Chapter 30
Anneliese wakes just before the sun breaks through the horizon, waking me and Daryl with her.
We sleepily make our way down to the common area and as I prepare a bottle of water for Anneliese, Daryl puts a pot of water on for coffee.
Cradling Anneliese in one arm, as she holds her bottle, I make my way to the cell turned pantry and gaze at the canned, boxed, and packaged food.
"What do you want for breakfast this morning, huh?" I whisper to the baby gazing around the room in wonder and press a kiss to her forehead
"Oatmeal sounds good" I whisper leaning down to grab the package of oatmeal from where its stacked
"With peaches" Daryl says from behind me
"You grab them, and you can have them" I quip straightening up
"Oh I can grab them alright" He snarks and before I can even move, he pinches my ass making me yelp
"Daryl! Wrong peach!" I whisper yell
"Mm I think it was the right one" he murmurs leaning down to capture my lips
"Maybe later" I whisper as he pulls back "If you get the canned peaches and bring them in here for me to cook" I laugh as I make my way out of the cell and back into the common room where the water has just started to boil. I dump the correct amount of coffee in and give it a stir before shifting it back a little and starting another pot of water to boil for the oatmeal.
I've just stirred the peaches into the almost done brown sugar and cinnamon oatmeal when Rick shuffles into the common area and blindly heads for the coffee
"Long night?" I ask
"Couldn't sleep" he grunts taking a swig of coffee and effectively burning the roof of his mouth no doubt
"You can always take the baby to sleep with you"
"Wouldn't want to keep her up"
"She's slept in the bed with me and Daryl"
"Ew"
"Ew, Rick! Not like that, we both move a lot!"
"Sure, sure"
"Asshole, go get the kids up if you're going to be gross"
"Yes, ma'am" he quips saluting me with his coffee
"Uncle Rick gon' get his ass beat by your mama" Daryl stage whispers to Anneliese as she sits on his lap, making me laugh as I turn back to stir the oatmeal
"Good morning munchkins" I greet a few minutes later as they all shuffle through the door, Rick trailing behind them
"Morning mama" Penny says and she's the only one to answer me as they all settle around our table, everyone else slowly making their way into the room to grab a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee.
"What's everyone's plans for today?" Rick asks once everyone has woken up, eaten some breakfast and drank some coffee.
"Well, I know Herschel wants to try out the crutches today" Lori says
"He does, we'll join you for that" I add
"I'll be with them for that too" Maggie cuts in
"Me too" Carol says
"Alright so that's like most of us for one pair of crutches" Glenn laughs
"Oh hush" Maggie play scolds him
"I think we should continue to work on the fences, reinforcing, and checking" Rick says to a round of agreeable nods and begins to split everyone up into sections. Him, Daryl and Glenn will be in the lower yard dealing with the fence that faces that the outside and T-Dog will be in the upper yard finishing up that section.
"Carl and Jackson, you two are on dish duty and then you need to do some school. Whaddya think get Herschel up and moving after lunch?" I ask
"Sounds good to me, gives me a chance to tell him not to exhaust himself" Carol says making us all laugh
"Good luck with that" Maggie tells her.
The boys fly through any school work I give them to do, Penny similarly flies through anything I ask her to do. Chores also pass by quickly and before we know it we have about an hour of free time and nothing to do.
"Why don't we let dad try out the crutches a little, and then he can take a break and use them again after lunch?" Maggie proposes
"Sounds like a plan to me" I agree
"Welp come on then"
"The kids and I will stay out here and wait for y'all no use cramming into a tiny cell" I tell them with a laugh
It's not long before we can hear the sound of the crutches and slowly Herschel appears in the doorway to the common area, seeming slightly out of breathe but steady enough on his crutches
"How's it going?" I ask standing to greet him
"It's harder than it looks" he huffs
"Well, you didn't need to try to tackle the entire the prison first time" Carol remarks from behind him as he slowly moves into the area
"Think I'm only going to go 'til here" he says pausing immediately getting a concerned hand under his arm from Maggie
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, just gonna stand here and take a break for a minute and then head back to my cell to wait whatever delicious thing Gen is cooking up for lunch today" he says sending a wink my way
"It'll be whatever you want"
"Hmmm" he hums "Why don't you two pick something good out" He says to Carl and Jackson and they both looking at me eagerly
"Go ahead" I tell them with a laugh
"C'mon Pen, let's go pick out something for lunch" Jack says grabbing her hand and pulling her with them
"You better hope that whatever they grab can be made into something edible" I tell Hershel
"It'll be fine" he laughs going through the motions of turning around
By the time Herschel makes it back to the cell the kids have returned with a can of chicken, a bag of rice, a couple of cans of vegetables, and cheese powder.
"Alright, that's not too bad, I guess we can do like cheesy chicken rice and veggies?" I ask them looking over the items
"That's what we thought" Jackson says
"Alright, I'll get started on this, why don't you two take turns reading a chapter out loud to Penny" I tell them and shoo them away despite their half-hearted protests, before starting a pot of water to make the rice
It only takes me half an hour to mix up lunch for the group and when it's done, I head out into the yard to call them in for lunch
"Daryl!" I call down to where he, Rick and Glenn are talking
"Yeah?" he calls back
"Lunch!" I call before heading back inside
I serve everyone and give Carol a bowl for Herschel before I grab my own bowl and settle into my seat next to Daryl.
"This is pretty good Gen, what's in it?" Glenn asks from his end of the table
"Were my other dishes not good?" I ask raising an eyebrow at him
"No, no. That's not what I meant and you know it" he huffs making me laugh
"Just messin' with ya, its chicken, rice, veggies and cheese powder. Herschel's choice for today and he let the kids choose"
"I wouldn't of thought it would go together" Rick remarks
"Yeah I was nervous it wouldn't" I tell him taking a squirming Anneliese from Daryl and settling her on my own lap and begin feeding her some of the rice and mashed veggies
Lunch goes by quickly with everyone making idle talk and just enjoying sitting still, I've just passed the baby back to Daryl and am about to stand to start cleaning when Rick starts talking
"So, we got a good bit of the fence work done but we need to move the cars up from where they are, want to have them closer to us"
"That's a good idea" I tell him
"I want to get it done quickly to avoid attracting too much unwanted attention. Carol? Maggie? Could you two join us to help move the cars?" He asks
"Well I-" Maggie starts but Lori cuts her off before I can
"If your dad wants to try out his crutches some more, I'm sure between Beth, Gen, myself and the kids we've got him covered"
"If you're sure" Maggie says hesitantly glancing at me
"We'll be fine, you and Carol go help them out. I'm sure it won't take too long anyway" I assure her finally standing from the table and collecting bowls from everyone
"Hopefully not with more manpower" Rick tacks on
Carl and Jackson join me at the makeshift sink for their normal chore of dishes while everyone else finishes talking. Together they make quick work of the dishes, and just as they finish everyone else begins moving away from the table to head outside.
"Welp, looks like we're on our own, however will we survive" I ask a giggling Anneliese as I toss her gently in the air
"Probably a lot better, then having men with us asking how to wash a shirt" Lori remarks from her seat at the table where Penny has recruited her to draw some pictures
"That's fair"
"Does it ever irk you that we're never asked to help with things like that because we have kids?" she asks after a moment
"Eh, I guess sometimes, but in some ways, it makes some sense. If something were to happen and the group separated, the kids are adjusted to me and I know how to care for all of their needs, it would make more sense for me to be with the kids then say Glenn"
"Yeah I guess, still we are also capable of doing things even though we have children"
"I know that, you know that, and they know that too. They probably view this as giving us a break or not asking too much"
"I'd like to see them come up with fraction problems for Carl and Jack then" she says making me snort
"Well you're not wrong, Beth? You okay? You're awful quiet"
"Yeah I'm fine, just a little tired don't think I slept all that great last night"
"Well hopefully you get some sleep tonight, why don't you go see if your dad is ready to take his crutches for another spin" I suggest
"Alright" she agrees and heads off to do just that.
"After he tries them out for a bit I'm going to lay these two down for their nap" I tell Lori
"You might be able to get Beth to join them"
"That's not a bad idea" I tell her
"I'm going to go see if I can help get him started on the crutches"
"Can we come?" Carl asks as him and Jack hastily dry their hands
"Sure" Lori tells them pushing herself up from the table
While the three of them make their way to help Herschel and Beth I work on wiping down the tables and dumping a basket of clothes into the soaking bin to start the laundry process
"Now Herschel you don't need to tackle to whole cell block, take your time" I can hear Lori say as they approach the community area
"I am taking my time" He grunts back at her
"Daddy please listen"
"I am listening Bethy, I know how much I can take and I'll take a break when I need to" he tells her just as they make their way through the doorway
"Gen will you tell these two to stop harassing me?" He play grumbles
"You do need to take it easy, don't push too hard. We're not gonna take the crutches away" I tell him
"Not you too" He says crutching right past me with Carl and Jack spotting him
"Now hold up where are you going?" Lori asks
"Outside."
"Outside?" Beth asks
"Just going for a stroll" He says back over his shoulder as he takes one crutch from under one of his arms and passes it off to Carl as the boys continue to spot him as he maneuvers the crutch and utilizes the railing to start up the stairs, with Beth and Lori rushing to hover in case he needs it.
Which he doesn't. He makes his way up the stairs remarkably well and starts heading outside, so I grab Penny's hand and hoist Anneliese onto my hip to follow
Herschel makes his way down the steps outside just as well as he made his way up the ones inside.
T-Dog, Maggie and Carol are parking three of the cars in the lot right outside the door as we make it down the steps
"You cleared all those bodies out?" Herschel asks making his way through the cell yard "It's starting to look like a place we could really live in."
"Hey. you watch your step. Last thing we need is you falling" Lori tells him
"If a walker bite can't take me out a broken hip won't either" he says with a laugh
"Don't even joke like that Herschel, you'll jinx us" I tell him making him laugh as Penny pulls away from me to join Beth, grabbing her hand when its offered
I smile and wave when I noticed we've caught Glenn, Daryl, and Rick's attention from the lower yard, where they're bringing in more firewood
"All right Herschel!" Glenn yells up a second later and I can't help but laugh when it looks like Daryl tells him to shush, walkers in the distance slowly making their way to the fence, their growls lowly echoing up into the cell yard
"You're doing great Daddy" Beth tells him, her and Penny keeping pace with him
"Ready to race Herschel?" Carl asks him, with a huge grin
"Give me another day. I'll take you on" Herschel tells him making us all laugh as he comes to a stop
I notice Maggie watching us from by the cars, her own laugh mingling with ours and wave at her to join us
"Walkers! Look out!" Carl yells turning and pointing behind him as we all whip around to see a group of walkers coming up on us
"Fuck! Beth take her." I yell pushing Anneliese at her who she grabs and starts making her way towards the stairs. I waste no time in pulling out my gun and shooting before they get close
"Daddy over here!" Beth yells getting to the steps
"Jack go with your sisters!" I order him and watch as he takes off toward Beth and his sisters Herschel crutching after it
Maggie, Lori, Carl and I are barely managing to hold back the seemingly never ending wave of walkers, all of our main focus being on making sure that the five at the stairs make it into the enclosed area
"Lori! Gen! Here!" Maggie yells pulling open another gated entrance into one of the cell blocks just as Beth shuts the gated door to our cell block
I cover Lori and Carl as they make their way in through the door way and then run to join them, pulling the door behind me as I make it through
I follow behind the three of them as they quickly make their way down the steps through this cell-blocks common area and almost to the doorway that would lead to the cells when Maggie abruptly turns and I spot the walkers heading towards us and grab Carl's shoulder to turn him to follow Maggie through a different door, Lori pulling it shut behind us, as we continue to make our way through the prison
We finally reach a little cut through that seems quiet enough and pause for a second to catch our breath and bearings. Before I can even propose a direction for us to go an alarm starts to blare through the prison
"What the hell is that?" I ask looking around trying to find whatever speaker is admitting the god-forsaken sound
"Oh" Lori says pulling our attention to where she's leaning against the wall
"What? What's wrong? Did you get bit?" Maggie asks her in rapid succession coming up beside her and putting a hand on her back
"No, no. I think the baby's coming"
"What?!" I ask in alarm
"Now?" Carl echoes my alarm
But before she can answer either of us, grunts and snarls reach our ears as walkers appear around the corner, making Carl and me raise our guns ready to shoot as many of them as we can while Maggie and Lori pull it together
"No. There's no time, turn back" Maggie tells us
So we lower our guns, and turn back up the hallway we just came down, me and Carl leading the way and Maggie helping a panting Lori along
Turn after turn we're faced with walkers snarling and ambling towards us
Until Carl spots a cracked door and wrenches it open
"In here" He calls heading into the room, Lori and Maggie following while I hang back to pull the door shut and ensure a walker walking past won't push it open.
By the time I make it into the room, that I clock to be some sort of boiler room, Lori is bracing herself on some sort of chain and panting through a contraction, while Maggie and Carl both look at her with a mixture of what I can only describe as horror and concern
"What are those alarms?" Lori asks when I assume her contraction ends
"Don't worry about it" Maggie says hovering near her as she moves away from the chain
"What if it attracts them?" Carl asks
"Lori let's lay you down" Maggie tells her coming up behind Lori and resting her hands on Lori's back where she's leaning against a table
"No-the baby's coming now" Lori pants, as Maggie turns around and looks at me with wide panicked eyes
"We have to get back to our cell block and have Herschel help" Carl protests
"We can't risk getting caught out there" Maggie tells him sharply
"Alright let's all take a deep breathe" I cut in "It's not safe to be walking the halls, so we're going to sit here for the meantime at least until those alarms get turned off. Lori, are you sure the baby is coming now? If they are you're progressing super fast."
"Yes. Yes, I'm sure" She pants
"Well then looks like you're going to be giving birth here" Maggie tells her
"Great" Lori huffs
"Why don't we get you laying down and go from there" I suggest and she nods before curling in on herself panting
"What's she doing? Can't she breathe?" Carl asks in alarm
"She's fine." Maggie tells him "Come here. Let's get your pants off" she says to Lori who nods and straightens up for Maggie to help her
"You're going to have to help deliver your brother or sister. You up for it?" I ask Carl catching his panicked eyes with my own and try to send him a reassuring smile
"Yeah, yeah" he says after a moment sending wide eyed looks to where Maggie is getting Lori settled on the floor
"I'm going to do an exam. See if I can tell how much you're dilated" Maggie tells Lori
"Okay" Lori says sending what I assume is supposed to be a reassuring smile our way
"Do you know how?" Carl asks Maggie
"Dad taught me, but trust me it's my first time" she tells him honestly as she tries to tell how dilated Lori is
"I can't tell. Gen maybe you should check" she says after a moment
"I gotta push" Lori says pushing herself up off the ground before I can even move
"Okay" Maggie tells her helping her up into a squat
"I gotta push, I gotta,," Lori pants trailing off into a groan as she starts to push
"Somebody!" She calls hand grasping air until I slot my hand into hers and let her squeeze as she pushes
"I'm okay. I'm okay" she pants when her contraction ends
"You're doing great Lori. Just keep doing it" Maggie tells her as she pants
"Your body knows what to do, let it do all the work" Maggie continues with her encouragement before Lori cuts her off with a yelp of pain as another contraction takes over
"You're doing great" I whisper to her using one hand to wipe some sweat off her brow as she squeezes the life out of my other
"Lori don't push! Stop! Somethings wrong" Maggie orders and I look over my shoulder to see her hand covered in bright red blood
"Alright, okay. Let's get you laying down again" I tell her and between Carl, Maggie, and I, we manage to get her lying on the floor within seconds
"Mom? Mom? Look at me! Keep your eyes open" Carl tells Lori, kneeling next to her head and getting a very pale Lori to open her eyes
"We have to get you back to dad" Maggie tells her as I kneel down opposite Carl
"I'm not gonna make it" Lori mumbles
"Lori, with all this blood I don't even think you're fully dilated yet" Maggie says looking up to meet my eyes with a note of desperation in her own
"No amount of pushing is going to help" I tack on, hoping to back Maggie up and maybe convince Lori that she needs to labor for longer before trying to push
"I know what it means, and I'm not losing my baby. You gotta cut me open" Lori tells us glancing between the two of us
"No, I can't" Maggie protests
"You don't have a choice" Lori murmurs
"I'll go for help" Carl says pushing to his feet
"No!" Lori says grabbing his arm before he can move too far
"Carol's the one that practices that. Dad only taught me the steps, Lori. If I-"
"Please" Lori practically begs
"I have no anesthetic, no equipment" Maggie continues, trying to get Lori to see reason
"Carl has a knife" Lori counters
"You won't survive." Maggie tells her firmly
"My baby has to survive" Lori pleads with her before turning to me "Please. My baby. For all of us…" I can't keep the tears from my eyes as I reach to take her hand as she refocuses on Maggie
"Please Maggie! Please" She pleads as Maggie shakes her head, tears of her own filling her eyes "Please" she says again, trailing off as a contraction causes her to whine and to mine and Maggie's collective horror more blood to join what is already on the floor
"Mags" I whisper pulling her attention to me and gesture for her to lean over
"Either way she dies, she won't be making it out of this room." I whisper to her
"You really think?" she asks
"I honestly don't know, I … I don't know. But I do know that she's not making it out of here" I tell her honestly.
"You see my old c-section scar?" Lori asks bringing our attention back to her as she pulls her shirt up revealing the scar
"I can't" Maggie protests her tears starting to fall
"You can. You have to" Lori insists
"Carl? Baby, I don't want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want. This is right. Now you, you take care of your daddy for me, all right? And your little brother or sister, you take care-"
"You don't have to do this" Carl protests tears falling from his eyes
"You're gonna be fine" Lori tells him with a smile turning towards me "Gen, you promised. Remember your promise?" She asks talking about the promise I made to her all those months ago that if anything happened to her, I'd love and care for her kids as if they were my own, something I already did and would continue to do
"I do Lori. I remember" I tell her swiping at my eyes before squeezing her hand
"You'll keep it?" she asks weakly squeezing my hand back
"Of course, I will. I will Lori" I reassure her an d she weakly smiles at me before turning back to Carl
"You're gonna be fine" She repeats "You are gonna beat this world. I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave, and I love you." She tells him her voice thick with emotion, blinking away her own tears
"I love you too" Carl tells her amidst his own tears
"You gotta do what's right, baby. You promise me, you'll always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So don't." she says pausing to catch her breathe"
"So, if it feels wrong, don't do it, alright? If it feels easy, don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you. You're so good." She tells him reaching up to cup his cheek and wipe away his tears
"You're my sweet boy." She tells him with a smile "You're the best thing I ever did. And I love you." she tells him finally giving into her own sobs as she pulls him down to hug him
"I love you. You're my sweet boy. I love you" she tells him over and over holding him to her. I swipe at my own tears as I reach over and grab a sobbing Maggie's hand in mine.
Lori presses a few final kisses to his head before gently pushing Carl off of her
"Okay, okay now. Maggie, Gen when this is over, one of you is gonna have to-" Lori tries to tell us but Maggie cuts her off with a shushing noise
"You have to do it. It can't be Rick. and it can't be Carl. Gen?" She asks turning to me
"It won't be I promise Lori. I promise" I tell her, wiping some of her tears from her face
"Thank you" She whispers
"Don't thank me" I tell her pressing a kiss to her brow
"Okay." She says taking a deep breathe "All right. It's all right. It's all right" It's anyone's guess who she's trying to comfort as Carl unsheathes his knife and passes it over to Maggie
"Goodnight, love." she says
"I'm so sorry, Lori" Maggie tells her before making the cut
The bone-chilling scream Lori lets out is a sound I never want to hear again
"What are you doing to her?" Carl yells at Maggie, as Lori's screams cut off and her head lolls back shudders shaking her whole body
"Carl, give me your hands" Maggie requests hands moving things in the incision "Carl, please. You should keep the site clean. If I cut too deep, I'll cut the baby." She tells him as he does what she asks. I sit back on my knees, shucking my outer flannel for when it'll be inevitably needed
"I can't, feel it, I don't know if I'm in the right spot, I can't feel it!" Maggie says after a moment, clearly about to start panicking
"Move." I order
"What?"
"Move. Hold here and here I'll get him out" I tell her as Carl removes his hands and Maggie's replaces his
I waste no time putting my own hands in to find the baby, knowing that with Lori's shudders getting slower and slower we are losing time fast.
I don't have to feel around for long before I can see and feel that I've got a grasp on the baby
"I got him" I tell Maggie and Carl and within seconds I've lifted the baby into my arms - the baby who isn't crying or moving
I start rubbing its chest before flipping it over and tapping its back a few times while Maggie reaches over and flicks the bottom of its foot and finally the baby starts to cry.
nestling them into my arm I swipe my finger through its mouth to pull out any mucus I can reach
"You've got a sister" I tell Carl who quickly sheds his jacket and passes it to me to wrap around the baby in addition to my flannel
"Maggie get Lori's shoelace, we got to cut the umbilical cord"
After we tie off the umbilical cord I take hold of the knife and hold it out to Carl
"You want to?"
"I guess" Maggie helps Carl cut through the umbilical cord and as soon as that's done, I wrap the jacket around the baby and shift to my feet
"We, we can't leave her here she'll turn" Carl protests standing with me
"We know, me, you and the baby are gonna go over there and Maggie will-"
"No! She's my mom! I should do it!" Carl protests, tears streaming down his face
"And I made a promise to her." I tell him firmly wrapping my free arm around his shoulder and bringing him into my side - neither one of us paying heed to the blood coating my arms and shirt
"Maggie?" I ask, and she nods so I lead the way to the door of the boiler room keeping Carl close and we slowly slide out of the room just as 2 walkers round the corner at the end of the hallway leaving it empty. It's only a few seconds before a shot echoes and Carl's hands clench into my shirt his sobs getting louder, my tears landing on his hair as I lean my head into his
"Let's go" Maggie whispers as she joins us in the hallway and begins leading us back the way we came, seemingly forever ago.
Maggie shuffles out of the cell block and pushes the metal door open with me and carl trailing behind her. The noise of the door seems to startle the baby, who begins to cry, pulling everyone's attention to us.
I can see the moment that Rick takes count of who's not there and the baby in my arms and I can't help but cry when I meet his eyes and see the realization of what it all means hit him
"Where is she? Where is she?" He asks frantically as Maggie just ahead of me sobs shaking her head
His eyes dart from her to me before he tries to go past me, making me drop Carl's hand and hastily try to grab his arm
"No, Rick! No!" I try to stop his as he slips from my grasp and stops just past Carl
I close my eyes as I hear him break down in sobs
"Oh. no. no!" He moans "No!" At the sound of a body hitting the ground I turn just enough to see that he's laying on the ground sobbing, Carl has his head bowed trying hard not to look at anyone so I pull him into my side
"Gen" Daryl murmurs coming up next to me and as soon as I meet his eyes, sobs that I didn't even realize I was holding back burst out
"Oh Gen" He murmurs pulling my head to his shoulder, Carl getting pulled with me as I refuse to let him go. Over Daryl's shoulder I notice Glenn has Maggie in a similar embrace, Beth is holding my other 3 close to her, which I am thankful for.
"Shh shh" Daryl shushes both me and Carl, one hand holding me tight to him, the other carding through Carl's hair.
I'm not sure how long we stand there, but eventually all of our sobs slowly come to a stop, and Daryl releases us to check on Rick
"Rick you with me? Rick?" he asks crouching down in front of him, but Rick just seems to stare right through him
"Let me see the baby" Herschel requests from where he's standing with Beth
Slowly I make my way over, pulling Carl along with me, Daryl sliding up next to me
"The good news is that she looks healthy" Herschel tells us after a few minutes of fiddling with the squirming baby
"But she'll need formula" He says directly to me
"We've been out for a few weeks."
"Then we need to get some soon, or she won't survive" he says almost directly to Daryl
"Nope. no way. Not her" Daryl says "we ain't losing nobody else. I'm going on a run" he tells us shouldering his crossbow
"I'll back you up" Maggie says
"I'll go too" Glenn adds
"Okay, think about where we're going" Daryl instructs them before turning to Beth and pulling her a little away from our group
"Hey kid just lost his mom, Gen's gonna be busy with him and the baby can you-" I hear Daryl start to ask Beth just behind me while Herschel peers down at the baby that's starting to squirm in my arms gearing up to cry no doubt
"I'll take care of the other 3" Beth tells him
"Thanks" he grunts moving back over to our little group
"You two get the fence. Too many of them pile up we got ourselves a problem" He orders the two prisoners whose names escape me
"Glenn, Maggie vamanos" he tells the two of them just as Rick abruptly stands and grabs his axe before storming off through the door we exited.
"Rick!" Maggie calls
"Let him go" Daryl tells her before turning to me
"We'll be back as soon as we can, get cleaned up" he tells me
"I will, be careful" I tell him titling my head for a kiss
"Always" he tells me back pecking my lips and heading off with Maggie and Glenn