Work Text
Chapter One
After
“What the hell?” Daryl’s voice woke up Michonne in the passenger seat. They were on their way back to the prison after a three day run. She sat up to see the prison in ruins and walkers all over. He stopped at the edge of the field to see a tank sitting there.“Shit,” Michonne gasped. “We need to get in there, Daryl,” she told him.“Know it, Michonne. Walkers all over,” he replied as he drove up the road ignoring everything but the prison. “Gate’s broken.”Michonne didn’t jump when a walker pounded on the window but her eyes got wide when she saw who it was. She rolled down the window and stabbed it in the face before rolling it up again.Daryl looked at her before he hung his head. “Asshole.”“Maybe they got out.”He shrugged. “Maybe. Gotta get in there.”She turned and looked out of the back window. “Set one of those cars on fire?”Daryl turned and looked at the set up. “Don’t have anything.”She slumped against the seat. “What about that cabin? The one with the moonshine?”“Take a day to get there and back.”She crawled over the backseat and started searching. She pulled down the back to get into the trunk and crawled back out again, flare in hand. “Glenn.”Daryl bit his thumbnail trying to figure out how to get out of the car, put the flare in a gas tank and drive away without being bit. There were too many walkers. “Don’t know, Michonne. You can’t cover me by yourself, not with all them walkers.”“In one of the cars?” she suggested.He shrugged again. “Might not work. Could just go out.”“The RV?” she pointed to it.“Better than this car.” He stared and drove over, as close as he could get, to the RV. “Check under the seats. Maybe Bob let some booze drop outta his bag,” Daryl sneered as he searched under his seat and came up with a lighter. He shook it and heard a little fluid left.“Rubbing alcohol. Probably from the school,” she commented quietly as she held up the bottle.Daryl grunted before he shut the car off. Moving by Michonne he crawled into the trunk and lit the lighter and searched everywhere. “Huh. Someone did leave alcohol in here,” he held up a bottle of wine. He shut the lighter off and moved into the backseat with her. “Flare, rubbing alcohol and wine.” He looked at the cars again. “One of ‘em’s got a window open. Could throw the wine and alcohol inside and start a fire.”“Sounds like a plan, Dixon,” she agreed.Daryl drove around to the car with the open window. “Got a cloth?”Michonne held out her hand. “What?” he looked at it.“Knife.”He rolled his eyes and gave it to her. She cut off the bottom of her shirt. Daryl turned away and blushed a little. “You can look now, Dixon,” she said as she held out a strip of blue.“Funny,” he muttered. He took it from her, poured wine over it and tied it to one of his arrows. Then he rolled down his window and tossed the wine and alcohol in the open window. Michonne set the cloth on fire and he shot his arrow before rolling his window back up. He moved the car away a little. When he saw flames he drove back to the RV.“Be ready,” he advised. Michonne gave him a quick glance. When they saw the flames shoot up and attract walker attention they quickly got out of the car, killing walkers. Daryl got in the driver’s seat and turned the engine over. The car on fire blew up as they were driving toward the inner gate.Daryl parked as close as he could to the door leading into the prison. Looking at each other they got out and ran inside. Daryl shut the door and turned to see Michonne had already cut off the heads of two walkers. “Not ours,” she whispered as they headed for cell block A. They both paused when they heard the sound of a baby crying.Michonne closed her eyes and let Daryl go first when he shoved her out of his way. “Ah, hell,” he mumbled before he shot walker Bob outside of a cell. Michonne shook her head and moved by him to see Judith in her carrier, locked inside.“Keys?”“I’ll get ‘em.”He walked away. Michonne stripped walker Bob of his gun and held it out when Daryl came back with the keys. Judith stopped crying the minute Michonne picked her up and rocked her. “Any ideas?” she asked.Daryl shrugged. “Prison’s fucked. Don’t know where anyone is.”“We can’t stay here, Daryl,” she pointed out.“Know it, Michonne,” he sighed.“Woodbury?” she grabbed Judith’s carrier and headed for Beth’s cell. She picked up some formula that was inside on a shelf. Daryl grabbed a bag, took the formula and another bottle before shoving it all inside. He led them to Rick’s cell and took the rest.“The common area,” she reminded him.“Why Woodbury?” Daryl knew Michonne wouldn’t suggest it unless she absolutely had to.“Walls. Solar panels.”“Could try it,” he agreed.“We should clear this place out. We won’t be able to stay here. Take a car. Not the RV. Gas.”Daryl grunted.“Did you want to go off by yourself?” she questioned quietly.Daryl sat at the table in the common area. It wasn’t smart to be by yourself. Michonne did it. He could do it.“If you wanted to, I wouldn’t blame you,” she commented as she hugged li’l ass kicker.“Nah.”Daryl relaxed when he saw her relax. She sat down across from him. “We’ll stay the night here, clean the place out of what we can and go to Woodbury.”“More walkers may leave.”She rolled her eyes. “Not enough.”“Shit. Know that, too.” Daryl got up and paced. “Fuck,” he yelled.Judith started to cry. Michonne crooned to her again and she quieted down.Michonne got out of the car and grabbed the carrier while Daryl opened the gate to Woodbury. They’d stripped the prison of the guns that were inside, food, diapers, a few more changes of clothes for Judith and one each for her and Daryl.When she finally made it inside she almost fell to the ground. Woodbury was burned down.“Shit,” she heard Daryl mutter.Shit was right. She walked down the middle of the town. She’d hated it here. Andrea had liked it. Michonne looked at Daryl on the other side of the street. It had been done a while ago. The wood was cold to the touch.“I don’t think we should go inside, Daryl,” she suggested as she looked around.“Yeah. Not safe. Who the hell would do this?”Michonne could only think of one person. The Governor. Asshole. Anyone else that came here would have kept it like it was. It was safe. Kind of. They needed to find somewhere safe. Especially now they had Judith. She looked at the little girl, all wide eyed, quiet, in her carrier. Michonne gave her a small smile and Judith smiled back, making Michonne more determined to not lose another child.They met at the far side of the town where the buildings weren’t as badly burnt. “Gonna check it out,” Daryl pointed and disappeared. Michonne put Judith on the ground and pulled her katana. They hadn’t seen any walkers inside, but she wasn’t taking the chance. He came out a few minutes later.“Clear. Not bad. Found some blankets and shit. Nice ones,” he held up a fluffy blue blanket. “Only took people, food and guns.” He tilted his head. “Could stay here.”“Not ideal,” she murmured.“Got another idea?”“King County,” she replied.“What?”“King County. Morgan barricaded his place pretty good when Rick, Carl and I went and got those guns.”“Right. Spikes under the welcome mat Rick said.”“It’s where he got the idea to do the spikes outside the prison. They were set up around where he was staying.”Daryl grunted as he sat down on the porch of the house. Michonne put Judith in between them and sat on the other side. “How long to get there?”“A couple of hours,” she shrugged. When Judith started to fuss she made her a bottle, took her out of the carrier and fed her.“We could go. Check it out. Don’t got nowhere else,” Daryl said as he watched.“You can still leave if you want, Daryl,” she offered again.“Fuck you, Michonne. Ain’t leavin’ li’l ass kicker and you alone,” he snapped.“Thank you,” she blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay. She could survive on her own. With Judith. She didn’t want to just survive anymore. She turned to Daryl with a smile. “Thank you.”Daryl shifted uncomfortably on the porch. “Morgan might still be there,” he muttered.“He might. I hope he is. If he’s not? He’s not. We can do this. We can survive. Help Judith survive. I don’t want to just survive anymore, Daryl.”Daryl shrugged. “Had kids here,” he jerked his thumb to the house behind him. “I’ll grab the diapers and a few blankets. Let’s get goin’.”“Let’s get going,” she echoed.After changing Judith’s diaper, while Daryl loaded their car and siphoned some more gas from the few cars that were left, they drove away.Daryl turned from his place in the passenger seat and looked at Judith. “Wanna do the same, Michonne.”“Be back,” Daryl told her as he got out of the car. “You be okay by yourself and li’l ass kicker?”She rolled her eyes. “We’ll be fine. If anything happens I’ll drive to the street Morgan had barricaded and wait for you.” She frowned. “I. Be careful.”Daryl shut the door and looked across the car to the opening in the wall. Daryl didn’t know what it was used for but it was used for something. As he walked he remembered what Michonne had told him from her last visit. Morgan had been trying to kill them with a rifle on top of one of the buildings. The closer he got he could hear the walkers. When he rounded the corner he saw them. Lots of ‘em. On spikes, just like Michonne had described. Not all on spikes. He took his knife out and killed two of them that heard him.Looking around, checking the roofs, he didn’t see anything. Twisting his way past the walkers he saw cages in front of the spikes. Dead rats. Shit. No one was here. He found the building with the welcome mat, lifted it up and whistled. Morgan was one smart guy, he thought, as he looked at the spikes underneath. When he went inside he stopped near the top step and saw the wire. Shit. Smart guy. Stepping over it he knocked softly. Morgan might be a walker. He didn’t hear anything but knocked again. He waited then opened the door.Knife out, he entered the room and came to a stop. The walls were covered with writing. Rick hadn’t been lyin’. Crazy. He shook his head and went through the big open space. Daryl’s shoulders drooped. No one here. Shit.Michonne took Judith out of her carrier and held her as she walked around.“Been gone for a while,” Daryl said from behind her.“The rats?”“Yeah. Dusty. Nothin’ in here.”“I’m surprised. He’d managed to collect quite a lot when we were here last.”Daryl grunted. “Safe. Could stay here.”She turned to face him. “Would you want to?”He shrugged. “Fuckin’ spikes all over the place. Take that wire down so we won’t kill ourselves?”“Food?”“Have to start growin’ our own.”She walked closer and stared at the walls. “This would have to go.”“We could redecorate,” he drawled.She gave a small laugh. “We could.”“Let’s stay here a few days,” he finally spoke. “Tired.”“Won’t really have to have a watch.”He looked at her.“I’m tired, too, Daryl. We need to sleep.”“You and li’l ass kicker can have the bed. Take some blankets and sleep on the floor over there,” he pointed to the big empty room.“I’d feel better if you were closer. Let’s move the bed in there.”“Damn woman, got me movin’ furniture and shit,” he mock grumbled as he moved the army cot into the big room.When he finished setting it up, she gave him Judith. Michonne tried not to laugh at the scared expression on his face. “Relax, Daryl. There’s a baby store down the street. Carl and I got Judith’s crib there. I’m going to check it out, try and find more things for her.”He shifted on his feet. “Don’t know ‘bout this, Michonne.”“You’ll be fine, Uncle Daryl,” she teased softly before leaning in and kissed Judith on the cheek. “She’s eaten and her diaper changed. You’ll have to learn.”Daryl frowned. “Can’t be too hard.”“It’s not. Take care of our girl,” Michonne directed before she left.“Be careful, ‘Chonne,” he called after her.She raised her hand in acknowledgement as she walked down the stairs.Daryl sat down on the bed holding Judith. “Our girl,” he muttered. Judith looked at him wide eyed and smiled. “Quiet baby. Quieter than any other girl I knowed but Michonne, li’l ass kicker.”Daryl looked at the writing on the walls. Morgan cleaned out a lot of the houses around here according to them. He’d still go around and check. He laid on the bed and put Judith on his chest. “Our girl,” he whispered as he ran his hand down her back. “Guess you is, Judith. Me and Michonne. Shit. Never thought I’d be a daddy.”Judith babbled back at him bringing a small smile to his face. “Huh. Hope your dad made it, Judith. Good man. Carl. Your brother. Good kid.” He held her close to him. She made more baby noises. He felt like crying. “You’re the first baby I ever been around. What’cha think, li’l ass kicker? Should we stay? Don’t know where anyone is. Don’t know Sasha and Ty that good. Hope Hershel made it. Had a bad leg. If him, Maggie and Beth made it they might go back to the farm. Hope Glenn went with ‘em.”Michonne smiled as she watched Daryl and Judith asleep on the cot. After clearing out the baby store of the little they had left that Judith would need she came back here. The walkers were manageable from what she’d seen. Herds would be a problem. They’d have to find seeds. She sure as hell didn’t know how to grow food. Rick had been learning from Hershel. She hoped someone had a book or something. Daryl could hunt. Teach her to hunt.She wished she had a camera to take a picture of the two of them. Michonne inhaled and exhaled deeply. She was a mother. Again. Daryl was a father. For the first time. They were Judith’s parents now. Her and Daryl. She was glad Daryl decided to stay with them.She didn’t think anyone made it. They didn’t take time to check the walkers to see if any of their people were and she was sad. They deserved more than to walk. She crept closer and lightly touched Daryl. He jerked and opened his eyes.“Hey,” she whispered.“Hey. Problems?” he whispered back and ran his hand down Judith’s back.She shook her head. “Found some things for her.”He grunted. “We gonna stay?”Michonne took a seat on the floor and put her arms on the side of the cot. “I.” She let out a breath. “We need something with fences or walls.”“Yeah. Too open. Spikes are good. People,” he trailed off. “Might check the farm. If Hershel, Maggie, Beth and Glenn made it they might try there.”She nodded. She’d heard about the farm from Andrea. “Open there, too.”“Yeah, but they might go back. Shit, ‘Chonne, don’t know where to start lookin’.”“We don’t.” She looked into his eyes. “’Chonne’?” she raised an eyebrow.“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “You mind?”“No, Daryl, I don’t mind,” she smiled. “How was your first ‘daddy’ duty?”“Ain’t her daddy,” he grumbled.“Now you are. And I’m her mother. We’re her parents, Daryl,” she stated.Daryl sighed. He’d thought it earlier. “Yeah. I guess.”“You can leave.”He frowned at her. “No, I can’t. I won’t.”He could see her relax again. “Thank you,” she whispered as she touched his arm.Daryl shrugged again. He thought Michonne was smart and pretty. She had a nice body. Damn good with that sword of hers.“I…might have another idea,” she said.“Yeah?”“There’s a private island. Covet Island. Off the coast of Georgia.”“How you know about it?”“I was near there. Once. Before this. It was a rental. People could rent the entire island.” She shrugged. “I saw pictures on the internet.” She shrugged again. “I can’t imagine vacationing when this happened.”Daryl grunted. “Don’t know.”“I don’t. It’s worth a shot. An island.”“Won’t need walls or fences,” he agreed. “What else you know?”“It wasn’t very big, I remember.”Daryl rubbed li’l ass kicker’s back. “Huh.”“We need to find a place, Daryl.”“Know it. Never been near the ocean,” he told her.Michonne looked at the floor. “I don’t like it here.”He huffed out a laugh. “Can’t imagine it’s any better anywhere else, ‘Chonne.”“Probably not. I’m out of ideas.”Daryl sighed and looked down to see Judith was awake and staring at him. “Gotta daughter,” he scoffed. “This mean we’re married?” he teased.“If anyone asks, yes, I think we should say we’re married.”“Don’t plan on bein’ around people.”“I don’t either.” She paused. “The little I heard from the people in Woodbury, some of them were okay. Frightened.”“They shoulda been.”“My point is there are more people like the Governor out there. Or worse than him. There are some people that are like us. If we say we’re married I think we’ll have less problems. If we see any.”
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“Li’l ass kicker?”“A friend’s baby. He died.”Daryl closed his eyes. “We don’t know.”“We don’t know. After seeing the prison, I’d like to think some of them made it, Daryl. I don’t want to drag Judith all over trying to find them. We wouldn’t know where to start.”Judith moved and tried to sit up. Daryl did sit up, put his feet on the floor and Judith in his lap. Michonne moved to sit beside him. “Stay here a few days. See if Morgan left anythin’. Check out the farm. If we can stay there we’ll stay there. Hershel already had some food growin’. Don’t know what it’s like now. Could put somethin’ up.”She looked at him.“Island’s a good idea,” he admitted as Judith waved her arms around.“We’ll go check out the farm. If no one’s there?”“Guess we’re goin’ to the ocean.” Michonne got out of the car and picked Judith up from the car seat. They’d stayed a few days in King County. They didn’t find any guns but they did get to sleep. Daryl took Judith with them when they went through some houses. Morgan had been thorough. She did find some seeds and put them with the rest of their things. Daryl shook his head and muttered something about being a damn farmer. She’d sung Old McDonald at him until he told her to stop.She turned and surveyed the place. It was open. Nice if you could get rid of the walkers. Daryl went up the steps, knocked on the door, waited then let himself in. She followed.“Nice place,” she told him.“Yeah,” he replied. “I’m gonna look around. Don’t think anyone’s here, ‘Chonne.”“I don’t either. This place have a root cellar?”“Don’t know. Never stayed in here much.”“Because Hershel didn’t want you here?” she raised her eyebrows as she put Judith on the sofa.“Yeah. Thought it could be cured. Dumbass.”“He’s a nice man.”“Now. Before fucker wanted us to leave. After Carl got better.”“I know. Andrea told me.”Daryl disappeared up the steps. She could hear him looking around upstairs as she sat next to Judith and ran her eyes over the room. It was comfortable. She looked up when she saw a walker on the porch but ignored it as Judith started to get fussy. She picked her up and found the kitchen. After she made her a bottle she went back into the living room and fed her. The walker was pounding on the door making Judith stare at it.“Walker. Bad, Judith.”Daryl came stomping back down the stairs. “Nothin’ gone. If they been back didn’t take anything.”“Then they weren’t here.”“Probably not.” He frowned when he saw the walker. He opened the door, stabbed it, wiped his knife on the clothes and shut the door again. “Why you askin’ about root cellars?”“They might have canned food.”“Huh,” he grunted. “Never asked.”“Or they have seeds.”“Those mighta been in the barn,” he pointed to the burned structure. She looked up and followed where his finger was pointing.“Shit.”“Yeah. Got some.”“Carrots and beans.”“Real beds.”“Nice.”“Stayin’ in the same room?”“I think we should.” Daryl sat in a chair near them and watched as she fed li’l ass kicker. “Gonna go check for a root cellar.”“We’ll be here,” she told him.He found the cellar, flicked his lighter on and went down the steps. Not much down there, but there were some jars of canned food. He took them as he looked around. He found a flash light. Not a lot of light but better than wasting his lighter fluid.He got what Michonne was sayin’ about them bein’ married. Daryl’d never had a girlfriend. Shit. He was in his thirties and never been laid. He never told Merle that. Merle woulda gave him shit or called him a fairy. He never liked guys like that. Girls, sure. He’d seen a few that were pretty. Just never felt the need to get close to ‘em. Like that. Hell, the way he was raised never felt the need to get close to no one. Jerked off, yeah. What guy didn’t?Gettin’ close to ‘Chonne like that didn’t sound bad. Shit. He’d probably embarrass himself. A woman like her. Smart. Pretty. She had a nice voice. Nice ass. Nice tits. Daryl could feel himself getting hard. He needed to stay down here longer. Think about somethin’ else.Judith’s daddy, he huffed out a breath. Not like Shane. ‘Chonne was right about that. They were her parents now. Shane probably was li’l ass kicker’s daddy. He’d damn sure be a better one than that crazy fucker. Lori was a whiny bitch. He didn’t get why Rick and Shane were stupid over her. Daryl thought Rick was startin’ to like ‘Chonne. He was always happy when she came back and moped for days after she left. Carl, too.‘Chonne didn’t look at Rick that way. He knew she spent a lot of time with Carl. Michonne might be a lesbian. She did spend time with Andrea. Alone. ‘Course, Andrea and Shane fucked. Daryl could tell. He didn’t think Andrea was a lesbian. She’d fucked the Governor. He didn’t have a hard on now so he felt safe going back upstairs.“Anything?” she looked up from what the hell ever she was doing with Judith. “Burping her. You’ll need to learn.”Daryl frowned. “Got it, ‘Chonne. We’re her momma and daddy. ‘Til we find Rick.” Michonne let out a long breath. “I don’t think we’re going to find them, Daryl. We’re not going to look for them. I know it sounds bad, but we have Judith to think of. She’s what’s important.”“I know, Michonne,” he snapped.She smiled down at Judith as she spit up on the cloth on her shoulder. “I miss them, too, Daryl. If it was me, by myself?” she paused. “I don’t know. I guess I’d try and find them. If I didn’t? I want to live. I’m sure there are more settlements that aren’t like Woodbury. Right now? This little girl? She’s the center of our world. You are my husband. I am your wife. This is our daughter. It’s how we’ll make it.”“Don’t need the damn lecture, ‘Chonne. I got it. I might be a hillbilly but I ain’t stupid. We’re married. Li’l ass kicker’s our daughter. Yeah, it’d be nice to find the others. I saw the prison, too. If they got out we’d never find ‘em. Wouldn’t know the first fuckin’ place to look. I ain’t Shane.”Michonne settled back on the sofa, Judith still on her shoulder. “Who’s Shane?”Daryl hunched his shoulders before he sat next to them. “Shane Walsh. Asshole. Was Rick’s best friend, I guess. Before all this. Rick got shot.”“I know. He was in a coma. Carl told me.”“Right. What Carl didn’t tell ya was Lori, his wife? She was fuckin’ Shane. Before Rick showed up.”“Oh.”Daryl snorted. “Anyway, Shane went crazy. Tried to kill Rick. Take Lori, Carl and the baby away from him. Shane thought li’l ass kicker was his.”Michonne waited a beat. “Is she?”“Probly. Rick’s gotta know. Anyway, he tried the night we lost this place. Rick killed him. Carl killed walker Shane. Herd of walkers showed up. We was separated.”“Andrea told me. Not about Shane and Lori.”“No one knew but me and Merle.”She looked at him.“Saw ‘em fuckin’ one day in the woods around our first camp. Told Merle. They told us Rick was dead. Coulda been, I guess. When they was ordered to evacuate Shane got Lori and Carl outta King County.”“Hm. Stupid.”“Yeah. Real stupid now I think about it. We didn’t have a watch. Half them people didn’t know to shoot walkers in the head. Had to teach ‘em. Left Merle on the roof of some building. It was fucked up. Worse after we left there. Then we did know to have a watch.”Michonne put Judith back in her carrier and on the sofa between them.“You’re not Shane, Daryl. And you’re not a hillbilly. You aren’t stupid. You’re smart.”Daryl snorted again. “Only got a high school diploma.”“I have a law degree. I’m sitting in an abandoned farmhouse, with my daughter and husband, surrounded by death. We don’t have a stable place. We don’t have a lot of food. School education doesn’t really matter now. It’s survival of the fittest. You made it this long. I’d say you’re pretty smart.”Daryl let out a little laugh. “Lawyer?”Michonne pulled one foot on the sofa as she leaned against the arm. “Not criminal law. Intellectual property, real estate, issues that were handled in large conference rooms with free coffee and lunches. Very rarely did I go to court.”“Some of it is luck,” he grumbled. “Lucky we weren’t there.”“Lucky we weren’t there. Lucky we were with each other. Lucky we found Judith. Now, we’re going to be smart. Check out this island. Covet. Hershel probably has a map of the United States around here. We should try and find it.”“How’d you get so good? With the sword?”Michonne looked at her katana on the floor. “Practice. You?”“Huntin’ most of my life.”“Handy skill to have. One of many you have. It’s a katana.”“Whatever. Still a sword.”She shook her head and let out a small laugh. “Come on. Map,” she directed as she stood up. “You should carry her.”Daryl leaned back. “You look. Gonna spend some time with my, our daughter.”She nodded in agreement and went to find Hershel’s office. She knew from Maggie and Beth that he’d run some business out of his house. She also knew he had a clinic in town. Michonne would like to stay away from people as much as they could. She hadn’t been lying about some of the people in Woodbury. Except the Governor’s goon squad had been just like him. When she was in the FEMA camp some of those people had been sketchy. Not just the gangbangers, as Mike and Terry called them, but some of the ones that had looked like good citizens. She huffed out a harsh laugh as she knocked on the office door. When she didn’t hear anything she opened it. It was clear.Michonne searched his desk and looked on the shelves. She did find maps of Georgia and South Carolina. She found Tybee, Wassaw and Ossabaw Island. “Shit,” she breathed out. “Daryl, I found a map,” she said when she walked back into the living room. He was on the sofa and Judith was on his chest. He was tickling her. Michonne paused as she watched Judith laugh.“All you got, li’l ass kicker?” he teased as he tickled her more.She paused to memorize this scene. He was hers. She was his. Judith was theirs.“Daryl,” she said again.He and Judith both looked at her. “Map. Covet’s not on it,” she held it up.“You sure it’s there?”She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m sure. It’s between Wassaw and Ossabaw. We’ll need to find another map.”“Those on the map?” Daryl nodded at the map in her hand.“Yes.”“Then we go. Probably signs or somethin’.” Daryl laid in bed, with Michonne and Judith, later that night. He’d cooked up the jars of corn he’d found in the root cellar. Smart. They’d need to be smart about this trip. Just the two of them? No problem makin’ it. Li’l ass kicker changed things.“Take main roads. Can siphon gas. Maybe find some food,” he whispered in the dark.“Thank you,” she said again.“Don’t say ‘thank you’ again, ‘Chonne. Ain’t leavin’ you and her by yourselves. Not if I can help it. Somethin’ happens to me? You take li’l ass kicker. Find this island. Or head to the mountains.”“Same, Daryl.”The thought of just him taking care of Judith almost made him piss his pants. He didn’t know nothin’ about raisin’ a kid. He needed to learn. Daryl wasn’t stupid. Anything could happen. He’d make sure nothin’ would.“Li’l ass kicker’s momma is a samurai. Ain’t nothin’ happenin’ to her.”“Judith’s daddy is a badass. Nothing is going to happen to her,” ‘Chonne responded.“Don’t know about bein’ a badass, ‘Chonne.”“Go to sleep, Daryl. We’ll leave early.” Daryl looked at the mess of the highway he hadn’t seen in he didn’t know how long. After they’d left the CDC. Crazy fuck Jenner. He felt Michonne put her hand on his arm.“Been a long time,” he muttered. “Lost Sophia here. Herd came through. She was scared. She ran off. Tried to find her. Hershel had her in his barn.”“Did you want to stay with Judith?” she asked quietly.“Nah. Just cars now. Sophia’s dead. Rick shot her. Carol, don’t think, ever forgave him. For lettin’ her die.”“It was a herd, Daryl.”“I was here, ‘Chonne. Thing is Rick tried to draw some walkers off Sophia. After she screamed. He left her. By herself.” He shrugged. “I yelled at Carol. Later. Told her it was her fault. She didn’t raise Sophia right.”“I understand her husband beat her.”“He was a piece a shit. Shouldna done it.”“I think she forgave you,” Michonne offered.“Did she? I said I was sorry. Later. Come on. We never did get through all these cars,” he said as he got out. “Water truck on the other side. Shane found it. Full. Should see if there’s anythin’ left.” Michonne took Judith and carried her as she followed Daryl to the water truck. There probably wouldn’t be a lot left. Not after all this time. She let Daryl walk ahead of them. This was the most he’d ever opened up to her. When they were out looking for the Governor mostly they talked about finding and killing him. Food. The prison. If they talked at all. She could remember days they didn’t say a damn word to each other. She appreciated Daryl’s quietness. She’d needed it.The prison had been to…haunting, she thought, as she looked at Judith on her hip. Rick? She could understand him turning her over to the Governor. She wasn’t his people. It wouldn’t have stopped the asshole from taking over or killing all of them. Hershel probably talked some sense into him. She could sympathize with Carol. She didn’t think she really forgave Rick either. And he sent a lackey, Merle of all people, the asshole that shot her, to turn her over.Daryl pulled all the bottles out of the truck. “Got some. Need some containers.”“I’ll search the cars,” she offered.“Give me li’l ass kicker,” he held his arms out.She gave Judith over and started with the closest cars. The cars with walkers, after she knocked on the windows, had a few. She couldn’t tell if anyone else had come and searched them. Daryl intimated they’d started to before the herd. She did find some granola bars. They were probably dry, but food was food. When she found some baby food she was torn. She didn’t want Judith to get sick, so she left it. Fruit rollups, granola bars, a few bags of chips and one two gallon empty jug for water.By the time they were done it was almost dark out and they decided to sleep in the car. She rolled the window down a little and let Daryl sleep. All of the major freeways would be this jammed. They needed to find a battery jumper. Clear out the lead car, get in and go. Those lasted for five years. The good ones. Mike had gotten her one after Andre was born. Just in case she was stranded and it took triple A too long to get to her. After a few hours she woke Daryl up, they switched places and she went to sleep.When she woke up the car was moving. She sat up quickly when she realized Judith wasn’t by her.“She’s up here,” Daryl told her.“How long?”“Just got on the road. Slept through gettin’ around those cars.”She sat up straighter and wiped her mouth. “You should have woken me up,” she chastised.“Didn’t need ya up. Changed li’l ass kicker, fed her, gave her some water.”Michonne looked and Judith was strapped in the car carrier in the front seat. “I should have gotten one of those sling things. At the baby store.”“Sling things?”“Yeah. We can put her in it and carry her. Like a backpack.”“Huh,” he grunted. “Can find a backpack and cut out a place for her legs.”“Or we can find a backpack, at the next traffic jam, and one of us can cut out a place for her legs.”“Yeah. All the major roads gonna be like that,” he pointed behind him.“If we could find one of the battery jumpers we could clear out the lead car and take it. If it’s too bad to get through.”“Good idea. Next one, we’re just leavin’ Atlanta, we’ll search more cars.”Michonne didn’t bother to look at the city as they left. When she saw the sign for I-85 she let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding.“We have to do something to make it harder to get to it.”“Yeah. Don’t know what.”“Boats. We can sink boats.”“Yeah. Fish. Plant them seeds.”“Sounds like a plan, Dixon.”“If this don’t work out, ‘Chonne, goin’ to the mountains.”“Alright.” She waited a minute. “Why didn’t you think of it earlier?”Daryl shrugged. “Didn’t wanna lose a chance of findin’ Merle. After we got the prison and I put Merle down didn’t seem ta matter. We was safe.”“I’m sorry, Daryl.”“For what?”“Not finding him.”“Fuck that, Michonne. Who the hell knew where he was hidin’ his ass. Found another group a suckers looked like. Now we got li’l ass kicker. Island’s smart.”Michonne didn’t agree with Daryl’s reasoning. From what she understood he didn’t try and find Merle. Back then he was probably scared to go off by himself. Not that he’d admit it. And Rick could make you feel important. Daryl grumbled as they came to another traffic jam near Forest Park. They started searching cars, putting down walkers. Michonne found one of those sling things in a car. She closed her eyes, took it and put Judith in it. Daryl could admit it was handy. She should kill walkers, help search cars and they didn’t need to really worry about Judith. Hell, he’d even wear the damn thing.They got some gas, more chips, found some water, more granola bars and some formula. Michonne found a way around the accident and drove until it was dark. She shut the car off and sighed. “Stay here?”“Yeah. Do like last night,” he agreed as he looked at li’l ass kicker sleepin’ in the carrier. She was startin’ to feel like his daughter. Not sure about her momma. “’Nother coupla days should be there.”Michonne hummed and put the seat back. “Maybe sooner. It’s the cities that are the worst.”“Yeah.”“Go to sleep, Dixon. I’ll wake you up when it’s your turn.”He put his seat back.He almost jumped when Michonne tapped him on the arm. “Your turn,” she whispered. She made sure he was up then went to sleep. Behind the wheel.He huffed out a quiet laugh. Li’l ass kicker’s momma was somethin’ else.
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Michonne woke up to Daryl in the back seat trying to change Judith’s diaper.“Hold on, li’l ass kicker, almost done,” he murmured.“Hey.” She turned in the driver’s seat as she wiped her eyes.“Just got up. Don’t start. Changed her diaper. You feed her. I’ll drive.”“Done.”Michonne moved to the passenger seat. When Daryl was finished he threw the diaper out the window and she winced. She’d always hated littering. She’d done her share since the turn but never a baby’s diaper. After Daryl was in the driver’s seat he started the car and started driving. She got in the backseat and made Judith a bottle. She leaned her head back and looked out the side windows as he drove.It made her sad, when she saw the ruins of cities. Judith touched her cheek and she looked down. Until she saw her. Their little girl. Michonne smiled down at her. Judith stopped eating and Michonne put her on her shoulder to burp her. “Hey, Miss Judes, we’ll start you on solid food soon.”“Think we can?” Daryl asked from the front.“We’re going to have to, Daryl. At least for some meals. They did it before civilization rose. We’ll do it after civilization fell.”“Alright, ‘Chonne. Just askin’.”“I didn’t mean.”“Get it, ‘Chonne. You’re worried. I’m worried. Hope this place works out.”Michonne wiped Judith’s face. “Daryl? I’m not worried. We’re together. If it doesn’t work out we’ll go to the mountains.” Daryl blushed. Michonne sure had a lot of faith in him. It made his stomach hurt. That much faith in him. He listened as she sang to Judith. He looked in the glove box for what music was in there. He grimaced when he saw country. He didn’t know Rick drove this car. He’d like to hear some southern rock. Digging more he found Wham! Shit. He didn’t know Beth knew how to drive.“Got music.”“My singing that bad?” she teased him.He blushed again. “Nah. ‘Cept when you sing ‘Ol’ McDonald’s Farm’,” he snorted.“Farmer’s a good look for you, Daryl,” she replied. “Isn’t it, Judith. Your daddy the farmer. And hunter. And fisherman.”“What’s her momma?”“Mrs. McDonald. A hunter. A fisherman.”“Gotta teach ya.”“I figured you would have to at some point.”“Least you’re quiet.” She rocked Judith and didn’t respond. She’d had to learn to be quiet. Until she figured out Mike and Terry could sense living people. She didn’t have anyone to talk to, but them. Until Andrea. Damn that woman liked to talk. To be fair, finding Andrea when she did might have saved her life, if not her sanity. Sometimes she missed her friend. The friend she’d become after Michonne had saved her. Not a good enough friend, though. Andrea went right for Woodbury, leaving Michonne alone. Really alone.“Thank you,” she said.“Told ya, ‘Chonne, don’t thank me.”“Not for staying, Daryl. I appreciate you staying with me and Judith.”“Then why?”“For talking to me.”Daryl shifted in the driver’s seat. “Well, thanks for listenin’.” He pulled off later that evening near McDonough. The road had been mostly clear. They’d stopped, cleaned out a few cars and found more gas. Daryl didn’t think their luck would hold out much longer. Michonne was sitting on the trunk holding Judith. He got out, walked over to them and fished out a cigarette. “You mind?” he held it up.“Don’t blow smoke her way,” Michonne requested as she held Judith on her leg, trying to get her to stand up. “Thanks for stopping.”“Needed to get outta the car. Stretch my legs.”“Yes, we did. Didn’t we, Judith?” Michonne sing-songed to her.Daryl gave a little grin. “You ever been out of Georgia?”Michonne raised her eyebrows, but didn’t look at him. “Yes. When I was working. I’ve been to DC, Boston, New York City, LA, Vegas, Seattle, Paris, London, Dusseldorf and Edinburgh.”“Dusseldorf?”“It’s in Germany. I did a semester in Europe when I did my undergrad. Paris, London, Edinburg, Dusseldorf. I went to Munich during Oktoberfest.”“Fun?”She let out a small laugh. “I had a lot of fun. All different types of beer. Tents. Food. Music.”“Huh.” He took a drag and let it out. “Always wanted to go to Australia.”“Why?”“Seemed big. Away from here.”“I never made it there. I would have liked to have gone to Sydney. The opera house.”Daryl frowned. “You like opera?”“Some of it.”“Don’t seem the type.”“You like opera, too, if you watched Bugs Bunny when you were little.”“What?”“They used classical music in Bugs Bunny.”“Didn’t know that.”“What types of music do you like?” she asked.“Southern Rock. Can’t stand that country shit. Damn depressin’. Had enough of it in real life. Didn’t need to hear about it.” Michonne made sure she didn’t make any sympathetic noises. She knew he’d had a bad home life. The cabin they’d found, the one with the moonshine. Daryl was, at times, sullen and uncommunicative. When they’d stayed there he’d been damn near angry at the place. The look on his face when they’d made it inside had scared her a little.“I don’t like country either,” was all she said. She got off the trunk and gave Judith to Daryl. “The great outdoors.”“What?”“Bathroom.”“Got it. Need to go after you.”“You’re lucky. You can just whip it out and piss.”Daryl laughed. “Damn, ‘Chonne.”“It’s difficult, Daryl. I never knew if I was going to be going to the bathroom and next thing I know I’m running from a walker with my pants down.”“Takin’ a dump,” he choked out through his laughter.“True. Stop laughing,” she ordered as she walked off the road a little way. She found a bush, checked around, pulled out some of Judith’s wipes and went to the bathroom. After she wiped her hands she tossed the wipes and walked back to the car.“Your momma’s got a mouth, li’l ass kicker,” Daryl was holding Judith on his lap and the fucker was still laughing.“Your father’s not funny, Judith.” She took the little girl back and nodded to the side of the road. “Take some wipes, Daryl.”He rolled his eyes, took some wipes from the car and walked away. “We’ll need to teach your daddy to wash his hands after he uses the bathroom, Judith. We can do it.” Daryl unzipped his pants, still laughin’ at Michonne. She had a point. He took a piss, zipped up and wiped his hands, tossing the wipes away. When he got back to the car Michonne was in the driver’s seat. He saw Judith was in the carrier in the back. He got in and Michonne started driving. “We’ll need to fill up soon.”He sighed and leaned his head back. “Yeah. Don’t know how much more luck we’ll have with gas.”She grunted.“Like to have a bike. Easier to get around this shit.”“Judith?”“Can fit both of ya on the back.”“Her food?”“Problem.”“I wish we found some horses,” Michonne commented.“Yeah. Be best. Take long as fuck to get there.”Next thing Daryl knew he was being poked in his arm. “What?” he sat up and looked around. It was dark. “Where the hell are we?”“Near High Falls National Park. They have a campground. I saw the sign before I stopped.”“What city?”“Unionville, I think. According to the sign.”He sat up and wiped his eyes. “Shit. How long was I out?”“A while. We’ve been stopped for a while. I fed and changed Judith. Your turn for watch.”“Sorry,” he mumbled.“You were tired. Covet Island’s not going anywhere.”“Gas?”“Quarter of a tank. Plus what we have in the trunk.”“Shit. Don’t think it’ll be enough. Gotta look at the map.”He could hear her put the seat back. “In the morning.” Michonne woke up to Daryl telling her to get down. She looked at the window and saw a few walkers. She slumped down toward the floor, rolling the window down as she went. Daryl shot them both, waking Judith up, screaming.“Dead now,” he announced.She glared up at him.“What?”She got back on the seat and crawled over, trying to get Judith to calm down. Daryl moved to the driver’s seat and pulled out the map. Michonne rocked Judith and she started to quiet. “Can you make her a bottle?” she ground out.Daryl held out his hand for the bag. She passed it over and went back to rocking Judith.“Sorry. Not good enough to kill two walkers with you sleepin’ in the fuckin’ way,” he apologized sarcastically as he worked on the bottle.She let out a loud sigh. Realistically, she knew he was right. After Judith was just whimpering she took a diaper and changed her. “Here.” Daryl passed her a bottle and Judith started eating. “Gonna take a piss and smoke,” he muttered before he got out of the car and slammed the door. Judith jerked but still kept eating.“What are we going to do with your daddy, Judith?” she whispered to the little girl. She looked out the window and saw Daryl dragging the bodies away from the car before he walked away. She followed him with her eyes as he walked to the side of the road and stopped. She turned away to give him some privacy. Which was laughable in this day and age. When she felt the car move slightly she sighed again, finished feeding Judith, burped her and got out. She handed her over to Daryl as she moved to a bush along the median and used the bathroom. She threw the wipes to the ground and went back to them.Daryl didn’t say anything to her, just held Judith out to her again before he lit his cigarette. Michonne never really touched Daryl outside of getting his attention or the one time at Morgan’s place. She touched his arm again. He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. “I know. You’re good. Not that good.”He seemed to relax and pulled out the map. “They was fresh. People around here. Maybe.”Michonne looked at the walkers on the ground. Daryl was right. They were fresh. “The campground.”“Don’t know. Probably. Wanted to go check it out. Not gonna now.”Michonne grunted her agreement as she, too, looked at the map. “The next big town is Forsythe.”“Might find some gas there.” He looked around. “Fill up here. If we find some gas want empty containers. Don’t wanna fuck around.”She could agree with that, too. “Sounds like a plan, Dixon.” She rubbed his arm. “Thank you.”He sighed and she almost laughed he sounded so put upon. “Why now?”“For not making me run with my pants around my ankles.”He rolled his eyes and she was rewarded with a small smile. “Anythin’ for you, ‘Chonne.”Then she did something she never thought she’d do. She kissed Daryl Dixon. On the cheek. Daryl was driving toward Forsythe. He didn’t talk about her kissing him. On the damn cheek like he was Judith. He’d looked at her in shock and saw she had a small smile on her face. He’d cleared his throat and folded the map up before getting in the driver’s seat.He’d searched the bodies and found a half pack of cigarettes and a lighter. No guns. Assholes. No food either. He was tired of granola bars. “Wanna stop. Try and hunt somethin’ up to eat. Tired of chips and shit.”“Okay. It doesn’t look too populated along this road,” Michonne noted. He glanced at her and saw she was studying the map. “We’ll be passing the exit to High Falls. Maybe we should stop?” She looked up.Daryl really didn’t want to stop. Not there. Not with those fresh walkers. “Look at it. It looks okay might be able to stay the night. Cook over a small fire.”“If they have cabins,” she trailed off.Daryl shook his head. “Probably tents. Maybe RV’s.”“How do you know?”Daryl fidgeted. “Merle and me. We been up through this way.”Michonne raised her eyebrows. He let out a sigh. “Merle wanted to rob cabins.”“Huh. You didn’t?”Daryl shrugged. “Not really. This? Figured everyone needed what they had. He wanted to rob the Atlanta camp. Told him those people would die if we did. They ended up dyin’ anyway.”“So Merle mapped out cabins?”“Said he did.”“What about ranger stations?” she asked.Daryl lowered his brows. “Didn’t ask. Ya think they got one?”“I don’t know. I never camped before this. Did most parks have a place where they put up rules or something?”“Yeah. Usually locked up.”“If it’s locked it was probably park property. The rangers would come around and check up on the campgrounds, right? Have drunk drivers do community service picking up trash?”He rolled his eyes. “Don’t know nothin’ about that, Michonne,” he snapped.“Daryl, I’m not saying you are or were a drunk driver. I’m not insinuating you have a criminal record whatsoever. I’m trying to think this through with some input from you. The parks had garbage cans. For people that did camp to put trash in. They probably kept those supplies close. Why drag them around?”Daryl nodded. “Yeah. Probably.”“Then we have a place to stay. We can use one of those grills.”They drove in silence. When they reached the park entrance he stopped the car. “Sorry. About earlier,” he said quietly.“It’s alright, Daryl,” she replied as quietly as he’d offered his apology.He got out of the car and motioned for her to get in the driver’s seat. He looked at the ground and saw some tire tracks. It looked like a motorcycle. He brought his crossbow up as he walked down the path. When he came to a stop he saw a tent and the motorcycle outside of it.“Anyone in there?” he yelled. Daryl waited. And listened. “Hey. Anyone in there?” He turned fast when he saw a walker come out of the woods. It was fresh. And naked. Daryl shot it in the head, took his arrow and frowned. “Damn.” He guessed he knew where the walkers came from. He looked in the tent, saw some more food and charcoal. He headed back to the car to see Michonne and Judith standing outside. Michonne had her katana out, holding Judith and watching. Daryl paused as it finally sunk in. It was him, Michonne and Judith. Just them. The knowledge practically brought him to his knees. At that moment he knew he never could be on his own, like Michonne had been. He fell in love. And made a promise nothin’ was gonna happen to his family.“Found another one,” he announced as he got closer. “Had charcoal, food and a tent. We should try and find the ranger station. Check it out. Then I’ll go find some real food.”Michonne got in the passenger seat, Judith on her lap and Daryl got behind the wheel and drove deeper into the park. He saw the building the same time she did. “Wait here,” he told her before he got out of the car. His crossbow up, he circled it. He didn’t see anything, except graffiti on the outside. When he circled back to the car he found the lock, broke it off with his gun and opened the door.“Alright,” he whispered. Michonne looked around their temporary stopover for the night. She didn’t want to admit Merle had some uses, but Merle had some uses. The place had a bed, a sink and some supplies, including some gas. She put Judith on the bed and sat down beside her.“I’ll find water first. Think you should stay with Judith.” He pointed to her.Michonne smiled. “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you call her by her name.”Daryl shrugged. “Don’t want her growin’ up thinkin’ her name’s li’l ass kicker.”“Thank you,” she said.Daryl stood there for a minute. “Gonna try and keep you both alive, ‘Chonne.”Michonne turned to Judith so he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes. “The same, Daryl.” She cleared her throat. “Water. Food.”“Water and food. We can use that charcoal on one of the grills. Haven’t seen any other walkers.”“Yet.”“Yet. We’ll try for it anyway.”“We’re hungry. Go. Find us some food.”“Bossy.” Daryl gave her a small smile before he left.“Your daddy’s getting us something real to eat, Judith,” Michonne chatted to her as she looked through the supplies. Garbage bags, gas, spark plugs, paper towels. “Gold mine, Judith.” She held up the paper towels. “What else? Rags. Useful. We’ll take those. Mm. Twine. Also useful.” Michonne separated what they could use with what wasn’t useful. She didn’t know anything about cars so she put the spark plugs aside. Paint. Not useful. Paint brushes, also not useful. Hedge clippers. Useful. She was so deep into her sorting she almost didn’t hear Daryl as he came back.“Water from a stream not far from here. Don’t know if we should chance just drinkin’ it.” He extended up their jug, now filled with water, toward her.Michonne eyed the container. “Did you see any walkers?”Daryl shook his head. “No, but it don’t mean they ain’t stuck somewhere around here. Hershel’s place had low spot. Walkers got stuck there. The creek dried up.”“We’ll boil it. It’ll be warm, but we could filter it with these coffee filters. Why the hell they had coffee filters I don’t know.” She waved around the package.“You found all that?”“Yes. They must have used it to store things they’d need later or things they found in the park.” She motioned to the piles.“Huh. Strain it. After boiling it. I’ll try and catch a couple of squirrels or rabbits or somethin’.”“We’ll see you soon.” She went back to sorting.
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Daryl found some rabbit tracks, which didn’t surprise him. After he set up the snares he took off deeper into the woods. He didn’t see one walker which was lucky. Daryl went back near the snares he set up and waited. Near dark he headed back with dinner. Chancy to cook out now, he thought, as he looked up at the sky. The least they’d do was boil and strain the water and eat those nuts and berries he found in the tent. They could have rabbit for breakfast.When he got back he saw Michonne laying down with Judith next to her. He held up the rabbits. “Breakfast. It’s gettin’ dark out. Figure we could boil and strain the water. Eat those nuts, chips. Have meat in the mornin’.”She looked over with a smile. “Sounds good. What are you going to do with them?” She nodded at the rabbits.“Keep ‘em in here. Don’t wanna kill ‘em. Blood.”“Mm. We’ll need to keep them away from Judith.”Daryl looked around. “Yeah. Put ‘em in the crate.” He dumped what was in it on the floor and put the rabbits inside. “Water.” He held out his hand.“What will we use?” She raised an eyebrow.“Shit.” He looked around again. “I’ll check that tent. They mighta had pans or somethin’.”“We’ll go with you,” she decided, picked up Judith and waited for him by the door. Michonne closed her eyes and savored the rabbit Daryl made them for breakfast. The tent had pans and Daryl boiled the water. Michonne strained it, hoping it would work and they wouldn’t end up drinking water with walker in it. Three times through the coffee filters, Daryl had widened his eyes, she felt was good enough. The tent had blankets they’d taken, along with more water. In sealed bottles that she wanted to save for Judith’s bottles.Daryl chewed some of his rabbit and fed it to Judith. Not sanitary, but necessary. And it wasn’t like she could get in her car and go down to the store for baby food. She smiled as she saw Daryl feed her. He was a natural. Michonne wasn’t surprised now that she thought about it. He was very protective of the group. Carol the most. She wondered if he and Carol.“What?” He got her attention. She didn’t realize she’d been staring at him.“Nothing. You’re good with her.”He hunched over. “Don’t know about all that.”“You are, Daryl.”He huffed out a breath. “My daughter. What you said, right?” he practically dared her to say Judith wasn’t.“Our daughter,” she corrected.He nodded once and went back to feeding Judith. He stood up not much later. “We should go.”Michonne carried all of the supplies from the cabin and the tent they were keeping while Daryl put Judith in the carrier and strapped her in. He got behind the wheel and waited while she closed the hatch. Daryl put the seat back and went to sleep. She was first watch where they’d stopped outside of Macon. She let out a deep breath at the cars on the freeway. Why couldn’t people have stayed in camps or in their homes? Although they’d have a better chance for some gas. She wasn’t worried. They were almost there. She’d seen signs for Savannah and according to the map it wouldn’t be much longer from here. She was ready to be out of this car. She could tell Daryl was ready to be out of this car.Her, Daryl and Judith. Now they were the group. After she and Daryl started searching for the Governor she didn’t feel as much of an outsider with him. Rick? She was still on the fence. She’d been pleasant, brought him a few things back from her trips. Mostly for Carl. She did miss that kid and he did love Rick.She thought of the others. Hershel. She hoped him, Maggie, Beth and Glenn made it out. Sasha and Ty. Carol. Hm. Carol was nice. She tried to befriend Michonne. She didn’t want to get too attached to them. Any of them. She turned her head and looked at her ‘husband’. She huffed out a laugh. It sounded like some stupid plot from a sitcom. Pretending to be married. Necessary now. It wouldn’t stop some men, she knew. She didn’t know if anyone would care, if they ran across people. Still, she’d rather err on the side of caution. Michonne was under no illusions, if they found people or people found them, all of them would be civil.Michonne looked at the rearview mirror to see Judith sleeping. Her daughter. She looked at Daryl. Her husband. They weren’t the last of the group, they were family. Daryl grimaced as Michonne drove down the road. “Shit. Don’t think we’ll get around this one,” he admitted.“Probably not.”She brought the car to a stop. The road was blocked by three cars. Daryl huffed a breath and got out. “Gonna go see how far up. Might have to switch cars.”Michonne frowned. “We’ll come with you.”“Gotta be careful, ‘Chonne. Might be walkers in here.”She side-eyed him before getting Judith out of the carrier and into the baby sling. Five minutes later they found the end of the line. “Yeah. Gonna have to clean out our car.”“We should see if one of these will start first.”Daryl looked at the cars near the front of the accident and saw a Prius. “Electric and gas.” He looked through the windows and didn’t see anything. He knocked on it anyway. After a bit he opened the door.“Have to hotwire it,” he told her. “You should sit in the car with li’l ass kicker.”Daryl was surprised when she did it with no objections. When she was seated in the passenger seat, Judith on her lap, he knew why. Judith was the most important thing right now.It didn’t take him long to clear out their old car and pack their new car. ‘Chonne had put li’l ass kicker’s car seat in the middle and he packed around her. He finally got in and started driving the stuffed to the gills Prius down the freeway. They didn’t see any walkers, all the cars were clear, but they couldn’t take anything else. Daryl stared at the graveyard as he drove away.“A few more hours,” Michonne pointed to the sign for Savannah.“Hope so. Tired of drivin’,” he replied. “Wanna get out. Stretch.”“Hm. Me, too.”She held onto Judith as they drove and didn’t say another word. He liked that about Michonne. She didn’t need to talk about stupid shit. Or talk at all. Shit, this was the most they’d ever talked. Just them.“Sorry,” he muttered.She turned to look at him and raised her eyebrows.“For not goin’ with ya. Mighta found the asshole.”“Like you said, who knew where the hell he was hiding? And he found a new group of suckers,” she repeated back to him.“You’re not mad?” he finally got the guts to ask her after they drove past the sign for Dublin.“No, Daryl, I’m not mad.” She looked at Judith then back at him. “We have each other.”Daryl sagged back against the seat. She grabbed his hand and held on. Michonne was behind the wheel as she tried to find a way around the cars outside of Savannah. They’d stopped, used the bathroom, fed Judith and just got out of the car.“Not lookin’ good,” Daryl grumbled.“No, it’s not. We may have to take another one,” she sighed.“It’s a good car.”“We have plenty of gas. I’d hate to lose it.”“Wanna try and go around it?”“Like into the city?”Daryl shrugged. “Thought.”“No. I’d rather lose the car.” She put her head back against the headrest. “We don’t know Savannah. I don’t. Do you?”Daryl shook his head ‘no’.“There might be people there and I’d like to stay away from people.”“Let’s see how far we get,” he suggested.She put the car in gear and slowly drove around the first cars on the road.“Can see the end of it.” Daryl pointed as he held a sleeping Judith.She gave a small smile. After they had to stop, Daryl got out and looked around. He got back in the passenger seat. “If we move a few cars it’s mostly clear gettin’ out.”“Let’s move some cars.”After what seemed like hours, Daryl got in the driver’s seat while she got in the passenger seat. Turning she saw Judith was still sleeping in her carrier. When she saw the last of the junkyard freeway she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she smiled and grabbed Daryl’s hand again. “Not much longer.”“Not much longer,” he echoed. He turned his hand in hers and linked fingers. Michonne looked at them, holding hands, before she looked at Daryl again. She’d never been into white guys, but Daryl was smart. A good man. Everything Mike wasn’t at the end. She felt butterflies in her stomach.Michonne almost cried when they saw signs for boats going to Covet Island. Daryl got out and looked around while she and Judith stayed in the car. Daryl got back in. “No boats.”“Shit.”“Yeah, shit. Any ideas?”“We’re by the ocean. I’m sure some people had boats.”“You wanna go lookin’? With Judith?” he asked incredulously.She looked down and saw Judith was awake and looking at her. “No.”“Mountains?”“Where in the mountains, Daryl?” She shook her head. “We can’t keep driving around. Not with Judith.”“I know it, Michonne,” he snarled back at her. “No boats. Do you wanna try and find one?”Michonne knew they had to do something. If they looked together... “Let’s try and find one. Maybe find a yacht club or something. They probably have boats there.” “We’ll look. We don’t find one at dark we’ll stay someplace. If we don’t find one tomorrow we head for the mountains,” he decided.When Michonne didn’t say anything back he knew she agreed with it. Hell. He didn’t know nothin’ about boats. Motorboats. Yachts and shit? He s’posed he could figure it out if it had a motor.Michonne had him stop at some tourist place near the end of the road. She handed him Judith, told him she’d be back and got out of the car. She knocked on the door and two walkers made their way closer. She pulled on it and Daryl could tell it was locked. Then Michonne tilted her head as she looked at the walkers before coming back to the car. He rolled down the window.“I need to break the glass. Enough for me to crawl in there.”“You fuckin’ crazy? There’s walkers in there, Michonne!” he whisper yelled.“No arms and jaws, Daryl. Look.” She pointed to the walkers standing by the door. They were beating their heads against the glass.“What the hell?”She gave a small nod. “Right. I.” Then she stopped talking and looked at the ground. “I did the same thing. With the two I had.”“Your pets?” he asked.“Yes. My pets,” she said defiantly.Daryl got out of the car and gave her Judith. “I’ll do it.”“We’ll come with you.”“You can come in after I kill ‘em.”“Okay.”Daryl took the butt of his gun and shattered the glass by the walker’s heads. Michonne was behind him and stabbed them in the face. Daryl gave her an exasperated look. “Michonne,” he grumbled.“Judith’s fine. See.” Michonne nodded her head at Judith, who was wide eyed and on her left hip, katana in her right hand.He shook his head, reached his hand in and turned the lock. “What’re we gettin’ here?” he finally asked.“Maps. Usually touristy places like this had maps of the area. Points of interest,” she replied as Daryl moved away and she opened the door. When she walked inside she stopped.Daryl brought his crossbow up. “What?” And looked over her shoulder.“Shit,” she breathed out.“More than maps.” Michonne, prodded by Daryl, moved further into the building and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Food for days, cases of water. Moving further into the building she saw flares, guns, clothing, detergent, dishes.“What the hell is this?”“Storage area,” she whispered.“See any of them maps?” he questioned sarcastically.“Funny, Dixon. Stay here. Whoever did this? Those walkers were their guard dogs.”“Good guard dogs.”“We thought so,” a woman’s voice said from behind them.“Not good enough, apparently,” a man’s voice joined in.Michonne, with Judith, and Daryl turned around to see two people. A black man and a white woman, dressed in jeans, t-shirts and tennis shoes, standing there, holding guns pointed toward them.“Just lookin’ for maps,” Daryl said.“By that wall.” The man gestured with his gun to the right.“The woman can get it. With the kid,” the woman demanded.Michonne exchanged a look with Daryl then walked to where she saw brochures in clear plastic stands. She looked and found what she was looking for. Taking a few more that looked promising she turned and walked back to Daryl. The two people parted and let them leave, guns still pointed at them. When they reached the car Daryl shocked the shit out of her.“Gotta place we can stay?” Holly Baker raised her eyebrows and looked at her partner, Sidney Adair. When he shrugged his shoulders it was his way of saying he wasn’t opposed.She looked at the people that had been in their storage area. “What can you do for us?”The man raised his crossbow. “What’s that mean?”She rolled her eyes. “It means, dumbass, what can you do for us? Can you help protect our place? Can you build? Farm? Fish? Are you an abuser or an asshole?”“Where are you?” the woman asked. She clutched the little girl, Holly could swear the kid was a girl, tighter.Sidney shook his head. “No can do, sword woman. If you can help us we’ll tell you. If you can’t? Take your maps and keep going.”“Mountains are a good choice. I’d grab some camping gear and warmer clothes,” Holly added. “Suggestions only. Take them, don’t take them. Doesn’t matter to us.”“That it?” The white guy narrowed his eyes.“I’m going out on a limb here, but I take it you can hunt?” Sidney questioned.The white guy rolled his eyes now. “Yeah.”“That’s it. Beggars can’t be choosers,” Holly replied.“We need to talk about it,” the black lady said.“Go ahead.” Sidney waved his gun toward their car. “Get in. We’re not interested in your bullshit, unless you come with us. If not?” Sidney shrugged his shoulders again. Michonne got in the passenger seat as Daryl got in the driver’s side. She clutched Judith to her.“What the hell, Daryl?” she asked.“They didn’t shoot us, ‘Chonne. They coulda. How long was they standin’ outside?”She laid her head back against the seat and sighed. “I don’t know.”“Right.”Michonne watched the two people as they stood there, guns still up, and watched. She couldn’t disagree with Daryl. They didn’t shoot them.She continued to watch as they continued to watch them. “Let’s see if it works out for us.”“First sign of trouble, ‘Chonne, you take Judith and you go to the mountains. You hear?”“Not without you, Daryl,” she shot back before she opened the door and got out.“We’ll go. Where are you?”“Covet Island.” Sidney looked at their storage area. “Fuck,” he bit out.“Sucks. Going to have to find another place,” Holly agreed.“We should get Jace and Ralph to put together more of those storage sheds.”“Yeah. If these two work out we can move shit to our place faster.”“You think they will?”“They have a kid. She, I think it’s a girl, looks well cared for. Probably.”“If the guy can hunt he can teach us.”“He looks like a hillbilly. He probably can.”Sidney let out a short laugh. “Don’t call him a hillbilly.”“I’m sure he’s heard worse. White trash, trailer park trash, redneck. The list goes on,” she responded.The car door opened and the black lady got out with the child.“We’ll go. Where are you?”“Covet Island.”“Get back in your car. We need to fix our storage area,” Holly snapped at her.Sidney dropped his gun and went back inside. “Good thing we took more doors,” he commented.“Yeah. Biters will be harder. Fuck,” she sighed.“Let’s fix the door.”“This is such a pain in the ass,” she hissed. Daryl and Michonne stood close to their car as they watched the two people take off the door and put another one on. Michonne was impressed.“Get in your car.” The black guy pointed to it as he ducked inside the building and came out with two nets. The woman had gone to their car, opened the door a turned it on. Then the crazy bitch turned on the radio.“What the hell are you doin’?” Daryl yelled.“Get in your fucking car, hilljack,” the woman shouted as she pulled out two long knives from holders at her waist. The man stood by her, his own hatchet out, and waited until several walkers came from down the street.“Five, shit, ten,” the woman told the guy.“I’ll get a few. Keep the rest off me,” the guy ordered the woman as they headed toward the walkers.Daryl shook his head and walked after them. He saw the man swing his nets, one in each hand, and catch two walkers while the woman took her knives and stabbed the others. The woman ran toward the car, not even acknowledging him, and turned off the radio and the car then she walked by him again. When she reached the man, she kicked the two walkers to their knees, taking the nets from the guy. He put on gloves, grabbed a walker’s hand then cut off the arm at the elbow with his hatchet. He moved and did the same thing to the other hand.After the arms were cut off the woman dropped the nets, put on her own gloves and grabbed one walker by the hair, pushing its face in the dirt, mouth open. The man pulled out a knife and started cutting through the jaw. When one side was done they switched places. After a few minutes the woman pulled it to its feet and let it wander.Daryl was impressed. They worked fast. When the other one was done they each grabbed a net and caught the armless, jawless walkers. Daryl followed them. He stopped when he saw Michonne standing there with Judith. He frowned at her.“Impressive,” she said to the two people as they led the walkers back to the tourist building without acknowledging her, either. After the walkers were inside the guy closed and locked the door.“Follow us. We have a boat moored about a half mile south of here.”“Or don’t,” the woman told them. They got in their car and started driving.“You shoulda stayed in the car with Judith, Michonne,” Daryl scolded her as they finally caught up to the Toyota the man and the woman were driving.“They knew what they were doing, Daryl.” She side-eyed him. “You were there. I wasn’t worried.”Daryl let out a heavy sigh. He didn’t say anything else as they drove.
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Michonne tried not to let her mouth drop open at the sleek white yacht moored at the dilapidated dock. The man and woman were already out and emptying their car, putting the boxes on the dock. After the car was empty the man drove off and the woman started taking the boxes and piling them on the yacht.Daryl finally put his crossbow in the car and started helping her. The woman didn’t say anything to him. Michonne didn’t want to leave Judith by herself.“Put her on the boat.” The woman was standing and staring at her. “Get on with her. It’s not baby proofed.” She picked up more boxes and took them. The man came back and picked up the last of them.“Get your shit if you’re coming. We won’t be back for a few days,” the man advised her as he gave them to the woman and got on.“I’ll get our shit,” Daryl said softly. “You should get on.”The woman got off and walked over. “Well?” She raised her eyebrows. “You need any of that in the car?” Michonne nodded and went to the yacht when she heard the motor turn on. The woman followed Daryl.Michonne watched as Daryl unloaded and the woman took their things. She put them over the side, making a few trips. She couldn’t hear what the woman said to Daryl but he got in the car and drove off. The woman got on and started shifting everything around. Daryl came running back. When he was on the woman yelled ‘Let’s go’and the yacht left the dock.“Got water and alcohol inside. Help yourself,” the woman invited as she started sorting the boxes.“What’s your name?” Michonne asked.“Holly. The captain of this ship is Sidney.”“Sydney? Ain’t that a girl’s name?” Daryl looked at her.“It is unless your mom liked ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’,” Holly explained. She finally stood up and walked by them and into the main cabin.Michonne, carrying Judith, and Daryl followed her.“Nice ass boat,” Daryl breathed out.Michonne couldn’t disagree. It was big. A large space with brown cabinets, white leather furniture, a small stove top and she saw Sidney sitting in a black leather chair across the room, steering.“You want something?” Holly widened her eyes like they were stupid.“Water,” she requested.“You wanna know who we are?” Daryl finally asked.“If you want us to know. If not, we’ll call you crossbow guy and sword woman. And little kid,” Holly replied as she pulled out a few bottles of water from a refrigerator in the kitchen area and tossed them to Daryl. He was forced to drop his bow to his side so he wouldn’t get hit in the face. She pulled out a bottle of Irish Crème and put a kettle on to boil. “We have coffee. Not fresh. Working on it. Not that instant shit, though.”“Michonne. Daryl. Judith,” she introduced them.“Hm. Okay. Take a seat. The cabins are forward. Head’s attached. It’ll be a few hours. We don’t go fast,” Holly offered.“Head?”“Bathroom,” Michonne answered Daryl’s question.“The closed door’s our cabin.”“We’ll stay up here.”“Fine.” Holly turned her back. When the kettle went off she poured coffee grounds in a glass container and poured the water over it. After she put the top on she took another bottle of water and walked over to Sidney. He held out his hand and she gave it to him.Michonne looked at Daryl. He shrugged his shoulders as he opened the water and passed it to her. “Cold,” she breathed out after she took a sip. “Good.” Daryl watched Sidney and Holly. They didn’t talk much. Him, Michonne and Judith went to the back of the boat where their stuff was and sat down on the chairs out there.Holly came out after they sat and took a seat by them. “So.” She sipped from her cup. “Story?”“Why’d you say we could go with you?” Daryl wanted to know.Holly shrugged. “You have a kid. She, it’s a girl, right?” At Michonne’s nod she continued. “She looks well cared for. If you were assholes you’d have eaten her. Or she’d have bruises. We need people. Had a problem with some assholes. Lost some of the people that lived on our island.”Daryl frowned. “Eat her?”“You didn’t get out much, did you, Daryl? Yes, eat her. People are assholes. It wouldn’t surprise me if a bunch of idiots worshipped the biters.”“We call them walkers,” Michonne told her.“Hm. Good name. Walkers. They walk until they feed. They don’t stop. We’ve seen some buried in the ground. I guess they disintegrated. Gross.” Holly made a face. “Why’d you ask to come with us?”“You didn’t shoot us,” Michonne answered again.Holly nodded her head. “It was a tough call, I won’t lie. That trick worked well. It might not now. People are desperate. And assholes.”“What was that? In the storage area?” Daryl sipped his water.“Stuff we need. Covet Island, you know of it?”“Yes.”“Before this it was closed for renovations. We’ve finished renovating it. We have electricity. Sid and I cleared the waste water treatment plant, so clean, running water. Hot showers. Anyway, it was for rich bastards. Not all the comforts we were used to. We’re making it that way again.” Michonne raised her eyebrows. Judith started to fuss so she got up and grabbed something to fix a bottle. After mixing it up she held the girl and fed her. Holly watched them. Sized them up, it seemed to Michonne. After Judith was finished she gave her to Daryl for him to burp.Holly smiled. “Got it. He’s yours. I have my own.”“Married,” Daryl grunted.Holly laughed. “If that helps you sleep at night. Whatever, dude. I have my own.”“How many people?” Michonne asked.Holly frowned. “Not many. Six. We do have a doctor. She used to be neo-natal. Another thing on our list.”“What?”“Hospital equipment. Some of it anyway. We’re still trying to figure it out. Now we’re down people. We need people.”Michonne made a noncommittal noise. “We’ll help.”“You do or we’re bringing you back. We don’t ask for much. Pull your weight. Everyone’s going through this. No prima donna’s.”“What’s in the boxes?” Michonne pointed with her water bottle before taking another drink. Cold water. Something she hadn’t had in a while.“Food. Seeds. Fertilizer. The canned and boxed shit will go bad. Guns. Ammunition. We have a cow. A few chickens. We need to find more. We need to build pastures. All of that takes people. Which we don’t have,” Holly repeated.“You got a run team?” Daryl questioned.“You’re looking at it. Me and Sidney. We had a few more.” She briefly closed her eyes. “We’re the best.”Daryl grunted. “Could help doin’ it.”“Only if you can kill living people on sight. If not?” She shook her head. “Not interested. We need people for protection on the island.”Michonne raised her eyebrows. “You kill people on sight?”“If they’re taking shit we need, yes. If they ask? Well, no one’s asked yet. Until you two.”Michonne stared at Holly. She was as tall as Daryl with blond hair, brown eyes, full face and lean. She was good with her knives. Michonne bet she was good with the gun she was wearing, too. She looked at Sidney through the door to the cabin. Lighter than her, but taller than Daryl, with short black hair, brown eyes and on the musclely side. She bet he was also good with his weapons. “Have you killed many?”“Define many.”“How many?” Daryl rubbed Judith’s back.“My share.” She leaned forward. “Look, we don’t shoot everyone we see. If we have shit in a car and someone tries to steal it, we kill them. If not? First come first served.”“You said you got a doctor?”“We do. Soledad.”“Who else you got?”“Trey. He’s a kid. Ten or so. His grandfather, Ralph, used to be the head maintenance man at the hotel. Jace. He was in the Guard in Atlanta. He went AWOL when he heard the order to Napalm Atlanta. Him and a few of his buddies. His buddies died.”“How’d you find this place?” Daryl inquired.“We; me and Sidney, were in Atlanta. We left one of the camps there. Decided to find someplace, off the beaten path, until this blew over. An island or the mountains. I don’t speak hick so an island seemed the best bet. We were going for Tybee. Found this place.”“You been on Tybee?”“Yes. We took a few things. We didn’t see any people. Saw a lot of biters. We didn’t stay long.” Michonne felt the boat stop and Sidney came from the cabin. Sidney had dropped anchor when he heard Holly talking to Michonne and Daryl. Michonne was good looking. Dreads, dark skin and he bet she could use the katana. Daryl did look like a hillbilly. Or a biker. Sidney was sure they would be benefits to their little community.He pulled out the pack of cigarettes from the arm of Holly’s chair, took one and lit it. Daryl took that as a cue because he did the same thing. He blew smoke rings while Holly took a hit.“We’ve had a problem with people. Why we don’t have a lot. Not that we had a lot to begin with. Like Holly said, people are assholes.”“What kind of problem?” Michonne questioned.“Someone came over or were already on a boat, took some of our stuff, destroyed part of the hotel. It’s why we’re not any further ahead. Killed Jace’s buddies and a few more. He was with us on our last run. We don’t know who. We figured everyone would go for the big islands, not the little ones.” He shrugged and took the cigarette back. “We figured wrong. We don’t know if this was a hit and run or something more long term. If you don’t want to come we’ll anchor here for the night and take you back tomorrow.”“I think it was a hit and run. Long term? They would have stayed around. We’ve been checking the area and haven’t found anyone but you three.” Holly took the cigarette, took a drag and gave it back.“The hotel was almost finished before this, according to Ralph. They broke windows, stole the portable food, the boxed and canned. They didn’t touch the gardens. Or kill the chickens.”“It’s taken us a few months to get solar panels installed, replace the windows and find more food and weapons. We’re getting back on track,” Holly sighed as Sidney flicked the cigarette over the side.“Wassaw and Ossabaw?” Michonne questioned as she moved closer to Daryl and Judith. Sidney smiled at her.“We did a search of Ossabaw. Someone on that island was a prepper. Gold mine,” Holly whooped. Judith jerked in his arms causing Daryl to rub her back. When she settled down Michonne glared at Holly.Sidney laughed. “Judith’s trying to sleep.” “What’s a prepper?” Daryl asked.“End of the world nut. Not so nutty now, I guess,” Holly explained. “We found a bunker in the backyard. A real bunker. Weirder than shit.” She rolled her eyes. “It had weapons, solar panels, books, medicine. Everything to survive an apocalypse. Including RPG's and hand grenades.”“We knew about him. We were watching him. Before this. We didn’t know where he was stashing all those weapons,” Sidney added.“Why?” Michonne raised her eyebrows.“We worked for the ATF. We thought he was moving weapons for some white supremacist outfit.” Sidney shrugged one shoulder. “FBI assholes.”Holly grimaced. “Yeah. When we saw the name on the mail in the house it didn’t take us long to find it. Still freaked me the fuck out. Who in the hell would build a bunker in their backyard?”“Worked out well for us. Not so well for Meyers.”“He was a dick.”“What happened to you?” Sidney pointed his water bottle at them.Daryl looked at Michonne. She didn’t say anything so Daryl turned to them again.“We was on a run. Had our own problem with an asshole. Shot up the prison. Li’l ass kicker’s the only one we found. Alive. Thought about lookin’.”“We have Judith,” Michonne interjected.“We have Judith. Need a safe place.”Holly snorted. “Good luck with that. We thought we had a safe place. We know better now. We have plans to make it safer but we can’t guarantee. You’re more than welcome to come with us, but if what we told you freaks you out? We’ll take you back.”“If you stay and teach us to hunt, we’ll pay you with food and water. From your car you have more than enough guns,” Sidney proposed.Daryl eyed the two people in front of him. They seemed alright. He glanced at Michonne out of the corner of his eye. She nodded slightly.“We’ll come.”“Thank fuck,” Holly whooped quietly.“Holly and I run, I guess you can all it run, our little place. Mostly we talk things out together. We have goals we want to meet. The hotel being finished was the first one. It’s done. We’ll want to set up portable storage sheds, you know those kind they used to sell at Home Depot, and empty out our storage area. Then we want to do a real search of Tybee, Wassaw and Ossabaw first, slowly making our way down the chain.”“We have a few greenhouses set up. I’d like more. What I really want to find is someone who was growing coffee. We’d also like to hit some more coffeehouses. I need coffee. Don’t know about you two,” Holly grinned at them. “If we can find a few pigs? A bull? Goats or turkey? Excellent.”“Rabbits,” Daryl grunted.“Hm. We never looked for those,” Sidney frowned.Daryl rolled his eyes. “I’ll teach ya to hunt.”“Great. I’ll teach you how to sail.” When they reached Covet Island Sidney brought the boat alongside a better looking dock than the one on the mainland. Michonne held a sleeping Judith as Holly tied up the yacht and got off. She saw a little black boy running toward them. Holly grabbed the boy as he reached her.“Hey, Trey,” she smiled down at the boy.“Hol. I’m glad to see you,” Trey smiled at her.“Why? What’s wrong?” She knelt down so she could see his eyes.Trey rolled his. “Nothin’. Jeez.”“Yeah, well, I didn’t get you anything. Not this trip. We got people.” Holly gestured to her, Daryl and Judith.Trey looked them over. “Cool sword,” he pointed to Michonne.Michonne nodded once.“Michonne. And it’s a katana, Trey. Daryl’s the biker guy. Judith’s their kid,” Holly introduced them.“Hi,” Trey waved. “Hey, Sid,” the boy grinned.“Trey. You good?”“Yeah, man,” the boy sounded put upon and Michonne quietly laughed.Next an older Hispanic woman, a young white man and an older black man were making their way toward them.“Jace,” Sid pointed to the white guy. “Soledad,” he pointed to the Hispanic woman. “Ralph,” he pointed to the older black man.“Michonne, Daryl, Judith,” Holly pointed to them as she recited their names.Jace stared. “You sure?” he finally looked at Sidney.“Kid’s well taken care of,” Sidney commented.“She looks healthy.” Soledad stared at Judith. “Still, I’d like to check all of you out.”“Go,” Ralph pointed to them. “Jace? Let’s get the boat cleared off,” he directed.Michonne, Judith and Daryl followed Soledad up the path. The hotel was beautiful. White with blue trim, a lot of windows, a wraparound porch with wrought iron furniture. Soledad went inside and it was impressive. White walls, hardwood floors, windows on the entire bottom floor. It was open and Michonne could see three balconies. No check in desk. There was a fireplace against the left wall and a large TV screen mounted on the opposite wall.“Nice,” she commented.“We just finished. After the assholes,” Soledad spit the word out, “it took a while. The windows were the hardest to find. We’re lucky Ralph is talented.”“He made ‘em?” Daryl asked.“No, he put them in, with help from all of us. There were some in the storage area on the island. I guess the owners figured to lose some during the winter or storms or something. Sid, Hol, and Jace found the rest with Ralph. On the mainland. Savannah.”“They went to Savannah for windows?” Michonne questioned.“They did. They had some nice hotels there, too. Ralph was born in this area. He knows all the good spots. It was tough trying to bring them over in one piece. Getting them off and installing them?” She shook her head. “It was hard.” She moved to the back of the hotel and went through an open door. Soledad pointed to a doctor’s table. “You can put Judith here.” She shrugged. “They raided a clinic on Tybee. We’re not sophisticated but we have the basics.”Michonne put Judith down and Soledad put on a stethoscope. After poking and prodding a crying Judith, Soledad murmured to her and she settled down, then dressed her again. “You’ve taken good care of your daughter.” Soledad turned to them with a smile. “She could stand to eat a little more, but who couldn’t?” she asked rhetorically. “Next? You don’t have to take your clothes off. I’m just checking your heart, lungs, reflexes; a basic checkup.”Michonne shared a glance with Daryl before he picked Judith up and she sat on the table. Soledad listened to her heart, had her breathe in and out, tapped her knees with a tiny hammer, said she could stand to eat more then gestured to Daryl. He passed Judith to her and sat on the table. Soledad paused when she put the flat end under his shirt on his back then continued. After Daryl was finished she shooed them out. “Fine. Eat. We have food. We have electricity. Take showers. If you’re staying we’ll put you to work.”“Hey.” Trey was standing there, watching. “Sid and Hol said to get you set up. I’ll give you a tour of the place. Pick a room or rooms. They’re pretty big. If you want to remodel my gramps can help.”Michonne followed the boy back to what she figured used to be the lobby. “The front room, living room, whatever. The fireplace works. So does the TV. We don’t watch a lot. It’s weird.” Trey looked at it like it was a foreign life form. “Not used to it. Gotta get used to my computer, too.”“You have computers?” Michonne asked.“We have a few laptops, yeah. We use one for this place. Keep shit straight. Jace wants to set up the gaming system down here. No one else does.” He shrugged his shoulders. “We may put one up. Anyway, this way to the kitchen.” He walked back down the hall that led to the clinic. When he opened the kitchen door Michonne frowned. “Hol likes to cook.” Trey pointed to the ovens, the cherry wood cabinets, a cherry wood island with a white marbelized granite countertop, a coffee maker, a toaster, a blender and two sinks with chrome fixtures. He opened one of the stainless steel refrigerators and the cupboards to food. “We don’t have a lot of fresh yet. We’re starting more gardens. We do have eggs.” He pointed to them. “Milk.” He pointed to clear jars filled with white liquid. “Soledad makes butter.”Daryl whistled near her.“No kidding,” she whispered back.“Bathroom is this way.” He left the kitchen and turned left. The next open door he stepped aside. “Toilet paper? Better than gold,” he laughed.Michonne saw a large half bath with a white pedestal sink, chrome fixtures and a large mirror with lights above it. She flipped the switch off and on turning the lights on and off. “Cool, huh? Sid and Hol are really smart. So’s my gramps. They said solar right away when they came here.” He pointed to the clinic. “Clinic, but you know that already. No elevator so we’ll take the stairs to the rooms.” Trey went back to the front room and ascended the wide wooden staircase. It curved a little and ended at a balcony that spanned the entire floor.“Rooms are down these two halls.” He pointed to them. “We just worked on our own. You can do the same. The furniture’s new. If you don’t like it, let Hol and Sid know. They’ll try and get in on their next raid.” He took the hallway to the left. “Sid and Hol’s room.” He pointed to the first door on the left. The next door down the hall and on the right was Soledad’s room. ‘Gramps and me’ was down the hall and on the left. “The other two belonged to Grant and Dee, Melissa, Sammy and Tom. They’re dead,” Trey announced flatly. “Assholes. The last one has movies, books and games.” He moved by them back down the hall. “It’s the same for all three floors. The first room is Jace’s. The other ones weren’t claimed. You can take any of the rooms. Upstairs away from us or close to us.” He shrugged. “Look around, pick a room. I’ll be downstairs helping unload. If you want to see the rest of the island we have bikes you can use.” He scrunched his nose. “I’ll see if we have one with a kid’s seat.” He went back to the balcony. “Stairs.” He pointed to the staircase in the center. “If you’re hungry make something to eat. We try and eat together for dinner. Whoever’s not on watch anyway.” Trey left them there and went back down the stairs. Michonne watched as the little boy left.“Shit, ‘Chonne, nice place.” Daryl raised his eyebrows.“It is.” She let out the breath she’d been holding. “Let’s pick a room.”“Don’t gotta. Don’t think Holly believed we were married.”Michonne shook her head ‘no’. “We’ll stay together.”
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Daryl decided on the hall with just Jace. When he opened the door to the last room on the right he gaped. “Fuckin’ huge,” he told Michonne.“It’s a suite. We’ll pick a room. Judith can stay with us until she’s older then she’ll get the other room.”Daryl looked at the little living room. It didn’t have a TV in it. The room to the left, the door was open, had a huge bed with a white comforter, a nice dresser, closet and a huge bathroom. It was white, like everything else, a huge round tub and a large shower stall, with a clear door and silver fixtures, next to it. The toilet was behind another door. There were two sinks embedded in white marble, kinda like the kitchen marbletop, and silver fixtures with lights above the mirror. He looked in the room with the toilet and saw the light switch. He shook his head as he turned the lights on and off.“Nice,” Michonne said from behind him.“Shit yeah. Fuck,” he huffed out.“We don’t have a crib. A place like this? They probably have one.”“Beats the fuck outta me. Never stayed in place like this before. The other bedroom?”“The same.”“You don’t gotta,” Daryl was cut off when Michonne kissed him on the mouth. She frowned when she pulled away.“I’m sorry,” she whispered and turned to leave. He grabbed her by her arm and stopped her. She whipped her head around and glared at him.“Why?”She looked at everything but him. He tugged her arm again. “I wanted to, Daryl,” she hissed.Daryl dropped her arm like a hot potato. “Good to know,” Michonne said calmly and left. Daryl followed her to the other bedroom.“’Chonne, you surprised me is all. Didn’t say I didn’t like it,” he told her.“Is it because I’m black?” she asked as she sat on the bed with Judith.Daryl frowned. “No. That’s stupid. Just.” It was his turn to look at everything but her. “I…ain’t never been with anyone,” he said in a low voice. Michonne could have fallen over with that statement. She kept calm and didn’t make any sudden moves. “I see. I don’t mind,” she responded quietly.Daryl snorted. “Right. You? You’re smart, good with that katana and pretty. I’m a redneck hilljack,” he scoffed. “I don’t know what to do, ‘Chonne. Why would you be interested in me?” he practically shouted. Judith turned her head at the sound of his voice.“I like you, Daryl. A lot. I don’t care. And you’re not a redneck hilljack. You’re Judith’s father and my husband, whether they believe us or not.” She looked at Judith. “Would you, can I, teach you?” Daryl froze and shifted from foot to foot. “Uh,” he grunted out.Michonne smiled at Judith. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” she hummed to Judith. She stood up, Judith in her arms and walked over to Daryl. She pressed her lips to his and moved them. When she pulled back again she didn’t look mad. “You can kiss me, too, Daryl.” When she moved in again Daryl opened his mouth and touched her lips with his. They stood there for a few minutes, Daryl learning how to kiss a woman. When Michonne pulled away a third time she had a small smile on her face. “It was nice.”Daryl frowned and blushed. “It was, Daryl.” She gave him a big smile. “We’ll get better. It’s been a while for me, too.”“Right,” he said to the carpet.“Did you like it?”His head shot up. “Yeah. Liked it.”Michonne kissed him again before she gave him Judith. “Come on. Let’s check out our new home.” She linked her arm with his and led them back to their bedroom. Daryl and Michonne sat with Judith at the dining room table in the kitchen to spaghetti noodles with Alfredo sauce. Shit, he was afraid to move anything. The damn table top was glass, the base was silver, like every other fuckin’ thing in this place. Jace and Soledad weren’t there.“Watch,” Sidney said to him.“Huh.”“We all do it. One on the other side, one at the dock. Covet’s ten square miles. Lot of land to cover. We don’t have the people to have a very good watch. We’re thinking towers. On the list,” Holly told them.“Good idea. Had ‘em at the prison.”“A prison? That’s a good idea. Fences. Built well. It could be self-contained if done right,” Sidney mused.Holly frowned. “Yeah. I never liked prisons. Damn depressing places.” She shrugged. “I guess they had to be. Cheap and who cared about the prisoners inside.”“This is a nice place,” Michonne commented.“We worked hard to fix it up. Most of it was like this. White? Too hard to keep clean.” Sidney forked food in his mouth and chewed. “Still? Almost ready made so we’ll take it,” he said after he finished chewing. “We don’t have a schedule for cleaning. We take care of our own rooms and once a week one of us does the downstairs. Whoever didn’t cook cleans the kitchen. Except you two tonight. Hol and I cooked but we’ll clean tonight.”“We’re pretty free here. One day a week you have to cook. We have a grill in our storage area. One of the nice ones from Home Depot. We haven’t had a reason to bring it over. No meat. Yet. One day.” Holly ate.“I’ll hunt somethin’ up,” Daryl offered.“There aren't any game animals on this place. We’ve been here a while, we’d know. It’s not that big. Why we thought we’d be overlooked,” Sidney explained.“We’d like to give you guys a few days to rest or whatever,” Holly volunteered.“Nah. We’ll help.”Sidney sagged in his chair. “Thanks. It’s been a rough few months. All of us need a break. We’ve slacked on Trey and lessons.”Trey shrugged. “We have other things to do, Sid. Them books ain’t goin’ nowhere.”“Those books and I don’t give a shit, Trey. You need to learn something more than this.” Sidney waved his hand around.Trey rolled his eyes and finished his dinner. He got up from the table and took his plate to the sink. “I’ll do dishes,” he yelled over his shoulder as he left the kitchen.Holly sighed and shook her head. “That kid.”“He’s a good kid, Hol.”“He is, but he does need to learn there’s more to life than this.”Ralph, who’d been sitting quietly through dinner, finally stood up. He took his and Sidney’s plate. “Thank you.”“We’re family here, Ralph.”Ralph finally gave a small smile. “We are. Fucked up but a family.” Then he threw back his head and laughed. “Who knew my family tree would include a Hispanic doctor, a white private, a white ATF agent and a black ATF agent. Shit’s weird now.” He nodded at Daryl and Michonne. “Now I got a white biker, a black samurai and a white grandbaby. See you in the morning.” “He doesn’t mean anything bad by that,” Holly got out after Ralph left.“He’s a good man. Don’t let him fool you. He can use a gun. He was in Viet Nam,” Sid added.“He’s the one that put the solar panels on the roof. He wants to make a field of them. How the hell we’re going to do that we don’t know. Yet.” Holly gave a sickly smile.“We’ll figure it out. I think,” Sid sighed.Holly pushed her plate away and put her arms on the table. “We can offer you coffee. The beer’s flat. On the list to learn. We raided a few bars, so we have scotch, whiskey, Irish Crème, vodka, etc.”“Good.” Daryl pushed his plate away. “Why don’t ya show us that list?”Michonne wiped Judith’s face. “Is there a crib around here?”“In one of the back rooms on the second floor. Dee was pregnant when she died. We cleaned out the rooms of personal effects but left the furniture. Take it if you need it.” Holly stared at Michonne. “Not to get too much into your business, but you’ve told me you’re married. Whether you are or aren’t really doesn’t concern us. Are you doing anything regarding birth control?” Michonne sat back, hard, on her chair. She’d never thought.“I’ll take that as a no. Too bad. I think you’d make pretty babies.” Holly winked at Daryl, who blushed. “Anyway, the condoms won’t last much longer. We took birth control pills and shots from the clinic on Tybee. I get the shot. They’re good for three months. Soledad can give you one, Michonne. If you want.”“We’re not the birth control police, Daryl. We, Hol and I, would like to have a child. Sometime. Not now, but in the future.” Sid put his arm along the back of Hol’s chair. “We want to do a few more things to make this place safe, first.”“Just ask her. She’ll be up later. Sid and I have watch tomorrow. The next day we’re going back to clear out our storage area. We could use the help and Sid can teach you both how to run the yacht.”“Trey said something about bikes?” Michonne made a mental note to get a birth control shot tomorrow.“It’s how we get around here. Or walk. They’re mountain bikes, because of the terrain.” Sid frowned as he looked at Judith. “I’m sure we have one with a baby seat on the back.”Holly shrugged her shoulders. “Probably. Or one of those wagon things you hook to the back. We’ll look. Or we can tell you where to look.”“We’d like to get a few horses, if the biters didn’t kill them all first. Or people for food. We’d also like pigs and turkeys. Goats, too. More cows, chickens. It’s on the list.”“I’ll go get the laptop and we’ll meet you in the living room.” Holly stood up and collected their plates before putting them in the sink then leaving the room.Michonne took Judith out of her high chair and upstairs to their room with Daryl behind her. He opened the door. “I’ll go get the crib,” he muttered and left again. She sat on their bed and looked at Judith as she tried to keep her eyes open. “I think we’d make pretty babies, too, Judith. Not now. Maybe later.” She bent over and kissed the little girl on her forehead.Daryl came back pushing the crib in front of him. He put it next to the bed and waited while Michonne laid her down and covered her up. Then she kissed him softly. When he responded she smiled against his mouth. “Let’s get a look at that list.”“Babies, ‘Chonne?” Daryl practically squeaked.“Babies, Daryl. Not now. I’ll get the shot. This way we won’t have to bother with condoms.”Daryl shook his head. “Don’t know how to put one on.”“I can show you,” she smirked as she looked him up and down. “With my mouth.”“Stop,” he told her and shifted on his feet.“I’ll believe you when you mean it.” She kissed him again then grabbed his hand, leading him out of the room. “Leave the door open so we can hear her if she gets up.”Daryl looked down the hall. “Shoulda picked a room closer.”“We can do it tomorrow, Daryl. List.” She tugged his hand.“Nah. We’ll roll it out to the balcony thing.” He pushed it ahead of him.“Your daddy’s good to you, Judith,” she whispered to an empty room. Daryl was impressed with Sid and Holly. They had a long list and had checked some of it off. Gardens with beans, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes and wheat. Summer spelt. The hotel was done and they had enough electricity to power it with the five solar panels on the roof.“Ralph did it by himself?”“We helped,” Holly told him. “Everyone helps with everything.”“How’d you get the cow over here?” Michonne leaned close to him as she looked at the list.“We took one of the ferries. We knew we’d need milk. We; me, Hol, Jace, Grant and Melissa did a long raid, three or four days, out to the country. We found a few chickens and a rooster. We’ll need another one. And the one cow. We need a bull to impregnate her.”Daryl tried not to blush. “And good luck getting one of those ornery bastards to come along quietly,” Holly scoffed. “My grandfather had a small farm with cows. Until we find a veterinarian, I’m it.”“Sheep, for wool. We’re thinking cotton, too. Eventually everything from the old world will fall apart, including clothes. The gas? Hit or miss on it,” Sid interjected.“Yeah. We’ve lost a few cars to shitty gas,” Holly snorted.“Put up those storage sheds, move the storage area. Those are first. After you and Michonne saw through our guard dogs, it makes it more imperative we do that as soon as we can. Then it’s dealer’s choice. Food, cleaning out the islands or finding more people. Any suggestions?” Sid leaned back with a cup of coffee in his hand.Daryl looked at Michonne. “More people. We can find ‘em when we go find more food.”“No abusers. I’m absolutely firm on that point. I’ll kill them,” Holly stated.“Those islands aren’t going anywhere. I say we find food first,” Michonne suggested. “Soledad said Ralph was born in the area?” she looked at Holly.“He was born in Savannah. How we were able to get the windows. Indulgence we know.” Sid help up his hand. “We don’t plan on moving and who knows how long those will last? He told us where to find the first batch of animals. I’m sure he knows where there are more.”“We should ask ‘im. Find a truck or horse trailer. Bull. Never dealt with one of those.”“Put on your cowboy hat, Daryl. They are outright bastards. I can,” Holly spoke to the floor, “throw a lasso.”Sid laughed. “It kills me when I hear it. Why didn’t you ever do it when we were on a job?”“The Justice Department frowned on hogtieing suspects. You ass.” Holly stuck her tongue out. Sid kissed her on her lips.“Good skill to have, babe.”“Whatever,” she huffed.“Gross,” Trey yelled from the hall. “I’d done cleaning the kitchen. I’m going to bed. You’ll scar me for life.” He ran for the stairs.Michonne laughed in his ear and gave him the shivers. “Cleaning the islands?” Michonne asked. She knew Daryl thought they had their shit together. She did, too. More than Rick.“It’s a stupid idea but we don’t have a better one. We’ll take suggestions. We want to do it in sections. Get on Tybee, fence part of it off and blast music. Away from the part we want to search.”“We done that before. Run to the Big Spot. Sasha blasted that radio,” Daryl reminded her.“Did it work?” Sid perked up.“Yeah. Until the helicopter fell through the roof,” Michonne told them.“Okay. No helicopters. No helicopter issues. After we’re done cleaning everything we need we want to set the homes and businesses on fire,” Holly rushed out.“Scorched earth?” Michonne raised her eyebrows.“Yes,” Holly shot back. “Nothing wrong with it. It was empty before white people came to the US. It can be empty again.”“People?” Daryl looked at her.Sid sighed. “If they have a community we’ll leave them alone. If it’s only a few people they can come with us. Or we can leave them where they are.” He looked around. “We can’t afford many people here with what we have right now. Electricity will blow a lot of minds. We think. We have enough for us, this hotel. Until we get a solar panel field. Again, we’ll figure it out. We think.”“Sure do a lot a thinkin’,” Daryl commented.“We’re doing this by the seat of our pants and some books from a not so whacked out prepper, Daryl. We’ll take ideas,” Sid noted coolly.“If we can’t do solar we’ll do wind turbines.”“Good choice. Ocean right there,” Michonne agreed.“We need to build those. We need so many things, which is why we talk it over with everyone.” Sid nodded to her.“Electricity will blow minds, no pun intended,” Michonne smiled at Holly.“We didn’t have it. In the prison. Not a lot. Generator. It died,” Daryl admitted.“We didn’t have running water. What made you decide to clear out the waste treatment facility?” Michonne wanted to know.Holly shrugged. “Not the prepper books. We were here and I started thinking about the toilets overflowing. The septic system.” She shrugged again. “Ralph told us where it is. Grant, he was going to school for engineering, figured it out. We put those solar panels, you know the ones for road signs, up. After we cleared out the biters. We have to check it periodically. Make sure it’s running right.”Michonne was really impressed now. Smart people.“You got fencin’?” Daryl lit a cigarette.“Not in the house.” Holly pointed to the door. “We can move this outside. Sid?”“Coffee?” he asked as he stood up and unplugged the laptop.“I’ll have some.”“Scotch,” Daryl ordered as he went to the front porch. Michonne sat next to him on the wrought iron sofa.“What do you think?” she asked him as she leaned against him. He put his arm around her.“Good ideas. Need people,” he replied. Then he shocked her by kissing her.“Break it up,” Holly laughed as she came out with the laptop and gave it to Michonne. She picked a chair and moved it off to the side of them. “To answer your question, we do have fencing. We’re trying to figure out how to set it up. Blast the radio, put it up, prop it up and hope the biters like Nirvana. Maybe classical. Might keep them somewhat somnambulant.”“I don’t think it works like that, Holly,” Michonne responded.She drooped in her chair. “I know. I have a dream,” she pouted.Several hours later Daryl finally stood up, Michonne’s hand in his. “Gotta lotta good plans. Storage area first. Get it the day after tomorrow. You’ll show me and Michonne how to steer the yacht, or whatever you call it.” He rolled his eyes at the look he got from Sidney. “We’ll walk around. Might get some ideas of towers we can build.”“When is our turn for making dinner and watch?”Hol and Sid looked at each other. “After us. Not tomorrow. Next rotation. As for cleaning? No set person, whoever volunteers for it. Watch is the same. Not tomorrow, but the next rotation.”“Does Trey do watch?”“No. I know it’s not fair but he’s a kid. He does do most of the running around for us, if we need it and does a lot looking after the gardens. Cleaning? Usually follows watch. Nothing set in stone. If one of you wants to pick it up all the time?” Sid shrugged a shoulder. “We’d have to figure out more segregation of duties. This works for us, right now. We’re trying to be fair but efficient. You feel me?”“We feel you,” Michonne replied. She tugged Daryl’s hand and they went inside. Daryl pushed Judith’s crib to their room. She undressed in front of him and got in bed. Daryl turned the lights off and took off his own clothes. He almost jumped when Michonne slid close to him. “We can practice kissing,” she suggested in a whisper.“Like it,” Daryl whispered back.
After
Glenn didn’t know how many days it had been since the Governor attacked the prison. He figured at least four. Sasha was sitting across from him in the dining room of the country club they’d stumbled across, while Maggie and Beth slept on the floor at his feet.“You should get some sleep. I’ll keep watch,” he offered.“I got it,” she replied tonelessly.“He probably made it.”Sasha ignored him, stood up with her rifle and walked to the windows. Glenn got on the floor between Maggie and Beth and closed his eyes. The fucking Governor. Showing up with a tank. Killing Hershel to make them leave. Maggie moved closer to him, shuddering breaths escaping. He didn’t know if he cared right now if Bob made it. Remembering hurt. He didn’t do it on purpose. When he ran toward the fence with his gun to get Lizzie, the crazy bitch. Yelling at the Governor not to hurt the walkers.He was glad one of them shot her, but it set off a chain reaction that ended up with Hershel dead and the prison gone. Michonne and Daryl had been on a run. After the flu practically wiped out most of them, they’d needed more supplies. He hoped they hadn’t run into him. Especially Michonne.
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Sasha stood looking sightlessly out of the window, tears running down her cheeks. She choked back a sob. Tyreese. Bob. Hershel. She liked him. He could make her crazy sometimes, but he didn’t deserve what the Governor had done to him. She was happy she’d shot the fucker. She hoped he walked for a long, long time.That crazy lunatic kid. Asshole. Rick was going to leave. After the Governor turned down his offer of sharing the prison. The little bitch running toward the fences screaming not to hurt the walkers. Bob. She drew in a breath. Nothing was stopping that man from killing them all. The Governor was looking for an excuse. He would have killed Hershel anyway. Just to prove a point. If it had been Michonne, it would have been worse. The only thing that saved them was some of his people stood there in shock when the guy in the tank shot Lizzie. Her, Glenn, Maggie and Bob had opened fire, hitting some of them. The guy in the tank used it, turning the prison into a battlefield. They had split up trying to escape.She’d spent the first few hours after leaving, running away, killing a few walkers, crying her eyes out. She finally gave out and fell in the woods. She was lucky she hadn’t been bitten or scratched when she woke up. Not that she cared. After she made it back to the prison and saw the smoldering remains, she started walking. She had no one and nowhere to be. Finding Maggie, Glenn and Beth the next day had been a miracle in itself. They’d been here two days and no one was in any shape to decide what to do. Including herself.“Are we staying here?” she asked quietly.“No.”“Where are we goin’?” Maggie asked sadly.“We’ll figure something out, Maggie,” Glenn responded.“Crazy bitch.” Beth sat up and shouted. “She was a crazy little bitch. I’m glad she’s dead,” she screamed.Maggie got up, walked over to her sister and grabbed her arms. “Beth, you need to be quiet.”Beth glared at Maggie through her tears. “Fuck you, Maggie. Daddy’s dead.”Maggie shook her. “I know Daddy’s dead. You think I didn’t see the Governor shoot him, too? I did. I’m glad the crazy bitch is dead, too. You screamin’ about it ain’t gonna change it, Beth. We need to deal with it.”Beth collapsed, sobbing, into Maggie’s arms. Maggie held her, crooning to her, as she cried, too. Maggie, with tears in her eyes, sat in the front seat of their car and looked at the prison. It was a crappy place but they were trying to survive there. The asshole Governor.“I don’t think anyone else made it, Maggie.” Glenn patted her hand.“We need to find daddy. Make sure,” she gulped.“I’ll do it.” Sasha got out of the car before anyone could object. They watched her as she stabbed the walkers that smelled and saw her. Glenn was surprised there weren’t more. He looked at the gap in the fencing. They were probably inside. He closed his eyes and hoped someone had gotten Judith out. Beth gasped causing Glenn to look at Sasha. She stabbed a walker and stood over it. Then she walked back to the car. “Let’s go,” was all she said when she got in.“Where?” He asked the car.“Not here, Glenn,” Beth whimpered.“The farm?” Maggie turned and faced Beth.“You think anythin’s left, Maggie?”“We can look, Beth.” Maggie turned to Glenn. “The farm.”They didn’t make if very far before they had to start walking. It was almost dark and Glenn knew they’d have to find somewhere to sleep when they crossed some railroad tracks. Glenn didn’t know how long they followed them when they found a platform off the ground. “We’ll stop here for the night. We need to get to the road. I,” he gulped. “I don’t know how to get there, Maggie.”“We find a road with a marker, Glenn. I know how to get there. I don’t think we’re that far.” They passed a very uncomfortable night on the platform. Sasha stared at the sign nailed underneath the railroad platform. “What do you think?” She pointed it out to Glenn.He looked at the sign that said ‘Terminus. Sanctuary For All’. He shrugged. “Don’t know.”“Think we should check it out?”“Where is it?”“The sign points that way.” Sasha pointed down the railroad tracks. “They might have more signs.”“We’ll follow. If we see it’s too far away we’ll go to the farm,” Glenn decided. “We’ll need food soon.”Sasha tapped the rifle strap on her shoulder. “I can shoot some.”“Better than me,” he told her.It took them a week to reach Terminus.“Shit,” Maggie gaped at the black smoke coming from the buildings.“Walkers,” Beth screamed and pulled her knife.Glenn, weirdly enough, was proud of Beth. She’d really stepped up when it came to killing walkers. It was sad it took Hershel’s death to bring it out. They ran. They found a small cabin and ducked inside. After locking the door they were quiet. The walkers didn’t stay around long, two days. When Glenn thought it was safe he opened the door and peeked out. He only saw a few. He exited the building quickly, shutting the door behind him before he killed them. When no more came from the woods he turned around and saw three very angry faces staring back at him.“Don’t do that again, Glenn. We coulda helped you,” Maggie whisper yelled at him.He gave a weak smile. “Where to?”“What about King County?” Sasha suggested. “Michonne, Rick and Carl said that Morgan guy had part of the town pretty well protected.”“Yeah. Rick got the spikes idea from Morgan,” Glenn echoed.“Food,” Beth reminded them. “Rick didn’t say anything about that Morgan guy having a garden or somethin’. With the farm, if we could figure out how to protect it, daddy had food in the ground.”“We don’t know, Beth, what it’s like,” Maggie protested.Beth drooped.“Let’s check the farm. If it doesn’t work out we’ll go to King County. I think it’s on the other side of Atlanta. The farm’s closer than that. Right, Maggie?” Glenn looked at his wife.“Yeah, it is. We don’t know where King County really is. We’ll need to find a map or something.” Beth dropped to her knees when she saw her house still standing. She didn’t know how long it had been since Terminus. No one was keeping track of the days. “Look, Maggie. It didn’t get burnt.” She looked up at her sister with tears in her eyes.Maggie dropped beside her and pulled her into a hug. “It didn’t.” She pulled away with a slight smile on her face. “Come on. Let’s check it out.” She stood up and held out her hand. Beth grabbed it and smiled. They ran for the house.“Someone was here,” Sasha pointed at the walker on the porch.“Someone mighta done it. When we left,” Beth dismissed the comment as she knocked on the door. When she didn’t hear anything she opened it and walked inside. She felt dizzy for a minute. Looking at everything, it was like she was coming home from school. Except for the dust everywhere. Maggie pushed her way inside and ran up to her room. She thundered up the stairs behind her. Sasha looked around. “Nice place,” she commented as she sat on the sofa. “Fuck. Furniture.”Glenn sat beside her. “Yeah. They have real beds here.”“Shit. We’re definitely staying,” she let out a little laugh.“How long were we on the road?” Glenn asked her.“In total? A month. Give or take.” She looked around again. “What do you think? It’s kind of open here.”Glenn sighed. “Yeah. Not sure about the water. They had wells. A walker fell in one.”Sasha grimaced. “Great. Don’t drink the water until after we boil it.”“Sounds about right.”“You go on up. Be with Maggie. I’ll take first,” Sasha pointed to the stairs.Glenn groaned as he got up. “Thanks, Sasha.” He paused on the first step. “I’m glad we found you. I don’t think I said it before.”Sasha shrugged. “I’m glad you found me. I.” She let out a breath. “I don’t know what I would have done.”Glenn nodded once and went upstairs. He looked and found Maggie asleep in her bed. He took hers and his shoes off before he climbed in beside her and fell asleep. When Beth opened her eyes she smiled. Then she saw her wrist and frowned. Shit. She was hoping it had all been a bad dream. She sat up and looked around her room. It didn’t look any different. Just dusty. She’d clean it today. She got out of bed and listened. She didn’t hear anything and ran downstairs. She let out a deep sigh of relief when she saw Sasha on the sofa. When she walked around she saw the woman was sleeping.“Sasha,” she whispered. Sasha opened her eyes and sat up with her rifle.Beth took a few steps back and let out a laugh. “It’s alright. You fell asleep. Go. Get in my bed. Better than the sofa.”Sasha let out a loud yawn. “You’ll be okay?” she asked.“I’ll be fine. I’ll see if I can’t find something to eat.”“Good luck,” Sasha told her and went up the stairs.“Second door on the right,” Beth called out. Sasha waved her hand in acknowledgment.Beth went into the kitchen after Sasha disappeared down the hall. She looked through cupboards. They were full, so she pulled down a couple cans of chicken soup and tried the stove. “Shit,” she hissed as it didn’t turn on. She found the matches above the stove and lit the pilot light. “Woo,” she shouted in joy. She put the soup on to boil and looked through the rest of the cupboards. She found granola bars, flour, sugar, instant coffee, creamer, more soup, spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce, chopped walnuts. She checked the soup and found it was done. She poured herself a bowl and dug in, sighing in happiness the entire time. When she was finished she eyed what was left and put the lid back on.Opening the refrigerator she was hit with a wall of stink and shut it again. “Nothin’ good in there.” She looked up at the knocking and saw a walker. Looking around she only saw the one. She opened the door, stabbed it in the head and shut the door again. “Asshole,” she hissed at it and went back to inventorying the cabinets. Cake mix, brownie mix, spices, oil, powdered drink mix. They had enough to survive here for a while. She wanted to go out and check the fields. She knew what few head of cattle they had were probably dead. The chickens, too. If not from the walkers then from not eating or drinking anything. She wrinkled her nose. She forgot the walker in the well. “Well hell,” she sighed.“Beth,” Maggie yelled for her.She came out of the kitchen. “Hey, Maggie. I heated up some soup.”“How?” Maggie wrinkled her brows.Beth shrugged. “Don’t know. The gas worked.”Maggie hummed and followed Beth back into the kitchen. She got a bowl down, blew in it and got some soup. “Mmm. So good.”“I know,” Beth gave her sister a small smile. “Do you think we can stay here?”Maggie shrugged as she ate. “Don’t know, Beth. It’s open here.”“Yeah,” Beth frowned. “I already killed a walker this mornin’.”“By yourself?” Maggie shrieked.“Yeah. It was only one. I checked first, Maggie,” Beth snapped at her.“Dangerous, Beth,” Maggie grumbled.“I did it. I can kill them, too, you know,” Beth growled at her.Maggie glared at her as she finished her bowl. “We’ll wait until Glenn and Sasha get up to talk about stayin’ here. We’d need to put up fencing, like at the prison.”Beth drooped. Even she knew it would be next to impossible with just the four of them. “Asshole,” Beth whispered. Maggie looked up from her bowl. “The Governor,” Beth explained.Maggie snorted. “Yeah. He was an asshole.” She put her empty bowl on the table. “We’ll stay here a few days. Sleep in real beds. Daddy’s got some maps in his office or somewhere around here. We’ll find King County. Try and find a car that works. Maybe check town. The garage may have something that works.”“Won’t the battery be dead?”“Maybe. I think Dennis had that jumper kit. We’ll siphon some gas, go to King County. Morgan might still be there.”Beth put her head on the table. “Shit.” She felt Maggie pat her arm.“We’ll think of somethin’, Beth.” Then Maggie gripped her arm. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. I promise.”Beth looked up with tears in her eyes. “I hope not, Maggie, but you can’t guarantee.” Glenn cleared his throat from the doorway. “Hi,” he said shyly.“Hi,” Maggie turned to him with a smile. “Beth heated up some soup.”“Wow. How?” He looked at Beth.She shrugged. “Don’t know. Lit the pilot light.”“Cool.” Glenn smiled at her. “Can I come in? Or is this sister bonding time?”“Eat, Glenn.” Maggie pointed to the stove.Glenn walked further inside and headed for the stove. “Bowls?”“The cabinet over.” Maggie pointed to it before she got out of her chair and gave him a quick kiss. “Thanks for taking my shoes off.”“I slept there, too. I didn’t want you giving me bruises.”“Shut up,” she laughed. “I don’t kick you in my sleep.”“Where’s Sasha?”“I sent her up to bed,” Beth told him.Glenn sat down and took a bite of the first solid cooked, not burnt to a crisp or raw food and groaned.“I know. No offence to any of us, but we’re not Daryl,” Maggie said.“I know. I wish I would have spent more time with him.” Glenn nodded before he slurped another spoonful. “Shit. This is good.”“Thank you.”After a few minutes he was finished and he eyed the pot. “No. It’s for Sasha,” Beth stated.“Shit. How long have you been up?”“Long enough for her to kill a walker,” Maggie sighed.“Shit. How many?” Glenn sat up straighter.“Only one, Glenn. I checked before I opened the door. I’m not stupid.” Beth glared at him.“They can come out of anywhere, Beth. We know you’re not stupid and we know you can kill walkers,” Glenn soothed her.“Huh. Maybe you should talk to Maggie,” Beth retorted.“We can’t stay here,” Glenn interjected quickly. “It’s too open. The problem the first time.”“Yeah.” Maggie sat back against the chair.“Do you think Michonne and Daryl are alive?” Beth asked quietly.Glenn stared off and fiddled with his spoon. “I think so. If anyone could make it, it would be those two.”“You think they went back?”“I’m sure they did. When they saw it? Who the hell knows where they disappeared to?” Sasha moaned in enjoyment as she ate the cold soup. She didn’t give a shit it was cold. It was cooked all the way through. “Yeah, they’re alive. Where the hell would they have gone?” she answered Beth’s question later. They were all sitting around the table and had been, Sasha understood, until she got up. She looked out the window and saw it was getting dark. “I’ll take night again. Hell, I don’t think I’d be able to go back to sleep.”“I’ll do it,” Maggie volunteered. “It’s not fair to you, Sasha.”Sasha shrugged. “Okay. If I were to channel my inner Daryl Dixon where would I go?” she asked rhetorically as Maggie and Glenn laughed, while Beth grinned.“It’s a tough one. They were all over looking for the asshole,” Glenn noted.“We can’t stay here. Too open,” Sasha asserted.“Yeah,” Beth groaned sadly.“Sorry, Beth. It’s a nice house, though.” Sasha gave her a little smile.“I’ll make a list. We’ll need a map, a car, gas and food.”“Found some, Maggie. Yeah, we’ll have to take pans and cook over an open fire. At least isn’t not squirrel.” Beth gave a quick look at Sasha.“I hate squirrel, too, Beth. I’m almost out of ammo anyway.”“Also not good,” Glenn stated.“Yeah. Daddy didn’t have any guns here. The garage might,” Maggie mused.“We can search a few houses in town,” Beth suggested.“Yeah. Good idea,” Glenn responded.“I hate to burst our bubble, but what are we going to do if Rick’s not in King County?” Sasha asked them.“Yeah. We need a backup plan,” Maggie sighed.“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Rick may be in King County. Let’s start with that,” Glenn responded. “Where the hell else would he go? The prison’s fucked. Judith.” Glenn cleared his throat. “If he or Carl found Judith they’d go home.”Sasha finished her soup in silence. Maggie yawned, looked around her living room and started crying. Damn daddy. He should have never kept those walkers in the barn. He should have put up fencing. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the sofa. Her daddy was a good man and didn’t deserve what the Governor had done to him. He was an asshole. She held up a candle and walked around looking at the pictures on the walls. She smiled to herself as she remembered Shawn, Annette and Otis. Shane Walsh. Another asshole. Otis didn’t deserve to have been left behind at the high school. She found one of her momma and pulled it off the wall.She made her way back to the sofa and curled up with it. “Hey, Momma. I hope heaven’s better than what you and daddy told me it would be. I miss you. Still. Now more than ever, Momma. What are we gonna do, Momma?” She put the out the candle and stared out the windows. It was still so dark around here at night. She shuddered as she remembered the last day they’d been here. They lost Andrea here. Maggie didn’t think it was that big of a loss. The bitch ended up sleeping with the Governor. She didn’t deserve to go out the way Rick said she had, sleeping with the Governor or not.She let out a breath and started to make a list. She really didn’t know where they’d go if Rick wasn’t in King County. The mountains? An island? Someplace where there were no people. She didn’t know where any were. She’d have to remember to get the maps from daddy’s office. If King County was as fortified as Rick made it sound they could work with it. Spikes all over the street. Spikes under welcome mats. Smart. Morgan may still be there. Rick said he was crazy, but they were out of options.Maggie didn’t realize it was light out, she’d been so in her head with plans, talking to her momma, until Glenn came down the stairs.“Hey,” he greeted and sat on the sofa next to her.“Hey.” She kissed him. “We need to boil some water and take baths.”“We’ll do it. The fire place work?” He pointed at it.“Yeah. There might be wood down in the cellar.”“We’ll check it out.” He pulled her to him and kissed the top of her head. “We can take one together. You know. Save on water for Beth and Sasha.”Maggie laughed. “Right. It’ll be fun.” She didn’t kiss him again. “Like to boil some water and brush my teeth.”“No shit. Even that cold crappy water at the prison was something.”“Yeah. We have some toothbrushes around here. We’ll take those.”“Good idea.”Maggie sighed and sunk into Glenn. “Wouldn’t it be nice if Daryl and Michonne were at the prison? Or left us a note?”“It would be nice. We need to be realistic, Maggie.”“I know, Glenn.” She looked at him. “What’re we gonna do if Rick isn’t in King County?”“I don’t know, Maggie. We have to find a place.”“I was thinkin’ the mountains or an island.” She sat up.“What?”“An island. Shit. Beth,” she yelled up the stairs.“Maggie? What the hell?” Glenn asked her.“He’s right, Maggie. What the hell?” her sister stomped down the stairs.
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“I was sittin’ here, talkin’ to Momma.” Maggie held up her picture, “and thinkin’ where we’d go if Rick wasn’t in King County. You remember when you were little? Two or three and we went to Tybee to visit my momma’s sister, Janet?”Beth rolled her eyes. “No.”“Well you did. Shawn was five. I wasn’t much older. Ten. It was the only time we visited. Aunt Janet didn’t like the fact that daddy married your momma.”Beth jumped up and down on the floor. “You think?”“I don’t know, Beth, but our cousin David might still live there.”Beth crushed Maggie in a hug. “Maggie, that’s great.”“What the hell?” Sasha shouted as she came running down the stairs with her rifle.Maggie looked at Sasha over Beth’s shoulder. “We have a plan.” Sasha sat at the table again as she ate more soup cooked from the fireplace. The gas didn’t stay on. “Hm. Not a bad idea, Maggie,” she sipped her instant coffee and sighed. Creamer and sugar was the answer to instant coffee. She ate more soup. “You’re not sure if your family’s still there. Fine. An island is perfect. No fucking tank could reach an island.”Glenn smiled. “Good idea. I wasn’t looking forward to finding mountains.”“Me, either, but we should keep it on the list, just in case Tybee doesn’t work out,” Sasha decided.“Are we still gonna look for Rick?” Beth asked them.“I don’t know, Beth. We have a plan now. We don’t even know if Rick and Carl are alive,” Glenn pointed out.“I say no. From what I saw, that I can remember, the Governor kicked his ass pretty good,” Sasha interjected. “We can always go to the prison and leave a note for him,” she added at the look on Beth’s face.“What about Carol?” Maggie finally asked.“Carol. I don’t know, Maggie. Rick banished her in that development.” He sat back. “I’m not saying he was right or wrong for banishing her for killing Karen and David. The council should have made the decision.”“I agree with that,” Sasha snarled. “Rick wasn’t in charge.”“No, he wasn’t. It should have been a council decision. We’ll leave her a note, too. Just in case she decided to go back.”Sasha didn’t want to think about Ty. Michonne woke up to kisses down her back. She stretched and moaned. “Mornin’, ‘Chonne,” Daryl whispered.“Morning, Daryl. Fuck,” she hissed out as he put two fingers inside her. “Don’t stop.”“Wasn’t gonna,” he said. She could tell he was smiling. And horny. She smiled to herself. She’d created her own monster getting involved with Daryl. She loved it. He moved her to her hands and knees before he entered her hard from behind. She put her face in the pillow to muffle her moans. She could hear Daryl egging her on, telling her her pussy was the best. He couldn’t get enough. Shit, ‘Chonne. Fuck, ‘Chonne. She screamed as she came and her pussy clamped down on his dick, forcing him to put his face beside hers as he groaned into the pillow. He pulled out and slumped beside her. She rolled to face him and smiled even wider at the blissed out expression on his face.It took a few weeks to get there, but they’d done it. The first few times were painful for her and him. Showing him how she could put a condom on his dick with her mouth was the best teaching tool she could have used.“Why you smilin’?” he growled in his satisfied voice.“I got laid.” She kissed him.“Nah. That ain’t your smile for gettin’ laid, ‘Chonne,” he disagreed.“How you do know what my smile is after I’ve gotten laid?” she teased.“Watch ya,” he muttered. “Not just your ass.”“I noticed you watched my ass.”“Nice ass.” He shrugged.She kissed him again. “I’m happy, Daryl. We have a safe place.” She saw him roll his eyes. “As safe as we can get. We have a few more people, so we’re not busting ass all the time.”“Yeah. Matt and Luke. Daisy. What kinda fuckin’ name is Daisy?”“Her name. Monique?”“She’s alright. For a kid.”“I think Trey will be a goner when they get older.”“Pretty blond? Yeah, he’ll be a goner,” Daryl huffed out.“Is that your type?”Daryl turned his head to face her. “What the hell, ‘Chonne? I never had a type. Until you.”“Good answer.”“Damn dumb question,” he hummed. “Why else you smilin’ that big?”“We have a healthy daughter.” She looked at Judith still asleep in her crib.“We do. Gettin’ bigger.”“She’s eating.”“We all are. Can’t wait until we get more fresh food.”“And I love you,” she rushed out.Daryl’s eyes got wide. She sighed and closed hers before rolling on her back. “You don’t have to say it back. If you don’t feel it.”Daryl pinned her to the bed. “You mean it, ‘Chonne?” he asked quietly.She put her hand on his cheek. “I do. I love you, Daryl Dixon.”“Love you, too, ‘Chonne. Since that campground.”“Really?” She raised her eyebrows.“Yeah. Comin’ back from the tent we found, I saw ya, holdin’ li’l ass kicker with your katana out, leanin’ against the car.”“Since we left Savannah.” She smiled up at him.Daryl kissed her deeply and moved between her legs. “Love you, ‘Chonne. Li’l ass kicker, too,” he said when they broke apart.“Da,” Judith yelled from her crib. They looked over and saw Judith sitting up with a big smile on her face and hands together. “Da,” she yelled again.Michonne let out a fake sigh. “Look at her. She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger.”Daryl smiled a little and looked down at her. “Just like her momma.” He kissed her again, got out of bed, put on his boxers and took Judith from her crib. He put her down beside Michonne and crawled back in with them. He looked at the clock on her bedside table. “Got half an hour. Then butcherin’ lessons.”“Fun,” Michonne sighed.“Good for ya.” He rolled to his side and watched as Judith picked at the sheets. “Agree with ‘em. Everyone should know how to do it all.”“It is a good idea.” She paused. “Do you ever think of them?”Daryl shrugged. “Sometimes. Then I remembered we wouldna known where to look for ‘em. Think Rick and Carl would be happy we have Judith.”Judith turned her head. “Da!” she shrieked as she hit him in the chest.“Yeah, you, li’l ass kicker,” he play growled and held onto her hand. She laughed and tried to pull it away from him.“She’s getting older. You should stop calling her little ass kicker.”“Nickname, ‘Chonne. Can call her that once in a while. I’m her daddy.”Michonne clutched the sheet to her chest and leaned over Judith to kiss him. “Yes, you are.” She got out of bed and put Daryl’s shirt on before getting Judith. “Come on, Jude bug. Bath time,” she crooned to a pouty faced Judith. That girl did love Daryl. She looked at Michonne before looking at Daryl, still in bed. She liked bath time, too, so Michonne was interested what would win. “Da.” She held her arms out to him.“Da will help,” Michonne volunteered him.Daryl groaned. “Damn bossy woman.”“I’m your bossy woman. Don’t forget it.”“Da.” Judith clapped her hands.“And Judith’s your bossy woman, too.”“Da.” Daryl looked at his ‘students’ and sighed. “Never done this before. Killed and skinned deer, rabbits, squirrels. Just lettin’ ya know.”“We understand, Daryl. Did you want to look at one of the prepper’s books on butchering pigs?” Sid held out the book. He’d offered last night and Daryl’d read part of it. The killin’ part. He could figure out the rest.“Nah. Read it last night. Accordin’ to this book draw diagonal lines between opposite ears and eyes and shoot ‘em in the head where the lines cross. Then we need to move the pig fast, out of the pen, slit the throat and let the blood drain. Here goes.” He put the gun to the pig’s head and shot it.Hol and Sid dragged the pig out of the pen fast. Daryl slit the throat and watched the blood soak into the ground.“Gross. We need a better way to collect and dispose of the blood,” Daisy sniffed.“I agree. If we refrigerate it we can use it to confuse biters.” Hol studied the draining pig.“Good idea.” Ralph nodded his head in agreement.“Everyone try and come up with some ideas,” Sid directed. “Sorry, Daryl. Continue.”“Good idea. ‘Bout usin’ the blood. Huh. Anyway, we need to do this,” and he demonstrated.Michonne walked away an hour later next to Daryl. “Did you know how to do that?”Daryl shrugged. “Some. Better way of killin’ ‘em. I was just gonna use an arrow on the ones we had at the prison.”“Hm. Good idea about the blood.”“Yeah.” “Woo hoo.” Trey punched his fist in the air. “Look, gramps. Tomatoes.”“They’re looking good, Trey. We should be able to plant the wheat soon.”Trey looked up. “It’s almost October from what the laptop says.”“Soon. We’ll need to set up one of the greenhouses for it.”“Okay, Gramps.” Trey ran toward the hotel before he turned back and gave his grandfather a hug. “Thanks.”“What for, Trey?”Trey shrugged. “Just because, I guess.”Ralph kissed the top of his head. “Go on. Find Soledad. Tell her we’ll have fresh tomatoes soon. Sid and Hol, too.”“You got it,” Trey smiled and ran. Michonne and Holly were sitting, wrapped up in sweaters, on the wrap around porch, drinking coffee with Irish Crème. She couldn’t believe she was still drinking coffee.“Good lesson today,” Holly commented. Jace and Matt were on the beach. Ralph and Luke were at the dock. She put her head against the back of the wrought iron sofa. “We need more people.”“We do.”“Any suggestions? I’m all ears, Michonne.”“Daryl found people on runs.”“The only raid we’re doing is Tybee right now.” She groaned. “We’re going back tomorrow.”Michonne sighed. “I know. Good news? We’re almost finished.”“Thank fuck.” Holly turned her head and looked at her. “You and Daryl are a cute couple.”“I see you checking him out.”Holly smiled. “He’s good looking. All the men here are. Sid’s still the best looking.”“I beg to differ, my dear,” Michonne said in a fake snobby accent.Holly started laughing. “Shit. Are you from New York?”“No. You?”Holly sipped more coffee. “Army brat. I’ve been all over.” She spoke after a few minutes of silence. “Michonne? I’m really glad you and Daryl asked.”“We are, too.”“Fuck. We need more people.” “I guess we didn’t think this out,” Glenn commented as they sat in their car at the end of the ramp near a sign that read ‘Boats to Tybee’.“Shit,” Maggie sighed. “I guess we didn’t.”“We’re here. We can’t just give up,” Beth raised her voice.“I agree with Beth. We’re here. We can’t just give up,” Sasha echoed from behind him.He leaned his head against the headrest. After a month from the farm, Beth was counting, on the road, they’d finally reached Tybee Island. “Shit.” He hit the steering wheel.“We need to find a boat. We’re by the ocean. Someone must have one somewhere,” Sasha reasoned.Glenn sighed and started the car again. “Yeah. We’ll just drive around. There has to be a yacht club or something around here.”“Does anyone know how to steer a boat?” Beth asked the occupants of the car.“We’ll figure it out,” Sasha assured her.He drove down the road and saw signs for ‘Boats to Wassaw’. “We’ll try here. We’ll do a quick drive by. If we don’t find one we’ll try the next island. What is it, Maggie?”She pulled out the map they’d taken from the garage near their old house. “Covet.”“After that?” Sasha questioned.“’Ossabaw’. Then we’re getting further away,” Maggie pointed out.Glenn sighed. “We’ll try down to Ossabaw. After that we’ll find somewhere to sleep and find some houses. Someone, somewhere, has to have a boat.”“Sounds like a plan,” Sasha told them.Glenn drove down the road to the Wassaw boats. “Look. A boat,” Beth yelled. He slammed on the breaks and Beth was out of the car before anyone could stop her. They didn’t need to ask when she came back with a frown. “It has a hole in the bottom,” she reported.“Shit,” Maggie shouted.He put his hand on her knee. “We’ll find a boat, Maggie. We’re pretty smart.”“How much gas do we have left?” Sasha asked.“Half a tank,” Glenn sighed. “We should be good for a while. If we don’t go far.”“Drive, Glenn,” Maggie told him.“Here we go,” he breathed out and started down the highway again until he saw the signs for ‘Covet’. Everyone’s eyes were staring at the docks. The empty docks. “Look,” Maggie yelled. “A really big boat.” She pointed at the dilapidated dock further down. Glenn pulled over and they all got out. He went first and his eyes got wide. “Shit. This is a really big boat.”“No one’s here. Maybe they left the keys or somethin’.” Beth nudged him forward.After they all got on and walked through it Glenn whistled. “Shit. This is a nice ass boat.”“Thanks. We think so,” a man’s voice came from behind them. “Put your hands up.”“Shit,” Glenn put his hands up and turned around. “Daryl?!” he yelled.“Glenn?”Maggie, Sasha and Beth turned around and ran to him, almost knocking him down.“Daryl.” Sasha squeezed him. “Should I tell Michonne about this, Daryl?” the man laughed.“Fuck you, Sid,” Daryl grunted as Maggie squeezed him so hard he couldn’t breathe. “Maggie,” he choked out.“Daryl.” Beth pushed Maggie out of the way and took her turn.Glenn stepped up and did the same, but hit him on the back, too. “Fuck, Daryl,” he breathed out.“We’re fine, Luke,” Sid spoke into the bridge radio.“All right, Sid. We’ll see you in a few hours,” Luke answered.“Who are you?” Beth looked at Sid.“Sidney. We’re on Covet Island.” Daryl finally pried his people off him.“Shit,” Glenn shouted in joy.“We were goin’ to Tybee. My momma’s sister lived there,” Maggie smiled.“Did you say ‘Michonne’?” Sasha looked Sid.“I did. She’s with Hol and the rest on the island. We saw you driving around and hauled ass to find out what the fuck you wanted.” Sid sat in the chair behind the steering wheel. “Daryl? Introductions?”“Right. Glenn, Maggie, Sasha and Beth.” Daryl pointed them out as he said their names.“Hm. There’s nothing on Tybee. Any longer,” Sid told them.“What the hell? It was a big island. You can’t say there’s nothing there,” Maggie shouted.“We cleared it and burned it, Maggie.” Daryl pulled out bottles of water and passed them around. Beth fell on one of the seats.“Shit.” Sasha took a bottle and drank. She yanked it from her mouth. “It’s cold.”“The boat works, obviously,” Sid deadpanned.Sasha narrowed her eyes.Daryl rolled his. “Said we needed people. They was with us at the prison.”“Good enough.” Sid nodded. “Would you like to join us?”“Hell yes,” Glenn yelled. “We don’t have anywhere else to go.”“You help. With everything. Are any of you abusers? People, pets, alcohol or narcotics?”“No,” Sasha sneered.“Good. Hol hates abusers. You’ll help? With everything?”“What’s everything?” Glenn opened his water, drank and sighed. “Cold water.”“Gardens, watch, cooking, cleaning, raiding, butchering.”“We’ll do it,” Maggie shouted.“Daryl? Your turn.” Sid got up and moved to get his own water while Daryl got behind the wheel and turned on the engine.“Take a seat. It’ll be a long ride.” Sid smiled. Glenn, Maggie, Sasha and Beth sat across from the guy Daryl called Sid. “Isn’t Sydney a girl’s name?” Sasha asked him.Sid sighed. “It is unless your mother was in love with Sidney Poitier.”Daryl huffed out a laugh. “He asked the same thing,” Sid jerked his thumb at Daryl. “We’ll teach you how to drive the yacht as well as maintenance. I’m not kidding. Everyone knows, and does, everything.”“Michonne’s there, too?” Maggie glared at Sid.“Yes, she is. We have a few people. Me. Holly. Soledad. She’s a doctor. She’ll want to give you a quick checkup. Daisy? She’s a dental technician, so you can get your teeth cleaned. Ralph. He keeps the place running. Trey, Ralph’s grandson, Jace, Luke, Matt and Monique. We’re in the hotel. It has electricity and hot water.”“Shit. Hot water. Showers?” Glenn raised his eyebrows.“Showers.”“How’d you get electricity?” Sasha questioned.“The hotel has solar panels on the roof. We’re working on wind turbines.”“Hot water,” Beth sighed dreamily.“Cooking?” Sasha looked at Sid.“Cooking. We each take a turn making dinner. Whoever doesn’t cook helps clean up. We have a rotation for keeping the living areas clean. We’re in a hotel so you can have a room. Or share.”“Nice rooms,” Daryl said from behind the wheel.“They’re suites, actually. Two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and a small sitting area. The bottom of the hotel has a living area, the kitchen and the clinic.”“How’d you see us if this is a long trip?” Sasha asked skeptically.“Purely by accident. Luke was catching our dinner tonight. Good night for fish.” Sid smiled.“Need a better system, Sid. If they was assholes,” Daryl trailed off.“I know. Any suggestions?” Sid turned.“Thinkin’ about it now.”“We have been ever since our first encounter with assholes. We haven’t been able to think of one, outside of trying to put a CCTV over here.”“CCTV?” Maggie looked at the man.“Closed Circuit Television. Problematic,” Sid explained. He sat back. “We could try it. Use those small solar panels to keep it up and running. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”“Worth a shot,” Daryl recommended.“Daryl? Did you,” Glenn cleared his throat.“Talk about it when we get there, Glenn,” Daryl responded. “’Chonne needs to be included.”“’Chonne’?” Sasha questioned.
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“Yeah. ‘Chonne.”Maggie and Sasha grinned at each other.“Can we walk around?” Beth asked.“Of course. There are two cabins if you want to lay down.” Sid pointed to the stairs. “We have coffee if you prefer it over water.”“Shit. How did you get coffee? I want coffee,” Sasha yelled.Sid widened his eyes. “We raided some coffee shops. Hol wants to raid grocery stores next.” He stood up and put the kettle on to boil.“Found a shit ton on Tybee,” Daryl reminded him.“Yes, she was extremely happy with that find.” Sid laughed as he sat back down. “Plants would be better. We could grow it ourselves.”Sasha rolled her eyes.“You have animals?” Glenn leaned on the table. “We had pigs in the prison.”“Chickens, a few cows, a bull.”“She wasn’t lyin’. Ornery bastard,” Daryl grumbled.“An ornery bastard of a bull and a few pigs. We’d like to find some goats, sheep and turkeys,” Sid listed.“Fresh eggs?” Maggie goggled.“Fresh eggs and milk.”“How’d you do all that?” Beth gaped.“We made a list and we’re chipping away at it. We’re not as far ahead as we’d like to be. Security. We’re a little lax in that department.”Sasha shook her head. “Little lax in that department? What the hell? Did you work in a bank or some shit?”“No. Holly and I worked for the ATF.”“Shit.” Maggie put her head on the table. Glenn went outside the main sitting area and to the front of the boat. Yacht. He felt Maggie put her hand on his back and rub.“ATF. Made a list and chipping away at it. We weren’t this far ahead at the prison. Electricity. Why didn’t we think of solar panels?” He turned and looked at his wife.“I don’t know, Glenn.”“Rick’s a dumbass.”“You can’t just blame him, Glenn. Any one of us coulda thought of solar panels,” she chided.Glenn sagged onto one of the chairs. “You’re right. One of us could have. Who would have installed them? Where would we have found them?”Maggie shrugged and took the seat near him. “I don’t know. I’m sure these ATF people have ideas. Solar panels and wind turbines. Good ideas.”“Here it is. The ocean.”“Nice ass boat,” Sasha repeated as her and Beth came out and joined them. Sasha took a sip from her mug and sighed. “I like this Holly woman and I don’t know her. Doing runs on coffee shops. Who the hell would take coffee from grocery stores?”“Holly,” Maggie scoffed.“Fresh fish. Teeth cleaned. They have a doctor,” Beth itemized again. “Shit. Solar panels. Why didn’t we do them?”“What Glenn just asked, Beth. We didn’t. We’ll have them now,” Maggie pointed out.“Hot water. Electricity. Seems like a dream,” Sasha huffed.“I can’t wait to take a shower.” Beth smiled.“Cooking one day a week?” Glenn raised his eyebrows.“This sounds like a good place. I agree. Everyone should know everything. And do everything,” Sasha said.“Daryl seems to be happy here. Shit. He laughed. And didn’t punch me when we hugged him.” Glenn smiled at Maggie.“’Chonne’,” Maggie snickered.“I think they make a good couple,” Glenn interjected.“We do, too, Glenn,” Sasha smirked. “We’ll definitely give her shit.”“I can’t believe they burned a whole island,” Beth whispered.“Yeah. It was pretty big.”“Make sense. Take what you need and make sure no one else can stay there. Or make it as hard as possible for someone to stay there.” Sasha nodded. She took another sip of coffee and smacked her lips. “Coffee. Yes, I like this Holly woman.” Daryl pulled up along the dock then Sid put the ropes around the poles and got off. Daryl looked at Glenn, Maggie, Sasha and Beth. He was glad to see them. “Let’s go see ‘Chonne.” He nodded and led them off the boat.He knew everyone but Luke would be there. When the women saw Michonne they screamed and ran over to her, crushing her and Judith in hugs. Glenn waited until he saw an opening then went for it.When they finally broke apart, they wiped their eyes. Michonne just blinked a lot. He knew she was happy they were here, too.“Where’d you find her?” Beth held onto a wriggling Judith.“We’ll talk about it later, Beth.” Michonne shot a quick glance at him. Daryl shook his head.“Didn’t tell ‘em. Figured we could do it all at once.” “Hi.” A blond woman waved and got their attention. “I know you want to talk to Michonne and Daryl but let’s get introductions out of the way. I’m Holly. Soledad,” she pointed to an older Hispanic woman. “She gets you next. Small checkup. Jace.” Holly pointed to a young white guy with blond hair. “Ralph,” an older African American man nodded. “Daisy,” a white woman with brown hair smiled. “Matt.” A young Asian man nodded. “Luke’s not here. He’s catching dinner. Trey.” A young African American male waved at them. “Monique.” A young white girl with blond hair stared. “You met Sid. We’re informal around here. Soledad will take you first, like I said. Daisy? You can get your teeth cleaned, if you want. Just give her a head’s up. After Soledad’s done Trey and Monique can show you around the hotel, let you pick rooms. Then you can have Michonne and Daryl. Is that okay?”Maggie smiled at Holly. “Great.”“Cool. We’ll be around.” She shooed everyone but Soledad away.“Clinic first,” the woman told them.Sasha nudged Maggie as Michonne and Daryl walked away. She almost started crying again when Judith reached for Daryl and he took her.“Awww, that looks so sweet,” Maggie sighed.Soledad stood off the side and cleared her throat. “This way.” She turned and started walking up a path from the dock. Beth’s mouth dropped open when they stepped onto the porch.“Shit,” Sasha whispered.Soledad stopped and turned. “We found it, like this mostly. We had a problem with assholes over six months ago. We finished three months ago, before Michonne and Daryl asked to come over. We finally fixed it up. It’s nice, isn’t it?” She smiled at them.“Shit. This is better than the prison,” Glenn gasped.“Thank you. Now.” She opened the door and let them pass through first.Maggie thought it was a nice ass hotel. Wood floors, windows all over, a large wooden, curved staircase, balconies on three floors from one end of the hotel to the other. The furniture was nice and white. A large screen TV mounted on the wall. A fire place. A bar. “Shit,” she whispered.“This way.” Soledad walked down a hall. “Shit is right,” she said again as she nudged Sasha after peaking in the nice ass kitchen. She stopped at the end of the hall and opened a door that led into what looked like a doctor’s office.“Please, I’ll just check your heart, lungs and reflexes. I’ll give the young man.” She looked at Glenn.“Glenn,” he answered as his eyes took in the clinic.“Glenn a prostate exam. You’re young, I know.” Soledad smiled at him. “And the young women gynecological exams. We have birth control shots and pills. Feel free to ask.”Maggie saw Beth blush. “It’s normal, young lady. Who’s first?” Soledad looked at them.“I’ll go first,” Sasha volunteered.“Good. The rest of you can wait here. This way.” Soledad entered another room and shut the door. Glenn didn’t know how much later they were all finished with their exams. Beth came out of the room red as a fire engine. Maggie, too. He couldn’t tell with Sasha, but she seemed a lot more, adult he guessed, about sex stuff. He felt the same as Maggie and Beth looked. He never wanted another prostate exam again in his life.“It wasn’t hard. We want to make sure you’re relatively healthy. You could all stand to eat more, but who couldn’t?” Soledad asked rhetorically.“Hey.” Trey stuck his head in the door. “You ready?”“Sure.” Sasha picked up her rifle and followed the boy. When they got out of the clinic he saw the blond girl, Monique he thought, waiting, too.“Cool. You’ve seen the front room.” He led them back down the hall. He stopped and waited for them. “We don’t watch a lot of TV. We have a gaming system set up over there.” He pointed to the far side of the room, close to the hall that led to the clinic. “Matt, Luke and Jace like to play. Me, too. We’ll all do it.”“Not Michonne,” Monique smiled. “Or Daryl.”“Not surprised,” Glenn whispered to Maggie. She coughed.“If you want to watch something we have movies in the cabinet off to the side.” He pointed to a cabinet near the TV. “No porn. That you watch in your room. You’ll have to get a TV.”“Porn?” Beth squeaked out.“Porn. Dirty movies. You know what they are?” Trey raised his eyebrows. “Yes, I know what they are,” Beth shouted.“Sid and Hol, Gramps and Soledad said that kind of thing should be for couples or desperate guys,” Monique laughed.“Alright. No porn in the living room,” Sasha deadpanned.“Couples?” Maggie asked.“Yeah. I don’t know too much about sex, but Sid and Hol say it can ‘enhance your sexual relationship’,” Trey used his fingers and made air quotes. “I don’t know too much about sex, like I said. Anyway.” Trey walked them up the stairs.“Schooled on porn by a kid,” Glenn huffed out.“I guess.” Maggie shook her head.“First floor. There are ten suites on each floor. Two bedrooms each. They each have a bathroom and a sitting area. Most of us are down here. Sid and Hol, Gramps, me, Soledad, Luke and Matt in this side. The other hall.” Monique pointed to it, “has Daryl, Michonne and Judith, Jace and Monique and Daisy. The other floors are just like this one. Pick a room. The furniture’s new. No sheets or stuff. We have them in the storage area. Pick out what you want. No elevator. The stairs are in the middle, except for the bottom floor. If you want different furniture let anyone know and they’ll get it on their next raid. Maybe.” Trey shrugged. “I know we’re cleaning off Wassaw and Ossabaw. I think that’s taking priority. Along with grocery stores in Savannah. I think Hol’s doing those by herself.” Trey looked at Monique.“I think Sid will go with her,” Monique responded.Trey shrugged again. “We have other TV’s around. A few laptops. Towels are in the bathrooms already. Don’t ask me why. We’re just kids.”Monique sighed. “I’m eleven. I’m not a kid.” she glared at them.“Not a kid. Got it,” Glenn choked out.“We have bikes. It’s how we get around on Covet. No road. They’re all-terrain?” Trey looked at Monique.“Mountain bikes. Until we get some horses. It’s a hard ride,”“I haven’t been on a bike in years,” Sasha told Beth.“Me either.”“You can walk, if you want. Up to you. That’s it. We’ll let you decide. I don’t know where Michonne, Daryl or Judith are. Around. They could be in their room. Last door on the right down this hall.” Trey pointed to where Monique was standing.“We eat around five or six. It depends. Luke’s catching dinner,” Monique chirped.We don’t lock the rooms. If you want to, Hol and Sid have the keys around here somewhere,” Trey added. “Come on, Moni.”“Bye.” Monique waved at them as they slid down the banister.“Rooms or find Michonne, Daryl and Judith?” Glenn asked.“Rooms. Hot shower,” Beth yelled as she ran down Daryl and Michonne’s hallway.“Rooms. They aren’t going anywhere,” Sasha echoed as she followed Beth.Glenn held Maggie’s hand as they went down the hall. “Is Beth staying with us?”“She won’t want to. Maybe she’ll share with Sasha.”Glenn wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “A real bedroom. A real hotel room. To ourselves.”Maggie laughed and kissed him. “Yeah. Better than the prison tower.” Sasha found the second door on the left, near Daryl, Michonne and Judith, according to Trey and Monique, was open. “Beth?”She was in a towel and came out of the room on the left. “I’m showerin’.”“Did you want to share?”“Sure. I don’t want to stay with Maggie and Glenn,” she said.“Got it,” Sasha smiled and took the room on the right. Maggie and Glenn took the room down the hall and to the right of Daryl and Michonne. Maggie and Glenn both whistled as they took in the large bed, white dressers, night tables and hardwood floors. The sitting area had a few chairs and a small loveseat placed in a circle with a glass top and chrome base table.The bathroom had a closed toilet, a white pedestal sink, a round tub with a separate shower that had clear doors. “Shit. Nice hotel,” Maggie said again.“You aren’t kidding, Maggie. We’ve probably seen pictures of this on the internet.”“Shower?” Now Maggie wiggled her eyebrows up and down.Glenn started stripping. Michonne, Daryl and Judith were waiting when they finally came down.“We have more clothes. The storage area’s behind the hotel. With washers and dryers,” Michonne told them.“Clothes?” Beth asked.“Lots of clothes. Sidney and Holly took a lot. Even before we got here,” Michonne answered.“Damn, Daryl, this is a nice place,” Glenn sighed. He frowned at the white furniture.“Can sit down, ya know,” Daryl invited.“We hate it, too. Comfortable. Hard to keep clean,” Michonne snickered.“It’s on the list. Gettin’ different furniture,” Daryl sighed.“List?” Maggie and Glenn sat on the loveseat near them.“We have a list. We check things off as we do them. Efficient.” Michonne nodded her head.“Some shit, let me tell ya. When we found them. This place?” Daryl waved his hand around. “Was afraid to sit down, too.”“What the hell happened?” Michonne raised her voice. Judith looked up from playing with Daryl’s shirt and looked at her.“’S’all right, Judith.” Daryl ran his hand down her back.“You called her Judith,” Beth squealed. “Can I?” She held her arms out.“Don’t remember ya, Beth. Try it if ya want,” Daryl encouraged her.Beth got up and went to pick her up and Judith tried to melt into Daryl.“We’re sorry, Beth,” Michonne murmured at the look on her face.“Let her get used to ya again,” Daryl recommended. He picked up a bottle that was on the floor. “Scotch. We gonna need it?”Glenn closed his eyes and let out a breath. When he opened them again he saw Michonne and Daryl had pinned them with their gazes. “Yeah. We’ll need it.”Michonne bent over and picked up glasses. Daryl filled them and passed them out.“What the hell happened?” Michonne repeated her question.“Go out on a run, come back and the prison’s blown the hell up,” Daryl added.“The Governor,” Sasha sneered.“’Chonne stuck her katana in his face. Figured. Found a tank?”“Shit. I wanted him to walk.” Sasha frowned.“Daddy was outside the fences, clearing out walkers. The Governor showed up. Told us we had to leave. Let him and his people have the prison. He was holdin’ Daddy hostage, to make Rick leave. Lizzie? You remember her?”“Little blond girl, right?” Daryl answered Maggie.“Yeah, her,” Beth snarled.Maggie clutched her hands into fists. “She ran for the fences, yelling at the asshole not to hurt the walkers,” she growled.“Can you say that again?” Michonne requested quietly after she sipped her scotch.“The crazy bitch yelled at the Governor to not hurt the walkers,” Beth shouted. “The crazy bitch. One of the asshole’s people shot her in the head. Best damn thing the asshole ever did for us.”“All hell broke loose after she was shot. Me, Bob, Maggie and Glenn started firing back. They did the same. The tank guy used it. Took out some of the towers.”“It was a clusterfuck,” Glenn gulped some of his scotch and choked. “Walkers started coming inside. I took Maggie and Beth and we left. The Governor, Sasha saw, was kicking Rick’s ass.”“I don’t think he made it,” Sasha sipped and sat back in another chair. “I ran,” she admitted. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. “I. Ty. Bob.”“We found her. A few days later, walking down a street. We found a country club and stayed there a few days. We went back.” Glenn took a deep breath and let it out.Sasha held up two fingers.“Twice?” Michonne raised her eyebrows.Sasha nodded.“We were goin’ back to the farm and saw signs for Terminus,” Maggie picked up. “We got there? It was a damn war zone, too. Walkers everywhere, buildings on fire. We went back to the farm. We didn’t know where else to go.” She looked at them as if she was asking for permission.Michonne and Daryl nodded. She took a deep breath. “We were gonna go to King County. See if Rick and Carl and Judith made it. Rick said that Morgan guy had it pretty well protected.”“We didn’t,” Beth interrupted.“We didn’t. We decided to try for Tybee. My momma’s sister lived there. If it worked out we were going to go back to the prison and leave a note for Rick. In case he made it.” Maggie wiped her eyes.Glenn wiped his eyes, too. “We found you three.”Michonne looked at Daryl. “Hershel?” he asked quietly.Sasha looked at the floor.“Shit.” Daryl fell against the back of the sofa.“The Governor,” Beth started crying again. Then she ran over and hugged Michonne, Daryl and Judith.Michonne ran her hand up and down the crying girl’s back. Judith started to cry and Michonne moved, with Beth, a little away from them and crooned softly to her. When Beth started hiccupping Michonne put her hand on the Beth’s face and made her look up. “I’m sorry. Your dad was a good man.”Beth, embarrassed, turned red, wiped her eyes and went back to her chair, taking a big drink of scotch. She coughed and Maggie let out a watery laugh.“You?” Sasha pointed her glass at them.
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“We came back from the run and saw the prison. I stuck my katana in his face,” Michonne sneered. “Asshole. We got inside.”“Heard li’l ass kicker cryin’ in one a the cells. Bob. Had to put him down.” Daryl sipped.Sasha closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath. “Thank you,” she said when she opened them again. “We went to Woodbury,” Michonne continued.“Why?” Maggie frowned.“Walls. Had solar panels, accordin’ to ‘Chonne.” Daryl pointed his glass at her. He held it away when Judith grabbed onto it. “Too young,” he gently admonished her. She put her head on his chest and stared up at him. “Ain’t gonna work, them puppy dog eyes.” Judith smiled up at him.Glenn shook his head at Daryl and smiled. He needed to see that. Looking at Maggie, Beth and Sasha, they did, too.“Go on.” Maggie urged softly.“It was burned down. The Governor,” Michonne sneered again. “I wish I’d killed him.”“You and me both, ‘Chonne,” Daryl said.“We went to King County the same day. Morgan was gone. Nothing was there. We couldn’t stay there. No food. When we were there the first time, Morgan collected a lot. It was gone. We stayed a few days.”“Went back to the farm,” Daryl picked up. “No one there. Couldn’t find a way to make it safe. We had li’l ass kicker.” He ran his hand down her back again.“We didn’t know where else to look or even if you made it out.” Michonne sighed. “We didn’t even try and look for you among the walkers.”Daryl shifted. “It’s alright, Daryl.” Glenn gave him a nod.“’Chonne told me about Covet Island. We decided to try it. If this didn’t work out we was gonna head for the mountains. Away from people.”“We had Judith,” Michonne repeated.“Found Sid and Hol’s ‘storage area’. Had walkers protectin’ it.”“What?” Maggie frowned.“The arms and jaws were cut off. We asked if we could come here. We had to help. With everything. We said yes. We’ve been here three months.”“Shit. Nice ass yacht. Nice ass hotel,” Daryl breathed out.Glenn sat back against the back of the sofa with his arm around Maggie. “It is. A nice ass yacht and a nice ass hotel.”“How are they?” Sasha refilled her glass.“Good people. Smart. Very egalitarian,” Michonne raised her eyebrows.“Have a damn list. Everyone has a say on it. Includin’ Trey and Monique,” Daryl huffed out.“They put up the solar panels we have in the roof. They have greenhouses. We’ve just started getting fresh food from the gardens.”“Garden’s hell. Damn farm. Got animals,” Daryl sipped.“Cho,” Judith called out and raised her arms. Daryl passed her over. Judith put her head on Michonne’s chest.“It’s a miracle you found her,” Beth breathed out.“Why we didn’t spend a lot of time trying to look for you. I’m not sorry for it,” Michonne stated as she hugged Judith to her.“We understand, Michonne.” Maggie gave her a slight smile.“We’re not real rigid around here. We have a watch. Not a good one and towers are on the list.”“Might have to move ‘em up higher,” Daryl commented.“Two people at the dock and two people patrol the beach at night. During the day, we’re all over.”“Need people,” Daryl interjected.“You have us. Now.” Glenn raised his glass.“We have you. We’re happy you made it,” Michonne gave them a small smile.Sasha grinned right back. “So? You and Daryl?”“Stop,” Daryl groaned. “If this turns into a chick conversation I’m leavin’,” he threatened.“Problem?” Michonne raised an eyebrow.“No problem, Michonne. I think you’re cute together,” Maggie smirked.“Shit. You been talkin’ to Hol?” Daryl grumbled.“She does, too,” Michonne told Maggie.Sasha let out a surprised laugh. “She does, huh? I like this woman.”Michonne stood with a sleeping Judith in her arms. “We’ll put her down and show you the storage area. You can get bedding and clothes.”Daryl got up and went to a closet they didn’t see and opened it. Glenn got up and helped him put up a pack and play and watched as Michonne put her down.“Isn’t dangerous? Leavin’ her by herself?” Beth questioned.“We won’t be gone long. We have a radio.” Michonne held it up. “We can listen for her. Come on.”Daryl covered Judith up with a blanket and stopped when he looked up. “What?” he whisper yelled.“Nothing, Daryl,” Glenn grinned.“Daddy’s a good look on you,” Sasha laughed quietly.“We’re gonna tell her ‘bout Rick and Carl,” Daryl sounded like he was defending himself.“We know, Daryl.” Maggie patted his arm. “If Rick and Carl made it? Maybe they’ll find us. Or we’ll find them.”“Maybe we should put a note at the prison,” Glenn suggested.“We’ll have to make one for Carol and Ty, too,” Beth interjected.“Yeah. Need to make one for all three of ‘em,” he agreed. “Come on. Sheets and clothes.” Michonne walked down the hall.“The kitchen’s nice,” Maggie exclaimed as they passed it.“It is. It’s nice to cook with electric. The hotel was almost done before this,” Michonne offered the information as Sasha went inside. “It is. I can’t wait to cook,” Beth grinned.“We eat there. We only have ten that do watch so we fit. When we get more people we’ll have to figure something out.” Michonne pointed to the large glass topped and chrome base table.“Glass, chrome and white,” Sasha whistled.“It was supposed to make it look more open,” a man’s deep voice said from behind them.“Ralph.” Daryl turned and nodded at the man standing in the doorway.“Son. Just checking on my other grandbaby.” He nodded back. “Luke’s on his way. Got some big ones. He says,” Ralph smirked.“The boy can fish,” Daryl conceded.“More for the garden. Go on. I’ll take them out back,” Ralph offered. “Go put my Judy in a real crib,” he directed.“You okay with it?” Daryl looked at them.“They’re fine with it, Daryl. I have to meet my new family. Go on, boy.”“We’ll be fine, Daryl.” Sasha smiled at the old man.“We’re family here,” Ralph explained after Daryl and Michonne left.“Good way to be,” Beth whispered.“It is. It’s how we make it these days. Come on. You’ll all see this room too much.” Ralph laughed and waited. Ralph took them toward the clinic and veered left out another door. They stepped out onto the porch and followed him to a large building out back. He opened the door and stepped aside to let them in.“Looks like a damn department store,” Maggie gaped.“Sid and Hol? They tried to think of everything. Clothes to the left, toiletries in the back. We have shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, brushes, hair bobs. Basic medical stuff, band aids, hydrogen peroxide, cotton balls, tissues, toilet paper. Cleaning supplies, detergents. Shoes. Mostly hiking boots, combat boots and tennis shoes. Electronics. Not a lot of those. Some TV’s and laptops. Bedroom stuff. Sheets, pillows, pillow cases and blankets. We have another room just for music and movies. We’re going to build a library, it’s on the list. Most of the books we use are in the house. We have some in one of the rooms on the second floor, if you’re interested. They’re with the books. The last room on the right. Second floor.”“Who keeps track of all this?” Glenn asked as he wandered around.“We all do. If you take something you mark it off. We keep a laptop in the kitchen, under one of the counters, with a list of everything we have.”“Guns?” Sasha looked up from the clothes.“Guns. We have hand guns, ammunition, rifles, automatic weapons, hand grenades, RPG’s. Those are kept in the armory. Off the clinic. To the right.”“RPG’s? How the hell did they get those?” Glenn gaped at him.“Sid and Hol used to work for the ATF. They were tracking someone collecting a lot of weapons. Found his stash,” Ralph grinned. “In a damn bunker. Took it all. We have more storage areas around. When something gets low we refill.”“How long have you been here?” Beth picked up a pair of jeans and put them against her legs. She nodded and took two more pairs. “They even got tags on some of this stuff,” she noted.“Since this whole thing started. They were going to open a few weeks after this. When shit started to go south? I took my grandson, Trey, and came here. Figured no one would look on this little island. I was the chief maintenance man.”“Someone did?” Maggie picked up toothpaste, toothbrushes, brushes, shampoo, conditioner and mouthwash. “Glenn? Let’s get some good sheets.”Glenn moved to the sheets section. “What color?”“Blue,” she answered. “Michonne said washers and dryers?”“Through here,” Ralph opened a door in the back. Sasha whistled.“Nice ones. Big.”“Brand new. We wash our own clothes. Once a week, whoever cleans downstairs, does the community wash. Towels for the bathroom downstairs, kitchen cloths,” he explained.“We can do that. Might need a lesson on how to use them,” Beth pointed.“We’ll show you,” Ralph said.“Nice set up here,” Sasha commented again as she picked out red sheets while Beth chose green. They chatted with Ralph as they went through the storage area. After they were done Ralph took them back inside and showed them the laptop.After a quick lesson on the inventory system they went to their rooms. Beth sighed as she laid down on her new bed. “Ahh,” she moaned in joy. She almost wanted to take another shower. She decided she was going to. She walked into her nice ass bathroom, took off her dirty clothes, got in the shower, shaved her legs and underarms and washed her hair. After getting out she brushed her teeth, used the mouthwash and put on her new underwear and clothes. When she went into the sitting room she tested out the furniture.“Nice,” Sasha repeated as she walked out of her room in her new clothes.“Michonne and Daryl were lucky.”“We were, too, Beth.”“Yeah. We were, too,” she smiled at Sasha. “Everything’s so nice.”“Comfortable. And nice,” she added when Beth rolled her eyes.“Hot water. Showers. Working toilet. Electricity.”“It’ll take some getting used to, that’s for sure,” Sasha admitted as she sat on the loveseat.“Sorry about Bob, Sasha,” Beth muttered.She gave Beth a sad smile. “So am I, Beth. So am I.”“He saved Judith.”“He saved Judith.”Beth patted Sasha’s hand. “Come on. Let’s check out the armory.” “How does it work?” Sasha asked at dinner that night.“God, this is so good,” Maggie sighed as she ate fresh fish. Luke, a young black guy, nodded in acknowledgement.“We all take turns cooking dinner. For everyone. The ones on watch, too,” Soledad said. “We put it up in one of the refrigerators.” She pointed to the two large stainless steel refrigerators. “Other meals are on your own as we’re all over the place. Sid, Hol, Matt and Jace have tonight. We’ll go through a rotation, so before their turns again. We help everywhere. Daryl gave us a lesson on butchering. You four will have to learn, too. Feeding the animals, collecting eggs, checking the food in the greenhouses and fields. Just rotate, I guess. If you’re not sure if something’s ripe we have books on growing food. Check them. We’re learning on the fly.”“My daddy had a farm. We can show you,” Beth volunteered.“Cool. We haven’t done bad, so far. Tomatoes, potatoes, beans, some spices. We have a drying house and a smoke house. We have bacon,” Daisy added.“We have a list of seeds. If you know how to grow something and we need something for it, put it on the list. The raiding teams take them when they go out. If we don’t? Plant it and let us know,” Luke told them.“Everyone raids. We’re just starting to take Trey and Monique. Sid and Hol got paintball guns to teach them how to use real guns.”“Why paintball guns?” Glenn looked up from his plate of fish and green beans.“So we won’t waste ammunition,” Ralph replied.“We’ve killed biters before. With knives.” Monique held hers up.“Yeah. Nasty bastards.” Trey wrinkled his nose.“We try and have at least an hour a day with Trey and Monique for lessons. Math, reading, writing. The basics,” Soledad listed.“Everyone.” Ralph pointed his fork at them.“We can do it,” Sasha repeated.“We’ll show you the list later.” Michonne ate some of her dinner as Daryl held Judith and fed her from his plate.“Need to meet tomorrow before we leave for Wassaw,” Daryl called a meeting. “It’s important.”“Right after watch,” Luke decided.“Are we going?” Maggie asked.“If ya want. We’re cleanin’ it almost like the Big Stop. Start a radio away from where we’re clearin’. After a few hours we put up fences, prop ‘em up. Take everything. We’ll show ya how Sid and Hol showed us how to search.”“I’ll stay with Judith and check the food,” Beth offered. “Go over lessons.”“Good. Sid and Hol will be sleeping.” “Well, shit.” Holly sat back against the sofa after her, Sid, Jace and Matt heard about the prison. “What an asshole. Probably had a little dick.” She waved her hand. “Neither here nor there.” She stood and paced. “If someone was onshore they could almost reach the island.” “How do you know?” Glenn asked.“Army brat.” She paced some more. “Gas. Car gas. Not diesel. Some of it’s shitty any way. If we put car gas in a tank it can’t go anywhere. After a while. It’ll screw up the engine.”“That won’t stop anyone that already has a tank, Hol,” Matt snorted.“No it won’t. Then we’d be in trouble.” She paused. “Unless we find some anti-tank guns.”“We’d have to raid a base or something for that, Hol,” Sid noted.“We would. And we’d have to be damn lucky.” She stopped, tilted her head back and sighed. “We could. Raid a base. All bases, army bases, have basically the same layout.”“That’s insane,” Soledad shouted.“Very insane. If a base was loaded with biters?”“Sid, we can’t raid a base. We’re good. Not that good,” Luke protested.“She’s right. All army bases have basically the same layout. Munitions and weapons depots are the farthest away from the front gate,” Jace added. “Anti-tank rifles. Not the big guns.”Hol rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me, Jace? If we raid a base for guns we’re taking everything. Landmines, anti-tank guns, grenades, RPG’s. We could take tank shells, break them open, the ones with powder.”“NO,” Ralph raised his voice. “Raiding a base? It would be suicide.”“Hm. I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Raiding a base? No. I agree with Ralph. This was one instance. From what Sasha, Beth, Maggie and Glenn said this was somewhat personal. Aside from the hit and run, we’ve been left alone. We’re cleaning up and burning the islands closest to us. Another thing to consider? Most of the things from the old world are falling apart, breaking up or spoiling like gas and food. We’re kind of smart and planning. Not to say some asshole out there hasn’t thought of taking over the world with a loose nuke. I’m sure some crazy idiot has. Could they do it? Possibly. I say we try and build towers while we raid Wassaw and Ossabaw,” Sid reasoned.“Towers.” Matt held up his hand.“Show of hands for towers?” Daisy asked.After a show of hands, everyone, towers were bumped up the list. “Instead of burning we should take the houses apart and use the wood,” Matt suggested.“We’ll need the ferry,” Trey noted.“It’ll take a long time. Longer than we spent on Tybee. It took us a month there,” Jace reminded them.“We need towers, no question. Is the wood safe? After all this time? Should we cut down fresh trees?” Soledad threw in.Holly yawned. “I’m too tired to think about this. Next item on the agenda is taking houses down or cutting trees. We’ll revisit tomorrow. The raiding party can check out the buildings on Wassaw and report back. Sound good?”Sid laughed. “Who knew we’d miss Kenn G?” he said to Holly.“Yeah. I do miss his weasel ass. He was one our CI’s,” she explained at the confused looks. “He was tapped into all kinds of crap.”Sid stood up and yawned. “We’re going to bed. Barbeque chicken and we’ll make some mashed potatoes. Maybe one of those brownie mixes for dessert. We’ll grill. Night everyone.” He waved as he pulled Holly behind him up the stairs.A chorus of ‘good night’ followed them along with Jace and Matt.“Interesting,” Sasha said to Daryl and Michonne later as they’d congregated in their room. “Yeah. Everyone does everything. Everyone has a say,” Michonne repeated. “Good policy,” Daryl echoed.“Shit yes. When we were on the road we barely fed ourselves. Sasha shot squirrels. Trying to cook them?” Glenn shook his head. “I really missed you, Daryl. We all did.”“Daryl has a lot of students now,” Michonne softly teased. Sasha broke out in laughter at the look on his face.Michonne put Judith in a sling and carried her in front. “Come on. We’ll show you the animals and the fields.” Sasha was really impressed the next day when they started cleaning Wassaw Island. She’d never have thought to look under beds or behind dressers for guns. Luke said it wasn’t a contest. “Just do it thoroughly. Check your lists.”By the time they left, hours later and only part of the island cleaned out, they had a yacht full of canned food, guns, ammunition, baby formula, bottles, medicine, blankets, sheets, clothes, pillows, coffee, creamer, sugar, flour. Matt had found a house with a garden and they’d spent time digging up the plants. They now had carrots, more potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, basil and rosemary. Taking down the small greenhouse had been challenging.She was bone tired by the time the yacht docked on Covet. They dragged everything up to the storage area but the plants. Beth took them and put them in some containers until they could be planted. The greenhouse was left near the other ones for someone to reassemble. Luke brought over a few more bikes and a few wagons.She was showering later when she realized she was singing. Then she cried. She missed her brother. When she got out, hot water, she was wrinkled and ready for bed. She put on some sweats and headed downstairs. She could smell barbeque chicken.“Hey.” Sid nodded at her as he put the chicken on the island. “Help yourself. Everyone usually does.”“Thanks.” She grabbed a plate and put chicken and potatoes on it. “Brownies?”“Holly made them already. They’re in the oven. We don’t have assigned seating. Wherever.”She took some silverware that was sitting out and saw water was already on the table. “Good, babe,” she complimented Sid and he kissed her on the lips. “So, how was your first raid, Sid and Holly style?” Holly asked.
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“Gross. Get a room,” Trey and Monique booed. “You sure look everywhere.” Maggie widened her eyes.“Benefit of working trying to find bad guys that want to hide guns.” Sid forked food in his mouth. “Shit. This is good.”“Hat’s off to the chef.” Ralph raised his glass in a toast.“Thank you. I took some of the jar sauce and added some of our spices.”“Tomorrow?” Beth looked up from her plate.“You, Trey, Monique, me, Sid, Ralph and Soledad raid.” Holly pointed her fork at her. “We see you have a knife so we’ll assume you know how to use it and won’t freeze.”“I killed my share of walkers,” Beth said.“Good. Not to be a bitch, but it’s eat or be eaten now. I’m not on any biter’s menu.”“We could use more people,” Glenn blurted out.Sid laughed. “Thank you. That’s a better compliment than the chicken. We do. Why we have a list. People are on it. Hard decisions to make. This? Clearing off the islands? Long term it’s for our safety. Short term we find things we need.”“Where are Michonne and Daryl?” Maggie looked for them.“Night watch. Her and Daryl are on the beach. Luke and Jace are at the dock.”“We need towers,” Sasha sighed.“On the list.”
After
Carol sat in the car, in shock, staring at the destruction of the prison. She drove up to the gates and saw they were down and a tank outside the fences along with a burning car. She turned around and left, tears running down her face. She drove away in a daze. After Rick kicked her out she didn’t have a particular destination in mind. She had no one and no place. She didn’t even know why she’d come back. Some half assed plan to see Daryl before she drove off into the sunset.After her car ran out of gas she gathered her things and wondered why she was doing it. She had no one. She had nowhere. Carol let out a shuddering breath and guessed habit. Or she was too stupid to die, as Ed always told her. Or maybe he told her she was too stupid to live. She gave a bitter laugh. Ed was too stupid to live. She’d outlasted him. She sobbed. She’d outlasted Sophia. After Sophia she didn’t want to live and she could understand Andrea now. After Amy died and why she was so hostile toward Dale. Dale was a sanctimonious prick. His wife died before this happened. He’d never lost anyone during this.Carol moved off the road and into the woods. There wasn’t enough cover to fight walkers out in the open. Harder to run but more places to hide. When she saw railroad tracks she decided to follow them. They might lead her someplace. Ty couldn’t get Mika to stop crying. “Shh, Mika. Walkers.”“I’m sorry, Ty. I’m sorry. This is my fault. I’m sorry. I was supposed to watch her. She was supposed to watch me,” she wailed.Ty stopped and picked Mika up. “It’s not your fault, Mika. And it’s not Lizzie’s fault. It’s the Governor’s fault.”“Hershel’s dead. Judith’s dead. Bob’s dead. Everyone’s dead,” she cried into his shoulder.Ty continued to walk. “We don’t know that, Mika. They could be trying to find a place for us then come find us.”When the tank guy killed Lizzie all hell had broken loose. He used that machine gun until it ran out of bullets. He didn’t even know if he killed anyone. After the tank shell had knocked him on his ass he’d been down for a few minutes. He heard Mika screaming and he headed toward her, grabbing her and running away.Ty didn’t consider it his finest moment, leaving the others. When he’d looked up he couldn’t see a damn thing with all the smoke. He found Mika by the sound of her voice, grabbed her and left at the first opportunity. She’d screamed herself hoarse and had fallen asleep in his arms. Ty found a sturdy tree and climbed up, securing him and Mika as best as he could. The next day Mika still wasn’t talking. He walked, he didn’t know why or what they were going to do. They’d been lucky to find abandoned cars along the road and spent the night in one. Ty knew they needed water and ducked in the woods, Mika holding onto his hand for dear life. He found a small stream and fished out one of the water bottles from one of the cars and filled it. Taking some time he washed them both off the best he could. Mika was practically unresponsive. When they found the railroad tracks Ty decided they’d lead someplace and started walking. They slept in another tree last night before continuing on.Ty was relieved when the little girl started crying but then she started sobbing hysterically, making a lot of noise. After she fell asleep Ty sighed. They needed to find water soon. Or a house. Another car.“Tyreese?” he heard from behind him.He turned and saw Carol. He almost broke down in tears. “Carol? How?”She waved it away and looked at Mika asleep in his arms. “She was the only one.” Ty stopped talking. Carol walked over and took the little girl from his arms, waking her.“Carol?” she cried and hugged her back. “I’m sorry. It was my fault. I’m sorry. It was my fault.”Carol looked at Ty with a question in her eyes. “The Governor showed up. With a tank. Lizzie.” He looked at Mika. “I’ll tell you later. I, uh, haven’t found any of the others.”Carol silently cried. She had been afraid they didn’t make it. She started walking, Ty falling in step with her. “I saw it,” she whispered.“We need water,” he held up an empty bottle.“I have one. In my backpack. Take it,” she offered.They stopped and sat on the tracks. Carol had Mika drink some water. “It’s going to get dark soon. We’ll need to find someplace.”“We slept in a tree for two nights. An abandoned car for one.”Carol hummed a sound before she took a sip and passed it to him. “Let’s walk a little more. They might lead somewhere.”Ty sipped the water. He didn’t have any other ideas. Late in the evening they saw a house not far from the tracks and made their way over. Carol wrinkled her nose at the condition.“Barely more than a shack,” Ty huffed.“Better than a tree, Ty. We’ll stay here. For the night. I’ll take first watch,” she volunteered as she knocked on the door. When they didn’t hear anything Ty frowned at her before pushing the door open. He went into the front room and saw two people in chairs. They didn’t move and their bodies were so decomposed Ty figured they killed themselves. “Wait here,” he told her. After searching the rest of the house he found blankets and wrapped the bodies before going by a small kitchen and opened the back door. He threw the bodies out then went back to the front.“All clear.” He held the door open. After Carol got Mika settled in one of the bedrooms she found Ty exploring the kitchen.“Not much. Some soup, spaghetti sauce, noodles. I’m afraid to look in the refrigerator.”“I wouldn’t recommend it,” she said tiredly as she sat at the small, rickety kitchen table. “What the hell happened, Ty?”“The Governor came back. Asshole. With a tank. And more people. Hershel.” Ty sat across from her. “He had Hershel at gunpoint. Lizzie? She ran for the fences, yelling at them to not hurt the walkers.”Carol’s head jerked back. “What?”Ty sighed. “She ran for the fences. Told the Governor not to hurt the walkers.”“Shit,” Carol gasped.“Yeah. Then one of the Governor’s people shot her in the head. All hell broke loose. The tank guy took out a couple of towers.” Ty hung his head. “I.” He swallowed. “I found Mika and ran. I just left everyone and ran.” He wiped his eyes. Carol sat and didn’t move or say anything. “We ran. You found us. Now we’re here. You?”Carol was dreading this conversation. “Rick banished me.”“What?” He furrowed his eyebrows.“Rick banished me, Ty.” She took a big breath and let it out. “I’m the one that killed Karen and David.”Ty’s eyes got wide and he pushed himself away from the table. “What did you just say?” he growled.“I’m the one. I’m the one that killed Karen and David. I was trying to save us.”“You bitch,” he yelled. “You.” He pointed his finger at her. “You didn’t have the right, Carol. Who.” He slammed the door as he left.Carol put her head down on the table and cried. Ty didn’t go far, just stomped down to the railroad tracks and back a few times. If he saw her now he’d probably kill her. Bitch. He was just getting to know Karen. Sure she coughed and sneezed a few times. Felt like crap. She could have made it. Carol had no fucking right.He shook his head and thought about what Mika told him about Lizzie. Shit. Walkers were people, too. Walkers were her friends. He wasn’t really mad someone shot her. Sad. No one knew how crazy she was. No one. “Fuck,” he yelled. When he saw a walker come from the woods he slammed his hammer into the head over and over and over. When he was just hitting metal he wiped his face and sat back on the tracks.He didn’t feel any better. He still didn’t like Carol but they needed to stick together. If they found a community he could take Mika, tell the leaders and maybe Carol would be kicked out again. It was what she deserved. Bitch. Carol was laying down on the couch when Ty walked back in the door. She didn’t know how long she sat and cried at the table. After she felt she didn’t have any more tears to shed she moved to the sofa. It smelled, but she couldn’t be picky now. Not that she could ever be picky. She didn’t think she’d done anything wrong. She was going to talk to Mika tomorrow.Then she kicked her own ass. She’d seen some signs and ignored them. Lizzie was a child. Not much older than Sophia.She held out her gun when she saw Ty standing in front of her. “Did you want to kill me?” she quietly asked.Ty shook his head and sat in a chair off to the side of the couch. He took the gun and looked at it for what seemed like hours but she knew was only minutes. “No.” He gave it back to her. “I forgive you, Carol. You thought some fucked up shit. You had no right to decide who lived and who died. Karen could have made it. She might not have. Patrick,” he swallowed. “We know he died and came back. She might have, too. And killed more of us. Or she could have gotten medicine in time. No, I don’t want to kill you. I won’t forget. I will forgive.”Carol didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath. “We’ll stay together until we find a place. Then I’ll leave.”“That would be best. Get some sleep. I’ll take tonight. I won’t be able to sleep.”“Hershel?”“I don’t know. I left. I didn’t try and find Sasha.”“Rick?”“I saw the Governor kicking his ass.”“Beth, Maggie or Glenn?”“I don’t know.”“Were Daryl and Michonne there?”“No.” He shook his head. “They were on a run.”“Carl?”“I don’t know.”“Judith?” she whispered.Ty tilted his head back. “I don’t know.”“Shit.” They left early the next morning after eating some of the dried spaghetti noodles. Mika found a bag and they took the food they could and one pot. “Daryl showed me how to make a fire,” Carol assured Ty and it was the only thing they said to each other for two days. On the third day Mika ran in front of them and pointed to a sign.“Look. It’s a sign. What’s it say?” she asked Ty.“’Terminus. Sanctuary For All’,” Ty responded. “Well?” He looked at Carol.She shrugged. “We could try.”“Alright, Mika, we’re following the signs. Keep an eye out for them,” he instructed.By Carol’s count it took them a week to reach Terminus. She got a bad feeling when she saw smoke.“It’s almost out, Carol,” Mika told her.“How do you know?”“I learned it in school. Black smoke means fire. White smoke means it’s almost out,” she recited.The closer they got to Terminus the more walkers they saw.“I don’t like this,” Ty whispered to Carol.“Me, either.”When they found the small cabin Carol paused as she saw the dead walkers outside the door. “You and Mika should stay here. I’ll check it out.”“We’ll all go,” Ty decided.“If it gets bad, Ty, you take Mika and run. You hear me?” she snarled at him.“We’re not leaving you, Carol. Move,” he ordered.The closer they got to the smoke the more frightened Carol got. When they reached the fencing surrounding the buildings she almost cried again.“Shit,” Ty whispered as he looked at the destruction of ‘Terminus’. He turned and hit a walker that had noticed them. “Let’s go back to that cabin.”Carol hung on the fencing until Mika whisper yelled for her. She turned her back and followed them.Mika was shaking, tears streaming down her face, as she hugged Carol when they were back at the cabin. “What are we going to do?”Carol ran her hand down the girl’s hair. “We’ll figure it out.”“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I should have told someone,” she wailed.“Shh, Mika. Walkers,” Ty cautioned. After Mika fell asleep Ty looked at her. “Any suggestions?”“We can’t keep walking around, that’s for sure.”“I know, Carol,” Ty snapped. He took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t want to be by people, Carol.”She barked out a harsh laugh. “I don’t blame you. I don’t either. Who the hell could do that?” she hissed at him.“I don’t know and I don’t want to know.”Carol hummed agreement as she rhythmically ran her hand down Mika’s hair as the girl slept curled up next to her. “I’ll help you and Mika find a place.”They used the railroad tracks as a guide as they went back toward the prison. Carol was paying particular attention to the homes along the tracks. So far they hadn’t seen a lot of civilization. If they found a place, a strong place, it would be good for Ty and Mika.Two days later she stopped abruptly and pointed. “Let’s check it out. The windows are in one piece.”Ty didn’t disagree with that logic. They made their way to the house. Ty knocked on the back door and waited. When he didn’t hear anything he knocked again. Carol pulled her gun and nodded at the door. Ty pulled out his hammer and went inside.“Not bad,” he told them after he searched the house. He let them inside and shut it. “Fencing is coming down. We could reinforce it.”Carol didn’t acknowledge him as she looked through the house. It had three bedrooms and one bath. A fireplace. A nice living room and kitchen. “Looks good.”Ty hit one of the walls. “In good shape.”Carol nodded and looked through the kitchen cabinets. She saw the basics. Spaghetti sauce, noodles, spices, soups, instant coffee, creamer, Sweet and Low. She opened the refrigerator and closed it. Everything would have to be thrown out.Ty let Mika pick one of the rooms. “Beds are made.”“Yeah. Let’s look outside,” Carol suggested.After they toured the fenced in area they went back inside and sat down. “Mika? What do you think?” Carol asked the girl.“Will we be safe here?” she whispered.“Ty and I will fix up the fences. They had a garden. You and Ty could try and salvage some of it. Find more seeds. There’s a creek not far from here.”“I like it, Carol,” Mika sighed. “We can be safe here.”Carol gave her a small smile. “You can be safe here.” Ty sat down to a hot meal later that night. Spaghetti. He was beginning to hate it. “I’ll make some soup, tomorrow,” he told Mika. She looked up from her plate as she licked the fork.“Okay, Ty.”After Mika went to bed Carol sat on the sofa and Ty in a chair. “I’ll help with the fences and then I’ll leave.”“I don’t think it’s a good idea, Carol. Mika will miss you,” Ty told her.“I’ll help you with this place. If we bust ass and find what we need it shouldn’t take long.” Carol kept track of the days since they’d found the house. They’d been there a month. The shed had more barbed wire. She’d gone into the nearest houses and took what shelf stable food was available and found some regular fencing at the nearest hardware store. It had taken her and Ty both to load it. Ty found some wire cutters and spent hours cutting through it. They’d dug holes for thick branches they cut from trees as posts. She was tired. And it was time for her to leave. She’d started stockpiling food for when she left and looked at it near the door of the room she was staying in.She heard Mika and Ty in the living room doing a puzzle Mika had found in one of the closets. She and Ty didn’t talk to each other much. Mika was their go-between. Sometimes she felt like she was back in grade school. After she got out of the bath, Ty had heated water for her, which she’d just stared at him in shock after he’d told her, she dressed and listened. Carol could hear Mika in her room. She was between them when they slept, too. When the coast was clear, Carol picked up her bags and went into the living room.She stopped when she saw Ty sitting on the sofa reading.“I’m leaving now. The fences won’t hold back a herd, but should be safe against a few walkers.” Ty sighed and put down the book he hadn’t been reading. He’d been waiting for her. Ty paid attention. He’d seen Carol put food in the room she slept in, when Mika wasn’t around. When Mika talked about them being safe Carol had hummed. She never promised and never made plans with them. She gave suggestions. She helped.“I think you should stay, Carol. It’s not safe by yourself.”Carol frowned at him. “I can take care of myself, Ty.”“You can. It’s still not safe by yourself.”Carol rolled her eyes at him. “Good luck, Ty.” She walked out of the door and closed it quietly behind her.“Damn woman,” he muttered as he got up and followed her. They’d siphoned enough gas for one of the cars they’d found with keys. She was pulling away, lights off, when he hit the roof of the car.“What the hell, Ty?” she yelled as she rolled down the window.“You shouldn’t be out there on your own, Carol. It’s suicide. Do you want to kill yourself?”“Fuck you, Ty. I don’t have anything but I’ll figure it out. I don’t want to kill myself. Ass,” she hissed at him.“You do have something, Carol. You have a house. You have people. You have water, food, shitty as it is until we can figure out how to grow it. That little girl in there needs you. I do, too,” he admitted.“Bullshit. You don’t need me. Did you forget?”“No. I said I wouldn’t and I won’t.” He leaned against the back door of the car she was in. “I might not have agreed with what you did, Carol, but I can’t say you were wrong. Should you have played god? No. We can’t change what happened. It’s the past. I’d like to have a future. Mika? She’d like to have a future, too. So do you or you would kill yourself with a bullet in the brain instead of driving off to nowhere.”“You are something else,” she huffed out.“Look, you cared for us in the prison. Why you did what you did. Did you stop? I don’t think so or you would have left as soon as we found this place. You didn’t. You still do because you are leaving. You think you won’t be welcome here. By me. You’re wrong. You should stay.” He paused. “I can’t do this by myself, Carol. You can’t either.” He was tired. He walked back inside and sat on the sofa, hoping she’d come back. He couldn’t do this by himself. Carol laid her head back against the headrest and let out a breath. Ty could do it by himself. He didn’t need her. Mika didn’t need her. Not when she’d let everyone down. She didn’t have anywhere else to go. Ty wasn’t wrong. You couldn’t do things by yourself anymore. She was so tired.She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she heard something pounding on the window. Pulling her knife she sat up and saw Mika near the car.“Carol? Are we going on a run?”Ty stood behind her and raised his eyebrows.
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It got easier. Carol still kept track of the days and the atmosphere wasn’t as tense as before. She and Ty talked more. They decided to find a phone book and a map to try and figure out where they were. When they’d done that they raided the local library, walker free, she laughed, and took books on growing vegetables.Ty found some rabbits and built a pen for them so they could have meat. He also suggested taking the solar panels from road signs and hooking them up for electricity.“You know how to do that?”“No, but we’ll figure it out. Like we’ve done everything else.”They’d gone back to the library and took more books. Books on pioneer living and building. Ty found solar panels and put them on the roof. They had some electricity. Enough to keep the refrigerator working and the stove working. Or they’d switch off the stove and wash clothes. They reinforced the fence better. They were in the middle of farm country and looked through the phone book, checked it against the map and raided farm houses. Carol still took the shelf stable food. Trying to catch the few chickens they’d seen had Mika laughing. When they heard her laugh they shared a look. A future. Six months later Carol turned and saw Tyreese coming down the hall. She stopped having sleepless nights all the time. Now it was every two or three weeks. She’d stopped counting that.“Hey,” he sat down by her on the sofa.“Hey.”“You alright?” he asked as he rubbed her hand.She gave him a little smile. “Just one of those nights,” she whispered.“You want me to warm some milk?”She shook her head. “No.”“It’s happening less and less,” he commented.“It is. How do you know?” She wrinkled her nose at him.“We live together, Carol. I know when you have your menstrual cycle.”“Good god,” she muttered.He laughed. “I knew when my wife had hers. She’d be…touchy, would be a good word.”“It’s a good word. Better than bitchy,” she chuckled.“You get quieter than normal.”“Huh,” she grunted.“I never offered and you never asked but did you want to go back to the prison? See if we, I don’t know, find something?”“Daryl was the tracker. After the walkers I saw even he’d have a hard time finding anything.”“You miss him?”“Yeah. I miss them all. Except Rick. I only miss him sometimes.”“I do, too. I miss Rick with his country twang.”“Sometimes I just wanted to hit him upside the head when he said ‘thangs',” Carol tried to imitate his accent.Ty laughed. “That was close.” He dropped her hand. “Do you miss Daryl?”“What are you trying to ask, Ty?”“Were you interested in Daryl?”Carol laid her head against the back of the sofa and let out a sigh. “At one time? Yes, I was interested in Daryl. He was the only one that looked for Sophia after Carl got shot. I know, Rick had other things going on. Shane was just a piece of work. Then Daryl called me on how I raised Sophia. Basically blaming me for her running from the herd. It’s how I saw it. We, I don’t know, settled down. At the prison. The more time I spent with Daryl the more I saw him as a big kid who didn’t have a lot of love in his life. I was tired. I was tapped out. I was trying to take care of everyone. I never took care of myself. When I was on the council I liked having a say in the decisions. I wanted to be me. I didn’t know who me was. Ed tried to make me who he wanted me to be and it was never good enough.”“Abuse isn’t making someone do something.”“I know. I went to a shelter a few times with Sophia. I remember what they told me. Ed was just a bastard. We grew apart and I found I didn’t mind. I could breathe. He was doing runs or with Rick or Michonne. I was doing the domestic stuff. We were both on the council and agreed on a lot of things and I started to see him as a friend. A good friend. He never would have agreed with what I did.”“Hm. I like Daryl. Good guy.”“He is a good guy. Maybe if he went out on his own, without being Rick’s shadow, things would be different. He started to. When he was on the council. We were moving in different directions. Then the flu, banishment. Am I making any sense to you? I’m tired.”“A little. If you hadn’t changed you would still be interested, is what I’m hearing.”“Close enough right now. I try not to think of them too much.”Ty turned and copied her position on the sofa. “I do. I hope Sasha got out and found some of the others and they found a safe place.”“From what you told me, Daryl and Michonne weren’t there.”“They weren’t. It doesn’t mean he didn’t find them beforehand.”Carol shook her head. “No. He would have waved Michonne in Rick’s face.”“Was Rick interested in Michonne?”“I don’t know. Maybe. Michonne took his eye. The Governor would have killed her in front of Rick as a ‘fuck you’ gesture.”“True. The guy always gave me the creeps.”“Who knows where those two are or even if they’re still together? Nothing is certain in this world except you die and come back.”“I think I’d rather have death and taxes,” he joked.Carol turned her head and smiled. “Me, too.”Then Ty moved his head closer and kissed her. A light kiss before he pulled away.“Is this why you asked me about Daryl?”“Mm hm.”“Why? Because I’m the only woman available?”“No. I’m not driven by my libido. You? You’re a strong woman. I like to think we’re friends now. Good friends. After some of the things you’ve told me about yourself I find I’m in awe of you sometimes.”“Really?” Carol raised her eyebrows.“Really. You survived an abusive relationship, outlasted your bastard husband, lost your daughter and yourself for a while. You overcame those hardships becoming a practical caring woman that protects those that are important.”“Then why?” She moved a finger between herself and him.“And you have a nice figure, I’m not going to lie. I saw you come out of the bathroom one day and you were in a short towel.”She laughed louder. “Stop. You’re making it worse.”Ty laughed with her. “You are inspiring. You’re easy to talk to and you don’t let yourself be walked all over. Now. It’s a good thing. Something you need to be now. You’re good with Mika.” He shrugged. “Why are you interested in someone? For me there’s no one thing I can point to and say ‘Aha that’s it. That’s why I want this woman’. It’s been building gradually, I guess. We'd been living together for less than a year in close quarters at the prison. Six months here, according to your little calendar. I don’t need sex with a woman. I like sex with a woman but I have a hand. I like companionship more. It adds to a relationship.”Carol turned her face away and looked at the opposite wall. “I’ll be honest. I never had a normal relationship in my life. I like you, Ty. Sexually? I’ve seen you come out of the bathroom a few times and occasionally I wondered. Sex was more of a chore for me. Not something I’m interested in.”“Good to know. I’ll have to change your mind.”Carol laughed again and got off the sofa. “You do that. I look forward to it,” she shot back cheekily.Ty stood up, too. “It’s a challenge then. Sleep with me tonight.”“What?”“Sleep with me tonight. No sex, just sleep.”“Alright. I’ll sleep with you,” she agreed. When they were in bed she gave voice to a fear. “What are we going to do when Mika gets older and we aren’t here for her?”Ty pulled her close. “It won’t happen for a long time, Carol.”“Eventually, it will,” she snuggled into him. It was like sleeping with an electric blanket and she liked it.“We can go search, after we get more panels, get them installed and some other things done. We probably won’t find anyone from the prison but we could try and find another community that’s not Woodbury. It’s all we can do.”Carol sighed and closed her eyes. It was all they could do. Michonne let out a sigh of contentment as she leaned against Daryl in the tub while Beth had volunteered to babysit for the night.“I have to hand it to Hol and Sid,” Michonne murmured.“Why?” Daryl ran his hands down the front of her body.“Bubble baths,” she teased.“Yeah. Gotta say I like bubble baths.” He tweaked her nipple.“Built in babysitter,” Michonne moaned.“Like that, too. Ya know what I like most of all, ‘Chonne? I like we found some of our people.”“You don’t like me and Miss Judes?”“I love you, ‘Chonne. Li’l ass kicker, too,” he kissed her neck and started nibbling. She shivered. Yes, she did create her own monster. She wouldn’t change it. The next morning she woke up and stared at Daryl as he slept.“Hey,” he grunted, eyes still closed.“Hey. We’re off today.”“Yeah. You said. Good. Need it. Tired. You wore me out,” he smirked.“I like wearing you out.”Daryl rolled to his side and pulled her against him. She snuggled into his body and kissed his chest. “I’m happy we have enough people to take a day off.”Daryl grunted again. “Don’t know if twenty five people’s enough.”“Enough we can take a day off now and again.”“Yeah. Goin’ for more coffee in Savannah was a good call. Shit. Coffee.”“Stale but coffee.”“Yeah.”“Soon we’ll have fresh coffee.”“Shit. Who the fuck grows their own coffee?”“Whacked out preppers?” Michonne let out a laugh.“Yeah. Somethin’ for whacked out preppers.”“I think Holly is living in that greenhouse.”“Weird woman.” “I like her,” Michonne sighed.“I do, too. Don’t like really anyone but Glenn, Maggie, Beth and Sasha.”“That’s not true. You like the others.”Daryl sighed heavily. “Don’t tell no one.”“Well, I’ll need a really nice bribe for that, Mr. Dixon.”Daryl finally opened his eyes. “A really nice bribe? How ‘bout just ‘cause ya love me?”“I do. A lot. You’ll need to sweeten the pot a little.” She nipped his bottom lip.“Hm. Coffee?”“Mm. No. Something more.”“Got stevia growin’, too. I’ll have Soledad make ya a cake.”“Sweet. More,” she demanded as she pushed Daryl on his back and sat on his chest.He ran his hands up and down her torso, palming her breasts. “No coco plants yet. That damn woman will row down to South America. Can ya wait?”Daryl was hard and Michonne lowered herself on his cock. “I’ll take this as a down payment.”Daryl held her hips and jerked up into her. “That’s it, ‘Chonne. Yeah. Fuck,” he breathed hard as she tried to move. “Just grind on me. Fuck. Pussy feels so good.” He rolled her to her back and lifted her leg higher up on his, trying to get deeper inside. “’Chonne,” he kept saying. Like a mantra.“Daryl. Please,” she whined.The next time Michonne woke up she looked at the clock and saw it was late. “Almost time for dinner,” she whispered to herself.“Yeah. Worked up an appetite,” Daryl said.“You’re awake,” she noted.“Yeah, been for a while. Watched you some.”Michonne ran her hand up and down the arm Daryl had around her waist. “What else?”She felt him shrug. “Nothin’. Thinkin’.”“About?” she whispered.“Glenn’s idea of leavin’ a note at the prison. For Rick, Carol and Ty.”“You think they made it? It’s been six or so months, Daryl.”“Glenn, Maggie, Beth and Sasha did. Maybe.”“Mm. It wouldn’t take us long.”“Think it’s a good idea?”She sighed before she rolled over to face him. “It couldn’t hurt. Chancy.”“Yeah. Thinkin’ about that, too. If someone else was to find ‘em and they was assholes?”“Yeah. If they’re assholes we could invite trouble here.”“Don’t know what to do, ‘Chonne. I like it here. We’re kinda safe here. Don’t want an asshole like the Governor showin’ up.”“If the notes blow away?”“Yeah. Someone else could find ‘em and read ‘em and we got the same damn problem. Assholes.”“Or no one would find them. Some random piece of paper on the ground?”“Right. Rick, Carol and Ty still wouldn’t know where the hell we are.”Michonne softly kissed Daryl. “We should run it by everyone.”Daryl grunted. “Not their business.”“If they come here and want to stay it would be, Daryl.”He let out a breath. “Don’t know how Rick would like the system we got here. He was in charge, didn’t mind, didn’t wanna do it. No one woulda followed me anyway. Not some trailer park trash.” He stopped when Michonne smacked his arm. “Ow. What the hell was that for?”“You are not trailer park trash,” she growled at him.“Everyone at the quarry camp thought I was.”“They’re dead or gone. Times are different, Daryl. You’re a good man. Don’t talk about yourself like that again or no sex for a week.”Daryl lifted his head from the pillow and stared at her. “You shittin’ me?”“I’m not.” Daryl stared at Michonne and saw she was serious. “Alright. I ain’t trailer park trash.”“Or a redneck or a hillbilly or a hilljack. Now, you were saying?” she raised her eyebrows, almost daring him to say something else. Daryl felt his heart hurt. He loved this woman.“Rick was in charge. Then we got a council. Don’t think he’d like everyone, people he don’t know and wouldn’t give a shit what he thought, havin’ a say. Is all I’m sayin’.”“Mm. You might be right. The new people we took in didn’t really get a say in what happened. The council made decisions.”“Right. And I know Hershel asked Rick’s opinion.”“Did you?” she looked at him again.“Yeah. Sometimes. Most times didn’t like doin’ the council shit. Didn’t feel right.”“How do you feel now when one of your ideas gets shot down?”Daryl shrugged. “Group decision. State my case. The others don’t like it, they don’t like it.”“Good.” She patted his arm. “It’s a democracy. And if Rick got out of line? I think Holly and Sidney could kick his ass.”He huffed out a laugh. “Yeah. I seen ‘em, too. Damn karate.”Michonne smiled. “It’s a few types of karate, Daryl. And they’re very good with weapons.”“Yeah. They are.”“We’ll bring it up tonight. With Glenn, Maggie, Sasha and Beth. Before we bring it up with the others.” She turned her head again and groaned. “After dinner. We need to get up. Shower.”“Nice ass bathroom, ‘Chonne.” Michonne knocked on Sasha and Beth’s door while Daryl showered. She was happy when Sasha opened it.“Hey. Everything okay?”“Yeah. We want you and Beth to come to our room after dinner.”She narrowed her eyes. “Is this going to be about Rick?”“How did you know?”Sasha rolled her eyes and stepped back. “We’ve been talking about it. Me and Beth. Pros and cons of leaving a message at the prison.”“One for Carol and Ty, too, Sasha.”Sasha widened her eyes. “I.” She took a deep breath. “I’d like to leave one for Ty.”“Just come over after dinner.”“We’ll be there.” Daryl cornered Glenn and Maggie after he got dressed.“Hey,” Glenn gave him a smile. “How was your day off?”“Come in, Daryl. You don’t have to act like you’re our neighbors. We’re family.” Maggie dragged him inside.“Thanks. Day off was good.” He narrowed his eyes at Glenn’s smiling face.“We bet. Makin’ little ass kicker a brother or sister?” Maggie laughed.Daryl froze. “Uh.”“Fine. Surprise us,” Maggie grinned.He cleared his throat. “Wanna have you both come to our room tonight after dinner.”Maggie sat on the arm of one of the chairs. “Rick?”“Yeah. Carol and Ty, too. Wanna make a plan before we tell the others.”“We’ll be there. Scotch?”“You think we’ll need it?” Maggie looked at Glenn.“I don’t know.” “We don’t know, Daryl, if they made it out.” Glenn quickly looked at Sasha to judge her reaction.“We don’t, Glenn. You don’t have to be careful. I’m aware,” Sasha nodded at him.“Carol? Who the hell knows where she went after Rick banished her,” he continued.“True. We’d like to leave messages for them anyway. It took Daryl and me a week or so to make it here. We stopped a few times. If we take the same route, two weeks max,” Michonne said.“We take the Prius, best for gas. Small. We all wouldn’t be able to go. Four of us.”“Three notes, two weeks. Four of us. Sounds like a plan. Why are we meeting?” Maggie looked puzzled.“We’ll have to tell the others,” Michonne told them.“We will. They’ll need to know why they’re covering for us,” Glenn nodded at Michonne.
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“Are you worried about Rick and this democracy?” Sasha got to the point.“A little.”She huffed out a laugh. “They could kick Rick’s ass. The Governor was an amateur compared to them.”“Have you seen them spar?” Beth gaped.“Not just that, but if we leave notes and someone else finds them? They come here?” Michonne pointed out.“Yeah. That could be a problem,” Glenn sighed.“If they blow away they may never find them, either,” she added.“Yeah,” Sasha noted.“So do ya wanna chance it?” Daryl asked.“We can put the notes in their cells,” Beth suggested.“That’s good,” Sasha nodded.“Another thing. If they find the notes how will we know? We don’t go to the mainland that often. We use the yacht and the sailboat to get around. We’d have to watch for them.”“We. Shit. Hard choices,” Maggie muttered.“We don’t want to leave boats over there,” Glenn grumbled. “It could give someone else, an asshole, a chance to get over here.”“Things to think on. If we present it someone will ask those questions.”“Or we could ask and they might have ideas,” Maggie proposed.“We doin’ it?” Daryl looked at them.“We’re doing it,” Glenn said. “Huh. More people are always good,” Sid told Daryl. “What’s the problem?”Daryl had asked for a meeting before Keisha, Nancy, Tom and Jace went down for watch.“We wanna leave notes for ‘em. At the prison.”“The prison?” Akasha held up her hand.“It’s where we were before we came here.”“An asshole came along, with a tank, and blew it up,” Holly told the others.“Shit,” Allen gawked.“It’s why raiding a base is on the list. Far, far down, but still on the list.” Holly quickly glanced at Ralph and Soledad. Soledad nodded.“How long would it take you to get there?” Dante raised his hand.“Two weeks. There and back. Hopefully. It won’t be easy, but we could do it,” Michonne answered.“Who?” Nancy questioned.“Haven’t figured that part out yet,” Daryl admitted.“Some of you want to go back to your old place, one that was blown up, and leave notes for people that were there when it happened. On the off chance they’ll find them and come here. That sound about right?” Jace raised his eyebrows.Daryl nodded agreement.“Sounds foolish, if you ask me,” Ralph sighed. “But if you want to do it I say go for it. They must be family.”Beth smiled at him. “They are.”“Show of hands to the maybe new people?” Sid asked. Everyone’s hands went up. “Okay. Figure out who’s going and we’ll adjust the schedules. Daryl? We can’t afford to find you if you or whomever goes doesn’t come back. We’d like to. I want you to know at the start.”“’Preciate it. If we ain’t back in three weeks we ain’t comin’ back.”“Alright. How will we know if they’ve found the notes?” Holly questioned.“This is where we need help,” Maggie admitted. Glenn dreaded riding in the Prius with Maggie, Sasha and Jace. He’d been blown away when he’d volunteered to go with them.“I can’t believe he’s coming with us,” Maggie whispered to him in bed later that night.“Yeah. Me, too. Sid didn’t like it. You could tell.”“Michonne was happy. She didn’t want Daryl to come with us.”Glenn huffed out a laugh. “He didn’t want her to come with us.”“Nice of him.”“I think he’s going stir crazy here. Sid’s right. Jace has some combat experience. It could be helpful.”“He’ll be looking for guns. Those people of the Governor’s died Michonne said. They had all kinds of guns.” Sasha looked at her new people as they came down to the dock to see them off and wish them luck. She was almost in tears. Ralph was right. They were family. Michonne and Daryl told them all to come back safe. Holly said she wasn’t worried and she’d meet them in three weeks.“With a celebratory drink. On me,” she smiled.
After
Tara wiped at her eyes as she drove down the road. That asshole Brian. He’d told them no one would die. The people would leave. “Asshole,” she screamed in the car. When Ramirez shot that girl? Granted she was crazy, screaming at them to leave the walkers alone. Tara didn’t know what the fuck walkers were. Then she realized walkers were biters. Crazy bitch. Ramirez shouldn’t have shot the crazy bitch. Then Brian. Yelling at that Rick guy. Holding that old guy hostage then shooting him.When she saw Brian kick that Rick guy’s ass she’d left. She wasn’t having anything to do with those people. She wanted to go back and kill Brian when she’d seen Lilly carrying a dead Meghan in her arms. He’d had Lilly and Meghan stay behind. Brian had ignored them. Until he was shot from the prison. Then Lilly had stood there screaming at him before she was bitten. Alisha. Tara refused to think about her. Going in that prison that Ramirez blew up with the tank. She’d taken one of the cars and left.Which is how she found herself, she didn’t know where, she didn’t know how long, driving down a road to nowhere, with no one, crying her eyes out. She’d done it straight for two days. Locked in this fucking car, bawling, ignoring the biters. The third day she’d had to go to the bathroom. Most of the biters were gone, that she could see. She got out of the car and pissed. When she stood up and fastened her pants there was a biter right in front of her. She’d taken her knife and stabbed in the head. She pretended it was Brian and it worked better.She needed water. And food. She was tired and hungry and thirsty. Cruising down a street she could see some nice homes. They probably had food and bottled water. She parked in front of one and got out. She didn’t bother knocking and went right inside. After she locked the door she saw another biter limping toward her. She killed it. Brian, the asshole, was coming in handy.Tara sighed with relief when she found the bottle of wine. She hated wine but she needed something. Making her way back to the living room she flopped on the nice sofa and drank. When she woke up she groaned. “This is why I don’t drink wine,” she said to herself as she sat up. It was dark outside and she flopped back down on the sofa and went back to sleep. The next time she opened her eyes it was light out. Tara sat up and looked out the window to see a little kid, in a big brown hat, walking down the street to the house across from where she was. She wasn’t having anything to do with people for the rest of her life.She moved to the kitchen and found some soup and crackers. Checking the stove, habit, she found it worked. “Woo,” she shouted. She looked out the window into the back yard and waited for her food to boil. She wondered why the stove worked. She needed to decide what the fuck she was going to do. She didn’t have anyone and if Brian was the example of the kind of people that were left? She’d do better by herself. She needed a gun. She should have kept the one Alisha gave her.Tara moved back to the living room and laid down on the sofa, her head on the arm as she ate. When she was done she put the bowl on the floor. She wasn’t really paying attention until the noise brought her out of her musings.She saw five guys go into the house across the street. Quickly she rolled onto the floor. Then she heard muffled shouting. She didn’t think the little boy was with those guys. They looked like criminals. She waited a few minutes and saw some guy, he looked hurt, running from behind the house and more shouting.“I’m going to regret this,” she whispered.She ran to the front door and unlocked it. “Hey,” she whisper yelled to the man. He looked at her and ran, he looked bad, into her house and shut the door. He pulled a gun on her and she fell on her ass.“You with them?” he whispered.“What? I just.”“You with them?” He put the gun against her forehead.“No. Why would I.”“Shut up.” He motioned for her to lay on the floor. He put his back against the door and they waited for what seemed like years until the shouting stopped from the house and started as they walked down the street. Tara cringed as she heard the sound of glass breaking and knew those guys were breaking windows of the houses. When a rock went through her window the man put his hand over her mouth. Assholes.The man heard or didn’t hear anything and used his gun to motion her away. He got on his knees and opened the door. He must have seen something because he heard him yell ‘Carl’. The door opened more and the little boy with the big hat came inside and hugged the beat up guy. Tara’s eyes got wide and she slid away from them. This was Rick. From the prison.She hoped the reconciliation took a long time. Long enough for her to leave, get in the car and get the hell out of Dodge.“Stop,” the man whisper yelled. The little boy, Carl, had a gun pointed at her, too.“Shit.”“I know you.” Rick glared at her. “You were with the Governor.”“Who?”“The Governor. The man that killed my people and blew up our home,” he snarled.“Right. I didn’t know he was going to do that. He told us the people would leave with a show of force.”Carl frowned at her.“Look, that asshole killed my sister and my niece. Brian said.”“Brian? Who’s Brian?” Carl asked Rick.“He called himself ‘Brian’. We didn’t know anything about this ‘Governor’ until you started yelling it,” Tara defended herself. “That little girl was a crazy bitch.” Rick sighed. “I’ll just leave. You and Carl can have the house.”“You ain’t goin’ anywhere,” Rick countered.“We should let her go, Dad. She’s one of the Governor’s people,” Carl spit at her.“I am not one of that asshole’s people. He killed. He killed.” She curled up in a fetal position and cried. The next time she woke up she was tied up and on the sofa with Carl watching her.“She’s awake, Dad,” Carl yelled.“Not so loud, Carl,” he chided as he entered her line of sight. “What’s your name?” Rick asked her as he slowly, Tara could tell Brian had done a number on him, sat in the chair across from her.“Tara. If you’re going to kill me can you just get it over with?” she requested sadly.“You dropped your gun,” he reminded her.“I did. None of us knew he was going to do that. Ramirez probably shouldn’t have shot the crazy little girl,” Tara admitted. She saw Rick wince but she guessed it wasn’t from pain.“Yeah. She was crazy,” he replied sadly. “Why’d you help me? If you knew who I was?”Her eyes got wide. “Are you serious? I didn’t know who you were. I saw him,” she pointed to Carl, “go in that house. Then I saw those guys go in. They looked like criminals and I figured he wasn’t with them. When I saw you come from the back I let you in,” she scoffed.“You can let her go, Carl,” Rick told his son.“Are you sure, Dad?” Carl looked at her with suspicion.“I’m never helping anyone else again. You and Carl keep the house. The stove worked. It was gas,” she interjected bitterly.“Yeah.”Carl sighed and got out a knife and cut the cloth. She rubbed her wrists and stood up. “Good luck,” she told them and headed for the door.“I don’t think you should be alone, Tara,” Rick advised.“You.” She turned and pointed her finger at him. “I’m sorry. About your home. Your people. Brian was an asshole. He deserved what he got. And I am alone. He killed my sister Lilly and my niece Meghan.” She shook her head and slammed the door on her way out.She marched to the next house over, went inside, found a knife and looked through the cupboards. When she heard sounds upstairs she ignored them. “Shit. Granola bars,” she sighed, took the box and sat at the kitchen table. “Carl? Go over and get her,” Rick told his son.“What? Why?” Carl yelled at his dad. Now that his dad wasn’t going to die, Carl was so happy. He loved his dad, but this was stupid.“She dropped her gun, Carl. The Governor killed her family, too.” He looked at his son. He was so proud of Carl. “I’m in bad shape, Carl. You’ll need help.”“I can do it, Dad. I was doing it before we found her,” Carl shot back.“You were. You did good, Carl. We know someone shot him. We can’t take the chance his people are alive.”Carl frowned. “Fine,” he huffed out, went next door and knocked. When the girl, Tara, opened the door her mouth dropped open.“You have got to be kidding me. You want this house, too? Fuck you, little kid,” she hissed and slammed the door in his face.Carl frowned and went back to his dad. “She told me ‘fuck you, little kid’, Dad. I don’t think she’s interested."“Carl,” Rick scolded weakly.“It’s what she said, Dad.”“Carl,” he said again as he sagged onto the nice sofa and sighed. The Governor kicked his ass. Hershel. “Please. We can’t leave her here.”“Fine,” he sighed heavily and went next door. Instead of knocking he walked right on in. She didn’t even lock it. He found Tara in the kitchen taking the food.“What the hell, kid?” she yelled.“My dad’s right. As much as I hate to say it. You shouldn’t be on your own. You don’t have a gun,” he pointed out.Tara sagged into a chair in the kitchen. “I hate that bastard. I’d like to shoot him.”Carl wanted to shoot him, too. “One of our people did it. Maybe we can find him and shoot him again. And again. And again.”“Bright side, I guess,” Tara muttered. She looked at Carl with a sad expression. “We didn’t know he was going to do that.”“Come on. My dad can’t move much. And those assholes may come back,” he responded. Two days later Carl and Tara had cleaned out a few more houses, staying away from the one where he almost died, and found some food. Carl couldn’t believe Tara. She’d barely killed any walkers. She’d never used a gun on a walker. Or a person. When his dad was well enough to travel they took Tara’s car and drove back to the prison. She drove up to the fences and started crying again.Rick sat in the passenger seat and looked at the destruction of their home. The walkers were everywhere. “Drive up, Tara.”She did, slowly, ignoring the walkers that pounded on the car. When Rick directed her into the yard he saw the door to the prison was closed. “Carl, I want you to stay here.”“No way, Dad. Judith,” he sobbed.“As close as you can to the door, Tara.”She drove and put the passenger door as close as she could and assured them room to get out of the car and in the door. “Alright. Get ready.” Rick looked at the crying girl. Shit.Rick killed a few walkers as he opened the door. Tara and Carl ran in and he shut the door as soon as he was inside. It didn’t look too bad in here. Carl pointed to two decapitated walkers. “Michonne?” he asked.“Probably. Let’s look around.”They slowly made their way through the prison. “Shit,” Rick said as he saw dead walker Bob. He looked and saw a hole in the middle of his head. “Daryl.”“Are you sure?”“They were together.”Carl grinned a little. “They made it.”“They weren’t here, Carl. They made it.”“Maybe we can find them.”“Carl,” Rick sighed.“What? I’m just saying, Dad. Michonne found us before. Daryl? And Michonne? They’d make it. They’re probably finding a safe place for us. They’ll come look for us. I know it,” he insisted.They finished looking through the prison. “Someone has Judith,” Carl announced as they met back by the door.“Yeah. I saw. Formula and diapers are gone,” Rick acknowledged.“I bet it was Michonne and Daryl.”“Carl, you don’t know. It coulda been.”“Who, Dad? Who else? Did any of our people, besides them, make it?”“I don’t know.”“We should go to King County. I bet they’ll look for us there. Morgan.”Rick held up his hand. “Slow down, Carl.” “No, Dad. They made it. They have Judith. They’ll go to King County,” Carl almost yelled at his dad.Rick sat at the table and looked around. The food was gone. The guns were gone. If Daryl and Michonne made it, with Judith, they’d find a safe place. In this world safe didn’t mean much.“We’ll go look for them there.”“Finally,” Carl huffed out as he sat.“Carl, they may not be there.”“They’re there. Or they’ll look for us there.”“Where’s King County?” Tara finally asked.“Not far from here, Tara. I’ll drive,” Rick told her.“I don’t know, Rick. You look like shit.”Carl snickered.“I’ll drive. Morgan may still be there. We’ll have to be careful.”“Who’s Morgan?” Tara let Rick drive, but had Carl sit in back and he complained the entire time. When they reached King County, Tara found out it was where Rick and Carl were from, she was ready to get the hell out of the car.“Be careful,” Rick warned her again. She’d found out Morgan saved Rick when he stumbled out of the hospital where he’d been in a coma when this started. Lucky bastard. Her and Lilly had the fucking Governor. Rick looked at the walkers that were stuck on spikes and wandering around.“He’s not here. Shit,” Rick breathed out.“How do you know?” Tara whispered. She was getting good at killing walkers.“Walkers. When we were here last, they’d try and get the rats in the cages Morgan had set up behind the spikes. Now some are walking around. Not interested. The rats must be dead.”“So?” Carl whispered.“Carl.” Rick turned on his son. He knew Carl thought Michonne and Daryl had Judith. He wanted to believe it, too.“We should at least look around, Dad. The spikes are still up. If we wait.”“We don’t have anywhere else to go, Rick,” Tara quietly pointed out.Rick sighed. Tara was right. Those spikes made it safer than being out in the open. “Alright. Be careful, Carl,” Rick warned him. Carl made a face at him. Rick shook his head and headed for the closest walker. It didn’t take them long to kill the ten that were not on spikes. Rick looked at the welcome mat and picked it up.“Shit. Hard core,” Tara whistled.“Yeah. Crazy.” Rick raised his eyebrows and started up the stairs. He saw the string at the top and shook his head. “Watch the string, Carl, Tara.” he pointed to it. He knocked on the door. Morgan could be a walker and Rick was being careful. He’d lost his daughter, people and home. He wasn’t taking any chances. He tried again after nothing happened. He opened the door, stepped over the string and walked inside. “Shit,” he shouted.“It’s all gone, Dad.” Carl looked at him with his mouth open.“Yeah. Morgan’s gone.”“What are we going to do now?” Tara asked.Rick looked at his son. He couldn’t afford to lose anymore. Judith. He swallowed. “We’ll stay here and wait for them.”Carl smiled.
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Rick looked up from the garden he’d started. They’d found a different house, he knew from his last time here his burned down, but he’d almost cried when him and Carl went looking around their old street. He shook his head and looked at Carl and Tara helping with the garden.Being a sheriff’s deputy in this small town helped them. He knew who had what. The guns were gone, he’d checked the businesses first. Morgan had been very thorough. He’d stopped looking for guns after a week and started looking for seeds. They needed to eat. Morgan stripped everything. He wondered where Morgan was and what he’d done with everythang.Another run to some of the farms in the area got them a few chickens and old man Johnson’s goat. Carl had suggested more pigs, but they made Rick gun shy after the flu. He and Carl caught rabbits, teaching Tara about snares. That girl had been living in her old apartment building until the Governor found them. Asshole. Him and Carl had to teach her how to kill walkers better than what she was doing and use a gun better than the training she’d gotten. He’d rolled his eyes when she said she’d been in the academy. He wondered if he’d been that fresh faced. Him and Shane.He looked down at the tomatoes. Shane. Lori. He looked at his son. He was proud of Carl. He was growing up. Rick put his attention back on the plants. According to them they’d been here almost four months give or take. No sign of Michonne, Daryl or his daughter.Carl still hoped. He didn’t talk about it a lot. Rick hoped, too. It might take them a while to get situated. It had taken them some time to get the prison up to what it was. Carl watched his dad out of the corner of his eye. He knew his dad was sad about Judy. He wasn’t. He knew Michonne and Daryl got her out. They were trying to find a safe place then come get them. He knew it. He did stop talking about it all the time.Tara looked at him with her eyebrows raised. Carl shook his head and went back to pulling weeds. Tara turned out to be okay. He felt bad for her. Her family dying because of the Governor. Asshole. Sometimes he got mad at Michonne and Daryl for not finding him. Tara said she lived far away from the prison. West of Atlanta. He never asked all the places they’d looked for him. Probably not as far as Atlanta. Tara looked at Carl and raised her eyebrows. Then she looked at Rick. She recognized the look. He was missing his daughter and his people. Brian. Asshole.She was glad she ended up going with them. She’d probably be dead now if she hadn’t. Carl told her all kinds of stories about Michonne, Daryl, Maggie, Glenn, Beth, Carol, Ty, Patrick. Some of the people at the quarry camp. She didn’t ask about his mother. She wouldn’t. When Carl talked about his sister he’d slipped once and said he had to put her down. After she gave birth.She went back to pulling weeds. She missed her sister and niece. Sometimes she wondered if she should go back and try and find them. Put them down. She let out a harsh laugh. They’d probably walked on. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.“You alright?” Rick asked her.She nodded and kept her head down. “No, Dad. There is no cure. That guy’s a liar. Dr. Jenner blew up the CDC,” Carl yelled at Rick, Sargent Abraham Ford and Dr. Eugene Porter.Rick shook his head at his son’s outburst. Sargent Ford and Dr. Porter had shown up in King County last night. Rick should have shot them on sight. Instead he let them in their house. Ford seemed okay. Intense. Dr. Porter. He frowned. “You don’t look like a scientist,” Rick muttered.“I do not know Dr. Jenner from the CDC. They were doing research in DC, too, young boy,” Porter said in a monotone voice.“Then let them go. We know, Dad. Daryl and Michonne’ll come looking for us. With Judith. They have a place and are making it safe for us. It hasn’t been that long. They could be on their way right now. If we go with the liars,” Carl sneered at Porter, “we’ll miss them.”“Son,” Ford sighed. “It’s bad out there. If your friends made it they might try and go to DC. Dr. Porter was in contact with some of the government people.”Tara wrinkled her nose. She didn’t trust Porter as far as she could throw him. He was fat so it wouldn’t be far.“I’m not your son. We know it’s bad out there. We lost our home to an asshole with a tank,” Carl scoffed at Ford.“Carl,” Rick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.“Then you know it’s imperative we use all the resources available to get Eugene here to DC. To find a cure. I can guarantee if your friends made it they’d head to DC.”“Yes, they would. DC is the heart of this fine nation. Nothing but the best of everything,” Porter intoned.“I think you’re full of shit.” Tara rolled her eyes.“No one asked you,” Ford glared at her.“Whatever, dude,” she jeered.“Dad?” Carl looked like he was going to cry.“I’m telling you, Mr. Grimes, if your friends are still alive they are making their way to DC,” Ford stressed.Porter did have a point. Rick thought Porter was full of shit, too. “Alright. We’ll go with you to DC,” Rick agreed.“Dad,” Carl yelled.“Just listen, Carl. We’ll leave Daryl and Michonne a note telling them where we’re going. At Morgan’s. We’ll go with them. They might be there, Carl.”“Great,” Carl slumped in his chair and glared at Ford and Porter. “I hate you.” He pointed to Porter. Three weeks later Rick was ready to kill someone. The trip had been harsh. He should have kept them in King County like Carl said. They’d run out of food, finding gas was hit or miss and walkers were more of a problem. Porter didn’t do anything to help them. He didn’t hunt, help with watch, cook or kill walkers. Asshole. They’d walked more than they’d driven. When they reached Virginia Porter started acting more squirrely than ever.When they reached the highway that led into DC Porter seemed to find more excuses to not go on.“You got somethang to say to us, Porter,” Rick growled and put his hand on his gun. Ford brought his gun to his hip and stood like a damn guard over Porter. Rick was done with this. Tara pulled her gun, Carl his, too.“I am not a scientist. I was not working on a cure. I lied.”Ford widened his eyes at Porter in shock. “Come again, Eugene?”“I lied. I was frightened. I did not want to die,” Eugene whined.“Fuck,” Rick yelled.Carl shook his head and put his gun away. “Come on, Dad, let’s go home.”“You’re an asshole,” Tara sneered at Porter.Ford punched him in the back of his head and he fell to the ground. Rick, Carl and Tara walked away. They could hear Porter trying to get up but Rick didn’t give a shit. They’d left King County, food and some security for this bullshit.“Carl, don’t say it,” Rick warned as they walked off to Ford kicking Porter’s ass.“They might have, Dad,” Carl told him. He pushed his Sheriff’s hat up and looked at his dad.Rick relaxed a little. Carl shrugged his shoulders. “We left them a note. Maybe they left us one. We could check the prison.”“Yeah. I hated pulling weeds anyway,” Tara weakly joked.“Come on. There’s a barn.” Rick pointed in the distance. “We’ll stay there. Find a town, scavenge some supplies and go home.”“Thanks, Dad.”“Wait,” Ford yelled and ran to catch up with them.“What the hell?” Rick shouted and pulled his gun.“Why should we?” Tara jibed. “You dragged us out here for nothing, Ford.”Ford stopped and put his hands up. “I really thought he was a scientist.”Carl rolled his eyes. “We were at the CDC. Dr. Jenner blew it up.”“Porter wasn’t lying.” Ford stopped. “Completely. If anyone was working on a cure they would have been doing it in DC, too.” He dropped his head to his chest. “I’m sorry. Eugene was a lying sack of shit.”Rick turned his back and headed for the barn with Carl and Tara in tow. Ford ran behind them. “Uh, I. You need help?”Rick snorted. “No. We were doin’ fine on our own before you and Porter showed up.”“Yeah. Michonne and Daryl could have left us a note. And we’d be in a real safe place,” Carl snarled.“Grimes, I lost my group for his lying ass. I’m sorry for pulling you from your town. I don’t have anywhere to go.”“Not my problem, Ford.” Rick kept walking. “Shit,” Abraham muttered.“Wait,” he heard Eugene yell. Abraham debated. He waited until Eugene was almost near him before following Grimes, his son and the smart mouth Tara to a barn. He didn’t know where the hell he was going to go. His wife and kids were dead. His group was dead trying to protect a lying sack of shit. He should have shot Eugene. Grimes didn’t say anything when they came in.“Tara, wake Carl up when you get tired. Carl, you wake me up when you get tired,” he directed his people and laid down on the floor.When Tara fell asleep Abraham kept watch and made Eugene stay up with him.“You’re lucky we didn’t kill you, Eugene. You start pulling your weight. If you don’t,” he paused. “Next time you might not be so lucky,” he threatened. It made him smile when Eugene paled. The next day Grimes didn’t say anything but he did raise his eyebrows in question.Abraham shrugged. “Least I could do.”“Sorry, Rick.” Tara shot him a glare.Abraham didn’t pay any attention. Rick looked at the house Aiden Monroe had led him, Carl, Tara, Abraham and Eugene to. It was nice. He and Lori always talked about buying a bigger house. For when they had more kids. He missed his daughter. He missed his people.Meeting Eric and Aaron had come from nowhere. Rick figured they could stay there for a little while, rest, find supplies and go back to King County.“Nice,” Abraham looked around and flipped the light switch on and off. They’d stared at them, fascinated. Rick hadn’t seen electricity since the CDC. The generator had died at the prison.“Just for a little while, Carl,” Rick assured his son. He was going to be smart about going back. Make a plan.Carl frowned. “Dad, did you see these people?” he raised his voice.“I did. I can’t believe they don’t carry guns.” He looked at his empty holster.“It’s stupid, Rick. They won’t even let us have knives,” Tara scoffed.“Dumb. How long are we staying?”Rick looked at him. “You still coming with us?”Abraham around the house. “Nice place. Shitty management. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”“Carl?”Carl looked him up and down. “Why not? Until Michonne and Daryl find us we could always use more people.”“Tara?”Tara frowned. “I can sympathize. Look at what the Governor did to my family.” She shrugged. “Why not.”Rick knew better than to ask Eugene. In fact, they’d leave him here.“Alright, Abraham, you can come with us. We’ll stay here for a week or so then we’re leaving.”Abraham nodded his head. “Appreciate it, Rick.” Rick stared at the blond woman on the porch. He thought her name was Jessie. Rick shook his head and took the basket from her hands. “Thanks. We’re fine,” he replied to her.“I can cut your hair. I used to. Before this.” She waved her hand around.Rick just stared at her. “Tara can do it.” Then he shut the door in her face. Glenn looked at the prison through the windshield of the Prius.“Shit. It looks worse than when we saw it right after it happened,” Sasha moaned from the back.“Let’s do this. You go leave the notes. I’ll look for guns,” Jace said as he opened his door. Glenn was glad he came along. It didn’t take them long to get here. They drove almost non-stop. They only stopped during the day to find gas and food from the cars on the freeway. They’d cleared a path through the cars near Macon to make getting back easier.They hadn’t seen any people, which Glenn liked. They got out and went inside, Jace staying outside. The walkers they’d seen weren’t that bad. If a herd showed up Jace knew what to do. Sasha walked through the common area and headed for her cell. She wasn’t going to take anything but she wanted to see it. She recognized Bob’s jacket outside of a cell. She drew in a breath and let it out but kept on walking. When she reached Ty’s cell she ran her hand over the blankets. “I hope you made it, Ty,” she whispered before she left the note, stabbing it into the pillow. Holly’s idea.“You done, Sasha?” Maggie asked from behind her.“Yeah. Are we staying the night?”“Probably. Get going early in the morning.”“Jace?”“He said the guns were exposed but he’s taking magazines. Just in case.”“Who’s cooking?” Sasha turned.“Glenn’s turn. Soup.”“At least it’s not squirrel.”Maggie gave a soft laugh.“Did you?”“Yeah. Took a few things.”“That’s good, Maggie.”“You?”Sasha shook her head. “Nothing for me.”“You sure?”She saw, as they walked back to the common area, Glenn and Jace sitting at the table. “Yeah.”“I don’t think you can miss it.” Glenn pointed to the red writing on the walls. ‘Check’ on one side, ‘Cells’ on the other. Sid’s idea.“Vaguely specific,” Jace nodded. “Biter,” Holly yelled from the front room.“How many?” Dante asked as he ran from the kitchen.“Not sure, but the storm stirred up some shit.”“Alright. Everyone but Michonne, Daryl, Ralph and Soledad.”“What the hell, Sid? We’re comin’,” Dary yelled at him.“No you’re not. We need people here, Daryl. We can handle this. From the looks of it, it’s waterlogged.” Sid pointed to the walker on the front porch. Daryl could see what he was talkin’ about. It looked worse than those things that grew in the ground. Shit all over it’s face and movin’ slower than normal.Holly pulled out her knives and opened the door. She stabbed it and the one trying to come up the stairs then took off. The rest followed, leaving Daryl, Michonne, Ralph and Soledad.“You be careful, Trey,” Ralph yelled at him.“We have him, Ralph.” Nancy nodded and trotted off after them.“We should make breakfast. I’m sure Judith’s hungry,” Soledad said. “Hell, I can’t wait until we have fresh coffee,” Holly sighed as they came in the house an hour later.“We got them all. We think,” Sid breathed out.“We’re pretty sure. We scoured the island,” Holly grimaced.“We did. Good call, Sid.” Akasha gave him a thumbs up.Sid sat down and Ralph put some eggs and potatoes in front of him. “I’ve been sailing enough. It made sense. If biters were in the ocean, why wouldn’t they be? They’d be stirred up from the storm.”“Waves were big last night. Why we came from watch,” Tom moaned as he sipped coffee. “Shit, stale coffee or not, it tastes good.”“Daryl and Michonne, I’d like to say thank you,” Adrian said to them. “For asking if I wanted to come here. I didn’t miss killing skin eaters.”Daryl hunched over his plate. “We’ll take care a things today.”“We’ll do our share, Daryl. We only saw, what, fifteen?” Dante looked at Sid.“About that. They weren’t hard.”“We didn’t lose any animals. Close. I think I like that bull.”Nancy choked. “We’ll have a hard time getting it out.”“Pounded in the ground.” Allen made a face. “I thought they were gross when we saw the others.”“Biter bits,” Trey joked.“Biter paste,” Monique shivered. “It looked like paste.”“We’ll have to keep watch for Jace, Glenn, Maggie and Sasha. I’m sure there are some on the mainland,” Daisy commented.“Yeah. We should put something about storms in the note,” Luke suggested. Michonne fed Judith as they discussed the day’s happenings. She was happy Daryl asked to come here.“Some shit, ‘Chonne. Goin’ to watch for Glenn and them,” Daryl said to her later as they were out walking the island, just to be sure.“They’re our people, Daryl. I’m not surprised.” She stopped and kissed him. “Thank you.”Daryl frowned. “Why?”“For asking to come here.”“Yeah. Glad I did it.” They started walking again. “Adrian.”Michonne smiled. “I think you have another fan.”“Shit.” Sasha had never been so glad to see the old broken down dock until it finally came into sight. Less than a week after leaving they were home.“We’re home,” Glenn whooped.Maggie smiled. “We are. We’re home.”“About time,” Jace exhaled. “It was good to get out. It’s worse than I thought it would be.”“I’m glad we cleared that car wreck,” Sasha added.“Yeah. Smart. Made it faster getting home.” Maggie turned to Jace and Sasha in the back. “Who has the keys?”“I do.” Jace held them up.“Storage area. I’m glad Soledad said to leave food and toilet paper in there.” Sasha grinned.“We have some good people,” Glenn commented.“Sleeping bags,” Jace mumbled.“I’m tired,” Glenn told them as they parked the car in the abandoned building and shut it off. Maggie grabbed the food in the car and headed out the door. When they were finished Sasha shut the door and Jace locked it. Glenn noticed some really ugly looking walkers.“What the hell happened to them?” Maggie asked as she put her knife in its head.Jace stopped and knelt down to get a better look. “This looks like…barnacles. Shit. Sid was right again.” He stood up and started walking to their temporary home until Holly came to get them.
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“What?” Glenn questioned as he pulled his knife.“They must have had a storm. Sid said it was unrealistic to think walkers wouldn’t be in the ocean. They must have been,” he grunted as he killed one coming toward them.“I never would have thought of it,” Sasha frowned.Jace wiped his knife on a cloth he pulled from his jacket pocket and shrugged. “I guess Sid’s been sailing his whole life.”“He worked for the ATF?” Maggie questioned.“Yeah. They have their badges someplace. I wanted to see them when they found us. I wasn’t going with just anyone,” he huffed.“Huh. Were they always together?” Glenn inquired.“I don’t know. They were partners. I guess. We don’t really talk about the past.”Sasha could relate. “You?”Jace let out a breath. “I’m from Buffalo, Illinois. I joined the National Guard after I got out of high school. Buffalo’s small. Spent six months in Afghanistan. Anyway, I was going to a community college in Springfield, getting ready to transfer to the University of Illinois. The guard paid for some of my classes. We were deployed to Atlanta. This wasn’t supposed to last long. My mom and dad didn’t want me to come. I told them I’d be fine.” He let out a harsh laugh. “Right.”“Shit.”“Yeah, shit.” He looked off in the distance. “I thought about going back. Trying to find them.” He shook his head. “I think I’ll stay where I am. My mom would want me to be safe.”“How’d you meet them?” Sasha wanted to know.He gave a small smile. “They were in a one of the camps in Atlanta. I guess it was bad and Holly said fuck this so they left. Sid knew how to sail so they decided to go to an island until this blew over. Me and a few of my buddies went AWOL when we heard the order to napalm Atlanta. We met on the road. Not far from the car wreck near Macon. You? Turnabout’s fair play. We already know about the prison.”“I was with my brother in our whacked out neighbor’s bomb shelter. Or end of the world bunker. We were there for about a year, I guess. We finally had to leave. Ran out of food. We met up with some people, found the prison, got kicked out of the prison, found a town called Woodbury. The Governor.”“That the asshole with the tank?”“Yeah. He tried twice for it. The first time, me and Ty didn’t go, we stayed behind, went with Rick, Michonne and Daryl when they came to Woodbury. The Governor shot most of the people that went the first time. After they were forced to leave.”“Shit. What a dick.”Glenn snorted.“Yeah. We were there. A bad case of the flu went through the prison.”“Right. Daryl and Michonne were on a run and weren’t there,” Jace repeated as he unlocked the door to Sid and Hol’s storage area. “Only for a little while,” he said as he walked inside.A week later Maggie ran for the dock when she saw the yacht on its way. She’d played more card games than she wanted to while they waited.“Maggie,” Glenn yelled as he followed her.Sasha wanted to hug the woman when she pulled up to the dock. “Island Express. One way trip. For now,” she grinned at them.“Works for me,” Jace held the yacht as they all got on and it took off. For home.“Coffee?” Holly held up the French press. After hot showers and news, not much, with the others but Sid, Holly, Matt and Daisy, and dinner, they were all together in Daryl and Michonne’s room.“It looked bad,” Glenn groaned as he sipped his coffee.“Worse than when we saw it after it happened,” Sasha said.“Any sign of Rick?”“We saw those two walkers. And Bob.” Maggie patted Sasha’s knee.“If the fences were back up, we got solar panels? It would be a good place,” Glenn noted.“Can leave if ya want, Glenn,” Daryl told him.“Nope. Good here.”“This is home now,” Maggie stated.Michonne smiled. Rick looked around at the destruction of Alexandria and ran for his house. “Carl?” he yelled as he ran in the door. “Tara?”“Dad,” Carl yelled as they came down the stairs. “There were too many. We hid.”“Good, Carl. You did good.” He hugged his son and looked at Tara.“No weapons,” she shrugged. “I didn’t like hiding. The bastards.”He gave her a small smile. She’d come a long way from when they first met almost a year ago in some small town. She was a sarcastic bitch. Rick thought of her as a far removed cousin. And helpful. She kept the wives of Alexandria out of his hair.He didn’t know why he’d listened when Aaron talked them into staying for a few months. They had electricity, something he, Carl, Tara, Abraham and Eugene had been without since this started. Deanna didn’t like them carrying weapons, even knives. It had been hard to get her to agree to let him and Abraham carry knives. Rick left his favorite machete in the armory.He, Abraham, Aaron and Eric were out scouting for more people when they ran across a group calling themselves ‘Wolves’. Crazy bastards had ‘W’s carved in their foreheads. Abraham and Rick had ended up killing them after they tried to take their food and weapons. Aaron and Eric didn’t seem too broken up about it. They’d been outside the walls of Alexandria. The Alpha Wolf had laughed. For some reason it sent chills down Rick’s spine and they left the barn they’d been using as a stop off and headed back. When they pulled up they saw the gate and part of the walls were down and walkers everywhere. Some of them the residents.Abraham had gone to the house Eugene lived in while Aaron and Eric went to their house.“We’re goin’ home,” he announced.“It’s about time,” Tara retorted.“Maybe we could stop by the prison again. And check,” Carl suggested.Rick knelt down in front of his son. “Carl? We went back once before. I’m not a tracker. Daryl was the tracker. We know someone made it out with Judith.” At the look on his face Rick sighed. “Alright, we’ll go check. Maybe someone left a note or somethang. If not? We’ll leave them a note telling them to meet us in King County.”“Thanks, Dad.” He shifted on his feet. “I miss them. I miss Judith.”“Me, too, Carl. Me, too.”“I’m packed.” Tara held up a bag. “I was going to leave with or without you, Rick. Deanna might as well have painted a target on our backs.”Rick looked out his living room window. “She did. Carl? Go pack a few changes of clothes for you and me. Tara and I’ll raid the pantry and armory.”“Done.” Carl raced up the stairs.“Did you check for survivors?” Rick asked her.“No. Should I have? With what as protection? One of those kitchen knives?” she sneered.Rick gave her a look. “You could have done it.”“I could have. This?” She pointed out the window, “was Deanna’s fault, Rick.”“Rick?” Abraham walked through the door. “Eugene made it. He hid.”“So did Carl and Tara. Saw one of the residents. Mrs. Neidermeyer. ‘W’ carved in her forehead.”“Yeah, saw a few of those. We’re leaving.”“We are, too.”“Want some company?”“Yeah. If Eugene can make bullets he’s a handy man to have.”“Bastard better be able to make bullets,” Abraham snorted.“I can install solar panels,” Eugene told them as he walked inside.“Even better. We’ll tell Aaron and Eric. Find any survivors. We’re goin’ home.” “Well?” Aaron looked at his lover.“This? We can’t stay here, Aaron. It’s a mess. I don’t think there are enough of us to put the walls back up,” he replied.“We’ll ask Rick if we can go with him and Abraham,” Aaron decided. “Enid?” Carl yelled as he went into Olivia’s house.“Shut up,” Enid whisper yelled.Carl killed several walkers before he slammed the door. “Me, my dad, Tara, Abraham and Eugene are leaving. Did you want to come with us?”Enid rolled her eyes and held up a bag. “I’m packed.”Carl nodded. “What are we going to do, Mom?” Aiden whined.“You do what you want. We’re leavin’. We’ll take some of the guns and food,” Rick told her before they headed toward the pantry and armory.“We’d like to go. With you,” Deanna requested, stopping him in his tracks.“You do things my way, Deanna. You and your family need to learn to kill walkers. This is what it’s like,” he growled. “Take it all.”“About fucking time.” Tara shook her head and went to load a car.“You follow us, Reg. We’re takin’ three cars. Me, Carl, Enid and Tara. Aaron, Eric, Abraham and Eugene. You, Deanna, Aiden and Spencer. We’ll need all the gas we can get. The additives. Gas is goin’ bad. We’ll need it or we’re all walkin’. We’ll split the food up. You and your family can have a few guns. We don’t have a lot of confidence in any of you.”“Hey,” Aiden shouted. “I know how to use a gun.”“Good for you, shit for brains. We do, too and we’re a lot better than you are,” Abraham retorted as he walked in Deanna’s. “Tara’s loading up your and my car with most of the food, gas, additive, guns and ammo. The rest we’ll put in theirs.”Rick nodded and followed him outside. Abraham wasn’t Daryl but he was a good man to have right now. “You follow me. Abraham and the others will be behind you.” “Woo hoo,” Holly yelled as she picked the first coffee been. “I love whacked out preppers.”Michonne shook her head at the woman. Daryl was right. She was crazy.“What?” Holly looked at her and Sasha as they were in the greenhouse Holly was calling ‘Nirvana’. “We’re almost out. Chocolate’s next.”“Right. Are you sailing down there?” Sasha raised her eyebrows.Holly shrugged. “Maybe. I speak a little Spanish. So does Sid. We could do it.” She straightened up.“You are crazy,” Sasha laughed at her.“Am I? I prefer to think of it as determined. This? This will be our life for a few generations. Like the dark ages. With a few minor differences. Long periods of calm broken up by short periods of activity. Relatively speaking. Who knows when commerce will start up again? Sugar? I’d like to raid for that, too. Then my life will be, somewhat, complete,” she smirked. “I hope this Rick, Carol and Ty find us soon. We need more people.” “The dark ages?” Daryl asked Michonne when they were in bed that night.“She’s right. It is the dark ages. We’re lucky. We have electricity. We didn’t have it at the prison.”“Huh. Never thought of it.”“I didn’t either. She’s smart.”“He is, too.”“He is.” Michonne kissed Daryl. “Not as smart as you.”“Right, ‘Chonne. I never thought a solar panels.”“Right. Candles. Books.”“Dar. Cho,” Judith cried from her crib.Michonne sighed as Daryl got out of bed and got Judith from her crib. He put her in between them and she fell asleep right away.“Daryl. You’re spoiling her,” she chided.“She’s little, ‘Chonne,” Daryl defended himself.Michonne let out a soft laugh as she ran a hand down Judith’s hair. “She loves her Dar.”“Li’l ass kicker loves her some ‘Cho’,” Daryl responded. Michonne knew he was smirking. Bastard. “You think they’re still alive?” he whispered.“I don’t know, Daryl. It’s been almost a year. Sometimes I’m frightened Rick might show up.”Daryl sighed. “Yeah. He’ll be somethin’ else about Judith.”“You’re not Shane, Daryl.”“I know it, ‘Chonne. Rick might not.”Michonne recalled how Rick was when they first met. It explained some of his behavior. She still didn’t forgive him for sending her with Merle.“If Rick had taken me himself instead of using Merle, I’d be dead.” Daryl froze. “Why?”“I wouldn’t have talked to him like I did Merle. I would have tried to kill Rick. Or forced him to kill me. It wouldn’t have taken much.”Daryl hadn’t liked Rick’s plan and agreed when he called it off. “I supported it, ‘Chonne.”“Did you?”“Kinda.”“You weren’t the leader, Daryl. If the Governor had given you the same terms what would you have done?”“Not turned ya over that’s for fuckin’ sure. Knew then the asshole wouldna stopped. Didn’t trust ya. You didn’t trust us. None of us trusted that asshole.”“Right.”“Don’t wanna talk about Rick anymore, ‘Chonne. Should get some sleep.”“Daryl?”“Damn woman,” he sighed. “What now?”“I love you.”Daryl leaned over where he thought li’l ass kicker was and kissed her. He landed close to her mouth. “Love you, too, ‘Chonne.” As Michonne drifted off to sleep she made a new rule. No Rick in their bed. She’d have to tell Daryl tomorrow. When she was in that state between being awake and asleep she hoped Rick wouldn’t show up. She liked her life now. Rick would bring chaos. She had Daryl, Judith, Glenn, Maggie, Beth, Sasha and the rest of their people. Beth was with Matt picking weeds from the wheat field and smiled. She liked it here. She did miss Carl. Carol. Ty. She didn’t really miss Rick that much. Some. After he stopped leading them and they got a council. She was for leaving them notes at the prison. She didn’t want to go. She almost yelled when Maggie and Glenn volunteered to do it. Michonne and Daryl didn’t really want to go, she could tell.She knew Sasha wanted to go to leave a note for Ty. Maybe Carol. She missed her daddy. Her daddy had felt bad for Rick. He liked Rick. After they left the farm and stepped down from being the leader. So far they hadn’t seen anything the few times they’d gone to the mainland. She didn’t know if they were alive. It had been almost nine months since they left the farm the second time. Beth was keeping track. Still. They’d made it almost eight months at the prison. Sasha yawned as she poured coffee and sat down. “Here.” Keisha put a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her.“Thanks,” she told the woman.“No problem. I made too much for myself.” She put her own plate on the table and sat down. “Sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach.”“I hear you. Food.” She forked eggs into her mouth.“Yeah. I see food and I want to eat it all. Store it like a fucking chipmunk or something.”“In case you can’t find more for a while?” Sasha asked.“Yeah.” Keisha sipped her coffee. “I think I’m in love with those people.”“Hol and Sid?” She looked up from her plate.“Yeah.”“Me, too,” Sasha sipped her fresh coffee.“You think your brother made it?”“I hope so.”“Me, too. I’d like to think some of the people I was with made it. No one deserves being bit.”“Where were you?”“Outside Savannah. Walkers came through. We scattered.”Sasha realized Jace was right. They didn’t talk about their pasts.“You want to leave a note? For them?”Keisha shook her head. “No. We weren’t close. Not like this group.” She sipped her coffee. “We looked out for each other because no one else would and you had a better chance to make it if you had people.”“Now?”“We’re family.” “Glenn?” Maggie whispered.“Pregnant?” Glenn sagged onto the chair in the sitting room. “Are you sure?”“I’m sure.” She held up the tests she’d taken from storage.He jumped up and squeezed her. “Maggie.”“We’re gonna be parents.” She pulled back and smiled as tears leaked from her eyes.“Are you okay? We talked about this.” He made her sit on the loveseat and sat beside her.“I am. We did. I’m,” she sniffed and wiped her nose. “I just never thought.”“That we’d make it this far? After the prison?”“Yeah.”“We did. We found some of our people. We’re at a relatively safe place. We have more people.”“We are.” She gave him a kiss. “Now, let’s go celebrate.”He grabbed her hand and took her to their bedroom.Later Glenn held her close. “I love you, Glenn Rhee.”He kissed her hair. “I love you, Maggie Greene.”“We need to tell Daryl and Michonne. First.”“We’ll tell whoever you want, Maggie,” Glenn agreed.“Can I tell you something?” she whispered.Glenn raised his head with a frown on his face. “You can tell me anything, Maggie. What’s wrong? Is it the baby? Telling Daryl and Michonne? Sid and Holly?”“No, Glenn, nothing like that.”He raised his eyebrows.“I don’t think the others are coming.”Glenn sighed and put his head back on the pillow beside her. “Me, either.” He paused. “I hope Ty did make it out. For Sasha. Carol? I don’t know. Rick,” he trailed off.“Yeah. Rick. I miss Carl. Michonne misses Carl. Daryl misses Carl.”Glenn huffed out a laugh. “I was pissed when I found out Sid and Hol were in a camp in Atlanta.”“Why?”He shrugged. “I wish they’d have been in our camp. Or we would have found them.”“You wouldn’t have met me.” “Why I stopped being pissed. From the beginning everyone lost their damn minds. But Sid and Holly. They didn’t like the camp? They left. Headed for an island. Waiting for this to blow over. Made a list and chipped away at it.”“Yeah. I was mad at Daddy. At the farm. When we went back.”“He didn’t know, Maggie.”“No, but he shouldn’t have kept walkers in the barn. He should have put up fences and waited for it to blow over.”Glenn pulled her closer. “He didn’t. Things happened. We just live.”“We can here.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Carol rolled over in bed and smiled. She could smell eggs. She could hear Mika and Ty in the kitchen. Ty. She finally stopped counting. She just lived now. The door burst open and they brought her a tray and waited for her to sit up before Mika put it across her lap.“Morning, Carol,” she kissed her on the cheek.“Morning. What’s this?” she looked at them.“Because Ty said so. That’s why,” she grinned.“We’ve been working hard. You especially. Canning.”Carol dug in. “Thank you, but we’re all working hard.”“Mika has something to ask you.”Carol raised her eyebrows as she ate.Mika looked at Ty as he sat beside her on their bed.“Will you and Ty adopt me?”She froze, put her fork on the tray and closed her eyes.“Ty?” Mika sounded like she was going to cry.“Oh, sweetie, come here.” Carol pulled her on the bed and hugged her. “Of course, we’ll adopt you.”Mika started crying and hugged her hard. Ty rubbed her arm. “All her idea. She thought you needed to be bribed.”Carol sniffed. When she pulled away she pushed Mika’s hair out of her face. “Why?”“I. It’s just us. My mom and dad died. Lizzie. I don’t want to be by myself,” she said in a teary voice.“You won’t, Mika,” Ty assured her.“And you sleep in the same room. Like my mom and dad used to,” Mika continued. “They aren’t here. You are.”Ty leaned over and kissed her on the head. “We’re your parents, Mika.”Mika leaned against Carol as Ty got in bed with them and ate from Carol’s plate. He gave her a small smile. He’d never forget what she’d done, but forgiving her had gone a long way for his mental health. Life had always been too short. No one had realized it. Now life was really short.They’d done well here. Some electricity, food in the ground, they’d found some chickens and a goat at some of the farmhouses they’d raided and he couldn’t have done it without Carol. He’d always thought she was good woman, not that he knew her well at the prison. Finding out what she’d done? Had thrown him. He’d hated her. Until he realized he couldn’t hate her and still be sane.He looked at Mika with her head against Carol’s shoulder. They had a daughter. Ty had another child. Another woman. He squeezed her hand. “Why?” she asked later that night. The bath wasn’t big enough for both of them so Carol usually had Mika bathe first, then him, then her. Ty usually heated water for her. Sometimes he sat on the toilet as she washed up. She’d been embarrassed at first. Ty was nothing like Ed.“I have a good woman. And a daughter. Again. I’m grateful.”Carol was grateful, too. Her relationship with Ty had boggled her mind. He’d gone from hating her to tolerating her. Now they were sexually involved. Emotionally involved. She cared for Ty. She knew he cared for her. She didn’t know if she loved Ty or not, so the ‘L’ word hadn’t been used yet.“Me, too.”Ty kissed her and pulled her close. “I told you about my daughter. And my wife. Sasha was all I had left. I left my baby sister there.”Carol snuggled into his chest and he sighed into her hair. “Yeah.”“I didn’t think I’d have anyone after the prison, but Mika.”“You almost didn’t,” she reminded him.He pinched her ass. “Ow,” she hissed.“Don’t interrupt me. I had every right to say what I did. I’m glad I let it go. It wasn’t healthy. This world? Fucked up as it is? I couldn’t afford to hang on to it. You? You did think some fucked up shit, but I understand why. I’m glad you decided to stay with us, Carol. Very glad.”Carol looked up at him in the dark. “How much?”“Listen to you,” he teased as he rolled to his back and pulled her on top of him. When he rubbed her clit she felt herself getting wet. Ty made sex fun. Something she’d never had with Ed. At first it was awkward but he never gave up. She thought he was just horny and was saying anything to get in her pants, but he proved her wrong. He’d waited. He didn’t push. He let her control how fast they’d moved. She sighed when she settled herself on his dick.“That’s it, baby. So good, Carol.” Ty sat up and kissed her hard. “Good girl, Carol,” he breathed in her mouth.“Ty,” she whimpered.“That’s it. Take what you want,” he egged her on as she moved up and down on him. “Fuck, Carol. Keep going,” he ordered.She did. She didn’t know how much later it was when he came hard inside her. After she’d come twice. She sighed in contentment.“Thank you.”Ty let out a sleepy laugh and pulled her to him, spooning her. “My good girl,” he affirmed. “One of these days I’d like to hear you scream.”“Not with Mika in the house.”“She knows we sleep together.”Carol felt herself blush and heard Ty quietly laugh. “I’m not embarrassed.”“She’s young,” Carol protested.Ty hummed before he fell asleep. Carol did soon after. “You all stay out here,” Rick told Abraham, Aaron, Eric and Eugene. He said the same thing to Deanna and her family. Carl said they should check the prison and they were gonna check the prison. Enid moved from their car to Abe’s car. All three stood there, killing the occasional walker.“It looks worse,” Tara commented. “I’ll stay here, Rick.”Rick nodded as he and Carl went inside. The walkers were still there. The bodies more dust, clothes and bone. Walking through it made Rick mad and sad all over again.“Dad. Look.” Carl pointed to one of the common area walls. It had ‘Check’ in red spray paint. The wall across from it had ‘Cells’. Carl whooped. “I told you, Dad. Daryl and Michonne found or made us a safe place,” he shouted as he ran upstairs to their old cell. Deanna Monroe sat in one of the cars from Alexandria and put her hand across her mouth at the destruction she was seeing. When Aaron and Eric brought Rick and his group to Alexandria she wasn’t sure about them. They’d looked rough and smelled worse. Rick Grimes, Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Grimes, had made her pause. She’d taken his story about his home at the prison with a grain of salt. People didn’t act like this ‘Governor’ person. He’d obviously lost a lot and she felt he was exaggerating, trying to lay blame on someone for his losses. She did feel bad for his son, being dragged around with no mother. Carl said his mother died.She’d almost had them leave the next day until Reg said they should stay. For Carl’s sake. She’d been firm with no guns. She’d reluctantly let Sargent Ford and Rick carry knives. They unsettled the rest of the Alexandrians. Aaron and Eric pointed out they needed people with experience out there and the Alexandrians didn’t have a lot. Deanna was sure the government would come back from this.When Rick had asked about growing food, she’d explained they were using up what was edible and farms were included in her and Reg’s expansion plans. Rick looked at her like she was an idiot and told her again she should start growing food. She’d taken a deep breath, thought of poor, motherless Carl and said she’d think about it. Purely humoring the man. The Alexandrians weren’t use to ‘roughing’ it, aside from Aiden and Nicholas’ run trips. Heath, Annie and Scott never talked about their runs. Tobin and a few others had done runs for construction supplies but left when the dead had shown up and went back later.Aaron and Eric had asked to have Rick and Abraham help them with recruiting. She breathed a sigh of relief when they’d left for stretches at a time and came back. Tara didn’t mingle much with the others. Carl, she understood, went to school and played with Enid and the Anderson boys.When Tobin saw semi-trucks coming toward Alexandria she’d breathed another sigh of relief. “Finally,” she told Reg with a smile. “They must have contained all the dead.” The trucks didn’t stop and rammed the walls, spilling the dead into Alexandria. She, Reg, Spencer and Aiden had ran to their home, locked the door and hid upstairs. She’d cried as she heard the screams of the residents. When the screams stopped she’d shakily made her way downstairs, only to be scared by a young man with a ‘W’ carved in his forehead, smile maniacally at her and break the glass of the window next to the door. She’d screamed. Aiden had run downstairs and shot the man in the stomach. He’d laughed and said they’d be dead next. Like this place. She’d shoved Aiden up the stairs and made them all get in the attic.When Rick had come around looking for survivors she’d climbed down the stairs and ran to her front door, Reg right behind her. When she saw some of the residents being killed by Aaron, Eric and Abraham she’d let silent tears fall. She appreciated Rick didn’t say ‘I told you so’. Then she’d asked to go with them. They couldn’t put the walls back up. When she saw Ron Anderson stabbed in the head by Tara she looked away. They couldn’t stay here.Rick said he needed to make a stop before they headed to King County. Now here they were in front of the prison that was Rick and Carl’s home with a tank sitting in front of it. Reg patted her hand. “Look, Dad.” Carl pulled the knife out of his old pillow and read it.
Rick,
We’re on Covet Island. We don’t check the mainland often, so you’ll find keys to a ‘storage area’ and a map under the pillow. It’s the tourist stand at the end of the road that leads to the docks. Stay there. We come around every month and check.
Glenn
“Woo hoo. Say we’re going, Dad,” Carl shouted.“We’re going.”Carl hugged him hard.“Judith may not be there, Carl,” Rick cautioned.Carl frowned when he pulled away. “She’s there. Daryl and Michonne are there. Maggie’s there.”“Carl,” he warned.“Why didn’t we think of an island?” Carl asked him.“I don’t know. I don’t want you to get your hopes up, Carl.”“Whatever, Dad. We know they made it.” He took the note from his hand. “Come on. Let’s get the map.”Rick shook his head. “Let’s check the other cells.”They found the same notes, keys and maps in Carol and Ty’s cells. Carl shrugged. “Carol. She wasn’t here either. She made it.”Rick didn’t dispute Carl. She probably did and Rick had never been more relieved he’d banished her. “You stayed here?” Aiden asked in shock after they’d decided to stay the night.“Shut up, Aiden,” Abraham yelled. “You stay where you can.”“Yeah, we stayed here. It was safe. Until the Governor,” Carl sneered at him.Rick put the map on the table. “So this route is highlighted. We can count on most of the cars being empty of gas and food. If Glenn drove here he’d have siphoned and taken what he could.”“Probably. Smart. An island,” Abraham admitted.“Yes. It is smart,” Eugene echoed.Tara rolled her eyes. “I’m surprised you didn’t think of it.”Eugene didn’t say anything.“Pick cells. We’ll start early in the morning,” Rick directed.“Who’s ‘we’?” Abraham asked.“Maggie. Glenn’s wife. Carl thinks Daryl and Michonne.” Rick frowned.“And my sister, Judith. Not Carol or Ty. They had the same messages in their cells.” Carl nodded solemnly.“Is it safe, Rick? Leaving notes?” Aaron questioned.Rick looked at the walls. “Whoever painted those? Not specific. This place? Off the beaten path. We didn’t have a lot of trouble until the Governor. After the first attempt to take the prison he shot almost everyone that came with him. We found them on the side of the road. Dead. Except for Karen. We got everyone else from there. The kids and older people. The guns and food, too.”“You should shut the door to your wing.” Eric pointed to it. “Keep the other one open. If someone finds this place they’ll check the open one first.”“Lock it, if you can. Where would Carol and Ty look for the keys?” Aaron questioned.“Who the hell knows?” Rick sighed.“Paint another sign. Like an arrow or something,” Tara suggested. “Lock it and put the keys out of sight.” Rick looked up from his awful handwriting on the wall the next morning. Carl laughed. “Little ass kicker?”He gave his son a small smile. Deanna’s respect for Rick, Tara, Carl, Abraham, Eugene and Enid increased the longer they walked. They’d left the prison two days prior and had run out of gas. They, she, felt like a fool. They couldn’t find any gas and Aiden had whined. Reg had raised his voice, telling their son this was really what it was like.Carl, Tara and Enid had rolled their eyes and kept walking. They’d found abandoned cars to sleep in when they could. If they couldn’t? They slept out in the open, everyone taking turns doing watch. It had taken them two days to reach McDonough. Tara passed out granola bars and some water while Enid and Carl took first watch. Aiden looked at the granola bar in disgust. “I think I hate granola bars.”“I will eat it if you will not,” Eugene offered.Abraham laughed. “You’re lucky you’re getting that, Aiden. Your mom had you snowed.”“Yeah. You had it easy,” Tara scoffed.Deanna frowned and ate what was given to her. Reg did the same. She had unrealistic expectations and they could have cost her her family. Reg gave her a weak smile.“Shut up and eat it, Aiden,” Spencer shouted.“Shut up,” Rick whisper yelled.“You’re a dumbass.” Tara rolled her eyes at him.It took them another two days to reach High Falls National Park and her family needed to rest. She’d pulled Rick aside.“We need to rest. We’re not used to doing this.”“We tried telling you, Deanna. You didn’t believe us. Not my problem if you and your family can’t make it,” he retorted.“Please, Rick,” she whispered.“You and your family know how to get there. We’re not stopping because you refused to see what the hell it was like. You don’t make it? You don’t make it. We’ll leave you some food and guns,” he stated.“We’ll be fine, Rick.” Reg stepped forward. “We’ll keep up.”“You don’t, you say so, Reg. We’ll leave you guns and food.” Reg was happy they decided to stop and fill up their water bottles. Abraham found a grill and boiled the water with some of the things they’d found in the ranger shack. Aiden found the bed and laid down on it, going to sleep immediately. He loved his wife. He believed her when she said the government would come back. He’d thought the same. He could admit they should have gotten out more. “Look at that asshole,” Tara sneered as she pointed to Aiden as he laid sprawled across the small bed.“Hey, Tara, don’t call him an asshole,” Spencer raised his voice.“He is. You all are,” Tara scoffed. “Not letting us carry knives? Stupid.”Deanna frowned. “I admit we should have gotten out more. I.” She cleared her throat. “I should have believed you.”“It’s done now, Deanna. We didn’t and we’re seeing the error of our ways,” Reg patted her hand.“You are assholes.” Abraham shook his head. “’Seen the error of our ways’. What kind of bullshit is that?” It took them another week to reach Monroe, Ga. Rick and Carl went out and hunted down some rabbits after the food they were carrying ran out. Enid, Aaron and Eric went and found a small stream and filled up their water bottles. Another week and they reached Macon. Rick frowned as he looked at the road.“What?” Carl looked at his dad.“Road’s clear.” He pointed at the moved cars and clear path.Carl smirked. “They did it for us.”“They did, Carl. Too bad we don’t have any cars.”“We’ll check, though, right?” Eric raised his eyebrows.“Shit, yeah, we’re checking. Christ on a crutch,” Abraham snarled as he stared at the herd of walkers heading their way.“Walkers,” Enid whisper yelled.“Cars. Everyone get in cars. Be quiet,” Rick ordered quietly.He didn’t know how long they waited until the walkers lost interest in them, but it was close to dark. He laid across the backseat, staring at the roof and hoped the rest of the trip would be almost as problem free as the start. He scoffed silently to himself. He’d leave Deanna and her family at the first sign of trouble to keep the rest of them safe. He knew Carl was right. Daryl and Michonne had Judith in a safe place. He wouldn’t let some idiot politician and her family keep him from seeing the rest of his people. Carl practically ran for the tourist station when he finally saw it. “Dad.”“Hold on, Carl.” Rick frowned and knocked on the door. After no walkers showed up he put the key in the lock and turned it. When he opened the door Carl practically pushed him out of the way and looked at everything that had been left.“Cool. Sleeping bags. Food. Water,” he cataloged after he walked around.“Sleeping bags,” Enid sighed in pleasure.“Rick.” Aaron held up another note.
Rick,
We left water and food. The toilet works.
Glenn
P.S. When it storms walkers wash up on shore.
Abraham went to the back. “Bathroom,” he yelled. Rick followed his voice and saw rolls of toilet paper.“I like this Glenn guy. Toilet paper,” Aaron whispered to Eric.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Rick sighed and watched as Tara, Abraham and Eric played gin rummy. It had taken them a month to get here. He’d counted the days. They’d been here for three weeks. According to Glenn’s note they checked every month so they’d be coming soon. He wished he’d found a boat and rowed over. They’d tried to find one but every one they did find had holes in the bottom. Abraham had been impressed.“It is smart,” Aaron admitted. “Unless they already had one, no one from the mainland can get over there.”“Assholes,” Rick huffed.“They want to protect their place, Rick,” Eric had told him.Rick did admit it was smart. He’d give Daryl credit for that. He’da done the same thing.“Look at what we have here, boys,” a man’s voice rang out after the door slammed open.They all stood with guns drawn to see five guys standing in the door doing the same.“I claim the little girl,” a young guy with a beard called out.Enid shrunk back against Carl.“I’ll take the dark haired woman,” another fat guy yelled.“I want the little boy,” another man smiled at Carl.“I claim the water. Assholes,” an older man sneered. “Joe, it was a good call to come here.” A tall guy smacked his lips as he looked at the people inside.“This is why I’m in charge. You?” Joe pointed at Rick. “Drop your gun. Or I’ll kill the woman.” He pointed his gun at Deanna. Michonne stood outside the storage area with Holly and watched as that other group blocked the windows. After they tied up the yacht, at the first sign of that group, she and Holly had hidden themselves behind the boat with the hole in the bottom, not wanting to engage. Two against five? She knew they could kill them, but why chance it? Looking at Holly, Michonne knew she thought the same.When that group walked inside the storage area they both knew someone from the prison was in there. Those guys couldn’t have walked right in, which meant one, two or maybe all three notes had been found. Now, they couldn’t see who had made it.Holly pulled her knives and pointed to the two on the left. Michonne nodded in acceptance as she pulled her katana. Holly grabbed the handle to the door and held up one finger. When she reached three, she pulled the door open and Michonne stepped inside, cutting off one of those guy’s heads. She didn’t worry about Holly as she heard the sound of bodies hitting the floor. The other man was turning but didn’t make it before his head was off followed by his body dropping to the ground. Deanna stood in shock as she saw the men, three lost their heads and the other two were moaing the ground when Rick yelled “Who in the hell are you?”The women ignored him as the black lady stuck her sword in the men’s heads and the white lady turned over the other two. She tilted her head to the side and pulled out a gun, put it against one of the men’s heads and pulled the trigger. At the loud noise she finally broke down in tears. “Bitch nuts,” Abraham muttered. He heard Deanna crying in the background and Reg saying ‘My god’ in a horrified whisper. He watched the white woman turn the guy she just shot over on his front and raised his eyebrows in appreciation.“I love whacked out preppers, Michonne,” she crowed quietly. “Look.”The man was missing some of the back of his head. The woman did the same to the other one quickly. He saw the black woman lock the door before Carl ran over and hugged her.“Michonne,” the boy whooped. After the woman shot two in the head he could hear Deanna sobbing. The woman had ignored him as Carl ran over and hugged Michonne.“I asked you a question,” Rick yelled again.“You need to shut the hell up and no, you didn’t ask. You fucking yelled it. I’m not kicking your ass because of Michonne. You must be Rick. You’re a dickhead. She didn’t tell us you were a dickhead.” The woman started going through the bags the men had.“What are you doing?” Eric asked.“Trying to find out if they have a place or not,” the woman grunted. “How’s it looking?”“I only see a few,” Michonne answered.“Can we take them?”“Really? You’re asking that?” Aaron wheezed. Rick saw he looked just as shell shocked as everyone else, besides Abraham, Carl and himself. In fact, all of them were bunched up as far as they could get away from them.The woman looked up from what she was doing and Rick saw Michonne turn and look, too, eyebrows raised.“You haven’t been out much, have you?”“We have,” Eric stuttered.“Then stop asking stupid questions,” the woman blandly replied. “Look, we may have drawn some unwanted attention. Why don’t you people gather your things while we wait for it to calm down,” she recommended. She turned back to the bags. “Drifting assholes, it looks like,” she directed to Michonne.Michonne nodded and turned back to watching. Tara watched the badass in front of their group. She was black, with dreads, and Carl called her Michonne. Of all the stories Carl told her she decided he wasn’t lying. She and the other woman, Tara didn’t think anyone of their group even knew her name, had calmly strolled into the storage area and killed those men. Michonne took their heads and the other woman shot them. After stabbing them. She’d cringed when she’d seen the back of them. What was left anyway. Going with Rick and Carl had been one of the best decisions she’d ever made in her life since this started. Reg walked behind Rick and the others. The woman called Michonne was leading them with Carl and Rick beside her. After the white woman had them gather their things they’d sat around, as far away from the bodies as they could get, except Abraham, Rick, Carl and Tara. She’d hissed at Deanna to ‘shut the fuck up’ before Michonne opened the door and slipped out. After a few minutes they heard a soft knock. The white woman motioned Rick and Carl through door before ushering the rest of them periodically. They were warned to be quiet and walk quickly.He grimaced as they passed by several headless walkers. Michonne hoped things would go smoothly getting to the yacht. She was grateful Rick and Carl and some of the others knew to be quiet. Some of those people, she sighed silently. Most of them had guns, a few had knives. By the time they made it to the yacht Holly had maneuvered all them toward the dock before making them wait. She gestured with her head and Michonne pulled her katana.“Where are you going?” one of the young men whisper yelled in panic.Holly turned and gave the boy a look before rolling her eyes. She eyed Rick and nodded when his machete was in his hand. Carl pulled his knife, which seemed to be a signal for the others that had them to pull theirs. When Rick stepped forward Holly glared and pointed to his new group. He glared back but retreated a few steps.She got on board first, Michonne on her heals. They swiftly made their way through the dining area, noting some of the food out on the counter. Holly narrowed her eyes and pointed to the bow. Michonne moved by her toward the windows then shook her head. Then they both heard noises from down below. And it sounded like they were getting closer.“…assholes. They get nothin’. We’ll claim all of this shit,” a male voice hissed in satisfaction.They both looked for a place to hide. Holly went behind the island and she got under the wheel when the two men finally made it topside. Then Carl and Rick walked in. Shit. Holly wanted to yell her head off at those two idiots. They should have stayed where she told them to stay. Dumbasses. As both groups raised weapons, the men guns and the kid, Carl, a knife and his dad, Rick, a machete, she let out a breath. The two men made Carl and Rick drop their weapons, which they did, before heading toward them. When one of the men rounded the island she stood up and punched him in the head and Rick jumped the other guy, yelling at Carl to move away.She was so happy to see Michonne hit the guy she’d punched in the head again while she broke up Rick’s fight. This was a nice damn yacht and she wouldn’t let some assholes ruin it. Rick took another punch before punching back, then the guy dropped to the floor, the white woman standing over him. “Get the fuck up,” she growled before she took the man by his hair and dragged him outside.“Rick, grab this guy’s legs,” Michonne said before she took his arms.“What are you going to do with him?” Carl asked as he walked over and took his legs. Rick moved Carl out of the way then they moved the guy to the back of the boat.“Kill him,” she replied. Abraham watched as the blond woman dragged another man from inside the nice ass yacht by his hair. He was definitely impressed with her. Then he saw Rick, Carl and the Michonne woman bringing out another guy. The blond, he didn’t think anyone knew her name, started digging in one of the containers and brought out some rope. Before he could say anything he was running for the yacht. The man had kicked the woman and she lurched forward into the container. She was up fast and punched the guy in the face. The man drunkenly got to his feet before she dislocated his knee and he was down and howling. The woman lifted him by his shirt and punched him again. Abraham could hear it.“Holly.” Michonne stood with her hands loosely at her sides.The woman dropped the guy on the deck and went back to the rope. “Bring that asshole over here, will you? I’ll need some help getting them off the yacht.”“Yes, ma’am,” he smirked when he reached her. Holly rolled her eyes. Carl watched as his dad, Michonne, the Holly woman and Abraham took those two guys off the boat. After they were put on the ground Michonne and Holly stayed behind. He couldn’t hear anything but it looked like his dad was arguing with them. Holly pulled a gun and got in his dad’s face. Michonne must have said something because his dad and Abraham finally got back on.“Carl,” his dad said. “Take these people inside and wait. Don’t touch anythang,” he sneered.A few minutes later he heard more gunshots. Rick was fuming as he sat on the yacht while Michonne drove it. The woman, Holly, passed out bottles of cold water and put the food away before she sat at the table. “Big group. We need people. If you want to stay you help. With everything. You, too, Carl, and little girl. If you feel it’s beneath you we’ll bring you back tomorrow. A simple yes or no will suffice.” She pointed her finger at him.“What’s everything?” Eric asked quietly.“Watch. Raiding. Farming. Butchering. Cooking. Cleaning,” she responded. “You two,” she pointed to Carl and Enid, “will have some instruction. All of us handle that, too.”“I’ll do it,” Carl said.“Who runs the place?” Rick snarled.“We all do. It’s a democracy. Or what passes for a system of government these days. No dictators. Sid or I will kill you.”Rick heard Michonne mutter something.“Michonne?”“You. Dickhead. I’m talking. Leave the captain alone.” The woman stood up and got in his face. “You could have gotten you and your son killed. The next time I say stay, you fucking stay. If you think your dick is bigger than mine I’ll show you different.”“I don’t answer to you,” Rick sneered and his head snapped back. He felt his nose and took his fingers away to the sight of blood. Then she shoved a gun in his face. Again.“Hey,” Carl shouted.“Look, Carl, your dad’s a dickhead. I hope you don’t turn out the same. He can speak civilly or I’ll kick his ass. You feel me?” Michonne shut the yacht off and turned around. “It’s enough. Rick, she will kick your ass. Worse than the Governor from what Sash told us.”“Is Maggie there?” Carl looked at Michonne.“Beth, Glenn, Maggie, Judith, Daryl and Sasha, Carl. We found our way here. It’s a good place.”Carl ran over and hugged her again. “I told my dad you found Judith.”“We did.”“Explanations can wait,” Holly interjected. “Answer the question. Can you help us or not?” “My dick’s not bigger than yours. I suck at cooking. I’ll do it,” Abraham told her.“You?” she pointed to Aaron and Eric.They nodded.“You?” she pointed to Deanna, Reg, Spencer and Aiden.Aiden nodded quickly. “Can you teach me how to fight?” he raised his hand.The woman rolled her eyes. “I don’t think so. I see you don’t have any weapons which means you’re too stupid to live. In my opinion. You can’t learn a damn thing from me. You?” she pointed at Eugene.“I believe my expertise would be better suited to things other than cooking or cleaning,” Eugene said.“One for back here. Got it. You?” she pointed at Enid.Enid nodded her head quickly.“You?” she glared at Rick.“I don’t like you.”“My heart breaks,” the woman snorted. “Can you or can’t you?”“Dad?” Carl looked scared.“Yeah. I can.”“You?” she pointed to Tara.“I’m in. I can’t cook for shit.”“Captain?” the woman looked at Michonne.Michonne nodded her head once, started the yacht and steered it toward her home. Rick sat at the table and glared at the woman outside as he drank cold water.“Your dick’s not bigger than hers, Rick. She’s not like Deanna,” Abraham cautioned as he sat beside him.“Shit. This is a nice boat,” Tara whispered. Then she laughed. “’Too stupid to live’.”“That’s not funny, Tara,” Spencer protested.“I can’t believe she just shot those men,” Reg whispered.“Cool about it. Hollow points,” Abraham grinned.“She used to work for the ATF,” Michonne said from in front of the wheel.“Shit. She worked for the ATF?” Tara raised her eyebrows.“Her and Sid, both.”“Who are they?” Carl asked.“They started our community, Carl. It’s nice. We have electricity. Hot water. They went and secured the waste water treatment facility.”“What’s that?” Carl wrinkled his nose.Deanna looked at the table as she drank her water.“Good call. I never would have thought to ask,” Abraham mused as he drank his water.“We have coffee,” Michonne offered.“Where in the hell did you get coffee?” Tara yelled.“We grow it. Whacked out preppers,” she told them. “We have cabins if you want to lay down. The head is attached.”“What’s the head?” Enid raised her hand.“The bathroom,” Eric answered.Aaron looked around and whistled. “Nice yacht.”“Sidney and Holly.” Michonne shrugged her shoulders. Michonne sighed as she brought the yacht alongside the dock before she shut down the engine. She turned around to see Rick still glaring at Holly as she secured the ropes. Michonne didn’t say anything as she came inside.“We’re here. You.” She pointed to the guy with the mullet, “we’ll bring you back tomorrow. We need to restock for Carol and Ty. Are they dickheads?” she asked Michonne.“No. Carol killed a few people. Rick banished her.”“Why?” Holly wrinkled her nose.“The flu.”“Hm. That was stupid.” Holly shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a virus. Once one person’s infected everyone is exposed. As long as she doesn’t try that shit here, we’re cool.” She turned to face Rick, Carl and the rest of the people that were with him. “We’ll do introductions, whoever’s around, and you’ll see Soledad. She’ll give you a checkup. Then Trey and Monique will give you a tour of the hotel. You can pick out rooms. After you shower meet back in the living area and we’ll go over the few rules we do have. Let’s go.” She led everyone off the yacht.When they were on land Michonne told Carl she’d see him and his dad later. Then she went to find Daryl and the others. “Michonne?” Rick yelled at her as she left.The woman sighed and shook her head as more people came down to the dock.“This is Sidney.” She pointed to a tall, black guy.“I see someone finally showed up. Any trouble?” Sidney questioned.“Drifting assholes, but Michonne and I handled it. Hey. The hollow points work like a charm.” She wiggled her hips.“Did you get them all?” Sidney frowned.“Seven. Five in the storage area and two on the yacht. Rick, he’s a dickhead, Carl and some of these other people have knives. A few,” she scoffed, “don’t have anything.”Sidney raised his eyebrows. “Alright. We don’t make you carry anything. If you can’t protect yourselves we won’t do it for you. If you become too much of a nuisance we’ll take you back.”“This is Akasha,” Holly pointed to a young black woman. “Diego,” she pointed to a young Hispanic guy. “Soledad. She’s our doctor.” Holly pointed to an older Hispanic woman. “Trey,” was a young black male. “Ralph,” was an older black male. “Nancy,” turned out to be a white woman close to his age. “Allen,” was a young white boy that looked a little older than Carl. “The rest are around. Soledad?” Holly waved her hand at them.“This way, please,” she instructed and started walking up the path as the rest left.“Soledad? You can forget the mullet guy. He’s going back tomorrow.” Holly jogged up to her and said.“Okay. Trey?”“This way, mullet guy. We’ll pull out a cot in the library.”“Wait. I believe my expertise would be better suited more for things other than cooking and cleaning,” Eugene protested to Sidney.“Really? Maybe in another place, mullet guy. If you won’t help here you’re of no use to us,” Sidney noted. “Will we have to lock you up before we take you back?” Abraham laughed his ass off at the look on Eugene’s face.“I am not physically inclined. I know a lot of things.”Sidney raised his eyebrows. “Then you must be a force in Trivial Pursuit. You help everywhere or we take you back.”“Deanna,” he pleaded. Holly pressed her finger in Eugene’s chest and pushed him back. “Deanna doesn’t run this place. The stupid bitch doesn’t carry a weapon. What makes you think we’ll listen to a fucking thing she has to say?” she yelled at him. “I’m tired of your shit. Get the fuck back on the yacht. I’m taking your fat ass back right now. My back and hands hurt and I want to take a shower. You are preventing it.”“I cannot cook,” Eugene protested.“It doesn’t matter now, mullet guy. You’ve pissed me off beyond belief. You and dickhead. He says he’ll work. Daryl said he’s a hard worker. He didn’t say jackshit about you, you fucking weasel.”
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“Holly. Go shower. I’ll take care of him.”Sid shook his head and let out a breath as Holly stomped back to the hotel. “Soledad will give all of you checkups. We’re a democracy here, mullet guy. You tell everyone you’re more suited to things other than cooking and cleaning. If they’re okay with you acting like you live in your mother’s basement you can stay. If not, we’ll take you back tomorrow. We need to restock. In case Carol and Ty show up. As for the rest of you, especially you four,” he pointed to the older couple and the young guys, “make sure you tell everyone you don’t carry weapons. If they’re fine with protecting you because you refuse to protect yourself, and you help, you can stay. If not, you’ll go back with mullet guy. Everyone agreed?”“I’ll carry one,” one of the young guys raised his hand.“Then you should find one. Don’t you think?” Sid raised his eyebrows. Sasha burst out laughing when Michonne told them Holly punched Rick in the face and called him a dickhead. Glenn widened his eyes and Beth’s mouth fell open. Daryl shook his head and Maggie coughed.“The hollow points?” Daryl asked.“The whacked out preppers come in handy again,” she grinned.“How’s Carl?” Glenn settled back on Daryl and Michonne’s loveseat.“He looks good.”“Who are these people?”“I don’t know. Five of them were unarmed.”“What?” Beth questioned in disbelief.“One guy, he has a mullet, said he’d be better suited to other things besides cooking and cleaning.” Michonne raised her eyebrows.“Fuck that,” Maggie raised her voice. “He’s not staying here.”“I agree. He’s got to go,” Sasha scoffed.“I can’t believe Holly punched Rick. In the face,” Beth breathed out.“She might have been a little.”“Michonne,” Sasha interjected.“He deserved it,” she admitted. “We saved them from assholes in the storage area. Rick didn’t listen when she told him to stay off the yacht while we searched it. Rick and Carl got on. There were two more. They could have gotten killed.”Glenn winced. “Not good.”“No it wasn’t,” she agreed. Rick’s mouth dropped open the minute they went through the hotel. Shit.“Nice place,” Aaron said in a low tone.“You’re kidding, right? We probably saw pictures of this on the internet,” Eric muttered.“I’m afraid to touch anything,” Enid whispered.“I know, right?” Tara sympathized.“Doctor’s visit and teeth cleaning? Hell, I’ll kill all the walkers that wash ashore for that alone,” Eric scoffed. Deanna tried not to gasp as they were led through the hotel and back to the clinic. Soledad explained Daisy was a dental technician and would give everyone that wanted one an exam, they needed to let her know. She was crying as she received a gynecological exam. Soledad rolled her eyes, had her get dressed and stay in the waiting area. “She’s not a drunk,” Abraham stated evenly.“That’s enough.” Reg stood up and faced everyone as they waited for Deanna. “Deanna and I.”“Shove it up your ass, Reg,” Abraham cut him off.“We offered you a place,” Spencer shouted.“And we might still be there if you’d let people carry weapons, you assholes,” Tara yelled back.“What the hell is going on in here?” Ralph slammed the door open. “I can hear you down the hall.”“Slight disagreement.” Aaron stood up and grimaced.Ralph narrowed his eyes. “It’s too bad Daryl and the others had to live with you. We think highly of them. I’m calling a meeting. Trey and Monique won’t show you around as you may not be staying. I am posting guards. Soledad?” he yelled.Deanna came out of the room with her head down. “I heard. Every word. We’re going to ask you to give us your weapons. If, or when you leave, they’ll be given back.” She pulled out her gun and Ralph drew his.“Dad? We’re not leaving, right? We carry guns and knives. We can help,” Carl raised his voice.“What in the ever loving fuck are you fucking people doing now?” Holly came in with wet hair and different clothes.“I’m calling a meeting, Hol. We need guards.”“Fuck. Just fuck. You people are so not worth this shit. I’d rather do with who we have,” Holly snarled. “Sid,” she yelled. Daryl sighed as he stood with his crossbow in the living area with the rest of their people as they guarded Rick and the group he came over with.“Where’s Judith?” Rick came over and grabbed him.Next thing Daryl saw was Rick on his knees and Holly dragging him to the sofa by his hair and shoving him down on it. “You. You fucking dickhead. Judith is fine. Right, Beth?”“Sleeping, Holly.” She held up a baby monitor. She gave it to Rick. He looked at it, before Carl took it out of his hands. Rick stood up and tried to hit her and she punched him in his stomach. Carl stood up and yelled.“Hey.”“You. Sit your fucking ass down or I’ll kill him next time,” Holly threatened.“Carl.” Michonne shook her head no.“That is enough,” Sid shouted. “All of you will sit there. Holly? Move away from the fucking dickhead. Please,” he requested. She moved to stand beside him. Rick couldn’t believe what was going on. He had no idea how the situation escalated out of control. He glared at both of them. Carl was, too.“You got no.”A young white guy pulled out his hand gun and aimed it at his head.“It’s unfortunate we have to go this route,” Sid told them. “We’ll have a calm discussion. Who did you get, Soledad?”“The older lady.” She pointed to Deanna.“What the fuck kind of family do you have, Sash?” another black woman asked her.“We only know the fucking dickhead and Carl. We’ve never seen these other unarmed people,” she snorted.“We’ll get names, now. You?” Sid pointed to Deanna.“Deanna Monroe.”“Reg Monroe.”“Spencer Monroe.”“Aiden Monroe.”“Tara Chamblers.”“Rick Grimes. Not fucking dickhead,” Rick snarled.“Jury’s still out. Dickhead,” Holly snarled back.“Carl Grimes,” Carl glared at Holly.“Abraham Ford.”“Eugene Porter.”“Aaron.”“Eric.”“Enid.”“Who the hell sports a mullet?” a young white woman with dark hair muttered.“Must not have gotten laid with that haircut.” A young Asian guy rolled his eyes.Sid held up his hand. “We won’t bother introducing the rest of our group to you, as you may not stay. We’ll start with Eugene Porter. Mr. Porter informed both myself and Holly that he believes his skillset is better suited to things other than cooking and cleaning. If you’re not aware, Mr. Porter did not have any weapons. Whatsoever.”“Gotta go,” a young black guy said quickly.“Show of hands,” a young white woman with dark hair requested.Everyone’s hands went up. Including his people.“Fine. Trey, lock him in the library. We’ll take him back tomorrow.”“I can make bullets,” Eugene squeaked out.“We can, too,” Nancy huffed.“I can make batteries.”“Gone.” Sasha raised an eyebrow in Rick’s direction.“Seconded.” Beth raised her hand.Trey pulled out a gun. “This way, mullet guy.” He waved it toward the stairs.“I’ll do it,” Eugene yelled in desparation. “I’ll help with everything. I don’t use guns. Or knives.”“Bye bye.” The dark haired woman waved.“I don’t know how,” he started crying.“Are you kidding? How the hell have you made it this long?” Allen’s mouth dropped open.“Tell them, Dr. Porter,” Abraham invited.There were varying looks of disgust and incredulity after Eugene told his story to the assembled community.“Fuck. This guy’s giving me a headache,” the guy with the gun aimed at Rick’s head scoffed.“You. Soledad and Ralph said something about not carrying weapons and you lost your place?” Sid pointed to Spencer.After Deanna, Reg, Spencer, Aiden, Rick, Tara, Carl, Abraham, Enid, Aaron and Eric finished telling them about Alexandria the room was silent.“You fucking people are the Keystone Cops,” Holly breathed out.“You fuckin’ serious? No one carried anythin’?” Daryl jeered.“That’s insane, Rick. What the hell?” Glenn gaped at him.“They’re going.” Maggie pointed at Deanna. “We don’t do that bullshit.”“I agree with Maggie,” a young Asian woman said.“Stop.” Deanna stood up. “I made mistakes. That cost the lives of my residents. I’m not proud.”“You shouldn’t be, you ass,” Nancy hissed.“They can’t stay here, Sid,” the black woman that asked Sasha what kind of family she had interjected.“Daryl’s group can stay. The Ford guy. The Enid girl. Aaron, Eric and Tara,” Ralph voted.“Only if Judith’s sperm donor, poor baby, tones it the fuck down,” Holly sneered at him.“Everyone okay with Ralph’s suggestion?” the young black guy asked.At a show of hands, Sid nodded his head. “Fine. We’ll lock those of you that will be leaving tomorrow in rooms. We’ll post guards. You’ll leave early in the morning. We can offer you some food and water. Not a lot. It’s the best we can do.”“I’d say you know it’s tough out there, but you don’t,” the black lady rolled her eyes at them. Deanna stood a little taller and cleared her throat. “I was wrong for not having the residents carry weapons so they could protect themselves. I should have listened to Rick. We’ll do everything, including carry weapons,” she said.“You know how to use a gun?” the black lady scoffed.“I’m not worried about guns as much as knives,” Nancy countered.“Nancy’s right. These idiots? Give them knives they’re more likely to fall and kill themselves,” Diego derided.“We’d just put them down. I’d be more pissed at the time we would have wasted doing it,” another black guy snidely commented.“I don’t want to be by them,” the young white girl pointed.“Please, may I say something?” the young Asian girl held up her hand.“It’s a democracy here, Adrian. You have the floor,” Sid nodded at her.“Rick Grimes, I feel sorry for him. He lost his home to the Governor. Then was found by the mullet guy and tricked into leaving another home. He was recruited by two people from Alexandria. The leader is an idiot. Along with her family. Then he finds one of the notes and comes here. He’s attacked yet again. Holly? He’s not a dickhead.” Holly frowned. “You’re upset, understandably. He hasn’t seen his daughter. Should he have reacted as he did?” Adrian shrugged. “Possibly. Give him a chance. He obviously is knowledgeable of what it’s like. He did have weapons.”“Fine. But I’m not apologizing for punching him,” she grumbled.Carl gave Adrian a smile. She bowed back.“We’ll do it,” Reg raised his voice. “We’ll carry weapons, we’ll learn how to use them. We’ll help with cleaning, cooking, farming, butchering. We’ll do it all.”“I know how to use a gun,” Aiden protested.“Whatever, dude,” Tara sniffed.“Matt? You’ve been quiet. Thoughts?” Sid asked the Asian guy that wasn’t Glenn.“We could use the people. They’d be a big risk to take on, Sid. If we put them on watch we’d have to have two of us with one of them. Just to be sure. They won’t lighten the load, except with domestic stuff.”“I say we vote,” the dark haired woman interjected.“Very well. Daisy’s called a vote. All those in favor of letting them stay?”Soledad held up her hand.“What?” the black guy shouted.“On a trial basis, Luke. We could let them stay but they get no say in how we do things,” Soledad suggested.“That’s not fair, Sole,” Holly protested.“Mm. It’s not a bad idea, Soledad. After a trial period they could. We could treat them as ‘green card’ holders,” Sid mused. “After some tests, killing biters with a knife and a gun and a year of working with us, we could revisit the issue.”“I’ll go for it. On the condition they.” Ralph pointed to Deanna, Reg, Spencer, Aiden and Eugene, “are never alone with the kids. Including Carl and Enid.”Enid’s mouth dropped open.“Lessons?” Nancy looked at him.“Or give lessons. Madame Congresswoman,” Ralph sneered at her, “might fill their head with some nonsense such as the government will come back.”Deanna frowned. Spencer raised his hand. “I’d like to say something.”“Go ahead,” Sid invited.“My mom meant well. It’s not like she killed her residents on purpose.”“Didn’t she?” Holly questioned.“She’s a silent killer. Like cancer,” Diego said.“She’ll admit, she has admitted, she made mistakes. Treating us as if we’re child abusers.”“She’s a child killer,” Matt interrupted.“What I’m trying to say is she knows she’s wrong,” Spencer continued. “Obviously she should have gotten out more and listened to people, and not ignore them, that have been out there. We learned a lot, being on the road. Rick had valid points. Treating us as if we’re stupid? I see it wasn’t so harsh or unfair. We are stupid. All of us.” He glared at Aiden. “We’d like to stay. We’ll help. We’ll do the year of not being able to make decisions. We’ll take the tests.”“We’ll stay away from the children,” Reg added sadly when none of the other community members said anything.“All those in favor?” Daisy asked again.After everyone agreed Deanna sat down hard on the sofa.“On another note, while Holly and Michonne were going to check if Rick Grimes and his son made it they ran across some drifter assholes. Hol?”“They were in the storage area. The door wasn’t locked. Understandable it wasn’t. We caught the tail end and a few made it on the yacht. Michonne and I handled it. On the plus side the hollow points worked quite well.”“Gotta love those whacked out preppers,” Luke smiled.“We do. We love whacked out preppers. On the negative side people are still moving around. Assholes, anyway. We’ll have to be extra careful when we check for Carol and Ty.”“We should send more than two,” Ralph suggested.“I agree. Hol and Michonne are competent. More is better in this case,” Adrian agreed.“We’ll send four next time. Just in case Carol and Ty have more people with them, unless someone thinks we should have more?” Sid asked.“Five. Good round number,” Daisy suggested.“All in favor of four?” Some of the community members raised their hands.“Five?” The rest of the hands went up. “Five it is. Soledad? Let’s finish with them, let them pick rooms, go through the storage area. Tomorrow we’ll shift cooking and cleaning duties with some of them.”“Can I see my daughter?” Rick ground out.Holly clenched her fists.“You can go next, Mr. Grimes,” Soledad interjected. After exams Ralph ushered them to the storage area.“Wow, Dad, look at all this stuff,” Carl gasped as he walked around.“We’ve grouped it. Linens, toiletries, some first aid supplies, shoes and clothes. Washers and dryers are through this door,” Ralph opened it. “Whoever cleans the living room and bathroom does the community laundry. You do your own, otherwise. We have a few TV’s, some laptops, gaming systems, mp3 players, cd players. I don’t know if you paid attention but we have a gaming system in the living area and one TV. We have books, CD’s and DVD’s upstairs on the second floor. Hall on the left. Last room. We also have some downstairs. No porn downstairs.”Abraham laughed. “Fuck. You have porn?”“We do. For your own personal viewing pleasure. Or if you have someone.”Deanna turned and headed for the clothes. An hour later, sheets, clothing and toiletries in hand, Ralph led them back to the house. “Trey and Monique will show you around.”Ralph left. Trey and Monique frowned. “This is the living area. TV, movies, gaming system,” he pointed them out. “Kitchen’s this way.” They walked toward the clinic and into another room.“Nice,” Eric breathed out as he looked at the cherry wood cabinetry, two stainless steel refrigerators, a marbleized island, a stainless steel stove, two large sinks with chrome fixtures, a white tiled floor and a glass table top dining table on a chrome base.“The hotel was going to open after this started. Gramps says they tried to make it look more open or some crap like that.” Trey shrugged. “Whoever makes dinner makes enough for the night watch people. We put it in one of the refrigerators. The armory is down by the clinic to the right. Across from the hall that leads to the storage area.”“Inventory,” Monique reminded him.“Yeah. We keep track of what we have and use.” He bent down, opened a cabinet in the island and pulled out a laptop. “It’s a spreadsheet system.” He powered on the laptop while Monique showed them how it worked. After everyone checked off what they’d taken Trey and Monique led them up the staircase and stopped on the second floor.“There are ten suites on every floor. The last suite on the right is the library. For right now. Sid and Hol are first, me and gramps on the left, Soledad on the right, Luke and Matt on the left. Down this hall.” He pointed.“This hall has Jace first, Daisy and Monique on the left, Glenn and Maggie on the right, Sasha and Beth on the left then Daryl, Michonne and Judith on the right. Upstairs is Keish and Kash, above Sid and Hol, Adrian, Dante, Diego and Nancy. Above Jace is Allen then Tom. The rooms are two bedrooms with bathrooms and a small sitting area. The furniture was new. If you want something different we can put it on the list,” Monique offered with a frown.“Way down on the list. Like after we raid a base down on the list,” Trey huffed.“You can share or take your own. We’re trying for more people. I don’t know. Do you think there are more like them?” Monique asked Trey as she pointed to Aiden.“I hope not.”“Anyway, you should find rooms. The staircase is here. The rooms are unlocked. If you want to lock them the keys are downstairs in one of the kitchen drawers,” Monique tacked on before they left.“Hey. I can have a room to myself?” Enid asked as they were walking down the stairs.They turned in surprise. “If you want. Allen didn’t have anyone when we found him. He lives alone. I know everyone that had a spare offered. It’s up to you.”“You can stay with us, Enid,” Aaron told her.“Thanks,” she breathed out in relief.
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“We should stay with Michonne and Daryl, Dad,” Carl said as they walked to their room. Rick opened the door and no one was inside.“Daryl. Michonne,” Carl yelled. He searched the rooms and didn’t see them. “They’re not here.”“Alright, Carl, take the room on the right. We’ll bunk with Daryl. We’ll get another bed or somethang in here,” Rick decided.“Can I take a shower?” he asked as he put his clothes down on the bed.“Go ahead.” “Wow, Dad, you should see the bathroom,” Carl yelled as he turned on the light.Rick froze as he walked inside. Everything was white or silver. Except the separate shower. It had clear doors. Carl opened another door and Rick saw the toilet. Carl flipped the lights on and off. “Cool.”“This is a nice place. I’ll shower in the other one.” He left Carl and went into the other bedroom. Rick stripped and turned on the hot water. He sighed as it cascaded down his back. He grabbed some shampoo and washed his hair, feeling human again. Alexandria had some nice perks. Like Abraham said, shitty management.His nose still hurt. He hated that Holly woman. After he was finished he grabbed one of the towels, dried off and dressed in his new boxers, t-shirt, jeans and socks before putting on his boots. When he came out he found Carl sitting on the small loveseat.“Michonne keeps a clean room.”“She does. We’ll have to help her, Carl.”He rolled his eyes. “We have to help everywhere.” Carl frowned. “Can you believe them? Deanna and the others can’t be alone with us?”“Yeah. I think it’s going a little overboard.”“Does this mean I can?”“If you want, Carl. You’re not their son. You’re my son.”“Even Trey, Monique and Allen voted. They let the kids vote?”“I guess.”“Cool.”“It don’t mean you can, Carl.”“Rick? What are you doing in our room?” Michonne questioned him from the doorway as she held Judith.Rick went straight to his daughter and took her from Michonne. She started wailing.“Shh, it’s alright, Judith,” Rick crooned to her.“Dar. Dar. Cho. Cho,” she screamed.“What in the hell?” Sasha said from behind her.“Chooooo!!!!! Daaarrrrr!!!!!” Judith screamed again.Michonne sighed and held her arms out for Judith. Rick reluctantly let her go. Judith settled down and hung on to Michonne for dear life as soon as Michonne had her.“Shh, it’s alright, Judes,” Michonne hummed as she rocked her.“Think we need to do this downstairs, ‘Chonne,” Daryl said quietly as he leaned in the doorway. Judith perked up and held her arms out.“Dar,” she cried.“Come on, li’l ass kicker. I got ya.” Daryl took her from Michonne and Judith put her arms around his neck and sniffled.“What in the hell is going on here?” Holly shouted as she ran down the hall and inside. “You. You dickhead.”“Hol,” Daryl shushed her.Holly glared at Rick. “I should have killed you.”“We have this.” Sasha held up her hand.“You need me to kill him? I will,” Holly snarled.“I’d like to see you try it.” Rick pulled his gun.Holly pulled her knives. “You fucking bring it,” she dared as stepped into his space.“Hol? You need help?” the young white guy with blond hair was standing out in the hall, gun aimed at Rick.“I don’t need help with a fucking local,” she sneered.“Stop it,” Carl yelled.“What is going on?” Sid raised his voice as he pushed his way inside.“This fuck,” Holly spat at Rick.“We have this, Sid,” Sasha assured him.“Daryl? Michonne?”“We got it.”“Then we’ll leave. Hol?”“We’re not done,” she threatened before she sheathed her knives and stomped out of the room.“Mr. Grimes. Or should I say Sheriff Grimes? We respect Daryl, Michonne, Sasha, Glenn, Maggie and Beth. We love Judith. All of them are our family. Since we’ve met you I’m astounded you’ve lasted as long as you have. Drifting assholes aside, you’ve caused nothing but problems. We’ll only tolerate so much disruption. Even if they are our family. Daryl, Michonne and Sasha assure me they’ll take care of this problem. Let me warn you. You keep this up and we will banish you and your son.” Sid shook his head before he left. “Come on, Jace,” he said to the blond guy as he left. Jace stood there, gun still trained on him.“Hol will kick your ass.” Jace tipped his gun and left. Daryl shook his head at Rick as he and Michonne sat on the loveseat, Judith still curled up in his arms. Michonne sat next to him and Sasha took one of the chairs. Glenn didn’t knock, but him, Maggie and Beth came in. He headed for the other chair and put Maggie on his lap. Beth stood by Sasha leaving Rick and Carl standing near the wall of their sitting area.“What’re ya doin’ in our room, Rick?” Daryl asked.“What?”“What are you doing in our room?” Michonne repeated.“We can’t stay with you?” Carl’s voice wobbled.“Carl, it’s a big place with a lot of empty rooms. Why would you want to?” Glenn questioned.“It’s like the prison, but nicer,” Beth stated.“Gonna be fuckin’ calm about this, Rick. What’re ya doin’ in mine and ‘Chonne’s room?” he repeated the question.“I thought Carl and I could stay with you,” Rick answered.“Yeah, Daryl. Me and my dad will bunk with you and Judy will stay with Michonne.” Carl paused. “You called her ‘Chonne’.”“You should have asked, Rick. Daryl won’t be bunking with you, Carl. Daryl bunks with me. Judith stays in our room with us,” Michonne told him.“What?” Rick jerked his head back.“Me and ‘Chonne stay in one room. With Judith.”“Are you together?” Carl gaped.“We are.”“Oh.” He looked at the floor. “Then me and my dad can stay in the other room. With Judith,” he said.Sasha raised her eyebrows while Maggie coughed.“You and Michonne are together? Since when?” Rick asked.“We don’t have to explain anything to you, Rick,” Michonne retorted.“We ain’t,” Daryl added.“You should have asked, Rick,” Glenn sighed.“Excuse the hell out of me, Glenn. I’d like to stay with my daughter,” Rick raised his voice.“I said ‘calm’, Rick. We ain’t tryin’ to take Judith away from ya,” Daryl said.“If you get out of line one more time Holly will kick your ass, Rick,” Beth warned.“She doesn’t scare me,” Rick sneered.“She should. We’ve seen them spar. Sid’s as good as she is,” Sasha stated.“They’re teachin’ me,” Beth smiled. “Jujitsu, Krav Maga, Karate.”“Like Bruce Lee,” Glenn smirked.“Judith, my daughter, Carl’s sister, is staying here,” Rick hotly protested.“She is. They’re not trying to take Judith away from you, Rick. For the past nine months Judith’s been with them. She turns to them, they are like her parents,” Maggie tried to explain.“I wasn’t here, Maggie,” Rick raised his voice again.“I ain’t tellin’ ya again, Rick. Fuckin’ calm your ass down,” Daryl growled.“We know you weren’t here. When Daryl and I came back from the run we found Judith in a cell with Bob outside. Daryl put Bob down. We took Judith with us. We didn’t know where anyone was. We didn’t know if anyone was alive. We couldn’t look for you. Not with Judith. She was our first priority. After a while, we found this place. We were here for three months when Glenn, Maggie, Sasha and Beth showed up,” Michonne continued.“After a few months we asked Sid and the others for ideas on how to leave notes for you, Carl, Carol and Ty without it blowing back on us. At the prison. Jace? The guy that pulled a gun on you twice? He went with us. Hol and the others gave us ideas. They’ve all taken turns checking the storage area for you and Carl. Hoping you did make it out.” Glenn shook his head.“Nice of them, actually. They didn’t know you. They knew about you from us.” Sasha pointed to all of them. “They were willing to take our word on you.” She pointed to Rick.“Now you’re makin’ us out to be dumbasses,” Maggie snorted.“You need to be realistic, Rick. Judith calls us ‘Dar’ and ‘Cho’. Not mom and dad. We’re the only parents she’s known since we found her. Daryl is not Shane,” Michonne stressed at the look on his face. “You can’t stay with us. You can see Judith anytime you’d like. She needs to get used to being around you and Carl again.”“Once she don’t bring the damn hotel down on top a us, she’ll go back to livin’ with you and Carl.”“This is a nice place. It works. We’re living here, not surviving here, Rick. Don’t do something stupid to ruin a chance for a life for Carl or Judith because you’re pride’s knotted up,” Michonne advised. Rick looked at his people in shock. They were serious. He couldn’t deny Judith looked healthy. She sounded healthy.“Jace went with you? Why?” Carl questioned with suspicion.“Because we’re family. Ralph thought it was a dumb idea, but supported us.” Glenn smiled.“They all did. It’s a good place. Better than where you ended up. Obviously,” Sasha huffed.“Alright. I’ll play this your way, Daryl.” Rick frowned.“For fucks sake, Rick, it’s not playin’,” Beth shouted. “You and Carl weren’t here. Because of the Governor. You were in the death trap. You’re here now.”“Beth,” Maggie admonished.“I’m pissed, Maggie. You think he’d be more grateful Michonne and Daryl did take Judith. They coulda left her there to die,” she yelled. “Instead he’s actin’ like an ass.”Rick took a step back. They could have. He knew they wouldn’t have. Beth was cussing, came from nowhere. “You’re right, Beth. They could have left her there to die. They didn’t. It couldn’t have been easy,” he trailed off as he remembered how hard it was when they were on the road with Lori being pregnant. Nine months.“Nine months?” he asked quietly.“Maybe a little longer,” Michonne confirmed. “It couldn’t have been more than a few days after it happened when we came back. Daryl and I spent the night in the prison. Left the next day for Woodbury.”“Why?” Carl wrinkled his nose.“Walls and solar panels,” Daryl replied as he ran his hand up and down Judith’s back. Rick could hear her even breathing and he knew she was going to go to sleep soon.“When we got there it was burned down. We went to King County,” Michonne continued.“I knew it,” Carl whooped loudly.Judith jerked in Daryl’s arms. Daryl rolled his eyes.“Carl,” Maggie scolded.“When we got there everything was gone. We stayed a few days. Then we went to Hershel’s farm.”“It’s still there?”“Barn burned down. House was okay. Couldn’t stay there. Too open,” Daryl replied. “’Chonne knew about Covet Island. Took the route we told ya to take. Found Sid and Hol’s ‘storage area’. Bein’ guarded by walkers.”“What?”“The arms and jaws were cut off. They found us inside. They were going to let us go after we took maps. We couldn’t find any boats,” Michonne said.“They found all the boats that were close and put holes in the bottoms.” Glenn raised his eyebrows.“That’s smart,” Rick grudgingly admitted. He thought it was smart when they first got to the storage area.“Daryl asked to come over. We had Judith,” Michonne stressed again.“We been here ever since. Then Glenn, Maggie, Sasha and Beth showed up,” Daryl continued.“We tried some place called ‘Terminus’. They had signs posted along the railroad tracks. We get there? It was like the prison. All the buildings on fire, walkers everywhere. We went back to the farm. I remembered my momma’s sister lived on Tybee.”“It took us a month. Between the small herds, siphoning gas and trying to find food.” Glenn shook his head. “We get here and there are no boats. We found the yacht.”“We didn’t find it as much as Sid let us find it,” Sasha contradicted with a smile. “Luke was out fishing and saw us driving around. Sid and Daryl brought the yacht and let us find it.”“He told us to put our hands up,” Beth laughed. “Glenn turns around and there’s Daryl.”“We’ve been here ever since. We all do runs, butchering, cleaning, cooking dinner or helping wherever. We have a list and we vote on what we do next,” Maggie grinned.“I have to say, Rick, we should have thought of solar panels,” Glenn told him. “Why didn’t we?”“Alexandria had ‘em.” Rick looked around for a place to sit then ended up on the floor with Carl when no one moved. “It was nice. Different. Deanna didn’t let anyone carry weapons.”“Why’d ya stay?” Daryl frowned. He looked down at Judith. “I’mma put her down, ‘Chonne. Think she’s worn out.”“She was out a lot today. Screaming as if she was scared for her life probably didn’t help,” Michonne smiled softly at her.Rick frowned. They’d been playing Judith’s parents. When he looked up Beth was scowling at him. Carl sat on the floor of Daryl and Michonne’s sitting area and watched as Daryl disappeared through the door on the left. He came out a few minutes later with the baby monitor. He passed it to his dad, who looked at it and touched the screen. Carl peaked over his dad’s arm as Judith settled down, butt in the air.“Kids get to vote, too?” Carl looked at Sasha.“They do. Trey’s Ralph’s grandson. Allen and Monique we found when we did runs into Savannah. For coffee and other things,” she affirmed.“My dad says I can’t,” Carl drooped.“Okay. We’ll need to tell the others. It’s a democracy, but I don’t think we’d go against a father deciding for his son.” Michonne looked at the others.“Stupid, but no. Carl’s livin’ this as much as we are,” Maggie agreed.“And I can be by Deanna and the others,” he smirked.“Why would you want to? No weapons? If we had a bad storm and you were with them while we cleaned the island and you saw walkers? You’d be saving them,” Sasha frowned.“Do Trey and Monique go on runs?”“Everyone does everything, Carl. No exceptions. After the adults die the kids can’t be left defenseless,” Glenn told him.“Carl won’t,” Rick was adamant.“You’ll have to do his duty then, Rick,” Daryl said.“I will,” Rick snarled.“We’ll have to tell them that, too. So we can schedule you time to sleep. Is Carl going to be allowed to work the farms? With the animals?” Michonne questioned.“Hey, you might not have to go to school.” Beth gave him a thumb’s up.“Does Trey do watch?” Carl looked interested.“No. We decided when he’s sixteen. The same with Monique.”“That’s cool.” “Why’d you stay there, Rick?” Glenn repeated Daryl’s question.Rick was still staring at the baby monitor when Glenn asked again. He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess…I don’t know why, Glenn. They had electricity and running water. The walls were shit. Carl had a chance to go to school. They had a doctor,” he said with disgust.Sasha shook her head. “No weapons? We had them at the prison. Did the woman ever get out?”“No. She had a run team. I don’t know if they told her what it was like. Maybe they did and she just didn’t listen. We were gonna stay until we stocked up and then go back to King County,” he said. “Carl was certain Daryl and Michonne would try and look for us there.”“We went, but not to look for you. We needed a place and Morgan had barricaded it well.” Michonne told him before she leaned forward, arms on her knees. “I’ll be honest, Rick. After we saw the prison we weren’t going to look for anyone. After Glenn, Maggie, Sasha and Beth showed up is when we discussed leaving notes there.”Rick deflated. He glanced at Carl and saw a sad look on his face. He looked at the baby monitor again. “Yeah,” he drawled tiredly. “I get it.”“Do ya, Rick?” Daryl questioned skeptically.“Yeah, Daryl, I do.” Damn, he was tired. He looked around at his people. He was happy they were alive, but so damn tired. “I’m happy y’all made it. We saw the notes for Carol and Ty.”Sasha’s face closed off. Michonne glanced at her with concern before Daryl answered. “Yeah. We know Carol.” He glared at Rick. “Wasn’t there. Maybe she went back. We hope.”“You and Carl should probably find a room,” Michonne suggested. “You look like shit.”Maggie and Beth chuckled while Glenn smiled.“You can take the baby monitor,” she continued. “We don’t know if it will work on the third floor or not, but until Judith gets used to you both again, I recommend you don’t take her with you. Right now,” she ended in a hard tone.Rick couldn’t help but bristle at the thought of his daughter being raised by Daryl and Michonne.“So, we can’t stay in the other room?” Carl asked plaintively.“We’d have to talk about it, Carl,” she replied firmly. “This is like the prison. Would you and your dad have stayed with us in one of the cells?”“No,” he sullenly answered.“Then why would you here? We’re here, Carl, and we aren’t going anywhere,” Glenn declared. Carl dragged his stuff, including his dirty clothes Michonne had made him pick up, to the third floor. He saw his dad head to the last room on the right, down the second hall and open the door. The room, he was happy to see, was just like Daryl and Michonne’s room.“Pick a room, Carl,” his dad instructed.He chose the one on the right and dumped his stuff on the bed. He wrinkled his nose. He was glad he wouldn’t have to share with his dad. After King County and Alexandria, he’d gotten used to having his own room. He went back out to the sitting area and saw his dad on the loveseat. He took the chair to the side. “It’s a nice place. Nicer than Alexandria,” he commented.His dad huffed out a breath. “Yeah, Carl, it is.”“It seems like a good place, Dad,” he said.“Yeah. It does,” his dad agreed.“We can carry weapons,” he addedHis dad snorted. “Yeah.”“Are we going to stay here?”“Why not?”“Come on, Dad. This is a good place. Deanna isn’t in charge. She can’t even vote.”“We’re not leaving, Carl.”“Thanks, Dad.”For the first time in a long time, since the prison, his dad smiled a little. He relaxed.
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“This is a great place,” Eric gushed when he, Aaron and Enid sat down for dinner later that night.“Thank you. We try. It’s why everyone does everything.” Sid smiled.“Rick doesn’t want Carl doing runs or voting,” Glenn blurted out.Holly raised her eyebrows and Sid sat back in his chair. “I see. Okay. Then Carl doesn’t help. Anywhere. Or go to school. Grimes? You’ll be responsible for picking up anything Carl would have done and making his meals. If you want him to have some instruction it would be up to you to provide it. In addition to what you would do. Sounds fair to me. Anyone disagree?” Sid asked the room.“Fair.” Luke held up his hand.“Enid will have to do runs?” Deanna asked in shock.“Yes. And go to school. And do watch when she’s sixteen. She can’t be alone with you or anyone in your family along with Porter. Enid? Do you agree to those terms? It’s the price you pay for staying here.”Enid looked at Carl then froze when she noticed everyone looking at her.“She’s a little young, don’t you think?” Aaron questioned.“She needs to know, Aaron. We’re not going to be around forever. If she doesn’t learn, now, while we’re still here, then we’re killing her, later.” Holly pointed her fork at him.“Yeah. I’ll do it. It’s a nice place. Nice bathroom.”“We found it like this. We’re doing what we can with what we have,” Luke pointed out.“The only raid we have scheduled is Ossabaw. We’re starting tomorrow,” Sid told them. “Your group is very inexperienced, Aaron. Everyone here is experienced. You, Eric and Enid will go with Jace, Luke, Daisy and Trey. They’ll show you what we do. If you have suggestions we’ll take them. It’s a democracy.”“I’ll take the rest of the inexperienced people. Me, Sid, Keish, Kash.”“I’m not inexperienced. I spent years on the road with this one.” Abraham looked at Eugene. “I also did time in Afghanistan and Iraq.”“Then you’ll be a help and not a hindrance.” Holly nodded once.“I’ve killed walkers. I’ve done a few runs before,” Tara spoke up.“Also a help and not a hindrance.” Keisha rolled her eyes. Aiden looked at his mom before looking at Sid. “I was on the run team in Alexandria. I know how to do them, too,” he snorted.“Really,” Sid drawled. “Color me surprised. In our eyes you’re still inexperienced. We will treat you as such. Everyone.” Sid eyed his mom. “Will do things our way. It’s the most efficient method we’ve come up with so far. If you have suggestions,” Sid scoffed, “depending on who they come from, we’ll listen.” Deanna stiffened at Sid’s remark. She knew it was aimed at her. She took a deep breath and let it out. Reg squeezed her hand under the table, out of the sight of the others. She hated she deserved his disdain. Seeing this? It was incredible. After being on the road, with none of the luxuries that had been available in Alexandria, she was…humbled. The prison had been an eye-opener. She needed to be honest with herself. Those…people in Alexandria had been the eye-opener, she’d just refused to accept it.While Deanna didn’t agree children should be doing runs, she couldn’t fault the logic behind it. It was dangerous, it had been dangerous, but she hadn’t wanted to accept how dangerous it was. As she laid in bed with Reg that night, a real bed, something she hadn’t had since Alexandria, she started to cry. Reg held Deanna as she cried. His wife normally wasn’t a crier and he was worried about her. This was the second time she’d really cried since this thing happened. A few tears escaped his eyes as she sobbed into his shoulder. When her breathing evened out he kissed her hair and closed his eyes.“I’m a horrible person,” she whispered brokenly in the dark.“I thought you were asleep.”“I can’t. After everything. Those things they said about me. They’re true.”“No they’re not, Deanna,” he protested quietly.“Yes they are, Reg. I was a fool. A blind idiot. I killed my residents.”He sighed heavily. “I don’t think so, Deanna. We made some mistakes. Serious ones, but you didn’t kill the residents on purpose. We can’t change it. We need to do better. We’ll have to. I don’t think Sid or Holly will have a problem dumping us out there.”She sniffed. “No they won’t. I can’t disagree with them. Maybe.”Reg waited as she took a deep breath and let it out.“I should have done things differently. Maybe. The Alexandrians. They never would have gotten used to this. Hell, I’m not used to this.” She paused. “I’ll have to get used to it,” Deanna whispered. Aiden was sitting on the loveseat of the room he was sharing with Spencer, looking around with awe. After being on the road, this was paradise. He didn’t like he couldn’t vote and he said so to Spencer.“We deserve it, Aiden.”“Mom’s an.”“Shut up, Aiden. Mom didn’t know.”“That’s bullshit, Spence. She didn’t want to accept it.”“You did?” he sneered. “We all refused to accept it. We were on borrowed time, Aiden. You never said shit to her after you came back from runs.”He scowled at his brother. “You never even did them, so who the hell are you to talk shit about me?”“So now you’re going to try and be tough,” his brother mocked.“Shut up, Spencer.”“You never got to vote in Alexandria, Aiden. No one did. What’s different now?” Spencer eyed Aiden from his chair. He didn’t know why he agreed to share with his brother. He should have taken a room on his own. It wasn’t like Alexandria, where they could have had their own homes. He chose to stay with his parents. So did Aiden. Maybe he should learn to stand on his own two feet in this new world.He loved his mother. He did. He had been just as blind as his parents and brother. Those crazy people in Alexandria woke him up fast. Who the hell knows where they had even been living. Close to them and they didn’t even know.If not having a vote for a year was the price he had to pay for staying in a safe place? He’d do it. He’d stay away from the kids. He needed to find a knife and learn to kill walkers. He’d killed walkers with a gun before. He wondered how his mom was going to do. “If you need anything, Enid, Eric and I are in the next room,” Aaron told her for the third time.“I know, Aaron. Um.” She shifted on her feet in her new bedroom. “Thank you. For letting me stay with you guys,” she said for the second time.Aaron smiled a little. “It’s.”“Fantastic. Better than Alexandria,” she rushed out.“I don’t know about that,” he murmured.“It is. I can vote. Go on runs.” She sat on the soft bed. She’d hated being out there. Like after her parents died.“That’s…something.”“I like it.”“I don’t know,” Aaron said.“I’ve been out there, Aaron,” Enid reminded him. “Before Alexandria.”“Yeah,” he sighed.Eric knocked on the door before he walked in. “I love this place. I like the yacht.” He moved to sit beside her. “We’re in the next room if you need anything.”She laughed. Something she hadn’t done in a long time. “Aaron reminded me. Again.”Eric patted her hand. “We’re first time parents, Enid. You need to cut us some slack.”“Parents?” She raised her eyebrows.“Parents.” He decided with a nod. “I’m happy you decided to stay with us.”“It would have. I didn’t want to be alone,” she confessed. “I guess I got used to you.”He threw back his head in laughter. “You mean you got used to our smell. This place is unbelievable. I didn’t think there could be a place like Alexandria out here.” He shrugged. “Maybe there isn’t. Except this place.” He waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. We’re here, not out there, hot showers, food. And people that know what it’s like.”“Eric,” Aaron muttered.“What? I’m including us, you know,” he huffed. Aaron didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Enid. She was a child. A teenager, but still a child.“We’ll see you in the morning, Enid,” he stated and held his hand out to Eric. His boyfriend sighed and stood, saying good night at the door. In their room Eric flung himself on their new bed. A bed period. He’d hated being on the road.“I am including us, Aaron. I know we were lucky to find Alexandria. We can vote here. Deanna never let us vote. Hell, she just made decisions and everyone went along with them. We knew better. A little.”“Seeing this? I know, too. Deanna was.”“Seriously refusing to accept what was happening, Aaron. We; Aiden, us, Heath, Scott, Annie, Tobin, the others, sugarcoated it for her. That’s on her. And on us.”“We never expected those people to come into Alexandria and start killing everyone,” he rebutted as he made his way to lay next to Eric.“No we didn’t. Why? We’d seen some pretty scary people out there, Aaron. Not many, but a few. Ones we never thought of approaching.”“True.”“I can’t even imagine what we would have done if we’d gone back to Alexandria and found it like that. No Rick or Abraham? What the hell would we have done, Aaron?” Eric almost yelled.“I don’t know. I’m trying not to think about it, actually.”“We were damn lucky.”“I know.” He paused. “This place.”Eric turned on his side and squeezed his hand. “Is incredible. Extraordinary. Fantastic. Better leaders.”Aaron sighed. “Eric,” he chastised.“They are!”“They are.” Eric was never one to sugarcoat things. He thought. They’d never told Deanna of some of the more questionable people they’d seen outside Alexandria. He didn’t know why now. Except he knew, deep down, she wouldn’t have believed them. Maybe she would made them leave. He shuddered. He’d hated being on the road. It wasn’t something he’d been used to. He’d tried to think of it as camping with walkers. It didn’t work.“I’m glad Deanna took Rick in.”“Me, too.”“How do you think she’s going to deal with this?”Aaron rolled his eyes. “She’ll deal with it. I don’t think Deanna is under any illusions now. Plus, Sid and Holly don’t seem like they’d put up with much.”“Or any of the others. When we found Rick, it’s not that I didn’t believe him, but I didn’t believe him, you know? Some, most, of these people have been through what he has. Or close enough to it.” He shuddered again. “I’m grateful Deanna let us stay. It was horrible, in the beginning, but we should have been honest with her.”Aaron huffed out a laugh. “It wouldn’t have gone over well.”“I know. I used to be more, I don’t want to say courageous, but bluntly honest.”“You don’t say?” he teased.He laughed. “Yes. I used to be.”“We did what we did, Eric. We’re here now.”He laughed again. “How ironic. The congresswoman not allowed to vote.”“That’s something,” Aaron agreed.“I like it, personally. I can’t wait to learn it all.” Carl crawled into his new bed, tired. He liked it here. He didn’t like Holly. He didn’t know if he liked Sid or not. He definitely liked Adrian. He liked Deanna and her family didn’t have any say in what happened.“Carl,” his dad said as he poked his head inside his new room.“Hey, Dad,” he greeted.“You alright?”“Why wouldn’t I be? This place is great. Better than Alexandria. I can vote, right?”His dad got a funny look on his face. “I.”“Dad, please. If Enid, Allen, Trey and Monique can vote I should be able to vote. We couldn’t vote in Alexandria. Deanna told everyone what to do.”“I’ll think about it, Carl.”“It’s only fair, Dad,” he whined. Rick raised his eyebrows at his son. He knew his son was a capable young man. That’s what messed him up. Carl shouldn’t be worrying about voting. Going on runs. He should be in school, worrying about homework. The same thoughts he’d had since they’d secured the prison. His son shouldn’t be worrying about survival. He closed his eyes. It was what it was and until the walkers died out, it would continue to be like it was.“I’ll think about it, Carl.” He raised his hand when Carl opened his mouth. “I will. I’ll talk to Sid and Holly,” he snarled. He did not like her. “I’ll be in the other room if you need anythang.”His son scrunched his nose. “I know, Dad.” His son had the tone of a disgruntled teenager down pat. Perhaps that’s somethang that would never change. He walked over and kissed his son’s head. Yeah. Disgruntled teenager he thought again as Carl shook him off. Rick laughed a little and headed for his own room.He laid in bed, fuming about Judith not being with them. He and Carl could have just as easily have stayed in Daryl and Michonne’s other room. And didn’t that just take the cake. He never would have thought someone like Daryl getting together with someone like Michonne. They seemed too opposite.Rick needed to think about his situation. Not thinking got his last home blown up, him and Carl living in a death trap and back on the road. He snorted. Deanna and her family didn’t have a say in how things ran. It seemed like karma. He was glad it was biting her in the ass and not him. Petty, but he’d been through too much since he found his family.Relaxing onto the bed, a nice one, like in Alexandria, seemed like a miracle. He was sure it was. He didn’t think many other places were as nice. Maybe. It didn’t matter. What mattered was he and Carl had found their people. Instead of a council everyone had a say. He could get behind that.He was for damn sure going on any runs Carl was on. Carl’d done runs with him before. When he had gotten his ass kicked, Carl did runs. He didn’t have a problem with it. He didn’t like he was being ordered to do it. Michonne said they probably wouldn’t go against the familial relationship. He’d ask Sid tomorrow. He needed to spend time with Judith. To get her used to being with him and Carl. He’d missed her. Beth was right. He should feel grateful to Daryl and Michonne for taking her from the prison, but he didn’t. He was angry. At everyone and everythang. A good night’s sleep was what he needed before he did anythang else. He didn’t want Carl or Judith out there again. Rick wasn’t sure if any of his people would follow him anyway. Tara looked around her new room. She hoped Abraham wouldn’t be a messy roommate. She could have taken a room by herself, but it would have felt weird. Since leaving her old apartment with Lilly, Meghan and Brian, she’d shared many cars, rooms, tents and houses with other people. This place was the shit. She hoped she didn’t poison anyone when it was her turn to cook.“This is the life,” Abraham said loudly from the sitting room. She put on some sweats and joined him. He was laying on the loveseat and looked like a pig in shit.“Dude, I hope you showered before you sat down,” she scoffed.“Showered and shaved. Smooth as a baby’s behind,” he smirked. “Damn. Can you believe this place?”“Better than Alexandria,” she returned.“Better management at any rate.” He grinned.“How come you didn’t take a room with Eugene?”He glared at her. “Are you shitting me? I spent years with his lying ass.” He snorted. “I guess they aren’t blinded by his bullshit,” he ended sullenly.“Whacked out preppers.”“Love me some whacked out preppers.”“You sound like Holly,” Tara chuckled.“She’s one crazy bitch,” he commented with a big smile.“Hot, too.”Abraham wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “Carpet muncher?”“Fuck you, Abraham,” she sneered.He held his hands up in surrender. “I’d like to munch her carpet, too, smart ass. We have good taste.”Tara stood up. “You’re an asshole.”“I’ve been told, on occasion, I am an asshole.”“Every day, then?” she shot back sarcastically.He laughed. “Not every day. Relax. I don’t give a shit. Get your jollies where you can.”She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I hope you’re not a slob,” she retorted and headed for her room. Abraham sighed. “That didn’t go well,” he muttered to himself. Maybe he should have taken a room with Eugene. He grimaced. No. He’d spent what felt like years with his lying ass. He’d lost so many people trying to get him to DC. For nothing. He wondered how Eugene was going to do here. Sid and Holly, hell all of the people that lived here, wouldn’t put up with his bullshit.Deanna. He snorted. She wasn’t going to have it easy, either. Her and her useless family. Secretly, he’d been glad when they had to dump those guns when the cars died. He didn’t trust Aiden not to shoot someone. He should suggest to Sid and Holly they go back and get them. The more guns the better. The armory had him drooling. This place had him drooling. It was better than Alexandria. “Do you think Rick’s going to be an ass about this?” Michonne asked Daryl later that night. She’d insisted on a bubble bath. Dinner had been tense. The cutting remark thrown Deanna Monroe’s way; which she didn’t blame Sid, and Rick’s open hostility toward Holly, had made dinner less than pleasant. And wasn’t she spoiled.“Don’t know, ‘Chonne. I hope not. It still blows my mind he stayed there, doctor or not. What kinda moron doesn’t carry a knife or somethin’?”“Apparently former congressional members,” she snorted.“Dumb ass. Her whole family is dumb asses,” Daryl sneered. “Glad we wasn’t around for that shit. Hell, I hope we’d be smart enough to get outta Dodge with that shit.”She ran her fingers up and down Daryl’s arm, trying to get him to relax. “Mm. Maybe we would have and maybe not. We’re awfully lucky, Daryl, we found this place when we did.”“Huh,” he grunted and she felt some of the stiffness fade. “Yeah we are. I’m glad I asked.”Michonne let him have his moment. He did deserve it. “I am, too.” She quickly turned and kissed his chest. The hot water felt good as she put her back to his front again. Daryl turned jets on low and she let out a deep sigh of contentment.“Don’t know. We’ll have to let Judith spend time with him and Carl,” he answered her question.“We will.”“I don’t wanna,” he blurted.She turned to face him. “What?”“You heard me, ‘Chonne. I don’t wanna. I know we gotta. I ain’t like Shane.” He jerked his head. “You and me, li’l ass kicker knows us as her parents.” Daryl looked around the bathroom. “I.” He paused. “I,” he repeated. “My ol’ man was a bastard.”Michonne knew, but this was the first time Daryl admitted it out loud. “I never thought I’d have a kid. Ever.”She kissed him softly on the mouth. “You’re a good father, Daryl.”He grunted. “I’m better’n him. I love that little girl like she was my own. Now that Rick’s here? I don’t wanna share. And that ain’t right. I ain’t Shane.” ‘Chonne leanin’ against him calmed him down some. “You aren’t like Shane, Daryl. It’s alright. I’m.” She cleared her throat. “I don’t want to share her either.”“We’re fucked up,” he muttered.“No we’re not. We just got used to being her parents.”“Yeah. I guess.”The rest of their bath was quiet. It was nice. When the water got cold they got out and dried off. ‘Chonne put on one a his shirts, like she liked to do and he put on his boxers. He turned off the light and they quietly entered their room. After checkin’ li’l ass kicker was still sleepin’ they got in bed.“You wanna have another one?” he quietly asked. He froze when she tensed up. “Never mind. Just talkin’ out my ass, ‘Chonne.”
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Rick got up early and checked on Carl before heading downstairs to find Sid. He hoped Holly wasn’t around. After stopping off in the kitchen and pouring himself coffee, he shook his head. They had coffee. He hadn’t had coffee in what felt like years. He couldn’t believe these people. Reluctantly, he admitted there was something to whacked out preppers. He headed into the living room and slowly looked around. It was nice. They’d done a nice job here. He wished he’da found them before Abraham and Eugene found him.He followed the sounds of voices to the front porch. Rick frowned when he saw Sid, Holly, Jace, Soledad, Ralph and Trey sitting on some nice patio furniture. They stopped talking when Ralph cleared his throat.Sid looked at him, eyes narrowed. “Is there something you need, Sheriff?”He frowned. “It’s about what Glenn said last night. About Carl voting and doing runs.”“It’s your prerogative, Sheriff, what your son does or doesn’t do. If you don’t want Carl doing runs or voting, we won’t stop it. But if he doesn’t contribute you’ll have to make up for it.”“I don’t want Carl doing runs or voting.”“Then you will take over his chores, prepare his food and give him lessons. It’s not that hard to understand, Grimes,” Holly snidely retorted.Rick ignored her and looked at Sid. “I don’t want Carl doing those thangs. I want Carl to be in school, playing with his friends.” He stopped when he heard Ralph snort. “This isn’t then. This is now. I…I’ll let Carl do runs if he does them with me.”Sid raised an eyebrow. “Voting?”“I don’t know.”“He does it all or he doesn’t do it. He can’t do the easy without doing the hard. Even someone like you,” Holly sneered, “can understand that.”“Holly,” Soledad murmured.“What?” she snapped.“Adrian had a point,” Soledad replied. “The ‘Congresswoman’,” she mocked, “was completely out of touch.”“I understand that, Sole, I really do. I’d never met a politician without their head up their ass. This guy.” She pointed at him. “Was a local law enforcement officer. Even those,” she derided. “Had some kind of exposure. Unless he was living in Mayberry,” she ended mockingly.“Sheriff,” Sid cut off Soledad’s response. “Holly is correct. He can’t do the easy without doing the hard. This isn’t before. He’s living this, too. He should have a voice.”As much as Rick wanted to disagree Sid had a point. He glared at Holly. She glared right back. “Fine,” he capitulated. “I didn’t work in Mayberry,” he ground out.“Whatever,” she shot back.He went back inside and headed to Daryl and Michonne’s room. He knocked lightly and had to wait before Daryl opened the door in his boxers.“Rick,” he greeted sleepily.“Is Judith up?” he bit out.Daryl shook his head and opened the door wider, moving to the side. Rick walked in and stood stiffly, looking at his friend. He thought they’d been friends, at any rate.“Yeah,” he answered as he shut the door. “’Chonne’s givin’ her a bath.”He heard his daughter laughing and moved to the bedroom. Daryl put his hand out, stopping him. “She’ll be out in a minute, Rick. Have a seat,” Daryl directed and pointed to the loveseat. Daryl thought he’d have to knock Rick out when he got that stubborn look on his face. The man had some damn nerve. He finally sat. When he looked like he’d stay there, Daryl went into the bathroom. ‘Chonne was getting Judith out of the tub and started drying her off.“I heard,” she muttered.“We got watch anyways. We’ll tell Beth.”“’Chon’,” Judith said, her hands on Michonne’s face. The little girl wasn’t smiling now.He knelt down. “It’s okay, Jude. You’re gonna spend time with your daddy.”She patted Daryl on his face. “Daryl,” she girgled.His heart dropped to his stomach. “Nah, li’l ass kicker. Rick.”“Daryl,” Michonne sighed.He didn’t mind when Judith started laughing again. “Ass,” she squealed.“Daryl,” ‘Chonne chided. “Now look.”He laughed as Judith kept saying ‘ass’, making ‘Chonne sigh again. He kissed ‘Chonne on the lips and lifted Judith over his head. She laughed louder. And she stopped screaming ‘ass’. Michonne laughed a little, kissed Judith then him and left the bathroom, leaving Daryl to dress her.“Come on, Jude,” he crooned to her. “Gotta get you dressed.”“No,” she yelled and ran out of the bathroom, naked.“Guess it’s better than ‘ass’,” he muttered to himself as he chased her. Michonne walked the beach, Daryl trailing her. They were both depressed this morning. She moreso than him. After he’d dropped ‘the question’ last night she’d been surprised. When she didn’t say anything he’d turned over and went to sleep. Well, he’d laid there and pretended to be asleep. She’d snuggled up against his back, thinking. About herself, Andre and having another child.She hadn’t been lying to Daryl; she didn’t want to share Judith with Rick. She knew it wasn’t right. Rick was her father. Maybe. When Rick had shown up this morning, like he had the right, she’d been pissed. Daryl hadn’t been happy, either. Michonne let out a breath and took Daryl’s hand as they walked.“I had a son. His name was Andre. He,” she gulped.Daryl squeezed her hand. “Shouldna asked that, ‘Chonne.”She squeezed back. “No. I’m glad you did. I don’t want to. I mean I do.”“Can talk later,” he assured her.She stopped walking and he looked at her. “I need to think about it.”“Take your time.”She did. She spent the rest of watch debating the pro’s and cons of having another child. She did love Daryl. This world? Could they be safe having a child? She’d been told Carl’s mother died giving birth. Here they had Soledad and Andre’s birth had been natural. Would the child be safe? She didn’t need to imagine what would have happened to Judith before she and Daryl had shown up at the prison. She knew what walker babies looked like and if they’d found Judith like that? She would have lost it again. For good this time.Daryl made an excellent father. Judith loved him. She didn’t have to imagine how he’d treat their child. That kid would so spoiled. She already knew she’d have to be the disciplinarian.“What?” Daryl’s question made her smile.“Our kid? He or she is going to be spoiled rotten.”He smiled a little and shrugged. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that, ‘Chonne.”“No,” she replied and squeezed his hand. “Nothing wrong with that.” Eugene let out a shaky breath as he got ready to go on a run. He had never done them before. Abraham, Rosita, Roger, Josephina and the others had done them while they protected him. He had been scared out of his mind when this first started. Lying to stay alive was alright in his book. He figured there had to be some semblance of government left, which is why he said they had to go to DC. He figured he would get there and fade into the background.When he found out the CDC had been blown up he had had to talk fast. It had scared him, having the little boy practically scream at him that it had been blown up. He assumed the CDC had still been standing and communications between whatever government agency still existed and the Center were ongoing. When he had been forced to admit he was not a scientist, although he still believed T. Brooks Ellis would not have minded a Tennessee top hat, he had known he was putting his life on the line and there had been a possibility Abraham would kill him.After they had made it to Alexandria Eugene thought he would survive this. Deanna had liked the fact he did know more than most people. He had helped with the solar panels. Things were going smoothly. He did not have to do much and was eating three square meals a day. The walls protected him. Then they did not.He had hated being on the road. He was not very good at watch and had been excluded from it as well as foraging for meals, after the food ran out. Finding this place had been a godsend. Until he found out these people knew as much as him. Damn those whacked out preppers. He wondered if he could develop sea sickness. The Holly woman was watching him in a not friendly fashion. Eugene probably should not try it. “This is how it’s going to go.” Carl looked at Sid as he stood in the dining room on the yacht. Him and his dad were sitting down with Deanna, Reg, Spencer, Aiden and Eugene. Tara and Abraham were standing near the stove, listening.“Keisha and Akasha will slip to another part of the island, away from where we are, with a radio. They’ll set it up and turn it on. After an hour, Hol, myself, Sgt. Ford and Spencer will haul the fence off and set it up. Sheriff Grimes and Tara will be watching for any interested biters. Once the fence is up we’ll split into teams. Since Sgt. Ford, Sheriff Grimes, Tara and Carl have done runs before, you’ll be paired with Keisha and Akasha. Do what they do. You’ll take one side of the street. There aren’t a lot of houses, and since you’re all new to our way of doing things, it shouldn’t take long. The rest of you will pair with myself and Holly. You will do things our way, Congresswoman. This isn’t up for negotiation.”Carl smiled at Deanna. It was mean but she was stupid. Aiden looked pissed. So did Holly. This was way better than how they’d done it when they were in the prison. Enid had thought it was cool anyway.“Porter, my eyes are on you,” Holly warned. “What ever the fuck you were doing before? Nah.” She shook her head. “We don’t roll that way.”“With so many new inexperienced people we’re only doing one street. We’re looking for weapons. Drugs; illegal or legal. Keisha and Akasha, if you find something you’re not sure of, put it aside. Hol, Sole and I will look at it later. Plants. Cleaning supplies. Shelf stable food, unless the cans are dented or the packages are open. Leave those. Batteries. Flashlights. Oil lamps. You see where I’m going with this?”Carl thought some of that stuff was good. Maybe they should have done it at the prison.“As long as you look for stuff for us first we don’t mind if you want to take someone’s music collection or porn.”He saw his dad wince. Deanna and Reg frowned. Abraham smiled.“If you’re not sure, let one of us know.” Sid pointed to himself, Holly, Keisha and Akasha. “We’ll look it over before we leave. Don’t waste too much time. The returns on these runs are diminishing. Any questions?”“If we find a gun we like can we keep it?” Aiden asked.“It doesn’t make a difference to us. It’s on you to find enough bullets to make it useful.” Rick hated to admit it but Sid and Hol did know what they were doing. Setting up the fence took the longest. It wasn’t that secure either, but the radio kept the walkers’ interest. Between him and Tara they only killed five. At the first house Keisha knocked and waited. Akasha opened the door and took out the two walkers. Once they got inside, Abraham shut the door.“Let’s clear the house first,” Keisha directed. “Once that’s done Carl and Sheriff Grimes? You have the kitchen. Tara and Sgt. Ford, you have the bedrooms. Kash and me? We’ll be down here, keeping watch and stripping. Make sure you roll the beds.”“’Roll the beds’?”“Take the mattresses off. Check underneath the bed, too. In the bathrooms, take the feminine hygene products. That’s a must. If you see an attic door, be careful when you go up. If you don’t feel comfortable with just you two? Let us know and we’ll send someone to you. Everybody on the same page?”Rick could do this in his sleep. He’d done some searches of houses for drugs. Maybe they should’ve done this at the prison. “Since you freaks of nature have never cleared a house before, this is how it works,” Holly bit out as they stood outside their first house. “One of you knocks on the door and waits a few minutes. If there are any walkers inside they’ll be attracted. Once the door is opened be ready to kill any walker. Once we’re inside, we close the door and clear the house of any other walkers. Congresswoman Monroe and Mr. Monroe, you’ll take the kitchen. Aiden and Spencer, you’ll take the bedrooms and bathrooms. Porter, you’ll stay with me and Sid while we sweep the downstairs and keep watch. Again, if you have any questions about what to take, find us and we’ll look it over.”“Because you are all very new to this, if you see an attic door, do not open it. You let Hol and myself take care of it. Spencer and Aiden, take all femine hygene products when you clear the bathroom. In the bedrooms, flip the beds,” Sid instructed.“Why?” Spencer questioned.“Some people, believe it or not, thought the government was crooked.” Hol flashed a smile at Monroe. “They kept their valuables under the mattress or under the bedframe. Be careful when you do that. Some kid may have crawled underneath and died. They’ll be walkers.”The congresswoman let out a breath.“Any gym bags, backpacks or luggage? What we take from this house goes in there. Any questions?” she looked at them. “Fine,” she responded to the silence. “Porter? You knock on the door. Mr. Monroe, have your knife ready. You’ll be doing the honors. Because you don’t know? You need to stab them in the head. The skulls are more brittle by now, it shouldn’t take a lot of effort, but we’re not golfing, buddy, so put your back into it.”Holly motioned for Porter and Mr. Monroe to go up the steps. This was going to be a long day. Reg had never killed a walker with a knife before. When the fences were going up they used guns. He didn’t like, but it was necessary. Seeing one right inside the door almost made him drop his knife. The sounds it made were grotesque. “In the head, dipshit,” he heard Holly hiss right behind him as he stabbed. It didn’t sink very far in the skull and he tried to pull it out as it came toward him. He thought he was going to die as he backed up. Holly stepped in and stabbed it. He almost threw up as it fell to the ground.“You know what, man?” She let out a deep breath. “Next time, be faster and hit harder. If we didn’t need people, I would have let you die. Just so we’re on the same page.”Reg let out his own deep breath. “I’ve killed them using a gun.”“You don’t have that luxury, Monroe. You shoot a gun around here? We’ll all be biter food.” The woman frowned even more. “Have you ever seen a stampede?”“I’ll go with no on that, Hol,” Sid sighed.“This is going to be a long, long day,” she whispered to herself. “Porter, get your ass up here.”Reg looked around. He hadn’t even noticed Eugene leaving. He was standing on the sidewalk with his arms wrapped around himself.“I cannot do this,” he said.“Then you stay here. We won’t burn it,” Sid replied.He practically ran up the steps and into the house. Spencer was in the bathroom looking through the medicine cabinet. Thankfully there were no more walkers. He’d killed them before with a gun. He was going to ask what a stampede was, just to verify. They’d never seen them and if stampede meant what it did for buffalo it was a scary thought.He heard Aiden grunt. After finding a backpack in the closet he’d put all the medicine and feminine hygiene products inside. He even took the roll of toilet paper on the holder. When he walked out he saw Aiden looking through the night table.“Good idea,” he muttered before he turned and did the same thing with the dresser. All he found was clothes. By the time he’d finished Aiden was waiting.“Help me.”“Did you check underneath?”“No, but we would have heard them.”It took them a few minutes to turn the bed over.“Nothing.”“Is this what you and Nicholas did?” he asked his brother.Aiden frowned then looked at the floor. “No. We only did businesses. If there were too many walkers we left. Like Tobin did with the construction supplies.” He looked around the room. “Smart. Maybe we should have done it in Alexandria.”“Did Heath?”“How the hell would I know, Spence? They were hardly ever there. Probably. It makes sense. Mom should have gotten out more.”He didn’t disagree with his brother. They all should have gotten out more. He was happy Rick had been in Alexandria.“You think they made it?” Aiden whispered.He shrugged his shoulders. “Probably. They’d been out more than we ever were.”“I’m glad Rick was there.”“Me, too,” Spencer replied. “We would’ve been dead.” “That was in interesting way of doing runs,” Deanna commented after the day was over. She looked at the various bags strewn all over the yacht with some surprise. She even thought she saw some plants.“It works for us,” Keisha responded after a few minutes.She wasn’t surprised Holly or Sid didn’t reply. They didn’t like her much. Or her family. Fair enough. After everything she’d seen and done since Alexandria, it was enough they were still willing to take them on a probationary basis. As she’d learned in politics, you didn’t have to be friends to get things done, civil was good enough. Personally, she respected what they’d been able to do. She didn’t think she could have done as much as they did. At first. Maybe. It didn’t matter now. It was what it was.
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“How long are you going to keep this up?” Michonne asked Holly as she sat down with a glass of juice. Holly loved the porch and so did she. It was nice to just sit and listen to the ocean. Feel the breeze. Not smell walkers.“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the woman answered.Michonne raised her eyebrows. “Holly. The knife throwing, the karate, the target shooting.”She sighed and looked out over the island. “I…don’t know. It’s no secret I don’t like him.”“You told him to call you ‘Baker’. You still call him ‘Sheriff Grimes’, like an insult.”Holly shrugged. “Heavy handed?”“Holly,” she repeated.“I worked with plenty of people in my last life that I didn’t like. They didn’t like me. It didn’t matter. We got the job done. This? It’s survival.” She sighed again. “It was incredibly stupid what he did on the yacht. Not only could he have gotten his son killed, but us, too. Then he comes in here demanding. As if we were refusing him access to his daughter. As if he ran the place. I can sympathize with Grimes. It probably doesn’t seem like it, but I can. He lost his home, his people. He didn’t know if his daughter was alive.” Holly faced her now. “He’s not the only one, Michonne. There are three people on this island that lost their kids. There are more that lost their group and their home and they’re the only ones left.” She faced the island again. “I guess…when I can trust him with my survival.” She chuckled. “Hell, I’m not even sure my passive-aggressive tactics are working.”She sat back with her own sigh. “He noticed. He asked Daryl if you and Sid do it all the time.”“Huh. What’d Daryl say?”“He said he didn’t notice. He didn’t. He actually asked me if you and Sid did practice all the time.”Holly threw back her head, laughing. “I love that guy. In a purely platonic way,” she teased, eybrows wiggling up and down.She smiled a little.“I’m actually impressed with Grimes, believe it or not. After being around Congresswoman Monroe,” she sneered, “I’m surprised he didn’t take over. She set herself up for it. Hell, she’s lucky nothing worse happened than what did.”Michonne could agree. People were assholes. “They seem to be getting better. With killing walkers.”“Is that your subtle way of asking if I think they should stay? I don’t like her. I don’t like her kids. Her husband’s alright. I don’t expect much out of them. I can count on them in a group. If it was me and one of them? I wouldn’t trust any of them, but Congresswoman Monroe, to help. Believe it or not.”“Porter?”“That guy’s a piece of work. My hat is off to Ford for putting up with his bullshit. I would have left his fat ass, cure or not. They only have six months left on the green card. I’m not sure what we’re going to do if they fail. I’m glad I’m not the only decision maker.” Rick sat on the floor of his and Carl’s room, back against the loveseat, and watched his kids play. It was nice to see them together. It had taken a while, but Judith was finally staying with him and Carl. Carl didn’t like sharing his room and was trying to talk him into moving into one by himself. It wasn’t like the hotel didn’t have the room, but they’d only been together for a month or so. That Allen kid didn’t seem to like him but he and Carl got along well enough. Maybe he’d see if he’d move upstairs, next to their room, and Carl could share with him.These had been the most peaceful months he’d had since he woke up from his coma. He didn’t lead anyone and he had a say in what happened. He still hated Holly. He may have been a small town sheriff from the south, but he wasn’t stupid. He was a little intimidated by her. She seemed to be good at every damn thang. While everyone had been a little wary of him, he had a rough start here, some of the others were coming around. Not her. He was envious of her and Sid. Coming to an island had been a good idea. Maybe if they’d been able to keep the farm…They were safe here and that’s what was important.“Dad,” Judith yelled and held up a picture. It was just scribbles but he smiled and kissed her forehead.“Maybe we’ll hang it up. Where’s a good spot?”Carl just grumbled as Judith got up and ran to the door. “Here,” she decided and held it in place.“That’s a real good spot, Judith. I can see it everyday when I leave and when I come back.”“Carl?”“Carl, too. And you.”“Show Cho,” she demanded.“It’s ‘Michonne’, Judith,” Carl corrected.“Cho!”Rick laughed and picked up his daughter. She was growing like a weed and he wouldn’t be able to do it for much longer so he was enjoying it while he could. He looked into her brown eyes and was reminded of his wife. And best friend. He kissed her cheek. “Let’s go show Cho and Uncle Daryl.”“Daryl.” Daryl looked at the thing on his pillow. He picked it up, turned it over and saw a plus.“I hope you were serious,” ‘Chonne said from behind him. He turned and saw her leaning against the bathroom doorway.“This mean?”“Yes. Congratulations, Dad.”“I’m gonna have a baby,” he whispered as he gazed at the stick.“I may help a little with that,” she deadpanned.He looked at his woman. “Can I?”She walked over kissed him on the mouth. “You won’t be able to feel anything.”He put his hand on her stomach anyway. It felt the same. “How far along?”“Mm, two or three months.”“You tell anyone yet?”“Just the father.”“Soledad?”“I’m going to see her with you.”“Should I be in there? You know, when she checks?”The woman smiled. “I think you should. You’ve seen everything before.”Daryl shifted on his feet. He did. “Yeah, but that’s private.”“Daryl, we won’t be showing her how we made the baby. And you can see the dot.”“The dot? What the hell is that?”“The sonogram picture. The baby looks like a big dot.”He lowered his eyebrows. “Huh. How do you know?”“Andre.”Now he felt like a dumbass. They didn’t talk much about her son or his dad. All he really knew was his name and he died early ‘cause of Mike.“Mike go? You know, when you were pregnant before?”“Not the first one. I surprised him with it.”“Soledad won’t mind?”Now she laughed. “Daryl, Glenn was in the room when Maggie had hers done. He goes with her every time. Like you’ll go with me every time.”“Just askin’ ‘Chonne. I never had a baby before.”“I’m laughing because you’re cute, Daryl Dixon. Soledad won’t mind. In fact, if you aren’t there she may hunt you down and drag you inside the room.”Daryl rolled his eyes. “I ain’t afraid of her.”“She’ll have Hol and Sid do it.”He nodded. “Kinda afraid of them.”‘Chonne kissed him again. Ty was tired, hot and grumpy. Looking at Carol and Mika he could tell they were tired. Especially Carol. “The next place,” he whispered. It was the first time in a year, he figured, Carol had stopped counting, they were out of their little area. The wagons they were dragging, loaded with everything they could carry, were getting lower every day. He didn’t know where they were. They’d stuck to the roads and found another map.“Haven’t seen any walkers. Except for.” Carol looked at Mika.Ty raised his eyebrows. “Why we’re staying on the roads.”Carol pulled out a map. “Until we know where we are.” She stopped and looked at Ty.“Until we know where we are we’ll stick to the roads. Hopefully we’ll find a highway soon. It’ll give us a better idea.”“Lead on, McDuff,” Carol teased.“Who’s McDuff?” Mika looked at her.Carol paused. “You know? I really don’t know. It’s one of those sayings I used to hear.”“From the old world?”“From the old world.”Ty smiled and held Mika’s hand as they walked. The map and phone book had only been for their little corner of the old world. After they passed the sign for Newnan they’d continued east. He figured they’d follow the ocean up north. Maybe Michigan or Ohio. Some state that didn’t get wildfires. George never got wildfires, but it made sense. Things had been dry. They’d been smart and canned food. With civilization in ruins Mother Nature was taking over. Hopefully, it would kill a lot of walkers. He sighed as he looked at the cracking asphalt. A testament to that dead civilization.“We should check the prison,” he suggested.“Why?” Carol raised her eyebrows.Ty shrugged. “Maybe someone made it out.”“Ty,” she sighed.“We don’t have a real destination in mind, Carol. We could stay there for a few days, look at the map. We know where it is.”“The fences looked bad, Ty, when I saw them.”“The prison itself?”She shrugged. “I couldn’t tell. There was a car on fire, smoke.”“Let’s go there. Take a breather.”She gave him a sad smile. “Let’s go to the prison.” It took them a week to reach the prison. Carol closed her eyes when it came into view. The closer they got the worse it looked. The tank was still there, but who could drive it? She saw the burnt out car. Ty raised his eyebrows when he saw the RV. After a quick search they didn’t find anything useful. There were hardly any walkers and Carol wasn’t surprised. Nothing to eat here, move along. She let out a little laugh and it got Mika’s attention.“Nothing, sweetie,” she assured the girl.Ty gave her a look and she shook her head. He stared for a few more minutes before they dragged the wagons behind them and up to the door. She saw him take a deep breath and open it. He closed it and Carol turned, knife out, ready. Mika pulled hers, too, and waited. The door opened and Ty ushered them inside.Carol almost broke down in tears. She recalled telling Merle he had to pick a side before the Governor came the first time. She’d lost so much. Sophia. Amy. Dale. Andrea. T-Dog. Lori. Those were the ones she chose to remember, when she remembered. She’d hated Shane, feared him anyway, almost from the beginning. He’d killed Otis. Tried to kill Rick.She jumped when she felt someone touch her arm. Carol looked down and saw Mika with her hand on her arm.“Are you alright, Mom?”Carol gave her a tremulous smile. “Fine. Just remembering.”Mika looked at the floor. “I don’t.”She pulled her daughter to her and rubbed her back. “I’m sure.”Then Mika looked at her with a smile. “I remember when you said you would adopt me. That’s what I like remembering.”“That’s one of my best memories, too.”“Carol?” Ty got her attention.“Yeah?”“Look.” He pointed to the walls. ‘Check’ on one wall. ‘Cells’ on another. She could tell it had been red at one point but was faded now.“What the hell?”Ty gave her a big smile. “I guess we should check our cells.”He went to the door that led to their cellblock and tried to pull it open. “Locked?”“Did someone lock it?” she questioned.Ty shook his head. “I…I don’t think so. The Governor had Hershel and was yelling at Rick. I thought we left this open. We all ran outside.”“Keys.” Carol started searching through the empty containers, behind the shelving and under the table. “No keys.”“Shit. This can’t be right. We always left them on this shelf.” Ty banged on the shelf near his head.“I know. I had to have someone get them for me.” She shot him a look.He laughed. “Usually me.”Carol paused. “You or Daryl.”“Didn’t Daryl call Judith little ass kicker?” Mika got their attention.Carol and Ty both whirled to face her. “What?”She pointed to the horrible writing on the wall near the door that led to their block. ‘Little Ass Kicker’ and an arrow pointing down.Carol ran over to her daughter and laughed. “He did. You remembered.”“I thought it was funny. She was a baby,” Mika stressed.Carol kissed her hair. “She was a baby.”Ty was on his knees searching. “Not here.”“Behind the wall. Check there,” Carol advised.Mika got down and tried to stick her face through the bars. “I think I see them,” she shouted. She reached her arm through and pulled them out. “I got them. Yay.”She passed them to Carol and she unlocked the door. She paused.“Are you okay?”“I’m fine.” She patted Ty’s hand on her shoulder. “Déjà vu, I guess.”“Hm. Alright. Let’s check our cells,” Ty suggested as they split up. Mika followed her. She remembered they’d stayed in the block across. “Did you want anything, Mika?”“No.” She shook her head quickly.“Okay.” They continued and Carol remembered what they’d gone through when they first got here. Oscar. Funny little guy. He’d died for her, like T-Dog. Tomas. She forgot the other guy’s name that was here. She didn’t talk to him much. When she reached her cell she looked inside and saw a knife through her pillow. Taking it out she picked up the paper that was on top. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, let it out and opened them again.
Carol,
Found a place. Follow the map. Keys to the storage area’s underneath the pillow. Check it once a month.
Daryl
She started laughing and crying.“Are you okay?” Mika shook her arm.She pulled Mika into a hug. “I’m fine, sweetie. I’m just fine.” Ty slowly walked up the stairs, hand on the railing, as he made his way to his cell. This was a shitty place but it was their place. Asshole Governor. He huffed out a breath. He could barely recall what Karen looked like now, Carol and Mika were the center of his world. He wasn’t lying when he told Carol those months ago he needed to let it go. It would have eaten him up and the world already had walkers lining up to do the job. He didn’t need to help them along.He used to wonder what would have happened. If the flu hadn’t hit or the Governor wouldn’t have shown up but there were so many possibilities it would have driven him crazy, too, so he stopped. He stopped outside Sasha’s cell. He couldn’t remember if she had anything personal in here. He knew she had her rifle with her. He shook his head and continued on to his own.Ty paused when he saw a knife in his pillow. Pulling it out, he opened the note.
Ty,
Hey, big brother, I hope you’re reading this. I’m still bossing you around. We found a place. It’s a good place. We’re on an island with good people. Daryl, Michonne, Judith, Glenn, Maggie and Beth are with me.
We left a map with directions and you can stay in the storage area we used to use. It has food and water. The toilet works. The keys and map are under your pillow. We check it every month, so depending on when you get there, you may be there for a while.
We also left cards. If you have people with you make sure they’re not assholes. We’ve had enough of those in this life.
Sasha
Ty collapsed on his bunk and tried not to cry all over the note. He wiped his face and lifted the pillow. Keys and a map.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ty and Carol were on the bottom bunk with Mika on the top one. They’d chosen a different cell. Not his. Not hers. Not Mika’s.“Can you believe it?” Carol held Ty’s note and read it again. Ty had laughed when he read Daryl’s note. Short and to the point. Carol had threatened him with bodily harm when they got to Covet Island for being short on details.“She didn’t mention Rick or Carl.”“We can check their cell tomorrow. If there isn’t a note then they’re there, too,” he repeated.“Hershel’s cell?” she whispered.Ty shook his head. “We can look, Carol.”He’d been saying a different version of the same thing for a few hours. After he asked Carol to fix them something to eat. Carol had ushered Mika into bed early so they could leave early. He and Carol had poured over their maps, they were identical, but she was in a tizzy. He was, too. Sasha was alive. Glenn. Maggie. Michonne. Beth. Daryl. Judith. He was happy someone found Judith. The thought of what would have happened if the Governor had gotten her or everyone was killed had given him nightmares.He kissed her. “Now, be a good girl and put out the candle. We need to sleep. We have a way to go.”Carol rolled her eyes but snuffed the candle. When she laid down she was still a ball of energy.“I feel like it’s the first day of school tomorrow,” she whispered.He did, too, but they did have a long way to go. “Me, too. Think about the almost three hundred mile trip. It’ll put me out.”“Ha ha, Ty.” Maggie sat on the sofa in the common room, decorated with blue and pink streamers, surrounded by the residents, for their baby shower. They didn’t have gifts, but Soledad had whipped up some cheese quesidillas and salsa. Sid and Hol made peanut butter cookies. Daryl had gone hunting on the mainland and brought back a few ducks, which they put with the chickens, and some deer. She saw Luke and Matt grilling up some fish and vegetables. Jace brought down his radio and had some cd’s playing in the background. No one was on watch or working anywhere else. It was nice.She looked at her group and was happy. They could raise their baby in safety. Kind of. Hopefully.Glenn kissed her on her head. “Happy?”She nodded and smiled. “Yeah. I’m happy.” She looked at Michonne and Daryl. “We all are.”“Can you believe Daryl’s gonna be a dad?” he whispered.She lightly slapped his arm. “Stop it, Glenn. He’s gonna be a good one. Not as good as you, though.”“That’s the right answer,” he said and kissed her lips this time, rubbing his hand over her stomach.“You think Sasha and Abraham?” she questioned as she watched Abraham being a goof and Sasha trying not to laugh.“Guy’s weird. He says some stupid stuff.”Maggie grunted an agreement because he did say some stupid stuff. This was the happiest she could remember Sasha being in a long time. Maggie hoped Ty did make it out and, if he didn’t go back, he was staying in a safe place.“We need to keep an eye on Jace,” she repeated.Glenn sighed. “Maggie,” he chastised.“What?” Daryl had a hard time not rollin’ his eyes at this shit. He’d heard of babyshowers before. The women at the trailer park loved ‘em.“They’ll be doing this for us,” Michonne whispered in his ear.“I hope not,” he retorted quietly.“I do.”He looked over. “Why?”She laid her head on his shoulder. “It’s nice. We’re living.”He couldn’t disagree. “Better than the prison.”She laughed softly. “Better than the prison. Our son? He’ll be able to grow up.”Daryl hadn’t cared if they had a girl or a boy but when Soledad did the ultrasound she’d pointed out his parts. He was gonna have a son. ‘Chonne was right, he was gonna spoil that kid rotten.“Have grandkids.”“Shit, ‘Chonne, don’t say shit like that,” he huffed. “I can’t.”“Grandpa Daryl,” she teased.“Fuck. Kid ain’t born yet and you want grandkids?”“I do. Granny Cho.”He snorted. “Granny Cho.” Rick smiled when he saw his group; eating, laughing and talking. They looked happy. He was happy. He hoped they stayed happy for a while. The baby shower was a nice idea.He couldn’t believe Daryl was going to be a dad. He ribbed the man about it sometimes, but he was pleased for him. Michonne and him made a good couple. He agreed with Sasha. That kid was gonna be a badass. “Is this it, Mom?” Mika looked up at her. Carol ran her hand down Mika’s hair. She was getting bigger.“I think so, Mika,” Ty answered.“Good. I’m tired,” she said.Ty put the key in the lock, turned it and opened the door. After looking around, he raised his eyebrows, then he opened the door to his family. They quickly came in dragging the wagon they had left. It had taken them almost a month to get there. He’d been counting. They’d discarded the other wagon between Forsyth and Macon.“According to Sasha’s note they check once a month,” Carol reminded him.He kissed her on the head. “Yes, honey,” he laughed.Carol smacked him on the arm. “Smart ass,” she grumbled.“Cots.” Mika pointed to them.“Sleeping bags, water, food. Sasha said the toilet worked, which means the sink works, too. Heaven,” Carol sighed. “You think we can heat some water?”Ty looked outside. “I’d like to wait until tomorrow, when we have more daylight. We’ll just go through this, see what’s here, put the cots up and get some sleep.”Carol went over and locked the door. “We’ve got some work to do, kiddo,” she smiled at Mika.“I don’t know how,” Mika frowned.“Your dad will help you,” Carol volunteered him.“Come on, sweetie. The sooner we do this the sooner we can sleep. Inside. A building.”She turned to Ty with a smile. “Good. It’ll be like when we were at our house.” Mika watched as her parents slept on the cots Ty had helped her put up. Dad. Carol was mom. She loved her parents. Sometimes, at first, when Carol found them, she thought about her other parents. And Lizzie. Mika missed them. Lizzie, too. She’d heard dad call Lizzie crazy. Lizzie was crazy. Walkers weren’t friends. Carol told her it wasn’t her fault, the asshole Governor would have come back anyway.She knew something had happened, when mom first found them. Then, she didn’t know what happened, but it got nicer. They’d found a house, had some electricity, grew food, found chickens and a goat. She’d liked their house. When the fires started she hoped they wouldn’t have to leave. When they didn’t go out, they packed up everything they could and left. Dad talked about going north, where the fires wouldn’t be as dangerous, something near the water. Where it rained and snowed.Mika had only seen snow in movies, when she was little. Dad said it was cold and they’d have to bundle up. They could build snowmen. Mom said snowwomen. Mom said she’d try and make ice cream and slushies. She hadn’t had those in years.When dad said they’d go to the prison Mika didn’t want to go. He’d told mom it would only be for a few days, while they decided where to go. After they found the notes they decided to come here. It was by water. An island. Mika thought that was smart. Get rid of the walkers and an island would be good. Dad told her he’d have to learn to fish.Mika hoped Rick wouldn’t be mad at her for Lizzie. Ty groaned when he woke up the next day. Being on the road was hard. He’d forgotten how hard. The cots weren’t comfortable but they were off the ground. The sleeping bags had come in handy. He looked to his left and saw Carol was still sleeping. He lifted his head and saw Mika, on the other side of Carol, was still sleeping. When he looked at Carol again he saw she was awake.“Hi,” he whispered.She smiled. “Hi.”“It was rough. I’m used to sleeping with you,” he told her.“Me, too.”“I hope they come soon. I don’t know if my back can take this for long.”Carol let out a soft laugh. “Aren’t we spoiled?”Ty frowned. “I’m not as young as I used to be.”“Me, either. So? Heat up water?”“I’ll have to find some wood, dig a pit.”She lifted the sleeping bag and sat up. “We’ll help.”Before he could say anything they heard the key in the lock and the door opened.“Ty? Carol?” Glenn’s mouth dropped open. Glenn stood in shock when he saw Ty and Carol “Shit.” He ran over and hugged Carol, almost turning the cot over on its side. Ty got up and Glenn hugged him, too, slapping him on the back. When he pulled away he saw Carol was standing up and he hugged her again. He laughed. “Shit. It’s good to see you. Together.”“Glenn.” Carol hugged him and he could hear her sobbing.Ty came over and slapped him on the back. “Sasha?”Glenn pulled away again. “On the island. Come on,” he told them as the others came inside. “Tom, Nancy and Dante,” he pointed them out. “You need anything from here? We have a lot. You can leave this and get it later, if you want. We’ll come clean this out later.”“The others?” Carol wiped her eyes and took a little girl’s hand.“There. They’ll be happy to see you. Especially Sasha,” Glenn smiled.“She’s okay?” he asked worriedly.“She’s great. We all are. It’s a good place. Very democratic.”He saw Carol raise her eyebrows.“Trust me. We all run the island. Come on. Grab what you want, if you want anything. Cash is waiting.”“Cash?” Ty furrowed his brows.“Captain of the yacht.” Glenn wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “It’s a nice yacht. When we first saw it?” He shook his head. “Blown away.”Glenn waited while they gathered some things and they locked up. Glenn looked at the little girl. “Only the one person?”“It’s Mika,” Carol said.Glenn stopped and stared at her. “Hi Mika.” He waved weakly.“Hi Glenn,” she whispered.“Uh, we only have a twenty minute walk.”“We just walked two hundred plus miles, Glenn. We can handle a little more,” Carol smirked.“Wow. That far? Where were you?”“Outside of Newnan. Atlanta would be the closest city.”“Oh. Did you go to the farm?”“No. It’s still there?”“We should all be together,” Glenn decided, “before we swap stories.”“Hershel?” Carol whispered.He shook his head no.“Shit,” Ty sighed.“Yeah. It was hard. Anyway, Maggie’s pregnant, almost ready to deliver,” he grinned.“Glenn, that’s fantastic.” Carol stopped and hugged him again.“Congratulations.” Ty held out his hand.“Thanks. We’re excited,” he told them as he shook Ty’s hand.“Scared shitless?” Ty laughed quietly.“Yes. Scared shitless,” he admitted.“Rick and Carl? We didn’t see any notes for them,” Carol prodded.“They’re there.” Ty almost pissed his pants when the yacht came into view. “I could see why,” he told Glenn.“It’s a great boat. You’ll all have to learn to run it, too. Maintenance.”“Really?” Carol asked.“Yeah. Everyone does everything. Everyone gets a vote. Very democratic.”“What’s Rick say?” Carol questioned quietly.Glenn got on, took some of their things and ignored her question.“We have coffee and water?” a white woman with brown hair, Nancy, he thought her name was Nancy, offered.“Coffee?” he asked incredulously.“Coffee. We grow it,” she affirmed.“Gotta love the whacked out preppers.” The Asian guy, Ty thought his name was Tom, smiled.“Cash,” Glenn pointed to an African American woman.“Island Express. It’ll be a few hours. We have cabins.” She pointed pointed down the steps. “Feel free to lay down, if you want.” She started the engine and the yacht pulled away from the dock.“Oh hell no. I’m going to look around and sit outside. With coffee,” Carol stated.“You should,” Glenn laughed. “I’ll put the water on. Ty?”“Yes. We haven’t had coffee in months,” he practically shouted.“Water for Mika,” Carol told Glenn.“Water,” the black guy repeated. “Gotcha. Look around. If you stay, it’ll be your boat, too.”Ty followed Carol, still holding Mika’s hand, through the yacht. “Nice.”“No kidding,” Carol breathed out.When he heard the kettle going off they went back to the kitchen area. Glenn was pouring water in a glass container. “Nice, huh?” He widened his eyes. “French press. We have coffee makers, too.”“What the hell, Glenn?” Carol raised her voice.“Sid and Hol, along with Ralph and Trey, stared our community.” He put the top on the container and got out mugs. “Cream? We have stevia. Hol wants to do a run to Florida for sugar.”Ty coughed. “What?”“It’s on the list. We debate it occasionally.” Glenn shrugged. “Sasha wants to go.”“What?” Ty shouted.“Is he a dickhead, too?” Dante tilted his head.Glenn frowned. “No.”“Alright,” he drawled before he pulled a glass bottle out of the refrigerator and poured some for Mika.“Dickhead?” Carol raised her eyebrows.“Rick. Uh, he had some problems,” Glenn volunteered.Ty could hear Nancy huff out a breath. Carol sat with Ty and Mika on deck chairs, drinking coffee.“Shit, Ty. This is a nice ass yacht.”“I know. I almost pissed my pants.”“He doesn’t like me,” Mika whispered.Carol put her cup on the deck and took Mika’s hands. “That’s not true, Mika. I don’t think he knows what to say to you.”“I’m sorry,” she whispered again.Ty shook his head and put his daughter on his lap. “If they don’t like you, we’ll leave. We’ll find another place,” he assured her.She looked up. “Really?”“Yes, really. You’re our daughter, Mika. There’s nothing to be sorry for. The Governor would have come back. It could have been worse.” He kissed the top of her head. “I don’t want to hear you say you’re sorry again about what happened at the prison.”Carol took her hands again. “It’s not your fault. It’s not,” she emphasized. Glenn watched Carol and Ty and Mika outside on the deck.“Rhee?” Dante asked.“The little girl. Mika. It was her sister that ran for the fences. At the prison.”“She can’t do it here. She didn’t seem like a lunatic fringe,” Nancy commented.Glenn shrugged. “I didn’t know them well. We had people but it wasn’t like here,” he tried to convey. “It wasn’t like family, you know? Sure, we knew each other. Like here. But here? We, me and Maggie anyway, feel like its family. I have all these cousins.”“Most of us do,” Tom laughed.Glenn grinned. “We like it.” When the island started to get bigger Carol felt more nervous. Ty didn’t. He stood near the front of the boat, yacht, like he could will it to go faster. She was happy Sasha was alive. All of them, actually. It had been so long, she didn’t think she could go back to being what she’d been like in the prison. Before she killed Karen and David.She shook her head. Rick had problems. She wondered how he let them run the place. Now, being away from them, on her own without them, she realized Rick was dickhead sometimes. She felt Mika grab her hand. Carol loved their family now. Would Ty want to stay with them? The captain, Cash, was pretty. Ty turned and grabbed her hand, pulling her and Mika closer to him.“Sasha. I’m so happy she’s alive, Carol,” he whispered into her hair. She could feel tears. Carol rubbed his back.“Me, too, Ty,” she whispered back. Beth waited with the others, except Michonne and Daryl. They had night watch with Keisha, Matt, Daisy and Jace.Jace. He was nice and they were talking. Under the watchful eye of Maggie and Glenn. Most times she missed her daddy, but now she really did. He’d like Jace. He knew how to kill walkers, butcher and plant, like everyone. Beth couldn’t wait until Maggie gave birth. Then her and Glenn could focus on her nephew. And stay out of her love life.She giggled to herself when she saw Abraham walk over and stand near Sasha. They’d been dancing around each other for a few months. He’d told them about living in Alexandria and Beth wrinkled her nose. She couldn’t imagine not havin’ anythin’ to protect yourself with. She was amazed they’d been livin’ like that.She’d missed Carol. And Ty. Not that she’d talked to Ty a lot. Her daddy said he was a good man and never agreed with what Rick did when him and Sasha, with those other people, she forgot their names, showed up at the prison and Rick kicked them out. She hoped they finally found their way here. Sasha didn’t know whether she hated going or staying on ‘storage area’ days. She shook her head. Everyone called it that. She was happy her group, family, were waiting with her. Each time Ty wasn’t there or getting off the yacht made her lose hope. One day, soon, she was going to suggest they stop. They were safe here. Happy here. Living a life here.She glanced over her shoulder and saw Abraham. Even his goofy ass. Sasha had never been into white guys but he was growing on her. She’d asked Michonne what it was like after the sailing lessons. Purely for educational purposes. She said it was being like with any other guy. Baby Dixons were on the way, so she must know what she was talking about.She thought Daryl and Michonne were a good couple. Before the prison fell she’d seen Rick checking Michonne out. Girlfriend did have ass for days. Michonne didn’t notice. She’d spent most of the time with Carl and Daryl. Rick wasn’t for her. Rick was for someone like Nancy. Sasha thought if she said something along those lines to Nancy the woman would knock her on her ass.Rick still wasn’t real popular around there. Hol told him to call her Baker. She called him ‘Sheriff Grimes’. Working around them was funny. Hol ignored Rick for the most part, but Sasha could tell Rick was still suffering from wounded pride. He’d been told Hol could kick his ass. She was sure Rick would like a rematch or to best her at something. Silently she thought ‘good luck with that, buddy’. Ty stood near the side trying not to yell at Cash to speed it up. Carol and Mika were behind him and he felt more nervous the closer they got. When the dock came into view he saw his baby sister. She stared, her mouth dropped open and she ran toward the yacht. The minute it came alongside Ty jumped over and ran to meet her. He hugged her, picked her up and swung her around.“Sasha,” he choked out. She started bawling like a baby. He did, too.“Ty,” she wailed.“Sasha. Shit,” he gave a watery laugh.“You made it,” she said in awe through her tears.“I did.” He let her down and wiped his eyes. He saw the others; Maggie, Beth, Rick, holding Judith’s hand and Carl. “I thought. Daryl and Michonne?”Sasha hugged him again. “They’re sleeping. Night watch.” “Carol,” Beth shouted in joy.Carol hesitated before she and Mika got off the yacht, Glenn behind them.“Go on. We missed you.” He nudged her as he walked over to Maggie and gave her a kiss. Carol had tears in her eyes. She looked so pretty. Before Carol knew it she was crushed in a hug by Beth.“We’re so glad you made it,” she breathed.