Sorry for the delay in posting. I took Saturday off completely as I didn't feel like writing and then I've been super busy the last three days with cleaning and working and was only able to work on this chapter sporadically. Hope that I did justice to the storyline even though I flipped the bird to the show...
"Why don't you come on out?" Daryl said as he carried Ania back to the church.
From the minute he'd pulled her away until now, she hadn't said a word. After forcing her in the truck they drove back to the church in, he hadn't even been able to get her to move. His only option had been to carry her back. It would have been a lot easier to do if she had been any kind of helpful, but she might as well have been a limp noodle the whole way. After Noah came out, he carried her into the church and put her down on the floor, sitting beside her and pulling the damn kittens out of the bag they were in to put them on her lap. Daryl told everyone what happened and why the woman was in such a sad state, thankful that they had been gone when Bob passed. He wasn't sure she would be able to handle it, especially with Merle and Sophia gone.
"Ani?" Rick asked, kneeling in front of her. "You comin' with us or stayin' here?"
"She's stayin'," Daryl said angrily, not wanting her to go if she was going to stay in this comatose state.
Ani finally began to react when he said that, inhaling sharply and turning her head towards him, "The hell I am!"
"Then snap the hell out of it!" he snapped at her, standing and towering over her. "Do you even know how you got back here?! Naw! Had to fuckin' carry you from the road! Practically had to drag you through the city! Got fuckin' lucky we didn't run into any problems how you were!"
Ani hung her head in shame, quietly saying, "Ya right. I'm sorry. Ya right. I shouldn' a lost me head like that. I was an idiot and I'm sorry."
"Damn right you were stupid! Tryin' to go after her like that, shuttin' down in the middle of the goddamn city. Could've at least waited 'til we got in a damn car!" Daryl yelled at her, not really angry, just frustrated. "Next time you bug out on me like that, I'm gonna lock you up and leave your ass in camp."
"I'm sorry," she repeated as Daryl helped her stand up, the kittens jumping off of her. Bringing her arms around him, she told him, "Thank ya. For bein' there for me in the city. For gettin' me out. Sorry ta be a burden."
"Not a burden, baby girl," he told her, holding her just as tight and kissing her forehead. "Never a burden."
"Are you sure you're fine to go?" Michonne asked Ani, not having seen her in such a state before.
"Yeah, I'm good. Jus'...jus' everythin'. Fuck, the dark, the buildin's, the fall, then Cars gettin' hit and taken. Told ya a big spida'd break me mind. Cars gettin' hit broke it 'stead," she told Daryl with a smirk.
"Not funny, Ania. Scared the hell outta me bein' like that in the city."
"Yeah, not too happy I did that eitha, D. Not at all."
"How do we get Beth and Carol back?" Tyreese asked.
"Well, they all know Ani," Noah told him. "She could probably walk in with you guys and just demand them back. A lot of the officers would side with her if she did."
"How ya know that?" Ani asked.
"Licari, Lamson, Shepard, August, Bridge, McGinnley, and Franco for sure know who you are."
"Really, now? That's actually really fuckin' good!" Ani said excitedly. "Saved Shepard's life when she was partnered with Bridge. Ya rememba the guy I gave pot brownies ta?" she asked Daryl, receiving a nod. "That was August. Franco and Licari liked the buckeyes I'd make every year for Yul. What about Gorman, Jefferies, and O'Donnel? Or Lerner and Hanson? Any a 'em still there?"
"Not Hanson. He was in charge before Dawn took over. The rest, I think so."
"They done anythin' ta ya? Or Beth?" Ani asked, her voice starting to drop viciously, as she studied the older teen and the bruises on his face.
Noah looked at her in shock as he watched her face change into something truly frightening before stuttering, "Uh...they...they...uh..."
"They gave ya the bruises, didn' they? Bruised Beth up, too?"
"Yeah."
"Done anythin' else ta anyone there?"
"Not all of them. There are some good ones."
"But Lerner ain' controllin' Gorman, Jefferies, or O'Donnel, is she?"
"No, ma'am."
"They touched Beth?"
"Gorman, he, uh, he...he likes Beth," Noah stuttered, suddenly feeling very nervous around the short girl with the darkest expression he'd ever seen on her face.
"'E's a dead man walkin'. So's Lerner."
"Ania, you don't-"
"Bullshite, D! Ya don' know Gorman! Ya don' know!" Ani shouted, pulling away from him before wrapping her arms around herself. "I couldn' get 'im kicked from the force, but I was tryin'. More'n once I had ta talk ta a woman he'd arrested or given a ticket ta 'cause 'e'd proposition 'em. Give 'im a blowjob and 'e'd let 'em go. Let 'im bang 'er and 'e'd give 'er a warnin'. That man was sick long 'fore the world went ta hell and if 'e's anywhere near Beth—I can' let 'im live! And Lerner! Lerner will do anythin' ta save 'er own damn face and pride, and that includes lettin' Gorman get away with shite 'e shouldn'. Anythin' ta get and keep powa! And she's a prick like Shane was when it comes ta people like me. Used ta force versies inta givin' bullshite confessions jus' ta meet 'er quota or get a higha rank. I ain' lettin' eitha a 'em live!"
"Alright," Daryl said, backing off now that he realized why she was adamant.
"Beth was right when she said she'd signed Dawn's death warrant," Noah mumbled, making everyone in the room look at him.
"Beth's a smart girl," Ani agreed. "She's playin' the long game, psychological warfare that'll push the odds in our favor. Lerner won't have half 'er officas if I still got the fava a the othas."
"You do," Noah assured her.
"Alright. Might not even gotta go through the trouble a doin' anythin', then. Could prolly jus' march right up ta the front door and demand our people back."
"No, that's too risky," Rick said. "We need to get the church boarded up first. I'm not takin' Judith into the city."
"Not takin' the twins, eitha. Carl, need ya ta look afta 'em while I'm gone. Keep 'em in the church. Feed 'em some more a that tuna," Ani said, looking at the kittens who were roughhousing on the floor. "Didn' mean ta take 'em the first time."
"I wanna go too," he argued.
"No, I need you here, with Judith," Rick told the teen who relented, though was quite grumpy about it.
"You need to rest up. Stay off them legs as much as possible," Daryl told Ania while making her sit back down.
"What happened to your legs?" Sasha asked.
"Nothin' much," Ani said, brushing it off.
"Fell off a damn bridge in a van. Braced herself usin' her legs. Bruised and sore to hell. Prolly got a couple fractures along the bone," Daryl elaborated, giving Ania a look for trying to downplay her injuries. "Her knee's all swollen, ankles too. You can see her face."
"Yeah, that don't look too pretty," Rick commented, half the girl's face covered in a deep purple bruise.
"Ain' nothin' I ain' had 'fore," she said with a shrug. "And me ankles 'ave always been easy ta roll, so they'll recova quick 'nough."
"Just stay fuckin' put and rest," Daryl told her before walking away to help with the preparations.
Even through all the noise, Ani managed to doze while they started boarding up the prison. The sound of Sasha chopping the pews up, of Noah, Carl, Michonne, and Rick pounding the boards from the pews to the windows, and Tyreese and Daryl taking apart the organ for the pipes. The preacher had gone into his office to lay down after Daryl told him they'd take the cross if they needed to and Carl forcing him to pick a weapon to defend himself. Daryl had bitched for a little while that Ania could've used the couch more as she was in worse shape, but after his fuss had woken her from her daze, he quieted down.
Daryl couldn't even get angry at the girl when she popped up and threw a piece of wood his way, "Ya told me ta rest! I'm restin' so shut ya damn trap!"
The group shared a chuckle as she'd thrown his rag back at him, Sasha having wrapped her knee and her ankles with rope made from the drapes in the church. Ani had managed to talk to Sasha a little bit while the woman was working on her injuries. Surprisingly enough, Ani wasn't worried about the woman just yet. Sasha had passed the denial stage of grief and jumped right into the second phase, anger. Once the anger dissipated, Ani was pretty sure she'd jump right into the final stage of grief and accept it. Unlike many in the group, Sasha was actually pretty well rounded. While her anger was quite the righteous fury, she was directing and dealing with it properly.
Soon enough, the church was completely boarded up and everyone had piled into the church for a final meal. Michonne had attempted to get the priest to come out but the man never answered. Assuming the man was sleeping, they left him alone and ate some of the food. Daryl checked Ania's legs again, thankful once more that she hadn't been injured worse than she was, as Michonne and Rick barricaded the door by jamming the remaining pews in front of it and sitting on them, Tyreese joining them. Sitting next to Ania, Daryl pulled her dagger out of his bag and handed it to her.
"Belongs to you," he said as he handed it to her. "Should've given it back sooner."
"Could a asked for it back. Knew ya had it," she pointed out. "Love ya."
"Yeah, love ya too," he said, wrapping his arm around her and turning her face to give her a gentle kiss.
Pounding and yelling on the opposite side of the door had the entire group jumping, Daryl coming protectively to his knees in front of Ania and grabbing his bow as the reverend's voice sounded out, "Rick! Michonne! Please! Let me in! I had to see it! I had to see! Please! Let me in! Rick! Michonne! Please!"
"Dammit," Rick said as he quickly got to his feet, he and Tyreese moving the pews from the door.
"Man pried a hole through the floor!" Sasha exclaimed as she opened his office.
Daryl picked Ania up as Michonne handed Judith to Carl, "You're goin' in that office and stayin' there 'til we deal with it!"
"I can help!"
"No, Ania! Your legs need to heal and we're already goin' back to the city," he told her, Noah hobbling in on Tyreese's insistence. "Keep the kids safe and stay on the damn couch!"
"Don' ya dare shut the door, D!"
He looked at her as he was about to do just that and told her, "Just stay there!"
Leaving the door open, he ran back out of the office just as Rick opened the doors and pulled Gabriel through them, a small horde of walkers following him in. Daryl shot one through the head with his crossbow before letting the thing fall to his side as he drew out his knife. Along with Rick and Michonne, they took out walker after walker while Tyreese and Sasha shot at the intruding force from the side. Ani was leaning as far as she could to see what was happening and when it became clear they needed help, she told Carl and Gabriel, who'd joined them, to stay put and protect Judith while pulling Noah with her, handing him her machete as she drew a dagger and a throwing knife, launching it into the eye of a walker coming close to Rick's side before drawing her other dagger.
"I told you to stay back!" Daryl roared at her when she came to fight beside him.
"Ya need the damn help, D!"
"Dammit, Ania!"
They kept pouring into the church, only slowed by the fact that only four or five could squeeze through the door at once, though the constant influx meant that they were regularly dealing with twice if not triple that. Ani could feel her right ankle straining and so took a defensive stance that allowed her to take some of the weight off of it, but made her left, and weaker, hand her main attacking hand. If they were fighting the living, this wouldn't have worked at all, but thankfully the dead weren't cunning enough to pick up on the subtle differences of switching to the opposite of what came natural. She was just about to tell Carl and the preacher to get out the tunnel the preacher had made when the sound of a vehicle came roaring over the groans of the dead only to smash right into the majority of the walkers coming up the front steps, taking down the rest of the walkers. Of course, that smashed the steps too, but at least the dead were gone.
"Well I'll be, seems like that's twice now I've showed up in the knick of time to save your ass," Merle's voice sounded out after the fire truck Abraham was driving backed up and let them out of the church and the rest of the dead had been dealt with.
"Give me a hand here," Daryl told him in regards to helping Ania get down, causing the woman in question to start laughing her ass off.
"He only has the one ta give!" she shouted through her laughter, making Abraham start guffawing like crazy and walk up to the woman to offer a hand down.
"I don't bite," he reasoned when Ani bulked at taking his offered help.
"She just don't like bein' touched," Merle said, coming to her rescue and offering his hand along with Abraham's. "If you can mock him for bein' Red, ya can take his damn help, girly."
Ani relented, although begrudgingly, "Why's it always soulless gingas that I get stuck with?"
"Well, it ain't like I'm too thrilled with havin' a Gremlin for a leader, but hey, here I am awaitin' orders, ma'am," Abraham told her, causing Rosita to scoff as the small woman was helped out of the church, the kittens mewling at Daryl's feet.
"So, we're just going to do whatever she says now?" she asked Abraham.
"I can do exactly two things," he reasoned. "I can kill and I can follow orders. Now, Eugene may be a monkey's ass walkin' 'round with a donkey's face but the one thing he was right about is that he is smarter than me. If she's smarter than him, well, I'll be a monkey's uncle if she can't get us further than that walking pile of stinking shit."
"Plannin' on goin' ta Richmond afta we go ta Atlanta," Ani informed them. "And be nice ta Eugene. He's a dumbass and a liar, but 'e don' need the constant name callin'."
"Why are we going to Atlanta?" Glenn asked.
"Gotta go ta Grady Memorial ta get Beth and Carol back," she said nonchalantly.
"Wait, Beth?" Maggie said. "Beth's alive?"
"Yup. Gonna get 'er back by the end a the day now that y'all are here. Jus' need ta get a few things in orda first."
"Like what?" Tara asked as Maggie began breaking down, telling Glenn she'd thought Beth was dead. "If we know where her sister is, can't we just go get her?"
"Ain' that easy. Holed up in a hospital with patients and a lot a cops. A lot a cops I know. A lot a good cops. Lead by one really bad cop, though. Need ta get a cop or two outside a the hospital, let 'em know what's goin' on, get 'em on our side. Then we can walk inta the hospital in full force now that y'all are here. No violence, no bloodshed. Leave the church behind and head out on the road right from Grady."
"Or we could just storm in the front," Rick countered.
"That's sure to get someone killed," Tyreese pointed out.
"Then we do it quiet. Go in through a side door, take out the cops one by one at their post."
"What do ya mean, 'take out the cops?'" Ani asked.
"Slit their throats."
"Nah! Hell nah! Rick, these are good cops! Cops I've worked with for the last six years! Ya wanna kill one, kill Jefferies or Gorman or O'Donnell. Ya leave Lerner ta me, though. She and I, this has been a long time comin'."
"Oh? What'd she do to you?" Tara asked.
"Jus' not a friend a versies is all," Ani offered.
"Versie?" Tara asked.
"Me and Eugene," Ani clarified. "It's why we're smarta than ya, or part a it. And why 'e could get away with seemin' like a scientist. Our brains are wired a bit differently than ya's, makes us hold things different. Emotions take the back burna ta things like learnin' and retainin' information, though that's jus' a part a it. A really small part. And not even always true 'cross the board. Jus' for some versies, like me and Eugene."
"You keep saying 'versie' like it's supposed to mean something," Rosita complained.
"Neurodiverse, ADHD/ADD, autism, some mood disordas, anythin' that ain' within' the typical when it comes ta intellectual and cognitive functionin'. Like I said, our brains work different, retain information different, learn different, act different. Our reactions aren' those expected by othas and when we're geared up in a high emotional state, we don' always have control a our reactions or think our actions through. Case in point; Eugene lyin' 'bout DC."
"How'd you know about that?" Abraham asked. "Said you knew from the get go."
"Well, anyone with half a brain cell would a been able ta figya it out. I mean, it's in the damn name. Human Genome Project. It was literally the study a the human DNA strand. Ain' got nothin' ta do with pathogenic microorganisms. Not ta mention, that shite's dealt with at the CDC! I mean, I get why wannabe Chuck Norris and Sofia Vergara's little sister here didn' know that, but come on, Glenn, Rick, the two a ya were at the CDC with me! How didn' ya know 'e was talkin' out 'is ass?"
"Wannabe Chuck Norris," Merle chuckled before looking at Abraham and howling. "Shit, yeah, I see it!"
"Am I allowed to come down now? Or is my face still in jeopardy of resembling, and I quote, 'more like a jackass than I already do'?" a disembodied, shaky voice called out from the top of the fire truck.
"The hell? Eugene?" Ani asked, accepting Merle's help to move over to the truck.
Clinging to the top with what could only be described as a look between terror and nausea, Eugene sat with his eyes tightly closed, "Yes, ma'am. And you were right. He did not take kindly to the tale that I told. I was a coward. If it weren't for you and your people, I would be dead and would not be allowed to come back here."
"Oh, now, I don' believe that. Even as much as ya screwed up, ya still got plenty a smarts we can use," Ani said. "Don' worry, ya can come down. Jus' give good ol' Honest Abe a girth, alright?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, now that we're all here, we should get goin', right? No point leavin' anyone here when we can' guard the church no more. Ya a damn idiot, Gabriel. We could a taken ya ta that school."
"I know," he said looking at her before looking away. "I had to see it for myself. I had to know what was out there, what they'd done."
"Ya know," she said, sitting down next to him on the bumper of the truck as the others hauled things out of the church. "I ain' one ta have faith. Neva have been. Not in ya god anyway. Neva liked the thought a havin' ta love and believe ta get reward. Hell, neva liked bein' dragged ta me momma's church and bein' praised and told that god blessed me only ta go home ta a hell hole."
"All children think their homes are hell," Gabriel commented, thinking she was being dramatic.
"Yeah, I know. At some point, that's jus' the norm. But are these?" she asked, turning to lift her shirt just a little to show some of the scars on her back. "'Xcept for some scars on me forearms that I did meself, I ain' got a scar on me body that ain' caused by me blood. Was forced ta kill ta defend meself at twelve 'cause they drugged me and tried sellin' me off. Me momma was a devout Christian lady, me daddy was wantin' ta go inta politics and was loved by all. Prayin' ta ya god neva did me any good. Started prayin' ta the Fae, the Celts, the Nords, anythin' and everythin' but monotheistic gods," she told him looking off into space as she spoke, not realizing that she was no longer just talking to Gabriel, but Abraham and Eugene had stopped working to listen too. "Didn' stop believin' in ya god, don' get me wrong. He jus' wasn' the right fit. Think it's 'cause a me eyes."
"What?"
"Ya know, the whole bit in the Old Testament where god talks 'bout how left handed people and those with eye issues and a few otha things won' be goin' ta heaven anyway?"
"That's not what that meant."
"Nothin' in the bible's 'what it means,'" she countered. "Anyway, 'fore I got off track, I wanted ta tell ya, it's okay ta have doubts in ya faith. If it's strong 'nough, ya'll find ya way back ta ya god. If it ain', ya'll find a new path like I did. There ain' no one right way ta live in this world gone ta shite in a hand basket. But that don' mean there ain' no place for faith. Or forgiveness. So forgive yaself for what happened 'fore and learn how ta live on and make it right. Ya a preacha, a shepherd ta a flock that needs protectin', right? So learn how ta protect ya flock by learnin' how ta protect yaself."
"I don't know if I can."
"Ya don' have a choice," she said as Sophia walked up with the kittens. "Not anymore."
Sophia handed her the things with a hiss, "Why don't they scratch and bite at you?"
"There's a trick ta it. Grab 'em by the scruff," Ani told her, demonstrating how to hold the kittens so that they would instinctively freeze as all canine and feline cubs, pups, kits, and kittens did. "Similar ta swaddlin' a baby, the effect. They do this 'cause they know they're bein' moved, movin' like this could get them hurt. As they get olda, though, ya'll have ta hold 'em round the neck like this," she told her, demonstrating how to hold the neck of the kitten without cutting off the airway and maintaining the scruff to keep the kitten immobile.
"You sure know a lot about cats, Tiny," Abraham commented while Daryl jumped out of the church and noticed the little powwow around Ania.
"Loved the Discovery, National Geographic, and Animal Planet channels. 'Specially documentaries 'bout predators. Did ya know that the world's greatest feline hunta is the black footed cat with an average of 60% success rates on kills? And the thing is smalla than the average house cat! Weighs in less than five pounds for the males! And African huntin' dogs are the apex predator with an 85% success rate on hunts! Not even humans have that kind a ratin' on average! Less than 50% a the time we go huntin' for big game do we actually get it!"
"Seriously, do you ever stop with the random facts?" Glenn asked as he walked up and handed her the throwing knife she'd used earlier.
"When they don' come up," she said with a shrug. "Anyways, how long 'til we vamoose outta here?"
"Just loadin' up the last of the gear," Daryl said as he walked up and offered her a hand up. "You're ankle alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good," she said, taking his hand and standing up, though he purposely pulled a little to hard to cause to to go a bit off balance and fall into him.
"You sure?" he asked with a smirk.
With a smile playing at her own lips, she told him, "If I didn' have a redneck pullin' me inta his chest, yeah, I'd be sure. Seems like ya like carryin' me," she said lowly, trying to keep the last part to themselves.
"If I do?" he growled in her ear, picking her up and taking her to the truck while she laughed.
"Then don' eva put me down," she said, leaning in and giving him a kiss before he put her in the cab and climbed in himself, the others slowly climbing in or on the truck themselves.
~x~
Beth was mopping the halls slowly early the next morning when she went to check on Carol. She'd been here one night and they hadn't even given her any medicine. While she didn't appear to be in any immediate danger to Edwards, Beth knew what it meant when a patient didn't pull through. Whether it was one day or one hour in which it got called, Carol was laying on a precarious precipice of being cut off from getting any help. Edwards walked in while Beth was watching Carol which caused her to give him a dirty look before she walked away. It was only a short way down the hall that she heard Jefferies yelling at Davis, the oldest ward in the hospital.
"What part of fix the hole in my uniform do you not understand?!" Jefferies yelled before he pushed the man down.
"Hey!" Beth said, running up and helping the man up. "He's just an old man! How can you be so rough?!"
"Oh? And what're you gonna do about it?" Jefferies said, leaning in close to her.
The steely glare Beth gave him when she spoke next had even Dawn shocked when she walked in and witnessed the conversation, "I'll put you down if I have to. Don't think I won't."
"Beth," Dawn called out, realizing either Jefferies was about to be killed or . "I need you to come with me. Now."
Once they got into her office, Dawn turned on Beth, "Who the hell do you think you are to threaten one of my officers?"
"Someone who won't let an old man be beaten just because he forgot to fix a hole in a shirt! You won't do anythin' about it! Somebody's gotta! I might as well while I can!"
"And what do you mean by that?"
"I just do."
" The patient in exam room two. You think just because one person shows up, Titania Parker's not that far behind?"
"I think by the end of the day, we'll be out of here. Just you wait."
"Well, while you wait, clean my office," Dawn told her before going to change out of her uniform and come back in to work out.
Beth was doing as she was told when Edwards walked in and informed them that the woman had woken up. She'd sustained a major contusion to the shoulder prior to being hit by the cruiser as well as a mild concussion and internal bruising. It didn't appear that she was bleeding internally as her stomach was not distended nor was it bruising more than he would expect for a hard impact. Given time to rest and recuperate, the woman would make a full recovery in time. She'd be up and about in a few days and able to contribute. Excusing herself from Dawn's office as Edwards continued his report about his rounds, Beth hurried towards Carol's room.
"Carol?" she asked as she entered, seeing the woman sitting up in the bed looking around wearily.
"Beth? Oh! Beth! We were lookin' for you!"
"I know," Beth told her before quietly saying, "Listen, if they ask you anythin', you don't know what Ani has planned. And call her Tea. These people used to work with her. Some of them are on our side, but not the people in charge."
"They know Ani?"
"Shh," Beth said as she heard the door being opened and Dawn and Edwards entered.
"I see you do know this woman," Dawn said. "And who exactly is she? A part of your group, no doubt."
"I'm Carol," the woman said quietly, not even having to pretend to sound weak as her entire body was hurting from the collision.
"And you're a part of Beth's group?"
"Ye-yes," she said before choking a bit, Beth bringing her some water to sip.
"What is your role? How many are there?"
"I'm...I'm like the mother hen," Carol said, thinking about what role she had taken at the prison. "Tea calls me Ma."
"Dammit!" Dawn yelled before storming out of the room, leaving Edwards to double check Carol's vitals.
"It's amazing how you pulled through on your own," he commented, looking at Beth.
"It's a damn miracle," Beth agreed, knowing she stolen the key from Dawn to give Carol an Epinephrine drip late at night; something she'd overheard Edwards tell Dawn Carol needed but was refused.
Leaving the room, she overheard Dawn's dispatch go off, "Dawn, this is Shepard, we heard shots fired. Permission to investigate."
"Permission granted, take Lamsen with you. Licari, follow as back-up," she radioed in.
"Roger that," three voices came back through.
"Tea's comin' for us," Beth said, startling the woman who turned around to see her ward standing there with a smug look before she walked away. "Just you wait."
~x~
"Alright, Noah, I need ya ta fire inta the air. Ya gonna be alone at first, and ya gonna have ta make sure ya lead 'em behind this buildin' here," Ani said, kneeling down in the dust of the parking garage she had decided was far enough away from Grady to lure some cops out but close enough to carry out a tactical assault should they need to. "If we can do that, we can come up on 'em on both sides. For sure, we'll be able ta outnumba 'em right off the bat. Hell, even with Eugene and Gabriel sittin' pretty with Tara and Tyreese in the truck, we got 'em out numba'd three ta one when they corna Noah. Dependin' on who gets called out, we go from there. If I say shoot, ya shoot. They ain' worth savin' if I say shoot. If I tell ya ta hold or they call out me old name, ya hold."
"And what exactly is your old name?" Rosita asked.
"Tea. Or Titania. Or Parker," she responded, happy she'd left the cats in the truck with the others; Tara was more than happy to keep an eye on them. "Name was Titania Parker, now it's Titania Dixon, preferably Ani."
"Unless it's Daryl," Glenn clarified.
"Oh?" Abraham commented with a smirk. "Now that I think about it, he seems to be awfully fond of callin' you 'baby girl'."
"Shut it," Daryl told the man, giving him a dirty look in the process, Merle barely able to hide his chuckles.
"And how do you know these cops?" Rosita asked snootily.
"Oh, ya missed the part where I used ta work with the Atlanta PD. Forensic psychologist, rememba? Helped some a the cops Noah says are there with their cases. Anotha I saved, and that's a big deal ta cops."
"That it is," Rick agreed. "How'd you save 'em?"
"Had a gut feelin'. Jus', somethin' wasn' right, went ta check, saw the dude with a gun pointed at Shepard and she went down. Aimed for 'er head 'fore I did a jump kick right ova her ta stop the perp from killin' 'er. 'Course, 'e got tried for tryin' ta kill a cop and a triple homicide and was servin' a life sentence, but, yeah, that's the story a how I saved a cop."
"You're about as good at tellin' stories as your boyfriend, Tiny," Abraham remarked about Daryl, who was standing behind her
"Husband, and what ya mean?"
"'She's mine, I'm hers,'" he said in a gruff and frankly horrible attempt at Daryl's accent and voice that had Ani in stitches and Daryl scowling.
"Oh gods!" she said as she started calming down. "That's the first and worst I eva heard someone try ta mimic Daryl's voice! Oh gods! Shit, that was good," she said while wiping her eye. "Neva was good with spoken stories. Let me write it down, and ya'll have a tale worth tellinn'. And, yeah, what Daryl said? That's all there is ta it."
Rick stated, "Alright. We've got a plan. Let's get to work."
Three shots and half an hour later, Ani was crouched beside Daryl listening as Noah came running by, a cop car hot on his trail. It swung around and tapped the boy, causing him to stop and grab his injured leg before he tried to hobble off in a different direction. The sound of two car doors opening and a man calling out came next, something clattering to the ground shortly after.
"Where were those rotters you were shooting at?" they heard a man ask before, as a unit, they came out of hiding on both sides after Ani whistled the signal.
The nice thing was that it was a signal she'd used before with the police on scenes to gain attention, which had one of the cops immediately holstering her gun as Ani came into view. "She said she knew you!" Shepard said, hands up with a smile on her face.
"Beth good? And Carol?"
"The lady they brought in yesterday?"
"One and the same," Ani told her with a nod of her head, Lamsen holstering his weapon and cautiously moving forward until he could reach his hand out.
Ani clasped the man's forearm as he did hers, going over to Shepard and doing the same. Another car approached their area, slowing down considerably presumably due to the fact that Lamsen and Shepard were smiling and unarmed, even though they were surrounded by strangers. In all honesty, by the time the second car had gotten there, Shepard had gone into a much more detailed version of the story Ani had botched according to Abraham. Almost everyone was smiling, if not chuckling, at Shepard and Lamsen's stories of how Ani had put officers in their place time and time again. Apparently, she had never been able to just sit and listen to injustice, whether it was against someone else or one's self. She was always trying to make people better versions of themselves.
"Holy shit," Licari said as he got out of his car. "Little Tea! Been a hot minute!"
"Still a cue ball I see," she commented, earning a peel of laughter from the officers as well as Merle and Abraham.
"Still stating the obvious, I see," he countered with a grin, giving and getting the same greeting as the other two officers. "So, what brings you to the city?"
"Beth and Carol," Shepard told him. "She wants them back."
"And Noah," Ani said. "And whoeva else wants ta leave that damn hospital. Y'all in?"
"Been wanting to replace Dawn for a while," Shepard admitted. "Started off good enough with Hansen, then he made a bad call and four of our officers died. Dawn killed him and everything was good for a while but now..."
"At least Gorman's out of the picture," Lamsen agreed.
"Gorman's dead?" Ani and Noah said at the same time.
"Yeah, he, uh, he was attacked by a walker," Licari told them, leaving out the part where it was the walker of a woman he'd raped and ruined to the point of committing suicide rather than deal with it anymore. "Good riddance. Walking dumpster fire, and Dawn's not much better."
"What 'bout Jefferies and O'Donnell?"
"O'Donnell was killed by Gorman and the walker that attacked him. Jefferies is still there, though."
"Alright," Ani said while nodding her head. "Makes things a little easia ta move along. What about the othas? They good with demotin' the big bitch on campus?"
"With Gorman and O'Donnell out of the picture, the only one left that doesn't want Lamsen to take over is Jefferies," Shepard told her. "Wouldn't mind it if you stuck around and took over."
"Hell naw," Daryl said, pulling Ani away from them. "She's stayin' with us."
"Nah shite, Sherlock," Ani said with a laugh, turning in his arms and hugging him to try to get him to calm down; she could tell he was on edge being surrounded by so many people who knew her from before.
"Wait, is that the redneck?" Shepard asked all of a sudden.
"Eh?" Ani asked, popping her head up.
"You remember? From your twenty first? Met a redneck at the bar, gave you a smoke? Wouldn't shut up about him for weeks?"
"It really was Ani!" Sophia exclaimed, making their group of people laugh as a look of realization crossed the woman's face.
"Holy shiteballs!" she shouted as she practically jumped out of Daryl's arms, the latter still wearing a confused expression. "'Can I get a fag?'" It finally dawned on Daryl what she meant when she said, "Called ya sweet and told ya a redneck was an asshole with a heart?"
"How the hell didn't you know?" Merle asked her as Daryl's face took on a look of absolute shock. "Don't you have that perfect memory shit?"
"It don' always work!" Ani defended. "Ya know how many Boston Sours I had that night? I was fuckin' lit! 'Xcept for a dream I had when I was alone, I couldn' rememba what the guy looked like. Rememba'd the way he scrunched 'is nose up at the funny name 'e was called, but couldn' rememba his face. Rememba I asked for a fag. Ya've told me twice ta put a shirt on, D!"
"Almost got in a bar fight over ya, too," Merle chuckled, causing Daryl to glare at him.
"Don't."
"Yeah, he walked back inside and this guy you came with was talkin' all sorts a smack about how he was gonna take her to bed and make a real woman outta her. Went on and on about it 'til little ol' Darylina there gets a stick up his ass and decks the dude. Would've been a fight if the punk hadn't been knocked out cold. 'Course, they go outside to load 'im into a car and can't find the birthday girl. That almost started another fight 'til this crazy redhead came in laughin' her ass off sayin' it was time to go."
"Yeah, she was laughin' at me. Fell asleep outside," Ani said sheepishly. "Can' believe that was actually ya, D. Gonna have ta apologize ta the kittens now."
"The fuck you gotta apologize to kittens for?" Daryl asked, coming out of his shock and looking at Ania in a whole new light.
"Told 'em ta shut it when they tried ta convince me it was ya. Like I said, had a dream 'bout that night. Thought me mind was jus' missin' ya so put ya in it. 'Specially when it didn' end right," she told him.
"Didn't end right?" Daryl asked, remembering that he'd almost kissed her before Merle'd called out to him and made her laugh, calling him Darylina too.
"Yeah, don' rememba 'xactly what happened first," she admitted. "One us moved or Merle called ya that stupid ass name. Jus' know there was movement, I laughed and called ya that damn name. Sorry 'bout that by the way, I really was drunk."
"I know," he said, bringing his arms back tighter around her. "Can't fuckin' believe it was you that night. Couldn't get you out of my head."
"Can we just get back to the problem at hand?" Sasha asked, not wanting to make things awkward but unable to handle the small talk anymore; she'd thought Bob could be her soulmate and now he was gone yet Ani and Daryl had been star-crossed lovers brought back together by the universe itself it seemed.
"She's right," Ani said, immediately sobering up and looking down in shame, having momentarily forgotten what Sasha had just lost. "Sorry."
"It's fine. Let's just go."
~x~
August, Bridge, McKinnely, and Franco were all waiting by the only exit to the building that was clear as they walked up. Shepard had done a silent radio signal, pressing and holding her com for two seconds three times in a row before radioing in to Dawn that they were on their way back. It was a signal that those wanting Lamsen to replace Dawn had for when they needed to meet up about something. Being met with a large group of heavily armed civilians was the last thing the four officers expected to see before looks of shock and amazement crossed all their faces upon seeing Ani. The typical greeting given, much to Daryl's annoyance, Merle nudging the man with his elbow as he grimaced at Ania's closeness to the officers.
"Sure you won't marry, Tea?" August joked after a few, having asked her many times over the years due to her cooking skills.
"Can' marry a married woman," she told him, removing herself from the officers to stand in front of Daryl who was quick to grab her and wrap an arm around her waist while glaring at the man. "'Sides, ya say anythin' like that again, me man's gonna bash ya teeth in. Don' like people steppin' on 'is toes, if ya know what I mean."
"Yeah, she actually married that redneck she talked about all the damn time," Licari told them. "Can you believe that?"
"Damn, I owe you fifty," Franco told Bridge.
"Just fifty? I think I owe him three hundred!" August complained.
"What's this now?" Rick asked, amused at the officers' antics.
"Oh, because of how often August would ask her to marry him and how often she'd go on and on about her 'mystery redneck,' we started taking bets on if she'd find him or not," Shepard chuckled. "Those two were the ones who bet against it."
"Seriously? How many othas were in on it?" Ani asked, her shoulders slumping as she realized the state of her affairs was not as private as she'd've liked back in the day.
"Pretty much the whole precinct," Lamsen told her.
"Gods, y'all are the worst!"
"Hey, our little Sherlock was the talk over coffee," August told her. "Well, you or what I was doin' with Denis later."
"He make it?"
"Yeah, thank God. He's upstairs," August told her.
"Good, I'm glad ya man's fine. Did 'e eva learn how ta cook or does 'e leave it ta the workas?"
"I wouldn't let that man cook even if it meant dyin'," August said seriously, causing all the officers to laugh.
"Let's get in there. I wanna be on the road and outta the city 'fore dark," Ani said, getting everyone back on track and heading into the hospital.
Five flights of stairs, the dead body of Jefferies, and one very shaken Beth later, Ani's blood was boiling all over again. Apparently, Lerner had given Jefferies the okay to do whatever he wanted to Beth to teach her a lesson. They'd been in the stairwell because he'd chased her all the way there and she still had the set of keys she'd stolen to get the door to the elevator shaft open as well as the medicine cabinet. After being assured that they weren't going to be held responsible, and learning that Gorman had been raping a woman and the man liked to watch him do it, Ani simply asked where Dawn was.
"Stay here," she told them, moving down the corridor silently until she reached where she had been told Dawn's office was. She didn't even both knocking, just entered it to find Dawn sitting at her desk. The woman looked as white as a ghost as Ani smiled at her and walked closer. "Hear ya got somethin' a mine."
"Now, Parker, no one has to get hurt," Dawn tried to tell her.
"People have already been hurt. Ya let one a the offica's rape a girl. Let a couple a 'em watch. Did nothin' 'bout Jefferies beatin' the old man. Set Jefferies on me baby sista. Didn' give me ma medicine that could help 'er."
"Beth. She told you all that?"
"Nah," Ani said. "Didn' have ta. The good officas, the ones that don' agree with what ya've done, the one's that've been tryin' ta stop it. They told me."
"The shots Shepard went to investigate," Dawn said, realizing just how much thought had been put into all this. "We can end this. I can walk away. I can step down. It doesn't have to go any further than this."
"Don't be so sure. Beth said she signed ya death warrant."
It was the way Dawn tensed and her hand twitched that had Ani moving to her left and behind a filing cabinet as Dawn drew her gun and fired a shot, Daryl's yell for her heard even from here. "It didn't have to be like this," Dawn told her. "You could've just taken your people and left. You could have taken my offer to let me walk."
"Ya know I ain' gonna do that," Ani said just before the door was kicked open and Dawn moved her gun to aim at Daryl. "No!"
Ani ran and moved right in front of the gun and brought it down before it went off, thankfully just missing her leg as Daryl yelled and drew his gun. Even though the shot had missed her, Daryl had only reacted to the fact that she was in the line of fire and had his own pistol drawn, locked, and loaded before he pulled the trigger. Dawn's head flew back as Ani's face was covered in her blood as she let go of the gun and moved away. Daryl was at her side in two strides, checking her for injuries and wiping the blood off her face before pulling her tight into his chest.
"All I could see was you goin' down," he murmured in her ear as cried into her hair. "All I could see..."
"I know," Ani told him, holding him just as tight. "When she aimed at ya, that's all I could see. I'm fine, D. I'm..."
Whatever she was going to say got cut off by Daryl's lips on hers. She didn't know they had an audience until someone cleared their throat. Most of the people they'd come into the hospital with were watching the pair, smiles on a lot of faces including Carol's as Dr. Edwards brought the woman in a wheelchair to hand off to Rick. Ani didn't even bother to pretend like she wasn't in pain as she leaned heavily against him, letting him support the majority of her weight which he did without question. A lot of the officers agreed that it was a good thing Dawn was dead, and Ani made sure to lay into Lamsen about what she expected Grady to become and how she better not come back some day and find out he's run it into the ground.
A round of goodbyes ended with Ani's right ankle giving out again and Dr. Edwards retrieving a couple of air casts for her; they were reusable and seeing as she'd hurt both ankles, having these on hand would be beneficial to her and the others. Especially considering it was highly probable that such injuries would continue in Ani's case due to the number of times she had rolled her right ankle in such a short amount of time, the doctor made it a point to remark. It was in high spirits that they reunited with the people at the truck, Ani practically jumping off Daryl's back, as he'd given her a piggyback back, to get to her kittens. They were out of the city with plenty of time to spare before sundown, Beth and Carol both back where they belonged.