Protection (Rick Grimes)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chelsea's POV

I wake up to the sound of a baby crying. I sit up and look around. I see Autumn sitting up on the pallet we made her, crying. Danielle is laying beside her but is still sleeping. Autumn's cries doesn't wake her up so I stand up and walk to her. Picking her up, I hold her close to me and try to calm her down. I bend down and look through the baby bag. My eyes widen in surprise when I see a ton of baby food. I grab a jar and find a spoon then start feeding her.

Autumn is such a cute baby. And I really love her name. I've always wanted kids. But I never got married and never found the right guy I guess you could say. And become pregnant in this world isn't such a good idea if you as me. For having a family is now out of the picture.

"Hey." I hear Daryl's voice. I turn and see him standing behind me. He looks at Autumn while I feed her. I smile at Daryl then turn my attention back to Autumn.

"You want to feed her?" I ask.

"Nah. You're doing a great job. You feed her." He shakes his head. I hand her off to him making him slightly groan. He takes the jar of food and begins feeding her. I see him smiling, trying to make it unnoticeable.

Danielle's POV

"Did you ever want kids?" I hear Chelsea ask someone. I bring my hand up and rub my eyes before opening them. I let them adjust and see her standing in front of Daryl who is holding Autumn, feeding her.

"I thought about it a few times before all this. I know you did." He says. I see a small smile form on his face which makes me smile. He's getting attached. I stand up and walk to him. I lay my head on his shoulder and smile.

"You were born to be a father." I say to him. He looks at me then back at Autumn.

"Doubt it." He grumbles.

"Doubt it, my ass. You treated Lyndon like he was your own son while he was growing up. If he stepped out of line even a little bit you weren't afraid to dicipline him. You were a great uncle and I know you would be a great father." I say. Chelsea agrees. He only shrugs. I sigh and walk off.

I see Rick starting to wake up so I walk over. He sees me and smiles. Sitting down beside him, I look over at Chelsea and Daryl and smile. I lay my head on Rick's shoulder. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses my forehead.

I sigh when Noah, Lyndon and Adam suddenly come to mind. I could have saved all three of them. They could have been here with me. With this group. They could have been safe.

I should have been able to pull Noah up. I should have been able to save him. I could have kept Lyndon with me when those walkers were on the lodge grounds and he could still be here. If I would have either kept Adam with me or went with him back to the house, he'd still be alive and with me. All three of them are dead because of me.

Then Matthew, Frank, Patrick and Nathan. I basically killed them. I have their blood on my hands. Now that I think about it, Noah, my own son, and Adam's blood is also on my hands.

"What are you thinking about?" I hear Rick ask. I sigh and look up at him.

"It's my fault they are dead." I state. He gives me a confused look. "Noah. Lyndon. Adam. I could have saved all of them. Then I basically killed the four of those guys."

"Hey, none of those deaths are your fault. Lyndon dying was caused by me and by complete accident and I'm so sorry about that. I didn't mean to. None of them were your fault. And those four guys deserved what happened to them." He says.

"You're not the one who has their blood on your hands." I mumbles. He sighs, clearly not knowing what to say. "I know that everyone says that everything happens for a reason, but I don't see the reason behind Noah, Lyndon and Adam's deaths. That's all I hear when I was growing up...everything happens for a reason. I always wondered 'what reason am I going to get out of my dad beating me'. I never saw one." I say. Rick just pulls me closer to him and kisses my temple.