A/N: Phew a new chapter finally, Sorry it's been so long! I have been super busy and when I haven't been busy I've sick. I am sick again but it's only just started so I got this one done. I hope it's alright! Let me know what you think. Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors or missing words, I'll try and edit soon. Enjoy!
Michonne and Daryl leapt into action, almost in unison, she picked up her katana and slipped on her boots rushing down the stairs, Daryl wasn't far behind her and they burst through the front door.
They were greeted by the sight of Carl and Milton standing on the front porch shooting, Milton was a terrible shot that much was clear, Morgan and Rick were fighting off the walkers with an axe each.
The two of them charged into action slicing and stabbing walkers in unison with Rick and Morgan, Carl cried out "MILTON!"
A walker tried to bite his duct tape protected arm before he hit the walker over the head with the butt of his gun. Michonne was impressed by the strength of the duct tape and with Milton's inventiveness. With that short battle was over. There were walker bodies scattered around, they were lucky this was a small herd, but their shots could have attracted more.
"We need to get a move on" Rick said quietly, everyone agreed snapping into action, they all went inside, grabbing what little possessions they had taken into the house overnight.
Once they were alone in their own room Daryl and Michonne allowing themselves a moment of silence, they both stood there looking one another over for bites and scratches. Michonne found herself breathing a sigh of relief when she realized not only were they both fine but so were the others. She'd grown attached to Carl especially, the young boy represented the one thing that made her thankful for her girls having gone so soon, they didn't have to live in fear or grow up too soon.
She allowed herself to rest her head against Daryl's chest when he pulled her into his arms; they'd been caught off guard by Carl's call.
"THERE'S A CAR APPROACHING!" Rick yelled
"The universe don't want us togetha today" Daryl huffed as they pulled apart heading back downstairs and out the front.
A burly man with red hair and a red beard got out of the silver jeep, followed by a Latino woman and a shorter, rounder guy.
"We heard the shots and came to see what was going on" The man at the front said, he had a huge smile on his face. Michonne guessed he was probably in the army before the break out. "Looks like you've had a bit of a battle" he commented
"We were just leaving" Rick scowled at the small group before them, the former sheriff did not take kindly to strangers at all and who could blame him after the Governor?
"we mean no harm…" the other guy spoke up stepping forward
"That's close enough" Rick raised his gun
"No need for that man, we're just looking for a group to settle with" the red head said honestly
"Well you can keep looking"
"Please man, we need people" the other shorter guy begged
"We need ta talk" Daryl frowned at the small group in front of them, Michonne didn't believe they were a threat, the red headed man seemed genuine and his travelling buddies looked just as desperate to join a group. They could do with the man power.
They group moved back to the front porch, all looking between one another "they seem alright to me, they certainly don't give me the uneasy feelings that The Govnah did" Michonne said first
"They're nothing like Phillip" Milton agreed
"I don't know man, the leader just seems a bit opinionated" Rick spoke up
"I think they're alrgiht" Daryl said with a shrug
"they seem fine to me" Carl spoke up, Michonne was both amused and disturbed, he was a little adult, he got to have an opinion where in a world without walkers he'd be in school being told what to do. He'd been robbed of being a kid.
"I say let them. We could do with as much help as possible if we're clearing an island" said Morgan; he'd been filled in about the idea by Rick on their drive back.
"All in favour of them joining the group on a trial basis, raise your hands" Rick conceded, putting it to a vote was the best way to make the decision, everyone but Rick raised their hand, he couldn't overrule the decision.
"We'll keep an eye on them." He nodded.
They all turned away and walked back to their positions "we've decided you can join, we're on the road the moment so up until we find the right place can be a trial as such" Rick looked between the red headed man and his companions.
"I'm Abraham" the red head introduced himself "this is Eugene and Rosita" he looked between the shorter rounder man and the latina woman.
"I'm Rick Grimes, this is my son Carl" he gave them weary looks
"I'm Daryl and this is Michonne" the hunter pulled her closer, she nodded at the three of them
"Morgan" the man simply said
"Milton"
Once the introductions were finished the group gathered their things and got into their vehicles, to make things easier Daryl and Michonne were going to ride with Abraham and the others, something both of them were comfortable with.
The journey started out in silence, Daryl was in the middle between Michonne and Rosita whilst Abraham drove.
"How long have you guys been on the road?" Abraham questioned randomly
"About three weeks" Daryl shrugged "we were living in a prison, got attacked"
"By walkers?" Rosita questioned
"By people" Michonne answered this time
"Who would do that?" Rosita sounded horrified; her brown eyes were wide with confusion and shock
"Brainwashed people, psychopaths, a combination of the two" Daryl answered
"And they took over the prison?" Abraham questioned, he sounded curious
"No, they got attacked on the outside and the fences were already destroyed, there was no more protection" Michonne sighed
"Living in a prison, that must have been interesting" Eugene chimed in
"It was, first time a Dixon ever broke in ta one" Daryl laughed and Michonne laughed along.
"I think a prison would be the safest place now, where are you going now?" Rosita smiled at the two of them
"we're going to try and find an island off the coast" she smiled, proud that her idea had been accepted by the group.
"we're going to scavenge as much as possible on the way there, originally Rick, Carl, 'Chonne and I went to scavenge for weapons, we found Morgan in a town we were scavenging in, Milton and another guy were there too the other guy pushed his luck" there was an underlying tone to Daryl's words, one that spoke volumes compared to his words
"then we found that house for the night and here we are" Michonne finished for him
"Are there more people in your group?" Rosita asked hopefully
"yes, 9 more people, including a baby" she answered
"A baby? Wow that must be hard" Eugene piped in
"She's surprisingly quiet, it's as if she knows" she smiled, she was proud of Judith in a weird way, babies were instinctual and thankfully Judith had picked up on the silence.
"so her mother survived the birth? Remarkable" the shorter man said, his blonde hair was styled in what could only be described as mullet, whether that had been intentional was unclear. There were no hair dressers around these days. He had a round, chubby face and an even rounder body. His eyes were brown and squinty and his nose was wide. He wasn't the most attractive man but he seemed intelligent, maybe he and Milton would get along.
Rosita had to be the complete opposite, her natural olive skin was set off by dark brown hair and dark eyes, and she was petite with a killer figure. She wore shorts, a tank top and a short vest with a green trucker cap. She even wore a pair of gold hoop earrings, Michonne could tell she had sass and she liked that idea. She was also younger than both Eugene and Abraham, maybe they had been part of a larger group before.
"Actually she died, some walkers breached the gates and she had to run with her son and another member of our group, she went into labour and lost too much blood" she sighed, once she'd heard the full story and seen Carl changing and seen Rick lose his mind it became a hard story to tell.
"oh, well we're sorry to hear that" Abraham piped in, Michonne studied him in the mirror, his face was weather though not entirely because of age, that much she could tell, he was muscular with large arms. He was smiling despite the atmosphere; she always admired someone who could keep a smile on their face through everything. His eyes were hazel and he had a handle bar moustache, he was attractive and rough she had to admit. Though he had nothing on Daryl in her mind.
Soon they reached the house, the rest of the group pouring out of the house and crowding onto the front porch. They groups exited the cars, looks of confusion crossing most people's faces.
"Milton! You're alive!" Andrea exclaimed, rushing over to give the man a hug.
Soon there were introductions and explanations made, most people getting along right away, Tyreese and Abraham got along like a house on fire, and as predicted so did Milton and Eugene.
"So Rosita, you're with Abraham?" her blonde friend questioned, not even bothering to try and be subtle.
"We are, he is quite a bit older than me but he's a good man" she smiled wistfully "he keeps us safe and he taught me to defend myself. I know we sounded shocked in the car but we've come across our fair share of scum bags."
"Well we're glad to have you guys join." Beth chimed in, the young blonde had gone starry eyed as soon as she'd seen Abraham, it was a surprise to Michonne "anyway, I'm going to go get some more food for Judith" with that she left.
They spent a while longer before sleeping arrangements were changed. Michonne and Daryl would take the night shift for watch so they'd sleep in the living room, Andrea was to join Carol, Beth and Sasha whilst Milton took the room with Ben, Abraham and Rosita would take the room left for them, Morgan would sleep in Rick, Carl and Judith's room and Tyreese would take watch from the back of the house with the intention of also sleeping in the living room. Fitting 17 adults into a small house hadn't been easy but everyone was willing to do it.
Michonne and Daryl sat on the front porch in silence for the first hour both mulling over the days event's, it was yet another hard day to process, more new people, more unfamiliar territory and more steps in the right direction for their relationship.
"Yew should sit on my lap." Daryl said randomly, she knew he hadn't meant to say it aloud
"sounds good to me" she answered before standing up and going over to him, she sat sideways like she had in the car as their face drew closer "it's been a long day" she whispered before kissing him softly. He wrapped his arms around her waist as the silence over took them again, kissing whenever one of them felt like it.