rackofbadcds | Alternate title: Three Men and a Baby

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rochelle

Alternate title: Three Men and a Baby

Holy hell of a morning.

After Coach had gotten shot, the motherfucking mountain man, the one the other called Marshall, didn't waste time. The other woman quickly introduced herself as Jean, a nurse and Marshall's wife, and had barely started trying to stop Coach's bleeding when Marshall brought up the bunker. It was less of a reccomendation and more like a demand. With Coach bleeding as bad as he was coupled with Rochelle's condition, which he would bring up later, the faster they got out the better.

And it was just in time, because as soon as the four of them got out of the hospital and made their quick introductions. Well, introductions coupled with arguing, especially when it was brought up who had shot Coach. Jean was about to shut them up with the roar of a horde did it for her. It didn't take more than a second for them to decide what to do. They abandoned the van (temporarily, they hoped), carried Coach and Rochelle into Marshall and Jean's pickup truck, piled in, and drove the fuck out.

Coach managed to stay conscious, even with all the blood he was losing. Rochelle, though, was out hot (pun intended) in her feverish condition. Jean did her best with the both of them. She said there was a doctor at the bunker, a co-worker she escaped with before she found Marshall again, who could give them a lot better help. Otherwise, between driving and trying to stablize the others, Jean and Marshall didn't have much focus to explain themselves and the bunker. As soon as they were out of the woods, that story was being saved.

The horde finally caught up when they got to the bunker. The slow opening door didn't help. But ~~a crescendo later and~~ the door opened enough for them to crawl under, and all that's left was to shoot the zombies trying to do the same until the door slid closed, just as slowly.

It finally did, and Coach leaned against the wall. He panted, hard.

"God DAMN..."

Jean moved over to him and offered an arm. Marshall was already carrying the unconscious Rochelle in both arms of his own arms, seeing as he wasn't sure how good of an idea it was to haul a pregnant woman over his shoulders.

"Gotta agree with that shit." He grunted. "Doc better still be here."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nick is depressed. Ending up looking like John Travolta or Samuel L. Jackson at the end of Pulp Fiction was never in his plans... And Ellis better not make any references to it!

But at least Coach is out and moving around. "So, Coach," he started as he leaned forward on the small table they were gathered around.

It'd be awhile before he'd be able to use that arm like it was, he knew. It'd be dangerous for him. "So, did you hear they offered to keep us here? Pretty big place..."

It's safe to say that Coach has already made massive amounts of fun of him. He's way ahead of Ellis, because Nick's new nickname (GET IT) is Jules. But right now wasn't the time to be making jokes. He nods, slowly.

"Yeah, I heard."

Jean hadn't wasted much time patching up the other men's injuries. She had just finished properly re-bandaging a wound of Ellis'. They didn't do a bad job patching themselves up from the experience some of them (at least, Ellis and Rochelle) had now, but it always helped to have a medical professional's touch.

"I'll leave you boys alone, I'm gonna go see how Rochelle and the doc are doing. I'll let you know what's happening as soon as we get something definitive, alright?"

Coach looked over to her and nodded again. "Thank you, ma'm."

Jean gave a slight mock sigh. "I keep telling you, call me Jean."

She walked on out. Coach gave a faint snort of amusement, and turned back to the others.

"Good people here. And as far as I know they ain't crazy, either. We ain't gonna find something like this twice. And I don't gotta tell you twice that I ain't exactly gonna shootin' a gun out there with this now, even if I tried."

Oh, Nick is so glad to see that shot didn't kill Coach's sense of humor. He can't believe he's letting this shit touch his skin either, damn. Leaning forward, he nodded at Jean when she said she'd give them news when they had some.

Not having any was driving Nick up a wall, honestly.

"So you're in favor of staying?" Nick asked, eyes settling on Coach. He couldn't blame the guy and honestly, after so much shit out there, bunking down here awhile. Another part of Nick was wary to trust the assholes who shot at them, no matter how accidental it might have been.

It's probably saying something that the guy who got shot was trusting these people more than Nick was. Coach had thought about it too. There was always a change somebody still alive was a crazy (the non-infected kind) nowadays. Or the military. But it already went without saying they needed to at least TRY to trust people. Shouldn't they be bringing what's left of humanity together anyway?

At least, that's how Coach saw it. Besides, it wasn't like a haven like this came around every day.

"Hell yeah I am." Coach leaned back in his chair. He knew what that look meant. "Nick, I remember the shit we've been through too. But if we don't trust anybody else, how're we supposed to get through this shit, huh? Shit, if they're up for it this could be home. We can help 'em out, maybe Ro can have the baby here."

It's all wishful thinking, considering what happened at that military base and how many months it was away from the baby being born (if it was at all), but...

Nick met Coach's eyes, that same skeptical look lingering on his features. Nick didn't trust people on principle before the goddamn apocalypse and even less now that they saw what kind of crazy assholes it brought out. But he respected Coach enough to not argue too much... usually. Well, sometimes anyway.

But Coach had a point and he didn't know how to argue it. If they kept traveling now, they'd be down a shooter. Maybe two, if Rochelle needed recovery time... which she probably would.

Whatever the hell was happening to her.

"What, you really think the kid'll be... you know?" Not like he had any idea about this pregnancy shit, especially not something like this.

"Born? You can say it, we're all grown-ups in here." Shit, HOW old was Nick again? To Coach, sometimes Nick talked like he didn't know what the birds and the bees were, much less how babies worked. And Coach was a health teacher for high school kids, of all people. His sarcastic edge toned down when he actually answered Nick's question. "I'll be straight with you. I don't know. But something's gotta give in there."

Though Rochelle wasn't anywhere near their vincity, Coach nodded his head over in her geneal direction.

"Let's stay here a while, see how it goes. We don't know what exactly was waitin' for us out west, but I think this is the next closest thing we're gonna get. What do you kids say?"

"Fine, you think it's actually not gonna die or what?" Because he wasn't exactly so damn sure. He might not be expert on pregnancies, but he's pretty sure fevers and bleeding aren't good signs.

He let out an irritated sigh and nodded. "Yeah, alright. Fine. We'll stay."

Ellis gave a nod of his own. "Hell yeah, I vote we stay. Best place we've come across in awhile."

Coach paused for a moment, and frowned. "... Like I said, I dunnno. But we gotta have SOME kinda faith."

Then his expression softened. "We ain't gonna lose her, Nick." Again, he still didn't know about the baby. He couldn't lie about that kind of thing, for all his positivity. But he knew Nick worried about the both of them. In his own way, but that was a given.

And with their agreement, he nodded again this time. "Read my mind, Ellis. Besides... for military rations, this shit isn't too bad."

Coach had a pack of that stuff. Keyword on 'had', cuz it was already gone. Big eater or no, this was the first big meal the man had had in a while. "Marshall and them said they got gas to spare, an' that they could go get the van over here."

Nick nodded at that, hoping Coach was right at least. He was worried about Rochelle and yeah, even the kid. Which was weird considering he hadn't exactly been happy to even hear she was knocked up in the first place, hadn't even wanted to keep it... Either way, he didn't want to lose Rochelle because of it.

Ellis gave a laugh at that comment. "Hell, beats the expired stuff we find on the road."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, guess we should tell them to go get it... had a lot of supplies that we could use anyway. Be a shame to let them sit there and rot away."

Coach gave them both a faint grin. "Yeah... we got our clothes in there, too. Nick's gonna be happy about that. He doesn't have to look like he stepped out of Pulp Fiction."

It was a dumb joke, but he figure it could take things off Nick's mind for a while.

Well, it got an eye roll out of him. "Very funny, big guy. If we get back out there and a zombie's bled or spit up on my suits, there's gonna be hell to pay though."

And damn if he wouldn't find a men's store somewhere that still had decent suits.

"Son, I don't think any zombies gonna wanna touch half your clothes in the first place." So Coach says, but the clothes he's wearing now still gets a snicker out of him right after he says that.

Some more banter would have happened, but Jean had rushed back in the room. Coach darted over to look at her.

"What? What happened?"

Jean was catching her breath. She put a hand over her chest. "S-Sorry... I wanted to let you guys know ASAP. Rochelle's stable now."

Coach let out a breath he had been holding. "Goddamn, girl, don't scare me like that." It wasn't the biggest deal in the world, though. He let it go. "What's happening?"

She put her hand down and moved to the table. She grabbed a chair, and sat down with them. It'd be easier to explain this way. "Her fever broke and we figured out what the bleeding was. Before I tell you anything else... she's gonna be okay. She sleeping right now."

Jean glanced to Nick.

"Your daughter's gonna be okay, too."

WHOOPS, SORRY IF THAT WAS GONNA BE A SUPRISE.

Nick couldn't believe it... how much relief flooded over him at the words that Rochelle was okay, stable. Jesus Christ, she better not pull this shit again. He didn't even muster up a glare when Ellis tapped his shoulder and told him how 'he told him so'.

Didn't freaking matter.

Especially when he heard that last bit--

"Wait, wait... daughter?"

She smiled a little.

"Sorry. Was that gonna be a suprise?"

The notion was off and she figured it would be, but Jean figured it was SOMETHING normal.

"No-- I mean. Not like we had a way of really checking out there, you know?" A little girl... Jesus. That made it feel even weirder really, knowing that the kid was. Made it that much more goddamn real.

"Can I see Rochelle?"

"Makes sense." Jean tried to keep her tone cheerful. "Yeah, sure. She's asleep now, though. After her fever finally broke we've been trying to her as much 'normal' sleep as we can. If you guys are staying here that's not gonna be a problem."

Coach sighed in relief. "What was the bad news?"

"It's not really BAD, per say... but in layman's terms she had what's called a pregnancy hemmorage. It's not as severe as it could have been, but between that, the fever, and everything in between--she needs to be on strict bed rest."

Coach looked over at the others. "More of a reason to stick around than we already had."

"You weren't thinking of staying in the first place?"

"We were debating it," Nick answered, rubbing at the back of his neck. Looked like they were stuck even after that debate earlier. No real choice in the matter if Rochelle needed the rest.

"Take me to her." Even if she was asleep, he wanted to see her with his own eyes, make sure she was alright.

Jean doesn't push it, but it does warrant the raise of an eyebrow. Personally, she didn't understand how anyone could NOT see this place as practically heaven compared to the Infection outside. She and Marshall sure as hell didn't have any debate when they found the place and decided it would be a good home.

"She's in still with the doctor, same place as before, but sure."

Coach started easing himself up out of his chair. "I'm comin' too." Jean started to get him up help him with a murmur of 'whoah, big guy', but the older man held his hand up. The one that wasn't in a sling, of course. With a barely-held back grunt, he does it.

With a sigh, Jean nods and stands up too. "All three of you are stubborn..." She walks out of the breakroom, and Coach follows. "By the way, my husband and some of the other boys are heading out soon to get your car. If either of you two--" She eyes Nick and Ellis specifically, "--want to go, you're welcome to."

Maybe yes, maybe no. She guesses they want their stuff safe, but probably weren't in the mood to deal with Infected right now. She wouldn't be, and they made regular rounds outside to scavenge for food and supplies.

When they got back to the sick room, Rochelle was on the bed in the corner, still passed out. She looked a lot better than she did when she first passed out. There was a blanket snugly laid out over her now, and she seemed to be sleeping a lot more peacefully. The doctor from before was fiddling with what looked like fairly shoddy equipment. Probably the best they could find. He looked up.

"Oh--hello."

"Hell, I'll go. 'Least I can do if we'll be staying," Elli answered immediately. Besides, he figured Nick'd want to stay behind and take care of Ro... well, he should be thinking that anyway. No sense sending perfect strangers out to risk their hide to get their stuff if they weren't even willing to go themselves.

Nick followed them to the room they'd been at before, giving a relieved sigh when he saw Rochelle still out, but resting comfortably for a change. When the doctor looked up, Nick tore his attention away and looked at him. "She still doing okay?"

"Good to hear. I figured one of you would want to be there to make sure all your stuff is okay," Jean said as she tucked a couple of tiny little medical instruments into her coat pockets. "Besides, any kind of supplies are worthwhile. Marshall can help you out--don't let him scare you too much. If he does, let me know and I'll scare him back."

The little joke was another attempt at lightening the mood more, but there wasn't much room for it when they got back to where Rochelle and the doctor were.

Travis, the doctor, nodded as he finished putting the last of everything in order. He walked back to Rochelle. "So far, yes. I'd like to keep a close eye on her after what happened, though."

Rochelle herself was still. Not unnaturally or lifelessly so. Her arms were laid out at her sides, put that way by Travis and Jean while they worked on her. At least she looked like she was actually sleeping, this time. It was the dead-exhausted kind of sleep that could have been the definition of sleeping like a log. Nobody in the room could have been unfamiliar with it nowadays.

"The hemmorhage and the fever were a major concern. Neither are good for a baby..." Travis looked back up. "But they're both okay now."

"So, what's going to happen?" Nick asked, eyeballing Rochelle. She looked like she was resting though... that was good.

His eyes turned back to Travis. "If she does this bed rest stuff... will she be alright? The kid too?"

The skinny, older man pulls up a nearby stool and sits down.

"Well, I'm not gonna reccomend she'd go pick fights with Chargers," Travis leans back against the wall now, scratching his beard. "I have concerns for the child. On top of having such a high fever AND hemorrage isn't good for it in the first place, I'm worried about prenatal malnutrition. Can't say any of it is the mother's fault, naturally. And she's got one tough little girl in there. Your friend over there filled me in."

He nodded to Coach, who made his way into the room to sit down next to Rochelle's bed.

"Rochelle will be okay. And if these next few months aren't half as rough as the last few've been already... with some close monitoring the baby will be too," Travis glances back up at Nick. "I'd say you stumbled into the right people. I don't think you could even halfway promise that in many other places in this Infection."

"So right... you're saying we gotta keep her resting until the kid's ready to come out?" Well, if that's what kept Rochelle safe, then that's what they were going to have to do. And just hope these people didn't turn out to be crazy assholes along the way...

"Alright... uh, does she need anything? It ain't like I can't make a run to grab whatever she needs. Vitamins or whatever the hell else."

"As much as we can."

He looks Rochelle back over. "For now... I think we're alright. Just let her get some sleep. I'm getting a little low on certain supplies, but I'm having Marshall make a run back to the hospital. He said something about getting your guy's car, too."

Travis ends up glancing back at the equipment he tucked out of the way. "And if we're gonna have someone expecting in here for a while... might not be a bad idea to get him to find some better equipment, too."

Jean, who was right behind the group, steps out. "If that's the case, give me a grocery list and I'll go with him, Travis. He needs me around to understand half the stuff on your lists anyway."

Travis nods. "I was about to let you know. This time, make sure he doesn't shoot anyone human."

Coach grunted. "Good goddamn idea."

"I'll go with'em, if they're grabbing equipment too." Nick wasn't going to just sit by and do nothing at all. Not now that he knew Rochelle was going to be okay and not if she and the kid-- the girl, apparently, would need more supplies to stay healthy.

"And definitely. Make sure he keeps his goddamn guns pointed away from anything that's not actively trying to eat, grab, or ride us." Nick would be damned if he'd get shot out there.

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