Babygirl.

Hot summer days.

*Clare's POV from now on.*

This pregnancy has been very long and tiring, I'm definitely nine months along and due to pop any day now. I've found lots of books to help for the birth process. I have found some medical notes in an old hospital about what needs to happen to the women after the baby is born.

Apparently I will just need to clean myself up afterward and everything sort of falls out naturally, like a period. I'm just hoping I can deliver this baby on my own, without any complications, this could mean life or death for the both of us.

I walk along the hot bitumen road, trying to stay in the shade and hydrated. I awkwardly waddle my way back to home base, I wasn't going to go out again this close to labour. I had no choice though, I needed a baby bath for the labour, so I can clean the baby off.

I know normally the doctors used to just dry the babies off, but with infection being such a big risk, I have to make sure the baby and I are clean.

I won't be able to go anywhere after the baby is born for awhile. I'll be too weak and the baby will be too young to take anywhere. A small group of dead pricks follows behind me, not close enough to be a major worry, but not far away enough to ignore them.

I'm too slow to get away from them, I've just had to get used to the idea of them being around me. The bag on my back is overly heavy, it just contains the baby bath, a bottle of water and a few extra tins of formula I managed to find. I already ate all the food I had brought along with me.

I'm only about half an hour away from my home base anyway, I just need to make it back there and everything will be perfectly fine. It's late afternoon now, it took me all day to walk to the next town and get this bath and walk back. My back and feet hurt, but I ignore the pain and keep walking as fast and as best as I can.

A cramp like pain hits me out of no where and the difference between the pain and a usual cramp pain, is this is ten times worse. I slow down to a stop to wait out the pain, assuming it's just more Braxton Hicks contractions like I've been getting lately. As soon as it passes I continue walking, not wanting the dead to get too close.

About twenty minutes later, I'm hit with another, much worse then the first one. I force myself to continue walking through this one as I lost so much ground on the dead due to the first one.

At least I'm in my town now and about four blocks from home base. The bad thing is though I have a small herd now following behind me and I need distance if I want to get inside safely.

All of sudden, I feel a strange popping sensation and fluid starts trickling down my leg. Shit. My water just broke. I pick up the pace doing an awkward waddle run, which I know I definitely shouldn't be doing but don't have any choice.

I quickly get in the fence line of my home base and lock the gate up, I hear the dead start to bang on the fence trying to get in. I quickly waddle over the the basement door and struggle down the stairs. Making sure the door is closed well behind me.

I head over to the small basement bathroom where I decided to have the baby, I use three bottles of water to fill up the baby bath. I also remove my pants and underwear, so I can get ready to push.

I double check to make sure I have everything, I have towels laid all over the floor and a small baby bed ready for the baby. I have my books laid out in front of me, so I can read and go through the steps as I give birth.

I kneel down on my knees, my breathing is heavy and the pain is horrible. I try to remain calm and focused, as the sound of the dead gets louder outside. I feel with my hands how dilated I am and guess I'm about six cm leaving not a lot of time left.

"We can do this baby, we can do this together. Everything is going to be just fine, we are going to be okay." I tell my baby and rub my swollen belly, trying to lessen the ache in my hips and stomach. 

I wait patiently to be ten cm dilated before I even think about pushing, I check again and I'm eight cm dilated. I read over the pages of medical reports and mid wifey books. I check to see if the baby is positioned properly, but can't work out which body part is what.

I'll just have to wait for when it's time to push, I'm positive I'll know whether something isn't right when I start to push. My nerves go through the roof and I start to panic a little more, the dead still continue to bang and growl outside.

A sob rips through my throat and I really wish Negan was here with me, maybe if I told him about the pregnancy he might have come looking for me better. He might not have believed what David had said to him and come to save me.

Life's not a fairy tale though and this new world doesn't work like that, Negan isn't like that, it's partially why I fell in love with him so quickly. He knew not to baby me and understood that I needed to help out and not stay inside all the damn time.

It's why he let me protect him that day in the grocery store, instead of trying to be a hero himself, not because he cared more about his own life, but because he knew I was our best chance of survival that day. Just like if we were to ever get in a situation of hand to hand combat, he would be the one to take care of me, even with my self defence it doesn't mean I'm an expert at fighting, just defending myself.

I know how to deflect hits and keep someone at bay and to hurt them in their soft stops, but a full fist fight I'd be useless, my only defence for that is I'm fast. I groan out in pain as more contractions wash over me, I let my head roll back as I wait patiently for my baby to be ready.