Just Keep Walking

Twenty five

When Judith began to cry, Rick passed her over to Mary, the little girl holding her baby sister gently, while staring at Aaron. Rick attempted to crush up some acorns with the end of his gun, both of the girls hungry and waiting on the food.
"You did see the jar of applesauce in my bag, right? This isn't a trick. This isn't about trying to make you like me. It's self preservation. Because if the Roamers hear her and come this way, I know I'll be the first to go." Aaron pleaded.
"Alright." Rick sighed, going to the jar and getting a spoonful of applesauce, then strode over to Aaron, holding the spoon out.
"You think I'm trying to poison your baby daughter? I'm tied up, and you've already expressed a willingness to stab me in the head. How would cruelly killing your daughter in front of you in any way help the situation?" Aaron sighed, offended by the thought that Rick thought he'd kill Judith.
"Maybe she doesn't die. Maybe she gets sick. Maybe you're the only one that an help her and I just lose." Rick hissed impatiently.
"I am the only one who can help her, because I have applesauce and we all win. I hate applesauce! My mom used to make me eat foods I didn't like to make me more manly. Salmon patties applesauce and onions. She was a very confused woman who tried her damndest. I just brought the jar to show that we have apple trees nearby."
"She's five and eats anything. Even things she doesn't like. My five year old is more mature than you. And like you said, you'll be the first to go."
Aaron ate some of the applesauce, and Rick nodded, and ate the rest of it. "The community is big enough. We can find a place for you to live, where even when she cries, no one, nothing, can hear it outside the walls."
"You got forty three minutes." Rick shrugged nonchalantly, taking Judith off Mary and feeding her slowly.
Only twenty minutes later, Mary was light headed and in Rick's arms, the child pale again and tearful.
"I feel bad again. My tummy hurts and my head's all funny." Mary cried, clinging to Rick's shirt and her bunny.
"Is she okay?" Aaron asked Rick, looking over at Mary in Rick's arms. "Are you okay?"
"Don't talk to her." Rick growled.
"Okay. What's wrong with her, Rick?"
"She's... Not feeling so good." Rick replied courtly.
"Starving?"
"Does it matter to you? Shut up!"
"Yeah." Mary whispered quietly.
Aaron looked at the child properly for the first time, and saw that she was nothing more than skin and bone. He could see her ribs and shoulder blades and elbows sticking out of her skin painfully so, visible as she was wearing a pair of dungarees and converse and a bandana in her hair and nothing else.
"Please give her some of the real food." Aaron whispered.
"No."
"How could I have done anything to it? It's sealed cans. The apple sauce was fine. I don't want to hurt your kids."
Rick glared at him, then opened a can of peaches, and got a fork. "Baby. Baby girl, eat one."
Mary looked at them cautiously, then opened her mouth as Rick put a slice of peach into it. After she had eaten one, it was easy; she ate the rest of the can, then drank the syrup in the bottom.
"Feeling better?" Rick asked gently, and Mary nodded with a weak smile.
"I was just very hungry. Not as poorly as I was before the church. Can I tell the man?"
"No."
"Please?"
"Don't talk to him."
"I nearly died. Because I was so hungry and thirsty and only little and my hip hurt. I got shot. Just like daddy and Carl. We're in the club!"
"Mary." Rick sighed.
"Shot? She's okay?" Aaron worried, looking at the child with wide eyes.
"I'm okay now." Mary nodded seriously.
"Good. You're gonna love it at our community. Plenty of place to play."
"Stop fucking talking to her." Rick growled, and Aaron went quiet.
"He's nice." Mary mumbled shyly.
"We don't know him. We don't talk to strangers."
"We talked to Maggie. And Sasha. And everyone."
"Don't... Don't... Just eat some more food, Moo."
"I've eaten enough," Mary shrugged, "Carl needs some."
"There's enough."
"I'll wait for everyone else." The girl insisted. She turned to Aaron and continued to stare at him. "Are you a daddy?"
"No." Aaron replied gently.
"Did your baby die?" She questioned quietly.
"No, I just never had one."
"Mary," Rick sighed, "Mary, come on, Just... Help me clean the guns."
Mary sighed and got up, walking over to her father, but before she could clean any guns they heard two cars drive up to the barn.
"Get in the... Get in that corner, now. Get Judy." Rick hissed, passing the baby to Mary. She nodded, and sat in a corner, half hidden, holding her knife, waiting for someone to attack them.
"It's just us!" Glenn shouted, and Mary leapt up, knowing they were safe.
"The cars were there," Rosita announced, "and we've got a RV full of food."
The others came back at the sight of the car and the RV, and began to unload the RV of the cans and water, Mary grinning when she saw a certain small crate, with juice boxes and two chocolate bars and alphabet spaghetti and apples. Her tiny mouth opened in awe at the treats, the thought of not only water, but juice, of not only canned fruit, but fresh fruit, of not only food, but tasty food.
"I figured that the kids would like the chocolate and juice." Aaron said awkwardly, and Mary grinned at him. Noah tossed Carl and Mary the chocolate, and Mary looked at Rick expectantly.
"Fine. Go on, you can eat it." Rick sighed, and Mary grinned at him, but broke the chocolate in half and gave it to Rick. "No, baby, it's okay. You eat it."
"We share." Mary insisted.
"Hey, go share with Uncle Daryl. He's sad still." Rick suggested gently. Mary nodded, and went over to Daryl, who was sat down, smoking. Mary sat down on his lap, and passed him the chocolate.
"What's this for?"
"You. To make you happy."
"Hmm." Daryl grunted, "It's yer food. Eat it."
"No. It's for you." Mary whined, and Daryl rolled his eyes, then ate the food. Mary nuzzled into his chest, as the rest of the group brought in the food.
"This this is ours now." Rick declared to Aaron.
"There's more than enough." Aaron shrugged nonchalantly.
"It's ours, whether or not we go to your camp." Rick corrected, and Mary looked at him in confusion, rolling off Daryl's lap and walking over to Carl, who lifted her up onto his hip.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't we go?" The teenager asked, holding Mary tight.
"If he were lying, or if he wanted to hurt us... But he isn't and he doesn't. We need this. So we're going. All of us. Somebody say something, if they feel differently." Michonne said strongly.
Rick sighed, and looked over to Daryl, expecting him to speak up, but instead he shrugged. "I don't know man. This barn smells like horse shit."
"Naughty word." Mary mumbled, and Rick sighed at her.
"Yeah. We're going. So, where are we going? Where's your camp?"
"Well every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back. I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to be my friends lives just yet." Aaron said shakily.
Michonne walked over to him, strong and powerful. "You're not driving. So if you want to get home, you'll have to tell us how."
"Go north on route sixteen." Aaron explained slowly.
"And then?" Michonne prompted.
"I'll tell you when we get there."
"We'll take twenty three north. You'll give us directions from there." Rick said firmly.
"That's... I don't know how else to say it, that's a bad idea. We've cleared sixteen. It'll be faster." Aaron insisted.
Rick looked at him fiercely. "We'll take twenty three. We leave at sundown."
"We're going this at night?" Sasha asked in disbelief.
"Look, I know it's dangerous. But it's better than riding up to the gates during the day. If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there."
"No one is going to hurt you. You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger." Aaron argued.
"Tell me where the camp is we'll leave right now." Rick offered. Aaron didn't reply, and Rick nodded. "It's going to be a long night. Eat. Get some rest if you can." Rick announced, then he left, Michonne following him.
"You thirsty?" Carl asked Mary softly, and she nodded. "Water or juice?"
"Juice." Mary smiled happily, and Carl grabbed her a juice box, sitting down with her on his lap. "Carl, we're gonna go to a safe place."
"Yeah, I hope so."
"Aaron says there's doggies."
"Yeah?"
"And loads of place to play. Can I wear the hat?" Mary asked quietly.
"Sure." Carl nodded, covering his sister's face with his hat.
"Your hair looks funny."
"It needs a wash." Carl defended, running a hand through his hair self consciously.
"You look pretty anyway." Mary smiled, reaching up and kissing Carl's cheek, the hat falling off as she moved.
"You're so weird." Carl laughed, tickling Mary until tears ran down her cheeks.
"Stop! Stop!" She giggled, and Carl did as she said, picking her up and holding her close.
"I love you, Mary Moo." He mumbled into her messy hair, holding her so tight she could barely breathe. And Mary understood. He was scared they would be let down again. He wanted her to know that even if they lost their possible home, they still had each other.