Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Chapter 122

Author's Note: Reviews are like chocolate covered truffles they make me happy! I liked Karen (and the producers need a name dictionary because Karen, Carol, Carl…finger twisters!) and wanted to do a little bit more with her before well we know what happens. But don't worry, she's not sick yet so Jewel and baby will be OK! Now on to our regularly somewhat scripted program.

Daryl's POV:

Daryl leaned against the car and lit the cigarette. He shook his head as Summer and Joey walked up. "Nice of the two of you to join us. Remind me to invest in a watch for one of you," he said as he gave a glance to Joey.

Summer shook her head. "Well, we weren't the only ones that you are waiting for," she said with a slight smirk. "We had to deal with something."

"What did you have to deal with?" Daryl asked.

"We handled it," Summer answered as Joey put his stuff in his car.

"Summer Grace, you might be seventeen, but I asked you a question and I expect you to answer it. What problem?" Daryl warned his niece

Summer sighed. "Lizzie was naming the walkers', like they were alive or something."

"She think they are just sick? Like Hershel did?" Daryl questioned.

"Hershel thought the walkers were sick?" Sasha asked as she put her things in the bag.

"When we first met him," Summer answered. "But this is something different."

"Yeah the kid is psycho," Joey answered.

"I wasn't going to say anything til we got back, nothing we can do until then," Summer answered.

Michonne glanced over as she looked around. "Who else is going?"

"Glenn, Zach, you, Sasha, Summer and Joey," Daryl answered. "We're taking two cars."

"Ty said he's coming too," Sasha answered.

"We can make a big haul with this many people," Summer said.

"If we can keep you from getting' shot," Daryl teased.

"Or caught in bear traps, or walkers' jumping out of boxes," Glenn teased as he walked up to them.

Summer glared at them. "Alright, so I tend to have a tendency to be clumsy," she admitted.

"But she's still alive," Michonne pointed out.

"Thank you!" Summer answered with a grin.

Bob walked up to the group. "I'd like to start pulling my weight around here," he told them.

"Bob it's only been a week," Sasha told him as she exchanged glances with Summer.

"That's a week worth of meals, a roof over my head. Let me earn my keep," Bob told them.

"Summer and Daryl said that you were out there alone when they found you," Sasha informed him.

"Yeah, that's right," Bob answered.

"I just want to make sure you know how to play on a team," Sasha told him.

"We aint gonna know if he knows how to play well with others, if we don't let him prove himself," Joey said. "He's willing, we should let him do it," he said.

"Hate to be agreeing with him, but he's right," Daryl told them.

"He was a medic in the Army, obviously knows how to handle himself," Glenn pointed out.

"You're a tough sell, you know that?" Bob told Sasha.

"Alright, fine," Sasha told him.

"Now all we're missing is Zach," Daryl said as Tyreese came up.

"He's saying goodbye to Beth," Summer told her Uncle and nodded toward the pair.

"Zach, hurry up. I swear I feel like I'm in the middle of a damn romance novel," Daryl told him as he came up.

"Beth didn't say goodbye," Zach told Summer.

"She doesn't believe in goodbyes," Summer simply said as she got in the car.

Jewel's POV:

Jewel looked up from her book when she heard the knock on the door. She got up and opened it. "Karen? Is something wrong?" she asked, surprised that to see the other woman.

"No, I'm not bothering you am I? It's stupid, I just wanted to give you something," Karen told the other woman.

"No you aren't bothering me, just surprised me that's all. Come in," Jewel said as she moved out of the way to let the other woman in. "Seems like you're missing half of you, always see you with Ty."

"Could say the same thing about you and Rick," Karen teased. "He went on the run."

"Ty's a good guy, the two of you seem like you're getting along well," Jewel said.

"He is, just this whole falling in love at the end of the world thing is new, you know?" Karen asked.

Jewel laughed as she rubbed her stomach and sat down on the bed. "You're talking to the choir, believe me. I'm not one to give romance advice, but what I can say is that finding that one person to relax with, the one person that gets it," she told the other woman.

Karen smiled. "How are you doing? It can't be easy," she said as she nodded toward her stomach.

Jewel smiled. "Never is if you think about it. But, I'm blessed. A new life now a days is hope, a blessing. Maybe even more so then before," she told her. "What can I do for you? You said you had something for me?"

Karen handed her a small bag. "It's nothing much, but one of the groups brought back some yarn a few weeks ago. And all babies need a blanket," she told her.

Jewel opened up the bag and took out a yellow and blue blanket. "Oh this is beautiful, Karen. Thank you."

"Figure blue works for a girl or a boy," Karen told her. "Though you do look like you're carrying a boy."

Jewel laughed. "I'm not getting any vibes, one way or another. We are discussing names for both," she said. "Thank you for this, you didn't have too."

Karen smiled. "You all didn't have to take me in after Woodbury, it's the least I can do," she told her.

Lunch time Rick and Jewel's POV:

Jewel looked up from feeding Judith her bottle as Rick came in. "Something happened, what's wrong?" she asked her husband as she saw his face.

Rick went over and kissed her. "You know me to well."

"Sit down, what happened? Did something happen with the gates? The party that went out for food?" Jewel asked concerned.

Rick shook his head. "No, I went to check the snares."

"Alone?" Jewel asked.

"Yes, everyone else was busy, just didn't want the walkers' to get it," Rick answered as he took Judith from her to burp.

"Something obviously happened," Jewel said as she touched his face. "Are you hurt?"

Rick shook his head and kissed her. "I met a woman, she and her husband had been out on there own for a while…"

"Did you bring them back?" Jewel asked as she touched his face. "There's something more, what is it?"

Rick sighed. "Her husband had been turned, he was weak cause he hadn't ate, she tried to lure me there so he could feed."

Jewel looked at him. "Hence the reason you don't go anywhere alone," she said. "Obviously you took care of her? Put her down?"

Rick kissed her. "No, all she wanted to do was be with her husband, walker or not. I saw her face, I heard her talk. If I lost you, Carl, Summer, Judith, the baby…that could be me."

Jewel shook her head as she kissed him. "No Rick, that isn't you. If something happened to me, or the kids, you'd fight back because you would have people who you needed to fight for. I'd do the same," she said as she kissed him. "We have promised each other that we don't give up," she told him. "We fight for each other, for our family even if the other one of us aren't there. That's how we survive, Rick," she told him as she kissed him.

Rick kissed her again. "Just hearing her talk….saying we don't get to come back from things."

"If that was true, Mr. Grimes, you wouldn't be living under the same roof as my brother, would you?" Jewel asked.

Rick gave a small smile. "That's true, Mrs. Grimes," he told her as Judith fell asleep.

"We do what we have too to survive, to keep the people we care about alive. Sometimes with people like Merle, it takes a little bit more time to figure it out, still struggles. But men like you Rick Grimes, you were born to be good, you were born to survive this world. Your whole life revolves taking care of the people you care about, the people who are your family. Even if you don't like them, you'd still protect them. When it comes to your kids, to me, I know you would do anything to protect us. Sometimes that includes things that you never knew you were capable of, or that you could think of," Jewel said as she touched his face. "But, whatever it is that we have to do, that we will do, we know it's for the people we love. We don't lose our humanity, we just fight for it," Jewel said as she kissed him. "Remember that, Rick."

Rick smiled. "I love you Mrs. Grimes."

"I love you too Mr. Grimes," Jewel told him.

TBC