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Writer's Notes: Thank you everyone for your reviews! I hope everyone had a great weekend! To jumpstart the week early I decided to upload again tonight rather than wait until the morning. Thanks for all the support! As always, don't forget to follow, favorite and review!
[January: Bella: 31 weeks pregnant]
Bella felt miserable. Her feet was swollen, she was hungry all the time and she had to pee more times in one hour than she has ever had to before. She hated being useless and hated not being able to help with anything, but she let Rick fuss over her. Carl turned fourteen and he seemed to be taller all of a sudden, but that was the age when boys started getting taller. He was a big help, always making sure that Bella ate when she was supposed to and he kept an eye on her when his dad was away from the farm on a run. It was winter and cold, so Carl's job was to help T-Dogg with the firewood and make sure that they were never low. Hope, Chance and Lucy were 10 months old now and trying to walk around but unsteady on their feet. They could stand and bounce and they were all so healthy. Lucy was the tallest of the three even though they were all the same age. Otis and Patricia loved them all dearly and the three babbled mama or dada at them.
The farm was doing great despite the winter being harsher than normal so far. The green house was withstanding the cold and they had vegetables and some fruit growing strong. The fences were holding and so far the pits that Daryl dug with Jasper and Jake's help, were a way to keep the walkers from wandering too close to the farm border. It was necessary to keep their fences strong, especially in the winter. The cows tended to get a little to pasture happy and try to break through the fences to get to other parts of the land, but they kept it mended. Jasper rode on horseback along the fence lines to check the fences daily just to be sure. Occasionally he had to kill a few walkers.
The walkers that Hershel was hiding in the barn were taken care of when Hershel was ready to let go. It was his wife and son and a few close friends inside that barn that he had once believed could be helped. But everyone was supportive and helped him through his grief.
Bella sat on the front porch in the rocking chair and watched Annalise, Sophia and Carl play together. They were smiling and laughing like children should and that put Bella at ease somewhat. The last ultrasound yesterday showed that everything was still healthy with her daughter. Right now, Rick was away from the farm with Glenn, Daryl, T Dogg and Jake. Jasper was currently in the big barn now getting is set up for the cattle to come in from out of the cold easier and the two horses that were still on the farm. The sun went down faster now that it was wintertime, so as the sun drained from the sky, the air got colder. But Bella welcomed the cold. She glanced down at the book she brought with her to read while on the porch. She wasn't allowed to do too much of anything, so reading was calming sometimes. She could get lost in a book now a days and that was the sort of stress-free solution she needed during this pregnancy.
Suddenly, Bella heard a scream and it jolted her attention away from the book and she looked up to see Sophia running with Annalise. It was like a flashback to Atlanta. An enormous herd of the walking dead were marching into the farm. The fences were not strong enough to hold back the thousands that were funneling in.
Bella got to her feet quickly and snatched her crossbow from the side and she ran, for the first time since she found out she was pregnant and she fired at the walkers to try and cover for Annalise and Sophia to get back to the house. "SOPHIA! ANA! GET INSIDE NOW!" She yelled.
Jasper was out of the barn and fighting through the walkers to try and get over to Bella, but it was a struggle.
"CARL!" Bella screamed, panicked that she couldn't see him anymore. She looked around and saw Otis and Patricia trying to fight off the dead that seemed to be coming up from the gardens. She saw Otis go down and the dead swarmed him and his cries were traumatizing to her ears and the horrifying sound of Patricia's own tortured cries forced Bella to keep pushing forward. "CARL!" Bella yelled again. There were too many of the dead walking around. It was becoming a sea and the house would never withstand the herd. "Fuck." She cursed and she ran, her heart was pounding hard in her chest as she went into pure survival mode.
Bella made it up to the porch again and moved inside the house fast. "We need to go now." She told Maggie. "Get everyone loaded in the big RV. We have to leave now. We can't withstand this many. Get the kids and go. We have no choice." She said, trying to talk herself into this too.
"I heard Patricia and Otis." Maggie said, her voice choking up.
"Maggie, we have to be strong right now. We have to move." Bella said and she moved back outside, running into Paul who was sporting a bit to his shoulder and neck. "PAUL!"
"Not now." Paul said, panting. "I'll help set off a distraction. I'm a deadman already. I need the keys to the highlander."
"Goddammit." Bella cursed, she rushed and grabbed the keys from the entry table and handed them to Paul. "Til we meet again." She said and Paul nodded, leaving and rushing down to get inside the Highlander and started it. He laid on the horn and drove away from the house and some of the herd started following him.
Carol was carrying Lucy and Beth was carrying Chance and Hope as they rushed around trying to get loaded into the bigger RV. Hershel was outside with his shotgun now shooting at the walkers that close enough to the house, and everything was still such pure chaos.
Bella searched for Carl still, hacking at the dead, barreling through them until she found Carl up in a tree. "CARL!"
"Bella! My hand!" Carl sobbed out.
Bella saw the bite on his hand. "Oh no." She said and looked around her. "Come on. Let me get you back to the RV. We have to go Carl. I'll fix it. I promise." She said and Carl climbed down out of the tree. Bella took off her jacket and she sniffed a little and looked around. Paul's distraction was working for her right now. "Hold still okay and trust me." Carl nodded, tears streaming down his face. Bella placed his hand against the tree. "It's going to hurt okay. I am so sorry." She apologized and she swung the machete fast and hard and took Carl's hand off in one clean swipe.
Carl screamed out in pain, but Bella was immediately tying her jacket around his stump, making a tourniquet quickly to stop him from bleeding out.
"I know it hurts but we have to run. We have to run now." Bella said and Carl managed to pull enough energy to run. They sprinted, both him and Bella for their lives. She sliced through walkers, protecting Carl, like she was a warrior and a shield. Adrenaline is what pushed them both forward to keep it up until they made it to the RV. Paul had stopped the highlander in the middle of the pasture and they heard the gunshots before Bella looked over and saw Paul's body fall into the sea of the dead as they trapped him and the highlander. She pushed Carl up onto the RV and looked back to see Jasper behind her. They didn't say a word to each other, they just got up on the RV and closed the doors. Everyone was out of the house and on the RV except Dale and Andrea, but they had no way of knowing where Andrea and Dale were. They had no choice but to leave the farm now or they would be trapped here. Jasper sat down in the drivers seat and he starved the RV and it roared to life. Bella forced Carl to sit down at the table in the dining area. "Anna, get the blow torch from the cabinet." She said and Annalise moved and opened the cabinet while Jasper tore away from the farm and started driving away from the farm. Lucy, Chance and Hope were in the back on the bed with Carol, Beth and Sophia. Maggie and Hershel started grabbing towels to help Bella instantly realizing what she was about to do.
Bella took the blowtorch from Annalise and flipped it on. "Carl, bite onto something." She said and he pulled at his belt from his pants and he bit down on the leather. His heart was slamming hard in his chest. He was scared, but he was also trying to be strong. Tears still streamed down his face, but he nodded to Bella and she took the torch and seared the stump to cauterized any open vessels so he wouldn't bleed out at all. Carl screamed as he bite into the leather of his belt, but Bella was focused, working on making sure Carl would survive.
Hershel and Maggie moved in with water and the towels to clean up his stump and get it wrapped. Bella leaned back and she looked around the RV. She saw a couple bags and realized that Carol had managed to grab some medical supplies and food before leaving the house. Suddenly Bella felt a gush of water rush down her leg.
Maggie's eyes widened. "Bella, your pants."
Bella nodded. "My water broke."
"Fuck." Jasper cursed from the front seat, but he kept driving. "Bella, are you having any pain?"
"Yeah." Bella nodded. "Contractions. I was ignoring it because… because of everything." She said and swallowed. "Rick and the others are in Clearview."
"I know. I'm driving that way. Bella you need to lay down." Jasper said.
Bella nodded. "Okay. Yeah, that's a good idea." She said and blew out a breath. Carol got to her feet, leaving Sophia with the three little ones to help Bella get back to the bed. Everything was fucked right now and all Bella could think about was that she was right. Something bad always happened.
Bella groaned in pain. Jasper parked as close as he could to Clearview, but right now Bella was in too much pain for him to keep driving. They were clear of the massive herd that ripped apart the farm.
"Bella breathe." Jasper reminded her and checked to see how dilated she was.
Carol had the kids in the kitchen area of the RV, while Hershel and Maggie helped Jasper with Bella, who was naked from the waist down now and in full blown labor.
"I'm fucking breathing." Bella said and leaned back on the bed. "Jasper…"
Jasper didn't like this at all, but they had no choice now. "Bella, you're fully dilated. You have to push."
"I can't." Bella shook her head.
"Bella you have to."
"She's just going to die like Kenneth." Bella cried, tears streaming down her face.
Jasper swallowed. He knew that was likely going to be the case, but he couldn't tell her that. "Bella, you have to deliver her. You have to. You can do this." He reassured her.
The next contraction forced Bella to push and she bore down and she pushed, screaming as she did as the pain radiated through her body. Maggie held up one of her legs and Hershel held the other side so she could push easier.
"Almost there Bella. Come on you can do this. One more push." Jasper coaxed.
Bella cried as she pushed again and she felt her body give to the pressure and the baby was born.
Maggie dropped Bella's leg and grabbed the towels and helped Jasper. Jasper rubbed the towel over the baby, trying his best get the baby to breathe. He used his pinky to clear the babies mouth. He even leaned down to help clear the nasal passage and mouth.
"Jasper…"
"Hold on Bella." Maggie said, her voice gentle.
Jasper was focusing hard on the baby, flipping her over and rubbing her back with the towel, patting her back and then shifted her upside down and rubbed her back. Bella watched, tears blinding her. Her baby was so small, like Kenneth had been. Suddenly the baby cried lowly.
"There you are." Jasper said and lay the baby back on it's back and then Hershel helped clamp the cord with a clamp he found in the bag of medical supplies Carol had thrown together.
Bella started crying harder. "She's breathing?"
"She's trying." Jasper said and rubbed the baby's chest. "Maggie, I saw an intubation kit in that medical bag. I need you to get that." He said calmly.
Maggie moved quickly to get the intubation kit that Jasper specified and she handed it to him. He took it and took the breathing bulb off and used the mask and screwed it together and then placed it right above the babies mouth and pressed the bulb, helping push oxygen to the baby.
The baby cried some more, the rise and fall of her chest getting stronger and stronger as she belted out more cries.
"She's okay?" Bella cried.
"She's okay." Jasper said, and looked up at his friend. "Bella, she's alive. She's okay. Hear her?"
"Oh god." Bella sobbed.
Jasper looked at Maggie. "Maggie, can you keep squeezing this bulb like this? Hold it just like this okay. Two inches above her mouth and count. One, two, squeeze. Got it?" He asked and Maggie nodded and she took over for Jasper. "Hershel, help me get the placenta delivered." He said and Hershel just nodded and moved to help Jasper. Jasper pushed down on Bella's stomach in hard circles. "I know this is going to hurt. We have to do this."
Bella nodded, still crying from relief that the baby was okay. Her daughter was okay.
[A Couple Hours Later]
Jasper leaned against the counter in the dining area, his arms crossed. "We need to find a steady source of oxygen." He said, talking to Carol.
"I didn't think to grab the oxygen cannisters." Carol said. "I should have-"
"No, you had no way of knowing we'd need it and you already grabbed plenty that we were able to use. Without that stuff, she wouldn't have survived. Honey, we will figure it out. We just… have to get to Rick and the others. The other radio was with Dale on the camper, or that's where I hope he was and he got out… Andrea too." He sighed and ran a hand over his face. He was tired and he was stressed.
Bella was curled on her side on the bed in the back with the baby next to her and Beth was squeezing the bulb now to give Maggie a break. Her and Rick had a beautiful girl. The fine black hair was noticeable, but it wasn't thick. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but she was quiet now, sleeping, but still breathing with the help of the bulb. Bella had her hand, just holding it, staring at her. Everything in her had hope that her daughter would survive.
"She's beautiful." Carl said from the doorway. He finally woke up after passing out. He was waiting to get his strength before coming to look at his new sister.
Bella looked at Carl and smiled. "She is. Come on." She said and patted the bed. Carl got onto the bed carefully, using his hand to prop himself up. "Do you feel okay?"
"Pain. But um… it's not unbearable. Hershel gave me some Tylenol." Carl said and looked at his sister. "You… if it wasn't for me being bit…."
"No." Bella shook her head. "That's not what happened Carl. It was the biters. The herd… it was the stress of the herd. But look at her. She's alive. See? She's breathing."
Carl teared up. "She's perfect." He said and closed his eyes. "What if dad goes back to the farm?"
"We're hoping to intercept him."
"It's dark outside now." Carl said and shook his head.
Bella reached her hand over and wiped his tears off his face. "Remember some runs happen overnight."
"Headlights!" Sophia said from the front of the RV.
Bella looked at Carl and nodded. "Go. We're okay."
Carl sniffed and pushed himself up on the bed and left.
Beth looked at Bella, studied her. She was silent this whole time, just crying here and there because she was so scared. So scared that everyone she loved was going to die. She lost Patricia and Otis and she was scared that all of this surviving was just going to come to an end, but she looked at Bella and saw the strength. It gave her hope.
Jasper walked out of the RV and readied his weapon, but relaxed when he saw Rick. "Rick!"
"What happened? Dale wasn't clear on the radio and then it went dead." Rick asked, his voice quivering.
"The farm got overrun." Jasper said and then put a hand on Rick's shoulder. "Wait. Listen, Rick, Bella went into labor. She's-"
"Oh my god. Is she okay? Where is she? Where is Carl?"
"Dad." Carl appeared, walking from behind Jasper.
Rick looked at his son and then he moved to embrace him. "Carl." He said and then leaned back and saw that his hand was bandaged. "Oh, son what happened?"
"I was bit." Carl said.
"W-what?"
"I feel okay right now. Bella… she had to cut my hand off, but… but I'm okay. See, dad, I'm okay." Carl was being strong, showing true strength. "Don't worry about me. Go… go to Bella. She needs you." He said and Rick hesitated a moment before looking at Jasper. Jasper nodded to him and then Rick moved past Carl and got on the RV and walked towards the back, his heart constricting in his chest. He didn't know what he was walking into, everyone else was quiet as he pushed back the curtain and looked at Bella.
Bella looked at Rick and she teared up. "Rick."
"You…."Rick looked at the small baby laying on the bed and Beth was squeezing something over the baby's face. "What…"
"She's alive. She's okay Rick." Bella said and reached a shaky hand out for him.
Rick teared up and cried as he climbed onto the bed, grabbing Bella's hand. "She's breathing?"
"With Beth's help." Bella sniffed. "She needs steady oxygen. We need… a pediatric CPAP." She said.
Rick wiped his face and looked at his new daughter. "She's so small."
Bella nodded. "Yeah, we have to keep her bundled up and warm. And we'll have to feed her. Rick, I need you to go back to the hospital where we found Annalise and the three little ones. I need you to go to the second floor of the hospital and I need you to find these things. For our daughter." Her voice wavered.
Rick cried a little more and he leaned in and kissed Bella. "I love you."
"I love you too." Bella whispered. "Please. Be strong. I can't right now so you need to for both of us."
Rick sniffed and wiped his face again. "I can be strong." He reached a hand over and touched his daughters tiny hand. "Carl's hand…" he murmured.
"I'm sorry. He was playing with the girls and I was reading and then everything started happening so fast. I… I fought to find him and I cut his hand off. I'm sorry I-"
"You saved him." Rick said, his voice hoarse. "That's what matters. We are going to be okay." He nodded. "We will get through this. We will be strong."
Bella nodded. She felt tired, the fatigue starting to wear on her. "I need to sleep."
"Okay." Rick said and kissed her softly. "I'm going to talk to Jasper… put a plan together. We will go get what we need for our daughter…."
"Aya."
"Aya." Rick agreed. He kissed Bella's forehead as her eyes closed before he got off the bed. He nodded to Beth and left the room to go back outside to talk with Jasper. He would fight for his family… fight for their survival.