boom! surprise quick update! thought i left you all hanging a long time before last chapter and decided to treat you with an earlier update

not that i have a planned schedule or anything...

i'm a mess tbh

enjoy


oOo

It wasn't without more arguing on the subject that Diana finally got them to agree with her; her parents were right; she did get her way more often than not. But in her eyes them leaving her behind on this made no sense. What if, what if, they all died and she was left alone, what would she do then?

Rick had offered her a pistol, but Diana refused it in favor of her bow; it didn't feel right, and she'd never shot a gun before, so it wouldn't serve her well.

They arrived at the gate, the paint peeling off and the promise of a bloody fight beyond it. It screeched open just enough to let them through, and Daryl pushed Miguel inside first, the boy with his hands tied behind his back and rag over his mouth, before the rest of them followed through.

Diana heard her pulse in her ears as she passed a large man with a face tattoo who stared her down and then flashed her a depraved grin. Her grip on the bow tightened and she stepped away from the man and closer to T-Dog, who joined her in glaring at him.

The gate closed and they were immediately surrounded, the men forming a tight circle around them. Facing them was Guillermo. He frowned, giving them a once-over, and spoke, "I see my guns but they're not all in the bag."

"That's because they're not yours," Rick said, tilting his head, his aim just a few centimeters below Guillermo's face. "I thought I mentioned that."

"Where's Glenn?" Diana asked, cutting through the crap, her voice imposing and sure, and she took a step closer to him. "I wanna see him."

Guillermo looked at her and at her bow with a cocked eyebrow and chuckled. It made her insecure and almost caused her to retrace her steps but she held her ground, unwilling to back out now.

"Your girl there seems a bit eager," he said to Rick and then addressed her, "What's that trick you do with that thing? How's that work, mami?"

Diana gritted her teeth at his assumption and spat, "I'm nobody's girl and none of your business."

He hummed in pleased contemplation and eyed her from head to foot, which made her squirm in place, uncomfortable at the sudden attention; maybe she shouldn't have spoken up after all.

In a stab at her pride, Rick stepped in front of her, blocking her from Guillermo's sight and bringing the conversation back to him. "I think this is our deal," he said and wiped out a knife to cut Miguel's bonds free. "You have your man. I want mine."

There was unrest amongst Guillermo's men, something that almost made them fidget in place. Guillermo screwed his face in anger, his lips pursed, and he took a threatening step towards Rick. "I'm gonna chop up your boy. I'm gonna feed him to my dogs. They're the evilest, nastiest man-eating bitches you ever saw. I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale," he hissed up in Rick's face, and Diana's heart skipped a beat in distress at the mental image. "I told you how it has to be. Are you woefully deaf?"

"No, my hearing's fine," Rick calmly said, "You said come locked and loaded."

Everyone cocked their weapons and Rick pointed his at Guillermo, who stared down the barrel with an unyielding stance, his chin in the air. Diana raised her bow and drew up an arrow, aiming only at shoulders and other weapons, ready to disable and disarm if it really came down to it.

She saw herself facing down some guns as well, her heart in her throat. She could almost see the entire scene from a third point of view, feeling like her soul had detached itself from her body. She could swear she was about to faint from the stress.

She prayed inside her head and apologized to her parents and siblings and sent them her love through thought, feeling quite uncharacteristically pessimistic.

"Felipe! Felipe!" called a fragile voice from the back, making its way towards the center until Diana saw an old woman in her nightgown and mantle step from between the men in a comically unexpected sight.

Diana lowered her bow slowly. Where had the old lady come from? Why was she there in the first place?

This 'Felipe', who was apparently Guillermo's right-hand guy, the one Daryl had shot in the ass, turned to the woman and told her to go back with the others, calling her his abuela.

"What others?" Diana asked, curiosity taking over, and she dropped her aim completely, stepping around Rick. She flinched when more guns were shoved in her face and stayed put, hands up in surrender.

"Get that old lady out of the line of fire!" yelled Daryl, his aim still true. Diana looked back at him and he gestured aggressively with his head for her to get back, to which she shook her head; they wouldn't risk opening fire with the old woman in the middle of it, there was nothing to fear…she hoped.

"Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay? This is the not the place for you right now," Guillermo told her while gesturing at her to go back.

She just looked helplessly between Felipe and Guillermo, her wrinkled face taking on a soft expression of alarm. "Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing. He needs his asthma stuff. Carlitos didn't find it. He needs his medicine."

Diana tapped Rick's side with the back of her hand, giving him a reprehensive look. Not only was Glenn's life at stake, but someone else's health was at risk, and here they were, like children fighting over toys, even if on a much bigger scale.

"Abuelita, hello," Diana said in a mellow voice, putting her bow away and stepping towards the woman while keeping careful with the dangerous men following her with their eyes and guns. She stretched her hand towards the woman, who grabbed it and Diana held it with both of hers like she used to do with her elderly patients. She took on a kind, professional tone. "Where's this person, maybe I can help. I'm a nurse."

Guillermo turned to her. "Wait, you're a nurse?" his tone of disbelief caused her to raise an annoyed eyebrow over her shoulder. What was with the surprise?

"You can help Mr. Gilbert, too," the old lady looked up at her and then her grandson. "Felipe, come."

Felipe glanced from his grandmother to Guillermo, both struggling with the situation. The latter was sweating bullets, no pun intended, and yelled at Felipe to go take care of it and to take his grandmother with him.

"Abuela, por favor, ven conmigo," Felipe begged of her, taking her hand and coaxing her to the back of the garage.

The woman didn't let go of Diana's hand, her frail grip tightened and she told her grandson, "La chica hermosa es enfermera, puede ayudarte, mijo." Diana felt herself blush at the compliment. "Pregúntale si tiene novio."

"Abuela!" Felipe interjected and tugged lightly on her hand.

"Take me to Mr. Gilbert, Abuelita." Diana chose to pretend she hadn't heard the woman and took the next step. "I lost my friend around here. You haven't seen him, have you? His name's Glenn Rhee."

"The Asian boy? He's with Mr. Gilbert," she said softly, and Diana frowned in confusion. If he was being held hostage, why would he be allowed near the other elders? "Come. Come, I show you."

Diana's heart rose in her chest like it had gained wings and she beamed at the old lady and then over her shoulder at her group.

Guillermo contemplated her and the others, his lips pursed and brow furrowed. He looked down, touched the cross of his rosary and hesitated before finally giving in. "Let 'em pass," he told his men. They all stepped aside to make way, their guns dropping.

Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog were behind her in the blink of an eye, one of them laying a comforting hand on her back, easing the nervousness boiling in her stomach. Glenn, Glenn, Glenn, it was all she could think about.

Abuelita's weathered hand in hers was soft to the touch and it reminded Diana of before, of her work and her patients, and she never thought she'd feel nostalgia over that, but there it was, knocking on the door like 'I'm here, muhfucker, whatchu gonna do about it'.

The woman led them out the garage by a back door, down a narrow alley that opened to a vegetable and flower garden, where a man stood guard. He was alarmed at the sight of them, but Felipe raised his hand to abate him.

Diana smiled sheepishly and nodded at him in greeting, and he nodded back, confusion written on his face.

Abuelita brought them inside the building, the white aesthetic of it reminded Diana further of her time at the clinic and her heart lurched.

Felipe took his grandma from Diana and told her to take him to Mr. Gilbert. Diana followed. She looked inside every room on her way, seeing seniors sitting on armchairs or on their beds while reading old newspapers or quietly conversing with each other. The windows were boarded up, some doors were barricaded, the works.

The old lady led the group into a communal area with a theatre stage, a piano on one corner with a man sitting at it, several round tables here and there, and right at front, a small group of people gathered around the alleged Mr. Gilbert, an elderly black man in a purple mantle, his breathing shallow and wheezy, and triggering enough to make Diana take a deep shuddery breath herself.

Glenn was one of the people standing around him, watching as Felipe coached the man back to a steady breathing pattern and helped him with his inhaler.

"Glenn!" called Diana, relieved to see him well, away from rooftop edges and nasty hounds from hell. She ran to him and fell into his open arms, his smile bright at seeing her.

He cradled the back of her head with one hand and the other tightened around her, grabbing onto her backpack, the only thing he could reach. When they let go, she slapped his upper arm, hard.

Glenn winced and rubbed the spot. "Why?"

"I told you it was dangerous," she scolded, "you should listen to Diana when she tells you things. I swear I was tempted to find a priest."

"First, I think Diana shouldn't talk about herself in the third person, and second, why the hell a priest?" He frowned in confusion.

"To bathe me in holy water and exorcise me of my murderous thoughts," Diana said blankly and crossed herself.

Glenn snorted at her deadpan expression, which then burst into a giddy smile. She really loved Glenn, she didn't know what she would've done if he'd been hurt.

Rick brought them out of their quiet, friendly banter by asking Glenn what the hell was going on, his expression earnest and grave.

Glenn looked back at Mr. Gilbert and simply said, "Oh, an asthma attack. Couldn't get his breath all of a sudden."

T-Dog turned to him, enraged, and hissed out, "I thought you were being eaten by dogs, man."

Glenn turned to the corner of the room, where, on the floor, a little doggy bed housed three tiny Chihuahuas, who yipped at the strangers.

"Vicious, man-eating bitches from hell," Diana paraphrased sarcastically and resisted the strong urge to run to pet the dogs. She looked at Guillermo and smirked. "Satan must have a soft spot for the cute and tiny." One by one, the pooches trotted up to them, sniffing around their feet, and Diana couldn't resist them anymore.

While Rick took Guillermo to the side, Diana stayed by Glenn's side, kneeling down to bask in the attention, rubbing her hands on the dogs' short soft fur, their tiny tongues lapping at her fingers, their soft yelps and goofy wags of their tails. She wanted to cry. Would anyone notice if she snuck one out under her shirt? Or in her backpack?

She whined when they lost interest and trotted away, sniffing around the room, the new scents from the strangers piquing their curiosity.

She straightened herself and followed their movements wistfully, hands clutched over her bursting heart. She loved dogs so much.

Glenn cleared his throat. "Need a moment?"

"I'm okay," she sighed and composed herself. "I was so worried, dude," she told Glenn, focusing back on him and put her arm around his shoulder, bringing him in to kiss his cheek.

"Hey and I wasn't? When I saw you from that roof, I had no idea what to do 'cause I knew you'd put yourself in danger to come get me. You're stupid like that." Glenn smirked and Diana gasped in mock offense while putting a hand on her chest.

"Diana, Glenn," Rick interrupted, him and the others were following Guillermo out of the gymnasium.

The man took them to a staff lounge/maintenance room, the boarded up window letting only trickles of light shine through, and he found his perch with his back to it, bathing him in a veil of gold.

Diana leaned awkwardly against the nearest wall, not knowing what to do with herself, jostling her bow so it didn't dig into her flesh.

Guillermo told them how their people came to be, how the Vatos had come to check on their family and some decided to stay and so they built up their manpower, which came in handy to defend them and the old people against plunderers, who came for their food and medicine.

Speaking of medicine, Diana considered for a second asking if they had anything to spare but thought it would be selfish of her to take anything from these people who had almost nothing, so she kept her lips sealed.

"-and you show up with Miguelito hostage…appearances," he explained, raising his eyebrows once in resignation. He glanced at Diana. "And you with that strange thing."

Diana blinked and pursed her lips. "What do you want me to say?" She shrugged helplessly.

"That is some outta-this-world kinda shit, mami, don't tell me you ain't thought about it."

"I've only ever had more questions than answers, so I learned to just go with it," she said honestly. It wasn't like the thing had come with a FAQ manual, although that would've been pretty handy. All she got so far was the vague notion that there was someone like her out there, maybe. She wasn't even certain of that.

Guillermo nodded pensively and then added, "And you said you're a nurse? That true?"

She straightened herself and uncrossed her arms. "Yeah, I mean, yeah, last year of school while working at a rehabilitation clinic," she admitted. She had never talked specifics of her work with anyone with common ground.

"Rehab?" Guillermo asked, incredulous.

"No uh, rehabilitation as in people go there after hospitalization after an accident or because of an illness to receive therapy and heal up enough to be able to go home or wherever." Diana tilted her head. "I worked in a station that took in patients with either neurological or orthopedic background, so there were mostly elders."

"Huh," he huffed and suggested, "you could stay here with us, we could use some more capable hands."

"Oh," Diana interjected, taken aback, and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, "sorry, but no thanks, I'm- I have- I've family waiting back at- I can't-"

He cocked his head and his voice was sincere, "That's a pity, mami, we'd take good care of you, I'd take good care of you."

"That's enough of that," T-Dog interrupted loudly, protective over his pseudo-sister, and then he whispered, "Keep a leash on it, Dixon."

Diana felt her cheeks and neck flush. Guillermo was a good looking guy, right up Diana's alley, and she'd never had anyone like him flirt with her. She didn't blame herself for being flustered, it was a natural reaction. But to do so in the presence of others was too embarrassing. She planted her gaze on the ground and let it take root there.

She disliked it, despite the tone of sincerity, it still felt like he was mocking her.

"Hey," Rick called, breaking Guillermo out of his heated stare, "You have any plans for these people?"

He sighed and opened his arms in defeat. "The Vatos work on those cars, talk about getting the old people out of the city. But most can't even get to the bathroom by themselves," he admitted, "still, it keeps the crew busy, and that's worth something.

So we barred all the windows, welded all the doors shut except for one entrance. The Vatos, they go out, scavenge what they can to keep us going. We watch the perimeter night and day and we wait. The people here, they all look to me now. I don't even know why."

"Because they can," said Rick after a second of contemplation.

Diana interrupted the moment by anticlimactically bursting into a coughing fit into her elbow. She looked up the people that turned to stare at her in worry and waved her hand in apology. "Sorry," she wheezed out and continued painfully hacking, the air burning and scratching her throat with the force. It was a heavy sound, like sandpaper on wood and it felt just as rough.

"You alright?" asked Daryl, suddenly at her side.

"Yep, keep going." She coughed her last, forcing it to an end, almost choking on the withheld air. "I'm used to it." She was sure her face was flushed, and the sudden attention on her didn't help, so she dismissed the stares with her hand and simultaneously fanned her flushed cheeks. "I said I'm fine, stop looking at me!"

With that order, all heads snapped away and Rick focused back on Guillermo and silently offered him his shotgun, bringing them back to the point.

She absentmindedly watched the two men divide the fire weapons equally among them, and Rick showing which ammo went in which gun.

Diana nodded to herself, satisfied, no bloodshed, no lives lost. Today was a good day, despite Merle's disappearance, and well, the lecture Diana knew she would receive when she got back to camp. She swallowed hard and felt her stomach turn; she was not looking forward to that.

She was startled back into focus by Daryl, his hand on her shoulder as he gestured with his head that they were leaving.

Diana had to go say goodbye to the dogs before leaving, the temptation to just snatch one out with her was too great, and she had to almost be physically forced to walk away.

At the door on the way out, Guillermo stopped them and thanked them once more, in his own prideful way, and he turned to Diana with a final offer, "We don't have much but we have each other. And I'd have you, if you'd have me. No he sentido el tacto de una mujer desde hace una eternidad and I've never seen anyone like you."

Diana blushed to the tips of her ears and looked away from Guillermo's sensuous and intense dark brown gaze. Goddamn him for being Diana's type.

"Uhm, I- uh, I'm just-, I think you're just saying that 'cause you haven't seen another woman in a while 'cause, really, I'm just like everyone else."

She felt flattered at his words, but disliked being put on a pedestal; she was not something special apart from the rest of humanity, everyone was like everyone else in the sense that they all differed from one another. As corny as it sounded, it could almost be said that every person was their own different snowflake, and she was just another one.

Gah, that sounded so clichéd, Diana could almost cringe.

"But the other thing," she murmured, "I think… I think I can do something about it."

She climbed up the steps to Guillermo, heart beating fast in anticipated embarrassment, and stopped on the one below him. She rested her palm against his stubbled cheek and brought his face down while rising on the tips of her toes. She planted her lips against his other cheek in a gentle and innocent peck, the hairs on his face scratching the soft skin of her lips.

Leaning away, Diana whispered, "I wish you a long life." What else could she say that was relevant? "Without many struggles but tons of love. You don't really need me, but I have people who do, and they're waiting for me right now. You have people who need you, too. Cherish that. That's a gift."

Guillermo's brow was furrowed as he appraised her, his eyes searching her face. Then he held her by the back of her head and Diana was struck with the sudden fear that he would kiss her, but his lips connected with her forehead instead.

He moved away, but his hand stayed. He stared hard at her and then said, "Go," with a heavy voice that felt like less of an order and more of a plea.

Diana nodded, flustered and relieved, and trotted down the stairs back to her awaiting group. When she looked back up, the door was closed.

"What was all that about?" Daryl asked harshly, breaking the silence as they walked away.

"That looked straight out of a Spanish soap opera," Glenn commented in amusement.

"I don't know. I was just being nice." Diana shrugged, downplaying how affected she'd been by Guillermo's words and Guillermo himself.

She had always been insecure about herself, personality as well as looks, always thinking her brain must've been wired wrong and that God had played a cruel prank when putting together her parts, all of that backed up by years of self-esteem issues originating from the discrimination of adults and the harshness of teenage boys and girls. And Guillermo's apparent attraction to her astounded her.

She had heard compliments before, especially at times when she put extra effort into her appearance, but she'd never experienced such intense advances before; it made her a little uncomfortable, to be honest, as it brought back some unpleasant memories that would best be unremembered.

"Can you start being nice like that to us, too?" Glenn teased and elbowed her on the side, but dwelling on it only made Diana's insides squirm with discomfort.

"That's enough, okay? Please," Diana begged, rubbing her ribs and adjusting her bow on her shoulder before quickening her stride.

"Diana? Y-"

"So, Rick, about that hat, huh?" Diana interrupted, looking back at the Sheriff, his outfit more complete with the headwear.

Glenn seemed to take the hint to drop the subject. "Yeah, admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat."

Rick grinned at them secretively. "Don't tell anybody."

"You've given away half our guns and ammo," Daryl complained, changing the subject quite abruptly.

"They need it as much as we do," Diana defended with a sigh, falling back into the ranks at Daryl's side, and Rick added that it wasn't nearly the half of them.

"For what? Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long you think they got? How long you think your boyfriend's got?" he spat, his voice on another level of annoyed.

Diana slapped his arm with the back of her hand. "Don't be rude," she chided and chuckled when Daryl mumbled her words to himself in a mocking tone. "Seriously, you're such a child."

"What the hell?" Glenn interjected, stopping them in their tracks.

They were at the train tracks where they'd parked the van, but the vehicle itself was nowhere to be seen.

Diana spun, looking around, maybe they were in the wrong place? She had a pretty bad sense of orientation, but it still looked like they'd come to the right spot.

"Where the hell's our van?" Daryl asked, working himself up, his shoulders tensing so familiarly.

"We left it right there. Who would take it?"

"Merle," Rick affirmed, and there was a beat of horrified silence.

"Shit," Diana whispered, eyes widening, and then spoke up, "Oh shit, we have to hurry back."

Daryl nodded at her and added, "He's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp."

oOo

Night had fallen, painting the world a few shades darker and robbing them of most of their vision.

Diana was exhausted from all the running and had resorted to a slow shamble at the tail of the group as she was pulled along. Her lungs forcing themselves to inhale and exhale, and her wheezing breath was painful to hear and even more painful to feel. She liked running, but this was just overdoing it.

Daryl had relieved her of her backpack right when she'd showed first signs of tiredness, and had even volunteered to give her a ride on his back, but she told him she'd feel like a self-indulgent, self-serving cow if she did that, so he'd been contented with pulling her by the hand so she wouldn't fall too far behind or trip on anything she couldn't see.

Diana appreciated the gesture, and she appreciated the soft electric feeling of his palm on hers, what she didn't appreciate was the pace he was forcing her to keep up with. She was dying! Sure, she wanted to get back to camp as quick as possible, who knew what mischief Merle was up to? But she wanted to get there in one piece, one breathing piece, if preferable.

Was that blood she was tasting?

Then, shots sounded in the near distance, from up on camp, and they were stupefied into a stop before they sprinted up the path, Diana almost sobbing from overexertion, her chest hurting like she'd swallowed a rock and it had gotten stuck halfway down.

Merle was just one person, no matter how much chaos he tried to play up, he was overnumbered by a ton.

…So why was there so much shooting going on?

Okay, consider her officially worried.

They stumbled into camp, and Diana was overwhelmed with the utterly horrible sight of the frenzy of the campers and walkers everywhere.

Her heart dropped to her stomach as she tried to catch her breath without having her lungs collapse.

"Stay behind me!" Daryl shouted at her and felled a walker that came towards them.

Shot after shot, he defended them while giving her the time needed to get herself ready.

Diana trembled, the adrenaline making her heart race ever faster. She tugged on her backpack on his back, letting him know she was fine and readied her bow with shaking hands.

All that crossed her mind was 'aim, shoot, aim, shoot, aim, shoot' over and over. She stayed only alert enough to distinguish the alive from the dead and keep herself away from their grasping range.

Diana jumped with her heart in her throat when a crawler grabbed her sneaker and tried to climb up her leg. She shook it off with a scream, almost losing her shoe and her balance in the process, and shot it before it sunk its teeth into her jean-covered leg.

Diana smacked a walker across the face with a limb of her bow and moved away from it, putting enough distance between them to shoot it. She was sure she would've been much more freaked out in this situation if she hadn't gone through what she had the day before to escape from the store and the city.

"Diana!"

The shout that caused her to jump was accompanied by a shot that felled a walker sneaking its way up to her. She didn't see who had saved her ass but didn't dwell on it longer than necessary. There was too much going on at the moment for that.

A new purpose overcame her.

Diana brought down a walker in her path with a quick steady draw. She didn't slow down, she knew where she had to go, she knew who to look out for.

She couldn't care less about what was happening around her, her main priority right now was finding her family.

She had to get back to them, she had to see them alive and well.

A few more shots rang out in the background and the sounds of the dead were finally put to rest. A sense of restless quiet reigned, the sounds of sobbing prominent in the air.

Diana spun around, feeling her heart in her throat, and saw familiar faces everywhere, both living and dead, but not the faces she was looking for.

"Mami!" she called, "Papá!" She strode towards their camp, her tired legs about to give out until she reached the two lone tents by the tree line, the clothesline ripped and clothes were strewn about, the foldable chairs knocked off their feet.

Nobody in sight.

The panic came back, renewed and grand, and she was growing desperate.

"Alice! Felix!" she shouted, peeking into the tents and seeing nobody and nothing. The absence of everything was unnerving.

Where were they? Where were they? Where were they? Where were they? Where were they? Where were they? Where were they? Where were they? Where were they? Where were they?!

Diana felt like tearing her hair out. Her eyes stung with premature tears. She couldn't lose them, she couldn't.

Something caught her eye behind the tents, a lone figure running into the woods. Diana didn't catch any details, just a blur in motion, and she honestly didn't care if it was a walker or not, she just followed, walking around her and the kids' sleeping quarters.

In the dark, she heard a sniffle, and then a whimper, and her heart stilled, as well as her legs. Diana's gaze caught Felix behind their tent, his tall, wiry frame bunched together, back turned to her as he knelt by something she could barely discern in the blue darkness of the night.

"Felix?" she prompted, terrified of what was causing him to sob like that. Her body screamed at her with anticipation, her breath hitched in her throat.

Her small steps towards the boy stopped. A white-hot rod pierced through her chest. The strength left her body and she fell to the ground, bow thudding on the dirt.

She felt boneless, heartless, soulless.

This must be another one of her weird dreams. A dream, just a dream. And she would blink awake and everything would be alright.

Because how could something like this not be out of a nightmare?


oooooooooooh

(pls leave a comment, i'm needing some love)