Author's Note: Aside from the obvious disclaimer about not owning either of the Dixon brothers or owning or being affiliated with The Walking Dead, I want to say a quick thank you to everyone who has read Savior, and everyone that left reviews. Especially ShutxThexFrontxDoor, all of our messages and tweets, and all of your reviews is what kept me inspired and kept me going while I was writing that. I'm super excited to get this prequel under way, and I hope everyone enjoys it just as much.

Lucy stood at the kitchen counter, the phone in hand, clutched to her ear, "It would be better for her to be somewhere where nurses and doctors are available to tend to her at any moment necessary."

"What are you suggesting?" she asked the doctor on the other line.

"There are plenty of facilities that can offer care and treatment to your mother."

"Like a…hospice?"

"Yes, exactly, in fact, there's one not far from you." The doctor continued telling Lucy about the place, how great it was rated, the quality staff. But Lucy's number one concern was cost. She couldn't afford it. But he was right, it was better for her mom.

"I'll consider it," she told him when he was done.

"That's all I ask, Miss Thornton." They hung up and Lucy slammed her fist against the counter, how could she ever pay for it? She could barely afford the nurse that was on-call.

"Lucy is everything okay?" her mother called from the bedroom, having heard the sound.

"Yes, ma, I'm fine." She sighed and ran her hands through her dark hair. She had to figure something out. With waitressing, they were just barely scraping by. She took a deep breath, hoping to calm herself before walking to the bedroom doorway; she leaned into the room, looking at her mom. "I have to run to the diner for a few minutes." It wasn't a complete lie, that was where she was going, she just hadn't been asked to come in that day. "You have Tiffany's number in case you need something before I get back, right?"

Her mom nodded, "It's right here by the phone."

"Okay, I'll see you in a little while."

"Alright, sweetie."

Lucy forced a smile and walked away; she pulled her shoes on and grabbed her keys and purse.

Lucy pulled into the parking lot, and got out of the car, as she was walking in, another guy was walking out. He wore a plaid shirt the sleeves had been ripped off of and dirty jeans with dirty boots. He held the door open for her and she looked into his baby blue eyes, smiling as politely as she could manage, "Thank you."

He grunted a response and let the door swing shut behind her. She sat down at the bar her arms on the counter, she rested her head in her hand, and watched out the window as the guy who had held the door for her climbed into a truck and drove off. "What's wrong?" Johanna, one of the other waitresses asked.

She sighed, "I don't know how I can afford to take care of my mother any more. The doctor wants her moved, but it's too expensive. I need to get more hours."

"Good luck with that, mine were just cut. It probably won't be long before yours are too."

Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep back the tears, "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"There's always stripping, they make good money."

Lucy looked at her, an eyebrow arched in disgust.

"I'm joking," Johanna smiled. "I know it's hard," she placed her hand over Lucy's, giving it a squeeze, "You'll figure something out. I know you will."

"Not soon enough."

Johanna walked away for a moment, then came back with a slice of key lime pie, "On me, to cheer you up."

Lucy picked up the fork, "Thanks."

On the drive back home, she saw it written across the marquee and pulled into the parking lot. She turned off the engine and sat there for a few minutes, debating on whether or not to go inside. It was an internal struggle. She may have been joking, but Johanna was right, they did make good money. But was Lucy really that desperate? She looked at the sign again, now hiring dancers. She took a deep breath and got out of her car.

When she walked in, she was greeted by two men, "Welcome to Bare Assets," one of them said.

She swallowed her pride and asked, "Who can I talk to about becoming a dancer?"

"Wait right here," the one that had spoken said before walking away. He came back a few minutes later with the manager, and Lucy was led to his office.

"When can you start?" he asked after the brief interview.

"Immediately."

He smiled, "You'll need a stage name."

She nodded, "I'll come up with something."

They shook hands and she left.

Lucy hurried home, and the first thing she did was check on her mom, she was asleep. She walked into the kitchen, it was getting close to nine, Lucy had been gone a lot longer than she had intended. It was too late to call the doctor back, that would have to wait until morning. She sighed and began washing the dishes. When she was done, she went to her room, changed into her pajamas, and went to bed. Still questioning herself, unbelieving that she had actually resorted to becoming a stripper.

Author's Note: A wild Reedus (or Dixon) appeared in this chapter! And also, the first person who correctly guesses which Michael Rooker film the name of the strip club came from can be a stripper in the story.