Chapter 10: Two More Weeks

Glenn was on watch during the day. Everyone was still worried about what may have happened. He saw two figures emerging from the woods. He gasped and dropped them to the floor.

"Rick!" he yelled and ran from the watchtower.

Andrea and Michonne had survived three days in the forest and thought they had gotten lost. They were covered and dirt and they felt like they were back where they started, hopelessly aiming for a haven. They came through a clearing and saw a large building with barbed wire.

"We made it!" Andrea laughed. Michonne joined in and the girls hugged each other in celebration.

"Rick!" they heard being called. They ran to the front and saw Rick and Glenn. Both men embraced Andrea and introduced themselves to Michonne.

"Where were y'all?" Rick asked.

"Get everyone to gather 'round." Andrea said.

"We have a message." Michonne added and they looked confused. "From Brooke." The men hurried them inside as they sat down and were served water. Daryl looked at both women.

"What's the message?" He grunted. "Go on, spit it out."

"I'm guessing that's Daryl." Michonne said.

"Yeah." Andrea replied quietly. "Brooke's alive." She said and the people sighed in relief. "That's not all. Merle's alive, Becky's alive, and Meghan's alive as well." Daryl's breathing stopped short. Merle? Was he part of the army? Andrea and Michonne explained the rest of the plan to the group.

"Oh thank God!" Lori said. Andrea couldn't believe how big she had gotten. She was about eight months and was approaching her due date.

"I think we can do that." Herschel said.

"Little Walsh is a crazy little thing." T-Dog smiled. Andrea and Michonne were allowed to take a shower.

Daryl sat in his cell breathing deeply. He was so glad she was okay but he had to go another month without her. He knew he could do it know that it was a proven fact that Brooke was alive. He could feel something from Andrea though. Something like regret or hesitation, she wasn't telling him something. He knew something was up. He rubbed a hand down his face and held his head. She was going to be putting herself in a lot of danger if she was coming with the army for the attack. He smirked to himself.

"She's a Walsh, she can do it." He chuckled a little bit.

Brooke

Brooke woke up with more sickness. She stayed in her bathroom for about fifteen minutes with her head in the toilet before she could take a shower and brush her teeth vigorously. The day went on as usual and she knew she had done everything she could to prepare for the attack. She had gotten rid of their sources, had Blake wrapped around her finger, and she was ready. This month would fly by and she had to be prepared for any changes while learning how to deal with them. She put on some regular jeans, a long sleeved, purple sweater, and her combat boots. She pulled her hair half up and splashed some water on her face, trying to remove the sick feeling from her stomach. She walked downstairs to her office and began on preparing for the day ahead. Most of the day was same old same old. A couple of colds, strep throat, stomach bugs, etc. A knock from the door rang into her ears and she hoped it wasn't Blake. She hadn't quite figured out how to deal with him after the kiss.

"Merle." She sighed and invited him in.

"I brought you something that could help with the barfing." He said and gave her a bag.

"Morning sickness." She corrected with a smile. She opened the bag. "Peppermint, ginger, and lemon?"

"Becky said that the ginger could be put in tea. The peppermint can be used for tea too. She said that lemons, limes, all that citrus shit should help out if you smell them." He said.

"Thank you Merle." She said. "This means a lot."

"That's my niece or nephew in there." He said with a smirk. "I'm gonna help ya out through this. You won't let me take you to the prison so this is the best I can do. I brought you this too."

"Prenatal vitamins." she said in disbelief. "I thought that Blake didn't allow women to have children yet?"

"No, he allows the women to have their children if they're pregnant before they come into town. They have to get rid of the baby if they get pregnant in Woodbury." He said.

"Well that's nice of him." She commented sarcastically. "Thank you so much." She said and she hugged him.

"No problem Sugar-tits." He said and she patted his back a little harder. He laughed and they separated. "You caused a lot of stuff."

"Did they know it was me?" she asked.

"No idea. They didn't see Andrea or Michonne either. I saw them escape before anyone could get them." He explained.

"Oh thank God!" she celebrated and ran a hand through her hair. "Now all we do is wait." Merle said goodbye to her and lightly, but hesitantly, patted her belly. She chuckled as he left. She looked down at her stomach.

"That was your Uncle Merle. You'll get used to him after a while." She smiled and rubbed her stomach. She didn't see Blake the rest of the day but she figured that was because of the destruction last night. About a month and a half later, things were still pretty hectic trying to get ready for the attack. They barely had any ammo and weapons but Blake was determined to attack. Brooke was sleeping peacefully but received a rude awakening.

"LET GO OF HER!" a man yelled in the hallway. She slowly got out of bed and snuck to her door. She cracked it open and saw some soldiers, including Merle, leading a couple to Blake's office. "LET GO OF HER YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he yelled again.

"Shut him up!" Blake ordered and one of the men punched the screaming husband in the gut. Brooke could hear them clearly from her door and decided to stay and eavesdrop. "Now Mrs. Steele, tell me why you were ordered here?" he asked but the woman stayed quiet. She heard a loud smack and the woman cried. Brooke held her hand over her mouth and begged herself not to gasp.

"I'm pregnant." She answered.

"And what did I tell you when you two first came into Woodbury?" Blake asked.

"You were focusing on territory, not population." The woman sniffed.

"And if you did increase the population?" he edged.

"I have to get rid of the baby." She said and Brooke felt hot tears go down her cheek and over her hand.

"Very good, Mrs. Steele." Blake said.

"I'm not going to." She replied with a firmer voice.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"I'm not giving up my baby." She said. "It's mine and I decide what I do!"

"Is that so?" Blake said and Brooke could see the shadows of the people. Mrs. Steele nodded her head. "Alright then." Brooke could see a gun and a large sound bounced through the hallway. She saw Mrs. Steele fall to the ground. She had been shot in the head.

"Harper!" the man yelled and tried to attack Blake. The attempt failed and he too was shot. Blake aimed his gun again towards Harper's stomach and pulled the trigger once again. Brooke held her stomach and cried silently.

"Clean this shit up." Blake said and he turned to walk out of the room. Brooke quickly went back into the room and went to her bed. She took deep breaths as she sobbed. This man had was broken and had irreversible damage. Something had happened to him, this wasn't about territory. Something had happened and Brooke had to know. There had to be a reason for his actions. Brooke sighed and said a prayer. She rubbed her stomach again.

"Hey bump." She whispered with her voice cracking. "I don't know if you heard any of that but again, that won't happen to us. I'm going to keep you safe. We both have a guardian angels and they're watching over us right now. You would've loved your Uncle Shane. He probably would've taken you to the park, to the ice cream store, out hunting," she sniffed and smiled. "Catch frogs and have Cajun styled Kermit legs. I love you bump, I won't let anything bad happen to us." She promised. She didn't get any sleep that night. She would always see the images of that night. Morning finally broke through her windows and she sighed. She learned from the last several mornings and took her time getting up. She took her required vitamins and got ready for the day. She had a little bit of shape to her belly and had to wear a baggy t-shirt. She only had close to two weeks until the attack on the prison so she wouldn't have to hide her belly for too much longer. She heard a knock at her door and she opened, thinking it may have been Merle.

"Hello Brooke." Blake greeted.

"Blake." She said a little shocked. "Sorry, I'm still a little tired." Blake chuckled and she smiled.

"How did you sleep last night?" he asked.

"Like a rock." She lied and he nodded.

"So only two more weeks." He said.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

"I have an army."

"We have Daryl Dixon." She thought. "Good point." She chuckled.

"We'll have it in no time." He shrugged. "Would you come along with us? Just in case we might need your quick thinking."

"Of course, Blake." She said.

"Also, if it wasn't so close to the attack I would've asked you on another outing." He added.

"I would've said yes." She said.

"How about we have dinner soon? Maybe tomorrow?"

"Perfect." She said. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. They exchanged goodbyes and he left. "Only two more weeks." She mumbled.

The Prison

Andrea paced in her cell. She knew that Daryl could tell something was up. She was going crazy with not telling someone what was also going on. Michonne told her to be strong but Michonne was having a hard time as well though she was doing a lot better than Andrea. She couldn't keep a big secret like this but she had to find someone that would keep their mouth shut. She snuck out of her cell late in the night. She went up to a watch tower and sighed.

"Rick?" she called quietly.

"Andrea? What's wrong?" Rick asked.

"Are you alone up here?" she asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked a little more concerned.

"I have to tell you something that you have to swear on your life that you will never tell. Not to Lori, Carl, anyone." She said.

"Is it that serious?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What happened?" he asked.

"Michonne and I left out a big part of what happened back at Woodbury." She started. "The day we left…" Andrea took a deep breath. She knew that Rick would stay true to his word. "Brooke's pregnant." Rick dropped his flashlight to the ground as he gasped.

"Pregnant? How far along?" he asked.

"Two months." Andrea replied and picked up the flashlight. "You promised not to tell anyone."

"I know, I know." He said quietly. "Doesn't she realize-"

"She'd rather her and the baby be dead than us." Andrea concluded. Rick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth to say something else but the door swung open.

"It's Lori, she's going into labor!"Daryl said and the two ran downstairs.

"Shit! Did he hear?" Andrea thought.