Hi everyone, after many years I'm back! Thank you to everyone who has liked the story. As of right now, Hush Little Mia is going under a MAJOR rewriting (much needed!). So if you're an old reader I highly recommend you give this a reread. It's twice as long as it was before!

Thank you!

"FUCK"

Glenn cursed glaring at all the empty cars ahead of him blocking the road, with another more colorful curse, Glenn slammed his gear stick into reverse, put his right arm behind the passenger headrest, looked behind him, and slammed his foot on the gas pedal making the car shoot backward at an alarming speed. The car screeched as he made a wide arch and slammed on his brakes. Putting the car into gear and for all intent of purposes, putting the pedal to the metal, the car shot forward. Swerving around abandoned cars, and the occasional living person, and more often than not, clipping those undead freaks with the side or even front of his car.

Every part of Glenn was in a Fight or Flight mode, his heart, he was sure, was beating at a hundred and ten beats per minute. His hands felt shaky with adrenaline and he gripped the steering wheel tighter hoping that would help steady them. As he took a corner sharply, Glenn cursed and slammed on his brakes, the tires smoked as they came to a screeching halt.

The young couple in front of his car stared at him with wide fearful eyes, there was a brief pause before all three heard the moans and snapping of the living dead. The couple in front of him snapped their heads around and stared in pure horror as, at the very least, six walkers started moving towards them. The young male grabbed his female companion and they inched backwards towards Glenn's car.

In that terrifying moment, Glenn had a choice in front of him, help them or run, fight or flight, live or die.

He couldn't die, not with that beautiful gray-eyed baby girl waiting for him at home, waiting for her daddy, completely helpless and utterly unprotected.

But could he leave this couple to their fate?

Glenn squeezed his eyes closed, his hand on his gear stick, it shaking ever so lightly. He made his choice, throwing the car into reverse, his foot on the gas, tires squealing, one last glance at the couple showed horrified faces as he left them to their fate. As he put his car into drive again a pang of guilt weighed on his heart and he sent whatever God there was – if there even was one at this point – a brief pray for the couple.

Thankfully Glenn arrived at his apartment street not ten minutes later, the road was much quieter and little more run down then the apartments you'd find two blocks away. Stopping the car in front of the main entrance, throwing the car into park and jumping out running for the front door. He pressed the lock button on his keys making the lights on his car flash once and scan of the apartment keycard allowed him entrance into the building.

Glenn ran to the elevator and smashed his finger against the button, and looked up at the little lights on top furrowing his brows he pressed the button again. They blinked once at him before dying out. Cursing the lazy ass building manager for never fixing the elevator properly, he took off for the steps taking them two at a time – thanking every god there was he only lived two floors up – fairly quickly he arrived on the second floor.

Walking quickly down the hallway, apartment keys in hand, he passed his neighbors doors, 204, 205, 206, 207, until he got to his door the numbers 208 shining brightly. Sticking his key into the door, Glenn stepped in and let the door shut behind him. Taking a second, he closed his eyes, breathed in deeply and let it all out in one big whoosh. Walking from the little hallway into the living room, Glenn's eyes widened as he saw the room utterly void of all life. Nothing but the singing of Ariel from The Little Mermaid echoed throughout the room.

Complete and utter fear shot through him.

She couldn't have left, could she??

Glenn, for the most part, wasn't prone to panic attacks but just the thought that they could be out there...that his little girl wasn't within both eyesight and hearing left Glenn in a state of panic. The thought made him more than a little sick, knowing what was out there.

Silently working himself up into a frenzy and on the brink of passing out, and a heavy part of him hoping he called out "Claire? Claire!" A few moments passed, each one making him sicker and sicker and then he heard a reply, "Just a minute!" Slumping into the living room wall, his heart still racing and his stomach queasy he felt a tremendous amount of relief.

A few seconds later a pretty blonde walked out from one of the bedrooms, she looked at his slumped, rumpled form in surprised, "Glenn? I thought you left for work? Did you get off early?" She asked brows furrowed in confusion.

Glenn shook his head and bit his lip, his eyes darting from the empty playpen, too the empty arms of the blonde, "Where's Maria?" he asked looking in the direction of the bedroom she'd just come out of.

The blonde blinked at him "Huh? I just put her down for a nap." She shook the baby monitor that was in her hand at him.

Giving her a sharp nod and trusting his best friend that his daughter was safe he walked into his bedroom, Claire following him closely behind. Moving to his closet first and digging behind some of the stuff on the floor he managed to rustle out two large duffle bags that he only really used when he went and visits his parents. Tossing them onto his bed and making his way to his chest of standing drawers, Glenn started pulling out random articles of clothing and underwear and throwing them onto his bed with an air of franticness.

Behind him, Claire looked on worriedly "Glenn? Damn it, Glenn! What the hell is wrong with you?" Ignoring her Glenn turned and started to shove them into one of the duffle bags.

Grabbing his arm and jerking him around to look at her, taking in his wider then normal eyes that held a touch of pure panic she asked him with no small amount of irritation and fear "Jesus Christ Glenn, tell me what the hell is going on! Why are you packing? And why do you look like death warmed over?!"

Glenn frowned biting the edge of his lip, he opened his mouth then closed it shaking his head "I-I" His voice cracked, he cleared it, and swallowed hard his adam's apple bobbing with the motion, "I-I don't know, one second everything was fine, I was on a run delivering some pizza and then suddenly a bunch of these cars just stopped, so I got out thinking maybe someone broke down you know?" Claire hummed encouragingly as he stopped "S-Some other people in front of me must have had the same idea 'cause they got out too. I only walked a few cars down and- and they were a few ahead of me when-" He squeezed his eyes shut, his hand came up to her own as she held his arm tightly and gave her hand a squeeze. "Then there was screaming and shouting, someone was yelling for us to run and there was a woman who just stood there screaming. So I jumped up on top of this car to see what was going on and this guy had a gun pulled on this other dude, he looked a little sick and then suddenly it just went off with these loud POP, POP, POP."

He turned fully towards her, his hand squeezing her own just a little tighter "He shot him, Claire, five fucking times. One after the other, and this sick dude, he just kept on walking like he wasn't even shot! And then all of a sudden he was on top of the other guy, there was some fighting then the guy on the ground was screaming and this other dude yanked himself away with a chunk of the other guy's neck!"

Claire's hand came up to her mouth "Oh god," she whispered a look of horror and disgust on her face.

"He just kept attacking the guy on the ground, ripping into him, and then this kid, he was like only seventeen maybe, tried to yank the guy off the other one. But the dude just turned around a ripped a chuck right out of his arm. People started screaming and I-I couldn't, Claire," Glenn looked at her guilty "I couldn't stay, all I could think about was all those news channels and then Mia here at home with you...and I just jumped off the car and ran to my own, got in and gunned it here."

Glenn wanted to tell her about the couple he left behind, all alone with six dead freaks. But he couldn't bring himself to utter the words, especially not with her looking as horrified as she did now. She'd think him a heartless bastard, he sure as hell did.

Claire took a few deep breaths then suddenly hugged him, Glenn wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her neck breathing in the scent of her coconut shampoo as she started talking "It's not your fault Glenn, and don't think for a second that you could've helped or changed anything. You've got a little girl to think about and protect, she always comes first. No matter what. Do you hear me? You did what you had to in order to get back to your baby, no one can fault you for that."

Glenn could feel the heaviness behind his eyes, that tingling sensation you always get as your eyes fill with tears. Pulling back from his hug, clearing his throat and blinking a few times Glenn gave a small smile.

"Thanks." He muttered a bit embarrassed that his voice wavering. He turned around and continued to shove the last bit of clothing into his bag. "We have to leave, Claire. We could maybe-" he was cut off by Claire.

"Leave? What the hell Glenn and go where? I think we should just stay here, and wait for some instructions. I mean how long could this last for? It's probably some new drug on the market making everyone crazy!" She took a few steps away from him, throwing the baby monitor on the bed, hand running through her hair.

Glenn blinked somewhat surprised, "Seriously?" He asked a bit sarcastically, "After everything I just told you, you still want to stay here? A drug, Claire!? This ain't no super hyped fuck-with-your-mind drug!"

Shaking her head "No. No way! I can't just leave! Mike is still at work!" She paused "Oh my god, Mike! I have to find Mike!" she cried running out of the room.

Glenn followed after her, "Claire are you insane? Haven't you heard anything I've just said? It's too dangerous out there!"

Claire looked to him "I'm sorry Glenn, I can't just leave him. I love him."

She picked up her purse and phone before walking to the door but before she could open it Glenn grabbed her arm, "Claire, please, you're my best friend, you've helped me through some really tough times lately and I'm asking you, no, I'm begging you not to go." He pleaded with her terrified for her safety, "Mike can take care of himself, you know that."

She shook her head a sad smile on her face "I'm sorry Glenn." She gently pulled her arm away from him before slipping on her shoes and opening the front door. She gave him one last brief smile, "I'll be fine," she told him gently before closing the door behind her.

Sighing in frustration Glenn turned and walked back to his bedroom and continued packing, he went into the bathroom first and opened up the medicine cabinet, there was a small first aid kit, which he grabbed, along with a bottle of Tylenol, and anything else that looked useful, before returning to his room and toss them into his bag.

He went to his bedside table and grabbed two photos that were sitting on top, one was a baby picture that had been taken just a week before, with the cursive writing of 'Little Star' underneath and the other was of him and a stunning girl with deep chocolate hair and a set of sparkling blue eyes. Glenn always compared them to twinkling stars and often called her his own personal 'Fallen Star' it always embarrassed her but he knew she secretly loved it. Lizzy was honestly the most beautiful person he had met, both inside and out, and he was more than proud to call her the mother of his little girl. With a sad smile, and missing her more than life herself, he put both pictures into the black duffle, beneath some clothing, pausing briefly in thought, Glenn decided to grab the baby monitor, he turned it off and stuck it in his bag before zipping it up.

Pausing once more, he looked around the room, it wasn't anything special but it was home, a home he made with her, it was their home, and it killed him just a little bit to know he was leaving it behind. With another sad smile, he grabbed the empty duffle and walked out.

He walked into the room next to his, it was a little smaller than his own, it was painted a light purple with a few painted on flowers and little animals on the walls.

Glenn smirked at the memory of his then-pregnant girlfriend walking in just as he finished a smiley tiger and its cub sitting next to a few poorly painted flowers. She had looked around at the few other animals he had –tried to– paint(ed) on the walls, the rather large and round but short elephant, the stiff-necked stubby giraffe, there was even a rather crude drawing of what looked like, or was supposed to be Timon and Pumbaa from Lion King. He had looked at her sheepishly, and just kinda shrugged his paint-splattered shoulders. She'd started giggling before walking over kissing him firmly on the lips and told him it was almost perfect. She'd grabbed his paintbrush and started to painted a few more cubs and told him "I think mama here needs a few more baby cubs don't you think? Perhaps a daddy too." She looked at him pointedly with a grin. His lips had met her own once more, a little more passionately than their previous kiss and wholeheartedly agreed.

With a bitter sad grin on his face as he looked at the family of five tigers painted in a field of flowers, Glenn dropped his bag on the floor by the nursery door. He kept the empty duffle in his hand and made his way to the crib that was in the corner of the room and peeked in on his sleeping daughter. Using his thumb to gently brush her cheek before giving her Princess Ariel pacifier a gentle tap, content when she gave a little shuffle and a little suck on her pacifier he removed his hand and moved onto her dresser. He wasn't sure what he should take, would they ever be coming back? Would he be able to get her any sort of clothing at all?

Worried about what the unknown future could hold, Glenn started packing as many pieces of clothing as he could, as well as her bigger winter clothing. Making sure he packed enough baby vests and socks and even a few pair of shoes and the cutest little pair of purple ugg boots Claire had bought Mia.

Once her clothes were all packed, he pulled out the large box of one-hundred and ninety-eight diapers, his mother had bought the one month supply of diapers off Amazon, telling him that he would be thankful for all of them in the long run. He sent his mother a silent thank you for her foresight, although he was sure she hadn't foreseen something like this, more like saving him midnight diaper runs to the closest open market. Along with the box of diapers his mother had bought a box of twelve wipes, she had set the box on top of the diaper box, slapped her hand down on top and told him they were sensitive, hypoallergenic, unscented, six-hundred and seventy-two count twelve-pack of wipes. Only the best for her grandbaby. He had stared at his mother completely confused and only managed a dumb "What?" His mom had just sighed, and he'd felt a bit of a fool before Liz grabbed his hand giggling and thank his mother for her generous gift.

Glenn grabbed both boxes, one on top of the other, and carried them out to the hallway by the front door before making his way back into the nursery. Next, he grabbed the talcum free baby powder, a couple of Disney princess pacifiers and tossed them into Mia's duffle bag.

What else did a baby need?

He was sure he was forgetting something, so he ran through his mental list:

Diapers? Check.

Wipes? Check.

Clothes? Check.

Extra vests? Check.

Warm clothing? Check.

Shoes, socks, pacifiers, baby powder...Check.

Ah! Bibs!

Eyes lighting up, Glenn opened a drawer on the baby changing table and grabbed a couple of the washable multicolored bibs and threw them into the bag. And while staring at the changing table he remembered bath time and the baby shampoo and lotion. Rushing into the bathroom, Glenn grabbed some special two-in-one baby shampoo he was guaranteed was gentle on babies skin and the unscented baby lotion next to it. He then opened the cupboard beneath the sink and grabbed the extra two bottles of shampoo and lotion he'd bought a few days ago. Glenn returned to the nursery, another quick peek at his baby girl noting that she still slept soundly thankfully, he placed the bottles into the duffle along with an extra baby blanket that laid draped over the hardly used rocking chair.

Running through his mental list once more before nodding to himself, satisfied, he zipped up the duffle bag and placed it next to his own by the nursery door.

Now, he thought, time for the next bit.

With that, he grabbed the baby travel bag, set it up on the changing table and stared at for a moment before getting to work. Sticking in the six pairs of diapers he had laying in the corner of the table along with the opened pack of wipes, which he stuck in its designated spot at the front of the bag, and few shirts, vests, pants, and a pair of socks he had put aside earlier to stick into the bag.

Honestly, the bag was rather amazing in his opinion, not only did it come with its own attached baby mat with a designated wipes pocket and powder pocket, but it had fourteen pouches. Five on the outside, nine within. Out of those nine, three were insulated for baby bottles and a special pouch just for pacifiers. The salesgirl had boasted how it had three different ways of carrying it, a handbag, a backpack, and you could even crossbody it for the dads, she said looking at Glenn. He hadn't cared how you carried it just how much you could fit into it, that and the price. Which only turned out to be thirty bucks, and it was purple with a couple of different Disney Princesses on it, which Liz had insisted on instead of the boring old gray one.

After making sure that everything was in it, Glenn made his way into the kitchen – making sure to grab the baby bag, along with one of the duffle bags by the door, which he left next to the diaper box in the hallway – to fill up some bottles and figure out how to pack up some of the canned food. Setting the bag on the counter, he filled up the kettle to the max line and set it to boil, grabbing four baby bottles out of the dish rack he set them on the counter next to the tin of baby formula, popping the lid open, he grabbed the measuring spoon inside, leveled out one and half scoops into each bottle. As he was doing this the water in the kettle came to a boil and switched off.

Pouring the water into the bottles and making sure to place the nipple into the cap and screwing them on tightly, giving them a shake to mix the formula up and then stuck three of them into the insulated pockets within the diaper bag. The fourth bottle he stuck into a pocket on the outside for Maria later.

A brief glance at his watch told him it had taken him nearly forty minutes to get ready and that he needed to hurry up and leave. He was a little worried that the street wouldn't be as empty as it had been when he arrived home and seeing on how his apartment overlooked the back of the building meant he couldn't take a peek outside. He gave himself twenty more minutes before he felt it was crucial to leave. He gave his kitchen cupboards a glance, knowing he needed to pack food, water, and formula before he could leave.

He thought for a moment on what he could put the food in before remember he had an older dark blue duffle somewhere in his closet. Hurrying into his room aware of the time ticking down, he started digging around for it, moving things to the side uncaring if he was making a mess, finally a minute or two later, he found the bag underneath a box. Yanking the bag out and giving it a once over told him it was a nice, surprisingly large bag. Making his way back into the kitchen Glenn threw open his cupboards and grabbed anything that was nonperishable.

Two boxes of crackers, three boxes of granola bars – of which he opened and dumped into the bag – Five, six-packs of applesauce – Liz had loved her applesauce – a couple bags of beef jerky, and there were at least twenty or so different cans of food, soups, fruit, spaghetti-o's, beans, and even a few cups of ramen. Making sure he grabbed the two packs of six juice boxes which he spilt opened and dumped them into the bag along with a twelve case of mini water bottles – which again he split open and dumped into the bag – there were even a couple of unopened packs of chocolate that he threw in and the last two bags of chips, along with a bag of nuts.

It was honestly a good haul of food, and he was really thankful he had gone shopping two days ago and didn't put it off like he wanted too until tomorrow.

Glenn made sure to grab the opened tin and the last two unopened tins of baby formula – another well placed thanks to his mom for suggesting to buy extra as she has said "Glenn, sweetheart, taking care of a baby is hard, let alone doing it by yourself. You'll thank me later, with a newborn it can be hard to go out and shop." – and put them into the bag, he had to move things around in the bag but he managed. Biting his lip in thought, Glenn grabbed two unused bottles with nips and caps and tossed them in as well without a second thought.

Better to be prepared than caught unaware.

He managed to zip the bag up with just a little bit of hassle and carried it along with the baby bag into the living room. A quick glance at his watch told him he had a little less than ten minutes left, so he swapped the bags for a soft cream and purple car seat with little toys that dangled off the handle

Glenn made his way back into his daughter's room setting the car seat on the floor by the changing table and made his way to her crib, picking her up and making his way to the table of where he laid her down. Making sure she didn't need a diaper change by unzipping her princess onesie and taking a quick peek into her diaper assured him she didn't. Making sure her onesie was zipped up he worked his way into putting her pink coat on with Princess Rapunzel on the front without waking her up, once successful he added the matching hat on her head and worked the match mittens onto her little hands.

Once he was sure she was bundled up warmly, Glenn picked her up, grabbed her car seat and set it on the changing table. Somehow, and really, don't ask him how, he managed to get the handles on the seat pushed back, taking a minute to gently lay her in properly, he made his way back to the crib, grabbed the purple blanket that had Our little star, Mia stitched in gold on the corner and the little brown bear with a purple bowtie named Charlie. A gift Liz had gotten Mia.

He put the bear beside his daughter and the proceeded to fold the blanket in half and tuck it around her. Once he was sure it was secure, he lifted the handles on the car seat, picked her up and went to grabbed the last duffle bag on his way out before freezing.

Honestly, how could he have missed it? With the number of times, he had been to the changing table. There sitting innocently on the edge was the other half of the baby monitor. Making his way back to the table, he grabbed the damn thing, switched it off and shuffled over to the duffle bag on the floor. Setting his daughter down he unzipped the bag, threw it in and zipped it back up. Grabbing Mia once more, and last sad glance over the room, Glenn picked up the duffle and made his way out to the hallway.

Dropping the duffle next to the others, sighing Glenn took a minute to make sure he had everything, nodding his head a few times in confirmation that he did indeed have everything; he grabbed his keys off the little table by the door.

He went to grab the duffle bags before freezing and realizing an error in his ways.

Seriously.

What the fuck was he going to do?

How in the hell was he supposed to get three large duffle bags, a baby bag, two boxes – granted they weren't huge boxes but still! – and a car seat down two flights of steps – fucking lazy cheap ass building manager! – not to mention he had no damn clue what things were like outside. Fuck, where was his goddamn baseball bat??

He thought for a moment, different scenarios running through his head:

He could leave Mia in the house with a locked door and somehow manage to take the three duffle bags down. Shit, no, he couldn't do that, what about the boxes? Then he'd have to make a second trip down without her and to be very bloody honest, he hated the idea of leaving her inside alone, what if something happened and he couldn't get back in? He would rather have no food or clothing than not to have her with him.

No matter how he looked at it, his ass was making at least two trips, the idea was to be smart about it. Deciding that he would take Mia up and down the steps with him, he then turned his decision-making skills on what to take down first. Setting the car seat on the floor Glenn grabbed the baby bag he moved the straps around and clipped them in the correct spots before swinging the bag on his back like a backpack. He then made the straps on the food duffle longer and put the bag across his shoulder. It was heavy but he'd managed. He grabbed the box of wipes, thanking the gods it was a long thin box and shoved it under his armpit and then in an act of nothing short of a miracle he managed to pick up another duffle bag.

It was all fucking heavy, and he felt like his shoulders and hand was going to fall off but he fucking plowed through. Picking up Mia's car seat Glenn shuffled to the front door, and with some seriously amazing Kung Fu foot and leg work got the front door open. Shuffling out and hearing the door click behind him Glenn started the shuffle down the damn hall and down those steps of hell. Having to stop every couple of steps to shuffle the box back under his arm was driving him nuts.

Finally, he made it to the ground floor and to the entrance door a peek outside a saw a couple of people running down the street but other than that there were no dead freaks out there. Pushing open the door, he made his way to his car as quickly as he could and once he got to the trunk let the duffle and box of wipes drop to the ground. Setting Mia down gently by his feet he pulled his keys out of his pocket and pushed the unlock trunk button.

Glenn opened up the trunk, took off the food bag and put it in, leaning down he grabbed the box of wipes and the duffle and tossed the box into the far back of the trunk before setting the duffle bag in. Quickly shutting the trunk as he heard people start to yell as they made their way down the street. He locked the car back up, picked Mia up and rushed towards the front door, sliding that damn keycard to gain access in. He hurried up the steps as fast as he could without jostling his baby too much and sped walk down the hall. Opening his apartment door, he propped the car seat against the door to hold it open. Putting the last duffle across his shoulder again and grabbing the diaper box by the pre-cutout handle, grabbed Mia and let the door shut behind him.

He paused ever so briefly, and with a quick thought, locked his apartment door, and then rushed down the hall and down the steps. He wasn't sure why, but something in him was telling him to hurry, just hurry the fuck up and get the hell out of here. Listening to his gut, Glenn made it down the last of the steps out into the lobby and pushed open the entrance door without a second thought. His eyes widened and he cursed as some random man running down the street screamed: "RUN FOR YOUR GODDAMN LIVES!"

All the noise and movement of the car seat had unfortunately woken Mia up, she immediately started crying. Heart beating fast, Glenn rushed down the last couple of steps, set a screaming Mia down by his feet, he unlocked his car, opened the trunk and threw the last duffle and box in. Slamming it shut and picking up his baby, Glenn knew he had absolutely no time to buckle Mia in. Making a split second decision, he rushed for the passenger door, opened it and set the car seat in, making sure Mia faced the back of the seat instead of the windscreen. Unable to do anything about his sobbing daughter, he slammed the passenger door shut.

Glenn froze as the awful noise of groaning and pained screams met his ears. A look down the street showed a few of those freaks each one attacking some unlucky bastard.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

Was the only thing Glenn could mutter as he ran around his car, ripped the fucking baby bag from off his back, opened his car door, the still crying sound of Mia reached his ears and the ears of a near by freak who started making its way towards him. Terrified Glenn threw himself into the car and slammed his door shut, tossing the damn bag into the back as fast he could. But before he could get the keys into the ignition a loud slam on his window made him jump. Looking up at the snarling face of a freak against his window made him cry out in utter fear with a loud "FUCKING HELL!" in response to his loud yell and the banging on the window Mia's cries got louder and louder. The snarling of the freak drew the attention of two others.

Noticing this Glenn cursed repeatedly and with a shaky hand got the key into the ignition. Starting the car, unfortunately, drew the attention of the last few freaks, they started banging on the trunk and back window. One even slamming its undead fists against the passenger window which scared Mia into more of her terrified screams. The sound was utterly heart wrenching to Glenn who could do nothing but throw the car into gear, as his window started to crack under the pressure of all the banging. One hand on the steering wheel and the other hold the car seat, Glenn slammed his foot on the gas and shot forward. The scratching of nails as he left the freaks behind still rang in his ears as he sped down the road and around the corner.

Time to get the hell out of dodge, he thought, heart racing and his baby still screaming.