After The Fall

Moving On In Theory

Nate keeps a hand on Stephanie's shoulder to help her balance as they walk along the road. She keeps a hand on his arm as well, the other against her swollen stomach. No one ever mentioned it, but it became obvious while they were still in the woods that the young woman is pregnant.

Felix, Mary-Jane, and Mark walk along behind them in silence, Ken and Jack having left earlier to find Tyler. They get back to the pawn shop Nate and Ken had looted earlier and they all head inside. Mark locks the door and then settles down on the floor, wincing at the pain in his injured ankle. Felix sits a little ways away, wiping tears from his eyes again.

Mary-Jane sits with Felix, giving him a quick hug. Felix hugs her back, giving her a little smile. She smiles back, she may be young, but she knows they just lost someone. She's sad that they lost their friend, even if she didn't know Marzia, she's sympathetic to the pain they're feeling because of the loss.

Nate helps Stephanie sit down then sits beside her. They all sit in silence, all feeling the weight of Marzia's loss. Then there's also the problem of their lost supplies to worry about.

Nate sighs, leaning back, "What exactly happened back there?"

Felix looks over at him, the poor man looks exhausted. He sniffles, looking away, "Uh.. We were getting supplies, like normal, then.."

He shakes his head, "We didn't see the damn zombies until it was too late. They got Marzia before I knew they were there.. I just.."

He starts to cry again and he wraps his arms around himself as he trembles, "I heard her scream and I dropped everything to help.. But I was too late.. Those things were faster than normal.. There were so many.. I tried to save her.."

He closes his eyes, shivering, "They almost had me, too.. I ran. Tyler was already out. I left the supplies behind. Tyler freaked out and ran off."

He opens his eyes, sighing heavily, "I should've payed more attention. I should have made sure it was safe before letting her out of my sight."

Nate frowns, that's twice Tyler could have done something to save someone. He shakes his head, "You can't blame yourself for that. It was obviously out of your control."

Felix just shakes his head before curling up and crying into his arms. Nate crosses his arms. He knows Ken's against kicking anyone out, but he's very much going to try and convince him to make Tyler leave. He doesn't trust Tyler anymore, and he doesn't want to risk anyone else's life by letting Tyler stay.

He glances at Mark, having been the one to make Ethan and Amy leave, he understood Tyler's fear at Mark's potential infection. But it's been three months, and Mark hasn't shown any symptoms. They had all been wrong even Mark it seems. Whatever happened to injure his friend's ankle obviously wasn't one of the infected.

Nate looks at Stephanie, smiling softly, "How are you feeling?"

Stephanie smiles tiredly back, "I'm okay.. Just tired."

Mary-Jane crawls across the floor and sits in front of Nate and Stephanie. The little girl smiles brightly, "Are you having a baby?"

Nate chuckles lightly and Stephanie smiles softly, "Yeah, I am.."

Mary-Jane scoots closer, talking excitedly, "That's awesome! My Mamma's gonna have a baby, too! I get a little sister! Papa even let me pick my baby sissy's name! I picked Amy!"

Mark winces at the name, but he says nothing. He's still smiling sadly at the little child's excited story. It's very likely her parents, and the child her mother is carrying, are dead by now. But he won't say that possibility. Mary-Jane suddenly looks sad, "I really hope they're okay.."

Nate pats her head awkwardly, "I'm sure they're.. Fine, somewhere."

She nods, smiling again, "Until I find them, Ken's gonna keep me safe. He promised."

Nate nods, "That's right. You can trust Ken."

She nods and smiles, looking back at Stephanie, "Is Nate your husband?"

Nate coughs and Stephanie laughs softly, though her eyes are sad, "No, he's not my husband. He's just a really good friend."

"Then who's your husband?" Mary-Jane asks.

Nate looks at Stephanie, looking worried. Stephanie looks back at him and she smiles softly before looking back at the child, "My husband's name was Matthew, but everyone called him Matt. He died just before we met you, he was.. Killed by the, uh, scary people, protecting his friend."

Mary-Jane gasps, tears coming to her eyes, "Oh.. I'm sorry. I won't ask anymore.."

Stephanie shakes her head, "It's alright.  You're just curious."

Mary-Jane wipes her eyes, "O-okay."

Stephanie smiles reassuringly and the child smiles back. Mary-Jane then moves and sits on Stephanie's other side, "Do you know what baby you're gonna have?"

"Sadly, I don't." Stephanie sighs, putting a hand to her stomach.

Mary-Jane tilts her head, "Can I feel the baby?"

Stephanie nods and Mary-Jane smiles, resting a gentle hand on Stephanie's stomach. After a few silent moments, the child gasps, smiling, "The baby moved!"

Stephanie smiles and Mary-Jane moves back, smiling up at her. They all fall back into the silence and for once it doesn't seem so bad. They are still grieving for Marzia, but Stephanie seems to be getting over Matt's death.

Nate's at least happy for that. It's nice to hear Stephanie say Matt's name, to see her talk about him with even a hint of a smile. It shows there's hope for her future, and Nate couldn't ask for more. Though, he's still worried about Stephanie.

They don't know exactly how far along she is, the baby could come anywhere between weeks and months from now and that distresses him. Just how safe can they keep a baby when they have no place to stay and they'll all be in danger every time the child cries? Not to mention the possibility that Stephanie or the baby might not make it through the delivery. There's too many worries that go along with the situation, and it terrifies Nate to no end.