++++++ I do not own the Walking Dead or any affiliated characters apart from my OC. All rights belong to Kirkman and the AMC ++++++

Fifty-Six

Matthew and Lucas were on guard duty when we returned to the safety of the prison. The looks on their faces were looks of utter confusion, we'd left with two cars and a bike but only come back with one car that was now covered in bloodied handprints.

"What the hell happened?" Matthew demanded to know as they closed the gates.

"Ran into some trouble," Daryl answered, slamming the door shut. "Lucas-go get the Doc."

Lucas looked into the car and nodded.

"PJ lean forward," Maggie ordered. Silently I leant forward and Maggie inspected the wound on my back. We'd stopped just before dawn so I could put some clothes on, but when the shirt started sticking to the semi-dried blood, I had to take it off. "This will need to be sterilized and you'll need something to prevent infection….are you going to tell Rick?"

I looked at her. "Maggie…I'm not telling him until I know one hundred percent. The Doc's got some pregnancy tests where he has set up the clinic…"

"MUM!" Sophia screamed at the top of her lungs. She got out of the car and ran over to Carol at the same time she burst into tears. "Mum they ate him!"

Ebony came from the cells with Lucas and Jason at the same time as Rick came up from the crops. "What happened?" they all demanded to know. "You only left yesterday. Where's Liam?"

"They ate him!" Sophia cried into her mother's chest.

"Ran into some other people," Daryl answered everyone very nonchalantly. "They ate him. Man it was like watching walkers swarm over a body."

"Cannibals?" Ebony laughed nervously. "Fucking cannibals? Are you kidding me?"

"What did you do with them?" Rick inquired. He looked worried. "How did you get rid of them?"

"Burn the place to the ground," Maggie answered. She climbed out of the car, "can I get a hand with PJ?"

"PJ?" Rick gasped. He came over to the car before anyone else and opened the door. Gently he put a hand under my chin and lifted it up so that I was looking at him. "PJ, are you alright?"

"I-Rick…" I whispered. "They were going to eat me…" I was so close to bursting into tears.

"Lean forward and let me have a look," Jason ordered me at the same time he was trying to get a look. "Good thing we still have antibiotics left," he frowned as he poked the skin around my back, stopping only when I winced in pain. "Hurts?"

"What do you fucking think?" I growled at him.

"Well good news is that I think whatever they used to skin you was clean," Jason mumbled to himself. "I doubt that they wanted to spoil the meat…you've got several bruises forming, lacerations to the skin…It will heal but there will be a scar but it's not like you don't have a surplus of those. Let's get you inside and dress the wound. Lucas, give me a hand."

"I can manage on my own," I growled, climbing out of the car. I winced in pain when I straightened up so that I was standing properly. "Rick, go back to the crops, I'll come out when I'm done-just give me a moment to process…"

Rick sighed. He wasn't thrilled with the idea but he let me go after a quick hug and a kiss.

Lucas ignored my request and helped me back to the cell that Jason had set up as a clinic. He sat there with Spirit in silence as Jason cleaned the wound and put a gauze on it. It needed to be cleaned every day to prevent infection and he gave me the last bottle of antibiotics we had. When Lucas left, I sat there on the exam table, twiddling my thumbs.

"You have something else to add?" Jason inquired. He rolled his sleeves up and washed his hands in the bowl of warm water.

"Do you still have any of the pregnancy tests?" I asked him.

Jason's eyes widened. "Philomena are you serious?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't serious," I grumbled. "Just give me the goddam test before I lock you in a cell and leave you in there with a walker."

Jason opened a drawer and handed me one of the boxes. "Read the instructions and come back. If you are pregnant than I need to start you on a schedule which means eating right and sleeping right and doing what you're supposed to. You can go on runs for now because frankly, you're one of the best we've got, but after four months you're behind these walls. Got it?"

I snatched the test off him and slipped off the bench all the while mumbling to myself. Walking the familiar path to the bathrooms, I read through the instructions on the bit of paper that went with it at the same time I cursed myself for not wearing any form of protection. I wasn't in anyway ready to be a mother.

The bathroom was empty leaving me to do my business alone. It's amazing how long three minutes actually feels when you're expecting an answer on something. It's like when I was at school waiting for the bell to ring, five minutes in school time is longer than five minutes in regular time. After what seemed like an age, I picked up the stick off my boot and stared at it.

Two blue lines.

I was pregnant.

Sweet mother of god.

I shoved the test in the back of my jeans and made my way back to the cell for a change of clothes. Holding my shirt up in front of me, I stared at it and raised an eyebrow before I pulled it on then grabbed the pillow to shove down underneath the fabric. I ran my hands over my pregnant pillow belly and a little part of me marvelled at the fact that Rick and I had created a life instead of taking one. There was a tiny life growing inside of me. Me…

"PJ what are you doing?" Rick suddenly asked, his question making me feel like I'd been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. He came in and looked at me as I stood there with the pillow stuffed down my shirt.

I pulled the pillow out and chucked it on the bed. "I-um-I was…" I picked the test up off the bed and held it out to him. "I was just messing around," I whispered.

Rick took the stick off me and stared at it. "Are you sure?"

"Counting back I'm pretty sure," I answered reluctantly. "After what I saw-after what happened and why…he said my meat was spoilt and threw me into a pool with walkers in it, hoping I would die and become one of them…I can't do this alone."

Rick tossed the stick on the bed and came over to me, silently he knelt down and pressed his head up against my flat stomach. "If it weren't for those walkers out there I wouldn't have you-you're my solace when the days are dark. If I lose you now there is now way I will survive. You are my everything."

I ran my hands through his hair and knelt down in front of him. "You'll never lose me, Rick. You're my sun and my moon and my stars…you, Carl, Judith…you're my family now and I will always love you. I can be a little self-absorbed sometimes and you bring me right back down. I love you and this little life I now have to protect…we have to protect."

Rick cupped my face and kissed me.

"Dad!" Carl groaned. "That's gross!"

We looked over at Carl as he stopped by the cell looking just was worn out as Rick did from farming. He took the farmers hat off and chucked it on his sleeping bag. "Hey, I'm old not dead," Rick chuckled.

"Hey dad," Carl frowned, "Sophia and Ollie are moving into another cell and I was wondering if I could move in with her, give you and PJ some space."

"Well we have some news," Rick grinned at his son. "What would you say to another little brother or sister?"

Carl's eyes flickered from me to Rick than back to me and back to Rick. "Are you for real?" he asked.

I nodded. "You okay Carl?"

Carl nodded carefully. "Yeah…that's cool, PJ. Real cool." He came over and awkwardly hugged me. "Real cool, PJ."

Yeah, I though, real cool.