Chapter 1: Civilian

Her fingers tapped the steering wheel anxiously as she waited. It had been too long and they weren't back yet. She wished they would have just let her go with them. Sometimes they would, but most of the time, she was stuck on the sidelines. Of course she knew why. Being the only girl in the family minus her mother left everyone else treating her as if she couldn't do anything of her own. Once in a while, they'd welcome her with open arms to join, but that was only when things were clear and the mood was light. Given the situation of these days, that was rather rare. The only upside was that she was finally learning how to drive and she got to be the one to give her brothers a scare every now and then when they fell asleep and she purposefully swerved onto the rockier terrain.

Part of her wanted to immediately jump out of the car and go after them to try and ease her worries, but she knew she'd get an earful and that was the last thing she wanted. Plus she was supposed to watch the car and she didn't want anyone wandering to steal it. They had only just crossed the border a few months ago and they still didn't know the location and who was around here and what they were like. A few times they'd run into some really hostile people. It was sad that these days, everyone had seemed to lose their humanity. But in the end when it came to her family, she would protect them at all costs.

She was just about to get out of the car and finally start walking to see if she could find her brothers when she spotted them up ahead, pushing each other and laughing loudly. Rolling her eyes, she leaned back in her seat, sighing gently as they made their way to the car.

"Bailey, if you drive away without Samuel, you'll be my favorite little hermana," Alejandro teased, leaning in through the window of the car.

"I'm your only hermana, you idiot. Get in the car," she snorted, shoving Ale's arms off the window and starting the car up.

The two of them laughed and she rolled her eyes, waiting for them to get in before she started down the road on the way home. Or to abuelo's house. He wasn't doing much better these days and she grew more and more afraid each day that the sickness would take him and make him change just like it had to her abuela.

"What did you guys get, anything good?" she asked, resting her hands lightly on the steering wheel to keep it steady.

"Food and some toiletries. But never enough," Sam murmured from the back.

"We'll make it through. We're fine," Ale assured.

"If you guys would let me help...," she tried, shooting a look over her shoulder.

Sam snorted and ruffled his black hair. "Good try, but why don't you leave this stuff to us?"

Huffing, she quickly swerved off the road into the dirt, causing both of them to startle.

"Hijo de puta!" Alejandro hissed, shooting a glare at her through his baby blues.

Bailey snickered and steered the car back onto the road. "You know I just want to help, right?"

"We just don't want you getting hurt."

"If you taught me how to survive, I think that would help prevent that."

"You already know how to shoot and use a knife," Samuel pointed out.

"Yeah but there's more to knowing how to survive than knowing how to use weapons. I need to know where to look and how to scavenge if I ever get separated from you guys," she murmured, fixing her brown eyes firmly on the road.

"That won't ever happen," they both said simultaneously, causing her to roll her eyes.

"You never know."

The rest of the ride was silent after that. Maybe the time to think would get them to budge a little more on her side. But she didn't count on it all too much. Her papa was the deciding factor and she knew that he would never go for it. He was very traditional and often thought she and her mother should be doing more of the household chores instead of going out on runs for supplies and doing work more typically built for men. Of course she understood why and he was pretty lenient on things her abuela and abuelo weren't, but still there were some things she wanted to do that was out of her reach. Often she got her mama or brothers to vouch for her, as her mama was born in America and so were her brothers, so they were more relaxed on certain things.

Her demeanor changed when they started down the dirt path to their abuelo's house. She was antsy to get back and see Bruno and she knew her papa would be waiting for them anxiously as well. Sam and Ale argued back and forth a bit but she ignored it, smiling slightly when she saw her papa sitting on the porch like he usually did when they went out. She spotted Bruno at his side and the black and brown dog's ears perked up and he barked happily as she parked the car right in front of the porch.

Without waiting, she got out of the car and swiftly made her way over, giving her papa a tight hug. He always worried for them. After she pulled away, she bent down to hug Bruno as he licked the side of her face.

"Hey, relax, I'm okay," she cooed, scratching his ears.

They had only had Bruno for two years, but the two of them had bonded as if they lived together their whole lives. He was one of the cute little pups in the back of the old pound by their house. Animal Control said they picked him up in an abandoned trailer on a large piece of land and said it was likely that he was going to be trained as a herding dog. He matched all the typical descriptions of a Beauceron herding dog and was probably left behind after forclosure on the trailer house.

She looked up to see her papa helping Sam and Ale with the supplies and she stood, motioning for Bruno to follow. The dog padded beside her as they headed inside and she maneuvered around the couch to follow them to the kitchen. Sam had already started to pull the supplies out of the bag and place them on the counter to be sorted.

"Bailey, could you check on your mama and abuelo?" Papa asked, his tone a little bit serious, leading her to believe there was probably a discussion going on that he didn't want her to hear.

Sighing gently, she nodded. "Yes, papa."

Without another word, she turned and retreated from the kitchen, heading down the hallway to the room where her abuelo was staying as he was sick. Part of her wanted to linger in the hallway to try and listen in on the conversation, but she knew better than to disrespect her papa.

In the back room, her mama sat on the edge of the bed, reading a book to her abuelo. As soon as she entered, her mama perked up and moved across the room, engulfing her in a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay. Come here, your grandfather wants to see you," she instructed, smiling brightly.

Bailey moved to her abuelo's side and bent down, taking his hand in hers. He looked sicker than ever and she frowned slightly. Cancer wouldn't stop just because of the end of the world. Sooner or later, it would catch up to him and he would be gone just like abuela. Though she had died from a different illness. Still, she didn't want to lose him.

"Don't you frown, conejito. I have not been taken just yet and I am glad to have my family in my company in this time. How was your time with your hermanos?" he asked, a cough racking his body afterwards.

She flinched, the frown etching deeper into her skin. "Good. I am getting better at driving. Are you feeling any better?"

"Not very. But don't dwell on it."

Bruno padded over and sat down next to her, resting his muzzle on the edge of the bed next to his hand. He chuckled and patted the dog's head.

"I think I'd like to sleep," he murmured, looking over to her mama.

"Of course. Come on, Bailey," she beckoned.

She quickly pressed a kiss to his forehead before retreating from the room with Bruno on her heels. In the other room, she could hear shouting and she slowly moved forward, looking into the kitchen to see her brothers and papa fighting.

"Hey, what is this about?" her mama interrupted, moving to stand between the men.

"It's fine, mama. You don't need to interrupt," Sam assured, putting a gentle hand on her arm to reassure her.

"Papa thinks Bailey shouldn't be coming with us," Alejandro burst out, crossing his arms over his chest. "But she has proven very capable. She needs to learn how to defend herself, papa!"

"She can learn here, where there won't be any accidents," Papa hissed.

"Oh so you don't care that we might get into an accident?"

"That's not what I-"

"You can't shelter her forever. One day, something might happen and she might not be able to defend herself!" Ale leaned forward a little.

"Why don't we let Bailey decide for herself?" Samuel suggested, causing a deafening silence to settle across the room.

Her mind had been whirling in that moment, trying to figure out where everyone was coming from and how she felt about the entire thing. Her papa was always very protective of her and while her brothers were as well, they tended to let her do more. All of them looked at her expectantly and she blinked.

"Wait, you and Ale didn't want me helping in the first place. Why side against papa like this?" she asked.

The room went silent once more and she stared at them in disbelief. Why were they even having this conversation? It was obvious that her brothers and papa didn't want her to help. She was just the driver. Of course, she got her fair share of shooting practice in the woods when no one was home and she had nothing else to do.

"Look, Bailey...papa he told us not to let you come. And we agreed at first," Samuel explained.

"At first? So you changed your mind, why exactly?" She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest.

"When you get out there...and see what the world is like... I've seen some bad things happen to people who didn't know what they were doing. And we just want you to be safe," Alejandro said.

"She will be safer here. I should have never let her drive you," Papa growled.

"You haven't been out there, Papa!" Alejandro exclaimed, his features contorting angrily. "She will be safe with us! And even safer being prepared!"

"Maybe they're right, Jorge! I don't like it any more than you, but what if she ever gets separated from us? It almost happened when we tried to go back over the border!" her mama piped up.

Her papa glared angrily, but remained silent as he shuffled past them. She knew that look. He agreed but didn't want to let his pride suffer. A breath escaped her lips and she caught eyes with Sam as her mama went after papa.

Bailey leaned against the counter as Bruno hugged her leg. "Did that just happen?"

"I believe so, hermana," Sam murmured, running a hand through his brown locks.

"Stubborn old man," Ale grunted, crossing his arms.

"I understand why... But I want to help. And if that's his way of consenting, finally, I'll take it."

"Well we're due for some gas hunting tomorrow. I'd practice that aim of yours. You're going to need it," Sam advised.

"Yeah I think you're right. If anyone asks, I'm out in the woods. I'll bring Bruno."

"Don't be too long. Please. Papa is already angry enough."

"I won't. Come on, Bruno." She gestured to the dog, taking a glance up at Alejandro as he glared at the wall. He and papa never got along very well.

Rolling her eyes, she moved through the kitchen and then headed to the room where she and her brothers were staying because of the limited amount of room in the house. Mama and Papa were already sleeping on the couches, as they insisted the three of them got the guest bedroom and her abuelo had his own room.

She picked up a hair tie and pulled her long black hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. In the closet, she retrieved the old shotgun she had been learning to shoot on. She only picked up a small handful of shells, as they would definitely need them for later, and pocketed them. Slinging the gun over her shoulder, she headed out of the room and to the front door. No one stopped her, which meant her mama and papa were likely talking right now, her trying to get him to calm down most likely.

Bruno followed her out of the front door and she headed around back to the trail that led into the woods. It was a few miles down, since most of the property the house was on was open fields for farms that were never built, but not too far of a walk. And at this point, she'd walked down the path so much that she had enough stamina and energy to go the whole way.

Her trusty pup followed on her heels, seeming pretty relaxed so she didn't have reason to worry. It was beautiful out here and she wished that she was here under better circumstances.

When she reached the woods, she got a little more quiet, making sure her steps were extra light and careful. So far, she hadn't seen any muertos out here, but that didn't mean they wouldn't ever be out here.

An old oak tree with a painted target on it sat in the center of a clearing in the woods and she shuffled across from it. Bruno knew the drill by now and took a seat by her side, a little bit further back.

"Alright, boy. Stay where you are," she murmured, steadying the gun and slipping a couple shells in to start.

The gun was slightly heavy in her hands, but it wasn't as heavy as it had been when she first started shooting. Her arms had gotten used to the weight and she could hold it pretty steadily now. She imagined that in a few weeks, she wouldn't have any trouble lifting it, especially if her brothers were going to allow her to go on runs with them.

"Here we go," she said to herself, raising the shotgun and aiming it at the target.

Her body took a moment to breathe and then she held her breath and tugged her index finger on the trigger. The gun gave a mighty kick, but she was prepared and dug her feet into the dirt as the pellets sprayed across the target. She'd been practicing enough that hitting a stationary target wasn't too difficult. She just had to practice on a moving target, which was set up not too far away, with a log attached to a rope. First, she just wanted a warm-up shot before she tried that. If she would be shooting real muertos tomorrow, they wouldn't sit still for her to shoot.

Flexing her fingers, she moved around the tree to the moving target. It blew lightly in the wind, but not enough to really be moving. She reached forward and grabbed the rope, taking a few steps back and pulling it with her before letting it go. As it swung back and forth, she took a few more steps back, raising the gun and cocking it. She focused on the movements as it went back and forth and tried to imagine where it would be in a second's time when she shot.

Her finger hovered over the trigger before she pulled it back and held steady through the kick. Unfortunately, she miscalculated her aim and the pellets sprayed into the dirt just as the log passed.

"Damn," she swore, looking back at Bruno as he sat attentively. "Alright, let's try this again."

Bailey pulled the log into a swinging motion again and took her place, focusing only on the log as it moved. This time, she aimed a little bit ahead of the log and fired. To her relief, she got a good shot on the log and it splintered, causing her to grin. Perfect.

"You see that, Bruno?" she asked, receiving a bark in return.

As she turned to take another shot at it, movement caught her eye. Bruno perked up and came charging over, a growl rising in his throat. A few paces away, emerging from the trees, was a muerto. It had been a man at one point and there was a very obvious bite on its shoulder. She had killed a couple before, but she had always been with one of the others. This time, she was alone, with only Bruno at her side. And those other times she had used a baseball bat, not a gun. Right now, she didn't have her knife with her, which meant she needed to use the gun.

It approached quickly and she cocked the gun, raising it and taking a few steps back as Bruno began to bark and whine anxiously. She held her breath and aimed it. When she fired, she missed completely.

"Mierda!"

Bailey trailed back a little bit, uncomfortable with the close distance between her and the muerto. As she took steps back, she didn't see the log behind her and tripped backwards, landing in the dirt. A cry escaped her lips and she trembled as it moved closer. Quickly, she reloaded and fumbled with the gun, aiming it just as the muerto hovered above her. Just as it was about to come down on her, she fired, hitting it right in the face. The shards from the shell shredded its head, leaving black blood and brain matter to splatter across her face and shirt.

Bruno immediately started nuzzling her face and whining to try and see if she was okay. Her arms trembled and she reached over to pat him and let him know that she was alright.

"I'm o-okay. It was j-just too close," she breathed, scooting back and using her shirt to wipe the blood and sinew off her face. Her parents would be so worried when she got back...

Bruno whimpered and licked her cheek to try and comfort her. Well if there was anything to help her prepare for the unexpected tomorrow, that was it.

A/N: New fic, woo! So just a prewarning, if you haven't seen Fear the Walking Dead season 2, don't read this. It contains MASSIVE spoilers, so don't read on! Anyway, so I was really bummed about what happened to Chris in season 2 and decided this would be sort of like a "fix it" fic. He'll be in the next chapter and I will somehow incorporate it all with the rest of the show as it continues to move along.

First thing's first. I know hardly any Spanish and have been using Google translate, so if something's wrong, please let me know! I also don't know much about the Spanish culture, but I'm going to do my best to try and get it as accurate as possible. Some things will be more American since their family is mixed and Bailey's mother is American. If there's anything weird or out of place, just let me know in a comment or PM!

Second thing, if you're here from Forever Wandering, I'm so glad that you decided to check this out! And if you aren't and love the Walking Dead, check out Forever Wandering! It's a Carl/Oc story, already 30-something chapters long so you'll have a lot to read if you're interested.

I'm hoping to update once a week on Fridays during the Fear the Walking Dead season and then once a month on the third Friday during off-season. I will put all updates on my Twitter (ThatWriterGirl5) and will occasionally post extra stuff there as well. The playlist for this fic is on my Wattpad.

I hope that you guys enjoy this and I'm super excited to start and continue this! Thank you so much for reading :)

Translations:

Hermana - Sister

Hermano - Brother

Abuelo - Grandfather

Abuela - Grandmother

Hijo de puta - Son of a bitch/motherfucker

Conejito - Little bunny

Muerto - Dead

Mierda - Shit