Chapter Twenty-Four

"The creek flows south, past that farmhouse Daryl found," Rick mused, staring at the map. Maybe if he stared at it long enough, it'd tell him exactly where Sophia was.

"Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there, the current brought it downstream."

"So what, you think she took this road here and then she went north?" Shane asked, pointing to a place on the map.

"Yeah – what's up that way?"

"A housing development," Jimmy answered. "It went in maybe 10 years ago."

"Take a run up there after gun practice," Rick replied, and Shane nodded. "I'll hold down the fort here, but I'll take backup. After what went down with Daryl, I don't want anyone going out alone. We stay in pairs."

"I'll take suggestions on a partner."

"See how they do on the range, then take your pick."

Glenn approached them, holding a large basket of peaches. Rick watched as he looked around all of them, almost nervously, handing Shane back his binoculars when he asked.

"Okay, bye."

Shane and Rick exchanged a look, then Rick watched him go as Shane laughed.

"We'd like to join you for gun trainin' today," Beth said, and he looked over to see her and Patricia.

"Hershel's been very clear," Rick retorted. "I can't involve any of you in what we do without his okay."

"He doesn't like it, but he consented."

"Otis was the only one who knew guns," Patricia added, and immediately Rick felt a shred of guilt. He wondered if Shane did, too.
"Now that he's gone, we've got to protect ourselves. Her father saw the sense in that."

"No offense, but, I'll ask Hershel myself," Rick replied. He couldn't risk them getting booted off the farm.

It felt like forever, but Maryanne could finally walk. She could finally move. And after a couple of days of getting winded easily, she was finally on her feet.

When she walked out of the tent, she saw Rick, Carl, Shane, and Lori standing in a group. Lori had that look on her face – something had happened. It looked like they were arguing about it.

"What happened?" she asked when Rick walked over.

"Carl stole a gun out of the R.V.," Rick answered, pinching his nose between two fingers. "He's gonna learn how to shoot."

"Well... that's good, right? I mean, he needs to learn at some point."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right."

Maryanne smiled. "I know, he's still always going to be a little boy in my mind, too. But this is a very different world."

Rick nodded, and kissed her cheek before he left for gun training.

"Hershel expects us to leave?"

Rick looked up to see Mary standing next to him, her eyes wide. He nodded.

"Does anyone else know?"

"Not yet."

Mary sighed. "Were you going to tell me?"

"Of course."

"When?" she demanded. "How long have you known?"

"Not long. You don't need to worry about this," he retorted.

"How can you expect me not to worry? We have shelter here, food and water and medical care."

"I've been talking with Hershel, it's not carved in stone," he replied, his tone a little harsher than he meant.

"He thinks it is," Maryanne replied after a moment. "We have to fix this. People are settling here, they'll be devastated."

"I know, I'm working on it!"

"Maybe I can talk to him, too, and plead our case."

"No, things are uneasy, the best thing right now is to give Hershel some space."

Mary stared at him, and he sighed.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" she asked, looking away from him.

"Like you're scared, like you don't trust me. I can take it from everyone else, but not from you."

"I just... I don't understand how you could keep something like this from me."

"You were shot, Mary!" Rick argued.

"And Sophia is missing! Daryl and T-Dog are hurt – I'm barely on my feet, how can we leave?"

"It's not what I want, either, but if we have to go... I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you are okay. And the same goes for Shane, and Lori, and Carl," he promised, his hands cupping her face. "We'll get by. We will."

Maryanne nodded. "Okay."

What did you think? Let me know in a review, I'd love to hear it.

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you next week.

-SparrowEyedGirl