Alexandria

It was the very early morning. The time of day when its not really light out yet, but just feels not really as dark. RickyJo got up and tended to MJ, who had a wet diaper. Then she took him back to bed and snuggled him close, offering him her breast and hoping he would go back to sleep. The new thing he found exciting was to pinch Merle as hard as he could, which was actually pretty hard, considering how tiny his hands were. So she kept MJ on the edge side of the bed and put her back to Merle to separate them. Getting back into bed must have rustled him a little, because he mumbled something she couldn't understand and cuddled closer to her, rubbing his drowsy head into her hair. She closed her eyes, feeling secure in his arms, like she always did. She just meant to relax, since MJ was near the side of the bed. But with her arms wrapped around her son, and the body heat from his father on the other side, she was asleep before she could even think twice about it.

Daryl slept the hard sleep of someone that had been up most of the night. He had been thinking about what happened the day before, and pondering what his new relationship with RickyJo was and if he even actually had one. She had fed MJ lunch and then Jessica had happily offered to watch him a while. Jess and Morgan had taken him into the living room and moved the table so they could play ball with him. Of course he liked having the ball rolled to him, but he didn't want to let go of it to roll it to someone else. RickyJo could see her son would be fine without her for the time being, so she had let Daryl take her upstairs to bed. That part had been good, but then they had started arguing again. He wanted her to sleep the night with him and she had told him no. MJ liked waking up and seeing her and Merle in the morning, he was used to it. And now that he finally had some stability, she didn't want to confuse him. Daryl had gotten mad and said a few choice words to her that had kept him up most of the night, regretting it and telling himself he didn't regret it.

Morgan always woke up early. He was thinking about going out to have some coffee on the porch, since they had coffee now, and a porch. But Jessica caught him by the shirt and pulled him back into bed with her. They made the kind of gentle love that you could only make first thing in the morning when you were still just a little bit asleep. Then she had laid her head on his chest and they had talked for a while. About this town, their relationship, what they were going name the baby, and about the kids, they always talked about the kids. Cassie had a boyfriend now, a much older one, which made Jessica happy for her, but made Morgan worry. Jessica loved talking to Morgan, about anything. He was the only man she ever met that actually listened to her, instead of just waiting for his turn to talk.

Sammie woke up feeling nauseated. As soon as she lurched out of bed, she knew there was no way she was going to make it to the bathroom, so she grabbed for the big bowl they had been eating popcorn out of the night before and hurled into it. Then she sat back, feeling sweaty and gross, but at least not sick anymore. The noise woke Kim, who took one sniff of the liquids in the bowl and added the contents of her stomach to the mix as well. Sammie got up and opened the window, then tossed the contents of the bowl straight out into the yard.

"I hope no one was down there," Kim said, wiping at her mouth and grabbing the bottle of water she kept next to the bed to get a drink. Sammie laughed. If someone was down there, she hoped it was Carl, since it was his fault she was throwing up in the first place. She knew the sex had really been her idea, but that didn't mean he had to knock her up. And when his Carl's dad found out, she was pretty sure he was going to give birth to a small bovine animal. Oh well, whats done was done and its not like she could unfuck herself now. "Something you ate?," Kim asked her.

"More like something I didn't," Sammie said. Kim stared at her, not understanding the joke. Sammie guessed it had been more funny when she heard Jessica and RickyJo telling it. "You know," Sammie explained, "if I had sucked more dick I wouldn't be pregnant."

"Oh," Kim said. There was a long pause and then she started laughing. Sammie laughed with her, partly because the look on Kim's face when she finally got the joke was priceless. "You're pregnant?," Kim asked her. Sammie nodded. Kim could see that Sammie didn't really seem that worried about her predicament. "Is it Carl's?," Kim asked.

"Well it sure ain't Eugene's," Sammie said, making the other girl laugh again. Then she thought about a little piece of gossip she wasn't sure Kim knew. "You know RickyJo is pregnant too and she doesn't know who the dad is?" Kim nodded. She had already heard about that. People had been speculating on the situation and what was going to happen. Kim looked down, picking at a thread that was hanging off the edge of her pajama shorts.

"I don't know who the father of my baby is either," she said quietly. Sammie took a moment to digest this information. Kim had been talking to Noah a lot, but she was sure they had not had sex yet. Sammie didn't even think they had kissed yet. And that meant Kim's baby belonged to one of the men that had raped her. Sammie was on the floor next to Kim in a second, hugging her tightly. Kim hugged her back, grateful for the unexpected love and support.

"If you don't want to have it," Sammie told her, "I can talk to RickyJo for you. She used to be some kind of scientist, so I am sure she would know a way to get rid of it without hurting you." Kim thought about this for a minute. Planned Parenthood wasn't exactly opened for business these days, so she had not considered that possibility. It would be easier to forget what happened to her without a baby as a constant reminder. But then she thought about the baby, how thankful she had been for all the extra food these people had been giving her, and how she liked to think it was making her baby grow strong. And how even though she was scared, she had started to think about what she wanted to name it and if it would be a boy or a girl. Kim shook her head.

"I think I want to keep it," she said. Then she looked at Sammie to see her reaction. Sammie had always had a gift for knowing what people needed to hear. She never had to search for the right words to say, they just flew off her tounge.

"You know Beth and Jessica are having babies too," she said with some excitement. "That makes five of us. Jessica said her and RickyJo are getting matching outfits for their babies, maybe we can do that too." From Kim's expression, Sammie knew she had made the girl feel better. Kim didn't say anything, but she hugged Sammie close. For the first time in a long time, she felt hopeful again.

Maggie woke up. The first thing she thought about was Glen, turning to snuggle back in close to him. But her bed was empty. And this wasn't her bed. This was the extra bed in the girl's room where Michonne, Carol and Tara slept. She had been moved in here because people wanted to keep an eye on her, but she really didn't mind. Facing her old room that she had shared with Glen was really too much for her. She was thinking about asking Beth if she would clean it out for her and give it to someone else. Everyone looked like they were still asleep. Maggie tried to push it down, but the feelings started bubbling up inside her again and she turned to muffle her sobs into her pillow. She felt someone rubbing her back and then Michonne was shoving her over and lying down in bed with her. The woman never had a lot to say, and she didn't try to talk to Maggie now. She just rubbed her back and let her cry, offering the comfort of her presence. But that was enough, and with the warmth of another person next to her, Maggie found her tears finally stopped coming and she was able to sleep again.

Rosita woke up and padded on her soft sockie feet down the the bathroom. She didn't know if she had been drinking more than usual lately, but she felt like she had to pee every ten damn minutes. She wasn't sure what a urinary tract infection felt like, but she hoped she didn't have one. She absolutely refused to consider the other reason why she might be making such frequent bathroom trips. Baby having was not for her, that was for RickyJo and Beth and all those other silly girls. Not for her. She didn't even like to hold other people's babies. Once she had held that awful red haired one that Abraham was always smiling at and the kid had grabbed her tit and then peed on her. Nope. And she liked her ass and tits just the way they were, thank you very much. Heading back for the bedroom, she saw that Abraham was lying on his back with his arm over his face, pitching a tent under the sheet with his dick. What he dreamt about every night that got him that excited, she didn't know, but she hoped it was her. She thought about ignoring his massive boner, but then she changed her mind. Fuck it, she thought, I am probably already pregnant anyway. She yanked the sheets off him and hopped on.

Beth woke up to the sound of Judith cooing in her crib. She lay still, hoping she would go back to sleep. It was far too early to be up. And everyone was keeping their doors locked now, because of the wolves, so she was going to have to wake everyone in the house up next door so she could give Judith to RickyJo for a feeding. During the day, Judith was eating normal food, but RickyJo still nursed her in the morning and at night, and once in a while she did it in the afternoon, if Beth was having a hard time getting her down for a nap. RickyJo had offered to let Judith sleep next door with them, and if the door locking thing continued, Beth was thinking about taking her up on the offer. She would rather keep Judith close, but getting her fed every morning was just becoming too much of a hassle.

Beth got up and threw some clothes on. Judith saw her and was up on her feet, making little grabbing motions with her hands and chanting Ki-O, Ki-O, which was her name for RickyJo. Just hold yer dang horses a minute, I am taking you to her, Beth thought. Judith's chanting woke Rick and he sat up, asking Beth if she wanted him to take her. She told him no, she was already wide awake and half dressed. He reminded her that he had a key to the house, so she wouldn't have to pound on the door. It was on the top of the dresser. Beth took it and shoved it into the pocket of her shorts. Then she lifted Judith up into her arms.

"You want to go see Ki-O?," she asked her. Judith smiled a huge and very adorable baby smile.

"Ki-O," Judith said again.

"I will take that as a yes," Beth said, laughing. She smiled in at Rick from the doorway. "Don't go anywhere, I will be right back," she told him. He watched her disappear from sight and lay back, relaxing and thinking about Beth and what he would like to do to her when she got back. He knew the sounds of the house by now, and he heard her go down the stairs and then into the kitchen. The fridge opened, she was probably getting a drink of water, or maybe the mint tea RickyJo had given her to help with her upset stomach. Then he heard the backdoor open and close. And then he heard her screaming.

** I know it seems like everyone is pregnant, but I swear there is a method to my madness, and it will end up being very important to the story. As always, read, enjoy, review. **