Being in Joel’s office with Maria beside you, talking about upgrading the fence, extending Jackson was fine, until Benjamin came and sat in Joel’s lap. If Ben asked a question, Joel would answer, either playful or not. He was..good with this kid. The way he made Ben giggle made your heart ache.

That wasn’t it, a couple days ago Joel had went out on a raid to find more supplies, baby formula, diapers, pacifiers, those kinds of things. He had arrived back at Jackson with things listed in hand, handing them to other people who need them. It didn’t help whatever you were feeling.

In this case, you knew instantly you’re getting a case of a fever, a baby fever. It’s not..exactly right having a baby in the apocalypse, right? It might end terribly. But currently, you don’t exactly care.

Walking home with Joel from his office, you occasionally glance at his face, gauging to see if he has any sense of knowledge of what’s in your head. Then again, his expression most of the time is unreadable.

There’s a silence, not exactly awkward or tense, just as you walk home. Joel opens the front door, letting you go in first before he enters after you. Stripping off his jacket, he places it aside, hanging it on the arm of a chair.

He then turns to face you, eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration, trying to read what’s going throughout your head.

“What was that about?” He suddenly asks, referring to your puppy dog gaze when he played with Benjamin, how off you’ve been acting these couple days.