Hey guys,
So pretty intense episode on Sunday...pretty intense like my fanfiction...also like my fanfiction bc MAGGIE IS FUCKING PREGNANT!
Did I not just saying in my last rambly authors note that the writers are literaly reading my fanfiction and putting it in the show?
Like really?
I mean, I don't care but at least give ya girl some cred *flips hair*
Enjoy!
(Also listen to zombie while you read this and it will make this chapter approx. 298650365 million times more intense js)
We. All. Got. Jobs. To. Do.
~MaggieRhee
"Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken?"
-Zombie.
-The Cranberries
I had thought about what Daryl had said all day. I knew that, at least in some aspect, he was right. If I wanted to take care this, to stop these people before they became a real problem for me and Maggie, then I would go out and do it. I just wasn't sure if I was risking too much.
If it was just Daryl and I then we wouldn't have the man power to take them down if we needed to. From what the kid who had shot me said, it sounded like they were fairly well established. If they caught us and they had enough people, I would leave Maggie all alone with the baby. Then again, if I died later at the hand of these animals, it would end in the same result.
Maggie and I were in line to get lunch. It was some sort of mashed up gray substance, soup that tasted more like tomato water, and a half piece of bread.
"What do you think this is?' I asked.
"I don't know really." she said. Normally, Maggie would tease back and forth with me. However, she currently looked really dazed and out of it.
"You okay, Mags?" I asked.
She blinked a few times. Long blinks like she was trying to think clearly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been feeling a little dizzy lately."
I picked up a cup of water from the counter. I was worried, but didn't want to bring any attention to the problem. I would ask Dr. Peters about it later but right now I didn't need anyone thinking anything else was wrong with Maggie. "How long has that been happening?" I asked.
"I don't know." she said. "A few days. It doesn't matter. I just want to sit down. All of this food smells repulsive right now." We got our plates and I moved to our normal table with Beth. I noticed Daryl wasn't here like usual. I wondered if he was packing supplies for tonight.
"Glenn," Beth said. "Have you seen Daryl?"
I tried to act nonchalant, stirring my gray mush with my fork. "Um, no not since this morning when I traded shifts with him."
"But he was there this morning?" she asked.
"Um, yeah." I said.
"Why you haven't seen him?" Maggie said, chewing on her bread.
"No, not since last night before he left for the council meeting." she said. "Did he say anything about where he was going?" Beth asked. "Is there anywhere I can look for him?"
My stomach turned and I wasn't sure if it was from lunch or from knowing that I had to lie to Beth and Maggie. "No, he didn't say anything." I told her. "He did say he was tired though. He's probably just off napping somewhere."
"He normally comes back to bed to do that before I wake up to help cook breakfast." she said. "I don't think that's it."
"Beth, I'm done with classes for a few hours. Maybe I could come help you look." Maggie said.
"No," I said too quickly.
"Why not?" Maggie asked.
I didn't want Maggie to find out that Daryl was planning on going out to find The Poets tonight, especially since I might go with him.
"I'll look for him, Beth. You have laundry duty after this anyways right?" I asked.
"Yeah, I do but I was going to see if I could find someone to-"
"No need," I said. "I'll look for Daryl."
"Okay," Beth said.
"Hey Beth," Maggie said, her mouth full. "Did you help cook lunch today?"
"Of course I always do." Beth said.
Maggie's face looked like she was trying to hide her disgust. "What is this?"
"Um, it's some sort of mashed potatoes. They had to put some different stuff in it to make enough for everyone."
"These are mashed potatoes?" I asked.
"They're supposed to be."
"Do they smell really spoiled to anyone else?" Maggie asked.
"I don't smell anything really awful." Beth said.
"Me neither." I said. "Mags, are you okay?"
Beth leaned into us. "You know, I heard a few years ago that sometimes," she looked around and whispered. "pregnant women get really put off by the smell of certain foods."
I looked at her and rubbed a hand over her back. "Do you think that could be it?" I asked.
"Um, I- I don't know." she said. She held her head and closed her eyes.
"Maggie?" I said.
"I think I need to go to the bathroom." she said. She pushed her chair away and tried to stand up. She stumbled, like she couldn't get her feet underneath her, and I caught her.
A few people turned their heads but no one seemed really concerned.
"Here, I'll help you there." I said.
"I'm fine, Glenn." she insisted.
She took a few more steps and I watched as she made her way down the cafeteria. If she was going to get sick, I'm sure she didn't want me around.
"Is she okay?" Beth asked.
"Yeah, I think so. She said she's been getting sort of dizzy the past few days. I think I'll ask Dr. Peters for an appointment tonight."
"Dizzy? That doesn't sound good."
"I know, I wish I had something to help her fix it." I said. Then I remembered. "Hey, Beth what do you know about pre-natal vitamins."
"I know that pregnant people are supposed to take them. They make your hair and nails grow like crazy. Otherwise, not much."
"So you don't know anythign about these?" I asked, pulling the box out of my pocket.
She shook her head. "No, where did you get these?" she asked, excited. "These are the real deal. They would be great for Maggie." she said.
"Yeah, but I don't know where they came from. Someone left them with this note outside our door this morning." I said, passing her the piece of paper that was attached to it earlier.
She read it and nodded. "That seems nice. But suspicious."
"Yeah," I agreed. "But the more I think about it, I think it must've been Dr. Peters. He obviously knows so he must've found those and dropped them off."
"I don't think he would just leave perscriptions lying around. He would want to tell Maggie how to take them, when to take them, how many to take, everything like that." she said. "And besides, look at this."
She flipped over the note to show me the other side. I read it aloud.
"Don't tell Doc or else people will talk." I said. "So someone has been stashing these away? Someone's hoarding medicine?"
"We all hoard medicine." she said. "Anything we can get our hands on and keep out of Dr. Peter's sight becomes part of our private collection." she said.
"Yeah," I scoffed. "You're right."
"So who left them?" Well I don't think it was Daryl, and it wasn't you. Obviously, it wasn't Dr. Peters."
"That's all of us." she said, suddnely sounding worried. "Glenn, who left these?"
"No, someone else knows." I said.
Carol sat across the cafeteria with Tyreese. After telling me to make sure we kept the pregnancy a secret, it surprised me that she would leave something as obvious as the vitamins out in the open. I decided to talk to her about it later.
Just then there was a crash from the middle of the cafeteria. I looked up to see that Maggie has collapsed in the middle of the aisle.
"Maggie!" I yelled.
She had crashed into Michonne who was now covered in the gray mush. Michonne didn't look angry. She moved over to where Maggie was laying and held her head.
"What happened?" I asked once I reached them.
"I was asking her is she was going on the run later this week and she fainted." Michonne said.
I put my hands on her face. "Maggie." I said. "Hey Mags," I shook her gently and her eyes flickered open.
"Glenn?" she asked.
"Maggie you fainted."
"Yeah," she said. "I figured."
I scoffed. "Alright, let's get you up." I said.
"Wait," Michonne said. "She's been getting dizzy?"
I was still helping Maggie up. "Yeah, but it's probably just a head cold or allergies from the season changing. You know, congestion."
"Congestion?" she asked, seeming skeptical. She shook her head and looked at Maggie. "Are you okay Maggie?" she asked.
Maggie nodded. "Yes. Thank you."
Michonne looked at her for a long time then seemed to find what she was looking for. "Maggie, you're not-"
"Not what?" Maggie spat at her, fiercely.
Michonne shook her head. "Nothing." she looked at me. "Help her back, I'll clean this up." she said.
"Thank you." I told her.
I walked Maggie out of the cafeteria. The entire walk, I could feel Carol's glare.
After lunch I decided to approach Carol. If none of the others, Beth, Daryl, or Dr. Peters, left the vitamins then it had to be her.
Obviously I wasn't mad or angry about her trying to help Maggie. I actually had questions I wanted to ask her. Like, should Maggie only take one per day? Are there enough for that? How long into her pregnancy should she take these? I was curious.
However, I did have a problem with her telling me to keep quiet about the baby and then her leaving a box outside of our door. Anyone could've come by and seen it or found it. By leaving them, Carol was risking everyone finding out. How backwards was that?
I found her in the nursery with the children. Most of the evening shifts were ending soon and most of the children's parents, adoptive or otherwise, would be coming to pick them up. There were a few kids who had to stay over night in the nursery but everyone tried to avoid that. Normally, parents were given day and evening shifts. Idly, I wondered if my shifts would change once that baby was born.
Anyways, I didn't want to take long. I wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible and the parents coming in would be my perfect excuse to leave. However, I also thought about how I needed a reason not to leave with Daryl. If my conversation with Carol took long enough I could convince him that I just simply lost track of time when I was talking to her. Really, the latter excuse wasn't for Daryl. It was for me. I needed to keep myself busy so I wouldn't go out for The Poets. I knew it was too dangerous and I knew I shouldn't be leaving Maggie alone. However, the offer Daryl had given me this morning, the offer of safety, was tempting.
I noticed Carol over by the books in the corner. She was down on the carpet organizing them.
I walked over. "Hey," I said.
"Glenn," she said. "Is Maggie okay? She had a pretty bad fall in the cafeteria today."
"Yeah she's fine. For the most part anyways."
"That's good." she said. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was around then stood up. "Do you think Michonne knows?" she asked.
"No, how could she possibly-"
"Michonne had a child before this right?" Carol asked.
"Yeah, I think she did. She never really talks about it though."
Carol nodded. "She knows."
"How do you figure that?" I asked.
She smiled a little. "Mother's intuition."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh well," I said. "Honestly I don't think it really matters if anyone knows."
She looked concerned, like she was worried I had lost my mind. "Glenn, I'm not trying to tell you how to run your family. When I said to keep it quiet-"
"Quiet?" I asked. "You know, it seems like the exact opposite of quiet when you leave prenatal vitamins outside of our boxcar." I said. I pulled them out from my back pocket.
Her brows furrowed. "Glenn?"
I tossed them to her. "I know, I'm coming off like I'm really angry about it. It's just that anyone walking by could've seen them."
"They were outside your door?" she asked. "On the steps?"
I nodded. "Is that not where you left them?"
"'No," she said. "That's not where I left them."
I scoffed. "Really I should be thanking you. And the note that you left on the box was really sweet."
"Do you have the box with you?" she asked. I had folded it up in my back pocket. I held it out to her. She took it over to one of the drawing stations with wax crayons and pencils. I followed her.
"Carol, I just have some questions. Before I give these to Maggie." I said. "I know she'll be excited when she hears about them. And don't worry, I'll tell her not to tell Dr. Peters. I know we all have our own medicine stash but I didn't think anyone would have these. Not at this point."
"I didn't think anyone would have these either." she said.
"Where did you find them?" I asked. "Well before I ask that I should ask if how long these will last her?"
"Glenn," she turned around to me. "This is very important. Has Maggie started taking these yet?"
My eyes got wide. "No why? Should she start soon?"
"No," she said, looking slightly relieved. It was only now I realized she even looked concerned. "No, she should not take these."
"Why?" I asked.
"How many people know about this baby?"
"Six. Me and Maggie, Beth and Daryl and you and Dr. Peters."
"And you're sure that's it."
"Well, those are the people we've told. Although we didn't really tell you. I guess I'm not counting anyone who knows because of mother's intuition."
"Glenn," she said, speaking slowly. "I did not leave these for Maggie."
My heart dropped. "What?"
"Are you sure none of the others did?" she asked.
"Carol it had to have been you. I asked the others. It says not to tell Dr. Peters. Are you sure you-"
"I would remember leaving these at your door. And besides," she handed me a note she had scribbled on and the folded box. "It's not my hand writing."
I examined the boxes and looked at the penmanship. The same messaged was written except Carl's was slightly curler. Still sharp but more feminine. The scrawl on the box was scratchy. It was written in pen but it could've been carved into the cardboard with nails.
"You didn't leave these?"
"You said it yourself Glenn. Why would I leave something right outside your door when I knew it should be kept a secret?"
I felt a little sick and I wondered if I would end up puking in front of these kids.
"Carol, if you didn't leave these then who did?" I asked.
Her eyes moved like she was searching her brain for answers. Finally, she grabbed the bottle from me and pressed it open.
She tipped the bottle over and the white capsules went flying across the table. Among the pills there was a slip of paper. I picked it up.
In the same scratchy hand another message was written. I matched it up with the one on the box to read the whole thing:
Have Maggie take these vitamins
We want that baby big and healthy when it's born
We like our meat soft and fresh
You and your family have been warned.
My eyes got blurry. Not from tears but from anger. I started shaking.
"Glenn," Carol said after reading it.
"It was them." I growled.
"Glenn stop and breathe."
"They were here. They were outside our door."
"We knew they were coming for our home, Glenn. This was bound to happen."
"Bound to happen?" I asked. "And that just makes it okay?"
"No of course not, but-" a few of the kids turned to look to see what I was so upset about. "Let's just go outside and talk about this."
I couldn't even hear what she was saying I was so furious. "What if they had come inside and tried to shoot Maggie like they shot me? What if someone had stormed in on her when she was asleep? What if she had gone outside to get sick while they were leaving these?" I asked.
"None of those things happened." she said.
"But they could have." I shook my head and went over to the window. "I was at the council meeting so late. It was so dark when I got back to her that, even if these were there, I wouldn't have seen them." I sighed shakily. My bones radiated with anger. "Maggie could be gone right now. Or kidnapped or raped or-" I felt sick just thinking about all the things that could've happened when I was with the council.
I felt Carol's hand on my shoulder. "Glenn, Maggie is safe. She's fine. She's on the radio right now. She's still here. She's safe."
I looked back at her. "Safe?" I asked. "None of us are safe." I remembered what Daryl was saying earlier about going out and finding these monsters.
The kids started gathering around. "Keep your voice down." she begged. "And take a minute to breathe, Glenn. "
I shook my head. "No, I've had enough." I said. I snatched the papers and vitamin bottle off the table where we were standing and headed for the door.
Carol caught my wrist on the door handle. Her grasp was firm. "You better be taking those to Rick to tell him about the attack."
I shook my head. "No," I said. "Rick won't do anything. He wants us to wait for them to come attack us. I got shot and he didn't even think about going out and trying to find them. What makes you think he's going to do anything about this?"
I tried to leave but she grabbed me again.
"Glenn," she said. "Just stop. Think about this before you do something stupid."
I shook my head. "I'm sorry Carol," I said. "I've done enough thinking."
It was dark as I stormed out of the nursery. Between the darkness and my anger I could barely see. I went to find Daryl, hoping he hadn't left yet.
I passed where Maggie recorder the Terminus message. The door was open and I glanced in at her. She was sitting at her desk, speaking into the mic. In between recording times she would write something in a journal she had in front of her. As I watched her, being gentle and soft, I couldn't imagine letting anyone coming in and hurting her.
Normally, I probably would've told Maggie what I was doing. However, I didn't want her to feel compelled to go with us. She was already carrying our child, she didn't need anything else to worry about.
I looked at her once more before walking away to find Daryl. He was just a few yards away, leaning against the perimeter gate, smoking.
"Hey," I said sharply as I neared him. "You ready to go?"
He smirked at me. "Well shit, Glenn." he said. "I didn't plan on you showing up."
"Then what're you doing here? If you're not waiting for me?"
He held out his pack of cigarettes to me, an offering. I shook my head. "Where did you even get those?"
"I got a stash. We all do." he said, reminding me of what Beth had said earlier only this time it was different. "I always light one before I go on a run I probably shouldn't."
I ignored him. I didn't need to think before going out. I just needed to go. "Do you have everything we need?"
"Yeah, I pulled my bike out earlier so we won't have to do the whole thing on foot." he said.
"Oh great idea, we'll come rolling up to their territory with an engine that sound like a helicopter. Why don't we rev the engine while we're at it?" I asked.
He was surrounded in a cloud of smoke. "We don't know how far away they are. This could take days before we even see a sign of 'em." he said, his works slicing the smoky sky. "What's got you so pissed off anyways?"
I tossed him the vitamins with the message. His eyes scanned it and he sighed. "Well, shit." he said. "How did this happen?" He shoved what I had handed him in his pockets.
"I don't know. No one who knows Maggie is pregnant left them. I found them this morning. That means one of The Poets snuck in here overnight to leave them." I pointed at him. "It could've been while you were sleeping, you know. When you were supposed to be watching the gate?"
Daryl nodded and took in on deep breath. He picked the filter out from between his lips and tossed it on the ground. He crushed it with his foot and nodded. He grabbed his crossbow from where he had it leaning next to him. He pointed to a sword and I grabbed it.
"You sure about this Rhee?" he said.
I looked back and could see light radiating out of the room where Maggie was. Thinking about her in there, pregnant and in danger without even knowing it, was enough to make up my mind for good.
"I'm sure." I said as we opened the gates. "This ends tonight."
So as you might've noticed this is part one of the chapters under this title. I know for a fact there will be a part two and there might be a part three. Those parts, like this one, are pretty intense so GET READY!
leave me a review telling me what you thought, what you're excited for, what the name and sex should be, but really TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE SHOW BC JESUS CHRIST I NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT THIS LIKE ASAP!
Thanks for reading!
We. All. Got. Jobs. To. Do.
~MaggieRhee.
