Love After Loss (Teen/Adult)

Alvin rested his head on top of Beth's head, watching the baby girl. "She looks just like you. Usually I can never tell but the resemblance.. Wow." He said softly, wrapping his arm around her. He was stunned when she said she wanted Alvin to father her child. That - to Alvim - was an honour. "I will do my best to protect you both." He promised, kissing the top of her head.

Eve looked to Stephen once she was flanked by him. She set the eupiment in the sink. "She's doing just fine. She was amazing during the labour, a real trooper." Eve nodded. "No signs of hemmorage as of yet, and mom and baby look perfectly healthy." She told him. "Daryl burst in and pulled Alvin from Beth. Alvin lost it and started throwing punches and Daryl stormed out." Eve have the short version. "A girl. Violet, is what she called her. Suits the baby perfectly." She nodded, turning back to the task at hand and cleaning the scissors and such.

"I know you can't physically be her biological father, but you are going to be the closest thing she'll ever have to an actual father..." Beth said softly as she glanced back to the baby girl who was starting to fall asleep in her arms. "She looks like her biological father a lot, as well. But she does have my eyes, and my mouth... Maybe my lips as well. Too soon to tell." She smiled brightly. "Hopefully she won't be prayed on by other men as any other woman out here. That's probably the one thing I wish I could change. Her gender."

Truth be told, Beth had always wanted a baby girl to call her own. However, during this day and age, giving birth to a daughter was the last thing you wanted to do. So many times older men would rape and abuse the young women they found and then would just leave them for dead. Though the boys? Once they were older, old enough that pedifiles (I can't spell today!) weren't attacted to them anymore, they would be fine all by themselves. Women were looked at as a toy now days. A quick thing to stick it in, then leave wherever it for dead.

---

Stephen let out a slow sigh as he listened. He couldn't have been more relieved if he would have tried. That is, until he heard the word: yet fall from Eve's lips. "Wait," he blinked, taking her back. "So, she could still be hemorrhaging in there, and we wouldn't know until it was too late?" He asked, horror flooding his face. "I think we should take the baby from her..." He whispered, leaning in to kiss her neck form behind. "She can't take care of it, Eve. You know that, and so do I. She's going to end up killing it or it's going to get sick and turn." He said, glancing back to the door. "We're much better suited to take care of a child right now."

Alvin nodded softly, reaching over and letting the baby girl take a hold of his finger with her tiny hand. "You know I won't let that happen." Alvin said softly. "For as long as I can help it, this girl will have a childhood." He said softly, hugging Beth close to him.

Eve listened to him quietly, before turning and pushing him away. "No." She shook her head. "I mean In the forseeable future." She told him. "Beth is healthy. And she is keeping her baby. You have no right to decide that. Just like you weren't when you thought it best to get rid of it." Eve said. "Whatever happens, happens." She decided. "You really think is taking care of her is a good idea? Not afraid I'll blow it's brain out before my own?" She cocked her head to the side.

"See, I actually wouldn't be scared of that. You've gotten too much of a maternal instinct. You wouldn't ever hurt something you believed would help you recover from Calvin, and that's exactly what will happen if you take the child from her and keep it for yourself." He said simply. "Beth is also the youngest adult we have here. She's got only mild experience with children, and she won't know what she's doing. I think, just form what I've seen, this could be the only way to keep both you and I alive.... That is, unless you'd rather have your own."

Beth forced a small smile, the had to adjust herself once she felt a bit of discomfort from the placenta. It wasn't near as bad as giving birth to Violet, but it still was quite a bit odd to push it out. But once that was done, she handed the child off to Alvin and threw the towel, along with whatever else as on it, into one of the garbage bags that were in the room. "I need to go and get washed up... Do you think you could help me?"

"Don't bring my brother into this." Eve told him, her voice deadly serious. "That's the thing. A baby won't help me "recover"." She laughed, shaking her head. "You don't mourn a death by replacing the person you love." Eve shook her head, watching him quietly. "This isn't just the good of you and me. It's the group." She told him. "We do what's good for the group, because when it comes to it, whos gonna have our back when we need them?" Eve asked.

"I can help." Alvin said softly, watching the baby girl quietly before looking up to Beth with a grin. Settling the baby on the bed, Alvin emptied a drawer and filled it with soft warm blankets before putting the baby inside. "There. Violet can come with us and be comfortable." He smiled at his little creation. Portable crib.

(Crap! I didn't even see this. XD)

Stephen shook his head. "You're right. I won't replace my loving wife, trying to cover up how much I've missed her and my child. But, you know, because you know everything..." He pulled the gun from the holster on his side, and practically slammed it down onto the table in front of her. "Kill me." He stepped back, and opened his arms up as to say bring it on, or something to that effect. "There's six bullet's in there. I just want to warn you, next time you shoot at me, do not fucking miss." He growled. Edging her on even more. "This is the answer to all, according to you. So, lets get this over with."

Beth glanced down at them when she stood up. Practically naked from the hips down. Though, once she began to walk, she couldn't help but feel miserable. "Oh god... It burns like hell... the whole... you know... I guess that's what happens when you deliver a child that's her size... you get torn..." She had just about made it toward the bathroom door before she literally passed out.

(Haha, its alright xD)

Eve watched him quietly, narrowing her eyes. Her eyes followed his gun to the table, before looking back up to him. "Go fuck yourself." She told him, writhing with anger though not letting it show on the surface. "If I'm nothing more than a replacement piece to you, do it yourself." Eve told him, knocking the gun from the table with a swift swipe of her hand before slamming them both onto the table, allowing the sharp sting to take a hold of her palms. "It was my answer. And now I have people who need me again." She said before walking out of the room.

Alvin watched her face. "You probably should rest.." He told her, assuming he would be bringing the water to her. "I guess maybe-.." He began though darted to her side, unfortunately not getting there quick enough to catch her. Panicking more than he ever had before, Alvin couldn't draw his eyes away from the woman he loved. "E-.. Eve!" He shouted, the woman about to walk out the door before she heard Alvin's urgent call. Almost tripping over herself getting up the stairs, she quickly surveyed the scene.

"Get her onto the bed, now." She pointed, Alvin complying quickly. Eve plugged her back into the IV. "Had she said anything? Did the placenta pass?" She questioned.

"Urgh.. Yeah, it passed." Alvin nodded, taking a hold of Beth's limp hands. "She just complained of the pain. That it burns." He explained, scared out of his mind.

Eve nodded along to what he was saying, rubbing the back of her neck. "It could just be exhaustion, dehydration. I don't know." She said softly, pinching the skin together on one of Beth's hand to see if the colour returned quickly, which may show a vitamin deficiency, or if the skin held the form or sank back to its original shape which could test if she was dehydrated.

Stephen slammed his fist down onto the granite countertop once she walked away. Even though he'd proved his point perfectly, it didn't make much of a difference. He was passed off that she didn't want him to help her. Period. I mean, what did she think he was trying to do by asking about having a baby of her own? He thought it would give her something to fight for in the long run. Something to protect.

He stood up, and walked into the room which they went to see Beth being thrown back onto the bed. "Huh, I hate to say it..." He murmured, "But I did tell you she was too weak for this. She's probably hemorrhaging internally." He smirked, then laughed lightly. "She's not going to be ok, and you guys just think that you can save her."

Beth had practically been pale as a ghost by the time she was laid on the bed once again. Her body was totally limp, and pretty much lifeless. I guess that's what happens when you pass out because of dehydration, blood loss, or whatever else it could have been. However, she woke up soon after the I.V. was inserted into her arm. She jumped back lightly, her eyes going wide as the realization hit her that her child wasn't in sight.

"Where's Violet?!" She panicked, pulling the IV out quickly to hunt for her daughter. "Violet! Alvin, where is she?" She asked, looking into his eyes. "I remember getting up... But I don't know what happened after that..." She whispered, her face still pale. "I don't feel so hot, though..."

"Would you go tell it to someone who cares?!" Eve spun around to face Stephen. "I don't need you over my shoulder constantly telling me whatever I'm doing is wrong. If this girl dies, you're holding me responsible. The baby dies. I'm responsible." She told him. "I don't need this constant shit coming from you, Stephen. Fuck it. Right now, I don't need you at all." Eve moved Violet closer to the bed where she could keep an eye on them both. "Talk to me when you're less of an asshole."

Alvin jumped slightly when Beth suddenly sprang to life. "Babe, lay down. She's fine." He said softly, practically pinning her down as Eve hooked her back up again. "She's right here." He soothed.

"Beth, you need to rest and keep this IV in." Eve told her. "If you don't, there's a high chance you will die, do you understand?" She asked. "Violet is right next to the bed, safe and sound. She just needs her mommy resting so you're well enough to nurse or feed her a bottle or whatever you've decided to do." Eve said softly, looking to Alvin and then back to Beth.

Stephen rolled his eyes as he watched them. He walked over to see the child, then let out a soft sigh. She was so beautiful... He couldn't help it when a smile slowly made its way onto his face. She looked so much like her mother, and father... It was mind blowing. She looked like him. In retrospect, the baby was his. He knew it, and Beth knew it. That was it. He'd told Beth over and over again to keep it a secret, because at the time she was only 16 and they'd both stumbled into a moment of weakness. That was why he wanted to get rid of it so badly early on. He didn't want anyone to know of the scandals.

Beth watched Alvin closely once he pinned her down. It helped her to calm down once she was able to see Violet again. Though, she was still a little panicked over everything else. "Why do you say that?" She asked softly, her voice becoming weak. "Do you really think I'm going to die?" She looked to Alvin just as her expression changed into one of pure fear. "Please don't let me die. I don't want to turn... I just got to a good point in my life. You can't take it away now." She whispered.

The little baby girl was almost sound asleep, until Stephen ran his finger across her precious little cheek. She woke up, screaming bloody murder. He picked her up, and when he did, Beth began to panic again. "Please, stop. She-she's scared, Stephen..." She whispered, reaching out to the child with all the strength she had left, but he just moved it away. "Go ahead, tell them all. Tell them about our little scandal."

(Aw *tear* I enjoyed Eve and Stephen, well, for as long as they lasted xD)

Eve secured the IV into Beth's arm before watching the two, her hand at her side, gripping the gun in her holster. She figured Stephen was unpredictable at this point, but she was unsure whether or not to draw her gun. "Because maybe knowing that, you'll focus more on getting better." Eve said softly, Alvin standing to attention.

"Put the baby down." Despite being such a caring man, Alvin's voice screamed authority. Eve watched carefully from the sidelines, piecing everything together bit by bit before it hit her. She didn't expect that. Not one bit.

"You lying, filthy, bastard." Eve said, drawing her gun on him for the first time. Her green eyes full of unimaginable hurt and anger, with the depth of a thousand oceans piled onto each other.

"Put the gun down, Eve." Alvin tried to keep a level head, holding out his hands to try and calm her. "We don't need any bloodshed." He soothed, though Eve locked her jaw.

"Fucking have her." Eve snarled, leaving the room and the house all together. Finding Daryl outside smoking, she produced a cigarette from the packet in her back pocket. "Do you have a light?" She asked, after returning her gun to its place on the way down the stairs.

That doesn't mean they're over. XD ... Right?! Cause that's not at all what I thought was going to happen. XD I expect him to have to regin her trust and all, but it's not like he ever loved Beth or anything (and it was before he and Eve were even together) ! XD)

Stephen say the child down, and rushed after her. He, well, hadn't exacely meant for the whole thing to end like that. Though once he saw her with Daryl, his body tensed up and he forced himself to walk away and back to his own room where he slammed the door as loudly as he could. He was just as pissed off as she was.

Daryl, on the other hand, had basically been in tears he whole time. He felt like his whole world had just came tumbling down and there was nothing else he could do to stop it. Beth wouldn't go back to him now, would she? he was in love with her, truly madly and deeply in love. Too bad he wasn't loved back. "Yeah," he whispered, glancing up when Eve sat down beside him. He pulled a lighter from his pocket, and tossed it to her. "What a shitty, fucking night..."

Beth just sat there, bawling her eyes out for multiple reasons. All she wanted was everyone to get along... But they wouldn't, would they?! Not with her around. This time when she got up, she leaned down and kissed her child then turned to Alvin. "I love you..." She whispered, moving to pick up one of the guns that was left on the ground, then held it to her forehead. "This is all my fault, why everyone's so upset... I'm so sorry."

How else could that have gone? Lol xD You remember when they were still at the prison? XD Eve HATED Beth's guts. XD Too many a times she could have shot her dead lol xD)

Eve wiped her cheeks, lighting her cigarette with a shaking hand as she nodded, handing him his lighter back. "Tell me about it." She sighed, rubbing her forehead softly. "I'm sorry this happened to you." Eve told him, and actually meant it. Sometimes people failed to see he actually was a good guy. As good as they came in times like these. Resting her head on his shoulder, she took a drag from her cigarette, allowing her stress to float away with the fumes. "Good people don't get to be happy." She murmured.

(Why do I picture Alvin as a much younger Dale? XD)
Alvin watched her with confusion, before the wind was pretty much knocked out of him. "No, Beth, please don't." He begged, literally falling to his knees in front of her, his hands clasped together as tears erupted from his eyes, he eventually reaching out for her to try and keeping her with him. "You can't do this to us. To me, or to Violet." Alvin sobbed. "She needs her momma more than anyone these first few months."

(That's true lol, but what happened still happened wayy before Stephen even brought Eve back to the camp! XD)

Daryl shook his head. "I'm not a good person." He cleared up right away. "Don't pretend you are either. There are no good people left. We're all killers, and you damn well know it." He said, staring off blankly into the sky. "Before I met Beth, everything was so horrible. I thought that my life would be nothing but fighting off walkers, and defending the people at the camp. But when we got close, my whole world changed and so did my prospective on everything. She taught me that there is a little good left in everyone... But, just because they do good things, doesn't mean they're good people. I guess you could say, she was the long awaited light at the end of my tunnel, motivating me to keep trying... Now it's gone out and everything is dark again..."

Beth shook her head. "I won't keep ruining things for everyone. You, I know, will take care of violet like shes your own. I trust, and love you to death... That's why I'm doing this. I'm going to make everything around here a lot easier..." Once she looked down at him, she aimed the gun to the side of her head, and pulled the trigger. It knocked her flat on the ground, but lucky (or unlucky?) enough for them, it had just grazed her skin instead of killing her.

Hehe, Eve doesn't know that xD)

Eve listened quietly to him, her eyes trained to her burning cigarette. "Better than most." She said quietly, flicking away the ask that had built up at the end, before taking anoth drag from it. "You have to give yourself some credit. You're probably the strongest person in this group right now. We're all falling apart one way or another." She sighed.

"I want you there when she's growning up. When she's walking." Alvin cried, reaching out for her just as the snot went off. Assessing the damage done and quicklh realising if wasn't a fatal wound, he both calmed Violet in one arm and cradled Beth in the other.

(She should! She hasn't been there 8 or whatever months! XD)

Daryl raised a brow at her statement. Strong? Is that whay she really thought all of this was about? No. Being strong was only the half of it. "We're all strong. We've all came so far in this fucking hellhole. Though, that's not what things are about anymore." He said, throwing his cigarette down. "You make it out like you're the only one here who's ever lost something they loved. Like, you're the only one of us hurting — well, here's as news flash for you, Eve: in this day and age, if you're still breathing, then you're a bad person and you've lost everything you've ever had. Your family's dead. Though, lucky enough for you, you got to find someone who loved you for s while. That's more than a lot of us can say... Things like that are precious. You can't just throw them away at a tip of the hat."

Beth sighed, pushing away from him with all of the strength she had left. Of course this would happen... Her second time trying to commit suiside and each freaking time she somehow cheated death. This was starting to become bull shit.

Haha xD))

Eve watched him, listening quietly to what he had to say. "I don't mean to." She said quietly, watching her cigarette burn. Listening to him quietly, she nodded softly. "I know, but there seems to always be something happening within the group that either aggitates me or him and it tears us apart. The foundations become weaker every time they're rebuilt." Eve sighed, though knew he didn't give a shit. The only person anyone seemed to care about was Beth. "I'm sorry." She sighed, taking the last puff of her cigarette before flicking it into the dirt and walking inside.

"Please," Alvin said softly, trying to keep her close. "I want to keep you safe. I need you alive with me. We've got everything we wanted." He told her, big brown eyes watching her. "I want us to be as happy as we can, the walkers aside." He told her. "I just need you to have some faith."

Daryl looked back to the burning cigarette on the goind. He was sure she didn't mean to sound like that, but it was just how things sounded to him personally. Hell, how should he even know? It was all nothing more than a stupid game of love now. He hated it, too.

Beth shook her head. "What do we have? Nothing. I have a baby... Who, as of now, has already caused way too many problems... " She looked down, covering her face with her hands. "I don't want to be here anymore. We need to leave... Me and you, together. Okay? Like we talked about... Only, well, with Violet..." She whispered.

Eve eventually walked into the livingroom to sit on the couch. That would be her friend for the next couple of days. She cleared some of the cushions, leaving one for her head before laying down. Eve had thought too many a times to leave and take her chances on the road, though despite being many things, she wasn't stupid. Eve couldn't survive long on her own, which was why she stayed in a group.

Alvin looked down quietly, watching her baby. "I thought we had each other." He said quietly, stroking the baby's small hand with his thumb. "I don't have to go anywhere, Beth, and neither do you. We are safe here. Violet is safe here. As soon as we step foot out of that door, we are no longer safe. We become bait." Alvin told her.

Sorry! My mom decided to take me and my dad to eat out for lunch. XD)

Stephen was beating himself up over the whole thing. He should have just walked away. He should have just pretended like the child never happened... That in his one moment of weakness he'd not done anything to that bitch (Beth.). Maybe if he could have kept it in his pants there wouldn't have been any problems... He was tied of her always causing problems with everyone he cared about. He slowly forced himself off of his bed, and made his way down the stairs to find Eve. Maybe they could talk it out... Once he saw her, he sat down across from her. "I'm sorry..." He whispered. "It's my fault.  It is, but I don't want her. I want you..." He looked down. "When it happened, I had been so terribly drunk, I didn't know my own name, Eve -- not to mention, that happened months before I ever met you.."

Beth rubbed the back of her head, before she laid back down on the floor. "We do have each other... We have everything we could ever need... But not here. Not in this house..." She whispered, sitting up once more to look him in the face. "I can't keep screwing everything up for everyone else... I want you to go with me and Violet, but I can't make you. You're right... Though, it won't be of any deterant rather you go or not."

Aw, that's nice of her! )

Eve hugged one of the pillows close to her body, closing her eyes tightly. Sleep was really the only way she could escape this harsh reality. Though she was sure it didn't work as well or at least one of the others. Blinking open her eyes, she was genuinely surprised to see Stephen. Sitting up quietly, with the cushion still held to her lithe form, she sat and listened. "I'm finding that hard to believe the way you were treating me earlier." Eve said, she was tired of laying down and taking all the shit that was thrown at her. "It didn't seem that way when you pretty much took her baby from her." She told him, her green eyes trained on him.

"We have everything in this house. A bed. Food, water, formula." Alvin listed, watching her. "You won't keep screwing up, not if you don't put yourself in the position to do so." He explained, his gaze dropping. "I guess I wasn't as important to you as you made out, then." Alvin sighed, disappointed more than anything. He set Violet carefully in her makeshift crib, before he got up. "Maybe you could take Daryl with you." He mumbled, playing awkwardly with his hands before leaving the room. He wasn't doing to give up the first place of safety he had in more than a year.

"Well, the child is still partly mine -- unless she went around sleeping with other men after me." Stephen said simply. "I wasn't taking her, once again. I was just holding her." he added. Stephen crossed his arms, then began to shake his head. "So, when you told me you wanted me to kill myself, it didn't matter, but when I hand you the gun to actually do it, you get all pissy?" He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "You're so hypocritical." He glared at her. He had been doing his best to play nice with her, to try and work this out. Not to say he didn't want it to go back to what it used to be, but they both had problems with each other.

Beth pulled herself back into the bed, taking Voilet into her arms and holding her against her chest as she laid down. She would think back to his words all night long, about all he told her. She knew he was right, this was the safest place They'd had since the prison and thus wouldn't be taken down like that one. However, it didn't stop the arguments and stress that arose between everyone. It made it more miserable because there was only so far they could go...

Eve rolled her eyes. "Its best if you left me alone." She told him, they probably needed space from each other. She laid back on the couch with her back to him, gripping the cushion slightly. Eve had only thought death would be the easy way out, little did she know, her survival instinct was too strong for her to go through with it. She stared at the dark patch of colour that was the back of the couch, locking away every single emotion she felt. Keeping it far from the surface. Feelings were what would eventually kill her, and Eve knew it. She was too compassionate.

Alvin had no where else to go, since Beth and the baby now occupied his room. Instead, he walked around outside in the cool air, taking the time to wind down and keep his head straight. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair, glancing up to the sky. It was so clear. Alvin figured that because there was no more pollution being emitted, the world was beginning to grow back to its usual self. Well, without all the walking corpses.

Stephen nodded. He couldn't argue with her anymore while she was acting like this-- hell, they were both in bad moods right now. Maybe it would be best if they talked to one another later. It would be best, right? I mean, maybe they'd learn to forgive and both forget. It was a hard spot to be in for each of them... He got up, and sighed softly. "Sorry, Eve. Maybe we can actually talk about this later." He said, throwing a blanket over her gently, before he walked out. 

Beth would have much rather been in her room, regardless of how relaxing it was to be in the same bed your lover -- could she still call him that? She sure hoped so. She would hate for her little break down to ruin everything between them. They'd gotten so close... Hell, she'd made a big deal out of nothing and now she felt like absolute shit. She held onto her baby girl, who was still wrapped in her arms, laid against her chest. Deep down, she was praying that Alvin would come back to her...

Eve closed her eyes slightly as the fabric came to rest comfortably on her arm. He could act like a total asshole and then be quite sweet in the space of a minute or two. It confused the hell out of her, but she rolled with it. At the end of the day, she had to. He put up with her moods. Eve eventually found sleep, dreaming of the world before the walkers. Her father, mother, Calvin and her. All living happily back in Georgia.

Alvin sat on the porch, knowing it would be him and Eve patrolling the perimeter for any stray or caught walkers. They decided it was their job and they had gotten quite good at it, easily putting the walkers down when both free and caught. Alvin rubbed his stubbled chin, thinking of his current situation. He felt irrelevant to Beth's plans, like he was only there because she wanted Violet to have a father figure. She did say she would leave with or without him. That said quite a lot.