Chapter 32

I'm not gonna lie, being the only one on that bike, driving ahead of them like this; I felt incredible. I also knew that most of this was still the high of the hunt. A mixture of adrenaline and blood lust, maybe also a dash of good old fashioned lust too. This was the first time that I had so much human blood in my mouth. My body was buzzing, every piece of me alive. I wasn't so sure it was a good thing either.

Sasha had given me her radio so that they, and by they I mean Daryl, could keep in contact with me.

"Gwen, come in." I heard it buzz. I reached up, clicking the receiver.

"Go ahead Sasha." I let it go, my hand returning to the handlebars.

"I want to tell you that watching you ride that bike, in that coat, makes me super jealous. Now stop driving so fast, so I can look at you better! All this squinting is giving me a headache." I snorted.

"Okay Sasha. Tell Daryl to stop worrying." There was a silence for a moment then it clicked again.

"Gonna worry 'bout cha till the day I die, whether or not I can see ya." The gravelly voice on the other end made me smile, so I eased up on the throttle letting them catch up. "Plus it's getting dark soon."

"10-4 honey." I told him, "I have a bad feeling about what we are walking into, everyone needs to be on their guard."

"How could anyone say no to you shuga?" I heard Sasha come through again. There was no doubt in her voice, now that I had proven that they could trust my gut, or the Divine Guidance I was receiving.

The sound of gun fire had me pressing on the gas again, once night fell.

"Gwen!" Daryl shouted as I pulled away into the dark.

"They're fighting, step on it!" I yelled back into the walkie, not letting up on the throttle, Daryl increasing his pace as well.

"I trust ya." He said, and I knew he was talking about my eyes in this darkness and he trusted me to take care of myself if something happened.

"And I you." I pulled ahead more, leaving the heavy truck behind, "I'll save some for you guys."

I started to slow as I came over the hill, the gates in sight, the sounds of fighting echoing in the night air. There were Walkers all over in front of the gate, at least a dozen. I came to a halt, pulling Peacemaker. I checked the chamber, pushing in more bullets. Spinning the barrel, I slammed it back home. I revved the engine, turning the little crowd towards me. Driving down the center of the road, I took out as many out as I could while mounted. If my mind hadn't been in full Wolf Battle Mode, I might have been impressed at my markswomanship. At the end, just before the gates, I spun to a stop. I holstered the gun drawing my knives as the last of them came for me. Daryl and the others were coming down the stretch now. I was having some issues with an especially persistent walker. The sound of a silenced shot was the only warning I had before the Walkers skull was pierced. I saw Abraham out the window, thumb skyward.

Pulling the bike up to the gate, I took another walker out to my left. Daryl pulled up next to me at the gate, nodding at me. Sasha and Abraham got out of the cab and onto the top of the tanker.

"Glenn!" I could hear Maggie screaming from somewhere near the top of the wall. Probably the perch, "Glenn!" The duo spotted him, making short work of what I had to assume was walkers all around him.

"Can you get the gate?" Abraham called down to him, "Appreciate it, pal." Then he continued to mow down walkers, laughing all the while. He was my kind of crazy that was for sure.

The gate slid open and I could see that the herd had gotten in where the tower collapsed on the wall. It had been damaged by something big, maybe a truck. Then Glenn was there, looking like hell on wheels.

"I've never been so happy to see a pair of glowy eyes in all my life." Glenn let out in a rush. Reloading while I was waiting for the gate to open, I snapped the gun shut again, smiling under my bandana.

"Let's give 'em hell huh?" Daryl rolled the tanker forward to rescue Enid and Maggie from the wall. Glenn went around and got in the truck. The two men spoke for a few minutes then Daryl rolled down the window.

"Gwen can ya clear a path to the pond?"

"Sure can, Hot Stuff." Once our people had braced themselves on the tanker, Daryl started the engine back up, I revved the bike, spurring it forward. I shot down walkers around me to make room for the tanker. Once I was out of bullets, I was pistol-whipping them as I went, but the pond was close.

Once he had backed up to the pond, Glenn ran out of the cab rushing the Walkers as Daryl opened the gas spigot, the others getting down off the tanker. Once I had reloaded I flanked Daryl, letting the water get full of gasoline. Glenn rolled the tanker forward after Daryl had closed off the spigot. Daryl got on the tanker, loaded the RPG and pointed it at the water, firing, setting the pond ablaze.

I holstered the Peacemaker, pulling my knives, letting my blood lust unleash itself. Roaring, I charged into the fray, dancing between Walkers, my blades finding only skulls. I kicked a walker sending it flying into several of its buddies, knocking them down. More at my back, I lowered my center of gravity and turned, sweeping my leg. The force of the impact cut their legs and they fell, their skulls crushed as I brought my leg back around and down. My knife flew from my hand straight into the eye of a creature, the other into the Walker that came next. I ran to the spot where the creatures fell, using gravity, power and a well timed slash to the face with my claws, to mow down any obstacles. Each attack cutting through the bone and into their brains.

Once my blades were retrieved, a voice pulled my attention back behind me. It was Daryl, Ephram and Miya with him, bows in hand. They were calling for me, possibly, but I just turned back into the fray, their voices never truly reaching me.

The fight raged for hours, my body knowing dawn was approaching. My last opponent fell to the ground. Blood covered me from the neck down, black mixed with red and brown. My heart thundered along like a steam engine, my breath in pants, eyes wide, pupils dilated. Every nerve was singing. The slightest shuffled behind me, and my body moved on it's own. My knife coming around aimed for the temple. I halted when I saw his blue eyes. Frozen in the spot, we stared at each other for some time.

"It's done." He told me, I cocked my head, thinking about what that could mean, what was done, "Gwen they're all dead, let's go home." Blinking, my mind slowly came back to me. I staggered a bit as the haze lifted, my blade clattering to the ground. I fell heavily on my ass. immediately putting my head between my knees. Daryl was right there, trying to look at me.

"C'mon, everyone is heading to the infirmary."

"I can't!" I screamed, taking several labored breaths, "I can't go there like this." My tone softened, "I'm covered in blood. Plus all those people are going to see my blood…" I heard him huff and then a bucket of water was being poured over my head. Gasping in shock, I closed my eyes, trying to real in the attack response.

"Oh, I was well aware of yer... condition, when I found ya the first time." He put his hands on his hips, "Couldn't get near ya 'cause you were snarling like a mad dog. So I got this bucket," he lifted the plastic object, "and this towel." He dropped the second item on my head. I slowly pulled it off, drying my face first. He helped me to my feet and I dried my chest and hands. He helped me remove my trench coat, wincing as he moved his left arm. Flopping the article over my arm, I followed Daryl to the infirmary.

"Yer face is bleeding for sure," He lifted my hand holding the towel to my face, then lifted the back of my shirt up as he walked, "And here, looks like ya hit the ground hard at one point. And there is a pretty nasty bruise here too." He pointed to my hip where I scraped it along the pavement.

"Yeah that has to be the remnants of yesterday's asphalt slide. At least I can remember that wound. The others I'm starting to feel- couldn't tell ya where they came from." I told him, "The last thing I remember clearly was being outside the wall. The rest…" I rubbed my eyes with my finger tips.

"We can talk more 'bout it after we get ya looked at."

The new doctor was a pretty blonde woman with smart looking glasses, named Denise. She had been a psychology major before the fall and now had to be a doctor doctor. The curvy woman was looking at me in stunned silence. I had just given her the condensed version of the Epic Poem that was my life, but I might as well have sprouted a second head.

"I figured this might be the best time to tell our new doctor that there is a werewolf in the community." I offered, laughing nervously, "You can always ask about the details later. Like tomorrow, when I come in to have the stitches removed." The look on her face made me laugh again, "I do still appreciate being stitched up, helps with the scar. Just don't need them there for long." She looked between me and Tara, her brain about to supernova.

"Girl, when it comes to Gwen I've learned to just go with it." Was her only encouragement. I had three cuts, one on my face, one on my lower rib cage and one on my upper back, that needed stitches, the other were all superficial scrapes and cuts.

"He needs stitches on his back." I told her, hopping down when I was done. Daryl gave me a look and tried to just push it off, "He's been trying to get us to forget that he almost got stabbed." I glared at him until he took off his vest and got up on the table. When I was sure he would stay put, I walked over to where Michonne stood with Judith.

"How is he?"

"He's stable, but he still hasn't woken up."

When the herd broke through the wall, Rick had been with Jessie and her boys in their house, along with Carl, Michone, Judith and Father Gabriel. They had "gutted up" and were attempting to cross the herd, when Sam was bitten. Jessie seeing her son fall beneath the hungry clutches of the dead, she let herself be devoured. She had still been gripping Carl's hand, who had Judith under his gut poncho. Rick was forced to cut off her arm, so that they could escape. Seeing this, Ron attempted to shoot and kill Rick. Michonne killed the boy, the gun still firing, hitting Carl in the eye.

And here I was huddled in someone's house after Carl had been shot. Again.

Deanna had also been lost. She had been bitten by a Walker and they had to abandon her when they tried to move; her last wish for a pistol to take her life with.

When Daryl was stitched up, he sauntered over to us.

"Rick in there now?" He asked Michonne. She nodded.

"So let me get this straight." I said in a low voice, "Those 'W' people, the 'Wolves' crashed a truck into the wall, which was the horn that drew the herd. After the people left in Alexandria fought them off, yesterday the damaged tower fell on the wall and the herd got in?" Michonne nodded in conformation.

"We got here after the 'Wolves' attack was over." Her eyes brightened ever so slightly, "Last night the whole of Alexandria rallied around Rick to defend their homes. I think they are starting to finally get it."

"Michonne!" Rick's voice called from Carl's room, and she automatically handed the baby to me. I took her, trying to hold her again the cleanest part of my clothes.

"Sometimes I wish I was the go to for kid duty." Daryl complained, which made me snort.

"Believe me, here in a few months you can have all the kid duty ya want." Michonne poked her head out of the room waving to us. Daryl and I hurried to the room. Carl was awake, his dad holding his hand.

"Hey kiddo." I sat down on the bed letting Judith reach down and touch her brother's shoulder.

"Hey…" he croaked.

"Thought ya were done getting shot by accident." Daryl playfully scolded.

"Pfft..." Carl dismissed weakly. I handed Judith back to Michonne.

"Let's go tell the others." I squeezed Daryl's hand. People were looking at us expectantly when we emerged.

"He's awake now." Denise gasped and hurried to the room. I saw Tara watching her ass as she walked. I cleared my throat giving her an approving grin and wink. She laughed nervously, returning the grin.

"You said Carl's awake?" Glenn turned to look at me from where he stood with Maggie. I nodded.

"We're going to tell the others then head home." Daryl told him.

"Can I talk to you later today? There is something I want to discuss with you."

"Mmm." The Hunter responding.

The others were relieved to hear about Carl, especially Enid, who rushed into the house past us when she heard. Daryl walked back with me to the house, bodies- Walker and Alexandrian, lined the street.

"I want to just sleep but I need to shower first." I said looking longingly at our bed, "Join me?" He nodded. Our shower was not as sexy as the first time, not that I cared, given that I was dead on my feet. Daryl gently washed my back, while I scrubbed my arms. We switched helping each other wash off the dried blood. At one point he put his arms around me, his palms pressed to my stomach.

Clean, we toweled off, Daryl sliding some sweat pants up over his boxers. I pulled on my own sweats and oversized tee, no bothering with underclothes. I flopped down face first when we got back to the room, Daryl drawing the curtains so it was dark.

"I'll set an alarm for three pm." I told him, clicking the buttons on the alarm clock.

"Ight. Probably will be up before that." he got under the covers pulling me to him, holding me tight, his face buried in the crook of my neck. He took several deep breaths, "God something about ya...smells...intoxicating." he took another deep breath, kissing my neck. I giggled when his goatee tickled my neck.

"That tickles...lemme sleep." I huffed, turning my head to kiss his nose.

"I will." The tent in the front of his pants told me that he was definitely not going to sleep. I was a bit perplexed, usually he couldn't actually smell the pheromones I gave off, and I knew at the moment I was giving off a lot. They just affected you. Maybe it was the baby, who knows, too tired.

The alarm woke me with a start, my eyes flying open. Daryl was still lying there next to me, reading through one of the child rearing books, and was most of the way through it.

"Doing homework?" I asked as I turned off the alarm. He nodded.

"Looks like ya already have." He turned the book so I could see all the sticky notes I had used to annotate. I chuckled nervously.

"Ya caught me." I rolled over so I was laying partially on his chest. He held up the book putting it on the other side of my head as I laid there. I could hear voices downstairs, "Sounds like Glenn and Maggie are here." He nodded.

"They got here about ten minutes ago. I was waiting for ya to wake up. I wanted to be here when ya woke up." I smiled at him, thankful for his thoughtfulness. He always caught me off guard with the amount of thought he put into things. Not just when it came to me, but for everyone. He cared with every part of himself, even if it wasn't always obvious.

"Well I'm awake now, so go on. I know he wanted to talk to you." He nodded, rolling out of bed and throwing on a shirt and pulling on his jeans. He buttoned his shirt as he walked into the hall. I could hear Glenn greeting him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Gwen!" Glenn yelled from the bottom step, "You too, get on down here." I chuckled and rolled out of bed, not changing just fixing my ridiculous bed head. I wandered out and down to the others. Maggie and Daryl were already in the kitchen, Glenn still at the foot of the stairs.

"Sorry I guess I wasn't very clear about my request earlier." He ushered me to the kitchen and I leaned against the island next to Daryl.

"So what's up?" Daryl questioned as Glenn took his spot next to Maggie.

"I want to go on a run."

"Sure. What are we looking for?" Daryl questioned.

"Uh...part of the reason I wanted to talk to you both. I know you already figured it out," Glenn looked at me, then back to Daryl, "But... we are also... having a baby." Daryl grinned, reaching forward, clapping his hand to Glenn's forearm. Glenn returned the gesture with a satisfied grin on his face. I gave Maggie a look, her face in a similar expression as my own. In a time where things aren't certain, it's always good to have someone going through the same trials as you. Someone to talk to, connect with.

"So I'm guessing that ya want me to take ya to Aurora Borealis?" I broke up the little bro moment, Glenn turning his head back to me.

"If that is where you got that massive score, then yes. Maggie said you did it with Miya, so it should be cake for the three of us." Maggie glowered in distaste.

"Oh no, Maggie's coming too." I told him, Glenn gave me a pensive look, "It's important that she comes with. The reason I went is because even coming here, finding Alexandria, and the fact that it's his kid," I jerked my thumb at Daryl, "I was still having doubts about everything. That run gave me the courage to face my fears. To be happy rather than worried about it. She'll be okay. No one's gonna let anything happen to her, or the baby." Glenn, who, even after only meeting less than two years ago, felt like he had always been there. He held my gaze for several moments before sighing heavily, nodding in defeat.

"Okay. Okay, I trust you Gwen." He looked back at Daryl, "Most of the bodies have already been moved out of the streets, so I figured we should be done by the end of today. I know you just got back, but I think we should go tomorrow before someone else finds it." I nodded.

"You also got back yesterday, and you look ten times worse than us. Which, I expect a full report sir." I joked with him, the beginnings of a smile on his face, "I'm game for tomorrow. Daryl and I were talking about going after the herd operation anyway." Daryl nodded in agreement.

Maggie spoke up, excitement plain on her face, "Okay. We should take the van, they're will be enough space. Gwen should drive since she's been before. Meet outside first thing? Like seven?"

"Works for me." Daryl grunted.

The rest of the daylight hours, and into the early evening were spent helping clean up Alexandria. The pond had to be dredged for all the bodies and would take weeks to de-zombify. I met Ephram and Miya at the gazebo. They had passed a message along that they had wanted to see me. As soon as I was in their line of sight I was attacked, sandwiched between them. Neither of them spoke as they held me.

"Guys, as much as this is filling a lot of weird fantasies for me right now, I'm kinda ouchie all over." They immediately let go both apologizing, "S'fine."

"Are you okay?" Miya was the first to question.

"Have to be."

"Last night- that was the Wolf wasn't it?" Ephram asked, then his face immediately full of worry, "Uh...also please don't kill me for filling in the gaps for Miya." I arched an eyebrow at him, making him squirm. I kept his torture breif, shaking my head to tell him I wasn't going to kill him.

"She knew most of the important things anyway," I looked at Miya who was just staring at me with sad eyes, "Yes, last night-last night was the first time in three years were Gwen was not at the steering wheel." They exchanged looks, then Miya returned her gaze to me.

"Have you ever hurt someone you care about in that state?" Although I knew she was just asking for posterity's sake, the question still stung coming from her.

"Last night I didn't. There was only one other person who had seen me in that raw state. Norah, but I knew who she was immediately and that she was there to save me." Miya's eye's brightened.

"So that means even in such a wild state your human heart still beats." God did she have to say shit so perfectly all the time?

"You should have been a screen write rather than an actress." Ephram told her, a stupid grin on his face. I flicked the end of his nose, which made him scowl at me, but Miya laughed which erased the lines between his brows.

"It seems that I do retain my attachments to those I care about even in a beastial state."

"Do you know what made you lose control?" Erphram's curiosity pulled his attention off our red headed friend and back to me.

"Could be multiple things." I wasn't really sure of the specific reason, "Or a culmination of things. Being pregnant, being sleep deprived, enraged, scared- the list is really endless at this point." Rubbing my eyes trying to tide said sleep deprivation, I continued in a rush, "Last time this happened I had been tortured, raped, beaten and experimented on for three years, so who knows really!" I threw up my arms in defeat, pacing a short distance away to lean against the side of the gazebo, "Norah made sure the entire facility was destroyed, to leave no evidence of Project Ganesha. The only other being like me-my sire of sorts, was also killed. I'm eternally grateful to Norah, and now I can't ever repay her. Yet I think selfish thoughts. Like that I wished she had thought to at least grab the file, something-anything…" Ephram put his hand on my shoulder turning me around to face them.

"You're not at fault for wanting to know, for wishing you could. Then how 'bout we help you?" He offered, a twinkle in his eyes, "We can start tracking your behaviors, recording things you already know about who you are and how you became like this." I immediately thought of my journal.

"I already started something like that, but if you want to help, I won't turn you away." he grinned like the Cheshire cat, then gave me a particularly loud kiss on my forehead.

"Good. We can start tomorrow." he frowned when I started to shake my head, "Not tomorrow?"

"I'm going on a run with Daryl, Maggie and Glenn tomorrow." I thought for a minute if it was alright to tell them where, "They're also expecting, so I'm taking them to the spot we went to Miya." She was also grinning now.

"Oh I do just adore babies!" She squealed. I almost missed it but Miya's gaze flicked to Ephram. My brother was ignorant of course, but she knew I saw it. Guess my red headed vixen swung both ways after all. Well, it seems that Ephram was a shared taste for all sexual orientations. Maybe he was actually an incubus in disguise. I inwardly scoffed. Demons couldn't be that big of a stretch if both zombies and werewolves were a thing. And Elephant headed gods to boot.

"I'll find you when we're back." I told Ephram, then looked back at Miya, "Yer welcome to tag along to these little sessions." Then I thought about the sessions Ephram used to hold and blushed, not partially keen on imagining my little brother in that situation. This time Ephram caught the parallel and grinned.

"I thought your staunch view of me as your brother inhibited that way of thinking." He teased. I swatted at him, he sidestepped the attack and poked me in the rib, making me chuckle.

"That's not what I mean and ya know it, brat." I bid the two farewell, wanting to return to the house and take a load off my feet.

"Oh great looks like the Ganesha Wolf made it back in one piece after all." My blood boiled hearing Fiona's voice. If I had pegged anyone to have died during either of the last two attacks, it would have been this trollop. I groaned, turning to face her.

"Yes and I see the Giant Pain in My Side, did as well. Are you bating me on purpose or are ya really that stupid?" She balled up her fists, her eyes filled with anger.

"What does he see in you, what do they all see in you? You're a monster! I saw what you did in that fight, how you ripped those Roamers apart with your bare hands." That monster was very close to the surface still and she was making dangerous moves.

"So then it's stupidity." I went to turn away.

"You don't belong here, you belong out there with the other monsters. Just like that monster growing inside you." Then there was a sudden shift of fear on her face, and I really wondered if I had unconsciously been making the face I really wanted to right now.

"I dare ya to say another word, Miss." Rick's voice said over my shoulder. I had been so absorbed at keeping myself calm that I hadn't noticed he approached.

"What will you do, kick me out?" She sneered.

"Yes. How did you phrase it? 'You belong out there with the other monsters'." Fiona was glaring daggers at my friend, but I knew the face Rick was making, and it was dangerous, "If you ever make statements like that again, to my family or to anyone else, I won't hesitate to exile you from Alexandria." He warned her, "Deanna put me in charge before she died. You do well to remember that." Fiona glared at him then especially hateful at me and stalked off. I relaxed my fists, my claws had dug into my palms.

"Thank you...I might not have had the self control to deal with that much longer." I said softly.

"Yer not a monster." He said, putting his arm around my shoulders, "And neither will my nephew." He gave me a soft grin. Seems that not only did I have a younger brother, but an older one as well.

Fiona's words were stuck in my mind as I walked home. It was all I could do to cast the dark mood off my shoulders as I walked up the stairs to the front door.

Daryl was already back when I returned. He was sitting on the couch down stairs, Judith in his lap. My husband was making gibberish noises at her, making the infant laugh in delight. I was watching them intently, hoping my baby would be just as bubbly and happy as Judith.

"He's going to be good at it." I nearly jumped out of my skin when Michonne spoke in my ear, which made the swoardswoman chuckle.

"Feels good huh?" Daryl was leaning his head back looking at us, a cocky grin on his face. He always got a certain delight out of people getting the jump on me. I stuck my tongue out at him, which he returned in kind, before returning his attention to the baby.

"Sorry, what?" I asked Michonne, my initial terror not even letting me register what she had said. She pointed at Daryl and Judith.

"A dad." She clarified. I sighed through my nose, my earlier confrontation still stabbing my brain.

"I know." My lips pulled into a soft smile, before I walked over and sat on the couch next to Daryl. He sat back putting his arm over my shoulders, as I picked up Judith placing a kiss on her head, "I'm just glad yer okay Lil' Asskicker." She cooed at me, putting her little hands on my face. I kissed the pudgy appendages, before setting her in my lap, "But you had yer daddy and big brother looking out for you."

"And Father Gabriel. He kept her with him at the church during the fight." Michonne informed me. That surprised me. He outwardly spoke against Rick, and had been a coward. Though I suppose he had tried to get Rick to let him join the herd team.

"Hmmm seems like the Cowardly Priest found his courage, huh? And he didn't even need to go to OZ." I told the baby, who just looked at me like I was crazy pants. Maybe I would see if I could get my hands on a copy of the Wizard of Oz. It was Norah's favorite book as a child.

I sat in the driver's seat of the van the next morning, chewing mint leaves, trying to calm my uneasy stomach. It had been rolling all morning, and I was fighting to keep my meger breakfast down.

"Does that help? With the morning sickness?" Maggie asked from the passenger seat.

"Yeah, a bit. But when he gets grumpy, I'll puke regardless." Which happened only about an hour into our trip. Daryl patted my back as I puked into the bushes.

"Ya want me to drive for a bit?" He asked when I stood back up right, the onslaught had passing. I shook my head.

"I'm okay now." I took a few sips from my water bottle, swishing my mouth out, and heading back.

"See?" I said to Maggie with a grin, "Grumpy asshole, just like his dad." Daryl reached up form behind my seat and tugged on my ear, "Ow... Point made though." We were coming up to the point where I had trouble before. I slowed to a stop leaning forward over the wheel.

"Why are we stopping?" My passenger questioned.

"This spot ahead is a herd trail, had issues there and back with it. I want to be cautious." I nodded my head towards the two husbands in the back. She grinned.

"Yup. Cautious."

I rolled up to the trail slowly wanting to see the depth of walkers we would be dealing with. Maybe a dozen walking through the woods and up the street, or back down to the other side.

"Ya got that flare?" I asked Maggie, rolling down my window. She nodded retrieving the flare gun from the bag at her feet, and handed it over. I checked that it was loaded, then aimed up and over the car, firing the flaming projectile. The walkers on the road focused their attention on the flare and started off the other side of the road. There was an opening now, big enough to race through, then continue on to the shopping center.

I parked the van in the same spot as before.

"I'm going up to the roof to get a better view. This alley only had that one entrance so you should be good here for a few minutes." I told them. Daryl looked a bit wary of me going, but I had already done this once with Miya. I got out and pulled myself on top of the van, when he didn't protest. Luckily, the van was a bit taller than the truck, so the distance I had to jump was just a little less. I was grateful for that because I was having a hard time pulling myself up. Once on the roof, I sat down heavily.

I had begun to notice that sometimes my powers almost seemed increased, then I would almost feel like I did before I was bitten. Normal. Today I was feeling pretty useless, which made me glad the others were here this time. That would be a good thing to tell Ephram about.

My makeshift Walker cage had broken open on both ends, the fence completely ruined from the dumpster fire. To make matters more difficult there were twice as many Walkers.

"Shit." I scanned the area trying to figure out how to get them away from the building so we could get in. From here I could see that the alley behind the store was still clear. If we could get behind it, I could get on the roof there and then get in the front.

When I returned to the group, I told them of my plan.

"I went out there, the front of the shop is barricaded, probably from your last trip." Daryl pointed out, "Do ya think you can force the back door?" At my current strength? I wasn't sure.

"I can try." I told them, my face unsure. Only Maggie seemed to notice the hesitation.

Once I had maneuvered us over to the other alley as quietly as possible, Daryl went towards the end of the alley, keeping watch as I looked at the door. It was heavy steel with no exterior handle. I would have to create handholds in order to get any purchase on it.

"Ya don't look too sure." Maggie said quietly, trying not to tip off the two worry warts that we called husbands.

"It's 'cause I'm not, my strength is really low right now." I rolled my neck, "This is going to be noisy anyway I do it, and I want to be able to close it again." I looked up at the hinges, an idea forming in my head. I reached up using a claw to wiggle the hinge pin up and out. I moved on to the next one, then the bottom, the door sagging ever so slightly when the last one came free.

"I'm going to try and bend the door outward. Once I get inside I will undo the latch and let you in. Then I'll come back out here, bend the door back, put the hinges in place and then you can let us in okay?" She thought about it briefly before nodding, "I need you to push right here with all your strength okay? Even a little is going to help me tremendously." Maggie called for Glenn.

"C'mere, put yer hands here." She instructed him, then she put hers a foot below his, nodding when she was ready. I grabbed the tire iron from the van jamming it between the wall and the door. I braced one foot against the wall using everything I had to bend the metal out. It made a terrible groaning noise, but I had made a spot big enough to squeeze through. I managed to cut my cheek on the metal though, which made me hiss in displeasure. Once inside I opened the door, holding it up so Maggie could enter. She grabbed the handle while I went outside to press the door into place.

"Now we see if i can fix it again." I told Glenn. I braced my hands against the bend and pushed with what was left of my strength. The metal groaned as it slowly went back into place, a growl rippling through me with the effort. When it finally folded back into place I sagged against the door.

"Shit…" I groaned, picking the hinge pins up and putting them back in. I whistled to Daryl, who walked over to us. When he reached me he wiped his thumb under the cut clearing the blood, the wound taking its sweet time to close, "Kay Maggie." I said knocking on the door. She opened it and let us inside. I slid down the door once inside, thoroughly exhausted.

"You two stay here, Daryl and I will do a sweep." Glenn told Maggie and I. They were back after only a few minutes, "Well I'm glad we decided this plan rather than the first. I don't think you could have gotten in the front." He reported.

Daryl helped me to my feet, keeping his arm around me as we walked through the store. He let me go after a moment, wandering through the isles, picking things up and looking at them in detail. He would also periodically shove something in his bag. Given that I had already collected most of what I wanted, I mainly got things that would be essential for any baby or toddler. Maggie wandered over to me, I grabbed my book from my bag and handed it to her.

"There is a holistic pharmacy over there," I pointed to the other end of the store, "There is a list of herbal remedies in here." I handed her the book and she took it with an appreciative smile.

"Thanks." She went over to the pharmacy and I turned back to see both men standing at that stupid name tag turner. The looks on their faces said all the names just looked blah, but they were looking all the same. I felt a little flutter in my chest watching Daryl chew on his lip thinking about what to name our child.

Glenn and Daryl took several trips to the van, loading up everything Maggie and Glenn had picked out together.

"Hey." Daryl came over to where I sat looking at baby blankets and towels. I was holding a little hooded blanket, little elephants over the fabric, an elephant face on the hood, "We're gettin' ready to roll. Ya ready?" I looked up at him, putting the blanket in my bag, then stood. He caught the edge of my chin and pulled my face up kissing me.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Do I have to have a reason?" he breathed. I shook my head, kissing him back. He pulled away, putting his arm around my waist and walked us to the car. Maggie and Glenn sat upfront the way back so I could lay down. Daryl sat on the floor against the wall, his legs on either side of me. I laid on my side, my head resting on his upper thigh. He was massaging my right shoulder and arm, trying to work out the giant knot that had formed from bending the door. His ministrations lulled me into a half sleep.

We were almost back when a feeling came to me.

"I think we should stash it. Get the stuff from the house and stash it all." Daryl looked down at me.

"Why?" I shook my head.

"Just a feeling. Maybe some food and some other supplies too. Ammo."

"Gwen. Did ya have a vision or somethin'?" His voice was soft, but worried. I shook my head.

"No but I have a feeling, a strong one." Maggie was looking back at me.

"We have some time before either is here, it would be smart to stash it." She defended, "The last few days have proved that we were not as safe as once thought. I've been meaning to suggest a stash off sight for some time. And I think I know of the perfect place." She said with a grin.