Broken in the Apocalypse

Chapter 23- Baby Blues

Laurens POV:
(back to current time)

The door opened and I took in the scene in front of me. There was a women laying on the ground with a gun shot wound to the head. It looked like it was done recently. I looked at Daryl just as he looked at me. He noded his head and we both walked into the room to look around.

I walked over to a little basket that was sitting in tbe corner because that's where the crying was coming from. When I peeled back the blanket that was covering it I was meet with shiny blue eyes. There was a little baby in the basket along with a note.

I picked up the note and looked at the baby again. He was stairing right back at me crying no more. He smiled at me and starting making baby noises. It was so cute. I looked away and over to Daryl who was right behind me watching the baby.

"What does the paper say?" he asked never taking his eyes off the baby.

I opened the letter and read it out loud-

"To whom it may concern,
I saw your van down the road and I knew if you heard something you would come look. I feel horrible about this but I can't do it anymore. Living in constant fear. Having to leave Ethan here by himself to go find food for us. It wasn't working and I was tired. So tired. I wouldn't have been able to keep me or him alive much longer. Please take care of him. I know if he goes with you he'll make it through this apocalypse. His name is Ethan and he is five months old. There is plenty of supplies in the cabinet. If you decide to tell him one day just let him know I loved him and I only did what was best. Thank you very much."

"We have to take him with us Daryl." I looked at the baby then to him.

"Alright. But let's get everything out of the cabinets first."

We both walked over to the cabinets and started pulling stuff out. There was diappers, formula, wipes, clothes, baby food, water bottles, blankets, baby toys, baby powder, pacifiers ,and baby lotion.

"Wow that's a lot of stuff." Daryl said

"Yeah let's put it all in these diaper bags."I said

I pulled three diaper bags off the shelf and started packing stuff into them. When we were finished all three were packed full of stuff. I walked over to the baby and looked him over again and he was just looking back at me.

"Hey Lauren there's a car seat over here we can put the kid in." Daryl said from the other side of the room.

"Okay that's great. Now we just need to find like a pack and play or a crib for him to sleep in."

"Okay I'll go look you get the kid in the seat."

He walked put of the room and I bent down to pick up Ethan. He was really light for a five month old baby if I do say so. I walked over to the car seat and bent down to strap him in. He started fussing so I grabbed a pacifier out of one of the bags and put it in his mouth. He stoped immediately and started playing with his fingers.

"I got a pack and play. Let's get this stuff in the van." Daryl said as he walked back into the room.

I grabbed the car seat and one of the bags while Daryl grabbed the pack and play and the other two bags. We walked out of the day care building and into the street. We walked at a faster pace trying to get to the van fast and safe. There weren't any walkers around so that was a good thing.

When we got to the van no one else was there yet. So we just unlocked the van and started placing stuff in the back. We put the baby in one of the middle seats and we left the door on that side open and stood over there. Everyone else should be back any minute.

"What are we gonna tell the others?" Daryl asked

"I guess we just tell them what happened. We have to keep him and make sure he stays safe." I look over at him to see him looking at Ethan.

"Ya we do." he whispers to me

As he said that, Glenn, Maggie, Andrea, and Shayne started walking towards us. They were each carrying two or three bags. I turned around when Ethan started crying. He wasn't very loud but I knew that baby's can get loud when they cry. So I turned around to try and find out why he was crying.

When I looked at him I saw that his pacifier had fallen out of his mouth. I picked it up and put it back on his mouth and the crys stopped. When I turned back around the rest of the group that came with us was back.

"Who was crying?" Maggie asked

"Well um....it was Ethan." I said quietly

"Who the heck is Ethan?" Shane asked

"Well we went looking for supplies and we heard something so we went to check it out. Then we found Ethan so we brought him with us." I said quietly

"What do you think the others are gonna say?" Maggie asked

"I-I don't know but we can't leave him here all by himself. We have to protect him." I say

"Alright we'll deal with it when we get there but for bow let's get going." Daryl said

We all piled into the van. Me and Daryl in the front, the girls in the middle and the guys in the back. The ride back was quiet except for little noises from Ethan. As we got closer I grew nervous. I realized I would have to explain what happened and probably have to fight to keep Ethan.

As we pulled into the gates I saw Rick and the others walking out to greet us. My stomach turned and did flips. I looked back at the baby and I knew that I would fight to keep him here with me. As I climb out of the van I think to myself and take a deep breath.

Here goes nothing

A/N- Hope you guys like it!!

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