LXVI

—/<3/—

Rory barely had any recollection of the events that took place over the last hour. She did a last round of the cellblocks and was about to leave when she heard the faint cries of a baby. Panic shot through her as she darted towards Judith, who had been left in a cell in her car seat with a baby bag packed up next to her.

Rory didn't hesitate to grab her and the bag before speaking for the exit. She worried about the baby's little ears as she shot down a path through the walkers and launched them both into a car. She couldn't see anyone through the densely packed herd so she sped off, holding onto the car seat with one hand since she hadn't had time to properly strap the baby into the passengers seat.

She pulled over in a random street as soon as it was safe to do so, planning to take refuge in one of the houses for the night. It wasn't safe to camp out in the car with Judith; Rory couldn't risk her crying in the night and drawing danger to them. The baby was starting to fuss with hunger and discomfort and Rory knew that it wouldn't be long before the wailing began, so she hurriedly strapped the backpack onto her back and grabbed the car seat before tiptoeing towards the nearest house.

They looked desolate, probably already ransacked but Rory could do without food for a day or two, she just needed to keep Judith safe and quiet.

"Come on, princess, let's get you a bottle and a diaper change," Rory whispered. She tried the doorhandle on the first house and pushed it open without a struggle, but she didn't enter yet. She pounded her fist against the door and waited patiently for any walkers to respond to the noise. When nothing came, she finally walked inside and closed the door.

The first floor was clear. It was a mess, but it was clear. She set the baby down in a corner by the fireplace before heading upstairs. She had to check and she wouldn't risk Judith getting hurt.

She went as fast as she could, flying up the stairs two at a time, ever conscious of the fact that Judith could start to cry at any moment. She swiftly checked each room for danger and found none. It made her suspicious but houses were abandoned from the very beginning, so even if she found it weird that there wasn't a single walker in the house, it made sense.

With one last look around the upstairs, Rory breathed out a sigh and headed back down to Judith. The sun was starting to set so she got to work barricading the doors, using the last of daylight to ensure their safety and look around for anything that may help them. She found batteries in a kitchen cabinet and a can of peaches in a dark corner of the pantry, but nothing else.

At least she would be able to eat.

When Judith started to fuss, Rory hurried back to the living room and began making up a bottle, grateful for the full tin of formula in the bag. It would only last a week at best, so she knew she would have to either find more really soon, or start weaning to make milk last longer.

  "Oh, my little love, are you hungry?" Rory asked as she unstrapped Judith from her seat, the baby immediately stretched and a wave of guilt washed over her, feeling bad that she'd made her stay in the seat for so many hours.

She hummed mindlessly as she fed Judith, wandering around the house as she thought of a plan. She needed to find the others. There was no way she could survive on her own with a baby to look after, it was too dangerous. She hadn't seen the direction that anyone else had driven off to, and the road the bus was supposed to take was swarmed with walkers so she had no choice but to go in the other direction, she just hoped that she'd bump into someone soon.

—/<3/—

There was a child's bedroom upstairs. No bassinet or cot, but a toddlers bed small enough for Rory to carry into the master bedroom so that she and Judith could sleep in the same room.

She'd originally planned to sleep in the bed with Judith, but the bed was too tall and she didn't want to risk the baby rolling off and hurting herself, so this was the next best option.

She was lucky enough to find an unopened pack of baby wipes too and stashed them away for future use.

As she rifled through the wardrobe she began to think of where exactly Daryl and her band would've headed. Daryl was most likely in the woods somewhere but her family was in Archie's car, she'd never catch up to them if they'd kept driving since they escaped the prison.

The realisation that she might never see them again brought an unsettlingly deep pool of dread to her stomach.

—/<3/—

Sunrise came unfortunately fast and Rory woke to the morning sun casting a warm ray across her face.

Judith was still asleep. She'd woken about two hours ago for a feed and she only woke up once or twice a night now. Rory took the time to wipe herself down with one of the baby wipes; it was the closest thing she'd be getting to a bath for a while. Then she took another look through the closet for any clean clothes.

The woman who lived here before was at least four sizes bigger than Rory because of the apocalyptic weight loss but she managed to find a t-shirt that hung loosely on her and covered her shorts but it was the best she could find. It was a faded grey piece of Justin Timberlake merch but the apocalypse didn't leave any room for pickiness.

She took one last look at Judith and went back to the nursery, doing one last sweep of anything she could find. She took a fluffy pink blanket for the inevitable nights on the road, a baby wrap so that she could keep Judith close without having to carry her or the car seat, and a stuffy animal to keep her entertained. There was a whole box of toys but they all made some sort of noise and Rory couldn't risk it.

She trotted back to the main bedroom with a sigh and dumped her findings on the unmade bed but then an idea popped into her head and she grinned to herself. If the family that lived here had a toddler, that toddler would've been newborn once upon a time, and most mothers got sentimental with their babies so there was bound to be a box of baby clothes somewhere.

She rushed back into the hallway and looked frantically for an attic, her smile widening when she spotted the hatch on the ceiling. It had a hook but she couldn't see the pole to pull it open.

Rory opened the utility closet and there it was, perched up against the tower rack. She hummed to herself as she pulled open the hatch and down fell a set of stairs. Rory went back to the bedroom and retrieved her torch from her backpack and then bravely made her way into the darkness of the attic.

She searched the labelled boxes until she found the one she needed: 'Katelynn baby clothes 6-9 months'.

She let out a victorious noise and dragged the box to the stairs and back through to the bedroom where Judith was slowly waking up.

"Hey baby, I got you some clothes," Rory spoke happily. Judith smiled as Rory's face popped into her view and she held her chubby arms out for Rory to pick her up. Rory obliged happily and propped her up against the pillows on the bed before rifling through the box.

"We have a little pink playsuit with butterflies, a yellow dress or the white tank and pink polka dot pants, which ones do you want?" Rory asked, laying them out in front of the baby.

Judith cooed and clumsily slapped the pink outfit, her eyes wide. Rory chuckled.

"Pink playsuit it is. Let's get you cleaned up and changed before breakfast and then we're gonna go find your daddy."

—/<3/—

Sorry for the boring chapter guys, I have to build up to bigger and better things ;)