Disclaimer: Buffy The Vampire Slayer was Created by Joss Whedon and is property of many companies but not me. The Walking Dead was created by Robert Kirkman and the show, which is the world I am referencing in this, is shared with Production Creators Frank Darabont and Angela Kang.

Arthur's Note: As far as I'm aware the stores that are mentioned in The Walking Dead were all fictional for the episode 2.04, 2.07 & 2.08. Just in case though, I've never been to any of them (or even the filming locations in Sharpsburg, GA) and however brief the mention in this, or any subsequent chapters, should in no way to reflect on those businesses or any they may have been similarly named for.

[12]

The two at the bar waited for him to move inside, the speaker standing on the service side while his silent friend stretched out over the sides of his seat, elbows along the wood counter as he'd turned his body to face the door. The low light in the room reflected off the thick chain of his neck and rings around his fingers, large face spinning the time on his left wrist. The darker haired bloke rubbed at his face before speaking again, accent lulled in a soft slur "Come on in, we aren't biting, yet."

Spike snorted, the sound covering his first steps on the old boards as he made his way over, noting the other glasses on the tables surrounding them. While some of them had been there since the place had been abandoned, a few were freshly poured, more than just the two were around here, "Well, long as you're serving."

He straddled a stood to the right of the other patron, hand raising to gesture two fingers like he was ordering as the northerner poured him a shot, "Start you a tab?"

Spike grinned, downing the dark liquid quickly and signaling another, "Funny." The two grinned men returned the amusement as the second shot disappeared and the bartender stretched his hand across the counter to offer his hand,

"I'm Dave, the mute is Tony. Show some respect Tony, say hello." The man in white nodded but continued to study him, taking his time.

"Spike." The men's brows raised, but didn't comment, Dave gesturing with his thumb while he made himself a drink this time,

"We met on I-95 coming out of Philly, damn shit show that was. What about you, where you coming from?"

Spike folded his arms on the bar, an air of nonchalance, and picked at imaginary spot amidst the dust, "Beginning of this was in King County," head shaking, frustration coloring his voice, "since then can't get more than a few miles without being stopped by those wankers."

The man beside him finally spoke, "Oh yeah? No group?"

Dave's gaze flickered to Tony and back, but the other man wasn't looking for his warning, still studying Spike as he continued on, "Look pretty good to be out on your own."

Adjusting himself, looking off, the blonde cleared his throat, "Didn't start out that way."

Dave tapped the bar softly, pouring the three of them out one and raising a glad, "I'm sorry to hear about that, may they be in a better place. To better days an new friends, yeah?" The three knocked their shots on the counter before kicking them back and Spike licked his lips,

"So, what about your lot?" He nodded back at the other glasses, "Been together long?"

Tony shifted on the stool, "Long enough, ya know what I mean?"

"Any time is a long time these days," Dave sighed, rubbing under his nose, shot glass flipped over signaling he was done. Silence filling the air, Spike stretched to pour himself another while the two waited a moment longer before Tony shoved off his stool, meandering to the entry of the bar. Spike turned where he could see them both, noting the shotgun the man kept in his left as he moved about.

"So how you getting by just yourself?" Dave pulled at his attention as the other man stepped out the bar into the night air, "We're living out of our cars, you know?"

Head titling at the offer of insight, Spike chewed on it a moment, listening for Tony's heavy steps outside, "Yeah? Mine got pilfered in the last place. Would've taken it if it'd had gas."

Dave chuckled, shaking his head, "Yeah, syphoning is a bitch."

"Right you are, so after I loaded her up and got on, I stopped at the first place I thought I could knick some grub." He gestured around the room, "Though a drink works too."

"Yeah, it's rough out there," behind him Spike heard the door brush open quietly, Tony moving surprisingly soft despite the weight, but even if he hadn't already been aware Dave's glance over his shoulder would have given him away, "have to do a lot of things you don't always want to do."

Instead of showing reluctance, the vampire grinned, "Well that's the thing isn't it, you want to live so you do what you do." The attitude earned him a shrug but Spike could feel the tension drop down a few notches, whatever they had been trying to feel out appeased, "Listen, there a working pisser in this place?"

"Worlds a shitter now," Tony angled back to his stool beside him, folding his arms across the counter while Dave thumbed him in the direction off to the left of the bar,

"Back there. Would hold my breath if I were you."

Spike slipped around the counter and into the hall, eyes ahead to the door just beyond the bathroom that led to the back. Places like this would have a back room for loading, turning to face the men's door he could see in his peripheral they weren't leaning to watch him and he opened both doors at the same time by stretching out his other arm. Making sure to let go of the gent's room door as he stepped in the back, he let it swing close, careful to guide the far door in place at the same time.

[Break]

Navy in the dark of the night, Rick stared at the tent's ceiling, restless. All around the evening was filled with life; the soft breathing of his wife and child to either side of him, the crickets and frogs in the yard, even the occasional chirping of bats should have been enough to lull him sleep and yet... Beyond these peaceful sounds he thought he could pick up the faint groans from the barn, the shaking doors rustling the metal of new chains around it's handles, the dead waiting to spill out and catch them with their eyes closed.

At first he'd been adamant, the Greene's secret had to be kept between himself, Dawn and her friend. They had to stay on the farm, they had to. If he could work with Herschel, securing the few neighbors they stumbled across and then keep the dead in place it'd be fine. He suspected Herschel hadn't grasped that after long enough the walkers were going to decompose to the point the smell couldn't be hidden or their bodies would fall apart until a "cure" wouldn't be of any any benefit, or both. The truth was being found out wasn't far away.

He couldn't understanding understand how the farmer could remain so deep in denial, but he had decided to do what he needed to protect his family, until he found it was growing.

Learning Lori was pregnant made him less sure in his decision. Nothing had changed other than him finding out but though it was early, she would only be more vulnerable later, slower, if something were to happen. Carefully he rose from between the two bodies and pulled the socks from the collar of his boots, pulling them on before slipping his feet inside. Grabbing his holster he waited until he was outside to slip it on, zipping the tent door shut and looking around.

Glowing warmly against the black sky, the house stood as it had for more than a hundred years, eyes watching the stranger on it's land. Rick studied the empty porch; the lit windows empty of anyone keeping guard. Needing to face his thoughts he turned out of the small encampment and nodded at Daryl in passing, clicking his light on only after he made it down the hill. The smell met him before he got there and his stomach rolled.

Telling the group still wasn't an option, he couldn't fall out of grace of the only trained doctor they knew of. Herschel had said he was only a veterinarian but he'd saved his boy and he wouldn't risk his wife's life on a disagreement. Even when the other party was so in the wrong.

[Break]

Daryl heard the truck before he saw the large shadow, shouldering the stock when it wasn't a vehicle he recognized. Lifted white bod, the front end was misshapen on one side and before he'd taken a shot, the cab light flicked on illuminating the inside of the F-150 SuperCrew, Spike easing off the black top and onto the dirt. Lowering the bow, Daryl dropped down the ladder as the driver circled around the RV, "The hell you find this?"

Finger digging into the deep crevices of the large tires as he passed down the body, he saw expect for the front it was in pretty good shape, "This sure wasn't out there when we were."

Spike jerked a beaten bag out of the cab as he descended, "Neither were the blokes who owned it. Got company out there." The bite in his voice had the man on watch turning back toward his post, jogging to close up the gate now that the last of them was back inside. Taking in the night, no other cars were making their way up the road,

"They follow you?"

Spike shook his head, wanting to push on to the house, "Took out one of their cars. Was headed for ours when this pulled up beside me, yanked the driver out, made sure they couldn't use ours." Bag hanging half open at his side, Daryl squinted,

"What they have?" Disgusted sound, Spike tossed him the bag and the man turned his light on to get a better look at the inside, placing the cylinder of the flashlight in his mouth to hold in place as he rifled through.

"Can't imagine the women they took them off just gave them over." Daryl closed the pack, tossing it back and directing him to the barn,

"Ricks down that way, couldn't sleep." Before the other man could take off Daryl gestured at his neck, "You got something."

Wiping the stain away Spike moved quickly on to where the Sheriff Deputy was pacing.

[Break]

"No, this is ridiculous man. Things are already set up right here," Shane indicated the acres that surrounded the house, the horses and cattle the Greene's already had, "and you want us to go off and what? Hope we get lucky and find a property that hasn't been barreled over?"

Rick wiped his brow, frown lines pulling his entire face down, "It's not like that. We can do this, we're doing it already here. Maggie and Herschel will teach us what we need to get on our feet, we just need to find a place that will suite all of us."

Carol's hands clenched around the clothes she'd been folding before the discussion had begun, "Did, did we do something?"

Sighing, Rick took a moment before meeting everyone's gaze, "It's nothing we did or didn't do. I think this is the best move for us, we'll work together farming more space. We can help each other out if something happens, if – if we get over run. With others in the area it might be safer to have a place to retreat to if they come here."

The vein in Shane's neck bulged from the pressure of his jaw clenching, "I'll tell you what's safer, going out there an taking care of them before they come find us. We know they're in town – we know there are still supplies there. It's simple math Rick."

"Shane." Loris' voice was sharp with reprimand as he'd begun to pace in the small area between the trees by their camp.

"No, we need to be here. What if something happens? What if we're out there, playing Ole McDonald and you get hurt? One of the kids gets hurt? There's a big difference between being right here and driving who knows how far to get back. We load people into ambulances for a reason, cause they're equipped to treat you until you get to the hospital."

Despite her silence, Carol nodded in the sense of what he said. Andrea aligned herself with him as well, "We nearly lost Carl getting him here, we lost Otis on the trip to get supplies and back."

"I know you're scared, and I understand feeling that way, I do. But there are reasons, there are reasons we aren't going to stay here and that's final. If you feel differently and you want to stay, that's going to be between you and Herschel, if you want to go I'm not stopping you, but if you believe I know what I'm doing then we're going to find a place and we'll make that our home for now.

We won't be sleeping outside, we'll have rooms. We won't have to hope the next time we run into town has food, we'll grow our own. Herschel says a lot of these places had generators, have wells like this one. We just need to find it."