On an official bright side, hershel had woken up, and reggie was beyond happy. he had sat with him in the morning for a little bit. it was a relief that he wasn't going to lose another parent. he had rick to thank for that. when he got out of the room with hershel, reggie didn't even look at daryl. daryl didn't look at reggie, either. they were both outside with carol, rick, and t-dog, as they were moving the cars inside the prison walls. reggie had missed his car. he hated to think about it out there alone, free for anybody to take. he tried to think about how he'd feel if his car got stolen, but he just couldn't even imagine it. he loved it too much. his car was the first one he got inside the gate. with a bit of help, he quickly ran out of the gates and drove it back in before anybody could say a word about it. he didn't care, though. he wasn't leaving it outside.
now, though, he was stood with his hands on his hips as he looked at rick, waiting for him to tell him what to do. marcus had been on his mind a whole lot. it had been a week since he had seen him. he was thinking about avoiding him. marcus wasn't allowed in the cell block with everybody else, anyway, so it wasn't like he would have to bump into him if he didn't want to. he could avoid marcus without a doubt. he wouldn't have to tell a soul what happened between them, and he could just avoid him. he never really had to see marcus again, so it was a win situation in reggie's books. he actually felt a little relieved once he had came to that conclusion. he wasn't going to get hurt again, not by marcus, anyway. that brought peace to his mind, a lot of peace.
"okay, now that reggie has claimed importance, let's get the rest of the cars in. we'll park them in the west entry of the yard." rick said, pointing over to said west entry, where reggie had parked.
"good. our vehicles camped out there look like giant 'vacancy' sign." daryl said. he did have a point, but reggie wouldn't admit it.
"after that we need to load up these corpses so we can burn 'em." rick said, making reggie jokingly smile and wiggle his fingers.
"fun little cremation moment." he said, making carol laugh.
"your dad isn't here to say it, so i will. reginald, do you always have to do this?" carol grinned, looking at him. reggie laughed.
"it's gonna be a long day." t-dog said, letting out a breath as he held one of his hands on his hip.
"at least we'll get rid'a the smell'a death. can't deal with that for a second longer." reggie said, scrunching his nose up. "gross."
"where's glenn and maggie? we could use some help." carol said. daryl looked up to the watch tower, and reggie grimaced. he did not need that picture of his sister and her dumb boyfriend in his head. he held his forehead, trying to her the image out.
"up in the guard tower." daryl said, nodding his head toward it.
"the guard tower?" rick questioned, making reggie shake his head.
"y'all, that's my sister. i don't want that image." he said, fanning his face down.
"they were just up there last night." rick said, looking at reggie with a chuckle.
"glenn! maggie!" daryl yelled.
that's when the door to the guard tower opened, and glenn stumbled out. he didn't have his shirt on, and by the looks of it, his trousers were only half way on, too. reggie covered his mouth, trying not to laugh, but also out of disgust as glenn tried to button up his trousers and do his belt at the same time. everyone on the ground shared little snickers between them at glenn's state. that's when maggie popped up behind him, thankfully clothed.
"hey! what's up guys?" glenn said, in a nerdy voice. glenn was usually nerdy, but that voice just made him nerdier.
"ya comin'?" daryl asked, making reggie snort so hard that he was afraid he was going to get a nosebleed.
"what?!" glenn said back, almost in disbelief.
"ya comin'?" daryl called again, making reggie laugh harder at glenn's confusion as carol leaned on reggie's shoulder, laughing. glenn looked back at maggie for help. "come on, we could use a hand."
many laughs later, everyone got back on with the task as maggie and glenn came down to help. to reggie, it felt good having something to do again. being busy really did take the worry out of his stomach. it took away the bad feelings he had. it helped him ignore the thoughts of marcus, and the looks that daryl was giving him every time reggie would take a step. he didn't know what was going on with daryl, but he'd been weird. he wasn't being weird with anyone other than reggie, though, and reggie always hated that. he had been like that all week. reggie knew it was his fault. he knew he shouldn't have met up with marcus, but it was also daryl that told him to, because he admitted that he didn't like him. even before marcus was in the picture, daryl had been saying it. then, his karma came right round and bit him in the ass, and he didn't know how to deal with it.
he thought that reggie would just run around after him like a loss puppy the entire time. reggie was doing that. but then, reggie stopped, and daryl didn't know how to act. how was he supposed to act when reggie wasn't there for him to fall back on? how was he supposed to act when reggie wasn't his? he didn't know. he had no answers to any of the questions he had, because he was too afraid to ask them. daryl's mind was a constant whirlwind of fear. he was seen as one of the bravest members, but if they took one step inside of his brain, he would be the most fearful one in the group. he would've beat sophia by a mile. hell, he was pretty sure that his five year old sister was braver than he was. he wasn't brave. not deep down. he was hiding. he'd always been hiding.
"hey, rick?" t-dog said, making them all turn around, like all of their names were 'rick.'
that's when reggie's heart stopped in his chest again. ignoring marcus was probably harder than he thought it was going to be, because there he was, with axel and oscar, making his way to the group. reggie took a deep breath as he tried to stop looking nervous. daryl watched as reggie quickly moved from him, and stood near carol, which confused him. why couldn't he stand next to him? how would carol protect him if something went down? then, it clicked. what if reggie wasn't allowed to talk to daryl, and that's why he had been ignoring him all week? daryl had been ignoring reggie all week, too, sure, but that was only because reggie was ignoring daryl, and daryl didn't want to be the first one to make conversation after he had gone out and came back hurt.
"come with me." rick said, walking forward to the prisoners. they all started walking with him, even though reggie didn't want to. they finally got to the prisoners. reggie kept his head down. "that's close enough. we had an agreement."
"please, mister. we know that. we made a deal, but you gotta understand that we can't live in that place another minute, you follow me? all the bodies— people we knew. blood, brains, everywhere. there's ghosts." axel said, folding his arms, shyly.
"why don't you move the bodies out?" daryl asked, glaring at marcus as he spoke. marcus looked everywhere other than his eyes. daryl liked that.
"you should be burning them." t-dog added on.
"we tried. we did." axel replied.
"the fence is down on the far side of the prison. every time we move a body out, those things just line up. dropping the body and just running back inside." oscar explained, calmly.
"look, we had nothing to do with tomas and andrew. nothing." marcus said, as he walked closer to the group. reggie took a step back so hard that he almost head butted carol. "if you're trying to prove a point, you proved it, man. we'll do whatever it takes to be a part of your group. reggie and maggie know me, right? they know i'm not like those guys."
"it doesn't matter who you knew before, who knows you're good, and who knows you're bad. our deal is nonnegotiable." rick said. "you either live in your cell block, or you leave."
"i told you this was a waste of time." oscar said, looking at axel and marcus, before turning back to rick. "they ain't no different to the pricks that shot up our boys. you know how many friends corpses we had to drag out this week? just threw 'em out, like—those we good guys. good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes in the joint, like tomas and andrew."
as reggie listened to oscar go on his rant, he only had one thought in his brain. please don't let marcus join the group. reggie knew that he had a weak mind. reggie would admit it to himself, about himself, that he had a weak mind. he didn't want marcus to join the group because he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold off. he wouldn't be able to tell him 'no,' and he would keep getting hurt for however long it took for marcus to die, because there was no way that reggie had the strength to look anybody in the eye and tell them that he was being hurt. if rick let marcus into their group, that was it for reggie. he didn't know what he'd do. he would be in for an extremely painful ride, and he knew that. he would be pushed away from his family again, he would be pushed away from his friends, he wouldn't be allowed to do anything. that's how it was before. reggie thought it was because he was young and dumb. but he wasn't so young anymore. he wasn't dumb, so why was he still being hurt? it didn't make sense.
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marcus, axel and oscar were behind some fences, locked up until rick was ready to let them out onto the road. reggie knew that marcus probably wouldn't leave so easily, but he didn't say it. he was stood outside the fences with maggie, glenn, t-dog, daryl, and rick, just like he had previously been. they were watching hershel, who was on crutches, and out on a walk with lori, beth, sophia, carl, and misty. reggie was so happy to see hershel up and about. it really put his worries to rest. it had been a long week, waiting for him to get better. it was a good sight to see lori walking and well, too. she was about to pop any day now. reggie was even starting to think that she was overdue, and her baby was late. maybe by around two weeks, or a week and a half. it was supposed to be out.
carol and reggie had been training up all week, too, on how to deliver babies since hershel wasn't going to be able to do it. reggie got the hang of it faster than carol, since reggie had more experience in nursing type work. he never saw himself going down the midwifery path, but there he was, knowing the ins and the outs on how to deliver a baby. he just hoped that when the time came, he would be able to do it right. he also secretly hoped that lori had a girl, because carl had been talking so much about wanting a baby brother, and teasing reggie about having only sisters. misty had gotten into lori's head about what would happen if she ended up having twins, like maggie and reggie. she hadn't shut up about twins all week since she learned what they were. she was mind blown that reggie and maggie were twins.
"why are we just awkwardly starin' at everyone through the fence?" reggie said, turning around so he didn't have to face it.
"it's not awkward, it's happy. dad's walking again." maggie said, a smile on her face as she looked at reggie.
"yeah, but it's all silent and weird. i feel like i can hear crickets and shit, like in those awkward youtube video things." reggie said, making glenn laugh as he knew exactly what reggie was talking about. maggie rolled her eyes at her brother and dumb boyfriend.
"walkers! look out!" carl suddenly shouted, making reggie quickly turn around to see what he was yelling about. then he saw it. so many walkers swarming toward carl, lori, beth, hershel, misty, and sophia.
"get out of there!" rick yelled at them all as reggie started running with him and daryl, trying to get inside the gates so they could help. "lori! carl! get out of there, now!"
daryl wasted no time, seeing his little sister trying to use her gun. she was a good shot, but she was only as good of a shot as a five year old could be. she was scared, it wasn't like killing a deer. it was a monster. she screamed as she shot one walker in it's leg, and it just kept stumbling forward. daryl quickly got the key off glenn, and then threw it to rick, who tried his best to open the gate fast despite his shaky hands. as soon as daryl got inside, he began to hit the walkers, trying to get to his baby sister. everyone else in the world was drowned out except misty. his legs felt like they were burning with how fast he ran, but he wasn't going to let her die.
"daryl!" misty screamed, as a walker got close to her.
daryl quickly shot the walker with his crossbow, swiping misty up like she weighed nothing as he continued to shoot them. "it's all right, i've got ya. you did real good, misty."
daryl watched reggie run somewhere with carl, lori, and maggie, so he had one less person to worry about. he went to help rick and the rest of them. reggie ran down a the hall with them, avoiding the walkers that at were inside the prison as he tried to get them all to safety, using his sword on a couple heads when their snapping jaws got too close for comfort. carl was a big help, shooting all the walkers that he possibly could, whilst maggie and lori tried to find a place they could go. suddenly, though, a loud alarm started blaring as they got to a corridor. and then, lori doubled over, and reggie's heart fell straight into his stomach. she couldn't be giving birth. not right then. not right there. he wasn't prepared to help her. he didn't have the right stuff, his mind wasn't clear and he— he just wasn't ready. she couldn't give birth.
"what's wrong? can't you keep up?" maggie asked, quickly going to lori's side.
"something's not right." lori said, holding her stomach.
"are you bit?" maggie asked.
"no. no. i think the baby's coming." lori replied, making reggie literally stick his palm straight to his face, sighing loudly.
"can't ya hold it in?" reggie asked, moving closer to her.
"reggie, it's a child! she can't just hold it in!" maggie argued, looking at him like he was completely stupid.
"just clench or somethin'! ya can't give birth in this hallway, not with all those walkers on us an' this big alarm. i ain't got none of my stuff, and i don't want nothin' to happen to ya, it ain't clean, and it—"
lori cut off reggie's panicking with a scream. "i can't hold it, reggie! ow! it needs to be out of me, right now!"
the walkers came around the corner, so reggie helped carry lori whilst maggie and carl found a room they could go in to deliver the baby that reggie didn't want to deliver. lori could barely walk straight, and reggie wasn't the strongest man there ever was, but he knew that he couldn't let carl watch his mom get ripped apart by walkers, so he grabbed lori, picking her up to the best of his abilities. if she wasn't pregnant, it would be a whole lot easier. with how big the bump was, reggie wouldn't be surprised if she was about to birth triplets. either triplets, or a four year old that had been cooking in there way too long. then again, though, reggie hadn't seen many pregnant women in his life. he didn't know if the bump was just naturally supposed to be that big. it sure was big, though. reggie was contemplating whether she had dwayne 'the rock' johnson stored in there for protection.
"in here!" carl said, as he finally found a room.
the second reggie walked through the door, he helped lori quickly get down the steps. he couldn't really focus, but maggie and lori decided that she needed to give birth, after literally five minutes of maggie and reggie both saying they needed hershel. but then, when lori's trousers came off, that's when reggie saw that the baby was literally coming. there wasn't long left. whether he liked it or not, that little sucker was about to be out. the new grimes kid was arriving and she was arriving fast.
"this ain't nothin' like a dog givin' birth. dad's a fuckin' liar!" reggie panicked again, as lori screamed and screamed, badly.
"oh my!" lori screamed as she breathed heavily. but then reggie's eyes widened as blood poured out of her. heavily.
"lori, lori, don't push! don't push! somethin's wrong." reggie said, making her try to stop as she turned around. reggie's hand was full of blood. lori's blood. lori continued to scream.
"mom, mom! keep your eyes open, look at me." carl said, as lori got more faint. reggie was really panicking, now, but trying not to show it. something was extremely wrong. he didn't know what to do. he didn't want lori to die. he didn't want carl to see it.
"lori, with all this blood, i don't even think you're fully dilated yet. no amount of pushing will help." reggie said, a comforting hand on her cheek. he didn't know why that would be comforting for her, but it just felt right in that moment.
"i know what it means, and i'm not losing my baby." lori said.
"lori, please. you can't leave the one you have. you don't have to do this, nobody's gonna be mad at you. ya can't do this, i—i won't allow it." reggie said. there was no way he was going to kill lori for a baby he didn't even know. that she didn't even know. especially not in front of the kid she already knew and loved.
"that's not your choice, reggie. you've gotta cut me open." lori said. reggie shook his head, refusing. "you don't have a choice."
"what about carl, i— what about rick?" reggie asked, a tear falling down his face as lori began to grow paler.
"please." lori begged.
"i ain't got no anaesthetic, i ain't got no equipment—"
she cut him off. "carl has a knife."
"you won't survive." maggie said, reggie stressed, running his palm down his face. he didn't want lori to die.
"my baby has to survive."
"fuck the baby, you have to survive!" reggie shouted at her, making maggie smack him hard on the arm. maybe that was a little wrong, but he was in panic.
he knew how it felt to lose a mother, and he didn't want carl to go through the same thing he did. he remembered the emptiness he felt when his mom died. he remembered the feeling of his heart beating, but feeling like it was losing a small piece every time it did so, like small bits of his heart were falling off, because his heart was beating and his mother's wasn't. he didn't want carl to have to feel that, ever, but he knew that it wasn't his choice. it was lori's body. she wanted to have her baby, so she was going to have her baby. reggie just didn't understand. if he already had a child, he would save himself for the child. carl would get over losing a baby he had never met faster than he would get over losing his mom. it sounded selfish, but it was so true.
"my baby, please. for all of us. please, reggie, please." lori begged. reggie closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.
he was going to have to do it if he liked it or not, because it was lori's choice. not reggie's. it was lori's body. not reggie's. she was carl's mom. not reggie's.
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author's note 🐊
reggie in the future to judith "hi, i'm
uncle reggie that once yelled 'fuck the baby'
when you were being born x"
also marcus (full name marcus smith) is
portrayed by jake gyllenhaal. you can see
down here 😊 he's so fine tbh but like he's just
how i picture marcus to look. reggie got standards
until they all turn out to be dicks
* HE DOESN'T STAY FOR LONG ANYWAY. HE'S
NOT A MAIN CHARACTER OR A BIG PLOT !