Three days later, Cas and Claire accompanied Rick and Daryl to the place where they were to meet the rest of their group. While the two men stood around stoically, waiting for their people, the girls scampered about in the shadows of a nearby apartment building. They chased each other around for a while, then sat in the parking lot and talked.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Claire asked quietly.

Cas looked at her, surprised. They hadn't talked much in the past few days, but they'd been so busy with clean-up and getting ready for the impending assault that there hadn't been any time. "Why would I be mad at you?" She asked.

"Because of this attack," Claire waved her hands. "You didn't want to do it."

"Oh, that. I mean, I saw the sense in your argument the whole time, but I just thought we were being too hasty. And I kept thinking about when we first met Rick and his group, and the questions they asked us. We hadn't even killed two dozen people combined. Now who knows how many it's been, and who knows how many it will be after we fight them." She shrugged. "I guess I was just worried that we're turning into monsters or something."

Claire drew her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek on them. "We can't turn into monsters now," she sighed, "We've made such an effort to stay human over these years."

Cas stroked her hair gently. "Don't worry about it. Everything's going to be fine, I promise."

The other girl perked up. "Did you hear that?" There were some quiet groaning sounds coming from inside the building.

They got up and went in to investigate. Just through the main entrance, there was some evidence that someone had already been here; a few Walker bodies lay scattered about the floor. Cas went over to check on one, noticing the bullet wound just between the eyes. "I think the other group might have been here," she muttered to Claire.

"We're almost five miles from the school," Claire responded just as quietly. "They're really reaching out."

The groaning grew steadily louder. It was coming from a staircase that led to the first floor of apartments. "They must have left a few when they cleaned this place out," Cas noted, upping the voltage output from her battery.

Five Walkers fell down the stairs, picking themselves up and shambling towards the girls. Cas fried two of them to a crisp, ducking out of the way of the third and finishing him off as well. She turned, looking to make sure Claire was okay, just in time to see her smash in the head of the last Walker rather brutally with a calm smile on her face.

She wiped Mjölnir on the already blood-soaked carpet, then looked up just in time to see Cas give her a weird look. "What?" She asked innocently, heading for the door.

Cas followed her out of the building, noticing that a new car had arrived and that Rick and Daryl had been joined by what she assumed was the rest of their group. "You're real strange, you know that?" She asked as they made a beeline for the newcomers.

Claire hefted Mjölnir over her shoulder. "Hey, just because I'm in the misery business doesn't mean that I can't have a good time." She hesitated outside the circle that Rick's group had formed, waiting to be noticed.

"And here are our hosts," Rick said, catching her eye. "Everyone, this is Claire, and that's Cas." The circle opened slightly so that they could join. "Ladies, this is Abraham, Rosita, Tara, Gabriel, and Eugene." Abraham looked over the girls with a slightly scornful expression, which Claire and Cas met with unyielding gazes. Rosita and Tara seemed nice enough, and Cas judged from Gabriel's suit that he was a pastor, so she didn't think they'd have any trouble from him. Eugene didn't look up when his name was called; Cas wondered briefly why, but was distracted when Rick continued, "I was thinking you two could take Abraham and Rosita in our car, and Daryl and I will ride with the others in theirs. That way everyone will be caught up on the situation when we get back to the school."

"Sounds fair," Claire said.

"We should leave sooner rather than later," Cas added, squinting up at the sky. "I'd like to be home before dark."

No one could argue with that, so they headed for the vehicles and loaded up. Cas got behind the wheel and started the car, leading the way back to the school. She'd loved to drive in the old world, and it was mostly the same now. It calmed her and gave her time to let her mind wander. She tuned out the conversation going on behind her; Claire was explaining everything that was going on and Cas really didn't need to consider the situation for the thousandth time.

The sun was just started to sink below the horizon when they pulled up to the school. Rick and Daryl parked next to them and everyone climbed out. "Come on inside and we'll give you the grand tour," Claire said, beckoning for the newcomers to follow her.

She rang the doorbell, and Isaac answered promptly. "Coming in?" There was something different about his voice now, an excited aspect that hadn't existed a week ago.

"Yup."

"Any problems?" His voice grew quieter as he leaned for the button.

"None at all." The door unlocked with a click and Cas reached for the door, pulling it open quickly. She held it as everyone filed through, catching a glimpse of Abraham's expression. He looked impressed despite himself.

She smiled slightly. Oh, you have no idea, she told him silently as she followed him into the building, letting the door slam shut behind her.

I just wanted to send a huge shout-out of thanks to everyone for reading. Every time the number goes up, my heart does a little dance. Special thanks to user mishafer for such a kind review which only made me cry a little bit.

I think this fanfic may be nearing its close, although there are still a few chapters left before it gets to that point. I hope you all continue to enjoy it until the end. Thanks again – I love you guys.