A/N: ok, so technically this wasn't posted on the 20th but only by 30 minutes! so I think it should count... remember that I won't have internet soon so forgive me if I can't update it as quickly as I'd like! I promise that if I can't update a day then I'll spend it adding a chapter or fleshing out the story more and making it better :3 You all seem to like Catrina alright, yay! Obviously Mello can't really tell the story right now, so I needed another person to tell his side of the story. Oh, and I'm sorry but you're never going to find out how she got pregnant... :( to bad (it was spontaneous pregnancy in my head lol)

When she woke up, Catrina was pleasantly warm. She was startled by the sight before her and jumped, waking the infected in her lap. It took a minute for her to remember what was going on. The infected sat up, nuzzling into her hair once more, though she tried to pull away. She found it impossible because his other hand was once again tangled in it, holding her still. Giving up, she simply remained still while he enjoyed burying his face in her red locks. He finally stood and scanned the room before getting up and pausing at the door. He looked at her, waiting for her to get up to before exiting.

Grabbing her bag, she looked around the room and debated locking the infected out. She was lucky to be alive and the longer she stayed near the blond, the more danger she put herself and her child in. Despite that, she found herself following him out the door. A decision had to be made, and it seemed insane now to think that the infected could be sent by God. After the attack, she had been in shock, not in her right mind, and venerable to weak thoughts. She might want to believe that God would protect her but blind superstition was a luxury that no one could afford.

Despite the risks, she had to admit that there was also a positive side. She knew that the farther along in her pregnancy she got, the harder it was going to be to protect herself. After the baby was born, she would still be in danger trying to take care of a child as well as herself. If she didn't reach a community as soon as possible, she knew what would most likely happen. As it was, she already couldn't outrun infected anymore. Loners had all pointed her in this direction but she had yet to find the community they promised. If she wanted to make it alive, the blond might be her only hope. His protection was the only thing that could get her safely to her destination.

When she stepped into the hall, he was waiting at the end of it. She was surprised and wondered if he wasn't acting out the will of a higher power after all. She quickly followed and he led her out into the sunlight and began walking in the same direction she had been traveling. With a sigh of relief she followed. Catrina wasn't sure what she would have done if he wanted to go a different way. She supposed she would have been on her own again, and she was further convinced that he had been sent to help her. He walked slow enough that she could stay beside him as they went. Each time she needed to stop he would stand beside her, looking around alertly for danger.

Becoming more convinced that she was safe, she finally relaxed enough to take her hand off her gun as they walked. Eventually she also stopped watching him from the corner of her eye, simply trusting that if he hadn't killed her already then he wouldn't at all.

As the day wore on it became hotter, making her sweat. Her infected partner didn't though, something she noted as strange. Not a single drop of sweat rolled down his brow or beaded on his face. Instead, he opened his mouth and panted like a dog as they walked. His breath was rasping and became more labored until in the late afternoon, the heat proved too much and he slunk to a grassy patch in the shade to lie down. Following him, Catrina felt his forehead worriedly.

His temperature was agonizingly hot, though she wasn't sure what normal should be. Compared to the previous night though he was definitely feverish. Pulling out a water bottle, she poured just a bit on his face, neck, and wrists to cool him down. His panting became less haggard as she fanned him and he let himself be fussed over. Cartina supposed that it was her responsibility to look after the guardian she had been blessed with. She stood, watching their surroundings much like he did when she rested so that he could properly cool down. When her back protested standing still, she reminded herself that she was the reason he was even out in the day time at all.

Before she heard the click of the gun safety, the infected was already on his feet and growling at something behind her. Spinning around, she spotted another figure and recognized it as human. She stepped in front of him, aware that this was one situation where she was less likely to get hurt than he was. She only hoped that the man would recognize that she was human as well.

Before them was an old man, gray beard reaching half way down his body and shotgun pointed directly at them. "Run missy! I've got'im in my sights."

"Wait, you don't understand, it's ok!" If he continued threatening them, she was sure her traveling partner would attack and one or both of them would get hurt, or even killed. The infected was her safety but she would never forgive herself if he attacked another human on her behalf. She needed to calm them both down, starting with the infected since he was closer. She turned around and reached up, capturing his face in her hands and making him look at her. He was surprised and continued glancing to the side but she gained and kept his attention on her by making soothing noises. Possessing his complete attention, she pushed down on his shoulders and slowly he sunk to his knees before eventually lying at her feet. He was panting again, obviously still overheated despite the ferocious front he put up.

The man lowered his weapon slowly. "Well I'll-be god damned…" He stared at the infected laying docile in the grass though it still kept its eyes trained on him. "You've gone and made a pet out of it!"

Catrina sighed in relief too early as the man raised is gun again. "Sorry hunny but they's just can't be tamed. You think you have'im licked and them he'll attack someone. Just like that. Now move along."

She knew it was true, the infected could easily hurt someone else but right now she needed him. It was tempting to go with the man, simply step away and let him shoot. It wouldn't even hurt the infected, and he would be dead before he knew what was happening. It almost felt merciful as she considered the fever and short breath he was forced to live with. She couldn't do it though, choosing her own life and that of her baby's over the potential death of a stranger.

Before she could stop him, the infected at her feet leapt forward and dodged a hastily aimed bullet. He jumped on the man, pinning his hands and throat beneath his own gun. Catrina ran forward, pulling out her own gun and slamming the handle into the side of the man's head just hard enough to knock him out. It was a split decision, but despite feeling like a traitor she knew he had a better chance of surviving if he didn't try to fight the blond above him. She went still when the old mad did, trying to decide if it was safe to pull the infected off of him. He was still growling, leaning forward to sniff his face. Her heard beat faster in her chest as she reached to pull him away, scared of the consequences but unable to sit by and let the nameless man be killed. She needn't have worried though, as he got up of his own accord and started walking again.

Relieved, she followed at a quick pace as they tried to put distance between themselves and the man. There was still enough time before dark that she was sure he would wake up and find shelter, at least that was what she hoped. All that mattered was moving on before he alerted any other loners in the area to look out for them.

As they walked she realized that she had simply been referring to the blond as 'the infected.' What the man said had made sense, though she hadn't thought of it that way before. He was a little like her pet. Infected behaved a lot like wild dogs so it stood to reason that a smart one could be trained. Not that she wanted to train him, it would be too weird for her. He sill looked partially human after all and it just seemed… degrading.

It would help if she had something he would respond to though. If she named him and he recognized the name as himself then she could call if she needed help or wanted to find him. Nodding to herself, she began to think of names. She stared saying different names to see how he reacted.

"Paul, Angelo, Luke, John, Markus, Brian, Peter, Ron…" They were all common names, thought in a spur of the moment but he didn't so much as look at her.

"Well I could always call you something like fluffy or marshmallow." She had only been joking but he stopped and stared at her.

"What, fluffy? I was just kidding." He just kept looking at her. "Was it the marshmallow comment? It's just a joke." She knew he didn't understand her but again he moved forward and nuzzled her hair.

"Marshmallow?"

He was still nosing through her curly hair when he spoke for the second time. "Matt." It seemed to be the only word he could say. She wondered again who Matt was.

"Alright, marshmallow it is."

They started walking again but Catrina let herself fall a little behind to test out the new name. Marshmallow was a little long and she wondered if she could abbreviate it.

"Marsh. Marsh!" He didn't turn around, ignoring her voice.

"Mello?" He stopped and turned around, looking at her expectantly. She smiled at having figured out what to call him and caught up. "Alright Mello, let's keep going."

At dusk she made him come with her to a convenience store. He panicked a little when she started going off course, whining as he stopped and looked in the direction they had been going. He looked back and forth at her before making a pleading sound again. When reached the store entrance, he calmed down and followed her, realizing that she wasn't straying.

He quickly jogged to catch up and went inside first and she followed soon after, spotting him going down one of the isles to her right. Leaving him to whatever he was doing, she found the canned foods isle and grabbed a few, stuffing them in her bag. She yelped, startled, when there was a commotion a few isles down and a scream. Mello had obviously found something, but her heart raced at the thought that it might have been human. She became even more terrified that the scream had been Mello's and her protector was now dead, leaving her alone with whatever had murdered him. The scuffle was over as soon as it began and to her immense relief, it was Mello's face that appeared over the top of the isle with fresh blood on his mouth. Walking over, she saw that it was a young female infected dead on the floor and she let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

She could hear him eating as she walked away and avoided that part of the store, going to get a drink instead. When he was done, he joined her again near the back of the store where the cash register had been. Catrina frowned and grabbed a napkin from a dispenser behind the counter to wipe the blood from his face and hands. She couldn't have him touch her with virus carrying fluids on him and with his affinity for stroking her hair she would need to be careful. She grabbed a few more, stuffing them in her bag before leaving.

She let Mello pick where to stay, hoping that he would know better than her which places were unoccupied. He chose a small one-bedroom house that was ramshackle but well fortified. The previous owners had boarded off all the windows and doors except for the front one before it had been abandoned. A quick check by both of them confirmed that there was nothing inside. Cartina settled down on the couch to eat before nodding off. Mello was laying across the armchair nearest to the door, giving her a little peace as she fell asleep.