11.

They arrived to the block, which served as living quarters for most of the members of the group. Niko was at his left side, her fingers never loosing contact with his upper arm. He was surprised at how easily she kept up with him, even when he walked fast and even they passed through a very sunny courtyard. Not once he felt obstructed by her in anyway. If it wasn't for her constant touch, it would be like walking with any other person.

As soon as they entered, he felt stares and glances directed at them, some filled with suspicion and mistrust, other with curiosity.

Carol was the first one to approach.

"Hi. I'm Carol." She took Niko's right hand from his arm and shook it. The tone of her voice was very friendly and welcoming, which surprised him, since Carol was the one that voted for Niko's execution.

As soon as Carol let go of her hand, Niko placed it back on his shoulder and turned toward him as if looking for some sort of approval.

"Are you ok? Would you like to sit over there, at the table?" asked Carol, shifting her questioning eyes at him as Niko gave no answer.

He was about to take her hand and lean it on Carol's shoulder, when Niko suddenly grinned and spoke: "Carol, my name is Niko, but that you probably already know. I want to thank you for accepting me and allowing me to stay in your group. You are the first person here to greet me properly, and talk to me… in a normal way…as one human being to another. I wasn't expecting it, so excuse my delayed reaction."

"Well…" Carol briefly appeared at a loss for words. "I wasn't the only one making decisions…ehm…would you like to see Hershel, ehmm , our doctor, to examine you? Your face looks a bit-"

"Nooo, no need for that, but I'd really like to wash myself, if that's possible?"

Beth also came closer. Niko must have sensed her or saw her - he still wasn't clear about the way her sight worked - because she turned in her direction.

"Hi, I'm Beth."

"Niko."

She was observing Niko with curious eyes. "So you're blind?"

"Well…yes."

"And yet I've heard you killed many walkers?"

"Yup, that I did."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"Umm, afraid of what?"

"Beth, give her some space…."interjected Carol.

"Just curious, that's all…"

"I'm curious too how somebody who's blind, can fight better than most of us?" said Michonne, who sat with Sasha and Tyreese on the stairs.

Niko turned towards her voice. "You're the one with the sword?"

"Yes."

"Do you have mine as well?"

"It's… stored."

"You're self-taught, right?"

"Why would you say that?"

"Your technique is sloppy and rather ugly."

Daryl noticed Michonne's gaze darkening at Niko's comment.

"And you'd know this, how?"

"The way you came at me and the way you moved in the corridor below against the Zeds…"

Michonne stood up. "So you do see?"

"I see things in my own way. I also know you carry a sword that is a flashy piece of shit. That I can tell by the sound it makes when it cuts."

Where's this going, wondered Daryl looking at Niko in slight bewilderment, while she continued in a very casual tone: "I don't say it to offend you, just saying it as it is… you know, from one swordswoman to another."

"I'm after efficiency not aesthetics," Michonne replied with deep, quiet voice.

"Usually, the two coincide. If you give me back my sword, I could teach you a thing or two."

"No,thanks." Michonne began to move from the stairs in their direction like of a cat on a hunt. Carl who just came out of his cell and looked as if he just woke up, stepped unknowingly on her way. His sudden appearance and his confused stare broke the tension, which built between her and Niko. Carol seized the opportunity: "This is Carl, Rick's son, and on the stairs, behind Michonne, whom you obviously already met, are Sasha and Tyreese. There are others as well, but they are currently busy elsewhere."

"How many are you?" asked Niko.

"Well, we are quite a group now. We've lost some people, but also gained some new. You'll meet them all eventually. But, perhaps you first come with me and I'll show you the bathrooms? You said you wanted to wash? We have showers too, if you wish."

"Oh, that would be just-"

Judith's crying suddenly filled the room, leaving Niko with her mouth open.

"A baby? You have a baby?"

"Yes, less than a month old," said Carol, looking with a warm smile towards the cell, from which the crying came.

"And you haven't killed it yet?"

And just like that the tension was on again. If eyes were on and off Niko before, suddenly all of them were firmly on her. Carol's friendly expression turned stone-cold.

"I mean, the longer you let it live, the harder it will be…for the parents as well as for the baby, once it becomes more self-aware- "

Daryl looked down and ran his hand over his forehead.

"Why would you kill a baby?" asked Beth in a voice full of reproach.

"Isn't it obvious?"

When there was no answer and a complete silence took over the room, a bewildered frown appeared on her face. He hoped she'd shut up, but to his dismay, she decided to continue: "It's the only humane thing to do, considering the circumstances." The silence still persisted.

"It happens in nature all the time. There are many cases of infanticide found in almost every primate species as well as in many mother bears, felines, canids and many species of rodent…"

The crying became louder as Rick walked out of the cell with Judith in his hands. He rocked her gently to calm her down, while listening to Niko.

"…insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds also have been implicated in killing, and sometimes devouring the young of their own kind. As much as we would like to deny it, humans are not immune to it either. It was done when the world was in a much better shape than it's now."

Reproach and shock was slowly replaced by anger in the eyes of people around him. It was like watching somebody tying a noose around their own neck and tightening it a little with each word they spoke and when he saw Rick coming towards them, Daryl seriously consider to just knock her out.

"So you're saying, I should kill my own daughter for humane reasons?"

"Umm, well… " She seemed to be taken aback by Rick's voice; "there are also safety concerns, of course."

"Safety concerns?" Rick stopped in front of her. Judith was crying her lungs out.

"The crying can attract…the baby can't control the crying…and the group has to be mobile…"Niko started to mumble.

"I think we're done here," said Daryl, grabbed her by her arm and dragged her out of the block as quickly as possible.

"How was I supposed to know it was Rick's baby?"

He stopped abruptly, pulled her arm so she stumbled towards him. "That don't matter. You can't go around telling people to kill their babies."

"I guess, you're right." With her head bowed down she sounded genuinely remorseful, although he wasn't quite sure it was for the right reasons.

"And that shit talk you gave to Michonne? The fuck was that all about?"

"Shit talk? I offered to her to teach her."

He snorted. "Your brain just ain't wired right."

Once they reached the detention block he led her into the room and locked the door behind her as soon as she stepped inside.

She immediately clung with both hands on the iron bars. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?"

"But you said, you'll take me out!"

"Yeah, that went great. I told you to keep your mouth shut."

"But I was…wait, Daryl, where are you going? You can't leave me here again!"

He slammed the entrance door, sat in a quiet corner outside and lit a cigarette. After a few drags he started to laugh quietly.

Thanks for reading!