Chapter Ten
It took a while for the walkers in the barn to really sink in. Glenn sheepishly dragged himself around the outside of the circle as everyone discussed what exactly their options were. As they stood right now, there was no where they could go immediately. They had yet to visit the other farm and even then, they needed the food, fuel and supplies to support themselves when they got there. They were down to bare bones for everything but the medical supplies that had been brought back. No one could be expected to double the size of their group without everyone suffering.
Shane wanted to leave anyway, pack up and move to the other farm as soon as that one was deemed safe. It was only with a lot of discussion that he was persuaded to stay. It was like having a wild dog in camp though. Anyone who came too near got snapped at.
On the other side of the argument was Rick. Over the voices of terror, he calmly explained that no one had been hurt yet and that the walkers were contained for now. Wouldn't it do better to talk with Hershel and figure out if a solution couldn't be worked out? After all, it was his land and he was being a gracious host and allowing them to lick their wounds while camped out on his property.
"Herschel thinks those things are people," Dale reminded them. "It's his family in that barn. His wife and step-son."
"I think we can all vouch for their lost humanity," Grace scowled. Daryl was tense beside her and she could already feel what he was thinking. If the group chose to stay, they were leaving. The situation was driving a wedge in the group and splitting it in two.
"Just let me talk with him," Rick sighed, "We'll work something out."
"Fuck this!" Daryl stood. "We gotta move on from this place. Can't be stayin' here if there's things what wanna kill us sittin' on our front porch."
"No," Rick shook his head determined. "We need to have more time to think about this."
Grace rested her fingers on the warm skin of Daryl's arm to try to calm him a little. "So let's take the time to get all the information." Addressing the group at large, she raised her voice to be heard. "We up watch duty and have someone keeping an eye on that barn at all times. Anything that doesn't need to be left out gets packed away, ready to move the first sign of trouble. Rick talks with Hershel and another group goes to see about finding us somewhere else to go. Tonight we can sit down and discuss all our options when tempers aren't running so high."
Both Shane and Daryl snorted at that one.
"Ya expect us to stay here with those things so close to camp."
"Sounds like you're volunteering for first watch, Shane." Grace quipped back and the officer stiffened. "Dale, I'll leave you in charge of organizing the rest of the duties around here. Daryl and I will go to the other farm and see what we can work out with them. It might take some negotiating; we've got little to offer them as it is."
Looking back at the house, Glenn offered to stay behind and help keep watch. Carol had taken Beth up to her sister with Jimmy in tow. Sophia had stayed behind and she and Carl were being watched over in the RV by Claire. It had to be difficult being torn between the two groups the way Glenn was. For whatever reason he'd locked on to Hershel's older daughter and seemed to be starting some sort of relationship. Maggie and Glenn were cute together but if she honestly thought that her step-mother and step-brother were sick and could somehow be cured, there was little they could do. It would be sad to leave behind Glenn if he chose to stay but Grace couldn't see herself staying put if those walkers didn't get taken care of.
"Grace?" The voice at the entrance of the tent was low through the zipped screen door, still Grace turned immediately as high on alert as she was. Carol nervously rocked back and forth on her heels. "Can I come in?"
"Sure." Grace shifted the stuff she was sorting through to the side of the mattress leaving room to invite Carol to sit. Daryl had insisted that they pack up the tent and sleep in the truck. There was no reason to argue it, she'd rather have a layer of glass, metal, and plastic between her and walkers than the thin fabric of the tent. Of course it meant packing up their camp though. It made their choice far more clear than she was comfortable with.
If things didn't change, they were hitting the road as soon as the word was given.
The grey-haired lady sat cautiously on the mattress, crossing her ankles and Grace plunked down beside her. "Where's Daryl?"
"Helping Merle pack up their camp. We were going to move out there once Daryl was a little better but…" Her sentence dropped off there. With the barn so close to that camp it was even more dangerous a position than the one the group's camp was in. Merle had been furious when he found out and rightly so. Hershel keeping that a secret had put everyone at risk. The infection so close that they could smell it when they stood in the right place and the wind wasn't blowing too hard.
"Makes sense," Carol nodded, frowning slightly. "And you're leave once you're all packed up?"
"Yeah, Daryl's not willing to leave anything behind. Merle's coming with us. He's insisting on it. I think Shane wanted to come too but we need him here on guard duty. Dale's got them all on two hour rotation to keep everyone fresh. How's Beth?"
"Maggie took her. I think their whole family is a little upset with us right now. They're not speaking with any of us except Rick."
Grace snorted, "How's that going?"
Carol shrugged, "As well as can be expected I guess. They won't budge and we can't stay here if they don't." She twisted her fingers together in her lap, the action clearly displaying her discomfort. "I just," she took a shallow breath and tried again, "I want to come with you."
"What?" The question threw Grace for a loop and she felt her eyebrows drawing together in confusion.
"When you guys go to check out the other family, I'd like to come with."
"Carol…"
"No!" Carol seemed shocked at her own forceful tone but she carried on strongly. "I've got my daughter to think of. She's already been put in danger and those were the people who helped you get her back to me. I want to meet them."
"I was going to ask you to watch after Claire while we were gone actually." Grace admitted.
"We can bring her with. I'm not leaving Sophia behind, there's no one here to watch her. Everyone is doing guard duty but Lori and she's…" Carol grimaced.
Grace smiled a little. "She's had a rough few days."
In a whisper, Carol blurted, "She's being a downright bitch to everyone," then covered her mouth in shock. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," it was hard to fight back the laughter, "She's been in a mood for a while but like I said, it's been a rough few days."
"That's for everyone though." The other woman frowned, "I don't know why I said that. Guess I just need to let it out."
Grace responded with a nod, "So you really want to come with?"
"I'd like to be able to put a face to the story. Thank them for all they did."
"Daryl's not going to be happy to have tag alongs." Grace sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear. It would take some working to get him to come around but Grace felt oddly better with no excuse to leave Claire behind. She missed the instant communication of phones. Who knew what could happen with them leaving. What they would come back to? She had wanted to leave Claire under the responsibility of someone she trusted but she hadn't felt good about it. It was more about somehow trying to shelter her. It had been a stupid idea. An old world way of thinking.
"I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry." Carol wrung her hands again. "Better for us to stay here."
Grace shook her head. "It'll be a tight squeeze in the cab but we'll put the girls in the back with the luggage. Claire and Sophia get along well enough. They'll have fun there."
There was a small intake of breath as Carol nodded. "I'll get the girls ready then." She closed her eyes for a moment. "We are coming back right?" Slowly she opened her eyes to stare at Grace and judge her response. The look was one of stubborn determination.
Oh shit.
Suddenly Grace was snapped out of her self-indulgent thoughts. They were coming back. Of course they would. Why would Carol think any differently? "Carol," Grace started slowly trying to phrase her words as carefully as she could so she didn't hurt anyone's . "Are you trying to stop us from separating from the group?"
"No. I didn't. I… no!" Carol stammered, looking embarrassed.
That was enough for Grace to understand. "We're not packing up because we're leaving. We're packing because we need to feel secure. We'd tell you, I'd tell you, if that was what this was. We're coming back. I'm not running away from this. That's not who I am and even if that's what Merle was planning on doing, I wouldn't sneak away without any care for anyone else and Daryl wouldn't either. We've lost too many people."
"I'm sorry," her friend whispered and Grace found herself shaking her head furiously.
"Everyone else thinks that, don't they? That we're abandoning the group."
"Dale brought up the idea to Rick. They were talking about it when Dale was figuring out how to set up watch duty for tonight. Rick wanted to know if Daryl was well enough to stay up for watch and Dale made some mention of wondering if you would even be back." With a small shrug of her shoulders Carol's frown deepened. "Rick just kept talking about family. Something about families sticking together."
"Damn it!" Grace swallowed hard. "So everyone is thinking it. You should have just said as much." She tossed her hands up in the air. "I've gotta make sure that they don't think that we're running away from this. You pack what you need for you and Sophia then leave the rest of your stuff here. I want everyone to know we're coming back."
"Rick." Grace stormed across camp. "Rick, I need to speak with you!"
"Give us a minute, will you Shane?" Rick patted his friend on the back and the larger man walked off, looking curiously over his shoulder at Rick and Grace. "What's going on, Grace?"
"Do you really think we're leaving?"
"Aren't you?" The sheriff squinted his eyes in confusion. "You're going to touch base with the other group and see if we've got a place to stay there…"
"Cut the bullshit. Carol overheard you talking with Dale."
Sighing, Rick ran his fingers through his hair, caught in the act. "We discussed the possibility."
The snort of displeasure that Grace gave made Rick look up shocked. "Please. Were you simply too scared to come to talk to us about it? Why did I hear about this theory from Carol? You sure put a lot of effort into making sure that your family stays on the farm."
A flush burned up the sides of Rick's face under his stubble. "I didn't mean anything by it. You said yourself it would be safe at the other farm. Maybe we need to split up. Lori, Carl and I could stay here. We could meet-up with you after the baby is born."
Grace gasped. "This isn't about us at all is it?" Her head twisted to try and catch sight of Shane's retreating form but he was already gone. "You're worried about Shane." It was a statement, not a question. Rick was looking for a way to separate his family from Shane and push his friend to the side. It wasn't Grace and the Dixons that Rick thought were separating, it was the Grimes family.
Rick hung his head in shame. "How much did Lori tell you?"
They stepped around the topic that neither one of them wanted to bring up because it would mean a breach of confidentiality not to mention, if they other didn't know already, then it wouldn't be right to tell them. Rick knew. Grace wasn't sure how much exactly but Rick had either been told or figured it out himself the same way Grace did. It didn't take a genius to do the math. "Probably everything," Grace tried carefully. "You know that she was going to abort. I needed to know how far along she thought she was to make sure there wouldn't be complications."
Rick finally broke. "You're aware of the… thing with her and Shane then?"
She nodded.
"I just figured we could all use a break from each other and the barn being full of walkers gives me an excuse to ask for it without pointing out that I know about it. Shane doesn't know that I've been told. He's still hiding it. My best friend and he's still hiding that he jumped into bed with my wife after they thought I died." Rick gave an undignified snort of laughter that seemed completely out of character for the man. The sound made Grace's stomach twist with pity. He might have been playing it cool on the outside but under the cool exterior, Rick Grimes' whole world was shattering around him. "We'll join up with you again once the subdivision is cleared. Then we'll have our own house and it won't be such tight quarters. I just…"
"You need to start fighting for your family?" Grace offered.
The man looked up shocked, confusion washing over his face. "That's it! That's exactly it. I need to get them back." He shook the dazed look from his face as if he was just realizing why Grace had been so upset when she came over to see him. "Oh Grace, Carol thinks that I was under the impression you were leaving?" He groaned and put covered his face with his hands. "I'm messing this up. I'm messing this whole thing up." Dropping down to sit in one of the lawn chairs, Rick cradled his head. "I can't do this."
"Yes, you can." Grace insisted, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Through his fingers, he stared at her with sad eyes. "I can't even keep my own family together. How am I supposed to keep all of us together?"
"That can't just be on you. If you want to be the leader that's fine, whatever floats your boat, but you need to take care of yourself and your family as well. Otherwise you'll go crazy." As he listened to her speak, Rick was slowly dropping his hands and sitting up straighter. "Sometimes you need to be selfish, Rick. It can't just be about making everyone else happy because you'll never make everyone else happy."
He was nodding now as she talked, looking up at her with such wide eager eyes that he looked a lot more like Carl than Grace wanted to admit. Rick had a young personality; always eager to please and wanting to see the best in every situation or person. In that respect, Shane had a lot more going for him in this world. Rick's naivety wouldn't get them far if they came up against a hostile group. The attitude of authority and stubbornness that had Shane pushing for first place worked well in tense situations while Rick's calm presence was reassuring in the down times. The group needed them both and it needed them working together. They further pulled apart by Lori they were, the more they became exaggerations of themselves instead of balancing each other.
"Do you get what I'm saying?" She offered finally and Rick nodded again quickly.
"Shane's always said I was too soft."
"Well he's a little hard, if you don't mind that wording. You should push a little harder and he needs to stop pushing so much. Try to find a balance."
He exhaled heavily. "Balance. I just need to find a balance. Easy as that. You couldn't be more right."
"She's always right." Daryl's grunt made both of them turn toward him. He had his crossbow slung over one shoulder and had a sort of half smile on his face. Anyone else would read it as a grimace but Grace could sense that Daryl was in a good mood. It was almost as if he was trying to be playful or teasing. "How come ya ain't figured that out when yer already hitched?" He cocked an eyebrow at the other man. "Woman's always right."
Rick narrowed his eyes a little and stood up. "Guess it's been awhile since I had to deal with them. Must be a bit rusty."
With a cocked eyebrow, Daryl turned toward Grace. "Merle's 'bout ready ta head out. Ya 'bout done here?"
"Nearly," she brought her fingers to rest on Daryl's wrist, attempting to calm the tension that had been accidently dragged up. Rick wasn't upset with Daryl, he was upset with himself and acting out. He really did have a lot more in common with his twelve year old son than Grace wanted to admit.
There was a moment of quiet before Rick regained his focus. "Sorry for keeping her so long. Sure you want to get on the road so you can get back again before dark.
Still unsure of what was going on, Daryl looked again to Grace for reassurance and she nodded. "Whatever," he finally offered. "Merle an' I was thinkin' we might jus' camp there fer the night."
"What?" This was news to Grace. As far as she knew they were going to be back that night. It was why she'd had no problems letting the others tag along. "You weren't saying that this morning."
"Ain't mornin' no more." He shrugged.
"I'd rather be back for the night if we can manage it." Grace insisted looking between the two men. "Everyone would be more comfortable that way I'm sure. We're leaving a lot of people here to worry about us if we don't make it back." Then in a mumble, she added at the end. "And I said Carol could come with."
"Was'at?" Daryl looked shocked.
"Carol wanted to meet the people that helped Sophia and me when we were out there on our own. I thought we'd be back tonight so I said it was alright for them to come along."
"Them? Thought ya said Carol."
"Her and Sophia…" Grace swallowed and looked at Daryl nervously, rushing to get the words out. "And we can't leave Claire here unsupervised if Carol's not here to look out for her."
Rolling his eyes. "Merle'd be pissed if we left the girl behind here with no one lookin' out fer her. Got half a mind ta make ya stay behind but we need ya ta help us find tha way. Way I see it though, now there's three extra bodies, huh? How's tha' supposed ta help our cause? Those folk see us comin' an' we're bringin' a whole pack with us."
Grace shook her head. "It can only help! They're family people Daryl. Who would you be more willing to let in: families with defenseless women and children or a couple of snarly rednecks?"
"Grace?" Now both of them were looking at her with a mixture of confusion and disgust. "I don't think it's such a good idea to manipulate them like that." Rick offered quietly.
"Seems pretty fucked up if ya ask me. We're goin' ta these people for help. Shouldn't be guiltin' 'em inta nothin'."
"UH!" She groaned. "I didn't mean it like that. It just came out wrong is all. Carol asked to come with because she wanted to meet the people who helped Sophia. I couldn't say she could come along but not to bring Sophia. And if Carol is bringing Sophia then we should bring Claire. Simple as that."
"Well now, we can look after the girls here," Rick offered. "There's plenty of people willing."
"Not a chance." Grace's voice was a little bit harder than it needed to be but she wanted to make her opinion clear on the matter. "If this place was still safe it might be an option but, with those walkers so close to camp, I need to know where she is for my own peace of mind. I'm not putting anyone else in charge of looking out for her when we need everyone we can spare on watch duty. The last thing you need is looking after a fussy teenager." She tried to smile but it even seemed forced to her. "You'll have to talk to Carol about Sophia. That's not my place to be making choices."
"Fat lotta chance you got tryin' ta pry tha' woman 'way from her little girl." Daryl snorted. "She's learnin' ta keep a tight leash on her. Ya'd have better luck tryin' ta get 'em both ta stay behind."
Rick shook his head in disbelief, "Looks like the whole lot of you are going then."
It was difficult giving directions when she'd only been to the other farm once but Hershel had marked it off on a map and most of their route was simply based on the written down instructions. Merle insisted on driving his bike in front of the truck the same way Daryl had led the convoy out of Atlanta. Grace was wedged in the middle of the seat between Daryl and Carol.
Carol was twisted just enough to give the illusion of being completely focused on the scenery. It was probably an attempt to give Daryl and Grace a bit of privacy in the small space but it was just not enough room for the action to have the attempted effect. The girls were right behind them, riding in the back of the truck with the mattress and luggage. Claire and Sophia seemed to be quite cozy back there.
Daryl, on the other hand, would probably never be comfortable having so many people so close to his personal space. He still had enough problems with Grace sharing space with him. They had never officially lived together before and it was a learning experience as much as everything about this new world was. Sure they'd both spent days at a time at the other's home and had exchanged keys, but it was still staying over, not staying forever.
They had come so far since then.
He loved her. She loved him back. Verbally that was. It didn't seem like her feelings had changed for him. It had probably been a long while coming just as he had said. There were just some things you let Daryl say first for fear of scaring him off. The L word was one of those. It was the same way that they'd been together for a lot longer than either of them had admitted. One of the few things Grace was grateful for about this world was that it forced action. Everyone seemed to be able to easier about opening up. Maybe it had something to do with the plain and simple fact that any of them could die at any moment.
The end of the world had done wonders for their relationship in some sick twisted way.
She must have made some small sound which caught Daryl's attention because he tipped his head to her with a murmur of acknowledgement. "Hey?" he questioned, eyes darting between her and Carol.
"I'm alright," she whispered back. "You?"
Daryl snorted and slid his hand down off the steering wheel to rest on her thigh, giving her a light pat. "How much further ya reckon?"
"Another fifteen minutes maybe. It's was a good drive from there to the highway and the highway's a decent distance when you take the roads too. We aren't moving as the crow flies; it's these stupid roads slowing us down."
"If we didn't have tha truck ya'd be whinin' 'bout there being blisters on yer feet." He chuckled and rubbed her knee giving it a firm pat at the last moment. Stretching his arm out he took her under it and pulled her into his side. Grace couldn't stop her grin, she'd lucked out that Daryl's injured side was against the door and she didn't have to feel any guilt about leaning into him. She rested her head against his shoulder and stared through the windshield, looking at the wings on the back of Merle's vest.
When they pulled into the driveway there was no one to run out to greet them. It wasn't as if the family was expecting visitors. There weren't exactly neighbourhood potlucks and people who sat on the front porch and smiled while you drove by. Every person who showed up was a possible threat and with Merle standing straddling his bike the way he was, they didn't exactly look non-threatening.
"Wait in the truck." Grace offered to Carol and then tapped on the window that separated them from the girls.
Claire crawled over to the window and pressed her face close to it before sliding it open. "What's going on?"
"You stay in the truck with Carol and Sophia until we get you, alright?"
"I thought you said these people were friendly? How come we're stuck in the truck?"
"'Cause she said so, tha's why." Daryl growled and popped his door. "Sit yer ass back down and wait in the truck."
The teenager huffed but sat back down beside Sophia. There wasn't much room for them but they'd managed to shift everything around to give themselves space to stretch their legs. Daryl gave Grace a bit of a smug look that said, got her to listen to me, and Grace gave him a light shove.
"Out before they start worry who's in their driveway."
Daryl slid out of the truck and Grace followed him. They both walked over to join Merle who was staring at the front porch. "Someone's watchin' us. See there? Curtain keeps movin'. Don't much like the looks uh me, I bet." The older Dixon pointed toward the left side of the house and Grace found herself searching the windows for some sign of people inside. Sure enough the curtain in what Grace thought was the living room was moving. It was the room used as an extra bedroom at night but during the day the bedding was tucked away so the space could be used by everyone. She couldn't tell who is was from just the curtain moving but it could have been almost anyone.
"I should probably go first. They at least know me." She offered, "Everyone probably heard the bike anyway. There's gotta be a way to quiet that thing down. We're going to attract walkers."
"Least I can out run 'em on the bike."
"Oh, tough man," Grace snorted sarcastically and took a step toward the stairs.
"Where're ya goin'!?" Daryl grabbed her arm. "We don't know if they're armed or what. Fer all ya know, they'll shoot ya 'fore ya even git ta tha door."
That made her roll her eyes. "Of course they're armed. Everyone is armed. That's how we live now." Daryl's shocked look at her snarky attitude, made her soften her voice. "I'll be fine. They know me. Sort of." Carefully she slid her wrist from Daryl's fingers and tried to put on a brave face for him. Turning toward the house she lifted her hands in a nonthreatening way and called out, "Hey, everyone! Grace here. Thought we'd stop in for a visit. I've got some people who want to meet you." There wasn't any movement from the house so she took another couple of steps closer. When there still wasn't any movement, she started to lower her hands, walking toward the front door with more determination.
Grace was just stepping up on to the bottom stair when the door flew open, nearly shocking her into stumbling over her own feet.
"Grace?" The rough voice came from inside. Gabe was standing in the shadows just inside the doorway, with the barrel of a shotgun pointing out at an awkward angle. The teenager didn't seem too sure about holding the weapon. Everything about him seemed anxious, from his unsteady grip to the way his blonde hair was plastered against his forehead.
"Yeah, Gabe." Apparently Matt had left his son to stand guard and was out doing something. From the looks of things it was probably the first time. "We just thought we'd come by for a visit. Is anyone else around?"
"They're out in the shed working on the truck again. Marco hit a deer yesterday."
"Mmm roadkill." Grace laughed. "Mind if we come in?"
"Um," Gabe shifted from one foot to the other. "I should check with Etta first. She didn't like the look of those two, that's why she sent me out with the gun."
That made sense; Grace should have known that bringing both Merle and Daryl along was a bad idea. There was nothing more intimidating than the Dixon brothers side by side glaring you down. "That's Daryl and his brother Merle. I mentioned Daryl to you guys when I was here." Behind her Merle snickered, not even bothering to cover up the sound.
"Your boyfriend?"
Grace winced at the term but was still pleased that Gabe had remembered at least that much. "Yeah," she nodded, "They came along to make sure we stayed safe. Sophia and her mom are in the truck with another girl from our group. Let Etta know, alright?"
Gabe swallowed and nodded, turning to go back into the house. He seemed to contemplate leaving the door open for a moment but finally closed it behind him. Grace heard the lock click into place as he did it, followed by the deadbolt.
"Smart kid," Merle muttered. "Chickenshit but smart. Actually might not get hisself killed."
"Don't pick on him," Grace scowled. "You're probably the most frightening thing he's seen."
"Wha'bout walkers?" the older Dixon challenged and Grace had to roll her eyes.
"Aside from walkers, asshole. I'm guessing he was pretty sheltered before all of this and you look like you'd eat him alive if you got hungry enough."
That got a chuckle from Merle but it was Daryl who made the next retort, "Nah, kid's too skinny." He cocked an eyebrow at Grace and smirked. "Even walkers wouldn't go after 'im."
"You terrible," she shoved him. Behind him, Grace caught sight of Carol peering out the window of the truck and Grace waved to signal it was alright for her and the girls to come out.
Daryl looked at her curiously. "Sure ya want 'em out 'fore we even seen people?"
"They're fine really. Gabe's just being overly cautious. Etta won't let them shoot us... well maybe Merle but only if he can't watch his mouth around her." Before they left she'd already reminded him that his racist comments would probably get their asses kicked right to the curb. Merle seemed to be smart enough to just agree to keep his bigotry to himself. It could have just been because he wanted to get the hell of Hershel's farm with those walkers so close and not being able to do a thing about them. He was furious with the whole situation and almost left directly after the barn was discovered. Between Daryl and Grace, he had been convinced to stay but it wasn't an easy argument to have.
Merle gave a displeased grunt, his smile slipping and crossed his arms. Grace just shrugged it off and went to open the tailgate to let the girls out.
Claire and Sophia were both eager to see who was in the house. On the way over Sophia had chattered almost nonstop about the other family. As she got out of the truck, she looked at the house and yard, searching for her playmates.
"Where's everyone?" She turned, addressing both her mom and Grace.
"Probably inside," Grace offered. "We'll see what Etta says when she comes out."
Carol put her arm around her daughter's shoulders and pulled her in. "We just need to wait, Sophia. They're right to be cautious about so many strangers."
"Grace and I aren't strangers!" The girl insisted, pouting a little but she stood obediently close to her mom and settled down a little.
They didn't have to wait long because soon the telltale sound of the door locks clicking again echoed from the porch. Little Etta pulled the door open and frowned down her front steps at the group. "Just what exactly are you all doing standing down there?" She laughed and shook her head. "Get up here and inside so you can introduce everyone." Opening her arms the old woman gestured widely for them to come inside.
Everyone in her small group looked at Grace but she just smiled, "We figured with you arming the kids it would be easier to keep us all outside. Wouldn't want anyone getting startled and causing an accident." She walked up the steps, flanked on either side by one of the Dixons and lead them toward the old woman.
"In, in!" Etta hurried them along, her scowl turning into a large smile as she stepped aside so they could enter the house. "This isn't everyone is it?"
"We left the rest at Hershel Greene's farm." Grace nodded. There's quite a few more."
"Good, good! Always room for more. You should all come to visit, the whole group."
"We'll all visit soon." Grace agreed. "We're here on a little bit of a mission today."
The old woman frowned and shook her head, "Pish-posh, you need a good visit. Everyone into the living room. The children are playing in there. Come and sit down!"
Daryl shot Grace a distressed look but Grace just shrugged it off. She just hoped that he and Merle would be on their best behaviour so they had at least a chance on convincing Etta and the group to let them stay.
Alicia must have spotted Sophia through the window because she bolted past Gabe's arm to get to the other girl. The two squealed and hugged each other, Alicia taking her friend by the arm and pulling her into the living room where the other children were waiting. Gabe was standing in the doorway, his gun now leaning beside one of the armchairs. He looked a little bit more relaxed now that he wasn't holding the weapon but he still kept eyeing the brothers nervously.
Sophia and the children were playing quietly on one end of the room, but Etta shooed them down to the other where there were three well worn couches, two lazy-boys and Etta's rocking chair. Merle grabbed one of the lazy-boys, while Carol and Claire sat down on one of the couches. Daryl looked at Grace and she pointed out one of the other couches. He sat lightly, as if worried that he would ruin the couch and Grace settled herself beside him. "Still got our boots on," he whispered.
"This room gets a lot of traffic. Just don't wear them anywhere else in the house." Grace responded.
"Gabe," The elderly woman called to the boy and he gave a bit of a jump. He'd been focusing rather hard on Merle. "Run outside and get the boys from the shed."
"And Char?"
"Everyone." Etta nodded. "We've got visitors. Stop at the garden and get the hens too."
"Chickens?" Daryl whispered again.
"She means the women. They're probably out weeding or something." Daryl nodded slightly but still seemed confused. He was even more worried when Etta turned straight to him and pounced.
"You're Grace's young man, correct?"
"Huh?" He grunted in response.
Luckily Merle picked up the slack. "Ol' man's more like it. Ya'll have ta excuse my brother. He was dropped one to man times as a kid."
"Shut it, Merle." Daryl grimaced with embarrassment.
Grace fought to keep her hands to herself and not reach out to sooth him. He was tense enough without worrying about what people thought about them touching. "This is Daryl Dixon." Grace offered instead, "And the rude beast over there in Merle Dixon, his brother."
"Sophia's mother?" Etta questioned Carol.
Carol nodded, "Carol Peletier, pleased to meet you."
"Is this your other daughter?" She asked, indicating Claire and both shook their heads.
Grace searched for the words to explain Claire but settled for the least revealing while still being honest. "This is Claire Brewster. She's from the same town as myself and the boys here. She's been travelling with us."
"So young," Etta smiled sadly, whispering to herself, "Families torn apart..." The slam of the back door interrupted her thought and she jumped focus, "That will be the others."
The rest of the group piled in like school children coming in for recess, all both a little eager and nervous to see these new people. Around the circle they went, each person in turn giving a small gesture when their name was mentioned or offering a hand if they were close enough to shake hands. Etta led the introductions, pointing everyone out in turn. When she was satisfied enough with the introductions she clapped her hands. "Perhaps one of the men would be able to fix the truck we've been having trouble with?"
"It's fine, Ma." Eli protested.
"Don't be foolish, it looks just the same as that one they brought with them. We'll have it fixed up in no time."
"Actually," Grace had to interrupt. "Can we talk to you first, Etta?"
The woman narrowed her eyes with concern. "Yes, that would be fine. Without the children, right?"
"Yeah, I think that would be best. Is there some place...?"
"Gabe can take them to the porch." Etta offered immediately.
Matt nodded at his son, "Back inside if you see anything. Don't second guess."
The teen looked nervous but nodded. "Sure thing. Come on guys." He started herding the children outside.
"Do you want me to help?" Claire offered, quietly. She hadn't spoken since getting out of the truck, her timid reaction to strangers returning with vengeance.
Grace looked at her, checking for signs that Claire was just volunteering because she felt obligated. "If you want," Grace offered. "You can stay though."
"I'd rather go outside." The girl insisted and Grace gave her a small smile, "Alright."
"Keep an eye on Sophia, please." Carol requested timidly.
Claire shook her head in agreement, "I will, Carol. I promise."
Carol cast a nervous look at her daughter and tucked her hands under her armpits as if trying to stop herself from reaching out. "Thank you," she whispered.
The teenagers herded the children out of the living room, the mass of them tumbling over each other in an attempt to get outside as quickly as possible. When the children had left the room the remaining adults settled into chairs, waiting to hear why Grace, Daryl, Merle and Carol had travelled to see them.
Matt was the one who broke the ice, clearing his throat and addressing Grace. "I'm sure we're all wondering, but just what is it that you're here for. Not that we don't appreciate a social call but it seems to be more serious than that."
Merle snorted from his lazy-boy. "Tha's one way ta put it. We got a bit of a walker problem."
"We have a proposition of sorts." Grace interrupted before Merle could take it any further. The last thing they needed was to get into what was happening with Hershel's farm and the barn full of walkers. She was quite clear that this group didn't feel the same way he did and was quite alright with killing walkers on sight. There were no delusions about them just being sick people. "We were wondering if we could stay here for a while. I know it was offered but I want to make sure you're well aware of what you're getting into before you say yes."
"I already said that you could come and stay with us." Etta frowned with confusion. "I'm not about to take that back."
"No, no! I'm not saying you are. But you've only met Sophia and me. We wanted to give you another chance to change your mind if you needed to." Taking a deep breath, Grace gathered up her courage. "Because we're not just asking for a temporary place to stay. We're looking for a long term place and we think we may have one."
Nervous chattering broke out among the other group but Eli's voice clearly rang out above them all. "I've already said there were too many people here. We're overcrowded. We attract too much attention coming and going for supplies. One of these days it's going to bring down a herd."
"He's right, Mom." Charlene nodded. "As it is we're risking keeping the people we do have here."
"Hush!" The woman scolded her children. "I raised you better. They need help we give it. It'll be a little tight but we'll make it work."
"It's not forever," Grace added, pushing her voice into the conversation again. "We've got a plan, just like I said, but it'll take co-operation."
"Go on, Grace." Matt nodded. His voice was low, as if he wasn't expecting whatever came next to actually be good news.
She swallowed hard, now everyone was looking at her. Beside her, Daryl shifted, pressing his thigh into hers reassuringly. His eyes darted between her and the people expecting her to speak and he opened his mouth. "There's a gated community 'round here, see. We was figurin' big wall, lo's uh houses – might make for a good place fer a whole lotta people ta stay." Grace looked at her shocked. Daryl never made the first move when it came to sharing information. It wasn't his MO. Typically he held his opinions and his information close until he knew just who he was dealing with. The self-sacrificing bastard was putting himself in between Grace and the possible critisizm, directing the attention away from her.
"You're talking about Wiltshire, right? It's full of grunch." Sure enough the statement was directed Daryl and not her.
"Once tha' gate gits closed though, numbers ain't exactly goin' up. Jus' a matter uh cleaning 'em out."
"And you want us to help." Eli scoffed.
"Said it yerself." Merle grunted, coming to his brother's defence. "Ya got too many people here. Ya need more space. We need help clearin' it. Figure it could work fer us all."
There was quieter whispering now. The voices in the room hushed as they talked amongst themselves. No one said anything out loud though. There wasn't even eye contact anymore. Just a lot of nervous shifting and whispering.
"It's a lot to consider," Carol spoke up for the first time since introducing herself. "Everywhere we've stayed so far hasn't been perfect. We haven't managed to find somewhere that would actually keep us safe." She blinked slowly once, her voice trembling. "I nearly lost my daughter because nowhere is safe anymore. A wall around all our houses could fix that. You have children here. Why are they on the porch instead of playing in the yard?" There were a few coughs and cleared throats. "I don't want to live like this anymore. I want to be safe. I need to know that I wouldn't have to worry every time I allowed Sophia out of my sight."
"You say that like you know Wiltshire is going to work out." Megan blurted, mom against mom. "I've got babies too and I've already lost my husband. We're safe here. This is our home and you're expecting us to leave it."
"Ya don't need ta come if ya don't wanna." Merle snapped.
"So we do all the work and then you live there?" Megan retorted. "What are we getting out of it if we don't move in there?"
The older Dixon had a response for that already. "We can clear it on our own jus' fine. Jus' gonna take longer. We jus' need a place 'til i's ready. We help bring in supplies an' protect this place 'til we move on. If ya come wit', fine. If ya don't that ain't our problem."
Megan nodded and turned to her oldest sister-in-law, the two women shooting each other looks. Quietly they talked together while the rest of the group offered up questions. How many of them expected to stay? For how long? How would they all fit in the house? How would chores be divided? How would supplies be divided if the group split up? The talk seemed to drag on, with everyone contributing different problems and solutions. There didn't seem to be any sort of agreement other than they could try.
That was what both sides kept bringing up: that it wouldn't hurt to try; that they wanted to see how things would work out when they really started bringing everyone together. It was Marco that tried to joke that he wanted to see what their chemistry was like before he made any commitments.
But they could try.
In the end they did end up staying for dinner. As tough as everyone pretended to be, there weren't any really hardasses in this group. There was no one to say, "no we shouldn't share our supplies." This was what Grace had really focused on when she thought about the group possibly splitting up and heading in separate directions: the new friends that they would be getting, the sense of real family.
Merle and Daryl had actually agreed to go out and look at the truck and though Grace wasn't sure what had gone on between the men, there seemed to be a sense of ease when they returned. Everyone was comfortable here, at ease with the choice to merge together and see where things would go.
Though she kept waiting for him to slip up, Merle behaved himself and didn't make a single crude comment or off colour joke. He'd even been polite enough to accept a beer out on the porch when Marco had offered him one in exchange for a cigarette. He then offered his precious last few cigarettes to anyone else who wanted one. Christian had been the only other taker.
Daryl stayed inside and sat in a chair in the corner watching as the mess from dinner was tidied up. He kept looking between the people, the clock and the window. Whenever he caught Grace's eye he scowl and shake his head at the timepiece on the wall. It was getting later and she knew it but the thought of going back to the farm and Hershel's barn of horrors was too much to bear. Carol must have sensed everyone's tension because she gathered Sophia and Claire together and brought the girls to the living room.
"We're ready to go," She smiled at Grace. "If we don't leave soon it'll be dark before we get back and the headlights will be a problem."
Daryl stood quickly, "Bes' git Merle." He shuffled toward the door intent on getting his brother so they could pile back into the truck and leave.
"He's quiet." Megan had snuck up behind her and nearly gave Grace a heart attack.
"What?"
"Daryl, he's quiet. Seems like he knows what he's doing out here, though. More than most anyway, which is an advantage. You're lucky to have him and his brother watching out for you. He's not bad on the eyes either."
"Thanks," Grace smiled, the extra jump in her heart slowing back down. "I'd like to keep them around for a while. Dixon's are good in tough situations."
"It seems like it." Megan leaned against the doorway between the dining room and the living room. "Do you really think they can clear out Wiltshire Estates?"
"If they set their minds to it. They've got pretty good motivation right now though. It'll be tough but they want to so it'll get done one way or another."
"And how does the rest of your group feel?"
"We're getting there. We don't always agree though. You're lucky you've got a lot of your family with you, so you all knew each other before. Most of us are perfect strangers."
"It's Jamie's family mostly. I'm just glad they kept me around. It's tough not know if my own family isn't out there somewhere. It'll be nice to have some new faces. We need fresh blood. It tiring seeing the same people every day and if we really do manage to clear out Wiltshire then we'll have some room to stretch out into."
"I'm sure you're looking forward to not sharing space so much."
Megan laughed, "I just want my bed back. I've got the girls in with me and half the time by morning one of the boys is in there with me too. Carol is right. I just want to know they're safe and to have a place where they can feel comfortable playing out on the front lawn or in the backyard. We'll help. Whatever this takes, we'll help."
"Grace!" Claire stuck her head in the front door. "You ready to go? Merle's turning the bike around and he wants to go."
"Should he be driving if he's been drinking?" Megan worried.
"Oh he'll be fine. He's driven in worse condition than one beer." Grace gave her a reassuring smile. "I'd better get going though." She offered her arms out for a hug and Megan accepted good naturedly.
"When should we expect you then?"
"Two, three days tops to get everything squared up with Hershel and the rest of the group. We're not running on a deadline really, are we?"
"Nah," Megan gave her a final pat and stepped back. We've got all the time in the world."
Daryl let Grace into the driver's side as Carol was already riding shotgun. As Grace got settled, he walked around back and shut the tailgate behind Claire, sealing her and Sophia into the back of the truck. Grace turned around and slid open the window behind her head so they could at least hear the girls as they drove.
Most of the family was watching from windows or the front porch as the left. It made Grace nervous to see all the children inside. They needed to get that subdivision cleared out as soon as possible. Everyone here seemed to be worried about herds of walkers. That would probably be motivation enough for them to leave the house behind, especially as winter approached and they would need to be using fires to keep warm. It was possible that low hanging winter smoke would attract them just as much as any other strong smell and that was if they were lucky enough to be inside before they needed to have big fires for warmth.
Sliding into the seat beside her, Daryl pulled the door shut. "Don' think so hard." He muttered, bumping her purposely with his elbow. "We got a plan now, an' a place. We're good."
They pulled out of the driveway heading back to Hershel's farm with Merle leading them once again. Already the sun was slowly starting to dip down towards the trees. Grace sighed and rested her head against Daryl's shoulder. She was so tired of worrying about everything. It was a reassuring thought to think there might actually be some hope for peace in the future.
Sliding one hand off the steering wheel, Daryl brought his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tight. "We're gonna be alright, Grace." He mumbled, turning his face quickly into her hair, too fast for Carol to catch.