Chapter Thirty-Two: Reunion
"They were actin' weird outside." Beth murmured to her from the other side of the bars. Hershal looked up at them from where he was sitting in concern, the only reason why he was on the other side of the bars was to give his daughter company as she started on making a large lunch in preparation for the arrival of the rest of their group.
"What do you mean?" Esme asked, concern was practically vibrating out of her skin. The older children were playing happily while Judith and Primrose had a nap.
The blonde teenager sighed as she leaned from one leg to the other, "It's just tha' when I went to give 'em the shovels Allen and Ben, that's the teen boy, Sasha and Tyreese pushed 'em outta the way an' took 'em. I don't know, was just weird the way they dismissed me. Like they didn' want me there at all."
"They did just lose someone Beth." Hershal spoke up, "Perhaps they are grieving and wanted to do it in privacy."
The blonde teenager did not look convinced. "I don' know Daddy..."
"Beth," Esme called softly, "It'll be okay. The others will be here soon. You have your gun right?"
"Yeah." the girl nodded, her green eyes shining under the sunshine bathing the room from high windows.
"Keep it on you. If they try anything funny... We'll be ready."
Her words seemed to bolster Beth and give her back her confidence. She shot the teen another smile as the blonde went back to the pots of boiling pasta and tomato sauce. A disgruntled cry that she recognized as Bora's drew Esme back to the cell at the end. It looked like it was time to put Thomas and Bora down for a nap as well.
It had taken Esme fifteen minutes to put down her two one-year-olds for a nap. She ended up instructing Lilac and Andre to clean up their mess on the floor before showering her toddlers with some extra love and attention in the form of cuddles and softly reading them a story. Bailey was curled up into a ball by their side as Esme read the colorful tale of the 'Hungry Caterpillar.' It was nice to simply bask in the unconditional love of her children for a while. Especially with her oldest two, she was afraid that with all the attention the younger babies needed she wasn't being as attentive with her more independent children. Neglect or lack of affection in any form wasn't something she ever wanted them to feel. Her calm tone while reading and the quiet atmosphere seemed to soothe the toddlers as they slowly began heavily blinking and their breathing evened out as they fell asleep.
Esme pressed soft kisses on the crowns of their heads before carefully maneuvering herself out from underneath them. She decided that it would be less likely to wake them up if she just let them take their nap on the rug, so Esme simply shifted their forms into a more comfortable position before gently placing a blanket over them. Bailey mewed lazily at her as she got up and then curled herself even closer to Andre's head. Esme lightly rubbed the top of Bailey's head, checked on her dozing one-year-olds before stretching and going over to her own cell to see if Primrose or Judith were awake.
Thankfully, both babies were still happily snoozing. Since everything seemed to be peaceful at the moment it would be a perfect time to take her own nap. The lack of sleep from the night before was starting to hit her now as the day progressed. Esme carefully laid down on her bed, careful not to jostle Primrose, and curled up against her baby before closing her eyes and letting herself relax.
It didn't feel very long before a whimper from the bassinet in her room woke Esme up. She carefully got up, Primrose was still napping contently as she sucked on her teal pacifier every few seconds. Judith's face was all scrunched up as she flailed her limbs unhappily, before the whimper could turn into a real cry Esme quickly lifted the infant up and began shushing her softly.
"Que pasa, mi amor?" she whispered lovingly, "Is that diaper stinky? We can't have that. No, no, no. We're gonna change that diaper and then we're gonna have some leche. Si, you is probably very hungry now, right princessa?"
Esme walked over to Rick's cell to grab the baby bag with newborn sized diapers before deciding to simply change Judith in there before heading back to her cell. Judith was in a clean nappy when she heard the outer doors open and familiar voices cascade down to her. They were back! Mindful of the infant fussing in the crook of her arm, she approached the gate out of the Cell Blocks to inspect their wayward members.
Glenn and Maggie were the first two she spotted, some dried rotter blood was on their clothes but they looked healthy overall as they hauled bins with canned goods into the cafeteria. Hershal and Beth wrapped Maggie into a relieved hug as soon as she put down her load, before wrapping Glenn into a hug as well. The scene made the corners of Esme's lips pull up with joy at the family reunion. Oscar and Axel were already letting down their own boxes with dried food down at the free table while they inspected the nervous-looking strangers in their midst.
The small group of survivors that Carl had saved were watching the trickling members of their group come in with trepidation and thinly veiled hope on the part of Sasha and Tyreese. Hershal must have told them that their stay in prison would be determined by Rick and not himself... and considering how wary the man had been with Esme's own arrival, she wasn't too sure that their leader would be too accommodating. No matter how much it inwardly chaffed her, Esme was positive the main reason Rick hadn't turned her away was because of the young children under her charge and the fact that she was a relatively defenseless woman.
Something that these four individuals, despite Sasha's status as a woman, definitely were not. Defenseless that is.
The minute Daryl walked in, with a couple of black garbage bags thrown over his shoulder, he spotted their new additions and eyed them warily and with barely concealed caution. It was probably a good thing that Rick hadn't walked in yet to see the four new faces inside their home. Hershal had crutched away outside, probably to give their leader a little heads up on their new guests. Some previously unnoticed tension in her shoulders unwound at the sight of her new group's heavy hitters.
Everything would be alright now that they were back.
They were safe.
Her children were safe.
Judith fussed frustratedly as she started smacking her lips harder and her little eyebrows furrowed. She rocked her body in a soothing manner, "Alright, alright. I know what you want." she murmured softly as she threw a small receiving blanket over her shoulder and the baby's head before pulling down the straps of her tank top and bra. Judith quickly latched on to her nipple and began to greedily drink milk to her content. Esme snorted in amusement as the baby stopped wiggling around in her arms and instead relaxed completely against her, a small peak underneath the blanket let Esme know that the infant was now happily blinking her eyes as her tiny hands clenched repeatedly against the bare skin of Esme's breast.
The loud clanging of the outer door opening and shutting brought her attention back to the other room. Rick was strutting down the stairs in a purposeful manner as he spared the small group of strangers inside a look of contempt before he headed towards her. Carl quickly ran ahead of his father and opened the gate to let him in, Esme moved to the side as she shot the man a tired smile when his piercing blue eyes fell on her and then his daughter.
A small smile tugged onto the corners of the man's lips as Esme moved the blanket out of the way so that he could see Judith.
"She's been good. No trouble at all." Esme reported, "She should be finish in five minutes and then I'll give her to you."
Rick nodded as he placed a gentle hand on the baby's head, "Thank you." The man covered up Esme's modesty once more before he turned to the others and ordered them "Let's unload the rest of the stuff, I want everything inside before it gets dark."
"I made lunch." Beth piped up, "Some pasta with sauce, I can warm it up when we're done."
Rick nodded, "Let's wrap this up so we eat."
All of the commotion now occurring in the prison seemed to have woken up Esme's own children as she started to hear cries coming from the end of the cells. Beth shot her an eager smile, "I'll help!"
"Thanks." Esme retorted as the two them went to tend to the cranky toddlers. It was nice, having someone there to help her take care of the kids. Hell, it was nice to be able to depend on anyone for anything. She was depending on Beth for help with child-rearing, Rick to give them direction, Hershal for advice and medical attention, Daryl for protection, Glenn and Maggie for their quick thinking and even quicker response time, Axel and Oscar's brawn to help carry things, and Carol's quiet but reassuring gaze as she kept lookout during the night.
Just three days ago, she was a single mother to five beautiful children all under the age of five with no one to back her up if something went wrong. Now, Esme was flourishing, despite her reservations about new people. Her children were safer than ever and had the option to interact with other people. She thanked God for leading Daryl and Maggie to her daycare, for coming back and actually bringing them to their new home.
Esme wasn't alone anymore.
The very thought had a wide grin stretching across her face.
Words 1752
(Translation of Spanish words:
Que pasa, mi amor? = What's wrong, my love?
Si = Yes/Yeah
Leche = Milk
Princessa = Princess)
(Hey guys! So things are getting pretty serious now with the virus... NYU closed the residences Sunday and gave the students dorming until the 22nd to move out, my sister was pissed. I spent all day yesterday with her in the city helping her pack up her apartment. I saw this crazy lady in the subway practically pole dancing as she practically rubbed all of her exposed flesh on the pole while exclaiming "Oooh, I touched it. What's gonna happen? I touched it!" My sister says that she now knows what the New-Ro man to infect everyone he came in contact with at the synagogue... In all seriousness though, I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy!)
(I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I've been writing a lot, but I think I'll take my time editing especially since I'm still figuring out where I want to go with this... You guys know that my characters practically write themselves and decide where the story is going, but I am trying to figure out how I want the fic to end, since it will definitely help me figure out the direction of the story... so yeah! LOL. I started rambling.)
(I mentioned in the last chapter that I started watching Fear the Walking Dead, I've fallen in love with the character Nick, damn he really is the doppelganger for a young Johnny Depp! I wish there was more fics written for this fandom... Though, I did read some good ones on this site. I'd love to see a crossover fic between TWD and FTWD... because I'm, of course, a hardcore Daryl lover and I would love to see him flounder living on a boat in close quarters... the thought makes me cackle...)
(Guest1/Anon: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the translations!)
(TwilightEclps: Aww thanks! I did get to go to church in Connecticut, it looks like the people there are pretty scared of the virus too. The group is back in this chapter, nothing really happened to them, LOL, but because of the trip something will happen... Dun, DUN, DUN!)
(time-twilight: Wow... I was talking to my mom today, she told me that the K is doing the opposite than the US, in dummy terms, she basically said that they're doing nothing, so that since "everyone" has it, nothing needs to close or change in an attempt to make sure that the economy doesn't suffer. I'm not sure if that's right, let me know. I hope you're okay and healthy!)
(hossfan: ;D)
(Beachgirl25: Thanks! I love the babies too! You'll see really soon!)
(DarylDixon'sLover: Thank you!)
(Yukatana: Wow. So, when I started reading your reviewing I was like: Oooh, this looks like it's going to be my first real bad review... and then I was pleasantly surprised by the end of it. I'm so flattered! Thank you! Really, thank you! I think my head grew three sizes! LOL. My sister also isn't a fan of small children, so I know how that is... I hope you continue to enjoy this story! You made my day!)
(itsprettyboy: Good, I'm glad you were able to finish everything! I hope you liked the update!)
(Guest2/Apple Bloom: LOL. I'm glad! And no problem! It was something that I was thinking about too!)
