Sweet Dreams #Wattys 2018

Scouting Gone Wrong

Mariah's POV:

Mariah sat down next to Lori. She put her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "Hershel and Carol told me that you are concerned about the baby?"

Lori gave a small smile. "I've already talked to Hershel, I feel a little better," she assured the woman.

"You're very pregnant, we've just been fighting for our survival for almost a year, and now we are making a home in a prison, it's a lot to take in Lori. Hershel told me that you are anemic?" she asked softly.

The brown haired woman nodded. "I know the risks," Lori told the other woman. "I'm preparing myself for the worst," she admitted.

Mariah hugged the other woman. "You have Hershel, you have me, you have Jewel, you have Carol. Hershel's been teaching Jewel, Carol, and me about c sections. I've seen a few of them done, but never done one. You're going to be so sick of having one of the four of us around you, you're going to beg this baby just to pop out so we'll leave you alone," she told her.

"I'm surprised that you're willing to do this for me, you are Jewel's friend," Lori told her.

Mariah sighed as she leaned against the wall. "You know I'm beginning to hate to have to explain this to you and Carol. Yes I knew Jewel, Summer and Daryl before this. Jewel was my friend, one of the first I had when I moved to Georgia. Summer baby sat for Peter. She was good with him, but you see how she is with Mitch. That girl was always meant to be a big sister. Daryl and I were friends. Just because we were friends and Jewel and Rick are in love, has nothing to do with what you and I are. I just spent months on the run with you Lori. Just think of me as that annoying sister," she said as she smiled.

"He hates me, he's to kind to say it. I cheated on him with his best friend. We were over long before he moved out, Mariah," Lori said with her hand on her very pregnant belly.

"Rick doesn't hate you, Lori," Mariah told the other woman. "I know what it's like to hate your ex. I hated my ex, he hated me. We had court battles that would make battling walkers a welcome sight," she stated. "I would have put a screwdriver in his eye and walked away had we been on the run together. Rick didn't expect walk into camp and find not only Carl and you but the woman he'd fall for. Jewel certainly wasn't planning on falling hard for the man who left Merle on a roof. Trust me, I've thought about leaving him stranded but he could track, he'd find his way home like an old damn dog," she said with a small smile. "Trust me Lori, he still cares for you. Just not in the way you want, but that's alright, because you are not alone," she said as she hugged the other woman. 'Feeling better?"

Lori smiled. "Yes," she answered.

"Good, now rest, you need it before this baby comes," Mariah told her. "I'm going to go check on Carl for you. He's hanging out with Mitch," she said as she got up.

"Thank you Mar," Lori said as she leaned back on the cot.

Group POV:

Daryl laid weapons out on the table as he looked at them. "Not to bad of a haul," he told the group.

"Flashbangs, CS Triple Chasers, I'm not sure how much help they are going to be against walkers' but we'll take them," Rick told them.

"I'm going to ask a stupid question, but Jane said there was never such thing as a stupid question. Is a CS Triple Chaser just a fancy name for a grenade?" Jewel asked as she picked it up and looked at it.

Rick laughed as he kissed her. "It's like a three in one...you throw it, and it separates into three different parts. It releases a gas, it's good for crowd management," Rick explained.

Jewel nodded. "That should definitely be something that Summer carries. I know she isn't going on clearing with us, but on a regular basis, should be in her bag," Jewel told her husband.