Chapter 9
Just as everyone starts to move off the porch I begin to stand with the intention of going inside, but before I know it a wave of dizziness washes over me and my vision goes dark. I vaguely feel myself falling and hear rushed frantic voices, and then nothing.
Waking slowly, I feel the pain in my head and softness under my back. With a slight groan I open my eyes. The first thing I see is Herschel leaning over me.
"Hey welcome back" he says, and I just stare at him.
"Genevieve?" He asks, and I moan in response
"You feel okay?"
"My head hurts. What happened?" I whisper
"You fainted when you stood up. Glenn tried his best to grab you, but you still knocked your head on the arm of the rocking chair on the way down"
"Is Anneliese okay?!" I ask frantically trying to push myself up but stopping when I feel intense nausea
"Yes. Rick somehow grabbed her before you went completely down" he says, and I sigh relaxing
"Now Genevieve. I shouldn't have to tell you this, but you should be taking care of yourself. I know you gave blood, but you wouldn't have fainted like that if you were eating properly" he begins
"But Herschel the kids- "I start
"Will not be safe if you don't take care of yourself too. If you're passed out no one can take care of them" he says making me sigh
"I understand Herschel" I say trying not to roll my eyes, I know how to take care of them.
"Good I hope you do. Now I'll bring you some Tylenol and have Glenn help you into a bedroom. You're going to eat and rest. I'm afraid you might have given yourself a concussion" he says, and I nod knowing an argument would be futile.
Within 5-minutes Glenn is helping me walk up the stairs and into the bedroom.
"Thanks Glenn. And thanks for catching me" I say sitting down on the bed
"You're welcome. Uh sorry I didn't catch you before you hit your head"
"It's fine. Where are the kids?" I ask hoping he'd know
"Jackson and Penny are with Beth. And I think Lori and Rick have Anneliese" he says although looking unsure.
"Okay. Could you have them bring me her please?" I ask
"Yeah sure. You should rest. And yell if you need anything, I'll be hanging around in case you need help" he says, and I nod before he walks out of the room
I slip my shoes off and am settling into the pillows when Maggie comes into the room.
"I have some oatmeal and Tylenol for you. Daddy said later tonight or tomorrow once you're not too dizzy you can use the shower to freshen you and the kids up" she says handing me a bowl and a few pills and placing a cup on the nightstand.
"Okay thank you" I say, and she nods curtly before leaving. It doesn't seem like she likes me too much
Not dwelling on it I slide so my back is against the headboard and take the Tylenol and start eating. Maybe 5 minutes later Rick comes into the room carrying Anneliese in her mosses basket.
"Hey there. You scared us" he greets
"Sorry I don't know what happened" I say with a little shrug "Can I have her?" I ask holding my arms out for Anneliese with my eyebrows raised
Rick sighs before placing the mosses basket on the bed next to me.
"Herschel said he doesn't think you've been eating enough" he says leaning against the doorway
"I do my best Rick, but Jackson and Penny come first, when you're in a car and you only have one can of fruit you don't think about eating it you think about them. I know you understand. You're a parent yourself" I say raising my eyes to meet his bright blue ones.
"I do understand Gen but you're with us now and we have more than enough to go around. You shouldn't skip meals it's not good" he says with a sigh and I echo him "I understand putting yourself first, but some things are also important, if you're not eating then you aren't strong and if you aren't strong then you can't protect yourself let alone your kids" he finishes
"I understand Rick, I'll do my best not to skip any more meals" I say after pausing for a moment to think of his words and knowing they were all true "Where are the kids?" I ask after a moment
"Beth is still entertaining them; last I saw they were headed towards some apple trees with baskets" he answers me
"Wow its already that far into fall that apples are ready to harvest" I say in astonishment and Rick nods in agreement
"Thanks for taking care of her for me and for grabbing her so she didn't get hurt" I say to Rick smoothing a hand over Anneliese's hair.
"You're welcome. You're part of our group. We help each other." He says, and I nod
"I'll leave you to get some rest. Yell if you need anything okay?" he says, and I give him another nod. He leaves the room pulling the door partially closed behind him before I sink into the pillows and drift off staring at Anneliese's peaceful face.
Like normal I'm woken by Anneliese's whimpers and quickly give her, her pacifier and change her. I grab the things I need to make a bottle and head down the steps to make one. I don't even make it a foot into the kitchen before Glenn is in front of me
"Here I'll make it for you, just tell me how much goes in. You should sit down." He says in one breathe grabbing the bottle and the formula from my hand.
"Just fill the bottle to the three, the put in one and a half scoops of powder and shake it" I instruct him trying not to show how dizzy I am but failing when I have to grab onto the doorframe to stay upright.
"Seriously sit down" Glenn says placing the items down before grabbing my elbow and steering me to a chair in the living room.
I settle into the plush blue chair and shift Anneliese to a more comfortable position in my arms and gaze into her wide-open eyes.
"Hey pretty girl, Glenn's gonna make your bottle and then you'll eat" I tell her in a soothing voice. Within minutes Glenn comes into the living room with her bottle and hands it to me. I nod my thanks and quickly trade her pacifier for her bottle. Anneliese gives no protests and quickly begins eating her bottle. She does get frustrated with me when I take the bottle away halfway through in order to burp her but settles quickly as soon as she's given it back.
"How are you feeling Gen?" Herschel asks walking into the room from the hallway
"I'm okay. My head is still tender, and I got dizzy not too long ago but I'm not as nauseous as before" I tell him as I place Anneliese's empty bottle on the end table next to the chair.
"That's good, still take it easy. Don't go up and down the stairs too much okay?" he says, and I nod before turning my attention back to Anneliese who is staring up at me with her deep blue eyes.
"Hey Gen, I'm gonna go on a run with Maggie to get some things. Do you or the kids need anything?" Glenn asks and I pause to think for a moment.
"A tent, we don't have one and we'll be needing one." I say meeting his eyes
"Okay, I'll look for one. Is there anything the kids would want" he asks again
"Penny would probably request a doll, but it's not something she needs and it's not something anyone should stick their neck out for. Okay?" I insist, and he nods
"I'll find you when I get back with it" he says, and I nod before he goes outside.
I turn my attention back to Anneliese as she lets out an adorable coo.
"Are you starting to find your voice? Huh little princess?" I whisper to her and beam at her answering coos.
"That's a welcome sound in this day and age" Rick says coming in from the hallway
"Yes, it is, seems like she's starting to find her voice" I say smiling as she wiggles her little hands in the air.
"How are you feeling?" he asks
"I'm good, head is still tender, but I'll be okay" I tell him, trying to keep the annoyance at being asked the same question out of my voice.
"Do you need help with anything?" he asks
"No not at the moment, I'm gonna go round up the kids and take up Herschel's offer of a shower" I tell him, and he nods
"Yell if you need anything" he says, and I nod my thanks before gathering Anneliese's empty bottle and rinsing it in the kitchen. From there I head out the back door and towards the fruit trees where I see Beth and Jimmy with the kids.
"Well hey guys" I greet gaining all of their attention
"Hi!" Penny squeals greeting me with a hug around my legs talking a mile a minute about brushing the horses and the different types of fruit they picked and how Beth let her feed the chickens.
"And have you thanked Ms. Beth and Mr. Jimmy for letting you help them" I prompt smoothing down her curly blonde hair
"It was no problem; I love kids and they are the most well-behaved ones I've ever seen" Beth says with a smile
"Well thank you" I say returning her smile "Now you two let's head back to the house, Mr. Herschel said we can use the shower and freshen up"
"I'll come with you. You're small enough I think you can wear some of my clothes" Beth says
"Oh no you don't have to do that." I try to protest but she just smiles and shakes her head before leading the way back to the house carrying a basket full of apples.
"Guess we're following her, thanks Jimmy for helping to keep them occupied" I say with a nod. Without waiting for a response, we walk up to the house and up the stairs to the bathroom.
I instruct both Penny and Jackson to get a set of clothes out of the bags while I rock Anneliese to sleep.
Just as I'm placing Anneliese down in her mosses basket, someone knocks on the doorframe and I turn to see Beth.
"I have some clothes for you" she says holding out a bundle
"Thank you, for the clothes and for the shower" I say taking the clothes from her and she smiles before leaving closing the door behind her.
I send Jackson off to shower first, and once he's done, I give Penny a bath. I quickly shower myself and laugh at Beth's clothing choice a pair of jean shorts that don't leave much to the imagination and a simple grey tank top. I wake Anneliese from her nap and bathe her in some shallow water in the tub before changing her into a plain white onesie and settling her back down. I quickly brush mine and Penny's hair and prepare a bottle for Anneliese for her next feeding before we all walk outside and join the group around the fire. Lori is cooking, something I'm not sure what., and the sun is preparing to set.
"Hey Genevieve" Dale says approaching us as we sit down
"Hi Dale" I say back giving him a warm smile
"Glenn said he was going to look for a tent for you and the kids" he says
"Yea?" I say confused
"You won't need it" he states
"And why won't I, we need somewhere to sleep" I say raising an eyebrow
"You and the kids can have the back bedroom of the RV" he says, and I instantly begin protesting
"Dale I can't put you out- "
"You wouldn't be putting me out, I'll make the table into a bed and sleep there and besides Andrea has been wanting out of the RV for a while" he says
"If you're 100% positive I'm not putting anyone out" I tell him
"I am" he insists
"Well thank you very much"
"No thanks needed" he says before returning to his seat
"Here you go, it's just some rice and beans" Lori says passing out plates to everyone and we all nod our thanks.
About halfway through the meal Glenn and Maggie get back from their run and part ways, Glenn heading towards me with a box with what I assume contains a tent. He goes to set it down at my feet, but I shake my head.
"You can give that to Andrea, we'll be sleeping in the RV" I tell him, and he nods instead heading towards where Andrea is sitting. I try to make small talk with Jackson and Penny while we eat but Penny is exhausted and Jackson seems to be in a mood so for the most part we sit in silence, the group talking around us until Anneliese starts to whine for her bottle.
After she eats, I ask Glenn to keep an eye on the kids for a moment while I grab our bags from the room and take them to the RV. He doesn't seem to have any protests to holding the dozing infant or letting Penny lean against his side tiredly.
It doesn't take me more than 10 minutes to get everything situated and by that point Penny has fallen asleep. I send Jackson into the RV first to change and settle into the bed before I carry Penny back and settle her in between where I'll lay and Jackson. Then I change Anneliese and rock her to sleep before joining the kids in the room.