The group had taken the opportunity to shower in the morning and were given new clothes. Chloe was given a new pair of shoes, because according to several people, her old ones were falling apart, and if she continued wearing them, they'd fall off and she'd walk around barefoot. They also took the opportunity to eat a decent breakfast for the first time in months. After Chloe had finished her meal, she stepped outside, and was promptly greeted by Caleb.
"Nice day, isn't it?"
"It is." Chloe agreed.
"And we can forget about what happened?" Caleb asked.
"I'll forgive you, but I can't guarantee that the other people you held captive will." Chloe replied.
"I'm willing to take the risk." Caleb said, looking over at Milton and Andrea. "I know she's not your mother."
"No, she isn't, but she's the closest I have to one." Chloe said with a smile, before walking to them. "I'm ready to leave, how about you?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Andrea replied. "Chloe, why don't you go talk to Glenn and Maggie?"
Chloe walked to Glenn and Maggie, who were preparing to leave for their mission.
"I hope you find Beth, and that she's all right."
"I hope so, too" Maggie implied, giving Chloe a brief hug. "You be careful."
"Always am." Chloe replied, letting go, and allowing Glenn to hug her. "This town is crazy anyway. How long do you think you'll take?"
"We don't know." Glenn answered with a shrug. "But we can't leave her out there, she's Maggie's sister."
Chloe gave them a brief smile before going to talk to Rick, who had been trying to talk Carol into taking Judith and leaving.
"I'll keep Carl with me." he informed her. "Daryl and Michonne will stay with me as well. There's something I've been meaning to do."
"Okay, I'll take Judith." Carol agreed. "What is it you have to do?"
"Something." Rick answered. "You can get ready to leave while I talk to Chloe." he waited until Carol was out of sight. "Are you sure you're up to this? You nearly lost your life yesterday."
"As I said before-"
"You're tougher than you look." Rick chuckled. "But you need to be more careful. In this world, it's best to keep your gun loaded and ready at all times, and you already do that."
"What exactly are you going to do?" Chloe asked.
"It's something I've been meaning to do for a long time." Rick replied with a smile. "It'll probably take a few days, maybe more. Abe and I talked it over; we have a few choices of where we can meet. We won't be gone long, don't worry."
"Who says I'm worried?" Chloe asked. "Just keep them safe."
Chloe walked away, noticing that Milton and Andrea were embracing each other, and wondered why. When she asked them why, she didn't get the answer she wanted.
"Because we felt like it." Milton replied. "Are you ready to leave?"
"I've been ready since the minute we arrived." Chloe said. "I think Carol and Judith are coming with us, too. Rick's taking Carl, Michonne and Daryl with him to do something, but he won't say."
The town members offered the groups vehicles, which they gladly accepted. Once everyone going to DC had caught up with the rest of the group, gathered outside an old day care van, there was arguments over who was going to drive. Eugene stepped forward, but Rosita made him step back.
"You are not driving!" Rosita chided. "You might get us lost!"
"At least let me hot wire the van." Eugene protested.
"You mean blow it up?" Rosita asked. "Yeah, not happening."
Chloe could see Abe was getting impatient, and decided to take matters into her own hands. She walked to them, and put an arm around each of them.
"You know, the more you argue, the more time you waste." she pointed out. "And I'm sure we're on a pretty tight schedule, now move over."
Chloe got into the driver's seat, and got to work hot wiring the old van. It took a few tries, before the engine finally started up, and she stepped out of the van.
"There, would you two like to argue about anything else, or shall we get this show on the road?"
"We'll make a supply run at the next town we enter." Abe stated. "It wouldn't seem fair to take anything from these people when they don't have much. So, who's driving?"
"I can drive." Chloe replied.
"The hell you are!" Rosita protested. "You're still recovering from yesterday, there is no way on Earth you're driving us to DC."
"You know what, let me drive." Milton replied. "Chloe's right, we're wasting time. Everyone in the van, now! Bob, I hope you brought a medical kit along in case something happens."
"I did, but I hope I don't need to use it." Bob implied.
"Okay, let's get out of here." Milton replied.
"A little warning to everyone," Chloe started. "My father likes to be a jokester, so please excuse any inappropriate jokes and such. And you will die of laughter."
"This should be interesting." Abe declared.
The ride was mostly silent, unless Milton cracked a joke; a few times, he'd start to tell one, but Andrea scolded him because she though it was too inappropriate for Judith to hear, so Milton would grumble words under his breath instead.
"Finally!" Milton declared as they got to a town. "I thought we would see nothing but trees."
Milton stopped the car once they were half way into the town, and everyone got out. Abe told them to grab any kind of food and supplies they could find, then to come right back."
Chloe walked through a grocery store, gathering any non perishable food items she could find, but she was looking down the aisle for something.
"What are you looking for?" Garth asked, following her.
"Something I haven't had for a long time." Chloe answered. "And I found it. Jackpot."
Chloe took the jar off the shelf, opened it and removed the protective seal. Garth handed Chloe a plastic spoon, and she dipped it right in, ate the spoonful and smiled.
"It's happiness in a jar." she boasted happily. "Let's get back to the others."
Garth and Chloe walked out of the store, only for Chloe to be questioned by her father.
"Chloe, we have better things to do, why did you think you'd have time to open a jar of Nutella?" he asked. "You know what, never mind that. You haven't had that for a while, so I'll let it slide."
"Let's stop the chatter and get back on the road." Abe suggested. "Eugene, we're almost to North Carolina. I'd say we get there and then check in. When's the last time you did that?"
"A couple days ago, but I didn't hear back from them." Eugene answered. "I have to save battery power, but I'll check in once we reach North Carolina."
Once everyone was in the van, Milton started the engine, with Chloe telling him how, and they were back on the road. Chloe couldn't help but think if it would really be worth it, and if Abe knew that he was putting Eugene's life in danger.