meanstreak
rick grimes 𝘹 fem!𝘰𝘤
© WANDARYEN ──── 2024

I don't remember how quickly we made it back to Hilltop, but Michonne managed to get us there in under an hour. Once she brought me back to the car, I was sure I fainted at some point from the excruciating pain that didn't falter even for a second. My body has been trying to fight off the continuous cramps in my back for weeks, which started to become minor over time and I thought I finally overcame the issue until now. It was no longer just my back but my stomach — every part of my body aching and fighting against whatever was threatening to happen.

I was sweating profusely and not from the Georgia heat. I ached like my body was fighting off the flu but my body trembled from the pain. It was actively fighting against whatever was happening but failing entirely.

Michonne rubbed my arm gently, soothingly, like a mother comforting her child and it brought me momentary peace knowing she was with me. "Sienna? Baby, we're here." I heard the car door open then slam shut firmly behind her when she jumped out.

My head was leaning back against the space between the car door and the headrest of the seat. My arms were secured around my stomach, trying my utmost to comfort myself the entire drive even though I was slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Rick!? Rick!" Michonne's voice echoed throughout the entire camp just as she opened the passenger door with caution. I tiredly opened my eyes and set my gaze onto my best friend. She swiftly had an arm around my waist and propped my own behind her neck. "Someone get Rick!"

I tripped over my own footing without having the chance to catch my balance once I was hauled out of the car.

I could barely make out Rick's figure appearing out of the house with Maggie and Daryl behind him. The sea of people around us parted ways with concerned glances. For the first time in a while the baby finally kicked, but in an area so sensitive that I was forced to let out a weakened cry.

Please don't do that, I silently begged my child — as if she could hear or feel the excruciating pain.

I looked for my husband, ready to call out to him but he was already hurtling towards me with the most speed I've seen him use in months. His face was first a blur before turning into sheer panic once he got closer. My body was immediately lifted up into his arms without much struggle and I was carried directly towards the medical trailer.

"Sienna!?" My sister called out behind us before storming into the mobile home right after Rick.

"Lily! We need you!" Rick demanded once he settled me down on an empty bed.

Another sharp pain. Another painful cry. Another gut wrenching sharp inhale that made me feel like I was swallowing glass.

"I'm here!" Lily rushed over with urgency and Calvin at her side. "What's wrong? What happened!" She lifted her head towards Rick and Maggie — Daryl, Carol, and Michonne came to the trailer as well, creating a suffocating atmosphere that made it hard to breathe.

"We were out. She started experiencing back pain again but this time worse — much worse." Michonne explained while Lily used her stethoscope to check my heart rate then the blood pressure cuff. "She's not bleeding anywhere, from what I noticed, her water didn't break — " I watched Michonne bring her hand towards her mouth with fear as if she was the one causing the pain.

I slowly shook my head against the pillow. "It's okay."

Rick was in the middle of combing my hair back with his fingers while also using a cloth to brush the sweat from my forehead and chest. "What were you doing out there?" He spoke quietly while resting his forehead against my temple.

"Sight-seeing." I responded breathlessly before closing my eyes.

"I'm going to hook you up to an I.V., Sienna. Let's get you hydrated. I need to check the baby's heart rate, if somethings wrong I'll catch it this time I promise." Lily's words comforted me and without opening my eyes I could sense how fast she was moving with Calvin's help. "I'm going to need everyone else except Rick and Maggie to clear the room, please." Lily stated while taking the hospital robe from her husband. "We're going to get you changed okay?

My eyes fluttered open and briefly caught their worried gaze before accepting the order and leaving the trailer.

Lily quickly pulled a curtain in front of us that separated me from the others in the trailer being taken care of by Siddiq. Rick helped assist Lily with my clothes and change me into the robe. "I think I know what's happening," she spoke directly to her husband before moving towards me. "Sienna," her voice was calm like the summer breeze while she inserted the I.V. "I'm going to check to see if you're dilated."

"What?" Rick stood up straighter. "She's seven months — Michonne said her water didn't break."

"Exactly." Lily lifted her gaze towards Rick. "She could be going into labor early."

Maggie shifted beside Rick and took my hand in hers, giving it a single firm squeeze. She leaned down, "everything is going to be okay. You're not going anywhere — we're not going to let anything happen to you, do you hear me?" I nodded silently which only made her grasp my hand tighter. "I know you. I know you're thinking the worst and I'm telling you right now you're not leaving me." Her voice cracked with fear and Rick placed his hand on her shoulder.

Lily pulled over a stool in front of the bed and carefully adjusted my legs. At this moment I was terrified to know what was happening but I tried to put on a brave face for my sister and Rick. Being there for Lori's birth and death put graphic images in my head that took me years to get rid of.

"Calvin," I watched her lift her head towards her husband. "Grab everything."

"W–Why?" I asked weakly. "What's wrong?"

"What is it?" Rick demanded.

Lily's chest rose and fell with a sturdy breath. Her eyes glazed over for a brief moment but in that split second she regained her composure and gave me a single nod. "You're going into labor, your contractions hit early, and we're going to have to force your water to break."

I inhaled sharply at the information but didn't have a second to grasp it entirely when Calvin finished putting all the supplies on the closest tables with soft clangs. "Maggie, would you mind standing back? Calvin is going to be my assistant but if I need Siddiq at any moment, I need you to get him for me, can you do that?"

"O–Okay."

"Sienna, I'm going to insert an amniotomy to carefully break the amniotic sac. You might feel it or you might not due to the contractions but it's only going to be slightly uncomfortable. I want you to keep your breathing controlled, Rick, that's where we need you — focusing on breathing, okay?"

I could only nod my head in response and force my gaze up at my husband to keep myself distracted from everything else. I no longer wanted to be coherent during this entire operation. Even after using the amniotomy, I was going to feel everything that came after without medication and that's what terrified me. Lori's cries continued to echo throughout my head.

Rick held onto my left hand firmly while using his other to continuously stroke my hair. "What do we always say?" He whispered. "You're stronger than me."

"I'm stronger with you," I breathed out shakily, earning a soft kiss on my forehead in return.

Once the wetness pooled at my legs I knew the easy part was over and the rest was yet to come. I inhaled deeply through my nose and released it past my lips as steady as I could.

"She's definitely ready to come out." Lily insisted with a bit of eagerness in her tone. "When I tell you to push, I want you to push okay? Push as hard as you can. Your body knows what to do — it's going to help."

I nodded my head again and from that point on, all I remember was the tears streaming down my face and the endless screaming that continued to occur. At one point I didn't know if it were my screams or someone else's, because for a split second I grew woozy as if my body was reeling back from the pain.

Rick remained at my side the entire time and not once did I look away from him or did he with me. Our gazes remained interlocked for what felt like hours.

"Sienna." Lily's voice came to me as a whisper and I was forced to open my eyes to meet her lingering stare. "You did it." Her own eyes glossed over with tears and suddenly the baby was in my arms wailing uncontrollably.

She was small, so incredibly small.

My chest seized the moment I made eye contact with her and I nearly wept that she was alive. I was alive — I wasn't torn to pieces. My body remained the same, everyone was smiling, and all those fears I previously harboured in my mind finally drifted away.

Rick repeatedly kissed the side of my face where the tears collected. His hand now gently hovering over our child's head with his fingers delicately brushing over her hair. "Thank you," he choked out between his own cries. "Thank you."

"We need to keep you both, especially her, inside her to continue monitoring her health. She's two months early and we need to make sure she's got everything she needs in that tiny little body before she goes off into the world."

I nodded my head knowingly, finally looking at Lily and Calvin with happiness still streaming down my cheeks. "You saved our lives." I brought my focus back down to our child and nearly reeled my head back in surprise to find her no longer crying.

"She was excited to meet you," Lily whispered. "Couldn't even wait the full nine months." Her choked sob mixed with laughter caused my heart to squeeze tightly against my chest.

Calvin stood beside Lily with one hand over his wife's back and the other reaching over to touch Adalines small hand. "Adaline Grimes you are tremendously loved already and you don't even know it." We all laughed softly in sync.

"I can't believe it finally happened," Maggie softly spoke beside me with a wide smile. "You're a mom." I watched her hunch down beside me and I mirrored her smile. "And to have someone that genuinely loves you — you finally have the family you deserve, Sienna."

Fresh tears formed in my eyes immediately. The same thing she said once about Steven was now applied towards Rick, Judith, and Adaline — but this time it was true.

"Maggie — Rick." Calvin, who must've disappeared for a split second, was now standing half way behind the curtain that separated us from the rest of the trailer. "We just got word, it's time. They're getting ready to go." His face shifted from the happiness he felt to seeing the baby, something more solemed that caused anxiety to form in my stomach.

"I can't, I can't go — my wife just," Rick feverishly shook his head and turned to me. His eyebrows furrowed tightly together. "I'm not leaving you and the baby."

But he needed to, and I understood that.

"It's okay," I whispered softly with a gentle smile. He shook his head in disagreement and Maggie shifted on her feet uncomfortably, not willing to move out of the room just yet either. "It has to happen. Not tomorrow, not next week — it has to be today. It has to be." I cradled Adaline closer to my chest before carefully handing her off towards Lily who could take her separately and check on her vitals.

Rick kneeled down beside me and cradled the side of my face in his hand. "If I leave and something happens to you — I would die. I can't — " he lowered his head with a small shake. "I can't live without you."

"Which is why you have to finish this," I nodded to him. "For Judith, Adaline, us."

Calvin moved around the room until he was back in his original position at my side. "We're not going to let anything happen to either of them. You have my word." He extended his arm across the bed towards Rick. I watched my husband slowly stand back on his feet and accept Calvin's handshake firmly. "I won't let either of them out of my sight."

"They need you," I nodded in agreement, my gaze flickering between Rick and Maggie. "I'm going to be there by your side in spirit — but I'm going to be here when you return. Because you will return."

"We're going to have you up and walking soon once your body has time to heal in the next few days." Lily instructed, returning to her husband's side.

I shifted my gaze towards Calvin, flashing him a grin. "I'll be running laps around you in no time, old man."

He chuckled softly and leaned forward while placing his hand on top of my head. "Hey, just as long as you get better, okay kiddo?" I laughed in response but out the corner of my eye I noticed Lily standing uncomfortably with her arms tightened across her chest.

My eyebrows furrowed worriedly. "What's wrong, Lily?"

"You alright?" Rick added.

I watched her exhale slowly while silently pondering to herself. It only made my concern grow stronger until she finally spoke. "During the entire pregnancy up until the labor — I did have a sense what was going on with your body. Dr. Dana didn't see it at first but after spending time together, seeing your pain down in the sewer in Alexandria," she stopped for a heartbeat with fresh tears forming in her eyes and Calvin immediately placed both hands on her shoulders to steady her. "Your body was not strong enough to carry this baby. Your pregnancy timeline and the history of events were too close. It's a miracle that you did have her and — and I didn't want to say anything first because I prayed I would be wrong."

"So, what does this mean?" I whispered.

"You can't have any more children. Your body is unable to carry out another pregnancy term which is also why Adaline came premature." She lowered her head and I could hear the remorse in her voice clear as day. "I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner, Sienna. I wanted to be wrong — I so badly wanted to be."

I wanted to feel sadness, I wanted to cry for myself and for Rick, but nothing came. All I could think about was how lucky we were to have Adaline and she was more than enough.

"It's okay," I promised gently then turned my gaze towards Rick. "We're going to be okay. Judith and Adaline — they're all we need." He nodded but I could see the tears ghosting his vision as he leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"I managed to get her attached to a monitor so we can keep a close eye on her vitals. So far she's looking great — she's strong. She spent those seven months working up as much strength as she could to survive." I could hear it in Lily's voice again that there was a but coming along right after and I was forced to hold my breath again. "She's got all her fingers and toes, her eyes look great, but, I quickly did a test on her hearing and it seems like she is deaf. We're going to keep checking her as often as possible to see if anything changes but so far, she's — "

"Perfect," I quickly added with a shake of my head. "Doesn't matter if she can't hear or see or touch — anything. She's perfect and I'm going to protect her with my life."

Lily softly smiled at my words. "I know you will be. The both of you — I've never trusted a family more than you both."

I finally turned back to Rick and tilted my head to meet his wandering sadden gaze. "You need to go, the both of you. Our people need you — end this once and for all. Then come back so you can take care of me and our daughters."

He smiled slightly, "I love you, so much." His lips brushed against mine in a desperate yet passionate manner — solidifying his promise.

I reached up and gently caressed his cheek with my thumb. His face voluntarily leaned into the palm of my hand. "I love you, Rick Grimes."

I knew things were going to change at this point. We were going to rebuild the future with our children and spend the rest of our lives making up from the time we were apart before we even met each other.

That's just how Rick and I were — always coming back like an elastic and responding like we haven't seen each other in years. We always found one another and it didn't matter how long it took. I would see him in every life time and I knew that, finally.

Steven was a distant memory — our relationship was practically nonexistent because I no longer allow those memories to cloud my mind.

Maggie was right, I am with someone that genuinely loves me. And that love was something the both of us were willing to sacrifice if it meant protecting each other. There wasn't a corner in the world I wouldn't search for Rick Grimes.