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Solace

Chapter 92

Lindsey was halfway out the building’s front door when she remembered her students.

“I can’t leave them in the middle of class,” she began.

“They can take care of themselves,” Daryl grumbled with a scowl.

The woman sighed. “Well, yeah, but I’m their teacher. I have a job to do.”

After staring at her for a moment, he finally nodded. “Fine. I’ll find Rick n’ give him a heads up.”

“Thank you,” she said, placing a hand on her chest.

Turning back, she made her way down the corridor and took a deep breath before entering her classroom. To her surprise, the four students still remained in their seats. She held their rapt attention as she stopped to stand before them. Her head swiveled to the desk and found that the bucket was gone.

“Where…?” she asked, holding out a cautious hand.

“We took it outside,” one of the girls answered.

With a wince and ruddy cheeks, Lindsey said, “Thanks… I’m sorry.”

The girl shrugged. “You were kinda busy. Besides, we should be the ones who are sorry. That fish gutting was pretty disgusting. We shouldn’t have laughed at you, so…sorry.”

“Yeah, sorry, Miss Lindsey,” the others echoed, though, she knew Tommy had nothing to do with it – he was a nice kid.

“Thanks, guys. Guess I didn’t bring my iron stomach today. I’m fine now, though,” she said, opting to keep them in the dark about her pregnancy a little longer. So what if Rick, Carl and Daryl knew – they’d keep her secret.


Meanwhile, Rick was meeting with Doctor Stevens at the clinic to discuss future plans, like what supplies were needed to keep the place running. Partway through their conversation, the door swung open and Carl appeared, with Zoey looking exasperated behind him.

“I told him you were in a meeting, but he wouldn’t listen,” she explained, her youthful eyes panicked.

“It’s all right,” Doctor Stevens said with a forgiving hand outstretched. Zoey walked away, shaking her head.

“Carl, what’s going on?” Rick asked, assessing his son’s enraged expression.

“I need to talk to you right now.”

“Hey, calm down,” he said to the boy. Glancing at Stevens, Rick pushed up from his chair and asked, “Could you excuse us for a minute?”

“Actually, I should check on a patient, so feel free to use my office.” The doctor left his seat, circled around the metal desk, nodded politely at Carl and closed the door behind him.

“What the hell was that about?” Rick hissed, his blue eyes ablaze.

“You and Lindsey are having a baby.” Carl’s tone was accusing.

The bottom fell out from Rick’s stomach as he stared at his son, dumbfounded.

“So it’s true, then? Or has she even told you? No one’s told me yet!” the boy shouted.

Rick shushed him. This wasn’t how he wanted Carl to find out, but it was too late. “Yeah, she’s pregnant. Yes, she’s told me. And no, I was waiting for the right moment to tell you.”

“Well, it looks like you’ve fucked up again, Dad—“

“Hey! Watch it!” he snapped as his temper boiled over. “How can you say that? Is that what you think of your sister? As a fuck up?

No! She’s the innocent one! You’re the one that keeps screwing up! Mom died having Judith… How do you think Lindsey is going to end up?”

Rick could handle accusations across the board, especially when they’d come from people like Dean Mason, but not his son. The boy’s words cut him deep, and he felt his anger give way to shame. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, strained.

“I was thinkin’ that this place will be better for raising a child, more so than that damn prison. We have a real doctor here and a clinic with adequate medical supplies.” He stopped to search Carl’s calculating gaze. “I love what we have… I wanted to expand on it.”

“Well that was a good thought, Dad, but if this place falls apart, I won’t be the one to shoot her in the head after we’ve had to cut the baby out of her,” Carl said, the words hitching in his throat as his eyes became glassy.

“Carl…” Rick whispered painfully, cocking his head to the side. “I’m so sorry you had to do that. I regret it every damn day. I promise you, it won’t happen—“

Stop. Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Carl said, shaking his head in a wounded manner.

Rick opened his mouth to speak, but a knock silenced him. The door pushed open and Daryl walked in.

“Here to check up on me?” Carl retorted with a slight eye roll.

“Drop the attitude,” Rick said, narrowing his gaze, and then looked to Daryl. “What are you doin’ here? Aren’t you fishing today?”

“Nah, was helpin’ Lindsey with somethin’ at school, but she got sick in the middle of it.”

“Is that…?” Rick began to say to Carl as he slowly put the pieces together. “That’s how you found out?”

In that moment, he thought of Lindsey. She was probably mortified, and now, worried.

“Is she okay?” he asked Daryl.

The man nodded. “She went back to class.”

“And that’s where you should be,” Rick said to the teenager.

“What about you?” Carl asked, turning the tables. “You haven’t been working on the boat for, like, a week. What are you doing here?”

Rick glanced at the floor as his jaw went rigid. The day was becoming not at all what he’d hoped it would be. Not only did Carl find out about Lindsey’s pregnancy, Rick was going to have to share his latest news. It didn’t help that Daryl was waiting for an answer, too.

“You know how Kirkman wants everyone at the pavilion this afternoon?”

“Yeah…” Carl’s voice held a hint of wariness.

“He and Brian selected me to lead…he’s going to announce it then.”

Daryl remained quiet, but Rick could see his eyes moving in the usual way they did when he was thinking about a new piece of information. Carl made a disgusted noise and threw up his hands.

“That’s awesome. Congratulations, Dad,” he said with thick sarcasm. “It sounds like you have a lot going for you. Just don’t forget about your family again when things get shitty. Ya know, the family you had before all of this?”

Rick would overlook the language at this point, but he’d had it up to here with his son’s teenage defiance.

“I didn’t ask to lead. I’ve never wanted it!”

’This isn’t a democracy anymore.’ Remember that? You didn’t have to ask because you just expected it.”

“Carl…” Rick said, his tone a warning.

“No, do whatever you want. Enjoy your new wife, your new baby, your new job. I’ll see you when I see you,” Carl jabbed, then, spun around and stalked out of the room.

Rick exhaled an angry breath and scrubbed his hands over his face. His tired eyes landed on Daryl, who was biting the corner of his lip thoughtfully.

“Do you think I’m making a mistake?”

“With the baby? No. Being the leader again?” He shrugged. “Maybe. Too soon to tell, though.”

“By then, it will be too late,” Rick whispered.

At two o’clock, with wife and daughter by his side, Rick was announced as the chosen leader of New Canaan. Shocked silence befell the crowd. He was aware that he was holding his breath as he took in the stunned expressions. Eventually, a woman stepped up to the front. Middle-aged, with small, dark eyes, wide nose and tan complexion, he knew he’d seen her before, but they had never spoken.

“You can’t be serious?” she directed at Kirkman.

The man was unmoved. “I am.”

She looked at Rick now. “You seem like a nice guy and you have a lovely family, but you just got here. What makes you any more qualified than, say, someone who’s been here since the beginning?”

Kirkman intercepted before Rick could respond.

“He’s more qualified than you think. As a former police officer, he was also the leader of his own group. I know there are others who could do the job well, but Brian chose him.”

“And it’s awfully convenient that the man, who had been on countless runs previously, died in some freak accident. Jenna, too. No other witnesses than his own man, right?” she said, referring to Daryl.

Rick clenched his jaw to the point where it bordered on painful as he listened to the hateful accusation. Lindsey rubbed his arm in a casual manner, and then slid it around to his back. He glanced at her, his gaze softening the slightest bit. What would he do without her unwavering support?

Kirkman cleared his throat and said, “I checked those bodies myself and confirmed the cause of death in each case. Brian died from a devastating gunshot wound to the abdomen, the round matching those in Jenna’s assault rifle. There was no way Rick or Daryl could have saved him. I, too, am upset by his passing, but these allegations are not acceptable. What you seem to be forgetting is the fact that Brian made this decision. I’m just carrying it out. You should respect his decisions in death, as you did during his life.”

Rick had to refrain from raising his eyebrows at David’s compelling response. What was that stupid phrase Shane used all the time in high school? Oh yeah – ‘touché’; he was sure that applied right now.

The woman relaxed her guarded stance. “I’m sorry.” These words were directed at both men.

“May I?” Rick asked the other man, signaling to the crowd. David nodded.

Rick stood before the people of New Canaan and looked each of them in the eye. “I know I’m new here. I know respect and trust need to be earned. I will do everything within my power to keep us on track and maintain the vision that Brian had for this place. What we have here is special. The memory of what’s out there is still fresh in my mind.” He took a moment to glance at Lindsey, recognizing the silvery scar on her brow. He randomly remembered the lyric from their Bad Company song, and said, “We’ve paid our dues, over and over. I won’t take this new responsibility lightly, as I know what’s at stake. All I ask is that you give me a chance to prove myself.”

While support was obvious from his original group members – Glenn, Michonne and so on – he was relieved to see everyone else acknowledge his words with acceptance. The alleviation of stress brought his shoulders back, straightening his posture. Lindsey touched his arm once more. He gave her a soft smile and reached for her hand.

Turning his attention back to the crowd, he said a low, “Thank you,” his gaze locking with the woman from earlier. She offered him a civil nod.

When the people had dispersed, Rick and Lindsey began the slow walk home, Judith tip-toeing and swinging between them. They grinned at the girl’s excited giggles, but Rick’s face fell as they neared the bungalow.

“Have you seen Carl?” he asked, glancing at Lindsey.

She shook her head. “I haven’t seen him since my incident this morning.” Her gaze cast to the ground, unable to meet his.

“Hey,” he said, stopping and picking up Judith. “Don’t blame yourself for the way things played out earlier. He was going to find out eventually. It’s not your fault.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, “I can’t help it.”

He noticed that her face didn’t hold its usual radiance and reached out to stroke her cheek with his thumb. “How’re you feelin’?”

She released a pitiful chuckle. “Pretty shitty.”

As his mouth quirked up at the corner, he pulled her forward and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Come on. Let’s see if we can get you a nap.”

Notes

A/N: Thanks for commenting and subcribing! :D

Comments

@Corall
Aw thank you so much!! :D

bluecrush611 bluecrush611
5/18/16

I just finished reading this story :) and its the most amazing story ever :D

Corall Corall
5/17/16

@Kandy
No worries. I actually used Paint, haha. I just figured out what size the banner needed to be (by trial and error) and then cut the image down until it fit.

bluecrush611 bluecrush611
4/13/16

@bluecrush611

Also, Another Annoying Question. Where did you make that Banner of Lauren And Andrew? I need to get a good Banner place thingy and i need advice xD

Mother Dick Mother Dick
4/12/16

@Walker Witch
Thank you so much for the kind words and for following along!

@eventualprocrastination
Thanks for all of your comments! I actually just published a book, so that's the direction I'm taking for now, but who knows. Maybe I'll post something here and there. :)

bluecrush611 bluecrush611
4/10/16