Natalie's attempt at a nap proved short-lived, a rarity for someone typically resistant to midday slumbers. The accumulated exhaustion of recent events seemed to have finally caught up with her. Shane, Andrea, and Carol embarked on another search for Sophia, retracing their steps to the abandoned traffic jam. Natalie, feeling a peculiar mix of fatigue and restlessness, found herself wrestling with an unexpected twinge of jealousy at the thought of Shane spending so much time with Andrea.
Seated on the bed, Natalie's gaze drifted into the emptiness of her thoughts. The prospect of a potential pregnancy lingered in her mind, Glenn en route to procure the necessary tests.
The creaking of the door drew her attention, and her eyes lifted to meet Rick's entrance. It had been a while since father and daughter found a moment alone, especially after the tumultuous incident involving Carl's injury. The air in the room held a tension, a mixture of unspoken concerns and the need for a candid conversation.
Rick was the last person she wanted to see right now, not sure if it would slip out that she was pregnant accidentally telling the wrong person at the moment. "Hershel doesn't think it's safe with us here." Rick had broken the news for her walking more into the room closing the door behind him to keep the conversation between the two of them.
"I wouldn't either" Crossing her legs moving them closer to her chest. The two of them sat in silence, Rick ducking his head down and making his way towards Natalie sitting down on the bed next to her. "More strangers show up to my farm, armed..." Comfort had filled the air holding on for a second.
"I understood him, think I got us a couple more days to figure stuff out" Rick took off his hat playing with it in his hands. "We just have to spend a couple of days respecting his rules. Thank you for speaking up out there."
Natalie nodded silently, her gaze fixed on Rick, her mind teeming with unspoken words. The impending pregnancy test, sought by Glenn, loomed in the background, a symbol of uncertainty that she grappled with. The fear of potentially bringing a child into a world marred by constant strife and internal conflicts weighed heavily on her. The desire to avoid replicating the cycle of pain, loss, and perpetual struggle drove her hesitation.
In the hushed stillness of the room, Natalie wrestled with the fatigue of running, of losing loved ones along the way. The unsteady rhythm of her heartbeat mirrored the internal struggle as she grappled with the overwhelming decision looming on the horizon.
The fear that had flowed through her when she had gotten the news about Carl and Shane being something she never wanted to feel again. "It's safer here for Carl without them" Natalie pointed out using the same excuse she had told Shane. "Mom would've said the same thing if she wasn't with him right now."
"You should be with him," Rick mentioned the same thing Lori had been doing. Natalie knew that was the reason he had come up here to talk to her. "He misses his sister...." Chuckling a bit through his words ducking his head. "Thinks you're mad at him for not protecting us..."
Now the feeling of guilt had hit her stomach biting down on her lip a little bit. Eyes trailing to the corner where Shane's clothes were hoping that Rick didn't pay any mind to it not feeling like explaining herself anymore.
"The way he stared at me." Confessing to the one person to whom she for some reason felt she could tell everything too. "It was the same look I saw in Cassie when I-...I saw her body." Haunting her in the corner of the room.
Rick had nodded his head understanding and pitying his daughter who had lost her best friend. "The first time you see it...It can haunt you," Rick tried to bring comfort into her. "But he's alive, Carl's downstairs...okay...If you focus on that, he'll slip away from you...Iris"
Rick placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "He's a resilient kid, just like his sister. And you're right here with him, helping him navigate through this world. We're all trying to figure things out. You've got a strong heart, Iris."
"Yeah, strong heart, maybe, but it doesn't make it any easier." She leaned into the comfort of her father's presence, momentarily finding solace. "And about Hershel's rules, I get it, but it feels like we're walking on a tightrope, doesn't it? Just one wrong step,"
Rick nodded, acknowledging the delicate balance they needed to maintain. "We play by the rules for now, keep Carl safe, and figure out what comes next."
"We find Sophia," Natalie tried to regain hope sitting up from her bed and edging to the edge of the bed sitting on the corner of it.
Rick had turned to her one more time nodding his head and standing up kissing the top of Natalie's head. "Imma go take your mom off of Carl duty," He softly whispered. It was obvious every conversation that Rick had with his daughter had wound up gaining his confidence in being a good parent. Seeing how Natalie was turning out had given him hope for Carl but not knowing the truth that lay beside her sometimes. "Besides Carl needs to know the truth about Sophia."
Humming, Rick walked out of the room leaving Natalie behind. The young woman had taken a second stepping out of bed and going into her bag of clothes that she had taken from the abandoned car. Putting on a white tank top, shorts and Rick's jacket which took in her body whole.
Going downstairs, Natalie had placed her hand on the doorway to Carl's room looking into it. The sun was slowly going down with no sign of Carol, Andrea and Shane being back just yet.
Rick noticed his daughter standing at the doorway as she knocked softly. "I'm going to go talk to your mother okay," He nodded down to Carl who smiled at the sight of his older sister. Rick stood up from the chair put his hat on and made his way out of the room giving a nod of comfort going towards Natalie.
"Hey, Buddy" Natalie used his nickname going over and joining him. "Can I lay there?"
"Yeah," Carl scooted over a little bit and Natalie sat in the bed almost hanging off of it since she was too tall for it. It was the same way when Lori lay inside the bed as well.
The nineteen-year-old kissed the top of her little brother's head. "I'm not mad at you, kid-" Her words came out as a joke rubbing his shoulder with comfort. "If anything, that deer was in the way."
Chuckling at her wording. "Yeah," He dragged out. "But it was beautiful, you would've loved it." The little boy smiled turning up to her. Natalie had looked down at her brother with a soft painful smile.
"I should've been there." Moving her head down to be on top of his.
"On the bright side...I'm like dad now" He continued innocently. Natalie hummed wondering where he was going with this. "We've both been shot"
An innocent laugh came out of her mouth. "Don't tell Mom that" Natalie whispered to him as the two of them laughed both knowing why Lori wouldn't want to hear that. "True Grime men passages." Natalie bit her lip feeling like this; was a good moment that she finally had. "Let's just not make that into a habit, right?"
"I promise." He grimmed up at her with a glimmer of mischief resting in the corner of his eyes. "You scared?" This was the first time someone had asked her this question in a while and since it was her little brother it felt like she wasn't able to lie to him.
A small nod had come from her head. "Yea...Yea....I am, Carl- and It's okay that I am...you?" He had now nodded his head a little bit since she was open with him.
Reaching over Natalie grabbed Rick's hat putting it on her brother's head. Both of them got comfortable softly falling asleep next to one another making sure they both were okay.
Her eyes had opened when there was a knock on the door causing her to turn to Glenn who shakingly walked into the room. "I've got it..." He confessed to her digging into her and Shane's bookbag and pulling out the pregnancy test.
Turning her head to see that Carl was fully asleep with the sheriff's hand going over his eyes. Natalie moved from her stop next to him softly trying not to wake him up. "Are you..."
"You'll be the first one who knows, yeah?" Putting her pinky out nodding her head a little bit.
Glenn grabbed her pink nodding and folding it into hers. Natalie grabbed onto the pregnancy test looking at Carl before walking out and placing it in her jacket pocket so no one saw and thought something about it.
Sitting in the small bathroom, Natalie took a moment to compose herself. The ambient sound of Hershel and Rick conversing in the kitchen provided a temporary distraction. As she closed the door behind her, the air inside seemed to thicken with anticipation.
With a deep breath, Natalie began the process. Unbuckling her pants, she settled onto the toilet seat, her mind filled with a mixture of anxiety and uncertainty.
Opening the pregnancy test kit, she retrieved the stick and positioned it carefully, attempting to focus on the task at hand despite the swirling thoughts in her head. Though her aim wasn't perfect, she managed to conduct the test, placing it into the toilet and anxiously awaiting the result.
After completing the test, Natalie washed her hands, and the cool water provided a brief respite. She glanced at the test stick, now perched on the sink. The ticking minutes felt like an eternity, each passing second amplifying the tension in the room.
Seated on the edge of the shower, Natalie watched as the test slowly revealed its verdict.
The seconds dragged on, and when the result finally manifested, she couldn't help but grab it, her fingers tightening around the stick.
Biting her lip, panic surged through her, a mixture of fear and uncertainty flooding her senses. The weight of the revelation settled heavily on her shoulders as she grappled with the implications of the test.
+
Natalie's gaze fixated on the positive sign on the pregnancy test, her mind reeling with a mix of emotions. The weight of the revelation pressed upon her, and with a heavy sigh, she carefully placed the stick into her jacket pocket. Folding her hands into her hair, she stood, stress evident in the furrowed lines on her forehead.
As she looked at herself in the mirror, the gravity of the situation became more pronounced. It wasn't the ideal circumstance to find oneself pregnant at the age of nineteen, especially amid the chaos of a world unravelling.
The reflection staring back at her seemed to carry the weight of the challenges ahead, and Natalie couldn't help but feel a sense of uncertainty about the future.
jules' talk ♱ ; THE WORD PLAY,
yes this isn't a reupload it's a new chapter and a huge parallel,
I'm so proud of myself for making this parallel between two chapters.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter <3.