Aftermath Ch. 5

Standard disclaimer, and on with the story.

Also please check out the A/N at the end of the chap. Has some important info. Lemme know what you think!

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We move quickly but concisely. We have to get to the child, who's cries are only getting louder, as quickly as possible, but we also have to be on high alert for the biters that will no doubt be drawn to the noise as well.

Finally, we're able to pinpoint the room the child is in. The three of us enter, but Morgan stays by the door to lookout for increasing biter activity.

I cast a mufflatio so the cries will cease to be heard from outside the room.

Approaching the child, I notice that they can't be more than a two-year-old. They're sitting on an exam table, in an overly full, soiled diaper and there is food trash littered on the floor. The child is naked, except for the diaper and there's a note attached to their chest.

Gently, I peel the note and diaper off the child, a girl, and hand the note to Rick while I scoop her up in a blanket Morgan conjures for me.

As soon as we make skin to skin contact, I feel a warm jolt in my magical core. The baby girl relaxes from her stiff posture but screws up her face and lets out another screeching wail.

"Hey there sweethart, no need to cry any longer. Were here to help you okay? It's all gonna be okay from now on. It's alright baby, we've got you now."

It takes a while, but my soft coos and gentle rocks are eventually able to calm her down, and she falls into a light doze against my shoulder. Her little hand fisted in my shirt and her occasional snuffle has my heart melting.

Morgan and Rick are standing at the doorway, both on the lookout, but having a whispered conversation to not disturb me and the baby.

I clear my throat to catch their attention and both men turn to me looking grim. Before I can even ask, Rick hands me the note that was attached to the little girls chest.

She was a burden before the world went to shit and that burden has quadrupled since. Im better off without her and she without me. I never asked for this, or her, and so many times shes almost cost me my life. I just can't do it anymore.

I was going to smash a few vending machines and just leave her locked in this room with the food, but then I saw you guys cleaning the place out and knew I had a chance to get away with a clean conscience. For better or worse, she's your problem now.

P.S. Her name is Rosie, and she's about 15 months. Don't give her any formula- she's allergic.

Good luck.

It feels like time slows down for a few moments. I can feel my magic bubbling up inside me, ready to burst from the rage that's suddenly consuming me. And for one second, I let it.

But then the baby in my arms, Rosie, shifts and burrows her face deeper into my neck.

I close my eyes and count the breaths I feel against my neck to help me calm down and reel back in my saturatingly angry aura. Now is not the time to lose my cool. Ive got to stay focused to stay alive especially since we have so much to lose if I don't have my head in the game.

Opening my eyes , I make contact with the men. Immediately I see we're all on the same wavelength. Rosie is coming with us.

oOoOoOoOoOo

I strip off my bag and grab a clean towel from it and fold it into a makeshift diaper for Rosie. After I secure it with sticking charms, I use the blanket I had her wrapped in to create a makeshift sling for her to rest in, so she's snuggled securely against my chest.

"So, what's the new plan?" I ask. "I think we've got enough to last us for a good long while. Pretty much everything we could need, especially food wise. But clearing the rest of the hospital isn't really an option any longer. We need to get some supplies for Rosie and head back to the department before it gets dark. We've been in here a few hours already."

"Yeah I agree. Let's head on out. We've already been here longer than I anticipated. I'd like to get back to Duane soon."

Morgan moves back to the door and looks out of its small window. Once he gives the all clear, we head out in a line formation. Morgan in front, then myself and Rosie, with Rick bringing up the rear.

We're able to swiftly make it out of the hospital with Morgan and rick dispatching any stray biters we come across.

Stepping outside of the hospital is a major relief. It may be hotter outside than inside, but the fresh air is more than welcome.

The shops that would have any baby supplies are further down the block, so we head to the car to drive closer, in case we need to make a quick getaway.

Once were situated in the car; Rick turns to me. "How is she doing?"

I look down and gently brush the dark curly hair from her sleeping face. "She's sound asleep now, but she must be exhausted. I want to get back to our little home base asap. What she really needs is food and water and a break from the heat. Lord only knows how long she's been out here, the poor thing."

We lapse into a comfortable silence until Morgan pulls into the middle of the lot, so that if anything goes south, we have equal access to every exit. It's completely empty but that could change at any moment. Morgan shuts the car off and both him and Rick turn to me.

"Indy, do you want to stay in the car with Rosie? The note said shes about 15 months and we both, Rick and I, have experience with our children and shopping for them. It would be no trouble for us to slip in and out and grab everything we need. You two can wait in the car, no problem."

The idea has merit, but I immediately disagree. "If anything happens, and we get separated, we have no way to keep in contact. We stick together at all times, and a silencing charm around Rosie will keep any noise she makes from being heard."

They both look like they'd rather lock me in the car and go without me anyway, but we head out again in the same formation as when we left the hospital.

There's a few shops in the plaza, but the one we head to is the thrift store. It looks the least looted and the windows are all intact, unlike all the other smashed windows of the shops in the plaza.

When we get to the front doors of the shop, Morgan bangs on them a few times. "Little trick I came up with. Bang on the door then open it. Any biters inside walk right out and you can take 'em out one at a time."

We step back and wait a few moments, but we hear no movement and head inside. It's not too dark inside and the place looks untouched.

"I'll grab clothes for myself and Rosie. You two look around for some spare things for yourselves and Duane. Get durable things; jeans and the like. Long sleeve shirts too. It may be hot now, but winter is just around the corner and we'll need the layers then."

We stay within eye shot of each other and load up on clothes. I grab things from 24 months to three years for Rosie, and a few new pairs of jeans for myself. There's also a few used toys, board games and books that I pick up as well. Traveling can get quite boring and with two kids now, it'd be nice for them to have something to entertain themselves.

Fortunately for me I find an unopened pack of two sippy cups. There's also a stack of very cute, printed cloth nappies in a nice range of sizes and I grab them all.

Im looking through the children's shoes for suitable boots for Rosie, when I hear it. Its faint but getting louder by the second.

"Is anyone out there? We're offering sanctuary for any survivors! We have a small but thriving, community, filled with men, women and children! There's food and supplies and shelter! If anyone is out there, we have sanctuary!"

Rick perks up when he hears the voice on a loudspeaker. He rushes towards the door, to possibly flag down the owner of the voice, but Morgan practically tackles him to the ground before he can get close to the door.

"Stop! Stop! We don't know what that is. Everything is gone, there's no one in charge anymore, no governments. This could be a trap. You gotta use your head now man. The worlds changed. People don't do things out of the kindness of their hearts anymore."

Together we stay low and creep towards the windows. The broadcasted message is getting louder and louder along with the sound of large heavy vehicles.

Soon enough, an armored truck, filled with men in civilian clothes, holding heavy machinery come into view, followed by a tank.

There's a man standing in the back of the truck with a megaphone. Just looking at him makes my skin crawl and my hair stand on edge.

There's nothing obviously nefarious about him. He looks like a librarian honestly. But there's something in the way he holds himself that screams danger.

He can't find us.

We left the car in the middle of an empty lot in case we needed a quick getaway, but that may have just backfired on us. There's no way we'll be able to drive the car away with them so close to our location, and all of our supplies from the hospital are in there.

Notice-Me-Not's can only do so much.

Luckily for us, they keep driving past, but we spend an hour in the shop just to be sure that they've gone.

"That man is not a good man. Everything about him set me on edge, and all I did was hear his voice. Where the fuck did, they get that tank from? And who just drives around in a tank? 'Cause that just screams benevolence!"

"I'm not sure, but I got the same feeling; a cold shiver down my spine. We need to get back. Now. I won't feel better until I've got Duane in my sights. I haven't been apart from him this long since this mess all started."

Quickly we make our way to the van and head back. Biter activity has ramped up because of the loud trucks and the creepy megaphone man, but we don't have too much trouble.

About halfway into our journey back, we come across something extremely disturbing. There's a dead man lying on the side of the road, propped up against a car.

There's large bullet holes in him and the car behind him, and the blood is fresh- still dripping down the side of the car.

Obviously, this just happened and the only people around with this kind of fire power, would be the megaphone tank man and his crew.

"Keep going Morgan, don't even slow down. This could either be a trap, and they come out to kill us if we stop, or they just murdered that man. Either way, you two were right. That group's bad news."

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We make it back with no further incidents, but Morgan takes a few detours to ensure we weren't followed.

After Morgan parks the car, Rick does a perimeter sweep while Morgan, Rosie and I head inside with the bags.

None of our wards were tripped which sets Morgan a bit at ease, but he still practically runs to the cells.

By the time I reach the doorway, I barely catch the top of his head disappearing into the trunk. He's such a mother hen.

Movement from Rosie catches my attention and I look down to see big beautiful green eyes staring up at me. With her wild black hair, she looks just like me as a babe.

I've only ever seen those green eyes on two people before; my mother and myself.

She stretches out in the sling and lets out a cute little groan.

"Hello my darling. Did you have a nice nap? Hmm? Are you ready for a bath? 'Cause im not gonna lie, you're a bit stinky." I can't help but coo at her cuteness.

We descent into the trunk and head to the bathroom. On the way, I see Morgan and Duane in the bedroom. Duane is asleep with Rhodey lying in the bed next to him, and Morgan has pulled up a chair to enjoy his son's peaceful rest.

Rhodey perks up when he sees me and hops off the bed to follow me and my mini carbon copy.

Rosie is fully awake now and trying to escape the sling, so I carefully lift her out, and place her on the sink counter. She grabs onto my shirt for leverage and hauls herself standing.

"Oh my, look at you! You're a strong one aren't you! Yes, you are! Now let's get you all cleaned up alright?"

I don't have a baby bathtub, so I fill the sink with warm water and grab a bottle of body wash.

As soon as Rosie's body is submerged in the water, she screws up her face, and I can tell she is not a fan of baths. However, before I have a full-scale meltdown on my hands, Rhodey pops up onto his hind legs and starts to sniff Rosie.

Apparently, a furry thing is much more interesting than crying over a bath.

She becomes immediately enraptured with Rhodey and he keeps her entertained enough for me to scrub her little body clean.

Miraculously there's no rash on her bottom from the soiled diaper we found her in, so when shes squeaky clean, I lift her out of the sink and put her on the floor so she can play with Rhodey while I squeeze in a quick shower.

Rick and Morgan are sorting the bags and putting food away in the freezer room when I exit the bathroom, looking for clothes for Rosie and myself.

"When I'm finished with Rosie, im gonna put something quick on- probably oatmeal again. I'm starved and it'll be something Rosie can have as well. Is that alright?"

Both men give their okay, so I take a minute to grab a fresh nappy, a plain white onesie for Rosie, and I fill one of the new sippy cups with water. I grab a black tank top and some sleep shorts for myself.

Back in the bathroom, Rosie is toddling around while holding onto Rhodey's collar. When she sees me, she does something I do not expect.

She stretches out her tiny little hand, and the sippy cup with water goes flying into her grasp. She tilts her entire head back and greedily gulps the water down, and I can do nothing but gape.

Rosie is too busy quenching her thirst to notice when I move, so she startles badly when I suddenly scoop her up.

"You have magic! Rosie Posey, you have magic! Did you know? Hmm? Were you just holding out on me sweet girl? Oh, don't cry my darling, you're okay. Shh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you baby, but you surprised me! You have magic!"

She calms down quickly, so I dress her and head into the kitchen. The guys were still putting things away when I passed by the freezer room, so I put Rosie back on the floor with a soft block to entertain herself with while I cook.

I turn on some soft music from my dad's old radio and sway to it while Rosie entertains herself by throwing the block for Rhodey to fetch. The sound of her giggles makes my heart melt, and the smile on her face is tooth-rottingly sweet.

The oatmeal doesn't take long to finish, and soon everyone is filing into the kitchen from the scent.

In a repeat of the first night, Duane stumbles cutely into the kitchen and wraps me into a hug.

"Miss Indy, why is there a baby on the floor?"

"We rescued her today. Her real mama left her there when she saw us. She wasn't fit to care for her baby any longer, so she gave her to us."

"Well, she looks a lot like you. Are you gonna be like her mama now?"

"I don't know sweetie. But im going to take care of her. And guess what? She has magic just like us!"

Duane and I turn towards the freezer room, when we hear twin "She does?" echo in the kitchen.

"Yeah she does. Summoned the sippy cup right out of my hand in the bathroom."

"Well," Morgan says, walking up to Rosie and picking her up. "Aren't you just full of surprises."

Rosie gives a wide smile, showing off her eight front teeth, and babbles happily at Morgan.

He passes her to me and moves to dish out the food but before I sit down, I set out food and fresh water for Rhodey.

Since we don't have a highchair, I sit Rosie down on my lap and grab a spoon. Luckily her hunger wins out, and she doesn't fight me about eating. She just opens her mouth like a baby bird and makes happy little hums at each bite.

We finish our food at the same time, when Rosie starts to cry. I try feeding her more food and when that doesn't help, some water, but nothing gets her to calm down.

I cuddle her into my chest and bounce her a bit, and she starts to chew on my shirt over my breast. I rub my hands up and down her back to try to comfort her.

"Oh, Rosie girl, I'm sorry." I stand up to bounce her better. "I can't feed you that way my darling. I would if I could."

Morgan clears his throat and I pause my pacing. "Actually, you uh, can, if you really want to."

I give him a confused look and he explains.

"Jenny, uh, she… when Duane was born, she had trouble producing milk, so our healer showed her a few spells to uh, stimulate the lactation gland. It allowed her to produce more milk, at a faster rate. If it's something that you want, I could teach the spell to you." Morgan finishes with a blush.

"Are you serious? Never would've thought there was a spell for that, but then again, I've never had a baby before so I guess I wouldn't know.

"But, yes. I'd like for you to show me. It may seem a little strange but literally the moment I laid my eyes on her, I was a goner. There was an instant connection. I feel like she's mine."

Morgan has a contemplative look on his face. "Hmm." He says. "I've never seen it happen, but I've heard that magical children can imprint on their mothers. The note on Rosie said that her birth mother didn't want her to begin with. Magical children can be really sensitive to negative emotions. If her mother rejected her right off the bat, then she could, in theory, make the connection with someone else. I think she may have chosen you."

I'm completely stunned, but I'm filled with warmth at the idea. I was very close with my own mother growing up. She sheltered me a lot from my father's anger and revulsion of my magic. She was my best friend and the love I had for her knew no bounds. I was devastated when she died, but the thought that I can be to Rosie what my mother was to me makes me elated.

"So, what's the spell?"

"Alright well… the incantation is Producendum Lac. The wand movement is just a double tap to each breast with the wand. The only thing is, the spell has to be renewed weekly."

Rosie was still crying so I readjusted my grip on her, so I was cradling her, and moved to pull down my shirt, when Rick jumped out of his seat.

His face was so red, I was actually worried he might pass out, especially with how fast he shot out of the chair.

"I, um, think im gonna finish putting the rest of the food away in the freezer." He was out of the room so fast, there was a slight smoke trail in his wake.

I look over to Morgan, who wouldn't even look in my direction. I can tell hes extremely embarrassed and I can't help but laugh.

"Two men, both with children, can't handle a woman breast feeding. Such delicate sensibilities."

I take Rosie into the bedroom to spare Morgan from spontaneous combustion and relax in my favorite squashy armchair.

Rosie is still crying softly and rooting in my chest, so I adjust her and whip out my wand. Four taps of my wand later and my, relatively small, breasts are almost double the size they were before and heavy with milk.

Before I put my wand away, I vanish my now too tight, bra, then guide Rosie to latch on.

"Ouch, oh shit, ow. Rosie girl be easy with me. This is my first time at this. I know you're a seasoned pro, but it's my first time in the big leagues. Please, watch the teeth darling."

I use my finger to adjust her grip, so shes not just clamping down on the tip of my nipple and its sweet relief.

Rosie calms down almost immediately and her tiny hand comes up to rest on my boob as she suckles.

As she nurses, the tension from the day slowly eases from the both of us. A quiet contentment washes over me and I gently rub her back in slow circles.

She looks up at me and we make eye contact, and the whole world fades away for a few moments. I feel like I'm drowning in little pools of emerald green.

When her gentle sucks slow, I quickly switch her to my other boob. I don't know for sure what she went through with her birth mother, but I have a gut feeling it wasn't anything good.

"But it's alright my sweet. I'll protect you now. Nothing bad will ever happen to you while I'm around. I promise."

The combination of my soft coos and gentle back rubs are soothing her to sleep. Her blinks are getting slower and slower, but she still seems a little reluctant to fall asleep.

She detaches herself from my nipple, so I cuddle her to me and gently pat her back, so she'll burp. Once she does, I get comfortable in the armchair and snuggle her close to me. Her head rests over my heart and she finally loses her battle with sleep.

The weight of Rosie's body and the warmth she's producing has me feeling drowsy as well, and I too lose a battle with sleep that I didn't even know I was fighting.

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I wake up a bit disoriented with a weight on my chest.

It takes a few minutes for the information to re-assimilate in my mind, but I'm able to organize my thoughts quickly.

Gently, I sit up and carefully peel a snoring Rosie from my chest and place her in my spot as I stand up and cover her with a throw blanket.

Looking around, I see Morgan and Duane asleep in the bed, and Rick snoring on the pull-out couch. Rhodey is laying on his back with his feet in the air, mouth open, tongue out and legs twitching.

Chuckling, I make my way to the kitchen without waking anyone. I put on a pot of coffee and whip up some breakfast.

I'm just finishing the bacon when Rick staggers in, heading straight for the coffee pot.

After he fixes his cup, we both grab a plate and sit at the table.

We eat in a comfortable silence until Rick breaks it. "Indy…"

I look up at him when he hesitates. "How are you doing? The last two days have been very busy and it's like things are happening on fast forwards."

"Honestly Rick? Im felling a pinch overwhelmed. And furious. And sad. Grateful, but scared outta my mind. So... I'm kind of a mess." I chuckle weakly.

"I mean yesterday we found a baby. Abandoned by her birth mother as soon as she saw us and that makes me furious because, what if we didn't hear Rosie's cries? Or what if a biter got to her before we could!? How could anyone just abandon their baby like that? And what kind of life did little Rosie have with her? That woman was going to just leave her baby, all on her own, with just vending machine snacks to live on! She was condemning her to death, and all she cared about was keeping her conscious clean."

Rick puts his hand on me, and all my righteous indignation floods out of me, sadness taking its place.

Sadness for the precious girl asleep in the next room. Sadness at the cruelty of her mother. And most of all, sadness that even if the world hadn't gone to hell, this amazing little soul would've still had to endure so much hardship in her life. Sadness at the unfairness of it all.

"Her short little life has been filled with horror, and this is all she'll ever know as she grows up." I whisper, tears filling my eyes.

"No. No Indy that's not true," Rick squeezes my hand, "She has you to protect her now, to look after her. She has all of us, in fact. The world may not be what is used to be- may never be that way again, but because of us, of you, she'll know love and happiness and safety.

"I saw the look you got in your eyes when you held her for the first time. It was the look of a mother, who would do any and everything for her child. It was a look of unconditional love. You're more equipped to take care of Rosie, and you'll do a phenomenal job- regardless of the apocalypse."

I sniff and wipe my steadily falling tears. "But I'm so scared Rick. There's a whole defenseless person depending on me now. what if I fuck it up? The stakes are much higher now. Literally life and death, and I'd rather die than anything happen to my Rosie."

Rick chuckles and cups my cheeks, using his thumbs to wipe the remaining tears from my face. "Indy, that's just what being a parent feels like. Let me tell you, the first time I held Carl, I almost shit myself. He was so tiny, fragile, and perfect, I was afraid to even breathe wrong for fear of screwing something up or hurting him.

"Im not going to lie, that feeling doesn't ever really go away. No matter how big they get, how grown, you'll always look at them and see your baby. But you take it one day at a time. All you can do is protect them and raise them right.

"But you have help. I may have only met you three days ago but were family now. and family sticks together. You'll be a good mother Indy."

Suddenly, I'm pulled into a vision.

Rick is getting out the back of a white van, he's looking down as he walks towards a group of people, when the sudden shout of "DAD!" has him whipping his head up.

His eyes immediately fill with tears as his little boy, Carl, comes barreling towards him. He starts running and meets his son halfway, the boy tackling him to the ground.

He buries his face in his sons shoulder and sobs.

As I come out of the vision, Rick has tears running down his face and it's my turn to wipe them away. "You saw that right? Rick were going to find him. We're going to find your boy."

Abruptly Rick stands up and yanks me into a crushing hug. I can feel his body shaking and his breath hitches as he tries to keep his composure. "Th-thank you, Indy. Thank you."

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A/N: First things first, I want to thank everyone who left a review and favorited/ gave kudos to this fic. It means so much to me that people like and want to read what I write. Now I'm just gonna clear up a few things so nobody is confused:

Only Indy, Rick, Morgan and Duane know that it was the magical population that started the apocalypse

I can't say that this will never be brought up again, because it's possible, but in my current plans, it's not going to become public knowledge

To clarify who has magic and who doesn't:

Everyone in this world is born with magic, but majority of the world do not have direct access to this magic.

Muggles are people with no history of magic users in their families- they still have it; they just can't use it.

Though it may manifest in other ways (Rick's body healing itself after the power in the hospital went out)

Muggle borns are children born into those families at random.

They can access their magic and are the first to do so in many generations, or for the first time in that families history.

Magicals are those born with full access to their magic

They may have a full family tree of people born able to use their magic fully (i.e. purebloods)

Squibs are children born to magicals that can't access as much of their magic. (the opposite of a muggleborn)

They have some direct access to it though not much and are able to brew potions, see through magical wards and can see things muggles can't (like how Mrs. Fig was able to see the dementors in OOtP and Filch can be in Hogwarts)

They do not have enough magic to wield wands, cast spells or be accepted into magical schools

The plan for Indy to get to Ilvermorny is a bit on the back burner. Her plan was to mostly find other people, preferably magical people and she has- she just didn't think it would be so quickly. She assumed that if ilvermorny was still around, it would have a good magical population residing there, and was heading there so she wouldn't be alone in the world anymore.

Shes also grown very attached to Morgan, Duane and Rick and is very determined to help Rick find his family. She knows that if it becomes necessary, Ilvermorny is always an option she can take if she, (Morgan and Duane) needs to take to get out of a dangerous (magical hating solution).

As for Michonne and Andre, I'm keeping that a surprise

I hope you guys liked this chap!