Chapter 8: Breaking in the Comfort Zone

"Our comfort zones can be our greatest enemy to our potential" - David Cottrell

-.-.-

"I was disoriented," Rachel confesses, after she has told her story to the group of survivors that night by the campfire. "I had no idea what was going on. I thought it might be a fever dream."

"Aunt Lori said you died," Carl whispered, face pale while his mother wrapped him in an embrace.

Rachel smiled and told him, "She had no reason to believe otherwise hun, don't you ever doubt it." She squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.

Her sister still looked like she had been smacked, "They told me at the hospital you were going to medvac you to Atlanta with the other patients…"

"It never happened," Shane butted it, eyes dark, "The hospital were overrun with those things."

"I can't tell you how grateful I am," Rachel said truthfully, holding his gaze, "You got our family out and I'm so incredibly thankful I can't begin to express it." An indiescriperable expression flickered over Shane's face and he looked away before getting up and stalking over to Ed's fire. Rachel watched him for a second before focusing on the people around her.

"Somethings words fall short for things," Dale smiled kindly, "But this sounds like a miracle."

"It is," Rachel agreed, and it was. Somehow things had just happened to fall in the exact same pattern as the half-remembered, distant show she had been a fan of so many years ago. Rachel had found her family in the middle of the apocalypse and somehow, despite the Governor, cannibalistic monsters and Negan, she did not feel as afraid anymore as she did yesterday at the thought of Carl dying. For once, God has answered my prayers.

They were interrupted by Ed jumping to his feet, "You should mind your own business for once," He shook voice a hair shy away from a shout at Shane, "I said it's cold. I'm not going to put the fire out, so go on, pull the damn thing out. Go on!" He snapped, as his wife Carol pulled a flaming log out of the fire.

"Hell," Shane cursed, stomping on the fire to put it out and Ed looks torn between smacking his wife or smacking Shane.

"Thank you," Carol tells Shane politely as the fire recedes and Ed stomps away.

Andrea butted in, "We need to talk about what happened today, Merle was out of control. Something has to be done or he'll get us all killed."

"I cuffed him," Rachel frowns, "But I noticed that his pupils were dilated, I think he was high off of something…" She thought aloud. "If he is using drugs he shouldn't go out again, it could be dangerous." She said, leaning towards Andrea's statement.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear about what happened." Dale said, tugging on his wide brimmed hat thoughtfully.

"You think he can do anything?" Rachel said doubtfully, Merle was a six foot eight redneck with a bad temper and a drug problem, if he decided to attack anyone in camp, or abuse drugs again it could pose a serious problem. Right now he was sleeping off the withdrawal in the tents. Rachel did not know what to do, now that Merle had survived Atlanta, but he needed to be corralled somehow, and fast before people got hurt.

Also speaking of serious problems, Rachel thought, hadn't Ed been abusing Carol? She couldn't remember clearly but she knew Ed had been a minor character who died before reaching the prison.

"Maybe," Dale said, a frown twisting the corner of his mouth, "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that though, we are going to have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."

"We will see," Rachel said, despite the cold stone sinking in her gut.

-.-.-

Rachel kissed Carl goodnight and joined Lori outside the tent. To her surprise, Lori was smoking a cigarette sitting on a lawn chair.

"I haven't seen you smoke one of those since we were teenagers," Rachel said gesturing to the smoke in her mouth.

"My sister just came back from the dead, I needed one" Lori said, a laugh dying in her throat. "I thought you were dead." She said again, to herself.

Rachel sat down in the lawn chair next to her, "So did I," She confessed. "Once I was shot, I thought it was all over. Instead I woke up at the end of the world."

Lori held out the end of the cigarette, and Rachel despite many years since she had smoked, took it.

"We left you there," Her sister said softly, "When Shane came back and told us what happened at the hospital, I had no idea what to do… Carl was inconsolable, he blamed Shane you know. For everything. For you getting shot, for you being left back in the hospital." Lori laughed, sounding a little bit broken, "Hell, I think that kid blamed Shane for the whole damn apocalypse."

"Carl's always been somewhat of a hothead," Rachel said considerably, wishing she had a cup of coffee, or alcohol for this "He gets that from Dad."

Lori's mouth twisted upwards, but it was not a smile. Instead it was a sharp, broken thing that echoed dark thoughts. "He's a lot like Dad," Lori said, then looked at the cigarette considerably, "He hated these too,"

"Oh yes he did," Rachel teased, "I remember that one time in high school he caught us smoking on the porch, I got grounded for two months while you came out smelling like roses." She teased.

Lori blinked at her, eyes going wide like she did when she was trying to convince their father she had nothing to do with stealing the cookies out of the jar. "I don't recall," She joked, "Me, rebellious? Never." The sisters spared a glance and broke out into soft chuckles, something shifted in the air between them. Rachel felt more relaxed, and at peace since the first time she had woken up in that hospital room.

"That's what this is though, isn't it?" Lori sobered, looking up at the night sky "It's actually the apocalypse. I haven't seen any help, any military, government, or medicare since we got here Rachel, I don't think anyone is left."

"There are people out there," Rachel told her, knowing in her heart that even beyond the many people she'd face, that there were a few good people still left. "I know there is."

"You think?" Lori said, taking another drag. But it was not a question, and Rachel did not have an answer.

-.-.-

"Good morning!" Rachel called cheerily, as she greeted the camp sunnily refreshed after a long night of sleep.

"Hello!" Dale called from the top of the RV, before swinging down his ladder and making his way over to Glenn.

"How're you doing this morning?" Rachel asked politely joining him walking side by side.

"Look at 'em. Vultures. Yeah, go on, strip it clean." Glenn said glumly directing a sad facade at Morales holding a wrench.

"Sorry, generators need every drop of fuel they can get." Morales said, wiping his dirty black hands on a rag. "Got no power without it."

"Sorry, Glenn." Rachel said, knowing that they had no need for a toy car.

"Thought I'd get to drive it at least a few more days." Glenn muttered.

"We will get another," She offered, "When we do it will all be yours." she promised. Flashy cars with loud colors were never her flavor anyway for cars. Nor, did she know much about them. It was something she had put off in both of her lives, one of those things we wanted to learn but never got to before the end.

"I think it is just the stupidest way to break-"

"Mom!" Came a call from the woods.

Rachel's heart stopped dead in her chest. "Carl?"

"Mama! Mommy!"

"Carl!" I forgot something- was the only thought going to her head, her feet moving before she could even think in the direction of his scream. Something was supposed to happen. CarlsindangerhowcouldIforgethemightdie.

"Rachel come quick! Over here!" Lori yelled.

"Mom!" Carl called as she barrelled into the clearing, before her eyes caught him.

"You're okay!" She wrapped him into her arms, but her eyes were up scanning the area. "I've got you." She whispered before her eyes landed on the zombie eating a dead deer, it seemed more preoccupied with it rather then the children. "Nothing bit you? Nothing scratched you?" She asked, eyes scanning him quickly before returning to warily watch the walker.

"No, I'm okay." Carl said, his hands clasped tight around her waist.

"It's the first one we've had up here." Shane said from behind, hand on an axe "They never come this far up the mountain."

"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what." T-Dog said before they both preceded to knock it to the ground. Shane raised his axe and with one fell swoop knocked it's head off, but it didn't come off with a thunk. But with a squish, the rotting decay spraying everywhere. The odd thing was that the head still opened and closed it's maw like a gaping fish. It's one thing to see on a TV screen, but it's another deal seeing it in real life. Rachel thought, every hair on the back of her neck raising in fear. The fact that her enemy could only be downed by headshots was something to be feared. Humans were prone to many injuries, these walkers? Had just one outright weakness.

Then the bushes rustled, everyone readied their weapons before a rough dirty man stepped from the foliage.

"Oh, Jesus." T-Dog sighed as everyone relaxed their weapons in relief, not that the man seemed to notice.

"Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it." The man, who could only be the infamous Daryl cussed, throwing his bow back "All gnawed on by this filthy, disease-bearing, Motherless poxy bastard! "

Disease-bearing, Motherless poxy bastard, Rachel thought wryly, her mouth curling against her will, I will have to remember to use that one day.

"That's not helping." Dale said sternly, face pinched like he sucked on a lemon.

"What do you know about it, old man?" He rounded on Dale, "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'on golden pond'? I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, Cook us up some venison."

"Well it's a damn shame we can't do it now." Rachel stepped up, "I don't think cutting around it would work."

Daryl rounded on her, "Who the hell are you?" he narrowed his eyes.

"I'm Rachel Grimes," She said, patting Carl's shoulder fondly, "This boys mother"

Daryl nodded, dark eyes still on her, before partly addressing her and partly addressing the larger group, "I got some squirrel about a dozen or so."

"That'll have to do." Lori said.

"Thank you," Rachel added, which earned her a weird look from the archer. In another world, Daryl had been a fan favorite in the Walking Dead franchise for being loyal, brave and extremely competent. Rachel saw no reason to isolate him by being rude or unwelcoming to one of the best resources the survivors had taken for granted until now.

Rachel was pulled from her thoughts when the head growled, "Oh god." Amy said, face pale looking faint.

"Come on, people." Daryl said, sounding exasperated. "What the hell? It's gotta be the brain.

Don't y'all know nothing?" before taking an arrow and stabbing it into the brain.

"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up." He said walking into camp.

"Just hold on a damn minute," Merle slurred before stumbling out of his tent, hand covering his eyes from the sun. Rachel checked her watch, it was still early morning. This drug addiction is going to become a real problem, after all the apocalypse was full fresh out of coke dealers.

Daryl had to take only one look at his brother before he realized, "Ah hell, hold on." He tossed his squirrels to the ground completely forgotten before looping and arm under his larger brother holding him up.

"Heh, Darylina was out playing, I was out risking my preetty little ole' neck in Atlanta"

"Hey, hey, slow up" Daryl said, and Merle tried to lurch forward. The rest of the survivors went back to what they were doing but Rachel stayed and watched them closely, hand on Carl's shoulder.

"You'd best let me go!" Merle yelled, struggling to get away from the vice grip his brother had on him.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Daryl stated just before Merle was able to rip himself away, only to lose balance and fall to the ground in an embarrassing heap. Daryl did not even blink before he was there guiding his muttering brother to his feet and disappearing into the tent. The squirrels on the ground completely forgotten by everyone else as they went about their business.

Carl is the only one by her side when Rachel bends over and picks them up. They're all organized, each base of their tails knotted on a long piece of thick string. She looks down at Carl, "Son, have I ever taught you how to skin a squirrel?"

Carl just grinned and shook his head.

-.-.-

"Merle Dixon, is the guy wouldn't give you a glass of water - If you were dying of thirst." was the first thing Shane uttered as he found Rachel instructing Carl to save the bones of the squirrel to save for stock in stew.

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me." Rachel said primly, cleaning the innards of another squirrel. Keeping a close eye on the way Carl was holding his knife.

Then a thought occurred to her something she had once again, forgotten. Rachel dropped the knife with little regard and looked up to Shane with a small gasp.

"Shane, I forgot something by Atlanta." She said, wiping her hands off of the towel. "I've got guns there Shane, ones I took from the station."

"You left them IN Atlanta?" Shane said incredulously.

"No, just outside in the woodland area" She replied a little sheepishly. "I didn't know what I was walking into but I figured it might be a good idea to have a stash."

Shane nodded thoughtfully "and you've been there before In and out, no problem?"

"Yes. It's safer than Atlanta anyway. But I might ask some people to come along in case some things get hairy." Rachel. "It's not fair of me to ask I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would too." Rachel nodded to Lori.

"We need 'em to protect camp. It seems to me what you really need most here - Are more people and more guns"

Shane looked thoughtful, "What guns?"

"Six shotguns, Two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns."

"and your Ammo?" He asked.

"700 rounds, assorted."

Shane patted her shoulder and whistled, "Damn, you went through hell to find us didn't you?"

Rachel just smiled weakly, if I'm right on what's to come then this is only the beginning, She wished she could tell Shane.

Carl who had been silent up to that point, interjected "Mom, I don't want you to go. To hell with the guns."

Rachel looked carefully at the tears forming in the trellis of Carl's eyes, "I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy. Carl, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They might come to Atlanta and if they do they'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn them. The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer. This bag? Can save their lives."

"These are our walkies?" Shane interjected.

"Yeah." Rachel sighed "The one's from the '70's that don't match other bandwidth. I need that bag, Shane. WE need that bag. It can save our lives." Then she looked down.

"Okay?" She asked Carl, who still looked upset, but more understanding.

"All right." Carl looked down at his hands, and Rachel squeezed him into a hug before going off and finding Carol to ask her to cook the squirrel meat for the camp later that night.

-.-.-

"Rumor is you have the count of the camp's blades." Rachel said, walking up the Dale sitting with Andrea and Amy helping them washing clothes.

"Yeah, but what do you need the blades for?"

"I left a bag of guns just outside of Atlanta, I'm going to ask around see if some people want to come with me to do a quick pick me up." She replied. "I was hoping you might have a spare hatchet to lend me, I dropped mine."

"Uh, I -well, yes." Dale uttered, blinking a little in shock before dusting off and joining her.

"Hey wait," Andrea called, seemingly getting out of a quick and heated conversation with her sister. "You said this is OUTSIDE Atlanta?"

Rachel gave her confirmation and Andrea told her that she was going to join them. Going around camp also gathered T-Dog and Glenn before Shane pulled her aside.

"I think we have a problem," Shane told her seriously. "It's those Dixon brothers, Merle is so doped up he can't say is own damn name and I'm don't want what happened in Atlanta is going to repeat itself."

Rachel nodded, "I've been keeping an eye on them myself," She confessed.

"Alright, I think I'm going to stay here and watch them for anything. Don't trust them" He told her.

Rachel nodded along but thought about the Daryl Dixon she had known from the T.V. screen, obviously, things wouldn't pan out like they did the first time now that the first major event had been dodged but Rachel did not know Daryl now. Didn't know if he would grow and develop into the same man she had once admired on a screen.

"Alright, I'm going to take Carl to catch frogs by the quarry." Shane jerked his thumb back to the small circle of fresh water the survivors had thrived on. Rachel let loose a quick laugh, her loose curls bouncing with her, "God, good luck. If he's got my genes he will have no luck for that."

"Rachel, Shane!" They heard a call, turning around to meet him.

"Do you need me for this run?" Morales asked, walking briskly for them.

Both spared a glance at each other, "No, I suppose not." Rachel said, "We already have four people and we are not going inside Atlanta, just outside it a ways."

Morales nodded, "If that's the case then, my wife and I may head out."***

"What?" Shane look slapped.

"My wife has some family that was alive before the world went insane, we want to try to find them, like you did."

"No ones going to stop you," Rachel assured, "We get it, it's family." Morales looked relieved to hear this.

Morales nodded and gave Rachel a hug while giving Shane a firm handshake, "Thank you for being good folk and taking us in."

"It was no problem man," Shane said, "When are you heading out?"

"As soon as we get done with our goodbyes," he said, before walking back in the direction of camp.

"Well," Rachel told Shane absently, "Those guns aren't going to collect themselves. We will leave after Morales this afternoon"

-.-.-

While on the one side of camp, Rachel was preparing for the day trip to get the bag of guns. But on the other side of camp, Shane caught Ed hollering Carol on her laundry.

"Ain't my job, Missy." Ed said, flipping off one of his cigarette ash onto the clean clothes basket the women were cleaning. Jacqui and Amy looked scandalized, while Sophia tried her best to blend into the scenery.

"What is your job, Ed? Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?" Shane called out from behind them.

"Well, it sure as hell ain't listening To some uppity smart-mouthed bastard." Ed ground the butt under his heel.

"Tell you what, Come on." He muttered, grabbing Carol by the arm and yanking her away from the women.

"Le-let go!" Amy said, "I-I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you!" She said bravely.

"And I say it's none of your business." He said.

"Hey," Shane interrupted, "If she doesn't have to go anywhere with you that she doesn't want too."

"All right? Now you come on now or you gonna regret it later." Ed muttered into Carols ear, but it wasn't soft enough and the other two women heard it.

"So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed?" Jacqui stood with her hands on her hips.

"Now come on! You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business. You don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay? Now I am done talking. Come on." He yanked Carol's arm again.

"No, no." Carol muttered, dismay splashed plainly across her face.

"Carol, you don't have-" Amy started.

"You don't tell me what! I tell you what! - You think you can -" Ed rounded on her, yelling in her face. His knuckles tightening to white around Carol's arm as she whimpered in pain.

"Get off her!" Shane lunged and threw the first punch. Surprised, Ed let go and the men fell to the ground in a flurry of angry limbs and harsh punches.

"No! Shane, stop! Just stop! Stop it!" Lori called, running over.

"Stop!" Carol sobbed into her hands as she watched her husband get hit over and over.

After a few minutes the women were able to separate the men, "You put your hands on your wife, Your little girl or anybody else in this camp one more time, I will not stop next time." Shane threatened, as he spit some blood on the dirt. "Do you hear me?" He asked but Ed just glared at him hatefully.

"Do you hear me?!" Shane asked getting in his face.

"Yes." Ed said reluctantly, cradling his arm to his chest and only then did Shane back up.

"I'll beat you to death, Ed" Shane drove home watching him scamper towards the direction of his tent.

" Ed! Oh god! No." Carol cried, tears drying on her cheek.

-.-.-

The same time this was happening, Rachel was saying goodbye to Carl. "I've got to go honey," Rachel said sternly but softly to the young teenager, "I've got to help these people."

"But mom-"

"Now Carl," She said in a no-nonsense tone of voice, "I will be back within an hour. Maybe two, tops." Rachel reached up an tucked a piece of curly brown hair behind his ear, "It's just a quick errand and I won't be alone."

"Don't worry kid," Dale said, "They're not even going into Atlanta. Your mum will be back before you know it." He coaxed.

Carl regretfully let her go, "You better come back."

"Always," Rachel smiled and kissed his forehead before heading to the van everyone had piled in, "And we are off, like a thundering herd a turtles." She said cheerily before revving up the engine and turning off down the road.

-.-.-

Summary: Rachel connects with her son, catches up with Lori, Morales and his family leave and Rachel gets a glimpse of a dangerous enemy before his canon time.

Notes: This chapter is a little longer then usual, it's kinda an apology for being missing in action for a while. I had finals and I'm jumping straight into my internship so I'm going to be busy for the summer.

***Morales leaves early, I think he stayed behind an extra day because some part of him was feeling guilty about Merle on the roof in canon. There is going to be a direct consequence of this next chapter.

The whole smoking scene wrote itself, I swear. I don't know where it came from, but it seemed right somehow. I've never smoked in my life. Yet somehow I like to think of Lori showing this twisted dark side to her sister, because she is not all mint tea and laundry. She's lived two months in a world where humanity is at the bottom of the food chain, let's make her a little more kickass. I do not know how to get in the minds of children without making everything seem...whiny. I know that kids have their own logic and thought processes that are different from adults so I keep trying to reflect how I would try and handle the situation at Carl's age. Anyway, this chapter was about building some drama. Oh, there will be more of the Dixon's later too. But I wanted to flesh out some of the characters more...

This story is a slow build, I could go into further details in these chapters, like describing scenes more but I always find myself too impatient to write down the plot I've got in my head and notes. To some of the reviewers, I do NOT have a romantic partner picked out as of yet. I might pick one, but romance is taking a backburner to the plot.

Question of the chapter: If you could pick one person, outside your family and friends, to have with you during the apocalypse, who would it be and why?

My Response: Well. Sometimes I ask these questions before I think about it. Maybe Bear Grylls. Because he is the most famous survival specialist I can think of off the top of my head. T.V. survivalist or not, he still makes a living knowing things about the country and landscape and I think what he'd know about the lay of the land would be dead useful in any situation.