Scott, Micah, Joe, and Julia slowly approached the rapidly assembling camp. Glenn motioned for them to park in a certain spot and jogged up to their Jeeps.
"Hey! I'm Glenn." He said, offering a hand to Scott who was pulling gear out of the back.
"I'm Scott, this is Micah, Joe, and Julia." He pointed at each one as he introduced them.
"Come on. I'll introduce you to everyone then help you unload and set up." Glenn said, leading them toward the busy campers.
Rick and Tyreese waved as they approached, trying to make them feel welcome. Carol walked toward them with a smile on her face.
"Hi. I'm Carol, and this is Maggie." She said, walking them around and introducing them to the whole gang.
"Where you guys from?" Julia asked, taking a steaming cup of coffee from Katelyn who offered it to her.
"Thank you." Julia said.
"Sure." Katelyn smiled at her.
"We're from Georgia originally." Carol answered.
"Georgia? Wow. You guys came far." Julia whistled wondering how they managed to make it this long. She had lost a lot of friends in this mess. People who tried to go find their families or tried to travel out and about. She didn't know where her family was, if they were alive, or dead.
"Yeah. It's been quite a trip." Katelyn said, putting her hands on her back to stretch her sore muscles.
"Oh my god. You're pregnant!" Julia saw the curve of her stomach and was dismayed.
Katelyn quickly covered her stomach back up and crossed her arms protectively over her midsection.
"Yeah." She said timidly, feeling shy all of a sudden.
"Sorry. I was just…surprised." Julia said, rushing to make her feel comfortable.
"Me too." Katelyn replied, chuckling.
Julia laughed, "I'll bet."
Katelyn smiled conspiratorily.
"So….which one is yours?" Julia whispered playfully.
Katelyn's smile faded.
"He's um, not here anymore." She replied.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Julia felt like an ass.
"No…I mean. He's alive, but we were…separated." Kate rushed to explain.
"Okay, I'm gonna stop talking now before I my entire leg is buried in my throat." Julia sighed.
"It's okay. Really." Katelyn said, putting her hand on Julia's arm and squeezing, trying to reassure her.
"Kate! Come grab your stuff. The cots set up and your bags there, but I'm not sure which bag is yours." Rick called out to her.
"Coming!" She called back, smiling once again at Julia before heading over to Rick.
Julia stood there watching her walk away.
Scott saw the frown on her face and headed over to her.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"She's pregnant." Julia whispered.
Scott followed her gaze toward the woman he'd been introduced to as Katelyn.
"Shit." He said, blowing out his breath. "That sucks."
"Can you imagine?" Julia said, feeling badly. She looked around at all of them…this group of survivors. She hadn't noticed it right away, but now she saw it; the frown lines, the exhaustion, and sorrow in their eyes. They'd suffered terribly.
Then she heard the cry of a baby and sucked in her breath.
Oh my god, she thought.
Her eyes wide, Julia watched as Carl handed off the baby to Katelyn who offered to feed her. Katelyn shook the bottle with the formula in it before testing it on her arm. Holding it up to Judith's lips, she watched as Judith opened her mouth and began sucking on the bottle. Smiling, she stroked her soft cheek, watching the infant stare up into her eyes.
Soon, she'd have one of her own. It wasn't safe out on the road with an infant. She was going to have to find a place to settle down that was safe and if they couldn't find one, they would have to create one. Packing soothingly, she sang softly as everyone else finished preparing the camp.
Rick watched Katelyn and smiled. He was the first to admit that he struggled with the idea of Judith, often forgetting her needs in their desperate bid for survival. He was glad that Katelyn and Carol were here to help with her. He'd fall apart without them.
Searching Katelyn's face, he could see the genuine warmth and caring she had and knew she'd make a wonderful mother. He understood why Daryl fell in love with her.
Walking over to her, he reached out his arms to take Judith so she could get some rest. Smiling gently at her, he cradled Judith in his arms and turned his face to nuzzle her cheek.
"Thank you." He said softly to Katelyn who gently patted his arm before returning to her tent.
Looking around her tent, she saw the three cots set up and grabbed her sleeping bag and a fleece sheath. She slid off her boots at the door so she didn't track mud and snow all over the tent. Grabbing a pair of fuzzy sweat pants, she slipped out of her jeans, and pulled on her sweats. Sliding into the sheath, she hopped over to the cot, chuckling at herself. Sitting down on the end of her cot, she slid the feet end into the sleeping bag, then pulled it up toward her face.
If they got attacked, she was screwed, but boy would she be warm tonight, she thought, as she closed her eyes and fell asleep within seconds.
#############################################################################
Daryl lay flat against the ground, binoculars pressed to his face as he scanned the highway ahead. From his vantage, he could see for a ways and it didn't look good. They had parked just behind a hill that dropped into a valley before flattening out into a stretch of highway. Thousands and thousands of walkers were roaming around, stumbling and falling all over the place. They seemed lethargic and uncoordinated, but Daryl didn't know why.
"Oh my god." Sara gasped when she saw them and started trembling.
"It's all right. They ain't movin' fast enough to cause us any trouble. Somethin's wrong with 'em." Daryl assured her, looking at her for a second to make sure she wasn't panicking, before turning to view the herd again.
"Well, we can't go through 'em." Merle said, sighing in disappointment.
"We're gonna hafta go around." Daryl finished, putting the binoculars down and scooting backwards before standing so the walkers wouldn't see him.
Offering a hand to Sara, he helped her up and they all got back into the truck.
"My turn!" She called out, grabbing the CD's she'd found in someone's car alongside the road a ways back. Hopping into the truck, she tuned the keys and popped her favorite CD in.
"Ah hell na!" Merle whined. He didn't think he could take another goddamn minute of Bruce Mars…or Bruno Mars…whatever the hell his name was. It made his teeth hurt.
"It's my turn! You got to listen to that crap ABCD or whatever its called." Sara shot back.
"AC/DC little girl…and it ain't crap! It's classic." Merle argued, as Daryl got behind the wheel and paused with a frown.
"You mean old." Sara laughed.
"What the hell? It can't be her turn already." Daryl complained.
"See! I told ya we shoulda left her!" Merle yelled.
Daryl groaned and started the car.
Easy come, easy go
That's just how you live, oh
Take, take, take it all
But you never give
Should've known you was trouble
From the first kiss
Had your eyes wide open
Why were they open?
Merle started howling the words along to the tune, changing them on purpose.
I would throw a grenade at you
Chop your head with a blade for you
Throw you in front of a train for you
You know I'd do anything for you
Now I'm writhing in all of this pain
Put a bullet straight through your brain
Yes I'm gonna die for you baby
And now you'll do the same
"Really?" Daryl said, looking at his brother incredulously.
Merle grinned wickedly.
"I call it my 'Walking Dead Remix'". Merle stated proudly.
"You've just dropped to a whole new level of suck." Daryl said, shaking his head at his brother.
"Unbelievable."