FanFicReader47: Thank you for your review! I'm honestly looking forward to seeing her progress through this season as well as I have a few things planned, some good, some bad. So it's going to be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

RaphaeltheCowboy: Andrea's story arc in the show. I need her in Woodbury, essentially...lol...There's reasons...I do plan on doing more chapters between seasons, it's just that first season is kinda difficult as I did not read the comics and I didn't want to go too off base. Between this season and next season I plan on having at least one whole chapter that is non-canon and explains some of the respect Daryl's earned with the people.

Daryl had laid Ania down, letting her use his thigh as a pillow and tossing his poncho over her like a blanket. He played with her hair while watching the fire dance. They were safe. Actually safe, somewhere they could stay for a good long while so long as they kept up with supplies. Ania could finally get some rest from constantly being on the move with no sense of direction. That's all she needed and he knew it; a place to set a more permanent base. He couldn't help the small smile or the slight swell of pride as he looked back to Ania's relaxed form, finally having provided what she needed. Rick had walked over some time while the girls were singing 'The Parting Glass' with Glenn accompanying them.

"Beautiful," Hershel commented.

"Better all turn in," Rick chimed in. "I'll take watch by the fence. We got a big day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.

"Tea and I talked about it. I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we've gotta push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards or prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. Tea thinks the supplies should be intact. Means there's a chance the infirmary and commissary haven't been touched."

"Think there'd be an armory?" Daryl asked.

"That'll be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden's offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a goldmine."

"We're dangerously low on ammo," Hershel commented. "We'd run out before we even made a dent."

"That's why Tea gave us all that knife and combat training. We have to go in there, hand to hand," Rick told them. "After all we've been through, we can handle it. We know it. These assholes don't stand a chance."

He stood up and walked off after that and Daryl did his best to ignore the whispered argument between Rick and Lori. Instead, he opted to carefully switch his thigh out for one of their packs and laid the other one down beside her head. Lowering himself next to her, he rolled onto his back with his shoulder pressed against her back. He was delighted when she rolled over and instinctually laid her head against his shoulder, one arm wrapping around his waist as she snuggled as close as she could with her other hand resting lightly in his at his side. Her leg wrapped around his thigh, bringing herself as close to him as possible. If there was one thing in this world he could count on, it was his little woman wrapping herself around him when she was sleeping. And damn if that wasn't the comfort he needed to sleep himself.

~x~

She ran for her life. The dead were everywhere and there was no ammo left in the guns. Eventually, she dropped the bag she'd picked up after watching Rick drive off. She'd gotten left behind, but she refused to give up and be eaten by the dead. She thought she was a goner when she fell weaponless with a walker on top of her. But a savior had appeared at the last moment and saved her.

The woman who had saved her took her in and they became traveling companions. Andrea saw a lot of similarities between Tea and Michonne in the ways they were mostly silent. But one huge difference was that Tea had answered all her questions about her past while Michonne was completely closed off. They spent the winter holed up in one house or another, not bothered much by the dead as Michonne's walker bodyguards kept them camouflaged. Tea would applaud the woman for that tactic, Andrea thought after she had gotten used to the idea.

Towards the end of winter, Andrea started getting sick. By the time spring was in full force, she could barely breathe. They'd been staying in the same damn place for weeks as she tried in vain to break this cold. Nothing Michonne found seemed to help. That's where the dark-skinned woman was now, out looking for medicine while Andrea felt like she was dying, covered in sweat while trying to get somewhere she could get fresh air and sunshine. Slumping over, she almost fell asleep until she heard the door slam open.

"What you doin' out here?" asked an angry Michonne as she jammed her katana back into it's sheath.

"I needed some light," Andrea replied.

Michonne helped her sit up before all but shoving pills into her mouth and offering water. Well, offer was a strong word. However, Andrea couldn't bring herself to care about the mildly rough treatment. Michonne had saved her life and was keeping her safe while her body fought whatever the hell this was off.

"How is it out there?" she asked.

"Same. It's quiet."

"You're lying," she said weakly.

"We should go in a few days," Michonne sighed as she looked away pensively.

"They're coming," Andrea decided. "You should go."

"No."

"I'll hold you back, go," Andrea said, earning her a look from Michonne. "I can take care of myself. I saved your ass all winter, didn't I?" she said with a chuckle that caused her to start coughing. When Michonne tried to give her another drink of water, she pushed it away, "I won't have you dying for me. Good soldier won't leave your post. Screw you."

"We'll go in a few days," Michonne said after heaving a disappointed sigh; Andrea was acting like a spoiled child.

"If we stay, I'll die here," Andrea told her as Michonne stood up.

That was enough to get Michonne to pack up. While Andrea didn't carry anything, they had their walker body guards to take some of the burden, leaving Michonne with just one bag and her katana strapped across her shoulders. They left the safety of the meat locker they'd been staying in and started off into the woods. Who knows? Maybe they'd find more people this time around.

~x~

"Ready," Hershel asked as the survivors got ready to clear the prison.

They were going in in circular formation compromised of three teams of two. Working as one unit, they would work in a circular fashion to clear the walkers while keeping each other's backs safe. As teams, they would protect their teammate and keep an eye out for them more than anyone else. Daryl and Tea, Glenn and Maggie, and Rick and T-Dog. It ensured that each person was covered at all times, but not too stressed by looking out for the whole unit.

As Hershel pulled the gate open, T-Dog killed the closest walker while Daryl took out the next one. Maggie and Glenn each took down the next ones while Tea threw a knife at one getting a little too close to them. Keeping their backs to each other, they worked towards the gate while the others made noise at the gate.

T-Dog ran forward suddenly, causing Tea to growl, "Don' fuckin' break rank!"

"We need that!" was all he said as he grabbed a riot shield.

"Need ain' want, T!" she said as he used the shield to push a walker away.

"Maggie! Maggie!" Rick yelled as she ran forward to kill it.

"Get back inta formation! Get tight!" Tea yelled.

They got back to the group and resumed their circular positions. Making it to the entrance to the cell block, Rick opened the door to check it before moving on, quickly slamming his back to the concrete and motioning for them all to halt. Tea was in the very back and so did not know what it was, but obviously it wasn't good. And of course, that's when some cops in riot gear showed up. Two walked from behind a corner, two more came from where Rick had been looking. Another came out of the cell block and all of a sudden the group was having problems. Tea practically rolled her eyes when Daryl tried to fire a bolt through the visor of one of the guards. Is he even thinkin'? she asked herself.

"Up through the chins!" she yelled. "Up through the chins!"

Maggie seemed to understand what Tea was saying as she forced the head of the one she was fighting up and jammed her knife into the chin, making it drop. She looked at Glenn, "Did you see that?!" she said excitedly.

Rick yelled for Tea as he pushed the decked out guard he was fighting to the ground before quickly getting to his feet and beheading another. She grabbed the gate and pulled it closed as Rick secured it. After finishing off the remaining walkers in the courtyard, they looked around. Glenn went running to let the others in, but was stopped by Rick.

"Well, it looks secure," he said confused.

"Not from the look of that courtyard over there," Daryl pointed. "And that's a civilian."

"So the interior could be overrun with walkers from outside the prison," T-Dog sighed.

"What if there's walls down? We can't rebuild this whole place," Glenn said.

"Can't risk a blind spot," agreed Rick. "We have to push in."

The group followed after him, up into the caged staircase leading into the cell block. Daryl opened the door as Tea held her aim ready for any threat, Rick just ahead of her with his knife out. The three behind them slightly snickered as the three of them moved as one unit into the commons are and looked around. Surprisingly, there was no one and nothing there. As quietly as they could, they worked there way around the area, Rick checking the bird's nest and finding a dead guard along with a set of keys to the prison. As stealthy as he could, he unlocked the gate to the cells and they checked the block. Daryl was followed by Rick and Tea up the stairs, finding three walkers locked in their cells; the rest of the cells' occupants had been dealt with before they had a chance to turn.

Daryl, T-Dog, Rick, and Tea were cleaning up the cells and taking out the bodies. Glenn and Maggie had gone to get the rest of their people from outside. Daryl and Rick were dropping the bodies from the second floor while she and T-Dog were taking them outside. Maggie looked so happy and proud as she and Glenn came back in with the rest.

"What do you think?" Rick asked.

"Home sweet home," Glenn said unenthusiastically.

"For the time being," Rick agreed.

"It's secure?" Carol asked.

"This cell block is," Rick answered.

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked.

"In the mornin', we'll do some more searchin'. Try ta find the cafeteria and infirmary, maybe get a lead on that armory," Tea told them.

"Do we sleep in the cells?" Beth asked, earning a nod from Tea.

"I found keys on some guards. Both Tea and Daryl have sets, too," Rick said.

They all dispursed then, Tea convincing Daryl to sleep in one of the cells with her. Carol and Sophia shared a cell three spaces down from theirs. They were the only two cells on the upper level that were used, Ani pulling Daryl into the one in the farthest corner. The rest of the group chose to bunker on the lower level, which was just fine for Tea. Daryl had grumbled about how he had never had to sleep in a damn prison cell and whined over wanting to take the perch. By the time they were ready for sleep, all his arguments had been forgotten as much as the ability to breathe had been.

~x~

In the morning, Tea, Glenn, and T-Dog made good on the promise to look for the armory. While there hadn't been an awful lot of stuff, there was still what could be considered a good haul. They dragged it back to cell block C, their new home, and dumped it on a table in the commons area.

"Not bad," Daryl said, walking up and giving her a kiss on the temple before inspecting some of the equipment.

"Flashbangs, CS Triple-chasers," Rick said. "Not sure how they'll work on walkers but we'll take 'em."

"Ain' jus' walkas we gotta worry 'bout anyway," Tea gave him.

Maggie had collected the riot gear from the walkers and Tea gagged as Daryl held one up only for goo to leak out. "I ain't wearing this shit," he said, just as disgusted.

"Seconded," Tea said, still breathing hard and trying not to wretch.

"We could boil them," T-Dog suggested while holding up another dripping piece; Tea did puke that time, what little there was to puke.

"Ain't enough firewood in the whole forest. No," Daryl said as if it were the obvious. "Besides, we got this far without 'em, right?" he asked the man while trying out the swing of a baton.

Carol called Hershel over to talk to Lori while the rest got ready but he was only in there for a couple minutes before he came back out and walked up to Tea. Lori was having a bit of a mental breakdown due to not feeling the baby move and he felt it would be best if Tea try to help. He might be a doctor now, but his degree was primarily veterinarian, not human. Hershel respected Tea's ability to calm situations down as well as assess it and the fact that she always seemed to be helping everyone with their problems. So it was natural to him to ask her to help Lori even if the two women seemed to be at odds.

Tea didn't even hesitate as she walked over to Lori's cell, "Hey."

"What do you want?"

"Hershel said ya were havin' some problems with the stress a havin' a baby durin' the end a the world," she said nonchalantly.

"Why do you even care?"

"I really don'. But that's why I'm here. I don' care 'bout what problems ya havin', jus' care 'bout helpin' ya get through 'em so ya can get back ta keepin' on keepin' on," Tea told her with a shrug of her shoulders. "I'm an open ear and a deep well if ya wanna tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help ease it, maybe jus' gettin' it off ya chest is 'nough. Eitha way, speak ya mind."

Lori looked at her as if she was trying to figure out what kind of game she was playing before opening her mouth, "If we're all infected, then so's the baby. So what if it's stillborn? What if it's dead inside me right now? What if it rips me apart?"

"Okay, first statement; the baby might be infected, but it might be immune, too. Babies can become immune ta viruses and pathogens in utero due ta the motha havin' it. Kinda like gettin' the flu shot while pregnant protects the baby against the flu, ya know?" Lori had tears in her eyes by now and nodded her head. "Second, it ain' stillborn. Ya'd know if it was dead, Lori. Ya'd jus' know. No braxton hick's or movement? Ya 'bout ta pop, Lori! I may neva a been pregnant, but even I know the closa ya get, the less they move. And ya said ya had a c-section with Carl. Ya might not get braxton hicks. Ya gonna be fine. The baby'll be fine. Ya gotta try ta relax and stop stressin' 'bout the negatives and look at the logic."

"Ok, say it lives, and I die during childbirth," Lori said. "Is that logical enough for you?"

"As logical a fear as it was 'fore the apocalypse. It's the unfortunate truth a procreation; we risk death ta give our men young," Tea told the woman truthfully. "But at least ya know ya got a damn strong and damn tight group that won' eva let nothin' happen ta ya kids. Ain' the most comfortin' thought, I know, but it's all I really got for ya for that fear. As far as I know, that's somethin' every expectant motha thinks 'bout. So that fear is the most natural thing in the world."

"If that happens, if I die, what if I come back and attack it? Or Rick? Or Carl?" she asked.

"I won' let that happen. I won' let ya. I won' let anyone turn. Not if I can help it," Tea told her seriously. "I promise ya, if ya do die, if ya baby," she took a deep breath, mentally struggling to finish her promise. "If the baby dies, I won' hesitate. I'll do what I gotta, like always do. I won' let harm come ta the group."

Lori just nodded her head while smiling sadly, "It might have been better..."

"What?"

"It might have been better," Lori started again, "if I had never made it off the farm."

"I've thought that too, a lot actually," Tea admitted, looking down. "But then I rememba I'm exhausted, I'm scared, I'm mentally drained. It's easia ta think those bad thoughts when ya mind is weary and ya body taxed."

"Yeah, that's true," Lori said. "My son can't stand me. And Rick, God Rick, after what I put him through, put you through."

"I can' help ya with Carl. I've tried, I really have. He's jus' so angry that ya betrayed Rick like that, and then how ya treated us for a while afta. Nothin' anyone says is gonna get through ta him right now. And I'm sorry for that. And Rick, he took that first betrayal in stride. Doin' 'is best ta forgive and forget, and 'e feels ya did it again with how ya reacted afta ya found out. The whole damn situation has taken it's toll on all a us, but I can' say I blame ya. Jus' 'cause ya love Rick don' mean ya didn' love Shane, too."

"He hates me," Lori admitted. "He's too good a man to say it, but I know. I put him and Shane at odds, I put that knife in your hands."

"Ya think that baby cares 'bout that? Or that that man will once that baby gets here? Neitha a ya are perfect, Lori, but that baby will make things right," Tea told her before giving her a nod and leaving.

There was nothing left for her to say that could comfort the woman, and it wasn't like they had really bonded. She had simply been there for Lori like she had all winter. It was easier to form a bond with Carol given both their backgrounds and the fact that they got along just fine at the quarry; it was Sophia that had put them at odds due to their opposite reactions. Spending the winter with her had made it painstakingly obvious that Carol was not into Daryl the way Tea had thought she was. She was just a damn mother hen that had tried to take him under her wing. It seemed like now she was going to do the same thing with Tea after last night's revelations as the woman walked over and checked if she was okay. Giving her a tight nod, she resumed her place with the others as they geared up to go into the prison itself.

"What do you think you're doin'?" Rick asked Carl as he tried to put a riot gear headpiece on.

"I'm going too," he said confidently.

"Hell nah ya ain'," Tea said seriously watching as his face fell. "I got a more important job for ya. And yeah, it means stayin' behind, but we get cut off, we don' make it back, ya have ta be the last man standin' and keep our girls safe, got it? Phia and ya both."

She watched as the determination crept back into his face as he looked around and said, "Sure."

"Great," Rick said, walking over and handing his son his keys, "Let's go."

Daryl led the convoy out cell block and into the dark depths of the prison. They moved cautiously, finding corpses in various states of decomposition. Some had clearly been shot in the head while others were torn apart and/or missing limbs. As they turned down one corridor, Glenn spray painted the wall with an error that would lead them back to the cell block. When he finished, he accidentally bumped into an unaware Maggie, causing her to shriek and the two of them to softly apologize for scaring the rest. Tea took point Daryl and Rick following closely behind, both she and Daryl had their crossbows at the ready with flashlights attached to them. Glenn painted another arrow as they passed another corner. The tension was palpable.

Nothing had happened, and that was what had Tea on edge. There were an awful lot of dead and decomposing bodies, but no walkers so far. That thought had Tea worried that they were going to stumble across a large group, rather than just a few they could handle. And of course, that's exactly what happened. Frantically, Rick called to the others so head back to the cell blocks, leading them out of depths. Unfortunately Glenn and Maggie took a wrong turn, causing Tea to run off after them and pull them in the right direction. It cost them time and the rest of the group was far ahead when another group of walkers cut the three of them off. Glenn pulled both women to a stop and opened a door next to them and then pushed them inside. They waited until they didn't hear any more shuffling or groaning before exiting the little room, whispering as loudly as possible for their friends.

Screaming was heard as Tea rounded the corner to find Hershel on the ground with a walker had taken a bite of Hershel's leg. Her bolt went through it's head at the same time as Rick's bullet, both having fired at the same time. Maggie started crying as soon as she rounded the corner, causing Tea to internally wince. They were only going to be drawing more and more walkers to them with all the commotion.

"We gotta go!" she said as Glenn and Rick helped Hershel to his feet.

They moved frantically. They kept getting cut off as more and more walkers came their way. She and Daryl took turns shooting their bows until they didn't have time to reload, slashing away at the walkers in front of them instead. They made it to some door that was barricaded with a chain. T-Dog made quick work of it, busting the door open as the survivors piled into the unknown room. As soon as Tea entered the room, Daryl and T-Dog laid their backs flat against the doors to hold them against the dead. Tea threw her back into the door too, but sliding to sit beneath the handles to give more support right at the weakest point. It helped to keep the doors closed until T-Dog slid his poker through the handles allowing the other two to go help the others.

Rick had already pulled the leg of Hershel's pants back and was quickly trying to take off his belt. "Hold him down," he told them.

Daryl, Glenn, and Tea held him down as best as they could while Rick began to quickly amputate his leg. He and Tea were sprayed with blood as he swung, Rick eventually looking like he was about to puke. One last go at the limb and it was clean off. Glenn handed Rick a towel as Tea and Daryl looked at each other. While Rick was worrying over the fact that Hershel was bleeding out, they quickly aimed their crossbows at the shadowy figures that had just popped up on the other side of the grate. There were survivors in the prison.

"Who the hell are you?" one of them asked.

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl growled.

"He's bleeding out," Rick shouted behind them. "We gotta go back. Come around here," he told Maggie. "Put pressure on the knee. Hard! Hard!"

"Why don't you come on outta there? Slow and steady," Daryl told the survivors.

"What happened to him?" the hispanic with long hair asked, his eyes raking over Tea in a way that made her skin crawl and Daryl step closer to her.

"Got bit," was all he gave the man.

"Bit?" he said as he began pulling the gun from his pants. He didn't get very far before Daryl, Tea, and T-Dog all had him in their sights.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy now," Daryl told them. "Nobody needs to get hurt."

Glenn rushed by asking, "Do you have medical supplies?"

The tallest black man Tea'd ever seen said, "Whoa, where do you think you're going?"

As walkers banged on the abandoned door, Mr. Longhair asked, "Who the hell are you people anyway?"

"Sure as hell don't look like no rescue team," the strawberry blonde man said.

"Ain' no rescue team comin' for ya," Tea spat.

Glenn came back out from the kitchen with a cart and helped Rick place Hershel on it. Rick yelled for T-Dog to get the door. As soon as he opened the door, a walker came in and he was quick to dispatch it. Tea backed out of the room slowly, remaining firmly behind Daryl but still making sure he was protected as well. As they exited the room, the two of them quickly took point rather than lagging behind. They needed to get back to the cell block as quickly as possible. Moving as quickly but silently as possible, Tea heard something and told everyone to stop. Behind them, they could hear the inmates muttering about and doing their best to follow them. Daryl urged them to keep going, quickly opening the door to the commons as soon as they reached the block.

Tea, Daryl, and T-Dog stayed in the commons, weapons pointed on the door. "That's far enough," Daryl said as the inmates slowly trickled in.

"Cell block c, cell 4. That's mine, gringo," the Hispanic said. "Let me in."

"Today's your lucky day, fellas," he responded. "You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia. You're free to go."

"What you got going on in there?" one of the other s said.

"It ain't none of your concern."

"Don't be telling me what's my concern," the Hispanic said as he grabbed the gun out of his pants and started waving it around.

The big man stepped in as Tea and Daryl geared up to shoot, "Chill man, dude's leg is messed up. Besides we're free now. What're we doing still in here?"

"Man's got a point," Daryl said.

"Yeah, and I gotta check on my old lady," the other tall black man said.

"Group of civilians breaking into a prison you got no business being in," the guy with the gun said. "Got me thinking there ain't no place for us to go."

"Why don't you go find out?" Daryl growled.

"May we'll just be going now," Mr. Handlebars said.

"Hey, we ain't leavin'," the leader said, raising his gun when T-Dog came around the corner quickly with his own raised weapon.

"You ain't coming in either," he told them.

"Hey, this is my house, my rules. I go where I damn well please," the leader tried to command.

"Get a good look 'cause ya ain' stayin'," Tea told him.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, woman, to be telling me what to do?" he spat at her.

"What are you deaf or something?" Daryl said.

They kept going back and forth until the man said something lewd to Tea causing Daryl to bristle, "There ain't nothing for you here. Why don't you go back to your own sandbox?"

"Hey, everyone relax," Rick said as he came into the room and noticed the tension in the room. "There's no need for this."

"How many of you are in there?" leader guy asked.

"Too many for you to handle," Rick said seriously.

"You guys rob a bank or something?" he stupidly asked. "Why don't you go take him to a hospital?"

"Are ya an idiot or somethin'? Or are ya jus' that plain ignorant?" Tea said flabbergasted.

"What you say to me, bitch?" he asked heatedly as the Rick and Daryl shared a look.

"How long you been locked in that cafeteria?" Rick asked.

"Going on like ten months," he answered.

"A riot broke out. Never seen anything like it," the big man said.

"Attica on speed, man," handlebars added.

"You ever heard about dudes going cannibal, dying, coming back to life? Crazy," the smallest dude said; he was seriously not much taller than Tea.

The leader piped back up to explain, "One guard looked out for us, locked us up in the cafeteria. Told us to sit tight, threw me this piece, said he'd be right back."

"Yeah, and that was 292 days ago," the other black man said.

"294 by my calcula-" handlebars started before being told to shut up harshly by the leader.

Tea noticed how he bent into himself. Clearly, handlebars wasn't a threat. Honestly, the only one she had a bad taste about was the dude with a gun. She was unsure of the small black man, but the other two seemed alright. Time would only tell if what she was reading on these people was correct.

"We were thinking that the Army or the National Guard should be showing up any day now," the big black man said.

"There is no Army," Rick said quietly.

"What do you mean?" the leader asked.

"There's no government, no hospitals, no police. It's all gone," Rick informed them.

After a pregnant pause, handlebars asked, "For real?"

"Nah, we're jus' shite'in' ya and broke inta a prison for shites and giggles," Tea's words dripped with sarcasm.

"What about my moms?" the big man asked.

"My kids? My old lady?" the other black man asked. "Yo, you, you got a cell phone or something that we can call our families?"

"I hate ta inform ya, but there's no communication eitha. I'm truly sorry, but unless ya go out there lookin' for 'em, there's nothin' ta be done," Tea told them, a genuine sympathetic expression gracing her features.

"No phones, no computers. As far as we can see, at least half the population's been wiped out. Probably more," Rick said.

"Ain't no way," the leader argued.

"See for yourself," Rick said.

They led the inmates out into the courtyard, the Tomas holding the gun, Big Tiny wielding a pipe, and Oscar had a poker. They had managed to make introductions on the way, and so far Tea had a good feeling about Axel, Oscar, and Big Tiny, which had made Tea laugh when she heard it due to the contradictory name to the man himself. When they got out into the courtyard, Oscar was genuinely content at simply feeling the sun and sighed and stretched under it.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see these fences," lamented Tomas.

"You never said," the small man, Andrew, started. "How the hell did you get in here in the first place?"

"Cut a hole in that fence over there by that guard tower," Daryl told them.

"That easy, huh?" Andrew said.

"Where there's a will there's a way," came his reply.

"Easy for you to say," Andrew contorted.

Big Tiny was using his pole to poke at a walker, asking Rick, "So what is this, like a disease?"

"Yeah, and we're all infected," Rick told him honestly.

"What do you mean infected?" Axel asked. "What, you mean like AIDS or somethin'?"

"If I was to kill you," Daryl started answering, "shoot an arrow in your chest, you'd come back as one of these things. It's gonna happen to all of us."

"Ain't no way these Robin Hood cats responsible for killing all these freaks," Tomas told his group. "Must be fifty bodies out here."

"Fifty-nine," Tea corrected, earning a look from everyone present. "What? I counted." Daryl scoffed and shook his head while Rick chuckled and did the same.

Tomas looked at them with a calculative look, asking, "Where'd you come from?"

"Atlanta," came Rick's reply.

"Where you headed?" Tomas insisted.

Tea snorted as Rick answered in challenge, "For now, nowhere."

Tomas looked around before pointing to the field, "Guess you guys could take that area down by the water. Should be comfortable."

"That ain' fuckin' happenin'," Tea said seriously.

"Bitch, I ain't talkin' to you," Tomas sneered at her.

"Too bad, 'cause I'm one a the leadas a this group," she told him with a cold stare. "And we took this prison while y'all were locked away in a little safe nest. Y'all ain' spilled blood. We have. This prison is ours."

"You snatched the locks off our doors," Andrew said.

"And? Ya could a done it at any time y'all wanted. Ya were jus' a bunch a pussies waitin' for rescue. Fuck, we got young'uns with more balls than ya," Tea goaded.

She was purposely trying to rile these two up to gauge their reactions. The other three had remained silent, and so had Andrew for the most part. However, seeing him back up Tomas now told her where his loyalties lay. These two were not redeemable in any way. The other three? If she could talk to each of them alone, she had a feeling they could be beneficial. It wasn't even surprising when Andrew went to make a lunge yelling about how she was just a bitch. Two guns and two crossbows versus one gun, however, and whatever brawl the two inmates thought was going to happen was shut down.

"We'll give you new locks, if that's how you want it," Rick offered.

"This is our prison," Tomas insisted. "We were here first."

"Eva heard a seizin' and conquerin'. We seized this prison while y'all were sittin' on ya asses. It's ours now," Tea said, once again using historical reference to prove her point.

"We're moving back into our cell block."

"You'll have to get your own," Rick told him.

"It is mine. I've still got personal artifacts in there. That's about as mine as it gets," Tomas argued back getting a little too heated for their liking.

As Daryl and T-Dog got closer with their weapons raised, Tea took note of how the inmates acted. Oscar stayed back, not involving himself at all. Big Tiny stood at the back of the prisoners, but it was clear from his face he was not planning on attacking, more like separating people if necessary. Tomas and Andrew looked ready to go down in a blaze of bullets if it meant getting their way. And Axel, she was right about him. The sweet man put himself right between the two groups, trying to maintain the peace.

"Maybe let's try to make this work out so everybody wins," he said hopefully.

"I don't see that happening," Tomas said.

"Neither do I," Rick agreed.

"Not with the two a ya, anyway," Tea countered. "I know murderas and assaultas when I see 'em."

Rick shot her a sideways glance only to see a cold, hard look of confidence on her face. After Dale, she had promised that she would closely assess anyone the group came across and find the potential immediate threat. Anything that wasn't immediate could be dealt with on a case by case basis. What she had essentially just told him was that these two needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later. She made no mention of the other three, so Rick looked at them with a critical eye for a moment.

"I ain't going back in that cafeteria for one more minute," Tomas said.

"There's the road," Tea offered.

"Try your luck out there like we did," Daryl agreed.

"There are other cell blocks, too," Axel tried to reason.

Another pregnant pause ensued as Tomas looked around at the other inmates and then the courtyard. "If these four pussies can do all this, the least we can do is take out another cell block."

"With what?" Big Tiny asked.

"Atlanta, here will spot us some real weapons," he told him before looking to Rick. "Won't you, boss?"

Rick turned to Tea who squinted her eyes and bobbed her head side to side, a silent gesture meaning she wasn't sure. He took a moment to think before asking Tomas, "How stocked is that cafeteria? It must have plenty of food left. Five guys lasting almost a year?"

"It sure as hell don't look like anybody's been starvin'," Daryl chimed in.

"There's only a little left," Tomas said tightly.

"We'll take half," Rick told him. "In exchange, we'll help clear out a cell block."

"Didn't you hear him? There's only a little left," Andrew said.

"And didn't ya hear 'im? Ya can' 'xactly clear a block out on ya own without weapons, and we ain' givin' any 'less ya sweeten the pot for us. Ya eitha give us half ya food in exchange for our help, or we'll throw ya the fuck outta the prison with nothin' but what ya got right now," Tea said sweetly with a fake smile.

"You pay, we'll play," Rick agreed. "We'll clear out a block for you, and you keep to it."

"Alright," Tomas agreed.

"But let's be clear, right here, right now," Tea said, her voice becoming deadly serious, stepping up closer to Tomas. "I see ya anywhere near me family, so much as catch a whiff a ya rank ass, I'll kill ya. I don' give one shite what excuse ya got for it, ya'll be dead 'fore ya can so much as open ya mouth."

"You think I'm scared of a little girl?" Tomas said.

"Should be," T-Dog answered. "That little girl has already killed five people since this all started."

What he left out was that two had been mercy killings and the other two after Shane was in a kill or be killed situation on a run with Rick. None of them had been done in malice or anger, just out of the need to survive. However, she had told the group that they needed to refer to her as their resident killer when they met with other people. A group relying on such a small person for such a dark task would be scarier than a group relying on someone like Merle who looks the part. Rick had thought it was somewhat ingenious, and the look on Axel, Oscar, and Andrew's faces at hearing T-Dog's confession confirmed her thinking.

The look on Tomas's face was unquestionably full of lust as he said, "Deal."

Sorry it's a little late, prolly will take a couple days to get back into posting every day...Thanks for the patience and reviews!

Updated 9/8/21