NICOLETTE
Nicki had been sitting in front of that tent for long. Silence had never been a bother to her; she had always liked it, thinking, wondering. But since this apocalypse started, or more specifically, when people around her started to die, the silence has been a strange companion to her, that made her think of all the friends she had lost, about what she could have done to help and about what she didn't do. The silence was not welcoming like before anymore.
"Shorty, you're still there?" she asked, suddenly leaning her back against the tent.
"What do you want?" he asked in a hushed tone.
What did she want... she didn't know. But she really didn't want to think anymore. She didn't want to close her eyes to see Amy, Jim, and Jaqui again. She didn't want to remember the last time she saw Sophia and how her body froze. She didn't want to remember the day she said at home that she should have flown to Atlanta for an archery competition, how her parents told her that they couldn't bring her there, and how Sarah had happily offered to go instead.
"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. "There's nothing I want," nothing that he could do, anyway.
"They are not coming back," Carl said from inside the tent, and Nicki looked down.
"You don't know that," she said, hoping to hear the sound of a car coming closer, but nothing.
"And you know that?"
Nicolette rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to be supportive here," she said, but she didn't know what the point was. Maybe he was right. Maybe they should have thought of the worst. Maybe it would have been easier. Or maybe their life would have never been easy again.
"I miss school," Nicolette said at some point. "I miss ignoring people and their chattering there."
"So, it's not the apocalypse," Carl said. "You've always been rude," Nicki found herself chuckling.
"If you like to think it that way," she said, turning towards the tent. "Do you miss school?"
"I miss my friends," he answered, making her nod.
"So, you had friends," she said. "That's a surprise."
"Sophia was my friend." At Carl's words, Nicki looked down.
"Yeah, that's true," she muttered. They really got along and he had never been rude to the girl; they laughed and played.
"Maybe she'd know what to tell you," Nicki said, thinking about the girl and how much she smiled. She remembered that she had never shared so many words with Sophia.
Suddenly, a zipping sound made her turn to see Carl appear from the open tent.
"Why do you want to talk to me so much?" Carl asked curiously, observing her with inquisitive blue eyes.
"In all honesty?" she asked, looking at him, who nodded. "It's easier than think," she admitted at the end. He stood quiet for a moment; his gaze fixed on her.
"You're terrible at talking," he said at some point, and she let out a chuckle.
"I can't argue with that." That seemed to surprise him, but before he could give one of his usual quick remarks, the sound of a car made them look towards the fence.
"It's Shane," she said, turning to the boy. The boy looked at the passing car with hopeful eyes before jumping on his feet, followed by Nicki.
They ran across the camp, avoiding the tents. As they got closer, Nicki spotted everyone around the car, even if she wondered why her sister wasn't there. But she felt relieved when she saw Lori. Shane had found her, and she was safe, even if there was a cut on her forehead. She and Carl kept running, but they stopped when they heard Shane talk, "First thing first, I gotta be sure the baby's all right, okay?"
Nicolette's jaw dropped as Carl stepped forward.
"You're having a baby?" he exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. "Why didn't you tell me?" Lori looked at her son with wide eyes, not able to formulate an answer. By the look of everyone else, nobody knew, and that was a shock.
"Come on," said Dale, his eyes still wide like everyone else's. "Let's make sure you're all right." He then gestured for her to follow him into the house.
As the others were going with Lori, Nicolette heard some steps from behind her.
"Is that Lori?" her sister's voice made her turn, but she was pretty sure her mouth was still open in shock. "Oh, thank, goddess."
"Yeah," Nicki said, pointing at Lori, "And she is pregnant."
"She's what?" Sarah asked with wide eyes.
"You didn't know, either," Nicki said, nodding her head. "That's make it—all of us, actually."
"Oh my god," Sarah whispered before walking towards the house.
Nicki was quick to follow as they entered the room. Maggie turned towards the door when she heard them run in, her expression still shocked.
"Sarah, Lori-"
"Nicki told me," Sarah said, nodding her head.
"She is in there," Maggie said, pointing at the living room. "Patricia already gave her some band aids; I'm going to Beth."
"Band-aid?" Sarah muttered before entering the other room, where Lori was sitting on the sofa. Carl was next to her, and Dale and Andrea were sitting on the armrest of the chair next to them.
"Lori," Sarah said, kneeling in front of the woman holding some ice on the cut on her forehead.
"Sweety," Lori said with a heavy sigh.
"Are you alright?" she asked and the woman nodded her head. Nicolette moved around the room until she laid her back against the wall in front of the scene, her bow secured in her hands.
"I've been in an accident," Lori said. "But I'm alright."
"Are you sure?" Andrea asked, observing the other woman closely. They were all thinking the same thing: What the hell happened? And how is it possible you are pregnant?
And Lori must have known that because she turned to Carl. "I'm so sorry; I left without telling you," she whispered as Sarah got up to walk towards the kitchen.
Carl nodded his head. "It's okay," he said softly. "I wasn't scared," Nicolette observed him; the way he said it, she could have almost believed him, and she knew his mom believed him. She was almost impressed at his self-control and how he didn't want to worry Lori. Nicki really thought he would have been angry at her, but he didn't.
Sarah got back with a glass of water, put it in front of Lori, and then sat on a chair next to the sofa.
"When is Dad getting back?" Carl asked calmly, waiting patiently for his mother to answer.
"Let's hope soon," Lori said. It was impressive how the Grimes family always seemed to find each other. She couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at what she knew she couldn't have.
"I want to be there when you tell him about the baby," Carl said, looking at his mother with a sweet expression that seemed almost strange on his face.
Lori took a deep breath. "Oh, love, he already knows," she whispered, rubbing his back. "We were just trying to find the right time to tell you."
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Carl asked curiously, and Nicki looked at him, amused by the question.
"We won't know until it's born," Lori explained with a sweet smile that only grew bigger when Carl put a hand on her belly.
"Will I be able to feel it?"
"Not for a while," Lori said, but Carl seemed pretty happy by the news. He had a little smile on his face as he kept looking at his mom, who seemed a bit more worried.
"You must have a lot of questions," she said before turning to Dale, Andrea, and Sarah, a bit unsure. "We... never had the talk."
At that, Nicki snorted, gaining the eyes of the others on her. Carl frowned at her, and Sarah glared at her, mouthing her to stop. Nicki wasn't sure why she found it amusing, she just couldn't help herself, maybe it was because he thought he was so mature, but he still had to have the talk about flowers and bees.
"Don't look at me," Dale said when Carl turned to him, waiting for answers. "That's your father's job."
"Oh please, can I watch?" Nicki said, letting out another snort.
"Nicolette!" Sarah said, still glaring.
After a cold scowl, Carl turned to his mother, ignoring Nicki. "If the baby is a girl, can we call her Sophia?"
That made everyone stop for a moment, thinking again about the little girl, that now was no more among them. But Nicki's eyes got caught by Shane's frame, making his way towards the room. He was pale, and he was strange. Nicolette has been observing him for long; he was unpredictable, sometimes he seemed the Shane she had met that day just outside of Atlanta, but other times he seemed angry and violent. And dangerous. Like in front of the barn.
"Hey. I'm sorry, bud. I thought you knew," Shane said, looking at Carl. Nicki noticed Dale standing up, eyeing the man. She wondered if he had doubts, too.
The boy flicked his sheriff hat with his fingers, puffing his chest proudly. "Big brother, Carl, pretty cool, huh?" Nicolette already felt for the baby for having such a bossy brother.
Her attention, though, fixed on Shane. She just couldn't help it, even because the strange expression on Lori's face didn't help her to change her mind about the cop. The very contrary.
"It's very cool," Shane chuckled awkwardly before clearing his throat to ask something else. "You mind if I talk with your mom for a sec?"
Nicki found herself stepping away from the wall, but it was Andrea the one who spoke next "How about a little later?" she suggested "After she gets some rest."
Shane glared at Andrea for a moment before starting to talk anyway. "Lori, I had to get you back here," he said. You wouldn't have come otherwise." They all stared at the man, but only Lori was trying to avoid him. Nicolette remembered how close the two of them were. That was surely strange behavior, the one Lori was having. What had happened between those two?
"How about you just hear me out, please?" he would not let go. But did Lori really want to talk to him? Carl must have felt his mother's discomfort, too, because he ignored Shane until Lori assured him that it was okay to leave them to talk alone.
"How about we eat something?" said Sarah, putting her hands on Carl's shoulders as he stood up. "Nicolette," she called her when she noticed that the girl wasn't moving.
Nicki observed Shane, who must have felt her eyes on him because he looked at her. She held his gaze coldly, her back straight and crossed arms. It was clear on his face that he did not like her behavior. Nicolette knew something was off, and maybe now Shane knew that she knew. But she didn't care. So, when her sister called for her again, the girl made her way towards the kitchen.
They ate in silence—or at least Nicki was silent. Carl was talking to the others about the news, and they ate together and in tranquility. Nicki couldn't help but glare at the living room; in her mind, another memory: that morning at the CDC, on Shane's neck, there were four scratches—strange marks to have caused it on his own.
Was she being paranoid? Was she becoming crazy?
But all the strangeness surrounding Shane just kept growing in her mind.
Why did he cut his hair when he got back with the supplies for Carl?
Why did he have Otis' gun if, by what he had told them, he had made Shane run ahead to keep the walkers away? How would he do that without his gun?
Many questions. Many memories and theories. Was she becoming obsessed with it? Was she overreacting?
She didn't know. She wasn't sure. And with those thoughts she lay back in her tent, tossing and turning to try to get some sleep. Suddenly, the zip of the entrance opened to let Sarah slip inside and then close it behind herself.
"Where were you?" Nicki asked, making her sister gasp.
"I thought you were sleeping," she said with a hand on her heart. "Did I wake you?"
Nicki shook her head. "I wasn't sleeping," she said, observing her sister taking off her boots. "So?" she asked after a moment of silence. "Where were you?"
"What are you? A cop?" answered Sarah with a chuckle.
"Maybe it's my calling," she said, resting on her elbows to look at her sister, waiting for her answer.
"I just brought Daryl something to eat," Sarah said, lying down and slipping inside the sleeping bag.
"He's still down there?" Nicki asked. She had seen him taking all his staff and moving them across the yard, isolating himself.
Sarah nodded. "He was lying down, maybe sleeping... I don't know," she answered, taking a deep breath. "But I wouldn't let him starve."
Nicki nodded her head. Her sister had always thought about the others and took care of them. She was very good at that, and people had always appreciated that quality of hers. Sarah was sweet and proper, witty and talkative. Sometimes, Nicki wondered what it would have been like to be a little bit like her sister—making friends and not being odd.
She also wondered how Sarah felt about Glenn being missing, and she was curious about what her sister was feeling since her friend began to want to spend all his time with Maggie. She didn't seem bothered, but was she faking it? Like Nicki did sometimes; pretending that nothing was wrong so that others wouldn't worry about her.
Yeah... she was probably only overthinking.
It took a bit of time, but after maybe an hour, she finally managed to stop her racing mind and get some sleep. Her slumber had been so deep that she woke up the next morning. Sarah had already woken up like the others. And they were already organizing the run to try to find Rick, Glenn, and Hershel.
"The town is twenty minutes away," Shane was saying, getting the car ready.
"We should take two cars," Daryl added, getting the rifle ready. "In case we need to get them." Sarah was next to him, nodding her head. Her hair was tied in a ponytail as she filled a gun with bullets.
"So, formations are Andrea and T, with me," Shane recapped.
"An' Sarah with me," Daryl said, shutting the door of the car.
"You're going now?" Nicolette asked, making her way towards the group. Her sister looked at her, and with a small smile, she nodded her head.
"Do you need help?"
Sarah shared a look with Andrea before making her way towards Nicki. "Sweety, stay here for now, okay?" she asked. "Keeping an eye on Lori and Carol."
Nicki took a breath. "Not sure this is going to help, but alright."
They were almost ready to go when the sound of a car engine made them all turn. "Is it them?" asked Sarah with a smile forming on her lips.
"It seems so," chuckled T-Dog as they followed the car.
As they stopped, Lori, Carl, Maggie, and Carol walked out of the house. Rick was the first to get out of the vehicle, and Carl was quick to run to him and hug him with a happy chuckle. Nicki released a breath when she saw that Hershel was with them. Maggie smiled before running to the car, but not to hug her father; she got past him to hug Glenn. Nicki turned towards her sister, who was giggling happily between Daryl and T.
"Patricia," Hershel said to the woman as he walked towards the house. "Prepare the shed for surgery."
Surgery?
Nicki's eyes scanned Rick and Glenn, but they seemed alright. They were a bit shaken up, but they seemed safe.
"Thank God they're alright," Sarah said, not so far from Nicki, who turned to observe her sister. She saw her looking up at Daryl with a smile.
"Thank you," she said. The man observed her.
"For wha'?" he asked.
"For agreeing to come with us," she answered, looking at him sweetly. He seemed surprised by her words, and Nicki could not help but notice how shy he was behaving.
"Shut up, " he said, looking down with a little smile. His words made Sarah giggle before she turned to walk towards Glenn and shared a quick hug.
"What's with the face?" Sarah asked with a frown. "Are you alright?" Glenn nodded his head quietly. He didn't seem alright. Nicki was curious about what was going on in Glenn's mind. But then T-Dog's voice made them all turn towards the car.
"Who the hell is that?" he was pointing at the car, only now Nicki noticed a man's figure sitting in the backseat. He didn't seem to be older than Sarah.
"That's Randall," Glenn answered simply, and that made Nicki frown.
"And who would he be?" she asked, making the others turn towards her.