Erudessa-gabrielle, galwidanatitud, and MissTeller-Ortiz-Dixon as always thank you for your reviews and for your continued reading. I know that Kat is taking the whole thing pretty hard but I promise they will reunite –just not anytime really soon. The way I have it playing out in my head, the wait might be worth it. I hope so. Thanks!

Chapter 46

Kat's POV

She had stayed in her room, away from everyone but Judith, well into the night. She would have preferred to stay hidden away longer but the little traitor needed another bottle. She forced herself to get up and walk down the steps –it was eerily quiet in the cell block.

The only sound was Judith's fussy grunts, letting everyone know she was hungry. Rick was at the bottom of the steps and she handed his baby to him. She had pretty much kidnapped the kid all day so it was only right to let him spend some time with his own child.

She went to go make a bottle and in doing so she had to walk by everyone. They were all sitting on the floor or against the walls of the cell block. Nobody was talking and everyone looked pretty solemn. It was like a funeral. Unfortunately is was their premature funeral, the Governor had them out numbered, manned, and armed. They didn't stand a chance.

She chose not to think about that right now –it wouldn't change anything. She set to work with methodically making a bottle for Judith. She could do that –it was within her control.

Daryl's POV

He had been leaning up against a wall not really looking at anything particular but his vision kept landing on the guard tower. She was up there and he wanted to go to her, he had tried several times but Merle had stopped him.

"Just give her time" was what he would say. Daryl thought she'd had enough time. They could be dead tomorrow and she wanted to sulk around.

Everything inside him was hurting –it was his fault. He knew he did this, but damn if he wanted it to stop. This woman he had seen since he had made it back from the prison –she wasn't his Kat. How could she change so much in such a short time?

He hated himself –he had done this to her. He pushed off from his spot on the wall and followed after his woman. She was going to listen to what he had to say, he didn't deserve it but he wasn't going to die with them like this.

Her back was to him and she was making a bottle for Little Ass-Kicker. She was spending a lot of time with the baby. He needed her full attention right now so he waited for her to have the prepared bottle in her hand then he stood in front of her.

Last time he tried to block her path it did not go well for either of them but what he had to say was important and he was willing to risk another ass kicking to say it.

Her eyes narrowed on him when she saw him. She opened her mouth to say something but must have thought better of it because she closed her mouth and clenched her jaw. He could see the anger she held and it put him in his own personal hell –knowing that the anger was directed at him.

She started to walk past him but he grabbed her arm. He was fully prepared for her to retaliate in some way but she just stood there. Him holding her arm and her just staring past him.

He had no clue what to say. Fuck –he should've thought of something before he cornered her to talk. Daryl Dixon you have got to start thinking, he scolded himself. He wasn't much for words –never had been.

So he said the only thing he could think of "I'm sorry."

Which judging by her face was apparently the wrong thing to say. "That's all? Really?" she yanked her arm from his grip "I tell ya what Daryl, I'll say 'I forgive you' but I don't mean it. It's just what people say when someone says 'I'm sorry'. We will never be what we were –you left me here!"

She put the bottle on the table and turned so that she was fully facing him "Do you get how much that hurt? The only reason I have even tried to live this long was because of your dumb ass. I would have loved to given up long ago –after Cora. I stayed for you." She ran her hands over her face and he wanted to take her into his arms. He actually raised his arms but he slowly lowered them when she continued talking.

Her voice louder than before "After the farm –I lived for you. I needed to find you so you wouldn't be alone. Down in the tombs –I screamed and beat at that door and it wasn't because I was scared of dying or because I wanted to live. Honestly I don't want to anymore. You were the reason I was living –I couldn't leave you." She had tears streaming down her cheeks "And you –you go and leave me but not because you had to. No you chose to. You actively said "Fuck it". I've fought like hell to stay with you and the first chance you get –you fucking bail."

This time when he reached for her he didn't stop himself. Wrapping his arms around her she laid her head on his shoulder. Then she quickly pulled away and shoved him backwards "No. I wish you hadn't of found me in the tombs. I was ready to die. Ready to see Cora again. Ready to stop fighting every single damn day and be at peace. I only fought so hard for you and because I didn't want you to think I had given up. I didn't want you to think I was a failure. How fucking pathetic is that?"

He watched her turn around, grabbing the bottle, then she walked back out. He had come here to talk but he had gotten a measly two words out. He grabbed his crossbow and went out to the courtyard. He was pissed at himself for what he had done to Kat. He needed to be alone so he took watch.

He was sitting in the quiet of the tower –only the sounds of the walkers that the Governor had let in making noise. He thought over what Kat had said to him and he was scared at what she had said, she had wanted to die. He didn't know how to deal with that.

She was right she had fought time and time again to get back to him and he just up and left. On his own free will. She had every right to be mad at him. To hate him. He still loved her but he didn't deserve her.

Kat's POV

Everyone was looking at her –great. That meant that everyone had heard her. She handed the bottle to Rick and when he looked up at her she hated what she saw in his eyes. "I don't need your fucking pity" she said and walked away.

"Kat" he called after her but she wasn't in the mood to hear any pep talks.

What she said to Daryl she had meant. It hurt like hell knowing that the only reason you were living was able to cast you aside with no issue.

She was fine with dying and she hoped it was soon but she would also fight until she couldn't anymore. Though it wouldn't be for Daryl, not anymore.

She would survive as long as she could for herself, Cora, Jim, Jacqui, Dale, T-Dog, Lori, Axel. When she died any memories that she had of those people would be lost –like they were never there.

It would happen to her soon enough, and she hated the thought of just being erased. Her family who was no longer here deserved better. So as she went to sleep in the solitude of the guard tower she kept repeating the names of everyone she had lost. Forcing herself to remember them –so that they weren't forgotten.


She was woken up by the sounds of someone knocking on her door. "Yeah" she asked as she opened the door.

She was surprised to hear Rick's voice "Get dressed. We're going on a run. We are leaving in twenty." Then he walked back down the stairs.

"Well good morning to you to." She grumbled as she closed the door and started to pull out a shirt to change into. She would need to do laundry soon –maybe she could ask Carol? Nah it wouldn't be fair to ask her to do her laundry. Plus they had bigger issues than finding a shirt that had minimal blood stains.

She was still talking under her breath "Thanks for asking. Sure I'd love to go." It irritated her that Rick had made it a demand and not a question. Everything irritated her these days and she needed to reel that in.

Pulling her hair back into a messy bun that probably set a little too high on top of her head she re-tied her shoes and started down to where Rick was. Michonne and Carl were standing with him and apparently they were waiting on her. Which was ridiculous because he said twenty minutes and she had been less than five. Did he mean twenty seconds?

As they were walking out she stopped to give Judith a quick kiss. Beth was holding her and for some reason she gave Beth a quick kiss on top of her head. Never know when the last time you will see someone is.

They were taking the car that Shane had fixed up back when they were stuck on that highway outside of the farm. Shoving a bag into the back of it she watched as an exhausted looking Daryl came out of a watch tower. He walked toward them and he stopped beside Rick. She caught him glance at her but he didn't bother to talk to her. It stung a little but she had made it clear she was pissed and wanted nothing to do with him. She should be happy.

Jesus when did her life become so drama filled? You would think in the apocalypse where the dead were literally reanimated just to eat the living, she wouldn't want to be so petty. It was simpler when they were just fighting off becoming a meal for a walker. She longed for those days. But she decided that she was committed –she loved Daryl Dixon but he had hurt her in a way she was not prepared for. So, petty it was. Mature right?

"We should be back by nightfall" she heard Rick tell Daryl "Hold down the fort for us?"

"Yeah you got it. I was gonna move a car in front of that gate- maybe stop another car from barreling through if he tries again." Daryl was always thinking a head –of ways to survive.

"All right." Rick said and climbed into the passenger seat of the car.

"Be careful" She thought Daryl had meant that to be said to Rick but she looked up and he was staring at her. She nodded at him and walked around to the front of the car. See she acknowledged his presence she was getting better.

"I guess I'm driving" she said when she saw that Michonne and Carl were in the backseat of the car.

Merle was kind enough to open the gate for her to drive through. Maybe someone with two hands would have been a better choice but he did it quickly and smiled at her as she drove through. She smiled back and threw her hand up. Then she made her way through the field of walkers –trying to avoid hitting too many. Toward the end it had become impossible to not hit one or two. She was definitely not driving on the way back. The hard thuds were sickening.

Once out on the open road she noticed that no one was talking. Still funeral quiet. Then she saw someone up ahead –they were moving too fast and with too much grace to be a walker. She didn't slow down as they came up to the man and she ignored his pleas "Hey! Hey! Slow down! Slow down! Slow- I'm begging you! No! Please!"

She didn't even bother to look in the rear view mirror at the man she had left to more than likely die. No one in the car had objected so she took it as a universal vote to leave him. People could not be trusted.

About a mile past the man she had left, there was an accident on the road. Cars that were long forgotten were blocking the way. Kat was glad that the road didn't have major ditches on either side of it so she took the car off road. The ride bumpy as there was a slight incline.

She chose to ignore the dead bodies that were in the cars and the walker that was trapped under a truck that had rolled onto its side. Then the car stopped moving. She increased the pressure on the gas pedal but the rear tires were spinning in the mud.

She turned to Rick who was staring at her "Sorry" she said and gave an apologetic look.

She jumped when a walker was at Rick's window trying to get inside the car. Then there were more beside Carl's and one by her side. She watched it for a second. It was gnawing his teeth against the window clearly trying to get to her –she liked walkers as an enemy. They weren't shady or tactical. They had one goal –to eat you. She could handle that.

She had counted about five walkers surrounding the car. Surprisingly everyone in the car remained calm. No one freaked out, they were safe for now and they would figure a way out of the situation. This was a very minor case of the 'you're fucked'.

Right on cue Rick turned around and calmly said 'Cover your ears". Kat did and after each gunshot she still jumped. She knew they were coming but her body just reacted.

Once the walkers were dead, everyone got out of the car. Kat went to look for a stick or something big enough that the car could get traction on. Rick and Carl looked through some suitcases in one of the wrecked cars.

"I found this" she held out a couple of the bigger sticks she could find.

"This'll work" Rick took them then wrapped a shirt around the end of the sticks.

He was giving Carl a Boy Scout lesson on how to get your car out of the mud. Kat approved –it was a life skill you would need in this world. A skill to survive.

"We wouldn't have to do this if she didn't get us stuck." Carl said and gave a playful smile back at Kat.

She didn't know what to say, she was standing there with her mouth open. Then Rick made her more shocked "It's my fault for letting her drive. I knew she was a terrible driver. Remember when she hit that parked car outside of Loganville."

"That is not what happened" She started to argue. She didn't need the Grimes boys ganging up on her.

"That's right it was two cars." Rick smirked as he put the sticks under the rear tire.

"I didn't ask to drive you know." She stuck her tongue out at Carl and flicked Rick's ear.

"Hey help me. I'm begging you. Please" they stood up and looked at the sound. The man from earlier was coming -running toward them. All the smiles and jokes instantly died and Rick hit the side of the car to let Michonne know to try and drive again.

It still didn't budge so Rick and Kat started to push on the back of the car hoping to get it moving. Michonne hit the gas again and it jerked forward. Unfortunately so did Kat and she landed face first in the mud.

"Are you fucking kiddin me?" she said under her breath as she looked at the mess she was.

Rick helped her up. She saw his stupid smile and she heard Carl and Michonne laughing from inside the car.

She sat down in the back with Carl –happy to let someone else drive. She didn't need the aggravation.

The car lurched forward and she turned to look at the still laughing Carl "You don't speak a word of this to Daryl or Merle."

Daryl's POV

The car was in front of the gate and he was inside trying to get a drink. The man he hadn't talk too much, Tyreese, was there and his sister Sasha was taking watch in the tower outside.

"Hey. I'm Ty" he said to Daryl as he walked by

"Daryl"

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner but it was pretty crazy around here."

"Yeah" Daryl laughed at the man putting what they were going through so lightly. But this man was on their side and he appreciated that.

"Kat. She spoke highly of you." Daryl stiffened at the sound of her name "I know I haven't known her long –any of you people. But she is a good person. I don't know if she had killed anyone before Allen and Ben but she seemed to have taken it pretty hard."

Daryl had no clue what or who the man was talking about. Allen? Ben? Kat had killed them?

"Who's Allen and Ben?"

"I thought you knew. They were a part of our group. Kat found us in the tombs –saved us. Allen he lost his wife. He wasn't thinking straight but Kat overheard him talking about over taking the prison and Kat put a stop to it. She gave them the chance to leave but they didn't. They attacked her and Kat killed them." Ty stopped to look at Daryl "Like I said she was pretty broken up about it."

Daryl nodded. Apparently a lot had happened in the day he was gone. Once again she had needed him and he wasn't there. She probably didn't have the time to process killing two more people before she realized that he wasn't coming back. When she had killed that man months back she was broken up by it. She had nightmares for a couple of weeks, she never said anything but she would wake up sweating and breathing hard. Then he had done what he could –he'd hold her until she went back to sleep. She had gone through this latest on her own.

All he knew was that Kat was different, he just hoped it wasn't too late to get her back.

He left Tyreese and went to go check on the rest of his people. Hershel was reading from the bible, no surprise there. What was surprising was seeing Merle sitting beside the man –and from what Daryl could tell Merle was holding his own in scripture reading. His brother had always loved to read but Daryl had never seen him pick up the good book. He was shocked but didn't want to interrupt them.

Maggie and Glen were taking stock of their ammo and weapons. From what Daryl could see it was too scarce a number. The odds of them winning this war with the Governor was not looking good. They were clearly the long shot.

"We good?" he asked the couple

"Yeah. We'd be better if Rick comes back with those guns." Maggie answered and looked up while cleaning a gun.

"He will" Daryl wanted to believe that Rick would pull through but if he was being honest he wasn't sure what was going to happen.

He noticed Glen had not spoken to him during their interaction and he got it. Glen was pissed that he had brought his brother back. Merle fucked up and made a huge mistake but he would make it right. His brother was quite the charmer.

Making his last round he looked into Beth's cell. She was holding a sleeping Judith and walking around the cell. From what he could see babies were pretty easy to take care of –they just ate and slept. Judith was a sweetheart though and Daryl knew that she had Kat wrapped around her finger. He hated to see what she would be like when she could actually ask for things. He knew of at least three people who would bend over backwards for her –and he was one of them.

Leaving everyone to do their thing he went back out to the courtyard. He waved at Sasha in the watch tower to make sure that she was okay. He took the metal picnic tables that lined the courtyard and started to lay them in positions that they could use as cover if they were fired at again. They had been completely unprepared last time the Governor attacked. He wasn't here for the whole thing. What he had seen, was the prisons two best fighters pretty much trapped outside the prison. Kat actually outside the fence and Rick was vulnerable out in the open not far from her.

Moving the heavy tables was surprisingly soothing –it was mindless work and it kept his mind off of Kat. She would be back soon but he wasn't going to push anything. That had not worked the last two times he tried.

Kat's POV

Pulling up to the town that she used to teach in. She forgot that she used to be a teacher –that felt like another lifetime ago. She wondered if any of her old students were still alive –probably not. At least she had Carl. Maybe once this thing with Woodbury settled down she could start giving Carl lessons again. Then Judith would need proper schooling –none of that common core crap they had been pushing them to teach.

She followed behind Rick as he went into his old police station. Walking up to the gun locker Kat didn't have much hope that there would be anything left. The rest of the station looked ransacked and guns would be the first to go.

She had been right and Rick kicked a desk in his frustration. It would have been nice if the guns were still here but it is what it is.

"You got any other police stations in town?" Michonne asked

Kat laughed "Michonne, did you see that stoplight outside the station? That is the only one in the town. It is literally a one stoplight town."

"There's other places to check. May not have as many guns as were in here, but-" Rick said. God love the man he was trying.

Michonne cut Rick off "We need as many guns as were in here. Ammo, too."

"Yeah, we do. But right now, I only got a line on a couple. There's a few places out on the main street- bars, a liquor store. Owners had a gun or two behind the counter that people didn't know about. I did. I signed the permits. They might still be there." Rick paused for a second and looked at Kat then at Michonne "Do you have a problem with that approach?" he asked but Kat knew it wasn't directed at her.

"No, Rick. I don't have a problem. One is better than none." Then she handed him a single bullet that she had picked off the ground.

At least they weren't walking away empty handed.

Walking back down the sidewalk that led to the town she paused to look at a pile of burnt corpses.

"Rick these are still smoldering." She said to her friend.

He nodded and pulled his gun out of his holster. Michonne followed his lead and pulled her sword off her back. When they came up to the main road it looked like some kind of Mad Max obstacle course had been laid out.

"What is that?" Michonne asked but no one knew what they were coming up on so her question was left unanswered.

Looking at her feet Kat read 'Turn Around And Live' That had been spray painted on the ground. She was about to heed its warning but Rick stepped right over it and went into the land of crazy. I guess we are just going to go in there then.

She made sure to stay close to Carl –this place gave her the creeps. Spikes were everywhere and it looked like the streets were lined with debris to funnel people or walkers into a certain area. It screamed trap to her but no one else seemed to care so she would stay quiet.

She was quiet until she saw rats in cages and a few birds. The poor things had blood spattered all over them. Bells were ringing in her head –Crazy people so this type of stuff. We already have a one-eyed crazy person to deal with, they didn't need another.

"It looks like someone's already made this theirs." She couldn't keep quiet anymore

"Doesn't mean they found what we're looking for. Couple of the places are just up ahead. Let's get in and get the hell out of here." She forced her feet to follow Rick but she kept Carl at her side.

Ducking under some barbed wire that stretched across the road she heard a walker coming from behind them. Michonne started to walk toward the newcomer but Rick stopped her "Wait. She'll get caught"

She watched as the walker did just that. Running into the barbed wire they had just avoided. Then a loud gunshot rang out and the head of the walker fell backwards.

Kat grabbed Carl and ducked down "Hands!" Came a muffled voice and Kat looked up to see a lone gunman standing on top of a roof. She immediately showed her hands to him. "Now you drop what you got and you go. Your guns, your shoes, and that sword. All of it. Ten seconds." Then the son of a bitch started to count.

"10"

"Run for the car now." Rick said to Carl

"We need that rifle." Michonne added. Kat wasn't sure if the woman knew this but the man holding said rifle was pointing it at them. They had no bargaining power in this situation.

"9…8…" The man continued to count.

"I think I can get up there." Michonne once again speaking but Kat was still unsure how the woman planned on scaling four stories and overpowering the guy. All without getting one of them shot. Nope Kat was calling bullshit.

"7…6…"

"Kat. Take carl" Rick said before he started to fire at the man. Kat knew what he wanted her to do and she grabbed his son and led him to cover. It was behind a pickup truck and the bullets were ricocheting off of it.

Kat had lost sight of Michonne and Rick. "Stay here Carl. Don't move. Promise me." She told the boy who looked really calm for being in the middle of a gun fight.

"I promise"

She tipped his hat down and came around the back of the truck. Gun pointed at the roof the man was on. He wasn't there but Michonne sure as hell was. What the hell? The woman was a damn superhero or something.

"Rick" she whispered but still loud enough that he could hopefully hear her.

"I'm fine" he responded "Do you have visual on the guy?"

"Nothing" she told him, her eyes searching everywhere for the man who had fired at them.

Then she spotted him coming from her left –she was in his direct line of fire. Which meant he was near Carl. Running further into his maze she was praying that she wouldn't get shot, but she needed his attention drawn to her and not to Rick's son.

"Comin in hot" she shouted as she saw Rick ducked behind some barrels. Luckily Rick took her weird choice of words as what she meant. He stood up and fired one shot –taking the guy that was shooting behind her down.

"You okay?" He asked her

"Yeah." She nodded "Carl?"

"Still here"

Rick and Kat stood over the man. Kat kept her gun pointed at his head –just in case. In horror movies they always come back for one last scare.

"He's wearing body armor." Rick hit his chest and a hollow thud sounded. "He's alive."

"Do we care?" Michonne asked

She watched the buildings, not sure if this guy was alone. Rick removed the mask that the guy was wearing. "Yeah. We care" he said to Michonne's question.

Looking down she was shocked to see a familiar face. It was the father of one of her students, Duane. Duane Jones and this was Morgan. She barely knew the man, she had only taught half that school year. Having to go on sabbatical to take care of Cora. Duane was a good kid though.

They walked up to the room that Morgan had come out of "Keep an eye out for booby traps. Looks like he's gotten pretty creative so far." Rick said while looking over the spikes that were in front of the door. Kat agreed Morgan was nothing if not a survivor. There were some nifty tricks he had come up with.

"Do you think Duane is in there?" Kat asked she was concerned for her former student.

She started to walk forward, having to duck under the spikes that Morgan had put up. She was about to step on the welcome mat when Michonne's voice stopped her "Don't. Booby traps."

Kat looked down and realized that it was weird to have a welcome mat outside a door surrounded by Barbed wire and spikes. It was giving off the wrong vibe. Lifting the mat she saw that Morgan had chiseled out the concrete there and replaced it with a whole lot of knives that were sticking straight up.

"Thank you." She said to Michonne and mentally scolded herself. She had to be more aware of her surroundings.

Then Rick came up, as far as the spikes would allow, to the door. He was carrying Morgan in a fireman's carry and it was a hell of a time trying to get the dead weight through the door. They ended up laying him on the ground and Kat pulled his arms dragging him under the spikes.

Rick went back to carrying him and she took the lead. Carl was behind Rick then Michonne in the back. At the top of the stairs she noticed a wire. She would've missed it had she not scolded herself earlier.

"Watch the wire. Top of the stairs" She yelled down the steps to Carl and Michonne.

She helped Rick over the wire and then pulled back the curtain that blocked the entryway. She came face to face with an axe –one that looked like it had been used. Good thing she didn't step on that wire. An axe to the face is a terrible way to end a day.

Walking ahead of Rick and into a room down the hall she was amazed. "Holy Shit" she whispered. It was like an apocalyptic heaven. There were grenades, hundreds of guns, ammo. Everything they would need.

"I showed him that weapons locker last year." Rick said as he laid Morgan down on a cot.

"And it had all of this in it? What kind of police were you guys?" She asked

"No, not even half. He's been busy."

Michonne and Carl started to load bags full of guns. Kat was looking over the writing that was scribbled all over the wall. 'Clear' was repeated often. Then she turned to Rick he was looking at something on his wall. She walked over to him and she let out a sigh when she read 'Duane Turned'. She had hoped that the kid would've made it. But it explains why Morgan had clearly gone off the deep end.

"We're gonna wait for him to wake up. Make sure he's okay." Rick said and he turned toward Michonne.

"He tried to kill us." She responded

"He told us to go. He didn't know who we were."

"He tried to kill us and we didn't leave him for the walkers. He's had a good day. He doesn't need half of these guns. We do."

"We're waiting for him to wake up. That's it."

"Have you taken a look around this place? The axe, the spikes, the walls."

"You think he's crazy?"

"No. I think he's dangerous."

Kat couldn't argue with Michonne's logic but she was on Rick's side. She had known him before he went nutso. He had volunteered to chaperone several fieldtrips. So she let Rick and Michonne figure it out and she went to find Carl. He had wondered off into another room.

He was staring at a very large hand drawn map that was on a wall. "What do you see?" She asked him

"It's our neighborhood." He pointed to it and his finger landed on a house that had 'Ricks House' labeled above it. Then a red line was scratched through it and 'Burnt Out' was beside it.

"It's gone." Carl said and looked up at her

"Is that why you wanted to come? To see the house? Carl." Rick asked from behind them

"I -I just wanted to come." Carl replied but she knew he hadn't just wanted to come. She remembered the time that Daryl had taken her to her house. It was therapeutic almost –being able to say goodbye to it. The second time she left her home –she knew it was for good so it was closure.

Her attention was brought around as she heard a very loud crunch then chewing. She watched Rick's exasperated face as he asked Michonne "We're eating his food now?"

She looked up to Michonne who was enjoying a protein bar. She shrugged "The mat said 'Welcome.'"

Kat couldn't help but laugh. The woman did have a sense of humor.

"Will you go on a run with me?" She looked down and saw Carl asking her the question.

"Where are we going?"

"I thought maybe the one thing people didn't loot was cribs and there's that baby place that Mom's friend Sara ran. It's just around the corner."

"Carl." Rick started to protest

"Dad, it's just around the corner. And there's all those walker traps. I'll have Kat with me."

"If your dad says it's all right, but we are going to need help carrying the box."

"What?"

"If we are gonna get a crib, we have to get the box. It's big and heavy. I hurt my shoulder when I landed on the ground earlier. We are gonna need help carrying the box." Her shoulder was fine but she wanted an excuse to bring Michonne along. Carl had been giving the poor woman the stink eye since she had gotten to the prison. She knew the kid would like her if he gave her a chance. Plus she knew he wasn't just going to get a crib –though they would definitely be stopping in that store after they did what he was set on doing. Judith needed a proper bed –not a box.

"I'll go to" Michonne volunteered.

"That's the deal Carl. You stick with Kat and Michonne and if y'all get into trouble you holler I'll hear ya." Rick said and Carl agreed to his terms.

Walking outside she followed Carl "So where we goin kid?" she asked him.

"I need to get Judith something before we get the crib. It's personal." He said to her and looked back at Michonne.

"Alright, you keep your secrets. We are still tagging along though."

They walked in silence for a couple of blocks. Kat watched as Carl walked by the baby store that he had talked about. They didn't say anything. Michonne, Carl, and her were walking in a straight line –side by side. Only Carl knew where they were going.

They hadn't encountered any walkers on the street. Morgan must have a perimeter set up around a section of the town. Whatever he was doing seemed to be working for him though.

Carl led them to a place that she had lunch at often when she worked in this town. King County Café. It was once an old train depot that someone converted into a restaurant. The tracks, long unused, sat behind the building. She watched as Carl wiped the dirt from the front door and peeked inside.

She had no clue what Carl would want for Judith in the place. His hand went for the door knob and she stopped him by putting her hand on top of his. She jerked her head, letting him know to follow her. There was no way he was going in there by himself –and they needed to talk to figure out what his goal was.

"You think I was gonna let you go in there, big guy? Your dad would have my hide" She told him but tried to make it sound like she wasn't scolding him. He was a tough kid but he still felt like he needed to prove himself to everyone.

"We came out here to help." Michonne said to Carl "So let us"

"You came out here for common interests. We have the same enemy and the same problem. And that's why you're here. That's it." Kat was shocked when Carl turned on the other woman.

Kat bent down on her knee so that she was eye level with him, "Carl Grimes. Michonne is here to help us. You've seen the Spiderman shit she can pull. Do you honestly think she couldn't just go back to Morgan's and take what she wanted? She is sticking with us bud. She is just as lost as we are –Governor or not. She is one of us –she fought for our people. Let her help."

"This is important. I'm going to do this. You can't stop me" Carl said and Kat knew that whatever he was after was important to him. She could see the tears building up in his eyes. Damnit –she hated to see him cry.

"We aren't trying to stop you. Just let us help." Kat flicked down the brim of his hat.

Carl nodded and they set to work on a plan.

Michonne was definitely a good person to have on your side. The woman thought outside the box. Which was why Kat had one of Morgan's caged rats bungeed to a skateboard and pushing it into the café.

Standing behind the door, she could hear the once dormant walkers coming to life. The rat apparently looked pretty tasty to them. Michonne and Carl were the first to go in. Kat followed after and was relieved to see the walkers trying to get to the rats. Hopefully the cages held and they could get in and out fast.

Going around the back of a counter they followed Carl's lead. No one but him knew what he was after. Kat trusted Michonne to keep Carl safe –which meant something. She stood closest to the walkers making sure their attentions stayed on the poor rats.

She heard a scuttle of some kind from behind her and then the clear metallic "shiiing" noise of Michonnes Sword. No one was screaming so Kat took that as everyone was fine. Her attention still on the walkers. Making sure they didn't hear the noise and show interest.

Carl tapped her on her shoulder –signaling that his mission was accomplished. She walked in front of him, knife in hand and rounded the partition that led to the front door. First she heard the squeaky noise of the rat –then the rat rounded the partition in front of her. It had gotten lose. Which meant that walkers were probably coming after it. She pushed Carl back as the shuffle of dead feet followed the vermin.

Michonne led the way through the back of the restaurant. Carl in the middle and Kat bringing up the rear. For some damn reason there were walkers hiding in the kitchen and they pushed on the swinging doors –worked up about a possible meal.

Michonne quickly killed them and Kat slammed her knife into a few of the walkers in front of her. They were getting really close and finally Michonne and Carl started to move again. Not wasting any time she followed them. A few walkers blocked their path but Carl fired his gun, taking down the threat.

Once they had made their way to the safety of outside, Kat heard Carl scream "No! - I've got to go back in."

Kat stayed by the door, making sure the walkers stayed on the other side. They were beating at the window, Carl's yells getting their attention.

"Where is it?" She heard Michonne ask him. Kat still had no clue what he was after in the first place so she stayed out of it and kept her attention on the door.

"We have to go back. We have to. I have to. I think it's the only one left!" He sounded so frantic, Kat was tempted to go back in herself and find whatever the hell it was.

"I don't know you. I get that. But can you do something for me?" Michonne didn't wait for him to answer "Wait here with Kat."

"I can help" Carl said

"No more bullshit. You wait here. That's how we get it done." The woman turned to Kat and nodded –letting her know that she was going in solo.

As soon as Michonne walked away Kat knocked on the door –hoping to keep the attention of the walkers on her. It wasn't 3o seconds later she heard Michonne signal her return with a "Hey".

How in the hell? She was a damn ghost.

She handed Carl a picture frame. Kat looked over his shoulder and saw a beautiful Grimes family photo. Lori and Rick holding a younger Carl –all of them smiling. Kat was a little sad at seeing the reminder of Lori but it was good to remember.

She put her hand on his shoulder "I just- I just thought Judith should- should know what mom looked like." Kat understood completely. When she was packing up Daryl's stuff she left out the brag book that he had kept and the vest that Cora had loved so much. The rest she really did have every intention on burning. She flipped through the photos for the entire night –smiling as each memory was brought back to life.

"Thank you." Kat told Michonne. The woman had done something remarkable for both Carl and Judith. So as far as Kat was concerned she was part of her family now.

Michonne shrugged "I was gonna go back in anyway."

"What for?"

"I just couldn't leave this behind." Kat watched as the woman brought at a hideous looking wooden cat from behind her back. "It's just too damn gorgeous."

Laughing, Kat couldn't say it was gorgeous. The blue, red, green, and yellow patchwork design all over the cat was offensive to the eyes but to each their own.

"That is…something" she said

"I'm glad you think so, I got you one to." She pulled a smaller, palm sized version, out of her pocket "Just call me Santa Claus"

"Aw Michonne, you shouldn't have. Really." But Kat took the gift and put it in her pocket. It was a joke but it was still the first gift she had received in a long time. She would treasure it.

How had the woman managed to grab three items out from under the noses of quite a lot of walkers? All in the time frame of about thirty seconds. This woman had so much to teach her.


They had gotten a playpen with no problem. They figured a playpen would work better –Judith could use that as she got older. A crib she could outgrow. Kat even managed to find a baby carrier –it might be needed if someone needed to take Judith. It would allow them to keep their hands free so it would help in surviving.

She walked up to Rick and noticed a fresh bloodstain on his shoulder.

"Everything all right?" she asked him and looked at the wound.

"Yeah. I was about to come looking for y'all. I heard gunshots."

"We are fine, nothing we couldn't handle. I'm gonna talk to him." She motioned her head to Morgan who was putting the bodies of some walkers on a stretcher.

"Be careful. He –He's different. Not like he was before."

"Who is?" she asked him and started to walk toward the man.


"Hey Morgan. Do you remember me?" she kept her distance from the man. It was obvious that he was the cause of Rick's fresh wound.

He looked up at her and then went back to the walkers "Mrs. Patrick. Right?"

"Yeah that's me." She didn't know what to say next. How ya been? You look good? There really wasn't a social etiquette that applied in the end of the world.

"Is your daughter dead?" he asked but never looked up from his task

She had to admit that it pissed her off. How carelessly he asked that. She didn't just walk up to him and say "Duane Dead?", But like she just told herself there was no social etiquette especially from a man who had a knife pit under his welcome mat.

"Yeah. She is"

"It was only a matter of time. See, 'cause people like Duane, your girl, Rick, and you –the good people, they always die. And the bad people do, too. But the weak people, the people like me we have inherited the Earth." He still wasn't looking at her, which was probably a good thing because she could only imagine her face right now.

Okay –she'd had enough crazy for one day "Maybe I'll see ya around Morgan." She said then walked back to Rick. Luckily He had stayed pretty close –watching the whole exchange. She took comfort in knowing that he had her back. She needed to trust someone now that Daryl was out.

She helped Rick put the guns in the back of the car. She had made sure to grab a crossbow that looked pretty nice and all the bolts she could find. She might be mad and hating the guy right now but he was probably due for a new bow. She had no clue the last time he had changed the string on his –and as much as it was used it was probably due. If nothing else maybe he could just use the string from this one. She knew he would love the bolts, which was why she had to make sure that someone else gave them to him. Don't want Daryl thinking that she had picked any of it out for him.