Just Keep Walking

Fifty seven

"Okay, what shall we have for dinner? You wanna have a go at making pizza? Or just pasta?" Glenn asked Mary with a smile as they got into the house.
"Pizza." Mary grinned, and Glenn laughed.
"Okay, pizza it is."
"Hi Mary." Maggie smiled, walking down the stairs to Mary and Glenn.
"Hello." Mary grinned, effortlessly sliding over from Glenn's arms to Maggie's.
"I'm sleeping here for a few nights." Mary announced.
"I know," Maggie chuckled, "come on, let's go make dinner."

"Hey, Glenny, guess what?"
"What?" Glenn laughed, looking down at Mary as she picked at some raisins.
"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"Dash."
"Dash who?"
"Dash is fast!" Mary giggled, finding her joke hilarious. "I think I have magic powers. Just like The Incredibles." Mary nodded seriously.
"Yeah?"
"I think I have magic powers. Seriously, Glenny. I do!"
"Okay. Okay, what's your magic power?" Glenn chuckled.
"I can see the past. When I go to sleep. It's not always good though." Mary explained. Glenn realised she meant her nightmares, and his heart twisted painfully.
"Okay. Okay." Glenn whispered, stroking the side of her head.
"Why're you soundin' sad?"
"I'm not. Okay, the movies over. Bedtime."
"Okay." Mary sighed.
"Come on, let's get your pyjamas on and go to bed." Maggie soothed, taking Mary's hand. Mary hugged Glenn, then the pair went upstairs, and Maggie passed her a pair of pyjamas, then brushed her hair out gently.
"It's fun at your house." Mary pointed out happily.
"I'm glad you like it. And look, you get to sleep in a big girl bed, just like daddy's bed." Maggie pointed out, motioning to the double bed they were sat on.
"Yeah!"
"Are you gonna be a big girl and sleep all night?"
"Yep!" Mary nodded firmly.
"Alright. You get into bed now, and we'll come in just before we go to bed. You got your bunny?"
"Yep." Mary repeated, crawling under the bed covers and closing her eyes, her bunny up to her face. "Night night. Love you."
"Love you too." Maggie smiled, kissing her cheek. She left Mary, thinking she'd be asleep in seconds, but when Glenn went in three hours later, before him and Maggie went to bed, she was wide awake.
"Mary? Whatcha doin'?"
"I can't sleep. I don't like being in a room by myself." Mary mumbled, looking up at him.
"Okay. You wanna come hang out with me and Maggie for a bit?"
"Yeah." Mary nodded. Glenn wrapped her up in a fleece blanket on the bottom of her bed, then scooped her up. She looked so much younger than five; she could have passed for a young toddler.
"Moo's gonna hang out with us for a bit." Glenn nodded to Maggie, laying down with the child in between them. Mary was asleep in seconds.

They were eating breakfast when there was a knock on the door the next morning. "I'll get it." Glenn smiled softly to Maggie, walking to the door.
"Hey," Rick said as soon as Glenn opened the door, his voice nervous, "how is she? She's okay? How did she sleep? Did she have a nightmare? How bad?"
"Rick. She slept though the night. She's absolutely fine." Glenn chuckled.
"Really? She slept through the night? She never does that."
"Yeah, she's been amazing. Is Carl okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, he's fine. I'm just goin' home to get a few hours sleep. Tara's keeping him company." Rick nodded.
"Okay. Moo's just having breakfast, do you want to come in? We can get you something to eat, some coffee?"
"Yeah, yeah, that's great thanks." Rick nodded. He walked into the house, seeing Maggie playing with Mary while they ate. Rick savoured the image of Mary in her tiny button down pyjamas, her hair slightly messy and tangled, her eyes groggy with sleep yet light, laughing at Maggie as she flicked a cornflake at her.
Then she saw Rick, and she jumped up, running over to him with a grin. "Daddy!"
"Hey, princess." Rick laughed, kissing her cheek. "Did you have a good night with Maggie and Glenn?"
"Yeah, They're super fun. We made pizza without cheese and had raisins and watched movies!"
"Oh, good." Rick smiled, sitting down and thanking Maggie as she slid him a bowl of dry cereal. They talked contently for a while, until Rick was falling asleep.
"Okay, angel, I think it's time for your daddy to go to bed." Maggie suggested softly, and Rick nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll see you soon. Just a few hours." Rick said softly.
"Okay. Me and Maggie are gonna do some painting anyway." Mary nodded nonchalantly. Rick's heart sank a little, and he kissed Mary's forehead.
"Okay. I love you."
"Love you too." Mary nodded, kissing Rick's cheek back.
"I'll see you later. Thank you." Rick smiled softly to Maggie and Glenn, before leaving. He managed to hold it together until he got home, but as soon as Michonne saw him, she knew something was wrong.
"Rick? Rick, what is it?"
"Nothing. Where's Judith?"
"With Carol. Rick. What's wrong?" Michonne asked softly, putting her hand on Rick's shoulder.
"Nothing. It's just... She... She's fine. She's happy. She's... She didn't have a nightmare and slept through the night. She never does that at home. What is it that I'm doing so wrong?" Rick asked shakily, holding back tears.
Michonne hugged him tightly, sighing as she did so. "Rick. You know it's not you. Kids are just like that."
"But she's better with them. They're better at this than I am. Heck, she'd be better off if she lived with them forever. They're better at it than me."
"Rick. Who is the one person that can calm her down when she has a night terror? Or who can get her to sleep when she's stressed out? Or can get her to eat a healthy meal? Or get her to interact with other people? You. You're the only one that can do all of that. There good with her, but they're not dealing with her every day, they're not handling all her little problems, all her tantrums and nightmares and refusing to talk to people. You've got the hardest job in the world. They just get the fun bit."
"But what if..."
"Rick. You're her father. She loves you, more than anything, okay? No one can... No one will ever replace you. Especially not in her eyes."
Rick went quiet, then nodded slowly.
"Did you stay up with him all night?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Didn't wanna... Didn't wanna let him get worse. Didn't want him to wake up either, and be all alone. Especially if he was hurting."
"Has his pain been bad? Like, worse?"
"Yeah. Yeah, when he was awake earlier it was bad. Really bad. Like, do bad he was almost screaming. I still haven't even seen it. The wound. He won't let me."
"He'll be okay. He'll be fine. He always is."
"I know. I... No, I just..."
"I know. Rick, go to bed. Go." Michonne said firmly.
"Yeah. Yeah." Rick mumbled. For a second, he looked so hopeless, so childish, so lost, so Michonne hugged him gently, letting the man fall into her. That's what she and Rick were; each other's person to lean on.