Chloe and Maggie led Aaron into the barn where the group stopped what they were doing and looked at the stranger.
"Everyone, this is Aaron," Maggie stated. "We met him outside, he's by himself."
"We took his weapons, and his gear," Chloe added.
"Hello," Rick said, as Judith started to cry.
Carl rushed forward and took his sister into his arms, as Rick stepped closer.
"It's nice to meet you." Aaron replied.
"You said he had a weapon?" Rick inquired.
"He's got a camp nearby." Chloe replied. "He wants us to audition for membership."
"I wish there was another word," Aaron implied. "Audition makes us sound like a dance troupe; that's only on Friday nights, Um, and it's not a camp. It's a community. I think you all would make valuable additions. But it's not my call. My job is to convince you all to follow me back home. I know. If I were you, I wouldn't go either. Not until I knew exactly what I was getting into. Chloe, can you hand Rick my pack? Front pocket, there's an envelope; There's no way I could convince you to come with me just by talking about our community. That's why I brought those. I apologize in advance for the picture quality. We just found an old camera store last..."
"Nobody gives a s***!" Daryl implied.
"You're absolutely one hundred percent right," Aaron stated. " That's the first picture I wanted to show you because nothing I say about our community will matter unless you know you'll be safe. If you join us, you will be. Each panel in that wall is a 15-foot-high, 12-foot-wide slab of solid steel framed by cold-rolled steel beams and square tubing. Nothing alive or dead gets through that without our say-so. Like I said, security is obviously important. In fact, there's only one resource more critical to our community's survival. The people. Together we're strong. You can make us even stronger. The next picture, you'll see inside the gates. Our community was first construc..."
Before Aaron had a chance to continue, Rick punched him in the face, knocking him out.
"Rick!" Chloe exclaimed. "Why did you do that?"
"That wasn't a "let's attack that man" look," Michonne replied. "That was a "he seems like an okay guy to me" look."
"Tie him up, see what's in his pack." Rick commanded. "Let's see who this guy really is."
"Rick, we didn't see him coming." Maggie admitted. "If he wanted to hurt us, he could have."
"There's a lot of hiding places." Glenn noted.
Chloe went through Aaron's back pack, and pulled out a flare gun.
"Never seen a gun like this before," she implied, as Aaron regained consciousness.
"Sit him up." Rick demanded.
"You're being cautious." Aaron noted, as Chloe and Daryl helped him sit up. "I completely understand."
"How many of your people are out there?" Rick asked. "You have a flare gun, you have it to signal your people. How many of them are there?"
"Does it matter?" Aaron asked.
"Yes, it does." Rick answered.
"I mean, of course, it matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say... eight, 32, 444, zero... No matter what I say, you're not going to trust me."
"It's hard to trust a anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face." Chloe noted. "Were you the one who left those bottles of water in the middle of the road? How long have you been watching us?"
"Long enough to know that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail," Aaron replied. "Long enough to see that despite a lack of food and water, you never turned on each other. You're survivors and you're people. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that is the most important resource in the world."
"How many others are out there?" Rick asked.
"One," Aaron replied. "If words or pictures won't help, what is it going to take for me to convince you that this will work? What if I drove you to the community? All of you? We leave now, we'll get there by lunch."
"I don't see how all of us are going to fit in your car," Milton noted.
"My friend and I drove separately." Aaron said. "If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring them all home. There's enough room for all of us."
"And you're parked just a couple miles away, right?" Maggie asked.
"East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16." Aaron implied. "We wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came, blocked the road. We couldn't clear it. Honestly, Rick; if I wanted to ambush you, maybe set the barn on fire, I would have done it by now."
"Rick, we should check it out." Maggie suggested. "This could be a place for us to live, for Judith to live."
"Do you have doctors?" Chloe asked.
"We have a surgeon," Aaron answered. "His name is Pete, he's the best."
"Bob and I are also in that profession," Salvador mentioned. "I believe Rosita's also had some training as well."
"That's correct." Rosita stated.
"We could always use more people with medical experience," Aaron noted.
"Glenn and I will go." Maggie said.
"Me, too." Michonne added.
Abraham and Rosita also agreed to go along at Rick's requesting; the others were sent outside to keep watch. Chloe told her father to go outside, she would stay with Andrea. Aaron would soon understand why Chloe asked if they had doctors in his community.
Judith was crying loudly, getting fussier as Rick tried to grind up some acorns for her to eat.
"There is a jar of applesauce in my bag." Aaron noted. "It's not a trick. If the roamers hear her and come this way, I'll be the first go."
Rick opened the jar, and took out a spoonful then walked to Aaron, and demanded he tasted it.
"You think I'm trying to poison your baby daughter?" Aaron asked. "I'm tied up and you've already expressed a willingness to stab me in the head."
"Maybe she doesn't die!" Rick said. "Maybe she just gets sick; maybe you're the only one who can help her."
"Just eat the damn applesauce already!" Chloe exclaimed.
Aaron made a face; "I hate applesauce. My mom used to make me eat foods I didn't like to make me more manly; Applesauce, salmon patties, and onions. She was a very confused woman who tried her best. I brought the applesauce to show you that we have apple trees around our community. The community is big enough. We can find a place for you to live where if she cries, no one will hear her."
Reluctantly, Aaron tasted the applesauce, proving that it was safe. Rick backed away, and dumped the crushed acorns out the bowl; he spooned half the applesauce in the bowl, then gave it to Chloe, who gave it to Andrea.
"You need to eat, too," Andrea noted. "You haven't had much to eat."
"You need this more than me." Chloe said. "I'll be okay."
"I notice how you've given up most of your food, Chloe." Aaron mentioned. "I also know why you asked if we had any doctors in our community. I've would also like to point out that-"
"Aaron, if you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to take my socks off and shove them down your throat," Chloe warned.
"Chloe, let him speak," Andrea demanded. "He might have something important to say. You'll have to excuse my daughter, she likes to be sarcastic sometimes."
"I see." Aaron said. "How far along are you?"
"I think maybe sixteen weeks." Andrea guessed.
"So, you're not that far along yet." Aaron noted. "I promise you, you'll have a safe place to deliver your baby when the time comes. We have all the resources available."
Chloe hoped that Rick would give it a thought, it would be nice to not have to be out in the open for a change.
"Chloe, have you forgotten about Woodbury?" Rick asked.
"No, Rick, I haven't." Chloe answered. "But it won't be like Woodbury. That was a long time ago."
The group was back together after an hour had passed; this time, there were cans of food.
"This is ours now, whether or not we go." Rick stated.
"What do you mean, why wouldn't we go?" Michonne asked. "If he was lying or wanted to hurt us, he would have done so already, but he hasn't. We need this, so we're going."
"Somebody say something if they feel differently." Rick implied.
"I don't know, man." Daryl said under his breath. "This barn smells like horse crap."
"Yeah, we're going." Rick decided. "So, where are we going, where's your camp."
"Well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back," Aaron said. "I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives just yet."
"You're not driving." Rick said, making it very clear. "So, if you want to get home, you'll tell us how."
"Go North on Route 16." Aaron noted.
"And then?" Rick asked.
"I'll tell you when we get there." Aaron replied.
Rick decided which directions they would take; Aaron disagreed with, but Rick had already made up his mind; they would leave at sundown.
At sundown, Rick, Aaron, Glenn and Michonne got into Aaron's car while the others piled into an RV, and drove away from the barn. Abe drove the van, following the car, until the car met with a herd of walkers. A flare shot up in the air.
"Let's go check it out." Abe said, making a turn.
Abe drove down a road, until he stopped at a car, where a man was lying injured near an old warehouse, with two walkers close by. Chloe, Morgan, and Maggie got out of the RV; Maggie and Morgan. rushed to him, while Chloe distracted the walkers.
"Hey, you walkers, this way!" Chloe shouted, knife in her hand. "That's it, right over here! You don't want him. A little closer."
When the walkers were close enough, Chloe stabbed them in the head. She then rushed to Maggie and the man.
"I think my leg is broken." the man said.
"We need something to hold the leg in place." Maggie said "It's just a broken ankle. What's your name?"
"Eric," the man replied.
"I'm Maggie, and this is Chloe," Maggie said. "And that's Morgan."
"It'll take several weeks for the ankle to heal," Morgan noted. "We need to get you inside."
Chloe helped Eric to his feet, and inside the warehouse, where the rest followed. Maggie used a slab of wood to hold Eric's leg in place with Morgan's help. Daryl would wait outside for the others. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Daryl knocked on the door.
"Dad!" Carl exclaimed running to his father.
"Carl, is your sister okay?" Rick asked.
"She's fine." Carl answered.
Aaron rushed inside calling for Eric; who was lying on the floor in a separate room. Aaron rushed to him.
"It's only a broken ankle." Eric said. "That's what Maggie says. They're nice people I like them. I'll go to the infirmary when we get back."
What happened next told Chloe that they were more than friends; she only smiled.
Aaron walked out of the room, and thanked the group for helping Eric.
"I'm extremely grateful. Your debt will be paid when we get to Alexandria. We can head out tomorrow morning, because I don't know about you, but I'm tired." Aaron stated.
"That's fine, but you're sleeping over there." Rick implied, pointing to a corner.
"The only way you're going to stop me from being with him is if you shoot me," Aaron noted.
"Rick, let him." Milton demanded. "He told us where the camp is."
"And he really was traveling with one other person." Bob added. "One of them has a broken ankle."
"Okay, we'll do this tomorrow after breakfast." Rick decided.
The next morning, Rick, Michonne, Carl and Judith got into the car, while the rest got in the RV to head to Alexandria. Eugene was shuffling a deck of cards; he turned to Chloe who was sitting next to Andrea.
"Chloe, you want to play a game?" he asked.
"Is this that game where you scatter the cards all over the floor and I have to pick them up?" Chloe asked, making the occupants of the RV laugh.
"Abraham, look." Rosita said with a smile
Chloe stood up and looked out the front window. She didn't notice the smile on Abe's face, but the view of Washington, DC.
"Eyes on the road, Champ." Rosita said, still smiling.
Chloe sat back down, noting the low battery icon on the dashboard.
"How much longer we got?" Rosita asked. "We should be half way there."
"We'll make it." Abe said, reassuringly. "We're going to make it."
But Abe ended up having to pull the RV over. All they needed was another battery. Glenn knew where one was, opened a compartment containing a spare battery.
"How did you know?" Abe asked.
Glenn didn't answer, and got to work.
"He learned that from Dale." Andrea whispered to Chloe.
Rick walked away for a minute before they left. Once they were back on the road, they didn't stop until they reached the gates of the Alexandria Safe Zone. Everyone exited the vehicles; Chloe listened very closely.
"Dad, do you hear that?" Chloe asked. "It sounds like children."
"Yes, it does," Milton agreed. "Let's do this."
Chloe took a hold of Garth's hand as they stepped closer to the gate. Rick got Judith out of the back seat of the car, as the others waited for the gates to open.
