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"How far away is the prison? Is it really tall?" Lucy snickered lowly again for probably the thirteenth time in a row as Daryl closed his eyes in frustration. This was maybe the twentieth question that Sam had asked in the past fifteen minutes. Twenty first question if you count the second. But Lucy counted as she talked and didn't. It looked like the only time Sam opened her mouth in the trek they had been enduring was to ask stuff.

"Aint that far now since we've been walkin' for miles. And I guess," he answers stubbornly. Lucy makes sure to hide her smile at the small questions, but nearly burst out laughing when Sam asked another one.

"Are there any monsters anywhere? Do you stab them?" Lucy covers her mouth to stop herself from laughing again as Daryl looked down at the ground with secluded anger. He looks at Lucy and sees she was trying not to laugh at the antics of the little girl. She removes her hand and smiles at him sheepishly. He narrows his eyes at her.

"She always askin' this much shit?" he mumbles lowly so the kid wouldn't hear. Lucy shrugs her shoulders in retaliation, her smile still in place.

"What can I say? She's an informative little girl. Wants to know everything." His brow furrows at this explanation.

"She's fucking four." She looks at him with the best smirk she could muster up on her face.

"It's part your fault because you taught her about the sun, and as soon as one of her questions is answered, she thinks 'I can ask more because he answered one!'" He begins to say something but is interrupted by the little girls voice again.

"Mr. Daryl?" she asks, turning around to look at him. He turns his head back to the girl and sees the questioning look on her face, and realizes that he didn't answer the question she asks. He clears his throat and nods.

"Uh, yeah there are some monsters around there, but we keep 'em away from the prison." She nods and turns back around. Daryl looks back at Lucy. "She's only four. How is she able ta talk so easily?" Lucy smiles.

"I don't really know. Even when she was two she could speak more English then most other two year olds. When this shit storm started, she was around people talking, and then just around me, so I guessed she picked up on words quicker then most. But whatever the reason she still talks. She talks and talks and talks and talks," she chuckles. "She never stops talking unless she's tired."

"Sounds like a pain," he mumbles. She shakes her head.

"It's no pain. She's my daughter. I gotta live with it. She just likes to talk, what can I say?" He snorts.

"Yeah, well make sure she stays quiet when we actually get to the place." Lucy nods but looks over at him with a questioning look.

"I thought you said they were good people?" she mumbles. He sighs for a second, staring at the ground, before looking back up.

"They are," he persists. "We've just...been through a lot in the past couple of years. A lot of bad shit's happened, and they're all sensitive to new people. When we get there, just keep that pretty little mouth shut and let me talk." She smirks at him.

"You think my mouths pretty?" she chuckles. He furrows his brow at the reply, but his cheeks soon turn red when he realizes what it sounded like. She smiles while he looks away embarrassingly.

"It's an expression," he growls. She smiles even wider.

"Whatever," she replies. He looks over at her with a persistent expression.

"It is," he irks on. She rolls her eyes.

"If it really is you wouldn't be perusing the matter. I'm just shitting with you, so drop it." He begins to respond but finally decides to turn back to the front and focus on where they were going. He had already embarrassed himself enough. Why the hell did he say that in the first place? He should have just said stay quiet. He spares a glance at her from the side and sees she was staring at Sam.

"What the hell are ya doin'?" he asks.

"Making sure she doesn't touch any of the fungus we're pass-Samantha!" she exclaims. Sam looks over from the colorful stuff that was hanging off the bed of the tree. Lucy shakes her head. "Don't touch that, sweetie. It's not safe." Sam nods and keeps walking ahead of her. Lucy looks back at Daryl. "See?"

"Haven't ya run into stuff like that before?" he asks. She nods her head but chuckles at the same time.

"We have but she's just so interested in nature it kills me! She wants to touch literally everything, learn about everything...she barely knows how to read but whenever we cross a bookstore she wants to go in to learn about bugs or flowers. That's probably why she asked you about the sun. Don't be surprised if she ever asks you to go out to the forest one day. Just say no," she chuckles. "It will only end badly."

"She really touch everything?" he asks amused. She laughs.

"Yup," she snickers. "Fucking everything. She's like a mini me," she mumbles under her breath so Sam would not hear. She hears Daryl chuckle and she looks over, her eyebrows raised. "Oh shut up. It's not like you have a kid to deal with...unless you do and I should not have said that-"

"I don't," he interrupts. She looks over at him, her cheeks red from saying such a stupid statement. "There's no one like that there. Just think it's funny that yer daughter likes the outside so much when her own mom don't." She scoffs, easing the embarrassment she felt.

"I like the outside, mind you. I lived in New York for God's sake. Walking outside was my main source of transportation when I wasn't taking the subway. I just don't want my daughter getting killed by nature." He rolls his eyes.

"She's not gonna get killed if she touches a bit of fungus."

"If you've forgotten Daryl, she's four! She'll die because she eats it!"

"Not all four year olds eat everythin' in sight," he replies. She crosses her arms.

"I'd rather not take the risk," she quietly says. "She may be smart but she's not that smart."

"Thought ya said she likes to read?" She places her hands on her hips and stops walking, facing him with the most annoyed expression on her face.

"Just because you like to read doesn't mean-"

"Are we here?" a little voice asks. Daryl and Lucy snap their heads to where Sam was pointing, and both are surprised to see the prison in broad daylight, the gates closed, a few walkers shifting around here and there. They had been so caught up in talking that they didn't even know they got there.

"Uh, yeah," Daryl states. He was still surprised he didn't see the prison coming. "Yeah, it is," he says, a bit more confidently. "Come on."

He walks through the bushes that led out into the giant field before the prison. Almost immediately, he's met by a walker, wanting to sink its teeth into his delicious flesh. Samantha clings onto her mothers leg from below. Daryl quickly shoots the asshole in the head, sending an arrow clean through the creatures eye.

"Nice shot," Lucy comments softly as she watches the biter tumble straight to the ground. Daryl does nothing but nod and continue onto the gates. Lucy glances around the area and her eyes finally land on a person looking at them. Two people specifically.

One was a young boy, maybe around the age of thirteen, or fourteen. He had shaggy brown hair that reached the middle of his neck, and he was staring at Lucy with an aggravated expression. Something told her that kid wasn't the most welcoming in the world. So she decided to avert her eyes to the other person there, who seemed to be maybe a little bit older then her, around twenty four or twenty five. He was Asian, with messy black but short hair.

"Daryl?" he says from behind the gates.

"Yup," he yells back. A second later the gates open and the three rush inside, while some of the walkers travel to the opened barriers to get inside. As soon as Lucy steps in, the doors close. She steps up and makes sure that Lucy was behind her. She sees the two people stumble up to them, and like Daryl said, she keeps her mouth zipped up, the key throw away.

"Who's this?" the Asian man asks. "Are they alone?" Daryl nods.

"Been like that for a while," he replies.

"What're their names?" he asks. Daryl points to each of them individually.

"Lucy, and the little one's Samantha." Even through her shyness Samantha still waved at the two new strangers. "Need a place to stay."

"Did you ask them the questions?" the boy asks.

"Why wouldn't I?" Daryl huffs. "They're fine. Just want to know where Rick is so I can clear it with him." Carl crosses his arms and glares at Daryl.

"It's just another mouth to feed," the boy states. Even if the statement annoyed the shit out of Lucy, she still kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to get into people she didn't even know.

"Even if it is kid, it aint your decision to make. Where's Rick?"

~%~

Sooner or later, Lucy found herself waiting outside some office, waiting on a verdict from this supposed leader. They had let her in eventually, that stupid boy getting to her. She couldn't believe the nerve of that kid. Apparently, the kid was Ricks son, but she didn't know that fourteen year olds were that much of assholes to strangers.

Sam was right in front of her, looking outside one of the prisons windows and starting at the little kids playing in the courtyard, yards away from her. "Mommy, look at all the little kids! They're all playing ball!" Lucy smiles up at her from the seat she sat in.

"If everything goes over well you'll be out there soon," she chuckles. Samantha looks over with a smile.

"Do you think there are bugs out there?" Lucy groans and places her head in her hands. Oh, if the world wasn't shit her little girl would be the biggest scientist ever.

"Sammy, we already went over this. No bug touching." Sammy pouts.

"But there's so many! Like beetles and ants and spiders-"

"You know what?" Lucy states. "You can touch whatever bug you want." Sammy smiles. "But here are the rules." And the pout comes back. "You can not bring spiders in here. There are already so many, and I know I have to deal with them, but if you bring in one spider purposely, I will lock you away. Second, if you get but by any bugs, you go straight to whoever is the vet here or to me, got it?" Sammy nods. "Then when we get clearance, grab away."

"YES!" she cheers. Lucy rolls her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, my little tomboy," she mumbles.

The door opens next to her and she looks up to see Rick step out. He looks down at Lucy and gestures her to come in. She gets up from her seat and points over to Sam, but he stops her with "She'll be fine, this area's cleared."

She takes that as an answer and steps inside the office, closing the door behind her. She glances around the room and takes a seat in a chair sat across from a desk. She sees Daryl leaning on one of the bookshelf's, his crossbow now resting on his back. His arms were crossed across his chest, but even if he was trying to act it, he wasn't the least bit intimidating to her.

Rick sits on the edge of the desk and faces her. Her hands sat in her lap as she tried to look as cool and collected as she could. She didn't know why she felt so worried though. The man had a gentle smile on his face, like he wouldn't try anything that she wouldn't be uncomfortable with. Wait a minute.

Did Daryl tell him what happened to her?

Oh she was gonna fucking kill him if he did.

"Lucy, right?" Rick starts. Lucy smiles, nodding her head.

"Yeah, and my daughters Sam," she continues. He nods.

"You two have been alone for a while now, huh?" he asks. She nods sadly.

"Yeah," she sighs. "I mean...I had a group in the beginning...one of the people in it was my best friend, but one day a herd came and we all got separated. That was only two months into this whole thing started. So since then it's only been Sam and I."

"She's four and she's only been with you? What about the father?" If she was asked that question one more time she was going to shoot someone. Taking an internal deep breath, she replies with as much calm as she could muster.

"He hasn't been around since the day she was born, but I've been taking care of her just fine." Rick nods, knowing that conversation was over.

"Daryl told me ya came down from New York. That's a long way from home." She shrugs.

"Honestly, we still thought we were in New York, or at least somewhere up the country. We had no clue we were in Georgia until he came along. No maps to look at anymore, so I guess we just kept running where the biters weren't. Really all we tried to do was thrive and stay alive, and we have been."

"Those two men you killed a while ago. Did they really try to touch you?" Lucy raises an eyebrow. Wow, this guy was very untrustful.

"Yeah, they did. First things first, if I am allowed to stay, I wanna get one thing straight. I don't lie. I never have, and never will. So anything I tell you, it's completely and utterly the truth. Nothing more, nothing less. I know you people have probably been together for a very long time, and that you're all family, but I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm just putting that out there."

"That's not what I'm pulling you in here for," Rick states amusedly. "Daryl already told me you're fine, and so is that daughter of yours. All I really wanna know is if you're going to help us around her. If you can pull your weight, you'll be fine to stay here." Lucy snorts.

"Course I can do that. Pulling my weight around places has been my life. You have no worry about that." Rick nods.

"Then welcome to the prison," he smiles. Lucy nods, standing up from her seat.

"Thank you," she replies.

"It's nothing I wouldn't want done for me and my family." He heads over to the door to leave, but turns to Daryl at the last minute. "Daryl, you show her to where she and Sam's going, okay?" Daryl nods, although Lucy could see it was slightly reluctant. Rick leaves but allows the door to lay astray, and Sam comes flapping into the room, her hands clasped around something.

"Mommy! Mr. Daryl! Look what I caught!" Her hands open up and Lucy covers her face with her hands again. In her little tiny delicate hands was a giant beetle, crawling around to somehow find a place to escape. Daryl actually snickers at this. Seems this girl was a lot more into the outside than her mother was.

"That's cool, Sammy, but I think ya should let the bug outside before yer mama goes crazy." Sammy looks up surprised at the word crazy and runs outside to the hall to let it go. He turns around to face her. "Gonna guess she likes a lot of bugs, huh?" She nods clumsily.

"Yup."

~%~

Lucy soon found herself near the end of a cellblock, Sammy a few paces behind her, looking around the place with interest. Probably looking for more stuff to capture. Daryl stopped at a cell right at the very end, a sheet tied up to act as a source of privacy. That must be annoying for couples. Lucy smiles.

"Is this where you're putting me, prisoner officer?" Daryl snorts.

"Home sweet home," he mumbles. She steps inside and places her bag down on the bottom bunk. Sam could sleep up on the top. It'd be safer. She turns around and crosses her arms.

"Did you tell Rick about my mom and dad?" His brow furrows.

"Why the hell would ya think I did?"

"The fact that he was treating me like a piece of glass. That smile? That's not used for strangers. And people only use that around me when people tell them my past. And I've always been pissed off with people who did." He narrows his eyes.

"And what would happen if I did? Maybe I needed to ta keep ya here. And look, yer here now, so I think ya should keep followin' those rules of keeping that mouth shut." She tilts her head.

"It's not pretty anymore?" she pouts mockingly. He shakes his head at this, and she could see she hit something. She places her hands up in defense. "Ok, I'm sorry. I'm not used to people knowing my past, but with a four year old knowing it it's inevitable that it'll spread." She faces him fully, her smile back on her face. "I'm really thankful I'm here, just not used to being around people."

"Daryl?" a voice says from the hallway. Daryl looks outside and Lucy spares a peek, and sees Rick was back inside. "We got a bit of a problem in the back." Daryl nods.

"In a minute," he replies. Rick nods and leaves the cell block, heading back outside. He turns back to Lucy, one foot out the passageway. Lucy had tuned back to the bed, unloading her backpack. "By the way," he starts. Lucy turns her head to look at him. "I don't go blabbing about people's lives behind their backs. I aint that much of a dick, so don't go blaming shit on people ya don't know is true."

She looks down at the bed in embarrassment for a second before looking back up and nodding. "Like I said, I'm sorry. No need to go on about it." She nods towards the door. "Now get out there and kill some walkers." She looks back down, but nearly misses the smirk that crosses his face. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad.

~%~

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