A/N: Hello everyone. Yes I know its been 3.5 weeks since my last chapter update. At some point during that time I wasn't getting any responses to this story or any indication that anyone was reading it, so I kinda lost a lot of motivation for it and thought okay if no one appears to be reading I wasn't really determined to put out a chapter. not only that uni was stressful.
I hope to get back in the regular speed of updating but it would be nice to know if this story was still being read, so I know I'm not wasting my time writing this. So this chapter is kind of an interlude before the Governor tries to attack them just to get me back into the habit of writing again. I love writing this story and the support from you guys in the beginning was crazy! I would love to see more of it.
Thanks to MonMonMuffin 27 who favourited and followed this story ages ago! You rock and to my lovely guest reviewer who gave me the bit of motivation I needed to write and upload!
Guest: This is totally dedicated to you this chapter!
So as I said before it's changed slightly from the show as Rick isn't trading Michonne but remember Merle still has his own agenda. The bastard. I hope you guys like the Pol/Rick fluffiness, the Pol/Daryl interactions, action, drama, emotion this chapter has it all! This chapter is kinda rough, not super proud of it I just need to get back into writing again.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any affiliated characters and storyline, only my OC and plotline.
- Angels and Douchebags.
I was standing on the guard tower with one earphone into my CD player listening to Fall Out Boy. No judgement, they were a really good band. Probably a bunch of walkers now though.
I slipped on the sunglasses I took from Rick's cell with the sun blaring into my face. I figured it was payback for the fact he even considered trading Michonne in for the promise of the Governor not attacking us at the prison. But I knew better.
It wasn't even midday and I could feel my hair sticking to the back of my neck with sweat. I paced the perimeter watching the field crawling with Walkers and keeping an eye out for any cars. I faced the courtyard where I saw Rick walk out of the cell block looking newly showered and wearing a white T-shirt.
"Hey!" Rick shouted up with his hand over his eyes.
"Hey," I waved down to him.
"How long you been up here?" He asked.
"I relieved Maggie at dawn." I said leaning over the edge.
"What?" Rick shouted not being able to hear me.
"I'm coming up!" He hollered before he disappeared into the tower below me. A minute later I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and Rick came out standing next to me over the edge.
"Hey," He started again smiling.
"Hi," I looked at him returning the smile before walking with the rifle in my hands.
"Nice sunglasses." Rick narrowed his eyes at me folding his arms.
"Sorry, I was borrowing them didn't want to get blind up here." I said as Rick looked out on the field then squinted.
"S'alright I'm just messin' with you." Rick said dismissively.
"In that case can I keep them?" I asked playing with the handles of the aviators around my ears.
"Ha. No." Rick deadpanned as my face fell.
"I was saying that I relieved Maggie at dawn. When you were down there." I said pointing down to the ground.
"That was about 4 hours ago, sure you don't want to go get some rest now?" Rick asked.
"Nah it's fine I'll do my shift and wait for Carol." I shrugged. I leaned in towards Rick and sniffed.
"Mhmm look at you all clean." I said approvingly pointing to his pushed back wet hair.
"The wonders of having a working shower." Rick said.
"What about your beard?" I asked looking at the previous scruff on his face which was now a full beard.
"Something wrong with my beard?" Risk faced me eyebrows raised.
"Let it grow anymore and we won't be able to see your face." I teased nudging him as he chuckled.
"Though it looks good on you. Suits you." I nodded approvingly.
"In an objective manner of speaking." I clarified seeing the smirk making it's way onto his face.
"You think I look good?" Rick asked. I turned my head to looking back down over the walker infested field so he couldn't see me blush.
"You're twisting my words now." I said gently from the side.
"I'm just teasin' ya." Rick nudged his arms against mine as we looked over the field. We stood in silence for a while in the heat as I kept guard.
"I thought about our conversation the other day. The one about Michonne." Rick said after a while.
"Rick I've already made it clear tha-"
"I know." Rick said as I turned to face him.
"You're right, Michonne doesn't deserve that, especially not after all she's done for this group and for you. She brought you back to us and it was in a moment of weakness that I even considered that deal." Rick explained as I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
"Good." I grinned at him happy I wouldn't be forced to choose between them.
"The Governor would attack us anyways even if I did go through with it, which I'm not. So we gotta prepare ourselves." Rick explained as I nodded feeling the gnawing feeling in my stomach that something bad was going to happen.
"Yeah, it's been too quiet the last few days since the sit-down." I nodded looking beyond the trees lining around the road for any cars.
"How's Carl?" I asked Rick who looked down then back up around the surrounding area.
"I don't actually know." He said looking ashamed.
"I've been so caught up in this thing that I haven't been there. I don't think I'm a good father." Rick shook his head.
"Nonsense, you haven't been as attentive of a father as you should be at this time. There's a difference, spend time with him, teach him stuff you need to bond with him, trust me Carl loves you." I said reassuringly to the sheriff's deputy standing in front of me.
"Why don't you go spend some time with him now?" I nudged him.
"The group are probably waking up soon and you guys can have breakfast together, leave this to me." I said.
"You sure?" Rick checked.
"Oh yeah, someone will come in a couple hours I'll be fine." I waved my hand dismissively.
"Thank you." Rick said placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Your welcome." I returned his smile as he turned and walked back down the guard tower steps. Trying to get my heartbeat back under control and now my stomach which was a bundle of nerves from the Governor and butterflies for Rick. These conflicting feelings were getting a lot to handle for me and it didn't look like I was getting over it any time soon.
I walked around facing the prison block to check all the exits were still covered and no walkers could get through before turning my attention back to the forest. There were a few walkers stumbling around just outside the fence before I thought I heard a muffled scream and the branches of the trees shaking. My head whipped around to where the sound came from but there appeared to be no one there. I pulled up the rifle to eye level and scanned the forest holding it there for a few minutes. But no sound to be heard, I shook my head thinking I was starting to imagine things and put the rifle back down by my side scanning the other areas around the prison.
A couple hours later I pulled out the chair and had my legs dangling over the railing of the guard-tower getting bored with nothing to do.
"Hey I'm here to relieve you." I turned around seeing Glenn come up looking well rested.
"Thank God." I jumped off the chair slung the rifle over his shoulder and tapped him on the shoulder before walking past down the stairs and walked along the fence barriers before unlocking the door and reaching the inner gate where Hershel, Rick and Daryl were standing.
"Here," Daryl handed me a plate of powdered eggs which were a little cold but still looked good.
"Yes thank you." I beamed at him as he nodded.
"I was just telling the others my decision to not trade Michonne." Rick said acknowledging my presence.
"It just ain't us man." Daryl said holding his crossbow.
"No it isn't." Hershel nodded agreeing.
"Does anyone else know about this?" Hershel asked.
"Just you three, and I'd like to keep it quiet." Rick said looking at all three of us.
"Especially in case anyone gets wind of this deal and wants to go through with it." Rick eyed Daryl carefully.
"Merle won't do nothin'." Daryl said defensively.
"So what's the plan?" I asked Rick changing the subject.
"We need to strengthen up the fences especially by the gate and reinforce the fences with wooden sticks, for that we need to use some of the thin trees and cut them down. We also need to find more food, supplies and weapons." Rick said detailing out his thoughts.
"Okay that's a lot to think about. Uhm, I don't mind going on runs to find more food, supplies and weapons." I said wanting to actually get out of the prison for a while.
"I'll go with you." Rick said.
"No, ya need to stay here for the prison, in case governor comes knockin' I'll go with her." Daryl looked at me.
"Well alright then." Rick agreed as I ate the powdered eggs in front of me.
"Now the Governor wanted Michonne by noon, so we gotta prepare the prison for his attacks." Rick said.
"Move some of the old cars out front before the gate, it'll slow them down." I suggested as Rick nodded to the idea.
"We'll try and see if we can find any more weapons, guns or bullets. You know the best place would be back at Woodbury." I said nonchalantly making all three men look at me harshly.
"No, there's no way you're going there. Not risking it." Rick shook his head as he crossed his arms.
"Yeah I know it was worth a try." I shrugged.
"We'll leave in 20." Daryl said to me as I nodded. I went back inside cell block C where the others were milling about in the prison. Rick came shortly after giving instructions to the rest of the group.
"Hey Carl, Carol, Beth." I looked at all 3 who were busy clearing up. I helped clear away some of the clutter and checked if the clothes were dry.
"Hey, sleep well?" Carol asked.
"I slept okay, I had shift up in the tower from dawn." I said to her as we walked up the stairs to where Judith's makeshift crib was.
"Oh you must be tired, get some sleep I got her." Carol looked at Judith. I picked Judith up who was sucking her thumb and hugged her to my shoulder gently rocking her.
"Hey Judy." I turned her head as her big eyes looked up at me, she was getting bigger and her hair was very blonde, nothing like Rick's or Lori. Her hands were grasping at my shoulders as I walked around the perch with her.
"I gotta go." I kissed her head then placed her back down on the crib.
"Can't sleep yet, me and Daryl are going for a run." I told Carol tucking the blankets around Judith.
"A run? Is that a good idea especially after Maggie and Glenn?" Carol raised her eyebrows in concern.
"Well we need to prepare for the Governor, we don't know how long it'll last for and we need supplies." I chose my words carefully. I scrunched my nose up at a smell then looked down at the culprit who was babbling.
"Where are her pampers?" I asked Carol.
"Rick's cell. I can change her." Carol held out her arms to pick up Judith before I stopped her.
"Don't worry I got it." I smiled at her as Carol smiled back busying herself.
I took Judith out of the crib and walked slowly down the stairs seeing no sign of Carl, Maggie, Glenn or Michonne. I walked into Rick's cell which was a mess, his clothes were all over the place as were Carl's. I looked in one corner and saw a pack of pampers along with baby formula. I put blankets on the ground and set Judith down on it before changing her nappy.
"Oh you're stinky baby aren't you." I cooed and pinched her cheeks as she let out a small smile making my heart flutter. Once I had her changed and disposed of her I took her back up the stairs to Carol before disappearing inside my own cell.
I changed into new clothes and brushed my hair desperately wishing that we had toothpaste because who knows how badly my breath smelled. I took my pack and put a bottle of water in there along with extra bullets and strapped the belt with my colt and the machete ready to go. I came out of the cellblock to here lots of noise and shouting and jogged over to where Rick was standing against the fence watching the field.
"Hey," I said to him as he turned to me.
"Hey." He continued looking out on the field.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Tryin' to figure that out myself." Rick answered.
Maggie and Carl were shouting in the middle fence drawing the walkers towards them, leaving the field empty. Glenn and Daryl were inside the silver jeep taking out a large pieces of barbed wire and fixing them out into the field. Michonne was slicing down walkers before the three of them got into the jeep I ran over to the gate pulling it open to let the car come through and closing it.
Me and Rick went over to where the parked car were and the three members of the group that came out of it.
"They try to drive up to the gate again and maybe some blown tyres will stop them." Glenn said.
"It's a good idea." Rick said approvingly.
"It was Michonne's." Daryl said pointedly to Rick, giving further affirmation that Michonne staying was a good idea as I smiled at my friend who was also in new clothes standing opposite me.
"We don't have to win, we just have to make their getting at us more trouble than it's worth." Michonne drawled with a smirk as she nodded at Rick. Maggie and Carl came over as well.
"You ready?" I asked Daryl who nodded.
"Where are y'all goin'?" Maggie asked holding the bucket in one hand.
"Me and Daryl are going on a run, we'll be back soon." I reassured her after seeing the worried look in her eyes.
"Can I go?" Carl looked at me hopefully as I shot an unsure look at Rick.
"But I need to make sure they're safe." Carl said pointedly looking at me and Daryl.
"No Carl, I need your help here." Rick said firmly but gently as Carl looked disheartened but understood anyways. I pulled Carl to one side and looked at him.
"Hey Carl, I'll be back okay. We'll be back, Daryl will protect me and I'll protect him, we'll be fine." I reassured him as he looked up from the ground.
"I lost mom because I couldn't protect her, I don't wanna lose you guys too." Carl said desperately as I felt my heart break at his words. He was a 13 year old kid, 13 year olds shouldn't have to worry about that. But that was the way of the world we lived in now.
"When you get worried, remember that I'm always with you." I pointed to the ursa minor necklace around his neck at the top star which was Polaris.
"Promise you'll come back." Carl asked.
"Promise." I pulled him in for a short hug then let go of him walking away.
"Please be safe y'all." Maggie said as I nodded.
"Sure you don't want me?" Michonne asked holding one hand over the katana on her back. Me and Daryl exchanged uneasy looks before I looked back at Michonne.
"Nah it's fine, you'll be better here." I said as she nodded.
"If there's any trouble, come back straight away." Rick said to Daryl who nodded.
"Don't be reckless." He said pointedly to me.
"When am I ever?" I scoffed shooting him a grin.
Rick shook his head and held out his pinky finger, "Promise." He said.
I locked it with mine and shook it downwards before letting go of his hand. Glenn handed me the keys to my BMW as we walked away from the majority of the group who were heading back inside the cell block.
"I know a town, past the pharmacy. Was a ghost town but it still might have weapons, food." Daryl said adjusting the crossbow over his shoulder as we walked over to the cars.
"Anything we can use will help." I said. I opened the driver's seat and got in the car as Daryl got on his motorbike and revved the engine. I rolled down the window and called out to him.
"I'll follow you." I called to Daryl who nodded. I switched the car on and shifted it into drive before following Daryl up to the gate, Rick opened it and I waved to him as we drove down through the field of Walkers. The second gate to the outside was opened by Glenn who quickly opened it as we drove through leaving the prison behind us.
I kept the windows rolled down letting the cool breezed flow into the car as we drove down the highway, I sped up the car so I was alongside Daryl and enjoyed the feeling. I realised I was still wearing Rick's sunglasses but he didn't ask for them back so I wasn't letting them go yet. We drove past forest areas, making sure we didn't take any turns too close to Woodbury, we came off the highway and onto the smaller roads going through the towns. I rolled the windows back up and 20 minutes later we reached our destination. Daryl parked his motorbike just behind my car so it was hidden.
"You weren't kidding when you said it was a ghost town." I muttered lowly feeling an eerie atmosphere settle over the town. Most of the buildings such as the bank, bars, clothes shops, restaurants were boarded up, and it looked like it had been that way since before the world ended. A lone walker spotted us and began stumbling towards us. I sighed and began pulling out my knife before Daryl placed his hand over it.
"I got it." He said taking out his crossbow and shooting the walker straight in the eye. It stopped growling and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Show off." I scoffed. Daryl went to retrieve his arrow and I placed the empty pack over my shoulder following him.
"You know, we would cover a lot more ground if we split up." I said nonchalantly watching Daryl's reaction.
"I was kidding Dixon."
"We could check the liquor store for guns." Daryl said staring at the boarded up bar.
He put his crossbow around his neck as I stood guard holding my gun out in one hand, with the other hovering over my knife handle. Daryl ripped off the boards over the door and pushed it open which rang a bell. We stepped inside the dark building and heard deep growling coming from one corner of the darkened room. Daryl nodded as I let him go first, being the more experienced hunter. I took out the torchlight and had it ready switching it on seeing three Walkers curled in one corner. They noticed us and began stumbling forward. Daryl shot his cross bow into two of them, I pulled out my knife and twisted it into the head of the third one. Once the bar was cleared we looked around.
"We could use this?" Daryl held up a round shaped object.
"Is-is that a grenade?" I stuttered reaching out to touch it.
"I dunno." He shrugged. He walked behind me and began unzipping the backpack.
"You're putting the potential grenade in my bag?" I gasped.
"Just don't move too much." Daryl walked ahead as I wordlessly followed him. We searched around the bar for any more signs of weapons. I looked under the counter and found a hand gun which had 3 bullets. Daryl went down to the basement and came back up with another handgun and a rifle. Considering we had the governor to deal with, it was surprising that I had other things on my mind. Rick for instance.
"Well that's something." I said nodding.
"We should hit the pharmacy an' see if we can find more food." Daryl stated as I followed him out of the bar. The Rick thing was really bothering me, sometimes I didn't know if the man was flirting or just being friendly.
"Hey Daryl?" I looked at him unsure whether it was wise to ask him or not. I mean Daryl Dixon wasn't really renowned for giving relationship advice. This was definitely going to make the hunter feel uncomfortable.
"Mmm?" He looked down at me walking beside me.
"You're a guy right?" I asked as he narrowed his eyes at me.
"Right stupid question." I muttered.
"Go on." He urged me looking around at the empty shops.
"How do you know, uhm when a guy is well um.." I trailed off hoping he would understand.
"What?" He asked looking lost.
"When a guy is uh flirting?" I gave him a side-look not wanting to see his full reaction.
"Flirtin'?" Daryl whirled round to look at me.
"I dunno. Never had a guy 'flirt' with me." Daryl deadpanned. I hit him on his shoulder making him smirk slightly.
"Is this bout Rick?" Daryl asked looking straight ahead at the road.
"Might be." I shifted on my feet.
"I couldn't tell ya honestly. Pol 'fore this I never had any long relationships or whatever, I just used to hang 'round with Merle and we used to do shit all. I'd be no help. Sorry." Daryl apologised looking at me.
"Oh. It's alright." I nodded dropping the subject.
"Pol." Daryl said catching my attention.
"Yeah?"
"I dunno 'bout relationships. But I know Rick. When he's ready, he'll let ya know. He's an upfront man most of the time but he's not lookin' for a fling. He's lookin' for someone to be there long term. Ya know?" Daryl explained.
"Yeah I do know." I said thoughtfully.
"I can tell he likes ya. Has done from the beginning I reckon. But its still only been a short time since his wife died, ya show him yer in it for the long haul." Daryl suggested.
"I am." I defended.
"And I will." I said determinedly, so patience was key here. Right.
"Can we stop talkin' bout this now?" Daryl complained.
"Yeah, yeah Dixon. We can stop. You can go back to your brooding." I laughed.
At the prison
"Where are we going?" Michonne side-eyed Merle who had been acting strange leading her into the tunnels under the prison. They turned a corridor and went down some steps leading to more cells with walkers in them.
"A breach like this could be an open invitation to the Governor," Merle stated.
"He's not much for subtlety." Michonne gave him a look hearing growls coming from one end of the corridor.
"You really wanna take any chances?" He asked. Merle stood slightly behind her. Two Walkers half stumbled towards them, organs and limbs missing, Michonne not taking any chances strolled forward with her katana.
But just before she could slice the walkers, Merle hit her at the back of the head and she fell to the ground unconsciousness. He finished off the walkers, slicing them all in the head and began dragging the unconscious warrior along the ground.
There was no way he was gonna save one life, and risk sacrificing his own along with this whole prison. It was time to get his own back on this bitch.
And deliver her straight to the governor.
I wiped the machete against the ground scrunching up my nose at the pieces of flesh and organs still hanging off it. I stood up in the supermarket aisle which was relatively empty making me frown in disappointment.
There were rotting pieces of fruit and meat but we needed cans and boxes. I found a couple of cans of potatoes and stuffed them in my pack. Most of the boxes of food were empty and there was nothing much down this aisle except for the smell of rotting corpses.
"Anythin?" Daryl poked his head around the aisle.
"A couple of cans, not much else really." I shrugged feeling disheartened we couldn't find more here. We had already checked in all the other shops and this was the last place to look.
We found a pharmacy along with a couple of boxes of painkillers and some antibiotics which was a godsend. We were preparing for the worst. There was one pack of sanitary pads I quickly shoved into my pack knowing it would make a certain someone with me feel awkward.
"You?"
"A few boxes of cereal, about 6 cans of tomatoes and one can of spaghetti-Os." Daryl listed off his items smirking slightly.
"Spaghetti-Os? What's that?" I asked furrowing my eyebrows.
"You're shittin' me woman, you don't know?" Daryl came over to me. He pulled out the can from his pack and showed me.
"So it's spaghetti," I said looking at the can where the label was worn down but the can was still intact.
"It's like you love baked beans, same thing for us Americans." Daryl explained.
"Ah gotcha." I nodded. He put the can in my pack and closed it up.
"Wait." I stopped Daryl from walking away.
"Big place like this, it probably has storage underground. Storage which would be full of food." I smiled slightly.
"And it might be overrun with walkers," Daryl pointed out.
"Yes but we could take them. Think about it Dixon, if the Governor wages a war on us we're gonna need food to last for a while this could be it." I said getting excited.
"We can check it out." Daryl said decidedly.
I led the way to the back of the supermarket where the door had been blocked with chairs, tables and shelves. I put my weapons away as me and Daryl began carrying the heavy objects away from the door. We were down to the last chair, Daryl held his crossbow in position as I moved the chair and the door swung open. I pulled out my gun seeing there were stairs which had liquid poured down it and it was like walking into a completely dark hole.
"Men first." I smiled sheepishly at Daryl who rolled his eyes. He had his crossbow out at eye level as I handed him the torch covering his rear. It was like a horror movie, the atmosphere turned thick with tension around us and I felt an uncomfortable feeling creeping up on my back. We walked down the stairs and followed the corridor which was littered with dead bodies on the ground. I placed my hand over my nose, the stench was disgusting filling up the air.
"Man I could throw up." I choked on the air.
"Please don't." Daryl muttered from in front of me as I had one hand hovering over his back.
We came across to another door as I pressed down on the handle and it swung open.
"It's almost too easy." I whispered to Daryl who gave me an unsure look.
We explored the dark room walking slowly as there were tall shelves with some closed cardboard boxes, we would have to carry them out of the basement one by one. A few minutes later we each came out with 3 boxes each, the most we could carry and dumped them in a shopping cart, we didn't know what they were but we didn't have time to check, not out in the open like this.
"We can fit one more." I said decidedly looking at the cart.
"I'll go get it." Daryl said.
"No, it's fine I got this." I reassured him. I left him with the cart and walked back down the corridor with the flashlight. There was no indication or sound of any walkers down here but we were quiet, quiet enough for them to not notice us. I walked into the storage room shining the torch down the aisle just to make sure. I felt a tingling down my spine, I never liked the dark. It always made me feel like I wasn't alone. I reached for the box which was a couple of shelves above my head. My hand barely grazed it as I tried to push it towards the edge to catch it. It was almost in my hands when suddenly a Walker's hand reached out into the dark and grabbed my wrist making me shout.
I shone the flashlight in it's face seeing the snapping jaws reach for my wrist ready to bite, I tried to pull the knife out but it had knocked me to the floor, this walker was big. Much bigger than me and I didn't have the strength to push it off. It reached forward and I could feel the growling in my ears. I closed my eyes ready for the bite into my neck and stopped struggling before I heard a whooshing sound and the walker stopped moving.
I cracked an eye open seeing the tip of an arrow inches away from my cheek and feeling wetness there. I put my hand there seeing red. Someone helped push the walker off me and I saw Daryl leaning over to help me stand up.
"You okay?" Daryl asked pointing to my cheek.
"Yeah, your arrow just kinda grazed me. Thanks for that. It was too close." I said gratefully to the archer who nodded.
"We don't split up like that again. Even for a moment." Daryl said firmly.
"I hear you. Also if we could not mention this to Rick, that would be great." I patted his shoulder. He grabbed the last box as we walked back up the stairs out of the basement and dumped the box in the shopping cart.
Once we had loaded all of the supplies into the back of my BMW we set off heading back to the prison, this time taking the quicker route. The sun was low in the Georgian sky and my stomach was rumbling feeling the effects of little food and lack of water, I was definitely feeling dizzy. We passed some old houses and the woods as Daryl rode ahead on his motorbike before slowing down. He held out his hand and stopped the bike getting off it.
"Daryl?!" I called out to him opening the window but he was off in the woods with his crossbow. I stopped the car taking my gun and ran after him through the trees, just keeping up with him.
He came to a stop in the clearing as I caught up to him slightly winded and dizzy. I followed his line of sight to the figure plunging a katana into the head of a walker.
"Hey! Where's my brother?" Daryl asked Michonne who was looking pissed.
"Michonne, what are you doing here?" I gasped surprised to see her out here.
"Merle was gonna trade me in. Apparently it was a deal Rick made." Michonne turned to look at me, looking hurt and offended.
"Mich-"
"Well where is he?" Daryl asked interjecting.
"He let me go." Michonne sighed looking sympathetically at Daryl.
"Don't let anyone come after me." Daryl said annoyed before running.
"Daryl wait! Think about this!" I shouted and began running after him but he was already gone.
"You're okay?" I asked Michonne who walked off.
"Michonne!" I called out and started following her.
"Why doesn't anybody listen." I groaned.
"Hey, wait! Michonne." She slowed down so I could walk along side her.
"You said I could trust Rick." Michonne looked at me as we walked through the trees.
"You can. You still can, Rick had no part in this. I argued with him hard, begged him to let you stay. And he agreed." I defended.
"Michonne you know I have your back. I will always have your back, after all you've done for me?" I questioned her.
"Merle said Rick wanted this." Michonne said confused as we reached the road I parked the car on. I hid Daryl's bike in the trees so he could come back for it. We both got in the car and I started it up driving down the road.
"Trust me when I say Rick didn't want this. I gave him an ultimatum you know. I said if you go, I go." I faced her slightly keeping one hand on the driving wheel. We were approaching the prison now as it was getting early evening.
"Really? But I thought you really like him." Michonne asked.
"Oh I do, a lot. But Michonne you're my family too." I smiled at her as she smiled back. Carl and Carol opened the front gate seeing us approach as we drove up and parked the car.
"So Merle actually let you go?" I said shocked as we got out of the car.
"Yeah," Michonne nodded. I opened the trunk of the car eyeing the boxes of food.
"Woahh," Carl said walking up to us.
"Is that food?" He looked at us smiling.
"Hell yeah kid." I grinned at him.
"Looks like you guys had a good run." Michonne raised her eyebrows.
"Hey," Carol smiled looking at the boxes of food.
"Where's Daryl?" Carol looked between us as I gave Michonne a look. Michonne explained the story to her about how Merle had tricked her into going to the tombs under false pretenses to secure a breach but then trapped her and eventually let her go.
"Wow, you've had a day." Carol breathed out.
"Rick's gonna wanna hear this."
After unloading the boxes and placing them down in the food storage of the prison I walked into the courtyard with Maggie and Glenn seemingly occupied. Making out.
I stood there and wolf-whistled as they slowly moved apart from each other turning to face me. Maggie was grinning as Glenn also gave me a genuine smile they walked towards me hand in hand.
"Rick wants to say something lovebirds." I put my hands on my hips.
"How was your run?" Maggie asked still smiling.
"Successful." I grinned back. We had a good day, which was a rare occurrence.
"You two seem extremely happy." I raised an eyebrow at them.
"Which is strange considering our current predicament." I explained. They both looked to each other as I looked confused at their strange behaviour.
"We were gonna wait," Glenn started glancing towards Maggie.
"But," Maggie held up her left hand. On her third finger was a ring.
"No, you proposed?" I gasped at Glenn who nodded smiling. I cheered and wrapped my arms around both of them as they returned my hug laughing.
"Congratulations I'm so happy for you!" I let them go looking up at both of them.
"Life is short, but this life is even shorter and I didn't want to wait." Glenn said.
"Aw so romantic." I clutched my chest.
"I'm going to plan your wedding. I will find you a dress Maggie and we can have it here even in the courtyard, course we could also use candles to light up the cafeteria in the prison, I mean a feast obviously probably couldn't happen but we found loads of food so maybe-"
"Woah." Maggie put a hand on my mouth stopping me from talking.
"We were thinking of not having a wedding, it's not the right time with everything going on. The Governor could be planning to attack any day now." Maggie said looking downcast.
"We've lost so many people recently, it would be in poor taste." Glenn finished.
"A celebration is just what people need!" I defended.
"Okay, well you at least think about it? When this whole thing with the Governor blows over?" I asked hopefully.
"Okay," Maggie smiled.
We went over to where the others were gathered sitting on the benches. Hershel and Beth were taking care of Judith and Carl was standing against the table with Michonne beside him. Carol was sitting on the table along with Glenn and Maggie who were holding rifles. I walked up behind Rick and put my hand on his shoulder.
"Hey," I squeezed it smiling at him and walking past.
"Hey, heard you guys found tons of food." Rick asked hopefully.
"Yeah we did." I grinned at him.
"You're okay?" he checked.
"Yes sheriff." I mock saluted him and he smiled. I walked over to Hershel and Beth and smiled at him before taking Judith in my arms.
"When I met with the Governor, he offered me a deal. He said, he would leave us alone if I gave him Michonne." Rick started talking.
"Now I was considerin' that. Thinkin' it would keep us safe. But I changed my mind. Pol changed my mind." Rick looked directly at me as I nodded reassuring him.
"Merle tried to take Michonne to fulfil the deal. Daryl and Pol found her by herself out on their run cause Merle let her go." Rick explained as looks of shock were mirrored on the other's faces.
"Now Daryl's gone after his brother." Rick finished.
"I was wrong not to tell you about the deal. And I'm sorry." Rick apologised looking down in shame.
"What I said last year, that night after the farm. It can't be like that. It can't." Rick shook his head looking around at all of us.
"What we do, what we're willing to do, who we are- it's not my call. It can't be." He punctuated his point.
"We are the greater good. We're the reason we're still here. Not me. This is life or death. How you live, how you die, it isn't up to me. I'm not your Governor. We choose to go. We choose to stay. We stick together. We go. We vote." Rick said looking to each of us.
"We can stay and fight. Or we go." Rick took his rifle and walked away leaving the rest of us in the courtyard.
A/N: Well thoughts? I'll hopefully update next Monday/Tuesday for the season 3 finale! Stay tuned folks.
Also hell yes, Glenn and Maggie are going to have a wedding... I have plans to make use of that time gap from season 3 to season 4..