Sadie's POV

Back before all shit hit the fan, when people used to talk about trying to have kids and how it always seemed to happen almost as soon as you stopped trying. I used to think that it was all bullshit. Like an old wives' tale or some shit like that….

…..though, now…...thinking. About how Alex had come into this world…...and how this one was about to….I was starting to think that maybe they were all onto something, after all…

I guess the joke is on ME.

...Although, to be completely fair, we didn't stop trying for this one.

Hell, we didn't even have a chance to start trying.

I mean, Gareth and I had talked about another one, sure, and even more so right before he left, but that was just it. We weren't planning on even attempting until at least a good while after he would have been back.

I stood there in the bathroom….and god, it didn't matter how long we'd been here, or how much longer than even that that it had been since I was finding out about Alex,

I was never gonna get used to how, back then, I had been sitting under that tree, unprepared and absolutely terrified, like I'd just been handed a death sentence, and now, here I was, standing in the middle of a fucking bathroom, waiting on the results from a pregnancy test that I'd gotten from the woman...or rather, the absolute saint down the street, Iike it was the most normal thing in the world.

I sighed, fidgeting nervously with the little crossbow that hung from the necklace around my neck, as that little symbol made itself more apparent on the little stick.

A definite plus sign.

I would take at least two, or maybe even three, more to make absolutely certain before I took it to be written in stone…..but I was sure. More than almost anything, these days, I was sure.

This wasn't some petty flu or otherwise bug that I'd caught, like a good handful of the others around here right now.

I remembered how god awful I felt with Alex, and there was no truly mistaking that for anything else.

I moaned softly, but gave a little smile, as I stared down at my, still flat, stomach, and rubbed a hand across it.

"I don't suppose that, now that we've gotten this figured out, you can start cutting me just a little bit of slack here, hmm?" I chuckled softly.

I stood there, staring at it for another few minutes, before I decided to put it, alongside the box, away in the medicine cabinet for now.

—

—

I shut it and proceeded to open the door, where I was greeted by Jett, who had parked himself right in front of said door and had been waiting patiently for my return.

He whined happily, almost immediately, and stood up on his hind legs to put his paws up on me to greet me.

"Hey, Bud!" I greeted him, with a good headscratch. "So sorry about that, maybe next time

His tail was wagging a mile a minute, now, as he firmly rubbed his head against my hand for more scratches.

"Tell you what…" I cooed to him. "What do you say I make it up to you with a walk, hmm? Wanna go for walkies?"

His whole face lit up at the word and he started going ballistic, barking his head off and wagging his tail even harder.

"Shh, shh!" I laughed. "Alright, come on!"

As he raced out of the bedroom, I went over to collect Alex, who had been playing with some toys next to the bed, and whose head also perked up at the offer of taking Jett for a walk.

"Come on." I waved for him to follow me. "You too, let's go."

The biggest grin spread across his face and he practically jumped up, racing out the door to try and catch up with the even more eager mutt, while I trailed behind.

"Well, hey, wait a minute now. Wait for me." I teased.

The next day, after I'd recovered from my morning puking and decided I was feeling enough up to it, I decided to make the ride up to Hilltop to catch up with Maggie, like I'd intended to before.

I decided to leave Alex with Tyra to watch, this time, who would spend most of the day with him and then meet back up with me at Hilltop before it got dark to drop him back off.

Shortly after arriving, I found Maggie, who was riding on the back of a horse she was apparently trying.

I stood back for a moment, watching as she gradually gained more control over the animal, before I approached the fence.

—

"Easy…...Good boy!"

"You know, once upon a time, I thought I might marry a girl who was good with horses like that." I smirked, as I folded my arms across the top of the fence.

This got a good laugh from her when she looked over at me.

"Oh, yeah? Why didn't you?"

"She dumped my ass." I shrugged. "..I met Gareth, married him instead."

"Her loss." She chuckled, guiding the horse to a stop so that she could climb down and meet me. "How you feeling? Michonne mentioned you might be coming down with something."

"Ohh, I think I'm just about over it, actually." I fibbed, glancing around briefly. "..probably just some twenty four hour bug, or something. Definitely not contagious."

"Glad to hear it." She smiled, glancing around briefly, herself. "Where's Alex today?"

"Heee is spending the day with Tyra."

"That's nice." She nodded. "How's she doin? She still with.."

"Savior boy?" I scoffed. "Yeah, don't remind me."

"Alden, I was gonna say." She corrected. "..and believe me, she could do a lot worse."

"Yeah, for a savior." I scoffed again. "..She could also do a lot better."

"He surrendered, Sadie…." She reminded me. "...willingly. In fact I think he was one of the first."

"Alright, so he's a savior and a kiss ass." I scoffed again. "Your point?"

"My point was, you and I both agreed that he and the others who surrendered deserve a second chance." She pointed out. "...we gave you and Gareth a second chance…..and a third."

I nodded with a scoff. "Right….beat me over the head with it…"

"Don't be so dramatic." She sighed, eager to change the subject. "...you mentioned Tyra wasn't coming by til tonight, and I know it's a pretty long trip back to Alexandria. You planing on staying the night?"

"Assuming that offer of yours to stay over anytime is still on the table, that is."

"Of course it is." She said it with a genuine smile. "Tell you what, then. Why don't you go on over and get your things settled in, and I'll come over and meet you and we can catch up."

"I won't say no to that." I agreed with a smirk.