train wreck | rick grimes

chapter fifteen

THE LEAVES CRUNCHED UNDER DANIELLE'S FEET AS SHE WALKED, THE ONLY SOUND HEARD AS SHE WALKED BESIDE RICK.

"How's your ribs?" She asked him hesitantly, him looking at her confused, but then remembered that she must have noticed he's been wincing slightly with every step.

Rick shrugged, looking ahead. "They're gettin' better." He then looked to her, trying to read her mind to see what she was thinking.

"That's good." Danielle said simply, looking at her boots. She then turned around to see if Carl and Michonne were catching up to them, and she cracked a smile when she saw they were balancing on the rails of the train tracks.

"What are you doing?" She asked them, making Rick furrow his eyebrows in confusion, and smiled once he turned around.

"Winning a bet." Michonne said, not looking up from her feet.

Carl scoffed playfully, keeping his balance. "In your dreams."

"Could you uh, speed this up?" Rick laughed, walking towards the two.

"Yeah, we should probably- Carl!" She leaned towards him to scare him, but she ended up falling off the railing, the group laughing.

"I win." Carl smirked, Michonne pulling out a candy bar.

The two said a couple more things to each other before Carl gave her a piece of the chocolate, Michonne shaking her head in response.

"C'mon, we always share." That made Danielle smile at the two interact, reminding her of her and her son. She looked over to Rick, seeing him already looking at her with a smirk on his face.

The small group walked into the woods, Danielle and Rick bumping shoulders occasionally. They found a small camping area they can stay at. Just until they know this terminus place is safe.

"How hungry are you, scale of one to ten?" Rick asked them, smirking at Danielle.

"15." Carl scoffed.

"11." Danielle shrugged.

"28." Michonne finished.

"Yeah, it's been a while." Rick chuckles as he gets up. "I'm gonna go check the snares."

"Can I come too?" Carl asked, and Rick smiled at his son.

"Well, how else are you gonna learn?" He told him, and Carl's eyes sparked, happy he is finally gonna learn something new from his father.

"You guys, too."

-

"We'll stay another day or two. Get some rest." Rick told them, Danielle trailing behind as she didn't feel too good.

"Finish healing up?" Michonne asked him.

Rick nodded. "I'm almost there." He turned back and looked at Danielle, who seemed to be in her own world as she stumbled slightly over her own feet.

Danielle's eyes darted frantically around the forest as she saw a familiar face. The man whose been in her dreams for she doesn't even know how many months. "Stop screaming." A voice rang in her head. "Be quiet."

Her eyes started to tear up without her noticing, only when Rick started to say her name louder and louder was when she finally snapped back into her surroundings. "Yeah, I'm fine." She told him, catching up with Michonne and Carl.

Rick sighed deeply as he watched her walk away, knowing damn well she was lying and she wasn't fine. Not right now at least.

A lone walker was stumbling towards them, wanting fresh meat. "I got it." Danielle mumbled, kicking it's leg and then stabbing it in the head.

Rick explained to Carl how to catch small animals, the whole situation wanting to make Danielle throw up. She couldn't even think about food without wanting to choke it back up. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she was hoping that it would go away soon.

"Help!" A voice was heard from a distance, Carl taking off running.

Danielle trailed behind, slowing to a jog. "We can't help him." She heard Rick say as she caught up to them. The woman saw walkers chewing on a man's face, and that was enough for her to throw up behind the tree, emptying whatever she's eaten in the past couple of days.

She felt a gentle hand on her back, turning around, she was met with Rick holding out a water bottle. "You okay?" He asked her once she took the water, swishing it around in her mouth to get the taste of vomit out.

Danielle sighed deeply, looking to the ground. "No... I'm not." With that, she walked off, leaving Rick in his own thoughts.

A/N
no, Danielle is not pregnant