest daughter.
"Beth, take the baby inside and get her cleaned up. Carl, you should go too."
Beth nodded, wrapping Alice's flannel tighter around the infant before heading into the cell block. Carl followed, his face a stoic mask.
"Shane, I need you to help Rachelle get Alice inside, into her cell." He continued. "I'll see what I can do for her."
The ex-cop nodded but didn't move forward. He was in shock as well and he found himself staring down at the red decorating Alice's arms. Lori's blood. Rachelle pursed her lips and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey." She whispered. "Can you do this?"
Shane snapped free of his reverie and nodded. "Yeah."
One arm slipped underneath Alice's shoulders, the other behind her legs as he hoisted the woman in the air. He moved robotically almost, head a mess of thoughts. Rachelle walked in front of him, holding open the door that led into the dark interior of the prison. A few dead Walkers lay scattered around the cellblock as they entered.
"Can you get her up the stairs?" Rachelle asked him.
"Yeah." Shane muttered, taking them two at a time before hitting the landing.
He walked into the first one and deposited her gently but swiftly her on the bed, nearly having to spring back when Riddick let out a growl of aggression. The canine stood stock still, ears back and tail high, his muzzle lying across the woman's forehead. His eyes rolled back to look at the retreating man, showing white surrounding the brown orbs. Herschel hobbled up the stairs, Beth behind him with a somewhat clean baby.
That baby. Shane felt a burst of an array of emotions that hit him so hard, he nearly recoiled. He needed to get away. Pushing through the doorway, he stalked down to the very last cell, his cell, and threw himself on the bed so he could bury his face in his hands. Hurrying footsteps following him alerted to the fact Rachelle was approaching. Sure enough, she swung around the door and stopped.
"Shane." Worry laced her words so thickly it made something in his chest tighten. "What's wrong?"
When he didn't answer, she cautiously walked in further, kneeling in front of him. Still, he refused to look at her. Her small hands wrapped around his wrists and gently tugged them away from his face. Blue eyes peered into his dark ones.
"Please, tell me what's wrong." She begged.
"She's dead." Was all he said.
"Lori?" Rachelle nodded, not looking away. "Yeah."
"I…I…" Shane didn't know how to say it.
"You loved her, I know." Rachelle's bluntness of it surprised him.
"How-,"
"I'm not stupid, and I'm certainly not deaf. Talk about you two circled around occasionally." Rachelle's smile was strained.
"I'm sorry," Shane framed her face with his hands. "I-,"
"You can't be sorry for loving somebody." Rachelle interrupted him again. "She meant a lot to you, I understand that. But that's not all of what's wrong, is it?"
Shane closed his eyes and let his forehead fall against hers. This was the hard part. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He cleared his throat and tried again.
"At the beginning of it all, before Rick came back, before he found us, Lori and I…" he trailed off, knowing Rachelle could fill in the spaces.
"Oh." Was all she said. "So, that baby…Lori's baby…it could've been yours?"
"It's Rick's." Shane stated firmly, pulling away slightly. "Whether by blood or not, it's going to be his. I owe him that much. I just…I don't know how to feel about it."
Rachelle sighed and wrapped her arms tightly around her boyfriend, letting him bury his face into her hair. They stayed silent like that for a few moments, the faint sound of voices and a crying child reaching their ears.
"So what do you want to do?" she asked after a few moments.
"I want to get out of here." Shane didn't miss a beat. "I have ever since the snow melted."
Rachelle pulled back and looked him in the eye.
"You serious? You think they'd let us leave?"
"Of course they would. But I don't want drama, I don't want goodbyes. I want a clean break. We'd have to sneak out."
"You could do that?" She sounded doubtful. "Just walk away from it all? From Carl, hell, from Rick? Everyone? I've lived with them throughout winter. You've been with them longer."
"They're great people." Shane admitted. "Every single one of them through the good and the bad. But, I need to start over. I have too many mistakes here. You and me, we could start over, somewhere else."
"These people have had our backs through everything. I don't know." Rachelle worried her bottom lip.
"Look at me." Shane dipped his head. "I love you."
"I love you too." Rachelle spoke without hesitation. "I do. But I can't leave everyone without saying goodbye."
"Rach-,"
"Alice. Let me say bye to Alice, and you've got yourself a deal. We'll leave, you and me."
Shane stared into her eyes for a minute before nodding. "Alright."
Rachelle smiled and leaned forward to press a kiss against his mouth.
AIWAIWAIWAIWAIW
(Alice's POV)
I heard creaking as someone opened my cell door. It was muffled, like someone had stuffed cotton in my ears, and I tried to open my eyes to no avail. Everything felt heavy, as if I had a wet blanket draped over me, making every moment near impossible. I could feel the softness of my mattress against my back and the soft puffs of air from someone exhaling against my neck, probably Riddick…hopefully Riddick.
Footsteps entered my cell, and the sound of a chair scraping against concrete would have made me jump if I could have. My thoughts felt heavy, to the point where trying to think about what was happening made my mind grow fuzzier. So, I just laid there and waited. The person sat next to my bed and I waited some more, barely curious as to who my visitor was. It was easier to just lay there.
"Hey, Alice."
The voice sparked my interest, but once again my thoughts blurred together.
"You've been out for hours now. Herschel says that you're in shock, that we should leave you be until you're ready to come out of…whatever you've gotten yourself into."
I was fairly irritated now, the voice so familiar, but just out of touch.
"I've got something to tell you, something important." The voice had dropped into a conspiring whisper. "I'm leaving, me and Shane, we're leaving. Tonight. I wanted to wait for you to wake up, but it's easier to sneak away when it's dark."
Leaving…
"I had to tell you goodbye, even if you can't hear me. I wanted to say sorry for smashing your face with that book, the day I met you. I never properly apologized, so I'll do it now, because I don't think I'll get the chance again. If I'm lucky, I will, but luck doesn't seem to be favoring anyone these days."
Book…
"I also wanted to thank you. That day on the highway, when we were cornered by that group, and you had my back? I decided then that you weren't as big of a bitch as I thought you were. I've never had a sister, Alice, and I know you haven't either, but if I could have had one, I'd like to think she'd have been like you. And when you wake up, because you will wake up, please don't hate me, got it?"
That voice…
"You've been a good friend to me, Alice. One of the best I've had. Don't forget me, ok? And when you and the Backwoods Bastard finally hook up and have little Mason-Dixons running around, tell them about me. I'll do the same."
I know who you are…
"I guess this is it. Just in case you haven't heard a word I said," Something brushed against my thigh, "Here. Goodbye, Alice."
The sound of a chair scraping against concrete filled the room once more, the sound of exiting footsteps and the sound of a creaking cell door.
Damn…
.
.
.
My eyes popped open and I inhaled sharply as I took in the mesh wiring above me that made up the second bunk. My mouth parted as I took in deeper breaths, my mouth insanely dry and my head throbbing. I tried to recall what had happened, why the cellblock was so quiet. The sky outside was a pale pinky orange, kind of like sherbet, telling me that the sun was just rising. I went to sit up, only to stop when my muscles cramped painfully, having been kept in the same position for so long. A pained groan passed over my lips.
Suddenly, I wasn't alone in the cell. A black mass squirmed out from under the bed and pressed against me with an inquiring wuff. Riddick's tongue darted out and licked my cheek happily, tail smacking against the metal posts of the bed. My mouth formed a small smile as I raised a hand to brush his head, only to have it fall away when I saw my arms. Someone had tried to clean me up, but they couldn't erase everything. My nails were crusted a red-brown, as were the creases to my elbow. I closed my eyes against the barrage of images that assaulted me.
I remembered everything. The alarms, the Walkers, the electrical room. Then Lori, labor, screaming and blood. There was a baby, a little girl. I opened my eyes and let out a shaky sigh, pushing Riddick aside so I could swing my legs over the side. As I did, something clattered to the ground. My knife had worked its way out of its sheath, and now it lay on the ground. It was layered with an almost transparent pink film, but I was no fool.
"Oh, God." I placed my face in my hands and pulled my hair away from my face.
My eyes felt dry and itchy and my throat was raw, in desperate need of water. I heard footsteps on the stairs and prepared myself for whoever was about to round the doorway. Sure enough, footsteps halted outside my door, and I lowered my hands just enough to see who. Daryl leaned against the jamb, thumbnail firmly between his teeth.
"You're awake."
"Always observant, aren't you?" I said, relying on my sarcasm to keep me out of more uncomfortable emotions.
He ignored me and took a few more steps inside, patting Riddick roughly on the side as he sank onto the bed next to me. I tilted my head sideways to look at him, but he had his eyes firmly on my knife that lay between our legs. Slowly, he reached down and picked it up, twirling it between his fingers.
"I'm guessing you don't want this back?" He queried, though he seemed to already know the answer to his question.
I shook my head popped my lips. "Nah, I'll find another one."
My voice sounded scratchy and thick to my own ears and I cleared my throat, coughing loudly into the empty space on my right. Daryl pulled his own knife from its leather home handed it to me handle first. This time, I looked at him fully with a raised eyebrow.
"I can't take your knife." I objected.
"We'll trade."
I let out a huff and smiled. This was his way of trying to help me, and I appreciated it more than he'd ever know. I nodded and accepted the weapon, setting it down next to me on the thin mattress. We sat there for a moment.
"You okay?"
"Considering." I told him with a sigh, rubbing my eyebrow with the back of my hand.
"You know what happened ain't your fault."
"I…know. Logically, I know. But, you weren't there, Daryl. It wasn't you who had to…you didn't see her…didn't watch…"
"I'm not saying it was easy." He spoke in a gruff tone, but not a harsh one. "But it's gonna fucking destroy you if you keep looking at it that way."
"I killed her-,"
"You saved her little girl. Lori was gone the moment the baby couldn't…" Daryl trailed off as he couldn't think of the right terminology. "Maggie told us what happened. I may not know about childbirth and shit, but I know that Lori wasn't going to make it out of that alive."
"You're right." I said nodding. "I know you are, and I just need time to accept that."
Daryl nodded and slipped my knife into the sheath where his used to be. Pushing himself to his feet, he reached his hand down to me.
"Let's show the other's you ain't dead." He said. "Breakfast is about ready."
"Oatmeal?" I asked in an hesitant voice.
"Always is."
I moaned but clapped my hand to his as he effortlessly pulled me from the bunk. Black tinged the sides of my vision as the blood rushed throughout my body. I stayed on my feet and waited until I could see again before following Daryl out of the cell. I grabbed his arm before he could reach the stairs.
"Who did we lose?" I asked. "And the baby. Is she alright?"
I didn't want to know, but I needed to. Better to find out now where I could hide away for a few more moments if need be than to get down there and do a head count myself. Daryl eyed me, assessing if I was ready or not to hear what he had to say.
"T-Dog," He listed. "And Carol."
My heart twisted painfully in my chest as I thought back on the two of them. T-Dog, big hearted and big boned, helpful and sweet. And Carol, God, poor Carol…
"I'm sorry." I blurted out, knowing him and Carol were close.
He just shrugged before continuing. "The baby is fine. Healthy. Made a run last night and found her some formula to last a few days."
"That's good." I sighed, glad to hear something went well.
I went to go down the stairs but Daryl's unmoving form blocked my path. I looked up and recognized the look on his face.
"There's something else you should know." He spoke in a low voice. "Rachelle and Shane are gone."
I froze, pieces of broken conversation flashing through my mind as my subconscious tried to fill me in on something. My hand darted to my front pocket, feeling something hard in the confines. I resisted the urge to look just then.
"Gone? Not dead, right?" I asked, needing the clarification.
"Not that we know of. They slipped away sometime this morning." He must have seen the look on my face, because he added, "I just thought you should know."
"Yeah, thanks." I said, trying to take it all in. "So, anything else I should know?"
"Like I said, the baby's fine." He repeated as we continued walking towards the sound of the others in the dining area. "Rick, not so much."
As we entered, eyes swung to meet us. Maggie sighed in relief and gave me a smile, as did Glenn and Beth. Herschel looked at me with a doctor's eye, the roles from a day prior reversed, before gesturing me to join him at the table next to Carl. Axel and Oscar stood together with bowls in their hands, offering me awkward smiles. Riddick didn't crowd me, instead opting to lay by the door to the cellblock, lazily cleaning one of his paws.
"You should eat." Herschel said, passing me a bowl of clumpy oats.
"Thanks." I said gratefully, my stomach cramping at the thought of food. The first spoonful went down hard, sticky oatmeal making my mouth more dry. I picked up a water bottle from the table and took a big gulp, sighing in relief.
"How are you feeling?" Glenn asked, sitting down next to me with his own food.
"Out of it." I responded. "A little disoriented, but okay. My head hurts something awful."
"You gave us quite a scare." Maggie admitted.
"Sorry." I mumbled, feeling an embarrassed blush creep up my neck.
"Nothing to be sorry for." Herschel patted me on the back. "We're just glad you're okay."
Gentle cooing made me look up, my eyes locking onto the small person in Beth's arms. I couldn't help the smile that lifted my lips. I turned to Herschel.
"Do you think I could hold her?" I asked tentatively.
"Of course." He agreed.
Beth grinned and walked towards me, transferring the baby into my arms. The small warm body felt foreign to me, and I moved my hand to support her head. Blue eyes squinted up at me uncomprehendingly, a tiny fist batting me on the cheek.
"She got a name yet?" I asked.
"Yeah, I think we're pretty fond of Little Asskicker." Maggie smirked.
I shot a look at Daryl. "I wonder who thought that one up."
