Fic: Infected Blood

[jade_dragoness]

Title: Infected Blood
Author: J.D. aka jade_dragoness
Summary: The infection which creates Walkers is inside of every survivor. It’s in the blood and impossible to escape.
Fandom: Walking Dead (TV)
Pairing: Rick Grimes/Lori Grimes; established
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Post-season 2
Warnings: body horror, disturbing imagery, unexpected loss of pregnancy
Word Count: 1,262
Disclaimer: Never ever will be mine. *sadness*
A/N: I wasn't even planning on writing fic for this show. It's one of those shows I enjoy watching only. But after watching season 2, this idea wouldn’t stop haunting me and haunting me until I figured the only way to get rid of it was to write it out. Please be aware of the fact that I have no in depth medical knowledge beyond what the internets can give me. Nor have I seen any episode of season 3 and would like to remain unspoiled.
Feedback is hugely welcomed.
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AO3 Link
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Lori walked unsteadily through the hall of the prison, pressing her right palm to the cool concrete. Nausea churned in her gut and cold sweat beaded on her forehead. She ran the last five feet, making it to bathroom and threw up her breakfast into the bowl of the commode. She dry heaved two more times before her stomach settled into an uneasy weakness. She spat to clear her mouth of bile before risked slowly straightening.

She pressed her hand to the slight curve of her belly feeling the slight fluttering. “Okay, kiddo. So no more pickles. I got it,” she said lightly.

A huff of laughter made her turn to door to see Rick leaning against the doorway. “Carl used to love pickles,” he said, smiling at the memory. She’d often sent him out in the night for giant jars of pickles.

“Not this one,” Lori said ruefully.

Rick came closer and held out a plastic bottle of water. She took it and nodded her thanks before she twisted off the top. She cleaned out her mouth and followed Rick back to their room.
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She woke up in the middle of the night, feeling certain that something was wrong. She rolled out of the bed, staggering to her feet in panic. Rick woke up abruptly at the creak of springs.

“Lori, what‘s wrong?” he asked groggily.

“I don‘t know, I--” she said frantically. Then the pain hit. She doubled over, clutching at her stomach. “Oh, god, oh god,” she whimpered.

Rick jumped out of the bed and wrapped his arms around her as her knees buckled. She whimpered as another wave of agony rolled through her. “Something‘s wrong with the baby,” she gasped. Warm wetness trickled between her legs and tears prickled at her eyes. “Oh, god. The baby.”

Rick’s face paled. He shouted for help as he picked her up and carried her out their room. Carl’s face was a pale blur as they ran past him. “Hershel! Hershel! Help!”

The rest of the group came out of their rooms. “What’s going on?” they shouted in a cacophony of sleepy confusion.

Lori eyes clamped tight as she muffled a scream into Rick’s shoulder. Hershel came out of his room, his white hair disheveled from sleep.

“Go to the clinic,” Hershel said, as he kept pace with Rick’s long legs. “Maggie! Beth! I need your help.” Maggie nodded at once and ran ahead of all of them to prepare.

The rest of the group trailed after them.

Lori whimpered in relief as the pain receded. Rick lowered her unto the clinic bed. She clutched at her abdomen, desperately seeking the fluttering of life under her skin only to feel nothing.

“Oh god,” she gasped. She sought out her husband‘s gaze. “I don‘t feel the baby, Rick. I don‘t feel the baby,” she said, in broken, wild desperation.

Rick clutched at her hand looked up at Hershel. “Hershel, please!”

“I need you to lift her shirt,” Hershel ordered as he lifted his stethoscope out of his medical bag.

Rick lifted Lori’s shirt, exposing the curve of her belly. Another cramp hit Lori and she curled up involuntarily. Blood trickled from under her sleeping shorts. She whimpered at the sight of it and reached out desperately for her husband.

“It‘s okay, Lori,” Rick said against her temple as she clutched at him.

“Mom? What’s going on?” Carl asked hesitantly from where he stood at the doorframe of the clinic.

Lori whimpered and turned frantic eyes to Rick‘s face. He squeezed her hand, let go and headed to Carl, blocking their son’s view of her with his body. Andrea, Carol, T-dog and Glenn hovered behind Carl while Daryl stayed several feet away with his entire body tensed. “Son, your mom will be fine. Wait outside, okay?”

Carol pressed her hands to Carl’s thin shoulders. “Come on, Carl,” she said softly. She turned the boy away, shooting Rick a reassuring look. Rick glanced at rest of the group and they reluctantly followed after Carol and Carl. Lori’s pained gasp drew Rick back to her.

Lori tightly clamped her eyes as another wave of pain hit her. She gritted her teeth at the feel of the cool stethoscope settling on her stomach.

“Okay, Lori, I need to you to stay as still as you can,” Hershel said firmly.

Lori nodded and reached out for her husband. Rick grasped her hand again and they stared into each others eyes, exchanging silent looks of fear and worry. Hershel moved the end of the stethoscope around for several long seconds before he pulled back.

“I’m sorry,” he said heavily, his eyes sympathetic. “I can only hear Lori’s heartbeat.”

Beth gasped while Maggie pressed her hands to her mouth. Lori’s expression crumpled and tears welled up in her eyes.

“It‘s okay, Lori,” Rick said at once. “It‘s okay.”

“Oh, god, Rick,” she sobbed. Rick pulled her close but she pushed him away suddenly unable to tolerate the thought of him touching her. Not now. Not at this moment. She curled up tight as another bolt of agony hit her. For several minutes she shuddered in place, tuning out the rest of the world as the cramps tapered off. Hershel had taken Rick aside, taking to him in a low voice. Maggie draped a clean sheet up to her waist as soon as she uncurled.

As Lori lay, too emotionally numbed to think let alone feel she felt a weird twist in her gut. Then she felt a strong, violent jerk. She gasped and sat up, clutching her rounded belly.

“Lori?” Rick asked, stepping forward in worry.

She stared up at him, hope filling her like a light. “The baby‘s moving.”

Beth and Maggie gasped in surprise. The grin which spread across Rick’s face was blinding before it abruptly dimmed as some dark thought flew across his face. Confused, she watched as he turned to Hershel.

Hershel was frowning in thought, putting the earpieces of the stethoscope back in his ears. Lori felt the baby jerk again, a violent stuttering motion. Rick’s expression was blank and hard as he watched Hershel.

Seeing his expression, Lori had a bad, sinking feeling of foreboding. Rick never looked like that, not at good news. That was a bad news face.

“Rick,” she chocked out. “What wrong? Rick?” She looked desperately from Rick, to Maggie’s confused expression to Hershel.

As she watched, Hershel’s face stiffen as he moved the end of the stethoscope around her belly. When he pulled back, his skin had turned ashen.

“Hershel?” Lori asked, looking at him for an answer. Seeing the paleness of his skin, the sickened look in his eyes, it hit her. Like a nightmare of teeth and stinking decay… he hadn’t been wrong when he said that he hadn’t heard the baby’s heartbeat.

The baby had died.

The baby had died inside her.

The baby was dead… and moving inside her.

She didn’t even hear herself scream, just felt the sharp pain in her throat as she scrambled on the bed, trying to get away from her own body. She tore at her abdomen, not hearing the shouts from everyone in the room as they grabbed her and flattened her down. She screamed and twisted, oblivious to their weight until she felt a flaring sting of pain on her leg as Hershel plunged a syringe of sedative into her thigh.

The last thing she felt, as darkness tunneled her vision was the stuttering, forceful motion as the dead thing inside her moved again, trying to get out.

End

a/n: This fic couples my fear of zombies with my fear of being pregnant all in one disturbing, horrifying package. *shudders*