Notes: Thanks as always for the reviews! It makes my day to get them.

Last chance to weigh in on the topic of whether or not I should kill Amy off or let her live for now. I would be thrilled to hear your thoughts :)

Chapter 11: Fools and Firewood

The rescue party had left the department store in search of Glenn. With their hostage, Miguel, in tow they navigated their way through the dangerous streets of Atlanta. The trip was not without incident or scares, but they managed to arrive outside the Vato's compound unscathed. It was game time.

Whatever this place had been before, it was a base now. Whoever these people were they had fortified the area well. There was only one way in and they would see them coming long before they ever reached the doors. Miguel was their one and only card to play. They'd better hope these people valued his life. Considering that they'd left him back in Atlanta, that was a big gamble to be taking.

"Let me come with you," River pleaded with Rick, who was crouched on the ground loading his shotgun.

Rick shook his head. "We talked about this already," he reminded her. "You are going to keep watch from above with T-Dog."

"Maybe y'all should want someone up there tha' can actually shoot," Daryl suggested. He leaned back against the brick wall and smirked. Holding his crossbow in front of him, he looked all muscles and masculinity to River, but that didn't stop her from boiling over with anger.

"You know," River started, advancing on Daryl her nostrils flaring angrily as she spoke. "I am sick and tired of your little quips about my ability to shoot. I am a good shot, ask Dane or JJ. You've never seen me, so you can't talk." By this time River had him cornered against the wall.

River was standing inches away from Daryl, well inside the loner's comfort zone. Pushing himself off the brick wall Daryl stood his full height. Now his crossbow was really the only thing between them. River was forced to back up a couple of paces.

"And that is why you're not coming," Dane informed her.

"Eh?" River slowly moved her eyes up from Daryl's chest. When she reached his eyes he turned away and moved down the wall a good five feet.

"Earth to River!" Dane said, exasperated.

River snapped her eyes away from Daryl and turned to the man who was talking to her. "What?"

"Unbelievable," Dane muttered under his breathe. "I said that's why you're not coming."

"Why's that?" River asked, completely oblivious.

Dane shook his head slowly. "Because," he told her, "you're too quick to anger and blow up." Apparently she was also too easily distracted when there was a certain redneck hunter around.

River was about to open her mouth and object when Rick added, "These negotiations can be delicate. We don't want to do anything that could compromise Glenn's safety." put that way it was harder for River to argue.

"Fine," River grumbled. Daryl realized he was glad that she wouldn't be with them. It was going to be dangerous and worrying about her would just be a distraction.

As they finished last minute preparations Daryl turned to Miguel and informed him, "One wrong move, you git an arrow in th' ass. Jus' so's ya know."

Miguel, who had been sitting on the ground, legs stretched out and looking dejected got some of his piss and vinegar back. Defiantly he retorted, "G gonna take the arrow outta my ass and shove it up yours. Just so you know."

It turned out G stood for Guillermo, and Guillermo happened to be the leader around the Vato's compound. "Okay then," Rick said as he pumped his shotgun. "Let's go see Guillermo."

Reluctantly River trudged alongside T-Dog and crouched down behind the wall where they'd be keeping watch. Down below, Rick, Dane and Daryl led their hostage towards the front doors. Their weapons were raised and ready.

Daryl and Dane fell back to cover as Rick stepped up to the door with Miguel. Dane was staring straight ahead. "If you ever hurt River," Dane warned Daryl, eyes still focused on the doors in front of them, "I'll kill you." It was so unexpected that Daryl was caught off guard. He didn't get a chance to respond before the doors opened and Guillermo stepped out. So he was left wondering what Dane had meant.

Down below negotiations weren't going so well. Guillermo wasn't going for the exchange of hostages. He wanted the bag of guns. "We should just shoot 'em," River suggested impatiently.

T-Dog looked at her, appalled. "Just chill. Let Rick handle this," he pleaded hoping she wouldn't do anything rash.

River was studying the scene down below. "How's your aim?" She asked the man crouched next to her. "We could take them out before they had any idea what was happening."

"No. Man, just trust Rick, okay?"

"Trust Rick?" River asked indignantly. "He handcuffed my friend to a rooftop."

"And he came back out here to try and save Merle's cracker ass," T-Dog reminded her. "Now he's here trying to save Glenn. He coulda stayed back at camp. Man, he prolly shoulda stayed at camp, but he didn't."

T-Dog did have a point. River mulled it over. Maybe she was being a little unfair on Rick. It's not like she didn't know what Merle could be like. Besides, even Dane had said he didn't know what could have been done differently. The guy deserved a second chance.

The rest of negotiations continued to go poorly. Come back with my bag of guns, or come back locked and loaded. That had been the Vato's demand, put forth by Guillermo. It was time to regroup and come up with a plan.

Seize the day. Live life to the fullest. All that bullshit. Jason had been managing fine until Lori decided she wanted to have a little heart-to-heart with him about Amy. He'd been content moving at his own pace. Maybe it was the pace of a snail, but so what? Slow and steady wins the race, or something like that.

Jason slumped by the fire. Liam had returned from playing fetch with the kids. He was panting from the vigorous routine of swimming out into the quarry as far as the children could throw and coming back with their sticks.

Carol was still sitting there mending clothes. Still she hadn't said a word to him. Jason was sure he caught her peering across at him from time to time. He wished she'd just have at him. Yell. Scream. Get it out of her system. At least then he'd know where he stood. This not knowing shit and still having to share camp was making him uneasy.

Now Dale was watching him too. He was sure of it. He'd caught the old man staring down at him from his perch up on the RV. It had to do with Amy. It must. He wasn't entirely sure where Dale fit into Amy and Andrea's lives, but he seemed to be like a father figure to them. Which, of course, meant he'd get all protective the second he thought Jason was getting close to his surrogate family.

If he'd been a braver man Jason would have gone and talked to Dale. Instead, he let his paranoia get the better of him until he was on the verge of a panic attack. "C'mon Liam," he called to the dog he was sitting for River. He had to get away from camp. He had to get away from people.

The door to the RV opened and Amy stepped out. "Hey JJ," she called out cheerfully. "Where you heading?"

"Umm...," Jason glanced around uncomfortably. "I was... I was just going to g-get some more f-f-firewood before it gets dark," he told her. It had seemed like a good idea to get away from everything for a bit until he calmed down.

Amy lit up. "Can I come?" she asked, full of youthful enthusiasm.

Jason felt the walls closing in on him. His head said no, but against his will his mouth formed the word, "Sure."

"Great!" Amy exclaimed happily. "Just let me grab my jacket. There's so many bugs and mosquitos out there," she complained. "I don't want to come back covered in bites," she said while she subconsciously scratched at her arm.

As Amy darted quickly back into the RV to grab her stuff Jason considered making an escape and disappearing. However, he knew if he did that he'd just have to face her later and try to explain. And that would be a million times worse. So he waited with the same dread that a prisoner on death row experiences.

"I can't believe those idiots," Rick lamented, shaking his head as they walked away. From the Vato's compound for the second time. Glenn was with them. Not a hair on his head had been harmed. "We were ready to go in there and kill every last one if them if need be."

When the rescue party had gone back locked and loaded, as Guillermo had said in his ultimatum, things had taken a turn for the bizarre. The Vato's compound had turned out to be a nursing home. And not an abandoned one at that. Those punks that had kidnapped Glenn, well, they had stuck around to care for the old folks. River was glad T-Dog had talked her out of shooting them.

Daryl was still griping about Rick giving them half of the guns. But, how could they not? Those people were doing a good thing. They were decent people. Lucky for them, the group of survivors from the Atlanta Camp were decent people too. Even Rick, River thought. Especially Rick. He had changed her mind about him in the way he handled the situation.