Chapter 17: 18 Weeks.
One Month Later:
There had been no more problems from Verndale, which had everyone on the edge of their seats. Ally was scared that they were going to attack them, but she was just enjoying the freedom that they had. Jasmine and Jess had recovered from their ordeal fine, though both of them seemed jumpy at times, but that was expected from them. Billy was on the road to recovery, Cal had limited him to four hours of up and about time, after that he had to stay in his bed. Derek hadn't left his side and Ally was happy that Billy had his dad back. Derek had thanked her repeatedly for everything she'd done for him and Ally continued to tell him that it was nothing. She saw it as nothing. She was doing what she had to do to help people get by.
Ally sat down at the table in the cafeteria. She played with the food in the metal bowl, none of it pleasing her needs and she knew she was being ungrateful, because that was all they had, but she just caught one whiff of it and she wanted to be sick.
She looked over to see Austin serving himself some food. She watched him talk to Tess on the other side of the window. Nevil was stuck to his hip, just like he'd been doing ever since he got back. He'd switched between Ally and Austin, she knew that he was scared that if he was left alone, he'd get taken and no one would ever see him again.
Ally smiled to herself and she remembered what had happened last night. She didn't know what was wrong with them both, they were having a hard time keeping their hands off one another, almost every night they had sex. She couldn't help it, ever since he told her that he loved her, she just wanted him all the time.
Austin made his way over and sat down next to her. Nevil took the seat next to Austin and he smiled over at her.
"Morning Ally," Nevil chirped.
"Morning Nevil, you okay?" She asked and he nodded.
"Austin's going to teach me how to fire his crossbow today," He explained and Ally raised an eyebrow at Austin.
"Isn't it a bit to heavy for you?" She retorted.
"No way, this young man right here has been doing push ups from mornin' to noon. He's got guns of steel," Austin ruffled his hair and Nevil blushed.
"I probably won't be good at it. I miss my machete knife," Nevil admitted.
"We'll try to find you another one sweetheart," Ally said. She looked over as Sarah entered, she saw the sad expression on her face and Ally's face saddened. Sarah had been avoiding Dean like the plague, she only ever let Austin and Ally come and talk to her, never anyone else. She seemed to argue with Dez whenever he came near her and Ally wondered if something had happened whilst they were alone together.
Ally had tried to get Sarah to talk to Dean, but she insisted that it was better this way. Dean continued to watch Sarah from across the room like he always did, longing to talk to her and Ally didn't know what to do. They had both changed since the farm, both of them have bigger personalities, both to stubborn to talk.
"You going on the supply run today?" Austin asked, snapping Ally out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, it will be good to be get out of the prison for a while," Ally admitted.
"Don't-"
"Don't do anything stupid, I know. I promised you I'm not going to do stupid things anymore," She placed her hand on his leg and he reached down, squeezing her hand.
"Good," He whispered.
"Ally, you coming to the showers?" Julie came over and she had a towel bundled in her arm and two bottles resting on top.
"Yeah, sure," Ally kissed Austin on the cheek and she got up, abandoning her food, which didn't go unnoticed by Austin. He'd been keeping a close eye on her and he'd realized she was barely eating a thing and it was making him worry about her health. He was just waiting for the right time to bring the subject up.
Ally followed behind Julie and they walked down the hallway and into the shower block. There was a basket on the bench full of toiletries and there was a clean pile of towels next to it. Ally walked over and picked up a towel and she grabbed the things which she needed. Julie began taking off her clothes and she walked into the shower, pulling the curtain shut behind her and turning the shower on. Julie's mature singing voice echoed around the room and Ally smiled. This had become a brand new routine, and Ally enjoyed it. They'd both decided that going to the showers in pairs was safer. Julie would always sing whilst she showered and Ally found it relaxing, because it reminded her of her mom.
Ally took off her top and slipped her jeans down her legs. A layer of mud covered her body and she knew that playing around in the grass with Nevil and Jasmine was a bad idea. She chuckled at the memory and she let Julie's singing float into her ears.
Ally looked over at the worn down wall. A mirror rested there, covered in a thin layer of dust. Ally reached her hand out and wiped it away. She smiled at her reflection. She didn't look twenty-one, well she didn't know if she was even twenty-one anymore, she could be twenty-two, she wasn't good at keeping track of days.
She looked older, wiser. The apocalypse had aged her, that was plausible, but she didn't look bad, she looked very mature. She looked like her mom, strong, powerful. She took a step back and admired her body. She had a few cuts and grazes on her body and she saw fingertip bruises on her back and she smiled at the memory. Austin may have got to carried away last night, but it didn't bother her. She enjoyed it.
Ally looked over at the shower that Julie was in and she could see her black silhouette jamming out to the song she was singing and she chuckled. She took one last glance in the mirror, then looked away, only for her head to whip back at her reflection.
"What?" She whispered and she walked closer, coming to a stop. She stared at her body at a front view, then she slowly turned so she could see a side view of her body. Her eyes glared at her stomach in the mirror. Her back was slightly arched and her stomach was rounded, quite rounded for her small frame. She tilted her head slightly and she ran her hand over her stomach, watching it rise up over the peak of the bump, then go back down.
"No," She gasped and she quickly checked to see if Julie was still showering and she was. Ally looked back at her reflection.
The baggy shirts must have been covering it all along and how she hadn't realized,whilst her and Austin had been having sex, she'd never know. She stepped back and slipped her jeans back on and her top. She tightened the baggy part of her top around her stomach and her eyes widened, it was obvious when she did that.
In her mind she thought, "wow I'm taking this better than I thought." That was until she went to leave and her legs buckled underneath her and she collapsed to the cold ground, in a fit of sobs. Julie's singing stopped and the water was turned off, her hand reached out from the curtain and grabbed the towel, she flung open the curtain, the towel firmly wrapped around her, her smile faded from her face when she saw Ally on the floor.
"Ally?" She asked and she walked over and got to her knees by her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Ally, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," She whimpered, wiping her tears away.
"Ally?" Julie pushed.
"I'm fine. I just miss everyone," She whispered.
"I know, me too."
...
Ally lent against the truck, waiting for everyone who was going on the supply run to turn up. She wanted to get it over and done with, she was going to pick up a pregnancy test, and Ally just wanted to get it and double-check. She knew she was, all the symptoms she'd had added up and matched the ones you get when you're pregnant.
She didn't know what do. She didn't know how to tell Austin, she didn't know how he would take it. What if he left her? What if he didn't want it?
Steven walked down the dirt path and over to her. Ally smiled at him, she'd missed his company and with everything going on, she'd barely spoken to him since he'd found Wayne's hat.
"You sure your ready for today?" He asked and she nodded.
"It will be good to finally get out of the prison," Ally replied.
"You okay?" He asked and Ally's face went pale, she nodded again, but Steven raised an eyebrow.
"I-I think I'm gonna' be-" Ally smacked her hand against the side of the truck and she hunched over, throwing up onto the grass. Steven held her hair back and he rubbed her back.
"Yeah, you're not going today," He said and Ally stood up straight and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I need to go," She whispered.
"Why? It's much safer here."
"Steven."
"What?"
"I won't go, but I need you to get something for me," She explained.
"Okay, sure. What do you need?" He asked.
"A pregnancy test."
"Your pregnant?"
"I think so," She replied. "Don't let anyone see you get it, please."
"I won't, but Ally are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine," She smiled and gave him a quick hug, then kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."
...
Ally observed from the walkway outside her cell. She leaned over the railings, watching Austin playing with Nevil. She smiled to herself, maybe because Austin is so good with Nevil, he'll be fine about having a child of his own. Ally could only hope, but she knew he could be unpredictable at times.
She watched him toss Nevil over his shoulder and Nevil began giggling like an idiot, shouting at him to put him down. She ghostly brushed her hands against her stomach, she'd done well to wear baggy shirts, but she knew that in a few weeks the baggy shirt wouldn't cover it.
She walked down the metal stairs and over to them. Austin put Nevil down and Nevil straightened his clothes and smiled up at Ally.
"Hello," He beamed. "Austin was just teaching me how to do the fireman's lift."
"Why don't you hurry along, I need to talk to Austin," Ally nodded in the direction she wanted him to go in and Austin ruffled his hair and Nevil ran away. "You seem to be having a lot of fun."
"I am. He's a good kid," Austin said. "He wants me to teach him how to fight?" It was more of a question then a statement.
"I'm not his mom," Ally replied.
"You're the closest thing he has to one, it's the same with Billy," Austin explained. "So, can I?"
"Yeah, but he probably knows a lot already, because he was on his own for a while before we met him."
"I know, but I want to teach him how to get out of a situation without a weapon," Austin leaned against the grey wall and Ally nodded.
"That sounds good," She said. "Austin-"
"Then, I'm going to properly teach him how to use my crossbow, we tried today, but he couldn't even hold it up properly, let alone shoot it," He rambled on and Ally sighed. "I think I might ask Tess if its okay if I can teach both Daniel and Jasmine how to fight, you know just in case."
"You seem to have this all planned out?" Ally raised an eyebrow.
"I'm just doing what I can to keep everyone safe," He shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing.
"What about Jess?"
"She's way to hostile at the moment, she's still trying to get over what happened at Verndale, but I'll teach her when she's ready."
"Austin, I'm-"
"I need to get going. Lucas needs my help with something," He quickly kissed her cheek and then disappeared. Ally watched him leave and sighed.
"I'm pregnant," She whispered into the air, knowing that he never would've heard her.
...
Ally walked out of the cellblock and she saw Derek and Roxana, sat on the stands talking. She walked over and stood in front of them. Roxana smiled over at her and Derek nodded his head.
"How's Billy?" Ally asked.
"He's doing okay. I don't think I can thank you enough for what you've done for him," Derek explained and Ally shook her head.
"There's no need to thank me. I did what anyone would do," She retorted.
"Well, I wouldn't be so sure. People have changed, you're one of the most kindhearted people I know-"
"Hey!" Roxana butted in and they both laughed. "I'm kindhearted too."
"Yeah, okay. We can't forget Roxana too," Derek mocked and Roxana's olive skin turned red.
"Can I ask you something Ally?" Roxana asked and Ally nodded her head. "Are you worried about Linda being in Verndale, because she can tell Dallas everything about us. He could use it all against us."
"Your right he could, but I'm not worried, people who commit sins have to pay the price sooner or later," She explained.
"Well, what about us. We've all committed some kind of sin," She said.
"You're right we have, but he does thing, because he enjoys it, but we don't. We do what we have to do to survive and that's okay."
"I suppose your right," Derek said. Ally looked at Roxana and saw her eyes lingering on her stomach and Ally began to panic.
"Er, Derek how about we go visit Billy," Ally suggested.
"Yeah, okay."
...
"Hey, Billy. How are you feeling?" Ally asked and she took a seat next to the bed in the infirmary.
"I'm fine, look at this," Billy held out some paper and she saw a lion drawn on it. "Jasmine drew it for me."
"That's very nice of her," Ally commented.
"You okay son?" Derek kissed Billy's head and he groaned.
"When can I get up and start moving around?" Billy asked.
"Soon," Ally said.
"Are you going to find who did it?"
"Of course," Ally replied. "The good thing is that you're here, safe."
"Thank you," Billy whispered.
"For what?" Ally asked.
"For everything. Can I call you mom?"
"Billy!" Derek snapped. "We talked about this!"
"I was only asking!" He yapped back and Ally's mouth kept opening and closing, but no words came out. "Ally?"
"B-Billy, I'm flattered, but-"
"You don't want to be my mom?" His bottom lip quivered and Ally reached out and grabbed his hand.
"No, darlin' it's not that. It's just I wouldn't be a good mom, and you have a mom, she's up in heaven looking down on you-"
"I don't have a mom," Billy replied and Ally looked at Derek.
"He never knew his mom. She didn't stick around, signed the rights over to me as soon as he was born," Derek explained.
"Oh," Ally looked back at Billy and he looked at her with a pleading look.
"I always wanted a mommy," Billy said. "Please?"
"Okay," Ally whispered.
"So, I can call you mommy?" He chirped.
"You can call me mommy."
...
Ally sat on the stands, keeping a watchful eye on Jess. She was wandering around, kicking at the dust and rumble on the floor. Her eyes lingered on the ground and her blond hair stuck out in funny angles. The clothes she was wearing were way to big for her, but Ally thought she looked cute. She didn't actually know how old she was, she looked around seven, way to young to have gone through what she did at Verndale.
Ally felt sorry for the young girl. She didn't have her mom or dad with her. She only had friends around her, Ally needed her mom when she was very young, she needed the love and the attention and she could see that, that was what Jess was missing.
"Jess!" Ally called and she looked over. "Come sit with me for a second," She patted the spot next to her and Jess walked over and climbed up to sit next to her. She hunched her shoulders forward and seemed frightened of her. "Are you okay?"
Jess hummed in response and Ally reached out to grab her hand, but she shifted away from her.
"Jess, what's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing," She mumbled.
"When you were taken. Did those men hurt you?" Ally pushed and Jess looked away from her and stared at the ground. "Jess?"
"One of the men hit me," She murmured. "It reminded me of..."
"Reminded you of what?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm gonna' go find Nevil," Jess jumped up from her spot and ran off. Ally sighed, watching her fading figure. Ally heard the grumbling of an engine and she saw the cars making their way up the dirt path. They drove through the gate and pulled up onto the concrete. Steven, Jack, Dean and Dez all got out and Ally stood up and walked over.
"How did it go?" She asked.
"Everything went fine," Jack responded. "We found a lot of things."
Tess, Roxana, Ronny and Cal came out and went to the bed of the truck and began to take the things out. Ally looked over at Steven and he walked over to her and slipped the item she needed into her hand. She smiled up at him and he nodded his head.
Ally slipped it into her back pocket and she looked around, making sure no one saw. She straightened her top and sighed. Then spun around on her heel and headed back inside. She raced through the main room and through the cell block. She rounded the corner and sped walk down the cold corridor. Her heart began beating faster and she wasn't sure if it was fear, or excitement.
She pulled the pregnancy test out of her back pocket and she ran around the corner and she collided into someone's chest, sending the test flying from her hands. She looked to see it was Elliot and before she could react, he crouched down and picked it up. Her mouth hung open and Elliot's eyes widened and he stared down at it.
"Ally?" He raised an eyebrow and looked back at her.
"I might not be," She bit the skin of her thumb and rubbed the back of her neck. "I was going to do the test now."
"Okay, I'm coming with you."
...
Julie sat down at the table in the cafeteria. Harriet was next to her and they both watched Grace bouncing Erica in her arms. The pained expression was apparent on their faces, both of them missing their children. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Grace was completely unaware, that her just being their made both of the women want to scream and cry. Both of them had nothing against Grace, it was just that she got to be with her baby and Julie and Harriet didn't.
Harriet looked away and over at Julie who was still staring at Grace and pulling at the wool fabric of her jumper. Harriet coughed, getting her attention she looked at her and smiled slightly. Grace left the cafeteria and both of them sighed.
"You miss her?" Julie asked.
"All the time," Harriet replied. "I miss my Lizzy all the bloody time, you?"
"There's not a time when I close my eyes, that I don't picture George and Lexi, Kyle too, but he's got more chance of surviving out there," Julie explained.
Silence fell and they both stared at the grey wall. Both women were clearly grieving and they knew that it was only going to get worse, because they knew. They've both known for a while now, ever since Harriet got back, she knew. She wasn't stupid and neither was Julie, they'd both seen the signs and they were pretty sure they knew before she did, that was if she did know now or not.
"Do you think she knows yet?" Harriet asked.
"If she still doesn't at the moment. She's going to be in for a shock when she sees how big her stomach is," Julie chuckled.
"Ally's going to be a great mom, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she'll be way better then me. She had a way with George, which I never had and he's my own son. She's a natural at it," Julie explained.
"It's funny how we know," Harriet chuckled.
"All the signs are there, she doesn't eat, because everything makes her want to be sick. The fainting a month ago. I'd say she's at least 18 weeks, because I can see her bump, when her shirt goes tight around her stomach."
"Are you going to be okay with her being pregnant?" Harriet asked.
"Of course, but every baby is going to remind me of my Lexi," She pulled harder on the wool fabric of her jumper. "I really wish life didn't have to be like this. All I want is my children back and my husband."
"All I want is my Lizzy back. I feel sorry for Ally, I can see it in her eyes whenever someone mentions her name. She blames herself for not being able to save her, she blames herself more than I blame me and she's my daughter. That girl has a heart of gold."
"Yeah, but sometimes having a heart of gold can get yourself killed," Julie stated.
"I know, but we're not going to let that happen to Ally."
"No we won't."
...
Sarah stood in the cell she had claimed as her own. She paced backwards and forwards, mumbling curses to herself. She was being a chicken, she needed to sort things out with Dean, but she was scared. She didn't know whether to sit him down and talk about their problems, or just run up and kiss him.
She knew she was being an idiot, she'd left it to long, he probably likes someone else. Sarah stomped her foot and pushed the bad voices out of her mind. She had to do this, otherwise she'd regret it later, but she couldn't help, but think about rejection. He could reject her and that would make everything worse.
She brushed the strands of her blond hair away from her face and she stopped pacing. Someone coughed and she looked over her shoulder to see Dez standing there. Her anger immediately flared up. She was so angry with him for what had happened at Verndale, how he'd given up on her, didn't believe in her. She needed him and he wasn't there.
"Sarah-"
"I don't want to talk to you," She hissed through gritted teeth. The young farmers girl had flown out of the window a long time ago, anger seemed to be her main emotion and it scared her, but she needed to toughen up in this world, or she was going to get killed.
"Please, how many times do I have to apologize. I'm so sorry for the way I acted, you should've been my number one priority and you weren't, I was to busy being brainwashed by Dallas, you have to understand why though, I mean he knew things about Trish and all I want is to find her-"
"You don't think I want to find her too? You could've told me this before, but you didn't. I want my sister back, I want my daddy, but I don't kick your ass to the curb do I? I needed you and you weren't there. We could've escaped Verndale a long time ago!" She yelled and Dez sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Sarah, we've been through a lot together," He said.
"Damn right we have," She stomped her foot and placed a hand on her hip.
"I care about you a lot," He continued.
"I care about you too," She retorted.
"Your like my baby sister, I don't want you to not talk to me anymore. I miss having you around, its hard to go from being together 24/7 to barely seeing you," He explained and Sarah nodded.
"Your like my big brother," She added.
"Then, please don't be mad at me. You can't be mad at family for long, please? I'll get down on my knees and beg you," Sarah tilted her head to the side and Dez dropped to his knees and she chuckled.
"Dez get your ass up," She giggled and she reached out her hand and helped him to his feet.
"Do you forgive me?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, of course I do," She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him tight.
"Careful, your knife hand is digging into my spine," He wheezed and Sarah laughed.
"Sorry," She beamed up at him and he smiled down at her.
"You wanna' go explore the prison?"
"Sure, that sounds great."
...
"Austin has cooties!" Nevil screeched in a fit of giggles and Austin pushed him to the ground in a play fighting manner.
"Cut it out," Austin groaned.
"You might give me cooties, don't touch me," He gasped and Nevil tried to run away, but Austin grabbed his leg and pulled him closer.
"When, you're old enough, you'll understand," He explained.
"Ew, I'm never going to kiss a girl, they're disgusting," He belched and Austin chuckled.
"Just wait till you hit puberty, you'll love every girl you see," Austin laughed.
"What's puberty?" He quizzed.
"We'll save that story for another time," Austin patted his head and Nevil giggled.
"Nevil," Daniel came running over with Jasmine trailing behind him. "Let's go find some bugs."
"Cool," Nevil scurried to his feet and ran after Daniel. Jasmine sat down next to Austin and she beamed up at him, clanging her feet together.
"You asked her to marry you yet?" She asked.
"I thought we were over that subject," Austin sat up properly and she shook her head.
"Nope," She giggled. "Did you know that Ally' a mommy?"
"What?" Austin raised an eyebrow and for a split second his heart rate sped up.
"I just came back from seeing Billy and he says that Ally's his mommy," Jasmine explained.
"Oh," He sighed and relief washed over him. What was he worried about anyway, Austin knew that a baby wasn't on the table for them at the moment. He just wasn't ready.
"Austin, can I tell you something," She played with the hem of her cardigan and he nodded his head. "I'm scared."
"Why?"
"Jess...Something's wrong with her, and I don't know what. Last night I went to go see her in her cell, but she was already asleep, but she was having a nightmare. She woke up crying and then she screamed at me to leave. She's scaring me," She explained.
"I think she's just having a hard time with everything that happened at Verndale," Austin assured her.
"Austin, she didn't tell you what happened, did she?"
"What are you talking about Jasmine?" He pushed.
"When they had us locked up together. These men came in, drunk. He went straight for me and Jess stepped in front of me and he punched her in the ribs, hard. She didn't even flinch, then he hit her again in the face, that's how she got the cut above her brow."
"Why didn't you say something before?" He questioned, his hands forming into fists.
"I thought she'd said something."
"That's why she's been acting weird. Jasmine, sweetheart, you should've told somebody before now. We could've helped Jess," He explained.
"I'm sorry. I just didn't think it was my place to say. Do you think that's why she's been acting different?"
"Probably," He returned and he looked over at Nevil, who was crawling around in the grass with Daniel.
...
"Now, I know how Mary felt," Ally said and she gripped onto Elliot's hand and she stared at the face down pregnancy test, to scared to turn it over. "Do you miss her?"
"Everyday, but I know she's fine, her and my baby," He said. "Everything's going to be fine."
"What if Austin doesn't want it."
"He will, now turn it over. Time to face the music," He pushed.
"I-I can't, I'm really scared," Ally sighed and she rubbed her forehead.
"Ally, you've got a lot of people here who care about you, which means you've got a lot of people who will do anything to help you," He squeezed her hand and she smiled.
"Will you be there for me?"
"Every step of the way," He replied.
"O-Okay," She reached towards the pregnancy test and turned it over, with one last sigh, she stared at the results.
Pregnant.
AN: Hello! Thank you to all my lovely reviewers, your thoughts mean everything to me! Now, for a few chapters I'm going to focus on getting to know some of the characters a bit better and staying away from Verndale for a while. You all guessed correctly, she's pregnant, but Austin isn't going to find out next chapter, because he's completely oblivious to the fact that something's wrong with his girl? I hope you all like the new bond forming between Nevil and Austin, and how Billy asked Ally to be his mommy. Also, next chapter we'll be finding a little more about Jess, since she doesn't have any family left and she didn't coming into the apocalypse, we're going to discover some things about her past and she's going to become really important, but I can't give that away yet.
Also, I'd love to know who your favorite characters are, I know obviously Austin and Ally, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this, but how about from the ones I've created, because depending on who you all like I can bring them into it more, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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