Beautiful Mistakes~ A Rick Grimes Love Story

*| 19 |*

LUNA'S POV

Things were getting worse inside the prison. We were getting sicker. We were dying, or damn near it. We needed those meds. Rick was gone, sending Carol on her way. I didn't really know what to think of everything that has happened recently. It was almost too much to process.

Henry wasn't getting enough air in his lungs. Glenn, Sasha, Hershel, and I were incubating him, to get a tube down his throat and pump air back into his lungs.

Glenn, Sasha, and I were still coughing up a storm. "Drink some of that, all of ya." Hershel says. Glenn hands Sasha and I a glass of elderberry tea. It tasted like shit, but it might be the only thing keeping us alive, for now.

Hershel tries to crack jokes, and lighten the mood. I think we wanted to laugh, but our lungs would probably burst if we did.

"You okay to take over?" Hershel asks Sasha. She nods in response and continues to pump air into Henry's lungs.

"Every five to six seconds, squeeze. You start feeling lightheaded, grab somebody else to take over. We'll take it in shifts. You want to help me go on my rounds?" Hershel asks Glenn.

"Yeah, sure." Glenn responds, not really feeling up to it, but agrees anyways.

"How long will that keep him alive?" Glenn asks.

"Just as long as we're willing to do it. As long as it takes." Hershel states.

"How you holding up?" Sasha asks.

"What do you think?" I ask, giving her a death stare. We try to chuckle, but the cough won't allow us a moment of happiness.

"What was it like?" she asks.

"What?" I respond, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

"The day you had Judith." Sasha asks.

"Terrifying, even more so than now. Walkers... everywhere. She came early, probably from the shock." I say, coughing before catching my breath again, then taking a sip of tea. "It's a pain... like no other, but once it's over, it's rewarding. There's nothing like holding your baby in your arms for the first time. Seeing their eyes, their tiny hands... seeing what you spent nine months creating. Then, there was nothing. It was pure darkness. Peace. My heart stopped from loosing too much blood. Not sure how I woke up or survived." I start coughing again, worse this time. I take a sip of more tea. "Walkers were coming in. Carl left an axe. I grabbed it and started killing my way out. Pain, joy, and love. That's what it was like. Death... seems peaceful. I have never known peace, and I ain't gonna start now. It wasn't my time." I say.

"I always wanted a family. I still hope.... I hope I can." she says.

I reach for her hand. "We will make it out of this." she nods in response. I don't think either of us believed that, but we had no choice but to fight for the people that we loved. I was going to live another day to kiss my husband and to hold each of my babies again. This wasn't the end of my story.

RICK'S POV

"Carl, Sage, Judith, are they okay?" I ask, quickly getting out of the car to talk to Maggie.

"Yeah. Where's Carol?" Maggie asks.

"Luna? Glenn, Hershel, Sasha?" I ask, worried if Luna and everyone else was still holding on.

"Yeah, it's bad, really bad, but they're fighting it. Daryl's not back yet. Rick. Rick, where's Carol?" Maggie asks.

I didn't want to turn around and face her. I didn't wanna tell her, but Luna would want me to.