Daughter of the Fallen

The Bridge

I watched as the sun reached its peak in the sky from my spot on the infirmary steps. All three communities were stationed at a large camp we had set up in the woods while groups were sent out in rotations to work on the bridge.

Since I, of course, could not be apart of any of these groups, I was in charge of creating them. Though I was more excited about my baby and was doing my best to stay safe, I missed working. Thankfully, Enid and Siddiq had been able to give me jobs here and there whenever I was with them.

I watched as Rick walked by me towards the bridge. He smiled when we made eye contact.

And, for seemingly the first time since the day he spared Negan, I genuinely smiled back.

I turned as Enid came out of the tent and sat next to me.

"Busy today?" I asked, nudging her arm with mine.

She shrugged. "Average. Definitely less than when we started. I think everyone is starting to get the hang of building this thing. I just had to stitch up Cyndie for slicing her hand on a potato cutter."

I nodded and chuckled.

"How long are you staying today?" she asked, leaning back a little.

"I'm gonna be going back to Hilltop for a bit. I wanna check on Maggie. Have you been feeling better?"

She nodded. "I still get some throbbing here and there, but overall, I'm feeling good."

"Good."

Enid waited a moment before asking, "Can I ask you something?"

I turned to her. "Yeah."

She sighed. "Why is Siddiq so insistent on you staying close to him? You seem in perfect health to me."

"Oh, um..."

"How's the star student doing?" Rick asked Enid as he approached us, saving me from answering her question.

"Ready to take on anything," Siddiq answered, stepping out behind us.

"Good," Rick replied. "She's gonna get her chance. I'd like you to head back home. There's a bug going around."

"Okay," he complied. "I'll head out with the next escort."

"Wait," Enid spoke up, seeming nervous. "He's leaving?" She took a moment to compose herself and sighed. "It's fine. I-I've got this."

Rick smiled. "Yeah, I know. Bree, come with me?"

I nodded, standing up and dusting my maternity jeans from Maggie off before following him and Eugene.

"What's up?" I asked as we walked. "How are the supplies coming?"

Eugene filled me in.

I sighed. "Could always be better, but we seem to be doing alright."

"Michonne is planning on heading to Hilltop to check on the food with Maggie."

I knew that would start up an argument, but I nodded anyway.

"I'm gonna go with her," I informed. "I was planning on heading there anyway. I wanna check up on Maggie."

"Okay, just don't take too long. We need your rotation write ups."

"I've left the next ten rotations with Tara, and I should be back before they end."

He nodded. "Just be careful."

"I will," I sighed, understanding what he was saying.

•••

I rode next to Michonne in silence. If I had a lot of tension with Rick, I had boatloads of it with Michonne. Despite me not agreeing with Rick about Negan and resenting him a bit for it, my baby is his grandchild. Even though Michonne is basically Rick's wife, I didn't feel that connection or obligation towards her.