This Night

Chapter 154

Author's Note: So I updated the character list to include Molly, the little girl that was behind Lizzy and Mika when they shot Alyssa. She ran off with the little boy Luke never to be seen or heard from again. While trying to decide who was going to be with Jewel and save Mika while still making Lizzy batty, I decided Mika's going to be with Jewel and Molly will be with Lizzy and Ty. Someone has to be with Jewel and putting her with a child will make momma bear rear her head. My reader's have wonderful ideas, and though I can't use them all, a shout out to Tyr'amun who suggested where Jewel winds up. Then the idea just grew from there. Please review.

Jewel and Mika's POV:

Glenn got to the steps of the bus and took a breath. "I'm going after Maggie."

Jewel looked at him. She knew there was no changing his mind, she wanted to find Rick, Summer, Carl, and Judy but she had the baby to think of. She nodded as she went over to him. "You better come back Glenn ," she warned him as she kissed his forehead. "Go find Maggie and Beth," she said as she went to the door of the bus and saw Mika looking back at the prison. "Glenn," she said as she directed his attention to Mika.

Glenn got off the bus. "Mika what are you doing out here? You should be on the bus! Where is Lizzie? Judith? Mitch? Molly? The other kids?"

Mika shook her head. "Lizzie said we should all fight, that we should have guns. I got scared, I'm not like her. I didn't see Mitch."

Glenn glanced at Jewel who was standing on the steps. "I'm going to give you a job, Mika. We all have jobs to do and I need you to do this job for me. I need you to get on the bus, I need you to watch out for Jewel and the baby. Can you do that for me Mika?"

Jewel smiled at the girl from the bus. "It's alright to be scared Mika. You don't have to be like Lizzie. Lizzie shouldn't be fighting, this is the adults job. Glenn's right, we all have jobs to do. I need you Mika, I need your smile and your laughter. Everyone on the bus does," she said.

Mika looked at her then at Glenn. "I'll take care of her," the young girl said as she got on the bus.

"Be safe!" Jewel yelled at Glenn as the door closed. She looked at the man who was in the drivers seat. "We'll wait until the last possible minute before we can," she told him as she sat down with Mika. Jewel took a breath as she looked out the window at what was going on.

"There's a tank!" the driver yelled. "We've got to go!"

Jewel looked out the window. Her children, her husband, her brothers, her family, they were all out there. Rick was probably already dead, killed by the Governor. She knew they had to leave, but that didn't mean she wanted to leave. She had to have hope that they would find each other, that all the family would somehow find each other. She squeezed Mika's hand and wiped her eyes. "Let's go!" Jewel ordered. "Come back to me Rick," she said to herself as she put her hand on the window.

Later that afternoon:

Jewel blinked several times trying to focus on Mika who was shaking her.

"Jewel! You got to wake up! The bus crashed! We got to get out of here!" the little girl said as her voice shook in fear.

Jewel blinked. "Bus crashed?" she asked. She remembered yelling at the driver that he was going to fast, to slow down but then suddenly the world went black. She blinked again as she looked around and tried to sit up. "Are you alright? The others? How long have we been here?" she said as she grasped the back of the seat to pull herself up.

"I just got a scratch….they're all…dead…I don't know how long…" Mika told her.

Jewel took a breath as she focused. "Mika, I need you to listen to me, we may not have much time," she told the girl. She rubbed her stomach as she bent down and took Mika's hands. "Did you mom or dad ever read Bambi to you as a child?"

"Yeah," Mika said as she looked around.

"It was one of Summer's favorite movies and book. You remember Thumper? You remember what he said about being scared?" Jewel asked.

"If you're scared, just be scarier then whatever is scaring you," Mika told her.

Jewel nodded. "I'm scared too, but right now we have to get off this bus, before they turn. I want you to get on the seats, and I want you to make it to the back and fill up a bag with supplies. Don't make it to heavy, because we're going to have to take turns carrying it, and I'm carrying my own load here," she teased lightly. "I'm going to gather up the guns, and knives off our friends. We need to be quick," she said seeing the fear in the girls eyes. "Mika, you can do this. We are going to have to be a team to do this. I can't do it alone, Mika. If we don't work together, we aren't going to make it, this baby isn't going to make it. You are stronger then you think, you are braver then you realize," Jewel told her as she kissed the top of her head. "I don't know how much time we have before they start coming back, we got to be quick. You got your knife?"

Mika nodded and showed it to her. "I know what I need to do," she said as she got on the seat.

Jewel nodded. "Get some of the canned food, water. My bag has some supplies. Get some of the medical supplies put it in a smaller bag. I'm going to have to clean that wound of yours," she said as she started to gather the weapons. She grimaced as she reached out with her left arm. "I'm going to have to get you to help me with my arm, it seems I might have banged it up."

"We'll have to see if each other has any other wounds, we can't take a chance on us having anything more serious," Mika said.

Jewel nodded. "That's very good thinking Mika. You're doing good," she told the girl.

"Is the baby OK?" Mika asked.

Jewel took a breath ignoring the pain in her side. "Baby Grimes is kicking up a storm. We're going to have to find shelter for the night," she said as she made her way to the back of the bus. She took a breath as she heard moaning sounds from the front of the bus. "Mika we need to go," she said as she opened the back of the bus. "Grab the bag," she said as she opened the door. "Go," she told Mika as the girl got out of the bus followed quickly by Jewel who shut the door.

Mika took a breath and took Jewel's hand. "You're not going to be able to walk much," she told the pregnant woman.

"You're right, we're going to have to find shelter, maybe a car, then figure out where everyone would be," Jewel told her as she squeezed her hand. "I'm very proud of you."

"I'm not scared," Mika said trying to pretend.

Jewel smiled down at the girl. "Mika, it's alright to be scared, being scared means you're alive. A friend of mine, Jane, she used to say 'when you get scared, you go to your happy place, then you face that fear. It got me through three years of bein' an emergency room nurse. It's helped keep me alive this long. I'd be scared if you weren't afraid, because it would mean you'd be losin' a part of who you are, your humanity. And our humanity is what makes us different then the Governor," she told her as she stopped. "I think I know where we are, we may be able to find somewhere to hole up for the night. Mika if I asked you a question, would you answer me truthfully?"

Mika nodded. "Yes," she answered.

"Right before the attack started, Tyreese found rats that were being fed to walkers. He showed them to Rick, Daryl and me. Did Lizzie do that?" Jewel asked.

Mika nodded. "I'm not like that, I know they are bad. Lizzie…she doesn't, she thinks they are like us, and they aren't. Lizzie's always…been different like that. Carol told us that we can't be weak, that we have to fight, but I don't know if I can ever kill a human."

Jewel squeezed the girls hand. "Mika, we don't kill the living, if they aren't a threat. The Governor and the people that destroyed our home, they were a threat. They killed some people we love," she said softly. "There may be a time you have to kill someone, not because you want to but because if you don't, it means that you may not live, that I may not live, that this baby may not live. But, I hope it never comes to that, I'm supposed to be the one protecting you right now Mika."

"I feel sorry for them," Mika said.

"Who?" Jewel asked.

"The person who killed Karen and Ridge, the Governor. I bet they weren't like that to before this," Mika told her.

Jewel smiled softly. "I feel sorry for them too," she said as she kissed the top of her head. "A couple weeks before we found the prison, we ran into this town, there's a hotel that we cleared out, hopefully no one else has found it. I'm going to need backup, you think you can do that for me?"

Mika smiled. "I can do it, we're a team right?"

"Yeah we're a team," Jewel said as she rubbed her stomach.

"Jewel if I asked you a question, would you tell me the truth?" Mika asked.

"You told me the truth, so I owe it to you don't I?" Jewel asked.

"Are you alright? I mean you've been grabbing your side periodically," Mika told her.

Jewel took a breath. "I'm in a little bit of discomfort, hoping that laying down may help. I guess if we're a team, we shouldn't keep things from each other should we?"

Mika nodded. "I can't help you if you don't tell me things. I'm all you have until we find the others, find Rick."

Jewel looked down at the girl. "You believe we'll find Rick? Find them?"

Mika nodded. "Got to have hope, " she said with a smile.

"Yeah, we've got to have hope," Jewel told Mika. "Come on, I don't want to be out here after the sun goes down."