NATE
"If we can please hit the pause button on our journey? I feel the need to go tap a kidney. Appreciation will be forthcoming in return for a delicate balance of privacy and protection."
Eugene gave a nod to Abraham and I. Then veered off into a cluster of trees lining the road.
"You can wield the wiener and watch for walkers at the same time, you know. Pause denied! Catch up when you're done" Abraham flung out before winking at me.
"Hope he remembers which hand is holding the head-splitter....when he goes to release the trouser snake" I grin back.
We slow to a mere dawdle, waiting for him to do the deed. I reach into the side pocket of my day pack and pull out the plastic bag holding some crackers.
Found them in the pantry, stale as all hell. But after a bit of a dry-out in the oven, they came up as good as new. I remember Dad telling a patient once, that they help settle down morning sickness. Ginger or mint tea as well.
Once I get the chance to properly drop the bombshell on Dixon? I'll have to go and beg some teabags off Maggie. Who's been hoarding them in case she succumbs.
Held my stash out to Blue but he declined.
"So how long until the timer goes off, little darlin?"
"Come again?" I peer up at him in confusion.
"The bun in your oven....how long have you got until it's cooked?"
I can only imagine, that the flabbergasted look I'm giving him? Mirrors the one Doc Harlan received just on a month ago.
***
"Ummmm, Doc....would it be rude of me to ask....?" I gazed longingly at the bowl of fresh fruit Harlan had on his desk.
Within seconds I was peeling an orange and groaning in delight while juice dripped off my chin.
Glancing out the window I saw everyone ferrying boxes of food over to the R.V, ready to be packed away.
The deal Maggie brokered with Slimy Gregory is done. Now? We just have to work out how on earth we're going to pay the invoice.
I couldn't help the awful feeling running through me. That we'll be well and truly paying....with interest.
"Looks like I won't be getting any pre-natal practice in today after all....no pun intended."
Harlan gave what sounded like a defeated sigh to himself before pulling up a chair next to the hospital gurney.
"Well, young lady! The protein levels in your sample gave me pause for thought, so I did another test. You won't need to wait to conceive. Instead, you'll be welcoming a bouncing baby Dixon in about....seven and a half months by my reckoning?"
My previous train of thought derailed....and there were no survivors.
"A baa....a baa....baa....baa...." I stuttered over and over again like a bloody nursery rhyme, before screeching....
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"....but....HOW IN THE FUCKING HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?"
Harlan grinned before shaking his head. Eyebrows twitching as his shoulders quaked with laughter.
"I'm truly hoping that question relates to your birth control, Nate. Otherwise....you're a lost cause. A lot of factors can influence efficacy over the life of an implant. Like poor nutrition and dehydration, not to mention stress."
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Home Is Your Heartbeat ('Home Is' Book Two - Daryl Dixon)
FanfictionSemi-mature. Completed. Book Two picks up immediately from the last chapter of Home is You. Nate is an Aussie girl who was stranded in Georgia during the outbreak. She and fellow traveler Leo joined a group of survivors in Atlanta. Nate got her fi...
