Just Keep Walking

Fifty five

Mary woke up around lunchtime to Michonne carrying her home. "Mishy?" She asked, her face wrinkled up in confusion.
"Hey, sweetheart. Listen, we're gonna get you home and have a shower. Then we need to take Carl some new clothes, yeah? His are all gross with blood on them."
"Okay. Does he still have Carl Bunny?"
"No, I brought it." Michonne replied with a soft smile, showing Mary her beloved bunny.
"Thank you." Mary mumbled, nuzzling into it.
"Okay, So we're getting you ready then going to see Carl. Then me and daddy are gonna go clear some of these bodies, okay? And Teddy's mommy will look after you. Do you remember Anne?"
"Yeah. Is Teddy okay too?" Mary asked, and Michonne nodded.
"Yeah. Teddy's okay, and Izzy. And before you ask, I've not managed to see Natalie and Bob yet, but their house looked fine. We can go see them after you've got changed."
"Okay." Mary nodded with a slight sigh, as Michonne opened their front door. Immediately, Bertie leaped out at them, jumping up at their legs and panting in excitement.
"He missed you." Michonne chuckled, as Mary scrambled down to pet her dog.
"I missed him! Egbert! Eggy Eggy Egbert, I missed you." Mary smiled into the dogs soft fur. Michonne let Mary play with the dog for a few minutes, then got them both inside, Mary in the shower, as Bertie ravenously ate his food.
Michonne tossed Mary's clothes into the washing machine, apart from the mostly clean but grubby cardigan that Mary was now in love with. She got Mary a cotton summer dress, underwear, and a pair of leggings, then went into the bathroom and scrubbed at Mary's hair with shampoo and conditioner.
When they were done and Mary was dressed, Michonne combed her hair into a thick Dutch braid. "Did Carl seem okay?" Mary asked Michonne quietly.
"Carl's had a big accident, okay? And he's sad about losing his eye, and it hurts, so that means he's really tired. He was asleep when I left." Michonne explained gently.
"Will his eye grow back?" Mary whispered, turning around, her sad, brown eyes matching Michonne's.
"No, sweetie. It's gone forever."
"But he won't be sad forever, right?" Mary questioned shakily.
"No. No, he'll be okay soon." Michonne soothed, and Mary let out a few tears.
"Shall I make him a card?" Mary asked softly, wiping away her tears.
"Yeah, he'll love that. You go make him a card, and I'll get him some comfy clothes." Michonne nodded. Mary got up and went downstairs, pulling out some paper and pens. She draw pictures on the front, of her and Carl and Judith, Carl grinning happily, holding onto the two girl's hands, with a bandage over his eye. She added butterflies around them, then hearts and flowers and dogs. Inside, she wrote:
To Carl,
I love you! Get beta soone. You stil luk pritty with wone I.
Love Mary xxx

"That's perfect." Michonne smiled, ruffling Mary's hair lovingly.
"He'll like it?"
"He'll love it."
"Can we go now?"
"Yeah, come on." Michonne smiled, grabbing Mary's hand.
"Can we still go see Naty and Bob?"
"Of course." Michonne nodded, as hey left the house, locking the door behind herself. They walked to the Miller's house, Mary looking at the porch in confusion.
"They're always outside." She mumbled.
"It's okay. They might just be having a late lunch. Let's knock." Michonne said softly. She knocked on the door once, then twice, and after a third time, she grew concerned. Then she realised that the door was unlocked.
"Hello? Mrs Miller? Mr Miller? It's Michonne!" The woman called, opening the door, her voice clear and firm. She had no reply. "Okay, I'm coming in!"
Mary followed Michonne silently, a tiny shadow.
Then she saw it. A Walker dead on the floor, a knitting needle through its soft skull, and Natalie on the floor, most of her flesh eaten. She was still growling, but was so devoured she couldn't even get up.
"Naty." Mary cried shakily, looking at the woman.
"Mary. Mary, go and turn around." Michonne soothed, hugging her tightly. But Mary ignored her. She went to Natalie, to the Walker, and stroked her hair gently, then slid her knife through her temple.
"I'll miss you already." Mary breathed, rivers of tears down her cheeks. "Thank you for being my pretend grandma. Maybe you can be friends with my real grandma now, in Heaven."
Michonne saw the other knitting needle by Natalie's side, with what looked like half a glove. Her thought was confirmed when she saw a purple globe, ready made for Mary, alongside a scarf with a small C stitched in the side.
"I love you." Mary cried, stroking the woman's hair. Michonne sat down beside her, holding her softly as she sobbed. After five minutes, Mary got up shakily, and breathed in, then began to walk about of the door. Michonne covered Natalie's body with a throw blanket, then followed Mary, holding the glove and scarf in one hand.
"Come on." Michonne soothed, picking Mary up. The child nestled into her shoulder, crying shakily. When they get to the infirmary, Mary laid down next to a sleeping Carl, and nuzzled into his arm.
"What's wrong with her?" Rick asked Michonne in confusion.
"We found Natalie. She'd been bitten and turned. Mary put her down. She wanted to. I think it's coming off all the stuff about how Carl says it should be someone who cares about you."
"Shit. Shit. She loved her."
"And we couldn't find Bob either."
"Shut. You don't know. He... He died in the attack the other day."
"Does Mary know?"
"No. I never got round to telling her. Then, then all... All this happened."
"It's just not fair." Michonne whispered, looking at Mary, broken hearted, at Carl, eyeless.
"No. It's not."

"It's fine. She can stay here." Rick nodded to Michonne that night.
"Okay. See you tomorrow." Michonne smiled, walking away with Judith in her arms.
"You do actually need to go to sleep," Rick said firmly to Mary, who was sat at the end of Carl's bed, rolling cars up his feet while he slept, "it's nearly ten at night. That's far past your bedtime."
"I wanna stay up. Just in case Carl gets sicker."
"No. It's bedtime. I want to go to sleep too, okay, so lie down and go to sleep."
"But what if Carl gets bad?"
"He won't. He won't, okay? He's not in danger. So you've got to go to sleep. Or I'll go get Mishy and you can go home with her and Judith."
"Mean." Mary mumbled, jumping off the bed and slumping into the chair next to Rick.
"Cuddle your bunny and go to sleep." Rick said firmly, getting up and laying a blanket over her. He sat back down, then Mary crawled onto his lap.
"I'm scared." Mary whispered, a tiny, ashamed secret.
"That's okay. What about? That Carl's going to be sicker? Or scared of his eye? Or... What?"
"Why would I be scared of his eye?"
"Because it's a bit... Different."
"I'm not scared of his eye. I'm scared that he'll not get better. I almost didn't get better. Same with Carl when he got shot for the first time. I'm scared he'll not be the same."
"He'll be fine. I promise, okay, he'll still be your big brother, and he'll still love you more than anything. Okay?"
"He's just missing an eye." Mary nodded slowly.
"Yeah. That's all that's wrong. He's just missing an eye."
"I told him he was a bit like a pirate. It made him cry."
"Yeah. Well, that could have made him a bit upset, because he's really sad." Rick explained gently.
"He'll stop being sad soon though, right?" Mary asked shakily.
"Yeah. Of course. Oh, Moo. This is really tough on you, isn't it?"
"I just really want Carl to be better."
"I know. I know, my girl." Rick sighed, kissing the top of her head.
"Can you song the sunshine song? You never sing it anymore."
"Yeah. Yeah." Rick nodded softly. And he sang to her until his voice went hoarse and no more tears could fall down his face.