A Second Chance

Chapter 19

"Come on, Hon. He's fine." I said, staring at the small woman happily. I shuffled over to her and wrapped my arms around her, kissing her neck.

"He's… he's here." She said, her voice still disbelieving. I laughed against her smooth skin, my eyes drifting towards the sleeping boy.

"He's asleep. That won't last much longer. Now, come on." I said, pulling her back gently. "You've had a long day."

"No shit." She laughed, lying down beside me. I stared into her emerald eyes, admiring how beautiful she was. She sighed deeply, her eyes moving downwards. "Everything's going to change now, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It is." I confirmed, tilting her chin back up, making her look at me. "But we can get through it. Hell, if we can come back from the dead, we can do anything."

"I guess so." She laughed, snuggling into my shoulder and resting her hand on my chest. I leaned down to kiss her forehead, receiving a content sigh in response. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The next thing I knew, it was light and the space beside me was empty. I sat up, scratching my head sleepily. I looked to the corner of the room to be greeted with the sight of an empty crib. Worry filled me and I bolted downstairs, not bothering that I was only in my boxers and t-shirt. I sprinted to the kitchen, skidding to a halt when I saw Carley sat with Clementine and Duck, eating her breakfast and cradling Logan in her arms. She looked up at me and smiled softly. Her eyes were already darker underneath than normal. "Nice undies." She commented, making the others (whom I had not noticed until that moment) laugh. I suddenly became very self-conscious, slowly moving my arms to obstruct their view, a red tint appearing on my cheeks. "They're cute."

"Thanks." I muttered, my biceps twitching in the cold. I felt my boxers ruffle as Kenny entered from the back garden. His eyes widened as he took in my attire.

"Cute 'tighties, bud." He laughed, grabbing himself a cup of water. I settled in one of the rickety wooden chairs, ruffling Clem's hair as I did, earning a wide smile.

"Shove it." I said, mock-glaring at the other man. I grabbed a cracker, biting it hungrily. "What's the plan for today, then?"

"Go out and get formula and clothes for Logan." He replied, rubbing a hand over his face and yawning deeply.

"When're you thinking of heading out?" I asked, stuffing the rest of the cracker in my mouth and standing, walking to the doorway. I turned to hear him answer.

"Whenever you're ready. Just, please put some clothes on. Your 'tighties are scaring the kids." He laughed, snorting into his water. I normally would have gave him the finger. Today, however, I simply rolled my eyes, going back upstairs to get ready.

Five minutes later, I flexed my arms as I returned to the kitchen, washed and dressed. Carley smiled at me once again, greeting me with a soft kiss.

"Hey mommy…" I whispered so only she could hear. She laughed gently, hugging me awkwardly as to not squash Logan, who was sleeping in her arms. "How's my little man doing?"

"He's fine." She replied, looking at him happily. "Sleeping, like his daddy." I creased my forehead in a mock-glare, taking the tiny boy in my arms.

"That was uncalled for, Palmer." I muttered, hearing her chuckle in response. I lightly spiked Logan's hair, feeling him wriggle at my touch. I looked up to Kenny. "You ready to head out, Ken?"

"Yeah. In and out." He replied, ruffling Duck's hair and kissing Katjaa's forehead. I went as if to hand him back to Carley when she stopped me.

"I'm coming with you." She said, looking directly into my eyes. I groaned, leaning against the counter, feeling the corner on the back of my legs.

"Carley…" I said lowly, bringing Logan up to rest his head on my shoulder.

"I'm serious." She insisted, her voice cracking slightly. "I haven't gone on a run for five months."

"No. No way." I said, letting out a frustrated sigh. "You were pregnant."

"But I'm not pregnant anymore!" She said, her voice rising slightly. "I gave birth yesterday, if you hadn't noticed!"

"This is why you should stay. You need to be here, in case anything happens while we're out there. He'll need his mom!" I shouted, feeling Logan start to squirm with the sudden noise. I jiggled him slightly, hoping to relax him. Thankfully, it worked and he grizzled, clutching my shirt in his tiny hands.

"You're worried about me dying?! It won't happen again!" She shouted, borderline screaming. Surely, this was down to freaky-baby-hormones. This wasn't the woman I knew. She wouldn't talk about that; not in front of everyone.

"Seriously?! You're choosing to talk about that now?!" I exclaimed. She looked at me through tired, dark-rimmed eyes. I quietened; looking around at everyone's shocked faces. She breathed heavily, her eyes widening in fear. I quickly came up with an excuse. "It was a nightmare I had."

"Carley… if it means anything, I agree with Lee." Kenny said quietly, walking over to us slowly.

"You know what? You stay here, Ken. She can come with me." I said as I handed Logan to Clementine and made sure she held him securely.

"Thank you Lee." She said, making as if to grab her gun. I put my hand in front of her, effectively creating a barricade.

"You're only coming if you go by my rules." I said, seeing her nod eagerly in response.

"Whatever you say." She said, reaching out again. I handed her the firearm, taking the safety off.

"You only use this unless it's necessary. We've got to be as quiet as possible." I said, watching her secure it on her jeans. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." She smiled, hugging me. We both kissed Clementine and Logan's foreheads before striding out the door.

Five Minutes Later

"God. It feels good to be away from that mansion." She said, taking deep gulps of air.

"Can you please stay focused?" I said in a carried whisper, keeping my rifle in front of me. She looked at me sceptically. "It's a lot more dangerous than your last run. Macon was pretty much clear. This place however…"

"Yes sir." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. I saw her shift her ring on her finger and I smiled to myself. "So…"

"So." I repeated, making her chuckle.

"Clem's taking to being a big sister pretty well." She noted, taking her gun out as we approached a corner. We took cover and I peeked around, seeing an empty street.

"We're clear." I said, motioning for her to follow me. She followed me, looking behind us every few minutes. "I guess she is taking to it well."

Carley looked shocked at my sudden reply. "Yeah. She was all over him this morning."

I let out a laugh, knowing how much the girl truly cared for him. My face became serious.

"How're you feeling?" I asked, genuinely concerned for her. She smiled up at me as we crept up the street, letting out a chuckle.

"I'm fine. A bit sore, but that's to be expected." She said, placing her hand on my arm, trying to comfort me. "Don't worry. If I can survive on no coffee, I can get through this."

"Only you, Palmer. Only you." I laughed as we neared the row of shops. She playfully shoved me, laughing happily. I quietly opened the door to the child-care store and signalled for her to stay put. She did as I asked, allowing me to ring the bell above the door. Receiving no response, I smiled.

"We clear?" She asked, obviously having seen me relax and lower my gun.

"Yeah. Come on." I said, placing my hand on the small of her back.

"Watch your hands, Everett!" She joked looking at me impishly and biting her bottom lip. "You know that's off the table for a while."

"Yeah, I kinda guessed that. Plus, we need to stock up on condoms." I laughed, picking up a hand basket from the doorway and holding it up to show her. "Feel's funny holding one of these."

"I bet it does." She laughed, picking tins of formula and placing them carefully in the basket. "I guess you're right about the condoms. I'm never going through that again!"

"I know. I'm sorry." I said, seeing her crease her forehead in confusion. I continued. "It was like holding in a sneeze."

"Woah, Rambo! I didn't need to know that." She said, picking out some reusable diapers and putting them alongside the formula.

"Still, it was my fault." I stated, hitching the into my hands to make it sturdier. Carley approached me, holding three onesies, barely big enough to fit over my hand. "I take full responsibility for that mistake."

"It was a good mistake, though." She said, kissing my cheek gently. She pulled away and ran her hand over my cheek. "I'm glad you couldn't hold that sneeze."

A/N-Hi! Okay, I'm so so so sorry about not updating in, like, forever but I have a valid excuse! I've been completely overtaken by exams! I need them to get into college (and provide for my girlfriend and kids) so I've been revising like crazy! So, being the lovely person I am, I gave you a longer chapter than normal and a promise to update soon! Again, I'm so so so so sorry!