37

"Who the Hell is Selena?" Daryl exclaimed. "How do ya know that girl?"

Aibileen had helped Selena off of Daryl's motorcycle, keeping her wide eyes on the woman in front of her. Aibileen felt the backs of her eyes sting with tears, but she fought off the urge to let them out.

Selena's ashy blonde hair hung loosely around her shoulders; her crystal blue eyes were big, as she looked at Aibileen.

"This is Selena," Aibileen said softly, her hands placed on the woman's shoulders.

"Who is she to you?" Rick asked, studying the blonde woman with slightly narrowed eyes.

Aibileen looked at the other members of the group. They seemed on guard, a bit confused. Selena was a stranger to the group, maybe even an invader. The two women looked at each other for a moment, a slight frown settling on their faces.

"I'm..." Selena said hesitantly, glancing between Aibileen and the group. "Uhm, I'm..."

"She's my cousin," Aibileen said. "I was on my way to Atlanta to find her when I found y'all." Aibileen glanced at Rick and the others curiously, her lips pursed in a thin line. "I thought ya said everyone in Atlanta was dead? No survivors?"

Rick's brows furrowed. He seemed a bit conflicted with what was going on—the strange woman that Daryl had brought back blindfolded was truly a survivor of Atlanta, but Aibileen's cousin.

"I managed to find a way out before everything got too bad," Selena said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You came looking for me?"

Aibileen nodded.

"I-I was told that no one survived Atlanta," Aibileen said, sounding almost regretful. "After I found Rick and the others—they were survivors of Atlanta. Rick said there weren't any survivors."

Aibileen looked over at Rick, who seemed conflicted about what was going on, looking between Selena and Aibileen.

~The Walking Dead~

The group had traveled for a total of two months since winter had started. Rick had reluctantly allowed Selena to stay in the group, but kept her on what he called 'the watch', which frustrated Aibileen, but she knew Rick was just being cautious.

Aibileen and Selena were, in a sense, inseparable since she was found by Daryl. Selena had been a nurse before the world had gone to Hell, and was useful when it came to helping Hershel and his medical experience. It was obvious that Selena was trying her hardest to make herself useful, and to have the others notice how grateful she was that they allowed her to stay.

The one thing that bothered Aibileen the most, one thing she wouldn't openly tell Selena or the others, was that she wasn't sure her cousin's spot in the group was permanent.

Rick allowed Selena to stay, but she'd be watched closely by him. Not once did he mention her stay would be a permanent thing.

Aibileen would hear the whispers of the others whenever Selena was around. They tried making it subtle, but she knew that the others weren't too comfortable with her yet, probably didn't even trust her. That angered Aibileen to no end. Aibileen had cried her eyes out, once she truly started to understand that she had a living family member. She thought the others would've been happy she'd found a living family member—instead, they were distant and almost scrutinizing Selena.

You have to understand that the living are in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, she thought. But were they like this when they found me?

Aibileen tried shoving those thoughts down, thinking of how ridiculous she was feeling. She had found her cousin, the one person in her family she finally knew was alive! Unlike Caleb and his boys, who had been separated from Aibileen during their journey to Atlanta, Aibileen no longer had to worry or assume that the ones she called family were dead.

"Selena seems to be gettin' along with the rest of the group," Aibileen said.

She was helping Rick fix his car. The poor vehicle was starting to show a little bit of wear and tear, the cold slowly causing it to fall apart. They had been on the road, jumping from home to home for two months and everyone was getting exhausted. Especially Lori. It was starting to become obvious all the moving around was having some kind of nasty effect on her.

Rick glanced at Aibileen for a moment before looking over at Selena, who was talking to Hershel and Beth.

"She does," he responded, before focusing on the car.

"Do ya think she could be a member of the group?" Aibileen looked at Rick desperately. She wanted Selena to be a member of the group. Selena had medical experience, she could help Hershel with anything that might need medical attention. Not only that, Selena was great with kids and just a naturally social person.

"I don't know yet," Rick answered curtly.

Aibileen's shoulders slumped. "It's been over two weeks since Daryl found her," she exclaimed. "She's got medical experience; she's tryin' her damned hardest to prove herself! If she was gonna try somethin', she woulda done it already."

Rick looked up at her, looking almost defeated.

"I know you want Selena to stay," he said, trying to sound calm, "but you have to keep in mind that we have limited supplies. It's hard enough trying to find supplies for just us, but adding an extra person adds stress."

"Just give her a chance," Aibileen pleaded.

"I am." Rick gave Aibileen a pointed look. "This is a trial run, Aibileen. She's your cousin and you want what's best for her, but I won't put the rest of the group in danger. We don't know what she's gone through out there. She could've killed people."

"At this point, we've all killed someone," Aibileen said softly. "Walker or not."

"Ya know how to speak Italian?" Aibileen asked. She looked at the young Selena Giovanni curiously. Aibileen, only nine at the time, had a very rare visit from her Uncle Orlando and Aunt Felicity.

Orlando Giovanni was the older half-brother of Aibileen's father, Lorenzo. Aibileen had only met her Uncle Orlando once in her life, and she didn't remember it at all. Her mother had said it was because she was a baby when Orlando came to visit. Aibileen had been told that her aunt, uncle, and cousin rarely came to visit was because of the tension between Aibileen's parents.

"Yeah," Selena said. "Papa said that it makes him feel like he's back in Italy."

"Is your mom Italian?" Aibileen asked, looking at her Aunt Felicity.

The one thing Aibileen noticed about her Aunt Felicity was that she had wild, curly red hair. Her Uncle Orlando had clean-cut dirty blonde hair.

"No," Selena said, shaking her head. "Mama said that her dad was Irish."

Aibileen didn't say anything for a moment. She looked at Selena closely. The one thing Aibileen noticed about Selena were her eyes—they were crystal blue. Her skin was pale and her hair was a weird colored blonde.

"I don't know any Italian," Aibileen said simply, her big brown eyes studying her cousin closely. "Could ya teach me some?"

Selena Giovanni gave her cousin a big, excited smile.

"Of course!" she exclaimed.

~The Walking Dead~

Aibileen was sitting in the living room of the latest home they'd found. Daryl and T-Dog were patrolling the outside perimeter, the others trying to get as comfortable as they could.

"Selena's speaking some other language in the kitchen." Aibileen saw Carl plop himself next to her, a slightly confused look on his face.

Aibileen couldn't help but smile. It was Selena teaching her how to speak Italian that made the two women best friends as they grew up. Because of the connection Aibileen and Selena made when they were younger, her Uncle Orlando made sure to visit more often, until Aibileen went to live with her Granny, then all connections to the Italian side of her family had been disconnected.

"She's speakin' Italian," Aibileen said. "She's half-Italian. Like me."

"You're half-Itlalian?" Carl asked.

"I'm Italian on my father's side," Aibileen explained. "Selena's father was my uncle. He was my father's half-brother."

"Do you know any Italian?" Carl's voice sounded a little excited at the idea of Aibileen knowing some Italian. She couldn't help but chuckle a little at what looked like childish excitement.

"Yes," Aibileen said with a smile. "L'inverno è molto freddo."

Carl looked impressed. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"The winter is very cold," she translated. "Selena was the one who taught me how to speak Italian. Her father thought speaking Italian brought him closer to Italy."

"Essa ci ha reso migliori amici."

Aibileen and Carl turned around and saw Selena standing a foot or two behind them, a smile wide on her face. Aibileen returned it.

"It did," Aibileen said with a chuckle.

Aibileen felt a happiness she hadn't felt in a long time. She finally had a living family member. And it felt as though nothing could ruin that.

Author's Note:

I'm so, so, SO sorry if these past chapters have been sloppy! I didn't really get any sleep last night and I am trying to write what I think can make this story interesting! Just let me know what needs fixing and I'll do that!

Also, the Italian that's spoken in this chapter I got from Google translate, so if anyone is fluent in Italian and sees anything wrong with what's written in this update, please tell me so I can fix that. And what Selena says, Essa ci ha reso migliori amici, means 'it made us best friends'. Again, if there's anything wrong with the Italian in this update, just let me know. I don't want to end up offending anyone who's good at speaking the language.

Before I wrap this up, I don't own the 'Walking Dead'. I own Selena, Aibileen, any other characters I add, and the fillers I put in. I wish I could own the series, but I don't. Which makes me sad.

Please leave a helpful review! I feel like I really need it at this point.

Thank you.

Susan Strong