Red River Blue

Chapter 18

"You promised her she could stay!," Sam hollered, slamming his hands into Daryl's chest. There were tears of anger and frustration in his eyes. When Sam balled up his fists, Daryl grabbed his son, pinning the boy against his chest. He wasn't any happier about what was about to happen than Sam was. But there was no good choice to make in this situation.

"It's okay," Lydia said, rising from the picnic table and straightening her shirt out. "I don't want to be the reason your sister gets hurt. It's my mom out there. My people. They just want me back. They don't want to hurt me." Daryl breathed an almost silent sigh of relief even as he felt his heart break for the girl. He was sure her people weren't going through all this trouble just to kill her. But he suspected she was going to be physically punished for allowing herself to be captured. Or for whatever other imagined slights these weirdos could come up with.

"Time to go," Carol said. She had two thin blankets bundled up under one arm. Which reminded Daryl that his daughter was outside the gates naked and bleeding from the neck. He let go of Sam and grasped Lydia by the arm. He could hear the boy sobbing as he marched her away.

"I'm sorry," Daryl told her. "I meant it when I said you could stay." Lydia nodded.

"It's okay," she assured him. Her voice was soft and sad. "I don't belong here anyway."

There was nothing else to say. Daryl walked the girl out the gates. Carol was on her other side. He kept a grip on Lydia's arm. But there was really no need. She wasn't trying to escape. When they got near the split rail fence, Daryl let her go, watching closely to make sure Mika and Kelly were also being released before Lydia got too far away. They were. Carol cut the ties on their hands first. Then shoved the blankets at them. Mika pulled the gag from her mouth and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, leaning into Daryl as he walked her quickly back towards the gate. She felt his body tense when Alpha slapped her daughter across the face. But he kept going, determined to get his own daughter safely inside.

Once the gates shut, Mika felt her family and friends pushing in around her. A few feet away, she could see Kelly was being greeted in the same way. Mika pushed through the small crowd, eager to hug the other girl herself. She wrapped her arms around Kelly, hugging her tight. Kelly returned her affection, hugging her back with the same intensity. Mika pressed her forehead to the other girl's.

"I told you we'd get outta that jam," she said. Kelly could only laugh. They walked back towards the trailers with their arms around each other. The rest of her family was there. But Mika heard the loud greeting of someone that was most certainly not her family member.

"Hey girly, I'm glad you're back safe," Negan hollered. Merle turned his attention away from his young son, immediately charging towards the man. But Harley stepped between them. She put her hands against her father's chest, backing him up forcefully.

"He just risked his life to help us," she hissed, "...so just give it a fuckin' rest fer a minute." Merle glanced at the man, deciding that it wasn't worth the effort of pushing past his elder daughter to get at Negan. He could always beat the fuck out of him later. When no one else was around. Merle turned and stomped off back towards the kids.

The rest of Mika's family greeted her with enthusiasm. She allowed a few more hugs before she decided she had enough. She loved her family, but she desperately needed to take a shower. Mika noticed a look passed between her mom and aunt. Then River got up and walked her inside the trailer. Once they got inside, River gave her a gentle hug. Her voice was low and gentle.

"Do ya need me to make ya some mornin' after tea?," she asked. "If anythin' happened, it'd be easier to take care of it now rather than later." Mika nodded. She never had reason to drink the tea before. But she knew River made it for people sometimes.

"I wasn't…," Mika stuttered. "I mean …they didn't rape me. They just took my clothes. I was mouthin' off so they kicked me around some. That's it." River hugged her again.

"Are you sure?," she asked. "It's not yer fault if somethin' happened." Mika shook her head, noticing that her aunt looked very relieved. River gave her a kiss on the head and headed out of the trailer so Mika could have some privacy while she showered and dressed.

"She's alright," River whispered to Carol on her way down the steps. "They just took her clothes and roughed her up." Carol glanced towards the door, her face still full of concern. River grabbed her hand as she passed, offering her the only comfort she could. Her love and friendship. It got them through worse times than this over the years.

With Mika taken care of, River turned her attention back to her son. Axel was sitting on a picnic bench, still holding the baby he saved against his chest. Hershel was sitting next to him, with his sister Annie on the other side. And Merle was just absolutely laying into all three of them. Glenn was standing close by, looking unsure if he wanted to step in and stop Merle from screaming and cursing at his children, or if he hoped the man was putting the fear of god into them to keep them from ever doing some bullshit like that again.

"YA KNOW YER NOT SUPPOSTA GO OUTSIDE THE FUCKIN' WALLS WITHOUT ASKIN' FIRST! Y'ALL COULDA BEEN KILLED! THIS AIN'T A GODDAMN GAME! I SHOULD BEAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YER ASSES!"

Maggie stepped forward. River thought she was about to step in between Merle and her kids. But she was only trying to take the baby from Axel. The poor little babe had been through enough without being screamed at. River's mouth dropped when Axel not only refused to give up the baby, but shoved Maggie away from him and delivered a hard kick to her shin.

"This 'ere's my baby," Axel announced.

"Yeah!," Hershel added. "We stole this baby fair and square. It's ours!" Merle stepped towards the boys. He lifted his hand and gave Axel a good crack to the back of his head, angling his blow so that the boy's head knocked against Hershel's and they bonked off each other like bowling pins.

"It's a baby, not a goddamn toy!," Merle hollered. He leaned down, snatching the baby up himself and holding it with his one good arm. Once he secured the baby he returned to his tirade, cursing the kids up and down some more as he pointed at them with the business end of his bad arm. Though with a baby balanced on his hip, he looked much less intimidating than he did before. River headed over, taking the baby into her own arms and sitting down at another table to look it over. Compared to the people she saw outside the gates, the baby looked healthy and well fed. Its diaper was clean. It didn't appear to have been abused or neglected in any way. She pulled the front of the diaper out, checking to see what the baby's gender was.

"It's a girl," she announced, smiling as Rick sat down next to her and reached for the little one.

"Ya know I think Judith could really use a little sister," River teased. Rick laughed, bouncing the baby gently in his arms. When he lowered her into his lap the baby started to fuss, gnawing on the side of her chubby little fist.

"She's hungry," Rick said, looking around and hoping to spot someone from Hilltop. Maggie gave him a nod and took off, returning a few minutes later with some assorted baby items. River mixed up a bottle of powdered formula and water, trying not to worry about how long ago the stuff probably expired. From the way the baby was fighting against the bottle, it was obvious that she had been breastfed up until this point. She was hungry enough that she drank some of the formula. But River could tell she didn't like it.

"Rosita's still nursing Coco," Aiden said, adjusting his eyepatch as he glanced down at the little one in Rick's arms. "I'm sure she'd take her." River nodded. That sounded like a good idea as any. The little girl was chubby and precious. But she wasn't sure if she was prepared to take on another child. Not when she could barely control the one she already had.

"I've gotta get home anyway," Harley said. "I've been gone too long, I need ta get back to Monroe. Let's get everyone together and figure out who's goin' back and who's stayin' ta help Glenn and Maggie with this walker people bullshit."

Aiden nodded his agreement. With this new threat, he didn't like that all their best fighters were gone. He didn't think an attack on Alexandria was likely. That other group probably didn't even know where Alexandria was. But he also didn't want to take any chances. Especially not when his girlfriend and baby daughter were there, running the town without the whole of the council.