Just Keep Walking

Ninety three

That night Mary slept restlessly in between Michonne and Rick, laid on couch cushions on the floor. For the first hour of the night, Mary spoke quietly to both Rick and Michonne, but when they realised that she was going to talk forever more and keep everyone awake, Rick sat with her on his lap, singing quietly to her for at least an hour until she fell asleep. She slept for a few hours, Michonne and Rick facing each other, Mary in the middle, clinging to her bunny, wrapped in Glenn's jacket, one of Rick's long, thick arms draped over Mary, resting on Michonne's back.
When Mary woke up from a nightmare, she woke the whole group with her screaming, and only Michonne could calm her down, Negan's echoing words about Rick and Carl and Daryl screaming in her thoughts. By the time she was calm again, almost everyone except Michonne and Rick were asleep, and Mary was exhausted.
"I want Glenn." Mary cried softly.
"I know. I know. I want him too. Shall we go back to sleep?"
"No. What's the clock on?"
"I don't know, you've gotta ask daddy." Michonne shrugged, prompting her to talk to Rick.
Mary breathed in shakily, and nodded. "Daddy, what's the clock on?"
"Only three, baby. Gotta go back to sleep." Rick said softly.
"Richard said breakfast starts at five. We can go then. I can play now." Mary shrugged.
"No, monkey, you can't. In one hour. Just lay down, you don't have to sleep. Rick, you driving tomorrow?" Michonne said softly.
"Yeah. I'll drive." Rick nodded.
"Okay. You lay with me and daddy, but you've gotta be super quiet, because daddy just said he's got a long drive home tomorrow. He can't fall asleep at the steering wheel. You can talk to me, but let daddy sleep. Deal?"
"Nah. Come on, Big Asskicker. Let's go for a walk," Daryl said firmly, "let them sleep."
"Daddy?" Mary whined quietly.
"You can go, it's okay. As long as your with Uncle Daryl."
"Not Uncle Daryl."
"I'm goin'. Wanna see the rest of this place." Rosita commented.
"And Auntie Rosita." Rick added with a tired smile, and Mary nodded.
"Fine."
"Okay. Bye bye, love you, see you soon." Rick smiled, and Mary kissed his cheek, then Michonne's, then left with Rosita and Daryl.
"Come here," Rick whispered to Michonne, and she laid next to him, nestled into his arms, "I love you. And I'd love to talk about literally anything now we're down Mary, but I'm so tired."
"Hm, me too." Michonne breathed, her breath tickling Rick's stubble.
"Night." Rick mumbled, kissing her lips softly, then they were asleep, Michonne curled into Rick, her head against his beating heart.
Mary, Daryl, and Rosita got back an hour later, and when she did, they accidentally woke up Michonne.
"You okay?" Michonne asked Mary softly, and the girl nodded. "Good."
Mary flopped onto Michonne's chest, and began to fiddle with the woman's necklace.
"M. M for Mishy. And for Mary. And for Maggie. And for... For.... For mommy. For... Monkey." Mary recited.
"You're so clever. Okay, who's name starts with... With a C."
"Carl! And Carol."
"And what about J?"
"Judith. Jesus, and Gregory."
"No, Gregory is a G. But the rest are right. Can I sort your messy hair?" Michonne asked, and Mary nodded. Michonne undid her hair from the day before, and combed through it with her fingers, then tied it up with Mary's bandana.
"Beautiful." Michonne smiled softly, kissing the top of Mary's head.
"Yep." Mary giggled. She looked around, and saw a few people waking up. "Can I get everyone awake?"
"Yeah, you can wake up daddy and Carl, but not the others." Michonne nodded. Mary went over and prodded Rick's cheek, then hugged his ear.
"Daddy," Mary called, "it's time to wake up. It's breakfast in ten minutes."
"It starts in ten minutes." Rick argued groggily, his eyes flickering open.
"Exactly!"
"Urgh. I'm up. Why the hell did I have kids?" Rick mumbled, sitting up and grabbing Mary, repeatedly kissing the top of her head until she screamed with laughter.
"Stop! Daddy!" Mary giggled loudly, her voice screaming out.
"Hmm, no." Rick teased, blowing a raspberry on her cheek, then letting her go. "Okay, lemmie properly wake up. Go wake up Carl. But remember to be super nice, or he'll be grumpy."
Mary nodded, and ran to Carl, then she laid down beside him, and shook his shoulder softly. "Carl, it's time to wake up." She whispered, and Carl's eyes flickered open.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" He mumbled groggily.
"It's time to get up." Mary explained again, and he nodded, sitting up. Rick came over and dragged Mary into the bathroom, getting her to wash her hands and face, then she sat drinking a glass of water while everyone else got ready for breakfast.
"Can we go?" Mary whined, her stomach growling.
"Yeah, c'mon." Rick nodded. They went to the cafeteria, Mary clinging to Rick's hand, and sat down at an empty table. Rick left Mary with Michonne, and got all three of them breakfast.
"What's that?" Mary asked in confusion, poking at a red fruit.
"Pomegranate. It's nice, and it's super good for you." Michonne explained, cutting up the fruit for Mary. Michonne looked at Rick and laughed. "Want me to do yours too?" She chuckled, and Rick nodded, his face helpless and childish. The woman rolled her eyes, and cut up Rick's pomegranate, then Carl's, then her own.
"What's this?" Mary questioned, pointing to her bowl of homemade yoghurt next to the place of fruit.
"It's yoghurt. It's made from milk, that's why we don't have it. You have to have a cow to have milk." Michonne explained patiently. Mary nodded, and clambered onto Michonne's lap, eating a chunk of apple.
"Look, tip it into the yoghurt." Michonne explained, and Mary did as she said, slowly eating the unknown foods. The group sat eating in silence, people leaving as they finished, until it left just the four members of Grimes family, with Mary picking at her food.
"Hi." A boy said suddenly, sitting next to Rick, opposite Mary and Michonne.
"Hello." Rick chuckled.
"I'm Henry. Who are you?"
"I'm Rick. This is Michonne, Mary, and Carl." Rick introduced.
"Are you new?"
"No, we're from a different community. We're just visiting."
"Your baby's cute," Henry commented, looking at Mary, "I always wanted a baby sister, but I only got a big brother."
"I'm not a baby." Mary scoffed.
"Sorry." Henry shrugged.
"Ezekiel is ready to talk to you." Richard announced, walking over.
"Alright, I need to get the others." Rick nodded. They walked and got the rest of the group, then went to the square, where they saw Ezekiel.
Mary waved at the man as she was sat on Carl's shoulders, wearing his hat, and holding onto a handful of Carl's hair.
Ezekiel looked at Rick, then at some women who were practicing archery. "This is life here. Every day. But it came at a cost. And I wanted more of this, I wanted to expand, to create more places like this. Men and women lost their limbs, children lost their parents, because I sent them into battle against the Wasted. when I did not need to."
"This is different." Rick insisted, realising what Ezekiel's choice was.
"It isn't."
"It is. The dead don't rule us. The world doesn't look like this outside your walls, people don't have it as good, some people don't have it good at all."
"I have to worry about my people." Ezekiel sighed, making Rick take a few steps away from him, restraining himself.
"You call yourself a damn king. You sure as hell don't act like one." Daryl spat angrily.
"All of this came at a cost. It was lives, arms, legs. The peace we have with the Saviours is uneasy, but it is peace. I have to hold onto it. I have to try. Although the Kingdom cannot grant you the aid you desire, the King is sympathetic to your plight. I offer our friend Daryl asylum, for as long as he requires it. He will be safe here. The Saviours do not set foot inside our walls."
"How long you think that's gonna last." Daryl scoffed, walking away.
"Where are we goin'?" Mary asked Carl.
"Home." The boy answered, and Mary sighed.
"Hey, King!" Mary called, and Carl shushed her.
"Mary." Rick warned.
"Yes?" Ezekiel asked, walking over.
"You're a prick and a coward..."
"Mary!" Rick hissed, but Ezekiel raised a finger up at him.
"Let her talk."
"He kills people. You saw how he hurt me. He'll kill someone you love too. He'll try and kill everyone. Richard is like the boss, after you. So he'll kill him first. Then the kids, he'll hurt them. Not kill them, but hurt them. That boy, Henry, and Benjamin, and Harry. You're the reason they'll die. You're the reason so many more people will die."
"Mary." Rick warned, taking her off Carl's shoulders.
Ezekiel nodded slowly, then left. Rick said nothing, just began to follow the rest of the group, all of them leaving. Carl drifted to the front of the group, leaving Rick and Michonne at the back, Mary holding Rick's hand in silence.
"You can change his mind, but you won't." Rick spat suddenly at Morgan.
"Then you can stay. We can talk." Morgan insisted.
"How many people do you have? To fight? I'll go with you." Richard offered suddenly.
"We don't even have enough to take on one outpost face to face yet." Rick sighed.
"So The Kingdom has to get involved, or the Saviours will always be in charge. It isn't about soldiers. We're making them stronger, the more food we give them, the more arms, the more everything, everyday, any of us give them something, they become harder and harder to beat." Richard sighed. They reached the gate, and Mary sighed.
"Alright, open it up! We're gone!" Daryl shouted, and the gate slowly opened, everyone except Richard, Morgan, Rick, Mary, and Daryl leaving.
"You're not." Rick said gently to Daryl.
"I'm not staying here." Daryl scoffed.
"Daddy?" Mary whimpered in confusion, not wanting to leave Daryl.
"You have to, it's the smartest play. You know it is. Try to talk to Ezekiel. Or stare him into submission. Whatever it takes." Rick soothed, his hand on Daryl's shoulder, "We'll be back soon."
"Bye bye." Mary whispered, and Daryl ruffled her hair.
"Don't be a brat. Listen to yer daddy." Daryl ordered, and Mary nodded, waving at him, then at Richard.
"Bye sweetheart." Richard laughed, and then Rick and Mary left, Rick staring at Daryl until the gate closed, cutting them off.
"Do I need to tell you that you was incredibly rude to Ezekiel just then?" Rick asked, looking straight ahead as he walked.
"No. I know." Mary answered. Rick nodded slowly, and squeezed her hand, and she let out a little smile.
"Are we goin' home now?" Mary asked with a sigh.
"Yeah. That okay?"
"Yeah. I just want to go home." Mary whispered.
"You miss Bertie and the chicken?"
"Yeah. And Aaron."
"What about Judith?" Rick chuckled.
"I miss her too. Just not as much, because she's boring."
"Yeah, babies are a bit boring." Rick admitted, reaching the car.
"Can I sit with you?"
"I'm driving, but you can sit next to me, with Mishy."
"Okay." Mary sighed. Rick opened Michonne's door, and sat Mary on her lap.
"Merry Christmas." He joked, then shut the door. Rick walked to his side of the car, and sat down, starting up the van.
"Everyone here?" He asked, and when everyone nodded, he started the car, driving away.
"So Daryl stayed?" Tara asked softly, and Rick nodded.
"Safest place." He answered gruffly, and Carl sighed. The van was silent for a few minutes, then Mary spoke up, nestled into Michonne's chest, sucking her thumb - a sign that she was truly exhausted - and holding her bunny.
"When do we get home?" She murmured, and Michonne kissed the top of her head.
"Soon. Two hours. Go to sleep." The woman soothed, stroking the side of her face with her thumb.
"I want Glenn." Mary whimpered.
"I know. C'mon. You got, like, an hour of sleep last night. Go to sleep."
"I want the Sunshine Song!" Mary whined, looking at her father.
"You'll go to sleep if I sing it?" Rick asked with a raised eyebrow, and Mary nodded in determination. Rick span, and glared at everyone in the back seats. "This doesn't leave this car." He ordered, and Rosita laughed under her breath, as Jesus nodded, not understanding that he wasn't serious. Then Rick sang until Mary fell asleep, not truly caring who listened. Mary came first.