AN: Here we are, another chapter here.

There's a bit more of a time jump, but it's explained/detailed within the chapter.

I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!

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Carol hadn't needed to hear the details of the phone calls that turned the morning from calm to busy in order to know what was happening. The first call came from the Mamet household. It was Michonne. It had to be because Alice wouldn't have spoken to Andrea about herself in third person. The second call was a call out that Alice made to inform Milton of the happenings at his home. The third call was a call out to the guards to let them know that the clinic was going to be closed down for the rest of the day and they should put that information on the announcements channel so that the Woodbury citizens would know that they didn't need to report for any appointments. Absolute emergencies, from what Carol could tell, would be handled by guards that would assess whether or not the patient could wait until Alice's return and, if they couldn't, those guards would make the call to get a prison doctor into Woodbury for the short term.

Carol hadn't needed Alice to tell her, either, to get her bag. Carol had it waiting for her by the time that Alice hung up the phone. She accepted the absence of words as a "thanks" from Alice when she handed her the bag because it was clear that the doctor had a great deal on her mind, and she followed along behind her, though at a significantly slower pace, when Alice left the clinic to set out in the direction of the Mamet house.

Milton's pull had to be pretty powerful. Either that or the anticipation of the birth of Andrea's baby had everyone half-cocked, because by the time that Alice and Carol made it to the house, Melodye and Maggie were already there and in the presence of four guards. They all waited on the porch for Alice. By the time that Carol's feet touched the bottom porch step, she could hear the sounds of a siren approaching.

"News travels fast," Alice commented, mounting the steps.

"Milton made the calls," Melodye said.

Alice looked around at the crowd that had gathered. Carol got an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach when Alice looked over her and avoided making eye contact with her. She was uneasy and it was clear.

Carol was naturally uneasy when she saw Alice become uneasy.

"Has anyone been inside yet?" Alice asked.

"We thought it was best for you to go in first," Melodye said. "Andrea's established with you and—birth is a delicate time for any mother, no matter her species."

Alice laughed to herself.

"Yeah," she said. "OK—just wait out here. I'll take Carol in with me for the moment."

Upon hearing her name, Carol worked her way through the crowd on the porch to press close against Alice. The ambulance pulled up and killed the siren that Carol had been able to hear for miles.

"Regional sure responded quickly," Alice remarked. There was something in her voice that Carol couldn't quite pinpoint.

"They were on call," Maggie offered.

Alice nodded her head and opened the door to the house. She eased through it and Carol followed behind her. The crowd of people waited outside as Alice had commanded them to do.

"Michonne?" Alice called out.

"We're in here," Michonne called. "Andrea's room. Andrew's in his room, but I don't know how long I can keep him occupied. When he was born it took—it seemed like days. But I think it's moving a lot faster this time."

"How much faster?" Alice asked. She sped up her steps and quickly got to Andrea's bedroom. Carol stayed out of the way, allowing Alice whatever space she might need. She got close enough to see that Andrea was in her bed, clearly naked, but she seemed to be handling her labor well enough.

Of course, Carol knew that the last time she'd given birth it had been under the threat of being eaten alive if she was too loud. Carol assumed that might very well change the way that one approached the whole process of giving birth.

"The contractions are about five minutes apart at this point," Michonne said. "They really sped up from when we first started to think that it might not be the—you know the—fake contractions."

"That is not what I wanted to hear today," Alice said. "I wanted to know about this the moment that we had a little one on the way. Not when she's just about ready to make her debut."

"I thought there was more time," Andrea offered.

Without Alice having to say anything, Andrea succumbed to the examination that Alice gave her. When Alice was done, Andrea covered herself with her own blanket and settled back into her pillow like she was going to take a nap instead of deliver her child.

"We've got to get you up," Alice said.

"I'd rather lie down," Andrea said.

"To the ambulance," Alice said. "To Regional."

Carol could immediately tell that this was not part of the birth plan with which Andrea had made herself comfortable. She went wide eyed and started to sit up, but in the defense of every unreasonable person and child, she held her blanket up to her neck like it would protect her from something that she found terrifying.

"I'm not going to the hospital," Andrea said.

"Is there something wrong?" Michonne asked. "Is there something wrong with Andrea?"

"I'm having her here," Andrea said, her voice growing more frantic with every passing word. "Right here. Alice. I'm having her right here! In my bed! That's what we decided!"

"Is there something wrong?" Michonne asked again.

Alice didn't make eye contact with any of them. She left her bag where it was on the floor and she got up from where she'd been sitting on the side of the bed. Even as she pushed past Carol, she didn't make eye contact with her.

"Fuck!" She spat as she started out of the room. "Fucking hell! Fuck...you're going to Regional, OK?" She stopped and called out her words from near the back door. "That's the plan. It's not your plan, but it's Milton's plan. And ultimately? Milton's plan is the plan that we're all going with. So you're going to Regional. They're here to get you. And it's going to be in your best damn interest, Andrea, to just go with them. Go with them easily. Gently. Let them help you. Because once I open this door—and I have to open this door or they'll open it for me before long—you're going with them. You decide how that's going to look."

"Why?" Michonne asked.

"Regional is a nice hospital," Alice said. "It's fully functional. State of the art. They'll have everything she needs. If she—if she needs anything. If the baby needs anything. It'll all be there."

Andrea was coming unraveled. From Carol's position she could see what was happening in both rooms. She could see Alice struggling with herself by the back door and she could see Andrea coming unraveled. She could see Michonne trying to comfort Andrea.

She could feel the cold fear in her own chest that she pretended was her concern for her friend.

"I want—to have—my baby—here," Andrea managed to get out. She was gasping for air and Carol was certain that her labored breathing had nothing to actually do with her labor. "You—said—I—could have—her—here."

"I didn't know," Alice said. "OK? I didn't know until—like a couple days ago. Milton ordered it. Look—you gotta go, Andrea. I have to open the door soon and you need to be ready to go with them. If I don't open this door? They're going to open it for me and that's not going to go well for any of us. You don't want that. Believe me."

"She's right," Michonne said suddenly. "She's right." She sprang into action. She found clothes and she started to dress Andrea. Andrea wasn't fighting against her because it appeared that Andrea was having to put most of her energy into not suffocating. Her panic was choking off her air. She was having an excruciatingly difficult time breathing.

When Carol realized that she was having a difficult time breathing, she focused on drawing in deep and even breaths the way that Melodye had taught her to do when she needed to calm herself.

"What about Andrew?" Michonne asked.

"Mel's out here," Alice said. "Sami's probably out here too. They'll take Andrew for the time being."

"I don't want to lose my baby!" Andrea screamed out, finally finding her voice among her suffocation.

"You need to cooperate with them," Alice said. "Do what they want you to do, Andrea. Go where they take you. You'll keep your baby. But if you fight them? You'll make yourself a dangerous criminal. We could lose both of you, then. That's not what any of us want."

"She'll do what they want," Michonne called. "We all will."

Carol could hear her own heart pounding. She could hear the rush of blood in her ears. Her own breathing was labored. Her heart ached for Andrea and she felt the cold chill of fear in her gut.

Those that came for Andrea—young men that Carol assumed to be nurses that they'd never seen before—came with a stretcher and restraints.

They were taking her out in chains.

Carol found a table to hold onto for support.

"Why the restraints?" Michonne asked.

"Normal precaution when dealing with prisoners," one of the nurses answered frankly.

"She's not a prisoner," Michonne protested. "She's a citizen. The practical fucking first lady of Woodbury."

"It's a precaution," the nurse repeated.

"Michonne," Alice warned.

"She's in labor," Carol said, her voice sounding strained to her ears. They were too rough as they dragged Andrea away from the last bit of comfort she was seeking out of her bed. They were too rough as they pulled away the blanket that she clung to like it might save her from something that lurked in the darkness. They were too rough as they grabbed her arms and forced her down—refusing her the chance to touch Michonne as she reached out for her. They were too rough as they bound her tightly against the stretcher. "Be careful with her. She's in labor..."

Carol was certain that nobody heard her. Her voice got lost in the sounds of Andrea's screams and sobs. Her voice was lost in the sounds of the nurses speaking to one another and in the sound of Michonne asking questions that were no more heard than Carol's protests against the inhumane treatment of her friend.

Carol's voice got lost among the sounds of people discussing what would happen—who would take Andrew and how Michonne would be escorted to the hospital and where Milton would be—from the porch as they took charge of the lives of those who had no control over their own lives.

Carol finally found the ability to let go of the table that she was holding onto when Samirah came through the door and said something to her—something to which Carol didn't respond—before she went for Andrew.

Carol walked toward the door and eased her way through the crowd of people still congregating on the porch and in the street near the house. She stepped down to stand on the middle step where she could see what was happening. The nurses loaded Andrea into the ambulance and closed the doors. The sirens roared to life again and the ambulance disappeared. In Carol's ears, Andrea's cries were still ringing until the sound of them was replaced by the wailing of the sirens.

A car had appeared and Alice and Michonne were ushered into it by a guard. They followed the ambulance quickly.

Carol was left standing on the steps wondering what she should do while everyone talked among themselves. She stayed there until someone touched her shoulder and she turned to see Samirah standing there with Andrew in her arms.

"I'm going to get him something to eat," Samirah said. "Maybe a—cookie or some ice cream. Do you think he'd like that?"

Andrew looked at Carol with the same big green eyes that belonged to his mother. She reached her hand over and touched his cheek. Like Sophia, Andrew wasn't quite at the developmental stage that his size suggested he should be at. Carol smiled at him and nodded. He might not be quite as developed as he should be, but he knew enough to know that he was afraid. He looked relieved when Carol smiled at him.

For now, this was the least that she could for Andrea.

"Yeah—I think he'd like that," Carol said. "Andrew—your Mama is just fine. Your Mimi, too. Would you like some ice cream? Would you like to—come with us? We'll get some ice cream. Maybe we'll find a ball. Play outside for a little while?"

Andrew looked somewhat pleased by that suggestion. He looked at Carol and back at Samirah.

Samirah smiled at him and then gave that same smile to Carol.

"I'll get Willomen," she said. "We'll get Sophia."

"She'll like that," Carol said, following Samirah down the steps and back toward the center of Woodbury. She didn't speak again until she was certain that they were out of earshot of everyone else. "Sami—I didn't lie to him, did I? She—is going to be OK?"

"I'm not God," Samirah responded. "But—as far as I know..."

"And the baby?" Carol asked.

"Again, I'm not God," Samirah responded.

"But as far as you know?" Carol asked.

"She'll be fine," Samirah said.

"Andrea—they won't take her baby, will they?" Carol asked.

"Not if she acts like a human—they won't," Samirah said. Carol's stomach tightened and her knees felt weak for a second. She felt her cheeks flush with warmth and a wave of lightheadedness passed through her. She stopped walking, but she picked up her steps again as soon as she realized she wasn't going to pass out. "Are you OK?" Samirah asked, stopping her forward progress. She started walking again when Carol offered her the best smile she could and started forward again.

"I'm fine," Carol breathed out. "Just—a little tired. The babies—they take up a lot of room. They're heavy. It can be hard to breathe."

"We can walk slower," Samirah offered, slowing her steps. "If you think that will help."

Carol quietly thanked her. She wanted to ask her what it meant to be human—at least in Andrea's situation— but she didn't because she was too afraid of the answer.