Chapter 6: Quiet

1 Year Later

Maggie's POV

It's been a year since we've seen anyone else. It's just been me, Glenn, and the girls. They've gotten so big. They make me feel older than a twenty five year old should feel, but I love them to pieces.

It's been so quiet at the hotel. No walkers, no problems with other groups, no break ins, not that I'm complaining. A little boring. It's nice not having to worry, though.

We over slept. Not that it really matters since their is not much to do. I cling to Glenn for warmth, pressing my naked body to his. "Glenn." I whisper.

"Mmm." He answers.

"You awake?" He smiles.

"No." He says and laughs.

"Oh. Well, that's too bad, because only people who're awake get breakfast." I say jokingly.

"I better get up then." He says, pushing himself up with his arms, defining the muscles in his arms. "So what's for breakfast?"

"Eggs, of course. And maybe some Pancakes?"

"Mika will like that." He says.

"Yeah she will." I force myself to sit up, holding the sheets to my chest.

"Oh my god." He says. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"You have scratch marks down your back." He says. I break out laughing. I look at his back.

"So do you!" I say through the laughter and he joins in. "I have bruises on my arms and legs!" I laugh more. "You are a beast." I wrap my arms around him from behind and kiss his neck. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"You better have used a condom last night, you jerk." I say.

"Don't worry, I did."

"That's a good boy." I kiss his neck again. "I totally think the girls heard us."

"When? Just now or last night?"

"Last night. And now, if they're awake."

"I-probably." He says and chuckles.

"Oh, man. This is a little embarrassing." I say and search the floor for my bra. I put it on and find some underwear to put on. "Baby, where are my jeans?"

"Uhh, over here." He tosses them to me. "What about mine?"

"Huh, over here." I toss his to him. I pull on the jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a hoodie. I look out the window. "It's snowing again."

"Again?" He sighs.

"Yeah. It's just flurries, though." I say. "Ugh, make sure the girls are up and I'll get started downstairs."

"Okay."

I run down the stairs to the kitchen and go out the back door then open the door to the small barn we built. We found many more chickens. We also found a cow wandering around a few miles away and we brought it here. The cow is going to have a calf soon. So around next winter, we'll have plenty of meat. And more milk. I open the door to her stall put my hand over her stomach. I can feel the calf moving around. "Oh yeah, honey. You're due real soon." I run my hand up to her head and scratch behind her ears. "You're a good girl, huh, Millie?" Mika did the honor of naming all of our animals. It's kind of cute. I fill Millie's stall with plenty of hay and fill up the chicken feeder. All of the chickens crowd around it, fighting over the food. It's actually really funny. "You'll all get to it." I say to them.

"Everything good in here?" Glenn comes in a closes the door behind him.

"Yep. I just hope you're ready to deliver a calf in a few weeks." I say with a smirk.

"Oh yeah. Totally." He says sarcastically.

"Oh come on! You'll love it." I say jokingly. I've helped my dad deliver a dozen calves. It actually sucks. But the baby cows are really cute.

"Sounds like a blast, babe." He says offering me my coat.

"Woo, thanks." I say putting it on. "This is a bad winter."

"I know. And it's only December. It's only gonna get colder."

"We have to fix that hole over there, too." I point out the hole in the barn wall. "Or the poor things will freeze."

"I'll do that right now, and you go inside."

"Okay. I'll start breakfast." I go inside and run back up the stairs to see if the girls are up. I open the door and they are both still dead to the world. Damn it, Glenn. I brush my teeth and fix up my hair before waking them up. "Come on, guys." I go to each one and shake them. "Up and at 'em." They moan and beg for five more minutes. "Mika, honey. I'm making pancakes." She gets out of bed.

"I'm up. I'm up, I'm up, I'm up." She says.

"That's what I thought." I say. "You next, Lizzie. Get up." She sits up with a groan. "There's my sunshine. I'll see you downstairs." I run back downstairs, once again, to the kitchen to start breakfast. Okay, pancakes first. They'll stay hot longer. I think to myself. I fry up eight pancakes, enough for everyone to have two. Any leftovers can go to Millie and the chickens. Now for the eggs. "Mika likes them sunny side up, Lizzie and I like them scrambled with an extra white, and Glenn takes them over easy." I always have to say that part out loud to myself. If we have to eat eggs all the time, we might as well eat them the way we like them best. I make those and separate all the food onto to different plates and set them around the table. I stick my head out the door. "Glenn, breakfast is ready."

"Just a second." He says from wherever he is. I grab the jug of milk before closing the door and the girls come running into the kitchen and sit in front of their plates. I hand them each a glass of milk before they start eating.

"How's Millie?" Mika asks before taking a bite of eggs.

"She's just fine." I put a small pitcher of syrup in the middle of the table.

"Will she have the baby soon?" She take the pitcher and douses her pancakes in syrup.

"I think so. In few weeks is what I'm guessing." She smiles.

"I'm excited." She says. "I'm naming it Mabel."

"What if it's a boy?" Lizzie interjects.

"How 'bout you name it if it's a boy?" Mika suggests. Lizzie nods.

"Okay. We''ll name it Jackson if it's a boy."

"Ooh. I like it." Mika approves. I go back outside.

"Glenn? Where are you?" I can hear him struggling. "Glenn?" I run to the other side of the barn, pinned to it by a walker. Without thinking, I jam the knife in my hand in the back of it's head. He pushes it aside. He touches my elbows with both his hands.

"Thank you." He pants. I put my hands on either side of his face and check him for bites or scratches. "I'm okay. I'm okay. It didn't get me." He assures me. I nod and hug him, thankful that nothing happened.

"We've hardly seen any walkers in over a year." I say.

"I know." He replies calmly. "We'll build a fence come spring." I nod.

"Okay. Please come inside now."

"Yeah. Let's go." We go inside and he shakes the snow from his hair. "Maggie, your hands." I look at them. They have some blood on them from the walker. I rush over to the sink and wash them before the girls see.

"What took so long?" Lizzie asks Glenn. He joins me at the sink.

"Just some snow got in the barn. I was getting it out." He lies. I wash off a few spots of blood from his face without her seeing.

"Oh. Okay." She says a bit skeptically. His smile as he turns to face her makes her believe the lie. He claims to suck at lying, but he's actually not bad.

"Are there any more pancakes?" Mika asks cheerfully. I take one off my plate and put it on to hers. I haven't much of an appetite anymore. They finish eating within a matter of minutes.

"Can we go back upstairs now?" Lizzie ask.

"Yeah, that's fine. Just put your dishes in the sink." They do what they're told and walk out the kitchen door. I slowly but surely finish my own breakfast and proceed to do the dishes. Glenn puts his plate in the sink.

"I'll get rid of the body." He says.

"Be careful."

"I will."

The calf comes a few weeks later, just like I had predicted. One morning I find it's feet sticking out. I rush up the stairs and roughly shake Glenn awake. "Glenn come one. Get up!"

"What! What is it?" He begs.

"The calf is coming and I need your help." He slips on his boots and pulls on his coat and follows me downstairs and outside. He takes in the sight and makes a face.

"Oh, god." He says under his breath. "I'm not ready for this."

"Don't worry." I console him. "All you gotta do is take the feet." We each grab a leg. "And pull like hell." Very slowly the calf comes out.

"Is it usually this much work?"

"Sometimes."

"Shit."

"We're almost done. I swear." He looks at me and then back at the job. "Just keep pulling." Ten more minutes of pulling later, the calf is laying on ground of the barn, getting licked by Millie. "Look at it." I say to Glenn. "I'ts cute, isn't it."

"I'll give you this one. It's pretty cute." He says.

"You know what, go get a blanket for it." He wordlessly does what I say. I squat down to get a better look. It's definitely a Jackson."Hi, sweetheart." I wipe my hands with a kitchen towel and then use it to wipe off it's face. He's shaking. "I know you're cold. Just wait, okay?" I get up and look into Millie tired eyes. "Good job, girl."

Glenn's POV

I take a blanket and a towel from the nearest ground level room for the calf and present them to Maggie. "Here." She takes the towel and rubs it down, drying it off before draping the blanket over it's shaking body. "And that's all?" I ask. Seems a little too simple.

"That's all." She clarifies. "At least I think so. I haven't done this in awhile."

"He looks fine to me."

"He does look good." She agrees. "I gotta wash my hands." I follow her inside. She turns on the tap and runs her arms and hands under the cold water. She dries her hands on her clothes. "Ugh, I'm tired."

"Yeah. Me, too."

"No, I'm really tired. I gotta go lie down." She walks out the kitchen doors. I check on the cows one last time and go up there after her. She didn't even bother to close the bedroom door to stop the draft from getting in. She's lying on her stomach, lazily draped over the bed.

"Are you okay?" I ask. She's shivering. I pull the blankets over her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She sputters out. "I just don't feel good, and I'm tired."

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"Yes, please."

"I'll check on you later." I kiss her head. I slip into Lizzie and Mika's room to wake them up. "Lizzie, Mika, wake up." I tap them both. "If you don't get up, I'm gonna have to tickle you." I threaten. "It's your choice." And like magic they both get up in a heartbeat. Mika gets on my back for a piggyback ride.

"Let's go visit Millie." She says.

"Alright." I'll let it be a surprise. "Lizzie, you coming?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Shoes and coats and them we can go outside. It's really cold today." They do as I say and Mika gets on my back again so I can carry her outside.

Once we're in the barn, Millie is the only one you can see and the stall door blocks the calf. Mika pets her nose. "Mika, why don't you go in." She does.

"Eeeee!" She squeals with delight as she sees the calf, still wrapped in the blanket, lying on the ground. "Is it a Mabel or a Jackson?"

"It's a Jackson."

"He's so cute." She says, petting him all over. Millie watches her intently.

"What do you think, Liz?" I ask Lizzie.

"He's perfect." She says smiling, also reaching down to pet him. Once her hand touches him, Millie starts getting mad.

"Okay, Millie's getting pissed. We should get back inside."

"Can we come back later?" Mika begs.

"Sure. In a few hours, we'll see them again."

We have a simple cereal breakfast because I don't know how to cook. "Where's mom?" Mika asks with her mouth full.

"She's sick, so she's resting."

"Is she okay?" Lizzie asks.

"I'm sure she's alright." I finish my bowl. "I'm gonna check on her right now. You guys finish up, and do whatever you kids do." I walk upstairs and Maggie's not in bed anymore, but the bathroom door is closed. I knock on it. "Maggie." I knock again. "You in there?" She doesn't answer. "Knock twice if you're okay." She knocks. I look under the crack of the door. She's sitting on the floor, leaning on it. "What's wrong?" There's nothing. "Please talk to me."

"Glenn." She says in a rough voice.

"Yes?"

"Promise you won't be mad." She demands.

"I promise." I say. "Just talk to me."

"I'm pregnant."