Just Keep Walking

Sixty five

They'd been driving for a few hours when Mary began to do handstands in the RV, bored out of her mind.
"Mary Grimes! Sit your bum in that seat right now!" Rick barked, as Mary went to do a cartwheel.
"I'm playing!"
"Sit down, or you can sit on Michonne's knee next to me in silence for the rest of the drive." Rick added, and Mary sighed, but sat down next to Glenn.
"Play with your cars." Glenn suggested, passing her one of the plastic toys. Mary pouted, then drove one of them over his head, and put it down.
"How about you go to sleep? You got up way to early, and your daddy told me you didn't get to sleep until really late."
"Maybe." Mary shrugged, closing her eyes and crawling onto Glenn's lap. Ten minutes later, she was silent and still, but awake, and Maggie was asleep, one of Glenn's hands cradling Mary, the other on Maggie's stomach.
"Hey. Can I ask you a question?" Abraham asked suddenly, shifting forwards in his seat so only Glenn (and Mary) could hear him.
"Sure." Glenn shrugged, leaning forwards, both hands now on Mary.
"When you were, uh, pouring the Busquick, were you trying to make pancakes?"
"Uhhhh... Yes?" Glenn answered awkwardly, his hand automatically covering Mary's ear, "Oh, okay, um, it's something that we talked about, yeah. Especially thanks to Mary. Seeing that kids can thrive in this. They can be happy. And we're safe now."
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"No, I just, well, given the precarious state of affairs on any given Sunday, I am damn near floored that you or anyone else would have the cojones to make a call like that."
"I mean well... We're trying to build something, me and her. All of us." Glenn said softly.
"For the record, I see rain coming, I'm wearing galoshes. I double up."
Mary's face scrunched up, confused about what Glenn and Abraham were talking about. She opened her eyes, and looked over at her father and Michonne, seeing Rick rest a hand on Michonne's knee. Michonne's fingers closed around his, and their eyes met, sharing a smile.
Glenn noticed Mary's head move, and saw what she was looking at. He lifted her up so she was looking into his eyes, then held her to his chest. "I know it's different and scary, but daddy loves you just as much as he always has." He whispered.
"I know. I love Mishy too."
"I bet it feels funny, doesn't it? Because Mishy isn't mommy."
"Yeah." Mary admitted shakily, nuzzling her face into Glenn's shirt.
"She's not trying to replace your mommy. But it's like... Can I talk to you about sad feelings without you getting too sad?"
"Yeah." Mary nodded maturely.
"When Tommy died, you was so sad. But you still managed to make new friends, like Izzy and Teddy. And Carl was best friends with Sophia, but now he's best friends with Enid. You never forget the people you love, but you can move on. Yeah?"
"Yeah. I'm happy anyway. I'm glad daddy and Mishy are almost in love. It makes me really happy."
"Good. Good, I'm glad." Glenn smiled.
"Why's the car stoppin'?" Mary questioned, the car slowing.
"Yo, Rick, what's going on?" Daryl shouted.
"We got a crash ahead. Looks like it just happened."
Jesus rushed to the window, and took a shaky breath in. "It's one of ours." He announced, going to get out of the RV.
"Alright, let's take a look." Rick nodded, and everyone got out, Maggie waking up and immediately alert.
"Come on, baby." Maggie said softly, rubbing sleep out of her eyes and picking up the child. "Stick with me, yeah? Me or daddy or Mishy or Glenn."
"I know. I'm a big girl. Where's bunny?"
"Here." Maggie smiled softly, picking it up and giving it to her, walking out. She stroked the back of Mary's head softly as they saw the blood coated car wreck, Walkers stuck inside.
"If this is a trick, it won't end well for you." Rick growled, pointing his gun at Jesus.
"My people are in trouble. They don't, we don't have a lot of fighters. I know how it looks, but I'll play it out. Can I borrow a gun?"
"No. We got tracks right here." Daryl said harshly, following them quickly.
"I want daddy and Mishy." Mary mumbled, wriggling out of Maggie's arms. She ran to them, and grabbed one of each of their hands. "I'm excited." Mary grinned happily.
"Yeah?" Michonne smiled softly.
"Yeah. I think it's gonna be a good place. I think it's gonna have kids my age who wanna play, and loads of food, and chickens."
"Hey, Jesus," Daryl shouted, overhearing the conversation, "you have any chickens?"
"Yeah, yeah, we have a few." Jesus nodded, slightly confused.
"One of them is Mary's now. We're helpin' yer friends. You give her a chicken." Daryl ordered.
"Sure." Jesus shrugged, and Mary grinned, running over to him and hugging him tightly. She still wouldn't talk to the man properly, but she would hug him. The second he hugged her back, however, Mary ran away, straight into Rick's arms. They got to a building, and Rick banged on the door, his gun ready, Mary slung on his back.
"They gotta be in there." Jesus insisted.
"We moving in or what?" Abraham asked Rick gruffly.
"How do we know this ain't firecrackers in a trash can?" Daryl snapped.
"You don't."
"We'll get your people. You're staying here with one of us." Rick decided.
"That's the deal."
"Will you stay?" Glenn asked Maggie softly.
"With Mary." Rick added, and Maggie nodded.
"Yeah. Y'all go. Just be careful."
"Yeah we're gonna be careful." Rick nodded, handcuffing Jesus, then passing Mary to Maggie after kissing her softly.
"Just hurry." Jesus sighed.
"You hear me whistle, shoot him." Ruck ordered.
"I will." Maggie nodded, holding up her gun to Jesus' skull as everyone else went inside.
"I think he's a nice person." Mary stayed as soon as her father was gone.
"I know. We're just being careful."
"Your name's Mary, right?" Jesus asked softly, and Mary nodded with a smile. "That's a cute name. At Hilltop, we have a few kids. How old are you. Four?"
"Five." Maggie corrected sharply.
"Well, we have a few kids, and the youngest one is seven. He's really nice. Then there's some girls who are ten and eleven, I think."
"The only kids at Alexandria are way bigger. Alex is six and I don't like him. We sometimes get into fights because he's mean to me. Izzy is a big girl too, and Teddy."
"How old are they? Eight?" Maggie asked, and Mary shrugged.
"You know my daddy?" Mary asked Jesus with a grin.
"I do. Rick."
"He's almost in love with my Mishy. That's Misnon. She's the coolest big girl ever. Maybe joint with Maggie. She might be my new mom. My mommy died."
"I'm really sorry to hear that."
"It's sad." Mary nodded. "Lots of my friends died too. My bestest friend Tommy died, and Noah died, and Beth and lots more. I don't always remember them because I was only a tiny baby when all of this started."
"You wasn't a baby, you had just turned four." Maggie laughed, and Mary shrugged.
"That's like a baby. I'm almost six now. In one month. That's what Izzy's mommy said. Izzy's daddy died, but my daddy will never die. He's a dumbass badass asskicker." Mary rambled, now deciding she liked Jesus.
"Yeah?"
"Yeh. And Carl. He's my big brother." Mary nodded. They talked for a few more minutes, until the group and five other people came out.
"Daddy," Mary grinned, running to his side, "is everything okay?"
"Yeah." Rick nodded, picking her up.
"Are we all going to The Hill now?"
"Yeah. Yeah, we're going to the Hilltop." Rick nodded, beginning to walk.
"I get a chicken." Mary grinned widely.
"Yeah, you get a chicken." Rick chuckled. They got to the car, and Mary went into Glenn's arms, sat in the back with him, Maggie, and a man who was counting pill bottles.
"Name's Harlan, by the way." The man smiled softly to Maggie.
"Maggie. That's my husband Glenn, and that's Mary."
"We're bringing back medication, so you may have just saved more people than just us back there, Glenn."
"You're a doctor?" Glenn asked softly.
"Yeah, that's right. Beautiful little girl you've got there. How old is she?"
"Five." Glenn smiled gently, kissing the top of her head. "You have any prenatal vitamins in there?"
Harlan turned to Maggie with a smile. "For you?" Maggie nodded and grinned, and Harlan smiled. "Well, uh, I was an obstetrician before, and I most definitely owe you, so I'd say you two just hit the jackpot."
"Thank you. Thank you." Glenn smiled, as Mary grinned.
"Are you excited? To be a big sister?" Harlan asked Mary with a smile.
"I already am." Mary answered in confusion.
"Mary isn't ours," Glenn laughed, "she's Rick's."
"Oh. Oh, sorry, I just presumed. Sorry." Harlan apologied.
"Hey, not the first time." Maggie chuckled, and Mary nuzzled into Glenn's shirt.
"Okay," Harlan laughed, "Mary, when did you last see a doctor?"
"Daddy's special friend Jessie had a husband who was a surgeon, and he looked at me after I got shot. Daddy killed him."
"Right." Harlan nodded shakily.
"She's... Physically healthy. Apart from her cut." Maggie explained.
"She needs stitches." Glenn added.
"I can do them when we get back." Harlan smiled gently. He studied Mary, looking at her mannerisms, and began to calculate how she acted. Her clinginess, how she talked to so few people, and only ones she trusted, how she just simply was. It made him wonder if she maybe had a condition, but he pushed the thought out of his mind, knowing that even if he did, it wouldn't make a difference, not now.
"I want my daddy." Mary whispered, and Glenn nodded, carrying her to the front of the RV.
"Hey. Hey, she wants you." Glenn said gently, and Rick turned around, one hand still on the steering wheel.
"Come on, baby girl. What's up?" Rick asked softly, as he took Mary into his arms. She nestled into his chest, one of her hands clinging to her bunny, the other hand's thumb in her mouth.
"You're cuddly today. Everything okay?"
"Yeah. I'm a little bit anxious. I missed you yesterday."
"It's okay, baby, I've got you. No need to be worried about anything." Rick soothed, driving as she clung to him. Mary nodded, her tiny fist now clinging onto her bunny and Rick's shirt.
"Moo, it's okay," Michonne whispered softly, stroking the back of Marys head, "you're okay. You know daddy won't let anything happen to you."
"I know." Mary whispered, looking up to Michonne.
"Okay. Take a deep breath. You're okay." Michonne smiled softly, and Mary nodded, breathing in slowly, then exhaling. "See? You're fine. You gonna give me a cuddle and let your daddy drive? So we get there extra specially safe?"
"Yeah." Mary nodded sleepily, crawling over to Michonne. She snuggled into Michonne's chest, wrapping one of her dreadlocks around her fist.
"It's been a long day, hmm? And it's only lunch time. Are you hungry?" Michonne asked softly, and Mary nodded. Michonne ruffled in the car pockets, and pulled out a protein bar. "Lunch. Super healthy."
"Thank you." Mary smiled, beginning to eat.
"I forgot to mention how amazing your hair looks today. Didn't daddy do a good job?"
"Yeah. He's not too bad at hair now. Not as good as you." Mary admitted.
"Thanks." Rick chuckled, rolling his eyes.
"It's a compliment!" Mary giggled.
"Yeah, Rick, it's a compliment." Michonne mimicked.
"Oh, shush, you." Rick chuckled, waving a hand in their direction. Suddenly, the RV wheels began to whir, stuck in mud. "Damn it. A storm must've passed through. We're stuck."
"No worries. We're here." Jesus smiled, opening the door and jumping into the mud.
"Shall we go see what it's like?" Rick asked Mary softly, reaching over and putting his hand on Michonne's shoulder.
"Yeah." Mary grinned.
"Okay. Okay, come on them. You good with her?" Rick asked Michonne.
"Of course." The woman nodded, and they got out, Mary on Michonne's back. And they walked up a hill to see a massive community, surrounded by tall, wooden walls. Even Mary knew it was the start of something different, something new.