Chapter Twenty one: Secret

Eve lay in her bed, trying to tune out the snarls coming from outside the walls. But the sound of walkers wasn't what was keeping her awake. Daryl and the others still weren't back yet and with the mass of walkers outside, she wasn't sure how they'd even make it inside the walls without being mauled. The W strangers invading seemed like a minor problem compared to what was coming. There was no way they'd be safe behind these walls long. Sooner or later something would happen.

Eve rolled over and looked at Sasha's empty bed. She wasn't much for praying, but she sent something out to whoever was listening, asking for the safety of her friends. Maybe she was spending too much time around Father Gabriel.

She wasn't sure if she ever fell asleep or not, but eventually it got light out and she rolled out of bed. After getting dressed she headed to the infirmary to check on the patients too hurt to go home. Denise was already there, her eyes heavy. Eve was sure she didn't look much better.

Around midday Eve decided to head over to check on the mothers. It was really just an excuse to get away from the infirmary. Looking at the horrific wounds the W people had inflicted was starting to make her sick. Denise didn't protest though so Eve left, constantly aware of the walkers outside the walls.

On her way out she passed Morgan. He looked… strange. Like he was up to something. "Hi Morgan," Eve called. "Is everything alright?"

He smiled at her, kind of sheepishly as if he were caught. "Just looking for Denise. Is she in there?"

"What's wrong?" Eve asked. "Are you hurt?"

Morgan laughed nervously. "No, no. Nothing like that. Everything's fine."

Eve paused. Something was definitely up. "Well, yeah. Denise is in there."

Morgan nodded gratefully and gave her a little wave. Eve stared after him. He was an odd guy.

She entered the mother's house and found them all gathered together in the kitchen. Manuella was leading the group in a discussion on how to deal with the current walker problem.

"I want a lookout in each station at all times," she was saying, pointing to a hand drawn map of the house. "Everyone is to be armed at all times, I don't give a damn what Deanna says. Everyone is to have at least one fire arm and one non fire arm. If it's a walker, no one shoots unless absolutely necessary. The sound attracts them. As for the strangers from yesterday, if you see any more, kill on sight."

Eve stood in the corner and listened as the meeting progressed. It was very militaristic, and not for the first time Eve wondered about Manuella's past.

When the meeting ended Manuella sent the girls off on their various tasks before cornering Eve.

"Have you seen Morgan this morning?" she asked.

"Yes, I have actually," Eve said, somewhat surprised.

"What was he doing?"

"Um, going to see Denise.'

Manuella cursed. "I told him not to; that I would just ask you, but he wouldn't listen. Come with me."

Eve frowned, but followed Manuella down to the basement. She'd never been down there before. It was unfinished and dank. There was one naked bulb casting an eerie light. They stopped outside a door with a padlock and Manuella turned to Eve.

"What I'm about to show you is a secret, okay? I trust you. But you can't tell anyone. Especially Rick."

"What do you mean? Why not?"

Manuelle sighed and looked down. "Have you heard him talk lately? He's kind of losing it."

Eve thought about how he'd handled the Pete situation. He did tend to shoot first and ask questions later. Resigned, Eve nodded. "I won't tell anyone.'

Satisfied, Manuella opened the door.

It took a moment for Eve to realize what she was looking at. At first she thought it was just a pile of dirty clothes. But then she saw it move. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw the pile of clothes was really a person. A man.

He raised his head and peered up at the open door. When the light hit his face, Eve gasped. There, scrawled on his forehead under a veil of greasy hair was the now familiar W.

"Eve," Manuella said. "Meet Robin."

…

An hour later Eve sat at the kitchen table with Manuella and Jenny. She had her head in her hands, trying to process all that had unfolded.

"Let me get this straight," Eve said from under her hands. "Jenny saw this guy from the upstairs window and recognized him?"

"I know how it sounds," Jenny said quietly. "I thought I was just hallucinating or something, but I could tell it was him. I just could."

Eve looked up. "So you left baby Robin with Kerry and went outside. By yourself."

"I had a gun," Jenny said indignantly.

"And you called out to him by his name," Eve went on. "And he looked up and there was a heartfelt reunion and that was it? He just came quietly?"

"Well..." Jenny looked at Manuella.

"I wouldn't say, quietly," Manuella finished for her. "Morgan helped."

Ah, Eve thought. She'd been wondering how Morgan was involved in all this.

"He's been talking to him," Jenny said. "Morgan's got this way of explaining things, about how this world makes you do bad things, but that you can still be a good person if you choose to."

Eve sighed. "What do you want from me?"

"He's hurt," Manuella said. "When Morgan took him down… well, like I said, he didn't exactly come quietly."

"That's why Morgan went to Denise. He wants her to help him?"

"Not exactly," Manuella said. "He was just trying to sneak in and take some medicine. I told him we could just ask you, but he didn't listen. He doesn't want Rick to find out. That, at least, we agree on." She looked pointedly at Jenny. "For now."

Eve took a deep breath. "Are you sure he's….safe to be around?"

Jenny's lip trembled. "He's not a wild animal! He's still my husband, okay? He won't hurt any of us."

Manuella put a hand on Jenny's shoulder. "We know that. We just want to be careful. Until we are absolutely sure, I don't want you alone with him. Make sure one of us is there."

Jenny reluctantly nodded. Eve couldn't even imagine what the girl was going through. After all this time, being separated only to find each other again… under such horrible circumstances. It was enough to make anyone crazy, let alone someone who had just had a baby. And then there was the hoard of walkers just a breath away from tearing the place down. It was a wonder Jenny was even keeping it together.

"I'll go to the infirmary, get some supplies and see what I can do." Eve stood up.

…

Eve looked into the woeful eyes of the stranger, this Robin, and shuddered. They were red rimmed, tired and sick.

"Where's Jenny?" he asked her. She was bent over him, examining the wound on his side. It was already flaring with infection. The guy was filthy. He'd need a serious bath, or all her work at trying to keep infection out was useless. But for now, she was doing what she could to get it under control.

"Where's Jenny?" he asked again, this time louder.

Eve looked at him. "She's upstairs."

Robin closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "I want to see her."

"You'll see her soon," Manuella said from the other side of the room. She and Eve had agreed to keep Jenny upstairs while Eve took care of him. They weren't sure how he'd react seeing her again. Their first meeting was...intense.

"She doesn't understand. None of you do. I need to explain it to her."

Eve and Manuella exchanged looks. They were all curious as to where he came from and who these mysterious W people were. But for now, they just had to keep him calm, and keep him alive.

Eve finished stitching up the wound and fed him some antibiotics. Hopefully the infection wouldn't spread.

"He needs a bath," she said to Manuella once they left the little room, locking it tightly behind them. "And..." she wrinkled her nose, "a toothbrush."

Manuella nodded. "I can't risk bringing him upstairs yet. I'll send down a bucket of water and soap though. Have Morgan help."

Eve decided it was time to head back to the infirmary. Denise was sure to be wondering what was keeping her, and since she was sworn to secrecy she couldn't exactly explain.

Outside, the day was sunny and warm. People were out walking around warily, going about life as normal as possible with the hoard outside. She saw Rick standing on the wall and decided to take a little detour to check in. She hadn't spoken with him since he got back.

"Hey," she said, climbing up next to him.

He glanced at her. "It's a good thing you were here yesterday," he said. "You probably saved a lot of lives."

Eve shrugged. "I'd say those mothers did most of the saving."

"Can't argue with that," he said, looking out over the mass of walkers. "What do we know about these W people?"

Eve's stomach flipped, thinking of the man currently held in the mother's basement. "Not much," she answered, which was true for the most part.

A sudden commotion caught their attention from a ways down the wall. The snarling walkers suddenly lurched in excitement as someone dangled from overhead. Peering closer, they saw that it was Spencer trying to make his way over their heads to a tree from a cord he'd managed to string from the wall. It was clear the rope wasn't going to support his weight for long, and sure enough Spencer was soon falling into the sea of walkers, surely to be devoured.

Chaos ensued as Eve started firing arrows into the crowd of walkers, intent on helping Spencer to safety. She wasn't the only one. Eve saw Tara dangling from the wall by one hand, shooting walkers expertly with a handgun. It was incredibly risky but gave her a better angle to help free Spencer. A walker grabbed her ankle and started to pull, but Eve quickly ended that with an arrow to its head. Meanwhile Rick had successfully helped Spencer over the wall and was currently berating him for his stupid plan.

Eve couldn't blame him. The plan was dumb.

"Tara!" Rick yelled out, turning from his victim. "What were you thinking? You almost died trying to save one of them!" His face was red with rage.

Tara, having safely climbed back up on the wall, glared at him before throwing up a middle finger. Rick took a step back before looking to Eve in utter disbelief.

Eve snorted.

Rick let out a huff and shook his head, but she noticed a smile tugging at his lips.

Still grinning to herself, Eve climbed back down the wall and went to the infirmary. She worked there for a few hours with Denise before heading back to the mothers house.

Manuella took Eve back down to the basement and Eve was met with a very different looking man. True to her word, Manuella had sent Morgan down with water, soap, toothbrush and clean clothes. The change was drastic. If it weren't for the jagged W on his forehead, Eve would have never recognized him. He was clean, his face clear and handsome, his teeth a normal shade of white, instead of the horrendous yellow from before. His hair while still long was pushed out of his face. He a pair of gray utility pants and a plan white button up shirt, which he took off for Eve to examine his wound.

She peeled off the bandage. It was still an angry red and swollen. She smeared it with antiseptic and put on a new bandage before giving him a second dose of antibiotics. He looked her in the eyes. He seemed calmer, healthier.

"I want to see Jenny," he said again. Eve turned to Manuella who bit her lip. Finally she nodded.

…

No one was sure how Robin would react when Jenny told him about the baby, but Eve wasn't sure anyone expected this.

She stood in the corner of the tiny room, watching as Robin held the infant, a look of awe and love on his face. Jenny sat next to them, her eyes shining with tears.

They'd let Jenny into the basement room. Eve and Manuella kept watch just outside the door, but the couple's conversation was clearly audible. Eve listened tensely as Jenny told her story, about being captured and held in the hospital, the rapes and the children. When she finally told him about the baby sleeping soundly upstairs, he'd demanded to see him.

"I want to see my son," he'd said.

It took some convincing but finally Manuella agreed, but only if she and Eve were present. Now Eve felt awkward watching this tender moment, imposing on something so intimate and private.

"He looks just like you," Robin said thickly. "Look at those ears." He laughed. "I'd recognize those ears anywhere."

Jenny gave a watery laugh too.

A loud crash sounded from outside. It shook the ground around them and was immediately followed by shouts of alarm from upstairs. Eve and Manuella locked eyes for a second before both bolting up stairs.

They were met on the landing by an out of breath Grace. "It happened," she panted. "The walls are breached. They're here."

Eve felt the blood drain out of her face. She ran to the window and looked through the slit in the boards. The church tower looked to have collapsed taking a large chunk of the wall with it. Walkers were flooding the streets and Alexandrians were scrambling around trying to get inside.

Manuella started issuing orders and the mother's sprung into action. Every entrance was guarded, a girl at every window. But there was nothing to be done, except hide. They all watched helplessly as their little town was swarmed with walkers.

"What do we do?" Eve whispered.

For the first time, Manuella actually looked scared. '"I don't know," she whispered back.