Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead.
"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." Abraham Lincoln
"So, tell me about this home of yours." Roxanne asked, now sitting in the passenger seat of the car that Glenn and Daryl drove up in. Daryl, in turn, scoffed.
"It's a prison." He grumbled, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Well, doesn't that sound warm and inviting." She replied, sarcasm dripping from her mouth.
"It's a place we've made our own. We've got fences and brick walls. No breakable windows, no blind spots. It's a fortress. We've got running water too, which is pretty sweet." Glenn excitedly said, trying to cut the tension. Daryl knew he should probably be doing the same; they had to convince these people to stay. If not for Carol's sanity, then for the kids.
"That little boy you got with ya. How old is he?" Daryl asked, easing his grip on the steering wheel. Roxanne looked down at her lap and sighed.
"Elliot's 6. And before you ask, no; he isn't ours. He's an orphan. About a month into this apocalypse, my friend Josh and I joined a group. We met Dan and Jay there. It was a pretty big group, around 20 people. One night, biters attacked. They came right out of the fucking lake we were preying near. Yeah, who'd have thought those bastards could swim? Anyways... Elliot's parents were killed. Dan, Jay, Elliot, Josh and I were the only survivors." Roxanne explained, twiddling her thumbs.
"When did you find Sophia?" Daryl asked.
"Who's Josh? Is he dead?" Glenn asked at the same time. Roxanne shook her head and groaned.
"Unless you plan on relaying every bit of information I give you to your high and mighty leader, I'd suggest you stop asking questions. I don't feel like repeating myself a million times." And with that, the rest of the ride was quiet. Until...
"We were at a farm, near the highway. We were dealing with a lot of stuff, so we didn't get to check the car often. After the second week of Sophia being gone... We thought-" Glenn stated, receiving a scoff from Roxanne.
"You thought wrong. Tell me, did her mom go searching? Or did she make you manly men do it while she cried her eyes out?"
"Shut up!" Daryl exclaimed, hitting his hand on the steering wheel, causing Glenn to jump and Roxanne to snicker. Daryl didn't want to sit around and listen to this woman insult his friend. But Roxanne touched a nerve, proving her right and therefore giving her a chance to be smug without any guilt.
"I can't wait to meet this lady, y'know. She's gonna find out what a real mom is." She said, folding her hands behind her head. With a glance to the side mirror, she saw the van behind her that contained what she held close to her heart; Sophia. The sight reminded her of all the times she shared with the girl. Times where she taught the girl how to shoot a gun. Times she's saved the girl's life, and even when hers was saved by a lucky shot once or twice. Even times where she consoled the girl when she cried, lulling her to sleep with extravagant adventures and tales of the life Roxanne led before. Things that this other woman didn't do because she didn't want to get her hands dirty or because she was too upset. The journey to this prison... It was all worth it. Sophia needed closure. She needed to face her demons, as does Roxanne.
"Oh, and what makes a real mom?" Daryl spat, gripping the wheel tight. This lady is a real smug bitch and she's getting on his nerves.
"A protector." Roxanne growled, her voice equally as venomous as his.
Moments later, the prison gates came into view. Roxanne was in awe but refused to show it; she didn't want these people to hold a fortified sanctum like this over her head later when she chose to leave. She didn't plan to stay long. Maybe a few nights of good rest and meals that she herself didn't have to either find or hunt before her little family parts ways with these strangers.
After a little bit of biter killing to get through the entrance gate, Roxanne was met with quite a sight. A small group of people had come out to see what the commotion about. A scruffy old man, a tall and stubbly man, a kid with a sheriff's hat on, a black woman with a pair of swords on her back and a pretty brunette who looks not so innocent. So cautious. But... Why wouldn't they be? Their men left in one car to go get supplies and came back with a van in tow, full of survivors.
Roxanne got out of the car and leaned against it; she should make them come to her. In her mind, she's the one to be thanked, not them. The tall man with short brown hair and a stubby overgrown 5 o'clock shadow walked over to Daryl and they started whispering. Roxanne was counting how many seconds it took for this man, the leader of this new group, to come over and interrogate her.
It took 20 seconds.
"I'm Rick Grimes. I'm the, uh.. leader of this group." - Roxanne noted how unsure he sounded and mentally scoffed at the lack of confidence this man possesses. - "I understand you... found her."
"Yep." She replied, looking him in the eyes before continuing; "I understand you have room to accommodate my people." Rick let out a sigh of relief before nodding.
"Yes, we do." - He then looked to the van that was parked behind the car that Roxanne came in and gestured to it. - "They can come out now. We won't hurt them."
"I'd hope not. Besides Blondie, I've got a 6 year old and his parents in there. I don't need you blowing them to smithereens." She remarked, gesturing to the guard tower in the distance that held a sniper. Rick nodded and made a gesture to the man in the tower, telling him to back down. In turn, Roxanne turned to the van and nodded her head, causing the doors of the van to fly open. One after another, people piled out and came over to stand opposite of Rick; Sophia made a point to hold Roxanne's hand. Rick's jaw slouched as he looked Sophia over. She grew up, you can tell from her eyes.
"Hi Mr. Grimes." Sophia muttered, suddenly becoming shy. The corner of Roxanne's mouth twitched upwards; she'd seen this kid mouth off about what she'd like to say to former group-mates but seeing an old group-mate in person renders her speechless. Thankfully, Roxanne saw it coming. The girl grew stronger and more confident over the time they spent together, but it's still hard for her.
"Sophia, I'm... I'm so sorry." In the blink of an eye, this man, a leader, crumbled to his knees in front of the teen. Sophia and Roxanne were surprised, though the latter didn't show it.
"Mr. Grimes..."
"No, it was my fault. I'm so sorry, Sophia... I left you to find your way back because of a walker and I shouldn't have done that. I just... I'm so sorry, Sophia."
Moments later, a woman came running outside from the prison, wailing.
"SOPHIA!"
Well, here comes mommy dearest. Roxanne thought, watching the woman run over. At the sight of her mother, Sophia's eyes teared up. She thought this woman, the woman who raised her for 12 years, was dead. She never thought she'd see her again. Roxanne looked down at Sophia and saw the tears threaten to falland she couldn't tell if they were happy or sad ones, so she chose to leave it alone. This was an emotional reunion and she herself couldn't butt in; not unless Sophia wanted her to.
"Oh lord, my baby's alive!" The woman cried as she flung herself towards her daughter. Damn, how old is this lady? Roxanne asked herself as she took in this woman's appearance. Very short grey hair and dark bags under the eyes... Looks like Jaime Lee Curtis to me.
"Mom." If all eyes weren't on the girl who lived, they were now. Her voice was hoarse and full of hatred as she sniffed her tears away. The woman pulled away from her daughter for a moment to look at her.
"Sophia... What's wrong?" She asked, tears still flowing. Sophia took the chance to rip herself out of her mother's grip and take hold of Roxanne's hand again.
"I almost died, mom. A walker almost ate me..." - She looked up at Roxanne with a glazed look and gave a small smile. - "Mama saved me."
"W-what? Honey, I'm your momma." The woman whimpered, reaching out to take Sophia's hand. Sophia, in turn, ripped her hand away as if she had been burnt and turned to look at her mother with a scolding gaze.
"No, you're not! Not anymore! You didn't keep me safe, mom! Not from dead people, not from dad and especially not from you! You didn't teach me anything! I would have died had it not been for mama! She clothed me, fed me and kept me safe and warm. She taught me things you never would have done... She taught me about surviving the end of the world! She didn't just tuck me behind her as she herself hid behind someone else! She put a gun in my hand and told me to shoot! And you know what? I did! And I was good at it! She taught me about independence! Something you know nothing about! Did you even look for me? Or did you have Mr. Grimes, Mr. Walsh and Mr. T-Dog look for you? You may be my mother, Carol Peletier, but you're not my mommy anymore!"
After her tirade, Sophia ripped away from her mother's now trembling hands and rushed back to her safe place; the backseat of her mama's 1993 Chevy G20 van. When the door slammed, all eyes turned to Roxanne. Most of them were confused, but some were filled with anger; Daryl's and Carol's.
"Wow." Roxanne whispered in awe. The level of hostility in Sophia's vocal onslaught against Carol was astonishing and left her dumbfounded. She knew that Sophia was angry and hurt, but not to that extent. After a moment of processing the words that came from Sophia, she was faced with a dilemma; the prison group. She chose to ignore Carol and Daryl's heated gazes and turned to Rick, who was still flabberghasted.
"I'm really sorry for her behavior. She's been bottling all of that up for a long time and the sight of her mother must have busted that bottle right open. Give her a day and she'll be ready to, y'know... come to terms with the new situation." Roxanne said, nodding her head. Rick snapped out of his stupor and nodded frantically, as if he understood. After a few moments of silence, Rick turned to Dan, Jay and Elliot to welcome them and introduce himself. During that process, Carol ran back into the prison while Daryl stayed behind, a focused look on his face as he stared at Roxanne. She, however, ignored his presence and focused on Rick's speech about how the Prison is run and stuff like that. After the speech, more so of a lecture, he escorted the group into the prison to give them the tour; after Sophia came back out to join her Mama, of course.
"Welcome to our little slice of heaven." The old man with a white scruffy beard stated as the small group passed by; he made sure to give the small girl and boy a kind smile.
"Look, Jay Jay! It's Santa!" Elliot squealed, waving excitedly to the old gentleman.
A little bit of innocence is all we need.
"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her." George Washington
Author's Note: Oh my goodness, you guys won't believe how happy I am about this kind of reaction! I knew the story was something we haven't seen before in TWD fanfics, but wow! 3
Again, feedback and reviews is greatly appreciated! The more reviews, the more obligated and motivated I become to put out a chapter faster! :D ~Shannon