Thanks for the reviews. I know Rick's being a bit stupid now, but I'm going somewhere with it. Worry not.
"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Daryl asked as he paced around the kitchen. All of the men had met up in the kitchen when everyone else had gone to sleep.
"For right now, yeah." Rick nodded, not totally convincing himself.
"You don't think it's a little weird that they took all of our weapons?" Glenna asked.
"I haven't seen anyone inside the walls carrying a weapon." Rick pointed out.
"I don't like it." Daryl continued his pacing.
"If they'd wanted to hurt us..."
"They coulda done out in the woods." Daryl finished his sentence. "What if they're some sort of freaks who like to play with people before they off them?"
"We can at least give it a shot." Rick was trying his hardest to convince Daryl. "With Lori pregnant..."
"So, you're willing to put your wife and baby at risk?"
"I want some time to think of how to keep them safe!" Rick hissed. "To keep us all safe. Staying in one place for a little bit would give me time to do that."
"I don't like it." Glenn stared at the counter in front of him. "Something doesn't seem quite right."
"We've gotten this far." Hershel spoke up. "We can take care of ourselves, and any of us see anything, then we act on it."
"So we just sit around here and wait for them to come after us?" Daryl asked.
"Let's just give it a chance." Hershel put a hand on Daryl's shoulder, to stop him from pacing, and in an attempt to calm him. "A day or two, see how things seem to be going. The whole time we keep our guard up. First sight of trouble, we're outta here."
"How will we get our weapons back if we have to leave?" Glenn asked.
"Leave that to me." Daryl answered. "If we need them, I'll get them."
"For tonight, let's just try to get some rest." Hershel said, trying to stifle a yawn. "I'm old and I need my rest."
Daryl watched the others as they left the kitchen, muttering to each other and to themselves. He understood Rick wanting Lori to be able to take it easy, but he didn't like things there. There was something wrong. Something he couldn't put his finger on.
"Wakey, wakey!" Christie's voice called out as she let herself into the house. It was quarter past seven and she was eager to get her little foundlings working and looking good for Reichert.
"Keep it down, would ya?" Daryl grumbled from the sofa.
"I said I'd be here around seven." she reminded him. "I expected you'd all be up have had something to eat by now." she looked down at him over the back of the sofa. "You did get the food that was sent over, right?"
"Yeah, we got it." he tossed the throw blanket off and stood up, scratched himself and picked up his pants. "Do you mind?" he asked.
"You're the one who stood up half-naked and you're now gonna claim modesty?" she laughed. "Fine then, I'll go wake the others."
She took the stairs two at a time and opened each door as she walked past. "Come on!" she called out. "I said I'd be here this morning."
"We haven't had a good night's sleep in quite a while." Maggie groaned as she got out of bed, lightly punching Glenn as he burrowed under the blankets. "Can't blame us for oversleepin'."
"I can when I told you I'd be here around seven." she opened the door to the room where Rick, Lori and Carl were sleeping in a large bed. "Wake up!" she repeated as she pulled the blankets off the sleeping family.
"What in the hell." Rick groaned as he sat up, Lori rolling over and her stomach becoming exposed.
"Oh,please tell me that's a beer gut." Christie groaned at the sight of Lori's growing stomach.
"It's none of your business." Lori said as she put a pillow over herself.
"None of my business?" Christie asked. "I'm putting my ass on the line to help all of you and you don't even have the decency to tell me you're knocked up?"
"We didn't think to mention it." Rick tossed Lori his flannel shirt.
"What about last night when Reichert asked if you were all that were going to need help?" she crossed her arms, anger evident as she glared at the pair.
"I don't see how my being pregnant is any of his concern." Lori buttoned the shirt up as she reached for her pants.
"How in the hell can you not see how it would matter?" Christie yelled. "It's not only an extra mouth to feed, it's gonna need special food to feed that mouth, not to mention it's totally helpless person we've all gotta look after, and soon you're going to be damn near useless to all of us!"
"We can take care of our own." Daryl said as he appeared behind her.
"No, when you're in here, we work as a group." she shook her head. "Now I've gotta tell Reichert." she bit her bottom lip and tapped her foot furiously, anger and nervousness getting the better of her. "Get up, get dressed and be down in the yard in half an hour." she said after thinking for a moment. "I'll get you guys working, then I've gotta figure out how to tell him."
"If it's that big of a deal, we'll leave." Carl said, feeling the need to stand up for his mother.
"You're gonna go around on your own towing around a heavily pregnant woman?" she asked staring down the boy.
"I'm not heavily pregnant." Lori argued, her own annoyance coming through.
"No, not yet." Rick put his hands on her shoulders, both to calm her and to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. "What will happen now?" he asked.
"I don't know." she shrugged. "He's not likely to toss a pregnant woman out."
"Give us back our weapons, and we'll go." Daryl said as though it solved everything.
"Let me talk to Reichert first." Christie turned to look at him. "It's best if you're not out there on your own, especially when she starts to slow you all down." she took a deep breath. "Down in the front yard, half an hour." she repeated before turning and leaving them all half-dressed and bewildered.
"I say it might be good if they toss us." Daryl remarked as he, too, turned and walked out.
"She does seem really eager for us to stay." Beth said to Daryl as he started heading back downstairs. "Am I the only one who finds that to be odd?" she asked.
"No,kid, you're not." he shook his head, glancing back at her as he spoke. "He's scared and doesn't want his woman out there while she's carrying that baby."
"You don't wanna stay here either?" she stared at him, thankful she wasn't the only one who was mistrusting.
"No, I don't." he shook his head as he continued on his way. "Don't trust 'em."