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Nadia Grimes had been running even before the monsters started chasing her.

At first it was in her backyard with her father. He would chase the girl around the yard as her mother, Lori, watched from her comfy position under the canopy.

She would run up to her mom and hide from her dad's "attacks". The teen remembered Lori always pulling the pregnancy card, sticking her large belly out as if it were a repellent that made Rick Grimes scramble away.

Nadia's speed quickly increased when her father, Rick, started taking her and her younger brother, Carl, on walks throughout the neighbourhood. She'd run ahead to see the cattle by the local farms while Rick would always tell the girl to slow down as Carl was not to far behind.

Soon the girl's running would be used for more physical activities when Lori convinced her to try out for the high school's cheer team. Something her mother would never miss. Coming to each and every game with the largest camcorder she could find and filmed all her daughter's routines. Every single one.

Rick loved to attend his daughter's games as well, but only so he could embarrass the hell out of Carl by loudly cheering along with the crowd, off key.

The young boy usually pulled his hood up and pretended he wasn't there, while Rick shook him screaming, "LET'S GO TIGERS!" as loud as he could.

But things would soon become more complicated when Nadia's father was injured on the job. With him in the hospital, Lori a wreck and Carl absolutely terrified, Nadia was the one to scramble to provide every need they had. Though she never minded it, as it actually helped the teen keep her own mind off of things as well.

Back then the teenager assumed that, mixed with her college applications, would be the hardest time in her life... that was until the dead started to open their eyes.

At first the teenager didn't think it was real. Watching these fear mongering stories on the news about an epidemic of cannibals in France. It was so unrealistic. She believed it to be unrealistic.

She really ate those words once they started to appear in her own community.

The world completely collapsed in on itself. Power lines were gone, you could forget about running water or even a safe place to stand. The remaining members of the Grimes family had to leave their home and ended up living in a camp on the quarry outside of Atlanta for a while.

Then running became the only thing Nadia and her family ever did. Once her father came back they went place to place, house to house, scavenging for food or weapons if they were lucky. Her father was trying oh so desperately to find a proper place for his group to sleep for just one night alone.

Sometimes they were hopeful on the locations they came across. First was the Quarry, which easily fell apart. Then there was the CDC, which blew up. Then they found the Greene Farm, which was overrun by walkers.

She felt lucky had completely turned their back on them until her father found a secure location, the local prison. The shot at a home was very risky but Rick took charge and said it was too good of a chance to pass up.

The place had food, a stream with drinkable water and even weapons. It took a lot of work but the group were able to secure it and even built a large community out of it.

Nadia's group were able to turn the prison into something special. Having a farm, proper medical supplies and what was the most important, safety.

If only she was able to enjoy any part of it because Nadia Grimes hated the prison more than the walkers that lined the fences protecting them.

But then again how could you expect a person to like living in the same walls her mother was killed in?

She would pray nightly to whatever god would bother listening to her, to get her out this place. To escape the fences Rick forbade her from leaving for her own safety, to run away from that hell hole.

She kind of regret those words now seeing all the fire surrounding her, but she wouldn't say the irony of her current situation wasn't funny.

"Dad! Carl!" Nadia screamed as the dense smoke clouded the area. "Anyone?!"

With a shotgun firmly gripped within her hands Nadia searched the area, making her bow and quiver shake as it resisted weakly on her back. With the fences now down the dead were piling in making her heart race in fear. The smoke dampening the teen's vision made it much more dangerous than it already was.

Ignoring the convulsing bodies on the pavement Nadia continued to run through the courtyard, screaming out for her brother, "Carl?!"

Her body shook violently as the brunette trekked through the deep smoke, trying to locate her fourteen year-old brother. When the siege begun Carl was right by her side, promising he wouldn't leave my side. Nadia should've known he wouldn't break that promise. If he wouldn't even listen to their father, what made her think he'd listen to her?

She not so silently screamed at the realisation of where he most likely was. Going to rescue Judith, his little sister. The two kids were always together.

At first Nadia just thought it was because he had a crush on the baby's main sitter, Beth, but then he and her father started taking Judith out for strolls together. That's when she realised then he'd become whipped for the little creature, just like everyone else in that god awful prison.

Going past the basketball court the teen cried out again for her brother, making Nadia intake a large unhealthy amount of black air, "Car-" her scream turned into a hack as her body tried to remove the smoke from her lungs.

She halted, bending over as she roughly coughed to the point of tears. Her dirty fist pounding against her chest as she tried to access air once more, giving Nadia the opportunity to actually listen to the noises around her.

The sounds of the dead mixed with the living ones screaming out their last breaths. The teen brought her body closer to the ground for a moment to allow fresh air to enter her system. She planned to get back up and continue her search until a faint wail, unlike the others, got caught in her ear.

Glancing up Nadia was able to locate the source, seeing a lone pink car seat in the distance. Squinting her brown eyes she could see a small bag next to the deserted seat and suddenly the girl gasped, seeing a pair of hands flailing around inside.

╔═.✾. ════╗

A sixteen year-old Nadia Grimes handed her brother some silverware as the two started to set the table for supper. It was more or less just busy work for the youngest kids left in the group as the others began to bring in their meal.

The tension in the air was rather thick considering three people were missing at the moment. Their host who owned the farm they were currently staying in, Hershel Green, had vanished earlier that morning after a small incident between Nadia's group and his.

Of course as things could never go right and out of nowhere Hershel's youngest, Beth Greene, had gone into a catatonic state and needed a doctor immediately.

Hershel was the only doctor available. For all these people knew he could've been the last alive.

So Rick and another member of the group, Glenn Rhee, Hershel's eldest daughter's boyfriend, had both set out to find and bring him home. But that had been hours ago, "They should've been back by now." Andrea stated as she and Shane walked into the dinning room.

"Yeah. They just got holed up somewhere," Shane theorised as the group sat down. "We'll... we'll head out first thing in the morning."

As they began to dish out the food Nadia made sure Carl had enough on his plate before even attempting to grab any.

"Carl, I want you to keep your head up, okay?" Shane told him, "Your old man, he's the toughest son of a-"

"No cussing in the house," he was quickly cut off.

Shane turned to the woman and gave her a strange look before pressing his lips together in an amused manner, "Sorry."

The elder Grimes lightly chuckled before calling out to her mother in the other room, "Mom, dinners ready."

"She's not in there," Maggie Greene casually said as she walked into the room, sitting down.

"What?" Nadia turned to her.

"Where is she?" Another asked. The passing of food quickly froze as the lot glanced around. It wasn't like Lori to ever just vanish without cause or warning.

"Carl, when's the last time you saw your mom?" Shane asked.

"This afternoon."

Shane turned to me, "Nadia?"

She shook my head, "I've been in the field practising my aim. Haven't seen her since dad left today."

"She was worried about Rick, asked me to look in on Carl," Andrea said.

That made the teen's stomach drop. Usually she was the one to be asked to watch Carl when Lori or Rick had things to do. It wasn't as if Lori didn't trust anyone else, she just said she felt it was safer for her daughter to do it.

So that could only mean one thing, "She went after them?"

If Lori didn't ask her own daughter to watch Carl it meant she didn't want Nadia to even know she was leaving the safety of the Greene farm.

Andrea shook her head, "She didn't say that."

Nadia removed the napkin from her lap and placed it on the table before quickly standing to my feet, "Nobody panic," Shane and the others followed suit. "Gonna be around here somewhere. Kids check upstairs, maybe she fell asleep in one of the rooms. The rest follow me."

The girl nodded and lightly grabbed Carl's shoulder to ensure he stayed within her sight. "You don't think she actually went after them and didn't tell us, do you?" Carl asked as the two began to walk up the stairs.

Nadia let out a long huff as they started to check the rooms, "She's here somewhere, don't worry," the teen gave the twelve year-old a hopeful smile. "She would never just abandon us."

The little boy didn't seem that convinced but gave a small nod as the two finished checking the interior. Nadia still kept her smile on, praying it would be contagious like the virus and motioned Carl to follow her outside to our camp.

The group were all coming in different directions, "Did you find her?" Andrea called out to us.

The kids shook their heads as Shane came over, "She's not at the barn."

"I checked the yards," T-Dog frowned.

Carl began to frantically look around the dark landscape, "Well, where is she?"

"She asked Daryl to go into town," Carol ran over. "Must've gone herself."

Nadia's jaw dropped, "She what?!"

Carl let out a sharp gasp but quickly covered it with his hand, "Mom," he whimpered at the thought of what could happen to her.

Before anyone could even react Carl had already begun to run to the safety of our tent, "Carl!" Nadia's legs pumped after the small boy, leaving the others behind.

The flaps of the Grimes portable home swayed in the breeze Carl caused when he rushed inside. Nadia took a moment to allow her brother the chance to calm down before slowly stepping inside the tent. Watching as the twelve year-old laid face down on his parent's cot, clutching onto their blankets for dear life.

His sister frowned seeing him like this, the boy had already had a terrible week after the quote 'Hunting Accident' that led the group to find the farm in the first place, and this situation didn't make it any better. It wouldn't surprise Nadia if Carl was actually still in pain from his surgery. But even if he was, Carl wouldn't have shown it. He usually tried to act tougher than he truly was.

Zipping the flaps shut Nadia sat next to him, "Hey," she lightly placed a hand on his back. "They're gonna be fine. Mom and dad can handle themselves, you know that. Things are gonna be alright-"

"Stop saying that!" He scoffed, "All you ever do is tell me everything's gonna be okay, but they won't!" He continued to sob into the pillow.

Nadia didn't take his screams to heart and allowed the boy to get his pent up frustration out. From the way he acted most of the time one would almost forget just how young he actually was. He always wanted to prove himself and show how strong he was. Trying to desperately prove that he wasn't just a burden on the others.

But he was only a kid, he needed to cry sometimes.

She slowly pulled him up, allowing him to cry into her shoulder. Nadia had an idea about what he was probably thinking about, as she was thinking the same thing. Being outside at night was one thing, but being alone was another. She actually had to push out her own fear of what could happen to her parents as she sat helplessly in her tent, comforting her brother, "I'm scared too," she admitted.

"What?" He sniffled.

The elder sister sighed, continuing to rub his back, "I'm scared for them too. I'm scared they are hurt, I'm scared of what they might find, but I believe in them."

"Really?"

Nadia nodded, "Yeah, you know why?"

Carl shook his head.

"We're the Grimes family," the brunette smiled. "We look out for each other, we get things done, and if we ever are apart we will always find our way back to each other. Just look at dad," she squeezed him. "We thought he was dead and he found us just days after he woke up."

"I guess that's true," he dug deeper into Nadia's chest.

Her hand started to play with his hair as he slowly started to calm down, "They are gonna come back, I promise you. You don't need to be scared."

"I'm not scared," he told me. "I'm just..."

"Worried?" She suggested.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Just worried."

"Yeah," the girl sighed. "So am I."

╚════.✾. ═╝

Groans overtook the baby's cries as Nadia watched exactly six walkers taking notice of the abandoned child as well.

Her chapped lips parted as she watched the flesh eating monster step closer and closer towards the car seat. A large chunk of eighteen year-old wanted to turn the other way. Act as if she simply didn't see anything so she could continue looking for the two that actually mattered.

She knew Rick and Carl would miss her of course, but they'd get over it. They won't even mention Lori anymore so would getting rid of Judith even matter?

Nadia's thought process was however cut off when the baby let out another wail as one of the walkers started to dip down and reach out for the chubby baby's fingers.

The girl watched for a good two seconds before letting out a huff, "Damnit!" Her boots skidded across cracked pavement as she ran towards the danger ahead.

When the closest one fully bent down Nadia fired off a single shot to the head, causing it to fall over. Quickly reloading, Nadia sent another two down a second later. But once she tried to send another back to the grave she was met with only the sounds of an empty fire.

So the teen wound up her arms and smashed it in the face with the back of her gun, causing its soft skull to explode like a pinata, making moulded brains shoot everywhere. Judith continued to cry out as another reached down to grab her small head. Nadia's eyes inflated trying to reach her, but some force tugged the girl back.

Nadia screamed as she fell completely backwards, on top of the walker that yanked her away from Carl's pride and joy. Her arrows went everywhere as she and the monster hit the floor.

A loud moan shot off in her ear, causing the girl to scream in absolute terror as the walker tried to take a chunk of the teen's scarred face off.

It's hands clawed into Nadia's jacket as she realised the gun was now nothing but a lost cause as it was more than a foot away from her, "DAD!"

╔═.✾. ════╗

"They're back!" Carl was out of his sister's arms before T-Dog could finish the sentence.

Nadia quickly followed after the kid, running out to see their mother in the heat of an argument with Shane, "You asshоlе," she grabbed Rick's best friend and began to attack him as he tried to explain the situation.

"Lori."

"He's my husband!"

"Lori, I will go after him. I will find him. Hey!" He was able to push her off of him. "Now look, first things first... I gotta... I gotta look after you. I gotta make sure the baby's all right, okay?" He looked down at her stomach.

"What?" The words left Nadia's mouth before she could even think.

Carl looked just as surprised as the others, "You're having a baby?"

Lori's eyes widen as her head slowly turned to her children, with the same slack jawed expression they had. She tried to say something but even as her lips moved words never came out. Shane immediately shut up, letting out a long sigh realising the man had just outed the mother to her unsuspecting children.  

"Why didn't you tell me?" Carl asked, rather offended. "Did you know about this?" Carl quickly turned his attention to his older sister.

"Does it look like I knew?"

It took a moment for anyone to say anything as the news had begun to process for the entire family. Dale, the late peacekeeper in the group was the first to break the tension filled silence, "Come on. Let's make sure you're alright," he gently led Lori inside the Greene home.

Though as they walked Nadia felt her stomach starting to do backflips. A baby. A baby in this world? What on earth were her and my father thinking? Nadia thought to herself. Or should she have assumed that them not thinking is what led to this?

Baby's need things like formula, diapers, and proper medical care. Forget about the baby, what about her mother? Was she actually planning on going through with this? With all the risks?

We have so little medications left and the last time anyone tried to grab some it ended in the loss of a life, how would Lori even deliver the kid? Inside the barn that had walkers inside just earlier this morning?

Nadia didn't even want to think about what the dangers of a screaming infant would bring onto their group. A world filled with flesh eating undead monsters that were attracted to sound and a baby didn't mix.

"Oh god," Nadia teared up in fright. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

╚════.✾. ═╝

The Grimes girl hollered as the walker kept snapping, trying to get a proper bite of her face. She threw bee hands out, trying desperately to find some form of weapon. Fingers smashed into the crumbling surface of the courtyard before she felt the neck of a singular arrow. Nadia gripped it tightly before letting out a scream, stabbing the sucker behind her.

Once It stopped moving she noticed the final walker continued its reaching for the babe. Nadia tried to get herself back up, but her attempts were hopeless as the dead weight was still firmly wrapped around her body.

Judith continued to scream as the walker went to its knees and prepared to reach for her. The teen struggled a bit more before noticing the dead walker holding her down was digging into the leather jacket she always wore.

In a haste Nadia pulled the zipper down and manoeuvred herself out of her jacket, allowing her body to detach itself from the walker. She immediately went towards two arrows closer to the car seat and plunged them both into the walker's eyes.

Throwing the corpse to the side Nadia locked eyes with the matching set inside the car seat. Judith started to cry even louder as her little feet kicked out.

Nadia panted as she tried to pick up her carrier, but as her hand reached for it the sound of moans increased. The teen's hands flung to the corpse by her feet and I pulled out one of the arrows, sticking it into the next walker's eye.

Quickly dropping down to her knees, Nadia unstrapped Judith from her seat, abandoning the hassle of carrying the entire thing. Once she was fully in the girl's arms, she reached out and grabbed the large duffel bag next to her and made a b-line for the fences.

"Dad?! Carl?!" Nadia continued her attempt to find her family as she ran, "Dad where are you?!"

Her panting was as loud as the gunfire as she desperately searched for her family, hoping to find anyone, anyone at all. But as the smoke began to thicken all Nadia could see was the swarms of walkers entering and roaming the place she once called home.

Brown eyes kept shifting around, hoping to find the signature sheriff's hat Carl never took off. Judith's sobbing became small whimpers into Nadia's side as the dead started took notice of the Grimes girls.

╔═.✾. ════╗

"I am so sorry that I left without telling you," Lori apologised to her children for the eighth time that hour.

Her eldest gave a sad smile as she focused on cleaning off the dried blood Lori had obtained after her little accident off of her face.

"It's okay. We weren't scared," Carl thankfully spoke for the both of them.

Lori glanced at her daughter and silently asked her if she was okay. Nadia simply nodded as she wove their hands together.

"When's dad getting back?" Carl asked.

"Let's hope soon."

He nodded, "I wanna be there when you tell him about the baby."

Nadia watched as her mother's face slightly contorted into a deep cringe, "Oh, love, he already knows," she quickly shifted it into a small, almost fake smile. "We were just trying to find the right time to tell you both."

Nadia couldn't help but wonder how Rick felt about the situation. She knew he loved her and Carl more than life itself, but did he know the entire situation?

When Nadia looked back she couldn't help but realise that Lori and Rick had been rather tense as of late. Though the teen just assumed it was because one kid in their group, Sophia, was missing in the forest somewhere at the time and Carl almost died from a hunting accident.

She knew they were fighting, they were always fighting, but she just thought they were fighting over that or the Shane incident.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Carl then asked.

"Well," Lori placed a hand on his back. "We won't know that until it's born."

He then placed a hand on her stomach, "Will I be able to feel it?"

"Not for a while," she genuinely smiled, "You must have a lot of questions, huh?"

"We never had the talk," mom turned to the others. "I guess we forgot."

Carl looked rather confused at what 'The Talk' could be and moved his head over to ask Dale. Dale quickly shook his head, "Don't look at me. That's your father's job."

The boy's face contorted as he glanced at his sister, "I would rather eat your hat then explain how mom got pregnant."

"Don't touch my hat!" He quickly grabbed it by the edges and scooted away.

Lori let out a small chuckle at the boy's antics, seeing how his sass was starting to come back after his accident. Back before everything went down that boy would sass out anyone.

When the world was still normal Nadia was flirting with this boy she really liked on the football team before Carl came over with a mission.

Nadia watched in awe as her ten year-old brother started dissing the poor player's involvement throughout the entire game. Telling him where he messed up, how he messed up and how it was that guy's fault alone for losing the entire match.

Nadia was furious over Carl messing up her chances of being asked out, just as Lori was mortified for him embarrassing me. Their mother actually forced Carl to go back to the crying football player and apologise to him.

Not that the punishment did anything to teach Carl a lesson as the entire drive home involved Rick struggling to breath between giggles. Lori tried to get Rick to stop, but he protested. Saying if Nadia couldn't get a guy who could handle Carl there was no way they could handle her.

"Hey, dude," Mom squeezed her daughter's hand a little tighter as Shane entered the room.

"Hey."

"Hey, I'm sorry, guys. Okay?" Shane apologised, "I thought you guys knew."

Nadia, picking up on her mother's fear, squeezed Lori's hand a little harder as Shane's eyes fixated on her mother. Luckily Carl didn't notice as he tipped his hat up, "Big brother Carl. Pretty cool, huh?"

Shane chuckled, "I say that's very cool."

Seeing her mother tense up Nadia tried to defuse the situation and reached over, smacking Carl's hat down making him react, "Hey!"

"Title still hasn't gone away there, Sheriff," she smirked. "You'll still be little brother Carl for as long as you shall live."

His face went red as he stuck out his tongue, "I fear for this kid, mom. Carl might get a power trip."

She sighed, "You'll have to keep them inline."

Nadia snickered, "Yeah. That's what big sisters do," she pulled Carl's hat once more.

"Stop doing that!"

╚════.✾. ═╝

Nadia's breathing staggered as she slowly took a step back, and then another, and then another. Tightening her grip on the little girl with every movement I made. She didn't want to, she may have prayed to leave the prison but she didn't want to like this. This wasn't what she wanted.

There was no coming back from this, I knew that deep down. Even if they somehow were able to kill all the walkers and put out the fires it would be no use, the chain-link fences were destroyed.

What mattered now was survival. It made Nadia sick but she knew what would happen if she didn't leave at that moment. If she stayed any longer to search for her family it would end in her and Judith's demise.

Her lips trembled as she closed her eyes momentarily, "I'm so sorry, dad."

Turning around Nadia began to quickly run away. Going past the farm, over the moat, and between the toppled over chain-link fence. She went horizontally, avoiding the herd, and deep into the thick woods. Repeating, "Don't look back," over and over and over again.

For all Nadia knew if I did look back it would only make her want to go back and find her family... if they were even still alive at this point.

╔═.✾. ════╗

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey."

Glancing into the Grimes' tent Nadia watched her mother stroking her son's hair, singing his favourite song, "You'll never know dear, how much I love you."

Nadia's smile grew as she watched Carl's eyes flutter to a close as Lori continued, "So please don't take my sunshine away."

Lori then glanced at the open flap of the tent, seeing her daughter watching, before looking back at her sleeping son. With a final kiss on the forehead she tucked Carl in before exiting the tent, "I always loved that song," Nadia muttered.

Lori hummed, "Yeah you both always seem to fall asleep when I sing that one."

"Yeah."

The two Grimes women gave each other a nod as the cracking fire off to the side took over the conversation. Neither knew what to properly say as they swung their hands, "So..."

"So..." Nadia'a lips went into a fine line.

Lori let out a sigh, "I'm guessing you wanna talk?"

Her daughter nodded before she led them away to a more private place. The two sat by the dying fire a little ways away from their tent as they waited for the other to make the first move. Nadia's fingers twiddled with each other as she hunched over, to be warmed up by the embers, "So... you're pregnant."

"Yeah," her hand ran over her face. "Yeah I am."

"And you're... happy about it?"

Lori nodded, "I am."

"Okay," Nadia's teeth ran over her dried lips. "Is dad okay with it?"

"Yes."

"And he knows everything?" She raised a brow.

Lori let her chest rise and fall a few times before nodding. Her hands reached up to her neckline as her daughter watched her begin to play with her heart shaped locket.

"And...?" Nadia was rather scared to hear the rest.

Lori didn't look at her daughter as her hands made the silver heart move up and down the chain, "He does and he understands... Just like you did when you found out."

"So is it..." the girl paused. "Is it his baby or is it-"

"It's your father's," she quickly told Nadia. "Even if it somehow isn't, it's your father's baby."

The area went silent after that, with only the sound of the crackling fire to fill the void.

Tick... Crack... Tick.

"Are you okay with this?" Lori then asked Nadia.

Tick... Crack... Tick.

She sighed, "We need medicine," is all the girl could say. "We need... we need prenatal vitamins, we need painkillers, we need diapers, we need... we need...?" Her voice started to trail off as it started to become harder for the teenager to breathe.

"Sweetheart? Are you alright?"

Nadia Grimes' throat started to burn as air refused to travel down her airway. As things started to process the fear of tomorrow started to physically choke her, "Am I alright...? No!?" She shook her head, "Are you- have you-? Are you sure this is the right option?"

Lori tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Are you sure this isn't some big mistake you guys are making? Are you sure dad's okay with this? Did he say he was? Are you being forced to carry it?!" Nadia reached out for her mother, "You can tell me the truth, you know."

"What? No, Nadia I want this," she quickly came and sat right next to her daughter on the log.

Nadia's lungs struggled to fill, "The Hospitals are gone and we don't have a doctor."

"We have Hersel," Lori gently grabbed her hands and gave her daughter a tender squeeze.

"He's a vet."

"He saved your brother's life," she calmly told her. "He's delivered babies before, he could easily help me."

That only made the teen scoffed out a laugh, "He's delivered cattle and horses. What, are you gonna go into the barn and give birth the same way?"

Lori tried to calm her child down but she was already too far gone at that point, "What if something happens? W-What if you have complications like you did with Carl? What if you miscarry too late? What if this place gets overrun? I don't want you giving birth on the side of the road," Nadia felt herself starting to tear up as all the terrifying what if's crossed her mind.

It was like a disease. A dark sickness occurrencing, making the teenager think of all the terrible possibilities that could happen if her mother brought a baby into this cruel world.

"What if- what if..." she choked on her own words as the sobs started to bubble over. Lori immediately pulled her child into her warm embrace as Nadia sobbed into her mother's neck, terrified.

Lori shushed her as her hand ran up and down Nadia's back, "Shush," she calmly told her. "Things are gonna work out just fine. We are gonna get through this just like everyone else."

Nadia shook her head, "I'm scared mom. I don't want anything else to happen."

"I know. I know," she squeezed her teenager tighter. "But I'm not."

"...why?"

She then gently pulled back and lifted Nadia's chin to face her properly, "Because I have the best girl in the world right here to help me," she smiled, wiping away her child's never ending tears. "No matter what happens I know she will be there to protect both of her siblings no matter what, right?"

Nadia sniffled, trying her best to end her worries, "Y-Yeah. Yeah I will."

She moved closer, having both their foreheads connect, "That's my girl."

╚════.✾. ═╝

Judith continued to cry as the girl sat there motionlessly against the wooden wall. The babe cried from the moment they left the prison to the moment the sun went down.

It seemed as if luck hadn't completely abandoned Nadia Grimes since she was able to find a stray treehouse that probably belonged to some neighbourhood kids near a small town in the distance.

She would have to explore the most likely picked over town in the morning, but after running for who knows how many hours the teenager decided to try and rest.

Her hair matted. Between the soot covering Nadia's face, mixed with sweat and walker blood covering her person, it gave her this monster-esk look. She probably looked feral though she didn't bother to try and fix herself up as she motionlessly sat there.

As the baby continued to whimper in her arms Nadia's mind went blank as she tried to piece together what had just transpired. Just that morning she was arguing with her father over meaningless topics at breakfast and now she didn't even know if he was alive.

The guilt the eighteen year-old felt as she knew she could have stopped the attack from happening. Playing forcefully over and over in her head like a broken record. The way she could've easily taken out the leader of the enemy group while Rick was trying to beg for peace. Nadia knew she was a good shot. She had the chance to take him out yet she didn't.

Gritting her teeth the remaining braces that refuse to pop off cut into Nadia's lips as she struggled to keep herself composed. Her chest stung as she tried to push everything down.

Trying to calm herself down Nadia reached up her neck to grasp her locket, just as she'd always done. Though as she went to grab the fading faux silver Nadia's fingers were met with nothing but dried walker blood against her collarbone.

The teen's daze quickly morphed into absolute despair as she continued to search her neck for a belonging that no longer resided there, "No," she pleaded to the gods as she readjusted Judith on her lap so she could continue her meaningless quest.

Her filthy hands became jittery as they felt up and down Nadia's neck, making her skin red, "No," she shook her head. "No...!"

Nadia's stomach began to tie itself into knots as the realisation that it was gone came over her like a bucket of cold water.

Her already strained voice cracked as her eyes began to burn, "No... NO!"

Before Nadia knew it, she was crying along with the child. If someone didn't believe they shared the same maternal parentage, the way their similar wails harmonised would set them straight.

Nadia ignored the possibility of walkers locating the pair as she continued to aggressively bawl her eyes out.

She couldn't help but wonder what was the point? If they found the two it would be nothing but a light snack for the monsters to share. It wasn't like there was much for the high school dropout anyways. Everyone was gone.

The entire life she had planned out was now a fantasy, her home was burnt to the ground, her family was missing and here Nadia was... sitting alone in a treehouse hiding from the creatures trying to get a taste of her skin. Alone.

After another sharp exhale Nadia turned her attention towards the equally upset child in her lap. A sudden snarl was released from the teen as she glared at the monster staring up at her, "Of course it was you. Of course it had to be you."

Nadia Grimes was alone in the dangerous world with nothing but a baby she couldn't even stand.

"Of all the people to be stuck with it had to be you," she snarled at the beast that had taken Lori Grimes away from her.

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