Infection in the air (walking dead fanfic)

(15)Adjusting

"I know what we should name her." I said to Carl, "I used to live outside of a huge city, and you could always see the city lights outside my window. They were my favorite thing in the world. Why not name her Lights?" I suggested. Carl looked at her and back to me.

"Lights it is." he smiled and gave me a peck on the cheek. He pulled a small paintbrush out of a bucket and dipped it in some black paint we had gotten to decorate the rooms. He painted Lights on the wall in cursive and then grabbed a pencil and started outlining buildings underneath it. Maggie said it sounded like and amazing name and Carol called us all to eat. She said I could leave the baby in there and leave the cell if I thought I felt okay. I got up and ate for a while before Lights started crying. I went and got her and sat down with her at the table.

"Have you named that kid yet?" Rick asked. Carl came out from working on his buildings and told him we named her Lights.

"Interesting. Good choice." Daryl said and I went to feed Lights in our cell. Carol had hung up a blanket a few nights before the baby was born so that Carl and I had some privacy when she did come. It was a big blanket and reached to the floor. I was really thankful for it, it felt more like a room for us to live in than a part of a prison. And it made feeding her a lot easier, not like anyone would've cared if I walked around feeding her. No one really cared about that kind of thing. I fed her and she was still wide awake, but was starting to get sleepy.

"Can I see the baby?" I heard a little girl ask from the other side of the curtain.

"Sure you can, Judith. Come here." I said and she walked in. She stood in front of me and looked at Lights.

"She's small." she said.

"Yeah, she is. You can play with her a little if you like. She likes it when you tickle her feet." I said and Judith ran her fingers over Lights' feet, earning a smile and laugh from her. She smiled and Carol called her to go to bed.

"You don't need to keep Jinxx up, she has to take care of the baby." Carol said. I told Judith she could help me with the baby in the morning, and she ran off to bed.

"God, you're great with kids. You just made Judith sprint to go to sleep as fast as she can." Carl laughed, walking in. I shrugged and he wanted to hold Lights. I gave her to him and he burped her a little before having me put her in her crib to go to sleep. I put my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me for the millionth time.

"I love you so much. I'll paint those buildings tomorrow." he said as I fell asleep.

I rolled away from Carl and got out of bed. Lights was crying her crib so I picked her up and rocked her a little.

"Shush baby girl, you're gonna wake people up." I whispered to her. I wrapped a green blanket around her and held her against my chest. She was still crying so I left the room and went into an upstairs cell no one used. I sat on the bed and rocked back and forth with her. She quit fussing and looked up at me. I tried feeding her but she didn't seem hungry so I laid down with her on my chest. She was awake and just making cooing noises.

"You're adorable." I laughed. I couldn't get over how bright her eyes were compared to her hair. I kissed her on top of her head and rubbed her back gently.

"I thought I heard you up." I heard Daryl say. I started to sit up and he came over and sat next to me. "I can't believe you made it through the other night, honestly. I'm so proud that you did." he said.

"Thanks. I mean, that was hell. I'm lucky Carol and Hershal were there to help me, I guess." I said. Daryl looked at Lights and I handed him to her. He held her carefully, as if she was made of glass and might break if he held on too tightly.