Minority page 19
Peaches groaned when she felt someone touching her belly. For a second she thought it was Merle but as she grew more and more conscious she could feel the hand was smaller, like a child. "Carl?" She opened her eyes and was shocked to see a child she didn't recognize. The little girl was in bed beside her. Her blond hair was tied back in a messy pony tail. Her brown eyes were oddly empty as she rubbed Peaches stomach. "Who are you?" Peaches asked as she sat up.
"You're having a baby." The girl said as she reached for Peaches again. "My mommy was having a baby before she got eaten. Can I name it for you? I wanna call it Tommy."
"Merle!" Peaches screamed. Daryl came running into the room instead – he was probably closer. "Who the hell is she?" she asked – furious that some strange kid was in her room touching her while she was asleep.
"Shit." Daryl said as he grabbed the little girl and pulled her away. Peaches got dressed quickly and followed him out the rectory. The others were out in the field – planting and harvesting their crops. Daryl brought the girl to Rick. "We got a little escapee here." Everyone gathered around to question her. When she wouldn't talk they took her back to the visitor center. It turns out the little girl had escaped through the air duct during the night. She spent a few hours wandering around before the others woke up and unlocked the rectory. She slipped in and eventually found her way to Peaches' room.
"Where the hell was the watch detail!?" Peaches fumed as she looked at all the men.
"I never saw her – I switched out with T-dog at four." Tyrese said. T-dog was looking at the vent she had escaped from. It was underneath an awning that went directly to the building next to it. All he had to do was turn his back for a minute and she could've run off to another blind spot in the dark.
"Sorry, Peaches." He apologized. "There was no moon last night. She got right by me."
"And me." Rick said as he looked down at the keys on his hip. He had been the one to open the doors that morning. After getting dressed he had headed out to get some water to boil for the others.
"I should've been there." Carl said. "But my dad made me go to sleep at three." He posted up near Peaches and Andrea – no amount of parental authority would get him to leave their sides again.
"God, she was just so…creepy." Peaches said.
"She's probably traumatized." Andrea spoke up. "She only looks to be about eight years old. Can you imagine the things she's seen in the past two years?"
"She said her mother was pregnant before she got eaten." Peaches said as she rubbed over her belly. She turned and glared at Merle. "Where were you?"
"Getting you something to eat." He said as he held up some carrots and a beet. "I was only out in the field for ten minutes."
"I want those people and their creepy ass kids the hell out of here." Peaches said as she shook her head.
"They're only creepy because we don't know them." Glenn pointed out. "And you don't want to give them a chance because of Caleb and Linda. But the other ones deserve one. We gave you guys a chance when we didn't know you."
"I know you said you didn't want them out and about until you have the baby but this is gonna keep happening until we lay down some boundaries and tell them the rules." Rick said. Peaches glanced at the air vent – honestly anyone could fit through it. The little girl probably got out once they were all asleep. She was easy enough to miss. And she didn't know her place. Peaches sighed before she nodded.
"Fine…fine." She said. "Give me my machete, you guys can play nice if you want but if they cross me I'm cutting them down." Merle gave her the weapon without an argument and she hooked it on to her belt loop. "Let em out."
Things were tense but after everyone introduced themselves it started to get better. The little girl that escaped was named Suzie and both her parents were dead. There was another child about three years older than her named Sam – he was her brother. They both had blond hair and brown eyes. Sam was missing his front teeth but his permanent ones were already starting to grow in. The third child was closer to Carl's age – another boy named Dick. The teenage girl was his babysitter, Michelle and she had been looking after him since about a year ago when his parents were bitten. She looked like your average brunette. They met up with the 'frail boy' – Ian about a week later – he was actually the same age as Michelle – seventeen. Judging from his face his life had been hard since before the dead started walking. He had stringy dark hair and tattoos on his knuckles. The scar of his forehead led everyone to believe he once had an eyebrow piercing that was ripped out.
Linda was of average height with straight blond hair and green eyes. Caleb had red hair and blue eyes. Rick gave them the run down, told them where they were allowed to go and where they weren't. Where they could bathe, get food and sleep. The kids were instructed not to bother the pregnant women or anyone while they were working. "I'm glad we could work this out." Linda said as she approached Peaches. Carl cut her off when she raised her hand.
"Don't touch her." He simply said. She just gave him a smug smile before she backed off. The other children just looked at him like he was weird – why wasn't he playing with them.
"We're all just trying to survive here." Rick reminded them all.
"Yeah, so don't start no shit, won't be no shit." Daryl said point blank.
"You okay?" Merle asked when he noticed the look on Peaches' face. She had barely eaten all day and was absently kneading her fingers into her hip.
"I'm cramping." She answered. The kitchen went quiet and she rolled her eyes. "Relax people, it's probably just gas."
"They might be contractions." Andrea pointed out. "They start days in advance and get progressively worse – you're getting close to delivery." Merle had read that in one of the books too.
"The ones to be worried about will be the ones you can't talk through." He said. "Still, let's get you to bed."
"What? It's five in the afternoon." Peaches protested as he started helping her up.
"Well tough cause that's where you're going to stay until that baby is out." He said. "You've already been through a lot these past few days. Katherine told me your blood pressure keeps going up."
"Don't hen peck me." She said as she tried to shoo him away.
"Well you're my wife and you're having my baby and I say get to bed so I don't lose you both!" He suddenly yelled. She just looked at him stunned for a few seconds before she relented.
"Fine." She huffed and stood up. As always Carl escorted her down the hall and kept watch over her while Merle did his regular daily routine. He left for a few minutes to check on Andrea – T-dog assured him she was fine and he high tailed it back to Peaches. When he got back she was panting a little.
"Are you—
"They got a little stronger that's all." She said as she stood up. She paced back and forth slowly for a while. "Carl, put those towels where I was sitting…and get some water, some for me to drink and a basil too." He ran off right away to get what she wanted. She went to the bathroom when she felt like she had to pee. She found Sasha in the communal room full of stalls and they talked for a little before a pain in her back interrupted her.
"Oh God. Merle was right. You're having the baby!" She panicked a little and Peaches held up her hands.
"Relax. Can you go find him, Glenn and Daryl for me?" She asked. Sasha ran off and she wobbled back to her room. Carl was halfway out the door when he came back and found her gone. He helped her sit down and pulled her shoes off. Katherine came in when she heard Peaches yelp.
"Are you having the baby?" She asked. She could see Peaches was having some trouble getting out of her jeans and moved to help her.
"Do not let Merle know he was right. He'll never shut up about it." Peaches joked as Katherine pulled off her pants. She got situated on the bed and Katherine and Carl put a sheet over her. Merle, Daryl and Glenn came in just as she was having a contraction.
"Oh shit." Glenn said as he went about making sure everything was ready. They had towels and gauze and he read the 'suture' section of the 'delivery book' one more time before he got a needle ready just incase. They had all held out their hands to see who had the steadiest nerves and he was it.
"Carl, go tell your dad it's time." Peaches said. "We're gonna need more sterile water – keep it boiling and keep it coming." She looked up at Katherine when she put a thermometer in her mouth and took up her wrist. Carl ran off as everyone got scrubbed clean. They had a lot more resources than they did when Lori gave birth. If they hadn't died it would've been a miracle if they didn't get some kind of infection. Once everyone was clean and Katherine took Peaches blood pressure there was a lull in activity. Peaches still had strong contractions but they spanned over thirty minutes at a time. She even dozed off a little. Daryl was 'resting his eyes' as he sat backwards in a desk chair. Merle was laid out in bed next to her. Glenn was checking the time and making sure the water was still hot when Katherine came back in the room. She handed him some coffee and a few granola bars. She nudged Daryl awake and he accepted the coffee. It was stale and black but it worked to wake them up. Peaches suddenly jumped and groaned. Glenn looked at the time and smiled.
"She's down to ten minutes apart." He said. Merle washed his hand and Katherine helped him into a surgical glove. Peaches tried to relax as he checked her.
"Four fingers, you're nearly all the way open." He said as he pulled his hand out slowly.
"Great." Peaches groaned exhausted. The rectory was quiet – the sky outside was pitch black. Nearly twelve hours had passed since her contractions started. "Shit!"
"Another one? Already?" Glenn asked as he looked at the watch in his hand.
"That's good." Katherine said. Her time with Charles was a blessing – he had taught her about emergencies like this. She knew what the books didn't cover and what the men didn't know. "We're just waiting on you now. You tell us when you need to push."
"Ahh!" Peaches screamed when she could catch her breath. The pain was unlike anything she had ever experienced. It started in her pelvis and spread down to her knees and nearly all the way up to her shoulders. She gripped Merle's hand and he winced. He helped her lean forward and ran his stump along her back to help with the pain – like one might do with a tennis ball.
"Breathe." He instructed.
"That was a big one." Peaches said once she was able to relax. "And—oh AHH!" she barely had time to say anything before the next one came. "Oh shit, it's time Kathy!" She washed up and put on a pair of gloves.
"Merle, sit behind her and push her forward. We're going to do three counts until your crowning and then five to get it out." She instructed as she lifted the sheets around Peaches' knees. She pushed Peaches legs open. "Okay ready?"
"No…" Peaches whined. Merle chuckled.
"Come on. If Lori can do this in a bush you can do it." Merle said. "Imagine taking the biggest dump of your life." Peaches let out a gasp that he could only assume was meant to be a laugh before she started pushing. Katherine kept count and went through about ten sets of three before she told Peaches to up it to five. Merle kept his stump on her back and gripped her hand when she reached for him. "This is it." He whispered to her. "It's almost over." Peaches just continued to scream, the pain overwhelming her as she pushed and pushed. Her face was covered in sweat and flushed red. Just when Merle thought the vein in her temple would pop she let out a sigh and went lax against him.
"It's out. It's out Peaches stop pushing." Katherine said as she quickly wrapped the child in a towel. "Breath – okay, we need to get the placenta…"
"Ah! Son of bitch!" Peaches screamed – completely surprised when Katherine jabbed down on her lower stomach. She pushed to relieve the pressure and felt something else pass.
"Very good." She said and ducked down between her legs. Merle let Peaches lay back as he went to see what she was doing. Glenn taking his place by her side to wipe her face and keep her breathing.
"Ew." He cringed seeing the bloody mess. Walkers decaying bodies he could handle – vaginal blood was a totally different story. Katherine sectioned off the cord like it was something she had done a million times before - before she turned to him.
"Wanna cut it?" she offered him the surgical scissors and he reached for them without saying a word. When he severed the cord Katherine tied it off and put what looked like a 'chip-clip' on the end – it had a partially rubbed off 'Lays' logo on it. Merle helped her clean the baby before she swaddled him in a clean towel. "Congratulations…It's a boy." She said as she went about cleaning up Peaches. Merle stared at the infant – the moment was surreal. A moment only broken when he let out a little cry. His tiny, bound body twitched and jerked and he turned his head a little.
"Merle." He turned around when he heard Peaches. He sat in the bed and eased the baby into her arms.
"Say hi to your momma, Jameson." He said. Peaches smiled weakly and pulled the towel down so she could see his face more clearly. She looked down at Katherine when she finally lowered the sheets and took off her gloves.
"You did great. No episiotomy needed." She said. Glen let out a sigh of relief and put the needle away.
"Thank you." Peaches said. They both watched her leave the room with Daryl, Glenn and the bloody towels and what they could only assume was the after birth. They looked down at their son when he cried. Watching him in silence as he scrunched up his nose and attempted to blink his new eyes. "My God Merle – he looks just like you." She said. Merle laughed and put his finger under Jameson's little hand so he could grab it.
"Damn straight."
"Hi Jameson." Peaches cooed. She gave the baby a weird look before she swatted Merle on the shoulder.
"Wha—
"We named our baby after whiskey!"
