Sinking Men
With the Governor missing and the tension between Woodbury and the prison still there, Andrea and Milton take it upon themselves to re-establish Woodbury whilst making sure they keep the Governor and the rest of the world out. Andrea/Milton, Michonne/Andrea

"That should be enough."

Milton looked up nervously to see that Andrea (bloodied, bruised, battered but so miraculously alive) had finished with fastening the chains around another section of the gate that kept them in and the biters out, something that would definitely be more useful than before considering the threat that had just escaped from their grasp what seemed hours ago.

He fiddled around with his broken glasses (the lenses would never be able to be fixed again he gathered) and let out a frustrated murmur once he realized how ridiculous he looked, taking them away from his face to pocket in his plaid pants before throwing himself once more into working around the gate with clumsy hands that were not meant for such labour just as his tongue was apparently not meant to be able to work properly around the presence of Andrea.

Not that he didn't try, just like he had tried before this whole thing had blown up in his face and his anger and frustration had warped into a ball of emotion that had made him taunt his accomplishment, had almost ended with him getting himself and Andrea both killed.

Milton wouldn't risk that again because in spite of everything that little voice in the back of his head told him ("you're brave, you're smart, you're everything a good person should be,") in the voice of the woman next to him, he found that he wasn't any of those things really. He wasn't brave, he wasn't clever and he most certainly wasn't everything a person should be, this was only proven by how he had messed up so badly and had put him and Andrea into a situation he hadn't been sure they would escape from.

When he felt Andrea's hands on his shoulders signalling him to stop Milton wondered briefly, swallowing heavily, if he would ever be released from this guilt that had decided to torment him even after they had escaped.

Barely probably was the right word to go before that too.

When he turned he saw that Andrea's beautiful blue eyes had turned a shade of dull grey, tormented and sad in a way Milton understood was due to the reason what awaited them back in the Governor's apartment and how everything that had been destroyed by what he had done to them and the Prison group waited impatiently for them in that room to fix, something which Milton knew very well Andrea was unsure she could do.

"Are you scared?" He whispered, his dry throat causing his words to come out raspy and desperate, revealing him to be what he truly was.

Not Andrea though, because when she heard him and saw the look on his face she simply smiled, a dazzling smile that made Milton's stomach churn as hope once more filled him as though he had readily consumed a good meal – and really, he was glad of it even if the torment that was still apparent in Andrea's eyes refused to budge whilst that smile of hers widened.

"Of course I'm not," she lied and squeezed his shoulder gently, walking past him to make her way towards the apartment where destiny was waiting for them both, "everyone's got a job to do, there's no point in being scared of it now is there?"

Milton's brow furrowed as he followed her. No, he supposed there was no point but then again…

Phillip had been scared of it, but for another reason entirely. He had been scared of losing the responsibility that his job held, that without the responsibility he would lose a power that had kept him going more so than his need for his daughter to survive, a power of people needing him to protect them. Phillip had always wanted to do that, protect the people he loved.

Milton questioned when that had changed and why, before he threw the thought away and continued following Andrea towards the apartment.

"We checked everywhere," the redneck said, his voice a growly, guttural sound that made Milton bristle at how it was directed at Andrea in particular, "that bastard was nowhere in sight 'round here and none of the people here say they've seen him."

Andrea sighed and ran a hand down her face, her words coming out somewhat mumbled as she answered him, "and what do you want me to do about that? I trust them, and they have no reason to hide him in the first place after everything."

The leader, Milton recognized to be the person called Rick, shook his head with clear agitation and thumbed at his nose. It was apparent to Milton that the man hadn't changed since the last meet up with the Governor, in fact it almost looked as though he had become more paranoid and aggravated by the littlest of things and for him to be in the same apartment as the Governor had worked and slept? It was not going well for him.

Tyreese sat on the bed that had once been the Governor's, Michonne was standing next to him with her eyes flickering back to the bed and then to Andrea as though she was assessing something and when her lip curled up in anger Milton could only sigh inwardly, not even wanting to think of what the other woman was thinking when it came to the Governor and Andrea's relationship that had most likely been made clear to her.

Milton only moved in closer to Andrea's side at the sight of it, the overwhelming need to show he stood by her almost driving him mad at how Rick and his 'cronies' circled him as though he was some sort of god and Andrea the pariah in their midst.

Rick's voice broke Milton away from his musings, drawing his attention towards the man that kept flicking on/off the safety of his gun as he paced: "what would be helpful would be if you allowed us to question them," he muttered with an unease that made Milton's bowels tremble apprehensively, "one at a time with me or Tyreese, Tyreese in particular so they'll feel more safe with somebody that used to live with them asking them these kind of questions."

"Those fuckers were prepared to destroy us and our home man," Daryl interrupted with an angry mutter, crossbow hanging loosely from his back as he made his way over towards himself and Andrea, "the only talkin' some of them need is an arrow in the face for what they tried to do to us!"

He couldn't hold it any longer, "physical violence is definitely the way to get our people talking, isn't it? You and your brother are very much alike in that aspect."

"Once a butler, always a fuckin' butler sunshine," Daryl retorted before he turned away, arms folded across his chest as if that was the one thing that would protect him.

It was at that moment Michonne spoke, her words that whilst was meant towards him were in fact directed at Andrea, as though she was the only person in the room and that everything else around them was nothing but a speck of dust, irrelevant and meaningless.

"Merle's dead, the Governor killed him."

Milton immediately felt his throat close up and a wave of guilt and sympathy caused him to choke out words of an apology meant for the redneck, yet it was waved away by a low grunt from Daryl in general and thus the room once more fell into a torrid silence that was only broken by Andrea sighing again and falling to rest on the desk behind her and besides him.

It had only just occurred to him how Michonne was speaking to Andrea, as if…

Had Andrea really taken the Governor's position upon herself in a matter of hours from being released from that hell he had put them both in? Did she really contain such strength such as this one in taking a position like this, and simply not blinking even as she did so?

She amazed him.

"I can't let you interrogate them," Andrea finally spoke, her voice heavy with exhaustion that she tried to cover up by turning her back on them for a split moment to fall into the leather chair behind the Governor's desk, "that'll just breed even more hostility between our two groups. We should be working together, not against one another when the Governor is still out there."

"He could be hiding right now in this settlement, waiting for the right moment," Rick started to argue before he trailed off with a groan as he too turned away from Andrea before twisting right back around with his brow furrowed. "All we're asking for is one little thing and we'll…"

"No," Andrea cut across him with a fierceness that broke at the last second as her eyes fell on Michonne before they flickered back to the desk and the remnants of the Governor that lay behind on top of the table surface.

Quicker than a flash Milton watched as the woman pushed everything off the desk to the side with one sweep of her arm, practically dumping it on the floor with a hand coming to massage her forehead moments later as she took the last remaining item on the table (which turned out to be Phillip's pen) and dug it into the wooden desk.

He didn't know what the gesture meant, all he knew was that Andrea, suddenly confronted by the people whom apparently loved her the most, looked as though she was being closed in, like a tiger in a cage and Milton knew if he didn't act quickly then she would react in the same way as one and eventually snap and cause hurt that he knew she did not want to cause her friends.

Leaning in he brushed his lips against her ear as he spoke, "maybe it'd be best to call it a day and continue this tomorrow once you've rested. We've got people we need to see to first, this can definitely wait."

Milton drew back and curled his hand into a fist behind his back to stop him from squeezing Andrea's shoulder the way she had done to him before. It didn't feel right to do so just yet, not in front of her friends and the intimidating stares of both Rick and Michonne at his closeness to Andrea.

When Andrea didn't speak the advice he gave to her Milton simply swallowed. It looked as though it would fall onto him instead, Andrea's tiredness most likely one of the things that had trapped her from speaking any longer.

"This can be decided tomorrow. We've got people to check on, to see if they're all fine and not hurt," it surprised him how his voice hadn't started to shake, so a good start then, more than good enough for him to continue to speak, "because in this place we talk to people, not interrogate them using violence and threats and…"

"Maggie and Glenn say different…" Daryl tried to interrupt but Milton didn't care and cut over him once more, unable to stop himself from losing it completely with Dixon.

"We've made it clear that tonight is not the time to d-decide," he stuttered then but again he didn't care, not when he saw from the corner of his eye Andrea finally glance up and give him a look that renewed the vigour and strength he thought he had left behind the moment Phillip had stabbed him and left him to rot.

Shockingly (after what felt like hours instead of seconds) Rick nodded slowly and gestured for the rest of the group to leave, which Daryl did so fast it was as though the room was full of poison yet Tyreese and Michonne stayed behind which in turn only made Rick, Andrea and himself glance at them in confusion.

"I'm staying here for the night with Sasha," Tyreese said with a nod towards him and Andrea, a grim look on his face, "they both look exhausted and if the Governor does come back…They're going to need some people to stop him. I'm not leaving these two by themselves with no manpower because that to me…Just not right, Rick."

Milton felt warmth envelop him at Tyreese's words and he sent a grateful nod the man's way, "that'd be very much appreciated."

He hadn't had time to get to know Tyreese or his sister, but the little time he had spent in their company told Milton that they were good people and good people were hard to come by nowadays in the world they lived in and Milton for one wasn't going to turn away people who were willing to help them, especially if they added more brawn to whatever the Governor was likely to throw at them.

Andrea stiffened next to him as Michonne stepped forward to stand besides Tyreese, her eyes refusing to leave Andrea's as she stared her former companion down, "Andrea's coming with us, she's not staying here any longer than she already has." Her dark eyes remained fixed on the other woman, a gaze that Andrea answered with her own with a steel and might that caused the already thick tension within the room to congeal until he found it hard to breathe taking in the two women.

Suddenly Andrea spoke, her voice just as hard and unmoving as Michonne's had been: "I'm not leaving Woodbury," she said, "not when these people still need me, not after everything they've been through."

Something flickered in Michonne's eyes and Milton felt a sudden urgency to stand in front of Andrea, as though his form would be enough to break that gaze and thus get rid of the pressure that was so clearly being placed on Andrea's shoulders, all he had wanted to do was help Phillip and now that had been replaced with an overwhelming need to help Andrea in any way he could, even if it came to butting heads with the people who 'loved' her the most.

"You don't owe these people anything!" Michonne spat, a surprising amount of emotion (more than Milton had ever heard in the other woman) surfacing in her furrowed brow and flushed cheeks, "you came back before and then the Governor hurt you, and you expect me to stand by and let you stay here? No."

"This isn't your decision to make for me, Michonne!" Andrea yelled and the sound of her standing up from behind the desk and slamming her palms on the wood resounded throughout the apartment faintly reminiscent of a time when the Governor had done the exact same thing if results were slow or had gone wrong – it sent a faint shudder through Milton at the eerie silence that followed the heated outburst. "Do what you want here, but I'm not leaving these people no matter how much you want me to."

Milton watched as the dark warrior snorted. "Fine, then I stay here with you," her eyes moved over to his and the distrust there was clear, and really it wore on him because he had been there when she hadn't been, surely trust in that aspect of Andrea was not too much to ask for? "No more bullshit, I stay."

Rick, after what had felt like forever to Milton in particular, managed to find his voice to shut the warrior down completely; expressing that she was needed more at the prison than she was here at Woodbury which in turn led to verbal sparring match that ended with Michonne finally relenting in returning to the prison, nevertheless it was clear that she was less than happy with it and it showed in how she readjusted her sword on her shoulder angrily and strode out of the room with irate, forceful steps.

Andrea watched her go with a look that told him she was reliving the first time Michonne had walked out on her, a look that was too painful for him to watch as he swallowed and uneasily walked over to the other side of the apartment to close the door after Rick when he too departed, the door clicking being the only sound for half a moment as the three of them, himself, Tyreese and Andrea sat in silence.

The silence was necessary, but it didn't last because as if it was as easy as flicking on a switch Andrea was on the move from the chair she had been sitting at to stand up and rummage through the desk's drawers, hands flying as she searched for something that turned out to be a lighter which she immediately clicked open and placed in the middle of the desk she was sat at.

Milton watched as Andrea stared at it for a moment before a bright (and exhausted) smile came on her face as she turned to look at Tyreese, blue eyes staring him up and down until she sat back down again and let out a deep sigh, one that reminded him of better times when he had worked for Phillip, hard-working and resilient and forever sighing as though the world rested on his shoulders.

Only now did he realize how true that was when Andrea spoke: "thank you for staying."

Tyreese smiled warmly and shrugged his shoulders; he showed a loyalty that surprised Milton after everything but if he was going to stay that meant he too could be a possible suspect on the Governor's whereabouts, however that also sounded ridiculous and Milton dismissed his own thoughts away as though they were some incessant mutterings that didn't mean a thing and so focused his attention back onto Andrea and what her next move would be.

In the end Tyreese volunteered to grab his sister, check the perimeter and then stand watch for the rest of the night. Andrea had tried to protest, stated that she could do so but even he had cut across that because it seemed unreal, ridiculous that Andrea would do anything after everything. What she needed was rest, and not in this room either but somewhere safer, away from here where she could be as safe as possible away from the dangers that came with this room.

Andrea met his eyes at the click of the door that signalled Tyreese's leaving and smiled softly, shocking Milton from his thoughts in an instant at how she could even find it within herself to smile, to actually express happiness after, after…

He smiled back; chuckling as he did so, "how is it you find the time to smile even after what we've been through today. I don't know what it is that does it, but it's," another breathless chuckle, "…fascinating."

Her reply was simple.

"It must be the tea," she murmured with her smile still there, slowly getting up from the chair behind the Governor's desk and walking over towards him until they stood face-to-face with her eyes roaming over his face, no doubt in search for the glasses he had placed in his side pocket.

And indeed when she saw no sight of them her smile changed into a curious frown, hand cupping his face and rubbing a thumb over the back of his eyelids, almost as if she was checking if this was even real.

"They broke during the scuffle," he explained after she cocked her head to the side questioningly, brow furrowed, "I don't think they'll be able to be fixed without the right equipment and that's not going to be possible with how much work that needs to be done around here."

Andrea jutted out her lower lip and examined his face with a tenderness that made him flush under her gaze, glancing down at his shoes for a split second before the hasty touch of Andrea went straight into his pocket to recover the broken pieces and place them in her own pocket, patting it with a smirk. "I can fix that tomorrow morning. I can't have my second running into walls now can I?"

He hadn't expected that and it probably showed in how a nervous sweat had started to run down his forehead, "a second, your second?"

She looked at him then as though he was important, important in a way that he hadn't ever been before, not even to the Governor who had seen him more as a toy, a cog in the well-oiled machine he had set up Woodbury to be after the outbreak and someone who the Governor had decided he would be able to rip out and replace whenever he felt fit to do so.

The last person that had looked at him like that had been Phillip Blake the day of Penny Blake's birth, the day he had been called into that room to see Phillip staring down at his baby girl with eyes of love and adoration that hadn't been hardened by loss and destruction and hunger just yet, no, just love that had made Milton's heart skip a beat at seeing such happiness emanating from his friend on that very day.

To see Andrea direct such a look at him made it hard for him to breathe, yet he managed with a barely detectable gulp and a shake of his head before he was once more enraptured in the blonde woman's embrace with her arm looped around his as slowly she started to head out towards the door.

She staggered slightly and he held onto her tight, his own exhaustion seeping into his footsteps as he took them towards the door before he stopped completely, his left leg suddenly shaking somewhat terrible as a sudden nerve ran through his body and left him partly stunned so that he was unable to walk and with a slight grunt Milton found his body leaning into the blonde woman at his side to try and steady himself.

Her hand moved to his waist, her grip tightened around him, "hey there…you're deadbeat, quit moving around and we'll just…"

He let her lead him towards the Governor's bed, a feeling of dread rushing up his spine as he neared the familiar bed and the darkness that it had held previous times he had been here. Half of him wanted to yell at Andrea, to break free from her grip and rush in the other direction far, far away from this bed and the sin that it had held inside and yet he couldn't find himself to do so, waves of exhaustion causing him to simply be dragged towards the bed with no resistance left in him to fight it.

Andrea wrapped her arm around his waist and slowly they both fell back onto the bed that had formerly been their tormentor's, her body that had been so tense at his touch immediately softening the moment her body hit the comforter and curled around his body as though she was searching for a comfort that only he could provide with how she sunk into him in a sprawl of arms and legs.

She was tired, unbelievably so that when Milton met eyes with her he could see she was struggling to stay awake and that her chest was breathing in and out in such a slow, steady motion that he knew it wouldn't take long, far from long, for the woman beside him and sprawled over him to fall asleep.

They were both so drained that it didn't even faze him when he felt Andrea's fingers stroke his clothed shoulders and rest her head on his chest. It was as if he had lost the will to do anything, and for some reason instead of that making him feel a sense of dread he felt relieved even as his legs hung off the edge of the bed and caused his feet to cramp somewhat awful.

Andrea's feet knocked into his and he groaned, "That hurt…"

"That smarts, yeah?" Andrea laughed in response, eyes twinkling with amusement and her body shaking as she continued to laugh until she broke off with a yawn, hands moving away from his shoulders to pry at the boots that were on her feet with small grunts coming from her whenever her fingers slipped on the slippery leather, "a little help?"

Milton sighed but did as he was told the best he could, his feet running across the leather of Andrea's boots as gently he tugged them off with his ankles until each boot thudded to the ground, the noise of impact causing a relieved sound to escape both of them as they rested on the creaking bed with eyes tracing the whorls and patterns on the ceiling above them.

He remembered vaguely telling Andrea they needed to see people, to reassure them but his mind was fried and the only thing he could think about was that he was sleeping fully-clothed next to Andrea, her scent enrapturing him at the same time as lulling him to sleep as he shyly looked over and saw that she had finally fallen asleep with small, guttural whimpers escaping past her lips with each breath she took.

She fell asleep fast. He envied her for it.

Milton kicked his own shoes off and let his head thud back against the sheets, sighing heavily at how in a few more minutes he would finally get back into what he always did after a while. He would get back up and he would find his book, the book that the Governor had thrown to the side after he had found him and he would get back to work like he always did.

Woodbury needed him and in retrospect so did she.

He glanced over at Andrea and in spite of his tiredness he allowed himself a small smile, tugging himself up with a worn breath and a low grunt as his bones ached with weariness and pain, another small reminder of what had occurred back in that dingy prison cell before Rick and his team had found them.

Milton pressed a hand to his bandaged side under his shirt – the wound the Governor had left for him still made it hard for him to breathe when he moved in haste, which explained why all of a sudden he felt like he was going to collapse with the discomfort that had run through him as he slowly (so slowly) got to his feet, slipping back into his shoes.

Looking over to confirm Andrea was still fast asleep Milton took hold of one corner of the duvet and wrapped it around her as best as he could before he departed (limping, clutching at his side) to check on the citizens of Woodbury.

Your wish is my commands reviewers, thank you for taking interest enough to read this! Hopefully I won't discontinue this, here's to hoping that I'll keep going until the very end, yeah? I hope you enjoy the first chapter of this story so far!