Chapter seventeen: We are family.
"All this time…where did you all go?" Rick asked with Judy asleep in his arms as the others all perched around on furniture, even the six we didn't know. I let the boys tell the story, standing in the kitchen with Carol.
"Daryl's gonna shit when they get back in the morning." She muttered and I looked at her, Carol had changed over the months we'd been apart, she was a total badass now. "How far along are you?"
"About five or six months, I'm worried about how Daryl's gonna react." I admitted, watching as Jonah re-enacted the day he'd fallen over on some wet moss and suspected that he'd broken his ass.
"About that," I glanced at Maggie as she smiled sheepishly, "I kind of told him already."
"Seriously, how'd he take it?" She shrugged as Glenn laughed and shook his head.
"He uh…he went hunting a lot more often after that, we think he was taking his frustration out on the squirrels he brought back." He joked and I scoffed, looking down at the counter top as Rick shook his head.
"Where were you afterwards, we tried to look for you."
"We didn't leave Georgia for a long time, some of us argued that it was a big risk to bring Judy somewhere none of us were familiar with…Walkers were only a quarter of the problem." Sam answered and Rick nodded, I looked out the window and sighed.
"I'm gonna go sleep, my back is killin' me." Carol nodded and patted my back as I left them all to talk, I didn't really want to relive our journey so much as forget it and start again here in Alexandria.
My back still ached when I woke up the next day, glancing over to see Sam slumped on the floor out in the hall, nudging him with my toe to wake him up.
"Get in a bed you caveman," I muttered and he nodded, heading into one of the bedrooms and crashing, face first on the sheets, snoring almost at once. It was strange, being without Judith for the first time in months, but it wasn't as worrying as I'd thought, she had her real family to care for her now. Downstairs, someone was banging on the front door, I could hear Phin opening it, talking cheerfully to whoever was on the porch before the door shut and I hit the bottom step. "Who was that?" He jumped and then cursed, spilling his glass of water on his fresh shirt.
"Fuckin' hell, sis," he was bright red and I grinned. "Nah, it was Maggie, apparently we need to go and talk with some guy named Tobin when the other two are awake…didn't say what you'd be doin'."
"Right, Sam's just gotten into bed, I don't know where Jonah is." I replied and he pulled a face.
"Jonah's droppin' logs; I'm surprised you can't smell it." He shuddered and returned to the kitchen. "I'm makin' eggs and meat, want some?"
"Yeah, you know it." I muttered, wandering around the lounge, looking out the back window into the garden and then sighing.
"It's weird isn't it?" Phineas was leaning in the doorway, spatula in hand and eyes on the ground. "Shampooed carpets, mowed lawns in the back yard…working ovens…it almost feels like the shit never hit the fan."
"But it did," Sam yawned, stretching his arms over his head. "We can't forget that, Phin," he continued, getting some water and sitting down at the kitchen table to wait for breakfast.
"Guys," Jonah's voice was muffled through the floor. "Can someone grab me a new toilet roll?" I pointed at Sam, who rolled his eyes but got back up. "I think I was right the other night about the meat being off," grimacing, Phin shook his head. "Seriously, someone hurry the fuck up!"
"I'm comin', hold onto your ass for five minutes!"
I laughed as Sam took the stairs two at a time, he could be vaguely heard shouting something obscene through the bathroom door before returning, looking a little green. As Phineas started to dish out the food, Jonah joined us, skipping like he'd lost twenty pounds, stopping to answer the door on his way in.
"Oh yeah, come on in, we were about the have breakfast." He said, leading Deanna into the kitchen where she smiled.
"Well, I see you four have settled well," she commented and Sam grinned, draining his water and setting his glass aside. "I can't stay long, just came to let you know that your boys should find Tobin as soon as you can."
"What do you want me to do?" I asked and she smiled warmly, shaking her head.
"I don't expect you to do anything but relax, I'm sure Carol will be over in a minute, she said she would." Deanna replied and I nodded, albeit I felt left out and snubbed, but I swallowed it.
"Alright, I think I can handle relaxin'." Jonah snorted and shook his head.
"No you can't, it's your one downfall Ellie, you not the type to relax. Back at the Prison you couldn't keep her inside the walls, she was always runnin' off on runs or hunts." He explained and Deanna chuckled, shaking her head.
"We have plenty of supply runners; Glenn is in charge of them currently." She declined. "Perhaps in the future you could join a few runs, if Glenn was alright with that."
"Ain't Glenn who'd say no," I commented quietly and the other woman nodded.
"Anyway, I'll let you eat." Deanna then left, Jonah walking her out before coming back.
"I bet you three get to have fun today, buildin' shit and whatever while I sit around and get fat." I muttered and Sam rolled his eyes.
"Be grateful Puddle, at least you're not doing anythin' back breakin'." Shaking my head, we settled down and ate our breakfasts, Carol coming in as the boys were leaving me with the dishes.
"Want some help with those?" She offered and I nodded, letting her dry and put away the dishes as I washed them. "Daryl will be back today, maybe you guys should come over tonight, have a few drinks."
"Yeah, I think the boys will enjoy bein' back with everyone." I agreed before smiling as I caught sight of Carl sat in the grass with Judith. "How was last night?"
"Different," Carol admitted, "it was odd having a baby around after so long of thinking she was dead."
"Same for me, I kept thinkin' I'd have to get up and feed her last night…" I chewed my lip, wondering whether or not I should bring up Karen and David. Surely being exiled from the group had been punishment enough? I didn't know what had happened to the group in time we'd been separated, maybe things had been sorted out…I didn't think Tyreese knew the truth yet…maybe it wasn't my place to bring it up again.
"Are you alright?" Carol asked with concern and I nodded, bringing my attention back to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine."