Just Keep Walking

Twenty six

"You eaten enough?" Rick laughed as Mary ate more spaghetti shapes. She'd almost eaten the whole can, which was unusual for her, as her and Carl could usually split a can in half and eat plenty.
"It's yummy." Mary smiled happily.
"Well, you eat as much as you want. There's enough food for you to."
"It's getting dark." Mary pointed out, eating the last spoonful of pasta.
"Yeah. We'll go soon."
"Daddy, what if it's like Terminus?" She asked quietly.
"Then we don't go. Okay? I won't let anyone hurt you."
"Sure?"
"I promise." Rick nodded firmly, and Mary nodded back. "Okay! We go in five!" Rick shouted to everybody, then went quiet again. "You're staying in the RV, okay?"
"With you?"
"No. I gotta go in the car with Aaron."
"But I can be with Glenny?"
"No, Glenn and Michonne are going in the car with me, but you can stay with Carl and Maggie, yeah?"
"I wanna stay with you!"
"No. It's safer for you in the RV. Okay?" Rick said firmly.
"But I wanna be with you. I'm scared without you." Mary whined.
"But you're with your Maggie, and Carl, and Uncle Daryl. You love Maggie."
"Maggie's always sad." Mary mumbled sadly.
"But she's not as sad when you're with her. And she'll look after you, because she loves you so so so much. Okay?"
"Definitely Maggie?"
"Maggie'll definitely be with you. Shall I get her?" Rick asked, and Mary nodded. Rick called Maggie over, the woman sitting down next to Rick, stroking Mary's cheek once with her thumb. "Mary wants to know if you'll look after her when I go in the other car."
"Of course." Maggie smiled softly, holding her arms out and taking Mary, holding her close.
"Thank you." Rick nodded gratefully.
"Can I have an apple?" Mary asked quietly, and Rick nodded, getting up and tossing Mary the fruit. She ate it, laid against Maggie's chest, and stayed that way until they got up a few minutes later.
Mary cried as they got into the RV, Maggie holding Mary to her chest. Mary wriggled over to Carl, closing her eyes, still in panic. Eventually, she gave up on worrying, and fell asleep, the normally light sleeper sleeping through the road diversion, through the panic, through meeting a man called Eric, through it all, only waking up when Carl passed her over to Noah.
"Daddy!" She called out in panic, and Noah froze, unsure of how to soothe the child.
"It's me. It's Noah. Your dad isn't back yet." He said gently.
"He's called daddy, not dad!" Mary cried softly, "Where is he?"
"He's coming, Moo. He's coming." Carl soothed, walking over and picking Mary up, gently shushing her. As soon as she was with Carl, she calmed down.
"I want daddy."
"I know. He'll be okay. He always is. You know that."
Mary smiled suddenly. "We're gonna be in the safe place!"
"Yep." Carl smiled back. "Do you wanna meet Eric?"
"Who's that?"
"He's from the community. Come on." Carl explained, walking over to the man laid on the floor, Maggie tending to his ankle.
"This is her. Mary." Maggie smiled, looking up at the little girl.
"Hey, Mary. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Eric." The man said softly, smiling even though he was in pain.
Mary looked at him shyly, but didn't speak, half of her face hidden in Carl's shirt.
"Your brother told me you're really excited to come with us." Eric prompted, and Mary nodded, making Maggie laugh.
"Oh, I've not seen you this shy in a while. She's shy around new people. Not that we meet too many of them." Maggie half laughed.
Suddenly Carl heard people outside, and he ran over, holding Mary. "Dad!" Carl shouted, seeing his father and hugging him, Mary in between them.
"Daddy." Mary smiled thankfully.
"Your baby sister okay?" Rick questioned, his hand on Carl's shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, we're fine." Carl nodded, as Rick took Mary into his arms, kissing her temple.
"Eric? Eric! Eric!" Aaron panicked, looking around frantically.
"In here!" Eric called, and Aaron ran to the noise.
"Who the hell is Eric?" Rick asked harshly, turning to Daryl.
"The one other person." Maggie explained, and Rick sighed.
"Go back to Carl." He whispered to Mary, but she shook her head, clinging onto Rick. Rick sighed, but didn't argue with her, and walked over to the room that Aaron and Eric were in, hearing their laughter.
Eric smiled at Rick as soon as he saw him. "Hi. I'm Eric."
"Rick." Rick replied sharply, and Aaron got up and left the room, Rick following him to see the rest of the group in the adjoined room.
"Excuse me," Aaron began, "excuse me. Everyone. Thank you. You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do any more driving tonight. Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning?"
"That sounds fine. But if we're staying here for the night, you're sleeping over there." Rick ordered firmly.
"You really think we got to do that?" Maggie sighed with raised eyebrows.
"It's the safe play. We don't know you."
"The only way you're gonna stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me." Aaron snapped, walking over to Rick. Rick saw Glenn beside him, and passed Mary over, his fists clenched.
"Woah," Glenn said quickly, looking at Rick, "Rick, he told us where the camp is. And he really was only travelling with one other person. They're both unarmed. One of them got a broken ankle. I want us to be safe too. I can't give up everything else. I know what I said, but it does matter."
"Alright." Rick sighed, and Aaron went over to Eric. He turned to Mary and stroked her cheek lovingly. "Baby, time to go back to sleep. It's the middle of the night, okay?"
"With you?" Mary asked quietly, and Rick sighed, but took her and went into the other room, grabbing a sofa cushion.
"Here. Lay on this." He said gently, laying Mary down and sitting down by her, the others surrounding them.
"Lay with me." Mary whined, and Rick did as she asked, holding her until they both fell asleep. Mary woke up again a few hours later, a nightmare waking her up quietly for once, her body shocked and shaking in fear, sweaty and hot.
She looked around, hyperventilating, her eyes finally falling on Aaron, the only other person awake, and Sasha, who was just outside on watch.
"Hey. Hey, sweetie, are you okay?" Aaron whispered, his voice worried. Mary nodded slowly, and limped over to him, staring at him laid next to Eric.
"Is he your big brother?" She asked quietly.
"No." Aaron laughed.
"Your bestest friend?"
"Yeah," he smiled softly, "he is."
"Do you have bad dream so you sleep together?"
"We sleep next to each other because we love each other."
"I always sleep next to my daddy. He keeps me safe. I can only sleep next to him or maybe Carl or Mishy, otherwise my bad dreams are even worse and I wet the bed."
"Oh." Aaron said quietly.
Mary looked at him with wide eyes, then whispered, "I love my Glenny and my Maggie. They're my bestest friends."
"Eric isn't my friend, he's my partner." Aaron half laughed suddenly.
"What? What's a partner?"
"It's like... Maggie and Glenn are married, right? It's like that."
"No, you're both boys!" Mary insisted.
"Boys can love boys. Just like girls can love girls." Aaron explained slowly.
"So I could marry a girl? Daddy said I can't marry Maggie because she's a girl and she's too old and she's already married. Daddy told me you love people differently, like how he loved mommy differently than how he loves me and Carl. I understand that Maggie is too old and married, just like Glenn. But I definitely can't marry Maggie because she's a girl! Because you have a mommy and a daddy. I don't have a mommy anymore. But it's a mommy and daddy that get married have then they have babies. Not two daddies. I don't get it. Who marries who?" Mary asked in confusion.
"Okay. You could marry a boy when you grow up, if you loved her. But if you loved a girl, you could marry her too."
"So it doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl? As long as you love them?" Mary asked quietly.
"Yeah." Aaron nodded with a smile.
"That's cool. Do you have a dog?"
"No." Aaron laughed, and Mary sighed.
"A bunny?"
"Mary?" Rick panicked, waking up without her by his side.
"I'm here, daddy. Me and Aaron were talking about how boys can marry boys and girls can marry girls, as long as they love each other, aren't married already, and they're the same age."
"What? Get over here. Now." Rick barked. Mary got up, and limped over, sitting next to him.
"Did you know boys can marry boys? That's cool."
"Yeah. And as long as you do what I say, and stop talkin' to strangers, and be sensible, you'll live to be a big girl, and then you can marry whoever you want. Boy or girl. Doesn't matter, as long as you're happy."
"I wanted to marry Glenny or Tommy. But Tommy died and Glenny is old and married."
"You're five. They'll be plenty more boys, don't worry. But no dating 'till you're forty." Rick teased.
"How about thirty?" Mary asked with a wrinkled forehead.
"How about fifty?"
"Good deal." Mary nodded, shaking Rick's hand as the man laughed.
"You gonna go back to sleep?" Rick asked tiredly.
"What's the clock on?"
"Five."
"Nah."
"Okay. We'll set off soon anyway."
Mary smiled up at her father, her eyes deep and happy. "I'm so excited."
"Why?"
"I gotta good feelin'."
"Feeling. You're not Daryl. I've got a good feeling." Rick corrected with a smile.
"Sorry." Mary whispered and Rick laughed.
"I'm not telling you off, you silly girl." Rick laughed, tickling her sides. Mary creased up in laughter, waking up Carl straight away; he, like Mary, was a very light sleeper.
"Hmm?" He mumbled, his eyes snapping open.
"Nothing. Just Mary being awake as usual."
"Oh." Carl nodded, putting his head back down on the floor and falling back to sleep. Rick laughed, and put Carl's hat over his face, knowing Carl always got a better night's sleep when it was dark, whereas Mary preferred to sleep in the light. Carl, however, didn't mind the torch or candle being on when they slept by each other, he just covered his face with his hat. Mary came first. Always.