KEZZ 1: Thanks again for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and hope you do this one as well.

I'm sorry this one took a little longer. To be honest, I've been doing more watching of The Walking Dead than I have been writing over the past week. I'm now in season 6, though, jumping up and yelling at my TV every fucking scare we face to the main people. Carl's eye! Holy shit has Carol become a badass. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to make that happen when she doesn't lose Sophia in this. And fuck that shit with Beth. Ain't happening. Not one bit. Fuck no. Fuck no. Fuck no. So, yeah, the next few chapter headings/author note's are probably going to be reactionary to the shit I'm watching, so bare with me. Because, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit...Oh, and I just gotta say, if Daryl can't have a motorcycle, no one can...XD

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Things had changed drastically at the prison. They'd finally gotten the breach in the back of the prison taken care of, but it'd happened too late. In the middle of the night roughly six weeks after the Governor's attack, a large group of walkers had gotten in through the back and attacked cell block A. No one could have predicted it, though Ani blamed herself for it even though she hadn't been in the prison but on watch. Sophia, Carl, and Patrick had been at a sleepover with the other kids in that block, and the kids had been the first attacked as they were sleeping in the center of the room. Lucas had been bit first, his screams alerting everyone else. Carl had dragged Patrick into a cell, turning to grab Sophia and pull her into the cell too. She'd moved to grab Brian from where he was stabbing the walker that got Lucas when she was grabbed by another from behind.

He'd watched as used her elbow to break it's hold of her before turning and kicking it away from her. Carl walked up and put his knife through the base of it's skull, dropping it to the floor. Together, they'd pulled Brian into the cell with Patrick and shut and locked it. Fighting back to back with each other, they'd helped the fighters take care of the pack. Twenty walkers had gotten in and six of their members had died because of it, four of which were children. Ani had been the one to make sure they stayed down before returning to her cell and staying there for two days before leaving with Daryl and Michonne.

At the two month mark, Hershel had pulled Rick aside and out to the field. Together, they started the work it would take to make the field into a farm. The kids helped too, Carl and Sophia helping to clear the areas they would be planting in. Ani and Daryl had gone on that last search with Michonne, but there was no lead and no trail. When they'd gotten back to the prison and found out about another attack that killed Bill and Tim, both decided they wouldn't be leaving for prolonged periods anymore. Hunting trips and supply runs was all they stuck to, bringing in a few more people with Rick and Glenn along the way.

Merle and Rick had rigged together a water system that allowed them to get water from the stream under the fence without having to go out. They had to manually pump it using a bike wheel and pedals, but it worked. They'd also gone on a large run to a farm supply store and gotten several barrels for collecting rain water while spring was still fresh. It would allow them to have a supply of fresh water for the summer droughts. Ani and Daryl had managed to find a scrap yard and brought in a bunch of metal for Mark to make his noise-maker. Apparently, he'd learned how to do it in his first camp, which had set them up away from their camp to lure walkers away. It had worked for a good long while, almost nine months, but eventually they had failed.

Ani had give good reason to the council as to why they shouldn't use the noise makers to lure walkers away from the prison indefinitely. If enough walkers grouped up around one, they could easily take it down and from there be lured to the prison by the smell. The best decision they could make was to build walls like Woodbury had or make a wall of walkers like Michonne's if they wanted to keep the walkers from grouping up to break the gate in. The noise makers would be most useful along the fence-line when they needed to go out. They already had people on the fence, killing walkers with poles, stakes and knives through the chain links.

That was around the time Ani and Daryl had come back with Michonne, who stayed for a couple days before heading back out on her own. The three had found nothing but an old hunting cabinet that they stayed the night in, Daryl 'magically' finding a bottle of moonshine. That had been an interesting night after both Daryl and Ani had started drinking, Michonne opting to remain sober on watch. Daryl had, at one point, started yelling and getting rather irate, only for Ani to shut him up by literally flipping him on his back and sitting on his chest cross-legged while giggling. Daryl just laid there looking at the girl with a dirty look on his face, his eyes darkening as his hands moved up to her thighs while she talked to Michonne about her college days. Michonne found out about Ani's rule-breaker side, listening and laughing to her stories about some of the reckless things she'd done.

Like how she'd set a barn on fire accidentally while drunk, having knocked over a lit oil lamp while stumbling around when she was sixteen. She'd had to grab Jesse, who was just as drunk as she was, and run for it so the cops didn't find them and book them for underage drinking while interning at the PD. Then, she'd stolen a car when she was eighteen just to see if it was really as easy as the police reports made it seem. She'd managed to get the thing fifty miles outside of Atlanta and on a dirt road before the police were even notified of the missing vehicle. Leaving it after wiping down her prints, she then booked it through the woods back to Atlanta, making it back to the city before daybreak by calling a co-worker when she got ten miles out. She barely managed to get away with that one as they hadn't been able to make the imagery any better on the one street-cam shot they'd gotten a partial of her face in. Or the time she'd made pot brownies and taken them into the department right before a big test was being done so that everyone tested positive, not just her; it was supposed to be a surprise, but she'd had a colleague on that side of things that gave her heads up in exchange for, surprisingly enough, pot brownies. The department simply rescheduled the test for a week later, thinking that something had been contaminated in the lab as many had never tested anything but clean and suddenly half the department was dirty. She'd shop lifted and pick-pocketed when she'd first gotten out on her own and needed the money, but after a while, she'd done it for the thrill, even after working the the Atlanta PD. Never once had she gotten caught by the police, though, and she was actually quite proud of that fact when she was drunk.

Michonne had ended up taking up watch outside after leaving to relieve herself and coming back to find Daryl's naked ass and Ani's bare chest as Daryl knelt in front of her. They'd apologized in the morning and promised her they wouldn't drink around her again. She said it was fine, just make sure she had a room to sleep in too so she didn't have to see it, and preferably was large enough so she didn't hear it either. Needless to say, that day had been awkward as hell for Daryl. While Ani just shrugged and said she had no shame, Michonne had teased them both about hogging the cabin to themselves, along with a very uncomfortable conversation for Daryl between she and Ani about how fine of an ass he was hiding. It was three days after that that the trio made their way back to the prison, Ani having stuffed the half bottle of moonshine remaining in her bag for Merle.

When she'd given it to the man, the three of them had finished it off in a guard tower before he left them to head to bed. Thankfully, Merle had gotten the other, further guard tower functioning while they were away and had managed to snag another mattress, similar to Glenn and Maggie. He told them he'd gotten that for himself for when the ladies finally warmed up to him, but he'd lend it out to them from time to time. They'd just flipped him off as he left, happily taking him up on the offer and breaking the new bed in for Merle. In fact, just like with Maggie and Glenn, they'd stolen the guard tower from Merle in the last month and spent more nights there than in the cell block. He ended up being the one to have to borrow it when one of the women decided her pipes needed cleaning and he was going to do it. It'd promptly been dubbed the Dixon tower shortly thereafter.

Now, it was after noon and they were in different areas of the prison; Daryl was in the shower room with Merle and a couple others who knew how to rig things up making a shower system using hoses. Ani was in the field with four of the fighters, training them in how to do muay thai kicks. While they went on every run with each other, they had been continuing to spend most days separately working on tasks at the prison rather than always being together. Even Merle had been able to separate from Daryl, opting to spend more time with the kids training them for survival in the woods and with Carol teaching the kids weapons. He went on half the runs with them, but the rest of the time, he'd stayed at the prison fiddling around with the way things were set up and helping Ani build the defenses to what she envisioned.

They had two trenches dug out beyond the fence that they regularly set ablaze as well as more spikes along the fence. While it was no where near what she'd envisioned, it was still better defenses and allowed them to only need a few people on the fence to deal with the walkers that managed to get through their defenses. The security inside the prison was set in stone as well, with two teams of two on watch at all times, one patrolling the perimeter and the other on watch in the guard tower by the fence. The other two guard towers had Daryl and Ani and Glenn and Maggie in them most nights, so if anything did happen, all that needed to be done to alert them was to hit the walkies. It wasn't perfect, but it was holding well enough for them to grow to a group of twenty eight.

Merle walked over to her after leaving the commons with Hershel, whom they'd managed to find a prosthetic leg for a week ago, in tow. He watched her kick at the post she'd set up as a dummy for teaching these lessons, as well as self-defense with everyone as well. There were several set up in the corner of the field they were using specifically for physical fitness and defense training. She'd also cleared an area for friendly sparring matches. Every once in a while, an honest fight would take place in the ring refereed by Glenn and Maggie. Most of those fights took place between Merle and one of the guys, but Tim had fought against Ani a couple times. Every time it was to put him in his place with the sexist comments he'd make about the women. While Merle was still very graphic in his flirting, he had stopped his sexist ways shortly after returning to the prison and witnessing what Ani could do.

"Can I help ya fine gentlemen?" Ani asked when she noticed them.

"Yeah, actually. Been thinkin', you have the rings, 'bout time you said the vows," Merle replied.

"Been thinkin' that too. Jus', well, ya know I ain' religious. Don' believe in any particula deity and don' wanna say vows that include 'em," she said in consideration.

"There are vows that don't go along the bible," Hershel told her. "There were a few weddings I performed didn't have the typical Christian proclamations. Not many, but I think I can get something written up for you," he told her.

"I'd appreciate that, thank you," she told him before turning to Merle. "Have ya talked ta D 'bout it?"

"Did when we were fixin' the pipes. You are free and clear to use the showers now, girly," he said.

"What'd 'e say 'bout it?"

"That it's about damn time he made an honest woman outta ya," Merle proclaimed.

"Maybe I'll take a showa lata, when D's free lata," she said looking down at the field, not even noticing Merle rolling his eyes at her comment. "Maggie and Glenn gotta say the vows too. Could make it a double affair. Safe 'nough in the prison, could make a run ta that liqua store, get some drinks, let loose. Got the guitar and me, Beth, and Maggie for singin'. Make it a propa weddin' celebration?"

"That would need to be voted on by the council," Hershel said. "But I don't see the harm in asking Glenn and Maggie if they want to say their vows when you do."

"When's the next council meetin'?" Merle asked.

"In the mornin'," Ani answered. "We'll bring it up then. Where's D now?"

"In the commons waitin' for you. Mark and Brian are pesterin' 'im again," Merle told her, walking with her. "Ya know, I'm proud of the two of ya. Since he went out without you, the two of ya are really tryin' to separate."

"Nah, we're both at the prison. Might be workin' separately, but still know where each otha is all the time. Still ain' leavin' or stayin' without 'im. Still need 'im like I need air. Still won' live without 'im. Love 'im more'n life itself," Ani told the man honestly, feeling as if she hadn't made any improvement at all. "I know I need ta separate from 'im, so I've been tryin', but it don' change much 'bout how I feel."

"I get it. I do, but your tryin'. That counts for somethin', girly. Counts for a lot when the two of ya were up each otha's ass all the damn time and now your not. Now, go see to my baby brother."

She left him then and went to the commons, standing at the top of the stairs watching Daryl talk to Mark and Brian. They weren't friends, per say, but Brian being a survivor of abuse and Mark's quick wit and crude sense of humor had the three guys spending time together. Brian tended to talk to Mark more than Daryl, the two talking about random shows they watched on TV, but the three would talk about cars and motorcycles all day long. That's what they were doing right now, Daryl gruffing about how to change the spark plugs in the motor of a truck. Ani had absolutely no interest in mechanics, so went over to Carol instead.

"Hey, ma."

"Hey sweetie, how'd training go?" Carol asked her.

"Really well. Phia's doin' really well in 'er self-defense. Can break outta me holds now, not jus' anybody's. Still got a lot ta learn 'bout how ta use 'er legs right, and needs ta keep buildin' the muscle, but she's got the talent, jus' like ya do with the weapons. Was right ta give ya those extra lessons ova the winta," she said as she helped Carol fold the laundry for their cell block.

"You're right about a lot," Carol told her.

"I'm wrong a lot, though," Ani replied.

"Not as much as you think. You've turned everyone into fighters, and that's a good thing. You're doing good. I'll be the first to admit, I thought very little of you once. Now? I can't thank you enough for all you've done. For me, for my girl. You are an amazing person, Ani. That's why I let you start calling me ma. Because you are my girl too, just like Sophia."

"Where's this comin' from all a sudden?" Ani asked.

"I just wanted to let you know," Carol responded. "I know you started callin' me ma as a joke, but I wanted you to know, I don't mind if you do for real. I don't mind being your mom."

Ani stopped in her movements and looked at Carol who was looking at her with a soft look she'd seen her give Sophia, that her own momma had given Chrystal. She was completely taken aback and began stumbling over her words trying to say it was just a joke. It was Daryl in the quarry all over again, but the situation reversed. Ani was now the one panicking over someone else's confession, trying to find a way to run away without hurting Carol's feelings. Carol seemed to understand and instead of letting Ani leave, she pulled her in for a hug, telling her just to accept it and move on. In the end, that's all she could do, hugging Carol back before all but running to Daryl, tripping over Beth's legs as the girl sat rocking Judith.

"You alright?" Daryl asked when she got to him, taking in her red face.

"That ain't from the Georgia sun," Mark teased. "What's got you blushing, little orphan Ani?"

"Not an orphan, apparently," she answered. "Guess I was adopted."

"Carol?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah."

"Shoulda seen that comin'," Daryl told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her over to him. "Talk to Merle yet?"

"Yeah, outside. Ya really wanna do this?" she asked, putting her hands on his knees as he sat on the table, feet propped on the bench, and looking him in the eye.

"Told you I did when I gave you the rings, didn't I?" he asked, looking at her slightly offended and worried she was backing out.

"Jus' worried ya gonna change ya mind," she told him. "Worried ya gonna find and want somethin' betta at a lata date and be chained ta me or jus' kick me ta the curb."

"Not gonna happen," he said, the building anxiety dissipating and being replaced with amusement.

"Might," she countered.

"Won't," he said, pulling her in for a quick kiss to shut her up. "Got a council meetin' first thing in the mornin'. Then was plannin' on goin' huntin' after. You comin'?"

"Ya know it."

"Can I come? Or is it another lovey-dovey hunting trip for the two of you?" Mark asked.

"Do ya even know how ta hunt? Ya said Lily was the hunta, ya jus' knew snares from 'er. So what exactly are ya gonna do when we get ta a buck and ya scare it off?" Ani asked.

"Well, I'll never learn if you don't teach me," he said with no shame.

"Ask Merle. He's the one teachin' it. I got 'nough ta do without havin' ta babysit some newbie ta the woods," was his response.

"So, it's a pre-wedding honey moon, then?"

"Watch your mouth, princess," Daryl told him before he dragged her away. "Got somethin' to show you."

"If it's a cold showa, I'd ratha wait."

"Ain't that, found somethin' else."

He dragged her out of the commons and down into the prison. Turning a few corners, he led her into a large room with a ton of books. Accidentally, when he and Merle had been coming back from the shower room, they'd taken a wrong turn and had ended up in the prison's library. They'd quickly been able to make their way back after that, but still, it brought somewhere the kids could learn other skills that didn't involve surviving. And for Daryl and Ani, it brought more books to their collection, only having three anymore since hers had been left at the farm. She'd only been able to find two that she enjoyed on the road, most often not bothering to look due to how little time they had to relax. Daryl had asked Merle not to tell her so he could show her, relishing in the look on her face as she looked around.

"How does a prison have a betta book selection than an actual fuckin' library?" she asked while perusing the shelves.

"Don't know. But look here," he replied, grabbing her hand and bringing her around to a table not far off in the corner.

He'd taken the effort to find the five original books she'd had with her, Belgarath the Sorcerer, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and His Dark Materials. She looked at him and smiled the happy, sappy smile she saved only for him, similar to the one she'd given him when he'd given her jewel, but there was just something more to it now. And he loved it when he got to see her give it to him. He pulled her in for a kiss, deepening it before they heard someone clear their throat at one of the doors. Rick and Carl were standing there with Judith, both smiling softly and watching them.

"Was hoping there'd be something in here for Judith," Rick said.

"There ain' no kid's section, but there's plenty a fiction and comic books ova there," Ani told him, pointing over to a corner. "Gotta be somethin' ya can read ta her."

She and Daryl grabbed up the books he'd found, Ani commenting about how he was lucky to have come across these. She'd had to go to ten different bookstores and eventually order a copy of Belgarath from a store that allowed customers to make special orders like that. The others weren't so rare, but still, to find all the books she'd originally owned was a feat in itself. The fact that he remembered them all touched her greatly. They returned to their cell and put the books in it, him having a few of his own to add to the collection. Setting them in a pile in the corner, they each took a book and laid down on the bed. Sophia came to get them a little while later for food, but found them sleeping, books tossed aside, with Ani's arm wrapped around Daryl's middle as he slept facing away from her. Finding it endearing, she pulled the curtain closed and walked away, letting those in the commons know they were asleep.

~x~

The council had not agreed to the liquor store run, but they had agreed that if they found liquor on the next run, they could grab some for the wedding. They'd be going on the run in two days, planning on holding the double wedding ceremony in a week. When the ceremony was announced later that afternoon, many of the women gushed and pulled both Ani and Maggie into a conversation about it, surrounding them and making Ani panic. Maggie told the women that it wasn't really Ani's specialty and how she and Daryl had considered themselves married over the vest Ani wore daily. The women began to tease her then, touching her way too much for her comfort. Ani went into a true panic attack, unable to catch her breath as her spine and neck went numb and her body began to shake.

Daryl wasn't out in the courtyard, where she and Maggie had been swarmed, but Merle was in the field close by, keeping an eye on the situation. He didn't think anything of the crowd of women around her until he saw Ani's face turn white and her uncharacteristically clear of sweat brow was glistening. Dropping the gun he'd been showing to the younger warriors into Carl's hand, he ran as quickly as he could up to the courtyard and to the gaggle of women.

"Ladies, sorry to interrupt," Merle said, noticing how shallow and fast Ani was breathing, "but I need our Ani for a bit. Ya don't mind, do you?"

There was a chorus of playful declines and how they needed to talk to the bride, but Merle didn't listen, opting instead to grab Ani's bicep and haul her out of the gaggle of hens. Cussing the entire time, he dragged her all the way to the Dixon tower and had her sit down on the mattress. Pulling her hands up over her head, placing them palm down on the crown of her head, he told her to breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. Then he knelt in front of her and told her to look at him, getting her to breathe with him until she had calmed and regulated her breathing. Daryl showed up about ten minutes later, just as she was able to take her hands down but still breathing heavily.

"What happened? All they said was you dragged 'er off lookin' like a wet noodle lookin' pissed and cussin' up a storm," he said as he knelt down and took Merle's place in front of Ani as she shook, the man clapping his shoulder as he got up.

"Ya girl had a panic attack," Merle told him, watching Ani clutch onto Daryl's biceps. "All the old hens wanted to know the chickie's plans for the weddin'. Gathered 'round 'er like flies to guts. Looked up when I heard 'em talkin'. Practically gray in the face by the time I got up there. Was tryin' to help 'er calm down 'fore I came got you."

"Thanks, bro. Means a lot," he told him while moving to sit next to Ani and wrapping an arm around her. "You good?"

"I'm good," Ani said, even though she was still shaking. "They were jus'. Gods, why do people do that shite?! They find somethin' good out and then they go and ruin it by gangin' up on ya! Gods, they gatha'd 'round like I was fuckin' chum in a shark swarm! Not cool, peeps, not fuckin' cool," she emphasized, standing up and going over to the side of the guard tower that faced the courtyard and flipping off the gaggle that was still around a smiling Maggie.

It didn't matter that they couldn't see it, she just wanted to flip them off as anger overtook the anxiety. Daryl and Merle laughed at her before the three left the tower, the men sticking to either side of her so that the women couldn't get to her again. They went into the cell block, walking over to Glenn and Carol. Daryl and Merle sat down while Ani went over to the food and dished out three portions, carefully balancing two on her arm while carrying the other in one hand. Putting it down in front of Merle, she grabbed the other one and handed it Daryl before sitting the last one down, sitting down herself between the pair. That was how they almost always ate anymore, Ani sitting between the Dixon brothers.

The group ate and laughed, Ani and Daryl mostly just listening with Merle being the primary giver of conversation. Ani couldn't help but lean against Daryl and sigh in content, feeling like this was what a family dinner should be like. It was still surprising to think that she had a real family now, one that actually cared about her, not just wanted to keep up appearances. Mark and Brian walked up with Sophia, Carl, and Rick, joining in on the conversation. Eventually, the Greenes trickled in with Judith, only Michonne left missing from the cell block. Daryl grabbed their empty plates and took them to the washing station, dropping them in the water and scrubbing them clean before drying them and putting them away.

He walked back over to Ani and told her he was heading out to watch before giving her a kiss. Glenn did the same with Maggie and left together with Daryl out to relieve the patrol currently on rounds. Ani and Maggie were heading out to the guard tower to relieve that team, but they stopped by their cells first. Ani needed to grab her crossbow, having left it in there for training in the fields after lunch and Maggie wanted to grab her book. Walking into her cell, Ani looked at the wall by the bed with a smile; she'd managed to convince Daryl to let her hang up one of his sketches.

It was a secret he'd kept extremely well hidden, even from her, until he'd asked her to get something from his pack and she'd gone in the wrong pocket. She'd apologized profusely when he looked over and freaked out when he saw her in the wrong area of the pack. He'd accused her of snooping and hollered at her a bit more before finally calming down when she told him she had no reason to snoop because they didn't have secrets. The fact that she actually believed that had drowned the fire completely and made him admit what was in the pocket. Afterwards, he'd shown her his drawings having felt bad about yelling at her for making an honest mistake. She had been awed by the detail and beauty of the drawings, each one an intricately balanced portrayal of the darkness of death and the beauty of life.

One of which was a beautiful pixie sitting with her back facing the viewer. The skin was ripping open at the spine while the wings were spread wide, skull patterns visible within the spotted reddish-orange appendages. Her dress was torn and ragged, but a small smile could still be discernible on her lips. Ani had teased that it was a drawing of her because of how the eyes were green and the hair was amber, not expecting for him to admit that she'd inspired it. He'd thought of it because of how damaged she was, yet she could still smile so easily and was still a beautiful, wild, and free spirit. She'd begged him for two weeks to let her hang it in the cell and just last night he'd finally relented.

She grabbed what she needed to and left the room with Maggie. Making their way to the guard tower, they talked about the fact that they were actually getting married. Maggie was happy as a clam in the sand and simply couldn't understand why Ani was so worried. Anyone with eyes could see that Daryl only had eyes for her, especially with how he'd sent a woman crying the first time she'd openly stated that she was a better match for him than Ani. He'd straight up told her that there were no better women than Ani and that woman was an idiot for thinking she was anywhere near Ani's level. Of course, the way he'd said it was extremely callous and vulgar, which was why she'd left the cell block crying. Ani had come back in and seen the woman leaving crying and asked what happened, Glenn getting ready to tell her when Daryl simply said nothing before kissing her, ending her line of questioning.

"There is no way in hell that man would ever leave you," Maggie tried to assure her after they relieved the team on duty.

"That's what 'e says too. It's me. I'm the problem. I got so many insecurities and shortcomin's. I'm scared I'm gonna make 'im wanna leave some day or 'e's gonna find someone that deserves 'im and can give 'im the stability I can', that can get ova their insecurities so he can come first for once. He's always the one takin' care a me. I don' feel like I do 'nough for 'im."

"You don't see things from our eyes. Do you even realize that you always make sure he and Merle have somethin' to eat before you even take a seat? Or how about how you've kept Merle in line and helped him change to be a really great guy and how Daryl's been able to relax and be himself because of it? How about the fact that every time he's upset, he grabs you and disappears with you? Half the time we find him passed out on top of you, holdin' you like some sort of security blanket while you're holdin' him lookin' content just as conked to the world. You remember that woman who was cryin'? She tried to get Daryl to hook up with her, sayin' she was a better fit for him than you, and he sent her away cryin'. Because there isn't a better woman than you and he's lucky to have you, his words more or less. I remember when I was worried about Glenn, back at the farm. You gave me advice then and I listened and now I'm gettin' married to the love of my life. So listen to me now, trust Daryl completely and forget what anyone else ever told you you were worthy of or could get out of life. You're here, now, doin' something the rest of us couldn't do on our own. You mean something to a lot of people, and that man knows your worth. He sees it, sees you. He doesn't care that you need a little extra care and lookin' after at all; I think he actually likes that you know he'll do it and depend on him to," Maggie said looking out at the road before turning to Ani and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know growin' up was really hard for you and your family messed you up pretty bad, which is why you're havin' these issues, but I promise. You and Daryl, you're gonna get your happy endin'. Some day, some how, you'll get it."

"Thanks, Mags. Kinda dumb ta still be questionin' it when 'e's got the pick a the litta if 'e really wanted ta," Ani said, scratching the back of her head.

"It's not dumb when your whole life you've had to question who you can trust," Maggie countered. "That drawing in your cell. Did you do it?"

"Nah, can' draw worth shite. Me strong suit as far as creativity was writin' and singin' and writin', well, I'd start writin' a story, get stuck, and then forget all 'bout it thanks ta me ADHD."

"Oh, I figured since it looked kinda like you, it might've been a self portrait or something. Who drew it if it wasn't you?"

"Can' tell. Only jus' found out meself and got that drawin' on the wall. And it is me, in some ways. That's why I wanted it on the wall."

"So Daryl, Merle, or Carol, and I don't see Carol drawing something that morbid."

"It's beautiful!" Ani countered.

"The skin is spilt at the spine, showin' the bones and muscle and leavin' a bloody trail. How is that beautiful?"

"Ya gotta look at the bigga picture! Her wings are still full of life and powa, her smile still there. Yeah, she's damaged and scarred and ain' eva gonna be right again, but she's still strong and powaful and able ta spread 'er wings. She's damaged, but she's still fuckin' here! I'm still fuckin' here!" Ani cried, all the fear and anxiety she felt at getting married to a normie suddenly weighing her down as she explained the picture that had been drawn just to convey that. "'E drew me, Mags. 'E drew me."

"Daryl," Maggie said, bending down to wrap an arm around Ani as she cried. "Am I right?" When Ani didn't answer, Maggie assumed her guess was correct and responded to her own question, "Well, I guess that's it then. And you say he's gonna find someone better. In my experience and knowledge, if a man uses a woman as inspiration for somethin' like that, does something so personal that she sees herself in it, they're either secretly in love with her, madly in love with her, or has been in love with her for a very long time. It's no secret, and a year ain't the longest amount of time, so you've got your answer."

"Had it all along, jus' was too afraid ta admit it."

They sat in comfortable silence for a good long while before the boys walked up. Giving their men a kiss, the women left the tower to trade places, walking the dog run for the next hour or so, however long it took to check the perimeter a few times over. After that, they'd all be in the guard tower for a short break before the boys left again. This would continue twice more before the four of them were relieved by the next group. It was a really quiet evening and nothing happened while they were on watch aside from Maggie telling Ani about her dream wedding and how happy she was to be saying the vows in just a week. They just needed to make it through the run in two days in one piece.