Searching For Home

Chapter Two

Nikki looked over at Isaac apprehensively as she ran a hand through her hair, "Did you really say what I think you did?" she asked him as she cocked an eyebrow. It had been two days since they saw the sign for Woodbury and she could have sworn Isaac had just said that maybe they shouldn't go. That maybe it was a pipe dream after all.

Isaac nodded his head seeing Nikki's look she was giving him, "I know you don't agree with me but this could be for the best," he said as he sighed and held a sleeping Monroe on his hip. "What if we go and it isn't what we think it is?" he asked her curiously. "What if we get ourself into another mess like we did when we left the group?"

"Then we get ourselves in that mess," Nikki told him as she locked eyes with him. "We have a son to think about. We have to keep Monroe safe," she said looking at the boy who Isaac held in his arms. "We lost Everett and I'm not losing Monroe as well," she responded before crossing her arms. "I'm not doing it."

At Nikki's words Isaac understood how she felt but he still couldn't help feeling apprehensive. He still couldn't help but feel that they were going to be walking into a trap, "Let's just rest for the night and we can decide something for sure tomorrow," he nodded as he looked at the empty house in front of him. Apparently they had decided to take the back way to Woodbury and luckily for them there were a few abandoned houses on these back roads.

Sighing Nikki just nodded and headed inside the house. A house that before their conversation Isaac had checked out for walkers.

"I'm going to go put Monroe down in the bedroom at the end of the hallway," Isaac said to his wife once they were inside the house. "You want to look around and see if you can find anything to fix to eat?" he asked knowing it had been awhile since they ate.

"I can do that," Nikki said before watching Isaac walk away with Monroe. Finding her way to the kitchen and once she made it there she begin to go through cabinets looking for food. Finding a few cans of beans she took them out and then stopped when she found a few jars of baby food.

The baby food had made her heart stop as she felt tears in her eyes. She didn't know why but these had reminded her of her loss of Everett. They had made her realize that she was now down a child and that she'd never get him back. She could now see why Taylor had broke so much with each loss.
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"Ike I need your help," Nikki called out from where she stood in the kitchen at their house. "Ev is a horrible mess and he needs a bath but I just don't know if I can do it all on my own," she giggled as she looked at her son. Most of the food she had been feeding him was on him instead of in him.

Isaac who had been in his office laughed as he heard Nikki's words and he left soon going into the kitchen where he had to stop at the sight. There in the high chair was Everett covered in baby food while Nikki stood beside the high chair trying to repress her laughter.

"Help me please?" Nikki asked having composed herself some before Isaac had came in here.

"I can do that," Isaac smirked as he took out his phone from his back pocket. "But first I want to take a picture of this," he said as he turned his phone on and soon snapped a picture.

Rolling her eyes playfully Nikki watched as Isaac took a picture and then she walked over to Everett and slowly picked him up. "Hold him while I go run the bath water," she smiled as she handed Everett over to his dad. The moment he was in Isaac's arms she looked down at her shirt and made a face at the mess.

"You dirty dirty boy," Nikki said before kissing Everett's cheek and leaving the kitchen to go start his bath water.
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Coming out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps Nikki wiped at her eyes not even realizing she had been crying but she guessed the memory of her oldest son had caused her to cry. She just missed him so much and she hated the world for what had happened. She hated that she had lost him.

"Nik?" Isaac asked as he looked at Nikki seeing her standing at the counter near some cabinets. It was obvious that before he came in here she had been lost in her thoughts.

Shaking her head Nikki faked a smile, "I found beans," she said as she held a can out to Isaac. "I think I have a can opener in my bag," she said as she reached for the bag that was slung around her head and shoulder. Finding the can opener she again faked a smile and handed it to him as well. "I'm sick of beans but it seems that's all we ever find."

Seeing Nikki's fake smiles Isaac frowned, "Beans are nasty but at least they keep us alive," he said knowing that now days they ate what they could find. There was no being picky in times like this. "Are you okay though? You just seem off."

"I was just thinking of Everett," Nikki answered being honest. "I remembered that time he got really dirty when eating baby food when he was a baby. You had to take a picture first before helping me give him a bath."

Isaac laughed some at Nikki's words, "I remember that," he said honestly as he smiled feeling his heart break slightly at the memory of Everett. "At least he is in a better place and doesn't always have to be running from place to place."

"I guess you have a point," Nikki admitted, "but if that's the case then maybe Monroe should be dead too right? I mean he's younger than Everett. Just think what going place to place will do to him."

Before Isaac could respond to Nikki he raised an eyebrow as he heard the front door open and close and footsteps coming into the house. Seeing Nikki's face change to one of freight Isaac put a finger to his lips and pulled out his gun which only had four bullets left in it.

Leaving Nikki in the kitchen he held the gun out and headed towards the sound, hoping to god he didn't have to shoot anyone and that whoever was here would leave peacefully.

"Don't shoot please, " a voice squeaked out as Isaac came upon the group that had set foot in the house. It was a group of six people and now that they all stood face to face he could see the group looked scared and frightened. "We just wanted a place to sleep for the night," the boy with blue eyes spoke again. "We..we came all the way from Atlanta after trying the CDC but it's gone. We watched it blow up."

"Oh Louis," a green eyed boy spoke as he turned to speak to the one asking Isaac not to shoot. "Please stop being such a sissy. Normally your a sass."

Louis rolled his eyes at Harry's words, "Yeah well that's before I had a gun in my face," he squeaked out as he turned to look at his friend or well someone he hoped was his boyfriend since they had been together numerous times since they found each other, though Harry usually always said it was just because of comfort.

Isaac sighed at the two boys interaction, "Elaborate on the CDC blowing up?" he asked as he kept his gun raised. He knew he had heard an explosion when they had been on the highway several days back but he hadn't known what it was..and god it was the CDC and it was that moment he thought of his family and he felt his heart drop. They could all be dead.