A/N: Wow guys. Thanks for the favs and follows! When I first posted this story, I actually didn't know if I would continue to update it on this site because the reception was so much lower that on Archive. It still is, but even knowing that one person enjoys the story, I decided to keep on updating here.
Rick drove ahead, eyes trained on the road ahead of him. The sounds of Glenn's tired groans having faded away as the younger man fell back asleep in his brother in law's lap. Andrea was turned in her seat, looking back at the Asian in worry.
"Think we made it in time?" She asked, Rick sighing as he asked himself the same question.
"I seriously hope so." Rick responded, ears picking up the sound of the car Morales had been driving behind them. The alarm was still blaring as the other man came to drive up next to the rest of the group, motioning for Rick to roll down the window.
"Think we should shut the alarm off?" Morales asked, the two still driving at the same speed they had been prior. Rick knew that keeping the alarm going all the way to the camp was a ridiculous idea, but they had no time to stop and mess around with car in an attempt to turn the alarm off yet still keep the car running.
"Just keep it going. We'll shut it off when we get there, strip the car for parts if we need to." Rick shouted over the sound of their engines. Morales sighed but nodded in response, speeding up ahead of the truck the remainder of the group rode in.
"Should be okay. Quarry's high up with mountains surrounding it. They shouldn't be able to pinpoint where the sound is coming from." Andrea said, and Rick nodded back to her. He hoped she was right.
Morales drove the last length of the way to the quarry, already aware of the groans and grumbles he was going to get as the car alarm rang throughout the area. The sound reverberated around him, his ears aching as the sound entered and exited his ears from all sides. At least the walkers might not have a clue where it was coming from, he sure as Hell could hardly tell on his own.
Morales finally reached the Quarry, the entire group letting out different shouts and words as they all came to greet him. Shane was quick to admonish him for the noise the car was making, telling him to pop the hood so he could pull the cables from the battery. Once that was done, he was faced with a very worried Amy. Andrea's sister.
"Andrea, is she okay?" She asked, his eyes trailing over to where his wife and children stood. "Is she alive?" Amy suddenly shouted in his ear. Morales turned to her in annoyance, eyes squinted as he stared back at her.
"Yes!" He said, finally moving his attention back toward his children and wife. The two small kids ran toward him in excitement, his wife moving quickly to meet them along the way. "Glenn's not doing so hot by the way. Anyone seen Daryl around?" Morales said as his family made their way back over to the others. Each person shook their head no.
"Haven't seen him since you all left." Dale responded, Morales letting out a tired sigh.
"He's been begging for him all day. Kid's really out of it. Dehydrated, overheated, didn't have a bite to eat left in him by the time we'd left." Morales questioned briefly whether or not to tell the others about Glenn's condition. In theory, he knew that would be the best option, that way they would able to pull out any of the phones left with a charge on it and try to get their portable ultrasound to work. Morales knew the first thing Glenn would want once he was fully aware again was to know his baby was in full health.
"Hey, Dale?" Morales said, motioning for the older man to follow him so they could speak in private. "I'm only telling you this because it seems like you and Glenn have a pretty decent relationship going, and I know you're probably the best person to help us in this scenario. Merle essentially told us when we were in Atlanta that Glenn is pregnant." Morales said, biting his tongue as Dale's eyes widened.
"You're kidding?" Dale asked, his hands coming to rest again his waist. Morales shook his head no, eyes trailing back to the prying leader of their group. The younger man couldn't stand how much Shane wanted to be privy to all of their conversations, even ones he didn't have any place in. "You want to use that ultrasound then?" Dale asked, Morales nodding in response. Dale nodded his head, going inside his RV to gather up the necessary pieces he would need to put it together.
"Everythin' alright then, Morales?" Shane asked, hands on his hips as he came to stand next to the larger man. Morales wanted to scoff, tell the man to find something else to occupy his time with.
"Dandy. Look, they're back." Morales changed the subject, pointing back toward the truck now driving up the road. The Hispanic man quickly jogged his way over to the back of the truck, arms outstretched for Merle to place Glenn in his arms so the older could hop out behind him. Once the redneck found his footing, Merle immediately grabbed Glenn back from him, calling for someone to follow him down to the Quarry and someone else to grab food and water for the Asian. T-Dog and Jacqui were the first to step forward, hugging everyone in turn as they grabbed their supplies and followed the quickly retreating Merle down toward the Quarry.
"You're alright, almost there." Merle said, his own feet splashing into the ice cold water as he finally made it down to the bed of the quarry. Merle held Glenn up so he was floating in the water, one hand helping the water cover the younger's face and chest. "There we go, brother. Getcha all cooled down. Everythin'll be alright." Merle turned back toward where T-Dog and Jacqui finally had finally caught up to him, several bottles of water and a box of crackers held in their hands. Merle lifted Glenn carefully back out of the stream, relief flooding through him as the man began to shiver lightly.
"Dale figured he might have a salt depletion. Gave us these to help." T-Dog said, handing the box of saltine crackers over to Merle. The older man simply growled in response, taking one of the bottles of water from Jacqui next.
"Any y'all think we could find Daryl 'fore nightfall?" Merle asked as he helped Glenn drink the water.
"Hell nah, man. That guy practically falls off the damn Earth when he hunts." T-Dog responded, the tone in his voice clearly showing how much the man truly didn't want to find Daryl. The man had no idea what Glenn saw in the older man. He was rude, sarcastic, spat racial slurs like it was normal. Daryl maybe wasn't as bad as his brother, but T-Dog sure as Hell could use a night without the two of them together.
"Now is that a fact, or do ya just not wanna find 'im?" Merle asked, eyes boring into T-Dog's own. The shorter man didn't respond, simply staring back at Merle with an air of defiance that would surely lead to another roof dispute if it wasn't solved quickly. "Alright," Merle chuckled, handing the half empty bottle of water to Jacqui so that she could take his place. "I'm not sure I gotta remind you, but this one has been beggin' for him all God damn day. In his sleep, even." T-Dog bit his lip as Merle kept stalking closer and closer to him, the movements threatening, but not overly so.
"Don't see what the kid sees in him." Merle took another swing at T-Dog, the punch only missing because a smaller body grabbed onto his arm and pulled it back down to his side. Merle looked back to see Glenn standing next to him, eyes wide and breathing quick. The older Dixon groaned in frustration, spitting at T-Dog before flipping the man off.
"There a problem, Merle?" Merle looked up to see the old man and Officer Friendly making their way down to them, Rick having been the one to speak the question. Merle chuckled, shaking his head.
"Not anythin' a good ass beatin' couldn't fix." Merle turned back toward Glenn, motioning for him to go back to Jacqui and continue drinking the water and eating the crackers. The smaller man reluctantly agreed, Jacqui giving him a comforting hug as he sat down. Dale scoffed back at Merle, walking forward until he stood in front of Glenn.
"Hey, kid." Dale started, Glenn's eyes falling down to the ground. "Morales told me about the baby. I got that portable ultrasound working if you wanna come get checked out?" Glenn continued to stare down, seemingly very interested in the dirt before nodding his head in agreement. Dale held a hand out to the still soaking wet man, Glenn taking it gratefully as Dale assisted him up off the ground. The group walked back to the camp slowly, Glenn refusing to look up as he made his way through the camp. He was sure by that point everyone knew about his poorly kept secret, and it made him sick to his stomach. What would they all think of him? The group back in Atlanta had been well received, possibly because he had been so sick, but he was well aware that the others may not take too well to it.
"Come on, son. It's alright." Dale said, patting Glenn comfortingly on his back. Glenn's eyes still never left the ground. Once they made it to the RV, Dale had Glenn lay down on the makeshift bed he had set up in the back. "Had this from back when my wife was pregnant. She had a really high risk one, so we kept this around just in case." Dale said as he brought the small instrument forward. The rest of the group, Glenn noticed, had not followed them inside. He was grateful for the space given to him, only Merle, Dale, and himself left in the small space.
"Hey, lil lady. Imma go look for Daryl alright?" Merle said, coming up to stand next to him. Glenn nodded in thanks, the man slapping his hand on the door as a way of a goodbye. Glenn could feel his hands shaking, his heart seizing up at the thought of his child not being okay. He wanted Daryl with him.
"Only reason I got one of these smart phone things was for this." Dale chuckled, Glenn smirking a little back. Glenn liked Dale. He was funny, good to talk to, treated him a lot like a father would his son. They had formed a decent bond when Daryl was busy keeping Merle's ass out of trouble, and Glenn was grateful for that now.
"What happened?" Glenn asked as Dale motioned for him to lift up his shirt. The old man looked down to the ground, sighing.
"Wife was too old. It was only ten or so years ago. Maybe more." Dale said. Glenn nodded, sighing as the man told the story. Glenn couldn't imagine the pain of losing his son or daughter. "This'll be cold." Glenn flexed his fingers as the cool gel made its way over his lower abdomen, the blue substance doing better chilling him than the quarry water had. Idly he thought it was more the nerves causing the shivers along his body, but he allowed himself to believe it was the gel for just a moment.
"App on your phone. How cool is that?" Dale smiled at him, trying to calm the younger man down. Glenn smiled lightly back at him. Finally, Dale pressed the instrument down on top of the gel, wiping it across slowly. His eyes were boring into his phone, Glenn's heart quickening with every second that passed. Suddenly, a small smile broke out onto Dale's face. "There we are." He said. Glenn breathed in deeply, staring at Dale with a mix of apprehension and excitement.
"Well?" Glenn asked as Dale turned the volume up on his phone. Suddenly, a steady, strong heartbeat began to fill the room. Tears streamed down Glenn's face as the sound filled the otherwise silent expanse of the RV.
"Sounds perfect." Dale said, swiping the wand over just a little more. "Everything looks to be alright. My wife didn't get this far in, but the doctor did tell me what to look for." Dale said, smiling lightly at Glenn. The Asian gave a sigh of relief, his hand settling just above where Dale still held the wand.
"Can I see?" Glenn asked, and Dale turned the phone back toward him. Glenn took a long moment to just stare at the picture on the screen. He could see the faint outline of his child's facial features, their hand moving up near their face. It was okay, and with that knowledge, Glenn let out a huge sigh.
"Gonna keep this around. Check up on you again in a couple weeks. Might be able to tell the gender by then." Dale smiled as he wiped the wand off with a rag, shutting the phone down and putting the instrument away. Glenn sat up as Dale handed him a few paper towels, wiping the rest of the now warmed up gell off his stomach.
"I'm shocked at how well everyone's taken it so far." Glenn said suddenly, Dale deciding to sit next to the younger man on the bed. Dale placed a comforting hand on the Korean's shoulder, smiling lightly at him.
"This has been a thing for 70 some years, Glenn. It's real, whether people like to believe it or not. The people here are all pretty like minded. We see nothing strange about it." Dale said, and Glenn nodded back to him, his head falling down to look at the floor again.
"My mom told me it was unnatural like mine and Daryl's relationship. I hadn't even wanted to tell my mom but, she insisted on knowing why she kept getting doctor bills in the mail." Glenn's hand traveled back to his now covered stomach, rubbing it lightly. "Daryl and I have been married for six years, dating for God knows how long. For some reason my insurance company never could get the address right. Most of my bills came as Glenn Rhee to my parent's house, instead of Glenn Dixon at my own." Dale nodded along, listening intently as the younger man spoke. His heart broke at the admission that his own mother found not only his long lasting relationship unnatural, but her own grandchild as well.
"So, I told her. And she flipped. Told me that it was bad enough I had sex with a man, but now I was bringing an even bigger disgrace into the world." Tears slowly began to fall out of the younger's eyes again, but instead of allowing them to fall, Glenn quickly went to swipe them away. "If my own mother couldn't handle it, I don't see why all of you can." Glenn desperately tried to wipe the tears away, embarrassed by how little control he'd had over his emotions the last two days. He couldn't remember a time he'd cried more even if he sat down and really tried.
"You know, Glenn, there's always going to be people like that out there." Dale said, Glenn's eyes traveling up to look into Dale's own. "People that are so stuck in the past that they can't drag their way out. Let me tell ya something though. They're not happy. The ones like that. They see you and they see something wrong. Something God didn't intend. They obsess over how different you are, how wrong they believe you, Daryl, and your child are. They spend so much time obsessing that they live in that awful state of mind, and they can never truly be happy. You on the other hand? You have someone that loves you. Adores you, and no one else. Trust me, I don't even think he likes other people." Glenn chuckled at that, wiping the last of the tears off his face.
"You have a man that would do absolutely anything for you. You have a child that you both love, that you both wanted. There are plenty of men and women out there having sex for fun and throwing babies made from that into foster homes. Abusing them, aborting them." Glenn cringed at that. "Hell, you see how Ed is with Sophia. She was born from a man and a woman, and she's terrified of her own father."
"At the end of the day, everyone in this camp could be against you, but your child will still look up at you with loving eyes and call you daddy. Will want you to play hide and seek, cook them dinner, tell them a bedtime story. What our opinion of you is doesn't change that. At the end of it all, you're the one that wins." Dale finished, smiling lightly as Glenn's face became void of any tears.
"Thank you." Glenn whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around the older man. "I wish you were around before all this happened. It's nice to have some fatherly wisdom." Glenn said, immediately questioning whether or not he should have said what he did. "Sorry, that slipped out I-"
"No. I'm glad to be here for you, son." Dale smiled, pressing his hand to Glenn's cheek. Glenn smiled brightly up at Dale, his heart settling just a little for the first time all day. "Let me grab you a blanket and pillow, you need to rest. Some dry clothes too." Dale got up off the bed in search for said items, an involuntary yawn escaping Glenn's lips at the idea of sleep. Part of his brain was still on high alert, screaming for Daryl and even a fraction of the comfort the man brought to him. The rest however, the part that was currently winning only by sheer exhaustion, was telling him that he needed to lay down and take a break. Plus, time went much faster when he slept, which meant less time waiting for Daryl.
"Alright, here you go." Dale said, placing two pillows on the end of the bed, waiting for Glenn to change into the dry clothes and settle himself down before covering him with a long, fluffy blanket. It was as comfortable as he had been since they were forced out into the quarry, a sleeping bag not even coming close to the feeling of a real blanket. "By the way, you know that guy you all dragged back here from Atlanta?" Glenn nodded, his eyes closing as exhaustion overwhelmed him.
"His family is here."
Glenn woke up a few hours later, groaning as he pulled himself up out of the comfortable bed. The sun had long since set, and he was vaguely aware of the talking going on outside of the RV. The Asian sighed as he took notice that Daryl still most likely had not come back yet, the younger unable to imagine Daryl not coming to sit with him had he returned while he was sleeping. Instead of dwelling on the fact neither Merle nor Daryl had returned, Glenn lifted himself out of the bed, slipping his only slightly less soaked shoes on before making his way out of the RV. Everyone's eyes turned toward him as he made his way over to the fire, Glenn's face heating up at the stares and ceased conversation.
"Feelin' better, Glenn?" Rick asked from where he sat, Lori leaning on his shoulder and Carl sitting between his legs. Glenn smiled at the sight, happy that Rick had found his family after all.
"Yeah, a lot." Glenn said, going to sit in an empty chair next to Dale. The old man smiled lightly at him, his hand going to rub up and down Glenn's back. "They not back then?" Glenn asked Dale quietly as other conversations began to surface again, Dale sighing before shaking his head.
"No, neither one of 'em. I assume that means Merle hasn't found Daryl. Pretty typical though." Glenn nodded, smiling gratefully as Andrea handed Glenn a bowl filled with some sort of soup. Glenn took tentative bites of it, not wanting to upset his stomach by eating too quickly, but also desperate to get real food into his body.
"So, Rick." Morales spoke up, looking over toward the other man. "What's your story? If you wanna tell." Rick sighed, eyes locking with Shane's as he filtered all that had happened to him through his mind. Glenn had to admit he was curious as well. After all, he did just go through complete Hell just for trying to help the man. He'd like to know a little more about him.
"Well, I was in the hospital when it all started. Fell into a coma after bein' shot on the job. Disoriented. I guess that comes closest to how I felt." Rick began, his voice tired and strained. Glenn could tell that the story was going to be hard to tell, but the man pressed on regardless. "Disoriented. Fear, confusion, all those things. But, disoriented comes closest."
"Words can be meager things." Dale says suddenly, the entire group looking almost dejected into the fire. "Sometimes they fall short."
"I felt like I had been ripped outta my life. Put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream. Something I might not wake up from. Ever." Lori placed her hand comfortingly on the hand her husband had laying over her shoulder, Glenn's heart suddenly constricting. God he wanted Daryl to be there. After all he went through that day, he wanted nothing more. Dale seemed to pick up on Glenn's sudden slump in attitude, wrapping his arm around the younger's shoulders.
"He'll be back." Dale said, and Glenn nodded, smiling in thanks.
"Mom said you died." Carl suddenly spoke out, Lori's eyes widening at the admission. Glenn bit his lip as Rick took the words in.
"She had every reason to believe that." Rick said, his hand going to cup his son's cheek as Lori rubbed back Carl's hair comfortingly. "Don't you ever doubt it."
"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta. And it never happened." Glenn's eyes trailed curiously between Shane and Lori, the other man's eyes darting down almost guiltily as the conversation went on. He had originally thought that Shane was married to Lori when they'd first arrived, not becoming aware of Lori losing her husband until a few days later when he overheard her speaking about it with the other girls of the camp.
"Well I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell." Rick said, eyes darting around the rest of the campers.
"Yeah." Lori whispered.
"And from the look of that hospital it got overrun." Rick's eyes trailed back down to his son, his hand trailing down the young boy's forehead. Without thinking, Glenn's hand traveled back to his abdomen, the Korean drawing small circles over where Dale had found his baby earlier in the day.
"Yeah, looks don't deceive." Shane suddenly said, Glenn's hand stilling at the voice. Of all the people in the group, Shane intimidated Glenn the most. He seemed like a nice guy, decent leader, but he was far too nosy for his own good. If he thought someone was doing something behind his back, telling secrets, he'd make a point to butt into the conversation and make sure that all was well with his camp. Glenn knew that times were different, but he didn't enjoy being scrutinized whenever Daryl made sure he ate a little bit more than the others.
"I barely got them out, you know?" Shane was quiet as he spoke, his fingers picking idly at the nails on his other hand.
"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane." Rick said, his eyes bright and determined. "Can't begin to express it." Shane swallowed roughly at the statement.
"There go those words falling short again." Dale smiled, looking between the two men. "Paltry things." Glenn smiled back at him, his hand once again idly stroking his stomach as Shane's eyes trailed over to where Ed sat with his family. Glenn sat his still half full bowl of soup down, his stomach starting to rebel again just slightly. He'd be sure to finish it before he went to bed, if Dale's disapproving glare told him anything.
"Hey, Ed," Shane started, the entire group turning to look back at the other man. "Wanna rethink that log?"
"It's cold, man." Ed was right. The temperature went from sweltering to mildly chilly fast. It was a welcome change to Glenn, but he knew that the fire might attract visitors that they really didn't need.
"Cold don't change the rules does it?" Shane said, eyes looking up at the three's group. "Keep our fires low, just embers, so we can't be seen from a distance, right?" Shane's teeth were practically clenched at this point, his temper short strung even on the best of days. Glenn was shocked the man was still attempting to defy their de facto leader.
"I said it's cold. Why don'tcha mind your own business for once?" Ed asked, hand hanging over the back of his chair as he barely turned toward the other group. Shane stood up then, stalking over angrily toward the other group. Glenn saw T-Dog reach for Shane but the man simply pulled his hand back, his fingers touching his lips.
"Hey, Ed?" Shane said as he stood next to the other man. "Sure you wanna have this conversation, man?" Ed stared back at Shane defiantly before letting out a small chuckle, eyes bowed down in a show that Glenn could only call submission.
"Go on. Pull the damn thing out." Ed said, eyes looking up only fleetingly at his wife. "Go on!" Carol shot up out of her seat quickly, walking around to pull the recently added log out of the fire.
"Christ." Shane whispered under his breath, Dale's talk about the way Ed treated his family suddenly making even more sense now that Glenn's brain wasn't so exhaust ridden. Carol pulled the log from the fire, immediately running back to her seat next to her daughter. Shane made his way over, stomping out the remaining fire still clinging to the wood. Once he finished, he walked a few steps over, kneeling down until he was eye level with Carol and Sophia.
"Hey, Carol, Sophia. How ya'll doin' this evening?"
"Fine. We're just fine." Carol answered quickly, hardly giving the man a time to breathe before answering.
"Okay." Shane said. Glenn could see from where he was sitting the angry glare Ed was giving his wife, his stomach clenching up at the thought of Carol joining them with even more bruises the next day.
"Sorry 'bout the fire." She said back, Shane immediately letting out a chorus of no's as a way to tell her that it hadn't been her fault.
"No apology needed. Y'all have a good night, okay?" With that, Shane stood up to begin walking back over to where he had been sitting with the group. Carol nodded almost sadly as the man prepared to walk away.
"Thank you." She responded quietly.
"Appreciate the cooperation." Shane said as he walked back over to his group, sitting back down where he had been a few minutes ago. Glenn sighed as his stomach gave another uncomfortable lurch, picking up his bowl of soup and downing it quickly.
"I'm going to head to bed. I'm still not feeling too good." Glenn said more to Dale than the rest of the group, but they all bid him goodnight regardless. Glenn walked slowly back to his tent, hand resting on his stomach as he unzipped the three Dixon's tent and made his way inside. Normally, Glenn would take his time getting ready for bed. Dragging out all the necessary little things he had to do. Brush his teeth, get changed, but without Merle there, he had no reason to stay out of the tent longer than normal.
Glenn didn't even bother changing as he fell against the overly large sleeping bag he shared with Daryl, his face immediately facing down on the older man's pillow. It still smelled of woods and some sort of body spray Glenn had never cared enough to know the name of. All he knew was he liked it, and it helped him sleep when Daryl wasn't around.
"Your papa needs to get his butt back here by morning." Glenn said as he pulled the sleeping bag up over himself. Glenn pressed his nose into the fabric one more time, allowing the scent to wash over him. It wasn't long after that Glenn's eyes drooped closed, sleep claiming him.
By the time Glenn woke the next morning, he was aware of the sounds of camp bustling all around him. The Korean groaned, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he desperately shook the sleep away. Today was most likely the day Daryl would be coming back from his hunt, and besides, he really didn't need to sleep the whole day away anyway. With that, Glenn lifted himself up out of the sleeping bag, grateful for the sickness he'd been plagued with all yesterday being completely gone from his system for now. He felt much better, headache gone, stomach holding its own, steps solid. It might be a decent day.
Glenn quickly went to work changing his clothes, deciding on a simple black shirt, plaid button up and jeans; all tied together with his trusty red ball cap that Daryl absolutely hated. It had been one of the last presents he received from one of his sisters, so he held onto it tight. No matter how many times Daryl tried to shoot an arrow through the thing. Once Glenn was properly dressed, he made his way out of the tent, shocked to see that nearly everyone was awake minus some of the kids and Rick.
Glenn intended to make his way to Dale's RV, his feet dragging him in that direction before he was stopped by a call of his name behind him. Glenn turned around, coming face to face with Shane.
"Hey, I needa talk to ya for a minute." Shane said, motioning for Glenn to follow him. Glenn sighed lightly, walking directly behind the man. Eventually, the two made it to a more secluded space where no one could overhear their conversation, Shane leaning his back against one of the many trees around them. "Now ya know how I don' like secrets in the camp." Shane began, and Glenn's heart clenched up at the statement. In response, Glenn nodded his head.
"I know you've been gettin' sick since before this all started, and now you've started sneakin' around with Dale too. If there's somethin' wrong, I need to know." Shane said, eyes boring into Glenn's own. "I know that everyone who went on that run yesterday knows somethin', and now Dale's even sounding a bit more sure when he says you've just got trouble with your blood pressure and sugar. I saw Morales say somethin' to him before you all got back." Shane said, and Glenn bit the inside of his lip. Why was Shane always so pushy? It's not like he was hurting anyone with it. Why couldn't Shane just take the blood pressure answer and leave it alone?
"Look, I'm not tryna antagonize you or anything. I just don' like secrets round this campsite. We're all tryna survive here." Shane said, eyes still locked onto Glenn's own. "I see Daryl give you his food sometimes, water. I see you rubbin' your belly too when you think no one's lookin'." Glenn scoffed, rolling his eyes. If Shane was going to hint at the fact he knew, Glenn wished he would just say it.
"It's not any of your business, Shane." Glenn said annoyed, turning on his heels and walking back toward the camp.
"Hey!" Shane yelled, grabbing Glenn by the shoulder and turning him around roughly. Glenn humphed at the change, hands immediately pushing the other man away. "It's my job to keep everyone 'round here safe. I gotta know if you're gonna jeopardize us." Shane said, and Glenn let out a laugh.
"That's what this is about? You think that I'm somehow going to jeopardize everyone? Get real, Shane." Glenn was aware that part of the reason getting back to the Quarry was so hard was because Glenn had been sick, but it definitely wasn't the reason it all happened. Part of Glenn began to wonder if Shane needed to go off on someone for the problems the day before, but couldn't bare to blame his best friend.
"Well yesterday was-" Shane suddenly got caught off by the sound of screaming.
"Mom!" They heard, and suddenly everyone was running toward the noise.
"Carl?" Lori screamed as practically the entire camp flooded into the woods, Glenn following after he caught sight of Dale going along with them.
"Dad!"
"Momma!" They heard the children screaming, Shane grabbing a gun while the others all picked up other items that could easily be used as weapons.
"Carl? Carl! Baby!" Lori shouted as they ran through the thick trees. It didn't take them long before they reached the children, Jacqui leading them back as she fell to one knee in front of the two mothers taking hold of their children. The rest of the group ran forward, the group running into a clearing where a deer lay dead, a walker munching on the muscle it ripped from the deer's throat. Glenn caught sight of his husband's arrows embedded in the deer's rear.
"Oh, Daryl's gonna be pissed." Glenn breathed, the walker turning around at the sound. The once man looked up at them, growling as he began to walk forward. Rick took his chance to beat the walker back with what he had grabbed as a weapon, Shane knocking it down to the ground with the barrel of his gun. The rest of the men took turns beating at the walker, the thing not seeming to stop until Dale lifted an axe above his head, swinging it down with a cry and severing its head from it's skull. The group stepped back, taking a moment to breathe as the threat ceased to exist for a moment.
"This is the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain." Dale said, eyes trailing over the expanse of trees. Glenn suddenly felt his stomach begin to ache again, realizing quickly that his body had an absolute awful time dealing with stress. Hopefully Daryl wasn't far behind the deer.
"Well, they're running out of food in the city. That's what that means." Jim said, the others all staring down at the ground dejected. Not long after they heard the sound of twigs and branches snapping to their right, everyone suddenly on guard as they awaited what was making the noise. Glenn held his breath, wondering idly if this might be the last night they'd end up being truly safe in the Quarry camp. That was, until Daryl hopped down into their line of sight. Shane rolled his eyes, putting his gun down as the rest of them followed his lead.
"Daryl!" Glenn shouted, running up to wrap his arms around his husband. Daryl smiled lightly at the younger man, dropping his crossbow for a moment to wrap his arms back around him.
"Hey, sweetheart. Everything go alright yesterday?" Daryl asked, eyes fleeting over to the deer he had taken down. Glenn could see his teeth clench at the gnawed up piece of flesh.
"Not really. Got sick again." Glenn said, eyes falling down to his feet as he pulled himself away, Daryl leaning down to pick his crossbow back up off the ground.
"S'alright. We'll talk about it in a minute." Daryl said, walking forward to assess the damage done to his kill. "Son of a bitch. That's my deer!" He suddenly shouted, Glenn flinching at the anger filling his husband's tone. "Look at it. All gnawed up by this filthy," Daryl began, swiftly kicking the walker's body. "Disease-bearing, motherless, poxy bastard!" Glenn reached out a gentle hand, grasping Daryl's in his own. The older man looked down at him, his eyes upset but body clearly angry.
"Calm down son. That's not helping." Dale said, Daryl immediately ripping his hand from Glenn's grip, stalking up toward Dale angrily.
"What do you know about it old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "On Golden Pond"?" Glenn saw the way Shane placed his gun between Daryl and Dale, the Asian's lip quickly finding its way between his teeth at the exchange. Glenn really wished they would leave comforting Daryl to him sometimes. It was clear that Daryl had been somewhat more in control before Dale had spoken up. Glenn knew what to do, after all, he'd seen the man through his worst. Back when Daryl had no one he could open up to like he could Glenn.
"Been tracking this deer for miles." Daryl said as he made his way back over to the chewed up deer, his hand ghosting over Glenn's momentarily. "Gonna drag it back to camp. Cook us up some venison." Glenn followed behind Daryl as he worked to pull the bolts out from the deer's rear, sighing at the thought of how much food they'd just lost.
"What you think? Think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" Daryl asked, using one of his bloodied bolts to trace around what he was talking about. Shane shook his head.
"I would not risk that." He responded. Daryl sighed, walking back over to Glenn and placing a hand on the small of his back.
"That's a damn shame." Daryl said. Glenn was glad to hear his husband's tone evening out, the anger all but receding from his voice. "I got some squirrel, about a dozen or so. It'll have to do." Daryl said as he looked out at the others. Everyone seemed to nod submissively, the disappointment from losing the deer evident in all their faces.
Glenn was slightly startled as Daryl pushed the younger man behind him, pulling his crossbow back and pulling it up to aim it at the dismembered head from the walker. "Oh God." He heard Amy say, the blonde turning to walk away from the scene in front of her.
"Come on people, what the Hell?" Daryl said, shooting the walker right through the eye. Once the head ceased moving, the older man walked forward, pulling the bolt out. "It's gotta be the brain." Once again, Daryl backed up, his hand finding it's place on Glenn's back as he led the younger back toward camp.
"You feelin' better?" Daryl asked, worry lacing his tone as they walked back. Glenn nodded, his hand seeking out the one Daryl had planted on his back.
"It was really bad this time. Think I was unconscious more than half the time we were in Atlanta." Glenn said, sighing. Daryl stopped them both, placing a soft kiss on the Korean's forehead.
"Baby alright?" Daryl asked, standing in a way he shielded any prying eyes as he placed his hand on Glenn's abdomen.
"Yeah. Dale had a portable ultrasound from when his wife was pregnant. Even said in a couple weeks we might be able to tell the gender." Glenn smiled, Daryl smiling back. The older man placed a soft kiss on the other's lips before finishing their journey back to camp. Glenn was always amazed at how far Daryl had come since they'd first met. Even the first year into their marriage, Daryl had been very nervous, short tempered, and sometimes downright cruel. Now, Glenn found that those instances were nearly non-existent, Daryl's old personality only truly showing itself when Merle was around or new people were involved.
Speaking of Merle.
"Merle!" Daryl shouted, his heart dropping as he realized Merle wasn't with Daryl. Glenn had been so caught up thinking about the walker and Daryl being back, he hadn't even noticed Merle was missing. "Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel, let's stew 'em up." Daryl said, placing the squirrel down by the still barely lit fire.
"Uh, Daryl?" Glenn said nervously, coming to stand next to his husband. Daryl turned to look at him, confusion written on his face. "When I was sick yesterday, Merle went to look for you. He hasn't come back yet." Glenn said, and Daryl's face fell. Glenn's heart beat rapidly in his chest at the face his husband was making, his hands fiddling with each other nervously.
"I didn't see 'em. It's not like I go very far I jus' try to stay quiet." Daryl said, running a hand through his short hair. "Think he'll come 'round after a while?" Daryl asked. Glenn nodded his head, kissing his husband lightly on his chin.
"He knew you were coming back today more than likely. Don't think he'll stay out much later than today or tomorrow." Daryl nodded back at him, sniffing quietly as he bent down to pick up the squirrel. "Wanna help me then? Figure it's been awhile since we've cooked like this together." Glenn smiled brightly at him, nodding his head. Every time Glenn and Daryl had made squirrel or deer for dinner, it had been on days they visited Merle or Merle visited them. Therefore, the "chink" stayed in the living room while the two brothers did the cooking. Other days saw them eating pizza or fast food Daryl grabbed on his way home from the construction site he worked at.
"Hold on a minute, Glenn." Shane said, stepping forward. "I'm not done talkin' to you." Glenn's body clenched up instinctively, his hand finding Daryl's and squeezing it. Daryl looked down at him questioningly, worried by his husband's nervous feelings over talking to Shane. Daryl was well aware that Glenn was intimidated by the man, and Daryl just straight up couldn't stand him, but Glenn was never nervous to talk to him.
"What about? I already said my peace on the subject." Glenn bit. Shane laughed, wiping his finger over his mouth.
"I'd advise you to not speak to authority in that manner, but with a husband like yours I'm sure that courtesy wasn't instilled in you." Glenn felt Daryl begin to seethe, the man attempting to step out of Glenn's hold. He would have to, if Glenn hadn't grabbed onto his arm to hold him back.
"Come again, Walsh?" Daryl said, his voice biting.
"Shane, back off." Glenn heard Rick say, the man walking forward with his arm outstretched. Shane put his hand up in a back off manner, stalking up toward Daryl and Glenn.
"Listen here, you low life hick. My job here is to keep this camp safe, and your lady has been gettin' sick nonstop since he got here. I need to know what's wrong, and what the damn secret is everyone seems to be keepin' around here."
"Shane!" Rick yelled, Shane turning back on the man and glaring.
"Ain't none a your business why my husband is gettin' sick. Why don't you mind your own damn business?" Daryl said, glaring right back at Shane.
"Everythin' in this camp is my business, especially when it comes to the safety of the people in it. He could've gotten every last one a them killed yesterday because of his irresponsibility." Shane said, not even fazed by the hurt expression Glenn wore on his face.
"You just want to yell at someone for how fucked up yesterday was, me being sick had nothing to do with what happened!" Glenn shouted back, Shane stalking forward out of anger.
"You lay a hand on that boy and you'll die faster than you can say oops." Glenn looked up, a small smile tugging at his features. Merle stood behind him, a small gun held in his hands. "Now, clearly ya haven't heard the whole story, so allow ol' Merle to fill ya in." Merle said as Shane backed away, Rick backing down from his protective stance.
"Your lil buddy over there decided it would be lots a fun to have target practice in the middle of a horde ya see. Only reason Officer Friendly's even alive is 'cus a Glenn. Guy almost got us all killed. Wanna blame someone? Blame your friend." Merle said, hands turning the gun over in his hands, staring at it in wrapped interest. "If you come at the boy again, pop." Merle said with a smile, fake shooting the gun at Shane.
"I just wanna know what's so bad that y'all gotta keep it a secret. We're all tryna survive here. Hell, I might even be able to help if ya just told me." Shane said sighing, hand rubbing over the back of his head. Glenn sighed, stepping forward. The Korean could feel his husband try to hold him back, but he walked forward anyway.
"I'm pregnant." Glenn said simply, the remaining people left in the camp's eyes widening in shock at the revelation. "Found out before the world went to shit, doctor that specialized in this was going to help get me on a better diet and some medication for my blood pressure before he got bit by one of his patients. Didn't even know what happened to him until a week later when the world ended." Glenn finished, smiling lightly at Rick's small thumbs up. Glenn knew he probably should have told Rick that he knew about his blood pressure situation, but thinking back on it, he was too out of it to properly give it a thought.
"That why you been givin' 'im your portions, Dixon?" Shane asked, arms crossed over his chest. Daryl nodded in response.
"I figured that's what was up." Shane said, and Glenn was very aware of that fact. He didn't forget Shane's observation when it came to Glenn's unconscious habit of rubbing his stomach. He didn't seem too happy then, in fact, he seemed almost like he was going to use that as a reason to practically expel him from the group. Deeming him a liability. Guess having two angry Dixon's on his side really did count for something. "I'll make sure ya get an extra servin' at dinner, give you more water." Shane said, Rick clapping the man lightly on the back. Glenn nodded his head in thanks, Shane breathing in deeply as he walked away.
"Sorry about that." Rick said walking up to him. "He gets a temper. Got on me one time because he thought I took one a his shirts in high school." Glenn chuckled lightly at that, sighing in relief. That had gone a lot better than he thought it would, but it really wasn't the way he wanted to let the rest of the camp know he was pregnant. In fact, he could've gone the rest of his life without them even knowing at all.
"It's alright, just scared me a little." Glenn said. Rick sighed sadly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I know he's intimidating, but he would never lay a hand on you. I promise. He may get angry, bit crazy, but he will never hurt you." Rick said, and Glenn nodded in response. Rick looked back up at the other Dixon's, his eyes catching Daryl's momentarily.
"Who are you then?" Daryl asked, coming to stand in front of him.
"Rick Grimes." Rick said, holding his hand out for Daryl to shake. Rick hoped he made a better impression on Daryl than he had on Merle. In response, Daryl spit in his hand, clapping the two together in a firm handshake.
"Daryl Dixon, pleasure to meet the man that almost got my husband killed." Daryl said. Rick pulled his hand back, shaking the spit off and wiping the rest on his jeans. So much for that.
"I'm really sorry about that. I really didn't mean to cause all that." Rick said, Daryl scoffing in response.
"I'm sure." Daryl said, nodding back to the man. "C'mon, Glenn, let's cook these up." Daryl turned back toward the squirrels still lying at his feet, Glenn sending Rick back a small smile as he joined Daryl at the fire. Rick smiled lightly at the three, turning back toward his worried wife.
"Thought we did the cookin', baby brother?" Merle asked, and Daryl shrugged his shoulders.
"Ya can help. Gon' teach Glenn somethin' useful." Daryl said, demonstrating how to prep the squirrel to be cooked. Merle simply chuckled, sitting himself down and grabbing one of his own to work on.
It was when the group was all settled around the fire eating dinner that all Hell broke loose again. Glenn was sat comfortably between Daryl's legs, taking tentative bites out of the squirrel in fear the his stomach might rebel again, Merle sat to Daryl's right. On the other side of Daryl and Glenn was Dale, the older man and Glenn talking excitedly about fixing up cars and RVs and how to do it. Daryl tuned most of it out, content to just listen to his lover's voice filter through his ears after the two long days not hearing it at all.
"No, that's a ridiculous idea!" The entire group looked up at Lori's exclamation.
"I need to get that bag, Lori." Rick said, and Glenn thought back to the bag of guns Rick had left sitting on the streets in Atlanta. The Korean groaned at the thought of Rick truly wanting to risk going back there for a stupid bag of guns. They had plenty of weapons, plenty of stuff they could use as weapons. His stance on the matter was only slightly influenced by the fact he knew Rick would want him to come along, Glenn told himself.
"Why? What is so important in that damn bag?" Lori shouted, the entire group having forgotten their dinner at the exchange.
"Rick, I don't entirely understand your reasoning, but we need ya here. That walker coulda brought some friends for all we know, and we need every able body we got." Shane said.
"It seems to me what you really need here is more guns." Rick said, setting his food down and standing up. Shane stood up behind him, coming to stand face to face with the other man.
"How many guns, Rick? How many guns could possibly be in that bag for it to warrant your life?" Shane asked, his hands sat on his hips.
"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta before I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up." Rick said, Shane's eyes falling to the ground.
"Ammo?" Shane asked.
"700 rounds, assorted." Suddenly Lori shot up from her seat, eyes wide and hands shaking as she went to stand in front of her husband.
"You went through Hell to find us. You just got here and you're just gonna turn around and leave?" Lori asked. Carl looked up from where he had picking at his food, eyes sad as he stared up at his father.
"Dad, I don't want you to go." At the sound of the young boy's voice, Glenn reached back and laced his fingers with Daryl's.
"To Hell with the guns." Lori responded. "They're not worth your life!" Rick walked back over to her, Lori's face clenched and angry.
"Tell me, make me understand." Lori said.
"I owe a debt, to a man I met and his little boy." Rick said as he stopped in front of his wife, her breathing ragged and uneven. "Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn 'em."
"What's stoppin' you?" Lori asked quietly, shrugging her shoulders questioningly.
"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one, our plan was to connect when he got closer." Rick said. Shane sat down on the rim of the jeep, hand rubbing against his face.
"These our walkies?" Shane asked.
"Yeah." Rick responded.
"So use the CB what's wrong with that?" Andrea suddenly interrupted, all eyes turning back toward her.
"CB's fine it's the walkies that suck to crap. Date back to the 70s, don't match any of the bandwidth, not even the scanners in our cars." Shane responded.
"I need that bag." Rick said, begging for Lori to understand his position. Lori looked down at her feet, sighing as she came to accept it.
"Not alone." She finally spoke up, Rick's eyes immediately traveling to the camp.
"I'll go." T-Dog spoke up. "Figure we can make it outta what we just did we can get through anythin'." Rick nodded in thanks, eyes traveling over until his eyes locked with Glenn's.
"Aw, come on, man." Glenn said exasperated.
"Hell nah, over my dead body." Daryl spoke up. Rick sighed, coming to walk over to where the group of Dixon's sat.
"Please, you're the only person that can get through those streets with even a fraction of a clue what you're doin'." Rick said, kneeling down in front of Glenn.
"Don't think you heard me." Daryl said. "I said Hell no." Rick looked up into Daryl's eyes pleadingly. Glenn knew that he was the only one that would be able to strategize the way to get that bag back without getting eaten in the process.
"I'll go." Merle spoke up, finishing off the last of his squirrel and smirking lightly at the officer. Rick internally groaned, not loving the thought of another trip with Merle.
"Daryl, I need to go." Glenn said, sighing in defeat. He really didn't want to go back to Atlanta after all that happened there the last time, especially for something so ridiculous, but he didn't want one of them to die because they weren't aware of an alleyway he knew of.
"Glenn," Daryl began, Glenn shaking his head before he could finish. "Fine, I'm comin' too. Last time he was left with you shit hit the fan apparently." Daryl responded. Rick nodded in thanks, getting back up to walk toward the main part of the camp. "Finish that, we're not gettin' up 'til you eat everythin'." Daryl said, motioning at Glenn's hardly touched dinner. The younger nodded, Daryl placing a soft kiss to the back of Glenn's head.
"I love you." Glenn said suddenly, feeling bad about putting Daryl in such a predicament. Glenn knew he'd be more than upset if Daryl tried to go on another run if the situation were the other way around.
"Love you more." Daryl whispered, arms wrapping protectively around Glenn's small frame. Rick came back a few minutes later with T-Dog in tow. "Told Glenn he wasn't goin' nowhere 'til he finished his dinner." Daryl said at the questioning looks he got from the two.
"Gotta momma hen that boy." Merle chuckled, earning a well deserved side glare from Daryl.
"Don' wan' him gettin' sick again." Daryl responded simply. Rick nodded in understanding, going to start the car and wait for Glenn to finish.
"Damn, Darleena. You're bein' all nice to the newbies. What happened?" Merle scoffed, clearly annoyed by Daryl's attitude toward the others.
"None a your business." Daryl rolled his eyes, grateful when Merle angrily lifted himself up and stalked off toward the truck.
"You are being nice. I kinda like it." Glenn smirked up at him. Daryl rolled his eyes again.
"Eat." Daryl responded simply, Glenn smiling as he placed the last piece of squirrel in his mouth. Once all of his food was finished off, the two of them lifted themselves up from the campfire, stalking forward to reach the rest of the group. Rick nodded at the two, both of them hopping up into the bed of the truck.
"Ready?" Rick asked the three Dixon, eyes trailing momentarily to where T-Dog sat in the front.
"Let's go." T-Dog responded, and Rick nodded, pulling out onto the road leading out of the quarry.
It didn't take long before Glenn began to feel nauseous from the constant shaking of the truck. His face quickly became buried in his knees, a deep breath filtering through his lips as he attempted to quell the sickness.
"You alright?" Daryl asked worriedly, his hand rubbing comfortingly up and down the younger man's back.
"Motion sickness. Sorry." Glenn responded, noticing the way Merle rolled his eyes at his complaining. Now that he wasn't passing out on the ground, Merle was back to finding his sickness more an annoyance than a genuine cause for concern it seemed.
"S'alright. C'mere." Daryl said, pulling for Glenn to sit in between his legs. Glenn did as he was told, laying back against his husband's muscled chest. Daryl quickly placed his hand onto Glenn's stomach, rubbing light, soothing circles over it. The older man knew it was one of the only ways to help when Glenn got super car sick, even before he was pregnant. Glenn sighed appreciatively, eyes closing as the sickness fell to the back of his mind.
"What's a matter lil lady? Can't handle a little drive?" Merle bit, Daryl giving him the finger in response.
"What's a matter, Merle? Like the sight a your ass so much ya gotta keep your head up it?" T-Dog asked, annoyed by the older Dixon's behaviour. He prefered the man's presence much more when he pretended he had a heart.
"Watch it, Blackie." Merle responded, T-Dog growling back in response. Not too long after, the truck stopped, Rick looking back toward the others.
"Glenn?" Rick asked, Glenn opening his eyes to look up at the man. "Think we should walk from here?" Glenn lifted himself out of his husband's arms, taking in the sight of the city before him. They were just on the outskirts, a perfect place to leave the car to avoid walkers getting to it.
"Yeah, let's go."