Author's Note: Okay...I know. I'm a terrible, awful, bad, bad author. I promised not to do this anymore and then I did it anyways. You guys, I'm so sorry. So so so sorry. I thought I'd have more free time after graduation, but as it turned out the real world keeps me just as busy. i hope you can all forgive me! Also, I admit, I've been working on writing my first, actual novel which is a huge, huge task. I apologize for falling behind here, but I will continue to update as often as I can! Anyways, is anyone else worried about the TWD finale? I'm actually really fearful for Daryl's life. Eek! Thank you all for sticking with me and being patient. Thank you for all your comments, mesages, reviews, likes, votes, follows, and whatever else. You guys are the reason I do this! Thank you thank you! Hope you like the update! :) xoxo -Nikki -

Charlie

How long had I been here?

Minutes? Hours? Days?

My eyelids felt like concrete as I forced them open. It was dark inside the cell. I was cold, but the mattress underneath me was damp with sweat. I felt the heat of a small body against my back and painfully rolled over to see Lizzie curled up next to me, in what looked like a fitful sleep. I pushed her hair back from her forehead and her eyes fluttered open.

"I hurt, Charlie." She whimpered quietly, letting her eyes fall shut again.

"Me too." My voice sounded like a stranger's, hoarse and raspy. I cleared my throat. It made me wince. "Daryl and the others will be back with the medicine soon. Don't worry."

"How soon?" She asked, her voice muffled as she buried her face into the front of my shirt.

It was the question I had been constantly asking myself; how much longer, how much longer, how much longer was I going to last? "You're going to be fine, Lizzie. Go back to sleep." I finally said, carefully stepping around her actual question.

She let out a soft sigh, but didn't say another word. I knew it was pointless for me to try and get anymore sleep. Every time I tried, I ended up jolting awake almost minutes later. Worried about Daryl. Worried about me, and the baby. I swallowed the bad thoughts that had been swimming in and out of my head ever since I had realized what was happening to me.

Lizzie's breathing deepened as she fell back asleep. I closed my own eyes and focused on listening to the sound of her breathing. I could her the faint wheeze in her chest with each breath she took. Her tiny lungs were probably struggling to keep going. I shifted onto my side and struggled a little before finally freeing my arm and wrapping it around her shoulders, pulling her closer to me. She felt so small in my arms. How would it feel to finally hold the baby, who would be much much smaller? Of course I had held Judith tons of times, but what would it feel like to hold something that small that was actually mine? Something that I had made. I took in a shaky breath, fighting back a wave of tears that would do nothing but exhaust me if I let it loose.

I went back to concentrating on Lizzie's breathing…in, out. In, out. In, out. Until finally, I fell into another short, fitful sleep. This time, though, when I woke up I knew right away that something was wrong.

"Charlie! Wake up!"

Lizzie's voice was high pitched and full of fear. My eyes flew open and found her right away, hovering over me and shaking me awake. "What's wrong?" I croaked, struggling to sit up. The room swam, but I held on, focusing on Lizzie.

"It's Glenn, somethin's wrong!" She broke into a sob on the last word and I was scrambling out of the bed faster than my body wanted me to. "You have to come!"

Each breath I drew in made the inside of my chest feel like it was on fire. The room tilted and I stumbled into the wall. A small hand suddenly curled around my fingers and Lizzie was tugging me from the room. I staggered after her, my heart pounding in my chest. "Where's Hershel, Lizzie?" I managed to gasp.

The sound of a gunshot made me jump and Lizzie's grip on my hand tightened. For whatever reason, it reminded me that I was the one that was supposed to protect her…sick or not, she needed me. I pushed her behind me as we carefully headed towards the noise. Her hands curled around my shirt, clinging to me. We reached the staircase and I looked down. My blood turned cold. I whirled around and put my hands on Lizzie's shoulders.

"Get to Glenn. Your job is to keep him safe while I help Hershel, okay?" I panted, each word like lead on my tongue.

She didn't ask questions, instead turning on her heel and fleeing. I didn't hesitate, taking the steps two at a time to where Hershel laid in a heap at the bottom. A walker struggled on the floor just feet away from him, slipping in a pool of warm, sticky blood. There was another walker just to my right, gnawing on the arm of a another man. A blonde woman lay still, half in and half out of her cell. What the hell had happened here?

I fell to my knees next to Hershel, tugging him upright. "Come on, we gotta go. Glenn needs help."

Hershel's eyes were wide with panic as he looked up at me. I used every ounce of strength I had left to stand back up, pathetically attempting to pull the older man up with me. He suddenly came to his senses, though, and gently pushed me back as he pushed himself off the ground.

"You can't be here, you need to get in a cell now!" He said quickly, grabbing me by the forearm and tugging me away from the walkers.

I struggled weakly to pry his fingers from my arm. "No, Hershel. I can help." I wheezed, before a sharp, painful cough racked my chest.

Hershel glanced over his shoulder towards the walkers. The little boy was still busy tearing away at the flesh of what I was suddenly sickeningly sure was his father. The woman walker, though, had taken interest in us. She was sliding on her belly towards us, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

Hershel whirled back around and looked me in the eyes. "You're pregnant, Charlie. You need-"

His voice was cut off by a high pitched scream that sent chills racing down my spine. Lizzie. I craned my neck, scanning the catwalk over our heads and saw her, a walker in arms length and reaching it's hands out towards her. Hershel and I both booked it towards the stairs. Every breath I took in felt like torture now, like a knife was stuck in the center of my chest.

I made it to the top and collapsed to my knees, my shoulders heaving as I tried to catch my breath. Lizzie, I reminded myself. Lizzie needs you. I crawled to the railing, before grabbing onto it and using it to push myself up. I leaned onto it heavily, gasping for air. It felt like trying to breathe through a straw. I watched as Hershel grasped Henry, now a walker, by the back of his shirt and threw him over the railing and into the netting that hung over the first floor. Using the railing for support, I made my way towards them.

Hershel heard me coming and whirled towards me. "Come on." He had Lizzie by one hand and grasped my arm with his other and led us down the hall towards a cell. "You need to stay in here, no matter what happens."

"No." I shrugged him off me again and stumbled back a few steps. "Glenn needs help. I can help."

"Charlie, look at yourself. You can barely stand straight, let alone do a damn thing to help. You're makin' it worse for yourself. Stay here." He begged me.

"Glenn-" I began desperately.

"Glenn will be okay, but I need to get to him now. You need to stay here." He smoothed my hair back from my damp forehead and gently pushed me back into the cell before sliding the barred door shut. "You watch her, Lizzie. Your job now is to make sure she's okay. We all got jobs to do." He said quietly.

Lizzie nodded and I felt her gaze as she turned to me. I wrapped my fingers around the iron bars, watching helplessly as Hershel rushed away. I could help, I needed to help, wanted to help. The room swam again, the corners of my vision turning black. I felt my way along the wall before turning around and pressing my back against it, sliding to the floor.

"It's okay, Charlie." Lizzie's voice sounded far away even though I could see her crouched in front of me. "Daryl's coming with the medicine."

My eyelids fluttered, so heavy. Like lead. "Daryl." I murmured. My head and the rest of my body felt so tired suddenly. Like the last of my energy had been spent too quickly. I was afraid to close my eyes, but wanted to sleep so badly. Afraid that once I closed them, that would be it. I couldn't fight it, though, and I shut them. I could hear Lizzie's voice, feel her moving next to me but it all seemed so far off now as I drifted deeper and deeper.

Then, there was nothing.

I was home.

The house looked the way it always had, blue paint with white shutters and a wooden front porch where my mom would sit when she watched Gabe and I play outside. I was standing in the gravel driveway, shielding my eyes from the bright sun. It was unbearably hot and my shirt stuck to my back like a second layer of skin.

"You're in trouble, Charlie!" A small voice suddenly shouted. I looked around until I spotted Gabe, standing on the porch with his hands on his small hips. His curly hair looked wild, sticking up in every direction and the front of his clothing was stained with dried mud. He looked exactly the way he had when he was eight years old. "Mom said to make sure I didn't get dirty, but you let me play in the creek anyways." He pouted.

I furrowed my eyebrows together, shaking my head. "No, I didn't. I just got here."

"Yeah huh! You're all muddy too!" He pointed at me and I glanced down to see, sure enough, that I was also covered in mud.

"He did kinda push you into it, though…wouldn't stop beggin' to catch frogs." This time, I knew exactly who the voice belonged to. I whirled around to see Daryl coming up the driveway, hands in the pockets of his tattered jeans and smirking at me in a way that made my knees weak.

"Daryl." I said, surprised to see him, although I wasn't sure why. He lived right down the road, he was here all the time. I looked back at Gabe who was watching me with a stubborn expression. "Go back inside, tell mom I'll be there in a minute." The word 'mom' felt strange as it rolled off my tongue. I remembered it had been a while since I'd said it out loud, but I couldn't remember why. I turned back to look at Daryl and he was suddenly right in front of me.

He reached out and pushed my hair out of my eyes. I relaxed at his touch, covering his hand with my own and pressing it against my cheek. "This is nice." I murmured, smiling at him.

"Yeah, but we can't stay." He said quietly.

"Why not?"

"You know why." His eyes flickered down to my stomach and I followed his gaze to see my stomach suddenly full and round, like a beach ball. My heart sped up. Jesus, was I this pregnant just a second ago? "You gotta wake up, Charlie."

I shook my head, not understanding. "I am awake."

"God damn it, Charlie. Open your eyes, girl!" He pleaded. The world suddenly tilted and I stumbled back, hitting the truck parked in the driveway but suddenly it was gone and I was falling…

My eyes suddenly jerked open and I was gasping for breath, my heart pounding wildly against my ribcage. I felt weak and achy, which I took as a good sign. It meant I was alive. I stirred, trying to roll onto my back.

"Christ, Charlie. Open your eyes."

My breath caught in my throat at the sound of his voice and I carefully shifted until I was on my back. He was hovering over me, looking at me with furrowed eyebrows. Worried, anxious. I realized I had somehow made it onto a cot and my head was on Daryl's lap.

"You're here?" I managed to ask, my voice crackling.

"Yeah, I'm here." He smoothed back the hair on my forehead and I heard him let out a shaky breath. "Ya' know how bad you scared me? I come back and yer' locked up in here, lyin' unconscious on the floor. Thought you were…"

He trailed off, averting his eyes. I reached up and rubbed my palm over the stubble on his cheek. "Hey, but I'm not. I'm okay. You got here just in time."

He nodded, grabbing my hand and twisting his fingers around mine. It was quiet for a moment as I looked up at him, studying the shadow on his jaw, the lines around his eyes and the slight frown on his mouth. I could tell by the look in his eyes he was somewhere far away, but I didn't ask where. Finally, he cleared his throat and looked back down at me. "I'm tired of comin' so close to losin' you all the time."

I felt my heart sink. "Daryl, stop. We've had this talk a million times. You can't save me from everything…and this time, you're the reason I'm alive. If you hadn't gone out to get that medicine, I wouldn't be here and neither would anyone else." I reminded him, thinking of Lizzie, and Sasha, and Glenn. Glenn. I let out a gasp and dropped Daryl's hand at the thought of his name, trying to sit up fast and failing miserably. My head started to spin again. "Glenn, is he-"

"Calm down, girl. He's fine. Hershel and Maggie got to him just in time." He assured me. I breathed in a sigh of relief that suddenly turned into a coughing attack, making my eyes water and chest sting. I could feel Daryl's eyes on me, watching me helplessly. "Hershel said you should start feelin' alright again soon."

I still felt bad, like my limbs were made of rubber and my lungs made of lead, but not quite as terrible as before. It didn't hurt so bad to breathe. And it wasn't really me I was worried about. "Did…Did he say anything about the baby?" I asked hesitantly.

Daryl's expression was grim but he shook his head. "Said it's too soon to hear a heartbeat…said you'd probably feel somethin', ya' know…if somethin' wasn't right."

I nodded, running a hand over my stomach. "She's okay." I finally said. Daryl looked at me skeptically and I shook my head. "I just know, Daryl. Once I feel her move, though, I'll feel better."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "She?"

I gave him a small smile. "Just a feeling I have."

He leaned down and brushed his lips over my forehead. When he pulled back, one side of his mouth had quirked up in a small, barely there smile. "Almost forgot…got somethin' to show ya'." He carefully helped me to sit up, and I leaned back against the cement wall. The stones were cold and felt good against my warm skin. He leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed his bag, rummaging around inside it before pulling out a tiny pair of red, converse sneakers. "Told ya' I got 'em." He said in his gruff voice.

He handed me the shoes, which were small enough to hold in the palm of my hand. "Daryl…" I said quietly, my smile growing.

"Thought she should have 'em." He said, glancing towards my stomach.

The shoes were so tiny…in a few months there'd be some tiny feet to put them on. The thought was both terrifying and exciting. I carefully set the shoes down on the bed next to me and turned to Daryl, sucking in a deep breath. "Listen," I said softly, fiddling with a hole in the mattress. "I'm sorry about before. About making you feel bad for leaving. I-I shouldn't have…I mean, I was out of my mind and I was afraid and I've never felt like that before. I kept thinking that it would be the last time I'd ever see you." I finished. "I'm not as strong as I thought."

"Hey," I felt his fingers on my chin, tilting my face until I was looking into a pair of blue eyes. "Yer' the strongest person I've ever known, Charlie. Even before all this shit."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "I dunno how true that is, but thanks for saying it."

"It is. And we both know if it was up to me, I wouldn't let ya' outta my sight. Don't know what the hell I'm gonna do when there's two of ya'." He grunted, pushing my hair out of my eyes.

I let out a weak laugh. "I guess we'll find out." I reached across the mattress and grabbed his sleeve, tugging on it until he got the message and moved closer to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "You know how much I love you, right?"

"Still dunno why." He smirked. I elbowed him lightly and he leaned down, brushing his lips gently over mine. When he pulled away, I could still feel the warmth of his breath against my skin. "I love ya too, girl. More than anythin'."

I pressed my face into his shoulder, smiling into his shirt and wondering how even after being on death's doorstep, even after everything else, he could still make me feel this good. I knew without thinking about it that I'd love him for the rest of my life.

"Hey." A voice suddenly came from the other side of the room.

I shifted and glanced up, seeing Gabe standing in the doorway. He gave me a relieved smile. "Hey you." I smiled.

"Kid's been worried sick 'bout you." Daryl said, his thumb brushing over my shoulder. I felt his lips on the top of my head before he was standing up. "I gotta get back, Rick needed to talk to me about somethin'. I'll check in on ya' later."

I nodded and he gave me one of his small, unexpected smiles before leaving, clapping Gabe on the shoulder on his way out. When he was gone, my little brother sidled into the room and dropped down on the bed next to me. He smiled when he saw the shoes, picking them up. "So it's true then, huh? I'm gonna be an uncle?"

"Seems that way." I sighed, running my hand over my stomach…something I noticed was quickly becoming a habit.

He nodded. "I was worried about you…when I found out you were here, I wanted to come see you, but Daryl said not to."

"I didn't want you to see me that way…I was a mess, Gabe. But I'm okay now." I assured him.

"Are you scared at all? I mean, about the baby?" He suddenly asked, glancing at my stomach.

I let out a breath before nodding. "Yes." I admitted quietly. "But I'm trying not to be."

"We'll get through it. People have been having babies since the cavemen age…I'm not saying it'll be the most fun you've ever had, but…." He gave me a quirky smile. Leave it to Gabe to turn a serious situation into something lighthearted. It was why I missed having him around for all those months, and why I needed him now more than ever.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, Gabe."

"Here to help." He said with a shrug. He looked back down at the tiny shoes, which were now sitting in his lap. "Seriously, though, it'll be okay. You've made it through hell and back again more times than most people. You can do this."

I gave him a grateful look, my little brother who was not so little and smarter than a lot of grown men. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too. Every kid needs a cool uncle."

I let out a short laugh that made my lungs sting again, but I hardly noticed now. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall as I listened to him talk. Twenty-four hours ago, I thought I was going to die. But I didn't, and as I listened to Gabe's voice I couldn't help but think that maybe the worst was over, that he was right. That not just me, but all of us, had been to hell a dozen times over. Maybe now things would get better. I had to believe that, not just for me or for Gabe or Daryl, but because it wasn't just about me anymore but the other life I was now responsible for and would be for the rest of time. If not for me, then for her, I had to believe that everything would be better.