Woo! Some Jamie/Carl contention here, a ton of angst, and happy Daryl in the end. Hope you like it, please review! :)
"Shouldn't we wake her?" Maggie asked. Jamie was curled up in her characteristic place, under the stairs.
"Let the poor kid sleep. After what she did in the woods yesterday, she's beat. And Daryl's the only one who can wake her up without being stabbed. Maybe Rick, too, but I've never seen him try."
Maggie nodded. "Kid has to be pretty tough, taking down all those walkers and managing to get back here..."
"She had to be. How else do you think she made it this far?" Glenn asked, looking down at her, brown eyes slightly sad. She should be up in South Carolina with Ryder right now, hunting squirrels and shooting tin cans and doing whatever else country kids did, not struggling against the undead with complete strangers. It was a cruel world...
"Come on. Let's get breakfast." Maggie said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. Glenn nodded, and they headed towards the make-shift kitchen.
Daryl smiled when he saw her, still wearing the dried rabbit blood on her face. He brought over two bowls of the lumpy oatmeal Lori had taken pride in making. It was a wonder the woman could even get close enough to the stove to make it, as pregnant as she was.
He settled down beside her.
"Hey. Wake up." He said quietly.
"What? Oh- oatmeal. Sweet." she took a bite and her facial expression change drastically. She'd eaten some shitty stuff in her life, but this... this was awful.
Daryl grinned at her reaction. "Get that look off your face." he said quietly.
"But... it's awful..." Jamie said, cringing.
"Yeah, but Lori made it. Now choke that down and smile, or you'll have a hormonal pregnant lady chasing you down."
She laughed. "I'd almost rather have the second option..."
"Shut up. She might hear you." Daryl said, breathing a sigh of relief when he realized Lori hadn't heard him. "If there's one thing I hate, it's hormonal women."
"So you adopted me, an adolescent teenage girl?"
"You're a different story..." Daryl said simply. "Wait- how old are you?"
"Thirteen, my birthday was a few days ago. If I'm so special... you have to eat this awful oatmeal for me."
"Oh yeah, forgot 'bout that. Happy birthday and shit. And no way. I can barely choke down mine." Daryl said.
"Please?" Jamie whined, giving him a puppy dog look.
"No. Now come on, eat up, or Lori will beat both our asses."
Jamie grabbed a handful of oatmeal from her bowl and shoved it in his mouth, and he almost choked, surprised.
"What the hell, Jamie?"
She giggled, and Daryl sighed. "You asked for it." he grabbed a handful of his own oatmeal, shoving it into her mouth. She swallowed, coughing, and Daryl nodded.
"See? Now you know how it feels..." he was stopped mid-sentence when she shoved another handful of oatmeal in his mouth that he barely managed to choke down.
"Okay, that's it..." he couldn't stay angry while she was giggling like a maniac, but that didn't mean he wasn't extracting revenge.
Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, and Carl all watched. They had seats on the side of the table facing the staircase, so the could see it play out, though they were, for the most part, out of hearing range.
They were both covered in oatmeal, wrestling around, when Carol and Lori went to go check on their progress.
"Daryl!" Carol said, hands on her hips. Daryl looked up- his chin was covered in oatmeal, from where he'd won his position of being on top of the wrestling pair.
"Shit." Daryl muttered.
Rick was laughing, now, and Glenn looked away, trying to hide the smile...
"Daryl made me do it." Jamie announced, squirming out from under him.
"Traitor!" Daryl said, and she simply giggled, running out into the prison yard.
"The oatmeal was great, Lori..." Daryl tried.
"I can tell. Makes better face paint, apparently..."
"Jamie started it." Daryl said. "I was just trying to calm her down, get her to act civilized..."
"Sure you were." Lori said, picking up the now empty bowls. But she couldn't hide the amused smile that tugged a the corners of her lips. Carol shook her head. "I swear, we're going to end up with a girl who acts just like you..."
"Is that such a bad thing?" Daryl asked, standing, brushing himself off.
Carol shook her head. "Go get cleaned up. You have an oatmeal beard." She said, shoving him playfully towards the door. Daryl shrugged, heading out to the prison yard to find the rain barrel.
It was less than an hour later, while Daryl brought the wood in to burn the bodies with the other men, that she was with Beth, Hershel, Maggie, Lori
and Carl helping the old man walk out on crutches.
"Walkers!" Carl yelled, turning, pulling his gun. Jamie stared, finding they were everywhere. "Go! Lori, Hershel, get to cover!" she pulled her own pistol from where it was in her back pocket, firing off a few rounds, standing beside Carl, trying her best to lay down cover fire.
"LORI!" Rick's desperate scream filled the area as he struggled to unlock the gate. Lori, Maggie, Carl, and Jamie all ducked into the cage, into the prison, while Hershel used his crutch to bar the door he and Beth were behind.
"Where are they!?" Rick demanded. T-Dog was bit, leading Carol back towards the cell block after they'd ducked into a doorway.
"They went back towards the cell block!" Beth said.
"Stay here!" and Rick was gone.
The cell block was empty. "Someone is playing games!" Rick yelled, infuriated. "No sign of them anywhere! We find the generators and look for them, too- whoever finds them, shut them down!" Rick yelled over the blaring of the alarms.
They ducked around a corner, coming face-to-face with walkers. "Get back!" Maggie yelled. Carl found them a relatively clear passageway, Jamie was covering the rear with gunfire, and Lori leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
"Something's wrong..."
"Are you bit!?" Carl asked, shocked.
"No... no, I think the baby's coming..."
Just then, another herd of walkers came around the corner.
"Go Carl, go!" Maggie slung her arm around Lori, helping her, and Carl ducked down yet another turn with them, switching places with Jamie, who laid down fire to stop the herd that had stumbled on them...
Carl skidded to a stop, more walkers came, they were on both sides...
"In here!" he ordered, opening the door to the maintenance room. He struggled, finally managing to close the door.
"Oh god..." Lori breathed shakily, hanging onto a chain that hung down from the ceiling, beginning to hyperventilate.
"What's she doing!? Can't she breathe!?" Carl asked.
"She's fine, Carl. Let's get your pants off..." Maggie laid Lori down, and Carl stared, shocked.
Jamie found a rusted pipe and handle on the wall and started to work turning it- it was rusted and tore her hands, but she ignored the pain, turning it, until a trickle of water started flowing... She grabbed her knife, slicing off a part of her jeans, wetting the rag, looking anxiously over at Lori. She was making painful noises, and Maggie was working with her...
"Let me check and see if you're dilated..." Maggie said quietly.
Jamie strode over, Lori was already covered in sweat, and gently ran the wet piece of denim over her sweaty forehead. Lori looked up at her, offering her a pained smile. "Thank you. I- I'm sorry about all those times... when I was..."
"You were hormonal. I get it, it's like 9 months of pms. Don't be sorry." she said quietly, stroking the locks of black hair away from her face and wiping the grime from her cheeks, doing anything she could to soothe her...
Lori smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing but an animalistic cry of pain came.
"I can't tell..." Maggie said, looking scared.
"I need to push..." Lori said, standing and bracing herself on a piece of equipment. "Ahhhhh!" her voice changed drastically as she struggled.
"That's it, Lori, just let your body do the work. It knows what it needs to do..." she was situated below Lori, trying to ease the process.
"Lori, don't push! Something's wrong!" Maggie pulled back and Carl looked horrified to see Maggie's hand covered in blood. Lori was gasped and swaying...
"Jamie, help me lay her down..." Maggie said, her voice urgent. Jamie obeyed, before resuming her duties of re-wetting the rag and wiping her face.
"I know what this is. You- you have to cut me open." Lori gasped.
"No..." Carl looked horrified, and Jamie looked up to see tears in his eyes. She wordlessly placed the wet rag in his hand, he needed to be doing SOMETHING, needed to feel useful...
"Yes. I'm not loosing my bab- ahhh..." a pained squeak came from her.
"Lori, all this blood, you're not even dilated yet..."
"This baby has to survive for ALL of us..." Lori said, looking at her.
Maggie was in tears. "I can't. I have no equipment..."
"Carl has a knife." Lori said. Carl was crying, now, tears falling down his face.
"But you won't survive..." Maggie said.
Lori looked at her, nodding. "I know. Maggie, when this is all over, you have to be the one to do it, it can't be Rick..."
"Mom..." Carl sobbed.
"Carl, baby I don't want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want. This is right. Now, you take care of your Daddy for me, alright? And your little brother or sister, you take care of them. You're gonna be fine. You're gonna beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave. And I love you. You gotta do what's right, baby. You promise me you'll always do what's right? It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So if it feels wrong, don't do it, alright? If it feels easy, don't do it. Don't let the world screw you. You're so good. My sweet boy. The best thing I ever did. I love you. I love you, my sweet, sweet boy, I love you. Goodnight, love."
Carl clung to her hand, and she kissed his cheek twice. They were both crying, now, Maggie was weeping, and Jamie was having a flashback, awful memories rising...
"Daddy! Daddy, help it bit me!" Lily was screaming, surrounded by walkers, stumbling...
"Lily!" Ryder's voice was loud, he shoved through all the walkers in their front yard, scooping up his littlest sister, Jamie was stabbing walkers, making a path for their father to stumble to the house, clutching the bite wound on his shoulder...
They managed to get into the house, Lily was sobbing.
"They bit me, Daddy, they bit me..." she cried, she was just six and terrified, the bite on her side was oozing blood. Ryder picked her up, pressing a cloth to the wound and holding her.
"It'll be alright, baby..." their father promised, but his eyes were glassy from pain and the infection coursing through his veins. He took her from Ryder and calmed her down until she was only sobbing quietly.
"The monsters got me, daddy, they got me..."
"Shh baby bear, just go to sleep, everything will be alright..."
"Promise me, Daddy?" Lily asked, still looking terrified.
"I promise."
Her fever was already high, she drifted off.
Her father handed the bundle to her, the bundle that was Lily, nodding to Ryder. "Get he horses ready. You two know what you have to do."
Ryder nodded, heading out to the barn to get the horses ready. Jamie's father sat beside her, looking down at her and Lily, and smiled.
"My beautiful girls..."
"Daddy, please. What if you aren't infected?" she said, desperate.
He gave her a wane smile. "I am, little bear. Be strong. I'll always love you..." he planted a kiss on her forehead, then Lily's. "Be strong. Don't let this world screw you over... Kick ass and take names."
"The horses are ready." Ryder's eyes showed how shaky he was, and her father kissed her one last time, before both he and Ryder rode off into the fields, out of sight... She knew her father wouldn't be coming back.
And now she had to do her part. Her father had left his revolver on the table, she took it calmly, carrying her sleeping sister onto the lawn and laying her on the grass. A year ago they'd laid on the grass, stared at the stars, all three of them, and her father had taught the, the constellations...
"Lily..." she sobbed out her sister's name, falling to he knees beside her. She covered her sleeping face in kisses, she was only six, she looked just like her mother had...
Six. She was six, six year old innocence, ruined... She was burning with fever and sweating, but she laid so still. Every moment for her now was suffering... She had to fire before Ryder did, or the gunshot would wake Lily up if she heard it, and she couldn't bear to do it while her sister was awake, while she had to stare into those beautiful green eyes...
"Mama... I'm sorry... she sobbed out, before raising the gun so it was just above her sister's face. She didn't want to press the cold metal barrel onto her sister's flesh, she put it inches away... and fired.
"Ahhhh!" Lori's agonizing scream snapped her out of it, blood, there was blood everywhere...
"Stop! You're killing her!" Carl yelled.
"Carl. give me your hand..."
"No..." Carl said.
"I need you to hold this open..."
Jamie put her hand where Maggie indicated. No tears had fallen now, she'd seen the flashback before, in nightmares... It still rattled her every time.
Lori was unconscious, now, Maggie removed the baby. It was silent. She rubbed its chest, then back, and both she and Carl stared- the silence had never been so loud... It was shattered as the baby let out a wail. Carl smiled slightly through his tears, handing Maggie his vest, which she wrapped around the baby... Maggie peered out the door. The walkers had passed.
"It's time to go." Maggie choked out.
"We can't leave her here..." Carl said, looking back at Lori's body. "She'll turn..."
"Carl, I can't..." Maggie said, she was in tears...
"I will, then. She's my mom." Carl said, turning back to the body. Jamie went with him, standing beside him.
"Aren't you going to go with Maggie?" Carl asked, slightly surprised.
"No. You don't have to do it alone... It's worse alone. It haunts you..."
Carl nodded, kneeling beside Lori's body. He planted a kiss and stood, hesitating for a moment. Jamie took his hand, and he pulled his gun from its holster with the other one, and the shot rang out...
He turned, letting go of Jamie's hand and brushing past Maggie, who looked horrified. Jamie came out next, then, and they worked there way back to the courtyard.
Rick, Beth, Hershel, Glenn, and Daryl, as well as the convicts, were already there.
Rick stared when Maggie emerged. "Lori?"
Maggie shook her head, breaking down in tears. Carl brushed past them all, heading out into the prison yard to be alone. Rick stared, shocked, taking the baby from Maggie and staring, and Jamie stood, hands covered in Lori's blood, not sure what the hell to do.
Reconstruction was slow afterwards. Daryl was off grieving the loss of Carol, Rick had gone down to the tombs to totally mutilate all the walkers he killed, and Jamie... Jamie was background noise, now. They searched for the bodies, of course, but everyone insisted she and Carl stay in the cell block.
Maggie was looking pretty disturbed, and Daryl looked at the baby. "What do we do?"
"She needs formula, or she'll die soon." Hershel said.
"I ain't loosing anyone else. I'm going."
"I need to go, too." Maggie said.
"Maggie..."
"Glenn, no. I NEED to do this." Maggie said firmly.
Glenn nodded. "Alright. I'm coming, too."
"Take care of her." Daryl said, handing the baby to Beth, who nodded. And they were gone.
Jamie sat in the perch where Daryl normally was sleeping, on the railing, looking down at everyone. So few. They'd bury their dead, what was left of T-Dog, anyways, later.
Carl came up, arms crossed, leaning forward on the railing, standing beside her.
"Who?" he asked quietly.
"Who what?" Jamie asked, looking over, surprised.
"Who'd you put down? Don't deny it. When we were in there, with my mom... You said it haunts you if you have to put someone down alone. Meaning you'd done it before. So who?"
She knew there was no getting out of this, and she was too emotionally exhausted to really fight.
"I'll tell you on one condition. I get to wear the hat." Jamie said.
Carl cracked a small smile. It was a start at him getting back to normal, considering his mother had just died in front of him.
"Deal."
Jamie sighed. "It was my little sister, Lily. She was only... she was six. She got bit, so did my dad, he calmed her down until she went to sleep and rode out of the fields so my brother could end him, he was bit, too, and I just laid her on the grass and finished it... I shot before my brother did. I knew if I didn't, she'd hear Ryder's shot and wake up and I'd loose my nerve... I was a coward. I couldn't do it while looking her in the eyes."
Carl wrapped his arms around her. "You had to do it." he said, trying to console her.
"So? That doesn't make it any easier. I still have nightmares about it, her face, just sleeping... And then my BULLET HOLE in her head..." She pulled away, to the back of the perch, leaning against the wall. She didn't want anyone to see the tears fall.
She felt something descending on her head from where she was curled up in the corner, and smiled slightly, realizing it was the hat...
"You were right. It was easier to do with you beside me." he said quietly. He put his arms around her again, and they just sat like that...
It must've been hours, because there was the sound of a motorcycle on gavel outside. Carl finally pulled back from her. "I think... I think I might love you."
"You don't. Trust me. You just lost your mom, you're not thinking clearly..."
"I know what I'm feeling!" Carl said angrily.
"Just like you knew you were in love with Beth like three days ago, and now you're suddenly in love with me? We're thirteen. We're KIDS. We don't know anything."
She turned on heel, jumping over the railing and landing on the concrete floor ten feet below, ignoring the pain of impact on her feet.
Daryl ran in. "We got it." he said, quickly mixing up a bottle full of formula. He took the crying baby and put the bottle in her mouth, and she stopped crying and started suckling.
"Yeah, you like that?" Daryl asked quietly. "You like that, lil' ass kicker?"
She kicked her legs as she ate and grinned. "She likes it."
Jamie nodded, trying to smile. But they'd lost so much in one day, it was hard to take pleasure in the small things.