Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with the original Walking Dead, all I own are my characters and plot twists.

Safe Haven

Willy cursed next to her, his beat up Chevy crawling to a stop. The highway was caught up in a big snarl. Abandoned cars on both sides.

"What do we do now?" I asked, worrying my lip.

"I'll get out an' try ta find somewhere ta spend the night. Ya stay put, holler if ya need me." He answered, his southern accent thick and warm. He grabbed the rifle, handing me the pistol before leaving the truck.

"Be careful," I murmured.

I waited obediently in the truck, holding the pistol for dear life. Anxiety filled my thoughts when he didn't come back after half an hour.

My stomach rumbled hungrily and my bladder protested being ignored.

Stay and take the chance of peeing down my leg, or hop out for a bathroom break.

A good, solid cramp made up my mind.

I opened the passenger door as quietly as I could and carefully exited the truck. A bit of brush over the side railing would make as good a place as any for a quick pee.

Mama didn't raise no fool, I kept the pistol ready even with my comfortable maternity yoga pants around my ankles.

I made my way back to the highway and sighed when I realized I had accidentally went too far up. The truck was a few yards down.

I caught sight of a minivan with an open trunk. A small bit of a baby carrier was visible in the back seat.

Curious, I decided to shift through the items in the trunk.

I held up a pair of baby shoes. Looking a little further, I found onesies and diapers. I folded the onesies and held them in one arm.

Rooting through the front of the vehicle, I found the empty baby carrier, covered in plastic. Three bottles of adult pain killers. Six bottles of children's medicines, each. Five rolls of gauze, bandages, and a suture kit. Ten bottles of water, six cans of soup, granola bars and a cigarette tube box of prenatal vitamins.

Relief flooded the young mother to be. I had lost mine during the outbreak.

I arranged my findings in a diaper bag, what I couldn't fit in it, I placed in a cloth Wal-Mart bag.

I strolled happily back to the truck, I had done well. We had more supplies, extras in case we couldn't find any later.

I frowned, my good mood dimming when I didn't see my brother by or in the truck.

"There ya are. Damn it, Abilene, I was gettin' worried about ya." Willy walked around me, grasping my arm and pulling me toward the truck. "Where the hell did ya go, anyway?"

"I found some supplies. Look, Willy, I was able to scrounge up some stuff for the baby." I reached into the diaper bag and held up a onesie for him to see.

Willy's face softened. "That's great, jus' don' wander off next time. I'll do the searchin'."

"There's a baby carrier where I found all this. Could we bring it with us, Willy?" I asked hopefully.

He sighed. "Alright. Put this in the truck, first, an' then we'll go get that carrier."

I grinned, happy. "Thank you, Willy."

It took a little longer to find the second time, but I was able to give him easy to follow directions to the car and let him do the grunt work.

"What did you find?" I asked, sucking on a lollipop he'd found on his original search.

"Nice place up the way, good distance from the road. Land, house, plenty of space an' good chances of seeing a herd 'fore they see us. It's perfect." He grinned happily, starting up the truck and throwing it in reverse. "No lights, no movement. I think it's as good a place as any ta spend the night."

Willy pulled up to a beautiful farm with a large white house. "What d' ya think?"

"Oh, Willy, this is perfect." I squealed happily. "Help me with the gear so we can get settled."

He opened his mouth, but was cut off when an older gentleman, a man and two women exited the house. The younger man looked to be in his thirties or forties, heavily built. One of the ladies was in her twenties and the other must have been in her thirties to forties.

I turned to Willy, frowning. I thought he had cleared the area.

My brother grabbed the shotgun, as a precaution, hopping out of the truck. "Stay here, Abilene."

"Willy!" I whispered urgently. Anxiety and fear surged in me. I didn't want to be left in the truck by myself.

He walked forward, gun held loosely in his right hand, pointing at the ground as he headed to the porch.

I watched, helpless, as the only family and protection I had stroll up onto the porch. The older gentleman opened his mouth and words were exchanged.

Willy gestured to the truck a few times, his back to me and his body language protective, but not hostile. That was a good sign, I suppose.

I shifted, my stomach rumbling loudly.

All the supplies were in the bed of the truck. I'd already gone through the snacks Willy had stashed in the glove box for me. I rubbed my stomach, hoping whatever negotiations the residents and Willy were conducting would be over soon.

Willy nodded to something the older man said and jogged back to the truck. He came around to my side of the truck and reached for me.

"What's going on?" I asked, curious and nervous. Not to mention hungry.

"Herschel has agreed ta let us stay 'til a few months after the baby is born, we should be able to meet up with anyone who made it out by then. Imma help with farm chores an' manual work 'round the property." Willy explained, helping me down.

"And me?" I checked, worrying my lip.

What could I do that would go against my lifting restrictions?

"The women agreed tha' you'd help gather eggs an' do some cookin', gather vegetables. Simple stuff tha' won' put too much strain on eitha of ya." He replied easily.

"Hey, Willy, could you grab one of the containers from the back?" I shot him a small, sheepish smile.

He chuckled, undoing the tarp and taking out a container of homemade jerky.

"Ooh. Jerky." I immediately opened the container and nibbled on a strip.

Willy shook his head, smiling fondly as he led me to the house.

"Hello there. You must be Abilene." The older gentleman, Herschel, greeted. "I am Herschel. My daughters, Maggie and Beth. That is Otis and his wife Patricia. The shy young man over there is Jimmy."

"Hello." I murmured, blushing when I realized that I was pigging out on jerky in front of them. "I'm sorry about my lack of table manners."

"Let's get you set up in the guest room. Dinner is at six. You can started on your chores tomorrow." Herschel walked into the house.

"Follow me." The pretty brunette, Maggie, said.

We followed her into the house.

I was floored. The inside was beautiful.

It was southern influenced, but not tacky. There was a mix of modern and traditional that blended very beautifully.

I particularly loved the dining room.

The guest room was modest and clean. The theme a kind of small flower pattern.

"It's pretty. I like it." I smiled, sitting on the bed. "Thank you, Maggie."

"Since y'all ain't married, he has to sleep separate. Daddy put him in the other guest room." The brunette replied seriously.

"Where is that?" I whispered, anxious. How far away would he be?

"Just a little ways. You'll see each other durin' the day." She ushered Willy out of the door without giving us a chance to say anything.

What on Earth? How was I supposed to sleep without hearing my brothers snoring somewhere close by? Over the past two months, I'd become used to his snoring being close to me. I didn't even know where the other guest room was. What if I needed to talk to him and it couldn't wait until morning?

I rubbed my barely there baby bump, worrying my lip. The sun was receding, the sky a pretty variety of color.

A knock on my door distracted me from my observations.

"Come in." I called.

Beth poked her head inside. "Dinner is ready."

"I'll be down in a few minutes." I replied. I wanted to get the layout of my new room.

She left, a curious look on her face but she must have thought it impolite to ask.

I hefted myself onto my feet, tracing our previous path and made my way carefully down the stairs. It was a habit I was trying to get into for when I became so big I couldn't see my feet. I hated making people wait on me, but better safe than sorry.

I finally entered the dining room. Everyone was already seated, which worsened the guilt of them waiting for me.

"I'm sorry for making all of you wait for me." I murmured, blushing in embarrassment.

"Come're an' sit down." Will pulled out the chair beside him.

I took the seat. The dining room smelled absolutely heavenly. "Dinner smells amazing."

"Patricia and the girls have always been exceptional cooks." Otis declared, kissing his wife's hand.

"Aww." I cooed, smiling at the couple as she blushed. It was so sweet.

The platters were passed, soon nothing was heard but polite requests and the clink of silverware.

The baked chicken was juicy and tender, falling apart in my mouth as flavor burst on my tongue. I hummed and ate my portion greedily. The mashed potatoes and gravy was the best I'd had since Willy's mother passed four years ago.

"Wow! Otis was right. That was fantastic!" I exclaimed, happily stuffed with great food.

"Thank you kindly." Patricia smiled at me.

I helped gather dishes and I learned more about the girls as we washed up. Their mother had passed when they were younger. Their father married another woman and they had a step brother.

Sadly, neither made it through the outbreak.

I was genuinely sad that they lost two mother figures as well as their step brother. It couldn't have been easy.

Soon after, we all said good night and left for our separate rooms to sleep.

We all had chores to do in the morning.

It had been a week since Willy and I had found the Greene farm, our new sanctuary, and it was going quite smoothly.

The first day of chores had been a little rough on me, since I wasn't used to standing or walking for long lengths of time. The previous groups I had been in had had enough manpower to do all the grunt work and the rest was laundry or cooking. Holding school for the children, simple easy to do tasks that usually involved more sitting than standing.

It was better now that I had time to become used to the work.

My chores consisted of helping cook, wash dishes or laundry, and feed the chickens. I also fetched eggs, did a little scrubbing on things I could reach standing up, and pulled vegetables from the gardens.

I was allowed to help with the garden with supervision. Herschel and Willy were concerned about dehydration.

Herschel took care of monitoring my blood pressure and vital signs.

I was thankful that the veterinarian was willing to check on the little one. He considered his or her health one of the few items on top priority.

Herschel and his family had done so much for me and Willy. We'd be forever grateful to them.

I sighed, rubbing my lower back as it protested, ending my contemplation. I shook more of the feed onto the ground around the coop.

I was almost done, six more handfuls and I could rest for a short time.

Willy and Jimmy were doing some hauling. Patricia and Beth were straightening up in the house. Maggie had gone for a medical supply run on one of the horses.

Horses. That's another thing I loved about living on a farm.

The boys exercised the horses and messed with the cattle. They did the plowing as well.

Herschel planted the seeds and watered the crops by hand when it didn't rain enough.

So, really, nothing had changed. The men still did all the actual grunt work and women did the less stressful, but equally time consuming tasks.

I finished feeding the chickens and walked to the porch to sit in the chair Willy had set out for me.

Oooh. The chair was comfortable, the extra cushion making it soft and welcoming.

I took the moment of quiet to think.

The others from either of our groups hadn't caught up, yet. The sign we left must not have been found, or they could've found trouble on the road.

Thinking about one member of the group had me thinking even more.

I was lucky that the Pickens family decided to adopt me. Many couples peeked at my file and immediately went for another kid. The few that did boarder me only took me in for the fat check they'd get for taking care of me.

Mark and Lauren Pickens were different. They genuinely wanted me, not because I brought in money.

I was eight when they adopted me. That was so long ago.

I was in my twenties now.

"Abilene, Herschel wants you to tend the garden some more today." Otis informed me, breaking me out of my thoughts of the past.

"Alright." I replied, lifting myself out of the chair.

I walked to the gardens, determined to leave the thoughts of the past behind me, sitting on the porch.

I donned my gardening gloves and the necessary tools, sliding the handle of the wicker basket I used for the vegetable up my arm until it rested comfortably just beneath my elbow. Satisfied with my preparations, I turned and began walking in the direction of the vegetable garden.

I carefully lowered myself down and began to work the soil, picking out any weeds I found and rocks that had been accidentally tossed in. A few carrots and beets were ready to be uprooted, so I placed those in the basket to take to the kitchen.

Once I was finished tending the garden, I stood and took the basket in to clean the vegetables.

I removed the gloves and placed the tools neatly on the porch before entering the house.

Herschel was sitting at the dining room table eating a sandwich and drinking home squeezed juice from things we grew in the garden.

I made a face at the smell of mustard. My sensitive nose really disliked the condiment.

I grimaced when a bit oozed out of the sandwich and plopped onto the plate underneath it.

Ew. What did people see in the stuff? It's a bright yellow, thick and smells absolutely horrible. I shuddered, fighting a wave of nausea.

I quickened my pace to the kitchen, waving at the veterinarian as I passed him.

I wasted no time washing the carrots and beets, placing them in the plastic bags they have at the grocery store. Maggie brought two large rolls of them home on one of her runs to town a few days ago. They helped a great deal when it came to storing perishables until dinner time in this heat.

I replaced the wicker basket on my arm and grabbed the wire basket for eggs before turning from the kitchen. I left the house, tossing a good afternoon over my shoulder as I passed the dining room.

I dropped the wicker basket in a corner of the porch and strolled to the coop to see if I could gather any eggs today.

I found the coop busy, all the hens on the farm were inside laying on their nests.

Perfect. I thought, grinning.

I entered through the human sized door, walking to the left side of the coop first. I went down the rows in order, checking under every chickens rear.

I had done good. I found at least a dozen eggs today. I mentally cheered at my good luck.

Herschel had made it a rule that we were only to collect half the eggs we find so the cycle of life could continue. This meant we had to be extra careful to keep track of who collects, when we collect, and how often we collect.

I write my findings, as well as the date and time of my visit on the clipboard hanging on the outside of the coop.

I hummed a happy little song from my time with the Pickens as I walked the eggs to the house.

It was hard not to be in a good mood. Only two walkers had been spotted near the farm after Willy and I arrived. There hadn't been any other sightings since.

It was safe here.

I could build a life here with my baby.

How could I not be happy?