Chapter 35

Kat's POV

That night everyone was still feeling like they were on cloud nine- Kat had not seen this group so happy since Hershel's farm. She couldn't help but get caught up and share in the joy of the group.

"Tomorrow we'll put all the bodies together. Want to keep them away from that water. Now, if we can dig a canal under the fence, we'll have plenty of fresh water."

"The soil is good. We could plant some seed. Grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans."

"This'll be a good place to have the baby. Safe."

She loved listening to the group plan for a future. It wasn't but a couple of hours ago that they were hopeless zombies just trying to live day to day now they were planning for the days to come.

She watched as Rick walked the fence surrounding the field and protecting them. He was probably looking for any weaknesses. The man was a worrier but his worrying has kept this group alive. She'd allow him a couple of more times walking the fence before she made him eat something.

In the mean time she grabbed a plate of food and started to walk toward an overturned bus. She came up to Daryl who was pacing atop the vehicle and keeping watch. She started to climb the thing but it was harder then it looked especially when you were trying to keep hold of food.

Looking up she saw Daryl staring at her with a smirk. She was about to yell at him to help her when he spoke up and said "Why don't cha put the plate down on the bus then climb up?"

Feeling like an idiot she mocked what he said in a sing-song voice and then did what he suggested. Finally he reached his hand out and helped pull her up to stand next to him.

"Not that you deserve it but I brought you some food –I hope you don't choke on it" she said to him still slightly out of breath from her struggles in climbing the Mt. Everest of buses.

He smirked and picked up the plate from the bus "Have you eaten?" he asked her. He stared at her probably expecting her to lie or avoid the question.

Holding his gaze she answered, "As a matter of fact I did." She just didn't tell him it was only about half the portion she had given him. Her other half went to the baby.

He seemed to buy it because he started to eat what she had given him. She knew he still sacrificed portions of his meal to make sure the others ate first so they were in the same boat. Hopefully it would be easier to hunt now that they have a home base. Maybe set up a blind or deer stand?

Sitting down on the edge of the bus she swung her legs off the side. Moving her shoulder around she felt the familiar ache her shoulder gave her when the weather was cold or damp.

At risk of sounding like an elderly person she rubbed her shoulder and said "I think it's going to rain my shoulder is acting up"

After a few seconds her hand was replaced with those of Daryl. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the comfort his actions brought to her. It wasn't long before he sat down behind her, his legs on either side of her. She was able to lean back and lay her head on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her and she took a deep breath –This was nice.

Allowing each other a couple of minutes Daryl spoke up and said they should get back to the group. She hated to leave Daryl's arm and the quiet but as they walked toward the fire where the group was she heard Beth singing and it was beautiful.

She gave Daryl's hand one last squeeze before she sat down next to Beth and listening to the words of the song and the sound of her voice, it was beautiful enough to bring her to tears. But she hadn't cried since reuniting with Daryl after the farm –she allowed herself that one breakdown. She didn't even cry when she was in Cora's room after the night she went back to her house. She was numb to that pain now –not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

As Beth ended the song she was taken out of her thoughts by Rick's voice "Better all turn in. I'll take watch over there. Got a big day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Glen questioned

"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we've got to push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. It could mean the supplies may be intact. They'd have an infirmary, a commissary."

"An armory?" Daryl asked

"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden's offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a gold mine."

"We're dangerously low on ammo. We'd run out before we make a dent." Hershel said

"That's why we have to go in there Hand to hand. After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance." Rick finished as he stood up and went to take watch.

He was right, everything they could need was within fifty feet of them –they at least had to try. She would've liked to have a day to rest but it was better to get it done –Lori might need medicine and if they had an infirmary it would be worth it.

Sighing she got up to follow Rick. She walked by Lori who had just finished talking to him, she gave the woman a small smile and kept walking.

The man had long strides she was having to speed walk to catch up to him –maybe her legs were exhausted and that was why. "Hey Rick" she called out to him

He stopped and turned to look at her and he didn't seem to be in a talking mood so she would get right to the point "Wake me up in four hours and I'll cover your watch. Okay?"

"I'm going to have T-Dog cover me. You need a full night's sleep –you worked harder than the rest of us today and I'll need you tomorrow" He told her and she was about to argue with him before he cut her off "I know your young and spry but you forget I'm old and wise –plus I'm sure your mother told you to listen to your elders"

"Fine" She said while giving him a playful glare "but seriously Rick thank you –for everything. This place will work and it's because of you" she went over and gave him a quick hug. He stiffened for a second before he returned the hug with one arm.

Daryl's POV

He decided to lay down and wait for Kat to return from talking to Rick –he knew what she was doing and he had asked Rick to refuse her help. The woman needed to rest and hadn't had more than maybe seven hours sleep all week. He honestly had no clue how she was still walking let alone functioning at all.

He laid out the thickest blanket he could find and bundled up a couple of shirts for her to lay her head on. Then found another blanket that she could cover up with –she had a weird thing where she preferred to always have a blanket when she slept. It could be 100 degrees and the woman wanted a blanket when she slept.

Already laying down in his makeshift bed he heard her footsteps approaching and pulled her side of the blanket back so she could get in.

"I wanna take my shoes off because I think it is safe here but I'm terrified of the smell" she joked as she laid down on his outstretched arm. He didn't know why he bothered with the shirt pillow she always laid on his arm and he suffered through the pain of it falling asleep until it was numb.

"Are you worried for tomorrow?" she asked him as she played with the buttons on his shirt.

"Nah –it'll be a piece of cake. But I want you to stay close to me tomorrow –no playin hero" He was nervous for tomorrow. They had no clue what or how many lay on the other side of the fence they just closed off.

"You got it" she said and gave him a kiss on his cheek "Now I'm going to bed. Wake me in a couple of hours so I know that Rick has someone else to replace his watch"

He didn't answer her because he had no intention of waking her up. She fell asleep rather quickly –probably from all the running she had done today. He smiled as she lightly snored in her sleep and turned to her side so that she was facing away from him. He took the opportunity to turn to his side and wrap his arm around her stomach. Closing his eyes he needed to get some sleep as well –tomorrow was a big day.

Kat's POV

She had slept way to late this morning –the jerk didn't wake her up. The only reason why she was awake now was because of the sun shining on her face. She reached behind her and was disappointed to see that Daryl was not there. Sitting up she looked around and saw that almost everyone else was up and being productive.

"What time is it?" it was a stupid question because no one had a watch that worked anymore but it was out of habit

"After noon" Beth answered her

"Damnit Daryl" she sighed "There is too much to do and I'm here sleeping like a log. Ridiculous" She turned to find the man and was stopped by Rick

"Hey. I'm glad you got some rest we don't plan on going in for another hour so I can run over the plan with ya"

Nodding "ya sure –sorry I was asleep so late"

"No problem, like I said you worked hard yesterday and I hate to ask for more but I think we can take this and make it ours." Rick said and he sounded so hopeful she believed him

The plan was simple enough –stay together back to back so everyone was covered from all directions. Rick, Glen, Maggie, T-Dog, Daryl and herself were going in and it was going to be hand to hand. Guns were only to be used as a last resort. Hershel, Carol, Carl, Beth, and Lori were going to draw as many walkers as they could to the fence like yesterday.

She had her trench knife in one hand and her hunting knife in the other –she wasn't a strong lefty but it was better to have it out just in case. She was in between Daryl and Rick – she made sure to give Rick enough room to swing with his machete.

It started off simple enough the walkers were slowly coming at them and no one broke formation. When a walker got close you killed it and kept moving forward. The most they encountered at one time was maybe six –the group quickly took care of them. When one was killing a walker the other watched their back and took out any threats that got too close.

Coming around a corner Rick walked ahead and then motioned everyone to fall back and stop. She didn't know what he saw but she was grateful for the quick breather. It wasn't long though that her break was interrupted by walkers dressed in prison riot gear. A helmet with shield and body armor. Daryl fired his crossbow at one as it got close to the group but it was deflected by the shield covering the walkers face.

The group moved forward and it seemed impossible to stab them in the head. She was about to Fling the helmet off the one that she was struggling with when she saw Maggie shove her knife under the jaw of her walker. It worked because it fell to the ground. Kat quickly copied her move and made her way to the next –she would have to praise Maggie later about her quick thinking.

She watched as Rick pulled the helmet off of his walker and immediately wished she hadn't. The chin strap took the fleshy part of the skull with it when he removed it but the thing kept fighting –trying to bite Rick. It stopped when he put his knife through its eye. The sight of that particular scene might give her nightmares. Looking around she saw that all immediate threats were taken care of and someone closed a gate that held quite a few walkers behind it.

Glen was starting to run back to the rest of the group when Rick told him to stop

"Well, it looks secure." Glen told Rick

"Nothing will lead to that courtyard over there. And that's a civilian." Daryl said as he pointed to a dead walker wearing t-shirts and jeans.

"So the interior could be overrun by walkers from outside the prison." The ever optimistic T-Dog said

"Well, if there's walls, then, what are we gonna do? We can't rebuild this whole place." Glen asked

"We can't risk a blind spot. We have to push in." Rick answered

Rick lead the group through a caged off corridor and Daryl nodded to the rest of the group that he was going to open the door at the end. Readjusting her grip on her knife she nodded back and waited for the creak of the door.

Rick went in first. Then Daryl and she followed close to him. They walked into what looked like a cell block. She was unfamiliar with the inner workings of prisons, just what she knew from watching Locked up on TV. There were papers everywhere and debris was scattered throughout the place. Looking up she saw a guard tower and there was clear proof that the guard had shot himself in the tower –the blood splattered on the glass was disconcerting.

So far all she heard was silence –just the shuffling feet of her group, which was a good sign. As the group split off to search certain areas she stayed near Daryl and kept quiet. Rick had gone into the guard tower and found some keys to open the sleeping quarters of the prisoners. She walked into a cell and noticed that the prisoner had a gunshot wound to his head. It looked like all of them did, so she figured that the guards shot everyone. She guessed it was a better option then leaving them to die of starvation –they were still criminals she wouldn't imagine a guard would just let them go free.

Following Daryl up the steps to the second level she heard a bump that made her a Daryl turn toward it. Walking by cell 14 a walker reached its hands out to get to them Daryl walked by it and she shoved her knife into its head. He took care of the neighboring cell –Guess the guards stopped at the last two cells and left them to die on their own. She almost felt sorry for them, it was a horrible way to die.

After the cell block was clear Daryl and Rick took the two bodies of the walkers and threw them over the edge of the railing. Kat and T-Dog were pulling the bodies out of the cells when Glen led the rest of the group that had been waiting, inside their new home.

She stopped dragging bodies out to look at the rest of the group. They seemed unsure which she understood -it smelled like decaying flesh but most of the world did these days. It was dirty but she would start cleaning it and make sure everyone had a clean cell before tonight. The plus side –they had beds and a place that was secure.

"What do you think" Rick asked the group

"Home Sweet Home" Glen replied

"Is it secure?" Lori asked while holding her stomach

"This cell block is."

"What about the rest of the prison?"

"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary."

"We'll sleep in the cells?" Beth sounded hesitant when she asked

"I found keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too." Rick replied

"I ain't sleeping in no cage. I'll take the guard tower." Daryl said and he sounded grouchier than ever as he made his way to the small room in the corner of the large room. Which made her roll her eyes.

She grabbed her bag from Beth and sat her stuff inside a cell, she wanted to see how long it took the grouch to ask her to join him.

She laughed to herself as she drug the last body out of the cell block by its legs. She imagined Martha Stewart saying "The first tip in decorating is making sure there are no decaying bodies lying around. I really prefer to burn them –it gives off a nice welcoming aroma."

Then she helped pick up any loose paper or anything that was laying around the cells that would be occupied tonight.

Turning to Beth she smiled "Martha Stewart would be proud" she laughed at her own personal joke and then decided it was time to take a break before she started to say out loud what she was thinking –it would be even worse if she said it in her Martha voice.

Walking into the cell where she had left her stuff she sat down on the bed. Of course that was after she checked it for any weird stains or signs of bodily fluid. It was comfortable –not the best but it beat the ground. Looking down at her shirt she immediately jumped up. She hadn't taken the time to look at herself and she was covered in dark blood. Her arms and shirt had the worst of it. She reached for her bag when she noticed it wasn't there.

Daryl's POV

He watched as Kat walked out of the cell and looked in the ones beside it. Tilting her head she put her hands on her hips and walked toward Beth. He knew what she was asking the girl but he kept silent and enjoyed watching her confused look.

Then she met his eyes and something on his face must have given him away because she glared up at him then started to climb the stairs toward him.

"Do you happen to know where my bag is?"

"Yeah. It's in there" he said while nodding his head back toward the room that he claimed for himself

"Oh really" she walked over to the room and grabbed her bag "What makes you think I wanna sleep in there with you?"

"I just do" he liked watching her eyes narrow at him, even if she was mad.

"Well I don't and you can't just take my stuff and relocate me" she put her finger on his chest "Ya know there is a cop here and I should file a complaint" she started to walk back down the stairs her stuff in tow.

He grabbed her arm to stop her "Please" he asked and it was a foreign thing on his tongue but he knew what she wanted.

"Please what?" she looked up at him and her expression softened just a little.

"Please stay with me"

"Alright. All ya had to do was ask. I'm not cleaning your room though I already cleaned my cell so I'm not working twice as hard and I'm not sleeping on the floor so I suggest you furnish your apartment with a mattress or two." She gave him a huge smile and walked past him to go back toward the guard tower. Stopping for a second she turned around and asked "Are you sure? Moving in together is a big step, do you think we're ready?"

"Shut up" was all he said as he walked into the room and started to pick up the debris on the floor. He noticed that Kat was also helping and shook his head at the woman. He knew she was joking but he was willing to clean it by himself but she wouldn't have it.

That night he was able to lay down on two mattresses that he pushed together and he had Kat in his arms.