"My God Hunter, these are truly disgusting." I say, my nose screwed up at the smell emitting from him.
I quickly clean up my son before I put the diaper in the plastic bag, replacing it with a clean one. He blinks lazily as he looks up at nothing in particular and I can't help the massive smile that covers my face. I quickly button him back up into his onesie and I lift him up, "Hello my handsome boy." I smile brightly.
I gently lay him over my shoulder as I turn and walk out of the room. I gently pat his back as I walk down the stairs into the kitchen, getting myself a glass of water. I hear him making noises in my ear and I smile to myself as I quickly down the water and place the cup in the sink. The house is fairly empty, everyone off and doing their own thing. Belle went with Rosita and Eugene to weapons practice. I want her to be able to use a weapon, to be able to protect herself when no one is there.
I look at the time and see it is late afternoon and I turn to Hunter, "How does a walk sound little man?" I ask.
He makes a noise and I chuckle, "Come on."
I walk back upstairs and grab over the shoulder baby carrier from our supplies. I lay him down on the bed and tie up my hair quickly before I lift him up and into the carrier, him nestling in perfectly against my chest. I smile and walk to my bedside table, grabbing my gun and knife. I turn and make my way downstairs and out of the house. The sun is nice and warm and I close my eyes briefly and take it in before I open them and continue walking.
I hear the sounds of the walkers surrounding the place and an unsettling feeling comes over me. I just wish Daryl was back, I'd feel so much better. I also wish Glenn was back, he and I have gotten close over the past few years and he means so much to Maggie. I know they will be back, they have to be. They're both strong and brave and they'll help us get rid of all the walkers and then Daryl will finally be able to meet his son. I look down at Hunter and gently run my finger over his forehead with a smile.
"Hayley!"
I look up and see Deanna walking towards me with a big smile on her face, "Deanna, how are you?" I ask, noticing that she is noticeably more cheerful then when I last saw her.
She nods her head with a tight smile, "I'm feeling a lot better."
"That's good, I'm glad to hear it." I say with a smile.
She stops beside me and peers over at Hunter, "So this is the little miracle we've all been waiting to meet?" She asks, awe in her voice.
I nod my head, "Yes, Deanna this is Hunter."
"What a beautiful name, a reflection of his father." She says, reaching up and stroking the side of his face.
I smile an her analysis and she beams down at him, "He is so lucky, he'll get to see what this place will become after all of this."
I look away from my son towards her and nod after a moment, "Yeah, he will."
She smiles and looks at him for a moment more before stepping back and looking up at me, "I must hurry on, I've got to give these to Rick. But I'll see you later on, perhaps get the chance to hold the little angel myself?"
I nod my head, "Of course."
She smiles, "Goodbye Hayley."
"Bye Deanna." I smile at the older woman.
She turns and heads off back towards the place we came and I can't help but stare after her. Only yesterday she was distant and cold, not wanting to speak a word to anyone here. Now it's as if she is back to normal and I can't help but wonder what happened during that time to make her feel differently.
I turn and make my way towards where they're holding weapons practice, I want to see how far along Belle has come. I walk down the Alexandrian streets and I walk past Maggie who is standing guard on one of the watch towers.
"How's everything look?" I ask, calling up to her.
I see her peer her head over the edge of the tower and she nods, "Everything's the same."
"So nothing yet?" I ask and she shakes her head, "No, nothing yet."
I nod my head in disappointment, "There will be."
"I know." She says and I smile at her optimism.
"I'm going to go check on Belle okay? Call me if you need anything." I call up to her.
She nods her head, "Alright, see you later Hales."
"Later Maggs." I call back up.
She steps back from my view and I turn and make my way towards the practice. As I round the solar panels I see a few of the Alexandrian people in line and practicing the movements Rosita is teaching them. In the middle at the front is Belle, Eugene standing beside her. She holds a machete in her hand and a weird feeling comes over me at the sight. I know she has to protect herself, but the sight of my baby girl holding a deadly weapon in her hands makes my feel queasy inside. I push it away and stand underneath the shade of the solar panels as I watch Rosita teach the people.
"Now when the blade connects, don't jerk it right back. It'll get stuck." She instructs.
"Stuck?" One of the men asks.
"Like an axe cutting into a tree. It's easier getting a blade into bone then out." She explains.
"So what should we do?" The man asks, looking at her in confusion.
"You should slide the machete down through the wound. One fluid motion so you can ease it through the bone. Like this." She says before she swings the machete down and then sliding it down through the wound, "Alright?"
I look at Belle as she copies Rosita's movements perfectly and I smile at her, glad to know that she is learning something. Rosita walks over to the weapon bin and picks up another one before walking towards Eugene. She hits the two weapons together and it causes Eugene to jump, "Hey!" He cries out frightened.
"I'm a weapons novice holding a significant blade here and there are people in my proximity with open toed shoes." He says as she walks around to face him.
"That's right. So get a grip." She says.
He looks at her before glancing over towards the wall with a scared look on his face, "What are you so scared of?" She asks.
He turns and looks at her, "We might be dying."
"Dying is simple, it all just stops. You're dead. The people around you dying, that's the hard part. Because you keep living. Knowing that they're gone and you're still here. What you should be scared of is living. Knowing that you didn't do everything you could to keep them here." She says looking him in the eye.
"Too upset to keep going? Are the noises scaring you? Or can I get back to my lesson?" She asks, her tone sharp.
He looks at her for a moment before turning and walking away and she nods her head. I look towards Belle and I give her a nod of encouragement as Rosita turns to them all, "Let's try this again."
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The group has had a bit of a break to rest and recuperate and sits down beside me, taking a sip of the water that Rosita brought. I look up at the woman and see a hard look etched into her face, "You alright?" I ask, looking up at her.
She snaps out of her thoughts and looks down at me, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"With Eugene... You don't seem fine." I state.
"He needed to hear that. So many people have died to get him here and he doesn't appreciate it. He needs to learn to grow up and face his responsibilities." She says, anger in her tone.
"Hey, I'm not saying you were wrong. He does need to grow up, face up to everything that he has done. But he's afraid, like the rest of us." I begin, "He hasn't been through what most of us have, he doesn't get it like we do. For most of his life he's probably only ever thought of himself. But now he's learning what it means to be apart of a group and I can see that he has tried, especially with that whole thing with Tara."
"What are you saying?" She asks, folding her arms over her chest.
"What I'm saying is, give the guy a break. He's getting there, even is it is only at a snails pace." I say, tilting my head to the side.
She looks at me for a moment when we hear yelling coming from behind us from the wall. I look over and see Rick standing on one of the guard towers yelling down, "Spencer, get back here!"
I get up and rush over towards them as Rick continues yelling. Suddenly I hear the sounds of gunshots and I look over to see Tara shooting over the edge of the wall, Eugene running off towards one of the watch towers.
"Oh my God." I whisper, pulling out my gun.
I see Rick and Tobin begin to pull at something and soon Michonne and Morgan come into my line of sight. Michonne runs towards Tara and Morgan towards Rick. They both climb the ladder quickly and soon help the people on their platforms. Michonne pulls Tara over the edge and I sigh in relief as I turn and see Rick, Tobin and Morgan pull Spencer to safety.
"Tara, you almost died once for these people!" Rick yells towards the woman.
"What?" She asks.
"What the hell were you doing?!" He yells at her.
She lifts her arm up and flips him off in angry disbelief. She turns and begins to climb down the ladder with Michonne following after her. Rosita, Belle and I walk over towards her, "Are you okay?" I ask as we draw closer.
She nods her head and glares towards Rick's direction, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"How about you go to Densie, get her to check up on you?" Michonne suggests.
"I'm fine." She states.
"Then it won't hurt to double check." Rosita argues.
She looks between the three of us before nodding her head, "Fine."
We all nod and she walks off, Michonne leading the way after her. I look off after them before I turn to Rosita, "Let's continue on with the lesson." She states.
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Hunter sleeps soundly in the carrier as I rock from side to side, walking around slowly. I look up ahead and see Gabriel standing up with a group of people in a circle surrounding him. He has a bible in his hands as he reads the them. He looks up at me and meets my eyes and I glare at him, still angry about what he said to Deanna about us all.
His face falls at my anger and I turn to see Tara talking to Rick. I walk over towards where Rosita, Eugene and Belle stand. I walk slowly so that I don't disturb Hunter and soon I hear footsteps catch up to me.
I turn my head to the side and see Tara, "How're you feeling?" I ask.
She shrugs, "I feel fine. But you haven't seen Denise anywhere have you?" She asks and I shake my head.
"Honestly, I haven't been here since she came and checked up on Hunter and I yesterday." I say.
She nods her head and looks down at the boy, "He's really something isn't he?"
I nod my head and smile, "Yeah, he's looks exactly like his father." I state.
I walk over and see Belle putting some machetes in the weapons box and I smile at her, "How'd your lesson with Rosita go?" I ask as she holds her machete tightly in her hands.
"Good." She states.
"She's a natural." Rosita smiles down at her.
"She has to be, she's a Dixon." Tara states and I chuckle.
Eugene holds a machete in his hand and he practices swinging it as we talk. Suddenly Tara points up above us, "What's that?"
I look up and squint my eyes when I see it and a smile comes to my face, "Oh my God." I whisper at the sight of the bunched green balloons floating in the air.
I grab Belle's hand and rush over towards where Rick and Deanna stand and I see Maggie running towards us, slinging her gun over her back, "That's Glenn!"
I smile widely at her and she breathes in relief, "That's Glenn!"
Suddenly I hear the sound of wood breaking and I turn my head towards the noise. I see the watch tower swaying on its feet and soon it begins to fall towards the wall.
"Run!" Rick screams.
Instinctively I grab onto Belle's hand and run away from the wreckage. As we get not too far away I hear the sound of the tower falling down and Belle falls to the ground, me landing on my knees. Everything is quiet for a moment and then we hear it, the sound of hundreds of walkers flooding their way into Alexandria.