Don't look back

Fifty four

"Hey, smelly, I've still not given you your present." Rick smiled at Mary.
"Really? What is it?" Mary asked giddily.
"It a surprise." Rick laughed, going to his cell, and coming back out with a large gift bag. "Look what I got you." He smiled.
Mary grinned, and opened it to find some plastic dolls, candy, a new dress, a soccer ball, a skipping rope, and some bright scrunchies.
"Thank you!" She squealed, hugging Rick tightly.
"That's okay," Rick laughed, "I just wish you had had a real birthday. Loads of presents, a cake, a party."
"I had a party and presents and egg is better than cake." Mary smiled, and Rick kissed the top of her head.
"You're such a great kid. You know that, right?" He asked gently.
"You're such a great daddy." Mary replied, and Rick hugged her even tighter.
"I think it's bed time, yeah?"
"Yeah. I'm tired." Mary nodded.
"Well, it's been a long day," Rick smiled gently, "has it been fun though?"
"Yep!"
"Okay." Rick smiled, walking over to her cell while holding Mary's hand. "Pyjamas on."
"I'm too hot." Mary whined, pulling off her dress, and laying on her bed in her underwear.
"Okay." Rick laughed. "You got Mr Cuddles?"
"Yep."
"Mommy photo?" He asked, slightly quieter.
"Yeah, under my pillow. Ask about my Carl bunny."
"Do you have your Carl Bunny?"
"Yep! It's my new favourite. With Mr Cuddles." Mary smiled tiredly.
"Okay. Okay, time to sleep. You wanna book?"
"No. Just songs." Mary nodded seriously, so Rick sang "the sunshine song" to her.
"I can't sleep." Mary whispered. "Lie with me." So Rick sighed, then laid next to her, and held her until they both fell asleep, and Carl put the cover over them and took Rick's boots off when he went to bed.

The next morning Mary had a lie in, and Daryl went hunting without her, and for the whole morning she stayed inside, playing happily by herself. Then Daryl got back, however, he was quiet, with something in a bag under his arm.
"What... What's that?" Glenn asked in confusion.
"Chicken."
"Like, a real chicken!? Mary's gonna be so excited!" He grinned, going to take the bag.
"If she likes chickens then don't show her," Daryl sighed, pulling the bag away, "she'll be eating it tonight."
"No."
"Yeah."
"Why don't you let her have it?" Glenn asked.
"It's food." Daryl sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Think about how happy it will make her. To see her little face." Glenn said with a smile.
"Yer not five. Grow up. It's food, not a pet." Daryl snapped.
"It's her birthday! Well, yesterday was."
"It's dinner!"
"Okay. Let's say we keep it. We get like two eggs a day. That's fourteen a week. Eggs are good for you. Fourteen eggs a week is better than a tiny slice of chicken once." Glenn argued.
"Logical." Michonne added.
Daryl glared at them all, then passed it to Glenn. "Go give it to her then. Honestly. Two of yer are like five yer olds."
"She is five." Michonne smirked as Glenn took out the chicken, and walked away with it in his arms, the poor bird half scared to death.
"Well, she might not be." Carl shouted, overhearing the conversation, "We literally have no idea what date it is. Just that it's probably the start of September. She could still be four."
"Alright smart ass." Michonne laughed, ruffling his hair.
"She's gonna be so happy." Glenn smiled, walking inside with Carl.
"Yep." Carl nodded.
"Hey, Moo," Glenn called, outside her and Carl's cell block, "look at what I've got for you."
"What?" Mary asked with a small smile.
"Come out and see!" Carl called.
Mary laughed, then walked out and looked at them with an open mouth. "It's a chicken!" She screamed.
"Yeah." Glenn laughed. "Do you wanna hold her?"
"It's a her!? I'm so happy! I love you! Thank you Glenn!" She squealed, reaching over and picking the chicken up. "I'm gonna call her Maggie-Rick!"
"You gotta be quiet, yeah? Or she'll get scared." Carl smiled gently.
"Okay." Mary whispered, her face a picture of delight. "Can she sleep in here with us? Please, Carl!?"
"No," Glenn said quickly, "no. She's gotta live outside.
"Why?"
"Cos she does. Like the pigs and horse."
"Nemo." Mary corrected, and Carl and Glenn laughed.
"I'll go put some fencing up." Carl nodded, leaving.
"I'm gonna play with her." Mary grinned.
"Okay." Glenn laughed, ruffling her hair. "I'm glad you're happy."
"I am! Thank you so much. I love you."
"I love you too." Glenn smiled before leaving.
"Hey, Maggie-Rick," Mary smiled, laid down while talking to the chicken in her hands, "I'm your mommy, Mary. I have a daddy. He's called Rick but I call him daddy. And a big brother, Carl, and a baby sister, Judith. She cries and only eats milk. Mommy died. And I have a Maggie and Glenny and Mishy and Uncle Daryl. And I have some friends too. Mika, Lizzie, Tommy, but I don't like him anymore 'cos he says mommies don't die, and I guess Sasha is my friend too, and Beth."
"Mary, why is there a chicken on your cell?" Rick asked suddenly from her door.
"Is it good or bad? Will you make it go?" Mary questioned.
"Yes." Rick half laughed.
"No chicken here daddy!"
"There's a chicken right there." Rick chuckled.
"No there isn't." Mary insisted.
"That is a chicken." Rick said firmly.
"Nope."
"That is a chicken, Mary Grimes." The man laughed.
"No chickens here." Mary giggled.
"Why's there a chicken there?" Sasha asked in confusion, walking past.
"No chicken." Mary grinned cheekily, holding Maggie-Rick close to her chest.
"That's a chicken." Sasha laughed.
"Nope!"
"Okay, Mary Moo, take the chicken outside," Rick chuckled, "I guess that's the reason why Carl's trying to build a new pen."
"I want her to sleep here with me."
"What, And Nemo too?" Rick teased.
"Nemo?" Sasha laughed.
"The horse." Rick replied with a smile.
"Can Nemo sleep here?"
"No!" Rick laughed, "Okay, go take your chicken outside. Where'd you get it?"
"Uncle Daryl And Glenny got her. She's my baby."
"Yep."
"You're her grandpa!" Mary giggled suddenly."
"Yep. Old grandpa Rick. Come on, outside now. Daryl obviously didn't think this through. What do chickens even bloody eat?"
"Chicken feed." Sasha laughed.
"Well, we'll see if it'll eat green beans or peaches."
"Daddy, you're so silly." Mary giggled, getting up while holding the chicken.
"God, the poor thing is scared to death." Rick laughed, picking it up and holding it gently. "Lemmie guess, you called it Maggie-Rick?"
"Yep!" Mary grinned.
"Okay," Rick laughed, walking out with her by his side and the chicken in his arms. He put Maggie-Rick into the pen that Carl had assembled, and while Mary sat there, taking to the petrified bird, Rick, Glenn, and Hershel looking on.
"She's so happy." Glenn smiled happily.
"You spoil her." Hershel laughed. "She's got you both wrapped around your little finger."
Glenn laughed, as did Rick, rolling his eyes slightly. "As long as she's happy," Rick smiled, "she deserves that much. She deserves that."
Glenn saw that Rick was getting emotional, that his eyes were almost tearing up, and he put a comforting arm over his friends shoulder. "She's very happy," he assured, pretending to forget that she had nightmares and was broken over her mother's death, "and she couldn't be happier."
"If that chicken dies, she's gonna be so upset. Like, broken. Let's hope you've not given her a dying pet." Rick said, half jokingly, but at the same time serious. He knew Mary couldn't deal with another death anytime soon.
"Let's hope it doesn't." Glenn laughed awkwardly.
"Mary!" A voice called, running over. "Is that your chicken? That's so cool!"
"Hey Tommy." Glenn laughed, as the child ran between him and Rick.
"Mary, that's so cool." He smiled, climbing over the fencing and sitting next to her. Rick was nervous the whole time they spoke; he wanted Mary to have friends, but at the same time he was worried that Mary would get upset by Tommy - she still wouldn't talk to him after he said that mommies don't die.
"Thank you. She's called Maggie-Rick." Mary said quietly.
"Like Maggie and your daddy! That's such a cool name. I like Maggie. She's pretty." Tommy smiled.
"She is pretty." Mary smiled back in agreement. Rick grinned at them, proud that Mary was talking to him again.
"Can we be friends again? Please?" Tommy begged.
"Okay," Mary nodded, "we can be friends. And you can share Maggie-Rick with me. It's good for babies to have more than one person to love them."
"Thanks!" Tommy grinned, stroking the chicken feathers.
"Kids, why don't you let Maggie-Rick settle into her new home?" Ruck suggested with a smile.
"Okay." Mary nodded. "Shall we go play trains and boats?"
"Yeah!" Tommy grinned back.
"Daddy, we're going to go play." Mary said firmly with a smile, running over to the cell block.
"Okay." Rick smiled, but they had gone before he even finished the word.
"That's good," Glenn nodded with a smile, "that she's made a friend."
"Yeah. Yeah. As long as she doesn't show him all the guns and knives and fuck knows what else." Rick sighed in agitation.
"She'll be fine. And his parents aren't stupidly overprotective and know-it-alls like the others." Glenn smiled. Rick sighed shakily, then nodded and smiled.

"This is everyone in the group?" Tommy asked, pointing to Mary's drawings of people on the wall.
"Yeah. Well, just in our group. Not everyone yet."
"That's you!" Tommy exclaimed, pointing to Mary's self portrait.
"Yep."
"That's your daddy. Your Carl. The baby. She has the same name." He said slowly, his finger resting on the drawing of Lori. Mary went quiet. "Is that your mommy?" He asked, and Mary nodded slowly, twisting her hair around her fingers. "She's pretty. I'm sorry she died."
"It makes me sad. I love her. She died when she had my Judith." Mary whispered.
"My family hasn't died. If they did, I'd be sad."
"Me too. My daddy and Carl will never die. Judith is a baby. She might. I'm a little girl so I might. As long as you stay safe then you'll be okay. Can you use a gun?"
"No." Tommy shrugged.
Mary looked at him pitifully, then patted his shoulder. "If anything happens, I'll protect you."
"Thanks." The little boy grinned.
Mary nodded slowly, then went into her cell and grabbed one of her sharpies, and drew a little boy on the wall, with the rest of the group, his name written with a love heart next to it.