Okay girl, time to getcha game face on an' go give 'em some grief, Lizzie thought as she stalked across the lawn towards the slowing vehicle, Rick may be the new Sheriff in town but that don't mean he can bring you in an' drop you out whenever he sees fit…
As the vehicle stopped, she watched Rick climb out. His eyes were kept firmly on the ground as Shane exited from the other side and instantly moved to the back. Somethin's up, she frowned, I sense a disturbance in the force…
"Well hey there," she called, waving at Rick so as to catch his attention, "sure was nice of you to let me know about your lil' road trip, obviously I had no interest in what you were plannin' on doin' with the kid… Nope, none whatsoever!"
"Lizzie," Rick began with a sigh, knowing that he owed her an explanation but in no mood to give her one, "can this wait? We've got bigger fish to fry."
"Well fuck you too!" She spat indignantly, stopping in front of him and stabbing her finger into his chest, "You ask me to help you out, try to talk to him an' get in his head an' then you jus' decide that I ain't anymore use to you? What the fuck is that all about?"
"I needed some time alone with him," he said, pushing her hand aside and moving past her, "you don't understand…"
"Then why don't you look me in the eye an' make me understand?" She shouted, offended by the way he'd just brushed her off… Again. She saw his shoulders droop as he sighed and turned to face her… And that was when she saw the dried blood on his face.

"Jesus," she breathed, reaching up and gently running her hand along his cheek, "what happened to your face? It was Shane, wasn't it?"
Before he could answer, a yelp sounded from the back of the car and Lizzie turned to see Randall's head poking out from the side of the wheel, covered by the makeshift hood they'd found for him, his hands and feet tied so he couldn't move.
"Get the fuck up." Shane growled, grabbing him under the arms and dragging him to his feet.
"What're you gonna do to me?" Randall cried, his voice thick with tears, "Answer me! Why have you bought me back here?"
"Hey!" Lizzie shouted, suddenly forgetting about Rick and hurrying towards Randall, "What the hell? Can't you jus' leave him alone already?"
"This ain't your business," Shane shook his head, reaching towards her to push her aside, "why don't you go back to your redneck an' keep out of it?"
"Lay your fuckin' hand on me an' I'm sure my redneck'll happily drop you quicker than…" She began, slapping his hand away.
"You threatenin' me?" He asked, stifling a laugh.
"Lizzie," Rick said as he stepped up behind her, trying to diffuse the situation, "can you take Randall back to the barn?"
"Wanna tell me what the hell's goin' on?" She asked, turning to look up at him searchingly.
"I promise you that I will talk to you," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder, "I just gotta sort a few things out first."

She nodded slowly, letting out a small sigh as she turned around and pulled Randall's arm out of Shane's grip. She squeezed it gently and began to walk forwards, pulling him along besides her.
"C'mon," she said quietly, "let's getcha settled down again."
"Lizzie, is that you?" He asked, "What the fuck is going on?"
"I dunno kid," she sighed, steering him back towards the barn, "but as soon as I find out, I promise that I'll let you know."
"They were gonna kill me!" He sobbed, "They were just gonna leave me out there an' let me die!"
"I didn't know what they were doin'," she admitted, feeling rather sorry for him, "I wouldn'tve let 'em take you out there if I…"
"What's it to you anyway?" He asked, sounding suddenly quite venomous, "Y'ain't my friend, you're one of them."
"Still, I'm the only one of them that didn't wanna shoot you on fuckin' sight," she muttered, reaching for the barn door and opening it, ushering him inside, "an' I ain't about to give up on you jus' yet either."
She moved him back to the position he'd been in before, reaching for the cuffs that Rick had kindly decided to leave on the floor. She pulled the hood from his face, revealing his bloodied and tear streaked features before she began to steadily untie his hands.
"You haven't got your axe." He stated, noticing that she was apparently weaponless.
"Don't go gettin' any ideas," she snapped, frowning at him, "I may be weaponless but I ain't defenseless an' I sure as hell ain't gonna hesitate in kickin' your ass if you make a move."
"You got enough bite to back up that bark?" He sneered, testing her, trying to work out how tough she was without her axe.
"You got enough nerve to test your theory?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him, "Randall, I ain't the bad guy, okay? I'm jus' doin' what I'm told an' tryna keep you outta trouble," she finished untying his hands and looked him in the eye, "I'll wait a minute before I slap the cuffs on you, wrist're lookin' a little sore."

"How d'ya know I won't try to strangle you?" He asked, rubbing his red wrists, surprised by her act of kindness.
"Hell, you might do… But I think you're a better person than that so…" She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders as she flopped down into a sitting position, "mind if I ask why they bought you back? No offence or anythin'… I'm jus' curious."
"I know where we are," he said quietly, his hands dropping into his lap, "I went to school with Maggie, I know where she lives."
Lizzie's heart sank- he'd practically signed his own death warrant, if their location was compromised, there was no way that they'd allow him to live. It was too dangerous, letting him go, especially if he found his group and bought them back. She wasn't sure if they were a group of heavily armed men, a school full of kids or a mixed group like them, just trying to survive. Her dismay obviously showed on her face because Randall laughed sadly.
"I know right?" He sniffed, "They ain't gonna let me go now, not a fuckin' chance."
She didn't know what to say. She couldn't fill him with false hope but she couldn't agree with him, killing off any hope he still had left about regaining his freedom. In a moment of madness, she thought about telling him to go. She considered untying his legs, opening the door and telling him to run as fast as he could until he couldn't run anymore…
But what if he comes back an' brings his friends? What if he's a little pissed about what we've done to him? What if they've got enough attitude an' enough weapons to come in here an' take it all away? It'd be on your head, you'd hafta live with the consequences an' if any of these people got hurt… She closed her eyes, knowing that she couldn't do it, she couldn't jeopardize the safety of the people she cared about, you already put yourself through hell for your family an' that wasn't even your fault… It don't bear thinkin' about what it'd do to you if somethin' happened. Forget it girl, jus' walk away from this one an' leave it to Rick…

"Randall," she said quietly, shuffling towards him and taking hold of his hands, "you gotta talk to me," she squeezed his hands gently, hoping to get something of worth out of him, "you gotta tell me somethin', anythin', that might change their mind about what to do with you."
"They were gonna kill me out there," he whispered, shaking his head, "they ain't bought me back here to save me, they're still gonna kill me so what's the point?"
"Maybe there's somethin' else we can do!" She said, shaking her head, not wanting him to just give up on everything, "If you jus' talk to me an'…"
"Forget it," he snarled, pulling his hands free of her grip and putting his arms behind his back, crossing his wrists, "jus' tie me up an' get outta here."
"Randall…" She began quietly, wanting to get through to him.
"I ain't talkin' to you anymore!" He shouted, "Get the fuck outta here!"
She sighed heavily, nodding her head, moving around him to slip the cuffs over his wrists and reattach him to his spot against the wall. She stood up, looking down at his still bound ankles and decided to leave them like that- after all, she didn't owe him any favors.
"I'm sorry." She said, her voice nothing more than a whisper. When he didn't answer, only lowering his head further, she stepped away from him, exiting into the sunlight.

She stood there for a second, blinking against the sudden change in lighting, breathing deeply, trying to pull as much of the sweet, fresh air into her lungs as possible.
Let it go girl, she thought to herself, eyes closed as she tried to focus on walking away, go an' find your man, take yourself outta all this an' jus'…
"Lizzie!" Rick called as he walked over, glad to see she was out of the barn and no harm had come to her, "I owe you an explanation…"
"You don't owe me shit," she muttered, walking up to meet him, "you're the Sheriff right? Your word's law."
"I did what I thought was best for…" He began, trying to explain himself.
"He told me that he knows where we are," she said quietly, "so what does that mean for him?"
"I have to do what's best for my people," he sighed, watching as she dropped her gaze, "I can't risk him bringing others back here, I have a wife and a son and…"
"What if they're people like us?" She asked, cutting him off, "What if they're in jus' as much need as you were when y'all showed up here? I know you an' Hershel had your differences, hell, the man hated me too, but we pulled together, right? You had my back, I've had yours an' we're all startin' to get along jus' great… What if they need our help too?"
"Has he told you that they do?" He asked.
"No…" She said quietly, frowning.
"You spent a lotta time with him, if they were so in need then he would've said something," Rick shook his head, trying to take control of the situation, "he's been hiding something, if he won't talk to you then…"
"One las' chance," she said suddenly, moving towards him and placing her hands on his chest, looking up at him, "I'll make him talk, I promise you you'll get your answers," she hated to plead with him but she had to try- Randall had saved her from Shane, the least she could do was try to return the favor, "lemme find out who he's been out there with, please, jus' in case they…"
"How're you gonna get him to talk to you?" Rick asked, "He's resisted every single time. What makes you think this time will be any different?"
"I know someone who could make him talk." She replied, looking over at the approaching figure in the distance.

"What've I missed?" Daryl asked as Lizzie rushed over to him. He saw the emotion in her eyes and the slight frown on her face and knew that something wasn't right, "What's the matter? What's happened?"
"Randall's back," she said quickly, cutting the explanation as short as possible, "he knows where we're at so they couldn't let him go an' they're gonna kill him but…"
"But what?" Daryl asked, returning the frown, knowing he was about to get dragged into something he didn't care for.
"What if the people he was with were jus' like us?" She asked, "Good people jus' tryna survive as best we can… What if they need our help?"
"What if they don't?" He asked, his frown deepening, "It ain't our problem."
"It feels like it's my problem," she admitted, her eyes beginning to fill with tears, "I don't wanna be part of his murder, I… I can't justify killin' people when there're those things out there…"
"So you wanna justify him dyin'?" Daryl was becoming more confused by the second.
"Can we pull away from the subject of him dyin'?" She snapped, "There're two choices here an' that's only one of them."
"You wanna let him go?" He shook his head.
"I don't wanna be the reason that a buncha his people come back here, fightin' an' killin' us to take the farm," she shook her head, her emotions beginning to take hold, "I can't live with that on my head but…"
"Hey," Daryl said, his tone softening as he stepped towards her, resting his hand on her forearm, "don't worry about it, it ain't your problem."
"I need you to do me a favor." She said boldly and he let go of her arm, stepping back and shaking his head again.
"It my fuckin' problem either," he growled, motioning towards the house, "let Rick deal with it, that's what he does."

"I've tried findin' out where he's come from, who he's been travellin' with but he ain't talkin' an' we need him to talk to find out whether he's a threat or not," she continued, ignoring him, "he don't wanna talk but I don't think he wants to die either so if someone could talk to him an' add a little… Pressure… Then maybe he'd spill."
"An' why can't you do that?" He asked.
"I ain't exactly the most intimidatin' person, am I?" She asked, motioning down to herself.
"Well, I dunno about that…" He smirked, stepping back as she playfully lashed out at him.
"I've been the good cop; I can't be the bad cop too…" She began.
"So you want me to do it for you…" He sighed, near enough finishing her sentence.
"I know it's a lot to ask of you an' believe me when I say I wouldn't ask unless I knew you could do it," she said quickly, sensing his displeasure, "I jus' need to know whether you would do it or not?"
"Lizzie, it ain't your problem, an' it sure as fuck ain't my problem an' I don't like you tryna palm it off onto me," he admitted before taking a breath and sighing, "I dunno why it means such a lot to you but if it's that important to you, then I'll do it."
"You will?" She asked, the beginnings of a smile spreading across her face.
"Don't ask me again," he warned, frowning at her, "or else I might change my mind."
"Okay, okay," she said quietly, stepping backwards and motioning for him to follow her to the barn, "thank you."

"Do me a favor, okay?" He asked as they walked along, she looked up at him and nodded, "Don't wait around for me to finish, alright?"
"Why not?" She asked.
"He ain't gonna talk willingly, right? So I'm gonna hafta persuade him an' I don't want you around to see that coz…" He trailed off, not sure what he was going to say to her, "… Coz I don't want you to think bad of me."
"Daryl, I couldn't think bad of you if I tried," she said, smiling, as she stopped him a few feet away from the barn door, "you're more of a man than anyone I've ever met an' I wouldn't change you for the world."
"More of a man than your precious fiancée?" He asked, uncomfortable at her sudden compliment and snapping at her in his nervousness.
"Don't," she said firmly, stepping towards him and taking his face in her hands, "he was my best friend an' he meant a lot to me but I didn't love him like this."
She bit down on her tongue as Daryl's eyebrows shot up- she hadn't meant to say that, she was supposed to word it differently, she didn't want to go throwing the L word around at him, scaring him away before she'd really got a chance to have him.
"Look, I didn't mean…" She began, panicking at her hasty revelation. It wasn't the sort of thing she couldn't take back either- if she said she didn't mean it then it sounded a lot worse than if she admitted that she did. Catch 22. She sighed, patting him on the chest, "Jus' come find me when you're done, okay?"
He nodded and watched her turn away, heading back towards the house. He stood there for a second, watching her leave, thinking about what she'd said.
She didn't say it as such, he thought, wetting his lips with his tongue, but she implied it… She jus' as good as told you that she loved you an' all you could do was stand here, fussin' over some guy who's long gone an'…
He shook his head, dispelling the thoughts. Gotta focus, he reminded himself as he stepped towards the barn, gonna make this kid squeal like a pig, gotta focus on that, not some beautiful girl who…
"Godammit Daryl," he muttered to himself, "get a fuckin' grip!"

As Lizzie wandered back across the lawn, telling herself that it was probably better that she didn't hang around to check out Daryl's interrogation technique, she covered her face with her hands, shaking her head in embarrassment.
"Jesus girl," she mumbled to herself, brushing her hair out of her face, feeling her cheeks beginning to flush, "what a way to put your fuckin' foot in it! Didn't love him like this? Nice one Lizzie, nice one!"
She breathed out heavily, not sure what she was going to do to fill her time before Daryl gained his information. She could go talk to Rick about what happened out there between him and Shane but she had a feeling he wouldn't tell her- no matter how much of an asshole that guy was, Rick seemed adamant that there was still some good left in him. Lizzie wasn't too sure about that but it wasn't her place to worry- she figured Shane would shoot himself in the foot sooner or later, she could only hope that she was around to see it.
She scanned the yard, looking to see if anyone was around, and she saw Carl leaning on one of the cars, examining something in his hands. She smiled- what better way to take her mind off things than to go talk to her favorite little man?
"Hey Carl!" She grinned as she approached, "How're you honey?"

He gasped, looking up at her in shock and hurrying to hide whatever it was he'd been playing with from her view, putting his hands behind his back and resting himself on them so she couldn't see. She frowned- seemed a little suspicious.
"What've you got there?" She asked, standing in front of him with her arms folded.
"Nothin'," he stammered, shaking his head, his cheeks turning a rosy pink, "I was just…"
"Hey, I ain't about to tell you off, okay?" She shrugged, crouching down in front of him, "Jus' you acted all suspicious an' you made me curious, that's all."
"I don't want anyone to know," he said quietly, looking down at the floor, "they'll just think I stole it but I didn't, I swear! I found it and I liked it so I kept it."
"Finders keepers, right?" She asked, smiling, trying to coax him into showing her what he was being so secretive about, "Unless you know that it belongs to somebody else… Then that's kinda mean to take it."
"I don't think it belongs to anyone," he admitted, shaking his head, "I've never seen it before so…"
"So can you let me in on your little secret?" She asked, crossing her heart, "I promise I won't tell a soul.
"Okay," he said after a moment's thought, "but you gotta swear not to tell anyone, okay?"
"I swear not to tell anyone." She dutifully repeated, watching as he stepped forwards, bringing his hands back to his front.

When he opened them, revealing the small, velvet box he'd been hiding, she barely caught herself before her mouth dropped open and she let out a gasp.