Chapter Text
TWO
“You were just dehydrated and I imagine your sugar levels were low. Nick, your nephew, I believe?” Charlie nodded her head slowly and the older man tugged on one of the straps of his suspenders. “He says you’ve been forgoing eating and drinking when possible so that he and little Alexa have plenty.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.” He rocked back and peered down at her curiously. “I’m not a medical doctor, dear. I was a veterinarian. But, in this world sometimes we have to adopt new hats. Rick tells me you were a Nurse Practitioner.”
“Yes,” she replied softly, sipping the tea he’d pressed into her hands. It was warm and soothing against her parched throat and the herbal scent soothed her frazzled nerves. “I’m aware that I took a risk by limiting my intake, but I couldn’t take water or food from his mouth. He’s mine now.”
“He told me about his parents. His mother and stepfather, I believe. This world is full of tragedies. You’ll not be another one of them.” A vaguely familiar middle aged woman with short graying hair peered into the room. The cell, Charlie reminded herself. “This is Carol. She’s been looking after your little girl.”
Charlie blinked up at the woman and immediately extended a hand that Carol took gently. “Thank you. Sincerely. Is she-”
“-She’s full, bathed, and in some clean clothes and napping. She’s fine,” Carol assured her in a soft tone. “Nick is full, we gave him some prescription strength ibuprofen, and he’s resting too. I thought I would take you to get cleaned up and then get some more food in you. How’s that sound?”
“I don’t know.”
So Charlie limply allowed the woman to lead her out of the cell and out into a cell block. She only knew that much because of television and movies. Her limbs felt heavy and awkward as Carol led her from the cellblock and into a large bathroom with showers. Real showers.
“Cold water, I’m afraid.”
“Oh, I don’t care.”
“I found some clothes for you. Nothing fancy, but they’ll do.” Carol laughed when Charlie shrugged off her clothes in a hurry and struggled to tug off her boots. Naked, she stood under the weak stream of cold water and shivered as it washed over her skin. “There’s some basic soap there. Were you with a group?”
Charlie stilled before she used a bar of soap to scrub her skin until it felt raw. “For awhile, yes. We left a few weeks ago.” She added a small pump of shampoo to her palms and scrubbed the floral scent into her hair. “The defuncto leader wanted me to warm his bed in exchange for not beating or harassing Nick. I declined. That’s who your friend killed. Or at least some of his buddies.”
“Daryl.”
“Daryl,” Charlie repeated dully. “Nick would have died without him.” She guzzled down some of the water and then stuck her head under the weak stream. “Where’s Alexa?”
“She’s sleeping, remember?”
“I should check on her.”
Carol made some soft, soothing sound. “You should finish your shower and then change into these clothes I have here for you. That’s what you should do. Shane won’t let anything happen to her. To either one of them.”
“Shane.” A harsh expulsion of laughter left her, painfully. “He’s still alive. He’s been out there somewhere all of this time.”
“Easy,” Carol warned softly. Charlie finally finished sudsing off and shivered as she walked stiffly towards the other woman across slick prison yellow tiles. “Here.” She accepted the towel and hurriedly dried off before drying her hair. She felt cleaner than she had in a very long time and yet every step seemed to require an insane amount of energy from her. “I know it’s not much, but we’ve found some clothes since we got here three weeks ago.”
Charlie blinked at the small satchel of clothing and found herself sagging with relief. A pair of mens boxers went on first before she slid on a pair of yoga pants that stretched over her legs. Then she slowly pulled an oversized t-shirt over her head before pulling on a pair of clean white tube socks. “They smell like Downy,” Charlie realized with a soft snort. “I smell like flowers.”
“It’s not easy to do laundry the old fashioned way, but I get it done. Here. They’re just some slippers from the prison canteen, but they’ll fit.” And sure enough, they did. Lined slippers that likely would have cost a prisoner a great deal of money to purchase. “And I got this for you too. It’s just a hair care kit. Comb, brush- Don’t cry, Charlie.”
“I’m not crying.” But she felt hot tears leak down her cheeks as she dragged a new comb through her hair. It felt like ages since she’d had a chance to relax, let alone to wash her hair and comb it out. “I think I must be dreaming.”
“You’re not. Come on. I’ll take you to Alexa and Nick and then we’ll get some stew in you. Just a hunter’s stew,” Carol added after taking Charlie by the elbow. A few minutes later, the other woman released Charlie’s elbow and wrapped her arms around her middle. “How old is she? Alexa?”
“Four months. Four months in, I think, three days. It was a rough winter,” Charlie murmured groggily. They entered the cellblock again and the sound of chatter and movement was nearly overwhelming. The fear that raced down her spine was chased away by the sight of Rick and Lori Grimes sitting together on an old couch. “Lori!”
The dark-haired woman looked up in surprise and then her lips twitched into a smile. Carol walked with Charlie and Lori reached up to squeeze Charlie’s hand briefly. “Hey Charlie. I heard it was you under all that dirt.”
“Fuck you,” Charlie rasped, laughing. “Hey Rick. Last I heard, you were in a coma. Good job.”
Rick’s lips twitched as he shook his head. “Good to see you made it,” he rumbled. “Nick, wasn’t it?” She nodded as a blonde girl, a teenager, pushed a camp chair towards Charlie. She nearly sank down into it. “He’s out like a light. He ate pretty good and drank a couple of Gatorades. That will go a long way in helping, right?”
“Yes. Thank you. Sincerely,” Charlie rasped, clasping her hands together. “I just need to check on-”
“-Little Bit’s getting antsy.” She spun and watched as a lean and lanky Asian American man with black hair and smiling features approached. Beside him walked a woman in her late twenties, early thirties with sun-kissed skin and light brown hair that framed her face. In her arms she carried a squirming Alexa. “Hey, I’m Glenn. This is Maggie Greene.”
Charlie smiled at them nervously before gladly taking the weight of Alexa into her arms. Sure enough, her little girl had been bathed and then dressed in a laugh-worthy t-shirt turned onesie. She was clean and fed and gurgled happily as she waved her little fists. “Hi darling. Yeah, someone gave you a bath. I bet that was nice. You’re such a little cutie, aren’t you? Hmm?”
“Sit down.”
Charlie slowly lowered herself to the camp chair and shifted Alexa so that the girl sat on her thigh facing Charlie. Alexa did an excellent job holding herself upright already, and so Charlie kept one hand behind her back and the other ready to catch her should she toddle one way or another.
“You need to eat.”
The scent of food caused her stomach to cramp with ravenous need, but Charlie shook her head. “I’m okay for now. I just want to sit here and hold her.” There had been too many close calls since the Outbreak. But the last three weeks in particular had been hell on earth as Travis and the others from their group had hunted Charlie and her kids. “This is real, right?”
“Darling, this is as real as it gets.” That same deep timbered voice skimmed over her skin like bright sunlight as footsteps announced his arrival. Shane Walsh stalked across the cell block with a bowl in one hand and a half bottle of red Gatorade in the other. If she found herself lost in his dark gaze, who could blame her? He crouched in front of her, the Gatorade resting on her knee. “Darling, you gotta eat.”
Alexa threw her hands up and squealed as Charlie accepted the bowl and spoon and even the Gatorade. But when she awkwardly shifted Alexa slightly, Shane scooped her up and hugged her against his chest.
How many times did I picture just this? How many times did I wonder what it would look like for him to hold her?
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she lifted the bowl to sniff its contents. Gamey meat and canned vegetables, she guessed, but it was hearty and rich. She scooped up one bite, then two, and then she was suddenly shoveling food into her mouth until tears burned in her eyes and she tipped the bowl back to savor the liquid. A loud belch escaped her before she lowered the bowl and reached for the half empty bottle of red Gatorade. It was warm, but delicious as it slid down her throat.
“You all right, darling?”
“I don’t know.” Shane’s dark eyes were a beacon to her. She couldn’t stop staring up at him as he gently rocked a curious Alexa. “I forgot you helped with Carl when he was little,” Charlie rasped. “Wait, where is Carl?”
“He’s with Nick. In case he wakes up. He’s got a couple of comic books and some Gatorade,” Rick offered with a grin. “Hard to believe those two are the same age. Carl hasn’t gone through that growth spurt yet.”
Although she was overwhelmed, Charlie nodded as the others were introduced. Hershel Greene and his two daughters Maggie and Beth. Carol Peletier, Daryl Dixon, T-Dog – just T-Dog, Glenn, Axel and Oscar – two former prisoners – and of course Rick and his family. Whom she’d known for a few years.
“We had others, but it was rough.” Charlie nodded as her gaze wandered over the group. Her medical training caused her to assess each person’s apparent condition before she blinked in shock at Lori. “No, I’m not smuggling a beach ball under here.”
“How far along?”
“Due any day.”
“Oh.” Charlie rubbed her eyes sleepily and glanced over at Hershel. “You’ve got all the supplies you need on hand? She had a cesarean with Carl, but she said it was because he was breeched. Have you-”
“-Easy,” Rick warned in a low and soothing tone. He’d always been the calmer of the two – the two being Rick and Shane. Best friends and partners for as long as she’d known Shane, which had been four years before the Outbreak. Of course, they’d only been roommates for two years of that. “You need to just catch your breath. You’re safe here. All of you. Now, can you tell us what happened?”
Charlie shook her head before she sighed. “We were with a group for most of the winter. After the Outbreak we survived in King County. Most people left so we cleared out the dead and barricaded the house and a few neighboring ones. It was safe enough,” she added under her breath. “But, then a huge group of them moved through and we – there were about a dozen of us – had to move. Had to leave. It took us a few days to stumble across a group that called themselves the Reclaimers. Good old boys, mostly. Prepper types that claimed they were going to reclaim what had been lost.”
“They had this huge property. A couple of hundred acres. RVs, cabins, showers and bathrooms, well water, generators, fields. Food wasn’t scarce because they could hunt and fish, and once they realized I was a NP they were pretty welcoming. At least at first. It just didn’t work out,” she added glumly.
Daryl snorted and rocked forward from where he leaned against the far wall. “They were chasing that boy back to your little camp. Threatening to do all sorts of shit to you in front of him if he didn’t cooperate. What kinda people is that?”
“It worked at first because I didn’t realize what they were like at first,” Charlie corrected in a stiff tone. She felt Shane’s gaze on her and instantly reached up to take Alexa from him. Bright hazel eyes gleamed with excitement as Charlie pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “They weren’t good people. Maybe they were in the beginning, but the more time that passed the more degenerate they became. Food was hoarded, violent tendencies bubbled to the surface, and people began to leave in droves. But, ah, I couldn’t. I couldn't, so I put up with it and kept my people safe.”
“Then about a month ago it got worse. I’d do anything to keep Nick and Alexa safe, but a person has to draw a line. So we left. I took what few supplies I dared and stole a truck and we left. It wasn’t easy, but we were figuring it out. Or trying to.”
Daryl snorted at that. “I saw your camp .” She winced at the sarcasm that dripped from his tone. “Wasn’t much more than a raised platform and a tent and a firepit. You’d have starved out there if you didn’t freeze to death first. Or let the fuckin’ walkers get you.”
Charlie started to counter his words but paused as she found herself lost in Alexa’s curious gaze. “Fine. You’re not wrong, but you’re not right,” she admitted sullenly. “Thank you, Daryl. You didn’t have to help, but you did. And it might come back to bite you on the ass because those guys are territorial pricks.”
“Let ‘em.”
“Darling, you’re safe here. I promise you.”
Shane Walsh , she thought, peering up into his dark eyes. “I looked for you for weeks,” she heard herself murmuring. “You didn’t even leave a note.”
An unreadable expression hardened his face. “I’m sorry, Charlie. Things went sideways. I thought you were with your sister and safe. I had to get to Carl and Lori. I had to.”
So you left me , Charlie realized, chest tight. Tired, overwhelmed, she found herself murmuring, “It’s okay. I should have waited for you to get back. I just had to make sure they were okay. They’re gone now. It’s just Nick. And little Alexa. I think she might have your forehead. At least it isn’t your nose.”
She was only aware of the silence when she looked around to find Rick leaning towards her with a look of shock. Muscles tight, Charlie slowly tilted her head back to find Shane staring at her with a blank expression.
“She-She’s mine? Are you sure?”
Cold, defeated laughter tumbled out of Charlie as she rubbed her daughter’s back. There was not only an audience, but the moment was far from what she had envisioned when she had thought about seeing Shane again. “She’s four months old. Do the math, genius.”
“You were pregnant. You didn’t fucking tell me.”
“I didn’t know. Okay, I found out right when things started going sideways. And I was already too far along to do anything drastic,” she added, waving a hand dismissively. “Then you’re gone. And I just had to keep doing whatever I had to do in order to survive.”
“Christ, Charls. Holy Christ,” he rasped, raking his hands through his shaggy dark brown hair. “You’re safe here. Both of you. Nick, too. I swear it to you. I’ll keep you safe.”
Somehow, she believed him.