Lilly Watkins has always been the strong one compared to her twin. That doesn't change when the dead start walking. Taking care of her family during the apocalypse, she never relied on anyone else. When she meets Daryl Dixon, a more temperamental pe...
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There are hushed voices between Daryl and Rick. When they keep looking back at me, I know they're not speaking about rescuing Beth and Carol. Cash clutches onto me tightly, having missed my short absence. He's having trouble feeding but that's something I expected.
"Let me take 'im so you can rest," Daryl says, reaching for our baby. I turn a bit, not ready to let go. "Let go, Lil. Go get some sleep."
Sighing, I resign and hand him over. He squirms at the lack of my body warmth but quickly gets over it when Daryl replaces it. I lay on one of the pews, shivering even with a blanket wrapped around me.
My body is shaken awake by someone violently. "Lilly!"
"Daryl?" I slur, my eyes struggling to focus on his face. "What?" I feel like I've been roofied.
"You're burning up."
"Don't worry, gonna fix ya up," Abraham says, being civil for once. He pulls out a bottle of pills and Daryl hands me his canteen of water.
"This is just his way of finishing me off, I tell ya what," I mutter to myself, rolling away and fully onto the floor.
"Shit." Daryl hoists me up, the redhead helping me on the other side. "Rick, Michonne, we may need your help."
"On it," Officer Friendly says. God, why is my body so hot?
"Lil, open your mouth," Daryl tries again. I shake my head. He sighs before grabbing my jaw roughly, prying my mouth open. "Pop them in."
I about choke on them and the water but swallow, tears running down my cheeks. "What the fuck, Dixon?"
"You're burning up with a fever. Maggie thinks you have mastitis. From breastfeeding." The men in the room go awkward but I nod as that makes sense. My chest has been super sour and I can't get Cash to eat.
"Now sleep," Michonne comments, helping me back to the pew.
When I wake up, Michonne is there, alongside Milly, Carl, Tiff, Cash, and Ashley. The doors are barricaded.
"What's going on?"
"There's a horde of Walkers," Michonne replies, looking out the window. "Now that you're awake, let's move to the office."
They help me into the office onto the bed and we wait quietly, keeping the babies as silent as possible. Turns out half of the group left for Washington DC and the other left to save Carol and Beth. I missed a lot while unconscious.
There's a pounding on the front door and pleading that sounds like Father Gabriel. Carl goes to get him, despite Michonne trying to get him to stop. He definitely is his father's child.
Father Gabriel comes in but it's impossible without the Walkers. Michonne and he try to push them behind the office door but to no avail. Gabriel points down to the floor where there's exposed flooring leading under the building.
"It's the only way!"
Carl goes first with Judith, then Tiff holding Cash, next Ashley, and then myself. Michonne follows next. Surprisingly, Gabriel makes his way after and we can seal in most of the Walkers inside of the church. I take more antibiotics left for me by Abraham and sit on the ground, still fairly exhausted.
"Where'd you go?" Michonne asks, probably wondering where Gabriel was before coming back.
"The school. I had to see. I had to know."
The door starting to break on the church interrupts us. Carl pulls out his gun but he's scared. "What do we do?" he asks.
A loud unmistakable rumble of Abraham's firetruck rushes through, pressing up against the church door and blocking it. I've never been so happy to see the redhead as I have been today. One by one they all pile out of the driver's side, greeting us. I take it their plans didn't go well.
"Saving your butt again, huh," Abraham says, but there's no malice and he saunters off. I roll my eyes at him.
"Glad to see you're doing better," Glenn says, taking in my much better appearance.
"Thanks. Can't let something as simple as postpartum take me out, especially since it's my second go 'round." I wink at him and he sighs. He must've been seriously worried about me.
"And you're back?" I raise my eyebrows.
He pauses, looking around at us. "Eugene lied."
Michonne lets out a small gasp as he continues. "He can't stop it. Washington isn't the end. Where is everybody?"
"I'm gonna take a gander and say rescuing Beth and Carol." I look over at Michonne who nods. She was the only one awake when everyone split up.
"Let's blow this joint and go save your sister," Tara pipes up, grinning. She rarely mentions her own sister but I know that's what is on her mind at that moment.
We all load into the firetruck, a tight fit but we manage. Milly, Carl, and the babies stay behind but the rest head towards the hospital. It's clear except for a few stray Walkers here and there. It feels desolate with all the medic tents from the first wave of bombs.
Rick is ahead of us, his head shaking at me first, the group behind me not seeing. My heart drops. Something is wrong.
Carol comes out with Tyreese next so she's safe.
It's Beth.
I look behind at Maggie, my heart sinking. My boots slow but continue forward. Then they stop. An earsplitting scream cuts the air. If it wasn't Maggie, if it wasn't Beth, if it wasn't my Daryl, holding Beth, I would've told her to be quiet. That there's Walkers.
I couldn't.
Daryl starts to break down as he comes toward me, forcing me to move again. I help him lower Beth down and Maggie crawls beside her, sobs wrecking her body.
Daryl falls into my body, crumbling in a way I've never seen before. I hold him closely, knowing he'd do the same. Even if he couldn't, sometimes some people just have to be the rock always.
