devil's water || the walking dead

- 03 - gift to me -

[season 2, episode 1]

As the group prepared to head out of Atlanta, Scotty wandered aimlessly throughout their stop. The Georgian heat beat down, causing beads of sweat to form on the back of her neck.

She hadn't said a word to anyone since they watched the CDC explode. Since Scotty watched the last of her lineage disappear into nothing more than a pile of rubble. Scotty pulled her hair back and tied it into a knot at the nape of her neck, hoping to alleviate some of the heat trapped on her shoulders. T-Dog and Daryl siphoned gas out of abandoned cars, hoping to get enough to get the group to Fort Benning.

"C'mon, sweetheart." Lori gently held a guiding hand out to Scotty, telling her it was time to go.

Scotty scooched into the car, leaning her head against the window. Carl was sat next to her, with Sophia and Carol squeezed in next to each other.

Scotty was the odd man out, and she knew it. A mother and daughter, two parents and their son. And then Scotty. A newly orphaned teen, who felt like she had nothing ahead of her. She didn't quite understand why her father trusted these strangers with her life, but she was grateful they were more willing to take her than leaving her to die in the CDC.

But Scotty couldn't help but wonder if that was the fate meant for her. What if she was supposed to be in that CDC, sitting with her father in their last living moments together? Both father and daughter, eager to reunite with the one person they missed most in the world, Scotty's mother. Candace– Scotty's mother – was truly the glue that held the Jenner family together. Even though she wound up with a newborn just a mere nine months after the newlywed's honeymoon trip, she never showed an ounce of fear or regret. Scotty's father, on the other hand, couldn't handle it. He disappeared for a week, doing God knows what, only to return a bit more level-headed.

Though, growing up Scotty could always feel resentment. Due to her mother's job and her level of importance, her father had to be the one to take a few steps back and sacrifice the time and effort it took to raise a child.

He never forgave Scotty for it. How could he blame a child? It was easy for him, a child he didn't want took his career from him. He held Scotty accountable for something she didn't ask for. That was a common argument in the Jenner household pre-Outbreak.

'I didn't ask to step back from my job, Scotty!'

'I didn't ask to be born, Dad!'

As always, Candace was the mediator. She knew the right thing to say, and when to say it.

'Don't worry, hon. You'll get back into the lab in no time!'

'Oh, Scotty June. Don't say that. You are a miracle, a gift to me.'

Her mother's words meant more now than they did at the time. Scotty never thought she'd be a teenager living without both parents, but she also never thought the Dead would rise.

Scotty's train of thought was interrupted when Rick's laugh rang through the warm car.

"I don't remember that?" Carl told his parents.

"No, you were just a little baby. Besides, we never made it past Fort Worth," Lori's smile could be heard through her voice as she shared fond memories.

"Yeah, you got sick. Never knew a baby could throw up so much," Rick chuckled.

"Ick!" Carl grimaced jokingly.

"Yeah, ick is right," Lori laughed. "The doctor in Texas said you'd live, but we turned around and went straight home."

"That sucks," Carl mumbled.