A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.

Chapter 38-Catching Up

Abraham was sitting in a chair in the infirmary reading a Tom Clancy novel from the library and keeping close watch on Greg when Andrea walked in. She still walked with a slight limp but had otherwise fully recovered from both her broken ankle and her bullet wound.

"I heard what happened. Is everyone ok?" Abraham nodded at Greg.

"He got the worst of it. He's lucky Daryl didn't kill him." He laughed. "Did you hear that it took me, Rick and Tyreese to hold him back?" Andrea nodded, disbelieving.

"I thought someone was exaggerating." Abraham shook his head.

"I guess Greg called Dani a slut and made some other comment to Daryl that just pushed him over the edge. Stood on the library table and stomped his boot right in the guy's face. I wish I could have seen that." Andrea nodded, smiling.

"It doesn't do to piss off Daryl Dixon." Abraham laughed.

"I don't know what they plan on doing with this guy when he wakes up. He's all busted up. Even being the asshole he is, I don't think they'll kick him out like this. Tripp didn't even get fed to the walkers. They just left him to die in that cell." Andrea walked over to Abraham, put her hand on her shoulder and kissed the top of his head.

"Did you want anything to eat? I could fix you a plate." Abraham nodded and patted her hand.

"If you don't mind, Honey that would be nice. Oh and tell Dylan I won't be in to read him a story tonight but we'll read two chapters tomorrow. I promise." Andrea smiled and left the infirmary. It was early evening but still hot and muggy. Despite the heat, the yard was crowded as everyone took advantage of the remaining sunlight. Andrea spoke to a few people and then saw Daryl, Dani and Jesse sitting at a table with Glenn and Maggie. Andrea walked over to them and knelt down by Dani and Jesse.

"I can't believe how big he's getting!" Dani smiled as Jesse looked at Andrea and frowned. Andrea stroked his cheek and looked up at Daryl. "Apparently the scowl's genetic." Daryl snorted.

"Whatever. Did you see Abraham?" Andrea nodded.

"I came down to get him something to eat. I think he's planning on staying up on watch all night." Daryl nodded.

"Good. Abraham's a good guy." Andrea smiled at Jessie and stood up.

"Yes he is." She looked around the table. "Well, I better go fix his plate. I'll see you later." Glenn and Maggie smiled at her as she walked away. Glenn shook his head.

"Abraham and Andrea. Talk about an odd couple." Maggie looked over at Andrea, now talking to Carol by the food.

"I think he's good for her. She's changed since she got back here." Jesse started to fuss and Dani put him up on her shoulder.

"I guess I should get this little guy ready for bed since he'll be up in three hours anyway." She stood and kissed Daryl. He ran his hand down her back as she straightened back up.

"You need some help with him?" Dani smiled and shook her head.

"No, I've got him. I'll see you when you come in." She headed back into C block. The yard was growing quiet. They didn't like to keep the fires burning at night because it attracted the walkers so most people headed inside soon after sunset. Prison life revolved around the sunlight, people rising at dawn and going to bed at dusk. Daryl was about to go ahead and head in for a few hours of sleep before watch duty later when they heard the gate open. Turning, he saw Michonne riding the horse back in. She'd been gone for almost a week on her own, as she had off and on since the past winter. She'd bring back smaller items, usually comic books for Carl and the other kids or something else that she could easily put in the saddle bags. Daryl knew she was tracking the Governor and also knew that it was almost an obsession of hers to find him.

Daryl joined Rick to greet Michonne down by the pen. Michonne nodded at him.

"Where's Danielle? I found somethin' she asked me to keep an eye out for." Daryl jerked his head back towards the prison.

"She's gettin' Jesse ready for bed." Michonne looked at him, a faint smile on her face.

"So how's fatherhood treatin' you?" Daryl looked at Rick who was looking at the ground, trying to suppress laughter. He looked back at Michonne and shrugged.

"Not too bad." He walked closer to her, his face serious. "You find anythin'?" Michonne shook her head.

"Dead end, same as last time." Daryl nodded and looked at Rick.

"I told you, that trail went cold last winter. Maybe we could have found him if you'd let me go with you." Michonne frowned.

"You have responsibilities here. You and Rick both. I can do this alone." She took the saddle off the horse and watched it head over for the water trough. She put the saddle on the fence and removed the bags. "I'm gonna go in and take this to Danielle." Daryl frowned.

"What is it?" Michonne looked at him and shrugged.

"Baby shower gift." She walked past both men and headed for C. Daryl shook his head.

"I wish we could get her to stay here. We could use her help, instead of just lettin' her run off like she does." Rick shook his head.

"We can't make Michonne do anythin' Michonne doesn't want to do. When she's ready, she'll stay."

Dani tested the water in the pan to make sure it wasn't too hot before she undressed Jesse and lay him on the bed. Dipping a cloth in the water, she gently washed under his chin and arms and cleaned his hair. He kicked and frowned during his bath but didn't cry.

"Just like your daddy. You hate your baths don't you?" She kissed his hand and he smiled at her. "I can tell you're a lot like your daddy. I can't wait to see what you're like when you get bigger. Just don't grow up too fast, you hear me? I want to keep you little for as long as I can." His smile grew wider and he waved his arms at her. She finished washing him, dried him and got him dressed in his sleeper. She settled back on the bed to nurse him, hoping he'd go to sleep quickly.

"He looks a lot like Daryl already. Kid's gonna break hearts around here." Dani smiled as Michonne pushed the sheet in the doorway aside and walked in.

"You're back." Michonne nodded.

"I found what you wanted." She held out the bag. Dani lay Jesse on the bed and took the bag from Michonne. She opened it and smiled as she pulled out a smaller pastel green diaper bag. Opening it, she found a Snuggie, a manual breast pump, three small bottles and half dozen disposable diapers along with three clean onesies that were too big for Jesse now but would fit him soon.

"Damn Michonne you found the jackpot. I didn't ask for all of this." Michonne shrugged.

"You were right about looking in the cars on the highway. Found this one all packed up just sitting on the front seat." Dani inspected the Snuggie, looking for blood.

"It's clean," said Michonne. "I checked." Dani looked up at her.

"Thank you. Now I can get back to helpin' out around here more without dumping him off on Beth. She's got her hands full watching Judith now that she's gettin' around more." Michonne smiled.

"And you'll get to sleep in a little more if Daryl can get up and feed him." Dani smiled.

"This is mostly for Daryl. He feels left out I think. You know how he hates to feel like he can't help with somethin'." Michonne frowned.

"Everything alright with you two?" Dani nodded.

"We're fine. Why do you ask?" Michonne shrugged.

"I thought havin' a baby was stressful. Never gettin' enough sleep, enough time together. It changes everything." Dani thought about it.

"Maybe before all of this it did. Daryl and I…we get time together just like we did before. It's not like it would have been back in the day when I'd probably be racing to get the kids to daycare so I could get to work on time while Daryl worked another shift and we never saw each other and drifted apart. It's simpler now and easier to focus on what's important." Michonne nodded.

"I guess things are different now." She turned to leave the cell.

"Michonne, I have never thanked you for trying to save me in Woodbury." Michonne stopped and glanced back over her shoulder.

"Figured you didn't ever want to talk about that."

"You're right, I don't. That doesn't change the fact that you tried to help me and I was nothin' to you. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened. I just…thank you doesn't seem strong enough a phrase for what you did." Michonne walked out the door, stopped and turned around.

"You're welcome." Dani smiled.

"So are you stayin' now? You belong here, you know. You've more than earned your place, just like everyone else." Michonne wouldn't look directly at her and Dani could read the conflict in her face.

"I'll think about it."

Carl poked his head in Cassie's new cell in C block. They had moved the girl over to C after the fight between Daryl and Greg. She was sitting on her bed, her knees to her chest as if trying to make herself smaller.

"Hey." Cassie glanced at Carl and then resumed staring into space. "I brought you something to eat. My dad said you haven't eaten in a while and that you're probably hungry." Cassie didn't respond to Carl so he just walked in, set the food on the table and turned to leave.

"Wait." Carl almost didn't hear the small voice behind him. He turned and saw Cassie was looking at him. "Thank you." He shrugged.

"You're welcome." She scooted off the bed, picked up the plate and began eating quickly. Carl hurried to stop her.

"If you eat too fast, you'll just throw up." Cassie slowed down and took a smaller bite.

"I haven't really eaten anything for three days. My stomach hurts." Carl nodded, remembering the winter before the prison when they were starving.

"I know how you feel. And if you want more to eat, I can get more." She smiled at him.

"Thanks." Carl stood awkwardly by her for a moment as she ate and then backed away.

"So, I'll just leave you alone then." Cassie looked at him.

"Can you stay?" Carl looked around the hall.

"Ummm..sure..sure I can. For a little while anyway." Cassie took the plate back to her bed and sat on the edge to eat. She motioned to Carl.

"You can sit down if you want." He sat down next to her quietly as she ate. She wasn't eating too fast but Carl could tell she had to restrain herself.

"What happened to your mom?" Cassie asked suddenly.

"She died when my sister was born." Cassie nodded. "What happened to yours?" Cassie's face went dark.

"I don't want to talk about it yet." Carl nodded.

"Ok. But when you do want to talk about it, you can talk to me alright?" Cassie nodded. She cleaned her plate and Carl took it from her.

"Did you want anything else?" Cassie shook her head and laid down on her side, her knees pulled up to her chest. Apparently, social hour was over. He started to stand up when she stopped him.

"Can you stay until I fall asleep?" Carl sat back down.

"Sure, no problem." Cassie smiled and closed her eyes.

"I sometimes have bad dreams." Carl thought about pressing her to elaborate on that but decided to wait. She'd talk to him, just like the other kids did. He was their leader, much like his dad was to the adults. He stayed with her until he knew that she was asleep, covered her with the blanket and then walked to his own cell to go to bed.

"Hey Momma!" Alice gently took Jesse out of Dani's arms as soon as she walked into the library. "Oh baby boy you're getting so big so fast!" She laid him down on the blanket she had put on the table. "He's still eating good right? No digestive issues, vomiting, anything like that?" Dani shook her head.

"Nope, no problems whatsoever. Even the gross stuff is perfectly normal." Dani took off his onesie and Alice pulled out her stethoscope. "Alice, thank you for checking him in here." Alice raised her eyebrow.

"No problem sweetie. I don't blame you one bit." She listened to Jessie's heart and stomach and nodded. "He sounds good. And I can see he's putting on weight so I'm not worried about that. I'm more worried about you not eating enough for both of you. You're losing weight too fast and I keep tellin' you that you were too skinny to begin with. Do you want me to have to tell Daryl to start force feeding you?" Dani shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"I'll eat more, I promise." She waited while Alice played with Jesse, trying to check his motor abilities. "So how is he?" Alice grinned at Jesse and tickled his tummy, getting a slight grin for a brief second.

"I told you. He's fine." Dani bit her lip.

"I meant Greg." Alice looked up at her.

"He woke up this morning but he can't eat solid food or see yet. Can't talk either. Probably will be another week or two before that'll happen. I thinned out some oatmeal with water and made him drink it. I'm sure it was disgusting but I didn't really care. Hershel said as soon as he's up on his feet, he's out the door and I want to do what I can to see that it happens as soon as possible." Dani nodded.

"Good. That's good." Alice looked over at her.

"Don't you do that." Dani frowned.

"Don't do what?" Alice raised her eyebrow.

"Don't let him do this to you again. Abigail's death was not your fault. If you had let Greg take Abigail on that helicopter, you don't know if she would have lived. You don't know if you would have been able to get into the city without getting overrun. You did the right thing. The Governor killed your daughter, not you. So don't let Greg Robertson do this to you, hear me?" Dani nodded and took a deep breath.

"I don't know why I let him get under my skin." Alice laughed and helped her get Jesse dressed in his onesie.

"Because the man is a grade A asshole." Alice leaned over and kissed Jesse's head. "I'm sorry for the language pumpkin. Seriously Dani, I was so glad I was not in the ER when he came on. He's personally responsible for three nurses taking early retirement and causing several residents to rethink their specialty. No one could stand him." Dani rolled her eyes.

"That doesn't surprise me. Thanks for giving Jesse his checkup Doc." Alice hugged her.

"Of course girl. Now, do me a favor." Dani sighed.

"Yes, I'll go eat." Alice raised her hands.

"Sweet Lord Jesus the girl can read minds!" They both laughed and Dani put Jesse in the Snuggie. After Dani left the library, Hershel walked in.

"How's the baby?" Alice smiled.

"Healthy as a horse. So is Judith. For growin' up in these conditions they're doing really well. But kids are adaptable, Hershel. You know that." Hershel smiled.

"That I do. And from what I hear, there are three children under two in D block and that woman Tyreese and Taylor found last month, Marci Walters, is due anytime. And that's not even looking at the women who aren't pregnant now but could become so. We could have a baby boom in this prison that we might not be prepared for." Alice nodded, smiling.

"It's a wonderful thing that life can still go on." She saw Hershel's worried look. "What is it? Shouldn't that make you happy?" He shook his head.

"I worry about the diseases that may still out there. Like measles, mumps, polio, whooping cough, scarlet fever. None of these children will have been vaccinated." Alice frowned.

"But they have to come into contact with an infected person in order to catch it. And the adults and older children will have been vaccinated so why are you worried?" Hershel nodded towards the window.

"You know, as well as I do, that a lot of people were against vaccinations in the last few years before this. A lot of children never received them. Neither did a lot of adults, either due to religious reasons or they grew up in rural areas and didn't have access to regular doctors. Some people nursed their sick at home, like they had for generations. My family did." Alice shook her head.

"I still don't understand…"

"Those walkers, not all of them died from bites. A lot were already sick and succumbed to their illness. We've seen some of the newer walkers. They haven't been dead that long and not all of them are torn up. They could have died of a viral infection and who knows what happens to that virus when that person dies and comes back. Does the virus reanimate too? Does it change into somethin' else like the human host does?" It suddenly dawned on Alice what Hershel was saying.

"You're right. I never thought about that at all. And we have people out there on the fence just killing these things, getting covered in the blood." Hershel nodded.

"I feel foolish that I never thought about it before but now that I have, I can't get it out of my mind. We need to institute better precautions. Aprons, gloves and masks should be required at all times to work the fence. Anyone who develops a cold, a persistent cough or rash should be quarantined until we can determine what it is or they recover, whichever comes first. And the babies should be breastfed, or at least be fed breast milk, for as long as possible. That should help protect them from some illnesses but not all. We've got so many new people comin' in and we don't know what they were exposed to out there. They could be carriers and not know it. It was different when it was just us but now, there are people here who I don't know, that I haven't met yet. And it's just the two of us with any practical medical training. I had hoped that Danielle's ex-husband would have been an asset here but…" Alice shook her head.

"He was an administrator for a reason. He still saw patients on occasion but spent most of his time in budget meetings and lecture halls." Hershel frowned.

"Didn't he run the rural clinics program when he came to Atlanta? That's what Dani said." Alice nodded.

"That was the chief of staff's baby and Greg was a kiss ass. Also, it helped him pay off his student loans. Doctors who participated in those rural physician programs got all kinds of grant money to help take care of their loan debt. That's why he did it, not because he felt any duty to help the poor." Hershel nodded.

"Then it was for the best that things turned out the way they did." He looked around the library and sighed.

"I guess we need to get everyone together to go over the new precautions and figure out how to implement them. Can you talk to Bill about that? I'm sure you'll see him before I do." Alice nodded.

"Of course I can." She smiled at Hershel. "Don't worry Hershel. Everything will be fine." Hershel nodded and smiled at her.

"I wish I could share your optimism Alice and I hope I'm wrong about all this. But I'm terrified of what could happen if I'm right."

A/N: Yes, this was a Daryl/Dani lite chapter but I love writing the other characters too.